High School Musical3

Haifa (my 6yo) called me up on Friday – Ibu please please Ibu, beli tiket untuk High School Musical. Haifa nak tengokla Ibu...

I can’t Haifa. It only starts today and I’m still in the office la. Weekend ni bolehla...

Puhleez Ibu puhleeeeeeez... (and she went on pleading...)

No Haifa. Weekend ni ok, but not today.... Bye!! I just had to put a stop to it, or Haifa would go on forever...

So, on Saturday, Ayah and I went to Cineleisure and reached there at 9:30am, but the ticket counters only opened at 10am. So we waited... demi anak-anaklah kan...

We bought 5 tickets (7:20pm) for Hanna, Hasya, Haifa, Hanis and their Ibu for HSM3 and 1 Bangkok Dangerous ticket (7:15pm) for the man-who-did-not-want-to look-sissy-watching-girls-movie.



After attending a birthday bash in Ampang, we went to The Curve and later watched the much awaited HSM3. The girls were all giddy with excitement.

And it was as expected – the girls said it was great. Even as a chaperone with an age double of Zac Efron’s, I’d still say that HSM3 was a good and sweet movie to watch. The girls loved it... and I’d say that I liked it as well.

And guess what, the man who watched Bangkok Dangerous said that the movie he watched was not up to his expectations.... Hah, tu lah... served him right...hehehe..

Happy Deepavali!

To all my Hindu friends and readers, I wish you all a very Happy Deepavali.

My Ahli Syurga - Happy 15th Birthday!

Venue: Pantai Medical Center. Date: 20th October 1993. It was 7:25pm when the baby was born. He was the firstborn of a 29yo father and a 27yo mother. After an excruciating labor pain of 18 hours, which was ‘shared’ by her Husband and Mother in the labor room, and after watching the sun went up at dawn until it set at dusk, (and in all those hours her Gynaechologist only came once in the morning!) the mother gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. It was such a frightening experience for the baby’s maternal Grandmother who waited outside the labor room when she saw her Grandson wasn’t crying and watching the nurses and the doctor scurrying away attending to the newborn who had just been delivered via forceps. Yes, it was a difficult birth indeed.

The newborn was named Zarif Haziq , and he was such a beautiful baby with lots of hair!

Their 2nd baby was conceived when Haziq was just 3mo. When Husna was born, Haziq was just crawling and didn’t show any signs of walking.

Realizing that their baby was somehow slow in his development, Haziq’s parents brought him for a thorough checkup at SJMC. The X-Ray result showed that Haziq had a dislocated hip on the left... thus at 1y+, Haziq went thru a major operation to correct this.

1995 Raya was spent looking after Haziq at home. He was in cast from his chest down to 1-inch to the toes for a month! It was such a trying time.... When he gained weight, a ‘window’ was made on the cast near his tummy so that he’d feel more comfortable.

After that major operation, Haziq learnt how to crawl again.

A year later, Haziq’s parents brought him to a Government Hospital as recommended by his doctor so that he could start his physiotherapy there. After a routine X-Ray, it was discovered that the bone was out of its socket again. Haziq’s parents were in shock! The doctor there then explained that it was normal - hip-dislocation could recur again and some patients went thru countless operations to correct that.

Then only Haziq’s parents realized that they’ve made the biggest mistake by agreeing to the first operation. Ya Allah... if only they knew about the multiple operations before.... They would never want to put Haziq in pain again... and thinking of the trauma that he went thru at 1y+ would definitely be a no-no although at that time Haziq was already 2yo+.

The doctor insisted that Haziq’s parents should make an appointment for the OT. When they said that they needed time to think things over, the doctor somehow insisted on one date (tak ada timbangrasa langsung!). They sort of of agree - Letak lah date apa yang doctor nak - since there were students there watching what was going on and the doctor ‘demanded’ a date.

But there was no way that Haziq's going to be put under that OT lights again. On that particular date, Haziq was having fun with his family, maternal Grandparents, his mother’s siblings and his cousins in Penang - having a blast with the Banana Boats and the jet-skis!

Now, although Haziq still can’t talk, he can walk. That was an achievement that both his parents are proud of.

Yes... that was my Haziq – my one and only SON – and the journey that he went thru in life. And today’s his 15th Birthday! Yay!

Haziq sayang,
Although you can't speak, nor can you cut your own birthday cake tonight, I know you’re happy as always. Despite the stares that you received every time we’re out, do remember that we’re always proud of you.

Though you may not understand this, you actually bring such joy and great rezeki in our lives.... You also taught us how to love unconditionally and to be strong in whatever we do. Remember, Allah knows best. It's all fated that you and Husna will be Ahli-ahli Syurga and became the glue in our family... the special ones who stick us all as one.....

If only you could see that all of us LOVE you so much, Haziq!

Again, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAZIQ! Ibu, Ayah and your sisters hope you'll get the best in everything! My Ahli Syurga... Muaaaahhh!

