Birthday pouch for Lin

It was my sister's birthday yesterday, 28th May, and I decided to crochet her a pouch, a pattern from the book I bought on eBay. I started on it on Sunday evening, 25th May, my brother's birthday, and completed it on Tuesday, 27th May 2008. Aahh! Just slightly over two days! Not bad! *grin*

It's a small pouch anyway. Measuring approximately 6 inches wide and about 9 inches tall. It consisted of only single crochet (sc) sc and a little bit of double crochet (dc). The actual pattern has less rows, but, because I used a thinner yarn, I had to add like 10 more rows to get it to the height that I want it to be. I also added the dc, which the original pattern does not have, to add to the height. It's quicker that way than adding just sc, as I had a dateline to meet.

While I was working on it, my hubby kept aksing me if I am doing a cap for my sis. LOL! Yup, if you turn it upside down, it does look like a cap. *grin*

The pouch was done using MINLON yarns. I did not have that much trouble with the yarn splitting and breaking as I had with the pink yarn I was working with to make the cat's head, which was also a MINLON. So, I kind of enjoyed working on the pouch, especially since I was making it to give it away as a birthday present to my sis.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Lin! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Azan too!

Having completed the pouch, I am now working on another crochet piece, also a pattern from the same book. This time, I want to try to make a mini bag. Why mini? Because I want to learn the basics of making a bag first, but not wanting to spend too much time on it then if I were to make the normal size bag. I don't want to start feeling intimidated, and abandoning the project halfway if I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.

I will surely put up a progress report on it as I work on it as I foresee myself working on it for at least a week or so, if not more. So, stay tuned! *wink*

UNBELIEVABLE!

Unbelievable and upsetting! Shocking too! That is how I shall describe my reaction when Nadia was announced 5th placing at Saturday night's Akademi Fantasia's final concert.

Tell me, seriously and honestly, did Nubhan and Toi sang better then Nadia last night? Did both of them performed better than Nadia last night? Can they sing and dance like Nadia did last night? Do they possess the powerful voice that Nadia has? Has Nadia ever failed you in any of her performances?

If you answer my questions honestly, and the answers will be a resounding NO! to each and every question. I agree with Adlin that Toi was just a filler for the finals (sorry, fans of Toi), only because the other seven eliminated earlier were far worse off.

Granted that Nubhan deserves to be in the finals due to his.....errr.....so called, unique voice, tone, whatever, but still, he shouldn't be placed better than Nadia. So he sang better last night than he did at any concert since the first concert, but Nadia has never before performed below par. She was always consistently at her best. Nubhan has been at his lowest, Toi has been at the pits. So, for that very reason, both these two guys shouldn't have been placed higher than Nadia.

I agree that Nubhan sang a lot better than he did in most concerts. In fact, that night was probably his best, and I wouldn't be far from wrong if I were to say that it was the ONLY concert that he was good. Nadia was good throughout the season.

Nubhan was lucky that he got a good song, a very good song, in fact. Congrats to the composer and lyrycist. I can imagine myself listening to it over the radio and actually appreciating it. I have always liked ballads, and I give credits where credits are due. Half the battle was won just by having a good song. I always feel that ballads are good for the finals, as these songs tend to go right through your heart, and when performed well, can mesmerised you.

Yes, Nubhan was lucky to be given such a good song, and I agree with one of the bloggers, Eddy Purnama, the song, Ada Untukmu, is what a final song should be. I also agree when Eddy said that this is the best song and the only one that can start climbing the chart on the merit of the song and not the singer. This is the song that will make Nubhan a star. Yes, the song help save Nubhan, and placed him safely where his fans want him to be.

Granted that Nadia can sometimes be `mengada-ngada', and being only 18, she has not learned the skill to make herself more appealing in the eyes of the voters who go more character and personality than talent, but, I thought that our voting public have grown smarter, and wouldn't have let their emotions take over their ability to vote rationally, but, sadly, they did. *sigh* Skills can be acquired, but you have to be born with a voice like Nadia's.

I wish that Nadia was given a ballad song or an 'asli' song, which I am very confident she would be able to carry it very well, and pushing the fence sitters to vote for her. But, instead, she got two up beat songs, which makes her look even more `mengada-ngada' and `gedik'. I was told that fans of Mila did not like the way she carried the song, even though I think she carried it very well, and made it sound like as if it was her own song. Maybe that was it. They didn't like the fact that Nadia made it her song. They wanted the song to only be Mila's. Nadia must have lost 10,000 votes just for making the song hers. *sigh*

Even though I don't much like Stacy's new song, but Stacy did carry the song very well. I must say that the song is very catchy though, and just the kind of song that Stacy can carry off effortlessly. But then again, Stacy can carry all songs given to her with ease.

What mesmerised people to vote for her even more, especially the fence sitters, besides the fact that she always performed well at every concert, was when she performed Atas Nama Cinta, which, like I said, ballads tend to keep you mesmerised and touches your heart easily when performed well.

