Second Week of Renovation

It was the second week of renovations, and like clockwork, after Gymboree classes off we went to Shah Alam. Lo and behold, the banner was finally up!

A great renovation? We'll see Nabil!


Under the scorching sun, I took pictures excitedly. This is the slab for the living hall extension.

Reinforced concrete columns to withstand my master bedroom extension (plus the weight of all my clothes in my walk-in closet).

The maid's room extension at the back.

Look at the size of the rock they found in the ground, relative to Hubby's foot! Boleh complain kat SPK tak?

Then Hubby requested for Tony Roma's. He wanted it to be my treat because..... my bonus is finally in! Hurray!!!

The waiter insisted on giving Hubby the plastic bib. He must have been worried that with Hubby eating with such gusto, he might soil his shirt!

Oh nyummy!!!

I only got a bite of these nyummy ribs. *sob*sob*

Just a sandwich for me this time. Little did I know that the portion of sandwiches at Tony Roma's are this huge!

Look at those layers in my sandwich!

And of course dessert. Hubby's pick because I absolutely detest onions. I don't know how people can eat onion rings!

Look the the size of those onion rings! Ha, makan hubby, jangan tak makan...

Sorry, just pictures this time. I promise it will be a more wordy post next time!

The Groom's Reception

Finally the groom's reception.

The whole family gathered early in the morning to start decorating the hall and rehearsals. Well, except for dear hubby because he was tasked to bring Aiden for his weekely gymboree class. So, the anak dara gang (eh, can I still be part of the anak dara gang?) was tasked to cucuk bunga around the stage. And I am proud to say, despite my inability to be creative, with my limited capabilities of drawing stick men and my achievement of scoring straight D's during art classes in school - it turned out pretty well!!!

Pretty eh? (Angkat bakul masuk lift)

The pelamin (dias).

The decorations around the dias.

I wonder why we never got to light up the candles!

Fast forward a few hours later, and it was already time to get ready. After make-up and hair at my aunt's house, I rushed back home to get ready. Thank god dear hubby and Aiden were already dressed so we rushed out of the house. After a pit stop at the kedai mamak depan rumah to photocopy the guest list and seating arrangements, hubby pressed the fuel pedal all the way to Dewan Merak Kayahgan Felda while I acted all fidgety and worried because of the time. Why all the rush, you ask? Because we were actually the designated receptionists and were responsible for the welcome table plus informing guests of their table numbers!

By the time we got there, there were already at least two couples looking for their table numbers. Hubby jumped straight into the manual paper table list while I turned on the laptop (we were doing the receptionist role the digital IT way!). Unfortunately, only one of the laptops had the final guest list in it, so it was another task trying to look for a thumb drive to transfer the file over. Also, the paper guest list was still flying around because no one had remembered to bring thumb tacks to tack it on the wall. So, can you imagine how chaotic it was at the start of that night?

Thankfully, it got better after that. A few funny moments:

1) An uncle I had not met for such a long time came up to the reception table, said hello to me (with my name, okay!) and asked for his table number. And for the life of me, I could not remember his name. And I was too embarrassed to ask. So what did I do? I went through the spreadsheet for the longest time to buy time, claimed that I could not find it, and finally asked hubby to look for his name. Hubby then asked my uncle for his name and the uncle obviously told him, so erm, not so obvious right???

2) My cousin's reception was held on the same date as Zizan's wedding. Zizan is a celebrity and of course his guest list was a mile long and naturally some would fail to check the card properly and instead of going to Dewan Perdana Felda, they headed to Dewan Merak Kayangan Felda where my cousin's wedding was held. I had earlier encountered long long "arguments" with a few guests who claimed that they're name wasn't in the list only tell me dengan penuh confident-nya afterwards "Oh, I am Zizan's friend" or "I am part of Zizan's family!!!" Very draining - I tell you! So, near to the start of the reception, I saw a couple walking hurriedly towards the entrance with a huge humongous present. The usherers accepted the present and they then walked up to me. I recognised the man as a celebrity - his name is Korie, he acts in dramas and is also the dance choreographer for Akademi Fantasia (come on, fess up - we ALL have watched Akademi Fantasia at at least one point in our lives, so stop denying!). So the minute he said his name, I answered "I think you're at the wrong wedding." Oh so point blank. Sorry, Korie! Kesian, the usherers had to take his huge humongous present and pass it back to him while he walked dejectly out of the hall.