Jannah's Story - How Lucky We Are

Every morning, I’d send Haziq and Husna to the Special School that both of them are attending. Teacher Jannah – an Iraqian - would always come to greet me and get my special ones out of the car. She’d always smile, give her Salam and we’d have a small chat before I left for my office. However, last Friday morning she looked rather sad. Her puffy eyelids showed that she must have came down with flu or something.

Teacher Jannah, you’re not feeling well, aren’t you?

I’m OK... it’s just that my Father passed away after Raya.

I was stunned. I lowered down the volume of my radio.

Innalillah.... How old was he and how did it happen?

He was 63. He had a stroke. He also had High Blood. But he reached the hospital quite late. You see, there were so many road blocks... here and there.....many, many road blocks.. so when he reached the hospital, it was too late...

That’s so sad... how’s your Mother?

She’s staying put. You know what, the situation in Iraq is really bad. My siblings all have High Blood. And they are very young. Younger than me.

Why is that?

You see, since when we were young, when we opened our eyes, we saw people die everywhere. We hear bombs everyday. Life’s very very stressful for all the Iraq people. That’s why Iraq people have many sickness at young age. The effect of the war.... Most of us are scared of aeroplanes. If we hear the sound of aeroplanes, we’ll be terrified... We just can't help it...

Why didn’t you bring him here?

He was coming here. I spoke to him in Ramadhan, he told me that he wanted to come to Malaysia. He came here once and he liked it. He said Malaysia was a very peaceful country. He said he’d get his papers ready. When he died, my mother was cleaning his things and saw his passport. Everything was already in order. He was actually coming here...

I couldn’t help it. Tears were welling there, waiting to fall... Jannah was also fighting back the tears.

It was never meant to be Jannah....

If only he could reach the hospital earlier.... Then InsyaAllah he’d live...

Jannah, Allah has fixed it all. All are fated. There must be a hikmah in all these. I just hope that you are OK and your mom, your siblings too...

Yes, I know. Thank you. I’ll pass a Quranic verses in CDs to all the Muslim parents on Monday. I hope you can listen to the CD and sedeqah to my Father..

OK, TQ Jannah. Let’s pray that things will get better in Iraq. Take care, OK?

I left the school with a heavy heart. Somehow I knew that I should be more thankful for what I have now. Maybe some of us, including me, take Malaysia for granted... and forget that we are truly blessed to be living in this Peaceful Land. Look at Jannah, this is an Iraqian who lives in Malaysia for 16 years with her family and feels very grateful for the serenity that our Tanah Air has to offer.

Like Jannah, we should count our blessings too... and try not to take things for granted, not only with our Tanah Air, but with all the good and bad things that we have....

My 2008 Raya

Raya in Alor Setar was a fantastic one. We went to Kodiang, Jitra, Tunjang, SP and houses around Alor Setar. It was such a tight schedule and Ayah made the what-to-do&where-to-go list that we actually followed (you’re soo good at that dear :)). We met so many people, relatives and friends. You see, there were 30 people in my own family (my parents, 5 siblings/spouses with kids). Add that with aunties, uncles and the whole clan of my father’s side, plus the clan from my mother’s side would probably made us meeting more than a hundred faces during Raya. How about that – what a lucky bunch we were!

The plan to go home to Alor Setar for Raya actually started in March08, when I had to purchase two flight tickets for my Hanna and my maid Nani. Since the MPV was unquestionably designed not to be tamped down with the weight of 11 people, and I was not going to drive my car (I never tried driving on a long journey before), we decided to buy the two tickets. So Hanna and Nani left earlier than us.

The journey home to Alor Setar on Sunday before Raya was a smooth one. Alhamdulillah. It took us only 4.5 hours to reach Alor Setar. Yay. But it took us 7 freakin’ hours from Alor Setar to KL on the Sunday after Raya (does that considered as swearing?). Talk about the heavy rain and the oh-ever-so-many-cars on the road! All the R&Rs were also jam-packed. I was praying that none of us would need to use the toilet.... but it was me who needed one! Isshh....

The most important thing was that we reached home safe and sound. That was all that matters, right?

So, today’s the 12th day of Syawal. Although everything’s BAU, the Raya mood obviously is still there. With open houses to attend to, I’m definitely still in the Raya mood. Perhaps I’m still a young girl at heart..hihihi...

Have a Wonderful Raya!

To all my friends, relatives, fellow bloggers, visitors and all Muslims in the world - SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI!

I take this opportunity to MINTA AMPUN & MAAF for any wrongdoings I've done, or for anything I've written here that may have offended any of you out there.

May this Raya be a wonderful one to you and your loved ones.

Again, SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI & MAAF ZAHIR BATIN!!

Biskut-Dengar

Come Raya, we’d usually hear of Biskut-Tunjuk and Kek-Tunjuk. This is when - instead of making them yourself - you just Tunjuk (point) at the Raya Biscuits/Cakes and buy them.

Last week I managed to add one more entry into my vocabulary – BISKUT-DENGAR.

