請給小生命一個活命的機會！PLEASE GIVE THE LITTLE ONES A CHANCE TO LIVE!

There are some topics that are very close to my heart and this is one of them.

I am not thinking less of those ladies who opted to abort before. What I am saying here is if you had done so before, in the articles I am going to share below, you now have the knowledge to make up for what you have done before.

Whatever the reason was, we cannot go back to undo it. But if it is to happen again, please don't take the easy way out. It is the human instinct to fight for survival. The same goes for our baby.

I remember what my student once said to me when I was tutoring in the past. She was very unhappy with the way she was being treated by the adults in the household and came to me wailing hysterically, "Teacher, why do you adults always think you really know what is best for us? Why do you adults never ask us what we think, what we want? Why do we always get knocked off just because we are children? Why, teacher, why??? I hate being a child! I hate being a child!"

If that is what a disgruntled child feels, what will the baby feel when his body is crushed ruthlessly and ripped apart into pieces?

Ladies, if you want to have unprotected sex, please be fully aware of the consequences. And before you jump into bed with a man, please ask if he is ready to have a child with you if things go awry. If he's not, whatever 'I love you' he said is fake. He just want a cheap thrill out of you.

I salute Tammy Tay from Ohsofickle for standing by her decision to have a child out of wedlock and not taking the easy way out. You might say because she has $upport. I think otherwise. Respect for giving Baby Elroye a chance to live and bearing responsibility for her own actions.

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Master Dai Hu, a trained and professional geomancer with more than 15 years of experience, has posted more than 70 insightful articles on Buddhism and Chinese Metaphysics like Feng Shui, Name Analysis and Bazi Analysis in both English & Chinese on his Facebook Page.

 

 

Articles below are shared from Master Dai Hu's Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/masterdaihu):

【玳瑚師父出差碌】 《不要摧毀自己的命運》

Do Not Destroy Your Own Destiny (English version below)

吾說了又說，勸了又勸。 千萬不要墮胎！千萬不要墮胎！

不要傻傻地以為沒有把孩子生出來，妳的生活會好過些。更不可以給這種理由，說那時候沒有錢，那時候還小，才16歲，18歲，我害怕等等。

這麼多理由，當初為何還要縱慾呢？

妳天真地以為那麼簡單，哪知後來數十年糟糕了！整個樣子，整個命盤都變了。

墮胎等同於墮掉一切的福因啊！

吾真實看過太多太多這樣的例子了。請認真地思考再思考吾的勸告。

做男人的，不要始亂終棄、不負責任，以為魚水之歡不用付出代價。慫恿自己的女伴去墮胎，殺生之罪你一樣沒得幸免。

做母親的，對方不負責任，妳怎麽也象他一樣不負責任呢？不要讓恨的烏雲遮擋智慧的太陽。妳有最後的決定權。如果妳不要拿掉自己的孩子，沒有人可以逼妳走進 那手術室，任由冷酷的醫療器材把嬰孩的身軀給砸碎，再吸出來丟棄。告訴妳，那血淋林的‘肉碎’被丟進垃圾桶時，妳身後就會有位充滿恨意的水子靈（嬰靈）， 勢必要向父母復仇。不要說妳走頭無路，妳應該知道會有那麼一天。到最後，妳要負起的因果報應，妳以為是吾在開玩笑嗎？妳真以為妳負得起嗎？別傻了！因果之 事，不用你妳信，一樣照報！

沒有能力養，可以讓別人領養，讓孩子的生命延續下去。

勸別人墮胎的人，很不忍心地告訴您，您自以為的一番好意早已種下惡因了。天底下沒有一位福神會跟隨像您這樣的幫兇。進行墮胎手術的醫護人員和做出和墮胎相關的產品和服務人士，後面的果報是你妳得不償失的。你妳的後代也會遭殃。

你以爲吾在唬你？唬你根本得不到好處啊！

讓吾再說一次。吾所見過，墮過胎的婦女的業報有身患婦女病如子宮長瘤、婚姻不美滿、身體有異味、樣子比同輩老得快速、事業一波三折、得憂鬱症等。後來無法生育、流產、難產或生出不孝子女，很難帶、很難教因為是之前的水子靈來轉劫洩恨。

流產的、夭折的也被歸類為水子靈。父母親也得負起責任。因為吾觀現在很多婦女沒有照顧好身子，亂吃亂喝亂睡，卻一直想懷孕。結果受孕後，孩子在子宮不到十 個星期就發現沒心跳，又或者生出體弱多病的孩子，導致夭折。吾批八字時，曾勸過一位婦女不要在某幾年懷孕。但她求子心切，不把吾的話放在心上，不斷嘗試受 孕，結果胎死腹中三次之多。天啊！這都是殺生啊！

流產過、墮胎過或有夭折孩子的父母都得為孩子在寺廟安靈位、修法懺悔己業和報名超度法會至少500次（由有證量的上師主壇）。若有人說幾次就可以了，別聽 信。自己用腦筋想想，如果吾用個鉗子夾碎您的頭直到頭破血流，再將您五馬分屍，血肉一團，再扔進垃圾桶，您會因為吾幾次的道歉賠償幾千元就原諒吾嗎？

吾已經做了十多年的師父，以上的所見所聞是確確實實的經驗。遇到有水子靈的婦女，彷彿是家常便飯。可見這草菅人命的問題事態嚴重。最令人擔憂的是很多女性對水子靈之事根本沒有悔意。寧願這樣子對待自己的親生骨肉，果然人比鬼更可怕！

(嬰孩照片取自搜房。嬰孩的母親藉此照片希望大家切勿墮胎，給小生命一個活命的機會！）

Do Not Destroy Your Own Destiny (English version)

by Master Dai Hu

posted on 24 Sep 2014

I have said it over and over, and given countless advice on this.

Never go for an abortion! Never ever!

Do not foolishly think that by aborting the child, your life will be easier. It is absurd to hear reasons like "I am broke", "I am only 16 or 18, too young to have a child", "I am scared" etc.

So many excuses, then why did you allow yourself to fall prey to the temptation of lust in the first place?

You were too naive to think that this is not a serious matter, but alas, years of sufferings will follow. Your entire destiny and well being will take a turn for the worst.

Aborting a baby is akin to aborting all seeds of fortune and merits!

I have truly seen too many, countless, in fact of such cases. Please ponder deeply upon my words of advice.

As a man, please be responsible and do not fool around, thinking that there is no price to pay for your reckless behaviour and casual flings. Persuading your female partner to go for abortion is the same as being an accomplice to a murder, for which the karmic retribution you shall not be spared either.

