Living with Sarah

Our little family was having breakfast of roti canai at Haji Tapah this morning when I got a call from Kuantan. Remember we participated in a sebutharga sometime in August? About we got shortlisted , how we traveled up just a few days before Hari Raya (dengan penuh dugaan) for a presentation ... We got the project! Yes, we got it! Alhamdulillah... After the call ended, I couldn't utter a word, my eyes went glassy. I looked at Hubby, who looked back, knew the result from my conversation and said Alhamdulillah... I could only turn to my right and kissed Aliyah very very hard. This is the first time we got invited to participate in an open RFQ and we nailed it. The journey was full of obstacles - we are small so we couldn't spend on prototype - what we demo was actually our own website, the designer ditched us the night before submission date so we modified the design on our own using Powerpoint... And on presentation day, we were against an ICT giant - my ex-employer. This is suc...

We transferred some, got new ones in... The red/pink talapias have been transferred to my brother's pond. They have become big, eat so much and a little big aggressive. Even though I actually like them because they make the pond so lively, it was time to transfer them away. After they left, the kois don't come out much anymore. We don't know why - they missed the talapias ke, they finally found peace ke... But it's so irritating to see them all snuggled away under the rock platform. It's like having an empty pond. So Aliyah then said she wanted new fish and Hubby took her to buy 3 fat goldfish - using her own money. Funny thing was, I always thought goldfish to be graceful and slow but the goldfish turned out to be so naughty with so much energy! Their playground is the rocks where water comes out from the pump where they swim against the current to try to go up on the rocks. With them around, the kois have now started to come out again. Yesterday, we got a tortoise...

A few weeks ago, we bought beef fillets which I marinated and got Hubby to grill. He's a first-timer at the grill. And so excited. But the end result was so-so. The beef was overcooked so it was like eating daging bakar which is excellent if it were to be served with air asam :) Anyway, we tried again yesterday. We bought the fillets last Sunday which I immediately marinated and freeze. Last night I cooked my usual roasted chicken (Aliyah is not into beef), roasted potatoes (saw Jamie Oliver's version - half-boil, penyek-penyekkan sikit then roast), carrots and mushrooms. The potatoes turned out nice but not as crispy because 1) I didn't dare put too much oil and butter as shown on TV and 2) cooking time not long enough. Hubby grilled the beef to perfection - medium well. It took hours to get rid of the nice grilled beef with garlic and rosemary smell throughout the house! My plate... The medium well beef... What's left of the chicken and potatoes...

I've been trying to finish up this book I started writing last year but to no avail. It should actually be quite easy because the materials are from my training, but I kept on procrastinating. However, the book that we (Hajar & I) wrote for MPC has been published. If you are interested, can always get it from MPC :) At least I got that published! Anyway, I have started writing again. Things are very quiet these days, I am a bit restless with these holidays every Friday this month, so I picked up writing again and so far so good. And I just managed to create a blog on what my book will be (insyaallah). My new blog: Pengurusan Laman Web . (Adus, seksa gak tulis dalam BM).

I have this disagreement about driving today. Not going to elaborate on that though. But my point was - be humble in everything that you do. That includes driving. Whenever I get behind the wheels, I have three things in mind. And those three things are the reminders for me to (try to, at times) be humble: 1. I am a mother. I need to stay alive as long as I can so that I can raise my daughter. I can never ever imagine how her life would be if I am not around. That's why I don't really care what people think of my driving. And I don't really care how other people drive. 2. I have a daughter. I need to make sure she is always safe and sound while I am behind the wheels. It doesn't pay to follow your anger or pride or whatever you call it and risk the lives of the people you love. Yes, I do get angry with stupid drivers on the road. But then, let the stupids be stupids. I have better things to think about. There were a lot of times when I was driving the Volvo last time th...

After a week after getting her ears pierced, I got Aliyah to choose any of my earrings for her to put on. She chose my little white gold earrings with teeny weeny diamonds. It was a birthday gift from Hubby a few years ago. She wore it for a few days, including the picnic day. She was so proud and told me she also likes white gold just like Mommy. Yesterday, back from the picnic we found that she had lost the stopper of one of the earrings. I told her it's OK, and got her to wear my silver danglings. But I think she saw I was a bit sad for losing the stopper. It was a birthday gift after all. Last night when I tucked her in bed, she kissed me and told me she's so sorry for losing the stopper. She looked so guilty and close to tears. I told her again it's OK, I can try wearing them with other stoppers. "Tapi tu birthday present Mommy...," she said. "Tak apa...," I said. You should see that look on her face. The regret and guilt.

