{Low-Protien Diet}

As of now, every finger has an average of 10-30 blisters beneath the skin. Saw the doc today. Really appreciate him explaining to me exactly what' going on in my body and how the treatment will restore everything back to place.

I'm totally upset with the doc's instruction but to look on the bright side, it's a chance for me to lower the cholesterol :)

Until the blisters subside...

• No seafood, except fish. Very upset.
• No red meat: beef, duck
• No chocolate (huh?!?!??!!)
• No milk (yeah! don't like milk any way)
• Avoid high-protein food coz' all these are triggers that will cause a flare.

To get my body back to its original healthy state, I need to be well rested, stress-free, watch my diet and take the medication until everything's back to square one.

I just spoke with a friend who had this, it took him 1 year to get well, and that is after he quit his job. It's not going to happen to me. I will be well rested and I will heal within the month!

{Itch!!!}

Early stages of pompholyx or dyshidrosis eczema...

My fingers are burning, superbly itchy and urgh... there are so many tiny blisters beneath my skin.

When eveything's well, I feel the tingling, but I can't really see anything until i squeeze my skin tight together, then I see some bumps.

When there's flare... like now, Ooooo... u see them clear. Disgusting! There's more than 20 small water blisters beneath the skin under just one finger. I have it on a few fingers now and it seems to be spreading to my palm!

Don't worry. The doc says it's not contagious. It's just disgusting and extremely itchy.

My hands are burning now...

{What's the Hurry?}

Ir and I were having the final moments of "girl-talk" in the waiting room while J, SY and the other "sisters" were out instructing Mr Yeo and brothers with the sour, sweet, bitter, spicy challenges.

Prior to any of us getting married, we were always talking about finding Mr Right, settling down and having our own families. Getting married was one of the key goals for most, if not all of us.

Moments before the groom came to fetch his bride, we had a lil "talk".

Now that getting married has become a reality for most of us, it dawned upon us that really, there was no need to be in such a hurry. Was it pressure from the fact that there was an ideal "age" attached to marriage, or was it just a lack of security of being on our own? There's so many things we can do as singles that would be different once we get married. To name a few (some of the points below were added by myself just as I was typing...):

• Pay cheque used to be ours and ours alone. Now, we have to put part of it in the "joint-account".
• We used to be able to go out any night to however late we want. Now, it's different (for most of us, other than SY.). For those of us living with in-laws, there's always a consideration to not go out too late, too often, without our spouse. It's just not nice. For those of us who are living on our own, going out without our spouses, meant texting and wondering if he's doing fine without us. 
• We used to be able to just plan for a trip and go off to wherever we want, with whoever we want, for however long we want. Now, trips have to be planned around each other's schedule.
• We used to be able to go on dates with different people, there was a certain anticipation, not knowing that gives it that excitement. Now the only dates we go on are those that we either discussed about, or are what we call the couple's regular hang-outs.
• We used to be answerable to one set of parents, now it's two.
• We used to just hang out with one set of relatives, now it's two.
• Our time used to be ours and ours alone, now it's split between couple time, his family time, my family time, work time, his friends time, my friends time and finally our little time for ourselves... so busy.
• And more...

So really, what's the hurry? To all the singles, take your time.

As we were chatting on, and KP was getting close to the door where we were, we started talking about all the good things about getting married (some of the points below were added by myself just as I was typing...)

• The comfort of knowing that at the end of a bad day, there's always someone there to hold you and say it's all well I'm here; at the end of a good day, there's always someone there to celebrate with us.
• The "high" of having not just one but two pay cheques to depend on and the occasional, "I've got my bonus, would you like to go bag shopping?" perks me up instantly.
• The joy of being taken care, loved and pampered by not just one but two sets of parents.
• The fun of having not just one but two sets of cousins to grow up with.
• The security of knowing that he's the one. No more questions. No more uncertainties. No more what ifs. IT IS.
• For some, the satisfaction of owning and designing your very first home.

Getting married no longer allow us to do things based on simply "how we feel". It's about a commitment and a decision that was made to spend the rest of our lives togethe. We no longer go with how we "feel" towards that person, that we can love this person one day and unlove them the next day, or choose to walk out when we feel like it. It's a promise, a commitment, a decision, a responsibility.

