Couple of links...

21 Pictures that Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity.

Useful Everyday Objects.

Things I'm Afraid To Tell You...

Sometime ago, blogger Jess Constable created the first list of "Things I'm Afraid To Tell You". Other bloggers started to read, share, tweet and support it. Since then it has become like a movement in the blogosphere. Here is an article about it.

I thought this would be a good time to share mine. Well, it's not really a list but a feeling that swept over me intensely for 2 days. Or 3. And it happened this week.

*Once in a long while, I wish I live alone*

This is a nasty mean thought. I truly love my husband and boys with every fibre and cells in my body, but there are a few times I wish I'm just me. Just for a day. I'm afraid to say it because I don't want this wish to come true. But for just one day, I would like to spend the day being just me.

I don't have to rush home to my kids (think crazy traffic).

I get to choose what I want to have for dinner, whatever, whenever, wherever I want. A little fancy meal in town with a good book or a bowl of plain instant noodle in front of the TV.

I get to watch TV. Any channels I want, any movies I want, and how long I want to leave the TV on.

I get to go shopping after work.

And come home as late as I want.

I get to craft FOREVER.

I get to redecorate every room however I want.

I get to blast out classical music while I shower.

I get to sleep early if I want to.

These are now luxuries to me. I can only wait till the boys are much older I guess. I'm wondering if I'm preparing myself way in advance for the future that holds for me. Seriously, it is reality now for many women. My husband would be out playing golf for the rest of his life, my boys would live their own lives and be out of the house most of the time, and I would have all these luxuries then!

18 years countdown...

*deep breath* There, I've said it.

Crazy About the VW Campervan

Print by stefanierenee.


Printed moleskin notebook by rainydaystory.


Another cute print by christinamccall.


And this cute personalized wall name plaque by ShopLittles.


It gets better... These are portable speaker with AM/FM radio and clock made by Japanese folks Zumreed. AHHHHHHHRRRRRRRGGGH!! CANNOT TAHAN ALREADY!


I couldn't resist... I HAD to buy something VW camper bus! These 4 napkins are screenprinted by ohlittlerabbit.

PEACE Y'ALL!

Rawa Island Revisited!

I must say, after 3.5 years, Rawa beach hasn't changed! And it's a good thing. The sand is still powdery white, the shore is still azure and the facilities are well maintained, in fact there is a new little shop selling beachwear and other necessity, and a snorkel rental counter.

The jetty.
That mega orange slide is a new addition, but it's not complete yet. The smaller blue slide is still there. You slide from the jetty platform down to the sea. How awesome is that.


The entrance to the main facility; the restaurant. Food is second in priority here because all that playing in the beach makes you really hungry. The food is considerably good for a simple beach resort like this. Lunches are buffet style. They serve rice (but of course), an assortment of pasta, some finger food like nuggets and fries, fancier main dishes like beef stroganoff, chicken and mackerel in sauce names I can't remember because by then my eyes were already blinded by the white sand, ladies finger in sambal sauce (wah this one I like), fruits, local pandan cake, and many others. You play hard and eat hard. Saturday nights are BBQ nights.


Our beachfront chalet.


This unit comes with a double bed and single bed. The others have two single beds. Thank goodness I managed to get this one. The wall hanging sucks big time but who cares...


...because the view from the bed is LIKE.THIS.
Ok this picture not so good but you can imagine the view. OH.


Basic furniture. A dresser, two chairs we never sat on coz what's the point, the beach is out there! And a closet big enough to fit clothes for one month.


FACILITIES

The bar. Alcoholics welcomed here.


The ping pong table is still around. Good fun.


TV lounge area. The couches are pretty worn out but no big deal, the beach is beautiful. There is ASTRO so the boys could watch their cartoons at night.


Quite a number of picnic tables and benches along the beachfront area. And hammocks too, they are clean and NOT torn, and I find that amazing.


OK, get ready. THE BEACH!!











Just can't get enough.




Further along the beach. Another resort, more rugged and basic.



My boys having fun.










Darren is a wanderlust. He has the tendency to wander off by himself. He just keeps walking without looking back, and considering this is a safe beach, I find this so adorable. There he is, playing by himself.


The husband doing a single somersault dive. I never knew he could do this!


