Lizzie as a Mummy

My Last Birthday In My Twenties!

2011-12-17T13:58:00.007+08:00

Yes, I organized a small BBQ cum birthday party to celebrate my last birthday in my twenties. And did I mention the effort of making the red velvet cake twice? (Yes I know I did!)

Anyway, since turning 29 is something really great to shout about (in my books, at least), I chose to invite only the closest friends, neighbours and family to this gathering. I wanted to make sure that I could spend quality time with each of my guests, as opposed to the "eh hi, eh bye" approach I had to adopt during Aiden's last birthday party cum housewarming due to the overwhelming number of guests. And I discovered something interesting, I actually like having a smaller crowd! Not to mention that I could still feel my feet by the end of the night. (Right after Aiden's birthday I could barely feel the soles of my feet and crashed on the sofa in front of the TV while my precious family helped clean up.)

What made this event sweeter was apart from making my own birthday cake, nearly all of the goodies we served that night were either baked or cooked by my own two hands! I only ordered fried meehoon and marinated chicken and lamb for the BBQ, and some guests brought food to contribute. Everything else? Homemade! The ratio of homemade versus purchased was so great that it was actually easier to tell my guests what was bought/ordered than what was homemade. So naturally, this is a post full of pictures of food, so warning - if you're on a diet, stay away!

P.S: Apologies for the grainy pictures from my trusty ol' iPhone. It doesn't really produce great pictures for a night event and it was the only handy camera around.

Blood red cake batter *drool*

Told you practice makes perfect. A somewhat even layer of cream cheese frosting. And since I am definitely not artistic, I enlisted Hubby's help to sketch an outline for the icing wording.

Made nyummy pavlova as well. I love my pavlova served with strawberries, blueberries and kiwis - very interesting colour combination.

I had made the pavlova meringue base the night before the event so that it could cool in the oven overnight. The next morning I gingerly lifted it out, carefully placed the meringue on the dining table and covered it with a layer of foil to protect it. And along came Hubby (who claimed that he didn't know about the existence of the meringue) and proceeded to crush my precious meringue with a stack of magazines. Yes. Thank you Hubby.

Recipe you say? Soon!

What BBQ would be complete without roast chicken?

Jamie Oliver style. See the lemon hanging out of the chicken? Classic!

Another homemade goodie - tiramisu!

I baked carrot cupcakes too. All because I found those adorable cupcake holders at the bakery shop.

With my favourite cream cheese topping. Excuse the melting topping - these were my first batch and I couldn't wait for the cupcakes to cool before topping them.

This batch looks much better.

The cake. Yes, I am finally 29!

Homemade coleslaw and mashed potatoes.

Homemade shepherd's pie. With nasi impit for the satay, courtesy of my in-laws.

The roast chicken in action.

Homemade trifle. Although technically I did not make these myself. A couple of my closest neighbours came over in the morning of the event and made these for me.

Nyummy dadih and aiskrim Malaysia courtesy of a friend and a neighbour respectively. Thank you girls!

The grill in action. BBQ set courtesy of a neighbour. Thank you dear!

The lamb was of course the fastest to disappear. And I thought the marinate was good, especially since the rosemary for the marinate came from our own garden!

The garden set up.

We had 4 tables out in our garden and everyone was dining under the stars. Thank god for the clear weather that night (since it was raining cats and dogs every night the days before and after the event)! We even had a football net in the garden so the kiddos were out kicking balls while their parents had their meals in peace.

The massacre afterwards.

What was left of the birthday cake.

And the remains of the roast chicken.

Tacos and otak-otak - thanks girls. And kuah durian made by my MIL.

Finish!

My last guests to leave.

Time to clean the grill!

Flowers from dear Hubby were the center piece for the night.

And they bloomed just before the night ended.

At the tender age of 29, I am still receiving presents from people other than family? Wow!

Thank you girls, you know who you are!

And guess how I celebrated my actual birthday the next day? By going for a 3-day offshore training....

Where I would have to jump from a 3 meter platform, escape froman upturned helicopter and crawling in a dark room. Oooohhh fun fun fun!

So why offshore training? Wait till my next post!

Making My Own Birthday Cake - Red Velvet Cake

2011-12-15T19:54:00.001+08:00

Remember I mentioned making 2 red velvet cakes for my birthday cake in my previous post? Well since I had the honour of making the cake twice in one day, it would naturally make sense to share this tried and tested recipe with all of you.

This recipe is taken from Joy of Baking, however I prefer my own version of the cream cheese topping. If you want to refer to the original recipe for the topping - click on the link.

As the website explains, the Red Velvet Cake is very dramatic looking with its bright red color that is offset by a creamy white frosting. If we look beyond the striking appearance of this Red Velvet Cake, we will find that it has a mild chocolate flavor with a moist and tender crumb. The mild chocolate flavor comes from adding a small amount of cocoa powder to the batter and buttermilk gives it a moist and tender crumb.

Some tips and tricks from yours truly:

I prefer a deep red colour, but if you do not like it, go easy on the red colouring.
If you do not have buttermilk, you can make your own (see recipe below).
The recipe mentions lining the baking tins with baking paper. The reason why I had to make my birthday cake twice was because I did not line the baking tins properly therefore the paper left indentations on my cake and it wasn't a perfect circle. So the second time round I decided to forego the baking paper and just greased and floured the tins generously.
The recipe also calls for cooling or freezing the cake before assembling it. I have honestly never popped them into the fridge. I usually leave them to cool on a wire rack. Heck, I have even tried to spread the cream cheese on a warm cake (it was past midnight on the night before Eid and I really wanted to go to bed) - just make sure you coat the cake quickly and pop them into the fridge to set.
And last but not least, the cake is definitely best served cold and a day old. Somehow the red velvet cake tastes better after a night in the fridge so don't be too particularly worried if you're having the first slice of your invention an hour after your baking is completed and it does not taste too particularly good. Thus, if you're planning to serve this for an occasion, you should bake and assemble the cake a day or two earlier.

Anyhow, here's the recipe. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cake:
2 1/2 cups (250 grams) sifted cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (15 grams) of cocoa powder (I used Van Houten)
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C and place rack in center of oven. Butter two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside. In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside. In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter. Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or overnight). (This is done to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

Buttermilk Recipe:
Add 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar, cider vinegar, or lemon juice to 1 cup (240 ml) of milk. Let this mixture stand 5 to 10 minutes before using

Cream Cheese Frosting:
200ml cream cheese, room temperature
250ml heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted

Combine everything in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, and beat until stiff peaks form.

Assemble: With a serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half, horizontally. You will now have four cake layers. Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with a layer of frosting. Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost and stack the cake layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Can garnish the cake with sweetened or unsweetened coconut. Serves 10 - 12 people.

Sugar and butter.

Sifted flour, cocoa powder and salt.

Mixing the red colouring into the mixture. Excuse the mixer, it is my Mum's and has been with us for as long as I can remember. (Hubby, where's my Kitchen Aid mixer??!!)

Ooohhh, I just love the strong red colour.

Dividing it into the two cake tins.

Make sure you shake the tin to even the batter out. This is not how it should look like!

Completely optional: licking the mixer bowl clean. I do that all the time! Nyum!!!

Lesson learnt - always bake the cakes on the same baking rack. If not, the one on the bottom will be somehow a bit undercooked. Ignore this if you are completely confident of your oven capabilities *grin*

Cut each cake layer with a serrated knife (not a cook's knife as shown in the picture above).

And then it becomes two.

And then it becomes four!

I am not particularly proud of this picture - my very first Red Velvet cake, probably over 6 months ago?

Not a pretty sight. But in the end, practice makes perfect.

Fancy a slice?

How it looks inside - although I highly recommend being very generous with the cream cheese on each layer so that when you cut a slice, you can clearly see the cream cheese between each layer.

You can also try layering the cake with chocolate sauce.

These are pictures from my second try. Two layers of chocolate, one layer of cream cheese and of course the outer cream cheese frosting. Absolutely delish!

That's my aunt frosting the cake.

Told you practice makes perfect. Definitely better for a second try.

Surprise 29th Birthday Dinner at Carcosa Seri Negara

2011-12-09T21:38:00.023+08:00

Oh Em Gee, I have finally turned 29!

And, to make turning 29 even sweeter, (apart from completing a 10km run,) Hubby organized the most special and thoughtful birthday dinner surprise ever. Right after the run, Hubby reminded me that we were going for dinner and then he went straight to bed. Letih giler kan! But instead of doing the same, I made red velvet cake instead. (What is it with me and baking after every run??!!) The red velvet cake was going to be my own birthday cake for a BBQ makan makan I was organizing the following day. And unfortunately the first cake didn't turn out perfectly round since I lined the baking tins with baking sheets and I was determined to make my cake perfect so I actually made another. Yes, two red velvet cakes in one day. I should probably open a bakery! *yeah right*

Enough about the cake - that and the BBQ deserves a post on its own. Anyway, 7pm arrived and Hubby came down the stairs (after his beauty sleep) and told me to go get ready. I didn't know where we were going nor know what I was going to wear. The only thing he told me was that he was going to be wearing a blazer. Oooookayyyyy... that's helpful! If only he had told me that we were going to be dressing up, a day or two earlier, I would have made sure that I had something decent to wear!

So we got into the car and he started driving towards the Nike Run finish line, and I remember asking him whether he wanted another run that night. And suddenly he turned into Carcosa Seri Negara. Yes, Carcosa. And funnily, the first thing that came to my mind was: "Oh crap, I don't have enough battery in my phone for pictures!" Apologies for the grainy pictures - should have brought the SLR instead (provided I was given a day heads up). And thank you to my stepsister who came to the rescue by sending us her portable iPhone charger so that we could at least document how perfect our dinner was that night.

And the dinner was simply perfect. The ambience, the colonial-style architecture setting, the scrumptious food, the immaculate service, and of course - my better half.

The brilliant mastermind. I love you Hubby!

I was in awe when the server brought us to the table. They had thoughtfully seated us in a private corner, with rose petals on the table! Romantic!!

There was only one other family in the room. (So we had to behave while they were around *grin*)

Hubby studying the menu.

Even though the selection was somehow limited, I was still unsure of what to order. Everything on the menu looked nyummmmmy to my taste buds!

Our starter - Tuna something something. Essentially pan fried tuna with local spices. It was really good - especially the combination of the tuna with the pumpkin curry sauce on the side.

My main course. I decided to have the Halibut with white asparagus, morel mushroom and shellfish sauce. Halibut is my favourite fish after Cod. And it was done brilliantly well - the first bite I took was absolutely bursting with interesting flavours.

Hubby's main course - the Roasted Lamb Rack with crusty fresh herbs and mint croquettes. We have had the opportunity to try a wide range of lamb racks in other restaurants, but somehow this lamb rack was not the same as the others we've previously sampled. Unique taste, I simply couldn't pinpoint what it was. The lamb was tender and moist, the sauce incredibly tasty.

I had declined dessert (because I knew a cake would be coming - come on, how can someone celebrate a birthday without cake??) and finally they brought the cake over. They even laid out a knife by my side just in case I wanted to cut the cake in grandeur and all!

Hubby confided in my at that point that he had arranged for the pianist to play the birthday song when they brought it the cake, but at the very last minute they informed him that the pianist wasn't on duty that night. Then he agreed for them to play 'our' song over the PA system. But unfortunately they didn't live up to the arrangement. Regardless, I was touched. A simple Happy Birthday wish trumps those hyped up gestures anyday.

Thank you Sayang. I was truly, pleasantly, surprised.

"Happy 29th Birthday"

"My Lovely Wife"

And then the true surprise arrived. A big bouquet of roses. This time, I was absolutely surprised. No kidding!

I wonder how you are going to top this next year, dear Hubby!

Probably one of the richest chocolate cakes I had ever tasted in my 29years of life!

Hubby had freshly brewed coffee and immersed himself in the lush settings.

Our private corner!

And suddenly the other family left and we had the whole room to ourselves.

The other side of the dining room. It definitely had an understated elegance.

I am actually 29! Next year there will be no celebration. I swear I am going to take the day off and berkabung bawah selimut.

Carcosa also has an elegant staircase leading up to their luxury 5-star deluxe boutique hotel rooms. I saw a couple going up to their room - on a honeymoon or something. Makes me want to book a room there too!

Hubby and his bouquet of flowers.

That's one historic piece of picture behind us - partly obscured by the christmas tree.

One last pose before we stepped out.

Rich in history and culture, Carcosa Seri Negara is certainly the hallmark of Malaysia's national heritage.

Awwww Hubby... *melts*

Walking out. I really didn't want the night to end!

Love this historical heritage mansion. Definitely making this one of my favourite places in KL.

Thank you Hubby, you really did well this year *grin*

Nike We Run KL 2011

2011-12-08T22:45:00.003+08:00

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been away for so long. I have been either running or baking - my two passions for now. I have been dying to upload photos of my latest baking goodies but I shall refrain myself from doing so! How about photos of my first competitive run, and also my first outdoor 10km run?

We were actually quite lucky that we managed to sign up for the Nike Run. Back then I didn't know that Hubby wanted to start running so I didn't bother signing up online for the run when they launched it during the weekend. Come Monday, Hubby emailed me at the office asking me whether I wanted to join the run. Unfortunately the online sign up was closed, but I found out that they were doing manual sign ups at Nike stores. Hubby walked over to the Pavilion outlet but they were out of forms while I called the MidValley outlet and used my best 'damsel in distress' voice to beg the guy over the phone to save two forms for me. Alhamdulillah, he kept to his word and I rushed over after work to make the payments.

Signing up for the Nike Run was a really good motivation for Hubby and I to keep running. But seriously, I only managed to complete a 10km on the treadmill exactly 5 days before the real run. And I was absolutely freaking out - will I finish? Will I even make it within the qualifying time?

Since the gun off time was sharp at 7am, we decided to set the alarm for 5am and then leave the house by 530am. I insisted that we laid out our attire and pack anything we needed for the run before we went to bed. And it was a good thing that we did. Our alarm clocks didn't work!!! I woke up at 540am and literally jumped out of bed. I'm not kidding. I jumped! Hubby jumped a few minutes afterwards (with some screaming encouragement from yours truly). Got ready in record time and left the house at 6am, armed with our breakfast bars.

And we made it! Butterflies were fluttering around in my stomach, I was so excited to run but scared I couldn't do it at the same time.

Easily 10,000 runners, not counting the 'bandit' runners who ran without the official Nike t-shirt.

Run buddy, run!

Nike certainly went all out for this. They had banners everywhere, even a mini stage with JJ from Hitz.FM as the emcee and loud music to get everyone into the mood.

Thank god he received doctor's clearance to run just two days before the run. If not, I would probably have to lock him up in the master bedroom toilet to make sure that he does not sneak out to the run.

Walking over to the start line. Since we were not one of the Nike Plus priority members, we had to wait with the rest of the runners behind a separate barricade.

They had a countdown to gun off, in which everyone joined, and sharp at 7am, all hell broke loose (in a good way, of course). Everyone just started running enthusiastically. Maya had warned me that I would probably face the same problem at the start of the run as during the Terry Fox, weaving through people as I ran. But surprisingly, I did not face the same problem. I believe everyone was so pumped up that they ran their heart out and the road was big enough to accommodate us so there was plenty of space to run without having to stop because someone in front was a tad slower than you.

It was also very thoughtful of Nike to mark each and every kilometer. It certainly pushed me ahead as I saw the first 3kms past by pretty easily. Mind you, it was my first competitive run so I was relieved when I realised that the further I ran, slowly but surely I felt like I could finish. I stopped at every single drinking station they provided (after each ~2.5km). Nike even provided entertainment in the form of traditional Indian & Chinese drums and Malay kompangs near the Brickfields and old KTM station respectively - which were way more motivating than listening to my one and only running song - Fallout Boy's Thanks for the Memories, which played on repeat for the whole 10 kilometers. (Hey, it keeps my pace!)

At the 9km mark.

Nike even provided markers at the last kilometer, namely 800m, 600m up to the last 200m. Definitely boosted me to sprint all the way to the finish line. At 200m I felt like I was running on air and actually potong quite a few people who were taking their own sweet time to the finishing line.

And I did it! The official clock at the finish line showed 1hour 26minutes. After grabbing a piece of banana, bottled water and the finisher gift, I looked for Hubby. Hubby's first reaction when we found each other? He hugged me!!! I was like, eeeewwwww, seriously? All yucky and sweaty? But honestly, it was really sweet of him. I just didn't appreciate the sweat at that point in time! *grin*

Meanwhile, others were still running to complete the race. (I can't believe I finished the run faster than all of you!) *cheeky grin*

The finish line - picture taken about ten minutes after I finished.

