The Household COO

Okay, I have a confession.  I used to have a weakness for high heels.  Yes, it’s hard to imagine when all I wear these days are sneakers, boots and sports sandals.  Yeah, well, I’m a mother and you know how hard it is to chase a toddler in stilettos, especially when you haven’t been wearing them in ages. 

In fact, I think I’ve gotten so used to wearing sneakers that I have a selection of sneakers to match my clothes - black, white, blue, and pink.  My favourite pair of shoes are my Merrell boots.  It has gotten to the point where the hubby has specifically forbidden me to buy another pair of sneakers.  I’m allowed to buy anything else but not sneakers.

But that’s just it - I’d never wear anything else to go out.  These days I dress for comfort and ease of nursing.  The last thing I want to do is get into an outfit that is impractical for nursing my toddler on the go.  Since that usually means casual, there’s really very little point in getting anything more formal because I wouldn’t wear it - or hardly ever.

It is also worth while noting that in a tropical climate, shoes distintegrate very fast.  There were two formal events I went to recently where I wore some of my old high heeled shoes.  When I got home, the soles of my heels were completely destroyed.  I wondered at first if it was because I wasn’t walking properly but it isn’t.  It is because the rubber has disintegrated over time and after one wear, I might as well throw them out.

Ah well, it’s probably a good thing because last weekend, I read an article in the Star about “Killer Shoes” which highlighted the negative effects of wearing shoes that were too narrow, that compressed your toes, that arched your foot unnaturally (i.e. high heels or any sort), and gave too little support.  The recommendation was to wear sneakers when you need to do a lot of walking and to save your high heels for those special occasions when you won’t have to do much walking.  Good thing I love to wear my Merrells!

Nevertheless, I still miss how my feet look in high heels.  I was helping my SIL2 shop for a pair of casual work shoes for her casual Fridays at the office and spotted myself eyeing a few of the nicer shoes and clothing items on the rack.  Sometimes I miss the days of getting dressed up to go to the office.  Then again I try to remind myself that if I had to do this day in, day out, I’d probably get sick of it pretty quickly.  And besides, who am I kidding?  I’ve never been comfortable in formal wear.  As much as I like how I look in them, I hate having to traipse around daintily just so I don’t keel over and fall face first down the stairs or something. 

Even so, that didn’t stop me from saving a few of my power suits from my working days which I never ever wear any more.  To be quite honest, I didn’t really wear them that often at the office either.  I don’t even know if I can still wear them.  I keep them with this fantastic idea that I’ll wear them to formal functions, like a wedding or something, but seriously, who am I kidding?  Maybe it’s time to get rid of them come CNY when I perform my annual wardrobe spring clean.

I got this thing for shoes.  I think it all started when I first came back to Malaysia and found it difficult to find clothes in my size.  Ironically, even though I was an Australian size 10, I was still struggling to find clothes that would fit me here.  It would be so annoying when I walk into a shop and the sales girl will ask me if I wanted to try on a pair of pants.  I would tell her that it looks too small and she would insist I could wear them.  Yeah, right!  I can’t even get it past my knees!

The only thing I could easily fit into were the shoes - only because I have small feet for my height.  So after that, I only really went shopping for shoes.  I would go back to Australia to go clothes shopping where I could feel like a normal size person, while over here, I would just stick to shoes.

When I was a kid, I hated having to wear glasses because I thought they were so uncool.  I was already a nerd so I didn’t need any additional eyewear announcing further geekiness.  Besides, back then a lot of the frames aren’t as hip or funky as the ones you see these days.  So when I got to Uni, I managed to talk my parents into letting me get a pair of contact lenses.  Somewhere in the middle of my five year course at Uni, I discovered I wasn’t really against the idea of wearing glasses.  What I didn’t like was not being able to see if I lost my glasses.

A few more years after that, I started to get lazy with the contact lenses and would only put them on if I was doing sports.  Since I was quite active in sports, it meant wearing them quite often.  Now that I hardly ever do any sports, I only wear contacts on special occasions when I want to be vain.  In fact, I quite enjoy wearing glasses now - especially having different pairs of funky coloured frames so I can alter my “look” whenever I feel like it.

