Skype took my money too quickly!
If you are using a free trial Skype Premium service and are going to cancel before the free period finishes, cancel one day before you are supposed to cancel, especially if you live in North America. Otherwise they will take your money.
In my case, they told me that if I decided not to continue the Premium and cancel it before 17th, they wouldn’t charge me, but on the 16th, they charged me already! Why? I checked the receipt and it said they proceed with charges on the 17th, GMT/UTC, which is London time? In their invoice, they didn’t say anything about GMT/UTC. As I was going to cancel it from the beginning, I wrote it down in my calendar to make sure I canceled it. And then, on the day when I was going to cancel, the fee was already taken and I got surprised and upset. I had no idea that they were setting the due date from another country. They can tell that I live in Canada from my profile and IP address.
I wrote a claim and asked for the refund. I wonder if they would offer a refund!?
….
After 30 hours, they emailed me and told me that a refunding procedure is being processed! Yay!! Skype wasn’t as bad as I thought!
I’m not a heavy user of Skype, even though my mobile sucks when we live in a basement. Very bad signal… Usually I use HK$20-30 (CAN$4) worth per month. And this Premium thing costs HK$74 (CAN$10) per month. So I really didn’t want to pay. Thanks!!
Second Trimester Pregnancy 2
A record of my second trimester, the later half:
Feb 25
2o weeks.
Now I can drink water. Good!!
I’m starting to drink warm water first thing in the morning. Still have a cold.
Skipped a yoga class, as I was still coughing. Will be good by next week!
Started feeling the baby moving.
Mar 4
90% of my nausea has gone! Great news for me. It was such a long time. I don’t want to have that again.
I’m getting better from the cold also. I can sleep much better at night. I slept 12 hours, 8 to 8, the other night. Especially after going to the gym.
I realize I like coffee very much. I started wanting to have some every day as soon as my morning sickness finished. I take decaf.
Even decaf coffee prevents iron and some other nutrients from being absorbed, so I try not to have it during or right after meals.
Last Christmas, my hubby and I bought ourselves a room fragrance (wood stick type). But the nausea made me sick with the smell. So I had to put the cap on it for a while, even though I liked the smell when we bought it. Now my sense of smell returned to normal, and we uncapped the bottle.
Mar 7
As my nausea finished, I started going back to the gym 3 times a week. Easy to get tired. I get sleepy easily and go to bed at about 8 on gym days.
Pregnant women get forgetful, I read. I made Temakizushi (a help-yourself kind of sushi), but forgot to serve rice! Excuse me.
Mar 14
Appointment with my doctor. Even though we have appointments, a 3 hour-wait is usual here.
I had a book to spend my long waiting time, but I had finished reading it the day before. Damn! I’m so stupid.
The doctor looked very busy, but we gave him a lot of questions. He recommended us to take a prenatal class. We wanted to take one, so it’s good he recommended a class that is carried out at the hospital where I’m planning to deliver the baby.
We wanted to ask about 自然分娩 (natural birth) and 無痛分娩 (no pain birth). I wasn’t too sure how to say it in English. So I was calling it “natural birth”. The question I wanted to ask was simply if I could use an epidural or not, and also if we want to make decisions on the spot it depends on the situation. But my words weren’t accurate and he started talking about the definition of what is natural. Oops. Anyway, yes, I can use an epidural, if needed.
Mar 19
Even though I cook almost everyday at home, I don’t break dishes. Maybe once in a few years? But this day, I dropped a glass in the sink… Pregnant women get reckless…
I phoned to book a prenatal class, and found out April is already full. Later in May is available, but we will be busy. So we booked it in June. It’s a 6-hour class on Sat ($75 for a couple).
While sleeping, I got a cramp on my leg early in the morning. In the second trimester, pregnant women tend to get cramps, I read. Because I don’t even walk to work, if I don’t make an effort to exercise, I could spend many days easily without any exercise. Especially these days, my body is needing to work out.
My yoga teacher was recommending swimming a lot. It’s easy on joints and still a great work out. The gym I use has a swimming pool as well. But I’m a bit shy to wear a swimming suit when I’m pregnant.
Mar 23
The baby is moving a lot. Happy to see she is energetic.
