let's get groovy with groovle!

It's the last day of the month again! I am looking forward to a new month cos that means we are closer to our vacation! But before I can put aside all my work and get out there to enjoy, there are so much waiting to get done. I was supposed to get a brochure done for my Singapore office when I stumbled upon this cool stuff on the web. It is called 'Groovle' and it is all about having a groovy Google homepage!

What Groovle does is that it allows you to create your own Google search page. You can either choose from the home pages on the site including photos of celebrities, nature, animals, sports teams and others or you can upload your own image and create your customized home page. Since this is powered by Google, you can expect more features to be added in the near future but for now, you can have fun and get groovy with your customized Google home page! I played around with it for a while and loved the idea that you can place the search box anywhere you want on the page. After uploading your image, you can have the option of tiling the photo on your screen, stretch it to full size or framed it to create a clean look.

So check out Groovle and get your own Personalize Google home page for FREE!

hoping to catch Kilauea eruption

From what I learned from the Kona travel blog, Kona is an affordable vacation spot for a family with many mid-priced condos and bed and breakfasts. And because the Big Island is so big, we'll be spending a night in Kona and the other in Hilo. One thing for sure, we'll be heading to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in a rental car, and possibly a 4x4. I do hope that we can catch the eruption of the active volcano, Kilauea, when we are there!

For those who have a bit of more time, staying a few nights at one of the many Kona vacation rentals will do this beautiful island justice. Like I always say, there are so much to do but so little time. Whether you need to book your accommodation at Oahu or Kauai vacation rentals, many options await you at the website of Hawaiian Beach Rentals. Let's just say that this is a one-stop vacation booking site for anyone traveling to Hawaii.

an afternoon at fraser's hill

I guess the one who enjoyed the most in the trip was this little boy who found his freedom and fun at this quiet play ground. He had his choice of slides since there was no one around. It was a good break for the adults, watching how this toddler hopped from one place to another...



I was excited when they said that we were going to town but it didn't turned out the way I expected... town? what town was that?



We went looking for the waterfall but ended up in a little stream... this place didn't justify another night of stay :P

i always like beach houses

This morning, I spent some time checking out some Hawaii beach house options at Hawaiian beach rentals, which is a great place to shop and search for your Hawaii accommodations. I've always like a beach house all my adult years. I like to wake up to the sights of rolling waves or be greeted by a golden sunrise. It is all so relaxing and breathtaking. During the one night in Fraser's Hill, I enjoyed the fresh, crisp air in the morning so I believe it will be many times better in the Hawaiian islands, especially during the cooler months.

If you a travel freak like me, you may be interested to check out the Hawaii travel blog which provides many tips for your Hawaii trip. You can find out more about Kauai travel info or Oahu island, Maui or the Big Island. Well, I have found some of the resources to be useful for our coming Hawaii vacation.

I'm just looking forward to the ocean front views from our lanai at Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Marriott Waikiki.

skydiving in hawaii?

Has anyone done skydiving before? I did that 4 years ago before Clayton came along, which was a good decision cos' I wouldn't have done it if I was a mom then! DH and myself took up the courage to skydive from 14,ooo fit (tandem of course!) in Cairns and that was an experience of a lifetime. Honestly, I almost thought I was going to pass out when I was in the air at that time!

Someone asked me if I will skydive in Hawaii... I looked at him and replied with a firm 'NO'! Actually, I was told that skydiving is becoming one popular sport in this state, challenging the popularity of surfing. Hundreds of tourists visit this place to experience a different thrill of skydiving in Hawaii. Flying high above the air while looking down at volcano craters and high-rise waves can only be experienced in skydiving in Hawaii. You can read more about what other things you do in Kauai travel blog if you plan to travel to the island. It should be quite nice to rent one of the Hawaii home rentals if you are traveling as a family or in a big group. Since most travelers will begin their Hawaii vacation in Honolulu, reading up some Oahu vacation Info will be helpful in planning the itinerary. And that's exactly what I'm doing these few weeks. Like they always say, there are always so much to do but so little time.

back from Fraser's Hill

We are back from Fraser's Hill, after spending a night in Sri Damai bungalow. It was a great time breathing some fresh and cool mountain air and to get away from the hustle and bustle of work. Only problem was the roads to Fraser's Hill was winding which made the journey tiring for all of us. The fun part was we got to savor any food we wanted as we had a residential chef with us! Woohoo!

