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Tuesday 26 January 2010

A new address

Hi to all my faithful readers,

Friday 13 November 2009

The weekend I turned 27

Started with a strange feeling in my stomach.

Due to time zone differences, I received a flurry of Facebook birthday wishes (gotta love social networks) from all my peeps in Singapore from early Fri 6 Nov evening. I smiled and laughed, but inside I also somewhat wept. The people I've grown up celebrating my birthday with are miles and miles away, and that night in bed I told Emil that I almost wished that Saturday wasn't my birthday, so that I could just relax that day, without any expectations, without hankering for birthday hugs and birthday cakes from Bengawan Solo.

Boy was I glad my almost-wish didn't come true.

I opened my eyes to find that the other side of the bed was empty. Blurry-eyed, I saw that it was 7.30am. Emil up so early on a Saturday morning? Hmmm...

And then I heard slight sounds in the kitchen. Very slight, barely noticeable, but enough to trigger a memory of Emil telling me of the Lide way of celebrating birthdays. And so, with a smile in my heart and an almost-bursting bladder, I eagerly awaited to hear the door to the bedroom to open again.

After what seemed like eternity (though it was really only 30 mins later), I heard the door gently open, and in he came, singing "Happy Birthday" and holding the most lovely breakfast setup I've ever had. I expected breakfast in bed for the birthday girl (as all good Lides do), but not the candles! What a way to remember my first birthday as a Mrs :)

We ate breakfast together, and then my parents called from Singapore to wish me Happy Birthday! Was really nice to hear their voices - chatted for half an hour on the mobile phone :)

Emil and I then took a walk to the nearby grocery store to get some provisions. Emil had to rush off at noon to help a friend of ours move house, so he grabbed lunch before he left with a goodbye kiss, and an instruction to "just do what I wanted today". So what did I do?

1) Made carrot cake for the 1st time (not because I wanted to make my own birthday cake! I just had a craving :P)
2) Cleaned the house (yes, a clean house brings me great joy on my birthday hehe)
3) Read my textbook (might as well right?)


Amidst the chores, I noticed something weird - the canned food that we bought earlier in the morning seemed to be missing. And I remember putting them away myself! Hmmm.... maybe Emil, out of the kindness of his heart, gave them to our friend who was moving in case they didn't have time to shop for their dinner?

The key to the door turned at 4pm, and Emil was back! He looked tired, so I told him that I just wanted to spend the rest of the day relaxing at home, maybe going out for some good Chinese food, but nothing fancy. Emil said that the friend who was moving wanted to treat us to dinner in return for the help, so that was the plan for dinner. A bit disappointed, to be honest, just wanted a quiet day at home with hubby, but decided not to whine too much. Dinner was at 5pm, so we spent the time in between chilling in front of the TV. And then the doorbell rang at 4.45pm. Emil looked nonchalant, but I smelled something fishy... Opened the door, and it was Emil's parents and sister and boyfriend! They dropped by to give me birthday hugs and birthday pressies :) So sweet :) Emil's sister gave me a scarf that she made herself, and I absolutely love it!

We left for our friends' place (5 mins walk from ours) at 5pm. On the way, as we were chatting, I was wondering if this dinner thing was simply a ruse for a surprise party. Of course I had my suspicions re. the canned food, but I didn't share them with Emil. As we neared the home, I was checking out the front yard for signs of a crowd, but nothing. No shoes, no bicycles. Hmmm... Looked through the window and saw our friends sitting there, as expected from waiting for us for dinner. Hmmm.... Rang the doorbell, and our friend opened the door for us. Not many coats hanging on the rack. Hmmm.... Then my friend, Lina, said, "Sarah! I forgot it was your birthday till a few minutes ago! I am so so sorry! Happy Birthday!" and as she gave me a hug, I erased all thoughts of a surprise.......................








"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!"
Suddenly the lights turned off, I saw figures popping out from behind the sofa, and a cake with candles heading its way towards me!

I guess there was a surprise after all :)

Turns out that Emil had been coordinating with the international cell group and my classmate for the past week, and had brought the canned food with him to make pizza for the surprise dinner (when he was supposed to be helping with the moving of house). My friends even rehearsed the 'entrance sequence' twice before I came!

I'm really blessed to have friends and family, both in Singapore and Sweden...

... and of course, so blessed to have such a wonderful hubby who voluntarily took the stress of organising a surprise for me upon himself!


Come Sunday, the day after, I received a phonecall from my pastor and his wife, all the way from Singapore! They had apparently thought the timezone difference was more than 24 hours, hence the delay...hehe...

And so the birthday weekend ended with another strange feeling in my stomach - a combination of good food, and a fuzzy feeling of warmth that transcended the cold autumn night :)

I feel so blessed to be so loved!

