Thorns and stings
And those such things
Just make stronger
Our angel wings.
~Emme Woodhull-Bäche

God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them.  ~John Aughey

So much has happened the past month, both in my life and the lives of many. I can’t help but to feel sad and heartbroken for the many things that had happened. From funerals to personal emotions breakdown to sad and shocking news of neighbouring countries as well as people near me.

I am not going to tell you all that happened but let me just tell you a story.

. . .

There was a boy who was active and socially lovable. His life was very much full of happiness and hope. He was bright, smart and have a great sense of humour.

One day, while he was playing upstairs in his house, he accidentally tripped and fell down the stairs. His mother ran to him and he staggered to stand up for a moment, looking shaken and groggy.

The next minute, he closed his eyes and fainted. His face turned pale and he could not wake up.

This boy went into coma the next two weeks. His mother kept a silent vigil next to his bed, praying and hoping him to wake up.

Miraculously, he woke up.

However, the fall has caused damage to his brain nerves and causing him to lose his memory and some sensory motor movements. He had to undergo some brain surgery which was highly risky and dangerous.

When he woke up, he could not recognize his family. Worse still, he could not speak. For the next half year, he spent his days in the hospital, learning everything all over again. His mother, a patient and loving woman, took care of him and encouraging him never to give up.

So, after two years of physio-therapy and lots of love and care, this boy has finally gone back to school. Although he may not be as smart as he used to be, at least, he gets the chance to feel normal again.

His speech has improved so much. His motor skills, despite a difficult time with his right side of the body, has shaped into something which he should be proud of. His movements may look clumsy to some, but he has exert in so much of effort to try his best.

And this boy, has been one of my kid in my classes for a year. I am proud and happy to say that he has taught me so much about life.

. . .

A couple of weeks ago, his mother told me that one of the boys in his school fell down from the staircase of the fourth floor. The boy immediately went into coma.

Till date, from what I know, he is still in coma. I shed my tears immediately when I heard this piece of news.

. . .

“Little boy, eventhough we have never met and I don’t even know how you look like, I just want you to know that you are in my prayers.

Be strong in this time of hardship and especially when you are in darkness.

Be brave, because there are so many people who are here with you.

Be determined, because you will wake up and see the faces of your loved ones.

Be grateful, because no matter how tough the times are, just remember that all are in God’s Master Plan for you, and for everyone.

Be persistent, because there are people who have been through what you are going through now and I can tell you that, he is standing strong just for you.

So, little boy, everyone can’t wait for you to open your eyes again and to give us a smile. There is a whole world awaiting you to grow into. I wish you all the best and may you get better soon.”

In a quite emotional state at the moment. So, just to update you all, last week I was away for a couple of days to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Will post some pics soon.

This weekend, I’ve been attending a couple of funerals. Not at my best this moment.

Will be back soon.

Got inspired recently after reading atai’s blog post when he prepared lunch for his wife one day. Following that, I think that sometimes food that are pleasant to the eyes taste better even if they are actually too bland or salty. Of course, the effort behind the preparation also counts. Thus, I was totally smitten when I read Atai’s post. He was really sweet and thoughtful despite the simple little smiley he made on the egg. It’s the thoughts that count.

.  .  .

Preparing a meal for one’s loved one is a sweet process. I don’t really know how to cook and most of the time I end up with something simple.

.  .  .

Today, I decided to prepare some food for the hubby. He’s been working far too hard for the past half a year and we have not actually had meals together anymore lately. So, feeling a bit guilty for not taking care of his nutrition and meals, I put on my cooking apron and got caught up in the kitchen.

.  .  .

One hour later, I had everything packed and ready to go. I’m quite happy with the food I’ve prepared for today. Main dish - Tomato Ramen in Taiwanese sauce followed by Bread Sushi Roll at the side. A bit of steamed broccoli and baby carrots, raw cherry tomatoes and kyuri (Japanese cucumber) plus some fried Yam Roll. Dessert - A bunch of seedless grapes, packets of Steamed Potato Crackers and Mango Pudding.

.  .  .

Nothing much. Just something done with love and care. Try it someday for your loved one. It’ll be a great surprise.

]]> http://blusher.wordpress.com/2008/04/30/my-first-bento/feed/ blusher Ramen Bento http://blusher.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/to-be-updated-hiatus/ http://blusher.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/to-be-updated-hiatus/#comments Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:27:09 +0000 blusher http://blusher.wordpress.com/?p=332

Sorry people. I’ve been hogging the telly the past week and has been practically ‘making love’ stuck to it the entire weekend.

