After so long..

Assalamualaikum fellow readers.. :)

Whoa.. cobwebs everywhere.. fuuhh fuhh. It's not that I'm not into writing anymore. Writing has always been one of my favorite pastimes but seriously, for the past 9+ months, I haven't really had the time. A lot of things happening, with DXB Bakers on the go, and Zara has started school, and yes, I have started my Master's degree last month. It's overwhelming really. But like I have always done before, I like to prioritize. And for now, apart from the kids and my husband, my postgraduate is of utmost importance.

These past one year has been a year of change. Change in our family location, change in my career, change in our daily routines, meeting new friends, etc. My cooking and baking skills have improved (haha!) and yeah, I hope to be able to cook effortlessly like Gordon Ramsey or Guy Fieri (no I don't like Giada de Laurentiis eghh). I need to brush up on cake decorating though. Watching Youtube everyday without hands on is kinda difficult to sharpen the skills. Well, anyway..

I bought.. well, my husband bought for me this new gadget called Fitbit Charge. I love it so much because it helps me to count every step I take, every stair I climb and how many calories I have burnt. I couldn't rely on my S Health app on my Galaxy Note 4 as it always missed the step count (and making me feel underachieving.. ughhh). I already have it for like 2 weeks now, and my average daily step count is about 12,000 steps. Amazing for a homemaker huh. Haha.

 My Fitbit Charge

Zara is happy to be in school and she has learnt to read! I'm so excited of her milestone. Her classmates are of diverse nationalities, and I really enjoy the company of the mothers I meet at the school. There is this sweet Japanese lady names Rieko Takahata (mom of Sara), and the talented Emirates stewardess Charmaine Bordallo (mom of Olivja), the bubbly Singaporean Leanne Ng (mom of Kayla) and the very interesting Singaporean Wann (mom of Aaron). She inspired me to get the Fitbit. I really love talking to her. Feels like a liberation of soul. Hahah. And yes, I really do like her class teacher Ms Lynch. Very accommodating and kids-friendly.

I should be going by now. Fahim has woken up. And after that Zuhur prayers before I leave to fetch Zara.

Till then peeps. Gday.

Throwback: Mini holiday in Muscat

I guess 2014 can be aptly called the year of traveling for our little family. Fahim has broken Zara's record, in which he started to travel since he was 3 months old, compared to Zara who started at 6 months old. Fahim's first destination was London, definitely unbeatable for Zara whose first trip was to Miri.

I know this post is a little late, but I just like to share our recent trip to Muscat, Oman celebrating Eidul Adha.

The trip was for 4 days 3 nights. I have never been to Oman before. So I did some homework by of course googling and asking a friend of mine Wan Harizah who is currently residing in Muscat. We didn't know what to expect beyond the info that we got, but overall it was a good trip. Not the best though since the best human planner (read: my husband) wasn't the one who led the way (haha!) but yeah, it was enjoyable. Check out our journey.

 The journey to Muscat took us 12 long hours! About 4 hours of the time were spent at the immigration offices, and about 2 hours of lunching + praying + nature's call. Alhamdulillah the kids were alright (read: tak meragam!) and mama tak show tantrums. Lol :D

 Kudos to Mr. Hubs for the high stamina throughout the day. He couldn't really last the journey from Bangi to Muar (his grandma's house)  so 12 hours for him was a great achievement. Well, my record of longest driving was only 6 hours straight.

 

 Okay. So we were too tired to take a few shots on the night of our arrival in Muscat. Here's a glimpse of Muscat scenery from our room. The big building is the Opera House. Very beautiful indeed. But because the weather was still scorching hot at that time, we didn't stop to take photos around the area. But Muscat was beautiful and clean. No skyscraper to boast the uniqueness of the city. I love it. Not being a contributor to the signs of the End of Days is actually very cool. And the people were friendly.

 

Did I say we celebrated Eid here? Haha, so here we were, donning our 'ulang tayang' Eid attire. Picture taken at the lobby of Intercontinental Muscat. Very pricey during peak season. We paid AED1k per night hokeh!

 

The kids and I. The girl in black is my neighbor's daughter. Her name is Alya. Her family was on the trip as well.

