count your blessings

today i was reminded to count my blessings and be grateful for what i have.

it is easy to get caught up in the cycle of wanting more and lose perspective.

it's an age-old adage but really, life is how you perceive things.

is your glass half full or half empty?

do you choose to look at your blessings or what you don't have?

why not focus on what is going right rather than what is going wrong?

now, I'm not trying to preach living in denial or advocate hippy-style living with nary a care in the world. I'm trying to say, perspective and attitude is really important in life. Having a clear, level minded head, a positive attitude and a grateful heart makes life amazing! 

go on dream big, reach for your goals, work hard but don't lose focus on what is really important in life and be thankful for all blessings, big or small.

don't be upset because you think you are not thin or pretty enough. you are beautiful and unique and besides you are healthy and your family and friends love you as you are. 

don't be upset you don't have designer bags or clothes. you are adequately clothed and fed; millions of others in the world don't have food or shelter.

don't be upset you have to work so hard or take crap from your boss. you have a job! you have the ability of making money, providing for yourself and contributing to society.

don't be upset you don't have your ideal man/mate. Love yourself first and I'm quite sure he will be on his way! God's timing is always perfect. you can be single and carefree in the meantime!

a heart of gratitude is the way out of any negative situation!

'in everything, give thanks.'

dream big, live big

Life is supposed to be celebrated! It is one big party of love, connection, happiness, fun, discovery, excitement and gratitude.
I used to take life for granted. Sometimes, i still slip into old thought patterns and habits of having pity parties and complete self absorption. What I fail to realize and appreciate, is the gift and preciousness that is life. The vulnerability and frailty that is life. Not everyone of us has the luxury of many tomorrows. Till when am I and are you gonna postpone living?
Life is here and now. Realize, in complete amazement and gratitude that it is an awesome privilege to be alive and to experience life. So... live. Don't just exist but live.
Connect to loved ones, share the love, smile, hug someone, enjoy a delicious meal, laugh, cry, sing, run, watch the sunset and feel what it is to be fully alive. Love fiercely, fearlessly; without reservations and regrets. Only one life, make it happen.
I am now excited for life! What's today gonna bring? What am i going to create this day? God has plenty of good in store for me! I am blessed to be a blessing. How can i bring a smile onto the faces of others, joy into their lives and inspire them to dream?
Be the change you want to see in the world. =)

sunny morning, good workout and happy endorphins

my drawing: you can't discover new seas unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore

outfit of the day =)

more ootds coming!

really into fashion, dressing up and looking fab and pretty inside out! whee!

have a great day! xoxo

i love you all.

operation clean up!

okay, so i had a fine dandy time enjoying every delectable treat/goodie during chinese new year and i think my body and mind are now suffering the ramifications of my semi food coma.

but, it's okay! I'm now determined to start OPERATION CLEAN UP!
which means cleaning up and detoxifying not only my diet, but every part of my life!

from this moment on, i am 100% COMMITED ( and join me, will you?) to my health, happiness, beauty and relationships!
I WILL LET NOTHING GET IN MY WAY! no circumstance, no excuse, no person, no thought, no feeling!

we have to take RESPONSIBILITY for every area of our lives; then we are EMPOWERED to take action and make changes.

i cannot simply sit back and wait for what i want to fall from the sky. it just does not happen that way. in life, we all got to work for what we want. it doesn't come by resting on our laurels.

1. CLEANING UP MY DIET
i am going to fuel and nourish my body right for health, energy and vitality.
-including lots of fruits and veggies and lean proteins
-drinking water!
-portion control
-eating at regular intervals

i realized the key to a good diet is ADDING more good nutritious stuff like greens etc to what you eat rather than focusing on what you have to CUT OUT. once you get the good nutritious stuff in, you actually CROWD out the bad stuff!
it's not that difficult, you don't have to wrestle with cravings and forbidden foods! your body gets smart with good nutrition and you don't even want poor food choices anymore!!

2.DETOXIFYING MY BODY
-exercise!
nothing like a good run to get the heart pumping, the circulation going and the endorphins telling your brain 'I'm happy!'
-hot yoga/ sauna
sweat out the toxins!
-drink lots of purified water to flush out the toxins!!
-get a nice massage!

3.DECLUTTERING MY ENVIRONMENT
-i will not hold on to things which serve me no purpose!
-donate clothes/stuff to charity
-organize and clean up my house!

4.RE-EVALUATE RELATIONSHIPS
-some relationships in life are TOXIC. if a relationship is dulling your sparkle, weighing you down, or you know in your heart, just isn't right..then isn't it time to be TRUE to yourself and let it go?
I know i need to let some people in my life...go.

