Moments in My Life

Hello 2010!  Now that I am saying ‘Hello to 2010′, 2011 won’t be too far away from today.  LOL! 

After a long week of lazying around the house and doing very little, now I am back to the weekly schedule and chores around the house.  As Chinese New Year is approaching, a lot of cleaning and organizing has to be done around the house again.  This time, I will pack away some stuff that I don’t use anymore.  Who knows, we may be moving away and selling our home.  Have to make the house looks nice and presentable if we are planning to sell it, so have to store away all the junks. 

Another year came and went by just like that.  Time passing by faster when you are having fun.  Is that true?  May be half half.  I think it went by fast because we are so busy everyday with nice things and not so nice things as well.  When you have a child and a husband, you will be busy (especially if you don’t get outside help). 

What did I accomplished in 2009? Nothing much but there are a few things that I wanted to jot down which I did in 2009.

1. Traveled to Maui for the first time in Jan 09.
2. My son turned 3 year-old in Mar 09 and he started pre-school towards the end of the month.
3. SIL met someone special from eHarmony in Apr 09 and at this time, they are still together.
4. Family Cruise from Vancouver to Whittier on Island Princess in May 09.
5. Visted my dad and sister in Australia for the very first time since they moved there (end of May to Jun 09).
6. Met Grace and her family for the first time in Jun 09.
7. Organized a beach picnic for a few families from Mommy & Me Classes in July 09.
8. Traveled again and this time back to Malaysia to visit my aunty and brother, Aug 09.
9. Son went back to pre-school end of Sep 09 (Fall term).
10. Went to Legoland for the first time in Oct 09.
11. Quiet Christmas at home Dec 09. Usually we would have been in Las Vegas.
12. Last but not least, on Dec 31st 2009, this day will be our 10th year Wedding Anniversary.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY and I love you. Thank you for being with me during the ups and downs. Thank you for taking care of Brandon so that I can have a nice and peaceful night out with the other Mommies. Thank you for the holidays we had during the year. Thanks for planning the romantic steak house dinner for two as my Christmas gift, which I suggested to be postponed because I do not want to over-eat during this holiday season. Thank you for everything. LOVE YOU!

Got a haircut for my new look. My hair has been so flat. I have very thin hair and no volume. And with winter coming, I need something short so I don’t have to take too long to dry the hair after washing. The last hair cut I had was when I was in KL, so it was like 3 to 4 months ago.

I’ve decided to go back to the Korean Hair Salon in Torrance on Sepulveda. Their hair cut is at $35 plus tips including washing. I like it because I don’t really need to make appointment. I can just walk in and ask for a hair cut which will take about 30-40 minutes. I am not picky about which hairdresser I use anyway. I just need a nice hair cut and for the last three times I’ve been there, I like it although is a bit on the pricey side.

*drum roll* please …

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… here is my new hair cut! A before and after picture.

I wish I weigh less than 50kg, but that is not what I am going to talk about.  I am actually counting the days to our new year - 2010!  Yes, believe it or not, we are less than 50 days away from the new year of 2010.  Actually, it will also be our 10th wedding anniversary on the new year eve.  Can’t believe we’ve been married for almost 10 years.  I don’t feel it as long. 

Anyway, it will be busy for us from now till the early Jan 2010.  We have Thanksgiving coming up next week.  Brandon will have no school the whole week and I have to plan something to keep him busy and out of the house.  Then on Friday after Thanksgiving will be the big shopping day for us.  

Brandon’s last day at the preschool will be on Dec 2nd.  They do not begin another term until mid of January.  It will be a long holiday for them and again, I have to put together a new schedule for him.  I might sign him up for other class (music/gym?) if it is available. 

Then we have the Christmas week.  Hubby has the whole week off and we may visit Las Vegas again this year, but I haven’t made any booking yet because he still not sure which day he will need to be back at work for one day.  Oh ya, almost forgot, my dentist appointment should be in that week as well.  We are going to be very busy! 

I am not really ready for 2010 yet … are you?  

Gosh, I just noticed how flat my hair is after posting the previous post with my picture.  I think I need to get something done with it.  Too flat and it makes me look very ugly.  The previous haircut I had at One Utama (Infinity Hair Salon) wasn’t too good.  It only stayed good for the first month.  Usually the hair cut I had in LA can last me for 6 months, even though the price is higher (after conversion).  I might have to go back to the Korean Hair Salon again before Christmas to get a new haircut.   

So fast it has been almost a week since I last updated my blog??  My … it didn’t feel that long to me.  So much happened after the last post.  Will try to find some time to update it soon. 

Summary:
We went to Legoland and Carlsbad outlet mall on Friday.  On Saturday we stayed home and I cooked three meals - breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Sunday, we ate lunch at a new place we never try before.

Just came back from my OB/GYN for consultation.  The reason for my visit was to find out why my period is over a week long.  This is nuisance to me because it is just too long and there are 2-3 days in between with really heavy period.  And on top of that, I’ve been having spotting in between period.  I think it is hormonal issue because I do get really emotional and easily stress lately. 

My first visit to the OB/GYN was on Tuesday where he ordered a blood test for CBC (Complete Blood Count).  The result for the CBC was fine, within the normal range.  I returned today for an ultrasound to check for uterine polyps.  After the ultrasound was done, we went into his office to talk.  He gave me two options. 

