Chatty Lass

Chamomile tea, a red velvet cupcake, feet up and enjoying the evening sun.

#Sweet days!

Fluttered my eyes open and I was greeted with picturesque cumulus, right out my window.

How beautiful is the above quote; not because of eloquence alone, but more so because of the power of its' truth.

I'm reminiscing, reflecting, enjoying the moment, thinking, dreaming... Just lapping up every moment, cherishing every second.

The past nine (and a half) months has been amazing, insane, challenging and rewarding - all of it; the good, the bad and (I daresay) even the ugly.

I have grown, more than I have for some time. I have learned to love more, give more and expect less. I realised that dreams, they are worth pursuing.

Most important, His grace... I sense it, I see it and I feel it. All the time.

Walking in His will, it's the best way to do life.

As I am writing this, I am reminded of Abram (before he was called Abraham); the time where God spoke to him to pack up and leave all that was familiar to him to a land where God will show him. No directions, no name... Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

The only other thing that was told to him after that instruction was this,



Abram's story, it's my life's story. Well, almost.

I wanted the transition to be easy. I wanted to adapt easily and unplug myself from the previous socket to this new one, and just get on with it.

I prayed every night for the coming days to be easier. I pleaded every night to be back to where I was familiar with. I wrestled every night with giving up, packing up and leaving.

It wasn't until four months later that I realised: He never promised easy, but He did promise that He will be here; right here, right now where I was and be with me.

It wasn't the best of promises (at least that was what I thought at the time) but I'll take what I can get.

Now, almost ten months later, I can (without a shadow of doubt) testify and affirm this to you: "The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you."

I have been converted - From my Chatime only, strictly no milk tea policy to a fan of Gong Cha's Signature Green Tea (which, as you very well can see belongs to the milk tea family).

P/S: Not to worry Chatime, Gong Cha's menu is pretty limited. You'll still have my business should my craving for mango green tea (slight sugar, no ice) with aloe vera arise.



UPDATE at 7.43pm: My drink is half-finished and I am already feeling light-headed and nauseous. My conversion lasted for 15 minutes. I am switching back to NO milk tea, Chatime only STAT!

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• Book Review: The Rules of Gentility
  
  
• Becoming Jane
  

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"If you won't do something with the little that you have, why should God reward you with more?"

Pr. Matt Fielder

My life's story, truly. If I may, a few life lessons that I have picked up along the way...

- Start small, GROW bigger.

- Be faithful in the small things, HE will promote you to bigger responsibilities in His time.

- If you can't be faithful with the small things, you will not get to bigger things because God looks for character, not ability.

- Have a big HEART, not a big head.

Related post(s):

• Ruling and Serving
  

They remind you of why you hate exercise with a vengeance.

#Missing my time in school like you wouldn't believe right now.

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Related post(s):

• When High School Mates Congregate on Facebook (Part I)

We decided on Alexis (the one in Bangsar) as our lunch date venue.




First things, first. I loved the food but was incredibly disappointed with the service provided.

Our drinks took ages to arrive, we needed to remind the waiters over and again for refills and even when we asked for the cheque, the processing took f.o.r.e.v.e.r. To add salt to the wound, there wasn't even a full house occupancy; the place was only 65% full.

The only redeeming point for Alexis (the Bangsar joint; don't bother going to the one in The Gardens, it doesn't taste as good) is the food.

Onto the good stuff, our orders.




I nipped and picked out every single shred of the greens but decided to taste a tiny leaf at the very last second before having my slice, only to put it all back because it complemented the taste of the pizza. I loved how the tangy taste of the tomatoes, the juicy sauteed prawns and slightly sweet herb tasted when the pizza was folded (the ONLY right way to have this pizza).





Scrumptious! The pasta was cooked al dente with the right proportion of spices, it was really perfection with every forkful.

We shared our orders and ended the meal on a sweet note.




The best tiramisu cake I have ever had. Truly. And, I have had my fair share of 'em.

It was a dream - The kirsch sponge cake was soaked in cognac but not too much that it is soggy, followed by a layer of cream cheese specked with chocolate shavings and another layer of the sinful alcohol-dipped layer, with a coating of caramelised almonds (my favourite part of the cake and I got you guys a close-up of it).

And, proud of it!

Melissa: Goodnight, Daddy. Love you. Hugs and kisses.

Daddy: Hello, my sweet Papadom. Yeah, love you lots too. ........................ Get a good rest. Goodnight.

Melissa: WHY are you calling me Papadom?! Explain yourself, please.

Daddy: I love them.

Melissa: You love papadoms? Since when? You have never asked for extras whenever we are at Velloo Villas.

Daddy: There, they are not so nice. Those that are nice, I like. Anyway, why are you so troublesome? I call you that because I like and love you la!

Melissa: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. It was on purpose. I wanted you to say that you love me, AGAIN. I love you too!



My pet name is constantly evolving and graduating, for the better (I hope).

First, it was 'Cheesecake'. Then, it was 'Darling Cheesecake'. And now, 'Sweet Papadom'.

Opening up and sharing - especially about how I feel - it is one of the hardest and most difficult things for me to do.

Because, most of the time, I can't quite place a finger on what I'm feeling. Other times, I think and I view situations from my perspective and I thought I know. Half of the time, I am right. The remaining half? I could be partially right and still be a little off base.

So, when I do finally open up and share, I have this expectation for answers.

I refer to it as a 'troubleshooting session'; where I unload it all and the person on the receiving end - You are to analyse, decipher the codes and come up to me with the meaning behind those codes and then, we discuss my next move, because believe me when I say that I have done a whole lot of brain racking and heart searching before I even remotely considered the possibility of coming to you.

But today, I realised that it is not about the answers. Not all the time.

On some days where I open up and share, it isn't all about getting answers. It is about knowing that the other person is there for you, no matter what. It is about knowing that you are not forgotten and cared for.

True, he/she may not have all the answers you need for your woes; but to know that you are loved and never forgotten, that is enough.

More than enough for today.