I miss you

This road trip was by 3 girlfriends, 2 years ago. Today, I miss all of you. I miss my girls. I miss home. I miss the cool air. I miss the beautiful flowers. I miss the laughter. I miss the pigging out. I miss it all. One day... we will have ourselves another road trip.

Kathleen and Nicole...and oh there's me too!

Nicole and I - Kundasang War Memorial. Established in 1962 to commemorate the brave Australian and British prisoners of war who died in Sandakan and during the infamous death marches to Ranau during World War II. The memorial is made up of 4 gardens - the Australian Garden, the British Garden, the Borneo Garden, and the Contemplation of Garden and Pool. Most of the flower pictures in this blog entry were taken in this memorial.

We decided to take a road trip to Kundasang one Monday. It would be quieter. It would be just us and nature. It would be a relaxing trip for us.  And, we needed that break. Less people around. Less noise. Less pollution....LOL.

The flowers were beautiful. The leaves looked fresh. The trees seemed richer. There were only us who disturbed them with our cameras! I had all the time in the world to photography them and it was plain luxury. I hope you enjoy them just as much as I did....but nothing beats enjoying them upfront and personal.

Missing someone is a part of loving them.

Thoughts of you are always in my heart

I miss you like stars miss the sun in the morning skies.

Missing you in all paths of my life.

Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends and family at a distance. 

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

It is never the same without you girls.

Thank God for WhatsApp!!!!!!!!!!

Days always seemed crazier with you girls around!

I can only imagine when we see each other again.... EARTHQUAKE!!!

I wish you well a thousand times each day in my heart.

Life is beautiful yet strange. People we love, we can't keep forever. Somehow, some way, we have to let go. We have our own paths to follow. We have our dreams to achieve. We only have to keep each other in our hearts and remember the good ole times. Thankful and grateful for those good ole memories. But, always with a hope and prayer, that one day we will surely meet again. Maybe once...maybe more...but until that moment, life goes on. Most importantly, people whom we love are happy and well. For I know when they love life, life will love them back.

Coffee for Life

Happy New Year everyone! Happy new beginnings. Happy start of new ventures, challenges, experiences, love...

2016 is a new year for me too hence the face lift of my beloved blog.  And... the best mug of vitamin to start off the day is fragrant coffeelicious beanos!

The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to produce - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

I enjoy a glass of iced coffee (no sugar) early in the morning. Oh yeah, I am weird but also always HOT! Gotta cool myself down for the day and it has gotta be coffee!

The fresh smell of coffee wafts through the apartment, the smell that separates night from day - Haruki Murakami.

I once read about how Life is like a cup of coffee.

An old university professor gathered a group of alumni and offered coffee to all of them. Uniquely, he placed an assortment of cups and mugs, some were made of plastic and some were expensive crystal. After all his students has chosen a cup and filled it with coffee, the old professor said, "Life is the coffee. The jobs, money, position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup you have chosen does not define nor changed the quality of life you live. Sometimes by concentrating on the cup, you tend to forget about the coffee. Savor the coffee, not the cups!"

I orchestrate my mornings to the tune of coffee - Terri Guillemets

One of my beautiful coffee memories: The picture above is a glass of coffee made by a Kakak Salbiah from my old work place. Every afternoon she would make sure that fresh coffee is made for the staff to enjoy. Whenever I have some free time to spare, I would surely go and get a glass of coffee, and catch up with her. Her coffee always taste greater than in the coffee shops. Simple. She makes it out of love for everyone who works there.

Close your eyes when you luxuriate the tastes of your coffee...

Savor the aroma that reminds you of joyful moments...

Be like coffee beans in life. During the "hot water" times, change the circumstance of heat and pain... release your fragrance and flavor so as to enjoy victory. Be undefeated in spirit, mind, and soul.

One of my favorite flavors is Gingerbread Latte which I had the pleasure of sipping last Christmas time in Marks & Spencers, London.  This taste certainly brought back delightful memories when my daughter, Nicole, was around 5 or 6 years old. I was determined to make a gingerbread house from scratch (my first and last time!) with Nicole; I wanted to give her a Christmas memory that would last a lifetime. The gingerbread house was not as grand as I had planned but it stayed as a house, for an hour. Then it came tumbling down!!! Hahaha... It was great fun baking, building, and decorating it together though.

The Coffee Prayer:
Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze
It maketh me to wake in green pastures
It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses
It restoreth my buzz
It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name's sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction
I will fear no Equal
For thou art with me; thy Cream and thy Sugar they comfort me
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of The Starbucks
Thou annointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over
Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the House of Mochas forever.

Faith

This entry is all about faith, about believing in something good will happen, without any confirmation; being a little irrational about it all ... actually "blind" temporarily until affirmation arrives.

Faith is exactly like the picture above... seeing a little of the present but nothing beyond it; being positive that there is a rainbow awaiting amidst the green hills when the weather clears up in time to come.

"Faith is like radar that sees through the fog."  - Corrie Ten Boom -

Faith - sometimes the picture gradually changes into something a bit clearer however the blurry edges tug at one's heart strings into questioning oneself about life, decisions, future, and purpose.

"Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there." - M. Antonius -

However mindboggling and incomprehensible the future may seem at this moment, one must always maintain a positive viewpoint. It is simply because external circumstances are beyond our control. One can, nonetheless, control one's inner world; thoughts and actions.

"Faith allows things to happen. It is the power that comes from a fearless heart. And when a fearless heart believes, miracles happen." - Anonymous -

Faith is taking the first step with confidence, especially when what lies ahead of you is an abstract panorama.

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." - Martin Luther King Jr. 

Is fear holding you back?  Fear has no power in dragging one down in the gulf of doubt when one has established deeply-rooted principles and values in life. How life is nurtured. How life grows. And, how future is secured.

"Faith is the root of who I am. It is from the root that I grow, both up and down, like a tree whose roots grow deeper into the soil, establishing a strong root system." - Paul Sposite -

This picture reminds me of a forest in a storybook, when spring checks in after a cold winter, colors blooming happily and pathways are slowly opening up through the trees.  With faith, in looking forward to enjoying the full artistry of nature.  

"Believe! Believe in the limitless supply of God's goodness. The universe is filled with more wonders than you can imagine." - Wilfred A. Peterson - 

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." - Saint Augustine

No explanation necessary. Trust yourself in your journey. Believe in the foundation that has been ingrained in your life. Know that it will happen for you; that in the end, you will get to savor and revel in the beauty of life just like in a full bloomed flower garden. Patience is needed along the way. Positivity is significant.

(This set of photographs were taken on 10 October 2015 during a road trip with friends)