100 Happy Thoughts on Swap Bot

1. "Optimists have twice as many good days as pessimists; so be an optimist."
2. "So what if some of the crayons are missing; use the ones still in the box. Maybe the world needs a purple horse."
3. "When feeling down, buy expensive soap."
4. "If you're bored, plant a garden. It will keep you busy for the next eight months."
5. "When you come to the edge of the forest & find no path, make one that others will follow."
6. "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift." (from Kung Fu Panda)
7. "Early in the morning, let someone go ahead of you; it will make your day."
8. "If a miracle can happen at any time, then why not today."
9. "When driving in the country, wave to couples sitting together on their front porch."
10. "Never speak negatively about yourself; your enemies will do that for you."
11. "Love today. Squeeze all the sunshine and beauty from it, for you will never see the likes of it again."
12. "Surprise a friend at work with a morning cup of coffee and an apple fritter."
13. "At a family reunion, be the one who takes the most photographs."
14. "Don't be discouraged. Remember, to begin anything is usually to begin it badly."
15. "This is the question to ask that makes anyone smile: "Would you like a bowl of homemade peach ice cream?"
16. "Prepare for good luck, for it's often seen where it's unexpected.
17. "On Christmas Eve deliver a tray of baked goodies and fruit to the waiting room of your local hospital."
18. "Nothing exceptional was ever done on the first try."
19. "This next year donate extra time and resources to a cause you believe in."
20. "For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness."
21. "It's never too late to have a happy childhood."
22. "Swallow your pride occasionally; it's non-fattening!"
23. "If you're headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns."
24. "Have a very good reason for everything you do."
25. "No one is perfect...that's why pencils have eraser."
26. "When your dreams turn to dust, vacuum."
27. "It doesn't hurt to be optimistic, you can always cry later."
28. "There's nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
29. "Even a clock that does not work is right twice a day."
30. "Everyone smiles in the same language."
31. "Keep smiling - it makes people wonder what you've been up to."
32. "A smile is a powerful weapon; you can even break ice with it."
33. "Don't wait for people to be friendly, show them how."
34. "Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
35. "Get mad, then get over it."
36. "I rather be optimistic than have misty optics."
37. "It takes 36 muscles to frown and 28 to smile. So why waste the energy?"
38. "A smile is a frown turned upside down."
39. "In this world of vast communications there is still a lot to be said for the smile."
40. ...seeing baby and cat sleeping next to each other
41. "Happiness is...your first ever hot chocolate on one of your first ever snowy days!"
42. ...seeing red shoes/ruby shoes (There's no place like home.)
43. ...seeing anything that reminds me of the movie 'The Wizard of Oz'
44. Flickr group: Bento Boxes
45. Flickr group: Traveling Toys
46. Flickr group: Japanese Craft Books
47. Plushies!
48. Website: www.flickr.com
49. Website: www.oneprettything.com
50. Website: We Love Crafts Magazine
51. Website: Lovely Design
52. Website: Geninne's Art Blog
53. Website: Flea Market Studio
54. Website: Heart Handmade
55. Website: Pikaland
56. Website: Indie Fixx
57. Website: Craft Zine
58. Website: Inspired Ideas
59. Website: The Unicorn Diaries
60. Lula Magazines
61. Buying new toiletries, using new shower gel, shampoo, conditioner...
62. Receiving snail mail
63. My Minnie head band that I bought from Disneyland Paris
64. When my virtual dogs won the first prize in competition on Nintendogs
65. When my virtual pet on Pet Society on Facebook scores some really nice stuff from the mystery boxes.
66. Movie: Amelie
67. Movie/cartoon: Spirit, The Stallion of Cimarron
68. Family Guy. It never fails to make me laugh everytime I watch it.
69. Romantic comedy movies
70. When I've got a real bargain from the one pound shop / discount store.
71. When the sales girls give me beauty samples when I walk pass their counters.
72. Song: Top of the World by The Carpenters
73. Song: What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
74. Song: Singin' In The Rain, Doris Day's version
75. Song: Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Jewel Kilcher & Nedra's version
76. Song: You Jerk by Kim Stockwood
(This is a really good song to sing inside your head when 'someone makes you feel little'.)
77. Song: Only Time by Enya
78. Song: The Rainbow Connection by Sarah McLachlan
79. Song: Sing A Rainbow by Delta Goodrem
80. Music Video: I Rather Dance With You by Kings of Convenience
81. Any Weird Al Yankovic song, he just cracks me up. At the moment, the song 'Ebay' is my favourite.
82. Putting a smiley face and a ribbon on my little cactus plant.
83. Eating blueberries.
84. Collecting stamps.
85. Seeing horses running in the field.
86. Donna Wilson's Make Your Own Monster kit.
87. Betsy McCall!
88. Sampler package: The Sampler
89. Sampler package: PikaPackage & free online Pika Zines
90.Sampler package: Get Eurofied
91. Discovering Postcrossing.com
92. Discovering Swapbot.com
93. Finding bargains and hard to find stuff on Ebay.
94. Sales
95. Craft Shops
96. Watching cats flushing toilets on YouTube. They are so smart!
97. Free online games with cute design
98. Seeing foxes in the car park, some even jumped on cars and nap on them!
99. Visiting museums.
100. Paris. I love the city, the museums...

