Inspiring Quotes

There are times when a person will need some inspiring quotes to spur them on especially when life is on a downhill or you're at a crossroad. I for one, enjoy getting inspired day-to-day so that I can try to be a better person and live happier.

Some quotes just speak to you and yes though you'll forget that quote after a while, they'll just come right back at you when you need them.

I read one yesterday and thought it was a really lovely one.

It said:

"The most extraordinary thing about the oyster is this. Irritations get into his shell... And when he cannot get rid of them, he uses the irritations to do the loveliest thing an oyster ever has the chance to do.

If there are irritations in our lives today, there is only one prescription: make a pearl. It may have to be a pearl of patience, but anyhow, make a pearl. And it takes faith and love to do it."

Doesn't this quote speak volumes? It sure does to me. I need that as irritations get to me pretty easily so I need to be slower to anger and start making pearls. It's definitely not easy especially since it has been in my character for YEARS but I definitely wanna try to be a better person.

Be Thankful

I was reading the Daily Bread yesterday and today and both messages were touching.

Yesterday's message was about asking God about why certain things are happening, why are they happening to me, etc. What God wants is for us to believe and trust Him to lead us the way. Not questioning Him why as God will never want us to have anything bad on purpose.

Today's message is about perspective. We always look at things in our own perspective especially towards riches. We always look at money, career, myself as greater importance than for example, family, people around us, the world. There is this quote which ended the message "The poorest person is he whose only wealth is money." How very true...

Actually what is happening to Japan has been heavy on my heart. Japan is known to be a beautiful country. One that I've always wanted to visit. A country which I enjoy the food, culture and all God's creations. I just pray that God will see the people through these difficult days and that those who trust Him will continue to have faith that He will lead them the way.

Incidences like these really make me appreciate things more in life, change my perspective in knowing what should be more important, make me count my blessings each day.

Let's all remember to treasure and cherish all that we have and there is definitely more to life than material stuffs and money.

It's so not a surprise...

I received my belated birthday present from Dearie finally. Why finally, because he had let known to me what he had bought when I got back from my home trip but the present didn't get to my hands till only yesterday due to some hiccups in between.

One thing about Dearie which I find it both annoying and cute is that he can never give surprises. Whatever that he wanted to surprise me with, he'll always let it out before I get it. So it always end up being a spoilt surprise.

Well be it a spoilt surprise or not, I'm always thankful and appreciative for all the gifts he's given me. And one thing too, he's always wanting to see my reaction as in my 'excitement' and 'happiness' in receiving that gift. And thankfully to date, I never have to fake my reactions. I may have to fake my surprise but never my reaction in receiving them.

He also likes to play opposition. There are things which I've hinted him for ages to get and he'll never buy them. But the minute when I have something else that I feel is of a higher priority to get and I want it, he'll get me what I've hinted him ages ago. Gosh, I guess that's why there's this saying "You can't live with them (men) but you also can't live without them."

What's going on...

It's been some time since my last post... Firstly, there wasn't really much things to update except for a ski trip that I went at Sun Valley. Meant to do a post on that but other things just caught up in the end. Not that I'm really busy either.

Anyway I've gone home for holidays and spending time with my family; mainly my parents. I can see that they really missed me a lot and I feel a little guilty at having to be away from them. I also had a scare of my life. Dearie met with an accident and thank God he only dislocated his left shoulder. He was supposed to go another state for an exercise and he won't be able to go now. In any case, I'm really thankful to God for watching over him.

Besides spending time with my parents, I've also been spending a bit of time with my cute little nephew. He's really such a sweetie and cutie. I also come to realize that babies are really vulnerable. Well Jaden at 4+ months is already teething. Isn't that fast? I always thought that babies don't start teething till like 6 months or so. I just love spending time with him although I don't clear his shit yet :P It's gonna be some time before I'll see him again. He'd be 2 years old by then.

Life...

Well I want to say that life is not just unpredictable but also kinda fragile... not exactly sure what the proper word should be to describe. Unpredictable is because we do not know what lies ahead but also fragile as certain things or situations can just take life away from us.

