life of a leo mommy

august already?!

2008-07-31T01:42:00.004+08:00

just as i thought my fate will remain bleak as ever...hope has finally arrived!! yeayy!! insyaAllah, things will look a lot better from now on..as i begin to get my groove back on..yeah..it's been the hardest couple of months..but i haven't entirely wasted all that time sulking about what's going to happen to me on the career front...heck i even came up with a freaking module for my students! i think i have to say that i completely suprised myself that i could actually produce a book/module in the midst of my unstable emotional condition. i guess i can work under all that pressure after all..i'm happy...:) can you see that smile? yeah..and i owe it to one special person..one who has been like a torch for me through all of this..i can't quite figure out how someone like him would help someone so unimportant like myself...in any case, i hope and pray that he'll have a good life here and the hereafter..

it's 2 am..i am freakin hungry..but i know snacking at this hour is not really advisable. but then there are people who say it's not good to go to bed feeling hungry..so which school of taught should i follow? tidor laah...anyway, i have a nasi lemak date with a gf tomorrow morning! yummy....

tick tock tick tock

2008-06-27T00:27:00.002+08:00

kinda like that song by J. Timberlake and Madonna...and for some reason it's been on when i'm driving home from work! heheh..what a way to end the day huh..gosh, it's already reaching end of June and half the year's gone already! WTF?!! where the hell has the time gone?

rather than complaining about my pathetic life in this post, i'm going to take the other route..and think about other worthwhile things like where should we all go for our next holiday?! now that's a thought..my kids have grown up to know mickey and minnie quite well and the idea of meeting them in person would be an exciting one. and i've heard raving reviews about the disneyland in HK...so how about it? sounds like a good idea..

after coming back from our syrian trip two weeks ago, i think i've changed my mind about visting morocco..some people say once you've seen one (country) in the middle east, you've seen 'em all! and i think it is true to some extent...like with istanbul and syria, there's really not much difference..except turkish people like their bread more than syrians who prefer their beriyani rice. and the next time i go for a holiday, i hope it won't have to be like a boot camp!! hahaha..that's the thing with group tours..it's worse than working...they make you suffer with the morning calls and the regimented breakfast times and pee hours etc....

any nice ideas to go for a holiday? please send your suggestions to me!

when there is no more silver lining in the cloud

2008-04-08T18:19:00.002+08:00

Hello people..

Excuse me for my long silence...I've had a lot of things going on in my life..some of which I am still unhappy about..in fact, i've been bombed with a string a bad news that it came to a point where I felt there is just nothing else to look forward to in life..But thank God, there's my children..and my hubby...who are they people i yearn for especially in times of trouble. Let's just put this way...i could really use some good news because all of these sadness and disappointments are just too blrghhh..

which brings me to ask why are some people are just plain evil? oh well..what's the point..at the end of the day, justice will prevail..

anyway, don't have must to write about now..life basically sucks right now..will write again when there's something (good) to write about. until then, toodles!!

2008-02-11T23:51:00.000+08:00

i'm so bloody pissed off with the weird way the pc sometimes behaves. i was working on a paper for about an hour (just as i finished my earlier post and getting all rajin, only to be bogged down again..with this stupid virus maybe..) when there it was, a window just popped out of nowhere telling me that i can't save my document and then followed by a bunch of other annoying error windows which finally left me with my jaws almost touching the floor..and before i knew it, my work has been saved under "rescued document" in text format. and when i try to open this file, i'm just even more annoyed by the string of ???????????????????? replacing the beautifully constructed sentences which i've poured my sweat for the past hour. WTF?!!! ok, anyone please help me retrieve this file or witness me go crazy....because i think i will lose my edge if i don't get anything done soon!!!! HELPPPPPPPPP!!!!!

meet me, the procrastinator

2008-02-11T22:00:00.000+08:00

what is with me...i'm feeling so blrgghh at the moment..why can't i concentrate with what i intended to do earlier during the day? is it because i am experiencing a rather low morale a.k.a unmotivated...during the day, i would be all pyched up to get things all in order and done with, but as the day passes by, i'm moving at around 30km/hr which is really pathetic..gosh what's happening to me?? there's just no desire for me to get work done..FAST!!!! i also have the internet to partly blame for my sluggishness.

anyhow, i am going to do something about it...starting from hahahah..tonight? i'll try...perhaps tomorrow..what's slowing me down? maybe the fact that i am playing the guessing game..of my fate...of where i'll be by the end of this year...this wait is a bugging factor that's making me all procrastinat-ish....but i shouldn't be like this...i have to prove that each day matters..so that's why i'm going to start (yeah keep on emphasizing that and i'll still not start anywhere)

ok...i do have a list of things to do..i just have to put them in the right order, and avoid to try and do ALL at once..first on the list: start writing that freaking article i've been meaning to write for that particular conference i'm yearning to go!!!! i think i'll just leave it at that..and then think about the other things in my list...

ohhh on another note...my baby boy (not so baby anymore) will be 4 in a couple of days..and i've just baked a cake for him to bring to school...and the smell....my God...i never knew i could bake so well.. hihihi...good night folks...i'm trying to make something outta myself now...

I've been tagged...

2008-02-07T16:33:00.000+08:00

The Rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules

2. List eight (8) random facts about yourself.

3. Tag eight people at the end of this post and list their names.

4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blogs.

List eight (8) random facts about myself:

Ok before i start, I'm not sure if the content of the following 8 facts about me should be kept at a PG13 rating or beyond...so i guess i'll just write whatever pops into mind!!! ;)

1. i have a thing for green things...most of the things i buy would be in green. except i have yet to own a pair of green bra! haha that would be a first.

2. my teeth seriously needs BrightSmile treatment...this is what u get from being a coffee addict..all those stains need more than just regular brushing..

3. again..it's about my teeth...i've been wanting to wear braces since forever but kept getting denied by the orthodontists who claimed that my teeth are perfectly fine where they are and should not be subjected to any tampering or the like. i guess i have also pretty much gave up that idea since i'm already in my 30s...and don't think my teeth will move around too much from now on...

4. my vision is deteriorating...so much for having perfect vision in my younger days..nowadays, i'm squinting my eyes when i've done a tad too much reading..and also whilst driving at night..*sigh*...getting old

5. i had my appendix removed when i was 10. left a tiny little scar..

6. i once shaved my head like GI Jane...just for kicks..ironically, it was during that hedious hairstyle period that my husband (my bf then) asked me to be his gf...

7. i've never taken contraceptive pills....ever...

8. I've always wanted to be a dancer...

2008-01-14T00:20:00.000+08:00

it's 2 weeks into the new year. did i make any resolutions this year? i guess...but as always, they're not written anywhere including here..because writing them down would mean you are somehow stuck to it and not being able to achieve them would be quite disappointing. so, my way of doing resolution is just to keep in mind what i want to do and counter check it every now and then..i think i'm quite at par with what i have set my mind to do..so yeah, this year, i will be all that i can be!!! (macam pernah dengar je..ha ha). okaylah, i'll just share some of them with you..but not the specifics ok..just generally...i will try to be a better muslim..by doing what i have been thought to do...and with that, i hope to be a better wife, mom, daughter, friend, etc, etc..i hope to squash the ego we humans too often are guilty of having, even when we think we don't have any ego (that denial itself is an ego...see). i hope the children will be well, insyaAllah (this is not a resolution, btw...it's my hopes and prayers from Allah swt), and that our lives will be richer with many blessed moments and joyous ocassions, Aameen.

oklah...running out of ideas now..oh yea...this weekend...marked my 5th anniversary to my dear husband. for the first time, he got me roses and a card (usually he would get other things) which really made my day, because it's been a long time since i got any flowers from that hubby of mine. he's one of those guys who thinks giving flowers is a waste of money..since the flowers are going to get crinkled and dried up..and there goes your money! at least that's how he is after getting married...before...well, i remember he got me two dozens of roses sent to my dormroom door with a little romantic note too...hah! that was of course, the beginning of it all...and then, there were other ocassions, like sorry for being such an idiot ones, or simply no-reason-at-all flowers, which occurred more during the courting days..and then..the number of roses began to shrink..just like the flowers..haha..but the love...excitingly enough is growing to beautiful dozens of roses, alhamdulillah..no special dinner or anything romantic for this year..nothing of that sort..instead, we transformed our lawn into a camp side with a tent, a pool big enough to fit 10 adults (but only four of us hung out in there: me, hubby and our two kids) and a bbq of succulent lamb, chicken, potato salad, corn on the cob, vadai (courtesy of pasar malam), karipap (also from pasar malam..this one is my fav karipap of all time..it's the pusing type) and lots of other knick knacks....and me..i got him a card too...got him something else earlier..so that was his anniversary gift lah..May Allah grant us a happy and ever-lasting marriage and many more kids, inshaAllah..Happy Anniversary to you, bie..(ha ha..why am i wishing him here, he does't even read my blog)

coffee anyone?

2008-01-13T23:54:00.000+08:00

i am a self-confessed coffee-holic...i just can't get thru the day without one caffeine fix, usually at night...at times like this...when i'm on the computer..either for work, or pleasure..i would get coffee samples at supermarket eventhough i know damn well how the regular Nescafe tastes like...just to give a little "perk" up my brains...aaahh..the taste of coffee..i like them hot, creamy, and aromatic..don't really like the cold concoctions..they take too long to finish, for me at least, because i'd have to sip them slowly in order not to get brain freeze...right now i'm having...i think it's called bonton coffee or something..has a green label on it..about to finish this bottle...and then am thinking of getting another kind of coffee..the 3in1 or 4 or 5 in 1s are not that bad either for my taste buds..like the Alicafe...it all started with my hubby..he was the one who recommended it to me..i still don't know the effects of females taking tongkat ali related things except that it's a sure way to get me to stay awake for a couple of hours at night!! are there any known effects by the way? like maybe an increase in the testosterone level (do women have testosterones???!!) anyway, it has a nice taste, and smell..and i'd drink that on nights that i feel rather sleepy...on nights like this one, ie. nights solely devoted for wasting time, i would have this type of coffee i'm having..the bonton coffee...there's another one which comes from my hubby's coffee collection..kopi jantan..he thinks it's the equivalent to western's almond coffee or the like..i've tasted it...but don't quite fancy it...alicafe is definitely better, hands down. you may be wondering if i have ever tried the female version of alicafe a.k.a the kacip fatimah...yes, i have...but i find it so-so..doesn't give me the boost that i look for in a coffee..ohh..and of course, the kopitiam coffee, although i much prefer the one that is mixed with tea or the "cam" as some might call it. the tea is also to die for...hmm...thinking of getting my kopitiam fix this week. have a good week everyone!

happy nu yaaa!

2008-01-02T22:18:00.000+08:00

Hello...

well, it's already coming to the third day of the new year everyone...mine started with a minor hiccup...but let's not get into details..i'm just trying to forget about it..and create new memories...i'm back at work today, and needless to say, my initial intention to start doing some serious work was successfully shattered by the persistently annoying human being in the face of this earth. i wonder if there is any ounce of intelligence in his tiny tiny brain..anyway, thank you to those who dropped by my blog and gave me words of encouragement. at least i know i'm not alone =) thanks guys! that's right, i'm keeping my chins up..hopefully, things will look a little better in a few weeks... and dude...when are u going to learn to speak more effectively???!

oh yeahhh..my new year getaway to the land of cik siti wan kembang was absolutely wonderful...and it is indeed my kinda place to shop...i was naturally mesmerized with all the colorful batik stuff and tudung and the local food like nasi kerabu, nasi dagang, laksam, akok, ketupat palas..and lots more....here are some pictures...( i really need to study now for my class tomorrow, hence the short-cut)

laksam...one of my favorite kelantanese dishes

this was the lala which was just ok lah..

this was the kerabu kaki (ayam)...not really my kind of kerabu

and of course..the yummy and easy to make, nasi kerabu

and now we've come..to the end of the road...

2007-12-28T23:30:00.000+08:00

still i can't let go....

hahaha...remember that song? just feeling like being corny..i was all ready to hit the sack at 8.30pm tonight since i was really knocked up from a whole day's work (not really work...i was busy shifting to a new room at the office)...anyway, my eyes are really wide open now, after a cup of teh tarik (instant one lah...not that umpph) and some honey and dijon mustard rice snacks..man, this holiday season is really screwing my plan to lose weight..it feels like aaah..few more days till the new year...so i can slack off just a little bit..u know what i mean? haha...no but really..next year, i am really trying to lose some weight..(ahhh..i already here that little voice inside me saying..."yeah right"..) will try my best..

my kids are sound asleep..and hubby..away for classes..we'll be making our way to the land of cek mek molek tomorrow for a 4d 3n stay...hoo hoo...i have been wanting to go there for the longest time..looking forward to tasting the yummy stuff like ketupat palas, jala mas, etc..(again...cut me some slack ok..i have few more days till i need to buck up). absolutely looking forward to some lazying around in the hotel room..and waking up to a spread of delicious breakfast!! will post up some pictures when i'm back..speaking of which...i'll be going back to teaching come jan 2nd and looking at my schedule for this semester..i'd say, it's alright..even though i have a wee bit more than the usual load. but it's ok..hopefully this will be my last semester. this coming year..is quite stressful for me...it's the year that i would find out what i will be doing with my life for the next 3-4 years..*sigh* will i get into a grad school??!! i sure hope so...i really pray that whatever Allah has in store for me and my family, it will be a good one for all of us..Aameen..looking forward to teaching this sem too...this time, the course is quite relax la a bit...entrepreneurship class....so common sense..not much theory

on another exciting note...a very good friend of mine from the states came over last weekend - she purposely arranged KL to fit in her honeymoon plan just to pay me a visit!!! i'm so touched! she was the first friend i made in Michigan, and the moment i met her, i knew we were going to be good friends. she too, thought that i looked very much like her elder sister..so we instantly clicked! so here's some pictures of angela and sam during their short stint in KL..

that's me, angela and sam having lunch at little penang cafe, KLCC

don't we look like sisters?? =)

angela with her soon-to-be purchase..at the exclusive ps boutique...

a nice shot of the newly weds in putrajaya

one more for the road...

an unmotivated worker's lament

2007-12-21T21:53:00.000+08:00

i only go to coffee bean for two reasons: to accompany my husband for his caramel machiatto or the like, or by myself when i have a lot in my mind and just need some time to pause and reflect. today i went to coffee bean for the latter reason. today i sat there while sipping my mocha latte (that's the only thing i'd order whenever i go there, even after going thru the list of menu a few times...i know..i'm so not adventurous). anyway, as i was saying, today i was reflecting on my work...well, to be more precise..my working environment..things are looking rather cloudy at the moment and i wish the situation will get better...even though i don't really have much confidence with that happening. i know i'm talking in circles..haha...let's just say that now i can really relate to the phrase "you can't trust anyone but yourself". someone i know who is wise and look up to gave me a very worthy advise which i think will help me get through this. but i also am sticking to a few other advise like "what goes around, comes around...and if you can't beat em, join them!" :p

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha

2007-12-20T08:29:00.000+08:00

To all my Muslim friends and family, here's wishing you a blessed eid...enjoy the rest of the day. i'll be making my way to parents' in law's house soon..waiting for hubster to come back from the mosque so we can all leave together..anticipating a longggg day ahead...but nevertheless, a fun one..

oh, yes...i'm looking forward for this weekend!! a good friend of mine will be coming all the way from NY for her honeymoon! i'm planning to take her and her hubby out for a little tour of KL and of course, a taste of the malaysian food..parents are leaving for the land of the brits tomorrow for a long three weeks..

ooooohh shoot...i wish i could just screen out the noise that's coming from downstairs (i.e. nazim resisting to take a shower and maid's even noisier annoying voice asking him against his will)...he would usually do this...act up and refusing anything we ask him to do...most of the time i would be the one rushing to the scene of crime...but today..i think i'll just let it be..i'm just not up to dealing with this kind of situation at the moment...the worst that could happen is he's going to continue screaming and start coughing and then after a while, he'll stop..by my going there, will add to the already noisy ambience and will probably make me all stressed out....so...just let it be...he'll stop crying eventually...ahhh....seee...the noise has finally drowned...

back to blogging...

2007-12-20T01:16:00.000+08:00

Hi peops!

i thought i should at least write something here...after having abandoned this website for quite some time now...anyway, i'm kinda over the whole FB thingy..after a while, they're all the same, friendster, FB, who knows what 2008 is going to have in store for us? when you're someone who has no social life like yours truly, all these "social utility networks" are only serving you from one angle, and that is to reconnect you with your old acquaintances, instead of actually enlarging your circle of friends. For the 20-year-olds with much happening lifestyle, there would be some degree of enthusiasm in them to be checking their FB accounts on a daily basis, or even hourly basis...but for me...being "reunited" with old friends is a delight and is a good enough improvement on my otherwise pathetic social life..=)

tomorrow's raya haji! i should've let myself in early tonight, considering that i'll have the day off tomorrow...i tried..but i just couldn't..we're spending it at PIL's house, with 2 cows and 1 goat for qurban. i'd probably be sleepy by lunch time...ahh..looking forward to an afternoon nap tomorrow..

my kids have just recovered from a food poisoning episode, alhamdulillah..the weight drop is just so drastic when it is this type of illness. my babies' round cheeks have lost their might and succumbed to a lose, lembik form...Insyallah, they will gain their original chubby cheeks in the next few weeks..Aishah is 1 year and 9 months and have perfected everyone's names (daddy, mummy, abang, both granparents and uncle). she also knows a few other words like elephant, fish, horse, aeroplane, come, "dah tapai"=dah sampai, etc...

nazim on the other hand, is ageing faster than he should. he learns fast and applies well, masyaAllah...just the other day, as i was driving him to school..he said to me..."next time, when u are angry with me, i must say "you must control your temper" to you...which brought me to a state of shock....and for a while i was trying to figure out where he had learn that from?!! and finally i remembered...it was from the Beauty and the Beast...the chipped cup and his mom told the Beast to control his temper...and that is just one of the few unpredictable things that come out from his mouth.

work isn't exactly enticing at the moment...i must say i've had better days..i don't know..must be the year-end mood that's been clouding my mind. i guess it does have something to do with a change in leadership as well. when leaders change, followers tend to go on a wild goose chase, so-to-speak. who do we actually follow? good leaders are hard to find..fair leaders are even harder..leaders who favor butter-me-ups are just the worst kind of leaders..and those who butter-up the leaders just make me sick to my stomach. ahhh..the antiqs of office politics...when will it end? never, i suppose..

before the year ends, our family is making one last trip...and welcoming the new year during that trip! i can't wait to have a little R&R to start the new year! me and hotels...we jive...=) but only the ones with the nice beds..you know which ones i'm talkin about??? the ones with nice and white crisp linens and heavy duvets..ahh..just my kind of beds..so i'm really looking forward to three nights of bliss...not forgetting the ocassional taps of my son's feet on my face, back and everywhere else..

May 2008 bring all the good things we wish for...insyaAllah... Aameen..

back to reality

2007-10-26T13:10:00.000+08:00

it's been a week since we came back from Perth, and reality has also sunken in..kids are still recovering from their cold and cough and hubby too. while the once perfectly fine me am getting the residues of their virus only today...i'm now getting the pre-cold and cough symptoms of block nose (now both of them are blocked!), feverish, and irritable throat. but nevermind that, we had such a great time in Perth that I think was one of the best rayas i've had in years.

we arrived in Perth at night welcomed by a chilly weather. my sister in law and hubby were already waiting for us and drove us back to their place. fortunately for us, there was already nice warm mee kari waiting for us and we wasted no time indeed. we were really hungry. next day was still another fasting day, so we woke up at 3.30 for sahur (subuh was at 4 something!) and ate some more...

