I Love This Girl

I wish everyone of you a daughter just like Zoë.

Your days will be filled with endless wonder (and endless questions).

Your heart will sing with joy.

Your life will be truly blessed.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday | Texture

 

 

1.  Texture – I used a couple of Kim Klassen’s textures on this photo of clothes pins.  Thanks, Kim, for your wonderful textures!

2.  Fog – Would you believe that this was taken in the morning, before 9am?  Well, it was.  It was a rather gloomy and hazy day, but when I looked out the window and saw the rays of light shining through the clouds, I just had to grab the camera.  The rays are like searchlights from heaven or lights from some alien spacecraft waiting to beam up some earthlings… Regardless, I thought the lights were magical. 

3.  Buttons on Josh’s Chinese jacket

4.  Beverage – Honey citron tea.  I love this… second only to honey green tea (with bubbles!).

 

5.  Seventies – Chris and I went out tonight without the kiddies –the first time this year. We usually go have date night every Saturday, but he’s been traveling the early part of this month.  Nothing extra special tonight.  We just went to get the Wii Sports Resort (in preparation for the Chinese New Year holidays at home with the kids), had dinner at a new dumpling place, and then went to get some CNY pudding.  I was stopping to shoot this and that and Chris just patiently played Sudoku on his phone while he waited for me.  I don’t need roses or fancy restaurants.  Tonight was a perfect date night.

~~—~~

Do head on over to Ramblings and Photos and check out other entries for Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

Something About Buds

 

 

 

Last week I posted a photo of a peony bud… this week, it’s a chrysanthemum bud.

There’s something about buds that I find really beautiful.

 

"A bud is a flower-to-be. A flower-in-waiting.

Waiting for just the right warmth and care to open up.

It's a little fist of love waiting to unfold and be seen by the world…”

~from the book Bud, Not Buddy

A flower-in-waiting.  I love the sound of that.

 

Whoa!

{Edit:  I am super excited today!  You know why?  The wonderfully “real” Becky from Life with Kaishon interviewed me and made me feel like a celebrity.  You could find out a couple of tidbits about me that I’d never shared before… *giddy, giddy*}

 

You know what’s coming next, right?

 

Down come Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum.

 

 

Up goes Super Boy.

 

Landing smack on the chair.

~~—~~

This was one of the outdoor performances at Ocean Park.

Zoë was watching this mini acrobatic show with eyes round as saucers and mouth agape.

 

PSA:  Kids, don’t try this at home.

Round and Round

 

 

 

We spent a lazy afternoon with friends at a local playground.

 

 

En route to the playground was this huge marble ball that rotates and spins.

 

 

The kiddies spent quite a few minutes just playing with the ball –getting their hands wet

 

and following the ball as it spins.

I was going to say, “Who needs expensive toys?”

when it struck me that this marble ball probably costs a small fortune.

Plus, it would not fit inside our house.

 

 

For more Black and White Wednesday pictures, please head on over to The Long Road to China.

 

For more WW fun, please visit A Beautiful Mess, Seven Clown Circus, Parenting by Dummies, Live and Love Out Loud, and 5 Minutes for Mom.

Blame It on Magic

I was on the phone with my mom when Zoë came running in.

Zoë:  Mommy, bad news!

Me:  What happened?

Zoë:  Somebody drank your bubble tea.

Me:  Really?  Who did that?

Zoë:  I don’t know.  It’s magic.

Me:  *Raises eyebrows*

Zoë:  For real, Mommy.  I think it’s magic.

Me:  Did you drink some?

Zoë:  *All wide-eyed innocence* No, I didn’t.

Me:  Zoë, I need you to tell the truth.

Zoë:  Okay, Mommy. I drank some.  Sorry.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday | Memories

 

 

1. Memories

Josh’s birthday cake: Chocolate chip cookie dough fudge brownie cake with chocolate ganache, topped with rainbow sprinkles and white chocolate crispy pearls (sort of like mini Maltesers).  Could you say chocolate overload?  Easiest and yummiest “cake” I’d ever made!  Thank you, Bakerella!

 

 

2.  Silhouette

I’m not good at all with silhouette shots, but I am good at anagrams!

