Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas Everyone! This is the day I love most. I love Christmas trees, christmas songs that sound like heaven and its a day when families unite. Such great joy! May you all be blessed....

When Salad Is Not My Forte

So which one are you? A person who eats for health or the one who eats because they taste so good? I am more towards eating for health. So I am really not that picky when it comes to food as long as it is healthy. But don't get me wrong, I love the unhealthy delicious food, but I take them with caution especially fried foods. Sometimes delicious food although not too healthy but it can boost up your mood level.

Unhealthy delicious food are easiest to find but healthy delicious food takes up a bit of challenge. Well shall I conclude that delicious food are always not healthy and vice versa?

I have been feeling a bit sluggish and tired lately. I suspect that either I haven't got enough sleep or my body is lacking enzymes. We can easily get enzymes from raw food and the food that I can think of is salad. We need enzymes to have a good digestive system. When we have a good digestive system, our body is able to absorb nutrients and get rid of toxins at the same time. Having cooked food all the time is not good too because when we cook our food it will destroy a lot of enzymes. That is why I always keep them in mind in order to motive me to eat more veggies.

Check this website which I found useful. They have some good info on why we need enzymes - http://www.learnsomethingtoday.com/text%20pages/Enzymes.htm

Oh I can tell you that after eating those crunchy leaves and my favourite cherry tomatoes I feel refreshing and my body is supercharged. Hooray to salade!



Tags: eating salad, raw food, enzymes, we need enzymes, feeling refreshed

Mosquito Bite. Swollen Feet.

Last Staurday night, Marc's two ankles were bitten by mosquito. I thought the little bumps will recover by itself after applying Mopiko (an off counter ointment to soothe mosquito bite). But it doesn't and Little Marc keep on scratching them until they got swollen.

Poor baby....almost the whole of his right foot is red, swollen and it feels hot in them. You know baby's skin are very sensitive but I didn't expect a mosquito bite could be this worst. I tried everything from Mopiko to Cherurub soothing gel but they don't seem to work. So, lastly I got an idea of slathering Manuka Honey UNF 15  which I have blogged previously. I never try treating a swollen skin with Manuka Honey before but I have done some research that they actually help. They are a bit sticky but at least after I applied it, Little Marc only scratched it once and I rinsed them later in the afternoon. By night I can see no more signs of redness.

Next day......

Wow the swelling is gone. Only a bit of bruising and scratch marks are visible. By Monday both feet recovered to nornal. This is great, I use food to heal my baby's feet!



Tags: Baby sensitive skin, mosquito bite, swollen baby feet, manuka honey, manuka honey healing

What Do You Think This Is?

 

What do you think? This is actually my breakfast. The ingredients are great.....I've added quick oats, goji berry, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, cashew nuts and raisins. Then, I add hot water to and 1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses.

I love the nuts and oats but adding blackstrap molasses is a bad combination. There is so much talk about the goodness of blackstrap molasses but there aren't many delicious recipes that includes blackstrap molasses. They only taste great when they are made in cookies, cakes and "Gan Lao Mien" (chinese dried sauce noodle) but other than that they don't go easily well with other food. 

I have been trying to increase my iron and calcium intake and blackstrap molasses is one of the best option since they are packed with iron, calcium, manganese, magnesium, copper, potassium, selenium and Vitamin B6.

It is also claimed that they are able to improve some ailments such as anemia, constipation, anxiety, ulcers, varicose veins, dematitis, rheumatism, arthritis pain, period pain and etc.

After I discovered its benefits, I am all out to try it .....can you imagine that this blackstrap molasses which is usually used as a sweetener and came from a third boil sugar cane can actually have so many nutrients?  Anyway I believe we can get the best from all natural food sources and not the synthetic / man made ones.

Tags: health benefits of blackstrap molasses, breakfast, calcium, iron, healing benefits of  blackstrap molasses,ailments

Vegetarian Fair at Titiwangsa

I never heard of a vegetarian fair before until I was told about it when I went to my parents place last Sunday (28th November, 2010) . I was excited and eager to find out what's in that fair. I mean I am pretty interested in all foods fair but never got the chance to go to any of them. So, it was a hush decision to go there at about 11am. The food there is almost sold out by the time we reached lake Titiwangsa. It is the oldest lake in KL and I have never been there for say, 20 years or so. Yeah, I once told my friend that we are all pretty excited and even make it our mission to travel to other parts of the world, to see other countries' tall building, oldest castle and lake but never bother to visit our own. How so? I don't get it. Maybe it is the mindset of the conveniency in visiting those places that we don't think much of visiting our own historical or unique places in our country. But now I think it should not be so.

