Dr Bronner's Magic Soap!

remember a few months ago I was writing about a pretty red dispenser that I bought, but smelt really bad when I poured in the hand soap?

I googled and the only explanation I could find was that the fragrance in the hand soap reacts with the metal, causing the bad smell - so I decided to put the red pump aside until I found some more natural soaps.....and....I DID!:):)

It's Dr Bronner's Magic Soap - seems to be widely known in the US, though not so common in Singapore (though I've been seeing it pop up at NTUC Finest, Watsons and mostly organic or health stores).

[caption id="attachment_936" align="aligncenter" width="371"] dr bronner magic soap[/caption]

what appealed to me was that

1. NO NASTY CHEMICALS

It's going to take too long and you probably be bored by the time I go through each ingredient....so what I linked the nasty stuff in red (possible links to cancer, fertility issues, etc), the neutral stuff in green.  The links in blue - well, it's not bad or good on its own - it depends what goes into it.   Read the articles using your discretion.  And if you are interested, you can further investigate and decide what works for you!

i) Dr Bronner's Tea Tree Liquid Soap 

INGREDIENTS: Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Tea Tree Extract, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Tocopherol * CERTIFIED FAIR TRADE INGREDIENTS ** None remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerin

I like that their ingredients are easy to read and understand.  Personally I have a good experience with using Hemp Oil based products for my eczema.   I think it's not available in Singapore in its pure form cos' it falls under the cannibis family  even though THC - the drug is not present in concentrations that induces a 'high'.  at least that's what I read.  I'm just happy to find out that hemp seed oil heals my skin!:)

simple homemade cure for headaches! almost instant relief!

An instant cure for headaches!  who knew that the secret is just residing in ingredients from our kitchen??? and it even beat a fancy cream that has more than a dozen ingredients!

You would have to pardon my enthusiasm, but I'm so amazed at how effective a simple DIY headache cure works!  and my consultant?  google search!

The husband suffers from headaches from time to time, and usually it lingers from a couple of hours to over a few days.

[caption id="attachment_890" align="aligncenter" width="347"] sucks to have a lingering headache[/caption]

Usually he applies Origin's Peace of Mind - which helps provide relief, though the headache is still present albeit less intense.  It contains Eucalyptus oil, so there is this mentholy-cooling effect after you apply (strangely, if you apply and massage the skin, the menthol effect doesn't work.  not so sure why.  so you gotta leave the cream alone to do its work)

so I helped the husband apply some, and the headache wasn't any better.   I went to google to see what else could possibly help - and I stumbled back onto this simple DIY solution!

.

.

.

cinnamon powder + warm water = paste.

apply paste on forehead and temple and that's it!

initially husband said he didn't feel anything when I first applied it on his head....then suddenly he said 'pain pain pain'.  The cinnamon paste was apparently heating up to the point of it being painful.  Lucky he bit the pain and left it on (at this point, he said he had less pain from the headache, but figured the heat from the cinnamon paste was distracting him).

The real reward came about 5 - 10 minutes, when the heat from the cinnamon paste slowly subsided and became bearable.  So I asked the obvious question 'so still got headache?'.....and he said 'no' - the headache was gone! just from cinnamon + water!! gosh.  washed the paste off after a few more mintues...and headache remained gone!!!  true story. It happened a few hours ago!

p/s:  I tried some on my forehead to test if really that painful, and from someone who normally has a high threshold for pain - it was indeed bordering on painful hot.

So the next time you or a family member has a headache, you can try this method!  Provided you are not allergic to cinnamon of course.  But do be prepared for some painful heat - we figure it's the cinnamon making the blood vessels dilate and probably helped the blood move and removing the cause of the headache!

boy oh boy!  I'm still amazed!

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="348"] I actually bought this cinnamon powder from phoon huat to make my usual oatmeal raisin cookies - but felt that the cinnamon smell was not as good as the usual Mccormick I used - so I kept this one aside...and boy was it useful today![/caption]

 

Christmas is coming!!!

weeeee!!!  Christmas is coming, and gosh - I am exhausted already!  

been baking the past few days for family and friends, and boy-oh-boy - now I get reminded of how tiring mass baking is - washing, preparing, baking, cutting, packing and washing up yet again.  I can feel my muscles aching and crying for a massage. haven't felt so tired in a while!  ah...the 'perils' of getting older! 

every Christmas for the past 4 - 5 years, my family celebrates with a simple dinner get-together at my home.  It's a little sad that this is likely the last year I get to spend with my cousin and her kids as they will be migrating soon.  we are a small knit family and they are really the only relatives we are close to. I'm sure my cousin is excited at the move and at her new life and that her family will be really happy there.  

I am glad that I managed to create some memories for my 2 nieces while i could.  Every year, I ask them to be my elves and help decorate the Christmas tree.  Honestly, it's easier and less exasperating if I did it myself, but I wanted to create some activity so that they can look back when they are older and reminisce of the fun time they had (while their aunt tries very hard to keep her cool!).  but life goes on, and we have to just deal and handles the changes that come our way.  one day at a time...though I will certainly miss having them around.  At least there is another 11 months before they move - so gotta treasure the time.

Hope you are having fun in the lead up to Christmas and that you give yourself a well deserved gift!:) 

on the smelly topic of....deordorants!

ok...i'm gonna share with you something embrassing.... my smelly pits!  sorry to gross you..but it's a real stinky issue that I have to deal with - especially with the warm humid weather here in singapore.  no kidding since average relative humidity level is in the 80+%!  on a positive note - the high humidity has its benefits for people with dry skin - keeps the skin hydrated and looking young!  on the flip side - encourages mouldy food, mould in cupboards, and skin issues like pimples from all the clogged pores (prob from the heat!)....ah well...i'm digressing!

[caption id="attachment_547" align="alignleft" width="225"] i wish I could smell as good as theses lovlies![/caption]

I found myself smelling less than great, and then slowly but surely, progessed to smelling really stinko! Eons ago, I lasered the hair on my pits - and a wonderful side effect was that I stayed stink free for a good 3-4 years (yes, really that long!)! I figured the stink sweat follicles got blasted and got laid to rest for a while!:)

When I started smelling a bit, I used a off-the-shelf deordorant daily, and after a year or so - had a lump under my pits!  I went to see a doctor - the lady doctor checked and even commented my breasts felt lumpy.   She gave me a pill (she said it contained papaya extract) and after a while, the lump went away - of course I stopped the deordorant too.

