Sofa Suitcase

I found this really unique suit case on Design-Milk. If you see the suitcase when people holding it, it seems like a normal and common suitcase. But the suitcases actually transform into a 2-seater sofa. Don't you think it's amazing? I often carry big suitcase when I go travel. And most of the times I got so tired carrying it. This suitcase can be a solution for those of you who travel often and carry many suitcases. If you feel tired, your suitcases can help yourself to have a rest in your own sofa made from your own suitcases.

Wake up...

My previous post was about how to feel good in the morning. Now that you can feel good in the morning, what are the reasons to wake up early?Are you morning person? I can consider myself as a morning person, I like the feeling to wake up early and see the sunrise while holding the warm cup of my coffee and also to hear the birds sing their morning song. Other than that, I really love the fresh morning air...so refreshing.What are the other benefits that you can get by waking up early?Here are some of the reasons..

8 Reasons to Wake Up Earlier

1. Work on yourself
Early morning is an excellent time for personal development. How many times you complained you don’t have time to read that self-improvement book? Read it in the morning! Quiet morning time is a god sent gift which you should use for growing yourself – professionally, emotionally, phisically, mentally and spiritually. Use this time to “sharpen the saw”.

2. Exercise your body
Do I really need to comment it? Exercise at home, go jogging or go to gym (they open early)…

3. Get ready for big stuff

Clean up small stuff to take it from your way to big things you plan to do during the day. Jump on that bunch of emails sitting in your inbox so it doesn’t drag your attention later in the day.

4. Increase your productivity
If you start early, you make your day longer, you can do much more in one day than you usually do. Got a lot of work pressing on you? Wake up earlier, jump to work, you may be done by the afternoon…

5. Use morning time for thinking

Jim Citrin wrote: “The quiet of the morning is often the time when your mind is at its clearest and most well-suited to solving important problems”. Read his article Tapping the Power of Your Morning Routine to get more insight on how valuable morning time can be. In the same article Jim reports that 80% of executives he questioned wake up at 5:30am or earlier.

6. Go with the nature

The nature wakes up every day when the sun goes up. So should you because your body is a part of the nature! Of course it depends at what time sun goes up in your area (in some areas, it doesn’t go down for half a year, but you have got the idea…

7. Medidate
Meditation induces well-being and emotional balance. If you start your day with meditation you will carry that balance through the day, improving your life. Morning is a better time for meditation because you are fresh, your brain is relaxed and mind is much sharper.

8. Beat the traffic
If you spend too much time commuting to and from work every day, you can actually save time if you wake up and drive to work earlier. Even if you work fixed hours, by arriving to work earlier you can spend the extra time you’ve got on things listed above – reading, exercising, planning, and so on. It’s free time for you, which otherwise you would waste in traffic jams.

(source from here - images from vi.sualize.us)

Like the flowing river...

Two days ago I bought this book. Like the flowing river by Paulo Coelho. I heard about him so many times and have seen many of his books here and there but I don't know where to start or which book should I read for the first time. A cousin of mine told me to read this book that consists of the short stories collection of the writer himself, Paulo Coelho. Yesterday when I open the very first chapter of the book, I fell in love completely..with the words, the sentences and the simple story but able give us very deep thoughts. And below is one of my favorite stories from the book...

The story of the pencil

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked: ‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’

His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson: ‘I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.

‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’

‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’

‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’

‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’

‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’

‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’

Feel great in the morning

I love waking up feeling good inside and out. I love the feeling to greet the sunshine with a lovely and lively heart. Don't you love it? I believe that we all have to feel great in the morning because it's the starting point of our entire day, our 24-hour activity. Trust me, if you have a bad mood in the morning, the rest of the day will not be good either. But if you believe that today is gonna be a good day, then luck will always follow you all around the day. Here are the things that you can do to improve the way you feel when morning comes to wake you up to seize the day..

How to Feel Great in the Morning

1. Start with some easy stretches. Bend over and touch your toes. It is good to hold a stretch for at least 10 seconds. You should push yourself to feel tension, but not pain. If you need to, you can do this sitting down as well.
2. Stretch each major part of your body: neck, arms, back, and legs.
3. Rotate your arms like a windmill one at a time, or at the same time, as it feels comfortable.
4. Do a few push-ups and sit-ups. You don't have to do lots; just a few to get your blood circulating.

