Back to work real soon...

Mixed feelings about having to go back to work next week. On the one hand, it means that I can actually step out of the house 'legally' because no longer on sick leave. And it will be good to go back to work. Am mentally prepared that I have a lot of catching up to do and it's going to be a super busy few weeks but am rested so bring it on! :o)

Things that I will miss - my afternoon naps (yes, am very spoilt after two weeks of taking afternoon naps), watching Oprah in the afternoon and the one that's top on my list is my craftwork. I stopped crafting for sometime cuz I usually tired at the end of the day to do anything after. And on weekends, I just don't want to do anything :o) So these two weeks have been good cuz I managed to catch up on things that I had in my mind for sometime and finally did something about it. I am hoping, really really hoping that I will be able to do a wee bit more especially during weekends as part of my vegging out.

So what have I been up to. While it goes back for a little bit. I was very inspired by Bernie, a dear friend, when four of us met up to celebrate MBA day. We had a good night and you can read all about it on Fiona's blog. Alrighty, I am digressing. Where was I...crafting. Okay, I loved the look that Bernie had that night with the flower in her hair. It just screamed tropical island babe and I like that idea. So sketched some and thought about it some and I came up (and still making) several cloth dolls using that idea and combining my love for beading too. I want to thank Bernie for being my source of inspiration for these dolls!! Thanks dear!!!

So here are my Flower Gals Series (well only three of them for now but it's a start). Am working on the fourth one at the moment but she's at the 'head' stage only :o)

This is the first one that I made over the nice long National Day weekend. She's wearing a cheongsam with some details on the front. She's wearing a strand of bone beads and 'jade' looking earrings (I think those are agate beads).

This is the second one that I was toying with. Wasn't sure what I wanted for her outfit - something casual yet chic I guess.

And this third one is currently my favourite cuz I had in mind a doll that's funky, totally wild and cool. She's wearing a cool sleeveless baby-doll dress that's a little longer with bright orange knee-length boots. And that shawl has a raw look to it (nope, it's not because I was too lazy to sew up the sides but I really wanted that raw rough look). She's not complete yet cuz I have not accessories her yet. Am still looking through my beads to find that perfect accessories for her (yes, yes, I get very anal about these things).

Like I said before, they are not ready yet but just wanted to post them up, plus hopefully be a reminder to me to make time to do what I really enjoy to balance work with something fun. So keep a look out for the other girls that will join these three. Won't be so soon but definitely akan datang.

Turning 35.

Yup, I am 35 today. What does it mean to be 35? Basically it means that if I choose to do so, I can now go ahead and buy a second-hand HDB flat of my choice. And right now, the cost of housing is at its highest so that's a sign that I should not get that flat just yet though it's an idea I have been toying with for the last year.

Other than that, nothing else changes actually. Life will go on as per normal. I will still get up each morning to go to work. Over the weekend, I will head out with family or friends, catch a movie, have a nice meal or just veg out. But I guess at 35, I realise that I need to make things happen rather than wait for things to happen for me. I know that for quite some time but knowing and doing something about it is totally different. So will I do something about it this year? Will I go forth and do what I really want? Than that would take me to think about what is it that I really want. I mean, REALLY want.

So far, I've done things that happen to come my way and I have been pretty luck in the sense that it's been good thus far. I have always taken the safe route and did what was expected of me. And there's nothing wrong with that. But for the last few years, I have been having this nagging feeling of restlessness, been questioning my existence on earth and what else I can do to make a difference. And honestly, I have not thought about this seriously. Maybe turning 35 is the right time for me to start thinking about the next phase in my life and the direction I want to go rather than just going with the flow. Hmmm, definitely something for me to think about ....

Note: The lovely jelly was made my a wonderful lady who has really mastered the art of making the jelly in the shape of the sunflower, which happens to be my favourite flower. The seeds in the centre is actually chocolate coated sunflower seed. Yummy!!!

My plans for the weekend ...

I had it all planned out for this weekend some time back. Would have been working hard over the week so the weekend would be a real treat.

