3rd scan - hopeful ER on Wed

And we were back at kkh again this morning for another scan to determine if I am good enough for retrieval on Wed. We were abit late, reaching only at 9:10am and waited about an hour for the scan, 45mins for consultation, 20mins at the pharmacy.  OK not too bad today, I have 2 follies measuring 17mm, 3 at 14-15mm and a good number of them at 9-13mm.  I hope to have more of them grown to 17mm .. must go home and pray. 

so early yet so packed ~ there wasn't a seat unoccupied saved for the ones outside the consultation rooms

I forgot to bring my left-over drugs this morning so they could not tell if I had enough of Gonal-f.  I am certain I have enough Lucrin to last another jab though.  I saw another dr today, she looks like a south african, very very dark and twisted hair. LOL .. anyway given the time I am probably dued for ER, they do not want to despatch a full 300units gonal-f.  That pen which will see me through 2 jabs will cost about $205.  And so, dr prescribed me with 2 x 75units & told me to return the next day.  And I dutifully collected my appointment form and headed to the pharmacy for my prescription.  Oh my! A days' Gonal-f actually cost a good $110.10!

And I finally reached office at 11:50am.  I had been reading and replying messages on my BB while waiting at kkh and I knew how busy I'm going to be today, given that I have had the entire morning gone.  Thank God for his blessing. I was talking to Kristy at the pantry and decided to open the new gonal-f box.  I was surprised to see not a pen, but a pre-filled syringe, a bottle containing some white powder, and two needles, one fine & one frightfully thick!  I rang kkh and was told to return so they could tell me how to administer the drug. Apparently the nurse had forgotten to tell me to return after collecting it at the pharmacy!  OK fine, since everyone was out for lunch, I had vince come and send me over.  They had cleared all patients and I was the only patient at kkh.  ivf centre starts their day real early & ends early too.  Sara taught me how to but did the jab for me & i returned to the office in exactly an hour since I left for kkh.  Not too bad, but I have to stay back to catch up on work.

Naturally, 有人欢喜有人愁. While I am happy that D-Day is drawing near, my boss is pretty unhappy about my impending 2 weeks hospitalisation leave.  She aint happy about the scan I had to do every morning as well.  She told my colleaguse this is "not a good time" for me to go on such leaves & that I should have given IVF a go when I had lessor projects on hand.  I was not disappointed at what was being said because I had expected that from her.  Women who conceive easily will never feel for me, what I had to go through.  The fact is, I have been trying for a 2nd child for a few years.  And I remembered a couple of years back, when Audrey said she was ready for a child and will be planning for one, I was told to judge and not clash with hers.  So tell me, when then is a good time?  It was a big decision for me to go for IVF.

I know of people wh go through all kinds of alternatives treatment and not give any consideration to IVF. I was like that too.  For years, I had seen different gynaes, seen different TMC, taken horribly awful chinese medicine, swallow tons of pills and supplements, acupuncture, etc.   If I had known those were useless, I would still have hesitated if I should go for IVF.  And boss, yes I will come back to work after 2 wks and no, I am not lazy and certainly not a dumb cow (like someone) who uses all sorts of lousy and stupid excuses not to come to work just becuase she is pregnant.  No I will still do my work, but you might want to know that morning sickness is something no one can control? And no, don't worry, I ain't going to put myself through another of this cycle if this one fails, though I should have enough embryos to freeze for a frozen cycle. And boss, please be aware too, that my success rate is only 30% and will decrease with age. So, tell me, when is a good time for IVF?

dr said "no worries"

I continued to have brown discharge this morning.  I think it shouldn't be anything serious because my ovaries are now working very very hard.  After all, I am having about 15 follicles growing at an amazing rate in each of them. I cannot start to imagine how "swollen" my ovaries are right now.  I jsut received a reply fr dr loh confirming that the discharge is nothing to worry about and I heaved a sigh of relief.  There's nothing more comforting than hearing that from your doctor.

I had a good 8 hours sleep last night and woke up feeling much better than yesterday.  It wasn't so hard to take two packs of immunocol + 3 hard boil egg whites after all.  I got to persevere and continue to increase my protein intake. 

increased risk of OHSS

                                                    These two folks followed me to kkh today ~

my silly son .. forever so energetic, be it 8am in the morning or 8pm at night ..

