Nikmat-nikmatNya

After the convo the other day I told the children, we must tangkap gambar family. Yang dah convo dulu kata, convo kami takde pun tangkap gambar family.. I said well, there must be progress (my sister has a "hall of fame" - that's what I call it. Semua anak2 yang convo ada gambar kat situ dengan family sekali. I thought it might give an inspiration to the younger kids and it look rather nice actually).

Anyway we went to Oscar Studio - kedai gambar dolu2 - nak tangkap gambar (ramai2 nih pergi..); and we were turned away (!) - there was like 3 or 4 families already waiting. All with a family member who has a scroll and the graduation gown / cap. Hmmph..

Tapi percayalah, kadang2 benda yang tak seronok tu menyebabkan benda2 yang lagi best jadi. Turned out that we decided to tangkap gambar di studio photgraphers yang tangkap gambar masa wedding Ilyas/Zuf. We spent an hour at the studio dan it turned out to be a great family get together that evening.

Their studio was gorgeous dan santai (sama sekali tidak seperti Oscar Studio, that is for sure). Dan semestinya gambar yang di tangkap di sini pun takkan sama di Oscar.

While the photographers siapkan studio (they call that the white room) kami tangkap gambar dan menceceh di waiting area yang amat cantik. And I have photos to share if you like to see.

These are taken in the waiting room or the living room as they call it at the studio.

And these are taken by the pros - while standing on a ladder, à la Harry Potter, magician etc (I keep the more sombre aka traditional ones to myself) .

 

Oh, and the studio is called the Shutter Place Studio.

You've got to make excuses to take your photos here!

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Picture Perfect Photos

This is Eirfan when he was four. We were at a picnic / fishing trip at a fishing pond somewhere in Ulu Yam. He was supposed to learn how to fish. Instead he went running all over the park chasing chickens (do note of a *wary* black chicken in the background). Sampai berpeluh-peluh. Dia budak pekan, mana biasa jumpa ayam. In the end the chicken stayed clear out of his path. Nampak Eirfan datang je semua ayam2 dah lari dah.

Anyway. I am in the midst of archiving old photos into a more modern media. I tried scanning the photos but I suppose my scanner isnt good enough for the quality I expect.

The picture above was taken over a 4R photo in my album. I use the Sony TX10 camera here, which the chap at the store said can take photos of objects held as close as 1cm. In this particular case I must say I quite like the results. But when I took photos of some 3Rs the outcome wasnt as good. I need to do some more tests. But I am hopeful.

It may seem like I am going to have loads of pictures to take, out of loads of albums. I call them picture perfect photos (you know, jpeg pictures I take of existing on-paper photos). Befitting.

ps-do you know other ways I can try to convert the photos? Other than sending them to the pros for scanning, that is. Do tell.

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The Little Beasts That Prowl Our Home

This is Sushi.

And this is Fishy.

They were but tiny little kittens when they first came to our home. But not so much anymore. We are still pet-sitting these two.

They roam where they will in our home, although at first they were afraid to even leave the room where their cage sits. Jenguk kepala je keluar kat pintu. And then will dash madly back to the cage should anything scare them (the children made sure many did and then laughed at the kittens' antics).

They create havoc wherever they play.

And at the same time rule our home.

The thing they do best is to roll.

And being lazy.

And sleep.

And sleep some more (lebih dari orang yang berpuasa).

So that is my story this Ramadhan.

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The Race Is On Again (Now That It Is - Almost - The Weekend)

Earlier someone remarked on my slouch (to which I had said, can I pretend it's Sat already?) There are actually three reasons for that telling posture. One, tell me what fun is reading "x86 architecture" or "security in the BYOD era" (do read the D as device not drinks..) anyway? Two, (allow me to repeat) why isnt it Sat already? Three, the back is playing its tricks again.

And the week had been wicked too. I got drowned in the game of strategy. Someone said strategy is about thinking. I went like hmmm.. Or it is about technology? Or about writing? So yes, I cant wait for it to be Sat already.