Since then, I found that there are some pretty horrible substances in the usual deordorants and antiperspirants which are bad for our health!   Here are some quick info so that you can take note and avoid them if you can!

1. aluminum

there are deodorants, and antiperspirants.  antiperspirants usually contain aluminum-based compounds are used as the active ingredient in antiperspirants. These compounds form a temporary plug within the sweat duct that stops the flow of sweat to the skin's surface.

there's quite a bit written about aluminum - from causing breast cancer due to antiperspirants to alzhimers by ingesting it.  of course, it's up to the individual to decide whether to believe it or not - and I choose to - simply because avoiding aluminum is something I'm more than willing to do, as compared to the possibility of damaging my health.  cancer? alzhimers? ney.  no thanks. It's not worth risking my health.

that's why I don't cook anything in aluminum directly, avoid carbonated drinks in aluminum cans, etc. You might be amazed to know that they are even present in some medicines (antacids!) and vaccines!  gosh.

2. parabens.

parabens are usually used to preserve in cosmetics - to prevent bacterial and fungi in our cosmetics and lotions...and sometimes even food!!!  they are used essentially cos' they are effective and cheap.  but apparently they disrupt your hormones, and are linked to cancers.

The alumiunum and parabens freaked me out so much scary - for a while, I even went without deordorant!  *gasp* true story.  During that time I felt horrible!  after a short time out of the house, I already smelt bad, and it was horrible!  I was conscious not to raise my arms as I sure as hell didn't want to assualt someone's poor nose!

So in my zealous quest to become stink free and at the same time make sure I take care of my health - here are the deordorants I have tried!

.

.

.

.

.

1.  Khiels

[caption id="attachment_659" align="alignleft" width="140"] khiel deodorant[/caption]

I can't exactly remember what was on the ingredient list that made me throw it away after I got my Su Kin deordorant, but i think there was some aluminum in it (I threw it away already - so am unable to check the ingredient list). I recalled I bought it cos' it stated "Orange, Lemon and Linseed Extract" - so I naturally assumed it was all natural.  Not so.  Still have to read the ingredients list.  Other than that - it worked decently, though a little wet upon application.

Ingredient list:  I threw it away.  can't exactly remember what was on the ingredient list that made me do it - so it's a fail for me.

Smell control:  7.5/10.  not bad.  kept me from smelling too bad.  medium control.  not for heavy duty sweating!  

dry factor: 5/10.  a slight wet sticky feeling upon application...and throughout the day - slight dampness or a grosser term - slimy.  

2. Su Kin

[caption id="attachment_660" align="alignleft" width="178"] Sukin deodorant[/caption]

 

When I first used it - the thing I note was the nice pleasant smell.  and it was really easy to use - just spray and it dries pretty fast.

down side?   NOT effective - at least not for me! to be fair, my friend says it works for her. so maybe I just smell wayyy too bad.   In fact, I thought it made me even SMELLIER!  cos' you know - my stinko sweat PLUS other stuff = SMELLIER than ever pits.

Smell control:  1/10. gosh. dont' stand near me on a hot humid day! or after I've been baking! you will faint. 

dry factor: 7.0/10.  dries pretty quicky upon application, and doesn't have a slimy after feel compared to Khiels.   

 

 

 

 

 

3. Honey Tree

[caption id="attachment_661" align="alignleft" width="186"] Honeybee deodorant powder[/caption]

 

initially I didn't quite like it - it was too jasminely for my liking and well...not my cup of tea.  after a while, I got used to the smell, and it was okay.

It's a powder form.  texture's a little coarse but acceptable.

smell control:   4/10 . better than Su Kin but I still stank after a while or if the weather's too hot. 

dry factor: 7.5/10.  

 

 

 

 

 

4. Soapwalla!

[caption id="attachment_665" align="aligncenter" width="570"] soapwalla deodorant cream[/caption]

i heard so many raves about soapwalla's deordorant and in my desperate attempt to not smell so bad, I wanted to ship in from the US, but shipping was a killer!  luckily Rachel, the owner directed me to a online shop in Singapore! Poppibleu!

It is a cream that you apply - and was slightly surprised that it was coarse - similar to Honey Tree.  it is acceptable, but was a little surprised as I expected a smooth cream.  easy to apply.

smell control: 9.5/10!!!! went cycling and there was no smell!!!! no kidding!  oh my gosh, I sooooo happy to finally find something that will let me stay stink free!  thank you thank you thank you!

dry factor:  9/10!  strangely even though it's a cream - i think there is some clay or something in the cream - when you apply - it's not wet, and throughout my cycling - didn't feel any wetness! 

So TA DA - MY LOVE!!!!! SOOOOOoooo happy to have found this deodorant!

 

5. Magnesium oil 

Read from somewhere that magnesium oil spray thing is able to double up as a deodorant so I will just try that the next time I get my hands on some!:)

not so great vibes

happy *blissful smile*

it's been a while since I last baked for orders  (since I had closed the brownie business) and recently took an order cos' I was free and I just received an SMS from the customer that she and her family loved the brownie!:)  hee!  it's a small thing - but it sure made my day!  I am so happy that the brownie cake made her husband's birthday celebration that bit nicer and well....we all need that assurance from time to time (read: a nice boost for my ego. haaa....think i needed it!)

also this afternoon - I was on the packed filled bus and a kind elderly lady was looking and nodding to me - to ask if I wanted her seat.  I was a little shocked and didn't know how to respond cos' I am young and was perplexed at why she wanted to give her seat to me.   pardon the egg head here cos' I had probably ~ 3 hours of restless sleep and probably feeling not so sharp...  so i gave a smile and politely declined with a gentle shake of the head.  turns out that she was alighting and wanted to give me priority over the other school kids......heh.

these were small events, but the small kind gestures from these ladies made my day and really humbled me.   generally I prefer animals over humans cos' they are simpler and not complicated.  and these gestures were simple yet they somehow touched me and have more faith in the human race!

Inexpensive ways to decorate and pretty-up your home!

