July 2018 – HEALTH FREAK MOMMY

Life Is Too Fragile

Have you ever felt like there’s a thorn pricking your heart whenever you get overly enraged with your kids, spouse, in laws, boss or your friends? Lately I would experience a sharp pain my my heart that lasts a few seconds whenever I get extremely furious with my girls when they are rude and disrespectful to me or turn a deaf ear to my instructions. I can associate the pain in my heart to stress pain. This gets me thinking if it’s really worth it to blow up and show the authoritative side of me just to get them to do what I want them to do. It would be a win-win situation if they get it their way and I don’t get a surge in cortisol or stress hormones in my body. Lately I’ve been getting a good dose of elevated cortisol level and I am not liking what it’s doing to my heart and overall being.

Do you know that elevated cortisol level kills?

Serious issues can arise when high cortisol levels become chronic. Then it can turn into a killer, leading to immune system deficiency and even cancer. Cortisol also raises glucose levels within normal cells. I am sure you have read what cancer cells love to feed on? You guessed it. Sugar!

So peeps, banish stress in our lives! Banish anger and greed altogether in order to banish elevated cortisol level.

Can I then stop being the Perfectionist Mother and be the Best Friend Mother instead to my kids?

I am trying my best but it’s hard. It’s hard to let go of expectations and let my kids go with the flow as the fear of all that can go wrong with leniency is too strong.

Yesterday night, despite being burnt to a crisp and severely sleep deprived, I was insomniac. I kept thinking about a friend and prayed for her healing. About an hour before bedtime, I found out that a friend of mine had just gone for a surgery to remove a malignant tumor from her body followed by chemo. The news was totally shocking to me. My friend is known to everyone to be such a jovial, happy and lucky lady with the perfect husband and children. She’s got the looks, the money, love and everything in the world. Perhaps she’s been dealt with a little more stress and rivalry than usual at her workplace all these years. I still can’t believe the news.

Life is too precious to get angry and stressed up over our loved ones, boss, work and money. Chronic anger also churns out poison to our liver. I know it is easier said than done. I am myself a chronically stressed up, angry and frustrated mother and wife. I was given a second chance in life last year, not once but twice. I have to keep reminding myself that nothing is more important to me than my own health. I have to stay healthy in order to live long enough to watch my children grow up, graduate from university, get married, have their own children, travel the world and enjoy my retirement.

So in conclusion, what I am trying to say is try to banish unnecessary stress from our lives. Set lower expectations, forgive and forget (though the forgetting part can be tricky), eat clean and healthy, exercise and don’t forget to pray.

cortisol-stress-breast-cancer-2

No. of times viewed = 14

Cassandra Decoded

Today has been an exciting day. I finally decoded why my baby girl has morphed into a vomit-blood inducing kid since late last year. The more I spend time with her, the closer I was to decoding this enigmatic child. And this evening, the enigma was decoded!

After her shower in the afternoon, Cass was all excited over having me revise English with her as tomorrow is her English test ~ her favorite subject. I was surprised. I thought Cass has lost her mojo to study and her raging pre-teen hormones are wrecking havoc. But it wasn’t the case. After just half an hour with Cass, I told her that I was done revising with her. But Cass was pleading with me to do more with her. The level of English competency at SJKC and SRK is pretty easy for any kid coming from an English speaking family, especially if the kid also loves reading English novels. Cass’ English competency is advanced for her age as she reads a LOT of English novels and like Sherilyn, she loves everything English.

Cass – that’s it with revision? Can you ask me more advanced questions? Can I try doing Standard 6 test papers? (Cass is only in Standard 4) I need to do more revision. You haven’t even gone through all the books with me yet!

Me – I don’t know what else to go through with you. We have covered everything already. We have been going through the same Grammar for 4 years. You already know all the idioms in the list. I think you can score 100% if you are NOT careless. And mind your horrendous handwriting. Make sure it is legible. OK?

This afternoon, I gave Cass a past year Science exam paper to practise. In under an hour, done hurriedly so that her tutor can mark it, she completed 40 questions and made 3 careless mistakes. Unlike Chinese and BM exam papers, Cass had the focus to sit at the table to finish answering all the Science questions without begging for breaks every 10 minutes.

