weaving linguine

Beauty, the career choice

2012-05-22T21:09:00.001+08:00

For some time now, it's been quite obvious to me that people are becoming more and more concerned about beauty and looking good. Maybe it's always been that way and I never noticed it.

If you're looking for a career change, I'm betting the beauty industry would be a good one to pick. You don't have to look much farther than the Regency Beauty school which I've heard comes highly recommended.

It's one of the fastest growing beauty schools around and you can almost bet that once you graduate, you will be much sought after and there won't be a lack of job options to choose from. And the sooner you find that job, the sooner you'll be able to enjoy the benefits.

This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com or contact Regency Beauty Institute – 3583 Alpine Avenue NW – Walker, MI 49544

Do you need cloud storage?

2012-01-27T16:54:00.000+08:00

Isn't there a saying that goes, give them an inch and they ask for a yard? I think these days, we take disk space so much for granted we barely even give them a second thought. New computers come with a ton of disk space and we always take a ton to mean unlimited.

With our handy-dandy smart phones and digital cameras, we actually could end up using a whole lot more disk space than we ever have. But disk space is pretty cheap nowadays so no worries about tacking on more drives as and when the need arises.

Or you can offload some of those gigs to an online cloud storage site which is a pretty convenient way to do it. I don't really know much about it but I don't have to worry because there are some very useful cloud storage reviews out there that can quickly bring me up to speed. And you too if you're a disk space monster like me.

I like to do my homework before I sign up for new stuff or stuff that I'm not really familiar with. I mean, we're so spoilt for choice these days but which one best suits our needs is the big question. So go check out the link above and get yourself some reliable storage space.

Done a backup lately?

2012-01-27T10:12:00.000+08:00

How often do you do a backup of your site or blog? I'll bet it's one of the things that few of us remember to do, or at least, need to be reminded to do. Sometimes I would suddenly think of it and panic because I haven't done a backup in goodness knows how long.

Certainly it can be very traumatic to wake up one morning to find something has happened to your site only to discover you don't even have a backup. Or the last backup you have is older than your sister's oldest child. I know, not cool.

So before disaster strikes, it's best to check out what's a good backup site that can host your backup. I personally prefer the convenience of an online backup site. At least I don't have to go hunting for physical storage and then have to label them and store them where I can easily find them later. Too much stuff in my home office already.

An online backup makes much more sense. You can easily compare the offerings of different online backup sites by reading the online backup review of your choice here. It really helps you narrow down which site to sign up with for your specific needs. I don't mean to nag but you really should go check them out now.

Sneaking back

2011-11-07T20:28:00.000+08:00

And so it seems I've been MIA for a while. To be honest, I didn't think I'd been away this long. But time flies and mommyhood has a way of playing havoc with your good intentions.

But I'm back... with a vengeance! Or sneaking back quietly so no one would notice I've been gone LOL.

Get them outta here, please!

2011-08-29T19:22:00.002+08:00

Another break, how I love these! I get to have my kids home with me. A mom's dream come true. Wait, make that - this mom's dream - because I can so hear the long sighs from some moms who are lamenting that dammit, their kids are going to be home all week and what am I supposed to do with them.

Hence the popularity of holiday camps and classes where, thank goodness, they can drop their kids off and not have to see them again for the next 24-48 hours. Just sayin'.

Making sense of the current financials

2011-08-08T18:05:00.000+08:00

I've been following the news about the debt situation in the US and I'm glad a deal has finally been cut to resolve the issue. Well, okay, there's still a lot of work to be done to really resolve the issue over the long term but at least for now, we know what to expect.

And knowing is good because it helps us work out some sort of plan in the coming days and weeks ahead. Whether a refinance home loan or a reduction in spending is needed will depend on where we stand financially in all of this.

An accountant friend of mine thinks it's a good idea for the less-financial savvy folks to seek advice on what to do or approach a financial institution such as Credit Sesame to get an understanding of what all of this means. Obviously there's a lot to consider especially for those who are invested in stocks, property, etc.

I know there's a lot of confusion and even after listening to and reading the news, it still may not become any clearer to us. Goodness knows how many of us are standing here wondering how it's all going to affect us and what's the best we can do to get out of it.

To nap or not to nap, that is the question!