100 Happy Thoughts on Swap Bot

A Song That Makes You... (e-swap) on Swap Bot

1 - A song that makes you want to dance.

'I rather dance with you' by Kings of Convenience

I quite like the video too.

2 - A song that makes you laugh.

'Ebay ' by Weird Al Yankovic

I think he's quite a genius and the fact that he imitated Backstreet Boys way of singing on the original song is even funnier.

3 - A song that reminds you of an old friend.

'Last Kiss' by Pearl Jam

My high school classmate used to lend me this cassette tape, a compilation of songs for the war in Kosovo during 1998-1999 and this song is in that album.

4 - A song that makes you sing out loud.

'Pocketful of Rainbows' by Elvis Presley

5 - A song that makes you cry.

'Sincerely' by The Mcguire Sister

I first heard this song around year 1999 on a jazz radio channel and I never knew what was the title of the song and I found out about the title today while trying to get this swap done, after almost 10 years later...

6 - A song that reminds you of a book.

'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' by Lauryn Hill

This song is from the movie 'Conspiracy Theory' ( Mel Gibson,Julia Roberts) and in this movie, the main character always buy any copies of book 'Catcher in the Rye' whenever he saw them on the bookshelves in bookshops...That's what I can recall of, although I've never read the book before, hopefully in the future.

7 - A song that reminds you of another.

'Sunrise' by Norah Jones & 'Sunrise' by Simply Red

8 - A song that reminds you of your dear one.

'Sacrifice' by Elton John

I first heard this song when I was in primary school, around 9 or 10 years old and I didn't like Elton John's voice at first as I was just a kid without much appreciation of music. I was making a compilation of songs that I recorded on to a cassette tape from TV and I always saw the video of this song and I asked my aunt what she thought of Elton John's voice. She thought his voice is sweet. I couldn't understand it at that time and never really liked it until more than a decade later.

9 - A song that makes you want to learn how to play an intrument.

'Cornflake Girl' by Tori Amos

Any song by Tori Amos makes me want to play piano and makes me wish that I've taken my piano lessons more seriously and have practiced more.

10 - A song that has taught you something.

'I am So Ordinary' by Paula Cole

In the lyrics, it said, 'Love is truly giving...' It's a real honest song.

11 - A song that I can never get sick of:

'Amazing' by George Michael

12. - A song that I can relax to:

'Only Time' by Enya

13 - A song that always makes me happy:

'Top of The World' by The Carpenters

14 - A song that reminds me of year 1998

'Believe' by Cher

I didn't like it when it first came out during 1998 and I only start liking it after a few years later and when it get less air play.

15 - A song that makes me feel like I should embrace more colours and cartoons again:

'Happy Ending' by Mika

A Song That Makes You... (e-swap) on Swap Bot

Drawing at the near by park

I went to the near by park to clear my mind. Look what I've drawn and I base it on this tree trunk I saw in front of me while sitting on park bench.

Drawing at the near by park

30 Questions email swap +5 of my own questions on Swap Bot

1. Dogs or cats? Both as they are all equally cute and funny in their own way.
   
2. Do you mind if your pets sleep in bed with you? No, unless they have fleas & they keep me awake in the middle of the night.
   
3. Are you or anyone you know worried about losing their job? I was and I am jobless at the moment.
   
4. Extend your left arm all the way out, what do you touch if anything? A blue plastic box with miscellenous stuff. I'm never really organised, I wish I could be tidier.
   
5. Are you a saver or spender? I think I'm more of a spender. I used to save more when I was younger.
   
6. Do you believe in kids having chores? Yes, or else it will be hard for them when they need to go to college or something.
   
7. When writing a letter, do you prefer to hand write or type? Hand write. I love hand written mail, I always prefer snail mail more than email.
   
8. Ellen/Oprah or Regis and Kelly? Ellen. She's funny.
   
9. Do you watch The Bachelor? If so, is this the best season? you’ve seen? I've never really seen it before.
   
10. With postage going up soon, will that change your swapping habits? Not really, as that happens every year I think.
    
11. Have gas prices gone up a lot where you live? Yes, especially the bus fare, it has gone up twice since last year when there's huge demand on it during August last year.
    
12. Can you touch your toes, without bending your legs? Yes, I guess I'm lucky to be blessed with long hands even though I don't exercise much at all.
    
