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PB’s cousin may be coming to town for Christmas and will be staying at the lodge - so we’ve decided to loan him our cell phone boosters for the lodge as well as his car - since he doesn’t have one. I know how important it is for him that he gets his calls when he is here for the Christmas vacation - so we are just trying to be nice. I think he must have the cell phone booster at home, else he wouldn’t asked if we had one at our cottage to loan him. Earlier this year - we had bought a cottage for our summer vacation and for the same reasons - to make sure we get a better cell phone reception - we had gone out to look for cell phone boosters and found one at our local store in the mall. No regrets buying it because we never missed a call when we were at the cottage - and we could enjoy our time in the country without worrying about the store.

Image Source: Frugal Living

When it comes to being frugal and eco-friendly, many people may not realize the amount of laundry that they do can have a significant impact on their expenses and their energy-consumption. The average size household will do at least 7 loads of laundry per week, which totals around 400 loads of laundry per year. A load of laundry can use 20-40 gallons of water meaning a year’s worth of laundry will use 16,000 gallons of water.

That is not to mention the amount of electricity that will be used to wash and dry 400 loads of clothes, towels, and blankets.

When you are looking for ways to save money and reduce your family’s carbon footprint, the laundry room and your washer dryer is the perfect place to start.

Pro Tip 1: Wash in Cold Water

By washing your clothes in cold water, you can cut the amount of electricity you use by more than half! The average load of laundry washed in hot or warm water, uses 4.5kWh of electricity (about $0.68 per load-$265/year) whereas a load washed in cold water uses a mere 0.3kWh ($.04 per load- $16/year). [Source]

Pro Tip 2: Use Other Drying Methods

The clothes dryer is a major culprit in raising electric bills. Any item that generates heat uses more electricity to operate. Use a clothesline to dry your clothes or hang them from hangers on the shower rod in the bathroom. Clothes will take longer to dry; however, you will save a great deal of money on your energy bill.

Pro Tip 3: Avoid Expensive Detergents

Yes, expensive detergents smell great and will leave you with the impression that your laundry is clean because of the way it smells. However, cheaper, economy-sized laundry detergents contain the same basic ingredients and will work just as well.
For half the price, you can purchase larger containers of laundry detergent and your clothes will be just as clean. Furthermore, there will be less packaging to recycle or toss out. You can also choose eco-friendly detergents. Environmentally-friendly ingredients to look for include grain alcohol, coconut plant oils, rosemary and sage.

Pro Tip 4: Top Load Versus the Front Loading Washer

If you are still using the outdated washing machine that you bought ten years ago, chances are you are wasting a lot of water. The average top load washer uses almost 40 gallons for one single load of clothes. A front-load washer only uses about 20 gallons per load.
Upgrading to a new washer can dramatically reduce the amount of water that you use in your home and is an eco-friendly choice.

Pro Tip 5: If It’s Not Dirty, Don’t Wash It!

Okay, this does not mean that you and your family should wear dirty clothes just because you are trying to reduce the amount of money you spend on laundry. Just make sure that you are not washing clothes that are not dirty. If you wear your nice dress slacks for an hour and then change, they most likely will be fine to fold up and put back in the drawer.
Some other tips to try:
- Cut your dryer sheets in half (or omit them altogether). This way you can cut these dryer sheet costs by half!
- Dilute your laundry detergent. By keeping an extra detergent bottle aside, you can fill it half way with detergent and the other half with water.
- Use vinegar instead of fabric softener. ¼ cup of fabric softener (for big loads) saves money and does just the trick.

By paying a bit more attention to how, and when, you do your laundry, it will be completely possible for you to save hundreds of dollars each year. This will help reduce the impact that your family has on the environment by cutting water and energy usage as well. Everyone likes to have clean clothes to wear, but this should not come at such an expensive cost and it really does not have to.

