A Blue & Yellow setting

Paper is from Club Scrap Friendship kit. Ribbons & flowers are from my stash. 'Memories' and the swirl are UM stamps. The yellow center of the flowers is something called 'Diamondz' - small little bits of something plasticky that sparkle.

This is the terrace of my home where we have our BBQs. Stairs lead down to our very own private beach. It is really lovely. The whole 'Blue & Yellow' color combination was something I had always wanted to do. I had great fun making the sunflower centerpieces from scratch. The layout is called 'Memories' because we may have to move soon and this is one of the aspects of this house that I know I will not easily find anywhere else in Hong Kong. Just being prepared :-)

And here is something very interesting that I read today. Dawn from SS Reflections shared it with members of the group and now I feel that I must let everyone who visits this blog read it too!

[Act as if you're on top of the world...even if you're not sure]

by Victoria Moran

IRREPRESSIBLE is my favorite adjective - and possibly my favorite word. I just love the idea that we can perpetually draw on our own unconquerable spirit. One that's buoyant, effervescent, and utterly unstoppable.

Adept at bouncing back, the irrepressible don't see the surface of their lives as solid rock, harsh and unforgiving. Instead, it's more like a trampoline. Sure, they go down; everybody does. But they don't stay there. Rather, their low moments propel them to greater heights.

Some people seem to arrive on earth with a degree of resilience and optimism that's immune to even the harshest pedagogy of the school of hard knocks. As for the rest of us, we can still develop this outlook. It starts by acting "as if." You go about living as if you're on top of things...even if you don't know this for a fact. You surprise your adversaries by showing up for the race, even though they counted you out of the running. You respond to rejections with "Next!" and "Something better is on the way"...even when it sounds like self-delusion, if not an outright lie. You model your actions after the congenitally irrepressible, doing what they do, no matter how initially awkward you may feel.

Sometimes I'm reduced to "Woe is me!" by a major blow or, more often, a series of tiny ones. I first wallow in the agony with all due melodrama. But soon that gets tiring (and a little embarrassing, to be honest). That's when irrepressibility starts to marshal its forces. I feel it inside, growing from a mere spark to a serious flame that burns away "Everything is hopeless" and instead fuels "It ain't over yet." It pushes me out into the world where opportunities and serendipity and miracles of various sizes lie, waiting to be claimed.

Be irrepressible:

Surround yourself with positivity. Feed your spirit with the company of upbeat, land-on-their feet friends.

Find inspiration in biographies. Read books or watch movies that celebrate people who overcame the odds.

Draw strength from songs that tell us nothing is impossible. Musical theater is full of them.

Write the word "Irrepressible" and leave it in places you'll see when you're feeling stressed...your dashboard, your bathroom mirror. This word describes you.