Solar Christmas lights might not actually save you enough money to be equal the cost of paying for the lights in the first place. However, if you cotton to the idea of decorating your house without having to run messy and ugly extension cords all over the place and more importantly are keen to protect the environment, then these Solar powered Christmas lights may just be the answer for you.

These days there are a number of styles to choose from. You can find almost as much variety with solar-powered Christmas lights as with the traditional Christmas lights or the more recent LED Christmas lights. You can choose from the coloured or white strands of bulbs, or maybe go with the fun icicle-style lights.

A 144" long strand of solar Christmas lights features 24 white long-lasting LED bulbs with rechargeable battery lights. Small and non-obvious photo sensors will turn the lights on at dusk and off at dawn. Although you must be certain that the sensors are not covered in snow during the day light hours.

Whatever Christmas lighting options you might choose this season, whether it's solar lights, led lights or just old fashioned Christmas lights, please have a happy and safe holiday.

IT'S DECEMBER NOW..

Hello readers,

It's been 4 months that I don't update this blog. I really miss to post up stories about my working life. I love my job so much that I dedicate this blog but unfortunately I'm not committed as I should.

I'm still doing great, doing my best to be my boss PA. God, I love this job!

The only thing that I regret so much that I'm not as 'HOT' as other secretaries. I'm fat, I'm not pretty but I can assure that my job is tip-top. Anyway, I'm waiting for the good news that is boss promotion! This should be a secret but hey, this blog isn't that famous as PerezHilton so I consider that it's harmless to tell you guys. Can I trust you?

Nevertheless, I've been thinking to change my style sooner or later. Been thinking of something like retro 60's or Disco 70's? Well, I guess I will look definitely like Nicole Blonsky in Hairspray. Try to see this picture. I love the suit.



Imagine. Fat lady like wearing that makes me look like Blonsky.

I am cute, ain't I?

PIZZA MANIAC FAMILIA MAMAMIA!!

Saturday. My in-laws went to 10th mile to buy bamboos (we always have bamboos in stock since we have the 'longhouse' kitchen) and everyone went crazily exotic today! Yes, they bought along porkie dokie intestines to cook with pineapple.. yummyyyy. I'm not an expert in cooking it so I made fried chicken for Gabby instead.



Seeing is believing. In the modernisation, we still have this kind of 'dapur' (kitchen) at the backyard. My FIL was making 'pansoh'. Can you see the firewood stacking next to it? All those woods were chopped by FIL from the nearby bush. Well, that's what a pensioned teacher does to kill his free time. :D



I'm not checking out the recipe. I read a History textbook belongs to hubby when he was in upper six whilst waiting for my fried chicken to get done.



The happy bunk face. She loves fried chicken so much that I had to chase her away from kitchen, otherwise she might eat ALL of them since they were still piping hot!!!


***************

There was a great thunderstorm after we had our lunch. The electricity went tripped off when I was surfing the Internet and I went for a short nap with Gabby. Later in the evening, I felt hungry again, hehe..... so we went to Pizza Junction at Jalan Song for some chomping session.




Heheh..some snapshots whilst waiting for our orders to come...




Hehe, the most excited person is surely Gabby. Look at her, look, look..hahahhaha... OK darling, just slow down.. she didn't even have a chance to talk while eating. Acting polite and greedy at the same time, I guess.

Let us see what we ordered, hmmm...



Pizza BBQ Chicken, RM23.00


Pizza Aloha Chicken, RM21.00


2 large pans of pizza Aloha Chicken and BBQ Chicken (which makes 16 slices of pizzas... lol)
3 glasses of Pepsi and 2 glasses of Iced Milo
4 pieces of BBQ chicken wing
2 bowls of Mushroom Corn Soup

= YES, WE MANAGED TO FINISH ALL THAT!!!!! HAAHAHAHAHA... *evil laugh

Total: RM55.45. Kachingg!! It definitely worth every cent spent. The pizzas were good and the crew were friendly too.

... Oh ya, by the way, the BBQ Chicken Wing and the soups were, FREE!!!!

Thanks to SIL who gave me some coupons few months ago, courtesy of My Privilege Book. I have coupons of free foods and the best thing is, you will also get up to 18% discount when buying birthday cake. Ngehehehe..

Tempted??? Wanna own a book that will save you a lot without burning a hole in your pocket? How??? Well, there is a contest held by KuchingBloggers.Com so why don't you grab this chance to win one??



Gooooood luck readers!!

Christmas Lights Trends

So many Christmas Lights options, where do you start? The worst part of all is that trends seem to change every few years, so of course we all want to go out and buy the cutest Christmas tree lights possible, even if our old ones have plenty of life.

