Goodbye 2009

During dinner tonight, my friend asked a group of us to reflect about 2009. I didn't really share at the dinner table because I know 2009 is a tough year for me to share over dinner. My thoughts are all over the place so I decided to post them here.

At the beginning of the year, my company merged and shortly after it went bankrupt. During the bankruptcy filing, part of the new company got bought and so forth. A group of us, that was left, had to move offices, different positions (I was one), new managers, new coworkers, new environment, new systems and protocols to learn, you name it, we through it. It was very very rough for me. But looking back, it was a great learning experience. God has truly thought me patience, how to be humble, and how to love others. Many of my new coworkers are now great friends of mine. Many of us share common interest like stamping, baking, and eating. One of the girls that I was having an extremely difficult time with has become one of my close friends that I trust and adore.

By Spring, my friend, Andy's condition worsen. Just months after attending his wedding, I attended his funeral. I miss him. It still hurts when I think about my Houston visits. But I am reminded time and time again of God's grace of how Andy is no longer suffering. Every time I think of Andy, I just think of love. I think of all the love that God has poured into him, in our surrounding, in Andy's family, in Andy's friends, that we are able to continue our lives and continue to rejoice. Andy's sister just sent me their family Christmas photo and I still keep in touch with Tiff. His family is doing well :)

This year I became more involve in our church's youth ministry. The kids are awesome! Not only do I get to learn new vocabulary, like "legit," the relationships formed is really God's gift. Witnessing these kids growth spiritually (3 of them got baptised), supporting them in their extracurricular events, or simply hanging out is truly a honor. It is not a walk in the park though. There are days where I am just pooped with all the events. But it is 100% worthwhile. The friends I met became family. =)

Family has been good. My sis comes home at least once a month to keep me grounded. During the time of her visits, it is my "rest" time. Those are the days I'm usually in pjs all day and just eat, bake, play rock band, watch movies... family time. And at Christmas, my family bought me a bread machine!!! and Bop-it!!! Both things that I am currently addicted too. I think I just baked my 15th loaf of bread in 6 days...

God thought me a lot this year. I learned to trust Him completely and it is His will to be done, not mine. I have never felt so much peace and love in my life. All the little nuisances simply doesn't annoy me as much. During all the ups and downs, the only thing that was constant was God's love and grace. And from His love, I learn to love others more, to give a little more, be less selfish, and not to consider "I" or "me" first. It is still a work in progress and I still need to find my balance in that... but in all, It is well. The song from Kutless sums it up my 2009 nicely...

When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul

M M Cards

One of my friend shared a really cute M&M poem with me and I thought it will be a great gift for my youth kids. So far after two nights, I have only completed 9 goodie bags. I must be really really slow. However, all the M&M cards are completed. Hopefully the candy portion will go fairly quickly. The products I used are just some scrap Stampin'Up! Real Red, Green Galore, and Old Olive card stock, White craft ink, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, and some silver cords.

M&M Cards
Finished Goodie Bag

M&M Christmas Poem

As you hold these candies in your hand,
And turn them, you will see. The M becomes a W,

An E, and then a 3. They tell the Christmas Story.

It's one I'm sure you know. It took place in a stable.
A long, long, time ago. The E is for the East,
Where the star shone so bright. The M is for the Manger, where Baby Jesus slept that night.
The 3 is for the Wise men, bearing gifts, they say they came. W is for Worship, Hallelujah, Praise His Name.
So as you eat these candies, or share them with a friend. Remember the meaning of Christmas,
It's a Love story that never ends.

Christmas Card Idea

I bought the cutest paper at Michael's the other day. The paper pack is from AC Patterned Paper called Merrymint :) What a cute name! I decided to use designer paper for Christmas cards to year to save me some time. It still took me hours to come up with the simple design. The stamp set is from Stampin'Up! Sparkly & Bright ~ 115346.

The design of this card is very simple and you can substitute it with any paper that you have in stock.

Baptism

Congrats Tiff, Mei Mei, and Tim! Thank you for sharing you AWESOME testimony. I am so proud of you kids and to see how each of you have grown in Christ, it is amazing!

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. ~ Matthew 5:16

XOXO

12 Days of Holiday Sales

Stampin'Up! is having a sale on select Big Shot Dies and Materials.

• The sale begins Friday, December 11, 2009, 12:01 AM (MT), and ends Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 11:50 PM (MT).
• Items must be ordered by December 15, 2009, in order to arrive in time for Christmas.
• Discounts range between 15-25 percent.
• All items on sale will be posted on the first day of the promotion and can be purchased for all 12 days.
• There are no quantity limits.

Please click here to view the items on sale.

