Clay Aiken is Gay! So What!? Being a gay doesn’t mean he is less human. The way the press makes a big deal out of it reminds me of my own experience when I was in university about 10 years ago.
I was in my first semester of my MBA program at that time. One fine day when I entered my lecture room I noticed that everybody was whispering or talking in a hush-hush manner. I met up with my team mates and immediately asked them what had happened (FYI, there were 5 students in one team, and I was the only girl in my team. At that time I noticed that one of my team members did not arrive yet). They immediately showed me the daily university newspaper. In that newspaper I saw an article written by one of my team members (the one that still had not arrived yet) about him being a gay. It seemed that day was “coming out of closet” day and he decided to tell everybody that he is a gay by writing an article in the newspaper.
After reading that newspaper, the following conversation happened:
Me: So what is the big deal about him being gay?
One of my team members, let say his name is A: Do you mean in your country it is OK to be gay?
Me: I didn’t say that, but this is America, and I always thought that in America being gay is something that is common and acceptable.
A: Says who?
Me: Well, I saw it in the movies. There seemed to be a lot of gay characters in American movies.
A: It’s only in the movies, but the reality is we are not as liberal as that.
Then suddenly the door opened and the guy we were talking about came in wearing a T-shirt with “Yes, I Am A Gay” printed across his chest. Everybody became silent and pretended to read or do something it was so quiet I could almost hear a pin drop. When the class began, I noticed that during discussion time, nobody talked to him. Poor guy! Anyway, in the end everybody accepted him the way he was.
Actually, unlike Clay Aiken, I would have never guessed that he is a gay. He had the most manly look among all of my ream members.
So What!
Do You Think This Car is A Good Buy?
I am thinking to buy a car for me to do my errands like picking up my eldest daughter, groceries shopping, etc. I am not familiar with car, so I need you to vote or me. The reason I choose Toyota Land Cruiser because I always like big car and drove Toyota before back in my country. If you have another suggestion, please leave a comment.
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What First Time Moms Did Not Know
According to a new study, many new mothers wish they had learned not only about what to expect from childbirth, but from life with their first baby as well.
I totally agree with this. When the first time I got my baby, I got a shock. I know that having a baby is very troublesome and I hear that a lot of new mommies complain about the constant lack of sleep, depression, and etc, but hearing and experiencing it yourself is totally different.
I am a typical career woman that didn’t really think of having children until later on. I got married at 30 and only got pregnant 3 years later. To make matters even worse, I don’t like children, and always avoid small children if I saw one. I could not even carry a baby properly. I tried to carry a baby once and that one time, I almost dropped the baby.
So can you imagine how scared I was when I had to carry my own baby. She was so small and so fragile and when I carried her I was so afraid that I would drop her. To make matters worse, she followed a different time zone. She preferred to sleep during the day, and did not want to sleep at night. People always said that you have to sleep while your baby is sleeping, but the problem is when my baby is sleeping, I could not sleep, and by the time I was about to fall asleep, it’s time for her feeding again.
I always thought that babies are supposed to sleep most of the time, but in reality it is different. I felt like I was a slave. I had lost control of my life. I could not even sleep when I wanted to sleep. I could not do whatever I want to do. How I envied my husband. He could always run away to his office.
So yes, I wish that the prenatal class that I was attending also told us about what to expect from life with a baby as well.
If you are reading this and you are pregnant with your first child, be prepared!
About My Job
I am able to work at home, because all my customers are from overseas. Mostly, I communicate with them by email and by VoIP.
It’s the nature of my work that I can work from anywhere. I can set up my office anywhere. All I need is my laptop, an internet connection and a VoiP and a VoiP phone/headset and I am set to work. If I want, I can even work from any café or any pub as long as they have a WiFi connection.
With dozens of broadband phone plans around, sometimes it is difficult to decide which one is the best. If you interested to use Voip and want to compare VoIP and read VoIP reviews, I suggest you to visit: The top 10 VoIP services compared and reviewed.
In this site, you can compare voip providers and find the best broadband phone company providers available near you with the voip services and features you want. They even provide you with the comparison chart to make it easier for you to compare based on call quality, services, features, pricing, and how easy it is to set up.
De-Cluttered
Sometimes I wonder how come some people can manage their house, until it looks so tidy and organized. How can they have the time to manage it?
I have a full time job although I work at home (I know, I know, it’s very nice to be able to work at home). I also have to take care of my 2 daughters. Everyday, I only have time to clean the floor since my eldest daughter loves to play on the floor. My house looks so cluttered with a lot of things. I know that most of the stuff are stuff that we probably don’t need, but I feel very reluctant to throw or donate it. My reason is that probably someday we are going to need it again, although most of the time, when we do need it, I cannot locate it.
I think I need to spare about 1 hour a day, just to go through my stuff and decide which one stays and which one goes.
Any other ideas?
Sports Moments
I think I mentioned before that I am not a sporty kind of gal, but there are 2 memorable sports moments that I will always remember for the rest of my life.
The first sport moment was when I watched American Football the first time in a football stadium (not on TV). I mean there is a big difference between watching football on TV and live in a stadium. When you watch football in the stadium, you can feel the excitement and the energy. Furthermore, that moment was also my first date with my husband. So, now you can understand why it was an important event for me.
Oklahoma Sooners - Click here for more sports videos
The second sports moment was when I saw the Olympic torch being carried pass my campus. It was in 1996 where the Olympic Games was hosted in Atlanta, Georgia. I was just about to go to my campus and was quite amazed to see so many people standing around on the road. After asking around, I found out that the Olympic torch was about to pass through the campus. It was cool to see a historic event like this.
If you also have a memorable sporting event and would like to see it again, you can go to SportsVids, an online sports videos website. You can find many selections of sports videos or sport clips there.
Progress on My Youngest Daughter Milk Rashes
After applying Chinese tea on my youngest daughter’s milk rash for several days, the rash seems to have dried up, but somehow the skin has become very rough and thick.
In the end, when I went to see the pediatrician for her triple antigen vaccination, I asked the doctor to prescribe a cream for her rash. The doctor prescribed me an Elomet cream (mometasone furoate, Schering – Plough). She said that this cream contains a bit of steroids so I cannot apply more than 14 days successively. I only have to apply a thin layer 1 time a day preferably at night.
She said that it is normal for babies under 1 year old to have rashes or eczema, and they will outgrow all these problems by the time they are 1 year old.
Anyway, I only applied this cream once and the next day the rashes were gone!
Invest Your Money Wisely
In this current economy situation, we have to invest our money wisely to maximize our income. “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is always my motto. Besides putting my money in time deposits to enjoy the interest, I also invest in property, gold, foreign currency, and shares. Normally I pick up blue chips shares that give me decent dividends, but sometimes I also like to speculate on shares to earn some extra money.
I don’t know about you, but I really don’t trust my investment brokers that much. I am sure there are investment brokers worth their fees and commissions they charge, but nobody cares as much about my money as I do. Normally I do some research about the shares that I am going to buy, but sometimes even when I have done my homework, I still wonder whether I have to wait or buy or sell.
If you also have this kind of situation, I am happy to tell you that there is this new investment community called Inner 8. Inner8 makes it easy to build your own smart, private, inner-circle of trusted investors powered by their new proprietary analytics. You get profitable investment ideas, demonstrate your own expertise and save a bundle on investment suggestions. It’s a rewarding experience.