 

 Went for a visit to a Malaysian friend who resides in Muscat. Seen in this picture are my travel companions and the 'tuan rumah', Kak Suria

We were on a long journey to see the Bimmah Sinkhole  (I forgot the name of the area) Just look at the view. Excited to see the clouds because clouds are like impossible to see in Dubai. Sigh. I was so dumbfounded by the view of the rocky mountains. It was just spectacular.

 This was the Bimmah Sinkhole. It was really really deep. Not just the water but the staircase leading to it also caused shivers to my spine. I am no fan of swimming though, but this creation by Mother Nature was definitely mind blowing. All praises to Allah.

Fahim and I. Although it was like unbearably hot, but Fahim was a champ. Bila tengok views like this, selalu terfikir how was it back then during Rasulullah SAW's time.. Must have been totally difficult for our Prophet to travel to convey his message.. just how big his Iman was.. incomparable at all.. SubhanAllah..

 

Zara enjoying herself in the hotel compounds.. As usual she always enjoyed her outings at hotels..

 Fahim got introduced to playing with sand.. haha. Bangun pagi terus kena angkut to the beach. Sand castle time! The beach behind Intercontinental Muscat is clean, not as many people as the other end of Qurm beach. Most importantly, it was kinda shaded, thanks to the trees. Haha.  Sorry la mama memang puteri lilin. Papa pun sama jer putera lilin. Lol.

Wefie sket berdua. Macam gambar masa honeymoon kat Bali pulak, lol

Ok, we stopped here at Sultan Al Qaboos Mosque on our final day in Muscat before we head home. The architecture was superb, but the same thing with giant mosques, it was not women and children friendly. Ablution room is located far from the praying hall, in which if we farted then you know what I mean.. either terkentut-jelah-malas-nak-repeat-wuduk-solat-ajelah (sila gauge tahap keimanan sendiri la kan..) or guna-air-mineral-amik-je-wuduk-sambil-siram-air-kat-pokok-tepi-tu (dapat jugak pahala siram pokok kan..) Furthermore, there was no shaded area to connect the ablution area and the praying hall. In short, memang tak human-friendly la.. kalau hujan.. confirm basah.

Kekadang pelik dengan the way buildings are designed.. design la ikut cara manusia function.. bukan nak cantik aje.. duhh

And the worst part is, kids of Zara's age were not allowed to enter. Confirm la mama Zara taknak masuk kalau Zara tak boleh masuk kan.. The condition was Zara had to wear a scarf to enter. I was like nak terkeluar ayat 'wtf!!???' dah tapi memandangkan ni masjid and demi menjaga nama baik Malaysia di mata dunia, ai batalkan sahaja niat itewww. So, sudahnya..

 Sudahnya mama solat je in front of the door of the praying hall! Ada aku kesahh?? Haha. Sayang kan masjid patutnya terbuka jer untuk muslimin muslimat tapi dek kerana restriction yang tak masuk akal terpaksa la mama meng-kempunan-kan diri bersolat dalam dewan masjid yang gah ini demi keselamatan anak-anak.. cewah. Bukannya Zara dah hit puberty and tak reti nak tutup aurat ke apa kan.. Look at the door. Sikit punya lawa but hmmhh.. tiada erti..

Haha.. banyak pulak membebel pasal masjid ni.

Ok so after that, we headed back to home aka Dubai..

The journey back home was made beautiful by the momentary drizzles.. lama sangat tak merasa hujan di bumi Middle East ni.. kekadang terfikir bila kurang hujan adakah berkurangan rahmat dan rezeki daripada Allah.. I'll keep this question in my head..

Ada a few more places that we went to but the pics are in my hub's phone and the camera. Interesting places like The Palace, Zubayr Museum and sightseeing around Muscat. 

In short, Muscat is an interesting place to visit. We would go here again I think so.. but definitely not by car, haha. The looonnngg and weary hours of waiting at the borders is an experience not to be repeated. Naik flight lagi senang. Fly sejam je sampai la Muscat.

Dubai kitchen: Jom masak nasi lemak!

Ha, dah namanya homemaker kan.. what is the fun of being a homemaker without some noise in the kitchen, haha.

Ok today I wanna share with you nasi lemak recipe. I've been cooking several times already, but I think this one I'm sharing is my fave way of doing it.

