5 ways on how to make yourself happy

As a working mother, I hardly get time for myself. My life is such a routine and sometimes I wonder what values do I bring to myself and others. This is life of a woman. Be it a working woman or SAHM. We have our own set of challenges. You have so much of things to do that you don't have time for yourself. You have to think of your kids, your house chores, your work and of course your husband! You see, we wear many hats in a day. As a mother, wife, daughter, sister and a worker. This isn't easy! Your mind is always occupied with something. Sometimes, you even dream about it! Have you ever had this thought? Can I pause for a while and think how do I balance up my life?

1. Always find time for yourself
In the 24 hours allocated to us, can we find at least 15mins for ourselves ? Do something you really like. It's hard though. Buy we can prioritize to make sure we have this time everyday. My passion is reading. I try to make time to read. Although it takes months to complete 1 book compared to  few days when I was single. It is still an achievement to me. 

2. Get a time out
Arrange for someone to look after your child. Go and catch a movie. Or meet up with your friends. It may sound selfish sometimes because you may feel you are neglecting your children but you deserve this break.

3. House chores can wait!
Working mothers always feel they don't spend much time with their kids. After a hectic day at work, they often need to choose whether to finish up house work or to be with the kids. Choose wisely, spend quality time with your kids. House chores can wait. Kids should be the first priority. What do you get by doing this? Contentment!

4. Break free from routine 
Life is never ending cycle of works. Sometimes it gets too routine that we just keep going and going without realising we forgot to pause. When we keep doing the same thing over and over we get bored too.Try to break free from this cycle. Maybe a weekend gateway with family?  Or even a day's trip to somewhere ? 

5. Reward yourself cautiously
I think this is very important for every human being. We are just normal humans with feelings,  right? So we just pamper ourselves with some 'materialistic' items whenever we can afford it. Buy a branded bags, watch or jewels or whatever you wish for! (Of course within our means). We must not feel guilty for doing it because we deserve this kind of treatment, as I said we are just an ordinary human with senses. If it makes ourselves feel good then it is a good thing. 

~ life is wonderful, full of meanings, it's up to us how to make sense out of it ~


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Sri Bestari's Info Day

Sri Bestari's Info Day was held on 27th of Sept 2014. Just couple of days ago, we visited Sri Utama private school located at Setapak area. Our intention was to check out both private and international schools. The Sri Utama's principal told us she is not getting many parents registering for private school as opposed to international. I reckon the main reason being most parents are now losing trust in Malaysian syllabus. Therefore, they rather send their kids to international schools even though they have to fork out quite a hefty amount of fees. In some circumstances, parents are also forced to change their kids to international schools due to the school is not able to form a class due to more and more parents are pulling out their kids from private schools. Or for those who are unable to afford it, they have no choice but to switch their kids to government schools. So, this is the reality we have to face. Another main reason why international school is favored is because the government has switched back teaching of Maths and Science in English to national language. 

Now, coming back to Sri Utama, the principal told us the school is due to increase its fee in year 2015. Therefore, she was only able to give us the fees structure for Year 1. One time payment was RM4,500 (pre registration is RM500, enrollment fee is RM1,000, security deposit is RM3,000) and per annum is RM11,700 exclusive of food (RM700 per semester), books (RM500) and uniform (RM300). The international school fees is the same as the private for the first year, however this is subject to change next year and also increases every 2 or 3 years. The syllabus for private school is taught in national language. But I was told the teachers would also use English to teach Maths and Science during the same time.

At Sri Bestari, the school looks like an ordinary school. We were greeted by few primary school ambassadors dressed in green-white uniforms. They took us for a tour before the briefing by the primary school principal. She highlighted the key features of the school which includes teaching of World Maths and World Science in English. This would be taught in extra hours but within the school timetable.Their core subjects are language classes (French/Japanese/Mandarin), PA (Performing Arts) and abacus.  The one time payment is RM2,700 (registration is RM850, deposit is RM1,700, entrance exam is RM150). Per annum the fees would be RM12,410 from Year 1 till Year 5. This is exclusive of food, uniform and books (approx. RM1000). For Year 6, the fees would be slightly higher - RM12,935. They have 2 classes for Year 1 and their entrance exams are scheduled in October. The school surroundings are green and also registered as Eco-School. 

Well, how shall I say? Life is not easy.When it comes at each milestones for your children, you will have to do lots of thinking taking into considerations of each factor and of course, money being the most important. There are times that you want the best for the child. But, only you know if you have tried best enough to give what you can. 

3 sure ways to save money

Are you eyeing for something ? Maybe a gold necklace? A silver bracelet? Or anything ? But you are not sure how you are able to save ?  You are struggling to make ends meet and you are not able to fulfill your desire to buy things you like? Fret not, all you need is determination and confidence that this will work for you. 

1. Make a point to save 10 dollars everyday. In a month you will be able to save 300 dollars. Promise yourself you will never miss a day of saving and at the end of month, you will have 300 dollars. 

2. Cut down your visits to restaurants & cafes. Yes, you heard it right. This one surely will add on your savings drastically. With most of the restaurants imposing service and government tax, eating out has become expensive now. Pack your own lunch or cook up simple dishes at night, these meals are much more healthier than eating out. Plus, you are able to save money by adopting this habit.

