Five Cats Blog
~ The life and antics of 5 cats and their human family
TechBot
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Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The Mommy Life: Short or Missed Nap Means Disrupted Sleep?
Indeed, in Jack's case it seems to be so. Or else, simply just tonight.
There have been exciting days when we went from event to event and he missed his nap but managed to keel and snore at 10.
Tonight we gently wrangled and teased him from reading his books and playing with his cars to his nan nan at bedtime without any fuss yet he woke about 6 times already in the last 3 hours.
Could it be the light? Dear hubby complains when I leave the desk light on, it affects his and Jack's sleep. Scientifically it has some credence. Light-sensitive people wake when the sun shines through the windows. When we were in Melbourne (without any curtains), Jack woke at 8am despite sleeping at around 2am the night before. Something about melatonin production. You can Google it.
I know I really should be doing an analysis on this so I'll report back again after recording some data. So far it has just been my foggy memory. I need some sleep too and I seem to function best with 8 hours sleep (after much experimentation).
I've been pondering whether or not to set up an online shop or not. After all I have a bunch of stuff to sell. Not particularly related, although now that I think about it, mostly doll-related: my needing to be rehomed Blythe doll collection (which Jack seemed rather disturbed about) and some of my soon-to-exist craft dolls (my sister loved the cat and the rabbit - there is hope).
Naturally I need to do my homework. I am no tech dummy, as you all know, but I too would like an easy to install end-to-end ecommerce software solution that will integrate seamlessly with my site. Oh yes, I have to design and construct a new shop, but that is another story.
A quick search and I find Ashop Commerce, a New York-based co that's been in the biz for 5 years. A decent track record by Internet standards. Incidentally they won the Best Technology in Small Business award at the MyBusiness Awards 2006 so that's some cred for you.
Their Australian-designed shopping cart software is touted as one of the world's best so if I can afford it, I must be in good hands. But first, its offerings: web-based (phew), hundreds of ecommerce software features, SEO, secure admin and storefront checkouts with 128-bit SSL encryption, 24/7 tech support, free emails, payment integration (important), and fraud detection on all orders (very important).
However when I checked the pricing, they're a tad out of my range. Monthly fees start from $49.95. Still, if you're running a serious biz, check them out. You'll be in good hands. But if not, stick to Ebay or a Paypal shop. I'll help you. :)
I haven't had my tag board for ages but decided to revive it to interact more with my readers (yup, that's you, Shen!). But first some tweaking of the ugly scrollbar I couldn't seem to remove.
A little Googling helped and here's the solution: add this snippet of code in the BODY section of the tag board CSS editor in Blogdrive:
overflow-x: hidden;
An alternative use is to embed it in your style sheet:
Despite not being an architect, dear hubby designed our home from his very own blueprint. There is one area we left untouched and it sits screaming every day at me to get it nicely done. We've picked out the tiles and now I just need to measure the area.
If you're planning to do it yourself, I really suggest you get your plan professionally done. We were fortunate to have a very sharp contractor who was thorough and patient and consulted with us wherever things needed to be placed.
In most cases I have seen, the end job is usually so poorly done that things need to be redone or our poor friends and acquaintances harp on it years after it was done whenever we go over for dinner.
Nowadays, one does not need to hire an architect to draw up House Plans anymore, especially for small projects. Simple Home Plans can be constructed using online sites such as HousePlansAndMore.com which offer customisable plans like Log home plans, Ranch house plans, and pretty much everything you can think of.
The point is, never proceed without a plan with to scale and marked out measurements and object placements. Unless of course, you hire my contractor. :)
Here's a "Know Your Plastics" sticky note. To check which plastics are which, look under the bottle or container you are holding:
#1 PET: Safe for one use but unsafe for reuse. It releases BBP, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalates, DEHA (carcinogens), and antimony with repeated use and under heat. And bacteria. Found in your branded soda and water bottles. Most recyclable.
#2 HDPE: High-density polyethylene. Used as a raw material in the production of products such as milk bottles, juice bottles, water pipes, yogurt and margarine tubs, trash bags, retail bags, and some food containers. No known leeching agents. Considered safe. Like PET, it is in demand as a recyclable material.
#3 PVC: Polyvinyl chloride. Contains DEHP, a phthalate, a suspected carcinogen and reproductive toxicant. Found in cling films, juice bottles, almost everywhere.
#4 LDPE: Low-density polyethylene. Used as frozen food bags, squeezable bottles, some cling films. No known leeching agents. Considered safe.
#5 PP (polypropylene): Used in a lot of reusable containers like Medela baby bottles, takeaway plastic containers. No known leeching agents. Considered the safest.
#6 Polystyrene: Human carcinogen. Found in coffee cups, egg cartons, yogurt and margarine containers, and takeaway containers.
#7 Polycarbonate: The worst! Avoid at all costs. Contains bisphenol A (BPA), a hormone disruptor which leeches into the contents of your bottle when stressed by heat and age. Causes obesity, breast cancer, crosses generations to cause birth defects and miscarriages in grandchildren. Found in baby bottles and sports bottles.
