38/52

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

Rumi: Hates spelling but more interested in maths. YAY FUTURE FUND MANAGER.

Emre: Can sing a full Negaraku song. Kinda amusing!

Additional food post in Bali!

One last round of nasi ayam nearer to our hotel in Ubud.

What this is, is debatable. Mama and I used to fry chicken skin but this dish here also had hard ones to bite so I have no idea what I ate. Heh. 

Food in Bali

Let's talk food jom? When it comes to food in Bali, safest bet is nasi padang, because there is NO pork element in their dishes. Halal restaurants can be misleading, because whilst the protein is halal, there are also pork dishes in their menu! Food in hotel, tawakal saja, because they normally label their pork items. On someone's IG post, ada ustazah instagram said you can eat at a place that serve pork, as long as they wash their utensils thoroughly. Really ah? My principal is simple, if was-was, don't eat.  

Was introduced to 'nasi ayam' by our supir. White rice with 4 different chicken dishes. Spicy as hell but good! 

Nasi goreng Indonesia for breakfast at Kenanga Boutique Hotel. It was so good I ate it for 2 days straight!

Banana pancake served with maple syrup & coconut. Trivia: Bananas are mostly imported from states nearby as most of the time they are used as religious offerings. If you stay in Mercure, Kuta, ask for chocolate pancake. Ohhhh yum.

Nasi goreng Indonesia again. Told ya.

My husband has a knack of trying new drinks whenever he travels. This, is a good discovery. 

My delicious dark choco latte at Anomali Cafe, Ubud. Come to think of it, Anomali has that Artisan Cafe vibe. Hmm, who's imitating who I wonder.

Not a big fan.

Next up: Food in Kuantan. 

rejuvenate

So happy that I finally get to share the beauty of Bali with the husband! If it wasn't for the BII Maybank Bali Marathon 2014, god knows when will I be able to drag him to this slice of heaven that I keep coming back to. The Bali I knew 6 years ago has changed so much but the kindness of the Balinese is something that has not changed. 

We didn't encounter many problems throughout the trip - because every single glitch had its own silver lining. Flight got delayed - but we ended up getting a hotel upgrade to a 5 star hotel (thanks Agoda!). Got lost on foot for half an hour trying to look for a restaurant recommended by The Guardian - but we settled for a much cheaper much tastier restaurant. Thought we ran our of money - only to find that my money has doubled in my wallet - which until now has left me baffled. Magic!

Can't wait to go back next year, hopefully with the kids and me running my first marathon outside Malaysia. Fingers crossed!

The view from Pullman Bali Legian Nirwana, Kuta.

Loving the art exhibition at the hotel.

Marathon man.

Uluwatu. My first time here.

Some random temple in Ubud.

Anomali Cafe! Love the coffee here. We also tried the coffee luwak in Gianyar - I GET WHAT THE FUSS IS ALL ABOUT NOW.

Kenanga Boutique Hotel in Ubud. A picture of calm and peace.

* Photos here are from my LX5. More photos from the iPhone soon. 

Call these brothers if you're looking for knowledgeable and friendly guides:

+62 812 36714275 - Ngurah

+62 813 37911478 - Made' Roy 

+62 813 38668693 - Komang Ari

Cheap taxi from Ubud to Ngurah Rai airport:

+62 819 99245666 - Yudi

tatsmato

When my colleague / bff at work asked if I'd accompany her to get her first tattoo of course I said yes! I wouldn't miss it for the world. After years of watching Miami Ink, fangirling over Kat Von D and drooling over tatts on friends, celebs and strangers, this is a must go.

Pink Tattoos is located over at Bangsar (love the decor!), and her tattooist on that day was Jason Hanna. I must say I was pretty impressed with his artwork. My colleague said the pain was bearable, it only hurts so bad when the needle starts piercing your skin and when the needle hit your skin whenever new ink is replaced. Like red ants biting your skin, she said. That can't be so bad I thought. Post-ink pain was a bitch though. But a day later she's feeling all fine and no more pain! Better start thinking of your next tattoo, I tell her.

No photos of her tattoo for now. Nobody wants to see a fresh tatt when it's all red and sore y'all.

#yolo

Reading a mutual friend's blow-by-blow account of his cardiac arrest. That asshat* is 34, and probably smokes a thousand sticks. It's amazing how he managed to identify it as a heart attack (either that or a nasty heartburn like the ones I used to get when I was pregnant). He went home, took a shower first, then asked his neighbor for help.