Under the jetty. Many folks hang around the shore close to the jetty because there are many fishes and small crabs there.


The father and son kayaking.


The swing in front of our chalet.




The resident peacock. We saw a white one too, absolutely stunning, but I couldn't take a picture in time.


The happy and contented beach lovers.


I am impressed how well maintained the beach and the facilities are. Didn't change much compared to our first Rawa Island trip back in October 2008. The only big difference was the tides. Back then, the tide went very low in the evening that it was impossible to swim. Now, the tide is pretty consistent. In the late evening, the tide went down just a little bit, and you can still swim. Now we know!

Definitely will go back!

For bookings, go here.

Stay-At-Home Mom

Josie, my trusty helper was back to her Philippines hometown for two weeks. So I got to be a stay-home mom. And I enjoyed it frankly speaking! It was such a fresh change and it felt fulfilling looking after my home and family. Morever it was the school holidays so, we went places too! Nowhere far and fancy, just nearby, here and there, and it was the best arrangement this way with a toddler in tow. We get to travel and yet get close to home. Short trips are less stressful and tiring! (next up, pictures of our little trips!)

While I was at home doing housewifey stuff, I started a list of things to make for my home. Crafter's disease, what can I say. And I managed to complete a few, so now I have 56 more projects to go. Yikes, better make that 5 to 6 instead. Pictures soon!

What Children Actually Want

Today, mothers are the busiest lot. Especially working mothers. In Singapore, kiasu parenting is real. My colleagues are considered mild I think. Their children go to piano AND violin classes, but because the children themselves are interested to learn. So far I have not met anyone who push their kids to enrichment classes. But Singaporean parents want their kids to learn and master at least one additional skill, be it music or art or sports. Fair enough.

While we work tirelessly to strive to be a better mother everyday, we forgot to stop and ask our kids how they are. It's something so simple yet easily forgettable. And then I came across this article by Erin Kurt who is a teacher. On every Mother's Day, she would ask her students things their mothers or guardians did to make them feel loved and happy. This assignment of 16 years drew the same conclusions. And these made me smile and tear up a bit because I am not doing these with Daniel as frequently as I used to since Darren came along, and I feel bad. This article just revived my mummy spirit! Here it is:

The Top Ten Things Kids Really Want Their Parents To Do With Them

1. Come into my bedroom at night, tuck me in and sing me a song. Also tell me stories about when you were little.
2. Give me hugs and kisses and sit and talk with me privately.
3. Spend quality time just with me, not with my brothers and sisters around.
4. Give me nutritious food so I can grow up healthy.
5. At dinner talk about what we could do together on the weekend.
6. At night talk to me about anything; love, school, family etc.
7. Let me play outside a lot.
8. Cuddle under a blanket and watch our favorite TV show together.
9. Discipline me. It makes me feel like you care.
10. Leave special messages in my desk or lunch bag.

Do you feel your heart tingling like mine right now?

The Little Things...

..are the ones that keep a happy marriage, happier.

Recently, we had kept little surprises in each other's car when we leave for work. I'd leave a cereal bar snack in his car when he's too busy or forgets to have his lunch, and this morning after a whole night of coughing, I saw a packet of Woods Lozenges tucked in my middle compartment as I was leaving home in the morning.

Sweetness.

Men have...

...penile advantage. It is a privilege boys are born with and will carry it for the rest of their lives. It's like a golden supreme VIP card for life. No application or renewal required. It is just automatic. ESPECIALLY in Asia. ESPECIALLY the generation before... this generation.

With this membership of the penile supremacy club, His Majesty will enjoy the following privileges and immunities:

1. Household care is not his core responsibility. If he does help out with some housechores, he is a Westerner, or they live in a Western country. Or it is to repay some spiritual karma he owes from his past lives. A man's place is not in the kitchen, unless he is Jamie Oliver or that hot sexy Anthony Bourdain.

2. Childcare involves mostly play, roughplay, tickleplay, holding the kid upside down, watching TV together and handing the kid a smartphone installed with many games. If he cleans up his baby's poop soiled butt, it is to repay some spiritual karma as well.

3. If he falls sick, he can rest and sleep all day in the room WITHOUT disturbances. And be served porridge and medication. On the contrary, if a mother falls sick, she still drags her body out of bed because the kids are incessantly harrassing her for this and that.

