no title for this one

The past few days have been busy with final year project and filled with worries over the health of my grandma and mom. Much has happened in just a few days and I really thank God for His protection. My grandma even said that all bad things have passed, everything will be well from now onwards. Yeah, I believe so.

Now, we can all start packing and planning! The much anticipated family trip to Hong Kong this coming Sunday ^_^ Really looking forward as this is the first ever overseas holiday with my entire family. And grandma is with us this time too.

So, I decided to express all my excitement through cooking, hehe… only to find out that the ingredients left in the kitchen are limited =/ Here goes the…

French toast

and Spaghetti with bacon and prawns

Going down kl in the evening. Updates when I’m back from my trip

cooking gathering at my house

The very much delayed photos. Really hope we can have more of this but looks like I have to go down to pj or damansara next time

salad with bacon and toasted bread topped with vinegar, steamed fish with tomatoes, baked chicken drumstick in lemon sauce, baked potatoes in cheese and cream (a norwegian dish taught by Zahra), poached pears in red wine and the very first trial of homemade vanilla ice cream served with strawberries and caramel deco ^_^

The lovely girls who dare to join me in my crazy cooking experiments. I’m going down kl soon, real soon!

back finally

For a start, here’s a song to share. A song that us girls must be humming or singing when we read cheryl’s mail this morning. A good start for the day to battle with all those monday blues. Though we girls are now in different states and countries, it’s a blessing to know that we’re still locked together in each others’ hearts

All around us things are changing
Seasons come and seasons go
Very few things last forever
Deep inside our hearts we know

We’re forever friends
Bound by love that time can’t take away
Forever friends caring in a special kind of way
Heart to heart and hand in hand
We’ll stand until the end
Love’s forever when you’re forever friends

We’re all children of the Father
In His keeping and His care
And the spirit that He gives us
Is the love we’re meant to share

And though we know it’s time to say goodbye
We will always be together
And here’s the reason why

We’re forever friends
Bound by love that time can’t take away
Forever friends caring in a special kind of way
Heart to heart and hand in hand
We’ll stand until the end
Love’s forever when you’re forever friends

birthday

This year’s birthday is by far the most special and heart warming of all… and no, I did not have any celebration on the day itself, no big makan, no cake or whatsoever. Well, it was special because I somehow feel that I have been celebrating my birthday for a whole week, almost. And I am really with all smiles… summing it all up, it has been a very memorable, unforgettable week of good times spent with great people ^_^

SPECIAL THANK YOU…

to Zi Bin for being my “tour guide” in Oslo. I really did enjoyed your company

to Boon Jin, Gabriel and Jit-Vern for taking time off to spend time with me in Singapore and for the little surprise! I am still trying to figure out… but alas, no clue at all, you guys sure are good ;p It meant alot to me I’m easy to please, right? hehe

to Edmund for the great dinner, for Ben and Jerry’s, for simply just being with me… I thank God for you

to Cheryl and Yian for “When Wallflowers Dance” and yes, I believe God has a purpose for me, being the kind of righteous woman just the way He intended

to bro for your so called last minute intended birthday wish ;p and for the chat while I am still jet lag

and to ALL MY FRIENDS who sent me birthday emails and leave me messages and comments in Facebook, Friendster and Elim Spam Corner… every bit of that means much to me ^_^ not forgetting the birthday posts by carmen and yian as well

nothing beats the joy of being with people who are dear to you, just anytime, anywhere

birthday shoutout!

to you and me…

Happy 23rd Birthday, my friend!!
Hope you’re having a blast celebrating it in the States AGAIN!

Reminiscing…

Three years have gone by and we are now taking our own paths, exploring different things, learning, maturing and fulfilling our dreams or at least we try You have truly been a great friend in the past, now and always. Even if we were to lose contact for years, I know I can still depend on you for you’ll be there when I needed you. Thank you for all the years of friendship and good memories.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY with many good wishes and prayer for you ^_^

P.S. nonono, I’m not going to say I LOVE YOU ;p just wanted to say you don’t have to buy me dinner afterall, turns out that I like the book, in case you’ve have forgotten which one, it’s Where Rainbows End, heart wrenching – just the way you described it to be

the real holiday

Finally, I have decided to treat myself with a real holiday. And my definition is one that I only RELAX and not rush through top and tourist attractions, one that I FOCUS on MYSELF and not on others, one that I buy things for myself and not others, one that I ENJOY TRULY without taking too many photos for memories sake and one that of which I call a holiday.