One of my biggest fear is dying of a sudden heart attack, because my father passed away that way. Well, it used to be the fear of dying alone, but no more. My point is, I don't want to die the way my father did, because I never got my closure, there were so many unresolved matters and unanswered questions etc etc. Let's not delve any deeper into this. Life is too short to be worrying about how you will exit the world.

Feel better soon, Amir Hafizi. If I see you with a ciggie, imma gonna kick yer ass. Just watch me.

Good night!

On another note, my bestie at the office is getting her first tattoo tomorrow! And I'm gonna be there with her! Hope I don't faint. ;p

* Although I call him an asshat, he has a good heart. OK MAYBE NOT, IRONIC MUCH.

tag! you're it!

I've been challenged by my bosom buddy Jem Hologram (gedik betul) to list 10 books that have stayed with me in some way and tag people to do the same. Rules : Don't take more than a few minutes and do not think too hard. They don't have to be the right books or great works of literature. Just ones that have affected you in some way. Then tag 10 friends including me so I can see your list.

1. Siddharta - Hermann Hesse
2. Julie and Julia - Julie Powell 
3. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
4. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
5. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (wait does this make up 3 books already)
6. The Vampire Lestat - Anne Rice
7. The Sorrows of Young Werther - Goethe
8. Anne of Green Gables - Lucy Maud Montgomery
9. Ex Libris - Anne Fadiman
10. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

Y'all tagged in spirit! I go to bed now.

hump day

My positivity lasted until this morning because some douchebag gave me the middle finger on the road. I was at the traffic light but the dude behind me kept honking me, pestering me to inch ahead further so that he can exit left. dude, first of all, if i ke depan any further i would be kissing the car ahead of me. second, the traffic light won't take that long. third, no need to marah2 please, we are all heading somewhere, and your 15 second wait behind  me won't make your life any better. 

but thanks for the middle finger anyways, because road rage is everywhere and from my observation, melayu has the shortest temper when it comes to driving. nasib la bro, your middle finger means nothing to me. i pray for your good health, because i'm sure your blood pressure went up a few notches today. 

masuk office, greeted by so many emails and one of them is an email questioning the credibility of my new staff. kasi chance lah please, she's only been here less than 2 months. It took me close to a year to master whatever shit dumped on my plate now. as her boss i feel rather shitty about this but i just tell her: you got to live and learn (a mantra for myself too).

i'm home with the screaming boys now and made myself a big bowl of maggi. the giant maggi ayam is tasteless but at least i am home. i wish life would allow me to deal with one shit at a time. but today was definitely a good test for me. 

good night.

Monday

I guess positivity does go a long way. Started my day with positive thoughts albeit the usual sharp pain in my right foot because over the weekend my director rejected my ad copy, compliance was breathing down my neck, my CEO getting agitated over her conference next month, another CEO hated his caricature in a Dubai publication, 8 years worth of junk needed sorting before the big move, god the list seems to grow longer everytime I check my emails. 

But I'm a firm advocate of one day at a time mantra and thankfully enough I didn't have a panic attack throughout the day. Sure, I didn't get to finish all my tasks but what's needed to be done was done. Wait why do I sound like writing my kpi?

So more positive thoughts ahead yuk!

Pic: That was my Friday lunch from Aunty Nat's. 

32/52

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

Rumi: He said he is cool with having another sibling. What if it's another boy, I asked him. "Takpelah Ibu", he said.

Emre: He burps so much! How old is he again? ;p

Leaving

Goodbye PBD

Starting work in a new building in September. Despite having a building to ourselves, staffs are agitated over the smaller workspace (oh the irony of it all) and safety of our parking lots. My only pet gripe is that the lack of places to eat! Actually there's nothing to eat at all at the new building so I guess I either have to pack my lunch, eat out or diet. Haaaaaaa.

Foot trouble is still a hindrance to everything. There's like a tag team of its own in my right foot - today, the heel will hurt, the next 2 days my calf will ache and so forth. I just don't know what to do anymore. :(

31/52

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

Rumi: This is how I picture him in years to come, as an artist (not a starving one I hope). But I'm secretly glad when chose the picture of him in a pilot suit. 

