the hand that rocks the "mouse"

a sketch a day makes monotony away!

everything change

When Everything Change, Change Everything by Neale Donald Walsh

"please sit down.

no, really.

please.

sit down."

those first words of the book made me really sat down. i heard about this book from my friend Dew. and partly i blamed her (just kiddin'!), for i literally missed my subway train stop, reading this book. it's a "can't-stop-reading" stuff. it's not just a book. it's like a manual for a better perception of changes in life.

---

the changes in your life are not going to stop.

what can be changed is the way you deal with change and the way you're changed by change.

life is movement. movement is change. every time a sub molecular particle swings through time and space, something is changing. change therefore is inevitable. it is the nature of life itself.

the trick of life is not to avoid change, but to create change. then, it is the kind of change you choose.

sometimes what change brings us is the fear that we will never get to where we wanted to go: that life will continue to do nothing but take away our hopes and our dreams, rob us of opportunities, kill our spirit, and strip us of raison d'etre. all of this is normal. it's understandable that you would feel that way.

9 changes that change everything:

1. change your decision to "go it alone"

2. change your choice of emotions

3. change your choice of thoughts

4. change yoir choice of truths

5. change your idea about change itself

6. change your idea about why change occurs

7. change your idea about future change

8. change your idea about life

9. change your identity

there are five things a person must do to successfully and powerfully implement the nine changes that can change everything:

1. desire absolutely

2. understand thoroughly

3. embrace completely

4. enact consistently

5. share wisely

everything is already changing, and if we want it to change in the direction that we choose, we have to change everything.

so start with yourself, then touch others.

--

read the book...it will give you good changes!

art of marriage

My husband and i were together for 13 years now. i guess i still have too many things to learn about our relationship. marriage i believe is a lifetime analysis.

i want to share some thoughts from this book by Catherine Blyth that i just recently read.

---

To marry is not only the greatest compliment that you can pay someone, but also liberally repaid by the extended possibilities of living in partnership. To stay side by side without running aground, to keep true to the course, is more than a moral victory, but a sweet one. it proves that what we set out to do in life, we will. with a little help from our spouse.

Marry and we draw a line around our relationship. whatever our efforts, our gains, losses and longings, if we hold this line we have made something more of the passage of our days, something that nobody else can touch, and that only we can share. A marriage.

The A-Z of Marriage

A - Anniversaries. It is always the best to remember special day like this.

B - Bathing. Others say separate bathrooms save marriages. if you have no chance to have that. then respects each other's habits such as some minor irritants (used towels on floors or leaving the toothpaste cap off)

C - Celebrations. Relax, remake traditions, graft yours on to your spouse's and the seasons' rituals can bring many happy returns.

D - Drink. It is invariably contentious if one is having fun, but the other is not. couples who drink the same amount are more affetionate.

E - Entertainment. The battle of the television remote control used to be the testing ground for domestic supremacy. take some time to watch what she/he like.

F - Food. Food is about power. it has a nasty tendency to bring out honesty too. None can disguise the look of disgust. if you're opinionated non-cook, use praise creatively.

G - Games. games are good for venting stress and indulging in vicariously marital warfare.

H - Habits. Habits are not static. they migrate, because humans mimic each other. so if a spouse picks and chews, either you will want to hit them, or find yourself picking and chewing too.

I - Idling. Sometimes it pays to just laze around with the spouse.

J - Jokes. an essential marital shock absorber is the in-joke. all marriages are sitcoms, so all of us need catchphrases. develop a few lines, code names for dreadful relations perhaps,and a selection of funny stories beginning with the words..."remember when..."

K - Kissing. it is claimed that husbands who kiss their wives before leaving home in the morning live five years longer than those who don't. i cannot verify this claim, but would you not rather be safe than sorry?

L - Love Letters. Love is a temporary insanity curable by marriage. but a little insanity is a fine thing in marriage. to top up the supply we have love letters.

M - Music. If you can play it, fantastic. If you can duet, to die for. If you must resort to Ipod, do. so often about love, music is perfect for creating mood.

N - No. A word that has wide uses, but is rarely endearing to spouses. interestingly, studies find that few refusals actually contains the word no.

P - Pets. Like children, pets can unite couples or wage war on their union.

Q - Quiz. Quizzing and interrogating a spouse opens emotional quagmires. Pub quizzes, on the other hand, are fine; unless you lose.

R - Rituals. All couples do well to form shared rituals, to become more conscious, ceremonial, instead of falling into habit.

