13th July 2010 (Tuesday)

Gem and i decided to go for some japanese food at Liang Court. So here's me snapping pictures while crossing over the bridge, away from The Central. Hot, scorching day!

Us! Gem is cool right. :) He's slowly getting used to having to shave his head and he's growing out a goatee to see how it goes. I like. :)
Wot are these?
Card holders! Check our how cute and small they are...
Neat huh? Gem's friend kindly gave up two though i just wanted to buy one from him. It was so nice of him to do that.
My mushroom and egg bowl. Lovely. Tasty, slightly gooey with some sauce and in just the right amount for me. Delicious!

Gem's safe option... Teriyaki chicken. *yawn* Heh.

We later adjourned to Starbucks for our "serious talk". Lets just leave it as that, k. :)

Gem ordered a white chocolate coffee thingy. It was super sweet, but yum!

I started taking shots of his drink and my caramel macchiato because they were served under a spotlight. Couldn't stop the shutterbug in me. Haha.

And then... The really, really sweet Barista that day saw me snapping and he made us a special latte with a heart shape on top with the foamed milk! For free! I thought it was someone else's order at first but he motioned to us to take it and to continue having fun snapping more pictures. Gosh. That is some initiative on his part. TOP MARKS for service! I wonder what his name is.

The dessert freak shook cinnamon and vanilla powder over her drink.

All THREE drinks! Uhm, yum.

And then, all gone. Yum. Mm. *satisfied*

Went home and cooked up a chicken and mushroom salad dinner for Gem and I. He marinated the mushrooms while i did the chicken.

This is Jed taking advantage of a sleeping human in the morning. Snuggling in between warm legs and blanket to feel warm and comfy.

I woke Gem up and Jed proceeds to plonk himself down in Gem's lap.

Just look at the little punk. *sigh* :)

Gurkha Palace with Gem (5th July 2010)

Yet again on one of our food adventures around Singapore, Gem and i went to Little India, Chander Road for some Nepalese food. We discovered that actually, we'd been here before some years ago. In which case, great! This place must be surviving well to have lasted so long. :) Good food to be had, then!

The menu... In it, hidden all sorts of treasures! Yummmm...
Papadom thingy with a green herb sauce.
This was kidney beans with bamboo shoots in yoghurt and tomato gravy. It was surprisingly spicy!
Potatoes with their special in-house sauce. I think. Cannot remember details.

I thought this was broccoli but it's actually...
Chicken! In their special green herbs blend. Oh, it was lovely... Juicy, tasty and fresh out of the cooking pot/wok/whatever contraption.
Knowing that we were in some food paradise, i made sure to choose food that was healthy! Knowing Gem... Haiyo. hurhur.


Verdict: Reasonably priced, tasty and fresh food. Though the portions may look kinda small, and might indeed be so for big eaters. I missed out on showing a shot of the plain naan and mango lassi that we ordered. But we were quite stuffed in the end! Altogether about $13 per person.

Listening to the recording of last week to hear what in the world transpired... And i'm laughing so hard cos at the end of the youth service, our senior pastor was leading us in the song "History Maker" and he was singing so much faster to urge us (the worship team and the congregation) to "beat it" (pick up the speed) and he was dancing and asking us to SWAGGER and saying to us, "Hey, i'm 62 years old!" "Swagger! C'mon!" Boy, am I hooting away.

I'm also very amused and chuckling over how my fingers tend to "spasm" or "fall asleep" or something, and i either miss pressing a key on the piano or i play a second too fast and so i throw the tempo/rhythm off.

I also got to experience for the first time from another perspective the kind of impact a synthesizer musician makes as both supporter and also at the forefront during praise and worship. I've been one for the longest time and never could fully appreciate the part played till when the roles were switched.

There's one thing that i'm so thankful for, and that was the freedom released by my youth pastor for me to just be free to release a song! I believe that all the other musicians/singers can and should do that! It's MAD scary but gosh, you REALLY just tune in to God and play out His heart...

And you'll be amazed at the kind of sound that rises up... I know i was.

I think i FINALLY KNOW what i want to concentrate on for my dissertation. It wasn't a BAM!SLAM! awakening but a little inkling that sneaked into my consciousness while reading some locally published fathering booklets. When i went for the recent fathering conference held at NUS, apparently the Guest of Honour mentioned that this particular area hasn't been studied yet in Singapore... And that is, "What do Fathers think/feel about their roles? As Fathers, Men, Husbands, his own Person, etc)"

I've been wondering over whether this was it and i let the idea swim around for a while in my head. Been asking God for heeelllppp and it's been weeks and nothing has changed. So, yeah, i think, this is it. F.I.N.A.L.L.Y!

