A short dedication

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I would like to dedicate today's post to a kind and wonderful man, a man who worked so hard and dedicated his life to looking after his family, a man who for many years in high school and medical school treated me like a daughter. I was so very sad when I found out that he had passed away. And I was sadder that it was such an event that would bring me back in contact with an old friend. 

I don't have much more to say today. So I will share with you this excerpt from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.

On death
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.


In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?


For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?


Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

Look after yourselves my lovelies.  

Inspirational quotes: Kindness

I totally agree!

Enjoy your day :-)

Winners of the Filofax Share your memories competition

Apologies my lovelies for posting this so late. However my laptop is dying/dead, I was on call last night and I had no time at work to write this post (until now). Anyways the winners for the Filofax Share your memories competition are

1.      Sandra W

2.      Helen F

3.      Leilani Angel

4.      Nina Z

5.      Nofar S (Daximillian) 

6.      Hannah J (Rockangel) 

Congratulations to all of you who emailed such fabulous entries. I would like to share some of these entries in the future on my blog so look out for them coming soon. Also if you don't want your entry posted then let me know!


Filofax will be in contact with the winners soon.



:-)

What kinds of posts do you love?

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Lovely people. The other day DH asked me a question which I couldn't answer. As I am a nicheless blogger (i.e. I blog about random things that come into my mind) he wanted to know which kinds of posts were most popular. I am certain that my filofax posts go down well as I am not the only filo addict out there. But then I am a fan of my 30 days of truth posts as I get to share opinions, bare my soul or talk about controversial/ more serious topics. But I also love my fashion posts and my happiness/inspiration posts and my fabulously frugal posts and......... well I guess I love everything!!! Even though I haven't posted anything about scrapbooking in ages!


Anyways I guess I just wanted to know which categories of posts you guys loved. I know I asked about favourites in terms of individual posts but it would be interesting for me to do 'research' into the categories as well!! So please share in the comments, which categories are your favourites and whether you think I should focus on any particular areas or whether there is something you would really like me to talk about.


The categories are
1. Filofaxes
2. Fashion
3. Public health/women's health
4. 30 days of Truth posts
5. PhD/Academia
6. Scrapbooking
7. Frugal is Fabulous
8. Other
9. I like your randomness just the way it is!!


Thanks my dearies. Enjoy your day!

Share your filofax memories competition update

Hello lovelies
The deadline for the Filofax memories competition is tonight at 11:59 pm. There has been an exciting update to the competition which you can check out here!

Please ensure that your entries are within the 300-500 word limit.

Have a wonderful day!

Endometriosis

Welcome to my first ever article on women's health. Today I want to give an overview on endometriosis.


What is Endometriosis?
Endometriosis refers to a common condition where tissue that is usually found in the lining of the womb or uterus (endometrium) is found growing on other organs outside of the uterus. These organs include the ovaries, fallopian tubes, bladder, bowel or even the vagina or rectum. Occasionally the endometriosis can end up in the lung, brain, skin or even eye. The problem with endometriosis cells is that they behave just the same as those that line the womb. Therefore within each menstrual cycle the cells grow and then are shed as a bleed. This is problematic as when the cells are outside of the uterus there is no where for the 'bleed' to go, which can lead to pain and swelling among other symptoms.


Who is at risk of Endometriosis?
The condition usually affects women who are between the ages of 16 and 50 (i.e. when women have menstrual cycles) and is hardly ever seen in children or postmenopausal women. 


What are the symptoms of Endometriosis?
Some women have absolutely no symptoms (asymptomatic). Symptoms can range from mild to very severe and include
-painful periods
-heavy periods
-pain in the lower abdomen or pelvic area
-lower back pain
-bleeding in between periods (intermenstrual bleeding)
-fertility problems (difficulty getting pregnant)


Other symptoms can occur depending on the location of the endometriosis, for example if you have endometriosis in your bowel you can get bowel blockage, blood in the urine if it is located in your bladder or you may even cough up blood if it is in the lung. Some women may develop endometriosis in scars from previous operations, for example Caesarean sections, which can present as lumps in the scar, which get more painful during the actual period.


