Monday, 30.06.2014

I've been having problems with my family for a long, long time. I got tired of trying to solve them and decided to shift my focus. I found my joy back in God and I'm enjoying it. Then, the problem surfaced again last night and I got really anger and bitter. It seemed that I'm still keeping all the unhappiness in me. Who am I going to kid?! It'll never go away till I get a proper closure!
I was so filled up with anger I started cursing.

This morning, I told myself I cannot carry on feeling angry and bitter. I wanted to give up until I thought of reading Proverbs 119. I'm not good with my Bible. I don't even know if there's Proverbs 119 but the digit 119 just came to my mind.

I typed Proverbs 119 but don't know how, I ended up with Psalm 119. It says:

¹ Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
    who walk according to the law of the Lord.
² Blessed are those who keep his statutes
    and seek him with all their heart—
³ they do no wrong
    but follow his ways.

I was humbled and filled with guilt just reading verse 1. I didn't walk according to the law of the Lord when I start to curse a fellow Christian. I didn't seek Him with all my heart and I sure did not follow His ways. Reading just the first 3 verses brought some calm back into my life and I'm really glad and thankful our God will never forsake. 
I probably failed in all the tests God gives and has given me. Nonetheless, it's comforting to know that He still treat me as a treasure that He has found. Likewise, He is the treasure that I have found.

Matthew 13:44 says - ⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

God is my treasure. I should learn to take better care of it. =)

Today's breakfast is Tom Yum Cup Noodles with a cup of Chrysanthemum tea.
Lunch will be rice with Turmeric Chicken & Long Beans.

Last Friday, I went for my Prayer Meeting and I felt really good. It's really good to see LS again. She's a woman who has peace and calm coming out of her all the time. =) I also saw quite a few people I got to know from the church camp recently. It's really good to see them as well. 1 of the ladies even gave me a hug which was unexpected but so warm... =) The love for God's people! Truly commendable!

On Sunday, I was due for my duties in church. I wore a top with a 3/4 jeans which has some stuff which looks like paint marks on it. Want to know which one? Read HERE. I was told that it's not appropriate. I thanked her for letting me know. It's better that there's people telling you what's appropriate and what's not rather than all minding their business and let you be. There are some people out there who don't like to be told but I'm not one of them. In fact, I'm grateful to people who make an effort to let me know. After all, I'm still a newbie when it comes to serving. =)

We brought the kiddos to Gardens by The Bay last Friday and I took a few videos. I need to upload them onto YouTube. =)

That's it for my weekend! Oh! My nephew was healthily delivered on Friday evening! =)

Have a blessed Monday Y'all...

Dreamy C

Thursday, 26.06.2014

The thought of a bowl of hot prawn noodles soup crossed my mind and it has been in my mind for a good 10 minutes. I'm frequently thinking of food. 

Yesterday before leaving the office, my fellow neighbors told me about the Black Pearl Durian. I'm not sure exactly what that is but apparently, it has really small seeds which meant more flesh. Yummy... It's bittersweet according Ah Cat. I had wanted to go ask my fruit seller if they have that but I realised that I didn't have enough cash with me and J isn't at my side. Local fruit sellers don't accept NETS or credit cards. It'll be really amusing if they ever accept those forms of payment. Ha ha...

No durians? I went home to make myself some Nutella Truffles. Simple and easy to make. I shall post a photo on my Instagram. I made a total of 04 x small containers. Each container holds around 6 - 7 truffles. I gave some to our neighbors in the office and they said it's not bad. I also gave 1 to our neighbor back in J's home. Now, there's 2 x containers left back in J's home. I told S to give some to the kiddos when they come over tomorrow. Their mother finally replied saying J can have them tomorrow morning. If I were to make the truffles the next time, I would add some rum in and include in some hazelnuts...

Breakfast was a bowl of Tom Yum instant noodles with 2 x crab sticks.

Lunch will be rice with sambal okra and tumeric chicken drumstick.

Dinner at my Aunt's place this Sun has been cancelled. Hence, I've asked Hippo if she wanna come over for lunch this Sun instead of next Sun. I really need to buy some Japanese ingredients. =) So excited...

Well, that's all for me today.

Wishing you a fantastic Thursday!

Dreamy C

Wednesday, 25.06.201

Once an usher, always an usher. Ok I'm too serious now... Ha ha... I've just asked to volunteer as an usher for the GoForth Mission Conference which will take place at church - Trinity @ Paya Lebar. The event begins on 09th July and ends on 11th July 2014. I've volunteered to usher on the 10th July as that's the only available date. The event ends at 10 p.m. but I've requested to leave at 9 p.m. I'm now waiting to see if that's alright. Otherwise, I can't usher then. We'll see...

