Starting afresh

Funny that it just feels right to type these out right now, no reason whatsoever, perhaps just to clear my head a little.

Just because i feel like picking up where i left on this blog... so, here we go again.


Season changes. People changes. Relationship status changes. But, my relationship with my God remains.

For the past few months, it have had been trials, low downs, painful heartbreaking, the whole emotional rollercoaster ride, don't know how to put them into words, really...i'm not a wordsmith. i suck at this. It just hurt. So deep. It felt like your heart was brutally cut wide open and left  bleeding til the bloods run dry. It went on a cycle.

Some days it just ached... quietly, deep down. No one knows except your lonely soul.

It was then i felt so weak, so crushed, so broken. Because it mattered. Because i've given it all. Yet, sometimes it's not how much you've given, even when it means that you would move city just to be with the other person. Sadly...you didn't see what i see in us.

I cried out to God, for He alone knew how much pain it was, how much tears poured. For i know i can trust Him in this. Through it all.
I turned to Him. I know that I need to cling on to Him, no matter what. Through it all.

I felt lost, for a while. Finding my balance again. Finding who i am again, without you. Without you this time. I am reminded of who i am and where i should look to.

The bright unknown future. Daunting, sure. But pretty exciting too. New opportunities. New pages. And i know who holds my future. The Faithful One. So, i surrender...over and over again to you, Lord.
Take me, mold me...lead me in your righteousness.


Long story short...


I've wrapped you up. Together with the memories. It was a decision i have to commit to. To let you go.
To let the past go.


It hasn't been easy, of course.

But i know this soon shall pass too.

Goodbye to you.
I've lost a good friend.


Lord, you are the Author of my love story. You hold the pen, i trust in you as you write my love story.



      Surely your goodness and love will follow me

    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

-Psalm 23:6

Alright, enough said.


So, here's a toast to new chapters ahead!

it's about time

Alright, after more than a year of missing in action, i think it's about time to pick up where i've left.

I've forgotten the joy of blogging and often times busyness is the lame excuse i gave myself. I have not set my eyes on this blog since my last post in Sept 2012. Yep, it's been a long time. Perhaps i thought i've moved on from blogging world.

With the thought of using this space to document the random crafts and findings and my recent adventure in oil painting, i hope this would motivate me to do more things with my hands. That this would open my eyes to the little things surrounding me, to observe and absorb the wonders of life and art. Also a place where i could share with you some of my interests in art, design and creative people!

Also thanks to my friend, Overflou. Recently she has started blogging again and somehow it has this effect on me..and led me to trace my route back to this blog covered with dust.

So, (blowing off the thick layer of dust), welcome back to myself. haha...

Here we go again.

.

Much Love Monday: Welcome Bro

Much love First Monday of 2012!
It's a happy day coz my dear bro has arrived in Perth this morning.
He's here for good now. yay!

Just realized i haven't seen him since his graduation in Adelaide back in Dec 2010.
Has it been that long!?

Here's to the many great days ahead, bro! Cheers!

click here

New Year thoughts: Good Madness

It's that special time of the year 

when we all feel a little hyped about new beginnings 

and setting our new year resolutions.

Imagine all the new opportunities the new year holds.

I hope you are looking forward to the many new encounters the new year shall bring.

Just want to share this intriguing thoughts from Neil Gaiman. 

My friend, Sam told me about Neil Gaiman's inspiring work.

So i just want to quote him,

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." (taken from his recent blogpost)

i like the phrase 'good madness'.

He wrote the above about a decade ago.

You have to continue to read what he shared for this new year here. 

You just have to.

It struck me.

So this new year, I sincerely hope that you always have some inspirations and actually do what you are really passionate about. 

Let's hope that we all be a little braver, a little more hardworking and kinder than we were. =) 

paper garland i cut out on new year's eve. Say hi to my giraffe. lol.

Postcard from Nepal

about 2 weeks ago, i received the postcard my friend sent me from Nepal. Finally! after 2 months of patiently waiting... We decided to write to each other instead of writing to ourselves on our last day in Nepal. 

It feels nostalgic reading what she wrote for me. Words of encouragement.

I must say, words of encouragement is one of my love language. Simple words stringed together can have such powerful impact, at least for me. 

And i believe we all need words of encouragement... you never know someone out there might just use a little to feel uplifted and hopeful again. =)

Melbourne 2011

taken Dec 2010 - Melbourne

I'll be away for the next few days as i will be in Melbourne. 

