Doggy dreams

When you are young, your dreams are never impossible to achieve. Caitlin has tons of wishes and hopes of being this or that, doing this or that, going here or there...Never a day goes by without us hearing about her dreams and wishes and requests to do or be something or go somewhere.

She's a kid who plunges really deep into a subject matter once she's hooked. The opposite is also true when she's not interested in something....

She loves animals, almost anything and everything about them, the wild ones, the domesticated ones, you name it, she'd probably have a few interesting facts to tell you about it. Her kindy teacher referred to her as the 'walking encyclopaedia on animals'. Sigh, I wish the teacher didn't do that. Well, at least she's not in kindy anymore.

And dogs, they reign supreme among her favourite animals next to tigers. Her fave character in Kung Fu Panda is not Po but Tigress...also because Tigress is female (she is very pro-female).

Since age 4, she's been dreaming of having pet dogs. She kept harping about how wonderful it'd be etc etc etc and was (still is) always thrilled to see stray dogs, other people's pet dogs, pictures of dogs, movies and documentaries about dogs....and feeding and walking Copper, grandpa's dog, whenever we visit my in-laws.

She had pre-named her dream dogs Rusty and Mermaid Girl and even determined their breeds and gender. Rusty is a male schnauzer and Mermaid Girl a female dachsund. She drew pictures of her dream dogs and included a nice house and garden in the picture. It doesn't stop there. After smaller breed dogs, she wants larger breeds along with us moving into a bungalow with a large compound for the dogs to roam around....

Since mid-Jan, half of the first part of her dream has been realised, makes you wonder if the much hyped about "Law of Attraction" truly, truly works (hmmm, a bungalow...). We didn't consciously seek out Rusty the male schnauzer but he 'appeared' at the right time when we had planned to move to a house (i.e. can own a pet dog vs cannot have dog in apartment). We have yet to move in to the house so Rusty is now ruling the apartment and our lives!


Caitlin did her homework with Rusty on her lap this afternoon...

Caitlin is also currently into the videos of Balto (mixed husky-wolf) plus its sequels, and Snow Buddies (golden retrievers). Most nights, she requests for bedtime stories about these dogs and their adventures which we have to make up as we go along. Prior to this, it was Eight Below (huskies) and Underdog (beagle). Animal Planet and ASPCA shows compete with Playhouse Disney Channel.

Her craze about huskies has also gotten her interested in dog sledding and racing and Alaska. "When we visit America, I want to go to Alaska and go dog-sledding..." A couple of hours ago, her Alaskan dream escalated to "Mum, when I'm a teenager, I want to race in the Iditarod..."

Nothing gets in the way of your dreams when you are a child.

Still

A song Caitlin shared with me today.

Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me
within your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God

Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know his power
In quietness and trust

Girl and 'lovingly tortured' dog

"I'm outta here before I get tortured some more"


"No, I don't wanna wave...."


"No, I don't wanna smile..."


"Hey, I can keep my head up myself"


"Aargh, gimme a break will ya?"

The Power of Positive Thinking

It seems whenever we are faced with uncertainties, such as a troubling or challenging situation, or anticipating the fate or result of something, we find ourselves mentally convincing ourselves that “everything is going to be alright”... “it will turn out fine”. This is the inherent power of positive or optimistic thinking – the mental attitude that expects good and favourable results. We hear about it and read about it because it is a concept that has a very high view of human nature and ability.

If you believe that our circumstances and conditions are not dictated by the world outside, then you know that you have the innate ability to create or alter reality to your choosing. This is done by creating positive thoughts, which in turn creates and focusses energy into reality.

Being or becoming an optimist is by choice. For one thing, no one is really a natural pessimist. We choose what we want to think about so our attitude is 100% changeable.

Positive thinking is an important life tool and it can be extremely beneficial for anyone who is hoping to achieve their goals. Here are 11 simple steps to help you get into the habit of having a positive state of mind:

Question it – Is it really your problem? Could you be taking responsibility for something that is not yours?

Talk it out – Share it with someone else. Friends, family, colleagues, etc.

Write it down then throw it out – Put your worries down on paper and then throw it away.

Breathe it away – Inhale... exhale. Do some breathing exercises for a few minutes a day.

Hold it – Say “Stop”, pause and steady your thoughts. Sometimes just doing this consciously will help bring back the positive thinking!
Work it off – Do something physical to give your stress and tension an outlet.

Distance it – Imagine your problem a few years from now. How much will it matter to you then?

Balance it – Find a good side, not just a bad. What can you possibly learn from this situation? Perhaps you have strength you never imagined!

Exaggerate it – Picture the worst that can really happen. How likely is it?
Shrug it off – Raise your shoulders, and then drop them. Repeat. Relax your whole body. Guided relaxation tapes are a good habit to get into, to help your body know how to feel relaxed.

Laugh it off – Look for some humour in the situation and have a good laugh!

One week

It's been a week since my last post here. We were off school and work for a total of 10 days which included three days of public holidays (two for Chinese New Year and one for Federal Territory Day). We gathered with family in Klang and Seremban, ate, ate, ate, exchanged CNY red packets, shopped for new house stuff, moved a number of boxes and now, the 10 days are over... :( So quickly, we're now back to our daily routine of school, work, errands and household chores.

Caitlin and Eugene have left for school and work, while I'm trying to get myself motivated to work from home and tend to errands....checking on email, reading online news and blogging right now are actually not helping!

Looking at Rusty spread out comfortably napping with his rawhide bone in his mouth makes me envious, just like how a baby is sleeping with his pacifier in the mouth. Hmmm, the life of a pet dog in a loving family is great. Who cares if countries are at war, world weather is in chaos, local politicians continue their comedy, people get kidnapped and murdered, detainees die from police brutality, world economy is in the pits .... I'll sleep and play as I like, get fed when it's time and have others picking up my shit, literally or otherwise. What a dog's life!


Rusty in his favourite sleeping position beneath my computer chair

The human whose feet the privileged dog is lying beneath has a long list of "to-do" items... Write, write, write (not easy when you have trouble focusing, hmmm, do I have ADHD?), tidy up house, pack stuff, call the plumber, electrician, cleaners, furniture shop, defects rectification guy for the house, shop for more light fixtures, aircons, water heaters, cook dinner, do laundry, fold laundry, pick up dry cleaning, feed the dog and fish, collect some online purchase item from their local office, pay bills online, go to the bank, fetch Caitlin from school, do homework with her, practise drum and piano with her (more like pulling teeth despite her interest), catch up on six months' filing of documents, bills, etc (this one I loathe as you can tell from the procrastination), and shop for a birthday present. Oh, and should I attend Caitlin's school PTA AGM this Saturday? What a human's life!

Okay human, take a deep breath and count your blessings. The journey of a thousand miles begins when you have a good idea of where you are heading, why you are heading there and how you intend to get there....