Emre: I can't imagine him in school next year. Always the life of the party.

just sayin'

I'm too lazy to correct my own grammar.
I do that for a living. I think I am allowed to make few mistakes once in a while.

first buffet out

Had buka puasa buffet at seri keningau resto, plaza masalam just now. food is pretty good. good wholesome melayu food i must say. i may not be the biggest fan of buffets but sekali sekala okaylah.

you might want to check out 'air akuarium' there. it's a concoction of daun pudina, asam boi, timun, nata de coco, laici.longan, pineapple and lemon. don't let the ingredients fool you because it's pretty sweet. me like!

on another note, i am growing tired of work. hence i am tired too of current affairs and choose to remain silent over the current tragedies that has befallen our dear country and gaza. let the keyboard warriors be warriors, let the shallow artis2 malaysia do their thang, go on please, do bicker. 

another observation: 

It's amazing how tragedies bring out the worst ustaz and ustazah in everyone.

:/

i can barely open my eyes now. long day tomorrow.

Reunions

This post has nothing to do with the baju above. Spotted it in Ampang Park over the weekend. Would love to see someone wear it uols!

Today I was added to a former high school's whatsapp group. I was reluctant at first, mainly because:

• I only went to the all-gurls-mostly-rich-kids school when I was in Form 1 to Form 2. Back then I was the chubby kid, often mistaken as pengkid because of my super short hair;
• I had one bestfriend, who was equally middle-class like me and we've kept in touch until now;
• The group admin turns out to be friends with my SIL (small world, she came over to my MIL's house last year and recognized me immediately).

I didn't want to be rude and leave the group (because some of them remembered me) so I only said a polite hello, remember me greeting and kept quiet since. I know all of us have changed since. I have the slightest interest in getting to know them better now perhaps I've always been the type who would make friends - place complete trust in them - become fiercely loyal to friends - heart gets broken when friends betray me - sort of person.

I'll probably stay in the group for the sake of I don't know, in case I can get useful tips from them or something. *shrugs*

So how many whatsapp groups do you guys belong to? Here's mine:

• The Paydays: with colleagues that I often hang-out with. We try to do dinner on a monthly basis (weekly basis is a bit too costly for us lol)
• The Kinky Forum: me and 3 other close besties from uni
• The Band BENdits: friends from uni - the go-to group for cooking/medical advices!
• We are ONE: my k-pop buddies!
• Ad veritatem: the aforementioned high school group
• Hommies: a group of 5 ex-colleagues (same industry)
• Minions: a group of super close colleagues
• Mama: a group of me and my siblings
• NYC: a group of me, the hubs & SILs
• EUB team: almost defunct team of my universal banking days
• Lunch groupie: lunch gossip folks

That's it I suppose. 2-3 groups are no longer active I might as well exit the group or something.

And I wonder why my battery runs out of juice like crazy...

cooking anxiety

Oh man, my sister and her family are coming over for buka this Sunday and I'm getting nervous! I'm not very good at cooking for more than 4 people and I don't have enough cookingwares for any makan-makan session. My sister said she will bring one dish (well at least that's what I heard she said) and to quote her: "as long as ada nasi pun cukup". Hehe.

So here's what I have in mind for Sunday:

1.    Ikan masin goreng (sudah sedia ada dalam freezer)

2.    Karipap goreng (sudah sedia ada dalam freezer)

3.    Sambal hijau meletop (will google, I swear I saw it somewhere)

4.    Fried chicken (or else my nephew won't eat anything)

5.    Telur bistik that I made the other day

6.    Some sotong recipe I saw

OMG I DON'T HAVE A MAIN DISH!

Other than that I'm not even sure I get to do everything in time or not….. Wish me luck!

​

?/52

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

(I'm sorry I lost track of the 52 Project!)

Emre: Budak semput. Hope he'll feel better soon.

Rumi: Addicted to High-5. Aren't all kids? But my kid makes me video him dancing to High-5 every.single.night. -_-

jalan tar

We braved Jalan TAR today (yes alongwith millions of others looking for cheap bargains).
But who am I kidding, Jalan TAR is MADNESS.
Masuk Sogo, oh don't even get me started. We ended buying the kids' stuff at Uniqlo because it was the only space in Sogo where I can actually breathe and not lose my kids. :/

My bestfriend wanted kain telekung so bought one for her after dodging all those colorful/neon kain telekung(s). No offense but I don't want to spend my quiet time with God looking like a My Little Pony. I'm just old-fashioned that way, hmmkay.