I love my home and I spend a great deal of time in it.

As I spend much time at home, it is important to me to make it as comfortable and cosy as possible - esp since I am also super affected by my environment (certain things just drives me nuts until i get it fixed / tidied / straighten!).

Not much of a surprise, but I LOVE decorating.  What I don't love is spending too much on grossly overpriced things.  Over the past year or so, I found a few inexpensive yet fairly effective ways to decorate your home - simple touches around the house - not too fussy cos' it will be a pain to clean!  So here are some useful and inexpensive tips!:)

1.  Pretty photos / pictures from brochures!



okay, my wall ain't exactly the prettiest, but it makes me happy.    You would be amazed at how some brochures have the prettiest visuals.   The tree in a field of lavender was taken from a brochure from a skin care company 'Enavose'.

The quote (too small to see from the photo) reads "Love what you Do, Put your heart into it and you will be rewarded" - at the back page of Kiehl's brochure, and the trees from a calendar my mum gave me!   Practically no cost! heh. :)

2. Free printouts on blogs / internet

I love the blog 'Making It Lovely' - the lady is AMAZING at decorating her home.  Seriously, check her blog for yourself if you love as she puts it "living a stylish life and transforming the so-so."

There was this time where she shared with her readers a poster she created.  So nice right! So I printed it out ,  took an existing frame and hung it on my wall.

[caption id="attachment_305" align="alignnone" width="470"] free printable from the blog "Making It Lovely" and lovely is her blog indeed![/caption]

3. Postcards!

I went to Paris a few years ago, and THE BEST souvenir was not the usual handbags or clothes - but these postcards I got from a street florist (yes, they sold these lovelys!).  Okay, I take it back.  the 2nd best.  The best was a painting. :)

I LOVE the colors, the graphics, the quirkness - and it was less than 2 euros per postcard!  Each time I look at the postcard - it just makes me happy!  I placed them in some nice Ikea frames that cost about $10 each, and hung it in my vanity area and another on my sink.  Don't you love how the colors just brightens up the place?

[caption id="attachment_306" align="alignnone" width="470"] kekeke....so cute and funny!  The one on the left doesn't have a frame cos' I'm not decided if i want to hang it else it starts to look a bit cluttered, so just left it there for now.:)[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_307" align="alignnone" width="470"] the graphics is so pretty aei! reminds me to slow down and pamper myself![/caption]

4. As little clutter as possible!

The next would be to reduce the clutter in your home (and in your life) - I subscribe to the notion  our surroundings affect us and that we are reflections of those surroundings.  I aim for tranquility and peace in my home - and by that extension, means reducing unnecessary things in my life - so that I can focus on the important.



5.  Use what you have - don't store!  Things are meant to be used.  

[caption id="attachment_309" align="alignnone" width="470"] stuff in my toilet! and that flower above? taken from a brochure![/caption]

The foot scrub was a gift, and I hardly use it (cos' I'm lazy) - but love the color, so I placed it in the toilet.  The scented incense smells wonderful, but the scent was lost when burnt - so I thought - hey - I can leave the wonderful scent in the unburnt form and leave it in the open!

Who says a toilet is to be functional only?   It can be functional AND pretty at the same time.  All you require is some small touches and you would be amazed at how your living environment becomes that bit better.:)

Anyway, if you have nice gifts that you can't bear to use - I say - take it out and use it cos' everyday is meant to be special.   that nice cup, that beautiful pen, that exquisite china, etc.   disclaimer - declutter your home first .  that way you can more fully appreciate the things you do have out on display.

6. A nice burst of color in something small.

okay - this is a little frivolous, but I couldn't resist buying it and this cheerful soap dispenser does give you that kick of color early in the morning.  Small but impactful and less than $15.   and pardon the dirty mirror. kee..



 

7. Move things around!

Another cheap yet fast way to pretty up your house?  Move things around!  Sometimes we get bored with seeing something in the same place - and you would be amazed that a simple shift of things - somehow makes the space slightly different and more interesting!

thankful for everything.

sorry for the lack of posts recently!

was busy settling the kitchen and was pre occuppied with selling the equipment, settling rental stuff, logistics of moving stuff back home, etc.  plus being the anal me - once things were back home - i HAD to repack them nicely and neatly.  I get really affected by my surroundings - that could explain why I'm a little OCD at times.  Although, on convenience, my OCD can be switched off! heh. like my messy desk. and especially paperwork!  I will be tackling them soon though! at least i started!

[caption id="attachment_295" align="alignnone" width="470"] breathing![/caption]

Well now that I have everything settled - I honestly have to admit - I feel a lot happier! perhaps from the immense sense of relief from trying to get enough sales each month to cover operational costs!  I love baking - though it's a tad different baking for yourself vs baking for for sale.  I am a advocate of using the best ingredients we can.  On the other hand,  for business, you need profits to survive and continue providing a service.   Plus, I'm not so great at business.

I'm decently good at baking simple straight forward desserts though!:)  Our brownies got covered on Her World magazine '90 best desserts in Singapore'! woo hoo!  it's wonderful to have an external party recognize and appreciate the your love and passion you put in your work!  not every one loves my brownies cos' they are really fudgy and chocolaty, but hey - that's exactly the reason why many others love them! haha.

[caption id="attachment_292" align="alignnone" width="470"] we got mentioned 2 out of 3 - our dark chocolate cranberry and swirled cheese brownie! not bad aei. heh. top right of page under brownies![/caption]

now that I am taking a break until I decide what I'm going to do next - I am grateful for the extra time to spend some time to help my parents tidy and pack their house.   Much as they may not be as fussy about their surroundings as me - I helped give parts of the house a good clean!  vacuuming, washing, decluttering, rearranging --  allowing more natural light to come into the house and a better energy flow!  I would like to think that makes my mum and dad happier.

and....it makes me very happy to do something for them.  They have been extremely supportive of me - never questioning or asking me too much - fetching me home on days I had to bake late into the night, and always being there for me.

Being Asian, expressing in words is awkward and uncomfortable....so doing things for them is my way of saying 'I love you and am very grateful for you loving me as unconditionally as you do' - though you will NEVER catch me saying that.  Too corny lah. and a tad cheesy.  I rather say it through my actions.

