Friday, May 31, 2013

mummy: secrets of the tomb


Happened to learn about this exhibition at the artscience museum and it's definitely a must-go for me! I love stuff like that! I remember when I was really young, archaeologist was one of my "Who do you want to be when you grow up?" answers. There's something fascinating about learning the past and I really wonder why I never passed my history tests/exams before. MOE please 反省反省 hahahaha!

Anyway, this exhibition by the british museum is here in singapore and southeast asia for the first time. It showcases 6 mummies and over 100 artefacts from ancient egypt. Very disappointed that photography is not allowed. How else can I preserve those memories? *pui!*

The main highlight is actually the mummy of nesperennub, a temple priest. His cartonnage coffin has never been opened, but is unveiled virtually by advanced scanning technology. The priest's life and death, as well as a digital reconstruction of his face, was presented in a form of a 21min 3D movie.


I was quite skeptical actually. Sure it's amazing the amount of information that they found out just by making use of technology and without even unwrapping the mummy. Heck, they even found out the skeleton had a small dent inside the skull. But seriously, whatever they say we also will believe right? Who can prove that they're wrong? =\

The exhibition also had an embalmer's workshop but sadly when we were there it wasn't the time for the demonstration. I believe it would be quite disgusting lmao! I think I'll faint if I were to see a real embalming process. Especially when they smash and scrape out the brains. O_O

The other mummies were quite......normal? There was one of a young singer. I suppose she must be quite important to be mummified. nesperennub's was set apart from the rest of the exhibition, in his own private room "under the stars". I wonder if any museum houses mummies which are unwrapped? I'm quite curious and interested to see for myself how they actually look like lol.

Other than that, the rest of the exhibition were mainly artifacts which weren't as interesting. I was expecting something bigger and more interesting actually. Oh wells. 

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

popo is 4!

Yep, she'll be 4 years old tomorrow. I'd thought about bringing her out to celebrate, but it coincides with a weekday and my mum's birthday (yes me jealous), so it's gonna have to be belated. Hopefully she'll have a friend to celebrate it for her. *hint hint ting*

Some short updates about her recently -

Raw feeding
Ahhh~ My favorite subject these 2 months. From chicken (she can take fillets, breasts with bone, necks, wings, thighs, drumsticks, and liver), she has moved on to pork (boneless loin or hind), and will be having her first taste of lamb next week! I know I really should feed her larger bones like pork ribs or lamb shanks but I guess I'm still quite paranoid about her breaking her teeth. bad momma I know. :( 

Expenses have almost doubled as compared to solely chicken. Gave her some lettuce the other day and she happily chomped it down. My baby peeeeg!

Sterilization
I spayed her 2 weeks ago. It wasn't as worrying as I thought it would be. Dropped her off at the vet in the morning and picked her up after work. She was still groggy that night, but the next morning onwards she was almost back to herself. Nearly had a heart attack when she jumped barely a week later. I was more careful about the wound than she was herself. Tsk. She didn't have to wear an e-collar, but paranoid me bought a tee to prevent her from scratching. And yes, I suck at estimation so it was WAYY too big. -_- Quite happy though, that the wound's healing pretty nicely now. It hasn't really started to itch yet. *cross fingers*

I got her teeth cleaned too. Although it looked like they didn't do a very good job. Or perhaps the stain was just too stubborn to remove. For some reason her breath still smells slightly. Guess I just have to give her some more time for the detox and supplements to settle down. 

Grooming
Yes I still suck at this. In particular, cutting her nails. To the extent I've practically developed a phobia about it. She's more okay with me filing her nails but it takes so damn long just to shorten one nail. She has 18, including 2 dews. I figured a grinder would be faster. *sigh* She's getting to be sooo expensive. :(

That's all! Hopefully her batch of toys can come in soon! ^^

Sunday, May 26, 2013

[sponsored review] Bio-essence Royal Jelly + ATP series

If you don't already know, Bio-essence is by far my favorite brand of skincare and makeup. I've purchased and re-purchased their BB cream, and have also reviewed their miracle water (and am still using it everyday). And look! more BE goodies for mee!


Not 1, but 3! It's the 三宝 from the Shape V Face series - (L to R) Face Lifting Cream, Radiant Youth Essence, and Deep Exfoliating Gel, all with royal jelly and ATP.

ATP is known as the "energy currency of life". It improves micro circulation to facilitate the renew and repair of our skin cells while restoring suppleness, radiance and firmness. In other words, anti-aging! Which I actually desperately need lol.

