merry Christmas!

it's Christmas!

and amidst the decorations and baubles and presents, what i love is having the time and space to spend with family and friends... so it's been quite a busy two weeks of parties and meeting friends. =) but in the midst of it, have enjoyed a few God-moments that have made this season all the more special.

more on the parties later. but for now, i'm thankful for all that God has blessed me with in 2007, and for all that's ahead in 2008!

merry christmas and a happy new year to you!

God bless... =)

Some photos from Young Adults Thanksgiving Dinner

My CG was in charge of decor. This is the food table...



This is what each place setting looked liked =)



My CG for 2007 =) But we'll be moving to another one next year. Will miss these guys and gals, even though I've only known them for a few months.

baking 101

last saturday was my very first attempt at baking anything alone. actually, since i was sec 2 (Home-ec), i've only baked stuff 3 times - once with my aunt, once with a friend from church, and once with a colleague. but in all those times, i just followed instructions for the most part, and it was in their homes.

but last saturday i decided i would 'break-in' our new oven!!! *applause applause*

anyway it started off by making a trip down to phoon huat in the morning. so thankful that there's one just 4 bus stops away! =) heh heh. but getting all the basic equipment that i needed took a lot more time and energy and money than i had thought. i mean, considering that i had two empty baking drawers to begin with. heh.

finally got all that i needed, including the ilusive hand mixer that i finally located in one of those shops that sells clothes pegs and plastic baskets etc. haha... of all places...

anyway mel came and picked me up =D and we drove back home. but i had only 1 hour plus before we would have to leave for our Jap choir practice, so i could only make the dough and put it in the fridge.

we didn't get home till 10plus that night, so that's when the rolling commenced.

i can assure you that it's not easy to roll dough. especially since this was my first time EVERY rolling dough. wah lau... so tiring, and it kept cracking and sticking to the rolling pin. urgh... which i (i thought cleverly) solved by dumping more flour on the dough and over the pin.

i later realised that's why my cookies are significantly 'heavier' than the average sugar cookie. haha!

anyway here is the result of my hard work!




i actually only made 4 of these figures. the other cookies were star shaped (cookie mold) cos it's easier =)

the taste test? not bad =) although everyone seems to think they are butter cookies, i know they are actually sugar cookies in disguise =)

this friday will be attempt no 2 - i'm going to try apple crumble!!! =D Heh

enchanted fairytales

have you seen the movie enchanted? i really loved it! it was a magical one hour plus in the cinema, and i was sad when it ended.

i know many people might not share my love for such movies that are all about good winning evil, happily ever afters and beautiful things. but anyway i like it =) (so did mel) it did get me thinking, though - some would even say it's bad to watch such stuff, and for children to be 'indoctrinated' with fairytales, because it's just too ideal and unrealistic.

well, i wouldn't indoctrinate my kid in fairytales for sure... but then again, i think fairytales are SO powerful, and i DON'T think they are evil or deceptive in teaching children the wrong truths about reality. i mean, sure you don't want your kid to grow up thinking santa claus really exists, or that the little hole in the wall might house a whole family of fairies... but to start them off by saying "there is no such thing as magic" is kinda extreme.

the world of fairytales, to me, brings with it a lesson of faith, of trust, of the power of good, of the power of love. and there's often something 'magical' about how things work out. i really do think these are great ideas for kids to have. NOT to the extreme that they start delviing into sorcery and black magic and all that stuff, but in the sense that it gives them handles for understanding how trust works (like how the damsel in distress is ALWAYS confident that her prince will come for her) and that dreams can and do come true. And if you don't even have that hope in the first place, how do you expect your kids to ever work towards their dreams, if all they can see is the 'harsh reality of life'?

kids will grow up eventually. and parents and schools have a big role to play in that process. but along the way, let's not steal the joy of childhood from them, or rob them of the chance to imagine a world that is beyond this one, while they still can.

i have a gatsby chandelier!

some of you might know i'm a fan of the gatsby ads on telly. heh. why? cos i just love takuya kimura's floppy hair and bo chup attitude, and way he dances =) muahaha

anyway you know the recent ad, where he's dancing to himself in front of a mirror is a really luxe hotel suite or sth? well, our dining room light looks really similar to the chandelier in the ad! =D haha! except it's probably a fraction of the price, and it's BLACK (his is transparent)

it's being drilled into the ceiling as i type.

i really love it! shall post a picture of it up here soon... =)