Tagged!

I have been tagged by Guruh Roy. This is hard because I don't listen to much music, and the music I listen to regularly are those associated with the theme music of the talk radio shows! :-)

The Tag Rules are:
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your Live Journal/blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.

1. Rush Limbaugh Show theme song, My City Was Gone by The Pretenders, Learning to Crawl Album
   
2. Hugh Hewitt Show theme song, Theme from Last of the Mohicans
3. Engelbert Humperdinck, The Way it Used to Be, Entayang's current song on her blog
4. Mark Levin Show theme song ... don't know the name! ;-(
   
5. Ray Charles, America the Beautiful
6. Naff, Kau Masih Kekasih Ku
7. Stella Philip, Sulu Injau - ringtone ID for hubby

I now tag the following:

• Debbie
• Encha
• Dara
• Purple Coco
• Felicia
• Cuthess
• Mag

Random Musings

I have been enjoying the Dancing With the Stars series. Last week Joey Lawrence scored 2 tens and 1 nine from the judges. It was indeed a surprise this early in the season. But I can tell he was the other male dancer besides Mario Lopez who can really dance.

I am not looking forward at all to missing the subsequent episodes! Next week, we are leaving on the day of the show and from that week onwards I will have to settle for the video clips of the shows on the ABC website! This series is the only show that I follow on TV right now. I do not watch anything else other than the news channels on TV, err, maybe some movie every now and then.

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We are leaving next Tuesday evening, and I have not done any packing yet. It is not something I look forward to doing at all. I will have to make sure that each piece of luggage does not exceed 30 lbs. And that we are not going to have more than 3 pieces of checked in luggage! It will be hard, but we will have to do it. Dealing with two young kids will be hard enough, and we do not want to be distracted by excess baggage!

I heard on the radio today that it is now okay to carry small amounts of liquids and gel onboard. I had already bought some tic tac because if I can't bring any toothpaste in my carry on luggage I'd better have some alternative for freshening my breath!

It was pleasant news for me because that also means I can shop for some perfume from the duty free shops. The prices of perfumes at the US airports duty free shops are far cheaper than those in other countries. Prices at Taipei airport was no bargain and neither are those at KLIA. We'll be in Hong Kong for a few hours stop over and it'd be interesting to compare prices there too.

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This past two weeks I was in a beading frenzy. I spent a few hundred dollars on beads and beading supplies. You can view some of my latest creations here.

I sold 3 pieces of my jewelry to one of my kids' teachers, and because of that surprise sale, I got really motivated! Heheh. The new beads I bought were chunkier and also of better quality. I also spent a bit on sterling silver wire, and find that the finished product looked classier. I like the sterling silver beads and the hill tribe silver too but those will have to wait. The price of the finished product will most definitely go up once I start using the better quality beads and wire.

I enjoy looking at the works of other beaders and I must say there are many of them out there! Others have online stores at places like Etsy to sell their creations. I am not ready to do that although if anyone is interested in purchasing any of my creations that they see on my blog, they are welcome to email me.

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Today I got in touch with an old friend, Vernon, through his blog. It is wonderful to be able to reconnect with Vernon after all these years.

Vernon has an interesting blog that is filled with stories of the lifestyles of Malaysian celebrities. He is in the position to blog about Malaysian celebrities because he is an executive producer and artiste manager. I don't personally know any Malaysian celebrity, not even a small time Iban singer! Heheh. So I am always curious to know what goes on with the Malaysian celebrity scene.

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Today is officially the second day of autumn but it doesn't feel much like autumn. People are still going about in their skimpy clothes. Only the mornings are cool and during the day, the temperatures are still nice and warm. Yesterday I went to church in my sleeveless dress and I was glad I dressed lightly because while we were out shopping that afternoon after church, the weather was quite warm.

One of the things that I miss about autumn, being in this part of California, is the autumn colors. There are very few places that you can go to to enjoy the spectacular beauty of fall foliage. Hardly any near where I live. Pity.

Peridot Necklace

Amethyst Chips Necklace

I used dark purple rochaille beads which were lined with silver foil, amethyst chips, fresh water pearls and swarovski crystals for this three strand creation. It elicited various compliments when I wore it. :-)

In God We Still Trust

Rose Quartz Beauty

Rose quartz bracelet with silver metal beads to match the necklace.


Rose quartz, lamp-work beads, glass chips, fresh water pearls and some metal beads.

Aventurine Bracelet

Aventurine beads matched with some metal beads and some crystal rondelles.

Dancing With the Stars Season 3

Dancing with the Stars' season 3 began today. I enjoyed the previous two seasons and I was lucky enough to have turned on the TV yesterday and heard that the new season begins today. I would have been really disappointed if I had missed the opening show! :-)

One of the dancers of this new season is Tucker Carlson (see pic at left). I know Tucker from his show on MSNBC. But poor Tucker. If ever there is guy with two left feet, he is the one! One of the judges even compared his dancing to sitting on the toilet! I felt sorry for him that I casted my vote for him tonight. Heheh, I don't want him to not receive any votes at all from the viewers! His score was the lowest from the judges. I am sure the other dancers will receive lots of votes. Already I can see at least 3 couples who are really good.

