Aricia's stargazing journal

Stargazer

1. Keep a log or notebook giving observations of stars, moon and planets (if any), visible from a window, garden, street, in or near her own home. (6 hours over three months) with description.
2. A photo of a celestial object through the telescope and describe the telescope specs and the camera used.
3. Find out:
   3.1. at least four constellations visible in Singapore;
   3.2. name one deep sky object that is visible in Singapore from 3.1.
   3.3. at least four first magnitude stars visible in Singapore

Observations timeframe is spread out to 6 months so that the Guide can make meaningful observations over a longer period of time. Each observation can be just 15 minutes.

Her stargazing journey planning started on 10th June 2020. Just when school started their new term. During the school hols we did occasionally look up from our balcony but we didn't think about doing it to get a badge. When I realised there was this profiency badge, I asked her if she wanted to take a step further and doing it more seriously to get a badge.  

I emailed her teacher (our exchange of emails is copied here for keepsake purpose)

20th June @ 3.55pm

Dear XXX,

Hope this email finds you well.

I would like to get your advice on starting on the activity on stargazing. 

Infact, Aricia for the past 2 years has occasionally stargazed. And when I realised there was a proficiency badge on this, I was elated. 

If she were to start on this, does it mean she starts in June or can she start with effect from an earlier month. 

As for the photo through a telescope, does it have to be the raw picture or can it be edited/cropped? Honestly, I haven’t tried taking pictures through telescope (plus not that we have a fantastic telescope to begin with) so not sure how to, and how big or small the object will turn out to be. I mean usually I’ll just use my telephoto lens on DSLR to take pictures myself (so easy - no need to set up telescope 😄) , and I still need to crop to enlarge the photo. 

Hope you can give me some pointers so I can try to guide her more in this. 

11th June @ 5.23pm

Thank you for your email.

I'm happy to hear that Aricia is working on her proficiency badges. It's fantastic that you also have a telescope and a telephoto lens at home for stargazing too. Aricia should be able to see Saturn, Jupiter and Moon quite easily if it doesn't storm at night.

As long as Aricia can capture a clear photo of the planets and the moon and identify them, that will suffice. We don't want to deter students from stargazing.

And if Aricia can produce a record comprising 3 consecutive months of her observations, she'll receive the badge. The log should include location, weather, time, and a description and/or a sketch of what she sees in the sky. 

Ms XXX is recommending that Aricia follows a Facebook group of stargazing enthusiasts, Singapore Sideway Astronomy. Aricia can also refer to this website so that she can be fruitful when she looks into the telescope. https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/night/singapore/singapore

Hope this helps! 

May the stars align in your favour,

XXX

11th June @ 7.05pm

Thank you for your reply. 

As she’s been doing this occasionally, and if there’s something that she can earn, why not. 

3 consecutive months, must it be daily? Considering there are days when it is cloudy. And also coz usually I’ll ask her out to spot after I recee, when she can’t see anything I won’t bother to ask her to go out to balcony. And I’ll only ask her if it’s a non-school day the next day. Therefore the log won’t be consecutive days, it’s ok right? 

Great, so I don’t have to take pictures through telescope right? It’s quite a challenge for me to set up the lousy telescope though as we are surrounded by blocks and I’m on the ground floor. Many times, when I do it, it looks like I’m launching a rocket. Plus my unit is next to a path, a high traffic area where neighbours all keep looking at us whenever they walk past, I feel so embarrassed. So I hardly set it up. 

Thanks Ms Heng for the links. We’re aware of this. Since we started stargazing end 2017, we’ve relied a lot on a few FB pages and apps whenever we stargaze either in SIN or overseas. 

12th June @ 8am

I hear your concerns about not being able to stargaze meaningfully every day for 3 consecutive months. Would a 90-day log be something more feasible? It will still require Aricia to display a high level of discipline to maintain the log diligently at the end of each fruitful stargazing session, and we are confident that Aricia is capable of finishing it well!

No problems using the telephoto lens to take possibly clearer photos of what's in the sky. :)

I'm sorry to share that I had quite a good laugh imagining the trouble you have to go through each time you set up the telescope. 🤐

Have fun stargazing with Aricia! We really appreciate the support you render at home to ease Aricia into Girl Guides.

Make a wish on a shooting star,

XXX

15th June @12.25am 

Thank you for your reply. 