That is all for today. Heading out again for the best chicken chop in Ampang. Whoever can guess where it is will get a free book  from me. Contest ends on Tuesday! 

that 7pm drama

Future plan:
Write a novel with a ridiculous plot. In BM.
Get the novel turned into a 7pm drama for tv3.

Still can't get over how ridiculous the Mr. Arrogant drama was. ;p
The current one showing with nadia aqilah constantly contemplating how to ruin her sister's life (eh sister ke?) is bearable but seriously 2 super rich brothers falling for a plain Jane is enough to make me pull my hair. I'm sorry but this shit doesn't happen in real life, sista. 

and it's amazing how these characters keep bumping into each other in town. Excuse me I thought KL is huge but the protagonist bumping into her cinta hati everywhere is borderline mengarut.

Ahh, the power of 7pm dramas!

itz a miracle!

​Just when I thought my right foot is a gone case, this week after urutan power yang percuma from my husband, I had lesser pain. In fact, it's minimal pain now as we speak and I am no longer limping! This means I can save money from seeing the physiotherapist and hopefully by August I'll be fine and dandy again. Yezzuh!

#ootd

Part-time job at the office. Taking OOTD shots for my colleague. Heh.

;p

in the news

Quite distraught to read about the 17 year old boy who died after his dad beat him up with a stick. All he wanted to do was help the family so that his 9 siblings can have better things to eat. Now there are 9 siblings and one mother with no source of income and nothing to eat. If anything this is the time for the Gov or MP to extend help to this family. Such a terrible tragedy. 

Then having to read about Linda Rafar losing her second son to cancer... Rasa macam hancur luluh hati ni over and over again. Arwah Danial was like arwah Memen too, hardly sick and before we know it we had to bid goodbye to our beloved Danial. God definitely had better plans for these kids. :(

chicken fillet with yogurt

Resep taken from Nestle's website.

Ingredients

Ingredient A

• 2 teaspoons Chilli Flakes
•  Pepper to taste
• 300 g Chicken Fillet
• 2 tablespoons Corn Oil (I used olive oil)
• 2 teaspoons Oregano
• 3 tablespoonsNESTLÉ Natural Set Yogurt
• 2 teaspoonsMAGGI CUKUP RASA (I used chicken stock instead)

Ingredient B

• 2 no Garlic
• 1 no Red Onion
• 1 tablespoon Corn Oil (I used olive oil)
• 100 g Mushrooms, finely chopped

Ingredient C (mix together)

• 60 gNESTLÉ Natural Set Yogurt
• 30 gMAGGI Cream of Mushroom, mix with 400ml Water

1. Mix in NESTLÉ Natural Set Yogurt together with oregano, chilli flakes and pepper in a bowl. Add in the chicken fillet to marinade for 30 mins.
2. Heat up the oil in and pan fry the chicken fillet for 3-5 mins on each side. Scoop the cooked fillet on a plate and pour the remaining gravy on the chicken as well.
3. Pan fry ingredient B and add in the ingredient C to boil.
4. Once done, pour on the cooked chicken fillet.

Siap! Can hardly taste the yogurt though. Taste like grilled chicken. 

Telur bungkus/terbuka/terdedah!

Earlier today I keep telling my husband that I'm making telur bungkus. Well it's not. Apparently it's telur bistik gitu. Recipe lifted off from mat gebu of tiffinbiru.com fame. Altered by me, because I don't have all the ingredients. Typical.

The ingredients:

1/3 cawan daging cincang

1 biji bawang besar, didadu

2 ulas bawang putih, cincang halus

1/2 inci halia, cincang halus

1 biji cili padi, cincang halus

1 camca besar sos tiram

1 camca besar sos tomato

1 1/2 camca besar sos cili

Sedikit air

2 telur, dipukul sedikit

1 camca besar mayonnaise

Sedikit serbuk lada hitam

This is how you do it!

