Dark, dark, we all go into the dark

Martin Margiela

One Year Down....

For our first anniversary, we stayed at Snowbird for a quick weekend getaway. It was so beautiful in the canyon, the leaf colors were at their peak. We stayed at the Lodge at Snowbird and did all of the activities that Snowbird offers. Plus, it was Octoberfest, so there was polka music playing and LOTS of beer! We had a great time. Here are some pictures we took (I forgot to grab to memory card to our brand new camera, so we could only take a few... Ooops).

This first picture we took at Mimi's Cafe. It was so good. We decided to eat out on Friday and cook dinner on Saturday.

Here we are going on the ski lift at Snowbird. It was so pretty and nice, just got a little chilly towards to top of the mountain. It was so nice and relaxing. I was freaked out that Adam would drop the camera from the ski lift (after our proposal experience has taught me not to trust his grip on important things :)) so I made him give me the camera to take the picture!

This is at the top of the mountain. It was pretty windy, and Adam was freezing in shorts. I told him to change, but he didn't listen! The view was fantastic.

At Snowbird, there is a tunnel that takes you through the mountain from the ski lift so you can ski on the back side of the mountain. Adam thought it was so cool, like a little boy :) It was freezing in there, but fun.

We went on the alpine slide. It reminded me of the night Adam proposed. That was the only other time I had gone on the alpine slide :) Adam was going so fast that by the time the camera took the picture, he was almost out of it!

Here's me on the zip line. Adam took this picture over his shoulder as he was going down too. I still can't believe he actually got me in the picture. He's got skills.

The tramp takes you to the peak of the mountain. Here we are at the top. Just behind our heads you could see Heber! What a view!

Now, this picture was an adventure. After we check out of our hotel on Sunday, we went for a drive up the canyon the rest of the way. Adam remembered a short hike to Cecret Lake (yes, that is how it's spelled) so we decided to hike it. It was really easy and only half a mile. It was perfect weather so we stopped at the lake to look for salamanders before heading back down. As I looked in the water, there was a flash in the water followed by the loudest BOOM. Adam said, "Did you see how close that was?!?" It started to sprinkle lightly, but we didn't want to leave yet because we had just gotten there. Two seconds later after another FLASH and BOOM, we decided it might be best to start hiking back down. As soon as we left the lake, the rain got heavier and turned into hail! I swear the temperture dropped 20 degrees in two mintues, and we started running down laughing, getting soaked by the rain and then pelted by the hail! It was freezing, our pants and shoes where soaked and muddy, and we got so wet. Rivers were created where they were dry on our way up. It hailed an inch, almost two, in some places. This picture was when the hail first started, so we are only slightly wet. By the time we got to the car, our shirts were soaked halfway down and my hair was dripping wet! It was an experience we will never forget!

Breadou cuteness

slacked at bugis with Tama. saw cousin Kerin! LOL. bought his lip stud. gonna buy my white 1 peice soon XD~ bought breadou. well actually it's for hand rest. so SQUEEZABLE! XD! (it stinks to me btw) wat a real spastic face hahaaa. got free sticker too!!! :X~ ate at de beancurd place again *^.^*

















fed night neko when i came back. played wif her aft dat. she's feeling "high" today. cuz i kept running in circles literally and she kept following me LOL. she jus kept running aft me and wanted ALOT of caresses on her head. sweet thing. =)


today u seemed distracted by me? heh~

I've got nothing to wear corner

The Guardian's women's page editor, Kira Cochrane, has been monitoring the process of her slow weightloss. She has not weighed herself but used her own clothes to work out if she's heading in the right direction. Now she's down to UK size 16, US 12, she has discovered that she can't find anything to buy in the shops:

The reality is that as you get bigger, your clothing options get much, much smaller. Once you reach a size 16 or more, buying brilliant - or even just marginally attractive - clothes on the high street is markedly more difficult. This is ridiculous. Just because you've gained a few pounds, it doesn't mean that you're any less likely to want clothes that are colourful, exciting, flattering - in fact, buying fantastic clothes that boost your confidence becomes even more of a necessity in the face of rampant anti-fat sentiment. What you're too often faced with is a mountain of frump and I'm convinced that someone could make an absolute killing by setting up a boutique selling clothes in size 16 and above by cutting-edge young designers. There are those who argue that fat people should be stigmatised, that by offering them nothing but ugly tents to wear, they're more likely to lose weight. Actually, the opposite is true. Deprived of easy access to threads that make you feel presentable, finding solace in the fridge is the obvious next step.