Well back to the vegetarian fair. First, you have to buy cash vouchers in order for you to buy food. The fair is not too big with a few stalls surrounding the lake side. They pretty much sell the same thing, rojak, nasi lemak, pau (dumpling), ice-kacang, fruit juices, pizza and etc. I am interested in trying their pizza but too bad the stall is too crowded that I didn't even get a foot in front of that stall. Overall, it is nothing much to see but I do hope they have a much more interesting vegetarian products next year.

They are frying something yummy.....but can't really tell because it is too crowded....

A group of volunterring students street performing? ...Nice uniform !



Tags: vegetarian, vegetarian fair, Malaysia, Lake Titiwangsa

Spinach Noodle On The Go…

I’m free to maneuvre in the kitchen now since we moved in and I have been eager to try out my cooking skill. I prepared this stir fry spinach noodle on Tuesday. It is a simple dish to prepare for lunch.

I saute onions, garlics and mushroom together until fragrant.

Boil spinach noodles until soft and fried eggs at the same time. Then add water, sesame oil, a bit of pepper and a dash of soy sauce in a bowl. Then, I add all of them together and let them simmer for awhile.

Taddaaa !I cooked myself lunch and nothing beats a home cooked food. I feel satisfied whenever I cook myself a meal. At least I know what's in my food. 





Tags: home cooked food, spinach noodle, stir fry

Want to see how my sponge became a “transformer”?

Well it is not like what you think …. A sponge turning into some sophisticated AI robot. But it transformed from a soft spongy soggy pad to a four legged tattered sponge and later you will see that all the legs just give up and let go. Hah!

Don’t be fooled by its appearance that it will be long lasting. I guess cheap things never associate with quality. I bought 3 sponges for RM2++. Well I tried to be a smart aunty or rather a good bargain hunter but looks like I will never get there; at least not now.

Adios Spongy!

Can you imagine as I scrub my plates with this spongy, it gave off its parts little by little? I only managed to stretch its usability for one week and it migrated to the dustbin. Goodbye....



Tags: Sponges, transformers, durability of a sponge

A Taste of Freedom

I want to scream ....I want to shout that I am free at last.....finally my family has a place to call home. Although it is not perfect yet...a lot of washing and scrubbing to do but I am tasting a bit of my freedom. I have been holding the pain from not being able to do the things that I want and now finally my husband has realised it.

Things that I can do now:

1) Wash my car. My car has been pathetically covered with dirt for almost 3 years. I don't know about you but I have this principle in me that says if the car is dirty, so is the owner. My father use to say we should keep our car clean so that when we take the car to fix, the mechanic will handle the car with care.

2) I can wash my laundry as many times as I want to....good smelling bedsheets, clean bedsheets, clean rugs.

3) Kitchen. This is the best part. A place to cook and clean the dishes. No more cleaning dishes in the toilet. I can cook anytime I want to.

4) Freedom to go anywhere at anytime I want to without any stress.

5) I can take care of my baby however I want to and play with him however I want to without the feeling of people watching me or eaves dropping me.

6) I can invite friends and family over.

7) Enjoy independance and privacy.

8) I can start the projects that I am eager to do for a long time. Lets see if I can post them in this blog. Stay Tune!

Hear Her Out....

Love her love her .....Heard of Joanna Wang? Her voice is amazing. She makes songs so easy going and easy listening. I love her voice lots....smokey and sexy.....great for jazz...Now I present to you her song: Tikiville...


Listening to quality songs are the gems of my life!






Tags: Joanna Wang, singer, song artiste

Reading Cookie Labels

Do you read labels when you shop for your groceries? I don’t know where I learned this but it is definitely from a book that I read (I can’t remember which book).



Nowadays I don’t buy many things off the shelves because there are too many unknown ingredients in them.

I bought this box of crackers mainly because of the imprints “Multigrain cracker”- I am always into healthy biscuits.
I think this biscuits have less unknown ingredients as compared to others. And it is not too sweet too.

