The Little Twist Tie That Wrapped Itself Around My Heart

Last week while I was on a work call, JJ quietly crept into my room handed me this little heart he made out of twist tie and immediately tiptoed out without making a sound. 🤫

It made me smile cos only he would do something like this. 🥰 

I didn't have the time to take a proper pic when it happened so I no longer remember the exact date, but I'm blogging this now so I remember that it happened anyway. That in the middle of a busy work day, my almost-9-year-old took the time to tell me that he loves me... without having to say a word. ❤️

Living In A World Where You Can Buy RM2,000 Cars You Can't Gift-Wrap 🎁

Ethan's turning 7 next month. This boy never wastes an opportunity to ask for a gift so, as per his usual pre-birthday MO, Ethan put on his biggest, brightest, most-charming smile and asked:


Ethan: Papa. what are you getting me for my birthday? 😁

The Husband: What you want?

Ethan: A car!

The Husband: What kind of car?

Ethan: This car!! *points to The Husband’s car*

Caden: Are you crazy??

Pam Song: 🤨 You can’t even drive yet.

Caden: Yeah!! Plus, it costs like, RM2,000 or something!! (LOL. If only. 😅)

Ethan: Oh ya... Plus, they can’t wrap it. 🎁

😂😂😂

#kidlogic #8yowisdom

My Husband Is Better Than Yours

Some husbands shower their wives

with flowers as an expression of their love. 💐

My husband changed the game. 🤩

Oh yeah... #myhusbandisbetterthanyours

p/s: This is not an ad. 😂

I ❤️ U

JJ: Will you be my mummy forever?

Pam Song: I will. #momvows

And then he put a ring on it. 💍🥰

God didn’t give me girls. But He more than made up for it by blessing me with this funny, artsy, giggly, loving, homemade-jewellery-gifting second son. I liked the first ring he gave me. But I think I love this one more. 🥰

5ct Ring From JJ

A precious gift of an (imaginary) precious stone ring

from a precious little one after school. 💍💎

A true gem from a heart of gold, duncha think?

This mommy’s heart is full. 🥰❤️

Cuti-Cuti Malaysia

Sort of. 🤣

Patient toiletries plus the latest in hospital fashion. 💃

And so my hotel stay begins. 🙆‍♀️

This is gonna home for the next 7 days

at the very least. Might as well get comfy.

My bedside drawer stuffed with all my kachang.

Didn't bother packing a fully-equipped toiletry bag cos I probably won't use anything other than my toothbrush and toothpaste anyway. Was informed that I'm to take a antimicrobial bath later today. Then I doubt I'll be doing any showering post-op. So... yeah. No need toiletry bag la. #packinglight Also, I doubt I'll have any visitors anyway. #sadbuttrue Hence, look like crap also nevermind la! Hahaha. 

Word In Season; Friend Indeed

Some people you don't know very long but end up bonding with very quickly. Sometimes it's because you're at the same stage of life, sometimes you're in similar situations, sometimes it's shared goals or interests... it can be anything and everything that sparks an instant friendship.

Have you had friends like that?

Like connection online and

channel just very flow liddat. ⚡️🔥

I find my friendship with Josephine somewhat like that. Even until now, I've only met her face to face like... I dunno, a dozen times max? But even then, conversation is easy and the friendship is relaxed. We're nowhere close in age – as she would like me to remember 😒 – but some days, it feels like I inherited a younger sister. (She knew my dad first.)

Before dinner together last night,

Dee pulled out a little purple pack

from his pocket and passed it to me.

Comforting words from Do It Again by Elevation Worship.

I recognise these stickers from Prince of Pins.

Inside?

Karangan panjang lebar (P&C) 🤓

+ a beautiful pin from Prince of Pins. 😍 

"God is within her, she will not fall.

God will help her at break of day."

– Psalm 46:5 (NIV)

Amen.

Thank God for good friends,

long messages and pretty pins. 🥰

Dressing Up For Zoladex 10.8mg

Got my new lululemon joggers on

and I'm feeling ready-steady to take on

my very-painful instant-menopausal-aunty shot. 💪

😂 

Blood pressure – check. Heart rate – check.

