My score = 43  

What does my score mean?

According to this test,

You have some perfectionist tendencies that may be making you unnecessarily unhappy. You sometimes set high standards that are difficult to meet; either you impose those expectations on yourself, others, or a combination of the two. You may even think that others expect you to be perfect. While a desire to do your very best and strive to reach your full potential can bring you personal fulfillment, you have to learn when good is ‘good enough’. It’s important that you strengthen your ability to distinguish between reasonable aspirations and unrealistic demands. When you set unattainable objectives, you are being cruel to yourself and denying yourself the rewards and self-acceptance that you deserve.

Are YOU a perfectionist?

Before I start reviewing the taste of the chocolate of this bread, I’d like to compliment myself for attaining this achievement of getting the best choco photograph so far For the first time, in my opinion, I could make it to get a pretty clear choco imagery in the photograph I took by myself.

Okay, now with the review. I’ve experienced twice tasting this large-sized (literally) chocolate bread with vanilla cream inside. Can’t really comprehend, but I think the second time felt better.

Even though the chocolate inside this sandwich-shaped bread is ‘only’ the sprinkles one, but the bitter taste of the sprinkles is awesome. Plus the vanilla cream… hmmm, what a great collaboration. A big family of five or six can eat this bread together (there are two sandwiches inside the package)—but I ate those two alone ;D

I really have to emphasize this. The sprinkles are just great. Well, for that matter, they fit for you who like bitter taste of chocolate. But personally, that’s what a great chocolate is supposed to be—bitter (that’s the original flavor, after all).

[Here is another post from the former blog of Gorgeous Inspirations (love this one a lot).]

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
—Robert Brault

I’ve read Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach for many, many times, yet I’m never feeling enough of it. I always want more, always want to read it again and again, only for knowing that lots of great things await me there, page by page, and even word by word. I can still truly recall my memory back to the first time I found the book in the Province Library here in my town. I fell in love at the first sight, only by reading the title. Simple Abundance. Wow, the two words mean so much to me now.

I loved enjoying each sentence in the book. It flows smoothly and beautifully. I read the translated version (I’m sure the original is a lot more beautiful than the one I checked out for many times—but now I own the book, so no longer having to check that out from the library). Sarah, with her definitely awesome book, has really opened my eyes wider and just wider to the simple things around me. I especially love the April part (not because I was born in this gorgeous month): I always love the way she depicts the beauty of very, very simple things that our five senses are supposed to feel more.

Yeah, I have those five senses (and six, with my beloved, trusted intuition), yet I didn’t really notice them (shame on me!).

And yeah, I like the ‘romance’ when rain falls.

I like the sound when the rain falls to the roof and the earth.

I like the smell of rain.

I like how the cool wind blows in the middle of the rain.

I like seeing the water of rain splashes to my bedroom window.

I like watching people walk through the rain with their colorful umbrellas.

I love enjoying my every bite to the scrumptious, luscious chocolate bars.

I like when I snuggle beneath my soft red blanket every night.

I like gazing at the exquisite brown color of my bedroom wall.

I like seeing the shining plastic stars glued to my bedroom ceiling every time I go to bed.

I like seeing the reflection of my smile every time I stand before my big mirror.

I like feeling alive inside me, inside this body.

I just like the feeling that I am me….

Begin somewhere; you cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do.
—Liz Smith

Gorgeous Inspirations (GI) has come a long way until it shows up here, on the internet, since the March/April 2007 issue was launched. The original idea of GoIn is actually to be an inspiring print-published magazine, in particular for women of their 20s who are by and large (based on my close, personal experience) very passionate in planning and pursuing their dreams, no matter what.

Establishing a print-published magazine company, for sure, needs many stuff—money, especially. I initially intended to wait until I’m into the chips one day, but I knew and believed (and still do) that I can accomplish that one dream NOW, why not. So, as you can see, here I am, running the online form of Gorgeous Inspirations, (still) on my own. Yes, this is my tangible stepping stone to that hope-to-come-true dream

The raw idea actually came up more than a year ago, ironically, because of my heartbreak state At the time, another name for the magazine was thought out, yet the foundation of the principle was as the same as today: to be an inspiring magazine for women, where inspiration becomes creation (FYI, here’s the vision of Gorgeous Inspirations Online Magazine: Gorgeous Inspirations will be an inspiring online magazine with doses of inspirations for women’s eyes, mind, and heart).