. . .

I have these weird moments, you see. Sometimes, I will be intensely absorbed with my lappie, living every moment in front of my DELL laptop for hours. And sometimes, I will be so busy running around, doing errands, cleaning and stuffs like that. At other times, I will be zombified in front of the telly, watching those soppy Korean dramas. I know, I know…I need to get a life.

. . .

But I do enjoy these crazy times when my Crazy-O-Meter switches to different moods and practically gets me in doing nothing and completely wasting my time away. I’m one of those ‘Desperate Housewives’ wannabes and yet I do not want to lose any sanity while I’m having one of those hiatuses.

. . .

Last week’s and this week’s hiatus is practically blamed on the telly. It’s true! I’ve been watching a marathon from 9pm at night to 5am the next morning! Thank God I’m a freelancer. Otherwise, I don’t know how I could get up for work!

. . .

So, anyway, if you don’t see me around or have not been visiting your blogs, I beg your understanding. I’m currently very strongly magnetized by the vicious doing of the telly and of course, those mesmerizing Korean men in the dramas….LOL!!!!

Last Christmas, I really made some effort and pushed my creative side to a certain level. I wanted to give the kids in my classes real unique presents, something made with TLC. So, I decided to custom-make photo frames for each kid.

I bought some wooden frames from IKEA and hopped into the nearest hardware store near my place to get the aerosol spray paint. I got some ideas of decorating the frames with foam papers and plastic jewels. Luck was on my side when I found some really nice and ready-cut foam shapes and the ‘jewels’ at very economical prices.

I went home and put on my workshop apron and started spraying away! Oh what a great time I had. I never thought that crafting is so much fun!

My living room suddenly turned into a temporary workshop, all adorned with old newspapers spread on the floor and remnants of the red and blue paint sprinkled onto the newspapers. It took me a couple of days to actually clean up the entire living room.

I was so excited with my project during Christmas last year. I think this year, I’m going to cook up some other stuffs for the kids. Hope that I can keep the zesty spirit in me by then. *smiles*

. . .

Well, for those of you planning to get a gift for a friend or your kids, why not giving a handmade item?

Getting ready…

The Products

]]> http://blusher.wordpress.com/2008/04/13/crafty-moments/feed/ blusher Notes The stuffs required photoframes http://blusher.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/shoes-fit-for-a-queeni-think-not/ http://blusher.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/shoes-fit-for-a-queeni-think-not/#comments Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:05:00 +0000 blusher http://blusher.wordpress.com/?p=323

Last Saturday, I had an outing with the kids from one of my class. These were the same kids who made coffee for me while I was stuck in their toilet once. (Read the entry here).

.  .  .

I dunno. Maybe it’s just me with all the silliness embedded in my life.

The story goes like this. We were walking around IOI Mall after we’ve collected our movie tickets for the Water Horse. So, there I was. Walking with two almost-teen kids as if I was one of them (teenagers, I mean) and looking cool.

.  .  .

Tippity-tap, tippity-tap. Went my red shoes as we walked around, looking at the various items from the shops. Suddenly, my right feet felt lighter and sort of airy. And with the next step, I felt the cold tiled-floor under my right feet!

My shoes tore into half! And while my toes were still stuck to the front half of the shoe, the other back half was tied to my right ankle! What an embarrassing sight!

.  .  .

The kids were cool though and told me me pull my jeans down to make it cover my ankles. Then, I unbuckled the back half of the shoe and I continued to walk on with the front half. As I did this, I glanced around at the faceless people walking past me, I’m sure nobody noticed anything weird, like I have just only the front half of my right shoe sticking out from my jeans. BTW, I was too embarrassed to actually take a picture of that halved red shoe. Sorry no pic for that.

.  .  .

It was kinda weird walking around like this and the kids kept saying “Auntie Lisa, go buy an emergency pair of sandals lah!”

And so, we walked, err…I was sorta staggering along.

We went into the first shoe shop we saw and the kids were quite helpful by giving comments. “Nope, this is too aunty!” or “Try this!” or “Nice…but too expensive! RM49.90!”

.  .  .

In the end, the younger boy, WH, held a cute looking shoe to me.

WH : Try this on lah, Aunty Lisa.

blusher : What? This is for teenagers only lah! (shaking head)

WH : Why cannot?

blusher : I’m already 30 years old and you want me to wear a teeny-bopper shoe?

WH : You don’t look like 30 years old mah. Aiyah…nobody knows you’re 30 years old. You look young mah!

