SELAMAT BERAYA!
Here's wishing all my Muslim brothers and sisters a happy, happy hari raya haji!... :) for those who are doing their pilgrimage, "moga2 dapat haji yang mabrur, yah.." ;)

This year, we're stuck at home coz Eshan's down with chicky pox!.. missing out on the glorious food served at the 3 houses we're supposed to have gone today.. but howell!.. good also lah.. at least i know i won't be sooo tired tml when i go to work!.. hahahaa.. :p

oh!.. but dearest bro came with the fiance to come visit us and bring food from mummy's!.. yeay!!.... and just a couple of hours ago, the mak also called to ask Dearest to go there to get food... ;) so double yeay!!.. coz Dearest is there now collecting the food.. hehehhe....

Speaking of food, it's time for another recipe sharing.. this time, it's home-cooked Beef Lasagne that is soooo simple and sedaaaap, u won't want to eat Lasagne anywhere else ever again!.. hahahaha.. :p

The picture is no where near perfect and it certainly looked eek! But trust me, it's worth a try! Hope you'll like eating and making this dish for the family as much as we've enjoyed it! ;)

Ingredients:
for the Meat Sauce

450g Minced Beef

400g Tin of tomatoes

100g Mushrooms, sliced

1 Onion, chopped

1 clove Garlic, chopped

1/2 pint (300ml) Beef Stock

25g Butter

1 packet Lasagne (normally use only 4-5 sheets)

2 tbsp Cornflour dissolved in small amt of cold water (optional)

for the White Sauce
300ml Milk
25g Butter
25g Flour
50g Cheddar Cheese, grated

Mixed Herbs / Oregano (optional)

Directions:

To prepare the Meat Sauce, melt the butter and stir in the onions and garlic till fragrant. Stir fry the minced beef until brown. Stir in the stock, tomatoes and mushrooms. Cook for about 20mins to half an hour or until thick and rich. If necessary, add 2 tbsp of cornflour dissolved in a small amount of cold water to thicken.

Grease an oven proof dish. Preheat oven at 200 deg.

To make the Bechamel (White) Sauce, melt the butter, stir in the Flour and add the Milk, stirring until thickened. Add the grated Cheese until smooth. Add the herbs.

Layer the ingredients repeatedly, starting with the Meat Sauce, then the Lasagne (soak in water first), ending with the White Sauce.

Note: I normally layer the meat sauce and Lasagne first before doing the White sauce as it tends to thicken once it's cooled.

Sprinkle with some Parmesan Cheese/Mozarella/Cheddar Cheese on top and bake in the oven at 200 deg for about 45 mins. Serve with Parmesan Cheese.

Adapted from Utterly Recipes.

THE PAST 1 YEAR..

My hands been itching to write on my dusty ol' blog.. i've also uploaded my delivery story for memory's sake..

Pls bear with me as my first entry for the year is pretty long!! So, where shall I start??

Eshan
- he turns 3 in Apr this yr.. we had a mini bday bash for him.. and as all his past bdays, it HAD to rain!.. i think his next party (if we ever gonna have one again!) will be indoors.. but this year, he has 2 bday "bash".. the other one is indoors held in school with his classmates.. ;) lucky boy has 2 different bday cakes!!

- he's now more vocal.. sometimes rasa mcm nak sental mulut dia dgn cili!... now, he's favourite reply to us is "I knooowwww!" or "I knoooowwww lah!" with an irritated face.. very irritating!!!

- he loveeess to take pictures!!... he asked to have his picture taken!... alamak!... he can pose lor..
- he loves to play with our PS2 and handphone now.. he's discovered the world of gaming.. and it's irritating when he doesn't know when to stop!

- even though he can sometimes be such a devil (when he dun wanna listen!) but he can be such an angel when he actually listens to you... now, when he meets us at the end of the day, he will run to us and say "I miss you today"... how my heart softens when i hear him say this... :)

- he loves his sister to bits!!... other than the normal siblings' issue i think we, as parents all face, Eshan has grown up to be a good brother.. we just hope he's like this till he's old of course!.. hahhaa... i asked him for fun if he'd like to have another sibling and his answer "I want!".. i asked him if he'd like a boy or a girl then?.. his answer "Girl!" and why? "Bcoz i like Anousha. I want another Anousha."... tat's my boy! ;)
Anousha
- her growth spurt was greater than the brother.. coming in to earth oredi heavier than the brother, she grew much more too!... she's within the range of 75percentile to 90percentile for both weight and height.