Oh well, the final concert is over. The winners have been chosen. Now it is time for the reality. I wish all the five finalist, Toi even, all the best.

What I would like to see is for all of them to be succesful. I think we wouldn't have to worry about Stacy because Maestro will take very good care of her. She is their latest pot of gold. Nubhan will make it in this very challenging entertainment world as he has very strong fans who will support him no matter what.

I do hope though that Nuhan will take further singing and vocal lessons so that he can bring out the best of his so called beautiful tone. Who knows, I might just be a fan of his if he can come out with an album that is good. *wink*

I think Riz has no problem too to make it in this industry. He too has very strong fans who will support him in every way they could. It is Nadia that I feel pity for. She has got the talent and the voice, but, like Amelia AF3, sadly, she does not appeal to those who cares more about character than talent.

I do hope that some big recording company will take her, and make her big. I also hope that Nadia will grow up quickly and work on her attitude. Rosma of AF1 was also only 18 when she left the Akademi, and she also suffered the same fate when the voting public did not like her attitude. But, she has improved a lot on her attitude, and she is now much liked by some of the people who once hated her, though she has yet to come out with an album that will make her big. I hope Nadia will not suffer the same fate, and that she will soon come out with a great album.

Good luck, Nadia! Good luck, Stacy, Ris, Nubhan, and Toi!

Booties for Fatin

I went crazy for amigurumi two weeks ago and actually went online to buy a book on amigurumis, which arrived safely last week. *grin*

I wanted to make a cat, which I posted about it last week, but I kept running into `problems' with it when the head of my cat came out lopsided, and the ears of the cat did not turn out the way it should.

I ordered two japanese books online, one on making amigurumi Hello Kitty (I find the cat cute! *wink*), and the other book was just on things you can crochet. My actual intention was to make the Hello Kitty as I was getting frustrated with the original cat I was doing, but when I saw the things I could make from the 2nd book, I dropped my initial intention, and went straight ahead to make this booties for my new niece, Nik Fatin Saffiyyah, or Fatin, as we affectionate call her.

Fatin is now slightly over two months old. She was born on 12th March, the very day I left for Melbourne for our holidays. For now, the booties are still too big for her, but, going by the rate that she is growing, I think it won't be too long before she will fit nicely into it.

It took me 2 days to make one half of the bootie, with a few times of unpicking as I kept on miscounting, and I could not get it to shape properly. However, it took me only one day to do the other half, and I was beginning to enjoy working on it when I came to the end of it! LOL!

I `presented' the bootie to Fatin the very night that I completed it. I hope that my SIL will keep it as a momento of my first attempt at doing up a pair booties after such a very long time of not doing one, even long after Fatin has outgrown them.

I am now in the midst of making another item from the same book, but I won't be telling yet what it is, as I intend to give this piece away too. When the recipient has received it, I will blog on it for sure! *wink*

Am I ready for this?

I am feeling restless. I felt like this about the same time last year too. At that time, I had just gotten my promotions.

This time I am feeling restless because I will be starting another new chapter in my career where I will be doing Project Management. I have been doing Design Management for the past nine years. Before that, since starting work, I have always been involved in doing designs, and have always loved designing since the tender age of 6.

It is time to move forward, and hopefully to move even further up in my carrer, or as some may say, move up the corporate ladder.

When I got my promotions last year, my boss put me in charge of managing the design units in the department, even though he had prefered that I do project management even then. I wasn't prepared to do project management then as I felt that I did not have enough knowledge of the job, and further more, I love being involved in designs, and wish to carry on managing designs.

However, now my boss feels that it is time that I start moving forward in my career, and by doing project management, he feel that it will give me the exposure and the experience needed to prepare me for a much better career movement in the future.

Project Management, from what I have read and heard from my colleagues who are already doing project management, is a challenging job, and you always need to be on your toes to make sure that you are on top of everything all the time. You have to know your management stuff very well, and it is something I am only beginning to learn.

However, my boss' confidence in me to take up the job is flattering, and I feel honoured, but scared at the same time, because it also means that he will have very high expectations of me, and I am afraid of what I might not be able to do.

People say that if you don't try something new, you will never know what you are capable of doing. I am hoping that I am capable of doing a lot of things which, before this, I thought I never could. I am hoping that I will be able to take up my boss' challenges to do project management, and do a very good job of it. I hate to fail him, and of course, to fail myself. I hope that I will be able to face all the challenges that comes with the job, and I promise that I will do my best to deliver what is expected of me.

Please, dear friends and families, do wish me luck!

Roast Chicken for dinner

We had roast chicken with sauteed vegetables for dinner tonight. I had roasted the chicked the night before already as I am working today, and had put them in the fridge, ready to serve today.

Can't see much of the chicken with all those vegetables, right? LOL! My hubby and I love vegetables, and our dinner wouldn't be complete without veggies! My son hates them! LOL! Kids!