And I think I chose a perfect place, at least with all the time I left and the cash restriction. Copenhagen, Denmark it is.

Without actually knowing it, I have booked myself into a five star youth hostel. The most expensive one among the hostels I stayed in for the previous trips. Costing me euro20 per night!! At least that was the cheapest I could get at that time. But, yes, just the right one to start off my real holiday. Six clean and comfortable beds per dorm, best location ever right in front of the harbour in the city centre ^_^ Got to know a couple of new friends – the dorm mates which is a huge bonus. Networking I call it.

Spend first half of the day just strolling along the harbour, passing by the canals and visiting the famous “Little Mermaid”. I enjoyed it so much, the views and ambiance. The second half of the day is even better as I decided to go for Tivoli Gardens and Amusement Park (it’s just 5 minutes walk from my hostel) I have always love amusement parks… the thrill rides!! Now you know why I like to be in Genting the theme park. I feel like a small child again. Treating myself with lots of ice cream, nachos and cheese and of course, those thrill rides. And yes, I finally had my merry-go-round after years of wanting to ride on it and the fact the I can’t in Genting due to age and height limit. I was there from 2pm till midnight. I was screaming and laughing, indulging myself in uncountable times of those crazy rides… and just when you think Solero Shot in Genting is scary and gives you LOTS of adrenaline rush… till you have this!

Introducing the Golden Tower in Tivoli… it’s way higher than Solero Shot, I like it, hehe…

and the highest carousel… was not working though when I went

Tivoli doesn’t offer just unlimited rides but also beautiful gardens here and there, live bands, short musicals, pantomimes and other entertainment – all of those for DKK200 a day. I went for some live jazz band performances as well as a half an hour pantomime – Thumbelina. Great one with eye candy casts, graceful dancing and good music. I think I haven’t laughed or enjoyed myself alone so much. It has been awhile. And I am glad and thank God that He is helping me to get through things and to find some time and have a treat for me, myself and I. Lord, you know exactly what I needed.

Second and final day – a Sunday. Decided to look up the brochure and map and found this church which actually has English service, so why not? And the result? I had a wonderful time of worship. They always say save the best for last, and this, my final worship and sermon in Europe is indeed the best of all. Not only the praise and worship was great, the sermon spoke to me that very morning and answered my question of one of my previous posts – the most important think is the PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP you have with God rather than acts of service itself. Thank You again. I mean I knew it all along so, another reminder and assurance for me.

After the service, I went to the King’s Garden/Park. Found a nice spot and laid down on the soft grass, actually enjoying the sun! surprise surprise. Spent the noon just lying down, yes, relaxing, reading Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern and had a short nap. Never knew it was so good to lie on the grass with soft breeze blowing and the sun giving you warmth and smiles. I then proceeded to the harbour, sat down on one of those benches and write while enjoying the beautiful view from the harbour.

Catching the last glimpse of canals before I hopped on the bus to leave Copenhagen and back to Kongsberg. I had a great real holiday. I am happy. I am content.

The End.

God is.

Still the great “I AM“.

I talked with some of Helene’s cousin and friends and to my ‘discovery’, about 90% of Norway’s population are members of the church but a large amount of them are not Christians. I mean what kind of teaching or custom is this. I just don’t understand sometimes. They attend church occasionally, are baptised, serve and know the hymns better than you and me. When I asked, they will say that they are not Christians but members of the church as they have been baptised there. It’s sad actually… they do everything but do not believe.

but God reminded me again that He is still the great “I AM”. Later in the evening, I followed Helene’s mom to her church and once again, it’s like being home. It was the best fellowship and worship I had since I came here. For once, or should I say, finally, I am able to worship the Lord again. It was good, so good. A lady named Biance shared her story of how the Lord has called her to serve in Norway and after going through many trials and reluctance, she is finally here.

