no.214 131130 Thank you for the ride home

Im happy that I got a ride home after work. Thats why Im home at this very moment to write my blog. I'm very thankful for my co-worker who offered me a ride. Thanks girl!

no.213 131129 Thank you for letting me find rest in You

Salt & pepper shaker

Its just past 9PM and I am exhausted. I need to wash up and sleep soon because I have another long day ahead of me tomorrow. I'm thankful that I am seeking to rest in God above everything when I'm fatigue. I was physically and mentally tired from all the stress at work. Taking the subway home, I was able to see the sun about to set, something I refer to as the "vanilla sky" was happening in front of me. It was just beautiful and I felt God embracing me. And when I walked out the station, I saw the sky crystal clear... I could see some of the winter stars. It was cold walking home, but it was a sweet moment. I was able to forget about all the stress from work at that time.

no.212 131128 Thank you for reminding me what today is really about

When the mall is peace and quiet... ahhh so nice.

Black friday - 50% off, buy one get one free, additional 30% on sale items, sale here and sale there, etc and etc. Everywhere I go, I see signs about the black friday sale. On the radio, I only hear about the black friday deals. On the subway, I see people reading newspaper ad about the discount. Black friday? Hello...? Aren't we forgetting something?

I surely hope the reason why I hear people talk about the black friday rather than Thanksgiving is because I live in Canada. I wonder what it's like in the States. Yes, we already had our Thanksgiving last month so we don't have to celebrate today again. Apparently, the reason why Canada brought black friday was to prevent shoppers from crossing the boarder and have them spend their dough here. But my fellow Canadians, isn't boxing day enough to meet all your shopping needs? I already mentioned this before on my blog, but we really don't need all that shopping. People, please purchase what you only need and try to not buy the things just because you want them. This is a note to self as well. I'm trying hard not to spend money on the items that I don't necessarily need but I want them. The other day I thought I could use a new wallet because I only have a long one and it's pretty heavy.  I'm a big fan of Marc by Marc Jacobs, and I used to save up money to get something pretty. If it was me before going to Mexico for my mission trip, I would've definitely go online to do a little bit of research to see if there are any nice wallets on the Marc Jacobs site. However, this time... I didn't. I'm kind of proud of myself for not even giving myself a chance to browse online for the brand that I love. I do need a small wallet because the one I carry is really big and heavy. However, the one I have is still nice and functional... so strictly speaking, a new wallet is something I want rather than something I need. Therefore... I made a conclusion that I don't need a new wallet. I'm thankful for the wallet that I already have!

I can't believe I'll be working at the store where I work part-time on black friday. Hmm, I'm not looking forward to it. Those of you who are reading this entry and live in the States, please remind your self that today is Thanksgiving day. Not a day before black friday. So before making your "things-to-buy" list, hope you get a chance to create your "what-am-I-thankful-for" list before you sleep tonight.

no.211 131127 Thank you for helping me finish my portion

Cute but sad looking rabbit ornament. I used to love bunny stuffed animals.

After work, I met up with a couple of friends for a casual dinner. We chose a sushi place and I ordered a simple sushi combo - 6 pieces of nigiri and 8 pieces of california rolls. This is not typical of me since I four out of five times, I order spicy salmon roll which usually comes in 6 or 8 pieces. And that would be my meal. I never ate raw fish until probably last year or the year before. Whenever I go for sushi, I would get a dynamite roll for myself. Then, I improved on my sushi eating habit and I started getting spicy salmon roll. Now I even eat raw fish like salmon and tuna. I just don't like the ones with a weird texture - especially the ones that are chewy.

I must've been starving. I finished my portion. Even my friends were surprised that I finished what I ordered. Afterwards, I even grabbed a small cup of white hot chocolate from Aroma and finished that too. Wow... what's happening to me? Hopefully I'm still growing:)

no.210 131126 Thank you for my haircut

Felt Christmas ornaments

I've been meaning to get a haircut for a long time. Not just a simple trim, I wanted to change my hair style. I was looking at some photos of myself and realized that my hairstyle hasn't changed in a really long time. The last time I tried something different was probably four years ago, when I got my hair permed. Originally, I wanted to cut my hair pretty short and get a perm. I'm such a coward when it comes to my hair. Yeah it will grow out eventually, but the last time I had my hair really short - it didn't look that great... that's why I'm hesitating. So kinda changed my mind to keep my long hair and get a wavy perm. Although the length of my hair was long, it's at that awkward length after the trim. I'm hoping to get it on my next visit to the hair salon. Hopefully it'll look nice. At least, it'll be a nice change for once.

no.209 131125 Thank you for one month until Christmas

Quilted Christmas tree in my room.