And what about color scheme changes? Decoration trends? Are snowmen in or out this year? So much to think about when you want to co-ordinate your holiday decorating theme with the twinkle twinkles on your tree.

I decided that it would be a nice experiment to start keeping track of Christmas lighting trends. Here is where you will be able to check in on what's hot in lighting this year, as well as what used to be in, and what is so old that it's become fashionably retro.

Browse our articles, or check out the reviews of the newest products, enjoy a little Christmas light nostalgia as we round up the years trends for this Christmas season.

LIBROS: "Azteca" - Gary Jennings

Siguiendo con esto de los libros viene el (q para mi) es el mejor libro q he leido en mi vida: Azteca.

Pequeña descripcion y analisis:

Azteca' es una novela publicada en 1980, del autor Gary Jennings. Está escrita como una serie de cartas que el Obispo Fray Juan de Zumárraga dirige al Rey Carlos V como respuesta a su solicitud de documentar la historia de los habitantes de los pueblos del territorio que hoy es México, basados en relatos de los ancianos. Fray Juan de Zumárraga entrevista a Mixtli-Nube Oscura, un anciano Azteca que cuenta con detalle la historia de su vida, y con ella las costumbres de su pueblo antes de la llegada de los españoles.

El autor vivió durante doce años en México realizando investigaciones para escribir la novela.
Contenido

Análisis

La historia se basa en los requerimientos que en su tiempo hizo Carlos V a los misioneros Católicos en América para que recopilaran la historia de esos lugares.

Para dar cumplimiento a esta petición, el Obispo Juan de Zumárraga, hace que un anciano azteca, Mixtli, narre la historia de su vida ante un grupo de frailes expertos en notas tironianas (antecedentes de las notas taquígraficas)

Cada capítulo aparece en la forma de notas taquígraficas de las palabras de Mixtli, con una introducción de Zúmarraga dirigida a Carlos V.

La historia se desarrolla a un ritmo muy vivo, mostrado de manera bastante natural las costumbres de los pueblos prehispánicos del territorio que hoy es México. La narración algunas veces se desvía de la trama principal, al parecer por el ansia del autor de incorporar la mayor cantidad de información posible de las costumbres de cada uno de los pueblos (no hay que olvidar su larga estadía en México con ese propósito).

Algunas de las frases de los personajes están construidas con una bella poesía, mostrando reflexiones del autor acerca de la vida, la muerte y el amor.

Temas

La predestinación, la idea de que todos los sucesos en la vida de una persona tienen un objetivo que no es muy claro, pero que al final de la vida se revela. Mixtli no entiende cuál es la causa de sus continuos sufrimientos pero al final, entiende que son parte de un proceso para convertirlo en un medio de expresión de los dioses.

El amor, visto como la expresión de la fuerza de la vida con una fuerte connotación sexual.

La muerte, expresada como un medio para la evolución y no como el fin de un proceso. Los aztecas creían que este mundo era solo una antesala muy breve a la verdadera vida que esperaba después de la muerte.

Mi Opinion:

Personalmente pienso q este es por mucho el mejor libro q se ha escrito en todo el mundo, quizas sea por q me siento orgulloso de ser mexicano y bueno mas bien no mexicano sino mas bien AZTECA (O MEXICA), esto a pesar de no ser moreno ni chaparrin XD; sin embargo siento un profundo respeto a los aztecas y demas civilizaciones q habitaron el México prehispanico. Si son como yo q odian a los españoles conquistadores los cuales le dieron en la madre a México, disfrutaran la mayor parte de este libro, odiaran desde luego a los malditos españoles (conquistadores), a Pedro de Alvarado, a la Malinche y a Moctezuma; y en mas de una ocasion les dara mucho q pensar ya q a pesar de q es una novela hay muchas cosas q bien podrian ser ciertas. Es un libro largo (800 y pico paginas), pero muy disfrutable espero q si lo llegan a conseguir lo lean, y q si lo leen lo acaben.

Nota: No lean las desgraciadeces q dice Zumarraga.

Aqui una muy resumida sinopsis del libro y aca otra pagina q contiene otra sinopsis del libro.

Mi Calificacion: 10

PARTY PEOPLE, IT'S FRIDAY!!

Nasi Lemak with Sambal Sotong and Spicy Fried Chicken.

Had Nasi Lemak for breakfast this morning at Sambal Station, Central Park. I love this place because they serve generous, hefty amount of sambal tumis. They have Sambal Sotong (Squid Sambal), Sambal Udang (Prawn Sambal), Sambal Petai ('Petai' Sambal), Sambal Bilis (Anchovies Sambal) and more!! The place is quite peaceful especially in the morning time, I mean less people visiting the place if compared to afternoon. So we could enjoy our meals happily and peacefully.



