Lulu the Bird Bird

I have always had a liking for birds, especially those small parrots which would stand on your fingers / hop to and fro fingers. Blame it on my primary school science exhibition which let us play with these budgerigars. When I was young, my mum caught a few birds for me to play with but they always ended up dying. One killed itself by knocking itself in its cage and the other flew out of our car and got knocked down by another car. I must not be fated to get a pet bird.

Fast forward to present times, 30th April, I would never expect to see a pet bird again unless I get one myself. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I came home to see this little fella! My mum brought it in from outside our corridor as it was sitting outside calling out. We do not know how it landed outside when it was not strong enough to fly.

It was just sitting silently on the top of the small green container staring at me. It did not try to fly away when I approached it. Subsequently, it did hop down and attempted to flap its wings while hopping around. 

I was scared of it pecking me at first, but I realized that it was very tame and only knows how to call for food every hourly. I would let it hop onto my finger to feed it. I also stroked it along the head. I wanted to call it Lulu, but somehow the term Bird Bird stuck to it. It would call out to us when we called it or even when we pass by the cage. It is a very intelligent and tame bird. 

Feelings grew for this little bird even though my mum kept reinforcing that the little bird is not meant to stay as our pet and we would let it go when it was strong enough to fly. It would always fly to and fro our hands and the branch in the cage only and I did think of keeping it as a pet.  

The bird managed to fly up to the window grilles once while I was away but my mum managed to catch it back. Then, while I was away again, it flew away for real this time. My mum's account was that she was feeding it at night when it hopped higher and higher up to her shoulder. It was looking into the toilet and she did not bother to hold on as she did not expect it to fly. It flew straight out through the toilet window panels which were usually closed. It actually flew back in again but then flew out for real.

Lulu the bird bird flew away on Vesak day, 13th May. I hope it is doing well out there, we still can hear it call sometimes. I miss the little fella but I think it is happier flying around out there :)

Essential Sleeping Hair Mask

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Use the treatment milk before going to bed...

...and wake up with manageable hair! The hair is protected overnight and the fruity floral fragrance is a huge plus! My hair feels smoother, softer, and healthier when I wake up the next day.

You can redeem free samples of this new product on https://www.facebook.com/Essential.SG. There is also a giveaway contest to win tickets to the upcoming 2NE1 concert on 28th June with purchase of $10 worth of Essential products! What are you waiting for, go down to the nearest shop to try it now! 

Beautybiotics Collagen Cleanse

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Excited yet? Let's try it out! 
(my bare face is sacrificed for the product review...no judging!)

 This is what it looks like, in the form of powder. 

 After adding water, it will become foam...this is my clean and refreshed face after washing!

What I like about this collagen cleanse is that there is so much more foam compared with other cleansers. It washes my face gently without stripping moisture off. My face feels clean, supple and brighter.

You can keep yourself updated on their products by 'liking' their page at https://www.facebook.com/SkinbioticsSG and get this exclusively at Watsons! 

Mimi's belly

So we all thought that Mimi was just finally growing fat but surprise surprise, Mimi was actually pregnant! It turns out that my mum was right about her being a girl after all. We had actually already separated Mimi and Bibi but I still put them together for a while sometimes as I thought it was quite sad to separate them. We were not sure when they mated but my mum said she noticed something slightly different in the way Bibi chased Mimi. 

Anyway, Mimi gave birth to the first baby on the 28Mar around 12.20am. The third one came out around 1am. There were three little pink babies! We did not name them but could tell them apart. The first baby had its hind legs stuck together, the second one had a slightly darker head and the last one was the smallest of all.

On the first night, Mimi kept licking and rolling the first baby and eventually she managed to open up the knot, the hind legs. However, that night, the first baby did not survive and passed away around 10pm. The next day, we woke up to find the second baby dead as well. The time of death was probably around 8.30am.

We were kinda sad and wished the last one would survive. Mimi finally learned how to breast feed the baby and it was doing well the whole day. However, the next day when I woke up at 7am, the last baby was dead too. Mimi started eating its head at 8am.

So, that was the end of the three babies. Day by day, one by one they did not survive. Perhaps that was because Mimi was only about two and a half months old and thus was not experienced enough. She seems to be doing fine now. 

Coco 💛

Coco was an argente campbell. We got him together with Yoyo from my uncle's friend slightly after chinese new year, on 26feb13. His breed is quite rare, I have never seen his type at pet shops. He was the most unique hamsters of all I have ever cared for as he had these pretty bright amber eyes. He was also the most loyal because he only bit strangers! He bit the guy at the pet shop when my mum brought him to check his gender. He also bit the vet when he was forced to eat his medicine. 

