On leave already

Wooooo hoooooooooooo !!! i'm at home already........... bcoz my leave starts today!!!!!!

No tender or contract documents, no payments, no EOT's, CPC's, CMGD's, V.O's, final accounts and what have you's.

I'm a housewife till after raya and man, how i love it :)

Yesterday i saw Goal (whoa.. all them hunks heh) and after my chores were done, it was Janji Joni.... how did nicholas saputra get to be sooo umm chubby? where are the cute locks, huh huh huh??!!??


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Did some running this morning and of course i'm feeling reaaaaallly gooooooooood.

** Running Log **

1 lap= about 4 km= 30 mins

and i joined the tai chi group to cool down... going to do the same tomorrow :)

Another kind of fever

I've been so busy i havent had the time to blog... so you can imagine how clogged up this mind has been with all the pent up raves & rants lol. unloading is the answer to a clear, uncluttered head but i dont have the luxury of having close friends nearby (*wail* nina, ngape u pindah hahhh !! *bansyee pun kalah hik hik*).

friday - they finally delivered the fridge but we were in klcc (me + the 3 kiddos + Abe) en route to berbuka at a friends place. and as usual, whenever theres a public holiday in selangor, kl will be jammed.

saturday - spring cleaned the kitchen & laundry as scheduled and had a small family 'doa selamat' for Abe's trip and AI's SPM.

sunday - mek stayed the nite so we had the pleasure of her company the whole day. its a great feeling to have the surviving 'grannies' together in one place (we're both lost our fathers). its not often that mek would agree to such a thing because of moksu. moksu had suffered from very high fever when she was a toddler and has become a retard of sorts. mek prefers the familiarity of her own home to handle moksu's needs but once in a while she'd make a concession and stay the nite with moksu in tow. otherwise mek is always in a hurry to get back to moksu. i could see the contentment in Abe's face to see his mom & sis at our place even if for that short while.

And.... we're all over that bout of flu thank god :)

But...

I can already feel another one coming.... a totally different type of fever but just as terrible.

Maybe a whole lot more terrible...

Really really terrible..

And horrible.

*sigh* Abe's leaving for turkmenistan by 3rd day of eid.

K.I.S.S.

Yup... i'm Keeping It Short & Sweet lol

Things i did yesterday, apart from the usual 'supir & amah' duties..
- cleared my in-tray, churned out 2 quotations, 2 minutes of meeting, 3 final accounts, 1 v.o. application, 3 interim payments and a few 'tricky' correspondence.
- cancelled a joint monthly valuation.
- attended 1 discussion & 1 briefing.
- picked up kiddo no. 3's contact lenses.
- got mak nasi beriani kambing for berbuka and her fav kuehs.
- rushed home to get me & the kids ready.
- family berbuka with Abe's close golf clique at Saujana
- confirmed and paid deposit for the nasi dage n stuff we're having for saturday's berbuka
- tarawih jemaah at home (late)
- one of the furry one is unwell and purging merata. since he finds it traumatic being caged (i wanted to contain his movements tapi he went into a frenzy langgar2 cage) so i stayed locked up with him in the den along with food & his litter box. morning did seem so far away at that time lol.

Things to do today..
- first thing, a visit to the vet (i'm not going to spend another nite holding the furry one's limp paws)
- the postponed monthly valuation
- check up on the status of my sepatutnya dah deliver fridge!! wtf????
- settle some more payments and final accounts since the district office, as usual is suddenly turning in so many previously backlogged accounts and as usual the qs will be the ones hounded by the main contractors being the last in the chain.
- hopefully a quiet berbuka with the kiddos since Abe's attending another one of those work related functions
- pick up kiddo no. 1 from the jln duta bus terminal (hes back for the weekend)
- probably have a light supper with the kiddos since abang long is back
- hopefully some relaxed time for solat & quranic recitation/readings

Things i didnt get to do..
- run of course :(
- a good pumelling & prodding session with wak mon
- an invigorating half hour in my imaginary jacuzzi out there in a secluded corner of my kangkang kera garden *i can fantasize surely lol*
- enjoy my new fridge

Ooh and a whole lot of other things but i have to go already.

Laterzz.

Oh oh my turn

Started with AF, then AI. AH was next and then mak.

But now it looks like its my turn..... dripping faucet of a nose, raspy tongue, sore throat - generally feeling rather crappy, but not grumpy :)

Abe's doing overtime again (tsk tsk, tak siap2 lagi budget ntah apa ntah) so AI's probably going to get his berbuka request to eat at long john silver (which i'd promised him sejak his birthday tapi lama tertunggak) so we're eating out tonite.

Which settles another 'what to cook for berbuka' headache.

