moving foward

Eid Mubarak 2010

2010-09-13T13:21:00.004+08:00

Selamat Hari Raya everybody!

So the long hari raya weekend came and ended.

1st day was great! Since walking now is so painful, i'm exempted from visitations except to important ones like PILs', BIL's and Grandaunt's and I ate to my heart's content (w/o guilt)! No coming back home at 1-2am or dozing off at someone's sofa. But I swear Peanut and I each put on 1kg each! Like no kidding, it felt like she's grown much bigger over the weekend thanks to Ketupat, sambal goreng pengantin, sambal sotong and gassy drinks.. Heh.

2nd day was totally unexpected. Being the younger generation, our house will normally fill with visitors 2nd or 3rd week of raya because everyone's bz visiting the elders 1st. But OMG, this year they ambushed our place on 2nd day and Wan only informed me 1.5hrs before the 1st batch arrived! I was running around like a headless chicken of course, cleaning the house, cooking and getting myself ready. In all we had 3 batches of relatives streaming in and out. Each in a group of 6-12 pax.

3rd day was a tad quiet except for our late night visitors, Wan and I managed to get some rest and did our monthly grocery shopping at Giant.

And now I have a gut feeling im expecting more visitors in days to come!

September Stars

2010-09-02T15:48:00.001+08:00

The much awaited September is here. Ya Allah pls make the days move faster..

Starting of a Family: Cravings

2010-08-30T13:55:00.007+08:00

I was suffering from major indigestion back during my 1st & 2nd trimesters so basically spicy food was a no-no for me. Now that my indigestion is slowly wavering off, my gawd, all i want to eat is lots and lots of sambal! I kid u not! And not just any sambal. I'm craving for my late grandmother's sambal recipes. I even called up my aunty for her recipes. And since i'm feeling ultra generous today, let me share my favourites. And thank God for blessing me the talent to cook. I like to think i inherit it from grandma.

ps: kindly note that e pics below are not moi's! I'm too excited to eat to snap any photos. These are nicked off from the net. Just to give u a rough idea how the dish looks like.

Ikan Bawal Sambal Terutup

1 tsp ginger/garlic paste mix
1 red onion
4 tbsp chili paste
Abt 1 cm galangal (lengkuas)
1 lemongrass
Blend the above with 1/2 cup water

Heat up cooking oil. Saute the above blended items
Pour in abt 2 tbsp asam water (asam dunked into some water)
Put in 2 tbsp fish curry powder (preferably Babas brand)
1/2 tsp salt and 2 tbsp sugar
stir around until sambal looks fried and dried enough.

1 promfret (or any fish u like) marinated with salt and tumeric powder
Slice the side belly of the fish (on both sides) and squeeze in about 1 tsp of sambal
Fry the fish. Do note that your oil from frying might turn a bit balck due to the sambal
Once fish is done, take it out of the pan and pour the rest of the sambal on top of the fish

Serve with rice.

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Sambal Belacan

3 red chilis
1 green chili
10 cili padi (more or less up to u)
Belacan abt the size of a 20 cents coin
freshly squeezed lime juice & lime zest
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Mint leaves (optional)

Toast in the belacan and chilis into your pan and sautee (no need to use oil).
Once chilis look withered, pour these into a mortar & pestle (batu lesung) with the rest of the ingredients and pound into a paste.

Starting of a Family - 8th Month updates

2010-08-26T11:35:00.001+08:00

Went for my 32 weeks checkup yesterday, and Alhamdullilah my prayers during this holy month has been granted. I somehow magically managed not to put on weight since 4 weeks ago but more amazingly, Peanut has gained 1 kg since, meaning whatever I eat all went straight to her! Good job Peanut! Mommy's so proud of u!

She's 2.2kg now and measuring 2 weeks ahead (like a 34 weeks baby). Also gynae no longer tells me she's of 'average size and growing on track'. Finally our Peanut is considered big for her gestational age.

And like I suspected she's now stuck in the middle of my tummy with head down and legs up. These days she has learnt to punch and kick me at the same time. I will feel 2 little nudges on my lower left and right abdomen and 1 simultaneous big kick at the top of my tummy. And sometimes I can feel 2 cute legs trying to bicycle kick my arms away everytime I rest my arms at the top of my tummy..hehe.

But more importantly, she's facing down which is essential for baby's exit via natural birth. However her head is not engaged yet, meaning if she's really naughty, she can still do a somersault in there. Oh pls don't baby..

The Starting of a Family: 8th Month - Fasting

2010-08-16T13:11:00.003+08:00

Today's the 6th day of Ramadhan and I'm proud to say I've successfully fasted 5/6 days. I broke my fast halfway on the 2nd day because I felt so nauseous which later I discovered was due to lack of carbo intake during sahur. Yes I can no longer escape sahur or just make do with bread or cereals. I need hardcore food to keep me and baby happy thruout the day.

I really hope this fasting month would do some good to my weight. Gynae gave me much flack for putting on more weight than I should. Since I'm big, technically I'm allowed to gain 10kg max during pregnancy. But last visit, I've already hit the 9 kg mark :( I so envy other mommies who put on v little yet their babies grew bigger than average. Peanut is just slightly heavier than average so it's pretty evident most of the food goes to me. Well I'm still pleased she's growing on track tho there are times I wish she's bigger so that she can come out earlier :p Selfish I know.. Hehe

Anyway talking abt fasting, i went online to an overseas pregnancy forum and this lady started a thread that says.. "Wish me Gd Luck! It's Ramadhan tomorrow!" She's 38 weeks pregnant and fasting. Poor thing, instead of getting well wishes many non-muslims started bombarding the thread on how she's mad and putting her baby at risk..blah, blah, blah. I of course, can't just sit and watch and defended this lady. Yeah actually even my boss gave me this disapproving look when she found out I'm fasting.

In Islam, pregnant ladies are exempted from fasting but many do so because they feel they can and of course, there's the payback we have to do after Ramadhan for the no of days we missed fasting.. Too much hassle, i say. But then again, it's YOUR own body isn't it? You should know your limits. If you think you can't fast, then don't. As simple as that. Pfft~ it's funny how ppl think they can die without food or drinks for a couple of hours.

My colleague recently gave birth on the 2nd day of Ramadhan and she fasted till her waterbag broke. It was a few hours till the actualy delivery so she had food and drinks in between and had no prob pushing. Baby came out fine and dandy.

I did my research online. The baby will take up whatever reserves are in the mother, and with a good blood flow from the placenta, the baby will thrive no matter how little the mother eats. An example given was how one Indonesian pregnant lady had no food or drinks for 5 days during the tsunami and God willing her baby survived.. Amazing.

Anyway, think of it this way.. we're still eating 3 meals but at different times of the day (or night). We eat immediately before fasting starts at 5.40am, and I have my hot milo plus anything carbo, be it noodles, rice, paste, a couple of bread etc. We break fast at 7.15pm and immediately have our dinner. And then after prayers at around 9pm, I'll usually eat again. So there, I still have my 3 meals just not during the conventional times.

Anyway, I feel blessed to be pregnant during this holy month. In my own words, I likened it to the Great Singapore Sale. It's the month where every good deeds will be multiplied by a 1000. and prayers will be answered. Quoted from sliceoflemon.com

“Think of it this way. It’s like going to the mall and realizing that every store you love just put all their stuff out into the walkway and told you it was free. Wouldn’t you take something? Everything? It’s like that’s what God did. He said we could have whatever we wanted during this month, so not taking advantage of seeking His forgiveness, and praying to Him for all the things we want is like walking by all that free stuff. You only have a certain period of time to pick anything you want, and yeah, you could always go back to the mall and find some great sale, but it will never be like when everything was free.”

So yes, I ask nothing more from God that baby will be born healthy, will grow up to be a smart, obedient and well-behaved kid and that I'll have a smooth delivery. Amin.

The Starting of a Family : 8th Month - Nesting?

2010-08-14T13:58:00.000+08:00

This being my 1st pregnancy, obviously I have no idea what to expect. So when someone told me to 'finish your baby shopping by 2nd trimester", I did… haha. With the exception of the playpen which came only last week, everything else including tiny weeny details like diapers, baby lotion, cotton balls were purchased during 2nd trimester. Luckily I heed that fella's advice coz honestly, my feet hurts and swell so bad when I walk too much now :(

And last weekend, being the last weekend before Ramadhan cum 3 full days at home due to PH, Wan and I took the opportunity to clean up the spare bedroom and transform it into Peanut's pink nursery.. Hehe.

I'm so relieved that we're pretty much settled and all I'm left with now is washing baby's clothes and packing my hospital bag. I didn't think I was a nutter for doing all these until a friend pointed out to me.. 'wah u're nesting so early ah?!"

Huh..nesting? Actually I just want to get things done before the fasting month coz I won't have much energy to do spring cleaning then. But like this friend pointed out, I still have a month after hari raya to get things sorted, so why so kancheong now?

Oh gawd, now I'm just thinking is this really nesting? Is Peanut coming sooner than expected?

*hyperventilate, hyperventilate*

The Starting of a Family: 7th Month updates - Food for Baby

2010-08-05T11:36:00.004+08:00

If there is 1 goal I'm trying to achieve for Peanut, that would be to exclusively breastfeed her from birth till at least a year. Of course, if there's not enough breastmilk, I'll surely won't starve my baby and probably will give formula milk instead. But clearly Allah swt has created breastmilk as food for baby, so I'm sure InsyaAllah, with some efforts, Allah won't deny it.

Furthermore, it is stated in the Quran the breastfeeding is encouraged till the kid is 2 years old.

"The mothers shall give suck to their children for two whole years..." (2:233)

And from my research, these are the benefits:

1. creates a strong bond between mother and child
2. increase both baby and mom's immunity system
3. higher baby IQ
4. a complete nutrition for baby
5. helps mom to reduce to pre-pregnancy weight faster
6. reduce risk of cancer to moms

I wasn't a breastfed baby either and I think I grew up pretty well. But sometimes I do wonder if I had, would I be a smarter kid? Would I be closer to my mother? Would I be less sickly now? (yes, i fall sick quite often..)

So for me, this would be some sort of a quest to those answers.

I did more research on what's best to produce breastmilk and a kind sister had forwarded me a hadis that recommended fenugreek (biji halba) and dates (kurma ajwa/nabi) to be best consumed during pregnancy for milk production. Other than that, drinking milk or hot milo helps as well. So far, I've been drinking lots of milk and 3 pieces of Kurma Ajwa a day (sunnah is 7 pieces). This sister did this as well for her 2nd kid and she claimed that her kid now is actually smarter and rarely fall ill as compared to her 1st daughter. In fact, her cousin too followed this routine and her kids are not only smart (uni grads) but also well behaved and beradap.

I was so worried initially that I couldn't produce milk because mom told me that she was 'dry' with all us 3 kids and I was afraid it's heredity but Alhamdullilah, all efforts paid off! Barely a few days into this routine, I've produced breastmilk!

Actually what came out, is not milk but colostrum to be exact. It's pre-milk which is clear liquid and tho very little, has the best nutrients and antibodies which is sufficient for baby to survive on before the full milk production kicks in about 3-4 days after birth.

Sorry, if i gross u out.. lol! Now, I just hope Peanut would latch well.

Starting of a Family: 7th Month - Hungry much?

2010-08-03T15:37:00.001+08:00

Normally Peanut only moves after I finished my meals. Nowadays she's kicking a lot when I'm hungry. Sometimes I wonder whether it's me or her? Do my stomach growl so loudly dat it wakes her up or is she indeed hungry? Hmm..

And on a totally random note, there are times I wonder if Peanut could be a boy.. haha. Coz she was confirmed a girl at 17 weeks but since then she hasn't opened her legs wide enough for a double confirmation. Also, there's these 4 separate incidents dat happened to me which suggest that maybe Peanut could be a boy..

1. A month before I knew I was preggy, I dreamt that Wan & I had a baby boy. And in that dream, the baby is sleeping so peacefully in his crib and looks like a good looking baby!

2. Also a month before I knew I was preggy, I was in the mrt and standing near the doors when a chinese lady and her baby boy in a pram were standing in front of me, getting ready to alight. And this boy was super cute. Fair & chubby and had the most adorable eyes like Puss in Boots in Shrek. And he looked at me adoringly with those big round eyes, my heart jus melted! I felt like kidnapping him that instance!

3. Last month Wan & I were window shopping at Vivo when a 2 year old boy, who was wandering around but under his mom's watchful eyes, came up to me and started a conversation. I had no idea what he was talking abt of course, but so so cute!!

4. Just last weekend, Wan & I attended his best mate's wedding. While we were seated, enjoying our briyani, i felt a soft pat near my hips but just ignored it. Then agian i felt a pat on e side of my tummy and when I turned around, it was this cute little boy patting my tummy as if to say HI! to Peanut!

Anyway, if Peanut really comes out a boy, looks like i have to give away those cute dresses.. damn .

July's horoscopes

2010-07-05T15:35:00.004+08:00

I know as Muslims, we are not supposed to believe in horoscopes but I can't help it coz these horoscopes by Susan Miller are so darn accurate! Here's excerpts for this month's reading..

Capricorn (December 22 - January 19)

Your July Horoscope by Susan Miller

Capricorn July 2010 for Astrology Zone

By Susan Miller

As you open your eyes in July, you may lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering what could have possibly happened to create so much dramatic change over the past six months. If the first part of this year is a blur, you are not alone. We are now in the middle of eclipse season, and the ones barreling up the coast are in Cancer and your sign, Capricorn....

.....Avoiding issues this month won't work. There is no way around these cosmic storms other than to ride right through them and try to get out and on the other side as best you can. Fortunately, the eclipse due on July 11 will be warm, friendly, and very helpful, and not at all like its evil twin that arrived last month on June 26.

If you feel as through your life has been picked up by a tornado and is still spinning in space, that would be about right, especially if you have a December birthday. Eclipses don't mess around. They are very clear and forceful in their insistence that you pay attention to what is happening. Usually the catalyst to the news an eclipse will bring will be something very small - an offhand comment, a sent email copied to the wrong person, an outside event - you get the idea. It is usually something that you'd never expect to have the power to create a chain of events that can only be compared to a nuclear meltdown....

...Eclipses look for weak links. If they can't find any, they won't hurt you. They either create very happy events or very bad ones - there seems to be no middle ground. I am focusing on their down side here in your report because you won't have to plan or adjust to really happy news! That's easy to take, and you'll say, "Bring it on!"...

The job of an eclipse is to 1) provide full disclosure, 2) give a big push to create change, and 3) to pull you out of situations that have deteriorated so that you can get back on a happier, more productive path. An eclipse will shake you out of complacency, awaken you from denial, and energize you toward a solution. You cannot ignore an eclipse. Indeed, eclipses are the most dramatic tools the universe uses to create change. When you study them over time, as I have, it's clear that the universe wants us to use our time well on earth...

... Eclipses are cleansing and detoxifying, so even if the eclipse last month was painful (not saying it was, but if so), you will come away with a better picture of who you are and what you want to happen next. Now, armed with a new and more accurate updated vision of yourself, you can plan with greater certainty. We often don't take the time to think about the long view ahead, but that is precisely what a full moon eclipse in Capricorn would ask you to do as you move from one way of life to another.

.... When Saturn enters a new house of the horoscope like he is now (your house of fame and reputation, as well as career success), he brings with him the promise of growth. Soon you will work toward materializing a new career goal, one that will carry you three decades into the future. Make no mistake, you will work very, very hard, and there will be no instant gratification, but by October 2012 you will be very proud of all you achieved. Still, you must be very cognizant of your image and keep it polished and professional - your profile in your industry will be very high...

...With Saturn soon to exit out of your ninth house on July 21, you stand to have better relations with in-laws and distant relatives, as well as with officials in academia and in foreign countries. If any of these areas or people were hot spots for you (and looking at your chart, it seems so), then you can feel relieved that each will simmer down to normal levels almost instantly.

A monetary deal seems to be ready to be finalized, much to your satisfaction, on the excellent full moon, July 25. Again, this full moon is brimming with good luck, for Jupiter, Uranus, and Mars will stand by like helpful little butlers, eager to make sure your every wish is catered to. You have Pluto in Capricorn, so if you are an early-born Capricorn (with a December birthday), try not to come across too strong, since intimidating the other side won't be in your interest. You seem to need their support, so a light touch will win the day.

Summary

Years when eclipses fall in your sign and your opposite sign of Cancer are never easy. You've been dealing with plenty of surprising news and shifts since this series of eclipses first began in July 2009. Two appeared then, and two more eclipses came by on New Year's Eve and in January 2010. Now another pair of eclipses in Cancer-Capricorn is back. You felt the first on June 26, plus or minus five days, and that one was to be the hardest one in the whole series. Your closest relationship will now be tested. Any elements in your life that are not firmly bolted to the floor will instantly flap off and fly out the window at eclipse time.

It's always disconcerting when people and elements in life that we assumed were permanent prove not to be. For that reason, the June 26 eclipse may have proven to be a difficult point of the year, and as you enter July you will still be dealing with all the issues that came up before.

Last month's eclipse was in Capricorn, so you began to see what you really wanted in life.

