Losing Weight....

When i couldn't wore my tailored sarong kebaya, i was upset. Nowadays, post-wedding, i just don't have the commitment or motivation to lose more weight anymore.

All that is so trivial when compared with my sister and my family's current battle. Taking care of my sister means trying to educate myself about nutrition and healthy eating habits, and i eventually educate my family (elder sister included) about nutrition.

My elder sister has been eating healthy. She drinks a blended smoothies of beetroot, apple, and carrot on empty stomach every morning, religiously takes her supplements of COQ10, Executive B, Folic Acid, Spirulina everyday, and stocks the fridge with apricot, berries, and kiwis.

But i guess when you have cancer, the intake of healthy fruits and vegetables have to be a thousand times more than a healthy person. This is an expensive lesson that we learned slightly too late.

Two weeks have gone since i last saw my husband. And i have, without any exercising effort, lost one kg, apparent on my waist, tummy and thigh. The secret? A lot of walking from the hospital car park to the ward, alternate days groceries shopping, leg exercises for my sister.

Also, lost of appetite that result in me snacking on berries for dinner and just nibble my sister's hospital food for lunch....

Those Two Words

These two words, i find that if you do not know the meaning, may sound absolutely not life threathening. But when you found out just what it really mean, the world as you know just ceased to exist.

Palliative means you have incurable cancer. Palliative care means pain management as your cancer progresses, and the doctors are not focusing on curing you.

Metastatis means secondary cancer. that is just a way to say it to soften the blow. it actually means that your cancer has metastatize, broken away from its main tumor, travelled in your bloodstream or other bodily system and set up camp in other organs.

Words, often can be deceiving.

Dear readers, i apologize that my blog has taken on a sombre and morbid mood. But i've always known that life is not a bed of roses. Whenever you are happy, cherish the moment and be grateful, and always know that life is a circle. When there is an up, there is a down to prepare for.

I just never had a premonition that i have to prepare for this.

Importance of Being Learned

My sister has been hospitalized for two days when i realized that we cannot just sit idly by and leave all healthcare provision to the doctors and nurses. When my sister was hospitalized for mastectomy in 2010 and pleura metastatis (pluera is the outer lining of the lungs, and metastatis stands for secondary cancer) in 2011, we just mostly visited her in the hospital and provided her with lunch and family time. I know you would think that "we have jobs" is just an excuse, but truly when you have a 9-5 job and deadlines to meet, it is hard to commit to a sick relative. All we could do was just be there for her, and she was rather understanding and she was healthy and in good spirit. She was back at home in less than two weeks and life was back to normal for all of us.

However, this time it seems a little severe. Realising that she really couldn't move anything below her waist and she can't exactly have the mobility to even sit straight on her bed, let alone merely walking to the toilet, we realized that this is a big "uphill".

So i researched online about bedsore preventions and exercises for the bedridden patients. I found a YouTube link that i found useful.

Exercises for the Bedridden Patients video is done by a mother-daughter team in the US. The daughter, Kayla is diagnosed with leukimia and both mother and daughter are so committed to fighting cancer by establishing a non-profit website (www.freehelpforcancer.com) for patients and caregivers worldwide to learn from: from nutritions to hospital visits to mental therapies.

I spoke to the doctor, requesting for a ripple mattress for my sister and asked the trainee nurses to help reposition my sister every two hours.

And now you are back

Life isn't all made of sunshine and you dont always lie on a bed of roses. The Almighty will throw a monkey wrench into your otherwise perfect life to test your faith, to rise against all odds, to overcome obstacles, and ultimately triumph over adversity.

It's not my marriage but it is my sister.

As some of you might have known, my elder sister was diagnosed with the big C in 2009. She had breast cancer at a tender age of 34. She underwent chemo, mastec, and radiotherapy. She was given the all clear in 2010.

But in 2011, she had relapsed where it has now made home at her pleura, the outer lining of her lungs. We fought back with radiotherapy. Once again, we breathed a sigh of relief when cancer packed out and left us. She looked forward to planning my wedding and in fact, she was my major contributor, running all around during the wedding, making sure everything was perfectly executed.

I soon left for KL with my husband, working alongside my husband an our team in our humble agency, managing big and small projects. Since moving to KL, i came back to Penang thrice. First time was during CNY, then by myself, and another time to attend Zailin's wedding. And all those time, she did mention she have bad backpains and was wearing a lumbar brace to provide better spinal support. But despite being in pain, she still worked and always in good spirit. She always tells me that the house is now more sombre now that I've moved out and she enjoys my company when I'm back. Whenever i made her laugh, she would say "My back hurts but damn that was a good joke you cracked".