… with Bianca and her family …

It was very encouraging and scary to know as well, hehe, that when God called you to do something, you will end up doing it, no matter how much you didn’t want to. It may take longer than it should have been but by the end of the day, what God has placed in your heart, asked of you, you just can’t run away from it. His will and plans WILL BE DONE ^_^

There were performances by the children and youth of the church. Here are some short videos I managed to take. And yes, if you were wondering, I worshiped in Norsk that evening. Amazing huh? To sing songs you are familiar with, not in English this time but in another different language ^_^ my heart was filled with peace and joy.

God is like the air. You can’t touch it, you can’t see it but you know He is ALWAYS there, around you, FOR you.

God is indeed beautiful. His beauty demands a response that is shaped by that beauty itself. I am amazed. Truly.

Rama-Rama

Enjoyed my three days two nights stay at Uncle Siew’s place alot. Really thank God for him and his family, it is like being with a family member again in a far away place, very warm feeling. They generously accommodated me, paid for all my expenses and took time off to bring me around. If you are wondering, Uncle Siew is my uncle’s ex-schoolmate. He opens an Asian food restaurant, Rama-Rama in Landquart, Switzerland together with his wife, Sandra (a Swiss lady who speaks fluent Cantonese) ^_^ You can check out the restaurant’s website at www.rama-rama.ch

Photos of the restaurant…

with Uncle Siew and Sandra

with some of the staff
L-R: Kit from HK, Kah Poh from Malacca, me and *don’t remember his name* from Indonesia. The chefs are from Macau and Malaysia. They are all very friendly and funny especially the two waiters, hehe. Sandra told me silly stories about them :p

dinner back at the restaurant

contentment

I like the way it is now.

With clearer goals and directions in my life. With God leading. With assurance that I can still comfortably cling on to my favourite friends no matter what. With faith that I will fall in love again. With the project coming to an end. With anticipation of many more good things ahead.

I love it just by sitting at the balcony reading a good book, enjoying everything that spring has to offer from the soothing breeze to the chirping of birds and fresh smell of flowers. I am content.

the form six days

Was looking through some really old photos from Boon Jin and Gabriel’s collection and just as much as I hate to admit and acknowledge it, I really do miss the form six days… life was full with many ups and downs throughout the two years with many good memories to reminisce, some regrets I still cry over at times as well as a major decision I have made to follow Christ… all in all, those two years were indeed the best I have ever had! decided to compile these limited photos I have taken from Gab into a little slideshow. Each of them brings a smile on my face.

I guess I just miss having friends around me 24/7, okay, not exactly 24/7 but almost. Be it during school hours – all the crazy things and talks we had during classes or breaks as well as the seriousness and silence when exams approaching, the after school club activities that never seems to end, prefects meetings, tuitions and more tuitions, yumcha at mamak or hanging out during weekends. I miss the people so much, now that I realized yes, I meant you, from all the super smart classmates of USS1 and good friends who sat behind me – Jit-Vern, Gabriel, Boon Jin, Ian and Yee Weng to the prefects gang who are serious and fun@crazy at the right time- Wai Tien, Yian, Cheryl, Kian, Matt, Kah Hon, Yee Hui, Jill, Jo, Mei Yin, Anand, Guan Sing, Thean Seng, Su Lyn, Wern Liang to other lovely friends – Lay Nga, Xung-I and buaya king, Jason Ling, haha ;p

I am blessed to have known these people. It’s even better to still have them around me ^_^ Treasuring every moment and appreciating each one of them.

=)

=)

God has been really good. In the midst of stress and much confusion, He just sent me an angel, a French exchange student to work with me on the same project. Not that I could work less, but more in fact because this French student is really smart and has more experience than me. It’s just that I can learn and benefit even more from him now, and have the burden of the project shared.  Of course, not to mention he is sooOooo cute, haha there’s a little language barrier though as he doesn’t speak and understand much english but he did mentioned that one of the purposes of him being here is to improve that. Looking forward to work together with him. I must add more oil!! must prove that Malaysian students pun ada standard

For the past one month here, I have came to truly understand what it means by God blesses you so that you in return can bless others. Whatever the Lord has provided and taught you, use them to provide for others. I am not sure though whether there are exact bible verses about it.

God places us in so many different situations, allowing trials of many kinds and temptations into our lives not just merely to mold, shape, and bring us to maturity but also to use what He has blessed us through these experiences to bless, to understand and help others. I’ve always asked why must I go through this and that but by the end of the day, I realized that if I didn’t go through certain issues and trials myself, how can I then be compassionate enough and understand what others are experiencing?

