Little Cozy Corner

While many of you are off having a siesta what with today being our 13th Agung’s installation, I’m at the office ‘working’. It’s been a rather quiet day [Duh!!!] and I’m hardly getting any calls coming in and the roads in town is pretty deserted. With that much time in my hands, I had a fair bit of  time to blog-hop to many new sites and even managed to add a few nic ones to Kecik’s blog.

One particular blog really caught my attention - it’s called Joyful Chaos. Basically it’s a blog written by a Catholic mother of 8-going on-9 kids. At first I thought that it was insane to have that many kids in this age and time but the more I read her blog I realised that it’s always so filled with joy and happiness and not to mention abundance of love!! It’s such a wonderful feeling looking at the pictures she has taken of her kids playing and helping out around the house that whatever hardships [which I'm sure there are] that her family might face with such a large family, they seem relatively happy.

When Ted and I started talking about having a family, he always and still mentions that he wants a big family - ‘I want my own football team’. Yea, right! As for me, I’d be happy with a pair [a boy and a girl] but wouldn’t mind if #3 comes along. That would be an added bonus. But after reading this blog, it got me thinking….both Ted and I have a family of four ie. mum, dad, brother/sister and us. Sis and I had only each other to rely on to amuse ourselves while we were growing up and most of the time, it was me doing bullying. Not too sure how it was with Ted but I think he got the shorter end of the stick too being the younger sibling. But in the case of an uncle of mine, he has 5 kids and it must have been quite a handful but the difference is, their family gatherings are always the best ever! For me, it’s just sis and me [very quiet] but when we have our big family reunions, my mum’s siblings all get together and there are like 7 of them here in Peninsula Malaysia and lemme tell you, it’s like such a happening party!! Each family has on the average 3 kids and at this age, most of the kids themselves already have kids of their own so you can just do some simple maths and realise that your extended family is so huge, it’s like a freaking circus and it’s just SO fun!

Reading Lisbet’s blog made me think that perhaps it isn’t such a bad idea to have a slightly larger than average family because I value family ties and reunions a lot, and I especially enjoy the get-togethers. I’m so used to having such a huge extended family that I feel by having a small family myself, I’d be depriving myself and my kids of that chance to enjoy the joys of having superb family get-togethers in the future and the feeling of being apart of something big. The true meaning of ‘family’, so to speak - at least they would have more than one sibling to bully! However, I do realise that it’s not all fun and play for with big families, you will be bogged down with heavier responsibilies ie financially and education wise especially toward your kids future. One has to also be mentally prepared and emotionally stable too coz a bunch of screaming kids could really drive any sane person insane! Thank God Ted’s got the patience of a fisherman[?]! But I believe that kids are God’s gift and if He wants us to have more kids, then He will also provide us accordingly. Some of you may think it as BS but I have never doubted the good Lord for He has yet to fail me and I doubt He ever will.

One thing’s for sure, if Ted reads this post, I’m very sure that he’ll be beaming from ear to ear and most likely go over to Lisbet’s blog and thank her for this eye-opener! Hats off to Lisbet for she is indeed one VERY successful mom….and I think I just found a new role model. *grins happily*

Ps. I know that this is way early to think of more kids coz Kecik has yet to arrive but I think it would be good to set the mind straight eh? By the way, this is a re-post from Kecik’s blog.

Earth Day just past and a lot of people blogged about it. After all, it was a global event held on 22 April 2007 but I thought that being environmentally friendly is something which we should practice everyday and not just on one particular day. One day won’t make a huge different really. Personally, I feel that it’s the same concept I have of Valentine’s Day too. One needs to show love everyday to the one that one loves, no? Not excessively on one particular day and then the rest of the 361 days, it’s just like any other day. So I thought that it would be nice to share some info I got off my company site. Yes, my company is rather environmentally friendly, either that or like everyone else, they just wanted to join the bandwagon! But in any case, the effort is certainly appreciated.

Anything I Can Do, We Can Do Better

Preserving our environment and reducing our personal impact on the earth are things that we can do every day of the year, not only on Earth Day. If you are new to “thinking green,” here are a few tips to get you going on your way to a newer, greener lifestyle.

First of all, remember the Four R’s:

• Reduce- Cut use of energy, water, materials and toxic products
• Reuse- Use items again and again
• Recycle- Make new products or packaging from used material
• Rebuy- Consume products made from recycled materials

Here are a few ways you can implement these principles at home and in your everyday life.

In the Laundry Room

• Buy energy-efficient appliances.
• Limit doing laundry to only when you have a full load.
• Clean the dryer’s lint trap after every load or give the dryer a break by hanging clothes to dry.

In the Bathroom

• Take shorter showers and install low-flow showerheads. [But please don't mandi kerbau ok???]
• Make the shower do double duty. Hang clothes in the bathroom while showering to steam wrinkles out.
• Install a toilet dam to reduce the amount of water flushed away.

In the Kitchen

• Use cloth napkins and dishtowels.
• Store food in reusable containers and select reusable coffee filters.
• Don’t run the dishwasher unless it’s full.