I am craving for this when entering the stage of.. ehem ehem... PMS! One packet was victimised last night.

Happy weekend everyone!

Another reason to be thankful

As we take time to give thanks for the many blessing we enjoy, I was reminded of the sacrifice so many have made in order for us to enjoy our freedom. This freedom is so precious and has been bought a such a high price.

I received a note from a good friend who lives in Texas, Richard Thompson, regarding an entry I posted on Nov 2 concerning abortion and the number of babies lost each year (app. 1 million)compared to the number of lives lost in major wars in the United States (657,892 according to that posting).

The figures on lives lost from war came from another blogger. I listed them without checking the facts (my bad!). Ricks much appreciated research shared this:

"I went to a favorite military history website, and here, in descending order, are the numbers of Americans killed in just the seven deadliest conflicts:

Civil War: 623, 026
WW II: 407, 316
WW I: 116, 708
Vietnam: 58, 169
Korean Conflict: 36914
Am. Revolution: 25,000 (approx., given to poor records)
War of 1812: 20,000 (same disclaimer as for the Revolution)

So, as you can see, the total number of fatalities in just the Civil War almost equalled the number you cited. The total for the seven I listed is 1,287,133, and that doesn't include the numerous "minor" wars."

This is a staggering number of men and women who died defending our freedom. Even as we give thanks for all the other blessings we have received, let's remember the lives lost and the sacrifice of so many more who came home wounded or maimed after fighting for our country.

Thanksgiving

We are blessed beyond measure in this country. We live as kings and queens and it's not until you go beyond our borders that you being to realize the abundance we have here in the USA. That kind of overflowing can numb us to the beauty and privilege God has showered upon us. We can get wrapped up in how things didn't go our way yesterday when the cable went out or when someone offended us at the supermarket. We can completely forget that God has provided for us, protected us and preserved us. Maybe He didn't do it the way we expected but here we are today, alive and well and walking along the path He prepared for us "from before the beginning of time".

So let's take this opportunity to focus on the blessings of our lives. We are so prone to define our lives and our self images by the uncomfortable things that happen. We're so adept at gauging how things are going by measuring the bad things that occur, that it becomes easy to miss the great things God has done for us. Eph 5:20 tells us to be thankful in all things. Indeed, there are times when we need to look closely and carefully at a situation in order to find something to be thankful for. But I believe God honors that kind of close examination and, in turn, we are blessed.

As I sit here this morning, sipping on a cup of sweet, rich Kona coffee, fresh from Hawaii, even this simple cup of coffee (a gift from a good friend) reminds me that God is watching over me and providing for me. As I thank him for this, the Holy Spirit begins to show me other things He has done for me:

• I am thankful for my wife. We have a beautiful, full and deep relationship. I look forward to seeing her every day. She's my best friend, my most trusted confidant, my wisest advisor, the love of my life and my biggest fan. We weren't always blessed with this type of relationship. It comes from a lot of hard work, more than a few tears and hurt feelings, a lot more sacrifice than either of us thought possible, many hard learned lessons in serving each other and ultimately a total dependence on God and His presence to continue to knit our hearts together. After 28 years of marriage, we have the blessing of knowing that no problem or conflict we encounter in greater than our commitment first to God and then to each other. Our wedding vows have come to be the guidelines in our relationship; "Love, honor, cherish and obey."
• I am thankful for our children. Oddly enough, they haven't turned out to be the people I would have moulded them into. Looking back, I much more prefer and enjoy the people that God is making them into. He's so much better at this than I am ;) Our daughter is a wonderful mother married to a great and godly man. Our grand daughter has brought a whole new kind of love and wonder into our lives. Our son is a unique and fascinating young man who's just beginning to find his own way through life. God has protected them and preserved them in spite of my best efforts to interfere with that process. When I look at our kids, I see God's grace and mercy. I see his providence. I see His wisdom. And I see his plan for their lives being played out right in front of us. It gives me confidence in His plan for our lives.
• I am thankful for the bounty and richness of our friends. God has blessed us with friends that are true brothers and sisters in the Lord to us. We laugh together. Sometimes, we cry together. Through it all, we get to see God's hand moving through each of our lives and we get to share His blessing and provision. Each of our friends is a precious gift from the Lord and our lives are fuller and more abundant because of them. This is because Jesus Christ is the foundation for our friendships. How great God is, to guide us to and surround us with other godly people.
• I am thankful for our family at WBF. This one is a huge and moving blessing for both Kelly and I. I really have a difficult time articulating the awe and wonder we experience at having the privilege and honor of serving the body of Christ at WBF. Every day is an adventure and a joy. Every person we talk to and work with is a totally unique expression of the Father and His plan to build us up as a body. Sunday morning is a banquet of blessing, a bouquet of beauty as we see the faces of all those people God has placed so wonderfully into our lives. I used to think how wonderful it was to enjoy my work when I was in the car business. Now I can see that God was just conditioning my capacity for joy, stretching it and shaping it to prepare me for the unbridled joy of being pastor at WBF.
• All of this makes me thankful for such a loving, caring, wise and merciful God. For Him to have poured out His blessing on someone who has so consistently failed at being the godly person he should be is an act of unbounded, unceasing, relentless and eternal grace. Ultimately, I give thanks to Him not only for all these things He has given me, but for who He is and how He reveals His presence and His power in my life.