Cass working on an online past year English exam paper:

And then the light bulb moment came. Why didn’t Cass have any complaint completing the Science exam paper? Why does she choose English, Math and Science test papers over BM and Chinese all the time when given an option to choose? And why are her Math and Science grades so much better than BM and Chinese? Why does she find practising scales and piano classical pieces a big bore but can play Ed Sheeran’s Perfect and Despacito by hard and keeps playing her favorite pop songs and Christmas carols over and over again?

Aha!

I finally decoded my enigmatic child!

And the answer lies in Chinese and BM, her two weakest subjects. These two subjects are boring her to the core. Sometimes she does not know how to read a Chinese character or does not understand a Malay word. When there are a few words in a questions that she can’t read or does not understand, she won’t be able to answer the question. And this is killing her academic interest.

Cass’ BM vocab is very limited, so is her Chinese. No matter how many times I have gone through the same BM words with her, she seems to have dementia each time she comes across the same words. She hardly ever reads BM story books or speak in BM and does not have interest in Chinese novels except for the occasional comics. She communicates with her friends in English most of the time. She finds Chinese grammar and BM Tatabahasa a big drag. She has always been questioning me why she has to be sent to a Chinese school.

By nature, if we find something boring and have little interest in it, we tend not to listen or read anything related to it. I would always fall asleep at a boring seminar or training course.

Forcing Cass to have a liking for BM and Chinese would only be counterproductive. She is already in Primary 4 and I want her to have a proper closure to what she has started. She still loves being in her school though. She loves her friends and her teachers. Sadly her two besties will be leaving the Chinese school next year for international schools. Cass will most likely stay in the same school and complete her UPSR exam in 2 years’ time. At the same time, I may be planning ‘something’ for Cass, which I can’t reveal yet. All I can say for now is that Cass will most likely be in a different path as her two sisters when she goes to high school.

No. of times viewed = 31

Handy Girl In The House

Drama Queen can be another vomit-blood inducing kid of mine but what makes her different from her two sisters is that I can always count on her to help me out. She helps with house work, is always the one who helps her dad reheat his food (and washes the dishes) when he comes home late for dinner and is my trustworthy handy girl. She can be quite the trophy-daughter, sans the argumentative and sometimes arrogant demeanour.

Drama Queen is one handy girl in the house. These days she helps with assembling all my assemble-yourself home appliances and furniture. On Saturday, my purchase of a mini computer desk from Lazada arrived. Thankfully the handy girl had just returned from Taekwondo and I summoned her help to set up the desk. In under 30 minutes, my handy girl successfully assembled the computer desk, complete with wheels, just like a PRO!

Last Friday, our regular organic vegetables supplier delivered organic durians to us. My handy girl volunteered to open up the durians so that her crazy mum can have durians for breakfast 😆. It was her first time opening durians and she beat me hands down to it!

Not only can my handy girl bake the world’s tastiest meat pie and chocolate brownie, she can whip up ice-cream too! Yesterday she made banana ice-cream with only 1 ingredient ~ frozen bananas (she’s been collecting overripe bananas and freezes them for her recipes), with no cream and no whipping.

Overripe bananas that Sherilyn collects for her smoothies, banana pancakes, banana muffins and banana ice-cream:

My dessert for lunch today is banana ice-cream with toasted pecans! Yummo!!

Not bad for a 13-year old girl who behaves like she’s a feisty 18-year old. Don’t play play with this girl. She can be a fighting cock if you step on her toe ☺

No. of times viewed = 78

Busy Week

The entire last week was a busy week for everyone ~ hubs with his back-to-back catering events, Alycia with tests every other day in preparation for the PT3 and UEC exams in 2 months in addition to PT3 History and Geography projects, Drama Queen with homework, tuition and church activity, Cass with exam revision and me, I provide support to everyone in the household, including the mil 💪 . If there is a title to describe what I do, it would be “One-leg-kick PA, driver, tutor, cook, maid cum small entrepreneur”.

In between homework and revision, Cass ‘de-stressed’ herself with gardening 😄 👩‍🌾. We are simple people and I’ve taught the girls to find happiness from simple inexpensive things within the house.

Here, Cass is composting fruit peel into the soil of the potted herbs in our tiny balcony garden. The latest additions to our herb garden are spring onions and coriander. The spring onion is springing well and I see tiny shoots sprouting from the coriander roots. Our spinach didn’t quite make it after sprouting a few baby leaves.

