Cotton-Pickin’ Days

Apologies for the bad grammar above but “unassociate” was the keyword I used to find a fix to my computer problem this morning.

Some time ago I installed WinZip to extract .zip files. I’m not sure why I did that except that I must have been unable to figure out how to use Windows Vista to open zip files. Anyway, the trial version of WinZip expired and to get it working again, I would have had to pay $29.95.

I was about 2 seconds away from doing so after a fruitless search trying to figure out an easy way to de-associate my zip files from WinZip and back to a neutral file status. Luckily, I found out how at Tech Support Guy Forums without needing to delete or edit registry files (scary!!).

Here’s how to re-associate (associate, link) zip files for extracting with Windows Vista:

1. Right click any of the zip files associated with WinZip
2. Click Change next to the “Opens with” line
3. Click Browse
4. Click Computer under Favorite Links on left sidebar
5. Double click your hard disk
6. Open Windows folder
7. Scroll down and select the “explorer” file (this is NOT Internet Explorer)

Now when you click on the zip files, they will open with Windows Vista and there will be a button at the top that says “Extract all files.”

Hope this helps some of you frustrated Vista users!

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Did you get out there? I did a little shopping here in Singapore although the pickings weren’t half as good as they were for my family in California. Not quite as lame as this sale, though….

see more pwn and owned pictures

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

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Nice. Marv has a lower risk of divorce than me. What does that mean??? 

From Marriage Calculator.

For me:

People with similar backgrounds who are already divorced:  32%

People with similar backgrounds who will be divorced over the next five years:  8%

For Marv: 

People with similar backgrounds who are already divorced:  32%

People with similar backgrounds who will be divorced over the next five years:  3%

*  In general for the five-year divorce prediction rates, those with less than 3 percent are at lower risk, 3 - 7 percent are of average risk and more than 7 percent are at higher risk.

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I’m a babywearing mama. I haven’t used a stroller since Stephen was about 6 months old. Yet even I know that among strollers, Bugaboo is an elite brand (although I keep typing it as Bugabook).

So it was pretty amusing when BuzzParadise contacted me to see if I’d be interested in a Bugaboo giveaway. No, I didn’t get one of their $800 strollers but I did receive a Bugaboo micro fleece blanket and a 1GB iPod Shuffle. Thanks!

What’s doubly amusing is that we currently live in tropical Singapore where temperatures rarely drop below 76F/24C and is more often in the 80’s/26+C. But that doesn’t mean baby blankets are obsolete. Shopping malls have their air conditioning going full blast and we sleep in air conditioning as well.

Baby blankets also have a myriad of other uses including diaper changing pad and sun shade. I have even used baby blankets to stem the flow of breast milk when I don’t have a towel or burp cloth handy. (Oops. TMI?)

With both kids, my favorite baby blanket has been one I made myself - the piece of hemmed flannel you see wrapped around Stephen below. It’s lightweight, soft, cheap, and made with motherly love!

But I can’t say that it’s quite as stylish as the Bugaboo micro fleece blanket which comes in 8 bright colors. I have orange and it’s brilliant. Maybe I should get a stroller to match?

Nah. If Bugaboo comes out with baby slings, I’ll have a look. Meanwhile, my baby will hitch a ride with me in slings.

Megan sits pretty here in a Zolowear sling.

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In addition to protecting “dumpster babies,” Nebraska’s safe haven law allowing parents to leave a child at designated hospitals without being prosecuted has lead to teenagers being abandoned as well.

From BBC News:

One father left his four daughters and five sons, the oldest being 17.

His one-year-old daughter was the youngest of the 34 children abandoned between 13 September and 14 November, according to Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Other families have driven to Nebraska from other States to drop off a five-year-old boy, an 11-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl.

One mother wrote to the Omaha World-Herald explaining her reasons for abandoning her son:

I did not leave my child under the safe haven law because I did not want to be a parent, nor did I not want the responsibility of being a parent.

I was using the law because my son is a danger to himself and the family at home. I also stated [to officials] I took him to the hospital I did because he needed more help than I am able to give him.

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We eat. A lot.

Last week at Teck Kee Tanglin Pau, I bought the following for the five mouths in our family:

• 4 char siew pau (bbq pork pau)
• 2 tai kai pau (big chicken pau)
• 2 big pork pau
• 2 ma lai kao

While the vendor was packing up my stuff, she asked the next customer, a very skinny woman, what she wanted.

“Two siew mei,” she said.

Two meat and shrimp dumplings in wonton skin about the size of ONE (1) char siew pau. (Compare plate sizes and you shall see.)

Is it any wonder that I still have 10 pounds of pregnancy weight to lose?

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I “caught” these teenagers outside my neighborhood McDonald’s this morning and was amazed at their ability to multi-task: laptops, MP3 players, phones, handheld video game consoles, comic books, and maybe a little homework?! BTW, check out the electrical outlet next to them all plugged up.

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Six-year-old Stephen was riveted to election coverage this morning in Singapore as the votes came in and the States on the U.S. map turned blue.

Later at dinner when asked what he thought of the elections, he said:

Obama’s the winner. Obama works for America.

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