Books, Books and More Books Part 17

And I have lots of material that falls under the category of reading-in-progress. First is a couple of better back related books, including one on pilates. I am reading both. It is about standing tall, better posture, better flexibility etc etc. I am hoping this would be the silver bullet for all the achy back ailments.. But progress is so slow..


Next is a book by de Bono. I am interested to read about lateral thinking (yeah, yeah I know - it is an old concept..) But since I dont have that particular book and Ilyas has this (much to my surprise) I decided to read it. After all, if Ilyas read it, I should too.. I am maybe 60% done on this but so far I cant say it is mind boggling or that I will have a beautiful mind (an even more beautiful one, come to think of it) after finishing this..


Right, then I have this book since like forever - everytime I read a few pages of this I will doze off. So I read this whenever I need help to zzzz.... This is progressing so, so slow also.


And I was so excited about this book. I seriously read it untul like half-way through. Then I started to lose focus and it is still unfinished. (Ahem, and no wonder I am not yet rich. Coincidently, do you personally think rich or kaya or whatever you call it, a dirty word?)


And Dan Brown is someone whose book I enjoy (although I read only one book of his - and I didnt even finish that!) But I like the way his story unfold. I havent even started on this actually. Terlalu banyak projek nak buat; tak sempat nak buka yang ni..


And this is a favorite, favorite magazine of mine. It is informative, inspirational, have insight into topics that are relevant to me as a person, I think. I usually get the back dated issues for these - they are like fifty percent cheaper. I purposely put this particular issue here because Annie Lennox appeared on its cover and I simply adore her.


And scattered around my room, under my pillow, on the bedstand and anywhere else are these books. Oh, nothing in the picture? (Kalau tak nampak apa dalam gambar tu dia .. fill in the blanks). These are the books that we are shy to reveal. And no, dont let your mind wonder off to an unknown tangent please. It is those books - you know.. ha-ha. Actually these are the important books, kitab, ilmiah (adalah sesikit sana sini).


So those are some of the projects I am having currently; banyak yang terbengkalai yang betul nye pun. But I am always positive (please note the beautiful mind) - although I dont finish these - yet - ever the optimist (yeah, I am beautiful) - at least nawaitu ada. Maybe I'll finish these slowly, but surely.

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Colors Of The Season

Simply love these colors of fall. Picked it up from here.

Siti, if you are reading these - you owe us some fall photos. Btw, are your costumes ready for the big night-fright this coming weekend? Photos of that too, ok?

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Are We Done Yet?

Sigh. What a relief to be able to sit in front of this pc!

Yesterday I was happy that I dont have to prepare lunch today. We've got a 'merapatkan silaturrahim' lunch invitation - yeay!! How nice - I plan to take things easy today.

I put roti canai with leftover kari and sambal on the table for breakfast. Then I remembered I had some leftover durian. So I made some kuah durian to go with bread. After that I noticed kelapa parut in the fridge. I've been meaning to make some kueh ketayap (do you call it that?) for some time. They are Eirfan's favorite. I got that done and that goes onto the table too.

After that I made some sardine fillings for the pastry that I have. That should take care of tomorrow's breakfast. Then I remembered pulak I have lots of chicken breasts that I already planned for pandan chicken. So I prepared that too and put that in the fridge. That's for dinner today.

And yes, I need to boil the chickpeas for the soup. I am THINKING of eating better again, and the soup is so light and filling..

And after all that, there goes the morning. Of course I need not prepare lunch, nevertheless I had meals until tomorrow all planned out. Letih la.

Anyway the ketayap didnt turn perfect. Need practice there. And the pandan chicken recipe is here. And welcome to my day where no lunch preparation is required.

Oh, and one more thing - no we are not done yet - a mother's work is never done.. but still love oodles in everything that are done.

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Beauty, Beast and Businessmen

While blog-hopping I found a very interesting entry. It goes like so.

A woman, who calls herself Ms Pretty wants lo live in NY. Comfortably of course. In order to achieve this dream of hers she is looking for potential bachelors to be her husband. Rich bachelors of course. So she posted questions on a forum how to meet rich guys etc.