Breakfast today was 02 x toast with Nutella spread.
Lunch will be Salmon Sandwich.

When was the last time you ate Nutella? For me, nutella isn't fixed item in my fridge. Butter is.
I recently bought 02 x bottles of nutella to make some nutella cheesecake. Well, I didn't get around to making a big one but I made 02 x cups of Nutella Cheesecake and it was yummy though a bit sweet. =)
I ate 1 last night and couldn't finish it as it was too rich. The layer of nutella cheese was too thick. I ended up throwing half the portion.
I gave the other cup to my neighbor this morning. I've been giving them bread, cupcakes etc. to our neighbor.
The next thing I would like to try and make are Durian Puffs. Well, durian is in season now. What better way to make durian puffs, durian mousse cake etc. I luuurrrvvveee durians! =)
I've obtained the recipe. All I need now are some whisky, rum and gelatin. Yummy...
I intend to make some puffs for Hippo next Sun when she visits for lunch. Lucky girl... Ha ha...
Nutella Truffles is also on my 'To Do' list. =)
So many things to make, so few mouths available to finish them up. That's why neighbors come in handy...

We will have the kiddos over earlier this Friday provided their mother agrees to it. We've yet to get an answer from her. I'm thinking of bringing them to catch a movie - Dragon 2. Boy I love that creature named Toothless. If we're able to have them earlier, I can't spend my evening with them as I'm going to church for a Prayer Meeting. This takes place once a month and I've made a commitment to myself that I'll go for every month, after the church camp. I'm so happy I managed to get Se to come with me. =) She's a new friend I met during camp - wonderful gift from God. =)

Well, that's about all I have for you today...
Stay well...

Dreamy C

Tuesday, 24.06.2014

We brought the kiddos out for Pizza last Friday. Thereafter, we brought them to Toys R Us where they had a blast! I was happy too as I got some cats and dogs stickers for my 2 x Finsbury.
After that, we brought them to Kinokuniya where J got a couple of recipe books and I got a book. I'll talk about it once I'm done reading it. I've not even started!
When that's done, we were all drained out. We went to TCC for a boost. I didn't take photos of all the stuff that we ordered.

Handsome ordered this which he shared with Fatty - Coffee Semifreddo

First Born ordered this as he's sick and shouldn't be eating anything chocolaty - Lemon Cheesecake

Other than these, J had a black coffee, First Born had hot cappuccino, Handsome & Fatty had iced cappuccino, 1 each and I had some floral tea.
Handsome, Fatty & I had a scoop of chocolate ice-cream each and J had a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. First Born? Nothing other than the Lemon Cheesecake.

That was my Friday. Saturday was spent at home, Sunday as well.

Whoo hoo... Mommy's back from her holiday in ZhangJiaJie. She's back since yesterday evening. I now hand the responsibility of feeding Horlick & clearing his waste back to her. =)
Through the many days of feeding Horlick & clearing his waste, he has grown to be kinder to me. He also used his head to stroke my legs often. Marking his territory perhaps? Ha ha... Anyway, he's a cute boy, though aggressive towards me most of the time. =(

My cheeky boy - Horlick (photo captured with my S5)

I bought 2 x durians home yesterday evening. I ate some during our church camp and have been craving for it since. Liu lian, liu lian, wo ai ni! =) Such a lovely fruit! It's not called the King of Fruits for nothing! Not many is able to appreciate it due to it's pungent smell. My cousin is one of them. Well, I''m glad J loves it. He whacked 1 entirely to himself! Ha ha... I'll buy some again this Sunday for Mommy to enjoy...
I'm thinking of buying some Mangosteens home today after work. We'll see...

Breakfast today was sushi made by S. I had it late, say around 11 a.m. More like brunch than breakfast.
I believe my lunch will be around 3 p.m. I intend to go downstairs and pack myself a packet of Ginger Onion Pork Rice. Yummy...
I've no idea what's for dinner.

I just invited Hippo for lunch next Sunday. I'm going to cook her a Japanese lunch comprising of Chasoba, some Tempura & Miso Soup. I'm also thinking of making some salmon sushi and other types of sushi. We'll see... I'm so excited! I'll definitely have photos on my blog when it happens!

I'll do a separate entry on the hotel we stayed in for our church camp.
Until then, you guys take good care...

