Daily Vitamins

Don't forget to take one everyday !

It will make a difference in your day.

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Go for it

Whether you are dreaming about what you want to do

or you want to do something different in your life,

run, dive, swim, go for it.

Make it happen.

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You can do better than that

You realize how important or talented you are, when someone who has been working and guiding you, tells you straight in the face,

"You can do better than that."

These words were not uttered to me but to my 12 year old daughter from her piano teacher.   She has been teaching piano to my daughter for the last 3 years and is instrumental to my child's development.   I can understand the teacher's frustration with her as 45 minutes of guidance a week is not enough to maximize my daughter's talent.     She needed to practice 30 minutes in the piano every day, because daily regimen is part of the discipline.   My daughter is lazy to play the piano everyday as playing outside or chatting with her friends are more fun.   No amount of my nagging her to practice worked.  If she really wants this, it has to come from within her, and not because of us.

As a matter of fact, my nagging to my husband to quit smoking didn't work too.  But he quit smoking, cold turkey 2 months ago.   The reason - it was getting expensive to maintain it.   When he calculated how much he was spending (the taxes in Canada are really high) on the cancer sticks, he decided he will quit.   Given the tight budget that we have, it made sense not to waste our money on this item.  He quit because he wanted to.

My husband talked to my daughter about the necessity of playing the piano on a regular basis like after coming home from school.   He said that she is very talented and has a gift which no one in our family has.   He was very forthright with her:  to not use or waste the talent is like throwing away a gift someone has given you during your birthday party.   That if she really believes that she has the talent, then by all means use all the opportunity and time to hone it and develop it 100x times.  If your teacher believes in you, then believe in yourself.

"You are better than this. "

My daughter kept quiet for while and told us, "I am going to practice everyday now."  I want to believe that because she wants to,  she will do it.

Has there been someone in your life who believed in you and what you can be?

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There is something wrong with the scale!

So says my hubby after weighing himself in the bathroom scale and finding himself at 165 pounds.    He has lost 5 pounds during the last 2 months, and he has been eagerly checking if he lost 3 more pounds.    We have recently changed our diet to include more vegetables and salads for meals, and mixed nuts instead of chips and popcorn for snacks.

"How can that be?"   I said and weighed myself.   Not bad at 120 pounds.   "There is nothing wrong with the scale.  Have you forgotten that we ate out for lunch (though we shared the American sized meal)?"

Yesterday, we have taken a day off from work to watch my daughter compete for her Grade 3 Piano Competition. We had not badger or pressure her to win the top prize, as we just wanted her to have this fun experience.  Well, my daughter didn't win first place.   The girl who won this year was elated as she got her medal.   My daughter remembered that she didn't win last year.   I commented that the winner must have worked very hard during the year because she played beautifully this time around.    My daughter, who won last year's first prize, was a bit disappointed but she accepted gracefully her 4th place standing.    In retrospect, she said her teacher didn't fully prepare for this event, and she underestimated her co-players in the competition.    I hope she learned something more than just hitting the right key notes that day.

Sometimes, when things don't go the way we want to, we can look at other reasons why it didn't turn out the way we wanted it.   We can blame the weather, the teacher, the school, the computer, and yes, even the weighing scale, why things are not so picture perfect, or why we didn't get the first place award.  Why... because it is much easier to point at other things and other people, than blaming ourselves for our failures.

On the positive side, we learn from our disappointments and failures.  We learn to try harder next time, and put our best effort in the things that we want to achieve.

Turning now to my hubby, this means less or no snacks at night after dinner for you.   And no, there is nothing wrong with the weighing scale.

Have you ever blamed the weighing scale for your added pounds?

Hope everything is having a good week!

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The world’s end is coming ?

If one reads the headlines in the news today (Japan's earthquake and nuclear crisis, unrest in Libya and Syria), you would think that the naysayers are right - world's end is coming soon.   I read it might come in 2012?

