of siblings and mermaids

It has been a weekend of binge watching for me (okay, there was also the visit to my siblings' place in JB, which was totally uneventful and totally awesome! *heart* =) Sis and I did up the guest room with some items I got from IKEA - we assembled a shelf, a clothes rack and a floor light, and spending time doing that was fun! I only wished that the bros weren't working this weekend - I saw so little of them! :( That said, it wasn't like we talked a lot but still, it was really nice just being there, being together for whatever time we had.. ^_^

Anywayyyy, I had a slow start to this anime called Seto no Hanayome early this week (h/t to Dz for the recommendation).. but it picked up speed and I finished all 26 episodes about 30mins ago and OMG IT'S THE FUNNIEST THING EVARR. Its humor is right up my alley and I've lost count of all my unbecoming and literal LOL moments.. It's just so OTT, I don't even know how to begin describing it. The husby even banished me to our room because I was distracting him from the Wimbledon tennis final (Djoko won 3-2 over Fed). But srsly, I haven't laughed so much watching anything in a longgg time! :D I got J started on it too but jury's still out on if she'd finish it, cos she said it reminded her of how she felt watching The Lego Movie (which she was meh about, and which I thought was the BEST MOVIE EVARRR (you see where we're going here).. so yeah. Okay, if I were to be pedantic, there were some things about the series that kinda irked me (in particular the female lead's POV on certain issues), butttt I'll just take a chill pill and revel in its slapstick silliness. So yeah I wuv it! Click here to stream the show.  

Mm the things I learn about myself when I talk to them...

// please excuse the typos and what-not.

E: I think I don't feel very secure in rships
J: E: really????
E: that's why I passive aggressive
J: you seem pretty secure
S: you're not secure?
S: whaddya mean?
E: I think I am oblivious
E: hence appearing secure lol
J: which is good la
J: insecurity sometimes comes due to overthinking/overfeeling things that's not there
J: so.. oblivious is also good? brings balance
E: errr
E: lol, let me chew on that
S: hahahaha
E: I think with you guys, I feel the most secure I've ever been
E: but
J: BUT???
J: :P
E: lol
E: but... sometimes... you know hahahhaa
J: sometimes what
J: what E what
E: I think the only rship I feel completely secure about is that with my siblings, my sis esp
E: the rest, there's the fear that these ppl could just one day up and leave and i won't be able to do anything about it
E: I don't have this thought often la
E: very rare actually
E: but.. yeah.. like that la
J: :)
J: awww
J: i never thought about that
J: we will never weeaaaveeee youuuu
E: with my sis, we argue A LOT.. and then we make up hahaha..
E: cos I won't hesitate to tell her what's on my mind
E: maybe cos I don't have that fear
J: ya thats the best rships, knowing that you can tell someone off and yet they can't leave
J: i can tell hebe and ba off all the time and they won't and can't leave
J: best.
E: HAHAHAAHAHAHA
S: i know right? i love dogs
S: cats leave all the time
S: sorry E - I don't think I help your security much cause I always talk about cutting ppl off
E: hehe I'm not worried.. like i said, I feel safe with you guys..
...

He said, "Kelly, I don't think I've ever wanted as much to be free as I've longed to be known." 

oh happy day!

I don't usually go around looking for miracles so when it happened right before my very eyes, I can only praise God for his grace and faithfulness. This past Easter weekend was the most special one in my entire Christian life of... 19 years (!).

So....... my sister was baptized. Like, wow.

It happened on a perfect day. The skies was amazingly blue, the sun was beaming proudly, the ocean breeze... hmm, I don't remember it but I'm sure there was some.

We got to the beach at East Coast Park by 9:45am to join 40 other excited and smiling baptism candidates who were already there with family, friends, cell members, everyone who's come to celebrate this momentous occasion. My sister's bff Jane and her sister Glory and mom were also there, together with their cell leader (I can't rber his name) and a few other cell members. I'm so happy they all came to lend support and cheer her on.

Service started with a brief recitation of their commitment to the faith, and then we broke into songs of praise. After that, the candidates were divided into five groups (Sis was in Group 2) to go into the water. Five pairs of youth prayed over each candidate in every group right before their turn to go in to two church leaders who were ready and waiting to baptize each candidate in the of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

So I witness as the waves gently crashed onto her feet as she tread surefootedly into the sea, and affirmed her decision and committed her life unto God, and as she went under and emerged a new creation. It is always an amazing ceremony to witness, but it's all the more spectacular to see my own sister going through with it. :)



