What Simply Works!

I’m beginning to gain interest in baking once more.  For the simple reason that I want to  add variety to our current breakfast and snack options.  Banana muffins have been a regular treat for us and soon enough I know, my “clients” (husband and daughter) will soon get tired of helping me finish the dozens I make each time.

While we were scouting for a room heater at Bing Lee’s today, I checked out a few stand mixers because in order to bake better, I need to start investing on simple kitchen appliances.  Kitchen Aid is a definite beauty but it costs too much for my use so I turned my attention to a home brand.  And because I have no knowledge about these things, I decided to mark the prices in my memory and check online for brands and popular prices.

I was browsing Shopwiki.com earlier today and thought that hand mixers just might do it for me.  It’s cheap and will still serve its purpose.  There are good brands, which I can order online.  But the best thing I should do before placing an order is to ask my friends who are kitchen experts for advice.  I’m a bit excited with this purchase because this means I don’t need to torture my hands to work on my cake mixture. Yey!

An asbestos-affected family was featured on the news when the courts ruled against James Hardie in favor of the grandmother who died due to asbestos exposure. Her husband used to work for JH and she was exposed through years of cleaning/washing her husband’s company uniform. I can’t imagine the pain that her family went through to keep her alive, like going through mesothelioma treatments and such.  But a bittersweet ending to this is that the family will get the compensation that they deserve.

During our quick day trip to Southern Highlands last year, we thought it is best to come back again some time this year.  There were so many beautiful sights, most of which I wasn’t able to photograph, like boutique hotels and wineries.  The best time is Spring because of the flower festival happening in most of the areas within the highlands.  There are just so many beautiful places here in Australia that we have yet to discover.

I am planning to do a photobook for my little girl.  It will be a First Year collection of sorts, a series of my favorite photos from her birth to her first year.  I also plan to have 1-2 photos of her printed on canvas, which of course I’ll display in either her room or ours.  Honestly, I have so many artsy projects in mind.  Sometimes I feel like my mind is racing against time, with so many things I want to do.  I won’t be surprised if one day, I’ll consider having my kids photos printed on shirts, jackets or even mugs! But then, I must have reliable screen printing equipment and that would be too costly!  But if ever I come to that idea, I would likely be checking out printing companies that offer fast, reliable and reasonably priced service.  Sigh, I haven’t even started with my photobook design and I’m already thinking of sourcing for my screen printing project! Hmm.

Ever since I left the workforce, I’d say I became better at handling my personal finances. I touched my savings once or twice, that was when I bought a few gadgets last year, but other than that, my hard-earned money is still intact. Thanks to my husband, who has always been a good influence when it comes to spending.

He gave me a credit card though, an extension of what he has, but so far I have been good at using it for household expenses only. And if I had to buy something for myself (which is very seldom), that means the husband will take care of paying it in full before the due date comes.  What I like about our credit card though is that we can convert the earned points to airline rewards or travel rewards.  Not a bad deal at all.

So right now, I can say that adjusting to my “income-less” arrangement is not “death-defying” as I thought it would be.

I blogged about possible “sharing” my current web host to maximize the unlimited disk space and bandwidth and minimize my bills.  It’s either I do this or move to a cheaper website hosting.  So far, I’m happy with my current host but unless I research on what is out there, I wouldn’t know if I’m really getting a good deal.

Webhostinggeeks.com is a good resource for this.  I like it that the information provided are not at all geek-speak and can be understood by simple website users like me.  I have bookmarked the page, The list of Top 10 Webhosts, which I will peruse soon enough as I’m eager to see what my options are.

Although what I’m dreading to do is to eventually migrate (again!) and go through the birthpains of moving to new hosts.  Ah, the joys and pains of self hosting!  I should have an update on this soon.  For now, I’ll hie off to check out what the hosting geeks have to say.

I have tons of filing to do.  Since we arrived in January this year, after a month long vacation in Manila, I wasn’t able to do bills and account statements filing (which I wish I can just forego doing..).  But now that the stack is nearly as high as the tip of my iMac monitor, I think it’s time to allot an hour or so to attend to this.  Apart from filing, I also need to do a lot of paper shredding of old bills, receipts and term life insurance quotes, which also amounts to time and effort. Woohoo!  Oh what fun!

Qantas Airlines launched their mass layoffs just the other day.  For sure, many of their workers  were sent to panic to look for new jobs or other means of support from the government in order to cope with the crisis.  These days, job seekers in general could not afford to be choosy with the job and company they can potentially get hired into.  The bottom line will always be, practicality.  Whether it’s jobs in sales or marketing, so long as you’re up for the challenge, it’s better than not having a paying job at all.

