Two More Days to January 2010

Wow.... time flies when one is having fun and I haven't written a single word this whole month.

What have I been doing the whole of December?

Well, I was in China the first two weeks. This year I toured Guilin and its surrounding areas (Nanning, Yang Shuo and Xing An). Beautiful scenery, lots of things to do and lots of things to buy. I just loved the cold weather but a number of toilets I was forced to visit were nightmares!! Here are some of the photographs that I took while in China (Remind me to take some photographs of those horrendous toilets next time I go to China again, hehe...):

GUILIN PHOTOS (CLICK HERE)

Come to think of it, I was in Xiamen exactly one year ago. Some photos that I took way back in December 2008:

XIAMEN PHOTOS (CLICK HERE)

Upon reaching home, it was time to get ready for Christmas. And lots of wedding luncheons and dinners to attend. And the Winter Solstice Festival. Busy time indeed! New clothes to be bought, new hairdo (but I always come out looking the same!!), the much-needed facial at the beauty salon, the fruit cakes and gingerbread cookies to be baked, etc....

Well, Christmas is over and tomorrow is New Year's Eve. I was in Kuala Lumpur with my children for the countdown to 2008. It was a bit too hectic for my liking. So I stayed in Batu Pahat to welcome in 2009. I will be in Batu Pahat to usher in 2010.

As usual, I shall attend the Year-End Thanksgiving Mass in Church, celebrated at night - to thank God for all the blessings He has given me this year. It will be followed by fellowship and light refreshment. I am sure there'll be the usual fireworks at midnight.

The New Year, 2010.
Still an unspoiled page in my book of time.
An opportunity for me to practise what I have learnt about life during the last 12 months.

I found this in a magazine. 5 simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

These are Dharma Master Cheng Yen's New Year's Resolutions (Dharma Master Cheng Yen is a Taiwanese Buddhist Nun and the founder of Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation):

1. I will not seek to have everything go as I want. I only wish for enough courage to face reality.
2. I will not pray for health. I only hope to have a spirit filled with wisdom and a love that will never fade.
3. I will not look for fewer responsibilities. I only ask for even greater strength to do all the things that must be done in this world.

Pretty awesome, huh ?

WISHING ALL OF YOU A HAPPY AND BLESSED 2010.