Monthly Archives: February 2013

I am now craving for some Salmon and octopus sashimi, along with some raw oysters. After 2 weeks long of drowning myself in fatty CNY cookies and high-calorie CNY dishes, I want to have some low-caloric raw food with lots of salads and fruits in my diet. Sashimis can be excrutiatingly painful on the budget but if it can satiate my crave and make me happy, why not, as I do not eat them all the time? After a week long of stress with work and with the kids, I deserve a good meal as reward. I am going to suggest to the hubs to have Japanese for lunch tomorrow. And our kitchen will be closed tomorrow! It will be a day of eating out and chilling out. Some people splurge on expensive clothes, bags and shoes, some will splurge on luxury food and some people will buy sancho panza cigars, all these in the name of living for the moment and living life to the fullest.

When I read in the newspapers today that a self-employed man flew to Rome immediately after he heard about Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, I wondered how his wife would feel about his rash decision.  And I wondered how I would feel if my hubs did the same. This man skipped the CNY celebration and flew to Rome on a shoe-string budget just so he could catch a glimpse of Pope Benedict. He brought along his folded bicycle so that he could cycle round Rome to cut down on costs. He was lucky. The faithful followers of Pope Benedict allowed him into the church upon hearing that he came all the way from Malaysia. It was a dream came true for this man when he was seated on the front row church chairs where the Vatican officials were seated to witness the public mass. To this man, it was worth spending all his savings to be able to witness the Pope’s address life. Would you ever engage in such a big and impulsive action?

I bought Sherilyn an expensive pair of Barbie ballerina flats for Christmas last year. The shoes is a tad big for her feet. To make the shoes tighter, I inserted some scrunched up papers from some new shoes into her shoes, lol! But this rascal is now complaining that the shoes are making her feet very uncomfortable and she does not like wearing them. I think I should get her a pair of superfeet insoles for a tighter fitting as well as for a more comfy wear. Else, I’m afraid that the expensive pair of shoes will be left sitting in the shoes rack until we forget all about it.

Since I am at the topic of eggs, I just remembered one particular incident at a mamak restaurant last year which was the turning point that made me make up my mind that I will never again order half boiled eggs from coffee shops and restaurants.  If you think about it, do you think that the foreign workers hired to work in the coffee shop or restaurant would bother to wash the shell of the eggs before boiling the eggs?  I even have doubts that they wash the vegetables before cooking them.

We were having breakfast of roti canai and tosei at this mamak restaurant last year and I ordered 3 half-boiled eggs. When the eggs came, my tummy churned instantly when I saw feathers and chicken poop stuck to the egg shells! Yellowish-greyish shit! Oh-my-goodness!  Though I was starving as I hadn’t taken my breakfast yet, I just could not bring myself to break the shell of the poop-covered eggs with the spoon… and use the same spoon to scoop up the eggs.   We returned the eggs to the restaurant worker.

After countless bird flu epidemics which shook the world up raising awareness of how risky being in contact with chickens and eggs at the time of the epidemic, I am sure all of us are now wary with the way we handle eggs.  I miss those good old days where we can eat half boiled eggs that are really runny. And I am sure many of you were given raw eggs to eat or raw eggs mixed with hot fresh milk as we were told by our mothers that raw eggs are full of goodness and nutrients. No, not anymore.  Eggs are not safe to be eaten raw anymore and are a high risk food of being contaminated with Salmonella bacteria.

For many years, cord blood stem cells have been the preferred therapeutic modality for the treatment of nearly 80 critical diseases and conditions, including leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and various forms of anemia. Cord blood stem cells have been a vital component of advanced biomedicine because of their amazing ability to rebuild and replace tissue that has been damaged by diseases, chemotherapy or other medical conditions. Now, parents can greatly increase their family’s future treatment options by saving their baby’s umbilical cord tissue along with the cord blood.

While cord blood stem cells form the body’s blood and immune system, cord tissue stem cells, also known as Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs), are the building blocks of the body’s skeletal and connective tissues. They exemplify two vastly different types of stem cells that can potentially be used to treat very different diseases within the body. MSCs represent the most advanced, cutting-­-edge discoveries in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and gene therapy due to their robust ability to differentiate into a variety of cell types, including bone, nerve, cartilage, and muscle. The tremendous excitement over cord tissue stem cells in the scientific community has been validated with over 300 documented clinical trials and numerous research studies in process. In fact, scientists predict an explosion of new MSC therapies being universally adopted, including standard, routine treatments for diabetes, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, stroke, heart failure, cirrhosis, and many more. The potential applications are so broad that current estimates indicate approximately 1 in 3 Americans could benefit from this type of regenerative medicine.

It is important to note, though, that most clinical trials require patients to provide their own (autologous), privately banked stem cells to be eligible for participation. Additionally, cord tissue stem cells are considered immunoprivileged. Their ability to suppress the body’s immune response has prompted doctors to use them in unison with mismatched cord blood stem cells to reduce the effects of transplant rejection (graft-­-versus-­-host disease). By using cord tissue stem cells along with unrelated cord blood stem cells, researchers have reported quicker cell engraftment and better transplant outcomes. The evidence is overwhelmingly clear that private banking of both cord blood and cord tissue provides families with the most complete scope of future treatment options. Though the potential future use for cord tissue stem cells is nothing short of miraculous, the unfortunate reality is that many families are simply unaware of their option to save this valuable resource. Very few companies provide cord tissue banking services, and public banks will not accept donated umbilical cord tissue

I love exercising in the morning, especially when the skies are still dark and before the hot morning sun is out. I get such peace of mind when I run on the road in pre dawn darkness. I do not have to worry about being mugged as I run within the compound of our condo where there are guards patrolling the area. When it rains, I will work out in the gym at our condo. Another friend of mine who lives in the same block as me loves to swim in pre dawn darkness, before everyone else at home wakes up. She told me that she feels the same way as I do. Though I am very much a sporty person, I however do not fancy swimming for various reasons. Sometimes after a downpour, the water in the pool will be freezing cold and unless there is a rheem heat pump to warm up the water, I would never want to swim in a pool after a downpour. Psychologically, I feel that I burn more calories when I sweat it out 🙂