Have you done something for your parents recently?   It can be your own special way to say 'thank you' and 'i love you' - whatever works for you.:)

I love this article and think you might just love it too!

awwww man!

okay - this is a quick 'awwww man' rant!

just a few days ago - I was talking about pimples - and now I have a new one again - right under my nose! boo hoo!  it looks like several small blisters - all soooooo close together it's like one HUUUuuuugee one.  trust me - i just measured - 1 cm wide, 0.8 cm long.

thanks to my earlier post - I remembered to quickly apply the Neutrogena On-the-Spot!  very painful - there's a biting feeling - I take it as a good thing!  It's killing all the bacteria and trying to dry the pus.  hee...lucky I don't have to step out of the house too much these few days! hee...

anyway, I think I caused it by scratching my face with my fingers...and my nails are probably full of germs. boo.  anyway, lesson to remind myself - DO NOT SCRATCH FACE WITH FINGERS - USE A TISSUE IF ITCHY!!

okay. end of rant.  remember - if you have an itch - use a tissue yah!  cos' you would want to keep your skin beautiful!:)

CD Baby

A couple of days ago - i stumbled upon a website by David Sivers and LOVED LOVED LOVED his animation!

this is just one of the many cute ones!

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/25494440 w=400&h=300]

Essentially the videos on his website are extracts from his book 'Anything You Want'.  I borrowed the book from the library and it is a really quick read - you can easily complete  it in under 1.5 hours.

What amazes me is that he accidently stumbled upon a business, worked and grew it, sold it for 22 million, and gave most of the money away.  from the book, i gathered he knew himself very well - well enough to know that even more money doesn't make him happy.  Of course it is something we all need to survive - but his ability to detach from it and keep enough for himself without being too attached is amazing.  Lesson I took away is that money itself doesn't make you happier.  of course a certain level is required to ensure you have less worries - beyond that  - we all need to know how to be happy regardless.

I was out running errands today and many times I found myself uttering thanks for the many small things in my life - my wonderful cats that keep me happy, my family, the pretty red flowering tree just outside my flat, good cold blasting aircon on the bus, the fact that I am born in a wonderful country and many many others.  when you start being thankful, amazingly it becomes easier to recognize the good things in your life.

If you happen to come across this book - do pick it up and give it a read.  for me - there were many good lessons within the book - of course, everyone interprets information in their own way - but I hope you enjoy it regardless!:)

[caption id="attachment_264" align="alignnone" width="470"] hahaha...much as the boy is cute - i dont' really get the cover, but heck! it's a happy cover!:)[/caption]

 

home made hair gel

my sis-in-law made a simple DIY hair gel months ago, and gave us a bottle.

'oh?  you made it yourself?' was my initial surprised response.  In this age and time - normally we buy whatever we need - we have mostly lost touch with making things on our own.  In the frenzied lives most live in - the convenience is very much desired..  BUT...it's really simple to make!  No more than 15 mins of your time and it is wayyyyyyyyy wayyyyyy better than the commercial ones.

My husband tested the hair gel, and here's what we observed!

Pros

• sufficient holding power - quite similar to the commercial hair gels he was previously using (of course - he has short hair and it tends to 'stand' on its own and  just needs some help staying put.  I tried it too and it's okay if you are looking for a more natural look.  definitely not enough holding power to really style hair.  I use store bought hair clay when I need to style it a little.


• scalp smells better and i believe it's also healthier - before when the hb was using the commercial hair gels, there was a smell from his scalp!  Now, the smell is significantly reduced, and on most days - no chemicaly smell anymore!  i can only think this is good for his scalp!


•  easy / cheap / fast to make - previously a bottle of his hair gel costs about SGD 7-8 and can lasts him a month and a half.  now, I make a bottle for him once every month, and I don't even know how to calculate the cost!  probably < SGD 1??  and it's a dollar cos' I use essential oils which is the expensive part (then again, if you order online - it would be even cheaper!)

Cons

• personally i think it's none. - probably  the 15 mins you have to spend on making the gel?  but i find the process therapeutic...

so after he finished the bottle, I promised him to make a new batch for him.  and boy is it simple!!

all you need?

1. flaxseed


2. water


3. essential oil (optional - it supposedly helps to keep your hair gel longer.  i personally love the nice burst of smell!)


4. sieve (or pantyhose - see video below!)


5. container for your finished product!:)

instructions

a video says a thousand words - so this youtube video was what I referred to!  Instead of the pantyhose, I used a sieve .  have fun making your DIY hair gel!

I got this huge pack for less than $4! and to make each batch of flaxseed, I only use a tablespoon or so...so I'm guessing this pack will last me years!  since i'm not ingesting it - i think i can risk going beyond the expiry date. hehe. 

[caption id="attachment_244" align="alignnone" width="470"] This is the expensive part - this small bottle costs about $25 or so. The essential oils are supposed to keep your hair gel good for longer. Of course, if you just wanna try w/o the essential oils - it's okay - just make a small batch and keep your hair gel in the fridge.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_247" align="alignnone" width="470"] ta-da! home-made DIY hair gel!  i make small batches at time...and this round, i made it a thicker consistency on request of the hb.:)[/caption]

Pimples! My way of tackling them!

this will be one of my rambles on skin care - one of my favourite topics!

I have been blessed with a relatively pimple/acne free complexion (save for a recent memory of a horrible terrible HUGE pimple years ago - almost 1 cm diameter at the bottom of my nose!  morbidly I snapped a photo of the scar - maybe to remind me that it was really THAT huge! *shudder* and no, i shall not gross any of you out by posting it here. kekeke...that would be funny though!).

However in the past year - I had a period where pimples kept popping around my nose and I was a tad upset cos' it left faint albeit visible marks on my nose and it looked well...distracting.  and before the mark completely fades - POP! another comes along.  I was trying hard to pin point what caused the pimple outbreak and I can only weakly assume it's either

1. hot humid environment - when I used to bake frequently for orders


2. loose powder  - i was using to reduce the shine of applying sunblock.


3. some other reason - but i just haven't figured it out...maybe getting older? hmm...

