Archive for the 'House & Home' Category

It is July 2010. This week, the fruits from my Chinese New Year calamansi plants started to drop off rapidly. I was surprised they lasted this long! I had expected all the bright orange fruits to drop off right after Chinese New Year. They didn’t. They dropped only a few at a time. However this week, they started dropping off rapidly.

Then I noticed tiny white flowers growing. They look pretty and smell nice. I have two plants. One is in the sun, the other in the shade. The one in the sun has a moderate amount of flowers now. The one in the shade has none.

I love to see flowers growing. I love to have plants in my house. It is nice to see things growing. I feel alive to see growing things. The kids love watching plants grow too. Once in a while, we would go to the garden shop at a supermarket and they would pick out a packet of seeds each. We would plant them. When they grow and start sprouting fruits, flowers or vegetables, they would be delighted.

It is the most simple and basic form of science, an easy and fun way to teach young children about the living things around them. Otherwise, they may not even notice or stop to smell the flowers, just like adults who have forgotten to stop and smell the flowers because even children these days have crazy mad schedules.

Due to some low rate of payouts among residents, the local residents association security guards service has been terminated in my area. Along with that, the spate of break-ins has increased.

One month after the termination, there was a spate of break-ins, three houses, just in my row alone and there aren’t that many houses in a row. Most of the break-ins occur around noon. That is when the houses are empty as most residents are out. Even those who are normally in may be out at this time for lunch, to fetch school going kids from school etc. That is when the thieves strike.

Just before the school holidays, there was a snatch theft right outside my kid’s kindergarten. Two ladies were walking by when a man on a bike tried to snatch one of the ladies’ handbag. The lady pulled back in ernest and threw her bag into the kindergarten where some teachers and some kids were waiting for their parents to pick them up. It was around noon.

The thief climbed over the kindy fence to retrieve the bag. A school teacher shouted at him. He climbed out again, minus the bag and a motorist hit him on his escaping bike (I am not sure whether it was on purpose but if it was, kudos to the motorist), his bike fell over and he made his escape on foot.

All this despite a newly errected guard house on the other side of the road of the kindy clearly within earshot. However, the guards’ (there were 2 or 3 around at the time of the incident) job was to guard the other side of the road for paying residents and not this side of the road for non-paying residents so……

We are not safe anymore. Time to go and review your homeowners insurance.

Make sure you have enough contents coverage under your homeowners insurance. Photograph or videotape your home and contents and keep those photos.

In case of a break-in, make sure you take photos of the scene with your digital camera. That is the good thing about digital cameras. Take all photos of the evidence so that it is easier for you to claim on your homeowners insurance later on.

However, the best thing you can do is to invest in the safety of your home. Get locks, alarms etc. We were told by the housing residents association members that the break-in thefts mostly target homes without alarms and locks that can be easily cut open or those that leave their front gates unlocked. Sometimes the thieves just walk right in, break a simple lock or grill and drive off with a whole load of electrical equipment and other expensive gadgets.

The other day my cooker hood gave way. The man came and replaced the circuit board. It took him less than 5 minutes to remove the wires from the old circuit board and put in the wires of the new circuit board. It was very expensive. I had to bargain with him to remove transportation and labor charges for that service.

I had a good look at my kitchen then. I wish I could remodel my kitchen. I would love to have a built in oven for example and lots and lots more work space, an island, a bar like this Kitchen Makeover idea from Kitchen Renovation Calgary.

The problem is the previous owners of my house probably did very little cooking. They renovated my kitchen space to make it smaller to make space for a bigger dining hall which I don’t need. I prefer it the other way around.

If you are keen or enjoy doing renovations, you should read up all about home renovations. I always do, before getting ready for any renovation jobs. It gives me ideas for my home improvements and it helps me select and bargain with Calgary Contractors.

These days we no longer feel safe in the streets. In fact, we are beggining to feel unsafe even in our own homes. We moved house 2 years ago. The first thing we did when we were doing house renovations was to search for a Home Security System. We were told that it is a good thing to do this during renovations in case you need to hack the wall for internal wiring etc. Someone suggested ADT. There were also many roadshows by ADT at the various House and Ownership Fairs that we attended.