Sunday was the most hectic day for me. Didn’t have much time to revise BM with the vomit-blood inducing kid as I had to chauffeur Alycia and her friends to the mall for them to work on their PT3 History project and Sherilyn to and fro church.

I pre-ordered our Sunday dinner on Saturday evening from Dragon-I @ Mid Valley, delivered FREE to us by Food Panda. I found out about Food Panda when they approached me to write a review on their company several years ago. I’ve since been using Food Panda to order food from our favorite restaurants. Love it that they provide FREE delivery and accept COD.

This is my pre-order meal from Food Panda:

Food was delivered punctually at 5:45 p.m. on Sunday! Quality of the food is almost perfect. My only beef was that plastic containers were used. Well, this is unavoidable given that most food delivery companies have little options other than plastic ware or cardboard boxes.

We had an early bed time last night as I got so incensed with the vomit-blood inducing kid with a “exam so what, no need to study la!!” attitude that I refused to revise with her at night and sent her to bed at 9:30 p.m. 🤮 It’s time that she learns to be responsible over her lackadaisical attitude and faces the consequences. I can’t be sitting by her side, spoon-feeding and shielding her from falls and failures anymore. Whatever her results are this time, I am mentally prepared to accept them.

No. of times viewed = 11

What Are the Fastest Card Terminals That Will Boost Your Business?

It’s time to upgrade your credit card terminals so you can accelerate your business growth. Investing in new equipment is a great way to increase sales processing capacity, but only if you make investments that provide you with speedy and reliable service. Unfortunately, not every piece of credit card processing equipment is made equally. Luckily, Merchant Account Solutions has cultivated a range of choices designed to fit practically any business. Check out the options for your next upgrade, and then find out more about how to subscribe to their fast and convenient payment processing to get the most out of your new terminal or point of sale system.

Take Control of Your Business With the Clover Station
If you’re looking for today’s most well-rounded and feature-rich point of sale experience, you’ll want to trade in your old fashioned credit card terminal and upgrade to the Clover 2.0. This system integrates inventory tracking, marketing insights, rewards programs, scheduling, payment processing, and transaction records, making it a single point of organization your whole business can revolve around.

Specialized Solutions for Niche Businesses
If you’re looking for something a little more specialized for an operation with unique needs, consider these options:

- Revel POS systems for multi-device teams
- LightSpeed systems
- SmartSwipe
- PC America
- Verifone Systems

You’ll find solutions designed for restaurants, dry cleaners, gas stations, auto repair shops, and more when you browse the site, and you’ll also learn more about the features on each model in stock.

Provide the Service Your Customers Count On
When deciding what brand and model you need, the best thing to do is to research the available features and options. Systems made for a particular business are designed to be efficient for its sales model, making it easier for your staff to complete transactions and keep customer queues moving. All you need to do is find the options that have the features you need, then connect them to the fast and reliable payment processing service offered by Merchant Account Solutions.

No. of times viewed = 13

Rubbing Clove Essential Oil and Extra Virgin Coconut Oil On Your Teeth

I have ultra sensitive teeth, no thanks to years of excessive brushing and lemon juice.

I used to drink lemon juice with water first thing in the morning. This practice helps to cleanse the digestive system, stimulate digestive enzymes and assist with weight loss. Sometimes I would suck on lemon slices. I didn’t notice or feel any difference to my teeth until many years later when I experienced teeth sensitivity.

Lemons and lemon juice are highly acidic. Over time, routine consumption of lemon juice will corrode your tooth’s outer covering – the enamel.

Erosion is the loss of tooth enamel, caused most commonly by acid attack. When the enamel is worn away, it exposes the underlying dentin (which is yellower in colour than enamel), and this may cause you to experience tooth sensitivity.

I used to brush my teeth after every meal but not anymore, so as not to corrode the teeth enamel any further. I still brush my teeth twice a day with an extra soft toothbrush and a mild toothpaste. After meals, I rub my teeth with a cotton pad, dabbed with clove essential oil and organic extra virgin coconut oil.

Clove essential oil
Clove Oil is one of the oldest remedies for tooth pain and oral health. Thanks to the ingredient Eugenol, it has been used for centuries to anesthetise patients suffering from tooth ache. Eugenol has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties too.

People have used essential oils for oral health for centuries, and clinical studies are finally proving their safety and efficacy. In addition to therapeutic herbs and other healing agents, many essential oils show a very beneficial effect upon teeth and gums as well.