But I wonder what is this Ammonium Bicarbonate (E503) ? I found out from Google search that it is actually commercial salt. My thought was, was it harmful? According to this website it is safe.

I’ve tried this biscuit from Mcvitie’s too. They are yummy but a bit too sweet for my liking. The good thing is they have a more detailed ingredients. They will tell you how much percentage of rolled oats and whole wheat flour they used in their biscuits.

Sorry….was thinking of taking pictures on the looks of those biscuits but I have already finished them all. None is left! :p






















Tags: reading food labels, cookie labels, food ingredients

Reusing Envelopes?

I haven’t sort out my mails for 6 months now. You must have imagined I have tonnes of mails pilling up the roof but instead it is just way below 20 mails. I’ve got to tell you that being at home and working online, I rarely get snail mails anymore but I do get more from emails. Times have really changed and we can get our mails at a faster rate. I am grateful for that!


So, last Saturday was the day I sort out all my mails since my husband is not around and I can actually let my son play with the letters; taking out the letters from the envelopes for me. After sorting out the letters, for a second I was thinking what can I do with the entire empty envelopes. Can I reuse it?

These are some of the ideas I could think of:


1) to put spare keys inside and labeled it

2) to stash my weekend grocery money so that I don’t overspend

3) to organize photos in envelopes to be given to family and friends

4) repaint it and slip a home made birthday card in it

5) to collect things like a cut-out magazine pictures

6) store “kacang putih” heheheh…a bit unhygienic don’t you think?

7) Store sanitary pads…hmmmm



Anymore ideas? You tell me…..





Tags: reuse envelopes, safe environment, reuse envelope ideas

Children Songs

Little Marc loves my night shirt which has a princess, soldier and a clown printed on it. He is always fascinated with the princess crown and the colorful clown. So yesterday I made him a crown out of craft papers so that he can amuse himself. He put on a smile in front of the mirror and not long he accidentally tore the crown. I guess his crown is too flimsy.






Later I thought I want him to enjoy a few children songs and so I searched the web for lyrics to sing to him. And I found this website which has over 2000 songs. I think I can sing till my mouth runs dry with that amount of songs LOL: http://bussongs.com/activity_songs.php

But I plan to do action songs with him so that he can have more fun moving his hands and legs. Songs like "Wheel on a bus", "Itsy bitsy spider", "Row row row your boat" and "Old Macdonald" will be fun.


Tags: children songs, song activity, toddler songs

Guilt in Mommy’s Guild

I have been feeling very guilty lately because I haven’t been much around my Little Marc. It’s a busy month doing things around the house. I have not been reading and playing with him much. I am full of remorse and why am I typing my thoughts here instead of playing with him? It is because he is watching his favorite Elmo. I promise I will make up to him later.

These 2 months, he definitely shows some development in pronouncing words and vocabulary. He can pronounce Elmo correctly, unlike in the previous few months where he call Elmo as “Mou”.

Recently his father caught him a little spider and he learned a new word but can’t pronounce it correctly. He pronounces

                                           spider = piescher

                                 cat = miao

                                 Apple = pak

                                  Raisins = sin

                               Kite = guystch
                                                
                                                ……LOL

But he can pronounce book, peach, baby, milk , ball correctly
It is also a difficult week for me because I think he is having his second stage teething. So when he eats, he gets very messy and it is also a time where he dislikes his veggies. I hope it will be over soon!





Tags: Baby's vocabulary, mom's guilt, baby's speech

Dairus Rucker- "It won't Be Like This For Long"

I heard this song from Oprah Winfrey’s show when I tune in to yesterday’s morning TV program. I seldom listen to a country song but this one sung by Darius Rucker (from the Hootie and the Blowfish) is different. It is easy listening and the lyrics are beautiful but a bit touchy thinking I am in the same situation. He sang about the life phases as a parent and watching his kid grow from a baby to when she gets old and then she will just flew out from his arms.

Don’t you all feel the same way? I mean when I was young I have so many great and happy memories being with my parents and siblings but when I am on my own, having my own family, I somehow feel I have lost part of them. The only thing that survived is my memories when I am with them as a family, living in the same house… all the chats and laughs.

