JourNaL of ThOugHts

I Will Be BacK!

2011-11-14T08:45:00.000+08:00

Dear all, I guess the time has come for me to take a sabbatical from blog postings. I am taking this time to develop new skills in the area of my interest besides spending extended time with family members. I am truly excited about my choice and really looking forward to the positive benefit of it all. I promised to come back after establishing myself in the area of my interest and I have faith that I shall come back with renewed energy and zest! So, wish me well!

On Why I've Not Been Posting..

2011-09-28T09:36:00.004+08:00

I promise I have a great blog on the way.. if only I could find time for inspiration, the kids would stop fighting and school would take them in!

Life's Lesson

2011-08-26T16:57:00.000+08:00

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

When Enough Is Enough!

2011-07-12T11:50:00.008+08:00

My beloved country Malaysia is currently making world news again. I would have been proud if it's to mark some major milestones or achievements garnered by our people.

Sadly this is not the case. People the world over are yet again witnessing how the government of my beloved Malaysia is oppressing it's people for their want of a clean and fair election and an end to dirty politics. What we Malaysians want all these while is a better future for it's people.

The recent Bersih 2.0 rally (9th July 2011) organised by a coalition of Malaysian opposition political parties and NGOs saw tens of thousands of Malaysians leaving the comforts of their home and risking getting arrested, facing police brutality, a possible stampede, being shot at with tear gas, water canons and baton charges etc, etc. For you see, Bersih is deemed illegal just because someboday said so. Nevermind that the objective of it's campaign is for a noble cause and in the interest of a brighter future for all Malaysians.

I think overall people have been patient enough and now enough is enough! As Thomas Jefferson, one of the drafters of the US Declaration of Independence, said: “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

People want to see positive changes and whether the government like it or not, it is high time they step down from their high horses and discard their holier than thou attitude.

I personally see the high handed way our government handled this historic turn of even as a blessing in disguise. For the Bersih movement appears to have successfully rang the wake up call for all Malaysians regardless of race, decree and beliefs to stand united and in doing so, achieved something more monumental than Najib’s hollow 1Malaysia slogan ever will.

I am now beginning to see a ray of hope for Malaysia and it's people and with every account of personal experience shared by these self sacrificing Malaysians, I know we are gaining strength! There's still hope for us!

To share the sentiment of one 'accidental' participant, I include below an account of his story:

How Bersih Cleansed My Malaysian Soul

p/s - do not let the sacrifices demonstrated by our brave fellow Malaysians go to naught and be in vain! exercise your right in the next GE!!

A slap in the face for our arrogant PM during his recent visit to UK...

Memorable Quotes of Daily Life

2011-06-13T09:26:00.004+08:00

Inspiring

Until you spread your wings, you’ll have no idea how far you can fly

When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place

A champion is someone who gets up, even when he can’t

Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about

The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary

What you are is God’s gift to you, what you make of yourself is your gift to God

You were not born a winner, and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself be

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

Believe you can and you’re half way there

It’s not what you know, it’s what you do with what you know

It is not wanting to win that makes you a winner; it is refusing to fail

Smile even through your tears, Be Strong even through your fears

Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”

Some times you have to fall from the mountain to realise what you are climbing for

People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it

You can’t have a better tomorrow if you’re always thinking about yesterday

Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies within us while we live

The world only gets better because people risk something to make it better

I’m willing to fail, to learn how to succeed.

If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.

Improvements begins with ‘I’

Love

The spaces between your fingers were created so that another’s could fill them in
We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly
Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you was beyond my control
Sometimes people put up walls, not to keep others out, but to see who cares enough to break them down
if you cant get someone off your mind they are probably supposed to be there
It’s amazing how someone can break your heart, but you still love them with all the little pieces
The worst feeling you’ll ever feel is sitting next to the person who means the world to you knowing that you mean nothing to them
Love is giving someone the power to destroy you…but trusting them not to
you never really stop loving someone. you just learn to try to live without them
Sitting next to you doing absolutely nothing, means absolutely everything to me
If you truly love someone, then the only thing you want for them is to be happy….even if its not with you
You asked me whose life was more important- yours or mine and I answered “mine” ; you walked away angry not knowing that you are my life.
Sometimes you need to run away just to see who will come after you
Someday someone might come into your life and love you the way you’ve always wanted. If your someday was yesterday, learn. If your someday is tomorrow, hope. If your someday is today, cherish.
Anyone can make you smile or cry, but it takes someone special to make you smile when you already have tears in your eyes
Missing someone isn’t about how long it has been since you have seen them or the amount of time since you’ve talked. It’s about that very moment when you’re doing something and you wish that they were right there with you.
Even if we’re apart, knowing you exists, I can be stronger
Some people say the worst way to miss someone is when they are right next to you and you know you cant have them, but it’s worse when you thought you didnt want them anymore and then all of a sudden you realize you cant live without them
Sometimes I wish I had never met you because then I could go to bed at night not knowing there was someone like you out there
Give your smile to everyone but give your love to only one.
Sometimes the hurt we get from giving too much love, is the inability to ever love again.
You still mean everything to me but your just not worth the fight anymore.
Upset is an emotion specific for those who care.
I would rather shed a million tears over the ugly truth then smile over a million beautiful lies.
Why does it seem so easy to say “I don’t” after all e trouble it took to say “I do”?
Remember girls, he doesn’t need to undo your top to get a better view of your heart
There’s always that guy, no matter how long it’s been or how bad they treated u, you always find an excuse to forgive them
Love is never measured by the times a guy made you laugh, but by the number of times he made you SMILE after you cried.
It’s funny how the people who hurt you the most are the ones who promised you they never would.
If honesty ruins a relationship, it wasn’t much of a relationship to begin with.
Every failed relationship is an opportunity to find Mr. Right
When it comes to love.. never say never and never say forever

Anyone can make u happy by doing something special, but someone special can make u happy without doing anything

The last thing i would ever want to see, is watching you watching her..

I am not afraid of the dark, when ur smile light up every corner of my heart

Friendship
Sometimes someone says something really small, and it just fits right into this empty place in your heart
A friend is someone who can see the truth and pain in you even when you are fooling everyone else

There comes a point in your life when you realize who really matters, who never did, and who always will

The words that escape a friend’s mouth are “I’ll be there when you say you need me” but the words that are unheard from a true friend’s heart are “I’ll be there… whether you say you need me or not.”

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words

A true friend sees the first tear… catches the second… and stops the third

When it hurts to look back, and you’re afraid to look ahead, you can look beside you and your best friend will be there

Friendship is like standing on wet cement. The longer you stay, the harder it’s to leave, and you can never go without leaving your footprints behind

Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don’t say
I believe in angels, the kind that heaven sends. I’m surrounded by angels, and I call them my best friends

Its really amazing when two strangers become the best of friends, but it’s really sad when the best of friends become two strangers
Side by side or miles apart, dear friends are always close to the heart

Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light

There are some people in life, that make you laugh a little louder, smile a little bigger and just live a little better

Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like with out you. Then I thank God I only have to wonder

Unlike ~~Barbie~~ Alvin n the Chipmunks, my friends and I are NOT sold separately

Every girl needs a best friend to help her laugh when she thinks she’ll never smile again

Friends are the most important part of your life. Treasure the tears, treasure the laughter, but most importantly, treasure the memories

False friends are like a shadow, they’re with you while you’re in the sunshine, but leave you the minute you cross into the shade

A friend will give you a cookie, but a best friend will share the whole damn box

You’ll never remember how much you needed your friends until you look back along the rope and realized how many knots they’ve tied to keep you from falling

Good friends are those who care without hesitation, who remember without limitation and who love even without communication

We weren’t sisters by birth.. but we knew from the start, fate brought us together, to be sisters by heart

Friends are like stars, they come and go, but the ones that stay are the ones that glow

Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer

True friendship is when two friends can walk in opposite directions, yet remain side by side
It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them

“Maybe I can’t stop the downpour, but I will always, always join you for a walk in the rain.”

A friend is not the one that will kill for you, but the one that will die for you

There’s a point in every true friendship, where friends stop being friends and become sisters

friends keep you from being a psychopath; best friends share the same retardation

A 5 year old girl asked her friend “What is Friendship???” He replied “Friendship is when you take my chocolates everyday from my bag and I still keep it in the same place….”

Life

Have you ever wondered which hurts the most: saying something and wishing you had not, or saying nothing, and wishing you had?

Growing old beats the alternative — dying young

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start now and make a brand new ending

“Some men see things as they are and say ‘why’? I dream things that never were and say ‘why not’?”In the end, it’s not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away
When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind

I always knew looking back on the tears would make me laugh, but I never knew looking back on the laughs would make me cry

Live with no excuses and love with no regrets

When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us

You can close your eyes to things you don’t want to see, but you can’t close your heart to the things you don’t want to feel. Listen to your heart

You’ve got to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you’ve got, and remember what you had. Always forgive, but never forget. Learn from mistakes, but never regret

Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around

Happiness needs sadness. Success needs failure. Benevolence needs evil. Love needs hatred. Victory needs defeat. Pleasure needs pain. You must experience and accept the extremes. Because if the contrast is lost, you lose appreciation; and when you lose appreciation, you lose the value of everything

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good

You are only young once, but you can be immature forever

Being sad with the right people is better than being happy with the wrong ones

Never allow someone to be your priority while you’re just their option

Never regret something that made you smile

Sometimes, when you’re mad, you have the right to be mad, but you don’t have the right to be cruel

Not all scars shows. Not all wounds heal. Sometimes you can’t see, the pain someone feels

At one point in your life you either have the thing you want or the reasons why you don’t

its not about how hard you hit, its how hard you get hit, how hard you could take in and keep moving forward

The ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy

Just because it’s not what you were expecting, doesn’t mean it’s not everything you’ve been waiting for

To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing

The two hardest things to say in life — hello for the first time and goodbye for the last

It’s better to keep your mouth shut and give the impression that you’re stupid than to open it and remove all doubt
Sometimes the things we can’t change, end up changing us instead

The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces

An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere. The pessimist sees only the red light. But the truly wise person is colour blind.

Don’t waste time worrying about what people are saying about you. You’ve affected their lives, that doesn’t mean they have to affect yours.

No offense basically means “I’m going to insult you.. but don’t get mad”.

There are three stages of man: He believes in Santa Claus; he doesn’t believe in Santa Claus; he is Santa Claus

Just because something good ends doesn’t mean something better won’t begin.

Being happy doesn’t mean everything is perfect. It means you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.

Apologizing doesn’t mean you’re right or wrong, it just means you value relationships more than your ego.

Teamwork/Competitions

Teamwork is the ability to work as a group toward a common vision, even if that vision becomes extremely blurry

It is amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit

wining doesn’t always mean being first, winning means you’re doing better than you’ve done before

It’s not our conditions that determine our choices; It’s our choices that determine our conditions

When you meet someone better than yourself, turn your thoughts to becoming his equal. When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within and examine your own self

A demanding performance challenge tends to create a team

The path to greatness is along with others
While most are dreaming of success, winners wake up and work hard to achieve it

In order to win with dignity, one must learn to win humbly

We didn’t want to win, we had to. We had to finally prove it. Prove that we deserved it, every single part of it

Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember- the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you

Forget mistakes. Forget failure. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it
Winning means you’re willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else

There is no glory in practice, but without practice, there is no glory
Don’t practice until you get it right. Practice until you can’t get it wrong

Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream, a vision.
It’s not the size of the man in the fight…it’s the size of the fight in the man.

After each game, I want to be able to say: I gave it all I could, I gave it my best
The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them
Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts
I am too positive to be doubtful. Too optimistic to be fearful. And too determined to be defeated

You don’t always get what you wish for, you get what you work for

If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat

When u are in a competition, u compete with every contestant within. But then you step out of it, u compete with the world.

Forget mistakes. Forget failure. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it.

Winning means you’re willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else.

There is no glory in practice, but without practice, there is no glory…

Don’t practice until you get it right. Practice until you can’t get it wrong.

Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream, a vision.

It’s not the size of the man in the fight…it’s the size of the fight in the man.

After each game, I want to be able to say: I gave it all I could, I gave it my best

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.

You were not born a winner, and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself be.

Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.

The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces

I am too positive to be doubtful. Too optimistic to be fearful. And too determined to be defeated.

You don’t always get what you wish for, you get what you work for

If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat

.
Faith
Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe
Beginnings are usually scary and endings are usually sad, but it’s everything in between that makes it all worth living
You can do very little with faith, but you can do nothing without it
Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. You can’t see the future, yet you know it will come; you can’t see the air, yet you continue to breathe
The way to see by Faith is to shut the eye of Reason
Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves
there’s a point in your life when god will bring someone in, at a very unexpected time, that’ll change everything
It is easier to walk on water with faith, than to walk on thin ice with fear
Faith is daring the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see

No one will manufacture a knob without a key, similarly, there won’t be problems without solutions

Death
If tears could build a stair way, and memories a lane, I’d walk right up to heaven and bring you home again
There’ll be two dates on your tombstone everyone will read them.. but the only thing that matters is the little dash between them
I think about how much I miss him, and start to feel sorry for myself…..but then I think about all the people who never got the chance to meet him, and I start to feel sorry for them.
Life is a path; Death a destination
Letting go doesnt mean forgetting them.. it means remembering the memories and talking about them, without crying
The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone

Bob The Builder, Can We Fix It, Bob The Builder, Yes We Can!!

2011-06-11T20:35:00.006+08:00

Right here right now, it does feel very heavy indeed. Hmmm...but then it was said that God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him...I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

And Whose Children Those Are??

2011-06-04T15:16:00.004+08:00

Do you ever look at your children and think, "I have no idea how they got like that."

I'm not talking about those lovely "I produced a prodigy!" moments when they suddenly display an incredible aptitude for numbers. No, I'm thinking more of the times when you wish you could just stare off into the middle distance and, with a superior flick of your fringe, say to whoever is in the vicinity: "I have no idea whose children those are. Revolting, aren't they?"

I had many of those moments in public that I sometimes gave up trying to portray a cultured appearance. Here's an account of what usually happens when we go out as a family:

1) My two gals are mostly oblivious to the surrounding people whenever we go out. For them, every place is a playground. It can be the shopping complex, the restaurants, coffee shops, clinics, anywhere with space for them to play catch, you'll find them doing it without fail!