The heelless boot

As worn, inevitably, by Mrs Beckham

I'm sorry what did you say??????

** Warning this a long rambling rant

Remember I said I would have a post about arrogance, well here it is.

So those of you who have followed my blog for a while will remember that I was in the process of getting approval to launch a new division of my company, that approval was granted and I have been busy ever since coming up with detailed planning documents and a ton of other stuff I won't bore you with.

So about 2 months ago someone got the bright idea to hire and actuary to help me build a portion of this business, I protested saying I didn't see the need as the work to be done was limited and after Jan. I would not have work to support a full time employee, no need in hiring someone just to fire them 6 months later. Hence I was working with a consultant instead of hiring a full time person. However the powers that be and someone who wants to be king of the kingdom, decided he wanted an new prince. Enter Sam (not his real name), I interviewed Sam for about 30 mins, what can you really tell in 30 mins? Nothing!!! Keep in mind he is not my direct hire and he was only going to be of value to me till Jan. hence the need for only 30 mins. So Sam is hired and started about 3 1/2 weeks ago. On the first day he was arrogant and or as some of us thought just socially inept. On day 4 he asked me for a prefered time to meet to discuss things since he was told I was the key player on most items he was to be working on. I said sure, anytime but Tuesday afternoons as I have a busy Tuesday mornings and I need the afternoons to catch up. Well, the very next day he scheduled a meeting for the very time I asked him not to. When I asked him if it was a mistake he replied "No." I then asked if he recalled our conversation about times to schedule the meeting and he replied "Yes, but I outrank you so I set it up when it was convenient for me."

Ladies (and men if you are reading) it took everything I had not to grab him by the balls tie his manhood in a knot and hurl him out the window. Who the hell did he think he was? While his title is AVP and mine is Director, we are not in the same reporting structure and as a matter of fact I am awaiting board approval for the same title, not that he has anyway of knowing that on day 5! I informed him I indeed would not be at his meeting and marched into the SrVP office and told him that I expected a full apologize and who the hell did he think he was telling me he outranked me! The Sr. VP assured me that he would smooth things over and not only speak to Sam but Sam's boss as well. The next day Sam begrudgingly apologized (if you can call it that) and rescheduled the meeting. Fast forward to last Friday, which I have determined is the day he likes to stir things up. Sam is speaking with my compliance officer (CO) and asked who is in charge of my division, CO replies, Stephanie is. Sam says "No, I mean who has the final say about that division", again CO says Stephanie. Sam says, "I really I don't see her as a peer." CO replies "Well if I were you I would show her some deference because she has final say on the division and she has no hesitation picking up the phone and calling the CEO to get what she needs done." Yahoo!!!! for CO, I think I owe him dinner.

Bottom line this guy is a pain in my ass and will try to undermine me at every turn. He clearly has a problem with women or is just super stuck on titles. I have 10 years to his 3 weeks and I am a hell of a lot more connected then he is, so I am trying to figure out how long he will last because I am not the only one he has shown his arrogant side to, he has pissed just about everyone he has come in contact off. So my over under on his tenure is 8 months. :)

Let me know your thoughts on how you would handle my new friend!

My Booker dress

not me, not the dress, but yes - Av

I took in my MaxMara dress and my L.K. Bennett shoes to Avsh Alom Gur at Ossie Clark this afternoon. I felt as if I had asked Saul Bellow if he'd like to join my book group to discuss Bridget Jones' Diary. The seams! The stitching! The horror!

No, he said. This is not good enough. No. No.

He has given me an Oscar length blue and back sheer silk georgette dress with sleeves and is designing and making me a full length slip to go under it. He is also lending me a Donna Karan wrap (he used to work for her) to arrive and leave in. He is giving me a pair of vertiginous heels. When I said, 'I can hardly walk in these,' he said: 'They cost £600. I'm giving them to you. Are you sure you can't walk in them?'

UPDATE
I had an email late last night from Av, which contained a detailed list of everything I needed to wear and know for the big night. All I can say is, I know now how the stars squeeze themselves into their Oscar dresses and how they come not to pay for them. I know which hair products to use, what bra to wear etc etc etc. I had two grown men giving me and hour and a half of extremely intense attention. I learned that my taste, which I thought was good, isn't all that when it comes to evening wear. The shoes I had bought on the basis that I could stand in them are going back. There are ongoing discussions involving the phrase 'Manolo Blahnik PR . . . product code.'

