Bits And Blythes All Over The Place

Jakey says hi!!!!! Don't you just LOVE his smile!!??!! 

Hi everyone!!!!!!!!! How are you????? What have you been doing???? Wow, it's been AGES hasn't it!! Sorry for not posting for SUCH a LONG time! The last time I posted was during the December holidays LAST YEAR! Well, of course then school started, so I got all busy with schoolwork and lots of new activities. Then I had gastroenteritis for almost 3 weeks!! I even had it during the March holidays, BOO! But I'm all better now, thank you Jesus!!

So this post is going to be a little long, because it's a bunch of stuff over the past months squeezed together (I don't have lots of pictures though, because our little old camera slowly died a couple of months ago). Before I start though, I'm going to do some SHOUT-OUTS! In case you don't know, a shout-out is like a greeting, which people usually do over the radio or during a concert, to people you can't see right then. It's a way of saying HI!! If you'd like me to post a shout-out for you to your friends in my next post, let me know!

Here are my shout-outs:
Shout-out to Qin Yi, my classmate and probably the best follower ever. Thanks for swinging by my blog almost every day!
Shout-out to Nicholle -- thanks for being a great friend and my Science partner in the SCSA competition!
Shout-out to Dion -- thanks for being a great partner!
Shout-out to Harmony, Jana, Leeann, Ser Jia, Chloe, Maisy and Jodie for celebrating my birthday with me -- thanks for your super presents and an amazingly fun day!
Shout-out to everyone involved in Earth Hour -- good job!

Now on to my post! (I would have liked to share more pictures of my awesome birthday party with my friends, but I don't really have pictures because the camera was dead at that time. This picture was taken by Maisy's mom, but we're all looking at other people taking pictures with their handphones. Anyway, we had a great time!! Thank you everyone!!!).

So, see me in my blue uniform up there? That's right -- I'm with the Girls' Brigade! Do you know what the Girls' Brigade is? Well, it is an international and interdenominational Christian youth organisation. It was founded in 1893 in Dublin, Ireland. The Brigade operates in over 60 countries worldwide!

The international vision statement of the GB is "Girls' lives transformed, God's world enriched". The motto of the Girls' Brigade is "Seek, Serve and Follow Christ" and its aim is "To help girls become followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, and through self control, reverence and a sense of responsibility, to find true enrichment of life". The GB programme follows four themes: Spiritual, Physical, Educational and Service. These words spell SPES, which is Latin for Hope. Isn't that great?

I chose to join the GB as my school co-curricular activity (CCA). All students in Singapore must participate in a CCA. As a GB girl, I have lots of important things to take part in and different roles and responsibilities. For example, we have gone to help at the nursing home and had camps in school to learn important life skills and about the fruits of the Spirit. We even had a year-end field trip to Pastamania, where we got to make our own pizzas -- YUMMY!!

Last Saturday, I took part in my official enrollment in the GB. There are six badges which can be collected throughout a year (I got my sixth today). Each badge stands for something; in this case -- God's Book, My Journey, My Service, My Treasure, My Activity and My Responsibility. The first letters of the badges spell "GB J STAR", which means a really AWESOME Girls' Brigade Junior :D

And now, here's a quick pic of little Jakey!!! Isn't he the most adorable fuzzpot ever???? He's already 9 months old, and he can stand up all by himself. He has a huge appetite and the most awesome laugh ever!!!

Just yesterday, my Dad brought me, Ro and Jakey swimming. We put a small black swimsuit on Jake and decided that we would put him in the water slowly, and get him used to it step by step. The last time we brought him swimming, he screamed his head off the moment his toe touched the water. However, this time he really enjoyed himself, and Daddy carried him around in the adult pool. He was laughing and happy and Daddy said he swam better than Ro and me (haha, very funny, Dad).

Here we all are hanging out in front of the balcony TV. I know I look deep in thought or plain bored, but I suppose that's how I look when I digest my food. It's a pretty small space, but really cozy. Just behind me is my Mom's tiny craft area, which brings me to my next topic!