Over the weekend, I wanted to pop over to two markets that were new to me. Have never been to them so it would have been real great to be able to check them out. First one is Fash Bash and from their website, it's the first fashion bazaar where you can (i) buy, sell and barter pre-loved designer togs and accessories and (ii) snap up pieces from the latest collection, or discounted items from past seasons, and even grab stuff hot off the samples racks of local emergent and indie designer labels!

It's held over the weekend on 18 and 19 August 2007 from 11am to 6pm. If you're keen to check it out, head down to Curiocity Gallery @ NAFA Campus II (38 Bencoolen Street, #A1-02). And I even found where the place was while walking after eating too much prata last weekend. The second one is the Singapore River Market. Was quite excited cuz not seen this one and after the market at Stadium Cove closed down, was hoping that another one along the river/sea cuz the view would be awesome and I think the Singapore River is an excellent site as long as they keep the quality of the vendors good. That was the turning point for the Stadium Cove not being successful as a weekend market. They started with good vendors but cuz of the high rental cost, they started offering cheaper rates and brought in the pasar malam crowd that sold cheap mass produced items. And it started to become a heartland pasar malam in a classy location. A totally waste cuz I thought that one had the potential to be something as grand as the weekend market at The Rocks in Sydney, Australia. So will keep my fingers cross that this one by the river will survive.

Another treat for the weekend was to catch The King and I. I mean, we all grew up watching the movie ya and loved it so watching the musical would be just as fantastic - the colours, the music, the costumes, everything. Plus it would probably have included with makan before or after the show somewhere at the bay. Anyways, if you're going do let me know how it goes. It's on till 26 August so I might still be able to catch it ya.

So what's the new plan for the weekend? At 11.56am, I am not sure yet. Will think about it for now :o) It won't be work cuz I'll keep that for Monday. There's time for work then.

Two posts in one day...wow!

Two posts in a day, now this is a real treat for me cuz if I hadn't been down with chicken pox, it would probably take me a few more weekends before I would post something. So maybe this time at home is a good thing. If only it didn't come with blisters and itchy spots, it would be perfect!

I'm also quite amazed that my appetite has not been badly affected. Well initially the first two days I didn't feel like eating but that can't be 100% it cuz I did end up munching on snacks. If I had a tub of ice-cream, especially Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Ice-Cream, I would have had no problems polishing the whole pint. Despite my throat being painful, I still manage to down food like today's dinner. I decided to not bother with my Cohen diet cuz am sick and don't need to be on a diet when I'm sick right *laughs*

Home alone and I couldn't order anything in (probably delivery person would faint at the sight of me covered with calamine lotion all over include my face!) and didn't feel like KFC chicken or pizza. So looked at what I had at home and found pasta, can of mushroom soup, had mushrooms, tomatoes and chicken meat. So put it all together and made chicken and mushroom pasta. And it's not too bad. Here's how it looks.

I am a very visual person. When I started on Cohen diet, I actually bought pretty little plates for me to use cuz the portions I had would be small and eating from pretty plates helped (psychologically but who cares right). So having to down Ling Yang drink (herbal drink), unsweetened barley drink and Blackcurrant Vit C drink is not easy cuz the first two drinks taste horrid. But drinking from a nice glass helps alot. Hey, whatever works ya.

Got some leftover pasta so might have that for another meal on another day. Now what should I do next? Any ideas? :o)

Four days into having Chicken Pox...

Chicken Pox at my age is very unpleasant. Chicken pox at any age is unpleasant. If there are things that I can wish off this Earth, one of them would be chicken pox. Other than plotting my blisters/spots on a body sketch, what else have I been up to? Well let's see. Have been catching up on my DVDs. Have been watching Monk Season 5 cuz it's the easiest to watch at this state and finally sat down to google some about chicken pox.

All this while, have been getting advice and dos and don'ts from family members and close friends who have gone through chicken pox themselves. But am rather curious cuz I am panicking looking at the amount of spots/blisters that I have and I have no basis for comparison. Is it normal to have this many or should I be calling the doctor? Yes, me being so paranoid could be the overdose of Monk that I have been watching *laughs* I am also curious as to how many more days would this popping of spots/blisters continue cuz am itching like crazy!!