Face Lifting Cream ($49.90)


It claims to have marvelous benefits such as:
1. Lifts facial contours
2. Firms sagging skin
3. Reduces double chin
4. Contracts pores and refines skin
5. Reduces appearance of aging lines
6. Deeply nourishes and moisturizes skin
7. Reduces visible fine lines and wrinkles
8. Shapes V face, enhancing feminine charm

Sounds too good to be true eh? I was quite skeptical of this product actually, cos I've read many reviews of heavy breakouts and how the results don't last. But there must be a reason why there's over 6 million bottles sold (or so they said) right?

My take on it: I hate tubs like this. It's really not hygienic to dig into the tub of cream every day, nor do I like the cream going deep into my nails when I do that. Therefore I use a q-tip, which makes applying it kinda troublesome. I also use it only on my chin and neck, just in case it breaks me out. As such, I didn't really bother measuring before and after. I don't quite think it would make a difference since I don't feel any heating sensation at all. The cream is not as heavy as some complained, but I didn't like the smell. It's very......chemical-ish. Lol. Am rather disappointed I must say. (But I'll still use it lah.) :(

Radiant Youth Essence ($38.90)

 
It claims to contain 95% green tea extract which is super anti-oxidant to protect the skin against signs of aging. It also keeps the skin supple and hydrated.

My take on it: It's oily upon application, but at least they acknowledged it by stating it's normal and will get absorbed in 1 minute. I didn't monitor how long it took but when I woke up my face wasn't oily. Probably my favorite product in this range, cos my skin does feel slightly better the next day.

To be honest, with the photoshoot in a couple of months and the ROM in October, I'm beginning to feel kinda desperate to do whatever I can to improve my skin condition. I know there's photoshop, but still. *shrugs*

Deep Exfoliating Gel ($32.90)


Benefits:
- Exfoliates blackheads and whiteheads
- Exfoliates dead layer of skin
- Brightens dull skin
- Regulates and balances oil secretion
- Prevents pimples
- Lightens scars and pimple marks

My take on it: It smells pretty herbal lol. I like using gels like this because I really can feel that my skin becomes cleaner. But the downside is both my hands and my face have to be dry for it to work. Kinda troublesome when I use it during bathtime. But anyway, it does work to remove the dead layer and skin becomes smoother. I like!

Bio-essence now has an UNLOCK YOUR FEMININE CHARM facebook game where you can win daily prizes! 

Friday, May 17, 2013

重逢


Classic songs...still the best. :)
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

popo's PMR diet - part 2

if you've read the whole chunk in my previous post on popo's transition into a PMR diet, and wondering / doubting / considering it, let me also share with you some of the doubts and concerns i had.

is kibble really rubbish?
when my grandmother first saw me cutting up the chicken for popo, she commented (in mandarin), "good ah, this one fresh. those dry ones processed before one". that got me thinking. a 70 year old housewife saw it so easily, why did it take me so long to realize that?

* does kibble look anything like chicken? beef? pork? fish? no right? so something was done to the meat. i don't know, all that came to my mind is this huge container where everything is just dumped into it, mixed and cooked, artificial stuff added, then come out from the machine as what we call, kibble.
* i read somewhere that someone compared dogs eating kibbles to human eating cereal. it's has all the nutrients, but try eating it everyday. it sucks eh?  
* no matter how grain-free they claim to be, there'll always be grains. they're used as fillers, to form the shape and texture of the kibbles. dogs don't need, and can't digest, grains. it's also one of the causes of allergies. 
* how can it stay on the shelf for so long? this is common sense - preservatives. like maggi mee. i bet you can survive on eating it every day. but will you be healthy in the long run?

i also read that most owners who switched to raw never switch back to kibbles, unless they're unable to afford raw meat anymore, or that it's harder to find meat sources in their area. besides, if you've tasted steak, would you go back to cereal? :\

furthermore, think about this. have you seen articles anywhere that recommends kibbles and are not written by a pet food company? i personally haven't. yet there are so many articles encouraging raw feeding, written by dog nutritionists and holistic vets and experienced raw feeders. if they don't earn by spreading this information, why do they still do it? 

however, having said that, i do know people who still feed their dogs kibbles, or feed it interchangeably with raw food. some reasons i gathered - for showing purposes, too expensive (especially for big dogs), or that the dogs cannot take raw food. truth be told, it is a fact that some dogs can be healthy eating kibbles their whole life, and some dogs can't take raw. it was also one of my concerns if popo could and would thrive on raw food. but you never know if you don't try, right?

