Sunday, January 29, 2006

My Funny, Scary, Hopeful Experience this Week...

Having a hard time making a good introduction ends up with nothing when I am blogging. I truly love sharing my thoughts and experiences through writing but there were times when I just couldn't get the right words to express things.

So that's been bugging me so far these past few days plus I'm having difficulty on time-management. I guess I have to blame it all on the DVD's.

About how my week was...

My Dear Mother celebrated her 54th birthday last Monday, since I'm broke, I have thought of giving her a dozen of nice and fresh white roses mixed with daisy-like Malaysian Mums. We had a nice dinner too with the kids out-- literally out meaning, just outside the house nothing fancy.

I managed to meet a Travel Agent at that same day. Since Eddie can't make it to be here due to unforseen circumstances, we had sudden change of plan. I'll have to come and visit him instead. Well, only by luck, whether the immigration will approve my application for a visit to Australia or as simple as deny it. That's another thing to blog isn't it? Honestly, I don't wanna get too agitated over coming there and be with Eddie finally, it's really hard to tell as of yet. Though I'd still post something about the progress on my application soon. To me and for everyone out there applying with same or different purpose like mine, it's all like a game of luck. I'm hoping though to be with Eddie soon.

MY STORY ABOUT PLAYING CHESS AND KEN LOVING IT!

I'll tell you a little somewhat funny story. I don't play chess.. at all! My son, Ken, and his cousin was so into it last summer and I just envy looking at them concentrating with their moves and all. While watching them play chess, I asked too many questions like: "Who's winning? Who's winning?:), "Wait, I'm confused, why the Queen can move as many places as it likes unlike the King?", "Aren't you tired of each other's face competing everyday?" Irritated by my questions but not really expressing it, I just know, what they did was teach me instead.
Fast learner that I am, (I was able to play chess (but still asking questions from my opponent) within one week. Fast enough, huh?


So for weeks of learning, I've always been beaten by a grade 3 and grade 4 students (my son, Ken and his cousin)! Sometimes with what they call "four or five moves". And I was so like "Oh, that's just not fair! You're joining up against me!". Humiliating. Fascinating, wasn't it? :)

I'm not playing chess anymore after that, been too busy with lots of stuff, but my boy is still playing it. About a couple of days ago, he just went home with a big grin on his face saying he won against grade 5 and 6 (he's in grade 4 now, by the way) in their sportsfest chess competition. I told him how proud I am having someone like him and to keep it up. I guess, that kid needs practice to keep him interested in playing it. I'm thinking to play with him soon. Just like they say, chess makes kids smart. And so do parents. :)

MY SCARY, FUNNY, SCARY MOMENT...

About a couple of nights ago, my boyfriend and I were chatting, put the webcam on and have fun with each other. Until he asked me what's behind my back, so I did look at my back and found my sweater hanging on the couch. Told him it was just a sweater. Again, he said "not that one" so I started to look what's behind me once again and found a towel on the other couch
(now you can tell how messy I am with my house :)) he said right away no behind that. And what's next thing behind that towel which you can see from the cam is the hand towel hanging in my wall. So I walked a few steps back and showed it, I even shook it as a sign to tell him if this is what he's asking? And when I walk towards my PC he said, at the top of the towel that I shook what was that. That made my hands and feet cold, there was nothing in there! What could he possibly see? I was all alone that time and his questions were beginning to frighten me.

I asked Eddie then about what's he seeing that time and he said like "I see a face smiling at you"
when I read that, I screamed and opened my doors out, my heart was pounding.

Sorry, to be continued.. be back later with the photos! :)



Tuesday, January 24, 2006

What a Wonderful Weekend!

My brother went out of town with his friends for their yearly camping in the woods for the weekend. Three full tranquil days and two nights of peaceful slumber! What more could I ask for? I may have not mentioned that my brother is so friendly and so generous that he invites all his friends to stay over the night after going to the party or somewhere else, eat our food and feel free to do whatever they want, chat, laugh, more beer, get drunk! What a life!

My mother, as well as me, isn’t complaining about his friends staying over or leaving our fridge empty in the morning but doing so in the middle of the night without considering that there are also people who needs to sleep in the house is way too much. It happens a lot lately.

