Finding IT.

TODAY, I found the black bean paste I have been looking for..

I found it in a small little Korean shop in Bishan :D
That made me SUPER happy for some reason..
Even though it really is JUST black bean paste.
Imagine finding something EVERYONE is looking for...
Something WAY more significant...

And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us, -Acts 12:26-27, ESV

Re-living my childhood

Today, I got lost in a children's book while reading it to the kid..
I was more interested to see what happened to Danny the Dinosaur than he was :P
Maybe I took this job because it allows me to make up for some lost childhood experiences..
like indulging in Play-doh under the pretense of encouraging appropriate toy play..
or singing the wheels on the bus because I want to do the actions..
and reading two books (when we usually just read one) just because the covers look so interesting...
the only thing I am not enjoying is the tiny, hard plastic chairs.
because they make my butt hurt so..

It's been a long trying day today...
both kids were really REALLY difficult..
but despite the horrible day, I'm going to bed smiling :)
It's from that warm fuzzy feeling inside :)
Thank you for being you.

Mission: to do nothing.

Tonight, I'm home alone again! :)
Leah's off for her camp thing..
and I think my parents are at Normanton.
The Boy's still studying of course..
but tonight, I have a mission: To learn to do NOTHING.
that somehow became really difficult to do for me.
I've always been one to find things to do and not be able to bum too much.
I couldn't even take a two month holiday before I started Honors year in UQ last year.
But I don't remember ONE NIGHT of bumming being this difficult.
I still will not admit to a baking addiction..
but tonight I will sit in bed and bum.
and it's as if God is encouraging it by giving me 3 more shows to watch tonight :)
so yes, I will do not move from my bed.
I will NOT NOT NOT bake tonight...
Though I kinda already baked this morning and whipped up awesome dinner for myself........
NOT COUNTED.
mission do nothing only starts NOW.

My first half day :)

Today, I get half the day off :)
one of the kids went on a holiday and cancelled the session so I get the morning off!
I never knew it worked like that..
but it is a pleasant surprise!
I still woke up early because I forgot to turn off my alarm for this morning......
but I managed to go back to sleep for a bit of sleep indulgence :)
now I'm making a grand breakfast of chicken breasts, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese in the oven.

I'm starting to feel that the living arrangements we've been having at home is causing my family to be very unaware of what is happening in the life of the other members..
We found out only last night that Leah was going for a camp today..
and only found out because she was looking for the sleeping bag.
if not, we would still be unaware.
My mom didn't find it strange when she saw me at home at 8.50am.. on top of that, in my pjs.

oh well.

time to eat breakfast and then start the awesome day :)

Home Alone

ABSOLUTELY NO ONE is home today.
I have the whole house to myself.
the parents are in Normanton,
Leah is out gallivanting, enjoying her freedom...
The Boy is at a very solemn church meeting (I made the solemn part up)
and so I have the night to myself AND the house to myself :D
I love occasional nights alone.
Gives me time to catch up on things :)
and to prepare ahead for things too..
like make icebox cookie batter!
Whoever thought up of icebox cookies is a genius.
It is an awesome way to ensure you always have something to entertain unexpected guests with.
It's so easy to just take them out and bake a batch right away when you need or want cookies without having to measure and mix and sift and all..
but anyway, I'm off to enjoy the rest of the night...
and prepare myself to meet Mr Pincher tmw.

serious stuff about how I am Shingz and how God is Boomz.

I was extremely ashamed at my behaviour before service today.
My pastor dropped a mini bomb on us this morning when he suddenly requested a different song for the song of response.
because we didn't have the chords for it and there wasn't any time to do a quick run through
I showed him a bit of attitude saying it would be impossible for me to play while he preaches AND figure out the chords to the song at the same time.
As we bowed our heads for the usual pre-service prayer, I realised we could easily get the chords via the internet through our phones..
that was when I became very ashamed at my reaction to the 'mini bomb'.
All that 'drama' and attitude was so uncalled for.
For a moment, I allowed my human self and pride to take over and failed to trust that God will make a way.
I was blinded by my feelings of discontentment with the perceived lack of preparation and thought too highly of myself, forgetting that I'm just a servant in the House of God.
but God being full of grace and faithfulness brought us through the provision of 3G even in my moment of weakness.
How amazing.
This is our God.

