Lingzhi and Elbows

It's about two separate things :p

Firstly I tried the Lingzhi eye masks from Watsons last night. Because it's also on offer of course. But!! I don't like it because of the smell. I have no idea what lingzhi is supposed to smell like, but this mask doesn't smell nice. Won't be buying again.

Secondly, I also tried the elbow mask from Étude House. Because I was amused there was even such a thing so just bought one piece for fun. And it turned out to be quite good! It comes with a cream and 2 elbow patches. Supposed to massage the cream onto elbows then put the patches on for about 20 minutes.

There was a lot of cream, so I also used it on my knees and hands :p It felt like a cream at first but subsequently it became more like an oil! Which I like : )

The patches were also a pleasant surprise. When I took them out from the packaging, I didn't realise they were adhesive. It was only when I wanted to remove them from my elbows that I realised they were gently 'glued'. Really very gentle, cos it was very easy to 'peel' them off. I would say it's just the right amount of adhesive. I will buy this again if I am in a shopping mood and happen to walk past Étude House : )

And oh, my elbows did feel smoother after!

Cooking Oil for Beauty!

Yes this is normal olive oil which I bought at a supermarket. It's not even extra virgin, though the blog where I got this idea recommended EVOO :p But considering the price difference, and that I only intend to use it on my hands and feet (and err, cooking), I think normal one will do lah. See, Hubby, I am thrifty sometimes too ok.

I did as the blog suggested and wore disposable gloves after pouring a generous amount of oil on my hands. In addition I also applied on my feet and wore thick socks to prevent dirtying the floor. (Really thick socks, I bought them for my Mt Kinabalu trek to prevent blisters.) I thought I got this idea from the same blog, but I couldn't find the post anymore now.

After 30 minutes, my hands and feet were super oily :p I did not do any massage as I just wanted to clean the oil off so that I could carry doing whatever I was doing. Bar soap did not work, but surprisingly the hand soap did quite a good job.

Did my hands and feet feel smoother after that? Hmm, actually I couldn't feel much difference. (But hey the other blog author said she felt a big difference! Or maybe EVOO will really be more effective??) Oh ya, actually I tried this with my Palmer's body oil earlier, but I guess it was too 'fine' to do much. Though it felt very oily, I could feel the difference when I applied the olive oil - so much thicker. (The Palmer's oil has worked well for my arms and legs, but I guess my hands and feet are too jia lat.)

Anyway, for any method or product, I believe that it will only give results after long-term usage. I don't expect miracles. Furthermore everybody has different foundations to start with, so I am just sharing my 'technical' experiences and who knows, it might work better for you! : )

I am very happy that this is my second cheapo skincare post of the day... and even happier that I have tried two cheapo skincare methods within such a short time! : )

My Cheapo Mask!

I bought this from Watsons as I was attracted by the price. Usually I would buy established skincare brands like Neutrogena or L'oreal if I wanted to save money, and at the original price of $15 for six pieces of Watsons brand masks, I wouldn't think it was worthwhile. But at $5 per box, it seemed a steal!

Tried it last night, and I like it! It's stated on the packaging that each sheet comes with 30ml of essence, and indeed the mask was very wet. When I saw the mask, I was already quite happy that it came with the part for the eyes as well. It's foldable, so you can choose to fold it down if you prefer to spend the 20 minutes doing something else. I usually do that cos most masks only have holes where the eyes are, but since this was a rare treat for my eyes, I just closed my eyes and rested for 20 minutes : )

When it was time to remove the mask, I was again pleasantly surprised. Unlike other masks which I had tried, this was no longer dripping by the time I removed it. Which means that the essence had been absorbed by my face right? : ) By the way, if you have a habit of leaving sheet masks on your face for longer than the recommended duration, I read that the essence would end up being re-absorbed by the sheet... So do keep to the recommended duration!

I had intended to put the sheet mask on my neck after removing from my face. But it was too dry to stay put by then. So I just poured out the remaining essence from the packaging and massaged onto my face and neck. Don't forget to take good care of your neck too!

