Birthday Wishes.

This is not another birthday entry per say. Just something that I've been wanting to share. Totally forgot about it until Hubby brought the subject up. Hubby was feeling disappointed, a bit let down that none of his siblings (Kak Ngah, Dikjam & Awu) smsed him on his birthday.  Hubby was not expecting much here, just a birthday sms from his siblings. Hubby will always without fail sent personal birthday smses to his sister and brothers.

Kak Ngah and Awu (the 2nd & 4th siblings) did wish Hubby on his birthday, but via his Facebook wall. Dik Jam (the 3rd one) who claims he does not have a Facebook was the only sibling that did eventually sent Hubby a birthday sms, but a day later. (I guess it's better late than never, right?)

Yes, Hubby is constantly checking his Facebook but the birthday wishes that really matters to him are from the ones who actually took the trouble to call him up, or sms him. 

Thanks to the birthday reminder on Facebook, you can be certain that you'll receive tons of birthday wishes on your Facebook wall. Anybody who is on your friend list would definitely know it's your birthday, provided that they check their Facebook regularly, of course.

I personally feel that birthday wishes on Facebook walls are a bit impersonal. Personal birthday messages sent to the Facebook inbox is very okay as the sender actually took the time to click on the message icon and type out a birthday message. Receiving birthday messages on my Facebook wall from not so close friends is okay.

But when it's somebody you consider yourself close to (family or friends), I do get disappointed. I make it a point to call or at least sent a birthday sms to family and friends that matters to me. If I can't get hold of them, I would send a personal birthday message to their Facebook inbox. So, I was kind of disappointed to be receiving birthday postings on my Facebook wall from a few friends whom I thought were good friends of mine and whom I thought felt the same way about me because on their birthdays, I actually called them up or smsed them. Perhaps they have their reasons but I don't think a birthday sms to a Singapore mobile number will cost a bomb. Guess I'm not as important to them as they are to me. 

So what do you people out there think? Should you call/sms close family and friends on their birthdays or does a birthday wish on their Facebook wall suffice? 

p/s: I know I'm being very old school here but I do miss the days when I used to receive birthday cards in the mailbox. Sigh...

Happy Belated Birthday Mr. Z.

I wanted to put up a birthday dedication for my darling Hubby who officially turned 34 yesterday. (Both me & Hubby are December babies) But sadly, I was not well. With the recent Jakarta trip, then going back to KL, entertaining family and friends who came visiting recently, everything has finally taken its toll on me.

Though I was the first to wish him at the stroke of midnight, (he was already asleep but I woke him up anyway to wish him. How terrible of me, right?) I really wanted to put up a nice birthday entry on this little blog of mine for my darling Mr Z.

As I'm still very much under the weather, with my thinking cap nowhere to be found, I had to search the net for something really sweet for Darling Hubby.

For My Darling Mr. Z.

Another Birthday Together

Your birthday marks another year together;           

Such happy times, I couldn't ask for more,

Spending precious minutes, hours and days;

With you, my love, whom I cherish and adore.

We've shared so much, we two, in love and friendship;

Each year our bond just seem to grow and grow.

I always want to be right next to you;

To be with you means more than you know.

You're always there for me with a loving smile;

I'm never happier than when I know you're near.

I thought my love for you could not grow stronger;

And yet I love you even more this year.

Wishing you a very Happy 34th Birthday My Love.

Forever Yours,

Mrs Z.

p/s: Poetry by Karl and Joanna Fuchs

Our Jakarta Trip.

What can I say about our recent trip to Jakarta? Tiring, exhausting but fulfilling nevertheless. Most of the time, we were stuck in the traffic jam, something that Jakarta is apparently very famous for. Me, who thought that the traffic in Bangkok was the worse I have ever seen/experinced was greatly mistaken. Nothing beats the "macet" in Jakarta. ( "macet" means traffic jam in Indonesian)

So basically, if you're on a 4 days, 3 nights trip to Jakarta and manage to cover as many tourists spots as possible, you're indeed very fortunate. Luckily for us, our tourist guide was our dear friends Tieke and Bayu who showed us around Jakarta city and the drove us as far as Puncak and Bogor. Hubby did not snap that many pics during this trip as he himself was very tired after a very exhausting week at work. 

But Hubby did snap a lot of beautiful pics when we visited Taman Safari in Puncak. I will blog about our trip to Taman Safari in another entry as it deserves an individual entry of its own. That place was simply amazing.