Thanks for your clarification. Just as I thought, 90 days is definitely reasonable as 3 months on a daily basis doesn’t guarantee clear nights daily. We will endeavour to complete the task. Nevertheless thank you for making the exception for us, because as much as I’d like her to enjoy astronomy I try not to interfere when it’s a schooling day. She’s enjoying it more these days cause she knows she’s working towards something at the end. I need a badge for myself too! 

Oh yes, that telescope! The funniest thing was when she suggested we should set up 2 nights ago (past few days didn’t set up), less than 10mins we had people walking past and even the security staffs stopping by our unit to see what we were doing. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Something for you to enjoy. These were taken by Athena’s teacher who chaperoned students to some ulu place in Thailand late last year. Athena did some editing to his photos. Needless to say she was really so excited to see the clear sky and Pleiades. 

Anyway, thanks a lot Ms XXX for your encouragement. 

And so we began our journey to the stars and beyond. First entry dated 9th June 2020 and last entry 16th March 2021. The books are filled with many wonderful time spent with her, looking beyond what our eyes can see, into the beautiful (ahem polluted Bortle 9 sky. Welcome to sunny Singapore, bright in the day and in the night!) sky. 

I found this quote encouraging -

Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. 

– Stephen Hawking

So I decided that we shall do her journaling in more educational way. I hope we're on the right track. In the process, I learn new things as well. There is just so much more we can discover, so much more... not in Singapore but where we can get dark sky, good camera, good telescope, a tracking system and hopefully a good photographer. 

I remember this day so clearly. 22nd June 2020 @ 5am. The sky was the clearest of all the days. So many stars in the sky! Quickly woke her up to see and identify the stars, she went back for a short nap before getting ready to go to school.   

Second Book

Took us a year to complete the task. By 27th June, we had completed the journal. Did the final checks before submission

29 June 2021 @ 9:47 

Dear Ms XXX, 

Hope this email finds you well.

Just to let you know that Aricia will submit her stargazing journals (2 books) to you via your pigeon hole on Thursday. 

Thank you for being patient with us. 

Regards, 

XXX 

30th June @ 8am

I am looking forward to learning more about stargazing from her journaling!

Best regards,

XXX

And now we shall wait for her well deserved badge. 

Ramblings on school hols and keto

School hols is coming to an end. The chauffeuring will start tomorrow, the home tuitions madness will resume.

I had been really lazy this school hols. I was happy when HBL kicked in in Week 9, so it means I didn't have to move around so much. I had so many ideas on what I wanted to do during Phase 2HA where all my tutors will do zoom lessons and I had the freedom to roam around the house with no time restrictions. 

THINGS TO DO :

- clear 2 pots of their soil and pots in PES 

- thorough scrub in our PES 

- small plants in toilets mini project

- re-organize my baking pantry with more OXO containers

- stock take on my Kiehls products, on my EOs.

- declutter the towels and unncessary bedsheets. Basically tidy and have at least 2 empty cubicle space in walk-in wardrobe 

- complete USA2019 imovie

- Go for walks with the girl /girls  

- Busy in the kitchen with non-keto and keto bakes. Perhaps do my decorated icing cookies using my projector. Do some cute cute buns etc.. so many ideas

End of 6 weeks, nothing is done. I really lazed the most this hols when I'm not doing housework and those few days that I cooked. Was busy surfing the internet, watching a bit of shows here and there, playing with the colouring app. I must admit it feels good to be doing nothing at all when I'm so totally exhausted at the routine I had been doing on a daily basis for years.

I wanted to do more home cooked food but I was getting frustrated that I couldn't taste test the food I cooked & then they don't really liked the food I cooked which in turns lead to wastage. So in the end hubby packed more often. 

 

Maybe once school starts, my engine will start up too. 

The last time I ironed clothes was on 23rd May (Week 9 of school term) clearing the school uniforms. And I ironed today - 27th June. Although it was a month ago, we didn't have that many clothes to iron. Well, we are hardly out of the house in the first place. 

I’m beginning to love this school hols. 

Even on keto. I did the lazy keto. Although I eat within what's permitted, I didn't track my macros. I may have put in more protein than fats on all days and perhaps kicked out of ketosis unknowingly. Maybe yes, maybe no? However based on this article, yes I felt my rings are tight again but it could be becoz I haven't been drinking alot of water.  

I've totally lost on idea what to cook though was looking at recipes. Looking and daydreaming, I need someone to put into action for me. or if I can cook in bulk? (but no space in fridge to store them) 

On days when I cooked for family, I was tired that I threw everything in one pot and cooked for myself. My meal really looked like dog food. 

