SINGAPORE TRIP 2013

We have just returned from a wondeful holiday to one of my favourite countries, Singapore. It was my 8th trip there. This time was a little different, as we travelled with a diabetic child, which was challenging at times. I had already booked the holiday before my son's diagnosis and could not get a refund, so we chose to still go ahead with the holiday. Also, it was a big morale booster for him, and something to look forward to after all the horrible diabetic stuff he had been through.

We decided to try out the new Scoot airline, which is a budget airline and flies direct from the Gold Coast to Singapore. You choose how much legroom and luggage you wish to pay for. I chose the longest legroom option, which I think is worth the extra cost. The food was, well, how can I say this tactfully...horrible. I suggest you eat before you fly, and just have a cup of tea on board. You know you can always top up on yummy food when you get to Singapore airport. But other than that, it's just your stock standard budget flight - perfectly acceptable to get you from A to B with more money left over for shopping and eating out.

Flying with an insulin pump is a little challenging. Firstly, the pump must be removed from the body for the first 1/2 hour of the start and end of the flight, as air bubbles form in the line. When we arrived at Singapore airport, we had to sit in a public area and refill our son's insulin cartridge whilst attempting to keep the whole thing in a sterile environement. After a while, you just don;t feel self conscious about doing such things in public. Also, we had 3 different pieces of cabin luggage filled with all his medical supplies, just in case one bag became lost. It takes alot of planning and organising to travel with diabetes.

As we were hungry from not eating the airplane food, we ducked into Toast Box for a snack. Toast Box serves yummy kaya toast and drinks.  Then, we took a taxi to our accommodation; the Far East Plaza Apartments. We normally stay in hotels in Singapore, but I discovered we could rent an apartment for the same cost as one hotel room. The apartment consisted of two bedrooms, two bathrooms, loungeroom, dining room and large kitchen with a washing machine. There was also LCD TV, Foxtel and free WIFI.  I would definitely stay here again rather than a hotel room to have the extra facilities and room. It's located on Scotts Rd, near Orchard Rd, so it's in a perfect position for tourists who like to shop and eat.

The first thing one should do when arriving in Singapore is to eat! So we tried out the Food Opera food court in the ION shopping mall, which is all completely underground I think.

I chose char siew pork, noodles and wanton soup. Only $5.00! Singapore has a really refreshing lime juice drink which I always have with my meals when in town. The food courts in Singapore are absolutely fantastic. So much more appealing than Australian ones.  The variety is huge and most meals are cooked up fresh for you. My kids think it's hilarious that I take photos of my food. After dinner, we did a quick circuit of the mall before collapsing in bed and falling happily asleep.

After the stress of our son's diagnosis, we were really looking forward to our week in Singapore to spend some lovely time together as a family.

REFLECTIONS OF 2012

2012 was a year of highs and lows for me,

The highlight of the year was my daughter graduating from secondary school. Still, it was a slightly sad day to see your first born finishing school, when it seems like only yesterday she was starting pre-school. The school had a beautiful graduation chapel in the morning, follwed by the formal graduation at night. My daughter surprised us by receiving awards in home economics (dux) , visual art and citizenship. Her final year 12 results were so high that she has guaranteed admission into the uni course she has chosen, so we don't have to wait for uni offers to come out. What a relief that was. She has a very particular career goal, and that is to work for Japan Vogue! So she is studying a degree where she can major in Fashion and minor in journalism and Japanese. Who would have thought there was such a uni course? Going to all the open days at uni made me wish for a moment I could be a student again. The variety of courses available now are so interesting. Back in my day, the options were not quite as exciting. I think I would be a textile designer or handbag designer if I had my time over.

The low of the year, in fact my whole life, was my son being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It's a hugly devastating blow for a little kid to recieve, and painful for a parent to watch their child go through. If I could magically change fate, I would give anything for the victim to be me and not my son. But, that can't happen, so with faith and support from my family, we do the best we can to maintain his health. As a consequense, our whole family now eats a paleo diet. This means very little carbohydrate, no processed or artificial foods, so mainly basing the diet on protein, vegatables (not potatoes) a small amount of fruit, nuts and small amount of dairy products. It also involves a moderate amount of exercise daily, which helps to lower blood glucose. The health benefits are amazing; my son's blood glucose levels are so easy to manage when there is little consumption of carbs.  As for the rest of us, my weight has dropped significantly, by one dress size in 3 weeks and my blood pressure has lowered to a normal level.  My skin is completely clear, but if I eat any wheat products, the next day I have pimples.  My energy levels have increased because my blood sugar levels stay relatively even. I tried on a pair of my old shorts today, and they fell off me because they were way too big! I've had to buy a belt to hold all my pants up!