 

 

3. Doorway

In ancient times in China, you’d find pairs of lions guarding the gates to

imperial palaces or homes of the wealthy –one to each side of the doorway. 

This one here was standing guard at the doorway to an antique shop on Hollywood Road.

 

4.  Reflection

Josh and Zoë’s toothbrush holders.

 

 

5.  Silver

My cupcake stand

 

Do head on over to Ramblings and Photos and check out other entries for Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

Peony Bud

 

 

 

Chinese New Year is almost upon us and pretty much everywhere we go, we’d see pots and pots of chrysanthemums and peonies and baby oranges around. (For a brief explanation of Chinese New Year symbols, please see HERE.)   The photo above is of a peony bud from one of the many pots that were everywhere at Ocean Park when I took Zoë there today for a play date. 

Great Eggspectations

 

 

Could you guess what these eggs are?

 

Or these?

(Edit:  The first ones are of *fake* crocodile eggs on display near the crocodile tank at Ocean Park and the last picture is of century eggs.  Yes, I’ve tried century eggs before and they are not as bad as they look.  Rather tasty.  Really.)

 

For more Black and White Wednesday pictures, please head on over to The Long Road to China.

 

For more WW fun, please visit A Beautiful Mess, Seven Clown Circus, Parenting by Dummies, Live and Love Out Loud, and 5 Minutes for Mom.

Hong Kong Sinfonietta | An Afternoon with Fantastic Creatures

 

On Sunday we were treated to an afternoon of magical music.  My friend, G, invited both Josh and me to listen to the Hong Kong Sinfonietta do Alasdair Malloy’s Fantastic Creatures.  I was a bit apprehensive as to how Josh would do sitting through an entire program of just orchestral music.  He is not one to sit still.  He fidgets.  He squirms.  He taps.  He is… a boy.  He didn’t disappoint.

(Edit: I have no shots from the concert. I’m using this one from a trip to Ocean Park so that this post won’t be photo-less.)

 

BUT…

What I didn’t expect was how much he thoroughly enjoyed the concert.  Yes, he did all the things I knew he would do.  He even got up and danced in the aisle (!) until an usher came by and asked him to sit down.  He had a blast, as much a blast as a boy could have at an orchestral concert.

What made this concert special and unlike the many that I’d attended with my parents when I was a child is that this particular concert is filled with magic.  Magic in the chosen pieces, which ranged from classical music by Strauss and Stravinsky to the more modern Under the Sea (from The Little Mermaid) by Alan Menken.  Magic in the way the music is woven together, in how each number is presented.  Throughout the concert, Alasdair Malloy, dressed as a wizard in purple robes with matching pointy wizard hat, engaged the audience –in turns introducing the pieces and the instruments, getting the children to stand up and wave, getting the grown-ups to do some silly bits as well, playing an instrument or two himself. 

 

Some of the members of the orchestra got into character and wore glittery wigs and pointy wizard hats, adding to the fun and magic of the concert.  Even the conductor, Lio Kuokman, got into the act by making his entrance in wizard robes and pointy hat.  He also gave a quick mini-lesson on how to conduct and got the audience conducting along with him.

All in all , it was a truly magical, thoroughly enjoyable, and amazingly fun concert.  Josh, –who, during bedtime prayers we sometimes have to wait a long time for him to just think of something for which to be thankful, –immediately said, “Why, the concert, of course!” when asked what he was thankful for that night.

Thank you, G!

 

Please join us today at Communal Global –wherever you are.  We’d love to hear from you.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday | Looking Up

 

 

1.  Looking Up – This was what I saw… workers up on this thingamajig sawing down a few branches off which were hanging over the road.

 

2.  A Different View

 

3.  Half

 

4.  Hair – I’ve always loved the soft, fine wispiness of Zoë’s hair and I love how her hair has natural coppery highlights when it catches the sunlight.

 

5.  Abstract – I kind of like how this shot of some holiday lights turned out.  I was playing around with my camera settings and tried to shoot on manual.  Slow shutter speed, deliberately moved my hand.  Then on processing, I’d duplicated a couple of layers, “transformed” [Ctr+T] each to get random overlays, and played around with different blending modes.

 

Do head on over to Ramblings and Photos and check out other entries for Scavenger Hunt Sunday.