New Year Resolutions

2010 was a happy, prosperous, fruitful and healthy year for me. I got married, moving into a new house with my dream garden, hired a new staff, visited world expo in Shanghai, got my first iphone and most importantly, I had learned some basic financial technical analysis. However, the past is past, and I am looking forward a greater year of 2011.

In the new year, there will be 2 major objectives for me. Firstly, this will be my vacation year. Hong Kong - Hokkaido - Tokyo in March with my parents; summer Europe trip with my brother; and a long waited honeymoon to Santorini with hubby.

Secondly, it will be my career, I think it's time for me to put more effort in financial technical analysis and boost up my income from this field. Nonetheless, florist is my number 1 favorite, but I need to choose one for the sake of more guarantee income and most importantly -- freedom of time. Skilled and trustworthy worker is one of the major issue of doing florist business, or else you need to stay in the shop for the whole business hour, and that is what I really not willing to do.

Besides the two big objectives, I want to spend more precious time with hubby, parents, siblings and some good friends. I want to think in good and positive way, do more charity and laugh more. This might sound a bit naive, but these attitudes are always the correct path in life.

I hope everything goes well and this year will be my happiest ( as my promise to hubby), healthiest, most prosperous and most fruitful year ever I have!

It's Xmas & New Year again......

It's Xmas and new year season again, and everybody is in holiday mood. How I wish I could have the holiday mood too. For me, this is the busiest season in a year, and it will continue until Valentine's day to the climax.

From years of experience, I learn to prepare 1 or 2 months ahead before the event. It would be really busy after January. I mean really busy, both Valentine's day and Chinese new year come together. Now, I have finish most of my new design work task for both event, and waiting for my web designer to upload the photos to my web page. Hopefully everything can be done before the new year.

Meanwhile, I will have a short holiday during the Xmas, and take this precious time to recharge.

So, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to everyone!

Count Down to Valentine's Day

Since I had started my florist career 5 years ago, Valentine's Day became my No. 1 important day. I get busy 1 month before the VD every year, from design, marketing, planning, production to delivery, just like a small factory's operation. LOL!
Now, there are only few days more to VD, learn from previous years experience, we are more confident with more preparation been done. I'm counting days to VD, while work hard to do more preparation and get more business. Though market is really bad this year, but I still put hope on VD sales. On the current situation, we have to grab what ever we can and as much as we can. Hope everything goes smooth.

Love from Dubai

A guy called from Dubai today to order for a Valentine's Day hand bouquet. He asked for my suggestion for him on his situation try to get the girl as his girlfriend. Well, that's the common question been asked many times from my customer. Anyway, it is not so difficult to help him for this case. Firstly, he shows his sincere to order flowers from so far away. Secondly, most girls would feel excited for receiving flowers during the Valentine's Day, because the price shot up to triple, girls hate stingy guy, LOL!
Nonetheless, I still give him my professional suggestion, a secret weapon, TULIPS from Holand! This will really surprise the girl! Most guys only know to buy roses for girls, come on la.... try some new things, girls like surprise!

Chinese Valentine's Day - Chap Goh Meh

Hobe came to shoot some pictures of some hand bouquet yesterday. He told me that he cough due to eat too much Bak Kua during Chinese New Year! LOL! Everybody still in CNY mood, or more precisely -- CNY fever! Even MY FM DJs also desperately play CNY songs for these 2 day. But for me, I'm already in Valentine's Day mood.

Today is 15th day of CNY, it's the last day of CNY celebration and also the Chinese Valentine's Day! It is not as popular as 14th feb. Lovers tend to ignore it to put all their effort on 14th Feb. However, it can be a romantic day if you go to pak tor with your love one, walk down the street to catch the last firework and appreciate the lanterns on the street. Haiz.... wish my dear is with me now....

Cape No. 7

Many may have already watched Cape No. 7, some maybe not just once. It's a simple but excellent taiwanese movie. 2 love stories between 6 decades are very romantic, but I prefer to watch the band playing part. One of the bandmate who plays bass guitar (Mala Sun), 4th from the left of the photo below looks like one of my good friend KK. LOL!

If you plan to celebrate your Valentine's Day at home, Cape no. 7 might be a good choice. Either you watch it alone or with your love one, you would have a sweet and peaceful Valentine's Day, as simple and warm as the movie.

Chinese New Year sticky Cake - Di Kueh

Pa called lastnight to remind me buy some cny sticky cakes-di kueh. Thus, I went to market this morning to hunt for it. There was only one stall in the market which sell di kueh. Maybe it was still early, there might be more during the weekend. Anyway, I couldn't wait till weekend, I would be busier then. I chose 12 medium size di kueh, it costed RM3.50 per cake.

When I smelled on the cake, I wished I could have time to buy some fresh shredded coconut meat. It is the best combination with Di Kueh.

However, now di kueh is more popular to fried with yam and sweet potato slice. I cannot show the picture now, because we need to dry the di kueh first, so that it could be sliced.

