Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

How many of us plan ahead for our own final expenses? By final expenses, I mean burial or funeral expenses. It is a topic that is too hard to talk about, so we take the easy way out. We just don’t talk about it.

However, as I learned …. It is important to plan for this contingency to avoid quarrels within the family. It is useful to have funeral insurance to avoid financial stress within the family.

I am glad that dad has recovered somewhat so we don’t have to think about this for now but I realise the importance of this especially now after my family has had to have meeting after meeting to discuss the financial payment dues as well as care arrangements for dad. It has been stressful indeed. I could not sleep worrying and I am deeply saddened by the level of polictiking that could go on within the family over such matters affecting a mutual loved one.

I think it is easier for family members to check on final expense insurance rates rather than to quibble about who should pay what and how much later on.

I guess, like everything else in life, it helps to be prepared. It helps to prepare ourselves as well as our loved ones financially for the burden that may arise not only when we are living but after we are gone as well. You can do that by getting insurance for it. These days insurance quotes are easily available on the internet like the quotes from MetLife. You can get it by just filling up a simple form, with no obligations. I like that. I don’t like meeting up agents face to face to get quotes. I prefer to do research on the internet first.

When someone loves you unconditionally, it is hard not to love them back.

I have such an unconditional love from my son. He is constantly telling me how much he loves me. He is always giving me hugs and telling me he loves me “the best of all”.

When he sees me in pain, he will rush to my side to comfort me. When he sees me busy he will say “Mummy can you play with me, later, if you are free? If you are not, I will play by myself.” He is very understanding.

It is fantastic to be loved like that. It is also very easy to give love in return when you receive love like that. That is why they say, “give love and in return you will receive love.”

Sometimes I shop at the supermarket during peak hours. During peak hours, at times the supermarket trolleys run out. Customers would then wait, rather impatiently for new trolleys to be brought to the bays designated for trolleys.

As soon as the (sometimes limited number of) trolleys arrive, the fight begins. Everyone would position themselves strategically to grab one coveted trolley for themselves. Then they rush in for the kill.

One day, just as I was about to reach for a trolley which just arrived, I found myself roughly pushed aside by a rather big sized maid. I almost fell over from this forced manhandling. I could only look at the maid in amazement, too surprised to say anything. Then I watch as she pushed the trolley to the waiting family who did not say anything.

I was appalled…. not only by the maid’s behaviour but by the family’s behaviour. They had sent the maid to do the dirty work of fighting over a silly supermarket trolley for them. I think the family should have educated the maid and discouraged her from behaving in such a manner. Instead, I was left with a bad feeling that she behaved in that manner because she either wanted to please her employers by getting a trolley or she was afraid that she would be reprimanded if she did not get one sending her to do such a desperate act. Even my maid shook her head in disbelief. It is only a supermarket trolley afterall? Why push someone aside just to get it?

Ahh supermarket trolleys, they are much sought after but so badly abused, people stuff as many things as they can in them, sometimes even allowing their child to sleep in them and when they are no longer wanted, sometimes they are dumped by the roadside in the sun and rain. What a life.

It would seem like I put on a pound for every year.

1. In my teens I was around 105- 110 pounds,
2. in my 20s it became 110 -115 pounds,
3. in my thirties 115 -120 pounds.
4. Now in my 40s, it is 125-130 pounds.

What happened to 120-125 pounds? That never happened. Having two babies in my late 30s elevated or promoted me straight to 125-130 pounds skipping the in between. In fact after the babies, my height or peak weight was 145 pounds.

It took me a lot of sheer hard work and determination and eating like a bird to lose the 20 pounds from 145 to 125 pounds. Breastfeeding did not do it for me. In fact it made me put on weight because I was so hungry all the time, I ate all the time including in the middle of the night.

Now, the man has joined a gym. Hmmmm… that puts me in a spot. For health reasons, my man started dieting and he shed those pounds, not that he was fat to begin with but now he looks even leaner. I feel that it is so unfair that when a man sheds pounds, the pounds just disappears into thin air. There is no loose skin left behind. Now, if a woman were to shed pounds like that, she would soon appear haggard with loose skin hanging everywhere.

Back to my dilemma. With my man doing workouts at the gym, I can’t help but imagine all those sleek looking ladies at the gym surrounding him. Ouch! So now I can no longer remain complacent. Oh nosiree.

In fact, I’ve got a new challenge for myself. I shall do 30-45 minutes of zumba or whatever else dance for fitness each day, five days a week, resting on weekends where I shall resist the urge to indulge in food. I eat quite well during the week accept weekends so I need weekend control. So 30-45 minutes of exercise 5 days a week and 2 days of resisting the urge to gorge on food and we’ll see what happens.

Starting from……………NOW!

P.S. I wish I got wiser every year instead of fatter each year.

I can’t imagine it is almost the end of the year, the end of the school year, that is. The kids are sitting for their final exams now. Soon it will be the year end concert, then Children’s Day Party and Funfairs and other more fun aspects of school and before you know it, it is time for the next school year. Time really flies.

Next year my boy will be going to Primary One. I just discovered this morning that I forgot to submit some forms to the school! The deadline was 30th September 2010. Gosh. What a bad impression. I was waiting to get his immunization done so that I can photostat his immunization records before submitting. We were going to get it done a couple of times but he was not feeling well so we kept on putting it off. I completed the form as soon as I got it and put it aside and now I missed the deadline. Sigh.

Time flies indeed. Soon I will need to bags and shoes and  uniforms for him. Speaking of uniforms, here is one good place online to shop for Medical Uniforms.

You can get Lab Coats too for both men as well as women. I wonder if my boy will want to go to medical school when he grows up. Right now, he wants to be Bob the Builder.