Imagine - David Archuleta

A beautiful song sung with an equally beautiful voice. A 17 year old boy with the natural (and superb) talent for singing.

In all my years of following American Idol, this is the first time I'm so impressed with a talent like him. I feel like an old aunty going "ga-ga" over a young teenage boy, but no worries, inclinations are not that extreme (yet) =)

CNY: The Fun, the Sweets and the Feast

The usual fun stuff during Chinese New Year - goodies-stuffing, gambling, chit-chatting, playing with the little ones. I do this every year, and I never get bored. Its really great to be able to spend time with my family. Chinese New Year is not only a time to catch up with family members, it also provides a good opportunity for some to introduce their special someones to our family =) And as an added bonus to the festivity and celebration this year, we also celebrated my cousin's 21st birthday!

This was a trigger-happy CNY, and I've so many photos to share! So today's blog shall be one of the occasional ones in which I shall exercise some restraint on the writing and let the photos do all the talking!!

Chu Xi

Lou Hei Part I

Chu Yi
Lou Hei Part II

ABSOLUTELY the BEST Ngoh Niang I've ever tasted, and I'm not exaggerating. Crispy skin fried to perfection and tasty meat fillings. Chestnuts add an extra zest and crunch to every bite.
Cost: Priceless. Made with AhMa's excellent culinary skills and lotsa love.
Availability: Very exclusive. Only family members get to taste it.

Sumptuous dinner feast!

The boys have all grown so tall!

The 3 generations?

My cheeky but ever adorable cousins!

Ah Long movie outing with cousins. This is one of the rare outings, so a group photo was a must!

CHU SAN

Messing around with the children...

My adorable cousin who was so so engrossed with his computer game...

AhMa and the really young ones

AhMa and daughters galore!

Family shot with AhMa

AhMa and her grandchildren

Mmmm, Double Choc Pralines from The Patissier. No regrets after you sink your teeth into the super rich and ultra chocolatey cake with a lovely crunchy base. Never mind the calories and sugar..for self-confessed choc addicts like me, this is a MUST TRY!!

Birthday gal getting a special HUG

First, the birthday gal blows the candles...

Then the other children wanted to join in the fun too!

Happy Birthday E! May all your dreams come true!

Chinese New Year Thoughts

Chinese New Year is my favourite time of the year. It is the only time when I can shop without feeling guilty (everyone needs new clothes rite!), and indulge greedily in all the superb goodies (my fav being pineapple tarts).

Reunion dinner is also the only time when I get to taste the finest of my granny's culinary skills - the world's best crispy ngoh hiang and mouth-watering spicy chicken curry. Reunion dinners are especially meaningful because it is the only time when my family is gathered under one roof for dinner. My granny has 10 children so it is only during special occasions like this where I get to see everyone, and to also wow at how my little cousins have grown and the increasing number of them who are now towering over me.

So I'm really looking to this Wed, although I probably can't enjoy myself as much with the much dreaded exams only 2 weeks away. I also have full day classes from 930am to 530pm on Chu San. But for now, I'll just push these unhappy thoughts aside. After all, it's my favourite festival of the year!

With the festive mood all around and the opportunities to indulge in my fav pasttime - shopping, it is probably difficult to feel down during this time of the year. But a few old photos were all that were needed to tone the mood down for me.

I flipped through my granny's photo album yesterday as she wanted to show me whom in the family resembles her. Naturally, those photos also had shots of dear family members who have passed on. As I looked at their faces, how I wished I was back to those times, when all my loved ones were still around. I regretted never being really appreciative of them. I never gave my grandpa any present, except for a pen which had the Chinese horoscope sign of a dog. All I gave him as a spoilt child were childish tempers, demands of egg tarts and curry puffs which he would then drive to buy for me. And it was only much later that I really appreciate what he did for me. I also remember he would yell at me for cooping myself in the room without switching on the fan/air-con. And although at those moments, I thought he was being difficult with me, I now realise he did it all out of concern. But it is all too late for me to return those gestures of love and concern.

I don't want to regret anymore. Instead of looking back and feeling sorry that I never loved enough, never said thank you enough, from now on I'm going to try to really appreciate, love and spend more time with all the people dear to me. Every moment now will eventually become memories. And I hope to be able to look back at these memories with a smile on my face, knowing that I've seriously tried, really loved and truly cared.

My Home - Almost there...

Finally shifted on 10 Jan and settling into my place. Getting used to wiping the splashes on my master sink area after each use, frantically cleaning my white kitchen top whenever a spot is noted, lifting stuff and not dragging them across the cement floor, conscientiously placing almost everything on coasters...in short, lots of very "careful" measures undertaken in my very sensitive home. It was a bit troublesome initially, but it is becoming sort of a lifestyle.

But overall, quite happy with my home. I love the white theme, uneven tones on my cement floor (although quite a few people thought my floor hasnt been done yet =P), Christmas-looking lights in my study area, the very pretty mosaic table, the rusty tiles in my master toilet, the purple tinge in my kitchen light, and not to mention the great view from my place.

Here are some updated photos.

