Friday, July 29, 2016

.::. Repainting .::.

In  a few months' time, we would have reached our MOP (Minimum Occupation Period).  *OMG* Next year would be the 5th year since we've got our place.  Time really flies, doesn't it?

So, after our vacation in Boracay at 'The Lind' hotel, I was very inspired to paint our room.  I liked the color palate and design of the new hotel and this darker blue-grey color along their corridors.  I liked it enough to persuade the husband to paint our place together.

The main colors were greys, turquoise and blue-grey, I really liked the style of the hotel.

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So, we went to buy paint and brushes and spent a few weekends on painting our home.  The husband made some not-very-functional newspaper hats.  To small for me, we didn't use them.

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Initially, we only wanted to paint the master bedroom and one wall in the guest room.  I wanted to paint a stripped wall, that would also look great when the room is converted into a nursery *someday*.  Alas, the husband suggested chevron stripes instead, knowing that I liked them more - BIG MISTAKE.  Let's just say that chevron stripes are extremely tiring and time-consuming to paint.  We spent at least 2 days on that wall alone.




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First, you had paint a base coat, the lighter color of the chevron strips.  Then, you need to measure the walls and decide on the dimensions of your chevon stripes to make it fit nicely to your wall.  Then, we used cardboard to make a few of these shapes as stencils to mark the walls with pencil and tape.

We took hours to finish and align this wall, and we drew arrows to remind us which area needed paint.



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Tadah!  After taping, paint the areas that should be painted, remove the tape and touch-up.

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Here's the completed guest room with our pull-out bed:

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By the time we painted our master bedroom, it was a breeze.  We finished in a few hours with all that taping, moving furniture and 3 coats of paint.  We used Dulux Connecticut Blue for our master bedroom, a lot darker but I quite like it though it did not exactly turned out as what I envisioned (and there's quite a few other shades of blue and greys that I liked too).

Here's the 'before' photo:

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And here's the new color:

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Oh, and I received a set of bedside tables as my birthday present this year too!  We got rid of the wobbly Taobao ones we got when we moved in and upgraded to these beautiful solid teak wood ones from Second Charm.  The husband said 'May our marriage be as solid as our bedside tables!'.

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Thursday, July 28, 2016

.::. Scaling Heights .::.

Since the Nepal trekking trip few years back, I have been saying that I want to start climbing stairs to train my fitness. Well, years past and I've never tried climbing the almost 20 floors up...till this week.

I have climbed almost 20 stories up TWICE, simply because I was on a conference call on my phone while driving home (after tuition and violin lesson). I was afraid that the call would drop of if I took the lift. Gosh! It's a darn good HIIT workout and I'm drenched in sweat by the time I'm home. At this rate, I can try climbing the 40 stories up soon!

 





Saturday, July 23, 2016

.::. Things I'm Thankful For .::.

As we grow older and start working, life inevitably revolves around work and seemingly endless to-do lists.  Most of us spend most of our weekday at work, and all we have left is a few hours of free-time to do things that really matters.  Many don't even have that few hours and it's easy to lose sight of what is truly important and be thankful for what we have.  It's easier to complain than to be thankful.

Personally, I’m most thankful to have the husband and being in a healthy, happy relationship minus all the drama and ambiguity that some struggle with.  Perhaps because of this, it has made it much easier for me to be positive, at peace and happy every single day.  But it's also perhaps we are happy and thankful for each other that we have a healthy and happy relationship.  


