September 2020 – Page 2 – HEALTH FREAK MOMMY

How to Make the World a Better Place

The world needs people like you who want to help others and improve the world. Whether you are looking to start off on a path to positive change or you are looking for additional avenues to invest your energy, there are always places that could use your help. If you want to make the world a bit of a better place, consider these tips on how you can do your part.

Spread Some Kindness

Not every good deed must be something formal. You can focus your efforts on retail kindness, spreading the care from person to person which can cause a contagious effect. If you make the effect to spread some kindness within your own community and through your interactions, you can know that you are having a direct effect on those around you.

being kind to others

Volunteer Your Time

Another way to spread care throughout a community where you can witness the direct effects is through volunteering your time. By investing your effort and time to address issues and provide solutions, you can help others. There are volunteer opportunities for any type of interest and passion, you just need to find the right fit.

Give Your Money Wisely

You don’t have to be limited to donating your time. For those who are financially capable of donating money, monetary contributions can also be a great way to push progress. Much like how you will want to research any opportunity, you need to research different organizations before making your donation to ensure you understand what will happen to your funds.

Go Green

For those who are more environmentally focused, there is a lot that you can do in your personal and professional life to promote a healthier planet. Going green and helping those around you embrace a more environmentally conscious existence can be a wonderful way to make the world a little bit brighter and better.

Making a difference in this big world can be easier said than done. Whether you choose one or multiple opportunities from this list above, making the world a better place can be done regardless of your circumstances.

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3 Important Facts To Know Before Getting Laser Hair Removal

If you feel like you’ve been spending too much time, money and energy lately on constantly removing bodily hair, you may have been thinking about booking a session at a laser bar and spa Manhattan. Laser hair removal can be a good alternative to daily shaving and may allow you to save time in the mornings by waking up hair-free. However, before you book a session, it’s important to be prepared. Here are a few key things you’ll want to keep in mind when considering going under the laser.

1. It May Be Slightly Uncomfortable

While having a laser directed at your skin may sound painful, laser hair removal should only be slightly uncomfortable at worst. The laser does heat up in order to kill the hair follicle, but many modern lasers come equipped with cooling mechanisms to help make the procedure feel more comfortable for you. Additionally, your technician will apply some numbing cream before you start, so you won’t even be feeling most of the procedure. If you do feel more than a slight pinching feeling, let your technician know so they can adjust the settings.

2. You May Need Multiple Sessions

While it might sound nice to walk into the clinic for your treatment and walk back out completely hair-free, the truth is that you’ll likely need multiple sessions in order to see full results. This is due to the fact that hair grows in cycles and the laser needs to catch each hair at the right moment in the cycle to stop its growth. Because of this, you can expect to book a series of six to eight sessions for best results. The good news is, you should start to see results from each session within a couple of weeks following treatment.

3. You Can Shave Before Your Appointment

If you’re worried about having to let your bodily hair grow out before your appointment, you’ll be relieved to know that shaving beforehand is fine. Just don’t wax before you go, since this removes the hair root and can render the treatment ineffective.

Constantly removing bodily hair can be tiresome and frustrating, not to mention expensive over time. If you wish you could wake up smooth and hair-free, you may want to consider whether a laser hair removal treatment would be right for you. Now that you’re equipped with the basic facts, you can make your decision with confidence.

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RMCO Day 96 ~ Sunday, 13 Sept 2020

I’ve been feeling ho-hum and shirty for the past few days. It could be the time of the month again. And the lack of rest and sleep. Or simply bottled up negative emotions. I’m trying hard to purge these feelings out of my head. Tomorrow morning I’m going to the park to run in the morning sun. This seems to help me find my zen.

My body took a hit after spending the past few weeks in and out of hospitals with Cass compounded with the lack of sleep. But I knew how to nip the bug in its bud at the onset of it and thankfully managed to stave off falling sick 🙏

High and low times come into our lives inevitably. We have to learn to embrace them and be more willing to feel the whole spectrum of human emotions and learn to find channels to discharge these negativities that attack our emotions.

Throwback photos:

Taken on one of the days that Cass was hospitalized at Pantai Hospital. Whenever I’m not at home, someone always takes the opportunity to bake and cook! This time she baked macarons with organic ground almond – her first try and it was not too bad. Macarons are insanely costly at the shops (Ladurée!) and homemade ones are less sweet and we know what goes in.

My early dinner with the hubs after I left Pantai Hospital (and worrying about Cass staying overnight alone), at Red Kettle, my favorite neighborhood fusion cafe tucking into my favorite chicken chop and moreish Portugese egg tart, which is the best in the world! Good food always put me in a better mood no matter how terrible the day has been.