We couldn’t make up our minds. We could not decide between a DIY Home Security System or an ADT Security System. The difference between a DIY Home Security System and an ADT Security System is Monitoring. The ADT Security System is a Monitored Security System. That means that your home will be monitored by safety professionals 24 hours in a day. When an alarm is triggered at your home, ADT will then call up the authorities in your area to send emergency services to your home. I also learned a bit about how ADT Security works by seaching in HomeSecurityTeam.com.  

I am currently using a DIY type of Security System and the problem is it always keeps on giving me false alarms! I don’t feel 100 percent safe because there is no one monitoring my home from a monitoring center. I also think it would be a good thing if there is a call center for me to call up in case of any problems with my alarm or security system. Is anyone out there using an ADT Security System? Can you share with me what you think about it?

I bought an old second hand house. I did not have the experience to look out for water stains that might indicate a roof leak and so we ended up with a house with a perpetual roof leaking problem.

We did some simple renovations before moving in. The contractor was told about the leaking roof. When the renovations were completed and we moved in, the roof continued to leak. We called the same contractor back to resolve it. He came a few times. Though we felt that he should not continue to charge us for fixing the roof (since he did not resolve it in the first place), nevertheless we continued to pay him to come, just so that he would come! Even then, after that, he stopped taking our calls.

We continued to live with the roof leak problem. Then we had a new neighbour who did extensive renovations before moving in. He extended his rooms, build new rooms etc. When he was done, we had new roof leaks near the area of his extension. This time it was worse than the roof leaks from other parts of our house previously. We had to prepare buckets when it rained.

We called in  his contractor to resolve it. He came a few times. Each time we had to wait, sometimes in vain for his workers to turn up. We had to reschedule our own appointments again and again to wait for the contractor. After that….It rained once. The roof did not leak. We were happy. It rained the second time. It leaked buckets again. We were back to square one. The contractor stopped taking our calls as well.

We called in a third contractor. He came and commented about how hopeless the previous contractor is.”He uses foreign workers not like us. We do the job ourselves. We will give you a guarantee and continue to come back until your roof leak problem is over. I will come tomorrow to start work.”

“Tomorrow” came and when I called him he was obviously somewhere else doing other work. “Oh its you. I can’t come today. Maybe next week.” So much for a guarantee! Hah! He can’t even turn up at the appointed time, just like the rest. And he had the gall to sound surprised when he took the phone call from me …. as though he never said that he was coming over “tomorrow” to start work!

All contractors are the same. They do not know the meaning of “punctuality”. 10 o’clock may mean 10 o’clock the next week to them. They do not know how to keep time. They don’t call you. You have to call them to chase them over and over again. They lie through their teeth. They do not respect the fact that other people have their own schedules too. Not only them.

They are very good at one thing though. They are very good at prioritising. Priority always goes to the job that brings in the most money. So, little jobs like fixing a roof leak should be postponed again and again without care about the customer or client. They can never be found when you need them because they always seem to be multi tasking, taking on many jobs at the same time with priority to the one that brings in the most $$$$$.

I am so annoyed! I have half a mind to go and buy a ladder, climb up the roof and fix it myself.

When I was  young, I did not need a water heater. Our bathing water used to be contained in a huge container and we would scoop up the water from there and splash it over our bodies.

We never had a water heater in our home. We were so thrilled to be able to use a water heater in the hotels that we stayed in once in a blue moon when our family travelled back to our hometown. Yes, we were really backdated and backward back then!

Later on, after I grew up and eventually could afford the luxury of a water heater in my bathroom, I found that I could no longer live without it. I bathe using a water heater even in the heat of the mid afternoon sun. I just MUST, absolutely MUST have my water heater. Bathing in normal temperature water leaves me shivering in cold and discomfort. I wonder if everyone is like me.

Do you absolutely need your water heater for bathing or do you prefer to bathe with cold water. Perhaps cold water leaves you more refreshed afterwards? Cold water does not leave me refreshed. It only leaves me COLD!

I remember once we went to the Highlands for a holiday and there was no water heater. Worse still, the water was only a trickle. I can’t remember much about that trip anymore but I certainly remember the bath times. It was so cold and uncomfortable. At least if the water was more than a trickle I could quickly bathe as fast as I could. I can clearly remember the slow trickle of the cold water today even though that trip was years ago.

At the moment we are using the instant type of water heaters. We do not have a centralised water heater with tanks. That means we can only use it for bathing. I would really love it if I could have the water heater for my sink as well. It would be just great to wash my face with warm, warm water in the mornings instead of being splashed awake by a cold splash of water.

