Christmas Reflections ...

Christmas is always a time where we give gifts to the people we care about and celebrate all the festivities. In midst of everything, it is always important to always be grateful for all we have and to not take anything for granted.

Sometimes, we never know how valuable something is until it is gone.

So tell your friends and family that you love them and hug them. Cherish every moment.

Since this post is a little late as Christmas is over where I am located at (Singapore), maybe we could all try and remember this for next year.... Always remember that gifts are great but the best gift you can give your loved ones is to pray for their well-being, for good health and happiness. It's the thought that counts after all.

May this Blessed Christmas bring joy to you and your family, today and always.

Engelbert Back In Singapore After Three Years

It is just hours now to the show, the concert of the year; Engelbert Humperdinck. The excitement had been brewing for weeks now and right now, I just cannot describe the feeling. It's been three years since the King of Romance stopped by my part of the world. So yes, this is pretty special and exciting for me. The other times, over the last 3 years, I had caught him in Malaysia and Philippines. 

I have been a fan since I was 10 years old. My late grandfather introduced me to Engelbert. His favourite song was 'Love Me with All Your Heart'. So on his final send off, we sang that song at Church and in 2012, I tattooed part of the lyrics from that song onto my arm in memory of my grandfather and as a little tribute to the man whose music had saved my life on numerous occasions.

I met Enge for the first time in 2003; it would also have been my very first EH concert. That memorable day happened at Foxwoods Casino in USA. Since that photo was posted on his official website, my life changed forever. 

I was blessed with the opportunity to get to know him on a more personal level through the countless meetings I've had with him and through his children. I was given the opportunity to assist in his social media presence from the early beginnings, to the opportunity of a lifetime to assist in his weight loss most recently. 

But through it all, I was never star struck. I admire the man. I am impressed by his life story and his struggles to get to where he is today. I somehow can relate because I struggled from a very early age to get to where I am today. Of course nowhere close to where he is, but it is pretty decent for a normal woman like me. 

If you had the chance to ask Enge, I am sure he would tell you that I treat him just like how I'd talk to you and I am the same way with his kids. They don't get special treatment just coz of who their father is. It's me. I am always who I am. I am true to myself and what you see is what you will get. 

Through the years of being in the line of work I am in, I have met many celebrities and are friends with many. I have gotten the same response from a few as to what makes me stand out from the rest of their fans and why I am lucky enough to be friends with them? Their answer would always be because I am refreshing and I treat them like how they should be treated... like any normal human being. 

However, I have to admit that every time I see Enge, it is very exciting and it is always a new experience alongside new memories made. I have fond memories and bad memories and that I will not deny. But go back to when I said, he is human after all. 

People have asked me numerous times how many times have I seen Enge in concert or how many times have I met him. I have only seen him in concert about 15 times in my lifetime. What can I say? I started late in to his career. However, it is better late than never right? I have met him several times backstage and at the hotel he was staying at. I have had meals with him in a group setting obviously. But I have a total of 4 photos taken with him. Why? Because most times I meet him, it never crosses my mind. It is like meeting an old friend and just 'catching up'. I don't think you have photos taken with your friends each time you meet them, right? So that was just how it was.  I was just very happy and blessed to be in his presence and to simply just enjoy a chat with him. 

Maybe he found that cool as well because I never acted like a fan only wanting to be near him and taking photos of him all the time. He gets enough of that from others. He sure did not need it from me. Ha.

Looking back, I can't find the words to describe how fortunate I really am. Here is a man, a legend, larger than life, so very popular and everyone wants to meet him and I have on many occasions. I know many ladies who are much older than I am, and who have been following him since the 60s and still they have yet to meet him in person. When I hear about that, I feel even more grateful but I always tell them to never give up hope. Keep trying. And when they do meet him, he is simply a man who cares about his fans.

Being a fan of his has brought me lots of great friends and enemies. Friends who support me and are happy simply by hearing my experiences I had at his concert or with meeting him. Then the enemies are the ones who seem jealous of that and make up stories.

Let me tell you this, I have never once accepted a free ticket from the Dorseys. I have never once opened my mouth to ask for a backstage pass. I always paid big bucks for my tickets, I was always first in line when the box office opened and I paid for my travels and accommodations. Wait. I admit, back in 2012, I was traveling to see my other favourite band New Kids on the Block when Engelbert tickets went on sale in Singapore. By the time I got back, I only managed to get 19th row. EH's tour manager then did ask what row I was in, and he managed to upgrade my mom and I to the front and he also took us backstage after the show. But that was the only time and even so, I still paid $600 for my tickets. 

