Great Deal on Nikon

Before I became a parent, I don’t really care about camera. It’s something that I only need when I was in vacation. However, since I have my first baby, I found out that camera and camcorder are important gadgets for me. I always put my camera and camcorder within reach, so when my baby did something new, I will be able to document that moment.

Today I got good news from Nikon. There's an awesome and mind-blowing Nikon Black Friday Promo from Nikon Sport Optics, NikonProGear and NikonHunting.com this year with a special presentation from Lee & Tiffany Lakosky! The Ultimate Hunter's Package contains:
-ProStaff 3-9x40 Riflescope with BDC Reticle
-ProStaff Laser Rangefinder
-Silent Technology Rangefinder Case
-Mastering a Long-range shot with BDC DVD
-$50 NikonProGear Gift Card
All these come together in a great package, saving $144.90 on high quality hunting equipment.

She didn't like menthol vapor

Like I said that my youngest daughter had phlem on her lung. At night she woke up many times because she could not breath properly. I rub her chest with Vicks, but that method was not working. Thus, we decided to try letting her breath the vapor of crystal menthol with hot water. I just put few small bits of crystal menthol on a mug and put very hot water. We put the mug about 20 cm away from her and let her breath the vapor from the mug. She didn’t like the smell and try to get away, but I held her down. After several sessions, she puked a lot of phlem out and she slept through the night.

The funny thing was, when the first session she had the nebulizer in the hospital (before I let her inhaled the menthol vapor), she cried. However, the second time she had the nebulizer (the next day after she inhaled menthol vapor), she was quite enjoying it and was not crying at all. I think probably she thought that the nebulizer much better than the menthol vapor.

Gift For Pregnant Woman

Last month my mom called me to tell the good news that my “baby” brother is going to have a baby. Actually he is not a baby anymore. He is 31 years old already. However, since he is 7 years younger than me, I always though him as a baby. Since he is going to become a father, this coming Christmas, I am thinking to give him very special gift for him and the baby.

Have you heard about U-Cord®, Cryo-Cell's stem cell cord blood preservation service? I think this is the ideal gift for family and friends who are expecting a baby in the near future and want to preserve vital stem cells that are collected from their baby's cord blood. Stems cells found in cord blood are known to treat over 75 diseases.

For more information about Cryo-Celle and C'elle or to read C'elle Client Testimonial , or how to purchase gift cards for these services, please visit http://www.cryo-cell.com/ or http://www.celle.com/, or call Cryo-Cell at 1-800-STOR-CELL or C'elle at 1-877-892-3553.

My Poor Baby

My youngest daughter last week started to cough. I think she got it from my eldest daughter. After 3 days the cough didn’t get any better but worse. Thus on Monday I immediately brought both my daughters to see doctor. My rule of thumb is that after 3 days if the sickness doesn’t get any better, then it’s time to see the doctor. The doctor said that the cough was caused by Respiratory syncytial virus.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is common in babies. Symptoms resemble those of a cold, with a worsening cough and labored breathing. RSV usually strikes between November and mid-March and is sometimes no more troublesome than a cold. But it can lead to more serious respiratory illnesses, such as bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small breathing tubes) and pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs) — especially in babies under a year old.

What worries me was that according to the doctor there was phlem on her lung. She gave my baby nebulizer on the spot. A nebulizer is a device used to administer medication to people in the form of a mist inhaled into the lungs. It is commonly used in treating cystic fibrosis, asthma, and other respiratory diseases.

She also gave her a couple of medicine to give at home. She said that we needed to come back on next 2 days and if there is still phlem on her lung, the she needed to admit to the hospital. Luckily after 2 days, she was OK and her lung was clear.

Personalized Holiday Gifts

Have you completed your Christmas shopping? I still haven’t completed mine. Sometimes it is difficult to find a gift for other people that we really don’t know well. In order to find the best gifts for them you really need to get to know the tastes of that person. Are they casual people who would be happy with the simplest of things or do they have expensive tastes? Some people hate knick knacks cluttering up their homes. Some people love them. Every year I always have difficulty to find perfect gift for everybody in the family, especially gifts for the men. I always bought either belt, tie, wallet or pen for them. Boring, I know.

However, this year I have found the perfect gifts for the men. I will give them thumb drives for them. The cool part is that you can personalized it by engrave two lines of personalization text on the side and for the other side you can choose from one of 32 exciting themes such as "#1 Teacher" or "Happy Holidays".

Furthermore, from now until the end of the year, there are 20% off. So, with as low as $7.99 you can get cool personalized holiday gifts. Besides this thumb drive you can also find other stuff like personalized pens, business card flash drives, and environment friendly wooden USB flash drives. So, click the link and check them out yourself!

What was your embarrassing mistake as a brand new parent?

Here is mine:

We were celebrating my eldest daughter full moon. It means that I was just a month being a parent and was not experienced enough to change diaper. When we were eating and enjoying the food, my baby decided to poo. The restaurant didn’t have the baby changing room, so I decided to just change her on her baby trolley. Somehow, because of my inexperience, I didn’t hold up the legs tightly enough, and as the result her butt that full of s—t, touch the trolley and after that I could not even continue to eat as I was busy cleaning the whole thing as best I can.