So I tried clay masks, dead sea mud mask soap, exfoliating 2-3 times a week, and the pimples still popped!  boy....was it really annoying.  Then I started using Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair serum, and much as I'm a cynic at times (normally I don't buy the major cosmetics products as I feel that I am paying more for the marketing and advertising costs than the product itself) - it really really worked!  at least for me!  the marks went away quicker and the pimples stopped for a period!  plus it feels good - to be trying to protect my skin from aging!

[caption id="attachment_214" align="alignnone" width="460"] Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum - thank you to the people who created this wonderful product![/caption]

Though I have to disclaim - the pimples unfortunately came back for a little while - i suspect it's because I changed my loose powder and maybe maybe the new powder included micro/nano particles and with the heat of the kitchen, probably clogged my pores. I think.   The nano particles really gave a smoother finish - but ney - not worth the pimples, and to think about it - being nano sized means it's easier to go into my blood stream huh?  Okay - to the dustbin!  Note to self:  Please remember to look at ingredients list!

[caption id="attachment_219" align="alignnone" width="300"] Love the packaging and the finish it gave - but i suspect it caused my pimples. The sales lady said it contained nano particles, hence the smooth finish - but couldn't find much information on the ingredients / packaging.  It was also an impluse buy and i didn't read the ingredient list until much later and i vaguely remember being horrified. then again....i suspect most commercial products contain less than desired ingredients.[/caption]

Still, i do get pimples - albeit a lot less now.   You know when a pimple is about to erupt - that small but painful bump under your skin, you may wanna try what my sister recommended - Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment and it works!  I generously dot the area with the cream before the pimple even has a chance to appear, and instead of an angry red burst of pimple erupting - a small red dot appears.  It's a drying cream - so dab it only on the pimple area - else your skin will flake.

priceless.:)

ah bai - one of my 2 darling cats that make me happy every single day. kekee....couldn't help put a price tag on him - priceless!:)

reflections

this post is to rant - so please bear with me cos' i am hoping that after I pen my thoughts - they can 'escape' somewhere and allow me to sleep better at night.

I am a pig and can sleep within 5 mins of hitting the pillow - but the past few weeks?  tossing, turning and feeling every single breeze of the fan (not in a good way!).  getting into zzz land has been a struggle.  and when i DO sleep - have loads of dreams. some ridiculous, but i can almost never remember them - only that they are ridiculous.

Consciously i think I am handling the situation okay.  But subconsciously, i probably am still bothered - and my body is telling me by refusing to let me have a restful sleep (and boy have I learnt to try to listen to my body over the years!).



About what you might ask?   well, i decided to close my brownie business after 3 years.  i started the business first in a community shared kitchen on a part-time basis to test how receptive the market was, and in recent months - had the opportunity to have the kitchen area to myself - so i took it.

Sadly, within a short span of 10 months - i decided to close the business. I was sub renting the kitchen space from the main tenant, and several times, he told us that the future of the place was in jeopardy.  I looked for alternatives during this period, but the though of shifting all my equipment / paying at least 3 times more rent / plus losing my deposits if i shifted out early before he confirmed giving up the place...well, i made a decision to stay put - it was probably just easier.

the funniest part is that much as i WAS struggling to stay at the current place (cos' mainly it had the cheapest rental) - i decided to give it up at the very moment the rental issue was solved (a new tenant took over the place, and she is seriously one of the nicest, most generous person i know).

you must be thinking i'm bonkers.   why give up when the solution is already in place??  many reason, but also very simple. i felt so drained after the six months of uncertainty - that my reservoir of energy was depleted and I no longer had the motivation/passion/interest.  In fact, at one point i wondered if the universe was telling me to leave that place.  also practically, i knew i had to bring the business to the next level to be sustainable, and that required more time / energy / money - all of which I couldn't or don't want to give more.



Much as it was difficult and many times very trying - I love the past few years.  It pushed me to try new stuff (esp talking to strangers! yikess!!!!), learning new skill sets, getting things done, etc etc. I don't regret leaving the corporate world to try this my hand at business and it surely helped me rediscover a zest for life and / trying new things and keeping my brain engaged!   if i didn't - i think i would remain pretty much like this picture below - zombified.

[caption id="attachment_187" align="alignnone" width="429"] that's how i felt about myself in the corporate world - lifeless - absolutely no zest for life, bored and just blah. not a good feeling. the salary was good though. others might complain it's little - but i felt overpaid cos' the things i had to do were not exactly difficult and i was not learning / improving myself - skill sets wise and all. in fact i thought i regressed....maybe cos' i was miserable.[/caption]

of course there are many things that i had to give up.   one of my greatest gripe is that I can't be as generous as I was to the people i love...which just plain sucks. i guess i can show my affection through other ways oh?;)

Anyhow, when i made the decision to close the business, my greatest obstacle was how to break the news to my husband who has been very supportive and helping  me along the way - i felt i let him down.  also, how do i tell my nice landlady?  my parents - i knew would be cool with whatever decision i make - but i do want them to be proud and not worry about me.

But after I shared the decision with my husband - a huge sigh of relief and I could  finally get down to wrapping things up.   Strangely i don't feel any sense of loss - more of a relief!

There are still things to tie up and settle and before it's done - I still worry.  though after it's done, I probably will find something else to worry - seriously bad habit which i am trying to cure.  do you have any tips?

Genius household tips that almost don't cost you anything!

gosh, I just came across this article online - and am amazed at how ingenious the ideas are!

If you are into eco friendly ideas, and cleaning in general - this might interest you!

I particularly like the one on how to store your wrapping papers, the temporary bed rail for kids and paint brush tips!  snap shot of the article below.  Here is the link!

soap dispenser - you may wanna note if you are buying a metal pump one!

i was on the hunt for a soap dispenser for a couple of months.   before, i always thought it was strange why one would need a soap dispenser - after all, the soaps all come prepacked in the plastic pumps already - wasn't a soap pump unnecessary?  ha...now i know better!  cos' very simply - soap pumps look prettier than the plastic ones!

