Asia's Next Top Model, Cycle 1- Episode 1

I had planned to catch up with all the past episodes of AsNTM which I had missed, from episode 1-9 and finally managed to watch all of them yesterday and the day before. I am soooo head over heels with this TV show & enjoyed watching them so much. I can't wait to watch the future episodes & finally to find out who is the winner.

I really hope it would be Jessica, who represents Thailand.

Remember my past entry on this topic, how I highly praised Helena?

As I had already watched the full episode, it turned out I kinda understand now why all the girls felt the way they did towards her. I admit as I was watching the show I couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed with her myself BUT that doesn't mean she doesn't deserve to win! I still think she should be the winner all the same, based on her pure determination and talent. Oh! and she was representing Hong Kong.

So on this 1st episode, I got to learn the 1st prices!

Just a recap-they include a modelling contract covering UK & Europe with London base Storm models including a 3-months all expenses paid working trip to London, cover shoots for Harper's Bazaar magazine,

a cash price of Sing.Dollar 100,000, a contract to become the face of Canon campaign 2013 & drive away a new Subaru XV.

Wow! That's GRAND!

Meet the Judges 

❤"Singapore Most Gorgeous Woman"- Nadya Hutagalung

❤Fashion photographer- Todd Anthony Tyler

❤Model mentor- Joey Mead King

❤Fashion Director- Daniel Boey

Meet the Contestants

❤Aastha - Nepal

❤Sophia - Japan

❤Melissa - Malaysia

❤Bei Si - China

❤Stephanie - Philippines

❤Jessica - Thailand

❤Trang - Vietnam

❤Kate - Taiwan

❤Jee - Korea

❤Rachel - India

❤Monica - Thailand (2 person representing Thailand - is it fair?Mmm..)

❤Filantropi - Indonesia

❤Kyla - Singapore

❤Helena - Hong Kong

~The 1st challenge was a runaway challenge which put Trang as the winner. As the reward, she received a 5000 Sg dollar to buy a whole new wardrobe. Oh God, I would be so ecstatic if I were in her shoes! So she went shopping & generously bought some things for the rest of the girls - wow that was very nice of her. And I thought she is beautiful too, she has this very unique model-like face & her runway catwalk-it was phenomenal. Unfortunately her English was very bad & it didn't really help her that much. Btw, she was representing Vietnam.

~On the 2nd challenge, the girls were instructed to give some quirky looks in the photo shoots. Quirky to me was never before heard, and it was not use that often so I was also confuse as much as most of them. Lucky for Helena, she got it right in her shots & won the challenge - she knew what quirky means, alright :-)

I thought her shot was the best & agree with the judges for their decision. The others just had some normal model-pose & didn't really deliver quirkiness.

Check out my updates on the next episode! ^_^

A Desirable Residence By Madeleine Wickham

                                         

Title: A Desirable Residence

Author: Madeleine Wickham (also known as Sophie Kinsella)

Published Date: First published in 1996 & published by Black Swan in November 2004

Format: Paperback

Genre: Fiction

Sneak into this book:

Liz and Jonathan were stuck with 2 mortgage loans & were struggling to sell their old house in order to settle one of the loans. Marcus came into their lives offering a solution by promising a tenant who would rent their house, husband and wife Piers & Ginny. In the middle of the arrangement, Liz & Marcus were accidentally lost in an affairs & Jonathan was left alone to struggle and keep their financial save. Both of them didn't notice that they had abandoned their one and only daughter, a 14 year old Alice. On the other hand, a lonely Alice was developing a passion towards the new tenant & was entangled with their lives. Everyone was preoccupied with everyone else until they begin to realise the whole situations were a mess & were trying to keep it back on track once again.... -Read more to know the ending.

First of all, it was my first time reading her writing using her original name, 'Madeleine Wickham'. Before it, I collected Sophie Kinsella's only & never came across her originals.

I was not surprised when it turns out to be as good as Sophie Kinsella's but I never expected to find a different way of writing. As Sophie Kinsella, her books are more like those silly yet funny and enjoyable reads. As Madeleine Wickham, I find it more serious and detailed but enjoyable still. After all, she is one of the best-selling authors in 'New York Times', so I never doubt her productions. Again, she delivers a very good story and ending in 'A Desirable Residence'. The only thing I don't like is that she portrays most of the characters with low attitudes and morals, but in a way, I suppose that is positive for her, as it shows how good she is in making such impact to her audience in order to deliver the actual purpose of the story.

So here are my personal opinions on this story:

- I hate Liz's character. She is dishonest to her husband and child & always get away with all the bad things she did. At one point, she even plans to leave her husband & assume that Marcus will want to end their flings and marry her. She is disloyal to such a very kind husband and at the end she is still with her husband. He really does not deserves her at all.

- I like Alice, my heart goes for her when she seems to be abandoned by her parents who are so busy keeping their lives together. The way she brings her life everyday just to find peace and happiness in the little garage of her old house, really makes me feel sad & mad at her parents especially her mom who is so busy screwing Marcus. But I REALLY hate the fact that she has Liz's bad habit of being dishonest & disloyal by secretly having crush on Piers despite what Ginny have given to her.