I have been suffering from back ache, sore knee & ankle 3 nights in a row & it made me wonder if i am OHSS .. We were at the hospital again this morning and got myself a shock.. Shocked because instead of 15, the scan showed 16+13 follicles, and was told of my increased risk in OHSS .. *oops* i really should have tried harder on my protein intake ..the follies are growing really fast, given that the last scan was just 2 days ago. There were at least 3 above 14 and majority above 10.  Dr thinks i should be ready to retrieve them this coming Wed. I believe the scan next Mon should confirm this .. and this means I have to start handling over my work to various colleagues when I go back to the office on Monday ~  Lily is not going to be pleased.. after all, there are once again manpower shortage in our team, and with Ronald going Beijing for 3-4 months !! I know its not a good time for me to go on hospitalization leave but hey! when then is a good time? I am 37 going on 38, I have been with this company for more than 4yrs with record low MC rate.. I just have to think of myself first this time round.

Perhaps it is the fear of falling into the curse of OHSS, perhaps it is due to my lack of sleep but i was so so tired today. Thank God for Vince is not working today and besides being my chauffeur, he sent me to mom's place so I could nap while he sent Ky to swim class ..

I also discovered brown discharge when i went to the toilet earlier. I hope its nothing alarming .. after all the jabs I've administered, the last I need is to be told the cycle have to be aborted :( .. *keeping my fingers crossed* and hopefully the 3 eggs i ate at yakun this afternoon will help prevent the onset of OHSS ~

so how are you my follicles?

Again the room was packed when we reached KKH for our 9am appointment. I got my scan done an hour later, and consulted the dr after waiting another 30mins.

I have a total of 15 follicles today, of various sizes, ranging from mostly 6-9mm.  A couple of them are between 10.x - 11.3mm.  Dr said once a few reaches 17-18mm, they will be extracted. I was hoping I could retrieve like 25 eggs ~ so i got abit upset. 

I took a gonal jab at the dr's office and with one last dosage for tomorrow night. Another appointment has been set for coming Sat 9am to see how my follicles are growing & hopefully more will emerge!!

And as Irene suggested, I'm going home to indulge in protein.

time for stimulation ~

And so its been 17 days since I first started on lucrin. I am pretty sure I am not suffering ill effects from lucrin, except perhaps a little soreness at my legs .. and maybe some mood-swing .. I could be perfectly happy one moment and nasty the next.  Then again, Vince said I have always been like that .. zzz ... I contribute that to my PCO.  Haha ..

I started on gonal last evening. The pre-filled pen with screw in needles is fat but easier to manage than Lurin.

150 units ~ a minimum dosage to begin with .. especially with PCO patients like me

1. Sterilize the table top with alcohol wipe

2. Remove pen from pack, clean head with alcohol wipe

3. Screw in needle, remove outer cap

4. Pinch a fat middle, 2 fingers away from belly button, clean with alcohol wipe

5. Remove inner cap from pen & punge in needle

Holding the pen securely against belly & pushing the drug using my thumb

Count to 5 and pull needle out

and i'm a syringe collector!!

Ju and her dy dy

Julia is touring Taiwan before she begins work at a new company but her poor puppy is at home missing her.. I have a slight aversion to animals .. mainly because i do not fancy having some fluffy thingy running his/her tongue along my limbs .. I tried visiting my parents in long pants but i still cannot bring myself to play with dy dy ..

this is a super duper 笨狗！ the moment he heard us, he scrambled to the farthest end in the kitchen and stayed there for the longest time..

We were all laughing at him .. i believe he will be fuming if he could understand human languages ~ 

We finally managed to lure him out of his hideout but all he does was hide under the table.. very often, he would be either at the door watching out for don’t know who (maybe its julia?) likely to be julia, the one person who loves him most, who hugs him to sleep every night .. wooo I have to say something about this dy dy cuz he is really such a sweet thing ..  Apparently, he is very attached to my mom.  He reacts to her call for “paw” and “stand up” etc, those small little commands which I suppose ju taught him .. and he allows mom to carry and hug him .. allows mom to tickle him, and he snuggles up to mom and seems happy enough lying his head on her arm ..