4. When planning for a trip, all he does is approve or disapprove. The wife will do the research, book the most ideal and cost-effective accomodation, arrange transportation, book flights, buy travel insurance and a map.

5. When travelling, he loads and unloads the packed luggages, and drive. If not driving, then he's just the bag boy. The wife will pack EVERYTHING in an organized manner, unpack upon arriving at destination, repack everything and unpack everything at home after the trip. Including the baby stuff.

6. When quarelling, he can just take off to have a drink with his friends at their favourite bar. He can confide in his friends or the bartender, or just chill and cool down. She, on the other hand, cannot just take off and leave her kids unattended, or the dishes unwashed in the sink. She would just have to bear with it, or release the anger fumes while doing the dishes and putting the kids to bed. And then fume more, when she's alone in bed while he is out drinking.

7. The corporate world out there. Nuff said.

How many of these are true?

Eczema Update

I have a good product to share if you have dry, ITCHY, flaky eczema like me.

You can buy them here.

Why I like it:
It is natural and organic. Some of the healing ingredients are neem, burdock, Vitamin A, Vitamin E and bearberry. It contains no parabens, phthalates, sodium laurel sulfates, petroleum, artificial color, coal, pine tars and steroids.

Why I LOVE it:
It REALLY relieves itching. If you feel like you have spent your entire life itching and oozing and resisting urge to scratch only to succumb and suffer the after-scratch ugliness, I feel your frustrations. My eczema is well controlled now. I shower with the body wash, and then apply the cream generously all over my body. The flakiness and itch were gone after about 3-4 days. Do you know how it feels to be freed of the itchiness?!!

So ya, I never do product reviews, but this one, I just gotta share.

Simplify

Dreams

I came across this picture and went , "HOLY MALONEY! This was what my dreams looked like!" Almost like this! I always had bizarre dreams when I was younger, probably late teens to early twenties. And I remember some of them until now!

There were several times I dreamt of swimming in a dark sea at night, and it was very scary! Or I would be swimming near an island, the sea was dark greenish blue and very deep. And then I'd be lifted high up into the sky and free-fall back into the sea water! F.R.I.G.H.T.E.N.I.N.G !! I'd clench my teeth and grimace as if I'm in a roller coaster. And I HATE roller coasters! Why are my dreams so scary?
So the next best move is to connect to the internet and google 'dreams interpretation'.
According to dreamforth, 'swimming in the sea in darkness/night' means:
To dream of the sea reflects your current emotions, whether they be rough or calm. It also symbolizes the conversion between your unconscious and conscious mind. The dream may also suggest your observation of a certain situation or feeling. There may be a notion that you need to 'see' more clearly. In addition, the dream may represent a need for confidence and security, or the need to offer someone else comfort and ease.

Night
To dream of night denotes serious difficulty and hurdles in achieving your real life goals. There are still gray areas about some issues affecting your life. You have to put aside your prejudice and objectively look at the circumstances when you tackle these issues.

Swimming
To dream that you are swimming implies that you are entering a period of self-discovery and personal growth. Perhaps you need assistance with matters pertaining to your feelings. This is a normal dream for people who are seeking professional emotional healing. To dream that you are swimming underwater indicates that you feel overwhelmed by your emotions. Perhaps you are pushing yourself too hard to confront these issues.
To dream that you fall and are frightened represents that you do not have balance or power in your life. You could be undergoing massive difficulties or a problem that is consuming you. You may not have been able to attain your ambitions.
SO. I guess when I was that age, I went through some emotional, spiritual reformation or battle or something. I think I know the reason...

Two Awesome Videos

Caine put a smile on my face and.. and some touching tears! He's a 9 year old boy who built an elaborate arcade using cardboard boxes! And he reminds me of Daniel because of his hair and missing front tooth!


And this. IS. A. GENIUS. ADVERTISING IDEA.


Enjoy!

Babies and Mothers on Cough Nights

When a young child has a cough, say goodbye to peaceful nights. *all mothers are nodding in unison*

Enemy to most parents, is the itchy-throat cough. I had it and it is worst cough. I coughed till my ribs ached in pain for 2 weeks.
But for young children, the itchy-throat cough means you may never sleep tonight. And the next. And the next.