Dreamy C

Wednesday, 18.06.2014

I was at my church camp from Sunday and only came back yesterday.
Even though J wasn't able to join me, I'm glad I didn't change my mind on going for the camp.
I'm really, really glad I went. You cannot imagine how God is so good to me. =)

Our theme song is Take Us To The River. When I sang it, I'm so filled with revival. The lyrics was good as well. The people in the camp sounded like we're singing our lungs out when we reach the chorus:
For the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon us
This Is The Year of The Lord
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon us
This Is The Year of The Lord

Such great joy when we sang - This Is The Year of The Lord.
Can you imagine singing that in a group of about 200 people? I can surely feel the presence of God. Such a wonderful feeling!

Our Pastor gave an opening speech. 2 words which sums up the camp to follow - Revival & Community. Indeed, many were revived! Me? I felt much joy, love, care, concern and just pure greatness. For sure I felt community. Together, we stand United! Such a great feeling and it's my 1st camp.

I felt so motivated, so loved etc. So much so that I'm thinking of going for a mission trip to Vietnam this December. The main purpose of me wanting to go for the camp is for J. The secondary reason is for me to know more people from my congregation.

In the end, I know many and I can finally put a name to the familiar faces I see in church week after week. It's so good, so good to come together, have fun and worship The Lord.

Words cannot express how happy I am. =) It's been a while since I felt such deep emotions. =)

God is good! He introduced me to 2 sisters whom I knew on the 1st day and we connected instantly.
God also introduced me to an elderly couple who touched me during a prayer meeting on the 3rd day.
You see, our breakfast starts at 8 a.m. and our Pastor invited us to meet at 7.30 a.m. to pray together before going for breakfast. This prayer is not compulsory. I went for it on the 2nd day and the 3rd as well.
It was on the 3rd day that I prayed with this elderly couple. When we finished praying, the lady held my hand. We held each other's hand and pray our family prayer. That gesture, that feeling of being touched. That was a really great and comforting feeling. It's a kind of quiet, not loud, not exaggerated. Just subtle, comforting, warm and nice feeling. I'm really grateful she did that. It made me feel really warm inside. I felt loved. I felt the love of my fellow brothers and sisters, the love of God. Now that is also revival. When it touches you, brings you back to life, that is revival.

God works in such amazing ways! Ways I can never understand. At times, I'm frustrated with how He works but now, I felt much much joy. It's not happiness for happiness goes away at a split second. It's joy that I felt and such joy is not easily gone. =)

Lord Jesus Christ, I'm really grateful for Your love, grace and mercy. I thank You for being kind to me, not ever forsaking me. I thank You that Your love for me is unconditional and that You accept me for who I am. Indeed, I need nobody, I need nothing so long as You are with me. I pray that You will let me always remember of Your great love for me and I pray that I will continue to walk with You till the end of my life when I'll join You once more, forever praising You.

My dearest readers, if you have not found a purpose to your life, if you are still wondering and is confused, if you need answers or if you are just curious, our church has a program called The Alpha Course. It's non-threatening. It's very friendly and there's no obligations. It's just a program set out to answer questions, whatever questions or doubts. It's perfectly alright if you attend and at the end of the day, still do not accept Jesus Christ though it's our desire for you to find Him at the end of the day. If you would like more information, drop me an email! dreamyc81@gmail.com
Alternatively, you can drop by my church - St. Andrews Cathedral in Singapore. Ask any staff there and they will be more than glad to offer you more information.

Love your God with all your heart, all your might, all your soul and all your strength.
Love your neighbour as you love yourself.

Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV)The Great Commission

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I pray that you experience the joy, peace and love of God.

Shalom!

Dreamy C

Friday, 13.06.2014

So we didn't go as per plan yesterday. J and I went to the office. I believe the kiddos stayed at home as First Born wasn't feeling up to the mark.

We went to the Botanical Garden this morning! I saw a black swan with its young. Lovely!

Lunch was Fish & Chips cooked from home. 

Mommy went to the airport this morning. She's gone for a holiday in China! I prayed for her this morning. I prayed for fun, enjoyment, relaxation, good weather, good health etc. I also prayed that Horlick will not miss her too much, the same for her as well. =) I hope she have fun and come December this year, I believe she'll travel to Switzerland. I'm not too sure about that yet. Mom loves travelling but at the same time, she's a workaholic. She have a job with more responsibilities now and even though her boss encourages her to travel once in a while, I think the biggest hurdle for Mom is none other than herself.
With her flying to China, that meant the responsibility of feeding Horlick is officially on my shoulder tonight! =) My boy... I miss him!!!

I've a facial appointment tomorrow. I'm also thinking of seeing Chub Chub IF she's still in Singapore and also, I would like to go catch a movie - Maleficent. We'll see...