S - Shopping. Shopping became a semi-professional female sport when women ceased to make items because it was cheaper to buy them. Harvard discovered that thise whi splurge are happier than scrimpers and savers.

T - Technology. It is always worth asking whether our modern conveniences are truly convenient. Communication tools bring us together, but sometimes drive us apart.

U - Universe. feeling down? look up at the stars and gain a sense of proportion.

V - Vice. For vices to enhance rather than impair a union, try to ensure that yours are compatible.

W - Weekends. weekends are sacred, but often not as nice as they should be, with those tugs of war over shared time, me-time, chore-time. try to balance it.

X - X-factor. as far as the Ex is concerned, certain rights continue.to marry a divrocee, is to marry their ex too.

Y - Yes. Just say yes. it saves time.

Z - Zoning out. Let your spouses make Zzzzzs even watching tv. This is a perfect opportunity to ask them questions and secure consent to contentious proposals, like that holiday with your parents. =)

(Ma, is that some kind of a fairy tale?)

TGIF #15: something to read

my friend Dew (who love books, like me) gave me some titles to buy. i hope they're available here @ american bookstore.

here are five of her many suggestions:

1. Bourne Objective by Robert Ludlum

reader's Review: "Don't ever begin a Ludlum novel if you have to go to work the next day." (CHICAGO SUN TIMES)

2. Deliver Us from Evil by David Baldacci

reader's review: An entertaining, fast-paced action thriller with some over-the-top characters, implausible action and references to a book I couldn't remember well - that brought it down to just an above average thriller, and less than I want from Baldacci. Still, for a light read on the beach or an airplane ride - it'll keep the pages turning and make the time fly. And, if you loved his last one -you'll love this one.

3. 9th Judgement by James Patterson with Paetro

reader's review: "Patterson and Paetro are at their best here, weaving a number of plots together to create a novel that dips and flows across genre lines.... A series that shows no signs of fatigue or flagging." (BookReporter.com)

4. Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

reader's review: If you only read one book this year, read this one. Share it with your friends and family. I don't expect to read anything better this year, or next year either.

5. Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

reader's review: You'll want to go through the adventure of Addie and Val so much that you may need to grab your booklight for this one...I found it to be a true "page turner".

To wrap up a tale and include such a range of emotion...suspense, heartbreak, humor, romance, and surprise all intertwined made for a truly great read. Excellent!

the hunt is on!

emotional intelligence

American Bookstore is quite tempting in front of me when i got off the bus yesterday. I ended up buying Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. I'm not a prolific reader when travelling (makes me dizzy sometimes). Surprisingly, i read almost half of the book @ the subway. the book's intriguing.

a glimpse of the first page.

--and some excerpts...

the question is, how could someone of such obvious intelligence do something so irrational-so downright dumb? the answer: academic intelligence has little to do with emotional life. the brightest among us can founder on the shoals of unbridled passions and unruly impulses; pepole with hig IQ's can be stunningly poor pilots of their private lives.

5 domains of emotional intelligence:

1. knowing one's emotions. self-awareness -- recognizing a feeling as it happens - is a keystone of emotional intelligence

2. managing emotions. handling feelings so they are appropriate is an ability that builds self-awareness.

3. motivating oneself. emotional self-control underlies accomplishment of every sort

4. recognizing emotions in others. empathy is the fundamental people skill.

5. handling relationships. the art of relationships is, in large part, skill in managing emotions in others.

---

i'm still reading the second half.

loving it!

deadline met!

after the change of birthday location, additional names on the invitation, and my printer moods, i finally finished these 150 pieces! i only do invitations strictly for friends and some acquaintances. i won't make a career out of printing. it would probably steal more of my time. so, net surfing would only be the rival of my domestic chores & motherhoood. krafts will stay as hobbies.

book for the week: 206 ossa

i love books! whenever i have time, i wander myself inside the italian or american bookstores. i read books of love, humor, intrigues and thrills. sure i can read italian books. practice makes one perfect, right? since my daughter's birth, i haven't been much to bookstores. fortunately, i am a member of euroclub here which offers discounts for books (only italian) and dvd films, so every now and then i get to order what's new or what i'm curious about. this is my latest acquisition: Duecentosei Ossa (206 Bones) by Kathy Reichs. i'm almost on the half part. so thrilling! I have been watching "Bones" series here, but i guess reading the book is more detailed and more thrilling, because it gives you freedom to imagine what's been going on.

i have watched the film "The Firm" by John Grisham starring Tom Cruise. but, having read the book itself, it's more thrilling than the film.

so, i'll just tell you next time when i'm done learning more italian words and what's my verdict of the book.