   

5. Hold each foot behind your lower back (one at a time), which should stretch your major leg muscles.
6. Go to a wall and push your toes up as far as they can go against the wall. On a step, stand with just your toes on the step, with your weight pushing down. Let your feet relax and your toes will get pushed up. You should feel tension in back of your lower legs, called your calf muscles.
7. Once you have your blood pumping, you may feel a bit thirsty, or hungry. This is a good thing. Make sure to eat something clean and healthy. Fruits, or simple proteins work best in the morning. Eggs, cheese, yogurt, or cottage cheese are good options for morning meals. Avoid eating a large portion or heavy carbs.
8. Try to drink 2 glasses of water before you leave in the morning. During the day, if you can, try to drink a few bottles of water, and at the end of the day drink another 2-4 glasses with dinner, etc. This may seem like a lot at first, but your body actually does need 8-10 glasses of water to stay correctly hydrated. You may have to use the restroom more than usual when you first start. This is only temporary! As your body gets used to having all the water it needs, it will absorb into your system and your restroom visits will return to normal.

   

9. Go to bed early the night before, so you won't fall asleep in your breakfast or anything. You must get a good sleep!
10. Think about things that make you happy and relaxed before you go to bed.

    

(article source from wikihow - all images by Pamela Hanson)

Let's make a toast..

This morning I was so hungry because I didn't eat last night. So I made a toast this morning with a strawberry jam. I'm using an old type of toaster, the one that pop up when it's done but sometimes it gets me confuse by wondering whether it's actually done or not? Once or twice I got my bread over toasted haha silly me. So, I was browsing about the 'user-friendly' toaster and I came up finding on these amazing and unique toasters...I love the portable and the transparent toaster..what an invention!!!

(all images from oddee)

Rocking chair..

Some unique things that I just found and the things that I will actually use. Wow..brilliant! I've seen those inventions on kitchen gadgets, furniture and other things that are unique but we can't really use those things because they are too complicated. These are the stuffs that are unique but can be used. I love the rocking chair..

Milk Pitcher
Many-Drawered Fractal-Inspired Unique Shelving SystemRockingchair

Modern Hammock OutdoorSOURCE: rockingchair from gizmodo, drawers from dornob, modern hammock from dornob, milk from design-milk

Making commitment

Are you good on keeping promises to other people? I find it easier to keep promises to other people instead of to yourself. I feel like it's easier to deliver the things you've been promised before to the other people rather than delivering it to yourself. Don't you feel that way too? I think it's because other people are those people who can actually judging us when things are not going the way they are supposed to. The article below explains about how good intentions only are not enough, you have to make commitment to yourself. I am aware that many times it is harder to make commitment to yourself. Why? Because once you break the commitment, nobody else other than yourself can make a judgment about what you have done (breaking the commitment). While there are people who tend to be hard for themselves, there are also people who are easy on themselves. I like this article, it's about how commitment to yourself can actually brings out the best in you and thus, in result can be important in living with integrity...

Good Intentions Are Not Enough: Make a Commitment to Yourself

(by Linda S. Pucci, Ph.D)

How good are you at keeping your word? Many of us try very hard to keep our commitments to others. We try to call if we say we will. We make every effort to show up when others are counting on us. We try to get projects done on time. We don't promise things we can't deliver. We want our word to be worth something. That's part of living with integrity.

Unfortunately, many of us are not quite as good at keeping our commitments to ourselves. How many times have you said "I'm going to. . ." only to have that intention fall away? "I'm going to slow down." "I'm going to lose weight." "I'm going to get my life in order." "I'm going to exercise regularly." "I'm going to watch less T.V. and spend more time reading." "I'm going to get to bed at a decent hour." Sound familiar? Although we have good intentions, life circumstances often keep us from honoring them. Do we really mean what we are saying? If so, we need to make a COMMITMENT to follow through on the things we are promising ourselves in just the same way that we would if we were making those promises to someone else.

This is one of the areas where having a coach or mentor can be particularly helpful. You agree to take an action, to follow through on an intention, and you give your word through the commitment you make that you'll follow through.