2) Noel, the baby of the family will whine (no tears!) when she hears the word 'NO'. And she does it shamelessly. This is the time where I want to crawl and hide in whichever opening gap available until she has calmed down.

3) Eating time! It's super duper hard to get them to focus on their food, be still in their seat and finish their meal in silence. It is unbelievable the amount of wrestling and battle that goes into getting my kids to finish their meal. None of my threats really worked on them. I've tried everything from threatening to send them to Ethiopia where they'll never live to see food again, grounding them at home with no outing for the weekends, leaving them behind in the eatery, blah, blah, blah... nothing works just because we never carry out those threats yet!

4) Seating arrangement - I must ALWAYS sit in between my gals. Failing to do that chaos will ensue and I can assure you it's not a pretty sight when two young ladies are fighting among themselves to sit with their mommy. People will think they've been separated from their mommy for years before this!

The above are but just a few of their weekly customary mischiefs.

I love them dearly, but sometimes, I wish I could send them back to where they came from!

p/s - now before you start judging & labeling, I don't always feel tis way. A mommy's entitled to some of her rants at times surely? :)

The Day My God Died

2011-05-30T10:03:00.011+08:00

It's sad but true: people are being bought, sold, and smuggled like modern - day slaves and the problem is growing. Victims are trapped in lives of misery — often beaten, starved, and forced to work as prostitutes or to take grueling jobs as migrant, domestic, restaurant, or factory workers with little or no pay.

And each year, more and more people are victimized by organized crimes. This kind of condition degrades men, women, and even children by treating them like slaves thru force, threat or deception.

Sexual exploition is one major reason why women and children are mostly trafficked. During their bondage, these women and children stand very high risks of contracting HIV.

Knowing about human trafficking might be devastating but shedding light on the issue and knowing about the people who are willing to fight it is something worth sharing.

The Day My God Died is a feature-length documentary that presents the stories of young girls whose lives have been shattered by the child sex trade. They describe the day they were abducted from their village and sold into sexual servitude as, “The Day My God Died.” It documents the tragedy of child sexual slavery and profiles the courageous abolitionists that need our support.

I Wish You Enough!

2011-05-30T00:40:00.007+08:00

There is a wise saying about a man who asked God to give him neither poverty nor riches – If he is given too little, he may steal and dishonour God. And if he is given too much, he may totally forget God.

Bob Perks conveyed this point clearly through his heartwarming and enjoyable poem:

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye"

God Provides

2011-05-20T10:18:00.003+08:00

The following is a one of 172 questions and answers from the new book, Max on Life.

QUESTION #145:

In most of my prayers I ask God for things I need each day. These are legitimate needs. (I’m not asking God to make me a millionaire, just to help me pay the mortgage.) Is God really concerned about the necessities of my life?

What is this daily bread Jesus spoke of, tucked inside the Lord’s Prayer? A loaf of warm Italian bread on my doorstep every morning? That would be nice.

Bread is a staple of every culture. From flat bread to yeast-filled loaves, grain has been mixed with water and oil and placed over a fire by every civilization. What’s the first thing a restaurant brings before the meal? Bread. (Okay, maybe Mexican restaurants don’t, but those chips are made from grain. They’re just fried in oil.)

But how about a slight change to the daily menu: “Give us this day our daily mocha chocolate chip ice cream” or “Give us this day our daily beluga whale caviar”?

Those are luxuries, not necessities. Sorry, God does not promise those.

Bread is a valued necessity, tasty and welcomed, but certainly not extravagant.

Jesus tells us to ask for the necessities in life, but does he promise to provide them?

Soon after this plea for daily bread, found also in Matthew 6, Jesus presents his famous “Don’t worry” passage: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (v. 25).

God takes care of birds, flowers, and grass and provides the basics they need to exist (vv. 26–30). Why not us? Aren’t we more important than a barn swallow, a multi flora petunia, and a blade of Bahia grass?

You bet a loaf of sweet sourdough we are.

In that statement comes a promise from God to provide his most important creation on earth with food, clothing, and drink (vv. 25–34). The necessities once again.

Jesus tells us to ask, then promises to give us the basics we need to survive.

So don’t worry; be prayerful. God has something wonderful for us baking in the oven. Can you smell it?

p/s - hmmm... I am not hallucinating. I can see life's little comforts flying out the window this very instant with the looming inflation getting close. Nevertheless, thank you Lord, for the daily bread. Amen.“Give us each day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3).

Punchinello - You Are Special!!

2011-05-20T00:44:00.001+08:00

The Wemmicks were small wooden people. Each of the wooden people was carved by a woodworker named Eli. His workshop sat on a hill overlooking their village. Every Wemmick was different. Some had big noses, others had large eyes. Some were tall and others were short. Some wore hats, others wore coats. But all were made by the same carver and all lived in the village. And all day, every day, the Wemmicks did the same thing: They gave each other stickers. Each Wemmick had a box of golden star stickers and a box of gray dot stickers. Up and down the streets all over the city, people could be seen sticking stars or dots on one another.

The pretty ones, those with smooth wood and fine paint, always got stars. But if the wood was rough or the paint chipped, the Wemmicks gave dots. The talented ones got stars, too. Some could lift big sticks high above their heads or jump over tall boxes. Still others knew big words or could sing very pretty songs. Everyone gave them stars.

Some Wemmicks had stars all over them! Every time they got a star it made them feel so good that they did something else and got another star. Others, though, could do little. They got dots.

Punchinello was one of these. He tried to jump high like the others, but he always fell. And when he fell, the others would gather around and give him dots.

Sometimes when he fell, it would scar his wood, so the people would give him more dots. He would try to explain why he fell and say something silly, and the Wemmicks would give him more dots. After a while he had so many dots that he didn't want to go outside. He was afraid he would do something dumb such as forget his hat or step in the water, and then people would give him another dot. In fact, he had so many gray dots that some people would come up and give him one without reason. "He deserves lots of dots," the wooden people would agree with one another. "He's not a good wooden person."

After a while Punchinello believed them. "I'm not a good Wemmick," he would say. The few times he went outside, he hung around other Wemmicks who had a lot of dots. He felt better around them.

One day he met a Wemmick who was unlike any he'd ever met. She had no dots or stars. She was just wooden. Her name was Lucia. It wasn't that people didn't try to give her stickers; it's just that the stickers didn't stick. Some admired Lucia for having no dots, so they would run up and give her a star. But it would fall off. Some would look down on her for having no stars, so they would give her a dot. But it wouldn't stay either. 'That's the way I want to be,'thought Punchinello. 'I don't want anyone's marks.' So he asked the stickerless Wemmick how she did it. "It's easy," Lucia replied. "every day I go see Eli."

"Eli?" "Yes, Eli. The woodcarver. I sit in the workshop with him." "Why?" "Why don't you find out for yourself? Go up the hill. He's there."

And with that the Wemmick with no marks turned and skipped away. "But he won't want to see me!" Punchinello cried out. Lucia didn't hear. So Punchinello went home. He sat near a window and watched the wooden people as they scurried around giving each other stars and dots. "It's not right," he muttered to himself. And he resolved to go see Eli. He walked up the narrow path to the top of the hill and stepped into the big shop. His wooden eyes widened at the size of everything. The stool was as tall as he was. He had to stretch on his tiptoes to see the top of the workbench. A hammer was as long as his arm. Punchinello swallowed hard. "I'm not staying here!" and he turned to leave. Then he heard his name.

"Punchinello?" The voice was deep and strong. Punchinello stopped. "Punchinello! How good to see you. Come and let me have a look at you." Punchinello turned slowly and looked at the large bearded craftsman. "You know my name?" the little Wemmick asked.

"Of course I do. I made you." Eli stooped down and picked him up and set him on the bench. "Hmm," the maker spoke thoughtfully as he inspected the gray circles. "Looks like you've been given some bad marks." "I didn't mean to, Eli. I really tried hard." "Oh, you don't have to defend yourself to me, child. I don't care what the other Wemmicks think." "You don't?"

No, and you shouldn't either. Who are they to give stars or dots?
They're Wemmicks just like you. What they think doesn't matter, Punchinello. All that matters is what I think. And I think you are pretty special."

Punchinello laughed. "Me, special? Why? I can't walk fast. I can't jump. My paint is peeling. Why do I matter to you?"

Eli looked at Punchinello, put his hands on those small wooden shoulders, and spoke very slowly. "Because you're mine. That's why you matter to me."

Punchinello had never had anyone look at him like this--much less his maker. He didn't know what to say.
"Every day I've been hoping you'd come," Eli explained.
"I came because I met someone who had no marks."
"I know. She told me about you."
"Why don't the stickers stay on her?"

"Because she has decided that what I think is more important than what they think. The stickers only stick if you let them."

"What?"
"The stickers only stick if they matter to you. The more you trust my love, the less you care about the stickers."

"I'm not sure I understand."
"You will, but it will take time. You've got a lot of marks. For now, just come to see me every day and let me remind you how much I care." Eli lifted Punchinello off the bench and set him on the ground. "Remember," Eli said as the Wemmick walked out the door. "You are special because I made you. And I don't make mistakes."

Punchinello didn't stop, but in his heart he thought, "I think he really means it."
And when he did, a dot fell to the ground.

May all your dots fall silently to the ground, for if given by man, they matter only to other men, if given by the Gods, no one questions, the scars that make up our lives. (when given the choice, pass out stars, drop the dots in the trash.).

- Max Lucado

L.I.V.E ~ Y.♥.U.R ~ D.A.S.H.

2011-05-18T16:13:00.003+08:00

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth

And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time

That she spent alive on earth
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,

The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard;

Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect

And more often wear a smile,
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

A Child Too Many!

2011-05-11T15:51:00.007+08:00

It seems a sad reality that child abuse cases are very much on the increase from what I read in the daily papers. The surge in the number of child abuse reflects the sad reality of what our society have to deal with. The abusers are usually people closest to the child and how sometimes society can turn a blind eye over the little nagging suspicions about possible abuses. To say that this fact is highly disturbing is a mild understatement.

As a parent myself, I constantly pray to God for wisdom, patience and guidance in bringing up my children. I constantly reminds myself about God's love and how He has blessed me with two beautiful angels to care for. God forbid that I should ever let evil consumed me in my bid to discipline my children.

What kind of parent could imagine themselves gaining a place in heaven or expect to go unpunished while their own children lived a living hell?

When I read stories of horrendous torture, I can't begin to imagine what a living hell the poor child has been made to endure. The physical pain, damage and trauma can be so damaging and is something to be dealt with for the rest of the child's life if he / she is lucky enough to survive the ordeal. Sadly, some of these victims later turned to be the abuser themselves. It's an ugly cycle if steps are not taken to provide counseling and anger management with proper tools and education.

While it may not be possible to fully eradicate violence and abuse, we can play an active role in social responsibility. If you ever witnessed or suspect violence and abuse of any kind, do report it to the authority. You just might save a life from living hell.

I enclosed here an educational article on how to spot abuse: Child Abuse And Neglect:Recognizing And Preventing

God forbid that I should be one of them....

A Parent's Prayer

Oh, God, make me a better parent.
Help me to understand my children,
to listen patiently to what they have to say
and to answer all their questions kindly.
Keep me from interrupting them,
talking back to them and contradicting them.
Make me as courteous to them
as I would have them be to me.

Give me the courage to confess my sins
against my children and to ask of them forgiveness,
when I know that I have done them wrong.

May I not vainly hurt the feelings of my children.
Forbid that I should laugh at their mistakes or
resort to shame and ridicule as punishment.

Let me not tempt a child to lie and steal.
So guide me hour by hour that I may demonstrate
by all I say and do that honestly produces happiness.

Reduce, I pray, the meanness in me.
May I cease to nag:
and when I am out of sorts,
help me, O Lord, to hold my tongue.

Blind me to the little errors of my children
and help me to see the good things that they do.
Give me a ready word for honest praise.

Help to treat my children as those of their own age,
but let me not exact of them the judgments
and conventions of adults.
Allow me not to rob them of the opportunity
to wait upon themselves,
to think, to choose, and to make decisions.

Forbid that I should ever punish them
for my self satisfaction.
May I grant them all of their wishes that are
reasonable
and have the courage always to
withhold a privilege that I know will do them harm.
Amen

p/s - if all else fails I supposed there's Nanny 911?? :P

Happy Mother's Day!!

2011-05-08T13:48:00.002+08:00

This song is dedicated to my mum, sister and children...

As with everyone else in the world who recently celebrated Mother's Day, yours truly here joined in the celebration with mum & sis at our favorite restaurant. After the big hoo-ha has died down, and life goes back to normal, I sit with my trusty laptop reminiscing on the days before I had children. The days when I used to sneaked back home in the wee hours of the morning after hanging out with my friends. Yeah, there were some wild days before I took the reins to raise my own children...

Only after being mother do I realised Moms take the blame for everything that goes wrong in the world but very seldom were credited for when things go right. We are the last to go to bed and the first to get up to ensure that our charges are cared for and, of course, loved.

But if you had asked me 6 years ago if I was prepared for all that motherhood would throw at me, I would have brazenly said, “What, are you kidding, piece of cake!” I had no idea that every curse and blessing my mother placed upon my head as I was growing up was going to come true.

Repeatedly.

She told me that when I grew up my children would be just like me. Truer words have never been spoken. I have two girls now. In my dictionary of life, two is many; at least when we are talking about kids. Each one of them, the apples from my tree; these kids argue everything, if I say go left, they go right and I am always wrong.

She told me that I would never know how hard it is to be a parent until I became one. To that I say, “Amen!” The nights of nursing a sick child, vigilantly taking their temperature, changing the sheets when they throw up, cleaning after them and waiting up for them to come home, arguing over chores at their age (they're only 5 and 6 now) and the list goes on and on.

We worry, we pace and we fight. And then I remember, I prayed to have these children! What was I thinking?

