Cambodian Maid Anyone?

Anyone has experience with Cambodian maids? This maid agency which I went to this morning supplies Cambodian maids too. According to the agent who's Alycia's classmate's parents, Cambodian maids are less likely to have tricks up their sleeves as compared to Indon maids and chances of them running away are also lower. The only downside is communication barrier as they only know very basic English. Their salaries are the same with Indon maids at RM500 per month but the agency fee is slightly higher. I may consider Cambodian maids this time. Later in the evening I may go to the agent's house to interview the maids myself.

Ultimate Travel Russia Website

Ever thought of visiting the world’s largest country, Russia? Do you know that Russia is a country that spans twelve time zones, two continents and more than 100 ethnic groups? The largest freshwater lake in the world is also found in Russia. It is a country rich in cultural heritage and filled with awe inspiring volcanos, rivers teeming with fresh water fish and towering mountains. Russia is considered by the World Tourism Organization as a country with huge potential for tourism development. Some of the places of interest in Russia include the volcanoes and geysers of Kamchatka, through the Siberian taiga to the mineral spas around the Black Sea coast, Czars Palaces in St. Petersburg, fishing in Baikal and much more or you simply dance your night away at Moscow’s hottest night club sipping your Vodka and Ice.

If you plan to travel to Russia, you may want to seek the service of Travel All Russia, a US-based travel agency that provides full travel services to western customers, including fully packaged and custom tours and full Russian visa support service. The people in Travel All Russia have all visited virtually every town in Russia and are thus equipped with strong knowledge and information on Russia. If you are looking for good deals on tours to Moscow, St. Petersburg and other interesting destinations throughout Russia, Travel All Russia is the answer to your travel needs. Because Travel All Russia has an extensive network of partners with local Russian tour operators, they can give you the best deals with first-class service that would leave you coming back for more.


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Tuesday Morning

I woke up at 5:30am today. Only managed to complete 2 assignments, still have around 10 more outstanding. It's 7:10am now. I have to make myself a mug of milk with Milo, pop my prenatal vitamins and hormone pills then walk down the road to Alycia's classmate's house to look for his mum. Sean's mum runs a maid agency and I always see a pool of maids in her house. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Sean's mum can help provide me a maid by December, else I would be maid-less for at least 1-2 months! Unimaginable! Well, at least for me, I'm quite a siew cheh and can't stand doing household chores and taking care of 2 high-needs toddlers at the same time. Though I used to multi-task when I was a PA but if you ask me to do household chores, cook and look after 2 hyper toddlers who are ever so demanding, I know I'll collapse!

Low Fat High Fibre Organic Cereal

So much of unhealthy fish crackers and cheese crackers for a preggy mom, I finally bought a more wholesome and healthy alternative - high fibre, low fat organic cereal. They taste really good with Marigold HL banana flavored fresh milk. I eat this whenever I am hungry now, instead of gorging on unhealthy heaty snacks. Try this out and I'm sure you'll love it too. Oh yes, it helps with bowel movement too!

Free XSS Web Security Tool

Do you know that your company’s website is highly vulnerable to cross site scripting? When I was still working, one of our client’s company’s website was hacked and as a result, they lost some highly confidential data and problems arose one after another resulting from the hack. The company then spent months and huge amounts of money to fix the problems. It is therefore very important that a company’s web application be secured by installing a web vulnerability scanner that allows the company to check for cross site scripting vulnerabilities. If your company does not have one yet, you can now Download Your Free Acunetix XSS Scanner from Acunetix.com. Check them out today and protect your company’s web applications from being hacked.





Press Release :

What is Cross Site Scripting?
Cross Site Scripting allows an attacker to embed malicious JavaScript, VBScript, ActiveX, HTML, or Flash into a vulnerable dynamic page to fool the user, executing the script on his machine in order to gather data. The use of XSS might compromise private information, manipulate or steal cookies, create requests that can be mistaken for those of a valid user, or execute malicious code on the end-user systems. The data is usually formatted as a hyperlink containing malicious content and which is distributed over any possible means on the internet. Cross site scripting vulnerabilities are extremely dangerous and the number of the attacks is on the rise. More information about Cross Site Scripting can be found at http://www.acunetix.com/websitesecurity/cross-site-scripting.htm

Many a large-scale corporation has fallen prey to Cross Site Scripting (XSS), as it is one of the most common yet underestimated of web attacks. In August 2006, hackers stole the personal data of nearly 19,000 DSL equipment customers through a vulnerability in AT&T’s online store. Whereas in June 2006, PayPal users were tricked into giving away social security numbers, credit card details and other highly sensitive personal information through a cross site scripting vulnerability in the PayPal website.

