Food poisoning is not new here in Singapore although uncommon. For Singaporeans who experienced food poisoning, it can be unsettling and unpleasant even for healthy and fit person. If left unattended, food poisoning can lead to serious illness or worse – death. With this, as food handlers, it is important that we know food safety tips for the sake of our family.

Many people think that all food poisoning cases originated from restaurants and other food outlets however, we need to be aware that it can also come from our household. Our family can get ill from the foods we prepared at home. It is high time to you know food safety tips for your family’s sake.

Here’s the list of the tips:

• Wash hands: This is the most basic thing that you can do. Washing hands whenever you handle food should be observed. Washing hands mean including a lukewarm water and soap. It is crucial that you dry your hands before actually handling food. After handling raw foods like fish, meat, vegetables and eggs, you are required to wash your hands too.
• Clean worktops: Worktops should be sanitized often since it can entice bacteria. It doesn’t need to be antibacterial sprays, usually hot and soapy water is good. Cleaning the worktops before and after handling food should be practiced.
• Sanitize dishcloths: You have to know that damp and dirty dishcloths are the ideal breeding ground of germs. You need to sanitize it if you have plans of using it again. After washing with soap, you have to dry it. Once it is dry, then you can use it again.

• Employ different chopping boards: One common mistake here is using the same chopping boards for raw and ready-to-eat foods. Raw foods hold bacteria that spread easily. This is the reason why you should employ different chopping boards for raw and ready-to-eat foods. Do not forget to constantly sanitize it.
• Organize refrigerator: You just don’t put anything without arranging the food inside the refrigerator. The raw meats should be at the bottom of the shelf to avoid dripping. When there are ready-to-eat foods, make sure to keep it as far away from the meat to avoid the contact of bacteria.
• Cook thoroughly: When you cook food, make sure that it is steaming hot before serving. Restaurants have this standard cooking temperature to make sure that the foods are cooked thoroughly.
• Look for the dates: Do not consume foods beyond their ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ dates. Many people still use it especially if it smells and looks okay.

It is the time of year to make a list of resolution. To some Singaporeans, the list will serve as their guide all throughout the year but to others, it is useless. Regardless of what we think, we have to acknowledge that a New Year’s resolution list can in fact shape our future.

We only need to make it happen and stick to it but psychologists discovered that we are more likely to accomplish our goals if we divide our resolution into smaller goals. For those who divided their resolution into smaller goals, they felt sense of triumph. It is time that you feel the same.

Here are some tips on making a New Year’s resolution:

• Create one resolution: You do not need a long list. Sometimes, you have to focus on one task and channel all your energy in achieving it. This will make things less complicated and time consuming for you.
• Evade previous resolutions: The point here is to do something that you have never done so making a previous resolution will actually forfeit the purpose of New Year’s resolution. Revisiting the failure of the past will only make you bitter and disappointed.
• Think well: New Year’s resolution depends on the person and it is not good to follow their pursuit. You are your own person and you only know what is best for you. So, instead of making a resolution based on other people’s list, you have to reflect and think well.

• Be practical: Most resolutions fail because they are not practical or realistic. The best thing that you should do is to divide your goal in sequence then create sub goals. The sub goals should be time-based, concrete and at the same time measurable.
• Consider a reward system: If you feel the need to reward yourself for achieving a sub goal, you have to pursue it. The reward will maintain your motivation plus it will give you a sense of progress.
• Expect failure: There will come a time that you revert back to your old habits. No matter how hard you try, there is something drawing you to your old habits. That is normal. Think of the failure as a temporary setback to make you strong. Do not give up. The resolution will be a total failure if you stop and not redeem yourself.

Most common New Year resolutions discuss about health. It is crucial that you maintain your state of health and be at your best. For a start, you can consider losing weight, quit smoking, getting active, drinking less alcohol and the like.     

Singaporeans are big fans of English Premier League (EPL). However, many are bothered by the news proclaiming that Singtel has secured the rights to air the EPL for three seasons which will begin on August 2016. The issue lies with the price of the subscription.