- she loveeesss food (like moi!).. i refrained feeding her solid food till 6mths.. started her off on porridge and boy! can she eat!!... i had to cook for her ever 2-3 days coz she can eat a bowl full of porridge.. even before we feed her with solids, her mouth oredi starts going off like a goldfish ev'time she sees food. her first word is "mam!" for "nak makan!"... hahahaaa... and now, we just found out that she's gonna be the chilli queen in the house!.. we accidentally fed her very spicy briyani. we only found out it was spicy when we feed Eshan, he went "ooooh!.. HOT! HOT!"... for some reason, he continued eating (prolly coz his cuzz were eating as well) and was sweating profusely and drank water after every bite..but our dear girl - steady pom pi pi - no sweat, no drink, asking for more some more!...

- she started walking at 10mths. we're like "WOW!"... so fast??!!... she dun fancy crawling so much coz she only crawled for a while.. most times, she tries to support herself to wateva there was and walk. When she's learning to walk, she wants to run!.. aiyoh!... she's still not tat steady yet.. but she prefers to walk than be carried especially when we're outdoors.. but when we're indoors, she prefers me to be there with her - either carrying her or be in the same room while she plays!...

- she's too clingy to me.. with her around, my baking sessions almost grounded to a halt!.. baking sessions (reserved for potluck sessions with my ladies) were scheduled at night when she's asleep.. i've also learnt to schedule my time during the wkends to cook for the family.. very tiring lor!!

- her 1 yr bday was during the fasting month. so no bday bash for her like we did for Eshan.. :( poor thing!!.. but mama promise that you'll have one bday bash when u're 3!!.. i hope!!... coz next yr, her bday is like 3rd day of raya if not wrong.. hopefully, by her 3rd bday, it's a gd time to celebrate her bday for her! ;) if we're planning for the 3rd one, definitely cannot deliver during fasting month!.. hahahaa... but in any case, the next one will hopefully be a Dec babe!.. :p

- she's also such a "girl"!... she loves bags!.. but this "girly" girl is also a very garang girl!.. fiercer than the brother.. she'll be angry if you try to take away her bag... hahahhaa.... fiesty one this is!
Tat's the updates on my kids for the past year (in a nutshell!).. this year, there was also a major chg to moi... after 9 years of being in an organisation that i basically "grew up" in, i made a decision to move on to somewhere nearer home..

i have to say, it was a nerve-wrecking decision.. a few things happened in the office this year - that pushed me to move on.. with no high hopes, i sent out my resume to a few companies.. and when i was actually accepted to this place, it was like a dream come true... our prayers were answered.. and i can't say "no" to this.. :) of coz, it was a pretty sad feeling leaving the previous company.. i was fresh from sch when i entered the old place. an Exec Asst. a singleton.. tat's where i got my first experiences of a lot of major events.. got married. have both my kids there and was "promoted/reappointed/redegsinated" and left as a Snr Exec..

3wks in the new place.. i've got a gd feeling.. bosses are generally open and good.. colleagues have been wonderful. staff welfare is better than previous. not sure if it's too early to say this but i'm lurving this place!! ;)

oh!.. and coz of my job chg, i'm moving Eshan to a new sch juz opp our hse.. Anousha has already started just before i join the new workplace. Eshan will follow her next year.. we're just hoping he won't make such a biggie abt having to move sch, with new teachers and making new frenz!... for now, all he knows is he's going to sch with Anousha next year.. Anousha on the other hand does NOT like it going to sch!.. gaaaah!... she cries ev'time i leave her (out of sadness) and fetch (relief and happiness overwhelms) her!... and it doesn't help that she's not going to sch regularly ever since she started all thanks to HFMD!... :p

Dearest started his 6mths (part-time) course.. hopefully finishes in Apr next year... so he's not in 3times a wk... it's soooo tiring when he's not in.. :( i've to handle bringing the 2 kids up to the hse by myself from the carpark everyday.. *booooo!!...*