Have you heard of it? Biskut-Dengar (dengar=listen) is when you order your Raya biscuits via phone without you knowing the look/taste/names of them cookies. It is actually meant for those desperados out there (moi, one of them!) who realized at the very last minutes that they haven’t ordered enough Raya biscuits and wouldn’t dare to do a random Biskut-Tunjuk for fear of getting bland-tasted biscuits (Wipedia – add this in, capish?)

Every year, I’d religiously write down the ‘tunjuk’ orders I’ve made into my notebook so that I know what biscuits/cakes I bought. This year I was a bit laid-back thus the lack of orders made. I found out on Wednesday last week that there were only 3 orders I made via my officemates – biskut samperit, biskut makmur inti susu and kuih gunting! My kids are sooo going to kill me for this! They love Raya biscuits, especially those chocolate ones. In fact I had to order a few balangs of biscuits to be consumed during Ramadhan for them earlier on.

I was lucky when this colleague of mine, Yani had an out-of-town friend who was coming to visit her and bring her the Raya biscuits she had ordered earlier. I asked Yani to call her friend whether there were still some for sale. And the answer was YES! I asked Yani to let her friend bring whatever she thought were good. I was that desperate!

And when I got the biscuits... and Alhamdulillah... they LOOK and TASTE gooood! Nasib baik.... Not bad for a Biskut-Dengar!

So now, I’m left with the Raya cakes. I think I’ll bake them myself lah... Or maybe I should do a Kek-Dengar? Hmmmhh....

Happy 46th Birthday Benjie!

To my dear brother Benjie/AbangJie aka Kochie to his friends:

Happy 46th Birthday!!!



Wishing you a full-of-Happiness-and-Love birthday. All of us here hope that everything is beautiful easy for you. May Allah give you the best in everything!

You’ve been a supportive and a wonderful brother to me. And such a big influence you have on me. Thank you Benjie, for just being you :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Hanis!

This is the last birthday cake we'll be having for the month of September. It's my youngest birthday today. Since I was out the whole morning till 5pm with Ayah, I just managed to get her pix after coming home just now.

So my dear princess Hanis - HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY!


You're such a petite 'lil girl that I didn't realized that you're such a 'big' girl now..hehehe....

Hanis, Ibu and Ayah hope that you'll be an anak solehah, a bright and caring girl and a tough cookie! Life is a long journey which is full of roses and thorns - so Ibu and Ayah pray that you'll be successful through out the journey no matter what happens. Remember that our do'a will always be with you Hanis.

Have fun with the clown and the Barbie doll(s) :) We'll cut the cake tonite after iftar ok?

Of Nuzul al-Quran and TV3

Today is the 18th of Ramadhan. Yesterday was Nuzul al-Quran Day which falls on every 17th day of Ramadhan. Nuzul al-Quran as we know is the day to commemorate the revelation of the Holy Quran for the first time to Prophet Muhammad, pbuh.

Talking about Nuzul al-Quran, I remember the time I was on the national TV, nearly making a fool of myself.

It was Ramadhan 2006 or 2007 (which I can’t really recall). It was a routine for us to get some kuihs for iftar at our favorite restaurants or at the nearby Bazaar Ramadhan. I was walking with Ayah and the girls when I was stopped by this pretty lady. I didn’t realize who she was at that time but when the microphone was out, and the video cameraman came into view, my first reaction was ALAMAK, habis aku!

That girl was a TV3 reporter and she started shooting off the questions at me. I was nervous, what with the camera and people surrounding us and all. I remember the Q&A went something like this:

There was an increase in sugar price recently, what do you do to cope with it?
Emmm... aaahh... Our sugar intake is not on the high side, so I think we’ll manage it.

Does your husband help you at home?
Emmm... aaahh... Of course he does. But since both of us are working, the daily chores are done by the maids.

Do you argue about whose kampong to Balik Kampong to for the Raya?
We’ve made a pact when we got married. Only one kampong per Raya. Alternate system. So no problemlah.

What is Nuzul Quran?
Whaaa...? Could you please repeat the Question again? (duh... )

What is Nuzul Quran?
Emmm... aaahh... Hari pertama turunnya Quranlah.

Ok Kak, TQ.

So clever of her to make people Terkedu. The first three questions were on personal/family life, but the 4th question macam ‘out of scope’ pulak. When people ‘terkedu’ and nervous, they tend to make a mistake or start babbling.

My Mak called me later to let me know she saw me on TV3 answering the sugar (question1) and the Balik Kampung (question3). But I couldn’t wait to know about the Nuzul al-Quran question.

Until a few days later, an office colleague came to me and said:
”Kak Ja, I saw you on TV ”
Was it on the Nuzul al-Quran? Did I Iook and sound like a fool?
“No, you looked ok apa, and you gave the correct answer. Raaamaaai betul bagi jawapan salah.”

I guess the reporter was the one who made it difficult by posing the ‘out-of-scope’ question after asking the first three. Or else people will know what to answer. I wouldn’t want to know how embarrass I’d be to my children if I answered it wrongly.... Issshh....