I now concede that black tie wear is out of my realm of experience. It's much much harder than it looks and Av has saved me. Thank god for him. Oh, And did I forget to mention that he has also given me this?

F1 photos

will post my gate 1A "family" photo when i get them =) i'll let de pictures do de talkin ^.^!

i didn't get much pictures thou haha. (kept slackin during work =X) but it was crowded even thou our gates are for de vip. woo! XD yea. ok gtg. waitin for grp photos and gonna play ro now.

so give me a long kiss good night
and everything will be alright,
tell me that i won't feel a thing
so give me a novacaine...

Boxtops for Education... and the cool ways to earn points for your school

You might be thinking to yourself why am I writing about the topic Box Tops for Educations. Well, I am our schools chairperson for Box Tops and I have seen firsthand what the Box Tops program can provide in the way of free money and or products to schools who collect Boxtops.

Recently I was asked if I had ever used the Marketplace to earn Box Top points for my school! I had seen it but never ventured out to use it. So off I went to check it out. I must say I am in love! I had no idea that there were some many participating retailers. Here are some of the ones I frequent on a regular basis

Leap Frog
Kohl's
Old Navy
Oriental Trading Co.
Chadwick's
Overstock
And many many more.

Here is how it works go to the Box Tops website and sign up, select your child's school to be sure the points are directed to the school of your choice. Then check out the market place and get to shopping! Retailers will give anywhere from .5% to 3.5% of your purchase to the school you select. This program is only online but based on gas prices and some of the $0 shipping deals,not to mention the time saved shopping on the computer vs. trudging out to the store, you can receive I think it is great because it is a huge time saver for me and I am helping my children's school in the process.

In addition to the market place you can also earn points with these programs.

Clipping Box Tops: Clip Box Tops from hundreds of participating products and send them to the school of your choice. The school’s Box Tops Coordinator will collect the Box Tops, send them in to General Mills, and then the school will receive a check twice a year, up to $20,000 annually. This a lot of fun to do with your kids my kids have the job of checking out everything we throw in the trash to see if it has a box top on it. It's like I spy for box tops.

Reading Room:Box Tops for Education and Barnes & Noble have teamed up to bring you the newest way to earn cash for your school!Through the Reading Room, your school will earn 6% on your online purchases of new books, including textbooks and magazines. All other purchases, including gift cards, will earn a 3% donation for your school.

So go check it out and let me know what you think!

Dead past thirty

Quite coincidentally, a person called L. Grant of London asks Hadley why she can't find an evening dress with sleeves. It can't be me because I would never use the word 'lady' and Hadley would never edit down and rewrite a flawlessly worded query by a Booker shortlistee:

To paraphrase Kanye West's "George Bush doesn't care about black people" remark - albeit with more of an emphasis on frocks than housing - designers don't care about grown women.

Which is kinda odd, seeing as they tend to make up the majority of their customer base, given that it is a rare twentysomething who can afford to spend £800 on a dress for a night out with the girls. But, you see, older people don't model in the shows, and older people don't model in magazines and, perhaps most importantly, the only examples of older women many designers seem to be aware of are, in this order of importance, brittle fashion magazine editors, suspiciously well-preserved fortysomething actors and skeletal society mavens. These women tend to have twiggish upper arms which they are rather fond of showing off, if only to demonstrate to the masses that a life of sensory deprivation really does get you somewhere: to a place where smiling is no longer possible but short sleeves are. Now, there's a life well lived, I'd say.

The fashion industry, like many creative industries, has become so besotted by celebrity and magazine coverage that it occasionally forgets about those pesky little flies, "the customers". Yah, yah, let them eat cake, right? (And they probably actually do eat cake, those repulsive carb-gobbling fatties.)

Part of the problem comes from the dresses. A long-sleeved dress can make a lady look like the spells mistress at Hogwarts or, on a bad day, the Wicked Witch of the West. But this is why we have people called "designers", who are there to make clothes look nicer than we could ourselves. Which then brings us back to the original problem.