Hari Raya this year was so-so although i think we spent quite a lot this raya!.. hahahaa... from baju to decor of the hse to kuih (all kuihs done by myself!)... for next yr, Dearest has declared that his and Eshan's baju will be bought from the wholesale supplier.. me and Anousha can have ours tailored.. and i shall NOT ask mummy to buy us our kain bcoz she buys too expensive kains for us!... Dearest also asked me why i need to do the kuihs when we dun really have visitors?.. i told him, this is the ONLY time of the year i get to bake and eat my own kuih raya and not factory-made ones.. when else will i slave in the kitchen baking kuih lapis and kuih tart for the family eh??... :p

anyways, this yr we're slightly more "extravagant" bcoz of Anousha's arrival to the family and coz the hse is already coming to it's 3rd raya.. need to "spruce" up the place slightly!.. hahahaha... any excuse to shop lah!... :p

so there u have it... our life the past year.. i hope to update this blog more often from now.. see you readers soon... ;)

GUESS??
i took this shot candidly... can you make a guess wat the boys are thinking?

hmmmm..... this is what i think they're thinking.. :D -> click here..



i forgot to bring along my cam tat day... i took these pictures off the gang's photo cribs.. meet our pride and joy, all grouped together for a photo shot of their first ever raya together!...

till we meet again next yr or hopefully earlier eh...! ;)

GOODBYE SYAWAL 2008..

We had a mini open hse for the family on Sat.. and i got a sweet surprise from Aunty Nur.. she gave me a bouquet of flowers all the way from South Africa (so she says..)....

loved it!.. thanks Aunty Nur!!

and thanks to the family who came and enjoyed the food... and of coz, thanks to Mak, i've got mee siam to serve that day and my now mastered Shepherd's Pie.. dunno wat we'd do without her!! :D


Then on Sunday, we went beraya with the SP Gang.. our last visitors for Syawal 2008. As usual, it was a kecohrable affair esp since Ayu's around.. hahahhaa.. :D



plus, now that the kids are all "grown up" - we can see all their silly antics..
1. Fauzi - the emo boy - he's got his own merajuk style which we found too cute!
2. Adam - the SNAG - he's like the only "grown up" amg the kiddies and he takes a freakin long time to warm up to all of us.. apparently, he only does this with us! hmmm.. i wonder y?!...
3. Eshan - the social butterfly - the name says it all.. and u'll know y when u see him.. ;) hahaa...
4. Adawiyah - the smiley one - always smiling whenever she catches us watching her..
5. Akid - the fearless one - so far, he's let anyone of us to carry him and he's the only one amg the boys who's not afraid of the little tortoise


anyways, since our love nest was the last order of the day, it was juz apt that i serve dessert, thinking that ours was the 6th and last hse, i'm pretty sure food will be served at every hse - WRONG!!... ours was the 4th hse. Only Ayu served a variety of food. Ani served kuih. Skipped Bai and Naz's hses and Ms Sinus - like me! tot that ours was the last few hses and we'd be too full to eat anything - only cooked noodle soup.. kwang.. kwang.. kwang...


howell!.... wat to do??..... dessert it is at our love nest.. and wat better way to try out my long awaited apple crumble!!... hehehee.... thanks to Oven Haven, i got the apple crumble recipe i needed... thank u SOOOOO much!!...


Of course, my apple crumble din look anything like hers.. but taste-wise - PASS!!... :D al-hamdulillah..



and before they all left, Sahiril wanted to take a pix with the Liverpool boy for posterity as well as for "luck" for his Liverpool team.. i'm not sure how well Liverpool did that day.. but Eshan sure gave his winning smile - thanks to Naz's prompts... ;)


so yeah.. that basically wraps up our Raya this year.. not that we did much Raya-ing.. hehehe...

emiliAduka BER-RAYA..
it was a memorable Raya coz anything that can go wrong, WENT wrong!.. the only thing that was good abt this Raya was, i had a full and complete Ramadan.. al-hamdulillah... ;)


anyways, the day started off with Eshan waking up the same time as moi and so, going to the bathroom without him tagging along with me was inevitable!... in the end, both mother and son took a bath together.. hhahhaa...


and then, he couldn't fit into his baju kurung!!... goodness gracious me!!!.... i freaked out pretty bad thinking that after all the $$ spent, Eshan will not be donning his first full set of baju kurung!!.... siap dgn songkok u!....


in the end, we had to cut away part of the thread that was holding the button area together.. wat a relief when the baju finally went thru his big head!.. ahhahaha... :D

after all that fuss, Dearest decided then to put on his Silver baju instead of the black one coz it was nicer for the first day of Syawal!... grrrr... so, he was the odd ball out!...


