Can things get any worse?

In most cases, the answer is yes.

We all get irritated by small things like getting gum on our shoes or being late. I know I do. But these things seem so small compared to the pain many people feel. People get sick. People are hungry. People lose their loved ones.

I have a friend who lost her husband a few days ago. They were married last Valentine's Day and were crazy in love. Plans were being made. A life full of love and happiness was being looked forward to. Then suddenly, these plans were lost and the heart that was once happy became filled with grief.

This really broke my heart. My heart is still breaking over it. I wish that I could to do something to make her happy but I can't bring her husband back to her. I can't do anything to erase the sadness she is going through. That's life. We are only human. We have no control over certain things.

These things can happen to anyone so we should be thankful to God that no matter how sad or angry we get, we aren't any sadder or angrier. Even when we are happy, we shouldn't take this feeling for granted. We should be thankful for every smile we make.

To all those going through sadness, I pray that you find peace and happiness. Until you do, I pray that you are granted strength and patience to get through these hard times. Your courage is admirable.

xoxo

What makes you happy?

We all go through moments when we just want to hide away in our safe places, away from the big, scary world. We have our own ways of dealing with problems. For example, when my moody alter ego creeps out, I like to shut her up with cake only to regret it afterwards.

It could be a heartbreak or not getting the job you wanted. Or maybe you have a rough day at work. There are millions of reasons for us to want to scream or cry. But it's not the end of the world. It really isn't. You're still here in this world with all it has to offer from hugs to pancakes. So you have to thank God you're here and make use of what you have and what you can have.

Gisele Scanlon, author of The Goddess Guide books, has listed over 1000 ideas to make you smile in her book, The Goddess Experience: What makes you happy?. These pleasures come from fashion, travel and food, to name a few.

The Goddess Experience: What makes you happy?

We all have our own pleasures, so this book might not appeal to everyone. But it does serve as inspiration if you need a little help finding them. Even if you are sure that you know what makes you happy, it might open your eyes to pleasures you take for granted.

"What makes you happy?"

Why not make a list to refer to when you're feeling down.

Write the list in a pretty notebook that you can keep for many years and cherish.

Every time you experience a pleasure, add it to your list.

Stick in photographs that make you smile, or postcards, cinema tickets, letters... anything that makes you smile.

Share your list with others so they would know how to treat you and how they might treat themselves.

Some of my pleasures include:

• Watching comedy - I love Ugly Betty the most (can't bear to see it leave :'( )
• Hot chocolate - yummy and warming
• My amazing boyfriend - He's my bestest friend in the whole world <3
• Watching the sunset/ sunrise - The colours are beautiful and can't be imitated
• Chocolate - Galaxy Caramel has been my favourite for a few years now and Milkybar is yummy and makes me feel like a carefree kid again
• Scented candles Yankee CandlesVanilla Cupcake smells delicious!
• Kids - they're funny and full of energy

I hope this tiny sample of my list has inspired you. What's on your list?

xxx

My Monday Moaning

I don't know if it just happens to be the curse of the Monday mornings, but I had a bad day today.

It started like any other early morning: me wanting to stay in bed and sleep. Even more so today as I could see the depressing grey sky from my bedroom window, causing me to hide under my duvet. I ended up over-snoozing and woke up realising that I would have to rush so I wouldn't be late for uni. So I quickly got changed, applied my make-up at the speed of light and made myself some bland milky coffee for my thermocup. I didn't have time to make my lunch.

As soon as I opened the front door to leave, I saw that it was raining. It was pouring like mad. Thankfully I managed to find an umbrella and it didn't turn inside out at all. A miracle!

Once I arrived at uni, I had to show my id card. This is where I had my Ugly Betty moment. As I was pulling out the id card from my pocket, a tissue fell out from that same pocket. I hadn't closed my umbrella and had it held in my left hand along with my thermo cup. As I knelt down to pick up the tissue with my free hand (no one likes a litter bug!), some of the coffee spilled into my open umbrella and make its way into the sleeve of my brand new top. So there I was with coffee in my umbrella and a damp sleeve. Not a good look.

Just grin and bear it

The first lesson wasn't so bad except that most of the class, including the tutor, were late. I should have just stayed an extra half an hour in bed! Another thing that annoyed me was a boy in my class tricking me into seeing an inappropriate video on his phone. I just did not need to see that! Men these days! They show no respect to us ladies at all! >:(

When I finally came home, my bread got stuck in the toaster. After eating dinner, I knew that all I needed was a nice nap. So I slept and felt much better. As soon as I woke up, I turned on my laptop and my boyfriend (who lives gazzilions of miles away) came online about two minutes later. As usual, he made my day <3

We all have 'one of those days'. So always treat others nicely as they might be having one. It won't hurt to offer them a smile too - it's free!

Be the rain that washes sorrow away,

The sunshine that brightens up their day.

With both, you become a pretty rainbow,

So beautiful and colourful amongst the grey.

By me

xoxo