Author: mamabok

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If You Don’t Like Something

Someone very wise told me a month ago – that if I didn’t like something, change it. Life is too short – live life to your fullest – do things you love and don’t waste time over-analyzing and I took his advice. My life is here in Canada – there is no going back and there is no way – I’m going to take care of others before my own family. Once that was settled, I knew exactly what I had to do. And I also learned that everyone have their bragging rights and if you don’t like it – then I can choose not to listen and walk away – the same for those who don’t like to hear me.

Yes! I’m very blessed! I’ve got a good spouse and an awesome and funny daughter, I haven’t “really” worked since I came to Canada and I loved what i do online – and I’ve good advertisers who look out for me and my friends often. My health is getting better everyday and I’m spending time with Chloe and able to do things with her more than I did before. Plus, we have good business acumen and do not have to worry about our daily expenses. What more can I asked for right?

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Apples For Chloe’s Class

We had brought in some apples for Chloe’s class like we usually do every fall. When the Apple farm where grammie works has apples for sale we usually get a 10lb bag every week. They are very cheap, and sometimes grammie will pay for it or there is no charge from the good Wallace owners. We are grateful always for such kind people in this area and cannot thank them enough for being so kind to Chloe. We are really blessed because just on the weekend – Chloe received a huge teddy bear – one that is bigger than her, from our customer – Gillian – just because, therefore I always have thank you cards handy, so that I can write out thank you cards to all these wonderful people who’ve not only been kind to us but also touched our lives.

A friend just told me I’m a Godsend but little does she know that she is the one Godsent and I cannot thank all of them enough for always sending food and gifts from home for Chloe and I – even all the way from Australia. And I’m usually so busy and even sometimes forget to send thank you cards to all these wonderful people, therefore, we do our bit for the kids here and pay it forward. Friends who sends food and gifts to us never expect anything back but I’m always grateful and want to do kind things for others because of them, so they are the ones who are Godsend. Once again, I cannot thank them enough.

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Every Little Girl Needs A Dollhouse

Every little girl needs a dollhouse don`t you think? I think so ! and when we saw one up in the city – that we feel that we can justify – we went back to MicMac Mall to get it for Chloe. She was a happy girl even though she was very sick but I guess I wanted to get it for Chloe because I didn’t have stuff like that when I was a kid and I sure envied my friends when they talked about their huge dollhouse. Deprived of a lot of stuff when I was a kid, I want to make sure that mine gets a reasonable amount of stuff but I wouldn’t go overboard on any toys for Chloe and what other people do with their kids is none of my business. To each their own – and more power to those who buys expensive toys for theirs, it is not for me to judge. But having said that Chloe’s grampie will be paying for Chloe’s dollhouse so I’m buying him some Padron cigars that he likes for being so generous.

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Paranoia Or Being Smart

So before the school year started for Chloe this year, I ordered some labels from Mabel labels for Chloe`s stuff for school. Now this decision was made because of a stolen hat from Chloe before school ended earlier this year – and yes it was in school. That made me a little paranoid and at the back of my mind I just felt that I need to label just about everything that Chloe have from then on. Not really because of the cost of the missing hat – but more so because of how devastated Chloe was with her lost hat, she felt that it was her fault but it wasn`t.

Mabel labels were expensive but they were by far the best quality I`ve seen, so I ordered them online and since they came from Vancouver it took a few days to reach us – at the other end of Canada. But it was worth the wait – Chloe loved them – because she loved fishes but as soon as her classmate said they didn`t like fishes – she wished she had chose a cupcake instead for her icon – hahah! wished the kid would stand firm on her own and not be swayed so easily though.

So yes, we labeled just about anything we can find of Chloe`s and still have some left. I know we can`t stop those who are out to steal her things – but at least we can hope that if she loses it, someone will return it to the office at school.

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I Need Business Cards Too!

12 yrs as a owner by association to the spouse’s business – you would think that he would get the hint and get me some business cards right? well apparently, my hint wasn’t that good – so I am going to get some business cards by postcards and the price is so cheap – the spouse cannot even say I spend too much on it. For as little as $6.99 for 100 business cards – you cannot go wrong with it – i’ll say. One can even upload your own photo if you so desire – for example if you are a realtor or a mortgage consultant and even a banker – like I get all the time when I visit my bank.

1000 of templates to choose from and if you are not internet savvy – no worries – they have a live chat person to help you along the way. But it’s very easy to do – just follow the instructions – and you will receive your business cards from as little as 2 days. I liked that moms like myself can order as little as 20 business cards just to have when we want to give them out to teachers, principal or other parents for play dates.

And since Christmas is just around the corner – I too am looking at making some personalized greeting cards with our family pictures on it – just like the ones I received every year from friends and family. I admired those cards tremendously and since they are so easy and cheap to make online – I’m going to try it out this year. So friends and family look forward to our family picture in our greeting cards for this year.