I have loads to do. My mom is in town. My sister had just recently gone through an operation. My sons have interviews. We've need supplies for the cookies. We also have an appointment with Fatin, the girl who's supplying the pelamin (have I mentioned there will be a wedding in the family? Yes, we are planning for one. In Q4 Insy'Allah. We have yet to really, really confirm the date. I am making bunga pahar, bunga hantaran, gifts etc etc - I know, who'd have thought?) So yes, I have loads to do. Every weekend is like this. In fact, weekdays too.

Maybe that's why I am already wishing for the weekend (the faster I can start everything, the faster I'll finish). And I do want to keep Ramadhan as clear as I possibly can.

Have a great weekend darlings; wherever you will be, whatever you'll be doing.

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Getting Old (er) Part II - As We Age

I like this info that I've gotten via email from Aton. It puts the important things in a simple manner without the cliches attached.

In a crunch, take your Bs for mental alertness. B12 for your heart. Use UV sunglasses and have enough ACEs for your eyes. Do weight exercises for bone density and to prevent muscle loss. Use sunscreen to protect skin. Read more below.

Choose health.

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Busy, Indulgent (Words That Could Never Go Hand In Hand)

Hello darlings. Yes I know, it has been almost two weeks since the last update.

I've been busy - challenging myself. Every time I show myself up to the new day, I want to be certain that I will be significant that day. That I will prove a point whatever that point is. That I will be relevant. That I have achieved my goal come evening. It is not easy. Sometimes the day becomes long as you keep stretching yourself. A few times I failed, because I failed to connect with whatever I wanted to achieve. But enough said.

On other days I took things easy. I have also been idle and indulged myself in frivolous stuff (I like that word. Frivolous).

Still, at other times days could be so urgh.. bitchy I suppose. Nothing goes right. You are so aggravated (or equally aggravating? Maybe). Anything and everything infuriates you. You can feel there's a storm brewing somewhere but cant name the reasons why.

You think you might change your clothes. Your hair. Your FACE (?!!). And man, for sure you are getting nowhere **.

OTHER than that I've been seriously busy (mostly in the kitchen). We had loads of cookies made for Eidul Adha orders. I half finished my current beading project. Will show the photos once that is ready. For now I have photos of older beading stuffs I had made.

And I tried the new Briani & Ayam Goreng Rempah recipe I had gotten some time back. It tastes good, but much better when cooked by my sister.. (I'll never win any competition with my sisters, that's for sure). The children like anything other than nasi putih, which too often showed up at our table anyway. And the chicken is fried with lots of spicy 'debris' (orang Kedah panggil serdak, or maybe I should spell that 'seghdak').

And I tried the granola recipe that I found (it was seriously yum) . Follow through the recipe, but you can turn it into bars - or not (make sure they dont stick together too much and you'd have delish healthy home made cereal). The kids love the bars but I prefer the loose version with milk for breakfast. It's full of oats and nuts and fruits. And of goodness. The next time I make this maybe I'll omit the sugar altogether.

I also did the chicken and mushroom party pies that I said I would. And yes they turned out almost as nice as the ones I bought. Practice would surely make them perfect. Recipe of this later when I have photos to go along.

And I made popiah goreng too, with lots extra in the freezer. It's filled with vege and chicken, cooked chinese style. I'll share that with you another time too (I feel like I am overloading this post already. And I hate information overloads anyways).

And it is already well into ZulHijjah. Next week is going to be short; with Eidul Adha on Wed. Selamat beribadah. As usual we will have the qurban done here. With superb sup gearbox and tulang for lunch with the neighbors. I'll share pictures too on that.

** If you dont already know, this is taken from Bruce Springsteen's Dancing In The dark actually (that's the part of being indulgent and frivolous). And while on the subject, let me leave you with Bono's / U2's One video. Frivolous.. and yet not.

