Valen’s Vanity Square

I suddenly thought of February. Yes, the month after January. ;P

There are several special occasion to celebrate in the month of February. Firstly, Valentine’s Day; secondly, my birthday! Then, closely followed by my niece’s birthday.

I’m not going to think what I will give hubby on the Valentine’s day, coz I probably will not give anything. But I will think of what I might want hubby to buy me for my birthday, haha! I know, that’s so unfair, huh?

And then, I also have to think of what birthday present to give to my cute niece who is going to be 2 years old. May be I should start browsing websites that offer gift ideas for boys and girls. I reckon boys and girls play with similar types of toys when they are toddlers, e.g. tricycles, bouncing balls, musical toys, simple puzzles, etc.

I have a few weeks to consider and do some window-shopping first before I decide. Of course, not forgetting to think about what gift ‘request’ I should extend to hubby, haha!

Hmmm… looks like I may have a bit of extra money to spend on CNY shopping! I think the company just released my portion of bonus, hehe. That’s the only explanation for the sudden increased amount of cash in one’s savings account.

Still, I have to watch my spending, not to go over the board and spend all my hard-earned bonus. At least not all at once, haha!

To be wise consumer from now onwards, whatever items on the shelves that don’t carry a price tag, I should check it with the promoter or have it scanned at the barcode scanner to find out its price. It can be very ‘dangerous’ of putting things into the shopping cart without first knowing how much they are going to cost my wallet.

I don’t want to find out how expensive the item is only when I am already standing right in front of the cashier. It will be so embarrassing to say, “Whaaaat, how much is this thing?… Oh, I think I don’t want it for now.”

So, the best thing to do is to bring along hubby while I shop, so that he can be the human buzzer in case I go wild in the lady’s department. Haha!

After one whole week of sunny, warm weather, it rained heavily yesterday evening. What a relief, coz hot weather gets me all sweaty and that causes rashes on my back.

And now, just hours before bedtime, it has started to rain again. With the cool weather and the air-conditioner running, looks like tonight I’m going to sleep well!

Yes, the air-cond is always switched on even if it’s on a rainy night, because it’s no longer cold after working hard for us for three years, and we have not given it a proper servicing and cleaning.

The air-conditioning system at my office is totally the opposite. It’s like I walked into winter every day! Brrrrrr~ Makes me feel like I want to get a columbia jacket!

But I should be careful. As frequent, sudden change of environment temperature usually makes one fall sick easily too. And I don’t want to fall sick just before CNY. That would be a super bummer, wouldn’t it?

Different people face different types of problems. And to help them overcome those problems or manage some issues, there are various types of products and self-help programmes out there.

I’ve heard of asset management, anger management, property management, time management, stress management, and even cord management to help you get those messy cables and cords organized!

But I hope there would be some sort of multitasking management programme that could teach me how to get 1,001 things done in less than 2 weeks! :p

People always say “live life to the fullest!”, well, my life is already so full with deadlines and chores and appointments and personal goals that I don’t know how to make it fuller than it already is.

Is that good or bad?

Perhaps the first thing I need would be a sleep management programme–so that I could learn to go to bed on time and not staying up after midnight and surfing the Internet. Haha!

We must get it started this year, and get money rolling into our future!

Hubby and I have been cracking our heads but we haven’t gotten any good business ideas to start with. Perhaps this is one of our biggest and shared resolutions for this year (apart from our baby-making project). ^.^

Although I did attempt to sell clothes and simple handmade jewelry online before, the so-called business was started without much research and planning. So of course it didn’t really become a long-term money-making source. No matter what business it is - be it selling baby strollers, or vehicle parts, or medication carts, a business plan is essential.

Therefore, both of us have lots more of cracking to do in the coming weeks. May be we can do this while having our new year break at a beach hotel.

Darn, there is so much to accomplish in the first quarter of 2012!

Testing my iPad on Wordpress. Since I got this new toy last November, all I used it to do is Facebooking, checking emails, browsing the Internet, watching YouTube, and playing games. (Recently got addicted to the alligator Swampy, who loves to take shower!)

I have never tried using my iPad to blog, and am now trying to do so.

Besides a bit awkward trying to type fast on the onscreen keypad, the rests seem to function like normal blogging using a laptop or desktop.

This is cool, as I now can bring my iPad with me whenever I go for a short vacation to nearby blog wherever I want as long as there is wireless internet connection available.

Hubby needs to get a new car. At least, a car of his own rather than depending on that old, problem-prone, unreliable, locally-produced car provided by the company.

Initially I thought I would be able to enjoy a different experience of ride in the first quarter, but hubby changed his mind now. He said to wait till middle of the year, because a new model of the car he likes is forecast to enter the local market in June, and that will cause a price drop of the old model. He will then get a second-hand, old model of the car at an amount cheaper than the current price.

Okay, whatever… I’m not really particular about what car he drives. As long as it is comfortable, and doesn’t regularly ‘throw tantrum’!

While I don’t have any preference for a particular car model, I supposed for men, their taste and likings for cars change over time and age. For example, at a younger age, men may wish to have a sport car (to show off), or a jeep (adventurous!). Hubby dreamed of driving a jeep, but as he got older, he realized that this is not a vehicle suitable for city-living and neither it is family-friendly (especially if you need to drive your parents around). In addition, one needs to find high and low for jeep accessories.

Now, his taste modified sightly and goes for SUV. In 5 years’ time, I think he will eventually go for models suitable for mature (and older) men.

May be the future car will also reflect his success and status? Hehehe…

The decorations and ambiance in the shopping malls changed very quickly, as soon as Christmas was over. It’s still red all over, but now full of oriental flavors - Chinese blossoms, dragons, red lanterns, and festive CNY songs being played over and over again.

And it’s also now that Chinese are going to spend a lot on foods and gifts for family, relative and friends, and of course on new outfits to be worn during the first few days of CNY.

It is a joyous and busy period for all of us. But for those who are struggling to even make a comfortable living, this can be a rather ‘painful’ time.

I’m in ‘pain’ too! Because I don’t have my year-end bonus. Partly because I have not worked one full year with the company, and partly because, I think, the company has not done well last year.

With no ’sufficient’ budget to spend this year, I am not really in the mood for serious shopping for myself. Have to even cross-out pedicure/manicure from the list.

It would be nice though if someone could give me boutique shopping vouchers or bath & body works coupons, then at least I could still shop and spend for the same number of things but with less money, hehe.

Well, dream on. Forget about vouchers and coupons. I have more important things to worry at this moment. There is an enormous task waiting for me to accomplish in the following 2 weeks — to get the house all clean and tidy to welcome this coming festive season!

Started cleaning up the house in preparation for CNY, but I’m not really in the mood for heavy duty cleaning yet, so am just doing it bit by bit, little by little.

Started off by clearing the clutter on the coffee table. Gosh, there were magazines, newspapers, coasters, brochures and catalogs from banks, utility bills, etc. These things tend to pile up easily, as we always so conveniently put them on the table after browsing, and then forget about sorting and putting them at where they should belong.

Magazine and catalogs, especially those that have photos of watches, whether they are a Tissot watch, a citizen watch, or a Seiko watch, usually remain on the coffee table longer than the other stuffs, as hubby likes to browse these materials several times. If these materials are left there for a week, they end up stayed put on the table for months!

Well, it’s not only him, the same goes for my fashion magazines, handbag and shoes catalogs, hehe.

And, the mess-zone is not limited to just the coffee table, hehe. I still have a computer desk and two other small desks upstairs to de-clutter. Books, magazines, papers… they are just about everywhere in this house!