Baba boy/Troy

So Josh and people, here's a picture of Baba boy/Troy took a year and a half ago with Jasmine, now unfortunately, he has gone fatter.

This is What I Call "Entries"

Heelluuu my dear loyal blog-readers, realised that I have not update my blog for quite some time. My last entry was about the fondue party with my beautiful friends! Oh well, not many of those beauties turned up, but we still had fun. But definitely need to meet up for dinner on the weekends because they are in NS, held in captivity. Haha. The chocolate was quite successful. When I had my first bite of banana dipped in semi-sweet melted chocolate, it was divine! It was really, really delicious! Biscuit stick with chocolate sauce is a match make in heaven! Thank goodness that I had the idea from the snack, Yan Yan. Hehe. Childhood snack which I still consume now =P So overall, it was a fun time of get-together and catching up, along with great food :) Surprisingly, all of us got full pretty quickly. I thought we have bigger capacity! Oh, can't wait to have cheese fondue next!! With baguette, ham, sausages, bacon... Slurps slurps.

Look at the calories-laden sin.

Ooooooo... Marshies with chocolate...

Wahahahaha, Dor the chocolate freak. Sorry Ash, couldn't really stop her from eating. Lose 4kg by end of the month?? :S Oh man, that's a challenge! I can't do it either! >.<

Haha.. A stupid and random video we took. Showed my unglamorous side.

Friday

Watched Wanted on Friday, after the dinner with Auntie Helen, Uncle Peter and Lynn. They were so sweet and generous as they treated us dinner at Swensens. Aww... And my dear CG came to Causeway Point to hang out! Aww... However, sorry to say but the movie kind of sucked. I thought it would have been way better. Yes, the effects were cool, but... Heard from my brother that Hancock wasn't good as well. He was so disappointed. Haha. I hope Batman 2: The Dark Knight will match up or better than Batman Begins. I'm sooo gonna watch that!

The sermons on the weekend were so true and applicable. Mike Connell was a powerful man of God. I could feel the presence overflowing the audi, Holy Spirit really touched me. My tears flowed down non-stop! Experienced healing of my heart and my past (sigh) during both service and CGM. A sentence by Rev. Connell still lingers in my heart and mind: Disappointments are opportunitries for growth in character and faith. Wow. Learned about inner vows during CGM. Wow. This was completely alien to me. Learned so much!

Power Through Prayer

On Monday, had an amazing encounter with God during my prayer closet. Lord, I have the desire to be a prayer warrior for you. I want to pray with such great anointing, power and strenght. I want to be so strong for you like never before! To be so sensitive to the Spirit. I want my inner spirit man to never stop growing!

He then revealed to me a book - Power Through Prayer by E. M. Bounds - which I bought yearssss ago. I even forgot about that book! I bought it from Mount Zion when I was 14 I think. But, as always, I did not like reading these kinds of genre in the past, mainly because I did not fully understand the content. Just wasn't mature enough. So rumaged through my shelf and found it! It has gotten yellow and a bit dusty over the years. Heh. So I sat down and couldn't wait to learn more about prayer. The first chapter blew me away.

- God doesn't anoint plans, He anoints men of prayer.

- God does not need great talents, great learning or great preacher, but men great in holiness, great in faith, great in love, great in fidelity and great for God!

- Negligence in prayer leads to hardened and estranged heart from God.

- God commits the keys of His kingdom to men who think that praying is their main business, and devote time to it according to this high estimate of its importance. By these men, He works His spiritual wonders in this world. Great praying is the sign and seal of God's great leaders. It is the most earnest of the conquering forces with which God will crown their labour.

I need to give Him my best time, effort and strength to prayer!

Spelling Bee

I watched National Spelling Bee competition in the middle of the night. It was broadcasted on ESPN. So, apparently, it's a sport. Spelling Bee.... A sport....? I don't see the link xD But, I tell you, i was amazed by the mere intelligence of those kids! They were geniuses! They really spent time to study the root words of Greek, Latin, French. I jokingly apologised to my mom for not being as intelligent. Ahahahaha. Some of the words are crazy! They were tough! But, after awhile, I tried to spell too. Hehehe. And shockingly, I got some of the words correct or nearly there. Not bad Sarah, not bad at all. Hahahaha. Honestly, I admire those kids. Man, they're seriously smart. This 14-year-old knew the root word in Greek, and the part of speech. My goodness. I learnt some new words! Bulbul, cryptococcosis, torii, oceanodromous, macedoine... And I pity those kids who got medical terms, I think they are the toughest to spell.