If you want to know more about it, click on the link and the access code is 3bsdz
About My Youngest Daughter
My youngest daughter’s behavior is the exact opposite from my eldest daughter. She is a very well behaved girl from the day she was born. She only cries when she is hungry, besides than that she will play by herself on the bed or sleep. She doesn’t even need a pacifier.
When I was pregnant with her, I used to wait for my eldest daughter in her kinder-garden. There was this little girl there that I always liked to observe. She is the same age as my eldest daughter, but she is the class for 5 year olds. I used to wonder how come this little girl is always so calm and ladylike, unlike my eldest daughter who always jumps about or runs around or fight with boys.
Now I am wondering whether my youngest daughter’s good attitude is because I paid too much attention on that little girl and hoped the child in my belly will also turn out to be as well behaved as her.
Need Traffic?
If you have an online business and yet you feel that the amount of people that goes to your site is not high enough to create a sale, then maybe you can take this FullTraffic.net into your consideration.
With only as low as USD 7,- you can get 10,000 global visitor, which I think is a fantastic deal. Beside selling traffic packages, they also sell a comprehensive range of services which include search engine submission, search engine advertising, and search engine optimization.
Masterpiece
Lately my eldest daughter loves to draw pictures using crayons. After she has completed a picture, she will ask me to hang it on the wall using sticky tape. So now my wall is full of her drawings.
This is her below a rainbow
This is a whole family playing near a pond and a tree
This is me walking on the sand with a ticket on my hand (not sure what ticket)
There are two more drawings that I forgot to take a picture, I will add them later.
Another Childhood Memories
When I was a kid both my parents were working, so during the day I had to stay with my maternal grandparents. They lived in a small village where everybody knows everybody else. My cousins also live nearby, so normally after school we always play together. Sometimes our neighbor’s kids also join in to play with us. Together, we had such a good time playing hide and seek, hopscotch, or anything that we could thing of. If it was raining, we stayed indoors and played cards, monopoly, chess, or bingo. I had so much fun and even until now the memories are still fresh in my mind.
Now I have 2 daughters of my own and I want them to have good childhood memories like I have. Since we are living in a big city, she cannot play outside like I did last time, so most of the time she has to play at home with me (she has to wait for another 2 years before she can play with her sister).
My eldest daughter loves to play games on my laptop. She always asks me whether it is her turn to play whenever I work on my laptop. She especially loves it when I play games together with her. That is why when I heard that Screenlife has a new Disney Bingo DVD videogame, I am considering to get one for my daughter. She just loves Disney cartoon characters, therefore I think this game is perfect for her.
If your kids love to play games, I think you should get one for your kids also. Disney Bingo is available on Amazom.com and Drugstore.com for purchase.
Is It True?
My husband told me that he got an email saying that on the 17th of October, there will be 36 hours of continuous sunlight, which only happens every 2400 years.
However upon checking it out further on the net, it turned out that this is only another internet hoax because In order for a day to last 36 hours, the earth's rotation would either have to cease altogether or slow down dramatically -- neither of which ever happens, let alone once every 2,400 years. It's physically impossible.
Well, it’s probably the work of some nothing to do person that wants to get high traffic for his blog. Hahahahaha!
Omega Watches
The first time I learned about Omega watch was when I watched a James Bond movie with my boy friend. He told me that he would like to own the same kind of watch that James Bond was wearing when he can afford it someday. Well, until now that someday has not arrived yet, since Omega watches are really expensive and we still do not have that kind of money to spend on watches.
However, I found a site which offers very good deals for Omega watches at thewatchery.com. They have a very good selection of omega mens watches at a very good price. I am thinking of purchasing one of those watches for my husband with the money I got from blogging for his birthday.
If you are interested in buying one of the Omega watches collections, you can buy it online in thewatchery.com. They have wide selection of luxury watch available in their catalogue. Beside Omega watches, they also carry other branded watches, such as Bvlgary, Gucci, Cartier, Patek Philippe, etc. You can find a good deal there, and they will ship it for free to your doorstep. They even accept PayPal as one of their options for payment. At this moment, they have a one-of-a-kind promotion, which entitles you to a free or 80% off watch with selected purchases!
What Parents Should Know About A Colicky Baby
When my eldest daughter was a baby, she was very demanding. She could not sleep by herself so I had to carry her and rock her to sleep. Even though she had already slept, she would wake up and cry whenever I put her to bed. Putting her to sleep was especially very hard at night. She would cry a lot and it was very difficult to pacify her. I had such a hard time with her. Luckily all these problems were over by the time she was 3 months old. I guess what my mom told me was correct. She told me that normally a baby will settle down after 100 days.
Until now nobody knows what causes a baby to have colic. There are several factors that people say might be the cause of colic which are an immature digestive system, immature nervous system, swallowing air while feeding or crying, allergic to the milk or over stimulation.
Pediatricians often use the "Rule of Three" to diagnose colic, which is: A baby that cries for three or more hours per day, at least three times per week, within a three month period.
I am not sure whether there is a fool proof medicine for a colicky baby, although my pediatrician suggested me to put the baby on top of a running washing machine (put the baby inside the basket, off course), taking a quick car ride, or give the baby a tea table spoon of gripe water (above 1 month old) might alleviate the problem. I must say that the gripe water was the remedy that worked on my baby.
If you have a colicky baby at this moment, just remember that it will pass over after 3 months.
Time Travel
Sometimes I wonder how it feels like to live in the old days where everything is less sophisticated, has less crime and less traffic on the roads. Too bad that I don’t have time travel machine otherwise I can travel to many different times and have a glimpse of life during that period.
Well, I guess I can go to North Augusta in South Carolina and participate in Colonial Times “A Day To Remember” Event if I wanted to feel the environment in the colonial days. This event offers an opportunity to understand what daily life was like for the people who settled in that area during colonial times. Learn More!
Children Memory
Have you ever wandered, at what age will a child start to retain memories in his or her brain? I think I started to retain memories when I was 3 years old as the earliest memories that I can recall dates back to then. Of course I am unable to remember everything, but I can still recall certain moments here and there.
I can still remember that on my 3rd birthday, my aunty brought me and my cousin to have our pictures taken in photo studio. We dressed in kimono costumes to have our photos taken. I remember at that time that I was jealous of my cousin as she looked prettier in her kimono complete with a Japanese hairdo. Although I also wore a kimono but they didn’t bother to prep up my hair in the Japanese style.
You see, my cousin is 5 years older than me, so at that time, she was 8 years old, and at 8 years old her hair was long enough to have a Japanese hairdo. At 3 years old, obviously I could not understand that.
I also remember the time when I got measles. I remember how bad I felt and I wanted my mom to be with me instead of going to work. I begged her not to go to work and how happy I felt when she finally agreed to stay at home with me to take care of me.
Another fond memory I can still recall is being a very naughty girl when I cut my parent’s bed-sheet. I think I was about 4 years old and played with my small scissor on my parent’s bed. My mom already warned me not to cut the bed sheet, but I still remember the urge I had to cut up the bed-sheet. I just wanted to know the feel of cutting up the bed-sheet instead of just normal paper. In the end when I decided to snip a bit of the bed-sheet, my mom suddenly appeared and caught me red-handedly. Although I remember that I only snipped a bit of the bed sheet, but my mom told me in much later years that I actually cut out quite a big piece.
