2008 is almost over. It has been a very busy year for Q and I. We renovated our kitchen, had our wedding, went to Europe for honeymoon, painted Mom's house, bought a new car and completed 2 courses aside from work. We are really proud of ourselves as we really accomplished a lot this year. 我真的開始覺得我開始了人生的第二個階段。
There's a saying "marriage is the end of romance". But, so far, I can't really feel the difference. Q still makes me coffee every morning and breakfast in bed every weekend. He still opens the door for me and brings me a cup of hot water before bed. He wakes me up every morning with a kiss and tugs me in every night with a kiss. No matter what I cook or bake, he always finds it delicious. He supports me through all the difficulties and helps out my family whenever he can. 這樣的先生真的是沒有什麼可以挑剔的。
Even though I'm totally happy with what we have and where things are at, I should still make some New Year resolutions.
1. Have a baby- since everyone is on my case about having a baby, I put this one on the top of my list.
2. Finish the PM Certificate Program at UBC. Since #1 take priority, I would aim for PMP but not necessary this year.
3. Be more active- I will try to do any type of exercise 3 times a week. Walking would be a good start.
4. Improve my photography skills- I've had my SLR for 2 years now, but my photos are still far from professional looking.
5. Relax more often- I worry too much too often. I need to learn to relax more and try not to worry so much about everything.
6. Go on a date with Q once a week- whether for dinner, movie, shopping, walk, etc, we should always make time for ourselves.
7. Learn how to work my SB800- I really need a lesson on how to work with lights.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Snow Snow and More Snow!!!
It snowed so much over the weekend and it started snowing again this morning. We sure will have a white Christmas!
Since Q is on the strata council, he got called to help out on shoveling snow on the walk way outside of our townhouse complex. I borrowed a small shovel from the neighbor and shoveled the driveway so that we can go to Mom's house for Christmas dinner. After shoveling for about 20 minutes, it started snowing again!! I got so tired, Q suggested to just roll the snow into big balls and make a snowman. I've made snowman before, but never have so much snow to make a HUGE one. It's even taller than me!
Since Q is on the strata council, he got called to help out on shoveling snow on the walk way outside of our townhouse complex. I borrowed a small shovel from the neighbor and shoveled the driveway so that we can go to Mom's house for Christmas dinner. After shoveling for about 20 minutes, it started snowing again!! I got so tired, Q suggested to just roll the snow into big balls and make a snowman. I've made snowman before, but never have so much snow to make a HUGE one. It's even taller than me!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8
I've been eying the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 for a while and Q got it for me for Christmas! I was so excited when we picked up this lense. The bokeh I get from this lense is incredible! The price for this lense is less than half of the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 but the difference of the bokeh effect is minimal. It's definitely a steal.
Here are some shots I took with the new lense:
Here are some shots I took with the new lense:
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Mom's Pre-Xmas + House Warming Party
On the Sunday before Christmas, Mom invited a few good friends over to her new house for a pre-xmas plus house warming party. We took her for dim sum and grocery shopping on the day before. We went to quite a few places- Kerrisdale, Oakridge, Bean Around the World on Main, Houseware shop on Fraser, DongYang furniture, Superstore, T&T. She bought her last bedroom set for the spare bedroom and the stuff for her party. By the time we got home, Q and I were exhausted! We sat around and played wow while Mom was cooking up a storm in the kitchen. She is really a super Mom!
Oakridge has pretty Christmas decoration as always.
Everyone had a lot of fun at the party and some people stayed and played MJ until 10pm. It was snowing very hard throughout the whole day. Uncle 10%'s family had a difficult time getting out of the driveway. While trying to get out of the driveway, we saw a SUV driven by with someone tied at the back snowboarding! Some people really got good winter spirits. After we got the car out of the driveway, it got stuck again in the middle of the road. Between shoveling and pushing, Joanne's mom fell on her face in the snow! After a while, a van approached behind us and 2 kids jumped out all excited and tried to help us. They ran around shoveling here and there and asked for card boards to put under the tires. It was so nice of them to give us a hand. Finally, we all pushed and pushed the car out of the hole and onto the right track. The empathy from the strangers really warmed up our hearts in this freezing holiday season.