Today, I slowly had it reheated in the oven while we waited for my hubby to come back from the hospital after visiting his mom who is still admitted. The doctors still could not figure out what is causing her to tremble so much over the weekend, and are running more tests.

It's also been a long time since I made this recipe for roasted chicken, which I concocted myself after reading up on roasted chicken in the recipe books. I took a little bit of recipes here and there and came up with this recipe which my hubby seems to like. I served it with potato salad. Opps! Forgot to take photos of the Potato Salad.

On Saturday I tried this new recipe for Irish Stew from the magazine FLAVOURS which I picked up from the mamak shop as I was buying newspaper a few days before. I forgot to take photos of the stew, but it looked almost like the photo in the magazine. It tasted good, only I wasn't too happy that the gravy wasn't as thick as I expected it to be. I am definitely going to try making it again, and maybe do some improvisation to get it the way I want it to be now that I know how to do the basic recipe. This time, I will try not to forget to take photos. *grin*

What we had for tea.....

It's been a long time since I made serawa durian, but, since my son wanted to eat fresh durian and I could not buy them in small amounts, I decided to make serawa durian for tea today. Looks yummy, doesn't it *wink*, and, if I may say so myself, it was! LOL! *wink*

I learnt this recipe from my mother-in-law. BTW, my MIL is in hospital today. She was admitted last night when she was tremoring so much due to her illness. The doctors could not be sure whether it could also be due to her fall last week. She is still in hospital even as I type this posting as the doctors want to run more tests on her.

She looked better when I visited her this morning, and my hubby said that she looked well when he left the hospital at around 5.00pm today. My FIL is at the hospital tonight to keep her company. We pray for her speedy recovery.

Back to our tea today, yup, that is indeed sausage you see next to the serawa durian. Out of place, huh? LOL!

My son prefers his sausage anytime than the serawa durian, although he simply loves fresh durian. I wouldn't be able to stop him once he starts on the durian. *grin*

I still have a little bit more of the serawa sauce. I might have it again in the next few days for dessert.

Impressive!

Finally! After nine concerts, I am finally impressed with the performances of all the students, although I still can't appreciate that much Nubhan's so called beautiful tone of voice. OK, so I am tone deaf. *grin* But, didn't his voice actually break (terkucil) when he was his rendering his song that Saturday night? Let's be honest about it.

Maybe he still have not found a song that would bring out the best of his `beautiful tone', and once and for all, prove me wrong, that he does have the unique voice which the market has yet to discover? OK, I will wait for that time. Maybe for the finals, he will get a song that is specially made for this special voice? So, I will wait breathlessly in anticipation. *wink*

Guess what? I think Toi did very well that night, and no, this time, I am not having a fever, LOL! and yes, I do agree that with his impressive performance that night, he deserves a place into the finals. I was really impressed and I think he has improved a lot in the last two weeks. Good for him. I think even his duet with Stanly, he sang slightly better than Mawi! Opps! Mawi's fans are gonna come after me after this! LOL! *wink*

I was most impressed with Stanly during the first concert, but, as the weeks passed, Stanly seems to be going only downhill from then on. I don't know whether his mom being in hospital have somehow affected his performances, but he has failed to impress me anymore after the first concert. A pity, really, since I think Stanly can actually sing.

Nadia and Riz could be holding hands when singing the lovely Endless Love song, but they failed to connect. There was simply no chemistry between them. Nadia looked a child who knows nothing about falling in fall. There was simply no emotion in her expression. To say that she is too young to fall in love, Mila was only 19 when she sang My Heart with Ebi with so much emotion that everyone was so mesmerised by their performance.

I like both Nubhan's and Stacy's expression when they sang the duet. It was lovely. They both look like they were very much in love, but nothing can beat Mila and Ebi's mesmerising performance, in my opinion. A hard act to follow. Pity that they are no longer a couple. They would have made a lovely pair to come out with a duet album of love songs. Oh well........

Did you all notice that this year, none of the students are doing back up singing for their friends, like in the previous years? I wonder why. Could it be because Ramli MS does not want them to be too distracted with their own performance? Too bad, because, to me, I think, when the students do back up singing for their friends, it tends to evoke a different kind of emotion among the students themselves and the audience. To me, it did. I can't feel that emotion this year.

What is wrong with AC Mizal! Why can't he let Stanly finish saying his thanks to his friends, his teachers and his supporters when he was bidding them farewell. Why did AC have to interrupt him. Let him finish talking, for God sake! AC Mizal has talked enough!

OK, OK, so they were running out of time, but, AC could have managed the time better. I was kind of wondering why did Astro want to do a tribute to Loloq during the 9th Concert instead of during the final concert, which I think would have been more appropriate. Maybe because Astro feels that AC Mizal would not have been able to fill in the time slot allocated? And then, finally, when it was time for Stanly to say his goodbyes, he had to be interrupted? *sigh* A time to say goodbye to AC Mizal himself, I think.