Nasi lemak comes with a few condiments. They are really simple to make, really. Trust me :) 

Let's prepare the rice first. We will need:

• Rice (depends on how much you wanna cook.. for more people, cook more rice)
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 centimeters of ginger, chopped
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, finely chopped (some just like to hit it and directly put it into the cooker. Well, lemongrass is one of the most effective herbs to prevent cancer. So, please, eat it!)
• Coconut milk; amount will be of the same level as the rice in the cooker (if you like the rice to be softer, add in coconut milk slightly more)
• 1 tsp of salt
• 2-3 pandan leaves, tied together

Some may prefer diluted coconut milk, and some may prefer it to be more 'milky'. I like it to be a little diluted.

Method: Put all ingredients in the rice cooker. Give them a stir. Then turn on the cooker and just let the rice cook.

Ok. Next let's prepare the 'sambal' or chilli gravy. We will need:

• 3 red onions + 2 cloves of garlic + some anchovies + some water (grind them together in the blender)
• 4 tablespoons of chilli paste (or chilli boh as they usually call it). If you like hotter sambal, you can add in more chilli paste
• 2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup (you can replace this with tamarind extract) Tomato also has the sour taste so using it kinda meets the same purpose of using tamarind extract. Oh, my husband doesn't like it when I use tamarind extract. That's why I use tomato ketchup instead.
• Some fried anchovies
• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (use it because it's anti-cancerous and anti-inflammatory!)
• Salt and sugar to preferred taste
• You may add 'belacan' (anchovies paste) if you like. I don't because husband doesn't like it. Oh well..

Method: 

Pour the olive oil in the pan and heat up the pan

Pour in the blended ingredients and stir. Wait for the oil to surface

Add in the chilli paste. Stir well. Again, wait for the oil to surface again

Put in the fried anchovies and tomato ketchup. Stir. If you think that the mixture is kinda thick, add in some water.

Put in salt and sugar according to your liking. I like it to be a bit sweet.

The condiments:

Eggs: You can choose sunny side up or hard-boiled eggs. I like hard-boiled eggs. Less fat.

Fried groundnuts

Fried anchovies

A few slices of fresh cucumber

Easy peasy, don't you think?

 Macam nak bawa bekal pergi sekolah pulak kan.. haha

My Version of 29 Awesome Things About Being 29

I'm gonna say goodbye to being in my 20s in a few days' time. Yeah, I really think being born in January is uncool.. contradictory to what I used to think when I was in school, haha. Saw this interesting list on buzzfeed about 29-year-olds.. thought I would just like to share it, from my point of view, lol.

So here is..

29 Awesome Things About Being 29

By Jessica Misener, Buzzfeed staff

1. You just generally give less of a shit.

Well, yeah, kinda. Like I don't care about how expensive your wedding is, or how much you can spend on your vacations, etc. I only care about the things that affect me. Like the government policies. Yep, we're talking serious here.

Credit: The Undisclosed Studio

2. 11 p.m. has become a socially acceptable bedtime.

Well, we are worse. We go to bed at 10 pm. or whenever we possibly can, 9.30 pm. Or else we'll end up like this:

 Credit: Drink and Be Merry

3. When you’re around younger people, you can still claim “being in your twenties,” but you can also hang around thirty-somethings with ease.

Well, yeah, I do this too. But I would prefer being around the early 30s. LOL. 

4. Craft beer is delicious.

Skip this. I dunno what the hell craft beer is.

5. You can look back on your twenty-something heartbreaks as learning experiences, and not just soul-crushing acts of emotional sadism.

I never treat past heartbreaks as soul-crushing. They were just a waste of time and energy actually. I wish they weren't existent.

 Credit: Quiksilver

6. Gossip bothers you WAY less now.

Gossips about friends, nah.. not interested. But just to kill time while waiting for my thosai and hot milo, I read these :D

 .. for my daily dose of gossips to laugh at or to loathe about.

7. You’ve made the extremely wise decision of investing in a memory-foam pillow.

This statement is totally for my husband. LOL.

8. You don’t feel the need to join every single new social media network.

Nope, I don't have Twitter account. And am proud of it. 