Oakridge has pretty Christmas decoration as always.
Everyone had a lot of fun at the party and some people stayed and played MJ until 10pm. It was snowing very hard throughout the whole day. Uncle 10%'s family had a difficult time getting out of the driveway. While trying to get out of the driveway, we saw a SUV driven by with someone tied at the back snowboarding! Some people really got good winter spirits. After we got the car out of the driveway, it got stuck again in the middle of the road. Between shoveling and pushing, Joanne's mom fell on her face in the snow! After a while, a van approached behind us and 2 kids jumped out all excited and tried to help us. They ran around shoveling here and there and asked for card boards to put under the tires. It was so nice of them to give us a hand. Finally, we all pushed and pushed the car out of the hole and onto the right track. The empathy from the strangers really warmed up our hearts in this freezing holiday season.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
We'll Have a Freezing Christmas
Gusting winds and freezing temperatures knocked out power on the weekend in our neighborhood. The power went out for about 6 hours from Saturday night 9pm to Sunday morning at 3am. It's our first time scrambling around to find candles and gas fireplace comes to good use.
The freezing weather will likely linger for the rest of the week and a second major snowfall could hit on the weekend, weather forecasters say.
Temperatures yesterday were –2 C at warmest and expected to dip to –8 C overnight. Thursday and Friday are predicted to be the coldest days this week with temperatures as low as –9 C. With windchill, it’ll feel even colder.
It's going to be a freezing Christmas!
The freezing weather will likely linger for the rest of the week and a second major snowfall could hit on the weekend, weather forecasters say.
Temperatures yesterday were –2 C at warmest and expected to dip to –8 C overnight. Thursday and Friday are predicted to be the coldest days this week with temperatures as low as –9 C. With windchill, it’ll feel even colder.
It's going to be a freezing Christmas!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Finally, Mom's House is Done! 媽媽的家終於完工了
After two weeks of working after work, Mom's house is finally fully painted. She's happy with the new wood floor and the new colours. Painting is actually quite fun, but tiring, especially having to do all that after a full day of work at the office. The carpenter left a bunch of work behind saying it's painter's job. So, we get to clean up the moldings, baseboards, floor trims and even the door frame. The new door frame was not even finished like a dry wall. Q and Dave had to prime it and sand it before it could be painted. All the floor trims are not painted with the wood finish. The bare oak wood absorbs the dirt and shows black marks. I couldn't sand off all the black marks and had to apply the finish paint on it with the marks. Being a perfectionist, I pay too much attention to details and that's probably why I'm always stressed out!
Anyways, Mom gets to move into her new home this Saturday with all her new furniture! My heart is at peace knowing she will have a safe, comfortable, spacious and cozy home to live in. And, we can visit her and Yuan more often now. It's going to be a beautiful happy christmas!
Exterior
Living Room
Dining Room Set has arrived. It's very elegant!
Kitchen- we bought the bar stools today, finally can sit at the counter.
Family Room- we love the lazy boy sofa. It's super comfortable! I picked out the new pillows and retire all her old ones. Mom bought a new marble coffee table too.
Den- we put together the computer desk, set up Mom's iMac and bought a new chair. It's a great office space for her to study.
Master Bedroom- I picked out the duvet cover set and sheet set for her. It was not easy to carry 4 king size pillows home.
Master Bedroom Ensuite- Mom's so happy that she's got a big bathroom all to herself.
Brother's Bedroom- It's very nice of Mom to buy him a brand new bed set too. Again, I picked out the sheet set and carry home the 2 big pillows.
His Ensuite- He's got a small bedroom and Q assembled and put up an new wall cabinet.
Spare Bedroom 1- Mom's old bed set.
Spare Bedroom 2- Empty for now
Anyways, Mom gets to move into her new home this Saturday with all her new furniture! My heart is at peace knowing she will have a safe, comfortable, spacious and cozy home to live in. And, we can visit her and Yuan more often now. It's going to be a beautiful happy christmas!