We took the day off yesterday and finally went for the picnic at Sg Tekala. Of course I made picnic food - nope, not meehoon goreng (Aliyah doesn't like it) but spaghetti bolognese and tuna mayo sandwiches. Cukuplah untuk we all bertiga. We took off at 9.15am and reached there 30 minutes later. It was very early in the morning, not many people were around yet. That's the whole idea! We got the best spot. A huge gazebo to ourselves. Breakfast dulu... We didn't climbed up too far. But still, very nice... It rained the night before so the water was so so cold. Dua beranak tengah contemplate how to get into the freezing cold water. At one point there was this tiny fish that kept on "pecking" at our feet!

She has started her lessons for about one month now. So far so good. Very rajin to go to class. We try to send her early so that she can have some time practicing. Well, except for last week when I actually forget class starts at 3pm, not 3.30pm. Today she happily said, her teacher told her she learns quite fast. She looks so cute playing the piano... Oh, this was one of our girls activities - putting on face mask before bedtime.

After weeks, I'm finally quite free this week after that presentation on Tuesday. We have not been taking Aliyah anywhere yet, despite our promise. Today, I took her out for a movie - only us mother and daughter. The movie - My Spy by Afdlin Shauki. My daughter is now a huge fan you see. It's a so-so. A lot of adult jokes and vocabs. In the dark, I silently hoped Aliyah didn't ask any questions. The "twins" - Carmen Soo and Daphne Iking were so hot. So was Hannah Tan. Several eye-popping cleavage scenes. A PG13 rate. Aliyah laughed out aloud anyway. My daughter also gave it a so-so. She said Papadom was much better. Setem is also much better (we watched it on ABO). If you want to watch it, put your expectation at a low gear.

I cooked masak asam ikan pari for lunch just now. It's Aliyah's favourite. Mommy: Nak tambah kuah lagi tak? Aliyah: Tak nak. Pedas sikit. Mommy: Tak pedas sangat lah. Mommy masak letak cili sikit je. Aliyah kan dah terrer makan pedas. Aliyah: Mommy ni... Aliyah ni Level One lagi tau. Mommy: Huh? Level One? Aliyah: Ye la, Level One makan pedas. Tak boleh makan pedas sangat lagi. That shows my daughter plays too much PS2. And Facebook games.

My current favourite song. I was driving one day with all these thoughts in my head. I was at the brink of extreme nervousness and break down as for the first time in more than one year, I have quite a gap between projects. Some things are within grasp, but not yet, and we never know as anything can happen... My head was spinning. And then out of nowhere that dreadful woman's words came crashing to mind and I felt my heart being crushed to pieces. When one is at her most vulnerable, such things happen you see... And this song came on air. And I took a deep breath and thank God for I am blessed with many of His gifts. Jangan Menyerah - D'Masiv Tak ada manusia Yang terlahir sempurna Jangan kau sesali Segala yang telah terjadi Kita pasti pernah Dapatkan cobaan yang berat Seakan hidup ini Tak ada artinya lagi Syukuri apa yang ada Hidup adalah anugerah Tetap jalani hidup ini Melakukan yang terbaik Tak ada manusia Yang terlahir sempurna Jangan kau sesali Segala yang telah terjadi Tuh...

I met up with my friend Yatt today. We spent half the day at a workshop getting new tyres for her car. Not so exciting activity, but we spent the time sitting opposite the shop kat tepi tembok talking. Aliyah came along so to compensate for her boredom, after that we took her to get her ears pierced. I actually can't remember how the idea came about. So with the encouragement of Mommy and Auntie Yatt, she braved herself and the result - very cute. Here's one very happy girl.

It finally started. I'm stuck with this proposal so putting some energy into the recipe book project is a nice distraction. Aliyah took a peek and she loves it. I tried writing a recipe but my handwriting has not improved and looked like my signatures on cheques and invoices. So I decided to type instead, put some graphics where necessary, print, cut and paste the recipes onto the notebook. Faster. Less mistakes. Cleaner. Nicer. I also cut coloured papers and wrote some notes. A little personalisation by Mommy. Lovey dovey intro for my precious daughter. This carrot cake recipe is simply delicious. I used to buy carrot cake from my ex-colleague Marina. She then gave this recipe, which I then found almost the same one on a website. Of course she has adapted certain ingredient measurements to her liking. This carrot cake tastes better than Secret Recipe's. Serious.

