Smell Me

Don't you absolutely hate it when someone come near to you - and they smell?

I'm talking about the stinking foul odour, not the flower-fresh kind of smell. It's the sour rotten egg smell, like they do not shower for the past few days that ticks me off.

I do no comprehend why some people would find sweaty and dirty men, particularly after a run or a session of gym, sexy. Dirt dirty is plain filthy, in my opinion. Dirty-minded, however is another story. Haha. Sweaty men - they are sooo sticky... And the smell... Ugh! Makes me badly want to cringe and flee. What runs at the back of my mind - why don't you go back and shower first before you flaunt your muscles in front of me. But don't let this keep you from the gym! The resulting effect from the exercise IS sexy. Haha.

Or when cramped inside the bus or metro, like a can of sardine and you are so unlucky that the one next to you had to have the stale offensive armpit stench, like they do not realize the existence of deodorant. Especially when they already have a wet embarrassing armpit sweat mark.

Or leather jacket smelling like a cross between old dirty sock and strong chemicals. This particularly icks me off the most because I love love love leather. Anything leather I love. But leather jackets smelling like horse stable and camel poop is disasterously terrible. Sounds familiar? Oh.. more like smells familiar? Yes, I'm referring to the musty smell of the jackets Old Russians who used to suffocate my nostrils in the metro. Ahhhh... those angry babushkas...

Or musky men. Manly? A musk is a scent a deer secretes to convince a mate to cuddle. And the secretion comes from near the deer's rectum. What is so sexy about the strong odour of a deer's butt? Haha. A trail of musk is however fine with me. Dear Hubby likes the fresh natural scent of woods and earthy-after-rain smell. Lucky for me.

People perceive all sorts of interesting feelings and desires about one another through olfaction. A whiff of Miss Dior Eau de Toilette always brings me back to summer 2007 in Europe. A sniff of Chanel Allure Homme Sports reminds me of our dating years in Cold Moscow.

It is simply rude to smell bad! I strongly feel that it is ill-mannered if you smell bad. How to you expect people to breath normally around you if you have bad body odour? Don't get me started on halitosis. Haha. It is part of etiquette. Well, mine anyways.

It is obvious. I like to surround myself with pleasant inviting fragrance. Smelling fabulous is a luxury that all ladies should be able to enjoy. Be it in a form of body cream or hand lotion or hair products or deodorant or perfume. Personally I like anything floral smell better than fruity zest. Roses, gardenias, daisies, lilies, peonies, orchids.... anything! Lavender is my all-time favourite and I will always choose it if its in the selection. Doesn't hurt that it also possesses relaxing soothing calming effect. Lavender body lotion at nighttime helps me sleep better. Not that I hate fruity flavor, just that I merely dislike the overly sweet aroma. I always feel like a walking giant strawberry or orange or worse, coconut whenever I sprayed them on. Haha.

This is my SmellMe routine. Hope it helps.

1. Deodorant is a MUST in every ladies' wardrobe. Any decent one is okay. It is as important as a good pedicure or a monthly facial exfoliation. Maybe even more. My favourite so far is the Rexona Deodarant Spray Free Spirit, which you can find in any Watsons or pharmacies. Acting as well as an antiperspirant, it helps keep me dry all day long. Sounds so cliche. Haha. And I like like like the powdery scent of the deodorant! I personally prefer to use only sprays. Roll-on or sticks or gels - a little gluey to my likings. And remember to keep your armpits clean and hairless! Haha.

2. Perfume is just the thing to finish off your outfit, be it a T-shirt and wornout jeans or a tight hot skimpy dress. Always apply your perfume last, before your jewellery so that you won't spoil them. But you don't wear your real gold or diamond necklace on everyday occasion right?

Don't just simply buy a perfume because it is a designer. Perfume is very personal. Make sure you like the top and bottom bases. 

Some people have recommended spritzing the perfume into the air then walk/jump through it. I feel ridiculous doing that, feel like I'm supposed to twirl and turn after that. Haha. And it's a waste of my perfume too. So I don't do that. Just spray or dab or rub on your pulse points, namely your inner wrists, base of throat, behind your ear/ear lobes, cleavage, behind the knees and inner elbows - though I don't understand why in the world do we need to dab the perfume in the knees and elbows. Expecting your partner to bow and bend and kiss your knee and elbow? Haha. More often than not, I just spray them onto my outfit.

Like accessories, I have a few perfume bottles laying on my vanity corner. I usually have fun changing scent to suit my mood of the day. Or whichever that I want to capture my fake personality of the day. Haha.