Only one month til Christmas! Wow, this year just flew by. As I was sharing with one friend of mine, I'm excited for Christmas and the New Year! Oh Santa, I want a new laptop for Christmas. I've been using the same laptop for the past 6 years (I think it's pretty much a miracle), and it's about time I get a new one for myself. What do you think? Hope I'm not asking too much from you. While I patiently wait for my present... here's to Santa - Oh Santa by Mariah Carey. Enjoy!

no.208 131124 Thank you for the safe trip to the emergency room

Emergency Room.

I went to the ER.

I was outside having lunch with friends after church, and my mom called me to get some bandaid and first aid tape. She got a pretty big cut while she was cooking and was bleeding a lot. I asked her how bad the cut is and she said it will be okay as long as she can make it stop bleeding. So I stopped by a drug market on my way home and picked up the first aid stuff I need. I come home and I helped her take off the bandaid she had used earlier to replace it with some gauze and tape to make it tighter. As soon as we took off the upper layer of the bandaid, blood gushed out everywhere. Literally everywhere. The bandaid was super adhesive and my mom was in pain, so we were struggling to remove it from her thumb. We tried to yank it out, but it wouldn't come off. Instead, her thumb bounced back to the opposite direction and the blood just splashed everywhere... on the table, on the chair, and even on the wall. As for me, I can't stand the sight of blood. I really wanted to help but I was freaking out.

I kept telling my mom we have to go to the hospital because it didn't look like it was gonna stop bleeding. She wouldn't listen to me for the longest time, and even my sister started to persuade her to go. After a long time, my sister and I convinced her to finally go to the ER.

I was worried about the wait time, but what I was more concerned about was seeing the real ER in front of my eyes. The image of the ER is just horrific scene to me - bloody, injured, scary, and life or death situation. I was so scared to go but I had to for my mom. It was my first experience there... thankfully it wasn't so bad. The wait time was pretty short - only about an hour. Most of all, I didn't see any bleeding people except for my mom. Pheww....! Her thumb was still bleeding when we opened the bandaid that was wrapped around her thumb. The doctor took a look at it, and the procedure was rather a simple one - he glued the skin that was falling off to the thumb. It was hard to see my mom going through the pain of the alcohol that the doc was pouring on the wound. He used the whole 500mL. Oh my gosh. I teared up a little bit because I could feel the pain my mom was feeling.

And... we were good to go. That was my first experience at the ER. I'm thankful that my mom's injury wasn't that bad, and it was fixable even after a long wait, I'm thankful that my sister and I were able to persuade her to go to the hospital, and I'm thankful for a friend of mine who helped me that I needed to take my mom to see the doctor. I'm thankful for the safe drive to the hospital and finding the parking spot (it's always a stress for me), I'm thankful for the not so long wait time, I'm thankful that I didn't have to see any scary scenes, I'm thankful my mom is feeling better after going to the hospital, and I'm thankful for the safe ride back home. Oh yes, I'm thankful that I didn't pass out after visiting the ER. It was totally out of my comfort zone, and I don't know how I even had the courage to step inside the hospital. Thank you God for protecting me and giving me the courage to overcome my fear. Hopefully, I'll never have to experience the ER again.

no.207 131123 Thank you for the first real snowfall

Work ended late today... I'm just in my way home and I was wondering if it was still snowing. I was inside all day and therefore was oblivious of what was happening outside. As I was walking towards the subway station, I was able to look outside through the big glass windows. I focused my sight on the lamp post to see if it was all snowing. And there I saw the snowflakes dancing below the light under the lamp post. It just brightened up my day. It was so romantic and beautiful. I'm actually working on my blog while I wait for the bus. Ohh... when will my bus get here... hopefully soon because it's cold and the snow is about to stop soon!

no.206 131122 Thank you for my parents who read my mind

Poinsettias. The colours didn't come out right in my photo. Oopsies.