And, going to telan lots and lots of water & vit C for the cold. hopefully, that'll stop it in its tracks *angkat jari 10 berdoa* there's tons to be done and i need my strength & good health God. TQ.

Spring Cleaning

Mak has never gotten along with any of our maids so for the past 12 years we've made do without one. Now what's a working woman to do with the whole household to clean up, especially during ramadhan & with syawal coming?

She does it in phases heheh !!!

Today began Phase 1: which is most of the ground floor i.e. the lounge, family area, the den (aka sarang otakus & couch kentangs aka tv/puter/golf room), day room (mak's lepak place in the daytime) and dining. it took me from sahur to berbuka, but of course with many breaks in between lol. tapi cik pah kita ni mengelat besar hehehe... i skipped washing the main curtains (syhhhh, jgn citer org) and just did all the sheers/day curtains only. so pagi2 unhook, basuh & sidai... by petang, angkat, gosok & hang balik.

Sambil tu i let off all my frustrations onto the floors: vacuum all the nooks and cranies, beat up the poor old carpets, and sental, and mopped the whole place till it was squeeky clean. did all the glass windows, inside out and rearranged the den. while i was at it, i also brazenly threw out Abe's fav but broken recliner (one he keeps insisting he'll repair but never does) and waited with bated breath for the repercussion to my 'berani mati' action. mana tahan, the den is already clogged up with his huge collection of caps & other golf paraphanelia (sp.?).

But suffice to say i'm still alive and kicking hehe. when he came back and saw the place all spruced up... "eh, luas pulak nampak bilik ni ya !"... like duh !!!

AH's having a cold (mak as well) while AI has spm coming so i let the kids off the hook. that meant it was just moi all the way but it's been a good day. 'cept now ada sakit pinggang laa sikit tapi worth it... and the saving grace was, lauk berbuka semua beli jer lol.

Next week, Phase 2: the kitchen & laundry including the cabinets and all the contents *groan*

The following week, Phase 3: the whole of 1st floor.

Now how does nike say it again?

JUST DO IT !!!!!!

A nephew's birthday

Last week was the 1st saturday for my hubby's family 'berbuka beramai2' and it started at his mek's home. today, we broke fast at a younger bros place not only for solat jemaah fardhu & sunat but also because of their son's 15 yr old birthday.

Adeh, perut terlampau kenyang solat pun sluggish.




















Oh my god, would you believe it... i actually dozed off for a minute ther and tertekan jer the 'enter' key lmao. eeee, teruknye !!!!!! nasib baik tak terdelete. tak boleh jadi ahh, nak kena tido :)

Good nite yall time to zzZZzz heheh.

Oh and btw, we finally ordered the fridge and delivery will be in a couple of days (takde stock or something).

And i did go out running even if it was drizzling this morning.... best, sejuk giler :) left the hubby snoozing after subuh with his 2 kiddos and 2 kitties (they all memang melepak beramai2 in our bedroom after sahur lol)

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** Running Log **

1 lap plus= about 4 km plus= 38 minutes

Window shopping

..... among the things i hate doing.

But i had to for without which there wouldnt be a new fridge. so i took a day's leave from work for the sole purpose of meandering about the shops. first stop was seng heng seksyen 9. little did i know i was in for a rude shock... its been closed down !!!!! i couldnt believe my eyes coz it felt like only yesterday i was there looking for a 16 kg capacity washing machine. ahh such is the passage of time.

Anyway, i then made my way to the other smaller electrical shops scattered all around shah alam.. Boeing being one of them. it was already in operation when i came back in '85. there wasnt much in the way of choices so i told the kids why not we mosey on over to jaya jusco bukit raja, klang being just 'across' our 'back yard' (its quite near from seksyen 7) and of course they jumped at the chance especially AI who is also affectionately nicknamed as 'mat mall'.

Alas, didnt have what i was looking for. Abe specifically wanted me to check out samsung's nano tech fridge as well as LG. so penat je yang lebih pusing sana pusing sini tapi habuk pun tak dapat. oh but i did get to spend most of the jusco cash voucher Abe won from one of his golf tourney. Bought the boys a new comforter & bedsheet set for raya :)

But at least i'm quite sure about what the choice is going to be - a samsung 485L capacity model something or other.

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Yay - did some running this morning :) oh and on the way back i almost got myslf a ticket from a policeman for using the h/phone w/out my hands-free...... but you see, i was in such a tizzy coz my boss was the one calling (about some work at the office). lucky thing, after grilling me about the hazards of driving while using the hp and making me seriau giler, the cop let me go with just a reprimand. thank god.

** Running Log **

1 lap= about 4 km= 35 mins.