Unconsciously, I act strange whenever I am distracted from what I do or break my sleep, well I guess it’s just normal for everyone to be like that. I guess I’m just a private type of person when I’m at home and I want everything in order. Which is why impatiently, I have yelled too many times on my brother and his friends too when they’re too much and not knowing when enough is enough. They are a bit cautious by now but still not changing. there’s nothing I can do about it I think than to put an earphone whenever I’m breaking my sleep and when I’ve have enough of them, I’ll be as bad as they could imagine. Goodwill begets goodwill. J

Just posting this stuff to let y’all know that I had a wonderful and serene weekend of slumber! It should be over by now though for my monster brother and his beastly friends will be coming home today. Unfortunately!

Excuses for sleeping at work

Some of these were my styles when I was working in an Insurance Company, the office was so cozy that after having lunch I feel sleepy, so if I was not surfing the net. I'd sneak a sleep. But that was long before, I'm a changed woman now. Jobless! LOL! Can't think of anything to post so enjoy this at the moment.


1. The guys at the blood bank told me this might happen.

2. This is just a 15 minute power nap like they raved about in that time management course you sent me to.

3. I was working smarter - not harder.




4. I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisioning a new paradigm!


5. This is one of the seven habits of highly effective people!





6. I was testing the keyboard for drool resistance.

7. I'm in the management training program.

8. I'm actually doing a Stress Level Elimination Exercise Plan (SLEEP).
I learned at the last mandatory seminar you made me attend.

9. This is in exchange for the six hours last night when I dreamed about work!

10. I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve work related stress. Do you discriminate against people who practice Yoga?

11. Damn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem.

12. The coffee machine is broken....

13. Someone must have put decaf in the wrong pot.

14. Boy, that cold medicine I took last night just won't wear off.

15. Geez, I thought you (the boss) were gone for the day.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Words of Wisdom

I started out with nothing....I still have most of it.
I finally got my head together, now my body is
falling apart.
Funny, I don't remember being absent minded.
If all is not lost, where is it?
It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser.
If at first you do succeed, try not to look too
astonished.
The first rule of holes: If you are in one, stop
digging.
Some days you're the dog, some days you're the
hydrant.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
I wish the buck stopped here. I could use a few...
It's hard to make a comeback when you haven't
been anywhere.
Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a
free trip around the sun.
The only time the world beats a path to your door
is if you're in the bathroom.
If God wanted me to touch my toes, he would have
put them on my knees.
If you're living on the edge, make sure you're
wearing your seat belt.
There are two kinds of pedestrians ... the quick
and the dead.
An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other
toys.
A closed mouth gathers no feet.
Health is merely the slowest possible rate at
which one can die.
It's not hard to meet expenses ... they're
everywhere.
Jury: Twelve people who determine which client
has the better attorney.
The only difference between a rut and a grave is
the depth.
Keep your friends close but your enemies closer

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Bad Luck, Ouch, Shameful!




Ouch! So far, this is my most shameful experience of the year.





I feel like being lazy when I woke up this morning, the kids slept over their granny’s house so I am so free to do so. I stayed on my bed for quite a while thinking about what to do today, I’m broke so nothing exciting I guess. Also, part of what I got used to is recalling my dreams as soon as I woke up. I remembered, I had this water-related dream again for the nth time since January. My auntie told me once that sometimes, a water-related dream causes trouble and sometimes good news. Well, let’s see if this is good news.

I watched DVD while having breakfast, lazy huh? Didn’t clean the house again, just fed the birds after that. Here goes the story: The birds’ cage was a bit elevated that I needed two chairs just to reach their bowls. When I was about to go down, I stepped on the other chair and it cracked in the middle so my feet was stuck and I fell down, the most mortifying part was my brother’s friend saw me tumbling all the way down to the floor and my nightdress was lifted up to my bellybutton and from there revealed my PANTIES while my feet stuck in the chair! Jesus! Although my leg’s in terrible pain, I managed to get up quickly coz I saw him walking towards me to give some help. He asked me “What happened?” and I just injected a humor with, “Obviously, I’m getting fat that’s why the chair couldn’t support me!” while I was getting rid of the chair on my right leg. *Ouchh!*

Well, so far, this is my most shameful experience for the year. Tumbling down from the chair while my leg stuck in it, exposing my panties, at the same time someone just witnessed that thing from the beginning. Fantastic, isn’t it?