Seriously, I NEED TO IMPROVE MY ENGLISH! Call myself a Comms student, sometimes my English can be so inept. I need to improve my spelling and vocabulary. I struggled figuring out is it double 's' or 'p' in "disappointment", I spelled "divine" as "devine", and "inept" as "inapt". Well, thank God for spell checks and Google xD Apparently, my grammar needs brushing up as well! Last night, I said, "before I forgot". Forgot??? Geez. Then Christina corrected me! Wahaha. Teacher Christina. Yes, she will be serving the government to mould the nation. Hahaha. A high calling indeed.

Tonight's new BS lessons! Wooo! Finally! Was waiting fo quite long. Am moving up to Christian Lifestlye. Moving up the ladder... But alot more to go. Am looking forward to it (=

Use me Lord, as Your vessel, as Your instrument, as Your mouthpiece. I want to serve You and everyone with all my heart, soul and might, so that one day, You can call me Your good and faithful servant.

Darn Rashes! God, I need healing!

After returning from Malacca, I developed these rashes which look similar to the girls who develop them after Camp X!!! Cause by sandflies right Chris and Ash?? Darn! I don't remember seeing any sandflies... Man, they itch really bad! CRY CRY CRY!!! T-T As if my eczemas do not contribute enough itchiness on my skin already. I can't take it anymore~~ Am going to the doc to get a jab tomorrow. I hope I'll get a jab rather than being prescribed useless calamine lotion or pills. Bring on the jab! I don't want to scratch during the gathering with my secondary school classmates tomorrow. Yup, had an idea to have a fondue party at Dorothy's place tomorrow! Since my mom got a fondue set for Christmas, let's not waste it. Looking forward to it. So that everyone can come, we will have a second round on Thursday! Wahahaha. Filzah said she'll be forever grateful to me always organising gatherings! Hahaha. I love fellowship mah =D Oh, my dearest CG, we shall have a fondue party too okay? And my dear Monash classmates too! ^^

Have to shop tomorrow:
1. Marshmellows
2. Croissant
3. Biscuit sticks (puff pastries are so expensive >.<)
4. Red and green grapes
5. Blueberries!!
6. Strawberries!!!!!!!!!!!!
7. Bananas!! :d
8. Zi Shen wants chocolate sticks to go with chocolate fondue... Geez
9. Hmm... Should I make agar-agar or jelly?
10. Canned longans to go with the agar-agar/jelly

Oh yeah... I LOVE these two songs: Sam Sparro's Black and Gold; Miley Cyrus's Seven Things... Can't stop listening to them. And David Cook's Always Be My Baby! Nice~~

Fun Fun Fun

I just realised, I spell Malacca as "Melaka", the Bahasa version =.= Bad habits.

Anyways, the trip was FUN!! Hmmm... Where do I start... From the beginning then. Okay, when I first entered Dad's place, Baba boy, his Golden Retriver freaked me out! It was HUGE! It got so excited and started to bark and jump. But after awhile I discovered its cuteness. Haha. It's really cute. But its fur sheds and they are like floating around the living room. Then I got to meet Jasmine. How she has grown! She didn't recognise me at first, but we bonded and she became quite attached to me. Awww... My little sister. Oh, she loved the nursery rhymes and kept watching it. Phew, thank goodness that I bought a present she enjoys. Hahahaha, birthday co-ordinater indeed =P She also really liked the gummy sweet. When she asked me to give it to her, I asked her to kiss me first, and she did. Awww... CUTE! She even hugged me before I left. And I carried her. Awww... Felt so maternal.

My sistas from another mothas (quite literally). Haha. Lame, I know. Sarah Za Francesca Carlos, Jasmine Gabriel Zara Carlos, Aubrey Cassandra Natasha Carlos. My bro: Michael Za Eduardo Carlos. Geez... Can our names get any longer?? A family of super duper long names. My bro am thinking of naming his son Matthais Hilary Kitnat Carlos. Hilary after our grandfather, Kitnat being my future sis-in-law's surname. Poor boy... Will suffer when shading his name on an OTAS exam paper xD

The super-pregnant Liza. Her tummy's like going to burst anytime. Haha. Probably will deliver in 3 weeks time.

See any resemblance? O.o Aubrey's so pretty right??!! Sorry guys, she's taken.

Gor playing with Jasmine. I think I was doing something with his laptop. Stupid yellow punching bag!