Thank You Card

December is always a crazy month for me. Christmas parties, holiday baking, shopping, crocheting, card making, are part of my weekly routine. I spend over 1 hour and I still cannot come up with my Christmas card design yet. Sigh.

I guess while I am still thinking of my design, I should post the thank you card I made for a friend of mine that gave me some awesome seats for Lakers.

Stampin'Up! Dormant Stamp Sets

Many items that are currently on the dormant list will be retired on January 4, 2010. This month will be your last month to purchase these sets.

Item Number	Stamp Set
113407	Back Woods
114492	Beautiful Baby
114486	Birthday Wish
113200	Branch Out
114496	Celebrations
113732	Central Park
113206	Classic Sketches
113226	Classy & Fabulous
114498	Flowers in Silhouette
113405	Font of You
113216	For the Bride
114494	Forever
109425	Friend by Definition
114488	Fun Flowers
113716	Garden Greetings
114490	Glad Friends
111580	Grand Soiree
113242	Hit the Road
113710	Lexicon of Leaves
113236	Man's Best Friend
114423	Ocean Commotion
113728	Playful Petals
109276	Polka Dot
111544	Putt Putt
113240	Quilt Quips
113754	Really Retro
113403	Sip by Sip
113726	Sweet Stems
113250	That's Funny
113688	Wonderful Watercolors
114028	Para la novia
114032	Acuarelas Maravillosas

On the upside, a new Mini Occasion and Sale-a-bration Starts in January. A lot of new products!

Happy Birthday Buttons

Holiday Candy Holder

This was the final project we made at the Holiday Class, Sour Cream Candy Holder. All you need is some designer paper, paper crimper, and ribbon!

Updates on November Class

2 New Ideas are posted today for November Class. I am debating if we should just make the Ornament Gift Card Holder instead of the regular one...

Happy Halloween

I created some Mummy and Frankenstein Candy Holders for my students. Thanks again for coming out to class!


For Frankie: Stampin'Up! Paper: Old Olive, Basic Black, Whisper White, Stampin'Up! Punches: 1" Circle, 3/4" Circle, 1/2" Circle

For Mummy: Stampin'Up! Paper: Creamy Caramel, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Whisper White ~ Stampin'Up~ Ink: Close to Cocoa

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

On Love

Today is my 7-4 shift at work. That entails waking up at 5 to walk Buttons, get ready, pack my Halloween costume (party at work) and goodies, get gas, drive to Irvine... so yes, it is an early day for me.

While driving down the 57, I was watching the sun rise from east. It was beautiful. The sky was lit up, and the colors you see, the spectrum of red, purple, blue was breathtaking. I praise God for that. For reminding me day and night that His creation is so beautiful and that He is so powerful, indescriable :P. Watching the birds fly together in formation, flying according to His plan, glofying Him. I felt so loved. The creator of all things, sunrise, sunsets, loves me.

But yes, to my point. Last night I had dinner with my friend in Irvine and we had a blast over eating, shopping for make up, Target, the works. While she was driving me back to the parking lot, we ended sharing our experiences with God. She had some questions, by some, I mean quite a bit, and I tried my best to answer her in the parking lot of Maggiano's. The topic was primarily about love, marriage, family.

And this morning, my friend posted Ephesians on her site. The passage she was quoting totally helps me express what I was trying to explain. I feel that God provided us with the answer, with the knowledge, with His words. Awesomemness!

22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing[b] her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."[c] 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. (Ephesians 5 ~ NIV)

Coming from a divorce family, I really pray that more people will understand God's words, His love for us, His plan for us.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ~ Ephesians 3:16-19

Tippy, Cat, and my kids at church, when I read this verse, you guys come to my mind, and my prayers.

November Class

The Holidays are approaching faster than I expected. Time to start Holiday Class!

We will be creating Gift Card Holders, Tags for Goodie bags, boxes, and other goodies. I will try to post the photos up asap. I am still working on my Halloween goodies which I hope I will have completed by tomorrow.


Date: November 14th, Saturday

Time: 10:30 am - 12:30 pm (Maybe we can hit dim sum after?)

Location: Walnut, CA

Cost: $12 ($5 for Class, $7 for Materials ~ Snacks will be provided)

Please RSVP by November 9th


Hope to see you there!!!

Gift Card Holder: Stampin'Up! Cold & Cuddly

Ornament Gift Card Holder: Stamps ~ Stampin'Up! Sparkly & Bright
Hot Cocoa Holder: Stamps ~ Stampin'Up! Cold & Cuddly

Animal Crackers

Great minds think alike?

My sister planned on buying the same stamp set, Animal Crackers, the same night I had. Good thing I beat her to it or else we would have duplicate sets. This card is for you mui.