[The other new mask which I tried recently was the Laneige Water Bank Double Moisture Mask. It was very wet too, but it was still wet when I removed it. I massaged the liquid into my face but the next morning, my face felt rather 'caked', as if the essence had remained on the surface of my skin.]

I also bought a few other boxes of different masks from Watsons, either $5 per box or even just $2! But I would not review each individually here, unless they are exceptionally good or bad :p 

Skincare Essentials

Is this going to become a beauty blog? Definitely not! I am no expert and have no expertise to share, and my complexion is not so fantastic that people want to know my 'secrets'. But since I am reading more on this topic, I would like to share what I learn with my friends and especially my sister (because sis, skincare is really more important than makeup!). Ultimately I am still just a housewife with limited budget, no sponsored items, no freebies. Can't compare to those bloggers out there who look so pretty and seem to have unlimited finances/sponsorship to be able to review so many items and/or attend so many workshops. And of course, I will still be blogging about my life as a SAHM with two young children (soon-to-be-three) and my complaints about them :P I would be really keen to read other mummies' blogs if you come across any who also talk about skincare. Please let me know!

Let me list the items which I think every woman should own (and use!!):

Facial cleanser (actually, I think need two cleansers for double cleansing purpose)
Facial toner
Facial moisturiser (unless you have very dry skin, you probably need another richer moisturiser for the neck too)
Facial sunscreen
Exfoliator/scrub
Face mask
Eye cream
Eye mask
Sunscreen for eyes if the facial sunscreen is not suitable for use in eye area
Body scrub (I assume everyone has a soap thingy for cleaning purpose la. This list is for the 'extras')
Body moisturiser
Body sunscreen (if your body moisturiser doesn't come with spf. But if it does, then need another one without spf for night use)
Foot scrub (unless your body scrub is strong enough to tackle the thick skin on feet)
Foot moisturiser (same as above)
Hand moisturiser with spf for day use
Hand moisturiser without spf for night use
Lip balm (same, one with spf and one without)

OK, fellow comrades, have I left out anything? (help me educate my sister)

Actually, I have already left out all the things for nail care and hair care. No special reason, only because I am not bothered about them at the moment, and if I start thinking about them, I will go mad.

Other items which I also like very much but did not include in the Essentials:
Lip scrub (but I use my facial scrub on lips if I am doing facial scrub that day)
Oils (I have a face oil and a body oil. And I also use cooking oil for beauty purposes!)
Hand gloves and feet gloves (to be worn after applying moisturiser)
Facial essence (to be used on neck as well)
Foot file/ Pumice

But then, this doesn't cater to every skin type. For example, pimple cream is not an essential for me cos I hardly get any pimples. And some women are probably very concerned about lip care &/or haircare. I just finished reading Big S's beauty book and she is fanatic about whitening lor. To each her own la. But sis, please go and buy all the abovementioned items! Especially the sunscreen! If not, you just have to use whatever I give you ok!

Bored To Death

I know I know, busy also wanna complain, now too free also wanna complain! Forgive me, let me vent on my blog please.

Without the burden/task/responsibility of reading parenting books nowadays, I really have a lot of free time on my hands. This has got 'worse' since I moved the boys into the same bedroom last week. Previous routine: Didi went for his nap at 1pm, fell asleep shortly after, and woke up about two hours later. Jiale went in for nap around 2pm, took up to two hours to fall asleep, and woke up about two hours later. This meant that I only had about 1-2 hours when I was really free, when both boys were asleep. When one or both of the boys were awake, I would not read books or use the laptop anymore.

Current routine: Both boys go into the room around 1pm. They play and toss & turn for very long. (It has been 2 hours 20 min for today, and at least one of them is still awake from what I see on the video monitor.) Then it will be another 1.5 hours minimum before they wake up (unless there's loud thunderstorm or I am very suay la). That means I am free and alone from 1pm until around 5.30pm!! The whole afternoon I ZUO BO!