The coach then holds you accountable for what you've said you were going to do. Usually, a coach doesn't scold you if you don't do what you promised, but he or she will help you look at what got in the way of you honoring your commitment. That might be important information if following through is a problem for you. Obviously, the next step will be to resolve it so that you can follow through.

Even if following through isn't a problem, having a commitment to take some action, and being held accountable for actually DOING it is very helpful. Just in case you're tempted to procrastinate, back out, or avoid doing it, you have your commitment to motivate you.

Ultimately, it ends up all coming back to your word. How much is your word worth? If you can't honor your commitments to yourself and/or others, your life is likely to feel out of control and out of balance due to not living with integrity. If you are good at honoring your commitments to others, but don't do as well at honoring commitments to yourself, look at this issue honestly.

Although they are different contexts, both commitment to self and commitment to others are important in living with integrity. You commitment to yourself is every bit as important as your commitment to others. Make that commitment to yourself first.

(source from selfgrowth - images via weheartit.com)

Socks..

Look at these socks. Oooh so cute. I love socks and I always use socks when I sleep. My boyfriend and family say that it's kinda weird since we don't have winter season here. But I don't care haha. I have lots of socks, with every pattern and every colors. Stripes, flowers, plain..and many more. I'd really love to try the last socks below. I wonder how it feels like when using that kind of socks. Warm but cold I guess...

(source from here)

Lucky people..

Finally I can find this article. I've been searching for this article since a while ago. It's something about luck and fortunate that can happen to some people. I don't whether God has something to do with people's luck or not. But I guess luck has been written to each one of us. And of course, if something is meant for us, we will be surely directed toward what we're going to have. I kinda believe that things come to us when we least expected it to come. Just like the story below.

What's in the Barn?

A New York man retired. He wanted to use his retirement money wisely, so it would last, and decided to buy a home and a few acres in Portugal. The modest farmhouse had been vacant for 15 years. The owner and wife both had died, and there were no heirs. The house was sold to pay taxes. There had been several lookers, but the large barn had steel doors, and they had been welded shut. Nobody wanted to go to the extra expense to see what was in the barn, and it wasn't complimentary to the property anyway......so, nobody made an offer on the place.

The New York guy bought it at just over half of the property's worth, moved in, and set about to tear in to the barn.......curiosity was killing him. So, he and his wife bought a generator and a couple of grinders, and cut through the welds. What was in the bars? here goes.....Antique Cars worth millions..!!!

(source from here)

Growing day by day

I am sure that all of us want to be the best that we can be. If you're a student, you want to be the best student, if you're a runner, you want to be the fastest runner, if you're a chef, you want to cook the best food that everyone likes. In life, there's always progress that we all want to achieve. Becoming a better person is one of the goal that we want to achieve. There's nothing wrong when you fail on something as long as you are able to get up and do better. Here's an article about how to grow to become a better person day by day. Little by little you will be a better person. You can if you want to.

Growing Day by Day
Becoming a Better Person

At some point in our lives, many of us find ourselves overcome with the desire to become better people. While we are all uniquely capable of navigating this world, we may nonetheless feel driven to grow, expand, and change. This innate need for personal expansion can lead us down many paths as we develop within the context of our individual lives. Yet the initial steps that can put us on the road to evolution are not always clear. We understand that we want to be better but have no clear definition of “better.” To ease this often frustrating uncertainty, we can take small steps, keeping our own concept of growth in mind rather than allowing others to direct the course of our journey. And we should accept that change won’t happen overnight—we may not recognize the transformations taking place within us at first.

Becoming a better person in your own eyes is a whole-life project, and thus you should focus your step-by-step efforts on multiple areas of your existence. Since you likely know innately which qualities you consider good, growing as an individual is simply a matter of making an effort to do good whenever possible. Respect should be a key element of your efforts. When you acknowledge that all people are deserving of compassion, consideration, and dignity, you are naturally more apt to treat them in the manner you yourself wish to be treated. You will intuitively become a more active listener, universally helpful, and truthful. Going the extra mile in all you do can also facilitate evolution. Approaching your everyday duties with an upbeat attitude and positive expectations can help you make the world a brighter, more cheerful place. Finally, coming to terms with your values and then abiding by them will enable you to introduce a new degree of integrity and dignity into your life.