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Inviting Play Dates & Mommies

Chloe is currently in Grade 2 and besides her school friends – we also make sure she has friend from other schools. And since she is taking up so many extra-curricular classes, it is inevitable to be asked out for play dates and vice versa. But my play dates usually involves the mommies as well – that way moms can get together and eat, chat and drink – and most importantly relax. Thank God for electric grills , because we can grill just about anything for everyone. So everyone brings whatever they want to feed their kids and just throw it onto the grills I have and it’s that easy. I make lots of ice lemon tea and lemonade for the kids – and for us mommies – I add in a bit of my special liquor – like the cranberry ones that I bought locally from Lunenburg. My play dates are always a hit – because we have the trampoline – the swings and those big inflated castles for the kids to bounce and slide.

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Watching Cantonese Movies On Youtube

I watch a lot of movies from youtube – and I found it really to watch because you don’t have to pay for watching time on youtube – plus I also get to watch some of my favorite concerts on youtube as well. But I would much prefer to be able to download it and watch it anytime I want on my laptop – and there was no way as far as I know whereby one can download a youtube video – until I found video download. It’s great for both PC users and Mac users – I haven’t used it myself but am game to try it out because it said that it was pretty fast downloads. It’s definitely a great app for someone like me who loves her cantonese movies.

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Ms Sassy Pants

Yes! Ms Sassy Pants came home and said she was going to run away from home. Started packing her blankie and some clothes and asked her dad to put them in a bag. Of course, PB didn’t do nothing – but I handed a bag to PB and asked PB to put her stuff into the pink Toys R’ Us bag – and then I pushed her outta the door and locked it behind her. She started screaming and crying and of course, PB came to her rescue. So I told her – ” yer’re lucky your dad is still at home and not gone to work yet – coz’ i would have locked you out till the cops came!” Had to show her whose the boss now eh! muahahahah!!!

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Ways To Save for Your Child’s Education

Saving for a child’s college education is something that takes certain level of dedication and commitment. Starting early and making wise choices will help to ensure that the adequate amount of money is available when the child is ready to attend college. There are a number of key factors to remember when looking at saving for college.

Image Source: http://forthemommas.com/articles/back-to-basics-saving-your-savings

Being Organized

People can have the best of intentions when it comes to saving money. Unfortunately, things get busy and schedules are often hectic. Something as simple as making a deposit into the college fund can easily be forgotten.
The best way to eliminate this problem is through the use of automatic withdrawals. Depending on the specifics, this can be set up so money is withdrawn from a checking account and placed into the college fund on a set schedule.

Regulating Debts

There are most likely going to be other factors that will affect the amount of money that can be placed into a college fund. This can include things such as credit card bills. If a good deal of money is spent simply on paying interest each month, it is difficult to save a substantial amount of money. When looking to set up the college fund, it might also be wise to look into things such as debt consolidation and paying down a particular credit card that carries a high balance.

Choosing the Optimal Savings Account

The type of a savings account that is used can certainly determine how good of a return can be had. For an education account, it is usually a good idea to have one that does not allow withdrawals to be made for a certain period of time.
This will eliminate the possible temptation when it would be easy to borrow money out of the account. Many high interest savings accounts will provide customers with a great interest rates and may feature this stipulation on withdrawals.

In addition to traditional savings accounts through banks, there are a number of different agencies and organizations that give individuals options when it comes to saving for college.

These can include state and federal agencies that offer the ability to set up tax deferred accounts and plans where all interest is not taxable. Looking into state and federal government agencies can usually provide a parent with a wide variety of options that many people might not have previously considered.

It is always best to start early in a child’s life when it comes to saving for his college education. With the right account and a good deal of dedication, any parent should be able to more than adequately provide for this.

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Teaching My Kid About Friendship

Chloe just finished her summer day camp on Friday and we spent a little time together for the entire day on Friday – I asked her about summer camp if she had fun – and if she had gotten herself some good friends – in which she replied that she did have some good friends – but some kids were mean and nasty. And some only wanted candies from her – before they would let her play. So I thought about it – and tried to think what it was like when I was a kid and how I handled being friends with people back then.

Was I a popular kid when I was young ? I was – in fact – I’m like the red indian – when I grew older – I’m always at the center of attention – because I speak the loudest and played the hardest – I wanted to excel in everything and anything. I remembered one year in my secondary school days – I was the best speaker for the LDDs debate team. I headed the team – and I was the school editor for a school paper one year. But i also realized that after my secondary school I didn’t come ahead with too many “best friends” because I didn’t really cared too much about what other people thought about me – I like to do things the way I liked.

But of course, as I grew older and at 46 now – I also have no time for nonsense when it comes to friendship. It takes a long time for me to call you my friend – you have to earn it – and to me – no one is indispensable – friends come and go – but the true friends – you don’t need a lot. True friendship don’t need flattery words – a good friend is one who will tell you the truth and look out for you. So I told Chloe not to sweat the small stuff – good friends are those – you can lean on always – and yes – I want her to be good to her friends – be sympathetic, be kind and be gracious – but never be a doormat to anyone. And most importantly, one have to love oneself first before you can have true friends.