List of advised when trying to conceive

Assalammualaikum!

As promised, I am listing the advises given to me as I try to conceive...

1) Start taking folic acid
2) Start taking fish oils
3) Eat healthy
4) Look at baby photos more often
5) Play with babies - visit new mums and thier babies
6) Relax, don't stress.
7) Enjoy yourself while at it, don't over think about it.
8) Minimize movement after deposit is done (I wish they are talking about cash deposits, LOL!)
9) Pray and don't miss it (harder done than said)
10) Pray together with the husband, it will be more powerful

I guess these are the best ones. I don't want to appear as trying too hard, but how easy can it be? I am eligible to see the doctor and get fertility treatments now that we are a year old together. I am hesitant, because I want it to come naturally. Seriously, I never knew getting pregnant is this hard when you want it so much!

With my first pregnancy, it came as a shock. A pleasant surprise for me but not for Skinny R, whom I cant stop blaming for my loss. I mean Skinny R and I hardly did it, and I got pregnant. And now, here.. when I really want it, when the Husband and I have been trying everytime, I just somehow didn't end up pregnant yet.

Many people consoled me, saying it is okay... Afterall Allah SWT knows best, perhaps He wants me (or us) to accomplish more better things before welcoming his most honorable gift. Perhaps my business should run first before I can fall pregnant. I am not sure, for I don't know what lies ahead. I just hope that everyone including me will be given that strength to continue living as a whole.

No woman is any less of a woman if she couldn't bear a child or wasn't blessed with one. People should probably just stop expecting that from any married couple. Not that I ever stopped asking if the newly weds are blessed with one coming up soon to even expect people from asking me that golden question, but I guess it is an opportunity to get more tips and prayers from people in some way.

Afterall, what is said is also a form of prayer right? Oh I wish I wish I wish I can call a little one my own...

Enough on the little one that has yet to come, tomorrow Husband and I will be in-charge of a wedding photobooth for our friend. And so the next post will probably be about their joyous day.

Till I blog again!

Wassalam,
Jun

Trying so hard for our little one..

Assalammua'alaikum!

I finally had the courage to post on my FB my frustrations of trying - but all that being just not good enough - with negative results every month. So.. This month.. it is 4days to one year of actively trying.

My dilemma was just between having faith (that maybe it is just not time yet), having myself checked (which breaks down further to a dilemma between going poly to be referred to KKH or to a Gynae for some tests and advice), or to just try other means (traditional massage).

What I posted:

Translation:
Sometimes, it seems that others are getting pregnant fairly easy, some don't plan/intend to be, whilst some planned at hit the spot. I don't know about me... I don't know if I should leave it to faith, if I should go for massage, or if I should see a Dr (Gynae) for fertility treatment. What do you guys think?

I wasn't expecting anyone to come back to me with any encouragement. But I received 14 comments, and all of them are filled with great encouragement, and good suggestions.

My personal favourite is this:

I had always feel her sister love, even though we only met in person once (which is about 3 years ago - if not longer). From her being engaged, now she has two kids!

Then these brought me smiles:

And this last one I had to reply:

I have two apps that records my period and cleverly notify me of my Os. And both apps, despite having the same standard settings of 28days cycle, 6-8days long period and 14 day Os. Both apps will give different days of my Os and expected date for my next period.

I am still hesitating to call the Gynae (I am leaning towards the one at Clementi Central). I heard good stuff about her, I am just afraid I wont get an appointment with her following her extreme busy schedule (I know I know, just pick up the phone and call to enquire).

I was also thinking of just visiting the polyclinic for referral, just wonder if it is a better option.

Anyone else care to advice?

A female Gynae to recommend perhaps?

Xoxo,
Anxious wife

Wassalam,
Jun

Review of FujiFilm Instax Mini 8 & Capturing Moment

Assalammu'alaikum!

Yes, it is time for a review because I have finally collected my loot!

I finally can put a face to the guy behind @instaxmoment on Instagram and the owner behind Capturing Moment of FB. A very nice calm man, he placed the bag full of loot at the backseat of my car, and reminded me that the camera had a sensor, and that it is best to rotate the mode to the one it suggested. I handed my cash for loot, and off we go....

 So nice to give us this bag! I had to grab over and get the camera out with a pack of Mickey films.

And yes, I took it out the moment we drove off! I immediately load the batteries and films, and shoot off the protecting film and tested the sensor.

And he WA me nice words to enjoy snapping away. I will surely return, Sir! Your service is too awesome not to return! 

I like the feel of the camera, my husband however said it is on a heavy side (I personally didnt even feel the weight). I shooted when I had the chance. Here's my first two shots!