When the cake came, Jasmine was super excited. When we stopped her from touching it before blowing out the candles, she was crying extremely loudly. Then so happy when she got the figurines on the cake. She poke the cream with her fingers and eat it. Aiyo... A very demanding and temperamental kid. Tsk tsk...

One thing to do when in Malacca....?? JONKER STREET! It was paradise! Was blessed with RMs from dad and bro =D Bought soooo many accessories, at low costs!! Was so fruitful and satisfying. Wahaha. Not to mention the food! NIIICEEEEE... *drool*

Sago Baba Chendol. Need I say more? The shop was really cool, with all the antiques and photos of Malacca's history. PM Abdullah Badawi visited the shop too! Apparently it is pretty famous, so it was packed with hungry people.

Chicken rice balls! At first we thought they weren't filling, but boy, they were! I was really full after my third ball. They look like fish balls. Haha. But taste like normal Hainanese chicken rice. My brother said: this is the first time I actually 'cut' rice -.- Oh, the cold tofu was shiok~~

Yucks!! DIsgusting creature! I salute gor and Aubrey for their guts. She even like snakes as pets :S He called me a chicken. I have to admit, I AM when it involves reptiles and insects. Gross... *shiver*

Looks kind of like Singapore River without all the skyscrapers in the background doesn't it?

Thank God for journeyemercy and protection :) Witnessed a couple of minor accidents on the highway due to the heavy rain :(

I Have Zero Creativity in Creating a Title -.-

Yeah, Ah Po was cremated on Wednesday. It was a day full of drama, tears, and grieve. It took me so late to blog about this because had five days of not enough sleep and rest. Had to recharge my physical and emotional batteries.

I dare say, Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium is a pretty place! It was nice and a serene resting place. But, it's near army camps, so not exactly that peaceful with all the shootings in the background and helicopters hovering in the sky. Before the cremation, had another ritual. Tsk. I really don't like this kind of thing, but had to do it out of respect. It was the first time I witnessed a cremation. Had mixed feelings, but couldn't help crying when my aunts and uncles broke down and cried at the top of thier lungs. They actually screamed and was devastated at their lost =( I knelt, cried and prayed in the Spirit that she'll be able to go to Heaven with our Creator. Somehow, I hope that the vision I had in the bus was right.

We collected her ashes later in the afternoon and again, had rituals and stuff. We then placed her bones into the urn. But, the man handled the ashes rather roughly and rude la. Like did it with no respect. Grr.. On top of that, something more ridiculous happened, Ah Po's and Ah Gong's urns were too big for the columbarium!! And he ended up removing the ashes that we placed nicely and poured onto a piece of newspaper. NEWSPAPER!! Geez. My goodness. Everyone was mad, and my aunt cried. Furthermore, Ah Po's birth month was wrongly printed. Gosh! Aren't they suppose to be professionals... Forgiveness, Sarah. Forgiveness.

Oh, Ah Po's life story was published in Shin Min Daily!! Cool right?! It covered her story of being part of Mao's Red Women Army, participated in the war, and went through 5-years imprisonment in China, which involved torture and interogation. What a tough woman. She carried a rifle too! A real-life GI Jane xD She and Ah Gong also opened the pioneer Punggol Seafood Restaurant, which many 'fake' ones followed after. Yes, that is why I put on weight after the wake, because they are all awesome cooks!!! Want to thank Uncle Peter for cooking all the yummy food even though his efforts may not be recognised (Lynn, if you're reading this, sorry that you felt bad for your dad.... Oh, i sooooooo agree with you on the PSP and the DS part!! Ahaha). Seriously, besides fellowshiping, we did nothing but ATE. Speaking of fellowshiping, through this difficult period, we grew closer as a family, and I hope it's not a one-time thing, but continuous. Especially with my cousins. Many have matured and I really do wish to know them more and to remove any walls we built. We really got to know each other more :)

Miss you Ah Po!!! XOXO

Am having holidays now, so been slacking at home and watching tons of DVDs!! Oh, P.S. I Love You is a great show! It's a must-watch! It is not a typical romantic, chick-flick movie, but, a show about true love. I was like a crybaby while watching the show =.= Couldn't help it, it was really touching. As for today, went to school to pay tuition fees for next semester: AUD$6740. Heart-pain... I adore my parents for paying. Sacrificing by working their butt off so I can receive education. Love you! I must pay them back in anyways that I can when I start working to show my appreciation and to let them enjoy their retirement. Collected my assignments results - Distinction for Journalism (Praise the Lord), however, I just managed to pass my Psychology paper (extremely worried when think of my exams :S). Shucks... So dissapointing. Ah well, this is a motivation for me to work even harder for next semester! Fighting~ Oh, maybe this is a sign from God that I'll be in journalism industry! Lol. SPH/CNA, here I come! Wahahaha.