Still feeling the pain, I decided to write this one out. What a luck! I’m sure that guy who just saw me while rolling down and my panties revealed at that moment would still be chuckling whenever he thought about it. I myself too would really laugh at myself because of that but I do have four cuts on my right leg which makes me concentrate more on how painful it is. I would laugh though later when I tell my best buddy about this embarrassing shitty thing. And when the sore is over. *Ouchh!!*

Friday, January 20, 2006

On Breaking-up and Lessons Learned...

Been always busy every morning preparing the kids to school and after they left, tidy up the house and all. But not today, my house is in a total mess but I never lifted any finger on anything instead I sat in front of this PC. I feel like concentrating mainly on writing something for my blog today and make it a habit of doing so. Let’s just see though how long can I take this messy house while writing. Lol.

Hmm.. what to post? Aha! I’ll tell you a story about a desperate not-so friend of mine who completely lost her memory about the meaning of family and friendship when she unexpectedly found her new-found lover via chat. After two weeks of chatting, the guy hastily decided to visit her in the Philippines. State of ecstasy, that’s what I can describe as I looked at her schmoozing about her boyfriend, being his princess and all. She was in no doubt stepping on a seventh heaven, they both looked like a pair of bedpan blissfully in-love with each other and I’m happy for her too. And I truly meant that. Until she drastically changed into some overly-ambitious and obsessed woman I never knew. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with being ambitious but to say that “I don’t need NO BODY just me and my boyfriend living abroad will make me completely happy!” Now that’s what I call pathetic! I started to keep away from her since then.

True as they say, some good things never last. After months of silence, she recently paged me at Yahoo! Messenger telling me that it’s over between the two of them. My reaction? “So what?!” But still I managed to be nice and console her after all that has happened. Because I understand how hard it is getting dumped or breaking-up more likely.

Speaking of breaking-ups, I have a few friends who acted strange after their break-ups; there’s this one who slept with her ex’s friend just to get revenge, the other one was spreading rumors about their sex life and how his ex was crazy over her stuff like that, a guy friend acted really weird and had suicidal attempts but months after getting over the denial stage he was living with another girl and by now they already have a new baby. I personally experienced breaking-up with someone I never thought I’d ever break-up with. It was really painful and every dream I had with him shattered in just a snap. But life has to move on… resilience and the power of positive thinking is just the key. Well, I guess it is. That's why I'm still here.

Lessons Learned: it’s alright if you dream of having a better life but don’t forget to build your dreams around your loved ones also and not just focused on your partner alone. Remember that any partner may abandon you just like that but your family can never disown you. So learn how to balance things otherwise you don’t want to be left alone. Be thankful for what you have and remember to count your blessings, ALWAYS!

Thursday, January 19, 2006

When You Got Nothing To Do

Well this is fun… just by reading it somehow amuses me! I’m really not the person who do absolutely nothing because I can’t stand doing nothing at all in just 10-20 minutes. Try this one out and see if you'll still get bored..


THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

Push your eyes for interesting light show
(Amusement Potential: 1-5 minutes)
See a variety of blobs, stars and flashes. Try to make out things your subconscious is trying to send you a message? Can you control what you see by pressing different areas with different forces? Would it be possible to somehow see the same effects on TV?

See how long you can hold your breath
(Amusement Potential: 4-20 minutes)
Not that much fun, but it sure passes the time. Play with a friend, or try to beat your own personal best. Some tips: hyperventilate before hand, and stay as still as possible. My personal best is 2:00 (exactly).

Try to not think about penguins
(Amusement Potential: 1-5 minutes)
This is especially hard, because by trying too much, you remember what you were trying to avoid thinking of. If you try too little, you end up thinking about penguins anyway.

Use your secret mind power
(Amusement Potential: 5-10 minutes)
Pick a passing by and try to use your mind power to command them do something, like drop their bag or knock into someone. The law of averages dictates that sooner or later one of your mind commands will come true, so you can convince yourself that you really have super human powers and waste even more time trying them out.

Scratch yourself
(Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes)
Go ahead, scratch yourself now. Even if nothing itches, go ahead. Doesn't that feel pretty good?

