And we're back!

One thing life has thought me over and over again is to be really patient and to have a whole lot of faith.  After two years of ups and downs due to certain circumstances we've finally steered this ship back to calmer waters.

So I can now tell you all what I've been up to.  Go grab a coffee or summink as this will take a while.

When I initially started the Art of Living show, it was to help out people with regards to their lifestyle.  We don't just say "buying a home" as there is a whole lot more to it!  We showed the videos on our website so those of you who missed the weekly show on our national Free to Air channel NTV7 could watch it but only in segments, and not the entire half hour show.   In 2010 it was expensive to stream videos as we had not developed cloud sharing technology yet.

I have always been a firm believer that the Internet is the way forward in all things visual, and did say that we were going to use broadcasting as a medium initially to get the "word" out.  Now the time has come to implement my dream of converting my web site into an Internet Television portal.  "isnt' that just like having video on demand you say?" Well not really, Instead of pulling the videos from you tube which is what we currently have on our web, our videos will be streamed directly on our site, so no lag as streaming is seamless , and in it's entirety, so you can watch the whole show now online (yippie!) It's very much like your very own television channel.  (Don't worry I'll still have segments on You tube and Vimeo !)

We have already started the conversion, it will take a couple of months give or take to ensure that we've worked out all the kinks and tweak it, but it should look amazeballs when it's ready, as our IT partner from Elitewerks  has designed an incredible landing page! (I shan't tell you more of what else they're doing as it will spoil the surprise)  In the mean time, I've finished my marketing video and will be rolling it out this week to our developers.

Here is the link to VIMEO if you'd prefer to watch the video there!   Art of Living show marketing promo on Vimeo

Biggie Ups!

Half the People

I was scrolling through my home page on FB catching up with news and saw a post from Mary J Blige  with a title that said "bring back our girls ", in it I saw a picture of 4 African women walking and moved on to other stories.  A day later I get a private message from Marina Mahatir asking me to sign the petition that says "bring back our girls ".  So I did a little reading, where I found out that :

"In Nigeria, over 200 girls were recently abducted from their boarding school by a terrorist group, Boko Haram, that may be selling them as brides for $12 each. This petition calls on the Nigerian government and all enabled international parties to immediately rescue them." 

I was driving along in the car today (where ,lets face it apart from the shower, I do a lot of thinking... go figure) and thought, hang on a minute here, we (the females of the human race) make up HALF of the people on this planet, and no one has gone in and smoked the bad guys out and gotten the girls back?

Lets put it this way, if they had been your  daughter, sister, or cousin, or niece, or granddaughter or even a friends child, would you stand there and do nothing?  If this had happened in a western schooling facility for girls, do you think it would be this quiet? (hah, I would say not on your Nelly) 

Where are the huge headlines?  Where are the women activists making noise and getting on the press band wagon?  Why has there been so little fuss globally about them?   

Is the world trying to put a different value  on human life depending on "WHERE" you come from?  Is anyone aware that 3 of the 200 are dead and "no reports " of how they died have been given, (I'm sure anyone with an iota of intelligence will know that they were obviously badly 'abused',) and WE as women, just stand here and act "HELPLESS"??!!

Through decades of arguing, cajoling, protesting, fighting and chaining ourselves for OUR FREEDOM to be WOMEN with  EQUAL RIGHTS,  to join the Army, to join the Police Force, to become Politicians, to being Astronauts,  in Intel, to being Leaders in all sectors...... and NO ONE has done anything to get these young girls (between 15 and 18) back?  
We say we're emancipated, we say we're empowered, we say we have a voice.... then don't you think it's about time we started acting like the women our Founding Mothers paved the way for?  
Pool your great intelligence together sisters and lets bring them back.
Dx

Kitch Kitchens

I have always wondered why people like to have white kitchens.... goodness I can feel every one's hackles rising and a massive debate about to start! Well before you start putting your points forward, let me give you a few of mine.

I cook almost everyday, for me it's partly a creative outlet and partly because I feel I am cooking my family a nutritious meal with love.  We try out lots of different recipes and for those  dishes that don't make the grade, well they're tossed out on their ear!  (not really, we just don't bother with them again) My kids are my biggest critiques, and I like their honesty because it helps me tweak the dish to perfection according to our palette.

