tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:47:59 +0000Random thoughts and news from Shanghaihttp://www.arlyna.com/blogs/index.htmnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)Blogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-6741176441315512452Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:29:00 +00002008-11-19T12:47:59.182+08:00movie Last night, watched the movie Mamma Mia! again, for the second time. It still is as good as the first time I watched it! The music takes you back in time and the movie is just a good relaxing one. Made me knit quicker :-) But what I still cannot get over is seeing Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth singing! I've not seen them in any other movie singing like they were on this movie... and just http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2008/11/mamma-mia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-5241287677548811951Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:27:00 +00002008-10-22T12:43:32.640+08:00CinderellaShanghaiLea SalongaLast night, I got to watch the musical Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella starring Lea Salonga in Shanghai. Fantastic! Great show! The costumes, the music, the stage production, everything was just awesome! I managed to catch the last show they had in Shanghai and the theatre was packed. This was a surprise as it did not seem to get a lot of publicity even in the local expat magazines. I only http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2008/10/rodgers-hammersteins-cinderella-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-6291134221584313149Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:53:00 +00002008-07-21T19:10:43.772+08:00digital scrapbookingA few months ago, I posted about creating digital scrapbooks from scrapblog.com. It was a great tool to sort of keep records of my kids growth and progress. Above all, its free. Unfortunately, when the site was upgraded (mind you, I was so excited and couldn't wait to try out the new features) all the previous scrapblog pages I made got lost! It was rather frustrating since I've spent so much http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2008/07/digital-scrapbooking.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-7052601264709426391Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:22:00 +00002008-07-18T14:32:32.715+08:00 Boon has done it again with the new range of beanie bags called Animal Bags. I love how practical they are that not only do they hold stuffed toys but these also serve as the kids seats when they are taking books off their book shelves. Another use is that the kids use this as a landing pad as they jump from the sofa to the floor. It was not easy ordering these though and getting shipped to http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2008/07/animal-bags.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-4255551664244765681Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:01:00 +00002008-07-18T14:33:15.457+08:00parentingbook Parenting nowadays are so different to what it used be when I was growing up... Since my kids were born, I've almost given up on buying parenting books mostly because majority of them just seem to be either difficult to follow or that author's tone of voice makes me feel like I'm an incompetent mother... Of course with the exception of Miriam Stoppard and Elizabeth Lyon's 'Ready or Not Here We http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2008/07/sensible-advise.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-1934548117397222049Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:18:00 +00002008-01-30T19:49:39.529+08:00Shanghai snow Snowy Shanghai Originally uploaded by arlyna. It's been more than a decade since Shanghai has seen a major snow fall. This was the record snow fall we've seen since living in Shanghai. It's just amazing how the whole city seem to have been transformed to a scene you'd typically see in Europe or America. The kids are enjoying slushing in the snow as we walk them to school. I have to hold http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2008/01/snowy-shanghai.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-6919889793084348031Thu, 03 Jan 2008 08:37:00 +00002008-01-03T16:45:04.013+08:00Shanghaishopcooking Pantry Magic Originally uploaded by arlyna. On one of those rare occasion, spur-of-the-moment night after work, Simon and I went to check out the Dongpin Road and Taojiang Road area only to find new changes to this area of the city.Shops have been updated. New shops have opened. An English pub has closed, an old building converted into a mini 'mall' with a few designer-y shops inside, a http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2008/01/pantry-magic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-1452855209208023986Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:19:00 +00002008-01-30T19:51:47.117+08:00Shanghai 'Am I Look Good?' Originally uploaded by arlyna. My colleague and I attended the opening of a restaurant that we helped develop the identity for. It's called Pipalli and the first shop is in Beijing. As I was getting ready to board on a flight, saw this poster outside a nice little coffee shop inside the Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. An almost perfect poster. 'Almost' because it is ruined by http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2008/01/i-look-good.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-7468031575578247002Sun, 29 Jul 2007 11:29:00 +00002007-07-29T19:32:28.570+08:00web Scrapblog is now finally back online with an improved interface, more design choices (new backgrounds, stickers, frames, editing tools, etc.), and a lot of other great new features. The only drawback, I found, was that all the blogs/pages I did before is now gone. But photos previously uploaded are still there. So now I've to find time to redo all my pages.http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2007/07/scrapblog-updated.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-6440948548443107922Sun, 29 Jul 2007 10:24:00 +00002007-07-29T18:47:03.891+08:00Shanghai Summer has descended into Shanghai with force this year. Temperatures have soared up to 39°C yesterday and expected to keep at that temperature for the next couple days. Government has started imposing 'energy conservation' with air-conditioning in offices getting shut down early; 6:30pm at most. When we arrived back from a quick trip to Hong Kong yesterday, the hot air just came full blast in http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2007/07/heat-is-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-8836529447523608583Mon, 09 Apr 2007 14:48:00 +00002007-04-09T22:48:37.209+08:00 Mini Cooper Originally uploaded by arlyna. This has to be the coolest billboard ad I've seen around Shanghai. For some time now, I've passed this a few times but never got the chance to actually get a photo. On this very moment when I had my camera and the taxi stopped at the traffic light, I got lucky.Honestly, I wouldn't think that this location is quite ideal though as it's on a road http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2007/04/mini-cooper.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-4450859881927268621Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:55:00 +00002007-04-15T06:21:06.311+08:00Shanghai Bridge 8 Originally uploaded by arlyna. On a rare day out last month (sans the kids), Simon and I went to check out this place called Bridge 8. It's a cluster of renovated old industrial buildings which now houses a design companies, shops, and restaurants. A bookshop selling design books has also just opened at the annex building's ground floor. We had a great time browsing thru the books http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2007/04/bridge-8.