Have a blessed eidul adha wherever you may be reading this from.

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Sunday At The Wedding

The weekend was filled with wedding stuffs. It was a rather pretty wedding; small and nicely planned from the floral arrangement to the seating, the cake, to the arrival of the pengantin.

Unfortunately a photographer I am not. These are all the decent photos that I had managed to take.

From top left are my sister (Datin - woohoo..) Poji of Sunway; the other sister, Nari, and two of her kids Shasha & Farhan arriving; the butterfly was worn as a button by the family instead of the more traditional ribbon flower (a pretty good idea); and Alia, one of the many nieces.

From top left, a glamorous purse I saw (and like! but just not me..); Pak Cik Zain, a favorite uncle; the pretty girls of Anti Leli, nieces; and the adorable wedding cake topped with pink and lilac hydrangea.

Maybe I'll be much luckier next time and get better photos.

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Ibunda

I've been speding a lot of time at IJN late last week / weekend. Mak masuk hospital lagi. And again with heart problem.

According to the doctor it is quite amazing that she is ok looking at her previous heart history. She had a couple minor strokes. She has a pacemaker too. Mungkin takdir umur panjang..

She always looked pretty healthy at home. At least as healthy as she can be at her age. But at the hospital she looked so frail. Getting in and out of bed seem so difficult for her. Kalau nak tolong sangat nanti dia kata, mak boleh buat. So we have learned not to fuss over her so much.

It seem like only my adik can 'bully' her (in the good way of course). Even if she said no but if my brother thinks it is best for her then he'll do it. And she'll let him. She said (of my brother), dia tu ketegaq (kami orang utara che' oi..).

Alhamdulillah she's now out of the hospital at my brother's place. But according to him she seem more tired at home than she was at the hospital. But the hospital was so cold. She was under 3 layers of blankets, with socks and sweater before she could sleep. And the water was like ice; her hands and feet felt like ice too after wudhu'.

Like it or not the worst will come, sooner or later. But mak is talking about spending Ramadhan in KL and also menghitung nak beraya di rumah siapa. I suppose that is a good sign.

Prayer is the best (and the only) thing to do at times like this.

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Good Times Only (Not?)

Things are never dull when we have a family get-together. And lately we have many of that because of the multiple weddings. We gathered for tahlil, for wedding preparations, for wedding meetings (yeap, we have that too) and of course for the wedding itself.

At one of these occasions my sister brought out pairs of blue and pink ankle socks that got tiny rubber dots at the bottom for anti slip. Pretty ones with a ribbon at the top. She had bought them at a store in London. Mention London and there was a mad scramble for the socks; amongst laughs and shrieks.

Later when everyone were trying the socks my sister said she had bought the socks for maybe RM6 each at a store like Carrefour in London. Carrefour pun Carrefour lah, asalkan beli di London. Heh-heh.

Even my mother got a pair of pink ones. We slipped them onto her feet; told her sit still while we took photo of her feet. She had a big laugh because of that. I suppose she never had her feet, not her face taken as the focus of a photo before (shoot, her tongkat is missing from this gambar..)


This definitely was a big laugh occasion - another one to remember of mum.

p/s - And among the things I decided I'd do for the new year is to continue to blog. Nothing new there I know. However this year I thought I will blog only the good things. Everybody has got their own share of unpleasantness in life, no point of me adding more misery to anyone's already long list (would you believe I wont whine on line??)

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Last Year, New Year

And it is the new year (the 7th day, in fact).

It had got to be one of the most hectic end / new year to date I suppose. There was Hedir's wedding. No photos - I was too busy cooing the cucu's at the wedding that took place at Felda. My sis was hospitalized for back pain (hey, that ailment runs in the family!) recently and decided not to risk her back with the wedding stress / chores.

The wedding was great - no glitches. & met Pn Minah (the ex-boss) at the wedding. Turned out she and the groom's mother knew each other from way back (small world..)

