Let's not forget there are people who need our help

I consider myself a very fortunate person. Being born and bred in Singapore, I've had tertiary education which helps in finding an occupation which provides a decent, comfortable living.

We are very fortunate that we do not face the threat of natural disaster like flood, typhoon or earthquake in Singapore. However I often hear people complaining about their job, no interesting place to go on weekends, prices of public transport went up again etc.

Little did we still remember somewhere out there, there are people who do not have the basic necessity to survive and are dying of hunger, there are many children who are not fortunate to have education...

I've added a new element called "Let's Make A Difference" just above my latest post where clicking on it will bring you to www.freerice.com At this website, all you need to do is to "play" or rather it is a test on your vocabulary. Each correct answer you get, 20 grains of rice will be donated through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger.

There are also "tests" on Arts, Chemistry, Geography, Math subjects etc. The more you "play", the more right answers you will get, and the more rice will be donated to the needy.

Do visit the World Food Programme website to read more or make a donation to help fight hunger.

Don't forget... just as when we grumble about eating the same food all the time, someone on the other side of the world is dying without food...

I have learned

I Have Learned

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you.
All you can do is be someone who can be loved.
The rest is up to them.

I've learned that it takes years to build up trust
and only seconds to destroy it.

I've learned that it's not what you have in your live,
but who you have in your life that counts.

I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do, but to the best you can do.

I've learned that it's not what happens to people,
it's what they do about it.

I've learned that no matter how thin you slice it,
there are always two sides.

I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you'll see them.

I've learned that you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I've learned that there are people, who love you dearly,
but just don't know how to show it.

I've learned that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I've learned that true friendship continues to grow even over the longest distance, same goes for true love.

I've learned that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others,
sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I've learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken,
the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I've learned that just because two people argue,
it doesn't mean they don't love each other and
just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I've learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I've learned that no matter the consequences,
those who are honest with themselves get farther in life.

I've learned that it's hard to determine where to draw the line
between being nice and not hurting people's feelings
and standing up for what you believe.

I've learned to love and be loved. I've learned.

14 Insights on Life

There's a solution to every problem

Pebbles Form Patterns on a Sandy Ocean Tidal Flat at Sunset, Australia
Many years ago in a small village, there was a farmer who owed a large sum of money to a village money lender.

The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer’s beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer’s debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter.

He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven.

3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into the jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer’s field. As they were talking, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag.

He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field, what would you do if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Well, here is what she did ….

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

“Oh, how clumsy of me,” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the bag for the other one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.”

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.

Moral of the story:
In life, we are bound to face problems and obstacles, believe that you can overcome any difficulty which is there to test on your determination to succeed, believe in yourself that you can find the solutions. Be positive and don't give up so easily.

Look at the Brighter Side of Life

The Sun Appears as a Bright Pointed Star in a Crisp Blue Polar Sky

Keep your optimism...
After all, no one has ever damaged his eyesight
by looking at the BRIGHTER side of LIFE.
MaKe EvErY DAy A SUnNy DaY (^-^)

Quotes on Conversation with Ourselves and Our Thoughts

Rainbow

"What you say to yourself colours how you see the world."
- Anonymous

"The most important words we will ever utter are those words we say to ourselves, about ourselves, when we are by ourselves."
- Anonymous

"The most important opinion you have is the opinion you have of yourself, and the most important conversations you will ever have are the conversations you have with yourself."
- Anonymous

"Change your thoughts and you change your world."
- Norman Vincent Peale

"A man is not what he thinks he is,
but what he thinks, he is."
- Max R. Hickerson

"We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts, we make our world."
- Buddha

"Our minds work like a garden. It is fertile ground that accepts any and everything we plant. Good or evil, constructive or destructive, our lives will bear the fruit of the seeds we plant in our minds."
- Ivanla Vanzant

"How we think shows through in how we act. Attitudes are mirrors of the mind. They reflect thinking."
- David Joseph Schwartz