This next one due July 11 will light your partnership area in Cancer. If your relationship is strong, you'll know that to be true, but if it is not, you will have to decide what to do about it. It takes two to tango, so both of you will need to be on the same page. These eclipses are strong, so if you leave, it is unlikely you will mend things later - eclipses have a finality about them that is undeniable. Should that happen, be philosophical. Not all relationships are meant to endure. In the meantime, you may need to negotiate a settlement, and if so, with the Sun in Cancer, your opposite sign, it's clear your significant other has the upper hand. Don't even try to gain control - it won't be possible, for that's not the natural order of things this month. You will get further by being cooperative and conciliatory than you will by being demanding or difficult.

Through July, take very good care of your health. Sometimes an eclipse will show up a problem in your mind-body-spirit (or teeth) that needs attention. See a doctor or dentist and you'll be on your way to feeling better.

There'll be money questions or actions you'll need to take too, and those will come up on July 25, the full moon, plus or minus four days. If you need to lease or buy a house, you will be ready to sign papers. Real estate opportunities sparkle for you thanks to the rare presence of Jupiter in your house of home and residence. You'll enjoy enormous family support too, so if you need help - even on a financial level - ask for it...

Today's Horoscope

2010-06-22T15:06:00.003+08:00

I was reading my June's horoscope and it seems to be spot on..

A seemingly casual comment or event may be the catalyst to all that transpires, and later you may shake your head in how quickly events sprang up and illuminated the situation in a new way. One of the hallmarks of an eclipse is how fast time seems to move, and how quickly timetables are altered.

With a full moon eclipse, something will come to culmination, and because the moon is always read as female, a woman will likely leave your environment. This woman seems to play an important role in your life.

This particular eclipse, falling in Capricorn, could cause you to reassess everything in your life, from who you are to where you are headed. Your lifestyle may change radically, and you may also be in the gradual process of shifting your career.

All i can say is.. once bitten twice shy.

Starting of a Family : 6th Month - Babymoon

2010-06-17T13:27:00.004+08:00

It's customary for us to go on a holiday at least once a year. And this year unfortunately since baby is coming in Oct10 (and we'll be occupied thereafter) and the 1st half of the year was basically spent with my head in the toilet bowl, planning for a holiday was a tad difficult.

And on top of that, pregnancy comes with lots of restrictions:

1. no air travel to far2 away destinations coz this being our 1st baby, should an emergency crop up, we'll prolly pee in our pants

2. no long travelling coz I can't hold my bladder.

3. no activities like jetskiing, sauna, no walking on the beach at night..

So based on the criterias above, we shortlisted a couple of places and opted for a relaxing weekend getaway to Avillion Resort Desaru.

I'm simply in awe with this resort! It has such a heyuge compound and very, very clean (u'll always see staff cleaning/sweeping) everywhere u go. The pet farm is so clean and hygenic (I've been to resorts where the animals in the farm looked like they were starved to death and living in a dump). There's beautiful peacocks freely roaming around. The staff never fail to greet u everytime u walked pass. Our room is excellent and of course, the cream of the crop has to be their Avi Spa. A glass house smack in the middle of the sea. It really feels like Sentosa's Beaufort but better and cheaper (we paid S$400 for a 2 days stay + spa). Here, see for yourself..

Starting of a Family - 5th Month: Easy Peasy Sambal Prawns

2010-06-16T12:31:00.000+08:00

From the day baby turned 16 weeks, my appetite REALLY grew! As big as my tum tum! Heheh. At just the slightest mention of food, I can literally hear my tummy rumble.. crazy, I know!

Anyway I was chatting online and someone mentioned she's going to cook nasi lemak with sambal prawns the next day and I was like … I MUST HAVE SAMBAL PRAWNS.

Thank God I was chatting to her just minutes before I finished work so right after I knocked off I ran to Cold Storage and bought the juciest and freshest looking prawns. Rushed home and cooked sambal prawns from scratch! Wahlau eh, I didn't even take a look at my grandma's recipe book hokey.. all from memory! The wonders of cravings.

pic from the net.. I was too busy eating to snap a pic

What u need:

7-8 big fat juicy prawns soaked in asam water to remove the smell. I did not de-shell so that the prawns won't shrink when cooked

4 tablespoons blended sambal/ cili boh. If u're lazy like me can get the instant one sold at Giant Supermarket, under lime brand. Otherwise, can go ol skool and boil lada kering, blend and tumis.

Asam the size of a ping pong ball and dump it in a cup of water.

1 big onion sliced

1 garlic sliced

Belachan about the size of a 20cent coin

Salt & sugar to taste

4 tablespoons cooking oil

A cup of water

How to cook:

Heat up your wok with cooking oil. Then sautee the sambal, onion, garlic and belachan. Supposedly the right way is to blend all these 4 items 1st before sautee but like I said, I'm lazy. Keep stirring until the sambal looks dried up. You'll see the cooking oil floating. This usually takes 10 mins. Remember to keep stirring so that your sambal won't burn.

Once the sambal looks fried, pour in the asam water (take out the asam!), salt and sugar. Actually I didn't even put in salt coz the belachan is salty enough. I think I dumped in about 3 tablespoons sugar.. not healthy I know. Now pour in the cup of water, stir and taste. Adjust sugar and asam accordingly. Once it taste right, put in the washed prawns and cook for another 10 mins.

Serve it piping hot with white rice.

Enjoy!

Starting of a Family - 5th Month: Guess the Gender

2010-06-16T12:22:00.000+08:00

So a few days b4 brother's wedding we were all gathering at my aunty's place and suddenly everyone started joining in this "guess the baby gender" game. The youngest, my 4 year old nephew voted for a girl. The oldest, my 62 year old Wak Boh voted for a boy. We told them the ones with the correct votes will get a small present at birth day!

We've also tried other ridiculous guessing games. The rice counting. Grab a small handful of rice and if the grains are even = girl, odd = boy. Or the ring over tummy method. Attach the ring to a thread and let it swing over belly. If it goes circular = girl. If it goes pendulum = boy. And we've even checked out the Chinese baby prediction chart which gives the gender based on mom's age at month of conception.

This being our 1st child, we'll be glad with whatever Allah gives. But if u really wanna know, both Wan & I have been secretly harbouring for a girl. For me, it's just so much fun to play dress up with a girl. For Wan, he's even more bias claiming girls are closer to daddies. Whatever it is, I just pray for a healthy child.

I'm 17 weeks + today and I'm feeling generally ok, tho' I try not too walk so much. Walked too much get swollen ankle. Sit too long my tailbone hurts like hell.. apparently as the baby grows, it's pressing on my back nerves. Anyway i'm very excited.. going for my scan tomorrow! Pls show mummy, baby.. can't wait to start shopping for u!

Starting of a Family - 4th Month: Meet Peanut

2010-06-15T12:34:00.000+08:00

Here's Peanut at 8 weeks..

And here's Peanut at 13 weeks..

OMG.. see how much Peanut has grown in 5 weeks! We were so excited to finally see a baby for once on the screen, not just a blob. Anyway, this little thing was hyper during scanning. It even turned around 180 degrees from side profile, to looking at us, to facing downwards. And then the sonographer shrieked.. "EH YOUR BABY FACE DOWNWARDS ALREADY AH!" to which the baby got really startled and quickly turned back up 180 degrees! In fact, 2 nights before the scan, I was lying in bed when suddenly i felt a strong jerk from under my belly. And I went like WTH?! Now thinking back, i just realised I had setarbaks that morning and then at night my baby was bouncing off the walls.. opps, i know i bad mummy

Starting of a Family - 4th Month; Feeling Good

2010-06-09T13:51:00.000+08:00

I finally started to feel like human again at 16 weeks and just in time to go on a full scale shopping spree for my brother's wedding which was like 6 days away.. Thank God! Also, we're playing hosts to a group of Malaysian relatives who slept over at my place. I needed to be well!

My late father's sisters and nieces

@ East Coast. This is my dad's younger sis who looks exactly like him. Scary, its like seeing my father alive.

family shot after nikah

The red top which I bought a week b4 e wedding.

Dinner reception @ Hyatt

After the nikah, I was directing our Malaysian relatives out on the jammed driveway @ Jap Garden and then it started pissing rain! I was already tired and stressed and suddenly in between the chaos and confusion, baby started kicking! Soft kicks. Not once but many, many times. I was thinking.. why now?? Why didn't u kick when I'm lying comfortably in bed at home?? Needless to say, I was happy but yeah, wrong timing baby. Can't fully enjoy yr kicks!

Starting of a Familiy - 3rd Month: Bump Ahead!

2010-05-31T11:36:00.000+08:00

I'm exactly 11 weeks 4 days today and happy to announce that i have a proper bump! yes, i finally look pregnant ppl, not just fat! The bump that i had for weeks turned out to be just bloating or what us Malays call 'kembong'. The bump was higher, right around my esophagus and was firm and SO uncomfortable! I couldn't burp, couldn't fart (sorry TMI!), had bad indigestion.. but last night hubby massaged my tummy with tiger balm oil and this morning the bloating was gone! I could finally feel my ribcage..aha! Now the only bump I have is a nice round one around my belly button area :) *rubs fat belly in glee*

The reason for this evil indigestion? IT'S ALL IN THE HORMONES. Have you ever wondered before what happens inside when the space gets taken up by the baby? I've pondered on this before when i was a teenager (don't ask why) and found out that when u're pregnant there's this certain kind of hormones that relaxes and softens your muscles, tissues and intestines so that everything gets nicely squashed up when the baby grows. But it's also this same hormones that relaxes the valve or the passageway between yr esophagus and stomach so when u eat, your food doesn't get digest properly and this cause stomach acid to come up.

On another totally awesome note, a few days ago, hubby was resting his head on my tummy so i casually asked him if he could hear anything there. So he pressed his ear against my tummy and said he could hear a faint heartbeat. And I was like, are u sure that's not mine? So i asked him to tap the pulse rhythm on my thigh while I checked my own pulse and OMG! His tappings were much faster than my own heartbeat. I made Wan check again 2 days later and Peanut's heartbeat was beating away so much clearer. And we counted.. about 168bpm. Alhamdulilah!

Starting of a Family - 3rd Month Updates

2010-05-21T11:34:00.000+08:00

Yay, we've hit 10 weeks.. good job Peanut!

I can't wait to see Peanut in 3 weeks' time. Yes such a long wait but that's the earliest appointment we could get. Really hoping we could see the gender by then.

Updates.. hmm, my tummy has grown! Of course ppl around me didn't notice. They think im fatter and nobody dares to even ask coz that would be just rruuuude.. Haha. But at 9 weeks, I cant button my jeans and needed the support of a bella band. By 10 weeks, I could only zip halfway. Lol. I'm starting to shop for online maternity clothes. Old Navy and Gap has really nice clothes in my size with reasonable prices. Just recently they had a 20% discount on all maternity and I went on an online spree!

Morning sickness has eased down a LIL BIT. Peanut gives me 1 day per week rest from all the vomitting. Otherwise, it's still e same crappy 24hrs sickness. But I can't complain, really. I take it that all the vomitting is Peanut giving me a sign that he/shes growing well. :) But I wish 2nd tri comes soon, honestly I've yet to enjoy this pregnancy.

Cravings.. nothing in particular. Whatever i've eaten has lots of hits n missed, not very satisfying. Until yesterday when I finally hit the nail. I was watching Anthony Bourdain eating grilled steak burger and suddenly I was hit by this sudden hunger pang so I ransacked my freezer and there were still a couple of (illegal) burger ramly patties left. So I made myself a burger with lots of sweet chili and thousand island dressing and oh my, it was THE best thing I had since I found out I was pregnant!

I was raving to Wan later over the phone how good it felt and he was like, huh..that's all u wanted?? lol. To think Wan went all lengths to buy me nice food. Oh, my dear dear hubby bought a B&J Cookie Dough tub for me this morning!!

Anyway I'm mostly craving for sweet things. Fruits, ice-cream and my saviour.. preserved orange peel which I survived on at work. And strangely being a chili padi queen, I can't stomach spicy food! It gave me bad indigestion and bloating. So for the time being I'm sticking to mild food like soups, alfredo pasta, porridge. And I can't take salty stuff either like potato chips or anything with soya sauce.. it gives me immense headache.. So cerewet la this Peanut!

Learning all over again

2010-05-16T20:46:00.003+08:00

Today was my 1st driving lesson since erm, 5 yrs ago. Met my driving instructor who turned out to be this v nice pakcik. And as compared to my other previous instructors he seemed like a very proper and patient fella. Im going all out this time, cannot fail! Hopefully the tester will take pity on me n peanut. Like pakcik said, they tend to be more lenient towards pregnant moms, hope so! Pakcik is going to book my test date and i have 1.5mths to finish my lessons. It should be easier since im taking auto. I was muddle headed with manual cars, ended up stalling in e middle of the road trying to change gears. Apparently my brain and e stupid clutch dun connect. But i pray my pregnant brain now wont fail me. Strangely i feel more confident this time round. Previously it felt as if e car was driving me, Instead of me driving the car. Insyallah, who knows with baby luck, ill pull thru!

Starting of a Family - 2nd Month; All Hail The Coke

2010-05-11T10:08:00.000+08:00

I've found a cure to my morning sickness..

COKE! Yes, coca-cola!!

Whoever said it's just MORNING sickness?! Mine goes on 24 hours. I'm still puking just before bedtime. And it's horrible feeling giddy and nauseated all day along. Eating gives me temporary relief.. but at the most 1 hr. And then im back to puking again.

I read online and it's due to low blood sugar level during the 1st trimester that caused the nausea and giddiness. And I knew I have low blood sugar pre-pregnancy so now it's just worsened. Basically I constantly need to munch to keep up. But it's not as if I'm enjoying what I eat at this stage. Everything taste bland, even plain water taste funny. Honestly, I was getting worried because just last friday my morning sickness worsened and i puked in the office toilet, which is an attached bathroom. And I puked too loud, colleagues outside could hear me! And they were so sweet. They offered me chammomile tea and stuff. Of course, I din tell I'm pregnant :) The bigger problem was I puked every 2 hours and it's disturbing my concentration at work! Gynae gave me pills for nausea and vomitting but it makes me drowsy. This cannot go on!

Today, just so happen I felt like having nasi lemak for breakfast so wan and I headed down to Changi Village but as usual, nasi lemak today tasted funny. So I asked Wan to get me coke, to wash down the food and believe me, I'm not a coke fan. After taking sips, I suddenly felt SO MUCH BETTER! I continued to drink coke the entire day and I'm as chirpy as hell!! Yeah, i'm guessing there's loads of sugar in that coke. And not only I no longer feel nauseated, I could burp and fart! I had a gas build-up or bloating over the past few weeks, (that explains the protuding tummy) and poor Wan had to massage my tummy every night to ease the gas. COKE IS MY NEW BEST FRIEND!

Anyway, yesterday marked my 8th week into this pregnancy. Yay to the end of 2 months! 4 more weeks of suffering to go. Can't wait for my next ultrasound scan this Wednesday!

Staring of a Family - 2nd Month: Morning Sickness

2010-05-06T13:30:00.000+08:00

ok I'm going to start rambling about my 1st trimester again.. yeah, I can almost hear u rolling yr eyes :p

I'm sorry if you accidental readers have to bear with this. Can't help it, 1st time mom, all new experience. I swear I won't complaint as much for #2 :)

Anyway, I've discovered the main culprit to my morning sickness. It's the bloody hormone pills!! Now that i'm pretty much stable and no longer spotting, I've reduced the dosage. So lesser hormone pills => less nausea => lesser dosage of vitamin B6 needed => less cravings.

But since yesterday, it's been a whole new equation.

lesser dosage of vitamin B6 => less cravings => less eating => sudden ravenous hunger + nausea => eat + feel better => hungry again in 1 hr + nausea => eat + feel better => hungry AGAIN in 1 hr + major hunger pangs... I'M CARRYING ONE HUNGRY BABY!

Apparently I read up and its very common in 1st trimester. This constant hunger starts around 6 weeks and should go away by end of the trimester. It's the hormones and also, the baby is forming at this stage. I have emergency snacks stashed in my fridge, in my bag, in my office drawer.. fruits, chocolates, biscuits, nuts. I have to carry food everywhere and I have to eat them FAST.

I can soon say goodbye to the 3kg i've just lost :( But i'm trying very hard to eat right.. sticking to protein and fruits and constantly eat/snack instead of having huge meals. While it's making me feel crappy, I know I wouldn't want this feeling to go away because it indicates that the baby is developing well!

On the positive note, a study shows that women with more jialat morning sickness produce smarter babies! Here --> http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/life/health/article/10360--morning-sickness-can-make-your-child-smarter-study

Starting of a Family - 2nd Month: Lil' Bean

2010-04-28T14:26:00.000+08:00

Well,.. here we go AGAIN! This morning I discovered some spotting and immediately rushed to 24hr KKH women's clinic.

Gynae did a scan and we saw lil bean with its heartbeat flickering away on the screen.. Alhamdulilah! Wan and I are so relieved and over the moon! Baby's tentative due date is in Oct '10. I was given 3 days bedrests and some pills for morning sickness.

Oh thank God for the morning sickness pills (Vit B6).. what a miracle!

Nausea would usually hit me hard as early as 3am and then gradually subside by noon. But there's this constant queasy feeling at the back of my throat that lingers thruout the day. While the morning sickness pills magically takes it all away.. i'm overcome with this monstrous cravings! Rojak mama, murtabak, lontong.. oh yummm! I swear it's the pills! But the funny thing is, the thought of eating is more syiok than eating the food itself. Coz when whatever that I was craving for is finally presented in front of me, I had to literally chuck it down my throat. Food just don't taste good at the moment. Ah, the joys of motherhood...