Fallen from grace

Al Baqarah (2): ayat 34.
“And (remember) when We said to the angels, “prostrate yourself before Adam” and they prostrated except Iblis (Satan), he refused and was proud and was one of the disbelievers.”

I used to have problems with this ayat. Being so brief, it gave the impression that Iblis was somehow connected to the angels and this disturbed me to no end. So, for peace of mind, I went on to collect ayats which were similar in nature hoping to find a satisfactory answer.......

Al-A’raf (7): ayat 11.
"And surely, We created you (Adam) and then gave you shape (that of a human). Then We told the angels, “prostrate yourselves to Adam” and they prostrated themselves, except Iblis (Satan). He refused to be of those who prostrated.

Al-A’raf (7): ayat 12.
"And (Allah) said, “what prevented you from prostrating yourself when I commanded you?” . Iblis said , “I am better than him (Adam). You created me from fire while you created him from clay”.

Al-A’raf (7): ayat 13.
“(Allah)said: “(Oh Iblis) get down from this paradise, it is not for you to be arrogant here. Get out for you are of those humiliated and disgraced.”

[Also along the same lines were Sad(38): ayat 71 to 76].

Then i found it.

Al-Kahf(18): ayat 50.
“And (remember) when We said to the angels, “Prostrate yourself unto Adam” so they prostrated themselves except Iblis (satan) . He was one of the jinn; he disobeyed the command of his Lord. Will you then take him (Iblis) and his offsprings as protectors and helpers rather than Me while they are enemies to you? What an evil is the exchange for the Zalimun.”

- this ayat finally explained that Iblis/Satan are from the jinn and nothing whatsoever to do with the angels. Man from clay, angels from light and jinn from fire... for me, the puzzle finally fit.


And while I’m at it, here are some useful ayats:

Al Baqarah(2) : ayat 74.
“ Then after that your hearts were hardened and became as stones or even worse hardness. And indeed there are stones out of which rivers gush forth, and indeed there are of them (stones) which split asunder so that water flows from them, and indeed there are of them which fall down for fear of Allah. And Allah is not unaware of what you do”.
- An ustadz told me that its a remedy for gall & kidney stones. Recite it often & believe… faith is of utmost importance.

Al Baqarah(2): ayat 128.
“ Our Lord. And make us submissive unto you and of our offspring a nation submissive unto you. And show us our manasik (the ceremonies of pilgrimage) and accept our repentance. Truly you are the one who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful.”
- Doa untuk anak yang taat.

Al-Kahf (18): ayat 10.
“(Remember) when the young men fled for refuge (from their disbelieving folks) to the cave. They said “Oh Lord, bestow on us mercy from Yourself and facilitate for us our affair in the right way!”
- Doa for muslim youths seeking refuge from the madness of the modern world.

Highs & lows

High - heh, i finally got myself a new laptop :) nothing fancy, just something of my own to do with any which way i wanna lol. probably a little bigger than i'd hoped for but then i wasnt about to part with anymore of our RMs than was necessary.

Low - its a nightmare to have your fridge breaking down on you in ramadhan, but thats exactly what happened to me. we've been 'fridge'less since sunday but thank god i also have a small freezer where i keep my weekly meat/chicken/fish supply so its not too bad..... but still :(

We had mr. tung (our regular maintenance man) look it over and as i had suspected (from the weird sounds that was emitted from the bowels of my fridge lol), its the compressor. says replacing it was going to cost us around RM 600. well, my problems would have been solved right then and there if the hubby hadnt come up with the idea of buying a new one instead. he's rationale is, if we were to spend that much money on an old fridge which was liable to break down again anyway, we might as well invest in a brand new one instead.

Adeh... and i've been given the task to look around and report my findings & recommendation to the 'boss' (and he can get pretty fussy when he wants to, that one). problem is i'm finding it tough enough juggling between work, kids, breaking of fast, the nite solats.... let alone go window shopping. but he has adroitly passed the ball back into my court and its now up to me to settle it, be it sooner or later. double adeh.

So up till this moment, i'm still w/out a working fridge.... and the old one is starting to stink to high heaven ... and mak's getting more & more annoyed that the problem still remains unresolved ... and the kids are clamouring for their long cool drinks come berbuka ... and the hubby's still waiting for my feedback ... and i feel like tearing my hair out.

Such is the boring, mundane stuff a working wife/mom/daughter goes through.

I know God is testing my rapuh iman this blessed ramadhan and it could have been worse. insyaallah i'm still keeping it all together lol though barely.

:)

Man, i need my run bad...... but who's got the time !!!!

Fate & Coincidences

Adeh ....

siapa nak sangka,
cempedak menjadi nangka,
pilihan nic 'redkebaya',
rupanya tajuk movie pula.