Canadian really got talent - and as I watch this group played at the Farmer’s Market 2 weeks ago - I can’t help but think that this people sure got guts and perseverance. I’m not too arty farty like - but I do love music a lot - I remembered going to the Symphony - everytime a friend was in town from US or Australia. Those were the good ole days! unfortunately, for me PB is only into the heavy metal kinda of music - but I can’t stand them because they are so loud and had lots of foul languages in them. I do love this group - sometimes the groups playing isn’t so fantastic and I don’t stay and listen - but acknowledge them nevertheless.

We never did get our flu shots till last year - but this year - we were all quite gung-ho about taking our flu-shots and of course Chloe had her flu-mist - that goes thru’ the nose. She was a wee bit frightened of it initially because she had almost forgotten about it - but after taking the flu mist - she decided it’s not that bad after all. Plus, she met her favorite doctor this visit - Dr Randall - who gave her a hand drawn sticker on a sticky note - like last year - boy! was she tickled. Then we had to get our flu shots - and she didn’t want to look at it - so she went out to play in the hallway where all the medicine carts were lined up in front of the doctor’s consultation room. The girls at the clinic was very nice and let her hope around it - and explained to her what were the medicine carts for and what were in them. We left the clinic after half an hour for we needed to make sure that we didn’t have a bad reaction to the flu shots. Thus far, we feel that the flu shot had been good for us - for we’ve noticed that we don’t get sick as often as we did the previous years. So for now - we will continue taking the flu shots every year. Flu shots are free in Canada.

It’s that time of the year again - I’m getting prepared for the holiday parties and also birthday parties not only for Chloe but for Chloe’s friends too. We have a few friends who were born at about the same time as Chloe - and every year I try my hardest to attend all of them. This year I have no excuse - since we have Gary to help out in the store. And you all know when you attend any holiday parties you want to look your best. So I’ve booked myself for a haircut and hair coloring, a facial and a pedicure - and then I’m also looking at getting some eyelash tinting done. But PB laughed at me - and said I should get some eyelash growth serum first before doing the tint - because my eyelashes are not as long as Chloe’s - so if I want my tinting to stand out - first to grow some more eyelashes. So yes! i’m seriously thinking of the eyelash growth serum - anything to look pretty right.

This school year - I’m only going to do one fund raising for Chloe’s school - instead of doing a few. This fund raising - is selling Lobster tickets and as usual - Chloe is truly blessed - not only the people here buys the tickets to support her effort but her Godmother and my friends from overseas donated to the fund raising too. As of today - we’ve raised $572.00 - and we are going to keep at it till December 15. I have to say that I’m very grateful to all of my online friends - who’ve donated very generously - between $10 - $100 each. I’m hoping to raise as much as I can for this fund raiser - that way for the rest of the year - I don’t have to raise any more money.

Chloe will be 8 yrs old in a month time - mannn! time really flies - and I have to keep reminding myself to enjoy her as much as I can before she becomes and adult and leave me - to have her own life. I’m busy preparing not only for Chloe’s birthday but for Christmas as well - and looking back at the last 7 years, I’ve learned so much from bringing Chloe up. One thing for sure - is the realization of what my own mother must have gone thru’ while bringing me and my siblings up on her own. I learned not to be too critical of her and I learned to love Chloe a lot more - and because of my own father’s non-participation in our life - I made sure that PB plays a very important role in Chloe’s life. As I did not have grandparents to dote on me - I hope that Chloe’s paternal grandparents would - unfortunately, they spend so little time with her - so much so - I’m afraid when she grows up - she might not be closed to her grandparents. Chloe is a happy and sensitive kid - she is doing well in school and most importantly is healthy. I pray for all good things for her - and want her to be a good person and many, many more years of watching her grow.

So PB bought me the Bamboo Capture from Wacom ! woohoo!!! i’m pretty pleased with it - although I haven’t had much time to play with it yet. So why do i need a bamboo capture since I’m not good with drawing - I hear you asking. Well, I can still work on the pictures for my webpages - and re-design templates of my own and when I get the chance I want to learn more about web designing. I have lots of interest in it and I think it’s a great way to make more money online.