- I love Jonathan's character. He is the kind of husband most women dreams of. He is loyal, committed, considerable & so much more. He still works very hard even when he knows their real financial situations. Towards the end of the story he tells Alice not to spill anything as it is best to keep some secrets to ourselves & let the situation sorts itself out. I personally think he knew what kind of 'horrible' thing Alice is going to tell him but he just doesn't want to know and doesn't want to ruin everything that is why he let Alice keep the secret of her mom's cheating episodes. Again, Liz got away with it.

- I understand Anthea's character, she is the kind of mom who would give anything just to see her children's success. She might be a bit hard to her children but she means well & I don't agree that she deserves to be treated the way she is by her husband. I think eventually Marcus realised how great his wife is and he saves their marriage & ends the affairs between him & Liz, but that doesn't mean I like Marcus, he is still a cheater and that is unacceptable.

So all in all, I give 5 stars/5!! :-) Enjoy!

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

"What if the woods were full of them? And of course they were, the woods were full of everything you didn't like, everything you were afraid of and instinctively loathed, everything that tried to overwhelm you with nasty, no-brain panic."

Title: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

Author: Stephen King
Published Date:06/04/1999
Format: Paperback
Genre: Horror/Survival

Sneak into this book:
During a hiking trip with her mother & brother, a 9-year old girl named Trisha wandered off the trail to take a bathroom break when she was suddenly unable to find her family again. With failed attempts in using wrong short-cuts & trails, she ended up lost & hopelessly heading deeper into the forest, alone by herself. All she had were a bottle of water, a small amount of food & a Walkman. In order to keep herself from panic attack, she listened to her Walkman every now and then, hoping to hear any news of the search for her or to listen to the baseball game featuring her favorite player who was also her crush, 'Tom Gordon'. As she was struggling for survival, her mother & brother returned to their car & lodged a police report and start a search. As the polices started searching the night, Trisha rested underneath a tree & finally started to hallucinate due to the combinations of hunger, thirst & fear. She imagined a few people in her life came to rescue her, as well as her 'Tom Gordon'-Read more of this book to know the ending.

The girl who loved Tom Gordon is my second favorite Stephen King's book after Christine.

I discovered this book about 5 years ago but still remember the story clearly. This is one of the books that I will most likely to read again someday.

I love the cover. There are a few of other version as well. 

 I love the main character. She was very brave & tough despite her age.

The book is not boring & not long-winded, it keeps the readers in full suspense.

 I love the happy ending

This book deserves my stars of 5/5!!

Laksa Johor Special buatan mama

In my post this time, I would like to share with you about Laksa Johor. Have you ever taste one before? Well, my mom is having a small business in selling this Laksa Johor. So, whether you haven't yet or have already, you can try my mom's cooking.

I personally think hers are the best, not because she is my mom, no. It simply because of the taste itself. She is so generous in terms of ingredients, it makes her gravy very thick & tasty. Unlike most Laksa Johor I tasted before which gravies were either very oily, watery or tasteless.

Inherited her talent from my late grandma who was also a Johorean, her Laksa Johor always being praised by many of her Johoreans friends. After she turned 52, she felt so tired to work in office & retired. She then discovered her 'rezeki' in small business & started to make Laksa Johor & is doing fine nowadays. As a daughter, I feel it is my responsibility to do my part, which is to help mom in promoting her Laksa Johor. Hehe ^_^

Ok before I go further, which I believe I had done so (hehe), let me write a bit introduction on Laksa Johor if some of you have still never heard of this Malaysian Cuisine.

"Johor laksa (Malay: Laksa Johor), from Johor state in southern Malaysia, resembles Penang laksa only in the kind of fish used but differs in everything else. Johor laksa has coconut milk, use kerisik, dried prawns, lemon grass, galangal and spices akin to curry. The garnishing comprises slices of onion, beansprouts (taugeh), mint leaves, Vietnamese coriander or 'daun kesum', cucumber and pickled white radish. Sambal belacan (a kind of chili paste) is placed on the side. Finally, just before eating, freshly squeezed lime juice is sprinkled on the dish. Unique to Johor laksa is its Italian connection – spaghetti is used instead of the normal rice noodles or vermicelli. Johor laksa is traditionally eaten using the hand and the noodles are usually knitted (cetak) into a disk for each serving."

Sources: Wikipedia Laksa

Ok, as mentioned above, it is eaten using the hand, so don't go using fork & spoon or chop sticks, as it wont deliver much 'feel' to you. Hahaha..

So here's the shot.

This one was prepared by Mom for customer's order which were 50 packets of Laksa Johor. Using Ikan Tenggiri in making the gravy, she charges her Laksa Johor @ RM6 per packet. Ikan Tenggiri are costly compared to most gravy which uses Ikan Sardin or Ikan Kembung. Using Ikan Tenggiri will make the gravy thick & tasty.

The finish product which is ready to eat. Sambal Belacan, Air Limau, Jeruk Lobak, Timun & Bawang are combine together & mix with the Spaghetti for maximum taste. My mom is from Johor & her Laksa Johor is adopted from its state of origin, Johor Darul Takzim.