by the time we were more or less ready, we were already running pretty late.. but we just had to take that one shot of family pix on the first morning of Syawal!.. hahaha... :D

and so, we arrived blardy late to the first house where all my paternal side were gathered!... haaaiiizzzz... by the time we reached, i lost one of the brooch of my shoes and 2 of the family were leaving.. luckily managed to still meet them along the corridor and found my brooch on the way home without first falling like a nangka busuk along the way!!... kwang.. kwang.. kwang..


over at my parents' hse, the maternal side gathered.. and had a round of photo session with THE woman in the hse! Photos can be found at my Multiply.. ;) The bibiks were all excited to see Eshan in his baju, samping and songkok!.. but he was more interested to eat and play than taking pix with them!...


we also tried taking the 2 kenits in the family to take a pix together.. but this was the turn-out instead..

eleh!.. malu2 kucing konon!... :p

after a nap and a full stomach, it was off to the in-laws.. and MY oh MY!... MORE food!!!... seriously, i think i've gained all that i've lost! (if i ever did lose any in the first place!!)... Eshan had a ball eating all the goodies.. but one thing i'm proud of, my son will seek my permission if someone (other than Dearest, myself and my family) tries to give him any food.. he'll not eat it if i say NO.. and he won't cry too! ;) tat's my boy!!... so, at least i can kindof control his food intake without looking sooo much like a control-freak mummy... hehehehe..


so tat's my first day of Raya.. an eventful one indeed!.. next year, we'll def have to wake up very early and be more coordinated with our baju!... hahhahaa...


btw, Eshan's reached 18mths last Fri and had his last jab.. he weighed at 12.14kg!!... acc to the charts, that's at 95 percentile growth!... without realising, he's grown that much!!... gah!... nurses said it was good wt.. so, i need not get worried unneccessarily.. kekekkee...



ps: i have to jot this down.. i think Rancour sucked during the Raya show!... wat a disappointment!... the songs they sang was embarrassing to say the least and the singer faltered during the song Sesuci Lebaran at the end!... gaaaah!.... apadah!...

To all my Muslim readers, family & friends,

Enjoy the last few days of fasting..

May you be surrounded by your loved ones on 1st Syawal..

and May there be PEACE all around the world on that 1st day of Syawal,

in celebration of Eid Mubarak..

amiin...

Pls forgive me if i've offended you in any way with my writing..

Will be back in a week's time with stories of Us in Black! ;)

ps: To my non-Muslim readers and friends, enjoy the midweek holiday!..

I SURVIVED..
a whole day without eating or drinking!... in my 20 odd years of fasting, never once had i missed sahur.. Sunday morning was THE day... i woke up, hearing Eshan's cry for milk.. when i look up, light was already streaming thru the curtain!... that's when i realised, "SHITE! i forgot to wake up for sahur!"....


i tot i wouldn't survive the day!... was soooo tempted to have a sip of water and have a bite!.. but i persevered and i survived... al-hamdulillah... it was basically mind over water.. but i was damn cranky lah yest.. heehhee...


niways, i only managed to bake 2 kinds of cookies yest!... i've got several more to go... i'm feeling kinda stressed coz i dunno if i can make it!!.... i hope i can do both my baking and mak's!... if got time, then do something for Mummy as well... hmmmm.... i hope Eshan won't be too clingy!.. he's always clingy whenever we're busy with something!... urrrgh!....


ooooh!... we also manage to settle our baju kurungs over the weekend!.. yeay!... really saved a bit of money on the clothes this year... only thing pending is whether or not to get Eshan a songkok!... but like $$ wasted coz for sure, he won't wear it even for a sec!!.. he simply hates anything on his head!... haaaiyaaa...

ANOTHER YEAR..
waaaah!... how time flies.. i'm 27 with an 8mth old in hand.. ;) life has been bliss so far.. wat more can i ask for?... i'm contented..

as a ritual, i would normally list my "achievements" for the year.. but heck, i dun think i've got like a whole load of list... i guess the only achievement that i can definitely be proud abt is the fact that i delivered my son without the help of the epidural!... that was the greatest achievement and something i'm damn proud of myself in all of my 27yrs on earth besides that one time in 1996 when i achieved something else too tat was beyond my (and everyone else for that matter) expectation.. ;)

i had a great bday celebration which started with the chalet with Dearest and Eshan. We brought Eshan for a swim and my oh my! how he lurrrvessss the water!.. hahahha.. of course his first reaction was wailed out loud when i suddenly, without prior introduction to the pool, put him on the baby float..

but after some intro from Dearest, he "splashed" himself abt.. hehehe...

dah relak jack..

trying to swim on his own..

after the "strenous" swim, he was flat out!... totally wasted in less than 5mins after his bath..

on Mon, bro treated the whole family to Straits Kitchen - my favourite makan buffet place! BEST!!..... and got the bunch to sing that irritating Hey! Hey! Hey! Happy Birthday! song.. aiyoh!... soooo blardy paiseh coz i was the first one they sung to that nite!!... kwang.. kwang.. kwang...