I do have a trailing thought that i made the right choice of taking the first step of self reliance and flexi hours. Having worked in an MNC with flexi hours and big paycheck has made me not being able to compensate for working in a true KL-style rat race where staying late in the office is the name of the game. Moreover, it gave me the flexiblilty of coming back to penang and taking care of my family when situations like this arose.

In retrospect, i was right.

So now i am back in Penang, duration unknown. Cancer relapsed again in the form of bone metastatis. Cancer now set up camp on my sister's spinal cord, compressing her spinal cord and broken it. I am now her current primary suppport. My mum isn't strong mentally and physically to care for her. Emilia and my eldest sister have dayjobs. Now that my husband has given me the greenlight to do everything possible to care for my sister, husband will take up majority of my tasks. Whenever there is an urgent need he can't do, he'll call me and i'll execute it in Penang. Nothing too heavy and time consuming so far.

I'll write more about this as i journey on.

Star Struck

Moe has a strict rule about his staffs taking photos with celebs and artists that he manages. Especially Dato' Siti. How can one resist having their photo taken with Dato' Siti? After much pleading (through countless smses at fly fm's conti, in front of Dato' herself), Moe succumbed and i have this photo!

Dato' Siti and I at Fly FM before her interview.

So i asked Moe "Bee, pasaipa you bagi i ambik gambaq with Siti?"
He said, "At the end of the day, you are my wife. How can i not fulfill your wishes?"
Brownie points for mr.hubster!
We feel absolutely blessed and truly grateful for the opportunity to work with Malaysia's songstress and entreprenuer Dato' Siti Nurhaliza.
Moe is the PR manager for Dato' Siti's English Album "All Your Love". We are currently promoting her second single, "Remember You" featuring Sean Kingston and the activities includes radio interviews, meet-and-greet sessions, and magazines/newspaper interviews.
It had been a busy week for us as we arranged five radio interviews, 2 meet-and-greet sessions, and more magazines and prints interviews to come!
Meanwhile, do enjoy the photos taken from Detik Indah.

Siti's interview with Mix FM.

JD and Dilly from mix fm

Dato' Siti's PR team

JD,the lucky caller that JD managed to hook up with Dato' Siti, Siti herself, and Dilly.

JD, Siti, and Dillly from mix fm

DJ Shac from Era fm

DJ Shac from Era FM with Dato' Siti

Dato' Siti during her era fm interview

Dato's interview with @20 zon era

Recording PSA for Era fm

The last leg of today's interview--exclusive interview with murai.com

murai.com.my interview

Murai.com.my interview

comelkan?

Recording PSA for hitz

interview with murai.

DJ Shac from ERA with Dato' Siti

See the full gallery on Posterous

That Wedding Hantaran by Melting Bites

Hantarans are betrothal gifts and the exchange of gifts are performed on the day of the solemnization. In Malay tradition, betrothal gifts are to be discussed and confirmed during merisik. The betrothal gitfs are normally presented in beautifully decorated trays and have the usual suspects of creatively presented sirih junjung, tepak sirih, bunga rampai, mas kahwin, wang hantaran,and wedding rings. Other gifts that are included in the trays are the holy Quran or Tafsir, prayer mat and veil, perfumes, leatherware, apparels, handbags, gadgets, or other presents to the bride or groom's liking.
Traditionally, the bride will reciprocate the groom's gift with two additional trays. For example, if the groom's family decided to present the bride with 5 trays of betrothal gifts, the bride's family will reciprocate with 7 trays of gifts.

INSPIRATION AND TRANSLATION

Melting Bites was my appointed wedding and hantaran decorator.  To tie the hantaran theme to the wedding theme of "balls, balls, balls"--a constant reminder for Moe that his balls are now chained *just kidding*, Melting Bites proposed to  use disco balls and christmas balls and fresh flowers for the hantaran project.

Melting Bites proposed to use fresh pom pom flowers that has been dyed in blue as the primary flower for the hantaran. I was not sure whether my mother and my Chinese relatives would love the idea as those flowers are normally used for prayers, but the decoration were a hit among my family members and friends. Reason being, they have never seen a real flower that has been dyed blue.

Apart from the flowers and the balls, i wanted the gifts to represent a marriage of two culture. Therefore, Melting Bites have chinese gold nuggets mixed in a tray with ferrero roche to signify prosperity, topped with the malay's "bunga rampai" on top of the three-tiered tray.