I was in Ipoh with Linda and my niece Atiqah on Monday & Tuesday. We organised a training for the state Govt. Training still going on until Friday by our trainer. I left Aliyah in the capable hands of Hubby. Know what, I don't like Ipoh at all. It's such a confusing town/city. The signboards are not driver-friendly. After hours of driving, I finally got the drift - when the signboard shows "Turn Left", you turn left NOW. Unlike the signboards here in KL/Selangor where when it says turn left, it means you turn left at the next turning. I spent hours finding our way around. We felt like in twilight zone - if you think of the place you wish to go, you will never find it... you will find it eventually though. But if you think of going elsewhere, you will find that place you wanted to go just now in a jiffy! But then you find the new place you wish to go hours later. And we didn't really get to eat the good food in Ipoh. Our timing was out due to our schedule, and ...

I have "raised" 3 cats and each one of them has its own unique qualities. We found out our cat Bubu might be hyperactive. That's what the vet said. He's always on the alert - ears all perked up, eyes big and round, and looking here and there. Always. Sometimes I takut dia kena heart attack je. He's not as rested and calm as my father's cat Jay Jay (who spends most of the day and night sleeping). But Bubu's a really funny guy. I tak pernah lagi jumpa kucing yang suka meniarap. If he does stretch out, his length is more than 2 feet. Senyum je. Tidur dalam imaann... He's not really sleeping. Such a show off.

I had breakfast with my daughter this morning. And I had a good look at the pretty face - eating her roti canai and telling me her stories. I remember this time last year, the only thing I have that I held on to was this little girl with a big heart. Who practically took me in her arms and kissed my forehead and told me she loves me so much.

... since that incident. If you ask me whether I have fully recovered, the answer is a big no. I have not. And please, don't give me any advice like: "Let it pass; just forget about it; focus your energy on something else; just forgive and forget; read certain books or verses; etc". Because I have read hundreds of websites on how to forgive and forget. I have recited zikir to ease the pain. But the heart and the brain are totally different organs altogether. You can try to be sensible but the heart can become too emotional. When you try to embrace the fact and free your heart of any aches, you look sideways, sees something, a memory is triggered and the brain reminds you of the painful incident. It is not that easy. It's exhausting. I hate the feeling but I can't run away from it. Sometimes I just can't take it anymore, felt like throwing everything to the wind, start a new life.

Last day of school and report card day. Aliyah already brought back a few of her exam papers. She did OK in most subjects. She got A for her English (mak bapak ex-TESL kalau tak dapat A memang nak kena!). However, as expected, she didn't do well in her Agama and that pulled her marks down. She got C (I at first thought she failed). It's not that she doesn't know the answers, just that her Jawi is weak. She didn't know the instructions - whether she should circle the answers or match or write, etc. Anyway, Hubby and I had a long talk and we concluded that maybe our daughter doesn't cope well with pressure. She could do her homework and the tests that we gave her at home but exam time -the results are not as expected. Not that we have high expectations lah. I know my daughter doesn't cope well with pressure because last week I accidentally woke up 20 minutes late and had to rush Aliyah to get ready for school but she didn't respond to my "kelam-kabutness...

A personal project I have yet to start. Some time ago Aliyah told me when she grow up, she'd like to cook just like me and asked me to teach her. Oh wow... terharu I. So, I told her that I'll compile my recipes in a book and give it to her. I have bought a book actually, this thick ring book with plastic cover that I think can withstand age. I was so excited when I bought it, imagined it will become something like Jamie Oliver's with notes and sketches. But then, my handwriting is so so bad nowadays. Seriously bad. And to think that I used to have nice handwriting. Let's see... I type faster than I write even though I use my own method - nope, didn't attend any typping lessons after SPM. Last week, my thumb ached because I wrote a few pages of sebutharga. I even thought of typing, printing, cutting and pasting onto the sebutharga form. Might be faster and less painful. Aliyah has been asking about her recipe book. When oh when will Mommy start writing the book? Busy...

I usually cook simple food. Nothing too fancy with more than 10 ingredients in them. Nothing that requires me to slave over the stove for hours. I have too much to do and so little time. I usually cook something that is fast to prepare and which I can leave to simmer or roast in the oven while I work at my mini notebook. Tapi always yummy OK :). I'm so glad my little family is always so appreciative and thankful and supportive. Like this evening, Hubby came down after mengajar Aliyah mengaji and said, "Sedapnya bau...". Two minutes lates, Aliyah came down and said, "waaahhh sedapnya bau...". Padahal, I tengah masak or actually tengah saute some garlic then poured baked beans into a pan with a dash of black pepper. Just that. (We actually had breakfast food for dinner today!). Nothing can beat those - "thank you Mommy", "sedap Mommy masak" remarks by both of them. Hilang terus penat I. I actually nak post pic of my first bread I made yesterday...