Stamp Set ~ Stampin'Up! Animal Crackers; Card Stock ~ Stampin'Up! Kraft, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, DS Rainbow Sherbert

Thank You

I finally had some free time last night (after House of course) to sit down at my desk and work on my thank you cards. October is such a busy month! During the last weekend, I was just exhausted. I was actually in a grumpy mood because I felt I have so much to do and so little time. Yes, time management is a huge thing for me. I admit it. I really really wanted to clean my room and closet so I can start working on my cards and Halloween projects but at the end, I ran out of time.

On a side note, NEVER SHOP at Expo Furniture Store in City of Industry (By Puente Hills Mall). They were rude, lied, and basically scammed my family $127!!!!!! They even yelled at Cat!!! For those who know my sis, she is the most chill, calm, reasonable person.. so yes, she filed a complaint on BBB immediately of their poor business practice and their misleading sales department. ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Back to my thank you cards... I actually have most of them completed and will post the pictures tonight. While creating these cards, I was reflecting on my grumpy mood...How I was still angry at Richard Ton from Expo Furniture, how I was stressed that I have no time to do what I wanted to do, annoyed at my daily commute, daily nuisances, then the song hit me (Hosanna)

Heal my heart and make it clean.
Open up my eyes to the things unseen.
Show me how to love like you have loved me.
Break my heart from what breaks yours.
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause.
As I go from nothing to Eternity.

He reminded me of my daily blessings and that I need to refocus. All of these silly annoyances should not affect me. I need to see them as a lesson on how to love, how to glorify God in every situation. It helped me to remember the reason why I was making thank you cards. I had so many people to thank in the last few weeks. I was amazed and also humbled by how bless I am. My friends and family are so awesome and I thank Him everyday for them.

Very Vanilla Card stock, Chocolate Chip Designer Paper, Say it with Scallops, Square Scallop Punch


Very Vanilla Card stock, Chocolate Chip Designer Paper, Stampin'Up! Loves Me Designer Paper, Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, 1 1/4 Circle Punch, 1 3/8 Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Designer Label Punch

So my point?

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, Rejoice! ~ (Philippians 4:1-9)

& Card making provides a great time to reflect :)

& Lastly BUBBLES!

And yes, much better mood now!!!

October Deals - Ends October 26

The third Deal of the Week are from October 19, 10 AM (MT) through October 26, 9:50 AM (MT).

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Special Price
114348	179	Basic Jumbo grommets	$6.95	$4.49
109857	179	Mini Library clips	$12.95	$8.99
112571	179	Circle Designer brads	$5.95	$3.99
112581	179	1/2" Library clips	$6.95	$3.99

October Celebration

Finally! I finally have to chance to be home by 7:30pm!!!! It has been over 3 weeks since I get a night off from work, family, friends, stuff. :)

Time to post some photos of October Celebration!!! I am not sure if I mentioned that October is my favorite month in the entire year. I love FALL!!! I love October!!! I love the cold weather so I can finally wear my coats and boots! :)

Celebration at work! My coolest friends at work (Jen and Priscilla) transformed my work space to a circus tent. Since I was inside the tent, I am not sure too sure what my role was. So I told them I wanted to be the Ring Master. It was either that or a circus animal....

Followed by dinner with family...
To be continued...

October Deals - Ends October 19th

Item	Description	Special Price
115961	Perfect Setting Bigz XL die	$25.99
114515	Flower Burst Embosslits die	$5.99
116760	Pop-Up Three Tier Cake Bigz XL die	$25.49

...

Pet bear kills Pennsylvania woman

(CNN) -- A 37-year-old Pennsylvania woman died Sunday after being mauled by her pet black bear, authorities said.
Kelly Ann Walz was attacked when she entered the bear's cage to feed the 350-pound animal and clean its cage, according to Pennsylvania State Police. The bear lived in a 15-by-15-foot steel and concrete enclosure on Walz's property in Ross Township.
The bear wasn't the only unusual animal living on the property, an official with the State Game Commission told CNN affiliate WFMZ-TV. The homeowner had a permit to keep a Bengal tiger and an African lion, and the property routinely passed inspection and had no violations, he said.

A neighbor shot and killed the bear that attacked the owner, state police said.
An investigation continues...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/05/bear.attack/index.html


PET
1. any domesticated or tamed animal that is kept as a companion and cared for affectionately.

Bears are NOT PETS!

October Specials

Happy October!!! I am happy to annouce that Stampin'Up! will offer several discounted products as "Deals of the Week." No limits and no minimum purchase required. Another reason why October is my favorite month of the year. I just love the colors of Fall. If only Cat was still in Boston, right now would be the perfect time to visit her and watch the leaves change colors...

We have 3 punchs on sale this week. 5 Petal Flower, My Way, and Trio Flower. Each of these punches are 25% OFF!