As the mother of the child, how could you shirk the responsibility, like your partner did? Do not let the dark cloud of hatred obstruct your light of wisdom. You hold the ultimate vote of decision. If you decide against abortion, no one can force you into the operating theater and allow the cold and feeling-less medical instruments to crush the helpless fetus limp and sucking it out from your body. Let me tell you this, once the bloody and mangled piece of flesh, that was once your baby, is thrown into the waste bin, a fetal spirit will be standing right behind you, full of hatred for you and your partner. The spirit will be bent on exacting revenge on you and your partner. Please do not say that you had no other choice. You should know that this day will come. In the end, you would bear the karma of your cruel action. You think I am joking with you? You think you can easily bear this responsibility? Please do not be foolish. The Law of Karma holds its power over all, regardless if you believe it or not!

If you are not capable of raising the child, you can put the child up for fostering. At the very least, you preserve the child's life.

For those who had advised someone else to go for abortion, I really hate to tell you this, but your 'kind' intention had already sowed the seed of sufferings for yourself in time to come. No god will bless an accomplice to such a heinous act. The same goes for other 'accomplices' like the surgeons and nurses who administered the abortion, as well as those companies promoting abortion-related products and services. It is totally not worth it to bear the brunt of karma, and it will even implicate your descendants as well.

You think I am kidding you? I have absolutely nothing to gain from this!

Allow me to repeat myself. I have seen cases of women who had previous abortions and now suffering from various ailments concerning the female health (ovarian tumor, for example), their bodies giving off a strange odor, as well as a more aged appearance compared to their peers. They have depression bouts and their marriages encounter more obstacles. Any future pregnancy is either impossible or fraught with many difficulties resulting in miscarriages or traumatic births. The fetal spirit may reincarnate as their future offspring, who will turn out to be a child that is extremely difficult to teach and manage due to the innate hatred.

Babies that die from miscarriages or at a very young age after birth are classified under fetal spirits. The parents have to bear responsibility too. I have observed that many ladies do not take care of themselves well, wilfully consuming unhealthy food and adopting irregular sleeping hours, but yet hoping to bear a child. Once they got pregnant, the fetus could not sustain for more than 10 weeks before being discovered that the child's heart had stopped. Should they carry the pregnancy to the full term and deliver the baby, the child, more often than not, will have a bad health predisposition, resulting in a premature death. I once adviced a lady, who came to me for birth chart analysis, not to try for a child during certain years. Overcame by desperation to have a child, my advice fell on deaf ears. As a result, she had to suffer a stillbirth, not once but thrice! My goodness, this is killing of another being!

For babies who died in abortions, miscarriages or at a young age after birth, the parents should set up a tablet in a suitable temple for the fetal spirit, cultivate repentance practice and enroll for bardo deliverance ceremonies (conducted by a Master with spiritual attainment) for the fetal spirit for at least 500 times. Do not believe if somebody tell you that a few times is enough. Exercise your wisdom and ask yourself this question: "If I use a pair of steel pincers and repeatedly crush your head and body, ripping you apart till you become a mangled state of flesh and blood before dumping you into a bin, will you forgive me just simply because I apologise a few times and compensate you with a few thousand dollars?"

What I have described in this article are all true experiences from my line of work for the past 10 over years. I have seen many ladies with previous abortions that it is becoming too common for my comfort. It is a very grave situation that human lives are treated as if they are not worth a straw. What worries me most is that many of these ladies have no sense of regret at all! To have no qualms in treating their own flesh and blood with such cruelty, a human being can be more terrifying than a ghost indeed!

Photo credit: Google & SouFun. Photo is used as the mother of the baby hope to warn all against abortion. Give the innocent child a chance to live!)

【玳瑚師父出差錄】 你不要的那個小孩還在

The Baby You Did Not Want Is Still Around　(English version below)

posted on 20 Apr 2014

上個星期一，我到台中的新光三越買褲。 在臺灣買褲一大好處是櫃檯專賣店都提供即刻改褲的服務。 等待當兒，我向售貨員要了一張白紙，免費為她測名。
...
離開前，我問：“你有曾經不要過孩子嗎？”

她一臉驚訝地點了點頭說有。

“你要為你的孩子報名超度。他一直還在你的身邊走來走去。”

我不只看到售貨員的嬰靈，也稱爲水子靈，更看到她未來精神的問題。我看人不是單純地看外貌，而是看進去裏面，看他的氣色、他的磁場、他的思維。

我看到很多女客人身邊有水子靈，但她們絲毫沒有悔意，可見這問題很大，需要多去告訴人們水子靈會帶來的問題。

很多人對‘失去’的孩子都漠不關心。世人無知，不知蓄意墮胎，先影響到個人，然後家庭、社會，之後就是國家。很多家庭的風波如孩子叛逆、事業不振、生意衰敗、疾病纏身、夫妻失和，就是因爲沒有人去留意這些被遺忘的孩子。等到事情發生時，才去求神拜佛。其實真正要求的是自己。

在這宇宙閒，根本沒有一個人有權利剝奪另外一個人的生命，或一個生物，就算肉眼看不到的細菌，這些都是不能夠的，更何況是一個比較具有靈性的人。衆生皆有佛性，墮胎如殺佛。 五戒裏面，殺生為第一重罪，所以妻財子祿這些福都會在頓時閒被消除很多很多，如一粒苹果在分秒中被切成一半，所以不可不慎。

很多人以為經過人工墮胎，孩子就不會出現在她們的生命里。告訴你，你的想法是錯，錯，錯。被打掉的孩子會以另外一個形體留在你的身邊，因爲你還欠他，而這個欠是多了一倍，甚至多好幾倍。你下一個生出來的孩子，爲什麽會是體弱多病、軟骨、有唐氏綜合症或很難教，多方面地耗盡你的體力、家產和精神，不是沒有原因啊！

被殺的孩子最想看到我們誠懇地懺悔跟向他道歉，再求真正有證量的法師/修行人為水子靈做超度法事。這樣雙方之間才能夠解掉那個冤，否則未來一定是悲慘的。我看到我的女客人，因爲水子靈的問題，身體有異味、脫髮、睡不好、健康每況愈下、甚至有婦女健康和精神問題。就算當初是男伴要求墮胎，女的責任始終比較多因爲她是做出最終決定的人。

我們都要快樂輕鬆地過日子，曾幾何時卻增加了自己的負擔？所以大家要動動腦筋，不要一失足成千古恨。

The Baby You Did Not Want Is Still Around (English version)

by Master Dai Hu

Last Monday, I was buying a pair of pants at the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store in Taichung. The good thing about buying pants in Taiwan is the on-the-spot alteration service they provide. While waiting for the alteration, I asked for a piece of paper from the sales lady and gave her a free Name Analysis.