First option is to take medication to correct my problem.  He said somehow my brain is giving out the wrong signal to the uterus/ovary to produce hormone at the wrong time.  He said may be with taking the medication, it will artificially tell the brain to start functioning correctly and hope that it will continue with that pattern once the medication has stopped.  For this, I am taking Megace (megestrol acetate) for 10 days (kinda to clean out the uterus lining). Taking 2 pills one time 2 times a day for 10 days.  He said I might see some slight spotting in these 10 days.   After that, I will start taking birth control pills for 3 months.  He said with the birth control pills, my period will be shorter than before.  And to go back to see him after 3 months to disucss the result. 

Second option is to put a camera inside my uterus to check for any uterine polyps.  This procedure will be done at the hospital under general anesthesia.  And if there are, then he will take them out by scrapping.  This could be one reason why I am still not pregnant after trying over a year.  I asked if the ultrasound has any sign of the polyps, and he said that the ultrasound highly suggest to have this procedure (camera) but didn’t really say if there is any sign or shadow or image.  I guess is a liability issue since he cannot said there is none because I might come back to sue him if later I found out I have. 

He suggest to go with the first option first.  He gave me the presciption for Megace.  So now I am on my Megace medication for 10 days.  After that will start on my birth control pills.  He gave me the samples for the 3 months.  I will be taking Loestrin24Fe.  This is my first time ever taking birth control.  I wonder how it is.  I really look forward for shorter period.  Will see how.

Update 10/20: The pharmacy gave me one Megace pill less than required. So I only took 1 time 2 tablets of Megace on Sunday morning and skipped the evening time. Began the pill on Monday 10/19. Will try to remember to take it about the same time everyday. I picked 8pm, right before my shower. Just have to remember to take it everyday before my shower.

Sunscreen contains many active ingredient to protect your skin from the sun.  One of the active ingredients is benzophenones and I am allegic to it. My regular facial moisturizer finished so I switched to the NutriMinC REality SPF 8, Day Créme sample size. I have to take note that whenever I see a SPF word on any lotion, I have to beware.

A week had past since I started using the new moisturizer and I didnt’ have any reaction to it … until last Saturday when I spent about 2 hours in the beach. I wore a hat and tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. But the reaction happened and my face now has tiny neutral color rashes on the surface. One can’t see it but definitely can feel the roughness in it. You see, why didn’t I have any reaction to it for the past one week? It was because I didn’t have any direct contact with the sun. Most of the time I was at home or in the car or in an indoor building. That’s why I didn’t see the reaction to it until the day in the beach.

Since Sunday morning, I had stopped using the NutriMinC REality SPF 8, Day Créme and switched back to my regular moisturizer (sample size). It will take a week or two before the rash will go away.

I know I have been traveling a lot in the last few months.  Maui, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney and Gold Coast were the places I visited in the past six months. A few days after I came back in Los Angeles, I went online to check for cheap air fare to Kuala Lumpur and I found Singapore Airlines offering an adult and a child round trip tickets to Kuala Lumpur for only $1602. My last trip back to Kuala Lumpur was in June 2008 and I paid $2150 for the two of us on Malaysia Airline.

But there is one catch with the low fare from Singapore Airlines - the traveling times are very odd and a long layover either in Singapore or in Narita. If you don’t mind the travel time, you can go ahead and check the special sale fare on SIA website. I think with this ticket, you can pay a little more for a stop over in Singapore for a few days. There are a lot of things you can do in Singapore. I haven’t been back there for the longest time but if I do, I want to visit Sentosa Island as well as going around the city hunting for good food. There is another thing that you must also do in Singapore - Shopping!

Singapore is heaven for shopping. Make sure your hotel is around the city area so you will be saving commuting time. You can look for a good rate for hotels from Accor Hotels City Super Sale. This website offers very competitive rate for hotels in 27 cities across 10 countries in Asia Pacific including Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Thought you should know that the current sale for savings up to 60% will end on June 29th for stays between July 10 and September 30, 2009. I’ll be sure to keep this link in my favorite travel folder for future bookings.

For now, there is no definite plan in traveling yet. We may be going back to KL or may be another visit down under again if Qantas is having another price slash on their round trip tickets. *wink*

Well, my vacation ended.  Now I am back in LA with the daily chores.  A lot of things to catch up, mostly with cleaning - laundry, kitchen sink, toilets and such.  Most of the things I brought back have been put away.  A few of them still sitting on the dining table and kitchen island to be sorted out.  Most of them are the Tupperwares I bought from my sister.  She is a Tupperware agent.  I need to find place in the kitchen to store them. 

Else I have things to follow up from the part time real estate.  Will have to meet up with Anthony, my ex-landlord, next week.  His wife, Kathleen whom I was very close to and also my ‘American mom’, has passed on right before my trip to Australia.  She was having a bone marrow transplant (BMT) at the City of Hope when things didn’t go right a few days after the surgery.  I was able to see her in ICU twice before I left LA but she was heavily sedated and wasn’t able to respond.  I feel very sad for her husband and family.  

Other things on my to-do list including:

1. Cleaning up the garage for more storage space.
2. Moving out some boxes to the garage.
3. Clean up the living room (now it is in a mess with so many things not organize).
4. Clean up some kitchen cabinets so I can store the Tupperwares.
5. Pull weeds and cut down the dried up roses.