But the best part.. although I eat as per normal, I've lost 3 kg.. suhweeet!

Starting of a Family - 2nd Month

2010-04-26T10:41:00.001+08:00

Well, what do ya know.. we didn''t wait a month for our 1st gynae checkup. Or rather we couldn't..

2 days ago, after peeing, I wiped and saw a teeny-weeny brown discharge. I instantly panicked and woke Wan abruptly from his nap. Told him that i was spotting,got dressed and flew out of the door in no time. I called TMC on our way there asking if there's any gynae available now, seeing that it was a public holiday, and the recep said they have one on-call and she will get him down to the hospital immediately. Upon reaching TMC the same recep told us there would be surcharge of a min $300 for calling the gynae on PH. We were so shocked! We said no thanks and ran back to the car to go KKH. OMG, it's amazing how a maternity hospital doesn't even have a single gynae on duty!

Thankfully KKH was only a short drive away and we went straight into the 24 hours women's clinic and before we know, a lady gynae was attending to us. And boy was I glad. I'm NOT going to spread my legs in front of some strange man!!

So the gynae did an ultrasound scan and said she could only see a waterbag but not the fetus and considering i'm only 6 weeks, she assured us this was a common sight. By then too I stopped spotting. But she was concern tho' with my blood pressure. It wasn't very high but slightly above normal. Well I reckoned the running and panicking made my heart pumped like mad and in fact, I jus finished my lunch prior to discovering the spotting. So I have to come back for more BP tests just to make sure i'm free from preeclampsia. Right now i'm on hormone pills to stablise the pregnancy... stick baby, stick!

Double Celebrations

2010-04-23T13:29:00.001+08:00

Guess who got hitched recently? :)

And guess who had a protuding tummy at the wedding? :(

I was only slightly over 6 weeks when this photo was taken and I tried sucking in my tummy but I couldn’t breathe properly! The weird thing was, I just lost another kg that week but my bump kept getting bigger by the day.

Starting of a Family - How It All Started

2010-04-20T10:34:00.000+08:00

Not sure if you guys got it, but in my very 1st entry of 2010 I did hint that we're trying for a baby this year :)

Well, this is how it started. I was nagged to death. Literally, by my mother. One day she got so fed-up thinking her 'subtle hints' fell onto deaf ears and finally smsed me in much frustration.. "GO MAKE BABY LAH!!"... lol, yeah in CAPS no less. But anyway this is how we found out.

I have a pretty regular cycle and after a week my period hasnt made its appearance, i decided to test. I quickly grabbed a pregnancy test strip and peed and within 10 mins... a faint pink line slowly crept up!

Alhamdulillah!

We were of course happy but a bit cautious as we still need to get a doctor's confirmation, which we did the very next morning. And hell, I met the worst GP ever in my life!

We went to Raffles Women's Clinic at TampinesOne because I knew they have the facility to conduct a pregnancy blood test. So basically, this woman is not my regular GP. The moment we entered the consultation room, I greeted and this unfriendly looking, old mamak lady didn't even have a courtesy to reply. So I sat myself and she looked and nod at me like, "so.. what's the problem?". So I started the ball rolling and told her the whole story and said I wanted a blood test confirmation. And she went.. 'why?" I shot her this shocked look.. WHY?? WHY??

Then she went like oh, it's not necessary..home test are good enough.. Blood test is only done when u get -ve on the home test, ..blah, blah, blah.. But she did take my BP, which was perfectly fine and gave a lists of to dos and what not to do. She calculated that I was 5 weeks along and sent me away with some vits. But I felt so gutted not getting a blood test!!

Anyway, since the witch said home test is good enough and the line on the hpts kept getting darker ( see below.. I continued testing every few days), my dear husband was finally over the moon! Me, I still have a few worries and I have a feeling I'll continue worrying abt my baby till.. forever. Now we are just waiting to see a gynae for a scan in a month's time.. to be cont.

Starting of a Family

2010-04-17T11:00:00.001+08:00

Wan & I are pleased to announce that..
.

.

.
.. We've got a bun in the oven! :D

The Smiley Little Vampire of Mine

2010-04-08T14:01:00.003+08:00

My husband is so funny I tell ya..

I'm sitting here in the office, typing away and giggling non-stop after he rang to relate a funny incident this morning.

He was washing his car at a multi-storey carpark nearby our home when a postman from SingPost came up to him and asked if he lives at blk xxx, unit no. xx-xxx. So hubby said yes and the guy told him he had just delivered a package and it's now sitting outside our door. Wan of course was utterly shocked and confused, like how the hell this postman knows where to find him and even knows his exact home address?? Because this multi-storey carpark he was at is a street away from our block.

The postman then explained that while waiting outside our door, a bangla had come up to him and said he saw the owner of this house washing his car at the multi-storey carpark.. whoa!!!! :O .. LOL! Now, who is this bangla and how did he recognise Wan?

LOL!!

Anyway this is not the 1st such things happen to my dear husband. A couple of times when we were outside, someone guy walked up to him and said "eh how are you?! long time no see!' or something to that effect and then they exchanged pleasantries. As soon as that fella walked away, Wan will turn to me looking all clueless.. "who the hell was THAT??" LOL!! Of course on some lucky days, Wan actually sort-of remember the fella, just can't put a name to the face. Usually he'll succeed after racking his brains for a good 10 mins.

My reasoning for all this?

While I wouldn't say my hubby has that very friendly look plastered on his face, he is generally a jolly good fellow. (..yes, a stark contrast to moi!) Once he starts talking, u know he's no threat (I know the pic up there doesn't look any less threatening..hah!) and ppl tend to have a liking for him and remembers him fondly. Either that or his memory is slooowly failing him.

The bangla? Aiyah fatal attraction I think! :D

Making of a Home - Finale

2010-02-14T15:45:00.004+08:00

I was supposed to post the following entry eons ago but i'm a lazy blogger!...

First & foremost, I would like to thank Allah for blessing us with a generous family, the 'sponsors' for our home (gawd, haha I feel like a celebrity..) and for blessing me with a very smart and handy husband. 3/4 of this house was actually diy-ed by Wan. When he's not working, my sleep-deprived husband was constantly doing something at home.... he did the electrical wiring, re-furbished the kitchen cabinets, installed the stove and oven, hacked, plastered and painted the walls.. all by himself! Damn proud of my man!

Here's a brief schedule of our reno...

15th Feb 09 - got our house keys

March 09 - scout around for contractors. Hubby started hacking the kitchen walls and taking down the kitchen cabinet doors to re-furbish.

8th Apr 09 - Contractor began renovation. Scout around for a floor laminate company.

19th Apr 09 - Shopped for bathroom accessories. Wan started cutting and pasting laminates on cabinet doors at mom's place.

24th Apr 09 - renovation ended. Painting and installing refurbished cabinets

1st May 09 - Tarkett floor laminates were laid

18th May 09 - painted newly plastered kitchen walls and ceiling. Hubby started working on the kitchen door frame.

30th May 09 - This was when the exciting part begins.. shopping and decorating! We started bargain hunting for kitchen appliances and bed.

13th June 09 - official move-in!

June - 20th Sep 09: These 4 months were quite a blur, really. I remembered mostly living in an empty house full of dust and feeling broke all the time :( But somehow we managed to finish by our agreed deadline ie., on eve of hari raya.
Erm, actually we were still drilling stuff in the common bathroom a week after raya :p

ps: If you ask me, I think I can never be done decorating our home.. furniture-shopping is so fun! Other ladies are into make-up & clothes. I lust after furnitures :) And it's a thrill to create this 'expensive-looking' home when in fact, everything was bought on cheap! An interior designer once told me anyone can shop but it takes talent to pull this off!

Happy 2010!

2010-01-12T12:06:00.002+08:00

It's like what now.. already 12 days into the new year? Oh how time flies.

Again, no resolutions this year because making them year in, year out and not achieving some of them has made me feel like a failure.

But if you ask me, I think 2010 will be a fantastic year.

2007 was exciting albeit all the wedding stress.

2008 was a horrible, HORRIBLE year, from the start right up to the end!

2009 was alright. Another major step in life, with the biggest purchase we've made in our entire life and calling it home. But the renovation and shifting was a real pain.

2010? I think it will be a great year. Really, I can feel it in my bones. :)

Already, it started with a bang, with us welcoming the 1st day of 2010 at a girlfriend's hen nite. Which also goes to say, there's a wedding to look forward to. Well, not just 1.. But 2 weddings! Oh wait, actually only recently (like yesterday), I've learned of a 3rd wedding happening in 2010, which I will be heavily involved in.

This year too, both hubby and I had major plans to expand. No, not physically (I think we are done with that!) but with our careers and other aspects of our lives.

AND guess who's turning a big THREE ZERO this year?! Thinking of planning a big birthday bash but last I checked, his birthday falls during Ramadhan so I guess, we have to see about that.

Also, this month I'll be turning 27. The official age where everything starts going downhill.. Actually, its not the age that I fear but rather the goals that I was supposed to achieve by that age. Every birthday is like a progress report for me. I will sit down and analyse what have I done for the past years? Did life turned out like how I want it to be? Am I on the right track? All I can say is that life is full of surprises. You'll never know what tomorrow brings. But I also thank Allah that I've been given one more year of life.

Apparently you didn't vote enough?

2009-12-28T11:53:00.008+08:00

OMG, this race bashing thing over the recently crowned Singapore Idol is really getting out of hand.

Tak happy kapeeer?

I KNEW immediately when Sezairi won the 3rd SI, it would spark the race issue. I mean, 1st SI, we were all rooting for Taufik to win. 2nd SI being a Malay boy was probably pure coincidence. But for another Malay boy to win and, as compared to the 1st 2 winners, whose vocals are not on par to his competitor ( but that doesn't mean he can't sing well..), is truly a shocker. Even I was expecting Sylvia to win, but apprently you guys didn't vote enough eh?

I've read rude comments in forums like, "The Malays are stupid coz they waste money on someone they dunno and on a crap show coz Malays got nothing better to do" or "Next year lets just move SI to Suria" or "Malays can't study or climb the career ladder, they can only sing".

Here's the thing. Malays are a minority in this country and as some people from the forums put it, we are 'poor'. The non Malays can outdo us and vote for the other gal easily, if they want to. So why didn't you? And Malays being the minority and the underdog, naturally we want our own to win! I'm sorry I come across as racist or anything but it's true (Oh well, you started it 1st! ). If you see other minority groups out there, the smaller they are, they more they'll stick together. And if you say we were wasting money to see one of us win, you're wrong! Even my measly $6 votes could make a difference to this boy's future.

When I was working in a MM organisation, a survey was done and our kids came out tops in sports and arts. Well, you can study and memorize your brains off and then puke back all the answers during exams but to have talent, that's God-given gift! So what if our kids can't study but they can sing? God's fair. What you have, I might not have and vice versa. Just because they are not good in their studies doesn't make them less of a person. It's such a pity their talents are not recognised here in Singapore. For this, I totally blame the gahmen for the stupid education system here.

So If 3 Malay boys can earn a good living thru their talents, I say go for it! You guys have my full support. The rest of you sour grapes can go relek one corner.

Not in the mood to work, hence I blog

2009-12-24T11:54:00.003+08:00

Currently at work now and attempting to get some work done. It's so hard to coz everyone's in a festive mood and it's raining heavily outside which makes me oh-so-lazy to get crackin'. How I wish the clock would move a tad faster. We're knocking off in approximately 2hrs time and then there's a company xmas party to attend. Ónly told hubby this morning that I'm on half day today and he went.. 'what? I've sent you all the way to work just so you could eat pizza?? Bring me back some!'

Anyway am glad with the presents I bought this year. I actually took some time to think through what to buy. All ready and nicely wrapped! But wouldn't it be nice to get cash instead like during Hari Raya and CNY? Before you judge me, like why the hell a hijab girl partakes in a non-muslim celebration, lets just say it's courteous and appropriate to have something on hand when you know u'll get presents. And how can I not attend when they took the trouble to call me way in advance just to find out which halal food I would eat or if I have any other preferences to include in the xmas menu. Sweet aren't they? Oh btw just found out it’s a tradition for muslims in the States to exchange gifts during Eid. Hmm, dunno about u, but for me that means extra headache finding the perfect gift on top of preparing a lavish Eid feast and spring cleaning/decorating the house.

Anyway, will be busy from tonite till this weekend baking and spring cleaning before the arrival of 2 more family members into this home. Oh god, don't know whether I should be happy or sad. Anyway, before the inevitable happens (haha), the girls are planing a little get-together on new year's eve at my place. Need to de-stress now before facing new challenges next year!

Making of a Home - Part 7

2009-11-14T15:13:00.002+08:00

After months of frustrations, hard work, sweat and tears (literally..), here's a little sneak peak of our almost finished home..

Concept: Chic & masculine with a touch of global finds

Inspired by: Francesco Bilotto.

Love his expensive looking but budget friendly inspiration!

Hari Raya Open House (Saturday, 3rd Oct '09)

the guests..

Pink tissue box bought from our recent Jakarta trip.

Another tissue box from Jakarta, with bali puppet designs on them.

Coffee-table isn't exactly what it is. It's actually a chest for our masterbedroom but found its way into the hall when we couldn't find a long coffee-table to complement our long sofa.

Table runner was made from a baroque design cloth, which I cut into a long rectangle and sew its sides

Dual-faced train station clock was a b'day present for Wan. Purchased online.

The mirror arrangements on the wall was a big hit with the guests. Those are merely cheap mirrors (8 buxs each) bought from Spotlight.

The chandelier for one of our rooms which we got at a very good deal.

The 1st thing you'll see coming into the house. Italian cupboard and mirror bought at a warehouse

Love my master bathroom!

Open shelving is hawt!

Kitchen bathroom aka Wan's toilet.

And here's the reason why I said our home is almost complete..

The bare balcony which we planned to transform into a patio/garden.
Insyaallah, when there's enuf moolah. heh

My Current Office Desktop

2009-11-13T12:00:00.001+08:00

Kherkherkherhe!!

Shoot me for not updating.. but then, who cares?

2009-11-12T12:12:00.008+08:00

Hiya! How long has it been?

I've been meaning to update. Lotsa things happened since the last entry. Like our 1st hari raya in a new house and how I had a bitch fit with a senile maid agency boss on hari raya morning. Yea, what a great start. Like no kidding, I was literally screaming down the phone when she repeatedly argued she didn't confirm sending down a maid, which she did barely 12 hours ago (ie. the night before)! Our house was in a horrid mess coz wan did last minute drillings. And for a moment there I really thought I had gone insane, like what? Did I speak to her the night before in my dreams? But of course, bless my Nokia, there it was a record of the call. Haven't been getting her service since.

And speaking of house, I've been meaning to post pictures of our hari raya open house and also our (almost) completed home. In the next entry perhaps. And btw, that's prolly the 1st and last open house we're having.. Haha. Anyway I was pretty happy with the turn-out altho only 60 out of 100 invited came. I cooked 5kg rice, 15kg chicken, 3kg beef, 10 packets of kway teow and sides, cakes contributed by mil and Faeizah.. all finished! Wan's aunties especially were surprised I could cook well.. haha. Some even approached mil to dig out my secret ingredients. Ayway, we really appreciated both our families dropping by very early to help and that so many relatives prayed at our hse.. such a blessing :)

What else? Hmm, someone's moving in with us. Not confirm yet but yeah, there's a possibility. Well goodbye to peace and serenity..haha.

I've started a new exercise routine with kickboxing. Been doing 3x-4x a week at home at no cost at all.. Hehe. Downloaded lots of Billy Blanks Tae Bo from youtube and love it! Feels good sweating out but sadly no improvements watsoever with the weight *sigh* and it even went up after last weekend binging. Speaking of which, last weekend we celebrated our 2nd anniversary with a spur-of-the moment shopping escape to the-land-of-halal-food. I was so looking forward to it until that dreaded thing made an ugly appearance the night we were supposed to leave. Totally dampened my mood.

Our so-called 'Executive Premier'' stay at the hotel wasn't great at all. The only plus point, it was just opposite the latest Pavillion KL mall where we did lots of shopping for the hse. We bagged 2 beautiful birdcages from Tangs home sale for our upcoming garden project (insyallah!) at only S$20 each. Pavilion KL is a eating haven. Halal sushi bar, halal Tony Romas. So little time, and so little stomach space :p And Wan's fantasy came true.. Carl's Jr pigging photos coming up!

Time Flies Faster When U're Not Having Fun

2009-09-17T17:31:00.010+08:00

Oh wow, 3 more days to raya. This year's Ramadhan passed by way too fast. But yeah, it was a hectic month.

First there was the official annual stocktake. And for the 1st time in many many years, the auditors were very strict and thorough with their checkings. My guess were that, they were newbies. I was sweating balls running up and down the stairs during the stocktake. Cobaan!

And then, after all's done and I thought I could settle down & slowly catch up on oustanding work, boss dropped a bomb. Audit for last year's accounts, which fyi wasn't managed by me, has been brought forward to the following week. Which left me with only 3 working days to prepare.. NOOOOOO! Just as I was abt to panic, as luck have it, I opened up my files and ta-daa! Everything's done? Apparently, Ms-Kancheong-Plan-Ahead here had everything settled when I came back to work early this year. Oh what a huge relief! But still, we were grilled left and right by the same apek & nyonya newbie auditors who did our stocktake.

