Recently, I had some trouble with the wiring for my porch lights. The lights itself are still in good condition, only the wiring was affected. However, it made me feel like shopping for lights again. I haven’t shopped for lighting for my house for several years now, ever since I moved in, in fact.

I rather enjoy shopping for lights. It’s so much fun to choose the different types of lighting for different parts of the house. Lighting can really bring out the beauty and elegance of your furnishings and walls. These days there are many contemporary wall lights which I like.

I like those romantic kind, dazzling looking chandelier like styles. Those are hard to clean but I still like them. I also like my lights to face down rather than up but that’s just me. I prefer fine art lamps rather than square shaped contemporary wall sconces. However, I think its practical to have some of those around as they are easy to clean.

I think lamps can really bring out the character of a room. That is why I am tempted to go shopping for lights again. I remember in the past I had to go from shop to shop looking up and up. I had a neck pain after that. These days shopping for lights is so much easier as it can be done online. I can take my time to look too instead of being followed around by the sales person.

Should I keep my old porch lights or shop for new ones? I’m still thinking about it. What shall I do with my old one then? I wonder if the shop will accept trade ins. Probably not, I guess.

Yesterday I banked in my first Amazon Affiliate Cheque. Along with the cheque came an Invoice which had the word Vendor Name next to my name. I was so proud I didn’t even want to throw away the envelope that came with the cheque. Haha. It’s rather nice to receive cheques from big names like Google and Amazon. It’s lovely to receive money from Amazon, a place where people spend money. Though the amounts I receive are small, I feel elated because I learned to earn my pocket money all by myself.

No one suggested to me or taught me how to do it. Everything that I learned, I learned on my own, sometimes through trial and error. Read My Squidoo Log to see what I learned about Blogging and Amazon Affiliate Program vs Squidoo Lenses and Amazon Affiliate Referal links.

My dear friend suggested that I write an e-book next. I love that idea. Oh if only I had the time. You see, I think blogging is over the curve now. The golden age of blogging is over. If you were caught up in the first wave, it would have been very exciting.

Now we have so many social media sites and so much information. I don’t see many people going to blogs now for information. However ebooks may be a different thing the way tablet computers are selling like hot cakes. Ebooks may just be on the rising curve or at least even if it is on the way down it is not as far down as blogging.

Perhaps I may consider it, but oh if only I had the time. Hmm… what should I write about? Kids crafts? Breastfeeding? ???? I don’t have to write anything new. My 5 blogs some of which are 7 years old have lots of information I can pull from and there are lots of free resources to do so. Hmm… perhaps its time I learned something new again. My hands are itching but my time is limited.

I was reading about the flash floods in KL last night and this reminded me of the flood experience I had when I was younger. I remember I used to live in the  Police Barracks in Bentong, Pahang. Once, there was a very bad flood and we were all evacuated. I was very young then, probably around 5 years old. All I could remember was looking at the swirling waters behind the pick-up truck we were travelling in and finding it so strange to be in a roomful of strangers sitting and lying on the floor in the evacuation center.

Later on we moved to Kuantan in the East Coast of Malaysia. The East Coast often has monsoon rains at the end of the year. We had a big drain at the back of our house and sometimes that would fill up quickly and flood waters would threaten to rise and enter the house. Usually it would flood all over the back garden that is all so we didn’t have to clean up very much. Another time, I remember wading around in knee deep waters in Kuantan town. I can’t remember why I was in town though.

I used to cycle to all over Kuantan on my own. I was around 13-15 years old at the time. I would cycle to the cinema in town, to the beach at the end of town, to my Organ lessons, to school for afternoon activities. Life was very carefree and different then. It was much more safe as compared to now though I did get my bicycle stolen once. I was shocked to find my bicycle gone when I came out of the cinema. Another time, I had my tyres punctured on purpose, I think, near the beach and I had to push it home up and down the hill. It was very far and very tiring. Hmm… maybe it wasn’t so safe after all.

Back to floods, it used to flood in my Penang house too. Whenever it rain, the water would quickly rise, pour in the front garden and into the house. My aunts always have a hard time cleaning up after that.

I haven’t experienced a flood in KL before but I certainly hope not to.