Yay!

I'll be at a lovely wedding witnessing the beautiful couple says 'I do.'

I hope to check out some funky shops & cafés...

sipping good coffee while catching up with my friends.

I shall be back hopefully with some lovely photos. 

updates

Fishtail Mountain, Pokhara, Nepal

Where should i begin!?

So much had happened during the past 2 weeks. I went to Singapore & Nepal. Safely got back in Perth on last Saturday night. Back to work tomorrow!

Good to be back! Just slowly easing back into the daily grind again!And it's near the end of October already!

SO much to reflect on and give thanks for! I'm running out of words to describe how i feel right now!

twenty-four

Turning twenty-four.

Looking back on the past one year, I am truly amazed by the grace of God. Through the ups and downs, I have tasted His goodness and faithfulness. Glory to Him.

For the days ahead, i just want to hang on to His guiding hand. I want to be teachable and submissive. I know   without Him, life has no meaning. I want to truly live life. 

Whirlwind

The past one month has been exactly that. Whirlwind.

Last blog entry was back in Los Angeles, the first stop of the 4 cities my friend, Janice and i visited. 

It has been an amazing, mind-blowing experience that really drained us out...! I guess it's always the case with travelling, it can be fun AND super exhausting too!

We left Boston on 21/9 evening and only arrived back in Australia on 24/9 early morning. Super jet lag!

Few days later i was back at work. Back to the mundane. Felt so surreal! Back to a long list of things to catch up and handle. But it felt great to be back from a foreign place to familiar surrounding, people and even smell!

Last few days, it has been so sunny in Perth. And i can smell the sweetness of ripe nectarines in the front yard.

Ok, so for the past one week i've finally done my e-tax return (dreadful), did 2 night shifts, suffered post-holiday blues...
Long story short, the mood to blog is back again, for now. I hope i will spend some good hours on recollecting the pieces of my travel experiences and share them with you, if i could squeeze this in before i take off again....eeeep. Also, it will be a good personal recap of the memorable travel adventure, so i should try my very best. With lots of pictures. =P

Please stay tuned... =)

Adventure awaits

31/31: adventure awaits

This random 31 days project of mine has finally come to an end. It has been fun and quite challenging to actually take pictures of everyday. Some days i just couldn't be bothered to take any pictures...

Anyways...i had fun and it's a way of documenting little moments in life...

Today also marked the end of winter 2011 (gone too quick!!) 

Today in History: Happy 54th Independence Day to my country, Malaysia!!! 

September: Change of season, a new chapter in life awaits ahead of us. A fresh start again, a whole new adventure awaits.

Coming up next: with my travel buddy, Janice, we'll be exploring 4 cities in USA.  

Thrilled!

{ 31 days project }

25/31: plunger coffee

Romeo no. 5 to kickstart my Thursday. 

Having a day off today. Hope to get the most out of today! Carpe Diem! =)

{ 31 days project }

My List of things-to-do:

Disciple class homework

Tax return! e-tax!

read Frankie 43

evening jog

read up on Washington DC

blog

craft (long-overdue)

make more lists!

200th post! =)

wow, reaching 200th post today! and also, it's been a year since i started this supposedly-art-blog-but-turned-into-something-rather-lifestyle-blog. 

12/31: smiley toast

i came home from work and made myself a quick breakfast. Had a piece of toast and made a smiley face. 

missing you & happy friday. 

{ 31 days project}

i like to put my feet up against the wall after long day at work. and just look at the map and have a little day-dream moment.

dusk today. i just walked outside for 5 min to breathe in the air and saw the sky was so amazing. the moon so bright...then i remembered that it has been a month since he came to visit. =)

also listening my way through one of my favourites, Mat Kearney's latest album, Young Love on youtube. 

still kinda sleep-deprived and feeling the weight on my shoulders....guess all i need is a good sleep now.

it will fix all things. =)

1st of August

oh how time flies!

i've been away from the blogosphere from days to weeks!

many things have happened and i am grateful for each day...Significant & mark-it-in-diary events...along with many little moments of life experiences of work, church, family, friends & travel planning. And oh, rainy days!!! love-hate feeling...haha.

recollecting & cherishing the moments turned into memories... =)

and here we are, it's August already! and i am psyched about many upcoming agendas!

one of them is an impromptu to challenge myself with a 31days project.

take pictures of everyday, pick one & post it at Tumblr & Flickr .

