Which is the real pair of the three Crocs Clog Shoes above? The other two are copies of the original from USA and are made in China. These are my collection of clog shoes which were made popular in Denmark. It is hard to tell the difference but the ones on the left in khaki is the real pair costing RM129 from Gurney Plaza’s Parkson stores. The other two of baby pink and fancy blue are bought at only RM19.90 from Bukit Jambul’s ground floor shop lot next to the rest room. When the Crocs shoes were first introduced in the market, I thought they were ugly and out-of-the-ordinary. However, they are now in fashion and the in-shoes to wear.

It all started when my partner walked tip-toe just for fun to make himself look taller (he is the same height as me and considers himself short for a man, but rather muscular due to weight lifting) while walking arm-in-arm with me. In the process, I accidentally kicked on his shoes and one of my toe nails bled a little. I guess he felt sorry, and decided to buy the Crocs shoes for me as I needed a close-toe-shoe to protect my injured nail. It was an impromptu buy as we happened to walk near the Crocs display and that is why I chose khaki so that it matches easily with my beige pants and top. After wearing it for some time, I found that not only is it very light and easy on the heels, but very confortable as well with several holes for ventilation. Furthermore, I am not in the habit to wear high heels.

If you have seen Victoria Beckhams’s severely deformed triangular toes due to wearing 6-inch stilettoes, you would be put off wearing heels for the rest of your life. She definitely needs surgery to correct her toes’ alignment. Heels look good but they are not good for long distance walking. Hence, the khaki Crocs were compliments from my friend, while the copies were purchased yesterday while waiting for my partner as he went to the loo. Now that I have three different colors, I can match them anytime with white pants.

If you are curious just how many colors are available for the genuine Croc clog shoes, go to this web site http://www.crocs.com/home.jsp  You can use them as beachwear, casual wear and even for meetings provided more subdued and conservative colors are chosen like dark brown, off white or grey. The other fancy colors available are shocking pink (fuschia), chilly red, bright green, lemon yellow, navy blue, purple, sky blue, coral pink, bright orange and dark chocolate.

[eminimall]

It has always been my dream to see Europe for myself and experience Mt. Titlis in Switzerland’s snow-capped mountains and taking the cable car there as viewed in my ex-classmate’s photos of his business trip there long time ago. My second sister was there for a 3 month-holiday learning Finnish and even taking tests while staying at her friend’s place. She has sent beautiful countryside photos by email and if opportunity allows, I shall visit there one day. My sister’s direct flight from Finland to Singapore and then reached Penang at about 12.45am this morning.

My sister is also a ’stringer’ for The Star or a freelance  writer. She prefers the flexibility to work anytime instead of a rigid 9:00am  -5:00pm office hours. While in Finland, she also wrote an article about this beautiful country and met up with the ambassador’s wife which was published in The Star some time ago. For her privacy, I do not wish to disclose her name but most of her articles are usually printed in The Star Metro. She has also sampled delicious local food for the ‘Food Review’ articles.

It is good to have the whole family back home again.

 

As printed in The Straits Times recently, Probiotics are strains of good bacteria which help keep a healthy balance of microflora in the digestive tract while inhibiting or controlling intestinal pathogens which can make you ill. Stress, exposure to new bacteria while travelling, antibiotic treatment and old age affect this delicate balance. According to Dr Mouton, “Probiotics are very save, they can be given to anyone, anyhow with no danger of drug interactions or overdosage. You can prescribe them to the elderly, lactating mothers, infants and even premature babies.”

They are also for those whose immune system has been severely compromised. Dr Mouton is all for prevention when it comes to diarrhoea from taking antibiotics and while travelling. “Two capsules a day will prevent diarrhoea from antibiotics, three hours before you take antibiotics. Try to take them half an hour before meals but you can also take them after.”

I have a relative who falls sick whenever she has insufficient sleep, and always taking antibiotics which not only kills both the good and bad bacteria but also supposedly reduces the white blood cells that gobbles up germs. So she has been advised by my mother who used to be a nursing sister to take probiotics regularly. Maybe I will also try it.