First of all - I’m glad I’m not a Muslim in Malaysia and after you’ve watched the above ridiculous news - you will know why and understand where I’m coming from. To think that in this age and time - there are women who would believed and follow such a ridiculous order - now that is crazy ! how backwards is that? No marriage can survive a polygamy marriage - like PB said - one woman in the household is already a headache - to have more than 1 woman - that’s just asking for trouble.

But to think that one would enter a marriage to be very, very obedient to their husband/spouse? what? you mean you are a dog? or worst - a slave? we don’t even use the word “obedient” for raising our kids - these days - so why would a marriage have the word “obedient” in it? Shouldn’t a marriage be of a equal partnership? a life together ? what a pity - to be completely obedient was what the bride said in the youtube video.

So what does this complete obedience comprised of? to fulfill his every need and desire - so said the buck -teeth woman - to sexually please him better than a first class prostitute? * raised eyebrows* - so now to be a Muslim wife you have to be better than a first class prostitute? what a way to compare yourself to a prostitute? are you sure you want your husband to treat you like one too? since you behave like one? does it also mean that you can service his friends/business associates in bed too - afterall, you are better than a first class prostitute - and also full obedience needed in this case right? Isn’t that why the Obedient wives club is all about? Afterall, you don’t want your husband to stray out of matrimony - but it’s ok for him to have up to 4 other woman in his life - for wives? holy moly !!! all the fluids passed in between wife one - wife number four during the various days he is served by his wives - mannnn!!! that cannot be too healthy can it?

Now what baffled me most was this highly educated Muslim woman who grew up in Western Australia!!!! now that one really, really stunt me - Mariana was her name - she is young and very pretty too - and to think that she would agree to be the 4th wife? What’s up with that right? holy moly! No disrespect, but I never wanted to marry an Asian - having seen what my mom had to go thru’ and how we were brought up - but of course, not all Asians are this way - but I wasn’t going to test it out. Thank you very much.

Many of us remember when educational toddler toys began and ended at alphabet blocks and pull-string toys that emitted animal sounds. These days, however, the emphasis on encouraging your children to use their minds from an early age means that the field of educational toys has exploded. There are some wonderful toys out there created specifically to feed your child’s brain from infancy onward.

1. OLLO Action Robot Kit

If you want to give your child a head start on those mechanical engineering programs you hope to inspire him or her to delve into later, this OLLO kit is an excellent educational toy. Five different pre-planned robots can be built from the same pieces included in the kit, including a windmill, walking T-Rex, dog, and more. There are also plans not included that can be looked up online. All of the designs work on a single AA battery.

2. Creative Puzzle Peg

Intended for children 18 months and over, this unique puzzle toy goes a bit further than your typical sort-and-stack toy. It encourages problem-solving skills and helps to develop fine motor control. The base comes apart in four puzzle-piece shapes and each piece has a post featuring small nubs. The included brightly-colored shapes stack on the posts, but they first have to be manipulated to move the opening of the shape over the nubs to get it down to the bottom.

3. First Time Gear Clock

This child-friendly clock is based on the first mechanical clock’s design. It teaches how gears work, as well as how to follow directions, and encourages cognitive development. The color-coded set of directions shows your child how to assemble the 27 parts into a working clock that runs for over eight hours without requiring a battery.

4. Mozart Magical Cube

The popular theory that Mozart’s music helps to improve spatial-temporal reasoning in infants and toddlers continues with this toy. This is a bit more than a music box, though. It features five large buttons that are easy for small hands to work, each of which plays a different instrument – piano, violin, flute, harp, or French horn. A sixth button plays them all in a choice of eight of Mozart’s compositions while the toy flashes to the tempo.

5. Chinese Magnetic Poetry

In a world where everything and everyone is connected, being multilingual has never been more important. Many schools are teaching foreign language from preschool on up now. This magnetic poetry kit builds on this by providing an array of 140 double-sided magnets with a simplified Chinese character and its pinyin pronunciation on one side and the English translation on the other, allowing for vocabulary-building. The set comes in a hard plastic case to keep them organized.
Learning just got more fun!

