Scraps of Shirlee

December Daily 21-25

2012-02-01T21:52:00.000+08:00

Untitled

2012-01-30T16:31:00.001+08:00

Three more days till this kid starts preschool. He can hardly wait. It's torture to take him to his school to finalize payment and uniform and he doesn't get to stay and play. Bunnies, fish, turtles, what's not to love?

I created a font out of my own handwriting. I titled it "Shirlee." Clever, eh? This page has a sample of it.

December 1-15

2012-01-29T22:16:00.000+08:00

November 16-30

2012-01-28T21:31:00.004+08:00

A couple of pages

2012-01-26T08:41:00.000+08:00

Trying to knock out my 2011 pictures. Here are a couple of layouts.

The Dragon In Me

2012-01-23T21:10:00.001+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

We are saying farewell to the year of the rabbit and welcoming the year of the dragon. Malls are filled with lanterns, cherry blossoms, lion dances, and dragons. I am loving the festive atmosphere.

This dragon is 6 stories tall. It's very impressive.

This is probably the best video. It is of a lion dance outside of a hotel we happened upon.

Here it is throwing mandarin oranges out of its mouth.

This is a video of a LED dragon dance in the Pavilion Mall.

Here is a lion dance in the grocery store.

This one is a dragon dance in the KLCC mall.

January 23 is the first day of the Chinese new year. We celebrated by giving the children each a ang pow packet (red envelopes filled with money), chopsticks with their zodiac, and a mandarin orange. The festivities are supposed to last 15 days.

Maya came home from school and asked me what her Chinese zodiac animal was. So together we figured it out.

I am a dragon. A red fire dragon to be exact. The mightiest of all. Others are attracted to dragons, especially their colorful personalities, but deep down, dragons prefer to be alone. Perhaps that is because they’re most successful when working alone. Their preference to be alone can come across as arrogance or conceitedness, but these qualities aren’t applicable. Dragons have tempers that can flare fast! (Really? Me?)

Dave is a wood rabbit. Rabbit symbolizes such character traits as creativity, compassion, and sensitivity. Rabbits are friendly, outgoing and prefer the company of others. They also prefer to avoid conflict. In confrontational situations, rabbits approach calmly and with consideration for the other party. Classy, sophisticated, expressive, well-mannered and stylish, those born under the sign of the rabbit enjoy learning about cultural issues and learning about people from other countries.

Maya is a fire dog. Dog symbolizes character traits such as loyalty, compatibility and kindness. Dogs frequently offer kind words and useful advice, always listening and lending a shoulder when necessary. Dogs are determined individuals; always wanting to master a new subject before moving on and always finishing what they start. Dogs value friendships; they’re loyal, honest, trustworthy and reliable and have strong morals and ethics. Dogs at times can also be temperamental, narrow-minded and stubborn. Hmmmm.

Ethen is an earth oxen. Though he is young, and I am still starting to see some of his personality shine through, I can see some similarities. Oxen possess such character traits as dependability, strength and determination. Oxen are tolerant individuals who believe that the road to success involves hard work and scrupulous behavior; they don’t believe in taking shortcuts. Oxen aren’t very sociable and rarely participate in group activities. Just the other day during playgroup, Ethen took some toys and went to play by himself in the kitchen.

I had to laugh at this little boy. That's exactly the kind of photo I would have gotten if I would have forced Maya to stand by the God of Prosperity. Prosperity is looking pretty grim.

金玉滿堂 Jīnyùmǎntáng - "May your wealth [gold and jade] come to fill a hall."

December Daily 16-20

2012-01-22T15:53:00.000+08:00

Mae Taman Elephant Park

2012-01-20T19:48:00.002+08:00

More of Me in 2012

2012-01-19T09:06:00.002+08:00

Photo by Jared Braithwaite

Mom and Grandma

2012-01-17T20:30:00.002+08:00

This photograph is from July, but I love it and wanted to do a page using it.

Lantern Festival

2012-01-14T10:30:00.002+08:00

December Daily 11-15

2012-01-13T14:55:00.000+08:00

Been working like crazy trying to fulfill overdue quotas and catch up on the holidays. I have some posts still coming from Thailand, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Bear with me...

Meanwhile I'm now half way through December Daily.

December Daily 6-10

2011-12-15T21:09:00.000+08:00

Maya's Quote of the Day

2011-12-14T18:47:00.000+08:00

Me: Did you see Santa at your school today?
Maya: Yes, but it wasn't the REAL Santa.
Me: [worried] How do you know?
Maya: He wasn't wearing gloves.
Me: [relieved] Well, it is hot in Malaysia you know.
Maya: But he was wearing boots.

The kid has a point.

Kesler Christmas

2011-12-14T18:09:00.000+08:00

Dave's cousins are at it again. This time with another Christmas video.

And in case you missed last year's Christmas video, Deck the Rooftops:

A couple of months ago, you might have seen Kelsi, Dave's cousin on KSL. She was interviewed about why they make these videos. They are such a fun family.

