Dreams Are Made Of…
Do you believe in magic? Or miracles? Well… I stopped believing in magic and miracles once my hope and dreams are shattered, but I do believe that things can get better each day if you make effort to make things right from the bottom of your heart. I believe in living, and not just existing, and though there are times that I feel that I’m being pulled in the pit of a black hole, I try very, very hard to pull myself back up.
Does that make sense to you? A lot of people told me my actions does not make sense anymore these days, and I must be really out of my mind to be doing what I’m doing right now, but should I care what people think of me? Well, obviously not, because to me, what people think about me is none of my business. Only what I think of myself is important. MY opinion is the only thing that matters when it concerns myself.
You know… there are reasons why I distance myself from a lot of people these days. I no longer feel that I can open up to people…not even to close friends, cuz some things just hurt too deep, and I need to heal without people telling me what to do and judging me. Confiding does not bring any emotional relief anymore these days.
Shit happens. Shit always happens, but that does not mean you can’t try to clean it up and flush it away. If I were to describe my life, it would be an equivalence to a fantastic soap opera, with extremely good actor and actresses who deserves more than an Oscar award. Yes, each and every one of them deserves more than an Oscar, but as they say, if you can’t beat them, join them and make the best of it. My existence may not be relevant to many, but I’m relevent to me, myself and I and that’s all that matters.
Cleffairy: Dreams are made of unknown reality.
Intimate Night with Ephyra
Would you agree with me if I say that marriage is a bed of roses? I’m not sure if you’d agree with me, but to me, marriage is like a bed of roses with thorns. It’s beautiful, but at the same time, can be painful and deadly. If you don’t thread carefully, you’ll definitely drown, especially when your marriage is on the rocks. Neway, being one of Ephyra’s official blogger, I was invited to an intimate dinner with Ephyra for social media influencers.
When I first started to drink Ephyra, I had no idea that their official spokeperson is this famous and yet scandalous Malaysian artist. They used to make lotsa headline with their love affair before they got married. I won’t divulge much about their past, but for those who have been following the Malaysian entertainment industry will probably know what I’m talking about.
Norman Hakim and Memey Suhaiza. I’m envious of this couple. Despite of the stress cooked up by the entertainment journalists every now and then, they are still as lovey dovey as ever. 😀
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And their secret is? Well…not just Ephyra, but staying connected by doing things that they mutually like together. 😀 Simple thing but something that most couple take for granted, including me and my other half.
Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad that I was invited for the intimate dinner with Ephyra and other social media influencers. I’ve learned quite a lot from Norman Hakim and Memey Suhaiza, and before I end this post, I must say that Ephyra has changed my life for the better. Check out my previous post on Ephyra HERE and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Cleffairy: What God has joined together, let no man put asunder
Wordless Wednesday: Broken Clock
Heart Healing Advice That Actually Works
Often when we see advice about getting over a breakup, or healing a wounded heart, the advice pertains to one gender or the other. For example, guys are supposed to visit strip clubs with their buddies, and girls are expected to go have spa days with their friends. It’s all very pretentious advice; guys, when was the last time a lap dance from a paid stripper made you feel better about a breakup? And girls, do freshly painted nails really take away the hurt?
Instead of offering the same old b.s., in this article we’ll go over four real, honest ideas for how to heal the heart – or at least how to forget about your ex for a day at a time in the early going. Here we go.
Drink – At Home, With Friends
Drinking is a tricky idea. Sometimes it’s exactly the solution you need; sometimes it’s a disaster, and you wind up pouring your heart out to your aggravated ex’s voicemail (not good). But drinking at home (going out can feel like a high pressure situation right after a breakup), with friends (drinking alone is just sad, unless you’re a brooding artist who actually enjoys Maker’s Mark) can be a blast. A couple drinks in with the people who care about you and you’ll find yourself laughing instead of crying – almost guaranteed.
Do Something Irresponsible
It’s inevitable after a breakup to worry about what you might have done wrong. Instead, try to take a different approach – do something else you might consider wrong. My advice? Visit the Casino at Betfair online. This is an online casino that’s nothing but a good time, offering you the full casino experience at a single website. I’m partial to sports betting and video poker myself, but live games, slot machines, etc. can also draw your attention. And after a breakup, doing something you’d ordinarily consider bold or irresponsible – like gambling a $200 hand in poker – can be oddly liberating.