The marriage of two cultures. Bunga rampai with gold nuggets.

 REVIEW
Melting Bites are one of the easiest wedding vendor to work with. Their creation is top notch and they are very affordable. The idea of marrying two cultures in the wedding hantaran, marrying the wedding theme of blue/white and balls are seemlessly translated in their work. I was, and am still very pleased with their creations.

My fruit basket.Look how big the roses bloomed!

iPad gift for Moe.

The sirih junjung that i love so much

The wedding ring

Prayer mat for Moe.

Bunga rampai, gold nuggets and ferrero roche nicely decorated on a three-tiered serving tray.

Locitane gift set for Moe

See the full gallery on Posterous

If you are a Penang bride-to-be, do consider Melting Bites for your wedding cake, hantaran, and reception decoration.

The night before nikah where Melthing Bites stayed up all night to decorate the hantarans. This is only a portion of fresh flowers used on that day.

Mimi from Melting Bites with another half of the fresh flower portion used for the hantaran

See the full gallery on Posterous

Up Next on That Little White Wedding Dress

Visit this blog every Saturday for my wedding reviews, for inspiration.

Let us girls stay connected :)

That Bridal Henna by Ashrani

In most countries, henna is seen as a way for women to beautify themselves (as jewels).

'Mehndi is the application of henna, the staining substance from the leave of caca tree that is native to our region, as a temporary form of skin decoration for a ceremonial use. In a Malay wedding, the bride will be adorned with intricate henna designs and it is typically applied the night before the wedding in a ceremony called "Majlis Berinai".

The Temporary Tattoo Road Taken

My hunt for the bridal henna artist started three weeks before my wedding. My best friend Atikah, who got married a week before me, hired Ash as her henna artist. We exchanged contacts and confirmed her as my henna artist for my wedding.

Easiest discovery :)

INSPIRATION AND TRANSLATION

The design is based on this google image i found. I like the pattern on the design, especially how the flow stops at the wedding ring.

Review

Wide selection of Bridal Henna Fashion: Armed with an iPad and a thick folio, Ash gave me a wide selection of bridal mehndi pattern to choose from. From floral prints to abstract desigs, you name it, she has it!

Flexibility: If you already have a design in mind after conducting your own research, fret not as Ash can also draw the design for you. You just need to give her the weblink to your design. She also travels to your house to adorn mehndi decoration on you.

Artwork: As a skilled mehndi artist, Ash is very precise in the application and can make the most complex of patterns at a very short time. Although the mehndi pattern on my hand is not as intricate, the fine-line work looks amazing. 

You can drop me a comment if you need Ash's handphone number.

 

That Personalized Mineral Water Idea

H20.

The thirst-quencher that is often times blindsided by hosts. Elderlies and children might not fancy that iced mango juice served by the caterer. And what out-of-towners (OOTs) bag would be complete without a couple bottles of water?

The personalized mineral water project was the last DIY project i had on my wedding watch. It was November when i realized that we might need to have normal H20 for the guests, especially those who do not drink refreshment provided by the caterer.

See the full gallery on Posterous

It took me, Sinn Wee, and Emilia two days (two hours after work) to complete a hundred personalized water bottles. Look at us hard at work at the production line!

See the full gallery on Posterous

INSPIRATION AND TRANSLATION

My inspiration behind my personalized mineral water bottle is from the Wedding Bee. This personalized mineral water template also comes with a cute Marriage Facts in lieu of Nutrition Facts.

Having a readymade template saves me time. A little change of name and date here, a little change of fonts there, a little realignment of the labels in between and voila! Off to the printer my label goes. *home printed by the way*

For another personal touch, i made dove tags out of navy blue felt with the intention of printing "thank you" labels, but that did not come to fruition. Still, a nice touch.  

At the wedding itself, the personalized water bottle was distributed at the main table and VIP tables. We had a crate left after the Upacara Makan Beradap, enough to go around for friends, yay! 

Oh and we stole a bottle ourselves too *smiles*.

The personalized mineral water bottles just cost RM0.50 to RM0.60 a bottle (mineral water bottle, ribbon, label, and dove tag), since the label is printed at home using normal A4 paper. An A4 paper can fit three labels. If you worry about condensation and would like to serve your mineral water chilled, you can laminate the labels using clear scotch tape.

Or you can send it to a proper label maker to save time but it might cost more. But trust me when i say it is a fun project to do with your friends and bridesmaids.

Alternatively, you can order your personalized mineral water from Wedding Cottage.