We went to Daiso at The Curve yesterday to get my girl a RM5 digital watch to replace her broken one and ended up RM60 poorer with all sorts and manners of knick knacks, decorative items, stationery, origami paper etc. Oops!

We were in a hurry. Otherwise, the hole in our pockets would have been bigger. The kids got away with these batch of cute sticky notes. Recently, they’ve started sticking sticky notes all over their tables and books to remind them of things to do.

Too bad I was pressed for time or perhaps it’s a good thing I was in a hurry, otherwise, I would be very much poorer as I didn’t get to explore the shop in detail leaving out the kitchenware, women’s accessories etc. I love Daiso.

my samsung galaxy ace

I don’t have an iPad or a tablet computer though I hanker for one but I do have my Samsung Galaxy Ace phone.

After I got my Samsung Galaxy Ace, I discovered Zinio and I love it! Zinio is a free magazine app for reading magazines on the Android device. However, you would have to subscribe to the magazines. The titles available are very comprehensive and subscription is easy. I would certainly subscribe to some magazines if I had a tablet computer because reading would be so much easier then.

In the meantime I am enjoying my free magazines from Zinio. After I registered with Zinio, I received a $30 coupon which I immediately used for purchasing some magazines. Later on, I received another $10 promotional coupon which I used up too. In addition to these you can browse and download free magazines to read.

I love reading the magazines digitally. Some of the magazines have a text only section for you to select so you have a choice of reading the magazine as it is or text only. It’s like reading the real thing because you can flip the magazine and what I love the most is it does not take up my shelf space at home which is exploding with books. It helps save the environment too.

At the moment, I currently have these on my Zinio library. Some of them are single issues, some are one year’s subscription. The best part is… they’re all free!

I am currently reading these on my zinio..

OWL Magazine

OWL magazine for 9 to 13 year olds. It includes the science behind how things work, quizzes, contests, and topics on everyday life. My boy likes the comics in them.

Women's Health magazine

Women’s Health Magazine is for the woman who places importance on being healthy-physically and emotionally. I like to read mostly the fitness, nutrition and weight loss part.

Glamour UK Edition

I read Glamour for fashion and beauty advice. Well, even a SAHM needs a little Glamour now and then.

American Girl

American Girl Magazine is Created especially for girls age 8 and up, American Girl is an appealing, age-appropriate alternative to teen magazines. It features advice, crafts (I like this part),  puzzles, games, giggles, and more. This one’s for my girl naturally.

Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan is  the largest selling young women’s magazine in the world, Cosmopolitan is famous for its upbeat style. It focusses on the young career woman and often has candid and open discussions on the contemporary male/female relationship. Well, I’m still young at heart so I can read this one though targetted at the younger working woman.

Parent and Child

Scholastic’s Parent & Child magazine is an useful resource for parents who want to play an active role in all aspects of their child’s development and learning. I find Parenting Magazines boring usually but sometimes I read them to get some much needed advice and ideas on Parenting.

marie claire

Marie Claire offers solutions for the time pressed busy woman on fashion and beauty. It also includes global and cultural issues. Marie Claire is also targetted towards the younger working woman.

new scientist

New Scientist magazine has the latest science and technology news, putting discoveries and advances in the context of everyday life. New Scientist relates the advancements of human knowledge to the broader impacts on society and culture, making it  an interesting read for inquisitive people who wants to know why. This is one of the magazines I selected when I browsed for free magazines to download and read. It’s not what I would normally read but it is interesting.

I also have the local Her World Magazine and the WebMd Magazine on my Zinio Magazine reader for my Android Phone. I am currently reading all of them at the same time. What I like about a digital magazine reader is the fact that it automatically leaves a bookmark on the page where you are reading. The next time I read, I just continue from where I left off. My magazines are all downloaded for offline reading on my Android but I can choose to read them on  my PC as well if I like. I prefer my Android because it is more portable, that is all.

I also like the fact that Zinio delivers magazines from all over the world directly to me. Some of these magazines are not available to me on the local news stand.

So many magazines to read and all for free!

Don’t believe me? Take a look at the screenshot of my Zinio library below:

My Zinio Library

If you haven’t got it already, you just have to check it out. You won’t regret it. Here’s the Zinio link.