Rain, rain, go away

Rain, rain, go away...Today is a rainy day but I don't think it's the weather. Several people close to me are weathering their own storms, too. My friend R, who is having domestic issues. I would like to help, but I'm not sure if I should "meddle" at this time. My mother, too, who has diabetes which is too far gone already all we could do is make her comfortable. Teddy and I, we have our problems, too but I know in my heart that everything happens for a reason in it's own time and pace. God designed it way. We only have  to pray and be resolute.

Below is a favorite poem of mine, by Shel Silvertein. I dedicate this to everyone who feels that the burden they carry is too much. I believe there  is always a happy place


Where the Sidewalk Ends

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

Shel Silverstein

7 Worst things to say to a person who just got dumped

1. You don't look good together anyway.
2. Move on, you deserve better.
3. I guess now I can tell you that s/he made a pass at me when you were still together
4. S/he's a jerk. What did you see in him/her anyway?
5. Maybe s/he's just in for the sex or worse...for the money.
6. It's time for a makeover and a visit to that gym.
7. I told you so, it wouldn't last!

Could you say anything worse?

Creative Writing Prompt #231

Things to do + bloghopping

T.G.I.F!

Workweek's almost over! Yay! Officework's been hectic these past few weeks because of the audit requirements. I can't wait to just stay around the house because I've neglected a few things like:

• having a conversation with Teddy without dozing off
• having a cup of coffee with Teddy without rushing off in the morning
• catch up on my reading (even if it's just the newspaper) lol
• cook a decent meal (I hate canteen food!)
• and other things ::wink::

 I've been meaning to catch up on my posts. I hope you won't feel that I've neglected you, my dear readers, at all! I guess I still haven't gotten over my lost writing mojo last month :( Please bear with me. If you have tips up your sleeve on how to get it back again (that elusive writing mojo), kindly tell me. You have to be patient with me, though because I like giving advices than taking them! lol. Kidding aside, I will seriously consider and apply them.


If you like looking at pictures, you might want to peek at my Ruby Tuesday post and my favorite Skywatch Friday. As I said, I'm at a loss for words so I thought pictures of life around me would do. I've been neglecting my 30 Days of Truth but I hope to get on with it soon. You might want to start one yourself so check the list of questions here.



Anyways, I hope everyone a quality weekend!


Now on to the bloghop!

Note to self

Instead of doggedly pushing your way forward as usual, consider making a significant change to your current approach to getting things done.

Sometimes I could be bullheaded and would push on no matter what. Call that optimism. Or foolishness, on the other end. My Teddy says, adjust. Act according to circumstance. 

for the not married, soon-to-be married, and the already married...

A friend shared this via Facebook. Upon reading, I was touched by it so I thought of sharing this here...

MARRIAGE....

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes. Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce.. I raised the topic calmly. She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?
I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Dew. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her! With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now. The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.
In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage. This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.
She requested that everyday for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning.. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request. I told Dew about my wife's divorce conditions.. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully..

My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to
the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time.. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.

On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger. She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day. But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.
I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce anymore. She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead.. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other any more. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.
At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.
That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead.
The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot
give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

I finally displyed my badge code! Yay!

I was bloghopping today and doing my visiting and commenting duties and I thought, wouldn't be great to have a blog badge? When I started dabbling in the blogging world, I tried making a badge that looks like this:

But that was all to it. I've had a love-hate relationship with this badge -- I would put it in my sidebar and would take it down after a while, then would put it up again. But now that I've got a small band of followers and readers (THANKS to YOU, my friends!), I felt it has to stay in my sidebar now! Besides, some are asking for a badge exchange. It's like meeting someone for the first time and offers you a calling card and you didn't bring your own -- you know the feeling.  Another thought: it would exciting to have another blogger display my blog on their site!

Yeah, maybe I'm vain.

But just the same, I'm doing it. Maybe you can, too.

Here's how:

You will be needing an image or picture you would like to represent your site, or yourself. If your making one from scratch you'll be needing Photoshop or photoediting site such us Pixar.us. You can resize your image to whatever size you wish,  but I think the best would be 125x125.

Choose the HTML/JavaScript in the  Add a Gadget by going to the Layout page, then Page Elements.

There are 2 ways to set-up the HTML code of your button:

1. You can use Photobucket.com to upload your photo and get the html code. Copy the code where you want the button to appear in your sidebar.it would look like this:

{a href="ENTER WEBSITE HERE"}{img src="ENTER PHOTO HTML CODE HERE"/}{/a}

2. On Blogger, just open a new post, upload the resized image from your computer as if you're making an actual post. Then go to the edit HTML tab at the upper right corner and voila! copy the code and paste it in your sidebar.

