Nuffnang

Friday, January 25, 2013

.: Detoxification :.


The husband asked if I’m completely detoxing myself from books for the year. Aside from 50 Shades of Grey - which I personally don’t get what the hype of this book is all about – aside from the explicit descriptions of each ‘acts’, I find this book not as well written as that of my fav authors – I digress, I have not touched a book since the beginning of this year.
 
I explained to him that in order for me to execute #run365 or even to kickstart it, sacrifices of such have to be made. If I were to be in a situation where I had to choose between exercising or cuddling in bed with a good book, it’s no brainer which will triumph. With that, I have to try to abstain from such ‘temptations’ and hopefully, when the exercising becomes a habit instead of a consciously-made-choice, only shall I return to my first love – my books. In the meantime, the bookshelves shall keep them safe for now.
 
And oh, my favourite series Suits is back again! Woots! Woots! :)

Thursday, January 24, 2013

.: I'm A Ninja :.

So, I got this top a couple of months ago at a bazaar at MMU while attending Yin's graduation.

It says "I'M NINJA" and I just adore this top coz it was just too cute! (it's handmade, so it's definately one of a kind - or so I think!)

Source : Summer Treehouse

Anyways, whenever I wear this top, I will go to my husband and say "I'm a .... NIIIIN - JAHHHH!" multiple times till it annoys the crap out of him (wifely duty completed!)

Today, he had a ninja joke that he wanted tell me, and before he could tell me his joke, I interjected and told this to him :

Kath : Dear, guess what! (whispering tone) I'm a... niiiin - jahhhh!
John : Uh-huh! Really? I don't believe you!
Kath : Did you see me do that?
John : Do what? (started laughin as he saw where I was goin)
Kath : Exactly!

The very few rare moments where the husband actually gets the joke! :)

Saturday, January 19, 2013

.: A Tour Of My Workplace :.


Friday, January 18, 2013

.: It Is But, Just A Number :.


Thursday, January 10, 2013

.: Living In The Moment :.

My current feel-good song on repeat mode! Love it! :)

If this life is one act
Why do we lay all these traps
We put them right in our path
When we just wanna be free

I will not waste my days
Making up all kinds of ways
To worry about some things
That will not happen to me

So I just let go of what I know I don't know
And I know I'll only do this by
Living in the moment
Living our life
Easy and breezy
With peace in my mind
With peace in my heart
Peace in my soul
Wherever I'm going, I'm already home
Living in the moment

I'm letting myself off the hook for things I've done
I let my past go past
And now I'm having more fun
I'm letting go of the thoughts
That do not make me strong
And I believe this way can be the same for everyone

And if I fall asleep
I know you'll be the one who'll always remind me
To live in the moment
To live my life
Easy and breezy
With peace in my mind
I got peace in my heart
Got peace in my soul
Wherever I'm going, I'm already home

I can't walk through life facing backwards
I have tried
I tried more than once to just make sure
And I was denied the future I'd been searching for
But I spun around and searched no more
By living in the moment
Living my life
Easy and breezy
With peace in my mind
I got peace in my heart
Got peace in my soul
Wherever I'm going, I'm already home

I'm living in the moment
I'm living my life
Just taking it easy
With peace in my mind
I got peace in my heart
I got peace in my soul
Oh, wherever I'm going, I'm already home
I'm living in the moment
I'm living my life
Oh, easy and breezy
With peace in my mind
I got peace in my heart
I got peace in my soul
Oh, wherever I'm going, I'm already home
I'm living in the moment

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

.: Financial Stewardship :.

The typical stereotype of an accountant would be “Oh, you are an accountant? Must be kiamsap (stingy)!”

Firstly, this is a stereotyping statement. There are many accountants out there who are not by any means stingy or frugal, quite the opposite really. Heck, there are even handfuls that I know who are not very careful with their money (albeit poor financial management).

The reason for this post today was that last night, before bed, the Husband & I was having this conversation (ok fine, it’s more like I couldn’t sleep, so I wake up the poor Husband and talked to him). We were talking about our childhood, and he told me stories of how his parents had been very very careful with their money as they didn’t have much. You see, both his parents are teachers (government servants) and hence of a slightly average income. They did not live in poverty of course, but there are many little luxuries that they are denied of. For e.g. trips outstation/overseas, eating out or eating at fast food joints, etc.

