Grandfather's Wooden Bowl

"A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in- law, and four-year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table, but the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in- law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about Grandfather, ” said the son. “I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.” Therefore, the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.

There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?”

Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.” The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather’ s hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days, he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled."

I have always thought that scenarios like these only happen in stories or overly sappy Chinese drama serials. Well sadly, our stories and crappy drama serials are based on real life and more often then not, it doesn't end quite as sweetly as the story.

Daylight Savings

Woohoo! Daylight savings just kicked in yesterday in the wee hours, so now we're 5 hours ahead instead of the usual 4. The sun is now setting at 7:30pm instead of 6:30pm. I know I know, it's cheating since all we did was move the clock forward but hey, anything for a longer day eh?

The weather is going to be crap the whole of this week. No idea how we'll manage to go skiing this weekend. Although it's the perfect kinda weather for snuggling in bed and all that rain just makes me want to stay in bed until Wednesday.

I'm feeling soooo schleepy at work.
Yawn.
Stretch.
Another 6 more hours to go.

Mondays are no fun.

John Key on Letterman

Psst. In case you're wondering who John Key is, he's the Prime Minister of New Zealand.

Boobs on Bikes

Today is Boobs on Bikes Parade day!

They'll be a bunch of porn stars driving topless up and down CBD.

And today of all days, I forgot my camera! Sorry guys!

Update:
Caught the tail end of the parade as I was on my way out to get lunch. Saw this bunch of topless girls, sitting astride a huge army tank that was driving down the street. Picture that! ;)

Confession of a (once-in-a-while) Shopaholic

I have a confession. I went shopping and spent a bomb. Well, it wasn't exactly a BOMB bomb but it's going against my whole goal of spending less and saving more.

I have to justify my spending because I'm guilt-tripping.

Justifications:

1. I shop only at a few boutiques in Auckland. For those of you who have been here, you know what I mean. Let's just say Auckand isn't the place for you if you're constantly in need of retail therapy.

2. I only shop at Country Road when they're on sales and today was their first day of mid-season sales, and I just so happened to arrive at work earlier than usual and found the store already open with 20% discount (for VIP members, which I am. Yay!) on top of already discounted items. (It's like the stars have aligned and it's just meant to be!)

3. I've been studying for the bloody godamn CFA. My personal opinion is that whoever invented the qualification ought to be shot! I have no life now. I shuttle from home to work and back home again in evenings in time to cook dinner before hitting the books. I'm a NERD, just not the brainy type. The type that has to mug in the vain hope of passing the stupid exam where pass rates are 50% or an impossible statistic like that. Oh I can go on complaining forever about this.

Anyhow, I couldn't possible turn down a good sales and I need to reward myself for being such a NERD, so I happily trotted into the store.

45 minutes later and very late for work, I walked out bearing 2 identical tops in different colours (I couldn't decide which colour to buy, so I bought them both! BUT I can return one of them in 14 days and get a full refund), 1 oh-so-cute tulip skirt (which I just might get the hem shortened so it'll look oh-so-much-cuter) and 2 leather belts. (I need belts! I lost my last Country Road belt and I've been looking for it for ages now!)

I feel so much better. Ah. A good start to a Wednesday.

Opposites

This is so cheesy it makes you want to roll your eyes.
Burst out laughing when I read this:

"You're the ying to my yang... the apple to my crumble... the ice to my cream..."

Moments.

Read this is someone's About Me page.

My proudest moment is now.

My least proud moments are too many to list.

My happiest moments are now.

My unhappiest moments are too few and too unimportant to remember.

It's a good mantra to live by.

Forgetful Lucy

Lately, I've becoming more and more forgetful. Just the other day, I stood in front of the pantry for a full minute trying to figure out what I was planning to get out of the pantry. I had forgotten what I wanted to retrieve in the 5 nano-seconds it took for me to open the door!

Is it just me? Or does it happen to you too?

One Perfect Rose

(by Dorothy Parker)

A single flow'r he sent me, since we met.
All tenderly his messenger he chose;
Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet -
One perfect rose.

I knew the language of the floweret;
'My fragile leaves,' it said, 'his heart enclose.'
Love long has taken for his amulet
One perfect rose.

Why is it no one ever sent me yet
One perfect limousine, do you suppose?
Ah no, it's always just my luck to get
One perfect rose.

(Love Dorothy Parker! Doesn't she just crack you up?!)

Men v.s. Women

A couple drove down a country road for several miles,
not saying a word.

An earlier discussion had led to an argument and

neither of them wanted to concede their position.

As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs,

The husband asked sarcastically, 'Relatives of yours?'