Who would have guessed that on that warm & balmy night, when i was desperately trying to come up with a relatively asian cyber persona as well as a name for my blog, i'd hit upon something very similar to someone else's idea!!!! if not for Kak Teh, i'd still be clueless lol. thanks KT for drawing it to my attention :)

The RedKebaya (check THIS out)..... who would have thought eh?! hmmm, sedih plak rasanye. like i said, hope there's no copyright or anything coz i love my nic. i have my own reasons for using it and it has absolutely nothing to do with the movie. really, talk about fate & coincidences.

I'm sorta hoping its a prank or something *SIGH*

Ah well, its not something to lose sleep over since i'm already sleep deprived as it is lol. back to the home scene. its 2 days in a row that Abe's been doing overtime and breaking fast somewhere in klcc. i guess theres much to do before he leaves for turkmenistan. but that recent pakistani earthquake leaves me a little worried because ashgabat is located close to an earthquake belt. tapi takkan nak takut pada bayang2 kan? what will be will be so berdoa jer laa untuk yang terbaik dunia & akhirat.

Berbuka 3 beranak tidak lah semeriah selalu (mak always breaks fast separately in the day room so that just leaves me, AI & AH at the table). i'm already thinking of how suram & mendung it'll get if Abe really were to leave for ashgabat on the 3rd raya & AF for sg petani on the 4th!!!!! oh dear, we're going to be such a sorry bunch indeed.

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Sad to report, i havent had the opportunity to run for 2 days now and no other activity apart from the nite solats. i'm dead meat actually because i'm not the type of person to lose any weight during ramadhan, unlike most people who seem to shed kgs upon kgs almost effortlessly. yup, night eating is taboo for me..... theres no 2 ways about it, do it and face the consequences. what to do, terima jer la dgn pasrah lol

But i'm still up & running in my dreams though :)

Oh and btw, guess what was waiting for me when i finally checked my email ?

- the pic my cousin promised me :)
ok, yg tegak macam tiang tu is me lol (never could relax when taking pics), in the middle is my son AI and next to him is my young cousin's hubby. it was also his 1st race, and just so he got her undivided support, she probably left the kids (rather hyper lil boys lol) with her mom !! clever woman heheh.

Sesungguhnya

Sebenarnya hati ini cinta pada Mu
Sebenarnya diri ini rindu pada Mu
Tapi aku tidak mengerti
Mengapa cinta masih tak hadir?
Mengapa rindu belum berbunga
Ku cuba menhulurkan sebuah hadiah kpd Mu
Tapi mungkin kerana isinya tidak sempurna,
Tiada seri..
Ku cuba menyiramnya agar tumbuh & berbunga
Tapi mungkin kerana airnya
Tidak sesegar telaga kauthar.

Sesungguhnya walau ku kutip
Semua permata di dasar lautan
Sesungguhnya walau ku siram
Dengan air hujan dari tujuh langit Mu
Namun cinta takkan hadir
Dan rindu takkan berbunga
Jika tidak mengharapkan rahmat Mu
Dan menagih simpati pd Mu
Ya Allah ..
Tuhan hadiahkan lah kasih Mu kpd ku
Tuhan kurniakan lah rindu ku kpd Mu
Moga ku tahu syukur ku adalah milik Mu.

- Raihan.

Tangkap leleh

Aduh, sengsaranya jiwa raga ku. pedih sepedih-pedihnya....ummmm, kedua mata ku. mengapakah ku disiksa begini!!!!!!

Hehehehe... mana tidaknya bila kena kopek bawang 1 kg !!!!!!

Itu laa dia diantara aktiviti bersantai di pagi ahad lol. selalunye i would check out the 'bawang yg telah siap berkopek' at the sayur stall first tapi pagi tadi it didnt look all that fresh so, back to the 'air mata berbaldi' laa, what to do.

I even used Abe safety googles but*snif snif* to no avail lol even that petua of mek's, cucuk satu biji bawang kat hujung pisau sebelum mula kopek mengopek didnt work. bawangnya potent sangat kot lol next, 1 kg of garlic and i'm done.... basuh bersih2, sumbat dalam fridge dan kisar kemudian.

Oh and of course i had the stereo on full blast while i was leaking buckets. glad to see that malique is back with joe.... they're about the only local rap group i listen to (apart from the dikir barat lol) and they sure have matured some. guess malique did some growing up when he was away. yang lain tu letih laa dengar..... especially when its done in bahasa, draggy giler. bukannya tak boleh tapi kena laa fast & crisp for it to be effective.