2011-08-02T11:53:00.000+08:00

Yawn, looks like I could use an afternoon nap, right about now. On the other hand, afternoon naps are such a waste of a perfectly good day. So afternoon nap or no afternoon nap, that's always a kind of dilemma for me. My eyes say one thing and my mind says another. Who will win today's tug of war?

Rude, period!

2011-07-21T20:04:00.000+08:00

It seems to me that people don't yield any more. All they do is bulldoze ahead regardless. It's this way with driving and even walking.

I've lost count of how many times our group has been split up going up or down the escalator. People just have no respect for others. They come in from all sides and slot themselves between us.

A few times, I've turned around to talk to my daughters only to find myself face to face with a complete stranger. People are so rude these days. Don't they teach manners in school any more? Don't parents teach their kids manners any more?

Learning about the electronic cigarette

2011-07-04T20:55:00.000+08:00

I have to admit I'm a real noob when it comes to cigarettes and smoking. I personally don't smoke but I love learning about new things. Apparently there's such a thing as an electronic cigarette. Of course I had no idea but after a bit of reading, I'm a little smarter now.

There's the electronic cigarette starter kit for beginners. One of the best ones comes with a charger case that resembles a real cigarette box which, even I have to admit, is much more convenient than what some chargers look like. It's small enough that you can carry it in the usual places where you would place a regular cigarette box like in a man's shirt pocket or a ladies' handbag.

Some electronic cigs, I read, offer just the menthol or tobacco but this one offers a whole range of exotic flavors like bacon and cheesecake. Wow, I would never have thought cigarettes come in these flavors. How cool is that!

I must've been living under a coconut shell because I always thought of smoking in terms of the regular old cigarettes and never knew that electronic cigs even existed until now. I wonder if the electronic cig helps filter out some of that nicotine?

Pork and beans

2011-05-28T16:53:00.000+08:00

It's a long weekend. We have nowhere to go, not doing any shopping here, not interested in wearing what everyone else is wearing. So we shop elsewhere now, yay us! I mean, take Forever 21, for instance. Everyone's rushing there to pay through their noses for low quality stuff. It's so expensive here but in the US, Forever 21 is just another low-end store. There's a big sign outside saying their clothes start from $2.50. Compare that with what they charge here, haha!

As for eating out, we're down to only a few choices. We're food snobs - don't like coffee shops and food courts, don't like dirty restaurants with fugly stools and lots of sweaty shouting people, don't like these new-fangled kopitiams that charge an arm and a leg for regular hawker stuff.

So that doesn't leave us a whole lot of options. Most western restaurants at the mall are for noobs who don't know better. I can cook the same stuff better and healthier at home for a fraction of the cost. As for chinese food, we steer clear of those dragon restaurants which are just like the kopitiams. Over 10 bucks for a freakin' wonton noodle, are you kidding me?

So it's pork and beans for us!! Heh!

End of the world

2011-05-22T08:53:00.002+08:00

So apparently it was the end of the world yesterday. If we're listening to the same guy, he's the one who said the world ended in 1994 but we're still here, aren't we? So where does he get off telling us the world is going to end - again?

Okay, never mind, just do a quick head count of your kids and family now and make sure everyone's accounted for. Then go have yourself a hearty breakfast and a stupendously happy weekend, now that you know you're still alive.

Seeking compensation for birth defect

2011-05-21T20:52:00.000+08:00

I don't believe I've heard of Topamax until a friend told me about it. It's a drug used to treat migraines and epilepsy in adults and children, and lately it's been found that it could possibly cause birth defects such as cleft lips.

It's hard to believe how a medication that is supposed to treat one problem could end up causing a whole different set of problems to an innocent child. Personally I do not know of anyone who has been affected by this.

But whoever is affected should engage an Austin personal injury attorney to take legal action and seek compensation. If you ask me, any form of compensation is better than none at all.

O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath – Personal Injury Lawyers – 808 West Avenue, Austin, TX. 78701 – 512-494-9949

Cuss and swear

2011-05-14T15:16:00.001+08:00

Are we in May already? I hadn't noticed. I'm driving around too much and I don't like it. I used to really enjoy driving and I still do. I drove 4000 miles over Christmas in another place on Planet Earth and I loved every minute of it.