Went to watch Get Smart with my incomplete (as usual) CG. Oh, this time, us sisters outnumbered the brothers!! Hahahaha. Chris and I were over the moon. Silly, I know, but that NEVER happened. The movie was hilarious! Really laugh-out-loud. Steve Carell's the man! And you know my laughter la... I tried my best to control it, but couldn't. Oh, a group of young, imbecile secondary-level boys were beside me during the movie. I tell you, they were darn irritating! They had potty mouth la!! Constanly swearing when there were corny/lame (but super funny) scenes, and they hardly laughed. Rather than acting so smart and high-and-mighty, truthfully, they were just too unintellectual to get the intellectual jokes. Like please, grow up and fill your mind with more knowledge of current affairs and politics instead of swearing. And improve your English little boys! In order to get the jokes. *roll eyes*

Okay, it's 2.40am, I'd better sleep. Need to wake up at 6.15am later. My brother and I am heading down to Melaka to celebrate my step-baby sister's 2-years old birthday (my "extended" family, according to Josh. Laughs). Even though he never celebrated my birthday (EVER), what's past is past. So, bought a nursery rhyme VCD for her at Kiddy Palace. At first I had no clue what to buy for a 2-year-old. And sadly, there aren't any more hardcopy of nursery rhymes, which I find it a tragedy. Kids need to read! I miss my thick nursery rhyme book which my mom bought decades ago. Curse you digitalisation (don't get me started on this. I'm able to write a 500-word essay on this alone. Muaha!). Anyways, I was thinking of what did I like to do when I was two.......... Which was to sing and dance along to nursery rhymes videos (tapes. Yup, VCDs did not exist then. Man, I feel old). Don't laugh... Those tapes lead to my still-loved hobbies - singing and dancing xD Kudos to Old McDonald's farm (get it??). Hope that Jasmine will enjoy the present, and the Pooh gummy I bought too. Also hope that it will be a fulfilling trip to spend more time with them, and fruitful too (shopping......!!!!! "Fruitful". Get what I mean??). Hehehehe.

Hati Hamba

KU TAK DAPAT LUPAKAN (I can't forget)
KEBAIKAN YANG KU T'RIMA(The goodness that I've received)
PENGORBANAN-MU YANG MULIA (Your noble sacrifice)
JADIKAN KU BERHARGA (Made me worthy)
KAU TULUS MENERIMA (You sincerely accepted)
AKU APA ADANYA (me just as I am)
KEKUATAN KASIH-MU NYATA (The power of Your love is so real)
MEMULIHKAN HIDUPKU (that revive my life)

KAU BUKAN TUHAN YANG MELIHAT RUPA (You are not God that look at outward appearance)
KAU BUKAN TUHAN YANG MEMANDANG HARTA (You are not God that look at wealth)
HATI HAMBA YANG S'LALU KAU CARI (a servant's heart is what you keep looking for)
BIAR KAU TEMUKAN DI DALAMKU (Let it be found in me)
S'LAMA KU HIDUP KU MAU MENYEMBAH-MU (as long as I live, I want to worship You)
S'BAB ENGKAU SANGAT BERARTI BAGIKU (Because You are so meaningful to me)
YANG TERBAIK YANG ADA PADAKU (The best that's in me)
KUPERSEMBAHKAN KEPADA-MU (I give it unto You)
YESUSKU (My Jesus)

LOVE THIS SONG~~~ Oh, just in case you're wondering, I did not translate it. My bahasa ain't that good.

I Guess That's Life

Had fun on Thursday shopping with my mom. Finally had a glimspe of the Great Singapore Sale (saw its "greatness") and bought stuff! Oh, I drooled when I entered Mango...! Goodness, everything was going at 50% off! So my mom blessed me with a top and few other clothing! Yay! Thanks mommy~ That red top came into use as the dress code was red for Children Church's Emerge Junior event. Praise the Lord! Because I don't have a single red top =.= Ha...

Yeah, served in my first ever ministry on Saturday! Wooo~ And I had to go with an imperfect, ill-laiden body... After shopping, had ice-cream with my mom, and instantly suffered from a sore throat, which leads to fever/runny/blocked nose and eventually right now, a cough. I mean, sheesh, first time serving and down with fever :( Hence on Friday, I swallowed all the meds and lozenges I could so I can serve Him in perfect health. Saturday morning came, and woke up at 7.30am. I nearly lie back down on my warm, cozily tempting bed, but, NO, I was determine to serve Him. Prayed: God, You are the source of my strength! Heal me and remove any illness! All things are possible! Then dragged my weak body out of the bed and prepared to go to serve Him with all my soul and might :) I couldn't back out to the promise and commitment I made.

