Archive for the ‘Lifestyle’ Category

It’s middle of July and I’m at home relaxing the days away. Well, most days at least. There were changes at the Kindergarten and I was told only 4 people will be working for Summer camp. So I had my holiday a bit earlier. I don’t mind so much though.

I managed to read 3 books last week only and currently reading 2 books. In the day, I’d read ‘Mr. Darcy’s diary’ and in the evening before bed I’d read, ‘The civil contract’. I’m hoping to be able to squeeze in at least 12-15 books in four weeks. I’m in a reading frenzy.

Although I have a few more unread books on my shelves, I still go online to look around for more books to buy. For my birthday, I told myself. Some girls would rather have a pair of Black diamond earrings but I don’t mind having more and more good books as gifts. Well, at least that is how I feel at the moment as I’m in the mood for chain reading.

These days while waiting for my ride home from work, I’d do a little Japanese language revision. I’ve to admit that working has taken a lot of my time that I’ve been neglecting my Japanese language studies. I’m usually always tired after work. It’s frustrating really when you simply can’t do what you want to need to do cause you are just too tired to concerntrate. The only things that I can do after work when I come online is just read reviews – fruit ninja game review or even abdominal cuts reviews for example – or watch youtube clips or just check out items on ebay – online window shopping. In short, things that don’t really require much brainwork.

Just not sure when my body will get used to the daily work so that I don’t get as tired. Till then, I’ll just try to make time studying while waiting to get home after work.

I just started reading the ‘the diary of anne frank’. I’ve been wanting to read it for a long time. My first impression was that I was surprised at how a girl of 12 – 13 at that time can be so eloquent and good in expressing herself. Perhaps children mature quicker that time.

Reading the book reminds me of my own diaries. I started having one when I was 14-15, only to destroy it after sometime. I don’t know… I didn’t like the idea of having my diary being read by someone else by accident or intentionally. Then later I started another diary at 17 and I stopped when I was 20.  It explains why I love to blog. Although in a blog you don’t really write about every detail in your life since you know somehow, someone from somewhere would be reading. I would feel more comfortable talking about experience with weight loss supplements rather than talking about my love life on here.

I still have a diary or more like a journal that I call my ‘thoughts journal.’ I don’t talk about my daily life in it, but more of what I was thinking at that time which I felt like I needed to put down on paper. With that said, not a day would past without me writing on my ‘thoughts journal’ cause I always have something on my mind that I want to transfer onto a paper. If I can compose a lot of things on blogs, just imagine what I write on diaries.

Remember the caterpillar in Alice in wonderland? Well, when ever I see a caterpillar it will remind me of that hookah smoking caterpillar. As a child, watching the caterpillar in the story puffing away with his hookah, I used to wonder how it was like to smoke one of those. It looked so exotic and it didn’t look like any of the cigarettes that my father smoked, I thought.

In my early 20′s, with some friends, I tried to smoke a hookah for the first time. I tried it with some friends to a restaurant where you can pay to try. One hookah base with 3 hookah pipes that we smoke together the 5 of us. Unlike cigarettes, hookah tobacco also comes with flavours. There were a selection and one of us, who were more experienced than others, chose for us. I don’t really remember what it was, but it was an exciting experience. Although smoking hookah is a popular past-time in the middle east but it is now it is gaining popularity world wide now that it has become cheaper and easier to obtain. For me, it was fun hanging out with friends, chit chatting and relaxing while smoking the hookah. Further more, unlike cigarette smoking, you don’t have to be afraid that you will get addicted to hookah. It is not addictive.

Once we are settled down somewhere, with our own place, I think I might want to buy hookah set for the house. Believe me, even if one does not smoke, a khalil mamoon (a famous hookah manufacturer brand) hookah set looks exotic enough even to be put in a room as a decoration. But of course, when you have the set at home it would be such a waste not to use it once in a while. Especially when entertaining close friends at home.

I was invited to a Belly dance class by an acquaintance. The class will be on every Tuesday evening for an hour. I said, YES, right away when she asked whether I would be interested or not. I’m doing Belly dancing by myself with the help of videos. To go to a class would be a wonderful change. I’m a little nervous but looking forward to it.

Despite what some say about belly dancing help reduce belly fat, the dance do not really do that. Well, perhaps a little. But you actually need to have a little ‘belly’ to do the belly dance. That’s what gives it the appeal. When you shimmy, a little fat must jiggle. LOL Well, funny when I imagine my fat going all jiggly. One thing for sure it won’t create bigger muscles like lifting weights would. I need my muscles to be leaner. I wish, just like bodybuilding supplements to help increase muscle mass, there’s some sort of supplement to help make musle leaner. Years of lifting heavy things, I have quite big arm muscles.*sigh*

If nothing comes up that needs the class to be canceled, then I’d be going for the first class next week. Yippie!

