The Not So Lady of Leisure

Giving the Gift of Life

2011-09-30T21:13:00.008+08:00

donating blood is something that we usually hear every now and then - but how many of us are really inclined to donate blood - making time to actually go and donate blood? well, luckily for me, loh kong is a frequent blood donor, so like many other things, i too was influenced, excited and wanted to be one. loh kong has been doing this since he was still single.

anyway, after 3 years in marriage, barulah i had the time and opportunity to go and donate blood. it was several weeks ago when we went to visit a friend's wife who just delivered their first baby. anyway, the place and time was right, after the quick visit we went to the blood centre at one of the buildings within PPUM. yes, "one of the building" - i bet you i would be lost if i were to find my own way there - the quirky designed buildings, the old long corridors and the inter-connected levels of different buildings, heh.. teramatlah confusing to me..!

anyway, excited and so looking forward to the session - i couldn't help feeling so happy because the opportunity finally arrived. loh kong had his blood donation small booklet ready, so he didn't have to register. it was my first time, so i had to register first. before filling any form, i was asked to read the do's and the don'ts list that was on a notice board nearby. i quickly went over the do's - check check check... then i moved on to the don'ts - check check check and then erkkkk... what?

there were 12 items in the list, and i didn't qualify for item no 12! (and NO, it's not because i weigh less than 45kg - how i wish!! =D). i tried to google the exact 12 items but couldn't find the list - there were many variations, based on country regulations, etc. but here's a good list, which provides an overview on the eligibility criteria, taken from https://sites.google.com/site/programdermadarahcar/

Penderma darah adalah istimewa. Ini adalah kerana tidak semua orang layak untuk menjadi seorang penderma darah. Terdapat beberapa kriteria yang melayakkan seseorang itu untuk menderma darah. Di antara kriteria yang ditetapkan adalah seperti berikut:

1. Sihat tubuh badan pada hari pendermaan.

2. Berumur di antara 18-60 tahun.

· Bagi yang berumur 17 tahun, perlu mendapatkan kebenaran bertulis daripada ibubapa atau penjaga

· Bagi yang berumur 61-65 tahun, perlu mendapatkan kelulusan bertulis daripada doktor mengenai tahap kesihatan badan.

3. Berat badan melebihi 45 kg.

4. Tidur melebihi 5 jam pada malam sebelum hari pendermaan.

5. Tiada masalah kesihatan.

6. Tidak mengambil sebarang ubat-ubatan

· Tidak mengambil antibiotik dalam tempoh 7 hari sebelum hari pendermaan

· Sila rujkuk pegawai perubatan bertugas untuk ubat-ubatan lain.

7. Telah mengambil makanan sebelum menderma darah (tidak berpuasa)

8. Tidak terlibat di dalam sebarang kegiatan berisiko tinggi seperti berikut:

· Hubungan jenis sesama jantina (homoseksual)

· Hubungan jenis dengan kedua-dua jantina (biseksual)

· Hubungan jenis dengan pekerja seks komersial / pelacur

· Bertukar-tukar pasangan hubungan jenis

· Mengambil dadah secara suntikan

· Menjadi pasangan hubungan jenis kepada mana-mana golongan di atas.

9. Pendermaan terakhir sekurang-kurangnya 3 bulan untuk penderma darah penuh (whole blood), dan 2 minggu untuk penderma aferesis.

10.Untuk penderma wanita:

· Tidak mengandung.

· Tidak datang haid.

· Tidak menyusukan anak.

11.Jangan menderma darah jika anda:

· Pernah tinggal di United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man atau Channel Island) atau Republik Ireland dari tahun 1980 hingga 1996 untuk tempoh 6 bulan atau lebih

· Pernah tinggal di benua Eropah dari tahun 1980 hingga sekarang untuk tempoh 6 bulan atau lebih.

i was in the UK from '85 to '88.

and so, as simple as that, i am not an eligible donor - and will never be!! how so unfair!! it turned out that during that period, a major outbreak on mad cow disease or BSE occurred in the uk and other parts of Europe. BSE is transmitted through either cannibalism or transmission of blood / organs. since BSE presence in blood / tissue can't be tested, this factor has been added by the fda as a blood donor restriction - eventually being a regulation worldwide. according to the medical practitioner who was there, this rule was introduced in this country in 2007 and resulted to a lost of a big handful of regular frequent donors. yes, no one will actually check whether you have / haven't been in UK during the 80's but confessing is a responsibility (at least to yourself) - at least you avoid possible consequences to others.

so there you have it - i am not an eligible blood donor. so the very least that i can do is: PROMOTE BLOOD DONATION! you don't have to set or arrange any appointments - just go to any hospital and they will set you up. it takes about 15 - 20 minutes only per session. instead of watching tv, dozing off or reading the paper while waiting for warded / hospitalized friends and families, go and donate blood. there are tangible benefits that comes with it - free parking, eligibility to be upgraded to higher ward classes, free food & drinks, etc.

but the best of it all - is the feeling of being able to give the gift of life, without doing much!

so girls, if you're reading this and donating blood has never crossed your mind, maybe it's time to start thinking about it. :D

**mcm pesanan komuniti pulak kan? =D

Return of the Sloth

2011-09-27T23:17:00.006+08:00

yes, i should be punished. punished for leaving this blog since April. if my brain is calculating correctly, that is nearly 6 months. yeah, blame it on the whole juggling-work-and-home-thingy... but nah, i was just lazy - lazier than a stoned sloth laying under the hot summer sun.

well, period of hibernation is over - move aside lazy me. i am back, dear blog. for how long, we shall see. :D

lots of things have been happening over the past months. so many updates on baby M (yes, can't help it, she'll always be my baby), so many photos to share too. and can't wait to tell you about the funny things i discover being a recruiter.

on Hari Raya.. well, a series of non-stop back to back open houses has flooded our weekend activities this month. baby M has grown tremendously over the months - both physically and emotionally. she has outgrown her baby rambling phase -no more cute and sweet pingu language, hello long sentences that fail to find truce with full stops. yeah, a true minah kepoh she is now. me and loh kong are both trying to find sweetness in her new passion of non-stop talking.

where was i? oh yes, back to the open houses. met up with gorgeous friends from school & uni. mien & zue both looking pretty and so kurus after recent second baby deliveries. kausar berseri2 berbadan dua. suhen looking like a 13 year old as always. mirah is in confinement right now. i plan to see her next week, insya Allah. kemar came to our house last week - looking fresh & fabulous as always. hikmah doing wonderful in her new journey of motherhood.

all in all - everyone is looking great and doing just fine. i'm glad.

what about me? well, after the one week Raya holiday followed by a series of open houses, i can't fit into my jeans anymore! tensi tensi... hinssss.

+ baby M during Raya. baju handmade by loh kong. i have one too ;p. love you, abi! +

reunion di rumah aizura

2011-04-12T23:49:00.011+08:00

organizer: cik cura
location: taman belakang giant, kajang
menu: nasik ayam mak cura, sate, choc cake, fruits with choc fondue, nachos, jelly & creme caramel

sekalung penghargaan buat tuan rumah aizura for arranging a short and sweet get together for us girls last week. the event was in conjunction to her being transferred to sabah. it was called a "reunion", but a reunion of what group specifically pun i don't know because we were all from the same uni, but not the same class. after graduating, a majority of us ended up working for the same employer, but the thing that kept us close at that time was the chain of emails we kept sending each other. i don't remember exactly when the email chain started, nor do i have any recollection of why and how it started.

mind you, mase tu fb was not a hot thing yet. nor was blogging - kausar je kot yg dah start blogging masa tu. having the chain emails sent from the girls were really something i enjoyed receiving everyday, especially after i left office life. it was great to just go through lines and lines of emails, sometimes sampai pening2 nak identify which email came after which. but getting to read something from the girls, even about nothing really important was totally something i looked forward to everyday. thank you, korang. hehehe..

oh yeah, mase tu i think all of us were still single, or maybe baru kahwin sangat kot. none of us ada baby lagi. so, we were all pretty much "available" that time. now, as time flies, the chain emails have started slowing down and have come to a halt since, i think last year (ke last last year). everyone is now quite busy and occupied. and then, with nearly everyone dah ada blog sendiri, the chain emails pun terus pupus ditelan masa.

well, anyway. the gathering was a great get together. not everyone was there, mien, niza and rina couldn't make it. niza pergi umrah, alhamdulillah! and i had to leave early, meninggalkan zu dan mirah yg baru sampai (sorry!). but ok ape, it's a good start.

to all you girls, looking forward to another round of "reunion".

+ di ruang makan rumah aizura, di meja makan yg mencecah riban2 ringgit ya. TV dia pun bapak besar.. oh ya, rumah pun sgt cantik, so proud of you! +

anyway, kepada cik aizura: terima kasih sekali lagi. selamat berjaya di perantauan. dan selamat ulang tahun kelahiran yang ke errmmm... 20 ya!!

Starfall

2011-03-10T13:31:00.004+08:00

i'm always in the look of finding new things to do with baby M every now and then. always in the search for a new hobby which is inexpensive, fun and helps in terms of her developments. well, last week i found this website, www.starfall.com and boyy! can't tell you how glad i am to stumble upon it!

the website teaches young tots learn to read, which is a good alternative from my usual bedtime reading session with baby M (which, is now becoming less often because i tend to fall asleep pretty easily nowadays!)

the website's really cool - it uses the phonics method, has easy navigation, it's not heavy at all and most important of all - it's FREE! cool eh? not only is baby M hooked with it, the mother is pretty excited every time too! hehehe

so, mothers out there looking for a fun & interactive way to teach your babies read, pls do go to this website. i recommend it 100%.

+ bless the owner & the team who developed it +

ps: gave some hints to loh kong on possibility of developing a similar website, but this time to teach alif ba ta and reading the quran.. wouldn't it be great? ke dah ade website sebest mcm ini? anyone?

Taman Botani Negara

2011-02-26T15:41:00.012+08:00

it's been long since our last mother nature bonding expedition. the last was back when we were still in johor, i think. our trip last thursday was to shah alam's taman botani negara, previously known as taman pertanian bukit cahaya seri alam. way before that, the name was bukit cerakah - which was also the name when i was there the last time, some 23 years ago during rombongan taski abim in 1988. wahh.. lama nye. turned out, loh kong's last visit was also in that year. hmm.. wonder if we actually passed by each other but never knew it.. ewahh!

over excited, i couldn't help but google abt the place the day before, so reading ppl's blog abt it, i just knew it was gonna be a wonderful place to go to. turns out - memang betul! we had sooo much fun! not only because of the greatness of the place, but since we went on a weekday, there were less people - it felt like we had the place all to ourselves!

the place is huge, sprawling a nearly 1,300 hectars of lush greenery, ponds & lakes. there's a free bus service inside that can shuttle you from place to place within the park. but, if you're really in for some adventure, rent a bicycle instead - it's cheap, it's fun and it burns calories too. well, you will suffer from a post-3-days-bottom-and-leg-ache, but didn't i just say it'll be fun? seriously, it's worth all the bruises on anyone's bum.

after hours of cycling, exploring the parks and going crazy inside the swimming pool, it rained. it wasn't so disappointing because the rain kind of became a signal, telling us that it was time to head home. turned out, we were there for more than 4 hours already! tak sedar langsung. no wonder during the end, it felt as if we had no energy lift our legs and cycle away. perut pun rupenya dah lapar.. so, we skipped going to the fruit orchard (teringin nak makan durian ngan buah koko sebenarnya) and several other spots inside the park. oh, we also missed going to the 4 season house, which was closed temporarily for seasonal changing works.

+ loh kong with baby m. kan best kalau dpt beli basikal dgn carrier mcm nie +

+ rehat sekejap dlm perjalalanan ke empangan air kuning.
rehat, sbb masa nie, lutut mcm dah nak tertanggal dah +

+ loh kong's friend, aka baby m's uncle choul - great company +

+ kat taman haiwan. kuda padi ni friendly, tapi baby m doesn't want to be friends +

+ "terserempak" dgn swimming pool kat situ, maka terpaksa lah

mandi juga walaupun tak bersedia. no one else was around, best sgt! +

+ happy +

How cute is this

2011-02-21T11:18:00.007+08:00

was googling and stumbled onto this family - jamie Oliver and wife, Juliette Norton and their 4 oh-so-cute children:-

Poppy Honey Rosie Oliver (9)
Daisy Boo Pamela Oliver (8)
Petal Blossom Rainbow Oliver (nearly 2)
Buddy Bear Maurice Oliver (5 months)

don't you think their names are just tooo cute! i love all of them! (the kids are cute too, of course)

+ happy family, welcoming 2011 in snow +

PS: tapi bila fikir balik, masa kecik memanglah cute. bila dah besar, org panggil, buddy bear.. mcm tak sesuai aje.. hehehe..

The Secret of Secrets

2011-02-20T11:16:00.006+08:00

recently, i was unable to visit my dear friend's blog, hikmah, the lady of the land of jenjarom (heheh.. jgn marah ye). i thought it was a problem with the server or something. rupa2nya she deleted the blog and moved it to another url. too many comments yang tak membina, she says.

saya dulu pun pernah sekali dapat komen yang berbau harum seperti itu. i don't remember the exact words but the writer (who, of courselah berselindung di bawah title anonymous. tak mungkin dia akan letak nama dia sebenar berserta dengan ID fb dia kan) critisized me for trying "to show off how islamic and how a muslimah sejati i am" but in the same time having a picture of a woman showing off her bare legs in the air (referring to an older skin of this blog). saya, muslimah sejati? hahaha.. totally absurd. well, i haven't deleted the comment. not because saya sokong apa yang dia tulis, but i think that everyone has the right to have an opinion (the same as i have the rights to write anything in my blog, dear ms anonymous). and i didn't reply or responded because i didn't know who the writer was. sedap bahasakan orang bila tahu serba sedikit pasal org tahu. baru sedap tembak kan.

after that incident, loh kong suggest suruh saya lock kan blog nie, give permission only to ppl that i know. of course saya tanak. why would i. my blog is not the source of their problem. locking it would not change anything. lagipun, i love getting those comments. it makes me laugh.

anyway, coming back to hikmah's blog. i still remember one comment sampah she received in the old blog. kalau tak silap, the entry was about how a handful of kakak2 kat office dia was controlling the husband's finances - up to the point of keeping the credit cards and atms. so, the commenter (again, under anonymous status) pointed out something like "awak tak de hak nak tulis pasal orang. awak pun belum tentu sempurna".. ohh the usual ayat of someone yang konon bagus2, u know what i mean..

i know there are others yang dapat jugak comment2 tak sedap didengar nie. sometimes tibe2 je komen2 nie muncul, bukannya mcm entry tu mengutuk sape2 pun. ishh.. entah2 i will get one after publishing this entry kan ... aiyokk, tak tahu. takutnyaaaaa~~

the thing that i don't get is, betapa mendalamnya keinginan dan betapa "rajinnya" si anonymous utk menulis komen2 "best" mereka. padahal, kalau tak suke, bukankah lebih senang to click the x button than lifting your fingers to type such comments?

orrr not? ohh i don't know. really.

*title tak ada kaitan. just love how it sounds. ehehe.. iye, nak kutuk, kutuklah, ms anonymous. lalaaallaa..

Rina Pearl El-Q

2011-02-12T16:35:00.021+08:00

ingat tak entry pasal projek baru yang sy excited sgt nak ceritakan hari tu?

projek nya ialah to start up butik online Rina Pearl El-Q! very excited. really. bukan selalu offer macam ni boleh bergolek dalam tangan kan? lagi2 butik yg jual baju dan tudung, something which i have always wanted to do. well, as of now, we have set up the website, did 2 photo shoot sessions and published selected products ... but there's still tonnes to do!

and in between takde pengalaman dalam bisnes nie, shifting to a new job (yeah hikmah, aku dah dapat offer kerja kat cyber.. yeay!) and all of us asyik demam dan sakit this past few weeks.. seriously, tak tau nak start kat mana. there's still many things to do - double check on pricing, add more products, update pasal bahagian pemborong, etc. but, instead of waiting for all that to happen, and waiting for the rite moment to launch the website, i should just shut up and start selling, kan. (now come to think about it again - wth were we waiting for?)

so, to my dear friends, blog hoppers, shopaholics, passers by, men-who-wants-to-buy-nice-things-for-their-loved-ones, you, you and you... i am officially announcing the opening of Rina Pearl El-Q online boutique http://www.rinaelq.com/

+ Aliyah Abdullah on the cover of Rina El-Q home page +

the theme is understated elegance - so, you'll find a lot of flowy chiffons and high quality lycras in Rina El-Q. my favorite piece is this abaya - Aurora AU002 - a luscious lycra abaya in dark coffee. jubah ni kainnya sgt berat jadi jatuhnya cantik. walaupun tak ada any manik bling2, it looks regal and mahal on its own.

+ El-Q Abaya Aurora - AU002 +

Other pieces which I also adore are the pieces from the 3 layer El-Q hijab and the El-Q Blouse Leah. I also love the shawl collection. (kalau lah muka sesuai pakai shawl! =D)

+ 3 Layer El-Q Hijab +

+ El-Q Blouse Leah - LE001 +

So, girls.. if you just happen to be looking for something pretty to buy this month, marilah check out Rina Pearl El-Q at www.rinaelq.com or alternatively pergi ke blog khas (sy janji akan update frequently - fingers crossed) untuk Rina Pearl El-Q which is www.rinaelq.blogspot.com

Delivery is currently free to locations in Semenanjung Malaysia (tengok, belum update lagi pasal nie kat website)

Jadi, tunggu apa lagi. Jom cuci mata di Rina Pearl El-Q!

Sunny Weekend

2011-02-12T12:45:00.005+08:00

Woke up yesterday to a beautiful sunny morning. The weather was warm, the air was clear. What a good way to start the day with....

mandi bugilbugil di halaman rumah..!

baldi kecik cenoet tidak menghalang kegembiraan

had to lure her out with some chocolates to get her inside

abi, bila nak belikan swimming pool nie?

New Project

2011-01-09T10:50:00.004+08:00

the last few weeks have been tiring. got an offer to jv with some friends on a new project. yeaayyy!! anyone who's close to me will know how much i want to start up a business! it's small scale, but who cares.. it's a start! so my feeling right now? ecstatic, of course!

should wait until project launch... but, i'm too excited.. so, here's a little sneak peak..

The Shining One

2010-12-21T11:58:00.004+08:00

it's reaching the year end and like many offices everywhere, ppl are rushing to get things done before the long holidays. everyone is battling to have things settled (like quoted by my previous boss --> semua bende bukan lagi nak siap hari ni, tapi nak siap semalam =D). the good part is, i don't really care. in an attempt to get myself away from being sucked into this chaotic madness, i decided to google my name up, to look for the meaning of my name. just to let you know, my name has no meaning in arabic - according to ustazah2 yg ajar bahasa arab in high school dulu.

so, the result is, drum roll please.... in greek and russian, in means "calm". sounds nice, but in polish, my name means "the shining one" or "brightness". oh my, i really love the term "the shining one"... hehehe.. it sounds so glorious in a very modest and unpretentious way.. hehehe.. but i do i hope it doesn't have anything to do with this shiny red zit i have on my chin today.. hehehe

well, going further with my quest of nothingness today, i also looked up loh kong's name in the same website. well, of course there's no result, since his is totally arabic, taken from an ahli sufi's name. so is baby m's first name.

ok, so there you have it, a pointless entry today by me, "the shining one"... hehehe

PS: girls, korang punye name? share lah kat sini... saje je.. suke2.. hehehe (u can consider this mcm kene tag..)