Remember my Blythe dolly Isadora? Well, do you know, my Mom is a doll customizer! Doll customizing is really an art form, where the artists take a basic doll and totally transform it. The dolls they make are called art dolls and they are collectors' items. This dolly is Sadie, one of my mom's dolls. Isn't she pretty? Sadie was bought by a lady all the way in the USA. Sometimes she shows my Mom pictures of Sadie all dressed up with her other dolls, which makes my Mom really happy.

Some of my friends own Blythe dolls in their original form and asked me how my Mom could make them look completely different. Well, let me show you! This is a picture of a Blythe in her original form. Even though their hair and eye colours might be different, their faces all have that shiny plasticky look and those same sort of features.

So, to customize her, my Mom has to completely take her apart. This is a picture of Blythe in pieces.

A lot of the work happens on the face of course. My Mom has to remove all her original colour and carve her to look the way she wants. This is what it looks like in the beginning.

This is what it looks like after awhile. Carving is hard work and takes a long time. My Mom says it's kinda tricky because it's 3D and not flat like a drawing. You have to look at it from all different angles.

The carving tools are all very sharp and so are the doll parts. My Mom has a box of plasters on her craft table. See? Poor Mom's finger got a deep cut and was bleeding :(

After she finally finishes carving, it's time for the faceup. This is when she paints in all the colours and things she wants.

My Mom also has to change the eyes and the eyelashes and decorate the eyelids. Sometimes she also colours and cuts the hair. The face she was working on in those pictures became the dolly above -- Francoise! Francoise is also living in the USA now.

Here is Rowan, getting her newly coloured hair and waiting for her new body.

And here is Rowan, all done! Rowan is going to live in South America, wow!

My Mom always takes pictures of her dolls before she packs them up to send to their new owners. She says that after working so hard on them, she really misses them when they go. Here is Miette sitting on the dolly travelling trunk. My Mom also has to put beads and charms on the doll's new pullstrings. The pullstrings control the doll's eye mechanism. Original Blythes have one string to change their eyes (they have four pairs of eyes looking in different directions), but they don't have sleep eyes. Customizers usually put in the second string so they can close their eyes if they want.

These are Sadie's eyelids.

Here are a few pictures of some of my Mom's dolls. They all live in different parts of the world now. This is Marine. I think she has a very cool city look.

This is Ophelia. She is like a romantic princess in a haunted castle.

And this is Scout! She is the only dolly available in my Mom's shop now. I think she is really cute, like a real little girl.

She's a bit of a tomboy too, so I think we should keep her! My Mom says she'll think about it.

OK -- I'm going to stop now for my dinner. I think I'll have more pictures next time because we have a new camera now, yay! But these few weeks we'll be having exams, so I'll be busy with that. Thanks for popping by!! See you again soon everyboooddyyyyyyyyyyy!!!

The Golden Rule

Yesterday my Mom told me about what is called "The Golden Rule". The Golden Rule states that "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself". Does that sound familiar? If you are a Christian, it probably would! Jesus said it like this: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets".

This is also a lot like what Jesus called the Greatest Commandment. A teacher of the Law came to Jesus and asked Him which of the commandments was the most important. Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments".

My Mom explained that when we are being good and kind to others, even those who are not our friends, we are loving them and obeying these important commandments. Also, isn't that how we want others to treat us? I would not want to do anything to someone else that I would hate being done to me. This means we should always think carefully about the way we talk to others, and how we treat them. Are we being kind and helpful, or unkind and mean? Are we being nice to other kids in school, or are we hurtful and rude? The Golden Rule reminds us that just as we do not like others to be mean and hurtful to us, we should not be mean and hurtful to them.

In friendships, I am finding that there are all sorts. Have you heard the phrase "It takes all sorts to make a world"? My Mom says it a lot, especially when we have to deal with rude people in the shops or on the train. I think it's like that in friendships too. Some friends understand the Golden Rule, and are kind, loyal and dependable, while others are not -- it takes all sorts. My Mom once told me that there are many grown-ups who are terrible friends because they don't know what it actually means to be a friend. Usually, they are only thinking of themselves.

