Eid 2018

Selamat Hari Raya peeps!

Overdue as usual, tapi raya kan sebulan. *chuckles* Hope you guys had a great Eid with family and friends.

Our days leading up to Eid were relatively uneventful. Despite being maidless (helper balik raya for her yearly holiday), I managed to take two days off before Eid for a facial plus manicure/pedicure. Dragged the kids with me and had to give them gadgets to keep them occupied. The fact that I managed to sleep throughout my mask was a sure sign that they behaved really really well! Iftar and sahur were purchased from various pasar ramadhans. Aiden pun dah big enough to help me with house chores - dah boleh harap to basuh pinggan, jemur kain, lipat baju (pants only!) and siram pokok.

Alhamdulillah, I also managed to tunaikan our nazar to donate a sum of money to anak-anak yatim. With the help of a neighbour, we bought Happy Meals and gave duit raya to the kids, while the balance went to the upkeep of the children’s home. Even though I wasn’t there physically, I certainly hope apa yang kami niatkan made their day.

Menunaikan nazar.

I was so so so very tempted to buy baju raya - rambang mata with the various designs and discounts too. But the fact that I don’t know how much I will slim down post pregnancy (I certainly hope I’ll go back to my original size *cries*), terus tak jadi nak beli walaupun jari gian jer nak click the Add to Cart button. Instead, I went crazy over the FashionValet sale with Duck scarves (cos you know, my head won’t grow bigger)! Handbags were also calling out to me but I’m eyeing something quite special but pricey - so I decided to sell some of my handbags on consignment to ease my finances for the next handbag. Other than that, my brother’s kontena finally arrived so that eased my shopping temptations oh so slightly. What did I get? A diaper bag, baby swing and Trunki for baby AY, solar lights for Hubby and of course - the latest addition (and hopefully final) to my kitchen countertop... my KitchenAid diamond blender! 

My handbags on consignment - they placed it on the floor jer! *amused*

Check out those Fashionvalet shopping bags!

After all the analysis on diaper bags, my Jujube BFF is finally here.

Current situation on my kitchen countertop.

Did I mention my craving for lemang periuk kera??? Just a few days before Eid, I saw some photos of it on Instagram and started salivating for some. The last (and only) time I tried it was in Cherating Kuantan, and upon memory the lemang was super lembut and lemak bersantan - it was even good to be eaten on its own! Posted my kempunan and so so many people stepped forward to suggest locations to purchase, and even some offered their Raya lemang orders to me. Awwww I was so very touched. In the end, I went with one of the suggested Instagram pages who was willing to still take my last minute order, and tadaaaa... kempunan resolved! Honestly this is the first time in this pregnancy that I’ve felt a craving for something. Usually anything goes for me, as long as it's Melayu food (no steaks, Western salads or even barbecued food for me)!

Thanks to Husna for accommodating my last minute request. Two thumbs up for her lemang periuk kera and daging dendeng.

Talking about the pregnancy, Alhamdulillah baby AY is growing well and according to her week age. Despite puasa penuh, I was honestly struggling between fasting and the pregnancy, and even at the tail end of Ramadhan I started losing my appetite and felt as if I didn’t eat as much as I usually did. Hence I gained less than 1kg from the last month’s checkup! (I typically gain ~3kg per month.) But even thought I didn’t gain much weight, my tummy has ballooned so much - I only discovered the sheer size of it when I was trying to shave. Thankfully I am still able to see my toes! *giggles* Baby AY is approximately 770gm now, and her latest scan showed a very prominent nose! Hidung macam Abang Aiden agaknya... can’t wait for her to arrive in our arms!

Check out that nose!

I digress. Back to Raya stories! We headed for Teluk Intan the day before Eid. All of my sister-in-laws beraya in Teluk Intan this year, so it was wonderful to get everyone under the same roof. Unfortunately, I wasn’t much help in the kitchen - blame it on the pregnancy. *sigh* We all also managed to have one last moreh/supper before Eid at McDonalds Teluk Intan (possibly the most happening place in town). The durian McFlurry was soooooo good. Absolutely worth the price tag. Siap sendawa durian lagi!

The morning of Eid, we got dressed and then discovered that we were the only ones not in biru (lebih muda)! Apparently my MIL changed the colour scheme two weeks before Eid. But in retrospect looking at photos, I think our peachy outfits certainly stood out from the pale blue everyone else was wearing.

Balik kampung macam nak pindah rumah. And a group photo of our last supper at McDonalds!

Official 2018 Eid photo.

Peach versus light blue.

