A Gift to the Greatest Gift!

Merry Christmas!

"For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

Happy Birthday to the One who gave it all when we should have been the ones to give Him all, to the One who loved us before we had any thought of loving Him, to the One who deemed it great pleasure that He should draw us back to Him.

To my Wonderful Counselor, my Mighty God, my Everlasting Father, my Prince of Peace- Your birth gave us hope, your death gave us life, your resurrection secured our future!

This Christmas, as a gift to You, I pray for the strength to fulfill my mission: "to do the will of Him who sent me, to prepare the next generation to walk in Your purpose through obedience, prayer, worship, discipleship towards others and from others, and the prophetic word, and to bring in the harvest for this generation."

In Jesus' Name,

Amen.

Image:

Nativity scene

What's in My Playlist: Fun.

Hi everyone!

I'm really a music lover and I've featured many songs on this blog.  So tonight, I want to shine the spotlight on one of my favorite bands.

I love their originality and ingenuity of taking inspirations and making them completely their own.  I will not go Wikipedia on you, you can do that on your own.  But hooray for 80s inspo, rock, chorus of voices, political messages and Nate Reuss in tight, little boy pants! ^___^

Enjoy!

Real Life Sundays, ed. 24

It's almost Christmas ^____^  My favorite holiday of all!

Despite the rush and busyness of the week prior, there's always something warm, traditional, and peaceful at the core of the holiday.  No matter what we think about it, whether we celebrate it or not, we all long for love, kindness, peace, and family- values that are so descriptive of Christmas!  ^____^

❄❄❄

The week before Christmas was very busy again, although not really at work because we did not have a Christmas carnival this year.  Rather it was all the personal Christmas preparations, with the break being so close to Christmas Day!  Last-minute shopping, packages that still haven't arrived, a wedding, lots of baking, a bunch of bills to pay, and parties, parties, parties!

Beautiful wedding and the weather remained so pretty and agreeable ^_^
Thank you, God!

My girly tree in pink and light blue♥ I'm such the tree artiste ^.^

You know where I've been!

My decorations- all at 75% off at K-Mart!  Shout!  (^0^)

Incredibly yummy desserts at my cousin's graduation party :9

❄❄❄

I got to spend some time with a bunch of my favorite things during these first days of vacay, which makes me feel more relaxed already.  

• Morning prayers
• Christmas carols
• The Hobbit (twice already ^0^)
• Fun.
• Inception

Image:
Inception

Real Life Sundays, ed. 23

Yeah, generally life is.  But I will come clean and admit this:

I was so bored of myself yesterday!

After watching 4 hours of boxing on $60 pay per view, topped with the dismal ending of Pacquiao running into Marquez's fist and getting knocked out cold, I finally felt super bored!  So bored, that the only way to escape it was... 

No, not to do something productive...

But to sleep it off, hoping that by the time I woke up, I'd be less bored.

After a couple of hours of "napping," I woke up...  still feeling...  bored.  I then invited my little sister to grab some yummy cupcakes with me but she just wanted to stay home...  Geezzz...  So, I ended up sleeping early to end my boring day.

Here's the 60 bucks Pacquiao made us regret spending...  hehehe!
Hey Mr. Manny, if you are reading this, know that I still love you!

♥♥♥

On the bright side, I was thankful of being bored, since it only happens sometimes.  It meant that I was finally not hip-deep in work and not feeling overwhelmed. ^^

Anyway, I had a wonderful Saturday!  I had an amazing dinner with a couple of wonderful friends, whom I feel super-duper blessed to have ^____^  *Sighs*  everyone needs a kindred spirit~~  someone to share your interests, beliefs, and love of food :9

Some people- not the viewers of this blog, thank you very much- like to complain about food posts, saying that they are lame and stuff.  I think those people are being just plain silly.  With food so good lookin', who wouldn't want to see?  So, yep!  I am not even slightly apologetic for any of my food pictures.  :P

♥♥♥

Lastly, today!  I had a good time teaching the kiddies.  They make me laugh and smile a lot (inside), although, I do like to act strict and constipated around them.  But they are cool with me and I am cool with them so life is good.  Real good.

Hehehe!

Our classroom door with all them snowflakes

Yes! We have a fireplace to hang our stockings on!  ^_^

It's the adults who are kooky.  For example, I went to DFS today to buy a purse for my darling little sis.  The ladies at the stall did not take the initiative to help me out until I asked them.  When I finally asked for the price, one of them told me, "There's the sale section at the back."  "Ok... lady," I thought.  And throughout the experience, she kept on pointing out to me that there were cheaper stuff in the store.  At the end of my purchase, she said, "This is one of the higher end ones."