Painful subcutaneous shot into the tummy – check. 🥺

This is my first time taking Zoladex without any other IVs. Can't believe I've taken 9 of these shots so far. 6 x 3.6mg during chemo, and 3 x 10.8mg post-chemo because my aunty started to visit when she was supposed to stay away. 🙄🤐😒 Damn painful, ok. 😢 My whole belly is dotted with needle puncture scars right and left and it looks like I've got a bunch of faded moles scattered around. But... if it keeps cancer away, them scars are worth it la. #priorities

Now, to go home and prepare to feel

like I'm 35 going on 60. 👵

*groans*

A lululemon Surprise

Got me a delivery today. And it wasn't sent to my home, but to KRPG. 🤔 I wondered why since I'd not bought anything and sent them to the office in a long, long time – not since the first round of MCO. More surprisingly though, the delivery was from Hong Kong! #curiouserandcuriouser

Turned it over to check out the receiver information

and the name was really mine. How strange!

And then I saw it...

😱😱😱

l-l-l-lululemon?! No way!

But heck! I was holding the parcel in my hands! That would make any sane woman doubt herself. And so, I did. Like, waiiiitttt... 🤔 Takkan my chemo brain so bad until I shop online from 5-star celebrity sportswear store without even remembering anything at all??? 😬 #chemobrainisreal

Ripped it open when I got home and discovered that,

although I was the receiver, the sender was Irene!

Aww, this sweetheart!!!

I sent her a small care package to motivate her

to chase and achieve her dreams at the end of October.

Mana tau, this woman go and gift me balik in good measure,

pressed down, shaken together and running over. 🥰 (Luke 6:38)

This next part is just for my own memory's sake so please feel free to just scroll on by while two crazy 30-something-year-old aunties talk nonsense. 🙈🙉🙊 

Yup, will try it on and let her know how it goes

when I pop my lululemon cherry! 🍋🍒 #girltalk

I’ve been hearing fantastic things about this brand of sportswear from my exercise-crazy friends in KL for years now. It seems to be all the rage for those who're really into the "fashionable" active lifestyle. (Read: Yoga, Flycycle, Pilates, etc.) I've even participated in gifting a set of their clothing to Kara for her birthday together with the other #ChilternMoms a few years ago. But me, myself? I balked at the price of a simple pair of yoga pants and never bothered finding out more or even visiting the store though it was just minutes from my home in KL. Haha. Now, I can’t wait to try it for myself now to see what the hype is all about!

Wheee! My first lululemon! 🍋🍋🍋

Pink October 2020 @ Gleneagles Hospital, Penang

During my final Herceptin immunotherapy IV back in end-August, I was asked to contribute a hand print and an uplifting message to spur my fellow survivors on this #PinkOctober Well, today, I saw it up at the hospital for the first time and it just occurred to me that I HAVEN'T BEEN TO THE HOSPITAL IN ALMOST 2 MONTHS! Shocker. Haha. Can't believe that I used to have to go in every 3 weeks or less, for a whole year and three weeks – that's 1 August 2019 (my first appointment with the Breast Surgeon to assess the lump) through to 25 August 2020 (my last Herceptin IV). Felt endlessly long at the time but... Time does fly by.

 

I'm back because I have my scheduled monthly CT scan again today. Didn't want to get my line put in by the folks at the Imaging Department cos I've had some painful misses there before. 😣 So, I hopped on up to Level 4 and got my line put in by the nice folks at the chemo wing. Haha. 

You see la. So pro. Even give me hot water baggie

to help plump up my veins so that they can insert

a CT-friendly (read: BIGGER) needle.

p/s: More on that orange baggie later.

Hi, Fitri! We meet again!

Ouch.

Done. Going back down to the Imaging Department to wait for my CT.

Got changed, gulped down my CT cocktail, then sat down to wait.

And wait and wait and wait.

It took so long for them to get my blood-work results this time around. Not sure why. I ended up waiting the whole morning away in that green gown. Results out later so I'll be going back to the hospital again after this. On a happier note... 

FREEBIES sempena Pink October 2020! 

The chemo staff so very kindly kept my goodie bag and passed it to me when I happened to go to the 4th floor to get my line in today. (The orange baggie seen in my hot water pouch pic above!) Contributors were supposed to come back to the hospital to collect these but... aiya lazy lah. Also didn't wanna risk the additional exposure to potential germs at the hospital, so I just didn't bother. But thanks to these kind nurses, I got my goodies anyway. Wheee! 🎁🎉🌈

My favourite of all the goodies.

#PinkOctober #BreastCancerSurvivor

Chrysanthemum Tea From Miaoli (苗栗南庄), Taiwan

I am so blessed to have friends

who get my obsession with tea.