Formula 1 madness

hey guys~~ i jus got back from my last day of work at F1. i tell u.... I TOTALLY ENJOYED IT. i love it!! i love my frens!! fun fun FUN. XD will update wif photos and stuff in nx entry. anyway~ Stefan bro. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. u sounded so sad as usual. =( but u will be better right? tc. ok... wee.. i miss my job already. everyone was so united and was so DAMN "high" =D. gate 1 copied our style of guidin ppl out with high energy goodbyes and cheers. XD!!

GATE 1A... WE ROCK!!!!!

Sorry, you didn't get the part

A beautiful man

Last night I was wondering whether my headline about Paul Newman was correct, that he really was the last of the great Hollywood stars of his generation. Liz Taylor is still alive, and as the radio news pointed out a few moments ago, so is Clint Eastwood, arguably a greater actor and certainly a great director. But I can't imagine the same intense feelings of sadness and nostalgia when Eastwood dies, perhaps because he has always been a man's man, while Newman appealed across the board.

Paul Newman was a wonderful actor, a mensch and an all-round beautiful person. We rightly distrust the elevation of physical beauty, and we rightly argue that good looks don't equal moral character. But sometimes you just have to give in and say you're glad that the world is full of what is wonderful to look at. When Paul Newman smiled he lit up everything.

But even Paul Newman wasn't quite born beautiful, as his very first screen test with a guy called Jimmy reveals

Judy!

I wan to draw your attention to a new book by a dear friend of mine, Susie Boyt's My Judy Garland Life which is currently running through a series of rave reviews this weekend.

Susie is the daughter of Lucien Freud and great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud. She is always fabulous company, but in this work which is not quite memoir and not quite biography she traces the life of a lonely child who first heard Judy Garland sing Over the Rainbow and found a friend. It's a book about being a fan, and it's a book about feelings. Here's the first review:

This book is a bit insane. It is too much. It is well over the rainbow. It is embarrassing. At the same time it is a brilliant analysis of embarrassment; it suggests that such strength of feeling is maybe something “to be prized”. What a self-deprecating, funny, moving, entertaining read it is, a mad love letter (“I inhale her and exhale her”) from Susie Boyt to Judy Garland, who “created a whole new theatrical idiom in which glamour and frankness nudge and jostle unabashedly”. Its unabashedness is its delight, and a large part of its moral courage.

It conjures up a hopeless openness of empathy, presents its readers with a sensitivity which, by its nature, can't not be damaged, then radiates cowardly-lion bravery. It makes for a new kind of memoir, one that finds a way to insert, philosophically and emotionally, between the plain words “my” and “life”, the everyday pathos, bathos and surreality of being alive in the modern, celebrity-glutted, couldn't-care-less Western world. . . .

This book, though, is stark naked. It wears its vulnerability like a birthday suit, and does so for all of us, in a spirit of born celebration. Can cynicism really be so simply out-argued? Can a book really be so analytical and high-kicking, so fragile and defiant at the same time? An insecure, anguished, megalomaniac, voracious, truly altruistic piece of modern thought, this wonderfully clever book gives its whole self, flings its arms out in a rainy street like a wonderful diva. Brava.

And did I mention she writes a weekly column about clothes among other things in the Financial Times?

Last of the Greats

1925-2008

He had it all

What's up with retail stores pushing the season????

OK so the other day I am at Kohl's returning some stuff and I realize I am alone and I have a few precious moments to myself to shop ALONE, which is ultimate mom time for me. So I am strolling along founds some cute pants and a top then I stumble upon the picture frame and seasonal sections. I look up and straight ahead I see the Christmas section!!! Trees, ornaments Christmas cards, the whole nine yards, it is flipping September people!!! Of course this threw me into a high hover because I now have it in my mind that Christmas is just around the corner and I have nothing done. I am anal and I am a planner and so thanks to Kohl's I am now making freaking Christmas lists in September!

The kicker to this was that there was a Halloween display in the center aisle which only had about 2 shelves, I am a huge Halloween fan and to see only 2 shelves dedicated to one of my fav holiday's was quite the bummer too!