How is Endometriosis diagnosed?
Endometriosis is usually diagnosed via a procedure called a laparoscopy which is when a tube with a tiny camera in placed in your body. Usually the laparoscope is inserted in an area that is associated with symptoms, so that if you get pain in your tummy or pelvic area, the laparoscope will be inserted there. 


Treatment of Endometriosis
Treatment is dependent on your symptoms. Therefore you may get pain relief, treatment to slow down the growth of the endometrial tissue (hormones), fertility treatment or surgery to remove the endometrial tissue. The type of treatment is also dependent on the woman, i.e. whether or not she wants to get pregnant or has completed her family, whether she wants to have surgery or not, or even whether or not she is close to menopause as symptoms may be reduced with menopause when oestrogen levels fall. There is no one size fits all treatment (it will be tailored to fit teach individual's needs) so it is important to bear this in mind when you see the doctor. 


So this is just a snap shot overview of a condition all women (and men) should know something about. Of course if you have any unusual symptoms then you should see your GP quite urgently who will decide whether you should be referred to a gynaecologist for further treatment/investigations. 


For further reading see
-NHS Choices Endometriosis
-Net doctor Endometriosis
-Endomteriosis UK Charity for extra support for women living with endometriosis


Have a good day!

On giving back

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"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you."- Mother Teresa

"It is not that successful people are givers; it is that givers are successful people." Patti Thor

"Do not commit the error, common among the young, of assuming that if you cannot save the whole of mankind you have failed."- Jan de Hartog

Earlier this week I was invited to a very special dinner. There was someone very important at this particular event; someone who I shall refer to as the VIP. Unfortunately the VIP and I ended up in quite a heated argument. Why? Because it was my opinion that the VIP was speaking utter nonsense. And friends you know that I have little tolerance for nonsense, it doesn't matter who you are. It became even more entertaining when VIP thought that shouting at me would make me back down. Of course it did not, much to the amusement of the other diners. So what was this topic that caused so much controversy? Well it had something to do with giving back. But more importantly it was the notion that unless you were giving back to your 'own people' then you could not possibly be making a relevant contribution. 

Now the verb 'give back' can have several different meanings. It may simply mean to pay back, refund, repay or return goods and services. However I am using it in the context of 'paying back' or 'reimbursing' society for the goods that I have received, for example making a contribution back to society for the fact that I received an excellent education, good health care, grew up in a secure environment etc. To me it means saying thanks and expressing gratitude for what I have received in life. Although of course success depends on an individual's actions and choices as well since there are many people who have received the same or much more than I have who have chosen not to do anything useful with their lives. 


But I digress. Giving back is extremely important to me and it goes beyond simply giving money. It means giving of your time to others, whether than means friends, family, co-workers, or unknown people who may seek your advice or assistance. To me giving back means going the extra mile, doing things that are beyond what you 'need' to do either because it fits in with your world view or because you are simply passionate about it. However to me it does NOT necessarily mean giving back to 'certain' groups of people ONLY, whether that be based on race or sex or religion (although it is perfectly ok to choose to focus your efforts on whatever cause is important to you, for example a religious community, working with women or children, war veterans, people with disabilities etc) . Therefore I was extremely offended by the comment that a contribution made in a 'white-man's country' was a wasted contribution. As a matter of fact I was disgusted. And I made my feelings known. 


Why? Because the fact that I have chosen to work and live in the UK does not make me any less patriotic, or any less Trinidadian. I consider myself an ambassador for my country; I have never hidden the fact that I am Trinidadian and I go out of my way to educate people about the little island I came from. But I will not deny the fact that small societies tend to suffer from a lot of nepotism, i.e. who you are connected to tends to be much more important that what you know. And too many of my friends and family have suffered from or continue to suffer from this fact which is extremely frustrating. I have also experienced this. And it is one of the reasons I left for pastures abroad as I always felt that I would be kept back. It is something that needs to be changed in order to stop the hemorrhage of young talent from these societies. And something that should not be ignored. But with time comes change and it is up to the young people (and those who are young at heart) with more global views to eventually make a difference.


