I'm so proud of myself

Last week I went with a colleague to shop during our lunch break. It was she who needed to shop while I was just planning to accompany her. We went to MNG since there was sales going on. She picked out something that she liked and I did, too. We tried it on and I really liked the little black dress. We met outside the changing room and asked "So, are you getting it?". To which we both thought for a while and said no.

The dress was on 50% off and after discount, it cost less than RM100. Before, I wouldn't have thought twice about buying it since I liked it. But now, I surprise myself that I actually pause to weigh it out.

The day after, my colleague came to tell me that she was still thinking of that dress and she said she would go and get it after all. The truth is, I too was thinking of that little black dress of mine! But I decided not to follow her to the store anymore.

Today we went to a mall and when I saw an MNG outlet, Ray said why not go have a look at the dress again (I told him about it). So in I went and found the dress in my size. I looked and relooked and decided to try it on again. I think I spent a good 5 minutes looking at myself in that dress before making up my mind that I shall not get it. My theory is that if I had to think that hard, maybe I can do without the dress. And I think I'm right, I can do without one more dress :)

I was really happy with my willpower. It's not so much the amount that mattered. I felt like I did something right. Instead of spending that money on myself, I spent it on my baby boy. And guess what? It felt great!

Home theater shopping

Last week at work we had a special staff sale for electrical items. The sales were going at about 60% discount. One of the more popular items that were selling like hot cakes were home theater sets. Many of my colleagues bought them while I stayed put and let the sales pass me by.

Whilst they were all good buys, we decided we really shouldn't be spending too much since we already have everything we need. Just because they were going cheap isn't a good excuse to shop for new ones. Not in this period of time anyway when everything is just waiting to go up in price.

We figured that if we bought the home theater set, we would probably have gone for one of those 45-inch flat screen TV to match. And we may not stop there. Since we're at it, I won't be surprised that we end up with some comfy home theater chairs too. So you see, sometimes you end up spending a whole lot more just because you want to buy that one item that's heavily discounted.

I'm glad we had enough practicality in us to think it though and not let impulse take over.

My cats

Since Piper's passing 3 months ago, I've hardly wanted to talk about the girls here anymore. I've never stopped thinking of Piper but over time, I've managed to not think of her with sadness. Instead, I now think of her with a lot of fondness. Sure I miss her still, but it has bcome more bearable now.

Whenever I go buy my cat supplies, I still think about what her favourite foods are. And yes, I still buy them for the other two. The thing is, the other two girls aren't as picky as Piper and eats everything. So that's why whenever I bought food for them when Piper was around, I had to give more consideration to Piper.

Anyway, it feels good to talk about Piper and my other two cats now. No one has wanted to bring up this topic for the longest time, but really, I think I am ok to deal with talking about it now.

Moving is a scary thought

There're so many scary stories about how people get slashed and robbed in their homes or right in front of their homes by robbers who drive past in their motorcycles. These storries terrify me not only as a listener, but I've actually seen it happen right in front of my eyes. All these crimes seem very rampant in housing areas where it's all landed properties and we live in one.

One day not too long ago, we visited a friend who lives in a condo. When we drove inside the compound after having passed the guard house, I suddenly felt some relief like I was on some safer ground and no sounds of motorcycles would make me go on full alert. That's when I realised it could really be a lot safer to live in an apartment or condominium these days versus a house. This thought has been running through my mind since then but then the thought of moving boxes when you're moving houses scare me too. We've got too much! But surely it is less scary than having to face those dangerous robbers. It's still a thought brewing...

Life can change in a mere split second

Last week I wrote about how unpredictable life can be. Since then, I've heard of and personally experienced many unexpected incidents that are life changing. Life is really fragile. Learn to value what you have, whether it's life itself, or your family and loved ones, before everything gets taken away from you.

Live life wisely, because you can never rewind any given day lived for you to un-do what you wished you didn't do. Think before you do something you will regret for the rest of your life. Don't take life and what you have for granted. Sometimes you only have one chance at making good in life.

Label them right

When I was a kid, I remember having so much fun with Dymo labels. Mom bought me one and I started labelling everything I could think of sticking that little piece of yellow strip on. And then I'd be so proud to show them to friends because not everyone would have such labelling tools. But nowadays I guess this isn't quite popular anymore. Instead, I see a lot of youngsters going for nice artsy stickers to put on their phones, laptops, and whatever gadgets they might have.

How do you label your stuff? I've gotten out of the habit by now... :)

What's our world coming to?

These days insurance policies play an important role in our lives. I realise this especially when there's a little one in our lives. Plus the fact that things are so unpredictable these days with unheard of natural disasters and horrible crimes in our society. I've become quite a paranoid where crimes are concerned because there's just been too many stories. Things don't just happen to people I don't know anymore, it's inching closer to home, to people close to us. It's really quite a scary world out there.

Because of all the uncertainties surrounding life, I've come to think that term life insurance policies are of utmost importance. I currently do not have any because they're not the cheapest of policies in the market. Fortunately though, recently our company's insurance agent came to present a custom-made plan for the employees which I find to be very affordable. So I'm seriously considering buying it for the sake of having peace of mind that my dependents will be ok no matter what happens to me.

Do I sound morbid? It's the paranoia...What about you, are you as paranoid as me?

Unbelievable ad

I never look at those little columns of the classifieds in the newspapers unless I have good reasons to. And so far, I've only had 2 reasons to do so:

1) Check on the market price of cars whenever I need to renew my roadtax to determine how much I should insure.

2) Check on the going rate to sell or rent out my apartment.

Today I picked up the newspapers and with no intention of checking on the two items, I don't know why I just decided to glance through some of the classifieds. I was quite shocked to find how blatantly some people can advertise for services they label as "massages" when it so clearly spells out something else.

If I were to go for a massage, I don't think it'll cost me from RM100++ up to RM400++. Furthermore, why would I care that the I would be massaged by someone young, between the age of 16 to 20?

Dodgy, isn't it?

Wedding ring fever

Weddings are most women's favourite topic. It's always some nice fantasy to build up on and every woman has her ideal and perfect wedding in hear head way before there's any wedding to plan for! Well, that's just how it is with girls.

Within the topic of wedding itself, I think a lot of us like to talk about the bling-bling that comes with it. Firstly, there's the diamond engagement rings to compare and subsequently the diamond wedding rings too. There're so many choices out there and if you're not happy with ready made ones, you can always design your own and have them custome made.

A bride-to-be I know is currently shopping for the Best Eternity Rings & Eternity Bands. She's taking her time to browse through them because she's adamant about picking the perfect one. Her theory is that she's going to be wearing it day in and day out for the rest of her life, so it must be a pretty little thing that she will always adore over time.

When asked what her second choice of a ring would be, she insisted there's nothing she would go for other than the Diamond Wedding Rings - Eternity Rings selection. She's got some pretty set ideas already! Good for her.

What she said about these rings set me thinking. Yes I've got my wedding band but one can never own too many Best Diamond Eternity Rings, right? And there're so many occassions to give them. There's wedding anniversaries, Valentine's, Christmas...need I say more?

Blogspot vs Wordpress

I've recently been toying with the idea of switching to Wordpress. I signed up for a free account and was playing about with it. Many people like Wordpress for the professionalism it has, the easy navigation and usage, etc. But it does come with a price. It doesn't come for free if you want to customise your blog a lot. However, even with this setback, many are still willing to pay instead of using a free one like Blogspot.

So what is really so attractive about Wordpress? I'm curious and I want to know it all, pros and cons, before I make a decision whether to stick around or switch. And why am I thinking of switching, you ask...I don't know. Maybe because I just need a change :)