Milk Teeth

It's nearly the end of October. This means that Christmas is near. Yay!! Honestly, it's sad that Thanksgiving is neglected every year. That happens when you're shadowed by Christmas. Don't get me wrong. I love Thanksgiving. It's the only holiday that's not tied to excessive commercialism and expensive gift giving. And there's something special about gathering those we care about most so that we can all feast together and enjoy each other's company. Although I do enjoy Thanksgiving, can't deny that Christmas is my favorite holiday. :)

I am currently at a coffee, tea, and boba place in LA. I drove down spontaneously from Irvine to see my mom who's flying in from Korea tonight. I've missed her so much. I downloaded Kakao again just so I can talk and chat with her. I've already sent her 18 messages and still no reply after 2 weeks... Sigh. I just like to think she or someone else out there is reading my messages.

Anyway, I've been trying to cut down on buying drinks. Iced teas, coffees, milk teas, smoothies... It's become a habit to purchase some kind of drink to have with me while I study. You would think it's harmless but then at the end of the month you look back on where all your money went and where the excessive weight gain is coming from. ICED DRINKS, I tell you! Milk teas in particular... Very deceiving. This is often brought up to my attention by Matt who's in dental school now and who has recently held more concern and interest regarding the health of my teeth. Hahaha. Apparently a regular sized milk tea boba drink is 38 grams of sugar which is equivalent to nearly 3 tablespoons of sugar. (Minus the carbohydrates.) I guess I can see how damaging that can be to your teeth. I've associated milk tea and teeth together so that when I hear one I automatically think of the other. Milk teeeeth. Sigh... failed.

So here I am, ironically in a milk tea and coffee shop, writing this post, and feeling sad that I can't drink more boba. So then instead... we got Blockheads shaved ice right next door. :)        

Artichoke looking shaved ice! This was delicious. And the price of one boba. Good deals=good meals.

Green tea and black sesame. SO GOOD! Thank you!

Taking some of LA back with me. Go Bruins!... hehe. zot zot. :)

Today was a good day. Good day ya'll!

Praying my IOU'S

A quick blog post before my next class in thirty minutes.

I have to admit, I don’t finish books that often. I start a lot of them, but don’t finish many. And although I am easily moved and convicted by the things I read, rarely do I consistently practice them.

But here is something I read in one of Piper’s books called “When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy” that I’ve actually found extremely  helpful and something I practice on a normal basis. 

I was reminded of it once again as I found myself not starting the morning with God. I was about to dive into the daily grind as I normally do, rather than spend a few quiet moments with Him in the word and prayer. But gladly the Spirit won. May it help and bless you as it has for me. 

Before having a devotional, this is what I pray…

I – Incline my heart.

“The first thing my soul needs is an inclination toward God and His Word. I must want to know God and read His word and draw near to him…Very simply, we ask God to take our hearts, which are more inclined to breakfast and the newspaper, and change that inclination.We are asking God to create desires that are not there.”

Incline my heart to your testimonies, and  not to selfish gain! -Psalm 119:18

O- Open the eyes of my heart.

“I need to have the eyes of my heart opened so that when my inclination leads me to the Word, I see what is really there, and not just my own ideas.”

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.  -Psalm 119:18
Open the eyes of my heart, O Lord, to see what it says about you as wonderful.

U- Unite my heart.

“My heart is badly fragmented. Parts of it are inclined, and part of it are not…What I long for is a united heart where all the parts say a joyful YES! to what God reveals in His word.

Unite my heart to fear your name. -Psalm 86:11
His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. -Isaiah 11:3

S- Satisfy me.

“What I really want from all this engagement with the Word of God and the work of his Spirit in answer to my prayer is for my heart to be satisfied with God and not with the world.”

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. -Psalm 90:14

To all the people out there who are struggling to find joy in the Lord, or not finding joy in life period….let’s take a moment to go back to the source of joy. Let’s pray our IOU’S, and wait in expectation as God opens the flood gates of joy from His Word and Spirit into our lives!

Material taken from: Piper, John. When I Don’t Desire God, pg 151-152.

Juicey

Already heading into week 3 of my last quarter at UCI. Don't know how to feel at this point. Basically... nearly everything I'm doing is and may be my last. Like walking to classes and having classes with my roommates or taking courses at my favorite lecture hall SSLH 100 and then grudgingly walking from SSLH all the way to the opposite side of the campus towards BS3 where my next class is. Little things I take for granted right now but know I will miss come January when I'm no longer an Anteater. Thankfully I'll still be here so I guess I'll still feel like a college student.
Well speaking of classes with my roomies... the other day we passed by Nektar- a delicious organic juice bar that just opened up right by our apartment- and we were like "Oh let's get some Nektar!!!" But then we were all sad because it was like $5...
So we went back to our apartment and made our own NEKTAR and we made it for FREE. Huehuehue

juicy juice ^_^ Don't mind the one on the right please. Her mam pays me to take care of her. 