Myth : Asian woman married to Westerners lives a life of wealth and don’t have to do anything - but look pretty and go shopping - while the spouse makes lots of money thus allowing her to travel home to Asia and flaunt her wealth and superiority to her friends and relative.

Fact : Some of us haven’t been home for 10 years or more - and even though we are not poor - rich and wealthy is far from describing us. Most Asian woman do work even when they are in the West and they have to cook a meal for themselves and their partner as well.

While I can’t say that I’ve had it bad here in Canada - I have to say that I don’t get to go home as often as I liked. Not because we can’t afford it - but we can’t afford the time as my spouse owns his own business. Thus, I’m constantly homesick and missed my food from home a lot. And no - we don’t have an Asian grocery store nearby - as I lived in a small town. Not going home for a visit and not getting the food I need is my biggest beef. Another thing is the doctors - there isn’t much around and seeing a doctor is like making an appointment to see God. Unlike home - there are plenty to choose from - from gynecologist to dental or any kind of specialist. Over here - even if you have the money - you still have to wait for an appointment.

Most Asian thinks that getting hook to a Westerner means marrying into money - but let me tell you 9 outta 10 Westerners that I have met here - are either poor or lazy - some worst and are on drugs - the other 1 man that works and has money is most likely to be married or already hooked with another girl. Most Asian thinks that marry a Westerner means flowers and romantic candle light dinners and dancing/serenading. Truth - nope they are not made the same - there is no sharing a bottle of wine with PB - because he doesn’t drink - and no candle light dinners - because he is not adventurous with food. And everywhere we go eat - he eats the same thing over and over again.

More on the Real Lives Of Asian Married To Westerners In The Next Post - stay tuned.

I haven’t been job hunting for a long time - but many who are planning to migrate to Canada or even in United States would prefer to secure a job first before migrating. Some looking for Psychiatric Technician Jobs will find that there are plenty of jobs in this field - and even without a head hunter - you can land a job easily. But what about other jobs in the sales department or clerical field ? I get asked these questions very often as an expatriate.

I have friends who’ve migrated here but didn’t stay because they say they can’t find a job here but truth be told I don’t think they got the right job - and most likely feeling a bit homesick and inferior - to the Westerners. So one good advise before migrating is to make sure you know what field you want to be in. I think those who are in the health industry have plenty to offer in the West - whether you are a pharmacist or a health nurse - there are plenty of jobs here for you. As for other industries, if they can find their candidates from within - I think they rather hire their own. So shape up or ship out!

I have been quite lucky of late and managed to find some really good antiques right here in our county. This musical box is so unique - I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it - it plays Edelweiss - a song i love very much too. These days - I spend a lot to time buying things for myself - instead of looking out for other people, I learned that I have to make myself happy first - before taking care of others. No matter what others think of you - for it’s not important - what’s most important is myself and my family. So yes! I’ve been spending some money on myself - but of course, I continue to buy things for my friends’ kids too - how can one not love kids right? they are just too cute. But please don’t buy anything for me and Chloe because we really are already very blessed.

While reading a book with Chloe today - about the mouse trying to find the perfect husband - I asked myself if there was ever a perfect partner with anyone? The mouse wanted a strong and brave - and someone who will keep her company always - pretty simple right? and shouldn’t all partnership be simple too. When you fall in love what were you looking for? I think many people fell in love for the wrong reasons - therefore, they never grew old together. I hear you asking about PB and I right about now?

Well, we’ve known each other for 6 yrs before I came to Canada - I don’t know what was PB looking for in a life-partner - but I think I knew exactly what I was. Being the older one - and having had several relationships before PB - I didn’t want to look for just anyone. When we were younger - of course, we looked for the ones who is the most handsome - and as we grew older - we don’t only want the good looking - but the one with a good job. Then we grew much older - and we figured - the good looks can go to hell - as long as he is rich - hahahah!!! now, now - don’t tell me - you didn’t think of that?

