Living with Sarah

We had a nice treat from Hubby yesterday night - dinner at Equatorial. Aliyah - to compensate for not going anywhere this school holidays, me - "commission" for introducing him to a project :). The food? Obviously good lah. We kept on going for the grill section - grilled lamb and mushrooms. I don't really fancy lambs but those were so good. I had 3 servings that I can still feel the taste at the back of my throat this morning! Aliyah digging into her bread pudding with vanilla sauce The place is still in Christmas mood So fascinated with the gingerbread counter :)

Time really flies. School holidays almost over. Aliyah will be in Standard 5 next week! The year after she'll be in Standard 6, then Form 1, then Form 2... At times I wish time to just slow down. I always feel she's still a baby... Aliyah had her hair cut at Izzkin last week. So cute :). She had a manicure the week before... My little girl is such a "girlie". She could lose herself at the spa for hours if I just let her be. Everything there fascinates her. School stuff? School books ready, stationery ready, school bag use last year's - still very good, new uniforms ready, 1 pair of new shoes - old one also still very good... Yup, all ready except that I totally forgot to wrap her books (is that the correct term? wrap book?). Will do it this weekend. What Aliyah did this holidays? Nothing much! Nope, no vacation anywhere. Parents busy working. We promised her the next school holidays. She spends most days at the office with us... which from the looks of it, she...

I didn't cycle last week - Hubby went outstation and then everyday hujan. Morning yesterday and today - off-road dengan semangatnya. Yesterday pegi Ldg Bangi, this morning pegi the one next to it - Ldg UKM. I like UKM better - the route less muddy and more matured. Tapi banyak batu pulak. Siap ada ada anak sungai yang air sangat, sangat jernih. Amazing. And good also sebab bike tak kotor sangat. Err... akak tak pernah basuh pun, Hubby yang rajin cuci :). Siap minyak rantai sekali. (You should see our car! Rasanya dah berbulan tak basuh. Tapi basikal hari-hari basuh ok!) For 1.20hr ride, we covered 13-15kms. Ok la tu sebab off-road. I lost count of the hills we climb. And I am so happy that I no longer stop in the middle of a climb. Dah berjaya get the pace/momentum, so cycle all the way up then baru stop. Most of the time tak stop pun! This morning, lepas morning ride pegi kerja. Walaupun melepek sikit, tapi siap buat meeting lagi. Dulu-dulu ride pegi office yang cuma 4.5km tu pun ...

Last Friday, on the 16th, Mimi gave birth to another set of kitties. Adoii... 6 kittens! She's now confined at the back. This morning, I went to get laundry, took a peek at the kittens all inside a carrier. She then stood up and touched my hair. Apahal la pulak si Mimi ni? I then took one and put it in the basket. She then went in and tended to the kitty. Mintak tolong ambik kan anak dia rupanya... So I took out all. After a week, they are all very healthy, looks like they have medium hair and some have started to open their eyes. Very cute kittens. The biggest is the orange & white. One has this light brown colour that I seldom see on cats. I can't have all these... I believe the cough I've been having for a year now is due to the cats. I might have allergy. So, these will be put up for adoption. Kittens for adoption anyone?

I've finished The Gods of Small Things. Made me depressed. Now, since LOTR trilogy is now permanently played by Aliyah, I decided to take up the book again. The first time was such a pain. I vowed to read the book before the final movie came out. And I did. But there were a lot of things I didn't understand due to the rush. Now I'm just at the early pages - the time when preparations are being made for Bilbo's eleventy-one birthday. (Gosh! Who would have thought to call 111 that!) And so far very good :). I have yet to get those Murakami books. A new novel is out - IQ84. So thick = 3-in-1. I would have huge hole in my purse if I were to get all of his books I have yet to read. Will see... The Hobbit trailer is out. It'll be in Dec 2012. Such a long time to wait! I searched for my book but couldn't find it. I must have lent it to someone. Can't remember who. Aliyah watched the trailer and said - "December 2012? Lamanya lagi!". It amazed me that she...