During the drive home tonight, Quen and I pondered over an issue that has been bugging me for a long time...
and even though we came to a conclusion that it is out of our hands to do anything, I still felt upset over the whole situation..
How awesome is it that the verse I received in the email today was from Psalms 10:17..
Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.
How amazing.
THIS is our God.

back to baking

I'm officially down with the flu.
My throat is giving up on me and my nose ran the whole of today.
but it's okay because I think I'll be much better tomorrow.
I drank a whole bottle of orange juice and have been taking Strepsils for my throat religiously since this afternoon.
It does feel much better :)

I was going to be a bum tonight using my flu as an excuse but I couldn't wait to try this recipe out...
I couldn't find heath chips so I decided to make my own toffee..

which turned out AWESOME...
I crushed them so that they'll be 'chip like' :P
and then proceeded on with the rest of the recipe and....
TADA!

The cookies are super melt in your mouth :)
I am very pleased.
I'm going to make another batch of it..
NOW.

Quick upDate Night

Ok.
Quick update.
Sunday, Ben decided to brave his fear of veg and consume a SALAD for lunch!
I have evidence!

Good on you, Ben!
The last time I saw him eat veg in this high a quantity was many many MANY years ago during a mission trip to Thailand..

Monday was the night I had a pleasant surprise :)
Tuesday was pretty normal..
Wednesday was a really good day..
I had awesome lunch company and it was nice to have a break in routine...
Watched Date Night tonight..
I totally thought it was going to be a chick flick which IT IS EVERYTHING BUT.
it was good though..
I mean, other than the scary shooting and chasing parts that got me a little tense,
everything else was pretty awesome :)
It's almost the end of the week..
it's been a great week :)
But I've also been sneezed and coughed on a whole lot this week..
and I think I'm starting to catch a little of the flu bug.
but PRAY AGAINST IT!
I'm drinking orange juice now, hoping that the vitamin C will help keep it away!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASS!

Yes, ANOTHER birthday..
CASSANDRA'S TWENTY FIRST! :)

We met at YMLC THREE years ago and our group still meets up periodically for meals and birthdays :)

Only 5 of us because so many of the rest are OVERSEAS :(
Please notice her kick ass birthday cake!
It was HUGE.
The party was SO nice..
Jonas wrote her a really sweet song, she composed a poem and read it as her thank you speech...
The best part was when everyone at the party stood around Cass, stretching out our arms toward her to pray a blessing over her..
THE WHOLE PARTY IN PRAYER.
totally awesome.
Happy birthday, dear girl!
You are one special child of God :)

Like finding a diamond in a box of old buttons.

I was dreading today since the start of the week..
Both my sessions were suppose to be with two very difficult kids..
BUT BUT BUT
God showed me AGAIN how awesome He is to me!
the morning session went SO smoothly.
When I saw him on Monday, he was running out of the chair and THREE therapists had to fight to get him back onto the chair.
He kept screaming throughout the session I think I almost became deaf
And I had to face the challenge of handling him alone.
but today he was so cooperative and compliant,
I couldn't believe he was the same kid I saw on Monday.
Even his mom was surprised at how well-behaved he was today :)

In the afternoon I met with Mr Pincher-Biter.
I was totally ready for another batch of bruises and bite marks but all I got was ONE new bruise.
HOW AWESOME IS THAT.
and he only had 2 episodes of pinching throughout the entire 3 hours..
with NO biting attempts at all
:D
I feel really happy about today :)

Now, The Boy is having cell and so are my parents.
So I decided to lock myself in my room and finish up the last bit of my presentation
This will help free up my next two weeks for baking..
especially since the study period is drawing near ;)
planning to make a few batches of the usuals
and try out a couple new recipes..
can't wait for next week! :)

Choices in life..

