Having "Me" Time

A strange kind of peace seems to have transcended since the New Years.  Maybe it is because I am just getting a little older and a little calmer.   Or maybe it's because I have been enjoying the time truly having some much needed "me" time reading books and being alone with my thoughts.  I think being able to just stay home with uninterrupted time for a few hours on a weekend is indeed a time to cherish and value.  It allows one time to really prioritize and define what is indeed important in life. This year I thought about why we all like Christmas and New Years so much.  I always enjoyed it but never really gave much thought to why we can't spend the rest of our year thinking it's Christmas or New Years.  Wouldn't life be so much more pleasant? For me, I discovered that Christmas and New Years are a good time for one to re-tune and get back in touch with those most dear to us.   It's when we often go out to eat ...

Christmas came and vanished in a blink of an eye.  In a couple of days it will no longer be 2011 and I am going to have to rewire my brain to write my dates with 2012 (or in the Buddhist calendar 2555).  So much has happened yet there are still so many things waiting to happen.  Who knows what the future holds? Will the year 2012 be the end of the world or will it bring with it renewed hope? I suppose we will just have to live through it to find out.   I pray though that whatever happens, it brings happiness and that at the end of it all, we can look back and appreciate the year we had. The last few days I have finally gotten into the digital book age with the initiation of my first reading of a novel on tablet.  I never thought I would. (Thank you Alex for downloading roughly 10GB worth of novels onto my tablet!)  I had always been somewhat old fashioned in my preference for paper and having documents printed out.  I like th...

It's ten days until Christmas and I'm counting down even though I'm a buddhist.  I like the Christmas season because it brings with it joy, happiness and brings out all the good things in people.  It makes us think of others and not only of ourselves.  I suppose I also like it because I grew up in Europe where we had Christmas trees decorated along entire roads, Father Christmas roaming around giving out presents and of course we had the Christmas market at the Old town square.  Christmas songs played everywhere and television showed Christmas movies.  A favorite of mine is always "A Christmas Carol" for I think the lessons it teaches us are ones to remind us of what we have.  Thank you Charles Dickens. The story teaches us to not only think of ourselves but to also think of others.  At the beginning, Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old man who disregards Christmas and is so stingy he lives in a cold ...

Since the flood prevented me from exercising regularly and now that it has gone, I find myself in the festive season with my weight going uphill. I gained 3kgs last week (now 2kg down and 1kg left to go) which is the most I’ve ever gained in the last year or so. It’s during festive times like these when our weight go up and up. (I mean it’s a time for meeting friends, hanging out and having fun. What this means is a lot of eating, drinking and late nights. A routine that is wonderfully suited to gaining weight. ) Fear not, with some exercising planning, you can keep your weight in control and get it back down before you find yourself unable to fit into the pretty dress you had ready for New Year’s Eve. Of course, in between meals do not forget to also watch what you eat. The more you eat the harder you have to work at burning it out. Since I gained 3kgs, I had to find a way to get it down and fast it must before it reaches a new steady state. When the weight is in a steady ...

I love Christmas, I love New Years.  I love this time of year when everyone is in a festive mood and everything is just fun fun and fun.  Organizing parties, get-to-gethers, and gift raffles.  This is the time of year when everyone "gives" to everyone else.  It's when we forget ourselves a little and think about those around us. During this time of year we celebrate family, love and friendships.   Shopping malls are packed with people and everything is packaged in gift sets.  There are always long lines of people in the days running up to Christmas and New Years as last minute shoppers come out to get that special gift.  Here are a few gift tips on finding the perfect gift for those who need a little inspiration.  Tip 1 :  Think of the person you are going to give the gift to.  What do they like? Do you remember them eyeing something at the store?  Remember, expensive doesn't always means its going to make that pe...

With all the festivites going on, Christmas and New Years is undoubtedly one of my favorite time of the year.  I get to meet friends, catch up over lovely meals accompanied by weather that is nice and cool in winter. It doesn't snow in Thailand, but the temperature drops to the mid-twenties (celsius).  It's lovely and cool.  Perfect.  And as one of my friends put on her facebook status it is the "perfect weather to get fat."  I think this perfectly describes how we all feel. A lot of activities during Christmas and New Years undeniably revolve around eating.  We meet, we eat.  We celebrate, we eat.  We travel, we eat. Then we sleep in between those "meets" and "eats."  Oh how easy it is to pack on those pounds that won't just go away.  Nevertheless, do not fear them...there is a way to overcome them and one tip is to Plan Your Meals . I used to never plan my meals.  I'd just eat what I felt like eating each meal a...

Happy Hari Raya Day!! :) Today is a special day in the islam world and I have only recently learnt what it means.  Every year on my calendar, I would see that all the islam countries would have this day off a national holiday but I never understood its significance until my previous trip to Malaysia.  Today is the end of Ramadan and it is a big celebration. From my understanding, it is a bit like Christmas.  Family members gather together for the Friday prayer.  There is a special prayer for the end of Ramadan and all those who attend, dress up in their best traditional clothes.  It's a time for celebration. Shops are filled with shoppers buying gifts and special delicacies are cooked up for the celebration.  Family members from around the country unite together.  Prisoners are released from jail as acts of good faith.  It is a day of celebration and good deeds. On my visit there, my friend bought me these wonderfully delicious traditional c...