Haze Holiday (Wednesday, 18 Sept 2019)

Sherilyn received a Whatsapp message from her school teachers at around 9:45 a.m. yesterday informing her that school's out for a day caused by the worsening haze. Like most school kids, she was overjoyed!  So was I!  School holiday = NO school run and NO mad rush cooking dinner!  She quickly removed her school uniform and donned on her outing clothes and to Mid Valley we went for retail therapy 😎

Again, I gave her the liberty to pick a restaurant of her choice for lunch and she chose Japanese.



The API breached the 200 level yesterday. It's worse today with a reading of over 300 at some areas in KL. We could smell strong acrid smog inside our house and outside was choking!



Cass and Alycia's schools were the remaining few schools in the Klang Valley that were still open yesterday.  We spent the whole day checking the Education Ministry's website and on the API reading to see if KL's API reading has breached 200 (API of 200 would mean closure of school). Finally we received notice from the respective ministries that all schools in the Klang Valley will be closed for 2 days (Thursday and Friday). Someone was too happy 😏

Sherilyn spent the entire evening practising the pieces on her guitar for a librarians' farewell party to be held this Saturday. Check out the hazy skies.




Dinner was grilled cajun, black pepper and turmeric chicken wings and ribs (organic Pineapple chicken), mash of carrots + sweet potatoes + cauliflower, cherry tomatoes and sweet corns.



For more information on organic Pineapple chicken, have a read here.

Sherilyn also made a healthy crispy vegetarian pizza using her homemade tortilla and homemade pesto, Camembert cheese, onions, cherry tomatoes, walnut and almonds.




Healthiest mash ever composed of sweet potatoes, organic cauliflower and carrots, seasoned with organic grass fed butter, salt, black pepper and fresh milk.   Dump everything into a mixing bowl and blend with a hand blender.  You can also blitz it in a blender.  With a hand blender, cleaning up is slightly easier.


Do give this no-guilt mash a try. It's healthy, wholesome, lower in carbs, full of fiber and vitamins and pretty easy to whip up!

Beating The Haze

The perennial crazy hazy dizzy days are back in Malaysia. Thank God I don't have any asthmatic patient in the house though we all have rather sensitive upper respiratory tract.  Everyone's been downing coconut water, chrysanthemum tea, honey, hydrogen water and popping supplements. And my diffusers are working hard in my bedroom and in the dining area where my work place is.





There's no way we can completely escape the haze. I can even smell the smog inside the house.  However, there are ways to reduce your discomfort and alleviate your symptoms. Here are some of them:

1) Avoid exposure.
Avoid exercising in the open. Aerobic activities make you breathe deeply, hence you suck in pollutants deep into your lungs. If possible, try to reduce being outdoors as much as you can.

2) Stay indoors and keep the air clean
Stay indoors as much as possible and keep the doors and windows closed. If you have an air conditioner, switch it on and ensure the air filter is clean. The use of suitable particulate air filters (air filters which remove solid particles from the air) within an enclosed area can also help. When the outdoor air quality appears to be worsening, close doors and windows. This will help to reduce the rate of haze particles entering the home. Portable air purifiers and HEPA filters may reduce the number of irritating fine particles in indoor air.

3) Protect Yourself Outdoors
If you are sensitive to the smog, it is best to wear a mask when you are out and about to act as a filtration. While this is not a foolproof method, but every little action counts when it comes to keeping as much pollutants out as possible. When you have to be outdoors for several hours, an N95 mask can help filter out haze particles, including PM2.5 particles.

4) Stay hydrated.
Drink lots of plain water but you can opt for unsweetened green tea, herbal tea and Chinese tea to help you detox.  Keeping hydrated reduces the amount of smoke that can travel deep into your lungs. A minimum of 2 liters a day is what the doctor ordered. However, the more the better as it will help to flush out the toxins naturally.

5) Diffuse with essential oils
Diffusing is simply the process of dispersing essential oils into the air. The aromas from the essential oils fill your room or an area with natural fragrance, thus removing the burnt scent from the haze. Use only therapeutic-grade essential oils as you don’t want to breathe in toxic fumes diffused from synthetic oils.

