Parenting teens in the 21st century

Being parents of the 21st century is certainly challenging these days. I witnessed it with my own eyes as I thought about my design students who fell between the age group of 16 -15 years old. The rising rate of troubled teens at that age group tend to experience problems related to peer pressure, emotional instability and parental disagreement. At this age where teens fight for independence and freedom of space, they don't like intrusion from parents or guardians into their private lives.

Yet for some parents who seem to be at wit's end in dealing with a troubled teen, some can considered Wilderness Programs For Troubled Teens as an option. It is important to understand the pros and cons before deciding on sending your teen to a program like this as not all may be suited for the programs available.

Parents must also not think that sending a difficult teen to a wilderness program is an easy way out to ease themselves of parental responsibilities or duties. In any case, do consult a counsellor who can assist you in finding the right solution or program for your child.

Challenging week ahead...

Just found out today that Clayton's nursery will be shut til 3 May! This is to prevent the spread of the Hand, Foot and Mouth disease as there have been 3 or more confirmed cases of the disease in the school.

I'm wondering how to get on with my work with Clayton hanging around at home for the next one week or so... we've been so used to working in the afternoons without him. With this change, stress levels may be rising... and I've got a design dateline to meet this week :(

It's definitely not easy being a WAHM... what say you?

Keep your data and emails secure

We need protection for our homes, pets, cars and for that, we'll get a home insurance, pet and car insurance. And for home security, we would consider an alarm system. What about when it comes to the data and emails in our computer, especially those which we like to keep them confidential or away from the eyes of others?

If this has been your concern (it's mine!), check out: "SecureZIP - The next generation of ZIP". Many of us store our personal data such as medical records, bank statements, passwords, financial documents in our personal laptops or computers. And for those who share computers with other colleagues in the office, you have private or confidential emails which you may want to keep secure with SecureZIP’s integration with Microsoft Outlook®.

I just downloaded a free version of the software and you can do just the same by logging on to "www.securezip.com". Not only can you keep data secure with SecureZip, it provides the additional features of compression for your files, which is why it is called the 'next generation of ZIP'. This is great for individuals, small businesses or even large corporations due to its versatility and user-friendliness.

Like to know more, try it out yourself through an easy download or find out more at the website.

Can't submit opp!

I'm seriously upset.... I took this opp tonight and when it came to submission, I got this message and this was within 30 minutes of writing. No doubt it was only $5 for the opp but it was the efforts and time I had put in...

What's going on here???

Creative trade show booths

We are in the seminar business for the last 5 years and enjoying every bit of the work, despite the stress during the marketing months. In the last couple of years, DH and myself made the effort to visit exhibitions and trade shows to keep ourselves abreast of the industry and business developments, so that we can understand the trends of the marketplace better.

I was a graphic designer in an exhibition company for my first job which taught me many aspects of trade show booth designs and spatial displays. I worked closely with exhibition designers to come out with graphics for the exhibition walls, lightboxes and display booths. I had fun meddling with 3-D graphics and enjoyed the thrill of seeing my work in live display.

Trade Show Booths are becoming more creative and versatile these days. Depending on your display needs, you can choose from a wide array of designs and most of them can be assembled easily and portable enough to be carried from one trade show to another. This is cheaper than paying a designer to design an one-off exhibition booth which can only be used once, and be discarded once the booth is dismantled.

A Spacestation portable pop-up system is attractive and one of the nicest display booth. Besides being lightweight and portable, you can achieve a different look by adjusting the face panels. Even poster stands come in various creative designs and styles these days. The slide-in frames are useful with the flexibility of re-usage and are easy for self-installation. This is more cost saving than getting your posters custom-framed, in which case, you may not be able to reuse the frame again.

What's often overlook is that a trade show booth with a professional finish can affect the branding and corporate identity of the company. Even the choice of banner stands, poster stands and booth furniture can give your company's image an additional boost! Thus, it is important to choose the right booth to lend the company a good image and impression to the visitors present in the exhibition.

Snippets of past, present and...