As you endeavor to develop yourself further, you can take pride not only in your successes, but also in the fact that you are cultivating consciousness within yourself through your choices, actions, and behaviors. While you may never feel you have reached the pinnacles of awareness you hope to achieve, you can make the most of this creative process of transformation. Becoming a better person is your choice and is a natural progression in your journey of self-awareness.

(source from dailyom - images via weheartit.com)

Being confident..

Do you consider yourself as a confident person? Have you ever felt shy in certain situation? If I am being asked this question, I will say that I am a confident person. I am really sure about that. Why? Actually I don't know the reason of it, but I know that when I walk into a room I've never been before, or when I'm about to meet new crowd/group of friends, I always feel confident. I believe that making yourself be a confident person, even if you're actually not really that confident, will make you feel confident in the end. Because it's the thought of confident that will make you feel that you can walk with your chin up. Here are some tips about how to look and feel confident. I like the idea on Graciousness & Awareness

Five Tips to Look (and Feel) Confident (By Vanessa Bader)

You walk into the dinner party and all eyes are on you. You’re standing tall, have a smile on your face and everyone is intently listening to what you have to say ... and then you wake up. The ability to make heads turn is something most of us have fanaticized about, but in reality, how many of us can actually command a room? Check out these tips to look confident and get noticed in every room you want.

1. Awareness - Awareness of the way you present yourself is the first and the most important secret to taking the steps towards making great first impressions and being sure you linger in their minds long after you left. An acute awareness of your posture and your body language is what is going to make all the difference.
2. Good Posture - Your posture is often influenced by your emotions, which means if you are feeling intimidated or shy, you might drop your chin, hunch your shoulders forward and avoid eye contact. This is a dead giveaway that you are not feeling comfortable and chances are that others will feel just as uncomfortable in your presence. The posture of a self-confident, poised person is upright and proud, chin lifted, chest open and quite often a smile. Even when you are feeling slightly intimidated, if you can master the self-assured stature, you will immediately start feeling more confident. In other words … you can affect your mood or emotions by simply changing your posture. Spend a few minutes in front of the mirror and make yourself aware of what your confident stature looks and feels like.
3. Graciousness - One of the greatest secrets to being remembered in a positive light is to be gracious. We often get into the habit of asking, “How are you?” but how often do we pay attention to the answer? By being sincerely interested in the other person, and greeting in a genuinely friendly way, you can be sure to get noticed and remembered.
4. Eye contact - How many times have you gone on a date or sat in a meeting where you felt like you were not included in the conversation, or the other person is simply distracted or disinterested? By maintaining eye contact with the person you are conversing with, you give them the feeling that you are totally engaged and interested. If you are talking to a group, make sure to make eye contact with every single person there if possible, because you will make them feel included and significant. This establishes that you are confident and in control of the conversation.
5. Sincerity - Now remember, you can do all this—have the self-awareness, the great posture, be gracious and maintain eye contact, but if there is no real sincerity behind your actions, people will look right through you. Believe what you say and others will too.

(source by Vanessa Bader from here - images via vi.sualize.us)

Pop Up Muffin

Muffins are easy to make and muffins surely are very yummy. Agree? I think you do=) Here's another simple and the easiest muffin recipe. This one is called Pop Up Muffins. Want to give it a shot and make it for yourself? I know I will..What could be better than making the easiest but the most delicious comfort food..

Pop-Up Muffins (German Pancakes)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 6 eggs
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• dash salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp orange zest (optional)
• assorted condiments for serving
  

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
   
2. Blend first seven ingredients (milk thru orange zest) in a blender. Be careful to see that any flour clumps get well-blended.
   
3. Grease muffin tins well and distribute batter evenly between 24 tins. (sightly less than half-full.)
4. Bake for 15 minutes, or until puffy and golden on top.
5. Served with your favorite toppings. (this one here included sliced strawberries, maple syrup, and a light dusting of powdered sugar.)

(source from here)

Love knows no limits

Oh My God. Is it just me or the video is so sweet that can make you cry? At first I thought this was just one of those common videos about man and animal friendship, but it is more than that! The video is called "Love knows no limits and true Friendship last a Lifetime". Here's the story about the video:

Christian was a lion originally purchased by Australians John Rendall and Anthony "Ace" Bourke from Harrods department store of London in 1969 and ultimately reintroduced to the African wild by conservationist George Adamson. One year after George Adamson released Christian to the wild, his former owners decided to go looking for him to see whether Christian would remember them. Surprisingly, he did, and with him were two lionesses who accepted the men as well.