eating raw meat makes the dog bloodthirsty (first thing my mum said)


look at her face. popo bloodthirsty? for her soft toy perhaps. *shrugs* but i understand where it's coming from. popo growled for the first time during her first chicken wing meal. that was when i tried to move her from the newspaper to the towel. that night, she growled again when we played tug-of-war. 

now, for play-growling, i asked my best friend google, and he said she was most probably getting quite confident and not afraid to show me she's having fun. that's not a bad thing isn't it? building popo's confidence is what i've been trying to do. also, sometimes when we play tug-of-war, i'll quickly swop the toy with my finger to see if she bites. she realizes that almost immediately so she just licks it. and she used to nibble my nails way before i changed her diet, and still does. -_- anyway, she doesn't growl anymore during tug-of-war. :X

however, i'm going to be honest about it. resource guarding is a common result of raw feeding. i used to be able to stick my hand in her kibble bowl with no problem, but apparently not the same for raw. once i made the mistake of trying to grab the wing from her when i thought she might choke on it. i didn't succeed in the end, but it got her all scared and nervous, and got me thinking and doing more research on this. here's what i learnt from the experienced raw feeders.

* any dog will bite. which is something naive me refuses to believe. maybe i'll wait till popo bites me then.
* while it might escalate into a bite, resource guarding is not aggression.
* resource guarding has nothing to do with diet. it can be anything that the dog deems valuable enough to put up a fight for, like food or toys. i guess to popo, kibbles and cooked chicken just ain't worth the effort. :P
* resource guarding can be countered by training, something i definitely need to work on. she has also taken very much to guarding her stuffed toy; she carries it around in her mouth. i've been working on that one first, and so far she does let go of the toy when i ask her to.
* dogs have the right to eat in peace, and you should only give food that you don't need to take it back. my mistake. i try not to let people crowd around her. she's pretty okay with me monitoring her nearby so i'm still doing that. i leave her alone when i'm not feeding bones though. (sometimes i hand-feed her to make her realize that I'M the one giving the food, so there's no point guarding it against me.)

germs and bacteria on/in raw food
yes, there are germs and bacteria on it, and you may think it's safer to cook them first. but cooking destroys the nutrients and live enzymes inside, so what's the point then? and don't forget there's also germs and bacteria on the floor, their bed, their bowls, their toys, your hand, the sofa, everywhere (don't pretend you don't know they lick their butt)! 

according to the many articles online, dogs' saliva can eliminate bacteria. i guess that's why people say their saliva has 'healing properties'. their stomach acid are also strongly acidic, which not only kills bacteria but also speeds up the digestive process. add that to a shorter intestine, and the bacteria (or whatever is left) gets pooped out before they have a chance to manifest. 

nevertheless, this was one of my worries, despite having read so many assurances. in western countries (somehow the westerners are more willing to share pictures and information on this topic), they feed their dogs outside the house. on the grass. no problem eh. some feed meat that has gone a little bad. no problem. some dogs bury the meat in the garden and eat it days later. no problem. some eat roadkill. no problem. some give the chicken directly, head and feathers included. no problem. i keep telling myself, as compared to all these, the human-grade (which means suitable for human consumption) meat i buy from the supermarket, washed, and that she eats it on a towel, must surely be cleaner.

and parasites INSIDE the meat. (freezing kills parasites.) chicken was not that bad i suppose. but i was quite hesitant when deciding what meat to get next. i can't feed beef at home due to religious reasons (which to me is unfair because popo didn't ask for it), people have been telling me duck is poisonous and pork is unclean, and that mutton results in a smelly odour. -_- i can't remain with chicken only, so what can i feed?

i've read about this before. seriously, we need to stop using our human standards to gauge or measure the dogs. what WE think is good or bad for us/them, may not be true in actual fact. let's go with mother nature. i believe if mother nature designed them to eat meat in the wild, she would have made sure they're equipped with the necessary stuff to deal with and survive on it. raw feeders in singapore feed all sorts of meat with no problem so i guess it takes a little of that worry off. :|

p/s. kibbles aren't as clean and sterile as you think they are

choking
yes. i'm still very worried about this. dogs don't chew in their mouths. they'll gladly swallow if it's small enough, and give a chomp or two if not. which is why i always monitor when i give popo a bone meal (or make sure someone's watching her). initially i was super hesitant to give bones, so i searched for videos and photos of papillons eating bones. managed to find a pappy puppy gnawing a wing and that made me so much more assured. while it's an understandable concern, i don't think it's a reason not to give bones. because they can *touchwood* choke on anything - bones, kibbles and treats alike.

i was getting advice from someone who wrote a book on the PMR diet. here's what he said.


