Happy new year to all my friends! 

Wait who are my friends? Are they the 1,000 friends on Facebook. Or how about my 1.5m followers on Instagram. Also don’t forget my 2.6m followers in Twitter! 

Actually I have over time identified who my real friends are.  The ones that come and go and grow with you through time.  They can enter your life early on in primary school or they can enter your life after university.  No matter what the friends that stay with you are the ones you can grow with together and separately over time.

It all depends on your situation right? Where you happen to be in a certain time of your life.  But those friends you make throughout your life will stay strong as long as you grow individually and they grow individually and you both can share the experiences together.  

One last thought (for now), the effort you put in for friendship determines the quality of it.  Don’t waste your time if you feel your not getting much from it.  We’re all human we will get over it.

So to all my friends! You know who you are.  Love you and wish you all the best in 2016!!!!!

   
 
Another year has flown by and we are all a year wiser! So what were your top ten achievements or highlights for 2015? Well let me have a go at mine in chronological order.

1. Started shedding weight towards the end of 2014 and achieved my initial targeted weight of 170 lbs before we went to Hong Kong in March.

2. I was baptised in April at my local parish in Richmond.  It was a wonderful day that I committed my life to Christ as a Roman Catholic.

3. Visited Scotland via road trip with my family in July.

4. Took my CIPS level 5 exams and as of this writing passed 4 out of the 5.  The last one I find out in January after I take the first exam of the final level.

5. Got a new job that gave me more flexibility in my work life balance and a 15% pay increase.

Okay so I am struggling with 10! I’m sure there are more but these are the ones I remember the most.

What is in store for 2016?

Good health and happiness are my goals.

Looking forward to it!

Never heard of this until I moved to the UK and now I get an extra day holiday to enjoy! Awesome!

What is it exactly? Well without looking it up in Wikipedia I’m guessing it has to do with the removal of all the boxes after Christmas Day – that is if you received a gift in a box.  These days you’re lucky if you even get a box! Maybe you’ll get an e-voucher which is perfect for those last minutes (oops I forgot to get something for my wife) or perhaps you just go shopping on Boxing Day to hit up all the sales that are going on.

So should we be buying Christmas gifts? Maybe to save money time and effort just do online shopping on Boxing Day or hit up one of the many sales going on the day of. That’s what we did.  I have to say buying your own gifts for Xmas is so much better than opening a box and being somewhat happy (mostly displeased, but grateful) of the gift that you received.  But alas there is always the gift receipt.  So what’s the point?

Let’s teach our kids that Boxing Day is the day they get to choose their gifts that are on sale only!

Happy shopping!

  
Happiness is defined simply as a smile on ones face.  What makes one happy isn’t the same for everyone. Looking at kids they seem to smile at the simplest things. Whether it be a funny expression on ones face or a funny sound or just simply smiling because they are happy to be around people they love (like) – mom and dad. I put like in parenthesis because love is another feeling that is defined differently and I don’t know or think kids know what love is – at least at the age of 2!

So whether it’s family, friends or your 5 glasses of mulled wine, have a very happy and festive and safe and blessed Christmas!

Remember, we are celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and that’s all the more reason to be happy.

Happy Christmas!

Christmas for me is always a time of reflection of family.  I remember time spent with my dad, mom and sister.  We would spend the evening preparing for Santa to come and give us presents because we were sort of good all year.  Yes I believed in Santa but of course eventually found out the truth. 

Now as a parent, it’s a different experience all together.  Knowing what we know now do we go along with it for he sake of the kids or reveal the truth of this holiday.  Which is not about the gifts and Santa but about the birth of Christ and appreciating our loved ones.  It’s a tough one isn’t it?  Especially when your childhood may not have had a typical Christmas experience of family dinners, Santa visits, presents, etc.

What to do? Well my suggestion is to go along with what the kids want.  They’re kids only once and we’re adults only once.   Play along. Kids aren’t dumb.  And we’ll slip up and make a mistake (just like how I found out there was no Santa).

There is only the birth of Christ and the reason we even celebrate this special day.

Merry Christmas to all and to those that don’t celebrate Christmas – happy holidays and wish all the best for you and your family!