I'm also happy to know that most of the items ordered from the past couple of weeks will be arriving next week! What items? Let me list them down...

1. Hero Arts Wood Stamp - Tiny Flags
2. Lawn Fawn Stamp Set - I believe it's called Hello Baby or something like that. It's a new release
3. Lawn Fawn Die Set - Matching one for the Stamp Set
4. MaMa Elephant Stamp Set - Water Bloom or something like that
5. MaMa Elephant Stamp Set - Winter Wonderland
6. Avery Elle Pigment Ink - Orchid
7. Avery Elle Pigment Ink - Fog
8. Mini Blending Foam

My re-inker (Peacock Feathers) from Tim Holtz is supposed to be here but it got damaged along the way so I'll have to wait for the next delivery. Bummer! Other than this, I'll still have to wait for my blades for my paper trimmer and also a Fiskars Paper Trimmer. Mine got damaged and I'm waiting for my replacement trimmer which will take 3 weeks to arrive! Luckily for me, I've another paper trimmer which I can use temporarily by Cutterpede. 

Well, when I come back from our church camp, I can start playing with my stuff! =)

That's about all for me today.

Have a brilliant Friday the 13th people!!!

Dreamy C

Story of my Blackberry Bold

This is how it all started...

On Monday, we brought the kids over. It was our plan to stay at home but later in the afternoon, J decided to go to the office and I didn't want to as I wanted to join the kids to the park.

We had so much fun in the park. We played near the pond. I tripped and fell. There goes my mobile. I was wet from my chest down and my mobile was in my back pocket. It drowned!!!
I quickly placed it in a bucket of rice once home. The next day, I took a look and it's still dead.
I used a hairdryer to try and revive it. Didn't work. It's STILL dead!

Well, I got myself a new mobile today. It's the Samsung Galaxy S5. =) I wouldn't say I feel exhilarated. I believe I felt happier when I got my Galaxy Note 8.0.

It's also only today that I found out that there's a wireless charging battery pod for the S5. I'll have to go online and get it. Talk about technology... I like... =)

For the phone, I also got the phone cover, a 64GB SD card and a tempered glass (privacy) screen protector. I was told that if I drop the phone, the tempered glass will shatter but not the actual screen. Nice!

So there you go! The story of my now very dead Blackberry. =( You will be missed buddy...
I'll have to bring it to a 2nd hand mobile shop and try and see if I can pump it back to life again. Talk about miracles... Ha ha...

Dreamy C

Wednesday, 11.06.2014

I have trouble trying to recall what day today is... =(

J, S, the kiddos and I went to watch a movie - Blended yesterday. It's a really good movie. We laughed from the beginning to the end! It's really well worth the money, even for weekend. Brilliant!
After the movie, we went to Sakae Sushi for dinner. The movie ended close to 7 p.m. and it's really pointless to go home and make dinner.
The twins had something from the kids meal, First Born had Curry Ramen set, J had Katsu-don set and I had the Teriyaki Chicken set. Besides these, we also had a few plates of sushi from the conveyor belt. Apologies for no photos as my tablet was flat out and I didn't bring it along. My mobile? Well, that's another story I'll talk about in a later entry today or tomorrow.
Everyone enjoyed the movie. =)

We brought the kiddos to Forest Adventure @ Bedok Reservoir this morning. The weather was good and they had so much fun. They are now tired and taking their afternoon nap. I thank God for the good weather.

I need to start doing my homework for BSF. I'll probably start after our church camp. So many things to do, so little time. I might start packing tonight. I know the camp only starts this Sun and it's still early days to do the packing but we've the kids here and if I don't get it done, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the time to do it. After all, the kiddos only return to their maternal home this Sat night. I'm sure I'll miss them...

Tomorrow will be lunch at Modestos, Toys R Us and probably something else.
The twins want to watch another movie - Dragon 2. Because of them, I'm also liking cartoon shows such as Gumball and How to Train Your Dragon. Ha ha... They bring the kid out of me. =) Like them, I also would like to watch Dragon 2. In fact, I also would like to watch Maleficent after reading such good reviews about it on Angelina Jolie. Another movie I would like to watch is Grace of Monaco. I do it for Nicole Kidman. Ever since watching her on Moulin Rouge, I began to like her very much. I'm sure she'll do brilliantly in Grace of Monaco despite all the bad reviews.

Well, that's about all for me today. I packed Mee Bakso home so that shall be my dinner! Yum! Yum!

Wishing you guys a brilliant mid-week!

Dreamy C

Tuesday, 10.06.2014

I am still very much alive and kicking... Ha ha...

