SO TRUE

I think prayer is so amazing because it's an indirect way to help people.

-Josephine Koh

Happy thanksgiving!!

What am I thankful for?

This year, I'm thankful for....

-my mom because she is so good to me. She always gives with her whole heart and wants the best for me. She encourages me and gives me strength to move forward. She babies me, comforts me, provides for me. She loves me unconditionally.

-my dad because he is always working hard to provide for my family. He works even when he probably doesn't want to work. He works to make sure I get what I need. He loves me and deserves the best. 

-my small group girls because they are active in coming out. They are so good-hearted and willing and none of them give me a hard time just because. I fail so many times in praying enough for them, but still, they show me love. For that, I am grateful.

-the people who reach out to me because they are relentless. Haha, just kidding, but even though I may be aloof sometimes, they still always talk to me and want to get to know me. They are always there to listen even when I may not always turn to them specifically. 

-my roommates because they take me as I am, faults and all. Thank you.... you have no idea.

-my dog Hammie because she always greets me with a happy face and wants to be loved by me. 

Presenting... the thanksgiving meal!! We had sooo much food. Our menu was honey-glazed smoked ham, roast beef with roasted vegetables, oven-roasted turkey, four-cheese baked macaroni and cheese, mashed potato with gravy, cranberry sauce, honey-baked acorn squash, corn, oven-hot cornbread, cheesy broccoli, and a garden salad~ Food overload right? Preparing the feast was so much fun :D

My four-cheese mac&cheese is almost gone! And mhmmm, that delicious roast beef... just look at that color heehee :D

There is the turkey fresh out of the oven!! The honey-baked acorn squash is on the side~ It was so good with the moist turkey breast. I highly recommend acorn squash if you want to eat something hearty and delicious AND low in calories!

My macaroni and cheeeese, yum yum

Here is my plate full of food! 

the perks of being a wallflower... not really

I'm going crazy over the thoughts in my head. It's like a whirl of negativity swirling and swirling and swirling around my head. I feel like I am falling deeper and deeper into this never-ending hole, sucked into the black hole where only sadness and depression and hurt linger. 

Why... why am I forced to live my life based on my emotions? Why do I let my emotions control ME? I'm so aware--too aware--- of people's reactions toward me. I crave to feel wanted. I am needy.I need to feel wanted at every moment. If I don't, I crash. I feel like no one cares. 

But that's a total lie. I know it in my head, but how does Satan know exactly how to deceive me.... to think otherwise? People do care about me. I just push people away. 

I'm full of faults. I see so many of them. They're almost ALL I see, and I get discouraged. Always comparing, always seeing what I lack. Always searching for something better and not being grateful for the things that I have. 

And you know what's sad? I know GOD is my father, the Father. I know He is a God who will never stop doing good to me and who will daily bear my burdens. I know He loves me so so much and will probably be the only one who can full satisfy and meet all my needs. Still... still... as of now, I am a hopeless case. 

How did I get to be so melancholy? 

blackjack

Everyone is turning 21 these days. It's so weird. Why are we all growing up!??!? @.@

At the same time though, it's pretty exciting, and it's cool to see how we blend in with the twenty's crowd now. We don't look like we're out of place in trendy restaurants or anything~ 

Anyways, this time, we celebrated Monica's 21st birthday dinner at Aquagrill! 

Part of the crowd with the birthday girl =)

 The birthday girl looking all pretty and coquettish~!

Some awesome people in my life :D

Food that people ordered:

This is the truffle-crusted cod with mushroom ravioli. I had a bite of this, and it was soooo good. The fish meat was buttery and full of flavor~

Kat ordered the bouillabaisse hahaha. Even though it was soup, it was good nonetheless! The soup was rich and flavorful. REALLY flavorful.

And this was my deliciousss seared sea scallops with creamy lobster meat risotto and string beans. So succulent, SO rich, SO YUMMY!

"What's good here?"

.... is a question I get a lot at Butter Lane. I always recommend the banana with cream cheese cupcake. It is so SO yummy. I can't even describe how good it is. It's almost more like a muffin. The banana bread is naturally so sweet and moist, and the cream cheese frosting perfectly adds an extra kick to the already decadent bread. YUMMY!! 

