Buying Milk

Ever since I was told fresh milk is much better than formula milk, I have switched the kids to taking fresh milk. The boy is on full fresh milk, while they girl I still let her continue taking the Sustagen Chocolate Milk to school. The Chinese shop nearby office is selling the fresh milk at a very reasonable price. I started with getting Dutch Lady brand fresh milk, then not too long after that I switched to Farm House brand as it is of better quality.

About 3 months ago, the Chinese shop changed ownership. During that time, the old owner told us the new owner will continue selling the Farm House fresh milk. Then the new owner took over, and they did sell Farm House fresh milk for a while. Just for a short while. At first, we waited for almost a month for them to re-supply the stock. For I think about a month or two, we get to buy the Farm House fresh milk from this Chinese shop. But just for a month or two. Just before Hari Raya, it was out of stock again. Until now! It was so inconvenient for us. We were searching everywhere for fresh milk. And lots of time, we have to revert to Dutch Lady Brand; sometimes we even have to buy the pasteurized fresh milk which is lower quality.

Besides that, only certain items they maintain same price as the previous owner. Some other items the price is slightly higher; or without the bulk purchase discount. The new owner also is less friendly. In fact, I don't think I ever seen the owner. Those people in the shop are just the staffs. The cashier looks like foreign worker to me. They do not smile and do not greet the customers. Sometimes I can see few Chinese staff around, but not all the time. This shop is just one of the branches. I heard that HQ is in PJ Old Town. Unlike previous owner, where it was a family business, the people are very friendly. It is not just me, even my colleague also prefers the previous owner.

In summary, I don't see the change in ownership is good for the existing customers. Nowadays I will only go there to buy food that I could not get from the Chinese shop near my house. I prefer those shops run by family. The Chinese shop near my house is smaller but they are very friendly people. They can recognize us easily. The kids love them as they are so friendly and very helpful too. Unfortunately they don't sell fresh milk. Their price is also slightly cheaper by around 50 cent. I like to give them business because of their good service and friendliness. Within one year, their shop expanded from one shop lot to two shop lots. In this competitive environment, I believe reasonable price and good customer service is the key to keep the customers happy and loyal to you.

Love and Respect for a Lifetime

Women Absolutely Need Love. Men Absolutely Need Respect. Its as Simple and as Complicated as That...

This is a very beautiful and good quality gift book. Hard cover, 155 pages. It is not very wordly. So you can read through all pages very fast. Main points are being highlighted. Good for those people who don't have much time to read. Based on over three decades of counseling, and scientific and biblical research, the author of this book Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, shows couples how to have a happier and more fulfilling marriage. It stresses a lots on respect and love. You can see it keep on popping up very often, to keep on reminding the important of love and respect to women and men. However I think, more examples on how a man shows his love to his wife, and how a woman shows her respect to her husband would be better. As we all know, man and woman does not see things and feel it the same way, the wife may think she's respecting the husband but the husband may not feel the same and vice versa. Thus more examples will be great.

Here I would like to share some of the quotes available in the book: -

1. Women look at the world through pink glasses, while men look at that same world through the blue glasses. They do not necessarily see the same thing.

2. It is crucial for husband and wife to see that neither one is wrong but that both of them are very different - in boldy function, outlook and perspective.

3. When a husband asks his wife to forgive him, he is giving her a gift of love.

4. When a women asks "Do you love me?" She is not trying to put her husband on the spot. She is simply looking reassurance.

5. Marital researches agree that a huge percentage of communication problems between husband and wife are due not to what is said but to how it is said - the attitude and tone of voice.

I will rate this book 3 out of 5.

Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Forgiving & Letting Go

I feel very de-motivated recently. Things are not done in a way I would like it to be. There are people that I would like to meet but not around. There are people that I would not like to meet always appear in front of me. I wish I could have done something more but instead I stop doing it almost totally. I wish I could have spent less time on some activities but I fail to so. I wish I could have more time with the kids but when I have some time I spent it doing something else. Due to friendship I did something that made me not happy. I wanted to do something else but because of the relationship I feel that I need to give support. Oh What am I doing!!! :( I started day dreaming, building my own dream that can make me feel better. It's also a dream, that will never come true.

2 years ago, when I was having depression, I listened a lot to Forgiving and Letting Go from Inner Talk. I wanted to release my anger, guilt, and fear at that time. I like the music, very soothing and calming. I felt much better after listening to the music. At least I'm able to cool down myself. I don't have the CD with me in the office here. So I downloaded the free mp3 and listen in the office. Just want to make myself feel better before leaving office today. Forgiving is not easy, not to mention letting go. I hope tomorrow is a better day!

The King's Christmas List by Eldon Johnson

The King’s Christmas list by Eldon Johnson is a beautifully illustrated children book. It all began for Emma and her dog, Shu Shu, when they were decorating the playhouse for Christmas. Emma received an invitation from the King, to the King's birthday party, from the mailbox of the playhouse. And at the same time, Emma found that she can actually understood what Shu Shu said! And Shu Shu could understand her too! Emma couldn’t wait to go to the King’s birthday party, but what should she bring? They decided to bring the Christmas cake they made with Mom and put on their Sunday best, together with her beloved Cherry-Bear as they dash to the King’s carriage. On the way, they have encounters that lead them to bestow their cake, winter-cape, and even Cherry-Bear, on others that need them. Now Emma and Shu Shu had given all they have and left nothing for the King. What will the King think?

The King’s Christmas List is a good book that reminded us the true meaning of Christmas. Gifts, may not be must be in the form of things. And the children learn about giving, instead of getting Christmas gifts all the time. This book is easy to understand and suitable for children aged 4 to 8. I rate this book 4 starts out of 5 starts.   


Note: Thomas Nelson Publishers provided this as an advance reading for their Booksneeze bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Coffee and Tea

I like the nice aroma of the coffee. It makes me feel refreshing. My office used to have a coffee maker, where we can make cappucino, coffee latte and espresso. I love cappuccino as it is less strong. I like espresso too but I avoid taking it most of the time as it is very strong. When someone makes a cup of coffee from the coffee maker, the whole office will be filled with the nice smell of coffee aroma. During that time, almost everyday I have to resist myself from drinking coffee everyday. It is hard to resist the nice coffee aroma. However since about 1 year ago the coffee maker has spoilt and I heard the cost of repairing it is not cheap. So company did not proceed to fix it and since then no more cappuccino or coffee latte for me, back to the 3-in-1 coffee mix. I usually take only 2 cups per week, when I feel like it. I don't have the habit and I'm also not addict to the coffee. I'm a Milo person actually. I must have a cup of Milo every morning in the office. And I can only take coffee with stomach full, so I will only drink it after lunch.

Lately I noticed that, I have difficulty falling asleep after taking a cup of coffee in the afternoon. I can even stay up to 3-5am in the morning. Argh! Is it a sign of aging? Sigh. It happened few times already. So my sleeping time for the past 2 weeks was being messed up. I think I should stop taking coffee for the time being.

Since no coffee, I switch to drink tea! One of my colleague told me, he drinks tea to stay awake. Tea is stronger than coffee. Coffee has no effect on him (sometimes I even saw him drinking black coffee. o_O) A friend suggested to me to drink tea with honey instead of sugar. So I went to buy a bottle of honey and I like it! And instead of Lipton tea, I drink rose tea. 5 roses and 1 1/2 tablespoons of honey for making 2 cups of tea. Sometimes I take 2 cups in the morning and another 2 cups after lunch. Sometimes I add with a pinch of lavender flower too. But I still prefer just honey and rose tea. The aroma from the roses is so refreshing. :)