We were sitting around watching TV and I saw dy dy going to/fro the gate, seemingly waiting for his owner to return .. poor dy dy .. i wish you understood when i said Ju won be home till another 2 weeks ~ 

When we were having dinner, I was kind of scared that dy dy will hang around me .. kyros chased him around the house and finally cornered him back to the farthest end of the kitchen ~!! mom then caged him .. and before going home, I decided to try a hand at him .. i said "paw, dy dy" and amazingly he gives his paw to me! he was skeptical about me i guess .. and was going to and fro, giving me his paw and retreating, giving again, and retreating .. but i was happy when he stood on his hind when i said "up dy dy". haha .. He allows me to pet him.. Ju said dy dy was brutally bashed by his previous owner, and thus he is now extremely timid. From the day Ju brought him home, he steers clear of dad, regardless that dad was the one who fed him, who tried to play with him .. haha .. he simply runs away when dad goes near, and he runs when dad wanted to carry him .. it was so funny seeing an old man and a 笨狗 playing hide-and-seek

photo taking

vince is home! finally someone to take pictures of how i administer daily jabs .. heheh .. here i am drawing lucrin into the syringe

after cleaning the area where I'm going to jab with alcohol swap .. the needle goes in ~ 

Its in~!! 

my collection of syringes .. i was told to bring them back to the hospital for disposal ~

2nd Jab all alone at home ~

It wasn't so bad preparing to self administer my 2nd jab at home, all alone. I went to youtube and watched how others carried out the jabs and was appalled at the carelessness they were administered. I decided KKH is more kiasu. I've got more swaps than I need so i used it to clean the table top as part of my preparation for the jab. I had initially thought to just lay a few pieces of kitchen towel on the table instead of cleaning it with swaps and spirits. I was still hesitating before plunging the needle in but i held my breathe and did it anyway. I forgot to count to 5 before pulling the syringe out though .. shouldn't matter i guess? Ok I believe I am going to get better with time ~ God Bless Me ~ and yes i slept with my toilet lights on .. something I never fail to do everytime Vince is away :(

and the good news for vince is, dr loh confirmed we can now resume sex & i can stop taking metfomin ..!!

Day 1 Lucrin ~

I finally made my way down to KKHIVF centre yesterday to collect the first drug to begin my IVF cycle & to of course learn how to self administer the jabs .. After dropping my appointment card & blood test slip(HIV test for vince), we waited for our turn. I signed documents for medisave withdrawal & was given a prescription for lucrin to collect at the pharmacy. Though the room was relatively empty, I waited 30mins for my drugs .. i was pissed! I cannot understand how I had to wait for 30mins when there were so few patients waiting to collect medicine? and everyone else seems to get theirs before me..?? soon, most of the seats were occupied, and my number was finally called. I gave a bored & uninterested look to the staff dispensing drugs .. afterall, the IVF nurse is going to explain how to administer the drugs to me so I didnt think she should waste time by explaining more. The staff was nice (i think my raging hormones made me unfriendly), she asked if i'm ok because i looked tired. I said I am pissed at the long wait. Haha .. what a bitch!

So finally, I made payment of about $105 & head back to the IVF clinic laden with a whole box of Lucrin syringes, extra syringes, alcohol swaps, and of cos Lucrin. The IVF nurses were really nice. The lady attending to me is in her 50s(my guess) .. and she's so patient. I cannot imagine myself repeating the same procedure everyday and have her kind of patience and kindness.

Vince was keen to learn but I could see that he is at the edge of fainting .. I am not afraid of jabs or having my blood taken but to self jab is something new. I was quite embarrassed because when i rolled up my blouse, my tummy was protruding out .. yeh I'm fat around my middle. I was assured, fat is good for such injections. Haha. Nonetheless, I know I have to get through this all by myself. After my "training" session, I was to do my first jab infront of the nurse. I hesitated for a split second before pushing the needle in .. man! it was painless! but scary the same. I am a brave girl. I believe I can get through the next few weeks.

Lucrin is the 1st step and though the bottle is tiny & less than half filled, I was assured it will last 28 days! I had to give myself 10units daily. This is a hormone suppressant and is supposed to delay the onset of ovulation. Meanwhile, I am to continue micrygynon30. I have to return on 19 Sep 8:00am for scans, blood test to monitor how my body is reacting to the drugs and I suppose to collect the drugs for 2nd stage .. this is supposed to encourage my ovaries to produce more follicles & for them to grow at the same speed for retrieval. With the inclusion of 2nd hormonal drugs, it means I will have to self-administer 2 jabs daily .. while I hope for good results from this IVF, I also hope I can avoid OHSS .. because I am PCO, risk of OHSS is higher .. Must pray~!!

