ABOWLOFBEADS

2009-11-07T10:49:00.008+08:00

a few more pictures before i leave. have a good weekend everyone.

2009-11-06T21:43:00.005+08:00

today i look to the skies with a smile as tomorrow i am in search of new places and will be off to malaysia for a little short trip! it's like a little hide away! knock knock ring ring who's there? no one's here but us in a far away place and we can't hear you because the sound of the sea is too loud! whoooooooooooosshhhhhhhhhhhh....

2009-11-05T19:49:00.002+08:00

here's something blue.

2009-11-04T22:12:00.003+08:00

woe me. i am in a picture draught so i revisited some of my old pictures. these made me smile. they were taken last year. we had just arrived in athens and my hubby fell asleep. i didn't want to be out on my own so i took out these tiny bottles out from the fridge and had a fun time clicking away.

2009-11-03T20:38:00.005+08:00

things that remind me of my niece.

2009-11-02T19:45:00.003+08:00

i love the smell of french loaves just out of the oven.

2009-11-01T11:03:00.006+08:00

cat cafes. what a brilliant idea! i wonder if they will have one here. a cafe with well-groomed cats to provide companionship to customers while they sip their tea to unwind at the end of the day. only that these customers are not there for the tea but yeah you guessed it. cat cafes are popping everywhere in japan's cities where many are not able to keep a pet given their small live in spaces and long working hours. as such, going to a place where the cats provide them an outlet to destress and get one-on-one affection is just irresistible. frankly, i think it's all in their meow.

2009-10-31T22:27:00.003+08:00

i caught a glimpse of the singapore flyer again and i kept thinking that she forgot to take the curlers out of her hair.

2009-10-30T17:52:00.008+08:00

the cat's tail.

2009-10-28T20:51:00.002+08:00

turned out i had a very bad nose infection. it's a relief to know that i don't have some other deadly virus that is going to make this a permanent condition. i'd like to be able to breathe and not sneeze like my insides are going to explode. but that doesn't stop me from flipping through scott kilby's photoshop book. it's the next best thing to having scott himself show me in person. this week i learned how to crop a picture and still retain the same proportion.

2009-10-27T17:28:00.002+08:00

how can you tell if you're having a sinus attack or a flu? i can never tell but either way it's no fun. and my head feels like this. my goal tomorrow is to get enough oxygen into my brain so that i can say 'what' instead of 'wahd'.

2009-10-26T22:59:00.001+08:00

yep, feels like a monday.

2009-10-25T12:12:00.006+08:00

yummi yogurt replaces a birthday cake. it was my mom-in-law's birthday a few days ago and like all birthdays, we like taking her out to dinner. but she felt like cooking on her birthday this year so she cooked up a storm while i got her these tubs of yummi yogurt. she's into the keeping-healthy -less-salt-less-sugar-less- fat-diet so she was quite pleased with them. we're still having them on sunday. this is the only kind of yogurt i'll ever take. a cup a day keeps the doctor away.

2009-10-24T11:12:00.004+08:00

fallen leaves.

2009-10-22T22:56:00.002+08:00

the weather's been crazy lately. i'd like to stay in that house made of large chunks of ice where you can just chip the walls to keep your 7-up cool forever.

2009-10-21T00:08:00.003+08:00

this was taken in melbourne when i was visiting. i love tall giant trees. they are a constant reminder that there is something larger out there. and every worry i have just starts to pale in comparison. i'd like to be amongst these trees today.

2009-10-19T21:07:00.006+08:00

this is the state of my table. my trusted travel laptop had been taking ill from time to time and as much i didn't want to part with it, i had been banging my head against this very table when it slowed down on me. i was convinced that i would not get a macbook. no, i will not yield to the commercialism of the macbook. but as you can see, there was a BUT. a huge BUT. BUT each time i went to the mall, there it was staring back at me. take me home, it said, you know you want meeeee. rats. so i finally decide. and bigger RATS. i still find myself figuring how this works. it has been- stupid stupid girl why do you get the mac and now you can't find any of the buttons and stupid girl you don't know where your pictures went and why oh why can't you just get a pc stupid girl- but it has been a week and now it is- ah yes, i can get onto the internet and i can post a picture and find my documents and ah yes, that's how it works ok you're getting the hang of it now and you can stop banging your head now.