First, the poor baby coughs and coughs. And then comes pukefest. ON the bed. Milk, stomach juice and mucus have a party together on the bed sheet but you'll have no time to clean it immediately. You have to scoop your child up and wash him up, change his clothes, comfort him if he's crying while you are glaring at the puke party seeping deeper and deeper into the unwashable part of the mattress, then you grab a towel labelled 'Puke Towel' and try to clean up the mess, then you change the sheets.

Now, the mess is different from any other mess you've handled. Milk curdles, acidic gastric juice and mucus are the nastiest mess. OH GLORY. It's slimy, sticky and feels oily even after you wipe 10 times. It never seem to go away. You will need industrial strength detergent, the hardcore ones. You either soak the soiled towel, sheets and his clothes in a pail of water and handle the stinky water tomorrow, or you rub off the mess first to make things easier tomorrow. I can spend the whole night rinsing a puke towel.

And then guess what. This repeats at an ungodly hour. I became smarter the second time. I placed him to sleep under a big towel so that if he puked, it'll be on the towel and not the bed sheet. Clever right? No, Murphy outsmarted me and tells him to puke OUTSIDE the towel, onto the bed sheet. I now know why mothers have 50 bedsheets and towels.

So, I get a puke bucket, strategically placed within reach so that when I hear the first sign of cough, I can grab the bucket and hold it under his chin at the speed of light. Does this work? Not always. The law of physics clearly states that no puke shall land safely on towels. Sigh, rinse and repeat.

Goodnight.

Crazy About Calligraphy

I would love to master this hand-lettering skill.

The Golfers Club Syndrome

I just found that long drives are awesome for couple talk! Provided the monkeys are asleep, I'm not asleep and the traffic is relaxed.

It's hard to have a long hearty chat on normals days. Husband is up to his neck with work, wife has full time job, we come home tired but momentarily uplifted by our adorable children's smiles and laughters, occasionally cranky whines and screaming, we eat dinner together, have a quick and brief update on our day, entertain the kids or let them entertain us while we rot on the couch heehee, get their homework checked, bath them, read to them, chill and put them to bed. That leaves us little time for ourselves, let alone time for each other at the end of the day. So there really isn't time for those long endless deep talk under the moonlight.

But last weekend, we did! We took a short trip up to attend a relative's wedding. We started our journey after dinner, and when the boys fell asleep, we had nothing but an open road in front of us and plenty of time to chat. And it's funny I don't remember how we started and how we somehow came to the topic I've been wanting to share for a long time:

Why are men* ALWAYS at the golf club.
*men referring to his fellow club members, mostly golfers, and business associates

Why. Why. Why. Why. Why.

Is there a secret strip cult we wives are unaware of? Is there an underground bowling alley with gutter-proof lanes? Is there an all-year round Santa Rina in Adidas miniskirt handing out golf ball candies? Is there a shaft-balls-and-hole game you guys secretly play somewhere under the putting green? What? What? Give me something here!

Let me tell you the typical duration a golfer spends at the club. On some weekdays, after he runs his business or whatever, he is able to play the 9th hole at 4 or 5pm, which pretty much ends at 6.30 to 7pm. Then he chills and hang out at the bar with beer and organic macadamia nuts and fruits... No, fuck the organic nuts and fruits. Ok, just beer. And liquor. They chill and chat, maybe for half an hour I don't know, then other members who just finished their course come and join in. At this point, maybe someone was about to go home and have dinner with his loving family who awaits him with a grand feast garnished with spikes and ohsofresh turf on the sides, but then another chap hollers, "WOI! COME DRINK LA, I OPENED ANOTHER BOTTLE, WHY LEAVE SO SOON?!" After another half an hour or so, repeat this. And repeat. Repeat this on weekends too, for some.

I'm not really good at maths, but a snail knows if you add many half and hours, it becomes 3 years, no? And some of the families of these men, have young children at home. And some, don't. Because they are old. These old men don't care if there are young men who wants to go home and have dinner with their loving wives and young children. They just want to hang out and have alcohol parties. Mystery of life, don't men go home to have dinners with their family?