Us @ Straits

he was happy with just Gerbers Sweet Potato biscuits.. hahhaha...

on the DAY itself, we went out shopping!!... shop! shop! shop! till my legs felt so freakin sore!!.... and it was also the first public transport outing for Eshan! i told Dearest, wat a day to choose to go public!.. got sooo many things to carry with a child on hand plak tu!!... but i'm glad Eshan pretty much enjoyed the time in the MRT "monkeying" with the handles... hahhaha....

while waiting for the bus..

tgh tangkap mood..

his first ride on the MRT.. a bit apprehensive but excited at the coolness of the handle!

he's bored coz he's strapped on to Dearest..

this is wat happens once he's not!

see how happy he is "monkeying" around!..

Dearest have been asking me wat i want for my bday!... but.. but.. but... i still dunno wat i want for my bday!!.... i've got nothing in mind coz at the moment, i've dun really have a need or a want... hmmmm.... u've gotta wait dear.. i cannot decide if i'd wear a watch..

this was us on my bday!... i lurve this pix... it juz seemed silly! ;)

We celebrated Hari Raya Haji yest.. and i made my special egg tarts.. annnnddd, i've got orders for them from Mak. but she asked for 250pcs!! aiyoh!..... tat's like A LOT lor!.. i juz hope i can find mini cups so tat it's a bit less taxing and i dun have to reject her.. If i decide to do it, Dearest better help me in taking care of Eshan coz it'll sure take up the whole day!... it is afterall for his Mother!... hehhehee... oh!.. i'm very happy that it's well-received by everyone..

on SALE now..

now, i'm confident that i can sell off these tarts.. ;) so if anyone's interested, i'm selling the tarts @ $0.60 per pce (min 20pcs, max 100pcs only). no delivery. collect after 11am. Tarts guaranteed fresh and should only be consumed within the day. ;)

i've been wanting to do Madeleines for the longest time! i already have the recipe but i cannot find the container (or wateva u call it!).. so, i had to make do with baulu-lookalike shaped containers... i berangan want to do it during one of my off days.. but too bad lah... i think i shall try attempting it on Sunday instead!...

** it sucks that my cam is out of order!!... the pix quality is sooooo bad, it strained my eyes!... bummer!!**

ENUFF IS ENUFF..
i surrender... my raya sakan-ing in officially over as of yesterday... i cannot take it anymore.. i've stuffed myself with good food and even greater company over the past few weeks... i'm now bloated and wat was a quite longgar (loose) baju kurung on the first day of raya is now a quite ketat (tight) baju kurung.. bleagh!!

so who did we meet yesterday??....

how can u not melt when u see this boy with his 5 small teeth smiling widely at you??.. and thank god Eshan and him seemed to be able to get along.. :) later when Eshan begin crawling, Rayyan will be walking oredi.. tat'll be quite hilarious if they play "Catching".. hahahhaa...

we also went to see our god daughter, Syaza Atifah... aiyoh!!.... i missed both her and mother who's now in her 25th wk of pregnancy!... and who knows?... it's another girl!... :) like they say, there's always another time... jangan tak jadi har... hehehee.... ;)

So we did raya sakan this yr, but still not as much coz we still have not covered some houses yet.... haiizzz... to whose house we didn't manage to visit, maap ler byk2.. really got no time and energy to do anymore house visiting marathon!..

so with this, i leave u with a not-so-much-raya-pictures album of 2007...