disadvantages
of course there are. PMR is not as easy as scoop and pour, although i guess it's easier than homemade BARF. main difficulty would be the nutrient value. kibbles or prepacked raw already come with pre-allocated nutrients, but for PMR, we have to monitor ourselves. as they say, a poorly executed PMR plan is just as bad as kibbles.

we also have to separate the food into individual packets (sometimes i weigh sometimes i don't) so it's easier to take just that amount down to thaw. and we have to remember to take it down to thaw, or popo won't have the next meal (though i've heard some dogs prefer stuff frozen or semi-frozen). 

expenses-wise, my mum buys majority of the chicken at the market (she pays!) so it's pretty cheap. i think she got the liver for free too. but i buy my chicken and pork from the supermarket (i think it's safer), which is slightly more expensive. saw the prices of lamb and beef and am horrified lmao. overall, i spent $20 (cost price) on her initial pack of kibbles, which could last a couple of months comfortably. last month, she ate like, $30 of chicken, and that's gonna go up cos chicken is the cheapest. nevertheless, i'm still pretty happy that she's eating natural healthy food (loving it too!) and can't wait for everything to work out.

of course, the biggest disadvantage about this diet, is that reading about it opened me to more knowledge on dog nutrition. which made me think back about the kind of food we were feeding bobby 10 years ago - pedigree (crap kibbles), rice (grains) and wet food (enhanced). perhaps, just perhaps, we were slowly killing him with the rubbish he's eating? perhaps i could have more years with him if i had known about all these back then?

one more thing, don't expect to get help or advice or information from your vet on raw feeding. lol. most vets (i believe there's just one semi-holistic vet in the whole of singapore) don't know or encourage or advise or recommend raw feeding. from what i gather - firstly, vets are not nutritionists. they only solve problems. secondly, vets have limited nutrition lectures in school, which are often by pet food companies. thirdly, i don't believe they don't earn commission from selling the food in their clinic. the vet clinic which i go to is considerably one of the better clinics and i got a curt "no comment" when i asked if raw food was better. i bet she could say more if i asked which dry food was better! tsk.

Oh wells. The end! From what I see, raw feeding is indeed still very 'new' and unknown among majority of dog owners in singapore. If I weren't working here, I guess I would never have gotten popo nor found out about this diet. It's pretty common overseas, but locally, the only places I could find information on this was through the forums, and even there it wasn't very comprehensive. Usually raw feeders will reply to a raw-feeding question, but not share about their own experience. I guess I'm pretty lucky to be able to befriend a few experienced raw feeders and to have them guide me and answer my long-winded questions. XD

Therefore I decided to share my experience for newcomers to get a brief overview of what raw feeding is about. Of cos, I didn't cover all the points. That's for potential raw feeders to do some work themselves. I know it's contradicting cos I don't take meat myself, but as of now I'm really enjoying feeding and seeing her eat her meat. I really really hope everything goes well cos I really really don't want to go back to kibbles. LOL.

Monday, May 13, 2013

[sponsored review] hada labo arbutin whitening lotion

i'm sure everyone's heard of hada labo and their "one drop lock up the ocean" thingy. it's supposedly extremely popular in japan and quite in singapore. have only tried a few of their samples so far, which i wouldn't think is enough to show results. so tah-da~! i got sponsored a bottle of the no.1 best selling whitening lotion in japan!


it has 3 main ingredients:
♥ natural bearberry (arbutin) to fight dark spots. it also smoothes and clarifies to optimize skin's radiance and translucency. 
♥ a special blend of vitamin c to help skin recover from accumulated sun damage while reducing the appearance of dark spots.
♥ unique triple hyaluronic acid formula to fully hydrate skin from surface to deep within. 

hada labo uses only the finest and purest ingredients without the unnecessary additives, colourant, alcohol, fragrances, and mineral oils, staying true to its brand philosophy of PERFECT X SIMPLE. 

my take on it:


by lotion, they actually mean toner, so its texture is definitely more watery instead of creamy. it gets absorbed / dries up quite fast, although it leaves a slightly sticky feeling on my face afterwards. i guess it's because it doesn't have alcohol?

i've been using it for about 2 weeks, but not much effects to be honest. maybe a little bit more hydrated. guess this needs long term usage to see results.

it's about $23 from watsons and guardian. :)

Thursday, May 9, 2013

[sponsored review] mentholatum deep moist - natural

i realize i have several sponsored lip care from mentholatum. lol. and this time, they gave me yet another lip balm - deep moist in natural.


deep moist was launched in 2008 and quickly became one of the top selling lip balms in japan's lip care market. its success was due to 2 main factors - premium hydrating ingredients at value pricing, and elegant ergonomic packaging design.