Motorcycle

Recently, I found a website that sells wide selections of motorcycle parts and accessories, including yamaha motorcycle parts. It made me remember olden days when I was still a small girl. I remember that we always went everywhere using motorcycle because my parent could not afford to buy a car. Even when we had my bother, 4 of us still could sit on a motorbike. My mother carried my brother and I sit in front of my father. I know it is very dangerous, but everybody was doing the same.

Unknown Relatives

My mother in law had an interesting ancestor. Her grandfather was a minister during the end period of the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911). During the revolutionary military uprising (the Wuchang Uprising) in 1911, he sent his wife and his son to Malaysia with a promise that he would follow afterward. After travelling by boat for months, they finally arrived in Pahang, which is a state in Malaysia safely.

However, the husband never arrived in Malaysia. It was not known whether he got killed during the revolution or he managed to run away but the ship sank. There is another possibility which is that he stayed in China and lost contact with his wife, thus got married again with other women. If this is the case, then we have unknown relatives somewhere in china. Another possibility is that he managed to escape, landed safely but in a different part of Malaysia and lost contact with his wife.

It’s very mind boggling to think that we could probably have other relatives out there somewhere.

Massage Chair

I want to have this Takemi Select massage chair for quite sometimes. As I told you before that one of my friends has this chair. I tried once before and it felt heavenly. Nothing is better than the feel of a relaxing and therapeutic massage after a whole day taking care the children and sitting in front of my computer. We all know that massage is very good for your body circulation and thus improve your health.

Did You Spoiled Your Baby?

I read an article stating that young babies are completely spoil-proof. That your baby needs all the care and attention you can give and there is no way that you can spoil your baby by giving her/him your full attention.

I agree to this article to a certain degree. I agree that baby is too young to purposefully manipulate or annoy you. A baby cries to communicate his/her needs, whether they're for a bottle of milk, a dry diaper, or a little cuddling with Mom or Dad. When you respond quickly to your baby, you're building his sense of self-worth. You're also establishing a foundation of trust that can last for years to come.

However, I have learned that if you don’t response to your baby correctly you will “spoiled” him/her. I learn this the hard way. When I just had my first daughter, I always responded to her immediately whenever she cried by picking her up. It’s a BIG MISTAKE as later on she expected me to carry her all the time. With my youngest daughter, I always responded to her but I didn’t pick her up yet. I would just checked on her and attended to whatever her needs. As she is almost 6 months now, I let her cry a bit if I am in the middle of doing something as I want her to be able to amuse herself. On some occasion, I even let her cry to sleep, but of course I had already made sure that she was full and comfortable. Normally she would cry less than 5 minutes before fell to sleep, but most of the time she just fell to sleep without crying.

Expert in Collision Repair

A few years ago, before I work from home, I worked in a company who provided car to pick me up and return me home. At one time the car had a bad accident. Luckily at that time I went overseas on business trip. When I saw that car, I almost could not recognize it.

However, after the accident the car could not back to the original state.

I found this auto body shops riverside. This is the place to find experts in the field of collision repair. There are many auto body shops to choose from, but few are expert collision repairers. Don't take a chance with your vehicle and your safety. Choose an EXPERT to return your vehicle to pre-accident condition!

My DSLR Camera

I have DSLR camera, but somehow I still could not take nice photos with it.

Actually my cousin, which is a professional photographer suggested CANON brand. He suggested CANON 5D, but the price of that camera is out of my range.

Thus, in the end I bought SONY alpha 350, which was much cheaper.

Anybody has experiences with SONY alpha 350?

The Naked Brothers Band: Operation Mojo

Nowadays, it’s very rare that I have a chance to watch my favorite TV channel. Most of the time I watch the Disney channel or the Nickelodeon channel because my eldest daughter insists that it’s her “turn” to watch TV. Don’t ask me about the newest movie on HBO nowadays because I rarely have the opportunity to watch it. Instead, ask me about the newest movie or cartoon on the Disney channel or the Nickelodeon channel and I can answer you right away.

Nickelodeon will be airing Operation Mojo soon, which is the 6th television movie of the Naked Brothers Band and the second TV movie of season 3. If you are not familiar with The Naked Brothers Band, this movie is set up as a rock documentary with references to the Beatles. The movie centers on how the Wolff brothers and their band, The Silver Boulders, deal with fame and the eventual breakup of the group.

Although I am too old for this kind of movie, but I can understand why a lot of teenagers like it. The combination of good looks, the natural talents of the two brothers and the cool music on the movie can surely win any teenage heart. I only enjoy the movie because of the guest appearances by Cyndi Lauper, Uma Thurman, Tony Shalhoub and other stars

Separation Anxiety

Is your baby shows any separation anxiety when she/he was 12 to 18 months? I could not recall my eldest daughter had separation anxiety during that age. I think it was because I was working at home and I had never left her to work.

