girlies tea time

on boxing day i had a few girls come over for tea =) actually it was miss elaine's idea. heh heh, but i'm glad she suggested it, cos it was great to see them again (some I haven't seen for a while) and we took lots of pics!! (thanks again to ms elaine =b)


elaine posing with the pretty picture she gave us as a wedding present. thanks elaine!! =)


kuanmei brought egg tarts!


kuanmei and i with the pre-bake batter for golden muffins!


muffins in the oven...


after the muffins came out of the oven, we cut the tops and spread jam and cream cheese frosting and made the cut-off pieces into pretty shapes! haha!


all our pretty muffins! the hardest was the christmas tree muffin! ain't it pretty??


playing gift trap! it's a really fun game that mel brought back from the states! but best to play in group of 4-5 - not more than 6!


the game board...
the game board...

post Christmas update

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Yes it's rather late... I know. I was just reflecting this morning that even though I've been on leave since Christmas Eve (until 2 Jan), it hasn't felt particularly restful - and I think it's my own doing. Possibly a combination of my perpetual performance-anxiety mode and the fact that we've packed the week with parties - 4 in 8 days, out of which 3 are at my place! Time to discipline myself into taking rest...

Anyway I've resolved that for tonight's party, I will not think about tomorrow, not worry about the state of the living room floor, and not wrestle with thoughts of what to wear for the next party! Instead, I will focus on my friends and the yummy food, and just ENJOY the moment. hee... easier said than done, but no harm trying...

Here's some pics from the most recent party - my CG Christmas Lunch!


Many more shoes than usual at our front door...


Cool drinks brought by Kun Quan~ I love the retro feel of the apple bottle drink!


My roasted chix drumstix - marinade included soy sauce, honey, garlic, allspice, pepper and olive oil.


Kee Onn & Silin hard at work on our never-ending Jigsaw Puzzle


ALL THE FOOD!!!


Mel praying before we tuck in


Games time! Jan was very patiently explaining the game "Balderdash"



Presents under the tree for our gift exchange. =)


Group photo!! SK & Erny, we miss you!!

don't be afraid

this afternoon i had to explain a part of our band's program to a group of mixed ages, from early twenties to early sixties! i was pretty nervous, to say the least! and i was LATE... which didn't help... and honestly the response wasn't what i had expected and hoped for - they had lots of opinions and i found myself feeling increasingly helpless and desperate as they brought up their opinions in a 'i'm definitely right, you're not kind of way... in other words, i felt intimidated.

on my way home (1 hour bus ride) i had lots of time to ponder this whole event, and i know this is something i really need to get over. all my life, i've had this feeling of intimidation everytime i'm around adults - maybe the saying 'little children should be seen and not heard' has been drummed into my brain =b haha... but well, i'm not a child anymore, and while i believe in respecting our elders and being polite and gracious to everyone, that doesn't mean i should take things lying down or give in at the first sign of disagreement! and yet i do...

i know the root of all this is fear. fear that others will think bad of me, or that i will be perceived as a 'headstrong, stubborn mule'. or something to that effect. but then this verse came to mind as i was almost reaching home, and i can't believe i didn't think of it earlier!

"don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Tim 4:12

now i just need to remember it at the right time =b heh. and get over my darn nerves!!

ok ok, be patient with yourself, dorothea. =)

Oohhhhhh, 7 more hours till mel gets home!!!! =D =D =D

we belong to tao nan school...

suddenly my facebook is all a-flurry with messages! apparently one of my primary school classmates found a class pic and posted it online, and everyone's suddenly getting reunited as they get tagged! it's quite hilarious, because most of us don't recognize who the kids in the photo are! haha... but slowly but surely, we remember, 'oh that girl fourth from the left in the second row wearing glasses is XXX'. hee... so it's quite fun following the thread of this conversation.

it's pretty cool. i never kept in touch with any of my primary school friends, so i really haven't seen them for over a decade! and how cool is it that the boy who used to steal my eraser and pull my hair is now a chef in australia!! and the prettiest and most articulate girl in class has now become a lawyer! (duh) and half of the guys now have taken on Christian names! (they used to be all hanyu pinyin type, which i never can remember properly...)

