My 31st Christmas

Oh, there is just so much to be thankful for this Christmas and if I were to list it all down, it would take me hours.

Christmas 2013 has come and gone in a blink of an eye and although I am super tired, I just wanted to write a few thoughts down just like I try to do every year, and since I hardly blog these days anyway, I thought it would be good to share about my 31st Christmas 

*smiles smiles*

This Christmas was slightly different from the past Christmases... the main differences would be that my brother and his family are in the Philippines celebrating with my sister-in-laws family, instead of work slowing down, I was working too much in December {new clients and a shortage of manpower in the office} which made me grumpy and stressed, I didn't my Christmas shopping done in time and most importantly I did not find my Christmas spirit till heaps and heaps later *sniff*... ok nothing really new here to be honest - LOLs!

 Very much like last year, I found my Christmas spirit during Christmas eve mass. Unlike the Christmas spirits of old, this year's Christmas spirit did not really appear when I saw the beautifully decorated church nor did it appear when I heard the angelic voice of the choir singing Christmas carols... sure there were stirrings in my heart {I am after all a super sap!}, but it was not the same.

There was also no BIG bang to announce the arrival of my Christmas spirit. There was also no "ah hah!" moment... rather it was more of a swelling in my heart when the priests {there were four at the mass} talked about how blessed we were to be able to gather together to celebrate Midnight Mass in peace... 

how there were so many people out there suffering; people who lost their homes due to floods or war, people who were starving or who were sick or who were just lonely.

The swelling in my heart was one of thankfulness, joy and shame. Shame because in the hustle and bustle of "my life", I had forgotten the very fundamentals of Christmas. I had forgotten to prepare myself for the birth of Jesus. I had forgotten to pray for those who were forgotten, lost, in pain or suffering. Instead, I went on and on about how much work I had, how stressed I was, how I did not have anytime to buy presents and yadayadayada. Reading all this now, I feel ashamed at myself to have allowed these pressures to cloud the joy and peace of the season.

But all is not lost. Thank God!

The Christmas spirit swelled in my heart and grew and brought tears in my eyes for indeed unto this day, the Christ child is born and he is called Immanuel which means "God with us". It was a gentle reminder that no matter what I did, where I went or which nasty client I had to tackle, I was never alone. God was and will always be with me. That simple reminder was when I felt the Christmas spirit flow and course through me. 

And joy, the kind you can't buy, filled my heart. 

Thank you God for allowing me that special moment, thank you for the gift of Your Son. Thank you that I am called to be in your fold. Thank you God for all the blessings you have showered upon me and continue to shower upon me. Alleluia! Amen. 

The rest of Christmas passed by in a quiet blur. I spent a lot of time with my parents which was lovely. I hardly give them quality time, so spending time with them during Christmas Eve dinner at our very memorable Tram Car restaurant, Christmas lunch at a local coffee shop today, hanging out with them at home, furniture window shopping and then a simple bak kut teh dinner today in Kepong was wonderful indeed and I my mum thanked B and I for spending Christmas with them. 

Belle the beagle was uber cute today too ~ I hope she gets better soon. I also spent time with my bestie Meows and several other friends. We also managed to sell the condo {I also pray that the sale of the house goes smoothly}. Didn't get to spend much time talking to B one on one but he was always beside me or somewhere close by *smiles* There was also some frantic present wrapping and packing.... and now...

...now finally there is peace and quiet in the house.

I am listening to Mozart Christmas Carols and marveling at how fast time passes and another Christmas has come and gone and how I have to wait another 364 days for it again. 

This year, there is still no Christmas tree in the foreground, no BEC Christmas party, no Christmas carolling.... but there are a pile of surprise Christmas presents, a  few packed bags for tomorrow and most importantly, there is Christmas, joy and peace in my heart and a God who is always with me. 

Once again, Happy Blessed Christmas everyone!

*God bless*

Thank you for reading this dear blog friends and to Jennifer Robinson, thanks for leaving me a comment, I really appreciate it. 

Read more about my other Christmases here, here, here and here.  

And just like last year, I am still hooked onto Avicci {gosh he is a cutie} and kinda regret not dragging myself to the rave - LOLs. So here is some music from him ~ enjoy *smiles*

Christmas just ended but I am already looking forward to the new year 2014, bought my diaries, won myself a calendar and will create a new desktop calendar soon. But first, a short trip away with B and my in-laws, a little bit more of work and its hello 2014!

And finally, to end this post, here is a photo of my darling beagle Belle, asleep. I pray she gets better soon the little dear.