Labels: birthday, singapore, sweden

Friday 9 October 2009

Catching a Breath

Almost a month since my last blog post! In between catching my next breath, I've :

Cleared my Swedish For Immigrants course (which was really an answer to prayer. I only just passed the national exam, but hey, I did pass! Given that most of the other candidates have been studying for a year verses my 3+ months, I'm very thankful for the pass. I can finally sleep in a bit more on weekday mornings instead of rushing to Swedish class... *contented smile* )

Journeyed 3/4 way through the first study period of my Masters course (the next few weeks are going to be challenging though. 5 team assignments due concurrently with 2 exams. And here I thought doing a Masters would be a "good break" from work. Can't believe I would actually miss a having 9 to 5 job :P still, I'm enjoying the intellectual stretching :) )

Experienced (and still am doing so) God's hand upon His ministry here in Lund among the internationals (from a regular group of 5 to almost 25 in 3 months, we have really seen His grace & hand upon us, and are so humbled. We're now in a period of "restructuring", dividing further into 3 sub-cell groups, and though the going's been tough, time & physically speaking, we're very thankful to have an awesome & committed group of leaders & helpers ever willing to avail themselves. There's such a blessing when all parts, rather than just some, work together to build His kingdom, for His glory.)

Much more to come, but for now - 8 page valuation report awaits my writing! God's amazing love & strength, and,my ever gentle & steady hubby, meanwhile keep that smile on my face & leap in my step each day :)

I'm forever grateful :)

Saturday 19 September 2009

Food of the World Unite!

First, my sincere apologies for the slight hiatus in blogging. My Masters course in Corporate & Financial Management is proving to be quite an unexpected handful. But I must say that I am challenged, and excited about what's ahead - intellectually, and more so, spiritually.

There's a certain sense of purpose and "steady peace" that comes with knowing that you're in the right place at the right time, in God's terms. Though life here in Sweden is vastly different from all I've grown up with, yet there's a feeling of "settledness" that keeps me going, beyond just surviving, to actual living, and enjoying life. It's just amazing to me how the more the world changes around me, the more I'm confident in my unchanging and faithful God.

He keeps me sane in an insane world :)

And I'm thankful to be surrounded by so many colourful people too. Tonight, we had an international potluck at our place, and if I'm not wrong, we had 26 people representing 12 countries in our apartment, having a great time sharing life over makan (food).

• Hainanese Chicken Rice
• Sweet & Sour Pork
• Asam Fish
• Thai Curry
• Penang Laksa
• Fried Rice
• Korean Sushi
• Smörgåstårtor
• Spanish Tortilla
• Molten Chocolate Cake
• Chocolate Fondue
• Sago
• and much much more...!

• Sweden
• Singapore
• Korea
  
• Macedonia
  
• China
  
• Malaysia
  
• Austria
  
• Spain
  
• Columbia
  
• USA
  
• Canada
  
• Switzerland

Labels: food, God, Masters, sweden

Saturday 29 August 2009

Masters, the Music of 'Lah' and the Aroma of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Queuing 4 hours to get the Welcome Package for Masters students . Dinner with Simon & Catha . Preparing for cell group sharing . Ferrying the Singaporean students to IKEA . Registering for the Masters program with the School of Economics and Management . Cell group . Welcome dinner for the Singaporeans . Finally a breather!

It's been a hectic but fruitful week, and I'm happy for the respite today :) Can't believe it's already end of August, and I'm about to begin a new chapter of my life - becoming a full-time Masters student. Apparently, from rumours circulated by previous students, the Masters course I'm doing (Corporate & Financial Management) is super tough, requiring studying an average of 40.6 hours per week (and I'm not sure if that includes the lectures). Having said that, the professor-in-charge mentioned that working in real life is still going to be harder, so I'm not quite certain where the benchmark of difficulty lies.

I guess I'll soon find out :)

Meanwhile, Emil and I are getting to know the 7 incoming SMU students to Lund for exchange in the coming semester. Quite a lively and hilarious bunch, chattering in refreshing Singlish! I never knew how much I'd miss bad English ;)

Since I seem to be appending my blog posts with recipes, I shall continue the tradition by sharing the recipe for soft oatmeal raisin cookies that I made for the Singaporeans yesterday. Given the raving reviews I got from them, and given it was my first time ever trying the recipe, I'm quite certain anyone can master it :)

I'm beginning to understand, though, why lawyers would leave their careers to become bakers. There's a certain satisfaction in seeing someone's contented smile and happy grin after taking a bite of your own confectionary creation.

It's an indescribable feeling that I think I'm getting addicted to ;)

So, for all you bitten by the baking bug as well, enjoy the recipe!