So, working at Butter Lane has been a lot of fun so far. Time passes by relatively quickly. The shop is warm, smells AMAZING, and feels really homey. Can't complain yo. 

I spend most of my time frosting those damn good cupcakes. I think I taste so many types of frosting like key lime, blueberry, and coconut, just to name a few. And I also get to eat some ugly cupcakes that aren't worthy of being sold... I'm sooooo gonna get chunky from this job lol :(

Pictures taken from my phone! 

The interior of Butter Lane

The display of cupcakes

1950s

Is it weird that I really want to be a wife and mom?



I want to be able to carry the elegance and esteem that so many of the 1950s' women carried while being an awesome wife and mom too. I live in a world of romance sigh~ I have yet to gain that aura of confidence and glamour.

I love to take care of people and cook and clean. I don't think it's demeaning at all; being a mom and wife is probably one of the hardest things ever.

I mean, don't get me wrong. I definitely want to finish my degree and become a registered dietician and even more, but I want that as a side job. I don't know... I'm so a 1950s girl, not the independent, strong-willed, career-first woman that's so typical nowadays~

OPENING ANTICIPATION~!!

Here's huge news for all you foodies out there-

Butter Lane cupcakes is coming to the East Village. No more having to travel all the way to the west side for some Magnolia's or Billy's. Just hop over to E. 7th St between 1st Ave and Ave A for some delicious, first-quality cupcakes. Butter Lane cupcakes are known to be the "better cupcake" for very good reasons: they use pure, organic ingredients (butter, eggs, milk) and use less sugar in the icing, giving the whole cupcake more natural flavor. No artificial coloring, no trans-fat, no fake stuff period. Just the real, good stuff. You'll be able to taste the difference in your first bite!

Butter Lane noticed that cupcakes from other places like Magnolia's or Crumbs have just as good cupcakes but the icing ends up being too sweet. That's why Butter Lane is devoted to making cupcakes that will satisfy our sweet tooths but make sure we don't suffer from sugar overload afterwards.

Check out the grand opening MONDAY!!!!!

1111

HAPPY PEPPERO DAY~~~~!!!

A picture says a thousand words

Little do men perceive what solitude is, and how far it extendeth. For a crowd is not company, and faces are but a gallery of pictures, and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love. -Francis Bacon

When I have time and money,

I like to go grocery shopping and cook.

My favorite thing to do-well one of my favorite things to do- is to go to Whole Foods (or any supermarket) and just explore the whole place! I love looking at foods and seeing what I could buy or looking at things I WISH I could buy hehe. My guilty pleasure last year used to be going to Food Emporium and looking at all the foods I wanted to eat but couldn't buy and then I would be completely satisfied just doing that. Weird, I know, but it was my thing to do ^^

Some food I recently made~

Cheese ddukbokgee

Entering 20s

delicious fluffy, blueberry pancakes from Bar Marche~ I'm not a huge fan of pancakes. Usually after a couple bites, I get sick of them, but these pancakes are to die forrrr... yum
Grace's 21st birthday party! Red velvet cake from Amy's Bread. It's soo drool worthy ^^
Morimoto for Grace's 21st bday dinner. Trendy and hip, it's definitely a "young" scene.
Tuna pizza from Morimoto. Definitely the appetizers sounded much more appealing than the main entrees. Even though Morimoto is a Japanese restaurant, the food was moreso just Asian in general than traditional Japanese.
Cool restaurant ambiance~ I was definitely digging the architecture and interior design of this place heh

roomie love!

Love it

(Ref: The Sartorialist)

2008.11.04

Obama won the Election 2008!

The first African American President.
The first African American First Lady.

Yesterday was such a historical moment.
I'm so blessed to be a part of it.
I'm so glad I voted.

I pray that Obama will lead this nation with a humble and serving heart. I pray that he will be filled God's wisdom and guidance so that he can lead this nation effectively. I pray that he will turn his eyes on God as he deals with this nation's problems.

Lord, may You have mercy on this wrecked nation. Redeem us back into Your presence.

three's a party, fine and dandy!

I've been so busy with things like midterms and small group that I haven't been able to update the blog as much! Look forward to future entries about my experience at Bar Marche and Morimoto!!!!!! =)