Stores..

I don't know why but I always love to see the picture of a store, especially an old store. Just like the pictures below. What do you think? I think there is some special story behind each of the store.
(all images from weheartit.com)

Let's have a coffee

For those of you who ever wondered why some people prefer cappuccino, some prefer latte and macchiato, here is why..each has its own coffee strength. For the mild one, try to have latte instead of macchiato. For the stronger one, try macchiato instead of latte. Actually, all of those are basically an espresso but in a different measurement. Want to know what are the different types of espresso? You can read it below. Therefore, next time you go to Starbucks, Coffee Bean or other coffee shop, you will know right away what you want to order=) My favorite is Hazelnut Latte...

Types of Espresso

• Café Latte: equal parts espresso and steamed milk. The steamed milk is poured over the espresso. Remember, the order of building the drink is important.
• Cappuccino: equal parts espresso, steamed milk and milk foam (topped with cocoa powder or non-traditional cinnamon).
• Macchiato: equal parts espresso and milk foam.
• Latte Macchiato: essentially an inverted cafè latte, with the espresso poured on top of the milk and topped with foam.
• Caramel Latte Macchiato: The milk is vanilla flavored and caramel is drizzled over the top. This is the form of macchiato popularized by the U.S. specialty and boutique coffee shops.
• Mochaccino: equal parts cappuccino and chocolate syrup.
  

  (image from here,here and here - source from coffee.suite101)
  

Café Latte: equal parts espresso and steamed milk. The steamed milk is poured over the espresso. Remember, the order of building the drink is important.

Cappuccino: equal parts espresso, steamed milk and milk foam (topped with cocoa powder or non-traditional cinnamon).

Macchiatto: equal parts espresso and milk foam.

Latte Macchiato: essentially an inverted cafè latte, with the espresso poured on top of the milk and topped with foam.

Caramel Latte Macchiato: The milk is vanilla flavored and caramel is drizzled over the top. This is the form of macchiato popularized by the U.S. specialty and boutique

Read more: http://coffee.suite101.com/article.cfm/espresso#ixzz0TyDGAfR8

Café Latte: equal parts espresso and steamed milk. The steamed milk is poured over the espresso. Remember, the order of building the drink is important.

Cappuccino: equal parts espresso, steamed milk and milk foam (topped with cocoa powder or non-traditional cinnamon).

Macchiatto: equal parts espresso and milk foam.

Latte Macchiato: essentially an inverted cafè latte, with the espresso poured on top of the milk and topped with foam.

Caramel Latte Macchiato: The milk is vanilla flavored and caramel is drizzled over the top. This is the form of macchiato popularized by the U.S. specialty and boutique

Read more: http://coffee.suite101.com/article.cfm/espresso#ixzz0TyDGAfR8

Café Latte: equal parts espresso and steamed milk. The steamed milk is poured over the espresso. Remember, the order of building the drink is important.

Cappuccino: equal parts espresso, steamed milk and milk foam (topped with cocoa powder or non-traditional cinnamon).

Macchiatto: equal parts espresso and milk foam.

Latte Macchiato: essentially an inverted cafè latte, with the espresso poured on top of the milk and topped with foam.

Caramel Latte Macchiato: The milk is vanilla flavored and caramel is drizzled over the top. This is the form of macchiato popularized by the U.S. specialty and boutique

Read more: http://coffee.suite101.com/article.cfm/espresso#ixzz0TyDGAfR8

Café Latte: equal parts espresso and steamed milk. The steamed milk is poured over the espresso. Remember, the order of building the drink is important.

Cappuccino: equal parts espresso, steamed milk and milk foam (topped with cocoa powder or non-traditional cinnamon).

Macchiatto: equal parts espresso and milk foam.

Latte Macchiato: essentially an inverted cafè latte, with the espresso poured on top of the milk and topped with foam.

Caramel Latte Macchiato: The milk is vanilla flavored and caramel is drizzled over the top. This is the form of macchiato popularized by the U.S. specialty and boutique

Read more: http://coffee.suite101.com/article.cfm/espresso#ixzz0TyDGAfR8