It's November...

11/1/2009
Choose your battles wisely ~ give patience where patience is due, and continually ask God for wisdom in discipline.

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Super luxurious holiday destination..

A friend of mine told me about this super luxurious resort situated right here in Sabah that attracts a lot of celebrities (according to my friend even Julia Roberts and David Beckham expressed interest to purchase-yes, purchase-a villa at the resort!)

I was intrigued and did a google search of the said resort . The first thing I clicked on when I found the official site was the Rates! What did I find? Well, I found out that it costs you RM2232.00 per night during low season and a whooping RM14400.00 a night during peak season! See here-Rates
...and I couldn't resist viewing the Wedding & Honeymoon packages [from USD7,950.00 -for two people! well..who knows...^_^ our 10th anniversary is in 2 years time...]
The next thing that I clicked on was the Facilities. One thing particularly caught my attention- Butler Services! Wow.....

So, where is this place? It is in Kudat and the name of the resort is Kudat Riviera.

Oh, by the way, you do have a choice of either just go there for a holiday or purchase a villa from umm, 500,000 to 3,500,000 Million US dollars. Do hurry, as at the time this post is created, there are only 6 units available!

Pre- Birthday Gift...

Am getting this from my darling hubby...Nikon D3000 on Thursday! Yay! Thank you! Thank you!
Now...got to learn how to operate this babe...

Cloth vs Disposable..

When I first started using cloth diapers/ nappies on Eden about 18 months ago, I was always ever the active cloth diaper preacher on the lookout for mothers to share (and possibly convert them) the great news..
In retrospect, I realised (still true even now) that most mothers always have the same points of concerns (and argument or reluctance) regarding the usage of cloth diapers.
Basically they are:
1) interested but not ready to convert to cloth diapers due to-

• price - (yes, in the short term a cd does cost about the price of a packetful of disposable nappies! But, think about the future, in the long run you'll save more. I've never purchased a disposable diaper since Eden's birth in March 2008!)
• convenience - those expensive disposable advertisements on tv paid off and mothers around the world think that throwing away their baby's diapers after a few hours of wearing is only natural - NOT! This notion is just a conditioning people! It is extremely convenient to use cloth diapers too...I even used them on extended trips overseas!
• ignorance/ arrogance- they think using cloth is old fashion while throwing away diapers is classy- NOT! Check out the latest cloth diapers in the market....they are colourful! They are hip! They are trendy!
  

2) not interested because:

• 'this is my last child..i don't want to invest in cloth diapers'... well, that is your decision and I respect it but- do you know that you can sell the cloth diapers as pre loved, second hand items? Yes! So you can actually get a bit of your money back even after you've used them for 2 or 3 years... Check out our famous online forum to get connected with other cd-craze moms out there...and sell or buy cds second hand..:) but if you'd rather buy them first hand then...visit our Baby My Luv Online!
  
• misleading information from researches done on cloth vs disposable not making a difference to the environment and about using the same amount of water...NOPE!- Get your facts right here-(am copying and posting the whole thing here...even though they are quite difficult to read, it's a proof that cloth diapers ARE friendlier!)

NAPPIES Environmental Impact - calculations

Table 1

Effect of changing energy use assumptions on home washed reusable system
Composite kWh per wash	Assumption	Washing behaviour	Reduction in global warming (mainly CO2) and fossil resource use	Reduction in kWh rel. to 1.38	Total global warming (kg CO2 equivs)
1.38	EA baseline 1997 UK machines Table 5.7	EA terry users distribution, Table 2.27	nil (baseline)	nil	559 (Table 8.13)
1.20	ERM sensitivity 2000 UK machines Fig 9.5	EA terry users distribution, table 2.27	6%	13%	525
1.25	No washes above 60o, 1997 machines	WEN calculation using terry distribution, modified (see calc)	4%	10%	534
0.95	A-rated machines	Terry distribution of washing temps	14%	31%	481
0.86	A-rated	No washes above 60°C	17%	38%	464

KWh use derived from National Energy Foundation information www.natenergy.org.uk/washing.htm using the distribution of washing temperatures from the Environment Agency Life Cycle Assessment of reusable and disposable nappies 2005 www.environment-agency.gov.uk.

