Friday, April 29, 2011

Big News!!

My Block of Land



I bought a piece of land today!!! All papers have been signed and now I'm the official owner of a block of land... I'm super excited :)


Till now I've been keeping quite about this as I didn't want to jinx anything. I've been running around trying to sort out a few issues and convince the Housing Authority to let me purchase this. Its difficult here in Fiji to purchase land if you already have one block. Yes people - this is my second block but its all MINE!!!! The first one was for my parents and therefore I do not consider it mine :) I'm a wonderful daughter (tongue in cheek). This one is for me - for my retirement.... :) 


And the best thing is that this land is just next to Mum and Dad!!! Great!!!


Land Size: 14m x 37m
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Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Heavy Clouds!!!

Now I love clouds.. to me they are white and fluffy and like cotton. Yeah yeah - I'm still a kid at heart :)

But these clouds appeared heavily pregnant to me when I saw then on Friday 4th March :) ...







And sure enough - within 5 minutes we had rain. Buckets and buckets of it!!! So much so that we had flash flooding :)

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Friday, March 04, 2011

Water Plants

I have a few of these plants at home. Its actually quite expensive to buy but we managed to get it directly from the river on one of our trips...

Floating Cabbage...

I call it Floating Cabbage, as I have no idea what the real name is!!! I guess it is also called water cabbage.



I love water features - I find it so soothing so I am trying to have some water features around my house. This looks beautiful as well!!!
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Thursday, March 03, 2011

Creeping Up

Over the years I have always admired plants and flowers at various homes, resorts and of course in pictures. All the while having hope that maybe one day I would be able to have the same at some time in my life. 

Obviously tending to plants and gardens is labor of love and it can take years to bear fruit. I have always wanted creepers and if I was even slightly artistic I would have painted the vines and flowers and lush foliage on the walls and ceilings at home. But accepting my limited talents I have been actively searching for stencils and at the same time tending to creepers (concrete cover at home). It has been over an year and I can proudly showcase at least one post!!!

Afternoon Sun - Really sets off the color combination

Looks beautiful especially with the wind chimes in place.
Trying to capture both sides
Now this looks amazing..
Up Up And Over

Its doing beautifully and now its trying to cover the ceiling. Unfortunately Mum doesn't want the ceiling covered with creepers so I'll need to remove it :(.

But I like the creeper effect so far.... 

I have some projects outlined for this weekend - I'll write more tomorrow.


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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Getting Organized

Now anyone who knows me also knows that I'm a very disorganized person in my personal life :) Now this is not something to brag about but I really don't like order... Anyways I am making a serious effort to change things now and I'm making small small changes to achieve order in my usually chaotic world!!! (Boy my brother would love this - especially since his field of study is Chaos Theory!!!)

Now of late I have realized that I'm responsible for everything related to Finance at home. My mum used to handle it before but slowly slowly I have taken over this. It was so slowly done that I didn't even realize it till Jan this year!!! 

The first thing I did when the realization dawned was make a list of all my monthly bills. For example:

  1. Telephone bills  - Due date
  2. Electricity - Due date
  3. Phone bill - Due date
  4. Credit Cards - Due date
  5. Mortgage Payments - Due date
Plus a list of yearly dues like City Rates, Lease Rates

I marked it as a task on my blackberry with a monthly reminder. 

The second thing that I did was buy some folders. I filed all the monthly statements in individual folders. Each folder cost me $1.00. 

Plus I keep one folder for current month. All bills go into this folder and as the payments done I put it into the respective folder.


So far so good. This has made my work very very simple. And all I had to do was make a list and set a reminder in case the statement is delayed and purchase some folders for easy filing. The folders cost me $10 but now everything is very organized. I prefer folders but others may prefer boxes for storage. 

All statements over a year old, i just bring it to work for shredding as it contains very vital information and I can't dispose it off without thinking twice.
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Home Composting

My home composter was installed when I went home yesterday. Gosh - I was soo excited!!!

I bought the composter on Friday and LCC (Lautoka City Council) installed it yesterday. I'm so looking forward to using it now : ) Here are some pictures:




Now this composter has been supplied by LCC for $30. It usually retails for $55 but the City rate payers received a big discount. 


Some things to note are:

  • Only one per rate payer
  • Cyclone proof
  • Controlled composting
  • Installation - done by LCC
  • Capacity - 200L
We were already composting but it was usually where we dig a hole and we put all our kitchen waste in it and then cover it - great way to return to the environment. Also we would use the dry waste (peelings) as mulch. But I just loved the idea of having a proper compost bin that I simply had to have this. 

Now some may consider this a waste of money but I look at it as a proactive role towards waste minimization. For one thing I had this bin installed in front of our house next to the driveway. Its not hidden at the back but is visible to anyone. Next, this is where our serious gardening takes place. We are forever working in the gardens and there is always grass and leaves available. Also its closer to the kitchen and therefore easy access for everyone. Last but not the least - its CUTE!!!

I must commend LCC (Lautoka City Council) for the great job they have done promoting environment. About 2 weeks ago I attended a Community Meeting initiated by LCC to promote the 3R's plus Composting. This is a big big step for a small island nation of Fiji. LCC have been promoting this and I for one will do my part.

They have booklets on how to use the bins to everyone who bought the bin.