December Daily 1-5

2011-12-09T23:07:00.001+08:00

The last couple of years, I have made little mini albums documenting each day of December. This year I had fun pulling them out and looking at them. I decided to continue the tradition this year.

November 1-15

2011-12-07T17:04:00.000+08:00

Free Holiday Class

2011-11-30T16:48:00.001+08:00

Interested in a free holiday class? Jessica Sprague is offering one right now! Sign up today to make an adorable garland you can hang on your wall, or even wrap around your tree. Self-paced class starts Dec 5.

Thankful...

2011-11-24T18:02:00.002+08:00

Pulled this off the eighteen25.blogspot.com website.

Thankful for these ones in my life.

My awesome brother took these pictures last winter. Cool, huh?

Wats around Chiang Mai

2011-11-22T21:52:00.003+08:00

I'm waiting to see if I get any good pictures from our Diwali party from Dave's boss -- so I'm going to skip those photos for now and dive into our Thailand trip.

Chiang Mai is the 2nd largest city in Thailand, but it still has a small town feel. No real skyscrapers. The wats were absolutely fascinating. Truly as numerous as Christian churches in the US. The bright orange-clad monks were everywhere, even in the markets.

The country is just as exotic as all the pictures you've seen. Carvings and statues of dragons abound. Their culture is very apparent in everyday life.

And now for a little game of "One of These Things is Not Like the Others."

Jessica Sprague + Becky Higgins = Awesome

2011-11-21T15:36:00.001+08:00

Whoop-tee-dee-doop! I am so excited that Jessica Sprague and Becky Higgins announced their partnership. They are two of my most inspirational scrapbookers. For me it means awesomeness on many levels. Firstly, because now I can get all of Becky Higgins' designs digitally, check them out here(yay!). Secondly, because one of my pages is featured on Becky Higgins' blog. (Whoop!) Fun for me.

October 16-31

2011-11-18T13:23:00.000+08:00

Melon Carving

2011-11-17T21:08:00.000+08:00

Trick or Treat

2011-11-16T13:15:00.000+08:00

Sri Maha Mariamman Temple

2011-11-12T17:06:00.000+08:00

Today Show

2011-11-10T13:08:00.000+08:00

When we got back from Thailand, we noticed a new tent in the park (in the foreground) and wondered what was going on. There was a huge satellite dish set up as well.

About 8 hours prior to show time, I got an email explaining that Matt Lauer would be in the park shooting his segment of "Where in the World?" in Kuala Lumpur.

We watched out the window as they set up and got ready, and when the time was right, Maya and I staked out our place behind the red tape that said, "Shooting in progress."

It was late. It was hot. And it was muggy. Maya was tired, but she waited with me while they shot several segments, dancing, food, etc. Then they came to the crowd and said, "Everyone with a sign, come forward." Mad rush. That ruined our perfectly positioned camera shot (sorry friends). So we lingered only slightly longer before heading home and putting Maya to bed (much too late).

To watch the entire show, go here. Since no flash photography was allowed, all I got was this lousy shot of Matt.

He was eating the nasty durian fruit. We could smell it from where we were 50-75 feet away.

October 1-15

2011-11-04T22:40:00.001+08:00

Disneyland

2011-11-03T15:59:00.000+08:00

I think I'm going to make a hybrid book from our pictures of Disneyland, but I did want to include the highlights in our family album.

Here is another page I did also.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-01T09:27:00.004+08:00

It's kind of exhausting celebrating holidays from every culture here. Sunday was Diwali, yesterday was Halloween, next week it's Hari Raya Haji, but we're getting out of town for that one and heading to Thailand to celebrate their Yi Peng festival. Super excited about this one -- think the floating lanterns in the Tangled movie.

Whew! I need a Christmas break!

Happy Diwali

2011-10-30T16:06:00.002+08:00

In Malaysia, the Indian holiday is known as deepavali. It is also known as the festival of lights. It has been fun and interesting to see the malls decorated for it.

"Look Mom!" shouted Maya. "A rangoli!" Wha-huh? She was proudly pointing at one of the beautiful works of art made of colorful rice on the floor of the mall. I was wondering what those were. Glad she could clear that up for me.

Dave had told me a week ago that his work was holding a Deepavali party and that I needed to dress Bollywood style. I was secretly excited about this, I have always been fascinated with the beautiful Indian women ever since I used to sit in church on the bench backwards and stare at the beautiful new wife of Lance King, Sheila?. She was the first Indian woman I had ever seen.

Anyway, excitement turned to panic when I learned that you have to have sari tops custom made. You just can't go buy one in a store. So I headed to Little India.

I'd never been to this part of KL before, but I boldly took a taxi there by myself and found myself faced with this:

Where do I begin? So I tried to fit in. (haha) After awhile a man approached me and I pointed at one. He looked at me confused and went to get the only guy in the place that spoke English, if only barely. For the next hour he patiently followed me around as he soon discovered that I, indeed, was looking to make a purchase. Or purchases. I walked out of the store with a sari, a punjabi, and some things I don't have a name for.