Dearest sis, your life in Christ has begun. It's the most wonderful journey you'll ever traverse, but it will be so tough you'll constantly wonder if it's worth it. You will see things in new light for God has set eternity in your heart. You will experience heartbreaks and desolation. You will enjoy abundance of blessings in His presence, you will cry bitter tears in the same court. You will find your identity and worth and confidence in Christ, and others will besmirch the very same treasure you've found. You will experience high highs and you crawl in low lows. You will have words of praise flowing from your mouth and you'll ask unending questions in sheer frustration and you will curse in despair. You'll taste sweet victory and you will fail time and again. But just remember that through it ALL, Jesus is with with you, his spirit will not depart from you, you will never be alone. You will have Him in the best moments of your life, and You will have him to cling on to in your worst. I'm beyond happy that we are in this race together, and I pray that it's one where you'll finish in victory and we'll be joined by our loved ones. Xoxo - big sis. 

You call me out upon the waters, the great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery, in oceans deep, my faith will stand
And I will call upon Your name and keep my eyes above the waves when oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace, for I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters, Your sovereign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me, You've never failed and You won't start now
And I will call upon Your name and keep my eyes above the waves when oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace, for I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior

Hillsong United :: Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

You are the Lord’s! O joy beyond expression!

O me of little faith, while I had prayed for it, I hadn't expected this to happen so soon. It was the greatest thing ever though. Me, praying with my sister! Sharing the same faith! Welcome onboard the ride of your life, dearest sis. Now this is what I call a miracle.. thank you God! :)

So it happened in that darkened room in the middle of the night, we covered the family with words of love and blessings and asked God for protection and open hearts.

And it was awesome. O joy! ^_^

I am the Lord’s! O joy beyond expression
Lyrics: Lucy Ann Bennett (1850-1927) | Music: Joseph Barnby (1838-1896)

I am the Lord’s! O joy beyond expression, O sweet response to voice of love Divine;
Faith’s joyous “Yes” to the assuring whisper, “Fear not! I have redeemed thee; thou art Mine.”
I am the Lord’s! It is the glad confession, wherewith the Bride recalls the happy day,
When love’s “I will” accepted Him forever, “The Lord’s,” to love, to honor and obey.

I am the Lord’s! Yet teach me all it meaneth, all it involves of love and loyalty,
Of holy service, absolute surrender, and unreserved obedience unto Thee.
I am the Lord’s! Yes; body, soul, and spirit, O seal them irrecoverably Thine;
As Thou, Beloved, in Thy grace and fullness forever and forevermore art mine.

my baby bro's all grown up!

Love is in the air! 

It's awesome when one finds another who could make each feel so sure about the future.

Welcome to the family, Yu Fen! :) 

[ala Robin] holy matrimony!

married at last! hehehe.. i gained a new sister over the weekend as my bro took my SIL's hand in marriage (well, they were officially married on 09.09.09 but only got to performing all the ceremonial rites + dinner the past few days - dinner on Christmas, no less!)..i didn't take many pics the past few days as we used the family camera for the pre-wedding day activities, and had engaged a photographer for the wedding day itself.. will post more pics when i get the whole batch! :)

the wedding was a mainly family affair.. it's been a tiring past few days but it was so fun to meet all the relatives from yonks (srsly, i won't recognise 60% of them if i were to bump into them on the street on any given day).. my cousins and aunties (and hubby!) were a big help in getting the day going.. i was there to show my face for most part hahaha..

my first time witnessing a 上头 (hair-combing) ceremony.. i didn't know people still do it haha..

the vicious chee-muis and sacrificial heng dais jip-ping the san leong (lit. fetching the bride (?)).. my cousin sis led the chee-muis into torturing the heng-dais and it was really fun to watch! haha.. i got to be there as i had to lead the in-laws from Penang to my cousin sis' place where the bride was waiting.. the chee-muis really put a lot of thought and efforts into entertaining the crowd and making the dudes suffer :D

the dashing groom and blushing bride
白头到老 oh! ;)

left: my baby bro with the angpow he received for opening the door for the bride.
right: me and sis and our dinner 'do. ;)

my parents were delirious with joy, striking a pose with "cool" hand signs.. and later with the newlyweds.

It's the little things.

I miss my sibs. *pouts*

Thank God for Whatapps where I'm updated of (almost) all things going on down south (bowel movement even -_- thanks, sis) and they, up north here. But nothing beats being togeder-geder! *continues pouting*

Thirty one.

Still can't wrap my head around the idea that she was in her twenties -- let alone 30s! If there's a moment worth freezing, it would be now. I'm sure no one really get a good grasp of life as it goes on its merry way.. Mm this post is digressing haha..