Repeat the same word over and over until it loses its meaning
(Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes)
Pick a random word out of a magazine and say it aloud to yourself until it becomes a meaningless set of noises.

Hurt yourself
(Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes)
What is pain? Why is it unpleasant? There's nothing physical about it - it's all in your mind. Plus, after pinching yourself for awhile, boredom will seem nice next to being in pain.

Try to swallow your tongue
(Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes)
There's not much to say about this one. It is possible.

Pretend to be a car
(Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes)
Make appropriate revving noises in your head as you walk along and add a racing commentary as you pass strangers in the street. Use blinking eyes as indicators for extra authenticity.

Look at something for awhile, shut eyes, study after image
(Amusement Potential: 2-5 minutes)
Another great time waster. It takes about 30 seconds of staring to create an after image, and the image is then viewable for about the same length of time. Fun to combine this one with pushing on your eyes.

Get yourself as nauseated as possible
(Amusement Potential: 5-10 minutes)
Best achieved by looking straight up and spinning around. Try to be so dizzy you can't even stand up. This is also entertaining due to the "makes boredom seem a lot better" effect (see "Hurt Yourself").



THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH VERY LITTLE

See what's in your neighbour's rubbish/trash
(Amusement Potential: 20-30 minutes)
You can learn a lot about people by what they throw out. You might uncover some dark secret about them. Plus, they might be throwing out something with value that still works, like a VCR or some porn mags.

Watch TV, repeat everything said in Italian accent
(Amusement Potential: 5-10 minutes)
Sort of entertaining. Include flamboyant shoulder shrugs for added impact, or go for a Marlon Brando set of grunts.

Send spooky emails
(Amusement Potential: 15-60 minutes)
Look up someone's CV on the web, do some research on them via Google and then send them an email full of personal references claiming to be an ex-work colleague who fell in love with their shoes. Or something.

Play our useless games
(Amusement Potential: how long have you got?)
Waste away the hours with our collection of useless games

Make prank phone calls
(Amusement Potential: 20-60 minutes)
Very entertaining, but requires discipline. Remember - vulgarities don't make a call funny, but getting the other person to believe a ridiculous story will. Try seeing if you can get them to make noises to 'test' the line. One to get you started off: Call McDonalds with weird complaints about their food.

Pretend all humans will die except for people in room with you
Amusement Potential: 10-20 minutes)
What would you do if this really happened? Would the group stay together, or would there be factions? Who would join what group? Remember, there would only be power for a few days before the plants ran out of fuel or broke. To travel, you would always have to be near cars to siphon gas out of. Best to do with people you know.

Step off a curb with eyes shut, imagine it's a cliff
(Amusement Potential: 2-5 minutes)
To get any benefit out of this one, you have to have a good imagination. Don't step off immediately, build up to the jump. Study the ravine below. Feel the winds at that altitude. Step off and...AHHHHHH!!!!!

Try and sound Welsh
(Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes)
The key to sounding Welsh is to make sure that your voice goes up at the end of the sentence, so that everything sounds like a question. Throw in a superfluous 'isn't it?' at the end of everything you say and you're halfway there. Isn't it?

Burn things with a magnifying glass
(Amusement Potential: 5-30 minutes)
Ants are always fun to use for this, but burning the face of someone you don't like, under some circumstances, can be just as entertaining.



THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH ANOTHER PERSON

Have a water drinking contest
(Amusement Potential: 5-10 minutes)
While the competition is fun, you probably won't feel too good afterward. To give your event an old western theme, slam the cups upside down on the tables after you have emptied them.

Stare at the back of someone's head until they turn around
(Amusement Potential: 2-5 minutes)
This works on the "I have the feeling I'm being watched" principle. Conduct an experiment-does this really work?

Have a "Who is less competitive" competition
wonder (Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes)
Trying to win at this will make you lose. Trying to lose makes you win which makes you lose. Not trying at all makes you lose which makes you win which makes you lose.

Pick up a dog so it can see things from your point of view
(Amusement Potential: 3-5 minutes)
Think about it: your dog has only seen the house from a viewpoint from 6" to 2' high (15 to 60 cm for all you metric fans). It's never seen the tops of counters, what you keep on your desk, the tops of shelves, etc. Try looking at things from its point of view, too.

