It's Zero

To control our calories intake, Ben and I
- eat McDonald's' once every 2 months
- drink carbonated drinks once every 3 weeks
- drink sweetened drinks once every week
- reduce 30% of our rice intake daily

To be physically fit, Ben and I
- swim at least once every week
- exercise at least 3 times every week

But there is something.. something we just started to taste it and fall in love with... and thank god it doesn't contain sugar, carbo, fat...

2nd Dose of S/C Doramectin

TREVI PM

Okay, I am not angry anymore as Ben said he will get me this if I did not overspent in State.

I AM FUMING !

It is my weekend and I normally enjoy my weekends. It has been so long since I felt this way, YES I AM FUMING!! Damn, does it look intentional? Hate it when my window doesn't have chinese character that I have to trouble Ben to type this and send it back to me, 赔了夫人又折兵 ! and I... * see photos *

Singapore News

Channel NewsAsia - Saturday, October 18

SINGAPORE: Starting from October 24, SMRT will add 112 train trips duringweekdays to ease morning and evening peak hour rush.

SMRT says this is the fourth significant train service enhancement it has made since February 2008.

However, this enhancement is not applicable to public holidays that fall on weekdays.

With the latest improvements, SMRT will have added about 900 extra train trips per week.

— CNA/yt

So now Ben doesn't need to leave the office at 7pm when he is suppose to leave by 6pm because he will definitely able to board the train. There were days he couldn't "squeeze" into the cabin and eventually he "missed" 3 trains.

Channel NewsAsia - Wednesday, October 15

SINGAPORE: Travel agencies are already anticipating the slowdown in the economy will affect travel plans.

One Singapore travel agent plans to slash non—peak season rates by a further 20 per cent, and says five—day tour packages tend to appeal most to holidaymakers.

Deputy general manager for outbound tour at Hong Thai Travel Services, Peggie Chung, said: "For the next year, we plan for a few different countries for special packages to Singaporeans, like S$500 to S$600 tour fare to Taiwan and Vietnam... — all these
packages to fit for Singaporeans.

"I think for this (past) ten years...for Singaporeans, they feel that it is part of their lifestyle... so maybe they are willing to try to keep to their budgets for tours to other countries."

Travel agents catering to a more upmarket segment do not expect their customers to cut back on holiday plans significantly, but say these customers expect quality for the price they pay.

Vice—president for leisure at UOB Travel Planners, Eileen Oh, said: "Overall for Singaporeans, they are in—bred bargain hunters, so they would expect airline prices, tour packages costs to come down during such trying times.

"And as travel agents, we must be ready to take advantage, as such offers from the airlines and hotels... will be low—inventory and short—lived.

"We also foresee that such servicing via online portals escalates. And with this, we will be launching our travel portal by November. Customers can expect a five to ten per cent savings when they do their travel arrangements online."

Oh expects strong demand for high—growth destinations such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Bali and Malaysia in 2009.

— CNA/yt

Our 2009 Taiwan Family Trip is 70% confirmed going!

WARAKU Ladies Night

Calling my ladies makan kakis !!!

Going to...

And my target is 10 laps tonight.

Household Chores

What can I say? I am truly a blissful wife.. *tearing* When Ben wanted me to be a full time housewife, I knew it is because he doesn't want me to get bullied at work. When I promised him I will try my best to become one, I knew he was very happy and felt appreciated.

When I became bored at home, I told him I want to get back to healthcare industry but on part time basis, he agreed. I told him I will be able to juggle the household chores as well as my work but I soon realised I couldn't but he didn't blame me and now, he even plans a timetable to do the household chores.
Monday - MBR
Tuesday - Study Room
Wednesday - Guest Room
Thursday -Dining Room
Friday - Family Room
Saturday - Laundry + Kitchen
Sunday - Bathrooms

From now onwards, he uses one hour each day to clean up the rooms and I just need to settle the 2 boys' war zone.

Pursuit of Happyness

There is no " Y " in happiness?

There is no why in happiness....got it? =)

After watching the trailer again, I have to apologise to Ben for being discouraging sometimes.

Octorber - Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Singapore. In this month, many local agency and organizations (hospitals and polyclinics)will have seminars and workshop for the public to attend so to encourage everyone to do regular breast screening or BSE (breast self examination). Go to KKH now for 30% off walk-in digital mammogram rates or Call 63948076 for more information.