Links you might find interesting :
Practical Tips to Make Your Office Environmentally Friendly
Environmental Tips for Individuals

O, by the way, when I read this comment over at Jemima’s blog - I was taken aback but when his words sunk in, I realised that a huge part of it is true, to a certain extend. I terasa as well lar, you could say. Then I wondered, since when did SPAMMERS become so smart????

tyler Says:
April 23rd, 2007 at 6:38 am
The Earth will be perfectly OK regardless what temp. it is at or how much ice there is. All YOU are concerned with is your own personal little habitats. Your worried that you may be personally inconvenienced, this is selfishness at its worst.
Who cares whether it is natural or man made… either way the earth is changing.
Those who live to blame this on man do so cause if they are right, in their tiny frightened minds it means they can fix it…. This is the same arrogance that got us to where we are today.

You decided to play(too much) and now you realized there are reactions to you actions. Just sit back and enjoy yourselves it appears that’s all people are good for anyway.
Know in your hearts that the Earth will be here long after we are gone and life (maybe no humans) will flourish as it always has.

Tyler Goines
4-22-07

But Spam or not, Dabido was awesome with his hit-back reply….*still looking on with awesome wonder*

Dabido (Teflon) Says:
April 23rd, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Tyler - ‘All YOU are concerned with is your own personal little habitats. Your worried that you may be personally inconvenienced, this is selfishness at its worst.’ 

No, you’re wrong. As someone who has had cancer on his Aorta since 2000, I’m certainly NOT worried about MY OWN PERSONAL HABITAT, nor being PERSONALLY INCONVENIENCED. [Captials for effect - not yelling].

I’ve died and been brought back before in hospital. BUT, I am concerned for the fate of the human race. It seems an awful lot of RICH people keep telling us Global Warming isn’t happening [and lets face it, the petrolium companies are part of that as was recently revealed].

Being concerned over WHAT HAPPENS to the rest of humanity after we’re gone [which is REALLY what it’s about, as we’ll be long gone before the Human race starts to die off because of this], is actually HUMANITY at it’s BEST. We’re not concerned for ourselves, so DON’T YOU DARE call it selfishness. The reason for saving the planet is for all who follow us, not for us. And the ‘doing the right thing’ to save it means sacrifices on our part.

How can you honestly call it SELFISHNESS AT IT’S WORST when we’re the ones who are willing to sacrifice in order to make the world BETTER for their sakes?

‘Those who live to blame this on man do so cause if they are right, in their tiny frightened minds it means they can fix it…. This is the same arrogance that got us to where we are today.’

NO, Sticking your head up your butt and telling us we’re being selfish for trying to do something is the same arrogance that got us to where we are today.

Are we frightened? I’m not. Do we have small minds? Not at all. In fact some of the most BRILLIANT minds on the planet are trying to get people to DO SOMETHING about it. If most of the experts still think it can be fixed [and some of them think it’s too late, but think it’s still worth a try], then I will err on the side of at least giving it my best attempt before falling into the sorriful heap you would want us to fall into. You’re a defeatist and that is humanity at its worst.

‘You decided to play(too much) and now you realized there are reactions to you actions. Just sit back and enjoy yourselves it appears that’s all people are good for anyway.’

Sorry, you’re blaming us? The people who are trying to do things? Why don’t you go give this message to the politicians who WON’T sign the Kyoto protocol or the petrolium companies who spend billions each year trying to get people to use MORE of their products? Or tell it to the people who won’t take a small amount of time to recycle their paper or plastic or cans. Little bits do help.

As for the Earth being here after we’re gone - yes, the planet will PHYSICALLY be here, [provided those in power don’t blow it to pieces], but as Athens discovered in the Persian wars, the City is the people NOT the PHYSICAL BUILDINGS, and in our case, the Earth is the people. Without us, it’s just another nameless rock floating through space. Intelligence is a gift, and to suggest we stick our heads up our butts and let it go is stupid, arrogant and selfish. You tell us off for ‘Playing too long’ and now your suggesting we just continuing playing? YOU HYPOCRITE!

As for life being here after we’re gone … well, no, if the scientists are right, the planet might end up like Venus, too hot for life to exist at all. So, there will be no life flourishing at all, and selfish people like yourself who call those trying to do something ’selfish and arrogant’ will be the casue of life disappearing. And as this is the ONLY place in the Universe that we know of at present that has life, it might be the loss of life forever.

Are we really concerned with our OWN personal habitat, or the habitat of everyone on the planet? After all, the rich can move to higher ground when the ice caps melt, they can move to coole places or even underground. But, the poor of te world, the ones WITHOUT internet access will once again be the ones to bear the brunt of any disaster.

The fact that your solution is to stick your head up your butt and tell us to do the same proves how selfish you are. After all, you’re one of the rich. You can move, you will probably be looked after in some way or form. So, don’t come here calling people names expecting them to stick their heads up their butts just because you have. The finger you’ve pointed has a hand with four fingers pointing straight back at you.

But I guess selfish people like you don’t care, because after all, when the life on this planet has been extinguished there’ll be no one left to point the finger at those who suggested we keep playing whilst the Earth burned!