She also told me that my children would make me so proud that they would make me cry. We can check this one off the list time and time again. Whether it is the first time they smiled and cooed, first time they uttered the word 'mummy', when they cut their first tooth, the first step they took in their life, their first day at school, their first finger painting masterpiece etc, etc, my children fill me with the kind of pride that borders on being sinful.

Lastly, she would say that no matter how old I am, I will always be her baby. This one would fill me with the kind of ire that would cause a headache when all I wanted was to be grown up and be no one’s baby. Again, I was young and frankly, quite naive; as we all are when we are kids.

I am older, wiser and as much as I hate to admit it – she was right. She was right about it all. The good, the bad and the ugly of being a parent has been the hardest and the best thing about being an adult. I wouldn’t trade it for all the money in the world. They will always be my babies. I did pray for them all and I am so blessed to have had my prayers answered.

So to the true heroine of my life, I wish the happiest of Mother’s Days and thank you.

Dinner Date With Another Woman

2011-05-07T16:44:00.000+08:00

In honor of Mother’s Day and all the fabulous women in the world, I am sharing a beautifully written article called “Dinner Date with Another Woman” by Inspirational Stories, Quotes & Poems. I was profoundly moved by the author's insights about the best way to honor our womanhood and our mothers. Hope you will enjoy it too and learn the timely act of showing love...

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, “I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.”

The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally. That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. “What’s wrong, are you well?” she asked. My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news. “I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,” I responded. “Just the two of us.” She thought about it for a moment, and then said, “I would like that very much.”

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel’s. “I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed, “she said, as she got into the car. “They can’t wait to hear about our meeting.”

We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips. “It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,” she said. “Then it’s time that you relax and let me return the favor,” I responded.

During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation – nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other’s life. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, “I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.” I agreed.

“How was your dinner date?” asked my wife when I got home. “Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined,” I answered.

A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have a chance to do anything for her.

Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined. An attached note said: “I paid this bill in advance. I wasn’t sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates – one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son.”

At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: “I LOVE YOU” and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till “some other time.”

The Eagle Takes The Storm

2011-05-06T11:37:00.002+08:00

I find great inspirations from people I don't even know and whom I've never met. It is my hope that you may find some form of support and encouragement from the following article should you ever need one..

Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks?

The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.

The eagle does not escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm.

When the storms of life come upon us – and all of us will experience them – we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief toward God. The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow God’s power to lift us above them.

God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives. We can soar above the storm.

Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them.

Get Inspired

2011-05-06T09:32:00.000+08:00

Act As If

Act as if what you intend to manifest in life is already a reality. Eliminate thoughts of conditions, limitations, or the possibility of it not manifesting. If left undisturbed in your mind and in the mind of intention simultaneously, it will germinate in the physical world. - Dr. Wayne Dyer

My Sweet Lil' Angel

2011-05-01T00:00:00.004+08:00

I look at you now, my sweet little angel,

and I cannot believe what I see.

You're looking back, my sweet little angel,

looking back and smiling at me.

It is such a surprise, my sweet little angel,

how happy you seem to be.

Because I was so scared, my sweet little angel,

at what kind of mother I'd be

But you've taught me how, my sweet little angel,

to know exactly what you need

I'm not always right, my sweet little angel,

but you are so patient with me.

I am your teacher, my sweet little angel,

but you're more a teacher to me.

You are now growing, my sweet little angel,

and growing together are we.

Happy Birthday, sweetheart.. mommy ♥ you!!

Such Beauty & Grace

2011-04-26T16:10:00.002+08:00

The Power of Words

2011-04-24T15:51:00.001+08:00

Crackpot I May Be, But I Am One Tough Cookie..

2011-04-02T01:49:00.004+08:00

Got this from a school going friend...

I am from ARTS and I am Smart!

Shut up and listen, you jerk

For my opinions are what matter

Truth is for the suckers

Whose backbone is soft as butter

It’s cool to be critical of others who like Twilight

It’s good to have an opinion because I am always right

Doesn’t matter whether what I say

Would have an effect on what they feel

Even though subjectivity

Is such a big freaking deal

As long as my arguments make sense

My essays would make a distinction

I talk about social justice and the marginalized

But I step over those whom I cannot empathise

I’m smart because I embody perfection

Not like some other "faculties" who are by definition

Mindless dupes whose lives are run by formulae

Dumb blonds with empty heads and sugary fluffy parfait

I make fun of Bieber and Rebecca Black because it is just awesome

I talk about the rights of the homosexual who needs undivided attention

Oh how liberated I am!

Because I shackle the Other who is blind and swindled by scams

I spew foul language because I am free

And tear others down with my words and amazing glee

It's classy to articulate opinions

Everyone is equal

But some are less equal than others

Because they don't agree with me

I want peace and I want to stop slavery!

I write about disempowered migrants

And I make fun of weird people and their brainless ideology

I am all for the rights of women

I can't stand my classmate because she is such a bitch!

I crush her name on Facebook and toss her reputation into the ditch

I am so awesome I cannot handle me

I bubble with intelligence but I hate stupidity!

The Essence of Everything Successful = INTeGRItY

2011-03-18T23:47:00.000+08:00

I came to realise that the most important key to being comfortable with ourselves, is to be honest.

This needs to start from within our own minds. It takes experience and maturity, but we all can get to a place where we know whether or not we are being honest with ourselves.

When we are being truthful to our own beings, we are honoring Our Father above. So, too, our own parents who have tried to instill in us, this very important character trait.

No one likes to be lied to. Why then, would we lie to another? Insecurity? Fear of the consequences of the truth?

Ironically, less damage occurs when we simply tell the truth.

In The Wake of A Japanese Tsunami ~ The Steely Spirit and Gentle Resilience

2011-03-17T14:16:00.009+08:00

I read with shock and disbelieve of the recent catastrophe that struck Japan. The massive loss of lives and destructions. And even as I am writing this post in the comfort of my home the disaster's massive impact was only beginning to be revealed.

It's hard to think of anything else these days when news about Japan is unfolding everyday. What has happened and what might happen next.

Below is an article and update which I got from the numerous reports about the fate of our neighbouring country. I am sad to note that while the nation is still grappling with it's national crisis, there are some insensitive parties actually celebrating Japan's misfotunes. To each his own I supposed.

Japan's Slow Tsunami Response Stirs Angers

While the above may be the sentiment of the people now as posted by the foreign paper, I strongly believe that while nobody in Japan remains untouched by this living nightmare and many a hearts are broken but never it's spirit. It will take years, even generations for Japan to recover from this tragedy.

As Honda, Toyota, Sony and Nissan stop production, I read lot about the fragility of the Japanese economy. But there is a collective spirit in Japan. There is a sense of national unity that has not existed even in my home country.

Japan is suffering the way a nation suffers at the end of a losing war. And yet, even as they stare bewildered at all that destruction, and even as they mourn the dead and search for the missing, they still have their pride, and their decency, and their humanity. They are still unmistakably Japanese.

They queue politely and patiently for water, blankets, rice. They speak to each other with total civility – a level of civilisation that does not exist anywhere else on the planet. And they are brave – in their quiet, understated, mild-mannered way they are brave the way that we have been brave in our darkest days.

Gambatte Japan, you're not alone in this. God bless the people of Japan.

Truly ALIVE!!

2011-03-13T00:24:00.000+08:00

We all have our ups and downs; our super-fantastic, off-the-charts-with-awesomeness days, our “bleh” days, our tired days, our stressed days, our God-awful days, and our “I wish I could start this day over” days…it’s how we choose to look at those days that separates the whiners from the winners.

For a very long time now, I wasn’t known as a cheerful child. I had always been timid and sensitive in nature as a child. I don't realise when life became serious for me or the exact moment that I had to grow up carrying what felt to be a heavy burden and responsibility for a child to bear. It surely wasn't by choice but much rather due to the circumstances then. I was lost, confused and felt very, very alone. I was always a deep-thinker, but somehow my condition left me even more contemplative. My heart felt very, very heavy and breathing sometimes was difficult..

The fact of the matter is that I am not always happy, but I realise that each moment that I’m not happy is a moment I’ll never get back. I remind myself often that life can be taken away in the blink of an eye. I think of this when I see a parent with children in their vehicle driving recklessly; when I see children being rude or insensitive to their siblings or parents; when I see best friends not speaking; when I see people so wrapped up in their own concerns that they treat everyone with disrespect and carelessness; I think of this when my feet hit the floor every morning. And THIS helps me to try my damnest to be positive and happy.

I’m not a very religious person, but I am spiritual to a degree. I believe with all my heart and soul that life is beautiful. Every single second of every single day is a second that I want to remind myself to be happy, because that second will be gone in…well, a second. I’ll never get it back.

Negativity and toxicity shouldn't have a place in my world. I won’t tolerate it, I will not excuse it, I will remove it. We all have struggles, tragedies, bad days, bad luck, health scares, illnesses, ailments, family feuds, financial concerns, traumatic experiences, losses, worries about our jobs or lack thereof…it’s how we deal with them that separates the happy from the miserable.

No, I understand. We cannot be happy every single second of every single day. But we can WANT to be happy, and do everything in our power to get there. To not let anything or anyone get in our way. To work hard and believe that what goes around DOES come back around. I laugh a lot, I smile a bit, I cry occasionally, I feel deeply, I love genuinely, I am grateful, I am silly, I am witty, I am smart, I am sexy, I am confident, I have insecurities, I get frustrated, I get sick, I have health scares, I have bad mornings, I have bad hours, days, weeks, months and even YEARS, but I am always optimistic that I WILL get back to that place where I can say and firmly believe that “LIFE IS GOOD, BECAUSE IT IS LIFE”!

And if just because occasionally I’m not smiling doesn’t mean that I’m unhappy!

The Sufferings of His Broken Heart

2011-03-12T00:28:00.000+08:00

Go with me for a moment to witness what was perhaps the foggiest night in history. The scene is very simple; you’ll recognize it quickly. A grove of twisted olive trees. Ground cluttered with large rocks. A low stone fence. A dark, dark night.

Now, look into the picture. Look closely through the shadowy foliage. See that person? See that solitary figure? What’s he doing? Flat on the ground. Face stained with dirt and tears. Fists pounding the hard earth. Eyes wide with a stupor of fear. Hair matted with salty sweat. Is that blood on his forehead?

That’s Jesus. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Maybe you’ve seen the classic portrait of Christ in the garden. Kneeling beside a big rock. Snow-white robe. Hands peacefully folded in prayer. A look of serenity on his face. Halo over his head. A spotlight from heaven illuminating his golden-brown hair.

Now, I’m no artist, but I can tell you one thing. The man who painted that picture didn’t use the gospel of Mark as a pattern. Look what Mark wrote about that painful night, he used phrases like these: “Horror and dismay came over him.” “My heart is ready to break with grief.” “He went a little forward and threw himself on the ground.”

Does this look like the picture of a saintly Jesus resting in the palm of God? Hardly. Mark used black paint to describe this scene. We see an agonizing, straining, and struggling Jesus. We see a “man of sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:3 NASB) We see a man struggling with fear, wrestling with commitments, and yearning for relief.

We see Jesus in the fog of a broken heart.

The writer of Hebrews would later pen, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death.” (Hebrews 5:7 NIV)

My, what a portrait! Jesus is in pain. Jesus is on the stage of fear. Jesus is cloaked, not in sainthood, but in humanity.

The next time the fog finds you, you might do well to remember Jesus in the garden. The next time you think that no one understands, reread the fourteenth chapter of Mark. The next time your self-pity convinces you that no one cares, pay a visit to Gethsemane. And the next time you wonder if God really perceives the pain that prevails on this dusty planet, listen to him pleading among the twisted trees.

The next time you are called to suffer, pay attention. It may be the closest you’ll ever get to God. Watch closely. It could very well be that the hand that extends itself to lead you out of the fog is a pierced one.

by Max Lucado

Grenville Kleiser, Inspiration and Ideals

2011-03-11T17:18:00.001+08:00

THE BRIDGE YOU’LL NEVER CROSS

It’s what you think that makes the world
Seem dull or bright to you;
Your mind may color all things gray
Or make them radiant hue.
Be glad today, be true and wise,
Seek gold amid the dross;
Waste neither time nor thought about
The bridge you’ll never cross.

There’s useful work for you to do
With hand and brain and heart;
There’s urgent human service, too,
In which to take your part.
Make every opportunity
A gain and not a loss;
The best is yours, so do not fear
The bridge you’ll never cross.

If life seems drab and difficult
Just face it with a will;
You do not have to work alone
Since God is with you still.
Press on with courage toward the goal,
With Truth your shield emboss;
Be strong, look up, and just ignore
The bridge you’ll never cross.
- Greenville Kleiser

Here are some more of Grenville Kleiser’s words of wisdom – they may be old, but they’re also pure gold.

"Put your principles into practice. What you do, not what you say, is the essential thing. Dormant aspirations are of value only as they are translated into acts. Transform your desires into deeds, your resolutions into results.

Your personal powers are made up chiefly of principles, ideals, desires, and resolutions. The specific way in which you use these powers in your daily life largely determines your degree of success.

Give earnest attention to these vital things, apply them intelligently, and you will go forward to inevitable achievement."

Dwell more and more upon thoughts of what you really want in your life. Close and hermetically seal the door of your mind against thoughts of what you do not want in life.

You desire health, vitality, wisdom, peace, confidence, hope, friendship, harmony, independence, serenity, cheerfulness, happiness, success, culture, and righteousness. You desire to be near God..

Give your thought to these and kindred subjects, since dwelling upon them often and intently tends to make them concrete in your life. Waste no thought upon things you do not want. Do not worry about things you do not need. The power is yours to choose the ideals that shall daily possess and govern your mental life. When your mind is right your life will be right.

“By constant self-discipline and self-control you can develop greatness of character.”

Tuan Yuan Fan

2011-02-03T14:03:00.003+08:00

Chinese New Year celebration involves wearing new dresses, Lion Dance, giving & receiving Ang Pows (red packets with money inside) and burning of firecrackers among others. However, more importantly prior to the celebrations, the Chinese community religiously observe a significant event called the Reunion Dinner, a tradition that has been preserved for centuries.