Well, the bungalow was big and spacious, though nothing like the ones in Kauai vacation rentals. If only it was like the ones described in Kauai travel blog, we wouldn't mind staying for another night or two. But it wasn't. If you have read about what to do in Kauai from the blog, you will know that Fraser's Hill is nothing like it. We drove around town in the afternoon and ended up in The Paddock but no one was keen to do any horse-riding. Sad to say, the horse riding centre wasn't that appealing or attractive so we ended sitting and chatting in a shed. But Kauai has pristine beaches, heaps of activities to keep one busy. I think we'll be too busy deciding what we want to do rather than wondering what to do!

That's it for the moment, more reports coming up!

on to fraser's hill

We are taking a one night break to Fraser's Hill with our good friends, Dexter and Kim this afternoon. Actually, we won't planning to go as there are piles of work waiting to get done. But Dexter has been a good salesperson - he kept telling us about the resident chef who can cook anything to our liking and Asians being Asians, when you hear that there is good food somewhere, it's hard to say 'NO'. Then one morning, my boy told me that he liked Uncle Kim Meng and Auntie Kim.... that was like a confirmation to us that we should take a short trip with them. We have never been there and don't really know what to expect. But it's solely to spend some time with our friends so the attractions don't quite matter.

So, I'll be having a blog break this afternoon and night... time to rest those fingers, wrists and shoulders...

trucks are getting stylish too

Well, I don't know much about hardware stuff and I guess that's what the man in my house can come in handy :P When anything goes wrong with the cabinets or door hinges, I'll leave it to hubby to fix it up. These days, the trucks on the roads are getting more attractive in terms of the aesthetics and design. In fact, many of them are so nice that you wouldn't think they are meant for truck drivers only. Plus, you can purchase attractive and durable truck toolbox on the web, which is like an accessory to your cool truck. Many of these tool boxes come in different finishes and material so you can choose one that matches well with your truck. Trucks are no longer boring and stiff looking like before. Many car manufacturers are launching new designs and features to offer the modern and stylish generation.

learn from others on the map

I'm one of those who enjoy travel commentaries, travel reviews and participating in unbiased travel forums/sites. It all started when we were travelling to New Zealand and I needed to find out more about this beautiful country. Since, I've been an active contributor in this travel portal site.

Along the way, I stumbled upon Atlas Post. This is an interesting travel-related community site that allows you to read travel stories and personal articles based on the geographical location of the person. You can read someone's story and view their photos by clicking on the Map. The features of the site grants the user the opportunity to network and get to know friends from their neighbourhood. It can be someone who live near your city or work near your workplace. You can communicate, build friendship, send virtual gifts to your friends through the network.

I believe this is one way to expand your knowledge in travel destinations while providing you the opportunity to learn from like-minded individuals. Check out Atlas Post and get to know people via the MAP.

baby products and reviews portal

I just got back from a full moon party cum a birthday celebration of a two year old boy. It was clever of parents Callie and Darren to combine the celebrations together. It was a nice evening out especially when Clayton found little friends to play with. That left the adults with more time to catch up with each other.

Being a mom of two is not easy for Callie. She told me briefly about her postpartum blues which made me wonder if I'll be ready for number two! Moms like Callie will find Lilaguide dot com a useful stop to find information and resource on baby shops, products, reviews, services and shopping guides. With 32,000 listings and more than 120,000 reviews from real parents, it is a good place to chat with new moms, those who have been there and done that and contribute reviews to help others with buying decisions on baby products. So moms, drop by the site and check it out!

what's in Amsterdam?