Home Sweet Home

2010-12-11T15:52:00.003+08:00

today is updating blog day! yeayy... hahah.. mcm lah selama ni there has been an allocated time to update this blog pun...

just to make an announcement abt our recent move to KL, again (not that it's significant to anybody la kan.. hehehe) - we have finally moved into our own house!

the house is small - 3 bedrooms with 2 baths, very dainty, very cottage like. what's best about it is that it's not detached to any other houses, so the garden is quite big (aka terrific to do bbq.. dgr tak, girls??.. heheh). i won't call it a bungalow, because to me bungalows are supposed to be huge and lavish. but this house is just like a small cottage, comfy enough for the 3 of us. the area is also good - by good i mean, it's only a 5 mins drive to jusco and giant - hoorayy! (can literaly see giant from the front door, ok! huhuu)

well, there are some unsatisfying things about the house, though.. (like, the master bedroom is the smallest room in the house - can you imagine that? and there's no kitchen cabinet), but i have learned to see the greener side of this new place called home. and now, with the new curtains that was just hung recently, i'm slowly loving this place.

my in laws came yesterday for a small get together, aka doa selamat + makan2 which will happen tonite.. nothing much, just nasik ngan lauk pauk yang sedap (courtesy of my in laws) and custard puding by me.. we love having guests around, both loh kong n me. so, this would be the first series of celebrations in this house. next would be to have my side of the family to come and dine and then of course, it'll be you fabulous girls! need some time to plan and set dates, since hey... i'm no longer the lady of leisure kan.. (and so are all of you super-duper-busy lovely career women and mums..)

well, i'd love to say "enjoy some pics of the house" here, but unfortunately, there's none to share at the moment. later, ok... =D

Googoo over gaga

2010-11-27T15:12:00.013+08:00

before going any deeper into this, lemme keep this straight. i am not bias when it comes to things i hear on oprah. orr am i? errr.. hmm.. (i love oprah.. don't hate me ok)

well, anyway.. lady gaga appeared on oprah. catched it on diva (how can u not love diva universal?) last week.. and boy was i surprised. i never thought that beneath all those bizarre, weird looking, headline making costumes.. is a person who has depth. when she talked, i was like... wahh.. this gaga girl is different, but different in a good & positive way. i love the way she talked abt the reason behind all those strange looking costumes. it was not just about creating attention and media buzz, but more abt inspiring people to free themselves & be proud of who they are.

i've heard that phrase many times but when it came from someone who i thought was superficial and is just on the surface and not to mention out of her mind (yeah yeah, i'm being judgmental).. it hit me..

i love her!!

PS: tetibe teringat what koca wrote about giuliana rancic hehehee...

there are angels among us

2010-11-12T12:23:00.003+08:00

yes, we are in KL now. living, enjoying and breathing KL air. weeeehoo..! (err.. with the air condition rite now, i guess it's not so weehooo?)

the decision of moving back to KL was based on several things, like loh kong getting more good project offers from KL-based clients (yeayy... $$Ka-ching) and for me --- a job offer in pj. and did i accept the offer? oh yes i did. so, yeah.. i am now officially a working mom!

it's been 3 weeks now and things have been relatively good. relatively, since.. hmmm let's see. one thing, our move is partially complete. half our things are here and half are still in JB. we're staying at a friend's house temporarily until the end of this month. hopefully, by then, we can move into our own house, start decorating and live happily, yeayy!

the moving and the new job has been tiring for all of us.. loh kong has been great, being cool and not expecting too much from his newly-working-wife. baby m too, is adapting well with her new nanny (who, alhamdulillah is a gentle human being who loves to cook and has a loving husband & 2 good kids), but all of this moving and waking up early everyday to follow umi's new schedule has taken a toll on her too. she's been having flu for the past 3 days; waking up burning hot in the middle of the night, heavy coughing together with the classic runny nose.

this new change has been bumpy here and there, but things eventually flowed very well thanks to the help and kindness of people around us. friends have offered assistance in the kindest and greatest ways, being there, offering help and expecting nothing in return. strangers & ppl who we just met for the 1st time too, have been helping out in the most unexpected good ways. all i can say is, we are blessed to have all of them - these angels around us. thank you so much korang. i love you all..

PS: looks like there'll be no more "lady of leisure"... tukar kpd "working lady of leisure" perhaps?

Baby M Turns 2, KL Here We Come!

2010-10-22T04:05:00.012+08:00

baby m turned 2 yesterday!

can't believe how time flies. feels like baru semalam celebrate her 1st bday. we had a small celebration earlier - just the 3 of us together with a super yummy oreo cheesecake (delish!), which baby m really loved! me n loh kong each had 2 slices, but birthday girl? huihh - she gobbled up 3 big-grown-up slices all by herself!

some notes on baby m as she turns 2:-

she is 92cm tall and 14kgs (~~giant~~ big size for a 2 year old - trust me, u'll agree when u meet her)
she stopped breastfeeding abt 2 weeks ago. luckily, tak payah nak sapu asam jawa atau minyak cap kapak, atau any other stuff on my precious breasts hehehe. what we did was tell her that she's a big girl now and that big girls minum susu dalam botol. first day was quite a challenge, but we kept on reminding her that bf is only for small babies. after a few series of heavy crying dan mengamuk-ngamuk, finally she absorbed to the idea. but in between, sempat jugak selak2, ambik several sneak peaks on my precious, but tengok sambil senyum2 and that was it. she didn't dare to do more. hehehe
she's like really talkative now, loves to babble bahasa yg i don't understand. i find it amusing, but it gets very annoying when i'm trying to concentrate on the tv
loves to pick up the house phone and talks (non-stop) as if there's someone on the line
successfully named a menu "dodok kellakabashh" which is actually cekodok lemak manis. don't ask me what it means, i have no clue whatsoever
she's at her peak of having a pair of super sibuk hands - very sibuk, i don't even know where to start. (but come to think of it, semua babies are like that kan? we should do a contest, and see anak siapa paling sibuk, jom?)
reached master level in the tak-boleh-duduk-diam phase. raya haritu hampir nak kene langgar kereta sbb nak keja kucing punye pasal! mcm nak pengsan saya!

well, there's so much more on baby m and i'd love to write a more lengthy entry on her and some other things. but it's 4 am and i should go to bed now because tomorrow is kinda big for us.

..... BIG because.... we'll be leaving for KL tomorrow - for good! yeehaaa..

yep. we are leaving JB and will move permanently to KL - tomorrow! well, it's not that so sudden of a decision - i think. because all this while, we've always known that we'd be back one day. and that day has come and it's tomorrow. anyway, will let you into the details later.

til then.. wish us luck ya!

to my dearest lovely baby, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! umi loves you always.

+ at last, tak payah dah nak berebut telekung dgn baby m! yahoo +

+ tetap sibuk nak pakai songkok slps itu, walaupun dah ade telekung +

Selamat Hari Raya

2010-09-08T02:41:00.003+08:00

just a quick one.

it's 2.45 am and i should be in bed right now... because tomorrow we'll be leaving to kajang, supposedly in the morning. as much as i hate packing, i can't help but feel proud sbb dapat cramp everthing into 2 bags sahaja this year! weehhooo..! a bit on our itinerary, we'll be spending early Raya in kajang and head north to sg petani and ipoh for a few days before going back to jb. well, that's the plan lah. hopefully everything goes on well.

lastly, to all of you, Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin!

PS: hope to be able to meet at least a few of you this Raya!

Ramadhan Stories

2010-08-24T02:41:00.012+08:00

i haven't been updating this blog for quite some time. don't know why. just so freaking malas. and... it's august already! cepat sungguh masa berlalu kan. 4 months and it'll be a new year. since i don't really know what to write this time, i'll just jumble things up according to whatever that pops inside ok.

Ramadhan in JB

well, this month has been quite interesting. first because it's Ramadhan, of course. the fasting month this year has been fantastic. it's our first time fasting here in jb. supposedly jb has lots of places to buy yumy yummy food; food outlets yg macam heaven (asam pedas, murtabak s'pore, laksa johor, mi bandung), bazar Ramadhan yang superb, etc... BUT entah kenape, we have been eating homemade food mostly everyday since Day 1. loh kong is quite demanding when it comes to buying ready made food - on taste and on hygiene level. i use to not really care - i can eat anything and be happy. but now, i have to admit... i'm getting fussy too! i used to be a McD addict; makan McD 3 - 4 times a week. but now, tengok gcb burger baru tu pun macam takde nafsu. does this mean i'm getting older? daymmm!

Cooking with Baby M in the Kitchen

well, cooking for buka puasa this year is wayyyy better than last year. i had to deal with baby M who was in an active crawling and shrieking stage last year. this year, baby M lebih siuman - at least she understands when i say "jangan pegang tu, dapur tu panas!!". she's going to be 2 y.o. in about 2 months and is getting more creative by day. lately, when i'm in the kitchen preparing makanan utk berbuka, she will get a plastic chair and push it close to the sink, climb on it and demand that i turn the tap on so that she can play with water. well, at first i opposed to such idea because takut dia jatuh and stuff, but seeing that by doing so gives me some 20 mins free from her harassing me, i slowly gave in - siap bagi dia mangkuk plastik ngan sudu utk main ngan air tu.. hoho.. loh kong cukup tak suke, but wth... cooking with a toddler who craves your attention 24/7 is not easy. sometimes you just have to break the rules in order to survive - and breathe! ask any mommies out there.

Big Secret Revealed

now, this is a different story altogether. how would you react if you found out that someone really close to you has a secret love child? well, earlier this month i was told exactly that! she is someone really dear to me and her love child is 17 years old sudah! something i would never have ever guessed coming from her! seriously, peristiwa 17 tahun yang lalu! yeah, call me overreacting. but this is really big news to me. it didn't come out from her, but someone close to her and boy, i wasn't ready for such news. well, anyway, when the child was 2 years mcm tu, she got married to the man who got her pregnant in the first place. but until today, the child lives with the grandparents, not her birth parents. well, having a child out of wedlock sounds terrible... but it is still much better compared to buang bayi kan?

Syurga Dunia

loh kong introduced me to this blogsite http://syurgadidunia.blogspot.com/ and i've been spending 2 nites in a row reading the entries. love how the author explains and relates between heavy serious issues with simple words and examples. his entry on islamic banking like use of duit kertas, taking car loans & housing loans is an eye opener. perhaps it's not new to some of you, but to me it is. i've always had doubts on these issues before tapi sgt malas nak ambil tahu. and his entries on husband-wife issues are totally spot on. love his points and solutions to questions that came from readers. tak poyo, tak de ala2 alim dan paling penting tak one sided. well, i haven't finished reading everything but setakat ni, the contents are good. (tak taulah kalau nnt terstumble on something yang pelik atau tetibe ade unsur wahabi ke kan...)

ok so that's it. a series of "the so many" things happening this month.

Salam Ramadhan and Selamat Berpuasa.

Homemade Play-Doh

2010-07-21T02:19:00.005+08:00

i've never been a master in arts and crafts.... OR cooking. ah!! hari ni buat donut, the result was kuih yang keras mcm batu, baling kat anjing sebelah pun boleh mati. so frustrated!!

anyway, balik ke topik asal. last weekend i wanted to do something new for my arts and crafts session with baby m. google punye google, landed on several super easy play-doh recipe. there were a few, but i picked this one, since i had all the ingredients and could start right away.

3 cups flour
3 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp cornstarch
food coloring

1. mix everything except food coloring in a large pot and stir over very low heat
2. as mixture starts to clump, remove from heat
3. start kneading dough until it becomes smooth like normal play-doh
4. divide dough into balls for coloring.
5. add coloring to individual dough balls and knead well until color fully absorbs
6. pop colored balls inside microwave for about 30 seconds

the result was, my very own homemade play-doh in 4 colors! sayang takde pewarna kuning, kalau tak dah boleh buat an addition of yellow and orange balls too! the texture of the dough is smooth and soft but it doesn't stick to the hands. by then it was night time, so kept it in the fridge before playing with it the next day.

so, how did baby m like it? she loved it!

when she first saw the colorful balls, her eyes were gleaming! and yes, as i suspected, when i gave one ball to her, terus dia masukkan dalam mulut dia! geram tengok the color i suppose. thank god homemade play-doh is safe kan.. but edible? i don't think so, because it's extremely salty!

so, what did we make? i managed to gentel the dough and made some snails, snakes, a butterfly and a small karipap... hahha, yes.. i'm so creative! hahah.. but tak sempat ambik gambar because as soon as i came back after cleaning my hands and reaching for the camera, baby m destroyed everything. she mixed up the colored doughs but i managed to save some from total damage. so dapatlah repeat main sekali lagi the next day.

but even if everything was ruined kan, it's really okay, because making it is so easy! and fun too! boleh buat a new batch anytime!

PS: main play-doh ni buat rase mcm kanak2 balik! =D

Twilight Eclipse

2010-07-17T23:27:00.007+08:00

finally, dah tengok the third twilight movie - eclipse!

well.. the movie was good. more actions, the lines were better, ade yang klakar like jacob's "u know i'm hotter than you" part and the part when edward asked about jacob's missing shirt. so funny. loved the tent scene - i find it so manly that 2 men can actually have a conversation over the same woman they love. and jasper was pretty sexy, with his country accent.. hot! bella's character has evolved, from sweet innocent bella to bella who knows what she wants. edward, amazing as usual (yeah, boleh muntah sekarang). i find him so cute every time he finds himself "powerless" over what was happening between jacob and his "reason for existence".

i don't know what it is, but the movie wasn't really up to my expectations. watched it 3 times, first two times was back to back and ulang the next day... and that was all. no head over heals in love, no goo goo, no ga ga, no drooling, no nothing. even sekarang ni pun tak brape ade nafsu nak tengok citer tu balik.

it was good, but i was just hoping for more. regardless of people saying this is the best out of all three, i still find the first twilight movie the best, ever!

PS: countdown begins for breaking dawn (part 1) in 2011! tak sabar!!

25 Today

2010-06-27T15:33:00.004+08:00

it's my birthday today.

one year older, means i am one year wiser and one year more smoking hot.. hehehee

no specific birthday wishes today, just hoping for a continuous blissful and meaningful year this year. i've had 3 slices of cake already, i feel fat! .... but, i feel so blessed today, i can't wait to see how life this year, in this new age (which is 25, ehemm) will turn out to be.

happy birthday to me!

Bonding with Pulai

2010-06-25T13:43:00.005+08:00

we were so bored yesterday, so we thought of doing something to treat ourselves after a "tiring" loaded week of work.

fun, involves lots of sweat and cheap - what else could be better than a hike up gunung pulai?! (on second thought, what would actually be better is a day out to the cinema, drooling over robert pattinson in twilight eclipse.. hehehee)

30 minutes away, we arrived at 2pm. at least by the time we arrived there, our lunch dah pun turun perut so, body-condition-wise, we were kind of optimally fit. hike up the winding steep 5 km stretch took about 1.5 hours and walking down took 1 hour.

overall, it was a great break from usual exercise routine. sampai kat puncak wasn't so exciting though, since i was expecting an amazing open area with nice landscaping and a super duper view. heh, what was up there was this bangunan, telekom punye i think, guessing from the telecommunication towers and locked gate. the hike was tiring - physically and emotionally. but doing it with loh kong was really fun. we gossiped all the way - not exaggerating here. memang all the way menceceh like 2 orang makcik-makcik yang dah lama tak jumpe.

so, anyone yg tersedak2 atau terbatuk2 semalam, i guess we were talking about you! hehehe.. sorry ya.

+ loh kong, the conqueror +

+ giving a pose in the middle of the hike, wondering bile lah nak sampai ni +

+ at last sampai jugak. really impressed after being greeted by a closed gate and a signboard that warned "no trespassing after this point. violators will be prosecuted" +

+ disappointed, terus munch away 2 packs of mammee perisa bbq.. mammee, totally my kawanku +

4Fs Women Fear Most

2010-06-22T22:59:00.003+08:00

i don't have astro. so, thank god for singapore tv. i watched the doctors on channel 5 yesterday.

the episode was quite interesting. well, it caught my attention, anyway. it was about the 4Fs (big Fs) women fear most:-

Fifty (or being old)
Forgetfulness
Fatigue
FAT

all 4 tie back to each other. when you don't exercise and eat unbalanced meals, you get fat, tired and forgetful; you'll hate turning into 50. the tips and discussion were generally fair.

but there were 2 things, however that was a bit different from the usual (i think), so i'm going to share it here:-

1. how much water should you take daily?

forget about the 8 glasses a day theory. what you need to do is to listen to your body. if you're thirsty, then it's a signal that you need water, regardless of whether you've had all 8 glasses that day. if you're not feeling thirsty, and your urine is clear and not too yellow, then it's okay if you've had less than 8 glasses that day.

2. how often should you exercise?

forget about the 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week routine. again, listen to your body. if you're feeling tired and sluggish at times in the day when you're not supposed to (eg: at 10 am when you're supposed to be active), that means your body wants you to work out. and remember that 30 minutes of exercising equals to 2 hours of energy in that day.

bottom line: listen to your body.

well, i just thought it was interesting to share. so, girls.. let's eat healthy, exercise more and burn all that sluggish fat away, so we'll all look smashing when we meet up in our 50s ya!

Weird World Cup Fever

2010-06-21T11:02:00.009+08:00

korang! help me...!

semalam kan, i watched the brazil vs ivory coast game from start to finish. i saw that fabiano guy scoring goal for brazil. amazing one from him.. and brazil winning was just great!

pagi ni, i watched the news on tv, saying that the result was 3 - 1... erkkk 3 - 1? weird, because the result was 1 -0 semalam. kan??

i said to myself, teruk betul tv3. boleh pulak bagi result bola yg salah. hrmmph, tak puas hati, i went to check official result on fifa.com tadi and ...

the result memang 3 - 1!!

what??

am i going crazy?? i swear to you i was wide awake last nite!

i'm so confused rite now. was i dreaming? was i delusional? ape ni??

PS: we downloaded a world cup schedule in excel. after the game last nite, i updated the score.. i checked balik this morning, i did write in 1 - 0... gosh, i am going crazy!

Funny Rejections

2010-06-20T01:42:00.009+08:00

i don't have a lot of friends on fb. the friends i have are people i know. i don't add strangers, lagi2 guys who when i look them up, has only female friends on his page. geli.

talking abt adding friends on fb, this week has been quiet interesting. i was rejected by 2 people this week.. yep, i have 2 people who doesn't want to be friends with me! sob sob..

sedih..? as if! tak sedih langsung, ok. i actually find it really amusing. let me tell you the story so you can tell me what you think, ok.