9. All your friends are just as tired as you are.

I dunno. I don't think so. Many of them are busy joining marathons. Maybe they are just plain bored.

 This is me studying for ACD. Am honestly tired of it. Credit: Shutterstock

10. You have no problem telling people to go jump in a lake.

Yep. And I won't help you if you drown. Cuz I can't swim.

11. No one will judge you for ordering white wine at a bar.

I dunno if you can only order beer at a bar. I have no idea how bars operate.

12. You don’t have to care about knowing what an “Avicii” is.

I happen to know Avicii's an artiste from an annoying pop-up message on one of the gossip websites I went to.

 Exactly. Credit to GWPatriot

13. You’re old enough to remember Friends.

I love this episode. Ok, I'm OLD enough!

 LOL! Credit to Pinterest.

14. Getting ready now takes 5 minutes.

It's possible. Trust me. Thanks to Ruelala

15. You spend less money on stupid stuff.

This was (I think!) the last stupid thing that I got. It costed RM2k. And it wasn't so smart at all. Regretting of asking my husband to place it as one of the 'hantarans' until now. Credit to PhoneArena

16. You’ve stopped pretending that an ill-fated hookup can’t mess with your emotions in the same way as a failed relationship.

Ill-fated hookup? I didn't have that.

17. You wear what’s comfortable.

Yeah I guess so. 

There were days when I wore babies like this to lectures. Can you believe it? You'd better.

18. You can refer to “college kids” as such, because kids they are.

It's fun referring to them as 'kids'. I think they are an annoying lot. Korean contact lenses, hijabista-wannabes, color-blocking addict.. and all on their parents' money. Erghh yuck! Those born in the 90s and forward.

19. You’re willing to pay extra for a nice hotel room.

Yep yep. And it's not weird if the hotel is in KL. LOL.

Papa, let's go here again! Thanks to KL Photos

20. If you have a crush on someone, you just tell them.

Ok, I can never confess. But I can do this. LOL.

 Hehe.. Credit to 8tracks.

21. You recall your early twenties…and wonder what the hell you were thinking.

Ok I blame this entirely on Dr. Mohamad and Dr. Nordin (tak boleh tulis nama penuh kang orang google2 terjumpa pulak!)

Krohhh krohhh.. everytime. Memang super gila betul cuz their voices sounded like lullaby. Credit to Agefotostock.

22. You’ve stopped lying about having seen a certain movie or read a certain book.

I've stopped since upper form. Haha.

23. Vacations don’t have to involve any plans besides CHILLING TO THE MAX.

I wish! The realistic plan now is to get the KIDS to chill to the max. And that may mean an entire day spent at the swimming pool or the playground.

24. You’ve learned to take everything a lot less personally.

Maybe this also, will be ok someday, LOL. Credit to Quickmeme.

25. When one of your friends complains about their dating drama, you’re just glad you don’t put up with petty crap anymore.

That's because all of us are married!

LOL! Credit to rapgenius.

26. You remember watching actual music videos on MTV and VH1.

Yeah.. and MTV was a rare thing because we didn't have cable channels.

Can you recall this video/ song? I totally loved it. Picture source here.

27. You’ll go to a bar by yourself without feeling weird.

I don't go to bars.

28. The idea of having a kid — if you don’t have one already — doesn’t freak you out QUITE as much.

Aww.. who wouldn't want kids of their own.. Credit to Secretsofagoodgirl.

29. You’re not scared of turning 30, because you’re more confident in who you are than ever!

...OK, maybe you're a *teensy* bit scared.    

Oh well..

I AM a bit scared.. LOL. Thanks to cocreatingourreality.

Things lately..

I'm now in my 31st week of pregnancy, woohoo! Time sure does fly. And being in beyond 7 months means that I can't fly anymore.. so no more traveling for me. Sebenarnya bosan to be encumbered at the office and to finish out all the necessary KPIs. Just waiting for the time to take annual leave and focus on the arrival of the new baby.

Ok, so how different is this pregnancy compared to when I was carrying Zara?

Well, not much. Just that the habit during 1st trimester came back: bread-and-cheese based diet. I dunno why but the idea of eating rice is just a no-no for me right now. Bukan berlagak mat salleh ye. Ladies yang pernah pregnant sure tahu apa rasanya when it comes to refusing and favoring certain food.