Raya day was spent praying the solat Aidilfitri at the King's Park. This was my second experience performing the solat out in the open, with the nature. The first was i think in Janda Baik. Anyway, we could hardly hear the sermon as by then, children swarmed around the park like bees and the distance between the imam and us were just too big for the voice to travel without any loss. so my sister in law and i just hung out for a while, took pictures and said hellos to some of her friends.

After that, the day was filled with house hopping! we went from one house to another, and each house we went, we ate, and ate, and ate...i was quite suprised at how much i could eat, given that the stomach was still accustomed to sahur-time and iftar-time only. the day of course ended with me swearing not to eat the way i ate today, and a worn out pair of legs, body, etc.

the next day, we did our touristy things...like the one below....cruising on our very own rented boat with no one else except us! the guys took turns to be skipper while us girls took in the cool breeze..it was just like in the movies! heh heh...

on the leasurely boat ride checking out canal houses and taking in the cool air..

Other than that...well, nothing much...i have to admit...the facebook buzz has also caught me and that's where i've been hangin out lately. lame isn't it? even friendster seems so ancient now. there's something about facebook features that's just plain simple yet entertaining, not that i bother too much playing around with them. in fact, i just couldn't be bothered and ignored most of the bizarre requests. i just stick to the plain and simple photos, add friends functions, etc..

ok then..see u on the other side..ha ha ha...i'm so lazy to write here...

Selamat Hari Raya AidilFitri

2007-10-11T06:55:00.000+08:00

In just a couple of hours, i'll be making my way to down under, along with hubster, nazim and aishah. this year we're spending the raya with some family members there. can't wait to board the plane and catch on my Zzzzzsss..Feelin quite excited this year actually..maybe coz my kids are little bigger and they too (at least nazim does) know that raya is something to look forward to..

yesterday was the first day in a long long time i've taken leave from work to just do what i wanted to do instead of taking the day off because i have to go outstation, etc..so it was really nice..i put my feet up on the couch at 10 and caught Martha Steward for a bit, which was really nice. i haven't done that for a long time. used to catch her a lot back when i was in between semesters in NY, at my parents' house. the feeling of being at home like that once in a while is nice..but i'd go crazy if it were an everyday-thing!

gosh, this year has been like a lightning..i was going thru my calendar to see what i've done since January...and i couldn't believe it..it started out pretty slow...then somehow or rather, it got all speedy in April, then before you knew it, Oct is here!! and i only have 2 more months before 2008...what did i set out to achieve this year? hmmm..nothing specific..personal life? didn't really have any big plans for the year...career wise? did the necessary things to add on to my CV..travel-wise...this year beats the record hands down! we're just happy travelers, looking for something out of the ordinary in our lives...

oh, i got a new raya hair too! heh heh...which came with a funny twist of incident before it actually look like this. you see, i already set my mind to get my hair straightened (as if it wasn't already straight) for the raya..so off i went to the salon, even brought my laptop for i know i was going to be there for hours! so the lady gave it a little trim and towards the end, she suggested i did a curl instead.

mistake #1: her opening up a suggestion like that when she just trimmed 1 and a half inch of my hair

mistake #2: i agreed to her suggestion!

so she took out her curls, and started to roll up my hair...

mistake #3: i knew the curls were a tad small and wouldn't give the big curls that i had imagine in my head...but i never said a thing because i trusted her judgement

so when the curl was ready, and it turned out to look like maggi mee, my stomach began to shrink to half its size...

mistake #4: i still had the patience for her to prove that it will reveal the big curls once my hair is dried

.....and when it did....the big curls never got to be big curls!!! the maggi curls were still there!!!!by this time, she saw i was a little uncomfortable...so she suggested a machine (she said it's a spa perm machine) that had all this wires hooked up to the electronic rollers on my head...which started to oooze heat after a while..

mistake#5: i still thought this was going to work....

and when she took out the fancy machine off my head...the worst has yet to happen!!! the maggi curls now have dried up and formed into clumps that resemble cotton balls..so, my hair which was supposed to be at shoulder length now has contracted its length to just below my earlobes..and only by this time, i realized that i looked like a goofball..literally..so i said i wanted my hair straightened, i don't care how you do it, i just want it to look back like normal..that's it...this is not a good start to my raya holidays...

she was quite perplexed that i didn't dig the new look (hello...what were u thinking??!) she said some people would think it's nice..and even showed me the way to twist the curls around my finger so that the curls would look like marie-antoinette-like curls..no thank you i said...and please make me look normal again...

two hours later, i ended up with smooth, silky, shiny, just out of the oven hair...hi hi...now my raya is looking a little brighter =)

i told the story to hubby..and he cracked up...he wished he saw me with the dried up curl balls on my head.

Lessons learned:

1. Always stick to your original plan
2. Never trust other peoples' opinion, especially when it concerns you and your hair - only you know your hair better - they only see you once a year, you're the one stuck with it for life!
3. Always tell the very moment you're not happy with something rather than wait till it's done with

Oh, on another note...the launching of the Soyuz was really something wasn't it? i felt proud being a malaysian seeing that rocket took off last night...Well done to all Malaysians!

Selamat Hari Raya everyone!! Have a good holiday!

need a little jumpstart

2007-09-18T00:28:00.000+08:00

at last, i decided to reacquaint myself with my blog. yeah, i know..i'm such a slacker. well, i have a good reason for not blogging, really. a bit of this and that, and of course, the biggest factor of all..laziness..so here i am updating my life journey on the World Wide Web. the highlight of it all was me turning 30 in middle of last month. there was no big hoo haa..except my friends from the office were sweet enough to have a quick celebration for me before we resumed our meeting during the department retreat in Cherating. got pressies from both sets of parents, friends, and hubby (whom without fail, will always have a belated pressie instead of a pre one). it's ok..after about 10 years of knowing him, it just sorta grows on me. and until now, he still owes me a birthday card..which i know for a fact, he has surely forgotten all about it! yes, i'm the more sentimental one i guess...still yearning for card, although i know it's how he really feels about me that really matters and not the silly card!

anyway, i got a few stuff to my liking from my hubby's present...like:

1. sassari crocs

2.biotherm moisturizer which i have timely ran out of

3. estee lauder lip gloss and lipstick

oh, and the merdeka weekend was spent basking under the Phuket sun with the whole clan consisting of my whole family minus elder brother and sis in law who were bonding with their bundle of joy.

and now...the blessed month of Ramadhan is here once again..alhamdulillah, it has been pretty marvelous. I'd like to wish all my Muslim friends a Happy Ramadhan and May Allah grant you an easy and worthwhile life here and the hereafter. Ameen.

2007-08-06T18:26:00.000+08:00

it's been a long time.. i've been occupied.. physically and mentally... some pictures that would save my time on the keyboard...

yes..we were in the beautiful land of Cyprus...just off the mediteranean sea where the waters and view are simply breathtaking!

and after that...

at good old Istanbul...

things that are therapeutic for me...

2007-06-19T10:55:00.000+08:00

i'm sure a lot of us have our own things or activities that we do to channel out that stress or negative energy in us..but for me, it doesn't have to be at a time when i'm stressed, it can be whenever, in fact. i just find instant serenity in doing them...

Bake
yeah, this is one of my favorite things to do. i bake mostly cakes..not that i am crazy about cakes as in eating them..but the methodical approach of mixing all the ingredients into one bowl and finally getting a nice pretty cake is what makes me find baking very exciting..there has been times when my cakes don't turn out to be they way i wanted them...and when that happens, i will turn into a merciless snort who dumps the whole thing in the trash. yeah, people i have done that..i would rather dump it than looking at it with prolonged distress. but when my cakes turn out wonderfully fat and round and airy, i take pride in them by savoring the first bite and sharing it with my favorite people. :) very therapeutic indeed...

Nothing like retail therapy
This is my next favorite thing to do..but isn't necessarily therapeutic all the time..at times, i find it quite stressful to shop. like when i'm torn between two things but only plan on getting one. or when i really don't know what to get (like for birthdays, etc.). it can be therapeutic though when the things are cheap, and is worth every cent! like getting a cheap manicure, or pedicure or massage..

Blogging out..and blog-hopping
yeah, why do think i'm doing it right now??

Recipe books
loveee these things, especially the ones with pictures..

and...

Sushi
eating in general does not give me the same feelings as when i am having Japanese food..i guess it has to do with the little cups and saucer and chopsticks...they somehow always manage to calm me down and i find the whole experience rather satisfying indeed.

2007-06-18T21:31:00.000+08:00

I've been tagged by my 2nd cuz nana, and i'm going to try to do this really quick because yeah, as per my previous post, things are still pretty much in a mumbo jumbo!!

but here goes anyway!

REQUIREMENTS : Write about what or how or why you gave the name(s) to your kid(s). QUANTITY: 5 people TAG MODE: Firstly you leave their blog and post link and add to the list below and secondly you let the blogger you want to tag know that he/she has been tagged by commenting in his/her blog or etc

My first born's name is Muhammad Nazim Kayani. yeah, pretty long right..well, it was going to be longer (Muhammad Nazim Bahauddin Kayani) or a shorter one Muhammad Akil Kayani..but in the end, we settled for MNK. :) which by the way means "poet" for Nazim, that is..Kayani is just a family name, of Pakistani origin. And Muhammad, after our beloved prophet (SAW). Why Nazim? it's actually both our idea. we love the name and wanted to name our first son with the same name of a great shaykh. so there it is!

Our second baby is a girl named Aishah Karima Kayani..yeah, looks like our kids are all going to have three names :). Hubby has always wanted the name Aishah for a girl. but we didn't really decide until the day that we were supposed to register for her..it was between Aishah or Aida...Karima, was given by a great awliya, and we fell in love with the name. for some people, having it as a middlename may not get as much attention. but that's certainly not true in Aishah's case..as i've been calling her and so has everyone who knows aishah by her full name..Aishah Karima. and by his brother, Aishah Karima Noni Noni..(hahah) actually that noni noni part was coined by me..but nazim still thinks its her real name.

so there goes..i would like to tag anyone who has a kid or kids and want to share how you got that bright idea to name your kids what they are called today!

peace

ps: Hey Nana, i did my homework :)

when life just can't get any busier...

2007-06-15T15:20:00.000+08:00

tick tock tick tock...
when will things go back to normal?
i wish not too long from now...

just trying out some stuff...

2007-06-07T11:30:00.000+08:00

hey...it works..hehe..
so from now on, when i feel like putting up some pictures, i'll use this method..
from top left, clockwise: nazim flashing his signature grin, hubby and me, aishah with huge rabbit teeth and hubby again :)

i'm itching to bake a chocolate cake today. i might...we'll see..

the little person who puts a smile on my face...everyday

2007-05-30T10:40:00.000+08:00

today i feel like posting some pictures of my 2nd born, my adorable little pumpkin pie, my pretty princess Aishah...

she is now 14 months old and have grown a bit more hair and can pass for a girl more often than before. she knows her songs quite well like "if you're happy and you know it", "I love you" song by Barney (who doesn't?), "incy wincy spider" and lots more. she will greet me at the door everytime i come home from work with "Aishahhh..." yes, she calls other people by her own name...she knows how to say other things as well, like "mmmmaaa" for mommy and "daeeee" for daddy. she's taking her time to talk but suffice to say, her communication skills are well understood by people who surround her.

her best friend is her bolster which can be seen in this picture here...

...she takes it everywhere she goes, like a hand bag, and has a good grip on it too! she has in total a collection of around 4 of them (just like handbags, we ladies need to have a different one every now and then, don't we?)

as you can see, she enjoys playing with her brother most of the time, who still has not mastered the art of sharing. Aishah, on the other hand, is used to her brother's antiques that she'll just give up the toy and move on to another. see how second borns are usually more level-headed, wiser and unfeigned by little-little setbacks? ehemm...traits she takes after her mommy :)

she lovesss her food (also another trait from mommy)..and i just love the way she chews her food..so girly girl...like a true princess. :)

one thing her mommy likes to do to her is to pakaikan tudung for her..juz coz she looks even more adorable with it.. just check this out...

but she, on the other hand doesn't like the idea very much and tries to rip off the tudung from her head as fast she can...

just the other day, me and hubby were talking..and we both agreed that Aishah doesn't take after neither of our looks...but she could be easily identified as Nazim's sister..

so there it is..the little person who makes my heart flutter everyday :)

mixing business with pleasure

2007-05-27T23:25:00.000+08:00

i was just reading the synopsis of Grey's Anatomy Season 3 on the website, since i hvn't seen the latest episodes yet...and boy oh boy, now i really have to get my hands on those DVDs soon! It makes me wonder...do these things that happen in Grey's really happen in real life?? I wonder if our doctors' and interns' lives here in Malaysia are just as exciting as the ones in Grey's? i think i asked this question before to a relative who has worked in a hospital overseas before and the answer was...it's not unlikely. since you're spending all the time working together in the hospital, i guess there's bound to be some "accidents".

looking at their exciting lifestyles on screen makes you wish that you'd have that sort of exciting lifestyle too. one day with McDreamy and the next McVet and then there's McSteamy..and then there's the ubiquitous flirtation among colleagues..and quickies in the hallway or janitor rooms..ahh..the excitement and all. who wouldn't be into it?

but then again, in real life, imagine what a screwed up life you'd end up with?!

i might be living in a coconut shell and that i'm totally oblivious to the maybe not-so-bizarre-after-all-situation which is already happening at many workplaces in Malaysia. hehe..to these people..they might be getting all the tips from watching Grey's after all.. who knows..

anyway, i just like the show coz it's just fun to watch and gives me and hubby something to look forward to and make fun over some scenes like the episode where Addison was desperate for feeling a little 'dry' coz she hasn't had any for quite some time with Derek...and then one day after mistakenly realizing that Meredith had slept with the Vet, Derek went straight home to a tired-looking Addison and blurted out these words..."do you want hot _ _ _???" to which Addison replied (while stripping her own clothes off..)"Thank you! Thank you!" hahahhaha... don't you find it amusing? well hubby and I did..

well i guess what i'm saying is, watching Grey's Anatomy has one way or another spiced up my life, by imagining that i'm either Christina (with Burke...oh remember the scene where they first "got together" in the their so-called resting room?), or Izzie (with Alex...not with Danny). I can't seem to remember imagining myself as Meredith (with Derek) because i never quite felt the chemistry between them.

anyway, ok..i'm rambling and now i seriously have to be in bed because it's 1 am. and it's monday tomorrow!

old habits die hard

2007-05-24T15:26:00.000+08:00

i have a few habits..some started a long time ago and some, pretty new.

one old one is biting straws. the moment i drink anything with a straw, i will definitely start chewing it until it flattens and you will only see a line and no hole. another one is picking up or rather trying out other peoples' food when i have my own. haha when i first started to know my hubby, he was a quite ticked off with this habit of mine. but now he's quite ok with it. hehe..and another one is i have the tendency to listen to the same song over and over again when i am in love with a certain song.

ok i'm bored now....i'm just so feeling so malas right now to do any work. so what else to do right? then blogging. except for yours truly, there isn't a single soul in the office coz everyone is either out on a course or out attending some seminar or just plain AWOL. so here i am blasting my speakers off with Samson's Bukan Diriku for the milionth time. I need to get a life. I know. But i'm also feelin a little under the weather which forces me to forget about my intention to AWOL myself to get a little R&R at Jusco for either a haircut/wash or facial..but the thought of picking up my heavy ass and driving in the hot hot day is just something i do not wish to endure.

there are a few things i have to do now that's work-related. like boring editing work which i'll get to later..and ohhh shaitsss...thank God i stayed back in the office instead of gallavanting to Jusco...I just remembered i have a 4.45pm meeting today! Phew...so that means i have about an hour more to do whatever..

my grad school application has not really taken its full speed as the deadline is still pretty far away (dec / jan). but i have my statement of purpose ready! yeay! and i managed to coerce 2 people to be my referee! hihi..now i just need one more person to testify that i am this and that and butter me up nicely so they can accept me into their grad school!

but of course, i have to score that GRE next month or else..it'll be crap for me. huuuuhhuu if only i could start my Ph.D. like right now and not be bothered with all the entrance issues...if only life was that easy.

2007-05-23T14:36:00.000+08:00

i get on the weighing scale at least once a day. and i can't figure out how the HECK the needle is now pointing at 60kg when it was all the while pointing at 57kg three months ago! Then i may have got the answer today..it's probably because i have my period (yeah lame excuse) or have i really been pigging out for the last 3 months? (yeah that makes more sense) coupled with the fact that three months ago i did not have any maids and did everything myself! now that i have two maids, this losing weight thing is getting pretty hard to achieve. THAT'S IT! No more rice for me for the next TWO MONTHS!

eternal friends

2007-05-23T13:50:00.000+08:00

A friend of mine from college is getting married...in Brooklyn, NY. The wedding is in December, and I'm really hoping I can go, although I think the chances of me boarding on an airplane alone all the way to the US is pretty..well none actually. Coz I think hubby wouldn't really find the idea of me leaving the kids behind is such a great one. What about him going as well? Hmm...he wouldn't wanna go JUST to attend a wedding...hmm..oh well, we'll see how my luck turns at the end of the year..

The reason why I really wanna go to this particular friend's wedding is because she is one of the better friends I made in the US. She is in fact, the first person I made friends with at the University, living just next door to me at the Stockwell Hall - the only all-girl dormitory at the U of M. Well, anyway, her name is Angela, and she is a Filipino American. She's one of those people I can instantly connect with (I've met a few people who share this instant connection with me).

When I first knew her, she used to have a boyfriend, but her boyfriend at that time was all the way at SUNY Buffalo, NY, while she was in Michigan. Once in a while her boyfriend would drop by and then I would never see her for a couple of days.

I genuinely enjoy Angela's company. We would hang out in each other's room (most of the time in my room coz her room tends to be messy all the time! hehe) when don't have classes and both of us enjoy food very much. So I would cook something really really simple like rice and she would open up a can of sardine or mackerel in black bean sauce and eat to our hearts' content. Sometimes she would open up a can of SPAM, and at that point, I wasn't sure if I should have it or not, but it sure looked delicious when you're hungry! but of course, i didn't have that SPAM as I was not that clueless ok.

The thing about her is that I just love her simplicity. Her friendship..her personality...her moods..She can even lick a plate of rice with just drizzles of kicap clean with nothing else. I also remember that she has nice handwriting. There was one time we got bored with our own rooms that we decided to swap rooms for the night....My freshmen year was fun because of her friendship, among other things.

And then during our sophomore year we decided to become roomies but not for long as I had to move to the other part of the campus to be closer to my classes whereas her classes were near the central campus. In the end, I moved to the North campus..and a few months later she followed suit..Our friendship still remains even though we didn't really see much of each other. One interesting thing though..my hubby (who was then NOT yet my boyfriend) even had a tiny little crush on Angela and I used to tease her about it..and when he became MY boyfriend she was teasing me back. hahah..

Anyway, Angela decided to move back home to be closer to her mom in NY in her junior year. So we didn't get to celebrate our graduation together. She graduated from Cornell and I managed to visit her before she graduated. And that was i think also the year she broke up with two/three-timing boyfriend who clearly did not deserve her. I still remember how disappointed she was when she found out how he had been cheating on her all the time she was in Michigan.

I don't think she reads my blog..but if she does, i just wanna say..

Hey Angela!

I really had fun during our freshmen year I wish I could play it all over again..Remember that song "Don't Speak" by Gwen Stefani? Yeah, I still have that photographic memory of you doing your own version of the videoclip. haha..