FIRST CASE

we're kind of related. we were fb friends at first. i found out he deleted me when i wanted to tag him in a photo. i think he deleted me because he was mad - i knew about the affair he was having with some woman. when i first knew abt the affair, i browsed that woman's name on fb, and found her. her profile was partially restricted, so i could only read what was written on her wall and see some bits of her profile, but no photos! so, out of curiosity, i added that woman. i mean, come on. if you're really that brave to have an affair with a married man, then you should be brave enough to show your real face to me. yeah, you can agak - she didn't accept my humble request to be friends with her. i visited her page just now and she has restricted her full profile now!

what's so funny? the fact that dia dah kantoi, but he reacts by launching an fb war with me. heh! and another thing, apart from him deleting me, he deleted loh kong too! klakar gila because loh kong knew nothing! so NOT COOL.

SECOND CASE

this happened yesterday. she and loh kong knew each other since last year, when loh kong helped her solve a problem she was having. well, they chatted a lot, mostly on projects and her life as a single mother. i didn't mind really because based on loh kong's story abt her all this while, she seemed nice. well, i thought the friendship was innocent, until a few nites ago. loh kong was chatting with her. that nite, they were discussing on details abt her ex-husband.

well, i don't know what exactly was inside the conversation, but suddenly loh kong asked me to sit beside him as he chatted with her. first, i was confused but went along. seriously, i didn't understand what was going on. then loh kong explained, while showing his conversation a while ago. rupenya, she was challenging him, saying that loh kong wouldn't dare chat with her while i was watching. i was like, "mende lah minah ni.." but played along. as i was sitting there, she kept on teasing loh kong, writing lines and lines of flirty words like calling my husband "sayang" and stuff - i guess, part of her testing my husband. then, loh kong opened the webcam so she could see that i was there.

hmmmm.. well, ingat she would say something like "Hi! I saje2 tadi.. jangan marah tau. Saje gurau2. Kitorang tak de ape2 tau". an apology would be better. but NOOO.. she added and said "haiyooo.. abislah, bini u marah". what the..? well, i didn't flip out, because loh kong was so calm about it. so, after a while, i got tired and excused myself. i was actually online when loh kong called, so he asked me to add her on fb - to test her pulak. so, i did - partly to show how supportive i was in their game of "test-mengestest". (game yg tah pape ntah kan?)

a few days went by, nothing happened. so, i told loh kong abt it and when he asked her, her answer was and i quote "boleh tak kalau tanak add?".

ewah ewah.... berani taik kucing punye minah tak gune.

what's so funny? the fact that she can go on and on telling people how she is a "victim" of her past marriage life (her ex-husband is really a bad person, she says) but in the same time pull a slutty and an oh so cheap act that could actually hurt other people's marriage! so NOT COOL.

so, there you have it - stories on my recent fb friends rejection.

comments, anyone?

Baby I'm Amazed By You

2010-06-11T02:55:00.006+08:00

i just read hikmah's entry on the 10 qualities of being a good wife. such wonderful advice.. i like the part "By marrying you, he has become a master over you, so be like a servant to him, and he will become like a servant to you." so beautiful. so true. but so difficult to do.

being alone at home left me smitten by this song - amazed by tim mcgraw. cair with the lyrics "I don't know how you do what you do, I'm so in love with you". i prefer this version compared to the original by lonestar.. less country ish, i think.

well, enjoy!

Change of Heart

2010-06-10T00:06:00.008+08:00

loh kong is away. kali ini he's on an adventure panjat gunung ledang with his single buddies. he's just been gone this morning, but i feel macam dah lamanya dia takde.. (huhu... okay ama, boleh muntah sekarang!) plus, he turned off his cell already so i have not talked to a single soul (selain baby m) sejak pagi tadi tau :(

oh yeah, did i tell you that after all the fuss & long wait, my application to utm has finally been approved. i got the offer letter about a month ago and i've replied .......... by rejecting the offer! yep, keluar masuk utm entah brape kali for nothing! hahahah... kecoh je lebih kan aritu..

well, what happened is quite a long story. but to cut things short, i just had a change of heart. new things have come my way and i've been working on something for the past few weeks. i'm feeling so pumped up right now, so busy to make this work! i'll let you in the details if everything turns out well. for now, it looks good though, and i'm so thrilled to see what's going to happen next!

PS: entry yg takde motif. it's just me membebel2. selalunya loh kong yg kene dengar semua ni... since he's not here, kira korang lah yg tolong ganti tempat dia ye... :D

Music to My Ears

2010-06-04T13:10:00.003+08:00

on the day she was born, i had to wait about 10 minutes to hear baby m's crying voice for the first time. there was some complications which led to a c-section to get her out. i remember noticing how the room was really quiet after the operation was over (i could tell the baby was out even though numbed waist down). there was no sound of a baby crying. i remember thinking "oh my god, my baby is dead". i was shaking so much because of the drugs and everything, so i couldn't open my mouth to ask. well, after a wait that seemed to take forever, i finally got to hear her first cry! it was loud but yes, it was music to my ears.

following the months, watching her grow, there were other noises and sounds that came from her that also became music to my ears - i love listening to her giggles, her laughs, her bahasa pelat trying to repeat what i say and her blobby babbling self-discovered alien language. oh yeah, don't forget the whole collection of screaming, crying, whining and shrieking sounds which i "love" too.

well yesterday, we were home alone. loh kong was away and i had no idea what to cook for dinner. so i just dashed into the kitchen and made something which i call my all-vege meehoon goreng bodoh (full of carrots & bak choy, no chili, tak pedas langsung). i also fried some keropok ikan to go with it. baby m digged into her plate the moment it was filled. she took big mouthfuls, sometimes using the keropok to fork the noodles into her mouth. i don't know why, but during the whole time, she looked so happy, she was actually beaming from ear to ear.

then suddenly, she paused and out of nowhere, she looked up at me with this really meaningful look and said

"umiii, dapp!" (umi, sedap) - twice!

yep.. she was praising my "delicious" 10 minute cooking... yeah, it was definitely music to my ears!

PS: i swear there was a moment there, i felt like i was the best cook in the whole wide world.. heheheh :D

+ baby m munching on nasik and sayur. thank god dia suka makan veges ! +

It's June

2010-06-02T13:28:00.007+08:00

it's june! ahh, so cepat masa berlalu. ok, there are 3 things i'm looking forward to this month:-

1. the arrival of my pre order handbag
2. twilight eclipse (yeee haaa!)
3. my birthdayy!

well, since it's june and i have nothing much to share for now, i thought i'd write something about baby m - some of the words in her current vocabulary (app. 19 months now). hopefully, one day, when she's like really grown up & starting to show off her rebellious teen attitude, i can quietly read this entry and remind myself of her wonderful baby moments.

umi / ami - that's me
abiiy / ba - loh kong
kicin - kencing
yak / yok - berak
dog - real dog and loh kong's black crocs
ntak - mintak
bik / bek - ambik
helo helo - telefon / hp / remote control
uwar - seluar
aye - air
pedash - pedas / sakit
aki - kaki
angan - tangan
bashh - bas
lowi - lori
olatt - solat
buk - book
pash - kipas
bibi - TV

hokey, that's what i can think of for now. maybe boleh add more from time to time. and finally, her first word:-

Allah

she was 5 months mase tu, down with her first ever heavy fever and she was chanting Allah, Allah, Allah so many times. don't ask me mane she picked up the word. i mean, u know lah how "alim" me and loh kong both are, hehhehe....

okay, some pics snapped during our walk in the woods last week. it's kind of like a dry run for loh kong's upcoming mountain climbing adventure.

+ afternoon walk in taman rimba alam, mutiara rini +

+ my angels, love you both so much +

+ me & baby m posing in the woods +

When Kissing You Won't Feel Like Kissing a Cigarette Anymore

2010-05-03T14:22:00.003+08:00

we were having coffee 2 nights ago. out of the blue, loh kong told me he wanted to quit smoking! oh my god, u don't know how happy i was to hear that! i was on cloud 9! no more stinky smell of asap rokok in the house, no more shirts yg berlubang2, no more cleaning up habuk2 rokok on the table and floor.. heaven! those of you who has husbands (or wives :D) who smoke like a chimney, u would know how big this means, kan! hhhehee..

well, this is the second time he mentioned about quitting. the first was a few years back, we weren't married yet and he said if we got engaged, he'll quit smoking as a present to me. well, we didn't get engaged (terus nikah)... so he didn't quit smoking lah. he is determined this time, not having a single puff yesterday. but him quitting has backfired me, i have to cook more as he tends to get hungry quickly. like yesterday, after eating lunch at 1 o'clock, he was hungry already at 5! i asked whether he would settle for some tea and minum petang, but nooo, he wanted rice.. and then he had another round of dinner later that night at 9.30....!

well, i'm not complaining. i mean, i'm not the one who's just had "a divorce after a 17 year old relationship", so i need to be supportive and help him go through this hard time. he's been telling me abt his urge of having a puff every single hour..! (he's like, tolonglah... sikit jer.. and i'm like NO!! and talks about crappy funny things to distract him. heheheh)

the thing i hate most about having a spouse that smokes is, well, not the smell and not the cleaning up the ashes.. but i hate the psychological mandrem it plays on ppl - the addiction, that's what i hate most. u see, smokers, no matter how bad their financial status are, will always have money to spend on cigarettes. it's like, pernah dgr tak this phrase "tak makan sehari tak ape, tapi jangan tak dpt rokok"... teruk kan. but that's the ugly truth.

ok, loh kong won't like it if he knows i wrote about this here. i think he's afraid if all this fails and he smokes back again. well, i'm so happy about it, i don't care. just having him determined to quit is already good enough for me. if he fails, then we'll try again, and again, and again, until he's really over it..

Shutter Island

2010-04-29T15:24:00.002+08:00

watched this movie a few days ago. starring leo di caprio. suspense thriller movie with a twist (double twist, in fact!).

5 stars. highly recommended!

Raising A Daughter

2010-04-27T15:17:00.006+08:00

baby m has been showing off her version of bad temper lately.

when she's frustrated, let's say like when she wants something and can't reach it or i don't allow her to have it, she usually just cry or whine. lately, when she's mad she'll charge towards me like a ~~cute kitty~~ fierce bull and bite the hemlines of my shirt! dia gigit tak lepas pulak tu, siap clinch her teeth so that the effects of her bite will be at the most maximum. sometimes she hits me on the face. and other times, dia rebahkan diri dia on the floor, making soft landings every time not to bang her head. dia melingkar2 kat atas lantai sampai lah a few minutes. record was 10 minutes, mengamuk lepas dia tengok kawan loh kong masuk kereta nak balik after staying over for 3 days.

i find these acts amusing, especially when she puts on her garang face when she does all that. plus it's cute bila dengar dia membebel merapu2 - all in bahasa germen dia! hehehe... i don't know whether i should worry or not. i mean, her tantrums have never been extreme. setakat ni, it's still under control. i do scold her but sometimes i stop halfway because she really knows how to put on that smirky muka kesian dia tu! bright kids these days! dammn..

i watched nanny 911 yesterday. yesterday's episode was about a housewife who had three sets of twins aged between 9 and 3 (kalau tak silap). all the kids were always fighting and hitting each other. they didn't listen to the parents and sometimes hit them too. imagine that! 6 kids in a big house everyday PLUS a husband who works from home! his office is at the house's basement, so he'll shout after his wife every time he's disturbed when the kids make noises upstairs. and when it's luch time, he'll go upstairs, expecting his wife to fix him something. and after working hour is over, he "comes home" hungry for dinner.

whewwhh..! penat nyer the wife!

well, when the super nanny came to rescue, the number one thing she saw that was the problem, was the lack of COMMUNICATION. what she did was she started to talk to the kids whenever they started to cry or whine or fight over something. eventually the kids became less fierce and more relaxed. she taught them to use words not their hands when they wanted something. it sounds simple, but executing it was more complex. and it was more difficult for the wife and husband. they had communication issues, not just between them and the kids, but between each other. the husband was very judgmental, always giving out unhelpful comments about his wife's ways of raising the kids and the wife was defensive and in denial, always thinking that she had things in control and that she didn't need any help. well, of course super nanny managed to fix all that. all that was needed was continuous support and communication from everybody!

well, back to baby m.. i do talk a lot to her, but i don't know whether that is enough. hmmm... i don't think i should worry so much for now, betul ke? sometimes, i think i should just let myself enjoy these moments and watch how her temper develop as she grow older. other times, i feel like i have to start wearing that discipline-mummy hat right away, afraid it could be all too late. i always ask loh kong whether i'm doing a good job raising baby m and whether she's growing up okay. she's just 18 months but i always need that constant validation to know that i'm doing okay with her. (i hope i am!)

PS: i could try implementing the disciplining techniques from my own ibu (suddenly menggigil bila ingat dia punye jegilan mata tu! takot!!) but it's hard, because she's a great mum!! macam mane lah dia boleh buat semuanya dulu. i would be grateful if i could be half the woman my mum was to me. :(

18 Months Today

2010-04-23T02:09:00.004+08:00

baby m is 18 months today!

whewwhh.. can't help feeling a little "old" as she reached 18 months today. can't imagine how it'll be like when she reaches 18 years. that time, i'll be like what.. 100 years old?

we celebrated her 18 months with a flu. both of us are like competing on pengaliran air hidung siapa yang paling deras. now and then, i catch her licking the yucky thing streaming down her runny nose. it'll follow with me screaming, asking her to go fetch her hanky and wipe it off before she gets the chance to "taste" more. her temperature was on the rise last night, so we went to the doctors this morning. i'm not too worried this time since she's active (makin aktif rasenye compared to bila tak demam!) and her appetite is still the same.

this past 18 months have been wonderful. watching her grow and develop skills (especially when she surprises us with things yang dia belajar dari ntah mane2 ntah), it reminds me of how blessed i am with her, with this life. things haven't always been beautiful, i've been through dark times, times when i thought life was meaningless. suddenly, with her, life seemed to change. everything feels more focused, more grounded, more "in control". yes, she does push my buttons and i do yell at her once in a while, but i couldn't imagine life without her now. i could not ask for a more beautiful daughter.

happy 18 months old, sayang!

Modern Love Songs

2010-04-11T03:57:00.005+08:00

i'm trying to compile 20 of my favorite modern love songs. buat mase ni, this is what i have:

1. Mandy Moore - I Wanna Be With You
2. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
3. Nickelback - Far away
4. This I Promise You - Nsync
5. Everything I Do I Do It For You - Bryan Adams
6. You're Still The One - Shania Twain
7. Because You Loved Me - Celine Dion
8. Leann Rimes - How Do I Live
9. She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5
10. Lifehouse - You and Me

11. Acha - Sampai Menutup Mata
12. I Could Not Ask For More - Edwin McCain
13. I'll Be - Edwin McCain
14. Faizal Tahir - Sampai Syurga
15. Letto - Ruang Rindu
16. Eternal Flame - The Bangles
17.
18.
19.
20.

i'm still searching for the final 4. sesape ade suggestion tak? love songs with great lyrics dan yg boleh pasang mase kenduri kawin. not too rock and not too cheesy. lagu yg sedap2 je telinga dgr.

I Wanna Be With You

2010-04-09T17:32:00.005+08:00

suke sgt lagu ni... brings me back to high school years, mase tgh ade guey-guey crush on MR dot dot dot... :D

anyway, enjoy!

PS: told ya i'm all about love and romance this month..!

More Room for Romance and Love

2010-04-03T01:11:00.006+08:00

april is here.

nothing really important has happened lately... still waiting for utm to tell me whether i'm in or not. i was offered a job to tutor BM. yes, BM! of all the subjects! klakar betul. loh kong says it's easy and the student won't even notice that you're not that into the subject. but still, BM? i don't think i can teach BM.. or any other languages! seriously, u have to master the language to be able to teach it to others, don't u think?

apart from that, well.. my week has been filled with everything-twilight-related. i'm admitting this sheepishly since, for most of you this thing is so not new, so unimportant and so not worth talking or reading about. but i can't help myself. i'm irrevocably in love (using new vocab learned from twilight. see, got something useful!). i find myself gasping (over sungguh) for a dose of twilight everyday, tak kira lah the book (i downloaded all 5 books including midnight sun for free.. hail to internet!) or the movie or video clips on youtube or some piece of news on ~~robert pattinson~~ the casts. i don't know how long this addiction will be. but for what it's worth, i'm loving every second of it!

PS: changed the skin of this blog to suit how i'm feeling lately - romantic, dreamy, full of hope and love..

How My Baby Made Me Cry

2010-03-24T16:01:00.013+08:00

it happened yesterday. i was alone with baby m. loh kong belum balik lagi.

lepas dinner & mandi, i put on my telekung utk solat maghrib. mcm biasa, bentangkan another sejadah for baby m. and macam biasa, tanpa disuruh, she will quickly go and get her tudung from her clothing rack and ask me to put it on for her. mcm biasa jugak, mase tgh solat, she will stand there, try to imitate some of the movements i make, and sometimes poke me on the back mase tgh sujud. and biasenya lagi, bila habis je solat, she will quickly sit on my lap and wait until habis part baca doa.

but this time, instead of sitting on my lap, she wanted me to fetch something for her. seriously she was like bersungguh2 dan merengek2 pointing towards almari kat ujung bilik tu, siap cakap "bik, bik.." (meaning: ambik). at first i told her to wait for me to finish up. but seeing she was sooo determined plus sgt malas nk bangun, i said, "haa.. yelah, gi ambik sendiri". and she did. and she reached out her hands to grab something that was on the cabinet's topmost level. rupenya dia nak ambik Al-Quran!

smiling gleefully, she handed me the quran and sat on my lap, waiting for me to read it. cepat2 i read a few lines, crying softly in between. yelah sayang, thank you sbb tegur umi yg mmg jarang bace quran ni. i cried also because it was that kind of moment when you feel so blessed and so grateful (you know what i mean, kan) that you could enjoy that moment of being a mother. it was also so touching for me since i never thought she could relate between solat + bace quran at her age (given that sy sangat lah jarang bace quran... teruk kan).

well, the incident taught me of how sponge-like babies can be; absorbing everything they see and hear. (lepas ni kene lebih berhati2 bila nak buat bende bukan2 dpn my baby. that also means kene mula tapis penggunaan perkataan2 bwh 18sx..~~daymnn~~) and it reminded me of the greatness of Allah the Almighty, how He made my baby (and other babies, of course) membesar dgn sempurna dan dapat memahami bende2 macam tu dlm usia kecil lagi.

and of course, pengajaran utama ialah sy perlu baca quran more frequently.

thank you, my dear baby.

New Moon. New Crush

2010-03-23T13:36:00.012+08:00

it's official... i just got myself addicted to the movie - twilight. i just watched new moon and god, I LOVED IT!

yeah, yeah.. i know, you guys have probably been hooked up on it from the release of the very first movie lagi. and that was what, in 2008? and then u've finished all 4 saga books and have long gone left that feeling of being swept away whenever you think abt bella and edward.

i'm new to this crush, so bear with me okay... pls, pls... boleh ya?

i watched the movie 3 times back to back. third time was a dedication to the forbidden love affair, repeating edward-bella scenes over and over again. and just finished several hours googling abt twilight, the book, the writer (thank you stephenie meyer!), the cast and scenes from the movie. edward, i love you! (rase mcm a teenager balik pulak.. hehehe)

ahh.. i can't wait to get my hands on the book. and of course, the first movie. and eclipse? ooohh.. tak sabarnya. i just sooo want to watch that right now. but of course, i can't. it releases in june. (june.. hmm, what a great bday present that would be for me.)