When I got home to show Maya the new punjabi dress I bought for her she was so excited. "Did you buy me a bindi too?" she asked. I'm really getting my money's worth at that school. She is getting all sorts of an education.

The next day found me back in Little India looking for a tailor. I was worried because I needed the blouse made in 2 days. After a few closed shops and some too busy to meet my deadline, I was a little discouraged. But thankfully I was brave enough to walk pass the guy slaughtering the cow and I found a very nice Indian man spoke great English and was able to custom make me a sari to temple specifications (almost).

Now what? There are 8 yards of fabric here with nary a button or zipper. How do I get this thing on???

Thank heavens for YouTube. I watched a woman teach me to wrap it a thousand times. "It's that simple" she says. Yeah, right.

All night long we tucked and wrapped and pleated and (pinned, don't tell). The end result was this:

And the bindi? Always wanted to wear one of those.

Maya's Quote of the Day

2011-10-28T20:16:00.000+08:00

Me: I'm tired.
Maya: You're tired of being sick every day?
Me: Yes.
Maya: You want to be a normal mom again?

Hong Kong

2011-10-26T21:42:00.003+08:00

September 16-30

2011-10-25T17:39:00.003+08:00

Big Buddha

2011-10-22T16:54:00.004+08:00

This is one site that I never thought I'd ever see in my lifetime. It was every bit as amazing as I'd imagined, and the pictures hardly do the scene justice. Some days I'm so frustrated that I'm not a better photographer.

Big Buddha is isolated in the mountains, but I was surprised to find quite a bit of construction going on in the area. Here are some extra pictures of the area.

Maya posing with the locals. It was mighty windy at the top.

September 1-15

2011-10-17T15:53:00.002+08:00

Soaring Over Singapore

2011-10-10T21:28:00.000+08:00

Universal Studios

2011-10-09T20:59:00.000+08:00

Well, I'm finally out of the hospital after 10 days. Not much has been happening on my blog I see. Here is a page. Not my finest, but I have lots to keep me busy for awhile.

Move

2011-09-26T14:39:00.000+08:00

Some people are just UBER creative and talented and inspiring. LOVE THIS.

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday to Me and Maya

2011-09-25T21:15:00.000+08:00

We had good birthdays. Thanks for all your wishes.

I had lunch with a friend at a Chinese restaurant and had the best fried rice I've ever eaten. We also ate dim sum and chicken dumplings. The restaurant gave me a free dessert for my birthday. Here is a picture of it:

I have no idea what it is, but it seemed to have white bean paste in it. Pretty sweet by Asian standards, and actually quite good. Thanks to these guys for making it.

I did go home and make a german chocolate cake for myself though. Dave took me to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. Yes, I do believe it was a real aussie steak. I must admit that it was better than the one we ate at in Egypt. However, I still prefer Tangy Tomato dressing and the warm bread and the sweet potatoes that the Outbacks in the US offer. My potato just wasn't an Idaho spud, ya know?

We also celebrated Maya's 5th birthday. We are almost exactly 30 years apart. (You do the math).

You know how the rest of her birthday went by viewing the following photos and video.

Ethen's lyrics are "Go, Maya, go, Maya."

I didn't really want to invite her school class over, and she doesn't really have any friends here (so sad, I know) and it's hard to be away from family for these events. Since it was a Sunday, we invited some friends from our branch over and she was perfectly content.

She wanted a rainbow party, so I came up with this:

I've made rainbow cupcakes before, but have always used muffin tins. This is the first time I cooked them individually in glass jars. They turned out cute, despite my desperation to find a white cake mix.

Add a few balloons, crepe paper, gum drops, suckers, and candy and you got yourself a nice sugar party, I mean rainbow party.

And one happy 5-year-old girl.

August 16-31

2011-09-20T18:47:00.002+08:00

Sentosa Island

2011-09-19T20:25:00.002+08:00

We had a week off school and work for the Hari Raya holiday, so we decided to take a drive to Singapore. It's only a 4-hour drive from KL. We stayed on Sentosa Island, a resort destination. I'll have a few more posts about our excursions, but here is the first --the southernmost point of continental Asia.

Happy Malaysia Day!

2011-09-16T14:34:00.005+08:00

September 16 is Malaysia Day, the celebration of the formation of Malaysia in 1963 by uniting Malaya, North Borneo, Singapore, and Sarawak.

For the past couple of days I've been watching them set up mega fireworks in the park. I am sad that we are going to miss the big boom, but we're getting on a plane to go to Hong Kong that day.

I did find a picture from last year's celebration, so we can all imagine what we are missing.

UPDATE: Apparently they celebrate this holiday like new year's. At the stroke of midnight I bolted upright in bed thinking the building was coming down. The fireworks show had begun! I'm glad we didn't miss it! My pictures are less than desirable. By the time the last one popped it was so smoky we could no longer see the Petronas towers.