now the group is wanting to have a reunion in jan. hmmm... i do want to meet them, but it does feel kind of scary to see them after all this while... like what will we say?? and what if i don't like how so-and-so turned out (or vice versa)? or maybe they'll all be really sophisticated or a total mess, and i'll not know what to do? hmmm...

shall ask mel what he thinks when he comes back...

i'll be ok =)

little by little, one step at a time

He's changing our hearts and renewing our minds

teaching us how to be patient and kind

little by little, one step at a time

finding rest

The theme for today's team prayer was "Rest". How apt.T

Yesterday night, while spending time with God and pouring out all my feelings to Him, I was reminded of this verse that I used to have memorized, but realized I had forgotten bits and pieces of. here it is:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the PEACE of God that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6-7

Reading it was a huge reminder of His presence and faithfulness, and gave me the anchor I think I needed to reign in all my emotions and remember that my God is with me. i found myself able to sleep in peace thinking about the words, and the verse was the one of the first thoughts I had when I woke up too! =) Thank God.

Thanks also to Grace and Joy for their concern and encouragement, it really really helped =)

Today was a whole lot better than yesterday. The verse has been with me throughout the day, and the truth of it has been so calming at moments when I suddenly think of Mel. And reading this on my friend's blog also reinforced the 'lesson' I am learning:

"So Jesus says, “I will quiet you with My love” (Zephaniah 3:17). A woman of true beauty is a woman who in the depths of her soul is at rest; trusting God because she has come to know Him to be worthy of her trust. She exudes a sense of calm; a sense of rest; and invites those around her to rest as well. She speaks comfort; that all is well; that all will be well."

May I learn to trust God, and rest in knowing He is with me...

i need some distractions

the hubby left this morning. =( it was a tearful farewell... i thought i wouldn't cry in a public place, but i did, but thankfully not a lot, just sniffs and sobs as we approached the departure gate. i managed to keep a brave smiling face waving as he walked through the gantry on towards his gate, and then resolutely turned around to trudge towards the MRT line. But as I walked towards the MRT, my eyes just filled up with tears and I had to brush them away quickly, cos I didn't want people to see and wonder. by the time I reached the train, the tears had stopped, and I was busy thinking of all the things I want/need to do today/thisweek/nextweek so that I won't think about missing him. this ploy worked until I walked through my front door and remembered that he won't be home tonight after work today, and I burst into tears and very quickly worked myself through a few sheets of tissue.

this was followed by a round of journaling, and then a marathon of the Ellen Degeneres show, Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray. then i cooked myself instant noodles for lunch. (actually I wasn't hungry but I just felt I should eat sth unhealthy. sigh.) then I baked a batch of blueberry muffins, which I almost burnt but didn't =) it was very therapeutic baking the muffins, cos all I needed to think about were "1/2 cup sugar"... "Tablespoon? Where's the tablespoon?" and "More soap".

anyways so now that's done, and the muffins are brown and cooling away, and I'm back to nothing to do. But yet I don't really wanna talk to people, I just want to be alone with me. But then again, that means I need to do sth with myself.

hmmm...

and I don't want to go out, cos I don't want to spend money unnecessarily which I probably will in this mood...

hmmm...

anyway, happy thoughts of last night. we had a super date, because we won't get to go out for the next fortnight, and we went to Ikoi Restaurant at Hotel Miramar for a Japanese buffet, which was pretty fantastic (i had 8 slivers of salmon sashimi all to myself). after dinner, we took a nice slow walk down orchard road. i wanted to take pictures with the lights, but there were too many people crowded on the sidewalks so I didn't. He got his webcam so that we can skype each other when he gets the time, and he bought me a pair of Birkies, my Christmas present!! My current birkies are 3 years old and still usable, it's just that they're quite faded and scratched up, so I've been wanting to get a new pair. Yay!!!

it was just a really nice, cosy, happy evening. =)

I know this is just two weeks, and so many people I know have to deal with far FAR more, like months or years apart! I'm really impressed and inspired by friends like them, and I can only imagine how much harder it is! for me, 2 weeks is already more than enough. I don't think I would ever have survived a long distance relationship man...

yep. ok I'm off to vacuum and mop the floor now. that should take me until dinner time, when I can go out for dinner before my jap lesson. And soon... well actually about 15 hours more... Mel will touch down in Denver! =) i'm looking forward to our first skype talk!