Happy 44th Birthday, my dear Hubby!

To the man who stole my heart 17 years ago – (it's still in his possession!)







May your 44th year be a wonderful one!

A special day like this
Is the perfect chance to show
That I love you very much
More than you'll ever know

So even when I forget
To say these words each day
Remember that I love you
More than I say

You brighten up my life
With memories and dreams
As the years pass
They get better it seems

You had my heart
Right from the start
The love for you in it
Will never part....


May all your wishes come true and may Allah gives us the best in everything, dear.





(poem source: http://www.things-to-say.com)

Happy 11th Birthday Hanna!

My dearest Hanna,

14 September 1997... but it seemed only yesterday that I first held you in my arms in SJMC labor room. You were such a beautiful baby although at that time you were covered with blood and white vernix :)

Now you’re a young lady of 11. My girl, you have such a long way to go in life. And I pray with all my heart that you’ll get the fullest of what life has to offer. Remember that solat is the pillar of everything. Be tough, strong, and do your best so that you may endure come what may.

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY HANNA!

I love you very much.... MMmmuuuuaaaaaahhhh!!


Since you don’t want me to put your recent pix here (malu ke?), I scanned two from your one-year-olds album... hehehe... GOTCHA!

This pic was taken on your 1st birthday... that was what - 10 years ago?? Wow... you've grown soo much Hanna!

Happy 89th Birthday Tok!

This month is full of birthdays to celebrate and this is the first of the series of birthdays that are yet to come.

Today’s my paternal GrandMother’s birthday - Che Jah Lebai Othman of Kodiang, Kedah.

So here goes --- HAPPY 89th BIRTHDAY TOK!

Semoga Tok panjang umur, sihat walafiat, tenang di dalam pelukan keimanan and ketaqwaan, bahagia bersama anak-cucu-cicit-piut, dan dipelihara di dalam kebaikan dunia dan akhirat. Amiin.

Counting Sheep

I colored all my sheep with all colors I had in mind and decided that pink was the best color a sheep could look good in. It reminded me of cotton candy with four legs... The fluffy pinks melted in your mouth... aaahh...pure heaven.....

Eh, what am I babbling about?

I counted sooo many sheep last night that I’m still seeing them in front of me as I’m typing this. My head is spinning, my eyelids heavy and my mouth yawning 60 times in a minute. Thanks to my mistake in taking the wrong supplements at night – I was wide awake last night until 4:00am!

Since I forgot to take my supplements for the first day of puasa, I kept reminding myself to do it right for the second day. Last night, in haste, instead of taking my Glucosamine+Chondroitin, I took Surbex Zinc - a high potency B complex – that according to Abbott is to help increase your energy levels and improves your stamina! There I was – in the darkness of my bedroom, counting sheep like there was no tomorrow!

But you know what, while counting and coloring sheep and reciting some surahs, I could hear the breathings of my loved ones in the room with me. How those sounds brought tears to my eyes... and how grateful I was that they were alive and healthy despite those ‘noisy’ sounds they made.

I was also grateful for my children still want to sleep with me. Only Haziq sleeps in his room... the five girls are all my sleepingmates!! They each have their own room but when it comes to sleeping at night, they like to sleep with us.

Whatever people may say, I believe that as long as your children want to sleep with you, let them be. Once they grow older, they’ll slumber out in their own rooms. I just want to cherish the time while we still have it.

What about the parent’s privacy? Well, there are empty rooms to count sheep in :)

SELAMAT HARI KEBANGSAAN & SELAMAT BERPUASA

To all Malaysians:
SELAMAT MENYAMBUT Hari Kebangsaan ke 51
..... Sambut dengan Jiwa yang Merdeka!

















To all Muslims :
SELAMAT MENYAMBUT Bulan Ramadhan Al-Mubarak
..... Sambut dengan Jiwa yang penuh Ketenangan dan Keimanan!

Why I don't own a Bungalow - according to Haifa

Hanna and Hasya had the piano exam today. After more than 5 years of learning the notes, this was the first time they were taking the exam. Their mother was more nervous than the girls, so you can imagine how her teeth were making the clattering noises when Hanna’s name was first called. Then Hasya’s. At that moment I understood how all the Mothers who’d been there felt like whenever their kids were to sit for big exams. And this was just a piano exam, not big ones like UPSR or PMR or SPM. How would I feel if my kids were to sit for the big exams??

I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Anyway, after the exam, we and the girls went to MV and later Bangsar Village. On the way to NPE, we took the shortcut thru the big bungalows/mansions in Bangsar. I was trying to make a point with my girls who had jaws on their laps looking at those big bungalows! Never mind the OOOOHs and the AAAHHHs sound they made.

Tengok rumah-rumah besar tu. Diorang belajar pandai sangat masa sekolah dulu, tu yang diorang boleh afford rumah-rumah besar macam ni.

And I added some more... If you want big houses like these, kena belajar pandai-pandai lah. Nanti boleh beli apa yang mahu.