I think it will break my heart if one day my baby is going to grow up not depending on me anymore. I can imagine when he grow up, he will have his own life, busy with work, friends and hobby and what was left for me as an old folk is to find my own personal interest in replace of my children. So to all of you…do cherish your moments with your young love ones before they are ready to take off….. C'est la vie!



Video Credit: QTV (http://www.cbc.ca/q/)


Tags: Dairus Rucker, Hootie and the Blowfish, Children Grow up,it won't be like this for long,music, country music, country song

Putting My 100%

Is that achievable? I mean being a mom, wife, daughter, can I give my 100% each to my husband, my baby, parents and what now seems to be my slow earning income potential? It’s a mixed feeling. I am anxious to know what the result will be and impatient when things get stalled. Sometimes I think I am about to hyperventilate when I think I have to do so much but time and money seems to be the problem.


Everyday is like a running race….

I have to manage my mini online business,

cook early in the morning,

put on fresh diapers whenever my baby filled up the diapers,

play with him, sing to him,

read to him,

crack my head as to what other ways to entertain him…

why is he whining ? Has he got bored with his toys?

Then he wants to have a hug, then her wants his daddy.

Husband come back and we had a brief conversation….get baby to drink his milk…get baby to brush his teeth…

write with little time I have and go to bed everyday thinking that I still have a lot to do.

Is that a way I’m putting my 100%?


Whatever it is I am going to continue to metamorph myself into a super human and get my 100% for everyone including myself. Hopefully I don’t get busted like a deflated punctured tyre!

Geoff Thompson in his book “The elephant and the twig” says something like this or what I interpret it as: That a dream only stays a dream if we didn’t take any action because of fear. If we take the courage to take a step into action and in the end, if the action didn’t become fruitful it means we are not putting enough. It also means that the 100% is yet to be achieved. So it tells us that we have to work harder until we reach that 100%. I think Geoff Thompson is a great motivator. You should read his book and appreciate his powerful mind.





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tags: 100%, achievement, mom, wife, daughter, self improvement,motivation,Geoff Thompson

Glee Season Two: Papa Can You Hear Me

OMG! Glee season two is out but unfortunately not in Malaysia’s TV network yet. So I won’t be able to watch until the season is over. Why can’t our TV station be a little bit more updated? Oh well maybe it is too expensive to broadcast them now. Well whatever it is I’m looking forward to it. The 1st season was awesome…I love all of them sing and when they sing especially Lea Michele all my goosebumps will come out like naked chicken skin.

Little Marc love Glee too. Whenever we watch Glee, he will lie on the bed quietly and have his full attention on the tv screen. When the actors and actresses sing, he will get down onto the floor and start grooving. I always laugh at the way he dance.

I remembered in my generation we have similar tv series like FAME which is in the same genre as Glee with song and dance. I love them all!

I got this from Youtube a song in Glee which entitled: Papa Can You Hear Me…..astonishingly beautiful song.


Video credit: GummyBearGleeks2




















Tags: Glee Season two, Lea Michele, Papa Can You Hear Me

Cockroach Attack!

I can’t stand the site of cockroaches in the house. They are ugly and dirty (I didn’t even want any of its photos being posted here). But the main problem is I am phobia about cockroaches.


Yesterday (3/9/10) a cockroach was scurrying around our bedroom and my husband just came out of the shower and wanted to wear his pants when he saw a big ugly brown spot “staining” his pants. It is of no stain but a cockroach. Yeah, we are being invaded by a cockroach in the middle of the night. Of course my husband calmly and carefully told me what it was because he is more phobia of the fact that I screamed at the sight of a cockroach than the cockroach itself.


And so we have spent, I think half an hour to 45 minutes, moving things around the bedroom to find the cockroach after my husband whack his pants to “shoo” off the cockroach.


Some of you may be thinking of letting it go and catch it some other day. But for us either we catch it or we don’t sleep for the night. Why? Because it may come crawling at your face when you sleep or crawl around your body or have a good time on your food, The worst is if you regularly sleep with your mouth open, god knows whether the cockroach will fancy the “cave” in your mouth! Ewww!