What's next are people going to set up Christmas tree stands in August! I hate that retail has done this to Christmas as I have always thought it is not about the gifts but instead the family and cheer!
Ba humbug

Something for the weekend

Shoe developments

Gianfranco Ferre

Wheels and stilts next

Prada heels

Selamat Hari Raya...Sayang...

raya tinggal 4 hari lg,so persediaan raya semua aku dh prepare... dri anak2 aku smpai lah aku semua aku dh sediakn!!! yup this year me and my family will raya kedah sbb nk jumpa tok yan!!huhu...lama btul aku x beraya style kampung,selalunye aku beraya kt kl je..

alahai,malasnye aku nk packing kain baju utk balik kedah,klu dok 2-3 hari bleh la pack baju sikit je tp ni stay smpai seminggu,dh la plak nk kena packing baju anak2 aku lg...LEtihnye(sigh)...

esok aku nk pegi ke kl beli baju utk stay kt kedah. ye larr maklumlah baju aku semuanye seksi2 xkn la aku nk stay in kedah nk pakai sexy gak,ishhh malu aku nnti!!!

kepada my sayang b... B MINTAK MAAF BYK2 sempena ari raya ni... b syang sgt kt awk!!!

again, i wanna wish SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI TO ALL...

My fashion hell

An update on the what shall I wear to the ball dilemma. In the last episode (see passim) I had bought an Issey Myake Pleats Please jacket but after several tryings on realised it just wasn't going to do. It's now gone back to Liberty. At Hadley Freeman's suggestion, I went to Donna Karan's flagship store in Mayfair which had a grand total of one dress with sleeves in my size and it wasn't suitable for a black tie event.

When Cinderella was invited to the ball by her fairy godmother, if I remember rightly it was mice who stayed up all night to fashion her gown.

Last week, during London Fashion Week, I emailed my friend Avsh Alom Gur, creative director at Ossie Clark but of course he was too busy to reply. I now have word that he can make me a couture garment. My appointment is Monday afternoon. I must bring the shoes I plan to wear and my 'underpinnings' - do you think he means Spanx?

Mt. Timp Temple Pics

Here you go Chantel. This is what I came up with. Let me know which one you like best so I can send it with Mom and Dad :) Oh, and the one on the bottom has a horrible lamp in it, but if you like that one better, I'll take the lamp out. It'll be way easy!

Einstein on clothes

Dressed by mother

The world, or rather a highly exclusive part of it, had to come to Einstein if it wanted an audience. And come it did. The most famous names of the era, like Max Planck, Rabindranath Tagore, Heinrich Mann, Chaim Weizmann and Käthe Kollwitz, made the pilgrimage to Caputh to see Einstein, and some were shocked to find him warmly greeting them barefoot and in his sailing shirt. (When Elsa Einstein complained about his informality, Einstein said, "If they want to see me, here I am. If they want to see my clothes, they can look in my closet.")

From here via here

The Clothes On Their Backs: US publication

The Clothes On Their Backs will be published in the US by Scribner in February. I will be joining on that list Annie Proulx, Don DeLillo, John Le Carre, Hanif Kureishi and up and coming writers like Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Details of further international editions (Dutch and Czech rights have also been sold) are available here

shushi tei

went for shushi tei at vivo wif cousin Rachael on a tues. (thks for treating me!) de food was greeeeat! yum yums. =D walked ard aft dat and chit chatted lots of stuff hahaa.















met up wif Tama aft dat at bugis. slacked, walked ard, ate at de beancurd thingy between dbhy goat(spell wrong i guess) and bugis. yumyum. he treat me =X~ wee.






and today(thus) met up wif him at bpp again. slacked and all dat. took bus & went home. omg lol! i sat at last row. so there's a platform at de end. bus arrived at my huse stop. den i stood up and i let go of de handle to go down de platform. BIG MISTAKE! LOL. right when i let go of de handle, de bus suddenly braked EXTREMELY hard. my god!!! i was flying. =D i cld have sworn i frighten de 3 primary sch boys sittin beside me and had them tinkin humans cld fly for a moment. IT WAS AN AMAZING FEELING... till de law of gravity decided it's enuff and i landed with a FREAKIN loud boom on de bus floor. *everyone turns to stare at Lirin* wee! man, i almost died of luffter when i alighted. (*^-^*) embarassing thou.

caramel sweets

i love my dancer. but trainin priest instead cuz Tama says dancer needs a bard. T_T~ oh well~~ mum bought for me a new "office" pants for tmr's F1 job. cuz they said no jeans allowed. XD~ i love it thou! cuz it's tight at de ankle area (tapered?) and it's fitting. not like those ugly "uncle" type. loose and baggy =_=~ heh..














bought a grey off shoulder(WEE), choco box for my nail jewels and fake lashes over de week. it's cheap thou and still i'm super broke @_@~ feedin neko when i went home. =)


mroew mroew~