Month: October 2011

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An Antique Musical Box

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.

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Finding A Perfect Partner

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.

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Asthma Clinic

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.

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Dead Zone

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.

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Halloween 2011

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.

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Guitar Lessons For Chloe

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.

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P.U.

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*.

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Separation Anxiety

Not only Chloe but myself – I’ve thought of going up to the city with some of my girlfriends for a night or two – but I have separation anxiety !!!! yup!! me!! but can you blame me – I’ve never left her side except when I had no choice during surgery a few years ago – and that already I was not too keen but had no choice.

Before having Chloe in my life – I had no problems whatsoever traveling at anytime and any place – i didn’t have anything to worry about – nor anything to keep me from traveling but things has changed so drastically for me – I sometimes don’t recognized myself – hahah!! or had I been this way all the time? or have I suddenly turned into a wuss ? And I do not like the thought of me becoming one or turning into one – or is one ! I’m a very tough person – so why is it that I don’t want to be separated from my daughter just for a night and an entire day? Am I the needy one ? or do I think that Chloe is the needy one?

A check with my other girlfriends with kids – some feels the same way but some didn’t have any trouble with spending a brief vacation with their girlfriends. Hmmm… ! interesting isn’t it ? I will chat with my family doctor about this.

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Frugal Family Travel Tips

In these tumultuous economic times, vacations seem like a luxury that many families can’t afford. But going on vacation doesn’t have to mean blowing the family budget. In fact, taking some time off to be together can be really good for everyone. The following are some vacation money-saving tips that will help you to have a great time while still economizing.

Source: http://frugalfamilytips.com/tag/traveling/

Set a Budget

The first and foremost step is to set a clear budget and stick to it. Rather than be vague about what expenses will be, figure out how much money you can afford to spend total. Then sit down and write out a list of what you’ll be spending money on. Set a food budget, activity budget, gifts (if necessary).
This way you’ll see what the actual monetary outlay is likely to be, and figure out ways you can save on the trip. It will also show you just what you need to make over your ordinary day to day expenses to afford the trip at whatever style level you choose.

Though it would be ideal to spend only cash on a trip, credit cards provide an added level of protection and security. You might even want to incorporate use of a travel oriented credit card such as the Aeroplan Plus Gold Card into your trip. This type of card offers all sorts of travel perks and advantages like sky miles, breakdown assistance, and various travel related types of insurance, so using them is actually a good idea when taking a vacation.

Book Hotels in Advance

Booking hotels is advance is a good way to save on accommodations. You can actually ask the hotel clerk how much you stand to save by booking in advance and then compare various hotels to see which ones are the most competitive in this regard. Try to choose hotels that reward you the most for good early planning.

Get Airline Tickets in Advance

Airline tickets are another area where advance booking can mean a much cheaper rate. There are a plethora of websites online that give you rate comparisons on various airlines and flights. These sites will give you exact rates and saving possible for given booking dates so they are a great way to compare advance flight booking rates and savings.

Consider Off Season Travel

Off season travel is always cheaper than peak season. This usually means the late fall, winter, or early spring (for locations that are reasonably cold at those times) and times not very close to the holidays. Consider planning trips for these times since they can often make for fine vacations that are also more cost effective.

Consider Camping

If camping is something you enjoy you can save a lot of money by camping rather than staying in hotels. This also gets you in touch with the outdoors and gives you a real feel for the flora and fauna of whatever locations you’re visiting. Consider this as an option if outdoor living is something you feel comfortable with. Even if you don’t there’s always a first time, so maybe you should give it a try!

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My Lifestyle In Canada

Looking back to my life before living in Canada makes me smile – because never would I have thought I was so passionate about supporting our local businesses and online shopping. Where I come from – we have shopping centers 8 stories high in department stores. Where I am now in a remote area in Canada, it’s really hard to shop for everything in town. I’m passionate about buying local because the spouse owns his own business – a small one – and without the support of the local community – we could never have a comfortable life. Therefore, whenever I can – I will only shop locally or within Canada – it’s smart move to shop within Canada because shipping is cheaper and in a lot of cases it’s even free. Most importantly, I don’t have to pay for brokerage fees. If I needed to buy a big item like a painting (made the mistake once and paid as much for the brokerage and shipping fees as the painting itself).

Since I can’t head to the city every time I need something (because of the store and Chloe at school), shopping online at places like Centrsource or Roots are my best options. I like to shop for everything under one roof, so it’s great when you find an online shop that carries most of the things I need. And I never shop for anything that is not on sale or has a deal/great offer, for I get a little carried away when I shop – don’t you? I’m checking out Centrsource as I write and it’s very unique, it brings you to the site the offer is on – and you deal directly with the seller/shop – pretty neat. And I can shop after Chloe has gone to bed so I can read up on the things I love and get the best deals. Now if only they carried Asian groceries I’d be all set.