I also remember that my dad has to persuade me to eat all of my food at every meal as I was quite a picky eater when I was small, and my parent’s had quite a hard time trying to feed me.
Oh, how nice to be kid again!
Actress “Guiding Light” Battles Against Obesity
After numerous years of exercise routines and strict diets were unable to help reduce her weight, Actress “Guiding Light” Caitlin Van Zandt chose to have lap-band surgery or lap band surgery, also known as Bariatric Surgery or weightloss surgery
Like so many Americans, Caitlin suffered high cholesterol, asthma, and low self-esteem because she could not control her obesity problem.
Now, through her role as a spokesperson for the obesity health education campaign, Caitlin will share her experiences about her battle against obesity.
Happy 1-Year Blogiversary
Today is my 1-Year Blogiversary! I started this blog a year ago. At that time I was not aware that I was pregnant with my second daughter. Since then I have had almost 9,000 visitors and more than 300 posts. So it’s almost about 1 post per day.
I created this blog after looking at the numerous nice blogs out there. Although English is not my primary language, I always try my best to express my thoughts and opinions in English. This blog is definitely not the best blog around, but I really take pride in it and I think that what I have accomplished so far really exceeded my initial expectation.
About Hair Loss
Even though I have lost a lot of hair, I am not worried because I know the reason is because of the hormonal change in my body after delivery of my child. My husband, on the other hand, is quite worried when the front part of his hairline is starting to recede. When the first time I met him 8 years ago he had significantly more hair than he has now. I don’t know where he gets the balding hair gene from since my father in law and my mother in law both have a lot of hair although both of them are more than 60 years old. He has tried numerous Chinese medicinal tonics, but the results are not encouraging as instead of growing more hair, his gained a lot more weight so in the end he stopped taking the medicine.
I read that the most common cause of hair loss in both men and women is rooted in genetic factors. Beside that, stress, scalp condition, or medical condition can also cause hair loss.
A common misconception about hair loss is that there is no cure. This is actually not true since there are approved, medically proven ways to treat most hair loss conditions, depending on what causes hair to fall out in the first place. If you are interested in getting your scalp and hair analyzed, you can get it done free at Medical Hair Restoration .
Latest Creation
These are the latest creation of my eldest daughter:
A basket full of eggs
A ring in the jewelry box
A mommy kangaroo with her baby inside the pouch
She made these all by herself without me helping her. I was quite surprise to see that she is able to make all of these creations, specially the kangaroo. It’s so clever of her to be able to make it with the baby inside the pouch.
Custom Made Suit
The first time my husband was satisfied with his suit was the suit that he made for his wedding. It was a made-to-measure suit and it fits him perfectly. Not long after he made this suit, he heard that that the tailor was going to retire and close down his business. When he heard this news, my husband immediately ordered another 3 suits in different styles and colors. Although actually off-the-rack suits prices are much cheaper than made-to-measure suits, but because of his body structure, he found that made-to-measure suits are much more suitable for him.
His favorite style is the 6-button double breasted jacket. He also likes his suits to have a subtle pick stitching lapel, center vent (an element of a traditional American or “Ivy League” look), and surgeon’s cuff (A “custom” detail where the 4 buttons on the cuff are functional). As for the pants, he likes the single pleat pants style with a coin pocket. With all these preferences, it is difficult for him to get any suits from off the rack in stores. The only other way that I can see him buying his "Made to measure" suits with all his particular preferences is to order it from MySuitNY.com.
In MySuitNY.com you can order your custom suit according to your preference style and details. Since they measure you up to 30 measurements instead of only 3 (suit size, waist size and inseam) you will get a mens’ suit that will fit you perfectly at off-the-rack prices.
10 Surprising Poison to Keep Out of Your Baby’s Hands
Do you know that more than 1 million children under age 6 are victims of accidental poisoning? I am quite surprised that in most cases, the actual causes of poisoning are something that we can easily overlook. Some of the causes are something that we use daily and consider as not dangerous in nature.
To tell you the truth, I am quite guilty by putting our medicine in an unlocked drawer and some of them even lay around on top of my dressing table. I always keep telling my eldest daughter than she can not touch or play with our medicine as they are very dangerous and poisonous. So far she has never played with them, but I guess I have to be more careful.
Here are some of the hazardous substances most commonly ingested by children under age 6:
• cosmetics and personal care products, such as mouthwash, nail products, hair remover, and baby oil (never leave baby oil or similar products within your baby's reach — in a few cases, infants have died from getting baby oil in their lungs)
• prescription drugs such as heart and blood pressure medications, antidepressants, sleeping pills, diabetes medications, pain medications, and time-release medications . Never refer medicine as candy to your children.
• cleaning products, including drain cleaner, oven cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, bleach, dishwasher detergent, furniture polish, and rust remover
• pain relievers such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, which are poisonous when taken in large doses (never give a child aspirin, as it can lead to Reye's syndrome, a rare brain and liver disease that can be fatal)
• cough and cold medicines
• vitamin supplements, especially iron pills
• household plants, especially philodendron and holly berries
• paint thinner, paint remover, kerosene, lighter fluids, antifreeze, and windshield washer fluid
• pesticides
• alcohol
Time To Get Halloween Costume
The holiday season is just around the corner! How time flies so fast. I feel like it was just yesterday when we celebrated new year, and now we are approaching the end of the year, beginning with the always frightfully fun Halloween night celebration.
As far as I can remember, I have never dressed myself in Halloween costumes, although I had attended quite a few Halloween parties during my college years. At that time I felt that wearing a costume was very troublesome and not practical at all. I was had fun looking at other people’s costumes, though.
This year, probably I buy a nice costume from the Halloween Costumes store just in case I am invited to such party.
Lost A Wallet
On Sunday, we brought my father-in-law’s brother and his daughter (Kerry) shopping. After shopping, we brought them back to the hotel. Only then did Kerry realize that she lost her wallet. She thought that she might have dropped it in the mall. We decided to report the lost wallet to the police station in the mall. This decision turned out to become a good decision because when she told the police her name and that she lost her wallet, like magic the police showed her the lost wallet!
The whole incident reminds me about my own experiences of loosing my wallet. Throughout my whole life I have lost my wallet twice, but in the end I always managed to get it back.
The first time I lost my wallet was when I visited my husband’s home country. I put my handbag on the airport trolley and forgot to take it with me when my husband (then he was still my boy-friend) picked me up from the airport. Inside that handbag, beside credit cards and money, I also put my passport and my return ticket. So you can imagine how I panicked, when I realized that my handbag was not with me. We immediately turned the car around, back to the airport. When we arrived at the airport, my trolley was still there and so was my handbag. I was very lucky that time!
The second time I lost my wallet happened on my next visit. This time I realized that I lost my wallet when I tried to pay for something in the Mall. We traced our steps backward to all the stores that we visited but still could not find it. In the end we gave up and decided to go to make a police report. When we got to the car and open the car door, I saw my wallet on the floor of the car! I felt so relieved that I cried and laughed at the same time.
Paganism
When people first hear the words Pagan or Paganism they tend to think that it means, "Devil worshipping". Actually it's simply a term covering many different religions and belief systems. Paganism is a spiritual way of life and its origins are rooted in the ancient nature religions of the world. Paganism has absolutely nothing to do with Satan, Demons, or Devils. One of the common beliefs and practices in pagan religions is Animism- the belief that natural objects and phenomena possess souls. Animists believe that all things are alive and animated with spirits.