Then a day before audit was schdelued to start, sis was admitted into hospital. I received the news late and thot nothing much of it as she has been going in and out of hospital. Only when I saw her with my own eyes, I started to break down. Her condition in fact worsened by evening and she was transferred to ICU. Doctors told us to plan for the inevitable. But kita merancang, Tuhan yang menentukan. Alhamdullilah, she's still in hospital but she's much better now. I really hope she takes her health more seriously from now on. So yeah, I'm exhausted from making several visits to the hospital and meeting doctors, surgeons, and nurses. Now I'm waiting for the doctors to give her the green light for home leave during raya.

Home-wise, things have finally come together. It's in a horrid mess right now but our house is starting to look more like a home by the day. But the sickening sofa company is only coming on hari raya eve. Don't ask me what happened. I've lost count how many times I lost my temper this month.

But amidst all the sadness and anger, we managed to slot in some time for a weekend of hari raya shopping and family bonding in JB..

Here's wishing ya'll Selamat Hari Raya and my sincerest apologies if I have ever hurt your feelings in any way (I'm sure, it's not intentional..) Enjoy the long weekend and look out for an invite soon! :)

Selamat Berpuasa!

2009-08-24T16:01:00.004+08:00

Ya, I know I'm supposed to update on the last day in Jakarta but I've been in such a sorry state for the past few days. Was given 2 days MC. I'd be jumping for joy if I wasn't too sickly. At least I can utilize the 2 days to run errands but I was in bed most of the time and body was aching like hell. It's amazing how I managed to drag myself to office last Friday morning to attend to urgent matters.

I'm back at work today. No more fever but not fully recovered yet. Thot of seeing doctor again to extend MC and medications (like seriously I finished all the meds, now relying on panadols..) but I'm so behind with work. There's stacks of papers and unopened letters on my desk, which I'm trying to ignore for the moment. I've yet to close last month's a/cs and I'm still preparing for the year-end stocktake next week. Auditor has been bugging via emails since noon. Then there's audit mid Sep and I can't take leave in Sep either coz boss expecting baby anytime and I have to cover duty. Thank God for the extended Hari Raya holiday this year. So yeah, very very busy. And when I'm at my busiest, I will get tons of cake orders. Salah timing as always.

Anyway, I just wanna write sthg here so that you won't think Makcik K has kidnapped me or sthg.

Today's 3rd day of Ramadhan and I love the fasting mth. Besides getting to lose a few inches and leaving work an hour earlier (boss actually offered me to go off 2 hrs earlier tapi mcm too much pulak kan..), there's lots of good food to share with family and frens and it feels different… peaceful and yet nostalgic, sthg like that. Here's wishing ya'll a good and blessed fasting month. May this Ramadhan gives us all the opportunity to a better person and a better Muslim. Amin!

It is a great month, a noble season, a month in which hasanaat (rewards for good deeds) are multiplied and in which committing sayi’aat (bad deeds) is more serious than at other times. The gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are shut, and the sinners’ repentance to Allah is accepted. It is a month whose beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness and its end is redemption from the Fire.

So give thanks to Him for the season of goodness and blessing that He hasbestowed upon you, and for the means of bounty and various kinds of great blessings for which He has singled you out. Make the most of this blessed time by filling it with acts of worship and forsaking haraam things, so that you mayattain a good life in this world and happiness after death.

Haunted news

2009-08-17T15:05:00.002+08:00

Before I update our last day in Jakarta, can I ask who's the smart alec who said makcik keropok has been caught? Coz..

SOMEONE KNOCKED ON MY MAIN DOOR VERY LOUDLY LAST NITE @ EXACTLY 11.30PM!!

I was alone at home and tossing and turning in bed, trying to get some sleep when I heard a very loud knock on the front door. And I mean LOUD. Coz the bedroom door is locked and I usually sleep with a pillow covering my face and I could still hear the knocking.. Twice!

1st knock, I simply ignored it coz I thought it was Wan and he would have keys. Furthermore I was too lazy to get up from bed. After a few seconds pause, came a 2nd knock. I was a bit freaked out by then, like who would wanna come to my house so late at night? But still I ignored till the knockings stopped.

Then I picked up my hp to call Wan, just to check if it was him and while I picked up the hp, I saw that it was 11.31pm. And fyi, my hp clock is very accurate coz its auto timing by M1. So I called Wan and while waiting for the ringtone, I became more afraid. Wan finally answered and unfortunately he was still at work :(

I'm sleeping alone again tonite. Looks like I gotta drug myself to sleep. And plug in my earphones with Surah Yasin.

Indo Shopping Expedition - Day 3

2009-08-13T16:13:00.009+08:00

We went to Bali!!!

Naaah, just kidding :p This is Taman Mini Indonesia, featuring the different cultures and landmarks of the many, many states in Indonesia.

Our fren here was looking for a 'Barongan'. Those scary looking masks worn during cultural performances. But the ones in the souvenir shop apparently weren't scary enough, so she asked the salesgirl in her broken Bahasa Indonesia..

NC: Ada barongan yg lain ngak? (Do you have other masks?)

Salesgirl: Mbak mau barongan yg bagaimana sih? (Ma'am, what kind are you looking for?)

NC: Yg ada fangs gitu... apa ya? Taring! (The kind with.... fangs!)
Salesgirl: Ooh. MOnsterrrr nya?? Ngak ada Mbak. (Oh, the monster ones? Don't have ma'am)

I was killing myself laughing!

Anyway, she just bought the less scary looking one in the shop..

If only she knew that there IS a real Monsterrrr travelling with us..

After Taman Mini, we went to SCBD Millenia in central Jakarta, also factory outlet, but not as happening as Rumah Mode. But 1st we stopped for authentic padang cuisine for lunch at Sari Ratu.

They'll serve ALL the dishes to your table and you just pick those you want. The waiter will come around after you've finished eating and only charge the dishes that were touched. .

Ayam pop..

Es Teler special. So niceeeee..

After SCBD, we went to the famous Plaza Indonesia which is the upmarket mall, equivalent to our Takashimaya or KLCC in M'sia.

A colleague asked me to look for this particular type of shoes but they've run out of stock. Instead, I got myself a pair of NineWest shoes next door. It's the Great Jakarta Sale and NineWest was having a 60% discount sale. I bought my pair at Rp340,000 (S$50)!!

Then we went to the shopping centre opposite, Djakarta Theatre where the gals shopped for perfumes and lastly to Pasar Baru which is like our Arab St with rows of textile shops.

Pasar Baru..

Bajai..

We headed back to the hotel after Pasar Baru and took an obligatory shot with our wonderful supir for 2 days, Bapak Dana. He's very polite and only talk when enquired. He didn't even asked where we were from which I like, because some of the shopkeepers will ketuk us if they knew we were S'poreans. Other than that he's pretty quiet. It's us kepo gals who asked him a thousand and one questions like where he's from, where he lived, how long he's been a driver etc, etc haha.. And the kind man patiently replied all our qns.

Somewhere along our conversions, we somehow made him panicked. Pak Dana asked where we wanna go next and we said, "Ayo kita langsung ke rumah bapak, makan malem!" (lets go to your house for dinner!). The poor man was stuttering..haha. He was prolly doing a mental calculation of how much food he has to serve us. Prolly as much as his family eats for a mth! Lolz.

But Pak Dana was such a sport. We passed by the Monas (Monument Nasional) and NC started singing the Indonesian National Anthem and he sang along.. so cute! I miss Bapak Dana!

Indo Shopping Expedition - Day 2

2009-08-13T12:14:00.007+08:00

We started the day very early for our Bandung trip. Our 1st stop was Kawah Putih. A volcanic crater south of Bandung, about 3.5 hrs drive from Jakarta. While the rest were sleeping, I was busy snapping photos and admiring the countryside. Despite the bright and hot weather (10am felt like noon), the air was surprisingly cool. And it was refreshing to see lots of greeneries and beautiful strawberry farms and padi fields on the volcanic hillsides.

At one point, the slopes were getting too steep, the car couldn't accelerate upwards. We had to alight before the car could move! haha.. deejavu indeed. We had the same incident at Mount Kinabalu Park in Sabah. So yes, it's definitely not the car. It's just us heavyweights! Lolz

so we huff and we puff up the steep slopes..

After going round and round up the volcano like forever, we finally reached Kawah Putih. Such a serene yet magnificient sight..

The green water was sulphur and we saw gasses evaporating into the air from the lake..

Us standing in the middle of the volcanic crater..

After camwhoring, we walked back to the entrance for some strawberries shopping. The gals bought strawberry dodol (very creative!) and I had strawberry fondue. 3 sticks for only RP10,000 (S$1.50). I bought 2 plates just for myself!

We descended Kawah Putih and made our way into Bandung City. My gawd, the traffic jam was insane! Have you ever been stuck in a traffic jam in KL? Well this was 5x worse..

We reached the Rumah Mode famished! But luckily there was a restaurant and cafe, so we had our very late lunch before shopping..

Now we understand why Rumah Mode is so famous (apparently Kris Dayanti shops there too..). Besides the cheap shopping, the place was clean with beautiful balinese decor and landscaping. Excellent photo opportunities!

Have I mentioned that WE LOVE SHOPPING AT RUMAH MODE! I actually refrained from shopping in S'pore 2 mths prior to our trip and OMG, shopping there was so worth it. Wan bought an original Burberrys jeans for RP170,000 (S$25) and the exact same bangle I once bought from Robinsons at S$30+, was selling at Rumah Mode for S$6. Yes, I bagged lots of accessories! They even have labels like Zara, Esprit, Ed Hardy, Hugo, Gap. Branded but rejected stuff. For example, the top that I bought, the label was sewed to the front instead of the back. No biggie. In all, Wan and I spent about Rp1,400,000 (S$200). We are extremely happy with our purchases!

Unfortunately, we din have time to shop around Bandung and made our way back to Jakarta before it gets dark (Maghrib was around 6pm). Wan till this day has been bugging me to fly back to Bandung one day for a shopping spree.

Indo Shopping Expedition - Day 1

2009-08-12T12:02:00.000+08:00

We learnt upon reaching our destination that Cengkareng, (which I mistakenly thought was a grasshopper..) is an area in Jakarta where the international airport is located. So much for our pre-trip 'detailed research'

BYEE!

We came rolling into the city executive style. Lolz. Our hotel initially offered airport transfer for Rp190,000 but I read in the forums that it cost much less to get to our hotel via BlueBird cabs (equivalent to S'pore's Comfort cab). But upon exiting the Arrival Gate we couldn't see any taxi ranks, only hordes of illegal cabbies targeting us from far. So we cowardly ran to the nearest limo counter that looks professional and reliable enough but ended up paying Rp390,000 for the luxurious Alphard instead. Talk abt 1st class stupidity!

Pak Bambang welcoming us..

Cengkareng NOT cengkerik (grasshopper)!

Our hotel in Mangga Dua, north of Jakarta.

I'm so glad we picked Novotel. Apart from being faaar away from central Jakarta where most high-end hotels are, (including the recently bombed Marriot and Ritz), our hotel's connected to a shopping centre so there's easy access to shopping and lots of halal eateries such as A&W, Wendy's, JCO, BreadTalk, Es Teler, Carrefour. Our 1st day was spent shopping at the Mangga Dua Square Mall.

A Well Deserved Holiday

2009-08-11T16:14:00.007+08:00

We both agreed that we should take a break from all the the stress of building our new home before Ramadhan. Anywhere will do. And we stayed true to our words. But little did we imagine that we would end up here..

CENGKARENG.

I panicked for a while in the plane when Erin suddenly shouted across the aisle that we might have gotten ourselves on the wrong flight..

Saturday's Lunch Menu

2009-07-28T14:48:00.003+08:00

My dear husband's (failed) attempt to make cupcake topping from scratch resulted in an opened box of whipping cream, still 3/4 full. And I was getting worried coz cream won't last for another week once opened. So I googled the net for pasta recipes using whipping cream and found this Creamy Shrimp Macaroni recipe. Something like the one served at Secret Recipe. And it was delicious! Of course like any other recipes I nicked off the net, I tweaked it (see my adjustments in red). Especially mat salleh's ones. Lidah tak sama beb!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb Elbow Macaroni (I substituted with penne)
2 tb Vegetable oil
3/4 lb Shrimp, shelled & deveined
1 Minced garlic clove ( I used 3 cloves to reduce the muak taste)
1 c Whipping cream (used 2 cups instead, otherwise pasta will be too dry)
1 c Sliced green onion (omitted this)
3/4 c Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese 1/4 c Finely shredded Cheddar Cheese (Instead of using 1 cup, I only used 3/4 cup with equal amounts of Parmesan, Mozarella and Cheddar)
1/2 tsp Salt (omitted this)
1 tbsp black pepper
red chili flakes or chili powder as desired (esp if you are used to eating spicy food, this helps!)

Instructions:
Prepare macaroni to package directions; drain.
In med skillet, combine oil, shrimp & garlic; cook just until shrimp is opaque.
Stir in next 6 ingredients. Cook, stirring constantly, until cheeses melt.
Add macaroni; stir until coated; heat throughly.
Serve immediately

And as a testament to it's deliciousness, here's Wan enjoying his lunch..

For someone who doesn't like anything creamy, he asked, "can we serve this during Hari Raya?"

1st Cake Order

2009-07-27T12:26:00.003+08:00

As soon as our new oven arrived last week, I immediately put it to good use. My 1st cake order since moving in!

Cute isn't it?

It's a customized order, so design didn't come from me. Normally it takes quite sometime before I can truly appreciate the cakes I made. Coz this is me till delivery date..

Day 4: Start to worry about order
Day 3: Still worrying but too lazy to start baking.
Day 2: Finally start baking the cake
Day 1: Torting and cake decoration the entire day
Day 0 (delivery day): wake up very early for last minute touch-ups and photo-taking. Will start worrying incessantly and check cake a million times till delivery. Back home to clean the mess.
3 days after: I get to sit down and browse thru the photos and admire the cakes :)

And now that we have an oven and i'm free from orders this mth, I'm thinking of Shepard's pie, Chicken baked rice, Ayam bakar berempah.. oh Yum!

Thanks, But No Thanks.

2009-07-24T12:50:00.008+08:00

I'm always grateful when others wanna help us with our new home. Be it physically or food donations from relatives (even if the food taste wierd but it's rezeki so alhamdullillah!). But it's SO NOT OK, if others continuously dump their junk at my new home under the pretext of being generous. And not especially when I know they are trying to clear their old furnitures to make way for new ones for hari raya!

And they didn't even ask me if I wanted those used and dated junk. Just anyhow dump at my home. Seriously, what gives?? Just becoz my home is empty right now doesn't mean I want it to be decorated by ugly looking wooden furnitures that have no meaning or use. I'm sorry I sound like an ungrateful brat but every individual has their own wants. Don't impose your styles and ideas (and chairs, benches, plates, glasses, mirror, wardrobes, etc, etc) on me.

PS: Sorry for the random outburst..

The reason why I don't like banks. And some Tips.

2009-07-15T14:06:00.013+08:00

*Warning! Boring stuff ahead*

C/i/t/i/bank recently called me asking if I would like to apply for their Platinum card which I must admit, it's rather attractive due to the 5x rewards. Actually it's NOT really 5x rewards. Let me explain.

Normally, if you charge $5 to your citibank credit card, you'll earn 1 point. If you have enough points say 500, you'll get to redeem a $20 Cold Storage Voucher. So in order to have 500 points, you would need to charge/spend $2500. In simple terms, spend $2500 get a $20 Cold Storage voucher.

With the 5x rewards, it's no longer $5 = 1 point. They've increased the points 5 times, meaning $5 = 5 points which also means, $1 = 1 point. See? Very sneaky! Ppl would have thought charge $1 get 5 points, padahal padahal. slimeballs..

So now instead of spending $2500 to get a $20 cold storage voucher, I can do so with just $500. And the reason why I find this card attractive is because the rewards redeemable does not require a lot of points and are mostly essentials like petrol, groceries, movies and shopping vouchers at major dept stores like Taka, Tangs, Robinsons, Ikea etc. Even without the credit card, we have all these while made Shell and Cold Storage bosses millionaires. So why not?

Then, C/i/t/i/bank continued to harrass me to sign up their Ready Credit. Which works like a credit card, but instead of an actual credit card, it comes with a chequebook and atm card (macam cash advance..) and apparently has lower interest rates of 17.95% as compared to credit card of 24%. In a speed of lightning the officer said.. "Ma'am you just need to give us verbal agreement and I straightaway sign u up and waive off your 1st annual fee!" Hmmm..

I shall not bore you guys any longer but I read the fine prints and did my calculations and (am very, very glad I took accounting) it's not any cheaper than a credit card! Argh, these dodgy banks!

Anyway, it's this simple. Have a credit card by all means BUT pay in full by due date so you won't earn any interest. Make full use of their rewards system and plssss don't pay the goddamn annual fees. Trust me. They'd rather waive off the fees than lose a customer.

*updated @4.30pm* The same C/i/t/i/bank girl who pestered me to sign the Ready Credit just called again, giving me the full list of goodness of Ready Credit in one breath. I swear she didn't even stop to breathe fearing that I would intercept. After 10 mins, finally I get to say NO THANKS and she slammed down the phone on me.. haha.