13. What’s the temperature there? I have the heater on, so it's nice and warm at the moment in my room
    
14. Do you prefer to walk around barefoot in your home? Socks? Shoes? I prefer walking around barefoot in my room. Since I live in a shared house with my other housemates, I tend to wear slippers when I'm in communal areas such as the kitchen, toilet, anywhere outside my room
    
15. Are you a night owl? Yes, I have always been a night owl and unfortunately, I always have more inspiration late at night and I wish I can change that habit instead.
    
16. On how many hours of sleep can you function? It varies, normally at least 8 hours. When I was studying, I used to just sleep for 3 hours or so the night before the exam and cram my studies. I always do things last minute which is another habit I really ought to change as well.
    
17. Do you own or rent? I rent a room. I don't think I'll ever rent or own the whole house anytime soon, hopefully in the future.
    
18. Which was your best birthday ever? How old were you? Probably when I was younger and still in primary school and my aunt always bring me and my cousins to fast food shop to have a nice meal there. They didn't really let me have cakes as their reason for that was I always never finish the cake and waste it.
    
19. Do you prefer baths to showers? The other way around? Both? I like both although I only have shower at the moment. Once in a while, I like to buy some bath salts and soak myself in the tub, which is quite relaxing and good for the skin too.
    
20. Finish the sentence-on my last vacation I went to _____. I went to Paris, It was a week vacation and seeing Paris for the first time and I loved it even though I went there by myself and I lived in a really seedy hostel and a bad area in Paris but I get to visit all the lovely museum especially the Picasso museum which is a real eye opener. I hope I'll get to visit Paris again. I never really understand how so many people love it there and now I understand, having to visit the city of light myself.
    
21. If you have a great day who is the first person you tell? Currently, it would be my boyfriend, we always ask each other how our day is.
    
22. If you’re a Mom which is the best part of being one? If you’re a Dad, answer the same way? I'm non of them at the moment but I do hope to be a mom in the future.
    
23. Humidity or heat? Probably humidity, I came from a tropical country and I don't like too much heat but if i had to choose, I'll choose humidity, at least you have rain once in a while.
    
24. When you were a bride did everything go the right way on your special day? I haven't been a bride yet, not even a bride's maid.
    
25. Which are/is your favorite magazine(s)? At the moment, Lula Magazine, Prima magazine, Essential Magazine & other woman magazine. One of the big advantage of living in the UK at the moment is that you always have free gift with the purchase of a magazine, be it a beauty sample, tote...
    
26. Are you reading a book right now? If so, what’s the name of the book and the author? I'm not reading any book at the moment, unfortunately. But I'm reading www.oneprettything.com and also Geninne's Art Blog which are both really inspiring and other craft blogs as well and of course swap bot blog too.
    
27. Am I boring you with these random questions? No, I find this fun and this can be another blog entry of mine as well and also you get to know the other participants too.
    
28. How much time would you say you spend on Swap-Bot daily? At least 15 minutes or more daily.
    
29. Do you prefer e-mail swaps to mailing swaps? Or both? I prefer both, of course snail mail swaps are the best as I love receiving snail mail although it invovles more hard work.
    
30. Do you clean your house or have someone come in to do it? I don't have someone else to clean my room. I seldom clean my room, depending on my room. I have always been mess and a hoarder. I wish I'm someone who is tidier and still get to keep lots of stuff in place.
31. Tea or coffee? I always prefer tea as I never like the taste of coffee much. I like red bush tea, jasmine tea and green tea.
32. Do you buy much toiletries? Yes, I always buy new ones even though I haven't finish the old ones and I have tons of them, which is quite a bad habit.
33. Do you prefer the libraries or the book shops? I prefer the libraries if I want to read chick lit or something, but I normally buy magazines from the bookshops.
34. What is your favourite food? My favourite food will be anything vegetarian. At the moment it's olives and italian marinated chargrilled mushrooms.
35. What is your favourite movie? Amelie. I can watch it over and over again.
    

30 Questions email swap +5 of my own questions on Swap Bot

Picasso's Exhibition at The National Gallery

I bought the Calepin notebook from the Picasso's museum in Paris last August.

Today, I went to the Picasso's Exhibition at the National Gallery in London. I've come to London since yesterday and will go back to Leeds tomorrow. I've got the ticket at half price as I brought my redundancy letter with me and still unemployed. I have always love Picasso's work ever since I first saw his works in Peggy Guggenheim Musuem in Venice during year 2004. His arts are sometimes simple which make it easier for your eyes to look at. I did a few sketches in front of his arts during my visit this time:

Study on Picasso's Sleeping Nude With Blonde Hair, 1932

Study on Picasso's Reclining Nude, 1969

Study on Picasso's Minotaur, 1958

Study on Picasso's Large Bather, 1921 (Face Part)

Study on Picasso's Nude Woman in Red Armchair, 1932

Study on Picasso's The Artist In Front Of His Canvas, 1938

Picasso's Exhibition at The National Gallery