There came a comment from the back of the car -

Ibu tak pandai lah masa belajar dulu. Sebab tu lah tak ada rumah besar macam ni..

Alamak terkedu aku. What should I say now? Hanna and Hasya were laughing like hyenas. Heeelp Ayah...!

Taklah, Ibu pandai apa... masa belajar dulu..

Tapi tadi Ibu kata kena belajar pandai sangat baru dapat ada rumah besar macam ni. Jadi Ibu tak pandai sangatlah ...

Hmmhh.. betul jugak..alahaiii ...

Ayah was smiling ear to ear. Hanna and Hasya were laughing uncontrollably.

... And me? I managed to Tersenyum Kelat..

Haifa..Haifa... :)

Mega Sale Marathon Shopping

A week before the school holidays:

Ibuuu, betis Hanna sakit lagi lah Ibu.

My God, after like 4 days, she could still feel the aching? The 7-hour of marathon shopping was last Monday, Hanna, how could you still feel the pain?

OK OK - I’m Guilty as charged. I admit I’m a bad mother. I was an inconsiderate mom who made her two children skipped schools just so that they could tag along with her to MidValley. But I didn’t blackmail them or anything. They were all full of smiles that day. They liked it, especially when the exam was just over and they wanted to spend some quality time with me - besides getting new shoes and clothes for Raya of course.

I don’t like to procrastinate when it comes to buying things for my children. I made a vow earlier this year that I won’t be doing what I had been doing all these years – go shopping for Raya during Ramadhan! This year, I don’t want to be caught in the throngs of people who seemed to like what I liked. In the end, it was very frustrating when you got hold of the one that you desired but couldn’t get the size that you wanted. Or you liked the one on the mannequin, but that was the last piece and the wrong size. Or worse, you couldn’t find anything for anybody at all!

That was why I took leave on Monday and went shopping with Hanna and Hasya.

There were a zillion things to buy. Imagine how many blouses, t-shirts, jeans, pants, skirts, gowns, sandals and shoes that made up the long list of my To-Buy things:

Let's do a simple math:

There are 11 people living under the same roof with me. Six of them are my dear children, another three my maids, my dahhling Ayah and moi!

1) Each of my maids needs 3 blouses/t-shirts, 2 pants/jeans, a baju kurung and a pair of sandals – that makes it 7 items for each. Total : 21 items altogether.

2) Each of my 5 girls needs 4 blouses/t-shirts, 2 jeans, a baju kurung and a pair of sandals/shoes – that makes it at least 8 items for each. Total : 40 items. Don’t forget the extra skirts/gowns and stockings for the younger three which equals to 6. So, the Grand Total for the 5 girls : 46 items

3) My only boy – 3 jeans/slacks, 5 shirts/t-shirts, socks, a pair of sandal and a baju Melayu. Total : 11 items

4) Ayah – TBD
5) Moi - TBD

(Post-script Correction):
The total amount of things to be bought was 21+46+11 = 78! Minus the Baju Kurungs and the Baju Melayu that I’ve already bought/ordered (all 11 of them), and minus Items 4 and 5 (which aren’t important), the Grandtotal of the things that needed to be bought was 78-11 = 67!

I'd never accomplish buying those even if I had 4 arms! Not while you’re fasting or got pushed and pulled during a weekend sale. So I know I made the right decision to buy them on Monday, with the Mega Sale going on especially.

What left, you ask me?

I’m only left with less than 10 items to buy now. Pretty impressive, huh?

Draw the Line

I know it's my blog. And it's supposed TO BE :

1) where I can write how & what I feel
2) my outlet to vent & let off steam
3) 'MY'-time - where I can have the "MY-time" all to myself
4) sort-of a journal where my children can read when they're older
5) my realm of infinity

This morning Ayah asked me to remove one of the entries I wrote earlier. He said - "Jangan cari pasal".

I guess he was right. That entry might hurt some feelings. And I don't want to lose some friendships just because I wrote what I wrote.

At this age, friends and relatives are very much important. The older you get, the more you treasure what you have. And it's important to multiply that rather than having the numbers slashed off ... just because.

Come to think of it, although this cyberworld offers borderless/limitless opportunity for me to write whatever I want to, it's actually up to me to sift thru the cans and cannots.

"The best way to keep your friends is not to give them away."
- Wilson Mizner

Here and There

My weekend plus the three days that I was on leave were wonderfully spent. My three older siblings (Bemmie, Benjie and Kak Anim) with their families came over. The main reason was to attend my cousin’s wedding on Sunday, this time on the Groom’s side. Although my dear parents and my younger brother and his family couldn’t make it, it was still 'perfect’ for me.

Saturday night was BBQ night. Since it was already 4pm when we decided to have the BBQ, this time there were just just prawns, crabs, squids and Honey BBQ Chicken Wings - served with Sos Chili Thai and Argentine Salsa Criolla (TQ Farina!). I also prepared Bubur Durian and Baked Tuna Cheese with Pasta. There were also fruits from the orchard brought by Benjie. Ayah set the tent up for the children to play in and the noises that the children made was like a kenduri!

