September 30th, 1999

My mother left us for eternally at September 30th, 1999. It’s already years ago, but sometimes I feel it’s like yesterday. This afternoon, my husband and I visited her grave, right on her birthday. While I was sending prayers for her, my eyes couldn’t stop crying. Mom, I miss you so much!

I found this beautiful poem that very comforted me. I share here for every one whom their mothers have passed away as well…
Your Mother is Always with YouAnonymous

When you need mom most, don't forget she's still a part of you.

Your mother is always with you...
She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street.
She's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks.
She's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well.
Your mother lives inside your laughter. She's crystallized

in every tear drop...
She's the place you came from, your first home..

She's the map you follow with every step that you take.
She's your first love and your first heartbreak....

and nothing on earth can separate you.
Not time, Not space...Not even death....

will ever separate you from your mother....
You carry her inside of you....
/mothersdaycentral.com/

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A Dancing Fountain

The water sprays in various patterns, it looks like dancing; follows the flowing music. This fountain located inside Nusantara Flower Park (Cipanas, West Java, Indonesia). The second pic was captured from the 3rd floor of a sight seeing tower.Watery Wednesday

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Attending a Family Gathering

Yesterday, we’re going out of town to attend a family gathering in Bandung (West Java, Indonesia). At first, my husband was afraid that we would face a traffic jam during the way. Fortunately, the traffic was just fine and we reached my cousin’s place in three hours ride. We met some relatives there and almost every one asked about my father’s condition. They promised sending prayers for my father’s better health. Thanks in advance to you all.

After attending this gathering, we didn’t go back home straightly; but we visited my husband’s friendly aunt. We chatted for hours. We got back home in the night and reached home pass midnight. A tired but wonderful day…

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5 Ways to Happiness

Are you a workaholic? Are you anxious all the time? Looking for ways to help you slow down, stress less and enjoy life more? Life is too short to waste it worrying and feeling unhappy. Here are 5 ways that will help make you smile and have you happy again in almost no time.

1. Do what you love.Do you know what your dream job is? Are you in it? If you aren’t, it’s time to take steps to change that!

It might mean getting a brand new job, changing your current role slightly if you can, or it will mean quitting, starting from fresh and perhaps even going back to study.

Don’t worry about what people will think or whether you can afford it. If needed, look into cash loans to help tide you over while you search for something new. It will be worth the investment later down the line.

2. Don’t do what you hate.
Think about what really makes you stressed or angry – and don’t do it!

For example, has the 2 hours commute every morning become completely unbearable? Move somewhere closer so you no longer have to do this.
Do you absolutely hate cleaning? Hire a cleaner or bribe someone else in the family to do it for you.

If there really is no way you can get out of doing something you hate, then you need to change the way you think about it. Easier said than done, but effective once achieved.

3. Reward yourself.Take time out once in a while to relax and remember to enjoy life. Maybe it’s an afternoon away from some of your responsibilities, walking in your favourite park or watching a movie you love.

If there’s something you’ve always wanted, you’ve been saving for it, but feel too guilty or nervous to take the final step: don’t hesitate any longer, do it.
There are fast loans you could get if you need to take an urgent vacation for a week, or help you with that car payment. As long as you know you can pay it back, you needn’t worry.

4. Slow down.
If you find you always seem to run out of time, ask yourself: have you got too many commitments in your life? Perhaps there is a way to make things easier – are there ways you can lighten the load?

Talk to your family and friends for support and ask for advice on what you can change to make things less hectic.

Seeking the support of a guidance counselor or writing your feelings down, can also help you work through your causes of stress. You might even be able to pinpoint exactly what it is that is hindering your happiness. You won’t be able to change your mood overnight, but you can at least take steps in the right direction.

5. Appreciate what you have.
Take the time to think about everything that is great and wonderful in your life. It is so easy to lose sight of the good things when we get overtired or distraught.
Know that there are people out there who can help and that there is always a way to make changes or improve things.