Sales girl : He’s right, you know. You don’t look that age. (grins)

blusher : But the kids call me Aunty Lisa. Aunty, you know.

Sales girl : (grins wider)

blusher : You guys sure?

Kids and Sales girl : YES!!!

blusher : (blushes) Okay, I’ll have this pair. Thank you.

.  .  .

So, I bought this really teeny-bopper pair of shoes. But come to think of it, I quite like it. It’s only RM20.00. It’s made of rubbery material with rubber soles. That’s really practical for me who always get caught under the rain when I go to work. This shoe will not be slippery like my usual sandals and it’s quick to dry. It’s comfortable and it makes me look kiddy. Hehe!

What do you think?

Did I tell you how well they fit my feet? BTW, it’s not like I’m trying to dress up like a teenager, but this is very practical for me. Hah!

My pair of Clownish Kawaii Shoes

This year, the hubby got bitten by the romantic bug and made some last minute decision to surprise me with a ‘little‘ gift. On Valentine’s Day, I was the super nanny for my two adorable niece and nephew and after a long day’s work with the kids, I was too exhausted, too flabbergasted and dying for some good night rest.

. . .

When I got home, I got into posting my afterthoughts of the nanny job and plunked onto the bed, half closing my eyes when I felt my head hit some hard stuff on my pillow. I pried open my eyes to see what was the cause of the crunching noise and saw a small box, neatly wrapped up, sitting on my pillow. Apparently, the hubby left it there for me, as a surprise, I suppose. And boy was I surprised this time! I mean, we hardly ever give each other presents on V Day and I didn’t even get him one this year. The thought didn’t even cross my mind. I thought we had made a pack not to get gifts for each other on Valentine’s.

. . .

However, a present is still a present. And presents bring out the kids in us all the time. The wonderment of what’s inside. The anticipation of hoping for something fabulous. And of course, the simple glee of just tearing the wrapper with abandon and not just carefully unwrapping it. And tearing the wrapper I did.

. . .

All I can say is that, the hubby, although his usual aloofness sometimes irritate me, really listens to me. He may not listen to me all the time when I yak non-stop or nag him till he goes bonkers. But he does listen to the little things I mentioned at times when I did not expect him to listen and he truly puts into his heart, the little gestures I made or words I said when I was least paying attention.

. . .

So, at one point of time, I think I did squeal in delight, mentioning that I just LOOOOVE the groovy little Japanese mini-food. And he remembered.

. . .

These were what I discovered in my Valentine’s present this year.

. . .

Something simple, seemingly unromantic (no diamond rings, flowers or glamorous stuffs) but thoughtful. And I love them. (Of course, I don’t know what to do with them, now that I have them…so I guess I just take pics of them and later, put it away till I find a way to display them).

This is truly one heck of a thoughtful gift. You truly know me, KP. Love ya! MUAKS!!!

.  .  .

Four little boxes altogether.

.  .  .

I put them all together and had a Great Japanese Feast. Hehe!

*Itadakimasu = means Enjoy your meal in Japanese.

.  .  .

I love the little packet of Soba noodles. So cute! Just look at the pair of little chopsticks to the left of my finger!

.  .  .

How about some corn? The watermelon is hidden behind them.

.  .  .

These are the mini Dim Sum I bought from Hong Kong. Wished I got more of these to put together with the Japanese food.

.  .  .

Aiii….Streamyx is down at my place. No Internet connection for the past two days. And life is a lot ‘quieter’ and come to think of it, I did not switch on my lappie at all the past two days. So, I guess, it explains a lot how important staying connected on the Internet to me.

Anyway, do not have much time to write cos I’m at the sis’s place and Nathan, the cute little screaming drooling machine is exercising his lungs at the moment, and I, the Noble Aunt will slip into my role. Quite a pleasure, really. Hehe.

Will be back once Streamyx is up again at my place. 

This morning I read the comment left by dear Cindy, under the pen-name of ethel. I’m just truly honoured that she, the source of inspiration for me to continue blogging with colourful stories and pictures, actually liked what I did with my header. HUZZAH!!! *jumps with joy*

Cindy, you don’t know how much inspirations the Kastums kids (hehe…you and your brother, Kay) have consistently poured into me. Your ever support and kindness in offering advice and tips are humbly felt and understood in so many ways. Continue to surprise us with your creative ways of blogging and designing (oh yeah, bebeh! Your designs are fantastic…always!).

I humbly accept this award, “Best Blog in the Digital World” from Cindy.

And this is for you, Cindy dear. Something simple which I did to express my thanks.