I told myself to limit to one blog post a day, so that I wouldn't spend too much time on the laptop and end up too tired to play with the boys. But now, my problem is too BORED instead of too TIRED. Since I don't have books to read at night and hubby usually uses the laptop to play games when he is home, I have nothing to do at night. Now we have all the HK drama and English movie channels but I am not the type to get hooked on TV or games easily. So I usually end up sleeping early at night (before 11pm). So I don't even dare to (and truthfully, don't really need to) take naps in the daytime in case I can't fall asleep at night.

[By this point, I guess many people, especially working mothers, wanna beat me up liao. I feel you ok. Once upon a time I also felt so busy and tired that I wondered how on earth people found time and energy to do xyz. Now I am so free that I wonder what on earth people are so busy with.]

So how have I been occupying myself? Everyday I think about what self-care treatments I can do during bathtimes. Have been doing body scrubs and oil cleansing at least every alternate day, some facial pampering like exfoliation/masks on alternate days, slathering on body oil & moisturiser and massaging into the drier areas like knees after the shower, etc.. Even during my (long) afternoon breaks, I apply oil on my hands & feet (while wearing gloves & thick socks), eat some fruits.. just to pass time.. Not that I am obssessed over skincare now.. it's that I am really too bored.. Of course I can do constructive things like polish the floors or spring-clean every corner of my house, but I don't want to tax myself physically either. This is not called lazy hor, it's called motherly protecting of my baby :p

I suddenly realised that perhaps it's not totally because I stopped poring over parenting books. Maybe the boys are just older and more independent now, plus they have each other for company, and thus I am more relaxed? And of course reaping the rewards of the sleep training! See, this is the reason why I want to have my children close in age.. suffer like crazy first then can quickly enjoy! (as opposed to spreading out the suffering over a longer period. In the end, it still adds up to the same amount of suffering la. No escaping. Might as well get it over.) Didn't get to enjoy any break previously as the age gap was only 18 months. Now I get to enjoy a few months of relative leisure as the third child is almost two years younger than the second. The madness will resume by April (EDD is 2 April), but I can look forward to a prolonged break when Baby is 18 months old! : )

Why I Don't Want A Maid

Many people have expressed amazement that I intend to take care of three young children including a newborn by myself. Actually, I think that the worst is while I am pregnant.. The baby inside is so vulnerable... I can't even see her to know whether she is ok.. Unlike the two older boys, I can take their temperature or ask them how they are feeling or just observe their appetites or whether they are sick and cranky.

But no point engaging a domestic helper just for these few months right? The thing is, I don't think I want the helper to do anything that is directly related to the care of the children anyway, such as bathing them, feeding them, playing with them, or even wiping their poo. Even when I was very very stressed (like when Didi refused to nap), I didn't like the idea of a helper taking over though I did try to visualize it. The only thing I can think of that I would like someone to help with is the cooking, cos I am really a lousy cook. Even the washing is not too bad, as I currently have a part-time cleaner who comes for a few hours once a week.

Neither will I leave the children alone with the helper and go out alone. Must keep an eye on her all the time! I am traumatized by news reports of domestic helpers abusing the children.. : ( Bo bian la, if I am a full-time working mother.. But since I do have a choice, I would rather not.

In addition, I believe that the children will grow up to be more sensible when they see their mummy slogging her guts out. At the very least they will not expect someone else (i.e. helper) to help them do housework.

[On the other hand, I think it will be good for my sons' future marital happiness to grow up seeing their mummy shaking leg and relaxing at home. Then they will have a realistic idea of what to expect from their wives - i.e. engage a maid for her and let her shake leg & relax at home. Otherwise they might think all wives are supposed to slog. Gosh. My poor daughters-in-law!]