Ok.....?  (-_______-)

If she was so gang-ho about making me purchase the cheaper ones and saving me $$, why did she not give me discount when I asked for it?  I guess I looked such like a commoner?  I wonder what gave me away...  Hmmm...  Was it my non-brand bag?  Or was it my shoes that looked like they've been chewed by a dinosaur?  Oh well, maybe I'll never know.  All I know is I bought what I wanted and it was "one of the higher end ones."

But I end this post in a positive note!  My sister and I went to minister with our church's young adult group.  We handed out chips, water, and Bibles to college students who were studying for their finals.  They were so kind and gracious.  Bless their sweet hearts♡♡  ^___^

That's it, everyone!  Good night!

Geo Tricolor Gray Review

I am not paid to write this but FYI, LoveShoppingholics (formerly known as Shoppingholics) is having a Christmas promo.  I hope to chance up on their "Buy 2, Get 1 Pair of Free Circle Lens."  It'd be the perfect time to check them out.

I bought the lenses for this review from the aforementioned company.

♥♥♥

I've previously written a review on this series from Geo.  (Before the pomp and glory of my hybrid camera--- which I want to replace with a real DSLR someday, not so soon though).  You can check out my review here.  <---There, ok?  

Geo Tricolor Gray Review

Usage Modality: Yearly

Base Curve: 8.6 mm

Diameter: 14.0 mm

Water Content: 38%

Color

2/5 The color of this series is not vibrant.  It has to be in the proper lighting in order to show more.

Design

3/5 This category is purely subjective.  I am not particularly keen on the pixelated design- which is not obvious from afar.  But up close?  Perhaps only if the person is being confrontational and being all up in your face, or kissing you.  Hehehe... 

Enlargement

2/5 At 14.0 mm diameter and the absence of a bolder limbal ring, these lenses are not for enlargement.

Comfort

5/5 I don't know whether it is simply because my eyeballs are perhaps made of steel or I am just lucky, but I have been so comfortable with many circle lenses recently, especially with Geo.  And the same story goes for these lenses.  However, my eyes tend to become dry and redden more these days, but they're not in pain.

Overall

4/5 I am being subjective with this category, too.  I am not so picky with these lenses.  I like how they do not enlarge my eyes so much.  I use these as my everyday lenses because I feel like they won't freak people out as compared to ones with 15.0 mm.  And oh!  They ARE comfortable.  ^__^

These are the lenses I used for the Angelina Jolie look.

This is me looking like a yawning hippo because
I was getting tired and bored of photoshoots.  ^0^

Real Life Sundays, ed. 22

Yuck!

You cannot be more real than this when you show yourself to the world in all your glory... or gory!  Hehehe!  No photo edits!

Even my own mother asked incredulously, "You're going to publish that???"

And I said, "Yes!!"

I don't know what came over my skin last week to make me suffer like this.  But thank God, that them pimples are all gone now!  I am just putting on a lot of whitening creams to diminish the scars.  

Anyway, let me tell you a secret that I've just discovered from my older sister (^__^)

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*The secret to quickly dry pimples is......*

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Hydrogen Peroxide.....................................................................................................................................................

Did you catch that?  HYDROGEN PEROXIDE!

When I applied it on my pimples, the peroxide foamed and bubbled, and I was like, "Yes!  Yes!  Get 'em suckers!"  *Fist pumps*  Honest, with that much gusto.  (By the way, I think your pimples have to be open wounds in order for the peroxide to penetrate within.)  Then the following day, my pimples were dried up.  But I continued to apply for the next 2 days for good measure.  Now, I only have scars... :)

♥♥♥

Here's the rest of my photos:

Kobe is growing up so fast!  She is quite naughty but very smart.  ^^
Only 2 weeks with us and she already knows how to sit, shake hands, and
defend her food from toad intruders.

Oatmeal with peppermint kisses and Heath toffee.
"We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy cane, candy corn,
and syrup." -Buddy, Elf

Wendy's Bacon Portabella Mushroom Melt: finally fast food burger done right!
Not tough and dry at all! :9

My Korean restaurant staple: Yukgaejang

Mmmm ;9 ... Bossam with oyster kimchee on the side.  Love Bossma but...
Oysters- I HATE them raw.  They taste as if all the essence and grossness of
the ocean were concentrated into these sloppy nuggets of mucous.
If you like raw oysters- more power to you!  You are a brave one!