Spotlighted in ClubCK

2011-09-16T08:51:00.000+08:00

Today I got an email from Creating Keepsakes and one of my pages was used in the email (this is the 2nd time this has happened.) It always makes me feel good to see my pages being used as a source of inspiration for others.

My "Love You Good" page of Ethen was featured today at Club CK. Check it out here.

August 1-15

2011-09-14T21:00:00.003+08:00

On our way home we flew through Tokyo. I had to take a picture of the toilets there. They are quite nice. You have the option of bidet or spray (what the difference is I don't know), and to hear a flushing sound. Oh, thank you! I always love that sound!

I laughed when there were instructions on how to use the toilet.

Oh, here it explains that the flushing sound button should be used to muffle the real flushing sound! Oh, got it! That makes sense!

I must admit. I pushed every button on the darn thing. Quite entertaining to say the least. I DO like to be EXTRA deodorized!

End of July Events

2011-09-11T18:47:00.002+08:00

Love You Good

2011-09-07T20:23:00.001+08:00

These are some professional pictures I had taken at Fotogenix while we were in Utah. I used City Deals and I believe they cost me $40 for 16 copyright-free images on a cd. I applied an Maggie Holmes PS action to them to give them the yellowish tint. Love the way they turned out!

I don't usually do-over

2011-09-07T10:43:00.001+08:00

I'm not one for making pages, only to disassemble and remake them again. Heaven knows no one has time for that. I made this page and was satisfied with the results:

But when I saw this adorable Playground product line from Echo Park, I knew I'd have to reconsider. In about 7 minutes, I had the new page made.

In the meantime, my original page had been posted and chosen on ClubCK as an entry for a contest to be published in an upcoming magazine. Thanks to all your votes it won!

Now, this month, in Creating Keepsakes October 2011, you can find it on page 42 of this magazine. It's hitting newstands now!

So even though it's a published layout, and I'm deeply honored that it was chosen, it's into the recycle bin; and I'm printing the new version for my book.

Which one do you like better?

July 1-15

2011-09-05T17:18:00.000+08:00

Just finally getting around to July stuff. I feel like I'm drowning in photos.

Here is a banner I made for the holiday.

Preschool Art

2011-09-02T21:20:00.002+08:00

Here is an album I just completed detailing the artwork Maya has done as a preschooler. It documents her journey through 5 different preschools in 4 different countries.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Hari Merdeka!

2011-08-31T21:44:00.000+08:00

Today is the national day of Malaysia commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya from British colonial rule in 1957. It is different from Malaysia Day (September 16th, when the formation of Malaysia occurred a few years later). There are flags displayed on many of the buildings downtown and on many people's homes.

Today as we were driving home from Singapore, there were also flags decorating many cars and lots of light posts. At each of the rest areas along the highway, there were food stalls and lots of people.

I'm not exactly sure how they celebrate, but I know there is a big fireworks display at one of the stadiums. I'm anticipating hearing or seeing a few tonight as it gets dark.

Selamat Hari Raya!

2011-08-28T08:17:00.003+08:00

It has been Ramadan all month long again. This weekend we are starting a week long holiday off of school and work. A couple of holidays are occuring -- the Muslims are celebrating the end of the fasting with a two-day celebration, and the Malaysians are celebrating Merdeka Day (more on that in another post). We are celebrating the days off by going to Universal Studios in Singapore.

We hit the road today. We hopefully timed it that we are behind the mass traffic exodus out of the city. Part of the tradition of Eid al-Fitr is to go home to one's place of birth, so it's a lot like Thanksgiving in that the whole country is traveling.

I've found it interesting how Ramadan has differed here from Egypt. Just as Christmas is different from culture to culture, so is Ramadan. They have different names here for different things. This holiday is known in Malaysia as Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Though we haven't attended a break the fast as we did in Egypt last year, we have witnessed a lot of people doing it nearby in the mall. About 6pm, the mall starts to fill with people who buy their food, sit at a table, and proceed to stare at it for another hour and a half before consuming -- all the while occupying the table. Outside in the park, the place is filled with picnickers waiting for the signal to begin eating.

Hari Raya Aidilfitri is the most significant celebration for Muslims, Eid al Fitr, as it signifies the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. It is determined by sighting of the new moon on the day before the next month on the Muslim calendar.

The words ‘Hari Raya’ means 'day of celebration.' Muslims start the day by wearing new clothes and congregating in the mosques early in the morning to perform Hari Raya Puasa prayers followed by visiting the graves of the departed. The young will ask for forgiveness from their elders and have open house for relatives and friends to come to their house. Plenty of traditional Malay delicacies are served during this festive season. Houses are thoroughly cleaned and decorated, and lighting of oil lamps welcomes the angels which are believed to be visiting the earth during the seven days preceding the festival. The celebration lasts for a month but most of the celebration is concentrated in the first three days

The Muslims also give packets of money to kids when they go visiting. The packets are usually green in colour and children often look forward to getting these money tokens on Hari Raya Puasa.