I like how it works somehow with the mickey films. Nice that a shot of me had "My Gal" and "100% kissable" with Mickey and cupid bow/arrow while a shot of my husband had "So cute" with Minnie and hearts.

I knew it was a choice I wont regret. So far, the sensor only points to "indoor". I should brave the shyness and start shooting outside, maybe. :)

Then, I tried shooting my husband in pitch dark with Hi-Key mode.

I was amazed how the picture ended up so bright and clear. I wont be able to achieve this with other cameras that I've ever owned before. Awesome!!

All in all, it is so easy to operate and handle this pretty thing! I could fit it (with the box) into my Crochet Spacious Bag! And yes, I still keep it in the box with the bubble wrap! LOL!

And, oh! Did I mention how ergonomic it is to hold and shoot away with this Polaroid camera? I think all the Polaroid cameras are just as ergonomic. It is easy to hold with one hand, and snap. The buttons are all placed at the perfect position! I like how the shoot button is in the front and not the top like most cameras. It allows the user to hold with one hand only, two hands if your hands are not sturdy maybe, but this thing always gives me clear awesome picture no matter how shaky I was. (I never had steady hands - which is why I hated digital cameras that needs to be dead still for a clear picture, and also the reason why I ask someone else to help when approached to take a snap for a family)

And yes.. the films.. cheap cameras often comes with an expensive pricetag for the films like how an expensive camera comes with a relatively cheaps films (or none at all as everything is digital now!)

At capturingmoment, the films are relatively cheaper than most physical shops or vending machine - or so I heard there's one at JCube. Most shops retail plain instax mini films at $10/pack. As reported by a friend, the vending machine retails at $7.90/pack. I am the kind who likes to buy bulk, and I will in a heartbeat, WA CapturingMoment and tell him I want 10packs, and get it at $74. It gets cheaper when i go bulkier. 60packs are at $414. 80packs are for $544. $10/pack vs $7.40/pack, tell me you are still going to get the $10/pack. If you don't want to use 10packs, well... gather 10 friends and combine forces to purchase! Isn't sharing caring? ;) Speaking of which... Do hola me if you wanna combine order, as I might do that pretty frequently, at the moment I am booking my niece and a friend to join order as and when we need more films. And if I happen to have extra, or well, i will just sell it at $8.50 (including free local normal post). ;)

The decorated films at CapturingMoment retails from $11.50-$15ish. And the best part? It is all in-stock, no deposit required to reserve (if new stocks are coming) and you can self-collect or simply pay the postage! He mails them in 24hrs after receiving payment (for postage) and COD for self-collection.

If you can't wait, go find this vending machine at Jcube!

I screamed in excitement in my head when I see her message on my phone! So pretty! So convenient! I am so hitting that route soon!

I cant wait for my friendly assignment on 28th! I hope we can do it well and smoothly.The guestbook is 80% complete. It is very basic - not too fancy. They both loved the simplicity I portrayed across to their guestbook. I hope the guests would enjoy writing and signing on it too.

Secretly I wish there are spares so I can bring home and take more instant photos! And a friend tot of hooking me up with a guestbook+photo booth service with her. We'll see.. Husband is already complaining about the lack of time and attention la! ;)

Afterall my new sideline will start in April where I will crash-train over 2-3 days to deliver business modules. Then my business will also  start taking off. I will be running non-stop all over the place. And if all goes well, I intend to stick to my freelance job alone in 2015 without a full time job that will drain me.

My journey with the youngest Business Guru aka The Lady Boss will soon begin... I can't wait!
Can you already guess who she is? Would you like to be part of the team?

Till I blog again! (Next entry will be about my struggles trying for the little one and all the advices I got, because I love sharing!)

Wassalam,
Jun

45 views on my previous post!

Assalammualaikum readers! A blessed Friday 13th approach us yet again!

I was awaken by 46 views on my previous post, that is big jump! And it got me hype to blog this entry. :)

I first started blogging in 2004, capturing the things I often took for granted. Rough patch, tough life. Blogging kept me sane, knowing people read and could somehow relate to my journey at some point in time. And then everyone began to blog... Now, I somehow can say that I am the only few among my friends who still blogs.

It is just me, I love sharing and writing. It only made sense to blog, right? Besides, I need an outlet where I can rant out or divert my attention so I am back to the positive self.

I dunno how many out there actually followed my blog, but I hope it helps my readers in a way or another. I admit my blogs tend to end up on a boring side because of the lack of photos and visuals. I guess, that is because of how my family and I often avoided the camera.

