However buying the right type of rugs needs some careful planning.  The correct rugs should complement other furnishings of your home, so depending on the decor, choose area rugs that matches well with the surroundings.  If your home has earthy colors, rugs that have tones of brown, green or orange would give the room a finished touch to the theme.  If you have minimalistic colors like white or black, a rug with bright colors will liven up the room and make it less dull.

Area rugs placed at the appropriate places also makes one feel pampered.  Imagine how relaxed your feet will feel when you step on a rug in front of a sofa, instead of hard tiled flooring.  Rugs just beside the bed is also a great idea as you wake up everyday stepping on something soft and not so cold.

Do you have any rugs in your home?  Time to pamper yourself today!

She was put to sleep during an operation to remove cysts, after veterinary surgeons found her condition was too advanced to be treatable.

Sam had become a symbol of hope for Australians after the deadliest bushfires in the the country’s history.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the 4-year-old koala’s death was “tragic”.

Sam was found by fire fighters carrying out preventative back burning operations in Victoria state. She was picking her way through the scorched bush on badly burned paws.

Images of her drinking water from a bottle held by fire fighter David Tree were seen around the world.

She was taken to the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter in Rawson, Victoria, but a few months later was diagnosed with cysts connected to chlamydia, a potentially fatal disease which affects about half of Australia’s koala population.

Before her operation to correct the condition, the centre said surgery was “100% necessary” as without it she would die.

But during the surgery, vets found the condition was more advanced than they had thought and had caused severe changes to Sam’s urinary and reproductive tract.

“Unfortunately we have had to take the decision to put Sam to sleep,” said veterinary surgeon John Butler of the Morwell Vet Clinic.

“She was going to be left in pain in the state she was in and have chronic cystitis symptoms, pain on urination. We had no hope of helping her any further.”

Peita Elkhorne, a lawyer representing the wildlife centre, said all those involved with Sam were “devastated with this loss”.

The February wildfires were the worst in Australia’s history, killing more than 200 people and destroying thousands of homes.

Mr Rudd said the images of Sam being rescued “gave people of the world a great sense that this country Australia could come through those fires - as we have”.

“Sam the koala was part of the symbolism of that and it’s tragic that Sam the koala is no longer with us,” he said.

Source:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8186991.stm

If you use Google as your default search engine, you would have seen this now.

I like the fireworks and who can miss the iconic Merlion?

In case you are a friend from overseas who don’t know what this is all about, it is Singapore’s National Day on 9 August every year and this year marks our 44th year of independence.

During the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, the search engine page was also customized.  Do you remember seeing it?

I wonder if Google does that for the major holidays of every country.  Have you seen it elsewhere?  Share with me if so!

I think this is such an ingenious idea in a country like ours where space is always an issue to have a bathtub.

Before getting married, I sometimes enjoy a mini jacuzzi bath at my previous home where we barely managed to fit in a four feet tub.  But now in my new place, it’s impossible to fit in any, so we had to make do with just a rain shower.

But look at how space saving this device is.

The compact, elite model would fit just right in a shower stall, yet allow the user to sit down and enjoy a hydrotherapy spa experience.  There is a door for each tub which makes it really easy to get in and out and this is especially useful for older or handicapped users who find it very difficult to step in and out of a normal bathtub.

For those who can afford the space, there are larger walk in tubs as well.  There is even an XL comfort model which can hold a person weighing up to 500 pounds!  Haha.

I really like the idea of a walk-in tub.  It is much safer to use and is suitable for anyone in the family, from young to old.  Now, if only it is available here!

I think the game would be really fun on the XBox 360.  Imagine singing to the tunes of all their popular hits like “”I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “Day Tripper”, etc, and strumming on the replicas of the exact instruments they use.  Although I am not that old and of that “generation”, but I have grown up listening to their music too. 

The Beatles Rockband package includes:

• The Beatles: Rock Band software for Xbox 360
• The exclusive Höfner bass controller (Sir Paul McCartney’s trademark)
• The Beatles branded Rock Band drums (I think I will love this most)
• A microphone (for the singer in you) and a microphone stand

The gameplay venues will also look familiar to you as they are where the Beatles have actually performed!  Don’t you remember the famous Ed Sullivan Theatre, Cavern Club, Shea Stadium, etc?

Isn’t this game really cool?  It would be great fun for the whole family or among like-minded friends who love the Beatles.  I think it would make an awesome gift idea for Mum or Dad’s birthday as well.  Get them to rock and roll to their favorite tunes and re-live the days when they were young again.  How nice!

Then you probably feel the same way like I do.

I remember how shocked I was the day I learnt that Michael Jackson had passed on  It was just like any usual morning where I was checking my Yahoo mail and a news headline caught my eye “Michael Jackson dies at 50″.

