Christmas Wish List!

hey everyone!

so my christmas wish list from last year was a huge success! between christmas and my birthday, i almost got everything on my list! so i've decided to do it again. sure it's a little self-absorbed, but it yields some pretty awesome benefits for me. hahaha! =D

Here's what mia wants for christmas - some are outlandish but hey, a girl can dream, right?

1. marc jacobs small purse


2. Crocs rain boots


3. ESV Study Bible (help me to lead bstudy better!) hehe!



4. a mini guitar for my mia-size fingers


5. wonderstruck (the perfume) - by taylor swift

6. non-cashmere glittens (i keep getting holes in my thumbs bc i use them so much!)

7. winter pajamas! (these are from the gap, btw)


8. ipad! (hey, i can dream...)

9. incredibly loud and extremely close (the book, not the movie)


10. any C.S. Lewis book


Okay... that's it for now. if i think of more, i'll add on. =) happy shopping everyone!

one

a + b = mia

i recently purchased airplane tickets to go on a trip to vancouver and LA, and a funny thing happened.

i was online trying to buy these tickets around 2am on wed night. and after i hit the submit button, my transaction wouldn't go through. the page told me to call the airline. so i called the airline, and they told me to call my credit card company.

and do you know why they sent me on this wild goose chase?

my credit card thought my card had been stolen bc i, little mia, who has owned this credit card since 2005, does not typically buy airplane tickets. i set off all these red flags over at my credit card's headquarters. i imagined an old man sitting at a company, watching me make this transaction on my card, thinking, "surely, mia isn't buying an airplane ticket! she NEVER does that! let alone a ticket to CANADA?!" hahaha. but sure enough, i was. =)

so i had to sit on the phone with the bofa ppl and tell them my entire itinerary of when i was traveling and where i'd be going so that this wouldn't happen again.

after this big hullabaloo was over, i sat on my bed wondering - how did they know?? how does my CC know me so well? how does it know that i never buy plane tickets? i theorized that maybe someone was assigned to me, and has been watching my purchase history for years now so that when my card gets stolen, they'd know. but i checked with a friend, and she said that this is not the case. haha, that there are computer formulas and codes to calculate these things.

it's really crazy to think that a simple algorithm could KNOW a person so well. that it would know my habits, my likes and dislikes, my favorite foods and books, and even the interests of my loved ones based on gifts that i buy for them. it made me realize that what i buy says a lot about who i am.

so i analyzed my credit card statements, and this is who i am:

- i eat a lot of hale& hearty
- i always take out cash on friday evenings
- i eat burgers often (especially 5 guys - at least once a month)
- i buy presents for ppl every month
- i shop a lot at ann taylor loft
- i buy transportation tickets from the MTA and metro-north
- i eat at the mcdonalds near church office fairly often
- and most recently - apparently, i eat in ktown very often
- i buy a new batch of books every 4 months or so
- i buy a lot of cupcakes and cookies from all kinds of bakeries


my spending radius is pretty small. i really don't leave this area much, do i? well... hoho... looks like that's about to change. at least for a week and a half! =)

credit card - you better watch out! mia's going to be doing some unusual things!

a new song in my heart

hey everyone!

i recorded another song! this one was a hard one. by the time i got to the take that's uploaded here, my voice was so tired. dang, she belts a high G. that's insane. i didn't even know that was humanly possible. haha! i'm thoroughly impressed. i could not achieve it, but i did my best.

i hope u guys like it. i really like the message of this song. and the original is also so beautiful. u should all go take a listen. =)


original artist: demi lovato
song: skyscraper




ps. here are the lyrics:

marathons

last night, i watched a movie called "the kids are all right." the movie was meh, but there was one line that stuck out to me.

"marriage is an eff-ing marathon."

the line stuck out to me bc i've recently begun running.

i'm not gonna sugar coat this - running sucks.

- it's painful
- i can't remember what it feels like anymore to not be sore all over my body
- it's time-consuming
- if you give up, you have to start all over again to build your endurance. so really, u can't give up
- you have to eat healthier
- you sweat
- you have to look ugly in front of people - sweaty, grumpy, in pain, panting
- you will most likely incur some kind of injury
- even when you're tired, u still have to keep running

these are all things i hate about running. i would say that it's a miserable experience. but why do i do it?