Yesterday I spent the day shopping by myself (Dave has been in Australia all week again) and the mall was packed with people buying new clothing for the holiday (part of the tradition.)

I took this picture of Ethen by a mall display which was selling festive delicacies, new hijabs, and various things. It is a traditional Malay house surrounded by fresh flowers.

Becky Higgins featured my page!

2011-08-25T11:22:00.000+08:00

Okay, a double-whammy. Two sites are featuring my pages today. I am so stoked! But to be included on Becky Higgins' website is WAY awesome. She is one of the long-time scrappers whose work I have admired for decades! (Not to mention I've given her tons of money for her awesome products!)

Yesterday she asked her blog followers how they document hard things, in light of yesterday's earthquake in VA. I submitted to her my page on Hurricane Ike -- the one we went through in Houston.

Go here to see it.

Gallery Highlight

2011-08-25T09:05:00.000+08:00

My Menara KL page is featured this week at Creating Keepsakes ClubCK website as one of the gallery highlights. Check it out.

Beautiful Evidence

2011-08-24T20:10:00.003+08:00

Here is a photobook I created for my mother-in-law's birthday. Her kids and grandkids all provided some pictures and letters for me to include.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Summer Days w/ Cousins

2011-08-20T16:42:00.002+08:00

Maya's First Week of Kindergarten

2011-08-19T17:36:00.000+08:00

She's an old pro. Maya's first week of Kindergarten was cake. She had no trouble getting on the bus and waving goodbye. I didn't have any anxiety for sending her. Ethen is the one getting the short end of the deal. He runs to her when she comes home and says, "Maya's home!" and gives her a big hug.

Fast Forward: We are now two weeks into the school year. The only mishaps have been falling down while she was line leader (oh no, do I have a "Sharla" on my hands?) and writing her J backwards. She's lovin' it and so am I.

Next week we start into piano lessons, ballet, Glee club, Dance Fusion, and swimming. I'm finally feeling like life is going to be a little bit normal.

High Tea

2011-08-18T18:07:00.002+08:00

This is my friend Hilary.

When I took this picture of her, she was pregnant. She has since delivered a beautiful baby boy, Ryan. I am just now getting around to posting the pictures from her "Baby Sprinkle." She didn't want a traditional shower with gifts. She instead invited us all to tea at this place.

It is Carcosa Seri Negara. The Carcosa mansion was built in 1896-1897 as the official residence of Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham the first British High Commissioners in Malaya of the then Resident-General of the Federated Malay States. If you feel inclined you can read more about it here.

Apparently it is THE place to have English tea in Kuala Lumpur.

I have never had tea before, or been to a real tea party for that matter. It was delightful!

Since we were all LDS, we chose from the non-tea-leaf tea. What ever that is. My choice was caramel vanilla tea.

With enough cream and sugar, it was actually pretty good. Of course, when you pair it with these lovelies, how can you go wrong?

The company was better. Thank you ladies for a fun afternoon out.

June 16-30

2011-08-17T19:53:00.000+08:00

Ethen's Quote of the Day

2011-08-16T22:46:00.002+08:00

I think it's time to start a new series of posts with Ethen's verbal gems. There have been a few that I've not posted and already forgotten.

Today he said, "I want to go on an airplane." Ugh, I don't.

Like usual, eating his dinner is a chore. Tonight at 8:30pm I'm still trying to coax it into him.

Me: Have a bite.
Ethen: Do you want a bite?
Me: No.
Ethen: Is it yucky?
Me: No, it's good. Mommy ate all her food. Now it's Ethen's turn.
Ethen: Do you want a bite?
Me: No. Eat a bite. You can't get out of your chair until you have a bite.

Repeat above conversation 3 times before finally seeing success of one bite.
Now repeat entire process for only 4 bites of food.

Malacca Beach

2011-08-15T20:52:00.002+08:00

I have to post a picture of this funny sign that was at the pool. Sadly, I've seen just about every no-no listed here. Ironically, I think it's a more welcome sight than the alternative...

June 1-15

2011-08-13T18:49:00.004+08:00

Elephant Refuge

2011-08-12T19:51:00.002+08:00

Menara KL and Sze Ya Temple

2011-08-11T19:11:00.000+08:00

Lovin Life

2011-08-10T07:37:00.001+08:00

This, my friends, is why Dave wants to have a cabin and a boat. He's related to these people, and knows just how much fun it is, because he grew up doing it.

These are the Keslers, (as in the IGA in Blackfoot). They are his cousins. This is their 2nd annual music video.

Love it! Love them!

This is their video from last summer:

Batu Caves

2011-08-08T19:05:00.004+08:00

Putrajaya

2011-08-08T19:04:00.000+08:00

Borneo Beach Sunset

2011-08-08T19:02:00.000+08:00

Playing Catch-Up

2011-08-07T18:48:00.001+08:00

Vacation is always good. However, there is always the day you get back. Real life hits you again, and in our case, so does jet lag.