"The mind, properly controlled, can do just about everything. You can think your way through adversity, you can think your way through problems. It is a superpowerful instrument which so few use to maximum. And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things."
- Norman Vincent Peale

"If you think you can or if you think you can't, you are right."
- Henry Ford

Destiny is what you think...
Watch your thoughts; they become words...
Watch your words; they become actions...
Watch your actions; they become habits...
Watch your habits; they become character...
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
- Anonymous

"If you don't like something, change it.
If you can't change it, change the way you think about it."
- Mary Engelbreit

"The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts."
- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

人生最重要开心

Photo by tanakawho

人生最重要开心，
有钱当然最称心，
没钱也不用伤心，
有饭吃就该欢心，
不然喝粥也温心，
危难来时不慌心，
奢华非分莫贪心，
简单过活亦宽心，
凡事抱着平常心，
待人处事以诚心，
朋友之间交真心，
谋事应改多用心，
学习必须够虚心，
时刻抱着上进心，
做人才会有信心，
杂琐小事别烦心，
无聊闲事少费心，
好事多为献善心，
坏心勿做灭恶心，
安分守己免担心，
以上心得要记心。

Making Bo Bo Cha Cha Dessert - the Easy Way

Two weeks ago when we were doing our weekly grocery shopping, I saw this conveniently packed & vacuum sealed sweet potato and taro, these are the main ingredients for making bo bo cha cha. As I have never tried making it at home and now that there's this less hassle and convenient solution, I decided to try it out following the cooking instructions provided on the back of the packing.


The next important ingredient for bo bo cha cha is the crystal cubes, this is something I will first look for in my dessert bowl when I have this outside :P I bought both ingredients from a big supermarket.


Pandan leaves are included in the pack of sweet potatoes and taros, as it was after one week plus that I made this dessert, I decided to use my own pandan leaves instead. The other ingredients that are required in this dessert are cane sugar and coconut milk.



As there are only the two of us, I've decided to split the portion into two and cook the rest end of the week, and this has proved to be a right decision =)


Here is the final product - a bowl of easy to make and not too sweet bo bo cha cha dessert is finally ready for me to savour =) Yummy "P

The Power of Words

The Family

A group of frogs were travelling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.

When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

The Moral of the Story:
1. An encouraging word to someone who is down can encourage them to achieve their goal.
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can have negative effects, so be careful of what you say.

Beginning Today

Live Laugh Love: Sunflower

Beginning today I will no longer worry about yesterday.
It is in the past and the past will never change.
Only I can change by choosing to do so.

Beginning today I will no longer worry about tomorrow.
Tomorrow will always be there,
waiting for me to make the most of it.
But I cannot make the most of tomorrow
without first making the most of today.

Beginning today I will look in the mirror and
I will see a person worthy of my respect and admiration.
This capable person looking back at me is
someone I enjoy spending time with and
someone I would like to get to know better.

Beginning today I will cherish each moment of my life.
I value this gift bestowed upon me in this world and
I will unselfishly share this gift with others.

Beginning today I will take a moment
to step off the beaten path and
to revel in the mysteries I encounter.
I will face challenges with courage and determination.
I will overcome what barriers there may be
which hinder my quest for growth and self-improvement.

Beginning today I will take life
one day at a time, one step at a time.
Discouragement will not be allowed to taint
my positive self-image, my desire to succeed
or my capacity to love.

Beginning today I walk with renewed faith in human kindness.
Regardless of what has gone before,
I believe there is hope for a brighter and better future.

Beginning today I will open my mind and my heart.
I will welcome new experiences.
I will meet new people.
But I will not expect perfection from myself nor anyone else.

Beginning today I am responsible for my own happiness
and I will do things that make me happy . . .
admire the beautiful wonders of nature,
listen to my favorite music,
pet a kitten or a puppy, soak in a bubble bath . . .
Pleasure can be found in the most simple of gestures.