I have a book that describes some of the things that make a good friend. Like, a good friend is a friend you can trust. A good friend is supportive. A good friend is kind and compassionate. A good friend treats you with love and respect. A good friend sticks with you in good times and bad. But I think all of us know this, because even if we don't know the Golden Rule, we do know how it feels -- we all would like friends like that.

But we need to be friends like that too. I like this quote by Charles Kingsley: "It is only the great-hearted who can be true friends. The mean and cowardly can never know what true friendship means". My Mom says that people who are bad friends aren't real friends, and usually don't have real friends either. And this will carry on even when they are grown-up, which would suck. So it is really important that we get it right from early on. The world would be a better place if we all made sure we are good friends, because all the things that make a good friend are also the things that make a good person.

So my Mom checks on how I behave in different situations. She says it is important not only to her, but to God too. Am I kind, respectful, loving and helpful? She always reminds me that God is watching even if no one else is and He has given me a conscience to tell me when I am behaving well or badly. Our conscience tells us whether we are following the Golden Rule. How we treat others shows whether we are really nice and also how we were brought up. My Mom actually wrote a post about "Kindness and Good Manners" and said she expected me to always remember to show both. Not all moms tell their kids that I think. And some kids don't get to see their parents much, which is pretty sad.

In the picture above, you can see me with my sister. She is a great friend and I know I am really lucky to have her. My Mom shared with me this poem, and I thought I'd share the last bit of it with you. It is called "Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti. If you have a sister, then you'd know you are really blessed!

"For there is no friend like a sister

In calm or stormy weather;

To cheer one on the tedious way,

To fetch one if one goes astray,

To lift one if one totters down,

To strengthen whilst one stands".

Are you a good friend? Do you follow the Golden Rule? I hope so!
See you again soon!

Zoo Excursion!

Hello again! I'm so excited to share with you some pictures from my recent class field trip! We got to go to the Zoo -- yippee-doodle!

Welcome to the Singapore Zoo! We were so excited when we saw it come into view. Our teacher gave out excursion booklets for us to fill in while we were there.

There were dozens of people queuing up to pay for their admission, or buy tickets for animal shows, and tram and ferry rides.

Here I am standing near the ticket booth, waiting to go in with my class. It was pretty sunny that day (like every day here in Singapore!!!), so I decided to put on my hat.

We saw the parrots first. The parrot is also known as a psittacine. There are more than 370 parrot species living in tropical and subtropical areas, including Macaws, Amazons, lorikeets and cockatoos. All parrots have strong, curved bills, and clawed zygodactyl feet (that means two toes facing forward and two facing back).

Parrots mainly eat seeds, nuts, fruit, nectar and other plant material. Sometimes they eat animals as well. Did you know that parrots are one of the most intelligent birds in the world? They can also see many unusual colours that the human eye cannot see -- they can see parts of the ultraviolet end of the spectrum! Unfortunately, some parrot species are highly endangered :(

After the parrots, we went to look at the otters, but they were swimming so fast that I couldn't take a decent picture of them. I did manage to take this one of a proboscis monkey though! Proboscis monkeys are one of the largest monkey species. The male has a pretty large nose! Proboscis monkeys are found exclusively in the rainforests of Borneo (well, in zoos too), and eat fruits, leaves, flowers, seeds and sometimes insects. They usually live in groups, and communicate by honking, snarling and even roaring! Did you know that the proboscis monkey has webbed feet and is a very good swimmer? Sadly, it is extremely threatened in its natural environment because of deforestation.

Here is cute little sea turtle. I'm not sure, but I think he (she?) might be an Atlantic ridley sea turtle. He is diving down to pick at something on the floor, maybe some algae or seaweed.