Congratulations on your wedding!

love,

Fara

2007-05-14T11:05:00.000+08:00

i've been spoiled...yet again by dear hubby with this...

just as i wished for it the night before..then the next day, bam! i got it! i truly don't deserve this...considering how my gifts to him are always, almost never at par with anything he got for me..i thank you God for giving me a husband who likes to spoil me silly with lotsa love, bling2 and more bling2..alhamdulillah..man, i really gotta think of some nicer things to give him for birthdays, father's day, anniversary..etc..

on another note, spent mother's day at KLCC watching spidey, lunch and a bit of shopping for the two mothers (my mom and mom-in-law). then went home, just to freshen up a little before we headed out (again!) to bangsar village with kids and whole family.

alrighty then! catch ya later!

the 12 Layer tag...

2007-05-07T22:02:00.000+08:00

rather than grading my students' finals, i think i'd have more fun doing this tag...so here goes!

Layer One : On The Outside
Name : Leo Mommy
Birth Date : 16th August 1977
Current Status : Married with a pair of kiddos
Eye Colour : Brown
Hair Colour : Black with streaks of brown from the last dye..
Righty or Lefty : Righty

Layer Two : On The Inside
Your Heritage : Malay/Indon (everyone in malaysia would have this heritage, somehow or rather)
Your Fear : not bringing up my kids the ideal way, the way granted by Islam..
Your Weakness : a delectable piece of cake..or kuih..
Your Perfect Pizza : New York Pizza - just a thin slice of nothing but tomato and cheese topping
Your Thoughts First Thing When You Wake Up : can i sleep just a little bit more..
Your Bedtime : ranges from 930 when i'm dead tired to past twelve when i've had a bit of caffeine
Your Most Missed Memory : starting my life in the US at the age of 17 and a half..that was some of the best times i've had in my life..

Layer Four : Your Pick
Pepsi or Coke : quite indifferent about it..
McDonald's or Burger King : Burger King, but since it's further than McDs from where i live, McDs will do..
Single or Group Dates : Single
Adidas or Nike : don't really care
Tea or Nestea : Nestea i guess
Chocolate or Vanilla : Chocolat sil vous plait..
Cappucino or Coffee : Plain old coffee with cream and sugah pleasee

Layer Five : Do You ...
Smoke : Nope
Curse : sure...but only the kiddy type ones in public..the hard core ones are reserved only to my own ears...
Take a Shower : of course..
Have a Crush : nope
Think You've Been In Love : it's what got me to where i am now - married with kids..so yeah, i've been in lurve alright..
Go To School : will go again soon, with Allah's will
Want To Get Married : errr..already done that..
Believe In Yourself : that's the thing with me..sometimes i just need someone to tell me that i can do it...
Think You're a Health Freak : i wish i was...but i do get the urge to stay healthy once in a while..

Layer Six : In The Past Month
Drank Alcohol : nope
Gone To The Mall : that's pretty much our routine here in Melaka...
Been On Stage : No..and i don't plan to..i don't really like being in the limelight...
Eaten Sushi : how can i not have?! it's one of my favs!
Dyed Your Hair : Yes..last was in Dec...

Layer Seven : Have You Ever ...
Played A Stripping Game : No
Changed Who You Were To Fit In : Hmm..eons ago..

Layer Eight :
AgeYou're Hoping To Get Married : n/a

Layer Nine : In A Girl/Guy
Best Eye Colour : I guess i like the asian/oriental type..so brown or black..
Best Hair Colour : still the oriental type..so Black
Short Hair or Long Hair : short, clean cut..for girl, long brown hair with lots of locks

Layer Ten : What Were You Doing
1 Min Ago : Doing this tag
1 Hour Ago : putting my son to sleep
4.5 Hours Ago :Eating a plate of mee with lala which i made myself..in front of tv
1 Month Ago : nothing spectacular..that's why i can't remember it..
1 Year Ago : haha..had to check back with my old postings..i was in s'pore zoo..

Layer Eleven : Finish The Sentence
I Love : to wake up and see both my kids and hubby in the room..
I Feel : absolutely lost when kids are not around the house..my life suddenly feels very empty..(just had that feeling couple of days ago when nazim was admitted in the hospital and aishah teman him there..)
I Hate : spiral parking lots..gives me the creeps
I Hide : things from my kids coz i don't want them to spoil them or eat them
I Need : to do something with my nose from getting nose block all the time!!

Layer Twelve: Tag other people..

This one's up for grabs! haha anyone who feels like unlayering themselves, peel away!

blast from the past

2007-05-05T23:11:00.000+08:00

i'm supposed to be studying for my GRE now...but i'm wayyy to engrossed looking at old pictures..and i can't help but notice the evolution of my body. from small to big..then medium...then big again..then smaller..but never really could i go back to my size when i was in my undergrad days..*sigh*...but honestly, i only weigh an extra 5 kgs from what i used to weigh...but 5kgs can make a hell lot of difference, especially when they are not at the right places...anyway, in case you are anticipating pictures of me of different sizes, you can just forget about it. coz i ain't putting a picture of a fat ass me here on my glorified blog. hahahah..but i will put up some interesting pictures that kinda have some story behind it..

like this rose for instance..

was given to me by dear hubby while strolling at the Las Ramblas, Barcelona....i thought it as the most perfect rose ever, with its petals so curvy and fragile, yet so intact..

or this one...

it's taken at the pebble beach in Monte Carlo...it was really hot, and since we didn't bring any swimsuit, i think we were the only ones fully dressed at the beach sunbathing!

have u ever seen an octopus up close and personal? is it called an octopus because it has 8 legs?? well count again..

or this one...a perfect day in San Francisco...near the fisherman's wharf..during my previous visits here, it was somewhat rushed..and i never really got to roam around this area..and last feb, i managed to do that. I like SF..and if i could get into a school which is close to this place, then...it'll be awesome...May Allah grant me my wish..Aamin..

deep dark chocolate cake

2007-05-05T22:50:00.000+08:00

i tried this recipe from my mom's recipe book..and it turned out just marvelous!

except for a few things...like the icing was a little runny. and the shape of cake wasn't exactly perfect because i didn't use the correct size cake tin..shoulda used a smaller one! anyway, i'm really happy the cake turned out nice (in taste). and since dear hubby is not much of a chocolate cake fan, looks like yours truly would have to down this all by herself...

....or if i'm nice or if i'm tired of it whichever comes first, i might just share with other people..heheh..

what a nice long holiday :)

2007-05-03T10:12:00.000+08:00

the last 5-6 days was absolutely a bliss, filled with loads of activities that can make me grin from ear to ear. to start of, i had my long-overdue visit to the facial place where i had an hour and a half of scrubbing, massaging and masking of the face..the place is not that hoo haa, but it's nice enough...my next pampering activity was a visit to this little place, which i did something which i have never done before, but will definitely go there again..:) (khekheke..what did i do there??...ok on to the next activity...) aaah...

the next one was a well-spent 3 and half hours at a spa..this is my second visit to this particular spa, and i just love the ambience. the moment i step foot at the doorstep of this spa, i just feel that i've been transported to Bali...i haven't been to many spas in KL, but i think this one definitely is one of my favs. i chose the lemon spice package...this one's supposed to pecah all the lemak...hehe...fell asleep once during the scrubbing session an once during the massage session. and to put that little cherry on the cake, the whole family spent one night at the Royale Bintang @ the Curve..cute little rooms, very nice, and the best part is, just press the elevator button down, and we're surrounded by all this yummy places to eat!! we had genki for tea, Paddington House of Pancakes for dinner and Ah Tuan Ee for lunch the next day...here's some pix depicting my perfect weekend...

This was where i spent my saturday mid-day...

check out the little steps that take you the rooms..nice :)
i just love the shower floor so much i had to take a picture of it...
another thing i love about this spa is the sunken bath tub...so classical..
and after that...time for some good old sushi!

our all-time favorite pick at genki..

...and then a dip in the pool...

aaah...now that's what i call a guuuddd weekend!!

How Often

2007-04-25T13:22:00.000+08:00

My friend Eve has asked me to do this tag..So here's my "how often" list...

1) How often do you shower?
Twice daily

2) How often do you make up your bed?
Maid does this. But whenever i feel like it, I'll sure make sure I do it immaculately!

3) How often do you wash your car?
Never - we send our cars to the car wash for 5 bucks a piece

4) How often do you sweep/mop the floors?
That's what we pay the maids for...

5) How often do you shower your pets?
don't have any

6) How often do you see the dentist?
twice a year

7) How often do you buy perfume?
My perfume never finishes. But when I do get tired of using the same one, I'll try looking for new ones..probably once every two years..

8) How often do you go for manicure & pedicure?
hardly..I think they're quite a waste of my money since I can only have them painted when I don't have to pray...so why bother?? yeah, i know i don't have to get them painted, but what's a manicure/pedicure without any color on your nails!

9) How often do you go to a spa?
I wish more often, but unfortunately my purse won't allow it..

10) How often do you go shopping?
for food, pretty often..for clothes, probably once a month..for make-up, once a year...

11) How often do you travel out of your country?
2- 3 times a year

12) How often do you have sex?
Haha...you really think i'd share this information on the web? or with anyone for that matter?

To Leilanie, Zetty, Noresh, K Dillz, Arnie ( i know u have tonnes of time!!), please, if you don't mind...do this tag for me??

my carrot cake and i

2007-04-19T00:11:00.000+08:00

After catching an episode of Nigella Feasts, i was all psyched to start baking again, after a rather long haitus. This had also something to do with a slice of carrot cake i had over the weekend at Secret Recipe. Since then, my hands were itching to start baking again. and tada!!! i'm so proud of myself (and if i had recorded myself on digicam, you could see that i was literally dancing with joy as i had the first bite of my carrot cake all smothered with cream cheese frosting)..and before that, while covering up the whole cake with my "first time buat cream cheese frosting terus jadi" i was already happy with myself that the cake was looking like the one i had at SR...and even cheesier, i was humming to the tune of "mencintaimu". yeah..hahah that's how happy i get when something i want turns out just the way i wanted it. unfortunately, my camera is kaput. so sorry guys, no pictures. but i tell u, it's sooooooo good one!!

finals week - the dreaded week

2007-04-16T21:45:00.000+08:00

pejam celik pejam celik, dah april...

boy, where did the all this time go lah? job has been pretty taxing. now we're in the midst of final exams, which only means one thing - in a couple of weeks i'll be swamped with exams to grade, and this is the thing i hate most about being a lecturer. looking through pages and pages of the same old answers, none that really could make me stop and say "hey, this guy or this girl can really answer the damn question well!" instead, i have to tolerate the lame text-book answers which don't really prove to me that the students have learned something from the class. but then again, it's really not the students' fault. we, the lecturers are just as guilty. we tend to rely so much on the textbook when preparing the exams...and in return, duh, you will get textbook answers. the real reason is because lecturers like myself, who are still new in the world of academia lack the finesse and experience to write really good exam papers. and the thing is, we, the lecturers are not given sufficient time to really understand the material we're teaching, let alone to come with exam papers! hiyoo...so, i really hope next semester i will have enough time to really plan out my syllabus, and construct a really mind-challenging exam, one which will have students scratching their heads, nose, ears, etc..

i've come to realize that it's a bit pointless for me to be carrying home work-related stuff as i NEVER get to do anything anyway. over the past week, i've been heret-ing my bag which is full of articles from journals, and books which i plan to make as reference, etc..balik rumah, hmmmm memang tak tengok pun. oh well, at least the niat is there, kan? haha..

my weekend was spent in KL, celebrating the belated birthday of my mom and an early birthday for mr. leo mommy. we had a bbq, and it was a good one. yours truly did the marinate, and got many compliments throughout the night..ehem ehem...hubby's real birthday is this saturday, so i might outdo myself and plan something real nice for him. :)

okaylah, gotta try to get back to that bag of reading i'm supposed to do..till then, Happy Melaka day to all Malaccans! yeah, today is melaka day, for those of you who don't know that.

darn, when can i get it right?

2007-04-11T00:34:00.000+08:00

i'm been trying for several times to make the most delicious seafood spaghetti marinara for my hubby but have yet to succeed. you know that spaghetti with tomato-based sauce with clams and prawns laced over them? yeah, and sometimes they even come in a parchment paper because they need to be baked before serving. yeah, that one. ugghh..last night's attempt was totally a disaster..when i opened up my parchment paper with eagerness to see how my hard work has paid off, I was saddened to see very very dry tangled-up pasta whose sauce has been dried up during the baking process. i couldn't take another defeat at my attempt on making this dish so i gave up eating it half-way, while hubby was nice enough to finish 3/4 way..i really want to know how to make this dish and make it well. so any experts out there, please, I NEED HELP. i realize though, a few mistakes that could have been avoided:

Mistake #1: using angel hair instead of spaghetti. angel hair tends to look like worms...really long ones..

Mistake #2: did not use fresh seafood..instead, i opted for frozen seafood which didn't at all tentalize the tastebuds.

Mistake #3: did not use enough tomatoes

Mistake #4: did not pour enough sauce on the pasta before baking

Mistake #5: some ingredients were missing, and i just can't put my finger on it.

cockroaches taking over my car!

2007-04-04T22:03:00.000+08:00

why are there freaking cockroaches in my bloody car??!!! i've come across tiny probably still baby cockroaches scurrying across the dashboard, the handbreak, and the wheel of my car WHILE driving and it is really driving me nuts! i'll be attempted to squash those little maniacs WHILE driving and it's not an advisable thing to do, i know..but it's just so bloody irritating. so i'm determined to find the source of this infestation in my car by first spraying almost half the can of Ridsect's Cockroach Kill...i'm expecting to see a whole lot of dead cockroaches tomorrow morning. hopefully it even managed to destroy the palace of the king cockroach. in my mind, i keep picturing there is like a sarang or something under the seats which i have not dared to search for..

so WHERE in the world do the cockroaches come from? i'm guessing from the traces of kids' milk which they so often deliberately or not deliberately spill/squirt while in the car. i really have to get to the bottom of this. the feeling of driving a car with cockroaches just running across your fingers at any moment is really not a comforting one.

6 weird things..

2007-04-03T08:51:00.000+08:00

I've been tagged..and it's not one of those things that i'm really proud to write about..hehe..who would? i mean would you want the whole world to know about your so-called secrets?? but i guess i don't really have a choice and have to spill the beans..so here goes..

6 weird things about me:

1. Hmm..let me just say that these are not in any particular order..i'll just write whatever pops in my mind..and the first one would be..I can't eat raw bananas but i can eat em when something has been done to them, like fried, or in the form of pengat, lepat, etc...i just can't eat 'em raw, or they will get stuck in my throat and i might choke. i've discovered this disability to eat raw bananas since i was quite young...swallowing it would result in choking, and chewing it would be worst..so, there, the first peculiar thing about me.

2. I can make really weird looking faces and i don't mean those kiddy-funny looking faces..i mean really crazy looking faces..and this people, is only reserved for the privileged. i.e, my hubby and kids. =). I normally add a dance too when there's music in the background.

3. The third one is a little morbid...I feel that i'll die young from some kind of illness, and not get to live a long life. i don't know why, maybe it's because i'm a melodramatic type of person..but i hope it's just a mindless thought and that i will actually live a long healthy life with hubby and kids, inshaAllah.

4. I can eat like a pig when i'm sick. Yeah, unlike most people who tend to lose their appetite when they are not well, yours truly here can eat and eat and eat..until there's no tomorrow..i don't know..my stomach just feels empty, even right after a meal..now don't you think that's weird??

5. I swear only when i'm alone. i'm not the type of person who swears a whole lot, especially never in front of other people..but when i'm alone, and the situation forces some kind of agitation in me, then, low and behold, sometimes i'm also quite amazed at what i'm capable of (swearing) hahaha..

6. One more...gosh i' can't think of another one...I like to pretend i'm on the phone if/when i don't want to get disturbed/noticed..hahah..i know this is lame..but it works all the time! especially when i keep my head down and pretend i'm yakking away with the 'person' on the other line..

so there..6 of my strangest behaviors..so this just proves that i'm not all that normal huh?? but aren't we all?

Whoever feels like being tagged and wanna share your peculiarities with the rest of us, feel free to write them in your own blog. :)

cinta medik...seriously?

2007-03-27T11:39:00.000+08:00

i was relaxing in front of the tv one evening and a local drama caught my attention. it's called cinta medik and what made me stay on to watch the pathetic drama was that i could not help but see the attempt of our local producers to (once again) clone a western show. and in this case, it's poor Grey's Anatomy.

the cast is made up of 6 people (3 girls and 3 boys...can't get any cliche than this, can they?). the funny thing is they look more like giddy high school students than real doctors. what with the immature looks, and the limited vocabulary and the ohh so plastic acting..and instead of sounding really smart, the most technical the script can get is by one of them mentioning some combination word-letter phrase which didn't really sound too technical.

anyway, despite the lameness of the show, i stayed on and watched..just for kicks..when are we going to get some real shows??

ahh..i can finally blog again..

2007-03-23T21:11:00.000+08:00

I don't know if it's too early for me to be concerned...but my 3-year-old son's teacher told me that his attention span is rather short...and she further elaborated that while others are attentively writing or coloring, my son would only last sitting down for a few minutes before wandering off to find other interesting stuff around the classroom. haha..i can just imagine him do that..so i decided to 'see' this for myself...i took a piece paper and pencil and tried to get him to write something..and as i had anticipated, he was quite interested for the first few minutes...and he started getting restless after that...

hmm..maybe the teacher is right..this is something i should be worried about..so the next day i went and bought a nice little table and chair just nice for his size, which i've put in his room for us to have our little 'tuition' session everyday..i think we can work this out...firstly, he wasn't even holding the pencil right! what was the teacher doing all this while??! he was holding it as if he was an artist trying to sketch a picture of a scenery..so after i managed to fix his pencil-holding style, then i managed to have him join some dots, which i thought was a good exercise to lengthen his attention span and alhamdulillah, i can see some confidence in him..

thinking about this makes me realize that this is just the beginning. parenthood is indeed fun, but at times can be overwhelming. you can't stop yourself from worrying over the slightest things. like if your kid wanders around in the classroom while his other friends sit down and do their work. and why is it that his asthma has not learned to stop coming back every month...and when will be the day that he can finally eat on his own, like the bigger kids..it does take a lot of patience, but i have to admit, once in a while, i'm guilty of being too short-tempered. somebody i know who has pretty grown-up kids told me raising your voice to your kids won't do it..rather, a strict system does the trick. meaning, you can have strict system but in execution, there will be no strict measures, so to speak (ie. no yelling, no spanking, etc). there should always be a reason for every thing, he said. so, i think me and hubby will try this approach in our parenting style, although i see it being more of my challenge since i spend more time with the kids.

anyways, i haven't been around here for quite some time, as you can see. for one, since my last maid left us in Jan, (yea what a way to start my new year..and in case you missed my earlier post, this is the second maid to have ran away) i have been busy as a bee. so there was really no time for me to be sitting in front of the computer banging away on the keyboard like i am now (haha..i have a new maid now, thank God!). yea, thankfully, the maid situation is now all in order, and has been for 2 weeks. our new helper is from East Java (so i've heard maids from this part of the world are more trustworthy compared to those can't-sit-still girls from sumatera) and she is 41 years old...yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have learned our lesson well. never take the young ones...for only God knows what they have playing in their stupid heads when they see some hunky construction worker across the street...plus, she is even a grandmother! hah..but don't be fooled, she is as strong as ever, and does her work very efficiently without much needed supervision. i know it's too soon to say anything, as they say, new brooms sweep clean..but i just hope this time will be a good one..and for some reason, me and hubby decided that we will have two maids this time around. the reasons being, one, we thought one maid may find the job too heavy as there are two kids and household chores to attend to, two, i am forever left traumatized with the two incidents of my babies being left, so i thought if there were two maids around, such things would least likely happen again (like if one decides to leave, the other one will still be here..) i know you might be saying what if BOTH of them left!! please don't..and the third, well, they say it's good in a way that they can tell on each other (but i do hope they will get along well). so..there...so far, the kids like the grandma maid..the next one is also as old, and coming in about 2 weeks. when she comes, they will have a job rotation and will not be doing the same thing forever. and my hubby said i can even have my massages at our pangkin in the afternoons now that we have two maids at our disposal..(oh but i can't imagine how our trips to KL will be then! our car is going to be like a sardine can..)

my super busy schedule which started off since January up till recently didn't give me a chance to celebrate my little aishah's first birthday. she turned 1 on the 8th of march, sharing the same birthday as my dad, who turned 58. we had a double celebration at Chilli's BSC. Nazim's birthday too went by unnoticed a day before Valentine's. i hope to do a little party for the two of them when things are a little settled. and this year is quite an important year for me because this is the year i'm going to apply to grad school for my PhD. and since i've set my mind to do my PhD in the states, i now have to suffer and study for the GRE...why don't i just take the easier route and apply for a school in UK? (and miss all the fun there is in the US? no!) oklah, i'll just apply to a some schools in UK too just in case i do badly in the GRE.

ohh..another thing that's been keeping me away from blogging is having a marathon of Grey's Anatomy with hubby who is 110% hooked. he had not been able to do anything else if he did not finish the season three episodes on DVD and it drove all of us crazy! we would be glued to the tv for hours while the kids just did their own thing (this was during the time when there was no maid)..safe to say, he is totally contented now that he has seen season 3 and has now moved on to Desperate Housewives season 3.

ok, i think that sums it up for now. let's hope my nights after this would be a little more relaxing and gives me more blogging hours.

i feel good! terererer...

