Welcome & Goodbye to Max

My nephew, Max, was born on 28 Feb 11. He passed away two days later because of health complications. I never saw him, as he was born overseas. Nevertheless, he has made a huge impact in my family's life.

I had tears of joy when he was born. I had tears of sorrow when he left this world. No one knows why my brother and his wife have to experience this. My parents are devastated, he was supposed to be their first grandchild.

Despite all the grievings, one thing we know: one day we'll all meet him again in heaven. A place where there's no tears, where happiness and joy last forever. Max is safe in God's hands now.

Perhaps the words from one of Matt Redman's songs sums up my thoughts perfectly.

Blessed Be Your name,

In the land that is plentiful,

Where Your streams of abundance flow,

Blessed be Your name.

Blessed Be Your name,

When I'm found in the desert place,

Though I walk through the wilderness,

Blessed Be Your name.

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise,

When the darkness closes in, Lord,

Still I will say,

"Blessed be the name of the Lord,

Blessed be Your name!

Blessed be the name of the Lord,

Blessed be Your glorious name!"

Blessed be Your name,

When the sun's shining down on me,

When the world's 'all as it should be',

Blessed be Your name.

Blessed be Your name,

On the road marked with suffering,

Though there's pain in the offering,

Blessed be Your name.

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise,

When the darkness closes in, Lord,

Still I will say,

"Blessed be the name of the Lord,

Blessed be Your name!

Blessed be the name of the Lord,

Blessed be Your glorious name!"

You give and take away,

You give and take away,

My heart will choose to say,

"Lord, blessed be Your name!"

So long, Max, till we meet again!

I'm Back... with a MUCH Bigger Tummy

Hello everyone!! *waving*

I've been away for sooooo long I can't really remember the feeling of blogging.... I hope someone is still around to read this.

I have been unwell in the past few months. Reason being: I'm PREGNANT! The early trimester was just terrible, the "all day" morning sickness hit me hard and fast, the nausea, the dizziness, etc. I couldn't do much, couldn't eat much, couldn't drink much, couldn't sleep much, couldn't get out of the house for 2 months. Everything smelled and tasted terrible. I know I should be happy but I was so upset as life seemed to pass by very slowly. A couple of times I cried when I thought I couldn't put up with the sufferings for much longer, the sickness totally cripled me. Example, it took me 3-4 hours just to get out of bed (yeah, and normally I'm the "up and go" type). And for someone who LOVES eating and cooking it hurts when I couldn't eat & cook because the smell just made me feel sick. Thankfully dear hubby helped out with daily chores. Our expenses shoot up through the roof as he has to get takeaways because most days I couldn't deal with cooking smell. Otherwise he had to be content eating baked beans on toasts.

I'm  much better now that I'm in my 5th month of pregnancy, 4 more months to go, yay! I still have bad days and good days, the nausea is still there. BUT I can eat now, which is a huge relief, as I LOVE my food! Most importantly, I can do most things again now, which makes me feel a bit more "human". Hurrah! I've managed to help out playing music at my local church a few times and I'm hoping I could start blogging more regularly again.

Please drop me a quick note if you're reading this, I need all the encouragements I can get! :) Thanks. 

"Woman Flu", Anyone?

The famous "Man Flu" was over in 2 days, helped by endless amount of "Magnum P.I." on dvds. Until I hummed the theme song in my sleep...

Then "Woman Flu" attacked for 2 solid weeks. Sore throat, fever, body ache, swollen sinus, followed by itchy hives caused by allergic reaction to something - possibly the mosquito spray.

Thank God for online grocery shopping, internet connection (patchy service but useful regardless), heaps of books and newspapers. Kept me entertained while being stuck at home.

I'm supposed to trial something soon, hopefully it doesn't get lost in the post. I'll let you know what that is when I got it. Please don't nick my product, postwoman! :)

How Do You...

... deal with flu, especially if it's a "MAN'S FLU"???

The best answer will get my gratitude and a spot in my "Hall of Fame". :)

Another Power Cut

The title says it all. Now you know why I can't blog as regularly as I did.

I'm officially living in an un-civilized place. Even "developing countries" don't have this much power cut. Atrocious. Perhaps it's to "celebrate" Labour being in power again?! Now that they've won the election, looks like they have started cuttting services. So NOT supporting Labour. Blah.

Starving and Cold: Power Cut in Australia

We've been without electricity for 13 hours straight. No electricity = no lights, no ignition for cooking, food going bad in the fridge and freezer. No hot water, no heating, nothing. I'm writing this using the leftover power in my netbook battery. You would think we're living in the dark ages. In Cairns, Australia. A civilized country.

