Wish List

I feel really lame, spoiled, and selfish for doing this. but I just really like listing things..

and I wish to list a wish list.

CORDLESS ICE CREAM MAKER

HAND BLENDER

MINI CROCK POT

ESPRESSO MACHINE

HELLO KITTY COOL MIST HUMIDIFIER

HELLO KITTY MINI WATER DISPENSER

Oh my goodness, I love home appliance stuff.....

I don't think I am that feminine or whatever,

but I seriously cannot wait til I have my own home and decorate it with the stuff I pick.

Haha.

Happy Lunar New Year!

Happy Chinese(Lunar) New Year!

새해 복 많이 받으세요 (Korean)

(Chinese)

Chicken and Mushroom Pasta

Just a pasta menu I tried on my own!

Second new recipe for the month?! Haha. I like throwing stuff together with the base I know will be good.

Just tomato basil spaghetti sauce with spaghetti noodles, chicken, and mushroom.

Seasonings used: garlic, onion, basil, and black pepper.



The Joy

Happy Chinese New Years!

My country (South Korea) celebrates Chinese New Years as one of the biggest family holidays. My parents told me they are too busy to go visit any of their family members so they are going to just stay in the house and finish whatever they have to get done. Surprise. I don't think I've ever seen anyone who works like my parents. They literally work like a dog. Anyways, my dad has a social worker license exam on February 5th so he's been studying super, duper hard for that, I heard. and my mom, because my dad is focused on studying, is taking care of both her and my dad's duties. She is a wonder woman, I say. She may be physically weak and fragile but her strong mentality and will-power will never, ever let her physical circumstances get in the way of her working. Not sure if I should compliment on it but I just think she is a very strongly self-driven, disciplined, and seriously committed individual. I admire her for it. sometimes. I just wish she would take care of herself. Oops, sorry, I did not mean to make this post sound like a pity party for my mom. Well, I guess I do kinda pity her but I keep reminding myself that she probably has treasure stored in heaven because she is very sacrificial. She is a giver. She does not store anything for herself. I wish I learned some of her characteristics.

DGR girls who went to Zambia in the fall 2011 are now back in Harding. and I got to hear some stories from Whitney, Abbie, and Katie. Their stories are just amazing and surreal. Also, whenever they talk about Africa in terms of culture, the sceneries, places they went to, duties they were in charge of, and about God at work with them in Africa, they glow. Their eyes get bigger and teary. Their voices get excited. Their faces get smiley. They are just so excited for God. God truly, truly changed their lives through this unforgettable journey. and they are so in love with God. Just by hearing their stories, I get encouraged and uplifted. I get all teared up and amazed by how great God is. I am receiving vicarious experience of how awesome God of the universe is. how holy He truly is. I am so excited to hear more stories about what they did and what God did with them, in them, and through them.

I learned recently that it is not all about feelings. It is the truth in my soul that sets me free and fills me up with the joy in the Lord. I may not be smiley all the time. I may not be emotionally excited all the time. I may be tired, emotionally drained, or even depressed. However, these feelings do not change the truth. The truth is the solid rock that cannot be moved or shaken. I have hope in the Lord. I have purpose in living and promise from God. The enemy plays me with my weak, fragile feelings, not the magnificent truth of the King of it all. Now I know that, I have the true joy. I have joy in the Lord. and it is so good to be set free by the ultimate truth.

Week Review 1.09.12 - 1.15.12

School started off pretty good. It has not been hectic like the last semester yet. but who knows. It's college. and I'm a junior. haha. but I am hoping it is not as busy as the last semester so I can actually have life and do things I want to do like doing some long-term volunteer work at Jacob's Place, working out more regularly, and developing friendship to a deeper level! :))

Yay.

So I made Korean food this week: Seaweed soup.

I am sorry if the picture kinda disgusts yall. (I know seafood is not really a thing for many of you guys..)

but I liked it. I thought it tasted pretty good.

On Friday, I had dinner with Kala. We caught up on each other's lives, which was so nice. She keeps me sane and I keep her sane (at least that's what she says. haha). and I love that we are so dependent on each other with the foundation on the Lord. Our friendship, I can say with full confidence, is totally based on God. I love that we keep each other accountable and help each other grow bigger and bigger in Christ and survive in the world. :))

and then I hung out with dear friends Haley and Nathan at Midnight Oil. It was really fun.

TEAONME!!! (pronounced as Ti-a-mi).

Inside joke.

On Saturday, me and three of my friends went rock climbing in LR. climbed for 3 hours and wore ourselves out. but it was really, really fun. Absolutely loved it.