Better email my supervisor to see what thunks she.

***

Might be exploring Henderson Bridge today with Gem!

***

I'm stoked for two close friends of mine who've gotten new jobs! PRAISE GOD!
And for Gem too, he's gotten a couple of cool openings since his graduation. I think that though he can grow more into his craft, his works are pretty sweet now. I'm so proud of him. :)

In Christ alone, my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song.
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

What an experience it was at today's service's worship time. First, it's the first time i'm being accompanied by the synthesizer, and second, i've never had my pastor come up to me to tell me to play out...

We were having a time of free worship after the New Doxology song, and she came up on stage to come alongside me. I knew she wanted to tell me something but my hands were busy on the keys. It was quite amusing to me how she had to gingerly lift my long hair away from my right ear to try to speak to me. I took a moment to pause and remove my in-ears and she told me, "play out a Song of Beauty" and she said "play out... you're holding back"

Boy, i was scared. I mean, what? Me? You mean i have free reign over my chords? Wouldn't i be sidelining the rest of the band since i would be launching into my own tune? And then another part of me was saying: C'mon! This is it! You've always wanted to break out from prescribed progressions, now you can break out into anything!

More so though, i was hesitant about something so new and bold, but i heeded my leader's encouragement and went for it. I just played whatever i thought i should. Whatever the Holy Spirit led me to. On hindsight, i WAS SO GLAD it was in a familiar key, Key of G with just one sharp (F#). Haha.

There were moments when a song of beauty was released, and there was another moment when I distinctively felt God asking me to play C and B repeatedly, as a resounding call saying, "Children, Children". Like He was singing out and calling us. And then the other notes was Him saying, "Hear me. I love you, I love you". At one point, our worship leader J also started to sing out God's message to us.

I could hear my heartbeat thumping fast and loudly in my ears (cos the in-ears closed out other noises) because i was so nervous and hesitant... I wasn't sure what the next chord was suppose to be. I know i hit some weird chords when i meant to play something else.

But i tried... Tuning in my "antenna" as best as i could to the Lord and to play accordingly. As i was playing, i remembered L's card that she gave to me almost exactly one year ago at this time... She wrote, "You paint God's heart with sounds" (27th June 2009) Talk about prophetic, huh? :DDD

I don't remember everything i played, but i remember the single notes on my right hand that was expressing what God wanted to say. I remember those moments to be quite intense for me, trying to tune in to God and figuring what notes i was suppose to hit. I remember being at a lost at what to do next and having to fully depend on the Holy Spirit to lead. I guess that's the way it goes, yeah?

During the debrief session, i was thoroughly encouraged by my ministry mates and was also nudged on to be more bold to play out. After the debrief session, YS came up to me to share of a vision he saw during that free worship time. He told me that as I played out, he saw a painting beginning to form, a painting of a picture that depicted all the beautiful things of God. I was so blessed. :) A Song of Beauty indeed! Though he also said that i could afford to be less hesitant.

I feel like i could've done so much more though i don't really know how to (some of you were spot on, that i was hesitant). Whatever it is, whatever that happened tonight, I give all glory to Father God.

There certainly were limitations on my part and I couldn't have played much without His leading. I just did my best, His song tinkling in my spirit to be released into the physical.

Thank You God. More of this, please? Teach me how!

Tiramisu Heaven!

Here's jie sieving the Hershey's cocoa powder over the cream cheese layer. What? What's that sound you hear? Me... Hyperventilating.
This piece is mine! :P

Sister taking a spoon out of hers.

Top down view. I love the texture of the cocoa!

Another top down view.

Cream cheese waterfall. Mmm...

Cocoa powder sliding down the cream cheese waterfall. Love the textures!

I'm loving the cooking sessions with my sister! Wheee!!!

Jie and my shopping, cooking and eating adventures!

At this Hong Kong Cafe at IMM. Her yin yang ice and my HK milk tea.
The "pork bun", as written on the menu. It's a BURGER man.

Half for me. Hee.
My wanton noodles with chilli.

Mountain of carrots. I love Giant for its mountain of stuff, fit for Giants! But i think i might be more stoked shopping in Canada where helpings are WAY BIGGER!

Home and soaking the salad leaves. We got these at 80cents a pack when its original price was $4+. The price was decreased a great deal because the leaves aren't as fresh as the newer stock.

Baby potatoes for the mashed potato that my sister made. She's a natural chef man, i tell ya! It was so good. Olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, chopped fresh basil.