The pros of having a heart condition. Your heart pumps faster than anyone else which means you burn more calories (and lose weight faster) than your wife. I had to run 10km to burn 658 calories but Hubby burned an extra thousand (1633 calories) with the same distance. Don't even ask me how much weight he has lost so far!!!

Our running shoes with our finisher gift. Inside the box is a cute little keychain model of the Nike LunarGlide 3 which is also a 1GB thumb drive. Very creative!

Nike, you rock!

We did it Hubby!

Aaaaahhh, I finished my first competitive 10km run! Aaaaahhhh *drama queen mode*

Well done Nike. The event was certainly organized very well.

So when is the next race?

The race route map. Again, the hills of Jalan Parlimen very nearly killed me.

There were also performances by Joe Flizzow and Mizz Nina to close the event.

And guess what? We brought home a memento from the run and hung it proudly in our garden. Let's see how long it lasts in the rain and shine!

Finally, yesterday Nike Running Malaysia published the official results from the run and I was pleasantly surprised that my official time is actually 1hour 24minutes and ranked #518 in the above 25 women category. Definitely a great motivation for me to run faster next time.

Till the Nike Run KL 2012!

Terry Fox Run 2011

2011-11-13T20:57:00.000+08:00

Since I found solace in running a few months ago, I have continued running whenever I could, enjoying the peace and quiet it gives me. And fortunately, Hubby has joined me in this newly found passion of mine. I have to say, I have created quite a monster with this one. Not only is he super gungho about running everyday after work, he even pushes himself harder to beat my total kilometers ran on my Nike+GPS iphone app (which tracks all my runs since I started in June) and has even resorted to counting calories! He declines dinner and makes me think twice about having dinner too, and in the end we'll both just settle for roti kapit telur - which I can barely even swallow after having that for one week straight. Sad I tell you. Extremely sad!

And did I tell you that he was super happy with my birthday present to him this year? Yes, I got him a heart rate monitor. Super romantic... not!!!

Back to the story. So after spending our nights running at the gym, I decided that we were ready for our first outdoor run. The Terry Fox run came at just the right time:

The Dutch Oil Company was sponsoring their employees for the run - which means we ran for free!

It was just the right distance of ~5km (to prepare ourselves for the upcoming 10km run we signed up for).

Best of all it was not a competitive run. In fact, it was a charity run for cancer, so no pressure right?

Right! We woke up that morning with such an adrenaline rush, had breakfast (roti kapit telur lah, what else!) and as we were driving to the flag off point, we saw many other people driving on that Sunday morning wearing the same t-shirt as we were. We were so pumped up! In fact, we even made mental notes for our future run, because on the way, Hubby noticed that he wasn't wearing his running glasses, we had forgotten a towel and we didn't have a bottle of water nor a spare change of t-shirt for after the run. All good lessons learnt for the next run! And to prove the point that this run is not a competitive run, when we made a short pit stop for fuel, I saw a family all donned up in the grey Terry Fox t-shirt but carrying a box full of Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. It was so ironic!

Terry Fox Run 2011 for cancer research. I ran for my Mum who passed away from lung cancer. Al-Fatihah :)

So who's Terry Fox you ask? Here's an excerpt from their FB page:

Terry Fox was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) in his right leg in 1977 and had his leg amputated 15 cm (six inches) above the knee. While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. He called his journey the Marathon of Hope. Terry's Marathon of Hope took place in 1980 with the simple objective of informing Canadians of the importance of finding a cure for cancer. With fierce determination, he ran an average of 42 kilometres (26 miles) every day for 143 days. Terry was forced to end his run on September 1, 1980 when the cancer spread to his lungs.

We ran as part of Team Shell.

Can you see the Shell flag in the background?

Petronas had a really big turn-up, they even had a tent of their own to distribute the t-shirts! The organizers were still selling t-shirts before the run so we grabbed the chance to buy a similar t-shirt for Aiden in his size. Which hubby used as a towel during the race! They had a short warm up session - in which Maya and I agreed was really a warm up of the arms instead of the legs, and just a few minutes after 9am, we were flagged off. There were families running together, parents pushing children in strollers, kids in rollerblades, even a woman running with an LV handbag on her shoulder! Yes, I am not kidding you. Maya and I just looked in disbelief at the lady. Talk about taking a leisure run!

It took us quite a while to get out of the throng of walkers at the start of the run. I mean, I can't really ask this people to move faster right, since this is not a competitive run. But seriously, if you're planning to walk, I suggest you keep to your left. So the amount of time I took to navigate my way out really spoiled my pace.

Check out the number of people at the start line.

The small road out of Padang Merbok was simply just not suitable to handle the amount of people heading out. Maybe they should have flagged off the participants of the extended run first, then the family run? Just a thought!

Needless to say, I ran non-stop for the first 3kms and just after the split between the family route (3.6km) and the extended route (4.8km), the hills of Jalan Parlimen finally got me. They were a real killer! I ended up walking up the hill slowly (while tweens from the Alice Smith School were running past me left, right and center!) and then running down the hill to make up for lost time. So bad for my knees! But I finished the run 15minutes before a fellow colleague who had sworn earlier in the office that he was going to outrun me - so yeah, I'm happy! *grin*

Hurrah for our first outdoor run together!

Hubby and I could not stop talking about our achievement in the car all the way home. It was nice, sharing something we both enjoyed together, and accomplishing it together. Back home, I was feeling dead tired but after a long hot shower, instead of crawling into bed, I made tiramisu instead. Why? Because I was hosting a small makan makan with a couple of neighbours of mine.

These girls are the closest girls I have to sisters in the community. Although not in the picture is one more neighbour plus myself, of course.

It was definitely a good makan makan. We had fun talking, eating, gossiping, laughing. One of the girls even brought over dough and cranberry with cream cheese and we had a mini cooking class, making cranberry cheese buns.

Essential ingredients for cranberry cheese buns.

While we gossiped, we rolled buns. And these were probably one of the best buns I have ever had. Goodbye The Loaf, hello homemade hot buns!

Running, baking, good friends in Wisteria Lane - what more can a girl ask for? I am definitely blessed! *smile*

Welcome To Our Humble Home

2011-09-23T21:01:00.001+08:00

Okay, so how long have I been away?

Yes, I know. Too long! So to get the creative juices flowing again to kick start this blog, how about feasting your eyes on some (as a good friend once said) 'house porn', which sadly includes interior design porn! And in this case, the house in question is apparently mine!

I know I promised pictures of our humble home just after Aiden's 2nd birthday cum housewarming party, and I did give you a bit of a preview of the guest room a few months back, but here are the rest of them as promised:

That's my front door you're looking at. The blind on the left is covering our patio window while the hallway to the right leads to the guest room and guest bathroom.

The chandelier was located at its current position after a lot (and I do mean a lot) of discussions with my ID contractor. I wanted it in the middle of the living hall, he didn't agree. He wanted it hung at the side of the living hall, I disagreed. In the end we compromised. And that brick wall? That's wallpaper! (I had you fooled didn't I?)

This is my living hall. The split level plaster ceiling integrates with the TV panel (not visible in picture).

See how the TV panel is connected seamlessly with the plaster ceiling?

This is the latest picture of the living hall as of yesterday, which explains why this carpet is different from the one below.

Same couch, same floor lighting, same decorative items. All imported from our old Ampang house.

Guest bedroom. Yes, you've seen this one before.

Guest bathroom.

Black and white painting to match the black framed mirror.

Got two of these rainshowers at a very affordable price during HomeDec. The other is installed in Aiden's bathroom.

As you walk down the hallway past the patio, the dining hall is on the right. This is also where Aiden parks his car. *grin*

Right opposite the dining hall lies the dry kitchen. Hubby's choice of an all white, glossy look made from I-Plus 3G material. Even the solid surface is white, which is an absolute hassle to maintain! BTW, I absolutely love my fan! Had to pujuk Hubby hard for that one.

The dry kitchen window overlooks a small side garden. Just after the dry kitchen, there is a hallway to the right (not visible in picture) heading to the wet kitchen.

That fridge, oven and microwave was sitting in our Ampang house for over a year before we moved home!

Breakfast table. Apart from using it for breakfast, I find it very handy to have a place to sit while mixing cakes or chopping onions. Although I still have some regrets on not making an island in the middle of the kitchen.

Fell in love with this flexible house faucet the minute I saw it. *drool*

Goodies brought home from Houston.

This is our wet kitchen. This is where most of the action takes place, so please forgive the mess. The material selection was by yours truly (they had such limited choices so this was the best they had) with a black granite counter top. Left window overlooks the same side garden as the dry kitchen.

Our old fridge from Ampang. Can you believe my Mum bought this one, and it still stands strong?

Adjacent to the wet kitchen lies the laundry room, maid's bathroom, maid's room and our back door, respectively. Also serves as Aiden's car park (his car is simply everywhere!!!)

Up we go! This is the second floor (I assumed the ground floor as the first floor). You can see another set of staircases on the top right, which leads to the attic.

As you walk into the master bedroom, my small modest walk-in closet (and dressing table - not visible in picture) is to the right. Placed the ottoman right underneath the chandelier, as inspired by the movie Sex and the City, where SJP sat on the ottoman looking at the wardrobe, wondering what she was going to wear that night. So cool! Except that she didn't have a stand fan on the floor like mine! *grin*

The side wardrobe. And it is official, I need more closet space!

This is where I sleep. Can you believe that the bed, panel and side tables were only ready like probably a few months ago, and for the longest time we were sleeping on a mattress, Japanese style? And then when the whole thing was ready, it felt so weird to sleep on an elevated mattress!

Next up, our master bathroom. I should probably warn you, this was probably what clinched the deal on this house. When we visited the showhouse, we were shocked to find that the master bathroom was actually as big as the original unrenovated master bedroom!

Two sinks - one mine, one his. Tak payah berebut. Love it!

Fits two adults and one toddler. Don't know what i'm going to do when number two comes along (whenever that is).

The glass door on the left leads to the shower while the glass door on the right of the jacuzzi leads to the WC toilet.

This is our family hall, where we usually camp out to watch DVDs.

TV, courtesy of Macy. Wallpaper was obviously my choice (since it is pink!)

And my beloved bookcase which still holds books back since when I was probably as young as 4 years old! (I am a hoarder, remember?) Expect a lot of Sweet Valley and Enid Blyton in there. To the right of the bookcase is the entrance to Aiden's room.

Aiden's room!

This is where Aiden stores his toys (since he doesn't sleep here). Although I make it a point to give him his shower here and keep all his clothes in here (Mummy needs those closet space, baby!)

Where I chart his growth, just beside the bathroom door.

Aiden's bathroom.

And last but not least, is the guest bedroom - which is just next to Aiden's bedroom.

And the study within the guest room. Anyone fancy a night over?

Of Having Pets and Tinting Our House

2011-08-12T11:03:00.008+08:00

One thing that I learnt from staying home (to take care of Hubby after the surgery) is how hot it actually gets in the house! When we first looked at the Cahaya SPK master plan, my main concern was how it needs to be a corner house with a dead end, for safety purposes. Hubby's main concern? The price. But that's besides the point.

Unfortunately, we didn't even ask whether our new home would be facing the morning or the afternoon sun. So of course we got the worse of the two. And after a week of surviving through the heat, I told Hubby, enough is enough! How the hell did the maid and Aiden survive the heat? And there is simply no way that we were going to live in this heat during Ramadhan. So finally Hubby succumbed and agreed to tinting the house.

Apart from the welcoming the new house look, we also welcomed new family members to the house! Hubby wanted to get a pet for Aiden and both him and I agreed that a cat wouldn't be suitable (it is simply too heartbreaking for me) so in the end he decided to get some fishy fish fish for Aiden!

Off we went to the biggest kedai ikan in Shah Alam. Xian Leng is the name of this place (I googled it!) and it is right beside Wet World. I swear, this shop has one of the best selections of fish, comparable to Pets Wonderland!

Aiden got so excited when we arrived. He wanted to jump in!!

Wandering by himself, mesmerized by the fish.

Then he realized that I wasn't right behind him and so he cried out for me to come closer.

"See Mummy, there, fish!" he said with a pout...

They not only sell fish, they have guinea pigs too! Super cute.

Pretty polka dotted ikan pari.

Aiden's own mini aquarium.

Look at his excited face. He just couldn't wait to give the fish mamam food!

Waiting patiently for Daddy to open the plastic bag filled with fish.

Spooning the fish into the aquarium with Mummy's senduk sup (soup ladle). Iskh!

The next day it got so unbearably hot in the house and we were so worried that the fish wouldn't be able to take the heat so Hubby decided to plop in a few ice cubes into the tank.

Seriously, the water was so hot that the ice cube melted in a couple of seconds!

Thank god the next day the tinting guys came!!!

Tinting the dining hall windows.

And the living hall of course. The living hall has floor to ceiling windows which isn't really conducive for keeping the heat out.

We were debating for the longest time between going for green or brown. In the end we settled for green. See how much difference the tint made to the living hall window? The guy claimed that it would reflect 80% off the heat. And he was right!

And this is how our tinted house looks like!

Thank You, IJN!

2011-07-03T12:51:00.002+08:00

In a nutshell, Alhamdulillah, it all went well.

I guess there was a silver lining from the postponement of the surgery after all. Because we had spent a week at the first class single standard room, we knew how the rooms looked like and how the nurses were, and therefore we enquired about upgrading ourselves to a deluxe room. And surprisingly, I found out that for private paying patients, the price for a single standard and a deluxe room was exactly the same!

And the best part was, it was the only ward which had no stipulated visiting hours. Therefore Aiden could come in and out anytime he wanted (or rather anytime I found to be convenient for us), and there was no rush to get him out of the ward before 8pm!

Huge windows with plenty of sunlight - definitely good for a recovering patient!

The view from our window, although we can barely see KLCC since there was a gigantic building under construction blocking that view.

There was even a welcome pack!

The comfortable waiting area and the nurses' counter.

So if you're ever in IJN (which I sincerely hope you avoid), get a room on level 4!

Once we had moved in and had a late lunch, the nurses brought us to see the physiotherapist at the IJN old block. There, we were counseled about how the lung was going to collapse during a bypass surgery and the exercises Hubby needed to do to increase his lung capacity back to normal. Then we met the junior surgeon who explained how the surgery was going to be done and the risks associated with it. And finally, close to 7pm (these poor doctors work around the clock, do they?), we met the anaesthetist and signed a consent form for the surgery. By the time we got back to the room, panic had began to set in. Like a sudden realisation that the surgery was going to go on in the next few hours!

Hubby's family arrived just after Isyak and by the time they left (including Aiden), it was close to midnight so after prayers we both just laid side by side on the hospital bed, watching TV, not saying a single word. It was simply our way of comforting each other without saying anything.

Since Hubby's surgery was scheduled to be the first one in the morning, come 530am I was already up, getting ready to pick up Aiden from my aunt's house to bring him to the hospital. Meanwhile, Hubby's family unfortunately had overslept so they drove over with F1 speed and managed to arrive close to 7am. Hubby was wheeled in at 730am.

This was after we had all sent Hubby to the OT. Aiden insisted on going on the same bed his Daddy used to get to the OT so the nurses offered to wheel him back to the ward. I did not follow since I had to wait at the OT waiting room, but according to my SILs, he behaved really well!

Since the surgery was estimated to be about 4-5 hours, we assumed that the surgery would only be done by 12ish, therefore Hubby's family returned home for a shower and breakfast while I waited (with my sister, who arrived just minutes after Hubby was wheeled into the OT). There was also another family waiting at the waiting area and they all recited the Yassin as a group, so you can imagine how intense the atmosphere was for us. And it didn't help that the last time I waited at the waiting area (during Hubby's minor surgery), a lady was called into the OT by one of the nurses who told her that the doctor wanted to see her. And when the lady returned to the waiting room she was sobbing as she called her sister to tell her that their mother had passed away. So yes, it was a very scary moment for me.

At about 10-ish, I saw a couple of nurses from the fourth floor wheeling the second patient due to be operated after Hubby. I had befriended a chinese lady sitting beside me, who was a supplier for some medical equipments and was waiting for a meeting with one of the doctors. Since she was really well versed with the hospital, she told me that it was normal for them to wheel down the second patient when they were starting to stitch up the first patient. Immediately I panicked. 3 hours in and they were already closing in on my husband??? It could only mean that the surgery was an easy success or it was bad news. I started pacing up and down the waiting area. I simply could not think.

