A Visit to Rachel's Home

It was a very wonderful get-together with Rachel at her house. What a nice, warm, cozy home Rachel has! The house has an "old cottage" feel, but it has been updated with a lot of modern amenities. Rachel and Mike have such good taste in decorating their home. The decor looks simple but it displays a lot of charm and understated elegance. Rachel has 2 beautiful children and they seem to play well with JoJo.

We had so much to talk about ranging from household trivia to religion to politics. JoJo said to me, "Mom, you've talked over 5 hours today with Auntie Rachel." It was an enjoyable afternoon. I wished she was living closer by my house.

I don't think I need lavish entertainment. Sometimes a visit to a friend's house, spending time with friends are definitely more fun and enjoyable for me. The thought of driving up to Burlingame was a bit scary for me at first especially after I had 2 car accidents within a five week period. But it was definitely worthwhile and all along the way, I think God was guarding over my driving. Thank you , God, I had a wonderful day.

Miley Cyrus & Other Teen Programs

I bought a Miley Cyrus album which has "The Climb" the only song which I thought Miley did some real singing. My hubby listened to the album and halfway through it, he commented that it sounded awful. I thought the songs in this album were much better than a lot of her earlier ones.

When I first saw the face of Miley Cyrus, I thought she was absolutely good looking. The only complaint I have about her is that she wears too much makeup. She is a bit smart-mouthed, perhaps, that's the hill-billy way of communicating.

One thing I notice that all these teen shows don't show much interaction between parents and children. If there is, it will be only one parent with the child. In most of these shows, children seem to have a know-it-all attitude and parents or adults act dumber than they are. Maybe I should borrow an old classic show like "Dennis, the Menace" for my daughter to watch. I wonder what her reaction will be!

How to climb stairs with ease

I received from a friend a video made by CCTV in Taiwan. The title is trying to show people how to ease the physical stress when climbing the stairs. Apparently, the way to do it is to lift up your behinds with your two hands while climbing the stairs. I tried doing that with the stairs at home. It does feel like I need less physical strength when climbing. But then I thought it's just impossible to carry out this technique in public. Why? Imagine, all these royals, dignitaries when they have to climb the stairs and place their two hands on their butts? That's really gross and out of line in protocol!

Disneyland

Oh Gosh, this is my tenth time visiting Disneyland since my daughter was 4 years old. JoJo and her father still have so much enthusiasm visiting the place. I'm practically bored knowing what sharp turns or sudden drops will give you on a specific ride. But don't misunderstand me. Disneyland is fun if you've not been there before or if you have only visited the place for a couple of times.

Disneyland emits a cheerful aura, the music is upbeat, the characters are cute and lovely, the place is clean and the props look so real. It does bring fantasy to people. The only thing I don't like about Disneyland even on my first visit was that all rides have sharp turns and sudden drops. What starts out lovely, be it a ride or a show, becomes a bit dark and unpleasant in the middle, and eventually finishes all well in the end. When JoJo was about 4 years old, she seemed very uncomfortable on some of the so-called "baby" rides because on all those rides, she'd encounter either some sudden bumps or scary characters. Doesn't this tell you the mindset of Mr. Walt Disney?

Why I start a blog?

Why am I starting a blog? I think it's a good way to express my feelings, my philosophy, share my opinions with my friends and, perhaps, shoot the breeze on any other trivia. These days, I feel I'm receiving an overwhelming amount of information. How do I process it , understand it and share it?

Writing a blog makes me think deeper of the subject matter that I'm writing on. It tests my courage in saying what I truly want to say. It gives me space to express how I feel. It's wonderful!

Traits of parents become tendencies of the children

A couple of weeks ago, my pastor wanted all parents to take note of this statement: "Traits of parents become tendencies of the children". What an insight! I've noticed that some of my parenting style subconsciously take after the ways of my parents. But I didn't think a pastor will endorse such an idea as well! Being a parent is so difficult because we're our children's biggest role models. If we're behaving dysfunctionally, our kids will become the same. Dysfunctional behavior is difficult to change after you've become fully grown, unless you have the grace from God.

Sometimes I wonder why it has taken me so long to follow the truth of God. If I knew how to obey God's doctrine and never swerved, I'd probably be leading a much easier emotional life. I guess it's never too late to realize this!