F&N refuses to disclose source of Fresh Milk

I was doing some simple "research" on fresh milks available in Singapore recently, and found that most brands of fresh milk state their source of milk clearly on the carton. For example, Farmhouse is from Australia, Brownes is from Indonesia etc.

However, I checked a few times but never found the source for Magnolia Fresh Milk, possibly the most popular brand of fresh milk (and generally the most costly). So I decided to do some digging. I looked for the telephone number of F&N Singapore, distributor of Magnolia milks, and called their customer service hotline.

When the operator (or whomever) answered, I said I was calling to find out where their milk came from. So I was transferred to another person, a lady who asked me WHY I wanted to know their sources. Well, basically because I want to know where the milk I drink comes from, which country.

She replied that she was unable to disclose their sources, but it COULD come from a few different countries. I pursued by asking whether it is from the Australasia area or Indonesia, but her only reply was, "I cannot tell you". Dodgy, ain't it? She later said that countries may include Vietnam, Thailand and a few others, and that the milks come into Singapore and are packaged here after quality control.

So now I have a picture of different qualities of milk coming from different tubes into one central tank and getting all mixed up and swirled around. Ew.

In any case, I've never thought it was worth spending those extra cents on that brand, although Magnolia Fresh Milk always did taste good and has the longest shelf life for fresh milk. (Side note: does this mean that they pasteurise their milk beyond the usual temperatures? Another uh-oh). I used to get one carton of Fresh Milk and one Chocolate Fresh Milk (yeah yeah, I know it's got milk solids, but it IS yummy!) whenever there was a "2 for" offer, but since our Bangkok trip I've discovered Meiji Choc Milk which we all like (and is cheaper but has a shorter shelf life), so Magnolia has left our lives for some time.

So one of my short-term goals in life is, find a continuable source of RAW MILK, or at least get a taste of it.

Only Fermented Soy is Healthy

Non-fermented soy products such as whole soybeans (fresh or dry), soy milk and even tofu, are not good for us, because unfermented soy contains various toxic compounds:
#1 is phytic acid (phytates) which binds to certain minerals in our digestive system, hindering their absorption.
#2 is haemagglutin, which causes red blood cells to agglutinate and inhibits oxygen take-up.
#3 enzyme inhibitors - hinder protein digestion.
#4 but probably the worst - they contain high levels of isoflavones (aka phytoestrogens), which mimic and can block the oestrogen in our body.

Fermenting soy drastically reduces the level of isoflavones, reduces the phytic acid level, and also improves the essential amino acid composition in the soy product. It even creates natural probiotics! So what are the great soy products to eat?

1. Miso
2. Nattou (I've always wanted to try this but didn't have the guts)
3. Tempeh (something I never liked since young but will put aside my prejudice to try again)
4. Soy sauce (go for trusted brands of traditionally fermented soy sauce and beware of chemically processed ones)

Must limit myself to one cup of soy milk per week.

Sesame Street - Rubber Ducky

And here's Ernie's Rubber Ducky, for your benefit, kids.



OH!
Rubber Ducky
You're the one
You make bath time
Lots of fun!
Rubber Ducky
I'm awfully fond of you! (bobobodeo)

Rubber Ducky
Joy of joys
When I squeeze you you make noise
Rubber Ducky
You're my very best friend it's true

Every day
When I make my way to the tubby
I find a little fella who's
Cute and yella
And chubby
Rubba dub dubby!

Rubber Ducky
You're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine
Rubber ducky I'm awfully fond of you

Sesame Street - Somebody Come and Play

This is the original version of the song, by Joe Raposo



Somebody come and play
Somebody come and play today
Somebody come and smile the smiles
And sing the songs
It won't take long
Somebody come and play today

Somebody come and play
Somebody come and play my way
Somebody come and rhyme the rhymes
And laugh the laughs
It won't take time
Somebody come and play today

Somebody come with me and see the pleasure in the wind
Somebody see the time is getting late to begin

Somebody come and play
Somebody come and play today
Somebody come and be my friend
And watch the sun 'till it rains again
Somebody come and play today

So the US Government has conceded that Mercury does cause Autism

When will OUR government do the same? I have no idea how far behind we are on these issues (for example, do we still have thimerosal in our vaccines?) but I'm not counting on us being up-to-date enough.

*Flu shots contain thimerosal as a preservative.
* Thimerosal is 50% ethylmercury.

I am very thankful that Ray, who has had every recommended shot so far, shows no sign of adverse reactions. Ruvie has always been more sensitive to everything, so he's only just had the first 3 DTPs and we're now waiting for another year before the booster is administered.

In America, there are ways to legally avoid vaccines, such as the Religious Vaccine Exemption and the Philosophical Vaccine Exemption. What exemption grounds do we have? Allergy to thimerosal? Do we need a doctor's letter for that? I would really want Ruvie NOT to take the MMR. I am currently collating all the suggestions and experiences of other moms before me, and hoping I can find a way out of this situation.

I'm glad for one thing at least - HL supports me on this. It would be tough to choose to walk this way if I were alone.