Someone told me that if I want to visit Van Gogh art collection, I should make a trip to Amsterdam. Oh yes, I'm a fan of Van Gogh paintings and art pieces. I took the time to find out more about Amsterdam this morning. A quick look at the photos tells me that this is a city known for its museums. As a matter of fact, there are more than fifty museums that attract millions of visitors year after year. Visitors love Amsterdam's temperate weather and the artistic architectural beauty in the country.

When you travel to Amsterdam, find good hotel deals is easy on the web. Amsterdam is a busy tourist destination and the hotels in Amsterdam come in all sorts - from luxury landmark hotels to cozy boutique hotels overlooking the canal. As for those traveling with children, you may prefer self-catering apartments or bed and breakfast. Those on budget may look for cheap hotels and hostels. Generally, most people will choose based on price and location after comparing with several hotel booking sites in the web. One of the hotel accommodation sites I often turn to is hotelclub dot net. Being one of the largest online booking sites, you can find a wide choice of hotel accommodation for your travel needs.

I'm not sure if we'll make it to Amsterdam in the near future but if we do, a visit to Van Gogh museum will be in my list!

when it's time to call on a website optimization firm

Search engine spiders are actually very easy to please, much easier than actual human beings, said my internet marketing friend. According to him, search engine spiders aren't subjective and they don't care what the subject is about; they just care about the number keywords and keyword phrases.

The only way you can possibly displease a search engine spider is by overusing a keyword/keyword phrase and making your site smell like spam. Search engine spiders are now more advanced than ever, and so they are better able to ignore sites that are full of spam. Too many keywords or keyword phrases that are blatantly there will hinder your site from being crawled by spiders. So if you are involved in a business and has a website, you may want to consider appointing a website optimization firm to help you with this. A website optimization firm can assist in alot of ways including bringing more traffic to your site and increasing its popularity among search engines. More website traffic would mean more exposure of your products and services which can increase the conversion rates and up your profits.

so many credit cards these days!

Today, DH was stopped by a credit card salesperson at the gas station. This guy was trying to persuade him to sign up for a new credit card that can offer rebates on shopping purchases and free membership for life. These days, there are so many credit cards in the marketplace and it's hard to decide which one works for you. To me, they are almost the same except for the slight differences in membership privileges and service. If you are confused like me, you can check out credit card search engine where you can compare all sorts of credit cards including Airline Miles Credit Cards, business credit cards, gas credit cards and more. After finding and comparing the cards, you can decide what is best for you and apply it online instantly. Talking about convenience!

blog marketing is easy

If you are considering having both a blog and a website that will work if you have enough information to cover in both. Linking them both together is a great idea if you do decide to have both. You can always use the website to hold your main information and products, and the blog to promote them and discuss any issues regularly.

Wondering about hosting? If you have a website, you can either host your blog on the same server you use for your site, or you can leave it where it is. The choice is ultimately up to you, either way you can have successful blogs that will begin to bring in revenue to you. But these days, web hosting is affordable and convenient. Most importantly, it gives you better control of your website. Getting links to your blog is a good way to gain new readers. Another great tool you can use is the RSS feeds. When you use the RSS feeds, it allows people to publish your blog on their site, and in return it gets you more visitors.

Blog marketing can be pretty effective if it is done right. However, you cant just set up a blog and expect people to find it. Get your blog out there and make it known to others just as you would a website. Exchanging links with others will help, so will article marketing using your blog.

have you heard of a virtual assistant?

If you tell the business people that they can get help now for their business and personal chores by engaging a 'Virtual Assistant ', they may stare at you in disbelief. Last year, I have never heard of virtual assistant until DH introduces the concept to me.

Whether you are a small business or a corporation, the question arises, should you hire a virtual assistant? You know that there are a large number of tasks that need to be done during the day, some which seem impossible to do. However, you know that this is a large leap into a new way of functioning for your business. If you are determining the best business moves, you may want to evaluate your reasons for getting involved with the extra helping hands.