This could happen everyday of the week. But not for me. I made it clear that it is of utmost importance that we all have dinner together, AT the table, at least 365 times a year. Statistically, this is not possible because of the alcoholic golfers from the club.I kid, I kid. Seriously, they HAVE to keep themselves in the circle. I totally get it. Back in school, it was fun to hang out after school hours. We always 'stayed back' to hang out because we just wanted to chill and be in the cool people click and see who could stick around the longest. Is the club syndrome the same?

So this led me to ask the husband, "Am I the most anal wife among your friends' wives?" Anal here refers to the resentment associated with his club syndrome. Not the other kinky kind of anal. I mean, I give him the black face when he comes home late with the stench of liquor. I always wonder if the other wives are as anal as me, or are they Saint Stepford Wife. Do they welcome their drunk husbands home with a herbal tea drink and cookie, take off their stinky socks, give them a foot rub and blow job? Are they always angelic and perfectly okay with the not-coming-home-for-dinner/will-be-home-at-2am habitual announcements? I am baffled. I constantly ask myself, why am I such a bitch.

He said, "No, hunny-bunny. You are the best wife". You know what sweet words do to women right. We stopped the car and had hot high school sex. No, sorry, that didn't happen. He said, "I did get mad at you for giving me black faces when I had to go out"

The keywords here are had to. Have to, has to, had to. Men are biologically wired to go out to network and hunt. Just like cavemen. In the business world, networking is vital to your survival. So it is obligatory that he mingles. Every businessmen attest to this. I totally get it. You gotta sacrifice your liver and your precious family time. No biggie, because that ultimately puts food on the table. And a nice Gucci luggage for annual overseas vacations.

Again, this led me to argue that all these resentments are caused by several factors we didn't realize before.

Childhood Family Lifestyle
My dad ALWAYS came home for dinner. He was and still is a golfer, but he would come home to eat with me, or made sure I ate. He was a very social and outward-bound kinda guy. If he was at home, we'd watch action thriller movies together from his collection of Laser Disks. Remember them?! He'd take me on camping trips with a bunch of friends at Pulau Besar, Sibu and Tioman. He'd take me out on a weekend adventure, to somewhere but home. He'd take me to the club swimming pool. He'd take me to the driving range and teach me how to swing a neat 100m shot. I practically grew up in the club. So naturally, I expected the husband to do the same. The only disadvantage is that I can drive. Fuck independence.

I Have A Job
He has a job. I have a job. Fair. But I have to do most of the childcare, household errands, homey stuff. Imagine we don't have a domestic helper. *die* We both contribute to the household finance, so I'd expect that we share equal responsibility at home, be it time, energy and attention, mostly for the children. Fair? I mean, you think I don't want to go shopping on my own? You think I don't want to just sit peacefully with a good book for hours? Sometimes I do! But we mothers are one of a kind, we are physically and emotionally attached to our children but every now and then, we would like to break off a while and be who we are before we became mothers. The men get to do that almost everyday for hours on the green. They get to be themselves, not a father, not a husband, just themselves, as guys with balls and a stick. UN.FAIR.

I Am A Broken Home Kid
Secret's out. Beneath the perky sunshine Ally you see, I grew up not knowing what a happy family is. The husband hypothesize that I subconsciously want to prevent another broken home. Like I said, a family that eats together, stays together. Hence the insistence on the dinner thingy. Isn't he a genius.

I Don't Have Friends In JB
I think this one hit the jackpot. My friends are in Singapore, KL, Australia, Germany, Canada, U.S. pun ade. I have a few friends in JB I guess, but all are busy moms. Busy working moms, like myself. Hardly ever meet up for hi-tea or mahjong, or shopping. On the other hand, the husband is a social butterfly.

So there. Married couple talk for you. Actually, we have talked about this before, but not to this depth. And it feels so good and relieved! I got his perspective, he got mine. Thank you cousin-in-law for getting married and making us drive all the way to Perak so that we could have this long endless hearty chat under the moonlight :)

To My Dear Boys: About Being In Love

Dear Daniel and Darren,
A lot of times, when I see boy teenagers and young adults, I think of you. I wonder if you will grow up and dress, talk and behave like them. Or will things change, like fashion and trend. I would like to see the both of you when you're that age, but some part of me don't want you to grow up too fast!