Just before he came through, we had some time to pray...it was a beautiful moment.

Life is a journey. We are all in different phases of our lives. Some got married 10 years ago, Ir got married just yesterday. Some are on their way to Mr Right.

We've been through it all together as a group. Growing up together. Making mistakes together. Gossiping together. Laughing at each other. Lending that shoulder to cry on. Shedding light to situations.

We're all grown up and still growing...

A professional bride who knows just the right angle to tilt here face for that perfect look!

{U Deserve It!}

Went "window bag shopping" with M couple of weeks ago. Went to several boutiques, tried the bags, asked gazillion questions, of which, this is definitely blog-worthy.

We went into a P**** boutique. M spotted a bag that caught her eye and had a lil conversation with a sales assistant.

M: How much is this bag?

Sales: $2000
Disclaimer: figure may not be right, I forgot)

M: Is it leather?

Sales. Certainly. For $2000 P**** will give you leather unlike L*. (M was holding to a L*  bag). You deserve leather.

Ha ha ha! It was hilarious when he delivered that with an attitude :)

{Moving On...}

Next project to work on is the mini-album for mummy lovey! This has no timeline, can take my time to think, layout and add details. Would like to give a go at journaling more thoughts in these pages. I'm sure mummy will take it out and read from time to time... (if she has the time :P)

Since doc says I got to be stress-free, I'm kinda doing just that...

Love to shop
Love to blog
Love to scrap
Love to meet friends
Love to just rest, be still and hear Him


I have it all planned out...

{She's Getting Married!}

Our dear friend Ir is finally moving from a single occupancy room to a double occupancy room! Yes! She's walking down the aisle this Sat!! 

Made a simple album for her. Hope this jolts memories and bring a smile when she's sitting on the rocking chair 50 years down the road...

I'm posting it even before giving to her coz' I'm guessing she's so tied up with work and wedding prep she won't be visiting this site any time soon :)

Finally got to use the sexy black heel!

Love this bunch of ladies. Most of whom were friends from my first adv agency days. Those were the most hectic work period but it was certainly the most fun with these girls around. I still remembered C couldn't stop laughing after eating SY's homemade Vodka jelly in the morning. Yes! C was "high" from eating jellies during office hours... orh....!

P, the lady at the centre, is a "new friend". One of SY's buddies and now she's part of  this lil groupie that we have. It's fun to meet up with them once in a while and just laugh about "those were the days."

Love the quote: a perfect kind of day - Sharing Secrets... how true! Tell it all!

Each of us wrote a little message to Ir. I must say Ch did the best job to give a list of really handy marriage tips!

More "tips" from us...

Oh yes... zouk, phuture, velvet... those were the days....

Love this quote... it sums up how I feel about these ladies so well!

SY did a really sweet thing to get KP, Ir's hubby-to-be, to surprise her with a bouquet of flowers. He was then trapped to go on stage to sing her wonderful tonight! Aww.... this will go down the years as his Ace of spade card... for times like when he doesn't want to do the dishes he'd say, "I did a public declaration of my love for you..." :) Well played!

We used to name our group, Independent Women's Club. We've been friends for nearly a decade. We've been through break ups, new jobs, anger management, marriage blues, shared our joy, shed our tears... with all these, birthed a group of independent ladies. Sweet! We're on a different journey, a different phase of life now, but I'm sure we'll remain friends for a lifetime.

This was our very first "stay-over" bbq chalet. So young and innocent then... ha ha ha. We were all so curious to see J without make up. You know what, she has flawless skin, can't really tell the difference :)

Some of us got married, another got pregnant, a few were on the journey of recovery from break ups, others found their perfect shoe... Kenneth Cole :)

Yet another get-together. Makes me realise we should take more pictures each time we meet!

Ordinary co-workers became a group of lifelong friends. Make something special out of the ordinary!

The original PD girls!

She's found her happiness.

It all led up to this moment...

Friendship lightens every burden and makes the sun shine brighter!

{What is Stress Rash?}

I've been having tiny water blisters that pops out of different fingers randomly. Initially when the itch starts, you can't really see them. Then after about 15 minutes or so, a small water blister surfaces.

