of allergies and turkeys

On Raya day-2 we headed to Girl's house and lo and behold, there were grass, stones, and animals! Imaan found turkeys amusing, Rumi, not so much. Then there's cats, and fishes. Okay, Raya complete. Note to self: Take them to the zoo for Raya next year. 

The next day I took them to the park, where my sister and niece tried to fly kites but failed miserably because there was hardly any wind. >.< They ended up buying those water bubbles thing and the kids clearly enjoyed themselves. Meanwhile, I attempted to run (new kicks still in the box though) and managed a miserable 0.78km. Oh well, at least I tried.

I forgot to mention that after leaving Girl's house, Rumi developed a terrible rash on his left eye. It was so swollen! Not sure what caused the allergy but most likely from running around the house or something. Note to self: Wash their hands ALWAYS.

Ok time to cook. 

yo eid

Hello! Don't really know what to update. Pointers, here we go! 

• My colleagues came over! I think this is a start of a wonderful tradition. We took a group photo on the porch, just like what we did last year. I think my size is the same haha. They were a bit bummed coz no nasi lemak was served this year. Maybe next time, dear friends.
• Small world, my SIL's work acquaintance came over and recognized me. We were classmates when we were 14! Just so you know, I still look the same since my school days, and when she asked my SIL what's my name, the rest is history. Sometimes it's awesome to have a unique name. People remember you, hopefully not for your notoriety lah. 
• I didn't go for Raya prayer. Nobody asked me. *sadface* But I guess that's just how the way it is. In Kelantan (here I go again), everybody is required to go for Raya prayer! God, Nate, get over it.
• Dapat duit Raya! So that will go into my MacBook Pro fund. :)

Well I guess that's that. Finally visiting Mama tomorrow. Rumi threw a tantrum late this evening just when we were about to leave for Mama's home. Hish. 

Hey

Kenapa macam emosi tertanggu pre-Raya ni.

Maybe because Danial passed away 1 Syawal.

Maybe because I'm homesick. 

Maybe because I miss my husband. 

Maybe we need a new tradition. 

Raya

Another crazy idea, maybe I should drive to Putrajaya (if I dare use Waze again) and solat Raya there?

Jom Fresca!

And the annoying photographer girl sticker on photos returns!

Buka puasa with London girl last Friday. I was half expecting she would say Alexis because this girl would never say no to Alexis' pavlova. For a half-Kelantanese you would expect me to be the one with the sweet tooth here but this girl lives on desserts (and travels) I tell you.

We opted for Fresca, because my colleague said it's a must try and "I swear to god, Nate, this is the best Mexican restaurant in KL". Ohhhkay. I am terrible with Mexican food. I love them to pieces, but I am completely useless in memorizing their names. Burritos? Quesadillas? Tacos? El poncho. Oh shut up and just eat.

Albeit the smaller portion as compared to what you get from La Carettas or Chili's, I enjoyed the food we ordered (or maybe because we were super duper hungry). I am typing this on an empty stomach today (missed sahur) so just enjoy the photos okay?

My only advice is if you want to sit outside for dinner, don't. Too many mosquitoes. 

That's mint sauce right there. Actually this is an appetizer, but it's more than enough to make you full.

My London girl. I cannot live without her. 

That's chicken quesadillas up there, bishes. Mashed red beans on the side a.k.a. my archenemy. 

Chh-chh-chh-churros! A bit too oily for my liking, though. 

I'm gonna take a nap now.
It's my husband's birthday today, or tomorrow, if you're on New York time. Love him to bits. xoxo

wish list 2013

Home, with my boys. Rumi and I are constantly bickering over SlugTerra and I have never seen Emre this independent since his Ayah left for NYC! 

Oh hey, because the past few days (fine make that only two days) were filled with shopping/browsing/being indecisive, I thought I'd put here some of the stuff that are in my wish list for 2013. I'm a simple person, really I am, and these are the things that I want, but I don't really need. But they would be nice to have. Hee.

Always wanted the classic Aigner watch and I found the one I wanted at Isetan yesterday.

