Happy Mother's Day

I want to wish all you moms out there a very Happy Mother's Day! It's a pleasant trip down memory lane for me, remembering wonderful snippets of memories and all the fabulous things our mother did for us when we were young.

I hope every mother out there has a very special day, and gets plenty of kisses, giggles and cuddles from their loved ones. Now that I am a blessed mommy of three, I certainly appreciate the hugs and thoughtful gifts from my children like when they make me some handmade cards and crafts.

Most of all, thank you to all beautiful mothers out there for everything you've done to make our world a better place. Thank you for your guidance and support you've given us, the meals you've provided, the caretaker of us when we were sick and making sure all our physical and emotional needs are met. And if you are not a mother may you have a splendid time with your loved ones too!

This is a photo of my lovely mom. She has always been a true inspiration to me and my family. I love her more than anything in this world. She is my best friend, my confidante, my biggest supporter and always listens to my random ramblings when I'm feeling blue. I'm fortunate to still enjoy time with my mom and I'm thankful she is still in pink of health in her 60's ! Love and hugs to you, mom and thank you for being such a wonderful Mother!

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First Commenter - Nitwit1

My 100th Post

I can't believe that I have finally reached MY 100TH POST. Hooray! When I started this blog last September, it kept me pondering if I would have the willpower to keep up with it. I consider it a tiny milestone of some sort and I’m extremely proud of myself for making it thus far, and I couldn’t be more proud of you for sticking with me! What a rewarding experience it has been - discovering new friends in the blogging community, learning new things and having my favourite place to vent my joys and frustrations. I bet there will be many more amazing things to come and I am looking forward to sharing them with you.

In the meantime, I would like to thank my beloved readers for your continued support in making this blog what it is today, and hope that you continue to leave me wonderful comments. I appreciate your input, they mean a great deal to me.

In honor of MY 100TH POST, here are some heartwarming inspirational quotes to mark the International Women's Day (IWD). I'm glad that it coincides with such a significant occasion which is marked by women's groups worldwide to provide an important platform to inspire women and celebrate their achievements.

"God gave women intuition and femininity. Used properly, the combination easily jumbles the brain of any man I've ever met."
~ Farrah Fawcett~

A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.
~ Diane Mariechild ~

"If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman."
~ Margaret Thatcher~

"Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself."
~ Oprah Winfrey~

"Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of a man at twice its natural size."
~ Virginia Woolf~

"Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the President's spouse. I wish him well!"
~ Barbara Bush~

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!

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First Commenter

Why are men UNFAITHFUL?

Recently, a close friend of mine confided in me that she 's going through a rough patch in her marriage. So rough that most likely she's considering a divorce. The reason she 's seeking divorce is because her hubby has been cheating on her. She was so devastated and her trust in him has diminished completely. I feel sad for her and I can feel her severe pain. If I were in her shoes, I'll be stranded in misery not knowing what to do.

It's truly difficult to advise my friend what to do. It really depends on the condition and she also has to take into consideration that she has two kids with her husband. I fervently hope they can work things out for the sake of their kids. Somehow, that literally depends on her mindset to forgive and his willingness to save their marriage. I guess it takes time to cure all things in good time and hopefully she'll get over this sad episode and be her cheerful self again.

It appears that when a man cheats, the blame usually falls on the wife for not giving her hubby the best intimacy. Apart from that, they engage in affairs due to an unhappy home life and communication breakdown. Well, I'm not saying all men are likely to stray. Some women can be just as bad as well. I’m not in the position of giving judgment, as I always believe that you cannot totally understand them unless you encounter the same situation as they are. So far, my hubby is faithful to me and we still have that special spark between us.

Why are men unfaithful? Boredom? Unfulfilled Desires? Nagging wife? Pretty woman with a voluptuous body? Not getting attention? HOW TO STOP THEM?

Annual PAP SMEAR test

Getting a pap smear is not cool for me. If you have not experienced a pap smear test before, you are most likely nervous, apprehensive and anxious about getting it done for the very first time. That was how I reacted a few years ago, a combo of all three. Suffice to say, in my entire life, I had only two PAP Smears done. I used to dread the idea of going for my yearly routine so much and I would conjure up all kinds of lame excuses. I'm constantly putting my needs aside and more often, there's always bound to be some family affairs to attend to. Fortunately, my path to healthy lifestyle got the better of me.

Yesterday was the day indeed. Until this point, I was expecting the discomfort of getting on the bed under glaring lights, taking off my pants, bending my knees outwards and exposing my lady part to a male ob/gyn. As usual, the doctor would asked about my symptoms and medical background. The male doctor was friendly and he kept trying to get me to relax. He conducted an ultrasound and a pap smear with an internal complete with an instrument in my vagina to scrap cells off my cervix.

After my pap smear was taken, my cell sample will be sent off to a lab to determine if there are any cervical abnormalities. I'll be receiving my pap smear results in a few weeks time. The results will either indicate negative or positive. In case you are not aware, a negative test means that your cervical cells are normal whereas a positive result indicates the presence of some abnormal cells in your cervix. Causes of an abnormal pap smear include:

• inflammation
• infection
• cancer

As I would imagine, a trip to the ob/gyn can be a source of anxiety and stress associated for most women but I also believe a few women would diligent in scheduling their pap smears. The only good thing I can say is it only happens once a year. MEN should be thankful they don't have to endure such hassles on a yearly basis.

So ladies, even it is not a fun thing or coolest thing to do in the world, do take it seriously, because it is a serious matter, don't take for granted. Prevention is better than cure.

How to get a Flat Belly?