Getting Rid of Cockroaches

We have tried the best environment friendly method to prevent cockroaches and that is to mix 1 teaspoon of brown sugar with 1 teaspoon of soda bicarbonate and place them in places where they will be around. A few drops of water in a saucepan are also placed beside the mixture. It is known that this mixture will cause a lot of gas in cockroaches and when they drink the water, they will get bloated, explode and die. So far I don’t remember any cockroaches come to visit after we use the method. There were only once a few months ago and then another one that we encountered yesterday. I think maybe the mixture had expired already because we are suppose to change to a fresh one every month. Maybe the environment is too humid or for some other reason in which I don’t know.


So, yesterday we had no choice but to use a toxic spray to get rid of the cockroaches.


I have done a few searches around and found that in order to avoid cockroaches:


1) We have to keep our house clean

2) Cockroaches love cardboard boxes and newspapers. Good for breeding. So if you want to avoid them, stay away from having cardboard boxes around the house or best to keep them in a cupboard where they can’t get in.

3) They love messy places. Better keep the house tidy.


Environment friendly products:



1) A mixture of soda bicarbonate and sugar as what I have mentioned just now.

2) Liquid enzymes. This I have read from newspaper. You can make your own.

3) Install floor grating to prevent them from coming out from the drain.

4) Lemongrass/ “serai” products which is available in the market.

5) Cockroach trap.







Tags: Getting rid of cockroaches, roaches, soda bicarbonate

Talking about poo jumping out of…..

Oh dear, I know it is disgusting to talk about poo. But as a first time mom, dealing with baby’s “oops” moment can be a funny, messy and yucky experience. I wish that I can record videos on all the “poopy” incidences but it’s hard to capture those moments unless I have the video camera on the whole time. Makes me wonder what other moms experiences were on those baby poo poo accidents.


Here are some of the funny or yucky moments that I can think of:


1) First time Little Marc had a pebble size chocolate poo leaking out of his diaper; he picked it up and gave it to his father. His father thought it was a chocolate until he sniffs on it. LOL


2) That day (can’t remember which day) he must have an excellent bowel movement that he had to do the crab stand or the karate stand (bend both his knees) to hold the diaper from falling from his waist. The funniest is when I try to pick him up; he gave a shriek and refused to let me pick him up. So he ended crab walking inch by inch to the toilet.


3) I had just finished washing his bottom and putting on his clean sheet of diaper when I stepped on his pebble size poo. It felt cold on my feet and mashed beyond means. Yuck!

I thought maybe the diaper malfunctioned to have let these poops slip off, but on a serious thought I think it’s my boy who is fond of running away from me when I want to change him is the reason for the poops to slip off.

Now I think he is ready to use a potty because he always hides from me when he goes to poo and after the poo he will pout his upper and lower lips out and fanning his hands on the nose level to tell me he stinks. LOL . I wish I can have this expression of his recorded but again, it is difficult.

Hopefully, the next time he makes this expression I am lucky enough to capture them and post them here for all of you to see!





































Tags: baby poo, diaper, potty

Do you see what I see in pigeons?

It is not just the art of pecking on the grains that gives me the satisfaction that the pigeons appreciate the hand that feeds life to it, but they are my inspiration.

An inspiration that comes from a memory I have about a friend whom I haven’t acquainted for a long time. I use to watch her feed the pigeons and she diligently feed them whenever she is at our college. I see her as a perfect woman, the woman I aspire to be. She is beautiful, slim, polite, kind to animals; sew her own clothes, attentive during her class, well liked by our lecturers, a good student, able to work and study at the same time. She showed me that we all can be what we can be if we truly believe that we can be. The word Perfect is not a farce or a make believe but it actually exist.

How many of us who have walked through the journey of our life and not suffer a single prick to our feet when we step on sharp edges stones? And how we are beaten when it seems that our hope is too far to reach? So how do we get to where we want to be without the tears and the feeling of hopelessness? It is all about finding inspiration after inspiration that motivates us to see what we want to see and cover the pain that comes with it. Inspiration keeps our life beautiful and powerful. And this is what I have in mind when I feed the pigeons.




















Tags: pigeons, motivation, inspiration

Chubby chub, Saggy chest and wobbly arms

That is what happens for a mommy who breastfed for almost a year (and 3 months to be exact), have not been working out and have been putting my own “self” behind other things.