After lunch today, Tina from Taiwan gave me yet another box of premium Taiwanese tea that comes in a box too pretty to toss. I mean, just look at it! 😍

 

Cantiks no?? She only received two boxes from her sister and she gave me one. GAM DONG OR NOT, I ASK YOU?!? I can't wait to cold-brew me some of this Miaoli chrysanthemum tea. Cos if it's anything at all like the first batch of Ali Shan Tea she gave me, I'm sure it's gonna be A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

Tea Exchange Programme

Tina from Taiwan surprised me with yet another pack of tea today! Aiyo, this woman! I gave her just a wee little bit of my favourite loose leaf teas to try in thanks for the superb Ali Shan Tea she gave me last month, and she balik-balik return me more tea. 😅

Taiwan Top Gift tea lagi alamak.

Where to hide my face, I ask you??

My First Time Cold Brewing Tea

I love my tea the way coffee addicts love their coffee. But in all my years of tea-drinking, I've somehow never heard of at-home cold brewing until Tina from Taiwan told me about it today. Haha. So super suaku, right??

See, Tina so very kindly surprise-gifted me two boxes of premium, organic Ali Shan Tea from the cold, foggy mountains of Ali Shan, Taiwan today. 

So, what better time than now

to gave cold-brewing a go!

Ahhhh!!! Loose leaves! 🌱 I love! 😍 I can't wait to see how this turns out. I'm told that this particular Ali Shan tea has a sweet aftertaste and goes down really smoothly. Also, cold brewed tea supposedly contains less caffeine which, I guess, is always a good thing. 👍 

Wanna know how to cold brew your tea? Watch this!

TOP 2019 Watchnite Service Testimony Mini Series – Part 5: God Provides

NOTE: This testimony is the 5th of 6 instalments. Click on the links below to read the others that came before it.

• Part 1: God's Timing
• Part 2: Trust Him
• Part 3: He Answers Prayers
• Part 4: God Uses People

Which brings me to my next testimony...


PART 5: GOD PROVIDES

Chemo wasn’t easy on the body but I tried taking it in stride. Before my second round of chemo, my mom and I were talking over dinner about what I would need to bring along with me to make my many hours undergoing treatment, more comfortable.

We talked about two things in specific – bringing a Thermos along so I have a hot drink on hand, and keeping warm with something to put on. (The treatment room is pretty chilly and it feels colder still when the cold IV fluid runs through my veins.)

All my Thermoses and hot water bottles were still in KL. And we couldn’t decide between a jacket and a shawl because a jacket is warmer but I would be stuck wearing it all the time cos of the line in my hand. A pashmina, on the other hand, isn’t quite warm enough.

Well, little did we know that while we were discussing this, God had already provided me with a poncho – the perfect chemotherapy outfit that’s warm without sleeves to get in the way of the IV line. A friend of mine from KL had sent me a care package and it was sitting in my mom’s car as we spoke. I just hadn’t opened the parcel yet.

And as for the Thermos, another friend visited a few days later and gifted me one! So by the time I went in for round 2 of chemo, I was all set. Coincidence? I think not. The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:19 that our God shall supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Let me also read Matthew 6:26-32 to you.

26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

So, yes. I am so grateful for friends who act when the Holy Spirit prompts them. And through them, I know that my God is taking care of me. He knows what I need before I even know it myself! So, why should I worry when the God of the universe is watching out for me?

Grateful

...to those who have helped us get through the last few months, and have made this difficult time a little more bearable for me and my family as we survive one of the roughest, toughest seasons of our lives.

----------

Happy Birthday, Maricar.

Thank you for taking care of us,

and may God bless you always. ❤️

Ready For Chemotherapy + Immunotherapy Round 2

It's Tuesday and yes, I'm back at the hospital for Chemotherapy + Immunotherapy Round 2. 😩 Started the day off with a basic blood test to ensure that I'm ok to proceed with treatment. (Standard procedure cos you need to be kinda-sorta-almost healthy in order to undergo chemotherapy... or the chemo would kill you. 🤪 Harhar. #notfunny)

Blood test kar chang.

Line in.

Waited forever, eventually saw the Oncologist, and was finally given the OK to proceed with treatment. Today, I made sure I came prepared. That means I came ready to camp out for days in the onco treatment unit like it was the end of days and zombies were roaming the grounds outside. 🧟‍♂️ LOL!

Warm poncho courtesy of EJ on!

Hot water bottle courtesy of Irene ready!

iPhone in hand, MacBook on my lap, iPad Mini beside me,

portable charger in a sleeve and some EARPHONES.

Lots of water, drinks and snacks to last me throughout the day.

Snagged a BED!! 🛏 Very, very, VERY important.

I'm starting treatment at about the same time again today – 2pm – but I really hope it won't take as long as it did the first time around. Theoretically, everything will be sped up a little today because it's my second time so... fingers-crossed, let's hope I finish up before the zombies come out to play! 😝