The booklet gives step by step instructions in very simple plain English. This bin is great for households and schools. And it makes great compost. 

LCC have also advised that I can get free shredded chips that I can use for mulching - FOC. Now thats great help. Thanks LCC!!!
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Monday, February 21, 2011

Girls Guide to Changing Breaklight Bulb

There are some things that a girl needs to know especially if she drives a lot. These things include changing tyres, checking battery water, topping radiator and changing breaklight bulbs.

In Fiji, it’s a crime to drive around with faulty lights and nowadays LTA (Land Transport Authority) officials are on the roads at all times. Now don’t ask me what they do coz I just might give my opinion on that!!! Anyway coming back to the original intent of the blog – changing breaklights!!!

I had to change the bulb for my car and as usual I turned to my favorite friend for help. I always turn to Google as I can find a lot of data on the net nowadays and I would say that google is the working girls best friend but surprisingly there weren’t anything remotely resembling what I was looking for : ).  Anyway I persevered and I’m putting this article out for any desperate damsels who may need it.

Steps:

Confirm the exact location of the light whose bulb needs changing. Note down the brand and make of model of the vehicle.

Purchase one. I like to keep spares for those occasions where I’m not near any shop. Any shop selling automotive parts will stock this item. Usually it can be found in service stations as well.

 Open the trunk and remove the screws of the rear lights. You’ll need to remove the lights in order to get to the bulb.

Gently remove the light from the vehicle.

 Replace the bulb

 Confirm the bulb is ok by pressing on the brake

Put everything back and screw it back.

Ensure that everything is in its right place and fully secured.



Tips:
  • 1.       Try to keep spare bulbs. Each costs about FJD$1. I keep 2
  • 2.     Keep a set of tools in the car. I keep a set of spanners, screw drivers (star and flat), a set of allen keys.
  • 3.       Keep a small torch for emergencies
  • 4.       Store a couple of rags
  • 5.       Always keep some water in the car.
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Thursday, February 17, 2011

Garden of the Sleeping Giant

I have always wanted to visit these gardens coz they have all sorts of flowers and of course they have water lillies. So on Sunday I decided that I'll just go for a quick visit. 


And guess what: I got lost while looking for directions :) Extremely disappointing of course and a humbling experience. 


I looked for directions and now I'm planning the visit with great care :) Though right now don't know when I'll actually get to go... but one thing is for sure - I'll be taking alot of pictures!!!
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Weekend Activity

Sunday: 13th Feb 2011


Visit to Nadi Temple.




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Friday, February 04, 2011

Some Goals for this Year

I'm approaching 2011 in a different way. It has been apparent that I have given all my time to my work but this year I'm adamant that I'll change from this year onwards.I hope I can stick to this resolution.

Feb activities :
To Date:
  1. A day trip to Suva
  2. A day trip to Natadola (we almost made it to Natadola but had to return from 3/4 way due to very heavy rain.) 
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Friday, January 28, 2011

Past

The past is never dead. Its the past that makes us what we are today!!!
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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Creativeness!!

One of my resolutions for this year is to be more creative. I work over 10 hours a day plus my travelling is over 3 hours a day... sooo basically I lead a very sedentary life. Work - Home - Work. This is my way of doing something more each week. Learning new things and being more creative. I want 2011 to be a defining year for me!!!

So once I had decided this I thought it would be easy. I have a goal and now I'll work towards that. Boy, was I wrong!!! Its hard... I spent 3 days thinking what to do :) I spent more time thinking things through than actioning it!!!! One consolation was that the weather was obviously on my side... We had a hurricane warning!!! 

Anyways to make a long story short - I haven't done anything so far. I have made lots of plans but haven't physically done anything...

BTW I finished reading 4 books in those 3 days. Does this count as being creative ???
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Thursday, January 20, 2011

Brake Light Diagram

How break lights work: -

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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

New Blog!!

I'm moving to a new blog

http://annjelyn.blogspot.com/

Check it out!!
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Rain Rain Rain

We experienced some heavy rain last week!!! These are some pictures taken from my Lautoka Office...




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2011 - Resolutions

Resolutions coming up shortly!!!


This year my resolutions are all about me. I have great difficulty in doing things for myself so I have decided that I will make effort to give some quality time to myself in 2011.


  1. Try to balance lifestyle. I have to make room for more me time now. Till now it was more work work work.... So now I have put in some time for myself. 

  2. Do something creative every week. I don't have the time to do any creative stuff daily but I'll make a conscious effort to do at least one creative project per week.

  3. Enjoy life - Spend more time appreciating the simpler things in life.

  4. Start some me-time activities. I'll write more on this later.

  5. Learn a new language

  6. Try to become a exercise addict!!! Get into some physical activity and love it... (This is the hard part)

  7. Develop my photography skills.


Wish me luck!!!
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Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Happy Birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday Bro!!!

You are a year older today….. You are now officially in your 30s. Well now you can enjoy life : ) You have spent your 20s striving to succeed – which I might add you have accomplished. Getting your doctorate before 30 is very amazing!!!... Now try to spend your 30s having fun

It has been years since we celebrated your birthday together.. Of late it has been wishes sent over the phone/email etc… Nevertheless you are always there in my thoughts. My well wishes are with you always!!!

Have fun and enjoy yourself….


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