He was so gentle and tame, he has never bitten us even though pet shop workers told us that his breed is vicious and fierce. He was really active, always climbing and biting the cage bars. He likes to lick water off our fingers too. He would climb onto our hand from the cage and could stay out really long, exploring here and there. He was the friendliest hamster, and smelled every other hamsters we have. It was a pleasant surprise when he smelled Nana through her cage but did not bite. 

He was the first hamster we brought to the vet. About two weeks ago, he started behaving weirdly. He was not as active as usual and would stay still while his body was shaking as he was breathing fast and heavily. His right eye also became more protruded. Then, he started opening and closing his mouth widely, looking like a frog. It was scary and we were worried for him. I guessed it was either a breathing problem or maybe he had something stuck in his cheeks. I urged my mum to bring him to the vet and she did so on 20mar. 

The vet diagnosed that there was poison leading a lung or heart problem. He gave her two syringes of medicine, one antibiotic and one painkiller. They were to be taken twice per day. If it were a lung condition, the medicine would help to recover. If it were a heart condition, the problem could not be solved. Unfortunately, that day was the last day I saw him alive. 

When I reached home on 22mar14 around 12.40pm, apparently he just passed away. My mum was feeding him his second dose of medicine and he struggled till he passed away on my mum's hand. It was probably due to stress leading to a heart attack. I came home to see him still on my mum's palm. She was shaking him telling him to wake up. It must have been quite shocking for her. She cried for the first time. His body was still soft as though he was just resting or "freezing". It was too fast too soon, we thought he would survive longer. R.I.P Coco, you were the best, we will always love and miss you ❤

Lala ♥ Rara

Lala and Rara were my first pearl winter whites. I got Lala first, together with Nana, followed by Rara on the second day. Lala was the fattest of all, always eating and sleeping. She always bullied the others and always stole their food. But as she was the fattest of all, she was also the cutest. She was the fiercest also, and would bite sometimes.

Rara was more obedient than Lala, although she would nibble at times too if held for too long. Her fur was the whitest of all as she was the cleanest. She knew exactly where to pee and poop - on the toilet sand in the toilet container. I guess her behavior is kinda in between Lala's and Nana's, neither fierce nor super tame. A little unpredictable at times. When she feels like it, she would climb to greet me. Or wanna come out to play.

Lala started losing fur around October. I was not sure why but I guess it was due to old age. Her hind legs started to grow weak as well. By January, she could not walk properly but started limping instead. I would carry her to her food container and also support her to drink water. By then, she was already quite weak and furless. It was quite a sad sight to see her fall on her sides, scrambling to walk and eat.

Rara was well all along until one day, 25 January, she bled from her vagina. I was scared that she would end up like Nana. However, it was kinda different as Nana bled from her backside. As that was the first time it happened, I did some research and also called Pet Lovers Centre. It seems that female hamsters do bleed from their private areas once or twice in their lifetime, usually when they are older. However, it began to happen frequently and I think she was sick. Soon, her private area grew dirty as she could not bend too much to clean it thoroughly. I helped by cleaning with wet cotton wool at times.     

Both Lala and Rara departed on the 25 February 2014. They lived for about two years and two months, since December 2011. I was not around to bid farewell but my mother was there with them till the end. Lala departed earlier in the day, at approximately 11.55am. According to my mother, she made loud sounds which were like bird sounds when she was leaving. Perhaps she was signalling to Rara. After that, Rara refused to eat and drink. Apparently, her front legs were weak that day itself. My mum tried feeding her but she did not open her mouth. She was asleep most of that day. She passed away at approximately 5.42pm. 

I came home at about 6.20pm to find both of them already wrapped in plastic in the container. It was kinda shocking to see both of them gone. I was devastated and could not help but regret that I was not there for all my hamsters when they departed. If only Rara could have waited a little longer. We buried both of them together with Nana in the flower pot. R.I.P little ones, you were all loved and will be dearly missed ♡ you were my first and probably last. 

Happy new year!

Happy new year all!! Haha this post was meant for Christmas but it was postponed till now. I had three christmas gift exchanges. First was with my poly girls at Marina Square. 

 

 Then I also met up with my best friend since secondary school days...

 ...and I got my very first Craftholic plushie!! ♡♡♡

On xmas day itself, I met up with my poly mate WY whom I meet quite frequently. We had the nydc christmas dinner which was the most costly meal I have ever had :< but it was enjoyable.

 On the 26, I went to holland village with my family for lunch and to chill at starbucks. Starbucks is my favourite coffee cafe hands down. 

On 27, I went to my favourite cousins' house! I love these two girls ttm. I gave Cheryln a Rapunzel doll from Disney store. She loves her new doll very much hehe ^^

I was blessed to be able to have such awesome christmas celebrations. However, I had to work till late on new year's eve and thus was only home just in time to catch the fireworks on tv at 12.03am @_@

I shall end this long post wishing everyone to have a great 2014 ahead! :D How did you guys spend your christmas and new year celebrations?