MacBook Pro with retina display, bishes. My white MacBook is still working fine, btw.

Aren't they the most comfortable thing in the world? Men will never understand why we need thousand dollar shoes for our poor feet. ;)

Oh I finally bought the Climacool running shoes. In blue! It was on 30% discount at Adidas. Can't wait to train in them. Master Pok will probably roll his eyes I can just feel it! 

definitely maybe

Went to the gym this morning, probably the second session so far bulan puasa ni.

"How many murtabak you had yesterday?"

Ikh, sibuk je Master Pok ni. Belasah kang. Tunggu je time Muay Thai nanti!

That aside, I look forward to Raya to be over so that I can start working out again and I think my legs are strong enough to start running. We'll see how.

Speaking of Raya, would it be crazy if I fly back to Kota Bharu alone pagi Raya tu so that I can pray at Masjid Muhammadi just like old days? Then fly back to KL after solat Raya?

What? Crazy idea? I guess so. Besides, I don't think I can rent a car for just a couple of hours anyway.

The idea came up while I was discussing current kain telekung trends with my bestfriends. Did you know that there are colored and rainbow tie-dye infused kain telekung now? Merapu betul. As merapu as breathable nail polish that you can wear for solat. I may not be the best person when it comes to religion but I feel that if you want to get closer to God, you need to be clean and pure as possible. Just my two cents lah. Imagine wearing colored kain telekung in KB? Mampuih!

But I digress. Solat Raya in KL is a far cry from solat Raya in KB. In KB, we patiently wait for our king and queen to arrive before we can start praying (they're hardly late anyway) but in KL, Qinrara to be exact, we have to wait for people to finish paying their tithe before we can start praying! Madness apakah ini? But then again it was the first time (and probably the last) I prayed there. Maybe it doesn't happen every year. Maybe I'll go this year, hopefully I can leave the kids for a while.

Ah, so many maybe(s) in this entry.

  

Hai.

So it begins... 2 months without my husband! 

Kejap je ni.

(okay I go cry now)

Jalan TAR state of mind

I must be crazy to think that I can manage going to Jalan TAR, during the puasa month, under the hot scorching sun. Gila lah! But the boys got their haircut, and we managed to snag few baju melayus for the boys at a very cheap price. I mean, last year's colors were selling at half price! Rumi, who is obsessed with baju melayu is a happy camper today but he kept nagging me coz we didn't get to buy his songkok. Hish budak ni!*

Got home, and I terus flat. It wasn't the hunger that gets to me but the thirst! I was so thirsty even the icky-colored drinks they sell on the street look delicious! 

Heading to the gym after sahur tomorrow (can't wait to check out the newly-refurbished gym), then I start my Universal Banking course Tuesday - Thursday and I will take the Friday off. Roy is leaving for the Bright Lights Big City on Saturday, which means this year we will miss our Raya and his birthday together. :(

* I say 'hish budak ni' all the time, and in return, Rumi always say 'hish Ibu ni' to me most of the time. Padan muka I.

Question generated by www.plinky.com
Who is the one person you hope isn’t reading your blog? Why?

Oooh this is a sensitive question. But I suppose it is too late to say 'my family' because I'm sure one way or the other some of them would have read this space. 

Since I got married and since I'm now in a comfortable position with my career, I would say I'm hoping my boss is not reading this space. Although I hardly talk about work here nor anywhere else, I would prefer her not knowing me better. I mean, I try to keep a safe distance with colleagues, because they may be your best friends at work, but they can also be your worst enemies as well. Guess I've learned the hard way with this.

*shrugs*

iftar

Had a wonderful time during buka puasa with the siblings today (yes we are okay now).
Missing arwah Danial so much. For a second I thought my sister said "please pass the water to Danial" but I guess it was just my imagination.

hey LX

Some photos I took last weekend. Miss the LX-5 so much! Next in my wanted list is the wifi enabled SD card so that I can transfer my camera photos to the phone easily. This is as tech-savvy as you can get from me haha.

Rumi and his million dollar smile

Boots.

This boy-robot, trying to understand the big plastic thrash bag.