My erratic sleeping pattern these days does not help in improving the already worse dark circles around my eyes.  In the morning, the very first thing I notice when I look at the mirror are my racoon eyes.  Ha ha.  Although during my little girl’s nap time in the afternoons, I try to catch some Zzzs too.  But I think it won’t make a big difference if I miss hours of sleep at night.  Will eye creams help?  What do you think?

I must admit that often than not, I find cleaning around the house therapeutic.  It may or may not be a “normal” feeling but there is something to smelling the scent of freshly cleaned rooms or smudge-free windows and tabletops that make me happy.

But of course, there is one part of the house, which I try (if I must) to avoid cleaning myself (I willingly pass this chore to the husband..).  And that is the bathroom.  The house that we’re renting now has a glass enclosure for the shower area that is just so difficult to clean!

Anyway, not to dwell too  much on chores (who wants to talk about it anyway?), I just dream to one day have bathrooms in the house with simple accessories and furnitures (looking at the Victoria Plum series make me drool).  The toilet and bath will have a zen-like design, which will look very relaxing and of course, easy to clean!  Hee.

I’m thinking of minimizing my blogging time these days.  I have a very long list of to-dos, things that are not critical but if I continue to leave them undone, they will come biting me on my behind soon enough.

Like gifts for my loved ones.  The second half of the year will be a very busy one for me (and the whole household) and I just might pre-order the birthday and special occasion gifts in the coming weeks so I won’t worry about them when the event draws near.  Any gift ideas (aside from clothes or sports gifts)?

It is not definite yet but if the husband’s plans to go to Melbourne on business pushes through, he’s thinking of bringing me and my daughter with him.  It will be more like our “last hurrah” (a last family vaca of sorts) before the new baby arrives.  I’m not sure how a 7th month pregnant me (by then) would fare going for a trip like that but honestly, I do want to go.  I haven’t been to Melbourne and yes, it will be a long while before our family can go anywhere farther than the church or the mall! Ha!

The husband said that we will try to make the trip as comfortable as possible, like getting into a hotel that’s highly accessible to a mall or park in case we get bored in the hotel.  We can also get car rental that will make our day trips worthwhile and stress free.  It is easier than getting into public transport, with my bulging tummy and an active 2 year old in tow.  Many car hire companies (like car hire Glasgow) these days should have great offerings that will not only make our planned trip comfortable but practical too in terms of saving money compared to hiring expensive taxis.

My daughter owned her very first pair of Nike shoes when she was less than 6 months old.  It was a gift from my sister who got them from the States.  It looks a bit like the one in photo below except that the swoosh has a dark pink shade.  It is really cute.

But my girl wore them only a few times because her feet just got bigger in a zap.  At 2, she’s already wearing a size 9US.  See?  But because of sentimental reasons, I decided not to give them away.  Anyway, when she starts school or as soon as her feet size become more stable, we’ll get her a new pair.  It’s either a Nike or a Converse for me, I just find kids wearing these brands looking so cute!  There’s a great selection that I chanced upon on the internet and it’s got tons of Nike for Girls that are just irresistably pretty.  I’m sure my little girl would love to wear them.

Each time I come across a web hosting rating site, I can’t help but consider switching to another provider. What with the cheap offerings and good reviews, it does become tempting to pack up and go. But thinking of the great service and the unlimited space of my current host, I am inclined to stay. Not to mention the time and effort needed to migrate files and complete required server setup or configuration. Just the thought of those tasks makes me cringe.

But in the future, if I ever decide to make a web host move again, I will not hesitate to check out the Web Hosting Geeks site that has tons of useful information such as Best Budget Hosting or Best Blog Hosting. The Top 10 Web Hosting Providers for 2009 has ratings and reviews, which are pretty impressive considering that the list is quite extensive. The guys behind this website really do their best in providing tips and guides especially for those on the lookout for a good and reasonable priced web host. With many people suggesting ways and means to save money these days, this hosting website does it share to help site owners, current and future blog owners to make wise decisions.

This..

I’ve long, long wanted to buy one..  It’s a background stand where you clip your canvas used as photo shoot background.  I’m so keen to practice indoor shooting and would love to try out different backgrounds.  As soon as I get one of those, my next project is lighting equipment.  Sheesh, I need more pa!d opportunities. Ha!

One morning a few days ago, I was awaken by loud roaring sounds from next door.  As I peeked through our window, I saw two huge trucks parked out front.  By the looks of it, one of the guys is helping the other fix the truck.  The gesture’s nice alright, but I think the front yard is not the place to have their vehicles fixed.  Especially so that the noise they make is tantamount to hearing moving trucks racing on a highway.