In many ways, attitudes about babies and separations are cultural. Western countries tend to stress autonomy from a very early age. But in many other cultures, infants are rarely separated from their mother in the first year of life. Even until now, both of my daughters are still sleeping in the same room with me. I was also remember that me and my brother sleeping together in my parents room until I was 9.

Regardless of the origins of this normal developmental stage, it's frustrating for both babies and parents. The good news is that separation anxiety will eventually pass and there are ways to make it more manageable. In the meantime, enjoy the sweetness of knowing that to your child, you're number one.

Study Online

People said that it is dangerous for our children to spend too much time online. Although there are some truth in it but it’s not totally correct. If they spend their time online surfing to do their research or go to the educational site to learn, I don’t think it’s a waste of time or dangerous.

Young people nowadays are motivated to learn from their peers online and also Young people respect each other's authority online and are more motivated to learn from each other than from adults.

Like this Brightstorm educational site that I found recently. They explain many educational subjects with high professionalism, clear presentation but not boring at all. They manage to explain such difficult subject like algebra and geometry with clarity that amazed me.

One subject that captures my interest is about writing. The presenter has a fun and quirky personality that explores the writing world from high to low and ways to infuse your writing with creativity. Is this sounds interesting? Go check this out yourself and signing up for a free account that gives you access to a free episode in every course. Here is the link for Sign up for a free brightstorm acocunt.

Where All Your Money Gone?

Actually, I am pretty good at saving money. My parent taught me to safe, so I am pretty good at it. You have to know where are your money gone and keeping track on it. From there you will know where the unnecessary spending and cut it off.

When you are single, it’s very easy to do it, but when you got married, it’s kind of difficult if your partner doesn’t want to do it.

Anyway, I hear one time in Oprah Show that the good allocation of your net income (not gross, mind you) are like the following:
35% for housing
15% for transportation
15% for your spending
25% to pay your debt
10% for saving

I think 10% saving is not enough. It’s too small. I think the more you safe the better. If possible you must save at least 20% out of your income.
I know that some people having difficulty to safe, some people tend to spend more if they know that they have more money in their bank account. If you are under this category, then spend your saving by buying shares, or gold, or you probably you can put it in fixed deposit.

At this moment, I am thankful that I managed to safe about 20% of our income. My plan is to safe enough in 4 years and pay off the house loan. Once I settled that, I can safe more :)

Search Engine Marketing

If you have an online business you probably want to have more click trough to your website, which will result in higher conversion or sales. However, not many people understand about SEO or search engine optimization.

SmartTuner is a SEM (Search Engine Marketing) firm focused on offering easy to use, easy to implement and affordable campaign optimization recommendations for your Google Adwords, Yahoo and MSN PPC campaigns.

How much does it cost?
They have 30 days free trial and if you get great result, you can keep receiving the SmartTuning sem services recommendations for $499/month thereafter.

Naughty Labrador

I have two dogs, a Rottweiler and a Labrador. The Rottweiler is already almost 5 years old but the Labrador about 7 months old. Since the Labrador one is very naughty, we chain him up. Once in a while, he managed to break the chain and run around in my front yard and created a mess. He chewed the newspaper and broke several pots.

Yesterday, when I went outside in the morning, I saw him turned round and round until the chain entangled become very short and he could not move at all. Since it’s very difficult for me to open up the chain, I simply turn him round and round back. Hahahaha! You should see his expression when I did that. He looked confused, and after several turn, he simply refused to budge. Very funny! Luckily at that time, the chain already loosen up.

Better Vehicle

Remember my post about turbocharges? Well, after looking around at their site, I realized that they really have wide selections of Supercharger, Turbocharger and nose cover. Not only you can find buick supercharger, you can find mercedes supercharger and pontiac supercharger as well. I heard that they have top-notch customer service with Live Toll Free Phone Support, open 24 hours a day, fastest shipping times on the net (guaranteed!), and lowest prices anywhere.

With this kind of service, it’s very easy for us to boost our car’s performance, increase safety, improve gas mileage and fuel efficiency, enhance style and lower emissions or simply put, to make the vehicle better.

Hair

About 6 months ago, my eldest daughter cut her own hair (fringe and some part on the left side) with scissor. Recently her fringe grew back to the original length like before she cut it. There is one part on the left side still shorter than the rest but at least it is long enough for me to tie without looking weird now.

Every morning I always comb her hair and do her hair with different style. I remember my mom used to do my hair back then when I was small. Every morning I sit in front of the mirror and my mom would ask me what kind of hair style I wanted to have for that day. I remembered that I even requested for “Nellie Oleson” hair style. Nellie Oleson was a character in “Little House in The Prairie” serial TV. She had long curly hair that bounced when she walked. For that particular hair style, my mom had to put paper roller on my hair before I went to bed, so the next morning I would have nice curly hair.