And my mum came over to my place over new year eve. It's nice having her around. Keeping her company (or was that she who kept me company?) chatting over sibling stories / old stories / wonderful stories. The mango cake I got for Ilyas's birthday didnt agree with her. Darn. I need to remember to be more careful. She didnt like chocolate so I thought the mango cake would be a nice alternative..

And yes, Ilyas celebrated his 24th birthday. He was due on the 1st of Jan according to my gynae. He decided to see the world a couple of days or so early.. My words to him on his birthday is save, save, save and then get married. I think his girl shouldnt wait too long. Anyway..

There was also Ina's wedding (the aqad pix below). It was a nice wedding. It drizzled; but luckily the clouds quickly faded away. Maybe the bride's father's baju busuk on the roof did the trick (is that allowed, by the way..? although we had laughed when we knew about it).


My sister refused to have the tepak sirih as part of the hantaran; citing it as too traditional. There was a short silat stint when the groom arrived.. ( err.. isnt that traditional?) anyway all in all everything went on perfect.

And Luqman went back for his final semesters. Masya'Allah - time really flies.

And there was also lots of stuff to do for Eirfan for the new school year - books, uniforms, registration, tuition even.

I did lots of beading in Dec and finally have the photos below and more here. And had also managed to have my new year resolutions drawn up.


I think I have been very productive indeed!

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At The Movies

And we hurried all the way hoping we are not so late. We skipped the popcorn-and-coke ritual and dashed straight to the theatre stopping at the doors to get our 3D glasses. Of course the movie had started when we got in and co-incidently a couple of guys were in our seats. We sort of told them to "move along now and get to your own seats".



I like the movie - although the story line is pretty much predictable. I think the movie is flawless - its visual is picture perfect.

Among comments the media made had included that the movie has messages on environment protection, anti-war and that "the American military was pure evil...".



The movie has also been likened to Dances with Wolves (love that; starred by Kevin Costner) and associated with other movies including Braveheart (with Mel Gibson), Jurassic Park and Pocahontas. And Smurf of course, for the obvious reason.

It is also considered to be a front-runner for awards and nominations at the next Academy Awards, including best picture.

I love the movie. It proves yet another theory I have - askar orang Amerika memang jahat! Anyway if you have not seen this, go ahead and do it because it definitely is money well spent at the cinemas.

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UnScrambling The UnFamiliar

We were watching 'French Food at Home - Chateau Special with Laura Calder' when Iman asked what is chateau? And feeling important (feeling important is a role mums have the right to play; ho-ho-ho) I proudly said, a château is a big country house in France.

I double-checked with wikipedia and true enough, it says château is a manor house or a residence of the lord or a country house. It is pronounced sh-a (as in banana)-t-o (as in boat) -- shato. Percayalah, but then again this could be the case of a blind leading the blind.

And the other day I had a tex-mex chicken roll from San Francisco cafe for lunch. I only had that because everybody else had had their lunch and rather than sit alone for mine I did the sandwich roll take-away. Tex-mex is actually short for Texan-Mexican. As the name implies, whatever Tex-Mex has its origin in Texas, with Mexican influences. The things that came to my mind are Tex-Mex food like taco (as in Taco Bell, obviously) and nachos. And also Tex-Mex music aka Tejano music (fyi that is pronounced as Tehano) and the late Selena.

There is this site that I love that has lots of Tex-Mex recipes - check it out here.

And last but not least, everybody's favorite word - voilà. This is (another French) word that literally translates to "here" in English. It's usually used as a slang term to say "taa daa" sort of expression... Also usually pronounced wrong by Americans for some reason, they like to say it like "wala."

And do continue to read this that I got from the net; written by an American, concerning this word.

