Pickles n' Tickles by JJ

DO you know how it feels to be on an 8-hour flight and suddenly realise that you've forgotten to pack something you can't live without? Well, I do. It's an engulfing, horible feeling of regret and stupidity, and you wish you were more careful in packing your stuff. That's exactly how I felt when I was above the clouds, flying across the Indian Ocean en route to Doha, Qatar to my husband, when I couldn't recall placing my make-up pouch into my luggage. Now, that's a total make-up blunder. Buying a whole new set of make-up isn't fun when you're on a holiday because... a)It's EXPENSIVE . An entire range including a good mosturiser or foundation, face powder, concealer and blusher is dear. You wouldn't want to end up spending all your money on things you already have at home. b) It's NOT EASY to find something that suits you well, especially in Doha. You'd be surprised to learn that some brands you...

WHEN it comes to running, I will always have Bob Dylan's Christmas In The Heart album to thank for. It's weird I know, but I must've listened to it like 10,000 times(since it was released in Oct 2009), sometimes over and over again, during long runs. Despite it being a Christmas album, I love running with Christmas In The Heart all year round simply because the country-style, jolly music gets me happy, and against Dylan's slow pace, I feel like a galloping horse as I run. Running never came easy to me. I am still a new runner, since I only began early last year, however, I've improved so much to my surprise. Intially, I struggled even with 10 minutes of  running, but persistance won me over. I ran almost everyday, and pushed myself to run a minute or two longer each time. My friend Reeni, who is an avid runner, sometimes ran along and gave me tips. We ran at the gym, different parks and terrains. Over the months, I...

WHEN Christmas approaches, one of the fun things we do at my editorial desk is a nice, warm Christmas party. Every one of us, takes the effort to finish and clear stories, and close pages in time to make a gathering possible (it's not easy to get all editorial team members together at one time, especially in a daily publication team). We dress to a theme, have great food, and...exchange gifts! Last year, my Secret Santa, Sam, gave me a Byrd pen knife. It may be small, but it's the sharpest and sturdiest pen knife I've ever owned! I t turned out that I was Sam's Secret Santa (we were each other's Secret Santa randomly through a draw), so I bought him a wind-chime - I tell ya, it not easy to shop for a burly man, who, is into knives and bug photography.   So when I got a female name in the 2010 draw last week, I was just too glad. Bavani, my team leader, is a woman, who, adores glitter and accesories, and that's just up my alley. I didn'...

EVERYTIME things go terribly wrong for me, I console myself by thinking that it could've  been a worse situation - l ike, if my car breaks down at a petrol station, I'd thank God with a relieved sigh, because it'd be much harder to get help if the old Vitara died on me on a dark, desserted highway, with very little or no mobile signal at all. Fluttery, long-lashes or not, I know, through experience, that it's not easy to get help from complete strangers to jump-start a stalled car even at a petrol station full of people, who may seem like caring Malaysians. While I've had kind strangers offering help during emegencies, most are just plain selfish. It's sad, really. Though it wasn't car trouble this time, last Friday was a testing day. It was a working day, I was getting from one place to another, and in between that, I bought a black, babydoll dress I thought was nice and decent, for a Christmas party I was invited...

SOME music touches your soul. It's so powerful, it moves you to tears or laughter, and connects or re-connects you to love, life and hope. Amidst many Christmas albums this year, Annie Lennox's A Christmas Cornucopia , has touched and re-connected me to the spirit of the season at a new level. The entire composition, which is soulful and rich, has been a hair-raising experience for me. I'd like to share the same experience with all, along with a universal hope of love, joy and peace, as we remember the Child, who was born unto us to save humanity. In that pretext, Lennox herself is a great individual in her works towards humanity. The Annie Lennox Foundation raises funds to conduct educational programmes pertaining to HIV/ AIDS for women and children in Africa. So after listening to it on day one, I went back on day two to purchase a few more CDs as gifts. Something as good as this needs to be shared. I love everything about the album including its cover The...

THERE is something therapeutic about wire works. Everytime I sit down to bend and shape wires, I am thrilled at how beautiful they can be when tastefully crafted. Seeing that always leaves me with a high that makes me feel like I'm an artisan, and that's very inspiring. For Julie's necklace, I was toying around with some wires when this idea of combining shaped wires and beads turned up. I experimented with some coppery wires and a variety of stones including pearls, turqoise and glittery crystals till I found these gorgeous flower-shaped black agates at my beading school. When I saw those, I also saw Julie's necklace right away. I love the glossy black stones, and in such daisy shapes, they look like dark herbal candies. Sweet. So I made Julie some Agate Daisies .      The daisy earrings Making this piece was so much fun. In fact, I rushed home by day end just so I could begin working on it. Snipping silvery wires...