remove the roof

"Argue for your limitations and sure enough they're yours."
- Richard Bach


What ceilings are you putting on yourself?

Perhaps we can bounce our “I can’t” list off our best pals. And maybe some of them can trigger us to think out-of-the-box and return to our goals again.

I’m glad to have those BFFs in my life who challenge my imagined ceilings. Makes getting back on track quicker!

it’s Thanksgiving !

This Thanksgiving week, I am grateful that:

1. Dad’s scan of the lump under his skin near his rib cage turned out fine (phew!). The doctor advised that it was a lump of fat deposits. Sometimes it takes a health scare to make you extra thankful for the body that you currently have. Sure, I don’t have a model-perfect body but at least I am not on constant medication like my mom. A healthy body is a true blue blessing!
   
   
2. I had some time to R&R and caught the sneak preview of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”. For the 130 minutes, Mr BF and I chucked reality outta the door and walked into the world of humans, vampires, werewolves, revenge and love. Sweet to relive those years of teenage romance. Of cos, eye candy didn’t hurt either.
   
   
3. There were some sales going on. Managed to pick up facial wash at 20% off. Love bargains.
   
   
4. I bumped into a shop selling just the spoons I was hunting for. More about this later!
   
   
5. We had big fat wet goodbye kisses splattered on our faces … courtesy of Mr BF’s baby nephew. Made us smile and go yeeeeeeeeew at the same time. What a joy.
   
   
   

It’s back to the Monday cycle again … hopefully the felicity of this week will spill over to this coming week. Sure needs lots of good cheer, especially in the workplace, as (yet) another month-end closing begins …

kate

rest and rev up

Tonight was so full of drama.

The opening scene began when Rufus our adorable pet hamster flew out of my hand. He suddenly ran away from my palm into (literally) thin air and fell 40cm, landing on the cold hard floor. He was in shock for a few seconds before slowly moving his limbs again.

I was worried he’d be too injured, so I slowly scooped him back into his cage, gave him some gentle pats and fed him. After a quick dinner, he slept. Keeping my fingers crossed that he’d be fine.

The second scene was much more tiring, and as heart-wrenching as the first episode. Mom was in one her “brain block” moments and refused to take her medicine. Dad said she had been this way the whole week, which I could imagine was rather frustrating. Tonight, she just sat there with the bitter medicine in her mouth, refusing to swallow.

We tried coaxing her, tried reasoning, tried to use the I’m-the-boss-just-swallow-it tone … but nothing quite worked. She spitted it out. Sounds dumb that we were trying to reason with a brain damaged person, but we were desperate and had to try any possible way.

Trudging through the increasing exasperation, we kept asking her again and again to quickly swallow the medicine. Finally she did it, after Dad spoke as sternly as a school discipline master.

Are there some days you just feel like nothing seems to go right?

Sometimes I have such challenging days, and today seemed to jot itself down as one of those yucky days. When I know it’s a “bad weather” day, what gets me going is the hope that tomorrow will get better.

So tonight I shall just plonk onto the bed earlier and have a good rest. A recharged me to welcome the new tomorrow sounds good to me!

kate

just say it

I like this line in the recent Tiffany ads – “Give Voice To Your Heart”.

I thought about what my voice is, as I pen each Christmas card. What do I want to tell my friends?

What do you want to tell someone today? Say it from your heart.


p/s: I’ve written a batch of X’mas cards and am already excited about posting them this coming week! Such fun :)

kate

encouraged

After a very busy week at work, it was nice to spend Sunday working out fellow health-keepers.

It doesn’t feel natural (at least for me!) to drag myself to yoga class after a lazy lunch. Besides it was a hot class - meaning I’d be dripping sweat beads throughout the session and trying to catch my breath in the sauna room.

I was glad I trooped down to class anyways. It felt great building up my own body together with other folks who were also persevering past the tiredness to finish the exercises. To the 30 plus other yoga practitioners in today’s class – I thank you.

Thank you for inspiring me with your dedication to keeping your own body healthy. Whenever I find it hard to squeeze time out for exercising, these yoga mates who exercise faithfully truly egg me on.

kate

feet mittens

A salesgirl at Sasa introduced me to a new beauty gizmo today.

Mittens on the feet.

For $1.95 I thought to give it a try and pamper those hardworking feet that were feeling a bit under the weather with chapped skin and little bumps. Anyways those mittens were pretty easy to use and I took a short nap whilst the feet were wrapped up in the moisture mask.

Maybe that’s why I appreciate Sundays. It’s a time to chill out and have a treat-your-body session, and to recharge before busy Monday starts. Today my feet were the lucky ones who got revived. And I’m all ready to put on pretty shoes tomorrow and begin the work week with a spark!



kate

lucky breaks

Yesterday’s Friday the 13th started with a smash, literally. I brought an old watch out to hunt for a replacement strap later that night. But it fell onto the floor once I reached my office. Ouch.

Still, this week was filled with people and things I am thankful for.

Am glad that ...

1. Dad fixed the hole in my room’s ceiling without telling me his plans. I ain’t sure if any bits and pieces of plaster are still lingering on my bed ... Anyways, it was thoughtful of Dad to take time off his busy schedule of being Mom’s sole caregiver to patch up my ceiling. Thanks!