My brunch at Papparich @ Pantai Hospital on the second day of Cass’ stay in the hospital.

On the day that Cass was admitted to the hospital, we were given a complimentary toiletry set which includes a brand new fleece blanket as well as a booklet of discount vouchers for use at all the shops, cafes and pharmacy in the hospital. Cass and I grinned from ear to ear when we saw Tealive at Pantai Hospital. We again grinned when we saw a newly opened Tealive and Gloria Jean’s Coffees outside HKL when we were there last week 🤭

Our Sunday dinner yesterday:

Spaghetti aglio e olio with mushrooms, grilled chicken chop, mushroom soup and mashed potato from hubby’s shop.

Whenever there’s spaghetti, my life gets a little easier. Cass will have it for dinner, recess in school and lunch + dinner the next day and then have it again for lunch on the third day. She hardly gets bored of it.

Cass’ recess in school today.

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Waist Trainer For A Smaller Waist

If a waist trainer for women could help you achieve a smaller waist, you can forget about going for a painful rib resection or floating rib removal. Rib removal has gained popularity in the last several years as wasp waists and hourglass shapes have again become the aesthetic ideal. While in Victorian fashion this was achieved with laced corsets, today this can be achieved with surgery by removing the “floating” lower ribs, numbers 11 and 12. The operation, which is irreversible, is usually performed for medical reasons but can be used for cosmetic purposes after extensive consultation.

In Sweden, a 25-year old lady who was inspired by animated characters like Jessica Rabbit, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty and Holli Would from Cool World went under the knife to have some of her ribs removed. She dreamed of having a super tiny waist, big boobs, big eyes and a really pretty face and having her ribs removed was just another step in achieving that ideal. The extreme five-hour keyhole surgery operation cost £6,000 and was performed by a plastic surgeon.

The Swedish is not the only figure-obsessed lady who had gone through pains to achieve her dream body. In 2018 a A Barbie-obsessed mum shrunk her waist to a tiny 21 inches prior to a £15k rib removal surgery to achieve the perfect hour-glass figure. The Barbie-fanatic mum spent months eating a strict diet and wore a waist trainer designed to shrink her waistline – for five hours every day. Despite her waist shrinking by a staggering five inches, the 34-year-old wasn’t satisfied and shrunk her waist by another three inches before the rib removal surgery where six ribs were removed to achieve her mission to look like her doll idol, Barbie 😲

Now if you could achieve something similar while still looking like a human, why do you have to even consider removing parts of your body? Products like double belt slimming waist trainer, high waisted shaper shorts and high waist tummy control slimming pants can help women achieve a svelte body, along with a healthy low-carb diet and daily exercise.

Waist trainers help you maintain proper posture while you stand and sit because the metal bones in waist trainers make it impossible for you to slouch. They improve your posture by providing the necessary support to your back. Many women and celebrities vouch that they feel more confident when they see the changes in their waistline and posture after wearing waist trainers.

Once you have weighed the benefits and disadvantages and have decided to try waist training, you can browse for the best shapewear at FeelinGirl to find a waist trainer that suits your needs, style, and purposes.

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Cassandra’s Appointment With Urologist – 4 Sept 2020

So the urologist’s nurse finally gave me a date to bring Cass to see Dr Susan. We waited for more than 3 months since the MRU procedure on 18 May 2020 to get this appointment with me calling the nurse every week. And if it wasn’t because Cass got a UTI attack two weeks ago, the nurse wouldn’t have given me a date so soon. I don’t blame her as this is a government hospital with a long list of patients waiting to see Dr Susan, the head of Urology Dept of HKL. She could get me an appointment to see just any junior urologist but I only want Dr Susan to manage Cass’ complicated issue. I can see that priority is given to dire needs patients, i.e. those with cancer or other pressing issues.

As usual, we had to ‘camp’ at HKL for almost the entire day just waiting, from 10 a.m. through 3-ish p.m.. Cass is now scheduled to undergo two diagnostic tests before Dr Susan can decide on the next course of action: a cystoscopy (bladder scope) scheduled in November 2020 and a MAG3 scan in December 2020. Cass will have to be sedated under GA for the cystoscopy.

A renal MAG3 (Mercaptuacetyltriglycine) scan is a diagnostic nuclear medicine test that allows the doctor to see Cass’ kidneys and learn more about how they are functioning. A radiopharmaceutical called Technetium-99m MAG3 will be injected into one of Cass’ veins. Technetium-99m MAG3 has a tiny amount of radioactive molecules in it. A special camera, called a gamma camera, is used to take pictures of the kidneys once the radiopharmaceutical has been injected. During the briefing by the radiologist, I was told that after the MAG3 procedure, it’s best to avoid touching Cass as the radioactive materials can be transferred to anyone touching her. She will need to drink loads of water to flush out the radioactive materials.