I pray that your day is at least as blessed and abundant as ours is. May we all pause to give Him thanks for His greatness, His beauty and His grace.

CAUGHT IN THE ACT WHILE MCDONALDING!!

Today. 2:05 p.m. at my office.....

Dr. O: Taken ur lunch?

Me: Yep.

Dr. O: Whoaaahh McD lah?? *looking at my soda cup. For monthly birthday ya?

Me: Yes. Only once a month is allowed. *Liar!

Dr. O: Good, next time if I'm busy for lunch you order for me OK?? *grinned

Me: Yeah, copy that. *Relieved.

Moral of the story:
Don't eat junkie when you're working with Health Dept. and your boss is a doctor. Suck up if you are an expert like me. (",)

EL MADRAZO DE HOY...

Ps he decidido implementar en mi blog algunas secciones y esta es la primera es un video ojala y les guste:



Titulo: La caida de Spider-Man

Dealing with Toddler Tantrums and the Terrible Twos

Dealing with Toddler Tantrums and the Terrible Twos

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The Quest for the Perfect Diet Part 1

The Quest for the Perfect Diet Part 1

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OFFICE BABYSITTING AGAIN...

My MIL always drives me crazy. This time she purposely forgot that she is running out her high BP pills!! OMG!! Even though my SIL, her husband and I are working with government it can't be taken for granted that we simply skip our working day that. We don't mind to, I mean asking for time off in the morning to babysit our children but we must have been notified earlier!! Uuuurgghhhhhhhh!!!

To cut the story short, I took my girl to my office yesterday. She packed her Baby Alive doll, her bag was full of diapers, books, color pencils and burping cloth for her baby. She's growing up now, unlike her previous visits before she loved to roam around the area and greeted everyone.


My new clerk, with her 'kacang botak manis' for snacking while working. What are you writing there darl? Hehehe.. she's copying the name list on the 'Staff Movement Chart'. My name is at no. 16 so instead of writing my name she put there 'Mama'. Cute, ain't it?

... later my man pampered me with this as an appreciation for taking care of our girl., hehe.. thanks dear, you never fail to amuse me.... Love ya!

Sweet & Sour Chicken, Aroma Cafe

Hmm.. what is cozier than having dinner of a favourite food, at favourite spot, with your favourite man?

I can't reject all of that!

MY BABY IS BACK!

I'm so glad today, my baby is back!! 

It's nothing actually, it's just my CPU.  I sent it for repair because the MOTHERfuckerBOARD was making problem so they kinda replaced it with new one.  Yes!  They replaced it, because before sending the CPU there last month, hubby marked the motherboard with permanent marker so we know if they really do their work or don't. Morgannnn!! Thanks for the scary video u sent to me.  I guess the sound of witnesses shrieking and crying are more loud, louder than the tiger's victim.  Eeewwww!!!   ** my heart is still beating fast even after watching it 5 minutes ago.

I spent my day, the whole day today chatting with Morgan.  Hehe.. yeah yeah Morgan!  Caiyok Caiyok Morgan!!! And just ignore my chatbox that is full with stupid teasers made by Mork and Lolly.  They really made up my day.

Suddenly, in the coldness of afternoon's rain, I'm craving for these:


 

CUPCAKES!!! Hmm.. it's been a long long time I don't bake them.  How I wish I could bake them this weekend?

Anyway, am so glad to surf the internet by using my lovely PC, so fast and reliable!!  I love you ASUS! Hahahahha!!!

MY LAST NIGHT'S DREAMS

I don't know what the heck was happening in my sleep last night. I had few dreams, all in one, kinda compiled. I don't know how to narrate it perhaps I just woke up 2 hours ago and my mind is still strangled by the visions in my dream, the ones that I hate to recall.

1. I dreamed about meteor rain near my Mom's house. The rain destroyed the car porch and I remembered myself ran away from the house with Mom. When the rain was over, only our car porch was affected, only that area. Very F U N N Y!

2. Then my dream switched place. It took place it at Kuching Waterfront where there was a concert held on. The performance was made by 'THE TIMES'...!! They are so many bands in the world and why must The Times? I know Morgan will laugh like crazy when reading this.