I've been doing a lot of pondering and reflections lately. I'm not sure if I'm hitting the mid life crisis but my memory bank is working hard, bringing back many thoughts of yesteryears to my mind.

I start to recall snippets of childhood, teenage years, early adulthood... snippets of good days, fun times, happy occasions, love notes, hurting moments, painful memories, shattered dreams, wounded hearts and broken toils.

All of a sudden, I'm sentimental again, pondering over regrets and failures of life. I struggle to balance those negative thoughts with positiveness, gratitude and thankfulness... I am afraid to dwell in them. I am afraid of confusion and pain.


I know I'll never find answers to the many things that happen in my life. Things that make meask, 'Why God? Why did I do the things I did? And why didn't I do the things I should?'

Yet, amidst these confusion, uncertainties, fears, disappointments, pain, hurts and the cloud of negativity hovering over my head, I know there is a Saviour Friend. He is there to hold me, comfort me, accept my mistakes, heal, restore, comfort and love.

In faith, I let Him take His place, show me the way, bring me the comfort and reassure me with His grace. In Him, I find forgiveness, I receive healing. Before Him, I shed those tears, I look up, I move on.

Even if I made the worst mistakes or commit the worst sin in my life today, I know choosing Him as my Saviour Friend is the BEST decision I have made in my life on earth.

With that in place.. I carry on... I hang on.

It's a tag on: My Last Post

I was tagged by Shopping Mum on a serious and 'tough' one on My Last Post...

Well, let's assume I know well ahead of time to be prepared for this... so I would like to:

• donate my organs
• ask that DH take good care of Clayton
• tell Clayton I love him and he's the best gift from heaven
• ask Clayton to be a good Christian and love God with all his heart
• tell my mother, brother and DH that I love them and I want to see them in heaven
• invite my mum and brother to know Jesus - He's the truth, the way and the life
• ask my brother to take good care of my mum that she has a happy retirement
• give part of my savings to my mum and charities

• thank these wonderful friends of mine who played such a big part of my life. I want to them to know that I love them and appreciate them: Yarris, Suat, Debra, Tracey, Judy and family, Raymond Lee, Daniel Chua, Dayna, Pas Lim & Pas Marion, Tracy Tan & David, Kim Meng, Eliza & Jason, Shirley & Stan Walker, Bro Cheong & Sis Rock, Rosalind Lo and many others who have been such a blessing to my life, who have loved and accepted me for being me.

• thank all my friends in the blogosphere - you add meaning to my online world

Ok... I'm not sure if anyone likes this tag but if you are tag and you don't like to do the post, I won't be upset... after all, it can be a 'sensitive' post to some :)

Sesame (If you have time, ok?)
Bro Bokjae
ParisBeaverbanks

How to manage a property efficiently

This afternoon, DH suggested that we checked out a newly launched show house/display home after our lunch with our good friends. We took a tour in two of the properties and were very impressed with the quality finishes and modern designs of the interiors.

The properties were complemented by a spacious garden and park for families and a state-of-the-art clubhouse for the residents. With the sophisticated architecture, I would believe that the property management company should look into the Association Software to allow the property managers to connect efficiently with the residents or homeowners. The software helps to organize and track maintenance requests, build a closer community among home owners via bulletin boards and help foster closer relations between the property manager and the residents.

Most importantly, the property managers can manage these solutions on remote via the Internet.

A nice afternoon with our good friends

We had lunch with Tracy and David at Sao Nam at Plaza Damas this afternoon. We haven't met David since he came back from China so it's nice to meet up since Clayton misses Uncle David.

The food was good, yummy but unfortunately the serving portions didn't please the men. I enjoyed the coconut beef and the tamarind chicken was not too bad.

I kinda like the decor of the restaurant. It is cosy and the raw cement floor finish complements the huge lighting feature... nice place for a quality meal... but I wouldn't recommend for big groups unless you are ready to order more servings. Know what I mean?

Drug detox treatment

I am into Part 5 of my Detox series in my health blog. Do you know that detox is also is number one step to drug addiction recovery? Basically, a drug addict who has been dependent on the use of drugs needs to train the body to stop this dependency and be weaned off drugs. With various methods to drug detox, the natural way would be NewLife Detox where vitamins, minerals, sauna, exercise and other wellness approaches are used.