So folks, was I right to stand up to this person? Do you think that a contribution made in another country or another place is a lesser contribution? I would be very interested to know what you have to say so please share in the comments and have a lovely day. 

Share your filofax memories: a plea for entries!!!

Lovely people


No one has entered Three people have entered the Share your filofax memories competition as yet. I beg you, actually I beseech you to enter! :-) You can send your text to me via caribbeanprincessmusingsATgmailDOTcom (using the regular convention of course) and I will put it on the template if that is easier for you.


Ok so ENTER, ENTER, ENTER!!


You can find details here.

(Update 24th October 2011) Filofax have kindly offered further organisers for this competition so the first 6 to enter will receive a lovely filofax!!


Have a lovely day. 

Her Royal Highness recommends 20/10/11

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I have read so many great articles since my last web finds post in June. Here is a list of my favourites in the last 4 months.


♥ Chains of Perfectionism by Well Planned Life. Kanalt is an excellent writer and in this post she talks about her struggle with perfectionist thoughts and anxiety. I can also recognise a lot of these traits in myself and I have had to learn to control them over the years (it is still a continuing process!)


♥ Steve wrote a guest post for Miscellany from a Filofax Fanatic on Making a career out of doing as little as possible. He made me laugh but actually it could make you cry if you have to work with awful work colleagues like what he described. So much worse than The Office!!! I loved it, loved it, loved it!!


♥ Recently I have received emails from some of you who have to deal with haters in your lives. I wrote two articles On haters and Six top tips for dealing with haters. Glamour on the islands also asked me to do a guest post On How to Deal with Fake people which you can also read. 


♥ I love ProBlogger and although my blog is not focused on making money, I enjoy reading his posts. This article on 65 ways to drive traffic to your Blog was very useful. I just need to find the time to implement some of them!


♥ Gala Darling wrote a fabulous article I'm so Jealous! How to deal with the green eyed monster when it threatens to get the best of you. Everyone should read this as jealousy gets you nowhere!


♥ If you missed it then her Radical Self Love Manifesto is also great! Print it out and stick it on your wall, or put it in your filofax!!


♥ Celes of the Personal Excellence blog wrote a fantastic post on 11 life lessons we can learn from Steve Jobs. It is a wonderful tribute but more importantly contains many lessons that we can apply to our lives. 


♥ I would also recommend the 22 Q&A's in the Ask Celes series. Some of the questions may be relevant, others not so much but you are sure to find something that is useful to you. 


Ok and last but not least, please enter the Share Your Filofax Memories competition to win a filofax. There is a helpful FAQ post on Philofaxy. So far I don't have any entries so if you enter mine you are more likely to be in the top three for my blog. haha!!


Have a wonderful day!

7 links- my best posts so far!!!

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I was tagged by the lovely Sarah of the ShuBox for this meme way back in July although I am now getting around to doing it! After all you can't know where you are going until you know where you've been so I have enjoyed this look back into my top 7 posts (according to myself!)


♥ My most beautiful post
My favourite posts are the ones in my 30 days of Truth series. I love all of these, but I think the most beautiful posts are those that I dedicated to my Dad and my husband, two of the most important men in my life. 


♥ My most popular post
This may not come as a surprise but it is the very first filofax post that I wrote on My lovely Adelphi Filofax. Adelphi has now been replaced by my personal Malden (as she is on sabbatical) but she will be back at some point!


♥ My most controversial post
This would definitely have to be Is breast best? My personal view as it is completely different from my professional viewpoint. 


♥ My most helpful post
I thought that my most helpful post was Anxious about E coli: what you really need to know as there was a lot of fear about the German outbreak and I was happy to provide my readers with the facts as well as use my expertise as a public health doctor.


♥ A post whose success surprised me
I was surprised by the number of comments and link backs that I got for this post On having children part one. I really enjoyed that!


♥ A post I feel didn't get the attention it deserved
This post On Fashion and Feminism didn't get that much of a response which surprised me as I thought so many of you would be interested in both topics! Ah well......


♥ The post I'm most proud of 
This is another truth post and the second one in the series. It is Something I Love about myself. It really gives the essence of who I am as a person. 


