Wordless Wednesday #30 | Because Stone Cold Said So.

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Home Improvement Tricks That Will Pay You Back.

Saving money around your house is one of the most important things a household is trying to deal with. Home improvements are actually the easiest way to solving that issue but the truth is that there are not too many people who can afford spending too much of their budget on investing in improvements. However, nowadays there is a plenty of small improvements that will definitely pay you back once you decide to invest in them.

The following lines will reveal a few secrets regarding the best choice of home improvements you can make. These ideas are taken from experts in the area of home improvements.

1. Replace your old fashion bulbs with fluorescent ones. This is a very tiny addition that will not cost you too much and will definitely pay you back. Fluorescent bulbs are proven to consume smaller amount of current compared to old fashion ones and hence your monthly bills will significantly decrease.

2. A showerhead that can control the water flow. Showerheads are the thing that consumes a great amount of water. That is why investing in a showerhead that can control the amount of water flow will save water and hence help you spend less amount of money on monthly bills.

3. The same rule applies for your toilet. As toilets are the next thing after showerheads that consume the greatest amount of water investing in a low flow toilet will help you reduce your bills costs.

4. Insulation. This is also a must when it comes to home improvements. In winter a significant amount of the heat in your home is lost through the walls, the floor and the roof. The same thing applies for summer when the cooling is also lost. This influences your bills a lot. That is why investing in attic insulation from a team like Imperial Building & Roofing Co will help you reduce their cost.

5. Buy sensitive switches for the lighting outside the home. Smart sensors that switch on only when there is someone around will help you reduce the bills for current. Moreover with the help of these switches you can easily guess if there is someone outside the house.

6. Invest in a home system for energy audit. It is a more serious investment and is a bit more expensive but once you have it installed you will find out how useful it is. It will help you to keep tracks of all the energy that is consumed and lost throughout the month. This will help you understand the points that lose more energy and fix them.

7. If your washing machine is old you should definitely replace it with a new one. Old machines consume too much water and energy and this reflects your bills. Investing in a new machine that can control the water flow is one of the most important home improvements that you need.

Written for Manand van Scotland

Plants vs Mommies.

My four-year-old son is a huge fan of Plants vs Zombies - the action-strategy game that took the world by storm. He loves the game so much that he can spend countless hours in front of the computer (or the tablet) planting sunflowers and battling zombies, much to my chagrin.

I don't want my son to become a gaming freak at his tender age, and so to pry him away from the computer, I asked him if we could do the planting ourselves - both of us, in real life, sans the zombies. Surprise, surprise! He agreed! And so earlier today, we spent a good three hours arranging tomato seedlings in a huge plant box. (Yay, three hours away from the computer, haha!)

Photo credit: Everything Tomatoes

Gardening is a fun bonding activity, and you too could enjoy this with your child. Here are some tips when gardening with young children:

- Wear old, comfortable clothes. You know how messy things could get, and we don't want to soil the 'good clothes'.
- Allow the kids to do things by themselves. Give them a small area to work on, sort of a space for them to call their own.
- When watering the plants, let them use a water gun. This makes the activity more fun for the kids. Plus it's too risky to let them use a hose or a watering can. There's a great possibility that the kids could drown the poor plants, haha.
- Remember to keep the gardening tools (hoes, shears, and the like) in a safe place. Waterloo tool boxes are a good place to store these tools once you're done gardening.

Ready to have fun? Three, two, one... Start Adventure! :)

Keeping it Clean with Electrolux Refrigerator Filters.

When was the last time you replaced the filters in your fridge? If you haven't touched any of the filters since the time you bought your fridge, you may want to consider doing so now.

As a rule, both the water and air filters in your refrigerator should be replaced at least every six months. Not only does this keep your fridge in good working condition, but doing so also safeguards your and your family's health.

A well-stocked fridge!

You see, unfiltered water may contain lead and pesticides which can be hazardous to one's health - most especially that of young children. What's worse is that water pulled through a dirty filter is even dirtier than before it was filtered.

The same thing goes for refrigerator air filters. Replacing them regularly makes sure that it does its job of eliminating stench and foul odors from your fridge.

Now once you've seen it's time to install new filters, you can simply mouse over to this site and check out different types of refrigerators. You can also visit the Electrolux accessories store and purchase Electrolux refrigerator filter online. The store has a selection of air and water filtration systems available for your fridge, and these can be delivered straight to your doorstep within a few days' time. For replacement parts that require technical qualification prior to installation, Electrolux also has parts representatives that will be more than glad to answer queries and assist in ordering parts for your fridge.

Counting down to UFC 158!

I do no blog about the UFC that often (this entry, in fact, would be my first ever), but if you do follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and even Instagram, you'll have an idea how much of a UFC fan I am. And who I'm rooting for this Saturday. (That's Sunday in the Philippines.)

This time it's personal.

Do I even have to say it? I'm all for Georges St. Pierre of course!

Canadian mixed martial artist and current Welterweight Champion (the title which he defended seven times, by the way), GSP is pretty much the one that got me hooked to UFC, mixed martial arts, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Sure, my husband has been into MMA and the UFC even while we were still dating, but back then, I just watched matches in passing. Meaning, I wasn't really interested. It wasn't until GSP's fight against Josh Koscheck in UFC 74 some six years ago that made me pay close attention to the Rush, and the league in general.

Fast forward to this year, UFC 158, where the champion will be defending his title Nick Diaz - a BJJ black belter, former Strikeforce champion, and one of the meanest personalities in UFC today. He talks a lot, talks trash, and oh, did I mention that this is his comeback fight after being suspended for a year for failing a drug test and popping positive to marijuana? I'm not putting Diaz in bad light by saying these things, but it is what it is. Est quod est.

Anyhow, here's the fight card for tomorrow, and my picks on some of the matches.

UFC158 line-up.

Main Bouts (on Pay-Per-View):
-Georges St-Pierre (170) vs. Nick Diaz (169) - GSP forever and ever and ever. Every time Nick Diaz opens his mouth, he spews garbage, and he deserves one hell of a beating. To quote a friend, "I don't mind if a fighter goes into comatose this time. Nick Diaz is an arrogant ****)

-Carlos Condit (169) vs. Johny Hendricks (171) - Hendricks! If not for this long overdue fight against Diaz, GSP would be defending his title against Hendricks - the number one contender at this time.

-Jake Ellenberger (170) vs. Nate Marquardt (171)
-Nick Ring (183) vs. Chris Camozzi (185)

-Mike Ricci (156) vs. Colin Fletcher (155) - Ricci! I was hoping he'd be the victor in his season of The Ultimate Fighter, but he eventually lost to Colton Smith. I'm freaking glad he's in the Montreal fight card, even if he's battling against the scary-looking Freak Show.

Preliminary Bouts (on FX):
-Patrick Cote (169) vs. Bobby Voelker (169)
-Antonio Carvalho (145) vs. Darren Elkins (145)
-Dan Miller (171) vs. Jordan Mein (170)
-John Makdessi (155) vs. Daron Cruickshank (155)

Preliminary Bouts (on Facebook):
-Rick Story (169) vs. Quinn Mulhern (168)
-T.J. Dillashaw (135) vs. Issei Tamura (135)
-George Roop (135) vs. Reuben Duran (135)

UFC President Dana White had to come in between at the weigh-in.

I'm super, super excited for tomorrow! I plan on finishing all my house chores today so I have nothing but GSP to focus on tomorrow. Expect me to be talking mostly about the UFC and GSP on my social media pages from today onwards. At least until UFC 158 is over. :)