2007-02-26T22:16:00.000+08:00

my recent holiday in the land of Wal-Mart,Krispy-Kreme doughnuts and Bagels was just what i needed...it gave me a breath of fresh air...and the adrenaline rush that i wasn't really looking for, but happy to have...

the journey didn't take as long as how i remembered it 12 years ago. 14 hours? that's not so bad is it? and this time around, i'm travelling with a 3-year old kid who kept wanting to go to the loo (even for no 2)...plus other additional activities like feeding him, putting on his diaper when he goes to sleep (he's still not toilet-trained for sleeping time). but that's what made the journey less long and boring...

while waiting for our breakfast at Denny's

nazim looking at the sharks...

me with the driver who was ready to doze off..time for me to take over!

the only picture of the two us on this trip, taken by none other than Nazim! Hey, it was coincidentally Valentine's day, and the sun was just about to set..isn't this a romantic shot? Good job Nazim!

back to basics

2007-01-31T02:22:00.000+08:00

Dear blogger friends,

thank you for expressing your concern on my recent encounter with yet another maid problem. i really value your sympathy. the bad experience has definitely made me turn into a paranoid person, but nevertheless, on a more positive side, i now get to look after my own kids and household, sans the fear of having my children left behind ever again. of course, i don't mean that i quit my job or anything to that extent, but from the moment i get home, my time is fully devoted to the kids and house chores.

my routine now goes something like this. wake up around 6 something, get ready for work. kids are sent to in-laws' place while nazim goes to school till noon. they stay there till about 5 or so then i come home, with them and start preparing for dinner (although i've been very lucky to have such a nice mom in-law who packs up dinner for all of us). so i have yet to prepare dinner myself. plus, when the kids get home, they're all nice and ready in their jammys! aaahh..now that's what i call quality day-care! and the packed dinners? now where can you get that kind of deal?! so, basically what i'm left with is bottle-cleaning and sterilizing, laundry, and cleaning up after the mess made by kids after their done playing with their toys. and this happens quite a few times a day. so i'd normally just wait till they go to sleep to clean up the mess. by 8.30pm, i must put the kids to sleep. this is a must! to enable hubby and i to have some quality time either watching tv or just surfing the web. at times, i'd doze off as well while putting them to sleep, like tonight for instance...which would leave me all bright-eyed and bushy tail at 2 in the morning! which leaves me to do none other than blogging, and emailing...etc..

and the cycle continues...

it's not that bad. i just notice one significant difference from having a maid and not having one. i'm on my feet almost every minute of the day while i'm at home. the chores just don't seem to end. everytime i'm done with something, there's always another thing to do. and living in a double storey house adds up to the challenge too. i now find myself playing the memory game. everytime i make my way downstairs, i'd be scanning the room for anything that might need to be brought along like bottles, or dirty laundry, or just anything that would save me from going up again. same goes when i want to make my way up...my mind would immediately try to remember whatever things that need to be brought up. sometimes i even make use of the helper upstairs (hubby) to chuck the dirty laundry from upstairs, just so i don't have to go up. so nowadays i can see my feet get a little swollen by night time. so i try to raise them a bit just to reduce the swelling. i don't have much complains, really. i'm quite domesticated, and i like to keep my house cleaned, and laundry done at the ideal pace...and done my way.

despite the not-so-favorable incidents with the recents maids, we are still applying for a new maid. and this time, we hope to get someone older, and more mature, and thru a more established agent. so insyaAllah, all will be well.

Oh! in a few weeks, i'll be going for a trip to the land of the free. hmm..i kinda have mixed feelings about this trip. for one, we have NOT made any hotel bookings whatsoever! but kinda excited too to go back to the place i used to live for 6 years but can't stand the anxiety of long hours in the flight and for a first, with a kid tagged along. Hmm..it's going to be fun, i hope.

adios amigos!

2007-01-12T09:43:00.000+08:00

it's only the first week of the year, and the worst couldn't have happened...again..yup..our maid decided to pack her stuff on a friday, and left. and again, the chronology of the events seemed all too familiar. Friday, 11.30-ish in the morning..this time it was my daughter who was left home..alone..while my son was just coming back from school, and that's when the escapade was realized. i felt like crying, but then again, why should i cry if my maid ran away? i should be crying if she took my child away or did something to hurt her..so, what do i feel? at first i felt terrified, coz the first thing my head asks "Where is my baby?" and when i knew my baby is home, i was a little relieved...but is she alright? has she been crying the whole time the maid left her? alhamdulillah, she is fine, she was sound asleep when the maid left. she picked the time when my baby takes her morning nap.

but really, what kind of a person leaves a 10-month old baby all alone in the house? i can't even step out of my gate for 5 minutes knowing either one of my kids is in the house. and even if i do at the time when i have to

bowing out from 2006

2006-12-23T16:29:00.000+08:00

just another week to go and we'll all be welcoming the new year! 2006 has certainly passed by like a lightning for me. started this new job in the middle of the year and now..it's already the last week of December?! where did the time go?? am quite psyched about the new year and all. hmm..i have so many things in mind that i wanna do..i just have to plan it all out nicely..among others, have to start looking for a school to apply for my PhD, start to get some things going for my research (this one's quite a drag), get the business going as well, write more articles and build my publication portfolio (aahh..dreams..which i hope will materialize)

anyway, i so wanna watch CINTA...but my hubby will not budge from his no-watching-malay-movie-at-the-cinema policy. hahaha..haii..kena tunggu vcd keluar la ni..in the mean time, i have the OST to imagine how the story is like. ;p

Nazim has been picking up quite a few things from school ever since he's been going for 5 days a week (we used to send him for only 3 day week). among others, he came back singing "jingle bells", and saying "merry christmas!" and...some other english expressions which left me quite in awe...kids do say the darnest things..

Aishah...she's starting to walk already and managed to take 4-5 steps these past few days. what an achievement!

i'm enjoying my days off from work..just yesterday, i pampered myself with a facial, the usual threading ritual, and for the first time, waxed my legs! i think i'm going to make the latter my monthly ritual..it's kinda nice..leaves my skin soft and silky. :)

take care people and happy holidays!

latest pictures of my two gems taken by their uncle

back on track

2006-12-22T14:58:00.000+08:00

Hi,

After been gone for quite some time, i'm finally back...and i feel there's just so much to tell..well, let's start with the latest things that have been happening in my life. school is on break and has been for quite a while now, so, this is the time they use to train and do all sorts of things to you so that you are not bored to death in the office or at least trying to look busy..:) anyway, i was away at Rompin for a good 2 weeks and i'm just getting back to my old routine which i've left. it's quite hard, i must say..i mean, when i was away, my hubby took the responsibility of putting our son to sleep everynight (and this, folks, is not an easy task...it can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours!) while i, had to stay up for other reasons, like listening to boring lectures, and practising performances which would take place on the final night of the course. secretly, i was quite relieved to have gotten my uninterrupted sleep during the course, but of course, after a few days, the uninterrupted sleep didn't really matter to me. i miss sleeping in my own bed with my son and hubby....all in the same bed. i would talk on the phone with hubby in the morning just before he goes to work, and during lunch, and after work, and at night...i was still ok..until it went onto the second week...when i really miss them...

but i still had another week to go...so i just went on and made the best of the time i had left. it wasn't all that bad, especially the last few days. made a few good friends, and had fun dipping in the river for bath time (since there was no other water source). i also had the best time admiring God's creations, like the green leaves, the gigantic trees, the clear water trickling down from the mountains, the cool weather at the top of the hills, the amazingly cute mushrooms, and even the dried leaves on the grounds were pretty! MashaAllah! For someone who doesn't go into the jungle a lot, it was certainly a great experience and something i will treasure for a very very long time.

now what's left is just memories, and scars from the ever loyal pacats (i'm still scratching while typing this post). haha..

anyway, about the 'new' hobby that i mentioned in one of my posts earlier...hmm that too had to take a back seat for now..i make jewelry..necklaces and bracelets to be more precise. and have started selling them to friends and mom's friends..etc..so if i have time, i'll put up some pictures of my collection :)

life at its busiest

2006-11-28T18:21:00.000+08:00

Hi!

A lot has happened since my last post. Raya, holidays, work, and the usual daily stuff. I'm not going to try to remember the events that have passed. Let's just say that I have been too occupied after office hours to continue blogging for the last month or so. Busy with a new hobby which i'm trying to turn it into a business. And then there's work..which is becoming more demanding with my tenure nearing its 6-month mark.

Quite excited with the year coming to an end in just a couple of weeks. It's not that we have anything special planned...

I have to go now. Will continue writing when I get around to it. See ya..

too many too handle at the moment, (but am feeling great!)

my blog's birthday...among other things..

2006-10-12T00:48:00.000+08:00

sometime last month, i think was my blog's first anniversary!! wow..time really flew, didn't it? i've been sharing my life with strangers and people i've never even met for 1 year already?! i must say it's been fun..and allows the writer in me (if i can say so) to come out from its shell. it's a good channel for me to turn to once in a while...but lately, i've just had too many things in my hands.

Ramadhan has been catching up on us rather quickly, hasn't it? we're already on day 18/19? and soon it will be the last ten nights..where all of us will be trying to search for that miraculous night, the Lailtul-Qadr.

My weighing scale made me grin a little today....after soo long, it showed that i've lost 2-3 kgs from my forever stagnant weight..did it do any exercise? no, did i diet? no...then i thought it might be because it was still before the breakfast..that i would automatically put on the 2-3kgs back on right after berbuka...but hey, lucky me...i weighed myself again after berbuka, and the needle stayed put where it did before!!! yaayyy!!!! but, still, there is the tummy factor here...i need to tighten this flabby tummy of mine...but of course, yours truly is waaaayyy to lazy to do any kind of exercise..

Ey, tak sabarnye nak cuti...i just have so many things in my mind that i wanna do...like sort out the kids clothes, pack for the long holiday, get sucked for hours doing my latest hobby, sort out my things for the holiday, repair an article i've been working on (this has been the hardest), get started on my research, monitoring kids health (both are now recovering from yet another episode of demam, flu, etc), me recovering from the said illness, and just chillin out...

Oklah, nothing much to write now...as always, i'm the last one to go to sleep..oh yea..the maid situation has improved. i now have a reliable maid who is pleasant and keeps my house and house chores spick and span! my kids are also well taken care of and are quite attached too, to her. the one who ran away...well, i don't know what happened to her..but when i get a hold of a scanner, i will put up a picture of her. now, i just don't feel like talking about her..not after i learned about the horrible truth she did to my baby daughter..that sick sick biatch.

Our raya getaway this year is Penang, the pearl of the orient. this year will be quite interesting, as we have an additional member in the family, Aishah. i can almost see our car packed with the stroller, kids' seats, kids' bags, toys, milk, diapers, our bags, our stuff..and lots more..

Having been fasting for almost 2 and half weeks now, i can officially say that my body totally lacks in water intake. at buka time, i take one glass of drink (and it's normally NOT water) and after buka, i have another one..in between maghrib and bed time, i hardly drink anything..then the next time i have a drink is during sahur..which i normally have honey water..then by imsak, i would have been too full to have anything else..so, in a day, i only have the most, 3-4 glasses of drinks...that's bad, isn't it?

stupid is as stupid does

2006-09-20T08:47:00.000+08:00

i have a good reason for not blogging for a while now..
my stupid bitch fat ass idiot maid ran away...

and the only time i can actually rest is when i come to the office (as in the case of all mothers without maids)

but life goes on...

at least my husband's clothes look much nicer now since i'm very good at pressing..
and my kids are much better looked after now since i personally clean their bottles and bathe, and change them...
and i look forward to losing some kgs by constantly being on my feet and doing stuff...

life is not bad at all without a maid....bliss..

here's a quick summary of how the terrible incident happen...last friday..

maid is only temporary and knows she will be replaced by another on friday. maid demanded salary because maid is scared agent will take her money away. i felt sorry (my biggest mistake) and didn't think evil of her..so gave the money as she deserved it (my most stupidest mistake). i left the house for work at 8 and left them (2 kids and maid) at home as it was Friday, and i was going to come back early for lunch. called the house at 10.30 am, maid said she's playing with kids in front of TV. Fine. hubby called at 11.30 am and asked me to go home right away, he said maid left the house..
at this point, i was of course frantic, and was having difficulty breathing. ran to my car and drove as fast as i could, thank God all the lights were green that day. called my neighbor in the car and asked her what's going on. she confirmed the story and said my kids are trapped inside the house. maid must've gone away with the set of keys..that bitch. hubby arrived home first and opened the door.
thank God my son can speak well and related the incident to us. his eyes were puffy from cyring for almost 1 hour. baby was found sleeping partially under the coffee table. i quickly picked her up and was relieved that she was really sleeping.

Alhamdulillah..all is well now..i really hope she will not have a peace of mind for the rest of her life for putting my kids' lives at risk. she is one sick bitch. stupid as hell.

another weekend away

2006-09-08T16:48:00.000+08:00

just as i thought i could have a nice quiet weekend after spending the last weekend in Bali, i'm off again..and this time..it's to the jungle...:)

but first, let me share with you some of my fantabulous Bali experience...(with pictures...as i'm kinda in a hurry now)

a view of one of the two pools at our hotel

us, getting ready for rafting

enjoying the beach..(excuse the legs)

selamat hari merdeka!

2006-08-30T12:03:00.000+08:00

tonight when most malaysians are crowding at their nearest place of merdeka celebration, waving the flags in the hands frantically, shouting 'merdeka! merdeka! merdeka!', i am really looking forward to get some rest and recover from the tiredness of an emotionally draining week...and replenish those lost energy for my upcoming trip with hubby.

checklist for my weekend getaway:

1. change money - not done

2. get my phone to roam - done

3. get ALL medications needed for the kids - not done

4. pack my bags - done
5. tonnes more...but right now my stomach doesn't feel so good. and i just feel like going to sleep now.

hope my weekend will be filled with lotsa sleep and just chillin out. for now, i have neither the energy nor the right state of mind to be doing any work in the office :) heheh..

Post-birthday ramblings

2006-08-22T12:47:00.000+08:00

A lot has happened on and since my birthday...
A few words to describe this year's birthday...
Traumatic, Exhaustive, and Fulfilling

and i shall describe it accordingly:

I hadn't been getting a good night sleep since the sunday prior to my birthday because Nazim was having fever, and it didn't subside until Wednesday (my bday). So, for three nights in a row i had been monitoring his temp and sponging and inserting suppositories up his...., and what not...and in the morning at work, i was yawning away...

So Wednesday was my birthday, and my parents came down and organized a small dinner with my parents-in-law, hubby and son at a restaurant, picked by me, for the convenience of the office bowling session after the dinner. Originally, my body told me it didn't have the energy to go bowling since i really needed some rest, and i should've listened to it..but no, i went on ahead but finally succumbed to my fatigueness after just one game. In the car, Nazim was coughing profusely, and it indicated that he was in pretty bad shape. So, we decided to take him to the A&E and get some medication or even have him warded for the night. But in end, i thought having him at home would be much better, and would cut the running around time for the next day, and the day after.

The next day, Aishah started to feel unwell, and is likely due to his brother. So, again, my sleeping was intermittently awoken with checking her temp, tepid sponging her, etc...

By Friday, Aishah's has started coughing and wasn't her usual jovial and hassle free-self anymore. I was of course, worried and really wanted things to get back to normal.

On Saturday, we left for KL since there's not much to do in Melaka. Aishah was not having fever anymore, but not 100% well either, while Nazim was 80% well.

Hubby treated me to a 2 and half hour long of pampering, smothering, and kneading of the body at a Bali-like spa, followed by a nice dinner courtesy of dad...I thought that was the night i was finally going to get my long-awaited good night of rest..

...when i ended up spending the night at the hospital with Aishah and the maid because Aishah had an asthma attack (of which we thought was just normal cough).

Alhamdulillah, she is recovering, and so is Nazim...I hope and pray Allah will keep blessing my family with good health, Amin.

p/s: looking forward to more spa activities when we're in Bali later this month! :)

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

2006-08-16T00:36:00.000+08:00

*It's my birthday and i'll tell if want to (tell if i want to)
You would tell too if it's your birthday too!

*sing to the tune of It's My Party

Haha...yes people, it's August 16, and i have officially turned another year older, which makes me 29!!! Just one more year, and i can't be in the pool of people referred to as the '20s'.

Looking forward to what tomorrow brings (and surprises!!!) hehe..but for now, gotta hit the sack and get some real good sleep. :)

Good nite people and have a great morning!

me,

room to breathe

2006-08-09T08:58:00.000+08:00

aaaahh..after so many days, i finally got a chance to blog :) been pretty occupied with work and when i'm home there's just no time. anyway, my hubby's MyKad has been found..in fact, it was in his wallet all along. hubby didn't look properly.

now what do i want to write about? hmmm GLAD that AF is OVER!!! now does anybody know when the new Amazing Race going to be aired? and i've already missed so many episodes of DH..

seriously, i have nothing much to write here, but i just feel like not doing work now.hehehe.. hmm...why not i just put up some pictures of my baby....

....still not much hair

Question of the day: Does the color of the clothes you're wearing reflect your mood or vice versa?

In search for my husband's MyKad

2006-08-04T14:00:00.000+08:00

The thought of turning my house upside down in search for my hubby's MyKad is quite daunting. but it's inevitable. my son has once again done the honors of "rearranging" his wallet and took out all the cards in it. now all of the cards have been put back in the wallet except the MyKad which is still missing. Hmm...i really don't like looking for things which i hardly knew its existence.

I'm now sitting in the office on a long friday lunch, since i'm too lazy to go out with my not-so-cooperative clogs. why did i have to wear these clogs, i don't know..maybe coz they match my clothes..but let me tell you this, these clogs were the reason me and my baby slipped off the floor, while trying to come down from my hubby's 4x4 and it's not a pretty sight. so i just hope with this wet condition outside today, history will not repeat itself.

