What's New in October

Fewer updates on the girls. I have took up a 6 months course on Human Resource Mgmt certification. Need to attend classes every Wednesday. Took up the challenge since it is sponsored by my Company.

Also, recently catching the HK drama 'The Drive of Life', 60 episodes. Well, juggling working and taking care the girls, sneaking time to watch the drama is not easy. Compared to 'childless' time, can easily complete the drama in 2 weeks. Now i wonder how long it will take me..:)

Build up a new passion on Aromatherapy. Learning more about it and how it can benefit health and genereal well-being. Bought some Lavender oil to relax and destress.. I just love the energy after sniffing the oil.

Also on a 4 weeks detox. My detox is all back to natural food. Eat as normal and exclude all meat and dairy products and starch from my diet. Eat more fruits, vegetables and tofu products. Have been strictly on this diet for 2.5 weeks. Benefits? Bowel movement more regular, feel lighter, less tired and lighter. Think i have reduce abt 2 kg so far.

Pink Rose Bud Tea

As part of detox, has added pink rose bud tea into my diet.

Courtesy of http://www.teacuppa.com/Pink-Rose-Bud-Tea.asp

Pink Rose Bud Tea is made from real rose buds, plucked when they are young and then dried. Lovely and highly enjoyable beverage. Pink Rose Bud Tea adds spark to women beauty, relieve menstrual pain (add a bit of red wine and brown sugar), ease stomach bloatedness.

Good for woman. The flowers, gathered in the bud and dried, are said to be more astringent than the Red Roses.

Nursery or no-nursery

Lately i have this question in mind: To send or not to send Elly to nursery when she reach 2 1/2 years old. Well, there are pro and con to it. Or shall i hire a full-time maid at home to look after the girls?

Or shall i 'let-go' of my career and stay-home to take care the girls? Always feel that the girls need the most attention especially during the toddler years. Research has proven that children with good family support during the toddler years are more stable emotionally.

Aside high IQ which is so in demand nowadays, high EQ and SQ(Social intelligence) are equal important. While the former is much easier to achieve, need to emphasize on how can achieve the latter while bringing up the girls.

4 Week Detox

Thanks to my sis-in-law for the Detox Book by Michelle Cook, i am now on a 4 week detox aiming at better health and to lose weight.

Now on my 3rd day of the detox, feeling great and less bloated. Bowel movement is better. Basic things to follow, all back to natural, and no starch and no meat and no dairy products during the 4 weeks.

One good thing is it allows for 'once in a while' treat of meat, and anything that i feel like eating. Need it though as will be attending a best friend wedding in early Nov. Other than that, will stick to this vege and fruits regimen.

It's a Beautiful day

Today is Monday, the start of the working week again. Arrghhh, this is the beginning of the struggle again. Anyway, would make the best of my Monday, as it is the start, a good start will make a good ending.

Will be On leave on Friday, so thinking from the bright side, am only working for 4 days this week. Gosh, a lot need to be achieve, and with a strong mind and determination, i believe i can do it.

Attended a training session recently, Touched abt personality. I am the strong Sanguine type(details check it out at http://www.oneishy.com/personality/). Bluntly said, i am the type born to be a 'fickle-minded' person. And the good news is this type is the 'cheerful' type. So what the heck, as long i am a happy person!

Fasting month

Today is the first day for the Muslims to start fasting for one month. Time to be more considerate and thoughful especially when eating so as not to eat in front of them.

And the best part is there will be many food stalls in the evening selling various types of delicacies which are only available during this month.

Hmm. i know i am contradicting with myself. One moment say want to diet, the next is talking about food. But hey, what the heck, i want to achieve both, although this means will take longer time for me to see the diet result, and life is suppose to be enjoyable, not suffering huh?

Growth on my Right Jaw

Yesterday, suddenly i felt some pain on my right jaw. When i ran my finger on the jaw, there was a lump as big as a kidney bean on it. Oh Gosh, hope it is not something malignant! Recently there are a few people that i know has been diagnosed having cancer in different parts of the body. And ill-thoughts have then start filling my brain...

What if it it cancerous?
Oh No, i have two small and lovely girls
I have not been to Taiwan yet
I am still in my twenties and there are so much more to achieve
etc
etc

Praying hard that mine is not [touch wood..touch wood] cancerous.