I have been working like crazy since after Raya right till now. Penattt... I think I've been working 7 days a week for the past 3 weeks. We finally completed this user manual we've been doing for the past 2 weeks. Total no of pages: 222! Tebal tu. Adoiyai, siang malam buat user manual, sitting on my bum until rasa bum I dah expand a few inches dah nih! Now I'm moving on to this sebutharga pulak. Need to send tomorrow. Lepas tu nak brainstorm next year's trainings pulak. Lepas tu nak propose 2nd phase kat client pulak, lepas tu, lepas tu... asyik ada lepassss tuuu je. I am so so tired. I really need a holiday. But financial wise - not a good time. We are in the middle of projects now, so kena simpan duit. Kesian kat Aliyah, this holidays tak pegi jalan2 lagi. Mommy and Abah asyik busy je. I'm thinking maybe this coming holidays we can just go visit places yang dekat-dekat ni je. Maybe boleh pegi waterfall ka, bird park ka... Should be fun too rite? But, I still need...

After days of chasing after Aliyah on her bike, under the pretense of jogging, we finally decided the time has come for us to get ourselves a bike. So, last Friday morning, we bought a bike and now we take turns to accompany Aliyah every late afternoon to cycle around our housing area, with frequent stops at her Pak Ngah's house. Ambik angin petang2 sambil berbasikal

Remember this photo? It was posted on 16 May 2009. Bubu was just the size of my palm and he's about 2 months old. Snuggled just nice in Aliyah's arms This was taken last week. He is so big now! He's half Aliyah's size.

It took her only 2 days to practice - about 20 minutes a day. And now, the little side wheels are off! Her cycling is still a bit wobbly, I cringe seeing her cycle fast, but she can cycle on her own now. Credit goes to Hubby who coached her by holding on to the mud guard while she cycled and balanced. Berpeluh-peluh ajar anak berbasikal. Today she graduated to cycling to her Pak Ngah's house. Even her Pak Ngah was impressed. No more side wheels!

Remember Aliyah started her taekwando class many moons ago? Ok, she dropped out. And I actually think we have a little bit to do with it. She was so enthusiastic at first, waking up early every Sunday to go to her classes. Then H1n1 epidemic started, we found there were cases at her school and forbid her to go to her classes for a few weeks. Then when things started to get better, number of cases not so alarming anymore, we asked her to continue but I guess she lost interest, giving excuses like Master so garang la, etc. So now, her taekwando uniform is nicely hung in her closet still like brand new. After that we tried to get her to take up a hobby, an interest, anything. We thought 'revisiting' the driving range, but then Hubby pun dah lama tak pergi. Then, during one of our visits to open houses - Hissham Rizal's - we saw his kids (his girls too) play guitar. Aliyah commented that playing guitar looks interesting. So, one fine day we were at our usual mall - Alamanda - t...

It's been a boring weekend actually. It's work, then rest, then work, then housework, then work again... Didn't go anywhere. We spent the weekend baby-sitting our "menantu". Jimie's wife gave birth to a baby boy and they spent the weekend at the hospital. So, Fifi the cat was left outside and dengan pandainya came over. But Bubu doesn't really fancy her though. Fifi tu berlagak sikit kot. The going-ons at our home: Ini lah Fifi We had tea at the patio - cekodok ikan bilis and a pot of hot tea with daun misai kucing. Masa bawak food outside, I told Hubby we are having tea outside, terus teringat cerita Madu Tiga: "Bang, lepas mandi kita minum dekat laman. Hah? Mata-mata datang bawak saman?". Anyway, that's him siram rumput lepas kenyang pekena cekodok. I think I've taken this angle for hundreds of times. I dunno, I just love this part of the house. The fishes have grown. Many many weeks ago, we had dinner at Bagan Lalang with Yatt. She lat...

Is there such a thing as pre-new year resolution? I watched Oprah's Best Life episode yesterday - it's actually a new year's resolution episode for 2009. My hunch says someone is trying to tell me something. I've been hearing this phrase for the past 2 weeks: "What do you really want?". Bette Midler said it in The Women . Oprah said it numerous times throughout her one-hour show. The same exact phrase, almost the same exact situations. The phrase has now irritatingly started to stick to my head. I know someone is telling me something. It happened before. What do I really want? I seriously don't know. Every time I think of an answer, it actually involves someone else - my daughter, my family, my company. Never me - only me. I am not a selfish person, but Bette Midler said a woman has to be selfish, then things started to get better. Maybe she's right. But I still don't think my answer will be different. Anyway, I'm thinking of taking the little ...