I was trying to be eco-friendly and reduce the wastage by buying refills, and the plastic container just didn't look pretty.  Remember the quote by William Morris?



so it took me many months before i finally found a pretty yet decently priced one at SQ FT at Tampines Mall.  It met my requirement of being less than SGD 15!  Still I hesitated for a bit cos' it's  not exactly a necessity, then I thought 'hey! it's been on my mind for months, and now that it appeared before me - I should not do myself a diservice by ignoring it!'

so i bought this pretty little dispenser.:)

[caption id="attachment_161" align="alignnone" width="376"] pretty huh! i chose the red for the burst of color - just gives you that little bit of energy in the morning!:)[/caption]

it works really well and pumps very nicely, and the color is great!  Thing is...after I poured the soap in - there is a very strong metallic smell...which puts me off cos' i have a nose of a dog sometimes.

VERDICT? 

• i LOVE everything about it!  good price, looks good, nice color.


• BUT the soap reacts to the metal pump and smells bad.   I googled and couldn't find much information - the only one that mentioned the metallic smell said it seems like it's the fragrance in the hand soap that reacts with the metal.

if you have a SUPER nose, you may wanna take note.  but if you are not bothered by smells generally (my husband can't really detect any smell, but it's too strong for me!) - then a metal pump one would probably work fine for you.   If you have a super nose, then maybe better to get a plastic pump or if you are using organic soaps - i think should be okay metal or plastic (let me know please!)

so now  I can either buy a new dispenser that has plastic pump (not so keen) OR buy a soap that doesn't have fragrances and is probably better for our skin anyway.

undecided....so in the meanwhile, i went back to my plastic pump.  sad. i love the red pump and still leave it on my sink! next to the ugly plastic one. haaa....

Resources I Love

as you probably noticed, I changed the 'design' of my blog.

I wanted to share some of online resources I find useful - so that readers / visitors can easily see if it applies to them. As the previous template had some layout / color / font restrictions, i went to explore some of the other free themes.

but boy or boy - it made me feel so old during the process!!!  I encountered some layout issues, went to the theme and help and forum sections, and after 2 hours of reading/testing - finally figured it out!   And it made me think 'huh. am i getting slow?' and that made me worry a bit. To console myself - I'll just make myself believe that  instructions were not clear...ermm...right.'

Anyway, i subscribe to some online newsletters and I love opening the emails for the bite sized nuggets of info. It is a useful reminder for me to be more aware of my surroundings and to appreciate the simple things in life.

and no - not any paid advert.  I'm sharing cos' I enjoy reading it and if you think it's something you would find beneficial, then good for you!  Here are some snapshots of the emails they send.   I will slowly start adding more links on the right hand column, so it would be easy for you to quickly see what might interest you.  Of course, as with all information - please filter and see what works for you!

[caption id="attachment_145" align="alignnone" width="470"] Daily Burst of Energy[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_146" align="alignnone" width="444"] High Energy for Life[/caption]

Food Allergies!

shoot me please.

i spent more than an hour preparing for a new post and in my rush to meet a friend, did the silliest thing - I shut down my PC without saving my work!!  you know those days when you wanna smack yourself real hard?  yeah...i'm having it right now.  never mind, this 'new' post will be better than what i drafted yes?  argh.

anyway, today I'm going to share with you an embarrassing allergic reaction that happened to me years ago when I just started university life.

Although Singapore is just a dot, barely discernible on the world map - the commute to school was very long - 1.5 hours per way cos' home and school were at the extreme ends of our little island.  So I decided to stay in the school hostel - to cut down on travelling, and to experience what hall life was all about.

[caption id="attachment_104" align="alignnone" width="600"] stayed at a hall similar to this for a long year. campus was not so accessible then, so being the lazy bum - stayed in campus most of the 5 days and I felt so cooped! and probably also cos' home is still the best!   I remember my dad used to drive me back to school every Sunday and I sooo dreaded the trip!  Still, I had to count my blessings that i had a wonderful room-mate and it was still an interesting experience.  after the first year - I decided to take the 3 hour commute (2 ways) to school and crazily - enjoyed it!  cos' i get to see people and get to 'move' around![/caption]

with hall life - it revealed how utterly lazy  i was in settling meals.  hall food looked really blah and unappetizing and it doesn't help that I'm a picky eater.  So I thought 'okay lah - since hall food looks so yucky - I shall eat sandwiches.  besides Goober Jam and Nutella are easy to prepare and...FABULOUSLY YUMMY!!'.

at that time, I didn't realize how important diet is to our bodies do I happily ate my Goober Jam and Nutella breakfast, lunch and sometimes even dinner!!!  I kid you not - I'm mad that way.

[caption id="attachment_92" align="alignnone" width="300"] i used to LOVE goober jam! the lovely swirls of nutty peanut butter, mixed with sweet jam.....oooo....no wonder i was so addicted to it before.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_95" align="alignnone" width="250"] okay - i used to LOVE nutella (though Goober was my ultimate favourite!!), but in recent years, I started appreciated good dark chocolate made with cocoa butter (instead of all the hydrogenated oils and all) - and realized actually nutella is not as tasty anymore. too sweet for me now![/caption]

So happily I indulged in my peanut butter / hazelnut craze...and many weeks/months later - I started noticing a pus ridden gigantic pimple (~8mm!!) on my right knee cap - much as it appeared on a really strange location, I didn't think much of it and it eventually went away. but when a 2nd pus ridden pimple developed on almost the same place on my other knee cap - i paid a little more attention, but didn't know what caused it.  That went away eventually too..

Then....the pimples came back with a vengeance !  this time...here's the embarrassing part.....~20 to 40 pimples started appearing on my butt (over a period of time)!  It may sound like a joke, but I can assure you that I am absolutely telling you the truth.  All pus filled, smaller than the two humongous ones on my knee cap, but as it was pus ridden, it hurt - badly.

It was again - many months of trial and error (and the whole time believing it was due to the environment possibly being dirty - cos' my earlier allergy was due to dirt).   I even went for a skin patch test at National Skin Centre but still couldn't find out the cause!