Isn’t it just wonderful that happiness can come just by merely being appreciative of the littlest things that you have in your life?? Like knowing you have enough milk for the week for the whole family sitting in your fridge. Or the delight you felt eating that nice, sweet, and juicy corn for lunch. The comfort of getting to buy stuff  online easily – nds games, levi’s jeans, books, apidexin in stores online, and so on.

I’ve been doing that mental exercise for the past couple of weeks and I have to say that it makes me calm. Makes me feel like I don’t have to worry anymore. Allowing me to focus more in the present. Be appreciative that I am living today, well and healthy. As long as I stay that way, there is hope for my tomorrows to be better.

Cool thing this appreciation thing.

It sure is difficult to put down a good book when you start reading one. I was up rather late, reading ‘Pride & Prejudice” for the humpteenth time. Only to be able to put it down at about 2 am, more or less. I made myself put it down because I need to wake up at 6 am. 4 hours of sleep. Less than that actually since it took me sometime to drift myself to sleep. Not counting the number of times I woke up.

6 am, I dragged myself out of bed, went to the bathroom, stared at the bathroom sink for a few minutes, (my brain was still half asleep) washed my face, brushed my teeth and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. When everyone is out of the house leaving me alone, I went straight back to bed. Woke up at 12 pm.

I once wrote about there being no such thing as a morning person or night person. Well, due to my husband’s somewhat logical argument. But I found out that this isn’t true and that research has been conducted saying that some people can be genetically a night owl. I’ve always been a night person since I was a teen. Despite myself trying to get to bed early, I would be tossing and turning in bed till it’s late. Or even when I’m tired due to working in the day, I’d still wouldn’t be able to sleep early and wake up early.

Tough I tell ya, being a night person living in a world where you are expected to be a morning person.

1. Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal (especially his favorite dish) is part of the warm welcome needed.
2. Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you’ll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.
3. Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
4. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dust cloth over the tables.
5. Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
6. Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.
7. Be happy to see him.
8. Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
9. Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first – remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
10. Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax.
11. Your goal: To try and make sure your home is a place of peace, order, and tranquility where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.
12. Don’t greet him with complaints and problems.
13. Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or have him lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.
14. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
15. Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.
16. A good wife always knows her place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I found this article not to long ago. Though there are things that I agree with the list, but I have to say that some of them do portray the woman to be a little too submissive, don’t you think? Well, I suppose what the society thinks of a wife’s role back in the 50′s is really different from what we think now. I wonder too whether the women those days would try to find the best weight loss supplement as how we the women of today would. Perhaps not, with all the things they had to do at home without the help of so many appliances that we have today.I suppose they worked out a lot doing household work and entertaining their husbands and children.

A couple of days ago I picked up some green pea seeds, soil and a plant container at the local hardware shop. I wanted to plant the peas in the hopes that we’d be  able to enjoy our own home grown green peas by the end of July. We just live in an apartment so the peas were planted in the container and pots.

My mother in law has a garden at her weekend house somewhat half the size of a football field.

It did came to mind of such a waste it is not to do anything with it. Here I am planting peas in pots when there is a land waiting to be used. *sigh* Well, the place isn’t mine. But would be nice to have our own garden, with an outdoor fire place,  a nice fish pond – complete with a garden pond filter and a small fountain, and rows and rows of vegetables. I’m not the flower type. I’d rather plant vegetables.

Anyhow, lets wait a few more days and see whether my peas would sprout or not.

The tradition to give wedding favours or small tokens to guests to a wedding ceremony has been around for as long as I can remember. In the culture that I grew up in, from every wedding that we attended, we would bring back home a handmade flower with an egg that we call, “bunga telur” or if translated directly would mean, ‘egg flower’. Why? Because it is to be the symbol of  fertility, in the hopes that the newly weds would be blessed with beautiful, healthy children.

However, nowaday, tokens or wedding favours become more and more unique. Like beautifully crafted silver bells.

Or wedding cds with pictures or videos of the couple, or selection of music that means something to the couple, etc.

Or sweets and candies  in lovely, personalized wedding favor bags, or boxes.

All the above wedding favors are from Jean M’s wedding favor collections at myjeanm.com. They offer all those beautiful wedding invitation and accessories that would simply make a girl’s dream wedding complete.

Now, what ever the wedding favors or tokens may be, the aim is to show the guest how they’re effort – to come all the way to the wedding to make the celebration a succesful happy one – is much appreciated.