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. 

that pizza that brought me back...

... to Jefferson Elementary School, DeKalb, Illinois. I was in Grade 4 then, I was that weird Asian kid with ripped jeans (who knew it would still be in fashion now!) and pink batik Bata sneakers. 

The basic pizza over at Mikey's Original New York Pizza is pretty okay. I don't have many qualms about it. The dough was crunchy enough, the cheese is about right and one slice is big enough to make you feel just about full, which means there is still room for some Korean coffee at Coffea Coffee just across the road. 

3 sekawan

With a hashtag #stufffoundinmyphone. :)

16/52

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

Emre: Non-stop chatter box.

Rumi: Had his first sports day today. I wanted to cry my baby is so big and brave already! (also, I should let him experience riding a real horse soon)

back to square one

​Went to the gym yesterday, after so long. The pretty salesgirl had her arms on hips – "where have you been?" The front desk guy gave a smile and said "lama tak nampak" and my trainer, ah my sarcastic trainer said to another client "here she is, my long-lost client". -_-

It's not like I don't want to work-out anymore but work has been eating me up alive ya know? << every lazy fat ass' excuse. And since I got back from my Umrah I've been eating and eating (because being away from Malaysia makes you miss everything about the food here) and I am still belanja-ing people for the past 2 weeks to celebrate my promotion. Hee hee.

Besides, I've signed up for the Company's The Biggest Loser Challenge again (this is my third year participating hoi) and the Company has been generous enough to plan activities for us from badminton to yoga to kick-boxing to weekly jogging around Bukit Damansara which is very challenging because the urge to steer away from the route and just lepak at the restaurants along the route is VERY HIGH.

Oh well, wish me luck.

 

 

 

15/52

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

Emre: Professional gold digger.

Rumi: He has a Minecraft construction handbook now. This boy better be an architect when he grows up. 

Mommy monsta

At TGIF today a mother at the next table struggles to keep her girl quiet. The girl was clearly upset about something, and was throwing a terrible tantrum. The mother looked at me apologetically probably worried that her girl's behavior would interrupt our lunch. I gave her a wry smile, telepathically telling her it's okay I feel you! 

Moments later she growled at her daughter and somehow the girl quieted down. Great! Let's eat in peace! So I thought. 

Until my boys decided to throw their own glorious tantrum...

So much for eating in peace haha. 

14/52

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

Emre: Oh your tantrums. 

Rumi: Finally going to school tomorrow after 3 weeks! 

Flu free.

Hurrah hurrah we are free from the flu. Hope it doesn't come back. Ever. Ever ever. 

Just the 1:30am brain talking

I just wanted to hear him say he loves me. Is that too much to ask?!

A colleague lamented. Mind you she has been married for close to 20 years and is one of the happiest smug married couple I know. 

But I guess love works in mysterious ways. She craves for his verbal affirmation, although you know that he loves her more than life itself. I guess by the end of the day you have to make do with what you have. For the lack of a better word, bersyukurlah. 

It's been a trying week. Both the dad and the Rumi tested positive for Influenza A, which explains the terrible flu-fever-cough-fatigue symptoms they experienced. I only came back to work on Wednesday, with oh, just a couple of hundreds of emails to clear. It's amazing how I manage to drive to work in the morning this week with eyes half open and mind clearly thinking of soft pillows and a warm blanket. 

Still unsure with what to do with my bonus. Fix the car a bit. Go on a holiday. Invest. Invest some more. ASB2 is open for subscription and private retirement scheme needs topping up. On the other hand, the irrational side of my brain is chanting invest invest invest in a nice handbag, your deserve it (although your man will never understand it). The same chant I hear every March lol. 

A picture of my little Olaf. These days he is Russell from Up. Either way he is getting warm hugs every single day. 

xoxo

goodbye march

March round-up: gift from mumsy | some Arab-wannabe kid | same kid | bowling night with the crays | mosque | addictive ice-cream in Makkah | some kid with face mask 24/7 | Krisby Krim | some kid's ootd

As expected, we all came back from umrah like sick cows (no wait, I'm not sure how sick cows look like). Rumi started having high fever while in Abu Dhabi en route to Jeddah (in which a kind Arab woman came to ask  if we needed any help while we were frantically sponging him) and coughed the entire flight from Jeddah to KL (aaaand he is still coughing). Emre had pinkeye half of the time in Makkah (because he was allergic to dust and air pollutants); I was jet-lagged and my husband is currently down with super high fever. 

Sickness aside, I can safely say that our trip went well. Every imperfections that we encountered during the trip will be kept to ourselves, and when I find the time I will try to talk about my experience. Madinah was a God-sent (pun intended) but Makkah was a different ball game altogether. My heart breaks everytime i see old people especially those from our country, because Makkah is definitely not for the faint-hearted.

While waiting for our flight to KL, I sat beside a frail old lady fumbling with her inhaler. Her daughter watches helplessly, until her mutawwir came to help. Apparently she has never travelled before, let alone with an inhaler that she needs to carry around because all these while she gets help from the hospital if she has any breathing difficulties. I was so worried about her the entire time but then I thought, she has made it this far, God is surely keeping her safe.

I start work tomorrow. I've forgotten my computer's password (happens all the time when I go on a long break) and I'm not sure how to handle compliments (got news that I've been promoted!). Syukur sangat.  

Laters. Hope I can sleep tonight.

12/52

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

Emre: A hit among the makcik2 and nenek2 during our umrah trip!

Rumi: Always ready to outsmart me.

Just hold on we're going home

37.

Obligatory birthday side-selfie. I am 37 today. I touched a camel. #nothingmuchtosay 

Salaam from Mekah

Yup, currently in Mekah. It's our third day here, after spending a week in Madinah. All is well with us, especially the boys. 

I will probably share my experience here when I get back but then again I don't want to over-promise. Maybe I'll write about handling the kids or about the food here (think I've gained 20kg already). 

Bye!

We're ready. 

10/52

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

Emre: The cold never bothered me anyway. He's been watching Frozen every single night. 

Rumi: Minecraft gamer extraordinaire. 

korean blues

I can always count on my colleagues to take me out for good food during lunch time when I'm all stressed out (or angry). Korean food, with my favorite pa jeon (slightly burnt, the better) never fails to perk me up to keep going. And oh, a can of Starbucks latte from the Lotte Mart to complete my lunch.

My beloved pa jeon.

Yum.

Rice is evil! 

Terrible time we live in. Prayers and positive thoughts for those in MH370.

weekday view

The billboard says 'Hello. Mother misses you.' Hurts my heart every single day. Miss my Mama.

9/52

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

Emre: Model behavior. Not.

Rumi: Doing pretty great in school, based on his report card. Yay us! 

feb un-fab

Sometimes you win some, sometimes you lose some. Career is going some weird tornado of uncertainties (i guess this is part and parcel of re-orgs) and it gets frustrating for all of us little fishes trying to survive in this big pond.  

March is my birthday month. Bring on the good news, please.