Food R&R
Petang skit ah baru masuk dapur. bought ayam kampung at the wet market this morning... nanti goreng panas2 for the hubs & kids elok gak. as for me i have that terubuk i bought when mak wanted to shop at TESCO a while ago. bakar pas tu cicah air assam kau2 punya, nanti nasi habis seperiuk pun tak sedar lol

Penyeri Ramadhan.
Finishing up on Surah AlBaqarah - taking a little longer by looking up on tafsir ibnu katsier as well.

* Running Log *
Heh, terlena skit after subuh but still in time to catch the tail end of the morning coolness. couldnt get Abe to leave the coziness of our bed so, i went alone as usual. sad to report there arent as many people out taking morning walks at the tasik this ramadhan. last year there were quite a number of families doing just that after subuh & munajat at the state mosque. i wonder why?

1 lap= about 4 km= 35 mins

God, thank you for teaming me up with my new nike. i could have made the wrong choice and suffered the consequences, but instead, its making me bounce about merrily and gone are the ache to my knees and heel.... syukur alhamdulillah :)

The first of many.

My hubby's family are mostly scattered all over Shah Alam and its vicinity, even his mom !!!! we're in section 9, an elder bro is in section 8 and living right across is his mom and elder sis (recently widowed) and a younger bro in section 7. also nearby, a niece in TTDI Jaya, eldest bro in Subang Jaya and another elder bro in Kelana Jaya.

Being in close proximity makes family gatherings a frequent occurence. usually the whole lot of us would end up at mek's (my MIL) place for weekend get togethers, regardless of how small or sempit it can get being just a 2 bedroom apartment lol. no matter that bro Joe's comfortable & spacious bungalow is just a stone's throw away but kat rumah mek jugak yang best !!

Today's the first in the series of berbuka bersama mek. it's a pot luck affair and again i've escaped cooking heheh (last nite was ramadhan buffet at KSAS... a treat from Abe for washing his car). Abe wanted kelate fare and so we bought enough stuff at Sri TTDI Jaya to feed an army (albeit a small one lol)! as usual, when we pooled the food together, there wasnt an empty spot left at mek's table (overspilled to the floor in fact) and there was barely enough room to park all our butts lol. imagine laa all the anaks, cucus & cicits of 5 families, not including tuan rumah - the grand old lady herself lol..... bersempit2 sakan tapi syioook!!

In all that controlled chaos, getting everyone to do their solat maghrib is a test of great ingenuity.... pakai sistem shift and kena cepat2 cekup spot yg sesuai. but for an anak tunggal like me, being part of a big family have always been something i'd dream of so i look forward to such gatherings. lepas tu everyone would then adjourn to the nearby surau for tarawih and return for 2nd rounds before dgn liatnya, one family after the other would slowly take their leave.... leaving behind a happy mek in our wake.

But we had to leave early last nite. AF's bus for SP was at 12.15 am and we had to get his stuff ready. sigh... hate to have the brood broken up this way but such is life. semoga selamat AF.

oh btw, meet my irresistable snooze partners lol

A birds eye view of chewie on his kusyen putera diraja

And nico... note the slightly open mouth, indication of a really deep slumber lol!! and guess who was right beside him cuddling away before the existence of this pic hehehe !!!!! and yes thats my bed hes sleeping in the brat lol.

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Oh and i had a greeeeeaaaaaat run this morning!!!!!!!! it had rained in the nite and i wasnt about to let a beautiful morning go to waste. leaving snoring hubby & kids, i sneaked out and took it real slow and easy... the steady bouncy kinda jog i was doing left me feeling sooo much like tigger that with every passing bush/tree, i was expecting a boo from either winnie the poo or eyore lol .... and i also stopped for a little xi gong along the way to cool down :)

** Running Log **

1 lap plus= about 4.5 km= 40 minutes

Reading up on the AlQuran

Right on cue my niece handed me a brand new copy of Terjemahan AlQuran Mushaf Malaysia just a few days before ramadhan. she works with Yayasan Restu at Kompleks Taman Seni Islam Selangor situated right across the selangor state mosque. they are the people responsible for creating malaysia's very own mushaf alquran - from the elaborate motif design to the intricate caligraphic writing itself. click HERE for more info.

Knowing how teruja i can get with crisp new books (especially beautiful copies of the AlQuran), she left me to 'belek membelek hidu menghidu' in peace lol. now i'm extremely motivated to read up on my quran translation :)

As usual, i started at the very beginning:

Surah AlFatihah: makiyyah, 7 ayat.
- pembuka al quran
- "Umm AlQuran" walaupun pendek merangkumi segala pengertian, objektif & perbedaharaan al quran secara umum... aqidah & soal keimanan (ayat 1-5), ibadah melalui doa dan memohon pertolongan (ayat 6) dan minhaj kehidupan (ayat 7).