THE PINKIES JALAN RAYA
out of sheer coincidence and for the first time in our entire 9yrs of friendship, we don our baju kurung in shades of pink!...

it was freakily hilarious when we all gathered at Bai's house and found that all of us decided to be pinkies this raya!... so off we went zipping around the island - literally from one end to the other - like one big happy family!.. hahahhaa.... the first and probably not the last coz Naz was like sooooo enthu abt doing this again next raya... errrrrrr........

we visited Umi Ayu and the new-born babe... the babe is sooooo cute and small... it feels like yest i carried my 2.75kg Eshan!... now that he's almost or already 8kg, 3kg Siti Nur Alawiyah felt so fragile and light as a feather!...

ayu warned not to put Eshan and lil Fauzi together for fear lil Fauzi may hit him... but in the end, my Eshan hit him instead... *sorry ye abg Fauzi!*

my raya is almost complete... a few more houses to go and i'm done!... YEAY!....

on to non raya updates, i pass my make-up exam!.. yeay!!..... i got a B.. one would think a B is very good oredi lor.. but their B is only an average mark!.. pantat!!..... so, it's not that good afterall... bleagh!... the girl told us only 1 got Distinction.. and the teacher told us majority get Bs coz they won't give away As easily!.. chet!!...

Eshan can now "walk" albeit backwards in his walker!.. yeay!!... so, he won't be as bored as before in that walker of his!... he is also able to sit more steadily now though not for too long... and on Sat, he had his first fall!... my god!... my heart was at my throat when i saw him on the floor wailing!.... he fell off our bed!... but thank god, he fell not coz he was rolling rolling round the bed... he was gostan-ing and somehow landed a soft fall... i didn't hear a thud or anything like that so i'm presuming he fell that way.. i felt soooo guilty falling back to sleep!!....

checked his whole head to find a bruise or wateva - nothing!... he also cried a bit only... after i carried him around, he stopped crying... my boy's a strong boy.. thank god!!... hehehee... mama's boy is a big boy oredi!... ;)

IT'S ALL ABT HIM..
it's been a week plus since i last left an entry here... been very busy at work... yeah!.. u heard me right.... me = busy ???? hahahhaa....... serves me right for telling the boss i'm freakin free and bored to death!.... gaaaaah!!!.....

anyways, i decided to take a teensy weensy break this morning juz to update this ol' blog of mine!.... it's getting dustier by the day!.... and it's time i fill up my entry with pictures of my son!.. hehehhee.... ;)

so... let's see.... as u may have already guessed... our theme this year is PINK... goooooo Pinkies! ;) it's Eshan's first Raya and thank god i insisted on getting him his baju kurung coz he loook sooooo darn cute in it!... hehehhee.....

too bad he's still too small to don the songkok and the samping... next year, k boy?.... *muaaackss!*

we were over at the BIL & SIL's place and test-drive this bouncy thingie on Eshan and look at him - merrily bouncing away!!... wat a difference with him at home in his walker!....

oh!... and his current interest now is watching soccer!.... we noticed it a few times - he'll be quiet and watching the tv in concentration everytime Dearest plays soccer on his PS2.. only now did i get the chance to catch him in action!

and over the weekend, the boy had to squeeze 3 balls of poo out of his small *tooot* in the morning... soooo kesian when i see his red face and crying in pain... and juz on Sat itself, he pooed three times!.... aiyoooyooo..... but anyways, since his stools are hard nowadays, i've instructed the maid to give him plain water (feeding him off the spoon since he dun like it in the bottle) every hour...

and who knows, he prefers to get it straight from the cup instead!!....

he drank it like it's some sweet juice or something!... oh!.. in case u're wondering why the "cup" has such a wide mouth, that's a bowl!.. hahaha..... hopefully, with this, his poo condition will improve...

btw, i'm freakin fat from all the hari raya goodies and good, fattening food served at every house!... BUT i'm toooooo lazy to move my fat a$$ to the gym!.... heeellllppppp!!!!..... oh!!... btw, i did meringue for Hari Raya... me and bro hated it but the rest of the family + every other person who visited and tried the meringue loved it!!... i dun quite understand why!...

it was all gone on the first day of Raya... i actually had to make a second round! i got the original recipe from the girl who paints her kitchen red.. but i'm calling them Cornflakes Choc Chip Meringue. happy trying! ;)



haaaiizzz... end of entry. back to work. gaaaaahh!!!!!!........... :((

EID MUBARAK!

We're sorry that this msg came in a day late.. had been very busy with last minute stuffs before 1st Syawal. So with this, to all readers esp our Muslim brothers and sisters around the world, if there is a post that is of any offence to you, directly or not, my sincerest apologies..

to our family and frenz, if there were moments that we did or say something that hurt u, our sincerest apologies.. insya-allah, we'll make our rounds to do a more formal apology session... and the person i'm missing most and definitely would like to meet this raya - Syaza Atifah!!.... rosma, aku nak serbu rumah kau lah... rindu siot dgn anak kau!...