Before leaving, I asked, "Have you not want a child before?"

She nodded yes, with a bewildered look on her face.

"The spirit of your child is still lingering around you. You need to enroll in puja sessions to deliver his spirit to a better realm. "
What I saw was not just the fetus spirit, I also saw the emotional ailments that would take place in the sales lady in time to come. When I look at a person, I see beyond the outer appearance and read into their energy fields and mental thoughts.

A lot of my female clients have fetus spirits with them from their past abortions but scarily, they have little regret. This is a serious matter that needs a much broader awareness on the implications of abortions.

Many people are not concerned about their aborted babies. A great majority of us are ignorant about the grave effect of deliberate abortion, from oneself to the other family members, even affecting our society and country on the whole. Family problems like difficult children, flagging careers, failing businesses, illnesses and broken marriages are caused by our neglect to these fetus spirits. It's not too late to repent now.

In this universe, no one has the right to take away the life of another person, another animal and even the micro-organisms which escape our naked eyes. There exists a Buddha nature in all living beings. To abort a child is akin to killing a Buddha. I sincerely hope all of us will meet enlightened ones in our life to guide us onto the path of light.

Amongst the five precepts of Buddhism, the act of killing carries the most severity, heavily and speedily reducing our fortunes in marriage, wealth, descendants, career and health. It is akin to halving an apple in a split second, thus we need to be very cautious against committing the act of killing.

Many who had an abortion perceived that their child would not appear in their lives again. How wrong you are! Their aborted fetus spirits will manifest in other forms, as their karmic debtors. The next child that comes along is likely to be sickly or very hard to teach, draining the energy and resources of the parents. This is the law of karma!

The aborted children seek a sincere apology from their parents and a true cultivator with the ability to do deliverance pujas for them. It is only through sincere repentance that the enmity and grievances in the spirits of the aborted children can be resolved. Misfortune befalls those who chose otherwise. Many of my female clients with past abortions suffered from various ailments: strange body odor, hair loss, poor sleep, women health issues and even declining mental health. Even though the man might have initiated, the woman is ultimately the final decision maker when it comes to abortion and thus bears a larger responsibility.

Everyone yearns for an easy, carefree life, but why are we adding burdens to ourselves? Let's think harder about this for one wrong step may cause a lifelong of regret.

Photo credit: Google

 

ABORTION - THE SILENT SCREAM COMPLETE VERSION (with permission from APF). Republished with Permission from Roy Tidwell of American Portrait Films as long as the following credits are shown:

VHS/DVDs Available
American Portrait Films
Call 1-800-736-4567
www.amport.com

The Silent Scream Complete Version - Abortion as Infanticide

Dr. Bernard Nathanson's classic video that shocked the world. He explains the procedure of a suction abortion, followed by an actual first trimester abortion as seen through ultrasound. The viewer can see the child's pathetic attempts to escape the suction curette as her heart rate doubles, and a "silent scream" as her body is torn apart. A great tool to help people see why abortion is murder.

The unborn baby is a member of the human community. Please don't act recklessly. And no matter what you think, please know that having intercourse means that is always a chance of having a baby. Whether you are ready or not.

Metta, 

欣雨 Xinyu

BEDTIME REFLECTIONS

Typing all this out on my Note, while lying on my bed. I prefer blogging with my laptop. It's faster and easier than grappling with the phone (Note One is fat!) but least my work distracts me, so I didn't on my laptop tonight. Have been clocking a week of 9am bedtimes. And my skin is showing it. Sometimes while researching for stuff, I end up mindlessly surfing. Told myself that hey, instead of just reading other blogs, I can also create my own content. Actually the real reason for my resumed blogging after half a year was my Fengshui master.

If you have read my old entries, he is known as Master Dai Hu. He was reading my annual luck for 2014 when he briefly mentioned I should make more effort to connect with people, both people I know & people I don't. He said I would learn to care more & open up my heart. I told him quite seriously I don't really know how to & that I find small talk a waste of time when I probably don't really care that much. Master Dai Hu said I have been lucky to be born with many benefactors in my life, but yet at the same time, I have never given that kind of help & concern to that many people. He told me that I would be a happier person if I find myself a useful person and can bring happiness to others. He said he had seen so many clients from all walks of life & he had rarely seen a happy one.

His words set me thinking for the past one month. What else should I be doing?

Then, one day, my neglected blog came to my mind. Blogging is sure hell of a way to connect with people right? Some of you are my customers, some are fellow online retailers,  some came here while googling for something (why does Happy Plant ranked so high in the subject search??) and some I don't know. I reckon as long as I blog about something useful, it would be a productive use of my time & at the same time, connecting with you, you and you. When I share with you the way I think and if you are facing the same problem as me, maybe you will feel less alone and see things from a different viewpoint. When I share the things I like, the food/places I fancy, you will have something new to check out or it might bring back some happy memories. Maybe is only a possibility, but then again, it IS a possibility.

Randomly, yesterday while taking the train, the cabin was packed with people and there was this lone empty seat in the middle. I peeped over to see why nobody wanted it and saw blood stains on it. Some poor girl must have stained it while menstruating. This is the second time I saw such an incident. The previous time, I took out my wet tissues to wipe it clean, prior to alighting at my stop. I used 3-4 sheets and a whole lot of tissue to grab the used wet tissues. But this time, I didn't have any wet tissues with me. I toyed with the idea of asking for wet tissues but I chickened out. 2 stops later, I alighted. I could have done better. I should have done better and I will next time. I didn't mind cleaning up such stained seats. Well, my previous SQ toilet training probably helps. The thing is I am sure everyone would be delighted to have a seat on the train, especially after work. And who wants to stare at blood stained seats on the train?

Oh well. Please let me be more thick skin and less self-conscious about silly things that should not mattered in the first place.

For readers who from time to time inquired about Master Dai Hu after reading about him here, he now has a newly set-up Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/masterdaihu. His FB posts are in both Chinese & English (you got to click 'See more' to read the English version as it's below the Chinese version). He's very polite (I inevitably also become more polite when talking to him) & most importantly, accurate in what he says & very resourceful with solutions to help his clients. Now you know where to find him, ladies!


Metta,
欣雨 Xinyu

LAUGH IT ALL OFF

A couple of days ago, I watched a Dharma video on Youtube and the Vajra Master Samantha was sharing her experience with a cancer-stricken man. The man came to consult her on how he can prolong his life. The catch is he didn't want to do any of the usual homework that the Vajra Master gives, nor does he wish to make any donation to anywhere to accumulate merits.He said he didn't have the time or knowledge about this. He wanted to leave his money behind for his wife & children.

I wonder why he came to a Buddhist master seeking advice, when he didn't subscribe to the beliefs & ways of doing things.