On another note, my lunch was pathetic. i went down to get something and there was spaghetti, so i tapau-ed it and brought it back to my room. Big Mistake. The spaghetti permeates some kind of belacan smell...you know how Malaysians like to Malaysianize certain western dishes? Oh gosh, why can't they just let it be the way it's supposed to be? what a waste..well not really, i ate it all, since i was bloody hungry...luckily i bought some other kuihs. Now the taste of the belacanized spaghetti has been neutralized with some kuih bom, and pulut panggang. but i can still smell the smelly spaghetti....ok time to chuck it out of the office...hang on!

August...my favorite month

2006-07-31T00:36:00.000+08:00

it's another month coming in just another day! a month of celebration (my birthday), a month of rejuvenating (more like the end of the month when i'll be going away for a short vacation with my darling hubby), and a month of patriotism (hari merdeka is coming people, better get that jalur gemilang flying proud in your homes)
i'm about to call it a night. my weekend was superb although i didn't get much rest and sleep. got to do some reading for both personal and work related stuff. last week i joined a pilates class with a colleague. i am totally into classes which will actually make me fall asleep at the end of the class (like this one). and the instructor was such a sweet thing, she even poured some warm green tea in cute little cups with faces on it. i think i will continue with her pilates class from now on. (i still can't fathom how i can continuously yawn while doing the stretching excercises..while the rest who are in their mid 40s and 50s are perspiring profusely!!) anyhow, hubby said it's because i don't do enough excercises which is absolutely true. so i'm gonna give a twice-a-week excercise routine a try next week. hope it will stay on, and hope my weight is going to stay off!

okie dokie. bonsoir

unwinding the day...

2006-07-18T16:14:00.000+08:00

ok..it's only been an hour since my last post...but i'm in the mood to write today..(i should probably focus on writing more academic stuff than blogging..seriously...oh but it's 4.12pm and people are one by one making their way to the exit..) so i did some stuff in between writing my blog..like preparing for my next class and trying to find a topic on what to discuss with the boss on thursday..quite productive lah..didn't entirely do nothing right???
like i said in my previous post...here, i have the opportunity to learn things which i never had any clue of...like this week for example...i was sent to a forum on Intellectual Property and Commercialization. before this, i had close to zero knowledge about IP and now, i know something about it...

i have a tonne of non-work related stuff to do..and they keep increasing by the day..so far i have only ticked 1 out of 9 things to do..it makes me happy and feeling like i've done a lot if i can check half of the list by tomorrow..let's see (fetching the list)...

1. send material to tailor (this one is kept postponed because it's on the other side of town)
2. send the maid for haircut (this one is quite near, but i'd have to go home and fetch her and go out again...hmmm hassle hassle..i just wanna relax when i go home)
3. get maid letter from Embassy in Jakarta (i don't even want to get started on this maid business..let's skip)
4. open bank account for Aishah Karima..(yes..this one is one of my priority as she is already 4 months old and is a good time to start her savings account)
5. arrange direct deposits for Aishah's and Nazim's accounts...(have to go to THaji and fill out forms..again, requires driving to town which i am absolutely not into right now, especially in the afternoon...)
6. send claim form to claim my medical expenses (even though the building to send the form is just 2 minutes away by foot, i often forget to do this, and find it difficult to do it)
7. get lining material for baju (related to number 1, and again, driving and timing issues are the limiting factors)
8. get the bunga telur which have been ordered at a local craft store (same reason)
9. get nebules for Nazim as he is having chest congestion and wheezing again..

so, i think i can do number 9 right after work since it's just one the way home. but the rest...hmmm..i guess would have to wait..for tonight, i plan to cook a nice meal, something which i have not been doing for quite some time now since we've had the privelege of having our meals at my in-laws because of visiting overseas relatives and now that they've gone home, we will get back to our normal routine of eating at our own home...ok lah...enough for today..have a nice evening people! buona sera or as the french say it, bonsoir!

thoughts on my career

2006-07-18T14:17:00.000+08:00

after reading leilanie's post on you hate your job when ...i have a thing or two to share too about my experiences with my bosses. unlike leilanie though, i don't hate my job...in fact, i like it a lot..and it's the first ever job that actually brings some value for me, my everyday life and my future..other jobs i've held before didn't have that value which i could bring with me.
for instance, my first job as an engineer in a big MNC in the US was more of me taking a huge paid vacation and not learning anything at the end of the day. i can't even remember exactly what i did except sitting in front of machines and running simulations after simulations of board testing..(yeah i know..fun...NOT!) but the nice thing about it was i got to make some new friends (mostly of foreign race) and get to experience of working with them. the work ethics there are also quite different from ours here. of course, people are expected to come to work on time, and if we arrive late, we wouldn't get "the look" as much as we would here. taking a break means taking it whenever you feel like having a cup of coffee or just say hi to your friends..here, it means you have to take it a certain time, and only for a certain amount of time, or you would be getting "the look" again..but i guess this is not applicable for private companies...they should be pretty laid back.
anyway, my second job was again, not too fulfilling for me, even though i kinda enjoyed the meeting with people from other companies and the eating here and there part. but when it came to the nitty gritty of it...i really didn't like what i was doing. i mean i was an engineer, in an engineering post, and 70 per cent of my job required me to draft/proofread legal documents which sounded too alien to me...so, i was more than happy when i gave up that job . but my boss was nice..even though she (yea SHE..my only female boss so far). even though she changed her mind like she changed her clothes, i still liked her...and she was nice to me..despite some (very small) incidents which proved to be otherwise..she even took me as far as Hong Kong on a business trip. and there, we bonded :) we went shopping for bags, shoes, and clothes..we ate at restaurants together, and went sight-seeing together..hahah...i haven't seen her for 3 years now..i hope she's doing well..
and then..my third job...as a lecturer..a career i never thought i'd get myself into ever..i still remember..the night before my first class, i cried myself to sleep in fear that i would not be able to face the students tomorrow, as i had no teaching experience, etc...but that was that...hahah i've passed that fear stage..and have become quite adept with talking in front of a big crowd..being a lecturer doesn't confine you to the "meeting with your boss" ritual like other jobs. you're expected to be independent...do your own thing..go to classes whenever you have them...meet your students when they need you..but interaction with the boss is pretty minimal...my bosses then were alright...didn't really work with them at a personal level...more of a collective work...
and finally, here..at my forth job, also as a lecturer but at another learning institution, the practice is quite similar with my previous job, but with more essence...here i get to explore on what i want to do within the next 5 years...and learning so many new things..things which i didn't get to learn while on job number 3, like research work, publications, and what's it like to be a real academic...i think it has to do with the environment that i'm exposed to now..and also having a boss who, from day one stressed the real meaning of being an academic. it's more than just teaching..it's about enriching yourself..to be in a life-long learning process..and i could say the "fear" of the boss too has something to do with it..hahahah..fear of not being as smart as he expected you to be...fear of not being able to talk the talk and walk the walk..and right now i am "fearing" of what the heck should i be talking about with my boss as a report routine which he has enforced. ok gotta look for stuff to talk about now...

just another manic monday

2006-07-17T14:03:00.000+08:00

the day started off pretty swiftly but calmly for me as i hugged hubby before he left for work and me having ample time to get ready for work myself. on normal days, i don't normally have the time to bath my son for his school, but today, was an exception. and it didn't take me very long to get him dressed either. so my morning was going on quite smoothly until...i wanted to lock the house but there were no house keys to be found!! (again, i suspected my hubby has once again, taken my copy of the house keys and his is in his car all this while) there is a tendency for him to take whatever copy that is on the table just beside the door, and leaves me with nothing to lock the house, and this, has happened too many times...and every time it happens, i'd go crazy!! same goes if either one of the keys gets lost..i'd go crazy too. anyway, so that was the start of how my morning got a little havoc..and then there was nazim, who likes to get into the car by himself and play with the steering wheel. and this morning, as he was doing that, i was still looking high and low for the house keys, even though i'm very sure that it's nowhere in the house (gotta give a try). so, then suddenly nazim came out of the car crying, and i saw blood in his mouth (not too much, thank God) and i suspected it might've come from him accidentally bumping his mouth on the steering wheel. so by then, nazim could not stop crying and wanted to be picked up and consoled..and me, still feeling quite agitated at the thought of the missing keys (missing because hubby said he only took one set of keys..but he didn't confirm if the other set is in his car or not). so, my plan to arrive in the office by 8.15 was far-fetched at this point, as i had to send nazim to school myself....(at this point of time, i was interrupted by a colleague at work annoucing that Siti and Dato' K have finally admitted that they are getting married in a press conference)...so now i have nothing more to write (not because of the news...but because my train of thought has been distracted and i am too lazy to gather them again) so, thank you, and please drop by again, another time.

a quickie

2006-07-13T09:17:00.000+08:00

now don't start thinking funny here...it's not that kind of quickie..

i have 15 minutes before i have to drive to class (yeah, not walk...since the class is 30 mins away from my office!) good thing they let us claim for the mileage.
anyway, just had my bowl of soto for breakfast, but i kinda feel my stomach churning. i hope it's not going to be trouble. my whole body kinda aches today. probably because i was tired the day before. Thank God tomorrow is Friday, and then the weekend! aaaaahh...this waking up at 7am routine is pretty tiring...and has made me pretty much like a robot. leave the house by 8, get back home by 5.30pm...i guess that's not too bad compared to KL people where getting home by 7pm is quite the norm! *count my blessings* :)

anyway, gotta go now!! See ya...

snak-ing...psssttt

2006-07-06T10:04:00.000+08:00

i'm back in the office today, only to find not too many people are in today. including the Boss. half of them have gone for another workshop somewhere and the other half have gone...mengular...which brings me to want to vent out my ketidakpuashatian..if there is such a word...why don't they want to bring me along in their mengular activity/trip? haih....i don't know what is it with these people...one minute they are buddy2 with you and the next...total strangers!!! well, i guess this is just one of those office politics that i have to deal with...but i just feel so damn pissed at them for having this kind of mentality. i remember when i was working in the US, things like this don't/rarely happen. people are quite transparent with their feelings and in communicating with people, and office politics/beuracracy are non-existent.

so here i am, in the office, feeling a bit pissed and lonely, and what better way to express my feelings than in this blog. what is it with me that makes them not want to hang out with me? do i portray the "goody-two-shoes" employee who will leak out information about their mengular activities to the Boss? sheeshh...for goodness sake, i LOVEEEE to mengular...that's what i've been doing ever since i started working (ooopss..i hope none of my former bosses or present boss is reading this). anyway, maybe they think since i'm quite a newbie at this place so they shouldn't really get me involved in their activities just yet...or maybe not? maybe they just don't like me. ah well, it's ok, i'll get over it soon..

so what now?

i think i'll start doing my work (but i still can't help thinking how much fun they are having out there while i'm stuck in the office all alone).

shakira shakira shakira

2006-07-05T00:43:00.000+08:00

the title above has nothing to do with my entry today. it's just that i'm so glued to that song "hips don't lie" because i hear it (almost) every single day while i'm driving to work or coming back from work. it's just so....i don't know...just makes me wanna move..(but of course i couldn't move in the car as much as my heart desires as what would people be thinking when they see a tudung lady behaving like that?) it's just got a catchy tune and wyclef jean's part is not bad either. what a title to a song though...hips don't lie? hahahah..i guess she's talking about how her hips don't lie because she's really havin a good time dancing huh? aaaaanywayyy

i have been away from work to attend a three-day workshop (on Problem Based Learning a.k.a PBL, but i'm not going to talk about it in this entry as it's going to take a whole different entry just to talk about that) and guess what are the buzz stories i've been hearing at the workshop? among other things:

1. the siti - dato' k perpetual romance (or is there?)
2. the mawi - fiance (ex-fiance) saga
3. who will win the world cup this weekend?

so, I guess I was a little late in getting some of the information above. i don't get to read my papers regularly due to time constraint and availability. it seems that mawi has called off his engagement on the same day his father had passed on. what a shame. there are many versions as to why the engagement was called off, but whatever reason it may be, i guess it's better to realize they're not suitable for each other now than finding it out much too late.

aaah..and the siti-dato' k story. my oh my, people (especially the former's fans) have a lot to say about this. and this includes some highly intellectual people who even go to the extent of doing a SWOT analysis on the possibility of marriage between the two.

Strengths:
Weakness:
Opportunity:
Threats:

anybody interested to fill out the blanks above?

and of course, the world cup is coming to its end this weekend. not that i've been following all the matches since it began earlier last month, but for some reason, i tend to get excited when the whole thing is about to finish. same goes to AF4, or any other show for that matter....and talking about shows..does anybody know what happened to that show Grey's Anatomy???? I have been eagerly waiting for it since its last episode where Dr. Sheperd's ex-wife (possibly) appeared at the hospital and Meredith was totally blrghh about it because all the while she thought she was dating someone single. And then the week it was supposed to show that episode, Astro started to show that "beauty and the geek" show. what the hey?? so am i missing something here or have they shift the show to another day or something? anybody with that information please let me know because i loike the show a lot and have never missed an episode.

hmm...ok, it's now 1 am and i'm trying to push myself to write a research proposal due on the 10th. after an hour and a half long of drama earlier (a continuous cycle of putting aishah to sleep, her getting up again, crying again, putting her to sleep again, me incessantly asking nazim to go to sleep, and him simply ignoring my orders...)...i finally have peace and quiet...so i better not waste this opportunity while i'm still up and awake.

how i wish i was still in bed

2006-06-26T14:19:00.000+08:00

what a sleepy monday morning it has been. it's now after lunch and i'm just hoping i won't doze off and fall on my lap top. so to keep myself awake and jump-start those sleepy nuerons in my head, i figured i'd blog a thing or two about my weekend.

what? where? when?
i was at Aquaria KLCC for the second time! This time, bringing along some of hubby's relatives from Pakistan. and boy..i cannot believe how many people were there! the place was packed with people and the line to get the tickets was long, but ran pretty smoothly, thank God. despite it being my second time, the place still gives me the thrill, looking at those colorful fish and corals, and just imagining how it would feel like to be amongst them in the water...when suddenly, i saw someone in a diver suit and tank on his back doing exactly that! wowwww...he must be having the time of his life! or...not...i don't know..wouldn't you feel just a little bit worried knowing that at any random minute, a baby shark will bite off your leg?! or arm? or thigh? when you're not even looking??? anyway, the feeling of joy would surmount fear when there's so many beautiful things around you. and among the people who were lucky to be in the aqurium was local celebs like amy mastura and sharifah amani. when i saw the latter's name tag on her suit, i thought to myself...is that really her? she looked like a 5 year-old kid in there...i know she's small and petite...but this is waaayy to small...then standing next to her was amy...and again, i thought, is this for real or is it just anybody in that scuba diving suit? because amy too looked too small from what i perceive her as. so...then i remember...things in there look 30% smaller than their actual size. no wonder they all look like midgets! anyway, nazim had a good time, and will keep on talking about it for the next few days...and more..

what else? i didn't watch what i ate over the weekend and now i'm feeling a little bloated and diminishing my attempt on losing a few kgs. need to lose weight..so that i can look nice in my going-to-be-lacey baju for my brother's wedding in Nov. nak pakai lace mana boleh nampak spare tyre...hiyaaa...manyak susah laaa..

here are some pictures from Aquaria! enjoy!

Bandung trip: part 2

2006-06-08T12:41:00.000+08:00

i know the hiatus was pretty long since my last post, and i have yet to continue my story about bandung. ok, i'll try to make this the 2nd and last part, as it will get stale and fade away from my memory if i don't get to it soon. so...where were we...right..shopping...

so, the second day was dedicated solely to sight-seeing. we hired a supir, and a toyota unser, or kijang, as they call it there, and drove about one and a half hours to the famous Tangkuban Perahu, the volcanoe...it was the first time i ever saw a volcano crater and it was really a big one too! there was still smoke coming out from the crater and the smell of the surroundings...well, yeah, smelled like rotten eggs. the weather was cool, and we walked around the souvenir shops selling necklaces made from minerals from the tangkuban perahu (so they claimed), and other things made of wood. we took a break and had tea in one of the cute "warongs" while enjoying the cool air.

After that, it was off to the ciater hot springs, where we soaked our feet in the very hot but therapeutic water. we had to leave after a while though as the rain had caught up with us. oh well...then began our nightmare-ish journey to cibaduyut, a place well-known for its leather shoes and goods. it was such a LONG LONG drive and i kinda regretted that we went there. because by the time we got there, everybody was already tired from being too long in the car, and on top of that, the things there weren't that impressive either! major bummer! shouldn't have gone there, shouldn't have gone there.

anyway, that was that....and we all went back that night feeling very tired...but the next day, was much better. it was another kind of therapy...the one that is good for the soul and vanity, but not to the wallet! hehehe..you guessed it...more shopping! and this time, we went to the right places, all recommended by my friend who's been there before. hubby got himself some pretty good bargains with designer t-shirts while yours truly searched high and low for childrens' clothes and not to forget, a handbag. :)...and a wallet...and a nice one too..

so that's basically it...my bandung trip..we went back the next day, and happy to be back home. btw, evelyne, i tried the nasi lemak on the way there...it's alright lah, nothing to shout about. but my mom thinks it's good. on the way back, they were sold out. i only had a chocolate cupcake.

if you want to see pictures from my bandung trip, go here

back from bandung: part 1

2006-05-29T12:53:00.000+08:00

after spending 4 days and 3 nights in lovely bandung, we are back...with a suitcase full of new clothes, and another full of dirty laundry. all in all, it was a fun trip, money well spent and time worth sparing. the first day started off rather slow, as we didn't really have any idea where to go. when we reached the hotel around 10am, we were quite tired as the day started TOO early for some of use. me, nazim and amin left melaka that day around 4am, so you can imagine that by noon, we were pretty tired. my parents and brothers met us at the LCC terminal and we all left on the 7.30 flight to bandung.

our first meal in bandung was lunch at this Sundanese restaurant, which was recommended by one of the staff from the hotel. we took two taxis from the hotel as we were'nt familiar with the other mode of transportations yet. lunch wasn't that great, but what was appealing was the place we had it. it was on a pangkin, and all of us sat bersila on the floor. so we managed to order our food, guessing some of the unfamiliar words to be what we think they were....like ikan gurame goreng to ikan kerapu goreng...apart from that, we had something close to a gado-gado, some tempe goreng and some ayam bakakak (which is ayam bakar). all of the dished were kinda sweet, as we later found out that sundanese liked their food sweet, as opposed to padang people whose food were spicier, and suited more to our taste buds. after lunch, we were quite hyped to see what bandung was all about, so we, just like the locals, boarded the angkutan kota, a doorless van with side-way seats, that serves similar purpose to those tuk-tuks in Thailand to a 'shopping place' as we clearly instructed to the driver. as we didn't know the names of the places to go, we relied entirely on the driver to bring us somewhere where we can shop. so, we ended up at a mall, which is just like any other mall in KL. at that point, i was a little frustrated, as i was expecting somewhere that had indonesian traditional arts and crafts or some factory outlets, just like what i've been hearing about before i went to bandung.