Never mind....it's the FINALS next week! Err...this Saturday, actually. I am hoping for some surprises. Even though I initailly think that Nadia might win, because I think she has got a very unique and powerful voice, but I think Stacy is a better performer. Stacy has been consistent throughout the season, and she can carry most songs with ease. She can dance and sing very well, though Nadia has proven in the last concert that she too can sing and dance very well.

But, I have a feeling either Nubhan or Riz might win, because they both have so many screaming female fans who would vote for him like nobody's business. *grin* Toi might just win 2nd place! I think it is going to be a tough fight.

Here's my guess -
Nubhan or Riz for first place, Stacy or Nadia for 3rd place with Toi in 2nd place. If Nubhan gets first place, Toi might come in 2nd, with Riz coming in 3rd, followed Stacy and Nadia at 4th and 5th place respectively. OR, Riz might win first place, followed by Toi, with Stacy or Nadia taking 3rd and 4th place. That's how the vote would go, going by the way the trend in the voting this season.

What I would like to see -
Stacy in first place, Nadia, 2nd place, Riz ,3rd place, Toi, 4th and Nubhan last. You have to remember, loyal fans of Nubhan, Nubhan has shown no improvement throughout the season, but Toi has, and I am just stating the facts, from my humble observation. Oppps! With that statement, Nubhan has just garnered 100,000 more votes! LOL! *wink*

That's my guess! What's yours?

Note: photos taken from Akademi Fantasia's official website at http://www.astro.com.my/akademi_fantasia/default.asp

Going amigurumi crazy!

heheh....yup, that's the current craze sweeping over at NNC at the moment. It only needs one member to talk about it and show off her or his lovely work, and everyone would start jumping on the badwagon! LOL!

I can't exactly remember who was the first member that mentioned about amigurumi. I think it was Janet, when she showed off her pink mouse. Then, Sue posted the link to her blog at, showing off her cute amigurumi pieces, and I was so taken by the cuteness of her pieces, I just had to give it a go. LOL! Talk about being so easily influenced! LOL!

June posted this link, which was really helpful to get me started, and then Sue posted this link, and that made me make up my mind as to what I want to make as my first amigurumi. Adventurous, don't you think? LOL!

In my excitement to give amigurumi a try, I forgot that I had never done anyamis, and went head on into a large project! *grin* I slept late the first night trying to figure out the instructions, and I spent a lot of time unpicking as I kept miscalculating as I went round and round the rows, until I put a marker for the beginning of each row, did I finally managed to progress pass the first 3 rows! LOL! I almost gave it up, actually, if not for the cute cat that I imagine will be sitting atop my shelf. *grin*

So, I finished the head piece (the one on the right), but, it is a little bit lopsided and looks nothing like a cat's head! LOL! Not wanting to get discouraged by the lopsided head, I started on the torso part of the cat yesterday. I did not progress much on it, though, as I had to stop to take my son to his Robotics class followed by a movie to watch Speed Racer.

I had not picked it yet to work on it today, prefering instead to work a little bit on the Mandala Garden which I had abandoned for the past week of so when I got distracted my the amis. *grin*

On another stitching note, I started on another small project last weekend, after completing the LHN Gourmet Garden piece. This will be my travel piece, though I don't see myself travelling that much as most projects I am handling currently are coming to a close, that is, until I receive instructions for the other projects to be implemented.

This is another Little House Needleworks piece titled Chocolate Shoppe, and I am stitching it on 14ct overdyed opalescent piece I bought from Dyeing4U some years back. Dyeing4U has closed down since due to some illness in the family. That was sad, because their overdyed pieces are really lovely.

BTW, my sister-in-law and brother from the US sent me this lovely Mother's Day gift which was sent through my mum in Kota Bharu. My sister brought it back for me when she went home to Kota Bharu recently.

It's the cutest ever pincushion teapot I have ever received! Well, I have never received a tea pot pincushion before to begin with! LOL! But, this teapot is really lovely, and I have to thank my SIL and brother for knowing what I like and making my day! Hugs, Eli and Nik Ai!

The Birthday Party

We held Aiman's birthday party on the 3rd of May 2008, eventhough his birthday was actually on the 22nd of April. This year, we decided to go with the flow and have it outside of the house, at a fast food restaurant. Every year since he was two, we have always had his birthday party at home where I would cook all the food, prepare the party packs and organize the games. I would even bake the cake myself.

However, after a hectic time organizing Aiman's party last year when most parents just dropped off their kds, leaving me to see to the food, organize the games (my sis and brother eventually helped with the music and running of the games), distributing the party pack which was already prepared earlier, and having to keep an eye on the screaming kids running around, making sure they eat, and not go home with an empty stomach, less their parents might wonder why I did not take care of their kids, I decided, I am not going through the `trauma' again this year! LOL! *wink*

So, this year, we decided to have it at the A&W Restaurant in Subang Jaya. We could not have it earlier as it was undergoing some minor renovation works, and so was closed the week Aiman turned eight.