Walla is a word used by retarded Americans who don't know any foreign languages and barely know their own. The correct word they are looking for is "voila", which loosely translates as "here it is", "there you go", or similar meanings. Of course, the word voila properly pronounced in French sounds a bit like "vwalla", but with the "v" in front pronounced softly, almost like an "f". Being stupid Americans though, they can't pronounce anything which doesn't sound 100% English (not that they can pronounce English either) so in their incredibly lazy way, they don't even try to pronounce it correctly.

So there you are! Or maybe I should just say, Voila!

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Yeay, It Is Friday!

I've just added the fish tank to the blog (and am feeling so pleased with myself!) But while watching the fish swim I wondered, will the fish sleep at night or would they simply swim, swim and (help..) swim even when I shut down the notebook..? Kesian pulak. (Duh, what an insane thought.)

Anyway, it's Friday evening - yeay..


This weekend I will :-
1. make some (more) cookies to be delivered next week
2. beading (I've completed 1 simplest kurung out of the 11 - yeay..)
3. pick up Luq at the station (yeay.. he's back for the end of year break)
4. do my morning walks
5. get replacement for that lost textbook
6. read, read and read some more
7. roll up my sleeves and tackle those weeds on my vege plot (what is left of it anyway..)
8. do I have time to shop for a new T?

Hey, this plan doesnt look half as bad after all. What have you got planned?

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Sunday Muddles

And these headaches always curb my activities. On top of that I get cantankerous too. I've already complained the evening is too hot. The net connection too slow. The air-cond not cool enough. And that's just a few examples.

I went out early to Jalan TAR today. I needed to get beads for the kurungs I need to sew. (I've got 11 of those. The girl gave me her baju, her mother's baju and her sister's. So work has got to start now!)

I made kueh lopis for breakfast but didnt feel like any so it was only cocoa for breakfast this morning. Maybe that's the cause for the headache - skipped breakfast.

The sun was out in full blast too as we walked in town. That could be the culprit too.

We had briyani at Insaf. I made a glutton of myself because I was real hungry. Maybe that's the reason for the migraine. The bill was huge because we had lamb shank and chicken and fish roes with the rice. That could be a likely reason for the migraine too.

I need bottles for the cookies I had to deliver this coming week. There's none in Bagus. Neither are they available at Yen's (Yen's is closed on Sunday as I found out just now). Ugh.. And to add misery to the so-called injury, the cookies are not ready yet either.

I hate it when things are messy like this. On top of that the house is in shambles too.. Luckily I have home-made pizza ready for dinner although I do have to visit the book store tonite because someone had to replace his missing loaned text books..

Nevertheless I have completed the beads on my baju yesterday (yeayy - at least I have achieved something this weekend!) No photos of that yet though.

Wish me well. Please.

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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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Mencari Menantu Part 2

At the table sat 7 sisters.

The eldest is the kakak hajjah. She has 4 daughters (all at marriagable age, but none are - any mother's nightmare if you ask me..) and a son still in college. Then the high flyer sister - because she gets free tickets to fly anywhere yearly - who has two sons both too young to marry. The CNN-sister aka the family broadcaster has 3 daughters of which one is married and a son whom we dread if he is ever getting married. He told his atok that he is married to his bola.

The lecturer-sister has two daughters, both married (and so she sighed with relief) and two sons, who are too busy at college. Next is the sister with the thick wallet. She has four daughters and fears they do not meet enough guys of their own age. The sister who gossips (we all agreed on this) do not have these issues yet as both children are freshmen at college. And last but not least, the youngest sister with a daughter who is going steady with some guy.

We have never sat down and talk about calun menantu and the children getting married like this before. It was enlightening to hear others do have same issues like you do. It is nice to hear other opinions on the matter. It is good to listen to different views on children, marriage, menantu, and matters yang sama waktu dengannya.

We exchange tips. Exchange books. Exchange doas. And we all unanimously agree that one fine day, one way or another, we will see the ustaz minta penawar untuk anak-anak nie..

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Welcome To The Classics

And while the quiet is mine (with ref to the previous post), I google a bit here and you-tube a bit there and then blurk around some.