3. After the concert I went for strolling at the waterfront with hubby when suddenly I saw a man pushed a cat down to the Sarawak's river!!!!!! Splassshhhh!! I was crying in anger and I ran to him and said this, "Curse on you bastard human! You're Satanic ... you are inhuman, I curse that your family will be drowning like that cat, Amen!!" Oh yes, I was so furious. Uuugghhhh!!

.............

......

...

I'm too tired maybe, I need more rest.

Read My Holiday Guide and Eco-Holiday Product Review

Hot Holiday Products for Hip Eco-Mamas - This is My Mini Green Holiday Shopping Guide

Tips to Have a Merry Green Christmas - Simple Tips and Green Suggestions to Help You Make the Holidays Merry and Green

A Review of the Book Green Christmas - This is a great how to guide to green every step of the holidays

Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Pastors

Fun and Kid Friendly Christmas Activities on a Budget

Fun and Kid Friendly Christmas Activities on a Budget

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FRIDAY IS HERE AGAIN...

Friday's afternoon is the most awaited moment, after that long lunchbreak and when the time is almost reaching 5:00 p.m. we tend to get excited! But Boss has added some more fun into our Friday when he presented this on my desktop!!



Yesszzaaa!!! It's durian, my favourite fruit. The king of fruit. The fruit that runs me wild. I can eat one whole fruit without sharing with anyone else. Hahahah!! Yes, don't comment about the smell. For those who hate the smell and don't dare to eat this stinky fruit, think about it in a nicer way like chewing a creamy vanilla fleshy yet sweet smooth and imagine the taste lingers on your tongue and without realizing it, you have already licked your finger good as you are at KFC enjoying that piece of Hot & Spicy.

What a beauty! ... and the smell too! Boss opened up one and placed it on my table to be savoured by everyone!! Oh, to make it more generous Boss also gave me, Suri, Dr. Johnny and Dr. Oui each one of us, one durian to take home. How nice!

Later I called Mom and my sister sent me her baby's pictures via MMS. Lil'Ashlyn a.k.a Aline is now 3 weeks old. Hmm.. Mom said she looks like me, square-shape face, chubby cheeks, yeah yeahh... Possibility is there Mom, I know, she has that 'Charles clan' look afterall. LOL.

Nah, see? Don't we look alike? I miss Aline today and we can't make it to pay her a visit because my darling hubby has his band's practice for the next Xmas gig in Bau, hmmm that is on 13th December.

"Bluerrrkkkk!!!!"

ZZZZzzzzz.... on the settee.

This picture? Yeah, we were so hungry yesterday. It's nothing harm to pamper yourself after a long tiring working day. Let me have a look on what did we order; Stuffed Bean Curd, Squid Balls and 'Buntut Ayam' (literally means Chicken Tails). All are fried and complimented with sweet chilli sauce. This portion was finished in a blink of eyes by the two of us. Hungry maaaaaaaahhh what to do?

Anyway, have a blessed weekend readers!

Stacy´s Mom-Fountains Of Wayne

Y por ultimo video q esta chido y quien no se ha enamorado de la mamá (en caso de los hombres) o del papá (en caso de las mujeres) de alguno de sus amigos, bueno yo si pero fue hace muchos años.



Disfruten, comenten.

Desatame-Monica Naranjo

Este video ah como me prendia cuando tenia como unos siete u ocho años, y de hecho tengo una curiosa anecdota de este.

Cierto dia estaba en casa de mi "agüe" (sic) cuando de repente algun tio le cambio al canal 7 o 13 y estaba este programa de videos y zaz q pasan este, ps para mi era lo mas porno q podia haber en ese tiempo (y a esa edad) entonces ps yo estaba con mi primo y ps asi bn cagado porq ps pinche video nos prendio, jajaja y tmbn a mis tios q pusieron una cara de lujuria. Entonces q entra mi mom jefecita y q regaña a mis tios y de paso a mi por estar viendo "ESO" jajaajaja.

Bueno ya basta de tanta chachara y ahi esta el video disfruten.

X Men House Of M Part 4

Hola, hola aki dandome un respiro de los examenes y la estudiada para venir a postear lo mas facil: Videos asi q orale aqui esta la 4ta parte de esta curiosa saga de los
X Men.



Disfruten, comenten.