I get wobbly arms or in my own terms “aunty bye bye arms”. Do you know how I got this term? Well you will notice if you are observant enough that when some aunties wave their arms saying goodbye to you, some of them (I am one of them) may have their flabby arms flapping at you at the same time. Well sometimes I wave in front of the mirror to see how serious it gets. Boy! Once I take a look at it, I think my flabby arms are mature enough to take off like a squaking duck.

Other than my wobbly arms my poor breasts are suffering too. They are de-motivated, deflated and sagging. I wonder how low can it sag when I am in my 40’s? LOL

Oh dear, no wonder a lot of moms are crying for a makeover. I think more to “overhauling” especially after the production of a few babies …… your eyelashes wear off, your skin chapped, your beautiful locks turn coarse and thinning; there is apparently sagging skin.


Seriously for once I really need to get to work on emergency steps.


Here is what I’m going to do. ……exercise!


Saw this on youtube:



Video credit: Charliejames1975




Video Credit: Steady Health



Video credit: videojugbeauty

After I move, I will be able to continue my yoga at home. Have you try this video at home?


click image if you like.



This video is awesome because in one week I can feel my body getting into shape but I suffered from body aches at the first start of this workout.







Tags: postnatal, body work out, yoga, exercise,sagging breasts, sagging skin

Funny Baby................

On early Sunday (13th Sept, 2010) morning, Little Marc had just finished drinking his milk. While I was busy washing his cup and spoon, suddenly I heard a loud wail. And out the door I went and this is what I saw……

Guess what….. without my supervision, his long arms have reached for a milk powder canister and he had brilliantly turned the cap off. He thought it was milk and so instead of having his victory drinking another milk, he had himself his “oops” moment powdering himself with milk powder. Poor darling!

Tags: Funny Baby, milk cannister, milk powder

Plum, the fruit of youth

Picture: I have to de-skin the plum for Little Marc because he is not skillful enough to chew the skin yet.

I never realize that plum can be so juicy and deliciously sweet with a tint of its aroma. I feel lucky that my family is able to enjoy it. After all, it is not easy to get really nice plum these days. I bought the same type of plum 2 weeks ago from another stall and it was all spoiled and they are all tasteless too.

Little Marc asks for more after taking his first bite (what a glutton) and my husband who doesn’t really like fruit that much commented that it was delicious. I would say it’s the perfect fruit ever. I bought another batch last weekend from the same stall. Hopefully it is of the same quality. If you would like to know, I bought them from SS 2 weekend market and the stall is next to a fish stall. She is the only fruit stall there. I bought them at 7 pieces for RM10.

A health conscious fruit eater I am, my curiosity drives me to look for the health benefits that we can have from eating plums. Here are my findings:


Nutrients

1) High source of antioxidants

2) Rich in vitamin C

3) Vitamin A

4) Vitamin B2

5) Fiber

6) Potassium


Health benefits

1) The antioxidants properties are able to counteract aging process. This means that it protects our skin and body cells from being damage by free radicals.

2) High vitamin C to help iron absorption.

3) Build a strong immune system so you won’t easily catch cold and flu.

4) Vitamin C is able to avoid conditions such as asthma, arthritis, cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

5) Good for your eyesight because of its vitamin A content.


How to choose a ripe plum?

1) Rich in color with a slight of “whitish bloom”.

2) Soft when you apply gentle pressure

Note: You gain more health benefits from a full ripen plum.



People who should avoid eating plums:

1) kidney patients

2) gallbladder problems

The reason for the people described above to avoid eating plums is because it contains measurable amounts of oxalates. Oxalates when it becomes too concentrated in our body fluids will tend to crystallize and cause some health problems such as kidney stones or gallbladder stones.

Excessive oxalates are also found to interfere with our calcium absorption.



Pesticides

Plums have been researched to have the least pesticides contamination compared to apples and strawberries. So, good news for plum lovers!



If you like healthy smoothies you may be interested in this book:

 

                                                          Click Here

What you get from this book:

-Over 180 smoothie recipes that make use of a wide variety of ingredients.


-Tips on how to choose the freshest fruit and vegetables!

-Tips on how to properly store and prepare your ingredients so you don't lose the flavor, vitamins, and minerals.

-When it's okay to substitute frozen ingredients for fresh ones.

-How to avoid disastrous combinations that result in unpalatable smoothies.