Instructions:
Clove essential oil and Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Rubbing clove essential oil on your gums or brushing teeth with it has antibacterial properties which can prevent cavities, gingivitis, bad breath, and tooth decay.

Dab 2 drops of clove oil with a few drops of organic extra virgin coconut oil on a piece of cotton pad and rub on your teeth and gums.

Melaleuca oil (Tea Tree oil) and peppermint essential oil can also be added for extra protection and a fresh breath.

Do not rinse your mouth after rubbing the oils on your teeth and leave it for about 20 minutes before rinsing.

The effect is amazing! You will get super clean and smooth teeth. In fact, I think rubbing the teeth with cotton pads is cleaner than using a toothbrush as you can get to hard-to-reach parts of your molar teeth without hurting your gums and teeth.

Try it and you’ll believe me! But use only good quality and unadulterated essential oils. Do not compromise on the quality of your essential oils.

No. of times viewed = 74

Exam Fever

Thai cave boys fever is over, so is football fever. In comes exam fever now and this fever takes years away from my life, prematurely!

This girl is a vomit-blood inducing kid. I kid you not. She wasn’t like this when she was much younger. She was the cute as a button, obedient, angelic little girl who could melt my heart instantly, now transformed into a life-sucking devil in disguise of a petite 10-year old girl.

One moment I would feel like strangling and slapping her, another moment, she can be the sweet little girl she used to be, massaging my temples, feet and shoulders and saying sweet little nothings to me. Tween hormones raging to be blamed? Maybe.

She seems to have lost her mojo and focus when it comes to revising. All her mojo and focus have shifted to her novels. She is still pretty disciplined when it comes to doing her school homework (thanks to her class teacher who seems to be able to do a little magic in motivating her) but anything beyond homework, it’s a torture for her and me.

These days, she needs to sit next to me when she does her homework, with her hands, legs and body touching mine, as if to get her inner batteries charged from having bodily contact with me. Like I’ve said before, she is like my twin. Three years of breastfeeding this rascal has created a very special bond between us. Not that I like someone snuggled next to me when I am doing my work on the computer. It is already super hot in the afternoon. With someone leaning on my side, that’s something that annoys me. But a mother’s sacrifice has no boundary. I let her snuggle and lean next to me, with 3 fans blowing at us at full blast 😍

After an hour of revision, she gets to claim her screen time but she’s not totally free in front of the idiot box. She has to help to peel garlic skin 😀

My lunch yesterday (Sunday, 15 July 2018) was spent with only Cass and Drama Queen. Alycia stayed home to revise for her History test, the hubs was at work at Cyberjaya and the mil was away in Ipoh. After sending Drama Queen to a BM talk at the tuition centre, I spent my afternoon doing chores and revising BM with Cass.

I can’t tell you how suffocating it was for me to revise with that stroppy pre-teen. It didn’t help that I was PMS-ing and was feeling extremely short-fused and hothead.

Lunch at PappaRich:

I bought 3 boxes of takeaway chicken + cha siew rice and grilled jumbo Portobello BBQ mushrooms for dinner.

This time I delegated the task of prepping the mushrooms completely to Drama Queen.

We all love this grilled super juicy and meaty jumbo Portobello. Prepping this dish just takes 5 minutes: rinse and dry the mushrooms, grease a baking tray with olive oil, sprinkle chopped garlic and butter at the back of the mushrooms and grill for 15 minutes in the oven at 170C.

Once removed from the oven, season the mushrooms with freshly ground black pepper and scrape a little rock salt on them. Drama Queen tried her hand at carving patterns on the mushroom skin and it looks awesome!

I put an eraser on the mushroom as a comparison to show how huge it is. At RM13.90 for a punnet of 4 mushrooms, it is a tad expensive. But it’s A-OK, mushrooms are superfood loaded with nutrients and cancer-fighting phytochemicals, they are delish and most of all, minimal cooking is required to prep a yummo dish which I can delegate to my 13-year old 😉

No. of times viewed = 13

YL July Order

I am always in a good mood whenever I receive my monthly parcel from Young Living 😍

This month I ordered all my favorite essential oils ~ Stress Away (this oil can really do wonders in removing some of the stress off my mind at a few sniffs!), Joy (just like Orange, Joy is a happy essential oil. The scent makes me happy and I use it as perfume too!) and Frankincense (one of the must-have EOs at home and a great beauty and anti-aging EO).