Dog checking out whatever that just came out from the magic cupboard, a.k.a. the fridge.

My beef stew's ingredients, which includes cocoa powder. No kidding. :) The recipe's taken from Chef at Home, featuring Michael Smith. I LOVE his programme. Its so homey, unpretentious, inventive, and friendly to watch.

Onions, celery, carrots and garlic. To go into the stew.

Had finished browning my beef for the flavour (so says Chef Smith), and Jed looks on. This is a decidedly cute picture. :)

This was how it looked like when everything was tossed in to boil. But it looks very different after being thoroughly cooked through. Pictures later. :) The beef stew's for tomorrow's dinner.
You can see that the colour is a lot darker now. Lots of red wine, like, 1/3 a bottle. Was trying to finish up the leftover wine in the fridge.
My sister's finished dish. Delicious grilled beef with hot sauce made from scratch, on a bed of salad and mashed potato on the side.

Ah heh... After dinner, i enthusiastically volunteered myself to help out with making our tiramisu. Last week i was having a craving for tiramisu which went unsatisfied. My kind sister asked me if the craving has been met and i responded with a resounding "NO!". So here we are... Pictures of the finished product coming up! :DD
What you see here is the final layer of cream cheese being slopped over two layers of biscuit fingers soaked in coffee and baileys, chocolate shavings... OH. YUM. AGH.

Jed had just misjudged a jump onto a chair which he normally would not have bungled up. He was just a teensy weensy bit banged up and i felt so sorry for him and felt sad that he's growing old and maybe making mistakes now.

Jo: It's so sad that he's growing old...
Sister: At least he's having the chance to grow old, and not like Prints. (my previous dog who died suddenly at the age of 7)

Amen.

I want to be a positive person. (And the only person who will ever hear me whine extensively will be Gem. What a privilege, my boy! HAHAHA.)

But seriously. Yes. I want to be a positive and optimistic person. Not overly so. Just having a balance of both optimism and realism, but inclining more towards someone who will try to look on the brighter side of things.

That said, i find that being a real optimist is NOT about denying the negative things around me. Being a balanced person is when I can acknowledge the bad, feel it, but after that, relax and let loose a little. To make a way around the problem and always look for the silver lining around every situation. Even if there are NO good things at all to speak of, well... it's better to let things go as soon as possible.

I remember a friend saying something along the lines of, "I choose to be happy because it's the only thing that makes sense!" And i was like, "Heck, YEAH!" Why choose to be sad, right? Having all them sad, whiny, grumpy hormones cycling around the body will only make you go downhill. I'm pretty sure that scientifically, decisively maintaining depressed feelings has never been a pill of health for anyone.

So yes. I always believe that whining for a while IS good. You NEED that outlet to let it go. Then after that, move on. No one likes a whiny person, and i certainly don't want to bring anyone down by being one.

Another thing i'm having to face everyday is learning to be humble, to know when the world doesn't owe me a living. To know when i'm wrong and to know when to just let go. Perspective helps. :) But of couse, there are also times when i get genuinely riled up, usually over injustice or being misunderstood and i allow myself to be angry. Well. That's life!

Quite tired from staring at the computer screen, so here're just some pictures with short captions.

My potato gratin part 1

Cheryl's delicious mushroom risotto that was polished off by the end of the day. Everyone loved it!

My grilled chicken which Hannah jaga-ed and it turned out deliciously cooked and juicy looking and caramelized. Albeit a little burnt on the skin, but the meat was tasty! Maybe it was burnt due to the sugars present (orange juice, honey, etc).

Nat's butter noodles. Yummeh.

My first attempt at beer batter fish. Salah lor. I put the beer into the egg and not into the flour, which is the correct way.

My sister's OUT OF THIS WORLD white wine fruit jelly. It was SO GOOD that i was slurping the jelly juice like a barbarian.

She made another two last night after the party so that she could have some today. Cheryl, sorry, you cannot have my sister but maybe you can borrow her if you like. heehee.

No people photos in case of issues of privacy.

Had an informal house party yesterday, and one dish that i was particularly proud of was the grilled chicken dishes. They weren't my own creations though i did add and change a coupla things here and there. Here're the marinades that i used.