Wah!!! I think Mother Earth just found one of her heroes!!! *looks dreamily at Dabido’s glowing halo*

I got another big fish to share with you…. [Can already see Wuching and Che-Cheh IMMEDIATELY checking this out once they have read this post because they LOVE to get paid for blogging!] Actually, I read this at her blog and of course, I too want to join the bandwagon. I need not repeat this but I have to because it is a fact, at least from my point of view - why wouldn’t you want to get paid to blog??

Like PPP, Smorty helps advertiser advertise on blogs by getting bloggers like you and me to write our opinions in our posts and then link back to their site. Not really difficult if you’re blogging about the things that interest you as the category is wide plus you do get paid for your efforts. After all, nothing in gratis in this world, no….?

So, here’s your chance [again!] to blog for money…don’t miss out on it!

**This is a sponsored post**

I think this is no surprise to many and in fact, I’ve faced this a few times before but it’s really frustrating!!! My Streamyx has been acting up major on me the past few days. At first I thought ok, maybe the line is going bonkers and maybe it’s coz too many people are acessing it. Blame my dial-up mentality for this….and so I didn’t really let it bug me until my Mum was complaining how she couldn’t get online. And if my MUM is the one complaining, then it must be bad coz she actually has a very much higher tolerance level than I do.

Can anyone verify if Streamyx has been a pain recently? I’m not really feeling it that bad during the week coz I’m at work but come the weekend, aiyoooo……can pengsan!! And I also haven’t called them up yet but did write in to Customer Care, AND keeping fingers crossed that it might generate a proper response as I got no time to call them up yet. I’m also thinking if it’s my modem problem….but my modem has never been a problem…. *sigh*

Anyway, no point if the guy came to check at my home when I’m not around coz Mum would be blur-blur and then that guy would most likely do some slip-shot job and say everything is ok and Mum would accept that. So I have to be home to make sure that something proper is done. But if that is the case, then it would have to wait till Sunday!!! Aiyoooo…. *double sigh* Yes, Kedah works on Sunday so guess if it doesn’t get better after this, then time for sick bay. Also I think my PC needs a check up. He’s also been acting up - must be my ancient motherboard. **pengsan**

When it comes to storing stuff, I’m the worst! Because I’m such a sentimental person at heart, I keep almost everything that is sent to me ie letters from since I was a kid, any sort of greeting cards and sometimes, when I get too extreme, I even keep gift wrappers that I really like. It’s not as if I re-use to wrap another present but I do use it to wrap boxes and stuff like that to make it pretty. Did I mention that I keep letter that are now more than 10 years old?? My Mum thinks I’m a junk collector and frankly, I think she’s right!

Not only that, I also have a lot of clothes. Piles and piles of clothes and only a few cupboards to store them in. Sometimes I pity my cupboards, they are practically vomitting out my clothes each time I open the cupboard to look for something. But I always end up saying, ‘I can’t find anything to wear!’ and it absolutely drives my Mum and Ted nuts. Don’t even ask me about my walk-in closet in Ozland! I’ve taken over and poor Ted has no place to keep his clothes now! So where to keep the extra clothes? Where to store those already too short and too small blouses and mini skirts for when you finally loose those additional pounds?

Well, looks like I’ve found a solution to my problems and if you’re a hoarder like myself, it’s Space Bags to the rescue. This vacuum storage bags are perfect for protecting and storing items from clothes to bulky linens and pillow to luggage and even your valuable and fragile family heirlooms, you just need to find the right items to suit your needs. And of course a vacuum cleaner to remove the air from the Space Bag.

I think I need to check these items out so I can start hoarding more clothes and personal memorabilia! Then I can hide store them under the bed…..under the table….and in all the small crevices I can find….

**This is a sponsored post**

The past weekend has been rather exciting….one thing’s for sure [well almost anyway], we now know that we’re having a GIRL!! Very exciting indeed, now I can hunt for some pink stuff instead of looking at whites and neutral colors. Then, last night, Kecik finally kicked! Yet another milestone for me coz I’m about 5.5 months pregnant and still nothing so that was a good sign. Or at least I hope it was a kick! Anyway, during the course of the day, spoke to little sis and told her my plans to make her Kecik’s Godma.

Me : Wei, we already found out the baby’s gender.

Sis : Aiyah, why you go and find out?

Me : Easier wad….then I don’t have to look at all whites until my mata oso juling oredi.

Sis : Cheh….I thought can wait for the surprise. Potong steam only.

Me : Anyway, would like you to be Kecik’s Godma….so ok right?

Sis : Wah…..good, good!! I already plan what she can call me.

Me : What….? *Suspicious of such a comment*

Sis : I’ll teach her to call me God because Godma is too long. *Gives an evil laugh then sniggers*

Me : What?!?! Siao la you….think you so grand, izzit? But…I got a better name for her to call you leh…. *Tries to sound convincing*

Sis : What? *Sounds suspicious*

Me : Ah Ma!!! *Literally ROTFLMAO*

Sis : #$%&*!?&!

Me : *Still ROTFLMAO*

I am soooooooooooooo funny!