The major reason why anyone would hire a virtual assistant is because there is too much work that is taking away from things that they would be doing. The best way to evaluate on whether you need a virtual assistant or not, are to see what you are doing all day. If you are spending time on administrative correspondence and not your vision, then a virtual assistant may be a good answer. This is especially important if you have noticed that your business is beginning to grow or expand.

Image Asset Management workshop ended

I've been incredibly busy these two days! But it was great to enjoy myself while keeping busy with the Image Asset Management workshop with Jill Lowe. This is the first time we are conducting this seminar in KL and though we only had ten participants, the dynamics were fantastic! Jill did a hands-on demo on every single woman in the room, teaching, guiding and helping us with dressing strategies in our work and personal life. The lessons taught were an eye-opener for most of us and I was glad to see happy faces, transformed individuals in these two days - amazing! I took so many photos that the digital camera battery went flat and the memory card was full! I can't wait to sort out the photos, to show you guys how interesting the workshop had been.

website for people with bad credit

Not all of us are good with numbers or managing finances. Sometimes people can make mistakes in business, overspending on personal indulgences, over commit in loans , house and other obligations and as a result of that, end up with bad credit history. Now, anyone with bad credit knows that it can be hard getting any loan or applying for a credit card. It's interesting to know that there is a website that specializes in bad credit offers for people who are in this category. Like to know more? Check out the link above.

Data Recovery New York to the rescue!

How frustrating it is to experience technical errors on your computer and laptop when you are in the midst of work or doing something. This is especially so if you are a heavy user on the PC all day. These days, it can even easier to lose data in the computer due to any technical faults, human error, incompatible software in the system, virus attack, bugs...etc. Personally, I had experienced the loss of data when my previous iBook experienced a system clash. The technical didn't know what happened and instead of recovering my lost data, he reformatted my entire hard disk! I guessed that was the easy way out for him!

It's good to know that a Data Recovery New York called DataHotline specializes in recovering loss of data for Hard Drive, Server Storage, CD-Rom, Floppy Disk, Zip Disk, Digital Camera, PDA and even Cellular Phone. Isn't it great? Besides, the company also gives priority to Raid Data Recovery Service. All you need to do is to send your device or equipment to these experts and let them conduct a thorough evaluation. And if you are pleased with the reports and quotes, DataHotline will proceed to recover your lost data right away!

when it's time for car transports

I'm one person who doesn't like to move house, so does DH. But we know that when the time comes for us to move to down under, we need to do lots of planning to make this move a smooth one. Whenever we heard of friends moving and having to spend days, if not weeks, on packing, we would empathize with them.

Sometimes, it's even tougher if you need to move the family to another state or country. Imagine the enormous tasks of selling the house, packing up, settling the children, arranging for car transports, renting a house in the new city...etc. Few years ago, friend of mine moved to another state and insisted that her car be taken with her too. She spent weeks finding the right moving company handling car transports as there wasn't any specialized company for automobile transport then. When doing a research on auto transports, always ensure the reliability of the transport company. Experience drivers and quality service, together with good rates are other things to look out for.

Relocation is indeed a stressful event that is avoided by many especially those with families and kids. But if you are have to move to take up a new job or appointment, I suppose you haven't had much choice, do you?

any handbag lover out there?

Any handbag lover out there? If yes, we have something in common! My hubby cannot understand why we women need so many bags. I often tell him that we need a different one for different outfit and different occasion! Plus, women tend to buy handbags of various colours besides having a classic black and versatile brown.

I was just browsing through the handbags collection at Shopping dot com. The variety is impressive. You can find Marc by Marc Jacobs (my favourite!), fossil, liz claiborne, guess, lucky, coach and more! In other words, there is something for every woman here, whether you are looking for a casual bag or an outdoor one. A tote or hobo for the weekend or a clutch purse for an evening function. If you are unsure of the product or online merchant, take some time to read the reviews and compare the prices. With some many choices on the site, it saves you lots of time checking multiple webstores. I found this handmade Pietrini bag from Tuscan... isn't that stylish?