3) And this one simply takes the cake. Sultanah Nora who was supposed to be the guest of honour at my cousin's wedding, went to Zizan's wedding instead! The whole police entourage brought her to Dewan Perdana Felda, and she had actually walked to the high table before noticing that her cutlery wasn't royal yellow. And worse still when another aunt of mine accompanying the Sultanah saw Farid Kamil among the guests seated and whispered loudly "I think we're at the wrong wedding". Okay fine, she spoke in Malay and in Kelantanese but I don't know how to type Kelantanese!!!

Next time we need to get a bigger sign! Or educate guests to check their invitation cards before driving to the destination!

Post receptionist duty - makan time!

Royal yellow cupcakes and other gifts for the guest of honour.

Cupcakes in grey and pink for the bride's mother.

Daddy and Aiden - handsome in his tuxedo!

The best man and the bride's maid.

My aunt and of course the most important lady of the night - the floor manager. Plus cheeky Airyl clapping his hands, happy that the event was over!

The bride and groom.

My boys.

Aiden taking a power break in the VIP room.

The groom, also taking a power break on the dias - post reception!

The girls in the (extended) family.

The boys in the family. Yes, kami kekurangan boys. Thank god for Aiden!

The end!

Farewell Kelly!

It has been a week of farewells. First it was Shida, then now my Lead Structural Engineer in the consultant office has tendered his resignation. A week's notice to be exact. And next week it is my counterpart's (consultant) turn. He tendered a month's notice to move on to another consultant. Boy, the oil and gas industry must be really picking up!

The first time I saw Kelly's name on the proposed consultant organisation chart, I thought to myself: "Wow, the lead is a girl?" Little did I know that Kelly is actually a guy. And he has proven to be a really capable consultant lead. He knows his stuff, very friendly (and respectful as he calls me Ma'am!) and brilliant with words. I have always been charmed by his communication skills!

So today is Kelly's last day. And one of his consultant colleague actually baked a really delicious carrot cake just for him. Which we consumed after our Structural weekly meeting!

That's Kelly with his cake. And Syahidan, my counterpart. Both leaving! (Oh, what is going to happen to this project!!!!)

The rest of the Structural consultant team.

The carrot cake was really good. Home made cakes are always better than the ones in bakeries. I can bake carrot cakes, but never have I been able to replicate the delicious topping as the one pictured above.

Full of delicious fattening calorie goodness.

We wish you luck Kelly, in your future endavours. We'll definitely meet again in this small industry!

Zang Toi at Pavilion

Yet another working day, and yet another enjoyable lunch. This time around, the office gang decided to try the Zang Toi Cafe in Pavilion. The location of the cafe is really convenient for us shopaholics as it was right smack in the middle of Parkson and just a floor away from the children's department (me and Widya's version of heaven).

I have to admit I was a bit hesitant about trying out the cafe. One: local designer shops are almost always overpriced. After forking out a fortune for my baju kahwin at Radzuan Radzwill, Bill Keith and Salikin Sidek, I made up my mind. Never again, at least until I earn 5 digits tolak commitments. And two: local designers who decide to try out something other than sewing fabric, is always a big no-no.

Imagine my surprise when I was wrong on both counts! Not only was it affordable, but it was also scrumptious to my taste buds!

This is the Zang Toi signature fruit punch. It actually had bits or orange peel in it! Didn't really enjoy this one mainly because the portion was too sikit. But I thought the printed glass was downright classy.

Beautiful ambience and set up. I love the chair covers with his name printed on it. Very classy!

Elegant decor with white walls and long hanging mirrors. Although I doubt Hubby would ever let any of these beautiful mirrors into our new house. Not just because of the price, but because of the style.

Each lunch set comes with a main dish, a drink and a dessert. All for around RM20. Perfect price for the service, the nyummy food and the location.