I would like to tag all of you with blogs for this meme. I would love to read what you have to say. Also although I have listed my favourites I would be very keen to know which are YOUR favourite posts in the categories. Please share in the comments. And if any of you do the meme as well then please also leave a link in the comments.


Take care :-)

What I wore to an Autumn wedding :-)

Oh my
I am back from my best friend's wedding and it was absolutely amazing!!! It was such a wonderful day. I was so sad when it came to an end. She made an absolutely stunning bride and her groom was very handsome indeed. Everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves. It was so much fun. Even DH admitted that Caribbean and African people knew how to have a good time!!! ha-ha. I also had my first stint as a makeup artist and I was so nervous beforehand that I would mess it all up. But I didn't! Although my subject (the bride) had such perfect skin that I didn't need to do much! ;-) I am so completely exhausted now. But exhausted as in the walking on cloud nine, grinning to myself kind of way. As I am so dedicated to this blog I didn't want to miss a post so I shall share with you what I wore to the wedding.


First you should go back and read this post (if you haven't already) so that you can have an idea of all the contenders. I decided that I wanted to wear a long dress as I would have more than enough opportunities to wear cocktail dresses over the next few months. I ordered the blue Goddess Maxi Dress and the red Elita One Shoulder dress from Coast. The blue dress was stunning. But it was way too long for me and I had no time to get it altered. The red dress on the other hand should have been longer for a maxi and I found looked too casual for such an important event. However this maxi caught my eye. Here it is.

Shylo jersey Maxi Dress- Coast

Initially I was not keen on ordering this dress as it was black. And in Trinidad wearing black to a wedding is a real no-no, after all are you in mourning? However this dress fit me perfectly and it would be obviously inappropriate for a more sombre occassion. I was still careful though and checked with my best friend, the bride, that she was ok with it :-) I think this dress is perfect for pear shapes and the side slit made it quite sexy as well. 

New Look Leopard Print pumps

Ok I am not a woman who usually wears stilettos. But these leopard print pumps from New Look were good value at £19.99!!! I thought about using silver accessories to highlight the black dress. But then I decided on animal print and it was a decision that I DID NOT REGRET. Animal print is very on trend this season and it lifted my all black dress. Oh I should mention that these pumps were also wide fit, so unlike so many pumps I could actually get them on!! I LOVE, LOVE these shoes and will definitely get in black as well at some point!!! My pumps were not open toe as in the picture above though but you can see them here.

Suzy Smith Leopard Clutch

Last but not least, I needed a clutch to match my shoes. I fell in love with this striking leopard print clutch which also included a detachable strap for wearing on the shoulder. I thought the bow was a nice touch as well since it made the clutch a bit more interesting. 


To complete my look I added a pair of hanging drop earrings in black. I also got DH to walk with a pair of comfy black loafers (my old hospital on call shoes) for the party afterwards!!! My dress was long enough to hide them. And I was able to dance the night away!!


So my lovelies. What did you think of my wedding outfit? Also would you wear black to a wedding? Please share in the comments and have a great day!


P.S The last couple of weekends have been busy for me but in the next couple of weeks I am hoping to do my first women's health post. Also don't forget to enter this fabulous competition to have a chance of winning a lovely Filofax. So far I am feeling sad as I have no entries :-(

One of my favourite quotes: He who knows not

I love this quote. It just makes so much sense!


Have a great weekend my dearies. 

Share your filofax memories

This October, Filofax and Musings of a Caribbean Princess would like to invite you to share your favourite Filofax memory. Whether it’s a tale about your first Filofax, the story of your first visit to the Filofax store or even a moment when a Filofax played an important part in your life, we want to hear from you!

Over the next two weeks, you will be able submit your cherished Filofax memories by 26th October at 23:59 (UK time) to caribbeanprincessmusingsATgmailDOTcom with Filofax Competition in the subject line. This can be beautifully handwritten, typed or even drawn onto the special Filofax diary page template which you can download from the link below.

I will then choose the top 10 memories to be uploaded onto the official Filofax Facebook page for fans all over the world to read and ‘like’.