If you need them, order them before 10/11/09.

National Youth Workers Convention

So last weekend 5 0f us attended the National Youth Workers Convention and 3 days later, I still have not fully recovered yet. I'm still so physically tired. We had wake up at 6am, meet up at 7am, carpool, and usually get to the Convention Center around 8:30ish. After services, workshops, lunch, dinner... we get home around 1am and start the next day all over again. I had a blast though. It was a wonderful experience. The worship part of it all, was AMAZING! The speakers were very motivational. I can't wait to start planning my Africa Mission trip!!!!!

Here are my favorite moments and memories which makes up my "story."
House band w/ Freddie Prince Jr. look a like ~ Saxophone gig (I was right!) ~ David Crowder Band (almost got his autograph) ~ Shane & Shane ~ McDonald's 8am and after special (errr)~ Skit Guys Adam & Eve ~ Al Pastor Taco@ El Taurino ~ Open Space... (no) ~ Car racing at exhibit hall ~ slap braclets! ~ Best Thai tea EVER ~ Steph's first mussel experience ~ SCOOPS! ~ The Ordinary Radicals ~ Major traffic on 60.. so tired ~ Daraja Choir (touched my hearts) ~ LA 27th ~ Bubbles!!! ~ Chocolate Prayer ~ Apologetics (can't wait to get started!) ~ KTown ~ Guy with Red Tract Jacket ~ Photo Op ;) ~ and yes Bubbles!!!

Next year, Nashville!

Gift Card Holder

While I am patiently waiting for House to start (30 minutes), I decided I should multitask and post the gift card holder I made last week for my coworker's bday. This gift holder was actually really really easy to make and it looks really fancy since it has a cute pocket. One sheet of letter paper can make 2! This will probably make it on the October or November class since it will work great for the holiday season.

Stamps ~ Stampin'Up! Cold & Cuddly, Stampin'Up! Happy Birthday Wheel

House M.D. Season Premier

Just a reminder that there is a 2 Hour Special Season Premier of House M.D. tonight!!! WOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Fried Chicken

My friends and I decided to try a new food venue once a month. After 3 weeks of anticipation, we finally got to enjoy our meal at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant. We literally had a countdown at work! It was my first time eating there even though I visited Knott's Berry Farm quite often. I always did notice the giant chicken while walking in to the park, but I honestly never paid too much attention to the restaurant. Now I know ;)

OOO with the freshly baked, little biscuits, you get all you can eat jam and butter! Even though Knott's is know for their boysenberry jam, my favorite was still the strawberry. The strawberry jam tasted like I sliced strawberries and placed them in my biscuit. It was that YUM! Did I mention that the biscuits were also all you can eat?
The meal was $20 (including tax and tips) and you get 3 pieces of fried chicken, biscuits, soup, salad, 2 sides, and a piece of their famous boysenberry pie. It is an awesome deal! The chicken was very very YUM! One of the of the best that I have had. Very juicy and tender, wonderful flavor and was not too salty. Most of the fried chicken I tried have flavor only skin deep, but this chicken was tasty throughout.

This meal was so satisfying that while the group of us were eating our leftovers for breakfast at work (for me, my pie), all of us were still reminiscing the flavors from our dinner last night. :)

September Class

I had 4 new students in September! YAY! I was very impressed by their creations and the gummy frogs were a huge success!

Sweet Centers

The last project for September class is finally finished!!! We will be using the new Stampin'Up! stamp set from the mini holiday catalog, Sweet Centers (116521)! You simply punch out the circle with the 1 3/8" Circle Punch and add the Sweet Treat Cups (Self Adhesive) and your project is complete!
Time to cut paper for class now...

Cleaning Silver Jewerly

While cleaning my room tonight, I was trying very hard to put things back in their designated shelf or place. I came across my "a" necklace that I haven't wore for a while, and of course, forgot to put it back in it's magical drawstring pouch. My necklace was covered with tarnish!! I realized that the magical pouch prevents the silver from contacting air and other pollutants that tarnishes the silver. This explains why my other jewelry that I stored properly in its pouch stayed shiny...
Instead of spending $$$ to buy jewelry cleaner, youtube has all the answers. All you need is some aluminum foil, pan, hot water, baking soda, and viola, instant tarnish remover.
It really works :)

Sliding Peek-a-Boo Card

This is another project we will be making in September class. A hidden message reveals when you open the card. To me, it is pretty awesome ;) This is just one basic idea but if you like, you can add more stamped images on the cover, cut them out, and pop them up with a dimensional sticker.



Card stock~Stampin'Up! Barely Banana, Baja Breeze, Whisper White; Stamps ~ Stampin'Up! Great Friend, Think Happy Thoughts, Eastern Blooms, Penny Black Bubbly