I hate my LongChamp "Les Pliages"

I notice there are actually more and more people started to "appreciate" Longchamp from France. When I started to carry mine in 2006, only one of my friends know about this brand because she owns one herself. In fact, she was surprise that I have it and she even asked if it was a gift from Ben(maybe because of my pathetic pay, she doesn't think I can afford it and YES I was the junior sn back then. Nowadays, MORE AND MORE aunties are carrying it (I really mean it, aunties in their late 40s or early 50s) and more and more people are telling me they got it for few bucks!

I feel like puking when I heard that, seriously! An authentic medium tote's price tag is at least SGD200 and above and these people get it for few bucks! On top of that, YOU CAN'T REALLY TELL IF IT IS REAL OR FAKE!! Unless of course, take a closer look at the leather flap, zipper pull and then pour out everything from the bag to check on the reinforced snaps! Damn...will people think I am carrying a fake longchamp les pliages?

Here is a guide to SPOT THE FAKE from ebay guides and this info are only for those who afraid to get con as there are funny people out there organising BP for longchamp! *faint* and some innocent people are believing they are getting the real stuff

extracted from ebay :
These tips below apply to the Les Pliages line of folding canvas bags (not to Planetes or the leather bags).
I have here pictures of two bags. The blue medium with long handles one is real, and the pink and tan shown are fake. They are "better" than a lot of fakes out there and is a lesson that you have to inspect carefully and ask lots of questions to make sure the bag you are considering is authentic. Many of the fakes I saw on eBay are more obvious than the one here.

Sorry photos are blurry....

GENERAL

The fake is on the left, the real deal on the right. Right away, notice the left bag looks too shiny and the handles don't look right: too short for long handles, and too long for short-handle variant.

Before buying, eyeball the dimensions, check the measurements, then compare with official Longchamp website. Longchamp new colours of the canvas bags 2 times a year (for fall-winter and the spring-summer) but the leather trimming is same always.

Leather
There is contrast stitching on the leather parts of the bag, which is a different colour than the leather itself on the visible side (and same colour as the leather on the back of the flap). Many Pliages I have seen have plastic tubes in the handles, because the leather is soft and not very durable. Real Pliages have no plastic tubes and are made from durable, high-quality leather.

The fake leather looks like a fish-scale pattern, with clean lines of even depth. On authentic bag, it is almost a diamond pattern, and grain is not embossed as deeply as the logo.

Leather Flap

An authentic bag has a jockey logo embossed on both the leather AND the snap. If there is no logo at all..... beware!!!

OLD LOGO: (shown above) There is a jockey on a horse impressed down into the leather, and a straight line underneath. On the knock-off, the logo is not centered above the snap, the lines of the impression are not as clean as on the real, and the horse is lacking details like hooves.

NEW LOGO: (not pictured): Longchamp has introduced a new logo on the leather flap,though on my most recent trip to the shop they had the same bags with different versions of the logos. The new logo has the jockey and horse embossed, so the logo is raised up above the leather. There is _no_ line underneath, and if you look at the back side of the flap there will be a mark where the logo is raised.


The bag above is real. The back of the flap has writing above the stitching. This may, however, vary from bag to bag. On my "shopping" totes the words modèle déposé and made in france are between the lines of stitches (see arrow). Longchamp, Pliages and the name of the bag are above.

Among my real bags, there are variants. On the backpack I saw, the writing is all above the seams. Some say Pliages, some say Le Pliage..I have also heard that Longchamp does not make all bags in France.

Model Name
On my fake, the words modèle déposé are missing the accent marks. In any case, I think you have a fake for sure if the name printed on the back flap does not agree with actual model or it just says the word "type" but not _which_ type:
sac a dos - backpack
type L - large tote, short handles
type M - medium-large tote, short handles
type S - small tote
"shopping" - large tote, long handles; medium tote long handles
cabas - rectangular, no zipper

Reinforced Snaps

An easy one! Real bags have their snaps reinforced with clear plastic discs that extend beyond snaps on the inside of the bag. The foldable Pliages also have snaps near the bottom.

Fabric and Lining
Bags should have crisp seams, and perhaps creases from the original folding. Your bag should fold nicely and the two parts of the snap meet easily. The fabric on fakes I saw is too shiny and texture is much smoother compared with real. If a bag looks too shiny in a photo (see top photo!), you may want to double-check it's other features.