Yesterday's check up, my baby is already 1.3 kg. I guess he'll come out about Zara's size.

The thing I'll do differently this time, I don't think I will wanna have vaccinations for my baby. I guess Zara was just lucky despite having a full vaccination. I know there are many opposing parents to this idea, but if you were to think (even just logically!), looking at the ingredients of the vaccines is enough to stop us stop vaccinating our babies. Like hey, say I am feverish, and I am introduced to this medicine. The contraindications say I would likely get an asthma attack (if I were a sufferer, which I am!), a sudden whooping cough and possible migraine. I would say 'to hell with that medicine'!

As parents, are we even told of the vaccines brands that enter our hopeless babies' bodies? No. No doctors even bother to tell us. Not even how to administer the babies after the shots. Have we ever wondered why?

I would strongly recommend parents out there to do their research on this. Taking my words only is not sufficient; it can only induce your inquisitive mind. But trust me, the hard facts are out there; tonnes of them! Check them out. Be an informed parent.

 

The only thing undone right now is to secure cord blood banking for the baby. I did it for Zara with Cryocord. I am still unsure whether to do it with Cryocord again this time (no problem on the service, they are just fine). It's just that I wanna know if there's new technology or new benefits introduced by either Cryocord or other competitiors like Stemlife, so that I can make the most out of my investment.

 

  

 Which to choose.. Cryocord or Stemlife?

What about Zara? Zara is progressing well in reading ABCs and 123s.. and the fact that she recognizes colors, being able to construct simple sentences and distinguishing the alphabets correctly simply awed me. I mean, yeah I know she can sing the ABC song really well, but to the extent of recognizing the individual letters.. that's a wow for me. Just that, lately she likes to play at the children playground in front of the house, which is much to my disliking. Yeah I know playing is a normal work for children. But the fact that the playground is always swarmed with big boys and aggressive children (and not to forget mosquitoes!) I rather distract her doing something else.

 Haih, Zara.. Zara.. you're going to be a sister soon!

Oh yeah, did I mention that she even calls herself 'kakak' now. Well, not really 'kakak'.. more like 'tatak'.. haha. Pelat K.

Soon we're gonna get our new set of curtain for the living hall.. and we're soo excited! Yeap, home improvement at its best ehh.. haha. 

 We feel bored of the striped curtain. Haih.. housewarming pun belum buat lagi okay!

HomeDec at KL Convention Center's gonna arrive soon. From 17th - 20th Oct (Part 1) and 24th - 27th Oct (Part 2). Kalau rajin jom la check it out!

Bijak Malaysia.. yang tak bijak sangat kot?

Today I was approached by an insurance agent from CIMB,  promoting Insurans Bijak Malaysia.

I spared some time listening (like I always do!) and yeah.. gradually I became interested. . Huhu. Benci betul weakness yang satu ni.

But seperti biasa, before making any decision, I consulted my hubby-know-it-all to ask for his opinion. He asked if we could talk about it after we got back home. 

So.. I spared some time in the office to find out about this insurance scheme. So I bumped into this blog. Nasib baik jumpa this blog, seriously. Kerana, if I were to sign up for the Bijak Malaysia insurance policy,  berkecailah my endeavor to ensure my money goes into syariah-compliant channels.

Ok, so balik ni tak payah cerita langsung about thinking to get Bijak Malaysia insurance policy.  It is indeed a waste when we claim that we are a Muslim country,  but government tak berapa berusaha to make their investment products and plans for the rakyat all syariah compliant.

So, Sharifah,  sila berfikir lagi ke mana duit perlu dilaburkan.. haihhhh.. make sure syariah compliant ye!

Japan: I'm lovin' it!

Hi, happy 2013 everyone!

Japan is my mom's most frequently-visited country during her tenure with the ministry that she worked with many years back. Many good stories about Japan that my siblings and I heard from her; the cleanliness, the culture, the manners, etc. Being in Japan now feels like I am actually witnessing what mom narrated. And yep, I must say, I still can't find anything that makes me dislike Japan. Or simply, I love Japan!