Ok then reality set in - and all you wanted was someone true, someone who would look beyond the superficial things, someone who is strong, brave and will be with you always. Now ain’t that mouse clever. One can learn a lot from children and their books eh.

Chloe had a appointment with the specialist last week - and she had all sorts of breathing test done for her - and then of course, she got to see the asthma doctor too. The whole process took about 2.5 hrs - for the asthma doctor took an hour to talk to us. Yup ! you heard me right ! while most doctors here can’t wait to get you out of their office - so that they can see another patient - this doctor was totally different - which took us by surprised. But a pleasant one ! Anyhow - Chloe was taken off her puffer - but she had to be monitored the next time she catch a cold or flu - to see if it was worst. We too hope she is not going to be dependent on the puffer - because PB is till today. I was quite worried when she first had to take the puffer - because Chloe was quite resistant towards it - but after she learned that it wasn’t bad or hard at all - she took it like a champ. But taking steroids is not good for anyone - so we are keeping our fingers crossed that she only had a lung infection the last time.

Taking a car ride out to Chloe’s grampie’s or anywhere in the country, we’ve noticed that there are quite a number of dead zones - where we cannot call out or receive calls. So whenever we need to leave the store and head out to the country - we sometimes worry about not being able to receive calls from the store. Paranoia I guess - but the store needs to know that they can reach us anytime - so we went out to our favorite store at the mall to get a cellular booster , that is said to be able to improve the signal on any vehicle. We did find one at the mall - and for $39 - I think it’s a good investment - so no more dead zones for us when we are in the car. That should make PB happy and the store happy as well - for I know PB don’t like to be in a dead zone at all.

Halloween is round the corner and we are getting ready for Halloween - since we have to spend part of the evening at home. Of course, we can’t missed the personalized pumpkins from Chloe’s grampie. Wonder why grampie never make one for PB every year - haha!

This is mine - as you can see here.

And Chloe’s.

And the classic witch smacked and landed on our door.

And a straw puppet. I’m not done decorating yet - because I had been busy decorating the store first. When you own your own business, you usually have to take care of the business first.

So we were up in the city a few weeks ago - and had seen all these guitars for sale - and Chloe had asked for one as well - but she already has one - that her ex-babysitter’s father bought for her one year for Christmas. Once in a while she would strum on it and try to make music out of it - but refuses to go for lessons to learn how to play the guitar for real. So I told her that when she decides that she really wants to learn guitar or learn to play it for real - and not for the fun and strumming it and making noises - we will get her a proper guitar for the guitars that we saw on sale weren’t cheap at all. Like we all know that kids can’t really decide on what they really want for now - and unless she is learning how to play classical guitar - I doubt she can play the guitar without the nylon strings - the other type of strings are just too hard on the fingers even for me. I’m all for music lessons - but knowing the brat of mine - she would probably give up after a few lessons - so for now - we’ll just have to play by ear.

P.U. - what does it mean? I’ve never heard of P.U. till chloe started school and each time her school friends or camp friends say that the food she eats is P.U. - she becomes so embarrassed and stopped eating immediately. So each time she comes home with all her lunch intact - I know something is not right. This week - I gave Chloe some rice with chinese mushrooms and whole mushrooms with oyster sauce for her lunch and she brought almost everything back without finishing it. Apparently, one of her classmate - said her food was P.U. meaning “smells rotten”

So what do you do - if you were the mom? we encouraged her to talk to her teacher about it - but she won’t, then what do we do? we write a note to the teacher - hoping she would address it of course - so we’ll wait and see what happens? or do I take the easy way out and not give her food that she likes? I know that Chloe needs to grow some backbones and not be too bothered by what other children say - but she is and no matter what we say - she is just offended. I don’t want to teach my kid to be rude and say P.U. back to her friends - it’s tough being a kid when we were kids - it’s even tougher to see our kids being a kid *sigh*.