L.O.V.E

A good friend reminded me from the beginning not to start a blog unless I had something meaningful to say :) So that got me inspired to chat a little on LOVE and plus Valentines Day just passed and being our first one in Brunei, we had to rethink how to celebrate it without the traditional commercialism of the occasion.

I personally felt it was no different to any other ordinary day when jin could surprise me with some flowers he picked from his backyard to brighten my room with. Flowers are flowers - they die within a week whether you pay good money for them or not. It's definitely the thought tat counts!

And romantic dinners....well there are really only 2-3 restaurants that we enjoy eating at (and allow you to bring wine) so once they become part of our weekly routines, it's hard to notice the difference b/w a normal dinner and a V-Day dinner :P

This really made me think! V Day was not necessarily abt how to celebrate with dinner / flowers / gifts etc, but a reminder to be thankful that love comes in other forms too....like making breakfast for me in bed, reminding me to take my vitamins, allowing me to choose which dvd to watch, praying for me when I'm tired or sick.... Jin's good at tat - looking to e cross, seeing the positives & believing in His abundant blessings in our lives!

Gong Xi Fa Cai

This weekend is Chinese New Year. And as it turns out, CNY is a pretty big deal to jin's family. There's been a lot of activity leading up to it; the house gets a thorough spring clean, new cushions on the sofa, front door has a fresh coat of paint, cars are washed & even the driveway gets a special jet-spray treatment.

Me, I'm not that keen on the many traditions. I honestly don't understand why one has to wear new clothes for CNY? But then again.... I bet most of my generation are clueless to the significance of this and simply take it as a great excuse to go shopping! hehe! The other part I'm not fond of anymore is the receiving of "ang pows". Call me crazy for not liking the idea of receiving money but I really do feel such an awkwardness & embarrassment about it. Maybe it's got something to do with me being in a foreign country, with a family tat's not my own.

So for the most part, I hope to survive the errrr "duties" of greeting strangers as they visit the house by rewarding myself with some quality DVD time. I have quite a few great titles to get thru....(with or without my bf haha!).

The pineapple tarts are essential of course!

Oh and I nearly forgot.... Happy Valentines Day! I got some gorgeous lillies from jin last night and heading off to "Deals" at the Sheraton for dinner tonight (yes we're celebrating early!).