[caption id="attachment_103" align="alignnone" width="281"] I had something like that on my back - it didn't show any reaction when I went for my follow-up visit, and guess what - a couple of days later - there was some brown patch on some of the dots!  didn't think about it cos' it was such a 'delayed' reaction and also thought my allergy was more external driven than food related cos' my earlier eczema as due to dirt.[/caption]

then one day - i noticed the pimples seem to be better and healing....then 'Eureka'!  I hadn't had my goober jam or anything peanut butter related recently then and I decided to stop it for a while, and lo and behold! gosh! it started clearing!  i had very bad scarring on my butt and it took a good 3 - 4 years to completely clear.  Till this day - I thank the universe that the pimples decided to attack my butt instead of my face.

so.....what caused the pimples?  Even though I occasionally eat peanuts and nuts with no adverse reaction - never had I tortured my poor body with peanut butter sooo many times a day and for such a continuous extended period.  the 'toxins' probably built up and the body had to somehow tell me that it ain't loving what I was putting into my body.   it probably appeared on the butt cos of sebaceous glands / sweat ducts (yes, we do have sweat ducts on our butt!) which was exacerbated cos' it was constantly covered by jeans.

morale of the story?

everyone has a different trigger to allergies, so even though it is sometimes (usually!) painfully slow to find out what is causing you allergies / reaction - here are some usual and possible general triggers that i'm aware of .

1. Environment

• Dirt is  the usual suspect.  Try to keep your area dust / dirt free - plus point - a clean living area just enhances your life:) if you have feet related allergies - try slippers and see if it works for you.


• If you ever experience 'tingly sensations' -  you could be sensitive to wireless equipment...which includes our mobile phone!  (I get painful tingly sensations when using certain phone models - once i knew the phone was going to ring before it even did - cos' i felt a rush of pain in my arms!  before I figured this out - friends did ask me to consider seeing a doctor to see if i had nerve problems!).  change to wired keyboards or mouse where possible.   avoid typing on a laptop keyboard if you are hyper sensitive too.

2. Food

• food allergies are common.   If your allergies are serious - please go do a skin test at your hospital / skin centre for a test.  my  niece had super red raw skin when she was a few months old and turns out that she allergies to breast milk and quite a bit of other 'common' or supposedly 'safe/good' food like soy and fish!  sometimes certain food you had no previous reaction to could suddenly be a trigger.


• a friend is gluten intolerant and she has had stomach discomfort for the longest time and she managed to find her trigger through probably a eureka moment too!

3. Cosmetics / Lotions / Makeup

• if you have breakouts on the face - it could be the lotions / makeup that you are using (or food or environment!).  I recently had breakouts on my nose and i was so upset cos' before the scarring healed, a new pimple popped!   I suspect it's the powder I use!  It's supposedly has 'nano' sized particles (hence more smooth coverage) ...but maybe it was so small that it went into the pores and clogged it!  so i threw the powder away...and it seems under control now.  but still works in progress!


• oh...my dad used to have red patch on his cheek and it turned out it was the oil on the scalp that trickled down and cause the redness!   surprising huh!  he went to the dermatologist at the skin centre who helped him identify the problem.


• sometimes could be the body soap that dries your skin (and causing itch) OR the detergent that we use and somehow remains on our bodies.

4. Stress 

• my reaction to stress is usually a loss of appetite but a couple of my friends get breakouts or fall sick very frequently.   do activities that you love (exercise, bringing your darling pets to the beach, yoga, etc) and try to see what you can to lower stress (i know it's easier said than done!)

probably a zillion more reasons, but it's a start to try to identify your triggers!  good luck! i know how disruptive allergies can be!

 

Cleaning Your iMAC Keyboard

I love my iMac keyboard - the white clean streamline look, the soothing 'clicking' sound while you are typing away and also the ease and comfort with its 'flat-ness'... if you know what i mean.

The only thing is that it gets dirty really easily.  I contemplated buying a keyboard guard, but at the ridiculous price of SGD 40+ for that thin piece of plastic - no thank you. Plus, i'm not sure whether it affects the typing feel.  So naturally after a couple of months - my keyboard got greyer and greyer  - not the lovely pristine white as before.  and the grime was super distracting (for me!).

[caption id="attachment_79" align="alignnone" width="870"] can you see the specks of grey?[/caption]

Figured that since the marks on the keyboard were probably due to the oils from our fingers - I thought maybe the kitchen cleaner might just do the trick....and it did!  Check out the before and after photos below!  and now - my keyboard looks as good as new!   plus - it's darn easy to wipe of the grease!  didn't even have to use any force.  I just lightly wiped it across the keyboard!

[caption id="attachment_80" align="alignnone" width="313"] Magic Clean to the rescue! It's formulated to target grime, which was what was making my keyboard dirty.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_81" align="alignnone" width="870"] check out the key 'J' - top left was wiped a little - see how clean it compares to the rest of the key! and see the dirt marks on the number '7'![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_82" align="alignnone" width="870"] ta-da! all nice and clean now!:)[/caption]

Body Soap!

a couple of months ago, i had a persistent albeit mild itch on my arms, and though i had an allergy to something I've eaten (I have an averse reaction to peanuts....more on that in future!), and my mum asked if it was the detergent I was using. I figured it can't be cos' I've always used the same detergent (though allergies do sometimes react to something you commonly used. probably the chemicals build up to a point where your skin starts reacting - so you may still want to consider that) and also, I use very little detergent in my washing.

However, it made me consider that the liquid body soap I use might be a possible culprit - so I resumed using the Ergo QV liquid soap which is supposed to be very gentle to the skin and the itch really started to ease!  But at $30 for 1 litre (more than 3 times the usual price of a normal liquid soap for the same amount!) - i was certainly not loving the price!  Also it contains  SLS and parabens (bad bad BAD for us - but it's so commonly used in many of the products we use daily - so while I can't eliminate them, i try to reduce them as far as possible), so i started seeing what could be a longer term sustainable solution to preventing the itch!

[caption id="attachment_62" align="alignnone" width="340"] a body wash that is indeed gentle but pretty expensive.[/caption]

i stumbled upon my stash of L'Occitane bar soaps I had stashed for YEARS!  5 years to be exact - cos' they came in the hotel we stayed in for our wedding!  so i started using it, and yes! it works just as well - still no itch, and psychologically i felt better cos' the ingredients didn't contain all those weird chemicals. and also, another important point - it lasts pretty long!

Over the past couple of months - i tried quite a number of soaps and here's a rundown!

L'Occitane 

didn't pay for this but think it's less than $10 per 100g bar.