Traditionally, Chinese families would gather for a feast one day before the start of the Lunar New Year. This meal is known as "tuan yuan fan" (团圆饭) , or literally "Reunion Rice", rice being the main staple of the Chinese. It is also translated as "Reunion Meal" or "Reunion Dinner", since it is almost always eaten after nightfall as the last meal of the old year.

This is one of the most important meals for us Chinese, and many Chinese living away from their homes would make special effort to attend this meal with their families, as we Chinese place a lot of emphasis on being reunited with our family members especially for this day. The reunion dinner should be eaten with all immediate family members present as a symbol of strength and unity in the family. Some Chinese make it a point to eat this meal with their in-laws and extended family members. This is a time to renew and reaffirm family ties. That's why my children and I will travel up to PJ to be with hubby and in-law every year for the reunion dinner.

In the past, the venue of a reunion dinner was usually at the home of the most senior member of the family. As people become more affluent, it has become a fashion to eat a reunion dinner in restaurants to save time in preparing the big meal. Because of this, many Chinese restaurants are fully booked during this day. Some popular restaurants even have a timetable which customers have to strictly adhere to: 6pm-8pm for one batch of customers, 8pm-10pm for the second batch, and 10pm-midnight for the third batch.

Preparations for the reunion dinners is a careful process of selecting items to be cooked as some dishes have symbolic meanings or name that sounds like Chinese characters for fortune, happiness, longevity and prosperity. There is usually an abundance of food prepared for this meal. Some traditional food or meals that would be prepared are:

Fish (in Chinese called yú) is included, but not eaten completely (and the remainder is stored overnight), as the Chinese phrase "may there be surpluses every year" (nián nián yǒu yú) sounds the same, as "be blessed every year" or "have profit every year".

Another reason for fish being a commonly served dish during reunion dinner is that fish would normally swim in pairs and because of that the Chinese believe that it represents marital bliss.

Raw fish salad, or "yu sheng" (鱼生), may be consumed. This dish is not found in China, but in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Its name sounds like "growing luck". This dish is also eaten on the 7th day of the Lunar New Year.

Chicken, pork and ducks are also other favourite dishes during the reunion dinner as it symbolises a proper beginning and ending of the year. So in any circumstances, the chicken and duck would be served together with their head and feet.
Similarly, a type of black hair-like algae, "fat choy" (fǎ cài, literally "hair vegetable" in Cantonese), is also featured in many dishes since its name sounds similar to "prosperity" (fā cái).

Among others, a dish of dried oyster with black moss hair (Hoe See Fatt Choy) would mean wealth and good business; lotus roots (Lin Ngau) would mean abundance year after year and lettuce (Sang Choi) which sounds like growing wealth and riches in Chinese.

Steamboat dinner, or "huo guo" (火锅) is popular in Singapore and Malaysia. A family sits around a pot of steaming soup, place uncooked pieces of food into it and fish it out when it's ready. This is an easily prepared dinner, since all is needed is to prepare the uncooked food and the soup.

Every household would also keep their tables topped up with sweet and savoury specialties so they can welcome family and friends with a choice of festive treats.

Some of these sweet and savoury specialties or delights include the Chinese New Year Cake (nian gao), love letters, mandarin oranges and many others. An octagonal tray which contains an assortment of auspicious treats are traditionally used to serve guests and among the more popular treats seen in the tray are sweetened lotus roots (symbolising abundance), sweetened lotus seeds (suggesting fertility), dried melon seeds (symbolising profuse earnings), and all kinds of candies, which are a source of long-term sweetness.

"Nian gao" (年糕), also known as year cakes, may be fried to usher in the New Year. This is a sweet and sticky glutinous cake, which we Chinese believe would make the New Year sweet. It was said that whoever ate the nian gao will be able to attain higher status or a better life in the New Year.

Mandarin oranges are the other favourite offering among us Chinese after the reunion dinner or as gifts when visiting our relatives and friends because mandarin oranges are a symbol of wealth and good fortune.

Another reason is that the fruit is known in Chinese as ‘kam' or literally ‘gold' in English. As a result, we believed that the more ‘kam' you eat or have during the Chinese New Year season, the more ‘gold' you would have.

A kind of preserved meat, called "rou gan" or dried meat, is also popular during this season.

The Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The tradition is a great way to reconcile, forget all grudges, and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.

‘Gong Xi Fa Cai and Xin Nien Kuai Le, everyone'

p/s - There's no pictures of the before and during because my hands were strangely very busy... and the aftermath is just too embarrassing to be posted here :P

A time for reflection

2011-01-02T22:01:00.000+08:00

A time for reflection

Romance As It Truly Is..

2010-12-29T12:32:00.002+08:00

Everyone have their own ideas about romance. Some think of it as candlelight, being showered in gifts, and a stolen kiss. That may be sort-of romantic, but at my age those things have worn kind of thin. And I think they have for many a people too.

Take Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, for instance. He’s probably the most romantic figure in fiction. Women hold him up as the ideal that they’re looking for. But what is he like? For most of the story he’s cold, distant, and insulting. He certainly never does the candlelight and gift thing. He doesn’t even steal a kiss! But he’s a man of action. When it comes right down to it, he moves heaven and earth for the one he loves at great cost and inconvenience to himself.

And isn’t that what we all ultimately want? Someone who has our backs and will be there when we really need them?

The dictionary defines romance as: Ardent emotional attachment or involvement between people. I like that definition.

What about you? What do you think romance truly is?

Thank God this year is almost over!

2010-12-28T22:08:00.001+08:00

While the title to this post may sounds like this is going to be a negative rant, really it is not. I had been through a lot this year, for example:

my once lunch buddies are all over the places now (that means i don't get to see them everyday any more)
unconducive situation at work
mum & dad is getting older and their health is getting poorer (this worries me)
some one grazed my car at work & i had to pay the price
had to put up with some one close that has this habit of creating false expectations (words not honored and promises carelessly made always puts me off!). Person has been removed!
mum had an operation to fix her tendon (i view this as both positive & negative)
strained relationship with a sibling (misunderstanding arose from miscommunication but i am not about to forget yet that attitude shown!)
health was not so good due to stress at work & being the only adult at home to my 2 kids
the awareness that i still need to do some soul searching at this age

Ok, so the last one wasn’t so bad, but still, it put me at my wits end nonetheless. Now for the “glass is half-full” part.

i am still maintaining my glorious blog (sis kinda given up on hers)
watching my gals grow each day (can be a pain & a joy at the same time but obviously the joy outweighs the pain, they are growing beautifully)
is ever thankful that i have each family members close to me (comfort support)
celebrated all the significant occasions with family members (birthdays, festivities, school concert etc, etc)
met some new friends and learned some knew knowledge through KSPK
had some time to sit back & relax
got a sponsored netbook (yippee!!)
my gf still finds me HOT on my 40th birthday!!
glad to know i still have God in my heart..

So see, this really wasn’t an all negative post after all. I know that 2011 is going to be a very good year. Hell, it can’t be any worse than 2010, but I’m hoping for bigger & better things in the coming year.

God bless you all & a belated Merry Christmas to you & Happy New Year!

P.S. Don’t Drink & Drive!

Quotes From Elizabeth Gilbert

2010-12-07T10:18:00.002+08:00

"People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.

A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave.

A soul mate's purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master..."

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"I have a history of making decisions very quickly about men. I have always fallen in love fast and without measuring risks. I have a tendency not only to see the best in everyone, but to assume that everyone is emotionally capable of reaching his highest potential. I have fallen in love more times than I care to count with the highest potential of a man, rather than with the man himself, and I have hung on to the relationship for a long time (sometimes far too long) waiting for the man to ascend to his own greatness. Many times in romance I have been a victim of my own optimism."

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"Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be."

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"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it."

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"When I get lonely these days, I think: So BE lonely, Liz. Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience. But never again use another person's body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilled yearnings."

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"To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced life."

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"Tis' better to live your own life imperfectly than to imitate someone else's perfectly."

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"There’s a crack (or cracks) in everyone…that’s how the light of God gets in."

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"Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions."

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"There is so much about my fate that I cannot control, but other things do fall under the jurisdiction. I can decide how I spend my time, whom I interact with, whom I share my body and life and money and energy with. I can select what I can read and eat and study. I can choose how I'm going to regard unfortunate circumstances in my life-whether I will see them as curses or opportunities. I can choose my words and the tone of voice in which I speak to others. And most of all, I can choose my thoughts."

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"In desperate love, we always invent the characters of our partners, demanding they be what we need of them, and then feeling devastated when they refuse to perform the role we created in the first place."

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"Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You really need to be certain it's what you want before you commit."

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"One thing I do know about intimacy is that there are certain natural laws which govern the sexual experience of two people, and that these laws cannot be budged any more than gravity can be negotiated with. To feel physically comfortable with someone else's body is not a decision you can make. It has very little to do with how two people think or act or talk or even look. The mysterious magnet is either there, buried somewhere deep behind the sternum, or it is not. When it isn't there (as I have learned in the past, with heartbreaking clarity) you can no more force it to exist than a surgeon can force a patient's body to accept a kidney from the wrong donor. My friend Annie says it all comes down to one simple question: "Do you want your belly pressed against this person's belly forever --or not?"

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"I want God to play in my bloodstream the way sunlight amuses itself on the water."

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"I met an old lady once, almost a hundred years old, and she told me, 'There are only two questions that human beings have ever fought over, all through history. How much do you love me? And Who's in charge?"

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"Look for God. Look for God like a man with his head on fire looks for water."

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"If I love you, I will carry for you all your pain, I will assume for you all your debts (in every definition of the word), I will protect you from your own insecurity, I will protect upon you all sorts of good qualities that you have never actually cultivated in yourself and I will buy Christmas presents for your entire family. I will give you the sun and the rain, and if they are not available, I will give you a sun check and a rain check. I will give you all this and more, until I get so exhausted and depleted that the only way I can recover my energy is by becoming infatuated with someone else."

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"We search for happiness everywhere, but we are like Tolstoy's fabled beggar who spent his life sitting on a pot of gold, under him the whole time. Your treasure--your perfection--is within you already. But to claim it, you must leave the buy commotion of the mind and abandon the desires of the ego and enter into the silence of the heart."

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"You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That's the only thing you should be trying to control."

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"Prayer is a relationship; half the job is mine. If I want transformation, but can't even be bothered to articulate what, exactly, I'm aiming for, how will it ever occur? Half the benefit of prayer is in the asking itself, in the offering of a clearly posed and well-considered intention. If you don't have this, all your pleas and desires are boneless, floppy, inert; they swirl at your feet in a cold fog and never lift."

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"Some days are meant to be counted, others are meant to be weighed."

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"As smoking is to the lungs, so is resentment to the soul; even one puff is bad for you."

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When you're lost in those woods, it sometimes takes you a while to realize that you are lost. For the longest time, you can convince yourself that you've just wandered off the path, that you'll find your way back to the trailhead any moment now. Then night falls again and again, and you still have no idea where you are, and its time to admit that you have bewildered yourself so far off the path that you dont even know from which direction the sun rises anymore."

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"There is a reason they call God a presence - because God is right here, right now. In the present is the only place to find Him, and now is the only time."

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"Do not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots."

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It's still two human beings trying to get along, so it's going to be complicated. And love is always complicated. But humans must try to love each other, darling. We must get our hearts broken sometimes. This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something."

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There's a reason we refer to "leaps of faith" - because the decision to consent to any notion of divinity is a mighty jump from the rational over to the unknowable, and I don't care how diligently scholars of every religion will try to sit you down with their stacks of books and prove to you through scripture that their faith is indeed rational; it isn't. If faith were rational, it wouldn't be - by definition - faith. Faith is belief in what you cannot see or prove or touch. Faith is walking face-first and full-speed into the dark. If we truly knew all the answers in advance as to the meaning of life and the nature of God and the destiny of our souls, our belief would not be a leap of faith and it would not be a courageous act of humanity; it would just be... a prudent insurance policy."

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Choices As Viewed by Max Lucado

2010-10-23T18:30:00.004+08:00

I choose patience . . .
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I choose kindness . . .
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I choose goodness . . .
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I choose faithfulness . . .
Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I choose gentleness . . .
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."
— Mother Teresa

American Sign Language

2010-10-17T15:56:00.004+08:00

ASL - ALPHABET (17/10/10)

Yi Qian Got Her Dental Sealant!

2010-10-16T17:19:00.006+08:00

Just brought Yi Qian for her periodic dental check-up. Her milk teeth have started to drop out and her molars are coming through at an early age (normally this process happens at age 6 but Yi Qian had hers at age 5).

Today her dentist applied something for her permanent molars to prevent it from decay, called the dental sealant. Following is an introduction on dental sealant:

What are dental sealants?
Sealants are thin, plastic coatings painted on the chewing surfaces of the back teeth.

Sealants are put on in dentists' offices, clinics, and sometimes in schools. Getting sealants put on is simple and painless. Sealants are painted on as a liquid and quickly harden to form a shield over the tooth.

How are sealants put on?
1. The tooth is cleaned.
2. The tooth is dried, and cotton is put around the tooth so it stays dry.
3. A solution is put on the tooth that makes the surface a little rough. (It is easier for the sealant to stick to a slightly rough surface.)
4. The tooth is rinsed and dried. Then new cotton is put around the tooth so it stays dry.
5. The sealant is applied in liquid form and hardens in a few seconds.
6. The sealant is in place

Why get sealants?
The most important reason for getting sealants is to avoid tooth decay.

Fluoride in toothpaste and in drinking water protects the smooth surfaces of teeth but back teeth need extra protection. Sealants cover the chewing surfaces of the back teeth and keep out germs and food.

Having sealants put on teeth before they decay will also save time and money in the long run by avoiding fillings, crowns, or caps used to fix decayed teeth.

What causes tooth decay?
Germs in the mouth use the sugar in food to make acids. Over time, the acids can make a cavity in the tooth.

Of course a healthy tooth is the best tooth. So it is important to prevent decay. That's why sealants are so important.

Why do back teeth decay so easily?
The chewing surfaces of back teeth are rough and uneven because they have small pits and grooves. Food and germs can get stuck in the pits and grooves and stay there a long time because toothbrush bristles cannot brush them away.

Who should get sealants?
Children should get sealants on their permanent molars as soon as the teeth come in -- before decay attacks the teeth.