5.CHANGE MY THOUGHTS
...and i will change my world.

don't worry at all about negative thoughts and don't try to control them. all you have to do is to begin to think more good thoughts each day. as you do, you will attract more and more good thoughts and eventually the good thoughts will wipe out the bad!
BE HAPPY NOW, and your day will be filled with a continuous stream of people, events and circumstances that will bring you happiness!

smiling at the samantha thavasa party 

doo licks my face!-my beauty elixir 

paper doll that i drew =)

Happy Chinese New Year!

Wishing everyone a happy new year of the snake!
I had an amazing reunion dinner at my new house! Mum cooked our fave crispy seafood noodles and we had salmon Yu sheng for good luck and prosperity ;)
For dessert we had Haagen Daaz macadamia ice cream cake! Deliciousness! After dinner we all went for a stroll with my 3 doggies by the pool and then we watched movies on our new 80 inch tv！
I can't wait to wear my new clothes and dress up tomorrow! :)
Have a good new year everyone!
Love u all ♡

be beautiful, live beautiful and create beauty.

life is beautiful; if we want it to be.
have an idea of what your ideal life is.
then create it! it's that simple
of course, like all other things in life, it takes tremendous amount of effort and tenacity and sacrifices, but DONT GIVE UP! Because happiness is worth it and YOU deserve every bit of happiness in this whole universe.

don't tell yourself reasons why you can't have what you really desire; or give yourself excuses for not working on your dreams. instead, be CRYSTAL CLEAR on your intention and achieve results NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES! steel determination, a strong will and unshakeable belief/faith will take you there.

happiness is a choice we make every single moment. choose to be happy. choose to feel happy. choose to do happy. spread happiness around; create an epidermic of joy in your circle/community. you can make a difference if you try.

make someone feel better, put a smile on their faces, alleviate their pain, give them a boost of sunshine in their dreary lives. .. let them know that love still exists. help them believe life is worth living, it is amazing and so very precious.

take time to connect with the people in your life. your family, your friends, colleagues, neighbors, people on the street, in the elevator etc.. they aren't in your life for no reason! go out of your way to love them, connect to the soul within. give them a hug! a big, genuine smile! give them your glow of happiness and positive energy. send them a little prayer, pay them a sweet compliment, love like its your last day on earth! the more you give, the more you will receive- the joy, the love, the abundance!

trust in God; he wants us to have our dream life! a life overflowing with love, joy and abundance!

love yourself! never ever compare yourself to others because there is only one YOU in the whole wide world!!

my drawing today-- choose happiness everyday!

hope this post brightened up your day.

i love all of you very much!

you all deserve love and happiness, so reach out and get yours today.

don't waste another day living in darkness and gloom ok?

love, madeleine xoxo

sending you all my love

grateful thoughts

cookie and doo are so adorable! they are so innocent and carefree and their hearts are so loyal and loving. I'm so grateful to have them in my life. they never fail to put a smile on my face!

recently i went to the art cafe and painted this cute little dog figurine. it was fun and therapeutic; sitting at the cafe on a rainy afternoon, sipping on sesame tea and watching the rain go pitter-patter against the glass pane.

i went to the art gallery at raffles city. they had some amazing pieces there! my favorite artists are david kracov and romero britto. =)

i am constantly amazed at the talent that exists in this world.

eating healthy- fueling my body with good nutrients! 

- mushroom tofu quinoa stack 

-tofu mushroom salad

-shrimp snapper salad

-kitsune buckwheat soba 

healthy food tastes so yummy too!

build your best body! if you look good, you will feel good and you will do good! =)

confidence =)

reflecting on the past year, I've realized that i have grown so much- in terms of confidence, self assurance and relationships.

im not saying I'm perfect now, but i know I'm a work in progress. i used to be that little girl cowering in the corner plagued and riddled by insecurities, distracted from life by my false beliefs about what people would think about me. it was hard, and very tiring, trying to portray a impeccable image for the world to see.

and then i realized that this image was not valuable to relationships at all, and certainly not to me. it was building walls around me and i was distancing myself, trying to protect myself from hurt, pain, judgement. i was trying to live up to everyone's expectations and in the process, i lost myself. i lost the clarity of looking at things, life, people, goals.

so, i decided to take off those tainted glasses. take off the blindfolds of years of lies, assumptions and beliefs and not let them hold me back any longer. after all, what have i got to lose?

im gonna live a PASSIONATE life. live this precious, amazing life with enthusiasm! tell my heart to beat again, love again, dream again, smile again! please tell yours to too. don't let your heart and dreams die. its the ultimate tragedy in life.

appreciate life and all its miracles- big,small, tiny. never take for granted all the blessings of God. the food you eat, the family you have, the house you live in, the job you have. so many people in this world have nothing.

profoundly experience life! don't sleepwalk through it, going through day-to-day notions with no spark. treasure every moment that you are alive - so many people fight to be alive every single day.

and the ultimate epiphany-- that i am a masterpiece created by God. I'm beautiful and unique in my own special way and God has designed me to run my own race. He will give me everything i need to fulfill my destiny. i just need to focus on being the very BEST version of ME!!