How do you get Ultra good skin?

Beauty specialists of any sort (skin docs, makeup artistes, celebs) always say that nothing beats having adequate sleep to give you beautiful, glowing skin, no matter how good your skincare products are. How do you have enough sleep as a mother of a young child, I wonder?

I've read in articles that Fann Wong loves her coffee, drinks lots of green tea, and of course everyone knows that she has bird's nest everyday. Top those with her Bella skincare treatments. So you need a combi of all four to have glowing skin? You may not like Fann but you got to admit she has beautiful skin.

How about skin supplements like Imedeen and Fancl? I've been tempted to try these but I don't like the thought of eating more supplements other than Vit C and Calcium.

What works for me? I think fairly good skincare and sufficient sleep helps. I'm blessed with good skin genes. Now if only I can get enough sleep everday...

Since I'm on the topic of skincare, I use Kiehl's (and Simple cleanser) and I like it. They recently brought in the Ultra Facial range of cleanser and toner to Singapore. But I was appalled at how much they cost here. I paid only USD17.50 (about SGD24) thereabouts for each when I went to the US in March, and it was good thing I bought a few bottles of each to keep. Because they cost SGD41 each here! SGD41 for an all-skin-type cleanser?! I'll have to switch to another brand of cleanser and toner after I'm done with my existing stash.

Just Alv and I

Some women would remark “how can you bear to leave your son behind?” when I tell them that I am going away on a holiday just with my husband.

Yes, I definitely miss my son very much every time I’m away. During our first holiday away from him in 2006 when we went to Tokyo, I panicked when I couldn’t call home for two days because an earthquake in Taiwan had destroyed most of the underwater cables. It was very hard to not let my heart be troubled and totally trust that the Lord takes care of him.

But it is also important that I spend alone-time with my husband. During a typical working day, we’re both so busy and communicate mostly through text-messaging. Once we get home, I’ll be preoccupied with spending time with Ian, and there really isn’t much time left or I’m too tired to talk to Alv after I’ve tucked Ian into bed. So our weekly Friday pak-tor nights and yearly holidays are really precious. It’s so easy to focus all our attention on our child that we neglect each other, and we don’t want that to happen.

When our children grow up and lead their own lives, it will be Alv and I alone again. We don’t want to end up having nothing to say to each other then! And one of the best ways to love your child is really to love your spouse.

So, I’m really looking forward to the two short holidays to Bali and HK that we are planning. After that, it will be to Tokyo with our little boy.

Nothing beats a leisurely shower

This is my Grohe rain shower. Where it now stands is where the bathtub (from the previous owner of my home) used to be. We decided to remove the bathtub and build a big shower stall in its place because

1. we'll probably hardly use the bathtub anyway - especially not when I'm so busy with my son during my free time

2. we wanted more storage space in the bathroom, so with this shower stall, we can get rid of the original shower cubicle and build a storage cabinet in its place

3. showers are easier and faster to enjoy anyway

I always enjoy my showers after a hard day's work. I remember during my maternity leave, long showers were also a rare treat - I had to quickly be done with showering before my son woke up!

Which was why we decided to splurge on this $1.2K Grohe shower head. The ROI from years of use to come and the joys of leisurely showers just makes it worth it.

I had a ledge built on the other end of the rain shower. It was meant to be a sitting area for me as I get my mask done or do my scrubs while the smells of aromatherapy fill the bathroom - like what you get in a spa.

I haven't got down to using it for that yet. Meanwhile it has become a "shelf" for the family's toiletries and Ian's container "toys". How glam is that. But I suppose this is what a home is really about. Homes don't look anything like show flats when you have a young child. And I certainly don't mind it at all.

Celebrating six years of marriage

Alv and I celebrated six years of marriage from our ROM date 8 Aug 2002. Our church wedding anniversary date was more significant to us but it was still an occasion for celebration and good food! I forgot all about it but Alv remembered and booked Barnacles at Sentosa initially. After telling him that the food there is not great, we wanted to go to Buko Nero but it was booked for a private party. So we ended up at Valentino's. We were happy with the choice.