Apr 5
An ultra sound is usually carried out twice during the pregnancy, but we had a problem last year, so I did it 3 times. This was the 3rd.
I went upstairs to pay for the class fee, and I saw my doctor in an operating green uniform. I wonder he already delivered any babies this day…
I paid and came back. Usually we wait 2-3 hours, but this day was only a 1-hour wait. Good.
There was no abnormality with the baby. Her head was already down. She would still move around, but we hope she stays in the basic position.
25 weeks. 860g.
No change on the gender; girl.
Apr 8
Without eating breakfast, I went to a lab to have myself checked for pregnancy diabetes (gestational diabetes). It’s done when it’s around 26-28 weeks.
First, a urine test. And then drink a very sweet glucose drink with an orange flavour (artificial-colour looking!). I was hungry, so it wasn’t difficult to drink it quickly. And then I waited for 1 hour and then my blood was taken into 2 containers. This Japanese lady in the US was also having the same drink for the test. Interesting and funny blog.
Apr 11
Appointment with my doctor.
The day before, I met my friends. One of the mama friends told me that my tummy looks small for 6 months. My hubby and I thought it’s too big for 6 months. So that was an interesting insight.
This day, the waiting time was 1 and a half hours. Shorter than usual. The ideal is within 30 minutes though.
My blood pressure was low and the weight was the same as a month ago.
The doctor checked my tummy and he also said it’s rather small (but still it’s within the range of normal). So my friend was right!
Everything is all right! Except….
Oh no! My pregnancy diabetes test was not OK. Shocked! I am low on cholesterol (nothing to do with it?) and somehow I was confident that I was OK. Pregnancy diabetes is not a life time condition. The sugar in the blood goes up because of the changing balance of hormones and after delivering a baby, the sugar level goes down again. It still give some risks for the mum and the baby. Depending on the situation, some pregnant women get restrictions on their diet, I read.
I was told to go for another test before the next meeting with the doctor. If I fail to pass this one, I’ll be diagnosed with pregnancy diabetes. The next one takes 2 hours, checking the blood after 1 hour and then after another hour. He said it could be because I’m Asian. I wonder if Asians tend to have high sugar in the blood when pregnant. I asked what to be cautious about, but was told no need to be careful of anything and no need to change my eating habits. I had some pie the night before, is that anything to do with it? No, he said.
Apr 15
I had a dream of producing my breast milk… ^^
Now at the point of the end of 2rd trimester, the baby starts having a sense of tasting. When the mum eats spicy food, the baby tastes it and when it’s sweet, the baby likes it too. Is it true!? Because the nutrition doesn’t enter from the mouth but from the umbilical cord, right? After doing some research, apparently the baby drinks the amnion liquid! Wow!
The baby is very active. I let my hubby touch my tummy. Very exciting. She kicks and punches, and I feel something like her elbows or knees ares slowly moving as well. My hubby is sometimes putting his face on my tummy and talking to the baby.
When I go to bed and lie down, the baby start to move a lot somehow. It’s becoming my routine to enjoy her movements before falling asleep. An active baby is a great thing. It’s 27 weeks now.
* Thank you, Yuan, for linking my records: 「80%の妊婦がつわりを軽減！すぐにデキルつわり対策法」. This blog has a lot of useful info about morning sickness.
Value Village
I like Value Village.
Value Village is a recycling shop that sells donated items. Items are used or sometimes new!
There are a lot of crappy items (sorry – could be a treasure for someone else!), but if you take time, you’ll find very valuable items.
Since we moved to Edmonton a year and a half ago, I’ve visited this shop a few times. If it were closer to our place, I would go more often.
It’s a great place to buy casual clothes. The pink sweater I wear the most was only $3. Even when I have a big belly, it’s still perfect to cover it.
It’s been a while since we visited here last time. I wanted to check what baby items or maternity items they’ve got. There are a lot of cute clean-looking items there. The items have tags of NB (Newly Born) or 3MO (3 months). Easy to choose. We bought 3 to begin with, with the price range between $1.99〜$4.99 per item. NB clothes are so small. I wonder if our baby would come out this small!?
They’ve got more maternity clothes than I expected. Yes, we wear these only for a certain period and we wouldn’t need them any more later. So, of course, these items would get donated regularly, I guess. I should have come before I went to the mall last time.