Then the experienced and smart Vajra Master Samantha said alright, then make it a point to look into the mirror and laugh hard every morning. On top of that, he was to laugh heartily 3 times a day and countless smiles. Not the grin kind of laugh, but the laugh-very-hard kind.

No matter what he experienced, regardless of how people treat him. he had to be able to laugh about it. Laugh heartily about whatever that happens in life.

The man went home and thought about how to laugh so hard, when he was so frightened about having only 3 more months to live.

3 years later, he came to look for the Vajra Master Samantha and upon seeing her, he laughed very heartily, infecting everyone present with his contagious laughter. And the first thing Master Samantha said, "你好！你還在啊！" (You're still around!)

He made it through.

The subsequent days after the consultation, he went out to rent all kind of comedies in both English & Chinese. Everyday he would spent many hours watching the shows and read all kinds of funny things and laughed and laughed and laughed. And as the days started ticking by, his heart started opening up, he started to realise how silly and superficial humans can be chasing after things that didn't really matter in the face of death. He found it laughable and started laughing about life. He gained a new insight about himself and somehow managed to laugh his cancerous cells away.

That got me thinking abit. 對於人生的得失，我要多久才不會那麽計較？ 還有多少時間給我學？

I dread to think that I might just die unhappy and unfulfilled. And I probably would if I die now.

I am not a optimistic person by nature. And it shows, I think. People don't gravitate towards me as readily. 我人不坏啊。 I find myself very closed up when being around with people, especially people I am not familiar with. I fret about what they think of me. My pessimistic thinking has hindered much of my life, aspirations and interactions with people. I hope to be a person who is able to give out positive energy. Life is short, why should we spend too much energy being negative?

It's an irony that we spent the first 10-20 years preparing ourselves for working life & learning the best possible way to make money. But how come on the MRT, I still don't see many happy people, do you?

I woke up the next day, trying to laugh into the mirror. Oh man, it was hard. Strange leh, why is laughing with no one around still so hard? Something inside my brain and the way I behave need to be rewired.

“人生能夠向彌勒佛一樣笑口長開，這是值得去學習, 也是我們追求的。

每天，什麽事情都能夠淡化，都能夠看開，都能夠放下，都能夠大笑，不是微笑，是嘴巴張開大笑。 這樣子的笑，一生當中有幾次，一個禮拜有幾次，一天有幾次?

我們不敢講一個禮拜，幾個月有一次這樣子哈哈哈笑出來從内心笑出來，笑不停的，開懷的。 要什麽事情能夠讓你笑開懷。能這樣子大笑的有幾次？”

~ 蓮花麗惠上師

So today, I went on Youtube to find something to laugh about & I remembered Ellen Degeneres. I like her sense of humour.

 

One of the videos that crack me up and I hope it does for you too. If it doesn't, alright let's try this. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Metta, 欣雨 Xinyu

Staying positive

I have been feeling down recently, due to a whole lots of stuff. Been trying to sleep early, but somehow working at TFL has thrown my sleep cycle topsy turvy. Okay, not that I was an early sleeper pre-TFL.

I was a notorious late comer in school. From primary, to secondary to jc and of course Uni...I just CAN'T sleep & wake up early! I got so many dentention & warning letters I lost count. Even my mum gave up on me. If I had to do a 9-5job, you see how I die. During my flying days, I used to curse & swear when I have morning flight. The job was so not for me.

And tonight was one of those nights I feel obliged to work, but yet by the time I switched on my laptop, it was 330am. You know, at least settle some stuff before going to sleep. I have like 1001 things on my mind. Wanting to think abt TFL for 2014, wanting to do more translation for my Grand Master's Dharma sermons, wanting to set up a new site for my new venture (nothing to do with fashion, if you are wondering) and all these are things that take lots of time. Not a quick surf and I will get my answers kind.

The Husband says I always take on too many things but I would be like it's now or never, no? Maybe I need to be quicker in doing things. Maybe I need to be more decisive. And if I can't decide, go bug people who can help me and pay for their services if necessary. Like this setting up of a new site. I am so TERRIBLE at art and everything that needs a sense of creativity. Sometimes I think for TFL to have come so far, it's always very amazing. Thank Buddha thank Guan Yin thank all deities. Really.

Yes, I should just save up for it, sacrifice some things, and just pay for some pro service. So I can keep the whatever hair I have left on my head before I start pulling all out.

Anyway, so I turned on my laptop at 330am. Feeling torn between sleeping & doing some work. And somehow, I went to Blogilates website.

I like Cassey Ho alot. More than Amanda Russell, whom I previously blogged about. Cassey has full-length videos. Her moves are less complicated for me and I adore how colourful her videos are and how she's so energetic and positive. She has an inspiring story on how she became a fitness trainer & it's so amazing that her Youtube channel & website gives us all we need to have a fit lifestyle & a great body! It's SO COMPLETE! She even has monthly calendars of workouts for us to follow everyday!

 Natural Belly Slimming Detox Water Recipe on Blogilates.com

I have been following her on Instagram for sometime. Though I am very impressed with her dedication & energy, I have never made the effort to do her workout. Does playing it in the middle of the night & watching it to feel the infectious energy count? Haha.

For some strange reason, when I randomly visited her website today, I was attracted to the "The 5 Best Ab Exercises" videos in her latest post.

I clicked 'Play', lied on my Seahorse mattress bed (super hard enough to be double up as a yoga mat on the floor, but not that painful for my problematic back), used my Ikea alarm clock (it was the heaviest object within that close proximity) as the weight for one of the moves and I NEARLY DIED doing those moves. First 2 minutes was easy-peasy....then I start to feel my upper ab muscles cramping up...oh my tian! I have concealed upper abs!!

I couldn't follow all the moves at the same time, but like what Cassey says, "Even if you didn't get through the whole thing, it's ok. You got through the whole at your BEST level. And everyday, you are better than you were yesterday! And that's all I want from you. I want you to reach your BEST potential. It's in THERE!"

The best thing about this random 10-minute Ab exercise at 330am is I felt real good afterwards. Not that those worries are gone like magic but suddenly things seem more possible! There is this mysterious new-found energy to charge forward. Haven't look myself in the mirror, but hey I'm feeling this post-dying-ab-exercise glow on my face! Gosh, I must really make more effort to do Cassey's workouts! I am not the kind who like to cramp myself in a gym or studio & workout with many ladies. And I believe exercise at home is possible without forking out a sum of money to work out (save on all the gym clothes. I can wear the same outfit & no one would care.)

If you feel the need to lose some weight to feel better about yourself, the above video has great tips!

I think Lord Buddha really heard my prayers just now and this is the answer to my worries. WORKOUT to feel on top of the world & I will be able to see things & do things with new energy & zest!!!