I will be having my 2nd jab tonight and vince is away at BKK till Friday .. even thought we had a small disagreement last night, and we did not talk at all today, I still miss him. Hey hubby, you ought to be more considerate towards me! enduring my temper should be the lest you can do. in fact, all you have to do is contribute your sperm while i go through the jabs, scans, blood tests and delivery, confinement, etc etc etc ..

I had a slight headache after the jab yesterday. I intended to keep to before-bedtime jabs and hope i can avoid the headaches that is expected ..

and irene said i have to start taking this for protein ~ errr . I never like taking milk powder and the like but Irene assured me this is literally tasteless and takes on the taste of whatever i choose to dissolve this in, ie Orange Juice, yakult, etc .. This seems to promise heaps of benefits and costs $100/box of 30 pkts .. it had better be good .. hmmpf!

and the journey begins~

oh well, im just so sick and tired of having to do TCM and IVF alternatives all these years .. yes i do wish for another child especially since i appreciate my own parents for having 3 of us kids. my poor kyros is so lonely ..

through the encouragement of a good friend, i decided to embark on my journey for a second child ~

i called 3 weeks ago and was given an appointment for today with the infamous sf loh .. my appointment was at 3:40pm, clinic D. I reached 10mins ahead and did my registration, and it so happen that the admininistrator attending to me was the nurse for a gynae i used to visit in kkh . she said i looked familiar.. but i doubt haha cos its been like more than 10yrs since i last saw yvonne soong??

anyway, with that previous experience with soong, I knew the wait is going to be real long .. i hadnt had time for lunch so right after registration and having my weight/blood pressure taken, vince and i went for lunch. we returned only around 6pm and waited for about 30mins (or 2 patients) before i got to see sf loh ..

i printed my cycle (2008-2011), wrote down the list of supplements im currently taking, and a brief medical history of what i went through while trying to conceive in 2003 .. it was nice of dr soon to provide me with the details of drugs and dosage.. (though sf loh wasnt impressed with my choice of gynae) .. lol ..

he had intended for me to try conceiving with metformin and clomid .. and thus was surprised all i wanted was to start IVF procedure asap.. lol .. he said im in his generation but thinks like someone of the younger generation cos i want it now, fast, asap. aiyo can he blame me? i'm turning a year older in another 3 days!!

but i decided to humor him nonetheless and agreed to take one mth clomid after simulating menses in May .. and of cos lots of sex .. (vince must be happy to hear that from sf loh) .. but i got him booked for june! its so unbelievable! I'm actually going for IVF! im still very much in a daze .. and i need some time to come to terms with it ~

anyway tmr will be the beginning of my journey ..
folic acid 5mg - once a day
DYDROgesterone 10mg - 1 tab twice a day --> this is supposed to bring on the next cycle
clomiphene 500mg - 2 tabs a day --> day 2 to day 6

and im due for blood test on day 2 or 3 at the clinic
and im to expect a call from the ivf centre whereby an appt will be fixed for me to visit for an ivf briefing
thank god ive got my tubes checked previously at TMC .. so i don hv to go thr that embarassing procedure again .. and did i forget to mention expensive?

grain, wine, oil

2 weeks ago, pastor prince preached on the anoiting oil, specifically [grain, wine, oil] when one brings grain, wine, oil, it pleases God for he remembers his son's death, his son's obedience on dying on the cross for us. and i like all these verses from the bible .. reminds me of my old school days where we had bible knowledge for gce o levels ..

Deuteronomy 7:13
He will love you, bless you, and increase the number of your descendants. He will bless you with children. He will bless your land with produce: grain, new wine, and olive oil. He will bless your herds with calves, and your flocks with lambs and kids. This will all happen in the land the LORD will give you, as he swore to your ancestors. You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle. The LORD will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you.

Deuteronomy 6:5
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deuteronomy 11:13-21
It shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning even to the end of the year. that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil. He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them. Or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you. You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth.

Mark 6:13
They also kept driving out many demons and anointing with oil many who were sick, and healing them.

James 5:14-15
Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will save the person who is sick. The Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

Numbers 15:1-5
Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land where you are to live, which I am giving you,then make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your appointed times, to make a soothing aroma to the LORD, from the herd or from the flock.The one who presents his offering shall present to the LORD a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of oil, and you shall prepare wine for the drink offering, one-fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for each lamb.

