i am decided.

I am SweeChing.
I am woman.
I am brilliant.
I am in.

It all started with an exercise to create a list of "I Am" statements. Requirement is to state everything in the positive and optimistic. The statements serves as an affirmation of who I am, who I want to be, and who I will be.

First line I wrote was: I am woman. I am invincible. I am tired... this has been my "tagline" for the longest time... then I had to cross out the word "tired" because it is a negative... it was automatically replaced with "energetic" (opposite mah).

I am woman. I am invincible. I am energetic. Hmmm...

For the next few weeks, I recited that to myself frequently... but something is still not quite right leh... my heart and my body couldn't gel with that statement (I still feel tired all the time : P)... and even the word "invincible" started to irritate me...

And then the lightbulb lit up, and the words "brilliant" and "in" popped up... out of the blue! Hee! I got the inspiration for word "in" from Patti Digh's book (see http://37days.typepad.com). She suggested that we should live with
- Intensity: Say Yes
- Inclusion: Be Generous
- Integrity: Speak Up
- Intimacy: Love More
- Intuition: Trust Yourself
- Intention: Slow Down

The more I thought of it, the more I like it!

So... this is it!

I am woman. I am brilliant. I am in. : )

(I wonder if I am the only nutcase who spend time pondering over such stuffs???)

My Life in a Nutshell (almost)...

way overdue... last update was 13 August leh!

16 Aug, 7:53pm
SC cannot decide if it makes sense to leave the office "earlier" around this time, so that she can squeeze with 10,001 other passengers n the MRT : S isn't "peak hours" 5-7pm???

17 Aug, 9:43pm
SC is lucky she can "park" her son at her mother's place for the next 2 weeks when the childcare centre is closed due to HFMD... what do working parents w no such alternative childcare arrangement do? 2 weeks leh, n so last minute, no joke! (so the government says to join the workforce AND have more children... ...)

28 Aug, 8:39am
SC is attending a Mathematics Workshop at MSHS now... Many parents packed in the school hall... All anxious to learn about model drawing so that they can help their sons!!!

28 Aug, 12:17pm
SC just scored 111 points on Words With Friends!!! Her highest record for a single word placement!!! omg omg omg!!! Slap her! Slap her!

28 Aug, 10:50pm
SC is one happy girl tonight... she gets her fix of mocha villa n laughs, shared with friends...

29 Aug, 8:28pm
SC is pretending she is not aware (busy playing Chicktionary) that the little boy next to her on the MRT is taking off his pants n peeing into a plastic bag that his mother brough along w her... : S

3 Sep, 8:21am
SC needs to re-learn how to parellel park... she took 15 mins to get the car into a lot yesterday, while her overseas guest stood by the sidewwalk to help her navigate! So embarassing!

6 Sep, 7:22am
SC turns around and looks at the mess at home (she has not done any housework for the past 2 crazy weeks!)... And decides to start with the boys' bedroom... Repeat after her: one room at a time... (shake head and sigh)...

14 Sep, 8:19am
SC remembers HAo Ming... The Special Needs boy who touches her heart when she was involved in the MINDS programme. He was like any ordinary child, who wants to learn and have fun, who wants to be accepted n loved.
SC also remembers his mother Mrs Chen... Total respect for her silent strength and contented love as the mother of a special needs child.

15 Sep, 9:36am
SC wants to stay at home to nurse her running nose n sore throat and SCRAP since it is raining cats n dogs outside... But alas! It is Wednesday...

15 Sep, 6:01pm
SC remembers it is the Madonna episode for GLEE tonight! She better hurry up, finish up n make it back on time for the show!

20 Sep, 12:01pm
SC NEEDS a pedicure!!!

20 Sep, 2:45pm
SC NEEDS a foot spa!!! A pedicure is not enough...

24 Sep, 8:22am
SC cannot walk very fast in a long dress / skirt! Now she remembers why she is always in jeans! Should have wore long pants instead...

24 Sep, 6:42pm
SC is overwhelmed by the crowd at Raffles Place MRT station!!! So many many people!!!

24 Sep, 11:16pm
The circle journal finally completed! It travelled between 6 girlfriends n 2 countries... For 4.5 years!!! Priceless keepsake!!!

27 Sep, 8:32pm
SC is debating whether to buy teh durian puffs. For her parents. She cant stand the durian "fragrance"...

29 Sep, 7:23am
SC hears her scrapping table calling out to her, from underneath the mess... cannot decide whether to scrap amidst the mess or to pack n tide up...

30 Sep, 10:35am
SC drools... Life Documented kit... Perfect for documenting a whole year of my life! Year 2011, here I come! But I think one pack is not enough for me...

10 Years

I am not too sure if it really has been a decade already. 10 years is a long time... and yet it seemed so recent that we just signed on the line.

Hmmm... I never really thought about how life will be like after we got married. I mean, I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I could not really imagine the reality of household chores and maintenance of house and payment of bills, and raising children and keeping our marriage going. All these amidst transitions as we switched jobs, as our children grow up, and as circumstances around us changed.

I am blessed to have you by my side on this life journey. We learned about living togeher and building our future together and making the marriage work together and facing life changes together. We learned about growing up and growing old together.

I do not deny that some days I asked myself why did I marry you (exasperation!).

Despite all the differences and hiccups and fights and frustrations we had, I am thinking if I have another chance, there is no one else I want to do this all over again. I am thankful for you, for us.

52Q - backtracking (week13 to week16)

final batch of questions & answers from the earlier weeks... and I am done "catching up" : ) now I can focus on the current questions!




I went back to my parents' place and dug for this old photo of mine... it has always been my worst hairdo... glad to be able to put this down for the record! And I had a great time browsing through the old photos and reminiscing about my childhood : )




I looooooove this Patti Digh's book very much, and I intend to re-read the book again. Many meaningful and important insights about life, that totally gel with my own values.




I recycled part of a canvas art piece... happy not to let that go to junk. When I was tabluating the number of years, it dawned upon me that I am one lucky girl... and I am thankful for all the blessings in my life : )




Love this question! So I decided to put in some effort to stitch the letters... love the textures of the embroidery floss.

52Q - backtracking (week10 to week12)

i am slowly working my way to "catch up"...




Happy to use my very old alphabets from the K&Company Letters To Go box... My gosh! That was from some 5 years ago!!! They do not seem to run out!!!




I got a little dirty with the black ink pad for Week 11's project... toned down the bright colours on the patterned paper to better reflect the theme of "at night".




My answers were on the tag tucked into the pocket: good health / loved ones / meaningful hobby and employment. And I played with my distress ink pads and foam applicator and non-stick craft sheet... love the effects created on the tags!

52Q - backtracking (week7 to week9)

I am halfway through to catching up! There is a very special feeling when one sees the progress that one has made... I am looking at my album filling up slowly as I complete each card : )

52Q - Week31 to Week33

The past few weeks were crazy... lots happening at work... Xun's childcare centre's shutdown for 10 days because of HFMD outbreak... so I am skipping my daily crafting time in the mornings, sneaking in 5 mins here and 10 mins there, to feed my soul...




The answer side was part of a bigger piece of canvas art... Instead of relegating it to cold storage, I decided to cut it up and recycle... love the techniques and effects with paints and gesso!





I dedicated this piece to the very reason behind this project : )





For the longest time, my Wednesdays are centred around the weekly shipment arrivals...every week, we keep our fingers crossed... Sometimes I marveled at how long we have kept up with this mad cycle... every week, every Wednesday... At some point in time, I have in fact grown to resent Wednesdays because of this... but the job has to be done, it will be done.