Alhamdulillah, the surgeon came out at about 1130am and told us the good news. He asked where Hubby's parents were so I had to make up a white lie about them being on the way! Hubby was eventually sent to the ICU close to 1230pm. I took pictures of when he was still asleep, with all the wires running into his body and a hugo suction hose in his mouth - but they are pretty personal pictures so I cannot publish them here.

Hubby was in the ICU for 2 days and at the HDU (High Dependency Unit) for 1 day. Finally he was moved back into the normal wards. When we escorted him from the HDU to the wards, he was shivering in pain and was so down and depressed. Why was he shivering you ask? Because it was the first day that they had cut his morphin and put him on panadols. Yes, you read that right. Panadol! Orang migrain bolehlah makan panadol, but after an open heart surgery, you give panadol??? Poor Hubby couldn't even talk since he was in pain. And as his lung had collapsed, there was a lot of liquid in his lungs which came out as phelgm. He was literally shaking from the pain when he had to cough his phelgm out. Our request for a higher painkiller was only approved in the evening as the surgeon was in the OT all day long, and after the painkiller, I finally saw a smile on his face.

During the recovery period, we were given the biggest room (excluding the suites) on the floor.

Very spacious!

Hubby's relatives from Perak (his Dad's side) made a trip down to see him and we managed to fill up the whole room! Cannot imagine how much noise we must have made that morning.

Godiva chocolates from Hubby's department mates.

Thank you to all who came to visit us - our relatives, our neighbours, the BBGS gang, the ex-office mates, the current office mates (and even the owner of Hubby's company!) and last but not least, thank you IJN for the successful surgery, the extremely capable surgeons and cardiologists, and the excellent bedside manners your nurses provided to us during the past 9 days.

Alhamdulillah, it all went well!

Solace in Running

2011-06-24T11:05:00.004+08:00

Recently, I found tranquility and peace of mind in running.

Previous excuses I used to give to myself when I was too LAZY to run were:

I much rather spend that time with Aiden.
The treadmill is in the guest room.
I cannot bear leaving Aiden at home alone while I drive to the clubhouse for a run at the gym.
I'm tired from a long day at work. I'll do it tomorrow.

However, after being saddled with so many issues surrounding Hubby's surgery, slowly but surely I felt like I was going to crack. Crack from the pressure, the sheer exhaustion, juggling family and work priorities, all of this while still having to put up a smile at the end of the day and reassure everyone that everything will be alright.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not forcing myself to be all smiles, all day, everyday. I am naturally born like that. Friends close to me know that I usually keep all these pent up emotions and sweep them under the carpet until one day it goes kaboom and you see me crash.

But somehow, I found solace in running. One day, I just slipped on my running shoes and started running towards the hills of Cahaya SPK. The hills are actually part of Precinct 1 - where the bungalow lots are. Not even a single house has been built except for one under construction. Previously some of us would run up daily but then when security became an issue, it became such a taboo to run there. But the day I started running, I guess I just didn't care. I just needed to get away.

InsyaAllah, everything will be okay...

A Week In IJN

2011-06-23T17:22:00.002+08:00

So if you guys are wondering whether the surgery was successful or not, guess what? Our surgery date was postponed - not once, but twice! So the most recent date we were promised is this week! It was very frustrating emotionally for us. Imagine, preparing yourselves mentally for such a major surgery only to find out that you have to wait some more. Worse, I had to inform family members, especially mine who had taken leave and planned to drive down from Ipoh to be with me during the surgery. Not to mention the distress Aiden had to go through everytime we drop him off at my aunt's house or the unpacking and repacking we had to do. I sincerely hope there is a silver lining amidst all of these chaos.

We were actually already on the way to IJN when we received the call telling us about the postponement. But in the end they told us to proceed to IJN anyway because Hubby had to do a minor procedure called a cardiac catheterization to measure his lung pressure.

Apart from this postponement issue (in which our cardiologist advised us to be patient and to put up with the surgeon's schedule since in the end, it is his hands that we want to do the repair), all my previous experiences with IJN has been fabulous. Okay, there is this one lady at the admission counter who was a bit kerek but then again she meets all kinds of Tom, Dick and Harry daily so I guess she's forgivable. And IJN impressed me again with their new wing of the hospital - the elevators, the interior designing, the rooms (the deluxe rooms even have wood laminated floors!), the food and most importantly the ensuites! Since my entitlement for every admission is a first class single standard room, this was extended to Hubby as well and I have to say, the rooms are even better than the ones in Gleneagles!

Sorry for the poor picture, the lighting was bad and I desperately need an iPhone upgrade. Anyway this is the single standard room. I even had a pull down bed for myself! Ample chairs in the room with a flat screen TV.

My bed is right beside the ensuite. No complaints there as I definitely appreciate the bed rather than having to resort to a foldable beach chair. Even Prince Court provides a sofa bed, so to have a bed with fresh sheets daily is definitely comfortable!

Cheerful stickers in the room. The only downside is the television channels. Don't expect to get Astro around here. You only get local TV, and even then the reception isn't that great. You can also choose to buy a card which will get you a day of unlimited selected movies. Will probably try that our next trip here.

The room in the morning, very bright and sunny! Was a bit jakun with the soap they provided with the in-room sink. You step on an inflatable bubble on the floor to dispense the foam soap. Very hygienic, I must say.

See how my pull-down bed magically hides itself into the cabinet? Designed to match the wardrobe right beside it.

Toilet looks brand new and clean, with new tiling and a solid surface sink.

Nice eh?

Colourful mosaics for the shower, similar to what you would normally see in a modern kitchen backsplash! And the shower curtain in blue.

Nurses wheeling Hubby out for his minor surgery. Very professional and attentive nurses. Each shift they will assign one nurse to one patient so whenever you press the call bell, the same nurse will attend to you. She is also expected to know your case as well, so she knows which doctor to call and your medication dosage.

Three meals are provided per day with morning break and supper drinks. They provide a menu which is changed daily, and you are required to pre-order one day before. They can also prepare meals for a single person who is taking care of the patient, at a pre-determined price. I must say, the food is quite tasty although the portions are quite small. Dinner timing is also not suitable for us as they serve it at 6pm, so by 9pm Hubby is hungry again. Thank god my aunt's place is close by, so whenever I send Aiden to her house at night, I have my dinner and tapau dinner for Hubby as well.

The nurse counter.

The walkway to the wards.

Funny story, Aiden was the bed while Hubby was outside talking to the doctor when a Malay lady opened the door and walked into our room exclaiming "Ini ke yang sakit?" (Is this the one who is sick - referring to Aiden.) I had to quickly clarify that Aiden wasn't sick, and she actually breathed a sigh of relief and walk out. I guess she was genuinely concerned that a small toddler would have heart problems.

We, on the other hand, are so used to seeing toddlers and babies at IJN that we don't even bat an eye when one walks in front of us. This is because, everytime Hubby has an appointment in IJN, he always meets with a Paediatric Cardiologist because Hubby's heart condition is a congenital one (he was born with it). All the nurses at the Paediatric department knows him because he is usually the only adult patient around there. Just last week we saw this tiny tiny baby in an incubator being wheeled into the cardiologist room. The baby was probably quarter the size of Aiden (who was Alhamdulillah, a healthy 4.1kg baby). It breaks my heart everytime I see something like see this and usually I would say a quick prayer of thanks that Aiden was born healthy.

Six hours after the minor surgery, Hubby was allowed to stand up, and we were shocked when he started bleeding from the incision at his groin on the right. Turned out that the nurses did not plaster the area well! And Hubby also had to stay on a few days because he developed hematoma (internal bleeding) at the incision at his groin on the left, which is quite normal since they had to puncture his artery to insert the catheter. So he was sent to do an ultrasound to check whether there was any active bleeding. Thankfully there was none so we were finally allowed to go home on Tuesday afternoon. That's 5 days in the hospital - excluding the weekend as we opted for home leave.

Back home, we were greeted with my family members who came all the way from Ipoh. I guess my Dad panicked when he heard that Hubby was bleeding so the whole gang came down to visit us.

Hubby was so happy to have a home-cooked lunch for a change!

My Dad's first visit since we moved house!

And since we had so many visitors, SIL and I baked pastries for tea. Silly me wrote Aiden's name on the pastry but of course when it was baked it didn't show!

So tomorrow we're checking into IJN again, and hopefully the surgery runs as planned. Please join us in praying for a successful surgery. And thanks for all the words of encouragement that you have left in my previous post. I sincerely appreciate each and everyone of them.

Wordless Wednesday - Quintet

2011-06-22T23:54:00.001+08:00

And June Comes Rolling In...

2011-06-14T10:05:00.005+08:00

And so June rolls in and it is finally time for Hubby's surgery. Remember this post last year?

Well all the tests have been conducted and the date has been set. Hubby will undergo open heart surgery at the end of this week. Alhamdulillah, our niat to have a sembahyang hajat was completed last week and our annual leaves are now approved. Hubby will be off for two months while the Dutch Oil Company has kindly granted me half pay leave for 2weeks and the remaining as annual leave. I would prefer not to share in public on why he will be having this surgery (although I can safely say it is definitely not because of his coronary artery), but am happy to share why, if you're willing to ask.

We are currently still preparing ourselves mentally. InsyaAllah all will be well and I am praying for a succesful surgery.

On a lighter note, it looks like Hubby will merasmikan our guest room downstairs. When we bought the house I envisaged the room to be a confinement room for our next baby. I had enough of being confined in the master bedroom upstairs while my in-laws 'kidnap' the baby from my arms and then hear peals of laughter and joy coming from our living hall downstairs. So I was determined to be downstairs to be part of the action the next time around. Little did I know that Hubby would beat me to it as a recovery room post surgery.

In preparation, we spent last weekend making the room ready. This was how the room looked before:

Yes, that's a treadmill in the room.

It was a bit inappropriate to have a treadmill in a recovery room so we have dragged the treadmill to the living hall, in front of the TV. No more excuses not to exercise!

However, we still felt like the room was a bit bare, there wasn't even a side table for Hubby to store his belongings, what more his medicine. Furthermore, Hubby was definitely going to have to sleep on the bed alone. No way are we taking chances with Aiden yang tidur buas to sleep in the same bed with his Daddy. He might just kick his Daddy's chest accidentally! So we thought a sofa bed would be a nice touch. Aiden and I can sleep on the sofa bed, and in the future when a new baby comes along, the new baby and I can occupy the bed while Hubby and Aiden sleep on the sofa bed. Although convincing Aiden to sleep on the sofa bed is a completely different hurdle we have to tackle. I'll cross the bridge when I get there!

So last weekend we finally made our purchases. A side table and a sofa bed, both from Ikea. It was not easy to look for a side table and a sofa bed which is of suitable size. Especially the sofa bed, since it has to fit in the nook at the far right of the room. Anyway, this is how the room looks like now. Apologies for the poor photo quality - when is the iPhone 5 coming again? *grin*

The living hall carpet is now demoted into a guest room carpet.

All ready for the recovering patient.

Thanks for all your well wishes and doa so far. We appreciate every single one of them and would like to request for you to not stop mendoakan for the well being of our family.

Take care!

The Third Floor

2011-05-31T17:17:00.003+08:00

During our recent housewarming party, a couple of friends of ours were very interested with our secret 'store' aka the attic. Some wanted to climb up to have a look. I was more than happy to accommodate them but with the condition that not more than two people climb up at one time. I am seriously worried about how much load the steel beams can withstand! Currently, there are already too many boxes in the attic since that is where we hide all the junk that I can never part ways with. Besides the sentimental goodies, I even have unopened wedding presents, unopened birthday presents for Aiden, my Barbie doll set, our snorkelling gear, our safety PPE (safety boots, coveralls, hard hat), luggages, Aiden's play pen, just to name a few.

For the rest who didn't climb up, they told me to post pictures on this blog. Unfortunately... no way am I going to show you the mess we have up there! So I took the liberty of digging through my old renovation photos and show house photos to share with all of you, just to give you a feel on how it is constructed. Fair enough?

As an introduction, not all semi-ds in Cahaya SPK are able to do this. Generally, the semi-d has to have a tower (double volume ceiling at the staircase area). Therefore, without the attic, my staircase ceiling will be really high - imagine a long chandelier running all the way from the high ceiling to the ground floor... *drool*

Of course, the attic idea was adopted from the Cahaya SPK show house. Which was one of the reasons why we bought the house (apart from the spacious master bathroom). Smart interior designing, I must admit!

This is the show house. My ID contractor was there to take actual measurements for reference. They were trying to measure how high up the attic had to be constructed for head clearance.

Instead of the solid boxed staircases, they used thin wooden strips nailed and welded to steel.

It was during this visit they we found out that the Cahaya SPK show house windows were actually lowered to create clearance for the attic. You see how those two windows are of the same height? They were both lowered! In our house, those two windows are higher, therefore the intermediate landing for the attic actually clashes with one of them.

As for the main landing, this is constructed using wall-to-wall steel trusses. The bottom is then covered with plaster ceiling (plus wiring for the downlights) and the top with wood and then laminated flooring.

This is a picture of the construction of the main landing at our house. You can even see the white PVC pipe which covers the wiring for the lighting.

Another view. See what I mean?

Then the solid wood staircases and handrails were installed, followed by the finishings.

See the window on the right? This is the original height of the window.

This is the window on the left. We had to lower this so that it doesn't clash with the intermediate landing. (It was either lower one, lower both to match or cover it completely. We chose the second cheapest option - lower one!)

The completed attic.

It's Here!

2011-05-31T00:01:00.000+08:00

It's here! And I can't stop inhaling the sweet sweet smell of leather! *swoons*

Of 911 Negeri Sembilan Food

2011-05-30T16:01:00.000+08:00

Just got back from lunch and boy, oh boy, what a scrumptious lunch it was. Have you guys been to Restoran Rose 911, Kg Pandan? They have the best Negeri Sembilan food ever!

I have been frequenting this restaurant ever since they were still in a small shack by the road side. I believe the original name was Restoran 911, mainly because there used to be an old police car just beside the shack. It was there for the longest time cos it was so old and dilapidated. The owner's name was Kak Ros and she used to come over and say hello to my Mum whenever we dropped by. I absolutely loved their daging masak lemak. Tambah nasi berpinggan pinggan! Then one day it was all gone! The police car was gone, the shack was closed. I heard that they moved the police car away and it took them a whole tank of fuel just to get the car moving from that spot to another spot a few hundred meters away. That was how fuel inefficient the car was!

Years after years went by and I totally forgot about the restaurant. I would pass by the place every evening coming home from work and it would look the same as ever. Closed. No sign of activity whatsoever.

Until one day, Hubby mentioned about this really great Negeri Sembilan place which he would usually go to with his friends for lunch. He loves the deep fried fish, as it was so crunchy that you can even munch on the bones! Or in his words, "sampai pipi ikan pun boleh makan!" (you can even eat the fish's cheeks). Now since when do fish have cheeks???

So off we went to this place he mentioned. And, of course, it was the same stall! Bigger, better and open for lunch (which explains why they look closed in the evenings).

Really really good food. Come early as parking is limited. 12-ish is fine. Never after 1pm since you can probably never find parking.

Check out the daging masak lemak and rebung masak lemak . *drool*

That's the fried fish which Hubby was so in love with. It is usually at the far left of the food line.

A close up. I believe it is mackerel? I can never understand how they fry them, it is so crunchy! Note that you should eat them there, as I tried bringing them home for dinner and it wasn't as nice as when it was hot off the frying pan!

Check them out on Facebook too.

I know Vernon (Ning Baizura's ex manager) once reviewed this place too. So since a celebrity blogger has been here, why don't you try it too?

Wordless Wednesday - GST

2011-05-25T23:55:00.001+08:00

*drooling but still in disbelief*

Raw Pictures from Aiden's Disney Cars 2nd Birthday!

2011-05-14T09:45:00.017+08:00

WARNING: POST WITH LOTS OF PICTURES. GO AWAY IF YOU DON'T FANCY WAITING. OR GO GET A CUP OF MILO WHILE YOU WAIT.

As promised, here are the raw pictures (courtesy of my SILs who hogged the camera most of the time) of Aiden's Disney Cars 2nd Birthday Party plus our Housewarming Event!