Dear Afdlin Shauki, We went to watch your movie Papadom last Sunday. Me, Hubby and our daughter Aliyah Maisarah. Yes, our daughter yang for first five years of her life has been called "Sarah" (sebab I rasa nama tu glamer gila dan I boleh buat slang Mat Salleh sikit kalau panggil dia), but one fine day she came back from her kindy and told us to call her "Aliyah" instead (sebab dia kata nama Sarah tak sedap and warned me lain kali kalau nak bagi nama, tanyalah dia dulu!), who just recently liked the name "Maisarah" sebab dekat-dekat dengan nama "Miasara". Mula-mula my daughter tak nak tengok movie you. Ada ke dia nak tengok cerita Jin tu? I told her ala-ala Mak Dara - "pannnthang nenek moyang aku tengok wayang cerita yang tak de kualiti! Siapa itu Jin? Lawyer? Magistrate?". No lah, that's my overactive imagination. I told her I forbid us all watching a low quality movie kat wayang. Kalau nak tengok cerita macam tu, tunggu Raya tahun...

Both of us spent lunch hour getting Aliyah the bicycle she wanted. She wanted a pink bicycle which we couldn't find at the shop we were scouting. There's a red one though, so we got her that. She actually didn't know she's getting the bicycle today. We told her we'll buy it end of the month - bila Mommy & Abah dapat gaji. So, we took the bicycle home, then only fetch her. We expected her to jump up and down in excitement seeing her present, but she walked into the house, looked at the bicycle, and thanked us politely. But she was grinning and grinning. My daughter is so very prim and proper! She can't ride with only two wheels yet, so we got the little wheels by the side installed. Her first ride was to her Pak Ngah's house two blocks away, with me walking beside her. I must remember to wear my jogging shoes when we go out again. The red bicycle! I forgot to take her picture today. She's already fast asleep. I love you so much my little princess.

She's 8 today. She's so big, so wise, talks so much, and she's only 8? We celebrated yesterday. After dragging her to two open houses, we finally let her spend the day her way. A few days ago she wrote us a letter (we were working at our study, she wrote it at the kitchen table, then she gave us the little letter complete in a small envelope) telling us she wants to eat at Secret Recipe. So, after Dr Marisa's open house, we spent the rest of the evening at Alamanda. We checked out the bicycle she wanted, binged at Secret Recipe (she ordered lasagna, Oreo milkshake, brownies with ice cream, ate everything and got nauseated), then watched Papadom. I kept repeating in my head - she's 8 years old... Time sure flies. It felt just yesterday that we were carrying her around, today only Hubby could carry her up the stairs to her room. She's so heavy! Our little girl has grown. The birthday card we made her. She's so happy, she put it at her side table. p/s there...

I managed to watch The Women again yesterday at Star Movies. A star-studded all-female movie. Yup, no men! It's a movie about women, must be watched by women, and must be watched by men/husbands. I don't know if things would have turned out differently if I had watched this before. But then again, God sent me an angel to guide me on what to do in the pretty form of a friend. So, I was OK. I hit rock bottom, but I bounced back. And life is so much better now than ever. It actually depends whether you survived or not. I survived, we survived. My only regret, and at times concern, is that I am not so easy at forgetting. To tell you the truth, there is not a single day in my life that I was not reminded of it and depending on how the memory was sparked, I can be either sad, or angry, or sick, or revengeful, or thoughtful, or crazy, or feel so hilarious... or the emotions can get so mixed up I ended up staring at a spot and ask myself - why?. The answer never came. The friend did s...

The last Ramadhan month was a lalalaaa time for me. Tak ada kerja sangat. We have this project that was almost completed and I have Hubby & Hajar taking care of it. Besides a sebutharga and presentation, I spent the time writing the book I promised myself to complete last June, which has been stuck at Chapter 1 for ages. (Note to self: Woi, bila nak habiskannn???) Two weeks into Raya still lalalalaa time for me, though I'm starting to get worried. But people were mostly busy with open houses and stuff, so understandable. Starting from last week, terus dapat 3 projects at the same time. Alhamdulillah... There is this one project I'm currently doing with Hubby. It's for a friend, yang actually tak lah friend sangat at the beginning having introduced by Atom, but now has become quite good friend along with the wife. We decided to accept the consultation work even though payment is very, very ciput because we know the value of the project they got pun ciput juga. But in vie...