Pull out a hair, stick in someone's ear
(Amusement Potential: 1-5 minutes)
Best done to sleeping people. Added challenge in having no one else around, because then you can't blame it on anyone else. Try to beat your record number of times before the person catches on.

Pour water in hand, make sneeze noise, throw water on back of person's neck
(Amusement Potential: 5-15 minutes)
Always a good gag. For an even bigger reaction out of the person, act like you're not sorry at all for what they think you did. Comment instead on how big that sneeze was or about how there was a lot of mucus in that one.

More USELESS stuff here...



Wednesday, January 18, 2006

13 Ways to Instantly Improve Your Attitude

The right outlook in life will help you eat better, stick to your goals, sleep more soundly, and be more energetic. Though everyone feels down or defeated at times and when that happens, turn your attitude around with these simple strategies.

1. Force a smile. Studies show that the physical act of smiling -- even if you don't really mean it -- causes chemical changes in your body associated with happiness.

2. Go for a walk. Exercise triggers the release of feel-good hormones called endorphins. And a dose of fresh air and sunshine never hurt anyone's attitude. So true.! J

3. Count your blessings. Write down 5 or 10 things that make you happy or thankful-friends, a beloved pet, a roof over your head, a sunny day - and reflect on each of them for a minute. I'm going to post something like this soon.

4. Picture a soothing scene. Close your eyes and imagine a scene that's deeply pleasing to you. Perhaps it's a beautiful beach at sunset. Give your full attention to the softness of the sand, the crashing of the waves, the twinkle of the water, and the smell of the salt air. I practice this a lot before but I guess I should be practicing more, it helps really.

5. Sniff a scent. Scents have an amazing impact on your mood. Sprinkle a few drops of an essential oil such as lavender, ylang-ylang, eucalyptus, sandalwood, or rose on a tissue or handkerchief and inhale the scent. If you don't have any essential oil, sniff a flower, light a scented candle, or brew a cup of peppermint tea and breathe in the steam. Relaxing!

6. Put on a great song. Whether it's soothing classical music, soulful blues, razzy jazz, or rousing rock and roll, music can change your mood faster than you can say "feeling groovy" or "here comes the sun." I prefer jazz though, classic!

7. Get a massage. It is said that massages not only relieve muscle tension, they trigger the release of serotonin, a brain chemical associated with a feeling of well-being, and reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol. If you can't get a massage from a professional, ask your partner to run your shoulders for a few minutes, or rub your own feet.

8. See molehills, not mountains. When something goes wrong, ask yourself whether it's really a big deal. Will you remember it years from now? What's the worst thing that can happen as a result? Is it likely to happen?

9. Think of your children or your pet. Sometimes diverting your thoughts momentarily to those who love you, who matter more, who bring pleasure, helps you instantly put things in perspective during stressful moments.

10. Play with a dog. Playing with a dog for just a few minutes raises levels of the brain chemicals serotonin and oxytocin -- both mood elevators. You don't need to own a dog to experience these feel-good effects. Your neighbor's dog would probably love the attention.

11. Find the humor. When something frustrating happens, think about it as if it happened to someone else -- someone you like, or maybe someone you don't. In fact, keep running through the Rolodex in your head until you find the best person you can think of to put in your current predicament. Laugh at him, then laugh at yourself!

12. Put a stop sign in your brain. When you catch yourself in the midst of negative thinking, shout, "Stop!" to yourself and picture a stop sign. Replace the distressing thought with another thought that's more positive and rational. For example, if the stressful thought is, "I can't do this: I'm worthless," instead say to yourself, "There are many valuable things that I can do."

13. Buy yourself flowers. If you’d buy them for someone else, why not for yourself? You're worth it! Display them on your desk or table to put a little joy in your heart.


These are just some of the simple things that could enhance your attitude towards everyday life. I personally experience attitude problem most of the time especially when I want to improve my life but I can’t, kids out of control, life’s a bit crazy, mother’s nagging too much, etc. But I would say, it’s just a matter of accepting who you are and supporting whatever you do. Don’t expect though to change a long-standing attitude overnight it needs a continued practice overcome it. Enjoy your day!

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Back in Circle...