Turbocharge Your Life ...er....Car

Lately I am not feeling well. I don’t feel full of energy when I wake up in the morning as I used to be. When I think about all those chores that I am supposed to do, I felt discouraged and tired.
The funny thing is, the same conditions also apply to my car. It doesn’t perform as good as used to be. I think it needs to have turbocharger.

The air induction is a major component of the automobile. Oxygen is a major factor in automotive performance. By forcing air into the system either with a supercharger or turbocharger we can greatly improve horsepower, torque and more.

If your car needs turbocharger as well, you can visit http://www.turbochargerpros.com/ to find the perfect turbocharger for your car. They also carry vw turbo.

Sigh! I wish they also have one for human.

Common Mistakes Parents Make on Car Seat

Do you know that every year, more than 90,000 children under age 8 are injured in car crashes, and more than 1,000 are killed. In fact, auto accidents are by far the leading cause of death for American children. Horrible isn’t it?

The thing is even parents realized the danger of not putting the car seat for their children, yet they still don’t put the children on car seat once in a while. Majority reasons why parents sometimes didn’t put their children on car seat are “it’s only short distance ride” and “my children don’t like it”. Safety experts hear these reasons too often from distraught parents after tragedy has struck. Remember, a one-time lapse can result in a lifetime of regret.

Here are the common mistakes parents make:
Not using a safety seat consistently
Using an old or secondhand seat
Turning your child to face forward too soon
Moving your child out of his car seat or booster too soon
Not installing a safety seat correctly
Not using a locking clip or using it incorrectly
Not securing your child in the seat
Not buckling a car seat into the car
Holding your child on your lap
Letting two kids share one seat belt
Letting your child ride in the front seat

Want to Have Flat Tummy?

I think everybody wants to have a slim body and a flat stomach. Not only will you, feel good about yourself but you can also wear anything without worrying that your “spare tire” shows up.

Although I am not fat but I have excessive fat around my midriff that I would be glad to get rid off. The problem is that I am too lazy to exercise regularly. I am sure that I am not alone. How many of you can follow a strict diet and exercise regularly day in and day out? I am pretty sure that you can diligently follow your diet and exercise regimes for the first few months, but after a while you will lose your self control or determination and revert back to your old bad habits.

Now, what if I tell you that you can lose body fat without a strict diet and lots of exercise? Sounds impossible right?

The Flat Belly Diet was developed by the editor of “Prevention Magazine”. It is centered around, new research that discovered that eating healthy fats (Monounsaturated Fatty Acids or MUFAs) like dark chocolate, olive oil, avocado, almonds and peanut butter at every meal can actually help you lose weight, specifically around your middle! By following the program, you could potentially lose up to fifteen pounds of belly fat, in just thirty two days.

If you are interested in getting the Flat Belly diet book for free you can register yourself at their website. Eligible participants will receive:
A free copy of the Flat Belly Diet book
A free 1-year membership to the Flat Belly Diet website
An Exclusive membership to their Success Story Club
The chance to blog about the Flat Belly Diet on their website
A First look at the exclusive Flat Belly Diet videos

The book give-away program starts now and ends on January the15th, so hurry up and register yourself.

She Can Crawl!

Last Saturday, my youngest daughter has reached another milestone. She can crawl! She was not even 6 months yet.

Surprisingly the one that witnessed her first crawl was her father. He was playing with her while I was preparing the milk, then suddenly I heard my husband called me excitedly. At first I was skeptical when he said that she could crawl, but true enough she was crawling in front of my eyes. The bait was the TV remote control. She determined to get the remote control that finally she decided that she must crawl! Hahahaha

Addiction

Some individuals are more vulnerable than others to becoming addicted to alcohol or to drug. It depends on the gene as well as environmental. If you have friend or family that has addiction toward alcohol or drug it is best to send them to Promises rehab center where they can be treated professionally.

Is She Learning to Crawl?

My youngest daughter is almost 6 months. She knows how to rollover, sitting unaided a few second and she also knows how to hold her own milk bottle (when the bottle already half empty). Yesterday, she tried so hard to get the remote control from under my pillow. When I moved her, she cried with frustration. She also able to move forward to get something that interests her by rollover and rollback many times. Since 2 days ago, I also noticed that she raised her butt. Is she learning to crawl? She is much faster than her sister. I remember last time my eldest daughter at this age, just started to rollover.

Anyway, all babies are unique and meet milestones at their own pace. Developmental guidelines simply show what your baby has the potential to accomplish.

Weight Loss Program

There are numerous methods to reduce weight. One of them is lap-band surgery program. JourneyLite offers a comprehensive weight-loss surgery program that will guide you through every step of your journey – from evaluating whether the lap band system is right for you, to finding an experienced surgeon, to insurance approval, and extensive follow-up and aftercare that is specifically tailored with your success in mind.

Recalled: Mylicon Infant Anti-Gas Drops

I have never used any anti-gas medicine to my baby, but if you are using it, you’d better check what brand you are using because Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co have announced a recall of about 12,000 bottles of Mylicon infant anti-gas drops in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

“The drops may contain metal fragments. The potential for serious injury is low, and any effects are expected to be temporary and resolved without medical treatment. No injuries have been reported.”

