Billy - 23 Months 2 Weeks Today

Gotcha!!

Can I have privacy, mommy?

The bike is just too big for tiny Bill.

Snack time

Swing time!

The United States of Fat: A Map of Obesity in the USA

Fit Nation, a special report at CNN has a map showing how the United States is becoming fatter and fatter over the past twenty years. Notice how good ol’ Mississippi leads the way in obesity (30% of Mississippians are found to be obese!)

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Indian Lake with the Longest Name in the United States

Lake Chaubunagungamaug, also known as "Webster Lake", is a lake in the town of Webster, Massachusetts, United States. It is located near the Connecticut border and has a surface area of 1,442 acres. It's 45-letter alternative name is often cited as the longest place name in the United States and one of the longest in the world.

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My 1st Award From Rose' World.

I just got my very 1st award from Rose World. Thank you very much my dear friend. Your friendship is a treasure. Big hugs for you!

What I Love and Hate

Deana tagged me on What I Love and Hate.

1). I love to eat; Anything with noodles, especially
noodle soup and fried noodle.
2). I hate to eat; Just like Deana, I do not eat raw fish.
Is hinava count?

1). I love to go on; a road trip. I love going on
a spontaneous road trip.
2). I hate to go on; a sea cruise. I can get sea
sickness easily.

1). I love it when; I get email/mail/sms from my family
and friends.
2). I hate it when; It's cold, dark and raining. Make me moody.

1). I love to see; smiling faces
2). I hate to see; All kind of discrimination.

1). I love to hear; Christmas songs. I play Christmas songs all the time esp
when I need to clear my head. Weird? That's me...hihi!
2). I hate to hear; Emergency sirens. It always gives me goose bump.

I am passing the tag to;
Rose
Jen Jen
Luth

Top 30 Tips for Staying Productive While Working From Home

Those of you who know the joys of working from home, whether you’re self-employed or freelancing or telecommuting, know also the joys of procrastination and the lures of laying on the couch. Now, I’m as much in favor of a good nap as the next guy, but a nap should be a break, not your default work mode....

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7 things to say (and 7 things not to say) to your kids

A parent, or anyone else who interacts regularly with kids, knows that communicating effectively with them can be difficult. Common words and phrases, no matter how well intended, can do emotional and psychological harm. Kids can't be expected to process words, context and nuance (sarcasm, for instance) the same way that an adult's brain does.

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Mom Dies, Refused Cancer Treatment to Save Baby's Life

This is a heartbreaking story. I guess that's what love is all about. May God bless her soul.
A mother from the U.K. died just weeks after refusing cancer treatment so that she could save the life of her unborn baby, the Daily Mail reports.

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Amazing young Organ Player Rocks Out

Young girl Rocks out "Carry on" by Kansas on the church organ to the tune of Carry on My Wayward Sun by Kansas. Amazing!!!!

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Five Things/People I Love and Hate

Rose World has been tagged me on "Five things/People I Love and Hate". Thank you, Rose. I better do this one right away....hihi!

Okay, here you go ;

Five Things/People I Love;

1. My Family

2. The Almighty ( Who loves me unconditionally )

3. My Laptop

4. Friends that always stand by me.

5. Good Food

Five Things/People I Hate

1. Rude and thoughtless people especially towards elderly and women.

2. People who like to take advantages on others.

3. Frogs ( Yikes! ).

4. People who smoke in front of me.

5. Traffic jam.

Now I am passing the tag to my dear friend, Luth-Schwandorfer.

Two ice-related deaths; Knox on 2-hour delay

My hubby e-mailed me from work this morning, telling me he saw a truck involved in a very bad accident just ahead of the gate to the lab(ORNL). He said it looks really bad as the truck got 'T boned'. Later he was told that someone from the lab was involved in that accident and lost his life. So sad. Our heart goes to the family. May God bless his soul.

We had a nasty weather since Monday evening but never thought it was really bad until we watched the news this afternoon. :-(

Icy road caused hundreds of other wrecks around the area, including more than 350 smashups in Knoxville and Knox County alone. Knoxville police worked 232 wrecks from 6:30-10 a.m. when the black ice was at its worst.