The first permanent molars -- called "6 year molars" -- come in between the ages of 5 and 7.

The second permanent molars -- "12 year molars" -- come in when a child is between 11 and 14 years old.

Other teeth with pits and grooves also might need to be sealed.

Teenagers and young adults who are prone to decay may also need sealants.

How long do sealants last?
Sealants can last up to 10 years. But they need to be checked at regular dental check-ups to make sure they are not chipped or worn away. The dentist or dental hygienist can repair sealants by adding more sealant material.

Besides sealants, are there other ways to prevent tooth decay?
Yes. Using fluoride toothpaste and drinking fluoridated water can help protect teeth from decay.

Water is fluoridated in about two-thirds of cities and towns in the United States. If your water is not fluoridated or if your children's teeth need more fluoride to stay healthy, a dentist can prescribe it in the form of a gel, mouthrinse, or tablet.

Fluoride is the best defense against tooth decay!

Fluoride...

makes teeth more resistant to decay
repairs tiny areas of decay before they become big cavities
makes germs in the mouth less able to cause decay
Fluoride helps the smooth surfaces of the teeth the most. It is less effective on the chewing surfaces of the back teeth. Regular brushing -- with fluoride toothpaste -- also helps prevent tooth decay.

Sealants and fluoride together can prevent almost all tooth decay.

Making of Louis Vuitton / Edun Core Values Ad Campaign

2010-10-15T10:23:00.005+08:00

I just love the bag that Ali Hewson totes..

Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, star the new Louis Vuitton's "Core Values" ad campaign. For starters, it's the first time the U2 front man has appeared in an ad without his band, and the first time a label other than Vuitton is getting a fashion credit.

Instead of Vuitton, the two wear Edun, the ethical clothing label they founded in 2005 to encourage trade with Africa, and in which LVMH took a 49 percent stake last year. What's more, Hewson totes a handbag co-designed by Edun and Vuitton that comes dangling with a special charm that is the French firm's first made-in-Africa product. (It's also sold separately.)

The image of Bono and Hewson disembarking from a small airplane in an arid South African vista — with the tag line "Every journey began in Africa" — is slated to break in mid-September in a range of daily newspapers, October magazines and on louisvuittonjourneys.com. The collaboration also will dovetail with an event during Paris Fashion Week, when Vuitton and Edun will unveil Africa Rising, a temporary exhibition of contemporary African art along with a showcase for the campaign and Edun's spring collection. Bono and Hewson are expected to attend.

Antoine Arnault, Vuitton's director of communications, said Edun's presence in a Vuitton campaign would give the small brand — and its mission to eradicate poverty through sustainable enterprise in Africa — international exposure.

Bono and Hewson donated their fees to appear in the campaign to TechnoServe, a non-governmental organization that fosters enterprise in the developing world; Conservation Cotton Initiative, which supports sustainable farming in Africa, and Chernobyl Children's Project International. Proceeds from sales of the co-designed bag, a keepall style in an embossed, monogram leather, will go to TechnoServe and the Cotton Initiative. The retail price has yet to be finalized.

EDUN Collaborates With Louis Vuitton on Limited-Edition Travel Bag

Dita Von Teese - HOT, HOT, HOT!!

2010-10-13T12:48:00.001+08:00

A Tribute to Madam Kwa Geok Choo

2010-10-08T10:39:00.010+08:00

This post is written in the honor of the late Madam Kwa Geok Choo (Mrs. Lee Kwan Yew) who passed away at the ripe old age of 89 on 02.10.2010.

A well revered and respectable lady by many and most whom have never even met. Here's certainly a lady worthy of much love and reckoning. Her life story, achievement and great contributions to her family and country is a great inspiration to many.

Her demise is indeed a great loss to those who knows her personally and to many of us who don't. God bless her soul..

A Tribute to Kwa Geok Choo

Minister Mentor Lee Kwan Yew's Eulogy for Mrs. Lee

Yi Qian's Milk Teeth..

2010-09-29T12:49:00.004+08:00

Other than a dimple in a cute little chin,
What's more adorable than a toothless grin?

Mithing Tooth
I'm having trouble thpeaking,
thinthe I lotht my middle tooth.
Jutht yethterday my tooth wath fine --
today it wiggled loothe.

At firtht I thought it thilly,
when my tooth fell out today,
But no one theems to underthtand
a thingle word I thay.

I athked my mom to clothe the door,
she said "I cannot make it.
The door does not like wearing clothes;
it's happier when naked."

I athked if I could have a mouthe,
I promithed I would feed it,
"Another mouth to feed?" she athked,
"I'm certain we don't need it!"

I wonder if you underthtand
the thircumthtanthe I'm in.
I told her I wath feeling thick.
She thaid "you're looking thin."

At latht she thaw how mad I wath,
Ath if I may thtop breathing.
She laughed and thaid she didn't mean it --
She wath only teething.

Prayer for Mum

2010-09-22T14:18:00.016+08:00

Mum is scheduled for an operation tomorrow (23/09/10). I am looking for spiritual comfort in the following prayer...

"Loving Father, I entrust my mum to your care; guide with wisdom and skill

the minds and hands of the medical people who minister in your Name, and grant that

every cause of illness be removed, mum may be restored to soundness of health and

learn to live in more perfect harmony with you and with those around her. Through

Jesus Christ. Amen."

Visited mum today (23/09/10) around 1.30pm. She seemed to be doing fine and I am relieved. Thank you Lord..

God has done His part, so has the medical team..now it's healing time & for us children to nurse her back to health. (24/09/10)

I guess it'll be a slow healing process....(25/09/10)

Post surgical issues - diaper rash & constipation. (26/09/10)

Mum was discharged from hospital..staying with me
now. (27/09/10)

Got a walking frame and glad that I am able to take care of mum when she needs me.. (28/09/10)

Maintain hygiene & good ventilation..(29/09/10)

I think mum is slowly getting stronger, but still a long way to go before she fully recovers..(30/09/10)

Frequent urination at night & wake up once every night to change...(01/10/10)

Real busy weekend - spending time with hubby & kids, errands and chores, taking care of mum with more relief shifts from dad & bro..(02 & 03/10/10)

Slow, slow process...(04/10/10)

Mum went to local clinic for dressing & is eager to have cast removed... however that depends on the doctor's approval. See what the good doctor says this Monday (07/10/10)

If every one does their part, there'll be peace & harmony...essential elements for mum's recovery. (08/10/10)

Mum has finally gone back for the weekend after almost 2 weeks with me. Hope the good doctor will give her the green light to remove the cast for easier mobility etc...(09/10/10)

Mum had her cast replaced after seeing the doctor on Monday (11/10/10). She still has to wear the cast for most of this month in order to heal..I was so tired the last 2 days that I slept for hours after kids went to school. The caregiver has recuperated :') ... (13/10/10)

VaLuES - YouR's & MiNe

2010-09-17T18:01:00.010+08:00

I've been thinking alot about life's values these days. Values; defined as the worth we placed upon certain things, our highest priorities and the things considered important to us. I think in some ways, the values we hold dear defined us as an individual.

I believe our values changed as we progress in life. What's important to us in our childhood, in our adulthood; as we started our career, our family and after retirement, changes as we progress in life with improved maturity and wisdom, we inevitably see things from different perspectives

Most of us are easily distracted. It's easy for us to fall into the trap of living by different priorities every day. One day we exercise; the next day we slack off. One day we work productively; the next day we're stricken with a bout of laziness. If we don't consciously use our priorities to stick to a clear and consistent course, we'll naturally drift off course and shift all over the place. And this kind of living yields poor results. Imagine an airplane that went wherever the wind took it - who knows where it would eventually land? And the flight itself would likely be stressful and uncertain.

I believe it is important that we distinguish and set the right values as a guiding principle in which to live by. When setting values in one's life, everyone has a different definition of what "best" means to them. For some people, good health is an absolute must. For others, being compassionate is what's most important, while for others material gain and recognition in society tops all else. And for each of these values, every person is at a different point along their own continuum.

I supposed the list of our values with it's priorities may end up looking something like this:

Love

Health

Wealth

Happiness

Comfort

Success

Security

Learning

Peace

Adventure

I believe knowing a person's values hierarchy, gives us a fair chance of predicting their behavior. If this person lives true to her values, she'll lead a life focused on peace, love, and intimacy above all else. Her relationships (both with herself and others) will be extremely important to her, and she'd never put career success above her family.

On the other hand, let's say this person prioritized her values in the exact opposite order. What kind of person is this? Now we have someone who's probably very career-oriented, perhaps an entrepreneur. She will lead a very different life than the person with peace as her top value. Succeeding and becoming wealthy is more important to this person than personal relationships, so if she has a choice between advancing in her career or staying close to the people in her life, she'll almost always put her career first.

I've been thinking about the people I really resonate with. Do they have the same values as I do? What about the ones who don't? Can I accept the fact that each person is shaped in different ways, yet able to understand and learn not to judge? Personal relationships versus material gain. I supposed I need to learn that even though I may not be able to accept some people's behavior, I certainly need to try to understand them the best way I can. This is called tolerance?

Having said the above, I believe there are certain sets of values which we shouldn't compromise. I call it the core values that shapes our personality:

God centered

Trustworthiness

Respect - for self and others

Integrity

Responsibility

Fairness

Concern

Harmony of purpose

Without such values or beliefs, we would be driven here and there by the vicissitudes of life and compelled to action solely by our urges and passions. There would be little consideration for truths we hold dear, let alone implement them to ennoble and enrich our lives. Our lives would be without meaning or purpose.

~Family Getaway~

2010-09-06T13:41:00.000+08:00

It's been awhile since we've been on a short getaway. Hubby planned the trip to Universal Studio, Singapore over the previous weekend (29/8-31/8), taking advantage of the public holiday (53rd Merdeka Celebration).

Sis decided to join us with her older gal, the more the merrier. So, off we went on our journey where we put up 2 nites in Blue Wave Hotel, Johor. We had a suite room at a special rate, thanks to Melvin (hubby's friend).

After settling in to the hotel in the afternoon, we made our way to Singapore Bugis & Orchard shoppings. Sis met up with her ex-colleagues while hubby & I met up with his friends for dinner that night. While hubby caught up with his friends, the kids had a good time with Tyra che che. Sis & I later went around window shopping. We had quite a late night and we (I mean ALL of us including the kiddos)were dead exhausted when we hit the sack!!

On Monday, after breakfast, we made our way to our prime destination, The Universal Studio, Singapore! We reached there almost mid-day and the weather was good, kinda cloudy with light showers of rain to cool off the day.

We had fun snapping some photographs for memory sake, enjoying the rides and experienced Shrek in the 4D movie.

The Universal Studios Singapore at Resorts World Sentosa comprises seven themed zones including Hollywood, New York, Sci-Fi City, Ancient Egypt, The Lost World, Far Far Away and Madagascar.

We started our day with the King Julien’s Beach Party-Merry-Go-Round. Our girls had fun going up & down and round and round with the Madagascar characters i.e. Alex, Marty, Melman & co.

Immediately after the ride, we were showered with drizzles of rain, so we took the opportunity to slow down and had our meal at Marty's Casa Del Wild café.

More photographs after that as we wandered into Shrek's Far Far Away Castle to watch Shrek's adventure in 4D effect. This means we watched the 3D movie with 4D effect i.e. being jolted on our seats, crawlies effect on our feet and got splattered with Donkey's saliva every time he sneezed.

After that we rode the Enchanted Airways junior roller coaster with sis complaining that she's really not into such 'excitement'. It was stomach churning & worth the ride..hahaha. Even Paris, who's the scaredy cat all these while enjoyed the ride.

The kids were then taken on a Magic Potion Spin, which is a miniature ferris wheel for the children located in the Fairy Godmother's Potion Shop while sis got Joeynn a dainty pink umbrella fit for a little princess!

At The Lost World, we took the kiddy ride 'Dino-Soarin' that allows us to to pilot the pteranodons to either soar up into the sky or plunge down into the shadows!

Hubby & I had a real awesome time with the Revenge of the Mummy ride. It's an indoor steel roller coaster with Ancient Egypt as the theme zone, complete with imposing Egyptian statues. We had a long walk through the mazes and labyrinths of the insides of the tomb before we were whisked onto the roller coaster and taken through a tomb to meet head-on against Imhotep. The best part of the ride and what makes it top of the must-go rides is the fact that most of the turns are totally unexpected and the rider is guaranteed to expect a scream-fest not just from the turns but also from the special effects like fire, gusting wind, and an evil robot mummy damning us to hell along with many evil props throughout the ride!! Truly awesome!! Scary yet so exciting at the same time - an all time high!!

Overall it was an enjoyable trip and the kids truly had a fun time.

~Ma Belle Evangeline~

2010-08-19T21:58:00.002+08:00

Look how she lights up the sky,
Ma Belle Evangeline.
So far above me yet I,
Know her heart belongs to only me.
Je t'adore, Je t'aime, Evangeline,
You're my queen of the night,
So still,
So bright.
That someone as beautiful as she,
Could love someone like me.
Love always finds a way it's true!
And I love you, Evangeline.

Love is beautiful,
Love is wonderful!
Love is everything, do you agree?
Mais' oui!
Look how she lights up the sky,
I love you, Evangeline.

RouNd TaBLe DiNNer

2010-08-09T09:13:00.002+08:00

Having dinner and spending time with my immediate families is something I really look forward to. As my siblings and I have each grown up and are now living our own lives, we don't get to see each other and our parents as often or spend as much time together as we'd want to.

Our fast paced lives leave us with little time to catch up with everyone in the family. Hence whenever we get the chance to meet over dinner, I see it as a wonderful source of family time, a way of slowing down and valuing family relationships in the midst of leading our hectic lives.

So when mum called to inform that sis suggested for another round of dinner together on Saturday (07.08.10), hubby and I said "yes, lets meet."

All of us (7 adults, 3 kiddos & 1 baby) agreed to have dinner at the Tom Yam Steamboat Restaurant, located in Melaka Raya. This restaurant has been in establishment for many years and specialized in Chinese cuisine. One of the more popular dishes would be their famous steamboat that had endless streams of loyal patrons.