Oh man... I accidently deleted the post I was working on. I'm so mad at myself, but what I can do... other than re-writing it. I'll just think that my original post wasn't that great, so God made me delete it and gave me a blank page to work on it again.

I really didn't want to take the public transit home after work. I was happy that my work day was done, but sad because I had to take the subway home. As I was finishing getting ready to leave work, I felt my phone vibrate in my purse. It was my dad. He told me that he is at the parking lot. It was exactly what I wanted to hear. I was so thankful that he came to pick me up despite the bad weather outside. Plus, he told me to call mom when I got in the car, because she was preparing a delicious meal for me. Knowing that I am super hungry whenever I come home after work, my mom wanted to make sure that the food was ready by the time I came home. Isn't that so sweet of her? I'm so lucky that I'm their daughter! Thank you mom and dad for always looking after me!

no.205 131121 Thank you for the new diary for 2014

Not so pretty snowman cupcakes for the early holiday party/meeting at work

It's that time of the year again! Shopping for a new diary for the new year. There's a website I use and I seem to go back to the same site every single year. I've always kept a diary which includes monthly and weekly planner... probably since high school. I also keep a journal on the side as well, this I've been keeping it since middle school. I wish I could take it all out to show it to you, but it's nicely wrapped up in a box.

Good news. I've decided on a diary for next year! I usually have a really hard time selecting "the one" since I don't want to screw up on something that I'll be using for one full year. To be honest, for the past two or three years, I haven't been doing a good job recording in my diary. My reasoning behind it is that I'm not in school anymore... so my life pattern became pretty regular. Another excuse could be the introduction of smart phone in my life. I used blackberry before I switched to galaxy S3. If I’m remembering correctly, I used the calendar on my blackberry as well. Actually, that's the thing. Before, I always had my journal or a notebook with me everywhere I go. Whenever ideas came to my mind or when I encounter a thought or an emotion, I could open my notebook and write it down. I would take my time and choose my words. What do I do now? I use twitter. Sadly, it limits the number of words I use... Either way, I still like the old fashioned style of carrying a small diary or my journal with me in my purse. I should bring back that old habit of mine. It was a good habit:)

no.204 131120 Thank you for a small injury

Christmas in my room - quilted rabbits and the tree are made by my aunt!

Oh my gosh! I feel like a real, true athlete getting injured and all... haha. Remember when I went for an x-ray and ultrasound check for my knee a couple of weeks ago? I got the results today and apparently there is a tiny little tear in my meniscus. Funny thing is, it wasn't hurting for the past two weeks, and it suddenly started hurting again this morning. I think it's because I was squatting a lot at work yesterday. The doctor told me it's nothing serious, however, I should still be careful because there is a chance of it getting worse... and the last thing I want is having a surgery. Ahh, don't even want to think about it. It's a bummer if I can't play in the playoffs at my church's basketball league. There are two games left and I must keep the promise I made to myself, well, at least try to, right? I asked my friend about it and he told me it's better to refrain myself from playing. I'm thinking about not playing this Sunday, but if my team makes it to the finals then I shall play:)

no.203 131119 Thank you for the friends who check up on me when I'm sick

From the book "Lucky Us"

Is it just me, or do you also get super excited when you hear your favourite song playing on the radio? I just got to listen to "Last Christmas" by Glee Cast and I had to raise up the volume and sing along (although my voice is gone)! I love the original by Wham as well, but I fell in love with the Glee Cast cover when my friend sent me the whole album when it came out. Oh, I usually listen to the radio (usually the jazz fm or classical fm) when I'm blogging. Since it's almost Christmas, I changed it up a little bit and I tuned to Toronto's Christmas station.

I received multiple messages from my friends on how I am doing. I'm thankful for my friends who thought about me. I was better during the day, but the night time is hard for me since all the coughing seems to come back at night. I couldn't sleep well last night because I was coughing literally every five seconds. I hope I can get a good night's sleep tonight. 

no.202 131118 Thank you for the 10PM club

Paper stars I folded when I was in high school.

I called in sick today, and went to a walk-in clinic. The doctor told me that I have bronchitis, and she prescribed some medicine to cure my illness. Hopefully by the end of this week, I will be back to normal.