The next day was the real kenduri in Semenyih. It was good. We met our relatives from up North and kudos to my cousin (the Groom’s eldest brother) and his wife(and her family) to have gone through so much and made the kenduri a success. Since both their parents have died (alFatihah) this eldest sibling took the responsibilities to make it happen for the younger brother the Groom. And I was lucky again to witness another Silat Pengantin and the Gamelan – played by a group of young men. We were entertained by the used-to-be-popular singer – Zaiton Same’on. I couldn’t help feeling pity for her who obviously is now a has-been :(

Monday was Berjaya Times Square indoor-theme-park day. The children just loved it although there weren't as many games as there were in Genting. That was my special child Haziq’s third time there... and I was rather nervous coz he didn’t want to eat anything while we were there. Too excited maybe :)

And guess who slept like a log that night? It was me, not my Haziq. Penat!

Tuesday was Zoo Negara day.


It was my 2+yo Hanis’s first time there, so you can imagine how happy she was seeing the animals she saw in the books for real! My special child Husna was all smiles as usual.


The animals looked so much better since the last time we went there. The smell in the air was ok. There were many Minah/Mat Salleh volunteers doing all kinds of work in the zoo. I wondered where they came from.

Anyway, this Orang-Utan was funny though – he actually posed for his picture to be taken!

Wednesday was Wall-E day at Cineleisure. Since Ayah wasn’t on leave, I brave myself to drive my car for the first time. Made it finally :) Hanna and I wanted to watch The Mummy but Hasya, Haifa and Hanis wanted Wall-E – so they won. But on the way back, I heard Haifa reading out loud what she sent via sms to Ayah : “Wall-E tak best lah Ayah.”

La pulak....

Anyway, I'm sure all of us had fun during the holidays. And oh, I'm going to catch The Mummy before school starts.

Ok now, back to work!

Au Revoir!

Au Revoir my dear Matrix! Thank you for the good five years you've shared with me...



Come visit me when you can... And please take care of the new owners - like what you did with me.





Meanwhile, say Hello to my new car... sleek, huh?


drool...

drool...

drool...

drool...

See Lewis Hamilton posing for me?



Hehehe.. perasan... Dream on Dreamweaver!

(Actually I shot this beauty during the Sepang F1 race on 23rd March08. Pretty neat...)

Huh... Finally I drove my new car this morning - after 5 days of it being stationary in the car porch. I'm trying to get use to it. Love it, but I do miss you my Matrix.

But I'm very sure you're in capable hands now :) Take care of your owner and the family for me, ok?

My 42nd Year

If I were to live in India, it’d be a Public Holiday today, and I’d be celebrating my 42nd Birthday with India’s Independence Day!

Yes, I’m 42 today. I was born at 12:15 midnight of 15th August 1966. My parents were living in Langkawi at that time, but my AYAH insisted that Mak should take the boat ride to cross the ocean and gave birth to me in Kodiang, Kedah where AYAH’s kampung was located.

I’d like to thank everybody who had called me and sent me Birthday Greetings via sms, and emails since last night. I feel truly blessed to be given this life which is full of wonderful people of families and friends from all walks of life.

My Hubby – I’m genuinely happy to have a terrific husband like you. TQ for the birthday gift :) though it’s not a surprise. I can’t wait to drive it this afternoon. Love you ..mmmuuuaahhh...!

My Children – My Angels- Haziq, Husna, Hanna, Hasya, Haifa and Hanis. I love you with all my heart! Ayah and all of you make me complete. My special children Haziq and Husna – remember Allah chose you to be special because you’re SPECIAL. Your Ayah, Ibu and sisters will always be there for both of you.

My Parents – AYAH and Mak – I’m truly blessed to have parents like you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to live the life that I’ve always wanted. Thank you for being there for me all these 42 years!.

My Siblings – Bemmie, Benjie, Kak Anim and Adik – and my ipars – Kak Zue, Kak Dora, Abg Rosli and Juin – love y’all! Hope all of you will have a tremendous life. And I wouldn’t trade you with anything in the world!

My Relatives – My Tok, aunties, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, grand nephews, grand nieces, my mom in law, sis-in-laws, brother-in-laws – you are wonderful people!

My Friends – My Primary School friends who are a bunch of fantastic ladies, my MRSM friends who are ever so marvelous, my Uni friends whom I’ve mostly lost contact with, my Office friends who have seen me from a Fresh Graduate to a mom-of-six, my friends I acquired thru the blogging world, my neighbors, my family friends and everybody I’ve known – you guys are amazing!

Thank you for being you!

Happy Birthday to Me :)

Shoeless

I know there are some women drivers who do not wear their shoes while driving. I’m one of them :) I tried wearing them a few times, but felt rather clumsy and awkward. I guess my toes need to be 'naked' when touching the gas and brake pedals...(Hmmmhh... I wonder how I passed the driving test with my shoes on?)