Exterior
Living Room
Dining Room Set has arrived. It's very elegant!
Kitchen- we bought the bar stools today, finally can sit at the counter.
Family Room- we love the lazy boy sofa. It's super comfortable! I picked out the new pillows and retire all her old ones. Mom bought a new marble coffee table too.
Den- we put together the computer desk, set up Mom's iMac and bought a new chair. It's a great office space for her to study.
Master Bedroom- I picked out the duvet cover set and sheet set for her. It was not easy to carry 4 king size pillows home.
Master Bedroom Ensuite- Mom's so happy that she's got a big bathroom all to herself.
Brother's Bedroom- It's very nice of Mom to buy him a brand new bed set too. Again, I picked out the sheet set and carry home the 2 big pillows.
His Ensuite- He's got a small bedroom and Q assembled and put up an new wall cabinet.
Spare Bedroom 1- Mom's old bed set.
Spare Bedroom 2- Empty for now
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Christmas Cards are coming!
I have been helping out with the paint job at my Mom's house and haven't had much time to do much blogging, photography, nor making cards. It's already December 2nd and Xmas is just around the corner. We finally put up our xmas tree on Sunday. We contemplated on buying a bigger tree, but thought our mini one will just be good enough. Maybe next year, we will budget for a bigger one.
Also, we put up some blue Christmas lights around the house.
I better get on Christmas cards now or no one will receive our cards on time! I've made 5 card designs so far. Q likes the 2nd one the most! I might just mass produce this one.
Design 1: Let It Snow- this was last year's design. The stencil works every year.
Design 2: Wishing You a Joyous Christmas- designed for 2008. I love the snowmen paper and the snowflake punch. I even made the snowflake glittery.
Design 3: Snowman "Tis the Season"- this one took a long time as I cut out the snowman and assembled it together. It's like a 10-year old work of art!
Design 4: Santa Clause- this one is inspired by one of the cards we received last year. Q suggested to add some white beard on the top.
Design 5: Simple card
Also, we put up some blue Christmas lights around the house.
I better get on Christmas cards now or no one will receive our cards on time! I've made 5 card designs so far. Q likes the 2nd one the most! I might just mass produce this one.
Design 1: Let It Snow- this was last year's design. The stencil works every year.
Design 2: Wishing You a Joyous Christmas- designed for 2008. I love the snowmen paper and the snowflake punch. I even made the snowflake glittery.
Design 3: Snowman "Tis the Season"- this one took a long time as I cut out the snowman and assembled it together. It's like a 10-year old work of art!
Design 4: Santa Clause- this one is inspired by one of the cards we received last year. Q suggested to add some white beard on the top.
Design 5: Simple card
Monday, November 10, 2008
Movie effect on Your Photo
1. Colour mood adjustments:
a). Adjust the Hue/Saturation: (apple-U/CTRL-U)
- lower Saturation to -76.
b). Adjust the brightness and contrast: Menu > Image > Adjustments > Exposure
- exposure 1
- offset -0.3450
- gamma 1.74
2. Depth of field effect
a). Duplicate current active layer by dragging it to the ‘create a new layer’ button located at the bottom of Layer window.
b). Apply lens blur on the new layer on top: Menu > Filter > Blur > Lens Blur.
- Adjust according to your own preference. Example: Radius 9, Blade Curvature 14, Rotation 58, Brightness 7, Threshold 213, Noise 0, Distribution Uniform.
c). Click on the ‘add layer mask’ button at the bottom of Layer window. Then click and select the ‘Layer mask thumbnail’ (the white rectangle).
d). Select brush tool(b), set the master diameter to 400px. Then choose the focus point in the photo and click on it.
3. Film effect
a). Create a new layer by clicking the ‘create a new layer’ button located at the bottom of Layer window.
b). Fill the new layer with black colour: reset colour to default black & white (d), switch black colour to background (x), fill the layer (apple-del/CTRL-backspace)
c). Set the opacity of the black layer to 70% by pressing ‘7′
d). Use erase tool(e), set the master diameter to 400px. Then start erase the center of the photo.
e). Flatten the image: Menu > Layer > Flatten Image and add noise: Menu > Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Amount 4.5.