We left Teluk Intan on the second day of Eid and headed to Ipoh to visit my stepmother and step siblings. Headed straight home that very same night and found myself doing already doing laundry on day three of Eid! Surprisingly, not many open houses invitations this year - which is just as well, since I don't have that many outfits to accommodate my bulging belly. *sigh* 

Last weekend, I managed to host my stepmother and stepsister at our humble home. Despite being maidless, I served Nasi Arab (of course beli!!!) and some homemade ayam kuzi and rendang that my helper had thoughtfully made ahead and frozen in case of impromptu visits just like this one. (Loveeeee my helper to death!)

One of the few outfits that I could still squeeze into. And Aiden and Ian posing with their cousin.

Nasi Arab spread.

Last but certainly not least, I'll close this blogpost with how the kids spent their duit raya. This year, Aiden was really adamant about spending his duit raya to his whim and fancies. I was having none of it, so we negotiated to a mutual agreement that half of his money goes to the bank while he has control of the other half. Ian, of course followed suit. Monkey see monkey do!

They pestered me for a trip to ToysRUs daily, and I finally relented. Imagined my shock at the price of the Minecraft set that Aiden chose. But a deal is a deal, and I allowed him to purchase it since it was still within the budget he had. But seriously, those are crazy pricey figurines!

I think that should summarize my past few weeks. Looking forward to my helper coming back home this weekend, so that I can stop juggling house chores and work at the same time. I am really feeling the heat at the office, especially when I have important meetings to attend and a team to manage. *sigh* I miss my laidback days in Upstream!!!

Here's hoping that you guys have a good Syawal ahead. Until next time, take care!

Eid Adha 2014

Eid Adha 2014.

Whooppss sorry for the gory photos.

I have never been one to celebrate Eid Adha. Despite having roots tracing back to Kelantan (hello, sweet tooth!), I was born and raised in KL hence I never saw Eid Adha as a big celebration. Then Hubby arrived in my life - and this Pantai Timur-ite showed me another side of Eid Adha. So year after year, we celebrated Eid Adha with his side of the family.

This time, it was slightly different. No... scratch that; it was significantly different!

Usually, Hubby would pay for his portion of the Kurban in Kuantan. And we would then balik kampung to witness the sacrifice. One memory that stayed on with me all these years; was being pregnant with Aiden and hiding inside a room, trying to shut out the terrified squeals of the goat being slaughtered right at the porch of the Kuantan house. Erk, that is definitely an experience I would not want to repeat.

Yes, I am extremely squeamish, and I have a soft spot for animals. I don't consume rabbits, deers, birds, even beautiful fishes (my FIL brought home a fish baby blue in colour, from Sarawak once, to be cooked for dinner - andddd I cried...), as I cannot bear the thought of them being cooked, what more eaten. They are like pets to me!

This year, I joined (for lack of better words)...a kutu. A group of neighbours and I paid a stipulated sum each month and at the end of the cycle, we had enough money to pay for one portion of Kurban. Alhamdulillah, my portion of the Kurban was sacrificed at our Surau, so even though Hubby paid for his portion in Kuantan, we decided to stay home to help our kariah Surau with the Eid Adha preparation and celebration.

Hubby at work. Since my lembu was #7, he was part of the team in charge of melapah that particular cow.

The men and women all wore matching red tops that day, as provided by the Surau. It even had "Surau Cahaya SPK" printed at the back!

Where was I, you ask? I was hiding at home when they sacrificed the cows - all seven of them. As soon as that was done, I finally made my grand appearance. Thankfully, I was part of the team responsible for cooking, hence I did not have to mess around with any cow parts or blood. *pheww*

That knife! If you know me personally, you would know the cerita sebalik that knife.

The men and women team in charge of cow #7.

Hubby's pictures are dominating this blogpost!

Oh did I mention that my maid was on leave during the Eid Adha weekend? So here I was supervising Aiden running around the Surau while juggling taking care of Ian and helping out with the cooking; slicing vegetables, cutting bread, even pounding coarse black pepper into a level acceptable to the head chef. I think I probably developed arm muscles from all the pounding - he was very particular about making sure the pepper was super fine! (When the women cheekily asked whether we could just use store-bought fine black pepper, he simply smiled in response. Faham faham sendirilah.. tak boleh!)

Well I guess he must know what he was doing, because the sup tulang was just heavenly. And when you add that with the sambal kicap we made... ohemgee, there goes my diet! *wavesbyetomydiet*

Head chef making a big pot of sup tulang for everyone who took part in the Kurban at our Surau this year.

Meanwhile, these two boys were running/crawling loose in the Surau. So proud of Aiden, he can now take care of his little brother! Well, most of the time at least. Sometimes when he's caught in the moment, he'll play with his friends and completely forget that he has a brother named Ian!