(But of course, I still miss KL though.. hari-hari baca Beautifulnara and Malaysiakini dan berwhatsapp with my officemates, haha! Bengong..)

One of the things I like to do when I'm out to travel is observing the city's men and women. They like to dress up everyday wherever they go. Be it to the office (very contrary to us working in Dayabumi! haha), to the cafe, to meet up with friends (I know la sebab it's really nice to lepak at cafes here in Yokohama). In this cold season of winter, people here dress up in their smart (and not to mention, expensive looking!) coats and jackets, ladies complete with tights, high leather boots and designer handbags. Oh, did I mention that ladies here love LV? Yeah, they love LV until LV Neverfull Tote becomes a common eyesight everywhere I go. Ok ok, yeah I know LV Neverfull is not that expensive compared to other LV handbag models. But I'm not saying they only wear Neverfull. Spesis LV that I have not seen yet (but memang cantik gila!) are carried around too. And there are some who don Hermes leather bag too! Ok la, I haven't seen anyone showing off their Birkin bag yet, but hey, Hermes is expensive! Way more than LV I think.

Coach? Like everybody has a Coach bag here in Yokohama. Seriously. So macam tak payah bangga sangat la if you bring your Coach bag here.

But the bags prices are not cheap here in Japan you see. They cost like four times the price you can get in Malaysia. But since nearly everyone wears designer handbags, you can't help but to follow the trend.

So, in short, I think Japanese men and ladies invest a lot in taking care of their appearance. 

This lady in LV Neverfull Monogram. I prefer Damier Ebene better (wahh, kalau la boleh jawab soalan ACD macam ni punya hafal, sure lagi naik pangkat. Isk!)

Due to the fact that they are conscious about their appearances, that would mean they shop a lot! Yes, from what I see, no matter how many shopping malls there are, they will be swarmed by customers, even on off-sale time (kalau sale apatah lagi kan!) Well, pictures speak a thousand words, don't they?

This was during New Year's sale. Huge crowds swarmed the shopping complexes in Yokohama.  Depan tu lagi ramai.

Haha, Zara and I did our shopping as well! Sogo here is not like Sogo in Jalan TAR ok. This Sogo sells stuff like Suria KLCC does. But no matter which shopping mall I go, be it high end or not, the salesperson will always welcome you with a smile and a very courteous way of saying "Welcome". Bukan macam those in Suria KLCC! Selalu sakit hati with the gestures of Isetan salespeople. 

.. And I got myself this! Besides another Furla and a Longchamp :D

Of course, Japan will well known for their cleanliness. And it is NOT a myth. Addition to them being clean, is that they innovate to make life easier for their people. Take for example, the toilet control:

The toilet in my hotel room. Look at the controls they install. Free odor, warm seat (cool, huh), bidet water pressure. Memang innovative! The toilets at the office even have this gadget to give the sound of flushing if you don't want people hear you do your 'business'. Uber cool. Well, guess I'll miss this when I'm back in KL. Arghh.

Another things that I like about the Japanese, is that they like to bring their kids out. There are plenty of good places for family outings (the parks, the zoos, the museums, etc.) and even in this cold weather, they still enjoy the company of their children. Yep, moms here breastfeed alright, and it's hard to find moms who are flabby! Most I've seen have slender legs, very slim figure. Is it because of their diet, or is it because of their confinement discipline? I don't know, but I take it a s a good example for me to follow, haha.

In Disneyland Tokyo. Look behind me - strollers and kids and parents. They love going for outings.

What about the food? Well, not really a problem for a Muslim like me. But that will be another long post to write about. Well, I have to end here. Zara's about to wake up anytime soon. Better get ready before she starts crying looking for me.

Til another post~ Nytes :)
 

Breaking the hiatus.. from my fantastic Galaxy Note 2

Salam Maal Hijrah all friends :)

I have taken a loooong hiatus from blogging haven't I? Ok.. you can partially blame it on my time management.. been dedicating every minute of my free time for my growing Zara and my husband, if not work.

(I'm actually typing now while breastfeeding Zara to sleep.  Can I qualify to be a supermom? Haha. Ok. Perasan)

(But really,  how many mothers still breastfeed their babies beyond 6 months of age? I initially thought they were many.  But I realized I am not really accurate)

Actually,  I really wanna blog in Malay. But I honestly, every time that I'm typing, I can only write in English.  How poyo is that???