No doubt, there are many detours in life but all will end up in the same destination where God has intended us to be. These detours have helped me to truly understand how others feel over a situation, over a fall, over a secret sin and how I could relate to them so closely. It then acts as a reminder of God’s grace that has brought me through all that and wanted me to do what I could, share what I have experienced to those who need to hear them, to those who need true, sincere encouragement and prayer rather than texbook answers and advice. As I am writing this, I couldn’t help but have tears because I finally understand that I don’t need to do super great things, to be very gifted to serve God for I just need to continue walking with Him and allow Him to use me to bless others in just small little ways.

Thank You, Lord.

made my day

Feeling discouraged, unmotivated and so so so tired these few days. Kind of left me feeling moodless.

But a sentence changes it all. Was chatting with a friend over msn and halfway through, he said “I’m soooo proud of you!”. I don’t know, THAT just somehow, lights up my day. Thank you, loopy

Trondheim Part V

I really thank God for the opportunity to be in Trondheim, to know and be with Mark and his family. Had lots of good sharing about life experiences and had great fun time with them. To those who are reading, please pray for Mark and his family. He shared alot about his life and how Christianity had actually rescued him in several situations but there are still doubts and uncertainty. I believe God has indeed been working in his life but the step of faith has yet to be taken. He even said something like, “I think I owe Christianity something”… I really hope that one day he will be able to fully understand, trust, believe and accept the Lord.

By the way, did I mention that Mark’s wife is a great cook and bakes really delicious cakes and muffins? She is terrific! She made this Verdens beste kake, or Kvæfjordkake, means the world’s best cake in english. It is a traditional and famous cake in Norway.

                      

try it out yourself! below is the recipe taken from her blog

Ingredients:

The cake base
150g butter (room temperature)
120g sugar
5 stk egg yolks
150g flour (preferably sieved)
1 ts baking power
60ml milk

The meringue
5 stk egg white
150g sugar
80g almond, finely chopped. Can use walnut instead.

The cream
50ml whipping cream
300ml vanilla cream ( If you can’t buy this, you can make your own vanilla cream. Method shown in below attached URL)
10 to 15 drops rum essence

Baking equipments: Roasting tin, approx 30X40 cm. Electronic mixer.
Baking temperature: 180 deg, 35 to 40 mins

Method
1. Beat the butter and sugar until white and fluffy.
2. Add in egg yolk. One yolk each time so that the yolk can be fully incorporated into the butter cream.
3. Blend in flour and baking power, and mix well.
4. Pour in milk and continue to mix until the mixture become fine. This takes about 3 mins.
5. Pour mixture into a roasting tin, use spatula to spread the mixture evenly. NOTE: pls spread the mixture as thin as possible. Both husband and I agree that a thin cake base is more delicious and can also reduce the risk of a hard cakebase.
6. Clean the mixture and ready to beat egg white. Beat until white and fully. Approx 4-5 mins.
7. Add in sugar and continue to beat for 30 seconds.
8. Spread the egg white over the butter mixture in the pan.
9. Spread the almond and ready to bake.
10. Once baked, bring the cake out and let it cool. Prepare the cream in the meantime.
11. Beat whipping cream until fluffy. Then add in vanilla cream and rum essence.
12. Cut the cake into two equal portions-one on top and one bottom
13. Put the cream between the to layers.

The descriptions here maybe too lengthy to read, there’s a video here.
http://www.spise.no/oppskrifter/verdens_beste/verdens_beste_plug.htm

Trondheim Part III

Third stop – NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) Library

            

            

                                             … the old tram …

            

                    … some artwork outside the library …

Fourth stop – Nidarosdomen (Nidaros Cathedral), is the most northerly gothic cathedral in the world, built over the saintly King Olav Haraldsson.

Photos taken from Flickr’s (Nidarosdomen during summer)

            

Photos taken by me

           

           

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

            

                 He loves. He gives. We believe. We live.