My girl friend who is living in the US is just like me. She would be delighted to know that she can click here to visit this website www.fastwaterheater.com  if she runs out of water or her tank is leaking. Like me, that is definitely a no no for her.

Well my dear, if you are reading this post, now you know where to get your San Francisco water heater replaced real fast so you don’t have to go brrrrrrrrr brrrrrrrrrr.

Last year, there was a fair in my girl’s school. There was all sorts of games and food at the fair. The kids had to purchase coupons and use them to play games.

When my girl came home that day, she brought along with her two little fish in a plastic bag. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Although I was amused but secretly horrified (what would I do with two little fish!), the little boy was delighted. He had been reading about pets and was thinking about keeping a fish as a pet. He immediately claimed one fish which his sister generously agreed to.

Their doting dad went out to buy a small tank to keep the two tiny fish. The tank is really small, just nice for two or three tiny fish.

We called the fish “Goldie” and something else I can’t remember. I think Goldie died a few days later. So daddy had to go to the pet store to buy two more little fish. They soon died one after another in the following weeks and were replaced by two guppy fish like the one in the picture.

So now we are the proud owners of three little fish. Goldie’s first partner plus his two new Guppy friends. These three are hardy. It has been a couple of months now and they are still well and alive. The guppy fish looks an ugly grey from far but upon closer inspection, they have lovely colourful tails like that of a peacock. Goldie’s original partner has also grown in size.

The kids feed the fish once a day during lunch. Fortunately, kakak helps to clean the tank, otherwise,  I would have thrown out the fish a long time ago.

You know, there is something about pets. At the end of the day, it is always the mum who has the last responsiblity of looking after the pet like picking out cat or dog hairs from the upholstery and rugs, cleaning the fish tank, making sure no one steps on animal poo, bathing the pets and the list goes on. Everyone loves pets but at the end of the day, it is not easy to look after pets. They are living things that require gentle care. So who is the nurturer at home who is good at giving gentle care? Mummy of course!

I’ve turned into a true blue housewife. I’ve started watching Hong Kong Drama Serials online. Help! Hahaha.

If you don’t see much of me online these days, it could be because I’m stuck watching those addictive Hong Kong Drama Series Online. I’ve never watched those very much before especially when the kids were young because I didn’t have the time. I don’t even subscribe to Astro so my TV watching hours are very very limited. The kids too. We don’t watch TV very much but we do have special allocated TV evenings where we would sit down together to watch a VCD Cartoon Movie. Thats the extent of my TV hours.

But now that I’ve discovered Mysoju. I’m stuck. Their tagline says “Feed your drama addiction ……” Its a good tagline because the list of dramas seem endless. There are Korean Dramas, Japanese Dramas, Taiwanese Dramas but I like Hong Kong Dramas best.

The dramas are nicely broken down into short parts that you can watch online via streaming rather than downloading. So you’ve got to have a good internet connection otherwise,  you will feel frustrated. What you can do is, open the dramas in different windows, then allow them to download fully before watching, otherwise they will keep breaking up and you will lose your patience.

The dramas or episodes are listed in a well organised manner like The Gem of Life here, for example.

Do check it out if you like dramas. It has a really good list. I like it because I can watch the Asian Drama Series in short parts but the best thing is its free!

You know, this is not a sponsored post but sometimes I think I’ve written too many paid posts till my style of writing has changed somewhat. Oops! Anyway, I just think that a good thing ought to be shared.

Seeing as how the family room is one of the most social areas for everyone in the home, it’s important to keep it as organized as possible. Between the electronic equipment, kids’ toys, and DVD collections, it can be challenging to keep everything in order which is why investing in a few key furniture pieces for the living room will make life a lot easier. As much as we would love to keep our children’s toys and games alongside the baby furniture in the nursery, kids’ gear tends to wander and end up in the kitchen, living room, or other common areas of the home. A great way to keep everyone happy with their respective toys and provide an opportunity for the whole family to enjoy the common space is to incorporate a corner of the room that is dedicated to organization.

Whether you wish to use clear plastic bins, a kid-friendly storage unit, or a built-in shelving unit is up to you. All options will provide an accessible place for your children to grab their favorite toys and teach them how to clean up when playtime is over. You can color code each bin for all of your children or personalize each container with their name. A solid wood toy chest can serve as a coffee table and a storage unit for your children’s stuffed animals and toy collection. If you decide on a hinged lid model, be sure to keep a close eye on your kids while they’re playing in the living room to avoid any dangerous accidents from occurring. Place a plush play mat in a section of your family room to designate a “fun zone” for your children when they want to play with their toys, draw, or read.