I've come to realize that a lot of things depend on the choices we make.
During my afternoon session, the kid decided to be totally non-compliant..
but I decided to keep my cool (and be professional)
and try to make the most out of the situation.
We ended on a really good note with him sitting on my lap, singing the goodbye song, then giving me a parting hug.
(though that could just be him showing how happy he is to see me go..)
and on top of that, he didn't rain (pee) on my parade (the floor) :)
sorry so cheesy.. just had to use that expression.
Then when I came home, My mom talked to me about the recent family dinner we had on tuesday.
she pointed out how obviously biased my grandma was against us..
and how she would have treated me differently if she knew why I was there for dinner.
I see the exact same things but kinda choose to ignore it..
and so it affects me much less than it does, her.

These seem like little things..
but it's the small decisions that affect most of our lives, don't you think?
We kinda make more small decisions than big ones..
and even though big decisions might seem to have a greater impact on our future, sometimes the small decisions are the very things that steer us toward or away from actually having to make these big decisions.

I don't even know if all that made any sense.
I just needed to write a pseudo intellectual piece because everyone is busy writing papers now and I feel a little left out :(

Battle scars

I found out yesterday that the poop accident wasn't the worse thing that could happen.
I am currently sporting bite marks and bruises on my arms, thanks to a super pincher with really sharp teeth.
During this morning's session when I was teaching the kid how to pretend play with a bottle of lotion,
I realized how sore my arms were from the pinching I got the afternoon before..
occupational hazard as some have termed it.
But you know, these are the children that I secretly look forward to working with
It is really REALLY difficult to work with them..
It is difficult to stay positive and fun when you just had to deal with a tantrum or just got pinched and bitten.
And it almost always takes really long before you see any improvement in their behavior.
There will definitely be a whole lot of frustration, testing of patience and physical pain involved in the process,
but when you DO see improvement in these 'difficult' kids, the sense of joy and achievement is definitely worth all the pain you have had to endure.
I'm waiting patiently for that breakthrough...
totally looking forward to experiencing it all first hand :)

Whenever they say it can't be done, remind them that they make a jellybean that tastes exactly like popcorn.- John Clayton Mayer

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL!

This seems to be the season for birthdays :)

I really should look into starting my driving lessons.
I am totally dragging my feet in this :(
But I will soon I guess..
since I kinda have no more excuse to postpone it.

I met a really challenging kid today..
kinda nervous about friday, when I would have to handle him on my own..
but yet excited about the challenge.
Well, life has been a whole lot of awesome as usual.
There are some things that are weighing my heart down..
but they are really out of my control at the moment,
and there are so many more things to be thankful for :)
so... *shrug*

By placing my life in the hands of He who created the universe, I am certain that everything will turn out beyond awesome.

Good company on Good Friday

I'm starting to get used to work..
Which means I feel less drained after a day at work :)
TODAY, I had my very first shit case.
I had one morning session today and the kid shat on the floor.
Actually, he shat in his pants but he had diarrhea soooo...
hahaha..
Sorry I'm blogging about something so gross.
I'm just happy that I've probably seen the worse of this job and I still am not running away :)

Yesterday, I had a mini dinner gathering..
was pretty upset I can't seem to find sweet bean paste in Singapore :(
so I couldn't make jajiangmien as planned.
I shall go on a great hunt for it.
But all was good because boys generally eat anything
and I was really happy I got to cook again :)
I was kind of missing Sundays in Brisbane, making dinner for lyd and choobs..
and experimenting with many different recipes...
But anyway, yesterday gave me the cooking fix I needed and it was twice as good because The Awesomest Boy helped with the dishes :D
After dinner, the choir people started singing the national anthem
we found out Lianglin is a walking sound effects machine
Geri is a maggie mee extraordinaire
Rachel mastered the art of chopping garlic
Lianglin and Caleb got high on wine and gave Geri a huge headache
and Andrew won AGAIN.