These maternity pants cost more than $50 at the WEM mall. They’re made from a thin material and I haven’t worn them more than once yet. For the next 3 months, I don’t know how many times I would wear them, but it’s an expensive buy for such a short period of time…
This was only $9.99 at Value Village.
It’s made with really nice strong material that I like.
I bought a few more maternity items and a sweater.
My husband bought 4 books. If you buy 4, the 5th is free! Lucky him. Good stuff.
We bought a lot. The stamp card got full for just a one-time purchase! Next shopping will be 30% off for us. Yay!
Value Village 8930-82nd Ave NW, Edmonton , AB T6C 0Z3 Phone: (780) 468-1259 Hours: Mon-Sat 9-9 | Sun 10-7
They have 5 branches in Edmonton.
Jamaica 8 – Treasure Beach 4 – Black River & Pelican Bar
Dec 23 (Sun) – 28 (Fri), 2012
We took a Black River Tour on the 26th.
This tour took us to Black River by a motor boat for crocodile-watching. It’s by luck to see any and sometimes customers can’t (a Czech family we met at the guesthouse couldn’t see any). And then we visited Pelican Bar which is built in the middle of the ocean. It’s a 4-5 hour tour. As a larger group can get a discount, so we decided to go with the Spanish couple who became friends of ours.
Good morning, cutie! Have a good day and see you later!
We got on this boat.
It’s called Why You Ask. When the owner goes to register it, they’ll ask the name of the boat.
“What’s the name of the boat?”
“Why you ask?”
“Because we need to register your boat. So what is it called?”
“So I’m telling you, why you ask.”
The conversation will never end…
The wave sometimes splashed on our faces. It’s refreshing and windy. We got a lot of sun.
We will come to see you later, Pelican Bar!
We saw a dolphin! We were told it’s quite rare here during this season. So we were lucky!
Then we went up the Black River. Here he is! They are the same colour as the branches. It’s hard to find them. Normally, the guides find them for us.
We enjoyed the nice river nature scenes as well.
My husband can’t just ignore a Tarzan rope when he finds one. He has to try it! :
Hello, girls! :
There’s a place on the river where we can have some crabs! They’re not filling, but nicely arranged, easy to eat and tasty!
Now going back to the ocean.
I imagine it’s hard to manage a restaurant like this. You have to bring everything over the water, drinks, gas, food, water…
It’s so windy too as it is located in the middle of the ocean.
We can have drinks here and also order some meals. They have a small section for souvenirs. We bought a redwood carving of dolphins.
This is a lobster dish. Shared with my hubby. It went so quickly! Very delicious.
It was a very enjoyable time.
Had fish & chips at the guesthouse for dinner.
Jamaica 7 – Treasure Beach 3
Dec 23 (Sun) – 28 (Fri), 2012
25th: Christmas Day.
This morning we chatted over breakfast with the Spanish couple for a long time. It was already past 11 am when we finally noticed the time. They were here with their rent-a-car (wow, they drove on the terrible Jamaican roads!). They were going to Great Bay Beach, so we got a ride there. Thank you!
Lionfish:
Lobster:
We walked up a hill near the shore:
We enjoyed the hot weather in the water as well. Late at night, I noticed that I had left my necklace there! Damn!! I bought it in Negril. Too bad…
Lobster:
Lionfish:
When I see this page, lionfish are not sold in markets (at least in Japan). It’s a beautiful fish, when you image-search it, and a popular fish among divers to look at. The notes say it’s not very tasty. I think I had this for the first time, but it was tasty and I liked it as much as lobster! Lionfish was cheaper.
We went to a cafe and then went to another beach.
We were both lying down and reading. Without noticing it, the tide had risen and David’s towel got badly wet!
Dinner at Jerk again.
This night, we just had veggies with potatoes.
We were told that the local community was having a Christmas event at the church, so we dropped by.
No decorations, just a very simple church. It was undergoing renovations and being enlarged. We didn’t even see a cross.
There was a lot of singing. When the kids sang, the adults gave small bills to them. David followed their custom. The money was collected later and the total amount of the donation was announced at the end.
We usually spend Christmas in another country traveling. It’s a valuable experience.
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