Making of a Home - Part 6

2009-07-13T16:55:00.003+08:00

Oh, my poor legs are extremely sore from overwalking. Erm, if there is such a word as 'overwalking'.. orang lari marathon pon kaki tak sakit gini.. Hahaha. It's actually too much walking + heels + fat body = sore legs

Anyway, if you had read the title.. yes, we are still not done with the house. Hmm, how to if we only buy 1 furniture every mth (read: payday). After a disappointing trip to Sungei Kadut, (can you imagine us not finding a suitable dining table or sofa in a area full of cheap furniture warehouses???!) we made a point to keep our weekends free for more bargain hunting and still, it's rather disappointing..

1. sofa - Found and paid! But shipment only comes 1st week of Sep
2. tv console - Found! But too bloody ex. Didn't buy in the end.
3. storage chest - Found! Going back this coming weekend to purchase
4. mirrors - Found! Going back this coming weekend to purchase
5. bathroom mirrors - Found but no stock.
6. Lighting - Found 3 ceiling lights and purchased them at a darn good price! We love GSS!
7. dining table and computer table. See below..

At the top of our list is the dining table which sadly, we didn't find any that we both like! They were either too expensive or just the right price but with hits and misses. As the salesperson was trying hard convincing us to buy the table.. " oh ma'am, this table is good coz…blahblahblah…. and CHEAP". " You should get it now coz …blahblahblah………. and CHEAP". And all the while, Wan and I were sitting there mentally listing all the things that were wrong with those tables..

Actually, we found this perfect dining table at Vhive Tanjong Katong last month. Reasonable price, very sturdy and esthetically pleasing. And also this Vhive computer table that we really like. BUT it wasn't payday yet so we left and promised to return when our wallets are fatter. So last Saturday we went to Vhive TK and guess wat??

It was their last day there and the showroom was practically empty save for a few display pieces on sale! And THE PERFECT DINING TABLE WAS SOLD! :( But, but, but, the computer table we wanted was still there! So we quickly, quickly kancheong spider checked the table and paid for it. And it was a such good deal! When we 1st saw, the price was S$239, then it was slashed to $169 and then to $139 and guess how much we paid? $109!! :D

This Week

2009-07-09T13:11:00.002+08:00

Is it Thursday already? Thank God coz it's been a looong week. I'm so tired and sleepy and I can feel the varicose veins in my fat calves tightening at this very moment. Really, I need a massage tonite..

Monday night - After work I made a mad, mad dash from the MRT to home (in heels no less) to clean the house AND whip up Char Kway Teow for my impromptu guests, all within 40 minutes. Yes, WonderWoman is my middle name..

Tuesday night - Last day of Robinsons sales and I just received my shopping vouchers that very morning so off I went after work for some last minute grabs, which I'm very very satisfied with coz in addition to the vouchers, members are entitled to a 20% discount on top of the already 20% storewide discount and also another 5% rebate.

Wednesday - Took leave from work to run errands with husband. Went to pay his aunty a visit coz she just shifted home, fell sick and then had a new grandson. Sent keropok to his other aunty and then went back to mom's place to collect more stuff. Drove back home to unload stuff and was on the road again to see some furnitures at Sungei Kadut. We din get any furnitures in the end but bagged loads of plates from a warehouse factory outlet. Had dinner at Sakura Far East and then to Great World City to shop for more kitchen accessories. Last stop, Mustafa Centre and fully utilised our $20 vouchers on 2 standing fans. Reached home close to midnight

Thursday (today) - see 1st para. Husband just called for a murtabak lunch date @ Arab St with his parents :-o

Friday - more shopping after work

Saturday - paint bedroom and kitchen light casings, do laundry, scrub toilets, attend Alif's bday celebration in the evening..

Sunday - thinking of home-made roti kirai with chicken curry since hubby's home..

Wish we had floor-to-celling windows like these..

2009-07-06T13:15:00.008+08:00

coz I discovered recently, nothing beats waking up in the morning with sunshine flooding into our home. Not even caffeinne. It actually puts a smile on my face :)

Making of a Home - Part 5

2009-06-18T20:26:00.009+08:00

Guess where i'm blogging from??

From my new home!! Oh wait, make that OUR new home.. Marah nanti orang tu.

We shifted last weekend and so far things have been great! I finally get e freedom to do what i love most.. Cooking! Lots of it. Like e saying goes, a messy kitchen is a happy kitchen! Tho im sure mOm would beg to differ. Can't believe we din move much earlier.

Anyway gtg now. My washing machine's 'singing' now, meaning e laundrys done. plus im blogging via my new nokia e63 which im still getting use to. This is my 5th draft n i better save now b4 it goes missing again..

The Making of a Home - Part 4

2009-06-03T16:21:00.002+08:00

It seems as the deadline draws nearer, we face a lot more challenges and obstacles.

Let's see.

1. After we did some digging and cleared the red ants' nest behind the kitchen cabinet door (eeeeeeewwwwwwwww), then out of nowhere, came the black ants! I went around the kitchen armed with Bygone and discovered that the black ants' nest was in fact NOT in the kitchen, but on the outside wall just next to the kitchen window. Got rid of the black ants and now, we have baby roaches. @$%@#$%#%^$ Gross!!

2. A few days ago, Wan was installing the kitchen ceiling lights. It was't easy because the previous owner DIY his way around the house and basically screwed up a lot of things including the entire house wiring. I don't want to judge that fella, but from the way things we left behind, he did a very bad job. Malays would call it 'asal boleh'. Doesn't matter if the wires are dangling, as long as the bloody lights light up. Doesn't matter if people get electrocuted while bathing, as long as there's a powerpoint socket IN the bathroom for the heater. Yes, THAT kind of job quality and I got SO mad seeing all these coz well, he didn't use his brains did he? And poor Wan had a hard time rectifying his mistakes. Anyway, Wan was fixing the lights and tripped electricity for the whole flat. Nice.

3. The water heater tank was installed last week but it's not working yet because there's no powerpoint to connect the heater. Since last week, we were taking turns to call and harrass the bathroom supplier coz everytime she promised the electrician would come and fix the powerpoint, he NEVER TURNED UP.

*sigh*

Anyway, just for a little fun, I did a quiz from this website http://www.sproost.com/ . It tells you what's your decorating style like, coz fickle minded ppl like me can never make up our minds. And the results were pretty accurate. Apparently, I'm 70% Modern Elegance and 30% Contemporary. I don't like clutter and prefer clean lines and large spaces with natural lighting. But at the same time, I like to mix and match furnitures so as not to give off a very cold and uninviting feel.

-------------------------------------------------

On a totally different note, I unknowingly asked a man whom I haven't met for 10 years, out on a date. I'm f*cking insane!

Making of a Home - Part 3

2009-05-26T17:13:00.003+08:00

I'm SO excited!!

The bathroom supplier just rang to inform that our much awaited ceramic basins are finally here in Singapore. Yay! And they are fixing everything up (basins, water heater, shower etc..) this Thursday. Oh, I'm so relieved! We had waited a month for the stupid basins to arrive. And since the rest of the bathroom accessories are interlinked, everything else was delayed.

Right now, the flooring guys are doing the laminates and skirting. They started work yesterday and promised to be done by today or latest, tomorrow. My fil is also at our hse now, painting those humongous bathroom pipes. Can't wait to see my house this Thursday! And just so happen, I applied leave this Thursday & Friday. Well, nothing to do with the house. I have a huge french macaron order for this Saturday and I've not done a scratch. Yeah, I'm screwed.

Anyway, we are shifting this 13th June! With or without furnitures. hehe.. but most important stuff like bathroom and kitchen would be completed by then.

Last Saturday, we had quite a blast. The flooring people were due to start work on Monday rite(yesterday 25th May), so we had to clear the floor for them. Our dinosaur fridge was sitting in the living room because Wan wasn't done with the kitchen yet. Basically, last Saturday we needed to finish the kitchen by hook or crook and then shift the fridge into the kitchen but it's too freakin heavy to move. We thought, ok this IS it.

So we called everybody up. Actually, MOM called everybody up. I only asked mom and bro to come over and lend us a hand. Mom then called my grandaunt who lives a few blocks away. And my grandaunt is like the central reporting centre for my family. Soon, my cousins received news that we needed help.

There were tons of massive rubbish to clear. My smart alec bro finally did a very smart thing. He ran down to the void deck and borrowed from a bangla the HDB plastic orange net (the one use to cordon off an area) and blocked the area just below our dining room windows. He ran back up (we are on the 2nd floor..), pulled our dining room windows wide open and started shoving and thrashing things down the window!

OMFG

Neighbours peered out of their flats to see what the racket was and saw wood planks, tins, cupboards, cardboards and whatnots flying out of our window! I kept screaming at him to stop, but he was on a mission and basically cleared the house in a matter of minutes. It would have taken Wan and I a lifetime to do so.

After all the drama, Wan & bro were fixing the kitchen ceiling and I was painting the door when suddenly my granduncle appeared out of nowhere! He said he took the bus. We were so surprised coz (1) how the hell does he know which bus to take and where to stop? and (2) he's 72 and shouldn't be moving around much, let alone help us. Same goes with my fil. He's about the same age and insisted on helping. Both Wan and I were deeply honored by their kind gestures.

Come noon, grandaunt called us to pickup our lunch boxes. Mee siam and rice with lemak cili padi. Oh bless her! Soon after, my cousin dropped by to help.

The day turned out to be really festive!

Still Macaroning

2009-05-17T10:38:00.007+08:00

OK, the yellow nutella macarons I previously made sucked big time. So I tried again.

For the 8th time.

And they turned out perfect.

Fate?

2009-05-12T13:59:00.002+08:00

As I matured, I began to realise that nothing else matters more in the world than being happy. It's funny how at one point of my life, all I wanted was money. Lots and lots of money. You can't blame me, I was earning peanuts back then. But now, it seems money can no longer buy me happiness.

Happiness is very subjective. You can leave your job and be a full-time sahm and be contented and happy. You can do the most silliest of things in the world and still be contented and happy. I want that and I'm still searching for that. Now, things I thought I'm happy with, begin to prove otherwise. Sometimes I wonder if I'm living in denial. Or am I being ungrateful?

I'm sorry you have to hear me ramble like this (you could leave this blog you know..). I'm just feeling a bit melancholic on this surprisingly cold and wet day. A series of events suddenly popped out of nowhere and gave light to the future. I tried all my might, I tried avoiding it like plague. But it just keeps coming..

Jon Minus 9

2009-05-10T20:23:00.005+08:00

I dunno if you guys watch Jon&Kate Plus 8, but I've been catching it on cable whenever I can coz I absolutely adore Alexis, one of the little sextuplets. She's so cute! What I can't stand is the mom. She constantly berates and belittles her husband, Jon, on national tv and would correct every single word or sentence he said wrong just to prove that she's better than him. Urgh, that woman! Here, watch this..

(sorry, can't embed the video..)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IATr2I2VgSY

And people wonder where Maddy (one of the twins) got her bad attitude from.

Now, apparently Jon is rumoured to have an affair with a school teacher. I say, good for him.

Making of a Home - Part 2

2009-04-21T17:38:00.003+08:00

Our home renovation started on 8th April and is scheduled to complete this weekend! We've been to the house a couple of times to "check"on the contractors and so far, we liked what we saw. Very immaculate workmanship. Over the weekend, Wan and I purchased bathroom accessories and my darling husband is swooned with delight.. haha. It's so funny seeing a man getting excited over basins and taps.

Anyhooo, I can't wait to see the accessories up in our new bathrooms and the contractors out of our house. Then, it's time to tackle the next biggest headache in the house. The kitchen. Oy..

French Macarons minus the trip to Paris

2009-04-17T15:18:00.001+08:00

.. Of course, I would looove to have an afternoon tea at the famous Laduree in Paris with an array of colourful macarons being laid in front of me. But what can a penniless girl do, except bake?

It all started when someone rang me asking if I could do macarons for her engagement. Back then, I din know what macarons were. Meringue I know, but not macarons. Curiousity got the better off me, so I googled and was mesmerised with what I saw. 3 days later, lo and behold, I made my own macarons!

Before I show you my macarons, first let me give you a low down of how a perfect macaron should look like..
There are essentially 2 types of macarons; The French Macaron and The Italian Macaron where the latter involves more complicated techniques and should not be attempted by 1st timers. Making macarons is all about techniques. Heck, this cookie doesn't even have flour in it and uses like what... 4 ingredients? Yet, anyone who tried baking macarons has failed at least once. It's very leceh with a whole list of do's and don’t's

Can't fold the batter more than 50 times. Can't overbeat or underbeat the eggs. In fact, which part of the world you are in and understanding how your oven behaves are extremely important as french macarons are highly susceptible to temperature and humidity. Basically, macarons are a bunch of temperamental matsalleh cookies. Imagine my excitement when my 1st batch of macarons came out almost perfect. Or so I thought..

It has feet, crisp outer shell and chewy inside. However, the top wasn't shiny and smooth at all. Plus, it was hollow and dry. A quick google revealed that I overmixed. Not wanting to give up, I went for a 2nd try. And guess what? It got worse! I had to throw them away coz the macarons cracked up like tiny volcanoes.

I was not satisfied till I get my macarons right so I tried again, experimenting with diff recipe and tips from the internet. Adding a pinch of salt. Adding a drop of lemon juice. Keeping the oven door slightly ajar while baking.. You name it, I've done it. And finally, after many, many exhausting tries, I got it!

All the while, I was obsessing about the eggs. I tried ways and means to get the eggs whipped into a right consistency. But as it turns out, it's not how the eggs are beaten, but how the dry ingredients are mixed into the beaten eggs! Aahh.. This process is called Macaronage and it's the most crucial step in making macarons. Overmixing or undermixing can produce undesirable results (tho' I've heard that it's better to undermix than overmix). So, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my French Macarons with Nutella Ganache..

The Making of a Home - Part 1

2009-03-18T13:59:00.005+08:00

Most of you should know by now that we are totally consumed in our home project.

We have engaged a contractor and reno is scheduled to commence mid next month. I can't wait for it to start and of course, if given the choice, not even haf to deal with the apek. What's up with all these contractor apeks, anyway? Did they drop down from hell?

Until then, Wan and I will be busy shopping for our bathroom and kitchen accessories and also, our own little projects in the kitchen. The kitchen is btw, the biggest headache in the house. The contractor wanted to hack the existing cabinet and build new ones for $3.5k. Three point five bloody thousand! The cupboard looks new and sturdy albeit the ol skool laminate colour, so we decided to keep and just work around it. Which turns out to be a pain in the ass coz it was designed with empty spaces here and there to cater for certain appliances. But we certainly do not want to buy these appliances just to fit into the cabinet puzzle. Oy..

At this point tho, we've made good progress with the kitchen. Wan hacked part of the kitchen wall tiles and plastered it ALL ON HIS OWN which saved us $2.5k. Apek claimed it would cost that much to either overlay the wall tiles OR hack them and plaster over. We told apek to go to hell.

We discovered an excellent and cheap way to give the cabinet a new look! All hail The Internet God!

And we found a way to dispose this bulit-in disgusting table which was attached to the side of the cabinet. Oh what a relief! It's such an eyesore and not practical at all. The table was long with really small width and it's stuck to the wall. Why would anyone wanna eat with the wall smack in your face?

More updates coming up. Stay tune!

PS: I'm going to be thick-skinned here but some of you were asking what we want as house-warming gifts. I say, a maid would be good. Joking! I'll take vouchers, k. Ikea, Courts, Harvey Norman, Robinsons.. actually now would be perfect timing :p

Inspire me

2009-03-04T17:10:00.001+08:00

While Wan is slogging away with love at our new home painting, rewiring and drilling (like seriously.. He doesn't even make his weekday escapes to JB anymore), I prefer to contribute in a more subtle way. I google for inspiration.. Haha.

I'm actually a bit clueless when it comes to choosing a home concept. I don't know what we want, really. But we're open to ideas. Just not those kayu jati furniture look with very complicated motifs or opulent sultan palace look with gold and bulky furnitures. I almost died when Wan's father asked if we wanted those kind of sofas. But whatever concept it is, it has to be practical and easy to maintain. I nicked some pictures off the net and here are some of my favourites. Unfortunately, these will never end up in our new home. I'll explain why.

Check out this vintage white sink! I love it especially against the turquoise cabinets. But ALL white? I give it at most 6 months before the poor sink turns yellow.

If you're into the café/bistro style, this chalkwall would be perfect for your kitchen. And if you're extremely good at drawings, that would be even better. You'll have different designs every day. Cool, but not practical isn't it? How do you eat in the kitchen with chalk dusts flying all over the place?

And for those who always wear black (like me), you might just get chalk on your clothes should you accidentally rub against the wall. And while, I'm open to ideas, I'm not sure about having a black wall in my kitchen. I can't take dark or small spaces. Claustrophobic!

This is SO colourful. But seriously la, you dun cook is it?? If you do, I'm sure you wouldn't want to display the backside of your pots and pans.

Ooohh! I love, love, LOVE chandeliers. Especially ones like this that is crazily over the top, almost bordering on vulgar. Yum!

But me cleaning this? Kirim salam sudah.

Nak Pindah?

2009-02-27T08:19:00.001+08:00

After deliberating back and forth on whether "should we" or "shouldn't we" and "when should we" or "why shouldn't we", WE finally came to a conclusion that we shall be moving to our new flat.

When? That, we are still deciding.