If you harbour this secret dream of having a Victoria's Secret Angel's body, Cassey has the complete workouts for various body parts on her Youtube channel too!

You know...if I have a quarrel with the Husband & say, he wants to do something to show his apology, I think I will ask him to do this workout with me...and see how he survive...Muahahaha.

Train like a Beast, look like a Beauty.

My motto for 2014.

From Cassey's e-store. So lemming for this! I love hoodies!



Metta, 欣雨 Xinyu

JUST THINK ABOUT IT

Saving the world, one thought at a time.

On one Saturday afternoon, I happened to read the Straits Times. It really happened, as in, it's not my habit to read the papers. With so things on my to-do list everyday, reading the news is the last thing on my mind. But I was sitting in the living room, waiting for the Husband to be ready, before we head out and with nothing much to do, I casually flipped through the papers, only to be totally fixated 5 mintues later.

Throughout my whole life, I always feel I am not an exceptionally bright person. You know how we will know someone who's really quick in his thinking, witty, have brillant ideas ever so often and probably have a place or two in some high IQ club? Well, I'm not one of them and I always ask myself why can't I think in the same pattern as them? I remembered when I was a kid, I find reading the papers a chore. Every other news did not interest me much. It was a horrifying moment when I had to learn to write argumentative essays in secondary school. What happen to just spinning fanciful stories out of my head, just like primary school? I used to ace my English but once I did General Paper in junior college, it was so god-damn painful. I can't write factual stuff well, nor did I have much of a stand in world issues and opinions. I force myself to read the Straits Times, just so that I can be better at GP. But the left side of my brain somehow didn't have functioning brain cells for that. 

Till this day, I remained amazed at how brilliantly wired some people's brains are. On a philospical level, I am in awe of Confucious, Buddha, my Grand Master Lu etc. On a business level, I will stand up in ovation for the people behind Ikea, MacDonald & Coca-Cola and more.

Prior to reading this article, I was catching up on my old books to remind myself the power behind our thoughts. What you think, you attract. I wanted to be more in control to direct my thoughts to where they should be and not the other way round.

So reading this news article got me really excited. What a timely reminder that we are really more powerful than we think we are!

ColaLife

THIS is my favourite idea!! Because it involved my favourite drink, Coca Cola!!

Did you know diarrhoea is the second biggest killer of children? WHO statistics show at least 760,000 infants die due to that, even though it is totally preventable & curable!

And why does the rural village provision shop stock Coca-cola but not simple medicine salts? (Yeah, why??)

Why is Coca-Cola able to reach almost every other distant village and "how can we learn from that and cover those last, crucial miles to reach that child?"

You can click on the photo to magnify the article for easier reading. In short, a British aid worker thought of a brilliant way to transport medicine and other necessities to the needy in Zambia, by leveraging on the supply network of Coca Cola. Simply because there are gaps & unused spaces in a crate of Coke! How did he even think of that?? It was pure ingenuity!

www.packforapurpose.org

Here's a similar idea that I love so much too! What a kind gesture to be using our baggage space allowance to help transport supplies to the needy!

I visited the website of Pack for a Purpose and was pleasantly surprised to see that they really cover many countries, including South East Asia.

http://www.packforapurpose.org/

Wow, I didn't know 400 pencils is only around 2.27 kilos.

I'm gonna bear this in mind and next time when I travel, I hope to help out.

www.homelessworldcup.org

Pretty sure the international language of women will be shopping. 

www.roomtoread.org

I was a librarian during my secondary school days. Not quite an exciting CCA but I loved it to bits. I like being surrounded by books and every time when I report for duty, I would be doing data entry as the school was installing a computerised system for the library. I was surrounded by books (tattered and scotch-taped, because I would read them over and over again for years) at home and again at school. Life was great. 

I can't imagine growing up without books. After I got married and moved, my home now has an entire wall of books. From ceiling to floor. Easily more than 200 books. If I have it my way, I would have the entire living room transformed into a library of books. But oh well, there's the Husband and his hobby of kicking a small ball around to think about.

 

www.roomtoread.org

 

I am of the belief that no one should be deprived of an education, no matter how poor you are. 

I was once a poor kid and government subsidies helped put me through school. Without an education, I would have never had a chance to make things right in my life. Or even be blogging here, for that matter of fact.

I had given free tuition to children I know who are less privileged. I was in hope that one day they will live a life very much different from their parents and with that power, they too can lift their parents out of poverty. The only problem is to break that pattern of thinking needs years of effort.

Once, I was having this random conversation with someone. We were on the topic of doing good and the person said she did good every month. I was fairly surprised because not many people bothered. And then she said, "Every month, the company deducts a 1% of my basic pay to Community Chest."

I was like...%#*@. 

No, I don't mean money donation is not vital. But if that 1% is the only thing you remember doing good for the entire year, then something is not quite right, isn't it?

Or the other time, I had another conversation with another acquaintance. And the only good he remembered doing was 5 years ago. Perhaps he forgot the smaller acts of good that he have done. I hope.

It can be donating blood regularly, it can be running for a cause, it can be leveraging on your personal network and starting your own fundraising campaign on your birthday instead of asking for lavish gifts, it can be even making an effort to recycle and reduce the usage of paper/plastics.

My model has this aspiration of being a speech therapist for autistic children. She spent her holidays working at a special school and is now taking up sign language, so that she can learn to communicate better with autistic children. I once asked her why she wanted to do all these - a career that is not mainstream and with her looks and education, surely many other career options are available too. I can't recall her exact words but I left the studio remembering she just wished to help.

The older I get, the more I can't be contented with just using my time and abilities for making money or like many of my friends, being busy with their children. I realised a couple of years ago, I won't be happy raising children and fending after them, just because they are from my factory. That's easily 10-20 years of my life investment. I might not be as bright as many people, but there must be something else I can do to bring happiness and transformation to people beyond my family. No one has to fit into a mold of how life should be led. 

All this need is a thought to make a difference, to think for others. With a gazillion thoughts running though our minds every second, surely it can't be that difficult to think of something good, right?

人如果只為自己而活，未免也太無聊了。

Metta,
欣雨 Xinyu

EVERY DAY IS A GOOD DAY

If tonight never end. If tomorrow never come.

My love for instrumental music probably started from Yanni or Kitaro, when I was in my secondary school days and their music were all the rage for being revolutionary.

The other day in the Husband's car, I was surprised to hear a somewhat familiar piece of piano music playing. It has been so long since he played that CD that both of us forgot how much we used to love instrumental music. They are the kind of music that no matter how many years later you listen to them, they still sound so classic.

