I'm A Glam-Mother!

Friends have been asking me how life as a grandmother is like. I really don't know how to answer that question because I have not done any grandmotherly things other than buying my grandson clothes, socks, shoes and a bib!

Baby clothes are so cute. Just take a look at this...

or this.

Aren't they simply irresistible?

Okay! That's enough gushing over baby clothes.

The reason for my lack of opportunity to do any grandmotherly stuff is mainly because our times with our grandson are much too few and far between. Those precious moments are spent enjoying him, watching him, adoring him and trying to commit as much of him to memory as we possibly can. 

At our age there is only that much we can commit to memory and so I thank God for the iPhone. Hubby and I cannot take enough photos or videos of him. It sounds so silly but I review his photos and videos on a daily basis! People looking at me will see a crazy woman smiling and gazing adoringly at her phone but happy is the day and happy is the heart of this grandmother whenever I receive new updated photos or videos of our Grandson.

Photos and videos are really no substitute for having our little prince, our champ, our No. 1 (grandson that is; must qualify or my 'Bee will be offended that someone has usurped her position in my heart) with us but the photos and especially the videos, are better than nothing.

So what do I do since I am not tied down by by any grandmotherly duties? Why not be a Glam-Mother instead!

Believe it or not, these photos were taken the day my grandson was born!

On the day Grandson was born, which happened to be a Sunday, we visited 'Bee before we went to church. After church we were told that she was already in the delivery suite. No visitors were allowed so we went home and waited. 

When there was still no news in the late afternoon I decided to keep the appointment for a makeup and photoshoot session I had registered for. I was prepared to rush off half-way if necessary but Grandson took his time and so I managed to complete the whole session. 

Looks like I'm meant to be a Glam-Mother! But you know what, I would trade all the glamour for more time doing grandmotherly stuff with Grandson. He is growing up so fast. I hope he knows he has a Kung Kung and Por Por who love him very, very much even though we are not around to watch him grow. 

Personal DNA Report

A long, long time ago 'bee did a personality test and the results were pretty accurate. Out of curiosity, I also took the test. The results came and after a cursory look I filed it away. I came across the report again a few days today. This is what it says about me.

You are an Analyst

• Your attention to detail, confidence, sense of order, and focus on functionality combine to make you an ANALYST.  

• You are very curious about how things work, delving into the mechanics behind things. Along those lines, how well something works is usually more important to you than what it looks like. 

• You find beauty and wonder mainly in concrete, functional, earthly things. 

• You are very aware of your own abilities, and you believe that you will find the best way of doing things. 

• Accordingly, problems do not intimidate you, as you believe in yourself. 

• You trust yourself to find solutions within the boundaries of your knowledge.
  

• You don't spend a lot of time imagining how things could be different—you're well-grounded in the here-and-now.  

• It is important for you to follow a routine, and you prefer the familiar to the unknown. 

• You're not one to force your positions on a group, and you tend to be fair in evaluating different options.

• You prefer to have time to plan for things, feeling better with a schedule than with keeping plans up in the air until the last minute.

• Generally, you believe that you control your life, and that external forces only play a limited role in determining what happens to you.

If you want to be different:

• Try to embrace the imaginative, creative part of your personality more often. 

• Try moving beyond the things that you find comfortable—open yourself up to a broader range of experiences.

You are Faithful

• Your trust in others, respect for tradition, and caring nature make you FAITHFUL. 

• Maintaining a few intimate relationships is more important to you than knowing a lot of people, and you share a lot with your close friends.

• Those who have managed to get close to you value your camaraderie, and they know that they can trust you with anything; you're a good listener. 

• While you can usually see several sides of an argument, you often have a strong opinion as to which side is correct—the order of things is usually clear to you. 

• Your perspective on the world is based on careful observation, and you know a lot about how people feel in—and react to—many situations. 

• Your exploration of others' feelings has led you to believe that although people generally act appropriately, having clear social rules is very important to a functional society. 

• Time alone for reflection is important to you—you are introspective and aware of your own feelings. 

• Faithful is as faithful does—you expect those with whom you are close to be loyal to you, and you take betrayal of your trust very seriously.