I'm not quite sure whether I had shared this before, but we have something called "10PM club (열시클럽)" in my family. It's a food club, where the members eat a snack or even a quick meal around 10PM. I'm not a member of the club because I'm against eating late, especially since I'm usually in bed by midnight. Anyways, members include everyone in my family except myself. My cousin who used to live with us was also part of this club. Today was an exception because I am sick. I decided to temporarily join the club since I had an early dinner. A special thanks goes out to my mom for making me a yummy meal. Thanks mom!

no.201 131117 Thank you for letting me win the prize

Lucky us - a cute book with pretty illustrations

Terribly sick today. It got worse in the morning and I had to come home right after the service because I didn't want my preschool children getting sick because of me. Thankfully, the preschool meeting got cancelled (or else, I had to go back to church in the afternoon). However, the late night's meeting at work was still on, and it made me feel even worse. There was one good thing about the long boring night. I won a prize and it was better than what I expected. I answered the most questions right in the five-day quiz contest. So yay! It's a gift card so I'm planning to use it towards purchasing a Christmas present or perhaps something that I need.

no.200 131116 Thank you for the 200th post

I should've called in sick. I lost my voice last night and I still haven't recovered yet. To be honest, my sickness got worse because I not only can't talk in my normal voice, but I am coughing really bad it's giving me pain in my chest. There is no one else to blame but myself because I had gone out last night for a friend's birthday party... and there, I lost my voice.

I logged on to my google account, hoping to jot down a paragraph and calling it a night, until I realized that today's post is a rather special one. It's my 200th post! I'm so thankful that I came this far, and that there is less than half way to go until I accomplish my mission. To celebrate this remarkable day, I am sharing one of my all time favourite songs - Cantaloop by US3. The original tune is called Cantaloupe Island by Herbie Hancock, which I also like. The other day, I was talking to a friend of mine about music and how much music influences our lives. That made me think about the music I enjoy listening to. I realized that most of the songs I like are heavily shaped by the songs I listened to since the end of high school and the beginning of university. There are additions to my playlist, but I see myself going back to the songs that I listened to then. As for Cantaloop, I didn't know that there was an original tune to the song until I heard the Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island on the radio. I think that's when I learned that most of the jazz songs are covers of the original artists. Oh, by the way, US3 sampled the song for their Cantaloop. Well, yeah. I hope you enjoy it! It's a fun song, and perhaps you can get a glimpse of what I was like when I was in my first year of university.

no.198 131114 Thank you for a nudge from my friend about blogging

Classy black and white ornaments at Indigo.

Words of encouragement are a powerful motivator. A friend of mine who is a regular visitor of my blog (I hope he is!) messaged me with some encouraging words. I told him how I've been slacking off and how I didn't feel good about it. He said that it's impressive how I've been keeping it up every single day and that "it sounds genuine and every time he reads it and he is blessed." Thanks friend, for your kind words. It is honestly really encouraging and it motivates me to get back to blogging with a sincere heart.

In order to do that, I got a photo for today's post. I went to one of my favourite shops, Indigo, and browsed around while I waited for my friend to arrive. It was very Christmasy. All the decorations were in red, green and white. Everything looks sparkly and beautiful... and here comes the dilemma that I face every single year. The question of the "holiday spirit"- I shared a little bit about this before (and most likely, I will talk about it again.) I'm already listening and singing along to Christmas carols. I'm already thinking about Christmas card and baking ideas. I already decorated my room with Christmas ornaments. Yeah sure it is nice, but I need to remind myself that this isn't the meaning of Christmas. I mean, of course I know the true meaning of Christmas and the reason why we're celebrating it. That certainly has to be the main focus, and I know that won't change. I don't think I go too crazy about having the holiday spirit and all the worldy Christmas celebration, at least, not anymore. Certain things I grew out of it for instance, having the presents underneath the tree (but this will come back when I get married and have kids)... hmm actually, that's the only thing I don't do anymore.

I used to imagine my perfect Christmas being like this: waking up to my children calling out "mommy! daddy! it's Christmas!" and our family gathering in front of the Christmas tree that all of us decorated together, watching the children opening their presents while my husband and I sip on our warm cup of tea, while listening to White Christmas by Eddie Higgins trio, and through the window, I see the snow softly falling. There will be joy and warmth in my family.

