Author Archive

Home Improvement

Wall Decal

I was browsing the web the other day when I found a shop online that sells wall decal imported from Korea. I thought I have bookmarked the website, but when I want to write this entry today, I couldn’t find the web URL..huhu!

So I searched again but found another shop that has the kids wall decal patterns like Pororo. The online shop is IR Korea Deco.

This transparent decal is available in Size: 50cm X 70cm and priced at RM51. And they also have designs like Thomas, Cars, castle, you know designs that will suit a kid’s room.

In my craft room I want to put decal design like this flower motif.

This Wind Flower motif comes in size 35cm X 50cm and is priced at RM28.

What do you think?

Home Improvement

Feng Shui For Home

I have always been fascinated by Feng Shui. Yet I never really implement them in my life. I was browsing a website until I found an entry that caught my attention - Financial Feng Shui for Homeowners.

For those who never heard about Feng Shui, it is a Chinese discipline that aims to reduce clutter and improve atmosphere by attracting and enhancing life energy (chi).

Reading through all the points listed in that article, I found out that I have been making most of the mistakes, which is maybe why I waste all the energy and potential to earn more all these while..huhu!

So time to clean up all the clutters and scrub the stoves..hehe!

Craft

How To Make Clay Flowers

I have mentioned about my plan to learn on how to make clay flowers in earlier post. A website ThaiFlowerArt.com commented on my post.

Apparently they have ebooks (both free and paid versions) that teach people on how to make clay flowers. This ebook basic techniques - How To Make Clay Flowers is one of them that I want to download one of these days.

They also sell materials needed to make such flowers, from air dry clay - Luna Clay, Daisy Clay, driftwood, stamens, wires to ready made flowerbulbs and many more necessary materials to make those beautiful flowers yourself.

Oh, BTW I also find the website a good place to learn how the different types of orchids look like.

Movies

Surrogates

Summary taken from imdb.com,

In the not too distant future, technology allows humans to live their lives through robots they call surrogates. Humans have in effect cocooned themselves in their homes, never venturing outside. Rather, they explore life through their surrogates who may or may not resemble them.

Tom Greer and his partner Peters are FBI agents assigned to investigate the destruction of two surrogates that has also caused the unthinkable: the human hosts were also killed. The use of surrogates is not universally endorsed with some humans living in technology and machine-free zones.

Led by a man called The Prophet, the fear is that they have put their hands on a weapon that would fundamentally change human society. Greer believes they have also put their hands on a weapon that could fundamentally change society, though he begins to wonder if that might be a good thing.

I finally got to watch this movie after watching the trailer. If you are a fan of Bruce Willis and a sci-fi movie buff, you might love this movie.

Art

The Art of Henna

I had this sudden urge to learn more about the art of henna today. So I browsed and found this great website : hennapage.com.

The Hennapage even have free ebooks on howto henna.

I have downloaded one on Learn to apply henna with traditional and modern tools.

I am learning the elements of henna patterns such as the fooffy, the hump, tribbles. But it seems so far I am only good at making the growing vine pattern..huhu.

Oh, did you ever wonder why some people seem to have dark stain when they apply henna on their hands?

“Meat eaters, people who are young, people who do not use lotions or alfa-hydroxy or anti-oxidant products, people who are in robust health, people who are happy and relaxed, people who are physically active, people with high metabolisms, people in their sexually reproductive years, menstrual or premenstrual people, and people whose skin is very warm to the touch tend to get very dark or brownish stains.”

Movies

2012

Synopsis taken from tribute.ca:

Centuries ago, the Mayans left us their calendar, with a clear end date and all that it implies. Since then, astrologists have discovered it, numerologists have found patterns that predict it, geologists say the earth is overdue for it, and even government scientists cannot deny the cataclysm of epic proportions that awaits the earth in 2012. A prophecy that began with the Mayans has now been well-chronicled, discussed, taken apart and examined. By 2012, we’ll know we were warned.

I finally got to watch it last weekend while my son was napping. The DVD quality was not very clear so many important dialogues were lost. But it was a good movie, give me something to think about if the apocalypse is really happening soon..huhu!

Books

How to Multiply Your Baby’s Intelligence - Glenn Doman & Janet Doman

I am currently reading How to Multiply Your Baby’s Intelligence - Glenn Doman & Janet Doman.

This book is the most comprehensive of the teaching series. Its 21 chapters are a conglomeration of three of the series books (Reading, Math, & Encyclopedic Knowledge) and it shows you in Step-by-Step procedures how to teach your infant these important life-long principles.

It also explains how your infant can learn several foreign languages by age six - and it will also teach you, the parent, about the unlimited teaching and learning abilities you and your infant share.

For those who never heard of Glenn Doman, here are some facts about him.

Glenn Doman and the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (www.iahp.org) have studied child brain development for more than half a century. Their world-renowned work with brain-injured children had led to vital discoveries regarding the growth and development of well children. Their work has helped made well children intellectually superb and brain-damaged children remarkably improved.