Inside, the plastic coating that lines the bag feels like plastic but not rubbery. For pastel bags (i.e., light blue, pink, etc.), lining should be WHITE, not same color as outside. The tan fake above is lined in tan, when it should be white. Dark colors are lined with black or brown.

Zipper Pull

Longchamp Pliages have round logo zipper pulls, which can be gold or pewter depending on what shape the bag is. The real one is extremely detailed, and on the fake the bodies of the jockey and the horse blend together. Longchamp use YKK zippers, and you can see the letters on the zipper above.

Backside of Flap

Fake bag leather looks hairy and the edges jagged. Real one is also raw but is smooth and clean. On the snap itself, the fake has the words "guang tong" and real says, "ORIGINAL."


Other Bags
From what I've seen on eBay and at places selling knock-offs, the Pliages totes seem to be copied the most, especially small tote, medium shopper with long handles, and large shopper with long handles. But that doesn't mean others aren't. Please notice, this guide does not apply to bags outside the Les Pliages line. The advice stated here is entirely my own personal opinions. Happy shopping!

Guide ID: 10000000006532305Guide created: 04/06/08 (updated 10/07/08)

Migraine

Babysitting

Eh..like "A HAPPY FAMILY" portrait? ..hahahaa.. Actually we babysit little Cheryl today, while her parents went to attend a talk at Victoria St.

So how was it? It was actually quite fun, a good start off to learn about parenting and at the same time, have fun with little Cheryl...

Lunch at Lulu Restaurant. Saw the 3 peach buns? It was foc because Oct is Ben's birthday month.After lunch, we walked into Topshop to look for sun glasses and Cheryl was obviously more enthusiastic than me. Look at our model-to-be.We got sweater for little Cheryl at FOX, not the pink but her "barney" colour..Ice Cream ! Cheryl kept asking for ice-cream the whole afternoon and here we got her banana chocolate and uncle Ben got his a lychee sorbet.

Twistie is 9 ?

We brought Twistie for his appointment at Springside today. As he was the last patient. Dr. Kasey and I spent some time chatting after consultation. Out of curiosity, I asked Kasey about Twistie's age. Frankly speaking, I was a little bit upset when Kasey told me Twistie is estimated to be 9 years old(human age), so if you calculate, he is 63 years old - more health problems as ageing. Sigh. In my heart, he is forever a lively puppy, who is always looking for mummy and wanna be hugged all the time. Just can't imagine how my life would be wihtout him. Kasey loves Twistie a lot too because Twistie really loves sayang sayang and he even rest his head on Kasey's thigh. He used to be very kancheong (nervous)whenever he steps into the clinic, now, Twistie can even play with the nurses.

Updates:
Weight : 6.7kg
Skin Scrape Test:demodex : +ve(alive) Bact ++
We decided to put him off demodex, yeah, the one that cost me a bomb monthly. Now he is on weekly subcutaneous injection (s/c Doramectin 0.39ml). I am confident to give the Inj so I don't need to bring him to the clinic weekly. Why? Because I am a registered nurse.

Urinalysis:
MC: Struvite +++ WBC + Bact ++
To start Hill's C/D diet for a month and TCU 4/52 for r/v.

Xray:

Lateral posterior show no stone formation.

Next tcu will be on 15 Nov 08 and I am glad the bill did not exceeded SGD300.

Will the sun rise for 36 hours on October 17, 2008?

Coming October 17, 2008 the sun will rise continuously for 36 hrs (1.5 days). During this time the US countries will be dark for 1.5 days.
It will convert 3 days into 2 big days. It will happen once in 2400 yrs. We're very lucky to see this.

More like a rumor to me. Let's wait and see..

Say NO to Hair Loss!

I do use comb, but once a day. Yeah, I comb my hair only once a day. Why? My hair has been falling like nobody bussiness! How bad is it? 3 times as bad.

But right now, I comb my hair frequently and I was so happy as there was ZERO hair on my band when I removed it!!

I heart my Head & Shoulders shampoo!

Slurppp...

Tonight we tried mushroom seafood sauce and it tastes even better ..

His Income Tax

For Once, I wish our household income was not so high.. You bet, just received Ben's income tax statement today but Ben thinks otherwise, " I don't mind paying more if I am earning a lot .." Oh please Ben, with this amount, I can get at least 2-3 LV bags ok! *so petty*