The worst I've had was on my left thumb. On the first section of the thumb itself, there were more than 10 clustered blisters just beneath the skin surface. I could see all of them beneath it, just that it didn't have the chance to pop out of the skin as blisters. Gosh! So itchy and disgusting to look at.

Went to the doctor yesterday.

W: Doc, are these symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease?

Doc: Do you have fever?

W: No

Doc: Do you feel tired or sick?

W: No

Doc: Did you have lost of appetite?

W: No, my appetite is very good.

Doc: It's not hand, foot and mouth. If an adult gets it, you won't be looking so fine. It's very serious when an adult gets it, even more serious than children. It's a stress rash. A type of eczema causd by stress. Are you very stress?

W: I was for the last few months but I'm fine now.

Doc: When your body undergo stress, even though the stress period is over, your body is still in the stress mode. It will take a while for your body to adjust back. It is now going up and down. Take leave, go away to a place where there's no shopping, no network, just sleep.

W: Very hard la.

Doc: You have to. Your body is stressed.

{Wise Words}

Life's luxuries are in it's simplicity

- "Japanese Girl" -

{Knowledge is Sweet}

Durains - Forced Maturity.
Tip of the stem is light green and the bottom of the stem is dark green. Likely, won't be as fragrant and won't taste as good. I suspect, it'll be like those plain water tasting ones that we had at the farm. How can durian taste like plain water??

Durians - Natural Maturity
Tip of the stem is dark green and the bottom of the stem is light green.

Spot a Mao Shan Wang Durian.
They have larger spikes.

Spot a Red Flesh Dragon Fruit.
More scales than the the white flesh dragon fruit.

Fun right, to know all these things? Go try it out!

{Day Trip to Desaru Fruit Farm}

Went to the Desaru Fruit Farm with M and my mum yesterday.

LIKE
- the time spent with my mum. Priceless!

- the photos that I took with mum. I'm thinking of making a mini-album for her. It's bee a while since we went on a "trip" together.

- the monkey that we saw, so adorable! OK I realised the picture below looks a little scary. But the real monkey was cute... only 5 months old. Like a baby!

Oops!!

- Fresh Passion Fruit Drink - So yummy!

- new knowledge learnt.
1. Did you know how to tell the difference between a naturally grown durian and one that's forced to mature? Now I know.

2. Can you tell from looking at the appearance what a mao shan wang durian is and is not? Now I can.

3. Finally, I've learnt to see the difference between a white flesh and a red flesh dragon fruit, just by looking at the uncut fruit. Yeah!

4. Oh yes and that Dragon fruit is really from a cactus plant. Ok, so what if you knew that before me? It's still new knowledge to me :P

- This trip is free. Complimentary by York Hotel. So generous of them!


DISLIKE
- food with houseflies flying around. Half way through lunch, my stomach cried out for help. And yes, I LSed at a JB toilet. It's the most unpleasant and disgusting toilet experience with extreme stress and pressure knowing that a long line of people are queueing outside. I NEVER want to eat there again! But... I was so helpless. sigh.

- pecked by a goose. So sneaky! I was engrossed looking at the monkey and this goose came charging towards me and pecked me... ?????

- "near white" colourless and tasteless durians - what's the point of a durian fiesta, eat all you want, when the quality of durian is simply not acceptable.

- Travelling. We spent almost 6 hours traveling (both ways) and sleeping in the coach. Of which 1.5 hours was painful because they had a DVD on and it was SO LOUD and the content is SO NOT appropriate for children who were on board... what can I say?

 -to wear not one but two travel stickers... why??

- Weather. Hot! Hot! Hot!

- Unmet expectations. They brought us to this popular wanton mee place. I had my hopes all high and up. The wanton has like 1/2 teaspoon of meat and that's it. 2 of those and a few slice of cha siew. The sauce is not even fantastic. :(

We ended the day with late dinner at York hotel. Had a great time actually dining out with mum and catching up on our recent camp experiences.

Love my mummy!

{Back Home}

Started another mini-album project for a GF. Every time I start I feel so lost. Not sure what to put, where to put, how to put. It just looks blah at the moment. Need some inspiration!

Been away 4D3N at JB. I miss home! And I miss our local food....