As much as I do not wish to deal with death, my grandfather passed away last week. Although we do not have a close relationship, he was my grandfather afterall and the thought of having someone close or related passing away was still unpleasant.

Through the blog of one scrapbook/card making designer, I also got to find out that her brother and sister in law had to make the tough decision of putting their daughter off of life support. And it seems that their daughter is probably still an infant as she was only with them for a short time.

I used to question why but I now understand that each person or everything that happens has its purpose and reason.

Come to think of it, I'm really blessed to have my sister for 20 years. We get just so complacent with life and we think we have 'forever', that we fail to treasure and cherish what we have till it's too late. Another reason for feeling blessed is that we were given advanced notice. I received my wake up call 4 years ago when my sister was diagnosed and I had 4 years to do as much as I could with her, be a good sister to her, fulfill as many of her wishes as I possibly could. I had 4 years to make amends so for all these, I'm really thankful.

What got me to thinking and talking about life is also the recent knowledge of my dad's health. He has some health issues which kinda need immediate attention. So that is priority on my  To-Do list when I head for home in a few weeks' time. As much as I'm concerned, I feel consoled that things are somewhat different now from before. I honestly do see a change in daddy and see his faith in God. I shall just pray that God will give him strength and courage and lead us all through this difficult time.

End of 2010

It's just about an hour away to welcoming the new year 2011.

So much had happened in just a year; my temporary relocation to the US, adjusting life as a housewife, finding myself in a new environment, making new friends, loss of my beloved sister, Joseph's marriage, Adeline getting the ballot to her new house, the birth of my cute little Jaden, health issues with both my Mama & Popo and Gonggong.

I think the thing that hit me the most is the death of my sister. I don't think I can be as strong as before when handling death. If I can avoid the issue of death, I'd want to avoid it. I can no longer look at death, know about death indifferently. Adeline was just telling me 1 of her friends posted on Facebook that her boyfriend passed away the morning of January 1st in a car accident. They had welcomed the New Year together and just hours later, she now mourns over the demise of her boyfriend. How unpredictable life is...

With 2011, my resolution would really be treasuring my time here in the US with Dearie, making sure I'm living life as fully as I can, keeping more frequent contacts with my family and basically be happy. I think being happy is very important as it's not only for yourself but for the people around you. They can just feel the positive vibes if you're happy so that's what I want to give to others. It's actually also more difficult to maintain a happy disposition. Just as Image always says... Smile coz 1 smile it starts makes 2...

Happy New Year!!

It's Christmas Day!!

It's officially Christmas Day now and although we didn't have a white Christmas eve, it was surely a really chilly one. The winds were howling and blowing at goodness knows how many miles per hour. Your hands literally feels frozen just by standing outside for less than 5 minutes.

We had our Christmas dinner at Mel's as usual and her house was just decorated with so many Christmas decorations outside and a nice, plump tree inside full with presents. What was missing was just the lack of Christmas tunes but the company made up for it. Although it's usually the more the merrier for such parties, I was happy to be celebrating this occasion with just 7 of us. There's no need for pretense, false laughters, acted expressions and senseless talks. We could all just be ourselves, enjoy a causal but delicious dinner and just talk whatever that comes to our minds.

Of course I do miss the Christmas celebrations with my family. The celebrations I have with my family are also somewhat different so I must say that this is the best Christmas party I've attended with friends in years.

However, this Christmas also marks the first Christmas without little image. Though I'm not physically there with my family, I know that celebrations will never be the same ever. It'll always be knowing that we're missing her especially when it comes to presents time. I will always be able to picture her excitement as she carefully unwraps each present and how her face lights up when she sees what she's received. She is never one who requests for things so that makes it an even bigger surprise for her. Honestly, I've never seen her frown at any presents unless it was a joke on her. She just appreciates every gift given.

Well I don't want to ruin this Christmas with tears and sadness but rather feel her in my heart and enjoy the day with her in mind.

Merry Christmas...