New face cream

I bought a new face cream last month. According to my facial lady, the Floxia Rejuvenating Cream removes fine lines and wrinkles, giving the skin a botox-like effect. It was highly recommended so I decided to give it a try.


I used it immediately that night and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not greasy, unlike most night face creams that I had previously tried. It went on smoothly and was very mildly fragranced - another plus point as I steer clear of skincare products that make me smell like a perfume factory. It remains a mystery to me how people could withstand the same overpowering smell that gave me headaches and a light-headed feeling. The next morning, I could see a difference to my face. It felt softer and smoother, and more hydrated. I was excited and motivated enough by the almost instant results to continue using it nightly.

So, after about a month's use now, I am happy with my improved complexion. The Floxia Rejuvenating Cream is no miracle cream so I certainly do not expect to see a face with flawless porcelain-like complexion in the mirror. But I am more than pleased to note that there has been a noticeable improvement.


Edited on 22 March 2008 to add :
My aunt visited me today and remarked that my complexion is now fairer. She just saw me 2 weeks ago! In case you are wondering....Nope, I did not let on my secret. I chose to hug it to myself with a smile.

Kids say the darnest things, don't they?

Hubby left for the airport today while the kids were having their afternoon nap. When they awoke,

Big Buddy asked "Where is Daddy?"

I replied "Daddy has gone to Dubai"

"Dubai what?"

I repeated "He has gone to Dubai".

Big Buddy asked again slowly "Du-bai what?"

"Dubai lah" I was getting impatient now.

"Du-bai what?" Now Big Buddy sounded exasperated.

Then it dawned upon me that Big Buddy might have misunderstood and thought I was saying "to buy" instead! And that was why he kept asking me what his father was buying. I also suddenly remembered that when Hubby went to Dubai last year, Big Buddy asked the same question numerous times.

I then slowly explained that Dubai is a place, a far-away place that requires travelling by aeroplace. I am still unsure if Big Buddy finally understood but at least he has stopped harping on the "Du-bai what?" question.

OPI Polishes

Yipee! Hubby will be making a trip to USA early next month and had asked for my shopping list. Top on my list are some OPI nail lacquers that I have been eyeing for some time. I bought my first few bottles of OPI polishes through an overseas spree and they were so much cheaper than getting them at a local nail salon. However, if Hubby were to help me buy from USA, I can save up on the freight cost.

I just have a thing for OPI nail polishes. After I tried my first bottle, I have been a loyal fan of this brand. I just so love how smoothly the lacquer goes over my nails. Gone were the days of fretting over streaky painted nails and the hassle of having to redo the nails due to blotched application jobs.

And did I mention what fun names they had for their colours? Check out Smok'n In Havana, Did Someone say PARTY? and Did Suzy Sells Sushi by the Seashore. I love the burgundy shade that Mrs O'Leary's BBQ and Malaga Wine give. Dulce de Leche is a neutral shade that is great for normal everyday wear.

I do already have two bottles of reds but I am looking for a fiery red one and I am deciding between An Affair In Red Square or OPI Red. I heard that the latter is the colour that SIA stewardesses are made to wear on their nails. I also want another creamy deep coral for days when I want to be less dramatic. So for this, I am contemplating Kreme de la Kremlin. And just the other day, I saw someone with a fantastic shade of lilac-grey on her toes. I did not think to ask her what shade was that but it seems close to Chicago Champagne Toast.

Browsing the OPI website is dangerous. Most of the colours are so nice and wearable that I am easily tempted to buy more than what I had planned to. So after a few days of mulling over the choices, I have finally settled on the above few colours and will probably make a decision on the red one in another day or so. And in the meantime, I shall not visit the website again lest I add more shades to the shopping list.

Control, control, control thy self.....

My Little Climber

Right from a few months of age, I knew Little Buddy was going to be very athletic. He lifted his head and upper body from a lying-down position at 5 months and sat up at 8 months. Nothing spectacular you might say until you realised that he sat up not by first rolling onto his front and then pushing back till he sat on his bottom. No, not my Little Buddy. He sat up from a lying-down position by doing a sit-up with his stomach muscles!

Since then, I have been more attuned to his physical achievements which came fast and furious once he got onto his two feet. He walked holding onto supports round the house at 15 months and 3 days later, walked unaided. He could walk a small dog on a leash, squat and stand up again without support at 16 months. At 17 months, he kicked balls with one foot while balancing on the other and danced to music at 19 months. Round about that time, he started climbing on those playground structures and insisted played on slides that were taller than a single storey. Those mini slides no longer interest him.

Today though, he amazed me with his athletic prowness by climbing up my body! Literally! I was standing facing him and holding onto his hands. The next moment, he put one foot against my knee and by pulling on my hand, he lifted himself off the floor. He then proceeded to place the other foot on my waist and in this manner, climbed up to almost my shoulder! And Little Buddy seemed to enjoy it!

I will be waiting to see what other antics he gets himself into. At the same time, we do keep a watchful eye on him lest he hurt himself or do something dangerous.

Let's go outdoors!

