Aidiladha under quarantine...

Adik has chickenpox, real bad chickenpox...

As a result, we spent Hari Raya Haji at my parents' place... had to cancel plans to go back to Seremban (although Hubby did go back this morning to help out with Qurban, and came back with lots of yummy food courtesy of my MIL and SIL :) ), had to cancel our planned family dinner outing, and have had to make alternative plans for tomorrow...

What's tomorrow? The annual school concert, where Adik was supposed to join in for the first time! He's got his own routine with the rest of the 2-year-olds, but we don't quite know what it is... But now he'll have to miss it and stay at home with Opah who's volunteered to watch him... I think I'm more upset about him missing the concert than he is hehehe...

We thought it was great that Amani got a very mild version only 2 weeks ago, and never thought Adik would come down with it again (within a span of 2 years!)... sekali tengok, his case is worse than Kakak's! He's got the spots everywhere... around his hairline (under his bushy hair, sian dia...), on his body, on his face, even right near his anus!

So now Kakak will get to do her speech with her classmates, and we can only record Adik's friends performing... hopefully when we show him the video, he'll do his own performance :)

*Sigh*.... dah la mama tak boleh nak cuti next week... Opah la yang tolong jagakan... sorry Adik ye... nanti Adik dah sihat & mama dapat cuti hujung December, we go jalan-jalan ok?

My New Project - Completed!!

Ever since I got started on the whole 'tudung'-making venture, I got a renewed interest in sewing. In particular, bag-making and tops for myself, for now at least. I've half-sewed a jersey top for myself (just needs the finishing touches around the hems and such), and now I'm so proud & happy to declare I have 1 finished bag to my name!!!


Meet my first-ever handmade bag!!!

I'm especially proud cos I made this from scratch - no patterns, no drafts... just a rough measurement as per my mom's instructions (and no cheating by asking mom to complete it too!) ... but I have to say, using a paper pattern would definitely have been easier... leceh tul nak lukis line atas kain yang bergerak as the pencil draws on it!

I started on this last week (just the outer shell), and got to work on the rest yesterday. Beriya-iya nak siapkan jugak this weekend, tau! Broke a needle in the process too hehehe... sorry mama... In the end, managed to complete it this afternoon. It's not perfect obviously... it's a basic, simple tote design lined with red fabric with no pockets, zippers or buttons, ada some wavy stitches, ada uneven stitch size (still learning to adjust the tension and stitch size for each fabric type), but it's all my own! I love the fabric pattern too... so bright and cheerful... I guess it's also reversible, cos I just turned it inside out and it still looks OK stiches-wise...

Now I can get started on the many other patterns and tutorials I've collected from the internet, magazines and books... I've spent a bomb on sewing books and mags this year, on top of my usual literary interests... no wonder I've exceeded my tax deduction quota this year! Cute fabrics are calling out to me as well... my wallet is doomed I tell ya....

Gatal dah tangan nak buat this very cute wristlet (like I don't have enough as it is!!) I saw earlier... the pattern seems do-able to a novice (hehe, confident je kata)... a girl can never have too many bags, right? A cloth wallet for my daughter, a wristlet for the many membership cards I have, a simple cloth tote bag for shopping, another for quick trips to the store, another for my daughter's books, another for me just for kicks, another to cart all my additional stuff to work, and another and another and another...ahhh, what bliss to think of all the bags to be made...

Of course, it doesn't mean I'll stop BUYING bags (that's still a must!! Even now I'm eyeing another acquisition... yum yum... can I afford it???? I must make myself afford it hehehe)

Kalau macam ni, my own sewing machine would make a good investment, kan?

Agak-agak boleh berenti keje and just do this all day long tak? Hehehe... ke nanti mati kutu pulak tengok mesin je manjang?

I love the feeling of creating something!!! Let's make more!!!

Catching up on reading

I have at least 5 maganizes at home (Impiana, Impiana Dapur, Impiana Apartmen) from various months that are waiting to be read...

At least 3 more are at work...

This weekend's goal? To finish at least 2! Since my 'extra-curricular' class tomorrow is cancelled, I get to 'lepak' at home yeay!!!

I'm trying not to think about the pile of laundry that needs ironing...



Additional potential plans - if I can convince Hubby to go to either the MPH sale, or to Fella Design's sale... quality fabrics on sale for my potential projects... hehehe... and of course books need no excuse...

How do you know???

How do you know what it is that you're meant to do in life?

How do you discover what suits you best?

Is there a formula? A course that'll help you chart your way? How do you peel off the different layers that make you a person, and find the real being underneath? How do you find your true calling, your life's passion? Work that you enjoy so much, it doesn't deserve to be called 'work'?


















I feel worn out....

Is it the job? The company? The position? I'm just a 'balaci', by the way... please do not misunderstand this as the moanings of a boss hehehe...

Is this what I'm destined to be, to do for the rest of my productive years? I enjoy going to work, yet lately I'm feeling my work is becoming more and more meaningless. Mounds of paperwork that I have to force others to complete, yet without any clear, discernible use... paperwork with info that we already can get from other sources... and yet, to give feedback for improvement to the powers-that-be is to put my neck out to be chopped, to be branded a 'trouble-maker'...

Help!

Oh to be a WAHM, or my own boss... 1 year and 3 months more... *sigh*...