Work in Progress - BB8 Pinata

If you've read the Nuffnang FBOTM write up, you would have noted that Aiden has requested the theme for his birthday to be Star Wars.

I am no big fan of Star Wars, but I certainly enjoyed The Force Awakens. I've only watched it once at the movies, but I am very lucky as Malaysia Airlines is showing the movie on their in-flight entertainment all throughout this month. Hence I've been using my time on the plane, observing the characters and their costumes. I'm planning to dress up as Rey, and I haven't even finalized my outfit yet!

On the other hand, what party would be complete without a pinata? Aiden wanted BB8 as the character for the pinata. I pondered on it for a few weeks, utterly lost about how I was going to 'make' the shape of a sphere... and it has to be a hollow sphere too!

As I sat thinking in my DIY room (aka the spare bedroom), my eyes landed on a pink lantern that I had bought eons ago. I probably bought the lantern some time ago to decorate a girl's birthday party, but it has been left unused since then. Perfect! I finally solved BB8's body!

To strengthen the lantern, I covered it with layers and layers of newspaper, using homemade glue - gam kanji! Aiden helped too!

To make cheap homemade glue, mix 4 tablespoons of tepung ubi kayu with 500ml of water, and heat it on your stove until it thickens. Make sure you keep stirring it to prevent lumps.

Next, BB8's head! I used a sphere shaped Styrofoam (available at most art shops) and cut it to half. The height wasn't really proportionate to the body, so I taped a Styrofoam plate underneath. Similarly, I covered it with layers of paper glued with gam kanji.

Half sphere Styrofoam and Styrofoam plate.

Filled the lantern with candy. We had to stop at quarter full, for fear that the lantern couldn't take the weight!

Next, I punched two holes through BB8's head. I tied strings to the lantern's existing hooks, and threaded it through the said holes. These strings will be used to tie BB8 up for some serious pinata whacking!

The assembled BB8 left in the garden to dry. Ignore the patchy grass, it was just freshly mowed that day.

That's as far as I have gone to date. Hubby tried spray painting it white, but it simply enhanced the horizontal lines of the lantern. Hence we dropped that idea. Therefore tomorrow I'll have to go hunting for white crepe paper to cover the body instead. I've also managed to find orange florescent paper, to be used to sketch BB8's circular shapes that decorate its body and head. Still need to think of something for it's black eye. And then hopefully it is done!

Here's hoping that the lantern is strong enough to sustain the weight of the candy! Wish me luck!

Nuffnang's Featured Blogger of The Month of March!

When I received the email from my blog manager, confirming that I was going to be bestowed as Nuffnang's Featured Blogger of the month of March, I was thrilled beyond words. Similar to when I was approached by Nuffnang to be featured for their monthly #NNFeatureFriday, I received the email while in the office. My colleagues probably thought I was slightly batty in the head, as I actually did a quick jiggle at my desk! *chuckles*

As part of the feature, I was asked to answer some questions. Some were easy to draft, such as why I started blogging, and whether I had a turning point in my blogging career. However, there was one question that I pondered for quite sometime - the story behind my blog name. Truthfully, when I wanted to start blogging, I never gave much thought to it. The name simply sprung in my mind, and I loved it because it rhymed!

Anyway, head over to the Nuffnang official page for the entire write up. Here's the link: http://www.nuffnang.com.my/featured-blogger/liz-yahaya

They also posted the same in their official Instagram and Facebook, below are the snapshots. Best part is, they also included the link as part of their current bio. Go check it out!

As always, thanks Nuffnang, for the opportunity!

Nasi Lemak Turbo, Denai Alam

Our ministers frequently preach some pretty incredulous things. For instance, that whole drama about "working two jobs" to cover the escalating costs of living, that happened sometime late last year. (And what a backlash it sparked!) But I guess, we must take it all in good stride. If you can juggle two jobs, why not? (Mine is blogging. Haha kidding kidding... trust me, I'm making peanuts so far!)

Which is why, I am especially proud of this friend of mine, who has the guts to juggle a day job and run a food truck at night. Selling nasi lemak! Nasi Lemak Turbo, to be exact. Can you imagine how tiring it is to cook the sambal, marinate the chicken and prepare the condiments - especially after a long day at work?

Nasi Lemak Turbo, in Denai Alam.

And... you must give her credit for the cheeky (but oh so effective) advertising. The banner boasts about their fluffy rice - using only the best basmathi, a whole boiled egg - gerenti basuh, grade A anchovies dibuang kepala - gerenti tak jadi pelupa and sambal made from premium quality udang kering. Not only that - top notch spices, fresh chicken (delivered daily) and the finest oil for frying, including zero Abang Aji!

The menu.