It used to be really expensive to get a pair of prescription glasses so I only ever had one set - the one I was wearing.  My backup would be the old set I had before my prescription had changed.  Nowadays, you can get some really affordable prescription eyewear online.  How affordable?  Try $8.  Yes, there’s no typo there - you can get a pair of prescription eyewear (lens included) for as little as $8.  And if you want to add anti-reflective and anti-radiation coating to your lenses, it is an additional $4.95 - what a bargain!  Sunglass tint is another $4.95.  I seriously don’t think it gets any cheaper than this.

So where can you get them from?  Zenni Optical.

Maybe it’s time I try for a new look and get myself a pair of Holiday frames?  What do you think of these:

or these:

I’ve got blue frames, red frames and rimless frames, so I thought perhaps it might be time for a pair of green frames.

My Signing Time DVDs are here!  After placing an order for them on August 19, they finally arrived yesterday - two and a half months after because of dodgy postal services and strict customs regarding imported DVDs.

After seeing the size of the box (see the photo above for size impression), I suppose I’m not all that surprised that the first parcel went missing.  Although I find it terribly disappointing that one can’t even make an online order without the entire contents of the delivery going missing!

Nevertheless, I’m glad they’ve finally arrived, and I think, so is Gavin, since he spent the evening watching 4 episodes!

After the disasterous purchase of DVDs online, I’m glad to have my faith in the postal service restored with my recent purchase from Reuseablebags.com.  I place the order on October 27, the parcel was shipped on October 29, and the goods arrived yesterday (November 8).  This is the second parcel I have ordered from Reuseablebags.com which has arrived in good time and with all contents intact.  That said, I still think it will be a long time before I order another online DVD…

So what’s the take-home message?

• resist the temptation to save on shipping by making a bulk order - you could end up paying more than you bargained for with other unpleasant consequences
• avoid purchasing DVDs, but if you must - make sure they’re in small quantities and the parcel is small

Since discovering that I needed to apply for an LPF letter of exemption to get my DVDs cleared at customs and suspecting that it’s going to be a long and tedious process, I decided to check if FedEx could re-route my parcel to Australia where I’m sure my parents would receive it without any problems.  Turns out I can send it on to Australia but it’ll just cost me another RM480.  At this rate, the shipping charges alone is costing me as much as the DVDs!

After checking things up with the Censorship Office, it appears I need to pay RM280 - I’m not sure whether this is customs duties, LPF costs, or what.  It also appears you need to go in person (or have a representative) in order to apply for the LPF.  Since the office is in Putrajaya, I’m not about to strap my son into his carseat and drive an hour away, bumble my way around a city I’m not familiar with to hunt down the right departments.  So hubby engaged a runner to do this menial task and that’s going to cost another RM200.

Well, what do you know, I’m still going to have to pay another RM480 whatever I decide to do.

And all this because I decided to be smart and save on shipping by buying all the DVDs in one shipment.  Turns out I would have been wiser to incur more shipping charges and order in smaller quantities.  My friend, who has also been placing orders for the same DVDs, has been buying hers in lots of three or four DVDs at one go.  According to her, she receives her shipments very quickly and without problems.

In the end, this is how much I ended up paying for my DVDs:

Initial order and shipping charges - USD$521
FedEx courier charges (for second shipping when the first parcel didn’t arrive) - USD$100
LPF charges - RM480

Total cost - RM2610

If I had bought them in smaller quantities like my friend, I would only have paid RM2160.  In the end, by trying to save money with a bulk shipment, I ended up having to pay RM450 more, plus the added headache, frustrations, annoyance and disappointment when I didn’t receive my DVDs from the first shipment they sent.  Yeah, RM450 that could have bought my son a lot of other things…

After a few experiences of not having a reusable bag big enough for my purchases, I decided to buy another ultra compact, extra-large shopping bag from reusablebags.com.