+ and so the lion fell in love with the lamb +

PS: i feel myself blush over the thought of telling loh kong abt how i feel abt twilight. maluuuu.. *blushing*

Air Terjun Gunung Pulai

2010-03-08T23:37:00.013+08:00

loh kong's best bud, souler came all the way from langkawi to visit us. he stayed over for 4 days, but having him around was so much fun, it didn't feel like 4 days! we brought him to the beach at sedili, since he's been wanting so badly to go there. macam lah kat langkawi takde pantai kan. so, yes, it was the 3rd time to the beach for us in this 3 weeks. pretty cool kan..!

since he was here, we thought it would also be cool to bring him to air terjun gunung pulai, the mountain which we can see from where we live now. it took us abt 30 mins to get there. i was so excited! the last time i went to a waterfall was years ago, mase tak kahwin lagi i think. and of course, for baby m..it was her first time.

the hike up took another 30 minutes. it was so disappointing to know that the lately hot weather has dried up the waters, so we were left with not many spots to choose. after moving from one spot to another, we finally settled at a spot that was considerably large and had a nice waterfall backdrop even though there were many people there. menyesal pulak pergi hari sabtu.

well, anyway, here are some pictures. not much of us in the waters.

PS: loh kong wants to go there again some time when the weather is not as hot as now. AND of course bukan mase hari cuti.. that means, yeayyy!

+ the hike up melalui jalan bertar +

+ souler belum ape2 lagi dah pancit +

+ a family pose before starting the hike +

+ the waterfall would be more beautiful kalau takde budak2 yg ramai tu +

+ baby m testing the waters in a nice "safe" spot +

+ tak lame lepas tu, uncle souler bawak dia main ke tengah air +

+ tired baby m, she fell asleep on the way down +

Kelantan

2010-03-03T23:23:00.011+08:00

last week, the tree of us and a close friend of ours, luqman went to kelantan by train. luqman is the main reason behind this trip. both him and gf, yina have never met before. they have been steady since a few months back, but what they had was virtual; relying on phone calls, sms and online chattings to keep the relationship going. so, this trip was for him to finally meet her and see how she is, in person! we were invited since, well.. loh kong is taraaa... mr matchmaker! hehehe...

the 12 hour journey was comfortable, the sheets were clean, the ride was smooth. baby m slept almost all the way. on Day 1, the three of us spent time with ayah (forcing luqman to spend time alone with yina. hehehe..), visiting ayah's kampung in ketereh, which i haven't been to since 1998... wow.. a lot has changed, the houses and roads i mean. my uncle and unties semua nampak same jer, like they haven't aged at all.

+ posing on the train. the bed was comfy, the sheets were clean,
both mother and daughter tak was -was nak tido +

+ baby m sleeping like an angel +

we spent the night at yina's. boy, what a warm and dedicated hostess she was! she cooked an impressive meal of nasi kerabu and trifle on the first day! siap masakkan baby m kuew teow special lagi (yg tak pedas punyerr). but baby m, being so excited being at a new place, didn't eat much. in fact, dia tak mo makan langsung for the whole two days there!

+ the couple, feasting for the first time, both shy shy cat
(on day 1 aje lah, masuk day 2, dua mcm2 dah lame kenal) +

+ nasi kerabu made by cik yina - lengkap dari nasik biru ke solok lada, ayam bakar, daging bakar, ikan goreng celup tepung, sambal cili, sambal budu, keropok, daun2 ulam, kelapa goreng. overall rating - 5 star! +

on Day 2, we went to pasar besar khadijah in the morning, grabbing some keropok and serunding to bring back home. at noon, we headed to pantai irama in bachok and had a great time. pukul 5 macam tu, we rushed back to yina's to pack up and chase the evening train back home.

+ very happy people on the beach +

+ baby m kene benam dalam pasir +

it was just our luck that we arrived at the station just minutes before the train arrived. and when we hopped on, we were all so relieved that we didn't miss that train, and so happy since it was such a great trip.. little that we knew that the railway ahead was faulty and the repairing works were going to make us stuck on that train for the next 20 hours!

+ the boys giving a pose on the journey home that seemed like forever +

when we reached home, we were totally exhausted and lapar (only fed on berbungkus2 keropok and pulut panggang sejuk since nasik goreng yg jual atas train tu tak sedap langsung).. mmg penat, but we were happy!

and would we do it again? you bet!! :D

Tanjung Sedili

2010-02-23T00:27:00.006+08:00

last weekend, we went to a beach in tanjung sedili. in case you don't know, (like me, i thought it was somewhere in perak), it's in johor, further up of kota tinggi. we were so excited since it was long since the last time both me or loh kong went to the beach and it was baby m's first experience. we went there with lan, his lovely wife azimah and their adorable baby azalea.

when we got there, baby m's eyes were just full of curiousity and amazement when we showed her the ocean. as i was going through the bags in the car, sorting out which things to leave and take, loh kong brought baby m to the waters, konon nak bg test sikit2 air kat tepi2 tu. 5 seconds lepas tu, i put my head back up, waduuhhhh.. both baby and daddy dah berendam dalam air! tak sempat tukar baju pun dua2 tu!!

oh my god, u should see both of them. yang si loh kong mcm tak pernah jumpe air laut, selamba je bwk baby m jauh2 ke tengah2.and baby m pulak same je, excited gile, tak sedar diri tu pendek, langsung tak takut ngan air atau ngan ombak yg lagi tinggi dr dia tu. dan jgn tanye lah, i don't know how many litres of air laut lah yang masuk perut ngan mate dia.. selambe je dia, excited sgt with the waters surrounding her.

since my baby asyik nak g ke tengah laut, our plan of having baby m and baby azalea playing in the waters together didn't happen. baby azalea decided to show off her feminine side that day, being so lady like, tak mo get wet and wanted to play on the sands aje. so her mummy bawak lah dia strolling along the beach. it was so cool when they found a couple of live starfishes! we got to see the starfish punye tentacles (sgt geli, mcm ulat2 kecik bertaburan kat lengan2 dia) working there way to flip themselves over bila diterbalikkan position dia. mmg amazing!

we headed back home at 8 pm (lambat sbb kereta terjerongos dalam pasir). starving dan penat (especially the boys who made amazing race rounds running ulang alik ambik air dari laut simbah kat bahagian tayar yg tersangkut dlm pasir) we had dinner kat a neraby restaurant sblm balik tu.

all in all, this trip was really great! the beach wasn't as beautiful as the ones in langkawi atau pulau perhentian, but it was still nice sbb it was clean, ombak dia agak besar, tak de orang sgt (extra marks there) dan keropok lekor dia sedap. and what made the beach extra special is of course, having loh kong and baby m there with me, both so happy.. :D

+ baby m, posing gleeful first experience pegi laut +

+ daddy and baby having a blast in the water +

+ berendam bertiga +

+ daddies posing with babies - azalea tak basah pun +

+ long shot of mummies with babies - see, pantai tu tak de orang +

+ pinky girls baby azalea and baby m +

+ lan and zimah. a quick note on zimah's handbag - ada macam2 inside, you name it.. diapers, botol susu, wipes, tissue, shoes, socks, barbie handphone, baby books, squeeky duck, more and more toys - belon pun ade! dia keluarkan satu2 dr beg doraemon dia, making both babies so equipped & happy during dinner +

Plain Month

2010-02-20T00:25:00.004+08:00

febuari dah nak abis, tapi satu entry pun tak bertulis bulan ni. bukan ape, tak ada apa yg menarik berlaku dalam bulan ni. everything's been quite normal. nothing new, nothing va va vuumm.. (macam lah life before has been full of that.. hehehe)

progress on application to utm is going as slow as snail. there's some arguments going on between supervisor#1 and supervisor#2 on the research proposal which i submitted. the latter feels the proposed research area is condensed. he would like something more fresh, more "in", more "now".. whatever. supervisor#1 pulak is satisfied, claiming that kalau dah nama research, it doesn't matter what area u choose. it may look simple in the beginning, but u never know what u could stumble upon in the process. again, whatever.

met ex-lecturer, prof khalid before cny holidays. he transferred to utm a few years ago. since dia dah dekat sini, i asked him to become referee. meeting him was delightful. he looked seronok bila ada ex-student yg dtg jumpe dia. and i never expected he would still remember me. dia kate dia ingat student dia yg score A dlm kelas dia. kononnya susah lah nak dpt A utk paper dia. iye iye je prof khalid tu. anyway, he wrote a good reference letter for me, so i'm so grateful for that. tinggal nk follow up dgn sorang je lagi referee.

so now.. excluding research proposal, the rest of the admission requirements are pretty much settled. alhamdulillah..

PS: i love reading friends' entries on their new borns (like aida's baby mia - so adorable) & entries of soon-to-be mommies yg buat preparation macam2 (like zue yg super duper semangat!).. it makes me tak sabar of having another baby.. :D

Sambung Studies

2010-01-29T15:42:00.011+08:00

u know, since i quit my job a few years ago and got married and had a baby, life became so much different. dulu, it was all about work... work work work... i don't think of myself as a workaholic, but i'm the type who tends to pour my heart into things, especially tasks yg ada deadlines. as a result, my career kinda took a toll on me. it took a toll on the better things in life. yes, the pay was great, and i was traveling everywhere, something others didn't get. it was great tapi at a certain point, i kept asking myself, "sampai bile?"... i kept remembering how my boss & other female colleagues had fights with their husbands because they had to stay back at the office sampai malam.. workload was never over. it kept coming and coming. is having a career worth all that? can someone tell me? i know there's a lot of successful working wives out there.. i just wonder, how do they create that balance? or do they just have loving and understanding husbands?

when i was working, KPIs kept me on track, keeping me focused on what to do. management directions, initiatives, task forces, blah blah blah.. well, as a stay at home mum, i just realized i have a score card too. tersedar after i watched desperate housewives baru2 ni. gabby was telling susan that "her children are her score card". suddenly, it all made sense to me. dulu, when i was working, i didn't mind if i left the house in a mess, or if i do laundry sekali seminggu , bilik barhabuk nak mampus ataupun biar baju tak berlipat sampai menggunung. but now, i can't stand all that. i can't leave a room knowing that there's a cup of loh kong's finished nescafe on the table waiting be washed. and i keep having a headache whenever i see lalang2 tinggi kat backyard tu. i so wanna cut down the lalang tapi takut sbb ade anjing liar yg menakutkan kat alley blakang ni. well, sebenarnye tak liar. anjing tu ok je.. i'm just afraid of dogs, even the cute ones.

well, now that baby m is at nursery in the mornings, i feel like doing something. i've been applying for several jobs now but were turned down (and i thought employers out there were dying to have me in their company... hahahaa), which is good... because it left me to option B, which is sambung studies!! oh yeaaa..

i've met up with a few lecturers at utm (they are so nice) and i'm in the midst of preparing a research proposal. pening jugak, since i've left engineering for like what.... 5 years already? tak taulah whether i still have that academic edge. buat proposal 6 helai tu pun dah berpeluh2 and took me a few days..! ni kan pulak nak ngadap for 2 years? tp i feel so bersemangat rite now. there's no pressure since this is what i wanna do, not something that i'm doing because it's something everyone else is expecting me to do... (?)

and loh kong pulak is so supportive of this idea. he was all excited, even nak tolong downloadkan pirated softwares and ebooks for me to read. (thank you, sayang!)

so, ok.. wish me luck ya. and kalaulah my application ni kene reject jugak, tak tau lah apa nak cakap... maybe it's a sign that i'm good at what i do now n just shut up n stay at home senyap2 and remain as a hot housewife..? iya, mungkin juga ya... ohh yeaaah!

Harisa Brunch Date

2010-01-22T21:51:00.006+08:00

loh kong's high school friend and gym buddy, luqman has been telling us about this traditional arabic dish called "harisa" (chicken with wheat) which he makes every now and then. he's been telling us how delicious it is, and how anybody who's tasted it mesti akan fall in love with it & will want more! well, he invited us over today for brunch with another friend, lan to taste his version of harisa. he made it yesterday, keeping it in the freezer before frying some for us when we arrived.

well, the verdict is.... sedap!! rasa rempah dia tak berapa heavy. dia tak pedas, jd mungkin cepat muak kalau makan banyak2...

luqman takes his harisa with honey, something which i didn't like. i preferred eating it just like that. ataupun maybe with a dip yg ade lemon zing (mcm salsa ke).. yes, i think that would be nice. an arabic dish with mexican dip... fusion aye..

googled up abt harisa just now, and mmg ade byk version of how it is made, what ingredients to put in and how it should be served. ade yg serve harisa tu lembik, mcm ala2 dip & makan ngan roti. the harisa we ate today lebih keras, in a pepejal form like burger.

here are some pics of the harisa & the ppl who ate it.

+ tinggal 2 ketul, baru teringat nak ambik gambar +

+ harisa - up close +

+ the chef (in black), luqman and lan goofing around +

+ dah abis makan.. what is lan trying to do? +

Game Saje-Saje

2010-01-17T23:02:00.003+08:00

there was this one time, years ago when loh kong & i was dating, we were supposed to meet up for a movie date in klcc. the show was to start at 5.05pm, so after work, sharp 5 pm, i rushed off and waited for him "kat pintu dpn klcc" - the meeting point.

tunggu 5 minit tak ade, 10 minit pun takde. masuk je 15 minit, loh kong texted me "mane awk ni?". tengok2 he was already at klcc - but at the klcc shopping complex main entrance and i was waiting at main entrance of klcc tower 1! totally different definitions of where "kat pintu dpn klcc" was. i took it as main entrance of tower 1 because the shopping complex has a name - suria klcc. and loh kong punye view was that, since nak tgk movie, pintu dpn klcc mestilah yang shopping complex punye pintu depan. mmg sebelah2 je both places tapi the outcome of this was us fighting over the whole thing and wasting more minutes & not go for the movie. bengang betul mase tu. because it was just a case of misunderstanding, having a different perspective and definition over a thing. tu je..

anyway, sebenarnye nak share this game which i learned mase sekolah dulu. imagine that you're driving along the road and i'm sitting beside you, giving you directions & telling you where to go.
if i tell u "masuk simpang yang depan tu" - will you take Simpang A atau B?

here's another one. you're reading a book and suddenly i sat beside you to ask something that's inside the book.if i ask you "selak depan lagi lah" - will you selak the pages ke arah A atau B?

my answer was B and A. when i tried it on loh kong, his answer was A and B. mmg lain from what i was thinking. (ade ke loh kong cakap pemikiran saye cacat sbb tak same mcm dia. jahat.)

anyway, now, when we talk, we try to be more specific and make clarifications on details. because we know that "my pintu depan klcc" and "his pintu depan klcc" is totally different.

Kawin Lagi

2010-01-15T23:45:00.005+08:00

a friend of ours who has a wife, is planning to get married to another woman aka kahwin lain - behind his wife's back! the friend warned us not to tell the wife. he said he plans to keep it a secret and the wife doesn't need to know. like duhh! mesti akan tau jugak akhirnya, kan.. if not from us, from someone else ataupun kantoi from him himself! and when that time comes, perang dunia ketiga la alamatnye.

now, i don't know what to do. i develop this lump in my throat whenever i come across the wife's name on fb - whenever she posts something on her wall, whenever she's being tagged in a photo, whenever i scroll my friends' list and see her name - terus rase sgt guilty!! i'd hear myself saying, "ish.. kalau lah dia tau.." every single time..

should i:-

A. do nothing about it (and feel guilty, guilTY, GUILTY)
B. give hints to her (seems like a good idea, but HOW?)
C. just tell her (and be shot dead by the husband!)

loh kong's stand in this issue is similar to mine - nak kawin lain, suke ati lah, tapi be a man, and tell your wife. anyway, loh kong said he's going to "make" the husband tell his wife before the wedding takes place, during his next visit to KL. tapi tak tau la bile my loh kong akan naik KL and have the chance to do so....

ok2, i think i shud just wait and see what loh kong's gonna do.. ke tak?? i mean, i can't just ignore it. women don't do this to other women, kan?

aiyoo.... feningss..

Tudung utk Baby M

2010-01-06T14:15:00.009+08:00

my baby m is so fond of wearing tudung. she'll attempt to put on any cloth/small clothing/kopiah/topi on her head. paling tak tahan tu bile dia pakai undies kitorg yg dia jumpe dlm bakul baju kotor. kadang2, siap lilit undies tu around her neck and then parade around the house.

+ pakai tudung macam penguin +

when we went to jusco baru2 ni, we bumped into a warung that sold tudung indon kecik2 saiz xxs that was perfect for our baby m. kitorg terus sambar the one in purple and cream. when we went home and tried it on her, boy.. did she love it!

now, every time kitorg nak solat, she will quickly go to her cupboard to fetch that tudung. tak payah bagitau, dia yang pegi ambik tudung tu sendiri. sejuk perut saye mengandung... hehheeeh.

+ joining in sesi solat maghrib +

Bye-bye 2009

2010-01-05T15:15:00.020+08:00

it's 2010 already. wow.. time flies really fast, eh.. after reading kawan2 punye entries on past-year & new-year events, i felt inspired to write one my own.

well, apart from moving to johor in nov & sending baby m to nursery, nothing really big happened last year. i have to say, life in 2009 was simple & nice, mostly spending time on loh kong & baby m and taking care of things around the house. it's been 2 years married to loh kong. and i have to say, well.. being married to someone that is unpredictable is "interesting" hahaha... and of course, never boring. i'm so happy and grateful to have him in my life.

on baby m, well, she's growing up really fast now. she understands simple directions like "duduk", "ambik tu", "nak susu tak", "jom mam"(mam as in makan, bukan mampus tau), etc. she imitates us a lot, and is picking up on some vocabs like "duk" = duduk, "acih" = terima kasih, "nak"=nak and "bik" = ambik. the rest tu are just bahasa baby yang tak dapat dikenalpasti. she's getting thinner especially after suspected kene demam denggi aritu. she really loves books, especially ada satu buku wild baby animals which i have to read for her every nite. i read it so often, dah hafal the lines! kadang2 tu, kalau dah ngantuk dan tak leh bukak mate pun, i can still "read" it for her. hehehe...

on financial status, 2009 was a roller coaster ride. there were bumps along the road and there were times when we did hit rock bottom. but we survived, alhamdulillah. and like people say, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. i feel free now, free from the grasp that money place on a lot of people (takde duit, tak leh hidup?). not that money isn't important (it's extremely important!!), but i don't worry too much at times when we fall short (still can put on a big fat smile), because i know that we will bounce back. and we did, every time.

on relationships with friends, well.. hmmm let's see. i missed out on a lot of social gatherings and wedding invitations (let's see.. reunion kat titiwangsa, icah-medi's, rina's, mirah's, kasya's, su's sis, haven't met my klcc galpals for ages, etc), mostly due to financial or health setbacks. being financially dependent on your spouse makes you think a gazillion of times when it comes to fulfilling social invitations, especially those yang jauh2 or those which require you to pay hundreds per head. so, we just go to those that we can, and yang mane tak pegi tu, we just hope that they still love us (and not kill us..)

well, i think that's pretty much it. looking forward to a more exciting year this year!

i finish this entry off with some random pictures from 2009.