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Time Lapse Photos of a Triplets Pregnancy

Aww! Have a look at the sweet peas at the end. They are adorable. Congratulations to the beautiful mother.

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Want To Exchange Links With Me?

Just add a link to Life in Secret City on your blog, then leave a comment on this post with your blog address and I will add your blog to my links. Thank you!

Belly Dancer Hilarious Accident

This Belly Dancer is practicing her moves in her bedroom. She tries to lean back on a dresser while holding on to a scarf that is tied to one of the cabinets.

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20 Qualities for a Successful Life

(7) 'Humility' Don’t lead a life thinking you are better than others or are superior to those around you. Modesty and humbleness will leave a far more ever lasting impact on people than trying to show off.

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Dubai Skyscraper with Rotating Floors

Dubai Skyscraper with Rotating Floors...amazing wonder of future architechure!

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One Time Deal? Yeah Right!

My hubby and I decided it is time for us to get our second car. We have been thinking about it for many months but only managed to begin our car hunting last Saturday. To make it a little easier for us or harder (LOL!), hubby insisted on looking only on one particular car model, Chevy Impala. So there we went, looking for pre-owned, almost new Chevy Impala with low mileage at the best price we can find.

The first car dealer we went to, they only have a couple of Chevy Impala but it was a little too old than we want. The second car dealer has four 2007 Chevy Impala which price tags were $16,999. We interested in one of the cars but since it was only the second car lots we went to, we decided to shop a little more. When we were about to get into our car, the salesperson who attended us excused himself to get his business card from his office but instead he came out with another guy, probably his boss. I must say the guy was very good in his job. He came right to us and asked the price we would like to pay for that car. Without even waiting for our answers he asked the other guy to bring the car and insisted for us to go test driving it. So we did, drove around for about an hour....hihi!


Then came to the hard part, the negotiation. He gave us some discount and bring the price to $14,999. My hubby was pretty convinced it was a very good deal but I had a different feeling, I think we were not being fair to ourselves if we take the very 1st offer we get. Well, there are three other car lots here in town we have not checked....hihi! When we told them that we need a little more time they made us another offer, which they called 'ONE TIME DEAL.' They gave us another $500 discount which brings the price to $14,499. My hubby said it was a great deal and we should just take it. I do agree with him but still think we should at least take a couple day to think about it and do not make them push us around. I am so happy we did not take the offer.

The next morning we bought the Sunday paper which we seldom did. And guess what? We saw them advertise the very same car we took for test driving the day before in the Sunday paper. Hah! The price was $12,988. So at the time we went in to their car lot the car price is already at $12,988 but they try to sell it to us with their 'this hour only deals' of $14,499......ghesh!!!

Glad we did not rush or take that so called one time deal or this hour only deals they offered us. That's a big ripped off! I know it is their job and they were trying to do their best but to rip off a poor fellow like us is also not cool.
Anyway, the car hunting is still on.....haha!

Similac Check - Taken

The $5 similac check is not available anymore. Thank you! :-))

Billy Will Be 2 Years Old Next Month.

My beloved son is 23 months old today. So he will turn 2 years old in a month. He is growing fast. :-)) It's only like yesterday when we took him home from the hospital. I remember been so touchy when my hubby welcomes him home for the first time.....hihi.I felt it was very sentimental. Yeah, it was almost 2 years ago.

Anyway, like his 1st birthday there will be no big birthday celebration for him. We will definitely buy him a birthday cake, maybe just a small ice cream cake. Yup just a small one for the three of us or four of us if our friend, Dr.Padma could come and join us. Maybe next birthday we would have a party and invite more friends to come. We will see.









Noticed the hair on the floor? I trims his hair this morning. :-))

So far we still not decide what to get him for his birthday. He has lots of toys already. We will probably get him a few more toys. Other than that, we are going to get his studio picture taken. I am so excited to get this done as it will be his first studio picture. He is pretty good with posing in front of the camera.

Well, four more weeks to go!

Acupuncture? Love it!

Yeah, I am in the mood for those fine needles again. Now I am looking around for acupuncturist here in town and am hoping to start my treatments sometimes soon. No, I am not sick or in need of any particular treatment, if you are wondering..... haha! I just want to get acupuncture to help reduce stress and to relax. Does it really work? Base on my personal experiences a few years ago, yes, it does work for me.