For the Orange oil, I got it FREE! You read it right. Young Living rewards its loyal members with free oils regularly. Orange essential oil is one of my favorite oils and I use it everyday as a perfume and car air freshener. Sometimes I dab it outside my nostrils as the scent just puts me in a good mood.

Health benefits of Frankincense Essential Oil at a glance:

Photo credit: www.organicfacts.net

Other Benefits
Known as the king of essential oils, Frankincense oil relieves pain associated with rheumatism and arthritis. It helps to heal boils, infected wounds, acne, circulatory problems, insomnia, and various types of inflammation as well.

More recently, Frankincense oil has been used in European and American hospitals and is the subject of substantial research. Frankincense is also a valuable ingredient in skin care products for ageing and dry skin. The ancient Egyptians used it in rejuvenation face masks.

Special Promotion available only on 14 July 2018!

No automatic alt text available.

Image may contain: text

One day Special Promotion on 14 July 2018!!
This promotion is only valid until 14 July 2018 11.59pm GMT.
Valid for order processed online via Virtual Office. I can help with your order too.

Don’t miss it!
No automatic alt text available.

Just drop me an email at shireenyong@gmail.com if you wish to try the Essential Oils. I can even loan you a diffuser set with some sample Essential Oils for you to try. You can also click here to sign up as member (signing up online is so easy and fast!) or Whatsapp / call me at 019 266 4290.

No. of times viewed = 6

High Protein Breakfast

This morning I didn’t feel like eating bread or granola for breakfast. Must be the hormones playing tricks again. I was just craving for protein. It must also be my body’s way of telling me that I need more nutrients before Aunt Flow visits soon.

I had a handful of crunchy walnuts and pecan, which the mil roasted over the weekend. And a big bowl of sweet beet root carrot soup with yummy tender fleshy pork bones. Eating healthy proteins can really fill me up until lunch, without any craving for something sweet.

Did you know that protein is the single most important nutrient for weight loss and a better looking body? A high protein intake boosts metabolism, reduces appetite and changes several weight-regulating hormones and it is scientifically proven (1, 2, 3).

Protein can help you lose weight and belly fat, and it works via several different mechanisms.

Lunch today was roasted pork bone porridge with dried scallops.

Breakfast for Alycia and Cass on a Monday morning yesterday was walnut wholemeal bread ~ spread with butter for Cass and avocado for Alycia. Snack box for recess was steamed ‘siew mai’.

After over a week of living on semi solid food, Alycia finally got used to having braces on her teeth. She is eating pretty normally now ~ even chocolate chip cookies, hard muruku and nuts. Way to go girl. I knew you could do it!

No. of times viewed = 30

Someone Almost Burnt Down The Condo

Alycia, the princess with royal fingers hardly does chores in the kitchen, much less cook or even reheat food in the microwave oven and wok. When she needs her food reheated, she gets my help, her grandma or Drama Queen.

On Saturday upon return from school, Alycia decided to reheat a pau (taken out from the fridge) in the microwave oven. I was at the piano class with Cass. The mil was in the bathroom and Drama Queen was busy working on the sound and effects on my PC for her school’s English drama competition.

A few minutes after I had stepped inside the house, Drama Queen nonchalantly commented that she smelled something burnt. I scampered to the kitchen and holy cow, there was a lot of smoke coming out from the microwave oven! I screamed “the microwave is on fire” and seconds later, the smoke detector beeped deafeningly. Alycia acted super quickly and ran to turn off the switch to the microwave oven. By now, the entire kitchen was blanketed in choking smoke.

We were all shocked and asked what happened. Alycia explained that she was only reheating a pau in the microwave oven and the first question I asked was “how long already?!” as she was at the dining table hooked to her mobile phone!

See, see, seeeeee! Mobile phone again. It’s killing you my dear Alycia!

Drama Queen countered and informed me that the pau was in the microwave oven for at least 15 minutes already.

15 minutes on high in the microwave oven for a pau is a LONG time! I normally reheat it for a few seconds with a few sprinkles of water on the pau.

O.M.G.!!

Thank God the microwave oven did not explode. Thank God we didn’t burn down the entire apartment, just like the Grenfell Apartment fire tragedy.

Thank God I got home just in the nick of time and everyone is saved. In accidents, every second counts. Every split second matters. Even a microsecond saved can prevent fatality.