On the 4th November, the three memories which have the most ‘likes’ from the Caribbean Princess album will receive brand new Filofax organisers as a very special thank you for participating in the challenge.

Interested in sharing your Filofax memories? Here’s how to take part:

1.Download the Filofax diary page template from the link below  PPT Format, PDF Format.

2.Write, draw or type your 300-500 word memory onto the Filofax diary page template

3.Send your memory back to caribbeanprincessmusingsATgmailDOTcom by 26th October 23:59 (UK time). I will then select the top 10 stories to be uploaded onto the Filofax Facebook page. Maximum of 3 entries per person.

4.Filofax fans will then be encouraged to ‘like’ their favourite memories

5.The three memories that receive the most ‘likes’ from the Caribbean Princess album will receive brand new Filofax organisers!
4. (Update 24th October 2011) Filofax have kindly offered further organisers for this competition so the first 6 to enter will receive a lovely filofax!!

This competition is open WORLDWIDE!!! So what are you waiting for? Enter!!

Winner of the first year blog anniversary giveaway!!

Well lovelies
I am so very excited to share with you the winner of this giveaway. It has been such an exciting year for me, in real life and virtually. This little blog has attracted more than 100 000 page views! I really cannot believe it. To choose a winner this time I went retro and scribbled the numbers on bits of paper, put them in a bag and then selected one. It was so much more fun than random.org!


So who has won this lovely filofax?

The winner is the lovely Han (rockangel). Yay! Please contact me on caribbeanprincessmusingsAT gmailDOTcom using the normal convention and I will make arrangements for you to receive this wonderful filofax.


Have a great day everyone! Thanks so much to everyone for supporting this blog and supporting me!

What to wear to an autumn wedding

Hi hi
It finally feels like Autumn in the UK after the heatwave at the end of September and I am already yearning for Spring! Or hotter climates. Oh dear! Happily, my best friend is getting married soon and so formal dresses have been on my mind. I was planning to wear another dress that I already owned but due to unforeseen circumstances (the dress still fits by the way) I won't be able to. My favourite store to get anything formal is Coast. I absolutely adore their dresses. Here are my favourite dresses from the high street for an autumn wedding. 

Patrice One Shoulder Dress- Coast. 

I love one shoulder dresses. Maybe it is because I have narrow shoulders. Anyways this Patrice dress would look great with silver or black accessories. Chic and elegant and can be worn again to your Christmas party!

Hybrid dress with Deep V Nexk and frill sleeves- Asos.

I love this plum colour for autumn! Purple and burgundy are my favourite colours. This dress is quite figure enhancing and would be a stunner in my opinion. 

Goddess Maxi Dress- Coast.

I totally agree with the name of the Goddess dress. It is simply stunning! And the cobalt blue is very trendy as well. Another lovely option from Coast. 

Hybrid dress with 3/4 sleeves and side bow- Asos.

The copper colour of this dress is also very autumnal. Wear with a pair of black killer heels and you are good to go!

Elita One Shoulder Dress- Coast

You may already know that I am a maxi dress fiend! And this red number is such a show stopper. Keep your accessories simple for this one!

Nikita Ruched Dress- Coast.

Would you wear black to a wedding? Personally I think that a little black dress can work for any occasion. I would accessorise with animal print/leopard print although you can glam it up a bit more with silver or metallic accessories.


Ok let me know what you think. I have some exciting posts coming up, including the announcement of the Filofax Songbird giveaway winner! 


Is anyone else going to a wedding this autumn/winter? What are you planning to wear? Please share in the comments and have a great day!

A Frugal is Fabulous update 7/10/11

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Hello Hello
It has been so long since I posted anything Frugal is Fabulous due to my 2 week blog holiday, going to Paris and then coming back to a conference and an annual review at work. I have been so extremely busy! Also we are now in October proper so I have less than 2 months til the end of the challenge. I decided that I should do a little update and try to kickstart the Fab Frugal Challenge again. I am working with someone to do a lovely guest post as well so hopefully that will all work out fine.