Evening sky at 17:31 today

oh, and since it's the 1st of a new month, thought of giving my tumblr a new look! i like the speech bubble dp.

Also, another important challenge followed by the sermon on Sunday...31 Days Bible Reading on Proverbs.




'Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.'  - Proverbs 1:7

Will return...

will be away from blog for the next few days...coz i'll be busy being a tour guide! LOL! =)

Soapy love

soapylove from tiger in a jar on Vimeo.

This cute soapylove video featuring

almost-edible-looking adorable popsicles & lollies is simply too Bubbly Cute!

Make me giggle! lol!

Happy Thursday!

ps: i think a sore throat is on its way...noooo....think i'm going down with a flu. Self-medicating with lots of strepsils & warm lemon & honey drink. Thank God for a lemon tree in the backyard. *sneeze*

Cherry Blossoms

There's a nectarine tree in the front porch. Little cherry blossoms are blooming and they are so pretty that i just have to snap a few pics of them! It has also been quite rainy in Perth lately.

This morning

I like the refreshed feeling after rain. The sun is up at the moment. Yay!

Comfort zone

source

Perhaps getting a lil too comfy...

need to step out of my comfort zone...

Winter bits



Just a few random bits on Winter...

Exactly this time last year i was travelling with 3 friends in Christchurch, Queenstown & Auckland, NZ. Collected this at the Info Center in Queenstown. The roads get slippery with icy layer of snow in Queenstown so this is a reminder card with road info sources at the back of the card.
I miss those fun times in NZ.

Kickstart a wintery day with Uncle Toby's traditional oat porridge with mixed berries & a drizzle of honey for breakfast.



Myer Stocktake sale! 30% off for these winter needs! Got a nice comfy pair of Miss Shop 'campa' shoes, a pair of long hand warmers & a beige scarf, all with discounted price. yay!

Though it's chilly now, it's actually quite refreshing just to go for a stroll in my neighbourhood. Spotted a cute letterbox.

Down side: Night comes early in winter. rather depressing at times.

Sunny side: Juicy little mandarins are in season now...ummm...



Banana Cake & Rabbit Walk

I baked my first banana cake last Friday. I was inspired to try out Poh's recipe after reading Jo's (my wey of life) blogpost using the recipe from Poh's Kitchen cookbook. I bought Poh's cookbook a while ago when Borders had discount to cookbooks. To date, i have only tried Poh's banana cake recipe. Previously i was using her macaron recipe for reference but did not follow the whole recipe to make the macarons.

a fatal disaster nearly happened as i forgot to add my brown sugar to the mixture. Completely forgotten about it until i poured the batter into the cake tin. I felt like an idiot! lol. So, i thought i could still add the brown sugar to the batter and mix it thoroughly IN the cake tin. (i doubt anyone has done that before!) haha. So fingers crossed...i put it into the oven hoping it'll turn out alright.

And it did turned out good! phew! Still yummy & moist. I cut the cake into pieces and brought to my Disciple class on Saturday morning. Feedback was good! Phew phew.

Like Jo said, i love banana cake too. It's a good recipe that will not go wrong. No doubt it's the Best Banana Cake in the World! It's so moist & yummy & packed with nutrients! Definitely going to bake more banana cakes! ~

Although banana price is so expensive nowadays, i managed to find discount pack for overripe bananas. Yay to that!

the Best Banana Cake in the world!

On Saturday, it was a beautiful 24 degree sunny day. A perfect day to spend some time under the sun, so definitely not to be wasted as it started raining on Sunday night and will be a rather wet one this week!
So my friend. Cindy decided to take her darling rabbit, Carol out for a stroll on Saturday arvo. I tagged along too.

I think Carol was a bit shy at first and probably overwhelmed by the new big space...also, she probably did not enjoyed being attached to a leash. haha. It was actually a bit tricky to keep up with Carol. She tended to go her own ways. =P

Little Carol's first outing at the park.

let's not lose sight

source: wowrainbows

work lately has been increasingly hectic for me. Other than work, i have many priorities that fight for my utmost attention. So, note to self, let's not lose sight... pressing on for every new day there'll be new joy, new strength, new mercy! For that, i am eternally grateful.

Press on!