A Christian Perspective on Our Economic Crisis

It is my honor to share with you today a short article written by our own Jeff Haymond, former Elder at our church with a Doctorate in Economics. Jeff and his family are currently stationed in Albuquerque, NM with the Air Force. He is uniquely qualified and equipped to address the current economic climate and provide for us solid Scriptural guidelines on how we can approach it:



Wow! That’s at least one thing we can say about the financial turmoil we’ve seen over the last couple of months. To say its unprecedented does little to cover the magnitude of what’s been occurring. Historic currency volatility, market deleveraging, financial institution failures, mortgage market meltdown, government nationalization of housing, commodities going crazy up, now they’re down. Wow! All of us are affected by this turmoil, and its not just a sporting event on TV; our college and retirement plans are dependent upon our savings in various markets—and it seems almost every market is getting killed. And as the markets head south, employment is going down as well. We may have hit the market bottom, but then again we may not have. Historically we have already seen financial losses equivalent to the brutal bear market of 1973-1974, when the Dow lost 45%. But we haven’t approached the 90% losses of the Great Depression. So what can we do?



I’ve received many calls and emails on this turmoil, asking my opinion on the matter, and I’d like to share some of that thinking with you. In advance, I must beg forgiveness for being a bit arrogant, in order to hopefully show some humility at the end. I’ve studied markets closely for at least 15 years, and after teaching Economics at the Air Force Academy, received a Ph.D. in Economics at George Mason University in 2001. My specific specialty and interest is in monetary policy and Austrian economics (where I explored the interaction of monetary policy and business cycles). In a previously published essay, written in 2000, I suggested expansion of mortgages might lead to the very business cycle we are now seeing play out (available on the web at http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae3_4_2.pdf, see pp. 65-68 if you’re curious). So what? A famous question to economists is: “If you’re so smart, how come you’re not rich?” Fair question. I want to arrogantly say that I have much of the world’s wisdom in understanding the underlying financial forces at work. Further, I have crafted my own investment portfolio to withstand just such a shock as we are now facing, to include a sizable portion that shorted the market, to profit when the market goes down. Yet, even with this knowledge, I have not really made any money. Over the last 8 years, as the market has basically gone sideways, my portfolio has also went up and down. And the recent turmoil, while part of the portfolio has done well, other parts have been hammered, probably worse than you, as I’m fairly aggressive on certain positions. So what’s my point in being arrogant and telling you how my own portfolio has held up? Here it is: Man’s wisdom, even when it understands much, is an insufficient source of knowledge to withstand the financial storms of life. So as folks come to me for advice in turbulent times like this, I don’t advise them to short the market, go long this or that, because I know that whatever knowledge I might think I have, there is a sovereign God that has better investment advice.



So what should we do today? I think Biblical wisdom offers a number of suggestions. First, we need to be debt free as quickly as possible. Not that we shouldn’t take on debt; just we should only take it for as short a period as possible, and consumer debt should be avoided like the plague. Much of country’s problems have occurred due to the vast amount of indebtedness, both public and private. I became seriously debt averse after reading one of Larry Burkett’s books about 15 years ago. He related a couple that had a home loan with a local bank for about $3,000 during the great depression. They also had savings with the same bank of about $5,000. The bank went under during the banking crisis of the depression and the assets were sold. The purchasers of the home loan came looking to them to pay off the loan, and they pointed out the bank that had the loan had more than that in their savings. It didn’t matter; the bank that purchased the loan was not responsible for the failed bank’s liabilities. This couple lost their home. Don’t let the warning of Deut 29:44 come to your house. Don’t worry about other investments until you’re debt free.



Second, man’s wisdom about diversification is consistent with God’s warnings about greed and the uncertainty of life. Failure to diversify often occurs when we get greedy, and are looking for the home run. We also get comfortable with our own understanding of events, thinking an investment is a “sure thing.” Diversification is an admission of our own limitations, and reflects a spirit of humility toward the uncertainty of life. While pretty much all assets have been hit hard in this current fallout, the more diversified you are, the less you’ve likely lost.



Third, you should invest in yourself. Your safest asset is your own human capital. Are you continuously upgrading your professional skills to stay current? Do you have any backup skills that you can hone if your primary line of employment dries up? This prepares you to be useful for God even with the uncertainty of life (Proverbs 27:12, Ephesians 4:28). While ultimately we are relying on God, we should be doing everything we can to be useful for his service.

Finally, now is the time to demonstrate our faith in a radical way. Do we really trust God with the responsibility to provide for our future? Yes, we have to do our part, but when he gives guidance that goes against the grain, are we ready to follow it? The worldly reaction to this financial crisis is to hunker down, and cut unnecessary expenditures. We’re already seeing a significant drop in financial giving to charities. On my Air Force base (and keep in mind these are all government workers with some certainty over their paycheck), we’re only meeting about 60% of last year’s giving for the annual Combined Federal Campaign. As Christians, we need to continue our giving, even and especially with this uncertainty. As we see people in need, this is an opportunity to demonstrate both Christian love and compassion, as well as our trust in God. Remember, we cannot out give God! Malachi 3:10-12! While I don’t know how God will choose to pour out his blessings—it may not be in a material way—we do know with certainty He will bless us!



