Excuse me, can you cook?

Hmmm... a friend was pleasantly surprised to hear that i cooked for tonight's family Christmas dinner. To quote him, "wowwee.. sg girls who cook.. pretty rare u know". I made use of the availability heuristic, which relies on the availability of examples, and i guess yeah, most Singaporean girls don't cook. Or even worse, can't cook. The situation has gotten so out of hand that cookbooks now make good farewell gifts for those bound for overseas studies. Even then, I wonder about the practicality of these well-meaning gifts.

Ah, back to today's dinner. Had to plan and cook today's dinner because my mum was taken ill yesterday. She was quite feverish for the whole day, and sluggish this morning. In fact, while shopping for food, she moved so slowly. So well, i thought it better to forgo Watchnight service and Countdown Fiesta, and help her with tonight's dinner. Was worried that something might happen. Furthermore, if something does happen, i think i'll be able to react better than my sis or maid so... yups. Better stay home. But i felt so frustrated that i couldn't drive yet, and that mum still had to drive herself to the doctor. Mental note to myself: don't knock down any more poles!!!

But i digress. Tonight's dinner was a spread! 3 types of pasta (angel's hair, spaghetti, linguine) with a potful of tomato-based pasta sauce, a fruit-vege salad, mashed potatoes with freshly fried and cut bacon bits by the side, crispy chicken, sotong balls... mmmmmm. What a spread! It's really tiring work... not easy to cook all this. In fact, of all this, I spent the most time on the pasta and sauce! Back-breaking work. I really take my hat off to all those who labour in the kitchen frying, boiling and steaming, all for what? Little thanks is usually given for a labour of love. Perhaps the next time our mums or grandmas put down the food in front of us, we can thank them. Or, at least eat it without complaining too much about this labour of love. Constructive criticism, yes. But not selfish the-food-is-too-xxx comments...

Mouschi's Thoughts has rolled out a new look, after weeks of deliberation over the layouts.
Blacks, whites, sepias.
Pinks, purples, browns.
Blues, greens, greys.
Children, ballet, butterflies.
Candy floss, chocolates, lollipops.

And finally, Micmag Creations decided on this design due to its sweet and elvish nature. A further plus was that it goes easy on the eyes. Great! And so, this is now the new layout for Mouschi's Thoughts.
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p.s. yes ju, i found something i like besides 'all i want for christmas is my two front teeth'!

Cold Turkey
Well. I think i'm losing my touch for long meetings... The almost 5 hour long planning meeting today drained me completely, and towards the end, i was still contributing, but sometimes, crap just came out. Pure, unadulterated crap.

Example? Well, we had to think of topics for 2 weeks... and we wanted a part 1 and part 2. I suggested this... "why don't we have 'Contentment in Jesus' for the first week, and 'Contentment in Christ' for the second week? Then you know, we'll have two different titles but yet a part 1 and part 2." Everyone stared at me... hahaha. The conclusion was that i was a bit too far gone, and showing withdrawal symptoms for the meeting.

Well, i don't think it can technically be called withdrawal symptoms, but it was obvious that my brain wasn't holding up too well. Other crap came out of my mouth... grinz. But ah well, the prog for the first half of the year is done. Yes! *punches fist into the air*

And... on we go, pressing toward the mark to show the mark of a Christian!

Christmas is rolling around! It's really beginning to feel like Christmas... with what the winter, the cold winds, the carols, the christmas tree we just set up... Not to mention the tons of presents that I've got to wrap. Hoo boy...

And oh, i've got a beautiful Christmas pyramid too! I think it's my christmas present... It's really beautiful. It balances on a small little glass plate that's set in a wooden base. 3 little figurines stand around a christmas tree on the plate balancing on the base. And there's a propellor on top too! Right... somehow i think i'm not doing it justice by describing it. Ah well, the day i get to borrow a digi cam, i'll post the pic up here.

Anyway, i love it when the wind blows... coz it just spins, and creates a whole lot of shadows. Dance of the shadows and lights! Really beautiful to look at, or to accompany me when i'm doing other stuff. Thanks!

Heart in a Bauble

Suddenly thought of this animation from Atom Films... it's about this guy Eric whose heart is encased in a globe. U know, those kind of glass globes which you can shake and see all the glitter and snow fall? Yep.. the boy's heart was enclosed in this globe. Everytime anyone shook this globe, he'd laugh in glee. One day he gave this globe to a girl. They had many happy times together, but she left him. Not just that, she threw the glass globe and it shattered on the cold, hard grey pavement. A dog even bit into it.

The literally heart-broken Eric gathered up all the shattered pieces and what was left of the heart, ran home and stuffed it in the safe.