When I want to be Confident PowerGirl at work, Calvin Klein Sheer Beauty is my option. It is the scent I can wear all daytime and it suitable to be around patients. Not too overwhelming, not too strong. It exudes a pure confidence, sparkling charming vibe. The composition is floral – fruity, opens with notes of bergamot, red berries and peach Bellini. The perfume’s core includes flowers of peony, pink lily and jasmine. The base is velvety due to accords of sandalwood, musk and vanilla blossom.

If I wan to be Sexy Lusty Me, I choose my J'Adore Dior Eau de Parfum. I have fallen in love with J'Adore two years ago and have become my collectible since. Lush scents of orchid and violet with a mild hint of vanilla orange sweetness. Super Feminine. Super Glamorous. Just the perfect mysterious flirty fragrance for a night out clubbing or late night leisure at a local bar or a date night with Dear Hubby. Sometimes I do spray them for work, but honestly feel that it is quite empowering and sensual for a clinic setting. Haha.

For the Playful Vibrant Me, I'll opt for the Burberry London. The smell is actually quite refreshing and modern and rather subtle. This classic floral scent with jasmine in its heart, opens up with rose and honeysuckle harmonized with a fruity tangerine note. White floral hear note includes jasmine and Soft Peony. It leaves a velvety trail of wood and musk. Wear it to a coffee date, a late Sunday brunch or high tea with your girlfriends. 

I'd suggest Victoria Secret Garden Collection of body wash, body lotion and fragrance mist. I have tried the Secret Charm, Pure Seduction and Ravishing Love collections. And they are irresistible! Scented body wash during shower then slather with the smooth body lotion then spray the eau de toilette or mist lastly. This combo can maintain the fullness of the scent throughout the day. I sometimes like to spray some fragrance mist onto my hair during the days I don't wash my hair. Haha. A great way to leave a gentle touch of scent in your wake.  

So, invest in some time, and cash, go look for your own favourite scent that can reflect your individuality. Perfume salesperson will be happy to help until you find yours. If you are freaking rich, go concoct your personal signature scent (I don't know where you can do that, let me know when you do)!

And if you are the type who don't like to spray a lot of stuff on yourself, always remember this: NO-smell is better than bad smell! Haha.

Ending this post with a cute pix with Baby Maya.
Only babies can smell like babies.


Go crazy sniffing ladies!
Till next post.

The People in My Life

Today I’m going to introduce all the important people in my life. They are the ones who colour my life with pretty-rainbows-after-rain-singing-butterflies and I will be telling a  story about each of them and what bonds us together. I'm not sure if they like their real names to be used, so I give each of them nicks. Too bad la you appear in my life, now I wanna talk about you. Haha.

This is MY community, MY people.

1. First on the list, is of course Dear Hubby. I am not a pure romantic, but I think if two people are meant to be together, they will find their ways to each other. Like a big giant magnet that attracts them. Like super glue that holds them tight. Like Dear Hubby and I.

It is Tiger that held us together. 

I can never imagine my life without him. When two love each other like we do, we will ride out the waves and smoothen out the knots. Or tie the knot, in our case! Haha.

We have been together for, what… nine years now (wow so long already?) and he is my favourite person in the world. He made a difference in my life, and the difference is astonishing. 

He made me a better person. I scream less, I listen to people more. I learn to be loud with my actions – not slamming the door kind. Haha. He made me realize I don’t always have to be so stubborn and uptight. I understand now the power of nice. He made me do extraordinary things, try new things. He made my life filled with laughter and happiness. And coincidently, it was his heartfelt laughter that attracts me the most. He is humble and kind and no one can deny it. 

For someone as amazing and incredible like him to love someone as outrageously bad tempered rebel like me… when two nearly opposite worlds collide. I can hardly believe this is not a novel. Haha. 

He is the family I chose. Out of billions people in this world. I found you. More like you found me. Still proudly acknowledge the fact that he had crush on me FIRST long before I knew him. Haha. Juicy information I’d like to keep in my momento. Haha.

This is still my absolute favourite. The thing I made you do.

I remember the oreo cheesecake you baked. I remember the Swarovski crystal for my 21^st birthday. I remember the video clips you compiled from my family and friends for my birthday. I remember the ‘kaya’ you slaved in the kitchen for my surprise kaya toast breakfast. I remember the chicken chop with awesome cranberry sauce you cooked many Valentines ago. I remember the many nights we hugged together to keep warm during the winter months. I remember the many times you let me have the last word to pacify me. I remember the night trips you made, just to mollify me. I remember the many coffee dates and shopping sprees we went to. I remember the adventures and memories we made over the years. I still remember them all. Feels just like yesterday.