So, here are some of the pics from our Jakarta trip. It pretty much sums up our trip. Don't be surprised by the pics of food, food and food!!! We did a lot of eating in Jakarta. :D

DAY 1

First pic of the trip. Still in Changi waiting to board the flight.

As usual, Shafiq gets super excited whenever he gets to fly. :D

Shafiq posing in our room at the Le Meridien, Jakarta.

After checking into the hotel, took a cab out to Sederhana. Sederhana is a very famous "padang food" franchise in Indonesia, which is a favourite with Hubby.He usually eats at Sederhana whenever he goes to Jakarta for work. So, he just couldn't wait to take me there.

The food at Sederhana is simply yummy. Sederhana is now my favourite Padang restaurant of all time. Shafiq liked the "sotong" dish so much that he actually asked for a second helping of rice and the "sotong" dish.

I liked the fact that they serve everything they have in small plates so you get to choose what you want to eat, right in front of you. They will only charge you for the dishes you've eaten. Apparently, this is the way it is in Padang restaurants in Indonesia.

I will definitely go back to Jakarta just to eat at Sederhana again. :D

After the very fulfilling lunch at Sederhana, instead of going back to the hotel, took a cab and headed to Tanah Abang. It is a very famous shopping destination especially for textiles and garment items. As we didn't have much time as we needed to rush back to the hotel to meet up with our friends, Tieke and Bayu, I only managed to shop for "kain sembahyang" for our female family members. On our way back to the hotel which was supposedly to be a 10 mins drive away, we got stuck in the mother of all traffic jams and reached our hotel about 1 1/2  hours later. We had to call our friends and reschedule, no thanks to the traffic.

Here's a little something to share to those planning a trip to Jakarta. Please only use Blue Bird Taxis. The only reliable cab service in Jakarta. (As advised by our Indonesian friends). This can be seen by the long queue for Blue Bird Taxis at the airport. It's safer and definitely won't rip you off like the other cabs as they strictly charge according to the meter. 

The view from our room. 

The roads were still clear at that time, 

but you can see that the traffic was slowly building up.

Shafiq with Uncle Bayu. Bayu came straight from his office & met us at the hotel. 

As it was a Friday, he was attired in Batik for work, a known tradition in Indonesia.

For dinner on our first night in Jakarta,
Bayu and Tieke took us to Sari Kuring,
a famous Sundanese restaurant.

The Sundanese version of satay was really nice.

Hubby loves the "stuffed tofu/tauhu".

Ikan Gurame Goreng.

I'm no fan of ikan patin but found myself liking the ikan patin bakar at Sari Kuring.

I really enjoyed the Sundanese dinner at Sari Kuring. Of course my favorite was the Padang food at Sederhana but Sundanese food is much more healthier. Less coconut milk, lots of soup dishes, lots of vegetables (ulam) and a lot of grilled food.

After dinner at Sari Kuring, Tieke and Bayu took us to Pacific Place mall, an upscale 6 floors mall housing a lot of well known luxury brands. Hubby met up with his collegues from the Bank Of America, Jakarta branch.

The X'mas Deco at Pacific Place.

Tieke explaining about the X'mas Deco at the mall.

Shafiq and Mommy near the X'mas Centerpiece at Pacific Place.

Hubby with his colleagues from Bank Of America, Jakarta.

Tieke and I waiting for the husbands to finish their coffee.

Shafiq all worn out from his first day in Jakarta.

The following day, they took us sightseeing around Jakarta city. As it was raining and we were quite pressed for time, we remained in the car and didn't step out to take any pics. 

DAY 2

Hubby managed to snap a pic of the 

Monas National Monument.

Then they brought us to Mangga Dua, another famous shopping destination for the locals and tourists. You can get practically anything here from fake branded bags, to electronic items. Personally speaking, it was my least favorite place because it was too crowded. I didn't do much shopping here. Only managed to buy some "tudung" for my Mom and my MIL, a duffel bag as I bought too many "kain sembahyang" from Tanah Abang the day before and didn't have enough space in our existing bags and 600 individually packed "batik handkerchiefs" to be used as door gifts for my cousin's wedding in February of next year.

Selecting "tudung" at Mangga Dua for my Mom and MIL.

After we finished our shopping in Mangga Dua, it was time for lunch and decided to go to Camu-Camu, another favorite restaurant of Hubby. As it was raining and not forgetting the perpetual traffic jam in Jakarta, it took us quite some time to get to Camu-Camu, only to discover upon arrival that it was closed. So, our hosts took us to Beautika instead, a restaurant that specialises in Manado cuisine from North Sulawesi.

