IRS TAX phone scam.

Two days ago, my phone rang at 5am in the morning. It woke me up. I didn't answer the call because it's a number 1-252-655-1752 that I don't recognize at all. They left a voice mail. I have told most friends that i don't usually like to check my voicemail because I am always afraid to hear bad news.  I have a total of 92 voicemails that I have checked since a long time. 

It was wierd that I decided to Check the voicemail later in the afternoon at work. It was a shocking voicemail that tell me it's IRS is filling a lawsuit against me. I was scared but after calming myself down, I look it up online. Sure enough I found a lot of information about this. https://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Phone-Scams-Continue-to-be-a-Serious-Threat,-Remain-on-IRS-Dirty-Dozen-List-of-Tax-Scams-for-the-2016-Filing-Season

I urge people to be cautious about these phone calls. IRS will always inform you using official letter if there is an issue with your tax. They will never initiate the contact using phone. I decided to block the number and few days later another unfamiliar number 1-303-333-4356 called and left the same voicemail. I have shared this with my co worker and found out that someone in my office received the same phone call. 

I am so glad that i didn't just pick up the phone call. I have again confirmed that we should never listen and believe in things. Critical thinking and alway ask question and confirm with another source usually helps. 

Valentine's 2016 DIY nails design

I heart you valentines DIY nails for 2016. Tested the revlon gel from longs cvs store  and some jewels from Malaysia. Used the gel to top it and hope that it will last me till Valentine's Day which is about 9 days from now. 

End of 4th week in full leg cast

One day at work, I received a call from elementary school health room saying that my five year old daughter got hurt from someone jump on her leg during recess time in the morning at 11am. She was crying and screaming over the phone. I asked Jacky to pick her up from school right away. We thought that she was upset and probably had a sprained ankle. Jacky picked her up and took her home. By looking at her leg, we didn't think that she had a broken bone. It looks   Perfectly fine and no sign of swelling. Jacky called me at 3:30 and told me that kayley is still complaining about the pain on her leg. I called the pediatrician office and got an appointment. By the time she got an X-ray, it was already almost 5pm. We returned back to pediatrician office. My pediatrician dr Salle is the best doctor ever. She is always there for her patients. When she showed me the X-rays and explained to me about the fractured bone, I immediately started to cry. Kayley got even more nervous because of my crying. Dr Salle told me I stop crying right away in front of the kids. Lesson learn no. 1 if you as a parent cannot keep calm, it will just make things worst. Because kids are going to get very uneasy. 

Dr Salle sent us home with Tylenol with codein to help with her pain over the night and got us the cd with the X-ray as well as the first appointment to see the best orthopedic doctor. Again, I really love dr Salle. I can always count on her to make the best decision for us. 

Kayley couldn't really sleep over the night due to the pain. Neither did I. I was worried and sad. We got her in the full leg cast the next day. It was full of screaming and crying. I am exhausted. Without jacky, I wouldn't be able to do it. He would carry kayley in the big  britax car seat in and out. We work together very well to get through this difficult time. Kayley was living in her car seat for a few days. She slept in the car seat, she in in her car seat, she refused to get out just because the pain traumatized her. She doesn't want to be moved again to avoid the pain. There were days where she would scream and cry about the itchy leg inside the cast. We did a very good job keeping her cast dry and clean. Not sure where I get the energy and power, I was able to carry her in her heavy long cast in and out. I love this child too much to see her suffering. 

We tried to ask her what happened a few times, she would get very sad and started crying like someone had bullied her. I was really sad. Finally she was able to share that someone jumped off from the playground structure and landed on her when she ran passed by. Very unfortunate. Her school didn't tell me exactly what happened. However the principal and teachers are nice enough to to accommodate us when she is on the stroller. She went back to school the following week. This girl need to go back to the class. She was getting very uneasy  surrounding by people. Poor thing. 

The four weeks passed pretty quickly. We went back to get her full leg cast off and got her leg another X-ray. It showed that the bone is growing little by little. She got another cast. A walking cast that she could walk on. A pretty pink and stripy orange cast that looks like a boot. She wouldn't walk on it. I don't blame her. I am going to give her time. She also got a slipper for the cast. It's ugly black and blue. 

I was able to make it pretty. I hoe she likes it. 

My new thing: sewing and beading

Sorry,I haven been busy with kids back to school. Now that with two in elementary school, life is so busy with working full time during the day and then drop off and pick up kids. We spent our night working on home work most of the time.  Another reason is I got into sewing. Borrow a sewing machine from my very kind friend and there I kick off a series of #diy #repurpose sewing projects. And then now that with Christmas coming, I started beading a gain. Really want to share more about my sewing project and beading project. It's fun and satisfying when you see your kids loving the things you uandmade for them even though they are not perfect.

And here is sneak peak to my project on beading. Love my Tiffany & co. Clasping link bracelet with handmade bracelet. 

Home Depot Kids Workshop

The Home Depot's Kids Workshops offer many useful projects! They teach children do-it-yourself skills and tool safety, while at the same time helping to instill a sense of accomplishment. The children will be able to take home their newly constructed project kit, a kid-sized orange apron and an achievement pin. At this month's workshop, kids will build their own fire truck.