From strangers to lovers, you are one whom I can rely and depend on. I can only count my blessings and thank God for bringing someone as amazing as you into my humble life. Even though sometimes we stumble upon rocky paths, our arguments will resolve because of our trust and understandings. 

Thank you for supporting me in all my endeavors. Thank you for telling (white-lies!) me that I still look great (despite me gaining like a thousand kilo during my pregnancy). Thank you for your generous encouraging words and compliments whenever my poor soul needs it. 

Best of all, thank you for being you, and such a wonderful father. Even though you are tired from work, you never once refuse to help me wash the milk bottles or dishes or share the load of rocking Baby Maya to sleep.  

I have faith in you. I will always be by your side, cheering you on, no matter what. Don’t allow yourself to be held back by things you think I would want. Because I want what you want. I want to grow old with you. Travel the world together. Achieve our dreams. All of that. I want them with you. I love you. 

2. Baby Maya – the fruit of our love. My little minion.

My Family

But ironically she looks more like Dear Hubby than me. So instead of little Wendy, she is actually little Daddy. Funny. Daddy’s Princess. But hey, they say daughters who look like Daddy will have better life. Who knows. We shall see. I certainly do hope so.

She is my everything. I would do anything for her.

Apple of my eye...

I know she needs me to be there for her – to supply her food (my milk. Haha), to bath her, to change her diaper, to make sure she learns everyday, to make sure nothing covers her airway when she sleeps. Yes I am THAT worried. I remember in the first month, I couldn’t sleep well. Constantly waking up and checking her in her baby cot. Make sure she is still breathing. Haha. Crazy I know.

But I need her too.

She changed my life.

Her smile says it all.

My dear Baby Maya, we have only known each other for 3 months and Mummy look forward to making more memories with you and Daddy. We love you.

“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.”

Le Familia (my sister starting using a lot of ‘Le’ in her shoutouts recently so I follow suit. Haha), is our first exposure to learning to live and love. Around the table, you can see my father, Le Boss and my mother, Le Homemaker and my siblings. It is around this table, we come together not only for meals but also to share love. Share a connection, a joke, a tear and just be there for each other.

3. Le Boss is a stern strict if-you-do-wrong-I-will-punish-you-don’t-make-me-catch-you kind of parent. Maybe it was because we seldom see him around the house being the sole breadwinner in the family of five. And the few times we did, they were usually punishment time. He is the somebody-gonna-get-hurt-real-soon (my favourite comedian Russel Peter catch phrase) parent in my teenage world. Yes, he was fierce. Still, that has never stopped me from doing naughty and mischief. Haha. I know I wasn’t easy. 

I have not only inherited his hot fiery temper and quick tongue, but also (thankfully) his gift for words. 

Le Boss is not always the bad guy, just comparatively one. Now a grown up, I know. I know he loves us. He had to work, to provide. It was not an easy feat considering he was just earning a meagre salary then. Money was tight then, now I understand. He loves us and he just didn’t show it, like the other people of his generation. Now he listens. He shows he cares. He is my pillar of strength. He has slows down after retirement, which is good. Good for his health. Now he stops and smells the roses. Now he sings and spends time with us, especially with The Little Destroyer, my nephew. Now he smiles, and we like that. And we smile along with him. Hehe.

4. Le Homemaker is your typical traditional stay-at-home-mum who does everything and enjoys doing them. You know, the type who adores listening to us (her children) chatting (more like complaining), loves fussing over Le Boss, does laundry with hands and thinks there is nothing better than the fresh scent of sun dried clothes, has her own secret home recipes and spends time planning and cooking from scratch. Every meal she conjures is enough for a village. 

She is the kind of who will take it personally if you do not finish the food she carefully lay on the table (kudos Dear Hubby for managing to gobble everything down each time he came visiting when we were dating). I remember how she made instant noodles for me once and it was yummily decorated with meatballs and eggs and cabbage even prawns.

Always naggy about "how much money you make doesn’t make a difference if you don’t know how to save it", saving up for rainy days, for emergency. 

I understand her point now, but I remember how I used to answer her this, “I will just buy an umbrella. There, I’m ready for rainy days”. Haha. 

