McValue with Free Newspaper

Have a Breakfast McValue Meal® and you can get a free copy of The Sunday Times!

This offer starts from the 11th of April for a limited time only, and is only available until 10:30AM.  McValue Meal®  includes Hash Brown and Small Espresso Pronto as well.

I saw this ad on The Sunday Times I was reading at McDonald’s yesterday.  It was late afternoon and I felt like something cold – perhaps frozen coke or thick shake –  but I got $2 Chicken McBites and a chocolate sundae in the end.  I still got to read The Sunday Times for free coz someone had left it on the table.

Was I the only person who didn’t know that McDonald had started showing the calories of the each food item on the menu panel?  It’s just like Japan – everywhere you go you get to see the calorie of each food on the menu.  I heard that other fast food chains (KFC, Hungry Jack etc) are also going to show calories of each item on the menu board.  You know, it’s good thing that you get to know how much calories you are getting by eating the food, but at the same time you just have to compare this item is lower calorie than others and sometimes chose the item that you weren’t planning to order.  That’s what happens to me every time I dine at family restaurants and cafes in Japan.  I feel like eating cheesy chicken and vegetable pasta, but I end up ordering a healthy wa-fu mushroom pasta instead.  It’s just because I see the calories on the menu.

Anyway, get back to the free The Sunday Times thing.  You can also get a free copy from Spud Shed when you spend $5 or more at one transaction.  I’m not sure if all Spud Shed do this, but Jandakot one does! Sometimes you need to ask for it at the casher though.  Oh, and McDonald’s free newspaper offer is only available in WA too!

Japan – Channel 9 & Character Nippon

There will be a 30minutes of TV program showing about Japan’s earthquake on channel 9 (Perth WA) -

08 April 2012, 5:00PM on Channel 9 (Perth WA)

<Nippon – a country of unique characters>

Royal Life Saving

Last week I could finally manage myself to undertake this one-day royal life saving training course.  This course was conducted by The Royal Life Saving Society – a non-profit, community service organisation that conducts training programs in First Aid, Resuscitation (CPR), AUSTSWIM, Bronze Medallion, Lifesaving and Water Safety. They run several kinds of courses, and I attended Heart Beat Club which teaches you the lifesaving skills of CPR, first aid for common child injuries including burns and scolds, choking, drowning and provides information on how to perform child resuscitation or CPR.

The re are child’s first aid courses run by other organisations in WA such as Australian Red Cross and St John of God, but I chose Heart Beat Club because the location was close to my house, they gave us Participation Certificate after the course, and it was just $20.00 per person for a 3-hour-course.

I actually should have taken child’s first air course before Hiro arrived so that I would have known what to do in case of emergency.  After the baby was born I didn’t really have time to do it (although it may be hard to practice CPR etc with a big tummy).  Last week, I left Hiro to D and his parents.

There’re 10 people at the class, and some of them were couples.  One couple brought their new born to the class, I think they didn’t have anyone to ask for looking after their baby for 3 hours.  Being apart from new born baby for 3 hours is quite scary.

The class was conducted by a retired nurse, and she was wonderful.  I must say I am very very happy that I attended this course.  There’re so many useful information about what to do when a child is burnt, choke, and injured.  As well as hearing her experiences and stories, I loved the practical part.  Each one of us got a manekin of baby to practice CPR.  Doing is so different from just reading about CPR on books.  And I learned so many new things, such as DRS ABCD (Danger, Response, Send help, Air way, Breathing, Cpr), and not tilting the head when doing CPR for babies under 12 months old.

Few days before I attended this course I had a terrifying moment while feeding Hiro.  He was coughing, and suddenly stopped coughing and seemed to be choking.  I was in panic, and I took him out from high chair, placed him on my lap facing down, and hit his back few times (as this was how to help choking baby in a book I read).  Then he vomited everything out. I don’t know if he was really choking but it was scary.   I told the nurse (course conductor) about it, and she said that coughing is a natural reflex and nothing to worry about.  If he was choking, his face should have turned blue or looked really tense.  So when he cough, it means he is coping with the lumpy food and is a good thing.