Hosea 2:19
I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD. It will come about in that day that I will respond," declares the LORD. "I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth, And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and to the oil, And they will respond to Jezreel."I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they will say, 'You are my God!'"

Revelation 6:5-6
When the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Go!" I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a scale in his hand. I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, or three quarts of barley for a denarius. But don't damage the olive oil or the wine!"

にほんごのべんきょします

６がつ１２にち　もくよび

きのういこまへにほんごをべんきょしました。きのうにほんごのべんきょしますはBasic II - いちばんlessonです。とてもむずかしですがおもしろいです。私の日本ごが下手ですから、まいばんうちに３じかんべんきょしますね。松山せんせいはわたしはいいがくせいです！！

わたしのかぞくはぜんぶで３にんです。おととこどもがひとりいます。あなたのかぞくはぜんぶでなんにんですか？

Sprees and BB

i actually didnt want to use my BTRC BB cream because I don think I can finish those which are already opened for use .. but I am so sick & tired of the pimples which have suddenly appeared everywhere on my jawline .. that I decided BRTC is my last call for help before I visit the physician ..

My review ..

Good!!! wow wow wow! Terrific Oil Control and pretty easy to apply (I think it will be a tad tough if you aint using a base).. a little goes a long way .. (i have to be careful of how I use the tube because its only a miserable 30ml) .. No blotting neccessary and I'm still looking fresh 6hours on.

My recent Spree:

(lasenza)
I have recently gone gaga over strapless bras and have at one go ordered 4 online .. and lasenza was so quick! the items reached sg in just a few days! this sweet angel want to spree again and i'm putting in another 3 .. *oops* ..

(m&s)
corrine said her sister's coming back fm england .. haiz .. and i just cannot quit buying .. so i got her to buy 4 m&s strapless bandeau for me .. cheap leh .. £16.00 and £8.00 each .. im paying abt sg$49 each .. and I've been using m&s since i started working .. a chance not to let go man .. plus i don need to pay for shipping!!

(missha)
i read kimoko's review on missha bb and i went around asking people if they know of anyone going korea... haha .. really gone crazy .. i've 10 bb and still buying *oops* .. thanks to my long time buddy dave, he's got a friend going korea for business and this is my list:

Missha M BB Boomer (11,800원)
Missha M BB Cream Watery SPF 27 / PA++ (11,800원)
Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF42 PA+++ in Shade 23 (15,800원) x 2

I got two perfect cover because its so far the best bb i have tried, its everything i ever wanted for a foundation! actually its just as good as BRTC except the raves on healing properties for BRTC so i am just trying my BRTC out today ..

anyway i didnt think much about getting missha because, firstly, shipping is free, 2ndly i can always re-sell them off ebay or yahoo esp when its the bb crazw now, 3rd but not last, missha is terribly expensive here! perfect cover is a mere 15,800 won which is equavalent to sg$21 .. and the RP in sg is a good $43!! keeping my dainty fingers crosssed.. *waiting patiently*

(drugstore)
I ran out of breathe right nose stripes and shivers at the thought of sleeping without them .. I'm a heavy user of nose stripes .. I bought 2 box during my trip to Japan and I've exhausted them both .. I've another 2 boxes but they are of clear pastic strips and are extremely difficult to use .. I treat them as my backups .. only when I ran out of my regular supply, that is ..

and i have been waiting for someone to post a spree for the last 2 months .. (ahem, i don do lj sprees .. too much rules, too cumbersome, and i'm just so skeptical of the spree organisers) .. and i was surfing last sat to order direct myself when i hit upon fp spree! thanks to mew, i can now look foward to having 2 boxes of breathe right at my door step in a mth's time! i wanted more but i didnt want the adverse effects of over-using them so .. i put in order for 2 (of 38 pces each) though my preferred would have been like 4 boxes? haha .. i read that ones lungs will get lazy if one uses the stripes too frequently but i sleep so so well with them on! arrgh!

(crabtree)

dave is a member and he received a discount voucher of $100 off $300 purchase but damn it! i was so busy i missed the deadline!! since then, wisteria have been on my mind and i'm just waiting to see when he will receive another member offer again .. haha .. and after waiting patiently for 2 months, i finally get the chance to own my wisteria! his voucher is $60 off $200 or $30 off $100 .. and i'm combining purchase with fazilah so .. its about 25% off .. yeah!! im so happy!!! he will be getting them after his exams on 11 june .. and i can look forward to smelling gorgeous with my wisteria edp 50ml and traveller size .. !!