At Beautika. Possing for the camera before digging into our food.

The spread at Beautika. 

The obvious difference about the Manado dish from the rest of the Indonesian cuisines is that it is very hot and spicy. I really enjoyed the "green sambal" but didn't enjoy the rest of the dishes. If I were to rate the types of food that I had the chance to savour in Jakarta, the top of my list will definitely be the Padang food at Sederhana.

After lunch at Beautika, we headed back to hotel to rest. Hubby had his Indonesian Paneristi gathering at 4 pm till late night that day so it was just Shafiq, Mommy and our hosts for dinner that night. It was another horrible episode of traffic jam that night that we ended up having dinner at the food court at Senayan City mall as we basically could not go anywhere else. Even after we finished dinner, we had to wait for nearly 45 minutes for the valet to collect our car from the parking. The whole of Jakarta was out shopping that night because there were some crazy midnight sales going on in both Plaza Senayan and Senayan City. 

Truth be told, in Jakarta, a lot of our time were spent in the car as we always seem to be caught in traffic.

The best time we had, out of the whole trip was our time at Taman Safari in Puncak on our 3rd day in Jakarta. Stay tuned for our Taman Safari escapade in my next entry.

Till then, have a good evening ahead. :D

Off To Jakarta.

Hey you all! I bet everybody is already looking forward to the weekend. As for us, the weekend is starting early. We'll be flying off to Jakarta in an hour or so. Currently at the airport, (Changi Terminal 1), having breakfast while waiting for the gate to be opened for boarding.

This short trip to Jakarta is such a wonderful surprise from Hubby. I really was not expecting to go anywhere for the December school holidays. Thanks Sayang for this Jakarta holiday. Though it's just a short 4 days, 3 nights trip, I'm so looking forward to this trip as we get to spend time with our Indonesian friends, Bayu and Tieke (husband and wife). In fact, both of them has taken leave from work to take us around. They are even planning to drive us to Bandung on Sunday for some factory outlet shopping. From what I heard, Bandung is a 2 hours drive from Jakarta. Not exactly near.

To both Bayu and Tieke, a very big thank you in advance for your very warm and gracious hospitality. 

Looks like I have to log off now. I've got to finish my breakfast as we will be boarding soon. Hope Hubby will be able to snap some nice pics while we're in Jakarta for me to share with you all.

Have a good weekend you all! :D

Flowers From Him.

Guess what? 

I did receive flowers from that someone after all. :D

"Thanks My Love".

It's My Birthday.

Good morning Peeps! It's my birthday today and yours truly officially turns 36. Yikes!!! I'm getting too old for comfort. Maybe I shouldn't be shouting out my actual age for the world to know. Mmmm... I wonder if I can still pass off as a twenty years old something.

I had a great start to my birthday, receiving my first birthday sms from my sister Linda at 6am this morning. "I Love You Darling Sis". From there on, the message inbox in my handphone was flooded with birthday wishes. "A big thank you to all for the birthday smses." :D

Also received a call at 7am from these 2 very close of friends of mine, Afdzal and Herni (husband & wife)who are currently on a diving holiday in Sipadan. "Thank you guys. Really appreciate that you guys took time from your busy diving schedule to call me on my birthday. Love you both."

To my very close and dearest friend Prakash who called just now to wish me, "Thank you Babe for calling. I know how crazy busy you've been with work. Appreciate it so much that you remembered and took the time to call. Love you".

To those of you planning to wish me happy birthday on this birthday entry, please make my day by saying that I don't look a day above 20, okay? (wink,wink)

I honestly cannot remember what I did on my birthday last year. Another sure sign of aging when you are having a hard time recalling events of yesteryears. One thing I remembered for sure was the beautiful flowers I received from Hubby and not forgetting the hugs and kisses from my darling Shafiq. 

I wonder whether I'll be receiving any flowers from a certain someone today. But then again, that certain someone has already gotten me an early birthday present, a Tod's G Bag, while we were checking out the X'mas Sale and X'mas Lightings at Orchard last weekend. To that certain someone, "Thanks Sayang, I so love my new bag. Can't wait to use it for the Jakarta trip". 

Tod's G Bag.

Take a guess! What colour is my bag?

I also received some early birthday presents from MIL & SIL. From my MIL, a beautiful set of placemats with matching coasters that she bought from Perth. From my SIL, also a gift from Perth, a beautiful footed cake plate. (Sorry I couldn't share the pics of the gifts with you. I couldn't find my Lumix and I'm too lazy to use Hubby's Nikon)  To Mak & Kak Ngah, "Thank you so much for the lovely presents! Love them."