The funny thing is her question was answered by a one CEO who is a businessman and is rich of course. He said from the economics / business point of view Ms Pretty would be a bad investment. Her beauty wont last forever and that means basically her value will depreciate. Whereas him a successful business man, thinks he will appreciate in value given time. What made Ms Pretty thinks she is a valuable investment anyway? An asset like her usually is viable only for leasing - you get what I mean. He suggested she call him if she wants to be uh, leased. Ha-ha.

I had a good time reading it but I do note that everybody wants things the fast and easy way. Percayalah, life is never meant to be that easy. Even in fairy tales. Look at what Cinderella had to go through before the prince came her way. Snow White was poisoned. And Beauty had to bear with Beast before he turned charming.

Duh, you get the drift..

Read the full article here.

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Beads and Baju Raya (or not)

Macam budak kecik, this year I made 3 baju raya for myself. But I can tell you friends who have 6 (baju raya & baju baru bukan baju raya. Oh, there is a difference? I had asked)

Or the other girl who shook her head and refused to talk about her baju raya. Trust me, she had many.

Anyway. Crazy as I am over beading I wanted to put them on all my kurungs.

The first is a bright red kurung with tiny flowers. No matter what I tried the beads dont look right. In the end I decided to do without beading on that kurung after all. Until today I had not taken out the few beads I had sewed on (sheepish smile here). So that didnt turn out to be a baju raya after all.

The second one I did turned out beautiful (ha-ha, even if I say so myself!) I love it. I think it looks superlicious (almost like food that looked so good it is a shame that you have to eat it). And I have that photo below. And more here.


The third is a nice kurung moden with puffy sleeves. I started on the beads on the 5th Syawal (ha-ha. Missed the deadline after all due to the baking that I did. Maybe I'll write on that baking stint later) - and that project is still work in progress. It's simply for the reason that as I was happily beading my baju someone called me and said you must jahit the beads on my baju because my husband is going to be awarded for blah.. blah..

I said ok, send me the baju. I completed her baju this past week and ps - her baju turned out superlicious too.. I'll put that here once I uploaded the photos.

So anyway, all in all I have only but 1 baju raya after all.

And at the same time I also did a beading on Iman's kebaya. I'll get a photo of that later too.

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Simple, But Not That Simple It Seem

Yeay.. it is Friday.

And when I got home I was feeling like, I am not going to even think about what's for dinner.

Later I logged to the net and went to Domino's site and then called for delivery from my fixed line. The conversation went like so:
Me : 2 large pizza for delivery please
She : I'm sorry but your no has no customer details. Have you made any order through this no before?
Me : I dont know. I dont remember
She : Maybe you ordered through your mobile before. Can I have the number?
Me : Blah, blah
She : Sorry ma'am but there are no details on that no either
Me : (no words but duh..?)
She : Oh wait, let me check. Hold on a moment yeah? Yes we have your details. You are ..
Me : (ada pun)
She : Are your details corrrect?
Me : Yes
She : Can you give me the earlier no? The one you are calling from?
Me : NO. This number in not mine anyway. I wont be using this anymore.
She : But ma'am, we..
Me : Can I order now? (I dont care much about your customer database at this point of time)
She : Of course ma'am. Do you want to order now?
Me : (got smoke out of my ears) If you dont mind, yes please (dripping with sarcasm)
She : What would you like?
Me : 2 large pizzas
She : What flavor?
Me : (Suddenly flustered) Flavor? What flavor?
She : Yes, what flavor do you want?
Me : (Eyes wildly searching the Domino's website on the monitor in front of me looking for clues. Alas, but none found) Err..
She : What flavors do you want on top of the pizza? The topping.
Me : Cakap la topping. You said flavor.
She : Sometimes we call it flavor in the shop. Or topping.
Me : (Penipu besar!! Geram)

.. and you thought you had a bad day!

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Is That What It Is?