Below: Alycia removing the smoke detector while Kakak Maria looks on. She was busy helping to fry fish, totally oblivious to the commotion in the dry kitchen.

Below: the aftermath of the near miss fire~ pau retrieved from the microwave oven. Thank God again that the bowl and plate did not break, catch fire and explode in the microwave oven. The microwave oven isn’t damaged at all, praise God!

But the entire kitchen had a very nasty smoke / burnt smell. I had to spray the kitchen many rounds with my homemade air freshener to clear the air and remove the odor. I wouldn’t want to spray air fresheners laden with harsh chemicals in my house, especially in the kitchen where food, cups and cutlery are everywhere. My homemade air freshener is all-natural and made with organic essential oils and water only.

I hope Alycia has learned a lesson out of this chilling experience.

No. of times viewed = 9

Black Tuesday ~ 3 July 2018

Since last night, my right eye had been twitching. Whenever my trusted right eye twitches, I am extra cautious in whatever that I do. I also warned my girls about it. The premonition cue that I get from my eye twitches is 99% accurate. I had blogged about this before several times. I don’t really like the premonition cue as it gives me the creeps and yet it prepares me and makes me more cautious. Most of the time when my right eye twitches, someone in the family falls sick, gets hurt or some misfortune happens.

My Tuesday started off pretty well in the morning. I dropped off Drama Queen in school at 6:50 a.m. Drama Queen is putting her drama prowess into real life action once again. She and her team members are representing their school in a State-level English drama competition at St John’s International school today.

Below: Drama Queen with her two of her team members at St John’s International school yesterday. They were there to survey the stage.

Below: the Drama team today:

Announcement of the winners will only be made tomorrow and part of the team has to be at SJIS again tomorrow for the prize and certificate giving ceremony. I am sure Drama Queen and her team members are super anxious now as they await the announcement of the results. Drama Queen has worked very hard in the preparation of this competition. She is the editor of the script and is in charged of searching for the sound effects and music for the drama.

Today is one of the those dreaded days when the black star hovered above me waiting to cast a jinx on me. A short 3-minute dash into the bakery to get 3 buns for the girls’ recess cost me a bomb.

As it was only going to be a few-minute affair, I didn’t pay for the parking ticket. When I walked out of the bakery hurriedly, from a distance I saw a group of DBKL officers surrounding my car. Dang it, what shit have I gotten myself into?!! My car was clamped ~ first time in my life. I pleaded for the officer to release my car and reasoned that I only parked there for 2-3 minutes but the officer cited that he had already taken pictures of my car and he absolutely cannot release the clamp and I will have to pay RM100 to release my car. WTF! I was fuming mad and wanted to swear at the po-faced officer but I knew all eyes, cameras and phones were probably already directed at us at that moment, unbeknown to me. Someone had most likely already started to take a video of me with his/her phone, waiting to post the video on social media had I acted unruly; so I better behave myself. Reluctantly, I paid the fine by dropping two RM50 notes into a plastic bag held up by the officer and his colleagues unlocked the clamp from my car tyre. All these happened in a short 5 minutes!

My bad, it’s entirely my oversight.

The next time my right eye twitches, I better be 500% vigilant in every single move that I take.

Note to self: Do not take any chances on those eye-twitching days!

Tomorrow will definitely be a better day for me. I can already smell good luck knocking on my door 🙌

No. of times viewed = 22

Homemade Air Freshener With No Harsh Chemical

I love stepping into any place that smells good but the thing is I am allergic to synthetic fragrances. One of the side effects that I get when I smell synthetic air freshener, especially those for cars is I would feel nauseous. Sometimes I would get a mild headache from smelling overpowering artificial scents. Whenever I step into a lift that someone had just left a trail of strong perfume or after the condo cleaner had sprayed air freshener, I would have to hold my breath until I reach my destination seconds later. I wouldn’t want to take any chance for feeling nauseous and choking my lungs and nostrils with chemicals.

The other day, someone had accidentally spilled fish blood and water onto the floor mat of my car after buying fish. Even after washing the floor mat, the odor of stinky fish lingered in my car. The aroma of pandan leaves in my car couldn’t cover the stench of dead fish in my car and I felt like puking. That’s what prompted me to make my own air freshener and it is so easy and so fast! It took me under 5 minutes to whip up a bottle of 50ml air freshener, I kid you not!