Maaf Zahir & Batin..

BAJU, BAJU WHERE ART THOU?
I still have not gotten my baju for raya yet.. have to call the lady up.. hopefully, it's ready or at least would be ready to be collected on Wednesday!... sheesh!.... the intent to search for another baju is put on hold after MIL told us abt her episode with a pick-pocket while she was at First Lady..

not that she caught the guy doing it but she was a victim in this episode. they (the pick-pockets) are a skillful bunch aren't they?... i wonder how long they take to master the "art" of pick-pocketing?... the amazing thing is, the guy manage to open my MIL's bag and take out juz the wallet and zip it back up without her realising it!

tat's y, i never carry a lot of cash with me... i think at most, i have only $20 in my wallet... coz NETS is avail everywhere that it's soooo much more convenient than carrying loads of cash around!.. so to all ladies and gents out there, pls be careful this festive season. Esp the ladies - if it's not necessary to carry a handbag, don't!...or practice "separating" ur money.. don't put all ur cash in the wallet. scatter it around in all ur available pockets..

okies.. more on Hari Raya... in juz one sunday, my house have turned into a mini cookies-for-sale-warehouse!... my gosh!.. the amt of cookies, tarts, biscuits, makmur, we did this year!... amazing!.... well, this yr got nyai in the house.. so can expect more peeps to come!... it's been a while since we actually have truck-loads of ppl coming to the hse...

since we were all in a baking mood and there were more ppl in the hse, urs truly whipped up egg tarts for the family. this time, with the combination of my 2 favourite recipes... it was a hit!.. and i juz can't stop taking in more!!... gosh!....

I'm calling it "My Special Egg Tart" coz it's custom-made juz for moi!.. heheheh... ;)

anyways, we have started giving Eshan rice cereals since he turned 6mths last week!... and al-hamdulillah, he's taking it quite well... he wants more and more which is good.. :) we have also been giving him plain water in a spoon. tat's the only way for him to drink plain water!... he perspires buckets whenever it gets too hot. and he cannot sleep without the air-conditioning!... aiyoh!.... soooo worried he'll get dehydrated one fine day if he doesn't get enough water per day!... but now, the only thing left to train him is to sit in that walker or bumboo chair of his!... he simply refused to sit for more than 5mins!... and when he do, he'll give me this kesian face...

RAYA 06 CONCLUDED
Yesterday marked the conclusion of Raya 06.. Wat can i say??... i didn't really get to do much visiting this year due to the fact that Dearest have to prepare for his exams (and he's gotta pass them so that he can fully concentrate on the arrival of our babe next year!)..

Anyways, before we conclude our Raya 06, I (minus the hub! *sobs*) , manage to go do visiting with my Poly mates!.... yeay!.. and selenge me, left the cam in the office.. and sooooo... takde gambar lah ye!... :( sooooo bacin!!..... hopefully Ms IA get good shots of the 2 small boys meeting up!!... errr... for the first time, rite??.... yah... quite eventful, i must say!.. ahhahaa... ;)

oh!.. and Ms IA aka event organiser, pls help to organise Raya 07 also eh.. but unless of course if it's ur turn to errrmm, carry around "excess baggage" next year! ;) hehhehee..... but i'm telling ya... and i've already "warned" Dearest that next year is gonna be our Raya-sakan year!!.. i dun care, hor, Dear!!!...

********

Saw this article in the New Paper on Wife crying "Rape" by own husband.. i felt a bit disturbed by the news.. i may not understand what she's going through mentally.. but i do understand that sex is halal after marriage... which husband wouldn't want to have sex after marriage??.... shouldn't this be in your thoughts before you agreed to marry the guy?... sure, he said sex is not an issue before marriage coz he respect you.. but definitely sex will have to come one fine day??....

and now that you can be charged for having sex with your own wife against her will, the guys had better bring up this issue with your respective partners before you say "I Do"... you wouldn't wanna be slapped with a jail term for having sex with own wife, do you??...

and regretably, if that "rape" incident bear you a child, like in the case of the Wife (above), the innocent child became the victim coz the Mother simply refused to give him/her tender, love and care a Mother should give to a child coz she thinks that the child is not a product of love but dirty, filthy lust!.... i do pity the child above anything else.. so, plssss... before this happens, search your thoughts and seek help if necessary...

Sex (or i prefer Love-Making Session) is not painful if you embrace it with open arms.. It's supposed to be a wonderful feeling, sharing yourself with the man you love..