My vegetable patch is flourishing. So are the weeds! Anyway, I happily snapped some pictures this morning in the cool morning-after-the-rain air. Pokok misai kucing doing well. This patch used to be the planted with pokok limau kasturi but it died a few weeks ago. This patch keeps too much water, not suitable for pokok limau. Apparently, pokok misai kucing loves water, kejap saja the bush dah banyak daun, Have replanted my sawi... My sister-in-law Azah gave this plant. She said it's mulberry. The leaves look very similar to hibiscus though. She bought this but decided to give me instead sebab dia kata I ni green fingers :) At the wall are two plants of peria yang besar tu. I put two lines up to the grill so that the plants can climb up. I love that kind of peria - my father panggil "kambas". Goreng belacan and cili api sedap... Pahitlah sikit... Those are coriander plants. Dulu I tak suka coriander leaves - pernah chew on a garnishing atas spaghetti, the taste was too ove...

Jimie, our next door neighbour came asking Hubby's permission to "kahwinkan" our cat Bubu with his new cat (which name anak dia tengah fikir nak bagi apa). Then he came over bringing the cat - to introduce to us. This whole scenario is actually really bizarre and funny. Macam orang nak terima menantu pulak! Ok, the feline is so comel, so manja, looks a lot like Bubu but of different colour. We said Ok, no problem. So, tu dah kira akad nikah lah kan. Just now Hubby thought he saw Bubu coming home, but then bila cari tak ada pulak. Sah-sah ada kat rumah sebelah kat rumah in-laws dia. Bubu ni handsome, patutlah ramai terpikat. Banyak girlfriend nih! Kat luar memang macho, tapi bila sampai rumah... mengada...

I think this year's Hari Raya ialah raya yang paling banyak dapat jemputan disamping raya paling banyak terima jemputan yang datang rumah. Food is glorious and in abundance this year. Alhamdulillah... On Thursday we went to Residence Hotel's open house. Dah regular kat sana kan, mestilah dijemput :) The food was excellent! Everything! Siap ada entertainment lagu-lagu Raya lagi. Then on Saturday I cooked simple rendang ayam for Yatt. Today, we went beraya to our across the street neighbour Abang Khaled. Actually Hubby has been calling him Abang, while I have been calling the wife - Makcik. Today we both agreed it should be Abang and Kakak :)Sedapnya makan nasi minyak. And the main topic of conversation was our cat Bubu yang selalu bertandang ke sana. Tomorrow (well, today that is), we will visit another across the street neighbour Rohaizat pulak. Maybe the day after, it'll be our turn to host them. This weekend, the last Syawal weekend, dengar cerita my sister-in-law Angah p...

My deepest condolence to two good friends who lost their loved ones yesterday. Zameen and Sui lost their 2-day old baby (or 3-day's old, not sure) - Nur Sara Aleesya, while Enida lost her beloved mother. Their losses affected me deeply. I think Facebook and Blog have helped us all get really connected with each other despite being far apart. We are not what you can call the best of friends, but our friendship is enhanced a notch further via Facebook and Blog. Just days ago Zameen's status read: "wifey's water broke!" and I waited to read more, but yesterday his status changed to mourning the lost of their little princess. And as for Enida, I have read for months now about her mother's deteriorating condition and how she came back here from Moscow to spend time with her mother. I know it will be just a matter of time I will read her status on the passing of her mother, but when the time really came, it hit me on the chest quite badly. Al-Fatihah. Semoga roh me...

My kgs are piling up. Today is another day of makan-makan. First pit-stop, our next door neighbour Jimie. Makan soto yang sedap, Aliyah finished up everything in her bowl. Good sign. Next, Hubby's golf buddy and my ex-colleague of years back - Hisham. Excellent kuah kacang. And beautiful house. Then, after a short stop to buy Aliyah's sports T shirt for school, we dropped by at my parents' place. And rezeki murah, more food came our way. A relative came over bringing fried mee and meehoon leftovers from a small kenduri which my father attended. So, another round of makan-makan. On the way home, we dropped by our previous babysitter's house - Kak Mah - my daughter's "Mak" yang dah lama tak jumpa. Nope, we didn't binge on food again to the relieve of my stomach. But here, we tasted home-made teh Misai Kucing. I have a pot of the plant at home but I never thought to research on how to consume it, even though I know of the benefits. The tea tasted quite go...

The day started early. I cooked daging bali to bring to my ex-ATPN potluck Raya gathering at a friend's place - Mize - in Sepang. At noon, Linda and another friend Ijun came over nak konvoi pegi Mize's house. These are my friends yang sama-sama tinggal kat asrama Yayasan Selangor throughout my secondary school years. We are practically like sisters. Kalau jumpa memang havoc. Today Hubby ikut, so I told them I "behave" hari ni! Hehehe... So, makan-makan punyalah sedap. Pandai masak rupanya kawan-kawan aku. Ijun's udang sambal was excellent. Yummy... Then at around 4pm, we went to my sister-in-law Nor's house at USJ. Again, makan-makan lagi. Jumpa lak sambal sotong dengan lontong. Excellent! Then, at 6.30pm, went back home sebab malam ada open house at our taman. Linda followed, and then my Kak Long, Kak Lang and mother came over to join the open house. Another session of makan-makan. Food biasa but they had BBQ chicken and fish. Yummmy lagi! Esok ada open house...