I'll write more in these few days I guess.. wanna get my space here up and running again. 2012 has so much lesser posts compared to the previous years. Nothing to put the blame on. Just didn't feel like sharing that much anymore. Im more interested in shopping online.. which costed me a hell lot of money this year.

Well, that'll be elaborated soon in my future posts.

I'm writing this with Beast's Fiction playing in my head

Hye guys :)

Just to write it down here. I connected my blog to my Facebook notes. But the full blog post will not be shown in the notes. To view the entire text, click at the 'View Original Post' button (kiasu takut orang baca truncated post.. Afraid if anyone will get the wrong idea..)

If there is one thing I feel like doing now, it's still shopping. And if I think I'm about to go broke, well then window shopping is fair enough :p Surrounded by Groupon-crazy girlfriends only makes it worse. I know I know, Internet shopping can be an alternative.. Hmm I guess it's not the same with walking into nice-smelling/ perfume-scented retail shops. It somehow feels tranquilizing..

And.. If there is one thing I wanna wish for, I wish that I will be able to continuously feed Zara exclusively with breast milk. So far I'm doing good, all praises to Allah. Zara has reached 6.25kg last weekend, syukur alhamdulillah.

Oh yeah.. Did I mention I already reached below pre-pregnancy weight? Hehe. I think the credit goes to breastfeeding and that Shaklee ESP shake. Exercise? Hmm, I only do short distance walking everyday for about ten minutes. No rigorous exercise yet.

I was rearranging my hanged clothes last night when I found a pair of maternity pants still having its price tag. I totally have forgotten about it. It's not that I have many maternity wear anyway. But I still like to wear one of those baggy maternity slacks.. Very comfy and airy.

A few days have passed with me being busy at the office preparing the 2012 budget for I&C. Being a budget preparer may sound cool if I'm a planner or a HR personnel, but doing so in my department somehow makes me feel lame. Somebody told me before never to decline any work from the boss. But I wonder does that statement apply to very occasion? I don't really think so. But neither can I decline anyway. Somebody has to do it. I know that I have the 'can do it' attitude. Though at times the positive vibes can somehow be affected by negative and judgmental remarks from boastful chests. Oh well, people come into your lives and will soon leave..

I really envy people who get to do what their hearts or minds are fond of. But one in my list is already labeled as 'just forget it'. I do have another thing in mind, but I'm kinda clueless on how to go about it even though I've been doing it for more than half a decade. Poor thing. I wonder if Beckham weren't a footballer, would he be this successful? It's not that easy to tell eh..

Hmm..

Never thought 'Stop and Stare' by One Republic would again be the almost-perfect words to describe how I am now.

I need to find out what I want exactly. Seems like I'm moving but actually, I am going nowhere. God, help!

These final few weeks..

Okay nampaknya saya memang sungguh pemalas nak update blog tahun 2011 ni. One update per month.. it used to be 3 average posts in 2010 and 4 in 2009.. Well, nothing big to tell, really.. what I'm undergoing now is very much similar to what other women have experienced.. so I guess it's not a big deal..

Ok, so I'm in the final stage of my pregnancy.. soon reaching 9 months' mark. Yeah, I'm kinda feeling excited about it.. always imagining that my baby and I will lie on the bed together.. with me looking at her in disbelief since she was formerly inside me. Ahh, saya memang suka berangan!

Hubby's back for good. Good :) No need to skype anymore, what more with the lousy wireless connection at home (Cisco modem pun boleh buat hal eh? Kalau Huawei boleh la terima..) I just hope the 1st shipment he sent back will reach home in time.. if not, I'll be missing my Medela and will have to scout for a manual breastpump instead. Cis. Tak nak!

I'll be having my checkup today. Usually it's on Saturdays, but I will be attending antenatal class with my hubby this Saturday, so I have to reschedule the visit to the doctor. There are a lot of things going on for us presently.. We're not only focusing on the baby's arrival, but also we are in the preparation to get our Bangi house ready. Last week, hubby and I went to Homedec at KL Convention Center, and we bought the kitchen hob-cooking hood-oven set and a Coway water filter. It sounds like we didn't really shop, doesn't it? Those 2 items already costing us more than RM5k ok. Baru 2 benda.. lom lagi cabinet idaman hati itu. Well, the cabinet issue is something to be deeply thought about. I booked promotional prices with 2 cabinet vendors, but I am having second thoughts on their available range of colors and materials (dem!) Nasib tak bayar banyak pun.. if not.. sob sob..