There was 15minutes break, and I just saw this vending machine which makes fresh squeezed orange juice.  I thought it’s cool

At the end of the course we all received Participation Certificate as promised.  I thought 3 hours was gonna be very long, but after the course was done I felt that it wasn’t enough.  I wanted to know more.  $20.00 for this was a really great deal, I think.  If someone is interested in taking the course:

website … location varies. You can check on their website.

Western Australia Only

Waterford Plaza

If you haven’t been to Waterford Plaza for quite some time, you will be surprised to see the change of this small shopping mall in Karawara.  I used to go there when I was a student at TAFE in Bentley few years ago, and now it doesn’t look the same.

They’ve got more cafes and restaurants at the site, and the area looks more modern.  I find that the parking area is still the same though – bit small –  and the drive way is bit narrow, and it causes jam around the exit to Kent street.  Once you enter from Kent street you can find Pasta Cups, Burger Edge, and Theobroma Chocolate Lounge etc along the drive way.

There are Chinese-Malaysian food (Chilliz & O’Mama Kopitiam), Thai food (Sara Thai), Japanese food (Mikasa Café) and more available in this place, and many students from Curtin and TAFE go there to grab lunch and dinner, just like old time.  And there will be a new tavern featuring the popular ‘Hippo Creek’ restaurant chain, and Singaporean food chain ‘Old Chang Kee’ in early 2012.

WaterPlaza had been under construction for few months and aimed to complete the transformation before the Queen arrived last month, as the Manning Road was the way she would go pass to visit Aboriginal College.  The construction operated 24 hours just before the Queen’s arrival, my friend told me.

I wanted to go to the chocolate cafe Theobroma Chocolate Lounge when I passed this shopping mall last time, but didn’t have time for it.  Apparently there is another shop in Fremantle (http://www.theobromachocolatelounge.com.au/) so maybe I go there instead.  I am so addicted to chocolate now.  I know I shouldn’t be eating chocolate too much because it contains caffein and too much sugar, but I can’t help it.  Hmmm, I guess little amount wouldn’t harm… :p

Hand Works

I wrote about me holding Hiro for 2 hours when I visited Play Group few months ago and strained my right wrist, and now the pain is still there and I went to see doctor again.  As I’m leaving Perth in few weeks and I want to fix my wrist as soon as possible so that I can travel with a 8-month-old baby, I decided to make a customized splint.

The nearest place that makes hand castings is Hand Works in Leeming, and I phoned them to make an appointment right after visiting doctor.  I was expecting that I would have to wait for few days to get and appointment, but I could see an occupational therapist on the afternoon.

Hand Works Occupational Therapy does services including rehabilitation, splinting, neoprene braces, and pain management of elbow, wrist and hand.  There are 5 locations in WA, which include Leeming, Rockingham, Duncraig, West Perth, and Mandurah, and a doctor’s referral is recommended.

Before I visited Hand Works, I was wearing this Thermoskin that I got from a Chemist.  This is supposed to restrict the movement of my thumb, but I didn’t feel any improvement.  I guess it’s because I kept taking it off very often when I had to change diaper etc.

The splint I got from Hand Works is this soft material one.  Therapist told me that hard plastic splint works the best, but it’s hard and not practical for a mother who cares a baby.  I was wondering how she was going to cast my hand using this.  This is how it works:

There is a thin plastic liner inside, and she poured hot water inside so that the plastic melts.  Then, she tied this splint around my right hand and held it for few minutes until the plastic harden.

It fits perfectly on my right wrist, and restrict movement of thumb.   I was told to wear it as much as possible (even when I sleep) for maximum result.

The therapist was really friendly, and told me that it’s very common for mothers having this problem.  She even had handouts for mothers, and that proves it.  Her explanation of my condition, including how it happened and the process of cure was really clear and I could understand completely.  She normally let patients wear the splint for 2 weeks then follow up with gentle exercises, but, as I need to leave Perth on 18th I will have to come back to see her next week.  She was really flexible and supportive.  She is going to teach me how to exercise my thumb and wrist while in Japan.

Now, it’s been just 2 days since I started wearing this, and I feel much better.  I try not to use my right hand (it’s impossible to not use it when you have a bub though), and wearing it as much as I can.  I hope it cures very soon!

a