The past few days have been a blur of visiting, feasting, hosting, feasting and some visiting again. So after breakfast yesterday morning, we piled into the car and headed out to Pasir Ris Park for some family time.

In an attempt to workout some of evils of excessive eating over the CNY, Hubby and I decided to rent a bicycle each at the Bicycle Station. Eventually though, we only took one bicycle as Little Buddy clung onto me and for the life of him, refused to sit in the attached child seat. On the other hand, Big Buddy thoroughly enjoyed his first taste of riding pillion behind his daddy on an adult bicycle.


To my surprise, when Little Buddy and I reached the huge children playground on foot, Hubby and Big Buddy were also there! Apparently when they cycled past the place, Big Buddy could not resist the lure of play and new friends, and insisted on disembarking to have a part of the fun there. The bicycle was thrown aside. The boys then proceeded to climb, slide, jump, crawl, stomp and swing to their hearts' content. Any parent with two active monkeys like mine will tell you it is almost an impossible feat to simultaneously keep an eye on both. With each boy running off in separate directions, deaf to your calls to wait up and entirely oblivious to your distress at having to keep up with them, Hubby and I gave up on our heroic plan to exercise and joined them instead.


We walked to the beach for a breather before going home. People lazed in their tents, others swam in the sea and there was a dog digging at the water's edge. The rolling waves were so gentle that it gave off a rather hypnotic effect.

On the return journey to the Bicycle Station, both kids squabbled and fought over who got to ride on the bicycle. You would have thought Little Buddy will steer clear of it but no, he decided that he wanted to do what his elder brother was doing. And so, Little Buddy had his time on the bicycle.

Reunion Lunch

This year, instead of a home-cooked meal at my sister-in-law's place, we had our reunion lunch at a restaurant. We went to the Bottle Tree Village, an interesting little waterfront place located off Sembawang Park that overlooks the Straits of Johor.

I guess most people usually have theirs as a dinner instead of lunch because we had the whole place to ourselves! There was lots of space for the kids to run around and we did not have to worry about them getting into the way of the restaurant staff and diners. There was even a little playground to keep them well-occupied while we sat down to our meal.

The food was generally sumptuous.

Yu Sheng : Nothing to shout about. Our server gave us a pair of mandarin oranges and wished us before he proceeded to prepare the dish. The appropriate auspicious sayings were uttered as each different ingredient was added. Afterwhich, everyone including Big Buddy stood up to toss Yu Sheng. This is the first year he joined in without tossing the Yu Sheng everywhere except within the dish.

Sharksfin Soup with Beansprouts: This came in generous whole fin servings, not the gooey soup with the occasional sliver of sharksfin that many restaurants tend to serve. The beansprouts added crunchiness to it.

Fish : The red grouper was fresh and thoughfully cut and arranged to allow diners access to the flesh without having to turn the fish from side to side.

Sea Cucumber with Dried Scallop : The sea cucumber was stuffed with minced pork and I though the saltiness of the whole dried scallop gave a good balance to the mildly-flavoured stuffed sea cucumber.

Lobster : This dish deserved a special mention; it was cooked with cheese and corn. Although the restaurant refused to divulge anything further than that, we detected a hint of curry powder in the sauce. Delicious.....we would go back just for the lobster.

Chilli Crab with Mantou : There nothing sensational about the two average-size crabs but the gravy was not overly starchy nor too spicy.

Cold Longan Dessert : The coolness was a good roundup to the whole meal. I thought the bits of colourful 'tadpoles' added some gaiety to an otherwise plain-looking bowl of dessert.

It was a good place and time for a reunion lunch as there was no crowd to jostle with. We may go back on another day for a meal, except that the distance from our home will probaby make us think twice.

Bundles of wealth

I thought it would a nice gesture for Big Buddy to give mandarin oranges to his school teachers, his school bus uncle and lady when school reopens after Chinese New Year. After all, the teachers have been doing a great job teaching and caring for him in school. The bus driver and lady too have been very careful and mindful of child safety while ferrying him to and fro school each day.

However, I doubt if he can handle so many oranges and remember to give a pair to each person. There is a real possibility of him losing some of the oranges on the way to school and I would be terribly embarrassed if he ended up giving only 1 orange to each of his teachers or some other worse scenarios! So I decided to help him by wrapping these bundles of mandarin oranges. I reckon it will be much easier to remember to give a bundle of two mandarin oranges to each of his teachers and the bus driver and lady.

The whole family got involved in the process. Hubby and I cut the orange cellophane wrappers to size, arranged the mandarin oranges, tied the twisties. Big Buddy passed me each sticker to be pasted on while Little Buddy just waved the rolled-up cellophane wrapper around much like a sword. We had such fun together and wrapping the 8 bundles became less of a chore and so much more enjoyable.

If I may say too, the wrapped mandarin oranges look really good and festive with their orange wrappers ..... a pile of Bundles of Wealth.

Yummilicious sweets

We saw these exquisite handmade Japanese sweets last weekend and found them so irresistibly delightful that we just had to buy some. You could even opt to have them put into a beautiful gift box.

Don’t they just cheer you up and bring a smile to your face?