More boots.

Self(oot)

Heading to Mama's tomorrow. Can't wait!

day 2

Day 2 and still feeling like shit. 
I slept at my in-laws' after sahur, then slept again during lunch time.
Life, what is wrong with me?

First day and it didn't go too well. Came to work dressed like a teacher and I think my tummy started growling at 8am and it continued its sing-song well until the evening. We're talking amplified growling sound here. How embarrassing. Thank god there were no meetings that I have to attend or else I'm gonna ban myself from any meetings for the rest of the holy month. Not that it's a bad idea. Tomorrow I'll be better.

Hai.

bad luck umbrella

Call me superstitious but I hate hate seeing opened umbrella(s) indoors!

But maybe I'm just anal because I can't stand seeing opened/ajar cabinets or closets too.

 

#soyoulearnsomethingnewaboutmeeveryday

what I ate er, last week

This is my favorite meal at The Humble Chef. At 20 bucks a pop, you get this panfried chicken with pasta. The gravy is amazing, because it reminds me of kuah percik's gravy, except that it's not, and it's a bit spicy. But it's pretty good! My only complaint is that sometimes the chicken can be a bit hard to chew? The bolognese here is pretty good too.

Nom.

So if you guys wanna check it out, here's the add:

Address:

54 Jalan Medan Setia 2, Plaza Damansara, KL. Tel: 014 229 6854

Can't believe that Ramadhan is almost here. Food is the least worry for now, I think although my control over food is debatable, I will (I must) refrain myself from going overboard during buka puasa. Mind over matter, this.

Still trying to figure my workout schedule with Master Pok though. I honestly don't know if I can bring myself to hit the gym AFTER iftar, which would seem a bit too late in my book. I'll probably opt for weekend sessions only, and top that with yoga or some brisk walk on the treadmill during lunchtime. Yeaaaahhhh right. Lunchtime is for siesta! Heh.

See how lah.

p/s: Missing Google Reader terribly. 

Sunday

At a kenduri. Gua miserable because my washing machine broke down on Saturday and today the car won't start! Oh wae yo my life like dis. 

I'm on a swing with my eldest kid rn and the wind is blowing. Suddenly reminds me of Queen Mother's swing in Kota Bharu. 

what i ate on Friday

If I had the money I'd eat at Porto Romano every week. Well maybe. I've never had a single meal there that would make me say hmm I've had better xxx elsewhere or something like that.

Nom.

Porto Romano

http://www.portoromano.my/

My kid just pooped. Hence the abrupt end to this post. Lol.

rumi the samson

I am never gonna hear the end of it about Rumi's hair kan?
The other day my colleague asked Hey Nate, when are you cutting your daughter's hair?

Very funny. She has been having issues with Rumi's hair since day one.
"His hair is too long!"
"Cut his hair already! He's starting to look like a girl!"

Excuse me, for the record, I did cut his hair like a boy okay. Once. And people still think he's a girl. Since then we (okay, I) stopped cutting his hair. Maybe just a trim here and there. Especially his bangs. But he has gorgeous hair, why let it all go to waste?

Besides, having long hair does not dictate your life or your future. I've had boy haircut (like really short boy haircut here) for years until I was old enough to dictate my father* that I'm sick of having short hair! If Rumi is happy with long hair, so be it.  If Rumi wants to keep his long hair in school, then we'll find him a private school. Unless his hair is a deterrent for him or his movement, then we'll (consider) cutting.

Or if he starts looking like Ren from Nu'est.

I'm a boy.

My handsome boy.

Heheh.

* My father always wanted a boy. He stopped teaching me how to play football when my brother was born.

the last days of the the reluctant emcee

You know what's embarrassing  When you're the emcee, and at the end of the program you happily tell the audience "refreshments are now served outside the ballroom" and by the time you step out of the ballroom your heart sank because hello there are NO refreshments outside! oops. 

Sucks.

My lack of attention to details these days is probably gonna sink my KPI deeper. But c'est la vie. I'm mentally exhausted wei! 

*picks self up, goes to bed*