So, it's just to have someone to help with the cooking. Yet my family and I will have to put up with the inconvenience of having an outsider around ALL the time. My house is not big enough to accomodate an outsider. Not to mention the extra financial burden. Much happier to have just our nuclear family : )

So if I can cope during the nine months of pregnancy, I am quite sure I will be able to manage when the baby is born (when I have my own body back!). Just four more months to go!

Skincare Revival

Now that I have more time (so much..!!) on my hands, I have been spending more time on skincare. For the past three years, I had been only doing the minimal, i.e. cleanse, tone, moisturise, sunblock, with a few essences, pore minimiser etc thrown in. I did buy masks but hardly used them (busy... and also lazy la). Due to limited finances, I was mostly using cheaper brands found in Watsons. And it was really anyhow buy - I did not bother to read magazines as I knew I would not be able to buy most of the products recommended. So I just chose whichever was on offer :p All in all, I was just on 'auto-pilot' without thinking much about the care of my complexion.

Recently, partly because I have stopped reading parenting books, and probably also because I have been spending more time chatting with a group of girlfriends, I started paying more attention to skincare again. Now, I can't complain I have no time for masks etc! Have been spending the afternoons googling on this topic during the boys' nap and I have learnt a lot! The best part is, it's not just about buying expensive products, there are many things that I can DIY at home, and many things which are just a matter of inculcating good habits. So what are the new things I have incorporated into my face & body care?

1. Started on a new brand of skincare products and am now committed to sticking to the range, instead of hapzardly combining products from different brands. I am now using Laneige after my friends recommended its award-winning bestseller Water Sleeping Pack. Actually, most of the other items are not award-winning or especially recommended or anything. But I think it's easier on my brain to just focus on one brand - hopefully the products complement one another. In addition, I have realised it's also easier on the pocket cos I will not be as tempted to buy a product from another brand (that eliminates A LOT!). It's also good to collect points which can be used to redeem products. Fortunately, it is not too expensive a brand.

[read this for more info about mixing & matching skincare products]

2. Using oil! Yes you read it right, I am putting more oil on my oily face! Happened to come across this skincare method online, and a girlfriend also mentioned that the skin produces more oil because it is actually dehydrated. In that case, what better moisturiser than an oil?? So now I apply oil both on my face and my body (different types of oil, but the oils can be used on both. Just that I don't dare to apply cheap oil (Palmer) on my face and I don't want to waste expensive oil (Clarins) on my body). It's too early to tell whether the results are good, but I tell myself even if it doesn't solve my current problems of big pores and oily complexion, it is surely good for the future, i.e. prevention of wrinkles!

[read this on how to prevent oil stains on bedsheet]

3. DIY facial masks and body treatments. Since I have a lot of time but little money, this is good! Can use things like yogurt, oats, honey, lemon, milk, sugar, etc! I am thankful I have elephant thick skin and my skin is not sensitive and doesn't get irritated easily, neither do I get breakouts due to new products, so I can be adventurous and try new things : )

4. More of the basic stuff. Been doing more body scrubs, more face exfoliation and masks, more body moisturisers, started applying sunblock on upper body daily etc. My current body scrub is more than 3 years old! Obviously I wasn't using it much :p

5. Eating more fruits & yogurt. Used to be too busy and tired (ok ok, lazy) to even cut fruits for myself, but now I am not too busy to eat a kiwi or two everyday : )

6. Two simple things of using a separate towel to dry my face instead of one towel for face and body, and washing my hair before washing face.. [find out why here and here]

7. Double cleansing for face every night, because I use sunscreen on my face even if I am not going out and do not have makeup on. [learn more here]

8. Sleep early (by 11pm) every night! (oops I am late today!) [click here for more info]

Things I hope to do soon:
Learn how to do eye makeup.
Use hand cream & lip balm regularly during the day.
Apply body moisturiser & sunblock to legs every morning.