This is Widya's chicken chop. Crispy and full of flavour! Jalina thinks this is equally as delicious as the chicken chop at Full House. I agreed (while silently kicking myself for not ordering the same).

Jalina and I ordered the same spaghetti. Delicious, but not as satisfying as the chicken chop.

This is Liza's Nasi Lemak. Okay, can't say much about this. I mean, how different can a Nasi Lemak be, right?

Chocolate cake. Wasn't as great as the main meal, and I didn't like the ice-cream on its own. Tasted like medicine.

This is my Lime Tea cake. Don't ask me why they call it a tea cake. Maybe to be accompanied by tea?

The crepe. And the crepe wasn't crap at all! (Pun intended.)

And of course, Jalina had to have her dose of coffee. Zang Toi style!

And then it was back to work. With a full tummy (and heavy eyes) of course!

P.S: Googled the Zang Toi cafe before I wrote this piece, and found out that the cafe actually has a name: West 57th Street Cafe. And apparently they serve this really scrumptious, to-die-for, simply-have-to-try signature cake called the choco banana cake. It has layers and layers of pure goodness chocolate cake with fresh bananas stuffed in the middle, drizzled with warm chocolate sauce.

Okay, I simply have to try this one.

Hello, Housewarming!

Earlier this week, our ID contractor gave us the good news - renovation had officially kicked off! So of course we were looking forward to the weekend to see the latest progress. I mean, i've had enough of looking at the same boring look every single week. I constantly dream about our new house post renovation, and it isn't really the same as actually being able to see it in reality.

So today, like clockwork - right after Aiden's Gymboree class we rushed to Shah Alam. The minute I stepped foot into the house, I was at loss for words. A rush of excitement flowed through my veins, and all the complaints of it being too far, inconvenient for travel to work etc etc etc vanished and I immediately wanted to turn the house into a home.

And even though the house was far from complete, I was already imagining how the rooms were going to look like and the housewarming I was going to host very very very soon!

They taped the door to protect its surface.

Scaffold pipes all strewn over the lawn. It was a very hot day and Aiden was getting really cranky.

There you have it, the first new structure for the house. This is the extension for the maid's room.

After that, we rushed to Bukit Jalil. Aiden was going to watch his first Disney on Ice show! Well, Mummy was the one who was overly excited about it. I simply love anything Disney. There is only one more Disneyland which I have not been to - Tokyo Disneyland. In turn, Daddy is the exact opposite. He simply cannot be bothered but decided to just tag along for the show.

We made a pit stop at Bukit Jelutong for some fuel and snacks. That's Aiden excited at being able to control the wheel.

And pull on the indicator light lever.

And test the rearview mirror.

Aiden: "Bila saya besar, saya nak jadi F1 driver!"

Oh chubby cheeks!!

Kesian Aiden. He was tired from Gymboree, was dragged into the sun at the new house and now Disney??

And yes, you guessed it. He fell asleep on the way to the stadium. And did not wake up when we transferred him into his stroller. Did not move a inch from all the noise the Disney crew were making. And did not even stir when Mummy tried to shake his body awake. So what did Daddy suggest?

Him: Yang, why are we still watching this show?"

Me: Why not? (dengan nada I think I know where you're going)
Him: Well Aiden is asleep, right?

Me: So?

*silence for a few minutes*

Him: So what do you think about the new house?

Me: Yang... i'm trying to watch the show!

Him: Can we leave please? I'm bored.

Me: But I paid a bomb for these tickets!

After a few sarcastic retorts to his very irritating questions, I finally gave in. I thought, at least we could escape the traffic jam moving out.

Daddy, happy that we were finally leaving. And Aiden fast asleep, unaware of the good money Mummy just spent for Mummy and Daddy to bicker in a stadium.

On our way out, I insisted that we stop by the small kiosks. They were selling everything Disney!!! *excited*

Hubby was very interested with the jelly like thing in the cup so he touched it.

And then this nice lady explained that the jelly like thing is actually crushed ice. And then they pour coloured syrup on it and people actually eat the ice with a spoon. And you should see how fast Hubby tried to get away from the scene of the crime. Sorry, whoever you are who had to eat crushed ice soiled by my darling husband's fingers!