Ian pissed that Aiden was pulling him back from exploring the Surau. Ian had so much energy because he had just woken up from his morning slumber - poor Ian had to sleep in the car seat in the Surau while Mummy was busy cooking!

Aiden shadowing his brother's moves.

Posing with his favourite Abang at the Surau.

Soooo.. why did I say the experience this year was significantly different from previous celebrations? Well, I was scrolling through my Instagram looking at everyone's Eid Adha day, and it occurred to me; we never had the chance to don any nice outfits that day! Everyone in my Instagram feed was dressed like it was Eid Fitri - classic traditional wear and all! Us? We were covered in cow blood (Hubby at least!) and sweat the whole day. I think the whole affair at the Surau ended close to 4pm and then we dragged ourselves home, had a long hot shower, turned on the aircon and slept in front of the TV. *pooped* Just to show how tired we were, we even forgot to put our share of the Kurban meat in the freezer - thank god the meat didn't turn bad!

To make up for our very unique celebration this year; the very next day we decided to bring the kids out for a day of fun in the sun at Sunway Lagoon. Wow, I had not stepped foot in Sunway Lagoon for ages, but I was certainly impressed with all the changes and improvements they have made over the years.

Aiden was absolutely thrilled that he met Captain Hook; matched Aiden's swimming outfit too!

Here's another picture. I managed to coax my diet to return home that day. *grin*

Hope you had a great Eid Adha celebration. I wish that Allah accepts your good deeds and sacrifices, alleviates your sufferings, and forgives your transgressions. Happy Eid Adha from all of us.

Eid Adha with Homemade Lemang and Rendang

Salam Eid Adha!

So how did you celebrate your Eid Adha? Since Eid Adha fell on a Tuesday this year, none of the SPK gang made plans to balik kampung and it became the first time that we had everyone around the night before Eid Adha.

One of the girls proposed that we make some homemade lemang and rendang together. Homemade rendang, I can obviously do. But homemade lemang is in a whole different league for me. Erm, hello, city girl here? Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, my definition of having lemang is buying it from someone and cutting it open.

We kicked off the night with a buka puasa dinner for those fasting that night. It was definitely a good meal, especially with sambal hitam from Pahang. I think I practically hogged the sambal hitam plate that night, it was sooo good! Meanwhile, the kids were running all over the house playing, so that kept them out of our hair for the night.

The girls, albeit missing one.

And then, we all crowded outside the house to start with the lemang and the rendang. The boys were responsible for the lemang while the girls concentrated on the rendang. Earlier that afternoon, the boys had pre-filled the bamboo with the lemang mix (beras pulut mixed with santan kelapa) so all they had to do was cook the lemang near the burning wood over a slow fire. The boys had also sourced for wood to burn the fire much much earlier, so really, other than periodically checking on the lemang, they were just hanging around lepak-ing!

First photo with the lemang. Too many cooks spoil the broth??

Two engineers making sure the structure is stable for all of the lemang.

Excited faces. You can obviously guess that even Hubby has never had the opportunity to make homemade lemang!

How can I say no to a photo opportunity with the lemang??

Posing with the lemang again!

Hubby periodically checking on the lemang.

Look at that proud smile.

Checking on the lemang in style - equipped with an Energizer headlight to check whether the lemang is cooked.

Hubby showing off his headlight.

The ladies on the other hand, were frantically looking for a periuk kawah big enough to cook all the rendang, and discovered that we didn't have enough santan and forgot to cut the daun kunyit. It was a good thing that I had asked my maid to head over to my friend's house that afternoon to help her maid out with cleaning the chicken. So between the two maids, they had pre-prepared the chickens and the ingredients.

Eventually, we got enough santan and cut the daun kunyit and we finally accepted the fact that we would have to cook the rendang in two separate kuali instead of the original plan of one. And we got to work!

Missing two girls. One was looking for an extension wire while the other was getting a second stove (so we could cook both simultaneously).

Of course, when girls get together to cook, girls get together to gossip too! We nearly burned the first rendang cos we were so engrossed in gossiping that we forgot to kacau the rendang.

We nearly burned the rendang!

Finally we got both rendang cooking.

Hot lemang!

It was my first time having freshly cooked hot lemang, and I was in awe! I had always regarded lemang as hard and crusty, but our lemang was soooo good, it was soft and berlemak that it changed my perception of lemang overnight! Even eating the lemang on its own was good! Try eating it with rendang fresh from the kuali... *drool*

So that was what I served on the morning of Eid Adha the next day. What did you have?