My last weekend of January

Here's how I spent the last weekend of January . . .

1. Gave myself a pre CNY pamper at the eye lash bar
2. Revamped my room. We got a new clothe stand, scented drawer liners and I doubled my wardrobe space with this ingenious conception - a double hang closet rod. The hubs no longer has to share his side of the wardrobe with me!
3. Spring cleaned my room, threw out lots of stuff I've been hoarding all these years and packed aside clothes I haven't worn in the past year. There were some I really couldn't bear to throw so my cousin shall be inheriting them.
4. Made our annual pilgrimage to Chinatown. The rain stayed away for a brief hour or so while we were there. Commercial as things have become, I still do look forward to joining in the festive mood year after year.
5. Snuggled under the blankkie on a rainy Saturday with the hubs and finished all current episodes of Modern Family. The show is addictive and hilarious! I love Gloria!
6. Busked at the thought of a long weekend cos I got to spend my Monday at Universal Studios on a division retreat instead of returning to work!
7. Skyped with Sophie and watched her entertain us with her 'Jingle Bells' and 'Gong Xi Gong Xi' at the same time. (ya, she's a little behind time with her Christmas Carols!)

It was a relaxing weekend and I felt accomplished with my mini revamped room! You should see how I was showing it off to everyone - though dad wasn't impressed cos his wardrobe already came built in with the double hang rod 18 years ago!

Empower Me

Nobody knows how weak I am

better than You

Nobody sees all of my needs

better than You

And nobody has the power to change me

from what I was born to be

Jesus be strong in my weakness

Empower Me

Chorus:

Empower Me

Like a rushing river flow into the sea

God send your Holy Spirit flowing now through me

Till I'm living as Your son

Victorious and free

Send the power of Your love

Empower me

Nobody's eyes sees through my soul

better than You

Nobody's love can make me whole

No one's but Yours

And nobody has the power to lift me

to reach for eternity

Jesus break through all my defenses

Empower me

Repeat Chorus

Time Out

For the first time in the week, I got to knock off before the sun set yesterday. It was a rough week at work. I don't recall Januarys being this busy. What happen to 'people still on holiday mood' or the 'pre CNY mood aka no mood to work'? Started the week being told by the boss that I now have to take on a new sector - Finance. And as if Early Childhood and Finance aren't different enough sectors, the personality differences among my staff are now even more diverse. Help me God.

So to make up for a lousy week at work (and to make me feel better about having to work the next day, yes a Saturday - for the 3rd time this month), the sweet hubs brought me on some retail therapy. With CNY round the corner, no better reason than to be pampered with a new wardrobe. I'm loving the new line of clothes at Tangs - simple and structured design, no prints just great colours! Simple was the order after the day after splurging on my Shanghai Tang cheongsam last year. So I picked up a simple coral-coloured dress for the New Year and a sapphire-blue dress for work. The little sis gets a cute cheongsam blouse embellished with little buttons - perfect for the more casual 2nd day of the CNY. Of course, no CNY is complete without new shoes! Ditched the 4" this year for a humble 1" blue sandal - a perfect match to my coral dress! With the dresses in order, my CNY is finally on its way to coming together! Cookies collection next week - looking forward to my kueh bangkit!!

Another rough week awaits me ahead. I just need to get through next week where I have two very important meetings scheduled before I can take a breather at least to enjoy my CNY. I sometimes wish work was more forgiving - life would be alot better that way.

January

For some reason, going through it this month was hard. It just brought back a lot of memories. Maybe its cos the 'would-have-been' is drawing near and I just can't help but think about the 'if onlys'.

Till then, in the words of my wise sister ... "my faith shall keep me strong".

The many faces of Sophie Yew

Compare to when we last saw her in April, my little niece may not have grown very much more in size, but that little brain of her most certainly has. Not surprising, considering she has the combined intellect of her two PhD parents.

Words her two crazy Yiyis taught her and some new words she picked up over the past 10 days ...

1. Giraffe
2. Owl
3. Monkey
4. Sing
5. Again
6. TV
7. Juice
8. Help
9. Tired
10. Neigh neigh (referring to the sound horses make when she sees them)

Seeing her on Skype just ain't the same. Its only been 2 days but we all miss her so much already. Miss her "more, more", her roll calls for "yiyi and por-por", her endless request to sing on demand "round-and-round", her sweet, melt-your-heart "I ro (love) you too".

My beautiful niece.

Hello 2011!

I end 2010 with mixed feelings. It wasn't exactly a year that I'll like to re-live though our recent family holiday to Ann Arbor and Chicago added a sweet note to an otherwise forgettable year. Here's a glimpse of my 2010 ...

• Visited 7 cities across 6 States over 4 trips to the US, making 2 trips to LA, Ann Arbor and Chicago. The rest being Pittsburgh, Seattle, San Francisco and New York. Before you think "what fun!", half of them were work trips!
• Took on so much more at work I should demand a raise. There was a period I was hugging my laptop to bed, dozing off while working late into the night - not funny!
• Lost my grand-ma to kidney failure but takes heart that she's in a better Place.
• Had Sophie greet me with the biggest of grins a then 8 months old could give her Yiyi after a 30 hour journey.
• Then heard Sophie call "Yiyi" for the first time at 16 months. The heart melts.
• Lost someone so precious but have came to accept that God has better plans. We can only continue to pray and trust that all things will be beautiful in His time.
• Overcame challenges in leading the CG and give thanks that despite so many of them moving away for studies and the guys being away at NS, we made things happen for Christ. After serving for 8 years, I take a break from leading CG in 2011. I hope I've taught them well, now it's their time to serve.
• Saw my dearest cousin Desiree exchange marriage vows and couldn't be more happy for her!
• Started to take better care of myself - Brands Chicken Essence rocks - and was reunited with my friend "Beef". My blood cells thanks me.
• Saw my younger sis step up for Christ and command Youth Camp 2010. That made me very proud of her.

So you can probably understand better now why 2010 was pretty much a hit and miss. I don't know what my 2011 will be, I just know that each day of my 2011 will be in God's hands and His plans are far greater than what I can imagine. For every hit, there's much to give thanks, every miss is a lesson in His plans.

Blessed 2011 everyone!