Aiman enjoyed himself tremendously and so did all his guests, as you can see from the photos.

Some of the parents who are close to us stayed on to chat and enjoy the simple food.

I did not bake the cake either this year as my regular bakery supply shop has closed down, and I did not know where to get some of the more difficult to find ingredients to make a walnut carrot cake that is within close vicinity to my house.

Aiman himself chose this Ultraman cake, although he initially wanted one of BIONICLES, his latest craze. But, alas, the bakery shop has never even heard of BIONICLES, what more to make one! LOL! I guess if you have no children of that age, you wouldn't have heard of BIONICLES either. *grin*

I am glad that Aiman had a great time at his party.

Will we be having his next birthady party outside of the house again next year? Hmm...I have had some comments from parents that they prefer my home party because of the home cooked food, the home baked cake, and games. I am flattered! *blush* Well, we shall have to see....

The Alien Attack!

*grin* That does sound like the title of a movie, right?

Well, it is. It's the title to Aiman's latest movie, though he did not have the chance to put up the credits as he was late getting to his art class last Saturday. I came home to edit it and put in the credits for him, but I have yet to learn how to add the audio. I am learning too!

He is getting more creative, and his movie is getting longer. When I went to pick him up for his art class, he was still `shooting' some scenes.

So, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Aiman's latest creation.......

Herbs, anyone?

I finally completed my LHN Gourmet Garden piece yesterday at 3.00pm as I sat waiting for my son to finish his art class. I think I did not take that long to finish this piece as it only consist of cross stitches. However, I have yet to complete my CCN Ice Cream Sundae piece, which I started way before this piece, despite it also consist of only cross stitches. I think maybe because it is a slightly bigger piece, and it has more colours in it, compared to the Gourmet Garden.

I am not far from finishing it (the CCN Ice Cream Sundae), though. It just needs another uninterrupted stitching session, and I will surely be able to complete it.

BTW, here is a progress photo of my Mandala Garden – The Watergarden. I have not worked on this piece for more than two weeks already. I have been busy with so many other things which are of higher priority. Still a very very long way to go, and not working at all on it for weeks is making it getting to the finishing line an even longer way away.

While I was rummaging through my UFOs (UnFinished Objects), looking for charts for my granny squares (yup, it granny square crazy at NNC lately when Margaret, Tini and Aiza wanted to learn crocheting at our last Stitching Bee. LOL!), I came upon this piece I did so very long time ago. It is a design from the Cross Country Stitching magazine, issue August 1999, called Summer Window.

It is almost completed except for a little bit more of back stitching. I might want to complete this piece and have it framed very soon. A piece from the past. I have always liked designs from the Cross Country Stitching magazine, but have lately been distracted, or shall I say, influenced, by so many other lovely designs from other designers. I love the bright and cheerful colours that is a trademark of Cross Country Stitching. I don’t think I will ever tire of designs from CCS, although I have not stitched a piece from CCS for a very long time.

Back to the current craze at NNC, with all the talk about granny squares, I got tempted to take out my hook and yarn to crochet some grannies myself. However, in my search for the pattern that I did my grannies earlier (I wanted the same pattern so that I can crochet the same size pieces together), I came across this flower pattern, and so I gave it a try. It does not look exactly like the one in the book. I think I got something wrong, but I do not know what and where I went wrong. I will give it another go to perfect the flower.

The chart calls for embellishment using beads in the center of the flower, but I was told that I needed a very fine hook to use the beads in my crochet piece, which, unfortunately, I do not have. An excuse to go stash shopping? LOL!

Here is a lovely rose brooch Janet made for me, which she gave me when we met for the Stitching Bee. Of course it has to be in PINK! LOL! *wink* I have a long way to go before I can crochet a rose flower this nice!

Thanks, Janet!

My PINK package!

I received my Favourite Colour Exchange from Jess on Wednesday, but only today do I have a chance to upload the photos of the things I got. I love everything in the box, which consist of two polka dotted pink and white felt fabrics, two flat fats, a skein of Threadworx overdyed floss, a card, and a very lovely and sweet pinkeep, all in PINK, of course! LOL! *wink*

I have never come across a polka dotted felt fabric, what more in pink and white. Really lovely and sweet! I don’t know what I will be using them for, but `sayangla nak guna’ *grin* For now, I will just keep them as part of my ever expanding stash. *grin*

I surely have a use for the flat fats! *smile* The overdyed? I am sure I will be using it for some project. I have never heard of Threadworx floss before either, but I love the shades of green and pink in it! I need to ask Jess where she got it from. I might want to buy more! LOL!

The pinkeep is really lovely, and here is a close up of it to show off the lovely piece.

Thank you so much, Jess! I am burning pink cheeks in excitement upon receiving my PINK package!

Happy Mother's Day!

