Month: November 2011

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New Beginnings

So after being with Blogsome for 7 years – they finally decided to close down – darn!  boy ! did I panic!  why?  because blogsome didn’t have the plugin to export all my contents from the beginning – therefore – I had kept the blogsome blog running thus long – for it was one of my very first blogs.   I do like blogsome don’t get me wrong – the advertisers loved it too – but it was hard using the blogsome blog because I can’t tweet the blog a lot like an ordinary wordpress blog even though its platform is wordpress.

But yes!  I’m loving my new blog – My Life In Canada – because it is truly a lot about my life in Canada and all about bringing up Chloe.  I hope you continue to support my blog – visit often – and since I can do a lot more with my own hosted blog – you will see me writing nonsense again – and a lot more wilder and insights on migrating to Canada – and how to survive in Canada – work, food and lots of other things.  Leave a comment – I love comments – but do not spam me please.

PS :  don’t forget to add me on your blog roll and give me some link love.

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Clever Ways To Cut Down Your Laundry Bills And Help The Environment

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.

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Canadian Got Talent

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.

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Flu Shots

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.

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Spa Time

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.

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Fundraising – Lobster Tickets 2011

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.

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8 Yrs Old

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.

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Bamboo Capture From Wacom

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.

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The Obedient Wives’ Club

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.

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Making Learning Fun: Top Educational Toys for Kids

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!