Looks like I have to shelve my mid-year vacation plans. But if anyone is kind enough to sponsor, (do you hear me Wan!) you know la where I would love to go. Do you realise how ridiculously cheap flight tickets are nowdays?

Ayway, I better concentrate on the house for now. It is in a dire need of a good reno. Here's the list of things needing some work done:

- both kitchen and master bathrooms. These are still in original conditions and the flat was built like what.. in the 1980s?

- overhaul to the entire kitchen. I can't stand those ol' skool cabinets. And the ceiling.. Urgh~

- change flooring & skirting for the whole house.

The contractor quoted us $5k for both bathrooms. Prolly need to fork out $8k for my dream kitchen. Flooring, $3k perhaps? And of course, there's accessories, sofa, lightings, dining set, tv, etc to buy which can easily sets us back say another, $10k? See, it's the small things that adds up. That too, Wan's father helped us paint the walls and ceilings which already saved us $1.5k on painting services. And he had also miraculously managed to hide the disgusting blue cornices with white paint which now makes them look brand new. So thank god, no need to spend on new cornices or false ceilings. Just get new lightings. Our budget, all in, is around $25k. We'll see.

Home loan is definitely NOT an option. I'm not going to owe bank money just to do up our home. Anyway, our deadline is by this year's raya. According to my calculations, we should have enough time and cash. So we are gonna do our reno in stages.

For now, I've come up with design ideas for the house and even penned it down for Wan to see. He seems to like it very much. I'm very excited!

Down and Out

2009-02-20T15:01:00.000+08:00

Urgh I hate PMS! I'm feeling a bit shite right now. This whole week I was feeling down and depressed. And on top of that my body aches, I have stomach cramps, swollen breasts, I'm tired all the time and I have trouble sleeping. I only slept 4 hours for the past few nights and I turned up at work looking like a wreck. Oh the wonderful things I have to put up with every month!

On a more exciting note, we are celebrating a gf's bday tomorrow. In my new house no less! But the house is empty. Literally. No furniture, no tv, nothing. So I'm going over tomorrow morning to spruce things up a little bit. Prolly shop for some basic stuff at Giant or IKEA and make it look more like home. The birthday gerl on the other hand is bringing along her dslr camera, new lens and tripod to shoot us and even sent out special requests on our attires! I love entertaining guests. Oklah, provided the guests were invited in the 1st place. How I wish I could cook tomorrow.

Do you like the photo on the header? I think it looks great! Fits the title nicely. It was taken at Istanbul in an underground cistern. That's me btw. And talking about blogs, I was a bit free the past few days so cleaned up the archives. SO many childish and mindless entries! Haha.. But I found a couple of entries about my late grandma that choked me up. I'm having one section in this blog dedicated specially to her. Click on the "beloved grandma" label on the right.

On Life

2009-02-15T21:26:00.011+08:00

I was watching Oprah's interview with Gwyneth Paltrow over on Star Movies and Paltrow was describing to Oprah what her good friend Madonna is like..

"She was very wise about life's bigger picture and that when obstacles come up in our life, it's for a very specific reason. They're there to teach us something that we haven't learned yet,"

And at that very instant I started reflecting back on my own life. I don't have much to talk about, really. I'm only 26. But the past two years especially have taught me a lot about life and made me a much wiser person. I think.

I've learnt what I'm capable of and what I'm not. I've learnt to be true to myself and not be hypocritical just to be politically correct. I've learnt to be thankful and appreciative. I've learnt that God works in the most mysterious ways and is/will always be my side.

All my life, I turn to God whenever I wish for something. Sometimes my wish gets granted, sometimes they don't. And if they don't, then I would pray harder. I'm persistent like that. And Allah is kind. He did eventually granted me my wishes. But along the way, I took a hard fall and then I understood why He didn't grant it in the 1st place.

But life is all about making choices. I could give up and leave it to fate or fight and move on. Fate is a tricky business. I can never understand some parts of it. I believe as human beings, God gave us brains so that we can use our own intelligence and make decisions. While birth, marriage and death are pre-destined, I don't believe that our entire lives are tuned as such. I dunno. It's all God's secrets, I guess.

Anyway, for now I'm just taking life a step at a time. I think I'm doing pretty well at this stage of my life (Alhamdulillah) and hopefully I get to live to the fullest. Just like Benjamin Button. Wan and I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button last Friday night and I absolutely loved it! The movie depicts how very, very short life is . Scary.. It was a 3 hrs movie but it was worth every seconds holding back my pee. I'll give it 10/10!

The movie ended around 10.30pm. We drove downtown in search for late dinner. We parked at Royal Scotts Hotel thinking that Carousel still serves supper but apparently not anymore. So we crossed over to Far East Plaza and discovered that Pastamania opened till 3am much to our surprise! In case, news hasn't reach you yet, Pastamania is now halal! Fantastic isn't it?!

I thought I had to wait a month after Pastamania has gone halal, just like CoffeeBean, before I could dine in there. Why? Coz the ENTIRE Muslim community in S'pore were hounding every CoffeeBean stores when they went halal! It was jammed pack! So imagine our excitement when we found a quiet Pastamania tucked in a corner of Orchard Road on a Friday nite! And the food, ouhh, I loved the pizzas! Thin crust with lotsa cheese that you can pull, and pull and pull. Hey, I enjoy the pulling part most when it comes to eating pizzas! The night ended so perfectly when my husband asked the waitress to bring out our Chocolate MOUSE dessert! Haha.. It's Chocolate MOUSSE la uncle!

Why I love Facebook

2009-02-13T16:10:00.003+08:00

I burst out laughing at work today when I found out that my 60 year old ex-lecturer from Aussie had flirted with me via SuperPoke! How increadibly cute!

Back to Black

2009-01-10T01:34:00.003+08:00

It's been an awfully long time since I last blogged and I've completely forgotten that I even HAVE a blog! I know.. like who cares if I do or don't update? I dun tink anyone's reading this blog but heck, it's 1am, I can't sleep and I'm utterly bored.

To keep the story short let's just say during the past few mths, things didn't work out like how I wanted it to be. Dissapointed? Yes. But it's a classic example of kita merancang, tuhan yang menentukan.

The past few months were hell. Yes, I've learnt a lot. Yes, I've made lots of new frens. But hell, the job was horrible. I'm just so glad that 2008 has passed coz it was a rough year for me. I wish 2009 would be much, much better career-wise. And hopefully I'll get my mojo back. SOON. I seemed to lost all my zest, my ambitions, the drive and determination...oh, how I miss that feeling of being in control and productive. Btw, it's Back to Black.. haha. Go figure.

On a happier note, we've bought our own flat (YAY!) and will be getting the keys in Feb'09! Tho' we are not moving in immediately coz there's some reno to be done. And oh, then there's the recent trip to Sabah! Such a tiring holiday! But I'm glad I did it. Especially the sea-walking adventure. Such a scary experience for someone who doesn't know how to swim or hold breath under water. But yet I WALKED ON THE SEA-BED IN AN OPEN SEA. How freaking cool is that???! :D

L

Jalan Raya

2008-10-02T13:20:00.007+08:00

Aww, so how was your hari raya?? Great I hope!

As for me, it's my 1st raya with hubby so I made an extra effort to find us matching outfits. We've gone orange! hehe.. sorry no pics. Too lazy to lug around a camera. And since it's the 1st raya with hubby, it also means 1st raya outing with the in-laws.

Well.. it was ok. Love the food! He's blessed with excellent cooks in the family so we had lots of variety.. from the ususal suspects to nasi minyak, nasi ambeng and so on. And yes, I was fully loaded with sweet/gassy drinks the entire day. I came home last night with a pregnant tummy, needless to say. Oh wait! Last night..? Make that THIS MORNING. At 1.30am.

Urgh! It was tiring as hell. Actually MY hari raya officially ended at 9.30pm coz I started yawning by then but the elders insisted we cover ALL houses yesterday night. Of course, our yawnings and dozing offs and SIL's constant reminders that she has to work early the next morning din give off even the slightest bit of signal to the elders that we DESPERATELY want to go home. I mean, what fun is hari raya if you have to drag yourself from one house to another and then snoozing on and off on other people's couches, just so u could keep up with the visitations? And isn't it rude to keep the hosts waiting till midnight when they too need their sleep? And let's not even forget the drivers. What if they doze off while on the road? But then, who am I to say all these?

Anyway, for those of you who CAN say/do something about it, here's some jalan raya tips:

1. Give ample time. Leave your house early!

2. If you have to cover 4567895666944 houses in one day, then keep to a time limit of 1 hour per house.

3. Do not wear high heels after 10pm as you'll be walking/swaying like a drunkard hence losing balance and glamour

4. Stock hot coffee/red bull to keep awake.

5. Last but not least, if all fails, feign migrane and excuse yourself.

Ok, that being said...

SELAMAT HARI RAYA EVERYBODY!
Take care and do not overeat. Hari raya still has 28 days to go!

Liana,
The Raya Grinch

The Runaway Couple

2008-09-06T21:32:00.007+08:00

Complimentary suite upgrade, welcome drinks and late check-out. Espresso machine complete with wide selection of coffee beans from around the world. Soft and fluffy bathrobes that felt as if you're being cuddled by a warm fuzzy teddy bear. Breakfast while floating in ~~bed~~ bath-tub. Bed so luxuriously huge and comfy you just wish you could die in it..

Ahh.. sheer pleasure..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!!

.. and life moves on..

2008-07-27T16:05:00.016+08:00

*Sigh* Where do I begin?

OK, so the last time I wrote was a month ago when I tendered my resignation. Since then, life has been so hectic and and it got worse nearing the final countdown coz I had to quickly close last month's accounts, finalise the financial schedules and at the same time, do a complete handover. A day before I left, I sent out a farewell email which goes like this..

Hiya all! As many of you know, I'm leaving my position here at T***&G**. In fact tomorrow will be my last day and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for making my time here enjoyable. It's been great knowing each and everyone of you and you will certainly be missed! Anyway, do stay in touch. I can be reached at the following..

Email: u*****@hotmail.com (pronounced as 'you know me")
Mobile: 9*** ****
Facebook: L**** U*****
Website: www.lil-treats.blogspot.com

Good luck and oh, open the attachment!

Cheers!
L

And on that note, can I just quickly mention how fantastic Facebook is! Guess who I met?? My long-lost favourite poly lecturer! He had left the teaching profession and migrated to Australia. I missed him SO much and we have been corresponding via emails now, updating each other's lives. How cool is that?! He was the reason I enjoyed my poly years. This guy believed in me and gave me opportunities to learn and develop. He appointed me as Class Chairman and I was the only Malay around. He's wise and respectable and funny... too bad he wasn't boyfriend material :p Well, he's so unlike SOMEONE who kept repeating to my face, that just because I wear tudung, no one wants to employ me. Just because I don't make it to NUS, I won't get a good job. And worse, just because I'm a MALAY, I won't get anywhere in life. You'll be shocked if I were to reveal this person's identity..

Anyway, let's go back to where we left off.. oh where were we?? Ah yesss.. me leaving the job. And so, being a responsible individual (cheh!) I made extra sure that I've completed ALL my to-do lists before the last day but my loooovely boss (honestly, he IS lovely..) chose that particular day, to pick my brains and take down notes all the way from morning to evening! It was tiring as hell but we had a sweet ending coz some of my close colleagues threw me a farewell dinner..

A cool BabyG watch as a farewell gift!

And I brought them a lil something in return. Yeah.. it felt like Xmas!

Then, I had only Saturday and Sunday to get things sorted out for the new job. Went for medical check-up and a killer shopping spree!

So what's next?...

Hmmm.. budgets, budgets & more budgets, CPA exams, driving lessons, driving test, pre-marriage course (muahaha..) and of course! A planned vacation end of this year! Wohoo!

Story of the last office key

2008-06-27T09:45:00.000+08:00

While I like the fact that my colleagues are comfortable with me, my direct boss especially, nowadays these comfortable-ness somehow made me feel a little... sensitive.

Like yesterday evening, this new marketing gerl had to stay back a bit late and had no keys to lock up. So my dear boss casually came up to me, asked for MY keys and gave it to this gerl. And when I asked, How am I supposed to get in tomorrow? To which he replied.. Aiyah, no need come on time la..

Erk??!!

OK, I get it. I have to surrender my keys real soon anyway. That would relieve him the hassle of making her a duplicate set.. But STILL!!! Siang-siang kunci dah kena confiscate! :(

I dunno if it's the hormones playing up. Coz I'm normally a chin chai person. But I think I'm getting a tad emotional coz I will be saying SAYONARA SUCKERS! in a couple of weeks' time. Working at T&G has been the best three years of my life and I'm loving every minute slogging in here. Of course, it was a culture shock at 1st but I slowly began to embrace these over-creative people with their over-the-top craziness & friendliness. But life has to move on eh? A change of environment, learn new things, annoy a different set of colleagues.. hehe.

Surely, I'll miss the overcrowded Bugis (.. & J Co donuts..), miss taking the mrt everyday, miss going to work at 9.15 am, miss the loud & insane people of T&G (it was comforting to know that some were actually sad to hear me leave..) and most bizzarely, I'm going to miss wearing black everyday! *boo hoo*

But for now, I'll just have to turn up everyday for work slightly late .. I don't have keys mah!

Braun New Wallet

2008-06-25T09:11:00.008+08:00

So my constant pesterings have paid off. .

Thanks babe!

Actually all I wanted was this 30 bucks wallet from Robinsons. But in the end, got more than I bargained for. . suh-weet! *sniffs new leather wallet* (ya, I'm crazy like that..)

PS: I hope you found your car this morning... Muahahahaha!!

Missed

2008-06-19T11:23:00.006+08:00

As I was reading the last entry, I felt something was not right. That I could have possibly left out mentioning an important event. Only this morning it occured to me...

Why, of course! Urvi's wedding!

Is she gorgeous or What??!

PS: For more photos, scoot over to Faeizah's multiply.

Go ahead and wish us

2008-06-18T12:33:00.006+08:00

It's with much happiness & joy that I hereby announce that..

WE'VE HIT THE 10 YEARS MARK!!

Happy 10th anniversary baby! It's been a joy having u; my husband, my best friend, my psychiatrist and my punching bag, by my side all these years. You've done a great job humouring me, fed me, chocolated and even ice-creamed me throughout the ten looong years. May God bless us and may this be the 1st of many 10th anniversaries, to come!

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Hows the celebration going? Well we kept it simple. We had initially plan to go for a short holiday but with the rising prices, now is definitely not the right time to be splurging on a holiday. Plus like pure coincidence, there's family events..

more cake & cupcake orders...

(My 1st Whimsical/Topsy-Turvy cake!!)

and unexpected job interviews, ALL happening in the same week.

We did however, celebrated it before….

And after 11th June..

(Check out the size of my drink..)

What to do? Bad timing.

Anyway, back to our pre-celebration @ The Esplanade..

Knowing that Hubby is a huge fan of Malay black & white films, I thought it would be really nice to surprise him with P Ramlee The Musical tickets for our 10th Anniversary. Plus, it's a good start to get him to appreciate performing arts.

So 4 weeks ago on 18th May at 8pm, it was Wan's virgin experience being in Esplanade theatre, watching his very first live theatre performance and he truly enjoyed it!

As for me, I was very impressed firstly, with the design set and stage props. It was the nicest stage design set I've ever seen in live theatres. Imagine seeing an (almost) real-size antique locomotive train complete with smoke rolling onto the stage. Or the exact replica of old Lido cinema, complete with old movie posters and one apek sitting behind the ticketing window box. The props were so detailed that it instantly brought a sense of nostalgia to the whole atmosphere. Well done!

But of course, the most impressived of all was the man himself, P Ramlee, played by Musly Ramlee. OH.MY.GOD. This guy has such an uncannny resemblance to P Ramlee.. his looks, his walk, his voice, his accents. He did an excellent impersonation of the man himself, I must admit it was a tad scary. Bagaikan P Ramlee mati hidup semula! And when he sang, his voice was Bee-auti-fooool, I almost fell in love with him!

There's this one scene where he did a solo performance, after P Ramlee's divorce with Norizan, Musly Ramlee sang his heart out at my direction! MY direction! ( We were sitting quite close to the stage.. 6 rows from the front) I'd like to think he was using me as an inspiration untuk menghayati lagu :D haha.. Wishful thinking I noe, but he can't be possibly staring at that pakcik sitting in front of me, rite?

At that point, I felt a sudden urge to ran towards the stage, grab the man, and bring him home so that he could sit by my bed every morning and sing to me! Haha, I know, I sound insane!

Favourite scenes? Definitely had to be the express nikah they had between P Ramlee and Junaidah. That was comical! The moment P Ramlee said YES to the tricked proposal, the kadi appeared out of nowhere and he was married on the spot! All done in a matter of seconds! Tak sempat tukar baju kerja pon! And another favourite, is the scene of P Ramlee and Saloma aka Liza Hanim, singing "Cenderawasih mati tertimbus..". Liza Hanim's voice is so lunak (melodious), I almost had goosebumps. Liza Hanim is so damn sexy & voluptous la! Now I understand why hubby has a thang for her..

Overall, the storyline was good with appropriate comedy and tear-jerking moments. What I don't like, from P Ramlee The MUSICAL, was the musical itself. They should have just stick to strict theatre performance with inserts of P Ramlee songs here & there. But no… Dick Lee has to spoil it by composing songs that sound like they were meant for Beauty World. Such a shame that the songs dun fit in the whole 50s/60s era.