+ from left to right: baby m one day old, 3 months, 6 months & 12 months old +

+ the princess, behaving well +

+ the princess, caught red-handed making that mess back there! +

+ my angels, i love you+

+ doing things she does best +

3rd Visit to the Gym

2009-12-25T07:01:00.007+08:00

yesterday, loh kong took me to the gym. he has been going everyday this week since he's been training with his gym buddy, luqman. sy pulak, mengelat. hari isnin pergi, pastu ponteng 3 hari n baru semlm pegi balik. dgn konfidennya bgtau loh kong, i only want to go 2/3 times a week. konon sbb breastfeeding, nnt susu tak cukup. alasan... padahal malas.

anyway, going to the gym this time was better. naik treadmill, did the fat burn programme for 20 mins and tak sepancit hari tu! hip hip horeyy.. managed to burn 87 calories. (only!!)

right after gym, we treated ourself to lunch. we had kacang pool haji kat bomba larkin. requested telur keras instead of goyang. sedap especially roti gemuk dia tu! it was crispy on the outside, lembut in the inside. hated the onions and green chillies, though. i find it sbg perosak rase, just like having pineapplse on pizzas. had to fish them out completely before plunging in. loh kong had 2 servings n i kinda curik2 sikit from that 2nd bowl. habis 87 calories yg burned tadi datang balik!

still, i'm so looking forward to nexxt week's visit. maybe nak start on new regime. (ke more looking forward to makan kacang pool tu lagi??)

on the treadmill

yummy yummy kacang pool haji

Happy Birthday Loh Kong

2009-12-23T15:39:00.007+08:00

today is loh kong's bday..! yeayyy...! bday boy biase je, wife dia yg terlebih excited. heehhe..

for lunch tadi, i made him some spaghetti, choc on choc cake and also gave him a card. kad tu buat sendiri. ntah kenape, this time teringin nak buat kan loh kong kad. teringat zaman sekolah dulu, mase everybody was so crazy making cards. yg betul2 talented tu (especially neng ngan fini) hasil kerja diorg mmg sgt cantik. well, kad ni curik design dia dr internet. kalau perasan, ade gambar driller "bosch" kat dalam kad tu. plan nak bg dia driller utk bday dia, tp tak mampu lagi, mahal meh bende tu.. jadi i just drew the thing sbg ganti. the drawing made loh kong tergelak besar... kekekee

page depan featuring baby m and me

the card inside

choc on choc cake tu pulak was my first attempt buat cake gune microwave. best sbb it took like 10 mins prep and 6 mins cooking time. dia panggil choc on choc sbb ade chocolate topping on top of the chocolate cake (like duhhh...). anyway, got the recipe from the net and the topping tu is chocolate ganache. boleh tahan la the taste. it's moist & heavy, jadi i don't know whether it is considered bantat or not. loh kong gave it 2 thumbs up! so, not bad lah for first attempt eh..!

baru siap masak

cake yg dah siap tp candle recycle 2 tahun lepas, jadi tak cukup 2 batang

bday boy smiling memotong cake

ok, to my dearest husband, happy 27th birthday! i love you and love you so much. will try to get you the driller next year. kalau nak lagi cepat, increase kan lah my monthly allowance yer..! hehehhee.. cheeers..!

A Jumble of Many Things

2009-12-19T22:21:00.015+08:00

aiyyaa... it's been long since my last post. i had one post written half way last month, but didn't finish it up so tak payah la nak post that piece kan. cerita dah basi.

anyway, many things have happened this past month, especially after the move. hrmmm.... tak tau nak start cerita kat mane... takpe, i'll try 2 sum everything up in this entry ok.

moving to johor

more than a month ago, we moved to jb, or skudai to be exact. the house is nice. it's a double storey terrace house with 5 beds and 3 baths. tapi satu bilik dah ditukar jadi store dan satu lagi jadi office loh kong jadi tinggal 3 bedrooms ajelah. the house dah lame so it really could use new paint. i imagine having a nice natural brownish colour for the living room and green for the master bedroom.. heheh

anyway, one of the greatest thing abt this place is that everything is so close by! jusco and giant is about a 3 minutes drive away. banks, shops, restaurants semua dekat2. there's even this kedai roti canai melayu yg sgt sedap yg dekat ngan umah ni. i'm not really a fan of roti canai tapi if i go to this place, mesti order 2 keping skali. it's just so freaking tasty.

on day 2, loh kong painted the front door grille and gate. after many times catching baby m licking onto the front door grille yg dulu berkarat tu, we decided to have it painted white. we haven't really started with the garden yet and haven't bought the curtains. so there's still tonnes of things to do!

sending baby m to nursery

the second week after we moved, we decided to send baby m to a nursery. i love taking care of her, and i know she loves staying home, but we know sending her to a nursery would be best for everybody. she needed to socialize (with people her size), we needed time for ourselves. since she's already walking now, the timing felt right.

the hunting for the right place was smooth. our house owner recommended one nursery nearby. he knew the owner and used to send his own kids not long ago. it's a small nursery, not the kind yang lavish sangat. akak2 pengasuh tu semua dah berumur, all very motherly and warm and the place was tidy and squeaky clean. it didn't take long for us to know that that was the right place. alhamdulillah tak payah nak carik tempat2 lain.

we sent baby m the following monday and of course lah she cried when we left her. and yes, it felt so berat to leave her with someone else, especially since i have never parted with her for more than one hour before. at home, it was such a strange feeling to not have her around. mula2 ade jugak rase nak nangis, tapi memandangkan there was a lot of work to do around the house, 5pm came very quickly that day. cepat2 ambik dia and like i expected, mate bengkak. mama imah (one of the nanny) told us she cried the whole day but napped for a while. tapi time makan tetap makan. habis makan, sambung nangis balik.

it's her second month at that nursery but she still hasn't quite adapted to the place yet. she still cries a lot and nak dukung je dgn mama imah dia. kesian sgt akak tu. tapi akak tu rileks aje and told me to be strong and banyakkan berdoa. aiyaa my princess.. but i don't blame her much sbb, since she has been getting on-off fever, we have not been sending her regularly to the nursery. she hasn't had one week pun yg full attendance. mungkin tu sbb dia masih tak biase lagi dgn the place kan.

dengue and tb

i have to say, this month is a month of sickness. after a series of on-off fever, coughs and flu, baby m was suspected to have dengue and me,TB. we had to get checked up kat hosp sultanah aminah everyday for abt 2 weeks, ambik darah for baby m and check kahak for me. baby m punye platlet count dropped to 182 (doctor said normal is 200) and developed red spots around her body. she kept on crying & merengek2 the whole time she was sick. makan pun tak nak. minum susu pun tak mau. i felt so hopeless. at first, when we didn't know it was dengue, rase sgt penat dan menyampah layan dia merengek2 nangis2 tu. because we were both sick too and was dying to have some rest. but when i knew it was dengue, i felt so guilty because i knew how painful it was. i had dengue 3 years ago and mase kene tu, i had no energy at all. it was like, someone took all my energy and kept it in a bottle somewhere. and not to mention the pain in the joints and muscles. kesian my baby. she was in pain but couldn't tell how she felt. luckily she wasn't warded. after the 4th day check darah, her platlet count mula naik. now, she's doing fine. dah mula makan walaupun tak macam dulu.

well, since we were at the hospital getting baby m checked, on the 4th day, i decided to get myself checked too. manelah tau kalau kene denggi jugak kan. tengok2, my ESR level was high (reading was 64, normal is 20 for women). the doctor took x-ray scan. then she asked that i get my phlegm sample checked for the following 3 days. well, the result isn't out yet so fingers crossed ya! but i feel better now, no more coughing like crazy atau demam2 seram sejuk, etc. but i still have frequent headaches. ahhh...lembik nya badan gue ni...!

signing up at the gym

since we have been so sick this month, last monday, loh kong signed us up to a gym in larkin. after sending baby m to her nursery, we headed to larkin naik motor.. it was a nice trip sbb dah lame sgt tak naik motor berdua macam tu. since baby m ade, rasenye tak penah kot. anyway, sampai je kat gym, loh kong terus start his regime. he is used to all this gym stuff, so it was easy for him. i was kekok tak tau sgt how to handle the machine, tp ade trainer so it wasn't that bad. but my body was soooo unfit, after 20 mins of fast walk on the treadmill (i repeat: walking, bukan running ya), dah rase macam nak tumbang. gelap gelita ade cahaya dot dot. sabar je lah..

tp i feel so bersemangat to go again. i even checked out the swimming centre at the next building. turns out the women's session is on fridays and costs only RM4 per session! yeeehhoo..!

gone forever

that night, on the day we went to the gym, we received a shocking phone call. our close friend's sister (more like adik angkat) passed away. even though she is loh kong's best friend's baby sister (macam jauh kan the relation?), i have to say we were close. we were actually very close to the whole family. loh kong used to stay with them when we were in uni. since we were already dating back then, i used to crash at their house....huhu.. aunty (the mother) tu sgt baik orang nye, sgt open dan super cool, dan selalu masak sedap2 utk kitorg. bukan setakat tu, we used to act as co-hosts whenever there was an open house at their place and was even invited kalau ada family gathering/events. pendek kate, they are like our family jugak.

well, arwah was diagnosed to have SLE in 2007. since then, she lost abt 30kg and had to go for frequent treatment kat hosp UM. but she was such a nice nice girl, tak penah dengar pun dia merungut about the sickness.

after a few minutes of crying & sobbing, we packed our bags and rushed to KL. when we arrived, it was already passed midnite. we took turns going inside the house since baby m was fast asleep in the car. i managed to sit down beside her for abt 20 mins. her death was so sudden and so gruesome, there were accusations flying around that it had been the work of perbutan orang. and being there, seeing what i saw, doing what i had to do, couldn't help but make me jump to the same conclusion as well. damn you manusia jahat!

well, tak lame lepas tu, baby m woke up. ade ke dia poo poo that time.. bad timing betol. so, me and baby m spent the nite at a friend's house nearby. loh kong pulak dropped us there and went back to the house and stayed until subuh. the pengkebumian took place in seremban the next day. we didn't go and instead went to my mum's house and headed back to johor in the afternoon.

just before writing this entry, i flipped through arwah's facebook pages. sebelum ni tak penah pun bothered to see what was written in her info or wall. baru prasan she put a link to her blog there. and i just finished reading all her entries. reading her words especially on how she felt about life and battling the disease left a big lump in my throught. i never knew i would miss her that much. bile dia dah takde ni baru lah terase nak kenal dia lagi. tah pape ntah kan..

well, ok everyone, i better stop writing and head off to emoland. till i write again, take care. to my friends, i love you all.

Bye-Bye SB.. Hello JB

2009-10-25T07:09:00.003+08:00

yes, this is our final week in sg buloh. it's been wonderful living here. the house is spacious and fantastic. but the best part is the things that happened here. the first house for baby m, the house where saya berpantang, the house where friends & family (and foe.. hahaha) came to crash & visit... ahh, the memories are priceless. i know i'll be missing this house dearly.

so, goodbye sungai buloh... hello johor bahru!

October Babies

2009-10-25T06:28:00.003+08:00

last wednesday was baby m's birthday! huishh.. cepat betul mase berlalu. rase mcm baru je last month i brought her home for the first time. she has started to walk last week. at first, it was like one step, stop and then step again and stop. now, her steps are getting larger, smoother and faster. dah boleh chase me around he house dah. dah besar dah baby saya.

dia dah ade 6 batang gigi. sgt geram when she bites during nursing time just to indicate she's full. dulu boleh lah bagi je susu nak paksa dia tido. skarang dah tak boleh dah. dah ade opinion sendiri la katakan. and she loves playing cak2 and imitates me when i do stuff. cthnya, angkat tangan letak kat telinga mase sy tengah on the phone and sprawl on the floor when i do my exercise regime.

well, petang tadi, my sisters organized a small get together to celebrate her birthday & one of her cousin's who shares the same birth day. her cousin who's only 4, was the "party planner". she assigned tasks to everyone like her mommy, daddy & her other cousins. baby m yang tak tau ape2 ni pun tak terkecuali. baby m, she said, was in charge of the presents. hehehee.. funny.

what else. oh ye... this october juga, two of my friends gave birth, kemar and mirah! dua2 dapat baby boy, najmi and aiman (eh, betul ke ni..). i'm so happy for them & hope they'll have a wonderful time being a mother..

PS: korg, we are moving to JB next week. very sudden plan, as usual... hehehe.. mcm tak biase pulak kan. anyway, will share the story later kay.

The Housewives Are Back!!

2009-10-08T16:10:00.003+08:00

Desperate Housewives is back with it's 6th season!! yeay...! dah nak masuk 3rd episode dah pun. why didn't anyone told me abt this? grrrr...

anyway, i'm sooo looking forward to know what the twists are in this season, especially who will mike end up with (fingers crossed, hoping it's susan!). edie dah takde, so i bet you there'll be new ppl who'll be moving into her house. new ppl means new juicy episodes... yeayyyy..

ape2 pun yg pasti, the series will continue to be hot, hillarious, entertaining & unpredictable..!

a million thank you's to my dear loh kong who is downloading the first two episodes as of now. i love you, baby dearest! thank you thank you thank you......!

Facebook Frenzy

2009-10-03T01:16:00.003+08:00

ym makin sunyi.

blog2 makin bersarang tak berupdate.

email berantai dr friends dah makin pupus.

seems like everyone is addicted to fb! hehehe... me included. rite now, tengah crazy main sorority life. sebelum ni, sibuk berkebun dan bercucuk tanam kat farmtown.

Show Me the MONEY

2009-10-03T00:40:00.003+08:00

a few days ago, i was bothered with news of a close friend who's getting married that her mother is insisting (read: mendesak & menekan) that she ask her fiance to give duit hantaran more than what he can afford. the fiance has already given in advance 50% during the engagement day.

skarang, mak pengantin perempuan mahukan pembayaran 50% yang selebihnya. she said to the guy, "anak mak cik ni lulusan universiti, rajin, pandai masak, pandai agama, baik orangnya.. kamu kalau tak mampu, jangan pinang anak orang." saye selalu pikir ayat2 macam ni hanya ada dalam drama sahaja. tak sangka that it happens in real life.

sgt konfius kenapa urusan wang hantaran dibuat melalui mak pengantin kepada pengantin perempuan kepada pengantin lelaki. dan konfius mengapa wang hantaran dibayar sebelum kenduri. mmg macam tu eh?

yg lebih menggeletekkan ketiak saye ialah, abang kepada the bride-to-be dulu pernah dicerca oleh famili bakal isterinya mase diorg nak berkahwin dulu. mase tu, the mother begitu membenci keluarga perempuan tu dgn mengatakan mereka semua gile harta, pandang rendah pada anak dia yg tak ade duit tu. tak putus dia mengutuk keluarga perempuan tu. dan mase tu bukan main lah backing lah dia kat anak dia yg tak berduit tu tp nk pinang anak org lain. sekarang?

kalau tak mampu nak buat kenduri yg grand, buatlah ala kadar.

PS: teringat tuan kadi mase nikah saye buat lawak kat loh kong sblm akad nikah kami .... "kalau awak tak mampu sediakan umah kecik untuk isteri, umah besar pun jadi lahhh..."

Season Full of Food, Fun & Joy!

2009-10-01T03:12:00.013+08:00

Raya this year, as hoped & expected, was great!

some recap on how i spent the celebrations. spent first raya in kajang (kampung saya), went to seremban (kampung ibu) in the afternoon, and headed to muar (kampung mak loh kong) in the evening before arriving in benut (kampung sebenar loh kong) at night. our baju theme was pink. and i thought my baju kurung was soooo gorgeous, thanks to the dedicated talented tailor, my sweet sweet loh kong. gambar raya pertama di kajang & seremban tak dapat di upload sbb wire hp tu rosak lah pulak. will post the pics in the next entry, insya Allah.

baby m was so lucky sbb in addition to the 2 baju kurung that me & loh kong made for her, dia dapat hadiah 2 pasang lagi baju kurung, 5 pasang gaun & sepasang baju seluar pinky princess.. lucky her! mommy dia pulak seronok betul dressing her up, pilih2 baju ape nak pakaikan dia for the day.. hehehe.. (tq to her aunties & uncles!)

menu on first raya pulak mmg hebat and super delicious. tak mo tulis the list kat sini nanti lapar pulak. but one of my favourite is of course, burasak. burasak is a traditional bugis dish that is made from rice yang dibalut dalam daun pisang dan dimasak selama hampir 8 jam. balutan burasak ni unik, sbb it is packed in 8 dan disusun cantik2 membentuk sebuah silinder yg pendek & gemuk. menurut loh kong, in the older days, org bugis would bring burasak sebagai bekalan when they go out on long journeys, mcm sailing out in the sea (macam lanun pulak).. burasak paling sedap dimakan dgn lauk asam pedas ikan parang, serunding kelapa, serunding daging dan rendang. i love it so much, i can actually eat sampai 4 bungkus burasak in one seating! tapi tak leh lawan loh kong lah... dia kan anak bugis sejati. ngeeh ngehh..

+burasak dalam bungkusan, burasak bila bungkusan dah dibuka, burasak sblm ditelan+

well, after all the food, fun & joy, we headed back home on third raya. mmg exhausted, but so very happpy! kepada semua, Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin. ohh ya, jemput datang rumah kami di desa coalfields, sg buloh ya! (opened everyday)

+ our first raya with baby m (skema giller lah this photo) +

+ full house +

note to myself: one thing now is to get rid off those lemak yang terkumpul mase bulan puase (yes, mase bulan puase saye jadi makin gemuk!) dan yang diternak semase raya. tp with all these open houses & kenduri kahwin invitations, mampukah saye?

Selamat Hari Raya

2009-09-17T03:40:00.002+08:00

Saye balik kampung esokkkk... yabbadaabbaaaduuuuuu...!!!

will be in Benut - Kajang - KL - PJ - Seremban - Melaka - Muar. rasa sangat over pulak tahun ni. tapi ni semua plan je lah, tak tahulah sampei ke tidak nanti.

ok, kepada semua Selamat Hari Raya & Maaf Zahir Batin.

Sad Day

2009-09-07T23:03:00.003+08:00

petang tadi, i was shocked when loh kong told me that one of his close friend has just divorced. since then, perasaan terkejut tu bertukar jadi sedih yg amat, dan kesedihan tu melekat sampai lah sekarang. i can't help but think about her and her husband, especially on what went wrong, whose fault was it, ada org ketiga ke? i mean, they are still young, umur same dgn saye & loh kong.

anyway, diorg bercerai awal tahun ni, but she kept it a secret sampai lah she told loh kong hari ni. they got married about 2 years ago lepas balik study dr UK. the couple seemed very happy, selalu buat lawak & gelak2, so we never could have guessed mereka akan bercerai. (well, at least not after 2 years!)

i'm soooo sad for them, i feel like crying.

well, another thing that is bothering me is, she doesn't like me! AND it's not a wild guess, or something i made up. it's something she made clear when we met about 3 years back. mase tu me and loh kong were still dating & apparently she didn't approve of our relationship. she feels my loh kong* is better suited with someone else (yeah yeahh... whatever). dan selepas that "blessed" meeting, she still gave me that "ke tepi... i hate you, woman" signal whenever we met.

she hates me. so, why the hell am i soooo sad for her??