On a daily basis, I’m thankful that there are so many simple things that make me happy:
-          I’m happy when I wake up after a good night’s sleep, especially during the rainy, cooling nights.
-          I’m happy when I see the husband in deep sleep or preparing for work when I open my eyes
-          I’m happy when I see Chikey and his wagging tail
-          I’m happy that I am healthy and have a job
-          I’m happy that I don’t dislike my job and it helps me to fulfill all my other goals
-          I’m happy when I get my coffee and fill my tummy with yummy food
-          I’m happy when I think of what to eat next
-          I’m happy when I get to knock-off work on-time
-          I’m happy when I can cook a home-cooked meal for us
-          I’m happy when Chikey snuggles up to me
-          I’m happy when I go for my music lessons and spend time on my piano/violin
-          I’m happy even when I do my music theory homework!
-          I’m happy when I teach tuition, knowing that my kids adore me and I have made an impact on their lives
-          I’m happy when I try new recipes and cook yummy food
-          I’m happy when I go to the gym, being able to go and strengthen myself
-          I’m happy when I do grocery shopping and grab some good deals
-          I’m happy when I get to meet my friends and hear updates from them
-          I’m happy when I do housework and make my home a better place
-          I’m happy when I pick the husband up from work
-          I’m happy when I have enough to give back to the community
-          I’m happy when I can travel and experience all the beauty in the world
-          I’m happy when I see beautiful sunsets
-          I’m happy when it rains and the weather becomes cooling
-          I’m happy when it’s sunny and there’s clear blue skies

The list can go on forever, because I'm always happy about all these little things.  I think the husband has an easy job, because I’m really easy to please.  Just buy me some yummy food and I would be smiling like I won the lottery. I think we are very similar in this aspect, that we both dislike drama and negativity, just like things simple and to be happy.  Being happy makes it easier to face the other challenges and negativity that sometimes seep into life, although I try consciously to distance myself from negativity.  I really don’t quite understand why some people spend their life complaining and being unhappy, or choosing to see all the bad in their lives!  It’s never about circumstances, it’s always about your own thoughts.

Being alive, healthy and able is itself such a blessing – if only everyone could think this and be happily thankful.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

.::. My Angel .::.

Quarter-ends are especially bad, I've been working late the whole week AND keeping up on all my tuitions and music classes. Sometimes, I wonder how I do it too, maybe it's good training before kids come along.

So today, I'm slogging at work and about to rush to tuition when the husband called. He finished work early and was about to reach home. He picked me up from work, had a quick dinner with me near my tuition place and gave me the car keys so I could drive home while he took a bus home. *awww* My heart melted a little and swelled with love, feeling really thankful. Thank you darling. Thank you for being so thoughtful when I really needed it.

We could have had dinner near my office and I send him home before driving to tuition, but I was too tired to handle driving and rushing then.

He's probably the most unromantic man who's also an angel. It's these little thoughtful gestures that make me so very thankful for him. 

I'm pretty much brain-dead by now, but some moments are worth writing down and remembering - so I can remember all the good when he drives me nuts. =P

Thursday, July 7, 2016

.::. Cra-cray Days .::.

Some days, my schedule goes like this:

0700 Get out of bed
0830 - 1730 Work
1800 - 1845 Piano Lesson
1915 - 2000 Violin Lesson
2030 - 2300 Conference Calls
0000 Bedtime!

Thursdays are always crazy, but Thursday is almost Friday so it's okay (it rhythms!).

Today was exceptionally crazy, because it's quarter-end closing week and yesterday was a public holiday.  Losing one day on quarter-close week is bad timing.  I hope I don't have to work till midnight like the last quarter!  It's going to be a long day tomorrow.  I'm in between calls now, and tired.

Weekdays are mostly crazy, and fulfilling.  I teach tuition on 2 other days and often have conference calls at night.  I always have Friday nights free, and usually another weekday night free.  Some days I rush back to cook and food-prep the day before, other days I use the slow cooker to cook soup.

Life's cra-cray, but good.  Weekends are always gym and mini-holidays around our little island.  It gives me immense pleasure when my tuitee who got 17 marks last year and failed all his tests improve to a good 57 marks the last exams.  My tuitee adores me and sometimes I threaten to 'quit' if he doesn't work hard.  It makes me feel great that I'm making a difference to someone's life.  Work pays the bills and helps me to be financially free, but it really helps when the company has values that align with your own and we get to give back to the community often.  Violin and piano is challenging, I wished I had more time, but the progress I make gives me a huge sense of achievement.  I'm nearer to my goals everyday and most importantly, I'm happy.

Happy with everything.

Time for next call!