I wonder whether there any more birthday gifts coming my way. So dear family and friends, I hope you guys understand the not so hidden message here! muahahaha (evil laughter) :D

On a serious note, I'm happy and thankful to God that I'm still around to celebrate me turning 36. I have a good life, a beautiful family plus wonderful extended family, really good friends and good health. (though a bit overweight. Okaylah, I admit, very overweight. hehehe)

Though deep down inside, I'm hoping and wishing and praying for another sibling for my darling Shafiq. Amin.

Have a good day you all. Enjoy my birthday! :D

p/s: Note on the X'mas Sale. Okaylah, not bad. Got the Tod's at a 30% discount. However, I didn't fancy the X'mas lightings along Orchard. Looks too futuristic, like X'mas in outer space. 

In-Laws & SMS.

Nowadays, it’s all about smsing. People don’t bother calling up and having a proper conversation. Why ah? Okaylah, I admit it’s cheaper tapi peninglah jugak kepala nak baca sms panjang-panjang ni and nak kena reply. Like yesterday morning, my handphone received non stop smses from my in-laws.

My FIL & MIL.

From my MIL, saying that she couldn’t come to Singapore this weekend as planned since my FIL’s work related meeting in Singapore has been postponed to December 10^th. The thing is, we won’t be around on that particular date as the family will be flying off to Jakarta for a short break. Kesianlah pulak kat my MIL. The last time she visited us was in January of this year. But then again , she just got back from Perth last weekend and going off to Spain in February. Kuat betul berjalan my MIL ni. (Jangan marah Mak. Bergurau aje. Hehehe)

My BIL.

From my youngest BIL (Hubby’s youngest brother). Currently he’s studying medicine at the Royal College of Medicine Perak, in Ipoh, Malaysia. His sms “ If I pass my exams, can I come and spend some time with you guys before u guys pergi Jakarta?” My answer to him is of course lah he can come, takkan tak boleh pulak. But now have to wait for his results that would be out this Friday to confirm whether he’ll be able to come to Singapore. So if I want to plan anything, have to wait for his exam results. Macam-macam adik ipar yang sorang ni. Haih..

My SIL and her son.

From my SIL, (Hubby’s only sister), Her sms, “Nak booking Sanctuary Green for X’mas, ada kosong tak?” (Sanctuary Green is the name of the condominium complex that we currently reside) . The thing is, we plan to go back to KL from 18^th Dec-26^th Dec. Since SIL and her family nak datang, kenalah rush back to Singapore on Dec 24^th. Bukannya apa, kesian kat my nephew Fafan, my SIL’s son. Each time I’m back in KL, dia sibuk nak ikut balik Singapore.

So if people ask me do I ever get bored being a stay at home Mom? My answer is a big No. After all, I have all these smses from my in-laws that I need to attend to. Hehehe.

Seriously, I love my in-laws. Wouldn’t trade them for anything. :D

My "Thankful" List.

For my coming birthday, which is 8 days from today, I was thinking of creating a birthday wish list of things that I would love to receive on my birthday. Yes people, a big hint here. (wink,wink)

When I started to think of what I would like to have for my birthday, I find that making wish lists are an absolute waste of time. All it does is make a person so focused on what they would like to get/have that as a result, we fail to appreciate or be grateful/thankful for the things that we already have in our lives.

Being grateful or thankful should be part of our daily lives and not something that is being reserved for special occasions.

I’m definitely guilty of not being grateful/thankful on a daily basis. When I pray, all I ask from God is for things that I don’t have or to ask God to make things happen for me. I forgot to put in my prayers, words of gratitude for the life that God has bestowed upon me. Forgive me God.

Looking at my life now, I have so much to be thankful for.

I am thankful for my Darling Hubby. We'll be celebrating our 10 years of marriage next October. I don't know how he puts up with me at times but he does. I don't know what I'd do without him in my life. To my Darling Hubby, thank you for your constant love and support Sayang.

I am thankful for my pride and joy, my son Shafiq who is such a blessing. Since he came into our lives, eight years ago, our lives have been simply amazing. To my darling son, you complete both Daddy and Mommy. Love you.

I am thankful for my darling daughter Sara. Though she was only with us for the briefest of time, she taught me to be a more patient, forgiving and a better person. 

I am thankful for my Mom and both my sister and brother. I am so fortunate that they are my family. Though my Late Dad is no longer with us, I am so thankful for all the love that he showered upon me when he was still around.