Energy use, with its global warming potential, is a major impact of all nappy systems. Use of washing machines from 1997 was assumed for the reusable system. The effect of using machines as bought in 2000 was tested, and gave a reduction in CO₂ of 6%. The report finds that “electricity use for nappy care is the most significant single contributor to the impacts assessed”, yet the effect of further improvements in washing machines, and of following nappy companies’ instructions and washing at 60^oC or below was not tested. The LCA assumed a 1.38 kWh wash, but a 0.86 kWh wash will soon be the average. (DEFRA Market Transformation Programme: UK Energy Consumption of Domestic Washing Machines 22/01/2005 www.mtprog.com)

Table 2

Effect of changing type of wash and energy rating
				No 70°C or 50°C (1)		1997, not above 60°C (2)		B-rated		A-rated		A-rated, not above 60°C
EA washing temp (3)	% of washes	kWh (ERM) Table 5.7	weighted kWh	% of washes	weighted kWh	% of washes	weighted kWh	kWh per wash	weighted kWh	kWh per wash	weighted kWh	% of washes	weighted kWh
90°C	32.1%	1.77	0.57	33.2%	0.59			1.46	0.48	1.22	0.41
80°C	0.0%	1.63	0.00
70°C	7.1%	1.50	0.11
60°C	35.7%	1.36	0.49	45.9%	0.62	79.1%	1.08	1.12	0.51	0.94	0.43	79.1%	0.74
50°C	7.1%	1.09	0.08
40°C	17.9%	0.82	0.15	20.9%	0.17	20.9%	0.17	0.67	0.14	0.56	0.12	20.9%	0.12
Total kWh per wash			1.38		1.38		1.25		1.14		0.95		0.86
Percent reduction in kWh relative to 1.38							9.9%		17.7%		31.1%		37.8%

Notes

1. The Environment Agency Survey found that people washed with the distribution in column 2. (Table 5.7 of LCA) Public information on washing machine energy use uses three temperatures only: 90°C, 60°C & 40°C. To make comparisons with lower energy machines easier, the percentages were redistributed as fairly as possible so that some of those washing at 70°C were moved up to 90°C, and others down to 60°C; and similarly with those washing at 50°C. This gave a modified distribution with the same energy use as the EA: 1.38 kWh. This distribution was used to obtain all the other washing energies.

2. Table 2 tests the effect of no-one washing above 60°C

3. Table 1 calculates the approximate effect on the global warming potential in kg of CO2 equivalent. Using the results of the sensitivity analysis in the LCA where a change in machines from those bought in 1997 to machines bought in 2000 gives a 6% drop in CO2 (Fig. 9.5) the approximate drops for other changes in washing machine energy and use are calculated in the final column using Table 8.13.

By using an A rated machine and following manufacturers instructions to wash at 60o parents can reduce energy use and global warming impact by 17%.

Many parents use 20-24 nappies. By using half the 47.5 nappies suggested in the Environment Agency report parents can half the 13.8% global warming impacts associated with their production, storage and transport home making an additional saving of 6.9%.

Therefore by using 24 nappies (saving 6.9%) and laundering them in an A rated machine at 60 o parents can reduce energy use and global warming impact by 23.9% rounded to 24%.
This is from - http://www.wen.org.uk/nappies/env_calculations.htm

So.... what's your verdict?

I am going PINK this October..

Why PINK? Well, October is - Breast Cancer Awareness Month
A dear friend succumbed to breast cancer in August this year... For me, it is such a wake up call and I suddenly realise how little I know about this disease... So, be an informed individual, find out more about this disease because Anyone with breasts can get breast cancer - yep, including Males!




Pink for October - http://www.pinkforoctober.org
Pride -http://www.pride.org.my

Keep trusting..

I am tired and I sad and scared...but at the same time I am ever hopeful and prayerful and wishful.. the list goes on...

At this exact moment this is my wish:

A World Without Cancer...so my dad won't be in such pain right now...:(

I heart this website

...and here's a local blogger supplying the same thing..Vitamin B17

God, please take care of my dad. Keep him strong, spiritually and physically. Keep us all strong.

Serenity needed...

I really need this prayer..in view of so many things that had happened in my life. Most recent: a doctor's diagnosis of my father..

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

and, am sending this to encourage myself:

Dear Missah,

Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will direct your paths.

Proverbs 3, 5-6

for God is good all the time and all the time God is good!