Asian pianist composers are different from the Caucasians, in that their music are a tad more delicate in their emotions.

My all-time favourite musical instrument is the piano. I think because I'm such a sucker for emo music.

I'm still not giving up hope that one day, I will have the chance to learn it.

It's really true, you know. When you think about something, send out a thought, somehow or rather, the Universe will send it your way. Sometimes it takes days, months and years. Depends on how much you want it. And if you really deserve what you want. 

The CD was from 6 years ago, at least. It was so deja vu to hear it all over again, raking up a lot of memories. Especially when we were on a long drive home and hearing the music soothed my heart and calmed my nerves.

Have you ever tried relaxing yourself? Like letting loose that grip on your hand, really slowing down the activity in your brain, relaxing your facial muscles (you would be surprised at how much you are frowning) and even stretching those toes of yours. Whenever I do that, I can't help but ask myself why.

Why am I so tensed up about?

What is bothering me?

為甚麽我過的不自在？我要怎麽樣才能夠自在？

It's not about the money. It's not about the possessions. It's not about the people.

If I ask this in those public forums, I can half imagine some of the cynics will blame it on the government. That's too convenient.

We can always live a life that's out of the mould. It's just whether we want to. I vouch for that because my adult life is nowhere near the standard Singapore mould.

And if you choose to live a cookie-cutter life, it's your choice. Don't whine.

Show you a pic of the CD we have next time! I forgot to snap a pic of it!

But I found her music on Youtube. Didn't know their titles (everything was in Japanese) so I had to scour through tens of it to find those that I like to share with you girls!

西村 由紀江  Yukie Nishimura is a Japanese pianist whose piano style is light and easy to listen to. I goggled for her details and wow, she's already 46!

手紙 Letter

This music was a inspiration for a Cantonese song by Eason Chan but I'm not sharing it here. Because I still prefer the piano music. Once such a beautiful piece of composition is made into a pop song, the sincerity behind seems to take a backseat.

鏡花水月

And while trying to look for Yukie Nishimura (I couldn't remember her name, typed Japanese pianist on Youtube search and this came out), I stumbled onto Yiruma 이루마, a popular Korean pianist and composer. Here's some of my favourites!

 

River Flows In You

If a video has 6.4 million Youtube views and counting, it got to be good.

Kiss in the Rain

I like this piece just as much. For being so delicate and that gentle tug on the heartstrings.

If I ever play the piano so well, I wonder if I will look so absorbed.

If you skip clicking on the previous videos, this video below, ladies, you must watch. It's gonna take your breath away.

Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence
 by 坂本龍一 Ryuichi Sakamoto

Piano with cello accompaniment. They did it in 1996, way before the piano guys. Like what the comments say, this is the kind of music that touch your soul.

I think to kickstart this pianist dream of mine, I can go buy a Ipad mini, no wait, make it a Ipad so I can see better, get a piano and put on those piano Youtube tutorials that teach how to play these songs. That will be my music score on the piano. And I must select those tutorials that say XXX music piano tutorial - SLOW version. Haha.

Metta,
欣雨 Xinyu

What if...

The other day over Mother-in-Law's Day steamboat lunch, my brother-in-law was asking me, "So how's things at TFL?"

I paused for a moment, thinking of how to answer.

I have been slowing down, compared to the usual weekly launches. Shuttling between home, suppliers & Vivo is also real tiring. When you go on public transport. Thank Buddha for the Husband who is more than happy to drive my stocks & I around.

The question on my mind the past 2 months is: How do you choose, when you have 2 passions?

2 passions that are not quite complementary.

2 passions that take up just as much time in a day as the other.

2 passions that seem to be telling you, "It's either me or him."

2 passions that when I'm indulging in one, I'm thinking about the other and i never to be able to focus and still my thoughts.

I love fashion. I like the different styles that we women get to play day in day out. Never mind if I'm always wearing pants (hahah, even my supplier's salesgirl notices). Even if I don't get to play Barbie on myself, I like seeing how fashion can make us women go crazy and delirious all at the same time.

I had wanted to be in fashion retail since I was a teenager. And this online phenomena is a God-sent to all of us. Without it, there would be no online stores. No affordable fashion every week. No seeing how others conjure up a myriad of stylish outfits given the limited budget we all have. No booming of online personalities who find advertising for online stores a viable source of income. This whole craze is just so Uniquely Singapore. And it's so god damn fun. 

I don't mind the late nights. I don't mind the long hours. I'm most happy when my customers are happy. And even the 2 hour shoot that I have every week with my models is a happy pill on my down days. Chattering about nothing in particular and everything that I can think of. I just like. 

Without TFL, I would have never be so internet-savvy. Customising my own blogshop, doing up pictures/montages, setting up a Facebook page and knowing what should go on it, moving on to a dotcom and the eventual setting up of this blog which I barely have the time to update, I know, but hey, knowing that it's here makes me happy. I don't have pretty OTDs pics to put up on this blog, I don't have exciting places to share with my readers, I don't do write ups on the latest fad in Singapore, so I guess if you are still reading this blog, you and I must have been the best of the best friends in our past lives. Lol.

You know, happiness is never quite determined by a single thing when you are of a certain age.

And the definition of happiness changes over time. 

I have a strong love for the Dharma. Learning it over the years cleared up so much of my past unhappiness, made me a stronger person, gave me hope when all else seemed to crash and most importantly, set me a goal that defines everything else in my life. Even the Husband said I'm a less grouchy person, compared to the early days when he first knows me. (At that time, he never say I grouchy leh.)

And since 2008, I had wanted to do more. To contribute to the propagation of Dharma, to help others to understand it if they are seeking an answer, to let people know that all can be well, that really Life is can be very enriching when you have a direction. 

I subscribe to the notion that everyone needs a religion, a spiritual guidance. Yes, if you ask me, of course, I would say being a Buddhist is the best because the teachings of Buddha is omnipresent and really answer every single thing in the Universe completely. His wisdom was far beyond a normal person's understanding 2600 years ago and remained so even today.

But no, I'm not the kind who go about bashing up other religions. Because 信好過不信.  And to be honest, no decent religion teaches you to do bad.

Come along TFL, and this little thought of mine got pushed back. 

This year, just as my geomancer predicted, was a year of many changes. Over CNY, I suddenly had this thought of slowing down and focusing on other things in my life. When we are so caught up with daily grind of running a blogshop, sometimes important things get chucked aside and by the time I remember, I can't helped but ask myself, "What if?"

So I took the plunge 2 months back and now I'm getting more involved in translating Dharma articles. 