A report from Mitre Corp., a US government funded research organization, issued in September 2006 indicated that Cross-Site scripting ranked first in a list of top security risks. In a study conducted by Acunetix, 42% of the websites scanned with Acunetix WVS were found to be vulnerable to Cross Site Scripting.

“Companies don’t realize the danger their web sites are under and are therefore reluctant to invest in web vulnerability scanners. Consequently, security officers don’t have the tools to protect their websites. The free XSS scanner will give security officers access to a professional cross site scanning tool, that will allow them to assess their web sites for the cross site scripting danger,” said Jonathan Spiteri, Technical Manager of Acunetix.

Scanning for XSS vulnerabilities with Acunetix WVS Free Edition
To check whether your website has cross site scripting vulnerabilities, download the free edition from http://www.acunetix.com/cross-site-scripting/scanner.htm. This version will scan any website / web application for XSS vulnerabilities and it will also reveal all the essential information related to it, such as the vulnerability location and remediation techniques. Scanning for XSS is normally a quick exercise (depending on the size of the web-site). A detailed guide how to scan for cross site scripting vulnerabilities can be found here http://www.acunetix.com/websitesecurity/xss.htm.

The Free Edition also allows you to sample what other threats Acunetix WVS can find by allowing you to scan the Acunetix test sites for vulnerabilities.

About Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner
Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner ensures website security by automatically checking for SQL injection, Cross site scripting and other vulnerabilities. It checks password strength on authentication pages and automatically audits shopping carts, forms, dynamic content and other web applications. As the scan is being completed, the software produces detailed reports that pinpoint where vulnerabilities exist. Acunetix WVS Reporting Application allows security alerts to be presented in a document which abides by the PCI Compliance specification.

About Acunetix
Acunetix was founded to combat the alarming rise in web attacks. Its flagship product, Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner, is the result of several years of development by a team of highly experienced security developers. Acunetix is a privately held company with headquarters based in Europe (Malta) and an office in London, UK. For more information about Acunetix, visit: http://www.acunetix.com; http://www.acunetix.de/.

Sherilyn's Too Spoilt!

We were at Bangsar Village for lunch 2 Thursdays ago. After lunch, daddy brought the gals to New Zealand Ice Cream and bought them each an ice cream on a cone. Alycia chosed vanilla and Sherilyn chosed raspberry. Thereafter we went to shop for groceries at the supermarket and the gals were still licking their ice creams. When we were at the check out counter, Sherilyn dropped her ice cream cone on the floor. Goodness, her reflex action was at the speed of lightning. The moment the cone and ice cream landed on the floor, she burst out waaaaailing out loud as she covered her cheek with her right palm - exactly like a drama queen crying, complete with pathetic actions. She was truly very upset that her favorite ice cream was no longer in her hand. For once, I felt so sorry for her and I just knew that the only way to subdue her is to get her another ice cream. After I had cleaned up the mess on the floor, daddy brought her upstairs to get her another ice cream on the cone - a strawberry flavored ice cream this time. I told daddy that he has really spoilt the girls rotten. If it was a McD ice cream, I wouldn't have felt the pinch but a scoop of that ice cream cost more than RM5 .... and Daddy and the girls had a total of 4 scoops in a day!


Sherilyn all smiles again with a brand new ice cream on a cone.

Help, I'm Hooked On Fish Crackers!

Yeah, blame it on the baby, but I'm really hooked on stinky fish crackers. I can't stand the smell or sight of steamed fish but funny, I love fish crackers, the stronger the taste the better, what an irony! Each time I feel like puking, the nauseous feeling will miraculously vanish after munching on a handful of this junk. I know it's not a healthy snack but I need it to feel good. When I was preggy with Alycia, I had no appetite or cravings for anything except for Marigold HL fresh milk with birds' nest. With Sherilyn, I was hooked on fried seaweed snacks. I have the most unhealthy craving with this baby - salty cheesy snacks, keropok, fried vegetarian meehoon and sausages (the most unhealthy food, but I try to limit it to 1 serving a week). I can only pray that my baby will turn out healthy.

Should I Get A Home Theater Seating Set?

Ever since our sofa set was damaged when a flood swept through our house last year, we have not got them replaced yet. My hubby wanted to get a new sofa set but I told him it’s a hazard to our 2 rascals as they love jumping on it as if they were a trampoline. What I’d like to get instead is a comfortable reclining home theater seating set to be placed in front of our TV so that we don’t have to sit on the floor anymore when we watch TV. I’ve seen a discount home theater seating set selling online at a promotional price recently and even my hubby is keen on it. I still haven’t made up my mind whether to buy it or not. You think I should buy it?

