Alphonse Otousan's Diary

Tuesday, 27 August 2013

Kaye down with HFMD

Hello!

Here's an update: I am down with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).

Yes. I am one of the rarer adult-HFMD cases. I used to think that I have certain immunity to it since I had worked in a childcare centre for more than two years and had never came down with the disease. I guess I was wrong.

It started with my whole family down with flu, causing us to weaken up and more susceptible to catching the HFMD virus. Elric's childcare centre had high number of HFMD cases and he became of the last few cases before MOH requested for a 10-days centre closure.

It's pretty obvious how I caught the virus, right?

The initial symptoms were very close to flu symptoms. I had high fever at 39.5ºC, cough, sore throat and diarrhea. Even the doctor diagnosed it as a recurrence of flu. I realised it was bad news when I found ulcers in my mouth on the following day. The doctor diagnosed it as HFMD on my second visit.

Rashes and blisters appeared overnight. The blisters are concentrated on my palms and the sole of my feet, while rashes are spreaded across the back of my hands, forearms, elbow and knees. These have been giving me difficulties doing simple tasks like eating, showering and brushing my teeth. oh... and now I walk like a penguin because of the blisters at my fore and hind feet. *laugh at myself*.

The ulcers in my mouth and throat are not sparing. hmmm... how should I put it? It's like... I can add up ALLLLL the ulcers I had through out my life, it would not be comparable to the number I am having. The ulcers from HFMD has this unique white ring around the ulcer. I peeped at my throat and thought it reminded me of octopus tentacles. YUCK! But don't worry. I have been so disturbed by the sight, I have chosen not to take any photos. Instead, I shall show you my lower lip which is blood shot.

It's in time like this that I am reminded thank God for my body functions instead of taking them for granted. Holding a spoon is a simple task only because God had designed us well. This has been and a frustrating experience, full of pain (of course cannot compare with labour pain la) and I couldn't slept well either. Nevertheless, it's thought that HFMD will not last long, which is keeping me.... sane. hur hur...

I went for a review yesterday and the doctor gave another 3 days of MC on top of the 4 days given previously. I was told to drink plenty of water and Vitamin C so that my body can quickly fight off the virus. He provided me with lozenges to ease these ulcer pain, a bottle of gurgle and calamine lotion to ease the pain and itch from the blisters and rashes. He also asked me to quarantine myself. Honestly, even if he didn't need to mention, I wouldn't leave home until all the blisters at my feet are gone. I don't want to go out walking like a penguin yo!*laugh at myself again*

I had also came to feel that it's pointless to go to the doctor when you are down with HFMD. I mean, when will a doctor tell you things like this? "Basically there is no medicine meant for HFMD, your body will have to fight it. Btw, it may be getting worse. HFMD can be more severe in adults, so take plenty of water and rest." Right... thanks loh.

The only reason for me to have to head to the clinic was to allow doctor to ascertain my condition.

Lastly, I would like to thank you all who have showered concerns for me. I really appreciate them. Sorry for all the whining and ranting on my Facebook or other outlets. I had chosen not to rant to my poor husband who has to care to two HFMD patients.

Cheers to happy tots!

Mummy Kaye

Sunday, 28 July 2013

Receiving taobao goods: Part 2

Hi Hi!

Following the previous blog post on my Taobao purchase, here are more items I bought. I have decided not to list all, as there are just too many items.

Again, I am linking the items to the store I purchased it from so you can consider getting if you like.
If you are interested to find out about the local agent I use, it's Peeka, and here is the LINK.

Let's start!

Ladies' handbag (approx S$17)

The bags are, to me, two of the BEST buys I've got from this shipment. If there is one seller you would like me to recommend, THIS IS IT!

I got both the ladies' bags from MAOMAOBAG. MaoMaoBag has a large variety of bags, clutches, wallets and luggage. I read through the reviews given by their customers who purchased other bags and majority gave very positive reviews. You can certainly find bags in Singapore which are less than $17, but I must stress that the material and workmanship of the bag is certainly way better.