However, the sad part is that my picture perfect Christmas morning has nothing to do with the most important person of Christmas. Why in the world did I take Jesus out of my Christmas, and called it the "perfect Christmas?" However, that's what western culture is about. If I'm not wrong, a lot of North American churches don't have service on Christmas day. Most of churches have Christmas Eve services but not on the day of Christmas. Why is that? Perhaps there is a deeper meaning behind it. If I'm wrong, please correct me. Without knowing the details, I can easily conclude that there is no service on the 25th, unless Christmas falls on a Sunday, because Christmas is meant to be celebrated with your family. That's my opinion. Therefore, in some way, I don't think my dream of Christmas is wrong, because family is an important part of Christmas. I mean, I don't think there is right or wrong answer to this discussion. In some degree, I do still want to have my "perfect" Christmas morning with my family one day. But that won't be the end of it. Before we even get into the whole holiday spirit and the decorations and what not, I will tell my children about the true meaning of Christmas and why we are indeed celebrating it. I hope I can show my children a glipse of God's love for us and how we need to share not only the love we received but also our time and the posessions every day, but especially through Christmas.

no.199 131115 Thank you for the Word

Every time I look at the photos from Mexico, I always question "was I really there the past summer?" I still think it's crazy. I think God is crazy for sending me to Guadalajara. Thinking about it just leaves me in awe.

Anyways, as I try to memorize a couple of verses from the Bible for the discipleship class, I realize that the scriptures really move my heart. It is really important to know my Bible and remember the verses by heart.

All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. - 2Timothy 3:16-17

no.197 131113 Thank you for the nap time

First of all, I apologize for not taking a good care of my blog lately. I've been busy and wasn't able take much photos nor had interesting things happening during my day. Anyways, to give you an update about my symptoms from last night, I still feel sick. I just feel really weak and tired. After dinner, I took a nap for a good hour. I wish I could take a warm bath but my condo is having some issues with the hydro so I wasn't able to:( I'm hoping to take one over the weekend... my friend bought me a bubble bath the other day, so I shall use it. Something to look forward to...:)

no.196 131112 Thank you for helping me get home safe and sound

I got home really late today because of my late shift. Thankfully, I got home just in time to work on my blog. However, im having some technical issues on my laptop so im a posting a quick entry on my phone. I am also feeling sick again. I think this time it is for real because my throat had been hurting for the past few hours, and my head is aching. Not to mention that I am coughing from time to time. I need some rest. Good night!

no.195 131111 Thank you for the first snowfall

The very first snowfall of the year greeted me as I walked out of the station. It was unexpected, so it was extra special and it definitely put a big smile on my face. It probably stopped snowing already. I can't wait for the snow to entirely cover the city. I love watching the falling snow. I love how it falls so softly and slowly covers the roofs. It'll be so romantic!

no.194 131110 Thank you for the fun basketball skills test

My dream came true (well, sort of)! Remember how I shared on my blog about my basketball league at church? There was an 'All stars game' and no, I wasn't an all star obviously. But there was something called the skills test. I scored during the test. Although it wasn't during the actual game but I'm happy I finally scored a basket. And... I contributed to my team's victory (we won by 15:14). There are a couple of games left in the season until the finals. I'm still gonna aim for the moon and try my best to score during the actual game!

no.193 131109 Thank you for the discipleship class

Glass Christmas ornaments!

Since October, I've been taking a course at my church. It's called a discipleship course and as the name suggests, you learn about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. We've been meeting every Saturday morning and it's been great! I was assigned with one awesome leader and two lovely ladies who are also my friends. One class is dedicated for one topic. For instance, today we focused on prayer and last week we talked about the Bible. Another thing that's been helpful for me is that I get to spend time reading the Word of God. I "try my best" to do a quiet time every morning, but most of the time I end of reading the verse of the day and deceive myself that I am done my daily devotion for the day. I hope reading the Bible as my homework through this class will help me develop of new habit of reading the most important book in the whole wide world.

no.192 131108 Thank you for helping me overcome my fear of mandoo

Fall.