The Chief Executive Officer of Singtel gladly announced on November 10 that the telecom will bring the Barclays Premier League to Singapore for three more seasons. He also stressed that footballs fans here should be confident that their experience will stay incessant at affordable rates.

Despite this announcement, many fans are still in doubt. Do you need to pay more to see the games of Alexis Sanchez next season? If you recall, in 2013, Singtel presented EPL packages and bundles. The packages include the $59.90 per month subscription.

There are reports saying that the monthly subscription can reach up to S$80 this time. Granting this, you will have to pay at least S$1,440 for eighteen months. This is costly for many fans. EPL or Singtel did not comment about the monthly subscription yet or how much is the broadcast deal. One thing is for sure, Singtel promises to give fans the best Premier League experience – at a sensible rate.

Whether it is Singtel or StarHub, it doesn’t matter. You only want to make sure if the prices are affordable. You do not want to let go of EPL but if the need arises, you will have no choice but to wait for the announcement and miss the games. Not seeing the game real time is painful but you have to accept it.

Your parents often say that you should save money and not just splurge it on travel. You find ways to justify your actions but they always find something to discourage you. Indeed travelling is not practical but the experience is more than monetary. The value of travelling is priceless.

Now, you can justify your actions. Your parents and those who somehow scorn travelling should know that there are health benefits of travelling. There was a study conducted by the U.S Travel Association in collaboration with the Global Commission on Aging and Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

The research revealed that travel has cognitive and physical benefits. The research found out that there is a relation between travelling and the reduction of heart attacks. It does not end there because travelling can also decrease depressions and it can stimulate brain health that can fend off dementia and other age-related conditions and diseases. 

Similarly, there is a study conducted by the LA Times last December 2013. The study revealed the following things:

• Women who travelled twice a year have lower risks of developing heart attack or other coronary diseases compared to women who only travel once every six years.
• As for men, those who do not indulge in annual vacations have twenty percent risk of death and thirty percent of these deaths are from a heart disease.
• The emotional benefit of travelling is instant because after two days of the travel, eighty nine percent of the respondents confessed of dropping stress levels.

You should not wait for your retirement to travel because it will be too late. You can no longer trek, climb or even ride bicycles. You have to travel as young as you are.

How to Spot Authentic Antique Furniture

Many of us turn to antique furniture as key elements that can turn a dull home into something that comes out of interior design magazines.

Buying antique furniture is a serious business. We desire to invest our money in quality antique furniture and fixtures. Some people go as far as traveling overseas to seek out great pieces they want to purchase.

In order to help you spot genuine antique furniture, use this cheat sheet when purchasing one.

• Wear and tear

Wear and tear is a good sign when it comes to antique furniture. After years of changing ownership, it’s no surprise antique pieces may look worn and shabby- the good kind of worn and shabby.

• The evidence in the patina

Patina is the  dark of shiny surface that naturally forms in wood or leather when used for a long period of time. A real antique wood furniture has a certain glow about it that develops as time goes by. This is impossible to be copied and is often a deciding factor in determining genuine antique pieces from the fake ones.

• Check for dovetail joints

Dovetail joints in wood are those that connect pieces of wood by placing pieces together, kind of like what we do in puzzles. If a furniture is too uniform and sleek, it is most likely done using modern tools and equipment. Real antique furniture is done by hand so that cutting and piecing together is rarely perfect.

• Look for the secondary wood

During the olden times, using secondary wood, usually a less expensive one in places that it cannot be seen are common. When you cannot find a secondary wood in a furniture, the item is likely to be recently made.

• Inspect the furniture’s boards

In a true antique furniture, it is normal to find boards that are made of planks of wood in different widths. It is also common that a furniture is made of a single plank of wood. This is true for chairs and tables. During those times, a plank of wood is utilized completely to avoid wasting source materials.