I am thankful for Hubby's family. My FIL, my MIL, my 2 SILs' and my 3 BILs'. They have been such wonderful in-laws. 

I am thankful for my 3 darling nephews that keep me constantly entertained.

I am thankful for my extended family members. Aunts/Aunts In-Laws, Uncles/Uncles In-Laws and Cousins/Cousins In-Laws who makes life interesting for me.

I am thankful for the good friends that I have. Friends that stand by me, that supports me and who goes the extra mile for me. Thank you my dears. You know who you are.

I am thankful that Hubby is blessed with a good career which enable me to be a stay at home Mom and take care of our son, to have a beautiful home to live in, a good car to drive us around, enough money to buy the things we need or want and do the things we love doing.

Thank you God for all the above.

Missing My Boy.

It's the beginning of the year end school holidays and Shafiq has started the first week of school holidays by following his Opah (my Mom) back to KL for a week. With him being away, the house feels so empty and both Hubby and I have these huge aching feeling deep in our hearts that does not seem to go away. We miss our son terribly. 

Since he left for KL last Friday, we've been calling him constantly, ( a few times a day, actually) on the pretext of checking on him but in actual fact, we just wanted to hear his voice. He seems to be having a whale of a time with his Opah, Aunty Linda and Uncle Syahrul that both Daddy and Mommy think that he does not miss us at all. sob,sob...

Shafiq may be out of Mommy's sight at the moment but he's never out of Mommy's mind. Him being away from home for just a week, is already driving me crazy. How will I eventually cope when he leaves the nest some day? I hope and pray that day never comes. 

I don't ever want to experience the "empty nest syndrome". I know I'm being selfish here but I just can't help myself. I can't bear being away from my darling boy for far too long.

Too my darling Shafiq,

I hope you're missing me as much as I'm missing you. 

I'm counting the days till I get to hug and kiss you again.

Love, Mommy.

Excited.

Yes People! I'm extremely excited. My Mom & siblings will be making their way here tomorrow. The last time my family came down to Singapore was when I gave birth to Sara and that was more than a year ago. At that point in time, that particular visit was hinged with great sadness and despair, so this time around, no tears, only smiles and laughter to accompany them throughout their entire stay here with us.

Their trip this time around means a great deal to me as we won't be celebrating Hari Raya Haji (Eid al-Adha) alone by ourselves. As Hari Raya Haji falls on November 17, right in the middle of the week and is only a one day public holiday, we didn't see the point of going back to KL. So lucky for us, my Mom, sis and bro decided to come and celebrate Hari Raya Haji with us. Yeay!!!

Now, I've got to put on my "chef hat" and think about what to prepare for lunch tomorrow as they will be arriving here just in time for lunch. Thought of preparing chicken beriyani but then my Mom ni pulak jenis suka makan masakan kampung. My sis and bro, no problem, anything pun okay. 

Mmmm... nak masak apa ye? Maybe I should just bring them out to lunch at Hajah Maimunah Restaurant, a famous nasi padang place here in Singapore. 

Got to go. Have a relaxing Sunday you all! :D

Halloween Pics.

Hi People. I'm finally back home. Here are the pics from Halloween that was supposed to be uploaded this morning but I was unable to do so, no thanks to the failed server connection while using the free WIFI at Starbucks.

Mummy's little wizard in his Harry Porter costume.

(Check out the wand! Siap ada lampu lagi. hehehe)

Another "Harry Porter" pose.

 Shafiq posing with Daddy before 

he goes out "trick or treating".

Suasana kelam-kabut outside the Management office

while waiting for the arrival of other kids to kick start the "trick or treating".

A tired "Harry Porter" after he finished his "trick or treating" rounds.

(or was it a "sugar-high" Harry Porter?)

Mommy! Look at what I got!!!

Since I'm already posting Halloween pics, might as well share with you guys some pics from last year's Halloween as well.

Last year, father and son were in the their Star Wars phase.

Daddy accompanied Shafiq "trick or treating", so he was in costume as well.

The Jedi Master and his little Padawan.

(Complete with their lightsabers)

Mommy's little Padawan. 

He even had Darth Vader's "trick or treat" pail.

Mommy's little Padawan also had his own pod racer helmet.

Our home being invaded by the "trick or treaters" and their guardians.

Some even came inside. 

I had to bring in the potted plants outside my condo

and placed it under the piano as there were already a few broken pots, 

thanks to the super excited "trick or treaters".