Studying markets and understanding financial economics is a useful endeavor. But studying God’s word, and applying His principles are even more important. Man’s wisdom, however good, will ultimately be insufficient. God’s wisdom, however, will never fail. Nor will He ever leave us or forsake us. This financial crisis gives Christians the opportunity to glorify God by how we handle it. Don’t miss the opportunity!

MY WEEKLY WRAP UP

Boring. Boss is away till today and coming back tomorrow. What did I do to kill times? Well, I made cranky videos, chatting with my cousin Venitia, gossiping with my friends, reading newspapers, updating Facebook, editing pictures, watching TV3's website, calling up my Mom and Sis. What else? Anything, just anything as long as I'm not sleepy.

Found these pictures in my hard disk. What to see at this old school rusty van?



It has thousands of wonderful flavor in it. Whooat? An old van has wonderful flavors inside? How come?? Well, yessss.. but, until you see this!



Kuih Bingka, Kek Kukus, Kuih Talam Keladi. These are only some, you must see what I have almost every morning while waiting for my Kolok Mee or Mee Jawa being prepared. I should have taken a lot of kuih pictures. I love this van so much because it caters me with yummy yummy local kuihs. Thanks to the Ah Pek (owner). Heheh... Kamsia lu Pek!

My MIL was celebrating her 56th birthday last Monday. It was Gabby who reminded us to buy a birthday cake for her granny. How sweet that she remembers!



Gabby with new layered hair. She looks so 'dara' now. Well, nothing much, we just bought Fried Kuetiaw at 7th Mile on the way back from my office.



I always love this particular proprietor's mee. They are very generous - 4 packets of Fried Kuetiaw from them actually can cater 6-8 people. Banyak woooo!!!



Panjang umurnya, panjang umurnya, panjang umurnya serta mulia...
Serta mulia..serta mulia..

Potong kue nya, potong kue nya, potong kue nya sekarang juga....
Sekarang juga...

Hehehhe.. still boring though. So I shoot this another video for your view only.



Have a nice day!

Trying to Green My Skincare

Trying to Green My Skincare

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Ruth Has Her Degree!

Our daughter, Ruth graduated last Saturday! She's been going to school part-time for some time now. After spending three years at Elim Bible School in Lima, NY, she has been working to complete her degree at Nyack.

We got the call last Tuesday that she was going the walk on Saturday! Kelly drove up to Nyack early Saturday morning. I missed the ceremony but she was on my mind and in my heart all day long. I'm so proud of her! (That's an OK kind of pride...I think.) She's the first one in our family to get her diploma and she did it with honors and a 3.95 GPA! Her degree is a "Batchelor of Science in Organizational Management". I can't imagine how hard all this was for her. She works full time and is also a new mother.

As you can see form the pictures below, Sammi was able to graduate as well (SHE'S WALKING!). I'm not sure how far Sammi can get with a degree in "Poopy Diapers" but at least she's on her way.

"How I Approach God When I Feel Crummy" - John Piper

This from John Piper's excellent blog Desiring God today:

A vague bad feeling that you are a crummy person is not the same as conviction for sin. Feeling rotten is not the same as repentance.

This morning I began to pray, and felt unworthy to be talking to the Creator of the universe. It was a vague sense of unworthiness. So I told him so. Now what?

Nothing changed until I began to get specific about my sins. Crummy feelings can be useful if they lead to conviction for sins. Vague feelings of being a bad person are not very helpful. The fog of unworthiness needs to take shape into clear dark pillars of disobedience. Then you can point to them and repent and ask for forgiveness and take aim to blow them up.

So I began to call to mind the commands I frequently break. These are the ones that came to mind.

Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Not 95%, 100%. (Matthew 22:37)
Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Be as eager for things to go well for him as you are for things to go well for you. (Matthew 22:39)
Do all things without grumbling. No grumbling—inside or outside. (Philippians 2:14)
Cast all your anxieties on him—so you are not being weighed down by it anymore. (1 Peter 5:7)
Only say things that give grace to others—especially those closest to you. (Ephesians 4:29)
Redeem the time. Don't fritter or dawdle. (Ephesians 5:16)
Set your mind on things that are above. Connect all your thoughts to Christ. (Colossians 3:2)
Do not return evil for evil—like when your wife or daughter says something you don't like. (1 Thessalonians 5:15)
Rejoice always, and again I say rejoice. Always. If sorrowful, keep rejoicing. (Philippians 4:4; 2 Corinthians 6:10)
Give thanks in all circumstances. All. All. All. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
So much for any pretensions to great holiness! I'm undone.