Sherilyn Was Self Healed From Cold

On Saturday, Sherilyn was still having fever and her face was smutty - from the overflowing goo that turned into glue. Her cheeks were hard as a result of the gooey glue and she cried when I wiped it off with a wet hanky. She was sneezing and her voice had changed - she sounded like a sick cat. I had called the paed's office to book an appointment in the morning. After I had put the phone done, it just struck me that perhaps I am just being too kan cheong and over reactive. Should I be bringing my gals to the specialist each time they have a cold or fever? Should I just give her body a chance to self heal and see how it goes tomorrow? Each visit to the paed's office would leave my hubby at least RM100 poorer. So I told my hubby that we should just wait and see - maybe Sherilyn's immune system is strong enough to weather this cold? I then fed her with Manuka honey (double dosage) and fed her barley water and lots of plain water throughout the day. Thank God, the next day (Sunday), her goo stopped flowing and the fever subsided too. Today, she looks perfectly well. I guess it's good that sometimes we parents don't over react. Of course we have to exercise caution and discretion for each case is different.

Tag : Shopping Tips

Got tagged by my sifu for my new blog and Ashley's mum, my CNN network buddy. They want to know what handy shopping tips I can give.

~ Start copy ~
It’s very simple. When you receive this tag, copy the whole list and add your own shopping tip to the bottom and pass it on.

Wear comfy clothing when you’re shopping. You don’t wanna fuss with too many laces and buttons when you’re trying clothes on. http://rinnah-marketplace.blogspot.com/

Choose stores offering some kind of reward program, e.g. purchase points, rebates or store coupons. Knowing how the program works and when to use them will save you a lot of money in the long run. http://kakishopping.giddytigers.com/

Always ask for a discount or bargain, especially when you pay cash for big purchase like furniture and electrical items, you will be surprised how much lesser you have to pay. http://leahschrader.com/

Buy in bulk or from the hypermarket. Hypermarket like Giant and Tesco has greater offer than places like Jusco or Parkson. (I’m referring to household stuffs) http://montessorimum.com/

For food stuff, always check the expiry dates, get items with later expiry dates so that you can store them longer.
http://www.heathfreakmommy.com/

~ End copy ~

Would you like to give your handy shopping tips too?
1) Shern's mom... I know you are a pro shopper ;)
2) Hui Sia... another shopping kaki ;)

Drug Rehabilitation

Last year, a pastor was invited to my church to give a sermon. It was one of the most touching and heart-warming sermons I’d heard. This pastor was a former drug addict, a hard-core one that is and one day, a Samaritan saved him when he was sprawled under a bridge, high from a drug overdose. The Samaritan (himself an ex drug addict) brought him to a drug rehabilitation center, spread the word of God to him and not only was he completely clean from drugs but he also accepted Christ and soon became a pastor and helped more drug addicts stay clean from drugs. If you know of anyone who are addicted to drugs, alcohol or other dangerous substance, do your part, save a life and advise him/her to seek professional treatment at a drug rehab center.

Swiss Army Luggage

My mum went to the luggage shop at Jaya Jusco Ipoh yesterday to buy a new luggage for her China trip with my dad next month. She called me on her mobile phone to ask me which brand is good. She loves to consult me on brands whenever she goes shopping. She told me she saw a striking red Swiss Army luggage but the price is slightly more expensive than other brands. I told my mum that Swiss Army luggage are guaranteed for life and I wouldn’t mind investing in a good quality luggage that can last me many years. She had bought a cheap trolley luggage costing less than RM100 2 years ago and the wheels came off during one of her overseas trips last year. So it’s proven - cheap things don’t always come with good quality.

Maid Woes

Remember I had posted earlier that my maid has agreed to extend her service for another half a year, provided she gets to return to Indonesia for 2 weeks in December?

Well, I called up my maid agency a couple of days ago and was informed by the agent that we are unable to extend her service for 6 months as her passport is only expiring in August 2007. If we have to extend, it has to be for 8 months and she advised us not to send our maid back for the break as the risks involved are far too high. In many cases, the maids did not even return though they had promised to return. Also, we will be spending twice on her air fare. When my hubby asked my maid if she could stay on for another 8 months (instead of 6 months) without getting to return for her 2 weeks break in December, my maid was reluctant.

Well, now the decision is final. Since her heart is no longer here and she's just raring to go home, we will not persuade her anymore, period! She will return to Indonesia in December and we will have to look for a new maid....all over again. That's where my nightmare begins - hunting for a suitable maid, paying the exorbitant fees, training the new maid all over again, what if the new maid is not trainable, what if she has a terrible attitude and all the what ifs. I can only pray that my new maid will be God-sent.