Not easy, but I am so happy. So happy that I wish I can do it day in day out. I don't mind plonking myself in front of the laptop to translate the hundreds and thousands of articles to English. Years of training from handling TFL emails. I find my mind and heart expanding, as I do the translation and in awe as all these new knowledge flows into my mind, reminding me what an honour it is to be able to help in this little way, to be able to share such profound knowledge with people from all over the world, who had no way to understand this till now, in a language that they spoke. I am deeply humbled and grateful. Grateful too that I'm born in Singapore and that made me effectively bilingual by no choice of mine. Haha.

If my heart has wings, it would be fluttering up and down and doing a little skippy kind of dance. Just to show you how happy I am, even though most people would find it geeky.

The other day, when the Husband accompanied me to the shoot (a nicer way of saying that he was the driver), he saw me fiddling with the camera, ironing the clothes, putting outfits together to 'Barbie' my model and then stuffing the trolley when the shoot ended. He asked me why I seemed so happy doing all that 'rough work'. I told him I did not know how to tell me. It just feel right and I feel I'm in place. Not there, or there, but just here. Right here.

And it's the same feeling when I spent countless hours and long nights to do up the translation proper, so that no one would misunderstood the Dharma due to silly mistakes of mine. I just feel in place. You know, that feeling you get when the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle are put together. Something like that. It just clicked.

When I told the Husband about the internal mechanisms of my passions, he mused, "Well, I guess you just will never be the normal kind of 9-6 wife, or the chasing-after-kids wife. But remember, it's okay, I will always support you, as long as you are happy doing what you do."

Awesome husband. 

But there are bills that still need to be paid.

And like what my geomancer says, I'm always over-ambitious. So yes, one baby step at a time.

Do you have something that you really like to do, but never found the courage and time to?

I pray for you, that this year would be a year of good & positive changes for you too.

We only have one life. Let's feel right about it.

Metta,

欣雨 Xinyu

IT'S TIME

And these sum up how I have been feeling all of 2012.

To start selling apparel in May, to have a retail rack at KissJane Vivo, to put in huge commitment to learning the Dharma, to load on more and more new things onto myself and in short, to stretch myself out in so many ways I once thought impossible and come out a new me.

Did I mention I have never worked so hard my entire life?

Sometimes I think Life's too short to spend playing. I can't stand watching a movie or TV for long. And no to long dinners. I have too many interests in Life that I wish to explore.

The Husband says I'm a rash person. I think I operate on adrenalin rush.

I have been very lucky to receive much help in this impossible year of 2012. Thank you to all the sweet angels out there and of course, my ever supportive customers!

Can't wait for 2013. I have some huge decisions to make. Stay invincible, ladies!

And I have no idea why the red font refuse to turn black despite several tries. Sorry for the glare!

Picture credits: Facebook

Metta,
欣雨 Xinyu

看臉色 @ SingPost Paya Lebar

SingPost staff are not known for being warm and friendly on first contact, unless they know you better. Maybe the staff at Changi Airport are slightly better but that's about it. Of all the Post Offices that I have done parcel posting at, my least favourite is the SingPost HQ at Paya Lebar.

At SingPost HQ, there's only one dedicated counter for postage services, besides the SpeedPost counter. Now the problem is many blogshops do parcel posting at the HQ. So we are talking about easily 50 or more parcels most of the time. On top of that, there are also organizations who do bulk mailing at that same counter. Bulk mailing like 300 letters. All registered, no less. And of course, there are mailing from random customers. So many a times, there's always a queue at this counter. Other counters provide postage services together with other services, and the queues are even longer.

I'm okay with queuing. I don't expect people to give way to me, just because they are going to take a longer time than me. The ridiculous thing is posting at this Paya Lebar branch also require us, the customers, to sometimes  看臉色 from the staff.

The Post Office closes at 9pm on normal weekdays. Last week, I reached the PO at 845pm. The lady in charge of the Postage counter told me to try to come earlier next time and not to come in the last 5-10 minutes.

I was slightly surprised by the remark. Was that to knock off work earlier or a SingPost rule I wasn't aware of? Or another reason I should know?

Yesterday, I reached the Post Office at 855pm. No, ladies, I wasn't trying to make things difficult. But earlier in the day, I was battling the emails, did restocking, parcel packing and took a train with trolly in toll to the Post Office because at peak hours, the train is much more efficient than a cab!

The same counter staff recognised me and rolled her eyes at me, with a 'tsk'.

Guess what I did? I actually apologised and said I came as soon as I could once I was done with my work. Why am I apologising when I was there before the official closing time? It wasn't like I bang on closed doors and beg to be let in. And if your branch is still open, do you have the right to tell customers off this way?

She was serving another guy who was mailing at least a hundred parcels. It was balant that she wasn't happy, with the loud way she threw the parcels on the floor.

A female SingPost staff: "See lah, ask you come earlier! You come so late make her angry!"


Male customer: "I also don't want to come so late! But there are many parcels to pack!"

And my transaction only took 10 minutes. In all honesty, even if I have reached earlier, I would probably be queuing for even longer. Past record was up to 35 minutes, when I was there around 7-830pm. On the contrary, going later also mean shorter queues.

If we can, of course we would go earlier! Do you know it's such a huge burden off the mind once posting for the day is done?! We all wish for our customers to receive their parcels on time and safely so that they will be happy to come shop with us again! It's not fair if you expect us to pack less just so we can be there earlier to....queue.

I'm gonna write in to SingPost to ask if there's such a rule of customers should not come at 855pm or even 845pm, when closing time is 9pm. If there's such a unreasonable rule, all of us should be aware of it, instead of getting reprimanded this way.

Hello, we are not kids.

On a sidenote, I'm gonna make sure my parcels are not passed to this particular staff over the counter. Would rather drop the normal mailing parcels in the postbox myself. Just in case, you know.

我顧客的郵包不是給你拿來閙小孩子脾氣的。

When I was leaving, the poor male customer was buying stamps from the SAM machine for his 3 sacks of parcels. If I remember correctly, we can only buy up to S$30 worth of stamps in one transaction on SAM. I wonder how many times he would need to perform the transaction and why he couldn't didn't get the stamps from the counter.

Metta,

欣雨 Xinyu


沒有人在刁難你，你又爲何要爲難你自己呢?

My month of Happiness!

I'm not a born optimist henceforth I'm a natural at pessimism. If not for my religion that gives me a strong holding, I foresee myself pulling my hair all the time. I'm a closet drama queen. But I read from someone's Twitter that if we spend too much time counting our troubles, we would have no time to count our blessings. So, today thou shalt attempt to quantify my happiness!

April is my birthday month and just being in that month alone makes me a happy girl! I declare to the Husband that everyday is my birthday in April, so he has to sing a birthday song to me as and when I want to hear it! Haha! *princess mode kicks in*

Here's my Happiness month summarised!