Entertainment centers serve a number of functions from housing all of your electronic equipment to keeping your CD and DVD collection in order. Depending on the model you have, this piece of living room furniture can also provide additional space for children’s books, sticker collections, or coloring notebooks that are accessible to your children throughout the day. Keeping your space organized with versatile furniture and kid-friendly storage containers will turn your family room into the fun and relaxing area of your home that you’ve been looking for!

This article was contributed by guest blogger Suzanne, an expert at CSNBaby.com

Yesterday, my girl had her Grade 1 piano trial exam. Though it was only a trial, we were more nervous than her, worried about whether she would be nervous. Hahaha. It turned out alright. The examiner said that she was a very musical child and for a first timer, it was good achievement, something like that. My memory is so bad, even as I left the music school, I had forgotten what the examiner said so I can’t blog it. lol. I only remember “musical child’ so we went to celebrate even though we didn’t have the results yet. Hahaha. Anyway, its just a trial, so the “celebration” is to encourage and reward her for her hard work in practising and being brave during the test.

She wanted to have McDonalds, so thats what we had. After I left McDonalds and walked past KFC, I saw a familiar face. It was Small C. (The face was unmistakable) Then I saw Big C. So I looked out for Sasha. By that time we had walked on quite far ahead and the family was far ahead of me as I was turning my head back to look. I didn’t catch a glimpse of cute Lil C though. I wanted to run up to her to say “Hi! I know you but you don’t know me” then walk off with a cackle but then they went up the escalator and my family who likes to race in shopping malls had almost disappeared from view by then so I couldn’t go to kacau her.

Too bad. I would have loved to kacau her. My husband would probably think I am mad going to greet and chat with someone I don’t know like she is a long lost friend. Haha. But that is the thing with bloggers. She feels like a long lost friend even though I have not met her before. No, I think it should be, that is the thing with SOME bloggers. Those whom you connect with. They feel like someone whom you have known for a long time.

Maybe another time and place yah Sasha. Its just as well too because a moment later, the little one said “Mummy, I want to shi shi and mmm mmm” Oh. Oh. So I had to rush him to the toilet. Luckily I didn’t have to use a bottle like Sasha did. Haha. But when we reached the toilet, there was a long queue and the little one started to remove his jeans to get ready and everyone stared. Hahaha. I just smiled at another lady in another queue and said “Dia sudah tak boleh tahan” and the lady smiled back understandingly but no one offered the toilet for my poor boy. Hmm….

We went to the toy store to look at possible presents for the little one who will be 5 in two weeks time. He wants more cars for his birthday. Little cars, he says. Hmm… have to crack head on what to buy for him soon. Next month, have to crack head over what to buy for his sister. “If you all can’t tell me what you would like for your birthday, I will buy you more Maths books” says daddy who is their home Math tuition teacher leading to squeals of “No!” As for me, well, I would very much like to have a WII Fit or an electronic dictionary for my birthday which is in June. Hehehe.

Later on, we went to Cold Storage to get two loaves of bread and two ice-creams for the kids. I brought RM10 with me. When my bill came to almost RM15 I got a shock. Apparently the Mars ice-cream cost RM4.79 each! Siao!

Oh, another thing I wanted to write down but forgot. Last week we got a sofa bed for the study room. Its fun. Now we open up the bed during the weekends so that everyone can laze on it and I can have a good uninterrupted afternoon nap away from everybody. We can all congregate at the study room during weekends, daddy can play a game on the pc, the kids can play a game on the tv and mummy can laze on the sofa bed to read a book or daddy can laze on the bed to watch his kungfu movie, the kids can sit on the floor to read books while mummy uses the pc or the kids can laze on the sofa bed reading or playing, mummy can sit on the floor reading while daddy works on the pc etc. Lots of combinations. Hahaha. The funny thing with us is we spend much more time in our study room then in the living room. I guess that is because our family is small so its just more convenient and more cozy that way.

Lastly, a message to all you bloggers who always post lots of photos on  your blog. You are now a familiar face in public and almost like a celebrity where everyone can recognise you. Hahaha.