My friends mentioned in a different context that they felt I would be able to do anything I set my mind to. It was just a passing remark, but somehow it stuck in my mind and I have been thinking about it quite a lot. I guess it's quite true - I had encountered many uncertain situations before in my 32 years, and somehow I managed to conquer all - attaining the results I wanted in exams, marrying the husband I wanted, completing marathons, coping with the care of two young children as a stay-at-home-mum... There are also things in the future which I KNOW I will be able to achieve, such as improving my marathon timings and losing weight after my final pregnancy! So, why not skincare and makeup? I believe that as long as I resolve to do it and spend enough effort & time on it, I WILL be able to succeed! For skincare - I shall read and read, devote the same amount of focus and diligence as I did to parenting books for the past 3 years. For makeup - I shall read & consult & learn, and more importantly, not be afraid to try and experiment. So what if I fail and embarrass myself? I should have done this when I was younger, but better late than never, right? At the very least, I am learning new things and having fun! : )

P.S. All the links above (except Laneige) go to the same local beauty blog which I have been reading diligently. I like this blog because it has a lot of information and not just reviews of products. Please do let me know if you have other good beauty blogs to recommend! Thanks in advance!

Fifty Shades of Grey

Have you heard of this book? It's one of the books which I have enjoyed since my liberation. (and the Twilight trilogy too!)

According to Wikipedia,

Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2011 erotic novel by British author E. L. James. Set largely in Seattle,  it is the first instalment in a trilogy that traces the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey. It is notable for its explicitly erotic scenes featuring elements of sexual practices involving bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism (BDSM).
The second and third volumes are titled Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, respectively. Fifty Shades of Grey has topped best-seller lists around the world, including the United Kingdom and the United States. The series has sold over 60 million copies worldwide, with book rights having been sold in 37 countries, and set the record as the fastest-selling paperback of all time, surpassing the Harry Potter series. Critical reception of the novel has been mixed.

While I am not adverse to the parts about sex or BDSM, they are definitely not the main reason why I like the book so much. I like the book because it is really very well written! To me, it is just a romance story.. and when I finished the first book, I immediately wanted to read the second book! Yep, I have already finished all three books : ) A very simple summary - the first book is a sad romance, the second a happy romance, and the third! A good mix of mystery, romance, thriller! The author is good. I am impressed that these are her first books. I shall be waiting eagerly for her new book - whether it is a similar theme or something very different, I am confident that she will not disappoint! 

No More Parenting Books!

Since Jiale was born, I had been reading parenting books relentlessly.. from how to make him sleep through the night to what to feed him, and then as he grew older, how to help him learn etc. But it was really never-ending - there are too many such books out there, and too many different opinions about what the right way is.

Finally, I have decided to give up. Stopped reading parenting books a few weeks ago, and wow! I have so much free time now! I have been able to read books for leisure, sleep early, spend more time on doing facial masks and body scrubs, and more time googling anything that captures my interest. I feel liberated. I feel FREE and FREED. No doubt it's good to read parenting books for the benefit of my children, but I think I have read enough these past three years. Enough. Stop. No more. (though I don't doubt I will be referring back to those books when meimei arrives :p)

I had never thought reading parenting books was bad in any way. OK, not really bad la... just bad for my development as a person.. a woman.. a wife.. It's probably only good for me as a parent :p

Anyway I am happier now!

Roseola Scare

(No, it doesn't mean the boys do NOT have roseola.)

Didi has been down with cough and running nose for more than a week. Yesterday he started having a fever as well. The Braun thermometer has been spoilt for some time and I have not replaced it. Hubby was is overseas for work and I needed a thermometer desperately in case Didi's fever got worse during the night. So, I just grabbed the boys after their afternoon nap and rushed to Parkway Parade (in a cab of course. I ain't no Superwoman, no matter how much my hubby would like me to save the cab money.) Temperature went up to 39 C at bedtime.

Fortunately Didi managed to sleep through from 7pm to 5am. At 5am, his temperature was 38.2 C. Fed him fever medicine, milk and water, and miraculously he lay down again and fell asleep for another hour. When he woke up, his fever had gone down to 37+ C. Not too bad, I thought.