If you want to be different:

• Some of the alternate perspectives that you understand may have more value than you give them credit for—keep in mind that right and wrong aren't always so clear-cut.

• While you are able to reap the benefits of your time alone, and may see interacting with a lot of people as more tiring than exciting, remember that there is a lot to be learned from experiencing things and not just reflecting on them.

Is it accurate or not? Some comments from people who know me well will help to balance the findings above.

Birthday Presents 2012

I love birthdays! The narcissistic part of me simply loves the attention that I get once a year. I love the parties, if there are any, and I love receiving and opening the presents.

This birthday I received...

A lovely blue kebaya from my colleagues and sarongs from Baby Sis

Hair clips from Day Bi and his darling

Chocolates from Night Bi and his sweetheart

And...

A box of Aesop goodies comprising Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser, Geranium Leaf Body Balm, Violet Leaf Hair Balm and Rosehip Seed Lip Creme

Feet and Toes

Freshly pedicured toes certainly deserve new footwear.

Toes are wearing my current favourite O.P.I. colour, Bogota Blackberry.

Feet are trying out this style of casual footwear for the first time. They look good on other feet and also looked fine on my feet at the shop. Today? Hmmm, like something is not right. 

Cramp

Last Sunday I suffered a cramp in my right foot while walking at Queensbay Mall. Too much exercise in one day. Non-stop walking for 3 hours. 

Done

Submitted my four lesson plans and one 30-minute lesson worksheet to my trainer last night.

Received further "revelation" in the night and this morning.

Looks like the lesson plans and micro-training session are going to evolve until the day I present them.

No way that they are going to look like anything I've submitted.

I envy those people, usually the guys, who can work last minute and thus save a lot of revision time or those others, again usually men, who can work on something and not go back to fine tune it once it's done even though they have time to do so.

Experimenting

...with photo effects and I must say that I am having a lot of fun and liking it. Very much indeed!

My original photo

Here are some of the effects I tried on out on that original picture above. It's simply amazing! Especially for a non-techy person.
 

Not Ready

Christmas is sneaky this year. It crept up to me unawares. I'm not ready.

Glassy Problem

I hate these glasses of mine. They don't suit me at all.

I don't understand why some people can look so gaya in glasses whereas I look so dungu in them?

But I can't change them for the moment because of the cataract on the left eye.

If I remove the cataract, I cannot wear glasses because of difference in power for both eyes will be too great. According to the optometrist that'll cause me a lot of problems.

I can wear contacts on one side, which I do, but I don't want to wear contacts all the time.

All I want is a pair of glasses that makes me look good and is not too heavy so it doesn't press down and leave two depressions on both sides of my nose.

Susah la.

It Followed Me Home From Maui

The week after I came back from Maui was super hectic. I was recovering from jet lag, settling back to the daily life, preparing my lesson plan and slides for FIS (Facilitator Initiation Seminar) on 10 November and getting to preach on 13 November.

I only had time to finish my unpacking after all the hoo-ha was over. I was clearing the handbag I used in Maui when, to my horror, I found.....

...my room key at HI!

I was very certain that I handed in my room key so why is it still with me? It must have followed me home!

That started a whole process of getting the key back to Maui via King, our HI SEA Regional Representative, and Albert Cheam, an ex-TOPian now residing in Johor Bahru, who was heading for Maui to attend the M1111x session.

Audiobooks

...are wonderful. I managed to finish three books in the past three months on the way to and from work. And home is just 10-15 minutes away.

That's redeeming the time.

I Did It

They said I would but I didn't...cry when watching "How To Train Your Dragon."

Personality Type

Melinda,

As an INFJ, you are hardworking, committed to your ideals and pride yourself on your integrity. Very perceptive about people and a good listener, you are skilled at generating creative solutions to people's problems. A thoughtful and careful decision maker, you prefer to have plenty of time to let your ideas "percolate" before taking action. And you tend to be a perfectionist, and quite driven to accomplish your goals.

I never cease to be amazed at the spot-on accuracy of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Amongst all the personality tests, and I've almost done all of them, I still prefer MBTI for its accuracy and simplicity.