2. The gift I bought via a blogshop arrived. From the online ordering to the delivery, it was hassle-free. After a long day at work, the blogshop owner’s brother still came all the way to the CBD area to pass the genuine item to me. Appreciate the tiptop personal service and happy to know the friendly people.

3. I received a yellow flower from the temp gal in our office to celebrate yesterday’s Kindness Day. Sweet!

4. Mr BF treated me to the movie “2012” last night. It was a great reminder to remember the lovely folks in our lives and be nice to them before it’s too late. Today I shall collect the Christmas cards I had ordered and start penning my thoughts and thanks to the bunch of cherished friends.

Happy weekend folks!

blueprint

“Think ahead. Don't let day-to-day operations drive out planning.”

- Donald Rumsfeld

Most folks who work in the corporate world are familiar with this annual year-end ritual. No, not the yearly Dinner and Dance. Not the Christmas party. But the (usually dreaded) performance review.

As I was putting together a draft review of my year’s performance, I suddenly thought – what about the annual review of our personal (out-of-office) goals? If we put in the energy and time to review our job’s goals and results, what about the yearly review of our personal plans?

Are we as interested in how our own life is progressing?

Since it’s November now, perhaps it's a nice time to jot down what went well or wrong for 2009, learn from the good and bad, and pencil in the strategy for the next year. Family, relationships, health, finance, travel, hobbies etcetera ... Tick your pick from the menu of goals and jot down practical action plans.

Here are some tips on having a life plan plus a simple useful sheet. With this nice starting point, I’ll be on my way to draw up that 2010 map.

What’s your next year’s map like?

kate

like water off a duck’s back

Everyone has his burden. What counts is how you carry it.
- Merle Miller


Today Mom surprised us by picking up the toothbrush suddenly in the midst of watching a TV show. And she brushed her own teeth.

This is a small wonder because she lost her logical skills after a severe brain damage incident and is very dependent on us after that. Usually she’ll wait for us to serve her as she isn’t that physically mobile after her near-fatal accident.

Her little act of independence sure reminded us that no matter what her own inconveniences and challenges are – she still tries to do her best nonchalantly.

Thanks Mom for today’s aha! moment.

in wonderland

pic




Adorable and whimsical stationery I chanced upon at a La Bonbons’ pushcart in Cineleisure.

Chatted with one of the co-owners and she mentioned happily that they’ll be having another pushcart shop at Suntec this week. New arrivals will probably arrive from the third week of November. Just in time for picking up some X’mas gifts!

I’ll probably drop by again to get some of these cutie postcards. Sweet and charming. Sure brings back fond memories of Kamakura.

kate

being meek

sky


Just before noon time, a sudden rain poured from the sky. This was the scene I saw from my office building.

The rain caught us by surprise as it was still sunny about 15 minutes ago. What a rapid change!

Since the raindrops were everywhere, we could either whine and complain, or walk out to grab lunch with the good old umbrella. We could not control the weather’s mood, but we could adapt and change our route, find sheltered walkways, or use umbrellas.

Ain’t it the same as life? Sometimes we are hard hit by very unfortunate circumstances, and they totally throw us off course. We can blame the world, fate, our parents, our nemesis, our boss, our spouse, our friends, whoever ... You get the drift. We can whine about our less than ideal situations, or we can make some tweaks to our life and continue on with a smile and a bounce.

I guess the divine and the universe are trying to send a message to me this week. Just last night I was re-learning the word “meek”. This word means having restraint. Or being humbly patient when under provocation from others (or so I gathered from an online dictionary!).

When difficult or problematic situations face us, do we react meekly and are humbly patient?

During the yoga lesson today, our teacher found us gritting our teeth or looking tensed up when we were trying out the more challenging poses. She gave us a useful tip: we should not tense our way through the challenge, but should stay relaxed and work our way calmly through it.

So that’s the message I’m getting these two days. When troubles or difficulties greet us, show restraint, be relaxed and figure the way with a dose of calm.

Stay sunny.

kate

marvellous Monday

Today's blurbs of joy:

Indulging in a super tasty KFC chicken meal, pigging out with colleagues during a lunch treat. We were introduced to the sinful but oh-so-scrumptious cheese melts.

Chanced upon a set of PJs for mom at a makeshift pushcart. Pretty in pink!

Bumped into a lucky find – sweet-looking vintage wrapping paper. Good stuff at 80 cents.

A friend recommended the next dating spot, the Modern Italian Cafe. Hmm .... so looking forward to it.

Finally, before the night ends ... I’d have enjoyed every spoonful of my favourite panna cotta.




Sweet dreams folks!

kate

your story

“Enough, Friend.
If you want to read on,
Then go, yourself become the book
and its essence.”

~ Angelus Silesius


And now we have stepped into November.

Quietly and almost unnoticeably, 83% of the year is a thing of the past already. How was your very own story for the past ten months of this year?

Was it filled with distinct highs and lows? Was it at a tranquil pace? Was it filled with fulfilled goals or avoidable regrets? Were you happy?

How will you write your memoirs for the rest of this year?

kate