The recall involves Infants' Mylicon Gas Relief Dye Free (simethicone-antigas) non-staining drops sold in one-ounce plastic bottles with the lot numbers SMF007 or SMF008. The recall does not affect any Original Infants' Mylicon Gas Relief products (1/2-ounce or 1-ounce size) or Infants' Mylicon Gas Relief Dye Free drops non-staining (1/2-ounce size).

How to Choose Silver Jewellery

As gold getting more expensive, a lot of peoples turn their heads at other precious metal like silver. Silver looks great almost on everybody, especially if you have fair skin. Silver also looks great with the black evening dress as it shines brilliantly reflects light on its white surface.

When you decided to buy silver jewellery, make sure that you choose the good quality along with good design. A timeless design of good quality silver can become your heirloom jewellery to hand down from generation to generation.

Good sterling silver made up of 925 part silver to 75 part alloy such as copper, nickel or zinc. The added elements give sterling silver increase strength and durability. This is why jewellery is often stamped with the numbers 925 or .925. So, next time you buy your sterling silver jewellery, make sure it has 925 or .925 stamp on it. Sterling Silver Jewellery looks shinier than pure silver but it does need maintenance and cleaning. Keeping your sterling silver jewellery in a dry and sealed bag would ensure that the shine would last longer.

There are many online shops that sell sterling silver. One of my favorites is KeySilver.co.uk. They only sell silver jewellery which has high silver content and carries the .925 stamp. Their site looks clean, easy to navigate, plus they have clear photo of their each jewellery (nothing put me off than seeing blur photo). They have nice selections of sterling silver jewellery, but I especially fancy their Sterling Silver Bracelets and Silver Bangles. Specially this bangle:

I have simple black dress that I bought on sale recently. It is just a simple plain dress and I need to accessorize it a bit, and I think bangle is a perfect choice. Since shipping is free, there is more temptation to buy.

How To Give Medicine to Your Baby

When my eldest daughter was a baby, I had no problem giving her medicine. I just used oral syringe. It accurately measures and completely administers even the thickest medicines with ease. When she is about 2 years, it was getting harder but I still could hold her with one hand and gave the medicine with the other hand. Things a bit more complicated when she was 3 years as she was a big toddler already and I had no strength to hold her with 1 hand. Thankfully, now she is able to gulp down the medicine without any problem after I told her that she needs the medicine to get well.

There are many ways to give your children medicine. Keep in mind that there are some medicines that should not be taken with certain foods or with any food at all. It's very important that you ask your baby's doctor or your pharmacist before combining or following up your baby's medication with a favorite treat. Remember that the tips on mixing medicines with food and juice only apply once your baby is eating solids.

Below is some of the ways:

1. New gadget that looks like pacifier but has a little measuring cup attached to hold the medicine. You put the medicine in, give the pacifier to the baby, and as he sucks, down goes the medicine! No mess, no fuss.

2. An alternative to yet another gadget is the bottle nipple. It works best when timed right before feedings for a hungry baby. Pour the measured medication into the nipple and let baby begin to feed. When the medicine is gone, screw the nipple onto the bottle and continue feeding.

3. Mix the medicine with a couple of ounces of breast milk, formula, juice, or yoghurt. Ask the doctor first to make sure the medicine doesn't need to be taken on an empty stomach and that there are no possible interactions with the juice.

4. Add some flavoring to liquid medicine

5. Try to thin the medicine by mixing it with a teaspoon or two of water.

Softwares to Manage Your Employee

If you have your own business, and have headache to manage your employees, then you need to go to www.SoftwareTech.com. They have 3 types of software (SoftTime, TimeKron, and HR) that will solve all your human resources problems. From manage your employee work time, attendance issue, or other human resources problem.

The best thing is that all these software are work hand in hand, so no need for you to hire bunch of another personnel just to manage your employee.

You can go to the website and download the trial version to review before you decide whether you want to buy the programs or you can register for live demo.

I Love Mamma Mia

Have you seen Mamma Mia? Directed by Phyllida Lloyd. With Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan. The story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father. I won’t tell you about the story plot. That, you can google it yourself.



I am not a big fan of musicals movie, however I love ABBA songs. I saw the preview last month on TV and it looks very interesting. Finally, last week I managed to escape with my hubby to watch Mamma Mia, although hubby a bit reluctant as he is neither like musicals movie not ABBA songs.

I must admit that this movie now become one of my favorites movie. To become favorites, the criteria are that I must enjoy every second of the movie and I feel that I can watch it many times. This movie falls within these criteria.

My hubby made a comment that he was amazed at the clever ways the director managed to incorporate so many ABBA songs into the movie. Every song is relevant with the situation. Equally brilliant was the actress (specially Meryl Streep) and the actors and the setting is in Greek, so it’s a perfect combination. I have to admit that when I saw Pierce Brosnan sang in this movie, I laughed really loud. His singing was hilarious.