this is where we stayed

after a while, we decided to walk across to the building opposite the mall and there, i found what i was looking for - branded childrens' clothes at a very affordable price! but that didn't stop there, we later discovered more places like this, on the third day of our stay. after getting some things from that store, we went back to the mall and lepaked at starbucks where i helplessly dozed off on the couch for quite a while, totally oblivious to my surroundings. i could see amin was pretty bored by then, as he said "we came all the way bandung to hang around in starbucks?!" betul jugak...heheh..but i was too tired lah, and the air cond and the couch was so nice. :) after getting up from my nap at starbucks, i thought there must be somewhere else we can go to shop for more "indonesian stuff" but the guys said they're ready to go back to the hotel, except my younger brother. so me, mom and brother took a cab to "pasar baru" as recommended by the supir, while my husband, dad, other brother and son went back to the comfort of the airconditioned room in the hotel. when we reached pasar baru, my shopping nerves started to kick in as i saw so many shops selling colorful tudungs, scarves, kebaya materials and batiks. now THIS is what i'm talking about! i picked up some scarves (silk ones for about 10 bucks each) from that shop while mom shopped for some other types of tudungs (the ones that you just slip in and tadaaaa...all your hair in covered...like a mini telekung, but trendier). then, we went to a shop selling a variety of batik/sarongs and kebaya material which made us both stare in awe. they had such nice colored materials for kebaya, kurung, and batiks. unlike my mom, i normally take a longer time to shop as i'm not as impulsive buyer like is, plus, i also have to think about the *ching-ching*...heheh..so, finally, i picked up a 3-in-1 material (for bottom, top and selendang) to make a baju kurung/kebaya, one gendong (the cloth used by many indonesians to carry an infant), 2 batik sarongs (one to give away and one for myself)...and mom...well, she just bought whatever i got...times 2 or 3, minus the gendong. we left pasar baru after that, feeling quite satisfied with our purchases and decided to give our wallets a rest, for tomorrow, we planned on some sight-seeing stuff.

finding a school for nazim

2006-05-23T10:04:00.000+08:00

i never thought it would be difficult to find a kindy for nazim...until recently. being in melaka doesn't help much either. i've been to 5 kindy/day care centers here and none of them is even close to what i want for nazim. there a few things that i look for when trying to find a day care center for nazim. cleanliness is without a doubt, one of them. and when i see that one spoon is being used to feed 10 children, it just puts me off. furthermore, one of the children had green mucus coming out from his nose. don't they know that they are transferring germs from one child to another by doing this? cleanliness of the toilet is also another factor in list. even if a child is able to go to the toilet himself, supervision is still needed. someone still needs to wash after him and keep the toilet from smelling like pee. another thing i look for is the quality of activities the kindy/day care offers. when the teachers are short-tempered, and yelling is the only way she knows to get the attention of the children, that also puts me off.

oh heck, i have to stop for now, nazim is crying his lungs out. today is bad nazim day. he's not being a good boy.

untitled post

2006-05-22T16:40:00.000+08:00

my last entry was may 6th, and now it's already may 22nd?!! now where have i been?? a few places...but mostly still busy with the house "re-d0". let's see, i would say we are quite done downstairs, just need to get some matching curtains and it's all good. upstairs, it's still in shambles. still waiting for that cabinet for our treasured books and junks to be ready. annnd it's also going to be our new tv place since we've decided to shift the tv upstairs. from our measurements, it looks like the distance between the tv and our sofa would be pretty near..but we'll see lah first...if it's too near and our eyes can't take it anymore, we'll just have to find another solution. sometimes i feel like my house is turning into a kindergarten as it has a variety of colors...hahah..but it's ok lah...quite tastefully done i would say. my son's room has the most striking color..and it really does make the room exciting for children. now i just have to put some fun curtains, and put the neat IKEA stuff we bought and we'll see the difference..aaaahh too bad, i forgot to take the before pictures...

anyway, where have i been the past few weeks? well, last 2 weekends we were in Singapore, visiting the zoo. it was my first time and nazim's too. amin has been there a lot of times when he was younger. it was so much fun showing nazim all the big animals he's only seen on flashcards. the drive from melaka took us 2 and a half hours and all in all we spent 5 hours there. i just love the layout of the zoo, with a variety of huts that people can take a rest under. me and hubby were quite interested looking at the huts as it gave us some good ideas on how we want our wakaf/pangkin to look like. oh yeah, that's also part of our face-lifting ideas to the house, and i can't wait to sit in my wakaf/pangkin once it's ready!!

in a few days, we're off to bandung, with baby aishah left in the care of my dear MIL. i'm going to miss my baby, but it's really better off for her not to come along. i'm looking forward to do some pampering stuff like massages or spa. ever since i went on my maternity leave, i've been leading the life of a tai-tai, some sort, but not entirely, i still slave around the house cleaning up the store room, and sweating it out doing other house chores. but i managed to get some tai-tai activities done like going for a massage, facial, and having lunch with a good buddy :) and now, another opportunity in bandung!

some of the huts at the Singapore Zoo. one log for one pillar? wow...of course ours won't look exactly like this..

amin and nazim, waiting for the elephant show to begin. nazim really needs a haircut, but he would never agree to one and would always end up protesting.

those are fake elephants

isn't this elephant cute?

face lift

2006-05-06T13:16:00.000+08:00

hubby and i are in the midst of giving our house a face lift. we want to give the house a bit of life, so to speak. so we're trying out with some colors with the living hall and the dining area and also to our bedroom! i can't wait to see the outcome. hope it will turn out ala-ala casa impian....when we moved into this house, it was still brand new, and the paints are all the same for every wall - plain beige. so now after living in it for over a year, we are ready to give it a new look. choosing the right color was quite difficult, as we were afraid what we see in the book would turn out gawdy on the walls. so that took a bit of time, but it's looking pretty good i would say. we haven't chosen a color for the bedroom feature wall yet though..i'm thinking olive..it would go quite well with the brown laminated floor...i think..it's quite fun doing just by ourselves (deciding on the theme color and all lah, not the painting).

On another note, yours truly is down with the flu, and nazim is having yet another episode of his asthma/cough attacks which is quite tiring. anyhow, people say it will go away by itself when he grows up. we'll just have to wait i guess.

Adrenalin rush

2006-05-04T09:46:00.000+08:00

wooooo...talk about adrenalin rush...MI3 memang best giler..with the face masks, nice gadgets, and country-hopping... aaa..i love the thrill! i think i want to watch it again...on DVD la of course..so that i can replay the parts that was too quick to catch at the cinema..but wowwww!!! best gile laaa...went to watch another movie over the last weekend. movie was called "Failure to launch"....rather slow and predictable...and i find SJP kinda boring. anyway, it's three more weeks till my bandung trip and i'm really excited!! :))

here's a tag by zetty, the cool chic.

HOW MANY SCHOOLS DID YOU GO TO?

LOTS!! mainly because i grew up in the military. Let's see...here they are in chronological order.

1. Sekolah Kebangsaan Klang Gate: Std 1
2. SRK Taman Melawati: Std 2 and 3
3. SRK Assunta 1: Std 4
4. SRK St. Agnes, Kota Kinabalu Sabah: Std 5 and 6
5. SBPS KK, Sabah: Form 1
6. Campbell High School, Canberra, Australia: Form 2
7. SM Assunta, PJ: Form 3,4,5

WAS I THE STUDIOUS NERD OR THE LAST MINUTE HERO?

I have to say, i was the former....but that changed in college..where there was more to life than just books..hehehe..

WAS I THE TAIKO OR TEACHER'S PET?

I guess i was a bit of both. For subjects that were interesting, i had good relations with the teachers..but for some..aighhh..

BEST 2 SUBJECTS

Has to be Add Math and Chemistry!

TEACHERS THAT I REMEMBER MOST (FOR VARIOUS REASONS)

1. Miss Jaya (my add maths teacher): She was quite young when she taught us in form 4 and 5. She braids her long long hair everyday to school and has a very white set of teeth. I like her because she writes very clearly on the chalkboard (her writing is so round and big) and also because she was nice to me :) I enjoyed her class very much.

2. My home science teacher in Australia. Why i remember her? She taught us how to make Pigs in a Blanket...

3. Mr. Chew (my physics teacher): He was the only guy teacher in my school, and sported the 70s look in the 90s. He would give little presents to those who did well in his class.

WHO DO I WANT TO TAG?

anybody who feels like it

things i do when i have nothing else to do

2006-04-27T22:32:00.000+08:00

i've been hit by the baking bug and this afternoon i baked brownies...from scratch!! and it turned out darn well!! so much for dieting. hiyooo..how to diet like this?? i can't resist a piece of cake or a brownie or a nice piece of kuih.

here's the recipe that i tried:

1. melt some 60g of chocolate with 125g of butter in a double boiler.
2. sift 60g of flour and a pinch of salt.
3. beat 2 eggs with 160g of brown sugar until you get the "ribbon-effect". that's when your egg and sugar mixture turns into a consistency that when you drizzle a ribbon-like form on the mixture itself, the "ribbon" will stay there for 4-5 seconds.
4. pour in the melted chocolate into the egg mixture
5. fold in the flour and the chopped walnuts and chocolate chip
6. bake for 30 minutes or till the top is shiny

Voila...bon appetite messieurs et mademoiselles!

besides baking, i do other things too...like constantly layan-ing my very very chirpy son nazim through the day. he has this uncanny ability to repeat whatever he is saying for like 10 times (or more, with the same intonation and all until he gets a reasonable response from me). sometimes by the time he gets to his 4th or 5th rant, my ears just tend to turn off by themselves..and then when i realized that he's going to his 10th, i would quickly think of a remark that would satisfy his inquisitive mind...until he goes on again with another round of rants. and one thing that would keep him quiet for a while would be doing his floor puzzle.

him and his muka tak puas hati with something

if you can see closely, he doesn't know yet how to put the pieces of puzzle to make the big picture, but he certainly knows how to put them together :)

my baby girl, on the other hand, is doing well, alhamdulillah. she is such and angel, and forever in slumber land....zzzzzzzzz

haadyai trip

2006-04-22T12:10:00.000+08:00

My short trip to Haadyai a few weeks back was just what i needed. Even though i spent most of the time in the hotel room while hubby went to do his work, it was time well spent and I managed to get some rest. In the afternoons, we would take the tuk tuk and went to town for shopping and dinner. Here are some snapshots i took one afternoon. At the time we were there, the Songkran festival was approaching, hence the food stalls along street which would not be there on normal days.

The food look pretty interesting, but i didn't have the courage to buy any of them, except of course this nice cup of Thai iced tea...being the thirsty traveler, I had this drink almost everytime i bumped into it :) It is soo yummy!

hubby's birthday comin up

2006-04-18T16:52:00.001+08:00

Amin's birthday is coming up. this friday to be exact. and...as usual, i have no idea what to get him. i know a particular thing he would like to have..but gosh is it expensive or what? anyway, he said he was going to get it himself..(haha yeah, excuses, excuses)...what is it? a membership to CARS International..u know, that car washing service you see at malls and hypermarts. yeah, that one..according to him, it's a pretty good deal, since we can have both cars cleaned and polished at a very very reasonable price. but it's 600 plus ringgit!!! and me here am quite broke.

so what other choice do i have? well, i thought of suprising him with a night's stay at a reasonable hotel some where (yeah, we people like to stay at hotels heheh). at least, it's not as expensive as the first choice.

maybe his glasses need to be changed...he's been wearing the same pair ever since we got married and the lenses are full of scratches and the frames are getting loose.

perfume..nah...
watch..nah...
new pants...just got them a few weeks ago..

have 3 more days to think. but i'll definitely bake his birthday cake!!

updates updates

2006-04-18T16:23:00.000+08:00

I don't seem to be able to blog as much as I used to for a number of reasons. Namely, everytime i open up my lap top, my 2-year old will come climbing on my lap telling me that he too, needs to "buat kerja". I also can't seem to sit at one place for a good 20 minutes as there is always something needed to be done to satisfy the needs and wants of this 2-year old who is becoming more and more demanding everyday. *sigh* My ears are so used to hearing among other things: "mummy, nak pasang barney..(that alone is repeated about 10-20 times a day), mummy nak susu, mummy, nak kencing (but he always does it first in the diaper), mummy this mummy that, you get the idea. and everyday, no matter how hard i try to look nice, i always look like shit by mid day, andd smelling like rotten milk too (as i am breast feeding the baby).

and what's more..my maid issues are still unresolved. yours truly has to fill out the paperwork (again) to get a replacement for the new maid who only stayed for 1 week and had to go back to Indonesia for having hepatitis B. for the past few weeks, we have changed a total of 4 maids...one went back to indon, and the three borrowed from MIL. so now, we're still borrowing the maid until we get our permanent one...

in the midst of all that, i managed to get away for 3 days to Haadyai. :) hubby took me for a business trip and it was really what i needed. a few days rest from the kids and house chores. I managed to get two massages and had my nails and toenails done at a very very cheap price. where can you get manicure AND pedicure done for RM20?! and the massage...is always a pleasure.

now it's back to living in reality...hehe..baby is doing well, but big brother is getting naughtier and naughtier...now both me and amin are faced with the difficult part of parenthood..trying to make your child listen to you. This is our new challenge....i never knew it was this tough.

me three weeks after delivery

2006-03-29T15:30:00.000+08:00

It's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. Not much relaxing done for the past 2 weeks. In fact, i've been too busy and too occupied to pamper and take care of myself. Yup...no lying down on the bed with baby next to me and catching up with sleep whenever she sleeps...that's no longer possible when i have Nazim tagging along with me all day long. Most people cringe when they hear me driving the car here and there just weeks after giving birth. What they don't know is I started driving after the 3rd day!! Ok, maybe that was a bit too much, but the baby was in the hospital because of jaundice, and i had to breastfeed and i felt fine, so i just took my keys and drove.

And now, after three weeks, i feel even more fine, and still people cringe at the idea of me going out and about. They make me scared with all these things that will happen to me...if i don't "jaga-jaga"..that's the typical word used among these ladies. I mean, what am i to do? Just sit and lie down on the bed and not move an inch? No wayyy...not with a very very active 2-year-old around. A lot of people say i might suffer from back aches and joint pains when i'm older for not taking care of myself better (by that they mean no going out lah) Is that really true? I mean i feel quite healthy now and on some days i feel tired..but don't we all? and i thought if i do get back aches and joint pains when i'm older (most old people suffer from this anyway) there would be medicines to take later on..hehehe...Of course, i don't totally denouce the whole pantang thingy...i still wear the bengkung (this one is a practical advise to stick to, as it keeps my back and posture straight, and it also helps to put that bulging tummy in) so, i'm quite religious at wearing this for at least 6 hours a day, but not to sleep, please..it's too tight and i need my space..The socks...hmm..given that up on the 2nd week...now i'll just wear my slippers in the house..Cold drinks...hmmm...was very very thirsty in the first week, so helped myself to several glasses of good old iced lemon tea...but now, trying to limit the cold stuff as i just found out that it really makes you bloat..

Hmmm..what else...i had my urut sessions for 6 days in a row..i think i'll pop by Amcorp this weekend to get another massage..The baby is doing fine, alhamdulillah, and is quite easy to look after. Being a second-timer, i can say that i feel more confident handling a baby and all that came with it (bathing, feeding, burping, etc.) and this time around, i am more disciplined, in the sense i don't rock her to sleep, like i did with nazim, and feeding time is more regimented, giving both her and me a good long (well, maybe not thattt long) rest at night.

my princess is finally here!

2006-03-13T16:15:00.000+08:00

Alhamdulillah, my baby princess made her way out to the world at 7.08 a.m. on Wednesday, 8th of March, sharing the same birthdate as my father....and here she is just hours after she was born:

and this is her on the next day:

She weighs 3.3 kg at birth and didn't give her mommy too much trouble coming out. This time around the labor was sure much shorter than the first one. I started to have contractions at home just as I was about to sleep around 12...and by 1.30 a.m., i woke hubby up and told him that it's happening pretty soon. At 2 a.m. i was checked by the midwife and she said i was already at 3 cm. By 3 a.m, the contractions were more regular and stronger but i was still able to sit and talk to hubby...then later i decided to lie down in the labor room to get some rest. This went on till about 6 a.m....and all this while i was having the contractions, i managed to stay focus by doing the breathing technique!! I thought that this time around, i didn't wanna use the antenox (the laughing gas) to relieve the pain. i even had thoughts of taking the epidural before this, but seeing how well i was coping with just the breathing method, i decided to just go au naturale....(ok lah, the nurse gave me pethadine, but i swear that didn't work at all!). so there i was, breathing noisily (like he he he hooh) every 2 minutes, waiting for the right time to come to push. when the doctor came in, he told me to push anytime i felt the urge to do so.

oddly, my contractions were not as strong anymore and i even managed to doze off for a like half a minute. so they put me on drips to get my contractions going stronger and at around 6.45 a.m. onwards, i started my pushing regime. throughout this time, the nurse turned on the radio and in the background i could hear the sound of a person reciting the Quran as it was suboh time. And in my mind i thought, this birth is going to be special as she will be arriving around suboh. I pushed..with my hands gripping my thighs tight and trying to do the crunch to move the baby out. During my first delivery, i don't remember having to do this much work..maybe because the nurses helped me more since they knew it was my first baby then. but this time, i have to say, i had to do quite a bit of work. the other people in the room (doctor, nurses and hubby) only helped by yelling out "push...push..and come on..sikit lagi...one more push" oh gosh....every time they said one more push, i felt like i just can't take it anymore. and when it really was "one more push" i honestly didn't have anymore energy in me. my back hurt so bad that i was at a point of giving up and then the doctor said NO!! push again!! so finally, with one deep breath and one more BIG push (even the nurse pressed her hands on my tummy to help the baby out), and one painful episiotomy, i could feel the baby making its way out and as soon as she did, i couldn't feel more relieved. he put my baby on my tummy and let me hold her for a few seconds before the could clean her up. at that point, no more pain, just sleepy, and completely exhausted...but i wasn't really in deep sleep yet as i haven't heard my baby cried...so i was a little worried which made me stay awake for a little while...and then finally, i heard a loud scream from across the labor room and i asked the nurse is that my baby crying. and when she said yes, i could finally fall asleep in peace.....at least that's what i thought!!! duh...i have to be stiched up first before i could finally rest. so there i was going through another ordeal, and this time, is just as painful. and this time, since i was already too tired and sleepy, i opted for the laughing gas to keep me from yelling aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh...

i was pushed back to my ward around 8 a.m. and fell asleep for only a very short while before i woke up again at 9.30 a.m....feeling slightly giddy.

today is day 5 post delivery. i'm slowly regaining my energy and wounds are healing well, alhamdulillah. baby A'isha is having slight jaundice, but inshaAllah, will get better soon. i have yet to experience my new life as a mother of two when my baby comes back home from the hospital. suffice to say that my confinement period this time isn't as relaxing as the last one. can't wait to see what my new routine will be like. :)

still no sign

2006-03-06T12:30:00.000+08:00

this baby is definitely a girly-girl. she's takin her own sweet time to come out...mommy's feet are swollen and just longing for a good massage. hopefully in a couple of days.

dude where's my car?