For my family, we too didn’t come from a rich background. My dad started from the bottom of the ladder as a clerk, equipped with a basic diploma, to be where he is today. As for my mom, she was a small-town Malacca girl that was travelled to KL to find a job that would support her and her younger siblings.

If you know the both of us well, you would know that we are very prudent with our money. I would like to think frugal slightly bordering stingy, but I suppose some may beg to differ.

The reason I am the way I am, is really because of my parents. They have taught me the value of money at a very young age – and tho I didn’t understand at that time, and perhaps have wailed and cried my lungs out a couple of time when they didn’t get me what I wanted, I now take that as a very precious lesson. My parents do not believe in spending money unnecessarily – why pay RM100, when you can pay RM10 for an item that provides the same function at an equal quality, if not better? They also believe that you should always do your research before making a purchase decision, to get the best quality at the best price. For e.g., you’d be surprise to know how much we could save from doing a lil research, and with the help of Uncle Google, you literally have all the info you need on your fingertips. My own add on to this is the concept of “opportunity & time cost”, which I in turn tried to educate my mom on.

As for the husband, his values are instilled to him at a very young age. Until this day, he remembers the lesson that his dad taught him on compound interest – one of the 8th wonder of the world. He also learned from his mom on the power of savings, but his on add on is the power of investments, where your returns is twice as high (or even more) than the normal put-in-FD mentality.

With the two of us combined, we sync very well in terms of financial management of our household, namely because we both have the similar sense of value, which is a good thing. On the other hand, I was putting up this challenge to The Husband to relook into our spending/saving habits and also looking into it on a long-term basis. In short, we went to bed without a conclusion, but it’s definitely a thought that I will revisit soon again.

When I was having this conversation, it brought tears to my eyes, telling my husband the stories of my maternal grandpa’s struggle as a kid living in poverty. My grandpa is unbelievable frugal and up to his dying days, he was still thinking about saving a couple of dollars.

I know that in the end, money isn’t everything. It is very true, but even the Bible tells us that we must be careful with our spendings i.e. practice good financial stewardship. What are your thoughts?

The wise store up choice food and olive oil,but fools gulp theirs down. Proverbs 21:20

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish. Luke 14:28-30

Friday, January 4, 2013

.: Giveaway :.

A giveaway that would be a delightful pressie to win for the new year~
Check it out at her blog : http://azlina-lin.blogspot.com



.: Hen's Night :.

Reminising of my hen's night makes me appreciate my crazy friends more and more each day!

"I ride bareback!"

"Depends on the mood!"

Ohhhh.. just can't wait til my Tigger's turn! :)

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

.: New Year's Resolution :.

Ok, so it’s the New Year, which usually also marks the time where new resolutions are made. I one am not a big fan of new year resolutions, because, for me, it’s usually a goal made at the spur of the moment, and I would be so gung-ho over it for the next couple of days (or weeks, if the hype last that long – read here on my (lack-of) attention span ) and then, it just dies – like my pet Wamu that I abandoned in Pet Society (read here for more on Wamu ).

However, last year, I have, subconsciously, set a goal for myself and with that; it has become last year’s new year’s resolution. My goal was to read at least 50+ books in a year. And then, Bridget introduced me to this #52booksin52week , and with that, 52 books became my target. I am proud to say that I have achieved Year 2012 resolution, as I completed the last book right in the nick of time, on New Year’s eve. I must also add, that this is on top and above my sudden addiction to watching TV series as well (read here on the number of series I have watched for the year! )

This year, after giving it much thought, I decided to focus on my health. If you have already known, I am really prone of getting sick, and I believe that this is partially caused by my unhealthy lifestyle. So, I decided to embrace #run365, which, personally for me, is to walk/jog/run for a minimum of 365km in Year 2013. I know the distance is easy-peasy for some, heck, it’s like running 8 marathons, which I know many of my friends do, but for a couch potato like myself, I hope that this goal is a motivation and an achievable target for me to work towards to. I am planning to use a combination of methods and advise of this programme called C25k , which stands for (Couch To 5km), which is a designed for a couch potato like myself to running at least 5km without collapsing! A site recommended by my besties on the basics of running!

I know as an full-grown adult, I should not rely on others to push me to achieve this goal, as I personally feel that all these should be self-motivated (*winks at Ben*), but a little encouragement would be nice! :)

So here’s to #run365 ! Cheers! :)
Blog Widget by LinkWithin