With open dimensions of 20.5″ x 16.1″ x 9.5″, a volume of 30 litres, I think we should be able to fit most shopping purchases in here.  It has a capacity for 26 lbs, which I think is plenty since any more would mean I wouldn’t be able to carry my son and my backpack with his essential items.  Since the Reisenthel Mini Maxi Hauler folds into a pocket size of 8.3″ x 5.7″ x 0.8″, it’s small and slim enough to carry around without the inconvenience of extra bulk.

And since I was already getting the bag, I decided to buy another 12 oz Kleen Kanteen stainless steel bottle for myself so I don’t end up drinking my son’s water when we go out.  Although I’ve generally been more concerned about using toxic products on my son, I don’t usually take much notice of the products I use on myself.  With more concerns about the use of polycarbonate bottles with regards to the leaching of Bisphenol A and articles advising against its use, I figured that I ought to try to minimise my own consumption of fluids in polycarbonate containers.  Besides, my son has dropped his bottle a few times already and it has a couple of dents at the base so it doesn’t hurt to have a spare. 

I also bought a sports cap for the bottle since my son has been quite capable of drinking fluids without a sippy spout for some time now.  He doesn’t really want to use bottles with the sippy spout any more because he feels he’s a big boy capable drinking from cups and bottles that Mummy and Daddy use.

If I can’t buy DVDs online, then at least I can buy stuff from reusablebags and be kind to our planet at the same time.  And now, I get another parcel in the mail.  Yay!

This is what happens after one indiscriminate online purchase…

First, my DVDs don’t arrive.  Then I have to pay more delivery charges to get it re-shipped via DHL.  Now, I get a call from FedEx telling me that my DVDs require an LPF permit from the Malaysian Censorship Office before customs will clear my DVDs.  While the parcel arrived in Malaysia very quickly after being sent by FedEx, I have no idea how long it’s going to take to apply for an LPF permit or how difficult it’s going to be.  Since the Censorship Office is in Putrajaya, I’m not sure I relish the thought of having to go through this process.  I don’t suppose they’ll let me do all this by remote?

Since the DVDs are for personal use, it appears that I can apply for a letter of exemption.  Whether this is the same or different from an LPF or if it is a simpler process, I don’t know either.  Regardless, I’m not sure why the Censorship Office is even involved since my DVDs are purely educational and for children.  There’s nothing at all questionable about the content in them.

The funny thing is that I’ve ordered DVDs before and they arrived without a problem.  Okay, so that order was a smaller one - a lot smaller - 3 DVDs versus the whole Signing Time collection that I purchased this time around.  I’ve also ready on forums that a lot of people don’t seem to have problems receiving DVDs from online purchases. 

After what has happened, my stance on ordering online DVDs is this: don’t.  Just don’t.  I definitely won’t be ordering any more online DVDs.  It’s not worth the hassle or the pain.  However, if you must order online DVDs, here are a few things I learned based on what I’ve read on the forums:

The key to purchasing online DVDs, apparently, is to make small orders.  Nothing too high value and definitely nothing that will be delivered in a big box.  As far as I’ve read - box sets get noticed.  I think it also helps if the sender can make a note on the parcel that the items sent have no commercial value.  Alternatively, the best bet is either to buy it yourself when you go overseas or to ship it to a friend or family member in a country that doesn’t a problem with international shipping of DVDs.

And if you do choose to pursue the online ordering of DVDs, good luck to you…

Even though we don’t really celebrate Christmas, it is still my favourite time of year.  The hubby accuses me of being a closet shopaholic so I guess I ought to confess that I love going holiday shopping.  If you do celebrate Christmas, then I’m sure this is probably one of the most expensive times of the year - what with Christmas presents to buy and holiday trips to plan over the long break…

Well, guess what?  eBillme is running a shopping confessions contest where you stand a chance of winning the grand prize of $15000.  I’m sure it goes without saying that the extra cash will really come in handy for the holidays.  All you have to do is share a secret shopping experience that you want to confess and enter it to: http://www.shopandconfess.com/. 

You can write a story, post a video (uploaded to Youtube), or use photos for your confession then submit your entry to the website above. 