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-9208427806931569139Sat, 24 Mar 2007 15:17:00 +00002007-04-16T02:26:25.262+08:00hatsknitting Recently, I finished knitting 5 pixie hats for my colleagues. It took me a while to get started with work and kids taking up most of my time. I found a very easy pattern for the hats from craftbits.com. As I did not have the exact yarn specified in the pattern, it took 2 attempts before I got the size right. For this project, I used 2 strands to knit the pattern. For the edgings, I http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2007/03/pixie-hats.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-8769718575976010137Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:52:00 +00002007-04-11T04:59:39.290+08:00ShanghaivacationSheshan Sheshan Originally uploaded by arlyna. Right before the Chinese New Year, we took the kids out to The Le Meridien in Sheshan, about 30 minutes from downtown Shanghai. It was to get away (even for a couple days) and also do a trial run on how it would be to travel with the kids. The hotel is surrounded by a lot of greenery and even has a man-made lake and a beach! It just felt like a totally http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2007/04/sheshan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-2118904746187421845Sat, 03 Mar 2007 16:41:00 +00002007-03-04T00:41:09.245+08:00 Air drying Originally uploaded by arlyna. A few common items you will see being air dried in Shanghai esp. in the winter. I thought the chicken was interesting as it's rare; you see sausages, fish, or meat air drying but not chicken.The red knickers (underwear) are typical as locals wear them during the Chinese New Year to add luck starting from the 'inside'.http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2007/03/air-drying.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-115738200818571277Mon, 04 Sep 2006 14:54:00 +00002006-09-04T23:00:08.230+08:00 Family Originally uploaded by arlyna. A family picture taken in May when the kids were just 8 months old. They now look very different - Audrey with a little more hair and Samuel with long curly hair. They look very cute in their Burberry clothes courtesy of the Doyle family.http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2006/09/family.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-115687196199172660Tue, 29 Aug 2006 16:33:00 +00002006-08-30T01:19:22.043+08:00Last year, while still at our old home/office address, I took off my diamond necklace that Simon gave me for our wedding, and last remember putting it on top of my computer table. Next time I remembered, it was gone. My mom, who was visiting then, helped turn the whole office upside down in search of the necklace. Yesterday, just suddenly saw the necklace underneath some books on one of the http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2006/08/miracle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-114976915731091071Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:00:00 +00002006-06-08T20:22:13.336+08:00Just before Chinese New Year, we got hold of a free magazine distributed all over Shanghai. Did not really paying close attention to any of the content (mostly advertising), until I came across an advertisement for a yoga studio. The logo of a girl sitting in a yoga pose with the yellow orange circle against the deep red background was a design I had made about 4 years ago for a yoga instructor!http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2006/06/not-protected.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-114848528241629906Wed, 24 May 2006 15:38:00 +00002006-05-24T23:41:22.416+08:00Finally the planned re-design of the blog is done!!! One thing off my list... now off to bed. The other blog about the twins will also go through some sort of re-design... Let me know what your thoughts are...http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2006/05/new-look.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-114683501780982810Fri, 05 May 2006 13:14:00 +00002006-05-05T21:16:57.823+08:00Have started a new blog where I want to blah blah blah about the twins, raising them, and various other baby stuff. Maybe some advise... Check it out.http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2006/05/dragon-phoenix.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-113629637433562579Tue, 03 Jan 2006 13:34:00 +00002006-01-03T21:55:02.826+08:00Just wanted to share with you a 'family picture' taken in front of the huge Christmas tree in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Shanghai. We attended the Christmas mass service and had our Christmas lunch there. It was a nice relaxed lunch and everyone - Simon, me, my mom, and my sis, Adeline - enjoyed themselves, even the twins. They were well-behaved and the staff at the hotel was in awe of http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2006/01/twins-first-christmas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-113603799487583193Sat, 31 Dec 2005 13:54:00 +00002005-12-31T22:06:34.890+08:00A couple weeks ago I submitted our twins' photo wearing iPod shirts to enter a contest for the 'World's Cutest Baby'. Ok ok ok it may sound pathetic for me to be entering our twins in a contest but couldn't help it; Simon and I being very techy, loving our iPods and all... oh and not to forget the very cool prize - a family of iPods! Unfortunately, we did not win. Oh well, it was so much fun http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2005/12/ipod-babies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-113465475347878499Thu, 15 Dec 2005 13:35:00 +00002005-12-16T15:48:22.246+08:00Finally managed to bring the babies to a swimming class highly recommended by our pediatrician. My mom and I took the twins to the indoor pool inside the Ambassy Court's clubhouse this morning. Samuel at first was not very happy though he did not really cry. I think the shock of the lukewarm water made him panicky at first. With Audrey, it was different. She cried really hard when she was broughthttp://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2005/12/babies-first-swim.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-113385406973265642Tue, 06 Dec 2005 07:16:00 +00002005-12-07T16:57:19.340+08:00Just realized that my blog has now been occupied mostly with news about the twins... I guess there's not much of news around Shanghai these days, or maybe it is mostly due to being limited to only home and office these days. The second month for the twins went by in a blur. First, we celebrated Simon's birthday with Indian curry. Angie, my older sister now living in Canada, was in town visiting http://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2005/12/2-month-milestone.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12860987.post-113021948563238388Tue, 25 Oct 2005 05:13:00 +00002005-10-25T13:59:38.836+08:00Yes, time has passed by so fast. Our babies are now one month old! It seems only yesterday when we brought them home. We're glad that so far both Samuel and Audrey are growing and gaining weight. Unfortunately, we still do get some sleepless nights with Samuel and Audrey waking up twice during the early morning for feeding. They prefer to be breastfed rather than bottle-fed during this time; theyhttp://www.arlyna.com/blogs/2005/10/one-month-milestone.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Arlyna's Blog)0