Speaking of camera... My niece's Polaroid Camera (Mini 7s) had made me want mine. Weird how my niece now influence me. It used to be me influencing them, and now, I get amazed whenever they get into the trend and have new stuff in their loot.

It was my niece who got me contacts of some suppliers to get films and camera. Well, it wasn't really about me initally. It was my husband's friend who is getting married in few weeks' time and he wanted us to help with his guestbook, then somehow the idea of a photobooth pop up, and so we were sourcing for a supplier who can supply us 800 pieces of plain films at a good inviting price.

We source high and low, we got some that offers 100pieces for $74. Not bad.. then my niece prompt me that she got a cheaper deal 600 pieces for $414, then we asked for 800 pieces and it total up to $544! Good buy! $0.68/film is awesome compared to $1/film.

And that deal went on to a short chat about the models and the differences and all. Here's what the supplier gave me in comparison of all the models he has in-stock (awesome right? Now you wanna know who this guy is? Are you screaming yes already?)

I would say this is such a good table for comparison. And yes, he watermarked this, so you surely know who I am referring to already! :)

He is a nice guy, always promptly answer my queries (no matter how obvious the answer, he still sound polite - thought I am only texting, but i know how some ppl reply and we can almost hear them) I mistook him for a her, and conveniently texted a "good morning Sis" or something along that line, and he politely and subtly corrected me, that in an instance gave him another two thumbs up on service rendered.

I went on playing noob, asking him questions with such an obvious answer, and he still politely reply me like it was his pleasure to answer me even when there is no absolute guarantee yet that I am going to buy or if I will play MIA.

And yes... because of his 9.5 out of 10 customer service, I just had to... LOL. And so I added a Mini 8s to my loot. Then he asked if I'd like some accessories to go with the camera, which I politely declined, BUT... he is so nice! So I added 2packs of Mickey Rock My World films.



Too cute to resist right! So ya, go check capturingmoment already! Good deals! And awesome service, what more can anyone ask?

I will blog again after I receive my loot and share what pictures I snap with it.

Do share with me your polaroid moment or drop me a tip or two, I will appreciate it, and I might compile it all to share with everyone else!

That is all for today, till I blog again.

Xoxo,
Wassalam,
Jun

Riot after the long historial racial riot back in 1964

Assalammualaikum!

Read about the news here: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/27-arrested-over-riot-in/914932.html

I was awaken by my husband after 10ish pm. I went back to sleep not thinking about it. I woke up, make my husband breakfast, and scrolling through my FB and all I see in my newsfeed were about this riot at Little India.

WOW! I never knew it can escalate to this much of violence and such. It all began when a fellow South Asian worker was knocked down by a private bus. FATAL accident. Then everyone gathered around to find out. A patrol car (and I suppose the ambulance too) was sent down, but the patrol car arrived first, and just like that riot broke out, some 200 South Asians start hitting, and breaking the bus apart, and another group set fire to the patrol car.

CAN you even imagine the chaos? Thank god my family and I were all tucked in bed safe and sound. Only the people there would have known what actually happened. It was gruesome, whatever the reason may be. It is still questionable why anyone would burn and turn over any vehicle, be it a patrol car, ambulance or the involved bus.

WHY? Would it actually solve any misery? Oh well.. I wouldnt want to get too much into this.

I had actually came here to blog about my eldest niece farewell to fly to Sumatra for the week. She bet her mom would cry, in the end.... it was HER who shed tears crying for Ummi, holding hands to check in. Oh my poor baby. LOL. Her sister strong and all, but i do not she was just holding all her emotions back inside her. She might just burst on her 1st, maybe 2nd night alone reminiscing her sister.

 The whole family was with her to say our goodbyes and to support her. Guess what? 20 students, and 2 teachers were supposed to fly on Valuair to Medan at 1045hrs, departing at T1. My sister and her family were there since 0630hrs, and my parents, husband and I was there at 0730hrs. Just at about 0900hrs, we noticed the flight was cancelled. The teachers were a little disorganized, and only at 1000ish did they go around telling us that noone was informed of the flight cancellation and that they are now in the midst of discussion on their next step. And so wait we shall...

Just as we decide to hit BK for breakfast, my niece was told to head down to T2. And so we left breakfast and went ahead to T2. We already figured that they will probably hit Silkair and fly at 12nn.

As expected, that was what it is. However students need to top up $200 each using their Edusave (or equivalent account - i think they changed their abbreviation, because my niece mentioned P__ - i forgot already, getting old la!) So, we grabbed breakfast for real this time.

My niece called her dad to inform of the changes and all... and soon enough, it was time for her to go....

 This is me with my 2nd baby - isnt she so grown up now?