I personally like that white version of this bag but I was worried that it may get dirtied easily.

Black Kitty Ladies' handbag (approx S$35)

Meowwwww... I like black cats and I am attracted to the design of this bag, so how could I give it a miss?

According to their product description, this is the designer's favourite bag design, and hence high quality materials were chosen. From material to stitching, I must say that this bag is worth every bit.

... and this is no doubt my favourite from their collection too! :P

Men's pants (approx S$13 per piece)

Alphonse lost quite a bit of weight recently, so I wanted to get him pants which are more comfortable and fitting. I personally like the design of these pants and was glad that the cutting fitted Alphonse very well. My only grudge would be that it is not easy iron. If you like, you can consider browsing through the same design from other sellers. :)

No. This is not Alphonse. I grab the pic of taobao to show you how it looks like when worn.:P

Mens' T-shirts.

Similarly, the fabric used are both very thin.

Their explanation it that it's summer wear.

Do you buy the reasoning?

I am not so sure. :/

Stripes T-shirt (approx S$9.50)

Polo T-shirt (approx S$10.50)

Casual shirt (approx S$25)

This denim-looking shirt isn't cheap, but considering the quality, I think it's well-worth it.

Bodycon dress (approx S$14)

This one is mine, of course. I like the design and quality of this dress. My only problem is its length.
It's a tad too short for comfort. I may just wear it as a top instead. =_="

Short dress (approx S$18)

Sad to say, the quality of this dress is not worth the money.
I don't understand why it received good reviews.

Bodycon dress (approx S$10)

The quality of this dress is very good!

I'm very impress! *glee*

European style coffee table (approx S$90)

Isn't this coffee table pretty?!

Before deciding to buying this, Alphonse and I order another coffee table from a local store.

It was priced at $500++. I knew it was expensive but we really didn't have anymore energy to travel around looking for suitable coffee table.

I was elated when the store assistant called to say that there was a shipment delay and asked if we wanted to drop the order.

Of course I dropped it and found this!

Whether pricing or quality, this European coffee tea is much better than the original that we almost purchased.

Bone porcelain dining ware set for 10 pax (approx S$80)

The shipment fee for this dining ware set is higher, which is expected, since it has to be packed separately as fragile. But all in all, the total pricing is still A LOT cheaper than if you get it locally or on other websites.

JingDeZhen is also known as the Porcelain Capital, well-known for producing high quality pottery. Hence, the mark of JingDeZhen felt almost like a guarantee that the dining set is well-made and delicate.

I was only worried about breakage during shipment.

Wondering what to get for your in-laws this coming Chinese New Year?
This is what you can buy! BETTER than buying BAK KWA can?

I am sorry but my pictures do no justice to the quality of the set.

Here's how it looks under good lighting.

Out of curiosity, I checked the price of the same set of dining ware on AliExpress.

Guess the price...

It's more than three times the price!

Ceramic knives and utensils (approx S$36)

I purchased a ceramic knife from Cold Storage some year back at $49.90. It was a 10 inch knife which came along with a fruit knife. I was since convinced that ceramic knives are very sharp.

All I wanted was ceramic knives but I bought this entire set of utensils.:X
But I thought it looks really good!
This is another gift set you can consider for Chinese New Year!

Children's table and stool set (approx S$39)

The plastic children's table from Ikea is priced at $59 without delivery and each Ikea plastic stool is $9.90. This means that with the same amount spent at Ikea, I can purchase 2 sets from taobao!

Korean Style bedding (approx S$300)

This is technically not purchased by me because it's a house-warming gift from my colleagues.

Weirdly, the size of the mattress is in between a single and a queen size bed. Which means none of my other mattress cover can be used.

Sad...

But anyway, the workmanship of the bedding and blanket is good.

Made-to-measure curtains (2 layers) and curtain bars (approx $80-$100/set)

I am very pleased with this sets of curtains I bought. They are well made and a lot cheaper than I expected. The only problem is that you will have to communicate very clearly the dimensions, in case the seller cannot visualise the length and width you need.