1. Panaskan mintak dalam kuali. Tumis bawang besar, bawang putih, cili padi dan halia hingga harum, masukkan sos tiram dan kacau rata. Tambah daging cincang. Kacau rata dan tuang sedikit air. Masak sekejap. 
2. Masuk sos cili dan sos tomato, kacau rata masak dengan api kecil hingga pekat. Gaul rata dan matikan api. Ketepikan.
3. Satukan telur dengan mayonnaise dan serbuk lada hitam. Kacau rata dengan whisk. Panaskan non-stick pan bersaiz 8 atau 9 inci dengan sedikit minyak. Kemudian anda goreng dadar telur tadi hingga masak dan keemasan. Alih ke dalam pinggan sesuai.
4. Tuang no. 2 atas telur dadar tadi dan ratakan.  

Siap!

I don't know how it tastes like tbh, but it looks good. haha. Husband said it's good. Wait, was he referring to the daging masak sos tiram I made... Ate too much murtabak Kinrara and drank air kedondon by the gallons for buka today. Yum!

Rindu Mama. Time2 Ramadan ni jiwa kacau sikit, hati mudah tersentuh, maklumlah first year puasa tanpa Mama. :/

Bye June

Selamat berpuasa everyone. Day 1 iftar at my sister's and Day 2 at my MIL's. Diet kaput for both!

June recap: recovery, food indulgence, self-indulgence (books and online shopping what else) and catching up with friends.

puasa agenda

So I'm thinking, for puasa this year, I shall refrain from eating rice for buka and only eat rice if it's nasi dagang. In this case, I'll probably eat nasi dagang every freaking day! heheh. -_-

Anyways, below is the chicken garlic something2 from Chilli's new menu. Great for sharing, ya know, in case the delicious mashed potato (sprinkled with beef bits) is making you feel guilty about your calorie intake. This was my Friday dinner, with Serene-Na. 

And this was my Friday lunch, with my sushi-kaki(s) at Rakuzen. Couldn't even finish it. Chicken and egg on top, with rice at the bottom. I must say Sushi Zanmai is still my favorite sushi place.

By the way, my Chinese colleagues said you must not leave your chopsticks upright like this when eating, something to do about their prayer I think. Ah, you learn something new everyday!

Right. Happy Sunday. Off to my bff's house in a bit for lunch at Pizza Uno. Ravioli, here I come!

hiatus.

plantar fasciitis

Just a minor setback. *dust self off and try again*

take a back seat

Running on hold. Need to fix my achilles tendon first (I have been limping for days).

FML. Seriously, FML.

c o n d e s c E N D I N G

Last resort

Since losing my trainer and struggling with the absurdities that most of us call "work", I've been feeling blah. With the husband gearing up for his first full marathon in Bali, I'm like oh fuck this, let's run. Signed up for the energizer nite run and standard chartered run (5k distance first bitchplease) and felt slightly proud of myself albeit a) I don't run b) I love eating c) constant time-constraint. I supposed this is my last resort to shed some pounds. But of course my super fit husband just had to remind me that jaga makan is equally important. Sentap mak tau! 

His way, my way, your way. We all have our own different ways to do things and same goes to keeping our health in check (was so relieved to find out that my cholesterol level is normal in a recent blood test). So here's to second chance, and more sweat and tears along the way. 

Cheers!

bye May

`

Home, with diarrhea. Ugh. 

20/52

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

Emre: Don't know how to make it easier for him to take his medicine. Bribing with Milo and Pringles may work at times.

Rumi: His teacher said he is a quiet boy in class. Obedient. Mendengar kata. Hmmm not the same kid I have to deal with at home haha.

alas. some updates.

• My husband had conjunctivitis for the past 2 weeks and now he has infected me with it! It is unavoidable I guess, eventhough we have tried our best to keep everything sanitized etc. Bummer. Well at least we have a massive supply of eye drops and ointments now haha. Praying that this eye sore will not infect my kids. It will only bring tears I tell ya.
• May looks like an activities-filled weekends type of month. Except for this weekend I guess, I'm staying in with another good book and hope to visit Mama. It's been a while. I miss her terribly. Mother's Day is coming up. It has been an important annual occasion for my arwah Mama. It's just so hard to ignore those Mother's Day ads and offers.
• Hanya kau & hip-hop. The other day a radio station played Malique (feat Najwa) Jangan Kau Bimbang Sayang and I haven't stopped listening to it since. 
• Said goodbye to Master Pok, who's leaving for Melbourne in June to further his studies for 3 years. Who's gonna crack my spine now and nag me about eating healthy?! Not too keen about finding a replacement but will probably decide later.