Archive for March, 2009

It’s Not Nice

16/03/2009

Just before I started to speak last night, I felt a little sore throat.

During my talk, I had one coughing bout.

At the end, I sang along with the young people, not heeding the soreness that was becoming worse.

Then this morning when I woke, I felt rotten.

Hubby made me a pure lemon juice drink. Vile but effective – for a while.

By midmorning my throat felt bad again.

I couldn’t sing during the Sunday service though I did try.

By afternoon, I felt a little better because I had a hot soupy lunch.

Then I got home, and the fever hit. I slept for an hour. Had a big dose of Vitamin C. Downed it and some multivitamins and minerals with homemade pineapple banana juice for good measure.

Now I walk around with two layers of clothings despite living in sunny Malaysia.

Tonight we are supposed to go for a movie all together as a family – my daughter’s birthday and it is her request. I wonder if I will be all right or whether I will pass my bug instead. My throat feels pretty bad. My ears feel perpetually blocked.

Well the one good thing is that they won’t hear my voice very much then!

It never feels nice when one is ill….. Gah!

Posted on Sunday night

The Power of a Shower

15/03/2009

I was soooo tired when I got in just now. It had been a long day, and I had preached at the evening service. I came home to my Hubby’s cheers of Liverpool’s 4-1 win. Then we went for a very late dinner.

By the time I got home, I could barely muster a yawn before I headed for the shower.

That magical word. Shower.

Somehow this simple invention invigorates me!

It’s now half past midnight and I am still awake.

Perhaps I should have left that shower!

Morphing Time

14/03/2009

“It’s morphing time!” used to be the cry of a cartoon series. The green creatures would then change to super heroes and vanquish their common foes.

When faced with opposition, don’t we all sometimes wish we could do similarly? Just change things around in such a way that somehow there would no longer be any obstacles in our life!

But as we all know, cartoon themes are often the wishful thinking of creative people! The attraction comes when the storyline echoes to what we have hidden in our own hearts. Add a good dose of laughter and fun, and the series become a hit with the masses.

In reality, “morphing” takes place over time. When obstacles come, we have choices to make. Each choice has its own consequences – good, bad or neutral. Whatever the choice, there will be changes. The question is what, and in whom.

I believe changes need to start with ourselves first. Then we will see changes in our surroundings. Yes, it’s morphing time all the time!

Irrepressible

12/03/2009

Where there is a will, there is a way…..

No mountain too high…..

Have trolley will travel….

Wait a minute. That last one didn’t seem right.

That’s because I made it up, as a tribute to these two ladies below.chooneanAs you can see, one had a foot in a cast. But that was no deterrent to the intrepid duo as they found ways to overcome this! They commandeered a trolley and a chair instead, laughing over the otherwise adverse situation!

That’s ingenuity with an irrepressible spirit! Great example!

Whoops Did It Again~

11/03/2009

Ate myself silly, that’s what I did.

We were introduced to a couple from England. Got on like a house on fire. Found out that they were at the Sunday Service where I work. Also found out that they knew my brother and sister-in-law when in England! Great fun.

Most fun of all was last night. We had dinner. More specifically, we had crab. And boy did we have crab. Pat enjoyed herself. But Larry….? He was silent throughout most of the meal.

Here are Larry’s hands. larryshandsSays it all huh….

An Embarrassing Topic….?

09/03/2009

Apparently one in three women over 30 suffers from a condition they are too embarrassed to talk about. It’s a condition of affects all ages…. So I have decided to bring it up here!

It’s called LAI, also known as light adult incontinence. Basically, what happens is that our (I say “our” because i am female!) bladder stops working normally. More specifically, the valve at the bottom of our bladders become weak, most commonly because of damaged pelvic-floor muscles. And the most common cause of that is childbirth! If you have studied the physiology involved in the baby’s effect in utero and while making its passage out vaginally, you’d know why!

Women who haven’t had children can also have pelvic-floor weakness as we age because of reduced oestrogen levels during and after the menopause.

End result is difficulty in preventing a urine leak. Stress incontinence is another phrase used. When we laugh too hard, sneeze, cough or do exercise, somehow previously undiscovered urine in our bladder makes its unbidden way out. Panty liners sometimes aren’t enough….

Another type of LAI is when our bladder feels full at wrong times, uncontrollably squeezing out urine even though it is not full. Known as ‘urge incontinence’ – because we often find we have a sudden ‘urge’ to go to the toilet – this sort of bladder become overactive and contracts (squeezes) when we don’t want it to.

Can you identify with any of this? If you can, do not despair. Do not be embarrassed anymore either. Know that you are not alone.

You can learn more about this here

But know that doing pelvic-floor exercises can help to strengthen these weakened muscles and learning relaxation techniques can prevent those interruptions in mid-sentence.

Be bold and speak to a doctor about it. In more than 70 per cent of cases this is a condition that can be treated. We don’t have to suffer in silence. We can improve their daily lives.

For more about pelvic floor muscles, go to here

Viewing Right

08/03/2009

One year ago today, we moved into our new home. When we moved in, the laminate floors were not in place and the window grills were still being done. The stair banister was non-existent and the walls were just painted.

Slowly but surely, we began to do things for the house, transforming it into a home. Pictures began to be hung. The curtains went in – what a cheerful addition that was!

However the one thing that still hasnt been attended to is our television.

You see, we were given a flat screen 42″ television. Here is a photo of it.

tvLooks nice doesnt it? We like it a lot.

The only thing is, we have been resting it on this chest of drawers ever since we got it. Whilst this was a good idea at that time, we now have to consider alternatives because the height of the screen is not quite right. I suppose we need to look for tv stands. That way we can make sure that we are viewing at the right height. Of course, we want it to look nice too. So it’s time to go shopping perhaps!

The One That Got Away….

06/03/2009

It was a gift.

From the neighbour.

We looked forward to having it.

cockerel1Then during the process of tying him up, he fought and the long story cut short is that, yes, he got away.

Somewhere in the jungle of my back garden and the flora next to our house is the meat for our Chinese herbal soup.

Women’s Day

05/03/2009

Apparently it’s Women’s Day this Saturday. I have to confess to not having checked this out.

Rather, I found out about it through a newspaper article.

It’s an interesting idea to celebrate with young handsome hunks washing your car….

Fancy a trip to Singapore this weekend anyone?

Looking Ahead

02/03/2009

When my firstborn son finished his secondary schooling, he was so unsure what to do. There was a time when he wanted to be one thing, and then we had silence for a while. Later he would say another! But, as my husband said, we must not push him. Let him take his time.

We contemplated sending him to the USA for further studies. He would have a few years of basic before he needed to make up his mind. However the information we got was rather scattered. The different people we talked with had differing opinions too. Which state should we begin with? Or which course is best? My aunt in Texas insisted on his going there…..

At such a time, we would have been glad to have had some proefssional advice on degree programs in the United States and Canada.

In the end, however, my son finally opted to try for somewhere nearer – Singapore. We should knowby next month if he is successful.


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