Hubby went off to Kulim yesterday for the 2nd leg of his training. Right after sending him off at my sister's place, Aliyah and me went to Alamanda for - actually tiada arah tujuan. It was still early to go home, nothing much to do at home, don't feel like going home... You get me. I know it's a Sunday and we never go out to any shopping malls on a Sunday, but then, redah saja lah. So, there we were - amidst the hundreds (ke thousands?) thronging the mall. The aim - to have a drink and then buy Puss in Boots tickets for today's show. But Aliyah wanted to watch yesterday itself, so belilah ticket yg 3rd row from the screen. That shows how bored we were! Now, Puss in Boots? I didn't like it. But Aliyah enjoyed it. I guess I always have high expectation on everything! I expected it to be at least as good as Shrek. I just don't get it - the history, the quest, the revenge, the hot lover in fur, they just don't tie up together very well. My only consolation - fin...

About 2-3 years ago, I received the book Travelog Dakwah by Prof Muhd Kamil from my brother. It was to be passed to my father actually, but I asked for permission to read it first - until I finish. Truthfully, I have not finished reading it. I always have it on my desk at the office. And I would read a few pages during lunch break. Then, after some time, I would go back to the earlier pages and read the book again. Then, after some time when the end is near, I would turn back to the earlier pages and start reading again. You might ask why. I don't know... It is one peculiar book because it kind of follow your life events. The "me" when I first started reading the book is not the same "me" as I am now. And the "me" who read the pages of the book today will not be the same "me" as I will be tomorrow. So, how I relate to the book at a specific point of time differ. How? Simply said, let's say I have yet to perform the Zohor solat, the reflec...

Whatever channels you subscribe on Astro, many, many times you'll find yourself surfing the channels and finding nothing to watch. Seriously... So, starting from 2 weeks ago, Hubby transferred our DVD player downstairs where Aliyah and me have been indulging in LOTR marathon - all 3 movies. And then back again. We are at our 2nd cycle now. It amazed me that Aliyah has quite high standards on the kind of movies or programmes she watches. Nowadays, it's Merlin, now going on the 4th season. I'm so glad she's not the type who watches stupid Malay comedy programmes overloaded on Astro nowadays. She would watch for a while and said - "Bodohnya...". I'm thinking, I should re-read the LOTR book. Let's see how long I will take to finish it this time around! I'm now finishing re-reading The Gods of Small Things. Yup, no new books. I have yet to go and get me those Haruki Murakami books.

Yesterday, the weather was surprisingly good that we cycled to Sg Buah again. This time, one big round from the river up to the main road to Bkt Unggul and then through the kampung and then back. One session up "Bkt Digi", this time around stopped twice. Bukan tak larat, tapi macam berat! So, I blame it on the heavy lunch of ayam kampung panggang. Hehehe... Managed to get almost 16kms. Flat road only stopped once for gulps of water. The route by the river not so good due to the heavy rain nowadays. But not bad la for about 1 hour of cycle. If nak lagi jauh kena keluar lagi awal. But then, balik office pun dah almost 6pm. Today, if weather permits, another session. Tomorrow morning, Akak Limah Lambung SPride ajak cycle Ladang Bangi - special session for beginners. Let's see... that would take at least 3hrs. Kesian pulak kat Aliyah. We'll see...

Just came back from a hearty delicious meal - Nasi Ayam Kampung Panggang at Mantin. Sounds far right? Actually, not really. Hubby selalu ride that area and singgah makan there, so hari ni bersungguh-sungguh nak bawak makan sana. Ikut short cut through Nilai 3 and then - sampai! The place - simple gerai, meja & bench kayu. Menu - ayam kampung organik panggang, itik panggang, ikan keli salai... Yang lainnya besides the normal nasi ayam sauces - sos kicap and sos cili, ada sambal cili api. Sedappp... The three of us had nasi ayam, 1 ekor ayam kampung panggang, air tebu 1/2 jug and hot tea = RM25 only! Very recommended! Ambik gambar pun senget... Ayam panggang mula-mula order 1/2 je. Tapi terpaksa tambah lagi 1/2 :)

Stumbled upon Borders last weekend - and my jaw almost dropped to the floor. One shelf dedicated to Harumi Murakami books under "Recommended". Just HIS books! I have more than half of them, there are a few more that I've been searching. MPH Alamanda doesn't carry many of his books. Novel Melayu memang banyak la... So I stood there like a child who found a gingerbread and candy house. Buy one book and get the next one 50%! Adusss... But nope, I didn't swipe my CC. This is not an emergency case. I told myself - next week when I get that payment, I'll come back. I want that, that, and that... Also, that one and that one.