Get In Shape – Quickly
There’s a temptation to overeat following a breakup. You know – lounge around watching re-runs of cheesy TV shows and stuff your face with oreos, and whatnot. If this really helps, go for it. If not, hit the gym hard, fast and often. This isn’t about distracting yourself, or “developing positive energy,” or anything worthless like that. Rather, it’s about something most of us want but won’t admit: winning. 6 months after your breakup, you want to be able to objectively look at yourself and your ex and say, “I win.” Being in the best shape of your life isn’t everything, but it counts.
Have Sex
If it feels too personal, fine – no one’s pressuring you. But don’t get caught up in feeling dirty, needy, or anything else negative. Human beings like sex, and intimacy with someone new, with no feelings attached, gets your confidence back up and helps you to gain some perspective.
Cleffairy: We’re all responsible for our own happiness. Don’t let anyone else convince you otherwise.
Be A G.U.T Mom
Quite some time ago, Friso Gold and a group of celebrity mothers calls for Malaysian mothers to embrace and enjoy the journey of growing up together with their children. I was there to witness the meaningful event and I have to say that I’ve learned quite a few things from these successful celebrity mothers.
In line with the launch of its’ newly improved formulated milk powder for children fully imported from Holland, premium milk powder brand Friso Gold has joined hands with a group of celebrity mothers to call for Malaysian moms to experience the growing up journey with their children.
Supporting the call to “Be a G.U.T. Momâ€, which abbreviates ‘Growing Up Together’ are actress, TV host, entrepreneur and joyful mother to a pair of twins, Sazzy Falak; actress, model, TV host and proud mother to a 1-year-9-months-old girl, Belinda Chee; fashion designer, creative director of fashion label PU3 and mother to a 2-year old boy, Putri Azalea Ramli; TV host, film producer, director of Kakiseni and mother of four children, Low Ngai Yuen; and a group of like-minded Malaysian mothers who strongly believe in the importance of experiencing with their kids during the growing up years.
Studies have shown that a child develops best through experiences and discoveries. A mother’s role is to encourage her children by joining them to explore and discover the world together. There will be times when children may stumble and fall, but allowing them to learn while holding their hands and cheering them on is the best support a mother can provide along the way.
During the meaningful event, they also introduce its newly improved formula, developed specifically to help improve a child’s natural body resistance.
Friso Gold is specially-formulated with Frisoshield, which contains a blend of nutrients, such as GOS, Zinc, Vitamins D and B6 and Selenium that are important for a child’s natural body resistance.
Local celebrity mothers shared their experiences of growing up together with their children over a casual chit-chat session at the event. Sazzy Falak, Belinda Chee, Putri Azalea Ramli and Low Ngai Yuen enthralled guests with amusing anecdotes, accompanied with photographs of precious growing up together moments with their little ones.
As an act of support to Friso Gold’s movement, all mothers at the launch event including the celebrity moms, donned on the “Be a G.U.T. Mom†badge, pledging their commitment and support. Friso Gold ambassadors Sazzy and Belinda were more than joyful to drive the call for the movement. Moms who are interested to pledge your commitment and support to “Be a G.U.T. Mom†movement can go to Friso Gold Malaysia Facebook to download its profile badge.
For more information about Friso Gold, visit www.friso.com.my or contact the Friso Careline at 1800-88-1647 (Monday-Friday, 8.30am – 4.30am). Follow Friso Gold on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FrisoGrowingUpTogether.
Cleffairy: The journey of growing up together is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Spend more time with your children, so that the bond you share remains as strong. Together with Friso Gold, “Be a G.U.T. Mom†today and create wonderful ‘Growing Up Together’ memories that you will cherish throughout the years.
Stretching My Ringgits
I know that this ranting comes a tad late, but since Malaysian government has decided that it’s gonna be awesome if they raise the fuel price by 20 cent. The folks in parliament and the smartass economists seems to think that 20cent increase will not be a burden to the citizens, but I beg to differ. The increase has terrible domino effect as when fuel price is increased, the rest of the goods will follow suit and the cost of living will point to the sky, and will never, ever go down again, even if fuel price decrease in the future (which I highly doubt).
