LIVE Your Life!!!

Life was not meant for you to just exist and wander without intention. You were created so you could LIVE!!! LIVING is an ACTION!!! Fear was meant to warn you to stop for a brief moment, and what I like to call a humble tremble from God, to keep you in check or to push you forward for the right reason. It can be powerful when it is used for what it was supposed to, and NOT to paralyze you to keep you from moving forward in your life. Healthy fear is a wise alert where it is quite humbling to the soul, and it pushes you to move forward in your life in the right direction. Not one that causes you to be stagnant, where you get in your way, and you end up making excuses every way you turn in not achieving or rising to your true potential that you were blessed to be. You were chosen and blessed to be on this earth with talents and gifts to serve others (and, my personal belief, whether you share it or not I understand, this is my belief, is I personally believe God gave me whatever gift I have, and I am supposed to do what He wants me to do with it).

You are unique. There is NO other person like you on this planet. Even if you are a twin, while similar, that twin is STILL unique. Healthy fear allows you to be ALERT so you ACT!! And then you ACT and MOVE and DO - NOT for you to stay still. Sometimes, you can even just analyze things forever due to fear, and that is called "analysis paralysis". It gets you nowhere. It does NOTHING. It all means nothing until you ACTUALLY DO something!!! Do NOT fear!! Just DO!! It is great to think things through. Once you have thought things through, JUST DO IT!!! GO OUT THERE and LIVE YOUR LIFE!!!

Know you are blessed. Know you are loved. Know you were created and chosen to be here on this earth. Life is a gift. Don't waste the time you have been blessed to be given. Don't just "exist". Don't just go through the motions in your life. Choose to REALLY LIVE YOUR LIFE!!!

Love you Guys!!!! I am grateful for you! God bless you on this 4th of July! May the Good Lord watch over you and your families! :)

My Shout Out: Trevor Zhou and His New Film The Waltz

As an immigrant and as an Asian American, I was very intrigued when I saw this video about a new film from Trevor Zhou. However, I don't think you have to be Asian American or an immigrant to be able to appreciate or relate to Trevor's new film.

Take a look at Trevor's campaign for his new film called The Waltz.  This film is inspired from Trevor's personal life and is told from an immigrant mother's perspective.

Our house was not the neatest house either when we were growing up; but while my parents were not and are not "as bad" as the photos about Trevor's mom's hoarding in his campaign video when it comes to hoarding, I (and I am sure many immigrants, as well as, many people, in general) can relate to Trevor's story and about his mom's hoarding. Many immigrants come from NOTHING, and leave EVERYTHING behind to start a new life in a new country for whatever reason - whether it is so that they could have a better life than they had before; or if it is because of job relocating reasons, for instance. Most immigrants around during the time I came to the US was because they wanted a better life for their family, which means, we had NOTHING and had to start from scratch. Sometimes coming from nothing teaches you to waste nothing, and that can sometimes be the very start of hoarding.

It is hard to know what reasons or motivations people who hoard have exactly, but there are probably many mental, emotional, as well as, physical reasons and repercussions of hoarding - not just for the person, but also for those around them.

I think we can all have a tendency to "hoard" something. We may all have a little "hoard" pile somewhere in our house even if it just a desk with a pile of mail or even a pile of junk food stashed somewhere for when we get the munchies. So, just because we may not be "as bad" as Trevor's mom in these photos when it comes to hoarding, I think this film can resonate with many.

I am looking forward to seeing this film! Good job Trevor and good luck with your film! :)

Click below and check out Trevor's video! Have a great day Everyone! :)

Happy Friday!: Seoul Food

Happy Friday Everyone!!

On this Friday, I felt like talking food for some reason. This Seoul born, Korean-American loves Korean food!  I think Korean food is my favorite, but I admit I don't actually eat it all that often anymore.  My husband doesn't usually like a lot of the Korean food. He isn't a big fan of kimchi, and kimchi is a MUST for Koreans, especially when it comes to Korean food. Korean food is also kind of hard to make for just one serving, so if I make Korean food, I have to make it for when I have company come over who like Korean food.  Korean food is also something that has to be eaten pretty quickly because the ingredients tend to have a lot of fresh vegetables in it, or sometimes eggs, and cannot be left over for very long periods of time once cooked.

Korean soups are among some of my favorite foods to eat, but I, unfortunately did not take any photos at the time I made them. However, here are some of the foods I did remember to take some photos of after I made them to share with you. These are from when I was having a friend over my house to eat lunch with me. See what you could have when you come over for lunch! :)  Psst! Here's a hint or tip about Koreans: Many Koreans say "Thank you" with food!! i.e., They will cook Korean food for you! wink! wink!;) So, you may want to be nice to Korean people! hee hee :)  (well, you should be nice to EVERYBODY!!!)