Then let’s not forget the users. The ones who would talk behind my back about me having any agenda then when Enge is coming to town or somewhere near them, they contact me and ask if I can upgrade their seats or get them backstage. What do I look like? Their fairy godmother?

Anyway, in about 17 hours, I get to see Enge in concert again on my turf this time. This is pretty exciting. And after the show, I'd see him again and that would be another memory for the books. This time around, it is going to be a lot more special because my daughter will be with me.

So until tomorrow or after, I will share photos and videos and an update of how the concert was and how the meeting went.

Until then....

Cheerio.

Work To Live or Live To Work?

You must always find your balance. You must always remember that you should never get too busy earning a living that you will tend to forget to make a life.

As Confucius one said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

Here are a few Dos and Don’ts on achieving a balance:

DO:

·         Without rushing, be sure to set your alarm to wake you up earlier so you will have enough time for breakfast which is the most important meal of the day.

·         Prioritize your work. Work smart and not hard.

·         Never skip your lunch. Be sure to take at least a 30 minutes lunch break and try to eat healthy. Head out for a walk, if possible, even if it is for 10 minutes. It is nice to get some fresh air and sunlight.

·         Never be afraid to speak up and say no when your workload gets too much.

·         Best to disconnect from any work related communications, be it text or email, after work hours. If you have to work past your normal work hours, be sure to set an allocated time for it and never let it eat in to your leisure time.

·         De-stress. Best way to do so is to exercise. This would not only de-stress you but allow you to keep fit. Try allocating at least 3 – 4 hours each week for exercise.

·         Plan fun things to do such as a holiday. This way you will have something to look forward to.

·         Head to bed early so as to feel refreshed the next day.

DON’T:

·         Have an on-the-go kind of breakfast. Don’t stress first thing when you wake up and start checking or replying emails and texts. Unless it is of a very important nature.

·         Hop from one task to another.

·         Over work or work through your lunch hour or to keep/eat unhealthy food at your desk.

·         Take on too many responsibilities and try to prove anything. Always be sure you have plenty of time to finish your current workload.

·         Take home work if possible and don’t stay back too late to finish your current project unless it has a set deadline and you have to complete it.

·         Put off your exercise routine because you are too busy.

·         Be afraid to book vacations because you are afraid of the amount of work you will miss.

·         Stay up late, working through the night as it will leave you feeling exhausted the next day.

Being Healthy is a Lifestyle

Not too long ago, I'd say about 4 years ago, I weighed almost 200 pounds (90.9kg), 198 pounds (90kg) to be exact. I never did exercise, I ate whatever I wanted to eat and whenever I wanted to eat, I simply did not care.

I did consider losing weight a few times when I got tired of people telling me how much weight I have gained and when I could not find any nice outfits that would fit me. I tried to eat healthy and not as often but I loved food too much, and the thought of exercising was just not exciting at all. I did not have the willpower to stick to it. And to be honest, those tries actually made me gain more weight. I just wasn't blessed with good metabolism.

One day, I decided to step on a scale and I was shocked to see that I was 2 pounds shy of being a whopping 200 pounds!! That really woke me up! Not to mention that my career was also determined by how you look and not forgetting stamina. But the biggest motivation to change was the fact I had two little ones who needs a mom and a mom to be healthy so she can stick around for a long time.

I wanted to better myself. I wanted a new ME. I wanted to do it mostly for myself instead of someone else. I wanted me to be healthy so I can set a good example for my kids and that I could take care of them better.

I started with Zumba. That was a huge change. Shy with 2 left feet and no rhythm, and there I was, dancing up a storm. The class was definitely fun. However, I wasn't losing the weight as fast as I had wanted to. So I started brisk walking twice a week. After a couple months, I was jogging 6km (3.72 miles) in an hour. Still, the weight was only gradually going down. I will be honest; it was starting to get very demoralizing. However, I guess I wasn’t losing it as fast also because even if I had cut down on my eating, I was still eating more than I should. So can you imagine how much I was really eating before??