We ate at a Korean restaurant with the sweetest uncle in the world.  He is not my uncle by blood but he was my pastor, whom we've adopted as our uncle.  :)  I love him so much!  If you met him, you'd love him so much, too.

♥♥♥

Christmas break is coming so hopefully, I can have more time to blog by then ^___^

Good night!

Oh, I hope you all have a good week!

Severine Inspired Look

Yes, I did say that I could not make another inspired look until Christmas Break.

And yes, I broke that promise with the Angelina Jolie inspired look.

And yes, I'm about to break that promise again.

☺☺☺

I felt mucho inspired after watching Skyfall last week.  Oh my gosh!  The glam, the spectacle, the action!  Oooh!  The Bond girl!

Severine is so beautiful, I couldn't help gushing.  She has some resemblance to Jennifer Lawrence, doesn't she?  Or should I say the other way around.

Anyway, the look is very glamorous and sultry.  I tried to imitate the darkness of the look- the eyes, the chiseled cheeks, and the lips.

I had a few grievances though.  I misplaced my matte black eyeshadow and had to make-do with a glittered one, and the foundation I used had SPF so it was reflecting light, making my face glow a ghostly (ghastly) white.


So here it is and in the timeless words of Ray Arnolds in Jurassic Park,

"Hold on to your butts!"

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I really had fun with this, although I think it could have been made darker around the eyes.  It's one of my first times to play around with such dark colors.  Fun fun fun!

Now, go!  And watch the movie!

Image:
Severine Skyfall

Reflections on the 40-Day Facebook Fast

Beauty
Reason
Entertainment
Attention
Deliciousness

The wisest Man said that man does not live on bread alone (Matthew 4:4a).  For him who stayed in the wilderness for 40 days without food, ultimately his body's need would be just that.  Of course, it is not wrong to have this need, but any need has the potential to be an impetus for us to sin.  What do I mean?  When we fall into the temptation of allowing other things apart from God to satisfy us, when we act independently of Him, then we fall into sin.  Jesus was hungry and the devil himself was suggesting the bait, would Jesus' need for bread be an excuse for him to take on the devil's offer?

"but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4b)

Many times we feed on stale bread- beauty, reason, entertainment, attention, deliciousness, or whatever it is for you (these are what I have identified as the temptations for me)- thinking that it could fill emptiness, console loneliness, and satisfy longings.  But interestingly, no matter how much we consume, we are left feeling more unsatisfied because although we think we need that stale bread, it will only remain as that- stale and dry- and can never compare to the grandeur of a feast.

Rather than surrendering to temptations, we are called to feed on the word of God- for His Word gives us the strength to stand up against these!  Oh, for His Word is not just any bread to fill us for a moment, but it is the bread of life!  And this Bread of Life will sustain us until we are called to feast forever with Him in Heaven.

^"Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life,and I will raise them up at the last day”  (John 6:35-39).

Text:
Inspiration from Ptr. Rob
Scripture taken from the New International Version (NIV) from biblegateway.com.

Image:
Bread

Application

After clicking on the refresh button for the tenth time in the last hour, I did not know what I was expecting the webpage to do.  "Come on, Facebook, do something new," I grumbled.  

Hence I put up cool photos, witty quotes, inspirational videos, and intently watched out for the red bubble to appear with numbers: 2... 3... 1... none... none... none...  then out came a disappointed sigh.  

Obviously, there was a heart issue going on: something that I was expecting for this particular social network to fulfill, but apparently, was not doing so.  I had to step away because I was sensing something was not right.  With a scroll and a click of the mouse, I answered a survey asking why I was deactivating: "This is temporary.  I will be back."  

I will be back to proclaim the revelation of Christ- that no matter how many friends we've accumulated in life- as precious as they are- can never take away the loneliness and fill in the hole in our hearts that is reserved for the Bread of Life.  I let Him satisfy me today.

EOS Ice Green Review

Is the circle lens trend getting old yet?  Well, I certainly hope not because a bunch of them look so pretty on me.  Hehehe!  (Whatever to myself...)

Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that green looks fabulous on me.  I am not kidding as you'll see later.  And I am currently in love with EOS Ice Green.  So in love that I've decided that I must write a review on it although I've only owned it for 2 days.  And, if I change any opinions about these lenses, I'll be sure to update you, folks!  ^_^

Review
Usage modality:  Yearly

Base curve:  8.8 mm
Diameter:  14.8 mm
Water content:  38%

Color

4/5  In my opinion, the color shows up quite well with my brown eyes.  However, this will still depend on the lighting.