We shared a seafood soup, a parma ham pizza without cheese, a duck ragout penne, and stewed pork ribs - the latter two being the specials of the day. For dessert, we had four! The appetisers and main courses weren't a lot, you know. We had panna cotta, choc cake with rum, white choc sponge cake, and lemon meringue. I particularly enjoyed the soup, pizza, duck penne, panna cotta, and lemon meringue.

But like many married-with-kids couple, we still had to do the more practical stuff after a romantic sumptous dinner - we had to buy groceries for the weekend! After that it was going home to put Ian to bed by 9pm.

It has been a wonderful six years of marriage. It was not all smooth-sailing, being two imperfect, strong-minded individuals and when we faced trials in our lives. But we have a perfect Saviour in the midst of our marriage. And for that we are thankful. With Him, our marriage can only get sweeter and sweeter.

The Lord is my defence

There are some things on my mind and I feel the urge to write about them here. But since this is a blog about the things I enjoy doing/writing about, and since I've decided that I shall be a more guarded person at work, then all I shall write is - the Lord is my defence. I know He always backs me up and He has never let me down.

Why I would do it all over again

Being a mama is hard work. The hardest for me must be the nights of interrupted sleep I've got since Ian was born, the light sleeper that I was and having to go to work the next day. No matter how late I end up sleeping the night before, I have to be ready to get out of the bed when Ian wakes up. But I've got used to it, and now with Ian being older and having a fixed 2 hour naptime, I get to catch up on my sleep during the weekends.

It was really tough when he was a newborn. I was traumatised by how little sleep I got initially but there wasn't much of a choice. I had to wake up when he woke up. And your body does get used to less sleep.

I thought about how having a second child will disrupt my sleep patterns again. It may be worse, since I will have two to take care of. Ian is very clingy to me even with my mum-in-law (his primary caregiver when I go to work) around. I may end up sleeping even less.

But I will still do it all over again, enduring the nights of disrupted sleep, finding pockets of time during the day (when I don't have to go to work) to sleep, fighting sleep when playing with my child. Why? Really, the joy you experience when you play with your child, talk to him/her, see his/her eyes light up when discovering new things (e.g when Ian found the pelican statue in the bird park and kept touching its beak), even look at him/her sleep, is so precious that it is a joy that no material possessions can ever give you. So yes, I will love to have another child!

Friends with kids tell me they miss the times their children were babies and growing up. Now I know what they mean. It may be tough at the time but looking back, even the tough time is to be savoured.

Being a mama also gave me an insight into the heart of my Heavenly Father. Jesus said that if a man knows how to give his children good things, how much more our Father in heaven! It delights me to see my little boy enjoying himself and I want to make him happy. Now I understand better how my Abba feels, that He delights in making me happy. :)

I stopped coveting LVs

There was a time in my life - age 29 to 31 - when I wished I had an LV. I would look enviously at people I know who would carry a new LV every few months. I wondered why it was so easy for them to buy an LV so often when it seemed so hard for me. A rich husband? Generous parents? Rent-a-bag web sites? Scrimping and saving?

I wanted an LV so much then. But forking out over $1K for a bag from my savings was ridiculous. And there was no way I'll save on lunch and buying new clothes every month just so I could buy that LV bag after several months. So I satisfied my craving for an LV by surfing the Web site and visiting the LV store.

HM calls LV a "lao cha bor" brand (I laughed and laughed when she told me that) and some friends eschew LV because of the many aunties carrying fakes around. Still to be seen with an LV is like a sign that you've made it in life for a woman, rich husband or no.

But after the birth of my son, I stopped coveting an LV. It was no longer important that I had an LV. Time spent with my son, the joyful moments between just two of us, seeing him smile and laugh became more valuable than owning an LV bag. The Lord has blessed me with so much already.

I still like buying new bags, especially lovely uniquely-designed leather ones from Pedder Red, Bebe, Nine West, Indivi (which I buy in Japan) and once in a long while Furla. Now I'm eyeing the Longchamp Rival Tote (left) and Longchamp Vintage Tote; Alv is going to Paris for work in Sep and Longchamp is cheaper in Paris, I think (I don't know how much they cost yet!) LV is cheaper there too but I've lost interest in it already. I no longer need an LV to make me feel happy and I'm very glad.