My Parents Need New Luggage

My parents will be traveling to China for a vacation next month. Winter will be starting soon in China and my parents are going to shop for some winter clothing and new luggage to put their bulky winter clothing. They also intend to bring along an empty luggage to place the herbs and teapot sets that they intend to buy from China. They will be bringing a total of 4 luggage for their trip and I doubt if they can handle so many luggage. I asked them to leave the empty luggage behind. After all, I am really skeptical about products made in China and I told them to just go and enjoy the trip minus the herbs and souvenirs from China.

Orlando Vacation Made Cheaper

If you are planning a vacation to Orlando, I think you have made a good choice as Orlando is a place where there are great activities all lined up for every member in the family. If you find that the tickets to Walt Disney World, Universal Studio and other theme parks are beyond your budget, despair not as you can get really cheap tickets at OrlandoVacationsDirect.com. At OrlandoVacationsDirect.com, you can save up to 80% off your first 2 attraction tickets or up to $100 off 2 Disney Tickets and there are many other attractive packages that would save you loads of money if you are bringing the whole family to Orlando. Book your hotel and tickets at OrlandoVacationsDirect.com and your Orlando vacations will be made so much cheaper and affordable that you can bring your family back for more every year.

Nuchal Translucency Scan

On Tuesday next week, I will be going to my gynae's office for a Nuchal Translucency scan to assess if my baby has a risk for Down's Syndrome. This scan is to be performed between 11 to 14 weeks of the pregnancy. For both my pregnancies, I didn't opt to do any blood test or Amnio to check for Downs and only did the NT scan. My gynae said that the NT scan is quite an accurate marker but not 100% accurate though. Though I'm overall very much relaxed this pregnancy as I know what to expect and handle my discomforts, I am still worried about the scan. I'm worried about all the 'what ifs'. I can only pray that everything will turn out well. Even if this baby turns out to be another girl, I will still be very thankful and happy as long as my baby is normal and healthy.

Miami Real Estate

If you own a property and would like to sell it, it’s not always easy to find the right buyer. It could take months if not years to find the right buyer to purchase your property at the price that the both of you could agree on. The same goes if you’re looking to purchase your dream home. Therefore, finding a proactive and reliable real estate agent who can help you speed up the sale or purchase process is very important. If you are looking for a Miami real estate agent to help you look for your dream home or with the sale of your property, be sure to check out Homekeys.net, the ultimate real estate agent who can provide you with all the service, knowledge, tools and resources you ever need to make your property purchase or sale a real breeze.

Tag : First Letter Of Your Name to Answer Each Question

Got tagged by this wonderful cheery mom who's the person behind the header for my blog.

My name starts with 'S' and here goes the list of questions :

1. Famous Singer : Shania Twain

2. Four letter word : Shit

3. Street : Sesame Street

4. Color : Silver

5. Gifts/Presents : Shirts

6. Vehicle : Stream

7. Things in Souvenir Shop : Sunglasses

8. Boy Name : Sean

9. Girl Name : Sherilyn

10. Movie Title : Sleepless in Seattle

11. Drink : Sour Sop

12. Occupation : Stenographer

13. Celebrity : Sit Kar Yan, Nancy (HK actress)

4. Magazine : Style

15. U.S. City : San Francisco

16. Pro Sports : Skiing, skating

17. Fruit : Starfruit

18. Reason For Being Late To Work : So tired!

19. Something You Threw Away : Straws

20. Something You Shout : Shit or 'Sei Lor'!!

21. Cartoon Character : Strawberry Shortcake

and I'd like to pass this tag to :

1) Wen
2) Barbara... another interim post for you :)

Business Expansion

My hubby has always wanted to expand his catering business and set up his own restaurant. I was telling him a few nights ago that he should seriously consider putting his plans into action now. If his plans materialize, he will need to hire more staff, purchase more equipment and I told him that he should also consider getting a financial reporting software for his business for better management of his financial records. As for me, his Personal Assistant, I will need a pay rise from him too!

Wacky Pregnancy Hormones

My pregnancy hormones have caused turmoil to my body and my tastebuds. Food that I once loved now make me nauseous at the sight of them. I used to love fish but now, I just can't stand the sight of fish, especially steam fish but funny, I love stinky fish crackers though. I also used to love vegetables and fruits but now, I can't stand the taste of most of them. During meal times, I try to place these dishes as far as possible from my sight.

Do you know what I crave for now? Holy shit, I crave for junk food, especially fish crackers, Cheezels, pretzels, cheese crackers and all sorts of crackers. I try to refrain buying these junkies coz I know what harm they will cause to my unborn, but I just can't resist salty cheesy snacks and keropok. I totally can't stand sweet stuff, all kinds - ice cream, cakes, cookies, kuih, pastries, etc.



My supply of cheese crackers and cheese pretzels. They seem to alleviate my nauseous feelings.