2009-10-11T21:37:00.004+08:00

cod liver oil. ewe. i used to take these as a kid. i guess when you're little, you don't really question what's good for you or not. coz mummy knows best. i can't quite recall when i stopped taking these. probably years and years ago. now that i am a discerning adult (well i'd like to think so), i don't like taking health supplements as i always think my body has a way to work things out.

but yesterday, mom decided to hand this bottle to me. "here take it, it's good for you." i was surprised that i accepted it without question. i started to read the labels - high levels of omega 3 and vitamin A and D. it all sounded good. i suppose when times were hard in the early years, my mother made sure we had our supplements just to ensure we didn't miss out on growing healthy. but today i'm all grown up and times aren't all that bad. i try to eat well and am fortunate enough to be able to eat when and what i want.

well as i write this. i am starting to think i guess it isn't the cod liver oil that mattered as much as the person who delivered it to me. it's a good feeling to have. my mother. she likes to think that she is still taking care of me. and guess what.

that has and will always make all the difference.

2009-10-10T21:50:00.002+08:00

it's saturday and i'm hoping you're having a good one. today is a quiet day for me. i spent it with my parents and we had vietnamese noodles. i think they were hungry. and then we talked about the mangoes they grew in the backyard. it was a good evening.

2009-10-08T20:07:00.000+08:00

it's the end of thursday. things are looking up!!

2009-10-05T22:40:00.003+08:00

it's the end of monday. i hope you're having a good start to the week. i think i'll go to bed early. it makes the week go faster.

2009-10-03T22:34:00.014+08:00

so my brother tells me that if i don't go to church i will go to straight to hell. nevermind if i did something nice for an old lady down the street. hell, really? yes, he said in all seriousness. and then i started to think what if i got hit by a bus tomorrow. so i decided. i have to go to church.

my faith has wavered over the years. i stopped going to church years ago as i found myself there bodily but my mind would be somewhere else. like thinking if i should try the new sushi place down the road. i figured if i can't be there fully present with the Lord then i shouldn't be there at all. then over time, it just became an excuse not to go. and then i got lazy. there, i said it.

so because of what my brother says. i found myself in church today. and tried to participate whole heartedly in the mass. however, i discovered i was wearing shoes that were dusty. i started to think if i could just clean my shoes .but then it would be rude. it would be clear that i am not attentive as i should be. listening to the word of God was what i should be doing. but then again i thought if i could just clean my shoes that they wouldn't be a distraction for me. then i started to think what the guy next to me would think of me if i reached down and clean my shoes. but then again, it would only take a couple of seconds. and so i did.

aunt susan tells me she always prays for me as i need all the help i can get to save my soul.

indeed indeed.

2009-10-02T21:53:00.004+08:00

it's been a really long week and i am tempted to go on a rant on what went wrong with it but i shall refrain from doing so. it's friday evening and friday evenings are meant for being peaceful within oneself. that's what i'd like to make it to be anyway. so i am going to list down what i am still thankful for instead.

i am thankful for wonderful friends who take the time just to listen. not give advice or help you solve the problem. but just listen. with their hearts.

i am thankful for those who have taught me to be grateful with what i have because to many i may be the luckiest person on earth.

i am thankful for ice cold kickapoo just because it brought me happiness as a kid and still does.

i am thankful for family. period.

i am thankful for foot and tummy rubs that my hubby gives me.

i am thankful for post-its.

i am thankful for hot bowls of noodles and green tea.

i am thankful for friday evenings.

2009-09-29T20:54:00.000+08:00

caught this chic lady on the streets of melbourne. loving the coat.

2009-09-28T20:03:00.003+08:00

i love this cafe and stumbled upon it when we were on our way to great ocean road in melbourne. one of those breakfasts that after you have it, you are pretty much done for the day.

hope you're having a good start to the week.