 And this is my first baby who will be in Sumatra for a week. (Before she shed her tears!)

Baby, be safe. We will always pray for your safety alongside with the group you are travelling with. May you and your friends gain experience and knowledge to impart others with.

Parents, husband and I head down to a wedding straight from the airport, and my sister and her family head home. I know my sister is already missing her daughter, but she is keeping strong. 

After that wedding, with all our glamourous wear, we head down to Geylang Market. LOL! 

Not much marketing was done. No mercy on the fishes. 

Then we hit down to Cold Storage at Jln Jelita to find our Dolce Gusto. We found it along with the most friendliest and helpful promoter! He was not pushy to sell the higher end machine nor was he pushing us to buy, we probably spend about 15minutes of his time deciding. He made us two samples to taste as he showed us how easy it was to make the drink of our choice with the machine. 

 I had Tea Latte (I think). Yummy! And husband got Mocha (I think).

And we brought back Krups Nescafe Dolce Gusto - Mini Me. I like it. I tried the iced peach tea. Two thumbs up at how easy it is to operate and how delicious the drinks are in the end. The fun part is the fact that we can create the drinks to our taste, we can put less milk or more flavour, whichever way you like. And it makes a cup nice for one (200ml) each time, which means no wastage.

I will probably need a thermo mug to bring to the office with my hot cuppa from home. I was really tempted to just bring the machine to the office this morning, oh yes, it was compact, not bulky at all. In fact, it looks tiny beside my thermos water flask. LOL.

I am glad I got it, it makes me impatient to be home! I want a cuppa Chococino when I get home today!

Price wise, it was affordable!

The Piccolo Genio
- comes in automatic and manual. Difference is simply how the amt of water was preset in automatic and it stops automatically, whilst for manual you had to watch your cuppa and manually push the lever to stop at that desired amt of water you want.
- currently retailing at $169 (available at Courts, Harvey Norman, Cold Storage, Best Denki)
- Online said it retails at $189 or $199 though. (The $169, we saw it in stores physically)

The Circolo
-Currently retailing at $259 (available at Courts, Harvey Norman, Cold Storage, Best Denki)

Melody
-Currently retailing at $249 (available at Courts, Harvey Norman, Cold Storage, Best Denki)

Mini Me
- Currently retailing at $199 (only available at Cold Storage)
- With any purchase of $30 in a single receipt, you can get it at $139.
Indeed, the most worth for value if you ask me.

We got 3 boxes of capsules for $32.70, and automatically qualify to get it at $139. Still comes up to just $171.70. :)

Maybe, you should just hit the stores and get one yourself!

XOXO,
Wassalam,
Jun

Excited with the new plan for 2014

Assalammualaikum,

It is December already! That means, it will soon be my wedding anniversary (already!?)!

How time flies. What a wonderful journey....

This time, the husband had learnt. He is planning something, insisting I should be completely free on the 22nd between 2-4pm. In return, I had something plan for him too! I am excited!!!

Before all that fuss and excitement over my wedding anniversary (still too soon to speak, isn't it?), my eldest niece, my sweetest little girl (I refuse to admit that she is an adult at her legal age of 18!), is flying to Sumatra with her schoolmates. And yes, we are sending her off.

Such mushy family she has! She wanted to bet that her mom would cry just she she was flying off, and this I shall update her! LOL! These little crybabies, appear so strong on the outside but ultra sensitive and emotional in the inside. The very reason why I can get on my toes when they cry. Having taken care of her and my other baby niece (I still can't believe they are teenagers going to be adults this soon!), since birth, I could tell somehow when things arent that right for them.

Well, them being teenagers, I had to let them go.. I had to allow them to make their own decision, sidekicking me away in the process.. I had to. Otherwise they wont grow, they might suffocate. I miss them telling me what they did, and asking me what they should do. I miss having them running towards me hugging me and kissing away all my fatigue and worry. I miss them, period! No matter how frequent I get to see them, I still miss them.

And so... My cute lil dimple baby is turning 17 in about 2 weeks time. What did I wished for when I was her age? Freedom.. I still wish for freedom today. LOL! Financial Freedom (does MLM comes ringing into your ears?) Such phrases bounces back to me as "MLM, Stay away!" Funny how some things contaminate such nice phrases.

Anyways, I am crafting my 2014 with a new side career with potentials of making it my full time job, and I am excited!!! SO many opportunities knocked my door as 2013 is nearing the end.

Thank you ALLAH, friends, and supporters. Thank you so much!
Thank you husband for your precious support! I will vouch to make every ounce of your support far more than just worth it!

I gotta run now! Catch me in my next entry!

Wassalam!