Then on Saturday night, me, my suite, their cousins, and a few of our friends had potluck at the Rock House. I made chicken and rice casserole and cupcakes. (I baked them and the girls decorated!) I guess they could be the new recipe for this month. (If you don't know what I am talking about, go to the post about New Year's resolutions) I was super nervous about them but thankfully they turned out pretty well. :)) Muhahahahahahahhaaaaaa

On Sunday, I went to church and came back to campus. because Dustin and Olivia, my dear friends who got married over the christmas, hosted lunch for us. Olivia made Ziti. It was sooooooooooooo good. I am sure she has been a good wife so far and will be a great one for the rest of her wifehood(?)

I learned a new card game called Bang. It was originated in Italy (?) so the original terms are in Italian but it is translated into English on the cards. Basically, you are having a western cowboy fight through the cards. You can shoot, punch, or knife. then you can miss, dodge, or whatever. You are given different characters with different abilities. It is really fun. It requires a lot of brain work. but hey. it is really fun once you get the hang of the game. As I played it, I actually filmed a battle scene in my head. like a movie. It was quite entertaining in my head.

So yeah. this week was really good. Educational, Entertaining, Social, and Fun. Of course, spiritual. this week was pretty emotional for me because it was so good to be back to see everyone and be productive again. but I got really homesick during the week getting overwhelemd by such a crowd of students and school work. but I had a dear friend who was more than willing to run to me and pray for me. I love my friends. Friendship is genuinely one of the best gifts from God.

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day. aka MLK day. therefore, we don't have school! yayyyyy. I have several plans in my head. They are all up in the air. but hopefully I will get to do something fun. :))

Okay. I need to go read some for my classes. My weekend was too full of social activities. time to start being a college student again. haha.

Rockin' fun with rockin' rock!

This is my favorite commercial.

So legit.

I want to be the girl in this one. haha.

So this Saturday, me and my friends, Katie & Kelcey Simpson and Annalyse Faulk, went to LR climbing center. Kinda got lost on the highway. Took us almost 2 hours. haha.

But. we finally did arrive and paid a lot of money (did not expect that much...... ugh) for entrance, shoes, harness, and climbing lesson for first-time-climbers. we took the short lesson on how to belay, climb, etc.

We climbed for 3 hours. Goodness, I know. It drained all the energy out of me. but it was so. much. fun.

I have climbed like... 3 times in my life? Haha so I am quite a novice. but I really want to keep pursuing it and get better at it. Seriously.

I heard the Zion climbing center will open back up in late January and the pass for the semester will be $65 with gears included. so if the gears mean shoes, harness, and all that, I want to get the pass so I can go climb all the time and improve!! :))

and maybe Katie and I can climb together whenever she gets back from HUF!

After rock climb, four of us went to Panera bread and got our tummies all full and happy.

Then we got TCBY. Dearest Katie treated us to yummy frozen yogurt ice cream. :))

It was a good day.

The day did not end yet.

but the story of the rest of the day will be posted separately.

Stay tuned...

Healthy Crunchy Crispy Snack Beans

Healthy Crunchy Crispy Snack Beans

Excerpt from hellogiggles.com

2012 New Year Resolutions



My parents sent me those christmas socks. How adorable. Just love mommy and daddy.



2012 New Years Resolutions

1. Completely surrender to the Lord;

            Define complete identity in Him,
                    and have self-confidence in the Lord.

2. Stop biting my nails

3. Live to the fullest: don't waste time.

4. Do the best in school

5. Travel as much as possible

6. Be wise with money but enjoy life

7. Make friendship more valuable in life

8. Blog better: one post a week

9. Read at least one book a month

10. Try to cook a new menu a month

11. Compose one song a month

12. Scrapbook

13. Be healthy

Ta-da! Thanks for the nice ending of christmas break

So...........................

I have been bored the heck out of my life over the break.

I have been lazy, bored, lonely, and depressed... but I also have been productive, active, and just going and going with whatever I was doing - mostly chores like laundry and dishes.(Trust me, with 7 people in the house, there's endless amount of laudnry and dishes to do.. haha) but overall, compared to other people who went to Mexico, New York, Florida, and all the other awesome places in the world, I have been kinda stuck in S-town in Arkansas.

I mean, I went to Little Rock couple of times. for Christmas shopping and all that. haha. (Trying not to make myself so pitiful)

and then Mr. George showed up.

He and his wife, Mrs. Linetta, are a couple I met at the church in Little Rock I went to when I was in NLR for the first year in the United States as an exchange student. They helped me a lot with everything. They became my another set of parents. They are such blessing to me. Their characters as christians are wonderful, and what they do is just flat out awesome. Mr. George, despite his age, is the most active, athletic, outdoorsy person I've met. He has a gigantic camper in which he and his wife went to 3-month trip over the States with the destination to Alaska. He runs all the time. He has participated in marathon so many times that Mrs. Linetta made a quilt out of all the marathon t-shirts he has and they still have a ton of marathon shirts left over. He is in several running and biking clubs in Arkansas. He takes youth group at his church to hiking and camping trips several times a year. Plus, he rides a Harley Davidson. well, he used to for a long time. and he recently - I think this year - got a new Honda. It is a trike. Since Mrs. Linetta doesn't have the most stable feet now, they needed something more vehicle-ish instead of motorcycle. It is stunning red. It is so cool. I love it. Mr. George goes to Sturgis every year. Every freakin year. It is so awesome. He knows how to live a life. He knows how to make a living and yet not get wrapped in the living and just enjoy life. I learned a lot of life lessons from him.