Hey! I still exist! *wink wink*





Hey everyone, it’s nice to be back… I know I haven't blogged for a while but please don’t give up on me. Been engaged with friends and family matters lately. Ears occupied with friends’ whining, went to the burial of someone dear to me who passed away, went to my relatives for some special occasion --- eat, eat, eat like a pig the whole day, been remorseful for not attending the dance class (which I did after weeks of absence after holidays), also had a “girlie rules!” bond with my soul sister, Sharlyn – it was fun I must say, and look after the kids. And to that I always find myself stumbling at the end of the day just to spend some quality time with my boyfriend, Eddie.

And if you may have noticed, I changed my font color and template too. Part of putting behind my not so good experiences with the adsense things, you don't wanna know about it nor dare not try.

Just wanted to let you know that life’s been crazy these past few weeks and I still have a lot of catching up to do, posting that is. At least now you see that I’ve posted, it’ll give you a hint that I STILL EXIST! LOL.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Where Will You Be Five Years From Now?

While I was at the top of our tree fixing the wind chime that I made a couple of days ago, suddenly remembered my horoscope that I read yesterday. It says:

“More than ever before, you'll feel as though it is time to take matters into your own hands and build your own career future, dear Pisces. You are fed up with living on hope and putting off your happiness until tomorrow. Your determination will be so strong that you may even surprise yourself. In the coming days, you'll refine your approach and make it more concrete. Today is the first day of a new life for you.”

Today is the first day of a new life for you. Hmm.. interesting. How true could it be? It all depends on me, for sure. While figuring out how to make my frigging wind chimes sound, I suddenly remembered a good friend which I haven’t seen and communicate in ages.

Five years ago, he asked me “Where will you be five years from now?” I replied shortly with “I don’t know, I live my life one day at a time.” He just stared at me with that reply. Oops, bad answer, I know, I sounded like someone who doesn’t know where life will lead me. Which I must say was true although hard to admit at that time. I know, I don’t have to explain but I have my own reasons why I really don’t plan for the future at that moment. No questions asked. Honestly, that question struck me that it swayed some of my perceptions in life and I carry it with me until now.

Now, I felt a compelling need to answer that question. Have I made my life fruitful during those five years? Or another five years have been wasted? I believe those years have been a blast. Just so you know that question cling on my mind since then. I started building my own dreams, finished college, found great friends, travel to new places, meet new faces, I get to spend more time with my kids since then than before, laughed as loud as I can without being inhibited, enjoyed the single blessedness, love and get hurt… and love again.

Five years from now, I will be 35, eow! I hate the thought of getting old but it’s inevitable so I would say grow old but stay happy, pretty and sexy. I think I have established a new career, improved my writing skills somehow. And I am a writer in my own right. I write about people’s passion. Passion which lead these people succeed in life and what simple pleasures they get from their experiences in life.

Hopefully, I am an accomplished professional photographer and have my own gallery too. It's one of my dreams actually.

And above all, optimistic and funny in a way, I used to visualize myself happily living rather entwined, with my boyfriend Eddie, having coffee at the patio of our house looking at the stunning site of Tagaytay Highlands.. kissing, ooh! *heart beats faster whenever I dream about this* oops, of course I won’t forget about the Rav4 parked at our roomy space beside our appealing garden.

Our family then is getting bigger cause we have a new baby girl in the house, which Ken and Kitty adored. As much as Eddie and I do. I’m a good cook too by then. ;)

Enchanting and sounds dreamy isn’t it but I have to work on this. I know I can do it cause I’m the type of person that would never give up until I get what I really, really want. For this is the first day of a new life for me…

In the end, from that question alone, it has taught me a lot from life. All those good things and not so good things that happened to me in the past years will for sure make me a stronger, wiser and better a person for I have learned how to fail and how to succeed in everyday life from now and the days to come.

But for now, I have to make this wind chime working and start to make this dreams come true. Where will you be five years from now? I hope you learned something today from me, somehow. Good day!

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Bad Habits by Sign

Nobody's perfect - all signs have their vices. Fortunately, astrology provides valuable clues for breaking bad habits. Ending these patterns will help you realize your full potential. Here are some tips for conquering those negative behaviors that get in the way of your ultimate happiness.