I'm really, really free this week. Finished one sebutharga that we finally decided not to participate. Ish, ish, ada ka budget ciput tapi nak semua features selagi ada? Pas tu bagi reason sebab nak cepat, pakai LO, so sebutharga mesti bawah RM50K. Ingat company aku buat charity work? I have this principle - walaupun company I kecik, but I refuse to simply redah and do everything that comes my way for the sake of having projects. Nak buat kerja kena berbaloi OK. Kalau tak berbaloi, profit tak de, kepala sakit, jantung I stress, payment lambat - tak de project dan tak de duit pun tak pe. I rela duduk rumah main Farmville. Hehehe... But seriously... Anyway, I watched two movies this week - both so-so. First, watched Tsunami at Haeundae with Hubby on Thursday. Selalunya Korean movie will touch my heart (the movie "Sad" was so so sad!) but this one was really so-so. Adalah a few parts yang quite good especially the scene yang parents put their daughter onto a heli and then emb...

It's a self-cake-delivery for Hubby. I bought him this little cake yang cukup for just the three of us yesterday as a surprise, but I forgot to take it home. Biasalah I. On the way back home baru teringat. So Hubby dengan baiknya went back to the office after dinner to retrieve it! Hehehe... We had an early celebration and Hubby buat-buat surprise (over betul!) when Aliyah called him to the kitchen to cut the cake. At bed-time, I supervised Aliyah making him a birthday card which was then hand-delivered immediately sebab dia takut this morning tak sempat. Today I planned to take Hubby for a movie at Alamanda. Ingat nak tengok this Korean movie pasal tsunami tu, tengok-tengok betul-betul ada tsunami kat Samoa. Scary... Anyway, I'm still at home resting because of my back and stomach pain - the usual. Dunno if Hubby can finish up his work and come back early. Best yek now that we both kerja sendiri? Boleh celebrate birthday masa orang lain kerja. Hehehe... What's left of the ...

Bubu has been sneezing and not feeling well for the past few days. Dia tido belakang sofa can hear him sneeze every few minutes. Bunyi dia sneeze dah macam bunyi orang bersin! So, yesterday Hubby took him to the Vet near our house. Vet ni memang dah kenal sangat dengan Bubu. In fact, we put Bubu for boarding last Raya holidays for 4 days. So, after spending 4 days at the clinic, Vet tu dah kenal sangat dengan perangai dia. Anyway, Hubby came back telling me the Vet gave Bubu pills to swallow. Punyalah susah nak bagi dia makan ubat asyik dok teriak je. And he told me the Vet calls Bubu - Eddie Murphy - sebab mulut kucing I tak boleh nak diam. Asyik membebel je!

We spent both Saturday and Sunday entertaining. On Saturday - my brothers- and sisters-in-laws. It started with Kili calling saying that they are dropping by on their way back from Melaka to their home. So I cooked some spaghetti. Then Pijal called saying he'll drop by too. And then at 6.30pm, Angah called pulak. So I got Hubby to buy 5 packs of meehoon goreng from the restaurant nearby. They stayed on till after 10pm with the kids entertaining themselves with the many entertaining things our house has to offer. All I know is that the fishes in the pond had a very stressful night as two little kiddies kept on throwing stones into the water! The kids even had time to play bunga api. Today - Sunday, it's my side of family's turn plus my sister-in-law Nor and family. I actually have been wanting to invite my parents for makan-makan at my house for such a long time. Believe it or not, I have not entertained my parents yet ever since we moved to this new house. And the same thin...

Raya mood is still on the air. I can't stand listening to anymore Raya songs. Urghhhh... sudahle tu. We have started working. So called. Yesterday we spring-cleaned the office. Trashed away all unwanted papers and what-nots. There are like 10 huge garbage plastic bags outside. Crazy. Where do all the trash comes from? We rearranged the furniture. Vacummed and mopped. Miqdam changed the lamps. So now the office is so very terang macam hospital. And so very spacious. We bought a few more pieces of furniture for Hubby's space. Next week baru dapat. Now set to face the world! Raya holidays gave me ample time to think and plan. Thinking dah sudah, planning yang belum. But today we met up with ex-colleague and good friend Ivan at his office and things started to open up in front of us. We agreed that we should have met up long time ago, but I think we were all too busy with things. It's funny no matter what we have become after all these years, we still seek those few that we hav...