Attachment

In our life, there are so much of attachment. To detach from the things that we love is not easy.However, in order to live a simple and happy life, i have learnt to detach. Especially material items and friendship that is not going to blossom anymore. To clap we need two hands, and trying to clap with one hand is a futile effort.

As SIRIM officers are coming to my workplace for an audit, i took the opportunity to 'clean' and 'detach' all the unnecessary items on my desk. Gone to the shredder, ABBA file and into the drawer. Hmmm.. i wonder whether i will open and look at the things again...

Colonoscopy

Performed a colonoscopy to examine on my chronic constipation. Found the cause of my IBS(irregular bowel system); due to my 'longer than normal' large intestines. Doc said that due to this, my intestines can 'keep stock' up to a week, compared to the 'normal stock' of 2 days.

Colonoscopy is the endoscopic examination of the large colon and the distal part of the small bowel with a CCD camera or a fiber optic camera on a flexible tube passed through the anus. It may provide a visual diagnosis (e.g. ulceration, polyps) and grants the opportunity for biopsy or removal of suspected lesions.

Definition courtesy of Wikipedia.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonoscopy

Anyway, was relieved as it did not show any peculiarity or growth that will eventually turn malignant. Was given RM 400++ worth of medicines to 'normalize' my bowel system which is called as 'Lazy Bowel System'.

Signs of Aging?

Lately my memory seems to deteriorate. Perhaps it is the sign of aging , or the effects of the epideural that i used during my labor? Oh my, i am only in my twenties years 'young', just feel the sign is too early.

Am thinking how to improve my memory skills. Play sudoku, mahjong or pop some ginkgo into my mouth?

Fitness and Lifestyle

After become a 2nd time Mommy, somehow or rather fitness seems very important to me. It has become something of top priority in my life. Because i want to live to 80 years 'young'(instead of old) and see my girls grow up, graduate, work, get married and have children so i can become a grandnanny...:)

Try to make it a point to exercise 20 min 4 times a week. With the gym at my workplace now being open during lunch break, there is more 'space' for me to squeeze time to exercise. And the good news is that the Management is planning to add another 15 exercise machines. Oh... I am more than motivated!

Detoxification

Everything happens for a reason. Been talking but procrastinating about a detoxification session for myself. With the TruDtox hamper that i won, there is no reason to put delay but to commence immediately.

For some of you that do not know how detox will help the body, check this link: http://www.trudtox.com/trudox1.htm

Lady Luck is Back...

Have not been engaging in comping(enter contests) since Emmy joined the family. Recently, i was reading a health magazine and there was an article on detoxification . Thought of trying the product and since it came with a contest, i filled in the details to try my luck.

Forgot about the contest until i received a letter saying that i had won a RM148 hamper on the detox products. Great! Just came at the right time as i planned to buy that product next week.

Eye-brow embroidery

(Nice brow. huh! Marvellous thing it does for me although wearing no traces of makeup as in this pic)

This is taken after i have done eyebrow embroidery, a newer technology then my mom's generation of 'tattoo-like' eyebrow which looks very fake.

Cost me RM 250, but since i had been 'craving' for one since i was pregnant with Elly, and then thought 'Hey, what the heck, Just Do It!' and saves me time on drawing and 'perfecting' my fine and almost invisible eyebrow.

The process of embroidery or simply said, putting the 'paint' into the skin took about 20 minutes. Some friends who have done it say it was very painful but still do it for the sake of beauty. Funny but for me, i dont quite feel the pain. Maybe as a Mommy now, there is no 'pain' like labor pain and I survived!

Mommy's Club

More and more of my friends have been 'promoted' to become 'Mommy', the highest post, with lowest/no pay in the world. If we can measure the kind of work a Mommy does, we shall earn more than a CEO pay! And yet, most of us not only manage to take care of the infants, the home and spend 8-10 waking hours in the office working.

Wow.. when i think back all the things that we can do, it amaze me. So fret not friends, the next time you have a bad hair day, at office or at home, simply because 'Mothers are simply great'! A little mishaps here and there are acceptable.

After reading sharings by Nicole, yeap, i agree, race for 'material' possession does not matter anymore. A smile, a hug or a cheer from the lil' ones makes us happier then striking the lottery.

The World Is Flat

Am reading a book titled 'The World Is Flat' by Thomas Friedman. It's really a good book i recommend for those who want to know more about what is happening to our world, flatten by new discoveries and technologies.