*i repeat... Loh Kong = MINE

The Sewing Season Is Here

2009-09-04T20:39:00.002+08:00

tahun lepas saye tak beli/buat baju baru since i was 9 months pregnant. tahun sebelum tu pun, takde baju raye jugak. i don't remember why. mungkin sbb mase tu takde perasaan sgt nak beraye. TAPI tahun ni, rase agak bersemangat utk beraya. takde lah perasaan bersemangat sampai mencanak-canak di hati, tapi kinda looking forward to it jugaklah. i think it's because baby m ade. though she doesn't understand anything abt the celebration, it simply feels more meaningful when she's around.. especially this raye.

well, since i'm up for raya this year, loh kong + i have already started our sewing projects. i bought a few metres of kain cotton a few months back (yeah.. mak dia yg over excited kan) to make baby m baju kurung for this raya. i was incharge of the cutting of the fabric and loh kong handled the sewing part. we have finished one pair already. a pink one, with small flowers all over. nothing fancy, just a plain simple baju kurung. but we made sure the width was wider, supaya senang dia nak merayap sane sini nanti. maybe tonite we will start on the second pair, from a baby blue fabric with small dots all over.

apart from baby m's baju kurung, we need to finish off several other baju, including one pair of baju kurung for me. saye masih simpan beberapa pasang kain yang belum berjahit. koleksi dari zaman tak kahwin lagi. uhh.. nasib lah kain tak basi, kan. so for this raya, i'm choosing the one that was a gift from my boss before she moved to another department dulu. it's thai silk in soft pink. i think it's thai silk. entahlah, maybe zura can clarify this for me. she got one too.

we won't be sewing anything for my dear loh kong since he doesn't want any. he says he just wants to wear baju melayu yg dipakai mase kenduri kahwin kitorg dulu. i don't blame him sebab mmg dia pakai baju tu baru 2 kali. tapi kan, laki mmg jarang nak ade baju melayu baru kan? bagus jugak, at least bajet beli baju raye utk diorg tu boleh di transfer kepada the wives and children kan..hehehe

ohh.. nanti i'll post pics of the finished products. so, till then, wish us luck in our sewing mission ya!

Colourful & Wonderful Month This Is

2009-09-03T22:12:00.006+08:00

ramadhan this year is my first as a mommy so many things are different, of course. i'll be cooking utk buka puasa at noon, konon macam nak makan lunch time. banyak kali jugak i heat up cekodok ikan bilis yang dah siap masak awal mase nak berbuka puase. dan sayur pun dah siap goreng awal. sebelum2 ni, i used to cook utk iftar very late kononnya supaya semua makanan panas dan lauk2 mcm sayur tak layu mase dihidangkan. dan cekodok pulak, memang biasanya akan pastikan digoreng 20 mins sebelum azan buka puase. tak pernah lah reheat balik macam sekarang ni.

but what to do? these are the things that i have to adapt to since baby m ade. i can't stand it when she dangles at my legs nak mintak dukung while i'm busy in the kitchen. dan mase tu lah she decides nak bermanje2 dgn saye and screams sebab tanak kat loh kong. dan lagi sakit jiwa adalah bila tangan dia yg super-busy tu menjalar nak capai bontot kuali mase saye tengah menggoreng sesuatu. hangin gile satu badan! dan mula la i start to scream at her and loh kong will shout from his office upstairs saying saye dah pandai membebel macam makcik2. huhhh...!! tension sangat. dah lah tgh fight against waktu berbuke. lain lah if i'm the most super cekap cook in the whole wide world. jadi, untuk mengelakkan my blood level naik selalu, i decided to cook utk buka puase when baby m takes her nap. tengah hari pun tengah hari lah. so it'll be normal to smell bau kari waktu tengah hari di rumah saye bulan ini.

well, thinking back, it's not really that bad. in fact, it's actually a blessing in disguise. at least saye dah tak lagi kelam kabut macam tahun2 yang lepas. sbb dulu banyak kali je terbabas tak siap hidang makanan tapi org dah azan. sgt lembap, i knowww.. tahun ni saye pstikan that i feed baby m her dinner + bathe her before 7pm and kalau sempat put her to sleep before azan maghrib. tau, tak elok tidokan anak time maghrib tapi aman sikit dapat buka puase bila berdua je. dan tahun ni jugak, saye dapat tengok jejak rasul setiap hari...! yeayyy!! sbb i so love the show, and so love the music theme mase the end of the show. it's a piece called "asma Allah" by sami yusuf. i recommend for u to listen to the song sampai habis because the first half is a bit boring. the second half, is much much better. ahh.. susah nak describe. carik sendiri lah kat youtube.

ahh.. what else? ohh.. a few days ago, me and loh kong cirit birit. (maybe the result of bersahur kari ikan yang dah disiapkan pukul 12 tengah hari the day before.. hahah.. i blame baby m!) well, that nite, as i was nursing baby m on the bed, tibe2 perut rase memulas. ala u knowlah the type of memulas yang macam gile tak leh tahan tu. so i didn't think much and jumped out of the bed, sprinted to the bathroom dan terus do my business. tengah2 tu, tibe2 dengar bunyi gedegang...! followed by baby m's voice shrieking on top of her lungs! my baby terjatuh dari katil!!!!

somehow i managed to berhentikan my business in the toilet and terus jump to get to her and there was another gedegangggggg...! aku pulak yang jatuh tergolek! i landed on my right part of the body. damn lantai yang licin! loh kong was in the living room right below and when he heard bunyi jatuh tu (dua kali pulak tu) he rushed to the scene.

i was fealing extremely guilty on what happened. memang it was all my fault. bijak sangat biarkan anak atas katil. i thought she was clever enough not to let herself from falling down. well, as baby m was crying histerically, i was waiting for loh kong to scold me for what had happened. dah siap dah jawapan dalam hati nak jawab ape kalau dia marah. tapi tak.. dia langsung tak marah! lagi lah i felt bad. in a way, i wanted to be scolded, because i knew i deserved it. tapi instead, loh kong said "kesian ayang, sampai jatuh2 jage baby..".. ohhh, bertambah prasaan centa di hati iniii.. heheheh

alamak, panjangnye entry nie! takpelah, kire entry ni qadak kan utk the few weeks back when i didn't write anything.

okaylah, salam ramadhan to all of you, especially to these fabulous women of the world:- ama + hikmah + zu + mien + koca + suhen + kemar + mira + cura + najelita + maisun.

flu

2009-08-15T07:47:00.004+08:00

i've been receiving a lot of informative emails on H1N1 from a friend who is the wife to en jeman, pakar virus yg juga telah menemui virus B1N1. (which is far more deadlier, ahahaaa). thank you wife of en jeman.

anyway, the news these days is just haywire, sending out so many mixed signals. one minute they will tell you "jangan keluar ke tempat yang sesak dan ramai org" and then the next thing would be an iklan promoting "datanglah beramai2 ke karnival blah blah blah.. rugi kalau tak datang.." what is all this..?

and then there's the iklan yang melaungkan "jika anda sakit, cepatlah berjumpa dengan doktor". so everybody follows that advise. and the hospital gets too crowded. so the tv shows the marican guy saying "oohh, tak payah la pegi hospital cepat sangat. kalau sakit, duduk saja di rumah. tak perlu pergi kecuali kalau teruk sangat". pulak.

i've not been out of my housing area for days. this morning, i opened up the bedroom window to find a pungent irritating stench. the air is just unhealthy. u can almost feel negative vibes present in the air.

Things In My Head

2009-08-12T01:57:00.014+08:00

like you, i have a lot of dreams, desires, ambitions & cravings.

suatu mase dulu, saya pernah bercita2 nak jadi penulis script. i wrote about it in this entry. you see, making up the story, was easy. sambil nursing baby m, i could make up the plot, the characters, the ending and sometimes some of the dialogues. writing, on the other hand, was a completely different thing. i wrote one script, struggled to finish the first episode and then stopped. then, i thought of a new storyline and straightaway started to write the script. and struggled to finish the first episode AGAIN. and then i jumped to the next NEXT script and struggled in the first few pages lagi. so, in total, i have about 4 unfinished scripts. semuanya menunggu utk disiapkan. well, i haven't given up yet, but i'm waiting for the right mood to come. yeah.. yeah.. lame. i know.

well, currently i dream of opening my own home-based boutique. this is still in planning stage, but every time i think about it, i get goosebumps all over. i've done a lot of researching on this subject, together with a business partner (i love u) who has the same passion & taste spt saya.

i dream that this humble online boutique will bloom to become a huge line one day. and then finally, i'll be able to set up an "exclusive women-only shopping mall". at this mall, no lelaki is allowed to enter. well, maybe just on saturdays, i don't know. well, at the entrance, there are lines of lockers where women yang pakai tudung boleh bukak tudung dan salin into uncovered sexy clothings and put on heavy make-up (if they want, no one's pushing). guard dan penjaga kedai semua perempuan, so tak perlulah risau. hahaha.. angan2 lady yg banyak sangat leisure ni..

well anyway, lately, i desire to buy & wear one of these:-

+ this one definitely spells serena van der woodsen, kan+

+ ahh.. adorable bangs +

+ nice red color+

+ love the curls +

loh kong is totally against the idea of me wearing/buying/owning one. he said that he loves me in my natural hair. but i'm like, ala boleh lah.. saje2 je. it'll be just for fun.. mungkin saya akan pakai kat umah on a sunday sambil masak di dapur dan buat other house chores. adakah ini sesuatu yang cool? or buang tebiat? hehehe.. loh kong would definitely say the latter.

ok lah, sekian saja entry penuh angan2 saya.

Saturday Nite Date

2009-08-10T02:08:00.011+08:00

malam sabtu baru ni baby m tido awal, giving me & loh kong the perfect opportunity to have our long-overdued saturday nite date. watching a movie was the best option since the list in our "movie to watch" file semakin panjang n needed clearing up. so, the minute baby m menutup matanya ~~yang degil tu~~, we hurried upstairs in the most super-senyap mode yang boleh.

after a few attempts on finding the right movie to watch (so many movies nowadays are like sampah kan kan) we landed on this movie called "changeling". at first, it never occured that the movie would be worth watching since the title was not appealing at all.

n u know what.. the movie was great great great! i give an A+ for it. the movie is about a woman's quest (angelina jolie.. super sexy tapi nampak tua in this piece) in finding her lost child. based on a true story that happened back in 1927 (ke 1928.. entah tak ingat). well, i'm not gonna share how the story went or what happened ke ape, but if you guys happen to bump into this movie, i'm telling you.. tengoklah movie ni! sangatlah highly recommended.

anyway, after the movie ended, we saw that it was directed by clint eastwood. patut lah best gile citer ni, same best dengan his other recent movie we watched before "the gran torino". this movie has a different setting altogether, but is so touching and full of meaning, i cried. again, an A+ movie that you guys just have to watch.

i love clint eastwood, but i love my loh kong MORE...

The 782,768,088 Richest Person in the World

2009-08-02T03:04:00.007+08:00

was googling about roman abramovich and stumbled upon this website.

based on my last drwan salary, i was the 782,768,088 richest person in the world! and was among the top 13.04% richest people in the world..!

wah... i was that rich aa... sigh~~

The Result is In

2009-08-02T00:39:00.007+08:00

ingat tak this entry?

my eyes caught sight of a devilish yellow scale during a visit to the mall a few weeks ago. didn't wait long to jump onto the machine. it told me that i was...

KGs!!! ohhh hatiku girang, gembira dan sukeeee.. lalllaallaaa... xoxo semua!

hypocrites are everywhere

2009-07-24T02:30:00.005+08:00

there's those heavy smokers who suddenly become non-smokers in front of their fathers

there's those gentle and courteous wives who never raise voices in front of their husbands. but if you hear closely to what they talk about when they meet, you'll find them talking badly about people, including their husbands

there's the religious girl who took islamic studies. on normal days, she doesn't wear tudung in front of her brother in law. that's her business, i know. but then one fine day, when her classmate was there with her, she quickly grabbed her tudung and wore it when the brother in law came into the room

and finally, there's the wife who gets slapped in the face for wearing a shirt that was a gift from the husband when going out to meet the family. the shirt was a bit short, so the husband said to wear it when she goes to the store. so the confused wife thought... store, yes.. in front of family, no?

yippiiieee...!

2009-07-20T23:54:00.003+08:00

it's been like, ermm.. what.. 2 months since i was online? (cheh... sgt not true, baru je online last week kat wifi sri damansara)

well finally... internet connection at home!!

to my dearest hubby, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! i love you, i love you, i love you so the very very VERY MUCH...!

hopefully, this page will be updated more frequently now. saye ade banyak bende nak dicecehkan, i've no idea where to start!

peace y'all. (ME --> SO VERY THE HAPPY TODAY, I'M SMILIN ALL THE WAY!)

Hail to the King

2009-06-09T22:49:00.011+08:00

minggu lepas saye berkesempatan untuk balik ke kampung di benut. balik kg kali ni lebih meriah sbb kami disambut oleh buah2 durian yang banyak kat dusun abah blakang umah. wow...! sbb saye sgt suke buah durian! loh kong pulak mmg hantu durian, dan baby m, nampak macam ke arah tu juge.

saye pernah tonton episod di mana Anthony Burdain berada di malaysia untuk makan buah ini buat pertama kalinya. he commented & i quote, "It smells like a dread crop that has been left outside for days." on the taste pulak, he said "Its taste can only be described as...indescribable, something you will either love or despise. ...Your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother". comment yang jujur tapi over.

loh kong suke durian yang manis dan ade rase pahit2 skit. saye pulak suke yang gemuk2, creamy dan lemak. durian yang sedap, memang enak dimakan begitu sahaja. bagi durian yg tak brape sedap, saye buat masakan berikut:-

#1 lempok durian
(isi durian + gula - same banyak, masak atas api perlahan, kacau selalu)

#2 cekodok lempok
(celup lempok yg dah dipotong kecik2 dalam tepung cekodok dan goreng)

#3 kuah durian @ serawa durian
(masak durian + air, tambah gula merah + gula pasir, last skali tambah santan)

Will the Heart Betray the Better Judgment?

2009-06-09T01:57:00.003+08:00

I do my thing and you do your thing.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful.
If not, it can't be helped.

(Fritz Perls, 1969)

what do you do when you find yourself in the middle of crossroads?

maybe it's because i'm a cancer, but i am a very intuitive person. i often allow my heart to lead the way. i often believe, that if things are meant to be the way they are, things will happen themselves. you don't have to do much, it will happen for you. sometimes, even when the most logical next step is vividly clear, i always allow a tiny area in the decision-making room for my heart to have a say. and selalunya, the heart wins.

betul ke caraku ini, entahlah. i guess that's just how i operate.

PS: fikir sebelum buat. tapi zikir sebelum fikir. (loh kong, 2008)

The Final Messages From Flight 447

2009-06-07T01:24:00.008+08:00

i've been following the news on the missing air france flight 447. even after intensive efforts have been done internationally, there's still no sign on any confirmed wreckage of the airbus 330. concern is growing whether searchers were even looking in the right place. the pieces that was pulled out from the ocean last thursday turned out to be wreckage of a completely unrelated and different plane.

i went through a nerve-wrecking incident during my intensive-traveling years. i was on a qatar airlines flight from abu dhabi to klia. the plane was descending, so everybody were tucked in their seats with the seatbelts on. the plane was already close to touch down. i can swear to you it was so close until dah nampak dah pokok2 kat kiri kanan runway tu sebijik2. suddenly the plane swooped upwards and hiked up back into the air! macam nak tercabut jantung den.

due to gravity, everyone was plunged into their seats. but, no one screamed. there was not a single shred of sound. langsung tak seperti yang digambarkan dalam filem. it was a complete silence, until the plane ended its dreadful hike and repositioned itself into its normal "horizontal" position. mase tu, barulah terdengar suara manusia menghembuskan nafas yang teramat lega. the plane later circled the air for about 5 minutes, flying over the straits of malacca several times and landed safely in the end.

my boss & i had our theory on what happened. menurut firasat kami, the plane overflew its mark and by that, shortening its stretch for safe landing. that was why it had to fly back up and wait until the runway is clear for another attempt for landing. pretty logic for two women who are so into the Air Crash Investigation series, don't u think?

tagged by ladyamera: the thing that adds that happiness

2009-06-05T00:11:00.004+08:00

warning! content written under extreme drowsy condition

1. Kekasih saya adalah : loh kong (always have, always will)

2. Saya sedang mendengar : bunyi pc humming in the bakground.. ohh wait, ade bunyi aeroplane yg sdg lalu di ruang udara

3. Mungkin saya patut: pegi tido sbb saye sedang drowsy sbb demam dan baru telan panadol 2 bijik

4. Saya baru sudah : bagi baby m susu dan makan 2 bijik panadol

5. Beza rakan, sahabat, kawan : ohh god, ape punye soalan nie.. lemme try.. rakan boleh ajak makan, sahabat boleh disebat2, kawan untuk dilawan?

6. Saya tidak faham : kenape saye insist on menyiapkan this entry padahal mate dah mengantuk & fikiran sudah tak betul

7. Saya perlu mencari: jalan untuk berhenti membuat entry ini dan pegi tido

8. Ayat terakhir yang dikatakan kepada saya : "ateh..ateh.." signal baby m utk feeding time

9. Makna kehidupan : walaupun seribu tahun, kalau tak sembahyang, ape gunanye

10. Cinta itu adalah: rasa.. rasa itu rahsia (kan souler.. kan kan kan?)

11. Saya paling suka : kalau saye kaye raye

12. Saya akan cuba : untuk menjadi kaye raye

13. Mengapa rakyat Malaysia suka menggunakan LAH di akhir ayat mereka : sebab mereka sayangkan Pak Lah

14. Telefon bimbit saya : jarang sangat berbunyi

15. Katil saya : sedap secukup rase

16. Soalan yang bagi saya tidak perlu ditanya : ialah soalan ini

17. Teknologi adalah : loji yang menari musik tekno

18. Bagaimana saya boleh memasak masakan yang saya paling pandai masak : dengan bertanye yang arif

19. Semalam : saya adalah saya

20. Hari ini : saya masih saya

21. Malam ini saya akan : tetap menjadi orang yang sama

22. Esok pula saya akan : berusaha untuk terus jadi saya

23. Saya betul2 inginkan : menjadi kaye raye (rujuk jawapan di atas)

24. Badminton atau futsal : dua2 tak mencabar kelenturan badan. sila cuba yoga

25. Karaoke : menyeronokkan bagi yg sukekan aktiviti dunia

26. Kereta : volvo.. impian gue.. sorry yang, can't help myself

27. Bilik yang terang atau gelap : bergantung sama ada lampu menyala atau tak

28. Makanan jepun adalah : makanan bagi orang jepun

29. Ayat terakhir yang nak anda katakan pada seseorang : masam lah anak umi ni

30. Siapa yang anda tag : zu, zu, zu.. (saje bikin stress lebih)

the thing about cars

2009-05-24T19:10:00.006+08:00

minggu lepas, saye telah meluangkan mase mengajar kakak ipar bawak keta. the thing is, her hubby was posted to jb & just bought a brand new car. and, she & the kids were left at home with their old trusted citroen. the hubby has given a few lessons in the past, but according to him, it wasn't enough. plus, he said he wasn't patient enough (dia yang kate begitu). as a result, my sis-in-law mmg sampai ke sudah tak nak bawak kete tu ke mane2. so, the next day, we had the first lesson. seeing that she was actually pretty good, i stressed a lot on the "ignore whatever the person di sebelah comment on how u drive" part.

and on the next next day, she was driving already. drive dekat2 ajelah. pegi kedai, hantar/jemput anak ke sekolah. boleh la kan? so, of course lah saye dengan hidung yang kembang bercerita tentang development itu dekat loh kong. dalam keadaan kekembangan tu, i asked him, "do you think i'm a good driver?". he said, "mmg lah terer. awak siap boleh bawak merc tu." ohh kembang lagi.

u see, our car is a classic mercedes 123, keluaran tahun kelahiran kami (rahsia). it's on manual transmission. the body parts can be improved, and if the aircond is running as good as the engine, the car will be perfect! my first experience driving the car was from pj to klcc. it wasn't as difficult as i imagined it would be. in fact, it was smooth & quite easy.