3. Revisit all your auto subscriptions. You might have subscribed to magazines or satellite TV stations. But, are you making use of all your subscriptions? It is time to check and ask yourself again do you really need it? Is it really worth the money? Terminate it if you are not using it, you could save few bucks. Or check your satellite TV channels again, switch to packages or customize it so you are maximizing the use. Every single cents count.

There are many ways to save money. It is important to understand your own spending habits and work out a plan which will work for you. Start small, soon you shall be reaping the benefits if you are determined to achieve your goals.

Angels in the sky

Tomorrow will mark another important day of all Malaysians. They are returning home. Unfortunately and sad to say they are returning to their homeland as angels. This unforgettable incident indeed very hard to be remembered. These innocent people lives were taken abruptly. They had no chance to think nor to say bye to loved ones for one final time. Too many kids who hoped to live longer and wished for great future were all perished in this horrible accident. Who were to be blamed ? Who were responsible ? Were they remorseful ? We have no answers for these questions. Only tears of their loved ones flowed freely to show the sadness on their face. They have to face the truth now. Their loved ones were gone. Their last moments were unpredictable. Too many sad stories. It is hard to accept. Why all this happened to us? We have no answers. All left were bits and bits of remnants. Too hard to be digested. Will this pain go away? All we have to believe now is they became angels in just nick of time. Angels in the sky. Rest in peace MH17 passengers. Hope the God gives the strength to all the family members to go thru this trial.

An extraordinary Thursday....

Today was an extraordinary Thursday for me. Different from the normal routine working day. Today was the day we were granted an opportunity to meet our well known public figure Dato' Bridget Menezes, a music teacher turned to motivational speaker, an author and self empowerment guru. She doesn't seem old for her age, full of positiveness and speaks with confidence. She says below, summary of what I understand :

1. "Always breed positiveness in your mind and actions"

2. "Never let your mentality to be challenged by things which you cannot control"

3. "Accept irritations from people. Treat is as normal. Don't let it to interfere in your life"

4. "Don't let problems to overpower you. Take control of your life. You are the master of your own destiny"

5. "Train yourself to be content of what you have. We have to be "OK" with whatever"

6. "There are 2 days in a week which are very important - Yesterday and Tomorrow. Stop worrying about past which already happened and future which you have no idea what is in store for you"

7. "Free your mind from clutter and worriness. And solution will come to you in no time. Clutter-free mind helps you to think clearly and make wise decisions"

8. "Always remember the Law of Justice. In everyday life, observe what do you do and what do you think"

9. "Avoid ego, anger, possession"

10. "Keep giving. Giving is receiving. Remember Nature of Law"

11. "Be Happy, No Matter What!"

Dato' Bridget ended the talk by giving a card to everyone of us. She said the message written on each card reflects our own state of mind. And I think she was right!

KL Bird Park ~ 6th July 2014

Our weekend getaway was the KL Bird Park. Located nearby the famous Lake Gardens, this bird park promises serenity and peace for those who wish to escape from hustle and bustle of the city. The entrance fee was quite reasonable for MyKad owners(RM25). With the current ongoing promotion, a child's ticket is free of change with purchase of an adult's ticket. There are plenty of birds species here. It is said that this place is the world's largest free flight aviary. It is a nice place to bring children along, to educate & expose them to variety of birds species. To explore the entire place including watching the bird show (0.5 hours) would take 2.5-3 hours (depending on how fast you walk, we entered at 9.30am and exited at 1pm). There are lots of places to rest in between of your walk. There is also a playground for kids. Below are the few pictures taken by unprofessional photographer :)

Time to plan for the next weekend gateway soon!

The Return To Self

Should we remind ourselves everyday that one day we will no longer be in this world ? That we all will eventually return to the earth to where we belong? After all we are nothing but just a clump of clay? Would it matter then how you lived in this world ? Would it matter then how much money or richness you made? Would it matter then how many properties you own? All the physical wealth which you have painstakingly made cannot be brought to where you belong. How are you giving to make yourself remembered ? Or does it really matter? We compare our richness with others, we push ourselves to make more money. We compare our children with others' kids, we push our kids to work harder. We see people driving brand new vehicles, we want it too. We see people buying luxury condo, living lavishly, we want it too. Everything is just revolving physical, physical and physical wealth!!! Money is everywhere. Everything we touch and see is money. When are we going to start living a real life ? When are we going to realize we, each of us is an image of the One? We shall all return to Him one day. Why should we have hatred? Why should we have jealousy? We think so hard everyday. We think about ourselves and people every minute from the moment we rise up everyday till we sleep. We worry about our future. Our minds never stop working. We remember we should we pamper our bodies but we forget our souls. We forgot our souls needs rest too. We forgot we need to surrender to the One everyday as we shall return to Him when the day comes. Instead, we concentrate so much in our daily chores and focus endlessly into worrying about things we cannot control. We need to calm our inner soul. We need to provide enough rest to the soul everyday. Get a quiet moment everyday whereby we think nothing. Just nothing but feel the peace within while we seek the guidance from Him. We should be reminded everyday that what we need is a simple life not a complicated ones.