Here I've spent the past couple of months frequenting the highways where I've been tailgated by speeding 18-wheeler trucks, terrorized by freakin' BMWs who think they own the road and pissed off by drivers who leave their brains at home.

By the time I get home, I'm in no mood to blog. I just want to cuss and swear.

Get an extension

2011-04-30T16:19:00.000+08:00

Does tax season stress you out? If it does, I'm sure you're not alone. I know of many, many folks who claim it's additional work they really don't need and would rather avoid having to do.

I think sometimes even the best of us procrastinate till the last minute. You either have to get your taxes done on time or seek an extension somehow. To be honest, getting even a little extra time is a great relief. If you're in the US, you can file for an tax extension form 2010 online very easily.

Quite frankly, given the choice, an extension would be great because some of us are truly busy with 101 things on our plates and could really use the extra time to sift through the piles of documents and sort things out.

One of my girl friends is in the habit of procrastinating till the last minute and then in desperation, she solicits help from her kids to help her get through some of the paperwork. Not always a good idea, I don't think unless your kids are a little older and can be trusted to get it right but desperate times call for desperate measures especially when the deadline is drawing closer.

Long weekend

2011-04-29T08:14:00.000+08:00

I can't believe we have a long weekend right here. The days seem to fly when you're not looking, and with such busy schedules, who has the time to look anyhow?

Since this long weekend has caught me offguard, we don't really have anything planned. We're probably just going to find a couple of places to pig out at and chill out at home, maybe do some online shopping!

Where does all this infectious waste go?

2011-04-28T20:08:00.000+08:00

Have you ever wondered where waste from medical facilities end up? There's so much talk about being environmentally friendly and so on. Now we mustn't forget that medical waste is potentially infectious and need to be disposed of properly in order not to run the risk of causing harm to humans and other living creatures.

We would assume most of it comes from healthcare-related facilities but there are other not so obvious sources such as tattoo parlors, schools and even theme parks. Medical waste is bio hazardous waste that should be treated carefully so that they do not add to the pollution problems that already abound Mother Earth.

As part of the US environment protection program, there are solutions out there that we can safely rely on to ensure that this potentially bio hazardous waste is disposed of in a fashion that will not harm people or the environment. These solutions involve an environmentally friendly process of treating and disposing of such material through the use of an autoclave, or steam sterilization, to disinfect the waste.

You can't believe what a relief it is to know this. I'm sure you are too if the thought has ever struck you about stuff like this.

Stressful

2011-04-12T16:37:00.000+08:00

Driving has become more of a health hazard than ever. It's gotten to the point where if you don't pay full attention to traffic turning out of side roads, or crossing over to the opposite side of the road, then you could be in some serious trouble.

It's very stressful to be on guard all the time even when you're on the highway minding your own business. I've had huge 18 wheelers tailgate me in broad daylight on the slow lane! There are all sorts on the roads these days. If I had a choice, I would stay off the roads altogether. Seriously.

Just regular stuff

2011-04-09T14:02:00.000+08:00

I will be honest, when we eat out, there are only a few restaurants that we patronize. Not that we're not adventurous but there are some restaurants, very popular ones too I might add, that we eat at once and never go back.

Take New York, New York and Delicious, for instance. They're always packed. We went there once, stood in line and waited like idiots. And the food is, shall I say, regular stuff that I cook at home all the time.

Their food may be a novelty to those who are unfamiliar with Western food so they can't tell how stuff is supposed to taste or if it's even authentic. So they're prepared to fork out big bucks to be seen dining at a Western restaurant.

Us? We want something different when we eat out, a new taste, a new twist to the same old, same old, not something that I can easily whip up at home. Well, the food at these places is everyday stuff to us - the pies, pastas, pizzas - and my kids say I make it much tastier. So there!

Be careful with that cold therapy

2011-03-28T15:00:00.000+08:00

Spring is here for many of you. I'm sure you can't wait to get out of the house to get some fresh air and sunshine. There's no shortage of outdoor activities out there. Wouldn't it be a welcome change to trek a jungle trail instead of walking on the treadmill?

It's easy to get a little too enthusiastic with those limbs and joints though. Luckily most minor injuries can be treated with cold therapy such as an icepack.