I got this lovely Mother’s Day card from my son, which he made during his art class yesterday. It is so sweet, and it is in my favourite colour of PINK and GREEN!

This is the front and back (immediately above), and it opens up to reveal the bright and cheerful colours of the rainbow and hearts, balloons and stars (top photo). I am touched!

When the front and back are opened out, it would look like this! I must proudly show off the card my son made for me, right? *wink*

To my mum and mother-in-law, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! I love you both!

Note: As I was uploading this posting, my hubby called from Langkawi saying that his mum, my MIL, fell in her bedroom today and hit her head at the corner of her cabinet. She is currently in hospital undergoing a procedure to stitch the cut as it seems it is quite deep. I tried calling my FIL and SIL who are with her at the hospital, but I could not get through.

I will try a little bit latter to find out more, as I am unsure as to whether she is still in hospital or already on the way back home. I was told that it could only be an outpatient treatment.

I hope that it is nothing more serious than a cut, and I hope that she will recover quickly. As it is, she is already not well, and in the last few weeks, her health has deteriorated further. I guess that is what caused her to fall and hit her head. I pray for her speedy recovery.

A history almost repeating itself?

Huh? Did you know that if there was an elimination last night, Nadia would have had to leave the Akademi? That would have been shocking and what a waste it would have been. History would have repeated itself again, like it did when Rosma was eliminated during AF Season 1. How did that happen? Was Nadia so bad? Even worse than Toi and Nubhan? *shaking my head in disbelief*

This is the ranking I got off Mr Manager's blog which has yet to be updated with the latest report on the 8th concert.

Official AF votes ranking at the close of the concert:

Nubhan 19%
Riz 19%
Stacy 18%
Stanly 16%
Toi 16%
Nadia 13%

How did Nubhan get top ranking? I think even Toi did better (yeah! I must be coming down with a fever for me to say that Toi did better! LOL! *wink*) last night with his rendition of Kasih Berduka. I agree with Ning that probably he has found his genre of music, and I do agree that last night he sang with his heart and soul, and I really enjoyed his performance. Yup, I am definitely coming down with a fever! LOL! *grin*

I think last night, Riz's performance was way way below par. In fact, it could easily have been the worst for the night. I agree with Ning that it was his worse performance so far. Like Ogy, I like Dewa's Laskar Cinta, but last night I could not appreciate the song. I was waiting for the chorus part which I have always enjoyed listening to, but I never got to enjoy that part. It was a big letdown.

Riz is lucky that he has got so many young shouting female fans who would vote for me no matter how bad his performances are. Did you hear them shouting for him when he went down from the stage? His worst performance did nothing to affect his ranking. He sat safely at no. 2, after Nubhan. Yeah, Nubhan! Can someone please tell me if Nubhan's performance was so far better than Stacy last night, that he deserves to be ranked no. 1? *shaking my head in disbelief again* People must be so blind.... really blind......*sigh*

Yes, I do agree that he sang better last night then he did in the last few concerts, no, make that throughout the season, but, still, he does not desrve to be on top of Stacy and Nadia, and even Riz. It would be shocking if he wins. No, it would be a sad day for the music industry if he wins. I can accept him going to the finals since he seems to have a very strong fan base, but being made a champion? *sigh* Either Riz, Stacy or Nadia must fall flat on their feet first for Nubhan to win first placing.

I said once before that Stacy suits songs that are cheeky because it goes well with her persona, and bubbly character, like this Gembira Hidup Ini song. She seems to be able to carry this genre of songs very well. Stacy can actually carry any song without much problem. She has been consistent throughout the season. I hope she will be in the top 3, but I have this uncomfortable feeling that Nubhan's fans might just upset her chances.

I don't know what to comment on Stanly's performance, except that he no longer surprises me. He is not going up, but neither is he going down. He has remained consistently mediocre in his performances.

Something about Nadia's attire quite does not fit, or look quite right. Is it the big black buckle? One thing for sure, it makes her look even rounder, even though the dress is kinda cute with the bouncy skirt. The fashion designer should design something for her that will make her look slimmer, not rounder. Did Astro pick out the wrong fashion designer for this season too, like it did when it chose AC Mizal to host AF6?

Yeah, I agree with comments from Asmahani and Emily that AF is not the same without Aznil. Yes, bring back Aznil! I agree with Anne that if there is any good that came out of AC hosting this season's concert, it's that it makes Aznil look REALLLY GOOOOD! Yes, please bring back AZNIL!

Overall, this concert is still missing the 'umpph' that would leave you mesmerised. Is it the choice of songs, I ask again, or simply because the students just do not the x-factor?

I know! I know! It's the host! *grin* AC Mizal does not have the charisma that Aznil have, and him failing to interact with the students and the crictics, have left a lot of situations hanging. You wondered if you had missed something when AC says something, or ask the students something, and when they respond, he does not respond back, but would quickly change the subject, or ask them to start their performances.