Good thing we have plenty of candles and blankets. I ate dry cereals for breakfast, hubby ate peanut butter sandwiches. The perishables in the fridge and freezer are dying by the second. Might have to go out for lunch. Could be tricky: we have no car & it's raining cats and dogs outside.

Electricity provider said it's the complex's fault (we live in a complex). Building manager said it's electricity provider's fault. Rental property manager went mad when we rang him up middle of the night, even though our rental contract said that no electricity = emergency situation. Obviously his "managing" skill only consists of taking our rental money. I wonder if we could sue him for that, and for the distress caused.

Whose fault is this? Who knows. All I want is for the power to be restored back. Soon.

130+ Boxes...

After many months of waiting, our worldly goods arrived from UK on Monday. Our rented place is filled with boxes and more boxes. That, and the terrible internet connection here, counts for my blogging hiatus. In the perfect world I would sell almost everything and get ready to move somewhere else again, just because of the poor internet connection.

Many boxes = many treasures (and junks) found. It's unbeliavable the amount of skincare and makeup products I unearthed so far, almost rivalling the amount of hubby's many electrical cables, wires, and what-nots... If internet connection is behaving well, I'll start posting more reviews and travelling photos soon.

Hello From Down Under

Hello everyone! :)

How time flies, it has been 4 months since my last post. I'm feeling a bit guilty for neglecting the blog and my banters with my cyber-friends. The combination of relocating, family matters, and ill-health have been preventing me from blogging. The terrible internet connection at my new place doesn't help either - I'm still in Australia, but not  in Sydney anymore. If you're still reading this, I'm going to tell you a bit of it.

Hubby found a job in FNQ (Far North Queensland), to be exact: in Cairns, which is one of the gateways to the world-famous Great Barrier Reefs. It's one of the seven wonders of the natural world. We relocated here during jelly fish seasons, so we haven't had the chance to explore the reefs yet. Plus being unwell means I'm not healthy enough (yet!) to do snorkelling - can't do diving, ever, as I have dodgy sinuses amongst my other problems.

Anyway, I'm not complaining. I'm thankful enough that I'm still alive and sort-of well enough to enjoy things here. Cairns has humid-tropical weather because of it's location. So far we've had mild winter here, not too humid, not too hot, just right.

Our worldy things are still on the way from England. Once they're here we would be able to take our snorkelling gears out for a test-drive in Queensland's waters.

That's from me for now. I hope my blogging skill isn't too rusty. Do drop me a line if you're still around. Cheers! :)

It's NOT a Competition

Recognize the famous building in this picture? Click here for the answer.

I'm in Sydney now! Unbelievable, I know...

A lot of things happened since my last post. Last week we received the long awaited news on Tuesday, left Singapore on Thursday evening, arriving in Australia on Friday. Last minute news = last minute arrangements. Plus hubby's paranoia about his health and other things, my plate is full at the moment. I'll start blogging on what I intended to blog about soon. :)

I Set Out to Find Something, I Found Another Instead

"There are many things in life I'd like to find:

I set out to find a good mascara,

I found an "almost perfect" one instead.

I set out to find a good lip gloss,

I found a forgotten one from my stash instead.

I set out to find a good skincare routine,

I found a brilliant dermatologist instead.

I set out to be an archaeologist,

I found my calling in music instead.

I set out to find a new adventure,

I found many old adventures being re-lived instead.

I set out to find a place to settle in,

I found real friends in my time of trials instead.

Life is full of unexpected things,

The Lord my God leads me through them all."

- by Music, 08 March 2010, Singapore

Music the Vagabond is back! :) How's everyone?

Life is like a round of carousel at the moment. First I was in Indonesia. Then I was in Singapore. Followed by another stint in Indonesia. The circle comes around with my being in Singapore again. I enjoyed celebrating Christmas and Chinese New Year with family and friends I haven't seen for many years.

Despite the good times (and much food-chomping), I still long to settle in "a country in the southern hemisphere" like I mentioned before. Alas, the waiting time is longer than what hubby and I thought would be. If the saying "all good things come to those who wait" is really true, I'm hoping to find a big bucket of gold at the end of the rainbows after the rains. Well, make it a big bucket filled with Godiva chocolates and HG products. And funky shoes. And round-the-world flight tickets. And many more. Hehehe...

I hope my writing skill isn't getting rusty after being away for what seems to be a looooong time in the blogging world. I didn't have reliable and/or cheap access to internet where I was, followed by a time of bad health, thus the absence. But those were minor inconveniences compared to the more important things in life at the moment.