Reached at about 9.05am, and felt ALOT better. I thought I was late, but apparently so did many people. Haha. And I bumped into Mei Yean! Wow! What a girl! New to church yet already has the passion to serve Him! Kudos to you girl and keep it up yea ^^ So the first thing we did was to blow countless (3000 to be exact) of ballons. Prayed to God to remove the virus/bacteria from my breath... I mean, poor kids. Don't want them to fall sick. After that we had a short briefing for assigning positions. The IC mentioned something about toilet ministry and I went oops. Three hours in the toilet... After a few seconds, I snapped back, asked for God's forgiveness (hehe) and to use the talents that He has given unto me and use them, be it helping kids out in the toilet!!! Hooray, I was assigned as an usher at the back gate (so what if I'm going to miss the service). I guess my talent is to smile, greet and make people's day! Ahahahaha. Make myself sound so noble. Had fun and met fellow helpers from SOT (envision SOT in three years time!) while serving. Oh, some of the kids were sooo much taller than me that led me thinking: WHAT ARE THESE OVERGROWN KIDS EATING NOWADAYS?? I felt so small even though am way way older than them. Laughs. I managed to attend the service with Mei Yean and Carol during our break. The whole auditorium was packed with hyperactive kids! It was fun and the praise was so cute! I love to sing children praise songs! One from Hillsong Kids: Jesus you're my Superhero, You're my star, my best friend. Better than Spiderman... Superman... Batman! Hahahahaha. So cute! (I've got to admit, I know the dance moves to this song. Ahaha)

After serving, while waiting for Jireh (the boy we had to babysit till his mom comes) with Christina, my mom called and said that my step-grandmother was about to passed on. She was on her last few breaths on her bed. My brother picked me up and rushed down all the way from Boon Lay to Punggol. He had to sped and broke several traffic rules. This is when I wish we can teleport or something. Unfortunately, we were too late. She was gone when we reached. An immense guilt came over us. For myself, I wasn't able to visit her due to my exams and that I fell ill on Friday. At that moment, I was indirectly the blame for not being able to see her for the last time. Mom: told you you shouldn't go to church already. You are sick, and so is ah po.

I couldn't teleport, I would have if I could. I tried my best to rush. How was I to know she was really going off. She has been unstable... I'm unable to predict... I felt like the worse grandchild ever at that moment.

She looked peaceful and she had been a peaceful, joyful woman who lived 96 years of fruitful life; gave birth to 11 children and a whole generation after them. She was a part of Mao's Red Army (Yes, Mao Ze Dong). I wasn't close to her, but, I got reminded of how smiley and nice she was, and accepting us into the family (trust me, that took a whole lot of strong will to overcome). I couldn't help to shed a few tears when the undertaker carried her body down, especially when my Aunt wailed - wailing of a true love from a daughter who lost her mother whom she dearly adored. These past two days had been hectic due to the ceremony and attending to guests who attend the wake. I had to display servanthood by cleaning tables, washing this and that and serving the elders. Through the ceremony I learnt alot about Chinese culture and tradition. Sadly, it was a Buddhism ceremony. Yes, she wasn't saved. And that saddened me the most. I really want her to enter God's kingdom and have eternal life with Him. Prayed that somehow... she can... Now, I MUST let my maternal grandmother to receive salvation before her time comes. Honestly, I just can't imagine losing her as I'm extremly close to her. She raised me up when my family went through the "dark" and difficult times. So yeah, really want her to know Jesus and experience God's Agape.

I really really really really really REALLY want to thank my CG for their condolences and going the extra mile to come all the way from Bukit Gombak to Punggol to visit me at the wake. I LOVE them soooo much! Really appreciated their gesture. I thank God for placing these wonderful people in my life =)

Life can be really unpredictable sometimes. I was having fun at church, then the next moment, a tragedy strikes. I guess that's life. But no matter what, God is always with us because He cares. Him caring is the greatest thing of all.

Ah po, you are dearly missed. Chinese New Year/Christmas visitations will never be the same without your warmth and constant-smile.

Ong See (1912-21/06/2008). A beautiful and nurturing mother, and loving grandmother and great-grandmother.