So, while enjoying our meal, it’s also time for us to unwind and discuss the day’s events, catching up on what’s going on in each other's lives, find out the latest gossip, seeing our kids play and fight together or just find out what’s playing at the movies.

I find sitting down at the table together is still one of the best ways for families to grow and stay connected. There is something just totally relaxing about sitting around the table with friends or families sharing a good meal. Our meals together doesn’t have to be fancy - it can be something as simple as nasi lemak in the gerai, tosai in the mamak stall or a big pot of homemade soup. Sharing, talking, taking the time to eat - as long as we are together, I see it as a great stress reliever and families and friends bonding...

p/s - I also got a bonus of spending time with my close friends on Sunday to catch up on each other's lives and happenings over breakfast and lunch together while good old hubby played baby sitter..

Of Lifes & LeMons

2010-08-03T14:49:00.010+08:00

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”? That’s where this idea came about. Fact is, with the situation I am in now, I am feeling like I’ve been given the whole damn lemon tree!

"I'm selfish, impatient and insecure. I made mistakes. I am out of control, and at times, hard to handle. But if you aren't in it with me at my worst then you don't deserve me at my best!"

SeReNitY PleAsE..

2010-07-31T00:46:00.006+08:00

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

~Serenity Prayer~by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)~

WheRe Is GrAcE?

2010-07-10T23:42:00.006+08:00

Grace is by definition; a disposition to kindness and compassion; benign good will, the elegance and beauty of a movement or expression. Grace extends tolerance and mercy.

I was going to gripe about how sometimes in life, if felt like I have been on the “short end” of the grace stick. I was going to gripe about how sometimes, it seems on the day that I needed grace the most, and grace fell short on me. I was going to gripe about how sometimes people just don't seem to extend grace anymore.

Grace is contagious, and so is lack of grace. When I didn’t receive the grace I so desperately needed I found that soon after I was not even willing to extend any kind of grace. I was resentful and not very 'beautiful' in my movement or expression. I thought “Why should I give grace?" I was going to gripe about how I felt like I was being taken for granted.

Often times people get so focused on a pain or hurt that they feel someone has caused them. This leaves them with no allowance for grace, only room for bitterness. This is most likely a problem of some self absorbed thinking mannerism. Love is not resentful, nor is it self centered.

There is no one who always does what is right, not even one. Forgiveness is a two way street, you cannot receive what you are not willing to give to others.

In giving there is receiving, so if you want grace, extend grace, if you want compassion, be compassionate. You never know when you might need the grace of someone else's loving behaviour, so extend some saving grace when you have the opportunities to do so.

We all have our moments and life is too short, let’s show each other some GRACE!

My HeRiTaGe..

2010-07-04T19:06:00.005+08:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

This is FUN - especially when the results are favouring the mum. Don't you think so? Muaaahhhaaaahha!!

Throat Singing - An Ancient Tuvan Music

2010-06-27T16:08:00.009+08:00

I was googling around bloggers' posts yesterday when I came across Tuvan Throat Singing... I find the ancient art of singing very interesting and would like to post an article about this topic here today.

Throat singing is one very interesting genre, and one with a very complicated and rich history. Throat singing, also known as overtone singing, is a method in which the singer manipulates the harmonic resonances created; as air travels up the pipe and out the mouth. It is the abrupt open-and-shut of the vocal cords that apparently charges the higher harmonics with increasing energy, resulting in separation between up to six simultaneous tones. This practice was mostly invented out of, Tuva - a Russian republic north of Mongolia.

Tuvan throat singing, is said to physically connect the singers to the spirituality of the Tuvan mountainside. The people of Tuva are nomadic sheep and cattle herders and this tactic was originally formed to herd the cattle to and fro. The singing styles were supposedly modelled on the harmonic resonances herders would find naturally occurring around valleys or waterfalls, with some vocal styles configured to mimic the sounds of animals, wind or water.

There are few main disciplines of Tuvan overtone singing.

Tuva throat singing is not for everyone... but when you hear this music it just might jar something very primal and pure inside of you.

Singer Kongar-ol Ondar is regarded as one of the style's most famous practitioners, often appearing on Western TV shows to perform. Here's a clip of Ondar from 1999 on David Letterman.

Watch as this Throat Singer performs a few of the many different tones involved in the practice. You'll hear the remarkable range of highs, lows and growls that this style can encompass.

The RiGht KinDa LeGacY...

2010-06-25T21:01:00.009+08:00

No One Can Ever Fill His Shoes...

Many people are concerned about leaving a legacy: evidence that their life mattered and that they made a difference in the world and in the lives of those they love.

A legacy reflects who you are as a person and what your life was about, the things you have accomplished, the people you have loved, and the memories that you cherished.

Today marks the first anniversary of Michael's demise. Considered to be one of the most talented, gifted, oddly compelling entertainers of all time, even now a year into his death, Michael Jackson, the king of pop, is still surrounded in mystery, and unanswered questions. He left behind a series of legacy, namely his music, the way he dance & did his moon walking, his humanitarian efforts, his kids etc.

Having said the above, I'd like to share an article I read about Paul of Tarsus (Saint Paul). What Paul left behind is an entirely different legacy all together. Paul had expended himself in the service of Christ and had a keen sense that he was nearing the end of his life. From his writings to other churches it was clear that he was not afraid of death. In fact, he clearly stated that if he were absent from the body, he would be present with the Lord (1 Corinthians 5:3). The resurrection had defeated the sting of death (15:55), and Paul couldn’t wait to meet his Savior.

As Paul pondered the end of his life, he made three very simple statements about his legacy. He had “fought the good fight”—standing firm as a spiritual warrior, clothed in the armor of God, faithfully defending the truth of the gospel. He had “finished the race”—ensuring in the process that he was neither disqualified nor disheartened in the marathon of life and ministry. Most importantly, he had “kept the faith”—remaining true, committed, and loyal to the One who rescued him from sin and darkness.

Notice that Paul’s brief statements here say nothing about the education he had received, the places he had traveled, the letters he had written, the people he had preached to, or the churches he had planted. He flat out wanted his legacy to be labeled as “faithful.”

So, I ask myself, “If that’s the kind of legacy I want to leave, how would I pursue it today?” To me, that means that my choices need to be more about “fighting the good fight.” I need to learn to put on the spiritual armor each morning, as Paul told the Ephesians to do, and live to be victorious in all that comes my way. I need to be running the race to win, putting off all that hinders.

Building a legacy worth leaving begins today and is made one decision at a time. I hope to live my life to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” That’ll be a legacy worth living for!

What will your descendants remember about you? What will the world at large remember? What will your legacy be?

To All The Fathers Out There

2010-06-21T14:11:00.017+08:00

There is a big difference between paternity and fatherhood. There is a big difference between someone who is a sperm-donor and the man who raises a child. One is defined by a moment of pleasure, the other is fulfilled by years of effort. One is a dime a dozen, the other is priceless.

Watch this & you'll know..
A hardworking father makes time to be a good dad for his little girl.

p/s: Haha.. I know my Father's Day posting came in abit late.. but I believe it's better late than neverrrr..!!

Father's Day was spent with all family members in a Chinese Restaurant. We have an additional new member to our family i.e. Charlize Wang, my cute & adorable neice. Younger brother was not able to join us this year but usually it's nice to have such dinner / family gathering as each of us now have our own family and every one is busy with the hustles & bustles of daily life.. so yeah it's a nice gathering for everyone especially the younger generations who ran about playing with each other, having fun without a care in the world!! May God bless us with more such gatherings which only get better each year..

2010-06-20T18:23:00.009+08:00

Paris ST Yi Qian & Noel ST Yi Shan

As I Watch You Grow

Do you know how much you mean to me?
As you grow into what you will be.

You came from within, from just beneath my heart
it's there you'll always be...though your own life has already start.

You're growing so fast it sends me a-tumble,
I some times ask, where's my little baby gal?

I know sometimes to you I seem harsh and unfair,
But one day you will see, I taught you well because I care.

The next few years will so quickly fly,
With laughter and joy, mixed with a few tears to cry.

As you begin your growth to a fine young lady, this fact you must know.
You'll always be my source of pride, no matter where you go.

You must stand tall and proud, within you'll feel no fear,
For all your dreams and goals, sit before you very near.

With God's love in your heart and the world by its tail,
You'll always be my winner, and victory will prevail.

For you this poem was written, with help from above,
To tell you in a rhythm of your Mother's heartfelt Love!

2010-06-19T18:11:00.009+08:00

My EveRy PaREnTS' WisHes...

To our dear child,

On the day when you see us old, weak and weary,

Have patience and try to understand us.

If we get dirty when eating,

If we can not dress on our own,

Please bear with us and remember the times

We spent feeding and dressing you up.

If, when we speak to you,

We repeat the same things over and over again,

Do not interrupt us.

Listen to us.

When you were small,

We had to read to you thousand and one times

The same story until you went to sleep.

When we do not want to have a shower,

Neither shame nor scold us.

Remember when we had to chase you

With your thousand excuses to get you to the shower.

When you see our ignorance on new technologies,

Help us navigate our way through those world wide webs.

We taught you how to do so many things,

To eat the right foods, to dress appropriately,

To fight for your rights.

Then at some moment we lose the memory

Or the thread of our conversation,

Let us have the necessary time to remember.

And if we can not, do not become nervous,

As the most important thing is not our conversation,

But surely to be with you and to have you listening to us.

If ever we do not want to eat, do not force us.

We know well when we need to and when not to.

When our tired legs give way

And do not allow us to walk without a cane,

Lend us your hand.

The same way we did,

you first tried your faltering steps.

And when someday we say to you,

That we do not want to live any more.

That we want to die!

Do not get angry.

Some day you will understand.

Try to understand that our age is not lived but survived.

Some day you will realize that, despite our mistakes,

We always wanted the best thing for you

And we tried to prepare the way for you.

You must not feel sad, angry nor ashamed

For seeing us near you.

Instead, try to understand us and help us

Like we did when you were young.

Help us to walk.

Help us to end our way with love and dignity.

We will pay you by a smile and by the immense love

We have always had for you in our heart.

We love you child,

Mom and Dad

p/s - I would not be where I am today had it not been for my parents. There were times during my younger days where I couldn't understand what my parents meant by "We are doing this for your own good" and they couldn't understand why I adamantly refused their hard-won wisdom. Being a parent my self now helps me understand and appreciate better all the efforts my parents put in for me. Thank you mom & dad!

2010-06-04T21:24:00.001+08:00

A.S.A.P.
Always Say A Prayer.

Something happens when we pray:
Powers of evil lose their sway,
We gain strength, and fear gives way—
Therefore, let us pray. —Anon.

2010-06-04T20:30:00.009+08:00

ChaNCes ArE..

Chances are you'll find me
somewhere on your road tonight
Seems I always end up driving by

Ever since I've known you
It just seems you're on my way
All the rules of logic don't apply

I long to see you in the night

Be with you 'till the morning light...

I remember clearly
how you looked the night we met
I recall your laughter and your smile

I remember how
you made me feel so at ease
I remember all your grace and style

And now you're all I long to see
you've come to mean so much to me...

Chances are I'll see you
somewhere in my dreams tonight
You'll be smiling like the night we met

Chances are I'll hold you
and I'll offer all I have
You're the only one I can't forget

Baby you're the best I've ever met...

And I'll be dreaming of the future...

... hoping you'll be by my side.

And in the morning I'd be longing for the night
for the night...

Chances are I'll see you
somewhere in my dreams tonight
You'll be smiling like the night we met

Chances are I'll hold you
and I'll offer all I have
You're the only one I can't forget

Baby you're the best I've ever met...

2010-06-03T19:34:00.007+08:00

"RuNNInG On EmPtY"
"Seek the Kingdom of God* above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need" (Matthew 6:25-33).

2010-05-31T20:31:00.009+08:00

To StRiVe All Way

Have you ever felt overwhelmed? I do. I do sometimes feel tired, lost or just overwhelmed. There were times I put off doing certain things that needs to be done - perhaps due to plain procrastination or could it be that I've gotten tired that I just wanna rest for a very long while?

I feel tired this moment and words failed me. I looked to these quotes for some inspirations to carry on..and, perhaps tomorrow will be another day with me better able to appreciate the blessings from Above!

~My InsPiRaTioNS~

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered

himself is mightier still. - Lao Tse

Not he who has much is rich, but he who gives much. -Erich Fromm

Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the

undertaker will be sorry.

Adam was but a human - this explains it all. He did not want the apple

for the apple's sake, he wanted it because it was forbidden. The

mistake was in not forbidding the serpent; then he would have eaten

the serpent.

It is better to deserve honors and not have them than have them and

not deserve them.

It is right to be contented with what we have, never with what we are.

-James Mackintosh

One half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up

before you get it. -Sidney Howard

Any man who knows all the answers most likely misunderstood the

questions.

Success always occurs in private and failure in full view.

2010-05-25T20:14:00.009+08:00

HaPpY AnNiVerSarY

It's been a great year since I first started my blogging voyage. Time obviously does fly when you enjoy yourself as much as I have been here.

I started out so cautiously, not really having any idea which direction I was going....however, gradually a style emerged and it all became clearer.....I became a real blogger! Awesome!!!

I have one good solid year of recorded memories, of life experiences and adventures and personal interests which I can go back to when I am old and gray and sitting by the window on a rainy afternoon. One good year of memories I can share with those who cares.

One of the best experience about blogging sometimes is by surprising yourself, creating something that you had no idea was within you....and that certainly applies to me. We all tend to label ourselves, consciously or subconsciously, and think that we can't do certain things or that we aren't very good at them. When I look at my blog today, I feel really proud of it - mainly because I really never thought that I had it in me - and if you had told me a year ago that I had, I would have thought you were quite mad!

Today, I am proud to say that I love my blog, really love it.....I love that it gives me an opportunity to share something of myself and of the things that I love.

Life is a work in progress....and these last few years have seen some changes for my family and I, with some more to come......

You will soon discover more about me as I continue with more of my future posts. So, come back and visit from time to time as I weave the chronicles of my life.

2010-04-29T22:10:00.004+08:00

"World Vision's History"

2010-04-25T17:06:00.004+08:00

You Did This For Me?

