bah besar

Feeling all kinds of terrible. There are times we pray for rain, but this is the time for us to pray for the rain to stop.

My families in Kelantan are okay, but as of this morning, they are surrounded by water, which means there is no way out should the flood hit them. 

Praying for better days.

#kti7d

So excited to have this in hand! Always loved Mimi Mashud's illustration. Published by Komik Maple, Kuala Terengganu in 7 Days not only serves as a good travelogue but her illustrations are pretty! Definitely a good buy - it also makes a good gift!

Harap2 there will be a travelogue on Kelantan!

Lama gila tak guna the term 'manih leting'. Just realised that their slang is almost similar to Kelantanese. :)

Anyways, if you're interested to buy, just email me at natinski [at] gmail [dot] com.
RM25 + RM5 for postage. So cheap and support local artists uols!

xoxo.

Bookish

I'm home early today. 
My tooth was hurting for days and it led to migraine and I just can't afford to be sick or whine about headaches in December. My KPI is hanging on dear life in December! So with great reluctance I surrendered myself to the family dentist.

My tooth is still buzzing but I think I should feel better soon. I trust Dr. d1ni she never lie! She also gave me an earful for not seeing her the past year because "your husband, no matter how busy he is, makes time for the dentist". Pfftth. Fine, see you again in 6 months time okay.

Anyways, my husband went to Black Bag Wolf (wait, what does BBW stand for again) and I made him buy these EXO badges. MWAHAHAHAHAHA. I have nothing against BBW - but like what i read on instagram - BBW arrives then suddenly everybody is a reader. Not a bad thing I suppose but I've never been to BBW and probably never will. I like my books pristine and I'd rather go to a bookshop because I either know what I want or it's easier to explore things. But that's just me.

Bukan dibeli di BBW. 
But everytime I see a dodgy book like this my heart aches with desire to write a crappy book and turn it into a novella. A tour de force drama tv3!

Oh well, saranghaeyo!

47/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Emre: Loves everything chicken and pizza.
Rumi: World-class actor!

Sweater swelter

Currently reading this book. Totally blaming my lack of attention span on ridiculous workload and terrible time management. The dreaded KPI session went by like a weird dream, with my superiors telling me I'm doing great. Like, seriously?

Lingering in mind: If I'm an asset to the company, then why does my salary screams otherwise?

School is out

School is out for Idris Rumi! Hmmm, what to do what to do.

Rainmaker

The minute I say I want to go out for a run it rains. So yeah, if in need of rain, just let me know.

Nasi Ganja

I don't get what the fuss is all about. Do you? But I guess the combination of thick curries, chicken and salted egg worked. Think I'll just stick to nasi beriani.

But this roti bakar, now that's another story. I have never seen (or eaten) anything like this. The toasted bread was so soft it literally melts in your mouth. Throw some homemade kaya and butter in the mix and boom! Heaven in your mouth.

It was so good I ate two pairs. Now this is something worth coming back to Ipoh for.

Motherhood 101

I get really bored when my kids are asleep. 

46/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Is it the 46th week already? 

Rumi: He sat quietly pretending to read a book while Adik threw a hissy fit at Chowrasta.

Emre: Clearly the word "sharing" is not in his vocabulary.

Re

Everytime I feel like updating this blog - via the cranky ol' Mac the internet dies on me. Sigh. 

I don't really enjoy typing on the mobile because I'm anal about the font type, size of photo, the works. 

A full day at work today after spending the weekend in Penang - I am now missing being on the road again albeit almost losing my mind because the boys won't stop fighting. Oh well. Maybe after the award season. Wish me luck. 

45/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Emre: Currently potty-training himself, thanks to Abang Rumi.
Rumi: Our nightly rituals lately is strategizing on how to kill zombies.

lunch today

I had a good lunch at Ben's today. Good coffee. Good dessert. Good waiter.

The entire time I kept thinking, the owner had a carousel and synchronized swimming and errthing at his wedding. Oh well.

missing kota bharu

Sometimes when thinking about the next holiday, I keep forgetting about flying back to Kota Bharu. Soon, soon.

Some of my favorite places for Kelantanese food:

1. Gerai kueh in Kg Bharu. It's somewhere opposite Nasi Lemak Mak Wanjor.
2. Tuu Dok Ko (sp) in Taman Samudera, Gombak. Opposite Yu Vin mart. 
3. One of the gerai(s) in Taman Kinrara (opposite kedai mamak at BK 5)

44/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Emre: I didn't get the memo about the Tantrum Three phase.

Rumi: Ran 100 meters. Complained the entire 3 kilometers. ;p

no photos in my phone

Well this is odd. this week i barely took any photos except shots of my colleague in dresses for our jazz-themed annual dinner this month. and a boring shot of my mee goreng mamak (MGM) from WiP. ah yes, nothing beats an overpriced MGM at a fancy place! but it was really good. besides, where can i find awesome MGM these days?