1) The Raptors Favourite BBQ Chicken (from Chef and Home! Asian Food Channel webbie)

Lemon Juice (but i sub-ed it with lime juice)
Worchestershire sauce
Red bell peppers (skipped this)
Red wine vinegar
Brown sugar
Dijon mustard
Hot sauce (i used sweet chilli sauce)
Chilli powder
Ground cumin
Olive oil
Minced garlic (i used some leftover garlic, lime, ginger blend instead that we had from the last chicken rice meal my family cooked)
Chicken thigh meat
Extra ingredient just for fun: Tomato sauce

2) Famous People Players Honey Garlic Chicken (from Chef and Home also)

The same garlic, ginger, etc blend that i mentioned
Honey
Orange juice
Chopped onion
Dried thyme
Dried rosemary
Salt
Sweet chilli sauce
Paprika
Chicken thigh meat

I didn't get to eat much of this (was busy cooking the other stuff during the party) but i did manage to grab a small chunk of meat. It was SO TASTY! Even my sister who has a discerning tongue said it was nice. Umm, yum. :)

I apologize for the lack of measurements because i usually go the anyhow tikum way. Before i actually mix the marinade with the raw meat, i mix the stuff in a separate bowl so that i can add and mix stuff till i get the desired flavour. When i'm satisfied, the mixture then goes in with the chicken into a box to leave to marinade... I let it soak for almost 2 days. The result: Pure Delight!

Photos in an upcoming post.

(Older) Sister: Oooo! The peaches are so pretty!
Jo: Cos they are Snow Beauty Peaches...
Jo: (in my best Disney chirpy show host impersonation) Hi! What's your name? *points to a peach*
Sister: (in high pitched child voice) Ariel! (y'know, from The Little Mermaid movie...)
Jo: And what's yours?
Sister: Cinderella!
Jo: Snow White!

We are such retards. In our late 20s. :) I like!

Here's what i see on some mornings when i wake up.

He's my excuse for not waking up. Sigh.
What's yours?

:) Contented doggy.

Yesterday, "church" was so different for me.

I can honestly say that for a while now, things haven't been as "fruitful" as i would want with respect to ministry (worship/music team) and my personal walk with God. But yesterday was different. And it all started with knowing God's mandate of royalty upon me, and the choice to ACCEPT IT.

One thing i've taken away from the school of supernatural worship speakers is the assurance of WHO I AM, my IDENTITY. That as Christians, we are Royalty. We inherit God's identity, y'know what i mean. Like, THE CREATOR, THE MOST INTELLIGENT BEING WHO EVER EXISTED, THE GOD OF ALL HEAVEN AND EARTH, IS MA DADDEH.

And since He is my DADDEH, who does that make ME? Did you get that? Could it sink in? I'm a CHILD of the MOST HIGH KING. YOU, when you believe, ARE ALSO a CHILD of the MOST HIGH KING!

And that has changed me, my perception of myself. And domino-ingly, that changes how i worship Him, receive Him and receive all His promises and good gifts.

During worship jam yesterday afternoon, i was playing the keys and of course, it wasn't perfect but i know something in me was different.

I was playing from a heart that knows that, I am WORTHY to give worship to God. Like, GOD SEES ME AS WORTHY TO GIVE HIM WORSHIP. Sure, i'm a little human bean and actually bluntly speaking, a stinking rat and perhaps unspeakably worse by His standards but because Jesus took my place of sinfulness, I am considered completely clean and worthy to be in God's presence (without being struck down dead like in the olden times before Jesus came). It's MY PLACE to worship God, y'know? It's my RIGHT.

I used to worship and still have part of my mind thinking, "I'm no good a person, God won't accept me or my worship, i'm lousy, i'm not liked, He doesn't love me as much as other people..." And though it was a part of my mind, those thoughts took over my WHOLE being. So "worship" became a chore, something painful, something dreadful.

But yesterday, i worshipped and enjoyed it so much because i was FREE! In knowing that there is full acceptance from God! Wow. What a change it brought!

I realized i was tired of the "routine" because i wasn't getting the fullness of what those activities meant. I wasn't immersed in its reality, when i wasn't worshipping like i could. They were, simply just activities, i.e. meaningless.

And i saw a really cool... i don't know... vision story of myself with God? While J was leading worship, He saw us dancing with God... and here's what I personally saw:

I was dancing in a ballroom with God and He was like this white robed figure and i was like a small child. We were twirling and swinging about. I got tired after a while, and i sat down on what looks like a park bench by the side and instead of sitting beside me, Father God knelt in front of me on bended knee, like how a man would when he is asking for his girlfriend's hand in marriage. And i felt like Father God was "laying down his majesty and his heart" just to romance my heart again, for me to love Him again and follow after Him.

As we continued to worship, I saw Father God and I started to dance again and this time, we were twirling so hard round and round that i literally FLEW UP INTO THE AIR (woah lao eh!) and my hands left His and i was left thrown up into the air and started falling down again... And that's when God caught me in his hands and help me high up, I looked down into his face and there was SO. MUCH. LOVE. Like. There was silence between us, but in His eyes, there was adoration. Like how a mother would look at a baby with loving eyes.

