o v e r f l u o

I just read the book of Amos in the Bible and wow, it's like a book of God ranting. He says to and through his prophet Amos: I'll destroy you, city of Damascus, for pounding Gilead to a pulp. I'll destroy you, Gaza, because you took captive communities which you sold to others. And Ammon, destruction will come upon you because you ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead. Also, Moab, you will be destroyed for burning the bones of Edom's king.    And you – you – Israel. You most of all – the one I chose, the one I have loved and shown favour upon. You will be destroyed for selling the poor for your rich wants, denying justice to the oppressed, adulterous ways, and so much more.   Are you blaming others for dragging you into sin? You can't! After   all, doesn't it take two hands to clap? If you want to sin, fine, go ahead and do what you want to do!    The solution is to seek me and live, but you don't!  No matter what I do, you do not return to...

Ya heard me. Tupperware never looked so cool. I'm not the kind to sit and watch random YouTube videos much, but I sat there and watched quite a few Tupperware videos. I already thought Tupperware was cool, but these ads made them cooler. They did a good job of making me go, "So magical!" while at the same time demonstrating that the pieces are actually practical and easy to use. It's like: Magic in your kitchen – with Tupperware!

Hey bugsy, what are you doing on my mint leaves? Where have you travelled from? From the lush mint fields, uprooted by a farmer, up on the truck, to the shop at Box Hill? Or from the field of another plant, to the shop at Box Hill, where you were placed right beside the mint leaves and decided to move because the mints smelled more enticing than say, carrots? Either way, you shouldn't have come. I'm not quite sure if this house is safer for you, than fields or gardens where you might be afraid of birds or snakes. Please don't come back again.

Was it because we just watched an italian-food episode of My Kitchen Rules? Possibly, because we went right out to get ingredients for pizza and pasta, and from Coles too (the MKR sponsor). But well, we always shop at Coles anyway. It wasn't entirely homemade since we used store-bought bases which were a little thick. But still, fun and yum nonetheless!

^ Peanut butter on sour dough with banana ^

Sometimes it seems like I'm learning the same lessons I did as a teenager. Just last month I journaled about needing to be more disciplined, and realised that I've been journalling that since I was a teen. I suppose sometimes it's the same lesson, but in a different context which require a different skill to be learnt. When I asked for discipline as a teen, it was when I had lots to do and needed discipline to finish my homework and read the Bible daily. Now when I ask for discipline, it is in the context of having a lot of time but not a lot of things to do. The discipline I need is one to, yes do the work I have, but also, to be patient and to search for opportunities to make good use of my time. There are lessons that will be lifelong, but we can be assured that as long as we learnt at least something from them, the next "same lesson" will not be exactly the same, and we will always be growing.

Some thoughts from reading this book of the Bible recently. The book is mainly Solomon and his beloved expressing their love for each other. "... when I found the one my heart loves.  I held him and would not let him go."  –Song of Songs 3:4 When I first read this verse, I was quite enraptured by it – wow, what a love. Holding on and not ever letting go. This is the kind of love we should have for God. But reading it now, I realise it does show, unabashedly, love for a person.  Sometimes, we over-analyse and relate everything back to God. While it probably does relate back to God, we shouldn't skip the immediate, explicit meaning as well. Here, the woman tells us clearly that she has one – King Solomon, a man – her heart loves, and she held him and would not let him go. It is a love that she basks in and is proud to proclaim. Come to think of it, it's like marriage. Where a man and woman come together before their family and friends to proclaim – i...

I'm starting to get quite irritated by the amount of bugs I'm finding in my home.  Yesterday, it rained very heavily. To get away from the cold and soggy ground, a worm entered my house. I scooped it up with a piece of paper and let it out my front door, only to spot another two right under the step. I've found other dead ones around before.  Another time, I found a fat slug. It was seriously big. How did it get in?! Ian took it to the garden.  ^ Yup, that was how gross it was. A bird might find it very juicy though. *squirms* ^ We see big black cockroaches every now and then too. Not often. But hey, who ever wants cockroaches? We've spotted and killed them maybe three times in the past year. Mortine is my friend.  Next, spiders. I actually don't mind them as much. I guess that's because they don't really get in the way and are not that big, unlike cockroaches which you can "feel" when you squash or...

Since a public holiday was coming up on a Monday, we decided to take a trip somewhere over the long weekend! The nice thing about Australia is that it's easy to go on road trips anytime. You can just load up your car, and drive wherever. There are plenty of information centres along the way to help you plan your trip, and part of the drive usually has beautiful scenery.  It's different from living in Singapore where the nearby places are more affordable. At those place you can eat and shop for half or a quarter of the price needed in Singapore. But still, all's good and fun. ^ So off we went! Pardon our dirty window but – I loved this part of the drive. Not main roads, and tall trees lining the way and providing shade. It reminds me of one of the roads around Upper Thomson Road in Singapore where trees line the way like this as well, just that the trees are shorter and thicker. ^ ^ Some of the trees had orange leaves. I'm not sure if it's becaus...

10 minute afternoon snack:  Mix flour with salt and pepper, coat egg tofu with flour mixture, fry with a good layer of oil and top with fried shallots if you'd like. Kind of looks like my mama's. I'm happy ;)