But most of all, I wish the both of you love. Yes, the gift of love. You will fall in love one day. And I hope you will share that news with me because this is exactly what I would tell you: (it was a reply written by John Steinbeck when he received a letter from his teenage son who confessed that he fell desperately in love with a girl in school)

First -- if you are in love -- that's a good thing -- that's about the best thing that can happen to anyone. Don't let anyone make it small or light to you.

Second -- There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you -- of kindness and consideration and respect -- not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength, and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn't know you had.

You say this is not puppy love. If you feel so deeply -- of course it isn't puppy love.

But I don't think you were asking me what you feel. You know better than anyone. What you wanted me to help you with is what to do about it -- and that I can tell you.

Glory in it for one thing and be very glad and grateful for it.

The object of love is the best and most beautiful. Try to live up to it.

If you love someone -- there is no possible harm in saying so -- only you must remember that some people are very shy and sometimes the saying must take that shyness into consideration.

Girls have a way of knowing or feeling what you feel, but they usually like to hear it also.

It sometimes happens that what you feel is not returned for one reason or another -- but that does not make your feeling less valuable and good.

Lastly, I know your feeling because I have it and I'm glad you have it.

We will be glad to meet Susan. She will be very welcome. But Elaine will make all such arrangements because that is her province and she will be very glad to. She knows about love too and maybe she can give you more help than I can.

And don't worry about losing. If it is right, it happens -- The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.

Love,

Fa

Taken from here.

Managing Eczema

I have had BAD skin since middle of last year. Allergic dermatitis, eczema, INFECTIVE eczema... yowza!! Not fun I tell you. The itch got worse, especially at night. And I became a cortisone cream junkie. I even apply Dermagenta on mosquito bites! And the scars... ooohhhhh them scars... Do you know how many two-dimensional polyacrylamide gels I've ran in my working life? Hundreds.

Parts of my legs looked like that at one point of time. It was repulsive. And I stopped wearing mini skirts and shorts. AM.SAD. I have these God's gift of long lean sexy legs, but I can't show it off like Gisele Bundchen. OHHH WHHHYYYYY MUST THIS HAPPEN TO ME?!!! *in the meantime, thousands feared dead in apocalyptic flood*

I should describe my rash for informative purpose. They are spots, raised, red, some are clustered, some are islands on their own, some are itchy, some oozes clear liquid, mostly appears at the back of my thighs and buttocks, some around my elbows, and randomly on my legs and arms. NOT NICE. For weeks, I had to bear with itchiness, dryness and weeping rash.

Now, the itch has reduced tremendously. It's not all gone, but it's a lot better. My skin is not as dry (no flakes of dry skin visible). The rashes have settled down. How did I manage it?

1. Diprogenta cream. . Anti- infective cream with corticosteroids. Works wonders. Applied twice a day.

2. Changed my shower soap to Cetaphil and A'Kin. Cetaphil is B.O.R.I.N.G. No foam, no scent, just slippery gel. But it sure is safe for the skin. A'Kin is a newer brand of natural body care product from Australia. I'm now using the Lavender scented body wash. Almost all the ingredients are of a botanical source. And it's SO MUCH FUN than Cetaphil.


2. Moisturize moisturize moisturize. I do this twice a day at least. Once with Physiogel,second with natural camellia oil (recommended and only available from Hong Kong)

3. Diet. I have been eating instant oat with honey and ground flaxseed. Flaxseed is rich in essential fatty acids (omega-3) which is good for maintaining beautiful hair, skin and nails. But I'm not maintaining... I'm repairing! Anyway, I love this breakfast and have been eating it every weekdays for more than a month. And still not sick of it!

I also avoided junk food laden with MSG and colorings. I might react to these, don't know which but I'm planning a big-scale ultra high designed experiments to test what I'm allergic to. Eh, isn't there a skin prick test? Will it include the red coloring from an ang ku kueh? And MSG from Mamee?

Now, the mystery of eczema. I don't know what triggered mine. Some say that skin problems are underlying internal issues, especially the liver. If the liver can't eliminate toxins as usual, the toxins gotta go out somehow, and one way is through the skin. Or it could be an immune system issue. Or stress. Or post-traumatic stress which manifest months after the trauma. I'm wondering if my rash is caused by all these factors. Nevertheless, I am very happy recently that it's gotten better. There's still a long way to go and I will have to be vigilant about my skin now.