Life Lately

Suilad! I just finished my online final for summer session II. Finally free for two weeks. :) Lately I've been really enjoying my time at home and going out here and there; meeting up with old friends and new ones. I've finally learned the secret of how to live at home with peace and harmony: Wake up early, keep my room clean, hang out with my parents occasionally, and don't use too much gas. Hahaha. I've been living at home the latter half of the summer. I knew beforehand that there could potentially be some kind of clash between me and my parents. I guess this is only natural since I've gotten a taste of independence and never really being told what to do back in Irvine. So before moving back home for a few months, I told myself that I wanted the next few months to be as harmonious as possible. And so I quickly tried getting used to living back at home again with rules and curfews and chores and other offspring duties... 

Surprisingly, it's been so wonderful! I don't think I've had any clashes with my parents or siblings... Yet. Haha. It's either because I've been a very good daughter... or that my parents have been showing a lottt of grace. I think it's the first one :) Hehehe. I didn't realize how much I love being at home and how much I value time spent with my family. Definitely need to cherish these times!

Lately getting really into scrapbooking again. I finally have time to do my college scrapbook. The other day, Matt and I printed nearly 200 photos. Yay for 10cent photos at Walgreens!

Decorated his new room at UCLA so he wouldn't have just teeth to look at. =) 

This past weekend was June Lee's surprise baby shower! Can't wait to meet you Abigail <3 

I was also just on tumblr and tumbled upon a cool quote from the author of The Hobbit. Thanks for this Tolkien. :')

Time to help my mother make curry for dinner! As the elves would say... Navaer! <3

napo'o 'ana o ka la

Okay firstly why is the word "sunset" so long in Hawaiian??? Bahaha.

Greetings from Kaua'i. :)
It's already our fourth day here. I'm really enjoying this island. It's known to be the "Garden Island" and I definitely see why they call it that. Everywhere I look is mountains of endless green. The island is draped in vast valleys, sharp mountain spires, tropical rainforests, rivers and waterfalls. And then there's the beautiful ocean right in the middle of it. I don't think I've been in a place so calming and scenic.

Today we visited Calvary Chapel in the village about thirty minutes away. It was a different feeling entering in as visitors instead of regular attendees but it was a good experience nonetheless. It didn't help much that we were the only Asians in the small building. We totally stood out.. In the beginning of the service the pastor called a graduating senior to the front so the whole church could pray for her. She was to go to college in Pennsylvania within the next few weeks. In his prayer he said, "God, please be with her and guide her in the States as it is so loud and foreign especially to us here in Kauai." I heard that and I was a little thrown off. In my mind I was thinking, "The States is where real life is at!! That's where she'll gain the true college experience!" And then it hit me that life is extremely different here in Kauai and from what I'm used to. It's louder, busier, and more complicated back in the States. There's so much to attend to, places to go, things to see (on a phone...) that it's easy to get consumed in everything. The pastor's prayer spoke loud to me and I started to really care for this girl I didn't even know. It made me realize that whether I'm back in the States or here in Kauai, how important it is to find time in the craziness of day to be in the stillness of the Lord's presence and know that he is our God and that is He is so so so good. :)

Afterwards we visited a few waterfalls and then got some yummy shaved ice. :) 

Next to us is a crazy waterfall and below us is a really wide river...!

my favorite HAWAIIAN SHAVED ICE :D 

It's so nice waking up to this every morning :)

Aloha kakou <3 

Already August

Bonjour! It's been one month since I've last written! It's been a one-derful month. Hah get it...

Summer break has officially started for me. Finally finished my summer classes and now finding time to update my neglected blog. It feels so good to be at home with my family. I didn't realize how much I missed them all.. especially my litto baby Ollie. Lately I've been having a lot of fun spending time with myself. Wow that sounds so sad...... But I didn't know I could have so much fun by myself. Yay for invisible friends. :') Anyways, I've been engaging in some of my favorite pastimes like cooking, painting, scrapbooking, running, and spending time with the family. Lately I've been really into making popsicles. It's so perfect for the summer. I didn't have a real popsicle maker so I had to create my own. I found some mini paper/plastic cups and craft popsicle sticks and whipped up fudge and fruity pops. It turned out better than I thought. Thankfully my dad just bought me a real popsicle maker from Amazon. Hehe yay for new TOYS! Going to make orange creamsicles next. :)

On a different note, I've been learning a lot about myself. I still feel like high school was not too long ago, and that I still need to sign consent forms for everything. But I'm nearly a college graduate now... The other day I visited the public library nearby my house with my sister to pick up her summer reading books for her English class. I came across a few elementary school students who were in line for the summer events program. I used to go to these when I was there age, so out of curiosity I asked what program they were going to. They responded that it was a puppet show/story reading time. Then in response to her friend's call, she said, "Hold on! I'm talkin' to adults over here!" ...

Adults?
Since when?