My mother’s eldest sister owns one of the so called pagan items, called a Keris. It is actually a weapon which originated from Java island and it is believed that the Keris has a soul. She got this Keris from her grandfather when she was just a teenager. Normally every Thursday night she would buy some flowers and put them around the Keris. The funny thing is whenever she forgot to do it, an old man always visit her in her dreams. She believes that this old man is the soul of this Keris.
If you are interested about pagan items, there is an online Pagan Magic - Wicca & Witchcraft Shop that specializes in this kind of items. This website provides a wide range of pagan products, as well as a huge amount of information on symbols, spells, current affairs, tools, etc.
Anybody Know How to Back Up?
I am wondering if there is an easy method to back up all of my posts in this blog. I am just afraid that if somehow the blog site has a glitch then all of my posts will be lost.
I know that probably my posts here are worthless for anybody else, but for me they are precious, especially the ones about my children.
I tried to look up the internet on how to back up my posts, but I could not find any easy methods to do it. In the end, I just copied and pasted all of my posts in MS Word.
Amusement Parks
Everybody likes to go to an amusement park whether you are a kid or an adult. When I was about 4 or 5 years old, I went to amusement park almost every week. The reason is because not only was the amusement park near my home, but my godfather also worked there so we didn’t have to pay any single cent for entrance. I had a lot of fun with my family there and even celebrated one of my birthdays there.
Of course I have since been to many great amusement parks besides my home town amusement park but to me that simple amusement park always has a special place in my heart.
Talking about amusement parks, do you know that New Jersey has the largest amusement pier in the world? New Jersey amusement parks is called Morey’s Piers and is located on the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey, next to historic Cape May, New Jersey, and not far from both Ocean City and Atlantic City. Morey's Piers offers over 100 exciting amusement park rides and attractions, including two large beachfront water-parks, kiddie rides, roller coasters and more! You can even create a wonderful memory for your child by celebrating your child’s birthday party there.
If you decide to go and have a family beach vacation there, you can always plan ahead and book the hotel from their website. I think Morey’s Piers is a great place for a “New Jersey Vacation”
Belt
I recently made a home gown to wear around the house. The gown has a belt which is the same color as the gown. My eldest daughter loves to play with that belt. Yesterday, when I wore the belt she asked: “Mama, why do you borrow my belt?”
Just because I let her play with my belt, she though that the belt belongs to her. This is the first time I heard her using word "borrow".
After 1 Month Taking Care The Dogs
In my previous post, I have told you that I am taking over my father-in-laws chore of taking care of dogs. It has been over 1 month now and I am starting to get used to it. At first, I really hate cleaning up doggie shit, but after a while, I sort of got used to it.
The dogs are getting fatter now, since I am feeding them more food and also feeding them some multi vitamins. I am starting to enjoy the chores and begin to understand why people like to have pets as their companions and I am beginning to agree with the saying that "Happiness is Pets".
Encourage Your Children To Do Chores
I always have a difficult time asking my eldest daughter to take a bath, but once she starts taking a bath she doesn’t want to get out from the bathtub. She loves to play with bubbles.
She is still taking a bath using a small bathtub that she was using since she was a baby. After she is done bathing, she will throw away the water and clean the bathroom floor by herself. She is a very helpful little girl, although sometimes when I am in a hurry I am tempted to do it myself. She also helps me by picking up and keeping her toys and sweeping the floor after she plays with her Play-Doh.
I believe that we can encourage our children to do chores while they are young. Children between the ages of 18 months and four years are actually ripe for learning about household jobs. That's because this age group is so enthusiastic about being like – and being liked by – their parents. Thus it all depend on us as a parent whether we want to nurture their interest in doing chores or not. If you don't introduce the notion that chores are a natural part of family life now, when they're eager and open, you'll have a much harder time enlisting their help when they're older.
Do You Have Your Own Business?
Nowadays, if you want to own a successful business it is also a must that you have to manage a website explaining about your products or services. You probably think that it is good enough to have a good customer brochure, but the reality is that more and more people expect that every company must have a website. If people want information about your products or services, they will try to check it out from the internet first. Consumers have more confidence in and prefer doing business with companies that they know something about.
Furthermore, with an internet site, your product or services is accessible globally to a prospective customer 24 hours, 365 days a year. If your prospective customer cannot find you on the internet, and they can find your competitor’s, then most probably your prospective customer will end up using your competitor’s products or services.
I understand that not everybody is savvy enough to make a professional looking website thus this is where Network Solutions come in handy. Drawing on nearly 30 years of experience, Network Solutions make it simple and affordable for everybody to build and manage an online presence. Once a small business themselves, they understand what small business needs. They offer domain registration, Web presence, and other online marketing services.
If you don’t have your own business but you are interested in helping small businesses to establish and market their companies online then you should check out network solutions careers page.
Wheel Of Time
During my first pregnancy, I read a book called “The Wheel Of Time” by Robert Jordan. The book is a sword and magic fantasy series with a total of 12 books in the series. At the time my husband bought the series, the author had only published the 10th book in the series. My husband bought the books, because he read a review about it which ranked it as an excellent fantasy series. Since then, the 11th book in the series has been published but we have yet had the time to purchase the book to read.
I had actually forgotten to ask my husband to purchase the 11th book in the series until yesterday, as I came across someone’s blog who mentioned about the death of a certain author. The name of the author sounded very familiar to me, and after a few minutes of trying to remember where I had heard of the author, it dawned on me that the author mentioned is the author of the “The Wheel Of Time” series.
On the 23rd of March 2006, Jordan disclosed that he had been diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis, and that with proper medical treatment, his life expectancy was four years, although he said that he intended to beat the statistics. He later posted a statement on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and that he intended to have a long and fully creative life, working for another 30 years. Sadly he died on the 16th of September 2007, subsequently on the 7th of December 2007, the publisher of the fantasy series, “Tor Books” announced that Brandon Sanderson had been chosen to write the final installment of the Wheel of Time series. Jordan's widow chose him to write the final book after reading his Mistborn series. Well, when the final book hits the bookstore, I have to re-read the whole series again as I have almost forgotten the whole story before I read the final book.
Making Money Online
I heard numerous times that people say that you can become a millionaire online. However, until now I still cannot figure it out how to become one of them. I will be happy if I can make a few thousand a month without having to spend many hours in front of my lap top.
I recently found out about this Listbuilding Club that promises that you can make USD 1000/month for start with as little as 1 hour spent in front of your computer. All you have to do is sign up to join. Once you enter your name and your email address, you will be shown an informational video like how to buy domain names and so on. The main thing is that there is a link underneath the video that will direct you to the main page where you can become a member for free (for only 1 month, then you will have to pay once you pass this 1 month grace period). Once you become a member, you will have Full access to The Listbuilding Club, where you can start your own business in under 30 days! This includes access to over 75 step-by-step how-to videos, ongoing new monthly lessons, technical support, live training calls and more.
Since I had never heard off Tellman Knudson and Shawn Casey (the owners of the site), I did some checking. It seems that 3 short years ago Tellman Knudson couldn't pay his rent. His debit card was rejected when he tried to buy a $8.39 lunch. On that day he decided he was going to learn what it took to be successful. Now, starting from nothing, he has made millions of dollars online and has made the decision to share what he has learned with people who are ready to listen and take action on what they learn.