This is the creepy old building that houses the radiotherapy and oncology unit at HKL. We had to wait for almost an hour to get a date for the MAG3 scan and for a briefing by the radiologist.

From the specialist clinics building, Cass and I had to walk for about 10 minutes under the drizzle to this building and stopped twice to ask the patrolling police officers for directions. HKL is a very huge place with many buildings for different units. Patients and staff often have to walk from one building to another. We walked past the A&E of HKL, the creepy place that still gives me nightmares 😱. If only this congenital issue is covered by our insurer, I’ll choose a private hospital, any time.

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RMCO Day 89 ~ Sunday, 6 September 2020

Today is the eve of Cass’ exam but this brat is as usual super chillax and not at all nervy or hung up 🙄 She’s always been one who’s able to hold her nerve in most situations and that’s the reason why I can leave her alone at the hospital overnight for 3 nights.

Last night she stayed up late to finish up the thank you card for Ms L, her erstwhile class teacher and asked me to bring her to the post box to drop the card.

Then she dragged me to the stationery shop so that she could have her homemade bookmarks laminated. She’s been drawing these bookmarks whenever she had the time. She walked to the stationery shop and told the shop assistant that she wanted her stack of bookmarks laminated without first checking on the cost. When I went into the stationery shop and asked whether she checked the price with the assistant, she said NO 🙄. The laminating, cutting and smoothening of the edges cost RM7, duh! I could have bought a stack of bookmarks with RM7! Feeling guilty, she said that she would pay for the laminating herself 😁

Drawn by a true-blue Potterhead:

Hubs has been working at full steam the entire day today with events at a corporate client’s place. I went to his shop twice to collect extra food for us.

Blimey, what a lot of food! The girls could have the yummy seafood + mushroom pasta for a few lunches.

In the evening, my good friend B, Whatsapped me whilst she was on the ETS train from Ipoh – KL telling me that she’s got a surprise for me and would be meeting me at my condo at 6:30 p.m. But a little drama happened at Rawang and the train got stalled and another train had to be summoned to ferry the stranded passengers back to KL. Despite the 2 hours delay, B still dropped by my condo at night to pass me my favorite mooncakes from the famous Ming Yue Confectionary in Ipoh. I am really touched beyond words and blessed for having such a wonderful friend. Thank you B 😘

Ming Yue Confectionary in Ipoh sells the cheapest mooncakes without any compromise on the quality and taste. The assorted nuts mooncake at only RM10 a piece (only RM10!!) is loaded with fresh and crunchy nuts and seeds and not coyly sweet. Every bite is loaded with fresh crunchy nuts! Perfect for those on keto diet. If you’re thinking of trying their mooncakes, be prepared to spend at least half an hour to an hour queuing up.

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Cassandra’s Hospitalization (Saturday, 29 Aug – Tuesday, 1 Sept 2020)

For the first time in her life, Cass spent 3 nights alone at the hospital. Much as I would like to stay with her, I have trouble falling asleep on anywhere that’s not a bed, made worse with nurses coming in every two hourly to do their routine temperature check. At 12 midnight every night, Cass had to be given antibiotics infusion via IV. Without quality sleep, it’s difficult to avoid falling sick. Thus I had to make a tough decision to leave my baby girl alone at the hospital. But knowing that she’s at a 5-star hospital with almost 5-star service, I was at peace and assured that she was in good hands.

And being the tough cookie that she’s always been, Cass had no complaint being left along in the hospital. She’s always wanted freedom and not being fussed and babied at just because she has an issue with her health. Finally she had her taste of freedom. And she ended up missing me! Whenever it was time for me to leave the hospital, she would asked if I could stay just a little longer 😂

Cass’ first lunch. Menu would be hand delivered to us every evening for next day’s meals.

The omelette wrap looks simple but it’s pretty tasty, though not salty or oily, befitting a meal for kids in the pediatric ward.

Tuna bolognese pasta:

Our top favorite dish – grilled rosemary chicken chop:

Chicken breast sandwich:

Tuna sandwich:

Breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner in bed – something that her OCD mum would never ever allow at home 😁

My afternoon snacks – my favorite Emping Belinjau chips and raw sour mango bought from the sundry store and MBG at the hospital:

On the day of her discharge, when we were about to leave the room, Cass told me that she’s going to miss her hospital stay. She missed being pampered, having all her meals in bed and not having to do homework. She kept turning back to look at the room and said that she’s going to be back. Knock on wood!!

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