::this is the w123 model. our car is cuter tapinye. ehhehe::

anyway, lately, me + loh kong have been discussing about buying another car. we discussed about what car we wanted. macam2 lah jenama keluar. loh kong was so interested to buy a viva, based on the fuel consumption. but i didn't quite agree, since i feel the price is just not worth it. my dream car is a black 4 wheel drive. but it's too early to have one and it would be macam dah tak de klimaks to look forward to dah. and... vios, waja, gen2, myvi, city... ermm, tak brape mengujakan diri ini.

one really fine day, loh kong came home from work. his face full of excitement. dia tanye, "nak tak pakai volvo?". aiyooo... volvo? macam tak best aje. he then showed me a series of ads he found on mudah. the ads showed a few volvo s40, s60 and s80 on sale. and, oh my god! i fell instantly in love with all of them! terus terbayang diri sedang cruising along the road with baby m tucked in her carseat di sebelah. sweet!

::love it, love it, love it::

since we haven't quite reached the point where we can afford it, untuk sekarang, i open the bookmarked pages just to feast the eyes. ahhaaa.

ps:- souler mungkin sedaang menggelengkan kepala sambil berkate, "semua ini dunia, kau tau tak".. :D

disturbing comments? tak lah sangat..

2009-05-23T23:06:00.006+08:00

pheww.. it's been a while since my last entry. some interesting things has happened recently. will tell you a bit of them here & the rest will be saved for later.

well, on baby m... she is 7 months old this week. she weighs a whopping 9kgs (lenguh tangan gue), has a tooth coming out oredi and is down with chicken pox! i'm yet to google & check whether her development is normal but a lot of people close to us are giving comments berbunyi begini "dah ade gigi? cepatnyee!!". well, i hope it's normal. if it's not, than she must be inheriting her father's super genes. (yeppp.. blame it on the daddy's side).

speaking of comments, antara komen2 lain yang biasa kami terima mengenai baby m ialah:-

- "semangatnye dia.. kau bagi makan ape ni?"
- "baby m? ooo pempuan ke? ingat kan laki.." (WALAUPUN tengah berbaju warna pink)
- "wa.. baiknye dia. dia memang tak pandai nangis ye?" (NOT! yang sebenarnya, baby m adalah pelakon yang sgt baik di kalangan orang asing baginya)

but recently, we received this comment. and this one was new.

"baby m ni dah besar nanti mesti cun sbb mase kecik muka dia comot..."

err.. adakah itu suatu pujian? okaylah, tak kisahlah. comot pun comot lah. yang pasti, she is and will always be my precious little angel (who is also so talented at testing my limits!).

okay, some pics di bawah for you guys to see whether she is comot or comel. ohh, will tell you later about our theory on how she got the pox. till then, xoxo.

::gazing innocently ::

::a million dollar smile::

::special pose::

::the day when everything was wrong::

::yikes::

::special talent exclusively inherited from her daddy::

Ooo Husband & Wife

2009-05-03T23:07:00.004+08:00

the wife says...
laki dia tak leh diharapkan.

the husband says...
bini dia tak dengar kate dia.

the wife says...
dialah yg bayar utk byk bende kat umah tu. cth groceries, bil2 dan duit umah baru. dia keje gomen, gaji lagi tinggi dari laki yg sampai skarang asik tukar2 kerja.

the husband says...
dialah yg masak bile mereka pulang dari kerja. nak harapkan si bini, jangan harap. bini dia tak makan nasik, tu sbb tak suke masak. tapi kan, lepas siap je si laki masak, si bini dgn muke selambe ambik pinggan, cedok dan makan.

the wife says...
dialah yg menguruskan semua hal berkaitan rumah baru yang mereka akan duduki tak lame lagi. cth nak carik tukang buat grille, tukang pasang lampu + kipas, etc. si laki tak ambik pot langsung. katanye, umah tu duit bini dia, bukan dia.

the husband says...
bini dia nak macam2 tapi dia kalau umah takde perabot pun boleh hidup. naik motor hari2 lagi dia suke. tak payah nak tanggung hutang kereta.

the wife says...
dia yg carikkan kerja untuk laki dia. kalau nak harapkan laki dia, mmg lambat nak dpt kerja.

the husband says...
dia kerja skarang pun sbb nak puaskan hati bini. bukan dia suke sangat pun kerja tu.

itu ayat2 luahan rase yg sering saye + loh kong dengar from our couple friend, a husband and a wife. individually, they are good people. okay saje.. merendah diri, have great sense of humour & nice to hang out with. but together, they just can't help but b*tch about each other. ade je yang tak kene. suke pulak tu gaduh depan kami. ungkit-mengungkit mmg favourite. at first, i thought it was nothing serious. balik umah kang, cium2 balik, mestilah okay balik kan?

WRONG! last night, loh kong told me the husband is seriously considering berkahwin lain. siap dah nak ambik borang. of course lah sedaya boleh behind the wife's back.

my jaw dropped. never expected that to come.

C for Caesarean

2009-05-01T06:10:00.002+08:00

ade 2 orang kawan saye yang selamat melahirkan anak dlm 2 minggu nie; zoora & maisun. both had to undergo c-section. baby zoora remained being songsang until her last week. ooohh.. i still can't remember what 'songsang' is in english, despite zoora telling me like a gazillion times already. maisun pulak opted for Caesarean after several traumatic failed attempts for normal delivery (this is according to kemar, my forever favourite storyteller in the whole wide world).

well, i had c-section too. and boy.. when the doctors told me the news, nothing could have prepared me for that! macam nak tercabut lutut mase doktor bagitau kene bedah tu. alhamdulillah, operation berjalan lancar. it took about 20 mins from the point of incision until the stitching ended.

orang suke bertanye, "sakit tak kene bedah ni?". the reality is, it was excruciatingly painful! mase bedah memang tak rase ape2 sbb dah dibius dari pinggang ke bawah. but it was the recovery part yang paling menyakitkan. nak baring sakit, nak bangun sakit, nak poo poo sakit, nak breastfeed sakit, nak duduk lame pun sakit, the list goes on.. but i've never had a normal delivery, so i can't compare & tell u which is more painful.

itu mase tu lah... now? now i feel like a million buck$! heheee.. not a million bucks rich, tapi a million bucks happy! waking up everyday is more meaningful & i wouldn't want to trade places with anyone ever.

well, anyway.. a few days before her operation, zoora called me to ask for tips. so, i told her everything which i thought was important for her to take note off. i told her about the story when my stitches terbukak sikit. yep.. jahitan saye terbukak, tak banyak lah. tapi cuak sgt when it happened. well, the story was like this. sepanjang 4 hari berada di wad, i didn't bathe dengan puas because the baby was outside & there was no one there to watch her betul2. so by the 4th day, u can imagine how busuk + melekit + masam i was. i was so looking forward for a great bathe at home. so when the day came, saye memang tak tunggu lame untuk menunaikan hasrat itu. lame pulak tu duk bilik air. yelah, kate qada' 4 hari kan. siap sental + pakai conditioner lagi. malam tu, i realize the stiches menganga sikit. hambik. terpaksalah loh kong bawak pegi hospital balik. and that's when the doctor told me not to ever apply water directly on the stiched area. manelah saye tau..

i know that no one in any normal circumstances would opt for c-section. but, since i've gone through it (and was not prepared at all), here are some things which i think oughtta be given attention. manelah tau kan, u or a friend have to go through c-section jugak.

1. never never basahkan bahagian yang kene potong tu. so before u bathe/shower, make sure you cover that part dengan plastic atau pandai memusingkan aliran air supaya tak kene area itu.

2. never apply pressure kat tempat jahitan tu. tak boleh mengurut, tak boleh pakai bengkung, forget about lying on your tummy & tak boleh pakai seluar/kain batik/panties yang menjerut bahagian itu. use granny pants yang besar ataupun your pregnant panties. mien told me about the existance of "modern bengkung" which claims to be suitable for Caesarean mothers. tapi entahlah, i was so distracted of healing & handling the pain, there was no time left to think about mengempiskan perut.

3. instead of breastfeeding while lying on the side (i find lying on the side is also painful!), try out this position. place your baby outward, away from your breast & use a pillow to support the baby. this way, you won't put pressure at the incision.

4. don't be depressed if you have little/no breast milk at the initial stage. i read that Caesarean mothers often suffer from this. i guess it's normal. anyway, i went through the same. puas picit, urut, tenyeh2, tuam..semua dah cube. after 3 days barulah susu keluar. itu pun sikit sangat. and it was so depressing when people around me made the impression as if i didn't want to bf my baby on purpose! huhhh..

5. even though it hurts really bad, make effort to walk around the bed after you wake up after the operation. walk slowly tapi. the nurse back at the hospital cakap ini penting untuk memastikan darah2 balance dalam rahim tu keluar. (still, i'm not really sure what this means.)

hrmmm.. what else. i can't think of anything more. but if there's anything else, i'll make a "part 2" on this entry ya.

ps: any additions to the list are most welcomed. leave comment ya.

Pinky Swear

2009-04-27T02:44:00.004+08:00

ahh..finally. me first entry on food! yeayy.. saye slalu envy kepada zue yang suke sgt buat entry pasal makanan yg sedap2 yg dia makan/masak. grilled eggplant lah, meat kofta lah, restaurant yg mcm garden tu lah.. suke buat air perut saye keluar.

anyway, back to my entry. i am a HUGE CUPCAKE LOVER. bukan cupcake maker, tapi cupcake eater. i love the cute deco, but i suck in the baking dept since ia memerlukan bakat sukat menyukat. i'm more towards the campak-campak cooking style.

well anyway, in conjunction with my sis in law's bday, me & loh kong bought these really cute pastel cupcakes from cuppacake by wondermilk. we ordered online about a week before. so u can just imagine how tak sabar2 nya i was to see & eat the little cuppies. so when the day arrived, loh kong pegi lah ambik the long-awaited cupcakes in uptown damansara. wow..! the deco mmg very very pretty...that was... until my 6 year old nephew pegi tunggang terbalikkan the box! we only managed to feast our eyes on the marvellous cuppies for only about 5 minutes.

well, what to do? saye snap ajelah pics sekadar kenangan. u can see the degree of damage done by the little boy.

pinky swear in royal vanilla

the taste was good despite the destruction it went through

so, anyone yang kepingin nak makan cupcakes, i highly recommend u guys to try them out! mmg deliciously fabulous.

ps:- ade new branch in klcc, if i'm not mistaken. so to my gorgeous perempuan2 klcc frens, boleh lah check them out mase lunch time aye!

Lost & Found

2009-04-22T07:25:00.005+08:00

it was 5 am on a hot night. me + loh kong was fast asleep. out of a sudden, loh kong terbangun mengejut.

"anak kite mane, yang?"

dgn mata yang mcm kene gam, i peeped at baby m's sleeping mattress on the floor. confirm, she was gone! i jumped out of the bed sepantas kilat. menggagau kami carik dia satu bilik.

tengok under the bed, tu dia..! we found the missing minah. wide awake & gleaming, her face was full of pride, as if she won something & was listed in the guinness world records.

saya pulak sempat snap pics dulu sebelum tarik minah tu keluar..

memberi pose special mate sepet

pandangan sisi, dia berguling dari toto yg warna purple tu

Tagged By Zue : Google-ing

2009-04-20T01:52:00.008+08:00

was tagged by zue. the rules are...

"The rules are simple. Use Google Image to search the answers to the questions below. Then you must choose a picture in the first page of the results, and post it as your answer. After that tag 6 people."

1. I am... the Lady of Leisure

2. I really want to go to... KLCC & have lunch with the girls (u know who u are!) pada hari Jumaat

3. My favourite place is.. anywhere near loh kong & baby m

4. My favourite things are.. my aqua perfume & green pumps (presents from loh kong)

5. My favourite drink is... carrot susu suam

6. My favourite food is... anything with cheese, potato or tempe

7. My favourite colours are.. pink + white + green

8. I live in... sungai buloh

9. I was born in.. gombak

10. My college was...UM

11. My favourite stories are.. Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy... full list here.

12. My hobbies are... traveling & cooking in a kitchen yang super cantik & lengkap (this is more like my dream.. hehehee)

13. I wish for.. lots and lotsa money

14. I tag...

a. Mien, my Hot Mama Friend

b. Kausar aka Mrs K

c. Ladyamera, the Forever Hot Babe

d. Izar, the Wonderful & Talented Writer

e. Mirah, the New Bride

f. Kemar, the Preggie Hottie

** Picture Source : Google

Pada Suatu Petang yang Membosankan

2009-04-07T19:39:00.008+08:00

berfesyen ala2 dato' siti, jambul nampak skit kat depan.

gaye seorang ustazah. assalamualaikum.

nie gaye normal. lepas nie nak cube tudung hajaba pulak.

Weight Loss Programme Ahoyy!

2009-03-28T01:25:00.004+08:00

2 years ago:

i was on my way back from the office. singgah kat satu kedai yg jual jamu ni. niat nak membeli jamu untuk kesihatan. first time masuk kedai mcm tu, tanyelah mamat yg duk kat kaunter tu produk mane yg dia rekomen. dia pun tanye umur saye. saye suruh dia teka. dengan konfidennya dia jawab 30. excuse me? huh... tp saye tak lah ambik pot sgt, considering mase tu baru balik opis. muke pun berminyak, badan pun tak fresh. tp sbb agak geram dgn kenyataan dia, i ended up membeli brg sampai perabih RM150.

3 months ago:
i went strolling around my housing area with baby m. bumped into this kakak who was also tgh bawak anak dia berjalan2. chit-chat lah sekejap dgn dia. konon nak berkenalan. dia kate anak dia 4 org. yg dia tgh dukung tu yg paling bongsu. itu tak kisahlah, yg i found most confusing was that she actually referred me as "kakak" ataupun "akak". tolonglah! it was clear cut she was older than me! hello...anak 4 vs anak sorang! tp i let it be, taklah marah sgt. nak memujuk hati, i told myself..i just delivered baby m & badan belum kuncup sepenuhnya.

a few weeks ago:
pegi beli breakfast at this gerai nasik lemak. pun same, the lady yg menjual tu also bahasakan diri saye sebagai "kakak". balik tu i asked loh kong.

me: yang, awak rase akak nasik lemak tu lagi tua ke lagi mude dr kite?
loh kong: lagi tualah. kan nampak sgt. nape?
me: mmm.. takde ape2. saje je tanye (konfius & hati mula panas)

a couple of days ago:
me + loh kong + baby m went out for dinner dgn my sis in law's family. my sis in law is in her 40s, but she has this small body structure. tgh berjalan tu, tibe2 je loh kong cakap "apesal awak nampak lagi tue dari kak ude?".

OKEY... NOW I'M PISSED!!!!

do i look that old? menyampah sungguh. during the journey home, i started to recall balik all the events, termasuk lah yg saye senaraikan kat atas. there are other scenarios in which similar situations as above happened. tp malas nak cerita. well anyway, because of what loh kong said, i now officially signed myself into my own weight loss programme. my target is to loose 10kgs. i think, if i'm able to cut that much weight, i might (i hope, fingers crossed) be able to look younger. or at least look my age, which is 25. (hehehee)

so what's my plan? after a long discussion with my inner self, this is the action plan:-

1. exercise 20 mins a day, 4 times a week (jogging + yoga)
2. continue breastfeeding sampai bile2
3. eat 2 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil. it's been proven to be good for
weight loss. u can get your vco supply from here.
4. sleep on time, rise early every morning

i don't plan to cut on meals because i'm breastfeeding...and also i don't think i over eat. (hehhee.. loh kong mesti tak setuju). tp, i'm being realistic here. i don't want to put anything on the action plan which i know i wouldn't be able to conform to.

okay, so that's it u guys. the reason why i'm writing about this bukanlah sbb nak poyo2 citer pasal nak kurangkan berat badan. tp it's because i REALLY REALLY REALLY want to rinse off that 10kgs! drop dead serious kali ni. so at least, knowing that u guys know about it akan memaksa saye meneruskan perjuangan ini sampai ke finish line!

so, anyone else nak join me? jomlah!! or maybe we should have a competition kan? barulah ade thrill sikit. anyone nak sign up? syarat penyertaan? hmmm.. mempunyai sekurang2nya 3 situasi spt saye di atas.

I Love My TV :D

2009-03-24T20:31:00.010+08:00

hubby is away at pee double you tee sea, participating in an exhibition in conjunction with umno's perhimpunan agong. baby m is sleeping... giving me the perfect opportunity to update this blog. tp i so do not know what to write about!

lemme think... urghh.. nothing exciting has happend lately. setiap hari normal sahaja. takkan nak cerita pasal my schedule at home as a housewife. yes, i do have a schedule & i put every effort to keep up with it. but, that doesn't mean my house is as squeaky clean as bree van de kamp's (jauh sekali ya), tp i like to keep my house clean & organized according to my own standards. and since i'm born with sifat kemalasan yang tenggelam timbul, having a schedule helps big time! takde lah bile ade orang bagitau nak datang umah baru terkial2 nak carik penyapu atau pegi jenguk kat toilet tengok ade pocot2 warna kuning tak kat mane2.

back to my entry.. hmm.. I KNOW! since TV plays a humongous role in my life, ape kate kite bercerita about my top 10 favourite tv series of all times. (loh kong kalau bace nie mesti dia menggelengkan kepala..)

10) Lost

i was a pengikut setia during seasons 1 and 2. but then season 3 became too complicated & i simply lost interest. it was like, bilelah depa nie nak get off the island? now, season 4 rescued the show & for that i proudly put it back in my list. i can't wait for season 5 & of course season 6, which is the finale. the hottie to look out for in this series? tentunya - mathew fox.