Inexpensive Eyeglasses

My mother-in-law almost everyday misplaced her eyeglasses. She has 1 pair to wear at home and another pair to wear out. The one that she wears out most of the time she keeps inside her handbag. The one that she keeps misplaced is the one she wears at home. Luckily, we always manage to find it. Probably in this coming Christmas, I should buy several pairs of eyeglasses for her.

You could argue that it will be very expensive to buy several prescribed glasses and it is not wise to spend unnecessarily in this current tight economy. The reality is that nowadays you can buy prescribed eyeglasses as low as USD 8 although not many people know about this. According to this article, many of the 147 million adult eyeglass wearers probably don't know they could be getting a better price because few shop around.

If you want to know where to get $8 prescribed eyeglasses then I will tell you that you can find it at ZenniOptical.com. ZenniOptical has a wide selection of frames which come with various lenses such as single vision lenses, sunsensor (potochromic) lenses, tinted sunglass lenses, bifocal lenses and progressive lenses. The Shipping and Handling Charge is only a flat USD 4.95 per order, no matter how many glasses you place in the order.

Lady Finger Can Cure Diabetes?

If you have diabetes problem or you know somebody that has diabetes problem, you can try this recipe. I received this recipe on the email that my hubby sent to me. Since this is natural medication and no side effects, it’s worth to try.

Take two pieces of Lady Finger (Bhindi) and remove/cut both ends of eachpiece. Also put a small cut in the middle and put these two pieces inglass of water. Cover the glass and keep it at room temperature duringnight. Early morning, before breakfast simply remove two pieces of ladyfinger from the glass and drink that water. Keep doing it on daily basis. Within two weeks, you will see results in reduction of your SUGAR.

Precious Moments

Without doubt, Christmas is a most magical time of year that holds special place in my heart. I still remember the great anticipation that I had when I was a just a small girl to see all those wonderfully wrapped presents under the Christmas tree.

Now as parent, my favorite part about Christmas is to see the reaction on my children’s faces when they open their presents. I hope that I will be able to capture their reaction this year.

Anyway, I found out today that Sears Friends & Family VIP Night is happening on November 16th from 6 - 9 pm. They offer many great deals on that day such as extra 10% off on almost everything! (extra 5% on home electronics), extra 15% off on apparel and fine jewelry and extra 20% off on outwear!

As for my self, I am planning to buy Samsung DX-103 digital camcorder for only $199.99,- (plus another 5% discount). I’ve already did some research and this is the best price so far.

With this digital camcorder, I can record the precious moment when my children open their gift and capture their reactions.

How about you? What are planning to buy on Sears Sale night? Don’t miss this golden opportunity to grab something that you fancy.

Classmate

I am very excited to see that Obama won the election, as it means that I am witnessing a history in the making. My mom, who lives in Indonesia said to me over the phone the other day that the news about Obama won the election was very big in Indonesia since Obama lived and attended the local schooling system in Indonesia once. It happened because Obama’s mother married with Indonesian man, Lolo Soetoro. Obama attended local schools, such as Asisi, in Jakarta until he was ten years old.

I am wondering whether his classmate during that time still can remember him. If they do, then they can proudly say that they went to the same school with US President. I know I will do the same if I attended the same school with him last time. Too bad I didn’t.

Personal Loans

I think we need to apply personal loans. As you probably know that I am moving house. Before moving in we are planning to do some renovation of the house. Since we have spent all the money that we have to buy the house, at this moment we don’t have any money left, except cash for emergency purposes.

When I was looking for information about loan, I found out that AFS personal line of credit is a great way to ensure you have access to funds whenever you need them. No application fee, no collateral needed, low rates for personal loans and it’s 100% approval guarantee or their services are free. Perfect!

It's a Puppy!!!

This is the latest creation of my eldest daughter. Puppy with many legs! Hahahahaha! Actually if you count properly, it has 4 legs. It looks as though as the puppy has so many legs it's because she put it all in a line.

Oh... and the blue thing in front of the puppy, it's a bone.

Home Schooling

More and more parent opt to home schooling their children because of the fact that one-on-one tutoring has been widely recognized as the most effective method of education. Studies have shown that children whose parents are directly involved in their education have more probability to excel in academics. In addition, extended periods of time together strengthen family relationships, not only between the child and his parents, but also with his siblings.

If you are home schooling your children and you are interested in South Florida Homeschool Program you are invited to attend IMACS’ first ever Hi-Tech Home-School Open House.

Here is the press release:

IMACS Holds Hi-Tech Home-School Open House Home-school families and support groups are invited to attend

(Please note that a full formatted version of this release is available at http://www.imacs.org/FileData/IMACSWeb/images/Hi-Tech_Home-School_Open_House.pdf.)

(PLANTATION, FLA. – Oct 31, 2008) The Institute for Mathematics & Computer Science (IMACS) will open its doors Mon, Nov 17, to the South Florida home-school community. Home-school families, support groups and co-ops are invited to attend IMACS’ first ever Hi-Tech Home-School Open House.