So simple, right? Except that the danger with cold therapies is that if you apply temperatures that are too cold for an extended period of time on your injury, you may be causing more damage than good.

Some people are suffering chronic pain, frostbite, even permanent nerve damage as a result of cold therapy gone wrong and have landed themselves in more than a simple cold therapy lawsuit.

O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath – Personal Injury Lawyers – 808 West Avenue, Austin, TX. 78701 – 512-494-9949

Bigger, tastier, cheaper!

2011-03-24T11:01:00.001+08:00

We've practically given up on eating out since our holiday overseas. Even though many of the restaurants are franchises and the food quality, serving sizes and prices are supposed to be pretty standard, let me assure you it's not.

To be very honest, MD is the one place I'd never thought we'd ever stop visiting. But we have! The burgers are much smaller here and taste different. The varieties are naturally very limited when compared to what we can get overseas. They have juicy burritos, scrumptious bacon burgers, huge refreshing salads and their coffee is almost as good as Starbucks but costs a whole lot less.

The servings at CH, FR and TR can feed two overseas but here, after wolfing down your entire order, you still feel like reaching across the table to help yourself to someone else's order! Not to complain but it definitely tastes better there.

Fiddlesticks and poppycock

2011-02-14T14:30:00.000+08:00

I've outdone myself this time. I haven't stepped into a single Chinese restaurant so far this CNY. I have never liked the rip-off prices of auspiciously-named festive food. And I like the quality of the food even less.

This is the best time to dish out over-priced, untasty food because everyone is willing to spend on auspiciously-named food thinking it will bring them good luck and prosperity.

But just think about it. If eating auspiciously-named food is the way to riches, there would be no world hunger, no hungry children. Does it even make sense?

Since when?

2011-02-13T14:28:00.000+08:00

At first I thought my ears were deceiving me. But I soon realized that our radio stations have gone multilingual. So I can no longer turn my dial to an English radio station and listen to English songs exclusively. Now I will have to sit through songs in other languages as well??! Definitely time to get my good old CD player fixed. Pronto!

Just in case

2011-02-10T16:10:00.000+08:00

I have long considered driving a hazard especially in this beautiful city of ours where many of our drivers are either stupid or fearless. They shoot out of side roads without even so much as looking back and they expect those on the busy main road to watch out for them.

Not only do our drivers not obey traffic rules, more and more often now, they are creating their own rules. They make illegal turns, drive on the wrong side of the road and have no regard for other road users.

I have taken on defensive driving as a result, simply because I have kids in my car that I have to ensure get safely to wherever we're going. Not to be negative or anything but the reality is everyone needs to have the contact information of a good Austin Personal Injury Lawyer within easy reach just in case. I mean, these days, we just never know, do we?

O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath – Personal Injury Lawyers – 808 West Avenue, Austin, TX. 78701 – 512-494-9949

Clothes and bags you can't find here

2011-02-07T10:02:00.002+08:00

Everyone knows I love shopping. If you're like me and would like to get your hands on some fabulous items from the US, here's a reliable website you really should check out. Once Upon A Clothes Line brings you the latest authentic designs of clothes, bags, etc directly from the US to your doorstep, mostly stuff you can't get locally.

Rebel

2011-02-01T15:45:00.002+08:00

It's common knowledge that I'm something of a rebel. Which means that I tend to go off and do what I like instead of following the crowd. Which also means that some of the things I do and say, which make complete sense to me, do not exactly sit well with a lot of folks.

Like my attitude towards Chinese (or Lunar) New Year, for instance, which is like 2 days away.

Which means

my house should've been decked out in lucky red charms and ornaments by now - unfortunately (for them, that is), I don't believe in those superstitions, I'm Buddhist (not Taoist)
my red clothing should be ironed and ready to wear - me and the girls will be wearing the clothes we bought in CA, not all of them red
the top of my fridges should be piled high with festive cookies and food gifts - got a box of mandarin oranges and a few jars of our favorites and we don't intend to share (bwahaha)
and the red envelops stuffed with cash and ready to be handed out to any kid or single we meet - um, we'll see about that.

I'd rather just be lazing around the house in my tank and shorts. And that's exactly what I'm doing. But that's just me! Do it if you dare!