I feel like I'm drowning. My "to-do" list is a mile long and I can't focus on one project because of the other 100 that are looming.

Maya starts school tomorrow. Kindergarten. Wow. I'm excited for her, and excited for me too, so maybe I can get on top of this pile a little.

I missed a few deadlines last month, so I am frantically trying to play catch-up and will be for quite awhile. I know you are all riveted on my blog, and can hardly wait until the next post. Here is a little bit of what I've done lately.

Seven Reasons Suggesting You've Been Out of the US For Too Long

2011-07-21T11:19:00.000+08:00

Your child asks you what a penny is.
You get honked at for passing someone on the right shoulder. (There's like a whole lane over there!)
Seeing the American flag makes you teary.
Seeing the Target sign makes you teary.
Your daughter says that her Wendy's Kids Meal is the best dinner ever.
Every song on the radio is new to you.
You have no idea who Justin Bieber is.

Mom and Grandma

2011-07-15T09:53:00.001+08:00

I spent the weekend in Idaho with my grandma, my mom, and my oldest sister. I took the kids to see Grandma Great. They were troopers making the 6-hour car trip only to spend the weekend in a nursing home.

It was so nice to be with family.

I love this picture. Both with snowy white hair. The resemblance between them. Mom found out this week she is going to be a great-grandma, so that makes Grandma Rosemary a Great Great. Truly.

Maya's First Rainbow

2011-07-13T10:45:00.001+08:00

For a few months, Maya's wish has been to see a rainbow. She was convinced that while in Utah, her two wishes would come true. One: to see fireworks, and two: to see a real rainbow. Fireworks were easy. She loved them.

However, the Lord provided her second wish come true in a very awesome way. Shining right down onto the Salt Lake Temple. It was beautiful!

Mastering the Monkey Bars

2011-07-02T21:14:00.001+08:00

May 16-31

2011-06-28T14:18:00.000+08:00

10,000+

2011-06-27T10:23:00.005+08:00

Wow. The blog hop was a resounding success and I hit a milestone. Thanks to you all, I hit my 10,000 blog hit mark! WOWEE!

This map shows how people from all over the world have visited Scraps of Shirlee! Over 2,000 people came over the weekend to download my freebie and that is just AWESOME!

Jessica Sprague Blog Hop Stop 46

2011-06-25T11:00:00.009+08:00

Wow, you've come a long way!!! You've hopefully arrived to my blog from http://sherimaehorton.blogspot.com (if not, see bottom) ...

Here's a look at what I've created with this FAB kit:

Time has passed and freebie has expired. Thank you!

Your next stop is:
http://smilingcolors.com

Blog Hop

2011-06-24T08:28:00.002+08:00

Want some free stuff? I am participating in my first ever blog hop starting Friday, June 24 at 10pm, EST. Details below.

Creating Keepsakes Publish

2011-06-18T19:56:00.003+08:00

It's here folks! The issue that features my first ever published page! Woo hoo!

Grab a copy and a friend and say, "Hey! I know this person!"

I'm still patiently waiting on the slow boat for a copy of it myself.

Borneo Jungle

2011-06-17T20:41:00.000+08:00

May 1-15

2011-06-16T21:44:00.001+08:00

Memorial Day

2011-06-15T17:21:00.001+08:00

Park Seven

2011-06-14T08:22:00.000+08:00

Finally getting around to posting some pictures of our house.

Summer Sale at JessicaSprague.com

2011-06-13T14:11:00.002+08:00

JessicaSprague.com is FOUR! To celebrate, they're (we're) throwing a HUGE Birthday Bash & Summer Sale. From June 14-26, you can save 20% off of every self-paced class, and 35% off of ALL digital products. In addition, grab all 27 episodes of Jessica's amazing Photoshop Friday tutorials for just $1 each before they're retired on June 26! As part of the celebration, starting on June 24, you can participate in an incredible 47-person blog hop, picking up a sweet digital freebie at each stop! Best of all, on June 26 Jessica will be making a special announcement of a brand new class coming up in July. We only put our site on sale two times a year, so don't miss out on this GREAT savings opportunity! For all the info on the Summer Sale, Photoshop Fridays, blog hop, and the new class, just click here!

Company Dinners

2011-06-12T13:51:00.014+08:00

I've always found company dinners to be painful. On the outside, they seem like a fun thing to do -- free food, unique people, and opportunity to get out of the house and hire a babysitter. But that's really just the surface. I usually end up watching the clock, waiting for a chance to bolt. Am I the only one who feels like this? Do you enjoy going to your spouses' company dinners?

This past couple of weeks I've attended 3 said dinners. The first seemed worthwhile. Dave is celebrating his 5-year mark with Transocean and the dinner was celebrating all those with 5-, 10-, or even 40-year milestones.