She never stops showering us with love and care. It was she who taught me to care for Baby Maya, to feed, to burp, to bath and to dress her. The kind I later found out did not sleep well for a long time after my departure to Cold Moscow, partly because I used to call back and cried my eyes out, longing to go back (Haha). The kind who was sad but never shown it. For all her courage and inner strengths, she has always given unconditionally.

We are lucky we have you both.

5. Le Brotha is my elder brother, whom I have a bittersweet kind of relationship. Like any other big brother, he felt that it was responsibility to torment and bully me. 

He used to tell me that I had to throw the garbage every evening because that was where daddy and mummy found me. In the garbage. Of course I burst into tears and bawled. Since then, it became HIS job to throw the garbage. Haha. Served him right. 

He found it funny to step on my white polished school shoes on late Sundays and watch me went berserk. -__- 

Of course he won most of the fights for new toys but I always managed to scratch him good. And used his toothbrush on the sink (he never suspected). Haha. Super Mario hogget. He would throw me menacing look to scare me off his room and I NEVER wanted to test any of his threats. 

Despite that, we managed to live together without killing each other. Haha. He was the popular schoolboy, good at chess and sociable. Before my time, everyone knew me as ‘Le Brotha (his name obviously)‘s younger sister. I know I can go to him if anyone mistreated me at school. It was like he was the only one who can bully me. Haha. What strange brotherly love is! 

I remember I actually missed Le Brotha when he moved to the Big City for study and when he married Le Dasao (it means sister-in-law in Mandarin), I felt like a loss. But life turned out to be better. After I embraced Le Dasao, I felt like she is a big sister I never had. She used to sneak me some cash whenever I went visiting and help to put in a good word for me when Le Brotha got overly protective of me going out late at night. 

She is the one who taught me all on breast milk storing and gave me great tips on parenting. She helped me a lot in choosing my pumps, bottles, sterilizer, napkins, pampers etc and she never stopped encouraging me to continue breastfeeding no matter how hard it was initially. 

Le Brotha is so bad and lamented her to having a new hobby – pumping breast milk. -__- I'm telling you, Le Brotha is nasty funny.

Guess who has his devious playful demeanor? My favorite nephew, The Little Destroyer who is three this year, who is super spirited talkative and naughty. Clever little kid. Just like his father. His sister, The Little Sleeping Beauty is seven months old now and is just as cute. She is such a bubbly little baby, always smiling in photos and never fail to cheer me up when Le Dasao sends me her pictures. Why Sleeping Beauty? According to Le Dasao, she can sleep anywhere you lay her down – the baby cot, in the stroller, on the sofa, anywhere. Charming! Like father like son - The Little Destroyer is always bullying The Little Sleeping Beauty. 

6. My younger and only sister, Le Sista is someone I love dearly and at the same time, want to murder. Haha. You will understand what I mean if you have a sister. 

She is younger than me by four years, so you would figure that I, being the middle child, was jealous after she was born. 

When we were younger, I absolutely hated it when she had to tag along with her ugly purple creaking BMX when I was heading to the playground or when I had to include her in my play-pretend with my cousin sister. I felt like she was a hassle and I resented having to accommodate and take care of her. Such a bad big sister I was. 

And she was extremely clumsy when she young. Super klutz. 

She would knocked her head in the pool (how?), bumped herself onto the sliding door (bam! Haha), cut herself plucking a flower for my pretend kitchen (fine, my fault), had her BMX stuck in the front gate (don’t ask me how) and I had to pull it out fast before Le Parents come back and see her crying. Or else I'd kena.

One many Chinese New Year ago, she asked me to peel a Mandarin orange for her. I did and ordered her to go throw the skin in the bin. I was busying watching my favourite drama that I didn’t realized how long she was gone. Maybe 2-3 minutes. It was long, just to throw a fruit skin. So I went looking for her… When I spotted her and she was all covered in black mud, from head to toe. Her face, her hair, her clothes, even her nails. Haha. She fell into the drain beside the neighbour house. Maybe she played inside the drain too. Haha. We speculated it was due to her abnormally large head that she lost her balance. Hilarious. How to fall into that small drain? And because she was so filthy dirty, Le Homemaker had to use the water hose to spray her clean before we bathed her inside. Three times. And she still smell a little. Haha. 

That was honestly one of the vividest memory I had of my childhood. We don’t know what happened exactly. No one knew. And she had blocked that piece of memory. She didn’t believe me, accused me of making it up. Haha. Of course Le Homemaker vouched for me. Every single time I think of that, I would tilt my head and heehaw like a donkey, laughing my ass off! Haha. 