Surah AlBaqarah: madaniyyah, 286 ayat.
- surah yang terpanjang.
- selepas penghijrahan rasulullah ke madinah dan menjadi asa pembentukan ummah.
- lebih menekan aspek pensyariatan (hukum hakam) & persoalan kehidupan seperti .. pemurniaan akhlak ..sistem pentadbiran rumahtangga ..sistem pentadbiran negara & alam sejagat ..siasah perkahwinan & perceraian ..aspek muamalat termasuk jualbeli, hutang, riba dll.
- mendedahkan konflik diantara mukminin , musyrikin, munafikin, yahudi & nasrani.

I'm only halfway thru, a little slow perhaps but i am trying my best not to succumb to the zzzZZzzzzZZZzzz lol

I'm supposed to set up an appointment for AF to see the 'knee' specialist (what do we call those bone people again?) but he's been having late nites and isnt functional till noon.. so looks we'll only be doing the visit next time he comes home. better yet, during the long term break.

Ooh and btw, i'm estatic to report that he recently took up somebody's dare and has been off the cigs for almost 3 weeks now. yay *doing a double jiggly* hope he's serious about it bcoz it does mean finally giving his poor lungs a better chance while putting a stop to the burning of his pockets (and with the price hike the holes will definitely be getting bigger). syukur.

Its sad that i still havent been able to squeeze in any running as yet during this ramadhan. from experience i know it has to be the mornings coz evenings can get a little too hectic especially this year with public servants leaving the office at 5 pm just like any other 9 to 5'er. a little more lintang pukang than the previous years. i did manage to run at least 2 mornings during the weekday last ramadhan followed by either sat or sunday or both. really hope to be doing the same but so far no go :(

But tomorrow's saturday already so my chances are certainly better.

Food R&R

Early sahur: heh, yours truly mengelat habis this morning.. because of the leftovers from AI's birthday berbuka, i didnt do much in the way of sahur preparation. just fried some ramly's beef nugget (his tempura chicken nugget is also one of the kids fav), heated up the soup and stirred in a beaten egg just to jazz it up a bit. yang lain tu as is... and i could see Abe macam tak sampai hati nak kata apa2 (he was very satisfied with last nite's berbuka... nasi habih seperiuk between the lot of them lol). pheeew, lega with a capital 'L' :)

Berbuka: as of right now i havent an inkling. i'll just let the 'ilham' flow naturally lol

Muh No. 2 dahleeng's birthday

Happy 17th birthday AI - mama sentiasa mendoakan yang terbaik untuk dahleeng2 mama semua dan semoga ijat mama ni berjaya & bahagia dunia akhirat.

Luvya always kiddo.

First thing AI & i did this morning was to round up the furry ones. i'd postponed the vet visit long enough.... time to get the kitties vaccinated & dewormed. still on the pmr break, AI was more than willing to help out (AF & AH was still sound asleep.. they'd all ko'ed after subuh). so after dealing with my immediate correspondences, i headed back home.

The people of shah alam (and its vicinity) are lucky in that they also have the choice of going to a public veterinary clinic nearby. vets can cost a bomb and a public clinic is a cheaper alternative. situated right across yeo's in section 15, it shares the grounds of jabatan perkhidmatan haiwan selangor. i was surprised to find the clinic in good condition ... lol, i mean i expected an old government building of sorts but everything looked clean, well maintained & well staffed. i also expected a crowd but turned out i was the only one there!!! well, its a facility & service that the public is not taking full advantage of i think. its comparable to the private vet i was seeing in section 6, shah alam. and of course the rates are definately much cheaper. vaccination @ RM21.00 and deworming @ RM 5.00 - RM 7.00 and consultation @ RM 10.00 - RM 15.00.

It was all settled within an hour and i only paid RM 70.00 for both the kitties :)

The only down side is its opening hours: Mondays to Thursdays - 8.30 to 12.30. yup, right slap bang in the middle of office hours. but then thats the way it is - you gain some, you lose some.

Food R&R

Early morning sahur was:
fried cuttlefish with long beans (i shouldnt have put in the oyster sauce - turned out a little too sweet even with all that chilli api), chicken burger (patties only), campbells mushroom soup (straight from the can) and leftover sambal sardine from last nite's supper (we'd eaten it with lempeng).

I stopped by the wet market on the way back from the vets so today's berbuka would probably be:
soup tulang rusuk, sambal petai something or other (ikan bilis? udang?), fried kulat with scrambled eggs.... and i'm stopping over at either long john silver for fish & chips or KFC for the new mixed bucket - AI's choice. also a short pitstop at the bakery for his b/day cake :)



And hopefully we'll make it to the masjid/surau for solat jemaah tonite.