Not too long into the exercise routines and salads, etc, I learned of Juice Cleansing. I gave it a shot. I started with a 7-day juice cleanse. I had nothing to eat, just 3 juices a day and water. The first 3 days was a struggle but after, it was easy. Weigh in after 7 days and I had lost 10 pounds! That was motivation to keep at it.

Oddly enough, I think all I needed was that juice cleanse. My body got acclimated and it started accepting healthier food. I cut on carbs and I started experimenting with healthy recipes. I continued to jog and did a juice cleanse each month.

Eating more fruits and veggies did not sound disgusting anymore. In fact, the thought of sipping soda made me sick. I stuck to water, juice or oolong/green tea. Overall, my diet has changed drastically.

I won’t lie. I still have issues with my willpower. But each time I think of indulging or treating myself to an extra sweet dessert, I remember how far I’ve come. I think of all the hard work I’ve done to get to where I am so why would I allow myself to go back to where I was before?

As of today, I weigh 44 pounds (20kg) less than when I started my journey and it has made a big difference in my life and in my career. I still have a bit more to lose but I will gradually work on it as long as I continue to follow this healthy lifestyle.

Aside to everything else, CONFIDENCE has been the biggest benefit from this journey. I am more secure about myself. I feel comfortable in my own skin now.

So before making another unhealthy choice, always remember when your clothes didn't fit, when your body felt sluggish, your skin didn't glow, you didn't have energy, and how you wanted to feel beautiful.

Being healthy and fit isn't a trend. It is a lifestyle

SELF WORTH - Affirmations

Did you know that self-esteem is the most important thing for success? And if you think you have low self-esteem; affirmations can help you restore it. You can be successful in anything you set your heart to if you have lots of self-worth.

Affirmation can keep you positive and improve your attitude and how you look at life.

In short, in order for you to build your self-worth, you need affirmation. And how the human brain works is that if you keep repeating said affirmations over and over again, you will slowly start believing it and you will then notice the change in the way you behave.

In order to create positive affirmations, start with the words “I am”, keep it brief, make it specific and use present tense.

1.       I am choosing happiness

2.       I can and I will

3.       I trust myself

4.       I am enough

5.       I am worthy of the best life has to offer

6.       I am happy

7.       I am taking my mistakes as stepping stones for success

8.       I am beautiful

9.       I honour every decision I make

10.    I refuse to give up

11.    I am proud of myself

12.    I am unique in my own way

13.    I will surround myself with positive people

14.    I won’t worry about the small things

15.    I have the power to create the life I choose

16.    I believe in myself

17.    I choose positivity

18.    I appreciate all I have

19.    I will release anything that does not serve me

20.    I am whole and complete

Always Believe in Yourself

Get to know yourself;

What you can do

and what you cannot do..

For only you can make

your Life happy.

Believe that by working,

learning and achieving;

You can reach your goals

and be successful.

Believe in your own creativity

as a means of expressing

your true feelings.

Believe in appreciating life.

Be sure to have fun every day

and to enjoy

the beauty in the world.

Believe in love.

Love your friends,

your family,

yourself

and your life.

Believe in your dreams

and your dreams can

become a reality.

-- D.P. –

I Had a Dream

I had a dream once… in it I saw you.

I love this dream and wished that I’d never awaken… But I did.

When I opened my eyes, you were gone.

I shut my eyes again and saw you standing before me.

You were so gorgeous.

You were a true sign of love.

Your hands crossed over your heart, as it slid slowly down the front of you.

They came to a stop half way down as you reached out for me.

I came to you in a state of vulnerability.

My eyes opened again.

I looked for you buy you were nowhere around.

I gently forced my eyes closed again… but you were gone.

I looked for you but you were nowhere to be found.

Tears welled up in my closed eyes and rolled down the sides of my face.

From that day I could not close my eyes without a tear forming… not even a blink.

Except for one time.

One night I lay down and once again closed my tear stained eyes.

Again, I did not see you… but the tears stopped.

I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling hoping,

Hoping that when I closed my eyes again you’d be there.

I closed my eyes once more and still the tears did not come.

I slowly opened my eyes again and rolled over in bed.

I smiled to myself…

Then…

I gave you the gentlest kiss I could possibly conceive.

You And I

I never in my wildest dreams imagined I would find

the one I've searched for all my life, while just being here

on social media. 