Glenn Doman is the creator of the method of teaching babies using word cards, picture cards and maths dot cards. He is the international best-selling author of seven books including “How to Teach Your Baby to Read”, “How to Teach Your Baby Math”, “How to Multiply Your Baby’s Intelligence” which has sold millions of copies in 6 continents.

Her daughter, Janet Doman, is now the Director of the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential.

Craft

Clay Flower

I was out the other day and stumbled upon a clay craft shop. The shop has workshop for clay flower. Well, being me who are always interested in new craft, I almost sign up for the class but since my son is still clingy (I don’t think he can stand 2 hours of being apart), I come to my senses and decided to go home and think about it first.

So today I Google around for info on clay flower. So far I found 2 websites that mostly do orchids. Check out the picture of Phalaenopsis Orchid taken from lilychartier.com.

Who would have thought that this orchid is made from clay? They are so life-like..huhu!

I also found another website : pattyclayflowers.com. She conducts class as well but she is in Melbourne.

These clay flowers are made from air dry clay, which means no baking needed. They also have cutter and resin moulds to make different type of leaves and petals.

I am so tempted to go to the clay flower workshop!!

Books

A Good Woman - Danielle Steel

I went out yesterday after such a long hiatus from shopping mall visit..huhu! I didn’t notice that the book should get 20% discount so I paid for full price..isk! I know this book is not really the newest work of literature by my favorite author, Danielle Steel but since I have not been reading fiction for so long, I thought it should be a good start to choose from..(after all I like story related to the time when Titanic sinks..huhu!)

Here is the synopsis of the book:

From the glittering ballrooms of Manhattan to the fires of World War I, Danielle Steel takes us on an unforgettable journey in her new novel - a spellbinding tale of war, loss, history, and one woman’s unbreakable spirit….

Nineteen-year-old Annabelle Worthington was born into a life of privilege, raised amid the glamour of New York society, with glorious homes on Fifth Avenue and in Newport, Rhode Island. But everything changed on a cold April day in 1912, when the sinking of the Titanic shattered her family and her privileged world forever. Finding strength within her grief, Annabelle pours herself into volunteer work, nursing the poor, igniting a passion for medicine that would shape the course of her life.

But for Annabelle, first love, and a seemingly idyllic marriage, will soon bring more grief - this time caused by the secrets of the human heart. Betrayed, and pursued by a scandal she does not deserve, Annabelle flees New York for war-ravaged France, hoping to lose herself in a life of service. There, in the heart of the First World War, in a groundbreaking field hospital run by women, Annabelle finds her true calling, working as an ambulance medic on the front lines, studying medicine, saving lives. And when the war ends, Annabelle begins a new life in Paris - now a doctor, a mother, her past almost forgotten.until a fateful meeting opens her heart to the world she had left behind. Finding strength in the most unlikely of friendships, pulling together the broken fragments of her life, Annabelle will return to New York one more time - this time as a changed woman, a woman of substance, infused with life’s experience, building a future filled with hope.out of the rich soil of the past.

Filled with breathtaking images and historical detail, Danielle Steel’s new novel introduces one of her most unique and fascinating characters: Annabelle Worthington, a remarkable woman, a good woman, a true survivor who triumphs against overwhelming odds. For Annabelle’s story is more than compelling fiction, it is a powerful celebration of life, dignity, and courage - and a testament to the human will to survive.

Books

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

I managed to read this parenting book - Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby by Tracy Hogg from page one till the last..and I have to say I should have read it long before my baby was born..huhu!

It’s not really for those advocating attachment parenting or breastfeeding on demand, but it’s a solution for parents especially mothers (like me) who need a break (from a demanding baby) and some precious ME-time in everyday parenting.

Read what the reviewer at Amazon.com has to say:

“The last thing new parents can find time for is quiet reading, so many helpful books on infant care rely on bullet points and a “let’s get to the point” writing style.

Tracy Hogg, a neonatal nurse, teacher, and mother of two, uses these techniques to good effect in Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. Focusing on newborns and their parents, her simple programs are a blend of intelligent intuition and methods based on years of experience.

The first half of the book is devoted to E.A.S.Y–her name for creating a structured daily routine for you and your baby that makes the most of your baby’s awake times and also leaves time just for you. These concepts aren’t designed to force your bundle of joy into not following her body’s needs, but rather to create a feasible middle ground between total rigidity and on-demand food and sleep (and no time for mom to shower). If it still strikes you as too regimented, keep reading.

The author makes room for differences in personal style and includes short quizzes to determine whether you’re a “planner” or a “winger”, and what level of daily structure you are likely to find helpful. In the same chapter, she identifies five general temperaments of infants, how to get an accurate feel for yours, and what methods of care are likely to be the most effective for his temperament. Her statement that babies prefer routine is backed up by research from the University of Denver.

While most of the book relies on anecdotes to get the points across, Hogg does find room to back up some of her statements with quotes from various researchers and institutions. Included at the end of the book are assurances that E.A.S.Y. can be followed even with a colicky baby or one who’s been ruling the roost for the first few months.

Frustrated parents might like to read the last page first: “all the baby-whispering advice in the world is useless unless you’re having a good time being a parent” is an excellent reminder to enjoy this time with all of its ups and downs.