Sometimes a drug rehab treatment program needs to be followed for those who are addicted to certain drugs such as heroine and cocaine. The program involves counselling and guidance to provide drug addicts the tools to rekindle the confidence to follow the road to recovery.

Technorati Favourites Exchange

Have you heard about the exchange of Technorati Favourites Exchange that is getting popular in the blogosphere initiated by Dosh Dosh? If you haven't and would like to know more, head down to my Technorati Favourites Exchange post at my home office women blog.

And if you are keen to exchange Technorati Faves with me on this blog. Click
and drop me a comment with your fave link.

Check out the benefits that tag along with this exchange!

Your Perfect Stop for osCommerce Templates

Wanna know who has the largest osCommerce Template membership site in the internet? I'll tell you in a minute. Not only is it the largest, it offers the best value of a three month membership for only $89 while other companies may be charging a whooping $150 per design. And did I mention that the $89 allow an unlimited download of templates within the 3 months?

This is a perfect bargain for web designers who not only can transfer this good value to their clients but present them with a whole lot of creative templates. Though I'm not a web designer, it is so timely for me as I'm currently planning to start an online store.

I browse through some of the templates and the designs are professional, creative and very nicely done. Check out some of my favourites.

This is only one of the few pretty templates if you are looking at setting up a kids' online store. The bright and happy colours and attractive photos will truly bring delight to your visitors.

And there is this stylish art and photography one which is captivating and dramatic. Don't you just love that sexy body creatively tucked in the feminine tulip?





The focus point on this flower store template draws your visitors literally to the store. All you need is to add your flower photographs and you have a complete store ready to go!

OK... you guys may know I have a shopping blog and I adore shoes! Maybe I may think about an online shoes store in the future and this template may come in handy.

Enough said... before I sign off... the company who offers these fabulous and professional templates? The OsCommerce Cafe, who not only offers great value for 3 months membership, but 6 and also one year... all depending on your needs and preferences.


If you like any of the templates, point it to your web designer and you just do the art direction. It's probably cheaper than designing a template from scratch and what more, you can have the flexibility of launching a couple more stores.

A phone call to cheer me up...

I received a phone call right after the previous post. A good friend read the post and decided to cheer me up via a phone call - I was touched - I didn't expect that - it was a nice surprise.

That reminds me of what friends are for. I don't have many good friends here and sometimes, I do feel lonely. I used to talk a lot more, speak my mind and talk my heart freely to good friends. But, I am not sure if I'm growing older, I just don't that much anymore.

It's still nice to get a call like this - thank you, Dexter. Sorry, I got your honeymoon vacation wrong - it's Italy then Austria...

Choosing a good training provider is crucial

Being a seminar organizer, I'm a strong believer of quality training and continuing education. And when I am particular on choosing a good training provider who is qualified, professional, reliable with proven track records and equipped with top class facilities.

If you are looking for experts in PHP training and PHP mySQL Training, have a look at OTG, which stands for Open Technology Group. Not only do they offer quality training, their courses are well structured and carefully planned to meet their students' objectives of learning.

The "Fly and Learn" training package is one which is unique on its own. This package allows you to enroll in a course with inclusions of hotel accommodation, air travels and rental car, if you prefer. That sounds like a perfect option for anyone looking for good value and a complete all-inclusive learning package.

Clayton had two falls...

Clayton had two falls in the last two days - one after another.

1) He was jumping on the bed and I suspected he slipped and fell. I wasn't in the room. All I heard was a loud cry and when I ran to the room, the poor boy was faced down on the floor... he had a blue black near his eyes... I'm so heartsick.

2) I was making an important phone call and was alerted by a loud cry again. He ran into my room with blood around his mouth - I was shocked and scared! What happened!!! I had never seen so much blood on him! I asked DH what happened (he was in the room with Clayton)... he told me Clayton fell from the chair...

