Pride and friendship

Pride is the route to my success and also the route to my failure.

It has always be and it will always be.

I don't see the point in begging people for help on something. To me, it has always been the "heart" and "how much he/she values you". If the person has the heart to do something and he/she values you, be it a last minute notice, an invitation dinner without an invitation card or he/she is forced to see someone whom he/she does not want to see at the event, for your sake, they will do it. To me, this is true friendship and true love - unconditional and selfless.

And that also explains my small circle of friends - the ones who stay true and faithful to one another, help is always available with just a phone call - no strings attached, no questions asked.

Maybe I was also influenced by the helping profession, I will extend my hand to anyone who needs it without any hesitation and which sometimes also results in myself being disappointed easily. When you thought that person really treats you as a friend, confide in you and you start helping unconditionally, but ends up, everything is a joke. Then you start to tell yourself that "So life has always been a joke".

As a result, every such experience tends to build up my defense towards this thing called "friendship". True friends are hard to come by...True true friends are even harder to come by...Once in a lifetime, all I need is just one true true friend and one true true partner =D

Stress?

As the day gets nearer and nearer, the tension becomes greater and greater and expectations start to grow.

You will start telling yourself "He just got to change. He just got to grow up. Is a new phase of life that he will be going through and he cannot remain status quo forever." Being status quo starts to irk you and getting him to get out from his status quo starts to make him peeve. "I have been like this all along, what is wrong with that?" he will say. But you will rebut "Is a new phase of life of new responsibilities, of new members into it. Being status quo is not going to lead you anywhere."

Somehow, you will flare up with him for no reason. It could be similiar issues from the past which you used to be able to tolerate, but not now. Things start to become less tolerable.

You don't feel the stress coming in but actually the stress is there...unconsciously, which is shown through the behaviour and short-temperness.

Dinner at Le Bistrot Du Sommelier

It was a 20 over years of friendship gathering, one that is really hard to come by. One that has been developed since primary school, unwavered by the storms and harsh weather. One that was built on so strong a foundation that no one or nothing can ever break it. One which you treasure deeply.

It was a simple dinner, but filled with meaning, filled with memories, the saddness and happiness, one that is always at the back of one's mind. Pictures could fade, turn yellow and eventually be thrown away, school uniforms could be discarded, but some things that will never fade are - the memories, the friendship and the togetherness.

Cheers to the long-lasting friendship of this group of friends.

Below are some of the snapshots of what we have feasted for tonight. Being a foodie, my main focus is still on food (I won't be surprised that I may eventually came up with an album of food..hahha) and thus, you won't be surprised that all my pictures evolved around food. As a result, I missed all the candid shots of our dear friends. What a waste...

5 Love Languages

The 5 languages of love, developed by Dr Gary Chapman:-

1. Quality Time
Being together, doing things together and focusing in on one another is the best way to show love. If this is your partner's love language, turn off the TV now and then and give one another some undivided attention. Providing a listening ear to your partner when they ventilating; they don't require a solution, they just need a EAR. Adopting the H2O approach? Huh...Hum...Oh...

2. Words of Affirmation

This is when you say how nice your spouse looks, how good your spouse looks in that piece of dress/shirt, how great the dinner tasted or even thank them for the small errands they have run for you. These words will also build your partner's self image and confidence.

3. Receiving Gifts

They don't have to be expensive to send a powerful message of love. To them, several inexpensive gifts mean more than one large gift. An occasional surprise or gift to show that you remember and appreciate. Spouses who forget a birthday or anniversary or who never give gifts to someone who truly enjoys gift giving will find themselves with a spouse who feels neglected and unloved.

4. Acts of Service

Doing the little little things for your partner. These acts of service like helping out with the chores, doing things for your partner that you don't enjoy doing, enthusiastically do a task that you have requested etc. They like to know that you are concerned enough to help them with their daily task. It is the actions that show that you care and love for them.

5. Physical Touch

Sometimes just stroking your spouse's back, holding hands, or a peck on the cheek will fulfill this need.

One that is so common to most of us - the language of love, the love of language.

One that we use in our daily life, consciously or unconsciously, with our love ones, friends or even colleagues, to show our love, appreciation, gratitude and care and concern

One which allows us to understand how we want our "love tank" to be filled and how we can express love to others. If we don't understand our partner's requirements or even ours, there will bound to be misunderstanding and unhappiness in the relationships. Relationships involve investment and is only through this investment will there be sweet fruits of harvest.

One which we tend to dismiss its importance and take each other for granted that everything is understood.

My love languages are Words of Affirmation, Quality Time and Acts of Services. So what's yours?

Some interesting quotes to share...