No label: Beware. Don't use.
Solution: Switch to glass and/or stainless steel. I have thrown out my non-stick pans and am quickly eliminating all plastic from the food in the house (and also canned foods which may be lined with BPA). Our plastic water kettle has been replaced by a stainless steel one. Ditto for all pots and pans, plus one cast iron pan. If you must use plastic, please recycle them, especially #1 and #2.
Most mattresses, as well as memory foam and egg-crate covers, are made with petroleum-based ingredients such as polyurethane foam, which can emit a strong smell because of organic solvents. And most also contain flame retardants, required by fire-safety laws but often harmful to human health. In 2005, toxic fireproofing chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were phased out of production, but some of their replacements are almost as bad, says Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst at the Environmental Working Group, a D.C.-based nonprofit organization.
Just how hazardous can a mattress -- or pad or pillow -- be? The answer might be enough to make you lose sleep. Regular tossing and turning causes a mattress's foam to break down, and the resulting dust can float into the air you breathe. A 2006 Consumer Product Safety Commission study estimated that the average adult sleeping on a conventional mattress will be exposed to 0.802 milligrams of antimony and 0.081 milligrams of boric acid -- which is commonly used to kill cockroaches -- every night. The report deems these amounts safe for those older than 5, but numerous studies have linked both substances to a host of adverse health effects at various doses, and the cumulative effect of daily exposure is unknown. In addition, a number of recent studies have detected PBDEs in household dust, including in homes in the D.C. area.
If you've had your mattress for some years, take heart that:
Over time, some of the chemicals from the mattress will have dissipated. But biological contaminants, such as dust, dander, pollen, mold and mildew, may increase. They cling to mattress stuffing and ticking, and are difficult to remove.
The solution? Just encase your mattress with a tightly woven cotton cover.
If you're concerned about toxins but not ready to replace your old mattress, you can take steps to improve indoor air quality:
· "It's difficult to gauge how much of the chemicals seep out, but it also depends on how you're protecting it," says Seo, who recommends a barrier cloth cover (made from tightly woven cotton and typically used for allergy protection) to keep some compounds from escaping.
· If a mattress or pillow is noticeably odoriferous, letting it air out in a shed for a few days will at least help keep the chemicals out of the bedroom, although they'll still be in the environment. "Avoiding things that stink" -- that new-foam smell -- "is a great rule of thumb for environmental health," Lunder says.
· Finally, stocking up on such houseplants as spider plants and ferns, which absorb airborne pollutants, can help you rest easier.
The previous 3 nights were spent feverishly crafting: a white rabbit, a tiny blue car, and last night a gray cat. Tonight I was supposed to take a break but ended up blogging and surfing (and coughing a lot). Time to sleep now...
Today we had lunch at the Manhattan Fish Market. All I'll say is that Fish and Co is much better. Trust me on this.
My godma noted that Jack's pants had become shorts and I grudgingly agreed with her that he needs more pants. Mom piped up that she saw a children's store downstairs and after lunch we went downstairs to check it out.
Jack, of course, wouldn't stand still for me to measure his leg length but after a few estimations, we took home an overall and a pair of blue khaki pants. Now I just got to wash them.
Lately I've been buying a lot of stuff online and so I thought I'd go check out some children's clothes for Jack. He loves his cowboy clothes so why not look at some boots and jeans too (now that I got his measurements).
Cavender's Boot City, this site I found, is actually priced pretty reasonably. Unfortunately they don't ship international. But with many friends in the US now, I can ask/bribe/beg one of them to collect it for me and bring it home. :p You guys know I'm talking about you. ;)
My first package from Reusablebags.com arrived! I gave one 12oz to Kaitlyn, one of the 22oz to Dad (and instructed him never to drink from PET bottles again), and took the remaining 2 home for us.
Tonight Jack and I drank from our sweet small Klean Kanteen! :D The water was heavenly! No petal taste at all. Begone plastic bottles! Begone! :D
Plus a set of 10 small certified organic cotton bags that I can use to store produce (primarily), snacks, and other store-worthy things. And I had to go order some more with my free Acme bag coupon. You go too... buy stuff and save the world. Tell them I sent you: go to Reusablebags.com.
With the US and world recession slowly creeping up on us, lots of sneaky investment opportunities come looming. Some are legit, some are not. We recently got back our money on some land banking plan which we decided was a scam. So careful discernment is very important.
Things to be careful of are: limited time offers, aggressive salespersons, too good to be true offers, and opps you have not Googled to research.
As always I advise to hold on to your hard-earned money, pay off your loans and buy blue chips when the stock market is down.
One thing I've not thoroughly looked into is buying gold and silver. With the price of gold and silver going through the roof, it is something worth researching on.
Here you buy them from pawn shops but I'd have to look into buying them from brokers - don't trust the smooth young things in banks not that they can get me to part with my money to pay for their expensive new cars.
"To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness." -- Bertrand Russell
"Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages."
-- Thomas Edison (Harper's Magazine, 1890)
A woman's romance with motherhood, green living, finance, and this heady thing called life.
Indeed, in Jack's case it seems 