The various condiments. The sambal is the bomb!

Can you believe that this used to be an ambulance? Her very nimble-fingered husband worked single-handedly to transform this into a food truck, including the wiring to install air-conditioning, lights and electrical points for the deep fryer.

What about the nasi lemak? You may think that I am biased, but trust me I am not. Last week, we had the nasi lemak three days in a row. And each day, as I arrive at the food truck just after work, there is always a long queue. They've had to resort to only doing take-aways, because they couldn't cope with the sheer amount of people turning up looking for seats for dine-in.

The sambal is just the way I like it - not spicy. Since it is not spicy, I use a lot of sambal with each mouthful, so I recommend buying extra sambal to go. The rice is extremely fluffy and flavourful, so if you're not on a diet, get some nasi tambah too! The chicken is marinated to perfection, and since it is deep fried at location, it is really crispy. The whole egg is too much for me, so I usually give it to Aiden who is crazy over eggs.

This is Set A - Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng Berempah.

Our first visit at opening night.

The kids actually went into the food truck! Check out Ian, attempting a peace sign. *giggles*

Soooooo... if you're ever in the Denai Alam area, this is definitely a must try. They are located just beside Bank Islam. If you do go, tell the owner that you are a reader of Lizzieasamummy. You never know, you might get some extra sambal with your order! *chuckles*

Nasi Lemak Turbo

Denai Alam, beside Bank Islam

Open 6pm-830pm, weekdays only

Closed on weekends

Farewell School Holidays!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Sorry for the quiet week. School holidays meant that kiddos wanted full attention to be given to them, hence no time was able to be spared for writing. Nevertheless, some wonderful things happened throughout the week, namely:

• I finally found the perfect place for Aiden and Ian's upcoming birthday! I had basically lost hope of ever finding one within my requirements and budget. When I called Kizsport Main Place they were explicit that I had to order food from their cafe, hence I assumed all Kizsport had the same requirement. But fate decided otherwise; when I went for my monthly facial in Bangsar, I dropped the kids off at Kizsport BV2 and decided to just ask for a quote. Was pleasantly surprised to find out that they were the only branch that allowed outside food! So Kizsport it is for us!
• I was scouting around Tesco in preparation for the boys' upcoming birthdays. I didn't manage to find what I was hunting for, but instead I found a corner called 'Clearance' and it was selling some banged up boxes of Lego for 50% off! Oh wow I borong one of each design I could find. 

A banged up box of Jake and Neverland Pirates Duplo Lego - was RM40 only! Ian was ecstatic!

• Managed to get an extremely good deal for an airfryer from the newly launched Aeon Shah Alam. Can't wait to try out new (healthy!) recipes with it.

Philips Airfryer - albeit it being the first generation, the only difference with the second generation is a non-stick cooking pan and an internal cover.

• We managed to snag one of the last few rooms at Avillion PD. Our first time traveling during the school holidays but we still had a good outing. For the first time in a long while, we brought the maid along. Good thinking, cos we were able to leave the kids with her while Hubby and I 'dated' - swimming at the adult only pool and a spa session too!

We brought our own fishing rod, this time around!

• Speaking of spa sessions, Hubby treated me to a way way way overdue Mother's Day present - the AviSpa Signature Massage. It was one of the best massages I've had in a longggggg time. I'll dedicate a separate post just for this, later!
• Ian was able to 'swim' with floats! Contrary to Aiden who was supremely scared of the water, Ian actually pushed our hands away so we would stop holding him! He gulped some water too, but that didn't deter him from chugging along. (Unfortunately he was a bit too brave his first time on the kiddy water slide and flipped 180 degrees midway; Hubby had to go save him. He didn't want to go anywhere near the slide after that!)
• We received Aiden's exam results. He mentioned something about getting 50% for a paper so I had mentally prepared myself for the worst. But a sujud syukur is certainly due; he scored above 90% in BM, English, Maths and Science. (The 50% he mentioned was 50/50 for Paper 1!) However I am bracing myself for the results of his last paper - Pendidikan Islam. He really cannot read nor write jawi, so I am not expecting much. Honestly, I'm tuning my head to think positively; he still has a lifetime worth of exams waiting for him. He should be enjoying his childhood, instead of slaving over books all the time. 
• Last but not least, I was bestowed as Nuffnang's Featured Blogger for the month of March. It is certainly gratifying, when all the time you spend blogging is rewarded by such an honour. Read more at http://www.nuffnang.com.my/featured-blogger/liz-yahaya

Life can't be wonderful all the time. I'm nursing a really bad sore throat (my lymph nodes are actually swollen) and I can barely swallow anything. Wish me well!

Till my next blog post. Thanks for reading!