It was when I left for Cold Moscow that I realized that we are kind of the exact same person, very much alike but also different at the same time  She would text me for advice and assurance, on her choices of study, her life prospect. We would talk, confide and gossip. She would be fascinated whenever I returned home and told her stories of my multiple trips and adventures during my summer breaks. I love to see her delightful pleased look whenever I presented her souvenir (be it a teddy or a pillow or a Dior make up set or simply a tee). 

That’s why even if I had to skimp, I would always bring something back for my little Le Sista. 

We have the same passion for shopping and traveling, we share the same interests and outlook in life, we have the same humour. Heck, we even look alike at a glimpse! She is much bigger in size than me in real life. But you may mistaken us in photos. 

Looking back, it was nice growing up with someone to count on, someone to lean on,  someone to lie by my side every night.

Le Sista has found someone to love, Le Sailor. Because he works in the navy. I am so happy for both of you, tying the knot coming December. Le Navy, if you treat her bad, you will have me to answer. Haha.

DUCKY LOVE? Insider joke. Haha.

Till the next post, my people.

Partners Before Parents

I stumbled upon this post on Facebook not long ago and I thought I would like to share it with all of you out there. Check out this page here. Very creative group of people. Thoroughly enjoy reading their posts.

Marriage is just a signature away. But relationship is not built overnight. It takes constant nurturing and polishing for it to shine like a star. Men and women understand love differently. That is why they give and receive love differently as well. People often neglect their marriage by starving each other of love and affirmation. Hope this can help you to strengthen your love ship with your wife/husband especially you have your first baby like Dear Hubby and I. It can be overwhelming. To maintain and preserve a strong marriage, you need to feed your partner with words and actions that portray love and support each other all the time.

Read this and share it if you agree.

I have also taken the initiative to highlight some of the important notes that I find worthy.

Enjoy. 

Indeed, Partners first before being parents... OMG, can't believe it has been two years!

"PARTNERS BEFORE PARENTS"

Most parents will tell you that having children is the best thing that ever happened to them. And while they can tell you the ups and downs of child-rearing, you won’t truly understand it until you’ve lived it. There are more ups than there are downs, I can attest to that. But I found the biggest challenge to be the strain child rearing has on a marriage. Having children is like a relationship boot camp – it changes a person so much that you won’t even recognize the person before that baby came along, but when a relationship is strong, sharing a baby will bring you closer together.


While I am not the greatest dad or best husband, after two babies, I have learned a thing or two about how I can contribute to strengthening the relationship with my wife.

1. Generosity is always the way to go. If you’re tired after work but still tend to the baby anyway, that’s generous. If you tell her how beautiful she looks even if she hasn’t got the time to get all dolled up (and mean it!), that’s generous. Be generous with praises, with compliments, with aid.

2. Words of praises go a long way. Enough said.

3. Find reasons to celebrate her. Nothing can bring a woman down faster than being taken for granted. I’ve learned that moms don’t have the easiest job in the world. And so even if she’s happy and chirpy about it, it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have bad days or rough weeks. Celebrate her once in a while, outside of her birthday or mother’s day. “Just because” is always a great reason.

4. Date night is essential. Pencil in one night a week to take your wife out. Let her know in advance so she can look forward to it. Arrange for childcare so she doesn’t have to worry. Talk about dreams and plans for the two of you. But be careful not to turn your date into a “family business meeting”. Date night is for making her fall in love with you all over again.

5. Be the bigger person. Marriage is not for the faint of heart. It requires aptitude, grace and a newfound level of maturity every day. Marriage requires you to be a larger person (and I don’t mean this physically, although it is almost always the case), even if it means putting your wife’s happiness above your own.


Change the above she/her into he/him and ladies, you’ll have a real hold of your husbands. Learn to be lovers, even after you take on new roles as mom or dad. Because as easy for it to be forgotten in the midst of the wild ride childcare takes you, you were partners first before you became parents.

Ahhhh... So true... Really sweet... especially when Dear Hubby noticed that I was able to fit into my old pre-pregnant pants. AND he complimented me on losing the preggy weight so fast. I was beaming with pride. You can't believe how elated I was! Haha.

Practice makes perfect. Apply one today. Start tonight, after you reach home from work. See how this helps improve the love at home. 

" the power of love directly affects our physical health, too, by boosting our immune system, improving our cardiovascular functioning, and increasing our life expectancy. "

 You are indeed partners before parents. Rejoice! Keep the love flaming!

Love on fire.