I am appreciative that in my former life as a single carefree being, I travelled a lot. I've been to Yugoslavia, when it was still called that, London, Paris (although I didn't appreciate it then and spoke bad French to the boulangerie girl who got irritated with me), Italy, and Switzerland.

Rome Hotels are usually fairly decently priced and in good condition. I vaguely recall the hotel we stayed in for US$60 a night and it was livable. But then again, this was 20 years ago so revise the rate for inflation.

Hotels Paris? Forget it. For the same amount, we stayed in a dump with no heating (this was the heart of winter, mind you) and the plumbing choked. Fortunately we only stayed one night. We could only afford Macdonalds then. So really, don't go to Paris as a starving student.

If you thought Paris was expensive, London Hotels take first prize. For a grand 100 pounds (that is S$300!), my cousin and I stayed in a nice but shoebox-like Harry Potter closet just 5 years ago!

I have to write to Heidi and Kevin to ask if Dublin Hotels are affordable. They're going home end of the year so if we want to visit them, we'll have to hurry! We can catch Greg en route in London and bunk at his place. :D Maybe in September.

While I haven't watched Gray's Anatomy, I am an admirer of the two hot doctors on the show. They remind me of someone I know and love. :D Scrubs took a new meaning, if you know what I mean.

Hence I was even more surprised that you can buy your own scrubs commercially though Scrubs and Beyond. You can buy dickies scrubs, cherokee medical scrubs, and even Katherine Heigl's new line of scrubs, which are only available at this online store. You can even see the lady modelling them herself (or at least some blonde model who looks like her).

They look really smart. I think our hospital administrators here should really take a look at them. They're definitely cheerier than the ones we have here. Trust me, I've been there, I know. But luckily the sweet nurses at the ward where I gave birth to Jack more than made up for it by their warm smiles and kind concern.

Last night I asked Jack what he wanted to do today. He could go to Toys R Us (his fave hang) or Ikea (where I needed to buy a bunch of stainless steel household items - bin, bread bin, and utensil holder). Surprisingly he chose Ikea. This morning I posed the same question and he replied Ikea again. Anyhow, we went there and he had a ball of a time.

During his nap, he smiled and laughed many times. I wish I had a camera but I was trapped under a 12kg baby! Now I hadn't bought my new Nokia N82 yet (hubby said okay today, yay!) so I totally missed the moment. Hon, if you're reading this, you know what I mean! Anyway, when he woke I asked him what he dreamed about. He smiled and said, "Papada!" (Could be papadum since we had prata for lunch and he ate his Dad's papadum later at dinner but his Dad beamed so widely we all accepted it as fact.)

So this evening, we decided to go to Vivocity, eat at Sushi Tei (my fave), and take Jack to Toys R Us while I bought my bread-making stuff and research some ovens. I found halogen turbo broilers, turbo broilers, and convection ovens, all of which are made in China, so it really doesn't matter which I buy. Still the halogen one has a pretty light ring around the top but I am not sure what it does. Googling didn't quite help this time. I might try Wiki-ing it after this post.

Sushi Tei had a really long queue. I counted (okay I didn't but pulling up the mental photo I took...) 10-12 people ahead of me and at 7.40pm, that was pretty long. So hubby, Jack, and I went to the food court for yong tau foo. The cook was amused that Jack ate veg - it was almost as if all the kids she met didn't. But he heartily ate up the spinach, broccoli, quail's eggs, and noodles. We were all hungry again by 10. Low carbs, mused hubby. I ended up eating 4 slices of organic ciabatti nut bread with way too much butter and a glass of rice milk.

Jack was thrilled by the trip to Toys R Us. He wanted to play on the Thomas Train a while more but Giant's slamming shutters gave me a great excuse for saying we had to go. He noted "shop closing" and said goodbye to the train. We will undoubted be coming again very soon. Tonight Jack went to bed pretty much willingly. He had both his wishes come true today - well technically he chose to go to Ikea but he always wants to go to Toys R Us - so yes! Both wishes came true. If I had the N82, I could probably catch him now smiling in his sleep.

Technorati: Nokia N82, toddler eating vegetables, Vivocity, Toys R Us, Ikea, Giant

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).

Technorati: sleep, missed nap disrupted sleep, baby sleep patterns, sunlight wakes

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. :)

Technorati: setting up an online shop, Ashop Commerce, award-winning shopping cart

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:

style="overflow:hidden"

Neat huh? Credit goes to the girlie matters.

Technorati: remove scrollbar, CSS tips and tricks, coding tricks, tag board

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. :)

Technorati: renovation blueprint, renovation, home improvements

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.

For more info, check out Raw Polymers Ltd.

Technorati: organic living, know your plastics, toxic plastics, BPA, plastic bottles, PET, HPDE, PVC, LDPE, PC, safe baby bottles

In recent news, the mainstream papers are reporting what all ecomoms already know: Mattress Eco-Matters: Don't Take It Lying Down from the Washington Post and what to do about it in Rest Easy on a Safe Bed.

The Washington Post reports:

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.

Technorati: toxic beds, toxic mattresses, outgassing of mattresses, environmental working group, toxic pillow