So I went to go visit them in NLR on Thursday and spent the night there. On thursday, we hiked the Pinnacle Mountain. East side is way cooler than the basic trail because it is rocky, challenging, and thrilling. We got to the top. There were so many young people there, surprisingly.

And then we went to pick Haleigh up. Haleigh is their granddaughter. She is 21 month old, I think? She is soooooooooo cute. Such a friendly baby. But let me tell ya. She knows what she wants and will not back out on it. and She knows what she does not want and will not force herself into it. Haha can you tell she will be soom sort of leader?

Then we watched "Tangled".I think that is my favorite disney movie. So adorable.

Mrs. Linetta's no-bake oatmeal cookies are my favorite cookies. There's just something about it. Different from all the other oatmeal cookies I've tired. They are just so sweet, soft, and amazing. and Yes, I binged. haha

On Thursday, we went biking at Burns Park. We went all the way to the Big Dam bridge and just biked around. It was such a pretty day with clear sky and sunny sun. There were quite a few people biking, running, jogging, and taking a walk. :))

(The helmet was huge. It kept falling in front of my head and covering my sight.. haha)

Then we had tuna sandwich for lunch and then took off for a trike ride. I got to ride on his new, stunning red Honda trike. It was so awesome. We drove on the countryside to Russelville, got chocolate milkshake at Whattaburger (So thick and delicious. LOVE it.), and got back to Little Rock.

Went to pick Haleigh up, had stir-fry for supper, and got back home.

The past two days I spent with Mr. George were so enjoyable and wonderful. I hope my spring semester is not as busy as my fall semester was so I can go camping or backpacking with him on weekends. I want to be able to enjoy my life more. I want to extract more fun out of my life.

Anyway, it was a nice ending of my christmas break.

Yay.

Smack, smack, smack

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wow, this is it.

It has started.

The New Year.

The Year of 2012.

Everything starts over.

AirOne radio station one day said, "we can put the past behind and start everything over. Start fresh and renewed. God does not want you to hold on to the guilt, blame, anger, or any sorts of the negative. He wants you to put it behind and not let it block you from moving on because He already forgave."

We don't have to cry over it.

We can put it behind.

and move on.

Because God has already moved on.

I was doing devotional this morning and I just want to share some verses that touched my heart.

Psalm 14: 6 "You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge".

Psalm 15 "LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken".

Psalm 17: 8 "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings".

Psalm 17: 15 "And I - in rightesness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness".

So..... I kind of got into Winter break depression/homesickness. I do not know what got into me, but I had been kind of depressed, homesick, blue, and emotional. and of course, by letting the dumb emotions swing me around, I became distant from God.

I worked on my resume, looked up a ton of internships in selected regions in the United States, and applied to 27 different Human Resources internships. The whole time I was doing it, I thought I was doing it right. By doing the best. By doing what I think I can. By thinking the amount of efforts I put into it will make me deserve to get what I want. By thinking that I can do it.

By thinking that I can do it.

By thinking that I can do it.

That was the problem: my own thought of what is right. my own strength. my own capability. my deserving what I want. what I want. what I can do.

Freakin.

Bloody.

Stupid.

Darn.

Me.

The thing is, the whole time I was doing all I was doing and thinking all I was thinking, I knew something was wrong. I knew something was missing. and because I couldn't or was too afriad to figure out what the missing puzzle piece is, I was miserable. Everything irritated me. Everything led to self-destructive, self-pity thinking, which is so pathetic.

Thanks to Randall Beaty, my host dad, I got smacked and told exactly what I was doing wrong, realized I was not fully trusting the Lord, felt terrible, cried in the bathroom for like 30 minutes (haha pathetic), and let everything go.

Like I said, I don't know what got into me. I mean, I probably do know. It's probably the enemy that is trying so hard to make me doubt myself, my identity in Him, and Him. But I am going to just let everything go out of my hand and leave everything up to Him. I did look up and apply to different places. I am going to stop figuring things out and earning things by myself. I am going to let God open the door that fits me perfectly. I am going to let Him lead my path. I am going to listen to Him and not tell Him what to do.

My break hasn't been that dramatic or lots of fun. (well obviously. I was freakin depressed.) but I have been realizing that Life Ain't Easy.

It is Complicated.

It is full of Crap.

It is Poop.

But I have hope in Him. not in life.

Who knew God works by putting his children in poop?

Welp I guess it is worth-living poop.

Poop.