Credits to http://www.squidoo.com/makemesmilerestaurantservice

An old fellow dining at Crewe
Found a very large bug in his stew.
Said the waiter, "Don't shout
And wave it about,
Or the rest will be wanting one too.

[For more limericks and the like,
search http://www.alphadictionary.com/fun/limericks.html]

How strange, isn't it?

After that,
my mum, brother and I went to the Watchnight service held by my church.
It's like a Countdown programe and we wait till midnight,
so we kinda spend the last and first few hours of 2010 and 2011 together. :)

It was actually pretty cool.

So here are the balloons strung on top,
waiting to drop..


Here they are,
when it's exactly midnight, 1 Jan 2011!
[See the screen?]
[Well.. My camera wasn't fast enough, so I couldn't catch them dropping.]
[Handphone cameras. Tsk tsk.]


Finally,
after a couple of minutes of bouncing around..



There was unity in singing and dancing,
it was really awesome. :)


So my friends adjourned to a party held at one of their houses.
I preferred to just go home.

One isn't too keen,
when one has errands to run,
the first youth service of 2011,
and most importantly,
two birthday parties tomorrow.

It sure wouldn't be nice of one,
to disappoint one's beloved baby brother and grandmother,
now would it?



I'm so tiredddddd.
*rubs eyes*

RAWH

Credits to http://wii.mmgn.com/Gallery/Kinder-Rabbids

I just had to show y'all.

Credits to http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2009/04/the_box_poster_came_from_somew.php


How was your Christmas?
Mine was fantastic!



WARNING: CHRISTMAS POST, WRAPPED IN TOO MANY WORDS.

Extra disclaimer:
[I find the need to explain myself.
Because I haven't spoken to y'all in a week,
there is much to be said.
Hence the necessity of a long post,
which I hope you would understand.

If not, to stop reading is possible too.]



[..Shucks.
I never was good at present wrapping anyway.]


Christmas service was kinda stressful,
but that was only because I was on duty.
I applaud my friends' enthusiasm at being on stage tho'. :)

That night,
my family and I went to a party held by my childhood friends' families.
Well, my childhood friends' parents are my mum's long time friends.
It does make logical sense, right? xD


Because I was sick,
[Still am]
I stayed at home most of the time during Christmas week.

To make it more festive,
I'm dubbing it the Christmas flu,
which to my surprise and glee,
found that many other people were catching that too.

Thank you winter!


I gave out the candy canes.

I got some presents too,
which is all YAY and stuff,
but when I didn't give some of them one back,
I guess it was kinda awkward for me.

Or you know,
when they've given you something nice,
and you got them well.. A candy cane.

Yeah..
I'm still very appreciative of the gifts though.

It's just those kind of situations,
you're bound to face during Christmas.

Don't gimme those looks.
I'm sure you faced them before too. Lol


Right,
so Christmas eve was absolutely lovely.
My extended family was over,
and my Australian cousins and aunt flew,
my [most] favourite chocolate cake [in the world] over!!

So we had turkey..
YES, THE TURKEY I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR SINCE THANKSGIVING.
And lots of other traditional Christmas goodies.

And then there were some caroling and games..


I'm glad we enjoyed ourselves. :)


My parents and little brother flew off to Langkawi on Christmas Day,
so I spent it with my aunt and her family instead.
Japanese meal, and then Gulliver's Travels.
I would say it's about 2.5 STARS.

Just my thoughts.


Finally,
the Christmas presents I got this year,
were splendid!

I got a silver ring with Jesus carved in Hebrew onto it.
How interesting!
Also, I got lots of soap this year too.

Unlike Natalie,
[communitychannel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIKFORGW3Ig]
[Caution: Obscenities exchanged]

I find soap absolutely lovely,
so receiving good soap puts a smile on my face.

Same goes for candles. ;)



The Christmas post now ends here.
Thank you for putting up with me,
and I hope that I'm fully recovered soon.

Flu feeds on awesomeness,
which should explain for the lack of any.

*cough*

TODAY IS CHRISTMAS SUNDAY.

[I'm just saying.]

[Just laying it on the table.]

So apparently, there are different versions,
of how the candy cane came about,
but I'll tell you the one I liked best. :)

Credits to www.everythingchristmas.com

The story of the Candy Cane

In Indiana, a candy maker wanted a candy
to help us remember who Christmas is really about.

So, he decided on a white piece of candy,
which symbolised Jesus' purity.

Hard candy was used,
to represent Jesus being the solid rock,
the foundation of the Church,
AND the firmness of God's promises.

It was then bent to form a 'J' shape,
obviously to mean Jesus.

When flipped,
it looks like a shephard's staff.
Since Jesus is THE awesome Shephard,
I think that was pretty appropriate.

Finally,
three small red stripes were added,
to represent Jesus' suffering for us,
and a single large red stripe,
to represent His blood which cleanses us of our sins.


How meaningful it certainly is. :)


Also,
I FOUND OUT WHO BOB IS. >:D

Bobs Candies was the first candy company,
to successfully mass-produce/distribute the candy cane.
The founder is Lt. Bob McCormack,
and his brother-in-law, Gregory Keller,
invented the machine which allowed for easy mass production.


Material credited to http://www.homeschooled-kids.com/candycanelegend.html,
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/candycane.asp
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_cane

Right after that,
I headed straight to church for rehearsal.
Tomorrow's Christmas Sunday [DOUBLE YAY]
and there's a play going on..
But it turns out I wasn't really needed,
so I highly regretted not taking one of the books with me,
because all I did for the next three hours was pretty much.. Nothing.