Was too lazy to track. I did put on weight a little (by posting time lost back the weight). Dunno what to eat, wanted to take this time to fast but ended up eating ketojunkie's delicious snacks. At least I'm learning lesson from my own experience too. There's a reason why the shifus all say must avoid sweets and bakery and somehow will get addicted and can't stop. So I'm not sure with me eating ketojunkie's snacks was coz' I was addicted to bakes or was it coz' the items stacked up in freezer were an eyesore, felt the need to declutter them into my mouth. I've learnt in order to lose weight must be strict with oneself.

So coincident, a fellow keto-nian, Mabel Wee, asked this on 26th June in the FB keto group I'm following :

Just wondering if anyone 越 fast 越肥? My weight keep crawling up despite fasting, 2 meals a day occassionally omad and quite clean the eating 😅

Or did i break my fast incorrectly? Is there like a correct way to break a fast?

A few replies followed :  

Wong Heng Kelvin says

A lot of people use fasting to punish the body for weight gain instead of focusing on lowering insulin, it's an eating disorder in the low carb community really. If you are not eating enough and fasting and gaining weight, the body is telling you that you may not be eating enough nutrients and holding on to itself and water.

Sandra Tan HS

I second what Wong Heng Kelvin says

Fasting needs to be done right, your body has to be fueled and packed with nutrient dense before embarking on fasting. It should come naturally from a sense of fullness from a nutrient packed meal

When we do fasting we also need to look at our body’s needs. If you’re under eating your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to the weight

Water retention will also occur

Chris Tew Eng Ann

Probably under eat and over fast. Will be good to review your caloric intake and fasting routine.

Jacq Chan

And ya…. If your OMAD portion is big , it may create calories surplus …

Portion is one thing…

Fasting is a tool to lower our insulin level (esp for most of us who suffer from insulin resistance issue) and also for our body to have time to utilize the accumulated stored fat in body…

However, if what you are taking in is more than what you are burning, the surplus will not aid you in loose weight..,

But the fact that you can feel cloth is looser - maybe there is a change in body composition- building up some lean mass.

Therefore, what you can do now is

- look into the portion (focus on nutrient dense, never go under eating)

- don’t just look at the weight number - take in other indicators as consideration

- must rest well, hydrate well - bring down your cortisol level too

More keto snacks

This time bought some items from Ketojunkie (Instagram account :  https://www.instagram.com/ketojunkie.sg/) 

23rd April (collected on 29th April)

1) x2 Thai milk tea ($19.80)
2) x1 frozen lekor ($18) the ready fried is $22
3) x1 frozen curry puff ($22) the ready fried is $26. 
Total cost $59.80. 

Verdict :

Thai milk tea - I don't mind the milk tea but che-che don't like it coz it's not sweet. She likes the one from Seriously Keto ($6.50) - coz that tastes just like the normal sweetened Thai milk tea. Ok, so at least I know SK really put lots of sugar in their drinks.  

Lekor - Che-che love the lekor. She's a fan of lekors in pasar malam only a year or 3 years back? She used to refuse to try it (so now you know where she got her junkie eating habits from) until when she decided to try it, she'd pick some up from pasar malam. But we don't go pasar malam that often in the first place. Her lekor is definitely not starchy and it's really nice. And I'm rest assured that at least my girl tho' not doing ketogenic diet is eating something healthier. 

Since it's my first purchase I got only one pack. Not enough lor! Che-che ate the most, hubby tried 2 and I only had 1! I had to deal with the mess left behind - Oil splatter. 

Curry puff - OMG! It's so nice. Much better than Ange bakes which Sandra let us try once. I love Ketojunkie's puff, it is crispy and has those swirls (which I feel is so darn difficult to do) looking really like curry puffs. The only thing is I'm not sure what Ketojunkie uses to make the puff pastry, nonetheless it should be keto friendly. [I found out later whey protein is used] 

***********************

19th May - delayed ordering coz it was nearing Raya when we were craving for it. Plus my freezer was full to the brim. Was told that refrigerated items can only lasts 2 days for lekor and 3 days for puffs. Items can last longer in freezer. My mouth is ready but freezer is not.

Finally about 8 days later .. will give me sufficient time to clear the freezer by collection date. 

27th May (collected on 3rd June)

Tak boleh tahan already. This time upped the order to total damage $242.50. 

