I’m on Twitter

I’ve jumped the Twitter bandwagon and got myself a Twitter account. Yesterday was a confusing time to be a twittering newbie because a few of the options were disabled or took too long to load. I realised today that there was a database crash on Saturday and some of the functions were disabled due to this. Ah, no wonder then!

If you’re interested in the *ahem* terribly exciting details of my life, do follow me here : http://twitter.com/growhappy

(If not, you might wanna go take a peek anyway to check out my possibly headache-inducing wallpaper!)

A Right to Live
Survivors of Cyclone Nargis

Today’s front page of The Straits Times paints a contrasting picture between how the countries’ authorities handle Asia’s recent tragedies (Cyclone Nargis that devastated Myanmar(Burma) and the 7.9-magnitude quake that struck Sichuan province in China).

On the left half of the front page:
China: Day 6
HOPE
“Beijing says ‘yes’ to more foreign relief team”

On the right:
Myanmar: Day 15
DESPAIR
“Aid groups frustrated by Yangon’s rejections”

In cyclone-hit Myanmar, children who are sleeping on the streets without adult protection are at risk of not only diseases but also sexual abuse, warned Ms Veronique Taveau, a Unicef spokeswoman. The agency estimates that 1 million children are in need of “urgent assistance”. [Read more….]

Happy Mother’s Day!
And a flower doodle dedicated to mothers everywhere

Today is Mother’s Day so to all the mums out there — have a good one!

I’ve always associated my Ma with flowers because she loves them so much. [Read more….]

3 Cheers for Happiness!

Growing Happiness is 3 months old today! What an enjoyable ride it has been. I wanna thank every single one of you who’ve joined in the journey!

I’d love to get to know you, my dear readers better (time to delurk!). Tell me about yourself (and if you have a blog). Thank you in advance! :)

NaBloPoMo- The Last List for March

Today is the 31st and final day of NaBloPoMo March 2008. Though I have been blogging here everyday this month, I kinda lost focus in the third week due to my work commitments.

What this experience taught me:

1. It is good to have a plan, but don’t be blue if you can’t follow it through. My daily themed posts worked. For awhile.
2. If you’re in the middle of a project that needs to be completed by mid-April, signing up for NaBloPoMo in March is not the wisest thing to do.
3. Despite the lure of “Letters“, I will not give in to temptation. (see point 2)
4. There are so many of fun, witty blogs just waiting to be discovered.

For those committing to April’s theme — all the best! I will try to find time to check your all blogs out!

The Best Cure for Hiccups
The Secret to Stopping Hiccups Lies in Warm Water

When I was younger my mother told me that the only way to cure hiccups(hiccoughs) is to drink water. I’ve tried this many, many times with inconsistent results. I’ve also tried many other various methods of stopping hiccups like holding my breath, pulling my ears, pinching my nose, drinking honey and getting tickled (made me feel worse). That was until B told me that the best cure for hiccups does indeed lie in drinking water but not just any water, it has to be warm.

I was a bit skeptical at first that just simply drinking warm water alone can actually help to stop hiccups, too simple it may seem to be, but his reasoning made sense — hiccups are caused by the spasming of the diaphragm, a sheet of muscle located across the bottom the ribcage. And what do you do when a you get a muscle cramp? You apply heat. Does this warm water method really stop hiccups? You bet. It works like a charm every time. The hiccups will resolve in less than a minute (usually about 15 seconds). If it doesn’t, what you’re drinking isn’t warm enough, try something warmer.

The first time I tried it, I was very surprised that it worked so fast. B was more amused that I didn’t know about this method before because he had assumed that everyone else knew it! That was about 6 years ago. For the past 6 years, each time someone else has the hicks (hiccups), I tell him/her to drink warm water. And each time, they’d be surprised at how effective my method is (my method because I marketed it aggressively. ;) just kidding okay!). It then occurred to me that every one else in the world may have never heard of this very simple and effective remedy to hiccups. This must change!

So I now present you, The World, the only tried, tested and confirmed way to stop hiccups that you ever need to know – WARM WATER.

You read it here first — Try it yourself, tell your friends, spread the word.

Some other methods on how to stop hiccups are listed below. You may want to try at your own risk (a.k.a. MYTHS!?)

Other Hiccups Remedy, Tips, Tricks And Techniques

• Cure Hiccups at About.com (Video)
• 12 second Cure for Hiccups at Opiniorama
• 13 Techniques to Cure Hiccups at Howstuffworks.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions, dear readers!
You might also be interested in reading Escalating Hiccup - Stretching and Other Tried and Tested Ways to Stop Hiccups where I try some of your suggested methods to stop hiccups!

2 Fast, 2 Busy

Growing Happiness is 2 months old.
This month I’m busy with:

Creating themed entries for NaBloPoMo
Drinking soy everyday (Yup, I still do)
Trying to read a book a week
Trying to update my other site every other day
Working on a large project for a client

My days seem to be zooming past me at breakneck speed. With a project deadline in April, something’s gotta give. Because of this, I need to make some adjustments to the plan. I don’t think I can afford to post themed lists for the next two weeks because I’m too busy to even think of a theme that I could follow through for a week. I will continue to post here daily though (and most probably try to incorporate some kind of list).

Related Posts
One Promising Month
31 Days of Lists - I Have A Plan

Don’t Panic

Growing Happiness is undergoing changes.
Funny things may happen before your very eyes.

One Promising Month

Growing Happiness turned 1 month yesterday!(I wanted to update earlier after solving my computer problem but then my server decided to take a vacation)

Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy V-Day everyone! May it be filled with heart-shaped things, chocolates, flowers and lots of love.