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!