How India and China has wake up from 'sleeping' and boost the economy, how incident of 119 (fall of Berlin wall) and 911(fall of WTC) has changed the world and etc etc

And now i can communicate with all of you regardless of where you are, even as far as Timbuktu! So lucky to live in this era and i begin to imagine the world of tomorrow where my girls will live in, with more new insights and changes.

Instilling more sense of Appreciation

I am not the type of person who can ‘sweet-talk’. To me, perhaps due to upbringing and some traits in me, I always feel that no need to show ‘appreciation so often’, the other party will know and feel the ‘goodness’ if it is the truth.

But now I realized how a little ‘appreciation’ will go a long way. Not only it will brighten someone’s day when we show our expression, it make ourselves feel good too.

So, will try to let more people that know me how much I appreciate them. And if you know me and is more than an acquaintance, let me tell you that I appreciate having you in my life too!

4 glasses of water

Japanese practises drinking 4 glasses of water first thing in the morning. This new habit will cure many sicknesses and as for me, according to the findings, keeping the habit for 10 days consequently will cure my constipation problem.

I am in my 4th day and my constipation or IBS(Irregular Bowel Syndrome) – a new term that I read in a book, seems to get better. Hopefully by the 10th day, it’s all back to normal, and normal means everyday.

Merdeka

In less than a month, it's my country 50th anniversary of independence. We called it 'Merdeka'(independent). Bought a mini flag for Elly and will share with her more about Merdeka. Might be too young for her to understand the true meaning..:)

Wish all Malaysians a happy Merdeka!

20 min in the Gym

I have been frequenting the gym for the 6th day and as i shared earlier i need to stick to it for 21 days in order to direct my brain to stick to this new habit. Initially, i was panting and breathless although only 10 min on the stationary bike.

This week, got slightly better and can complete the 20 min that i set. Plan to do it longer as fat onlygot burn when we do an exercise at least 20 min. Time management gets more important as i need to ensure that i finish my work before rushing to the gym for a 20 min workout.

Hope this regimen can help me to shred the kilos, make my tummy flatter and the lower abdomen 'fitter'. Ganbatte... ganbatte..ganbatte!

Improve my Health

After delivering Emmy, i start to do a 'personal scan' of the condition of my health. These are the findings and i make a pledge to improve the condition by end of the year.

Problematic area:
1.Bad constipation
2.High BMI of 28.5 (to count it, take your weight-kg divided by height-meter square
3.Oily scalp causing dandruff
4.Growing moles (black and brown) on my face

Remedies for the above includes:
1.Drink 4 glasses of water first thing in the morning, drink prune juice, eat more fruits
2.Reduce calorie intake, oily food and less food during dinner
currently able to reduce BMI to 27.3, target is 19.5 (Ganbatte!)
3.Will purchase Head and Shoulders the next time i go shopping
4.No solution at the moment, maybe some 'mini laser' ...(avoid it turn cancerous)

Keeping a New Habit

Recently, started to develop a few new habits. Accordings to findings, in order to keep a new habit and make it stay with us forever, we need to keep it for 21 days and by then, eventually it become part of us already.

My new habits:
1. Wake up 1/2 hour early for some 'personal time'


2.20 min in gym 4 times a week (My workplace has a gym so i can easily stick to it)


3.Drink 4 glasses (4 x 160 ml) water every morning before food


4.Read at least a book once a month


5.Stand instead of sit, walk instead of stand, run instead of walk

Great Books

Have been reading some great books in the month of July which are worth sharing


1.Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom

Story was about Eddie who died and went up to heaven and meet 5 people, each with a lesson for Eddie, a stranger, his commando, his dad, his wife and a young girl that he saved that cost his life.

2.For One More Day by Mitch Albom

Story was about who spent another day in his life with his Mom who had passed away. Sounds bizarre huh! But the narration was simple and nice.

3.How to Enjoy Your Life and Your Job by Dale Carnegie

This is book that i called 'Self-Help'. Learnt many true and tested ways to enjoy my life and my my job more interesting and most important, how to 'enjoy' my job. Spending most of my day in the office, learning to enjoy my job add colors to my life.

4.Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

Are you and your other-half/children/friends are speaking the same love language? Just like English, Mandarin or Italian, there are actually 5 different love languages to be discovered. Acts of service, affirmation of words, physical touch, quality time and gifts of love. Improve my relationship with my loved ones.