• Furniture handles and nuts

A true antique furniture has a handle made up of a single piece of metal, usually in the form of brass. Constant pulling may result to wrecked furniture handles so replacing them is typical. When this happens, check the nuts attached to handles. Nuts made in the past are circular and irregular while newly made nuts are machine-cute and hexagon in shape.

• Examine the nails and locks

Locks attached to an antique furniture are made containing wrought iron that are gripped by nails made of iron. 18^th century locks are made of brass and steel.

• Carving examination

The carving is the exquisite part that makes an antique furniture stand out. An authentic and completed carving is a factor that increases the price of an antique. Moreover, an antique piece that has an inlay design has a higher price because of the difficulty of the work involved in it.

Singapore, being a country located near the equator, has a tropical climate. However, most of the year, the weather stays hot and humid.

We wish we could stay at home during these days and enjoy the perks of our air-condition unit but there are times when we have to go to work or run some important errands.

Cooling down seems impossible thanks to our hectic schedules but not to worry, we can do something about this dilemma. Here are some convenient lifestyle tips to stay cool and survive the weather.

The wonders of chrysanthemum tea

You can find chrysanthemum tea in any grocery store in Singapore. It is recognized by Chinese medicine to be able to eliminate indigestion, ulcers and extreme headaches- most commonly caused by a sudden escalation of the body’s temperature.

When consumed hourly, noticeable changes can be observed. Heat rashes and other sun damages will dissipate. Drink hot chrysanthemum tea soaked with chrysanthemum leaves on hot days brings down the temperature of the body.

Natural aloe goodness

Aloe vera is known among individuals who love doing home remedies as a plant with an abundance of health benefits, most of these involving skin care.

Lathering aloe vera to sunburns or sun damaged skin can ease the pain and cool the skin. The plant has menthol properties so applying the gel, which is made up of 96% water, to the skin has a cooling and moisturizing effect.

Cool and fruity

Fruits such as cucumber and watermelon, have natural hydrating properties because of their high water content. Hydrating the body is a great way of bringing down body temperature. Citrus fruits, among them are limes and oranges, are hailed to be the one with the greatest cooling effect.

Snacking on chilled fruits is a healthy and delicious way of cooing down during extremely hot and humid days. Not only do these fruits cool down the body, but they also give the body tons of nutrients that keep the skin healthy and help break down fatty foods. Mix these with chilled veggies and bring them with you as a snack during busy days out.

No to alcohol

People from places that experience winter typically go drinking to help them keep warm. Quite the opposite, in countries experiencing hot scorching weather, people should avoid drinking alcoholic drinks.

Alcohol heightens the body’s blood volume, making more blood rise to the skin’s surface. When this happens, the body feels a lot warmer. This is why some people feel hot and turn red when they drink.

As the day progresses, it is natural that our makeup goes disarray especially if our work is very demanding. If we are a true believer of the phrase “grace under pressure”, we always make sure that we still look good no matter the demand.

Our solution is to bring our makeup kit no matter where we go and whatever the situation. However, if we value our shoulders too much, we should do away with unnecessary things and only bring retouch requirements.

Here are the retouch requirements every Singaporean should know:

• For fading: Among makeups, powder and lipstick have the shortest wear. Even if we are only sitting, the lip’s natural tendencies to moisten will fade our lipstick. This is also the same with the powder. If this is our main concern, we can just carry our favourite lipstick and powder all the time. It cannot hurt us – they are light after all.

• Clumping: There are times that our eyelash clumps. The only solution is to bring eyelash comb. The comb can help us disperse and rake out the clumped product from our strands.
• Bleeding: A bleeding lip is rare but it happens. When this happens, we should be prepared. We should always bring a cotton swab. We can dab cotton swab with a bit of concealer and gently apply around the lips. The concealer can define the contours of our lip and it can avoid further bleeding.

Now we know some retouch requirements, it is time that we apply it. Knowing these retouch requirements and learning how to apply it are different matters. We need to know how to apply it so we can achieve the look that we desire.