Living Area

Study Area
Breakfast Counter (Plus very delicious home-made pineapple tarts made by my friend)
Kitchen

Common Washroom
Yard
Washroom Area
Land of dreamzzz...

Grandpa and Grandma

I had dinner with my granny this evening. With my studies and home-shifting keeping me busy for several weeks, I haven't visited her in a long time. Her little actions and words made me realised that she is probably a little lonely. I always know her to be a strong lady. But I guess even the strongest person will feel lonely. I'm so glad my new place is much nearer to her home. I just hope that I'll be able to effectively manage my commitments going forward so that I can spend more time with her.

When I visited her, I brought along some extra stuff from home to see whether any of my relatives would want them. Amongst them was a photo-holder, and both my granny and I thought it would be nice to use it to display a photo in the living room. She took out a small photo album to look through for nice photos. And she chose a photo of the semi-detached home we used to stayed in together when I was in primary school. That was the place that my grandpa and her shifted to after staying in a kampung, and it was also the same place he passed away.

In that photo album, there was a photo my grandpa and granny took at Haw Par Villa. I later took that photo album aside and stared at that photo for quite a bit. I haven't seen his photo in a long long time as he passed away quite a number of years ago. And while I know I have always missed him, and regretted that I was still a childish and spoilt brat when he passed away, seeing the photo was like a sting to my heart and made me realised how much I missed him. If only he is still around.

I miss him. And I think my granny misses him lots more even though she doesn't mention it.

It's so important to treasure our family and friends, and show them our love while we still can. It's funny, but with age, I begin to treasure my family even more. Maybe it is because of the realisation that with each passing moment, you know there is one less moment you can spend with them. And I really dread the day when God takes them away from me.

Some people don't like to talk about it. But it's reality right. I really wish they will get to know Him so that we can spend eternity together.

A Dream

I had a dream a few days ago.

It's actually rather morbid. I dreamt that my hubby left this world. I can't piece together details of the dream, but I remember that I was initially calm when I found out about it. Then the truth hit me, and I went to my room and cried. Desperate and lost, I prayed to God in my dream. When I closed my eyes to pray, I saw a tiny spot of yellow light. Then suddenly with my eyes still shut, I knew that I was back to reality and it was just a dream, and my hubby was sleeping soundly right beside me. As I laid there in bed, I kept my eyes shut and continued the prayer that I started in my dream. To thank God that it was only a dream. and that hopefully my hubby will get to know Him someday.

This dream is different because for the first time in my life, I woke up from a dream with my eyes shut. And with my eyes shut, I was so so grateful that it was only a dream. And it served as a timely reminder to treasure my hubby ever so much more.

Giving Thanks

After blogging about the frustruation with my new home, I'm taking a 180-degrees turn to give thanks to the Lord.

At least it was not all bad news today. Checked my exam results today, and not too bad. I'm quite pleased with the results and am demanding a treat from my hubby =) I know I couldn't have done it without God giving me the strength, peace, wisdom to go through the term. In fact, I don't know how I could have pulled through half a year of school all by myself.

I have been doing some extra bible reading since 1 Jan. It is not exactly my new year resolution cos I don't make resolutions lest I don't keep to them. But this is something I am going to try in 2008 - to spend more time reading God's Word and hopefully it will make me a better person in some ways.

Anyway, this morning's passage mentioned that a day in heaven is equivalent to 1000 days on earth. If I am to take that literally, doesn't it mean that the average lifespan of each person is not even 1/10th of a day in heaven? And divide that by the billions of people currently living on the earth's surface. That makes each of us so minute, so insignificant. While our life is like a vapour, He still takes time to know us, and even knows the number of hairs on our head!

I still have some doubts of God's existence at times. And it doesn't help for me to have heard personal testimonies of how effective other gods are - that they too can perform miracles. So who is to know who is the real God, or perhaps there are many gods?

But I have decided to stick to Jesus. Regardless what others say. Cos I trust my personal experiences with Him. I know it is no coincidence that my granny cancelled my Primary One registration from a co-ed school and enrolled me in a Methodist primary school. I know He is there when I cry. He has comforted me when I was in doubt of my own capabilities. He guaranteed no rain for my garden wedding dinner. I know He will lead me by hand in heaven after this life passes on. He once told me through a lady many years ago that I am beautiful in His eyes. And I wondered then whether that message was really from God as I was not particularly concerned with my looks. At least that was what I thought. But the fact that I still remember this after several years probably means otherwise. So He knows better.

Maybe you wonder why I am so sure. To be really honest, I just know. There are some things that are unspoken that you just know. Just like who teaches a baby to cry, to breathe. The baby just knows. And these are just things that I know. And I am posting them today as a reminder to myself of God's reality in my life. And hopefully it will be an encouragement to you if this is one of your blue days.

I hope I don't sound all too holy and preachy. I'm just a simple sentimental gal who is trying to live each day the best way possible, given each day's circumstances. And knowing Jesus just gives me more meaning and purpose to live out my best each day.

Well, tomorrow will be a BIG and exciting day for me. My hubby and I are "officially" shifting to our new place - something we have beeen looking forward to since we got married. And while I am no soothsayer, I just know and trust in God that everything will turn out alright. Why am I so sure? I just know =)