Apart from making Laksa Johor, mom also sells Mee Rebus @ RM4.50 per packet. She adopted Johorean/Jawa Style in making her Mee Rebus. Absolutely delicious!

I bet you are already drooling by now. So am I. ^_^
Contact me if you would like to try @ make an order. We accept catering also.
Kindly email me- natasha.zainalabidin@gmail.com.

Vaginal Candidiasis ~ Article by PubMedHealth

I just recently realised the importance of maintaining a good feminine hygiene & I gotta share some infos that I had just gained pertaining to this subject. Of course I'd received a good education on this since school & understood that such part is very delicate & requires extra care but all I know was simply the basic fundamentals & only now I realised there is more to learn as far as the feminine hygiene subject is concern. I may write based on my own personal experience & I would like to share it so that some of you can benefit from it. As the wise men say, "preventions are better than cure". True, indeed.

I wouldn't bother to include this topic in my blog if what I'm currently facing did not open my eyes & gives an impact to my life. I think it is crucial for all girls to gain ample of infos on the subject pertaining to the prevention of any vaginal infections. Once you get infected due to care negligence, you will be so stress & unhappy. Extra care needed to be taken at that point of time to cure the disease & this will leads to frustrations in terms of health, money, relationship with your partner & your self-confidence.

I think that many of us are open to vaginal infection, not only to miscarried women or pregnant women, but all of us. Especially those who have more white discharge daily.

Girls, I hope this article that I had taken from a website will be useful to you & take care! :-)

So let's read some of the infos here:-

What is Vaginal Yeast Infection?

 Vaginal yeast infection is an infection of the vagina, most commonly due to the fungus Candida albicans.

*Source: PubMed Health

Causes, Incidents & Risk Factors

Most women have a vaginal yeast infection at some time. Candida albicans is a common type of fungus. It is often found in small amounts in the vagina, mouth, digestive tract, and on the skin. Usually it does not cause disease or symptoms.

Candida and the many other germs that normally live in the vagina keep each other in balance. However, sometimes the number of Candida albicans increases, leading to a yeast infection.

This can happen if you are:

• Taking antibiotics used to treat other types of infections. Antibiotics change the normal balance between germs in the vagina by decreasing the number of protective bacteria.
• Pregnant
• Obese
• Have diabetes

A yeast infection is not a sexually transmitted illness. However, some men will develop symptoms such as itching and a rash on the penis after having sexual contact with an infected partner.

Having many vaginal yeast infections may be a sign of other health problems. Other vaginal infections and discharges can be mistaken for a vaginal yeast infection.

*Source: PubMed Health

Symptoms

• Abnormal vaginal discharge
  • Ranges from a slightly watery, white discharge to a thick, white, chunky discharge (like cottage cheese)
• Pain with intercourse
• Painful urination
• Redness and swelling of the vulva
• Vaginal and labial itching, burning

 *Source: PubMed Health

Treatment

Medications to treat vaginal yeast infections are available in either creams or suppositories. Most can be bought without a prescription.

Treating yourself at home is probably okay if:

• Your symptoms are mild and you do not have pelvic pain or a fever
• This is not your first yeast infection and you have not had many yeast infections in the past
• You are not pregnant
• You are not worried about other sexually transmitted diseases from recent sexual contact

Medications you can buy yourself to treat a vaginal yeast infection are:

• Miconazole
• Clotrimazole
• Tioconazole
• Butoconazole

Read the packages carefully and use them as directed. Do not stop using these medications early because your symptoms are better. You will need to take the medicine for 3 - 7-days, depending on which medicine you buy. If you do not get get repeated infections, a 1-day medicine might work for you.

You doctor can also prescribe a medicine called fluconazole. This medicine is a pill that you only take once.

If your symptoms are more severe or you have repeat vaginal yeast infections, you may need:

• Medicine for up to 14 days
• Clotrimazole vaginal suppository or fluconazole pill every week to prevent new infections

To help prevent and treat vaginal discharge:

• Keep your genital area clean and dry. Avoid soap and rinse with water only. Sitting in a warm, but not hot, bath may help your symptoms.
• Avoid douching. Although many women feel cleaner if they douche after menstruation or intercourse, it may actually worsen vaginal discharge because it removes healthy bacteria lining the vagina that protect against infection.
• Eat yogurt with live cultures or take Lactobacillus acidophilus tablets when you are on antibiotics to prevent a yeast infection.
• Use condoms to avoid catching or spreading sexually transmitted infection (STI).
• Avoid using feminine hygiene sprays, fragrances, or powders in the genital area.
• Avoid wearing extremely tight-fitting pants or shorts, which may cause irritation.
• Wear cotton underwear or cotton-crotch pantyhose. Avoid underwear made of silk or nylon, because these materials are not very absorbant and restrict air flow. This can increase sweating in the genital area, which can cause irritation.
• Use pads and not tampons.
• Keep your blood sugar levels under good control if you have diabetes.
  
   *Source: PubMed Health