Many moons later, Eric meets this girl on his job who loves globes too. They start dancing ard, and he rushes her to the safe and he hesitates as he opens the safe because he's scared of seeing the shattered glass and broken heart. But when he opens the safe, there the heart is, in its old form, in a nice new globe! (or was it the same globe reformed? Whatever.) He gingerly gives it to this girl, and she treats the globe with tender loving care.

The moral of the story? I don't know. The significance of today's post? I don't know... it just came to me...

3 Days in Suzhou, 3 Days of Fantastic Food

Been in Suzhou for 3 days already, and boy, is it coooooold up here! Brrrrr. Well, the chilly winds are nice and biting cold. Love the tingling feel they leave on my cheeks and ears. I just wonder if I’ll get those rosy apple cheeks that the locals have by the end of my stay here. Hmmmmm…. Natural rouge! Plus I’ll look a bit healthier :p

Anyway… back to the topic of food.

Oh, just another side track. SIA’s food is goooooooood. So is their entertainment system. Whatever it is, it beats China Eastern Airlines (which I usually fly on) hands down!!!

Ok. BACK to the topic of food.

First up, in chronological order of when I visited them is…Mister Pizza. The restaurant serves mainly Italian food, with some fusion dishes on its menu like fried rice with salted fish cooked using California short grain rice. What’s strongly recommended there are their pizzas. Wonderfully thin crust topped with loads of mozzarella cheese. Just imagine. Eating a nice piping hot pizza and drinking a warm drink in the cold winter’s night while watching soccer on the screen. All this amidst wooden shelves and bottles of beer and nets hanging down and figurines standing around. Ok, this description doesn’t do it any justice. Let’s see if I can sneak any shots… :p

Next up, Xiao Zi Can Ting (directly translated to mean little boy restaurant). It’s a quaint little restaurant serving Japanese food. For just 100 renminbi (SGD $20) per person, we got a buffet dinner. Mmmmmmmm…… Sashimi, chawan mushi, miso cod fish, miso soup, grilled mushroom, oysters, big big snails… and lots more! Fresh quality food at a great steal! My dad’s verdict is that the food even beats that served at Sheraton Suzhou’s Japanese restaurant! Now that is an accolade!

Last, Shan Zhen Bao (translated to mean mountain treasures). It’s basically a steamboat place that specializes in mushrooms. We had a mushroom hotpot today. I lost count of the variety, but I think at least 10 varieties of mushrooms went into that pot. Their spinach noodles there is fantastic too! Soft, yet with a bite in those strands. Best of all is the soup which is chock full of vitamins and flavours. Another must-try!

Joshua Camp

Just came back from Joshua camp. It was good... the messages were so clear, and it hit me because I'd never realised that the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho had such meaning!

It all starts with Abraham. God promised Abraham that all nations will be blessed through him. So there's that promise there. Then, God also promised Abraham that wherever his foot stepped on, that land shall be given to him. That was a small promise in anticipation of the promise of blessing.

So... Israel went into slavery, and was saved by God through Moses. But their sinful natures kicked in, and they murmured against God, complaining and not trusting Him. They preferred the security and slavery in Egypt to uncertainty and freedom in God. They did not trust God to take them through to the Promised Land. The punishment for this rebellion? 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.

Now it may seem harsh and unfair that God punishes, but let's look at it this way. God is the loving creator of the whole world. He created the world to rule it. That makes God a King. God's Kingdom is really His people in His place under His rule. Now God is also a just King, which means He cannot just overlook any rebellion. Rebellion has to be punished.

In reference to Joshua and the walls of Jericho, the story goes like this: 40 years ago, 12 spies were sent to suss out the land of Canaan. They came back with reports that the land was overflowing with milk and honey. Wonderful news! But, 10 out of the 12 spies also reported the presence of giants. These 10 spies compared the Israelites to grasshoppers. They couldn't trust that God would bring them through. Punishment for this rebellion: 40 years of wandering about in the wilderness.

Now we return to Joshua. The Israelites were camping across the Jordan river, on the bank opposite of the city of Jericho. It was harvest time, meaning the river was overflowing it's banks! Not trickles of water, but gushing and rapid water rushing through the winding river course. It seemed like a monumental and impossible task!

BUT, here's where the climax is. God stepped in. What God has promised, He will fulfill. What He has committed Himself to do, He will do. God promised to give them the land, and He did just that: He gave them the land. In spite of the Israelites' unfaithfulness and the seemingly gigantous nature of the task, God delivered on His promise.

Wow. Mind blowing... So that means that if God delivered on His promise to give them the Promised Land, with no strings attached, God will also deliver on His promise to bless all nations through Abraham. That was fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Jesus' death and resurrection showed that he had conquered death. Hooray! Those who trust in Jesus will receive eternal life, which is a right and lasting relationship with the truine God.

And as I reflect, I see how true it is. What God has promised, He will do. Regardless of what we are, what we do. As long as God has purposed it to happen at a certain time, it will happen.