He splashed orange in the sunrise
and cast the sky in blue.
And if you love to see the geese as they gather,
Chances are you'll see that too.

Did He have to make the squirrel's tail furry?
Was He obliged to make the birds sing?
And the funny way that chickens scurry
or the majesty of thunder when it rings?

Why give a flower fragrance?
Why give food its taste?
Could it be
He loves to see
that look upon your face?

We are at our best when we are giving. In fact, we are most like God when we are giving.

Every gift reveals God's love
and...
I did it just for you!

2010-04-24T12:41:00.004+08:00

Where's Your Umbrella?

As a drought continued for what seemed an eternity, a small community of farmers was in a quandry as to what to do. Rain was important to keep their crops healthy and sustain the townspeople's way of life.

As the problem became more acute, a local pastor called a prayer meeting to ask for rain.

Many people arrived. The pastor greeted most of them as they filed in. As he walked to the front of the church to officially begin the meeting, he noticed most people were chatting across the aisles and socialising with friends. When he reached the front, his thoughts were on quieting the attendees and starting the meeting.

His eyes scanned the crowd as he asked for quiet. He noticed an eleven year-old girl sitting quietly in the front row. Her face was beaming with excitement. Next to her, poised and ready for use, was a bright red umbrella. The little girl's beauty and innocence made the pastor smile as he realised how much faith she possesed. No one else in the congregation had brought an umbrella.

All came to pray for rain, but the little girl had come expecting God to answer.

2010-04-24T11:49:00.005+08:00

A Few WoRds For YoU

I'Ve got a few words
I'd like to share with you

For keeping my spirits up
For never letting me down

For being here for me
For knowing I'm there for you

For bringing so many smiles my way
For being sensitive to my needs

For knowing just what to say
For listening better than anyone else

For bringing me laughter
For bringing me light

For understanding so much about me
For trusting me with so much about you

For being the angel..watching over me

2010-04-21T19:18:00.002+08:00

Self Indulgence...

I will get over it!!

ThE CHoiCEs We MaDe..

2010-04-20T20:51:00.013+08:00

As with anything in life, I think the more we come to know who we are, the more we know who or what fits us. Certainly not everyone will attract or match us completely - sometimes you meet a great person in life, but for certain reasons he or she is not destined to be the one for you. You think you've found a good match but circumstances just work against you and your relationship never gets it's chance to flourish...Or you meet someone who's unattractive to you physically, but have many other qualities you appreciate.

Knowing ourselves takes time - it's a lifelong journey. In life, by choosing one road, one person, or relationship, it means that we have to let go of taking some other roads. We can't take them all. I think life just don't work that way. So we have to make choices. Hopefully the choices we make come from a place of clarity.

Often, the only way to get to that clarity is by going through life and learning about ourselves as we go. As we make choices, and are willing to see ourselves clearly, we grow. There will be confusion. The most important thing is to come to know the deepest parts of yourself - to find out what is your real truth and who you really are - and what brings you true happiness. There will never be the perfect road. But we can go deep on the road we do choose.

There are many levels of connectedness, and a true partnership relationship has deep complexities to it. No one choice or person will ever give us everything. And even within a deeply committed relationship, you will have times when a person repulses you, and times when you gain new understandings from them.

In a relationship it takes a lot of time to become good lovers for one another, both sexually, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. You will grow and go a long way from where you started out and you will evolve in these areas as you learn more about yourselves and each other.

For something to be truly strong, like a sturdy tree, it takes time and slow, steady growth, working things out, communicating, being honest, learning about ourselves and others. Attraction is really all about bringing into our lives those people who will help us grow and see ourselves better. And as love grows, so does attraction.

We almost always have the choice, moment by moment, to choose either love, or otherwise. We almost always have the choice, every moment, to get the support we need to change. Any dysfunctional pattern found in a relationship can be healed if people have the willingness to face it. Then there is the opportunity for deep growth to occur, both for the individuals involved, and for the relationship itself. However, if the person is right but the relationship is wrong, then I think our conscience should prevail for sanity's sake. It's often an individual choice.

Most often only when we are willing to meet whatever shows up in the moment with LOVE, Trust and PATIENCE, honesty and clarity, do we find that fulfillment we seek, in relationship, and in every other moment of our lives.

2010-04-11T17:50:00.007+08:00

May you live all the days of your life!

"Life is Good"

Nuggets of Wisdom on Marriage

2010-04-11T16:04:00.005+08:00

Polite Fight
"On my wedding-invitation RSVP cards, I left space for guests to write their favorite wedding wisdom. The tidbit that rings truest after almost nine months of marriage is: 'Attack the issue, not each other.' How it works: If my husband and I disagree about something, we stay focused on the issue and skip the personal put-downs." —Melissa Gitter Schilowitz, 31, Metuchen, NJ

Perfect 10
"My husband's great-aunt wrote a list of the 10 most important things in a marriage, and she gave it to me at my bridal shower. It read:

10. Patience
9. Kindness
8. Patience
7. Communication
6. Patience
5. Caring
4. Patience
3. Patience
2. Love
1. Patience

"First of all, this couldn't be more true. Second, an 80-year-old woman made up a top-10 list; how funny is that?"
— Beth Power, 26, Arlington, VA

Ratio for Romance
"After my husband and I got together, a close friend of mine told me, 'If the sex is good, it's only 10 percent of the marriage. But if the sex is not so good, it's 90 percent. So do your darndest to make sure it stays really, really good!'"
— Emily Cho-Basco, 28, Los Angeles

Pop the Question
"My sister-in-law passed this helpful hint on to me, and it has served me well for our five years of wedded bliss: 'Marriage is not mind reading, so ask your spouse what he/she wants and believe what he/she says.'"
—Clare Graca, 27, Dallas

Nix the Nit-Picking
"Before I said 'I do,' my mom (who's been married to my dad for 55 years) told me to take out a piece of paper and write down the top three things that bugged me about my husband-to-be. Then she told me to forget the things on that list and forgive him for not being flawless. Once you make a commitment this big, she explained, you can't let petty things get in the way. In our eight years of marriage, my husband and I have had two kids, tackled cross-country moves and started two businesses — and so far, so great."
— Rebecca Hart Blaudow, 31, Jacksonville, FL

Space Smarts
"Always have separate closets, my best friend told me. It may seem silly, but I listened to her and made sure to find a one-bedroom apartment with two closets (mine being the larger, of course). Now my husband and I each have our own private space, and we respect that: If he wants to keep his shoes in one huge heap or leave his dirty clothes in a pile on the floor, the mess doesn't bother me a bit!"
— Patricia Bontekoe, 26, Lake Hiawatha, NJ

Agree to Disagree
"Before we got married, my minister told my husband and me, 'You are two imperfect people making an imperfect union, and that's wonderful.' This advice made me ditch my belief that in a happy marriage, the couple always agrees. My husband and I have learned to appreciate our differences (yes, even differences of opinion!); in fact, we encourage them because we realize now that those differences are what makes each of us unique and special."
— Beth Swanson, 28, Chicago

Comic Relief
"Before I headed down the aisle, my stepfather told me to always laugh and never take myself too seriously. After four years of marriage, I know that this trick works. My husband and I often play practical jokes on each other and always try to crack each other up, even in the middle of an argument. Hey, if one person laughs, a fight tends to fizzle, doesn't it?"
— Lisa Giassa, 31, Bogota, NJ

You've probably heard a few of these pieces of marital pop wisdom before. If so, these marriage experts say to promptly forget 'em.

Love means never having to say you're sorry.
"Oh, please! In marriage, love sometimes means having to say you're sorry even if you don't know what you did or you didn't mean to do it."
— Trisha Taylor, psychotherapist, Houston, TX

Children come first.
"This is bad advice if it means your husband always comes second. Of course you should love and care for your kids, but you should never lose sight of your couple-ness. The best thing a child can have is happy, fulfilled parents who are deeply in love."
— Mary Pender Greene, chief of social work services, Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, New York

Always keep the peace.
"No, no, no. If you don't face a hot issue head-on, you'll stockpile negative feelings. And before you know it, 20 years go by and you're still fighting over the same thing because you never resolved it in the first place."
— Rebecca S. Ward, M.S.W., psychotherapist, Little Rock, AR

2010-03-20T23:10:00.007+08:00

The Way I Feel About It

There's some romantic feelings deep inside, you feel it so strongly for this special some one. What happens when words failed you? You've got to express it, let her know how you feel...but how do you express yourself? Ahh...some does it through a special song carefully selected, to associate it with the one they love. The 1st dedication, a beautiful surprise and cherished forever...what more could I ask for?

Lady, I'm your knight in shining armor and I love you
You have made me what I am and I am yours
My love, there's so many ways I want to say I love you
Let me hold you in my arms forever more

You have gone and made me such a fool
I'm so lost in your love
And oh, we belong together
Won't you believe in my song?

Lady, for so many years I thought I'd never find you
You have come into my life and made me whole
Forever let me wake to see you each and every morning
Let me hear you whisper softly in my ear

In my eyes I see no one else but you
There's no other love like our love
And yes, oh yes, I'll always want you near me
I've waited for you for so long

Lady, your love's the only love I need
And beside me is where I want you to be
cause, my love, there's something I want you to know
You're the love of my life, you're my lady

2010-03-19T14:14:00.005+08:00

Sometimes you don't need words to explain.. sometimes words are not just enough to tell.. what you feel.. it just comes out from inside.. and you brim with joy.. yes!!

I am very happy today.. yesterday was a special day! though I am a very expressive person when it's about love and gratitude.. I never leave a chance to let people know how much they mean to me.. or how much I love them.. I hold those precious ones close to my heart.. always let them know how much I love them.. for me, expressions of love are equally important as air or water to live..

Still at times I feel I haven't done enough.. and then I just hug them tight.. without uttering a word.. sometimes actions speaks louder than words..

Today I want to thank someone.. the very special person in my life.. thank you for your love.. for your support.. for believing in me.. life can't be better than this .. I really have done something right in past life to deserve such lovely people this life.. I love you!!

Wish List

2010-03-14T15:15:00.012+08:00

WiSh LisT

Was talking to a friend yesterday and he commented about the things he'd like to do with his loved one.

That got me into thinking about just what he might have seen in his lifetime, and what I’d still like to see in mine.

The biggest drag in life seems to be when routine sets in and you lose all sense of purpose in life.

Life itself is a wonderful thing. There is so much out there for us to see and do. And yet on the other hand, so much less nature and kindness. Sometimes it feels like we’re racing against time to experience these wonderful "once in a lifetime" experience the world has to offer before whatever it is that makes it special has been exhausted, used up, crowded out.

Most times we only get one shot at life. So I shall try as much as possible to make mine exactly what I want it to be. To do that, I think it helps to create a list of things I'd like to achieve (in no particular order) with my love one. Whether it takes weeks, months or years, I hope to realise my wishes and experience the magical feelings of such achievements with no other than darling loved one for no other reason than it's better done together.

Here goes:

Be passionate about life and love
(this comes easier everyday as I become more appreciative of the nature surrounding me. The break of dawn with roosters' crow, the sight of a misty dawn, the early morning breeze, the sound of birds chirping, the sight of vast paddy field opposite where I stay...the joy my children bring with their unconditional love and the beauty of their innocence and kindness, the discovery of God and His love for me. It's a joy to be alive!)

Cuddling up together under the stars on a beach in a tent
(Yet to do)

Cooking together
(I don't do much cooking, but I enjoyed it when mum, sis, children and me got involved in the Tang Yuen making project (the kids especially love the dough rolling), or when we all 'helped' mum in her kitchen. Will do more of this as an ongoing project)

Doing the laundry at the laundrette together
(Never had the chance to do laundry at the laundrette where I live, but now kids are always helping out whenever I do the laundry. Yay, I now got helper with the chore I used to dislike. Somehow with their chattering and banters while helping it doesn't seem so mundane anymore)

Find my soul mate
(I consider soul mates as the ones who came into my life to reveal another layer of my who I am and then leave. Usually I reflect upon the revelation better when I am not caught up in the intensity of a relationship. This helps me to evaluate and learn from the lesson the experience taught and form a better understanding of who I am)

Fall deeply in love -- helplessly and unconditionally
(I did this with my kids.. it's so easy as we're already programmed as such by our Father. I am still learning to love in such manner with my husband as we live life together)
Get passionate about a cause and spend time helping it, instead of just thinking about it
(I contributed in my own small way towards a recent tsunami catastrophe. I know I should do more than spreading the message and creating awareness about the cause I am passionate about and I pray to God to make it possible)

Going to a movie together
(It was fun when I source for free movie passes & hubby printed out the voucher for all four of us to que up to redeem the ticket for our first movie together as a family!!)

Go up in a hot-air balloon together
(I definitely want to do this with my family sometime soon!)

Gardening together
(Yikes! I don't have a green finger & neither does hubby. Hmm.. will do this one day with the kids..)

Going to a art exhibition, pottery & museum together
(Went to a pottery gallery in Korea with hubby during our honeymoon, museum in Taiwan with hubby again. Looking forward to local museum when kids are older and better able to appreciate history. Did go to parks & farms with kids though, lol)

Hear him sing
(Done!)

Kissing in the rain
(Yet to do but I did kiss in the shower :) )

More kisses
(Easy peasy)

Riding a tandem bicycle
(Haha.. I can't cycle well, we have yet to rent a tandem bicycle)
Send a message in a bottle
(Yet to do)

Smile at strangers more
(Not that difficult. Can even strike conversation with those who's kind enough to spare some time to care)

Slow dance
(Did this when I was younger, need to do it again somewhere in the future)

Stroll in the park holding hands
(Just need to bring my kids to the park and make sure that they're holding on to me instead of running free & wild!!)

Sit by d campfire and talk abt everything under the stars
(Hope to do this someday)

Snuggling in front of tv wif popcorn
(Ok, tis is much easier done in the theatre as it's hard to get popcorn when u're already at home watching movies)

Say "I love You" always
(Did this with my kids as hubby is not the lovey dovey kind)

Walk at dawn / dusk along the beach together
(Ok we did this in the morning cause not able to wake up at dawn & evenings are spent driving along the beach)

2010-03-11T23:25:00.011+08:00

ON ThE SuBjecT Of LoVE..