9) Friends

i wonder how friends would be like kalau they decided to resume the show. i mean, if i'm not mistaken, the show ended with monica & chandler moving out after getting married. joey pun same, and his new life was shown through the sitcom "joey". i don't remember what happend last to the rest of the gang, though. my favourite character would be rachel green, played by jennifer aniston.

8) One Tree Hill
okay. the storyline takdelah mengancam sangat. in fact, jalan ceritanya mendatar saje & most of the times sangat predictable. the reason why this series is at #8 of my list? 3 words: chad micheal murray.

7) Sex & the City

i love the show because i have always loved stories about women yang independent, gorgeous & free. anyway, i haven't watched this show since last year. i'm not sure whether it is aired in astro lagi ke tak, but the movie was a big two thumbs up! loh kong pun kate cerita dia menarik. all 4 women are fine, but the character i love most is carrie bradshaw - SJP.

6) Prison Break

loh kong lah yang menyebabkan saye terjebak mengikut cerita ini. we watched season one together non-stop sepanjang malam sampai sakit2 mate & masuk2 dlm mimpi. dulu this show was in my top 3 tp since season 4 tergantung during the climax of the story, i pushed it to #6. the character i love most is lincoln burrows sbb dia sgt ganas, tak cakap banyak, terus je belasah orang kalau tak puas hati.

5) America's Next Top Model

i love the drama the girls go through as they race to win the title. tyra + nigel baker - two hotties in the show. the contestant which i love most is season 2's winner - yoanna.

4) Grey's Anatomy
i confess to not being a regular follower of the show. bukan tak nak. but i always miss the show sbb jarang bukak ntv7. will download from season 1 in the near future. ataupun lagi senang, mintak kat suhen atau cura aje. watak i like most is the main character - dr grey (tengok! i even forgot her first name)

3) The Gilmore Girls
lorelai & rory - cheerful, talkative, pretty women who have kind hearts but funny ways of expressing themselves. i just love their mother-daughter relationship. sweet & funny.

2) Ugly Betty

she's ugly but have confidence as if she's the sexiest woman in the room! i think women can learn a lot from the role of betty suarez & be more confident no matter how fat/ugly they are. seriously. physical beauty is so yesterday.

1) Desperate Housewives

what can i say. i can't live without desperate housewives! i love everything about this show. the cast, the story line, the dialogues.. everything...! season 1 until 5, semuanya best! the characters i love most are susan & mike. well, anyway i did the desperate housewives personality quiz in the ABC website last year. the quiz kinda tells you which character you resemble most. i was a susan mayer last year. which was surprising because i was pregnant and she was pregnant in season 4. baru2 nie, i took the test again, and now i'm a lynette scavo. entahlah.. you guys try it out lah!

pheww... panjang la pulak my entry this time. tp okay jugak since i'm not sure when will be the next time i'll be able to write again. so until then, xoxo y'all.

The Tale about Fara

2009-03-07T14:53:00.004+08:00

wait a minute.. this is not right. me writing 2 days in a row? hehehe... well anyway, as promised, this is the story about my friend, fara. it'll be a short one, i promise.

fara was my ex-colleague. she's the kind of girl who is hardworking, simple and very humble. dia adalah clerk berstatus kontrak. she was fired not long ago because finally she had the guts to stand up for herself, melawan cakap boss yang asyik memaki dan memarahi dia & orang-orang lain di office. the boss is someone who likes to shout and marah tak tentu pasal which makes everybody hate her. seriously, EVERYBODY and i'm not exagerating.

when she was terminated, the female boss suke sangat lah because it gave her the feeling of ultimate superiority lah kononnya. fara was so devastated tapi dia tetap sabar. well anyway, the week after she was terminated, she was offered sebagai support staff grade 13 di syarikat yang sama tapi subsidari yang berbeza. things changed dramatically afterwards.

due to the extreme devastation & stress, she decided to eat less and exercise more. as a result, she lost 20kgs and is now looking FABULOUS!

tak lame lepas tu, dia decided to sambung belajar buat degree. carik punye carik tpt nak belajar, dapat offer belajar kat satu IPTS glamer ni. bayar RM500 for registration dan yang lain2 tu akan ditanggung PTPTN. hebat!

tak lame selepas itu pulak, the company made an announcement that all support staff should be compensated based on the job grades. wallah..! gaji dia terus naik RM400 gitu.

so what happened to the ex-boss? a week after the termination, she was diagnosed as having a tumour in the servics. she had to take one month leave. and now, selepas menjalani pembedahan membuang ketumbuhan itu, dia terpaksa bercuti lagi dan menjalani pembedahan kedua sebab ketumbuhan dia datang balik. fara siap call dia tanye khabar. and dalam dia tengah sakit2 tu, masih nak berlagak macam boss lagi dengan fara.

to fara, i admire her strength and patience. to the female boss, ptuiii..!

A Quickie on Things that are New

2009-03-06T16:18:00.007+08:00

sememangnya i've been very passive in the internet realm this past few weeks. haven't been able to get access to the internet since hubby is extremely busy doing his work on this laptop. nie pun dia tengah tido, and baby m pun tgh tido. at last... perfect timing!

well, anyway.. some updates on the interesting things that has happened or about to happen to the people around me:-

1. me:- just got my wisdom tooth whacked out. seriously, the dentist takde sifat mengasihani langsung. lepas bius je, i waited about 15 minutes outside. setelah itu, dia panggil masuk bilik. satu pertiga kepala dah rase numb dah mase tu. baru je baring, tak sempat nak betulkan bontot utk dapatkan posisi selesa atau meletakkan handbag betul2 ke lantai, terus dengan kasar, she told me to open my mouth and "lembutkan badan". and i was like "what???" and before i knew it.. KRAKKK.. bye2 wisdom tooth. the instrument she used tu rupe dia macam playar. scary..

2. hubby:- EXTREMELY busy with his work. he has been polishing his new skills of making websites. and trust me, he's really good at it. but the best part of all is when the money comes rolling from this new developed talent of his.. KACHINGGG...!

3. baby m:- sedang DEMAM. i feel absolutely responsible because the day before, i went around jogging in my sports shoes with her. meeting soo many people might have exposed her to the flu. ohh ya, by the way.. she's 4 months & 7.6kgs now. she's developed loads of new skills & lebih cute by the day. hik hik..

4. kausar:- WEDDING coming up next week! will make it, insya Allah.

5. fara:- ohh, i wanted so badly to write an entry about her. nantilah. but to cut story short, great great things are happening to her berkat kesabarannya setelah diberhentikan kerja kerana telah dianiaya. inysa Allah, my next entry will be on her.

6. amarylis:- just got a call from her. she sounded so sad. rupenye her mother was diagnosed with cancer of the colon. i'm not sure whether she'll get mad knowing that i wrote this here, so everyone whose reading this, please pray for the safety of her mother. her mother means a lot to her and she means a lot to me so tak kire lah whether u know her or not, please doa..

7. kemar:- is PREGNANT! weeheeeee.. i'm soo happy for her. akan bersalin hujung tahun nie. bestnye, more friends for baby m to play with.

8. cura:- has a NEW BLOG! i just finished reading it tadi. kelakar la the way she writes, i tell you. anyway, this is her second attempt in blogging since the first attempt was shattered due to the pressure she feels when her family found out she had a blog & discussed about it at home. diorang gelakkan ke cura?

9. mien:- dapat offer kerja baru. dengan JKR if i'm not mistaken. congrats girl! boleh la open table begini. hehehe..

10. zu:- okay, this is not an update on what's new in her life. but i'm STILL WAITING for that "partei" yang dijanjikan di rumahnya. kononnya nak wat gathering pompuan2 dengan tema gothic. hmm.. bile nie minah?

well, i think that's about it. will write again later. cheers!

Baby Tag

2009-03-06T02:36:00.006+08:00

ye, tahu... dah lame saye tak update this blog. takde kesempatan to write n when i do feel like writing, lappy pulak takde. anyway, thanks to mien, here goes.. my very first tag.

"Here you go moms - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your first born! Just copy and paste it in a new note for yourself!
Let's see how much you remember!"

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
no

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
YES

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
happy. scared. excited. worried. exactly in that order.

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
huh? amende soalan tag ni mien?

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
26

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
the late monthly visit from my trusted friend, Mrs Period. 2 bulan lepas tu check kat umah. 3 bulan lepas tu, barulah pi klinik.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
husband followed by lady amaryllis

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?
no. konon nak jadikan it a surprise. only found out she was a she in the delivery room.

9. DUE DATE?
18th october 2008

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
nope, but i had night sickness though. sampai sekarang i wonder y people call it morning sickness.

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
benda masam like mangga.

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
errr.. let me see. perempuan2 gedik..? wait, golongan itu sampai sekarang pun irritates me.

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD SEX?
perempuan

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
mm.. tak jugak. boy or girl, saye tak kisah.

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
15 kgs

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
takde. and never been to one. maybe in future kot? sambut same2 nak tak mien?

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
duh.. memang expect takde baby shower

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
final stage of pregnancy, air ketuban kurang n baby lacked oxygen

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
hospital sg buloh

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
didn't feel any pain. daftar lepas tu 20 min kendian kene bedah.

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
husband

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
2 lady doctors, a bunch of female nurses and a male nurse.

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
c-section!

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
yes, epidural

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
3.36kgs

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?
21 october 2008 @ 4.58 pm, a sunny tuesday

30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
baby m

31. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
4 months

32. WOULD YOU DO IT AGAIN?
yes, yes and YES! dah tak sabar for second one actually! tp due to c-section, kene tunggu about 2-3 years.

So who do I tag?
err.... sape ye? selain mien, takde la kawan yang ade baby..

Geram Geram

2009-02-05T17:31:00.006+08:00

dah edit banyak kali but the fonts still remain the same. kejap kecik kejap besar. haiyyaaa.. has this blogger thing got a mind of its own?

geram sungguh. tips, anyone?

The Project that Was

2009-02-04T19:20:00.003+08:00

While stressing out on why I have trouble signing into ym this past several weeks (log in thru email je… sgt menyampah... dan lagi menyakitkan hati adalah kehadiran seekor lalat yg sedang mengacau ketenteraman saya sekarang) my mind wandered off on several personal projects which is now terbengkalai dek kesibukan (yeah rite) and ketiadaan mood. One of it is the completion of a drama script. I started to write this script back in 2008, I think it was somewhere in June. I have always loved writing & I just love the millions of ways how ideas and characters are created and expressed and combined creatively.

Well, back to the script. Here’s a bit on the storyline.

It’s about a group of rich & famous women who have suffered in life and met when they signed up for a rehab programme to help them move on. They come from different backgrounds. One is a mak datin who is badly distressed upon knowing that her multimillionaire husband left her for his young hot secretary. Another is a popular singer who’s frequently beaten up by her kononnya “perfect” husband. The next character is a famous medical doctor who is suffering from the tragic lost of her son. And the last is a hot shot entrepreneur who became bankrupt after being married to a cheating husband. Stories were shared. Emotions were revealed. Bruises were mended. Hearts were healed. Tears and laughter all under one roof. Together, they became stronger.

Well, that’s all I have for the time being. First episode pun tak siap lagi. So, it’s still a long road.

PS:- Punya cita-cita nak jadik JK Rowling.. hhehehee

The F Word

2009-01-23T01:42:00.020+08:00

nope, this is not the 4 letter-cursing word, but a word which describe something i loathe so much and has been a topic i frequently argue with loh kong. the word is "flirting". in this case, i mean flirting done by people who are in a committed relationship.

i decided to write on this after having a short conversation with a male friend today. kate manusia itu, "flirting itu satu keperluan". apekah? i found that statement as a mockery towards the existance of loyalty. still, i wasn't shocked since i've heard these same words being uttered over & over again by some people (read as: men). they say flirting tu sesuatu yang biase, harmless & is nothing serious. well, hokey then.. kalau it's not dangerous, does that mean the same group of people (read again as: men) will allow & be okay with their significant other flirting around? hell, no. saye tak pernah dgr anyone who in their right mind would say yes to that. well, what's with this flirting thing that is so hard to get rid off anyway? is it in the hormones? the genes? or is it a hobby? or something people do when they're bored?

i have no answer to that. personally, i find people who are in a committed relationship & flirts around as disrespectful dan memualkan. call me traditional or not open-minded. (like i care)...

i remembered a conversation i had with my gf zura. she said that people who loves to flirt are actualy people who have low self-esteem. they are people who feel they have nothing good in their lives. so in order to boost their self-esteem & feel good about themselves, they flirt. experiencing the feeling of being able to attract another human being makes them feel superior.

entahlah... maybe it's true. mungkin saye patut tinjau2 keadaan manusia2 yg suke flirt nie. maybe the similar attribute that connects them adalah low self-esteem. again, i have no answer to this. and i'm sure i'll never get it. not until well.. i try flirting myself kot.. hrmmmm

Baby M is 3 Months Today!

2009-01-22T10:52:00.012+08:00

::showing off her new pj tajaan auntie shakirah::

gosh..sedar tak sedar it has been 3 months! baby m is now 6++ kg and 63cm long. her weight naik drastically this past month. not bad aye...for someone who kononnya have little breastmilk...huh.. don't want 2 start talking abt the breastmilk story nnt will end up saying nasty things here. okeh, baby m's developments:-

1. able to play by herself
well, she has started this a few weeks back already but now it's getting more frequent, giving me & loh kong a room to breathe. tak mcm dulu when either of us had to menghadap dia, if not she will cry like crazy.

2. bye2 bedung
yes..she's a big girl now, tidur already like an adult. no more being tied up in her kain bedung. now the kain bedungs are functioning as her blankie when she sleeps.

3. bye2 to u too mr mittens
yes, again... she is growing up fast. the nurse, during her recent monthly check up, (btw, she was injected & had a slight fever + meragam which resulted in me not being to attend mirah's wedding) said that she no longer needs the mittens. this is to allow her tiny fingers to start exploring and learning to touch, feel, grasp & hold.

4. smile & giggle ohh so sweetly (puji anak sendiri... kui kui)
sometimes melayan kerenah dia the whole day is exhausting & suffocating. but then she throws me her award winning smile (there i go again.. sorry, can't help meself) that will make me cair & instantly zasss.. perasaan penat tu hilang.

5. suke angkat tengkuk tinggi2
i'm blessed to have baby m who was born with a strong bone structure. since birth, i only needed to slightly support her tengkuk whenever i carry/bathe her. now she can already hold her head up high, i mean literally, whenever she lies on her tummy. mcm dah nak star merangkak since she'll waddle her feet too.

6. suke sgt isap tgn & main air liur
her right hand & air liur are her new favourite toys. kesedapan dia menyonyot tgn tu sampai basah2 baju. so now i wear her her pink teddy bib (tq shakira) sbg aksesori tambahan. bunyi lazat dia menyonyot tu pulak dgr sampai ke bilik sebelah. sedap sgt lah tu kononnye...

7. calar2 di muke & kepala
as a result of not wearing mittens anymore lah nie.

hrmm...suddenly it feels that baby m is growing soo fast now. tak lame lagi, dah boleh bawak dia pegi swimming pool kat hillpark or maybe picnic by the lake kan. boleh bwk puadi, pizi & haikal or maybe baby dania kan. boleh kan mien?

Reminiscing 2008

2009-01-19T00:23:00.001+08:00

2008 has passed 19 days ago. still, i have to admit, it was an exciting year for me. a lot of things happened. met some bumpy roads along the way. tp yg penting i survived. and yes, it made me stronger. some recap on things i remember most in 2008:-

1. feb 2008 :
had our wedding receptions. the one in bangi was grand. never imagined it to turn out the way it did because of my no-involvement-at-all in the planning or execution. it was a total surprise. credit to ibu & co.

2. april 2008:
was officially announced pregnant. well, actually i was already reaching my 2nd trimester. but due to the fear of a false alarm, i decided to check with the doctors only after being late for 3 months. yup, sgt lambat.

3. june - july 2008:
hit rock bottom in terms of financial stability. seriuosly, things were bad, but we had each other and we always had Him. somehow, we survived. and i'm glad we went through that. it taught me a lot, especially to put all my dependence & hopes to Him. and Him alone.

4. sept 2008:
moved to a new house. loh kong's new job paid off. we managed to get hang of this double storey terrace house in sungai buloh. it was far from everything. seriously, jauh dari segala kemajuan but it was nice. fell instantly in love with it. it has 4 bedrooms & 4 baths. the master bedroom is humongous! the move was good timing since i was in my third trimester. couldn't imagine going up tingkat 3 after delivering the baby.

5. early oct 2008:
developed high fever, rashes & lemah2 sendi. couldn't stand up on my own. incik husband had to help me everytime. i was at my in laws' when it happened. at first ingatkan denggi or chikunguya (betul ke ejaan nie). doctors couldn't give any ubat tahan sakit since i was pregnant. blood tests results were negative on both. after several days, the fever was gone. phewww..

6. mid oct 2008:
muntah nasik berdarah after makan lunch nasik kandar kat mamak depan nie. i've never encountered such event before. i kept myself very calm & didn't tell incik husband until late midnite. itupun after it hit me on the possibility of santau.

7. late oct 2008:
delivered baby m 3 days after due date. it was a c-section. i was never cut out for that. always thought that i would have a normal delivery. used to be super terer handling my anak2 buah before. but, it was so different when it came to my own daughter. but, things are getting better anyway. and baby m is becoming more adorable everyday! this is her first ever photo. comot la baby m mase ni.

8. sepanjang 2008:
enjoyed emailing with the girls! introducing the whole bunch:- zu, suhen, churaliya, mien, mirah, kausar, niza & rina - my hot & sexy ex-unimates. the emails were fun to read & sometimes kept me going. thank u girls. btw, they also have blogs n truth be said, reading their stories was the reason why i started this new blog. hehee..

well, those are some of the things which i most remember. tak sabar nk tgk what it'll be like this year.

Hello Again BlogLand

2009-01-18T20:36:00.004+08:00

friends have asked me time & time again if i had a blog. the answer was actually yes & no. yes, because i do have a blog. and no, because it is a rather nasty blog, the place where i b*tch about people, especially loh kong (bile saya tgh marah pada dia..hehe). in short, it was strictly P&C. today, suddenly the feeling of wanting to blog came by. this time, safe blogging lah. so, here it is. my first entry.

blogging this time is quite challenging since i'm typing with one hand & menghayun baby m's cradle, which i call her "pink hummer" with the other. she'll cry if i stop. i could write when she's asleep tp takut pulak if by that time keinginan nak blogging hilang. plus AJL will be on shortly & i don't wanna miss that. not like i'm a big fan or what tapi kepingin pulak nak indulge in malaysian music tetibe.

i have already a list of things which i plan to write next. tapi tunggulah. baby m pun dah start merengek mintak disusukan. so i better layan dia sebelum pitching dia naik gear 5. baby m kalau nangis tak de gear 1 ke gear 2. terus shoot gear 4 & masuk gear 5 upon no action taken within 15 seconds. so i better hurry..

will be writing again shortly. cheers!