Here is an adorable little squirrel we saw sitting on a little log. He was actually nibbling on a cute little acorn. Before I could snap another picture, he scampered away to a nearby tree, out of sight.

Here are two crocodiles. As you can see, one is dead and one is alive. Obviously, this one is quite alive. Crocodiles usually live in freshwater habitats such as rivers, lakes and wetlands; they mostly eat fish, reptiles, and mammals, which sounds like almost everything really! Did you know that the word "crocodile" comes from the ancient Greek word for "lizard"? The pressure of a crocodile's bite is more than 5,000 pounds per square inch, compared to just 335 pounds per square inch for a Rottweiler dog, or 400 pounds per square inch for a large great white shark. Crocodiles can swim swiftly and are very fast over short distances, even out of water -- very, very scary!

This picture of the stuffed crocodile was taken outside the auditorium, where we were waiting for a talk by one of the zookeepers. He looks awfully fat, doesn't he. Perhaps he died from that.

Here I am posing at a notice board near the auditorium. Some kids draw stuff and they tack it up here. My friends and I walked around a path near the auditorium and found a creepy, yet cute, surprise hanging from the ceiling. Guess what we saw? Yes, fruit bats!

Isn't it kinda weird that there were bats up there? This is only one of the bats; there were a whole bunch on the ceiling up ahead. My friend started yelling at the bats to come down, which woke some of them up. Some of them flew off but eventually flew back; some just went back to sleep.

Did you know that another name for the fruit bat is megabat? Fruit bats eat, well, fruits, or lick nectar from flowers. They have sharp teeth to bite through hard fruit skins and very long tongues that unroll when they are feeding. Some bats actually help pollinate flowers! Did you know that they have to run into something such as a tree or bush in order stop themselves when flying?

Soon, we were heading to the zoo auditorium to listen to a talk by one of the zookeepers. We were learning about the outer coverings of animals.

Do you see Mr Bones up there? He was used to represent humans, and to tell us that we are mammals, like dolphins and whales.

This is a quote from a wildlife aid group. They try to help animals that are being killed for their skin, fur or feathers. I'm not sure if it's WildAid, but this is their mission, which I think is great: "To end the illegal wildlife trade in our lifetimes by reducing demand through public awareness campaigns and providing comprehensive marine protection.

"The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth over $10 billion (USD) per year and has drastically reduced many wildlife populations around the world. Just like the drug trade, law and enforcement efforts have not been able to resolve the problem. Every year, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent protecting animals in the wild, yet virtually nothing is spent on stemming the demand for wildlife parts and products. WildAid is the only organization focused on reducing the demand for these products, with the strong and simple message: when the buying stops, the killing can too".

The crocodile, tiger cub, pangolin and porcupine had all died a long time ago and been stuffed. The zookeeper had them displayed on a table in front of her and kept stroking them.

The polar bear's paw was from the zoo's polar bear, Inaku, who had recently died of old age. I hope there was a very good reason why they did not just stuff the whole bear and leave him his paws.

The snake's skin had been shed by a python from the zoo's Reptile House.

These are white tigers. Aren't they beautiful? See how their fur gleams in the sun. They always look so proud and majestic, but I think they look happy and cheerful sometimes too.

Unlike domestic cats, tigers have eyes with round, not slitted, pupils. That's because domestic cats are nocturnal, while tigers are crepuscular, meaning they hunt mainly in the morning and evening. Most tigers have yellow eyes, but white tigers usually have blue eyes. This has to do with the the gene for blue eyes which is linked to the gene for white fur (see my cat Ming?). A tiger's night vision is six times better than that of humans!

Tiger claws are retractable, just like with house cats, and they scratch trees to mark their territory. Tigers don't normally roar at other animals, but to communicate with other tigers. A tiger's stripes are unique, like human fingerprints -- the markings can also be found on their skin, so even a shaved tiger would still show its stripes. Tigers are very good swimmers.