Nevertheless, I must say I surprised myself. For someone who don't really appreciate old films, I LOVED PRTM! Can't wait for it to come out in dvds.

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PS: It's been a good day :)

Shopaholic (Not!)

2008-06-04T11:51:00.010+08:00

If there's one word, I will never describe myself, it would be shopaholic. Ah huh, u heard me right. I window shop, yes, but to go on a serious shopping spree.. Hmm.. rarely.. Never! Not even when I'm feeling down. Retail therapy doesn't work wonders for me unlike chocolate & caffeine. The only time I shop is when I desperately needed something. When I'm left with a drop of foundation or a tiny crack of compact powder. Or like yesterday when I forced myself to shop for a pair of comfortable working shoes after I've discarded my much beloved busuk & full of holes silver pumps 5 days ago. I've been surviving on my red pair of crocs but soon realised they don't match with most of my working clothes. So yesterday, with lots of determination (& money) I walked to the nearest Bata shop with hopes of buying at least 3 pairs. And of course, it didn't surprise me that I ended up with ONLY one.

I think the reason for my lack of female shopping hormones could be due to my overload of female cerewet hormones. I AM a very fussy person. Things have to be done in a certain way, with a certain look. I have criterias even when I shop, for clothes especially. I'm so fussy, sometimes I want to shoot myself..haha.

First & foremost, the clothes have to FIT. In this tiny little country with tiny little people, it's difficult to find plus size clothes. Then, I have to source something decent to go along with the tudung. Not too short, not too revealing but modern enough for office wear.. And after that, I will deliberate over & over again about spending money on colours. See, there's this colour code I have to adhere to at work and that is only BLACK. Oklah actually we are also allowed whites & greys but I dun have the confidence to wear these ok? So it's heart pain to spend on colours coz I dun get to wear them to work & I rarely go out on weekends. And lastly, they have to be reasonably priced… Bata = cheap, see ?? Being fashionable takes a lot of maintenance & kaching! I'm still saving my ass off after wiping my bank account clean for the wedding.

But lately I'm sick of my wardrobe. I BADLY needed to update! And so I finally succumb to online shopping for plus size clothes. I've been refraining myself shopping from these sites coz I don't want to compromise and buy bigger clothes when infact I should try to be smaller. But I somehow managed to psycho myself, plus if I charge to my credit card now, the bill only comes end of the month which is just in time we receive our GST credits! So technically, the gahmen pays for my clothes. See, it all works out well!

Guess how many I ordered?

Just ONE! Haha.. :p

Next,.. my wallet's badly torn & tattered! Can someone *looks at Wan* pleaseeeee buy me a spanking new leather wallet??? :(

A Word of Advice

2008-05-26T10:17:00.008+08:00

If someone asks you along on a one day trip to a relative's wedding/function/doa selamat sessions that requires at least 4-6 hours travelling on the road and you know that the following day is THE official Worldwide-Kepala-Sakit-Monday-Blues-Syndrome-Day AND this someone assures with one of the following..

- alah, skejap saje pergi. Kita datang, duduk, makan terus balik.
- alah, tak lambat. Kita balik sebelom malam
- alah, bukan nyer buat apa-apa. Duduk je dalam kereta

My advice is.. BACK OUT. FAST.

Because once they detour through the kampung route and make impromptu, intermitent roadside goreng pisang/durian/kopi/lada/nangka/pau/etc2 breaks along a 76km road, it's no longer "skejap saje pergi/balik tak lambat" trip.

And when you turn up at work next morning looking & feeling like crap, you only have yourself to blame.

Retreat-ed

2008-04-30T15:44:00.011+08:00

Their plan for a one day retreat in Sentosa while I was away on honeymoon didn't materialise, (thank god, otherwise I'll miss out on all the fun!) so it was rescheduled to another date, at another location with lotsa bapok spottings. Well, happening night it was!

where it was held..

the sexy see-thru bathroom that got some of us panicked for a while..

Can u believe this pic was taken using my hp? I love my red samsung! Oh, this was me & tall gerl taking a stroll at Changi beach under the scorching hot sun..

Taking a dip in the hotel's rooftop infinity pool

THIS IS SO GAY

Seafood dinner @ Ah Nam's

.. and prata for supper at 1am!

.. spotted some 'kupu-kupu malam' hard at work..

Oh yes, our friend here just bought her new Dslr earlier that day. Talk about right timing!

Doing whatever it takes to be an aspiring photographer!

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Here are some of my fav shots taken from Krucial Ally's new Canon 40D..

I really, really LOVE this pic! Perfect angle!

Work of art?

Liana: Err, what the hell??

This is my 2nd most fav photo! I saw this flower floating away in the pool and quickly snap a shot. Who would have thought something so simple can turn out so vibrant. It almost looked like watercolour painting.

After i took this picture, tall gerl told me she read somewhere in the manual that you're not suppose to shoot directly at the sun :p Opps, sorry Faeizah!

My 3rd most fav photo! The "remaja-liar-terlanjur" counselling poster shoot.. haha

This is the "my-life-is-over" pose. Well who wouldn't be if you're having a major hangover & had to wait an hour for..

.. these kids to finish their morning swim!

At the reception, checking out.
Tall gerl: Hmmm, did I press "Yes" to Adult Entertainment selection on the remote button last night?

More pictures here!

The Last Vacation

2008-04-21T11:45:00.016+08:00

.. was Jan this year! Yeah, I'm ALWAYS this late*.

Location: Desaru
Dates: 18th - 20th Jan 2008
Occasion: A relaxing birthday getaway

Full moon

the quiet beach

all time fav photo!

in deep thoughts

The one with the dracula fangs

The reason we were there

Muahahahaha!

nice blue sky

Lobby. Spot the momok !

Aziz entertaining the guests

Why post these overdue photos now? Oh, well Michael Buble did it again! LOST was on the radio just now and suddenly those sweet memories of us sitting in the lounge, with the nice night sea breeze blowing in while enjoying Aziz's live rendition of LOST, came flooding back.

Anyway, can't wait for this weekend's retreat. Badly needed it!

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* I just remembered this stupid joke Lorelai (of the Gilmore Girls) said when she turned up late at Luke's diner..

Luke: You're late!
Lorelai: Oh? I must be pregnant AGAIN!
Luke: Huh?

Go Green!

2008-04-14T12:24:00.005+08:00

The unpredictable weather here in Singapore had me thinking. Yup, something definitely is not right about having downpours during the hot crispy month of March. I know about global warming & stuff but I've never given any real thoughts about it before.

Yesterday, being typical Sunday, where all the easily accessible parking lots nearer to our lift have been taken up by national library visitors, we had no choice but to park slightly further away. At the carpark of the opposite flat, Blk 124. As I was alighting, I stared at 124's void deck and then suddenly blurted out to Wan.. "I want to recycle! I drank lots of Coke Zero everyday and then just throw away the empty bottles. I want to recycle them.."

HE LAUGHED AND MOCKED ME.

Nice..

Anyway I googled online today, and true enough my instincts were correct. There IS a recycling bin at Blk 124! How convenient! I'm gonna start today and dispose all those bottles and papers I kept in the office ( I'm a messy person..) into the bin. My contribution may be small, but hey it's MY way of helping the environment.

Here's a list of other places in Singapore where you can find more recycling bins --> http://www.nea.gov.sg/cms/rcd/locations/map.html

Cooking Experiment - Part I

2008-04-07T17:13:00.011+08:00

My bro went a bit crazy one day and bought lots of McCormick seasonings. Apparently those are for his special low carb cooking but months went by & no cooking was ever accomplished. And yesterday, mom got really mad seeing those packets cluttering her kitchen cabinet and begged me to get rid of it.

So, I was sitting at the kitchen table & picked up one packet that says instant Mushroom Gravy. Just add water to the powdered stuff, mix well & u'll have a nice thick gravy to pour over your lovely steak.

Hmmm, but where will I get halal beef steak to grill? Then as I was staring hard at the packet, something brilliant struck me. Ah huh! I'm going to make Chicken Bake Rice with the Mushroom Gravy!

God knows why, but these days with my increased appetite, I can amazingly whip up delicious, home cooked food in a flash and eat all up within seconds too! Maybe God thinks I'm not large enough.. Anyway, I'll share a couple of recipes with u that I've been experimenting in the next few days. For now, here's the the Chicken Baked Rice.

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Chop 1 onion & 1 garlic and saute these in a frying pan.
Break 3 eggs into the pan and fry along, ala Nasi Goreng style.
Then goes in the cooked rice ( I used roughly 1 big plate of rice) and mix well. Add some black pepper, oregano, basil leaves & a bit of salt (the mushroom gravy is salty enough, there's no need to add too much..)

Ok, here comes the chicken. You can either use chicken breast or chicken fillet.

Marinate these with a little turmeric powder and salt and deep fry (or bake) till they are half cooked.

Cut up the chicken in slices.

The Mushroom Gravy is the easiest. Just follow the instructions! Empty 1 packet, add 250 ml of boiling water and mix till the gravy turns thick.

Remember the rice? OK, take half of that rice and line it in a caserole dish. Then placed the sliced chicken on top. Followed by the rice again and lastly the chicken.

Pour the mushroom gravy into the dish and lastly, cover the rice & chicken mix with generous amount of mozarella & parmesan cheese. Finally, chuck it into the oven for 20 mins.

Once it's nicely baked, sprinkle a teeny bit of extra virgin olive oil and bacon bits onto the hot piping cheese & voila!

Try it! It's delicious, I guarantee. Otherwise, you can always sue me.. haha

Word of The Day

2008-03-29T17:37:00.006+08:00

Lorelai Gilmore of the Gilmore Girls couldn't have said it better..

"You need to wallow. Get back in your pajamas, go to bed, eat nothing but gallons of ice cream & tons of pizza, don't take a shower or shave your legs or put on any make-up at all. Sit in the dark & watch a really sad movie & have a good long cry."

Wallow.

The word that perfectly describes my last entry.

Battered

2008-03-28T17:30:00.011+08:00

Thanks to the latest depressing news that merely serves as a painful reminder of the past and further adds up to my stress & anxiety, all I want to do now is crawl into bed, bawl my heart out, stuffed myself wif lotsa chocolates and then end the nite with 2 extra strong panadols.

If I can't be reached on my mobile, well then... try again next week.

Fuck.

PS: Thanks for ruining my weekend.

The Date

2008-03-03T15:21:00.014+08:00

Since Wan wasn't working his shift last Saturday night, we thought, what better way to make use of this rare opportunity by going out on a date. Yeah, a DATE. You know, where you actually PLAN where to dine, what movie to watch (we actually had to refrain ourselves from watching online movies a few days in advance) and play dress-up even tho' we've seen the worst of each other the past 9 years.

It's been so long since we last had a proper date. Probably way, waaay before the wedding, before we both got caught up in the stressful preparations. And after the wedding, we were always busy, always had somewhere to be, something to do.. sembah-sembah, attending/shopping for weddings, birthdays, getaways, family gatherings, frens gatherings etc, etc, etc but never time alone together doing nothing important in particular. Particularly on a Saturday night.

So we planned.

Dinner at Riverwalk Tandoori, followed by a stroll down Clarke Quay & stopping by the reverse bungy for a little scare (watching others doing it..), an almost mid-night movie @ the newly-opened Kallang Leisure Park (with a lil help of caffeine) and finally, late-night shopping at Mustafa before he sent me (& himself) home.

Well, it certainly felt nice. For old-times' sake. But somehow, these days, I'd rather stay at home in my crumpy t-shirt, watching the latest movies online, in the comfort of my smelly armchair, over a bowl of tom-yam mee.. ah, heaven.

Pissed

2008-02-27T10:35:00.000+08:00

It's really funny how when I cook or buy groceries for everyone to eat, or wash after someone else's dirty dishes or laundry... I've never bothered to mention any of these things (until today) because I did it sincerely. And yet, when it's their turn, they make a huge racket out of it. Maybe I should be calculative and start listing down ALL the things I've contributed to this household.

Like I said, I can't wait to get my own flat.

A Sign From Up Above

2008-02-19T10:55:00.003+08:00

Get Healthy

2008-02-18T08:08:00.007+08:00

Good morning Sunshine!

Hehe, I know it's so unlike my morbid self to be cheerful on a Monday morning. I tink the gym session and steam bath yesterday has done the trick.

It's been quite sometime that I wanted to go back to my usual exercise regime eversince the wedding. I've had my revenge by eating all the food I missed while I was on my 1 1/2 years diet and succeessfully gained half the weight I lost. All those breakfast and dinner dates with hubby has certainly done the damaged. But hey, love isn't love if it's on an empty stomach!

I should have dieted the moment my weight started to creep up the scales BUT I looove eating and I can't stop! So now I have a new mission in life. Nevermind if I can't be slim, I want to exercise and feel good and at the same time, enjoy my food without feeling excessively guilty. Hey, I balas dendam yesterday with a plate of fried keow toew cockles at VivoCity banquet for brunch, right after a run in the gym. Hehe.

I've come to accept the fact that I can never be skinny. At the end of the day, genetics have the final say. I know by now that even if I cruchied myself into a coma, my waist refused to get smaller. But if my father had married a dainty woman, I might have had a different life. Indeed.

And when I'm on a diet I'm more miserable than ever and in order to stick to the plan, I'm at my most anti-social and turn down every opportunity of bingeing at gatherings or merry-makings. Even at my thinnest, there's always a fat woman inside me dying to get out.

At this point, I'm on my way to achieving my 1st resolution. To be happy. And so far, I've done well. I chucked aside my CPA exams for the 1st semester and for once, saved my bonus from spending on exorbitant exam fees. I've eaten whatever my throat desires. I've enjoyed travelling for the past 3 months and am planning more trips in months to come. I've taken it slow with the cupcake business and spent most of my time leisurely reading or watching online movies rather than slaving in the kitchen. I've received my long overdue salary increment that I rightfully deserved..

So far, so good.

Now adding 1 more to the list.. Get a gym membership soon, exercise my toxins away and forever have a perky Monday morning. Here's to a happy and healthy life, CHEERS!

Missing You

2008-02-13T09:43:00.010+08:00

I was at the library last night to borrow Mike Gayle's latest novel (see last entry..), when I stopped by my favourite section, Travel. This was the place where I spent most of my time reading, weeks before our honeymoon. I glanced across the shelf when suddenly I spot something very familiar.

The DK Eyewitness Guide to Turkey.

I picked up the book, brought it close to my chest and gave it a good hug *sigh*.

A flip thru the book brought back fond memories. Those nights after work where I sat at the very same spot reading that very same book. My pencil markings underlining important points on the glossy pages are still evident. But what I really miss most is, Turkey itself. The nation of good looking people, bread makers and cay drinkers.

I certainly didn't regret one bit breaking into my savings and flew across the globe in a very dusty airline while enduring a group of irritating nyonyas ~~speaking~~ shouting to each other in Cantonese during the entire flight. Nope, not one bit. Although, the journey was so freaking long, I wished they had drugged our meals with sleeping pills so that we wake up 13 hours later feeling fresh and ready to conquer Istanbul.

I remembered, the moment we stepped foot in Istanbul, all our fatigue and complaints magically disappeared. All those weeks of reading up guide books and online forums couldn't sum up what we felt at that moment. It was So exhilarating! Even tho we were dead tired from jet lag, we hit the streets immediately after checking into the hotel and were roaming around SultanAhmet till 2am (Singapore time). Well, Turkey is indeed one of the most amazing places I've been to and I'm certain this was only the first of many visits to follow . It also helps that the food was generally halal & delicious (actually Turkish food here are tastier coz it's fine tuned to our taste buds), and that people are friendly (one Turkish grandma kindly offered us lokum while waiting for our ferry)

Anyway, I vowed to return to Turkey with a vengeance and when I finally do, these are the places I'm gonna visit/re-visit:

1. Visit Istanbul in June, in time for tulip season

2. And since the weather's fine, we can slot in a 6 hours ferry trip down the Bosphorous Straits and have a short excursion at the abandoned Genoese castle located at the tip of the Black Sea

3. Istiklal Caddessi. We were there on our 2nd day but grossly understated the weather. I was trembling all over and I swear my teeth were chattering. So we head back to the hotel instead. Next time I'm there, I'm gonna find that vibrant French Street and ride that nostalgic tram.

Oh and how can I forget? I'm defintely going back for more Kizikayalar burgers. The burger's rather tiny but it's cheap and most importantly it' sooooo delicious! Oklah, we did justice to the burger by "altering" it a bit with a squeeze of chili sauce we brought from home. But the patty is actually Turkish meatball and it's all spicy & soggy. No, not the yucky kind of soggy. More like McD's prosperity burger, dripping with black pepper sauce. Ah, u get the picture now. I'm salivating just describing it.

And Haci Abdullah restaurant! Heard they serve kick ass Imam Bayildi (translation: the Imam Fainted!)

4. A ferry ride to Eyup again to shop for headscarves and climb up to Pierre Loti café during the day, sitting outdoors with a clear view of the Golden Horn. It was imposibble to find headscarves downtown lin SultanAhmet or Taksim Square. Those sold were pashminas and cater mainly to tourists. Eyup is a predominantly Muslim area so you'll find loads of beautiful scarves, sejadahs, dates, and other home decoratives with intricate Islamic art and motifs.