If you would like to know more about this diet/lifestyle, I get most of my information from:

     http://www.marksdailyapple.com/and  http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/

I'm not sure why all our healthcare team has told my son to keep eating lots of carbs, even the dietician said to keep eating McDonalds! Anyway, I will keep researching the best way to manage diabetes with diet and exercise.

So, here's praying our 2013 will be a bit better than last year.  I know I am so lucky to have as many blessings as I do, and I have to approach all challenges with positivity and faith.

Wishing all my readers a wonderful year, filled with love and happiness.
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Christmas Gift Wrapping

I have found creative gift wrapping to be therapeutic this year - taking my mind off my son's illness for a short spell. I found a wonderful blog with paper flower tutorials for these simple but effective paper roses.

The key to making your gifts look impressive is to layer the ribbons and embelishments. The more, the better. All the gift tags were downloaded from the net. Just google "free printable Christmas gift tags"

 I bought my sister some gorgeous fragrance from Durance, a French company. If it's French, it's got to be lovely, right?  I recycled the ribbon as it was too pretty to throw away. I made the flower from calico and cotton fabric.

I love the black and white theme. It always looks luxurious.  I topped it with black velvet ribbon and a scrapbooking flower.

Another idea Icame across was to use pearl and diamante buttons and brooches as a gift topper. You can find them on etsy.com

 I found some beautiful botanical paper, and topped the box with sisal ribbon, satin ribbon and faux leaves and berries.

 I actually found Marrimeko gift wrap on the Gold Coast. I covered an old shoe box and finished it with a handmade paper rose and black velvet ribbon.  I purchased whole large rolls of velvet ribbon from ebay at very reasonable prices.  Hand made Japanese paper works well for paper flowers.

I created this design from: grossgrain ribbon, mesh ribbon, gold cord, velvet ribbon (twisted and glued) faux glitter branches and handmade acorns.  To make an acorn you can use the cap from a real acorn, or if you live in the tropics like me, make one from paper clay. I used some plastic mesh to create texture on the clay. The stalk is a real twig. Paint the cap and stalk white and sprinkle with glitter. The acorn is made from white velvet fabric - simply cut a circle and thread a gathering stitch around the perimeter - place a small amount of fibre fill in the centre and pull the thread to gather - then glue to the cap.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.



Yet another tote bag

Fabric from Yuzawaya, Shinjuku.

The gift God gave me

I tend to not blog about personal stuff, as this is meant to be a craft and travel blog, but it is also a blog about faith and hope, so today's topic with be just that.

Thirteen years ago, God gave me the gift of a baby boy. The first night after he was born I lay in my hospital bed with my boy in my arms in amazement that God would give me the perfect family; one daughter and one son.

Fast forward thirteen years, and I am lying in a hospital bed with my boy in my arms sobbing and distraught, because my son has just been diagnosed with type 1 insulin dependant diabetes. The shock and reality of it makes me want to vomit, so I pray to God to take away this pain from me. But God uses pain and suffering to make you realise what blessings you have in life.  In the bible, St Paul prayed that God would take away his affliction (we don't really know what that was) But God said no, because his grace is sufficient for us to deal with it. And without pain, we cannot grow spiritually.

How did we end up here? My son had been losing weight over a year and the past several months he was drinking alot. I took him to the doctor for a blood test last Wednesday. On Thursday morning, his nurse rang us to come in immediately because the blood test revealed there was sugar in his blood. Wham. I felt like a truck just hit me.  I studied health science at uni, so I knew exactly what was going to happen (or so I thought) We were sent to emergency at a private hopsital (thank God for private health insurance) and he was poked and prodded with needles and a drip was inserted.  He was admitted to the children's ward and a wonderful paediatrician came to visit us. He said that diabetes is a "bit of a nusciance but you will be able to do everything you ever want to.. school, exercise, swimming and travel" As my knowledge is not up to date, I thought my son would have to inject himself with insulin 10 times a day and would eventually suffer from a whole host of diabetes related ilnesses. My husband works in healthcare and many of his patients have diabetic ilnesses, so that was our immediate thought- that our son would end up with horrible diseases and physical disabilities.