What?  My heart was racing faster than normal. Although I am not a crazy MJ fan, but it hit me like a brick.  I felt an immediate sense of loss, just like how one would probably feel when a childhood playmate moves away to another town.  Hubby messaged me about the news not long after and was equally caught by surprise.

I don’t know why I feel that way though as I am not a die-hard Michael Jackson fan.  I have never watched his concerts in Singapore, but I grew up listening to Michael on radio.  His most famous hits like “Billie Jean”, “Beat It”, “Black or White”, “Heal The World”, “You are not alone”, etc, were my favorite songs of that time too.  Even till now, whenever these songs come up on radio, I just find myself humming to it naturally.  They have accompanied me through my teenage years, and have unknowingly become part of me.

Although MJ has been the object of scrutiny among many over his cosmetic surgery, his marriage and his kids, he is still well loved by many.  Actually to me, I didn’t even care about what gossip and criticisms the world is saying about him.  How he looks does not matter to me at all.  I just love the music he has been doing over the years and of course his talented dancing.  Who can forget about his trademark moonwalk right?

Everything has come to an end now.  But Michael has left a music legacy and his songs will live forever in our hearts.  To me, he is still the greatest king of pop of our time.

We worked the lighting in our home towards our first decision of having cove lighting in our living room.  This means that with a false ceiling, we also need point-down lights around to light up the TV and platform area.  We decided on white light bulbs for the platform area as this is where we lounge and read our papers and do some work on our laptops.  On the other hand, we created a warm lighting effect for the TV area so that it feels more cosy.  It was a good idea because when we have to switch on all the lights, our living area does not look so “industrial” white.

For the kitchen, toilets, bedrooms and study, we stuck to conventional white ceiling lights as it is more practical and easier to replace.  We added a small chandelier light though to our short corridor walkway for a special touch.

Planning the light switches is also interesting.  For our false ceiling lights, we decide on having two lights controlled by one switch so that we have the flexibility of illuminating different part of the living area.  Usually there is no need to switch on everything and we can save electricity in the long run. And for our chandelier light, we had a double switch that works both ways.  This means we can flick on the light at one end of the walkway and switch it off when we reach the end of it, which is near the main door.  This is very useful actually as I can switch it off just before leaving the house.  Cool huh?

Do discuss with your renovation designer on how you want your lighting planned so that you can customise it to your convenience.  You will be glad that you did it right the first time!

But as the years go by, we all got busier and lazier, so we started sending each other digital Christmas cards.  Somehow it just doesn’t feel the same anymore.  A digital card is a lot more convenient, but one can broadcast the same card to a group of people with a generic greeting message.  It lacks the personal touch and warmth a real card brings.  Agree?

There are certain events in life that I still think a real card makes a difference.  For instance, if you give out physical wedding invitations, baby announcements, baptism cards, it would give the receiver the impression that you are more sincere.  It also looks more polite and the card serves as a good reminder for your invited guests too.  To me, sending emails and digital invitations would be more acceptable in more casual events like birthday parties, graduation parties, where it is more about having fun.

Well, this is just what I think.  To make another difference to your invitation, instead of typing or printing the guest name and message, write them by hand.  You will be surprised how a simple note can bring a smile to someone’s face.  It’s well worth the time, try it the next time!

I like how simple and straightforward it looks, only a search box and no other distracting ads or news.  But if you notice, sometimes the page can look really interesting too, especially during “festive” periods.

The most recent has got to be Mother’s Day, where the Google logo was not in its usual colors, but in pink!

It looks a little weird though, but I like the creative and personal touch.  I remembered they had the logo decorated too during holidays like Christmas and other commemorative occasions.

The best idea I ever saw them put up has got to be this one.

When I first saw it, I thought for a second that my browser was hacked or something.  Haha.  I bet many of you thought so as well.  Then I realised it was actually Morse code!  How innovative!  It was a shocking but interesting discovery.

I think I am stuck to Google as for now, because whenever I tell someone to search for something, I say “google this, google that”.  LOL.  I don’t say “yahoo this, yahoo that or msn this, msn that”.  I wonder if they will ever be able to catch up to big brother G?  What do you think?

Gadgets and related stuff?  Yup that’s right, just go for their “toys”.  Anything that looks cool, sleek and stylish would most likely make your guy smile.  You won’t go wrong with these!

Here are just a few ideas if you are too lazy to even think.  Haha.  iPods and digital cameras are quite popular for most guys.  Video consoles like xbox 360, playstation 3, nintendo wii, paired up with his favorite game will make a gamer guy really happy.  If your pockets are deeper, you could probably get him an intelligent GPS car system, a cool cellphone or even a nice-looking laptop.

Most guys do love their “toys”.  And they will be really happy to add another one to their stable.  The more the merrier!