I hope this does not offend anyone out there.. it's simply my thoughts on this issue coz in the end, everybody lose.. even that innocent child..

DEEPA-RAYA..
At the very last hour, Dearest manage to get his new suit for the Raya... soooo.. we went Deepa-Raya this year!! ;)

Aduka Khan & Preity Emilia.. hehhehe... *perasan! aku tahu!*

oh!.. and this year's raya was also a platform for the announcement of our good news!... kwang.. kwang.. annnnd.. the start of gaining A LOT of weight too!!... been eating.. and eating.. and eating over the holidays!... goodness!.. all the oil!... and yesterday, while resting at home, was muching on Mummy's tarts every now and then while watching TV!!..... oooooh.. laaa.. laaaa... i'm pretty sure my weight gain's starting sooooon!... damn it!! but amazingly, my morning sickness seems to have gone!... my babe tak nak puasa ke??.. hahaha.... :p

oh!... read in Her World (Nov issue) that HP is coming out with this fantastic camera with a slimming effect button!... juz press that button and you will look 4.5kg lighter!... imagine that!!... i can't!.. really!... how can tat be?!.. ahahahha.... :D will the cam be soooo smart as to juz shed those weight or will the whole pic look "slimmer"?!.... btw, it's not out in Asia yet... so dun go to the shops and start asking now.. hahaha...

ok.. before i sign off.. here's the cuzzins + 1 makcik from the Sury family saying HALOOOOO to our dearest "lost" cuzzin at London... hehhehe.... it's been wat?.. 2-3yrs since u last celebrated hari raya here, dear??..... hope to see u next year, yah?!...

SELAMAT HARI RAYA, LINA! ;)

CAMAT HARI RAYA!
today's the last day of Ramadhan and i missed fasting today!... coz my morning sickness came and it was the most disgusting, dreadful, awful morning sickness ever!.... i vomitted out whatever i ate in the morning and stood in front of the sink for 10 mins, vomitting my guts out!... damn it!!.... i can still feel the vomit in my throat rite now!... bleagh!!...

been getting this morning sickness pretty regularly now... to look at the bright side, quoted by the doc himself, the worse off ur morning sickness and nausea, the healthier the baby... tat's wat i would like to think my baby would be... HEALTHY!... insya-allah...

this year, semangat berbaking berkobar2 betul!... my mom's pineapple tarts are freakin delicious!!.... i lapis (layered) like 4 kek lapis in 1 morning and baked my cookies at least 6 times for this year's hari raya!!... but my semangat to clean up our room sungguh tak semangat!!!... sungguh MALAS!!... soooo... here's my luuuurrrveeee to my dearest hubby...

*mmmmuuuaaaaaccckkssss!*

he's been the "cleaner" of our messy, dusty room this year!!... ;D he did ALL the cleaning minus the mopping coz mummy did that for us!.. hahaha.... but yeah!... the room is sparkling clean, tidy like bilik anak dara (even when i was a dara, not as clean as that!).. LOOOOVEEEE u my DARLING!!! thank u soooooo much!!!.... sesungguhnya i beruntung dapat suami macam you! ;) when mummy asked me wat i did for the room, i said - "i Supervised!".. hehehee.... nolah... actually hor, i cleared my "rubbish"!.... for heaven's sake!.. i got like tons of rubbbish!!.... kwang.. kwang.. kwang... oh!.. and hmmm.... i have to seek your forgiveness tomorrow, dear.... giving me the jitters!.. hahaha... can we do it via email/sms/phone/e-card instead??.. hhehehe...

Anyways, since tomorrow is Hari Raya, i would like to say....

SELAMAT HARI RAYA

to all my Muslim brothers and sisters throughout the world... Hope you guys enjoy the celebrations tomorrow with your loved ones. annndd to the readers of my blog esp my frenz...

MAAF ZAHIR & BATIN

terkasar bahasa, tersilap tingkah-laku

harap maafkan...

** for my non-Muslim frenz and readers - enjoy the holidays!!

To Kak Yani and Isyam, i heard of your lost. Very sorry to hear that.. he's in a better place now.. probably, reunited with his beloved wife.. be strong, yah...

Before i sign off... can i just say i'm sooooo freakin pissed coz i could have gotten a pair of tickets FREE to that Hype Concert if ONLY it wasn't on tomorrow!!!.... damn it!.... i'm sooooooooo sore rite now!!....