But now it is specific. I look it in the eye. I'm not whining about feeling crummy. I'm apologizing to Christ for not keeping all that he commanded. I'm broken and I'm angry at my sin. I want to kill it, not me. I'm not suicidal. I'm a sin hater and a sin murderer ("Put to death what is earthly in you" Colossians 3:5. "Put to death the deeds of the body" Romans 3:18.)

In this conflict, I hear the promise, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1John 1:9). Peace rises. Prayer feels possible and right and powerful again.

Resentment - by A.W. Tozer

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. (Hebrews 12:15)

In the course of scores of conferences and hundreds of conversations I have many times heard people say, “I resent that.” But I repeat: I have never heard the words used by a victorious man. Resentment simply cannot dwell in a loving heart. Before resentfulness can enter, love must take its flight and bitterness take over. The bitter soul will compile a list of slights at which it takes offense and will watch over itself like a mother bear over her cubs. And the figure is apt, for the resentful heart is always surly and suspicious like a she-bear.

Few sights are more depressing than that of a professed Christian defending his supposed rights and bitterly resisting any attempt to violate them. Such a Christian has never accepted the way of the cross. The sweet graces of meekness and humility are unknown to him. He grows every day harder and more acrimonious as he defends his reputation, his rights, his ministry, against his imagined foes.

The only cure for this sort of thing is to die to self and rise with Christ into newness of life. OGM105-106.

“Keep me, I pray, in the way of the cross, the way of meekness and humility. Amen.”

(A.W. Tozer, Tozer on Christian Leadership,

Green Books Make Great Holiday Gifts

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

Go Green, Live Rich: 50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth and Get Rich Trying

The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time

Green for Life

It's Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living

Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World

Living Green: A Practical Guide to Simple Sustainability

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Living (Complete Idiot's Guide to)

Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style

The Lazy Environmentalist: Your Guide to Easy, Stylish, Green Living

Eco-Chic Weddings: Simple Tips to Plan an Earth-Friendly, Socially Responsible, Affordable Green Wedding

Green Weddings That Don't Cost the Earth

The Everything Green Wedding Book: Plan an elegant, affordable, earthfriendly wedding (Everything Series)

Organic Weddings: Balancing Ecology, Style and Tradition

MY YOUTUBE MAKEUP VIDEO

This is my trial actually.

Defloration of video submission to YouTube.

Enjoy it!

HEY, I CUT MY HAIR! .. again..

Yeah right.. I cut my hair again last Saturday. This time, my friend, Mariana introduced me to a small kampung's saloon at Kpg. Stutong Baru, at Lorong 17, just by the roadside precisely. Actually, my husband and I wanted to cut our hair but when Gabby entered the saloon excitedly, she requested her hair to be cut too.



I look more cute in this style right? (Perasan!!) Even my hubby said that I look like Betty Boop. Well, here is Betty Blob... hahahaha...

The hairdresser just did some hair thinning to Gabby's hair, from long thick lock to layered and it is indeedly manageable. Hubby also trimmed his sideburn and overall, the 3 of us were charged for RM16.

Now you tell me.. RM16 (nearly USD 4.00) for three persons, cheap anot?


p/s: Please ignore those ugly blemishes, spots, zits whatever you wanna call it. Blame it on the hectic weekends and late night sleeps. Aaaahhhhh.. *faint!

VISIT SEMATAN BEACH FEST 2008 - The Stage Show & Farewell to Sematan

After dinner, we went to the stage which was located in the middle of Sematan small town. People had started to flock the place. We saw this Devil's horn which was sold for RM4 each! Everyone owns one!



Hubby under the red lightings and doing his action.

The boys in action.

Visited some of the stalls, selling cheap imitation goods after the show.....



Checking the videos and pictures that were taken before....



The drummer and vocalist are the most tired persons I suppose....

Yessss, the best snack for supper's award goes to instant noodles!

We spent our night by sneaking out to the beach, having some beers, peanuts and not forgetting fugly voices howling for hundred of numbers under the shining moon. Awesome!! Went to sleep only after 2:00 a.m. Well, I went doze off first, so tired I was. Anne and Lolly were still giggling and dare those girls took load of pictures while we were sleeping. lol. On the other hand, hubby and Syrile were making fun of my snoring! Damn!!

The next morning, Morgan and Mae woke up the earliest just for the sake of witnessing the beautiful sunrise, oh how I envied them! We checked out after 8:30 a.m. and had our breakfast before leaving Sematan. Look at what I had;

NASI GORENG KAMPUNG!!! YEAGGHHHHH!!!

Thanks so much for the support, to the people of Sematan. See you guys next year!
Ignore the spontaneous candid action, we're so retarded!

To watch the videos of the AKUR band's performance that night, please visit Anne's blog.

Thank you!!