If you are serious and want to learn about how to make money online, probably you can give this The ListBuilding Club a try.
About Antibiotics
When I was a toddler, my immune system was not very good. I always had colds, coughs, a runny nose or flu. During that period whenever my parents brought me to see a pediatrician, an antibiotic was always prescribed for me.
Only much later on, when I had my own children that I learned that colds, coughs, or flu are caused by virus. Treating upper respiratory infections that are caused by virus using antibiotics is a blatant misuse, since the drugs kill only bacteria and are of no value at all in treating viral infections.
When your child is continually treated with antibiotics, the bacteria in his or her body may eventually be able to survive the drugs, making it much harder to cure an infection. In the event of a serious bacterial infection, such as meningitis, a much higher dosage of antibiotic may be required or a doctor may have to try different drugs before finding one that will work. The time this takes can potentially be a matter of life or death, since meningitis can be fatal and needs to be treated immediately. Unfortunately, with each try at a different treatment, the bacteria are given another chance to build up their resistance against even more powerful drugs.
Antibiotic resistance can affect the whole family and everyone around the child with a history of frequent antibiotic use. If the child develops resistant bacteria, he or she can pass them along to others through coughing, sneezing, and kissing.
What's more, antibiotics adversely affect many nutrients, particularly the ones needed by the immune system to fight infection, such as vitamins A and C. One of the most common side effects of antibiotics is diarrhea. This causes a loss of nutrients, especially magnesium and zinc. Some children are on antibiotics for months or even years. Nutritional loss over such a long period of time is debilitating for the body and sets up an environment for more infections.
Thus, next time when your pediatrician prescribed some antibiotic for your children, you must ask the following questions:
Are you sure it is bacterial?
Are you sure it is the right antibiotic?
Are there alternatives to antibiotics?
What are the risks if we don’t use them?
What are the risks if we wait one or two or four days?
Almost 4 Months
Next week my youngest daughter will be 4 months old. She still wakes up several times at night asking for her milk. I know some babies at this age have already begun to sleep for a long stretch of time (six to eight hours) at night, but mine still hasn’t begun yet.
At this age, my baby also loves to reach and touch anyone and anything she can get her hands on. With increasing coordination, she can reach for and pick up things that pique her interest. Whenever I carry her, she always grabs my clothes or sometimes grabs my hair. With the current hair loss stage that I am suffering from at this moment, she always manages to pull out several strands of my hair every time I try to make her release her grip from my hair.
Extreme Digital Makeover
By the time my first daughter was born, I did not own a good digital camera. I snapped a lot of her photos using my mobile phones camera. The results of the photos were not very good. I only recently bought a nice DSLR camera to capture my daughters’ precious moments.
After watching the Wedding Day crunch episode on Roxio Extreme Digital Makeover video, I was so inspired to do my own Extreme Digital makeover. Who doesn’t? I suggest that you watch the video and get inspired by Zoey and Chris. You even have the opportunity to become the star of the show! Just enter the contest. You could even win some digital goodies like a HDTV, cameras and more. Just send your name, organization, phone number, email and digital dilemma to: digitalmakeover@roxio.com
Guest From Canada
I was alone with my baby and husband today (my eldest daughter went out with her grand parents) when, suddenly somebody rang the door bell outside. I thought it was the courier service delivering something, but it turned out to be my father-in-law’s younger brother and his daughter. It was a surprise visit by them as they live in Toronto, Canada.
The last time they came to visit was about 4 years ago. During his last visit I was still pregnant with my eldest daughter. This is the first time they get to meet both of my daughters.
New Non Stick Cookware
I have mentioned before in my previous post that cooking using non-stick cookware can be dangerous for your health if you use high temperatures to cook your food. It is dangerous because the PTFE material on the non-stick cookware can break down when it reaches 500 degree F and it is very bad for your heath if you inhale the fumes from it. You will get flu like symptoms (headache, fever, chills and coughs) from inhaling the fumes. In my opinion as long as there is food in the pan when it is on a hot stove and you don’t let it sit too long on the stove, non-stick cookware is perfectly safe to use.
If you are still concerned about the dangers of using non-stick cookware then there is a new brand of cook-ware out in the market that uses Thermolon as a non stick coating (PTFE free non-stick) called Greenpan. This Greenpan non-stick cookware claims that it can perform at high temperatures without deteriorating. I have yet to try this Greenpan cookware, so I can’t tell you much about it. However, even if I do have it, I will still be unable to test if this new Thermolon coating is free of PTFE. Who knows whether the new material they use to replace PTFE is safe for health. As you know non-stick was invented by Dupont in 1938, and only recently there have been some test results that suggest that it could be dangerous for your health. Thermolon has just been invented therefore I don’t think that any test results about whether its hazardous for health can be published until at few years later.
I'm not saying Thermolon is dangerous. I'm just saying that while teflon is already used for almost 70 years by millions of households and extensively lab-tested as safe, on the other hand we really do not know what material is used in Thermolon. It's just a proprietary mystery ceramic that comes from China.
Green Kids
Every day the human race uses up natural resources and produce a lot of waste. We put a great deal of strain on mother earths natural resources, so it’s important for all of us to understand the impact we have on mother earth and learn what we can do to live more eco-friendly lives. Personally I think that we have to teach our children when they are young to live eco-friendly lives so that it will be a lifestyle which they are accustomed to when they grow up.
It’s never too young to teach our children to care about the environment. Giving your children organic foods, toys and clothes is one way to go green. But there's a lot more to raising green kids. You can educate them by reading to your children with books about Earth-friendly topics, making a trip with your kids to the farmers market or you can buy them recycled toys.
Lately my eldest daughter loves to play with her cooking toys. I saw a cute cookware and dining set made from recycled milk jugs which is perfect for her to play and also to educate her about being eco-friendly and to become one of the green kids.
Four Money Mistakes Moms Make
The distractions, responsibilities, and pressures of motherhood can encourage some of our worst financial habits. Here are five of the most common — and avoidable — money mistakes you may be making, plus expert advice on how to sidestep them.
Credit Cards
Credit cards are definitely convenient. No unplanned runs to the bank, no scrabbling in your pocketbook for that extra dollar. It makes sense that busy moms often depend on plastic to get through the day. Unfortunately, this can lead to big problems.
What to do: As inconvenient as it is, start using cash for your everyday purchases
Birthday burdens
Presents, cards, and gift wrap seem like innocent purchases. But these happy items can add up to a hefty sum when you consider the multitude of kiddie birthday parties you'll probably attend. Plus, it's easy to go overboard on presents, choosing fancier ones than you can really afford.
What to do: Consider homemade gifts. There are dozens of presents you and your child can create at home — check out craft websites for ideas.
Living for today
We parents are often told to focus on the here-and-now to better enjoy the fleeting years of our children's youth. But when it comes to money, a little less being "in the moment" is probably in order.
What to do: Make saving a habit. Have some of your income automatically deposited into savings — both short term and long term — every month. Even if you can manage only a small amount right now, it will add up
Top 7 Baby Expenses and How To Save
Having children nowadays is very expensive. The cost of baby’s basic need alone can be very expensive, not to mention the extras. Below are the top baby costs and what you can do to reduce the cost:
Formula Milk
You are very lucky if you have plenty of milk to begin with. You can safe a lot of money. I am sad to say that I am not the lucky one in this area.