For your reference, below are links to all the resources I used during the actual party (for resources used for the preparation of the party, check out the previous post, or contact me for more details):

Lightning McQueen inspired birthday cake by Shashue Sugar Pink Icing
Lightning McQueen inspired cupcakes, swirl cupcakes and even macarons by Shireen Bakes
Chocolate covered race cars by Sureachoc
Popcakes by Walnut and Almond
Printables by Dear Azalea
Helium balloons and gamemaster by Party Shop (removed the link cos I do not recommend their services)
Foil balloons by Mummy's Party Shop
Photography by Phatdivamama
Facepainting by Sze Anne
Bouncing castle by a fellow neighbour
Main caterer (fried macaroni and satay) by Mama Nani catering
Roasted lamb was a recommendation by a fellow friend
Fried kuey teow by Mamat in Bukit Jelutong
Nasi Briyani and Soto Medan by a relative and MIL respectively
Arabian khemah (tent) was a recommendation by a Hubby's friend

Everything else you don't see on this list, was made lovingly by me, myself and I (with the help of a lot of tiny elves and cheap labour)!

Just a short story about our t-shirts for the day. We found a huge selection of Disney Cars t-shirts at the San Marcos Disney Outlet store. Unfortunately, they didn't have the same designs for kids and adults. But since I was so adamant that I wanted all three of us to wear the same design, I made both myself and Hubby try out the largest size that they had (which was a 10-12years old). It fit me okay albeit a bit short, but it was definitely tight for Hubby! And still I wanted to take it! So two of their largest size and one of their smallest size (for Aiden, duh...).

Fast forward to a week before the party, I was so relieved that the t-shirt still fits me. But for dear Hubby, it was still tight! (I don't know what I was expecting, for my husband to shrink or something?) So in the end we went to Pertama Complex, first plan was to just scan the t-shirt and reprint it but then the scanning wasn't so clear and we had to find an alternative. In the end we asked one of the tailors within the building whether they could cut the image out and sew it to a bigger t-shirt. And I was oh so impressed with the end result! I even asked him to make Aiden's t-shirt smaller, since that picky eater is just shrinking by the day! So we all wore matching t-shirts in the end.

In a nut shell, i'm just trying to creatively tell you that I am smaller than Mr Hubby. Okay bye!!! *grin*

Anyway, enough talk, let's look at pictures!

Lovely day, alhamdulillah!

If you're wondering, my garden is 30feet wide. Which is how I managed to fit two khemahs, one bouncing castle and a podium. The khemah for food was placed outside our side BBQ gate (the small white tent on the right). Notice the checkered flags in front of the flower bed?

So funny, while we were busy pumping the bouncing castle, Aiden kept jumping on the deflated plastic and said "Toing! Toing" but the minute it was inflated, he ran away in fear, shrieking "Takutnya!!!"

Bought this board at the Dollar Shop for of course, a dollar. Hung it at our front door.

A neighbour asked me after the event, how much I paid for this dessert table setup. I paid zero, cos this setup was all my own effort! *proud smile*

Okay since it was my own effort, indulge in another picture, will ya?

The birthday cake, two tiers of cake, while Lightning McQueen was made entirely out of fondant (it was too complicated, heavy and expensive to make it out of cake). Candle purchased in Houston, but we never got to light it up cos the cake was so high it blocked the candle in front. Anyone planning a Disney Cars birthday and needs a candle, let me know.

Chocolate covered cars.

Lightning McQueen cupcakes, swirl cupcakes and macaroons. Bought the Disney Cars cupcake liners for the swirl cupcakes in Houston., but it was such a waste of money. After baking, the liners were so thin that they looked like they were soaked in oil!

It was so windy that we couldn't put the helium balloons outside. So they ended up at our patio walkway.

Laid the handfans at the TV panel, for anyone who couldn't take the heat.

Yours truly modelling the handfan. It never left my hand the whole party, and it definitely kept me cool!

The early guests.

Since it was still early, we invited the security guards for some food so that they could avoid the afternoon crowd.

Fried macaroni and satay. That's Ann the chief caterer. Really happy with her, she handled all the food throughout the party, even the ones which weren't under her care.

The scrumptious Kuey Teow. If you're ever in Bukit Jelutong, please go try it out.

All made fresh on the spot!

Roasted lamb. The package came with garlic bread, mashed potatoes and coleslaw. Nyummy!

Fruit tarlets and mushroom quiche for dessert.

SIL took a plate of food for herself and offered some to me. I took two bites, and that was the only food I consumed throughout the party!

I hope the food's good, lady!

And finally the birthday boy woke up.

The younger kids were colouring at the patio, in front of the dessert table.

Aiden joined them in the colouring session for a bit, then he found his obsession and started playing on his own in the midst of the crowd.

More and more guests started to arrive.

A goody bag (or should I say cup) for each child.

This way to Aiden's party!

The enthusiastic older kids participated in the games, hoping to win some Disney Cars prizes.

They played, erm... whack the sack?

And step on the newspaper?

The kids waiting patiently while the gamemasters started setting up the next game.

The kids surely had fun! Prizes include Disney Cars remote controlled cars, jigsaw puzzles and stationary sets.

Meanwhile, in the cooler side of the house, the other kids were having their faces painted.

Sze Anne was so thoughtful, she pre-made Lightning McQueen stencils to save time. But in the end, each face paint was different from the next in subtle ways such as colour and streaks.

Look at how crowded it was in the house.

And outside the house!

The kids brought home one ball each. A fellow neighbour told me that she had to write her child's name on the ball to avoid confusion since nearly every child in the housing area received a similar ball.

The kids enjoying themselves with the decorative items.

And then, it was time to cut the cake!

We had to cut the cake twice because we had so many requests for photographs.

Happy 2nd birthday, Aiden!

Aiden's uncle, Darwish (yes, uncle!) wanted to join in the fun.

The pit stop girls?

The cake being carted back to the house.

Lovely roses from a fellow colleague as a housewarming present. I hope they don't die! I don't exactly have green fingers.

Topping up the chocolate cars.

And then the swirl cupcakes.

Pinata time! There was quite a queue to pull the string off the pinata.

Kids scrambling to collect the candy.

Kiss kiss!

With my pet sister from school! So sweet of her to come. The last time I saw her was when I had just delivered Aiden, 2 years ago!

Aiden having a sugar high.

BBGS gang, thank you for coming, and even dressing up according to theme!

SIL teaching Aiden how to blow.

Due to all the excitement and activities around him, Aiden didn't even bother for food. In the end he had a banana. Well at least, that's something!

By evening, most of the guests had already gone home when Aiden finally found the courage to step into the bouncing castle.

We hope you enjoyed your 2nd birthday Aiden. We love you to bits and pieces!

Aiden's Disney Cars 2nd Birthday Preparation

2011-05-11T12:06:00.008+08:00

Hey all!

Sorry I was MIA again. I was just gearing up for our most important party of the year, i.e. Aiden's 2nd birthday party (with the theme Disney Cars) and of course our housewarming event. That definitely took up almost all of my time (outside of work) after being home from Houston. As usual, I am still going through the pictures from our own DSLR (taken by my sister-in-laws so please excuse their faces being in almost all of the photos), until our own hired professional photographer delivers the official photos (which may take 2-3 weeks).

Aiden's Disney Cars foam poster in his bedroom.

Why Disney Cars, you ask? After last year's Football theme, I decided an F1 Racing theme would be interesting. Slowly but surely, it evolved to include Disney Cars. Then, I started religiously reading party blogs, most of them from outside of Malaysia, and their Disney Cars ideas were so interesting that I wanted to try them out for myself!

Here are some of the great party blogs I used as inspirations:

Buckets of Grace: Melissa provides links to almost all of the resources she uses for a particular party. And check out her son's birthday party, her ideas are so unique and inspirational! A special shout out to Melissa for her great help: When I was in Houston, I emailed her to ask where she found those checkered ribbons and her pretty cake stands. She was so sweet to immediately reply the very next day, and needless to say I found everything I needed where she told me to go! So if you're ever in the States, go check out Hobby Lobby, T.J. Maxx and the dollar aisle in Target. You'll be surprised at what you can find in there!

Kara's Party Ideas: A collection of parties to refer to. They also have winning party features every week.

Gywnn Wasson Designs: Desperately wanted to try her popcorn cone idea but never found the time to do so! Such a shame....

Catch My Party: Hundreds of party themes for inspirations.

Anyway, unlike last year (when I was very much more kiasu and planned the party about 8 months before!), this year my preparations only started about three months before the party. These were all that I could manage within that three months:

Goody bags: I bought almost all of the goody bag items from Houston, mostly sourced from Arnes Warehouse. Not only do they have almost everything under the sun, they sell it at dirt cheap warehouse prices too!

Got the Cars plastic cup, Cars blower and Cars pencil (not in picture) from Arnes. The bubbles and the horn were sourced locally. I also made personalized labels for each bubble bottle.

And assembled them to look like this. Each net holds a handful of chocolates, sweets and mini jelly puddings.

I had pre-prepared about 60 of these when I finally made my party guest list and figured out that I actually needed about 100. Thank god for the recent Houston trip, I was able to buy the remaining cups.

All printables were designed by Dear Azalea, based on a Disney Cars table cover I had purchased earlier. I ordered the whole works: posters, water labels, chocolate wrappers, bubble labels, even hand fans! Thankfully, I had two maids during the preparation period. The old one was due to go home permanently so she was having her 'handover' period with the new maid. So I roped both of them into helping me out with the cutting and the pasting!

Printables review board.

Both of us were busy cutting the mineral water labels and bubble labels.

While the other stuck them to the bottles.

For the cake cutting session, I desperately wanted to make a podium. The problem with me is, I am wonderful at making ideas, but a sad case for executing them. I had to turn to dear Hubby for help. This was how we did it: Firstly, find an old tall bench and use that as a stand for podium number 1. Take black styrafoam (easily found at art shops) and cut to size. Paste the 4sides to each side of the tall bench to cover it. Then use a similar width sized styrafoam and paste at each side of podium 1 to make podium 2 and 3. Use white tape to outline the edges for a neater finish. Paste checkered A4 sized paper to each of the podium and print the numbers in a cute font (since it is a child's birthday party), and tadaaaa you're done!

Aiden checking out the podium, and the completed podium.

As for the dessert table center piece, I had previously bought (sometime last year!) a readymade race car center piece from a party shop in Ikano Power Centre since the original idea was to have an F1 theme party. Since I didn't want it to go to waste, I decided to fix it to match the theme! I used red shiny paper (bought a whole roll of this during the recent Macy Warehouse sale), cut to size and pasted it on the yellow strips to match the red/blue theme. I then went to a printing shop and told them to print multiple Lighting McQueen images to size (mirror front and back), cut it out and replaced the helmet shapes with the Cars printables. And voila... I had a center piece!

My dessert table centerpiece - the before (picture Googled) and after.

Besides all of the above, I also made a pennant banner for the dessert table and some cute life-size signages, inspired by the daily road signs that I see on the road. No pictures of the preparations but you will see the end product further down this post.

I also found a picture of a triangle checkered flag on Google, enlarged it to fit an A4 paper and printed them double sided. I would then spend my after working hours cutting them out and then used glue to stick them to a rope. Simple, cheap banners! I also printed some mini rectangle checkered flags, cut them out and glued them to a toothpick to be used to spruce up the dessert table.

Now for all preparations made a day before the event!

First thing I did was to pick up all printables from Dear Azalea. This includes the table center pieces, using Ikea Tolsby frames - one side with photos of Aiden in his Disney Cars t-shirt (not in picture) and the other side with cute cheeky descriptions of Aiden.

Made 10 centerpieces frames, one per table, designed to match all other printables.

I highly recommend Dear Azalea for your design and printing purposes. (Although I wouldn't recommend it,) they were kind enough to accommodate my last minute edits (and last minute pictures as we only had a photoshoot with Aiden in his Disney Cars t-shirt about 5 days before the event!) and even rushed the order so I could pick it up earlier than schedule. And since their business is really booming, I recommend engaging them at least a month and a half before your party to avoid your order being turned down.

Then, I laid out everything for the dessert table. A special thank you to Azwin for letting me borrow her Ikea containers as it certainly saved me from having to buy brand new ones. I had previously studied pictures of dessert tables from past Dear Azalea projects, so I had a feel on what I wanted it to look like. I also made sure that I ordered/pre-purchased the desserts that I wanted to lay out, so I had time to specify my tent place cards to match the food.

Overview of the dessert table. As I mentioned earlier, the printables design were made to match the Disney Cars table cover (not in picture), hence the theme colours red and blue.

Bought this frame stand for the dessert table in Walmart, and my cheeky boy turned it into a gun instead! I wonder, where did he pick up this influence??

Disney Cars pail, purchased from Hobby Lobby. Was going really cheap as it was one of their Easter pails, hence on discount. Stuffed it with styrafoam so I can stick chocolate coated cars in it later. Paper plates from a party shop in Berjaya Times Square.

Chocolate bars and all other printables by Dear Azalea. The two remaining empty trays to be filled with Oreo Tyres and Mushroom Quiches on the party day. The four Ikea jars to be filled with jelly beans, puddings, Reeses and wafers respectively. Round styrafoam on the far left pasted with black foam paper with ridges to resemble a tyre, to be filled with Pop Cakes.

Square shaped container from Ikea, to be filled with multi-coloured M&Ms to add a tinge of colour to the blue/red setup. Serviettes from a party shop in Berjaya Times Square. Red boxes from D'Nata in Intermark, self adorned with checkered ribbons from Hobby Lobby.

Four-tier Wilton cupcake stand from Arnes Warehouse, to be filled with Lighning McQueen inspired cupcakes by Shireen Bakes. Disney Cars cup at the Disney Store outlet (buy one get one free). And my pride and joy - my dessert stand was only USD10 at T.J.Maxx. It was the only one left, so I could only hand carry one home. To be filled with nyummy-licious macaroons from Shireen Bakes.

Shireen from Shireen Bakes has been my good friend since I can ever remember. We were in the same school ever since we were 7 years old, and is even my bridesmaid. As we are both only childs, we often joke that we are sisters! I swear, she makes the best cakes, cupcakes and even Hari Raya cookies. I am really proud to be the first to order macaroons from her. And for her first order, it was simply amazing that her macaroons were a big hit during the party!

Disney Cars balloon centerpiece from Arnes Warehouse. Mini white bucket from the dollar aisle at Target.

By then it was already noon and it was time to install the khemah (tents)! Since Hubby wanted a clean look, he ordered white tents, white scallops and white chair covers. I was actually quite pleased with the results!

Aiden playing in the garden with another of the Target bucket in blue (for next year's birthday, perhaps?). Can you see the checkered pillars in the picture on the right? I found some checkered black and white tikar getah (latex mats) at a local shop nearby and I managed to convince Hubby to nail them to the garden pillars. I then hung my self-made triangle checkered flag banner in between the pillars.

Laid out the Lightning McQueen floor mats on each entrance into the house (bought these at the recent Macy warehouse sale) and stuffed the pinata with a Cars Candy Mix I purchased at Walmart. However, the candy mix was a bit of a let down. Granted, it had Disney Cars themed candy but they did not taste nice and was so limited in number that I had to buy more candy to stuff the pinata full! By the way,I hand carried the pinata all the way from Houston. Yes, I am sometimes crazy that way!!!

(Also, if you're living in a tropical climate, please do not leave your stuffed pinata to hang in the sun during the party. We learned this the hard way. By the time the kids tore the pinata into pieces late afternoon, most of the candy and chocolates had already melted!)

Next project on my list was the balloon arch. Ever since my neighbour, Sara, told me that she made her own balloon arch for her son's birthday, I was determined to try it out for myself. Armed with packets of balloons purchased from the Macy warehouse sale, I self-taught myself the art of making a balloon arch through YouTube.

The entire guest room was filled with blue and red balloons. How did I manage to blow them up so quickly?

I used a vacuum cleaner. I am not kidding! My Rainbow vacuum comes with not only a suction hose, but an inflator tool as well! Just stick the nozzle into the balloon (as shown by my SIL in the picture) and turn on the blower.

Yours truly twisting the balloons into pairs of two.

Also, the key to a beautiful balloon arch is to ensure that all the balloons are equally sized. We blew up the balloons within a box to use it as a rough measure for size, as shown by Norman (and Noris) who came over to help us with the balloons.

