I'm a full-time mummy

17th January 2013 is the day I colored my hair for the first time in my life. I was so nervous to do this and yet excited to be doing this because:

- I am bored with my jet black hair of 32 years +

- I am getting more white hairs at the top of my head (averaging 4-5 strands of white hair discoveries everyday)

- Why not try while I am still young and have the courage and time to recover from any mistakes?

And so, I get down to finding the opportunity to go out and browse through the many hair color products on the supermarket shelves. Browsing through the many brands and colors and shades... my oh my... not easy decision to settle down on one! In the end, I settled on Schwarzkopf Palette Intense Color Creme (4-89 Medium Brown Red Violet)

Next step is deciding whether I should color my hair at home by myself which I then decided not to because I do not know how and I might missed some spots and some friends in the SAHM group I joined in said it is better to bring the hair color product to the saloon and let the stylist color my hair as it will get messy if I do it myself at home.

I had earlier hinted to my hubby asking for his thoughts on whether I should color my hair and the first thing he said was 'No. Why color and damage your hair?' and yet I still go ahead to buy that pack of hair color because I just can't resist the change and excitement. I arranged for my MIL to take care of my 16 months old girl at home while I bring my almost 4 years old boy along with me and leave him at my SIL's condo (she works from home) as the hair saloon is just at the ground floor of her condo.

The first thing the stylist said when I showed him the color I got is 'This color might not be obvious in your hair because your hair is very black! But nevermind, we just give it a try.' I also decided a change of hair style a little bit and the stylist got down to cutting my hair and once done, he started mixing the tubes of color and stuff and I prayed for the best. Once my hair was colored, the stylist took a look at my hair and said 'Hmmm.. now look a bit reddish, nevermind, we will see what happened next'. I had to wait an agonising 30 minutes for the chemical to settle in and prayed I don't end up with a tomato colored hair and it was then that the stylist said 'You know, a lot of people will never return back once they started coloring their hair. They get hooked!' Oh my! Why only tell me now?! Arghhhh...

When the 30 minutes is up, the stylist put on the conditioner mix into my hair and then washes off the color. Blow dry and style my hair a wee bit and it was then that we realised...

My hair is still jet black as ever.

D'ohhhhhhh!!

That night, I confessed to my hubby about coloring my hair and he didn't appear angry or upset at what I did. Pheww... he told me that he is not against me coloring my hair, just that I should go for less chemical ingredients in the hair coloring products. So, yay for future possible hair coloring plans? Hehehehe...

Although I am disappointed my hair doesn't turn out Barney-ish (purple color) or tomato-ish as per the hair color packaging, I'm happy that at least I took this bold step! Of course deep in my heart I would've love to see some tinge of purple red shade on my hair but oh well, maybe next time I will go for a lighter shade of color.

What do you think?

Many years ago, I have a habit of finding and giving rabbit themed gifts to a close family member. Why rabbits? That is because the recipient loves rabbit (also the person was born under the rabbit sign in Chinese animals calendar.) From rabbit photo frames to rabbit table decoration items, it is just so much easier finding and giving gifts to this person compared to the rest.

Now the thing about themed gifts are in my opinion, it helps to narrow down the many many choices of gifts to be given. Rather than trying to figure out what to get for someone, at least by knowing and deciding on a theme, it sort of helps refine the search range. Don't you agree?

Another plus point to themed gifts are a very high chance of the person loving the gift you got them and seeing their thrilled faces when they opened up their gifts and realising they add one more gift to their collections. I think that is absolutely good enough to know your money is well spent on a gift that gets appreciated and loved.

My tip in finding the suitable gift is to first find out some information on the recipient's side such as: favorite colors, animals, style and the list goes on. Once I have these information on hand, I will then narrow down and come up with the closest and what I think is the best themed gifts to suit the recipient. From there on, it is just to find out what sort of gifts that can be given within my budget range.

What do you think about horse themed gifts?

** Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All thoughts, opinions and words are 100 % my own.

College costs are on the rise, making it more and more difficult for college students to make ends meet without going deeply into student loan debt.  As a parent, you may have set money aside in a college fund for your child only to find out that while you can pay an ample portion of their tuition, there may not be enough available to cover their room and board or living expenses. 
Luckily, there are jobs that your student can do while in college that don't require many hours and can net them some money for living expenses. 

Jobs Through the College

Work Study--If your child qualifies for a work study position, he should take it.  Most of these jobs require 10 or fewer hours per week, and your child may get real-life work experience which can help when he graduates and looks for a job.
Resident Assistant--Your child can get her room and board completely free if she agrees to be a resident assistant in the dorm.  (Some also get a small stipend for this job.)  Of course, your child will need to be good at negotiating and solving problems.  She also has to be available for the other dorm residents when conflicts arise.  Typically she will need to work 20 hours a week and have a G.P.A. of 2.5 or greater.

Sell Notes--Many community colleges allow a student in a class to take notes for a student with disabilities who may not be able to keep his own notes.  The student will typically earn $2 to $3 per page of notes and will need to write on special paper so he has notes for himself as well as a copy of the notes to give to the student with disabilities.  Check with the office for students with disabilities.

Jobs Outside the College

Medical Study Participant--There are many medical studies that are non-invasive such as sleep studies that pay very well.  For a week or two of sleeping in a hospital being observed, your student can earn $600 or more.
Audit a Liquor Store--Your child can join a company to audit a liquor store.  All he has to do is try to buy alcohol and see if he is carded and then write a report afterward.  For this, he can earn $20 to $30 per audit.  Students generally have to be under 25 years old for this job.

Babysitter--You might think your child's babysitting days are over when she graduates high school, but there is quite a market for college babysitters.  Your child can look in the local paper or use a site like Sittercity.com to snag a babysitting gig.  In larger cities or more expensive college towns, these jobs can pay $10 to $16 per hour, and the hours are flexible.
Your child does not have to commit to a job working 20 hours or more at college.  He can keep his studies as his priority and find some unconventional jobs to help him earn some extra money without a large time commitment.

What are other ways you would suggest college students make money?

** Kyle Taylor blogs about weird ways to make money at The Penny Hoarder. Connect on Facebook or join the newsletter and get his “5 Wackiest Ways to Make Extra Money.