Anyway, like soooo many other women drivers out there, I have several pairs of shoes in my car. Two pairs at the front passenger’s side and three in the car boot. I don’t know why I have them in my car especially when I like to wear only one pair in like 4-6 months before I switch to another.

Since I have my shoes ‘living’ in my car, every morning I’ll just have to get in the car without any shoes on, make sure that my sunglass and laptop are there - and drive off to work. It worked that way until one Thursday morning when I had to hitch a ride with Ayah.

I hopped into Ayah’s car and chattered away until we reached my office. Then only I realized... ALAMAAAAK... I didn’t have any shoes to wear!

Luckily, I remembered my colleague, Suzanne, who had many pairs of shoes in her car (see, I’m not the only one here!) I called her up - it was very nice of her to come down, opened her car boot and gave a pair to me. Phew.. lega!

And it was not nice to wear another person's shoes the whole day, right? Now.. ehemm... I had a valid reason to get a new pair of shoes. Got one Snowfly from OU JJ that afternoon itself...Yippee!

The moral of the story : Ladies, if you just need a reason to get a new pair of shoes - despite all the ones in your shoe cabinet or car boot - do what I didlah... tak lah rasa guilty sangat membazir....LOL!

Happy 66th Birthday Mak Dearest

Mak,

Happy 66th Birthday! Semoga Mak panjang umur, murah rezeki, diberi kesihatan yang baik, happy happy selalu & dipelihara Allah dalam kebaikan.


You've been there in my everything and I really thank you from the very bottom of my heart.

I love you so much that it hurts...

Happy 47th Anniversary AYAH & Mak!

Selamat Hari Ulangtahun Perkahwinan buat AYAH dan Mak tersayang. Semoga Allah menambahkan keberkatan dan keharmonian di dalam perkahwinan kalian berdua.


Semoga dipanjangkan usia, dimurahkan rezeki, dipelihara Allah dalam keimanan, diberkati dengan kesihatan yang baik, dilindungi dari segala yang tidak baik dan dilimpahi rahmat setiap masa...

Happy, happy me

Yay! Mak and AYAH are coming today! But only for ONE night. And that ONE night will be spent at a hotel in PJ. Alaaaa...frustrated betul! AYAH was asked to participate in a discussion with UM’s Akademi Pengajian Melayu (if I’m not mistaken) tomorrow. On what, I’ve no idea. And all sponsored by them. But the thought of meeting them even for a few hours really boost my spirit today.

The last time Mak was here was in May08, and AYAH back in December07.

After work at 5, Ayah will go fetch them at the hotel and bring them back to our house – have dinner, chit-chat a bit, Mak to try baju raya I bought for her – and then we have to send them back to the hotel tonight.

They’ll be going back to Alor Setar tomorrow evening, but I won’t be able to see or send them home since Haifa will be having her Tadika concert on the same day. That 6yo has been practicing hard every day with her dance that I don’t think we could slip out from the Dewan MPPJ to send Mak and AYAH to the terminal.

Whatever it is, the kids will be ecstatic to see their Tok Mi and Tok Wan today. And I know Hasya will cry again during the parting. She’s very sensitive every time she sees Tok Mi leaving.

And I’ll have quality time with my Mak and AYAH... happy....

Soooo happy that I spent buying unnecessary things at IKEA during lunch time... Okay what, IKEA's having a sale!!

Nak Adik Boy?

Last night, at the dinner table, Hanna said something that nearly made me choke on my pistaschios.

Ibu, Hanna nak Adiklah...

What??? What was that again Hanna???

Hanna rasa Hanna nak Adik sorang lagi lah.

(Was she for real?)

Betul ke ni Hanna?? You have 3 younger sisters now... and one Kakak and one Abang... nak lagi ke? Lagipun it’s a lil bit too late now for that... Apasal sekarang baru Hanna request?

Entahla.. Hanna rasa Hanna nak Adik boy lah... Hanna teringin la nak Adik boy...

At this point, Hasya was vigorously nodding her head... A-a lah Ibu, Hasya pun nak Adik boy jugak Ibu....

Girls, I’m too old for that now... if only you girls requested this yearsssss ago, bolehla Ibu beranak Adik boy... Lagipun, would you change his diapers now that I’m too old for that?

EEEwww.. tak naklah Ibu... diapers...eewww.. busuk laa...

So, nak tak Adik boy ni?

Eewww.. nak kena tukar diapers... tak jadilah Ibu....

Okay that settles it.

Legaaaa!

Hehe... Children... so easy to convince them...

Microdermabrasions

Once upon a time, there was a 36 years old woman who thought that she needed to prioritize things up in the pamper-yourself department. Freshly out of her confinement of her 5th child, she signed up for a package of 10+1 sessions of microdermabrasions at a dermatologist clinic in Subang Jaya. She had the micro sessions done, and stopped going there after the 6th session.

Six years later, the woman who is now 42, decided to give a call to the clinic. She managed to squeeze in to get an appointment for her micro. The beauty consultant, Joanna was surprised to see her. The expression on Joanna’s face when she first saw the woman was like -

“My God, it’s been so long, I thought this woman was dead”.