What I really wanna say is HAPPYBIRTHDAYSISSSSLOVEYOUHUGSSS!!! Moga bertemu jejaka idaman soon, someone worthy of you ;) Awww.. and oh, FOREVER18 [in my eyes]!!

twenty years on

sorry for the inconsistent spurt of posts. it's just the way i am inspired. hehe..

one more pix from the past!

this was taken at awana genting - our de facto accommodation at genting each time we went up. i'm sure you can easily guess how we posed for this pic. yup, those were the curtains from the hall. wah, i didn't realise that i was so tall. hehe.. oh i could have had a modelling career *cough*

the yellow dress

when the BERSIH rally was around the corner and i realised that i don't have any yellow piece of clothing, my thought immediately went to this dress. it was one of the rare few dresses that came to me new (we wore a lot of hands me down when we were younger -- from who i have no idea -- but i didn't mind it then and i still don't mind it now. in fact, today i'm wearing a grey skirt my boss gave me.. so yeah :) i wore the yellow dress mainly for family outings, seen here at muzium negara (could you have guessed? :) but i remember wearing it to school as well. my bros, born a year apart, were often seen in similar getups.

#1
saw this gorgeous sky from the putra train, after work, on the way to meet jazz for a dinner of fish head noodle in bandar puteri puchong. didn't get the name of the restaurant, but it serves salmon sashimi and even cod in place of the normal fried fish with the noodle. a bit the pricey though, but yummeh!

back to the pic, my hat off to the awesome Painter. =)




#2
my siblings came back -- on separate trips -- a couple of weekends ago. sis came back first w her bestie ah jane, then kel, then mel with his gal liyani and her dad, so there were some wonderful meals with a lot of catching up. heart! brought mel+liyani+L's dad to putrajaya for a night tour after one of the dinners. it was my first time there (at nite as a tourist) as well.. :)

oh well, they've all gone back down south. and i reawwy, reawwy miss them. :(












#3
this was after dinner w hubby at an indonesian restaurant in taman desa. i had some kinda nasi with fried chicken (not unlike ayam penyet) while hubby had the same with fish (not unlike otak-otak). food was decent -- definitely will be back for second round cos i spied sambal petai udang on its menu. yums.

was too full after dinner so walked around -- there was a korean shop (not unlike lotte mart)(yes, there are a lot of 'not unlike' in this para hehe) in the neighborhood so we dropped by and bought some korean ramen perisa sotong (we had two steaming bowls of them by the next day - nice!) -- before settling here at hailam kopitiam for coffee. =D



#4
saturdays are made of these: pampering and good food. hehehe. since i fell sick (on a weekend no less! grrr..), i self-prescribed a pedi to make the days easier to bear. and not surprisingly, ww also shared my sentiments, so there we were, sniffling and coughing and wrapping paper wantons away as our feet were washed and nails trimmed and painted. oo-ee! haha.. was supposed to have lunch thereafter w another friend but she ffk-ed me last min, so ww and i just cont'd the afternoon with lunch at woo pin fish head noodle restaurant (very near that indon rest in #3)(i wuv fish head noodle, can you tell? hehe). it was my first time eating the sang yu (un-fried fish) version of the noodle. bunchabones aside, it was goood, and i finished all my soup. hehehe..

spent the rest of the day at my mom's place, sewing away. whee! got all six pillow covers done, and just started on the curtains. just gonna close one eyes to the senget lines. hahaha..

admiring my pedi on the new quilt sheet. you can't see it here, but the shade on one foot is darker than the other. i couldn't decide which one i liked better, so i had one on each feet.




#5
that's my nephew eu jin (BIL's baby) -- so cute! he turned one (obviously) recently. was supposed to have a small party yesterday but he was down with the flu -- the poor thing -- so we just had a simple cake cutting ceremony. the jelly cake was nice and ohsoprettyiloverainbow, but i could only take two bites as i was really, really stuffed from our banana leaf lunch w chongy, whom i've not seen since forever (a month?!). well, hubby was already asking of her whereabouts, which means that it's been too long. too long, ya hear! don't be a stranger ok. and have an awesome holiday!! :D

kitty looks on approvingly.

#6
one of the harder decisions to make when going on a vacay is "which book to bring?" something too deep and my brain will hurt (more likely that i won't be interested), too simple and i'd be done before the plane touch down at the destination. bringing two books would just be too ambitious and unnecessarily taking up space meant for holiday loot ;), but not bringing any is inconceivable. urgh.

well, i've gotten it right before, but i've also experienced lugging along a hardcover book which i didn't even flip through, so it's all touch and go when it comes to such decisions.

anyways, that book came in the mail today. i literally squealed when the mail room guy passed the envelope  to me. hahaha.. wouldn't you?! at 239 pages, it should be just about right (if i don't start reading now la). so yeah, grandfatherland, here i cometh.