Design

5/5  The design is unique and is not very unnatural because the limbal ring is not thick.  

Enlargement

4/5  These lenses will make the eyes larger quite significantly.  After all, they are 14.8 mm in diameter.  But because of the absence of a thick limbal ring, Ice Green won't give off an alien-look.  To know how I try to rate lens sizes objectively, click on Frosty the Snowman: ☃

Comfort

4/5  Comfortable!  My other pair of EOS, which were the Adult Brown series, blurred my vision.  BUT EOS Ice is an entirely different story.  I really like it because it keeps my vision clear.  However, it became dry after only a few hours.  I will update this review when I feel that this has changed.  I've worn these lenses for one time only.

Overall

4/5  I really like these lenses, and because I feel that the too-large, dolly eye trend is dying down,  I am glad that these don't make me look too freakish.  They're decent too in terms of comfort.  By the way, Honeycolor is holding a free shipping promotion and a sale right now, so why not check them out and get yourself a pair at a discounted price!  ^____^ 

Drama shot!  ♥♥♥

Free cute piggy cases.  Asians know how to treat customers better than usual ^_^

Until next time, everyone!  And I promise a devo!  ^___^  Good night!

UPDATE:
I conclude that it makes my eyes look buggy, but the color is so opaque and these lenses make me look so nice, I will remain a happy camper.

Image:

Bugsy

Real Life Sundays, ed 21

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am amazingly late.  But I am forgiven, yes?  Thank you!

I've been resting for a while from my blog but since it's a four-day weekend, here I am again.  (*^___^* Love that about being a teacher.)  I've been missing the blogging scene because the school I am working with is going to be accredited this school year and there's a lot of scrambling to get things done.  To borrow a running analogy, we (as in, co-workers and I) have been so eager for this "water stop," and then we will soon be running for the next vacay---- CHRISTMAS!  Between then and now, it'll be crazy busy again.  Anyway, until that business hits me like an inevitable storm, I'll enjoy the last 32 hours of this weekend the best I can.  SHOUT!

This was taken last week at a birthday party.  Loved the food! ♥♥♥
Ate like I've never eaten before.  :9  Mother, do not be ashamed of me.  Hehehe!

New iPhone case came this week within <1 week of shipping.  May it not blind you
with its awesomeness!

Meet the newest addition to our family- Kobe!☺ Kobe is a very sweet, good-natured
girl who is ready to defend her family.  Watch out! 

Doodling away at work... 

This is my little sister and I love her.♡  We dated last night because I'm single and
she's in an LDR.  Anyway, there doesn't have to be an occasion or a reason to date
a sister: it's simply, just because ^__^

Whipped cream tutu
Corny, I know!

Black and white is so drama.

Poem: "Your dreams"

Your dreams and plans are unfolding right before my eyes
The floodgates are widening
And my heart is pounding in my chest
Quite frightened as I remember that I can't even swim
But I'm living for You
I take the plunge.

♥♥♥

Poem by ME! ^____^

Image:

Niagara Falls

Poem: "I am more careful now"

I am more careful now, dear boy

A little more careful than before

To do things with such intent

My words, my notions, my time spent

I deliberate long on words now, dear boy

Deliberating more than before

Back and forth to make sure

I wasn't too obvious nor too demure

I am not so free now, dear boy

Not as free when I didn't feel, like before

Maybe it's best you haven't a clue

Yet hoping that you'd respond to me, too

You've got me stuttering now, dear boy

Silly things, sweet nothings, stranger still than before

My heart may ache but none compared

To the headache I feel for you, dear boy

♥♥♥

Poem by ME! ^____^

Image:

Tulips

Poem: "Tap on my heart"

Tap on my heart
With a pen, a pencil
the warm drawl of your voice
the soft pads of your fingertips upon the glass of your cellphone

Tapping away to tell me how you are

To ask me how I am
To tell me again that you love me

And
    how

       deep

Tap on my heart

The doors swing open

To envelope you in arms of embrace

To warm you with ruby kisses upon lips that are as red

Tapping away upon my cheek

My neck and chest

My other silly places

And

    how

       much

Because when you tap

You're leaving an impression

Upon my very soul

♥♥♥

Poem by ME! ^___^