I’ve been feeling quite a pinch in my pocket ever since the fuel price increase, and I bet most of you shares the same sentiment. I know, I know, we’re all in the same boat. Everything is getting expensive, and yet our buying power is getting weaker. I used to be able to feed my entire family with just RM100 per week, but not anymore. If I were to shop for groceries, I would have to bring more than just Rm100 to get everything that I need for one week of supplies. So they say, if you can’t afford to buy something, just omit it from your list or get something equivalent with cheaper price to adapt to the economic environment. But…but…but, those fellas in parliament and the smart fellas in banks says it’s not supposed to be a burden…so WHY??? WHY???? Why do I have to lower down my standards of living and go backwards? I’m supposed to go forward. MALAYSIA IS SUPPOSED TO GO FORWARD! NOT BACKWARDS.
*SIGH* Since the recent fuel hike, I noticed that I’ve been paying at least 20% extra for everything. Wow… I suppose this is very healthy for our national treasury reserve, huh? It must be *bling bling bling* with the citizen’s Ringgits by now.
I’m not exactly a happy camper right now. I used to earn less, but spend more and still have extras in the savings at the end of the day. But now…I’m earning more than before and yet I still can’t spend more though and I have almost nothing in the account by the end of the day. I don’t believe in lowering my standard of living to adapt with the current economic environment. To lower down my standard of living is like cutting off meals from a child who is growing up. How can you feed your child less when he/she needs the nutrients to grow up?
So what can we do? We can sit here and complain about our predicament… or…we can find a way out to at least maintain our standard of living with the low Ringgit value. I’m no politician or economist (oh, God forbids!) but I do know a trick or two to combat the awful economic environment and maintain my living standards.
One of it is to make the most out of nothing. Did I get you confused, yet? Well, take this for an example. I’m a smartphone user. And I discovered that there are plenty of apps out there that gives you benefit in terms of voucher redemption. Among them is CellAds.
So what is CellAds? CellAds is a mobile application and mobile content advertising solution, available for Android and Blackberry users.
CellAds is an advertising application developed by Cell Adverts Solution Pvt. Ltd. for smartphones. It will display ads on smart phone screens when you receive calls or SMS and points will be credited into your account after that.
Here is how you can collect points to redeem various kinds of voucher:
First time download = 50 Ads.Point
Each time a pop-up ad appears during an incoming call and SMS = 5 Ads.Point
Friend invite = 200 Ads. Point
Click on any ads in the “Ads World” = 5 Ads. Point every day
Each time a pop-up ad appears during an incoming call and SMS = 5 Ads.Point
Friend invite = 200 Ads. Point
Click on any ads in the “Ads World” = 5 Ads. Point every day
The ads are not permanent and you can cancel them off anytime you want.
Here’s a video on how it works.
CellAds in a nutshell: Download, install, use it and redeem goodies and cash vouchers. So far, you can redeem KFC, McD, PizzaHut cash voucher. On a diet and wants something fun? That’s fine, you can redeem GSC Cinema cash voucher instead. Apart from that, you can also redeem mobile topup values.
So yea…if you wanna stretch your Ringgits, this is one of the way you can do it. This is the modern and a much more convenient version of coupon-ing, I must say. You can enjoy the benefit of coupons without having to cut off any coupons. 😀
CellAds apps is free to download. For more info, visit their website HERE and LIKE their Facebook Page HERE for updates.
Cleffairy: I usually hate popup ads, but hey…I’d do anything to stretch my Ringgits these days. After all, I’m a big fan of KFC and McD. Who am I to say no to things like this? It doesn’t cost me money, so yea… better redeem vouchers by using accumulated points to treat my kid with fast food rather than use my own money and use the ‘extra’ on something else. 😀
Do you love ME?
Are You a Single Mother?
It was a weekend. My husband need to work again and I happened to have an event to attend. And as usual, I brought my kid along with me. It is a norm for me to attend events or invited reviews with the kid, cuz obviously I’m the only person who could handle the kid and no babysitters is trained enough to handle the behaviour of an autistic child. Can’t blame them. Even the father of the kid finds it a horrendous task to be alone with the kid for even two hours. Yes, the boy is that challenging.
Well, thank God I have no more kids and decided not to have anymore kids for good. I can’t imagine myself having to handle newborns on my own 24/7. I’m not exactly a spring chicken anymore and I’m liable to die because of stress or go insane cuz both kids and husband just drive me crazy. Such things is toxic for the body, you know? I do wish to live a bit longer and enjoy what the world have to offer.