But then your words before me, as peaceful as a dove

reached out and touched my heart so deep, 

and filled it with it's love. 

You had me in your power, my soul you hypnotized.

It's then I had the feeling, it's then I realized

these words that were before me seemed honest and so true

and before I knew what hit me, I fell in love with you.

With each and every passing day, this feeling deep inside

renewed my faith in happiness, this cannot be denied.

Although we've known each other for a short period of time, 

I feel I've known you always, in oh so many ways. 

My life before I met you seemed empty, cold and grey.

But since you've come along, my love, what more is there to say?

You are the one I've needed for oh so many years,

you are the one who has the power to wipe away my tears.

I need you now and always, until eternity.

I pray your love will bring me peace and serenity.

I love you now my darling and know, right now, 

that I will always love you faithfully, until the day I die.

I want to spend my life with you and share the joys and woes,

the ups, the downs, the good, the bad, and all the highs and lows.

Together we can make a life that's filled with hope and love,

a life of endless pleasures sent down from up above.

Hobbies you can start for free!

Are you looking for a new hobby or hobbies? Are you worried about it costing a fortune? Here's a list of that would not cost much or anything at all.

1. HIKING

How about exploring a nature reserve or a park to enjoy some fresh air and scenery?

2. READING

Visit the library and get access to all the books you can read.

3. VOLUNTEER

Volunteer your time to your community for a good cause. How about the SPCA if you’re an animal lover?

4. CREATIVE WRITING

Starting a blog or get out your pen and note book, and start writing for an hour or two each day. You may never know what you will come up with.

5. ORIGAMI

Watch tutorials on YouTube or borrow an origami book from the library and start making some lovely origami creations.

6. SIGHTSEEING

Discover hidden gems in and around your country. Explore.

7. YOGA

How about exercising your mind and body? If you’re new to Yoga and do not wish to invest so much money into it, you can always get on YouTube to follow tutorials for beginners.

8. KNITTING

Don’t know how to knit but have been dying to learn how? Thank goodness for our world of technology and knowledge at the tip of our fingertips. Spend just a few dollars on wool and needles and look up knitting on the internet and give it a whirl.

9. ILLUSTRATING

Again, you can look up tutorials on YouTube for tips!! Get your creative juices flowing and learn to illustrate. You might even surprise yourself.

10. RUNNING

Get fit and healthy? Run at a reservoir or a nearby park or how about running at the beach?

Habits To Help You Prosper

It doesn't matter if you are a student, or trying to build a career or even unemployed, your habits either help you to achieve and succeed in your goals or it holds you back from it. So if you want to prosper, there are a few good habits you can take on. Focus on them and slowly watch your life turn for the better.

1. NETWORK

Networking is the No. 1 unwritten rule of success in business. – Sallie Krawcheck

2. DREAM BIG

Dream it. Believe it. Achieve it.

3. PLAN AHEAD

Planning ahead will give you more control of your day-to-day life and when you talk about money, planning ahead will give you the sense of security knowing you will be ready if something inevitable happens in your life.

4. GET UP EARLY

Waking up early improves your concentration and helps you focus on goals and tasks without being interrupted. It also enhances your productivity.

5. STAY FOCUSED

To enhance focus; minimize multitasking, devote specific hours to tasks, meditate. You could also establish a to-do list and never forget to take breaks. Most importantly, try and keep work at work.

6. INVEST IN YOURSELF

Nothing is more important than investing in you. Start by investing in building your confidence and taking care of your health. Get rid of toxic friends and choose to be happy.

7. TAKE CALCULATED RISKS

As in everything in life, you have to be willing to take risks. Trust your gut. However, many people confuse that with fear. However not all risks are equal and thus why you sometimes have to take time to make careful decisions.

8. LIVE ON LESS THAN YOU MAKE

If you do not live on less than you earn, it's certain you will never get ahead. So in order to do so, you need to look into your financial habits and make a budget. Then find places to cut back on expenses. This is definitely a great way to reduce money worries as well as allows you to save for your future.

Habits that Drain Your Energy

Habits, good and bad, make us who we are as a person. Thus, we must always be aware of our habits, especially our bad habits and make an effort to take steps to change them.