Besides trusty office colleagues, friendly neighbours also came to help! My two neighbours trying to twist the balloons to the vertical PVC pipe.

Until they figured out that it was actually easier to twist if laid on the floor!

We're getting to the end!

Noris, Norman SILs, Fatimah, Lin and Lina, look at what we created!

By then it was close to midnight, and Hubby arrived home after picking up the Pop Cakes (by Walnut and Almond), chocolate coated cars (not in picture, by Sureachoc) and of course, the full calorie birthday cake (not in picture, by Shahue's Sugar Pink Icing )!

Also, if you are serving chocolates on your dessert table, be wary of what the sun can do to chocolates. I had actually picked up my chocolate coated cars earlier that morning but since I was rushing on a couple of other errands, I left them on the back seat of the car in the sun. By the time I came back, it had all melted into a puddle of chocolate. Sureachoc was so sweet to actually stop all other orders and make new chocolate cars for me. They even waited until the wee hours of the night for my Hubby to arrive to pick up the order.

Also, I vouch for Kak Shashue for birthday cakes. She has done all my party cakes, including my baby shower cake, and I absolutely love her attention to detail! Check out her kebaya cakes and tuxedo cakes. Absolutely delish!

Meanwhile, the birthday boy was still up and wide awake.

And insisted on running into the balloon pile we had carefully put aside to be hung outside the next day!

He even sat on the Disney Cars themed balls I had carefully inflated earlier in the day!

And finally it was the big day! The first thing I did when I woke up that morning was to peek outside the window to check whether it had rained during the night. The weather during the past week wasn't really kind. It rained cats and dogs nearly everyday of the week.

I was so relieved when I looked at the sky. Sunny blue skies!

Love the fact that the tent comes with a flag at the very peak! I did not ask for it, but it blended so well with my theme.

Printed a high resolution Lightning McQueen image, pasted it on a styrafoam and cut to size to make a simple and cheap backdrop! The yellow trophy was a pinata from Aiden's first birthday. I simply used it again as decoration as it matched the theme! Although in this picture I have yet to put the box base underneath so it looks like it's inside the podium rather than on top!

Hung a birthday banner at our favourite corner in the garden.

Mini rectangle checkered flag purchased from a party shop in Ikano Power Centre. Did not know what to do with them so I ended up sticking them in front of my flower bed!

A3 board by Dear Azalea. Easel stand purchased at a local art shop.

Centerpiece made by my SILs. I just gave them one example and they made the remaining at their own home. Also in picture is the other side of the Tolsby frame. Not in picture are colouring sheets of Lightning McQueen with the words "Aiden is 2" and colour pencils to keep the children occupied while the adults eat.

We then dragged the balloon arch out to the gate. Imagine 4 girls carefully carrying a balloon arch out of the door, squealing and shouting whenever the balloon touched the ground!

So proud of the end result!

The birthday boy checking out what the commotion was all about.

Next, we piled the inflated balls into a self-made net.

The net was by the gate in the open so that the kids can just take one ball whenever they wish.

Unfortunately, the balloon arch did not last long outside due to the sun and the balloons kept on expanding and popping. So in the end we had to drag it in near to the front door. Note to self, next time buy thicker more lasting balloons!

Next, it was time to stab the road signages into the garden soil!

A view of the garden.

Excuse the garden hose. Hubby actually wanted to water the grass the morning before the party!

Then the most exciting part of it all. Setting up the pennant banner and the dessert table!

Pennant banner was self made to match the blue/red theme. For more pictures of the completed dessert table, you simply have to wait for the next post - the actual party!

And finally, the bouncing castle arrived.

Come back for the next post featuring Aiden's 2nd birthday party!

In Houston for Easter!

2011-04-14T13:39:00.006+08:00

Guess where I am and will be for the next 2 weeks?

I guess the title of this post already gave it away!!! But of course it is not for Easter lah. It is obviously for work. But I am contemplating making a short trip to either Las Vegas or San Francisco (for the latter to meet my PR green-card big brother) before I head home.

Unfortunately, this time around, I won't have this cheeky boy (and his Daddy) around to keep me company.

Rindu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Outdoor Garden Furniture

2011-03-31T15:59:00.004+08:00

The first thing I wanted to buy with my bonus this year, was an outdoor garden furniture set. The patio is too bare for my liking, and I felt like the living hall and the dining area were too disconnected because of the current house design. Having furniture at the patio would make the area more usable - for moonlight dinners or even surfing the internet under the twinkling stars, and therefore this space would provide a bit more continuity to both the living and the dining.

And I finally got my wish last weekend! We were scouting around high and low for the perfect outdoor garden furniture. Saw some very expensive ones online and even equally expensive ones at the furniture malls by the road side. I wasn't keen in spending too much on it, and was prepared to accept a synthetic rattan set for an affordable price tag. We had initially decided on a simple set - a table with 4 chairs at Houz Depot, going for an affordable RM999. And so I was simply waiting for my bonus to be banked in, and the very day I received my pay cheque, both Hubby and I drove straight to Houz Depot with the intention of placing a deposit on the set. But biasa lah, when you feel like you have extra money in the bank, the nafsu of getting an upgrade kicked in! I immediately fell in love with a 2+1+1 seater instead! Hubby took quite a while to succumb to my pleads and (sometimes absurd) reasonings, but in the end he agreed.

The set was finally delivered last Friday. I was in Miri when they delivered it and only got to see it when I arrived home that night. I was extremely excited with my purchase that we had almost every meal in that area during the weekend. Apart from the normal meals, we even had a durian session (FIL brought home a car-full of durians from the dusun in Teluk Intan) and a BBQ (with marinated lambs purchased from Jusco).

Check out my new splurge! Totally loving it!!!

And also, check out the 'mountain' of durians!!!

We stuffed ourselves silly the night the durians arrived, a few hours after that Hubby's squash friends arrived for a durian supper, the next day another gang of Hubby's had durians for tea while my MIL made kuah durian to be delivered to my SILs in university, Bibik made tempoyak and we gave some durians away to our neighbours.... and still we had leftovers!!

And this was Sunday night, early BBQ because everyone had to work the next day.

Nyummy lamb and chicken.

We certainly made full use of the outdoor garden furniture last week. Definitely looking forward to this coming weekend!

A Night in the Garden

2011-03-31T10:39:00.008+08:00

I know I promised no pictures of our new crib until Aiden's 2nd birthday cum Housewarming Party in April, but it looks like that the event will have to be pushed to May due to work circumstances (Houston, here I come again!), and I simply cannot resist sharing pictures of our hard earned effort to make the house a home.

But this time around, enjoy the pictures of a night in our garden first. Pictures of the interior, you say? Coming soon!

Took these pictures the night before we left for our weekend in Singapore......

Because of Aiden's obsession with fish (his first word was fish!), we bought 10 small fishes and placed them in that black bowl with the water lillies. Unfortunately they all died due to the heat - the water was too shallow. Kesian.

When I took these pictures, the gardener had just cut the grass and placed sand on top of it, which explains the bald patches.

Love my favourite corner! Glad hubby decided to make that corner a bit elevated and definitely glad that it turned out so well!

U-shaped and L-shaped modern windows. That's my master bedroom on the top floor.

Two of my garden lights were not working. Can you spot them?

Steps leading to the patio.

Our humble patio. Plan is to 'make' our own pergola. When? Your guess is as good as mine!

The area on the left of the patio is the living hall (with the U-shaped window), while the area on the right of the patio is the dining hall (you can even see the kaki kerusi). Therefore the two areas are separated into two distinct sections by the patio.

Alhamdulillah ;)

Front Window

2011-03-23T01:40:00.005+08:00

I'm in Singapore yet again. This time visiting a pipelay vessel on anchorage about 2 hours boat ride from the Singapore Harbour Front. Yesterday, as I was boarding the plane to Singapore, I remembered a funny story which happened back in 2005.

It was my first time travelling on a company trip. I was going to visit a refinery in the Phillipines. I have been on numerous flights with my family, mind you, but this was my first trip on my own (not counting the trips I had when I was younger as a Young Passenger Travelling Alone - YPTA, between KL and Ipoh). And my first time filling in a travel request form.

I love window seats. Not just because of the scenery but because I can use the window to support my head (to sleep). But I also like being in the front so that I can be one of the first passengers out of the airplane and not be stuck in a long line at immigration.

So at seat preference, I wrote: Front Window.

When the form got to my Boss he roared with laughter and asked me, "Oh so you want to sit with the pilot and look out of his front window?"

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Chronicles of a Stay-At-Home-Mum

2011-03-15T23:36:00.002+08:00

We're home from a short trip to Singapore, 4 days to be exact. Why Singapore, you ask? Well it wasn't really a holiday. If it was a holiday, I would have probably chosen another country rather than this particular one which I visited once every 2 months last year. Actually, I had a business training on Monday and Tuesday so I decided to drag the whole family (this time, including Bibik) for a short holiday. I honestly thought that Houston was going to be Aiden's last trip on an infant seat but I was so wrong!

If you're wondering how easy it is to bring your Indonesian maid into Singapore for a holiday, i'll say dead easy. A friend told me that you need to make sure that your maid's passport is valid over 6 months before the expiry date and also the employer who's name is printed on the visa (in this case, dear Hubby) must be present when she walks through immigration. However, our experience was even simpler. Hubby didn't walk with our maid at immigration - she walked to the officer all on her own, and the officer didn't even check her passport. Just stamp stamp and go!

Anyway, I am still going through all the pictures we took at Sentosa Island, Singapore Zoo, Hard Rock Cafe and Hilton Singapore, so bear with me, yeah? Since this trip was so relaxing as our accommodation was fully paid, we splurged on good food and travelled by taxi instead of the MRT and last but definitely not least, Bibik was around to help out with Aiden, I couldn't help but compare how this trip was so different from all my past trips into Singapore! So for this post, I wanted to put up a chronicle of what I went through when I was a stay-at-home Mummy in Singapore, putting up with what Bibik does in a day while Daddy takes over being the sole bread-winner during that period. I guess, a bit of appreciation for women out there who makes being a homemaker as their primary occupation (apart from driver, referee of children fights, tuition teacher, just to name a few).

Sunday night is usually groceries night. We would walk over to the neighbourhood Fair Price and stock up on chicken, bread, milk, cereal, eggs and biscuits. Since halal chicken are sold in packs (they didn't have khidmat pemotongan ayam either), we would have to bring the whole thing home and cut it ourselves. I was not such a big fan of kepala ayam or kaki ayam so Hubby would usually graciously accept that responsibility while I store our groceries away in the kitchen cabinets, away from Aiden's grubby fingers.

Definitely halal.

Aiyooo this is why I get so disgusted with cleaning chicken. What is this? Vena cava? Aorta?

Thank you Hubby!

In the morning, I would have to wake up extra early since there is no Bibik to make Aiden's morning milk bottle. And Aiden is extremely extremely grumpy in the morning. It is usually easier to be prepared with the warm bottle rather than wait for him to cry and be cranky while I scramble to prepare the bottle. So in goes the warm bottle and after he's done, the pacifier goes in next and he continues his deep slumber. If I haven't done the ironing the night before, I would then proceed to iron Hubby's work clothes while he gets ready for work.

After Hubby leaves at around 8am-ish, I either start on the laundry or I join Aiden in bed. Hey, it is sort of a holiday for me, I don't usually get to wake up late on a work day, and from our CCTV, I know that Bibik includes a day nap in her daily itinerary too!

So, more often than not, Aiden get's to help me with the laundry. This usually takes place around 10am-ish. Not only do I have to do two rounds of laundry - one for clothes and one for the bulky bed linens, I also have to handle Aiden, who's level of curiousity sometimes include going into the washing machine or pressing the stop button in the middle of a spin!

That's how massive my laundry days are. Once the clothes are done, they go into the dryer while the bed linen goes into the washing machine.

Around this time Aiden would need a change of diapers plus another bottle of milk and then I would proceed to kemas rumah. This includes sweeping the floors, making the bed, wiping the TV cabinet and putting the sofa back to its rightful position. Sounds easier than done, especially when Aiden insists on helping me out with the sweeping (and proceeds to step on all the dirt I have sweeped and walks/crawls all over the house). Thank god I do not have to vaccum or mop as Hubby's company pays for a cleaning lady to clean the house once every week.

Around 1pm-ish I start on lunch. Aiden is a picky eater and usually insists on the same thing over and over again. I am no pro in making porridge so we would usually buy two containers of porridge to last him two days and I would just reheat it. Easy peasy. As for me, I would either make a simple nasi goreng or munch on my favourite bread.

Good on its own or with some strawberry jam. Nyum!

If it is fried rice, it is usually leftovers from yesterday's dinner.

So we would both have our lunch in front of the TV. Aiden gets the VIP seat in the stroller while I suap him his porridge. Why the stroller? Because we didn't have a baby chair and it was the only way I could keep him still while I coax his lunch into his mouth.

Thank god for cartoons on local TV. Aiden throws a tantrum whenever I turn on Channel 5 or even Oprah!

This orange stroller is well travelled and banyak berjasa. We left this stroller with the bell boy in Houston last year after we purchased Aiden's new Quinny. And I have to say, this orange stroller is a lot lighter and easier to manage!

After battling with lunch, it is finally time for a bath! Usually our first bath for the day cos I am always so frazzled running from one thing to another and suddenly it is nearly 3pm and I am still in my pyjamas! You must be shaking your head from side to side. I know, I know. I told you, I appreciate ALL you homemakers out there! Juggling back-to-back meetings are so much easier!

Back to bath time - I usually just jump into the bathtub with Aiden cos in the end I get wet anyway, and if we were to bath separately, who is to look after Aiden while i'm in the shower? Bath time isn't easy too when your baby is just starting to walk. Aiden just loves standing in the slippery bath tub so I have to scramble to dry myself off and get into my clothes while keeping an eye on him.

Right after the bath I would draw all the curtains close and cuddle in bed with him. Usually he's so dead tired that he's asleep in ten minutes - thank god.

I then take advantage of the peace and quiet to lipat, jemur kain and do some ironing. I also have to clean up the mess from lunch - spilled porridge and water on the floor, the sofa and the stroller. This is also the time when I would clean his milk bottles. I am quite particular about his bottles. Even until today they are steamed and refridgerated until use. So because there is no bottle sterilizer in Singapore, I have to use boiling water to clean and sterilize them. On other days when I am really lazy, I just sit in front of the TV and try to surf the net. I say try because I end up running into the room every 15 minutes because of Aiden crying. He is a very light sleeper, that boy, and just any bit of noise would jostle him awake. Also I get quite psycho, if he doesn't cry out after 30minutes I would actually imagine that he's crying and start running to the bedroom. And to lull him back to sleep is no easy task. The first time we were in Singapore I actually developed back pain due to all the dodoi to sleep and dukung that Aiden wanted.

And then Hubby arrives home around 6pm-ish. Aiden is usually awake by then, grumpy and refuses for anyone else to hold him other than me. Hubby usually tries to pujuk him by giving him a bath. So while they both are occupied in the bathroom, I start on dinner.

There is no rice cooker so I have to rely on the periuk. First time I used it, we had nasi hangit for dinner.

Thinking back, I never made any fish dishes when I was in Singapore. Chicken was always easier to manage.

This was the best that I could produce with the periuk.

Simple dinner for two with a choice of either white rice or fried rice. In this picture it was especially simple - everything was fried!

Fried chicken.

Fried rice.

And fried egg. Well what to do, I had to make do with whatever was available at the rumah bujang.

And of course, my favourite drink whenever I am in Singapore - coconut juice with pulp.

By the time dinner is over, it is time to do the dishes. Hubby takes over taking care of Aiden although I almost always find Aiden clinging to my leg whenever he wants something or just because he wants me - very manja! And then it is time for me to take my bath and watch a bit of television before I crawl into bed with Aiden and Hubby in tow.

And despite doing all these activities during the day, I still find myself staring into the dark thinking of all the chores I still have to do tomorrow, while my two boys snore through the night.

So will I ever quit my job and do this full time? Maybe not. But maybe when Aiden is a bit more independent, it gets more bearable? I really don't know. All I know now, is that I definitely need a maid!!!

Behind the Scenes of the Cahaya SPK Dialogue Session

2011-03-11T14:14:00.009+08:00

So how did the Cahaya SPK Dialogue Session go? Of course, we won some, we lost some. But kudos to the team who made it happen. From a small Resident Association (RA) committee of only 7, we expanded to 5 (I repeat, five) sub-committees with just one gathering at my humble abode.