2006-03-03T10:38:00.000+08:00

feeling very pissed off with a certain Ce**om branch manager and its staff, i dashed out of the branch walking towards my car. i pressed the the remote and heard it unlocked my car. so i grabbed the door handle to open the door but it didn't! aik?! i know i parked it in front of this indonesian restaurant because i remember seeing someone having a nice cup of teh tarik when i first parked the car and i had wanted to have a nice cup of teh tarik myself after that (sempat lagi plan nak minum lepas tu). then i looked around..eh..this is where i parked my car lah!!! but why can't i open the damn door?! hmm...so i walked around the car and then up and down a few cars next to it...and realized....i tried to open the wrong car....ooops...heheheh..i tried not to look at the people having breakfast outside of the indonesian restaurant because i know they must've seen the whole thing..hahahahha..so when i get into my car all i could say was..."aaaaaaaa malunyaaaaa"

the thing is, the only thing that drew me to that car was because it was the same color as my car and not even the same make!!

random thoughts of the day

2006-02-27T11:18:00.000+08:00

i'm still at work, although my obgyn said he could write me an mc anytime. but seeing that i still have the strength to drive, walk, cook, shop, and do all the other things i can do even before i was pregnant, i decided to take a rain check on the MCs. anyway, staying home would be boring..and at least if i'm doing things that i normally do everyday would take my mind off the wait.

my hubby bought me a nice phone on saturday (after seeing me going through a series of sad-looking and unreliable phones) and it's not even my birthday!!! what a nice surprise..actually, i wasn't looking for a high-tech phone that has all the nifty features like 3G and all that. but amin was really into it so he thought why not get a phone with a 3G feature. so now i spend my time fiddling with my new toy and play with the 2-way camera and all the other buttons. mine is in black..

it takes really nice pictures!! very clear and even has a flash! now i'm just going to have to sign up for the 3G package with my provider and start using that feature. cool eh??

on another note, i'm in the mood to post some pictures. so here goes...

yours truly in the labor room with the baby heart-monitoring thingy strapped to her stomach. (it was boring...had to lie down and stare at the ceiling for 45 minutes, just coz i thought it was possible to induce the baby)

check out nazim in his new jubah his daddy bought from Dubai. it fits him just nicely. a few more months then it'll be to his knees!

this one's with the complete head gear...ahh..our little khalifah..:)

false alarm

2006-02-26T23:22:00.000+08:00

turned out that i fell asleep until 9 am this morning (which means, i did not go to the hospital, and which means, it was just a mild contraction). hiyaaa...i really thought i was going to deliver today. anyway, i still went to the hospital, just to see (actually to see if i can induce the baby!!) if the baby is fine. nurse checked me, said i wasn't dilated yet so there is a big chance the doctor will not allow me to induce. heh. fat chance. Yup..so they ran a test on the baby's heart beat and said everything is ok and sent me home! i'll just have to come back when the real contractions kick in. ok lah..so kena laa tunggu..

could this be it?

2006-02-26T02:19:00.000+08:00

This is the latest i've stayed up so far. it's 2.20 am and it's probably because of that late night out to Tesco just now. and since it's already waayy past my bedtime, i'm not feeling sleepy anymore, plus, i have a feeling that i am experiencing the early stages of contractions (i think). see, i really can't remember what was it like the last time when i had the contractions. so i'm just guessing that it is what i am having now. i'm timing it as i get it. and now it's been like every 4 minutes, yet not too painful. it's still bearable. so to refresh my memory, i grabbed the book which i've been reading about pregnancy, birth, etc...and it says that the contraction should feel like you are having period cramps, somewhere along the lower side of the abdomen. that sounds like what i'm feeling now. and it says if it is a false contraction, it should go away if i move around and change positions. this pain hasn't gone away even after i've moved and changed positions while lying down. hmmm..so could this be it? my hubby is sound asleep. i don't wanna wake him up just yet. nor do i want to go to sleep...because i can't, in the first place, because i keep getting this tightening feeling around the muscle near my lower abdomen, plus, what if i really fall asleep and when i wake up the baby is already have way out??? (yeah, i know that is impossible AND ridiculous) but i'm just too excited. :) i'll try to get some shut eye though..we'll just see how long it lasts.

anxiously waiting

2006-02-24T09:51:00.000+08:00

No people, i have not given birth yet...in case some of you are wondering the reason for my absence in this cyberspace. I wish i had given birth already though. This anxiety is making myself and my husband feel very impatient and restless. He thinks i've been pregnant too long. I think so too. Aaaa...the excitement of waiting for our second child..it's quite different from the first one..Last time, we were pretty patient and didn't mind the wait at all...and when the time finally came, everything feel into the right places. Now, i'm thinking of all the possibilities of how the baby is going to arrive. Will i get a show? Will my water bag break? or Will i get my contractions without having any signs that i am about to go into labor? What if i suddenly get contractions while driving? or in the middle of the night when i'm sound asleep? questions questions questions...let's count how many more days to expected due date (7th March) : 10 more days!!! aaaaaaaaaaaa....could it be this weekend?? :)

my water heater

2006-02-15T10:43:00.000+08:00

Our water heater in the bathroom has stopped functioning since before the Chinese New Year. With the long holiday and all, i was patient enough to wait until the shops re-open after the CNY. As soon as most of the shops started operating again, i called the service center to ask if someone could come and have a look at the water heater...but much to my dismay, my calls were either unanswered, answered, but with a fax tone, answered by somebody who only managed to tell me that she was going to ask the technician to make an appointment with me (which i waited ages for that call to come). by then i was getting rather agitated with making phone calls to the service center which were so damn lembap in so many ways. so, being me, curious and all, i climbed (yes...with my big stomach and all) the ladder to see if it was something to do with the wiring/electric socket. i had a hunch that it did. so, i unscrewed the 3-pin plug to see if the wires were well in place....everything looked ok..so i think there was something wrong with the socket on the wall (as the switch could not be turned on or off). so, i thought that was as much as i could do, anything more would require an electrician. so, i looked high and low for the electrician number..and luckily, he was free sometime in the evening...after changing the socket on the wall, my water heater was working again!!! and i only had to pay 8 bucks for it! Had i asked the chinaman from the service center to come, he would have wanted 35 bucks for the same job!!!

and guess what? this morning, the service center called me (a few times, all unanswered) and left a message:

chinaman: Halo Miss Fara...i am calling from Centon water heater. please call me back at 019 XXXXXXXX.

me (to myself): now only you call me ah??? fix already laahh!!! duhh..

Happy V Day

2006-02-14T15:47:00.000+08:00

we have not been doing anything special for valentine's day since....ages...partly because well, the roses' prices hike up like crazy on this particular day, and what's the biggie anyway? another reason is my husband tends to forget about it anyway, so over the years, i've gotten used to not making it such a big deal. i think we only exchanged gifts and cards for valentine's during the first two years of our relationship...and then..i think there were other days that seemed even more than valentine's day for us. back in the US, the roses are so cheap, and i remember buying dozens of roses for myself just because i like the colors and the smell and i would dry them up upside down. here..oh...forget about buying roses...

i just have one question in my mind now: when is this baby coming out???? according to schedule, her estimated time of delivery (ETD) is 7th March, which means, i have about 21 more days. my first born arrived a week early. could history repeat itself? if it does, then i have 2 more weeks left. of late, i have caught myself walking really really slowly because sometimes the pain just abruptly comes at the lower right rise of my belly. and i've also gotten the braxton hicks quite frequently nowadays.

ok people, have a nice valentine's dinner ;)

My baby boy is 2 already!

2006-02-13T11:40:00.000+08:00

Today is my son nazim's birthday. he was born at 10.43 a.m. on a friday and weighed 2.45 kg. he came out into this world after hours and hours of labor (both for him and for me) looking rather purple and wrinkly. and after mommy couldn't push anymore the doctor thought it would be wise to pull him out with a pair of forceps. 2 years have gone sooo quickly and my little baby boy has grown up and has become amazingly intelligent, masyaAllah. he can understand so many things now, and i can talk to him and he would respond to me accordingly, sometimes even surprising me with new words that i don't even rememeber teaching him.

We had an early celebration at the PJ A&W last saturday and even though we had the place for a very limited time, the party went on very smoothly with little hick ups here and there (you will find out why)...The cake was an amazing display of an airport runaway, complete with cargo trucks, communication tower, small people and of course, a plane.

nazim was excited to see this and wanted to take out the little props the moment he saw the cake. it was a nice moist buttery butter cake with sweet buttercream icing...the lady who did this cake makes the best tasting and best looking cakes!!

so the party started around 3, with the food being served and people started to fill the party room. at this point nazim was still excited to play in the playground just outside of the party room. by 3.20pm, most of the invitees were there and people were just eating and mingling. i wish i had more time to mingle with the friends i've invited but i guess i just had to keep things running smoothly with the food, and nazim and etc. so by 3.45 pm it was time to cut the cake and also the time for the A&W bear to make its appearance. (this is the part where the hick up is about to start).

Nazim was ready for the cutting cake session, when he first caught glimpse of the bear. at first he was pretty excited, but when the bear came closer and shook his hand, he suddenly burst into tears and he became hysterical, clutching on to me like he just saw a ghost. and he didn't want to be seated in front of the cake anymore and just continued screaming with tears falling down his cheeks like rain. so i tried to calm him down by taking him to another room, but it still didn't work...and then his daddy took him out to the playground and...guess who was there? THE BEAR!!! amin tried to tell him that the bear was nice and made nazim shake hands with him..(at this point he had already stop crying but still a bit apprehensive about the bear).

back in the party room, all the kids were still surrounding the cake and when it looks like he is quite ready again, we brought him in...and i guess the room reminded him again about what just happened a few minutes again...which led him to yet another episode of scaredness but this time less, because the bear was not in the same room. so i quickly asked for the candles to be lit up (to distract him from being sad again)....i was the first one to start singing the birthday song (again, a strategy i used to make him forget about the bear and it worked!) he blew the candles with a little help from mommy...the funny part was while we were singing the birthday song, he looked around the room (even turning to the back) to see if the bear was around!!! hahahah..my poor baby, it was supposed to be a happy moment for him and that bear spoiled it for him.

so, the next day, since we still had some more cake left, i put two candles on the leftover cake and had another round of birthday song for him. this time, he knew he was on safe grounds with no hairy-orange-colored-sweater-wearing bear around to shake his hands. and he had the biggest smile on!! and since today is his actual birthday, we might have another round of candle blowing :)

THE MUCH DREADED BEAR
(for more pictures, you can visit aminfara.fotopages.com)

no more little ants

2006-02-09T15:38:00.000+08:00

alasss..they are not to be seen crawling across my keyboard and desk anymore!! i have been so annoyed by them that i keep crushing them with my fingers every time i see one passing while typing away on my keyboard. so, today, i brought the extinguisher...hehe..and looks like houston, there are no more little ants running around..ah well, i've been munching on this biskut marie like crazy!!! i just can't stop eating them..there are four rows in a pack, and i've finished two rows in like two days!!! but the thing is, it doesn't make me feel full..so that's why i keep nibbling...and nibbling on them...(just reached out to get another one)...oh no..the crumbs are going to attract those ants again!!!

anyway, since i'm quite free (quite free is an understatement, really free is more like it), i feel like doing a tag. so here is one of the tags that i find quite interesting to do..(ok now i have stop eating the biscuits coz i feel kenyang already).

Four Jobs I Had In My Life (before i graduated):
1. Dining hall at a dorm in college serving food, washing dishes, cleaning up..(hahaha..this job was fun, get to bring back the leftovers..but later i got tired of it and quit)...for another job..at no 2.
2. Librarian / Information Desk person: I didn't quite like the arranging books part..but i didn't mind sitting at the info desk as i get to use the computer and do my homework and check out books for people who want to borrow them.
3. Grader: This was by far the best job ever!!! All i did was grade freshmen/sophomore year students' lab reports for classes which i've taken and get 200 bucks every two weeks!!! aahh..my weekends weren't boring anymore, with more trips to the mall and movies, and buying things that i wanted...and the thing is, i didn't really have to spend that long to mark the reports as they all look a like (read: students tend to copy from their friends)
4. Research Assistant: well, this one...was really for the resume. hehehe..what did i do? hmm..followed the researcher/professor to his research site which was a place full of trees and started collecting the leaves..(yeah...hoo hoo). he would set up his equipment and i would pretend to be interested with what he's doing but really, i was thinking of some better things in life..hahahaha..and then i'd take the leaves to the lab and dry them in the oven and do some calculation to see how much water was in the leaves, etc, etc, etc....didn't stay with that job for a long time...after the semester habis, i cabut man!!

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over:
1. Top Gun
2. Van Wilder
3. Notting Hill
4. Erin Brokovich

Four TV Shows I Love To Watch:

1. Desperate Housewives
2. Nigella Lawson's cook shows
3. Jamie Oliver's cook shows
4. Amazing Race

Places I've Lived (from the earliest to most recent):
1. Lembah Keramat, KL
2. Kota Kinabalu
2. Canberra, Australia
3. PJ
4. Redlands, California
5. Ann Arbor, Michigan
6. Arlington Heights, Illinois
7. New York, New York

8. Kelana Jaya
9. Melaka (until present...i lived like a nomad)

Six Places I've Been on Vacation To:
1. Montego Bay, Jamaica
2. All over Florida until Key West
3. Turkey
4. Europe

5. Australia
6. Canada

Four Places I'd Rather Be In (Right now?):
1. Home
2. LA or NY vacationing with hubby and son
3. London
4. somewhere by the beach

Some of My Favourite Foods:
1. Kari Ketam (actually i love crabs no matter how they are cooked)
2. Bubur gandum or wheat porridge (the sweet type)

3. Assam pedas (my mom's one is the best so far)
4. Ikan Masak Lomak Cili Padi (i'm not from N9 but i just love this dish)
5. Creme brulee
6. Kuew Teow Goreng (from Mdm Kwan's or Penang Village)
7. Sheperd's pie
8. Italian, Thai, Arabic

Four Websites I Visit Daily:
1. Msn as it is my default home page
2. hotmail.com
3. Blogs that i like to nose around in
4. yahoo.com

Ok, i've killed just enough time for me to stick around the office :p. now it's time to head home. ta ta people!!

complicated toys

2006-02-06T11:29:00.000+08:00

my husband is enthusiatic when it comes to buying toys for nazim. but sometimes, the toys that he buys are too complicated for him...like the one he bought yesterday. the box says the toy is for ages 3 and up, but of course, no 3 year old child can assemble such a complicated racing track that came in so many different parts!!! even the parent of the 3 year old would have a hard time putting it together. and this was exactly what happened to my husband...there were no clear instructions on how to connect the pieces of race track together, and he only had to depend on the pictures on the box. it took him almost an hour and a half to make it look like the picture on the box, but somehow, the ensemble looked pretty flimsy and he almost gave up...but i decided to help him towards the end...but i found it irritating too, because the parts didn't quite fit nicely. so, i also kinda gave up...we managed to finish 95% of the track, and finally gave up. but before the whole thing crumbled to the floor, we thought taking a picture of it with nazim standing beside it would make it worth the while :) and then, maybe a few days later, we can pack up the little pieces back in the box and next time get a really simple toy without small parts that could go missing and then the whole thing wouldn't work.

On a different note, while both of us were spending the sunday afternoon doing our own things in the house, nazim found his own activity outdoors to occupy himself...much to our surprise..

he took all the shoes on the rack and threw them onto the grass and sprayed them with water...

maybe he thinks mommy's shoes need to be cleaned once in a while...

it's february already?!

2006-02-05T15:27:00.000+08:00

wow...feels like i've neglected this blogging scene for quite a while now. it's just that i got carried away with the longgg longg break...and tomorrow, it's back to business. it was a well spent break, with me not doing much, just lazying about and bringing nazim to his Gymboree sessions. oh, did i mention i already have my labor bag ready? yeah, the bag that i'm supposed to bring along with me to the hospital when i go into labor. so what's in that bag? hahahah...(oh no not with the what's in the bag thingy again huh?) anyway, just for the fun of it...here are some things i've put in the bag:

1. a towel

2. maternity pads

3. toiletries

4. under garments

5. a kain batik and a t-shirt

6. newborn diapers

7. newborn change of clothes to go home

8. robe

9. a barut (is that what they call it? the thing we use to wrap around our stomach to give it support?..so that it doesn't jiggle about because the skin of the stomach will be saggy right after birth..)

anyhow, i still have a month to go with this pregnancy..yeah ONE MORE MONTH!!! oh gosh..i feel that i'm quite ready to give birth already..getting a good sleep is impossible without first having to toss and turn, and shift my pillows around and when i finally do fall asleep, it'll be around 1 or 2...my rib cage has been pushed up by the placenta, and sometimes i could feel the center of the rib brushing each other, which is very painful..and getting out of bed is another story! i guess all i can do is just hang on for just a little while....till the baby is ready to come out...and i hope it'll stay there until after nazim's birthday party this saturday!!we've got most of the things ready for nazim's 2nd birthday: party packs, venue, food, cake (ohh he's gonna love his cake!!!)

ok doke then, it's been a longg week..(in a good way), and what a bummer that it's all going to end in just a couple of hours from now. oh well...

home sweet home

2006-01-26T13:04:00.000+08:00

Hubby dearest is back home and i couldn't be happier =). I took the day off yesterday, woke up at 6.30 a.m, and put my son in the back seat, and off we drove to the airport. nazim was awake at first, but dozed off just after we passed the ayer keroh toll, and woke up just as we passed the KLIA toll (wow..good timing nazim...). we reached the airport around 8.30 a.m and amin was already outside, sitting on his suitcase and as soon as i saw him, i flashed a big smile and so did he, and i went out of the car to give him a big hug. he then gave nazim one longgg hug as he totally missed our son after not seeing him for a week. nazim was of course, ecstatic to see his father that he kept calling him.."daddy...daddy..daddy..."

We reached back home by 10 a.m and had a small breakfast with toasts, eggs, and nasi goreng (for me...heheh). We then went thru his bags and uncovered the goodies he brought back with him, which include yummy Baklavas (and he got loads of them too..), nougat candies, a striking RED jubah for me, a lebanese cuisine cook book for moi (yaayy!! now i can try out the hummus and falafel recipes), and some pictures. After that, we both felt a bit sleepy, and i was ready to go back to sleep, but since we both weren't working that day, we thought it would be a good day to run errands...so, sent the car for servicing, and went to the banks to deposit and pay off some money.

Now life is back to normal...

what's in my bag?

2006-01-26T12:38:00.000+08:00

i caught this bug after reading leilanie's blog and i thought what a fun thing to do! so i couldn't resist it and started to empty my handbag :). so here are the things in my bag...

clockwise from left: my 2006 planner, my sony camera, a bottle of my vitamins and calcium pills, my compact powder (which i only use when i feel that my face look awfully tired), used tissues and receipts (which i am too lazy to throw out), 2 lipsticks (one light shade, and one dark), small bottle of minyak cap kapak (it's been really handy), a pen, my thumbdrive, my wallet, my car keys, strepsils and fruitella (to get my son to behave whenever we go out) and last but not least, a watch, for i sometimes tend to take it off my wrist. So there you have it! what's in your bag?

productive day but i'm feeling pooped

2006-01-23T21:05:00.000+08:00

It's been a week since my last entry. I really wanted to write something earlier, but nothing exciting has been happening for the last one week as my activity partner (hubby dearie) is away in a far far away land...so, basically, for the last week, i have been with my son and maid, and my parents and parents in-law ocassionally. Thank god, he is cutting his trip short (as he also realized that it is no fun traveling without the wife). and we miss each other terribly. so, we've decided no more traveling solo...(why didn't i follow? well, i can barely walk for more than 20 minutes and prefer to lie down every now and then to stretch my back...how in the world would i be able to stand such a long flight and the amount of walking there?) so, i thought he should go without me, since i've been to the place before, plus it's not really a vacation, vacation, per say. it's more of like visiting somebody.

so anyways, since he's been away, we've been sms-ing, chatting on yahoo and calling each other...until yesterday...when i didn't hear from him after 12 hours..then i started to feel my stomach squeezing..my smses were'nt answered, neither were my calls. and i tried and tried for 5 hours..at last, my not-so-strong heart began to crumble and all kinds of negativity swarmed over me...i knew there was something wrong, but at that point of time, i couldn't think logically (as some people can..i don't know how they do it). but there's just something wrong...he would normally reply my smses instantly or answer the phone after a few rings. sure, i've gone thru several reasons why he hasn't replied my smses and calls: ie. sleeping, phone out of battery, in a very important meeting..but all of these reasons didn't make sense to me since it's been too long...and, frantically, after not being able to do anything (coz i kept thinking of what might've happened to him), i called my sister-in-law and the moment she answered the phone, i was in my high-pitched voice crying and telling her i haven't been able to reach hubby. telling me to calm down, she told me to give him a few more hours..but after we hung up, she immediately called my parents in law and told them that i am freaking out. less than 15 minutes later, they both came, and again..yours truly cried like a little girl. hiyoooo...me and my emotional instability. i stopped crying, and made some tea for all of us...when my phone rang. there was nobody at the other end...so i suspected that it was my husband, trying to call me but since it's a long-distance call, there's bound to be some lags and he would have to try a few times to get a good connection. after about 5 calls, i finally got to hear his voice at the other end...it turned out that his phone was stolen and he was looking for it high and low..and finally decided to buy a calling card and call me. phewww...now i can start thinking again...but until he comes back, no more smses....nevermind, at least he'll be back soon..:)

today i am feeling rather pooped as i managed to get a few things done over at the immigration and registration department:

1. renew my passport which is going to expire in June (going to Bandung in may) - got it ready in less than 1 hr!!! since the lady was nice enough to acknowledge that i was 8 months pregnant and didn't want me to come again.