Anyways I wanted to give a little update as to how it was going for me. To be honest September was not a good month. Although I had budgeted properly for my holiday I ended up having to pay my medical Faculty late fees (and the yearly fee) as my standing order had not continued into this year. And being a member of any Royal College/Faculty in the UK costs a ton of money! I had budgeted for my medical protection and BMA fees so that was fine. However all the extra money swishing around in my account disappeared in one fell swoop when I paid the Faculty fees although luckily I did not need to touch my savings. I also had to fund the conference expenses up front which I will definitely need to reclaim.


After I bought the Longchamps Le Pliage large tote in Paris I ordered myself a small one as well from Selfridges (which was very, very naughty of me). So my ban is definitely back on until November as I am saving for an extra special present (for myself, not DH! haha. Well maybe DH will get something). I have collected some lovely stuff over the year as presents for most of my family for Christmas since I really dislike the Christmas crowds. Therefore I may only need a few more accessories to complete the gift list. Now I just need someone to take all these gifts back to Trinidad for me! Hopefully my big bro will! :-)


So my plans for October and November are to

• Avoid buying any more autumn/winter stuff. I have got my boots re-soled and re-heeled and should look forward instead to wearing all my lovely autumn/winter outfits which have been untouched since March. I was fortunate to sell some items which I used as some spare cash to get myself a few new season H&M and Asos items to update my wardrobe on the cheap. The quality was quite good too so it was not a waste of money.
• No more impulse buying. I have become totally smitten by my Mulberry Bayswaters. The quality is amazing and I am thrilled to use them every day. They go with everything and can be used for work, casual and formal events. Basically after I get my special present for birthday/Christmas my bag collection will be pretty near complete so I do not need to purchase any more bags for a while.This is hard for me as I am a bag addict more than shoes or clothes.
• Try to part with some more of my filofaxes. I have lots sitting unused on my shelf but it is really difficult to let them go. I was mourning the sale of two of my favourites recently. But I will absolutely not buy any more filofaxes. I was pleased that I did not break this resolve at the last Philofaxy meet up. I don't plan on purchasing any at the November meet up either.
• Shop my wardrobe. I have a lot of clothes. I know this because my work colleagues claim they never see me in the same outfit twice. Now this is not true. I just have a long cycle time before I repeat outfits! Or they have short memories! I do have some favourite items which I wear more regularly though. Before I start yearning for new clothes I need to wear all of the items in my wardrobe!
• Avoid clutter. There is not much space left in my wardrobe which is a good indication that I probably don't need any more stuff. My drawers are not overflowing with items either so I will try to keep them like this.

Ok dearies so what are your plans for the rest of your FabFrugal Challenge? Have you read any interesting books or money saving articles? Please share in the comments. I would also like to give a special mention to Ro who has been the most focussed out of all of us in being frugal and fabulous! She also has an amazing voice! Well done Ro!

Enjoy your day :-) It's Friday! Yay!

Six top tips for dealing with haters

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Hello wonderful people
I had such a good response to the last post On Haters vie emails and messages that I decided that it would be a good idea to share some tips on how to deal with these individuals. It is really sad that so many people have to live with personal attacks (sometimes for just being 'different') each day. However having some coping strategies can be helpful as it is really important not to let the haters (or anyone else for that matter) pull you down.


1. Understand the definition of a hater . 
A hater is not a happy person. S(he) feels better by trying to belittle the person who is the subject of their hate. Therefore there is no point in spending too much time trying to understand why they are behaving this way. 


2. Ignore them.
A hater is not interested in giving constructive criticism to make you a better person or more successful. They are most likely extremely jealous of your happiness and your success. Since they will say nothing that will help you as a person then the simplest way is to just ignore them. If the haters are virtual then find ways to block their comments, tweets or messages. In the real world avoid them like the plague if you know who they are. 


3. Continue doing what you do.
Most people get haters because they ARE doing something RIGHT. It is unfortunate but haters can actually be a measure of success. But that is the world we live in. So if you have a very successful blog or you tube channel that has spawned off hater blogs etc then you KNOW that you have arrived! So keep up the good work. Haha.