Ways to save: Breastfeed as long as you can. If you're not breastfeeding, stick with powdered formula, which costs less than ready-to-use or liquid concentrate. Buy in bulk at wholesale. Sign up to receive coupons on formula manufacturers' websites to use. When you find that a certain store offered discount, buy as many as you can.
Diapers
There are many diapers in the market, from the cheap range until the more expensive one.
Ways to save: Aside from using cloth diapers and washing them yourself, the best way to save on diapers is to buy in bulk and stock up when diapers are on sale.
Childcare
If both parent working, they need to send the child to daycare.
Ways to save: For full-time care, consider asking a relative or friend. For occasional babysitting, trade time with a trusted neighbor or friends or hire a responsible student. If possible, try to stagger work schedules with your spouse so you can each cover some of your child's care.
Gear
Ways to save: Start with the basics — a good car seat, stroller, and bouncy seat, for example — and wait to buy other things. You may be able to try out a friend's activity center or swing to see if your baby likes it before buying. While it's a good idea to buy your car seat new, ask for other items as hand-me-downs and shop garage sales, community sites like Craigslist, eBay, and secondhand stores for other items.
Clothes
Children grow very fast, thus no need to buy too many clothes.
Way to save: Ask for hand-me-downs from friends and relatives or if you can sew, make them yourself.
Food
Baby food can be expensive, especially if you bought organic baby food.
Ways to save: If possible, make your own baby food. Not only cheaper, it is also healthier. Home made baby food is free of preservative or any chemical addition.
Toys, books, and DVDs
Some toys are priceless, but you can't know which ones your baby will love.
Ways to save: Let your child play with safe household items. Buy secondhand, borrow books from the library, ask friends for hand-me-downs, and consider setting up a toy exchange with friends or neighbors who have babies around the same age. Finally, keep in mind that less is more — though it's easy to get excited about the latest developmental toy, many older babies prefer to play with plastic food containers, plastic water bottles, TV remotes, and other "grown-up" stuff.
Bariatric Surgery
Before considering bariatric bypass surgery, also known as gastric bypass or lap band surgery, it is important to know what you are getting into. This surgery is not for those who want a quick fix or simply don’t want to go on a strict diet. Even if a person has already undergone the lap-band surgery, the person must still follow a strict dietary guideline or the surgery might not have the desired effect, in fact they might even be disappointed with the results if they never follow the strict dietary guideline. Exercises are also a necessity to obtain optimal results.
If you are still interested to do a lap-band surgery, and you are in the Tampa area, you can pay a visit to the lapband tampa center.
How To Reheat Rice In Microwave
Everyday, there is bound to be some leftover rice in the rice cooker after every meal when we eat at home. Normally I just put the leftover rice in the fridge and microwave it the next morning for breakfast. If reheated correctly, reheated rice can taste just as fresh as when it was newly cooked. The following is the method how I reheat rice in the microwave oven.
How to reheat rice in microwave:
When the rice is taken out from the fridge, the rice will normally be in the form of a lump according to the shape of utensil which you stored it in, and it is also very dry in texture. The lump of rice needs to be broken apart with a fork.
The next step is to pour water onto the rice and mix both the rice and water gently. Don’t use too much water, use just enough to dampen the rice.
Next microwave the rice until it is to the temperature of your liking. If the rice is still very dry, you can add more water and continue to microwave it again.
When it is done correctly, your rice should be as fresh and nice as the hour you cooked it
Rice
My mother in law cannot sleep at night if she didn’t eat rice for dinner. She doesn’t mind eating western food or any other food. She is adventurous enough to try different kind of food, but she must eat rice before she sleeps.
Rice is a staple food in many cultures and an essential element in the regional dishes of many nations. In my house rice is a must. Cooking rice is the first thing I do in the morning. I like my rice fluffy with a nice fragrant smell.
There are so many choices of rice in the market. When selecting rice in the market, make sure that you can see the rice through the clear packaging. Normally I choose rice that is clear and translucent.
Halloween
The first time I celebrated Halloween was in the year 1995, which is the year that I arrived in United States of America as a student. I have never celebrated Halloween and have never witnessed the actual trick or treat custom. I had only seen children trick or treating in movies before this and I have always wanted to participate in a Halloween celebration.
The dormitory that I stayed in was well decorated with Jack O Lanterns and various other Halloween decorations, giving us the feel of the Halloween atmosphere. In front of each door there was a carved pumpkin in the shape of a Jack O Lantern and there was a costume ball celebration at the school’s union hall where everybody was expected to dress up in Halloween costumes. It’s was a very interesting first time experience for me! It was too bad that at that moment I did not have a camera otherwise, I would have snapped a lot of pictures.
A few years ago I designed a Halloween costume for my eldest daughter. I did not want my daughter to wear a very scary costume as I was afraid she would not put it on. I wanted her to wear something cute which was why I designed a lady bug costume for her.
Anyway, this year I decided to just buy one from halloween costume stores. They have a nice selection of costumes that I think is quite suitable for my eldest daughter. As for my baby, I think I will only choose a costume for her next year to participate in Halloween’s trick or treat.
Further About Rash
I did some research about baby rash in the internet. I know it is a common problem for babies in the first year to have rash, and some even said that it will disappear without treatment. However, seeing so many red patches on my baby skin is quite worrisome.
This is what I found so far about rash:
Types of rash
Milk rash: A spotty red facial rash is common in a baby’s early months. It is not related to milk and soon disappears.
Chapped skin: This is a facial rash caused by strong wind or dribbling saliva while teething. Apply soothing cream or petroleum jelly.
Dry skin: This is common in winter. The skin is rough and may be itchy. If severe it may lead to eczema, so early treatment is important. Instead of soap, use a bath oil such as Oilatum or Emulsiderm. Lift child carefully from bath. Pat skin dry, and apply an oily moisturising cream.
Nappy rash: Nappy rash is usually caused by contact with soiled and wet nappies.
Prickly heat: Tiny red spots with blisters may appear if skin is over-heated. Bathe in lukewarm water and dry carefully.
Urticaria (hives or nettle-rash): Skin has typical raised white wheals, with redness of surrounding area. This may be an allergic reaction to food, medicine, or contact with a plant (such as a nettle), clothing or animal fur. To relieve swelling, apply cold compress (flannel wrung out in cold water), and calamine lotion.
Preventing rashes
A young baby’s skin is easily irritated, so always use mild soap or bath lotion, and consult your doctor if you are worried. It helps if your baby wears soft cotton material next to the skin, and if you use non-biological washing powder when laundering. Always rinse clothing thoroughly to remove any traces of detergent.
Never use steroid (hydrocortisone) creams on your baby’s skin, unless your doctor prescribes them.
Milk Rash
My Younger daughter developed a milk rash on her face. I tried using Johnson’s nappy rash cream, but it didn’t work. So, I searched the internet for a remedy for milk rash, and some people suggested the use of Chinese tea. There were some who suggested applying the baby’s own morning on the milk rash. The suggestion also noted that only the morning urine of the baby be used, the method of applying the urine is to rub the wet diaper on the milk rash.
I think I will try the Chinese tea method. I don’t think applying urine on the baby’s face is a good idea.