He is not spontaneous with his actions. Something a host of any reality program, especially AF, would need. He had failed many times to catch the moment when the critics say something witty or humorous. Instead, he just moved on to something else.

Did you noticed that he failed to interact with Amelia and Zarina last week when they backed up Nadia singing? They look lost and as if were waiting for AC to say something, but he never did. Made them look silly, doesn't it. Pity, because both Amelia and Zarina are good singers and should be appreciated for making a surprise appearance. I am sure that if it had been Aznil, he would have said something.

I just realised that this season, I seem to be making more comments on the host than on the students themselves. That goes to show you how much I am 'affected' by AC Mizal's presence, and Aznil's absence.

I wonder if ASTRO realised the 'mistake' they made in choosing AC Mizal over Sarimah Ibrahim, not that I think she can do a better job, since she has not hosted a single AF concert, but, I have trully enjoyed watching her host the dairies from what little I can catch each week. She makes me laugh, and I have a feeling she could be spontaneous in her actions, and being pretty is an added bonus.

Note: photos taken from Akademi Fantasia's official website at http://www.astro.com.my/akademi_fantasia/default.asp

That's it?

Okay, so I am cruel when I put up that heading, but, can you blame me?

You have a concert at such a grand venue, surely one would expect a more impressive show, but……hmmm…….I am disappointed. No, make that very disappointed. *sigh* Was it the choice of songs, or were the students really bad? *scratching my head* I think the students were...errr.....bad.....at least 3 of them were.

Before I proceed further with my comments, would it be possible for ASTRO to take AC Mizal out as the host for the concert? There are 2 or 3 more concerts, and I wonder if I can bear seeing him anymore each Saturday hosting the concert. Please, please, take him out! I shudder each time he opens his mouth to talk to the students. Most of the time, his questions have no relevance, and he simply does not know how to handle situations when the critics gave comments that are hard to swallow, or when the video clips have no relevance. Yes, the video clips, but let me get to that one later. Please, ASTRO, take him out, if you want us to keep on watching the show.

He lacks the emotions to play act the elimination round, which I feel, at most times, ended up with an anti-climax due to his lack of empathy. Bring back Aznil, if you can. If you can't, replace him with Sarimah Ibrahim!

No, you can't kick him out? He has a contract to host the concert for the whole season? Really? *sigh* I wished I had watched AIM instead last night. At least I could have watched Faizal Tahir, Hazami and Anuar Zain sing, which wouldn't have given me nightmares when I went to bed last night! LOL!

During the first concert, I gave AC Mizal the benefit of the doubt, but last night was already the 7th concert, but still he lacks the talent to host a concert of this nature. It did not take Aznil till the 7th concert to have people loving him already during the 1st season. People began to love him almost immediately; even he was surprised by the reaction that he got for hosting the show. He has set the pace that is hard for anyone to follow, let alone fill in his big shoes. But, certainly, AC Mizal does not fit the bill.

After so much hype about who will take over Aznil's place, it is sad that this is all that we get. Sorry, AC Mizal, but I have to be cruel to be kind, but I feel that you simply don't have what it takes to host a show of great expectations. Maybe you should have just stayed on to host AC Di Sini. That's a show I have enjoyed, and would have continued to enjoy, but, after seeing you as host of AF, hmm.........

This season, the opening act for the concerts were all good, but, the minute AC comes onstage, the good part ends, that is, until Stacy, Nadia and Riz comes on stage. There is nothing outstanding about any of the other students' performances this season. A very lack lustre season. I have yet to recall a concert that has left me mesmerised.

Ramli MS has tried everything to bring out the best of the students. I could see his frustrations. I would too if I were him. He has a reputation to keep. I wonder if he has regreted taking over the role of Pengetua AF for the 2nd round, as he did a very good job of the first round when some of the more successful singers now are a product of the AF Season 2.

Ramli MS tried his best. So did all the teachers, but, if the students had nothing great to offer in the first place, and as Tiara Jaquelina said, we are looking for performers with the X Factor, then, even if you perform at the best venue, it would just be another mediocre concert.

Even though Nubhan sang slightly better at this concert (the squeky voice was not that apparent), it was still a performance that was below par. BTW, why the song Dealova again? Wasn't it sang by Faizal in one on the concerts during the forth season? It's not possible that ASTRO has ran out of songs for the students to sing, is it, as there are 2 or 3 more concerts to go, right?

Stanly did OK. He could dance despite his small and heavy posture. He sang better though when he performed the bonus song, Phantom of the Opera, Music of the Night. That was nice. I think that that was his genre of music.

I like Aliff and was disppointed that he failed to impress. I have to agree, though, that he just lost his place at the finals with last night's below par performance. He has not shown any mark improvement in his performances, which is a pity, really, since he has got the looks to make it in this cruel and challenging entertainment world. But looks alone will not get you far, if all you have is that, but your voice is only mediocre. We have so many of that already, and the cake is not that big to share among so many players in the industry. Yes, Alif, we need the X Factor.