4. Push forward
Instead of spending your time worrying about those who are not friends or fans (and who will never be), use your time and energy to work harder at the things you love, i.e. your relationships, career, studies or hobbies. It is important to remain focussed on achieving your goals in life.


5. Don't stoop to their level
Although you may tempted to react by being just as nasty or spiteful, DO NOT become a hater yourself. There is no reason you should suck positivity out of your life or allow yourself to be consumed by hate as well. Be kind but don't fight fire with fire. Let them live with their own bitterness and resentment.


6. Keep calm and carry on
It is your life so live it the way that you want to. No one is immune from attacks and hostilities. And the more successful you become, the more likely you are to have to deal with unpleasant events and people. So just keep calm and carry on. In five or ten years' time you probably won't even remember or you won't even care!


Enjoy your day and please share any more strategies in the comments section. 

On haters...

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Hater (n.)
A person that simply cannot be happy for another person's success. Instead of giving acknowledgement in courtesy a hater often pursues his/her point by exposing a flaw in the target subject. Hating, the result of being a hater, is not exactly jealousy. The hater doesn't really want to be the person he or she hates, rather the hater just wants to knock the person down a notch.
(From The Urban Dictionary.) 


Hater. Or worse yet h8r. Is it a grossly overused urban term? Annoying to say the least? Totally cliche? Well all of the above may be correct but I cannot deny that in this world there are many people who fit the definition I included above. Let's face it. There are certain individuals who are so unhappy with their lives that they cannot STAND the thought of someone else being happy or successful. Instead of working harder or trying to change whatever is making them miserable, they focus instead on hurting others, on bringing their victims down a notch or two. 


Recently one of my lovely readers shared an article about a British woman who had won the lottery but had gone back to stacking shelves in her local grocery. At the time of her lottery win she was battling cancer but after having successful treatment she went back out to work as she missed her friends and wanted to feel like her life was back to normal. She had donated some of her money to charities and bought herself a house. But overall she had avoided lavish spending. I thought it was a heartwarming story. I was pleased for her. But then I read some of the thousands of the comments on the article and let me tell you, people WERE SO NASTY!!! She was attacked for not giving enough to charity. She was attacked for 'depriving' someone else of a job. She was insulted and called names. There was so much hate and vitriol. It was absolutely ridiculous.  


Of course each person is allowed to have an opinion. But when these opinions are voiced in ways that are nasty and spiteful, especially when they are hidden behind the label 'Anonymous' then I will call it as I see it. You are most definitely a HATER! In my lifetime I have come across a fair number of haters. These people try to block your path to stop you from succeeding, spread lies and misinformation about you behind your back and in the event that you do end up being successful, will NEVER EVER be happy for your success. But the worse thing about haters is that they are cowards. Most will never say anything directly to your face. They will never disagree with you up front. I think these people are worse than naysayers who at least are open and honest about why they think you will never succeed at anything. Also naysayers are easy to avoid and exclude from your life as you know exactly who they are and why you don't really want to have anything to do with them. 


So what to do about haters then? My advice would be to simply continue being who you are as person and doing what you do as your continued happiness and success will just irritate them! It is a fact of life that not everyone will like you. So you just have to deal with it and move on. On the rare occasion where the haters may actually have a valid point, then you can learn from this and move on. You cannot and should not live your life to please everyone. After all, as George Herbert says 'Living well is the best revenge'.  And HATERS ARE ALWAYS GONNA HATE!! haha


So what do you think of the term hater? Do you have haters? Please share your experiences in the comments.


Have a wonderful day my lovelies. Remember the giveaway closes today so don't forget to enter to win yourself a lovely Filofax Songbird. 

A sexy video- French Cancan by Inna Modja

I cannot believe it is already October! Where has this year gone? Oh my! Anyways I want to share with you a video for a song that I heard and loved while I was in France. Unfortunately I can't seem to get a version of this song on iTunes, so I can only watch it on YouTube. 


Here it is. Lyrics here.

I think I could rock an Afro like hers too! But what I really want is too shrink DH so that I could carry him around in my handbag! Ha!

Take care. Look out for a truth post coming up soon.