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We arrived at home again about three hours ago. My father’s health is stable; but I don’t feel fine right now. I’ve got fever, cough, and cold. Sigh. I noticed that my health’s condition is up and down easily recently.

Before having a rest and taking medicine, I’ll share a water feature inside a hotel where we spent two nights before. Yesterday we decided to visit Cangkuang Lake (Garut, West Java, Indonesia). Yep, we had wonderful times there and I’ve captured some interesting shots. I’ve more interesting stories to tell about this unique place, but not now. My body needs rest. Sorry for still not yet replying your visits, guys!.

Watery Wednesday

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I’m in the Short Trip

We (my husband, my father, and I) were out of town now. Left home near lunch time, we arrived last night at this small but homey hotel in Garut (West Java, Indonesia). Haven’t planned yet what we’ll do today. There are some interesting places to visit in Garut, but we haven’t decided the place that suits my father’s condition; as he can’t walk far anymore. My husband and I just want to make my father cheer up!

It’s just a short update from me. Hope we have wonderful times today. And you’re as well!

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5 Things You Need to Do When Developing Your Own Investment Property

When it comes to property investment many are choosing today to put on their developer’s hat and build their own investment property. Developing your own investment property means you can create a smartly designed house that can achieve maximum profits!

However, when it comes to developing your own investment property there are a lot of things you have to do and be aware of. You have to follow the property market like a hawk and secure a high growth suburb to develop in. You have to establish budgets and architectural plans. You also have to contend with contractors and the local council.

Below we shall cover five of the essential things you need to do when deciding to build, renovate and develop your own investment property.

1. Get Current Property Market Advice
Before you make any purchase decision, get in touch with property market analysts and real estate professionals that specialise in investment properties. You want to find out the current property market trends and what the best places to buy into are. They can also provide advice on what kinds of properties are doing well.

You want to make sure you are buying into a high growth area and are going to build (or renovate) a financially viable kind of property.

2. Speak to a Financial Adviser and Create a Budget
You also need to contact a financial advisor and learn the most efficient way of financing your property investment venture. They will have the necessary experience and tools (such as real estate development software) to help you organise a rock solid budget.

Financial advisers can help explain what the best kind of loan for you is and the most efficient way to make loan repayments. They can also help by budgeting for the property’s construction or renovation costs and the eventual maintenance costs.

It’s important that you have a sound budget and to not financially overstretch yourself.

3. Develop a Building Plan
When deciding to develop your own investment property, you need to decide whether it’s more beneficial to renovate or just demolish and rebuild the house.

If the property you have bought is relatively new, or has some interesting features, it may be more practical to renovate. However, it may be more cost effective and profitable in the long run to just demolish the entire thing and start from scratch.

When building, or doing a major renovation, it’s a good idea to get an architect on board and have them help draw up any building plans. You want to make sure all your plans and ideas are structurally sound and viable.

4. Contact the Local Council
After having drawn up the building plans, it’s essential that you get in touch with the local council. Your plans need to be reviewed by the council, who will then make sure that they are not in breach of any council regulations, concerning the construction of property.

The council will also send out council building inspectors at regular stages in the construction process. The building inspectors will make sure that what you’re building coincides with the construction plans. These inspectors will also have to sign off on each stage of construction to say that it corresponds with council regulations.

5. Hire Experienced Contractors
When it comes to constructing your investment property and installing things, like plumbing and electrical work, it’s always important that you engage with experienced contract workers.

When looking at contract worker, such as builders, floorers, electricians and plumbers, make sure that you get a couple of quotes, so you can compare prices and find out what their previous experience is.

Also, when enlisting in contract work, always regularly check on the work that is being done and that it is in accordance to your plans. Catching problems in their early stages makes them a lot easier and cheaper to fix.

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Who am I?

Can you guess what kind of critter she/he is? The critter has cute noise and a hairy head. She/he likes to eat vegetables.

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7 Ways to Secure your Home on a Budget

Securing your home must be a high priority to protect against both theft and unwanted intrusion. Protecting your house can be an expensive business, however, when you take into account the costs of installing alarms and shutters in Brisbane. You will never achieve better results than you will by finding someone to install Crimsafe in Brisbane, but you can improve your security further by carrying out safe practices and installing simple measures. This article will consider some of the ways that you can protect your home by yourself to reduce the cost of home security.

There are, of course, day to day practices that you can follow to stay on top of home security. Practices such as ensuring doors and windows are always shut will help to deter burglars. It is also wise to avoid the appearance of absence when you are away from your property. Here is a list of things you can do which will prevent easy access to your property once the thieves have decided to target you.

1. Install deadbolts with reinforcement. Installing a 6 point deadbolt will greatly increase the strength of your doors. Instead of relying on a single door lock it is far better to reinforce the door to prevent it from being kicked in or drilled.

2. Install a strong padlock to close all of your gates and doors. Large padlocks often supply far better security than standard door locks. As they cannot be opened from either the inside or the outside without a key, they provide far better security than locks which can be opened from the inside.

3. Strip your garden back. Gardens, bushes and other foliage offer far too much in the way of cover to burglars. A good burglar will need no more than a minute to force open a window or make an entry if there is a route, so it is important that they are as exposed as they could be during this time. Trying to create privacy in your garden actually benefits thieves who want to work under cover.

