My new washing machine

Absolutely love my new washing machine. :D I used to have a semi-auto washing machine. Not so much on want to save money on buying a washer during that time, it's more on want to keep the water for reuse purpose. Since I was young, my parents have been using semi-auto washing machine. So an automatic washing machine is an alien to me. Every time we need to rinse the water, we will keep the water in pails to be used for flushing the toilet. We save lots of water by doing this way. This has never been changed even till today. My parents are still using semi-auto washing machine at their home.

However after I get married and started living by ourselves, just the two of us at the beginning, we did not use much water. The pails of water were there for few days. Worrying that it might encourage the mosquitoes to breed, I actually stopped collecting the water after a very short while. Even now with the additions of the kids, we still did not use much water as most of the time we are not at home. The monthly water bill is just the minimum amount to pay. The only time I had to pay more was during the confinement month. Another problem is, since it is semi-automatic, it requires human to operate it. We found that it is time consuming to get the laundry done as most of the time, we were doing something else in other room and not somewhere near the washing machine. We could not hear it has stopped and need our action. I could take half a day to get the laundry done. I only do laundry twice a week - kids' clothes on Saturday and me and hubby clothes on Sunday. If it rains on Saturday, then the clothes may not get dried enough, I would have the problem on where to hang the next batch of laundry. And I have to get up very early if I want to slot in to wash our bed sheets for that week. If we need to go out during weekend, I also have issue getting the laundry done.

Few months back, me and hubby decided to get a fully automatic washing machine. It should help us save time spent on the laundry and make our live easier. As I have limited knowledge on automatic washing machine, I went to search some info from the internet before making the purchase. I found this washing machine review website very useful and information. It lists the factors I should consider before deciding on what to buy. During National holiday, we went to shop for the new washing machine. We did not really go to different shops to compare the prices. As long as I could find one that can fulfill my need and reasonable price, I would just make the purchase.

After standing there reading the manual, comparing the features, at last I chose the Hitachi model. It has energy savings, water savings, delay timer, and can load up to 10kg. Just as what I have needed. I know 10kg is big, but it is good when I need to wash bed sheets, sofa covers and curtains. Moreover I just do laundry once a week. so it is a lots to wash. I was actually not sure whether I should go for Hitachi or Samsung. At the end, I decided to go for Hitachi as it used less water as compared to Samsung. The price after discount was slightly more than 1k. It sounds reasonable to me with that big capacity.

The shop did not have ready stock for that model. So we waited for almost a month (partly due to Hari Raya) for it to arrive. It was not as difficult to learn to use it as I thought. It comes with very detailed manual. With the energy savings option turn on, the whole laundry cycle just took slightly more than 1 hour! I just need to sort out the clothes before putting them inside the washing machine, choose the right program and press Start, that's it! I even manage to wash our bed sheets in the following week! I was actually thinking of getting dryer too. A friend told me it could save our time too. But hubby was against the idea. He believes hanging out under the sun is still the best way to dry the clothes as the sun can kill any bacteria. Anyway laundry has become a breeze now. I get to have more time to do other things. Feel so happy. ^_^

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.