I wish it was Toi that got eliminated last night, and not Aliff, not that Aliff was any better, but, if anyone deserves to go last night, it should have been Toi. Why is he still in the running really puzzles me. He really must have a very strong fan base that does not care much about how he faired, for as long as they can get him to the finals. Opps! Toi in the finals? Oh, peleeease! His performance was so bad, it left even Tiara Jaquelina speechless, not knowing what to say but having to say something diplomatic.

Aahh! Nadia was good! She made a comeback after, what I feel, was a mediocre performance last week. I was also impressed by the fact that she had actually performed at Istana Budaya before, and, from the video clips, it was obvious that she could perform well. Too bad AC Mizal did not know how to take advantage of that and make the right comments. *sigh*

Riz was good as usual. He got his genre of music, and that made him perform effortlessly. A place in the finals for sure. But of course, if not Riz, who else besides Stacy and Nadia, to the finals? Nubhan? He will just be going to the finals to fill in the quota. Sorry fans of Nubhan, but this is my persoanl opinion only. Jangan marah! *wink*

Stacy was, as usual, good, but nothing compared to her impressive performance when she sang Makhluk Tuhan Paling Seksi. Maybe she should get more songs of that genre, as she performs very well songs of that nature. It brings out the best in her.

I cannot help but feel restless each time there is a prelude before a song with an act that is too long. Yes, the concert was held at a prestigeous theatrical venue, and so you needed to do something theatrical, but does it have to be so long to the point of making people feel restless? I am not saying this because I am not a fan of the theatre, because I am, but, because it realy was too long.

Was Astro trying desparately to fill in the time it has till 11.00pm, since it just signed up a host that had failed to play up the time during the elimination round, so that, come the emination round, AC Mizal needs only to annouce the name with no drama at all, using time over run as an excuse? That would have been my guess, since I simply can't think of anything else for the extra long acting scenes at this concert, and the irrelevant long video clips at the previous concerts. *sigh*

I don't know what to expect at the 8th concert, except more disappointments. Can ASTRO surprise us anymore? We will just have to wait and see, won't we?

Note: photos taken from Akademi Fantasia's official website at http://www.astro.com.my/akademi_fantasia/default.asp

A tote for shopping!

Mel finally received my package for the Favorite Colour Exchange organised by Jess at NNC, way past 8.00pm on Tuesday! Phew! Even then, it was after I made numerous calls to DROPZONE inquiring about my package. Each time, the answer would be "On The way!". Yeah, right, on the way, but I made my first call to them at 4.30pm, and yet the package arrived after 8.00pm! But, I guess I can't be too mad with them since the package did arrive safely despite the fact that the pick up boy failed to leave me a pick-up invoice, and that made me worry since the item in the box is special since it was going to someone special.

As it is, I was already running late in mailing it out to Mel. It was supposed to be mailed out between 23rd - 30th April, and just my luck, that was also my busiest week travelling all over the country. Err....did I ever have a week that I wasn't busy? LOL! I do, actually, though far between, but I like keeping myself busy. It makes my life more meaningful. Yes, Mel is one very talented lady, so I must make her something special too!

I am glad that Mel said it was worth the wait, because I was really starting to get really mad with the DROPZONE driver. When the package still did not arrive at 6.30pm, and when I called again, the driver was pi***d off with the head office for promising to deliver the package on the same day when it was only picked up in the morning. It should have been next day delivery. But, I told him that it was supposed to be picked up the day before. With that, he said that no matter what, and since the company promised, he will deliver tonite.

He was being cheeky when he said that even if it means tht it will end up with him going home at midnite! "Kerana Puan, saya hantar juga malam ini. Kalau alamat pejabat, dah lama saya balik".

I thanked him and said, "Very good, as long as you deliver it tonite!" LOL!

So, here is the much awaited package *wink* - a stash shopping bag for Mel, in her favourite colour.

I also included other small stash items as called for in the exchange requirements. Also required as part of the exchange is a matching handmade card.

I spent a lot more time staring at the wall, cracking my head for ideas to make up the card, as I have not been making cards for some time already, than my actual doing up of the card! LOL!

Now that I am already in the mood to make up cards, I feel like making up more cards! Better check my calendar for friends' birthdays! *wink* Hmm.....is my Mandala Garden taking a back seat if I start to make up cards again? I hope not! I am just as excited to make more progress on the Mandala Gardens, though I have not been sticthing in the last two days. Too many other priorities. I hope to work on it this weekend. I will definitely put in a progress report on it.

I am also putting up photos of a red and white tote bag I made for Jess and hand delivered it to her when I met up with her in Melbourne.

The red sparkly card shown here is a birthday card I made for Jess who celebrated her birthday on 26 April 2008. This was mailed out by registered mail together with a potpourri sachet and handmade pincushion last week. I was surprised that Jess received them within 4 days. Kudos to Pos Malaysia for the fast delivery. I hope they will keep up the good service.