All I ask in return for sharing this news with you is that you name my blog: http://figur8.net/baby as your referring website.  Good luck!  For more details about this contest, check out the video below:

I was never a very thrifty shopper.  Unlike my Mum who could cite where all the best bargains were at any one time, I tended to just buy whatever whenever I felt like it purely because I never had the time nor patience to go bargain hunting.  I figured that the extra $10 that I was going to save would probably end up being burnt up in petrol and parking costs anyway - not to mention the time I didn’t have.  Back then, I was a busy corporate woman and my time was more precious than money.  In many ways, I could identify myself with Samantha Sweeting, the main character in the chic lit novel “The Undomestic Goddess” by Sophie Kinsella.

Recently, however, with the cost of living rising exponentially and businesses slowing down, I couldn’t help noticing the price differences in food costs between different supermarkets.  The biggest irony is that it can vary between different branches of the same chain of supermarkets.

For instance, Cold Storage in Great Eastern Mall were selling the same brand of strawberries at $7 more than most other locations.  I’ve also discovered the Village Grocers in Bangsar Village 2 is one of the “cheaper” places to buy frozen blueberries and raspberries.  Jusco supermarket in 1Utama were selling Red Globe grapes from the US at a steal for $0.99/100g.  Even the markets and the local fruit shops don’t get that cheap (average price being about $1.30/100g), not to mention, the grapes looked pretty good, too.

Aside the price differences, there is also a great disparity in the freshness of food produce, and the closeness of expiry dates in some supermarkets (some even retail expired goods!).  For instance, I was in Mercato supermarket, Pavillion, when Gavin spotted his favourite Yan Yan biscuits.  I was going to buy some for him but decided to check the expiry date on a whim only to discover that they were already passed the used-by date! 

I told one of the staff who happened to walk past and he looked at the product with a stupefied expression.  He finally took the product away and went into some back room.  When he appeared, he smiled and said it was the manufacturing date, not expiry date.  I then took another packet of Yan Yan biscuits that had not expired and asked him how it was that they manufactured that packet in the year 2009.  I was glad to note that they removed the entire box.  I’m sure there are people who shop without checking the expiry date (like I have been proned to do on the odd occasion).

As for fresh food produce, I’ve noticed that the Village Grocers at Bangsar Village is one of the best as far as supermarket shopping goes.  Again, there is a disparity in freshness of food between supermarkets in different locations.  For instance, just yesterday, I noticed some nice Montel bananas at the Jusco supermarket in 1Utama going for 0.59/100g.  In the evening, I went to Jusco supermarket in the Alpha Angle and the Montel bananas were the most horrid looking bananas I had ever since (granted they were selling at 0.29/100g, but even at that price, you won’t see me buying them).

Conclusion?  Village Grocers is probably one of the best supermarkets to go to if you want consistently fresh and cheap groceries.  I won’t say they are the cheapest in everything, but for what you get, the prices are pretty reasonable.

After waiting two months with not a peep from the mailman about my order of Signing Time DVDs, I’ve come to the inevitable conclusion that it isn’t caught up in customs, but that it’s lost, stolen or otherwise.  I wrote to Signing Time to ask what could be done and they suggested I check with the local post office.  I did, and got the standard reply - no tracking number, cannot help.

I was devastated.  $500 worth of DVDs and they went missing!

I wrote back and asked what could be done.  Signing Time agreed to send me a new set for free as long as I paid for the delivery charges.  I agreed.  This time I asked for them to send it by DHL Express so I can track it.  The cost of delivery might be more expensive, but at least someone’s accountable for delivering my parcel.

In the meantime, there’s no more heavy duty online shopping for me.  Only items that fit into small boxes that won’t attract the unwanted curiosity of some dodgy character in the postal service or pay extra for the added postal security.

And while we’re on the topic of dodgy postal services…  My SIL2 sent a present to her boyfriend in the UK some time back - a hand made t-shirt, some sweets and a card through regular mail.  The only thing that arrived was the card.  Beat that!

As much as I get high off the arrival of a nice little parcel through the mail, I think the disappointment of non-arrival just isn’t worth it.