4. Keep trees away from your house. A tree can create a pathway to your upper windows. If it feasible to reach windows or flat roofs via trees then they should be removed. If for no other reason, trees this close to your house will damage your foundations with their roots.

5. Consider installing low level lighting in your driveway. Well lit, or even dimly lit area/s are burgled far less frequently because of the increased risk to the burglar.

6. Create a gravel border around your house. Gravel is a huge deterrent for burglars because it means that they cannot move silently. Having a gravel drive does mean that you will get woken up by the postman in the mornings, but it also means that you will be alerted to the approach of criminals to your home.

7. Install CCTV to keep a watchful eye. Installing CCTV serves as more of a deterrent than anything. Thieves will avoid risking being caught on camera and will probably avoid your house. Even if you install false cameras, you will probably benefit from this deterrent and have your house avoided.

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5 Ways to the Perfect Holiday Season

The holiday season is, as they say, “the most wonderful time of the year”, yet for some reason, it usually also turns into one of the most stressful times of the year!

You’ve got gifts to buy, events to organise, family to see…and even though these are all positive things that should be fun and exciting, when they happen all at once, it’s easy to become overwhelmed.

But don’t worry! Here are some steps you can take to have you enjoying the holiday spirit and remembering once again why it is meant to be a magical time of the year.

1. Get Organised Early.
The smartest thing you can do to prepare for the holidays is to get started as early as possible.

Do you ever feel slightly annoyed when you see Christmas decorations up and holiday promotional bags being used sometimes as early as October?

Well, maybe it’s not such a bad thing after all – use it as a sign that you should start thinking about your plans. Decide what you want to achieve and what you’ll need to do, so that you can ensure by the time the holidays come around, you are able to fully relax and appreciate them.

2. Make a List.

If there’s ever a time to get into the habit of making lists, it’s for Christmas gift shopping. Trying to buy gifts with no real ideas on what to buy or where to look can be a real nightmare by the time December rolls around.

Avoid making the mistake most of us make year after year, and get that list done early!

Once you’ve written it, don’t just forget about it: make sure you start ticking those items off. The earlier you do so, the sooner you’ll feel on top of things and be able to laugh at those who aren’t.

Go get out your large green bags (much easier than carrying a huge number of different shopping bags from various stores), and head out to tackle that list early as you can – you’ll be grateful to avoid the mad frenzy of those last few weeks before Christmas.

3. Think Back to Previous Years.
What was it that you loved or didn’t enjoy so much about previous holiday seasons? Has there been something you wish you could have spent more time on, or people you didn’t get to see?

Take the time to reflect on previous years and make the necessary changes. Maybe this year you will decide to host a Boxing Day brunch rather than the main event. Perhaps you won’t travel as far so as to limit the amount of time you spend your holidays stuck in the car.

Whatever it is you need to do: do it! It’s always better to learn from your mistakes rather than repeating them.

4. Get in Touch with Friends and Family.
Find out what everyone’s plans are for the holiday season now so that you can start making arrangements earlier rather than later.

If you have family who you usually miss out on seeing because they go away, or you have friends with hectic work schedules: working out suitable dates far enough in advance will enable you to make the most of your time off.

5. Make Your Preparations Celebrations.
Why not make the lead up to your holidays just as enjoyable at the holiday period itself? If you can’t figure out a way to fit everything into your brief time off work, then don’t try to.

Make an effort to get together with friends throughout the month of November or early December so you don’t feel too rushed or pressured by the time constraints of the official holiday season. You’ll probably find most people are in a similar frame of mind and will appreciate the chance to get together for a drink or two. You can exchange holiday ideas and provide each other with support.

The holiday season is about enjoying life and relaxing with your friends and family. So long as you don’t let the stress to get to you, you’ll be able to have the perfect holiday season. Good luck – happy holidays!
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A Tribute to Mothers

Today is Indonesia mother's day. Here's an attribute to all mothers in Indonesia.

A mother keeps the human race going!

She gives the kid(s) the important training;

She does the baby’s cleaning and nursing;

She tends to children’s bathing and cleaning.

A mother is the crux in kid(s) growing!

And children into adults keep turning;

She does the child’s dressing and nail-paring;

She sings the songs when child goes off sleeping!

A mother keeps the home and does cooking;

About the children all, she keeps thinking;

Most days, she does the chores and dish-washing;

She hardly gets some time for own sleeping!

A mother loves to work and keep slogging!

Sometimes, in vain for help, she keeps begging;

Some modern moms take to even blogging;

A few spend much time at husbands, nagging!

A mother knows the art of good loving!

Some are good in punning, joking, rhyming;

A mother teaches kids at fine writing;

She spends the night in ‘about all’, dreaming!

A mother soul is fixed to kid(s) rearing!

To problems all, she gives a good hearing;

Nothing amiss can escape her seeing;

At times, she gives the kid(s) a good beating!

A mother tells kid(s) to be God-fearing!

Some mothers can be bold and ev’n daring;

Some mothers can’t stay without arguing;

Good mothers believe in giving / sharing!

A mother is a great human being!

When someone leaves, she keeps her hand(s) waving;

For love sometimes, some mothers keep craving;

The world somehow keeps most mothers crying!

Copyright by Dr John Celes 5-13-2009/image:prints.co.nz/

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