Ok, I got my compensation for having such an awful birthday on Sunday. The next morning, Hubby woke up and whispered to Aliyah (I heard like ...birthday mommy). And I got this huge birthday hugs and kisses from my daughter, along with "soothing" comments - "kenapa la tak bagitau Aliyah semalam birthday Mommy?". Then when I went down to the kitchen, Aliyah couldn't contain her excitement saying there's a surprise for me because yesterday was my birthday. And I can see my youngest sister-in-law Mijah rolling her eyes. Yes, Aliyah is really not so good at keeping secrets! Apparently, the night before my other sister-in-law Angah bought me a birthday cake. No wonder her car was the last to arrive after our trip south even though hers was the leading car. So, I got these nieces and nephews singing me birthday song and cut the cake at breakfast. It was a nice birthday after all... We went back Bangi after that - we usually switch kampungs on the morning of 2nd Har...

How often do you get to see this date - 20092009? And it's my birthday some more! Yup, my birthday. And it's Hari Raya Aidilfitri too! But my day sucks big time. I think this is the worst birthday ever. Of course at this age, I don't expect trumpets and parties thrown for me. Just that I spent more than 6 hours in the car traveling south and then back, didn't get to stuff my face silly with Hari Raya food like what I've done for as long as I can remember, and the saddest thing is that - I didn't get a birthday wish from my daughter. Sedih actually. As you know, I am a Virgo. A Virgo is a very organised person and very practical. I'm not used to impromptu actions, I plan things. Planning is very important, especially that I'm a mother, not to mention owning a business, taking care of a family and household, etc. It's not only for my sake, but for the sake of the people around me, my daughter especially. So, this morning, we were supposed to go to the ...

It was quite a journey to Kuantan last Thursday. In the morning, we deposited Aliyah at my second sister's place, complete with her change of clothes for we wanted her to spend the night there. Dunno what time we'll be back from Kuantan. It was 3 days before Raya and we are sure the roads will be jam-packed. Our journey started at around 10.30am and Hubby took the wheels adhering to all speed limits. As a result, we reached Kuantan about 4 hours later. There were 3 companies being shortlisted and we met my ex-colleagues of my previous employer. Our session ended at about 5pm. I really don't know what our chances are. I believe we did good but of course we never know. We straight away went back, no rest whatsoever, armed with a couple of bottled and canned drinks to break fast along the way. It rained and we heard on the radio almost all roads in KL are jammed. By then, cars heading up to east coast have started to gain in numbers. We break fast while driving and target to r...

Just would like to wish everybody Selamat Hari Raya & Maaf Zahir Batin. Have a safe journey balik kampung ya you all. This year I raya kat Melaka. But then tak sure lagi bila nak balik. Esok dah kena gi Kuantan, balik sure dah malam. Friday masih lagi penat, then nak kemas rumah sikit. So, either Friday malam or Saturday pagi lah kot. Have a good Hari Raya and holidays.

Hubby and me are heading up east coast again on Thursday. I've basically prepared what needs to be presented. Our demo will be brief. We are a small company, I can't really get a demo site up and running and paying our developers while not knowing our chances of getting the project. We'll show our website's CMS. That's good enough as I've been using it for the past 2 years without any glitches. I'm just worried with the traffic. People have started going balik kampung and I suspect Thursday traffic will be quite heavy at the most-of-the-time very quiet highway. Orang lain sibuk balik kampung, aku sibuk nak gi presentation. Anyway, wish me luck OK. I'm not anxious anymore. I'm just happy we are shortlisted and God willing, insyaallah, adalah rezeki. If not, I'm satisfied with myself that my proposal that I did about 80% on my own was accepted. (Nak sedapkan hati! Heheheh...). Anyway, yesterday and today I distributed this month's paycheque to ...

Virtually, I'm an accomplished farmer. Standing at level 22 now on Farmville, I now know the nooks and crooks of the game. One harvest and I can gain thousands of coins. I'm crazy over Farmville. It's more than a game. It's a business strategy. I just started 2 weeks ago and now I have accumulated enough wealth to relax and spend on luxuries. Now I'm targeting to go hi-tech and buy those harvesters and seeders to get myself richer. Work hard, spend hard. Hah, if only! That's on Facebook. My little vegetable patch has also flourished. Sikit-sikit la... The tomatoes have grown really plump. I've never planted tomatoes before. And all my veggies come from seeds. So, I take this as an accomplishment. Cili api plant in the polybag, pandan and sawi. We have eaten enough fresh sawi for the past week. I need to replant. That's pokok durian belanda in the pot. Andy advised not to plant fruit trees in the compound, so I put it in a pot first. There are little cili...