Beat Stress

This is another article I extract from the Popular newsletter written by Cadence Loh. I have rephrase and summarised some points.

Stress Management
Stress is part and parcel of our life, if it is preventing us from enjoying life, it is time to take action to get back our lives back in order.

1. Identity the origins of your stress. Is the stress from external or internal factors? Let go of matters beyond your control and take charge of others within your control.

2.Understand yourself. Analyse your stress and frustrations. Know what affects you and
try to avoid them.

3. Make plans in face of the worst case scenario. Worrying will get you nowhere. When worrying is pulling you down, think of the worst case scenario and make plans to face it. In this way, before something bad can happen, you are already prepared for it.

4. Prioritise. Fix that nagging thought that has been bugging you the hole day. It can be a bulb that blew or leaking tap causing you inconvenience, get it done immediately. Deal with urgent matters that affect your day- to - day living immediately so that you can focus on other important areas in your life.

5. Share the responsibilities.

6. Declutter your home, work area and life. By clearing out the unnecessary, be it physical objects or mental blocks, you will lessen your burden and feel an increased sense of order.

7. Say “No”. There is limited time for the so many things that we want to do in our lives. Identify the important things and place them on priority. The ability to say “No” can leave you with more time.

8. Set aside some time for yourself. Do not stretch yourself too thin by taking too many responsibilities on yourself. Take time for a beauty routine, watch a movie or read a book.

9. Have a strong support network. A problem shared is a problem halved. With a strong support network, you will not feel so lonely.

10. Think +ve. Take +ve action. Look at situations from +ve viewpt. Eliminate excuses from your life and do not waste time complaining wen the time can be better used for solving problems.

11. Pace yourself. Slow down. Do not be a perfectionist. Relax your stds.

12. Make plans. Set reasonable goals. Stick to them! But yet be flexible.

13. Cry. The body's most natural way oto relive tension and stress.

14. Laugh. Look at the funny side in every situation.

15. Do something you enjoy. Take time to do things you enjoy. It cld be indulging in your fav. hobby or catching up with family and friends.

16. Take a vacation. Know when to work hard and when to play hard. Relax and make fond memories.

17. Have healthy lifestyle choices. Exercise and eat well.

Making Lasting Memories

For today's post I will be extracting some fantastic tips I got from an article written by Cadence Loh which I read in the Popular magazine.

Failing memory?
Poorer concentration?

Tip 1: Keep learning something new. 
* Be curious and aware. Explore and travel around. The brain gets better the more you use it. Never be afraid of tiring out the brain!


Tip 2: Develop good sleeping habits.
* Sleep is necessary for memory consolidation.Insomnia leaves you tired and unable to concentrate during the day.

Tip 3: Be physically active.
* Regular exercises increases oxygen to the brain and reduce the risk of disorders leading to memory loss  , diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.


Tip 4: Read. 
* A book or magazine opens up a new world. Constantly challenge the mind and widen your perspective with reading material of different genres and listen to different opinions.


Tip 5: Make time for yourself. 
*  In Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats: "We try to do too much at once. Emotions, information, logic, hope and creativity all crowd in on us." By clearing our mind of clutter, the mind will connect all the information together.

Tip 6: Maintaining close relationships. 
* Having an active social life helps to manage stress level. Network of support will help keep the mind sane.

Tip 7: Be a mentor.
* Teach something you are passionate about. 

Brain Exercises--- To be a daily habit.

Point 1: Do things differently. Walk a different route, try a new food, go to a new place, speak a different language and meet new people.

Point 2: Use your non- dominant hand in daily activities.

Point 3: Read aloud. Do simple calculations, put your thoughts on paper. According to Dr. Kawashima's research as stated in Train Your Brain, "reading aloud, solving simple calculations, and writing activate the brain most effectively... simple calculations activate the brain more effectively than nay other activity."

Point 4:   Brain workouts like Sudoku and crossword puzzles. Xbox and Playstation games help in sharpening hand- eye coordination and challenge yourself when you try to complete the game in record time.

Back for now...

Wow... I'm back for the moment. It has been like a year since my last post.
I shall start off with my favourite topic, food.
Stress is a part and parcel of life but we can combat it will delicious stuff.
Below are some tasty food that are great stress relievers:

Almonds
Pistachios
Walnuts
Avocadoes
Skimmed milk
Oatmeal
Oranges
Salmon
Spinach

I like almonds, oranges and salmon. :)

Belts

cardboard belt...229/365, originally uploaded by Sooper Tramp.

I have a love- hate relationship with belts. They are so pretty and they really do enhance your simple outfit and smarten it up by giving shape to it.

However... The above seems to only apply for those with snake waist haa... those with small waists. For me===> Large waist + chunky/thin Belt = Larger waist!!!

Guess plus size ladies shouldn't don belts? Comments?

My Eyes

I have been abusing my eyes.
I subject it to prolong computer staring, TV watching and overwork.
Sleeping late = not giving my poor eyes enough rest.
They are on strike now...
I have black puffy eyes that includes eye bag, dark eye rings and in fact some fine lines...

I should get some cucumber and tea bags to place on my poor eyes...

Maybe I shld invest in a eye serum and some eye masks. Though I know getting more sleep wld be better but there are so many things to do... >_<
Recommendations?

I was thinking of Bio -essence one...

Pic from: bio-essence

Note to self:
When looking for cream/ serum for eyes look for:
- vitamin A (retinol)
- vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
- vitamin E (tocopherol)
which will reduce the effect of free radicals that make skin look tired as these 3 vitamins have antioxidant properties.

- plants extract like kojic acid and berry extract
which will give lightening effect

- improvement will only be shown after 3 to 6 mths

Source of info: Straits Times, Urban

Oh my... I don't know what happened to my settings... The layout when I type my new post is completely messed up. Everything appears to be jumbled up. Why? Why? Why? This is frustrating!

Postscript:
... oh apparently it has sth to do with singnet...
read: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger/thread?tid=25f171486e03283e&hl=en

delilah muse

Finally... We have Delilah Muse offering clothes for UK14 and 16!

Taken from their website:

Delilah Muse source apparel from all over the world that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also a tad different from your average run-of-the-mill offerings.

They also offer free local normal postage no matter what amount you spend but what is most attractive is their unconditional returns policy. Furthermore, by joining their mailing list, we get to enjoy special prices!

Psst...
* delilah refers to a woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive.
Deliah is also the name of the Philistine mistress of Samson who betrayed him by cutting off his hair and so deprived him of his strength (Old Testament).
Definition given by wordweb.

Love for Black

(Pic from: Diva Look Book)

I was just looking back at the past entries of Diva Look Book when I saw the above ensemble. I really like this style. Now... I just need a dress like this...

Most friends know that my wardrobe consists of a lot of black, navy blue, shades of grey, some white and a few brown, green, purple and yellow. I can't wear bright colours. I think I look strange in them. But I am trying really hard to look for other colours to wear and feel comfortable in them (hence my blog name). But whenever I am a loss at what to wear when meeting friends, I just stick to black then accessorise to glam it up a little.

What about you? Are there any colours that you stick to?

The Body Shop GSS

(click on the pics for a larger view.)

Flats again

Lovely!This is really pretty. So girlish. :)

A mary jane with 2 strip. Special yeah?

Vintage looking.

I have looking around gmarket. They really have pretty stuffs there. Unfortunately, I find it very cumbersome to order. Some details are placed as a picture form so I can't use babel to help me translate. But still the shops there are a delight to surf around. They have really pretty pictures.