 

Anyway, I'll try to start writing more regularly again, hopefully soon. Now I need a lot of time to catch up with my reading list, and my sleep. It's after midnight where I am! Zzzzzzzzzzz.....

Winners for Mystery Giveaway and Other News

Thanks to everybody who entered my Mystery Giveaway. The winners (chosen by random.org) are: Anna, Joanne, and Vanessa.  Please email me your address so I can send your prezzies asap.

For those who aren't lucky enough this time, it could be your turn the next time around. A company has kindly offered to sponsor a giveaway. Stay in tune! :)

Now, to more personal news. Forgive my long absence, being on the move means I haven't had enough time and opportunities to be in the blogosphere regularly. As of today hubby and I are still in-between countries. There are things outside our control that contribute to that. Hopefully we would be able to know more about our next destination sometime this month, God willing.

Am I nervous? You bet. Am I excited? Without a doubt. I'm grateful for having friends and family who are being (mostly) understanding and supportive through this transition period. One sentence to sum up what I'm trying to say: in God we trust. 

And no, we're not moving to USA, partly because "There are no cats in America" - I can't possibly live in a place that has no cats! Hehehe... FYI, it's a song from the movie "An American Tail", which was one of my favourite movies when I grew up.

Things to come:

- visiting Sephora stores in Singapore.

- reviews for MUFE Aqua Eyes eyeliners and mascara (as promised here).

- update of Post & Shame Challenge.

- more photos & travel stories.

- post(s) about music (I haven't forgotten your request, Anna).

- post about acne-busting products (nor have I forgotten yours, Clorivak).

'till next time!

Yours,

Music the Vagabond

What I Do With My Hands...

My hands aren't good for making music only, I love to do things using my hands. That includes cooking, baking, doing crafts, and doing household chores!! LOL. After some dilly-dallying, I'm finally feeling brave enough to show you some of the things I made in my spare time. Warning: it's my very first foray into this type of craft. Look away if you don't like them. Hehehe...

Necklace: silver beads on an adjustable leather string.

The next 2: hairclips decorated with natural & man-made materials. I used silver wire to tie everything together - no offense, stucked on glue are sooo last season! Hehehe...

What do you think?

Psst... I've officially made them a part of my Mystery Giveaway...

P.S. I assert my right as the designer & maker of the above items. I don't believe that immitation isn't the biggest form of flattery. Therefore: copying my ideas without my permission = stealing, punishable by your own conscience and also by law (they're copyrighted). 

The Mystery Continues...

Dear my lovely readers,

It's been ages since my last "proper" post . Not my fault, really, as my relatives kept us busy. I think hubby felt a bit overwhelmed and blowned away by their hospitality and unusual habits. He couldn't believe how much eating and snacking happened in my family!! We talked a lot, ate a lot, laughed a lot, then ate some more, travelled a bit, followed by more talking, more eating, and more everything. In a nutshell, the last trip to Indonesia was quite full-on, kept me busy from morning to evening. At the end of most days I collapsed in exhaustion. 28 days of good exhaustion if I may say so. *grin*

Thus my disappearance from the blogging world. I shan't be missing for long once I manage to get some proper computer time again. Afterall, I have loads of stories to tell, like the ones that go with the collage above - notice the lady in the hat: it's your's truly. Hehehe...

Which brings me to another point: I'm typing this in a hotel room in Singapore. How long am I going to be here? Only God knows. Like I said, I'm in the process of relocating to another country.

Now, tying up loose ends. About the Mystery Giveaway. I haven't taken photographs of the prezzies yet. I haven't drawn the winners either. My deepest apology.  Since they're supposed to be "mysterious", I'm going to show some of the prezzies soon. I would also like to extend the giveaway due date to another week or so. I know, it's been ages. Sorry again. I'll also try to be fair to those who have entered previously. The details will be on my next post. Promise.

Time to sleep, I'm looking like Garfield right now...

Something Borrowed Something Blue

The "Blue" refers to the colour of the sky where I am now: Indonesia. So far I've been to Jakarta, Bandung, and Yogyakarta to visit my parents and the many relatives that come with them - my mum and dad have 6 (six) siblings each. It has been good to be here, as hubby gets to meet lots of my relatives he hasn't met before.

The "Borrowed" refers to the fact that I'm typing this from my cousin's computer, which also explains my absence. Not to fear, I have loads of photos to upload from this trip. I still don't know when or where I would be able to update this blog next. If I don't see you 'till the new year, rest assured that I'm (hopefully) still alive and well, but computer-less. :)

With this I'd like to wish you all a blessed new year ahead. Thank you for being my cyber-friends. :D

Random Acts Of Kindness from The Fairy

I'm a very grateful recipient of a RAOK today. Few days ago I asked Karen from The Graphic Fairies whether she has any graphic of "Christmasy musical cats". When I opened my computer this morning, there was this message from her sitting in my mailbox, saying that my request has been granted!