Beginning today I will learn something new;
I will try something different;
I will savor all the various flavours life has to offer.
I will change what I can and the rest I will let go.
I will strive to become the best me I can possibly be.

Beginning today, and every day.

Sinful Meal

Does this look good to you? :P This is what I've cooked for lunch and dinner. A simple fried beehoon or rice vermicelli with caixin, pan fried egg with onion, golden mushroom, onion, and most importantly - a can of this sinfully greasy stewed pork :P


The flavour of the beehoon depends largely on the oily sauce/gravy that comes in the can with the stewed pork. I've only added a bit of oyster sauce and light soya sauce as my pan fried egg with onion turned out to be quite salty :P


Finally I had this for my late lunch =) to reward myself for my hard work of preparing & cooking, before I continue with my unfinished business - washing & cleaning up later

Be Thankful

Live Oak, Paintbrush, and Bluebonnets in Texas Hill Country, USA

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire,
if you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times,
during those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
as they will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary
because it means you've made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things in life.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those
who are also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.

Quotes on Gratitude

A family holding hands is silhouetted against the setting sun

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."
- John Ruskin

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."
- Melody Beattie

"Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind."
- Sam N. Hampton

"In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy. "
- Albert Clarke

"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."
- Albert Schweitzer

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
- John F. Kennedy

如果一个人能
为一个小小的幸运而心存感激；
为别人小小的付出而真诚感动；
为一个小小的拥有而感到满足；
为一个小小的幸运而洋溢着幸福，
那么，我们真的不需要什么就会很福足。
－ 何权峰作品“就靠这一次，人生急转弯”

STRESSED? Maybe it's time for some DESSERTS

Whenever you are STRESSED
and about to give up,
remember that
STRESSED is just
DESSERTS
spelled backwards..

So it’s just a piece of cake! Enjoy life!

10 Happy Living Tips 人生十大点

Finding Good in Every Situation

If you concentrate on finding
what is good in every situation,
you will discover gratitude
that nourishes the soul.
Have a nice day! ü

感激在你生命中所遇见的人

Beautiful Smile

A smile is a cure
that can straighten out a lot of things
and never frown,
as you never know
who's falling in love with your smile.
Have a Beautiful Day =)

It's more blessed to Give than to receive

One day, a young man, a student in the university, was taking a walk with a professor, who was commonly called the students' friend for his kindness to those who waited on his instructions.

As they walked, they saw a pair of old shoes lying in the path, which was supposed to belong to a poor man who was working in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day's work . . .

The student turned to the professor and said "Let us play a trick on the man. We will hide his shoes, and hide ourselves behind those bushes, then we'll wait to see the anxiety on his face when he cannot find them ..."

"My young friend," answered the professor, "We should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor . . As you are rich, maybe you will give yourself much greater pleasure by helping this poor man. Put a coin in each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how this affects him."

The student did so and they hid themselves behind the bushes nearby. The poor man soon finished his work, and walked across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. While putting on his coat, he slipped his foot into one of his shoes, however he felt something hard inside. So he stooped down to feel what it was, and he found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen upon his countenance.

He gazed upon the coin, turned it around and looked at it again and again. He then looked around to see if there is anyone, but there was no one to be seen. He put the coin into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the other shoe; to his surprise he found another coin inside the shoe.

His feelings overcame him . . . he fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and uttered aloud a fervent thanksgiving in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, whom this timely bounty, from some unknown hand, would save from perishing . . .

The student stood there deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears.

"Now," said the professor, are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?"

The youth replied, "You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget. .. I feel now the truth of these words, which I never understood before: "It's more blessed to give than to receive."

Be Inspired

I came across this nice inspirational video on Youtube. As a picture says a thousand words, with the nice music that complements the moving pictures and inspiring words, here enjoy the video and be inspired =)

The Mouse Trap

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.

What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house - like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbours came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

The Moral of the Story:
The next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember - when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage and help one another.