4. Cinemascope (optional)
a). Add black bars on top and bottom of photo and it’s done!
Use Rectangular Marquee Tool(m) to select (drag) upper part of photo, hold the shift key and select the bottom part, fill with black colour (apple-del/CTRL-backspace)
You can also add an extra step to twist the colour into this mood by using ‘Color Balance’(apple-B/CTRL-B). Drag the slider towards cyan and blue for Shadows, Midtones & Highlights.
a). Adjust the Hue/Saturation: (apple-U/CTRL-U)
- lower Saturation to -76.
b). Adjust the brightness and contrast: Menu > Image > Adjustments > Exposure
- exposure 1
- offset -0.3450
- gamma 1.74
2. Depth of field effect
a). Duplicate current active layer by dragging it to the ‘create a new layer’ button located at the bottom of Layer window.
b). Apply lens blur on the new layer on top: Menu > Filter > Blur > Lens Blur.
- Adjust according to your own preference. Example: Radius 9, Blade Curvature 14, Rotation 58, Brightness 7, Threshold 213, Noise 0, Distribution Uniform.
c). Click on the ‘add layer mask’ button at the bottom of Layer window. Then click and select the ‘Layer mask thumbnail’ (the white rectangle).
d). Select brush tool(b), set the master diameter to 400px. Then choose the focus point in the photo and click on it.
3. Film effect
a). Create a new layer by clicking the ‘create a new layer’ button located at the bottom of Layer window.
b). Fill the new layer with black colour: reset colour to default black & white (d), switch black colour to background (x), fill the layer (apple-del/CTRL-backspace)
c). Set the opacity of the black layer to 70% by pressing ‘7′
d). Use erase tool(e), set the master diameter to 400px. Then start erase the center of the photo.
e). Flatten the image: Menu > Layer > Flatten Image and add noise: Menu > Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Amount 4.5.
4. Cinemascope (optional)
a). Add black bars on top and bottom of photo and it’s done!
Use Rectangular Marquee Tool(m) to select (drag) upper part of photo, hold the shift key and select the bottom part, fill with black colour (apple-del/CTRL-backspace)
You can also add an extra step to twist the colour into this mood by using ‘Color Balance’(apple-B/CTRL-B). Drag the slider towards cyan and blue for Shadows, Midtones & Highlights.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
My Adorable Nephew
My adorable nephew can make so many funny faces. He's not afraid to show his emotions!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
What love language do you speak?
The Five Love Languages
My primary love languages are probablyActs of Service and Quality Time.
Complete set of results
| Acts of Service: | 9 | |
| Quality Time: | 9 | |
| Words of Affirmation: | 7 | |
| Receiving Gifts: | 3 | |
| Physical Touch: | 2 |
Information
Unhappiness in relationships, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. Sometimes we don't understand our partner's requirements, or even our own. We all have a "love tank" that needs to be filled in order for us to express love to others, but there are different means by which our tank can be filled, and there are different ways that we can express love to others.Take the quiz
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Family Walk
Last Week, we went to the Pacific Spirit Regional Park and walked for 2.5 hours. Although I went to UBC for 4 years, I never knew the park has so many nice trails.
This Week, we took Mom to the West Trail Dyke in Richmond. We walked to Garry Point and then Steveston Village. Along the way, we discovered the best ice-cream shop "Timothy's Ice-cream". Ice-cream there is served in a freshly made waffle cone! The waffle cone is still warm when you get the ice-cream in your hand. For weight watchers, frozen yogurt made from fresh fruit is also available. Single scoop is $4.00, reasonable price for the quality and quantity of serving.
This Week, we took Mom to the West Trail Dyke in Richmond. We walked to Garry Point and then Steveston Village. Along the way, we discovered the best ice-cream shop "Timothy's Ice-cream". Ice-cream there is served in a freshly made waffle cone! The waffle cone is still warm when you get the ice-cream in your hand. For weight watchers, frozen yogurt made from fresh fruit is also available. Single scoop is $4.00, reasonable price for the quality and quantity of serving.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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