Well, I actually have heard about the world's doom and gloom prediction every few years, beginning when I heard it from my grandma when I was in my teens.  I was so scared then, and started praying so hard.   It also spooked out my family that we had a rosary, holy water and candles in the rooms in case the earth is covered in total darkness.  Well, I now have a family of my own and world is still spinning day in and day out.   I mean, who can really tell when the world will end?

We can live in fear and get paralyzed into inaction and negative end-of-the-world-thoughts, if we allow gloom and doom predictions to prevail our life.    I am amuse to read that business is brisk with survival kits and things in preparation for next year.   The funniest I have heard is someone building an ark like what Noah did to survive the 2012 end of the world event. 

For me, end of the world or not, we live each day to the best that we can, and leave our worries and cares to the God Above.

"Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway." 

-Mary C. Crowley

Tell me if you guys believe that the world is coming to an end by 2012 and I am crazy not to believe it.  

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Pulling Together

Today, our department had good news - our team hit our sales goal as of 4:00 pm.   When the manager shared with us the news, we all sighed in relief and shook hands as we celebrated yet another down to the wire finish.   Our top boss said he will treat everyone for lunch next week - yippee!  It feels great to be part of the winning team.

The past few days have been crazy as all of us push our sales cases, and had it issued.   Everyone in the department, sales and admin personnel, work together as if it was the last quarter end of the year.   It is amazing how the people in the team all pitch in and did their part, however small the cases.   Because all in all, when the numbers are added together, it all adds up to a total amount that we want to hit for the first quarter of the year.

This is beautiful video from Simple Truths on Pulling Together.


Simple Truths - We Hope You Enjoyed the movie!.

It reminds me that it takes a team of dedicated people, not just one person, to make it possible to reach a common goal. Communication, teamwork and daily accounting of where we are at, versus our goal, enabled our team to make it to the finish line.

So how did your  Friday end? Hope everyone has a good weekend~

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You become what you think!

"The mind is everything; what you think, you become."
  Quote by: Gautama Buddha

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Keeping the trust

Take care of the trust given to you


by your child, your spouse, your friend or your neighbor.


Honor your commitments and promises, even if it is the last thing you need to do at the end of the long day.


Affirm their faith in you by looking out for their welfare,  as if they are yours.


Hold it in your hands like it is a precious gem or glass.


Because once it is shattered by doubts, dishonesty or lies,


it is hard to gain it back.  




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You are amazing

Have I told you today that you are amazing?

The best thing in life is finding someone

who knows all your insecurities, mistakes and shortcomings

and still thinks you are completely amazing.

~ Have a good weekend everyone ~

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Young at heart

If 

you want to be 

 young at heart,

then

LIVE. LAUGH. LOVE.

A heart that loves is always young.   

-Greek Proverb

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Encourage others

Did I encourage someone today?

Student says “I am very discouraged. What should I do?”

Master says, “Encourage others.”

In reaching out to another person who needs our help, or simply just to cheer them on, we also feel uplifted.    In giving out a warm embrace or pat in the back to others, we also feel comforted.

And then we get to see that our problems and concerns are minor, compared to others.


Zen Quote
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Happiness is a simple thing

Laugh.    Find joy in simple things.

“Happiness is a simple thing: you are happy when you are not trying to be happy.”

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A Lift Up

Sometimes we need other people

to give us a nudge, a push and even a lift up

so we can go higher and achieve our goals.

So, hang out with people who can positively affect you.

Don’t listen to the voices of the complainers and naysayers.

Find your team of cheerleaders and help lift up each other!!!!

Follow your dream

Not your parents’.  Not your friends’.  Not your neighbors’.

Follow YOUR dream.

Find what you love to do and loving every minute of it.

Be brave to pursue it, not someday,

but today.

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In your hands

You can choose to be happy and excited about today and the future.

You can choose to be sad and depressed thinking about it.

It is in your hands.