I woke up yesterday morning, put on my office wear to work, stand in front of the mirror admiring myself when my hubby poked his head through the door with his ridiculous grin, "L, have you seen your side profile?" I froze and I was in a daze for a moment. I suppose he must be referring to my tummy bulge. As soon as my hubby walked away, I eyed my reflection in the mirror miserably. He was right. The sight of the bulge was obvious and making its presence felt all right. There I was, the older I become, the more I exercise, the less I eat and yet my tummy bulge got worse. duh!

But I thought I had it under control. For years, I thought all I needed was Trudtox tea for a flattering tummy. I guess now that I'm hitting over mid 30's, the method of shedding the belly fat has made it more difficult for me. sob! sob! But fat days hit all of us, you just have to know why and how to handle them. Looks like I need to adopt other desperado measures to get rid of the unwanted inches from my jelly belly. One of the programs that sounds too good to be true is the Flat Belly Diet, the diet everyone is talking about! Incase you haven't heard of it, the program leads readers step by step, day by day, meal by meal, towards a flatter belly...and a longer, healthy manner.

According to the editor of Prevention Magazine, the gimmick of this diet is to eat healthy fats (Monounsaturated Fatty Acids or MUFAs) at every meal. The good thing about MUFAs is that they specifically focus on eliminating belly fat! Gee....I guess the more MUFAs you consume, the more you lose belly fat. Now I am liking the sound of that!



God willing, I hope I can whip my body back on track with a combination of strict diets, workouts, discipline and persistency.

Handbag Planet CONTEST

As I was blog hopping this morning, I came across this contest in Monica's blog. There is an exclusive handbag giveaway going on October 15. To celebrate the launch, Handbag Planet is giving away a free fashionable handbag every hour for 24 hours on the day of the launch.

I just love handbags. It goes without saying that women and handbags literally go hand in hand. And handbags are sizzling hot, they always will be, no matter what people say about them.

I just registered myself and I personally like this bag but if you don't like it, there are lots more to select from. So folks, go ahead and sign up with Handbag Planet .

All the best!

Breast cancer awareness

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, think pink if you love your boobs. It is never too late, or too early to learn how to perform monthly Self Breast Examination (SBE). As a mother, it is crucial to educate my daughter the importance of early detection of breast cancer.

All women particularly 40 and over should get mammogram and clinical breast exam yearly. Sadly, there are still many women who are completely ignorant about this. Most women tend to take things for granted. This is something we can't afford to be negligent about.

It goes without saying that women losing their boobs can be devastating. I'm sure it's tough for any women to go through this ordeal. Naturally it could have a massive impact on their lives.

It's rather difficult when someone you love dearly is battling cancer and not just breast cancer. Losing someone you love is never easy. Realising that you'll never see them again is even harder.

Obviously, it affects the whole environment of the family and close friends. We should be well informed to survive this.

Evening Primrose Oil

Since my daughter hit puberty, her body has began to experience some hormonal changes. One of the problem that greatly irritates her is the acne outbreak. It's only mild, little amount of pimples on her face but she kicks up a storm when she sees herself at the mirror. I've been through this experience and dealing with pimples fuss can be one awful thing to go through especially when you have to go out and appear in public.

When I was in my teens, I had problems combating acne too. As I had sensitive skin, many acne skin care products didn't work well for me. I was tired of trying new resources and non-prescription remedies for battling acne until a friend of mine recommended that I should take evening primrose oil (EPO) supplements.

After 3 months of consuming the product, I noticed visible improvements on my skin and .........SEEING IS BELIEVING. EPO has many beneficial properties which promote general well-being with little or no known side effects. It certainly improves my skin condition as well as effective for pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) related difficulties.

Though the supplement could be a little pricey, it worths every penny. It seems to be a win-win situation for me and my daughter.

The Benefits of Evening Primrose Oil

Do You have Long Eye lashes?

It's an undeniable fact that every women's desire to have alluring eye lashes. I've always envy women with gorgeous long, fuller eye lashes. You know, women blessed with attractive lashes, 'that's oh so lovely'? As they say, your eyes are the window to your soul.

It goes without saying that long eye lashes makes women look more feminine, appealing and sexy. Although false eyelashes are available almost everywhere, I don't favour the idea of wearing them as it looks fake and unnatural. Obviously, nobody likes short sparse lashes, although some may console themselves that they may look just as attractive as they can always use make-up and mascaras to enhance their assets.

I've heard many eye lashes enhancer available in the market but I don't have the courage to experiment the products as it could be detrimental to my own natural lashes. Although I love long lashes but I don't see the need to go to such extremes. I just don't want to be ended up in messy consequences. So looks like I might as well heap on the mascara then.

Wardrobe update

Reading is my passion and joy. I enjoy reading particularly women magazines and one of my favourites is Women's Weekly. I find this magazine pretty impressive because of the simplicity and the ease of finding exactly what you need.

The layout of the magazine is itself very organised, with clear-cut columns offering interesting information on parenting tips, celebrity gossips, beauty bulletin, real-life stories and on top of all, fashion wonders which is my favourite topic.

Fashion and looking good go hand in hand. I'm a sucker for clothes. I simply love viewing new styles and the latest trends. I'm not personally obsessed over fashion but liked to look good though. It definitely helps to build my confidence and boost my self-esteem.

Come to think of it, I think I need to update my pathetic wardrobe. Pretty much of my old clothes are still lying in my closet for years. LOL! Seriously, my old clothes don't fit me anymore, so I might as well just donate all of them. I know it's easier said than done!

Regardless, I just can't bring myself to part with my old clothes because most of them have immense sentimental values to me. Sentiment is one thing but keeping all of them is simply not practical owing mainly to the lack of space in my house. ......... Until I think of a brilliant solution, my old clothes stay at the moment.