笑一笑 没烦恼

Put On Your SMILE (^-^)

Baby Pilot

A SMILE costs nothing, but gives much.
It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give.
A SMILE creates happiness in the home,
fosters goodwill in the business, and
is the countersign of friendships.
It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged,
sunshine to the sad, and is nature's best antidote for trouble.
Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen,
for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away.
Some people are too tired to give you a smile.
Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much
as he who has no more to give. =)

Help Your Neigbours Grow Good Corn

Cornfield at Sunrise

This is a story of a farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it wins a blue ribbon.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours.

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering in corn competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn"

He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbour's corn also improves.

The Moral of the Story:
If we want to grow good corn, we must help our neighbours grow good corn.

This is the same with our lives. Those who choose to live in peace must help their neighbours to live in peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others to find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.

Quotes on Giving and Making A Difference

Do All The Good You Can

"Never underestimate what a simple gesture can do. It is the little things that you do that make a big difference in other people's lives."
- Catherine Pulsifer

"We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee."
- Marian Wright Edelman

"Giving is not about numbers; it's not about quantity.
It's about the quality of what we do and the purity of our hearts."
- Anonymous

"Never say no time, just ask whether there's heart. Sacrificing some leisure time, make use of one's specialty in exchange for a meaningful activity. Ask not how much has been done, but how immense the sincerity is contributing time and effort."
- Anonymous

"You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give."
- Kahlil Gibran

"You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love."
- Henry Drummond

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."
- Buddha

"Will someone else's life be brighter tomorrow
because of what you have done today?"
- William Arthur Ward

一个微笑，能给别人带来愉悦；
一个关爱的眼神，就能给人带来希望；
一个关怀的举动，就能让人从痛苦中解救出来；
一个激励的话语，甚至能让一个人起死回生。
－ 何权峰著《4舍5入》

Be Happy

Always be happy and always wear a smile
not because life is full of reasons to smile
but because your smile is a reason
for others to be happy!
Good Morning to You!

Quotes on Kindness

Kindness

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak,
but their echoes are truly endless."
- Mother Teresa

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain

People will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but they will not forget how you made them feel.
- Maya Angelou

Kindness in words creates confidence
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness
Kindness in giving creates love.
- Lao-tzu

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring,
all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
- Leo Buscaglia

No kind action ever stops with itself.
One kind action leads to another.
Good example is followed.
A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions,
and the roots spring up and make new trees.
The greatest work that kindness does to others
is that it makes them kind themselves.
- Amelia Earhart

Kind hearts are the gardens,
Kind thoughts are the roots,
Kind words are the flowers,
Kind deeds are the fruits.
Take care of your garden
And keep out the weeds,
Fill it with sunshine
Kind words and kind deeds.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Those little things

Never be tired of doing little things for others,
sometimes those little things
are the big things
which are treasured &
kept in their hearts.
Have a Good Day (^-^)

It is the Small Things that Make A Big Difference

Starfish

There was a man taking a morning walk at the beach. He saw that along with the morning tide came hundreds of starfish and when the tide receded, they were left behind and with the morning sunrays, they would die.

The tide was fresh and the starfish were alive. The man took a few steps, picked one and threw it into the water. He did that repeatedly. Right behind him there was another person who couldn't understand what this man was doing.

He caught up with him and asked "What are you doing? There are hundreds of starfish. How many can you help? What difference does it make?"

This man did not reply, he took two more steps, picked up another one, threw into the water and said, "It makes a difference to this one."

Moral of the Story:
We all can make a difference to the lives of others - big or small, it doesn't matter.
If everyone makes a small difference, we would end up with a big difference, wouldn't we?

Add some Sweetness to Life 为自己加些糖

咖啡的苦与甜，
决定于糖的多与少。
生活的苦与乐，
在于你的态度和心情。
无论何时，
都请你为自己加糖，
那么你就会快乐的
度过每一天！
祝你天天好心情！