Final stop – City Central Square

The statue of city’s founder, Olav Trygvason perched atop its 3-storey high pedestal at city central square (taken from Flickr’s)

                                

            

Trondheim Part II

…more of beautiful Trondheim… I am really loving this place! Mark even suggested I should further my studies or work here due to the many benefits and the universities are among the top 50 in world ranking. We will see, haha…

first stop – Kristiansten Festning (Kristiansten Fortress), built in 1681 to protect the city against attack from the Germans. Its purpose has been fulfilled when Swedish forces lay siege of Trondheim.

                                   … view from the festning …

               

                                               … the entrance …

                                               … with Ansel …

Second stop – The Tyholt Tower

This communication tower stretches 120 metres into the sky and it’s a must for tourists, simply because it offers a spectacular view of Trondheim, featuring Egon Resturant (rotating restaurant 74 metres above ground revolving at one full turn an hour offering a panaromic view of Trondheim in all directions!!)

Had a sumptuous pizza buffet at the rotating restaurant while enjoying the beautiful view ^_^ the pizzas are freshly made and really yummy!! costs me NOK 110. Anyway, I was told that this restaurant is considered the cheapest in Trondheim but still… one main course costs around NOK 200! Speak of high living standard, man…

The views from Egon’s…

Trondheim Part I

Finally arriving in Trondheim after a long 8 hours of train ride, was really tiring travelling, not to mention expensive, hehe but the trip to Trondheim is worth every cent!! Met up with Mark and his family for the first time, am so nervous and excited at the same time. After all the chats online, finally will be able to meet them in person. They are very warm and welcoming, it’s like I’m going home to family ^_^

Trondheim (third largest city) is located in central Norway, known as the City of Viking King, definitely the Historical Capital of Norway.

Went for the mountain on the first day. Weather was so good during my 3 days stay here, bright and good temperature. I was really blessed because the day I left, the temperature actually dropped down to -12 degree Celsius!!

                                         … like the sky…

                                                   … me …

              

                                             … going down …

                                      … with Mark’s family …

                                     … with Ansel, Mark’s son …

                                 … cute little Ansel on sleigh…

Telemark Part III

Anyway, I had a really good time at Helene’s home. It was very refreshing. The last night was the best ever!!

Seriously, I can’t even remember when was the last time I had a girls’ night out. You know, just eating away, gossiping about hot guys, having heart-to-heart talks, watching shows and just chill. Frankly, I don’t even have that many close girl friends. My circle of friends seem to consist more of guys than girls and how I realized I missed the girly girl time sOoo MUCH. I am not saying that time spent with the boy friends is not nice, just that it seems so long I have not feel like being a girl friend, haha. I just seem to be always the sister or one of the boys. It is nice to hang out with the boy friends, listening to them talk and share about girls, drinking frosty beer, wait, more like I watching them drink, hehe and all the boys talk but it was even better with the girls sometimes.

Helene and I went to do a lil shopping for the night – all the different potato chips, fries, ice-cream!, chocolates, cola, basically all the unhealthy and fattening food, haha and rented two movies. Ratatouille and Stardust. She invited two of her friends over as well. Fun night with movies and my favourite, junk food and games.

            

            

and the super cool board game – Party & Co. It’s like a combination of pictionary, taboo, scrabble, all the act, mime, sing and guess games. Suddenly just reminded me of the crazy fun time in family camp with tuxin, vincent, carmen playing pictionary and joni’s card game(can’t recall the name, hehe)

It’s a team game, where each team has to collect certain amount of coloured ‘peanuts’. Taking turns to throw the dice and complete given tasks.

Showtime! (red card) – one team member has to either sing a song, act or mime out objects/characters while the other guesses

Artwork! (green card) – 3 types: either one team member has to shape the object using the green wire or draw out(ala pictionary) or have to wear those orange glasses and paint out the object while the other guesses. The orange glasses is the tricky one, when you wear those, you can’t see what you are drawing! it’s like you’ve been blinded.

Psycho! (yellow card) – this is like a mind game and compatibility test! Hardest of all four because you have to know your team mates well enough to know what is she/he thinking or will react upon certain given situations. Intriguing.

Knowledge (blue card) – test of general knowledge and IQ

Anyway, Helene and I won in the end

                                       with Helene’s friends

                                 my bed at Helene’s house

By the way, had a good sharing and praying session with her mom during the stay There is indeed a reason for me to come to know Helene.