A couple of years ago, I got extremely sick from mandoo (Korean dumplings). It was one of my worst sicknesses, pretty close to what I experienced in/from Mexico, but definitely a lot shorter, lasting for about a few days.

I came home after work, starving to death. I had to find something that wouldn't take a long time to prepare, because I can be really impatient if I'm really hungry. I saw a pack of mandoo in my freezer. I must've under boiled the mandoos. After finishing my meal, I had some kitkat for dessert. Everything seemed fine when I went to bed... until the middle of the night. I woke up feeling sick, and I don't want to share that much detail, but it was a repetition of throwing up and diarrhea every hour. I never want to experience that ever again (but I did in Mexico... hopefully it doesn't happen again).

Anyways, ever since that happened, I stopped eating mandoo. The thought of eating it made me nauseous. I was sad at first because I used to love mandoo, but I couldn't risk getting myself sick again.

Yesterday, my mom made mandoos from scratch and they looked delicious. They definitely didn't smell like the ones I got sick from, probably because my mom used beef instead of pork. Also, they are made by my mom, so I know the ingredients are clean and healthy. I decided to give it a try. It didn't remind me any of the bad memories of mandoo the last time I tried. They were delicious, and nothing happened last night! I didn't get sick! I finally overcame my fear of getting sick from mandoo. Yay! (Oh, by the way, I still don't eat kitkats.)

no.191 131107 Thank you for a super quick check-ups

Red, green and gold Christmas ornaments.

So, I don't know if I shared it with you but my knee's been hurting for some time now. I really don't recall when the discomfort started nor how I injured it. I think it's either basketball or long hours of standing in the super uncomfortable shoes I must wear at work. The pain was bearable and it only bothered me a few times so I thought it would go away in time. But it didn't. Starting last week, the pain got severe, and last night was the worst. I decided to go visit the doctor and get an x-ray. When I got up this morning, I didn't feel any pain in my knee. Strange. God might have healed it while I slept last night, because I've been praying for healing. However, I thought I'd go get it checked because I couldn't find any other time on my schedule.

I asked the doc for an ultrasound check-up as well. Usually, it takes at least a week to actually get your check done after booking an appointment for ultrasound. Well, that was my previous experience. X-rays are walk-in, so I thought I'd get it done today because I wanted to know what is wrong with my knee, if there is a problem. Surprisingly, the nurse at the front desk told me that I could do my ultrasound today as well. Although I had to go back home first and then return to the clinic since there was only one slot that was open for today, I'm thankful that I got it all done so quickly. All I need to do now is try my best to not use my knee, and patiently wait for my doc to call me. Or even better, not call me at all so I know there is nothing wrong with my knee.

no.190 131106 Thank you for my autumn moment

Autumn in front of my eyes. I didn't want to leave.

The highlight of my day would be the short and sweet ten minutes that I spent on my old university campus. I can finally say "So long fall. See you next year!" because the ten minutes I had was the fall experience that I was hoping for, and I finally got it. I chose to sit on the steps by the gallery, facing the quad. Oh, by the way, this wasn't the view in front of me when I was sitting down. In case you're curious, I was sitting under one the arches on the left. I didn't want to leave because I know this scene wouldn't last long, especially because of the weather outside (windy and raining).

The reason I purposely walked around the campus was to see my favourite tree (am I weird?). In fact, there are two trees and they are both ginkgo. One is a gigantic one by the bookstore, and the other one is by the student centre. If you've been following my blog, you will remember my stories about the ginkgo trees. Anyways, in the end, I think I just needed some alone time.

I feel like I haven't shared a song with you lately. So here it is! It's something that I was listening to on repeat today. The name of the artist is Sung Si-Kyung, who is one of my favourite Korean singers. The song is called "For You (너에게)" and it's a new song that was released last week or two for this new drama. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

no.189 131105 Thank you for my mom to tie my hair

Pretty sparkly castle ornament for Christmas

I got my mom to braid my hair this morning. The last time I had my mom do anything to my hair was probably... in elementary school. After putting on my clothes, I would always go to her to get my hair done, even it was just a simple ponytail. There were days when my mom was too busy with my little sister and didn't have time to do my hair. I had no choice but to ask my dad to tie my hair, and I think I was never really satisfied with his styling. My dad would do it so gently - I think he was afraid of hurting me if he tied it tight. Anyways, it was nice to get my hair done from my mom this morning. From now on, I shall as her often:)

no.188 131104 Thank you for pushing back my friend's wedding to the original date

Can't wait to have my own place and host a dinner party!