So instead of only having representatives from each precinct in the RA committee, we unanimously decided that to be better prepared for the dialogue, we needed one sub-committee for each major issue, namely:

Legal - Cahaya SPK is blessed to have aplenty of lawyers. This team studies the S&P, the clubhouse agreements and the security agreements.
Security - This team handles all matters related to security, such as relations with the security company, meetings with the developer for security handover.
Clubhouse - This team handles everything that has to do with the clubhouse including expediting its handover.
Infrastructure: This team handles issues on infrastructure and liasion with MBSA, such as championing the building of schools, road lights and the likes of it.
Maintenance: Last but not least, this team handles any issues within the enclave, such as road safety, mosquitoes fogging and the likes of it.

So where do I fit? I am still holding the responsibilities as Secretary of the RA. Can't add anymore on my plate, thank you very much. As it is, all of last week I was running from the office straight to an RA sub-committee meeting (usually security). I leave the house early morning with Aiden still asleep and come home late at night to see my son in pajamas.

Can you spot me?

And a sneak peak of my living room!

Because I felt guilty that I did not prepare sufficient food for the small kenduri doa selamat masuk rumah I had early this month (people just kept on coming, Alhamdulillah!), so I prepared the same menu - Nasi Dagang Kelantan for the attendees.

Pictures from a meeting with residents on security held at the Surau compound, organized by the security sub-committee team. (Attended the meeting straight from work, which explains why I was still in my work clothes!)

Our very own Cahaya SPK Balai Polis sarjan reminding everyone to bring up their car keys to the bedroom so that the car alarm can be triggered as an alternative to the alarm panic button, in the case of a break in.

And of course, pictures from the Cahaya SPK Dialogue Session.

We had such a good turn out that we ran out of chairs. People were standing up and we had our share of heated arguments. But in the end we all shook hands and agreed that it was a very good, honest and beneficial discussion.

So in a nutshell, these were what we discussed:

Stricter entry and exit procedures to the enclave, including tags for contractor management.
Implementation of a 24hours call centre number for emergencies.
Tiger eye service for houses which are empty for a certain period of time, i.e. owners are out for a holiday.
Opening of second guard house.
Confirmation that alarm and phone automation system are usable with Unifi.
Extra features for the alarm system (at an extra cost, of course)
Extension to two years free for clubhouse usage.
Sourcing for cafe operators and retail shops (anyone interested?)
Our very own Cahaya SPK water tank to be operational by 1st April 2011.
Land for primary school found suitable in Cahaya SPK. Plans have been submitted to the technical department of the Ministry of Education.
Petition for extension of railing in P3 was agreed.
Construction of ramp into Cahaya SPK to start in May 2011.
Reaffirmation that defects shall be recitified within 30days of entering it into the customer e-portal.
Speed breakers to be installed after the guard house.
Family day with SPK management to be organized.

So that's it dear residents. Official minutes to follow. I am off to another RA meeting. Ciao!

The Junior Gardener

2011-03-01T16:38:00.000+08:00

I have to admit, I love having a garden. Although I am not exactly famous for being able to grow anything! In our previous house, before I got married, the garden would be unkept, full of weeds and scary. Then I got married and Hubby decided to try to make the garden a bit more presentable but unfortunately he inherited my inability to keep a garden so the carpet grass died. In the end, we cemented the whole area and turned it into a double volume car porch!

But with this garden, I am determined to make it pretty and neat. I dream of flowers blooming and envisage Aiden running around or kicking a ball in the garden. So nowadays, every afternoon, I would make it a point to venture into the garden, water the plants and pick out the rare weeds. And surprisingly, it is an activity that Aiden really enjoys too!

And check out our completed garden (phase 1 at the very least)!

Look at him, my junior gardener.

A close up. Watering pot courtesy of Ikea.

Watering the plants within my favourite corner.

Nasib baik Bibik sanggup melayan isi air in the watering pot every few minutes...

The area in front of the shrubs is still patchy. I'm hoping that the grass will grow sekata in that area despite the excess soil.

Sometimes, instead of watering the plants, he ends up watering the drain. Layan jer la.

Macammane air tak habis cepat, he simply tilts the water pot upside down and all the water comes raining down!

Oh, no!

Walking in tip toe towards Bibik to ask for a new fill of water.

And with the carpet grass, comes a lot of ulat gonggok! In which Aiden will then say "Eeeeeee..." (exaggerated, of course) and sometimes he even steps and squashes the poor thing!

Of course, after every trip into the garden he will end up being soaked from head to toe and therefore Bibik will bring him up to his room for his evening shower. But today, fresh from the shower, we found him playing with the neighbourhood cat pulak!

Aiden restraining the cat by holding its two front paws. Salute, he's definitely not scared of the four legged feline!

He even tried to pick up the cat! Obviously takes after his Mummy, a cat lover.

Needless to say, he needed another shower after that just to clean him up!

A Trip Down Memory Lane and Hubby's New Hobby!

2011-02-21T17:53:00.002+08:00

How many of you out there know where I was working before I started with the Dutch Oil Company? Answer? Probably less than a handful.

Before I gave up my life to work with the oil and gas industry, I was actually in construction. And that wasn't by choice either. I was given a scholarship by a construction company therefore by default I had to work through my bond which was 5 years. Which construction company, you ask? Yes, I worked with Gamuda Berhad. Proud to be a Gamuda scholar. But not so proud that I worked for a total of 6 months with them before paying back my scholarship to grab that better offer with the Dutch Oil Company. (Did I tell you that I only submitted my application to the Dutch Oil Company for fun, or actually just because Hubby did it, went to the interviews without putting too much effort, since I already had a career with a bond, and was complete boggled over when I found out that I got the job??!!)

I learned a lot about life, by being in Gamuda. It gave me a whole different perspective on life in the construction line. Or should I say, a female in the construction industry. I take my safety helmet off to those ladies who excel in this largely male dominated business.

I spent my internship on the construction of the SMART tunnel. Back then, they didn't even have a name for the tunnel boring machine (TBM). At 22 years old, I was going in and out of their multiple sites, visiting the retention ponds. Attending sessions with the public to inform them that the construction of the tunnel was not the cause of their house cracks and that it is definitely safe to drive in this 3 storey tunnel! It was definitely a surreal experience. Whenever I drive in the tunnel, I can still feel a sense of pride that I played a part in its construction. Did you know that if you were to run a staircase from the top to the bottom of the tunnel it would be at least 10 storeys tall? I only ventured once into the bottom of the tunnel, and back then I remember getting looks from the construction workforce.

Not admiring looks, mind you. They were actually not really happy as they believe that it is bad luck for a female to be inside the tunnel. Very superstitious, I must say.

After graduating, I was placed with SPLASH, a subsidiary of Gamuda who (back then) deals with the water supply for Selangor. At 23 years old, I drove a manual 4WD on my own for the very first time from Damansara Jaya to the Bukit Badong Water Treatment Plant. I would also venture into the deep jungles and even perkampungan orang asli to collect water samples for monthly reports to the Department of Environment Malaysia. One weekend I even drove the 4WD home and impressed my father in-law with my driving skills!

Needless to say, I was really sad when I tendered my resignation.

So when Hubby said that he wanted to drag me to Damansara Jaya to check out his latest craze, I agreed with the condition that we drove past the Gamuda office.

I used to drive on this road every single day to get to work.

*sigh* Bitter sweet memories.

Back then, lunch in KLCC or Pavilion was a ridiculous idea. It was usually lunch at the food court, or we would take turns cooking lauk for lunch. Well the cooking has to be done the night before at home lah. We would simply heat up the lauk. There was also a collection to buy beras as we would tanak nasi at the office pantry. Or if you feel like splurging, there's always Atria. Aaahhh those were the days.

So what exactly is Hubby's latest craze? Hubby has decided to ditch his scuba diving idea for another hobby - remote controled aeroplanes.

Aiden followed us to the hobby shop. Wasn't really a good idea as he wanted to touch every single aeroplane, helicopter and remote controlled car in the shop!

Love this yellow plane.

There is even an army themed aeroplane!

Hubby testing out the remote.

Yup this is the shop. Previously we checked out hobby shops in Berjaya Times Square and One Utama but by far, this shop gave us the best deal and after sales service.

After days and days of doing research and watching youtube videos (I swear I am going to puke if he forces me to watch just one more video of an aeroplane crashing), he ended up with this aeroplane model.

Even purchased a simulator so that he can sharpen his skills through the computer. Which I think is a good idea since the simulator will help his maiden flight to be accident-free. (And I don't think we can afford another aeroplane should this one crash into pieces.)

This was last week. We finally picked up his aeroplane as it took the guy 5 long days to assemble it.

So check out Hubby's new baby.

I will definitely take pictures of his maiden flight. Stay tuned!

Green Fingers

2011-02-17T16:27:00.011+08:00

What can you do with 30feet of land?

Plenty, given that you have plenty of moolah. Unfortunately, we do not have plenty of those, so please, throw the the swimming pool and the water feature ideas out of the window. What we can afford for now is just grass. Lots and lots of grass.

And since we're on the subject of saving money, what better way to save money than to clear your own garden? Besides burning a lot of calories, you get to show off your skills of wielding the parang to your next door neighbour. (What next door neighbour? Rumah sebelah kosong lah!)

This was my outfit untuk menebas. A pair of Ralph Lauren jeans, a Marks & Spencer top and gold Pedro gladiator sandals.

(Even Aiden was) hard at work.

Aiden had his own rake.

Aiden complaining that the mosquitoes were feeding off him.

After a while I gave up (with blisters on my palm) and called in the sifu - Bibik!

She was so skillful with the parang that she got all this in probably quarter of the time I spent.

After we cleared the garden (it took us two long afternoons!), we decided that no way were we going to do the landscaping on our own. Not only was it too ambitious, but we have tried planting carpet grass in the Ampang house and after all that hard work, it died. So we decided to invest our money on a local gardener.

Step one, plant all the trees and shrubs that you can afford.

Dark red shrubs for our dining hall windows.

Sweet red flowers for our patio side.

Small shrubs for our living hall u-shape window.

Wasn't really happy that they left the excess soil on the ground and simply covered it with grass. That spot is now all gooey and muddy whenever you step on it. *sigh*

Hubby wanted a small man-made hill at the corner, and his idea turned out to be a pretty good one! Love how this corner turned out to look like.

Hubby hard at work planting trees *yeah right* beside the BBQ gate.

While all that was going on outside, this boy decided to turn our table lamp into a microphone stand and started crooning away.

We also told the gardener to remove the MBSA trees in front of our house.

And replaced it with our choice of trees.

Check out the mess.

Step two. Remove all the stones in the ground and replace with clean sand. Level the soil.

Check out my favourite corner.

Ready for grass.

Our indoor garden being prepped. We wanted a Japanese bamboo to be planted here so that we could see it from the dry kitchen window sink. Such a pretty view while washing dishes!

Unfortunately the gardener brought this instead - his interpretation of a Japanese Bamboo. Hubby said "nie rumah Nenek I ade lah pokok nie!" (I'll probably see this tree in my grandmother's house!)

Step 3: Lay the grass!

This was when they were 3/4 done.

And last but not least, use a heavy roller (the 100kg barrel) to roll the grass flat.

And I caught this boy digging holes in my garden.

Of course, you will need to water the grass twice a day. Lots and lots of water, especially if it doesn't rain.

But look at what this boy's imagination created! A water hose turned into a gun.

He does not own a single toy gun, nor has he watched anything else except for Playhouse Disney. So where did he learn this???

Invitation to an Open Dialogue between Cahaya SPK and Residents

2011-02-12T01:34:00.009+08:00

I know most of my silent readers out there are generally Cahaya SPK residents who google things like 'Cahaya SPK blogspot' or 'Cahaya SPK renovation' and somehow or rather stumble upon my personal blog, or the general public who are interested in securing a property in Cahaya SPK.

So, for my fellow residents, on behalf of the Pro Tem Resident Association, it gives me great pleasure to invite you to our inaugaral Open Dialogue between Cahaya SPK and Residents. This is an activity organised by your friendly Pro Tem Cahaya SPK Resident Association (CSPKRA) for the benefit of the whole community.

If you cannot read the letter above (which we sent to SPK earlier this week), see below for the jist of it:

Sir,
OPEN DIALOGUE SESSION BETWEEN DEVELOPER (CAHAYA SPK) AND RESIDENTS

In reference to the above, we would like to inform you that a meeting was held on Saturday, 29th Jan 2011 between the Pro Tem Cahaya SPK Residents’ Association (Pro Tem CSPKRA) and the residents to solicit their views on the recent water supply outage, and a consensus was reached to organize an open dialogue session between the developer and residents. This is in order for residents to seek clarification from the developer on issues which include but are not limited to:

1) Security services and operations including the SOP
2) Ownership of security management and collection
3) Water supply
4) Cracks rectification
5) Clubhouse
6) Second guard house
7) Road lights
8) Drainage
9) Road safety
10) Maintenance of playground
11) House title
12) Status for flyover into Cahaya SPK
13) Status of road from P4 leading to Jalan Shah Alam - Sg Buloh via Sekolah Sri Cahaya
14) Status of slip road towards Sunway Alam Suria traffic lights
15) Mosquitoes
16) School and other amenities

We respectfully request your presence and any other top management personnel who are able to made decisions on behalf of SPK, to attend the dialogue session to be held at the details below:

Date: 19th February 2011 (Saturday)
Venue: Cahaya SPK Clubhouse
Time: 10am

We also respectfully request your assistance in informing the residents (P1, P2A, P2B and P3) of this upcoming dialogue session via your SMS notification system. This is to help ensure adequate turnout for a beneficial discussion.

We believe that this transparent approach is the best way to allay residents’ concerns and secure an outcome that brings benefits to Cahaya SPK and the residents.

So clear your schedule and pencil in this important appointment in your busy calendar. Share your views and let your voices be heard!

A Recap of January

2011-02-11T16:30:00.000+08:00

To continue the previous post, what happened in January?

1) We went up and down, in and out various hospitals. After Prince Court, we went to get a second opinion at SJMC and a third opinion at IJN. Did a bit of research, used my connections (two friends referred us to two different cardiologists in IJN while a relative referred us to an anesthesiologist who used to work in IJN) to get more information and finally we narrowed our choices down to only two hospitals. Since Hubby's condition is so unique, we found out that only two doctors are able to work his case in the whole of Malaysia, and they are in IJN and Gleneagles respectively.

Thank god for full coverage with the Dutch Oil Company (which also means I probably can never stop working)!!

2) My (only) eldest brother (whom I last met in Los Angeles back in 2008) came home for a short visit. And we met up with him over dinner at Fatty Crab in Petaling Jaya.

Nothing can beat this, yet.

The one on the right is my sister in law. When I was visiting them, she brought me shopping to all the best factory outlets! She even coaxed me into buying my dream Lady Dior and also another small Dior tote which ultimately consumed half of my Sakhalin paycheque back then. She taught me that when shopping in the US, if you see something just buy it as you can always go home, think about it and return it the next day if you don't like it! So don't mess with this petite lady, she is definitely a sifu in shopping-tology!

My brother is home!

After dinner, we went to visit Abang Ramli at his 'room' in my Dad's hotel. Abang Ramli (or should I say Datuk Haji Ramli MS?) and my brother go back a long way - they once produced an album together for a band who's name escapes me (that's how unpopular the band was) in the 90s.

Saw this lying on his room floor, must be the scores for AJL. Still can't believe Hafiz won Best Vocal!

Aiden exploring Abang Ramli's washing machine and dryer. Can you believe he has these and a microwave and a mini studio all cramped in a hotel room? Good to know he's moving into a house he built soon. Saw the 3D pictures of his new home and I was drooling over the concept. It even comes equipped with a humongous studio! (What else to expect, that is his bread and butter.)

3) Aiden starts to show interest in donning a kepiah and standing beside Daddy to pray! Although his attention starts to waiver as soon as Daddy starts to rukuk.

He even has his own sejadah okay!

4) Finally found the time to make my claims for the recent Houston trip. See below to see how much of the company's money I spent:

5) *sigh* How I wish the reimbursement amount does not show RM 0.00 as I could really use the money for one of these babies:

My dream car.

We went car hunting for Hubby (not for me, unfortunately), and I instantly fell in love with the soft top cabriole Eos. Althought Hubby was leaning towards the GTI or the Scirocco.

Aiden was all over the car, even demanding for the car keys!