(That's why this year, no more volunteering our place!)

There you have it folks, Halloween pics of 2009 and 2010. 

Got to go and prepare dinner as I have a movie date with Hubby tonight. Planning to watch Due Date which stars Robert Downey Jr, my favourite actor of all time. Hope the movie turns out great. But come to think of it, I'm yet to be disappointed with any of Robert Downey's movies. He's such a brilliant actor. (and gorgeous as well. :D)

Have a good weekend everybody.

Halloween.

Guess where am I at the moment?

At Starbucks in Parkway Parade, with my MacBook plugged to one of the electrical sockets, making full use of Starbucks's free WIFI while sipping my Ice Shaken Lemon Tea. 

What a poser, right? Yup, I agree. I selalu kutuk those people who bring their laptops to coffee joints so that they can enjoy the free WIFI by just buying one miserable drink and sitting there for hours and making it difficult for others who actually came for food and drinks to find available seats. 

But in my defense, I don't have a choice today. Shafiq has Kumon every Tuesdays and Friday mornings here in Parkway Parade. Usually while waiting for him to finish, I'll go for coffee with my fellow Malaysian friend Hwi Ling, whose son Nicholas also attends Kumon with Shafiq. However, since she's not around today, I'm all alone, so decided to bring my MacBook and do a bit of blogging. :D

In the midst of his end of year exams, Shafiq managed some time off from studying (and his Mommy's constant nagging, shouting and screaming asking him to study) to go "trick or treating" during Halloween recently. The residents of the condominium complex that we currently reside is made up of 80% expats, so a lot of "Mat Salehs". Therefore, the condo management organizes "trick or treating" for the kids on a yearly basis.

Kids get to dress up as any scary or cute characters of their choice and go "trick or treating" from condo to condo (only condos' that have volunteered to participate in the "trick or treating" i.e: you must be willing to buy lots of chocolates and candies to be given out to sugar high kids knocking on your door constantly.) We volunteered our place last year but decided to give it a rest this year and just register Shafiq to join the "trick or treating" with the rest of the kids at our condo.

Here are this year's Halloween pics of Shafiq. Let the pics tell the story.

Sorry Guys. Having problems uploading the pics. Waited so long for the pics to be uploaded but I kept getting "server error" notifications. Agaknya sebab guna WIFI free, kot???

Anyway, I've got to pick Shafiq. He should be done with his Kumon by now. I'll try to upload the pics later in the afternoon from home.

Ciao for now.

Note: Trick-or-treating is a customary practice for children on Halloween seen in many countries. Children in costumes, either in large groups or accompanied by an adult, travel from house to house in order to ask for treats such as candy (or, in some cultures, money) with the question "Trick or treat?". The "trick" is a (usually idle) threat to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. (Info taken from Mr Wiki.)

TGEAO! (Thank God Exams Are Over)

I have been quiet as I have been busy.

Busy revising with Shafiq for his end of year exams. Alhamdullilah, when we got his results yesterday, Shafiq made both his parents proud by obtaining Band 1 for all his subjects. (Band 1 equivalent to an A). Alhamdullilah. Tidak sia-sia Sang Ibu menjerit bagai perempuan gila suruh sang anak belajar. Yes, I can be a terrifying Mommy when it comes to studies. 

Some say that I should not push Shafiq too much as he's only in Lower Primary. But the kids at his school seems super smart and when I talk to other parents, all they talk about are the extra enrichment classes that they send their kids to ensure they excel in academic and the hours they make their kids study at home, it got me scared. I don't want my son to be left behind. That was why prior to the exams, I made Shafiq study like there's no tomorrow. Bought all the revision workbooks for all subjects that I could find and sat down with Shafiq and made sure that he completed every single one. Even made him do mock exam exercises. Am I overdoing things? Sigh...

Anyway, thank God the exams are over and the holidays are just around the corner. Mommy's little baby deserves a good break after all the grueling hours put into studying prior to his exams. Come to think of it, Mommy needs a break as well. All those screaming and shouting has definitely taken a toll on my overall well being.

As the school holidays will begin on 20/11/2010 till the end of the year, it would be really nice if the family could go on a short holiday somewhere. However many of our friends and relatives have said that they want to come over to Singapore and put up at our place as they want to check out the X'mas decorations/lightings and X'mas sales here in Singapore. 

