A very happy NEW year!

The first posting of the NEW year!

After a whole week of rest, quiet family celebrations and plenty of sleep/DVDs/home cooked food/more sleep and of course, the Taiwan earthquake which screwed up my internet life for days now, I am finally ready to return to normalcy. And put my new mobile phone camera to good use.

Ning gave me a new mobile, the Nokia N73, for Christmas. Yeay! I suspected she gave it to me to replace my two years old Nokia 6680 because the N73's camera has far more pixels and thus, pics of her will look sharper when I post them here!

My sister gave me a set of Yves Saint Laurent bed sheets and pillow cases for my king-sized bed. Mom and Dad gave me a diamond cross with a matching chain.

Last Friday, 29th December, my cousin Karen Jolly (daughter of my uncle Raymond Jolly, owner of the batik based design house, Von Jolly) got married to a handsome Scots called Richard Allison, from Scotland. His even more handsome younger brother Bertie, played the bag-pipes at the simple but elegant and beautiful wedding ceremony at Carcosa.

Ok, so maybe he doesn't look so cute all puffed up like that blowing the pipes, but trust me, after a few glasses of red wine, any boy in a kilt looks cute. But Bertie really is cute.

It was a Scottish wedding, except no one spoke Gaelic and there was no square dancing and the only ones wearing the kilt were the groom and his bag-pipe piping brother. That's Karen and Richard.

I tried to take pictures of the food but the lighting in Carcosa's Dinner Hall was appallingly 'romantic'. So all I managed to photograph was my table setting.

Karen's sister, Kim, played the guitar and sang a few songs during the reception. Kim Jolly is only 21, and is studying classical music at Edinburgh University, majoring in voice. And this cousin of mine can really sing! Hardcore fans of Ning will remember Karen and Kim singing "Fallin" with Ning at Planet Hollywood three years ago.

My other cousin, Sharon Sagan, whom you might recognise as Shal, was also present but didn't sing. She released a grunge alternative album last year but we all agreed that her loud and melancholic music would have not suited the ocassion! Yes, we are a family of musicians.

It's interesting that my cousin Karen, who also has Scottish blood by virtue of being a Jolly, is now married to a Scots. They met in Edinburgh when Karen was visiting Kim, and Richard's immediate family flew in to KL for the reception. Of course, Mom, being the matriach of the Jolly family, regaled Richard's parents with our Scottish connection. Karen is the first Jolly outside of Scotland to finally marry another Scots. Isn't the world getting smaller?

After dinner, all the cousins took a wedding photograph.

Say hello to 'Blue'. Blue is a three and a half months old female puppy Beagle.

Blue is the latest addition to our happy family. We found her in a small pet shop near my apartment. Just look at her!

Just ten minutes into being ours, Blue was already dressed in a cute red puppy t-shirt and was far too comfortable falling asleep on her owner's shoulder. We love Blue, and she's such a happy little puppy with an unsatiable and voracious appetite. She also sleeps a lot.

And in other news, if you haven't seen/bought/borrowed/stolen a copy of the January issue of GLAM magazine, you really should.

It is an honour and a privilege that Malaysia's top highest selling and No.1 fashion and style magazine picked Ning, out of all the celebs and artistes in this country, to lead the way for the year! How very appropriate, and timely.

For the benefit of international readers who do not have access to GLAM, here are the photos.

I ushered in the New Year with my parents last night quietly but with plenty of love. I pray that 2007 brings all of us, including you, gentle reader, only good things.

My New Year's resolution?

To lead a healthier lifestyle. You only get one life. Live it well.