I love cooking shows. By almost anyone; except Ms Lawson (maybe I am envious of her; after all she is known as the kitchen goddess..) And then at a time I simply love Jamie Oliver too (despite his less than perfect / genteel techniques in the kitchen).

I keep tabs of the unfamiliar and exciting ingredients that are used in the recipes. Rosemary, sage and fresh oregano were my favorites at a time. Then there was crème fraîche (and I go like what is that? How to pronounce it? Duh..) After that there were fresh vanilla and vanilla pods (I only ever knew vanilla that I pour out of the bottle). And I would scour the supermarkets just to find and see what these alluring and beautiful ingredients are all about.

Just a few weeks back as we were watching tv, I asked my husband what ingredient was the chef using. He said entah (like he would know if I dont.. he-he) It looked much like a piece of cheese. The pronunciation is foreign. Later I found out it is called foie gras. Much later I discovered that it is pronounced as fwa grah (it is French).

I never thought of looking it up; until recently when I got a mail from Mira on what it is, how it is produced. And then I think I should ban the chefs who ever call for foie gras in their recipe..

Foie gras is literally translated as "fat liver" but it is actually fattened liver of duck and geese. It is considered as a delicacy in fine dining.

In producing foie gras the birds are force fed a rich mixture. The largest production of commercial foie gras is done in France and Israel. The US will only allow this product to be imported in a cooked stage, either canned, vacuum-sealed, or frozen. And the state of California has actually banned this product.

Look at these photos.. first, prepared foie gras. And then below, urgh, how it all started.




So be brave. Prepare to be appalled. And revolted. Learn, and then ban foie gras.

Oh, and co-incidently, I find there is nothing alluring nor exciting about foie gras, do you?

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Masya Allah, Alhamdulillah, Astaghfirullah

The garden of knowledge and virtue. Taman ilmu dan budi. Arent those beautiful phrases? These are the taglines (if I can call them that) for IIUM / UIA.


And the convo at the university today went on almost perfectly. The ceremony started on time in fact they were very punctual all the way; everybody queued nicely and everything went on very smoothly.

Uh, except (ha-ha of course I have something to comment on) that the mc went overboard with her pronunciation of the names like Zain which became Zayyn and Mohamed is stressed on the e and not Muhamad etc etc.


Nevertheless, the students nasyid was very, very good. Unfortunately they didnt perform during recess; which is a shame. The rector's speech was quite moving that left tears in the eyes. But I doubt the graduans were listening; they were making all sorts gestures at the camera.

I am happy, relieved that there is yet another milestone achieved. Dan mengaminkan sepenuh hati doa yang dibacakan.


And yet at the same time cant help but wonder at the audacity of man (or should I translate that to me?); walau sebanyak mana jua pun rahmat diberi Allah namun masih lagi lupa dan alpa dengan segala kurnia dari Nya.

Astaghfirullahul'adzim. Astaghfirullahul'adzim. Astaghfirullahul'adzim.

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Apa Ada Dengan Cinta?

If I may say so, I do love the title. Sila baca dengan slang Indon - it seem more fun that way.

It is post-Ramadhan and I am back to my sing-alongs in tune to the radio while driving to / from work. Not that I know that many songs to sing along anyway (and Eirfan would almost always cover his ears whenever I do sing). And song lyrics dont change much through the generations; it is almost always about love. New-found love, endless love, pledges of love, worship with love. Then there are lost love, war of love and I-hate-you-now-it-is-over kind of love.

What's love anyway if not just a rush of adrenaline with loads of over-rated and over-flooded emotions; rather than good old logical sense. And just like when you are in a rush, soon you'll get tired and you'll return to your normal pace. That's when the bubble would burst and you find out in cold reality that love on its own is not sustainable in the long run (pun intended, of course).. (Owh, did I actually write that love is like that?)

Anyway. Not long ago I said to my kids something like, apa lah nak bercinta sangat - cinta tu tak de apa pun. They are all like going steady right now. The smart reply I got was, mama boleh la cakap sebab time mama dah lepas! That actually put me in the right place, I thought.

LOL

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