-How you can make delicious cocktail and dessert smoothies. Give in to some cravings, while still staying healthy!

















Tags: Plums, Health benefits, side effects, oxalates, good eyesight, vitamin C, Vitamin A, antioxidants, aging

How to alleviate your morning sickness

Having nausea and vomiting during your pregnancy can be really irritating and exhausting. It interferes with your work and the proper intake of nutrition for you and your baby. But for 1st time moms, you needn’t worry about that because the morning sickness will be gone when you reach your fourth or fifth month.


What is the cause?

There is no known reason as to why mothers have to go through the morning sickness. But some experts do believe that it is because of the hormonal changes in our body or having blood sugar imbalances.


How to alleviate the problem?

Throughout my morning sickness period which happened almost two years ago, I have tried sour candies, ginger tea and Vitamin B6. I find that vitamin B6 is the best relief because my vomiting has lessened tremendously.

I have listed some of the remedies which might offer some help because some remedies may work for you but some may not work for others. So you just have to try all of them until you get the right one for you.

Some of the remedies I have not try them yet, but I will keep them for my reference just in case I want to have another baby . So, I wish you all the luck to all preggie mothers!


A beautiful quote for you:

“A mother's joy begins when new life is stirring inside... when a tiny heartbeat is heard for the very first time, and a playful kick reminds her that she is never alone.

-- Author Unknown”



Remedies to cure morning sickness:

1) Vitamin B6                                                                                                     

Medical experts found that pregnant ladies taking 25 milligrams of B6 had significantly improves their condition for morning sickness. However, they recommended that the dosage shall not exceed 75 milligrams per day to avoid complications on your nervous system. You can pop one tablet and see how it goes. You can get it from the pharmacists or you can order online or through Amazon.


2) When it is time for you to wake up in the morning, slowly take your time to get up.


3) If you can, have small meals and keep it regular. Pregnant mommies tend to have slow digestion. So it is good to eat small meals and snack often. But I don’t mean unhealthy crap food. Keep junk food at a minimal if you could because they really don’t have nutritional value. There are other healthy snacks which you can take like nuts, seaweed, banana and whole grain crackers.


4) Don’t starve yourself because it will increase nausea and vomiting.


5) Avoid greasy or spicy food because it will aggravate your nausea. The smell of greasy food may also make you nauseous. Spicy food on the other may cause heartburn.


6) Get enough sleep.


7) Avoid smells that make you want to vomit.


8) Avoid fast action movement.


9) Go walk in the park to breathe in some fresh air and walking is a good exercise for you.


Some of the Amazon products which I find interesting in which may offer some help too:


a) Organic morning sickness lip balm



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b) Organic candies

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c) Ginger candies

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d) Acupressure wrist band

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If you like to read a book on how to cure your morning sickness you can click Here :

Some of the things that you will get to learn from this book:
 
•How to naturally mimic certain "designer" morning sickness cures without using artificial chemicals.


•A technique to train yourself how to eliminate morning sickness in under 5 minutes.

•How to perform a virtually unknown variation of acupressure that cures even the most severe morning sickness symptoms.

•How to concentrate and supercharge the results of a traditional morning sickness treatment.

•How to normalize your digestive system by boosting its existing enzymes using natural processes.

•Why your prenatal vitamins might be making you sick, and what to do about it.

•A strategy for food choice and eating that will reveal critical morning sickness causes.

•What you must keep beside your bed at all times to prevent nausea from ruining your day.

•Why what you drink is just as important as what you don't drink preventing morning sickness.

•Why the true cause of your morning sickness goes far beyond hormonal changes (and what to do about it!).

•Why certain scents cause you to feel sick, and how to use this to your advantage.

•Simple easy exercises which lessen reflux, increase blood flow, and decrease nausea.
 
 
 
 
Tags: ways to cure morning sickness, nausea, vomit, pregnancy, how to lessen morning sickness

Have lived for generations as Malaysians but are still called “Pendatang” or Immigrant

Few years back, if I were to read the news on racial remarks being made I would have balked or fumed in anger. But now I think that they are just shameful and uncivilized people. They are narrow minded people who have no respect for others.