I know lots of people will say 'No way' they will let all that needles being stuck to their body while the lay in bed consciously. Cannot blame them for saying that, I hate needle too, still am but I just love acupuncture. First time I went for acupuncture was when we were trying to conceive our first baby a few years ago. That's how I had the strength to overcome the "scared" of the needles on my very first visit. Trust me, it's not bad at all!

The cost of acupuncture here in the US are between $40-75 for one visit depend on what treatment you are seeking. Yeah, it is pretty costly and insurance does not cover it. :-( Hopefully someday it will change.

Free $5 Similac Check

I have $5 Similac check to give away for free. It's good toward any Infants Formula from Similac and good until 04.08.08. All you need to do is send me your self-address stamped envelope and I will send you the check.
If you are interested please email me so I can give you the address. Thank you!

Okay, look as if I am running an ad here.....hihi! Normally I used Craiglist for this but this time I decided to just put it here.

I received another $5 similac check a couple of weeks ago. This was the fourth time I received such checks from Similac. Thank you, Similac. How I wish they have sent me the checks a year ago before Billy switched to the whole milk. A baby formula is pretty expensive nowadays. We could definitely use some break. Oh well, I assumed it's just not meant to be ours. If you are interested please email me. FCFS!! Thanks.

50 Very Simple Ways to Be Romantic

Ok, so maybe Valentine's Day isn't for another month, but that doesn't mean you can't show your partner some special attention now. In fact, I invite you to join me in this experiment. The plan is to show your love for your partner in a small and different way each day for a whole month and see what magic happens.

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Tag - What Are My Goals This Year 2008?

I have been tagged by Rose' World on 'What are my goals for this year 2008'! Thank you Rose' World. Normally, I do not reveal my New Year goals to everybody but it's fine, I will share it with everybody this year....haha! I guess it is also a good thing, right? I read somewhere suggested that sharing your goals with your family and friends is also one way to achieve your goals.

So here you go; My 5 main goals for this year.

1. Love and appreciate my family and friends more -

2. Work more on my spiritual journey - :-)

3. Work and work more on my writing skill. (Wink***)

4. Lost some weight - eat healthily and started to exercise again (ahaaah!) I would like to lose at least 5 pounds. :-)

5. Get my US driving license. Now you caught me! This one was in my goals list for many years now.....haha! My hubby keeps urging me to get this done for many years. Not that I do not know how to drive or never drive before, I had my Malaysian driving license for 8 years before I moved to the US. Okay it's already expired now...haha! I give myself until late summer to get this done. So we will see!

Okay, that's my main goals for this year. Now I am tagging my new found friend Amanda-The Milk Bar.

Top Ten Photos of 2007 From National Geographic

From a tiny bird so rare and unusual that its scientific name means "strange owl" to a super colossal squid caught near Antarctica, National Geographic News gives us their best photos of the year.

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Yahtzee Game

Do you like to play any game like Scrabble or Monopoly or Chess, just to mention a few? Have you try Yathzee game? Hubby said it’s a highly popular dice game and we should try it. I never play or see the game before. But one thing for sure is it's really a fun game. The unique combination of luck and strategy makes every game really exciting. I wish had played it a year ago when hubby bought it as one of my Christmas present. Yes, we had it sitting untouched on the upper shelf in the closet for a year . ... gezzz!




It's only on the New Year's evening, hubby suddenly in the mood of playing game. Monopoly is the only game we play quite frequently and it takes hours to be over. So he insisted we play Yathzee and not so long I really got hook to it. Hubby was right I would love that game. :-) I had a very good luck racked up bonus points by scoring extra Yathzee a couple times. :-)

If you would like to give it a try you can download the computer version for free. The rules are easy. Give it a try. I bet you would love it. I do!! It is also a great game for family. :-)

Think again before double-parking

I wish that I had the guts to actually do this -:)

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Lawyer: Ripping MP3s Illegal, Grounds for Lawsuit

RIAA lawyer states in legal brief that copying songs from CDs to computer for personal use is just as illegal as posting them online.

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