1) Double chocolate puff (frozen) x1 ($26)

2) Sardine puff (frozen) x1 ($22) 

3) Curry puff (frozen) x1 ($22)

4) Creamy chicken mushroom puff (frozen) x1 ($24)

5) Lekor (frozen) x6 ($120)

5) Gluten-free Cream cheese rolls (fresh) x1 ($28.50)

Special request - no need chilli in lekor. 

Met Aruna for the first time. Such a friendly person. We could chat on whatsapp like long time friend like that, or maybe coz I was bored so I was more chatty. Haha! Che-che was waiting for the lekors when I got home. She greeted me with a ""When are you going to fry the lekors?"

Verdict :

Double chocolate puff is - OMG out of this world! Better than McDonald's chocolate pie where the flakes just drop on you like snowflakes, very messy if you ask me. But for this, the puff flakes drop in big piece (haha!) so it's not that messy, easy to pick up from your clothes and put it into your mouth again. Ker-siang to throw it away, $5+ for one piece of puff leh! I'll even lick the bowl to leave no traces behind.  

My pictures don't do any justice here. 

Mushroom puff - nice but if only there are more filling. I usually eat mushroom pot pie coz I love the filling. Otherwise the taste is legit.

Sardine puff - not a really a fan of sardine but thought I wanted to try. No spice no kick, but yes taste wise is not bad. 

Lekor - It's not the first time trying this BUT first time airfrying this. Lekors need to be blessed with oil before popping into the airfryer as it was boiled before batch freezing. Oil is not needed for airfrying puffs as they're deep fried once before batch freezing. 

Easy easy! No messy kitchen, just need to wash the basket and wipe airfryer's interior.  

Gluten-free cream cheese rolls - Wow! Are you sure it's gluten free? Are you sure this is keto friendly? The rolls tastes so good! Definitely want to check for recipes online. I finished the rolls in 2 days. Dangerous!  

I joked with her if she wanted a godsis, if it's alright that I volunteer to be one. I have to practice self- control. The snacks are so nice - such fitting name she calls her business. I didn't eat proper meals and had puffs and lekor. OMG! I think I kicked myself out of ketosis man! But no fault of theirs, my fault coz I have no self-control. 

************************

13th June (delivered on 20th June)

Noticed 2 more new items in their menu. Control control! 

1) Gluten-free Cream cheese rolls x2 ($57) [gifted a box to Cheryl]

2) Chicken mushroom puff x2 ($48)

3) Chocolate puff x2 ($52)

4) Curry puff x2 ($44)

5) Pizza puff x1 ($22)

5) Lekors x4 ($80)

Total cost $303. Though this is delivered, Aruna absorbed the cost of $13. So sweet of her right?

Verdict :

Pizza puff - not too bad. I'm not a fan of beef but I'm glad this doesn't taste that bad 

 

My 2nd and 3rd chocolate purchase

Couldn't stop after my first purchase from iHerb. (Blog entry here  ) No wonder the shifus in keto FB warned not to have any bakeries or sweet stuffs for first 3 months. Aiyah! I've already sinned long time ago. God bless me! 

This second purchase is a huge haul from US Amazon. I made use of my VPost for the first time after 2yrs or was it 3yrs?   

2nd purchase - arrived on 4th May

Lily's chocolate

Lily's chocolates! Thanks to J who introduced this to me. I'm not really a fan of peanut butter but sometimes I don't mind Skippy's peanut n chocolate spread on my bread (non-keto days). So when I tried this, it made me want to eat more coz I know it's keto compliant. I love the dark chocolate peanut butter cups better coz I love dark chocolates. 

Bought alot of baking chocolate chips too. It's too much, I'm selling any bakes but .... that's like the minimum the shop is selling. It's still so much cheaper than what Seriously Keto sells (3x more!) Hmm... maybe I should put out some to sell to incur some costs? 

Bought a bar of granola bar from Seriously Keto before and I liked it, so decided to cart this alongside. So much cheaper! 

This is not compliant at all. These chocolates are for che-che. She tried them in Seattle. So when I asked her if she needed to cart anything from US Amazon, she found these.

3rd purchase - received on 5th June

Coz iherb didn't have ChocZero chocolates so cart from US Amazon together with many other items. I should refrain from buying anymore for the next one year! 没有钱了！

And so when i found out ChocZero may not be that keto compliant after all. Oh my! I haven't done any glucose test on self after eating. 

Che-che likes the dark chocolate with sea salt + almond. Though I also like almond, I prefer hazelnut. Some cheese snacks which lil' one likes.