Water Baby

The one thing that makes me upbeat and chirpy:

The smile of my loved ones.

Senyumlah kerana senyum itu sunnah dan penawar.

Tok Adam ada kebun

Family outings are fun.

It has always been you...

Family matters most.

Photo Tips & Tricks #1: Editing your photos (The fastest way)

I love spending time on Facebook. With real-time live feeds, I think it's the best social site by far. Twitter is fun to just rant and do some "people-watching" through the conversations and RTs (retweets) but you can do many more with Facebook such as uploading your photos, putting up notes, play games...the list just goes on and on. 

The best part about Facebook is that you can re-connect with your long lost friends. Well, I get to catch up with my ex-boss from the Prisons recently. We share a common interest in photography so it doesn't take us long to just talk and share tips on the subject. Thing is, many fail to realize that it's not the gadget i.e. the camera or lens that's important. It's the editing skills, no matter how blurry and dark the photos can be that you can salvage, that's important.

How to turn your normal photo...

into this?

I'm going to share my best kept secret in editing my photos. I only took minutes to change the above look - NOT with the professional help of Photoshop which can cost you thousands of dollars but a free software by Google called Picasa.

What did I do? 

(1) Simply increase the contrast

(2) And add a soft focus effect

Yes! That's it!

Picasa is so user-friendly, it doesn't take long for you to fall in love with its various tunings and effects. Experience the magic of the software and go to http://picasa.google.com to start downloading. Again, it's FREE, people!

Just like Ikea's tagline "You don't have to be rich, to be clever", you don't need expensive professional help. All you need is just you and your creativity :)

Have fun experimenting!

Template change + Cravings #2, #3 and #4 + Fazlan's surprise gift + The Dollah Kassim Cup

My maternity leave has started (effective 17 June), which is a blessing I must say. I don't know how to describe to you the pain that I'm going through - my stomach feels like a washing machine on full blast, twirling and grinding - it feels like passing motion. It can go on and on for hours and I really do not know what to do other than to hope and pray that everything will be all right.

In a way, this blog has managed to distract me away from the pain. If you notice, I keep on changing the layout from yesterday. No more changes, Zalinah, I would say. But the moment I'm off Photoshop, the pain will start again and my fingers will itch to do more tweaking and add-ons to the header design and blog template.

I don't remember having any cravings during my 1st and 2nd trimesters but come 3rd trimester, there are suddenly so many things that the greedy-me would like to devour like #1 Newton's Chilli Crab (which I've successfully cooked myself), #2 imported mangoes from India (best to get it at Mustafa Centre), #3 Badoque Cafe's Aglio Olio (made a substitute), and the #4 famously fattening Famous Amos cookies below.

It must be a trying period for Fazlan for being the middle person to buy all these stuffs. Being a sweet husband he already is, I can't thank him enough for being there, taking care of my needs and unavoidable wants. He definitely deserves this birthday present that he's been eyeing for the longest time, Adi Pure II TRX FG:

Make me and Baby S proud, Fazlan! I know you can do it.

To those who have no plans this Sunday (20 June), head down to Nanyang Polytechnic stadium for The Dollah Kassim Cup 2010 at 5pm! Support Team Suria! Admission is free!

Read more about the match from Cyberita here:
(1) Tekad Julang Piala
(2) Suria Utamakan Disiplin
(3) Dramatis Bagai Keluarga
(4) Merendah Diri

Check out your favourite artistes - Fauzie Laily, Syed Azmir, Rafaat Hamzah, Shahril Wahid and many more in action! 

Just don't expect the players to be this hot! LOL!

Italian Players in D&G's you-know-what

Stop grinning, girls!

Rinduku, Rindumu

Swan duplicated! Told you Raudha, it can be done!
Can't wait to receive the pixs from Filzah.

Feeling experimental

I used to experiment a lot with pictures and photoshop when I was in poly. Maybe it's about time to rekindle my passion in design.

And nope, I'm not an Arts student.

Took a diploma in Media and Communication and now a BA...I know it's too late to ask myself this but honestly, did I actually choose the right course in the first place? :S

Thing is...I've always been interested in design yet I tend to end up with the opposite of what I really, really like.

Oh well, I'm graduating soon anyway.
Stay positive, Zalinah!
It's good to have many skills ;)

I just need to keep on practicing.
And most importantly, I have to keep on believing.

Here's something I did in 2004...

A rose called by any other name would smell as sweet

Can't wait to meet Azlina to pass her engagement photos. Btw to my SSP juniors who are reading this, Az is one of the pioneer members of the grp.






To Az,
I enjoy taking your pixs.
Terima kasih kerana percaya akan diri ini walaupun ilmu di dada tak seberapa. Semoga persiapan persandinganmu berjalan dengan sempurna...

Hello Love!

As much as I want to upload the pictures, my eyes are heavy and body's aching. Will do so in the morning :)

XoXo

//Updated. Geram! So I edited the picture in my fav software, Photoshop!