Many people hunt down tigers for their beautiful skin, which endangers the poor animals. They also face territory loss as more and more humans crowd them out. In just a hundred years, the world has lost 97% of wild tigers -- don't let them become extinct! Visit groups like the WWF to see how you can help!

We had lots of fun at the zoo, but we learned some sad things about the animals as well. I hope you will help to save these poor endangered and homeless animals. Many animals are endangered because of human activities -- not just poaching and killing, but also other things like deforestation, pollution and using poisons in gardens and on farms. Read this for a start and remember to reduce, reuse and recycle! See you again real soon!

My Little Friends!

Hello there! These are my mealworms Wiggle, Scriggle and Shake! I adopted them from school, where they had been part of a Science class. I am now keeping them in a container with lots of holes for air, and feeding them dried oats and mushy apples. Here is a little movie of my mealworms made by my Mom -- please enjoy!

And here are some pictures!

 

Here is a picture of my worms in their container home.

 

Here they are enjoying their oatmeal!

 

This is Scriggle! He is luxuriating in his food.

 

And here's Wiggle and Shake playing together.  See you again soon!

Fruit or Vegetable?

 

Here's Molly Mouse and Harland Sheepdog having their breakfast! Molly is telling Harland about the homework she got back from Mrs Roo yesterday. Their class has been studying food groups, she explained, and she had classified tomatoes as a "vegetable" and not a "fruit". 

"I don't know why Mrs Roo said it was wrong," Molly told Harland sadly.

"Well, did she explain to you all what exactly a fruit is, and what exactly a vegetable is?" asked Harland.

"No..." Molly replied slowly.

"Then how would you know?" Harland asked.

"I don't know! Maybe it's something we're supposed to just know in our hearts!" Molly said.

"That's just silly," Harland said. "First, you have to know what makes a fruit a fruit, and what makes a vegetable a vegetable. But I can tell you why tomatoes are fruits and not vegetables. My Daddy helps take care of the garden and he knows all about it. He told me that if it has seeds, then it is a fruit. So, tomatoes are fruits. That also makes things like cucumbers, peppers and squash fruit. Of course, we also eat other parts of the plant, like the leaves or stems; those are vegetables".

"But you know," Harland continued, "My Daddy told me that the Supreme Court in a faraway country called the United States ruled that the tomato is a vegetable. They said that only if it was eaten in hand or in a dessert could it be classified as a fruit. Consumers think of tomatoes as vegetables, and that is how they should be legally defined".

"Ooh, you're really smart!" Molly said, impressed. "Thank you for explaining to me! Although I think then that a tomato could be a fruit or a vegetable, depending on if you were talking to a botanist or a chef!"

"You're right!" Harland said, and they both laughed and ate their tomato salad.

Happy Birthday!

Today I wanted to share a few pictures from my friend's awesome 8th birthday party (happy birthday again Chloe!). It was actually about a week ago, but I didn't have time to sit down and write about it properly.

Chloe held her birthday party at a restaurant called Swensen's. I think Swensen's is most famous for its yummy ice-cream desserts. They have these really nice stained glass lamps which my Mom said are called Tiffany lamps. The restaurant is huge, and they set aside a big space at the end of the restaurant for us to have our party. Chloe had invited our whole class, and even though a few of our friends didn't turn up, there were still a lot of us!

That's Chloe, the birthday girl! She was wearing a really pretty party dress. Here she is calling all of us to get our balloons!

And here we are playing with our balloons! They were shaped like pirate swords. All of us made a ton of noise. Kirthi (in the pink top) won the sword-fighting contest!

Here's Kirthi telling me some funny new actions to add to our special handshake. We have to wobble and say "Jelly jelly". She's so funny.

Here we all are having lunch. I had fish and chips. There's Mandy doing the peace sign; she's lots of fun.

We played lots of games like Duck, Duck Goose and Ice And Freeze. Then we had an ice-cream contest to see whose ice-cream concoction was the best! These were the ice-creams...

And these were all the different toppings. Don't they look yummy?

And here we all are with the birthday girl and cake. What a fun day! See you again soon!