- bc i promised julia yang that i would be her running buddy
- bc i want to be healthy
- bc i've never run in my entire life, and it'd be nice to finally overcome this

it's been a surprising experience. i've never been able to run EVER in my life. but for the first time, i'm able to run. i'm able to run without stopping. i'm able to actually be PROUD of myself. and bc i've gotten a glimpse of how good it can be, it makes me wonder, should i try to run a marathon?

i think the statement that marriage is a marathon is true. u get a glimpse of how good "running a marathon" could be when you're dating. and finally, u decide that you're going to do it - you're going to commit to train to run a marathon.

but once u start running the marathon, it's hard. it sucks. u will get tired; u will feel pain; u will want to give up; u will want to take a break. but u can't. bc if u do, u will lose. the same goes for marriage. it is hard, there will be pain, u will want to give up, but u can't.

i'm finding that running is creating a new character in me. it's teaching me to push through the pain, and keep my eyes on the finishline. it's teaching me stay committed bc if i give up, julia will probably give up too. and i want to see her grow, not fail bc of my own flaws. it's teaching me that even though it sucks now, i'm gonna be so proud later.

and i hope that these learnings will equip me for the marathon of marriage.

but more importantly, i hope that they will equip me for the marathon of this spiritual race we're all running to win.

at the end of every marathon, there is always a crowd of loved ones jumping and screaming with signs and ready-hugs. i imagine that when i'm done with my life, God is going to be there at the finishline with a big sign, jumping up and down, rooting me on, ready with delicious snacks, arms open wide, waiting for me to jump right in. =)

PTL!

i just got off the phone with my mom, and she told me about how she and some of her church members went to serve at a homeless shelter in paterson, nj.

now, if you don't know, paterson, nj is pretty ghetto. and when she told me she went to paterson, my mouth dropped bc my mom is not the kind of person to go anywhere that is unsafe.

so i asked her all about it bc i was really surprised that she did this. and she told me that she cooked food and served it to the people who came to the shelter. i asked her, "umma, how did you like it?" and she said that it was a little scary but overall, she said she felt really good inside.

she said that people kept saying, "thank you mami!" and she said that she felt so appreciated by their words. and of course, my mom being my mom, touted her own horn, and said how people raved about the awesome salad she made, and the perfectly cooked rice. hahaha. oh my mom. =)

but at the end of the conversation, i said, "umma, i'm really proud of you for doing this." and she said this to me:

"yeah, i felt so good inside to help these people, and the people were so happy, and thank God."

i felt really warm inside to watch my mom grow a little more in her walk of faith, and to see that God is moving in her life.

PTL indeed. amen! =D

regret

about 2 months ago, i noticed that there was a young-ish homeless girl who sat on the sidewalk near my office. the first time i passed her by, my heart broke for her. i couldn't help but think about how young she was, and how when i was her age, i was in such a different place than she was. i wanted to talk to her, see if i could help her, but i got scared. a million thoughts ran through my head - what do i say? do i ask for her name? do i tell her mine? do i tell her about Jesus right now? what if she asks me why this happened to her? what do i tell her?

so, i kept walking.

2 days later, she was back again. my heart broke again, and i thought for sure, i should talk to her. but again, the doubting questions attacked, and i walked passed her again. but i promised myself that the next time, i would definitely talk to her - no matter what.

and then i didn't see her again for nearly a month. =(

and then, 2 weeks ago, she was back. and my heart leaped! my chance was back, and God had opened this door again. but silly me, i walked passed her again. thankfully, God tugged on my heart, and turned me around. so i knelt beside her and began to talk to her.

i asked her how she was doing, where she was staying, gave her some money, and asked her if she needed help finding a place to sleep. i told her that i knew of a place called covenant house, and that maybe she could go there. but neither of us knew where it was. so i promised her that tomorrow, i'd bring her all the information, just make sure to come back around 6pm, and i'll be here. so she promised she'd be back to talk to me tomorrow. and i walked away.

i was kicking myself the whole commute home. why did i not pray for her? why did i not ask her her name? why did i not tell her that Jesus loved her? what was i so darn afraid of??? sigh.

the next day, i left my office at 6pm, armed with all the info for CH and some healthy snacks for her to eat. but she wasn't there.

i've been carrying this stuff in my purse now for 2 weeks, hoping she'll come back again.

i feel so much regret for not being more bold, for not having the courage to pray for her, for not showing her more love when i had the chance. i'm so disappointed in myself. =(

i really pray that God will open this door one more time. i promise, i will do it right next time.