Here are some bad habits that are common and hurtful to any individual over time:

1. UNHEALTHY EATING HABITS

This could mean either over eating or even under eating and even not having enough healthy foods our body needs each day, or consuming too much foods that are not necessarily good for us. This unhealthy eatings habits may affect our energy and nutrition intake and over time, it can contribute in the development or illnesses and other health issues.

2. TRYING TO PLEASE OTHERS

Pleasing people aren’t at all a bad thing but sometimes your need to please others can turn into a problem since it starts getting more difficult to look out for yourself since you have no boundaries. Believe it or not but trying to please everyone does not always work and in fact proves that you love yourself less. You start ending up with less confidence, and you become more resentful and hate the things you used to like. Most of all, you fail to please the only person that matters the most and that is yourself. So you have to cure yourself of this habit to please and gently tell one person no.

3. DEHYDRATION

This could be considered the most common bad habit for most of us. We get so caught up with our busy lifestyle, we forget to hydrate. Did you know that even a mild dehydration can mess with your energy and your ability to think clearly? Dehydration also causes bad breath, dry skin and even headaches. So keep in mind that on average, the daily intake of water for most women would be about 2.7 liters while most men would be 3.7 liters. The totals include water that comes from foods and even drinks like tea or fruit juice.

4. CLUTTER AND DISORGANIZATION

Clutter can play a huge role in how we feel about our home, office and even ourselves. Whether we would like to admit it or not, clutter does lead to stress. The biggest reason for stress from clutter is the fact that it stops us from finding what we need quickly. However, unlike other stress such like our work or relationship problems, clutter is the easiest bad habit to tackle.

5. TAKING THINGS PERSONALLY

Taking things personally will only allow individuals more power over us. It means you are allowing that person to make you think about what you actually believe in. So instead of believing in yourself and knowing who you really are as an individual, you're allowing someone else to tell you who you are. By taking things personally, you are allowing yourself to be tied to someone else.

6. COMPLAINING REGULARLY

Venting sessions are not all bad but one should never make a habit out of it. This constant complaining can start to affect your health and increase your stress level or raise your anxiety and even push your loved ones away. Constant complaining can increase your negative feelings, make you even more stressed and physically wear you down. You have to realize that it does not actually achieve anything. So start to fix this bad habit by being more positive which will reduce harmful health effects of stress.

7. CAFFEINE

There are good and bad benefits to drinking coffee. And too much of anything is always bad. So let’s focus on the bad and maybe it would make you either stop the caffeine intake or at least cut back. Coffee can give you wrinkles; it can stain your teeth and cause acidity. Now, no one wants stained teeth, do we?

10 Ways To Improve Body Image

Having a negative thought on your body image can affect you in lots of ways which includes how you accept your relationship or how you perform in your career and it may even affect your overall quality of life. Very often you would think specific areas such like your nose or legs have a physical defect. However, it is only a mental representation of what you create. Through it all, we forget that our body has a utility and it gets us to places and instead we are still living in a world where physical looks seems more important.

How do we put our body image back into perspective?

Here are 10 ways to improve your body image.

1.       Appreciate every single thing that your body does for you

2.       Look at yourself as a whole person and never focus on any specific part of your body

3.       Make it a point to point out one thing you like about yourself, every single day

4.       Know that what we see on social media or television has been altered to perfection

5.       No one is perfect so love the things that make you different

6.       Love yourself just the way you are

7.       Surround yourself with supportive people who make you feel good about yourself

8.       Tell yourself that beauty is not skin deep. Beauty is a state of mind and not a state of your body.

9.       Do something that allows your body to know you appreciate it

10.    Focus on your accomplishments as a person and not what you look like

Stop Eating Crap

Eating healthy benefits us in so many ways; physically, mentally and emotionally. Having a good and healthy eating habit improves our overall well-being.

When trying to eat healthy, always remember “C.R.A.P.”. – Stop eating crap.

C – Carbonated Drinks

It increases our risk of cancer and heart disease. It can also lead to diabetes.

R – Refined Sugars

It weakens your immune system, increases inflammation and slowly ruins your liver. It also contributes to premature aging of skin.

A – Artificial Food

Artificial foods may contain too much of a vitamin so this means that you may be overdosing on certain nutrients, and even more so if you eat the same foods. And more of something is not always good.

P – Processed Food

Processed foods are a major contributor to obesity and illness around the world.