• Aries Out in Front
Rams have a habit of pushing to the front of the line, both literally and figuratively. And while this quality has helped Aries get ahead, it can also compromise their relationships. Putting an animal, child or plant in their care can correct the problem. As soon as this sign's nurturing qualities are cultivated, their selfishness will diminish.

• Taurean Trash
Bulls love clutter. Being surrounded by all their possessions gives them a sense of security. It also creates headaches, confusion, and chaos. Storage systems that keep their stuff on display will prevent this sign from strewing their stuff all over the house. Stacking baskets, glass jars, and open shelving can promote organization.

• Nerve-Wracking Twins
Geminis are the nail-biters of the zodiac. Twins are self-conscious about their hands, and need to keep them busy at all times. Activities like knitting, carving, or bead work provide welcome distractions. Weekly manicures will also keep temptation at bay. Twins are less likely to gnaw their cuticles when they've just paid for their upkeep!

• Cancers and the Candyman
If you've ever wondered how Cancers stay so sweet, take a look at their sugar intake. This sign loves cookies, candy, and ice cream. An occasional indulgence is fine, but too much dessert can take a toll on waist lines and energy levels. What Crabs are really seeking is oral gratification. Sugar-free gum or dried fruit provides a healthy distraction from candy crunching.

• Lavish Leos
The guy who's sitting next to you in the elegant restaurant, shouting to his personal assistant on his cell phone? Probably a Leo. It's only natural that a sign that is blessed with creativity, charm and wit feels tempted to show off. Actually, this desire to brag is rooted in insecurity. The sooner Lions learn to compliment others, the quicker they'll receive the praise they crave.

• Virgos Fear Filth
These nit-pickers sometimes compromise their own pleasure for the sake of perfection. Deep down inside, these folks are really sensualists at heart. They need to learn that it is better to feel good than to look good. Allocating a few minutes each day for fun but messy activities like baking, painting, or sculpting can cure Virgos of their fear of filth.

• Libras Love to Shop
Librans gave birth to the term "shopaholic". These folks have every credit card known to man. And while their taste is undeniably impeccable, it can get them in trouble at bankruptcy court. What's really at stake here is a quest for beauty. Enjoying simple but inexpensive pleasures like nature walks and museums can quell the urge to splurge.

• Strictly Scorpios
Nobody carries a grudge better than this sign. Unfortunately, hanging on to resentments has a way of crowding out love, happiness, and trust. In order for a Scorpio to let go of anger, they must first practice self-care. Getting a massage every month or writing in a journal each day will soften this sign's heart and enable forgiveness.

• Brutally Honest Sagittarius
Archers have a bad habit of telling the truth. And while these folks have the best intentions, that doesn't take the sting out of comments like, "Gee, those pants make you look fat!" or "Were you drunk when you wrote this report?" The best way for Archers to cultivate tact is through prodigious study. Etiquette books will definitely help!

• Capricorns Can't Quit
This sign is the original workaholic. Many Capricorns fear that poverty will set in the moment they stop toiling. Keeping a gratitude journal can break this terrible habit. The more Capricorn becomes aware of their non-material blessings, the healthier their behavior will become. No more cutting vacations short for the sake of work!

• Antisocial Aquarius
Water-bearers get into the habit of creating completely self-sufficient lives. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult for them to achieve intimacy. Basically, Aquarians are afraid that relationships will compromise their independence. Fortunately, these folks love to experiment. By treating intimacy as an exercise, this sign can relinquish control for the sake of loving relationships.

• Pickled Pisces
As a water sign, it's only natural that Pisceans find comfort in liquids. When those liquids have a high alcohol content, problems can ensue. Naturally, a twelve-step program can be of enormous benefit here. Meditation and yoga can help, too, as they allow Pisces to achieve a healthy sense of nirvana. That's all these Fish are really seeking.

Sunday, January 01, 2006

How To Spoil A New Year

the culprit------>>

It could have been a wonderful New Year's eve if only Tamiya (my Lhasa Apso) did not pee on my bed! What could be running on this dog's mind? I wonder. It's really annoying, he actually peed on two beds that's why we have to sleep on the floor. *sigh*

Anyway, this unpredictable but loyal and so playful dog has been part of our family for almost five years and will be turning his 6th birthday on June... I'm not sure yet if i'm throwing a party for him because he 's been naughty this time ;)