'Yep,' the wife replied, 'in-laws.'

Not So Last Minute Scramble

It is at least 3 months to Christmas and I thought I'll book Cooper in to his regular boarding kennel early for the Christmas period since his regular walker is unable to take him. (Ha! Little did I know.) I called up his kennel and was told that they were full since January this year! Went into full panic mode and started calling up boarding kennels as far as outside Auckland. I was told by 5 different boarding kennels that they were full, some as early as May. Are you kidding me?!

Managed to find 2 smaller kennels which are located west of Auckland. It's a 45-minute drive from where we are but I was so glad to have found a kennel with vacancies that I didn't care if I had to drive to another state just to board him.

We'll have to bring the Coopster in for an orientation tomorrow. (Seriously, this is like bringing a kid on his first day of school! Did I somehow sign up for parenthood without even realising?!) Have 2 appointments set up, one at 12:30pm and the other at 1:45pm. These 2 kennels only accept well-socalised dogs with mild temperaments. The Coopster better behave tomorrow else he'll be sleeping on the streets while we're holidaying in Singapore and Perth.

Guinea Pig: Natural & Organic Skincare

I've been furiously researching online and have been zipping into pharmacies and healthcare shops in a bid to mine the minds of these healthcare/hippies/mother-earthy-let's-all-embrace-mother-nature type of folks.

After shopping around, I've gone ahead and bought some oil products and I have to say I'm a new convert to using body oils and facial oils as moisturisers! Odd as that may sound, especially from someone who has oily skin in summer, but the oils does not leave your face or body greasy at all. In fact, the oils get absorbed so fast, sometimes it's a race to spread it around before it disappears into your skin. Plus it's good to know that these oils are au naturale and free from harmful chemicals. Also I'm my mother's willing guinea pig and am happy to test out the products before buying it back for her. Fun!

Here's what I'm currently using:

Trilogy Rosehip Oil

I really like this company and their ethics. Their products are made from organic and natural ingredients, free from parabens, have minimal preservatives (unfortunately also means they last for about 6-9 months after opening), and the range is really affordable. This is their signature product and have received lots of raves around the world.
Will definitely buy this for mom.

Springfields Vanilla Bean Massage & Body Oil

This is my favourite new purchase! A little goes a long way and I love love love the vanilla scent. Sometimes I use more than needed just so that I can spend the whole day smelling all vanilla-y.

And this for mom too.





Dr Hauschka Toned Day Cream

My first tube of tinted moisturiser. Figured I can do with a bare hint of colour since I'm just too lazy to put on makeup. To be honest, I'm not blown away by this moisturiser. It's not moisturising enough for the weather now. I reckon it'll be more suitable in summer. Not one of my favourites, and to top it off, it's the most expensive of the lot. Blah.

Best Kind of Diet

If you haven't heard, it's called the "Seafood Diet".

You see food, and you eat it!

My kinda diet. ;)

Go Organic. Go Natural. Go Green.

I've been meaning to blog about the latest fad of mine but Kym beat me to it on her blog. (Notice I used the word "fad" because I don't think I'll be able to keep up with this long because I have absolutely no discipline when it comes to food but while I'm at it, I'll be loud and proud.)

Lately, I've been into everything organic and natural and green. Partly because of all the articles and websites that I've been reading up on the amount of synthetic chemicals in our food, in our cosmetics and skincare and how much harm it's causing our bodies. Call me paranoid or just well-informed but I'm starting to study the ingredients list whenever I make a purchase.

I've started eating more healthily, and buying organic food when I can. So it's more milk, yoghurt, cheese, organic muesli and less chocolates and sugar-coated jellies. I'm also saying no to poor cooped up chickens in their little cages. Only free-range chickens and eggs. I'm taking manuka honey, wholemeal bread and more fruits. (Kiwi fruits are priced at 99cents per kg here. How cheap is that? I can buy half a dozen for 60cents!) I still think salads are meant to be appertizers and not the main itself, I hardly ever eat vegetables and I really don't like plain water but hey, it's a start.

New Zealand has a few of their own organic skincare product lines. I'm slowly switching to these organic products. I'm saying no to parabens, urea, formaldehyde deratives or sulphates in my skincare products. Sure the natural skincare lines are usually more expensive but well worth the extra dollar, besides aren't we already spending a whole bunch of money on our comestics. While we're at it, we might as well buy something that's worth it's price tag. 

There are quite a few websites out there with information on the toxins in our makeup and skincare. Here are some which might interests you. You'll find a lot of information online.

http://safecosmetics.org/index.php
http://beautytruth.com/
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php