5. Cross over to the Asian side, eat at the famous Mado ice-cream parlour and explore the uptown Baghdad Caddesi.

6. Chill at Bebek's famous StarBucks. It directly faces the Bosphorous sea.

7. Dinner at Hamdi Restaurant. Very much recommended by the forumnites as it has an open rooftop dining with a wonderful view of Yeni Camii and Galata Bridge

8. Fully explore the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar. We only skimmed thru the shops the last time as we were running late for our flights.

9. A trip to Cappadocia and overnight in a boutique cave hotel in Goreme followed by a morning ride in the hot air balloon over Cappadocia's unique rock landscape.

10. Lastly, go back to Gloria Jeans café in Ataturk Airport and this time, I'll answer "YES PLEASE!" when asked if I want a glass of beer to along with my chocolate cake.

Looking at these photos, how can u not love Turkey?

Just In!

2008-02-12T21:08:00.002+08:00

OMG! I've just laid my hands on the latest novel by my favourite author. The ever so funny & witty Mike Gayle! I can't wait to start reading!

I know I'm sounding a bit gay. Fussing over a book who's hardcover looks like it's Enid Blyton's. But I swear, each and every one of Mike Gayle's books are so entertaining & humourous.

There was a point in my life where I coudn't stop reading romance novels, one after another, and soon I began to realise all of them had similiar openings. Girl woke up in bed or in somebody else's bed with the worst hangover, to find a strange men lying next to her and she had no idea how he got there or why he was there. It's the same blardy sleazy story everytime and I'm kinda sick of it! So one fine day, I picked up this book from the library, My Legendary Girlfriend and it has a very catchy cover which says, "A hilarious novel for anyone who has ever dumped, been dumped or lived in a dump" and ever since then, I'm totally hooked to this author, Mike Gayle. It was interesting & refreshing for once to be reading a book on relationships from a man's point of view. It wasn't sex, sex & sex all the way. He may not be a nobel prize winner in literature like Orhan Pamuk (shit, I can't understand a single thing Orhan Panuk writes..) but his stories are so funny & enjoyable, I sometimes laugh out loud.

If you love romance novels, I truly recommend Mike Gayle's. The only problem I had with his novels is, I couldn't put the books away and regretably finish reading in one day.

It's a Wrap!

2008-01-31T22:17:00.002+08:00

At this very instance, I'm feeling a bit emotional. And you'll never guess why...

No. Go on. Try.

OK?

Braced yourself...

... My favourite drama series, The O.C., just said it's final goodbyes..

Hey, I love The O.C., more than the slutty interns of Seattle Grace or the kepo neighbours of Wisteria Lane. This is the teenage drama series that's worth every seconds watching, with real social issues happening out there. About kids coming from broken homes, lack of love and abandoned by their own troubled parents and worst, messing with the wrong crowd.

So at least, knowing it had a good ending was really heart-warming (and that I din waste 5 years of my life watching it). Ryan Atwood the main character, was the abandoned Chino kid, rescued and adopted by the Cohens and eventually made it in life as an architect after much hell trying to fit into Newport's high society.

It's kinda sad you see, coz I 1st got hooked to The O.C. during my poly days (2003) and I've seen the characters evolved and matured over the years. I sang the California theme song in showers and even fantasized about Sandy Cohen when I'm out on dates with my boyfriend. What? It's true.

I wanted to marry a Sandy Cohen. He was THE perfect husband. THE perfect father. He's loyal, caring, romantic, charasmatic, humourous and confident. And there's something about a man who can command public attention without appearing cocky at all, that totally turns me on.

I know, I've got my own Sandy Cohen now. A much younger and erm, slightly different version :)

OK let me end here with some memorable qoutes from The O.C.

"Let me tell you something. Having a dream doesn't make you smart. Knowing it won't come true... that does." - Ryan Atwood
“Put myself in your shoes? I gotta wife in rehab who doesn’t want to come home, and a kid who’s locked up for something he didn’t do. Your shoes are looking pretty good to me right now.” - Sandy Cohen

Hope there'll be another great drama series airing soon. Sorry, what's that? Gossip Girl?!

Bluergh!!

What's in a Name

2008-01-23T15:48:00.000+08:00

My response in purple..

What Liana Muhammad Means

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. Erm.. ok..

You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Haha.. says who?

Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. Hmm, I wonder too..

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. easy to get "excited" huh.. hmmm

You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. Ah, finally u're getting there..

You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. BingO!

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. Double BingO!

You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic "Type A" personality. Well, my husband likes aggressive..

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. Haha, ape ni? I'm not a freaking bomoh!

You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. Really??

You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. Really? REALLY??

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. Whoa scary..

You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! Haha! So now I'm scary AND a big bully!

You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. Of course, I'm smart. Can't u tell? Haha..

You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way. And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life. yeah, what can I say? I'm THE luckiest b*tch on earth.

Spread your luck around a little to people who need it. A bag of luck for $5, 2 bags for $8!! Lelong, lelong!

You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Oops! ok, I was the one who finished the whole tub of Ben & Jerry's last nite :o

Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. Selfish & overbearing? Din u just say I'm light-hearted & acceptable?

You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. And chickens too!

You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out.
Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Oh stop it!*blush*

You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. Ok, u can stop now..

People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. gawd, u know me too well..

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Over The Weekend

2008-01-21T16:21:00.000+08:00

uh weeeeeee~

Have a Break

2008-01-17T11:20:00.000+08:00

I'm extremely relieved that finally yesterday, I managed to clear my 2 months worth of backlogs. Just in time for me to take a breather and enjoy this coming weekend. On half day tomorrow, baby! And nope, we are not going Melaka. Pheew~

The Pursuit of Happyness

2008-01-15T10:39:00.000+08:00

It took me 15 days into 2008 to finally come up with my new year resolution. And all I want is to be happy. You must think that I've gone nuts. But where I come from, being happy is such a challenge. So let me put this down clearly..

MY 2008 resolution is to be happy. Say what u want, insult me as you like coz all I'm going to do is remain silent and walk away. The only way I know how best to keep myself SANE and HAPPY.

L

Hey Lady!

2008-01-11T09:59:00.000+08:00

Check out my new 2008 office calendar! Cool eh?

The pole..? That's for me to practice my pole dancing routines when I'm on my breaks :)

Lost & Found

2008-01-09T19:07:00.002+08:00

One thing that I'm not, is being absent-minded. Misplaced things, yes. I have misplaced things before but I was able to trace back my steps. But to totally lose something, that's new.

So can u imagine the horror when I found out my i/c vanished into the thin air just a day before my wedding?! I don't normally take out my i/c from my wallet unless a) I'm at the doctor's or b) to borrow books from the national library. Rang ROM and they explained the right thing to do was to file a police report and show it to the kadi during nikah. So I did. Went to Paya Lebar police station with my hands and feet full of fresh dark henna stains. Even the policeman knew. That smart fella told his partner in Mandarin that this gerl's about to get married and stupidly lost her i/c. Ha-nor, I also can understand..

After 2 months of searching my i/c in vain and being identity-less, I finally admitted that maybe I'm just getting old and losing things is now another talent I should include in my resume. Well, that was until an envelope came in the mail this morning and magically, my i/c was in it! The envelope had a return address, which was the Samsung shop I bought my new handphone from. A week before the wedding.

2 months? 2 months??!! Why don't you just keep it and frame it in your shop?!

But then again, it saves me 100 bucks and a trip to ICA.

NOW, do I go back to the police station and retract my initial statement or should I make another police report to report that my mom lost the previous police report?

Hello 2008

2008-01-07T11:03:00.002+08:00

.. Well, rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated. I'm still here, alive & kicking..

I'm sorry, i'm very late on this (and on everything else too..) but Happy New Year and to all Muslims, selamat menyambut Muharram this Thursday.

Honestly, I'm glad 2007 has passed because my year was characterised by lots of stress, tiredness and broke-ness. The only good thing that came out of it was the wedding and the wonderful, wonderful honeymoon which I was really looking forward to.. In fact, much more than the wedding itself.

Talking about the wedding, we are close to 2 months now and yet there's no closure. The "other couple" settled theirs looong ago. But us, we JUST received our official photos and videos (we had some kind of waiting game going on..), and I'm still waiting for my honeymoon vcd and some stuff from bridal house and p'grapher. This Sunday we're STILL going sembah-sembah and excited relatives kept calling us wanting to drop by our place to view the official photos and videos. I foresee this will drag on till Feb. I'm touched that they are still all hyped up over an already stale wedding, but hey, I need a break. I'm tired just trying to keep up with work and my current life. Wan, on the other hand, is extremely glad, that the "post-wedding events" hasn't come to an end yet.. He's still in his momentum la. But I.. I need a break. Sometimes I have this urge to take a week leave, sit home alone and do nothing. Maybe, I shall do so after I finish all these goddamn stupid backlogs.

Strangely, a string of deaths occurred after our wedding. All these arwahs came to our wedding and then drop dead one after another...

OK, I'm done rambling. Have a FANTABULOUS 2008 everybody!!

Ade Lagi..

2007-12-14T09:48:00.003+08:00

Oh did I mention, now a month after the wedding, we've only viewed half of our honeymoon video?

1 Month Already?

2007-12-13T16:32:00.003+08:00

Oh, how time flies..

It’s been a month since our Big Day but we’ve only gone “sembah-sembah” to 1 relatives’ place (Malay practice whereby newlyweds pay respect to elders who attended their wedding..), I’m still waiting for my official wedding photos and videos, I’ve yet to print some of our honeymoon pictures out of the 1080 photos we crazily snapped in Turkey and my financial audit is next week :(

I MISS TURKEY!!!

Trying and Tiring

2007-11-01T10:11:00.003+08:00

It's been a VERY trying period. These few days I've done nothing but fuming over my wedding suppliers. It amazes me how "orang kiter" run their businesses. I'm getting married next weekend and D.e.c.o.r.a.m.a din even bother to call and ask when I'm sending over the things for gubahan. At least, sekurang - kurang ajar R.H. pon, they know how to call and follow up. *Sigh* And I thot weddings are something u look forward to..

And just this morning, a stupid OCBC teller had to spoil my mood when she told me I couldn't clear my cheque over the counter when 2 days ago, her colleague said it could be done. Fuck, waste my precious time queueing up and all my plans for today are thwarted! Shit la..

OCBC SUX BIG TIME!

And let me tell you another sucky thing about this OCBC. I have to do a lot of company transactions at this OCBC branch near my office. And I'm practically at the bank EVERY SINGLE WEEK. I remembered 2nd week of puasa, I asked the teller to keep me some green packets since those packets will only reach them nearing to hari raya. And I kept reminding them every week when I was there. Come few days before raya, they simply told me they've run out of the green packets! Macam siak!

Dah! I'm gonna drop them a nasty feedback later.
................................................................

I'm really sad to receive heart-breaking news from friends and relatives regarding their own relationship woes with bfs/husbands when I was inviting them to my wedding. I felt like a traitor of my own kind. Instead of comforting them , here I am happily giving out cards. I think they last thing they wanna do is sit thru my wedding.

Greetings!

2007-10-12T20:51:00.000+08:00

I should say, that i'm quite a happy being today :) Not for the fact that tomorrow's Eid (sadly, this year's Eid is almost non-existence for me and am NOT looking forward to meeting horrible, bitchy-mouthed, two faced relatives tomorrow..) But for the fact that a very satisfied customer just smsed me a verrrry long message on how great her son's cupcakes and birthday cake were.. both looks & taste. For the fact that i'm on half day today (.. and about to doze off soon right after tis post..). For the fact that 3 people today complimented me on my new found body. And for the fact that my lovely boss actually gave me an ang pow for hari raya! And I knew, it din come from company funds coz otherwise, I'll be the 1st person to know. It's definitely from his own pocket. Ah, so sweet of him!

So frens, on this joyous occassion, I would like to take the opportunity to wish everybody & your families a Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir & Batin. I'm sorry if you'll find me MIA this month. It's a mad, mad dash to the final line *sigh*. But I'm definitely meeting ya'll for the hen/porn/slumber parties (so called) next month ok!

Cheers!
L

You've Got Mail!

2007-09-28T12:10:00.002+08:00

I just got back my wedding invitation cards 2 days ago from the printer and I was ecstatic to see mine & wan’s names printed on it! Haha it’s funny how something of very little importance to me (I really dun gif a damn about wedding cards coz u know where they are gonna end up.. ya, in rubbish bins) suddenly got me all excited! It’s nothing fancy. Just simple, straightforward and informative and err, cheap (spent like only $0.50 per card on printing cost and cards were given free by hotel). But it’s just how I wanted it to be! No grand, lawa nak mampos wedding cards, no-no. Coz I learned that your guests will come to your wedding expecting a ceremony as grand as your cards.. haha, no thanks. Too much pressure.

I designed the artwork myself but seeing it in print is sooo real. It’s like we’re finally making it official to everybody. And it tickles me when I recalled the printer guy's kind advice, "You getting married huh? Eh, think twice ok!" haha.. Anyway, he did a pretty good job (& very efficient too!) and I can’t stop smiling reading my card over & over again. So frens, check your mailboxes soon ok!

New

2007-07-16T19:53:00.000+08:00

Like the new layout?

Well I do. It's red and cheery and there's apples hanging up there like the trailer of my fav show, Desperate Housewives. And which reminds me, the drama is on tonite and I'm going to watch and then have a gooood nite sleep. Yeah, 3 days of payback sleep.

Thank God it's almost over.

Super pissed off - part 2

2007-07-12T11:10:00.000+08:00

OK, I’m not done venting out my anger. What’s with all these stupid nyonya ah? Bloody hell, I had enuf of nyonyas who selit2 and cut my queue! Just because they are old, they think they can have their way all the time. Next time they cut my queue again, I’m going to “accidentally” step on their feet!

And my, I’m so proud of my 10 year old niece. She was lining up to buy food when this nyonya conveniently cut her queue. My niece went up to the nyonya. “Excuse me aunty! I was here 1st” Aunty muka tak tau malu told my niece that she’s older so should give way to her. But this brave gerl looked up at the nyonya and confidently replied.. “BUT I WAS HERE 1ST!!”

Muka tembok nak mampos! You are so much older, still want to take advantage of a little kid!

And talking about old, I for one am taught to be respectful of elders. But there are some old people in this world, I swear to God, not worth of my respect. You talk nicely to them, then they turn around and talk bad behind you. Some are not even shy, in front of you also they can be kurang ajar!!

And recently I’ve been really stressed receiving some unwanted calls. But then I just realized, it’s my bloody phone. I can choose not to answer. So frens, I’m hoping to change my line in August. Will keep you all updated on the new number.

I had Enuf!!

2007-07-09T11:05:00.001+08:00

Serioulsy la, I had enuf of people taking advantage of me. Sometimes I tink I’m just too foolish and generous. I just can’t say “no”. I like to help people, but at the end of the day, I feel so used and cheated. Even simple things like, plaster and panadols. If you wanna noe, my huge bag is like my freaking house. I stock everything in there. Just because I once offered some colleagues panadols or plasters when they were in pain, these people have no shame and continue asking me for these things again and again, when there’s a bloody Cheers store just below the office! OK, before you judge me, I’m not that petty and stingy. I dun mind giving you plasters once, twice, three times but if it’s too bloody often, of course I’m pissed. And when MY plasters and panadols haf run out and I NEED to use them then, I have to buy from Cheers. Eh, sorry ah, I’m not thick skin like these people to beg around the office for things. And what pissed me off even more is that these people earn twice as much as I do but they wouldn't even come up with some miserable dollars to buy their own plasters!

Another thing that totally piss me off.. ALL RICH PEOPLE ARE KEDEKUT NAK MAMPOS! Go ahead and disagree with me but I’ve met far too many rich people - those husband & wife who earn at least $5k per month, live in multi-story bungalows with 2 cars, but they are just out to take advantage of me!! And I’m sick of it!! Just because I’m nice, they tink I’m there to “help” them all the time. F*ck off la! Dun pretend to be rich and live in such big houses when you have to scrimp every month to pay off mortgages and car installments and YET, haf the decency to gain on others! Really la, some people have no shame and integrity..

In case you're wondering..

2007-05-28T18:11:00.003+08:00

.. no, I’m not dead yet. Altho', I almost kicked the bucket 2 weeks ago when the deadly flu bug hit me hard. I swear to God, it was THE worst flu I’ve ever had. Imagine having the normal fever, phlegm, cold, cough & nauseating – times 10! The usual antibiotics the GP prescribed didn’t even work!

So there I was paralaysed in bed for 4 days before I threw in the white flag and dragged my sorry ass to the hospital. But luckily the doc cancelled out any possibility of dengue and sent me home with some super miracle pills that totally knocked me out. The following days were sooo weird, with me floating in and out of sleep, not recognizing day or nite, losing track of time & date.

Now, I’m feeling much better and I’m back running around like a mad woman, with a thousand and one people chasing after me. Man, I feel so exhausted. Here I am sorting out other people’s lives and yet mine remains unsorted. And the most anticipated month is just around the corner.

June’s the time to register for ROM, attend pre-marriage course, buy kain from Arab St, source for bridesmaid’s dress, source for tailor etc, etc, etc.. Aiyoh, pening kepala aku. Of course, initially I was super excited to get married. Now, I just want to get it done & over with. Seriously, if I had the money I would engage a wedding planner. Actually better still, if I had MY way, I would just nikah and fly off to a month long honeymoon. That’ll be so cool..