This is something I like to hear. It has been a fave for sometime. It is smooth and flowing and very pleasing to the ears. It is the London Symphony Orchestra playing Pachelbel's Canon in D Major. Johann Pachelbel (1653 – 1706) was a German composer.

But you should listen to this version if you want to hear the same composition with a modern twist.

So enjoy.

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Mencari Menantu

When my niece was getting married, her mother said that the father of the bride-to-be is not ready. I said to my sister, oh please - it is his daughter's wedding, why is he the one having jitters? It's fine for me to say that as I am just an outsider witnessing things from the sidelines.

And what is this all about you'd ask.

I invited 'kawan' Iman for lunch today. They have been going steady for some time so I think I should give him a tiny push towards the next course of action. So we met. We talked. Maybe it seemed like an interview to him. On second thoughts I guess it was an interview. I'd find it pretty daunting if I were in his shoes. But he looked cool. At least I dont see sweat on his face..

I'd like to think I am ready for whatever may be. Would love to think that I have no jitters about this. BUT I definitely have concerns about it. I pray that I would love this stranger as my own son. I pray I can accept him seadanya. I pray that he is the perfect choice for us. Regardless what I may think as a daughter-in-law when you marry, you do marry the family too.

At a certain point in life we truly discover that what goes round will come around. And mum's words like 'hangpa tak tau lagi' has a whole new meaning. (And today I have a new label called 'menantu' on the blog - note: later for logistics purposes I have changes this category again..).

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Mind Over Matter

And things cant be worse than it is this morning. I left home very early (I dont know about you, but ten before 7 is very early to me) but by the time I get to the office the parking's full. I notice that it takes longer and longer to get to the office these days (this year?)

I should seriously think about moving closer to home (not moving closer to the office, mind you..) or work at home or not at all (and yeah, this is where you would say something like uh-oh, here she goes again).

But never fear, anything is possible when the heart is willing. And this morning this heart is willing to be happy, bright and to be industrious (wait, let me cross my fingers first! .. ok, done that).

And those words I have there (its design too in fact) was copied from a magnet I got in MPH the other day. I find it rather rousing in a way.

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To Look Before You Leap

I was left disappointed actually..

I had actually felt guilty for leaving the office early last Fri. The boss might be calling. He might want to know about that and this and that problem ticket. And.. But ah well, the boss doesnt own me and the official office hours are over anyway, and it is a Fri evening after all.

I had signed up for this pocho-pocho class and since determined was I to sweat out a bit I committed myself to the session. But the instructor was late - really late (traffic jam, boleh ke?)

And he turned out to be a HE; a he - which left most of the participants scrambling for the tudungs. Cant the organisers at least inform beforehand that he is going to be a HE? (I'd think they could be a bit more sensitive on this part. I mean come on la, even the aerobics instructor is a female. Takde ke pompuan yang boleh mengajar pocho-pocho ni pun..?)

The instructor couldnt be any older than any of my sons. Of course la he was late. The makcik participants over-ruled him. He got no control of the class. His pace was slow. And, and this could be the cinching factor for the disappoinment - he played dangdut tune on the CD! Alahai, takde ke lagu lain? The makciks gave a whoop over the chosen song and I was afraid at any moment they would insist on doing the gerudi-whatever!

It was my own fault for not investigating what pocho-pocho really is. I assumed it would be something akin to line-dancing; not dangdut! But according to my 'worldly' sis it could be pocho-pocho with no relations to dangdut at all; pasang la music lain.

About 20 mins later the aerobics instructor walked into the room signalling the start of her class. The pocho-pocho enthusiasts decided to continue learning their steps outside. I bade them adieu. I told Gigi, the aerobics instructor I would join her class for a little while. After all, I havent worked on that sweat yet.

I read a little on pocho-pocho later : http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2007/8/5/lifefocus/18447824&sec=lifefocus. Nevertheless I suppose my fate with the pocho-pocho was never meant to be..

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