Looks like we can't go anywhere if we're gonna play hosts. Nampak gayanya, kita orang cuti-cuti Singapura ajelah this time around.

p/s: I would like to give a big thank you shout out to all of the following for their kind and beautiful words in my previous entry:

• Cosmic GurL of Sher's Sheer Thoughts
• Ayu of Ayu The Sun
• Nita of My Odessey
• KaiserSoze of Life's Little Footprints
• Zaza of Little Castle
• FrH of Amazing Amazon

How I Became Mrs Z.

As with many love stories, the love story of Hubby and I may seem nothing out of the ordinary except to those who experienced them of course. Nevertheless, I would still like to think of it as a beautiful love story that I hope to be able to pass down to my children and later on to their children and so on, some day.

As fate would have it, I was destined to meet my husband for the very first time on August 21st, 2000. I just came back from a job interview and was hanging out with my friend SW at her home in Bangsar. She then received a call from a guy friend of hers, A, who wants to meet up for coffee.

Here’s the thing, my friend SW has been wanting to set me up with her friend A, for as long as I could remember but I always refused. Back in my twenties, I was really skeptical about being set up with friends’ friends, blind dates and so on. At that point in time, I was 26, single and couldn’t care less about looking for a boyfriend, let alone think about marriage.

So after much persuasion from SW, I relented and agreed to accompany her for coffee with her friend A, at Austin Chase in Bangsar Shopping Complex. (BSC). In the car, on the way to BSC, I was fuming mad at SW for dragging me along with her to meet A. SW said that A wanted to catch up over coffee as they have not met up for quite some time. Though I know, it’s all part of SW’s plan for me to finally meet A.

We then arrived at BSC, parked the car and made our way to Austin Chase- nothing extraordinary yet so far but little would I know what's in store for me that fateful day. Upon arrival, we saw these 2 gentlemen sitting at a corner and one of them waved at SW. So I said to myself, that must be the infamous A.  Made our way to the table and introductions were made. The other guy accompanying A was his friend Z. (aka Hubby). SW and I then sat down opposite both of them and immediately proceed to order our drinks.

Hubby was the one who strike the first conversation. I would always remember the first question he asked me, the so-called “ice-breaker” - “Which part of Penang are you from?" (I don’t know why that was his first question of choice but he later told me it was because I had this “Bollywood/anak Mami Penang punya face”. I don’t know whether I should feel flattered or what.)

Between A & Hubby, Hubby was the one who was asking me a lot of questions. I was rather surprised by the turn of events as I knew that my friend SW wanted to set me up with A. Not that I was complaining or anything but I found myself enjoying Hubby’s conversations more as A seems to be more focused on staring at me than actually having a proper conversation with me.

As Hubby & I started exchanging personal stories, we discovered that we had a lot in common. He was born in Kuantan and I grew up in Kuantan. We seem to have many mutual family friends.I also found out that this one particular restaurant in Kuantan that I usually frequent for breakfast belong’s to his Uncle and I knew his Aunty quite well.

Besides that, both Hubby and I were law graduates from the UK, so we definitely had a lot to talk about, from the universities that we graduated from, the law subjects that we took, our favourite spots in London, his trip to Scotland, my trip to Scotland, the conversation topics seem endless. The best thing of all, he spoke perfect English with a hint of the Queen accent that I found rather charming. (Though I have never admitted to him about liking his accent, I told him that when we first met, I thought he was a "mat saleh celup". hehehe)

I really did not know what to say to A. After several attempts of trying to draw him into the conversations between SW, Hubby and myself, but with very little response from A, I totally gave up.I tried my level best to be as friendly as I could be. So I guess, SW’s attempt to play matchmaker between me & A did not exactly worked out as planned but a new chapter in my life was about to take its course...

Before I knew it, the time came for us to leave. I admit that I really enjoyed meeting Hubby and since we seem to have many mutual family friends, I decided to ask for his handphone number. Since I already exchanged numbers with A, I thought it was only fair that I did the same with Hubby. (Because of that, up till this very day, Hubby always tells everybody that it was me who made the first move by asking for his number and not vice versa. (Okaylah Sayang, whatever makes you happy. :p)

I went home happy but never gave much thought about meeting up with Hubby again.

Imagine my surprise the very next morning, when I received a text from Hubby.

“Good morning. It’s me, Z. We met yesterday. I really enjoyed meeting you. Perhaps we can meet up again, soon.”

Okay, I admit that I was beyond please to receive Hubby’s text. I replied saying that I enjoyed meeting him too. Immediately after I replied his text, he called and asked me out to dinner that very night itself. I know it was too soon to be going out with a guy that I just met the day before but I nevertheless agreed to meet him for dinner. He mentioned about this really nice “nasi lemak” place in Kelana Jaya that he wants to take me to.