All you need is 3 or 4 ingredients and a spray bottle.

Ingredients
1. Spray bottle ~ I used a 50ml clear plastic spray bottle bought from Craftiviti.
2. Filtered water
3. Essential oils ~ you can use any scent that you fancy. I chose Orange, Lime and Cedarwood ~ 10 drops each. You can pick Lavender, Peppermint, Grapefruit or any citrusy scent. You can even choose Rose, if you can afford it 😉 (Pure organic Rose Essential Oil is one of the most expensive essential oils in the world!)
4. If you have vanilla essence, put a few drops as well. I love the smell of vanilla in my air fresheners. It feels as if I am sniffing vanilla cakes and cookies and that’s enough to satiate my desire for these snacks.

Method
1. Fill up spray bottle with filtered water and leave about 5cm space for the Essential Oils (EO).
2. Drop EO of your choice into spray bottle.
3. Add in vanilla essence (optional) but recommended if you love the smell of vanilla.
4. Shake well before spraying.

After a good spray of homemade air freshener in my car, I dabbed a few drops of Lemon Essential Oil and Vanilla essence onto cotton facial pads and slot them between my car air-cond vents. Now my car smells so lemony and vanilla-ish. No more dead fish stench. Love the smell of my DIY air freshener so much 🤗 Best of all, I don’t get nauseous and dizzy from smelling it.

NOTES:
I am a stickler for quality essential oils. The cheaper ones just won’t cut it for me. I’ve tried essential oils that are so much cheaper and I ended up discarding them ~ oregano and grapefruit ones to be precise. They smelled so fake and strong I knew at once they were adulterated.

You can read more about the brand I’ve used for 3+ months here.

These recipes are for small batches. Feel free to double or triple if you find a mix you really like.

These homemade air freshener concoctions make fabulous gifts and they are pretty affordable too.

You can use whatever type of water you have available- I just used plain filtered tap water.

Give your spritzers a good shake before you spray to make sure the oils are mixed into the water.

Let me know if you need help to get the essential oils. I can get them for you at wholesale price. Just drop me an email at shireenyong@gmail.com. You can also click here to sign up as member (signing up online is so easy and fast!) or Whatsapp / call me at 019 266 4290.

No. of times viewed = 16

What Can I Do To Enhance My Energy Levels?

If you’re trying to enhance your energy levels, it’s important to know that doing so is entirely possible. To start feeling more physical and mental vitality now, consider utilizing some or all of the following strategies:

1. Meditate
One of the reasons that people experience low energy results from ongoing, unaddressed stress. Luckily, there are many health strategies that can be implemented to reduce and even eliminate anxiety. One of the most powerful strategies under the sun is meditation. Meditation is powerful because it helps individuals slow down, listen to their bodies, and continually clear their minds so they’re not thinking in frenetic or negative ways. Note that there are several different types of meditation available, one of which is breath-based. If you’re not into taking deep inhalations and exhalations, you may want to consider the mantra. Many people enjoy this style of meditation because it trains the brain to think and remember something positive. Anything from “I am” to “Love and light” can be the mantra that you recite inwardly in the morning and before going to bed for the purpose of maintaining a tranquil, positive mindset.

Women's White Top and Orange Floral Skirt

2. Become Physically Active
In addition to tapping into the power of implementing a mantra or breath-based form of meditation, make sure that you become more physically active. This technique is imperative because exercise is known to optimize energy levels in many ways. One is by helping the body eliminate toxins that can be slowing down key regulatory processes that contribute to energy production. In addition to enhancing your level of vitality, exercise is known to boost immunity, enhance inner confidence, and induce better sleep. There are many ways that an individual can get on track to becoming more physically active. One is by finding a local park where you can walk or jog with a dog. Another is by taking fitness classes in a local gym. Individuals who find that high levels of stress have compromised their energy levels may want to consider joining a local yoga studio. In addition to energizing the body, yoga is known to fight stress by putting the mind and body in a meditative state for extended periods of time. In addition to considering yoga, use an online tool such as the Smart Squat website to learn more about key physical activities such as the squat exercise.

Exercising with a trainer using SmartSquat.

Conclusion
People who are serious about enhancing their energy levels should note that there are many ways that they can realize the objective. Two of them are outlined above. Start utilizing these energy optimization techniques soon so you can begin to optimize your level of productivity in all areas of life!

No. of times viewed = 7