Oh, so much to look forward to everyday... and really I wonder what next year's Christmas will bring, I pray that they are only blessed, good and happy moments. Amen.

A Quickie From Me

I know... I know... I was supposed to update this Little Piece of Heaven ages ago but really... its getting tougher to juggle everything. And what do I mean by everything? Well, here's a little of what is going on in my life {for the benefit of those kind people who still follow me ~ thank you}...

Work ~ I recently got promoted {which is awesome} and we have also won some new clients {which is also awesome} but the icky part is that some of my team members are away which means that work has tripled for me. I enjoy being challenged, don't get me wrong, but its hard to do your portion of work and someone else's portion too and still do a good job for both portions! LOL... but thankful I have a good support system consisting of B, my colleagues, my family and my other friends who understand the daunting nature of life in a PR consultancy.

Hearts & Crafts ~ What started of as a little "let's try something new and see how it goes" has turned into something super awesome. I don't make heaps of money and I hardly join any bazaars these days but I am still getting support and sales which is awesome. I have a lot of ideas {funny how the ideas come when you are uber busy but never when you have nothing much going on} and hope to execute them soon but with work taking precedence these days {until we have all hands on deck again}, this has to take a backseat. However, no mater how big or small my store is, I am happy. This was something I used to daydream about and now here I am, actually doing it *smile smile*

Project Love Nest 2.0 ~ I don't know if I have blogged about this but we are moving. In another 2 months time or thereabouts, I will be nestled in my new home which is just a stones throw away from where I grew up. The house is being renovated and OMG is is a pain to manage contractors and deciding on what needs to be done and how everything is going to look and be transported... GAH! Even thinking about it is giving me the shivers!!! But... the house is gorgeous. I used to wonder how the inside of the house looked like and now we are the proud owners of said house! Will share some before and after pics of the house when things settle down *grin grin*

Holidays & Occasions ~ I missed the Avicci rave about 2 weekends ago and feel a bit bummed about it but I wasn't feeling well and I had the strangest feeling that I should stay at home and so I did. Last weekend was Kelssy's wedding and it was a whole day of merriment and activity. Will be going to celebrate their second wedding celebration up north this weekend ~ can't wait to go for this short road trip. Other then that, my weekends have been filled with shopping for the house stuff, catching up on sleep, tv and shop updates or visiting friends and family. I always feel that there is not enough time in a day!

Swaps, Snailmail & Postcrossing ~ I just started participating in Postcrossing and Swaps via swapbot this year and it has made me realize how much I miss writing, pen on paper and decorating said letter with stickers, pen and stamps. Have been meeting a lot of new friends via Instagram as well which is great. Hoping to do more swaps and snailmail next year. 

Anyways, that's about all the stuff that is happening in my life apart from my usual I-want-to-craft dilemma, watching and catching up on all my neglected TV series, movies and books and oh gosh, I just remembered I need to pack up and move *shudder* this is not going to be pleasant! I really do have a lot of stuff.

On to happy things... I recently made my first Black Friday purchase from Studio Calico and here is the short story of what happened which I shared on Studio Calico's blog post. I hope they don't I am strange!

~*~*~*~

I was so surprised when I saw the Studio Calico box this evening as I was not expecting it for at least another month - what with me living in Malaysia and all... but there it was in its unassuming brown box.

Before I opened the box, I turned on my BoneyM Christmas Carols and slowly cut the tape to reveal the treasures inside and to cut the story short, it was as if Christmas morning had come early for me. You see every day I see these pretty sneak peaks, reveals and items online and I very very seldom get the chance to buy them {no thanks to the awful conversion and shipping rate!} but finally... finally I have my own little magnetic kit box and other goodies which I have previously only been able to "oooo" and "ahhhh" at :)

As I opened each brown paper bag, drew open each muslin bag and sneaked a peek at the goodness inside, I just kept smiling {like a little looney} and I about half and hour later, I am still smiling. Still happy.

Sorry for this uber long comment but I to share my joy and say thank you to the team for selecting these pretty grab bags and for sending these goodies so quickly. It is my first time participating in a BlackFriday sale and I am so glad. 

Happy early Christmas to the Studio Calico team :)

~* ~*~*~

So yes... I am still smiling as I type this.

Truly Christmas has come early for me.

It's a little late and though its a public holiday tomorrow, I need to wind down for the night. Its been a draining two days at work - I a whole month to feel like this though I certainly hope it is not so.

 

Will try my utmost best to write again soon 

*smiles smiles*