They chose a Swiss restaurant called "Chalet" (are they all named that?? Dave just got back from eating at LE CHALET restaurant in Gruyeres, Switzerland. Truly, one of the coolest places on the planet. I was glad he got to make this trip, because while we lived in Switzerland I got to go 3 times, and he was always working. But I digress...) Anyway, after the preamble of congratulating everyone, we started our meal by opening the wine with a sword. That actually, was pretty cool. I'm thinking by now that maybe I'll get some raclette and good swiss beef and butter (will they truly have Swiss butter?)

But someone found it convenient to have a preset menu (never a good choice). I am no foodie, and when this is the case I barely recognize anything on the menu. Let me preface this all by saying that I loathe seafood. Tuna is all I can do. Yes, I've tried all the "less fishy" stuff, and I still can't do it.

I'm used to having the starter salad being gross, whether it be crab or romaine. Either way, I know it will be no good. Next comes 3 huge oysters disguised with some cheese melted on top. Even the Indian across from me can't stomach them. In my opinion, anything you have to follow with Lime Sorbet to get the taste out of your mouth isn't worth eating. I did, however, eat the sorbet.

Next came the toughest beef ever. Not Swiss. For sure. But I was too involved in the man telling the story about how used to be a Blackjack card counter and has been literally thrown out of casinos by thugs.

The music at this restaurant was pretty mellow. A live band wandered from table to table. They came to us and invited the 40-year milestoner to choose a song. He chose "Feelings." So now, the whole table starts singing. I am the only one laughing, everyone else is serious. Truly one of the most entertaining moments. Only topped when the chef brought out his flame and mixing bowl and started jamming with the band with his spoon beating the time of the music as he makes the meal.

That was dinner #1.

Number Two sounded less interesting: The 21st Annual Oilmen's Gala Dinner. When I hear "semi-formal" I've learned that it will probably be boring. This one had particularly disgusting food. Every course had some sort of fish, from crab salad to curried mussel soup, again a sorbet to get the nasty taste out of your mouth, cod filet with squid inside eggplant rolls, finally finished with berry mille feuille. Whatever that is. I should have eaten the mac n cheese I fed the kids before I left.

The band was your typical Malaysian cover band singing everything from "Endless Love," to what sounded like the Love Boat Theme, to Peter Cetera, Laura Branigan, etc. They do love their love ballads here. That act was followed by some funny Chinese man impersonating a Chinese man who then impersonated Michael Jackson. Seems we had one of those in Egypt...

We got some cool leis at the party though. Oh, and a cool laser pointer.

Dinner #3 was kind of an event. It was a Transocean Family Weekend at Thistle Port Dickson, a resort on the Malacca Strait. We were a day late to this because of above gala. Only an hour and a half's drive from KL, we had a fun time on the beach. I attended a very poorly administrated family activity and decided to bag the rest of them, and took to the beach while Dave attended team building exercises. Good choice.

We had another dinner that night and drank what I suspected was hibiscus, or we could have had coconut milk out of the coconut. I avoided the stingray wrapped in banana leaf and went for a hefty helping of potatoes. (It's in my roots.)

I was actually impressed that the company would send us all to this great resort for 3 days. Maybe company dinners aren't so bad after all . . .

POSTSCRIPT: After reading this, I forgot to comment on the people. I am a small-town girl, I admit it. I remember my dad commenting on my table manners (or lack thereof) and trying to teach me to eat properly. Let's just say Dave had to teach me the hand-sign "b" and "d" trick so I could figure out which bread and which drink was mine. Anyway, while I was desperately trying to choose the right fork, I was also trying to make conversation with people I don't know. Kudos to Dave who deals with these people every day. It is hard to decipher their English through thick Australian, British, Malay-Chinese, Malay-Indian, Malay, Russian, Scottish, French, you-get-the-point accents. I have to listen VERY hard (with my still one ear. No, I still don't have my hearing back). I always sweat bullets when someone actually directs a question towards me. I'm pretty sure I offended no less than one person. One guy asked me where I was from. Before my brain could react I blurted, "Do you know Idaho?" I was fairly certain he was American, though his accent was Eastern. But at least I was smart enough NOT to say, "The United States." Duh.

Be. Live. Love.

2011-06-10T16:03:00.000+08:00

I love this kid.

Mount Kinabalu

2011-06-09T09:40:00.000+08:00

Borneo Beach

2011-06-08T12:53:00.000+08:00

Dog Door

2011-06-06T15:52:00.000+08:00

Old pictures, but I needed to get this documented. Silly boy.

April 16-30

2011-06-04T12:09:00.003+08:00

Grand Prix

2011-06-01T19:50:00.003+08:00

Someone thought it would be a good idea to celebrate this event by lighting off fireworks at 1am. For 3 nights straight, we were awakened to the startling sound of fireworks.

Check it out!