Happiness is...

Discovering a newly renovated Marks & Spencer store at Wheelock Place, with a huge and spacious Food Hall to boot & my favourite snack in stock! Gosh, makes me miss my London flights! I used to spend hours wandering in M&S stores whenever I'm in London. Almost all their food, including takeaway, are so yummy & well-presented! It's the best thing about UK, okay next best thing after Primark!

Receiving a birthday discount card from TCC (because I'm their member) that offers a whooping 50% discount for my 1st consumption in Apr, and subsequently 30% for 2nd consumption! And discovering their new Teriyaki Salmon pasta is yummilicious!

Realising my 2-year-old dream of dining at Ikoi again, a day after my birthday! Can be so hard to get seat reservation even when I call 2 weeks in advance! But I have learnt a way! If you don't manage to get reservations earlier, call around 8pm on actual day and you might be lucky to get counter seats! Only applicable for 4 or less people tho! The Ikoi chef was nice enough to make salmon in broth (that pot with a flame beneath), using the salmon meant for sashimi upon our request. We had 30 slices of salmon sashimi cooked. It was a one-off thing. The taste was out of the world! Very very yummy! The broth is so delicious and no msg overload for me! I miss Ikoi so much! The soba soup, the sushi, the salad, <3 <3 <3

Seeing very pretty flowers at Orchard Hotel! Hotels always have such beautiful floral arrangements! They look like orchids up close, but their petals are so soft and delicate! I wonder what the name is.

  

Glam-ing up a plain exercise book with a wrapping paper I bought from Prints some 6 years ago but never used! So that I will be more motivated to write on my self-declared positive thinking journal! I still have 5-6 more rolls of that wrapping paper!

Having a new place to store all of TFL's stocks! Like finally!! 

Although the Soon Seng Transport guys were punctual, strong & efficient, I won't be getting them again if I need movers next time. The In-charge blatantly refused to wrap my chrome racks with cling wrap, saying there is no need to. When my Husband insisted, he only wrap the bottom legs with cling wrap. 好敷衍哦！ Now, if cling wrap is cheap and they can wrap my stocks with so much of it, why not my S$500+ chrome racks??

Or maybe, I will just request for that IC not to be one of the movers if I need their service again.

Still, getting a new place for my stocks is pure bliss!!

Visiting at Victor's Kitchen for the first time, and there were plenty of empty seats for the taking! It was 4pm on a weekday afternoon. The place was more run down than I realised. Felt a tad embarrassed because I had a guest with me and was telling him how this place had nice and affordable food as raved by netizens. Gaah, if I had known about the bad flooring condition, Swee Choon would have been more ideal! Thank goodness he loves the porridge there! Well, so do I! It's almost like home-cooked, without those usual msg and saltiness! I like all the dim sum shown above, except the custard lava buns. Sorry I'm no fan of those buns!

Getting a new solid pinewood bed frame from Seahorse at S$109 & my dream mattress! Queen-sized! The original version comes with storage drawers underneath, but I'm no fan of such storage. So while shopping for a new mattress at Seahorse, we casually asked the salesgirl if this bed comes without storage drawers (the showroom version has 6 drawers underneath and retails at S$390+). Imagine our joy when she told us the price! Even cheaper than Ikea's version which is untreated wood by the way!

My in-laws have been using Seahorse mattresses for their room and so does my brother-in-law. Once while the Husband was talking to his brother, I sat on his bed and fell asleep in the midst of their conversation. My first time sleeping on a Seahorse mattress and boy, it was such good sleep! I'm loving my new Seahorse foam mattress! It's so solid hard, which is great for our problematic backs! Took us a while to get used to it and I'm never going back to those spring coil mattresses! At S$399 for ours, it's really affordable and value-for-money!

Buying takeaway 奶黃千層餅 from East Ocean at Ngee Ann City and gobbling them while standing! Because I love them so so so so much! Much prefer them than custard lava buns, which can be too salty for my liking. Think this is healthier too! It's almost like Kueh Tutu, but much tastier! You should try if you have not!

Finding a new way to eat foccacia with cheese, without slicing through the bread! Because I was too lazy on a busy work day. Hahaha!

Watching carnations bloom from buds to full-blooms! How pretty in pink! These were from sister-in-law to Mum-in-law for Mothers' Day. So this is for May! I didn't know carnations can last for more than a week. Then again, Mum-in-law used to run a florist shop. Maybe she has some magic formula to keep these flowers pretty. Must ask her someday!

Finding a pair of pretty shoes that looks good on my big feet, light & uber comfy to shop in! The piggies + the Husband say they are pretty too! It's pretty rare that the Husband notices what's on my feet. Hehe. The flatforms are of a great height, don't cut my feet (I don't have sensitive feet to begin with though) and go with almost everything! Plus, the shoes have really great friction in the soles!

Best of all, I have gotten them in 4 gorgeous colours for TFL customers in the next launch!! Deep red (so sexy!), Peach & Nude! Good things deserve to be shared! =D Can't wait to show you gals when I get the pics tonight!

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You know, it's actually harder to stay happy. Being happy for a while is easy. When we get a payrise, when a piece of good news come in, when we get to eat good food, when we go on our dream holiday etc. But staying happy continuously? That needs constant practice. Silly as it sounds. 

It seems easier to be bitching about this, gossiping about that or just plain ranting about things. I don't think I will tell my gal pals about how happy I feel seeing pink carnations bloom or wrapping exercise books with pretty wrapping paper. It's just not common to talk about things like that. Has it become more socially acceptable to be ranting about things/people than revelling in the joys from simple happiness? Or even when we don't talk negatively, most of us don't speak positively or in an upbeat manner either.

When I meet people who jumps at the chance to rant about everything under the sun, it is unnerving. I hope I never forget how to stay happy. I don't want to grow old and grumpy when Life has already given me a lot, really.

Start by saying thank you for all you already have. If you don't know how, read this book "The Magic" by Rhonda Byrne. I strongly recommend this book! It is available at Popular at less than S$20.

May we all never ever forget how easy it can be to stay happy! =DDD

Metta,

欣雨 Xinyu

Your wedding is one of the best days of your life. Because it’s the day you realise I finally have the thing I need to be happy. And then you forget. So then what happens is instead of waking up every morning and shouting Somebody loves me!

You start looking around and thinking, "What do I want now? What’s the next thing I need to be happy?" So, you look and you look and you keep thinking that you found it. But nothing works because that hole in your heart that you’re trying to fill is already filled.

You just forgot. Don’t ever forget. Always remember how much you wanted to be loved and how much you are loved. And I think if you can do that, you will stop looking and realise you already are happy.
~ Lynette, Desperate Housewives