But, I was wrong.  The doctor offered us 2 options- injections 10 times a day or an insulin pump. I immediately chose the pump, even though I didn't fully understand what that was. But, here is how it works... The pump contains a cartridge of insulin which is fed via a line and needle into the body.  everytime the patient eats a food containing carbohydrate they must work out how many grams of carbs is in that particular food and then enter the amount into the pump. The pump then calculates how much insulin is required to metabolise the food and sends that amount into the body via the line. The pump also feeds a small amount of insulin into the body constantly, just as a pancreas does in a healthy human. The pump is a miracle innovation which almost acts like a bionic pancreas so the blood sugar levels in the body are so much easier to control than with old fashioned injections. If he goes in water, the pump is disconnected and then connected again after. He was fitted with the pump the very next morning by an amazing diabetes nurse.  He has to prick his finger every 3 hours to test his glucose levels and the pump line and needle is changed every 3 days. But that is pretty much it.

My son has been astounding me with his courage and positive attitude.  He never once complained with all the needles and blood tests.  He did his own finger prick test since the second day and because the pump is computerised, he learned how to use it in 2 lessons and does all his carb entries himself. We both cried alot the first 3 days, but I kept praying that we both would become strong, and that's exactly what happened.

God has blessed me in many ways throughout this ordeal. Firstly, our paediatrician and diabetes nurse are angels. We can ring them 24 hours a day with any concerns. The other blessing is that we live on the Gold Coast in Australia. The Gold Coast and one other hospital in Sydney are the only places in Australia that offer insulin pumps to children as a first treatment option. Apparently, everywhere else in Australia thinks little kids should give themselves injections 10 times a day. How is that a better treatment option? the pump is so easy; no measuring insulin and being constantly jabbed with a needle. And it so much easier to stabilise blood glucose levels on the pump as the settings can be altered depending on your exercise and food for that particular hour. As far as I know, even in USA children are not immediately put on pumps. Kids in this generation are raised on techno stuff, so operating the pump is so easy for them. Our nurse also arranged for a mum and her diabetic son to come and visit us in hospital and she has been a great source of information and support for me.  And since the pump keeps the blood glucose levels more stable, health complications are significantly less likely.

So, God gave me gift of a baby boy, but he also gave me the gift of an awesome boy who has strength and faith to face this disease with hope. He gave me the gift of people to support and pray for us.

These bible verses really apply to me at the moment:

2 Corinthians 4:16... For this reason we never become discouraged. Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is being renewed day after day. And this small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble. For we fix our attention , not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.

For we know that when this tent we live in - our body here on earth- is torn down, God will have a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself has made, which will last forever.

James 1:2... My brothers, consider yourself fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure.

James 1:12... Happy is the person who remains faithful under trials, because when he succeeds in passing such a test, he will receive as his reward the life which God has promised to those who love him.

1 Peter 1:6... Be glad about this, eventhough it may be now necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many trials you suffer.  Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine.  Even gold which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honour on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 4:19.. So then, those who suffer because it is  God's will for them, should by their good actions trust themselves completely to their Creator, who always keeps his promise.

I will be starting a new blog dedicated to my son's diabetes journey and all the things we learn along the way.  I have been doing extensive research about how diet impacts type 1 diabetes which is the opposite of what the medical profession tell me (eg: "keep eating McDonalds and heaps of carbs") I have been inspired by many people who have minimised their diabetes  through diet and exercise. In the past 2 days our whole family has drastically our diet. All carbs and processed food have been disposed of in our kitchen, and we are following a Paleo diet which has reduced his blood glucose levels in just 24 hours!

So, in conclusion, as a family we have chosen positivity and a life of faith for what ever health problems are in our future. We will not allow this little hiccup destroy our life and we refuse to feel  sorry for ourselves or be miserable.  Being negative will not make this situation go away, but being positive is the only way to approach any set back in life. God allows pain so that we can grow spiritually.  This makes sense; if life on earth was perfect we would never grow spiritually, and it is our spirits which live forever, not our mortal bodies.  We LOVE LIFE!!!

 

Cath Kidston Tote Bag

My latest bag made from very British Cath Kidston fabric.

Mini Macaron Tote Bag

 

I made this cute little bag for a cute little girl.