Lovely Day

Hello Monday...Hello Everyone =) Let's open up this last day of January with a smile. So, tomorrow will be a new month. How's your January went so far? Great I hope. I'm just gonna start this Monday with such a simple but really cute notes below (source). It's called "How To Have A Lovely Day". I'm sure no one resist a lovely day, including you, right? Just those simple points of life that can make your day lovely. The last point surely is the most important thing according to me. Why? because when you simply wish others to be happy, the positive wish will eventually get back to you. Have a lovely day =)

(image via icanread.tumblr)

Poached Egg...

Can you make a perfect poached egg? It's looks so easy to make one but surely we need to practice to make a really perfect poached egg. I remember the first time I made a poached egg...didn't work well until I browse lots of "how-to" videos on Youtube and found the perfect one. So, now I can make a perfect poached egg. It's so easy when you finally now the trick on how to make one perfect poached egg. Here's one recipe by A Couple Cooks. Perfect for a Saturday or Sunday morning. Have a great weekend =) xoxo

Poached Eggs

What You Need

• 4 fresh eggs (it helps if your Mom raises her own chickens!)
• Splash of vinegar
• Kosher salt
• Water
• Four small bowls
• Large skillet
• Slotted spoon
• Tea towel

What To Do

1 Fill a large skillet with about 1 1/2 inches of water. Add a pinch of salt and just a splash of vinegar. Heat over medium-high until the water just starts to bubble. You want it just below a simmer (about 190°F). Be careful to maintain the temperature throughout the cooking process – you don’t want the water to boil.

2 Crack each egg into a small bowl. Carefully slide each egg into the water. Make sure to give plenty of space between each egg. The egg whites will spread out a bit as they hit the water, but soon start to form up.

3 Allow the eggs to cook for 4 minutes, until the whites set. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place on a tea towel-covered plate to let the water drain off. If you want the egg to look nice, you can trim the edges before serving. Enjoy!

(image and recipe by A Couple Cooks)

House with Colors...

Found this image below on Apartment Therapy. Colorful was the first thing that came up on my mind seeing the image. Fun was the second thing I could think of. But I don't know about what others think about this room. Some might think that it's too colorful, too distracted or maybe too playful or too busy. So, as always, on my Tumblr I asked others opinion about this image. Most of them said it's colorful but it's fun, although there were some people think it's to colorful, way too many colors being used in this room. However, you can think whatever you want to think. For me, the house is fine, fun, and perfect for a summer or a holiday getaway =)

• naranjas answered: Yes!
• ash-leonie answered: It’s a tad busy, looks like a pinata threw up in there :(
• maharlikanwarrior answered: i love you like always :)
• imathome answered: Wow pretty cool!
• white-crow answered: nope
• nomnomnomyummy added: that looks so dandy and quaint (: id live there!!
• lurrvee answered: It reminds me of Phoebe from Friends. So, it’s awesome.
• heyitszachhh answered: not at all
• queenanne added:looks like a southwestern cafe
• rurymon answered: No, its unique
• abitofsilliness answered: Not too colorful. But definitely too ugly. ;)
• dawningthedarkestnights answered: THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH COLOR
• iamcandygirl answered: yes, is this„
• gwashoppa answered: i like it! it is not too colorful.
• jermiony answered: yes:(
• icanbethatperkie answered: Yes
• orating answered: Nice colour, but definitelt too busy for me with all the mosaic patterns, angles and shapes!
• captjasha answered: yes, but i like it.
• wanitaberoda answered: i absolutely love it!
• tso answered: surprisingly not! but i couldnt think straight here…sorta forces you to only feel happy and never reflect..
• sitihajarkawi-sihaka answered: yes..:) but it looks great!
• hweehuishia answered: The colour combinations are funky cool :) awesomeeeee~ hehehe
• outburstofjoy answered: not if you were a gypsy
• fleaflyflooflum answered: it is! but the colours go together really well!
• nomnomnomyummy answered: no its fuckin amamzing.
• toppermostpoppermost answered: It’s like a real live Polly Pocket house.
• ohstaywithme answered: no wayyyyy
• crazycakes answered: yes.
• koltoncotton answered: No
• cookincrafter answered: umm i’d have to say yes.
• synthiat answered: yes.
• keggerrrr answered: no!
• bonjourkimie answered: It’s a little bit busy, but for some reason I think it works for the room.
• kradylla25 answered: yes..but it’s nice..i like it :)
• iambird answered: yes
• fellinlovewiththevoice answered: it is absolutely beautiful in all of its colours and patterns!
• smileysya answered: yup
• cierraw answered: NONONONONONONONONONONo
• smallmeasureofwarmth answered: yup
• simplesolution added nooo it’s amazing! color
• rebeccamr answered: no, it’s awesome!
• maryashley added be my summer home?
• vomitingeyes answered: NO! It’s perfect!
• chillinglikeice answered: way too
• lovehappens19 answered: It’s like the one I saw at Bali.
• sitizuhairah answered: yes!111
• miscue answered: yes. but i’m okay with it!
• lucyd-dreams liked this
• umyahwhatever answered: Absolutely not. It’s perfect. In every way.
• tuesdaysinbloom answered: if i were to say that one thing was “tooo” distracting it would be the tiles in the back. But if done right, this could be really funky.
• murmations answered: absolutely no! love how quirky the room is, i can only imagine this extremely happy person living in there.
• toomuchto answered: It reminds me of an Urban Outfitters store.
• youarebeautifuls answered: yes
• xxterixx added:hohohoho I like it :>
• fashionandsincity answered: its so cute. love it
• thefancyflamingo answered: As Tim Gunn says “that’s a whole lot of look”. I’d tone it down just a bit.
• driftdreamer answered: yes
• insidecrashedcars answered: noooooo such thing. no way. its amazing
• cornflowerteco added aaaaAAAAAAAAHHHH THIS IS BEAUTIFUL
• iqahspastic answered: yup..but lively!
• pearlsandpalmettotrees answered: ew. yes.
• hazydaze answered: :o no!
• athousandfacets answered: I’d love my office to look like that!