Anyway, the woman had her microdermabrasion done that day and made an appointment for her 8th session, scheduled three weeks after that. She was determined to finish off her remaining sessions. And be done with it. After all, she would be left with only 4 more sessions to go. Pejam-celik mesti habis punya...

Came Saturday July the 26th, she went for the appointment. The first thing Joanna did was to show the woman her log book. Apparently, Joanna did some checking and realized that the woman had signed up for another package of 20 sessions of microdermabrasions, during one of her sessions a few years back. And that too was already paid in full!

The woman was dumbfounded. How could she forgot about the second sign-up?

And yeap, that dumbfounded Pudding Head was ME!

As I’m typing this, I’m still mulling over the 23 microdermabrasions sessions that I have to go. Not that I don’t want to look pretty...(as if!) but I don’t know how I’m going to finish them off. What with the Non-Transferable written smugly on the clinic card, definitely can’t give them out as birthday gifts to my good friends. Looking at the history of facials I’ve done in the past, I had my facial done ONCE a year! If I were to keep the pace as it was, I’ll be 65 when I have my last session... if I lived that long!

We don’t want that to happen, do we? So I better cease this chatter and give Joanna a call....

Goodbye Gabby

I was waiting for the red light to turn green when I realized there was a missed-call on my handphone. It was Kenny, our good friend whom we’ve known for 14 years. Since the traffic light was still red and the displayed numbers showed 56, I knew I had time to return the call. 56 seconds was enough... so I thought.

We did a quick hello. However I could detect a different tone in Kenny’s voice.

Kak, do you remember Gabby?

Gabby... the one who did the landscape? Sure I remember her. Why?

Dia sudah tak ada, Kak.. sudah meninggal...

Laaaa...bila?

Sudah lama Kak... Chinese New Year.. I pun baru saja tau...

I wanted to ask more but the traffic light had just turned green, so I had to say goodbye and disconnect the call. All the way home I kept thinking about this young girl I met in May last year. Gabby did the landscaping for our house. She was a landscape towkey’s daughter in Bukit Rimau. Even though she had a few Bangladeshis working for her, she preferred to roll-up her sleeves and dug in the soil and filth. An example of youthful exuberance. Sometimes she would come alone and did the work around the house. And I would always tease her when she could easily pick up heavy pots on her own.

Waa... Gabby... you kuat macam jantan la...

And she would laugh at that.

Reaching home, I could see the three Fox Tail trees she planted for us.... looking tall and proud. While walking towards my Hanis who was cheering “Ibu balik, Ibu balik”, I realized that the Java Palm, the Mother-in-law’s Tongue plants and the grass that I was stepping on - all had been planted by her. Suddenly I got teary-eyed. This girl who was not of great importance in our lives when she was alive had actually left something behind for us to remember her by.

I believe that every person who enters our lives - significant or insignificant that person may be - will surely leave a mark behind, whether we realize it or not. And dear Gabby did just that. She planted those plants and trees, and as long as they survive, her memory will still be with us....

For my Hanna

This short entry is for my daughter Hanna.

Hanna, remember the talk we had last night? This is just to signify the things we spoke about.. so that one day when you read this entry, you'll know when we had that talk.

I love you Hanna.

Uban...

I have Uban!

That’s the depressing fact I came face to face this morning. No..no..no.. not Depressing.. let me make a correction to that. It was rather an Eye-Opening fact.

Yes, I know I’m in my 42nd year.. Yeah..yeah at this age, I am supposed to have uban. Don’t get me wrong, I’m always grateful to Allah for giving me this life that is full of love and laughters. And I’m always thankful for the blessings and challenges He bestows us because whatever good or bad, I always believe it’s forever for the best.

Anyway, back to the significant encounter I had this morning, since I’m short sighted, I’d just see my blurry reflection in the mirror everyday while combing my hair and put the compact powder on. I’d only see things clearer when I wore my glasses, which would only happen after I dabbed some lipstick and had my tudung on. No second glance in the mirror. Then off to work I’d go.

So there goes. I seldom looked at myself closely in the mirror. And I’ve never scrutinized my hair ... UNTIL this morning...

There they were - on the right side of my temple. Waiting to be greeted and seen by the owner... And I just couldn’t help myself – I burst out laughing!!

I’m officially older (and wiser) now, Thank You. Not that having more white hair will make a person wiser, but that's what I'll stick to at the moment.. LOL.. Although I’m not Anak AYAH in this category, since my father (AYAH) didn’t have uban until he was in his 60’s. People thought that he colored his hair. Little did they know that AYAH was/is just a Brylcream brand loyalist!

And just now I proudly show my uban to two of my girls.

Remember girls, see my uban? I am getting older and uban ni is the proof. So puhleeeez after this, no more fightings ok.. Kesian Ibu dah tua..

Hasya and Haifa looked at each other and touched my hair.....

OK Ibu, promise..

As if! But it’s the thought that counts, right? :)