The Plantation event is open to first through eighth grade home-school students and will focus on technology and math, two subjects which have become increasingly important to the home-school community.

First through fourth graders and their parents will get to experience an interactive math class. Rather than teaching arithmetic and memorization, the class will focus on logical thinking and problem solving. An IMACS instructor will present students with a variety of challenging mathematical concepts using visual and physical tools, logic games and math puzzles. At the end of the class, the instructor will discuss with each parent his or her child’s strengths and specific needs. After the class, students will get a chance to win prizes by solving logic puzzles and games while parents are given an opportunity to meet IMACS instructors and explore the curriculum.

While building an electronic device, fifth through eighth graders will learn hands on about electromagnets. Afterwards, in the Virtual Robotics Lab, students will begin to build and program a robot in a virtual world where gears and wheels – and the robots these tools control – are genuinely affected by the laws and principles of physics. Parents will have the opportunity to look over the curriculum and watch their children participate in all of the activities.

The event starts at 10:15 am and will end at 11:45 am. IMACS Plantation is located at 7435 NW 4th St. Spaces are limited. Parents and group leaders can reserve their spot by calling 954-791-2333.

About the IMACS Home-School Program

For over 20 years, IMACS has been using math and computer programming as a way of teaching students logical reasoning skills. IMACS has recently discounted some of its classes and offered them during the day for homeschoolers.

“Parents of the students in our day program choose to homeschool their children because they want to be actively involved in providing their children with the best education possible. IMACS provides a way for such parent to supplement their children’s education in hi-tech subject areas, like computer programming, logic and electronics, areas in which parents don’t specialize or which they don’t have time to focus on,” IMACS President Terry Kaufman said.

The program includes some of IMACS' most popular classes: • Math Enrichment, • Computer Enrichment & Virtual Robotics, • Logic Puzzles and • Electronics.

In addition, the program features the following classes from IMACS educational partners: • Chess from Cornwall Chess Services, • Fine Art by Monkey See Monkey Do Art Studio and • Cooking and Reading Comprehension by Book n Cookin. (See supplementary material for class descriptions.)

Classes are held during the morning and are available for first through eighth graders. Parents may choose either a one-hour class or a full-morning program.

For more information about the IMACS Homeschool Program, visit http://homeschool.imacs.org or call 954-791-2333.

Foods to Avoid for 4 to 12 months

If you have baby below 1 year old, here are the food that you should avoid to give to your baby.

Honey: Honey can harbor spores of Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism. An adult's intestinal tract can prevent the growth of these spores, but in a baby the spores can grow and produce life-threatening toxins. To tell you the truth, I am quite surprise that honey can be dangerous for baby as I though honey is safe for everybody at any age.

Peanut butter: The sticky consistency of peanut butter and other nut butters can make it tough for a young child to swallow safely. I think this is common sense. Anything that is too sticky or difficult to swallow should not given to baby

Cow's milk: Stick with breast milk or formula until your child's first birthday. Why? Your baby can't digest the protein in cow's milk for the first year, it doesn't have all the nutrients he needs, and it contains minerals in amounts that can damage his kidneys.

Flashlight

I always have a flashlight ready by my bed side. Just in case if there is a black out. My husband also has another one in his side of bed. We always want a high quality flashlight, the one that always works whenever we need it.

That is why I am happy when I found out that we can buy 5.11 Tactical Flashlight from military website.

When Can Baby Eat Cheese?

Baby can eat cheese as early as 9 months old, as long as the cheese is cut into fingertip-sized pieces and your baby can gum or chew to some extent. If your family has history of allergies, then don’t give your baby cheese until he or she is 1 year old. Signs of a food allergy include swelling of the tongue, lips, and face; a skin rash; wheezing; abdominal cramping; vomiting; or diarrhea. If your baby develops any of these symptoms after eating cheese or any other food, call his doctor as soon as possible.

You can start to give mild cheese like mozzarella or cheddar and try to avoid some aged and soft cheeses. Such as feta, brie, blue-veined cheeses, and Mexican-style cheeses like "queso blanco" or "queso fresco". Those cheeses are at a higher risk of being contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, a form of bacteria that can cause fatal food-borne illness, especially in infants, pregnant women, and the elderly.

Pet Contest

I found out today that anamigo.com has FREE Pet Photo Contest! I went to their website and saw a lot of cute pets that make me “oooohhh” and “aaaahhhh”. I have 2 adorable dogs myself (at least according to me). I want to join the contest.

If you have cute pets, you also can join in.

Here is the press release:

Is your pet cute enough to win you $300?
Enter the Anamigo Pet Photo contest and find out.
Entries that get the most votes will win daily and weekly cash prizes.
You could win:
- Daily prize of $25. (You have 7 days to win!)
- Weekly prize of $125 Get your camera out and email your friends.
Your furry friend could bring you in cash!