Work on your relationships because the people closest to us can provide the greatest and most effective support. Count your blessings, focus on the silver lining, and you will soon find that mind over matter really is possible.
/image:clker.com/

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A Fly’s Bottom

The fly didn’t know that I was behind. That’s why it let me capturing its back part, hehehe. So, what it really looks like? Well, no description this time. You can see it by yourself…

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How to Build a Great Teenagers Retreat

If your teenager wants some more space of their own or, if it's you that wants them out of your hair, why not build them a retreat out in your back garden? You will need to get council approval to build another residence on your property, but once this is given you can start looking at appropriate styles of small retreats to build for your teenager. Kit homes make perfect teenagers retreats because there are small designs available to fit in your back garden and can consist of a bedroom, small living and kitchen area and bathroom. You can also have a veranda and patio area out the front for your teenager to spend time with their friends.

Climate Control
As a smaller building it is likely the retreat will heat up quickly in summer and be like a little ice box in winter if you don't have adequate heating and cooling. The beauty of using a kit home for your teenagers retreat is that you can build it yourself if you choose, as all the materials to build the home are delivered along with comprehensive instructions as to how to build it. Ensure that the home is properly insulated as this will make a huge difference to the temperature inside the home. You might want to install a split system air conditioner. If you prefer you can heat the retreat by using a small wood heater and as these produce a lot of heat you should not need any other type of heating. Otherwise you could just buy a simple oil or fan heater.

Kitchen
It is likely that your teenager will wander over to the main house when they get hungry, or you may not choose to have a kitchen in their retreat so that you can encourage them to spend some time with the rest of the family, but you might want to include a kitchen in their home so it will teach them to be self sufficient before they actually leave the nest. Set up a good functional kitchen when you build them home because you never know, once your teenager has moved out you could end up using it as a granny flat or even having students boarding in there.

Decorate
You probably won't get a look in when it comes to decorating your teenagers retreat but maybe you can encourage them to do it together, considering you most likely will be paying. A microwave will be a necessity for the kitchen and furnish the rest of the kitchen with enough utensils so they can have a few friends over. Having their own little place will give you plenty of present options for the next few birthdays, such as giving them things for their kitchen like a popcorn machine or ice cream maker. Make sure they have enough towels and all those other things that a teenager is likely to overlook, like tea towels, sponges, cleaning products, soap and a broom. Encourage them to take pride in their little home and keep it clean.

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Things to do Before Going Away

If you are planning on going away as well as organising your trip you need to think about how to keep your home secure. If you are going on a long holiday you check the security of your home and make sure it is not easy to break in to. Having security doors will make your home harder to get into, as well as putting security screens on your windows.

Security doors and screens
You should have some sort of security doors or screens on your home anyway, but if you don't, now that you are planning a long trip you should think about it. Security doors will not only keep your home more secure they will give you the flexibility of keeping your front door open to let the breeze in during summer, but you can keep the security door locked so that your home is still safe. You can answer your front door without unlocking the security door, but still see and be able to talk to however is at the door. Security screens won't block your view out your window but will make them extremely hard to break in to.

Stop your mail
Contact your local post office and have them put a stop to your mail. They will hold your mail and once you are back you can go and collect it. This stops your letter box from overflowing with mail, an obvious sign that no one is home, and you don't have to rely on your neighbours to collect it. You might also want to put a 'No Junk Mail' sticker on your letter box so you don't end up with piles of junk mail, which is also a dead give away that the occupants of the house are away.

Inform your neighbours
Let your neighbours know you are going away and they will be able to keep an eye on your place for you. They might even park one of their cars in your driveway so it looks like someone is home. They might collect your mail for you and even run the lawn mower over your front nature strip and lawn while they are doing theirs, just so it still looks neat and tidy and like someone is still about.

Book the pets in the kennel
If you have any pets you will need to book them into a kennel. Depending on what time of the year it is you may find that kennels book out quickly so when you know what date you are going away contact the kennel and get it sorted out. If you don't like putting the dog in a kennel you may have someone who will look after your pet, or you can hire a dog walker who will come and feed your pets and even walk your dog.

Gardener
It can be a good idea to keep your front garden tidy, especially if you are going away on a really long trip, which generally happens if someone is going overseas. They can mow the lawn, tidy the garden beds and stop fallen leaves from piling up. It will just keep the front of your house looking like somebody is home.

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