First of Ramadhan

Due to PMR, AI & AH were both home for the first day of puasa.... which is a blessing bcoz its definitely easier on just about anyone to be at home right now. AF's also back earlier than usual on a 'menyambut ramadhan' break so its full house for us this week. i love it when everyone's home :) kalau tak, makan pun kekadang tercekik teringatkan yang tak ada, especially when i'm eating something they happen to like.

Now, i love ramadhan for all the obvious reasons and much more.. but theres one thing about it that really weighs heavy on my mind; the dilemma that haunts most wives/moms - what to cook !!!!!!!! in just under a week that question becomes the soalan cepu emas.

I've stopped trying to please everyone simultaneously a long time ago (we'd just end up with a mejafull of unfinished lauk, kids who mysteriously turn into bloated ular sawas and rendered immobile, and later a long and ardous battle to complete tarawih). they now take turns and i rotate each of their choices accordingly... which should settle my 'what to cook' problem. unfortunately, it doesnt take long for them to start running out of choices and its back to moi to get creative. sigh - its tough bcoz i also have to think about sahur choices. Abe who is otherwise very flexible, is extremely picky about his food during ramadhan, especially for sahur. not only must it be different from that of berbuka, it must also be something he fancies. otherwise, he'll just make himself a bowl of oats which he will then doggedly finish and all the while eyeing me with those accusing eyes of his!!!! alahai, geram ada, kesian pun ada especially when he'll melepek giler the next day *double sigh*

I hate the fact that food has become such an important factor in ramadhan - its about fasting, abstaining & making sacrifices, so shouldn't it be the least of our considerations? but the fact remains that Abe looks forward to having a good breaking of fast & sahur, so who am i to say otherwise? all that one can do is to try create some sort of balance and avoid going overboard, but its not that simple when theres food, food and more food everywhere you turn during ramadhan.... pasar ramadhan, korner ramadhan, pesta ramadhan, macam2 ramadhan.

So back to the soalan cepu emas - what to churn out of the wok next?!! probably the best way to deal with all this brain clutter is to unload my cooking blues here - dah masak apa, boleh masak apa, nak masak apa. hmmm, after all this is a place for me to rant n rave lol so... what if i had my own Food R (rave) & R (rant) corner for ramadhan ;)

Food R&R

Okey dokey. About early morning sahur - we had lotsa telur masin, some fried cocktail sausages, hot & sour soup with fresh cendawan and leftover fried beef from dinner.

Next, today's berbuka. its been my practise to cook as well as buy ready made food for berbuka so that even with the limited time afforded to me as a working woman, there'd still be variety. and to make sure i didnt go wrong this first day, i made a family favourite - grilled chicken wings with garlic, chilli api, soy sauce and a touch of honey. also kangkung goreng belacan with those big prawns peeking through lol.

From hatinie, i had earlier bought some akok (Abe's favourite kueh and a must throughout ramadhan), sweet sago in santan and tapai pulut. since the queue for the lauk was horendously long there, i moved on to another restaurant where i bought a little of siput sedut, terung berchilli and kerabu mangga each, just enough to tantalize the tastebuds. but turned out tak sedap pun so that means i wont be returning for a second time.

Abe arrived home just in time for berbuka in a black mood. seems the poor guy left his office around 4 and was stuck in the jam forever (an accident). also unfortunate that his diabetic meds were wrecking havoc with his digestive system and had him purging right after. which also meant we couldnt make it to the masjid for tarawih... instead Abe led the maghrib, isya' & tarawih prayers in jemaah at home.

Ooh to be able to hang on to the very soul & spirit of ramadhan would be such a blessing indeed !!!!

Ramadhan Al Mubarak

Selamat berpuasa dan menghiasi Ramadhan ini seindah mungkin.

Mak's date.

Mak had a 'menyambut ramadhan' date with her long time friend Aunty M. knowing how her mind works, i'd decided to take leave from work so that she can really enjoy her outing.

See, she can never really handle loose ends and since she'll be leaving in the morning, there's AH to think about... her school stuff, lunch, getting ready in time etc etc. in her mind the kiddos (even me sometimes) are still too young to handle stuff on their own, so she always have to be there to make sure everythings ok. i know she'll worry no matter what i say, and if staying home in her place makes her feel better, so be it. i want her to socialize, go out more, meet up with her old friends. that way she gets to loosen up, enjoy herself and be less affected by the little things that seem to bug her.