2. changed my address on my My Kad - will get it in 2 months

3. submit forms for my new maid - will be ready after chinese new year, which is not bad

so there, i killed three birds with one stone. i feel so good about it. tomorrow, got two more errands to run, including picking up a check which i thought was no longer possible. huuu huuu..come wednesday, i'm taking a break and plan to spend the day with my hubby who would be back by then. yayyy!!!

jom minum teh!

2006-01-16T12:42:00.000+08:00

i've been wanting to make ondeh-ondeh (a.k.a buah melaka) for quite a while now and have been postponing it...and when i wanted to make it, i realized that i didn't have the right flour. (supposed to have glutinous flour but i had rice flour instead) so, had to wait another day to get that flour. but the day finally came when i managed to make my ondeh-ondeh..and what better to spend an afternoon than to spend it with my honey bunny...nazim :)

hmmm..what did mommy make for tea today??
first we open the tudung saji
ohh..ondeh-ondeh.my favorite (no lah.my first time trying it)
a sip of tea...
it's good mommy!!

never too late..

2006-01-15T22:17:00.000+08:00

i know it's been almost a week since i wanted to put up pictures of the Qurban events...the thing is, i've been swamped with exam papers to mark and now i am finally done and can take a little breather. so here are some of the pictures taken on Hari Raya Haji last week, which also happened to be my anniversary day. tadaaa!!

Happy 3rd anniversary and Eid Mubarak

2006-01-10T16:25:00.000+08:00

Today marks the day of our 3rd year of marriage and the day all muslims around the world celebrate the Eidul-Adha. Had quite and eventful morning with prayers, followed by slaughtering of cows and lambs, and then a cookout. Will post some pictures of the Qurban scenes later.

But for now, here are some pictures of me and hubby over the years we've been married..

Us, rendering Diana Ross' "When you tell me that you love me"

Our "Koch Koch Hota Hai" themed reception

The newlyweds..

On our Europe trip last year

time to celebrate!

2006-01-09T14:45:00.000+08:00

I had a loooongg and relaxing weekend which started as early as thursday! i was also in much needed rest, as the longest time i can be on my feet these days is approximately 20 minutes before i could feel my hips and my feet aching. the doctor gave me 2 days off for me to get lotsa rest (of course i wasn't in bed the whole weekend, are you nuts? i would go crazy!!). so, i spent my off days in KL at my mom's where i had the luxury of not being the cook and enjoyed her yummylicious home-cooked meals (ie. ikan masak asam, among others). while amin goes for his meetings (which he conveniently arranged for thursday and friday), i basically had to crack my brains to come up with ideas to entertain my son, as he gets rather agitated if he is stuck at home the whole day. so, i took him to Midvalley's MegaSports and paid 15 bucks for him to knock himself out with all the toys there (accompanied by my maid). of course, when he's having so much fun, the last thing he would ask for is me, (which is fine by me, coz i had some time to jalan2 with my mom and managed to convince her to get the new Osim slimming machine..the one for the waist, butt and hips..hahahah). yours truly will get to pinjam the machine once she delivers and get back in shape!! yeaay yeayy!

oh, i also got to try the beard papa's cream puffs which were so big and yummy. the price was a little expensive (3.50 a piece) but i guess it's because it's so huge..and the custard is so creamy...

ahhh...don't you think it looks just yummy?? can you see the custard oozing out from the pastry? one of these days i will try to make my own cream puff...we'll see...if can be at par with beard papa's ones. :)

Oh..and tomorrow is my 3rd wedding anniversary!! we sorta had an early celebration (which started off with the night's stay at the mandarin, which is btw, my present for him) and followed by a really really nice present which had me smiling from ear to ear since saturday and an impromptu lunch at Victoria Station (his favorite place for T-Bone steak). Tonight i plan to bake a cake and maybe have it nicely decorated or something...

oh what's that on my finger?? hee hee...i dunno how but he could almost read my mind...that as we were sitting in front of the tv on saturday morning, he said, "come and let's get you an anniversary present today" and i went "really?" eheh..."let's look at some bracelets, or necklaces or rings.." (how does he know that i soooo wanted a ring? and mind you, i already went to look at a few the day before with my mom without him knowing). of course yours truly hugged him instantly and took less than 5 minutes to get in the car. the ring didn't leave my finger the entire weekend..even when i went to sleep or showered. as i am typing this, suddenly kylie minogue's "i should be so lucky" song is going thru my mind...and i indeed feel very lucky to have such a wonderful guy for a husband (not just because he got me this ring lah) but for all that he is..

We've been together for 3 years now, (7 years including courtship)...and of course, all relationships has its up downs, ours not excluded. and it all started during a cold michigan winter over hot chocolate, and a movie which we didn't really care much to watch. and the rest, like they say, is history. He was the sweet boyfriend who would surprise me with a bouquet of roses at my door step and a stalk of rose in his jacket. he was also the one who would pick me up and carry me around just for fun (it was possible back then as i was very light). ahh..and just to impress me on our first date, he cooked rendang (even i didn't know how to make rendang back then!) and vege with salted fish..now who wouldn't be impressed?!

I am grateful to Allah to have been given the perfect partner..perfect for me..and i pray that we will have a blissful marriage, insyaAllah. He is my best friend, my soul mate and my everything.

To my darling husband, even though you don't read my blog, i just wanna wish you Happy Anniversary and i'm so happy that we are together and have our own little family. i look forward to spending every single day with you, just like i wanted to before i married you. So, here's to many more anniversaries, and to a happy and cheerful life together!! I love you!

brownie attack!

2006-01-04T15:52:00.000+08:00

Last weekend, as i was strolling down the confectionery aisle at the village grocer in bangsar village, i saw something irrisistable...a Pillsbury brownie cake mix with walnuts!!! i grabbed it instantly and last night, i made the brownie with a little help from nazim. it's so nice that he can understand my intructions now and does it so obediently....aaahh my little angel. first, he helped me crack the egg (yes, just one egg is needed per box), and then he helped me beat the egg and the flour for a little while..and also get kakak to open the walnut packet (it came along in the box). he then poured the walnuts into the mixing bowl without me asking him!! (what a clever boy...i think he already has some culinary instincts in him..) he then helped carry all the dirty stuff back to the kitchen..(i did all this in front of the TV as i was too lazy to get up to go to the kitchen). half an hour later, a sweet smelling aroma came from the kitchen and tadaaa...my brownie is baked, at just the perfect height and texture. we ate most of it last night (hubby loved it too) and today i brought the leftover to the office..and as i am writing, i'm salivating over the last piece..the walnuts are so big and chunky and just makes you yearn for more. once in a while, it's nice to take the easy road to heavenly-tasting food...just add oil, water and egg and you're there!! easy-peasy.

a weekend to remember..

2006-01-03T10:09:00.000+08:00

The new year's weekend was one of my best weekends ever. i did more socializing than i ever did in the last six months. It was the perfect weekend, and was certainly a good start to this spankin new year! family ties were strenghtened, old friendships were rekindled, and simply just having a good time. both hubby and i enjoyed our stay at the mandarin on new year's eve and would definitely plan similar celebration in welcoming next year. we loved the room (i sooo love the room that i have this vision to change my own room to look like one of theirs), the facilities that came with it, (high speed internet, sophisticated looking kettle, and even personalized stationery..hee hee) the ambience, and KLCC being just next door.

So, picking up from my last entry from the hotel room, we went down and joined the small group of people to watch the amazing fireworks blasting right onto our faces. it was such a spectacular display and we could feel the glass windows vibrating where we were standing. after about 10 minutes or so, the smoke from the pyrotechniques got too thick and we could only hear the thumping sounds of what's left of the fireworks. and everybody cheered and hugged happy new year with one another (me and hubby only hugged each other la since we didn't know anybody there right..hehe)...by 12.30 am we were back up in our cozy little room under the fluffy sheets.

The next morning, i was greeted by the doorbell at 9 and there was my laundry, all nicely pressed and hung. (they gave us 5 pieces of complimentary laundry which i of course, made full use of). We had a hearty breakfast which consisted of mainly sausages, ommelettes, bacon beef, buns and pastries, cheeses, smoked salmon and coffee and juices. there was none of the usual nasi lemak or other malaysian breakfast, which i didn't mind at all since what we had alone was very fulfilling.

And then we were off to my good friend, Dolly's house in Shah Alam. i had not seen her since she gave birth to her second one two months ago, so it was nice to catch up with her even though it was a really short visit. i've known her since we were both 11 when i first moved to sabah and we've been best friends as long was i was there. she was my maid-of-honor when i got married. i've seen her transformed into a different person ( in terms of lifestyle and apperance) after she got married but it feels good to know she's still the same person inside and she's one of those people i don't have to keep in touch with all the time to make sure that we're still friends. we can be in a hiatus for a few months and still pick up where we left off as if we've been in contact all this while..u know what i mean? that to me, is true friendship.

After that, i wanted to check out this place where they had a Victoria Secret and Gap warehouse sale in PJ. Being a fan of VS (just love their cotton panties and some of their bras) i was hoping i could get some bright colored ones (like the ones i used to buy in the states...5 for $25...i would buy everytime they came up with a new design). but after arriving at the warehouse, they had nothing close to what i imagined of. all they had were those silky nighties (not even with nice lace, just plain silk) and bras with no padding whatsoever that you can actually see the headlights popping thru (not my kind of bra) and thongs (which i'm not really a big fan of). so i didn't buy anything...save duit...hehe..

So far i've only done one session of socializing..oh wait, i forgot, the day before new year's eve, we spent the night at my SIL's house...and that was the family strenghtening part....you see, we hardly get to see my SIL as she lives in Subang, and we live in Melaka. and everytime we are in KL, we'll be in my parent's place. so, for a change, we stayed over at her place and had a nice time chatting (more chatting done during breakfast over fluffy roti canai as we were too tired at night) and nazim got to play with his cousins' (toys).

Ok, wait, the next part of socializing is coming up...my brother's gf Hani came over to our house as i was preparing some bread pudding to bring for another socializing event (told ya i had several). Hani, thanks for the lovely baby blanket. it's so nice and pink!! hope to see you again soon. sorry i couldn't stay to chat longer. so off i went to meet with a few former classmates of mine from Assunta and enjoyed the afternoon appreciating different types of tea and cakes and puddings. wowww..tea has never tasted so different before!! It was nice seeing Hsiu Pin, Jacqui and Cindy again...which made me realize, i should get in touch with my other friends to enjoy their company and catch up over tea or coffee some time..Amin and nazim had their father-son bonding session during this time at 1-utama. :) and after all that, we arrived back safely in Melaka with nazim dozing off in his seat...

So that's that...a good start to my new year. i don't have any resolutions for this year (as other years)...but i will set some short term goals. being 7 and half months pregnant, the only goal i could think of now is:

1. to deliver my baby on it's due date (+ or - one week is still bearable)

as far as my career is concerned, i will bug the HR office again and ask them about my raise (i think i deserve one) and hope to get some feedback before i go on my maternity leave.

Ok, i'm out of ideas for now..and i'm sleepy. Come on people, it's only the first day of work for the year. (Ha hA....i'm such a bad influence)

Last one for the year!

2005-12-31T23:30:00.000+08:00

Hi! in just about thirty minutes, we will be ushering in the new year. I am now writing from our hotel room and would probably join in the countdown downstairs later. even if i don't, i am quite happy to just be in this room since it's soo nice and comfy :) aaahh.. well, i can't think of anything to write actually. just wanna wait till the clock strikes 12! so, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!! BYE PEOPLE!!

my favorite mee goreng mamak

2005-12-29T12:19:00.000+08:00

there is a little stall near my office and the mamak there makes the best mee goreng. all i have to do is drive my car near his stall and wind down the mirror and order..."mee goreng 2!" (with my fingers indicating 2 like the peace sign) and wait for like 5-7 minutes...which i will spend smsing to people or talk on the phone or just look around outside of my car..and the mamak will walk to my car and hand me my two packets of mee goreng...heee heee..good customer service eh?? mee goreng mamak drive thru, sort of...

and voila!!! sometimes i can't even wait to get home to eat this..

just killing time..

2005-12-28T10:24:00.000+08:00

Just got an email from my brother who is supposed to come back from Nepal but is stranded there because there's a problem with his flight home. He's there with a couple of friends on a holiday (yeah..don't ask me..Nepal??). I had the same question too. hehehe..but being a person who has traveled to i'd say most parts of the world, i guess he was looking for something different. something he can tell his children and his grandchildren that he has been to Nepal and see the mount everest. He is my eldest brother, just 18 months older than me and will get hitched some time next year. soon, our family will get bigger...and my parents will have more grandchildren, insyaAllah..and nazim will have to get used to not being the ONLY grandchild anymore. I have another brother, who is 5 years younger than me but certainly not smaller. in fact, he's the tallest in the family (isn't it always the case?)...and that makes me the 2nd child and only daughter (read: most independent, reliable and loving heheh)

2006 marks the year i turn 29, just 1 year shy from 30!!! yikes!!! i can't believe it..i'm not going to be in my 20s anymore...i can see the lines under my eyes multiplying (gosh, these eye creams never work do they??) this coming year also marks my 3rd wedding anniversary (which i will be posting a special entry) and it's just 9 days after the new year which means, ushering in the new year will also mean that we're celebrating another year for the both of us...(plus since we are already splurging at the nice hotel, might as well, make it a double celebration right?)

work wise, i'm beginning to feel a little burned out lah..i don't know..i like the hours and all, but it's getting a little boring for me..(and also getting fed up with my employment status which is still unconfirmed). other places would only take 6 months max to confirm their staff, but not this institution...noooooo..they have to evaluate you for 2 freaking years!!! and that sucks, because i was already enjoying the benefits of the parent company before i join this subsidiary and because i am not a confirmed staff yet, i am denied of all the medical benefits for me and for my family. this is so unfair...it seems that career wise, i am going downhill..even wayyyy down hill compared to my first job when i graduated from college, where i earned 6 times more than what i am earning now..(working overseas maaa) why did i leave the job?? well, a lot of things..being an unmarried girl and only daughter, sponsor commitment, hubby (then bf) was going home too..so what was i to do?...even getting an MBA didn't get me anywhere here at this institution. don't i deserve a little recognition...duuhh..all that hard work..which is why i've put the idea of pursuing my PhD aside for the moment as i am not sure of my future with this institution. i hope and pray that things will look brighter for me work wise this coming year, insyaAllah.

enough about my sad career...i have other nice things to look forward to this coming year..:) a new baby, perhaps another honeymoon somewhere exotic..and the little things we do as a family everyday..Oh..and a tea gathering with a few classmates of mine from form 5!! that should be exciting!

no picture of chicken pie

2005-12-27T17:08:00.000+08:00

unfortunately, because i was in a hurry to eat, there is no more chicken pie to take a picture of.

Boxing Day

2005-12-26T19:04:00.000+08:00

As asked by miss zetty, here's what i had to do for this entry:

1. Look for my 4th entry

2. Find my 3rd (or closest) sentence and post it for this entry.

....and this is what i found:

"so, as my hubby was watching a cooking show on the travel and living (guess where he got the bug from? hehe) channel on a sunday morning, he was inspired to have a nice western meal for buka puase. more specifically, he wanted to have Beef Wellington"

Ok so this posting was about that beef wellington me and amin made for one of our bukak puase this year..coincidentally, today, i made another western dish which i have not made before - chicken pie. i wanted to make chicken pot pie, but was too lazy to look up for the recipe on the net, so i just used my mom's "The Dairy Book of Home Cooking" and found a similar recipe, but without the 'pot'. i had earlier wanted to make my tuna quiche, but since amin isn't really a big fan of tuna or quiche, i thought i'd substitute it with chicken...and use the short crust pastry (as opposed to puff pastry) i made a few days ago to make chicken pie.

I'll post a picture of it later...

Despite it being a holiday today, i still feel dead tired today! my feet were killing me after all that standing from making the chicken pie (and i also tried to make chocolate eclairs for the first time). The choux pastry (the pastry for eclairs) was easy to make, and i think i managed to get the taste of it, but too bad, i didn't have icing sugar, so the supposed chocolate glazed didn't turn out so well :(..and i ran out of whip cream...oh well...

So after the whole fiasco in the kitchen, my feet just cannot tahan anymore and all i wanted to do was take a shower, and sleep!! and i did just that...after a 40-minute nap, i feel good as new :)

On another note, i've been feeling a little sad that my maid is going to leave us soon after 2 years. Despite her flaws, she has taken very good care of my son...and aside from me and amin, she's the next person whom he is attached to. They've developed quite a special bond, one which sometimes makes me a little envious. Nevermind the fact that she couldn't cook, she cleans well though..and what's most important is that she follows instructions well. I just hope my son will not be missing her so much...as it would be another problem later on which i don't want to think about at the moment. She's just so patient (this trait we sort of like instilled in her) with nazim and so devoted to him. She's not a mother yet, and not even married, but i'd say taking care of nazim for 2 years has certainly prepared her for motherhood. I just hope the new maid we are getting is just as good if not better than her, insyaAllah. I'm worried to about coping up with 2 kids with just one maid. People these days seem to have one maid for each kid! aiyoooo...koyak la poket macam ni...so i hope nazim will not be so difficult to handle once his sister is born. Otherwise penat laa mommy...

come on holiday, can you come a little sooner?

2005-12-20T14:14:00.000+08:00

it's 20 past 3 in the afternoon, and i am bored...and can't wait to go home, turn on the ac and lounge in my big comfortable bed. it's just one the things i look forward to doing everytime i go home nowadays. :) and shortly, my son will come up the stairs by himself to join me...and we'll roll around the bed and he'll try to reach for the bottles of cream, deoderant, etc on the dressing table while i try to get some shut eye. after a while, he'll notice that i have fallen asleep and he'll come and snuggle next to me....and then..there will be complete silence..and when i turn around, he's sound asleep...:) i love the peacefulness during these times...sometimes i choose to continue sleeping, sometimes i'd get up and do 'stuff' like putting away his smaller clothes in the store, or just digging things from the store that i don't even realize i have..

i've been imagining the massage sessions i'll be getting during my confinement period..though i haven't really found a masseuse yet. hmm...i want to have massage like every other day. i only had 3 massages during my last confinement..and i feel that i should have more..i hear some people have massages almost everyday during their confinement. besides having a makcik urut who comes to the house, i also want to try out the local beauty spas that offer after-delivery packages..hmmm should be fun, eh?? can't wait...can't wait..

oh watched the chronicles of narnia a couple of days ago...just to catch up with the buzz, but since me and hubby are not really book readers, i guess we weren't really too hmm...how should i say..."wowed" by the show..we thought it was pretty lame and thought there were a lot of loose ends..like did they explain why the cupboard can lead to narnia? (maybe i missed this..), and who is the professor and what is his relation to the kids? (ok maybe i missed this too).

oh well..i am bored..still am..going home soon...have a nice week everyone!

adios