Here is the fabulous picture she hunted for me. It really brightens my otherwise disastrous week - and I'm supposed to be flying off on Thursday!!!

I Lied

Yes, I lied, my dear readers. Not intentionally, you'll read my excuses further down this post. Since it's a season of goodwill, I trust you'll find it in your heart to forgive me my transgressions.

1. My photo of my many eyeliners: they're not pictures of every single eyeliners I have. There are more inside the storage space in other town that I've forgotten about. Oops...

2. My post about turning orange: Warm Peach only turned me slightly orange, not totally orange. It was "In the Buff" (original shade) that turned shockingly orangey on my skin. It wasn't that bad when mixed with the Finishing Powder.  Eh, why am I apologizing for, turning me orange in whatever degree is still turning me orange, right? Right?! (Note to self: should've deleted this confession, I didn't really lie about it.)

3. I said I prefer to use the Emergency Gel in the evening. It was true at the time I wrote it, but not anymore. Bear with me, it's going to be a long list of "because" here... At that time I was in the early stage of using A'kin White Tea & Aloe Vital Hydration Gel Creme that was sent to me by A'kin. I thought I could use this in the mornings instead of the Emergency Gel.

As it turned out, my skin didn't love the Gel Creme. In the few weeks of using it, I discovered that everytime I used it in the morning, in the evening I would find some congested spots on my skin. This little spots stopped happening when I stopped using it.

I was really sad, as I LOVE everything else about it: the gorgeous scent, the texture, the way it worked well as a base, and being a "natural" product with an ingredients list that looks yummy & wholesome... I thought I had found an HG moisturiser! Sad.... :(

As you know I have acne-prone oily/combination skin, which could be why the phrase "for combination & oily skin" on this product didn't apply to me. Having said that, I still think it has the potential to be a really good moisturiser for the right skin type for the reasons I mentioned above.

So yeah, that's my confessions for today. I don't think I've lied to you about anything else. As far as I'm aware of.

Oh, yeah. The ingredients list, as always: lovingly typed by yours truly from the box. Please don't copy it (or any part of my blog posts in that matter) without linking back to me, it's called "stealing the work of others who've spent time and efforts typing it". I can easily trace you through my Fair Share feeds.

Ingredients: Aqua (purified Australian water), aloe barbadensis leaf juice (50%), cetearyl olivate (and) sorbitan olivate (from cold pressed olive oil), panthenol (pro Vit B5), tocopheryl acetate (Vit E) (botanical source), glycerin (botanical source), sorbitol (from GMO free maize), glycerin (and) aqua (and) anthyliss vulneraria (woundwort) flower extract, maltodextrin (GMO free) (and) camellia sinensis (white tea) leaf extract, maltodextrin (GMO free), centaurea cyanus (cornflower) flower extract, phenoxyethanol, sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, bisabolol (botanical source), xanthan gum, alpha lipoic acid (botanical source), ethylhexylglycerin, sodium gluconate (from GMO free corn), citrus aurantium bergamia (bergamot) fruit oil (bergapten-free), caprylic/capric triglyceride (from coconut & palm) (and) carotenoids (from marine algae), rosmarinus officinalis leaf extract [CO2] (and) caprylic/capric triglyceride (and) lecithin (and) tocopherol, citrus aurantium amara (bitter orange) flower oil (neroli), citrus aurantium amara (bitter orange) leaf oil (petitgrain), fusanus spicatus wood (West Australian sandalwood) oil, d-limonene, farnesol, geraniol, linalool.

Norovirus

Don't let the pretty pastel colours deceive you (originally from here). They're not an advert of the latest makeup range that I'm interested to get. They're actually pictures of horrible creatures called Noroviruses.

Why the sudden interest? They're the cause of my recent suffering. The doctor at A&E told me so this morning. It's also somehow beauty-related, as being infected has left me feeling (and looking) very dehydrated, my combination/oily skin becoming very dry. Flaky skin isn't a trendy look, I'll say! Not to mention the effect dehydration has on my brains - personally I think my IQ level has gone down a couple of notches...

Here are some descriptions taken from NHS webpage.

"The symptoms of a norovirus usually start between 24-48 hours after the initial infection, although they can start after as little as 12 hours. The first symptom is usually a sudden onset of nausea, which is followed by projectile vomiting and watery diarrhoea. Some people may also have: a mild fever, headaches, stomach cramps, or aching limbs.