AH and me, we had fun lol. after a heavy nasi lemak lauk ayam goreng/kerang/sambal sotong breakfast, we dropped by the hairdressers and had her hair cut short, really short, with bangs and options to spike it up in a punkish kinda way when the need arise. the weather's been a bit hot & humid lately and AH's longish hair was getting to smell a wee bit everytime she took off her tudung, so it was probably a good time to try something else.

I thought it was a great idea, and hair does grow back if it didnt really work out for her. it did turn out rather ok although the hairdresser shouldnt have made it that boyish!! its taken years off her (comel sangat) but of course she now thinks she looks like 'kanak2 riang'. so to sorta stay with the punkish look instead, AH decided to colour her hair purple which we did right after school (but it isnt as bad as it sounds since its a DIY thing and theres no bleaching involved). the purplish hue kinda suits her as well as the new 'tulang ikan' earring... thank god she didnt go for the skull & bone thing. it would've been a bit much and i'd have to say no lol.

Abe obligingly picked AF up from the jalan duta bus terminal right after work so that i could concentrate on cooking a 'good last dinner' before ramadhan. but AF's bus was a little late and we didnt make it to the 1st tarawikh at the surau. and the 1st sahur? i already had that covered... i'd bought enough telor masin to feed an army lol (one of the staples for Abe's sahur).

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With mak on her date, AH at school and AI at tuition, i managed to sneak in a little pounding time for me at the KSAS gym.

** Treadmill Log **

Time: 40 mins
Speed: avg 8- 8.5 km/hr
Incline: 1
Distance: 5 km
Calories burned: 370 kj

A beautiful start.

I love it when it rains and you wake up to a fresh, clear, beautiful morning !!!!

Cant help but feel rejuvenated as you gulp in lungful after lungful of cool air. its as close as one can get to clean, fresh air here in Klang valley, and i certainly wasnt going to waste it. bundled up a change of clothes, put on my running gear, hustled AI over to school as fast as i could and made my way to the tasik :)

It was a great run and a beautiful start to my day. didnt matter how it turned out after that.

Thank God for small mercies.

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** Running Log **

1 lap= 4km= 30 mins

Sunday at home.

The usual.

Abe's already out of the house. with 2 tourneys back to back, he has nothing but golf on his mind. and with ramadhan fast approaching and turkmenistan looming ahead, he's in a frenzy of golf, golf and more golf. *sigh* hasnt it sunk in yet that his friends are not the only ones who's gonna be missing him!?!

The kids usually sleep in, mak wont be coming out of her room till much later and i have my morning run before stopping over at the wet market to stock up for the week. and then theres the chores.

Sometimes the sunshine is a little harder to make.

But theres always the books... just lose oneself in the books. it never fails.

I can see guilt in his eyes but he needs the golf to get the stress & tension out of his system. i'm thinking better golf than wine & women but sometimes it gets a little too much. even with the cash vouchers, the airpot (latest achievement) and the dinner we had last nite (japanese again since i let the kids choose even though it was to celebrate the 'successful' completion of my 1oK run the other day), i still feel bereft. is it wrong to wanna have more time spent with him?

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** Running Log **

1 lap plus = about 5 km= 40 mins.

Mykad

Mak's the last one to have her mykad done but we finally did it thank god.

She wanted us to go through the whole process first so that we'd know what we were doing when it was her turn (she also actually hates going out with the whole brood) but things had somehow gotten worst this year when everyone else have started to realise, the year's gonna end soon!! so its the usual mad rush and the pendaftaran office at shah alam mall is always overcrowded. mak has kept postponing and i've started to wonder if we'll ever make the dateline.

Until a friend told me the crowd isnt too bad on saturdays. which surprised me coz i thought it'd be close since the govt announced the 5 day work week. hmmm.. goes to show how little i know of such things (and kinda reinforce the katak bawah tempurung persona that i am lol). my plan was to get the running number for mak first before returning home for her. and true enough when i got there at 7.30 am the lobby was still dark and there was just another chinese guy there reading a novel (there was a seating area of sorts at the back and the area was lighted). we got to talk and he told me he was there to pick up his mykad and when he heard about mak, he suggested i might as well go back and get her since there wasnt likely to be a crowd just yet and i did live a stone's throw away. he also pointed out there was a special counter for warga emas, a fact that i completely forgot about !!!

Well, off i went tra-lala-lala but i didnt bank on mak having to go to the loo 3 times before we could actually leave the house and by then there was already 2 long lines!!! where did all those people spring from!!!! but i got mak a seat at the back and got in line anyway... and if not for the warga emas thing it would have taken a whole morning. instead she was the first one at the special counter and we were out of the place by 8.30 am. thank you god :)

2 months till pick up time. Have you gotten your mykad yet?