Prayer..

Do you say a prayer when you're hopeless and helpless? How do you communicate with God when you're looking for direction or when you're looking for a helping hand? There are times when I feel so lost and feel like I can use a helping hand from anywhere I can reach. Most of the time it feels good and I feel relieve after saying a prayer, only because I have been able to say all the things I've kept in my mind and heart. Makes me feel that I am not alone, that somewhere out there God is listening.

So, I was thinking about the right way on saying a prayer. Not on a religious side but more on a general aspect. Below is a quote from Mahatma Gandhi about prayer. The quote touches me a lot because most of the time I couldn't find the right words to say a prayer. It's sometimes hard to put how I feel inside into words. But then I saw this quote which changes everything. It says that prayers are better with heart without words than words without a heart...

“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul.

It is daily admission of one's weakness.

It is better in prayer to have a heart without words

than words without a heart.”

Mahatma Gandhi

I quotes three points below from wikihow.com regarding How To Pray.

How To Pray

• Take the time to pray. No matter how you pray or who you pray to, it can be difficult to find time for prayer during busy times. One way to deal with this is to make prayer part of your daily routine, such as praying as soon as you wake up in the morning, right before you go to sleep, or before every meal. Many people also pray during emotional times, like when they feel sad, scared, or happy. You can pray at any time of day, and as much or as little as you feel is sufficient for your spiritual life. Some people make it their goal to maintain a state of prayer all the time by remaining conscious of their spiritual connection throughout the day. No matter what, if prayer is an important part of your life, you need to put first things first and make time to pray on a regular basis.
• Make the request, or ask the question. You can ask questions, seek strength, send good wishes to others, or give thanks. Perhaps the most basic forms of prayer are requests for help in becoming a good (or better) person, and requests that God direct your prayer.
• End the prayer. Some people end or close the prayer with a special word (like "Amen") or phrase (like "May God receive our prayers") or a gesture (like bowing or making the sign of the cross), or simply by standing or sitting in silence for a minute or two.

(article source: wikihow - Image sources: ilya-mostex.livejournal & flickr.com)

Free will?

I found the image below from Serendip. It's an amazing website that I can't even explain what is it about. It is a recommended site for you to have a look when you're someone who loves to play with your mind and find out more about psychology. It's not just a drawing but it could determine your will. How is it possible? All you need to do is take a look at the image below and try to choose one of the statements below the image...

• I wanted the arrows to point to the right, SAW them pointing to the right, and am GOING to the right
• I wanted the arrows to point to the left, SAW them pointing to the left, and am GOING to the left
• I forgot the instructions. Can I go back please?

Have you pick one of the statement above? I have chose point 2 of the above choices.

Here are the explanation about what your will said about you...only by looking at the image above. All the explanation was made by SERENDIP.

The explanation for point 1 and 2:

CONGRATULATIONS. You have just taken an action which is not determined by anything else (since the figure can be seen either way) and which you controlled (since you decided which way to see the figure). The observations not only suggest that you have free will (a useful thing to know in other, perhaps more earth-shaking situations), but reveal some additional interesting characteristics of this attribute.

There is some chance that when you first saw the figure together with the two buttons, you did not in fact immediately see the arrows pointing in the direction in which you had decided to see them pointing. What this indicates is that the power of free will does not extend to determining what you see; what you see at any given time is determined by actions of your brain which you cannot fully control (and of which you are not aware). What you were, however, able to do is to withhold action until you did see the arrows pointing in the direction you had previously chosen. What this indicates is that one part of your brain (the part that contains YOU) is capable of observing the variable inputs of another part of your brain (the part that is responsible for what you see) and deciding whether or not to act based on the perception offered at any given time. This may be a less potent "free will" than you might have wished you had but, if you think about it for a while, its actually not bad at all.

The explanation for point 3:

Ambiguous figures, of which the Serendip logo (circa 1994-95) is one example, make possible some interesting observations bearing on the existence and meaning of "free will". In most people's minds, "free will" has two relatively distinct properties. The first is the idea that what one does is in some sense "free", that is "not determined by something else". The second is the idea that one can onself control what one does.

Whether one sees right of left pointing arrows most easily can be influenced by details of the constuction of the figure (colors, exact shapes, and so forth), previous experiences with other figures, stable personal preferences, and mood. The important point, however, is that with all of these held constant (as they are as you look at the figure right at the moment), the figure can still be seen in either of two ways. In short, your perception of the figure is variable in a way that seems "not to be determined by anything else".

(all source from serendip.brynmawr.edu)

Mixture House..

What do you think about the house on the picture below? Good? Common? The usual house? I tell you what...This is not just a common 18th century house (source). Well, if you look at it from the front yard, it may seem to be just a normal house but wait until you see what's on the backyard. I was amazed of this house, it's like mixing a modern and an old house become one. Located nearby the Grand Union Canal. I had no idea where it was, but when I have a look on the web, turns out that it's located in England...which I think makes the house looks better. Look at the images below, isn't it a great house. While you can enjoy the modern glass house, you can also enjoy the old green scenery =)

(source: freshome.com)