Tips to Save on Christmas Presents

My mother-in-law likes to recycle her Christmas presents. It means that when she received Christmas presents that she didn’t fancy, she will just keep it until next Christmas. Then she will wrap all those presents and gave them away to somebody else. I think this is a great idea to safe money. One thing for sure that you must remember who give the presents in the first place, otherwise you will ended up giving away to the person that gave it to you.

Another way to safe money when you shop for your Christmas gift is to shop on black friday. If you intend to shop on Black Friday but afraid to stand in line at the store, then you should hop to Black Friday Online, where you can purchase almost all of the black friday products online on Thanksgiving morning instead of having to fight the crowds in the stores on Black Friday.

Furthermore they also offer email alerts. It means that they will email you when new Black Friday advertisements have been posted, so you will be kept updated with the best deals they have at that site.

Ps: I saw the Sears promo and interested to buy the mini quilt and tote for only USD 29.99 since I know somebody that loves quilts.

Recall Toys

Today, I read news about toys that being recall by the seller because the toys might be dangerous for children. The company name is Earth Friendly LLC, an environment friendly toys importer. Together with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Earth Friendly LLC announced a voluntary recall on the 3 of their toys today.

Cubby: The ears on some of the toys may come off after use and abuse testing.

Moee: It is possible for some of the toys to break into parts on repeated dropping; these parts can then pose a choking hazard.

Bell Rattle: The handle on some of these toys fails a voluntary test for projections.

These toys are imported from India by Earth Friendly LLC, an environment friendly toys seller.
You could find these toys at toy specialty stores in Alaska, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington from April 2008 through September 2008 for between $12 and $22. Although so far nobody report any incidents or injuries, but the company decided to recall about 1,000 of these toys.

I wish that all toys company can be responsible and proactive like this company.

Internet Filters Cannot Filter Everything

That much we already know. A recent US Government study concluded that even the best internet filters could only filter/block 91% of adult websites, leaving 9% or more unfiltered. Probably you think that 9% is insignificant. But wait! Those 9% translate to 100 million pornographic images and videos! They are all there for our young one to see.

If your kid smart enough and knows how to bypass it or deactivate it then the filter's performance drops to 0%.

That is why a pornography-detection tool like SurfRecon is so important. It provides a level of detection combined with the filter's protection: PROTECTION + DETECTION is the ultimate solution for internet safety.

About Genealogy

Are you interested in genealogy? I do. I like to learn about my family history. I am lucky that both my parents still remember about their ancestors. I have already jotted down all the names that they could remember. My father said that actually back in our clan/family house in China, they keep a big book that recorded all the names of all the clan. My dad said that the book even has my name in it. Too bad that I wasn’t interested about genealogy when I went to China 23 years ago, otherwise I could have copied that book when I visited the family house.

Interested In Becoming An Insurance Agent?

If you are looking for a job as an insurance agent, you should send your resume to United American Insurance Company. They have many positions available in many different locations.

United American Insurance Company generates thousands of hot prospect leads every week from a variety of sources giving their agents unlimited earning potential and advancement opportunities. They also provide full training and many incentives.

Less Educated Mother

The AAP recommended in 2005 that babies from birth to age one sleep in the same room as their parents, to make it easier for mothers and fathers to monitor the child, but should not share a bed.

To investigate factors involved in how parents choose a sleeping place for their infants, the researchers looked at 708 mothers of babies up to eight months old who were getting nutritional assistance from WIC, a federal program to help low-income families.

The researchers found that 48.6 percent of mothers reported sharing a room, but not a bed, with their infants; 32.5 percent shared a bed with their child; and 18.9 percent had the baby sleep in his or her own room. Teenage mothers were more likely to bed-share, as were less educated mothers.

At this moment, I am co sleeping with my baby. Since I am not a teenage anymore, I guess I fall into less educated mother category.

About Andy Barkate

Andy Barkate is a financial executive with decades of experience in the financial services industry. During his career in financial services, Andy has held management positions with several investment firms. He is the owner and President of California Retirement Plans LLC, and holds professional designations of "Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist" and "Certified College Planning Specialist". Andy is also known as a financial author and speaker. Andy Barkate is a gifted teacher on the subject of retirement and personal finance. He conducts financial and retirement planning workshops to corporations and government entities including: Boeing, Pacific Bell, NASA, U.S. Department of the Navy, Lockheed, and Shell Oil.

Cry It Out Method

How do you teach your baby to soothe him/herself to sleep and sleep through the night? For my eldest daughter, I used CIO or Cry It Out Method. This method says it's okay to let a baby cry for a specified period of time (often a very short period of time) before offering comfort. However, some people think that this method is unnatural, unkind, and a betrayal of the trust your baby is developing in adults and the world around him. The idea is that bedtime offers an opportunity to connect with your child by developing quiet, cozy nighttime rituals and by quickly responding to your baby's requests for food and comfort.

As for my youngest daughter, I did not use this CIO method since she is able to sleep by herself since the day she born.

As with any method, what works for one child might not work for your baby. So figuring out an approach that's right for your family could take some trial and error. If you're not sure what to do, you can turn to the experts who have written books on the subject and draw on the wisdom of other parents.