Really enjoyed the time together with family and friends. More importantly, questions that I had were being answered along the camp... God is good!

One thing really good came out of this was that I was very well rested. For some reason I sleep very well in hotels. The moment my head hits the pillow I'm off. I get up refreshed! I like!

The office is closed for the next three days! Woo hoo! I plan to scrap a little, shop a little, catch up with people a little and sleep a lot!

{No Weekends @ Home}

Somehow June's pretty packed with activities. Every weekend is taken.

Last Friday - stayed out with girls. Went home on Saturday. Yes! I stayed out! The very first time since I got married 4 years ago.

This Thursday to Friday we'll be away in JB for church camp.

Next Saturday, we'll be going to JB again, for a one-day fruit farm visit with my mummy dearest.

The following Saturday will be dear Ir's long-awaited wedding day!

{Jubolicious Ice-Cream Cone}

Yes! My nephew's back! Lil Chinese-French boy! Super cute! Here's some shots of him having his very own ice cream. Now I understand why mothers have so many photos to scrap. Kids are so photogenic!

{Julien Andre Chassin}

When it's good, instead of thumbs up, it's finger up!

   

Oh... too much ice-cream in his tiny mouth... COLD!

   

Another big bite!

  

Having His Very Own Cone!

Finishing Up!

{Girls' Night Out}

{Studio M - Studio Loft}

Spent a night with 3 fabulicious ladies at Studio M - Studio Loft to celebrate Ir's hen's night. Small but very smart use of space. I love it! Clean lines. High bed. Table/Seating area near the window was a very smart design. Pull out sofa bed was nicely designed. Checked in and met 3 other ladies for dinner at a Jap restaurant. Wah very expensive, the scallops were my favourite!

Headed for some drinks later and in the midst of that wa la! Her hubby to be showed up with a bunch of roses, went up on stage to declare his love and sang her Wonderful Tonight. Gave her a few sweet kisses and left us girls to celebrate the rest of the night. So sweet right??? (That's going to be his triumph card for a long time.) - Of course SY was the engineer of all these, got to give it to her - always coming up with such fantastic ideas.)

Went to Velvet to have some celebrative fun - oh my, oh my... really can feel the age difference :D

Ir was the first to crash in bed. The remaining 3 of us ordered Mac's delivery, ate on bed (YES! We ate on the bed coz' we didn't need to worry there'll be ants biting us the next day), chatted and slept.

J was freezing upstairs on the sofa bed because there was no blanket. Her protective covers were a bath robe and her towel :) Ir, SY & myslef were tuna packed on the Queen sized bed downstairs. Through the night I had 2 human heater, one of my left and one on my right. I was hot. Then when I got out of the blanket I was cold. It was a hot-cold-hot-cold night hahaha...

Woke up in the morning, took our time to wash up, laughed at each other's "getting ready habits". J win... take so long ha ha ha. Went for comfort food - Ramen - not bad, quite nice. I would return. Then headed to the Book Cafe for desserts. Traditional apple pie with chocolate ice cream. Wah... very happy. Then it was back to the hotel to spend remaining few minutes of lazy saturday away before we checked out.

We've got to do this more often, it's really quite fun! :)

{Professional Slouchers Caught in Action}

{This Is So Random}

It's 1.13 in the morning.
I'm slouching on my bed with the laptop on my lap.
Eyes are feeling kinda heavy.
Stomach's digesting all that has been deposited today.
Back of my head's hurting with a throbbing pain.
It's been a while since I'm up this late.
A small part of me enjoys this late night blogging.
The rest of me just want to log off and go to bed.
Would I be tossing and turning till morning?
Would I be in and out of sleep?
Or would I actually fall into deep sleep?

I'll never know if I continue to stay here... so, it's off to bed now.

{Project: Farewell Phoebe}

Tomorrow's Phoebe's last day with us, sob sob. We're going to miss her so much. She's been such a big part of the team!

Photos taken by Phoebe. Thanks to her clicking and snapping, this album was made possible!

Kept making the same mistake of making the album too thick. The rings that came with it wouldn't keep it closed properly. Had to replace them with ribbons instead. Well, it still flips :)

 

 

Made a tag for everyone to leave a personal note for her.