(bodyshop)
reei's a longtime user of bodyshop cleanser and eyegel .. am getting dave to buy more of them for her .. since he can get staff discount .. arrgh but i have to arrange to meet him and the lug the whole lot back home and then to office .. sometimes i wonder why i make myself so busy .. when i don even benefit from it .. haiz .. and i've been doing this for a few years *faint*

加油!!

i heard today, that some people are not included in the training this week (by some big-shot training company) because they failed to hit their sales target. and its so obvious for all to see because the team here is so small .. what a realistic world .. and i feel so sad for them because we sit here and we saw how hard they work .. sales isnt easy .. but still .. haiz .. 加油!! あきらめてはいけない, 辛抱しなさい!! And I will pray for you too!!

せりな 瀬里菜 の BB Reviews

With someone like me, who used to own 2-3 foundations, the number of BB cream i have amassed recently is considered alot!! And because I alternate between the 10 different brands, I myself find it hard to remember which is good and which isnt so fantastic .. which is why i finally decided to post my personal reviews here :)

My BB regime:
cleanse -> dermalogica eyecare spf15 -> sunkiller kurihara makeup base spf 50 +++ -> bb cream -> loose powder

1. Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF42 PA+++ in Shade 21
I'm a MAC NC20 and I feel that is a shade too light for me ..BB doesnt oxidise and so, throughout the day my face is a ligher shade as compared to my neck. This had medium coverage and goes on quite easily. Oil control is relatively good and I only need to blot once in the afternoon.
Overall Rating: 8/10

2. Scandal BB
The content is thick and looks dark and grayish right from the tube and it doesnt go on as smooth as a usual foundation does (i tried this on bare skin). But it goes on better with my makeup base, and I use lessor of it as compared to using this on bareface. Medium to Light coverage, decent oil control and i will need to blot twice a day. This was my very first BB cream and I got it at barely $20, the cheapest of all. I liked this actually and will use this whenever i dont need heavy coverage .. I have no dark eye circles and only need to cover my occasional blemish left behind by angry looking pimples (and I usually uses a separate concealer whenever neccessary).
Overall Rating: 6.5/10

3. Lioele Beyond the Solution BB Cream
Color do not match my skintone .. it appears a little whitish greyish against my neck. Medium to light coverage. Its been 4hrs and i'm seeing just a tad of shine on my nose. I blot about 2-3 times through the day but it says on quite well. I still look very much made-up at the end of the day.. Does not cover my pimple marks and i look a little grey indoors, outdoor i look fair ..
I will rate this 7/10

4. Coogi Flowertox 3Action Super BB Cream SPF25PA
Application was a real breeze and a little goes a long way. Matches my NC20 skintoe 9/10 satisfactorily. Covers well. I dont need a separate concealer for my marks. Oil Control is better than Scandal and Lioele. Blotted just once through the day. Overall Rating: 7/10

5. Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream SPF20
Even though there are many who swore by this, i think its one of the lousiest of all .. it gives me numberous bumps on my face and breaks me out!! the colors is a tad too light for me too .. even though it smells really nice and fresh .. no I won buy this again .. and I'm probably getting rid of this on yahoo.. haha .. I would rate this 5/10.

にほんはだいすきですね

I got some of these during my trip to Japan and some were sent by Mika .. Oh well, I decided I didnt have enough fancl and I regretted I didnt have time to do one last round of shopping before my flight home .. Allen was so sweet to bring these back for me during his last business trip to Tokyo .. One thing I noted about fancl japan SA. .. i bought so much and they didnt give me a single pack of samples but Mika got a decent lot which she sent to me :( tsk tsk tsk .. they probably knew I am a tourist and wont be their long term customer .. cos Mika got a card too .. which she can accummulate stamps and redeem some stuff My favourite green tea chocolates were sent by Mika too! with her compliments .. they cost 32yen each and she bought me a whole box! I think there were more than 30 pces in there .. yippie!! どうもありがとうございます!!