UPDATE: Pat has reminded me that it's not just about mercury. What about Aluminium, another neurotoxin? If we're cracking down on all Aluminium cookware and such, what about Al in vaccines? I'm not sure whether this link is still working, but it's definitely worth reading.

And of course, there are the vaccines themselves. Live and/or attenuated viruses, all to be introduced into the immature immune system of a young child, preferably before the age of 2. Gulp.

Time of the month

There are a few days each month that I am always very happy, because although I get some discomforts such as cramps and backache, I am reminded again of how much I love my Mooncup, and how it has revolutionised my life.

Ever since puberty, I have had to deal with itches and broken skin, because my skin is very sensitive, even to my own bodily fluids. Ten years of sports training served to make that worse, and although tampons were available, I simply couldn't overcome the mental stigma to use them (it didn't help that getting to know my own body was more or less a taboo, so I had no idea where which part was).

I finally started using tampons sometime after the birth of my first child (heh heh, knew my parts better then), but the dangers of Toxic Shock Syndrome were always printed very clearly on the packaging, and you may be sure I never forgot them.

It was certainly a great relief to find the Mooncup just before I conceived my second child, but I held off on getting one at the time because I hoped to have a VBAC (didn't happen).

So here I am with my B Mooncup, having itch-free days, doing my part for the Earth, saving money for my dear husband, and setting a good example for my daughter (she knows where it goes). Only thing is I tend to forget to empty often enough on my heavy days, so dark-coloured underwear is a must.

Ok, I think it's almost time to empty again d:)

Thank you Ginny, for bringing in the Mooncup to Singapore so many years ago, and for allowing me to carry on this splendid tradition.

Another Milestone for us

My Ruvie will be officially attending Nursery at Changi Bethany Kindy, beginning tomorrow. Sniff sniff.

I brought him down today with his sister for a trial session as agreed with the new Principal (who was Ray's K2 English teacher, congratulations Principal Patsy! May the Lord bless you with the vision and passion which He has prepared for you, to lead this school, and may you bring it to greater heights under His guidance and will.)

At first, he began crying when he saw that there were little children in the classroom, and wanted to go back to the car, but I "manhandled" and carried him in. He sat on my knee with his fists in his eyes and refused to look at anything at all. Finally, Teacher Rose brought over an animal puzzle to tempt him with and we managed to get him to forget the others and begin to play. Shortly after that he was fine so Ray and I "escaped" to the office to enrol him officially.

When school was over, that little boy was smilingly holding onto his teacher's hand, and nodded his head when asked whether he'd like to come again tomorrow. Hallelujah!

For the next 2 school days I will still have to stay at the school, but outside the classroom, "just in case". Recalling Ray's first day at CBK, I didn't even stay with her. We took the school bus together, then before I handed her over to the teacher I told her to follow instructions and I would meet her when the school bus brought her home. And that was that. But then she's always been very independent, and had already made a friend on that first trip to school, so there was no need to worry.

I will seriously be entering that juggling phase that I've seen my friends go through, most notably Rita, heh heh. Bring #1 and #2 to pick #3 from school , then send #1 to school then #2 to school, then go to ILs to pick up #4, then to the office/shop, or some such. I've always marvelled at how well-thought-out their schedules were!

I will really get some "free time" inbetween, so I hope to take up some volunteer work with Ray's school, signed up so long ago but have had no chance so far to really participate.

Here's to the next mile!

Time to say Goodbye to my Bosch washer

Since December last year, my faithful Bosch 5kg washer has been tripping up the whole house's electricity. At first, after restoring the trip we could still use it, but with this current wet season, it's happening every time we try to use it, and today, it's just running longer than 5 secs without tripping.

Our repairman said it's due to the moisture in the air (tis true, only on rainy days), but after hearing that it's about 5yo (we got it when we moved to staff quarters in 2003), he says he will have to come and take a look and advise us duly.

But we highly suspect that it's time to bury it in peace. We're now looking at the Bosch WAA12165. I can't find its specs on the net! Only lists and lists of product models (some in Arabic I think), and no product specs page. Bosch International's website is also not giving me the info I need, neither is Bosch Singapore. Argh!!

But I like the image d:) Only thing is it's bigger this time - 5.5kg, so... costs more lor.

Update 19 Mar: 'Tis good to have a washer again. I realised as I was hanging up my first load, that I get depressed when I can't get my laundry done, or haven't done any for at least 3 days. Now that loads are getting cleared, I'm a very happy woman!
p.s. i probably sing best when i'm hanging up the laundry.

Egg cartons

My family buys 10 eggs on average of once a week and we end up with all these plastic egg cartons. They're not recyclable (no recycling marking) so the only thing I can think of is to return them to the egg farms so they can be reused.

However, doing that will cost time, money and effort, so I'm wondering whether I can strike up an agreement with one or other of the egg farms, to give me a certain discount off a new packet of eggs for every carton that I return to them. Or perhaps with Fairprice (I'm pretty sure Sheng Siong can't be bothered to do much about conservation).

In return, the farm can be assured of my loyalty to their brand, and I can also help spread the word. After all, every bit of conservation helps, and I expect there are millions of plastic egg cartons being throw away each day.

I do wish that there are predecessors I can consult though.