I was just browsing around YouTube last night and I found out what has happened to the world for the month of May which is just last month - weather wise.
I was shocked! Please note that I'm not one who watches news. What I'm about to say here might be yesterday's news for you but to me, it's still very new. Call me a mountain tortoise if you like...

Earthquakes, floods, droughts, hail, fog, thick dust, dead anchovies, dead fishes, dead birds, tornadoes, ground collapse, forest fires etc. All these - MASSIVE! I guess I should start watching news again... =( The only reason I do not like watching it is 'cos it's nothing but bad news. Deaths here, wars there, strikes here, cruelty there etc.

This is the week where the kiddos are staying over. We're going to bring them to go watch a movie - Blended later this afternoon. Thereafter, it's dinner at Sakae Sushi.
Tomorrow, we will bring them to Forest Adventure @ Bedok.
Come Thursday, we will bring them to town for lunch (pizza). Thereafter, we will go to Toys R Us and just hang around town area.
Friday? Nothing planned out yet. We'll probably bring them for a swim. I want to bring them to this public swimming pool which is awesome! It's in between Chinese Garden and Lakeside MRT. The locals will know which one I'm talking about. J however, don't have the appetite to travel and prefer swimming somewhere nearby. BORING~~~ His reasoning? It's the school holidays and if the swimming pool is so awesome, it'll be crowded. -_____-lll You can't be serious... It's the school holidays and you want to bring them out and yet your concern is whether it's crowded?! I say ditch that reasoning and LET US ALL GO DOWN TO THE AWESOME SWIMMING POOL!!! Yah-hoo...

I can't believe the church camp is drawing near... It's THIS Sun! Ha ha... Looking forward? Yes! I would like to know more people from my congregation! =)

Well, that's how my week will be like... I might blog about it when the opportunity arises. Else, you know what I'll be doing on any particular day...

Ciao! Have a fantastic week people!

Dreamy C

Kangaroos

My favorite kid is no longer a little one... =) We will talk about Kangaroos today!

Kangaroos are the largest living marsupials from the family Macropodidae. There are four species commonly referred to as the kangaroo: the red kangaroo, the eastern grey kangaroo, the western grey kangaroo, and the antilopine kangaroo.

Kangaroos are grazing herbivores, which means their diet consists mainly of grasses. They can survive long periods without water.

The Kangaroo is the national symbol of Australia.

Kangaroos are found in Australia and Tasmania, as well as on surrounding islands. Kangaroos live in varied habitats, from forests and woodland areas to grassy plains and savannas.

Kangaroos live and travel in organized groups or "mobs," dominated by the largest male. Male kangaroos are called boomers, bucks or jacks; females are does, flyers, or jills, and the young ones are joeys. The collective noun for kangaroos is a mob, troop or court.

Because of its long feet, a kangaroo cannot walk normally and they cannot walk backwards.
The red kangaroo is the largest marsupial in the world.
Kangaroos usually live to around six years old in the wild.

To move at slow speeds, a kangaroo will use its tail to form a tripod with its two forelimbs. It then raises its hind feet forward, in a form of locomotion called "crawl-walking."

Usually, female kangaroos give birth to one joey at a time. Newborns weigh as little as 0.03 ounces at birth - as small as a lima bean! After birth, the joey crawls into its mother's pouch, where it will nurse and continue to grow and develop. Red kangaroo joeys do not leave the pouch for good until they are more than eight months old. Gray kangaroo joeys wait until they are almost a year old.

So there you go! Enjoy...

Dreamy C

Monday, 02.06.2014

Hmmm... June holidays. Parents, are you looking forward??? Ha ha... Me? I do not have children of my own though I'm a step-mom to 3 young boys. Not too bad for me as they will only stay over for a week during this June holiday period. We've not thought of where to bring them though... I'm not even sure if their mother will assign them homework during the time they are over at our place.

I've been down with a cold. Nothing serious though. For once, I'm actually happy falling sick. My body and mind need the rest. I'm also glad that Mommy is travelling to China come 13th June and wouldn't be back till 23rd June. This meant that I'll get to spend more time with Horlick and hopefully, he'll grow to be less hostile towards me... I've a feeling that he sees me as his punching bag... =(

Breakfast for today was 1 x Sardine Curry Puff which I bought from Raffles Shopping Mall yesterday and a cup of Mint Tea.
Lunch will be packed food. I'm thinking of Ginger & Onion Pork Rice.
Dinner will most probably be Chasoba and a bowl of Miso Soup.

Well, I hope you have a brilliant Monday!

Dreamy C