One of my childhood best friends is getting married next year. She's still one of my besties and I don't think I ever thought about missing her wedding day, and I'm sure she feels the same for mine. Her wedding is taking place in Korea, and I would hate to miss it. I still remember the day when I received a message from her that she got engaged! As soon as she got proposed and said yes, she sent me a photo of her hand with a ring against her fiance's hand. I was soooooo happy for her! She also said that she'd love it if I were there on her wedding day to celebrate it with her. But of course, the time and the money is always an issue. Her original date was in May, and since it was a far from when I first got the news, I thought I could figure something out to be a part of her big day. Then, she said that she wants to do it sooner, which was in January of 2014. After considering for a while, I really didn't think I can go. I was really disappointed, and also felt bad at heart since I sincerely wanted to support her. When I did share the news to her, she told me that the weddings pushed back to the original date! The reason was because it's going to be way too cold in January. Well said! I'm really glad the date's been changed now, and hopefully, I can save some money to fly to Korea to see my friend's wedding in May!

no.187 131103 Thank you for my prayer journal

My 2013 planner and my newly purchased prayer journal:)

As of November, I started a prayer journal. I've kept a journal as long as I remember. The content was pretty much a mixture of everything including my daily life, my thoughts on my future, friends, family, boys, verses that I liked from the Bible, quotes by famous people and also my prayers and my casual talk with God in a letter form. I never had a journal dedicated to soley to prayers, although when I think of it, all my journals were in some ways written to God. I'm excited to begin this journey because I can actually see how God works through my prayers. Yes, I have experieced God answering my prayers - whether it's a yes or no or wait. I want to record my prayers so that I can look back to my journal and see all the answered prayers. It sure will motivate me in the spiritual down times, and also, when my future children ask me why they have to pray, I will have a proof that God listens to my prayers!

One more thing to share is the following verse:

"Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth" Numbers 12:3

 

Just wanted to share this verse with you. Often times, I see myself struggling to be humble. As I have heard this message through the sermon today. I want to focus on humility and pray for a humble heart as I start this week.



no.186 131102 Thank you for my thoughtful friend

I LOVE macarons!

My friend brought me a sweet little gift from Hong Kong. My initial reaction when my handed me the "Laduree" box was "Oh my gosh! Macarons!" No, she couldn't bring me back the macarons because they don't taste good after a couple of days of purchase. Instead, she brought me macaron shaped key chain! Isn't it so cute? It was so sweet of her to thought of me while she was away! Thanks friend!

no.185 131101 Thank you for a good start to November

A warm cup of caramel macchiato to start my day!

Happy November!

I had a good start off to November. I met up with a couple of friends from high school at Starbucks this morning for a skype date with another friend in New York. I arrived a little bit early, so I got myself a drink first while I waited for my friends to come. I was having a problem with my Starbucks app on my phone, so I stood a far from the counter since I didn't want to block other people from ordering. I thought I was standing pretty far from the counter but I guess I wasn't, because two people that came while I was waiting for my phone to load, asked me if I was in line. Anyways, I told them that they could go first because I wasn't ready. I was kinda frustrated because my app wasn't loading, and the lady who I let her go first told me to order before her. I said I'm fine but she insisted I go first, so I just ordered my drink hoping that my phone is ready for scanning. Thankfully, the cashier was able to scan my barcode in time. When I asked him if I could use my coupon, for some reason, he wasn't able to pull it up. I told him not to worry about it, but the lady behind me said to the cashier that he should just give me a free drink because I was nice to her earlier. I guess the cashier felt bad since he couldn't pull up the coupon. So I got a free cup of caramel macchiato. Hmm, I'm not sure what I did for the lady behind me can be called an "act of kindness" because, practically speaking, I really didn't do anything for her. Anyways, this made me realize that I should be nicer to people, just in general. In the end, the lady behind me was happy, and I was happy. It was a win-win situation I guess! It's gonna be a good month (let's hope!).