Taken from the 5th floor of our condo at 7-ish a.m. on a public holiday on Monday, 9 Sept 2019:



While everyone was still in lala land enjoying their public holiday sleep in, I got up early as usual to get chores done and made everyone a cup of chrysanthemum tea with goji berries. Mine is with red dates for the added boost of iron.

Emergency School Holiday Contributed By Haze - 28 Sept 2015

Hey folks, in case you are not aware yet, tomorrow is declared a school holiday.  Yes, another school holiday declared by the Ministry of Education (MoE) this afternoon caused by the unhealthy level of haze in certain parts of the country.

Here's the notice from the MoE dated 27 Sept 2015:







And here is the article from The Star online on the holiday announcement:
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/09/27/Haze-schools-to-close/



My girls will be affected by the school closure. While I am glad that I'll get an extra 2 hours of sleep, I ain't happy that they are missing their lessons again!   Final exam is exactly a week away and their teachers have yet to cover all the topics included in the exam. So how??  ** shrug shoulders **

In the meantime, keep yourself healthy during this hazy period. Drink water like a fish (we are gulping down packets of Izumio hydrogen water), pop your multi-vitamins (I am popping up to 6 a day!), stay indoors and eat healthily ok.  Steer clear of junk food and fried food.  We are still A-OK here.   Someone mentioned that we have "sun seen sui" (Godly water, LOL!!) to help us stay healthy in this dreadful weather ha ha ha!!  You want to try our Izumio and Super Lutein too?  Email me at shireenyong@gmail.com if you're game to try! ;)

Hazy Days Are Here Again!

The yearly haze is back as promised!  I have been living in KL for the past 23 years and there was not a single year that we were spared by the threat of the haze.  There was also not a single year that we were not threatened by the possibility of water rationing.   This year has been bad.  We, the Klang Valley folks were lashed with water rationing for almost 3 months and it looks as if we would have to be slapped with another round of water rationing that would last for at least 3 months until the next rainy season begins!

Looking at how dry and hot the weather has been, compounded by the El Nino effect, the haze looks set to choke us all in the days, weeks and months to come.

Oh rain, please come. We. Want. Rain.!  Let it rain, let it rain!!

This is the KL skyline at 2:30pm today.  How is the situation at your area?

Worsening Haze -- Schools Ordered Closed

This was how the KL skies looked like yesterday, Saturday, 23 June 2013 at 7ish am, taken from the 5th floor of our condo.  It was by far the worst in the past one week. A jog to the nearby stalls to buy breakfast for my family resulted in itchy nose and a very uncomfortable feeling in my chest.

After breakfast, we headed to The Gardens Mall to seek 'refuge' from the terrible haze.

At 5pm yesterday, my friends were sending me Whatsapp messages, informing me that the Government has directed that all schools in the Klang Valley be closed until further notice.
 



Here is an excerpt of the news taken from The Star website:

PETALING JAYA: The Muar and Ledang districts in Johor are now under a “haze emergency” after the Air Pollutant Index (API) readings surged over 700 in these areas. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the emergency status would remain until further notice. “However, it must be clarified that this does not involve a curfew and there will not be any change to the existing system of the ruling state and federal governments. 

“All related ministries and agencies at the federal, state and district levels must plan and take action to ensure the safety and health of the public,” the Prime Minister said yesterday. 

He urged the people to abide by the emergency guidelines issued by the National Security Council (NSC). Under the guidelines, aimed at ensuring public safety and health, federal, state and district level natural disaster, management committees must advise the closure of schools and childcare centres, government and private sector offices and other work premises, including factories, plantations, construction sites, quarries and earthwork sites. However, services related to water, electricity, public health, safety, radio and telecommunication, transport and finances are exempt. 


The windows at our house are now 90% shut and I guess that we will have no choice but to turn on the air conditioner in the living room too during the day under such emergency situations. Well, if the hubs has given the green light for the air conditioner to be turned on during the day, I'll gladly abide so that our sweaty, hot and smoggy days will not fare that bad after all :)