Now here's the tricky part: You wouldn't want to make it hard for your friends to grab your button! You'd want the code to be "publishable" so here's how to display the badge/button code that would look like this for easy grabbing:



<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="http://fickleinpink.blogspot.com/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9tG_99_0PESzrFDxdp5JSzCip5kAkUjSykLeXLqufuzZROnVfaTcMHGNd_EA4Ycg_FH2DUseMKG2U1KMLIFuid9q6NDKDkfkEEA1UxkG0rqO7TENdSw4A-u37A0vG2qRVshFgzh1PKBep/s320/free125-5jEQ.png" border="0" /></a></div><br />

{textarea rows="3" cols="17"}{br/}Paste Your Badge's HTML Code Here{br/}{/textarea}

Don't forget!!! Change { to <; AND } to >; otherwise, your widget will not work.

Change the size of your box by changing the numbers of the rows and cols on the code provided.


Done!


Now, maybe we can exchange badge, eh?

Happy weekend!

Sensational Haiku -- Steam

Welcome to “Sensational Haiku Wednesday!”

Click here for info and background on this weekly event!

The basics:

Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!)

This week’s theme is: Steam

Resentment’s like steam
rising, put the lid on to
break, erupt havoc …

Next week’s theme: Karma

Today is...National Stress Awareness Day

To raise the importance of dealing properly with stress, the Health Resource Network(HRN) started the Stress Awareness Day in 1992

All living things experience stress everyday, in varying degrees and frequencies. It is a normal body reaction to threatening events -- real or imagined. If we feel imminent danger, we automatically go into flight or fight mode called the stress response. 

Stress could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how one looks at it.

Proper stress management can be beneficial. It can make you perform better at a faster pace, can make you stay alert and focused on the task at hand.

But inability to cope with external stressors can have an effect on our health, both physical and emotional.


According to CSM, Center for Stress Management,  the following symptoms are indications of stress overload and therefore must attended to immediately.

• Alcohol/drug abuse
• Avoidance/phobias
• Sleep disturbances/insomnia
• Increased nicotine/caffeine intake
• Restlessness
• Loss of appetite/overeating
• Anorexia, bulimia
• Aggression/irritability
• Poor driving
• Accident proneness
• Impaired speech/voice tremor
• Poor time management
• Compulsive behaviour
• Checking rituals
• Tics, spasms
• Nervous cough
• Low productivity
• Withdrawing form relationships
• Clenched fists
• Teeth grinding
• Type A behaviour e.g. talking/walking/eating
• faster;competitive; hostile;
• Increased absenteeism
• Decreased/increased sexual activity
• Eat/walk/talk faster
• Sulking behaviour
• Frequent crying
• Unkempt appearance
• Poor eye contact

Take the Stress test HERE

If you think you are stressed out already, you can try doing these relaxing things. It can be done at no cost at all, easy to do, and definitely works!

1. Say NO.
2. Read.
3. Laugh out loud.
4. Play with children.
5. Hug someone.
6. Pray.
7. Run in the park, or walk around the block (if there no parks)
8. Say a silent prayer.
9. Watch the sun set.
10. Look out the window and look at something green.
11. Do some stretching.
12. Have a good cry.
13. Take a deep breath and count 1 to 10, or 100 
14. Hum a tune.
15. Have tea, especially chamomile.
16. Write.
17. Take a shower.
18. Light scented candles
19. Talk to a friend.
20. Write.

A...is for "ADVICE"

I hope I can join every single ABC Wednesday this Round 6!

I can't find any happy topic for A, as the recent events in my life are not so happy happy, if you get my drift. Though I can't say that everything's sad, or dark, or hopeless. No one can make you unhappy, except yourself,that's for sure.

And so...for today's ABC, I'm going to list a couple of advices I hope mean to give serious consideration. But I hope that you, my dear reader, will get something to think about, too!

For starters, you can check this one out, but here's a couple of my favorite lines:

• Take a deep breath. It calms the mind..
• No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
• Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
• Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
• No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

I love Bob Ong, too. No one knows who is Bob Ong, really, as he uses that name as pseudonym. I love his take on life. Know more about Bob Ong on wiki and here.

• "...madaming teacher sa labas ng eskwelahan. desisyon mo kung kanino ka magpapaturo." ~ "There are a lot of teachers outside school. It's your decision who to learn from"
• "Titingnan mo ba ang basong kalahating bawas o kalahating puno?" ~How would you see a cup, half-empty or half-full?
• "Nalaman kong habang lumalaki ka, maraming beses kang madadapa. Bumangon ka man ulit o hindi, magpapatuloy ang buhay, iikot ang mundo, at mauubos ang oras."~I realized that as you grow up, you will stumble many times. Whether you get up or not, life will continue, the world will turn, and time will pass by...