6) Since we could not agree on our dream car, we decided to grant Aiden his own dream car!

A Mini Cooper S. Happy early birthday Baby!

His Cooper is so cool, it can be controlled via remote or via pedal. It even has a radio (yes a radio which gets Hitz.FM etc.) and also an audio jack inlet so that I can plug in my iPhone and play his favourite videos while he cruises around the neighbourhood!

7) Apart from the early birthday present, I was clearing the attic and found a whole boxful of presents from Aiden's first birthday which I had refrained from opening as Aiden was a bit too young for them back then. So since Aiden has outgrown most of his toys, Hubby and I decided to unpack the Thomas sets (all 3 of them) and assemble them together.

Look at the elaborate track we made for him! He was so happy with his new toy, especially since the battery operated Thomas runs on his own round and round the track. And for the next few days, he would just sit still and watch Thomas go round. Even if he was preoccupied with something else, he would insist for Thomas to be turned on. If we turn it off, he would immediately realise that the familliar whirring was gone and would whip his head around in the direction of Thomas. In a nutshell, we went through at least 8AA batteries during this phase!

8) The BBGS gang organized a birthday shower for Iza's second baby.

It's a boy! Which makes it a pair for Iza. Congratulations girl!

Theme was yellow and white.

And guess what? I agreed to make a diaper cake for the occasion! You should be very amazed that for a person who still draws orang lidi (which never fails to draw peals of laughter from dear Hubby), I actually managed to create an 'acceptable' looking diaper cake. Okay fine, with a bit of help from Bibik, of course. *grin*

9) We raided Ikea a total of 3 times this month! But the purchase that we enjoyed most was Aiden's first table and chair.

Initially, Hubby was against the idea as he thought Aiden would be too young for it. But I insisted, and we were pleasantly surprised when he actually liked it! He would sit in his chair and start colouring (or scribling) on a piece of paper, and this kept him quite occupied, which is quite an achievement for Aiden.

Look at him using multiple crayons and colour pencils to draw.

So cute, his legs couldn't even reach the floor.

His learning corner.

My son's first masterpiece - on an Ikea assembly instruction.

10) And last but not least, we have Unifi! Which was our first major achievement towards the big house move, followed by the kitchen cabinets, wardrobes, landscaping, curtains and touch ups.

Aiden testing the phone line while supervising the TM employee.

Well that's a recap of the past two months. It is definitely good to be back!

A Recap of December

2011-02-09T09:57:00.013+08:00

Hey peeps, missed me much?

Anyway, if you haven't heard the news, we have moved (house) and all of a sudden I find myself without a project to work on during my free time! I start to think of topics to blog about when I drive to work each morning (the traffic jam from Shah Alam to KLCC is NOT funny, okay) and thus my fingers have began to itch to write. But of course, blogging about current news just ain't right if the past is merely forgotten, when plenty happened during November, December and January.

Oh yeah, Happy New Year! *grin*

So what exactly happened in December?

1) Just a few days shy of December (2 days to be exact) , 28 years ago, I was born. Didn't make a big hoo-hah about it. Although the big 3-0 is creeping closer and closer *sigh*

The office gang (or what was left of it during the year end) took me out for a birthday lunch. Nyummy crunchy fish that was so scrumptious that I ended up munching on everything including the tail.

Go try it out, Bumbu Desa is available all over Klang Valley, but we went to the one in KLCC.

My Aunt made me my favourite dish for my birthday - lontong! With sambal kelapa. Heaven, I tell you! And guess what she gave to me for my birthday? A mango. Not MNG. But a mango fruit!

2) We finally found the time to bring Aiden to the pediatrician for his one year old vaccination, albeit 7 months too late. The doctor laughed her head off when we told her we were 7 months over the scheduled shot. Sorry Aiden!

Aiden posing in his new Quinny stroller, purchased from Houston. This style isn't available in Malaysia as it is a 4 wheeler. The ones in Malaysia have a double front wheel but they are close together.

Did I tell you that Aiden and I carried 2 big luggages, 2 hand carry, one diaper bag and one handbag throught the customs in KLIA and left the stroller on the baggage carousel? Had to pay RM100 to get them to deliver it to the house!

At 19 months, Aiden is only 11.1kg. *sigh*

Which is why he still fits into this size 18-months Houston Rockets jersey!

3) Hubby and I celebrated our 5th year anniversary on the 9th. The downside to having an anniversary date close to your birthdate, is when your other half decides to merge both celebrations into one dinner. Sheesh. So where did we go? He wanted it to be a surprise, but by the time we passed by the Jalan Tun Razak exit on the Ampang Highway, heading towards Jalan Sultan Ismail, I immediately guessed "KL Hilton or Le Meredian, right?". Of course, I was right (I always am) and we ended up in Senses, KL Hilton.

It has been a while since we had a romantic dinner together (Aiden included, of course), so this was a much welcomed surprise, especially since he dragged me to dinner on a weekday! And since it was such an improptu decision, I didn't really had the chance to spotcheck Aiden's diaper bag hence Bibik did not pack any toys to keep him occupied that night. So Aiden was acting a bit boisterous that night, but what I was most pissed off was when the head server actually came over and told us to shut him up or else we would have to leave the restaurant!

Hell, I was freaking shocked! I'm going to be a bit rude here, but if you don't have any offsprings, don't even dream of telling me to shut my kid up. I am a paying customer, this is not a free dinner we're attending. I have every right to be there. And it was not as if we didn't try to distract him. And I am sure there is a nicer way of telling us to tone it down. Come to think of it, your restaurant should be more prepared for these kind of situations i.e. provide colouring crayons or something for your junior customers!

Anyway, I think she got the hint that I was really pissed so she kept away from our table for the rest of the night and actually sent over some complimentary chocolates. Okay moving on to the food.....

This is a picture of our starter. Very small portion but delightfully delicious. The shell was piping hot when it arrived on our table, the waitress even warned us not to touch the shell. So, thumbs up for food presentation!

This was my main dish (don't ask me what it is called), but it is obviously a steak. Again, small portion and unfortunately the brown jus wasn't sufficient for the size of the steak.

In addition to the complimentary chocolates (which was served on a piece of floor tile - very impressive presentation), they also gave us a complimentary dessert. But they only told us it was complimentary after we chose our dessert and asked for our bill. It was our first time tasting salty chocolate but it was definitely a pleasant experience.

Apart from the incident with the head server, I would definitely recommend the restaurant for its food presentation, taste and of course, ambience.

And as a present for our anniversary, Aiden gave us the most wonderful present. His first word - fish!!!

4) Remember last year's birthday shared by my Dad and I? Well, although last year he promised us all that it was going to be his last birthday party, this year he changed his mind. He wanted another party! And since it was such a last minute decision, he couldn't get a hall for the 29th and had to settle for the 10th instead. And since we are infamous for being such a drama family, nak dijadikan cerita, while we were having our anniversary dinner, my sister called me to tell me that my Dad was in the ICU as his blood pressure went through the roof!

But did that stop him from having his party and birthday cake the day after? Obviously not! Although he did end up inviting his doctor to the party just in case anything happened.

Happy 28th Birthday to myself too!

The performance during that night was... erm.. hot? The belly dancing girls were very controversial hot too!

Us. Handsome son wearing a complete set of vest and tie purchased in Houston.

5) During the birthday dinner, Aiden was already down with a fever. Right after the birthday we drove back to KL (balik hari) as we were going to Kuantan the next day to visit Hubby's grandmother. I could not sleep throughout the night as Aiden's fever got worst and when morning came we decided to stop by the emergency room of Prince Court Medical Centre to check his temperature. He recorded a 39.8degC and was showered with cold water immediately. Right after the shower, we noticed that he had tiny red spots all over his body so the doctor told us to do a blood test to rule out Dengue. Thank god it wasn't Dengue (only a viral fever) but we chose to stay in the hospital overnight just so that he gets the best care.

And boy oh boy, that was such a wrong decision. Not only was it a nightmare when the nurses tried to get an IV line into him, but he developed such a strong phobia that he would literally jump out of bed whenever anyone came into the hospital room (incuding the housekeepers). The nurse couldn't get near him to get his temperature, and he didn't need any medication since his fever had subsided. So there wasn't really a point of staying in the hospital!

Check out the number of toys we had to use to keep him happy.

My poor baby, kena balut macam patah tangan!

Thank god there was a playroom in the children's ward.

He finally slept peacefully that night.

After two nights in the hospital, I was very impressed that Aiden actually allowed this nurse hold him to take the IV line out (while he watched cartoons).

6) The very next weekend, we attended Azalea's birthday party in Ipoh, with the theme Disney Princesses. The invitation said to dress up in your favourite Disney Princess, but no way was I going to let Aiden wear a dress, so he became Superman instead! As for me, I actually forgot to pack my clothes, so I had to just wear my jeans with a baby-T. Shows how your kid's outfit is now more important than your own!

Superman with a crown!

Happy 3rd Birthday Azalea!

Dad and Stepmothers.

The birthday cake.

And the absolutely adorable homemade cupcakes.

Aiden fell in love with the kitchen set that Azalea received for her birthday. Tak macho sungguh Superman main masak masak!

7) We went shopping at the Fella Design warehouse sale! I wanted to find my dream mini storage ottoman to put under my chandelier in my walk-in closet as inspired by Sarah Jessica Parker's walk-in closet in Sex and The City the movie. I love it when she sits on the small bench looking at her wardrobe, and I can simply imagine myself doing the same while I figure out what to wear and which handbag to match it with. *drool*

And I found it!

Well not this one. You'll just have to wait for pictures of the completed house!

Love the Fella Design HQ, it comes complete with a playarea for the kids to roam around while the parents spend their hard earned cash.

It even has a giant elaborate miniature city complete with rail tracks, buildings, the whole works!

8) And last but not least, what a way to close the year 2010: finding out Hubby's condition.

Lamb chop, Prince Court's version of hospital food. Nyummy!

So when will I find the time to blog on a recap of January 2011? Soon, I promise you, soon!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-22T16:09:00.007+08:00

My first attempt at a Wordless Wednesday, because honestly, I cannot even begin to compose words to explain what we (as a family) had gone through for the past two days. So what is Wordless Wednesday?

Wordless Wednesday (WW) is a visual blogosphere phenomenon. Whereas blogs (web journals) are primarily about "words" bloggers love to dress their journal entries with imagery. WW is a simple blog post featuring a photo which conveys a message that speaks for itself without using words.

So here goes. This was yesterday.

And this was earlier today. Still a lot to swallow (literally) but we got through, Alhamdulillah.

Thank you to those who texted or called, concerned for our well-being. Maybe we'll explain what happened, when we're ready.

Viral Fever at Prince Court Medical Centre

2010-12-11T23:54:00.006+08:00

I know I owe a long blogpost on my trip to Houston, but work hasn't exactly been kind to me these past few weeks. Hopefully when December 14th rolls in, I'll be able to take a step back and start blogging again.

To make things worse, I found out that my dad was admitted to the ICU during our 5th year anniversary dinner last Thursday for high blood pressure, which unfortunately didn't stop him from celebrating his 76th birthday in 'style' yesterday. And the pinacle of it all was when Aiden recorded an all time high fever (bordering 40degC) this morning and was admitted to the hospital for fear of dengue. Thank god it was only viral fever.

So I write this from the hospital bed in Prince Court Medical Centre. Aiden is (finally) sleeping beside me with a drip in line. I swear, it was a harrowing experience for him (and me) when they pricked his vein for blood and inserted an IV line at the emergency room. He has developed an extreme phobia of doctors and nurses and cries bloody murder everytime someone foreign walks into our hospital room.

I am really tired. Hopefully tonight is a peaceful night.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Houston, We Have A Problem!

2010-11-25T17:00:00.008+08:00

It has been exactly a month since I blogged, and I deeply apologize. For those who are in my Facebook social circle of friends, you would have known why.

Yup, I had a 10 day meeting in Houston, Texas! Hubby and Aiden tagged along during this business trip and survived a one-way 30 hour (accumulative) flight. We even made a short 3-hour drive to San Marcos to check out the outlets there (as if the two outlets in Houston weren't enough).

Since Hubby and I were in Houston for a month about two years ago, we had done all the touristy stuff back then. And as Aiden is too young to understand the sightseeing, we made this trip specifically a shopping trip.

So where are the pictures, you ask? Erm.... to be honest, I don't even know where to start. So bear with me while I sort through this 167 new work emails before finally getting to choosing the pictures, editing and blogging about it. But for now, all you need to know is that it was definitely an experience keeping Aiden occupied in a long-haul flight, we had soooooooo much fun shopping and we brought home 100kg worth of luggage.

And still, I have some shopping regrets. I am mad, sometimes.

A New Job!

2010-10-25T16:48:00.001+08:00

And it is official. Hubby received the call today, he has been offered a new job back in KL. Putting aside the extra salary (which is of course a bonus!), we are extremely happy that this job is in sunny ol' Malaysia, which means he finally gets to come home for good! And we finally finally finally get to move to our new house!

Can you see how being a single mother for one whole year has affected me? I am DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY that he will be home, soon!!!

Behind The PE

2010-10-24T22:37:00.000+08:00

Since the last time I grumbled about the PE (being beside my house and also about the small swimming pool I have at the land behind the PE), today we finally rejoiced when the developer of Cahaya SPK decided to do something about the land.

It all started that one fine day when we were at the new house, choosing wallpaper.

Check out our 3D batu bata wallpaper. Tak pernah dibuat orang, I tell you!

And while I was busy doing the honours of putting the curtains up, I saw a LOT of activity going around the land right outside my house fence! This was my view from my family hall window.

Imagine my excitement when I figured out what they were doing. They were making a paved walkway towards the gate (which the residents proposed during the last RA meeting) which will provide easy access for the semi-d homeowners to get to the surau.

The view from the 3rd bedroom window. They also turah the bukit to make space for the walkway. All I hope is that this new walkway will not worsen the level of land beside it, causing worse swimming pools during the rainy season.

Dayang, you recognise that potted plant? *grin*

Also, we are proud to announce that Aiden telah merasmikan the jacuzzi for the very first time. Yes, we have had the jacuzzi for quite sometime, but due to a short power cord that was only rectified by SPK last week, we couldn't get the jacuzzi up and running.

Sexy butt!

Oh.... I so can't wait to move!!! *excited*

Happy 29th Birthday Daddy!

2010-10-23T21:55:00.010+08:00

Finally, after all the house hunting drama in the morning, we found the time to celebrate Hubby's birthday during the night. Initial choice was to surprise him with Italian at Favola, Le Meridian but when I casually asked him whether he preferred Aglio Olio versus a fat juicy steak, he wanted the steak! Hurriedly went online using my iPhone to check the price of a Rib-Eye at Prime, Le Meridian and nearly died when I saw the price. With only a few hours to spare before the big dinner, I finally settled for Jake's at Starhill Gallery instead.

And it was definitely a good choice. Very laid back but still, delicious nyummy fat juicy steaks. Prime would have been too stiff, anyway.

Aiden was occupied with crayons and colouring cartoons.

"I want a steak bigger than the size of my palm, since it is my birthday!"

I went with the retro 70's look that night.

Happy colouring away while Mummy and Daddy order.

Aiden gets the kids meal - nuggets and of course, fries.

Look at his chubby fingers grabbing the fries!

Daddy's freshly squeezed mango juice.

Slurping my strawberry smoothie.

Aiden loves feeding us all. I wonder why...

He loves sharing his food with just about anyone. Check out his wide open mouth, as if motivating us to open our mouths wider.

Daddy imitating Aiden.

Oh, and did I tell you that Aiden now knows how to pose???

The birthday boy's Australian Grain Fed T-Bone (min 400 gm).

Yours truly posing with my Australian Grain Fed Rib-Eye (200 gm).

So Daddy gets the bigger piece!

Look at that medium well juicy tender steak oozing with goodness!

My two boys.

His first time attempting the corn on the cob.

Look at this pose! *cair*

Another adorable one.

Muah!!!

Daddy went trigger happy with all the poses Aiden was giving him.

Daddy "waiting" for the birthday cake surprise. Tak surprise langsung! No thanks to the lady waitress who actually called me to the side to ask whether I wanted one or two slices of cake for the surprise. Macamla tak boleh tanya after the birthday song surprise!

At Jake's they do the birthday song a bit differently, mostly with percussion instruments like castanets and baby cymbals. Of course Aiden wailed his lungs out in fright!

Happy 29th Birthday, Sayang!