Harry Hamlin (Clash of the Titans, and TV's LA Law) is also one of the contestants this year. Last year his wife, Lisa Rinna, was in the competition. As for Harry's dancing, it was only slightly better than Tucker's. This guy doesn't have the moves. He was quite stiff.

I couldn't believe it when I heard at the start of the show that Jerry Springer was a contestant! I think he has a horrible TV show. But he was game enought to participate in the competition. His score was third lowest. He was really funny and he felt sorry for his professional dancing partner who had him as a partner.

Sara Evans (country singer) was also a contestant. I thought she danced really well, and I was surprised that she had the second lowest score before Tucker.

Mario Lopez (actor and TV host) is the cutest looking male contestant this season! His dimples! Heheh. Mario and his professional dance partner received the highest score from the judges tonight. I think I will be voting for this guy all the way this season too! He reminded me a lot of Drew Lachey in the previous season. They are both natural dancers.

There are a few new professional dancers this season. Jesse DeSoto is one of them and is the cutest looking of them all! Cheryl Burke is back this season. Last season, she and Drew Lachey were the champions of the competition. This season her celebrity partner is Emmitt Smith of NFL fame. He is a really big guy but he can move!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's result show. Tom Jones will be the special guest of the show. You know what? I just realized that I will be in Malaysia in early October and that means I am going to miss the last few episodes of the shows including the final! Boo hoooo. :-(

Update: Tucker won't be dancing with the stars in future episodes. He is the first to be eliminated from the competition.

Never Forget

Two Necklaces

Beading With Chinese Knots

Cloisonne, Crystals, Shell Pearls and Semi-precious Stones

Going Home

I have finally got the air-tickets for our trip home this year. This time we will be travelling through San Francisco and flying on Cathay Pacific. We normally take Malaysia Airlines and fly through Los Angeles but this time we thought we'd try another airline.

We will be in Kuala Lumpur from October 5 - 9. So those of you in the KL area, and if you are free during that time, how about getting together for some makan makan? Let me know .. Guruh, Agus ...

After KL, we'll be in Kuching for a few days. I am buying Doug a day trip with Kuching Kayak. I just hope that the weather will stay dry during that time. I can't swim, so I don't think I'll be joining Doug for any kayaking trip! :-( When I first mentioned this fact to Francis a few months ago, he told me there was enough time for me to learn to swim. Heh. No time lah.

I hope to meet up with some of you in Kuching too ... Vynne, Desmond, Dara, Mac. Cuthess and Chris come and meet me in Kuching!

After Kuching we'll be flying to Miri ... my hometown. The kids and I will stay till mid January, but Doug will return to California after two weeks. In January, he'll come back to fetch us home.

I told Doug he shouldn't complain about having to spend that money on air tickets to fetch us! Just think of how much more he can save without me there in California spending money on fabric and beads and Christmas toys! :-).

I am so looking forward to all the wonderful food back home! :-) And yes, I'll be sending Doug home from Miri with a bag full of food mixes, pastes, belacan etc! My supply till my next trip home!

End of the Month?

Not having to go to a regular job outside the home, dates are not important to me. But I must know what day it is though. I have to take my kids to pre-school and on the days they don't have to go, I sleep in.

It is the end of August and as I look at the blog entries for the month .... wahhhh, only five? Have I really been that busy? Sort of. Beading, finishing customers'quilts, taking care of the kids, the heat of summer ..

Speaking of the heat. August this year has got to be the mildest since I arrived in California. Not a day of over 100 degree Fahrenheit temperature!! That is quite unbelievable! I'm not complaining because our electricity bill for July was more than double our normal usage! I hope September will be as good, if not better than August. I am ready for autumn!

All the stores are clearing and putting away their summer stuff. That is not always good for me because my favorite fabric store will have put away the fabric for summer. And I am just starting to do some sewing.

I am finally taking the plunge at sewing my own clothes using the ready to use patterns by companies like Simplicity, Butterick, Vogue. Of course, I started of by making something very simple and straight forward. A dress that had no other fancy cuts other than the usual neck, arm holes and sides. That went well, and my second attempt was more complicated. Did I waste a lot of fabric or what!? Good thing I had lots of the same fabric.

One of the saddest thing I discovered through all this sewing is that no matter how good the pattern looks on paper, it doesn't translate the same with the finished product. No, it has nothing to do with the quality of my workmanship. Alas, my once slim figure with its trim tummy is now a thing of the past.

It is depressing to have to adjust and alter the mid section in order for the dress to fit. Just thinking about it makes me want to go on a fast. Yeah, right. Me fast? I, who have to eat a bowl of cereal every night before I go to bed? Heheh.

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Selamat Hari Merdeka!

(Oooopsss, it is already past midnight so it is the beginning of September!)