Guess what? My first date with Hubby was at a nasi lemak stall (it was not even a proper restaurant) in Kelana Jaya. I was surprised that Hubby took me there but I was not complaining. The food was good, the company was excellent. What more could I ask for? (Hubby later confessed that he purposely took me out for dinner at the stall as he wanted to see what kind of person I really was. He wanted to see whether I ni sanggup makan kat warung or not, whether I ni jenis “high maintenance” or not.) Guess I passed the first date with flying colours. :D

After that first date, for the next two weeks, we spent every waking hours (outside office hours) together. During that first 2 weeks together, we knew that we were beginning to really like each other, more and more so with each passing day. No words of love were exchanged yet between us. After all, it has only been two weeks. Too early to be exchanging "I love you", right?

However, by the end of the 2 weeks, Hubby surprised me by saying, 


“I see us growing old together. Let’s get married” (with his accented English that I found so charming.)

I went like…. “Huh? Are you serious?”

Hubby said, “I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”

I then asked him, “Isn’t it too soon? We’ve only known each other for 2 weeks.”

He said. “I already know everything I need to know about you.”

At that point in our relationship, neither of us has met with each other’s family so when Hubby said “let’s get married”, it seems a bit far-fetched.

I then looked at him and said. “ Are you really serious? Were you actually proposing when you said let’s get married?”

“Yes, I was. So, what say you?" replied Hubby.

A lot of things were going on in my mind at that particular moment in time. Wondering what my parents were going to say especially since they have not even met him. (Come to think of it, they haven't even heard about him yet) Would they be able to accept Hubby as their son in law, would my siblings like him, would his family accept me, well the list was endless.

But with all that worrying going on inside my head, I don't know what came of me, I then looked at Hubby, smiled and said, “Yes! Let’s get married”.

Just like that, we unofficially became engaged. No exchange of rings, family members were not in the know of each other’s existence but we both already agreed to spend the rest of our lives together. Call us crazy or what not, but after knowing each other for only 2 weeks, we knew that we we so right for each other.


Fate huh? It does work in mysterious way I'd say....

It was only after the unofficial engagement that we both finally met up with both of our families. Alhamdullilah, both families agreed to the marriage even though we haven't known each other for that long. We became officially engaged on December 30th, 2000 at my family home in Kuantan, 4 months after the first day we met.

Ten months after the official engagement, we got married on October 20th, 2001. Exactly about 1 year, two months from the day we first met.

That’s how I became Mrs. Z. :D

End of story.

p/s: To my darling Hubby of 9 years, “Happy 9th Wedding Anniversary My Love. I am so looking forward to growing old with you.”

Chocolate "Batik" Cake.

Happy Monday people! Hope everyone had a great weekend. :D

I'm sure many of you are familiar with kek batik, right? It is definitely a very easy, instant, bake-less cake that anybody can whipped up in a matter of minutes. My MIL made some for us during our last trip back to KL. Instead of using "milo", she used milk chocolate and we absolutely loved it especially both my boys aka Hubby and Shafiq.

Hubby and Shafiq finished the "kek batik" that my MIL made for us to bring back home within two days, and later asked me whether there was any left after having finished up the whole cake by themselves.

That's when I decided to try doing the "kek batik" myself.

Here's my version of the "kek batik".

   

Ingredients:

• 2 X 200 gm Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate
• 80gm roasted almond
• 80gm roasted macadamia nuts
• 200 gm digestive biscuits (I used Mcvities digestive biscuits)
• 125gm butter (I used buttercup)
• 1small tin of condensed milk. (I used milkmaid)

Preparation:

1. Melt the chocolates with the butter and milk using the "double boil" method.
2. In a separate bowl, break the biscuits into not so small pieces and then mixed it up with the roasted almond and macadamia nuts.
3. Then combined the melted chocolate mix together with biscuits and nuts. Mixed them well.
4. Pour the mixture into a cake tin / container / etc. To make it easier for you to remove the cake later, make sure you put a "cling wrap/plastic wrap" at the bottom of the cake tin before you pour the cake mixture into it so that it will be easier for you to remove the cake once it's harden.
5. Refrigerate the cake for about 3 to 4 hours. 
6. Then it's ready to be cut and served.

Enjoy!

Do give the recipe above a try. It's really easy and absolutely yummy. Don't just take my words for it, try it for yourselves. Let me know how it turns out, okay?

Have a good week you all! :D