Now the cooking part is always good, but the cleaning of it is a real pain in the .. bottom.   I've noticed (and here is where I put my case forth on white kitchens)  that during the cooking frenzy , splatters of sauce, chopped onions or other aromatics strewn about, some beetroot or rhubarb juice is spilled (beetroot in potato salad is yum.. uh I'll post recipe at end for the non believers.)  Anyway you can see where I'm going with this mess, cleaning it up on a stainless steel or dark marble surface is so much easier and kinder to the heart, whereas white cupboards or light counter tops become an art from in elbow grease  (you ever tried cleaning saffron stains from a white anything... good luck) Stainless steel seems to be so much more functional, is beautifully streamlined and lasts longer!  Yes white kitchens are brighter and look cleaner but in reality it takes longer to keep clean!

No stains here!  Dx

Beetroot and Potato Salad
1 x fairly large beetroot (peeled and quartered, boil the beetroot, when it's tender remove half the water, then add some vinegar to the water and let it cool)
4 x large potatoes (boiled and cubed)
1 x onion minced (up to you how much you want in , I usually use a medium sized one)
2 x boiled eggs chopped up
olive oil
vinegar
salt & pepper
mustard
mayo

Add the cooled potatoes,  drained beetroot, onion, eggs in a large bowl, add in olive oil (about 3 tbs) vinegar (3tbs as well) salt & pepper , dollop of mayo and a squirt of mustard.   Toss it well .
Chill it in the fridge and you're good to go!

Michigan Property Profile

I'm a bit pooped at the moment after being up so early to finish off the shoot,  so I'll make this a quick one.  We've started filming again for the Art of Living show.  I'm not going to say it's season 2 because we're doing something different , so you'll have to stay posted for our exciting new updates!
Here's a pic of me interviewing the Chairman of Lifes Good Property Consultants based in KL, who launched the Michigan Property Profile.  It's an exciting investment, will let you know when the segment goes online !

Dx

Google it

My phone fell out of my hands, no I mean it literally FELL, no kidding, I had nothing to do with it. Whether it decided it was time to do a kamikaze dive on it's own or gravity working against me, I am without a doubt that I had nothing to do with it.  Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  It also gave me a really good excuse to finally start doing some serious research on a new phone (yippiekaiyayy). Plus as a person who is in the film industry I really don't like to squint at tiny screens to watch videos, so would prefer to have a pad or tablet to view them from and not my phone.

So I narrowed my search down to three phones, the new HTC One (M8) , The Samsung S5 or the Google Nexus 5.  Guess which one won?  Yeah the Google Nexus 5.  (the HTC and Sammy are only out end of this month)

When doing research, which we all can do online, there are so many "experts" on tech, what I like to do is read what the end user has to say.  People like us who actually have been using the product and can give a clear opinion, so based on what the folks say and the fact that I've really taken to the android platform like a duck to water, this is the phone for me.

Roses are Red, Violets are blue

I was having a giggle last night with the girls at our fortnightly girls night in.  The topic of valentines day came up and we realised, we were all going to be on our own, which brought sighs to everyone's lips. So I said "well girls it'll just have to be us for a 'non' valentines celebration!.. again "  To wit one of my girlfriends looks up and smiles at me,  as we did this three years ago, and there is where she was introduced by me to her man.

I remember on one valentines day a few years ago,  I was sitting at an outside cafe watching couples stroll by, with flowers in their hands and or dining at the nearby restaurants.  It was a balmy night, they had strung lights across the lamp posts, music was wafting in the air, it was all so romantic. Suddenly out of nowhere comes this young man whom I vaguely knew from work with this very pretty lilac bouquet of flowers and says "these are for you".   I stared at him in stupefaction ,  seconds ticked by, and I realised I was doing an impersonation of a guppy.  I also realised if I didn't take the bouquet from him immediately, he would feel hurt.   I said thank you and and buried my flaming face in the bouquet. This charming man bid me a pleasant evening and went on his way.  Now if that doesn't bring a simile to your face, what will?

Teleflora

It's a SONY!

Right, I'm a secret geek at heart, I try to hide it, but keeping certain techy mags lying around does give the game away on occasion!  Following trending technology, I've known for a while now that eventually we will be watching everything via the net, another reason why I made sure my show was on the web, as more and more people watch shows online,  and most importantly, at their own leisure.

Far be it for me to insist that anyone has to be home at a specific time to watch the show on cable or free TV, let alone fiddle around to record it.  SO when the smart TV came out (ooo yes just like the smart phone)  I was doing a little jig and rubbing my hands gleefully.

Standing gormlessly in the extra large, very shiny, spiffy showroom, it felt like christmas times 10!  I weaved my way around the mega large TV's and finally stopped in front of this beauty.  The gorgeous SONY W8 LED TV.