At the heartbreak condition at that time, I envisaged a gorgeous-shaped print-published magazine with a gorgeous appearance on the cover—not one of those skinny models, but a real woman, maybe in the middle of the rain, walking at the pavement with poise and attitude. I also envisioned another kind of inspiring cover—a (real) woman, sitting at one corner of a coffee shop, sipping her coffee from a cute round-shaped black mug, while her eyes are on people walking outside the coffee shop; or simply a plain yet beautiful vase of gorgeous white lily next to a nice-shaped, spotless window. The point of the planned covers is, that readers can gain joys and just more joys in their hearts (you know, those abstract little tickles) from many random things, even from those simple, ‘trifling’ things around them. Anything can inspire. The covers are also going to be such gorgeous ‘food’ for people’s eyes, not only for women.

And the contents? Planned (and still do) to provide photographs and more photographs which are as gorgeous as those on the covers to inspire women of all age. This kind of format was first inspired by my previous academic advisor in university. At the time, I was the editor-in-chief of a magazine published by English Student Association. He came up with the idea, referring to many tourism and traveling magazines which mostly focused on pictures. One picture is worth a thousand words, after all. I found it such a brilliant idea. I couldn’t apply the suggestion on the magazine I managed at the time (and have yet to apply the idea on this website form—pretty hard to get gorgeous, good-quality photographs), but determined to apply it on my future print-published magazine in the first place. Until that happens, hopefully-inspiring writings are provided for you, readers.

Why I chose to display humble stuff only in the online magazine, can be explained by reading Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance. Yes, I am always inspired by that one gorgeous book. The book is, as a matter of fact, still one of my wake-up calls to explore my life more and to savor every inch of it—every time. Hope you’re inspired that way as well.

In the mean time, I keep learning and learning how to make Gorgeous Inspirations as a real inspiring tool for real women, as not all women have access on internet and not all women have huge interest in humble, ‘trifling’ things. 

So, GoIn is still searching for its best possible format to be accepted by all stages of (real) life. You can be part of this effort, too

[About a year ago, before the real website was launched, GoIn had a blog which was hosted by a well-known public blog hosting. The title of this post is the title of the first post on the previous blog.]

Many people have many perspectives on what inspiration means to them, and that including me. It’d be fun, for sure, to share with other women about each of our definition on that one humble yet gorgeous word. So, let me first share mine (and then it’s your turn).

inspiration:
- influence producing creative ability; state of being inspired;  person or thing that inspires; sudden good idea (Oxford Learner’s Pocket Dictionary)

In the past, when I noticed that lots of people—especially on television—conversed about inspiration, I thought that it only dealt with famous people like celebrities or politicians or something like that. As time goes by, as I turn more matured, I perceive that inspiration is not restricted only to those ‘big’ people, but also the things—even the simplest—around us, like the nature, some certain events, strangers we meet on the street, or just simply the house we live in.

Uttering the word ‘inspiration’ in this day and age, or at least for the past two years in my life, makes me feel some sort of sparkles around my consciousness and my heart. It feels like I get the spirit that I’ve been longing for. It feels ‘romantic’ in its own way. It feels soothing. It just feels great. No words can exactly describe that weird feeling of talking about my inspiration or the weird feeling every time I feel inspired. I never thought that being inspired could be this gorgeous.

One good example: I discern that I in particular often get inspired by books I read, whether or not I read them completely. Just reading a review of a book will provide me the sufficient sparkles to move me to write. I love writing and I love writing fiction more than ever. I know that reading a lot can make me—more or less—good in writing. I bear in mind that Stephen King said that once. No wonder that libraries and book stores are my favorite places on earth—besides my lovely bedroom. I can feel another kind of ‘aura’ inside me when I step my feet in to those places. I can feel another kind of ‘aroma’ in the air that I breathe. I can even hear a very distinctive ‘tune’ around my ears.

Oh… really, being inspired is that gorgeous