New Sports Social Community
I have never liked to participate in sports activities. Ever since my schooling days when I was younger, I have always tried to avoid any kind of sports activities. However, I don’t mind watching sports telecasts on TV. My favorite sports telecasts are badminton and boxing. At one time, I even tried to pick up badminton however I was not very good at it, so I just gave up.
My husband, on the other hand, likes to watch all type of sport shows. He and his friends always like to talk about sports, especially when it’s the football world cup season. They can have discussions about it for hours about who will win, why, who is playing, and so on.
If you are a sports fan, there is now a new sports social community called Sportsviews. Sportsviews is a 100% free community, created especially to serve sports fans.
Members can discuss any kind of sporting events or issues. They can even create blogs, share videos and pictures. The interesting part about this community is that a member can even create their own gaming or betting circle and challenge others.
When I mentioned that members can bet, it’s not with real money. The money that is used here are some sort of points that you can accumulate as a convenient way of keeping score to see how you rank against other members, so they have no monetary value whatsoever. The points are called “Sportsviews Dollars” or SV$.
SV$ is supposed to be used like real money in the community as you can spend the SV$. You can use it for making acquisitions of players, teams, and more.
Playing Make Up
My mother in law asked me to put Hazeline Snow’s facial cream on my eldest daughter face. She said that the cream will make her skin whiter or fairer. I told her that she is too young to put any cosmetic or cream on her face. However, she (my MIL) secretly applies the cream behind my back.
My eldest daughter is now almost 4 years old, and she loves to watch me or my MIL putting on make up. Sometimes she also asked me to put lipstick on her lips or put nail varnish on her fingernails.
I can understand her interest in cosmetics, as I was a little girl too once upon a time. However, there are things to watch out for when you want to play make up with your little daughter.
1. Makeup in powder form is easily inhaled into children lungs, and can damage them. Instead use cream-based blushers or eye shadow.
2. Dibutyl phthalate and toluene are common nail polish ingredients linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and allergies.
3. Fragrances which are used in cosmetics are common allergens, and they usually contain phthalates.
4. Some lipsticks can contain lead which might cause cancer. Little children tend to eat almost anything which they put on their lips, so it's best to avoid putting on normal lipstick altogether. Use a tasty, shiny, beeswax-based lip balm instead.
Label Maker
When my older daughter started to go to kinder-garden about a year ago, I had to put on a plastic protective cover on all of her books and write her name on it. There were about 20 books that I had to cover and to write her name on all of them, such a chore! Not to mention that I also have to mark her lunch box, her drinking bottle, her bag, shoes, towel, clothes, etc.
She only attends kinder-garden for half a day from 9am to 12pm and has a tea break at 10am and lunch at 12pm before we pick her up. However, the teacher requested me to put a spare set of clothes and a towel in her backpack, in case she might accidently spill something on her clothes.
Although I had already toilet trained my older daughter since she was 2 year old, sometimes, when she is excited while she is doing something, she tends to hold her pee, therefore sometimes she pees in her pants before she can make it to the toilet. That is when the spare clothes come in handy.
This year, I am thinking of buying this very handy gadget called the DYMO Labelmaker. If you click on the link, you will be redirected to their website where you can see the demo there on how convenient it is to use this label maker. Not only can you label books, lunch boxes, and drinking bottles, you can also iron the label onto clothes.
My 3.5 Old Months Baby
My baby is already 3.5 months. How time flies so fast. She likes people to talk to her. She will giggle when I talk to her or if I help her to clap hands. She also now develops new habit. She likes to put her index finger inside her mouth and look around her. She specially likes it if I propped her up. I think because in sitting position she can see around her better.
Some babies this age even like trying to "stand." If your baby seems to want to stand up while being held securely on your lap, it means those little leg muscles are probably sturdy enough to explore this new sensation.
I read that at 3 months old baby has gone from being a passive observer of the world to being — or at least wanting to be — an active participant. So, I think it’s time for me to take out all baby toys for her to grab and play.
Coca-Cola Contest
Coca-Cola has a on going contest in celebration of John Pemberton who just happens to be the inventor of Coca-Cola. If you are a Canadian and love to drink Coke, just collect 500 virtual Coke coins and enter the contest. By entering the contest you stand a chance to Win a trip to Atlanta Georgia for 4 persons. In addition to the grand prize, iCoke.ca is also giving away secondary prizes such as Cineplex Odeon and Best Buy certificates.
So what is an iCoke coin and how to collect them? iCoke coins act as virtual points on iCoke.ca. Member can collect virtual coins by entering a valid PIN code online during promotional periods. These PINs are alphanumeric codes that can be found under the cap of all specially marked 591mL and 2L Coca-Cola and Coke Zero products.
So hurry and enter the contest!
New Face
I decided to facelift this blog to celebrate its first birthday on 18 September. I know that there are lots of free templates out there, but I want to have exclusive template on my own. Furthermore, if I use free template I have to install everything by myself. I don’t know about you, but I still cannot figure it out how to changing the template without loosing all the widget that I have installed
So, when I saw this template on Chick and Sassy Design, I decided to buy it. The price is quite expensive for me, but she also installed everything for me. I just give my username and password to her and within less than 2 hours after payment my blog have a new face and all my widget still intact.
So what do you think of my new face?
Magnetic Therapy Product
I breastfed my first daughter until she was 6 months old. My milk flow was not very good after she was 6 months old because I had to go on a business trip for a week and could not breastfeed her.
I breastfed my second daughter until she was 1 month old. I did not know why my breast milk stopped flowing although the first week my milk supply was quite adequate. I think it is because my second daughter preferred to go to sleep than concentrate on feeding.
A few weeks after I stopped breastfeeding, I developed a headache, stomach cramps, felt bloated, and had tremendous mood swings. Yup, you guessing it correctly, I was having my period again.
Some women are very lucky not to have all these PMS symptoms, but I got it. Normally, I just ate some pain killer medicine if I could not stand the pain. However, I recently come across this magnetic therapy product that can reduce or completely eliminate period pain or PMS symptoms.
Besides eliminating period pain, this product is also good for Menopause Symptom Relief, back pain, pain relief, poor circulation, etc.
Over 500 women suffering with menopause were asked to wear this magnetic product called LadyCare continuously for 3 months and they showed an impressive result.
If you want to find out further about this product, you can go to magno-pulse.com.
Playing With My Cosmetic
Today, when I was working in front of my laptop, I suddenly realized that I didn’t hear any sounds coming from my eldest daughter. Quickly, I checked on her and true enough she was playing with my skincare cosmetics.
She took one of my expensive skincare products from my dressing table and poured it generously on her hand and she also rubbed it on her leg. Normally, I only use one drop a day on my face, and she used it on her leg until it was almost finished. I almost got a heart attack!
US Address
Have you ever browsed e-bay listings and saw something that you like, then when you decide to buy it, and hit the “Buy Now” button you see a notification which says that the seller only ships to addresses in the US only. I think a lot of people have experienced this before. Many sellers in e-bay don’t do international shipping because of the paperwork (need to fill in a certain form) and are afraid that somehow the goods get lost during shipping overseas. If you are one of those people that have experienced the situation above, then you will be happy to know that MyUS.com will solve your problem.
I learned that MyUS.com provides US address for you. You can buy whatever things that you want to buy and have it delivered to your new US address. When your packages have arrived at that address, they will arrange international shipment to you.