We love you to bits and pieces.

Birthday present courtesy of Jake's.

Nyummy chocolate brownie.

Aiden was smiling again, with the presence of a balloon, again, courtesy of Jake's.

Our verdict, steaks highly recommended although some planning with them on the birthday surprise would be much needed so that it becomes a surprise!

Aiden enjoying the fishy swimming in the tanks right across the restaurant.

Back home, Aiden insisted on modeling the hairband.

House Hunting in Alam Impian

2010-10-23T14:04:00.003+08:00

The next day, we found ourselves yet on another house hunting trip. Albeit it being Hubby's birthday (sorry Sayang, we are soooo not romantic this year, can't believe we went house hunting on your birthday!!!) we managed to roll out of bed, dressed up and left for our first stop, Kinrara.

Kinrara is seriously overpriced. Sorry, let me rephrase that. Houses are so overpriced nowadays. I remember being this *shows tiny gap between thumb and index finger* close to buying a semi-d in Kinrara only to change our mind last minute to SPK. And now, a link house in Kinrara is as expensive, if not more, than that. My friend has been pushing me to buy a house in Kinrara. Being freehold and all that, he claims that if I invest +/- 700K now, in 2 years the link house would appreciate to about 900K. I like the prospect of a capital appreciation, but seriously, I cannot phantom the image of a 900K link house! I honestly pity the new graduates, how the heck are they ever going to buy a house with these obscene prices???

Besides checking out Bandar Kinrara, we also checked out Kinrara Residence, a mixed residential development with Super Links, Semi-Ds and Executive Bungalows (guarded and complete with clubhouse) by Mah Sing. Can you believe that despite it being leasehold, all the non-bumi lots are sold out??!! What is wrong with people nowadays? Too much money kah?

And then off we went to Alam Impian. Again. This time we were determined to check out the show house!

When will money ever start growing on trees? Because I want one of those babies!

The sales gallery was housed in one of their sold-out first phase semi-ds. It was packed full of people!

The verdict? Perfect built up for a semi-d which means minimal renovation, hugeeeee master bedroom, excellent finishing... and I love the solid timber flooring. I want!!!

The down side? Semi-d sold out. There were only 3 houses remaining of their latest launch of link houses (~540K, 24x80), with one being sold as we were standing in the sales gallery. Like hot cakes, I tell you!

Are you drooling yet?

Okay, maybe the Cahaya SPK lake is better looking (ayat sedapkan hati).

After that we ventured to the other side of Alam Impian, the TTDI Alam Impian to be exact. This one had a totally different strategy to it. Instead of sell and build, they build and then sell. So the Spira (link houses of 20x70 and 22x70) are built and ready and then sold off. Not a very good strategy for investors, because the house would not appreciate as much as if you wait 2 years (and of course, pay minimal interest until the house is ready in which you then get it off your hands). Of course, what else is new, it was sold out too. But since the show house was open, we decided to check it out for deco ideas!

The facade. This is the 20x70.

Living hall. I like the splatters of blue in the otherwise very neutral coloured room!

Dining hall. See the blue rimmed bowls?

Blue wall filled with white frames. Pretty!

The view from the master bedroom. Horseshoe concept, with the playground in the middle.

Out of all the rooms, I love this one the best. Must be because of the daring yellow. But Hubby would not let me replicate this in our own home. *sob*sob*

The master bedroom. Loving the yellow armchair!

Walk in closet.

See how simple shelves can transform a room?

Maybe I need to buy paintings for the various rooms first, and then paint the wall to match the painting?

This is the 22x70.

Dining hall. A bit too mature for me.

Can anybody tell me where I can get this book shelf?

Black and white master bedroom.

Full mirrored walk-in closet.

Hubby sibuk nak inter-frame.

Very neutral.

Definitely the cutest room.

By the way, those box shelves are expensive okay? We found the during the HomeDec but bila tengok price, no thank you lah!

And best of all, all the houses come complete with a horizontal pond that crosses across the living hall sliding door! Hubby loved it!

Hubby's Birthday Eve and House Hunting

2010-10-22T22:51:00.003+08:00

It was the eve of Hubby's birthday and he was on his way back home! Even though it was only Thursday, but we were lucky because he had something to attend to in KL on Friday (his actual birthday) so he came home a day earlier.

Unfortunately his bus was soooooo slow, and I got soooooo engrossed watching TV that I missed the 12 o'clock mark by 5minutes. Alah okay la tuh, 12:05am. But he claimed that I was late by 12minutes. After a bit of a light banter on who's clock is more accurate, he finally arrived at 12:40am. After we picked him up, we went straight to the kopitiam in front of the house as he complained that he was hungry.

Look at his little boy, all bright eyed and cheeky at past 1 o'clock in the morning! Even the waiter commented "Tak tido lagi??"

Aiden: "Daddy, another one year to the big 3-0!!!"

Took Hubby's picture to mark him turning 29, but he prohibited me from uploading it into this blog, so we'll just have to settle with a picture of his scrumptious Nasi Goreng Chicken Chop.

This cheeky boy wanted to get out of his baby chair to chase after a stray cat.

Nasib baik la Bibik boleh lagi melayan kerenah Aiden kejar kucing bawah meja at 1am.

We finally got home close to 130am. Aiden was extremely grumpy because we extended his bedtime too late so with all the kicking and screaming until Daddy had to pindah and sleep on the floor to give him space, he finally slept at about 2am-ish.

The next morning I had to wake up earlier than usual because Hubby had to be at a certain place by 830am. Usually I leave the house at 830am! (I shudder whenever I think about the travel time from Shah Alam.) But it was a short day at work because I was on a half day leave. By 123opm Hubby had already picked me up and after his Friday prayers, we proceeded to our next agenda................... House Hunting!

You must be thinking, why the heck is she house hunting, again???

Since Hubby has turned 29, and I will be turning 28 in exactly one year, one month and one day, we decided that as proper adults, we should be investing our money smartly. Saving money in ASB isn't sufficient. At 8% interest per annum, it isn't as lucrative as buying and selling property. So this time we're house hunting for investment purposes. Have you noticed that 2 years back, (when we bought the Cahaya SPK house) 700K was the average price of a semi-d, but now when people say 700K for a link house, we don't even bat an eye lid? So yes, we're on the prowl for a 2-storey link house with a good location and a high investment value!

Guess where we went first. Klang.

Before you judge Klang the wrong way, this project is by Sime Darby! And Sime Darby has an excellent track record for developing housing projects like Bukit Jelutong, USJ Heights, Putra Heights, just to name a few. So we went to check it out with an open mind.

Presenting Sime's latest project, Fuego in Bukit Raja Klang.

I repeat. Sime.

They were only going to launch the project the next day, so they had a tent, balloons and all. They even have a playroom so that the toddlers can play while the adults contemplate investing their money in peace.

The facade of the sales gallery.

So how was it? Size wise, it was huge. 26x75! Link houses nowadays are rarely above 24. Usually they are 22, some even 20! Design wise, it was nice. Double volume dining hall, the guest room and maid's room each has a bathroom on their its own on the ground floor. Although I have to say the maid's room is a bit too small for my liking. Finishing was superb - each bathroom has a modern clear shower screen complete with a full size wall to wall mirror okay!

But then again, it IS Klang.

Oh, did I tell you that the Fuego development is planned to be around a man-made lake?

And on our way out of the sales gallery, I saw this. I have heard of this numerous times, but this is the first time i'm seeing it with my own two eyes. Yes, paid foreign workers, even students, camping outside the sales gallery gate to get a queue number for the payee to be able to jump the queue the next morning when the sale opens.

On our way to Klang we noticed the new LKSA highway heading to Alam Impian. A future neighbour of ours bought a house in Alam Impian after selling her SPK house, so I was quite familiar with the development. But I had never been there, so I asked Hubby whether he wanted to check it out.

And boy, oh boy, were we hooked! They have a lake just like SPK, access was a breeze since LKSA is right smack in between Kesas and Federal Highway (they even have their very own toll, just like Setia Alam) and the houses are so pretty!!!

Unfortunately the show house was closed. And it was slightly drizzling. Note that this is Alam Impian by I&P, not TTDI Alam Impian - they are both on the same plot of land but different developers.

The above mentioned lake.

And this is TTDI Alam Impian - Spira (you can see the first two letters of the name on the right side of the picture).

Again, also closed.

We left Alam Impian with a heavy heart, both silently pondering on why we didn't check out Alam Impian before buying Cahaya SPK. *sigh*

A Migraine and Another Trip to Kidz Sport

2010-10-20T21:23:00.004+08:00

Yesterday I was complaining about how bad my headache was and this morning, I officially classified this headache as a migraine.

By the way, how exactly does a migraine feel like? I am rarely sick and do not have any asthma, resdung or migraine since I was a little girl. When I was in primary 2, I remember having a classmate who had migraine during an overnight qiyyamulai at school. She was crying her eyes out and was being comforted by a couple of teachers. A few friends told me that if you have migraine, you can't even stand having the lights on. You would need to stay in the dark and just sleep!

Well this (so-called) migraine of mine did not have the above symptoms. I was just having a really bad throbbing headache. When I placed my finger to my temple, I could feel the nerve pulsing in pain. And by night both sides of my temple were throbbing. I downed two Panadols and went straight to bed.

The next morning I was still feeling the after effects of the migraine. So I decided to sleep in and call in sick. However by noon, I was up and healthy! And me being me, I can rarely sit still doing nothing, unless it is an offer for a Criminal Minds/CSI marathon in front of the TV. Contemplated going into the office, then decided to just stay in and spend some quality time with Aiden. So we went for a scrumptious lunch at a Nogori food restaurant (I so need to blog about this) and then off we went to GE Mall again!

What better way to spend quality time with Aiden then to spend it outside the house? Dah la he stays at home full-time 5 days a week! No wonder he looks forward to the weekends.

This time, we went to ToysR'Us first. He was so happy that he got to try everything in there.

He actually made an effort to pull toys out of their shelves to play with them. Definitely good for his motor skills.

This is like the saying "it's like putting a kid in a candy store" but instead of a candy store, its a toy store. Aiden is shown here being overwhelmed by the various toys in front of him that he doesn't even know where to start.

All i'm thankful for is that Aiden is still at an age where he doesn't know how to demand for toys. Nor know that if he guling guling on the floor he would probably get what he demanded for.

Then of course, Kidz Sport again! With a pair of Thomas socks in tow.

Of course, the same ol' ball pit.

And the same ol' mini slide.

Aiden now does not need his Mummy to teman him while playing. He simply scales over the ball pit partition and runs over to the next play set on his own.

*sob*sob* Aiden, you're growing up way too fast for Mummy!

After a few minutes I went to check on him, and he was already in the mini ball pit playing with another boy on his own.

Tak kisah pun Mummy menyorok kat mana pun.

This time he tried the tunnel slide for the first time.

The freefall wasn't that steep so I guess it wasn't as thrilling.

But still he tried to climb up the wrong way again.

Terserempak dengan girlfriend in the tunnel slide.

And even shared a see-saw with her. *Awwwwww*

Durian Pancakes!

2010-10-18T17:04:00.000+08:00

Remember this post? I was raving about how good the Mandarin Oriental Durian Pancakes were? Well, I just came back from lunch and I can officially bestow the honour of this durian pancake being just as good, if not better than the one in MO.

Where did I find this rare delicacy? La Lot Vietnamese Restaurant at Level 6, Pavilion. I swear, I was burping durians all day long (not a good thing to be subconcious of your breath when you're at the office) and as Jalina, my fellow durian lover said, "My breath was absolutely divine after lunch, I couldn't get the smell off". That was how good it was.

So, if you're craving for durians, here are a list of places where you can grab 'em:

1) Lai Po Heen (chinese restaurant) at Mandarin Oriental, KLCC.
2) Penang Village, available throughout Malaysia. Note that the one I went in GE Mall only serves durian pancakes 4pm and earlier.
3) La Lot at Pavilion, KL.

Anymore?

A Laid Back Weekend at Kidz Sport

2010-10-17T23:47:00.004+08:00

This weekend was very different from any other weekends. This weekend, we spent doing nothing productive. Literally.

Usually on weekends, we would be jumping from one end of Ampang to the other end of Shah Alam, either fulfilling invites to kenduris, attending birthday parties, running errands or knocking on the wall at the new house.

This weekend, Hubby threatened to not come home. Reason being, he wanted a weekend to sort out his outstanding work before he leaves Singapore for good at the end of the month, and he wanted to 'study'. But I lured him home by saying that we would be very good and not bother him. I even told him we would stay home and do nothing, or if that proves to be too noisy for him, I even offered to take Aiden and Bibik out to give him a bit of peace and quiet.

Well, I did keep my end of the bargain. He was hard at work in front of the laptop at the dining table, while I updated this blog (notice the hike in blog posts for the past few days?) using the other laptop in front of him. And surprisingly, Aiden was on his best behaviour in front of Daddy (except for the few balls he threw into Daddy's face from the living hall). But come Sunday afternoon, he was already itching to get out of the house. And of course Mummy racun him to do so lah kan!

So in the end we went to GE Mall which is a stone's throw away from our house. It was quick, close by and easy to access. First stop, Pet's Wonderland! Such a great idea by Daddy because Aiden enjoyed himself watching the adorable kittens, the fishes and most of all the very active puppies. They were literally tumbling all over each other in their kandang behind a glass panel and Aiden got all wide eyed and excited, his mouth spluttering tiny gushes and gasps at their antics.

I sometimes get dirty looks from passerbys when they see Aiden wearing this monkey which is hooked to a long cord which I hold. But seriously, I rather telan these dirty looks than risk losing my very hyperactive walking toddler in the throngs of people flooding the mall.

Next stop, Daddy decided he could spend a few hours watching his anak teruna play at the giant slides and giant ball pit in Kidz Sport. Note to parents, bring a pair of socks for not only your toddler but for yourselves as well. Or pay up for a pair of adult socks (RM5.90 each) or risk being denied entry. Since Aiden is below 2 years old, we only had to pay RM10 (non member) for his entry. Note that this is per entry, so if you're planning to bring your toddler for some playtime, make sure he/she is full as you're not allowed to leave for lunch or whatever and then come back.

While Mummy was paying at the cashier, Daddy plonked Aiden into a sports car!

Despite seeing the giant slide as soon as he entered the playland, he preferred to jump into the ball pitt first!

Such a shame that we forgot the SLR camera, so the trusty iPhone was used instead.

Such vibrant colours! Note to self. SLR camera, please!

Aiden resting in the mountain of colourful balls.

There was even a smaller ball pit at the side, catered for toddlers below 2 years old. Complete with a mini slide.

And he took on that first slide attempt like a pro! (Usually we slide him down with at least one hand holding him, but this time we just pushed him down free fall, and he enjoyed it!)

And insisted on going again, although climbing the wrong way!

He totally loved it!

Me: "Aiden, pose please?"

Yes it is official. My son loves camwhoring too. Must be in the genes.

Then Daddy took Aiden for a ride on the giant slide.

This one we didn't dare letting him freefall. And we could see that he didn't enjoy it as much as the smaller slide. Nevermind Baby, maybe when you're a bit older okay?

Aiden: "Ooppss... wrong way. I don't want to go out!"

Toilets are provided within the play area.

Back in the giant ball pit. It was full with kids much older than him, but he didn't care! He was having the time of his life!

One of the older kids dragged the mini slide into the giant ball pit.

Mini rock climbing for the more adventurous toddlers.

Getting on the crocodile see saw.

And then back into the mini ball pitt. This is Aiden scaling the slide for the umphteenth time. But this time he is doing it all by himself.

Yup, by the end of the day he knew how to climb the stairs, sit at the top of the slide and push himself down. All by himself! Mummy is so proud of you darling!

And then it was time to leave. (Daddy got hungry, if it was up to Aiden we would still be in there...) Couldn't resist taking a picture of Aiden's sneakers side by side with a matching adult Adidas sneakers.

Happy happy faces. Aiden happy that he got his dose of playtime. And Daddy happy that he managed to mengelat off work. Me? I'm just happy that they're both happy!

And how convenient, The Chicken Rice Shop was just a floor away.

Nyummy!

Aiden walloped everything we placed on his plastic plate. Rice with soup, fish balls, even paitee! He must have burned a lot of calories back there.

He even ratah the soup with fishballs, blowing on it to imitate us trying to cool the soup to room temperature.

I'm glad you had fun, Aiden. We shall definitely do this again!