It was strange hearing someone refer to me as an adult. I mean Seriously?!? I know, I am still so young and have so much yet to learn, but that's exactly the point! There I was standing in the midst of 3rd and 4th graders. When did I grow up so quickly? I remember saying, "I can't wait till I drive!" or "I can't wait till I'm in college!" But now I've reached a point where I can't really say those things anymore. It's more like, "I can't wait until I find a full-time job" or "I can't wait till I get married and have kids."
It was definitely a bittersweet encounter. "Bitter" in the sense that I still feel young and trapped in an aging body, and I wish I can just stay in a certain phase of my life for a longer period of time until I can dictate when to move on to the next. Yet "sweet" in the sense that it made me realize that God has provided me with so much. And how far God has brought me and how faithful God he has been to me. Where would I be without Him? And where will I be if I don't cling to him? Definitely not in the right place. I need him more than ever. It is so amazing to have a personal relationship with my Savior. In Him I can place all my comfort and hope and He is my refuge. I can trust He will be there for me- loving me and constantly pursuing after me. A hymn that has spoke loudly to me these days: "Nothing in my hands I bring; Simply to thy cross I cling." 

=)

Recently went on our high school summer "DIVE" retreat. Such blessed weekend. God never ceases to amaze me. I was reminded of how thankful I am to be a part of this community. God is good!

My army of beautiful minions. I love them. On to our 3rd year together. <3 

Context of this picture: P.Steve was touching the uneaten food and all 70 high schoolers were like "Ewwww!" 

WC staff. :) Privilege to serve with them.l #bestpeople

I think we have a picture exactly like this for the last 3 years we've served together. Such a precious friend and sister. Thank you for loving me. <3 I love you miyoung! 

Wow. It's been past 20 minutes so I should probably go do something more productive like comb Ollie's hair, eat some carrots, or hang out by myself again. Hehehe. Good night!! <33

part dos

greece please

Interesting fact of the day: The site where the Parthenon (in Greece) was built had to be cleared of hundreds of dinosaur bones before construction could begin. ...
Wow. This means that when I visited the Parthenon this past summer I was walking and breathing the same air dinosaurs once walked and breathed :o Aside from from it being a monument built for the goddess of wisdom Athena and also one of the wonders of the entire world during ancient times... the Parthenon was basically the home of the dinos :') If only I had known this back in August... Hehe. How much I long to be here again. <3

Me and Meg in front of the Parthenon :')

Missu Greece... Can't wait to visit again sooon <3

Week 9 of my last quarter as a junior in college starts tomorrow. 3 more weeks :')

El Finito

It's 2:45am and I just finished my stressful paper!!! It's only Monday but it feels like it should be the weekend already. I think it's because I pulled an all nighter at Denny's last night catching up on all the work I couldn't do on the weekend and cramming for a long, super dense paper due Tuesday (today) (that I totally forgot about until my roommate mentioned to it to me less than a day that it was due. Phew.) So thankful I managed to finish. Couldn't have done it without my main sqeeeeze who stayed up with me all night both nights. Thank you =)

All nighter at Denny's with a not-so-worth it 3 course deal. :P 

2nd night. This is so ugly and it doesn't really look like I'm happy but I'm honestly so happy to be done with this paper!!!!!! =) =) =)

8am tomorrow. Which means 4 hours of sleep. I don't know when that become a lot to me... Wow. Good night shooting stars <3

Sunday Nights

A quick picture post from this past week =) This week was definitely a busy yet eventful week.  Can't believe there's only 2 more weeks until this quarter comes to a close!
Sunday nights always end the same way for me-finishing up my last bits of homework and studying, folding laundry, showering, jotting down all my to-do's on post-its, and checking my email and facebook once more before bed. Sunday nights are less relaxing for me. It's more like figuring out where the time went and what I need to do for the next week- homework and studying I need to catch up on, errands I need to run, friends I need to meet up with, etc. I guess that's expected for most people. We live in a high-demand, high function world where we're expected- or at least I expect myself- to perform at an extremely high level all the time. Even relaxing seems to be an achievement for me sometimes. SO SAD. Hahaha.
Definitely learning to be diligent to enter God's rest. It's so comforting we can find rest and refuge in our faithful Father and almighty King. =)

Face masks con mi hermana <3

Matt always makes me foood :) <3

She bought me dinner <3 Love her so much!

psych of influence video project! 

dinner in balboa :) oc restaurant week

krusty :)

spontaneous roommate date in our very own backyard!

definitely spending time here more often :) 

Hahaha I had to take a picture. He looks like a Mormon except without the bike. 

Guess who... 

Her feet were STANKKY

Spontaneous boba run :) And then she wanted dimsum. Always so great talking to this girl hahaha =)

Johnny: "I always wanted to do this to you!" -_-"

Here's to a new week! =) 
Reminder verse this week:
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. "For My yoke is easy, and My load is light."
-Matthew 11:28-30