Where: Home Depot
When: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Who: Children ages 5-12
How: Just show up
Cost: Free

Here are my kids from today's workshop. They had a lot of fun. We love it because it's a Free Activity. Thank you Home Depot!

Lowes also have similar program but I never seems to be able to sign up for my kids because they are always full.

Michelin Tires replacement for my 2013 Toyota Sienna van

Anyone else has the same issues I have with your less than two years old van? I owned a 2013 Toyota Sienna van. Back in May 2014, I took my van to the dealer for the regular maintenance. I was told that I need to replace my front tires. My van only has about 17k miles. The person at toyota service center on south street told me that it is normal that tires don't last that long and it is waste of time to claim manufacture warranty. I decided to verify the information knowing that tires has 60k warranty. I called Michelin about their warranty and started a claim over the phone. I was told that I could take it to authorized dealers which are Lex Brodie and Sears Auto Center. I took it to Lex Brodie and was told that I will only need to pay 17% of the cost of the tire replacement. I ended up paying A little less than $200 thinking that I have got a deal.


Four months later, I needed to replace my other two tires. My car only has 20k miles.  Again, I took it down to Lex Brodie because of its convenience location by my work. I was told that I have to pay 75% of the tires because the thread is uneven. They claimed that it was possibly caused by lack of rotation and alignment. I couldn't believed that this is what you need to do with a brand new car., check your tires every two weeks? In addition to that, you are suppose to get them rotate every two to three months. So, I was quote at almost $500 for two tires. I refused to pay that much. I called Michelin again, every time I call and ask them to help, they have me 10% credit more to the initial 75%. Finally I was able to get 45% credit. Then, I started looking at  the Invoice from Lex Brodie to
see how much they actually quote me per tire. $248.88 while Costco is selling for $170. So, I called Sears Auto Center and got help from the General Manager. I ended up paying about $300 for Two brand new tires (Sears Road Handler Touring 100K miles warranty) and alignment with the 45% credit from Michelin. I will write a follow up review on these tires. I am pretty sure that I wouldn't get 100k miles from them though. Just hope that I don't have to spend money for brand new tires in two years.

Overall, My advice for you is not to trust what people tell you. You always save a little money if you verify your information.

Lesson 1: if I believe the technician from the dealer, I would never know that you can get claim manufacture warranty.

Lesson 2: I learn that it is beneficial to check your tires every 2 weeks, rotate your tires every 3 to 6 months and check your car's alignment at least once a year.

Lesson 3: Always check if the store do price matching and details of the warranty.

Lesson 4: Ask question and ask question. Never feel embarrass to ask any question at all.

Hydro Flask, H2go and Tiger Sahara Water Bottles

I recently found that I have a H2go insulated water bottle inside one of the gifts that I received from my 5 years service awards at Kamehameha Schools. I am very blessed to be able to contribute to Princess Pauahi's will. I have been given a very good opportunity to support KS Endowment using my technical and interpersonal skills. It is motivating for me and proud to say that I am contributing to the endowment that supports a statewide educational system that serves more than 47,000 learners at preschools, campuses and community outreach programs. Please feel free to Kumukahi.org website if you are interested in learning about Hawaiian culture using videos, games, musics and etc.

Back to the water bottle talk. I finally found this H2go stainless steel water bottle hiding in the box sitting on my desk for over a week. I was so happy and thankful for getting a special gift like this. It is a nice water bottle with one hand open and drink function. I was very curious and found ETS Express that sells these really good bottles for a decent price. This company produces Contigo 2 Pack Stainless steel water bottle. As you can see from Amazon's site, Contigo water bottles are getting pretty good reviews. I also spotted Contigo Water bottles last weekend at Costco Honolulu. If I remember it right, it should be priced at $29.99.

Meanwhile, my new Hydro Flask Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle, Wide Mouth, 40-Ounce, Everest Blue came in the mail. It is a nice purple, heavy and big water bottle. I bought this bottle for my husband as a 9 year anniversary. Did I count it right? September 25, 2005 was the special date we got married. This bottle has been performing well. I filled it up with half ice and half water. The water stay cold sitting in the car for two days. We definitely drink more water than before. It becomes very useful when we are able to refill the kids water bottle. It just saves us money on buying bottled water. The only thing that I do not like about this water bottle is the cap. I am a mom who has three kids, I wish I could have 4 hands but a lot of the time I have my hands full with things that I need to carry. Having to hold the water bottle and unscrew the cap is just does not work at all for me and my husband. The solution is paying another $5 for the Hydro Flask Hydro Flip Lid from Amazon. I hope that it will work because I have spent more than I like to on a water bottle.

So, out of these three bottles: H2go, Hydro Flask and Tiger Sahara, which one is my favorite? I think I will still vote for Tiger Sahara. H2go and Hydro flask are really heavy and comes with no carrier. I am going to have to come out with something creative to make a DIY carrier pouch. All thse water bottles do a very good job in keeping the water cold.