Estilo @ Publika

So much for wanting to save money! But it was our sweet Maxine's birthday and since we've never been to Estilo before, so why the hell not. The tapas are great! And although I'm not a big fan of paella, their seafood paella was very well flavored and delicious.

Wish list

TGIF! Was looking for a gift for my sister but I just had to swing by Selberan. Always wanted to check out their songket collection and boom, I'M IN LVOE WITH THIS.
The locket retails at 3k++ and the chain is 1k++. Gah! Money y u no grow on trees?!?

Aaaaaaand Fossil just had to come up with robot&rocket collection arghhhhh *kicks self in the shin*.

Have a good weekend. 

Wednesday comfort

Wednesday comfort. We were all stressed out with the outcome of the department meeting today.

43/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Emre: Abang's faithful accomplice.

Rumi: The dark side. Heheh.

inari soft shell crab at sushi zanmai

The first thing I'll order when at Sushi Zanmai. 

dream list

Oh just sharing some stuff on my wish list.

Saw this in-flight to DPS.

Every girl has her own dream bag. This is mine, for the month. ;p

some meal I had

DV Ristorante Pizzeria @ Bukit Damansara is one of my favorite go-to places if I'm craving for some authentic Italian food. Besides, I think their set lunch is a bargain - at MYR25 you'll get main dish, soup of the day, ice lemon tea and dessert. A steal! 

But this chicken ugh, a disappointment. The chicken is not fresh at all and it was such a let-down. Sigh. 

42/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Rumi: He said "thank you my dear" when I agreed to make him Maggi.

Emre: Asks for permission when he wants to mess up his toys.

China Treasures

Ah yes, my inglorious days of eating out are numbered, ladies and gents.

The minute I get my new baby (of the 4 wheels kind) I'll be eating out of maggi cups just watch me!

So last Monday, we celebrate my colleague's belated birthday at one of our favorite dim sum place at Sime Darby Convention Centre. I let my colleagues do the ordering because as long there's chicken in my food I'm game. And boy did we eat! All-you-can-eat buffet is the mother of all evils. I kid you not.

On to the food photos.

Y'all see the salted egg yolk right thurr? Heaven.

Prawn inside. Yup. and yum.

My new found love: steamed buttered & salted egg yolk bamboo charcoal bun

Can't wait to go back for this. If only they don't cost so much!

Note: All photos were taken by my colleague, except for the last one. Happy Diwali!

Office folks

Finally bought miserable plants for my miserable view. Well my colleague picked them out for me because I was too lazy to go out last Friday.

Planning for a trip to the hair salon for my long-overdue hair treatment is as tedious as hitting the gym is as tedious as planning for a short break on my birthday next year is as tedious as updating my CV is as tedious as clearing out the kids' closet is as tedious as updating the iOS. Throw procrastination in the mix and boom! { s t a g n a n t l i f e }

Kenanga Boutique Hotel Ubud

Now, finding in Ubud was a problem for me because while I (thought) I knew Kuta at the back of my hand, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to Ubud.

And here's a little confession: I am terrified of paddy fields. And most hotels in Ubud are surrounded by them.

I am trying to recall a movie, not sure whether it was a Malay or Indo movie, but I remember at the ending of the movie, the father was so angry at his kids that he 'threw' his kids upward into the sky. It was set in a paddy field and I'm sure it's not some figment of my imagination! I suspect it's that Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan movie but googling can only do so much and I couldn't find any reference to it. Perhaps I should try reading the book. But I'm not even sure if this is the movie or some B-grade indo movie damnit!

Watched a lot of movie hantu from Indonesia when I was a kid. My dad (bless his soul) has been an avid fan of Indo movies back then.

But I digress.

Best option to find a hotel? Tripadvisor it. So when I saw Kenanga Boutique Hotel ranked at Top 15 in Ubud, I'm sold. Time was running out anyway. Albeit the paddy field surrounding the hotel, I must say it was pretty cool to stay there. No noise, great food, free charter to Ubud (7 minutes away from the hotel) and despite my eternal loathing for the fields, we managed to go for a short run in the morning and the staff was nice. We couldn't check out late because the room that we stayed in was a tourist favorite but they were kind enough to provide a room for my marathon man to shower (he clocked in 5:47 for 42 km).

Room starts at MYR400++. Definitely coming back. Well, at least that's what my husband said to the receptionist. Heheh.

Mind run

My husband is right. Without proper training I might not survive the StanChart race this Sunday. I haven't been eating right, haven't been exercising... I don't even want to think about how much I weigh these days. 

In the meantime, this week I need to study study study. Industry exam on Saturday. I hate calculations!!! Die. 

40/52

 "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Emre: Says thank you to us everysingletime.

Rumi: Took center stage during his first school concert! I was so shocked! I mean his teacher said he's a shy boy and to see him on stage, full of confidence.. wow, just wow.

39/52

 "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Emre: This is his Chucky face.

Rumi: Sensitive. Perhaps he should be a child actor.