So this is what I found out from this site that's easy enough to read:

From the sites, there is a list of myths such as restriction of food that are dark e.g. dark soya sauce, because it will leave dark scars and restriction of certain types of food, like chicken, prawns and crabs for four months because it is “poisonous and gets very itchy.” Hmmm, I've heard similar advices and it may be a myth but I am just going to play safe and stay away from soya sauce and seafood.

This diagram on that site I found real useful. Let's see, I went to the doctor on Wednesday but had some blisters on my scalp and three on my face (but I thought it was stress breakout) on Tuesday and pounding headaches since Monday. Wednesday was when the red spots and blisters popped out on my whole body proper. So let's take Tuesday as day one then.

At the moment, I have red spots and blisters and no crusting yet. Am still waiting for the crusting part to take place. Patience is not a virtue that I have so this is really difficult part of the recovery process. So if I use this diagram as a gauge, I should be crusting on Sunday. So let's see how it goes.

Been told to not scratch so that the blisters don't break. What if they break on their own like the ones on my face? I didn't do anything and they broke on their own *wails* Does it mean that there's going to be nasty scars? As for on my body, how does one sleep cuz I have this fear that I will burst the blisters on my back. Have been sleeping on my side but it's not the most comfortable. Plus not getting much sleep cuz have to be up ever 4 hours to take my meds. So how is one suppose to get some rest like this? I do wonder.

Anyways, more updates on my not so interesting adventure as I take this chicken pox journey *rolls eyes*

Early birthday present :o(

I will be turning 35 on this Sunday, 19 August 2007 and I was looking forward as we're going to catch the musical King and I. We got the tickets a long time ago and all set to watch it as a birthday treat.

Have been having headaches (thought I didn't sleep properly) for the last two days and backache (thought it's due to my period), I got up today, another ordinary work day to get ready. In the shower, I was thinking that I must be stressed cuz I was breaking out on my face. Then I realised I had little bubbles on my back and some of my hand. Started panicking cuz I didn't know what it could possibly be. And my Mom took a good look and declared it as CHICKEN POX!

Can you imagine getting chicken pox at 34!!! Who gets chicken pox at this age??!!!? Serve me right for keep delaying and not getting the vaccination before. I had rubbed shoulders with many young charges at work who had chicken pox but I didn't get it (just the psychological itching) so I took it for granted. And finally, I have been humbled and got chicken pox from a 7 year old *shakes head*

I went to the doctor who confirmed that it's chicken pox and declared that I had to stay at home for 8 days. 8 long days. I mean, I love the break away from home but not this way where I won't be even be able to leave the house. Like what am I suppose to do?

So I armed myself for this 'battle' and took the advice given by experts on this matter seriously:

Advice from Doctor:

1. I succumbed to chicken pox because immune system low so have a whole lot of medicine to take for the chicken pox and itching

2. Also have to load up on Vitamin C (Redoxon 1000mg)

Advice from Sinseh: (traditional Chinese medicinal shop)

1. Drink one bottle of Ling Yang Drink (A herbal drink made from shaved antelope horn - which is suppose to be cooling and will help with the fever. Might cause more bumps but it's suppose to get it out of the body).

2. Use cooling lotion (Calomine lotion) to help with the itching.

Advice from dear Mom:

1. Change bedsheets every other day.

2. Change bath towel every day.

3. Drink / eat at least two oranges each day.

4. Drink lots of unsweetened Barley drink to cool body down.

So lots of advice from people and I have armed myself with everything listed above. Am wondering if there is such a thing as overdosing on cooling / vitamin C *laughs* Anyways, I was sooo bored the first hour at home that I sketched this. Please excuse me cuz am not good at drawing but I was bored enough to plot where my bumps can be found.

Am wondering if I can actually do any sewing. Sounds stupid but I am at the contagious stage so would I be passing it if I sewed cloth dolls at this stage? Something to google.

So looks like I can catch up on my blogging and and pay my bills online for the next 8 days to keep my sanity intact and me not scratch my scalp off.