- To all MEN: pls be PSLE ---> Please Show Love and Encouragement

- To all WOMEN: pls be DNA ---> Don't Nag Anymore

The Love I Found In You (Jim Brickman)

You are the air I need to breathe

the river of life inside of me

you are the half that made me whole

you are the anchor of my soul

and you are strong when I am weak

you are the words when I can't speak

you never fail to see me through

that's the love I found in you

you are my shelter from the storm

you are the road that leads me home

and baby with you here face to face

Oh I know I've found my place

and you are strong when I am weak

you are the words when I can't speak

you never fail to see me through

that's the love I found in you

and once in every life

you find the one that's right

and when you say forever it's true

That's the love I found in you

You are strong when I am weak

you are the words when I can't speak

you never fail to see me through

That's the love I found in you

That's the love, love I found in you

Journey to well-being

Went through a series of detoxification this week, surviving on fruits and fruit juices and fish soups only.

Results:- body feels so light and mood feels light too. No matter how stressful work was, there wasn't a feeling of "Arghh...D***...S***..." Is just a feeling of "taking a step at a time and planning steps and doing the best I can". No matter how someone tries to irritate you, there wasn't a feeling of "What the H***?"....is just "Up to you, not my business"

Previously, I tend to associate detoxification with fasting. Fast for a day?!?!?! Just to remove all the toxic?!?!?! No no no...I can't survive without food for one day...that was the idea I used to have.

However, this perception starts to change after more conversations with friends and researches. The basic rule of detox is to remove the body toxic so that your body system can function more effectively and efficiently, thus bringing out the best in you. And the most important thing is, it helps to lose weight and make your skin condition better.

It works!

Here's some general tips for body detoxification for those interested.

(with thanks from "NATURE'S INTENTIONS NATUROPATHIC CLINIC")

1. Drink plenty of water (at least 8 glasses/day)


2. Add half a lemon to a warm glass of water with a pinch of cayenne pepper and ½ tsp of olive oil and enjoy it first thing in the morning


3. Eat your salads and greens – they provide you with lots and lots of live enzymes and minerals and also help detoxify heavy metals from the body


4. If you haven't eaten fruit and vegetables on a regular basis, start to eat lots of fruit; your body will detoxify itself first. Even if you do not change your use of stimulants (coffee, sugar and nicotine)


5. Steam bath to remove heavy metals - Using 1/2 cup of baking soda or 1/2 cup of sea salt. Soak for 15-20 minutes and then scrub the skin gently with soap on a loofah / face towel. Within a few minutes the water will turn murky and "dirty" due to heavy metals coming out of the skin, including aluminum and mercury. Do this once a week during detox and once a month for maintenance


6. Exercise regularly, for at least 20 minutes - Partner up with a friend or family member if motivation is a problem. Go for a brisk walk or jog, or try something different like a spinning class or Yoga!
   
   

My hand bouquet

As usual, I won't start to panic until the very last minute. That is when my level of efficiency goes up by multiples and the stress level too. That is also when I will start to want to have my own ways, which I will say, I always manage to, somehow by hook or by crook. Too bad, that is the life of a procastinator...

Is only less than a month left and I have not chosen what I want to wear or even my hand bouquet. Thankfully, his sister has kindly agreed to help me with the hand bouquet and now my task is to think of what flowers I want. Of course, I should try to think of something simple so that it won't eat up too much of his sister's time. I should be kind and grateful to someone who is kind to me, right?

I am trying hard to steer away from the conventional...... i.e. the roses, Calla lilies and tulips. But I won't be surprised if I ended up with blue roses with hydrangeas or blue tulips...since blue has always been my favourite colour......hahaha

I chanced upon hydrangeas and realised that they are actually very beautiful flowers, found mainly in Eastern Asia, notably China, Korea and Japan. There are basically 2 types - the mophead and the lacecap. I like it because of its cute large round flowerheads, because of its simple and elegance.

The Mophead Hydrangeas

Nikko Blue

Amethyst

Ravel

The Lacecap Hydrangeas

Beaute Vendomoise

Geoffrey Chadbund

As a hand bouquet, hydrangeas may not stand out on its own. But because of its versatility, it complements a lot of flower arrangements, whether simple or complex and will in fact add to the elegance to any flowers. This is the uniqueness of hydrangeas. Check out how the unique hydrangeas bring out the elegance and beauty of the roses. Gorgeous, right?

Antique Blue Hydrangea Cream Rose

(White roses as in pure, virtue, sincerity and spiritual love. It glorifies a love that is unaware of the temptations of the flesh and resides only in the soul. It is the "flower of light", symbolises everlasting love.)

Antique Purple Hydrangea Rose

After all the searches, I decided that I want to have white roses with blue/purple hydrangeas. White roses as in everlasting and spiritual love, pure and virtue complement by the versatile, simple yet elegant hydrangeas. I feel that hydrangeas symbolises me. As the name Sharon suggests - simple is elegant. It doesn't have to be the main cast, its ultimate role is to fill up any loopholes and add wholesome to the thing. This is the role of hydrangeas and that is me.