Ladies night out

This morning at about 8am, I started vacuuming. I was up already at 6am but I did not vacuum then cos the cleaner is very noisy and I do not wish to wake up my neighbours. I had to vacuum because of the fixing of pipe the workers did yesterday. So, my floor is a little dusty.

After vacuuming, I mopped the floor by putting few squeezes of Dawn dish washing detergent into the pail. I did not have any floor soap..so I thought since my dish washing detergent cleans grease and stains, it will be good enough. Haha.. I mopped the whole floor from the toilet, laundry room to kitchen and dining room. As long as the floor is not carpetted, I mopped it all creating a foamy floor which looks really nice and I enjoyed walked on the foam.

After that, I cleared the water and with a pail of clean water and clean mop..I used it to wipe the foam. Then, I dried the floor with a sponge and then, the last round, was with a towel. So, I had to run through all the floors in 4 stages. It was fun as I was exercising at the same time and getting the satisfaction of the floor getting squeaky clean. :)

After all that, I turned the air con cooler and switch on the fan to dry it more quickly. Then, I went on to prepare lunch at about 10am. I cooked braised mushrooms with dried scallops and hair...added hong shao pork ribs as well. SO, I had to cook early for the mushrooms to be softer. I love this dish and since this dish is mainy a ginger-based dish, I could cook for Gek Teng.

I also cooked chinese cabbage with chicken breasts. I cooked only 2 dishes as from yesterday, Gek Teng told me that I cooked too much which I agreed. So, I cooked more simply today. I went over at 1145am and we ate together. We had left overs and I told Gek Teng to leave it for tonight as I have remainder at home for CT's dinner. I cooked my lunch and dinner together..so it would be the same food for CT as well.

So the remainder I had at home was for CT's dinner n his lunch the next day. I packed everything in a lunch box- one for each meal. I needed to pack cos at night, I had a ladies night out. They are from my bible study class in church. We went to Olive Garden Italian Restaurant. CT dropped me there and Julie would sent me home.


We had a great time in Olive Garden as we not only had great food but also, a great time of sharing. Julie was the organiser and she asked us questions and we went one round of answering. I felt it was good questions to break the ice and to get everyone involved in talking. The first question she asked was " What makes you happy?" Many of them shared about their kids, shopping etc. I shared that my husband makes me happy, going on holidays and teaching a lesson in classroom where the students behave and the lesson was delivered well.

Then the second question was, "If there was one question you would like to ask God, what would it be?" Many of them would like to ask God about the sufferings people face or the bitterness they have like- Why me? Why must this happen to me? When it came to my turn, I honestly shared that when "bad" things happen to me, obviously we would question God..but I said that it would go away as the answer would unfold by itself when you are reminded of how God causes everything for a purpose and His reasons are always for the best. So, all those bitterness questions would just dim and peace would take over.

Julie gave us a short article to read and we shared about it. It was an article written by this girl who was sexually abused from 7 to 18 yrs old. She questioned, "Why me?" She felt worthless and lonely, thus searching for a way out and desperately longing for happiness. At 13, she asked Jesus into her heart thinking this would change things. She served God with all that she had, yet the abuse continued another 5 years. She got angry and continued to think she was worthless.

Even though she knows His word said thet He loved her and would protect her, she couldnt see it. For 1 year, she did not talk to God and lived life on the edge. At the end of that year, she was tired and broken and could no longer run from the truth.

She realized she was searching for the wrong thing. She have found that happiness is temporary. Like eating a bowl of ice cream-the enjoyment vanishes once we finish eating it. The joy that only comes from God is what made the difference for her. The Bible says in Isaiah that the redeemed of the Lord shall have everlasting joy on their heads and their sorrow shall flee away. The bible also says that God will give us joy unspeakable and full of glory. She doesnt know of any ice cream that can compare to that. In the article, she says, "Life is sometimes painful and uncertain, but the journey serves a purpose. I no longer have to ask why me for the joy unspeakable overshadows the years of shame."