When i saw this, I started to sob in the room and i was so glad that i brought tissue this time. Thank God for the awesome water resistant Bobbi Brown eye liner and almost budge-proof Majorlica Marjorca mascara man...

During worship, amazing words were shared. That God wanted to give us and assure us of His promises (for me, that would be my identity in Him!), that God wanted to GIVE so much to us today and that all we needed to do was to trade in our faith (the currency) for whatever gifts he would give to us. The visions shared were that we were being given a key to unlock His storehouse (WHAO!) and another one that was cute was of Jesus pushing a cart selling different kinds of bottled water. Thanks C and J were releasing those words. They were amazing. Oh, but hold on there's more.

The sermon was on honouring as the key to receiving (Matthew 10:40-42). It's a teaching about how if we receive someone (in this context, it means: to honour/to have a friendship with someone who has certain giftings from God), we can receive the giftings of that person as well. And you know how we ended? Pastor J shared her annointing with all the youth leaders, and after that, all who wanted to receive spiritual gifts could approach the leaders to be prayed for. You know, it was such a continuation from the worship session before our sermon... God was just releasing all His gifts to His children, all those who wanted it, generously! Just like the storehouse/Jesus selling water visions!

After being prayed for by a particular leader and friend, i sat there and i was so amused... At how the scene before me was really us just "shopping" (remember Jesus's cart of bottled water?) for our desired gifts from Father God. It was so amazing. I was so blessed.

Thank You God. And a Happy Father's Day. You probably had it all planned already... You are so cheeky!

I have one important announcement.

GEM IS FINALLY DONE WITH SCHOOL!!!

You can visit his sort of e-portfolio at:

http://www.davidpaints.carbonmade.com/

In other news... Oh dog lovers especially, you have to see this, it's hilarious! He's the Beatboxing Dog!



and this...



Owner: "Are you stoopid?"
Mishka: "NOoooooooooooooooooo"

Isn't she smart?!?!

Wedding Band 2

We are zee Wedding Band-ers (J, C, B, T, and yours truly) for another lovely couple. It's really fun playing for weddings. I get to play the piano, enjoy the music and worship (if any), be with a team of friends, get to eat the catered food, witness the couple's significant moment(s), be surrounded by beautiful decor, I get to dress up (all those online blogshop buys put to good use somehow somewhere) and I get a small tok$n of appr$ciat$on! I could do this as a part-time job. Teehee.

So, how'd you like my new blog template? I like it because i seems neater and my photos come with a border, but i'm wondering if this will stick. I do wonder how i can make fuller use of the screen width though.

The orange one has been around ever since this blog began and i decided to try the switch since the new templates are an improvement from the old Blogger ones. I didn't mean for the blog to look this pinkish actually. It just happened that each element agreed individually with me, but when i looked at it as a whole... Alamak, it looked a lil too pink for my liking. But on the whole, i'm okay with the balance between the light green, greys, whites, some red and pink though i was gunning for a more earthy tone vibe.

A friend once said some time ago that i'm a "nu chiang ren". Recently, he concluded that i still look like one on the outside, but i'm actually soft on the inside.

To my other friends who know me personally: am i either or neither?

Apple. iPhone. 4.

*drool*

I had the strangest feeling of being ignored in the last week or so... But i think it's partly me as well. I notice that i'm feeling a bit more reclusive than normal these days. Hoping it's just those crazy woman hormones that go seasonally nuts and would be temporary. Speaking of which. Am having a terrible ice cream craving right now. Okay, to the freezer i go.

Now i know one thing that makes me badly bloated for SURE. Soybeans and its related products. I just had a homecooked miso soup with lots of cubed tofu, carrots, leeks, egg and spring onion and bloated up till i looked 2 months pregnant. I've noticed the same trend when i drink soybean milk. Sigh. I've denied it for so long because i like soybean products. Drat.

Take note, IBS-ers.

Ok, am off to go get my library books on Procrastination!

Oh, i must tell you a joke... I was on the phone earlier with this nice service staff chap from Jurong Regional Library, but i couldn't help but crack up quite uncontrollably and was trying my best to stifle the sounds while carrying on with the conversation...

Jo: "Where can i pay for my booking fee and fines...?"
Nice Chap: "There's a big boo (blue) machine... and if you need hell (help), you can approach the counter..."

Hey, i know i have fines to pay but i don't need to be "boo-ed" and i certainly don't want to get hell for it!