Mind you that the address they provide for you is not a Post Office Box! This is your own street address that US retailers will accept as a valid shipping destination. They can even consolidate multiple purchases into a single package, saving you more money on shipping.
If you want to know more about the services that this company provides, you can go to MyUS.com website.
Proportion
Yesterday, my eldest daughter drew a house and a little girl on her doodle board. The little girl stood beside the house. Then suddenly, she erased the little girl and re-drew the little girl again. This time she drew the little girl smaller. When I asked her why she re-drew the little girl, she told me that the little girl was too big to get into the house. That is why she had to re-draw the girl smaller.
I was quite amazed that she took proportion into her consideration. When she drew this picture, you can see that her sense of proportion is quite accurate.
The Importance of Saving Money
We will be facing a tough economy ahead. Everything is currently increasing in price. We really have to tighten up our budget in order to save some money for the future.
Ideally, you must be able to put aside 10 – 20% of your net income as savings. Of course the more that you can save, the better it is for you. You should at least have three months worth of savings to cover your expenses in case of emergencies. Emergencies such as car repairs which is a small emergency or a bigger one such as losing your job.
Saving money is important for future planning too, for example, most parents would like to see their children go to college. However, many children will not be to obtain scholarships for college education, therefore saving money is an important part of providing for your child or children education.
If you find that you are unable to save money because your current debts are way over your head, then probably it’s time for you to do debt consolidation.
Debt consolidation has many variations, ranging from services like debt management, debt settlement, or credit counseling to debt consolidation loans and mortgage refinancing. You need to know your own payment capability and credit rating before deciding which one is suitable for you.
No matter what choice you make when deciding how to consolidate debt, let Bills.com point you in the right direction. They have tips, articles, and debt consolidation providers that have been pre-screened to help you to consolidate debt.
Somebody Break Into My Email Account
In previous post I told you that PayPal limited my account with reason that somebody tried to get into my account. I found out today, that somebody has already got into my email account. They sent hundreds of junk emails using my account. I found out about it because I went to my sent folder and saw all those junk e-mails that I have never sent.
I guess they saw my incoming payment in my inbox folder and tried to get into my PayPal account. Probably they did manage to get in since I used the same password. Luckily, PayPal quickly take action and limited my account otherwise all the money there gone.
Naughty Children
I got another buyer looking at my house. This time they come with super naughty children. They are about 6 or 7 years, a boy and a girl. They touched everything in my house. They played with my older daughter toys without permission. The girl even tried to put one of the toys inside her bag. Luckily my mother-in-law saw it.
What amazed me was, even though they touch everything, the parent didn’t seem to care and let them have their own way. I mean, don’t they suppose to teach their children not to touch anything that is not belong to them?
I think 6 or 7 years old children are old enough to be disciplined. If not discipline since young age, it will be difficult later on.
Opportunity To Become The Star Of The Show
I have a lot of digital photos. I am thinking of printing all of them and assembling all of them together in a scrap book. However, after finding out about Roxio Extreme Digital Makeover and seeing their presentation video, I totally changed my mind.
I like the Wedding Day Crunch episode best, because it inspired me to dig up all of my old photos, scan them, and put them together in a fun multimedia show. I suggest that you watch the video and get inspired by Zoey and Chris. You even have an opportunity to become the star of the show! Just enter the contest. You could even win some digital goodies like an HDTV, cameras and more. Simply send your name, organization, phone number, email and digital dilemma to: digitalmakeover@roxio.com
Is It Safe To Use Non-Stick Cookware?
There is a lot of discussion going on about the safety of using non-stick cookware. It started when a study by the advocacy group found that non-stick pots and pans could reach 700 degrees Fahrenheit (370 C) in 3-5 minutes, releasing 15 harmful gases and chemicals, including two carcinogens, two global pollutants, and MFA, a chemical lethal to humans at low doses. Non-stick coatings break down to a chemical warfare agent known as PFIB, and a chemical analog of the WWII nerve gas, phosgene.
DuPont, the manufacturer of Teflon Non-Stick, acknowledges that the fumes given off by non-stick coatings can also sicken people, in a condition called "polymer fume fever", which can be erroneously diagnosed as the common flu. No one has ever studied the incidence of illness among users of the billions of non-stick pots and pans sold around the world, or the long-term effects from the sickness.
While DuPont acknowledges that its nonstick coatings begin to deteriorate when the cookware reaches about 500 degrees, it notes that those temperatures are higher than typical cooking heats. And while it admits that birds may be harmed by the fumes, the company maintains that its pans are safe under normal use.
I am still using my non-stick cookware until now, but if I cook something with it, I don't let it sit on the stove for long before adding food. Because if you let sit on the stove too long, the temperature will rise high enough to emit chemical fumes. Avoid cooking at high temperatures with nonstick cookware. Use low to medium temperatures instead.
Kick Ass Blogger Award
Denzrecreational honored me with a blog award! I’ve never received one. Now I get to pass on the love to five of my favorite bloggers.
I’m sharing this to my friends Joy, Katelove, Glenndel, Ester, Janeth Vicy!
I choose these 5 bloggers because they always inspire me to become a better blogger. I read their blog every day without fail and love their dedication toward blogging.
Hi Gals, this award is for you! Enjoy it!
Do you know any bloggers that kick ass?
Maybe they've got incredible, original content. Or they're overflowing with creativity. Is it someone that helps you become a better blogger? Or a bloggy friend you know you can count on? Or maybe it's someone who simply inspires you to be a better person... or someone else who sends you to the floor, laughing your ass off.
Whatever the reason may be, I'm sure you know at least a couple of bloggers that kick ass. Well... why not tell 'em so?
LOVE ON ‘EM
• Choose 5 bloggers that you feel are “Kick Ass Bloggers”
• Let ‘em know in your post or via email, twitter or blog comments that they’ve received an award
• Share the love and link back to both the person who awarded you and back to mammadawg.com
• Hop on back to the Kick Ass Blogger Club HQ to sign Mr. Linky then pass it on
Voice Broadcasting
Voice Broadcasting is a mass communication technique that began in the 1990s. It involves broadcasting telephone messages to hundreds or thousands of call recipients at once. This technology has both commercial and community applications. Voice broadcast users can contact targets (whether they be members, subscribers, constituents, employees, or customers) almost immediately.
Normally voice broadcasting companies will create a powerful persuasive pre-recorded phone message and deliver these messages to a targeted list of prospects. Using this method, leads are generated for follow up.
Myvoicedialing.com specializes in political dialing, mortgage cell phones, satellites, travel, debt and health. They guarantee the lowest available rate, if you can find a lower voice broadcasting rate, they will match the rate.
How To Choose Good Stainless Steel Flatware
When you buy flatware you must understand that not all flatware is the same. Even when you think that all flatware looks the same, the more you pay normally means that the flatware is of higher quality in both materials used and also finishing.
When I buy flatware, I always look for good stainless steel flatware. Stainless steel is a good choice for daily use because it doesn’t rust or stain.
To choose good stainless steel flatware, you must understand the nickel content of the stainless steel flatware. You will find 18/0, 18/8 and 18/10 with 18 designating the chromium content and the second number telling you the content of the nickel. Higher nickel content means that the flatware will have a shinier finish and better durability.
Therefore, when you like the design of the flatware and are ready to buy it, don’t forget to flip the flatware and look for 18/10 mark.