SOFT OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Soft-Oatmeal-Cookies/Detail.aspx

Makes 24-30

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• Raisins

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in raisins and oats.
2. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (not compulsory, but it does help later when rolling the dough into balls).
3. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Labels: baking, Masters, recipe, singapore

Friday 14 August 2009

Of Food & Fellowship & Cinnamon Buns

The benefit of having been bitten by the baking bug is that it fuels my ability for hosting the many fellowship gatherings happening over the past few days and days to come.

Case in point -
Cell group last week Thursday was treated to homemade scones.
Dinner with Dan & Christina this week on Wed comprised of homemade minced meat pie, greek salad, and topped off with redcurrant pie.
Cell group yesterday saw me attempting to bake cinnamon buns (my version of "kanelbulle") from scratch (and they seemed to be well received, phew!).

Fellowship gatherings coming up next week at the Lidé home -
Cell group on Thursday;
Babyshower on Friday;
Dinner with some incoming Singaporean students on Saturday;
Dinner with friends from my Swedish class on Sunday.

There's just something about the combination of food and fellowship that's powerful yet intimate. Following the example of the Acts church:

Acts 2:46-47
They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

It's nice to know that food is as well-loved here in Sweden as it is in Singapore :)

So, here's my recipe for cinnamon buns. I combined recipes for the American cinnamon bun with the one for Swedish kanelbulle :)

CINNAMON BUNS

(Adapted from:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/cinnamonrolls
http://www.thegoodmoodfoodblog.com/2007/10/kanel-bulle-swedish-cinnamon-buns.html)

Makes 12-15 buns

Dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups warm milk
2 teaspoons instant yeast OR 1 packet of normal yeast
40g melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Filling:
80g-100g melted butter
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 egg beaten

Melt the butter in a large bowl gently on a low heat and then add the milk.

When the mixture is lukewarm add the yeast, making sure it is really mixed through.

Stir in the sugar and the salt.

Slowly incorporate the flour in one cup at a time. The mixture will eventually come together, and you won't be left with a sticky mess forever!

Add more flour if need be till the dough has taken shape and is no longer sticky. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes.

Leave the dough to rise in the bowl covered with a damp cloth for 45 mins. Try and find somewhere warm as the yeast will do its job a lot quicker.

While the dough is rising , prepare the filling. Gently melt the butter and add the cinnamon and sugar, making a thick spreadable mixture.

When the dough has risen, turn out onto a floured surface and roll it into a rectangle about 5mm thick, then spread the filling all over.

Sprinkle the raisins on top.

Then roll the dough so you get a snail effect, and slice into approx 12-15 pieces. Place those pieces in a baking pan.

Cover the pan and let the buns rise for another 45 minutes to an hour until they've roughly doubled in size.

Coat the side facing up with the beaten egg. Then sprinkle the buns with some pearl sugar, or brown sugar if you can't get some.

Bake them at 200 deg C for 20 minutes at the lower rack.

Serve fresh from the oven, with tea or milk, and good fellowship! :)

Labels: baking, cell group, recipe, sweden

Sunday 2 August 2009

Spiritual Detox

Mum, Emil and I just came home from the Europe Conference 2009, and what a week it has been.
So so much that we've taken into our spirits, our hearts, and minds. Mighty words spoken by mighty men of God (Pastor Ulf Ekman, Pastor Kong Hee, Pastor Mark Conner, to name a few). Solid teaching of the Word. An awesome sense of the presence of God, in a place that lifts the name of Jesus up high, unashamedly, and draws people from more than 60 nations in closer fellowship with the Holy Spirit and with each other.

What hit me most about the Europe Conference is this - it was not a conference that was out to tickle our senses, or rev us up into some sort of frenzy, like a sugar high that lasts only for the moment before the crash.

It was a conference that focused on imparting God's heart, truth and life to all who came hungry to hear and receive. A conference that taught the truth, but did not force it down one's throat. It's there for the taking, if we choose to.

Oh man. My heart and my spirit is so filled up right now. It was like a week of spiritual detox, of spiritual reorientation, of spiritual renewal, of spiritual refreshing. Coming at a time when Emil and I are on the brink of something new happening ministry-wise, the challenging period of transition, where foundations are set for the work ahead, it was much needed and much absorbed by us both. We have felt challenged to prioritise time towards building our spirit man up outside of the distractions of life, by abstaining from the computer for one whole weekend-day a week. That our free time will not be spent wasted on mindless activities that eat up the hours but bring us nowhere, and instead we will feed on His Word, and prepare ourselves for the work He will have us do on the other 6 days of the week.

Of course, what matters in the end is that we make sure we sustain this heart's attitude. If our spiritual lives become a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows, we only have ourselves to blame. Time to take ownership not for a season, but for a lifetime, till He comes again to take us home!

Labels: conference, God, sweden