Clayton had a cut below his lips and he might have bit his tongue cos I fed him orange in the evening and he kept screaming.

Guess how I felt? His face is looking so bruised these few days.... sob, sob...

Get creative with customized flip flops!

Using sandals or flip flops for fundraising? This must be a cool and creative thought! I've seen people using T-shirts to raise funds for good causes, charities and NGOs but not flip flops.

Bagus has been a specialist in customizing flip flops for companies, associations, schools or individuals for nearly 20 years. With a variety of colours, modern designs and sizes, these flip flops are perfect for corporate gifts, team branding, event giveaways or even fundraising! Imagine organizing a treasure hunt and sponsor the participants with a customized flip flop with your company's logo and brand name - everyone will be walking with your 'brand' around - what a great advertising tool! Many companies have used these flip flops as creative fundraising ideas!

What's unique about Bagus is that the minimum orders can be low and you can be assured of superior service and reliable support. Besides, the order process is simple: just choose your sandal, specify the colours, size, submit your logo and place your order!

Bagus even suggests an innovative way to print your logo - at the sole of the sandal! Though it sounds like a cool idea but some companies may not like their logos to be 'stepped' around... it's just my opinion. But hey, it's your customized flip flop - it's your choice, really.

But know what, I really like those flip flops - they are so trendy, cool, hip and stylish - great for beaches!

Notes of my heart today...

I don't know why but I'm feeling tired today. I feel like my head is spinning and my physical body is weak and frail. Mentally, I struggle to focus and I need to take an extra second to gather my thoughts.

My emotions are all over the place. I'm feeling melancholic. I keep reminding myself to be grateful and thankful. Yet, I am overwhelmed with my inner struggles and pain.

I cannot understand what's going on in my head and heart. I smile with a sense of sadness. I am feeling sentimental while struggling for strength to stay focused on the present.

Maybe I am just tired... Maybe I just need rest. Maybe I need a hug. Or perhaps a reassuring pat on my back. Perhaps I miss a friend... maybe I need sleep.... maybe..

Planning your travel online

In two weeks' time, Dexter will be getting married. I'm so excited for him and his wife-to-be... I'm sure he's so busy with his planning for the big day and his upcoming honeymoon.

They will be touring Italy, Rome and Paris right after their wedding. Knowing Dexter, he's one detailed chap who would do his research thoroughly and plan out his itinerary in details. Initially, he was looking into an all inclusive honeymoon vacation where all accommodation, tours, activities, food and sight-seeing were included in the package. He was hoping that he wouldn't need to worry about 'anything' on his honeymoon so an all inclusive package would be like an ideal choice.

Dexter has done most of his research online and these days, vacation websites are comprehensive with details, photos and information of your travel destination. A travel booking site like Vacations.net offers attractive hotel rates with reviews of real travelers to help you make better decisions in your travel plans.

Like Dexter, I'm one person who can't make any travel plans without digging into my research online. What about you? Do you plan your travel online?

The weather is crazy lately!

Oh... it's storming out there tonight. The weather has been quite bad lately - hot and humid one moment, and then, thunderstorms, the next. Due to this 'hot-cold' transitions, many people are vulnerable to respiratory illnesses. I'm thankful that I don't have to get out of the office like some people do, so blessed to work from home.

Hmm... looks like it's a nice night to snooze...

Shoes, shoes, shoes...

I can't resist shoes... especially those I truly adore - for its comforts, designs or simply being unique and different.

I've got 6 pairs of Crocs - 2 Beach, 1 Off Road, 1 Niles, 1 Mary Janes and the most recent addition, a Prima. Don't tell my DH!

I'm that sort of person who can be loyal after a label for a long time. My adoration for Camper shoes is such. I just found out during my last trip to Singapore that the Camper shop is closed for good, I think :(

I'm browsing Camper e-shop again... I smell temptations... my brother in law is coming back from US, he does a good job in being my errand man (*giggles*). Even if you are not a Camper shoe lover like me, you should take a look at their cool website - it's creative, funky, fun and very artistic...

Just to assure you - this is not a sponsored post :)