AND after that,
I went to the last youth service of the year. :D
I can't wait for the next one!

The first youth service of 2011 will include Henry Seely!!
[TRIPLE YAY]
[Refer to Planetshakers]


Because I realised yesterday that tomorrow is Christmas Sunday,
I panicked and
had to get my Christmas shopping for my friends done today.

So I paid a lil visit to good ol' Cold Storage,
and got four boxes of Bobs candy canes!


I hope my friends like it. :)


Bob.


Bob again.


Actually.. Who's Bob?

There's a story behind the candy canes,
but I'll leave that till next time.

Speaking of future posts,
I haven't forgotten the Phuket pictures..
It's just that my cousin hasn't handed me the files yet,
so please wait patiently till then okay?

I've actually got lots of posts drafted in my head,
it's just that I need to find
the right time and materials to post them..

Also,
I don't want to post everyday..
Because I don't want you guys getting bored of me now, would I? :)

..Unless you're bored already.
Which would then make no difference at all. xD



If you're still reading,
I thank you for your dilligence,
and believe me when I say,
I try not to make my posts wordy,
but drastic times call for drastic measures.

So thank you once again!

It is 4.14am,
and I have to wake up in two hours or so.


I should really stop living in England's timezone.


Psst! I'm sorry for the careless colourings and too-wordy post.
I'm so tired I'm just doing it off the top of my head.
Which is dangerous. Oh so dangerous.

That's right, Pixar fans!
A Toy Story Christmas tree! :D
How awesome is that?

Unfortunately, I couldn't take the Buzz Lightyear,
who was right on top as the Star.
Though.. What's hanging on the tree?

Let's take another look at it.


According to Wiki,
they're called Squeeze toy Aliens.
How cute! :D


So my purpose for being in town,
was to FINALLY meet with my childhood friends.
One of them just got back from Australia,
so we were hyping over him for quite a bit.

I just love how,
we don't see each other for ages,
and then we finally meet,
and it's like we never left each other in the first place!

Of course..
Some things change over time.
It can't be helped.
But I'm just glad that they're still on the right track.

So here's to 19 years of friendship!
[Yes, we've been friends,
the moment we came into this world.]

So it's 2.30am,
and I've got approximately four hours to catch some sleep.

Nice.




Ah. I forgot to mention that I've got a busy day tomorrow, haven't I?

This bear?





....


Nawwww

I meant this one.



Feel the Christmas spirit in the air yet?

Well,
I have decided that I've been pretty good this year,
which should place me on Santa's 'Nice' list,
if he existed in the first place.

So since he doesn't,
I'M gonna be my own Santa!


And so,
this Christmas 2010,
I will be hunting for teddy bears once more.

So you say,
"What? They're just teddy bears dude. Any one will do."

Well I BEG TO DIFFER.

They are stuffed with different things,
and made of different cloths okay?

And I strictly abide by the 'natural colour' rule.
Which means that all of the bears I bought are brown, black or white.
Light brown, dark brown, black, white, you name it, I got it.

I should show you my wall of teddies one day.

Yeah yeah, I know,
I'm 19,
just take it that I'm a Collector, okay?

[You see, it's essential to have a capital C,
cause the small one would just make me sound lame.]

Kid.

But I have a reason for this post!
[I don't]

Christmas is coming,
so I reckon you'll need to buy some presents for

1) Kids

2) Girlfriends

3) Anyone else


And if you're gonna get them a teddy bear,
ensure that you get the right one.

So I've complied a brief not-very foolproof but will-do guide.

1) Colour

Either pick their favourite colour,
[Which, will most probably be obsene unless it's a neutral colour]
or if they prefer au natural,
then just go brown, black or white.

2) Display or sleeping?

If it's on display, the teddy bear should be firm,
it's easier to make it sit right.
But if it's used for sleeping or cuddling,
get the soft ones. Please.

3) Material

Again, it depends on the person.
The kind who aren't INTO bears that much but still like them,
I'm guessing they might not mind the fabric.
If it's sleeping, again,
PLEASE get something soft.
You don't want the child waking up to skin rash or burn. -__-

4) Pricing

Uhm, it really depends.
They have crazily expensive ones (approximately $5000),
but I've got really good bears at 10 bucks each,
so it's not really pricing,
more on the company and materials used.

5) Company

I've got some brands which I love,
but if you don't have a favourite brand,
just stick to the other rules and you'll be fine.

So here they are:

A) Gotta Get Gund
[www.gund.com]

B) Ty
[www.ty.com]

C) Harrods
[www.harrods.com]
[Note: Tad expensive]

D) Me-to-You
[http://carteblanchegreetings.com/metoyou/]
[Note: Display, expensive]

E) Forever friends
[http://www.foreverfriends.co.uk/home/]
[Note: Display, expensive]

F) Build a Bear
[http://www.buildabear.com/]
[Note: Customised if you want more sincerity]

Alrighhhtt.
So you can check these out,
but I TOTALLY recommend you check out Gotta Get Gund first,
superb quality, reasonable pricing and children friendly!

And you don't have to stop at giving away the bear just like that,
you can accessorize,
like placing a necklace around it [if it's for your girlfriend],
or even string a ring, like one of those couple rings?
Or how about letting it hug some flowers or chocolates!

See what I mean? :)


So, Bear post: Done!
I'll be leaving for Phuket tomorrow!
I'll try to bring my laptop along,
but if I can't,
I'll just see you on the 10th of December when I get back!


Hope you have a great week,
get those presents,
but remember, it's all about your HEART.


See y'all soon!