Wrong. A couple of hours later I noticed some mild rashes on his tummy and a little bit on his chin. Urmm, then after the shower (which was why I undressed him), I forgot about the rashes. Oops. When I remembered them again, I sent the photo a few mummy friends (real-life friends, ex-colleagues ok) and started to google for more information. Hmm, seems to be roseola (high fever followed by rashes when the fever subsided is the main symptom). What I read put me at ease quite fast, as it seemed that the dangerous part was the high fever, which Didi seemed to have passed. Then it suddenly struck me - was it contagious? Would it affect the baby inside me???? At that moment, a cold fist clenched round my heart....

[Actually, would it have made a difference if I had gone to the PD yesterday? Without the rashes, it was unlikely there would be a diagnosis of roseola. Anyway, even now it's just my own layman 'diagnosis'.]

Couldn't find any conclusive answers online. Apparently roseola does have the potential to cause miscarriages in early pregnancy and birth defects in later pregnancy. But what I read also indicated that most women have already been exposed to roseola before and thus are immune, which means the fetus is protected as well. (In fact, even newborns still have this immunity, but it goes away as they get older. Cool, right?) I then hurriedly called my gynae's emergency number and explained the situation to the person who answered the call. The 20+ minutes before my gynae returned my call was very scary.. I couldn't stop crying and thought I would lose this baby.. (It sure didn't help that the two boys were their usual monkey selves and Didi was refusing to take his medication and making a mess at lunch etc etc.)

Very very relieved when my gynae assured me that it was ok and the baby would be alright. Then.. just continue with the rest of the day lor.... luckily it was just a scare... PHEW!

Why I Re-installed My FB App

Gosh my last post was on 6 Sep! Actually that's more recent than I thought.. seems like a looooooong time since I came here at all.

I have re-installed my Facebook app on my iPhone because I have decluttered my FB! Yay! I un-friended everyone who is not an ex-classmate or ex-colleague or neighbor or family etc, i.e. everyone whom I do not really know in real life. Granted, I had been chatting with some of these 'un-real friends' far more than with most of these ex-colleagues or ex-classmates, but I decided that it was more meaningful to stay in touch with 'real people'.

One of my main motivations was wanting to cut down on the time I spent on FB so that I could spend more quality time with my children. I tried limiting my usage but I failed to do so.. too often sneaking peeks at my phone when I should be concentrating on the boys instead. And everytime I did so, I was 'rewarded' with many new posts and notifications and comments etc... Talk about positive reinforcement! Of course I had the choice to not read them till I was free.. but it was so difficult to resist...

By drastically reducing my Friends, I can still post as often as I like, but there are now fewer comments. And each time I check FB, there are hardly any new posts. Thus I spend less time on FB, even if I still check as frequently as before. At the same time, because of less 'reinforcement', it has become natural for me to check less often nowadays. Goal achieved!

Not that I don't like my friends to comment on my posts, it's just more meaningful when it's my real friends commenting! There are of course disadvantages too - most of the people I unfriended were mummy-friends whom I got to 'know' in mummy forums etc, many of whom are more experienced parents than I am, so I no longer get to see the interesting activities they do with their kids, or their valuable mummy insights etc. Hmm, but gain some, lose some la.

There was in fact a trigger which prompted me to take this 'drastic' action. One fine day, I was chatting in a FB group when I felt I was being personally attacked. Well, the other mummy wrote my name in her post lor, so it wasn't my illusion. I felt so sick and tired of chatting with such people. Why was I wasting my time & energy hanging around such people? At that time, I just wanted to get her (and some others) out of my life. If she wanted to stick to her old ways of doing things, I wouldn't be the one suffering. Not my problem, not my business, don't even wanna waste time/energy reading whatever she wanted to say. BLAH. Get lost lor.

Anyway, two months down the road, I am definitely happier. Less time spent on FB, more quality time with my precious babies, less time on the computer in general, more napping time. Oh ya, since frequent FB checks is no longer an issue, it is much more convenient to use the app :p