BRTC + Paul & Joe

I got these from the last prestige sale which is held just opposite our office building.. luckily there isnt much P&J stuff on offer unlike the last round .. I was hoping for more blushers actually .. i love their duo crescent blushers .. gosh they are so pigmented and lasts thr the day! Anyway, I can never resist P&J .. they are just so so pretty!

i wanted brtc for the longest time and they finally arrived this morning!! My dearest Perfect Recovery Balm & Perfect Protect SPF 46
btrc is so expensive! i'll post pix soon, and i'll do review once i've got the chance to try them

Mothers' Day

I received this email and I love what it said about BEING A MOTHER ..

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie.

She said, 'I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would Love to spend some time with you.'

The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my Mother, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.

That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. 'What's wrong, are you well,' she asked? My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.

'I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,' I responded 'just the two of us.' She thought about it for a moment, and then said, 'I would like that very much.'

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's.

'I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed,' she said, as she got into the car. 'They can't wait to hear about our meeting.'

We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cosy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady.

After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Half-way through the entrees, I lifted my eyes and saw Mother sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips.

'It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,' she said. 'Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favour,' I responded. During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, 'I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.' I agreed.

'How was your dinner date?' asked my wife when I got home. 'Very nice, much more so than I could have imagined,' I answered.

A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for her. Sometime later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place Mother and I had dined. An attached note said: 'I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; but, nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me.

'I love you, son'

At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: 'I love YOU' and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till some 'other' time.

_____

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby... somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, 'normal' is history.

Somebody said you can't love the second child as much as you love the first... somebody doesn't have two or more children.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labour and delivery....somebody never watched her 'baby' get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten... or on a plane headed for military 'boot camp.'

Somebody said a Mother can stop worrying after her child gets married... somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home... somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her... somebody isn't a mother.

日本わとてもすきです！！

I bought these 3 kitties from Kyoto .. one is for good health, one for relationship and another for popularity i think .. which is which i also cannot remember .. ha .. seen too much, bought too much during that 13D .. WHAT?! i didnt post anything on my 13 days trip to central japan? i came back on 01 april 08 but am already planning for another .. oh well .. the trip's nice .. which includes osaka, kobe, kyoto, hakone, tokyo .. u know? the standard package tour? yeh thats it .. satours not too bad though .. sg tour leader, sam yeo was fun .. cracking lame jokes and saying sg tourists are boring .. LOL .. sushi, sashimi, onigiri, sabu sabu .. *drool.....*

These are just some of my daily supplements .. i have anti-oxident, omega3, spirulina and vitamin C at home which I take before bedtime .. i'm just trying all ways and means to balance my erratic hormones .. I'm just ill-fated to be born with PCO ..


and i think i didnt shop enough .. :(
i want more ! more! more! more agnes b, more blue label, more burberry, more dhc, more visee, more majolica, arrgh! what else did i buy? that my luggage is a full 28.9kg?!! if vince was there, i am sure i would have been more careless with my shopping and make full use of his 30kg too .. ob well, i think the limit is 30kg cos even though its openly stated at 20kg, the ANA checkin women didnt even blink an eye when my one bag was 28.9kg .. i don think i can fly NWA .. cotters on cozycot was complaining how strict they were with their 20kg limit and one cotter had to repack her 24kg luggage to 21kg before she could check in without the extra charges ... goodness me!

Blemish Balm Cream

BB and more BB please!
I'm currently on a BB shopping craze and its my aim to lay hands on as much BB as I can .. In 2 weeks, my BB has grown from 2 to 10 and its still growing! My poor chanel and stephanis, P&J, MAC fdn are all lying at home unloved .. and guess what? I just found out my colleague's brother in law is a korean! oh yes, I have given her all the URL to read about shipping international! She's now as crazy as I am and just last Friday, she was so anxious to own at least one that she went down all the way to RC SF to look for the much raved Aloe BB even though I passed her mine to try .. she didnt believe me when i said i went on 3 different occasions and Aloe was OOS and she ended up with 2 Mushroom BB instead .. gosh! its $65/tube! ex! very very ex! That crazy girl didnt even blink an eye and bought hell lot of other stuff too, like mask, rice scrub, lip glosses, pressed powder, etc etc .. *faint*

30ml BRTC Perfect Recovery Balm
40ml BRTC Perfect Protect SPF 46
50ml Lotus Blossom BB
50ml Coogi Flowertox 3Action Super BB Cream SPF25PA
50ml Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF42 PA+++ in Shade 21
5ml Skin79 VIP Gold Collection Super+ Beblesh Balm SPF25 PA++
50ml Lioele Beyond the Solution BB Cream
50ml Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream SPF20