What Simply Works!

Last week surprised us with very warm weather reaching 24 degrees at the earlier part.  Although this is a welcome change from wearing jackets and long pants, most of us we’re affected by the sudden up-shoot of the temperature. Leaving our friends with cough and colds.

It is only Spring time and we’re already feeling the heat of Summer.  But I hope the threat of a 40 degC during last year’s Summer will not happen again.  Right now, we’re making plans to hit the beach.

Now that we’re living much farther from our families and friends back home, it has become a challenge to maintain constant communication. The costs of overseas calls can be a real drag and being in different time zones doesn’t help. Yes there are free Internet calls available but it’s different when you can speak with your loved one anytime, anywhere you want.

So good thing there are international phone cards! With low calling rates, fixed time limit and because it’s prepaid make it an ideal solution to homesickness.  Calling from the US to anywhere in the world is made affordable by getmecallingcards.com.  The rates of calls to Sydney are really cheap!

I’ve been trying to download my WP file from my self-hosted blog and got this error:

The first few Google search results I got didn’t help at all.  I badly need to copy over the files to complete the blog changes I want to do.  Help please, WP gurus!

Our Christmas gifts shopping officially started this week. I’ve crossed out about five names on our list and it’s still a long way to go! We’re still thinking of gift ideas for the kids so we can purchase them this weekend. Anyway for them, the choice is either toys or games.

Interestingly, shopwiki.com is a good website to get gift ideas. There are categories set for gifts for boys and girls. Since my list has a good balance of kids and adults, I may have to look-up this site to check gift items and prices.  I noticed that there are a lot of Nintendo gadgets in there. If only they come cheap.

My goal is to complete our Christmas shopping duties by October. Because we have weekend trips planned in November, I’m left with just five weekends to finish my shopping tasks.

Being a stay-at-home mom is not an easy-peasy role. Work is 24/7, there are no benefits, salaries or bonuses, you can’t hire a “temp” to cover your role when you get sick and there is no sickness or vacation leaves.

That’s why in the evenings, when my husband and I would have our conversations while sipping tea, we’d dream of our vacations to the Caribbean Islands! A week spent in Barbados villa rentals can de-stress and give any one that much deserve rest and recreation.

I confess. I get stressed out when I don’t have access to the Internet. Except when I’m on vacation, I feel that checking my blogs and emails are part of my daily routine.

Funny how new words are introduced when Google became popular. There’s Google-ing (which means searching/search on the Net) and now Discomgoogolation (coined from Discombulate – to confuse or frustrate and Google).  I think I’m showing signs of this Internet obsession disorder.

Since we had our daughter, my husband and I realized how important it is to get health insurance. It is equally imperative to get coverage from a reputable company, one that has solid background in individual or group health insurance.

No matter how we try to keep a healthy lifestyle, to eat right and be active, we’ll never know when sickness will hit us. We’ve heard one too many stories about personal savings and funds being used to cover medical expenses, leaving loved ones behind to bear with the financial burden. The sound of health premiums may scare us at first, but it is only when we understand the coverage and benefits of insurance that we come to appreciate its value.

Kaiser Health Insurance believes in quality medical insurance cover at affordable prices. In fact, their website offers a free quote for those interested to know the plans offered and its corresponding prices. Be assured that this company has been in the health maintenance business for so long that it has become a household name.

If you don’t have a health insurance plan yet, go visit their website and found out which coverage suits you. Don’t wait any further, now is the time.

Last Saturday, we went to visit Ted’s in Chatswood and I bought my tripod there. I ended up with a Manfrotto brand, which was on sale. The one I had planned to get, the one with ‘clips’ and not ‘screw’ to pull out the legs, is priced 100AUD higher than the one I got.

I think I made a good buy since I prefer to handhold my camera for most of my shots. There’s something about tripods that make me feel uncomfortable when taking photos. Or maybe I just need to get used to it. Nevertheless, I’m glad I got that tip to visit Ted’s, otherwise, I would’ve gotten a more expensive tripod which I don’t really need.

Although I’m subscribed to a few job search directories, I still surf the Internet for possible job opportunities. Not that I’ve started sending my resumes already but I am keen to know how the job market is doing relative to the industry I belong to.

A website called Fresho.com is a good reference point for jobs in the US. The industries covered range from Accounting, Healthcare to Insurance. There are also a lot of jobs in pharmaceuticals available. It helps that the job offerings is kept up to date and that the selection fields on the main page are pretty straightforward, requiring the applicant to key in the preferred area and job type.

Advertisers will also find it easy to post jobs as it doesn’t require registration and the rules for managing posts are pretty straightforward. Best of all, this service is free of charge. The same way that job seekers will find it easy to post resume with quick links to resume banks.

An available tool within the search page will allow applicants to search by location just by selecting the state or area within the map. Truly, job search has never been made this easy. Thanks to Fresho.com for this user-friendly job website.

My daughter is now becoming “addicted” to the Internet. I know, I know my husband and I talked about it and we’re figuring out alternatives for her. She easily gets bored with her toys, DVDs and books and turns to the laptop to watch her favorite clips on YouTube.

I’m thankful that winter is almost over (well, technically it’s already spring here but it’s still a bit cold) and we can go to the park more frequently now. But thanks to youTube and the users who uploaded Hi-5, the Wiggles and Sesame Street clips. My daughter loves them all!