2011-05-31T18:13:00.009+08:00

Super excited about this!!! I was asked to create a free template for the DigiLovely blog. I use templates whenever I can to jumpstart a layout and save oodles of time. If you'd like this one for free, go to here now to download. (It's a Photoshop Elements file). I'd love to see what you create with it, so post it in the gallery when you're done.

Here is my take on the template:

Dad and Mom in Malaysia

2011-05-30T16:07:00.001+08:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

I Wanna Be A Cowgirl

2011-05-29T19:20:00.008+08:00

I loved this day. Maya put on my cowboy hat and boots and was instantly transformed in to a singing sensation. She started throwing out "y'all" and "yee-haw" and the song she made up is precious. I adore this girl.

Seven Days in May

2011-05-23T16:42:00.001+08:00

Life is Beautiful

2011-05-16T20:51:00.002+08:00

This really isn't my style of scrapbooking. As you can see from my last page post, I put a whopping 20 photos on my layout. Occasionally I do a page with just one photo, but it's rare. I used some blending modes and textures on this page and really put some skills I've been learning lately to use. I love the way it turned out. I was actually trying to photograph Ethen on this day. He just wouldn't cooperate or sit still. Maya, however would. She is really turning into a beautiful girl, growing up before my very eyes.

Maya's Quote of the Day

2011-05-14T09:01:00.002+08:00

Maya just came up to me and very seriously said, "Mommy, while Daddy is gone I need you to do two important things for me. Water my plants and wash my panties."

Dave is leaving for a week to go to Switzerland. We would have gone with him, except this is an all work no play kind of trip.

So, we opted to have my parents come and visit for a couple of weeks. We are super excited to have them here.

Luckily I won't have to fill the apparently large shoes that Dave fills around here by myself.

Butterfly Garden

2011-05-12T20:08:00.000+08:00

April 1-15

2011-05-12T10:05:00.000+08:00

Bird Park

2011-05-11T10:09:00.000+08:00

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T19:40:00.002+08:00

The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. The young years are often those when either husband or wife – or both – may still be in school or in those earliest and leanest stages of developing the husband’s bread winning capacities. Finances fluctuate daily between low and nonexistent. The apartment is usually decorated in one of two smart designs – Deseret Industries provincial or early Mother Hubbard. The car, if there is one, runs on smooth tires and an empty tank. But with night feedings and night teethings, often the greatest challenge of all for a young mother is simply fatigue. Through these years, mothers go longer on less sleep and give more to others with less personal renewal for themselves than any other group I know at any other time in life.

One young mother wrote recently that her anxiety tended to come on three fronts. One was that whenever she heard talks on LDS motherhood, she worried because she felt she didn’t measure up or somehow wasn’t going to be equal to the task. Secondly, she felt like the world expected her to teach her children reading, writing, interior design, Latin, calculus, and the internet—all before the baby said something terribly ordinary, like “goo goo.” Thirdly, she often felt people were sometimes patronizing, almost always without meaning to be, because the advice she got or even the compliments she received seemed to reflect nothing of the mental investment, the spiritual and emotional exertion, the long-night, long-day, stretched-to-the-limit demands that sometimes are required in trying to be and wanting to be the mother God hopes she will be.

But one thing, she said, keeps her going: “Through the thick and the thin of this, and through the occasional tears of it all, I know deep down inside I am doing God’s work. I know that in my motherhood I am in an eternal partnership with Him. I am deeply moved that God finds His ultimate purpose and meaning in being a parent, even if some of His children make Him weep.

“It is this realization,” she says, “that I try to recall on those inevitably difficult days when all of this can be a bit overwhelming.

“Maybe it is precisely our inability and anxiousness that urge us to reach out to Him and enhance His ability to reach back to us. Maybe He secretly hopes we will be anxious,” she said, “and will plead for His help. Then, I believe, He can teach these children directly, through us, but with no resistance offered. I like that idea,” she concludes. “It gives me hope. If I can be right before my Father in Heaven, perhaps His guidance to our children can be unimpeded. Maybe then it can be His work and His glory in a very literal sense.”

In light of that kind of expression, it is clear that some of those shadows under [mothers’] eyes come not just from diapers and carpooling but from at least a few sleepless nights spent searching the soul, seeking earnestly for the capacity to raise these children to be what God wants them to be.

Moved by that kind of devotion and determination, may I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you. He knows that your giving birth to a child does not immediately propel you into the circle of the omniscient. If you and your husband will strive to love God and live the gospel yourselves; if you will plead for that guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit promised to the faithful; if you will go to the temple to both make and claim the promises of the most sacred covenants a woman or man can make in this world; if you will show others, including your children, the same caring, compassionate, forgiving heart you want heaven to show you; if you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to do.

Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.” You are doing God’s work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master’s garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and sometimes weep over their responsibility as mothers, “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.” And it will make your children whole as well.

“Because She Is A Mother,” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Ensign, May 1997, 35–37

One of my favorites that now strikes home to me. Happy Mother's Day. You are all amazing.

March 16-31

2011-05-08T13:49:00.004+08:00