Truly, it is a shock that racial remarks were made by a headmistress in Johor and it is shameful. Headmistresses and teachers are supposed to guide their students that they are an unbiased, morally good person and practice the good traits by being a role model. But instead, she damaged it all. Our Prime Minister have been strongly promoting 1Malaysia, promoting unity in all of us and here she is defying every of its concept. What will happen to the future of our “Anak Malaysia” when their educators behaving in such a manner?

The question is not really we are “pendatang” (immigrant) or not but whether we have been a good citizen. So if a person is the origin country men but is a thief, murderer or someone who misuses country’s money for one’s own personal gain or abusing one’s power and oppresses others or disrupting peace of a country by hurling racial remarks, are they better than a “pendatang”? I would say they are the worst kind of a being. They are traitors that poison a country.

Why would it matter if a person is a “pendatang” when all they do is just live peacefully and do no harm to others? Aren’t we all human living in the same earth? What good does it do for those who are racist that when flood or fire came we have to help each other no matter what ethnicity or the status of our immigration. If in times of need we are only helping those that are of the same kind only, doesn’t it make us crude? Even a dog knows the meaning of humanity when it took a kitten under its care.

Let’s not blind ourselves over meaningless issue when there are bigger issues that we need to attend to. They are so many poor people, children that need guidance, drug addicts that need rehabilitation and maintaining peace in our country.



-- “Those that love their country have only good interest for their country in their heart”--

Mommy at home doing the sales talk

It just struck me when I am spoon feeding little Marc that I imagined myself as a sales lady wearing an apron, a small cup containing milk on my hand and flashing my robotic fake smile saying "try milk, try milk, buy milk, buy milk". I guess I am associating myself feeding little Marc with sales talking him into finishing his food.


I hear myself repeatedly saying "mam mam" (meaning to say eat your food) to little Marc as though I am selling my food. Ohh and that is not it, if the food is not colorful enough or not up to his taste, he will not open his mouth anymore for another spoonful, as though he is telling me to come next time with better things to sell.

But because I am his mother, he will entertain me with a few spoons before turning them away.

This tells that there is no escape from the art of selling even when we are minding our children. Maybe I should go and get myself a book on that subject.  :)

Hot Bargain: Canon IXUS 105

It’s the Mega Sale month and being thrifty, this is the time to look for good bargains. My husband had just bought this Canon digital IXUS 105 from Harvey Norman sale and I love it to my toes. Guess what? The camera is only RM599 compare to other retails which would have been selling for about RM 700++. It’s a good bargain actually.

The most attractive feature about this camera is that it is slim, small and easy to carry along. You can even hang it around your neck if you want to. Being out and about carrying a bag full of diapers and other baby stuff is already too much, what’s more if I were to bring along a big camera. So, this camera will lighten my burden when I’m going about being a nosey, snapping pictures for my blog.


About the functions of the camera:

12.1 mega pixels

Mode: Program, portrait, night mode, kids & pets, indoor, self-timer, low light, beach, underwater, foliage, snow, fireworks, long shutter, ISO, AWB, vivid, evaluative, multiple shots, macro

Video recording

Optical image stabilization

Lens: 5.0 -20.0 mm

28mm wide - angle

                                                    The camera comes with....

                       Battery charger, 1 battery, CD, Instruction manual, connection cables

Sample picture taken from a park

                                             
                                            Macro mode

 screen view

Tags: Canon Digital IXUS 105, camera, megasale, malaysia, technology gadget, photography

Play activity on Monday

Every other day I will take out magic colors and see if little Marc is interested in coloring. It seems he is not interested yet. I tried to tempt him by drawing the outline of my hand and his hand but he doesn't seem to be interested. He is more interested in taking the pens and analysing them, tried to pull the caps away or try to connect each one of them into a longer pen. This is interesting watching him, he is definitely not that type of a person who can sit and do things.  He is more of a practical person. Oh gosh! Will it mean he won't be interested in reading and writing in the future? If this is so, I have to put more effort to help him with his homework when he starts schooling.

Oh well I just have to put those anxious mommy thoughts about his education on hold. After all he is only coming to 2 years old. What he needs now is more play and exploration time. Don't want him to stress out at such a young age. He loves to jump on the bed (we had the bed frame removed when he was few months old) especially when I top up a few gigantic pillows to make them into some sort of a slide. He can giggle a looong time playing with his "slide".

Tags: toddler play, activity, things to do with a toddler, fun time