I think this won't be the last post before I pop. I'll update later. Til then, latersss~

Episod perut buncit

I'm writing this to fulfill my promise to Ziad: to write something on my experience so far in this almost 7 months' journey.

Right now, if I were to line up my friends: Ziad, Zamila, Caah, Diyana, Kak Nedd and Kak Wahida, I'll be 4th in waiting to rock the delivery room (haha). How macho (read: calm) can I get being in the delivery room? Well, if it's not my usual macho moment, being more macho than average ladies would be satisfactory already (tapi time sakit nanti apa pun dah takleh fikir kot!)

Hmm.. perut saya tak selonjong ini..

What do I feel right now? Hmm.. I dunno. Can't exactly put my feelings into accurate words. There's a bit of being excited, worried, scared, and then worried again.. totally mixed. Hubby's still not back yet. I guess that is the normal destiny for most wives in GTS. Seeing my friends being okay despite their husbands' absence makes me feel that I'm not alone.

This afternoon, I just had my 3rd checkup at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur. I really look forward to meeting the doctor and asking her tonnes of questions about the baby. So far, the doctor and her nurse are terrific. My doctor is very soft spoken, never fails to give me assuring answers about the uncertainties I have, though every check up means I will have to wait for my turn at least 2 hours, no matter how early I arrive. Oh yes, I am very patient in waiting for my turn. Unlike waiting for Ain after work. 5 minutes late and all the words are already in my head.

Mood-wise, I would say that I am getting to be more 'telinga nipis' than usual. So, if you don't have good or important things to share with me, better shut up and stay away.

Food-wise, I prefer the non-spicy ones. So the easiest choices would be tuna or egg sandwiches, nasi ayam, milk, soy drinks, oats and bread. But you know, it's hard to be choosy when there's not so much of choice to eat, especially around Dayabumi and Central Market area, where mamak food rules. Boring gila hari-hari makan thosai or fried meehoon. Wanna eat pancake? I will have to wait till weekends for that of course.

Oh, I avoid fast food too. Sounds really yucky to me.

For the record, I really like sweet things presently. There was once, I spent nearly 1.5 hours on the road (I wasn't aware that Le Tour de Langkawi arrived in Shah Alam that day, so the traffic was damn terrible) to get from home to SACC Mall to buy Big Apple doughnuts. Central Market's Secret Recipe is a regular lunch place now (seriously I am starting to feel economically burdened by this appetite for sweet stuff!) So to ensure that I eat healthily, I channel the sweet cravings to taking raisins daily. That somehow curbed my appetite for cakes and chocolates.

Nevertheless, I am proud (should I feel proud anyway??) that my weight hasn't really gone up the scale. To date, my weight has increased about 7.5 kilos. Today's checkup showed that my baby is already 1 kilo. But I am a bit concerned if the not-so-significant weight increase may mean that my milk production isn't going to be as much as I want. But yeah, there's always certain food that I can take to grow the milk production. So I suppose I shouldn't be worried that much.

I still take the LRT now and then to commute to work. The worst part is, no man who sits at the 'Aren't We Courteous?' area will ever get up and offer his seat to a pregnant lady like me. And every time that I see a young man sitting at that area, all the curse words in my head, I dedicate to him. Trust me, a LOT of curse words. Tinggal tak cakap aje.

But thanks to Asri for lending his City parking card, I can now save on parking when I feel like driving to work. Well, that is until he is back in KL anyway.

I guess I'll continue later. Talking too much about this, I'm afraid it might give signals that I am more thinking about my pregnancy than my work. Well, that's not true. If random readers were to think that way, they're wrong.

Well, people tend to judge when they don't know you.. that's what I think la..

To my baby, stay in there well okay. Mommy will try her best to eat nutritious food for you :) Mommy just ate her oats. Hope you liked it :)