In rare cases of the norovirus, seizures can occur. Symptoms normally last between 12-60 hours, although most people make a full recovery within one to two days. However, the diarrhoea may last slightly longer."

If you're interested to know more, clicking on "NHS webpage" will bring you straight there.

A Happy Bunny...

... I am not.  Warning: this post can be gory for some people

It all started on Wednesday evening. I felt a bit unwell, like having a little cold. Then in the middle of the night I suddenly woke up feeling terrible, I felt like vomitting. Which I did. Big time.

Yesterday I had fever & couldn't eat anything whatsoever. I tried eating a piece of oatcake, the poor oatcake didn't stay down for long. That was all I ate. I tried to drink loads of water to compensate & failed miserably. Only managed to sip about 500ml of water throughout the day.

This morning I felt much better (after throwing up in the middle of the night). So I asked hubby to make me some scrambled egg. It's been an hour & it's still down. Fingers crossed I can start eating again today. I LOVE my food!! I hate not being able to eat anything. Most of all: I hate being sick. Just before we fly away to visit my parents next week...

End of WOTD (= whinge of the day).

Edit: food managed to stay down all day. Then I had dodgy tummy... :(

English Winter Wonderland

No, it isn't snowing yet here, the above picture was taken last winter.

It's freezing today. I tell you, walking in a winter wonderland it is not. I like cool weather, not cold and wet windy weather! All my winter coats are in the storage in other town. Not in the mood to buy another one as we might be heading to the southern hemisphere soon...

Just curious, what's the weather like in your part of the world at the moment?

Crime Against Humanity

I've given you pictures of the suspects and the crime scene. Now I'm telling you about the incident that lends it's nature to the title of this post.

It all started on a lovely morning at Fowey on that fateful day. Hubby & I had been enjoying our walk around the area, our eyes alertly spying for interesting things to see (and eat). Old buildings, fudge shop, numerous eateries and craft shops - including one weird one that sold jewelleries & trinkets made in Indonesia. Weird, I thought they're supposed to sell local crafts, as in made in Cornwall, not Indo!

Originally we wanted to eat fish & chips. Got distracted, bought the scrumptious-looking Cornish pasties instead. I bought a normal-sized vegetable pasty. Hubby bought the biggest meat pasty available. It was HUGE, much bigger than the giant size that are normally sold as "extra large". I tried persuading him to downsize his order as he was supposed to be on diet. He didn't budge. Well, he's definitely Mr Greedy where food is concerned!

So. Food bought, we made our way to the waterside, hoping to find a seat where we can eat our pasties. The seats were full, so we decided to start munching on our food while strolling near the water. The view was absolutely stunning.

Hubby was happily enjoying his Jumbo pasty when suddenly, lo & behold, three docile-looking seaguls started attacking him. One swooped down from above, one from the front and one from the back. They were all aiming for one thing: the Jumbo pasty!! The attack was so sudden, so organized and so vicious, hubby couldn't defend himself.

Imagine the scene: the half-eaten pasty fell to the ground, hubby almost fell to the sea below, I screamed in shock as the seagul who attacked from behind came very close to my head, people nearby shocked by the commotions. Next, still in a daze, hubby was determined not to let the seaguls win, so he kicked the pasty to the corner, hoping the seaguls won't be able to pick his (now fallen) prized pasty. It went down to the sea instead, afterwhich the culprits merrily consumed their loot.

It was a really good home-video material, pity no one had their video on us at that time.

A man (possibly a local?) approached us and said, "I hope you're okay. This kind of thing makes me really angry. Not long ago I saw someone feeding the seaguls even though there are signs saying you're not supposed to do it. It makes the seaguls vicious." We nodded our heads in unison, feeling somewhat consoled that we weren't the only victims. Hubby was quite upset with the lost of his Jumbo pasty, so we went back to the fudge shop and bought a big bag of fudge.

Moral of the story: let this be a warning to you - in Cornwall, if you feel like eating takeaway fish & chips/cornish pasty/ice cream/whatever, please guard your food carefully. Especially if you're around the beach area. In case similar thing happens to you. Also, as a common courtesy to your fellow human beings, please do NOT feed the seaguls. It gets them into the vicious habit of snatching food from humans instead of eating what nature provides. We don't want "the crime against humanity" to spread further, do we?!

Post script: I did say to hubby, "Perhaps you weren't meant to eat that huge pasty anyway as you're on diet?" To which he replied, "Hm." As far as I know, he's still fighting a war against seaguls.

* the last picture was taken in Looe, not Fowey. I thought the picture fits in perfectly with the story. :)