And I love Doraemon, too!He's a robot stray cat, from a Japanese manga and was first aired in the Philippines (if my memory serves me right) way back in 1992.

• "Hindi porke kaya mong gawin ang isang bagay ay dapat mo nang gawin." It doesn't mean that you have to do it, even if you can.
• "Huwag mong ipakitang malungkot ka sa ibang tao kung wala kang balak mag-share ng problema. Para kang nag-alok ng hopia pero hindi mo naman ibibigay." Don't show your sadness to others if you won't share your problems. It's like offering someone candies you don't mean to give.

More ABC Players here!

 

One Liner Thoughts

Remain open to doing things differently.

One Liner Thoughts

It may take a while to find a pace that works

One Liner Thoughts

You deserve some downtime, so take it.

One Liner Thoughts

Choose your words carefully and focus on the message.

One Liner Thoughts

Sincerely express what's in your heart.

Six Word Saturday ~Deal?

Love me or live me alone!

Six Word Saturday ~Love and Absence

Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it.

To participate, write your own six words and link up here.
Thanks for visiting !

Things to do

Always try to help a friend in need



Believe in yourself



Be brave...but it's ok to be afraid sometimes



Laugh often



Always try to see the glass half full


Meet new people, even if they look different to you




Remain calm, even when it seems hopeless



Be weird whenever you have the chance


Love your friends, no matter who they are




RELAX



Take an occasional risk



Try to have a little fun each day....it's important



Share a joke with friends



Fall in love with someone...



...and say "I love you" often




Express yourself creatively



Always be up for surprises


Love someone with all of your heart




Share with friends


Watch your step



It will get better



There is always someone who loves you more than you know



Seize the Moment



Hold on to good friends; they are few and far between



Indulge in the things you truly love


Cherish every Sunday


At the end of the day...PRAY



And smile at least once a day!

Just 3 Words

As I was about to chuck several emails to the bin, I saw this one so I thought of sharing this with you...

Just 3 Words

Three things in life that, once gone, never come back -

1. Time
2. Words
3. Opportunity

Three things in life that can destroy a person -

1. Anger
2. Pride
3. Unforgiveness

Three things in life that you should never lose -

1. Hope
2. Peace
3. Honesty

Three things in life that are most valuable -

1. Love
2. Family & Friends
3. Kindness

Three things in life that are never certain

1. Fortune
2. Success
3. Dreams

Three things that make a person -

1. Commitment
2. Sincerity
3. Hard work

Peanuts Gallery ~ Never Give Up

The Greatest Advice

I was EC dropping today and I found this over at  Daily Dose Of Everything and I thought of reposting it here!

Don't date because you are desperate.

Don't marry because you are miserable.

Don't have kids because you think your genes are superior.
Don't philander because you think you are irresistible.


Don't associate with people you can't trust.
Don't cheat. Don't lie. Don't pretend.
Don't dictate because you are smarter.
Don't demand because you are stronger.

Don't sleep around because you think you are old enough & know better.

Don't hurt your kids because loving them is harder.

Don't sell yourself, your family, or your ideals.

Don't stagnate!

Don't regress.

Don't live in the past. Time can't bring anything or anyone back.

Don't put your life on hold for possibly Mr. Right.

Don't throw your life away on absolutely Mr. Wrong because your biological clock is ticking.

Learn a new skill.

Find a new friend.

Start a new career.

Sometimes, there is no race to be won, only a price to be paid for some of life's more hasty decisions.

To terminate your loneliness, reach out to the homeless.
To feed your nurturing instincts, care for the needy.
To fulfill your parenting fantasies, get a puppy.

Don't bring another life into this world for all the wrong reasons.

To make yourself happy, pursue your passions & be the best of what you can be.

Simplify your life. Take away the clutter.
Get rid of destructive elements: abusive friends, nasty habits, and dangerous liaisons.
Don't abandon your responsibilities but don't overdose on duty.

Don't live life recklessly without thought and feeling for your family.

Be true to yourself.

Don't commit when you are not ready.

Don't keep others waiting needlessly.

Go on that trip. Don't postpone it.

Say those words. Don't let the moment pass.

Do what you have to, even at society's scorn.

Write poetry.

Love Deeply.

Walk barefoot.

Dance with wild abandon.

Cry at the movies.

Take care of yourself. Don't wait for someone to take care of you.

You light up your life.

You drive yourself to your destination.

No one completes you - except YOU.

It isn't true that life does not get easier with age.

It only gets more challenging.

Don't be afraid. Don't lose your capacity to love.

Pursue your passions.

Live your dreams.

Don't lose faith in God.

Don't grow old. Just grow YOU!

*****

And I think I need to work on these three items I have highlighted and have to always keep in mind.