A blogger fan of mine requested for new postings and I thought why not. Feel like talking about LOVE tonight ...

I've come to discover that love is a strange feeling and it can be one of the most amazing kind of feeling on earth. I've also found out that love can be blissful and there are times when they can really hurt. When in love, I find that logic or reasonable thinking tends to take a backseat; we either trust our intuition or listen to our heart. At least this is the way it is for me lah..

But even being in love does not necessarily means we will be in a state of euphoria or happiness all the time. There are times in certain circumstances where conflicting ideas or emotions arise.

I also learned that in loving a partner, it usually involves different stages of the process; eg. commitment, trust and fidelity. We should work on every stage and strive to get better together - don't you think don't so?

Anyway, how do we know that we really love a person or that she's the one for us?

I think when you love a person, you accept them as a whole. For love shouldn't be just about loving parts of them that we like, but choosing to love them overall. Coz if we face challenges in accepting their imperfections, then maybe the relationship isn't as strong as it should be?

Would we risk just about everything we have to be with the person we claimed to love? Do we love unconditionally? If we can't love another person without attaching stipulations, then perhaps it is not love after all?

For when you really love some one won't you want to improve that person’s life, or allowing that person to be themselves and accepting them as they are, and not who you want them to be?

All these are part of my humble discoveries of what love is...perhaps you'll ponder on the subject and tell me more?

Anyway, being the hopeless romantic that I am, I believe love is something most of us, if not all of us, will want to encounter during certain stages of our life.

I end this post with a beautiful poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Hope you'll find delight in the profound manner in which she expresses her love:

How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach,
when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's most quiet need,
by sun and candlelight.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love with a passion put to use in my old griefs,
and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose with my lost saints,
I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life!
and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

2010-02-21T02:35:00.005+08:00

Today, I would like to share something which I learned of recently...

Soul Mates & Twin Souls

There is much confusion about soul mates and twin souls. Very often these two terms have been used synonymously. They are not synonymous. One can and do have many soul mates but one has only one twin soul.

What Are Soul Mates and Twin Souls?

Soul Mates are souls we have met and lived with in many life times. They have been our lovers, spouses, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, teachers, students, friends, and family, or even our enemies, victims or tormentors. We contract with these souls to return to earth together for greater learning and growth.

Twin souls, also called Twin Flames or Twin Rays, are the other half of your soul. This is based on the belief that we are all parts of the Divine Being, God, All That Is, Source, Spirit, Creator. The Divine Being, in order to experience Its Self, divided into many souls, each in turn divided into many others. The final splitting of the many neutrally gendered souls created male and female halves of a whole, the Twin Soul.

Soul Mates

We have many soul mates, the first larger splitting of souls. These souls resonate with us and there is comfort in that recognition. We evolve and reincarnate with these souls through many lifetimes, learning lessons in our many unions and partings, you can say on some level we are all soul mates one with another, learning and growing together. Not all these lessons are loving or comforting as lessons in forgiveness and unconditional love are challenging.

Sometimes we are the 'victim', and sometimes we are the 'darkness' that shows another soul their light. This is where free will and choice comes into the 'game', how we react or perceive our relationships. Someone can come into your life and cause you much pain and suffering, this is a soul contract between you to grow and evolve in love and forgiveness. This is one perception of karma, and one that will free you from the karmic cycle of 'I kill you, now you kill me' type of karmic dance some souls are involved in for many lifetimes. You break the cycle by acting rather than reacting, by freeing the ego from the soul and learning to love and forgive even in suffering.

Our greatest joy and greatest pain are both conceived in these soul mate relationships, our feelings intensified by our soul connections, whether for good or bad. You can often spot a soul mate or karmic relationship by 'love at first sight' or 'revulsion at first sight', depending upon the lessons you've contracted to learn from this soul.

One can live a lifetime in joy and harmony with a resonate soul mate and this is a beautiful, but rare gift.

Becoming 'Whole'

It is said that one does not meet their Twin Soul until they have learned many lessons of love, loss and forgiveness through close Soul Mate relationships, that the heart is made resilient and strong through pain and loss, and must be so to face the intensity of being with the other half of their soul.

Many people who have met their Twin Soul had experienced a 'Dark Night of the Soul', or a major spiritual transformation just prior to meeting, or upon meeting this soul. It's almost as if you need to be 'emptied out' emotionally, spiritually and mentally as a test of your spirit. Meeting your 'other half' can be magical, maddening experience that opens your perceptions. Some experience an opening of their physic awareness as their heart expands in this unbounded and unconditional love. The fact is, your life will not be the same, and whether you perceive this as a gift or a curse is the challenge of your soul's evolution. The Twin Soul connection is always a triad involving the Divine Spirit / All That Is, two people connected by soul, connected to God.

Before one can physically unite with their Twin Soul, one must do the conscious work of healing and becoming whole within their self. Twin Soul love cannot exist in a codependent, ego-based relationship, or from a perceived 'need' that the other person will make you whole.

Whether or not you will meet and stay with your twin in a particular lifetime depends on how advanced your soul is and how much of your karma has been worked through from this lifetime and previous ones. Through interacting with your twin all emotional baggage is brought to the surface as there can be nothing hidden from each other. Many twins part in different lifetimes because they cannot handle such intensity arising.

Both must often face separations while they strengthen their own connection to Spirit to find their strength and purpose on their own. Each half will find balance in their male / female, yin / yang before union.

Synchronicity plays an important part in twin soul meetings..You may find similar experiences in the same time frames before you even met, marriages, births, divorces, illnesses.

How Do You Know if You've Met Your Twin?

Meeting the 'other half of your soul' is generally so life changing and profound that this question is unnecessary.. you just know. Twin Souls will both recognize this extraordinary bond, whether they are evolved and whole enough to acknowledge and act upon it is another thing.

Meeting with your Twin Soul brings about an internal spiritual revolution, a deeper connection and understanding of the Divine and the Universal Oneness, this is the greatest gift of knowing your Twin. Twin Soul love is not to be confused with an obsessive / compulsive disorder, it's not a desire to 'possess' another, but truly a challenge to love unconditionally and without expectation, to be whole and complete within yourself before joining the other whole and complete side of your soul. The longing and desire to be with your Twin Soul is intense, but through growth and perception can be seen as the greater longing to join the Divine, and that is the true lesson, you are two halves of a much greater whole.

When you meet twin, there will be no 'game-playing' or manipulation, you will have the need to be transparently honest in your relationship and communication with one another. If there is karma from past lives to work out between you, it will be apparent and consciously worked out. If you or your twin is committed to another relationship, you will respect and honor that bond and realize the tests of unconditional love.

Meeting your Twin Soul challenges you to grow spiritually, heal mentally, emotionally, physically, and to see beyond time, ego, and physical limitations. You will be driven with the desire to be the best manifestation of your soul on Earth. This is not a relationship of hearts and flowers, but one that will be tested in fire and will endure beyond time and space.

2010-02-11T21:58:00.006+08:00

Life Touches Me Gently...

Was kissed by a moment immune to all toil,
Inspired by silence, new life from old soil.
I watched the wind dance among trees with such grace,
An effortless movement of all things in place.
Convinced that all dreams were filled with true green,
And rivers that gave way to no where obscene.

Skies held surprises if searched with both eyes;
There's magic and wisdom from all that abides.
Holding me steadfast, all time falls asleep,
I roam down an old path and listen to peace.

A heartbeat and rhythm once shared with this land,
I'm blessed by the fullness so vivid and grand.
Speak to me softly, my ears come alive,
Life touches me gently some place deep inside.

2010-02-07T17:13:00.005+08:00

God's Timing

Some people likes to plan and be in charge of every thing in their life, yet some of us prefers to let nature takes it's course in the happenings of our life...

From the way I see it, there's no right and wrong to it and which ever the preference, I believe we shouldn't be too rigid about it coz the end result is determined by the One up above. It's about trusting God not only in His guidance, but timing.

Whether we get the things we want in life or if we managed to rid the things we try to prevent from happening, it's also determined by the One. I guess it's about trusting God to know what's best for each and every one of us. Whatever happens, there's a thing or two for us to learn from...

The things we plan, some times it's not moving becoz of certain external elements beyond our control that simply enjoys in delays. God is never early. God is never late. He is always on time. The only thing is that He and I seem to have our clocks set in different time zones. BUT... but but but the truth is, God's clock and timing is always right. He is after all the Creator of time itself.

I came across a story about perfect timing taken from the Bible recently. There was this particular woman who trusted God. When a famine was to fall upon the land, Elisha, a prophet of God told her to leave and return only after the 7 years of famine have passed.

So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God... It came to pass, at the end of the 7 years, that the woman returned... and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land.

No doubt the king would have been attending to a million and one things, and a woman's plea was probably down the list of urgency. But lo and behold, at that very moment, the king was listening to Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, recounting the "things Elisha has done."

Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, "My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life."

The woman returned home after 7 years, noticed the changes in scenery and people, and felt out of place and in need of security. Then God placed the right people in the right place at the right time. In she strolled into the king's court and bumped into Gehazi who was doing none other than talking about her. And because of that she had the favor of the king and regained her land and profit. Talk about perfect timing.

It is a short passage, this story. But it reassures me that often with God, we really shouldn't need to worry. Because He really knows what He's doing.

So in spite of my natural anxiety, it's time for me to throw out my clock and attune myself to His ticking. What say you here?

Broken Hearted Me..

2010-01-30T18:07:00.006+08:00

While gooling around, I came across an article about an inspiring broken heart quotes. It was from Germany’s most popular music producer. This guy had everything you could ever dream of, fame, money, girls, yet he was missing one thing.

He said that the most terrible experience in his life was the break up with his first love when he was seventeen. There wasn’t a day in his life when he was not thinking about her.

Having suffered a broken heart myself, I was thinking: Here’s this 53 year old guy who has everything and he was still suffering from a 36 years old break up. It was not a very pleasant outlook for me. A break up pain that lasted for 36 years?

But it made me realize two things while I was suffering: I was not alone. Even this mega-successful guy was suffering from the same illness called broken heart. I cannot explain it, but it helped me somehow.

The other thing I realized was that a break up could have a large impact on your forthcoming life. This particular celebrity may not have had such a pure and honest love ever again like he had 36 years ago. But you can consciously choose which way you want to go and you have to live with the consequences of that decision.

So I collected some broken heart quotes from celebrities. I tried not to list sad love quotes or break up quotes only in general, but quotes that either make me laugh or get me thinking and most importantly, that makes me positive.

Here is my selection of some impressive celebrity broken heart quotes:

“Only time can heal your broken heart, just as only time can heal his broken arms and legs.”
—Miss Piggy

“I’m not sure what the future holds but I do know that I’m going to be positive and not wake up feeling desperate. As my dad said ‘Nic, it is what it is, it’s not what it should have been, not what it could have been, it is what it is’.”
—Nicole Kidman

“Breaking up is a natural evolution when you try to figure out what you want in life. If you’re with an individual who isn’t moving in the same direction and at the same rate that you are, it ain’t going to work.”
—Usher

“Breaking up. It happens kind of suddenly. One minute, you’re holding hands walking down the street, and the next minute, you’re lying on the floor crying and all the good CDs are missing.”
—Kennedy Kasares

I broke up with someone, and he said, “You’ll never find anyone like me again.” And I’m thinking, I hope not!…Does anybody end a bad relationship and say, “By the way, do you have a twin?”
—Marry Miller

All the best,

Suzie Lim

2010-01-30T16:24:00.008+08:00

Burial of the Past

“Do not keep on with a mockery of friendship after the substance is gone - but part, while you can part friends. Bury the carcass of friendship: it is not worth embalming.”

“In our family we don't divorce men - we bury them”

"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future."

"We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future."

"I like men who have a future and women who have a past."

"Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past."

"If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future."

"The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less capable you are of loving in the present."

"One’s past is what one is. It is the only way by which people should be judged."

"There is a way to look at the past. Don’t hide from it. It will not catch you–if you don’t repeat it."

"If tears could build a stairway, and memory a lane, I'd walk right up to Heaven, and bring you home again"

"When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure"

WorLD ViSioN MaLaySia

2010-01-17T18:42:00.010+08:00

"Easing Burdens"
"TraNsPaRenCy"

2010-01-14T20:35:00.007+08:00

TeaRs Are The WorDs ThaT A HeArT COuLd NoT SaY...

Miles cannot separate me from the one I once knew. Although face-to-face communication is few and far between, his heart still finds ways to speak to me?

He Calls To Me

He calls to me across the miles
Night winds carry his whispers
They float on the breeze and through my windows
Falling gently upon my ears
- Hush -
I hear him now.

He calls to me from the heavens
Glittering stars cannot compare to the sparkle of his eyes
When he looks at me, I am consumed by the fire
I see him now.

He calls to me through my dreams
Dancing together in the shadows of my sleep
Where we laugh and love once again
I am in his arms
I feel him now.

He calls to me
Every moment of every day
Distance couldn't keep us apart
When destiny drew us together
I'll hold him for eternity
As long as he keeps calling.

2010-01-08T20:53:00.007+08:00

LeTTinG Go...

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

Do you love the person before getting together, or do you be together before loving a person?

How do we so love deeply yet hold so lightly?

Why does it take a minute to say hello and forever to say goodbye? ~Author Unknown

How lucky I am to have some one that makes saying goodbye so hard. ~Carol Sobieski and Thomas Meehan, Annie

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden. ~Attributed to Claudia Ghandi

Can miles truly separate you from friends.... If you want to be with someone you love, aren't you already there? ~Richard Bach

Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes. ~Henry David Thoreau

Love is missing someone whenever you're apart, but somehow feeling warm inside because you're close in heart. ~Kay Knudsen

The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected. ~Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven. ~Tryon Edwards

Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. ~Kahlil Gibran

A man never knows how to say goodbye; a woman never knows when to say it. ~Helen Rowland

Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos. ~Charles M. Schulz

A goodbye isn't painful unless you're never going to say hello again. ~Author Unknown

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. ~Theodor Seuss Geisel, attributed

May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand. ~Irish Blessing