Hope for Chinese New Year

I have a lot of deliveries today, 3 of them are for chinese new year. As usual, chinese new year decorations are mothers' responsibility, sometimes daughter. In short, it is usually women business.

My first CNY flowers delivery was to a 70 years old mother with a handicap son. While my second delivery was to a lonely mother who has a son working in Singapore because of his gf. Then the last one was to a divorcee mother who has 3 children, but only one stays with her.

I realised that there are many lonely mothers who live in this town. They start to get preparations to welcome the family members to come back on CNY. Hopefully the family members would appreciate it and give the mothers a wonderful chinese new year, as they have put a lot of effort on that.

Chinese New Year

There are only 3 weeks to go for Chinese New Year. Other than Valentine's Day, this is the busiest month for me in whole year. I am ready for the heavy task, but the question is, during the economy crisis, how should I do to boost up my sales?

I try not to get mass quantity for artificial cherry blossom and peony. I've tried very hard to control my desire. LOL! Some artificial flowers are very beautiful, its look like real and some even prettier than the real one.

Pussy willow is a must for cny. It just arrived yesterday, and I've arranged a few bouquet of artificial cherry blossom and peony with pussy willow. This combination is just simple and nice for normal house decoration during cny.

These are only warm up exercises for the season. I hope I will get busier and busier, because that means my business gets better and better. I pray and hope for that, and I will work really hard for that.

Last delivery for 2008

I got a 99 roses hand bouquet order from a guy from Ipoh yesterday. He came once before this, and he wanted to order again for his girlfriend in BM. This guy has tatoos all over his shoulders, and I guess there are many more on his body. I think he is a Loan Shark or somebody like mob. Anyway, he is also a normal human like us who loves and cares. His gf is a singer in a kopitiam in BM. Their job is not only to sing, but they have to entertain the customers to gain their rewards in term of money. Although they gain a lot of money, but their life is sucks, just imagine what kind of people would go to a kopitiam for entertainment, especially looking for girls?

As per request from the guy, we delivered the flowers to the Kopitiam at 10pm. When I reached there, she was not singing yet, I saw her sitting with a group of middle age guys and she was the only girl. I passed the hand bouquet to the counter and requested the counter person to present it to her when she sing on the stage. Then I passed a card with some money in an envolope to her. The sender asked me to write this message in the card: My dear, I hope you could have a new life for this coming new year. Please consider seriously and choose for a better life. Wish you happy new year and health!

I was so touching for these sentences. For many years, I help a lot of people to write their messages, but none of them could touch my heart. It was just a few sentences, but it could change a girl's life. I really hope that she could accept him and let him take care of her, no matter how, it would be better than what she is doing now.

At last, I hope everyone could have a better life and choose to live in a better way in this new year! Kampai for the bright future!

East meet west

Finally, I have my X'mas mix with CNY window display done today. I remain the bear hand bouquet in cone shape ( like a X'mas tree), soft toys and snow sprays on the glass, but replace the X'mas tree with some CNY theme artificial and dry flowers arrangement.

I get my inspiration for my main theme decoration from a display in an art gallery in Salzburg, Austria. The materials are available here, glass vase, feathers, rattan ball, dry yanagi and dry palm leaves. I love the combinations and the use of orange and red color. Due to the limited space, I only make one instead of 3 decorations. I need to allocate other more commercialize items for the window display, though this might affect the overall appearence. I try to find balance between art and commercial, by hoping this can attract more people to come.

Sunday Special Event

What people do usually on Sunday? Shopping, sleeping at home, watching movie, picnic, family gathering, do part time job.... ect.. Those are what common things people do, unless they have special occasion or hobby.

I am also a normal person who have these activities, but last Sunday I attended Madurai Veeran (an indian deity) festival with my dad. We prayed for the God blessing on my mom's health, by hoping she could stand up and walk again one day. During the ceremony, my pa tied on a head gear and wore a dhoti. He looked no bad at all in this indian formal costume ya? Maybe a kurta as top would be perfect? T-shirst a bit wierd.

Which one now?

Christmas is on next Thursday, while Chinese New Year is coming soon in end of January. I had my Christmas window decoration a month ago. I decorate with bears, a small chrismas tree and some christmas theme artificial flowers arrangement. To make it more attractive, I hang some gold colour christmast ornaments and spray some snow on the window glass.

It's only 9 days to go for Christmas, but the radio start to broadcast some cny songs these few days. This really makes me eager to change my window decoration. I cannot stop of thinking for some ideas for cny. I wish I can change it by tomorrow, but christmas has not past, oh... what should I do now?

Anyway, there are only 6 weeks to go for cny, so maybe I can change the decoration a bit by a bit first. Maybe a vase of artificial flowers arrangement with red peonys and white vase. Red and white are christmas theme color, while peonys are popular during cny. Peony is a symbol of prosperity and happiness for Chinese.