a year ago

we were in the states// tripping around las vegas// taking a helicopter ride down the grand canyons and colarado river// walking out on see through glass elevated few hundred feet of the ground// navigating our way around chinatown in san fran to celebrate CNY// busy enjoying “yok kon” brought 2000 kilometers from Malaysia//

looking back at the pictures really makes me miss the yeongs! and family time.  ps: checkout our super duper excited expression over the helicopter ride. ngeee. ;)

truth & love

in the light of the new year, this year’s resolution is rather more achievable in some sense (as compared with the idea of loosing weight, hahah) and in some ways, more painful. pastor mentioned about how we should stop making excuses and shifting the blame. its funny how almost immediately after making a decision to stop shifting the blame on others, so many situations have cropped up as if to test this resolution. aiiih. sometimes its really hard to just admit “it was my fault.”

recently, a few conversations with friends have popped up giving us a chance to be frank and honest with each other – about our weaknesses. something i really cringe thinking about. gah. its not easy hearing what others have to say about your weaknes. especially when you have been the one handing out the criticisms most of the time. something to be said about my need for humility.

nevertheless, i’m thankful for friends who care enough to be able to point out my faults, mistakes and weaknesses. you don’t get many people like that in your life. :) Sue Ann posted this article on her facebook the other day, and it got me musing. You can’t love with just encouragement and kind words. It requires truth, and the truth as much as we hate to admit it, hurts. The excerpt explains it really well, not just for marriage but any relationship in which we hope to love with God’s love.

read more of the article here.

the reason that marriage is so painful and yet wonderful is because it is a reflection of the Gospel, which is painful and wonderful at once. The Gospel is: we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared to believe, and at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope. This is the only kind of relationship that will really transform us. Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God’s saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us. The merciful commitment strengthens us to see the truth about ourselves and repent. The conviction and repentance moves us to cling to and rest in God’s mercy and grace.

into the early morning

“Search me O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. And see if there is any wicked way in me & lead me in the way everlasting.“

Psalms 139:23-24

dream of the beautiful

instead of pictures to show my wardrobe accumulation (ahem) over the winter break, I thought a little nice video would do. The sun streaming in the window mid afternoon was perfect. This winter, I have gravitated towards all things sparkly, decked in sequins and lace. My favourite silver jumper hangs to the left. And the other two, though I must admit, are not very winter wise are actually presents for people back home. :D Sue Ann, the blue sheer top is yours! hahha sending it over soon. In real life, my red suede heels are actually sitting very sadly in a corner having not been worn anywhere else except round my room, by me, and my girlfriends who drop by the house. With all that walking around in Hatfield, and no chance of a car, one can only dream of wearing such pretty things out. hahha

On a side note, this week’s weather consists of lotsa sunshine but with the most ferocious wind you’ve ever come across. nearly got blown away walking home yesterday. eek. still no sign of snow. im beginning to think it won’t ever snow. okays, now that ive done this, its back to the real work.

brings on the blues

A little something to kick away the post holiday blues.

Things that brightened up my day : {2} Preppy collars worn with sweaters { } Finishing a good book in bed {3} The thought of traveling to Venice in summer {5} Gauzy curtains around the bed {6} Braids and romantic curls { } Outfits in lace, fur & sequins { } An “i love you sayangs” on my msn box { } Hot spicy kimchi soup on a cold rainy day.

“Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.” – Marsha Norman

quiet lights

After a flurry of social happenings these last two weeks, it seems only right to spend a night like this. huddle under the duvet, Olivia Ong playing in the background and soon to be engrossed in My Sister’s Keeper. Not that I’m complaining about the activities, they have been one of the most enjoyable holidays I’ve had here.

Guessing that its actually the absence of having to travel somewhere. I’m beginning to see the appeal of ordinary simple things like cooking dinner together every night, birthday celebrations in the house, Christmas shopping and wrapping, late night poker games, grocery shopping with friends in the middle of the night, impromptu sleepovers, watching movies and not finishing them because we end up falling asleep. Just good time spent with people that matter to you.

then again, maybe I’m just getting older. hahah. its the new year after all.  Merry 2012 all  :D

where the books dont sleep

“Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.She has to give it a shot somehow. Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2am clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype. You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.Or better yet, date a girl who writes.” — Rosemarie Urquico (in response to Charles Warnke’s You Should Date An Illiterate Girl)

via BLEED FOR FASHION

When all the chatter & company fades

Listening to John Mayer’s St Patrick’s day under the covers sure makes ones homesick. And heartsick. :’(

YES LADIES AND GENTLEMEN….

ITS FINALLY SNOOOWWIINNNGGGG. AND ITS STILL AS MAGICAL AS EVER! :))

its a little early, but…

all i want for Christmas is a Lytro Camera. pleasseeeee. phish phish phisshhhhh.