It has all the bells and whistles and of course with Sony's standard it's a no brainer for me.  Yes yes the Samsung and the Sharp and The Phillips all looked lovely too, but for me the clarity of picture was amazeballs, and the price pretty decent.

Have a look for yourselves. Sony UK

Dx

Pssstttt!

Ok, so I've been asked several times what type of skin care I use, or what my secret is regarding my skin.  Most times I'll just say "thank god for make up!".

I remember a major brand asked me to try their products for a month and to give them feed back on it. Diligently I used the entire range, you know, toner, moisturiser, cleanser, mask, serum .. you name it, I slapped it on.  I asked my girlfriends after a couple of weeks if they saw any difference, and the answer was "no, your skin still looks the same".  So after a month I went back to said brand and told them the truth.... that I didn't see any difference but thank you for including me in the trials.  Needless to say, no one ever contacted me again ! heh

However there is a product that was first introduced to me by my sister in law.  Ever since I came to Asia, the freckles have gotten worse and she noticed it.  One fine day she said, "I know you don't like whitening products but this will do wonders for the freckles and pigmentation, try it".  I did, and I've never looked back.  In fact most of my close friends use the same product because they noticed the huge difference.  They kept asking "your skin is glowing, who is he?".  Well it's not a he, but a product called Lexmo.

I use their cell renewal cream, toner and sunblock.  Love the product. This is my supplier's website Lexmo Connie
Hurrah for Healthy Skin!
Dx

I'm Sleeveing on a jetplane

I usually bung the ol macbook pro into my beat up candy striped sleeve, which has had lets face it, seen some fantastic locations, backseats littered with camera equipment and on occasion been tucked under the passenger chair of my truck (don't look at me like that, Mac's are durable!)

Most times I've have everything prepped for presentations, so no one sees my manky computer sleeve, however, as murphy's law would have it, not this time!  I had placed my laptop, still in it's sleeve on the conference table, and was in the process of unzipping it when someone piped up and said " I do hope the laptop isn't as bad as that old pillow case you have masquerading as a sleeve".... Mortified doesn't begin cover how I felt, so I went sleeve  hunting online.  First stop was my friend WebGrrl site as I wanted something different.   Her designs are funky, eclectic and eye catching, guess what I found!

WebGrrl.Biz

It's like carrying around a piece of art with you.  Now, maybe I need to get a new lappie for the new sleeve..... 

Dx

It's Me!

A while back, one of my closest friends came to KL for a family visit.  It was a whirlwind of lunches, dinners  and popping into different venues to meet up with old friends.  After a particularly late night, we toodled back to her home to have a coffee and chat about the night, as one does (ok you may say it’s gossiping but I call it chatting…)

Unbeknown to me, whilst I was relaying a particularly funny tale, she started sketching me and what you see in the picture below is the result!  I roared with laughter when she showed me the sketch!  Never considered myself a red wine glass but it’s pretty spot on!

She’s a brilliant illustrator and has several fab shops online called FloatingLemons.  So I decide to use this as my personal print for a name card! (will not tell you about other products I’ve bought with this illustration as I may sound toooo narcissistic!)

Have a quick schnoz at her store, it’s full of fun and lovely illustrations Floatinglemons Gifts

Dx

Shoes Glorious Shoes

I  think one of the reasons why Sex in the City was such a hit was because Carrie Bradshaw showcased some lovely lovely (did I say lovely) shoes, plus amazingly enough, from our own Malaysian designer Dato Jimmy Choo (oh yes people we got talent too)

One of the biggest complaints women have is the durability of shoes bought if they’re under the US$70 mark, however.. *grin* I have found and bought some amazing shoes from Zalora for exactly that! And they’re still in great condition!  (yes yes a bit on the HIGH heels side but I’m kinda umm horizontally challenged at 5f3″!)   

Here’s a link to see what I’ve got my beady eyes locked on next! Dourthang-Heels
Zippadidodaa zippadeday!
Dx

Cool, clean Water

I can’t tell you what a pain it is sometimes to get individualistic items for one’s children to use in highschool (or perhaps I don’t need to tell you as you may well know what that pain feels like!)  And with two outgoing individuals like my kids, looking for something that’s just right to suit their personality can be time consuming!

Luckily I am an avid online shopper, (hey, saves on the petrol, parking and dealing with the crowds!) and I have some really neat sites that I visit.

Today I was having a whizz around Cafepress, and found this water  bottle that made me laugh, (perhaps I should get this for my yoga classes?!! )

http://www.cafepress.com/+its_just_water_i_swear_sigg_water_bottle,828299202?aid=111028667
Happy Hydration!
Dx