[caption id="attachment_64" align="alignnone" width="225"] gentle bar soap[/caption]

pros:

• gentle mild soap

cons:

• slightly waxy after feel which i didn't quite like


• didn't manage to scrub me as clean as I like at the armpits! (i suppose I could use a hand scrubby thingy - but i'm lazy).

Dr Bronner's Organic Soap (I used the Citrus Orange Bar Soap)

$7+ per 140g bar (bought at NTUC Finest Marine Parade - organic section near the escalator)

[caption id="attachment_65" align="alignnone" width="274"] I LOVE the smells - even better when I know they are natural oils![/caption]

pros:

• made from organic oils


• smells darn good


• lathers well

cons

• somehow the soap seems to run down quite fast.  or maybe i love it sooo much that i happily used it so often.

Mount Sapola  (I have only used the Lemon Gingergrass)

$8.20 per 120g bar

[caption id="attachment_67" align="alignnone" width="609"] my stash of Mount Sapola bar soaps which i bought from Bangkok! this is only half of what I actually have! sufficient to last me a good year I think![/caption]

pros:

• smells great


• natural ingredients


• scrubs really well!

cons:

• a tad expensive ($8.20 per 120g bar)

VERDICT

My favourites are Dr Bronner's and Mount Sapola.

I would love to try more of Dr Bronner's soap, but managed to get Mount Sapola's soap cheaper in my recent holiday to Bangkok - and after conversion it's about $5 per bar - so now i have no worries for a good year!

Also, I like the 'scrubbing' effect that the ginger has in the bar soap - makes me pits smell good. :)

So if you do have sensitive / dry skins - you can try soaps that do not contain the normal chemicals and see how your skin reacts (I'm pretty sure it will turn out all the better). I'm sure there are good liquid soaps (you could try Su Kin - a huge bottle at $30 and sans nasty chemicals).  The reason why i use bar soaps? cos' economically it's more value for money - cos' liquids generally are more expensive and run down pretty fast.  The bar soaps generally lasts me 1 - 1.5 months.

I heard that Lush body soaps are pretty good too - made from natural ingredients as well.  I would try it if it's convenient, but meanwhile, I will happily soap up with my bar soap.

Skin! Ecezma.

Did you know that our skin is the largest organ in our body?

I have to admit that I am one lucky gal - I have been blessed with good (face) skin for most of my life - but i also have my fair share of skin problems (mostly on the rest of the body!).

I know how terrible it is to have skin problems cos' it is downright uncomfortable or even painful!  So I'm going to share my skin issues with you - and if you have something similar - I hope you are able to figure out a solution - just as i have figured out mine!    Today's topic?  Eczema!

 

When I was young - I suffered from pretty bad eczema on my feet. It was dry and cracked so bad that my skin spilt apart and started to bleed - serious. no kidding. I resorted to walking only on my heels when my toes and upper half of my feet were bleeding - and then well....my heels started cracking and bleeding too.  It was a miserable and painful and I really didn't know what to do.  My mum bought me to the doctor, and they prescribe some medicated cream, but it didn't help much (not that i recalled) and something as simple as walking that most people can take for granted - hurt alot for me. 

[caption id="attachment_45" align="alignnone" width="598"] okay, i figured, a photo of a pretty feet is wayyyy better than one that is cracking/peeling and bleeding huh?[/caption]

Doctors do what they can to help diagnose your problem, but from experience I realise it is also up to ourselves to figure out what our triggers are and what works. most of the time - it is after much head scratching and trying out different methods that I found what was causing me pain, and from there - find some solutions.  

So if you are suffering from eczema, your triggers may not be the same as mine, but I hope in sharing - you might be able to start figuring out what is causing your pain.  

 

Essentially - my skin is sensitive to dirt.  and I didn't know I was subjecting my poor feet to loads of stress by walking barefooted in the house.  and when it couldn't take the stress from the dirt - it retaliated in the only way it knew how to - mild peeling at first, and then cracking and then bleeding...  

 

so what helped?   

 

1. Wearing Slippers. 

[caption id="attachment_46" align="alignnone" width="300"] yup, i wore these plain unassuming plastic slippers and they saved me from much pain![/caption]

 

Ha! so simple right!  But boy oh boy - i dunno why - but I only wore slippers after years of suffering.  Probably only when it hurt sooo much and became pretty unbearable that I somehow started wearing slippers - my skin improved and bleed less.  but they still bleed cos it was dry! so i started....

 

2. Moisturising my feet. 

 

another really simple and straight forward solution.  I used normal off-the-shelf moisturisers (hey! i was only 10+ so i just used whatever was in the house), and they helped alleviate the dryness - but still my feet were still awfully dry and a huge mess.  I was embarrassed if anyone ever had to see my feet cos' they were just in terrible form from all the cracking and skin peeling and bleeding. 

 

Then I found the PERFECT moisturiser!  okay - it was my mum :)  She (or we....i can't rem) was on holiday and bought Body Shop's HEMP FOOT PROTECTOR!    Initially when she bought the moisturiser - i was skeptical whether it would work cos' the cream is so liquidly!  I still remember thinking 'huh. so liquid ah.  absorb so fast - sure or not.  maybe like the other mositurizers - sure don't work one' (they changed the formulae over the years and it's thicker consistency now).  

and lo and behold - to my utter amazement, my skin on my feet improved TREMENDOUSLY within the week!  after daily usage and in a couple of months - my feet was transformed from a cracking, peeling, bleeding mess - to a normal looking feet.  it worked like a MIRACLE!  I'm not kidding nor exaggerating - the transformation was huge.  and for someone to have 'normal' feet after years of suffering is such an unbelievable relief!  I think by allowing the skin to retain its mositure - it helped in the healing of poor feet.  

 

so here it is - the first of my SUPER LOVE. I have been using it for 10 years already and I haven't not stopped - simply cos' it works for me.  It's not available in Singapore where I live - cos' it contains cannabis or something - so i get my stash from relatives who visit Australia. or well there is always online shopping!

 

[caption id="attachment_47" align="alignnone" width="870"] Body Shop Hemp Foot Protector! if you suffer from very dry skin - this is a miracle!  for being such a amazing product in my life - it deserves a HUGE photo space! yay!![/caption]