Anyway, enough of the rambling about things that I can never change. What I want to share with all of you today is my experience of being labeled a ‘single mother with a special need child’. Yea…I kinda get that pretty often these days. I used to be offended when people asked me if I’m a single mother…you know, well-meaning people often do ask me that. Even the teachers in my son’s school asked me that cuz some of the new teachers in school never seen my husband before and it is safe to say that my husband almost never make an appearance during the day…be it report card day or school trips. You see, his work no longer allow flexibility or time off. He even have to work on weekends these days. Full time at work and part time husband and father, as they say. I used to be offended when people asked me if I’m a single mother or a divorcee, but not anymore.
I get too much of those, and these days my replies are always casual. If I’m in the mood to entertain such personal question, I will spend some time explaining that my husband is busy working and his work requires him to work even on weekends and he can’t make it to accompany us during events/lunch/dinner/etc.
If I’m feeling cheeky, I’ll just say “What do you mean the boy is my son? He’s my kid brother. My mum is having a field day at spa and I got stuck babysitting him.” I usually get away with this too. Hehehe…the kid looks old enough to pass as my kid brother. Ah…the joy of having kids early. The older they get, the more they look like your siblings.
If I am not in the mood to entertain people,however, I will just nod and say “Yes, I’m a single mum” and stupid questions will just end there. You’ll be amazed how a “Yes” to those stupid question actually stops people from asking you more and more stupid question further. Usually if I answered a “No, I’m not a single mum, my husband is working”, people will press on and ask why he has to work on weekend, or why they never see him before. Or worst, people tend to ask me if I would be interested in having another child since my first one is a special need etc. You have no idea how tiring it is to smile and entertain stupid questions like that! Some people should just go and become a journalist and make money out of their busybody attitude.
I stopped feeling offended when people asked me if I’m a single mother. I suppose I’m older now and I can’t really give a hoot on what people thinks of my marital status. Married or not married…it is none of anyone’s business, don’t you think? After all, I don’t think I’m alone in this department. There are loads of women out there who live their lives like a widow or a single mother because they are entrusted to take care of their kids on their own while their husbands goes outstation and stuff and only meet once a month or something. I realize it is normal for women to be single when they are married. No biggie. Such things has been ongoing for God knows how long.
Cleffairy: Would love to see the day when people starts asking men if they are single fathers instead. That would be an awesome thing to see.
How To Look Good When You Feel Like Crap
My days are usually bad than good, and physical and emotional stress usually takes a toll on my body; as a result, I often feel like crap. And my emotion usually shows on my face. Clearly. And not having enough ME time caused me to look like crap too, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve to look good in a jiffy during those crazily long and miserable days. 😀 See if these tips helps you to boost your confidence too:
- Bad day and no time to style your hair? No worries, just accessorize it with a scarf or a hair band. But if all else fail, just pull it up in a scrunchie. It usually helps to hide your disastrous hair. That will buy you some time before you can make appointment with your stylist to rescue you from your hair disaster.
- No time for make up but desperately need to look good? Not in the mood to face yourself in front of the vanity mirror? There’s a trick to get around that. Lip tint usually doubles as blusher. Just apply accordingly and you’ll look refreshed and less haggard in a minute.
- Bring along hydrating mist every where you go. They help your skin to stay hydrated, even on the longest day.
- Feel awful? Had lover’s spat the night before and your eyes are swollen from crying all night long? No worries, grab a pair of sunglasses. They not only will hide your swollen eyes, but pretty cool stuff too as it makes you look like a fashionista.
- Haven’t been shopping cuz you’ve been too caught up with life and work? Limited wardrobe collection? Just accessorize. Earrings, bangles, fancy necklaces. Accessories usually helps to spice up looks without having to spend a fortune on looking good. So ladies, don’t be afraid to mix-and match.
- Last but not least, smile. Flash those pearly whites. It’s difficult to smile when you’re feeling miserable at first, but trust me, it gets easier with practice.
These are not much of a tips, but I hope it will be helpful for you as it has for me.
Cleffairy: Getting more and more vain with each passing seconds, so even when I feel miserable inside, I still will want to put on a mask, and hope that one day, the mask will be something real.