This is kimbop. I prefer to stuff my kimbop with a lot of "stuff" and not put as much rice in it since I actually don't eat a lot of rice. Rice actually makes me fat, so I try to avoid it even though I like rice. Kimbop is a popular dish for Koreans when going on a picnic, as well as, for packing a lunch! :)

This is dukkbokki. Dukkbokki is made with rice cake. The red chili paste makes it a spicy dish. I LOVE spicy!!! I make my dukkbokki a little different than my Koreans friends make it.  I make it more similar to the way my mom makes it. I kind of stir fry it instead of boiling it. That is all I will say of my "secret". The rest you will have to figure out. ;)

Rolled eggs (gaeran mari) is a great side dish but can also be a main dish if you want. It also makes a great snack! :) You can cut them into many different shapes, and you can also create many different variations of gaeran mari. This is just a plain one.  I have made vegetable ones with carrots and spinach, and one with seaweed for instance. They are like little, mini-omlettes. My husband actually likes rolled eggs and will eat these. He didn't like the seaweed one though. :) Hey, an Asian wife had to try you know? hee hee :)

One of the unique things about Korean cuisine is the side dishes. Spinach is one of my favorite side dishes. It is healthy, fresh and tastes sooooo good!!! :) Spinach is very easy and a must on a Korean table in my personal opinion, besides the kimchi. :)  

The thing I found about Korean cooking so far is, there are basic ways to make something, but basically, I just season and tailor to taste based on my taste and needs, so now I understand what my mom meant by "I don't have a recipe. I just do."  :)

Now, I'm craving Korean food! Well, I guess it's time to eat! Until next time! :)

Hey, It's Just a Miracle That ANYBODY Knows My Name! :)

I'm not amazed that people don't know my name. I am amazed that ANYBODY knows my name!

Every time I get just one "Follow" on Twitter, or one "Like" on my Facebook page, or one "Friend Request" on my Facebook profile, or one "Subscriber" on my youtube, or one reader on my blog, I am amazed...and humbled. I am amazed when someone I haven't seen in years reconnects with me, and I amazed when someone I have never met before in my life wants to connect with me by "following", "liking", "subscribing" or "reading" what I have to say, do and especially sing. I am amazed and humbled that there are people in all parts of the world, and in all different cultures, backgrounds, economic circumstances, regardless of whether or not they speak the same language that I do want to connect with me. It shows how the arts can be a universal language. It shows how through the arts, different cultures, that even though we don't necessarily speak the same language fluently, can still form a bond and can still understand each other. We can still communicate, and we can still genuinely show love, acceptance, and respect for one another. 

I know in terms of social media standards, nobody knows my name, but, in all honesty, to this day, I am still amazed that ANYBODY, besides the people I personally know, knows my name.

LOVE YOU GUYS!!! Thank you ALL so much for your support and encouragement! God bless!

Cindy and Isaac Practicing Before Singing for Husband's Birthday :)

I know it has been a while since I have blogged.  I have been away from home for a few weeks now.  I had a couple of interesting things happen during my roadtrip to Chicago, and things have been a bit busy with settling in at one sister's house and then the other sister's house, and then back to the other sister's house; and, of course, I had to and I am still getting used to the crazy Chicago weather again after being away from it for a couple of years.  The cold and snow seem to be never-ending. It is interesting how fast you become accustomed to NOT becoming accustomed to the crazy weather even though you lived in it for most of your life.  Yup, I have become as my Chicago friends would say...a wimp, or one of "those" people. :)  Obviously, I saw my agent and went on a few auditions in the city, and I also saw my parents, so I guess things have been fairly busy.

Plus, if you have been on facebook or following me on twitter, you may have seen my posts and tweets about my dog, Isaac, and you may have seen a video I have posted of him and my other dogs (my other dogs in that video have sadly passed on since that video and I miss them everyday obviously) "singing".  Whenever I sing at home or vocalize at home, Isaac looks at me, perks up and "sings".  Okay, he howls.  I know he is probably telling me to "be quiet!", but I must say that he looks extremely cute saying it! :)  You may have also seen my posts and tweets that because I was going to be away from home on my husband's birthday, I was going to call my husband and sing for my husband on his birthday.

So, since I needed to practice and since Isaac tends to join in whenever I practice, here is a video I posted on my facebook.  I know this may make me a "stage mom", but I will admit I think my baby is adorable so I am a proud mom. :)

To see more videos of me and Isaac, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook!  Tell all your friends!  :)