main ingredients include:
♥ hyaluronic acid - forms a smooth, moisture-locking shield for softer, smoother lips. it can hold up to 1000x its weight in water, or 6L, with just 1g
♥ shea butter - heals the skin, and gives a soft, pleasant texture to the lip balm
♥ jojoba oil - gives prolonged, whole-day hydration to the lips

how is the packaging different?


it's oval! first time i see an oval-shaped lip balm. it's actually designed to fit the corner of the mouth and makes it easy to apply with a single swipe.

my take on it:
i already have one lip balm in the office and one in my bag, so this one i can leave at home. i tend to bite my lips so it's really convenient to have one lying around in full view all the time. *lazy* i like deep moist the most as it doesn't leave a sticky feeling. there's no smell or taste either, so i practically don't remember having it on my lips. and when i do happen to lick them, my lips are all nice and smooth. yay!

as for the design, my initial thought was, "wah special leh!" lol. now that i come to think of it, it does glide on easier than the common round balms.

it retails for $8 at watsons/guardian/departmental stores, slightly higher than your average lip balm, so you know this one is good! :)

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

cos it's us against the world, you and me against them all.

popo loves her raw meat. and i like seeing how excited she is for it. unfortunately, no one else shares the same sentiments. time and time again my mum tells me i should cook the meat because "got a lot of bacteria", and my dad complains "为什么养狗养到这么辛苦". 

so many times i feel like giving up and telling them they can do whatever they want. thankfully i always stop myself in time. popo is MY baby. i don't know why but i feel very strongly for her, more than bobby or any other pet i've owned or even anyone else. to be honest, i don't trust anybody else to take care of her. heck, sometimes i don't trust myself either. whatever i do, i make sure to read up first. 

i enjoy shopping for her meat, even more so now that i'm starting to try different stuff (although i don't like paying for it). every morning i have to remember to take down her meat to thaw. sometimes i feed her dinner if i'm home early (tried asking them not to feed and they got pissed off). i have to mix ACV in her food. sometimes i hand feed her. then clean her up. if the weather is good i take her down for exercise and training. every night i clean her ears and teeth and tear stains (which equates to war actually). every 2 days i brush her. every week i bathe and dry her. and attempt to cut her nails (war again). i keep a diary of what she eats every day and her poo status. i train her (and they take the credit). 

yes they do help. my mum feeds (and complains about raw) her sometimes, and cuts her paw hairs. my dad takes her down sometimes (not to exercise, just to poo. but doesn't understand why i have to monitor her poo). 

i can't fathom how is that 辛苦. i'm the one doing the reading, the buying, the planning, the executing, and the worrying. all these in an attempt for popo to be happier and healthier. don't you want the same for your family? of cos i don't expect them to care, seeing how they don't even care about the health and nutrition of their own family, much less a dog. but i really don't think they have the right to comment on what i'm doing when they don't even bother to find out WHY i'm doing it. 

they don't even listen! just the other day, i came back late to see popo's treat container almost empty. that was despite me telling them too much of this treat can cause diarrhea. and yes, she had LS for the next 2 days. and yes, raw food got the blame. how do you expect me to trust them with popo? 

养狗 is not 辛苦. it's fighting alone against everyone else that is fucking 辛苦. 

anyway, on a lighter note, popo seems to be doing well on chicken already, so i bought pork. gonna freeze it for 2 weeks and after her operation next week, i'll try mixing some in. her ears seem to be less irritated too. i really hope her detox is finishing soon. teeth still sucks. lol. but i admit that is my fault. i don't dare to feed bigger bones for her to chew on, nor am i firm enough to fully maximize the teeth-cleaning product. sigh. oh but her fur is so soft and smooth! i can't stop running my hands down her back lol. 

can't wait for bto to finish. just popo and me. and SSD, as long as he doesn't interfere with how i take care of her. :P

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

live and let live

i came across this post on stomp. i know stomp always has dumb posts but i felt an instant hate for this anthony, whoever the fuck you are. 

isn't macritchie a nature reserve? what's so surprising to find wild animals there? so this family of piggies go about their daily life, minding their own business, in a place where they're supposed to be. and along comes brainless stomper anthony, who intrudes their area, and stomps them for everyone to see. well asshole, it's not like they raided your home right?

and what shit is "they're as dangerous as the mozzies"? that's a really dumb comparison man! now, guess what nparks and/or illegal hunters are gonna do? happy spending your blood-soaked $50. i hope you choke on pork chop. :)
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