november

november is almost ended and i have yet to post any entry :P. been so busy but finally managed to squeeze some time to scribble cos i simply have a lot of stories to tell, from my passion to a home made drama, hehehe...

to start off, november is one of the month i've been anticipated to this year. the most packed month of the year, that's why. the wedding of my little brother and the wedding of my SIL (bunny's sister, just not to be mistaken :P) held in the same month. only two weeks apart. it's just crazy. it will be even crazier if only we went with our plan to go penang last weekend for a running event...

as some of you know, the decoration of the hantaran (gifts from my side to the bunny's) and the favours for my wedding were made by myself and of course with the help from my little fairies (love them *hugs*). i just love anything crafty. it's been my passion since i was little, as told by my mother. she said i started doing cross-stitch when i was just 3 years old. i can't believe it myself. but i just have to cos it runs in the blood ;). ok, back to the story, the little brother asked me to prepare the hantaran, the gift from him to his future wife, and as a loving sister (oh, really?, i tot i'm kakak garang) i said yes. i asked him to provide the gift and some cash (only a tiny portion, ok :P) for me to buy the necessary stuff for the decoration and voila! all completed in just a day. proud of myself *blush*

*snapshots of my creation taken by the talented cousin, aisha

the next story is quite lengthy but i will try my best cut it short. the drama is about the brother's wedding and started just because somebody refused to listen to our advice. would love to share a quote from one of my fave tv series, how i met your mother, "story of my life: my cuteness interferes with people hearing my message". i know i'm cute but please listen, hahaha!!! since the wedding gonna be held at up north, we've told the brother to be there a day earlier just to be extra cautious and prepared. but no, that wasn't the case.

nway, early morning of the day of the event, our small family, we departed from kl with 4 cars: me & bunny in a car, mother, elder brother & grandmother in another, little brother & little sister in other car with another little sister went by air while the groom-to-be traveled with his friends in a separate car. just before we took off, we've packed everything in the car, all the gifts including groom's baju melayu were in mine while the rest of it in the grandmother's including pahar (hantaran base) and iron. just as we've passed the first toll of the highway, i looked at the backseat and see something weird. the groom's baju melayu is nicely laid on the seats but where the hell are my baju kurung and bunny's baju melayu for the wedding ceremony? if i brought them, they should have been put the same way as the groom's. and suddenly i just realised that i didn't bring them. they are still nicely hanged in the wardrobe back in klang gate and we've already 30km away! no way we gonna turn back for them. so throughout the journey i beat my brains out on ways for me to get hold of the outfits without to have ended up to the last resort of having to buy new dress. and thank god an idea struck me. i called my future sister-in-law, and thankfully she said she had an extra dress for me but unlucky bunny, he's stuck with polo shirt for the wedding. ok, problem solved. just less than 100km away from the destination, i've got a call from the mother and it was the worst news ever that day. grandmother's car broke down, not in penang and not even in perak. it was in tanjung malim, selangor and they are still there! they will never reach jitra on time for the ceremony. the groom-to-be was a bit shocked knowing the news but later relieved when the mother told him all the stuff needed for the nikah ceremony is in my car. but a bit sad cos the mother won't be there to witness one of the most historic moments in his life. well, at least all of them reached the destination safe and sound only an hour after the ceremony ended. that's what matter most, right?

this weekend gonna be another restless one as it's the SIL's wedding ceremony. can't wait for the last week of the year as i'm gonna have a fairly long holiday, yeay me!

lalala

lalala... have nothing to say. just wanna sing. so overwhelmed with things. both good and bad. feel like wanna scream. for what? dunno. crazy maybe? NOT! starve? yes.

wanna eat those yummy cpk's five cheese and fresh tomato pizza. and some smooth tutti frutti froyo. or maybe some fresh strawberries with double cream. or warm scone with cornish clotted cream and strawberry jam. oh, please...

i need a holiday. real bad. anywhere would do. away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. bored with the same routine. it just repeat itself. over and over again. please STOP!

money

money can buy love? yes, according to rhb credit card new ad. how silly i must say. if money can ever buy love, how much would it be? just a trip to paris? only a set of diamond bracelet? i don't think so. it comes with a hefty price tag. it's a never-ending story. the advise is, don't build up relationship with the influence of money. it'll never last...

smile can't be purchased. it should be earned. do good. make them happy. and you'll be happy. that's all needed. it's all about give and take. and give gift as a treat. it's not a necessity. just like a nice spa as a treat for yourself after a long hard week. or a fancy dinner after completing a lengthy project. it may be applied in relationship too. treat your partner to something special when they deserve it or just because you want to. not as a tool or bait to lure them to love you...

chocolate

a sweet tooth and definitely an ultimate chocoholic, that's me! old time favourite have always been cadbury dairy milk and crunchie. eventhough the taste varies from one country to another, i still love them. just like wine, chocolate can never taste the same. different climate can have a big impact on the character of both and some other products too. but as i said, i still love them. just the chocolate of course ;).

at times, i indulge in premium chocolates. the ones that i love so much would be godiva and leonidas belgian chocolate. when i need a me time, i would treat myself to the pleasure of a bar of these god given luxuries. ahhh, the smooth texture melting in the mouth. heaven...

oh btw, i discovered that dove just arrived here. or that's what i thought. not sure whether they've been here ages ago, hehehe... nway, dove is also one of my fave chocs while i was away. bought the dark choc version. quite nice. but a little bit too sweet...

and this is real, i just realized that i've posted something similar earlier last year: craving. it's proven that i'm a sucker for anything sweet *blush*

october

it's october. already? time flew so fast. but i'm loving every second of life. i'm blessed and very thankful for everything...

nway, eid almost ended. yet to have the time to upload some of the pics from the festive season long holiday trip cum eid celeb, cousin's wedding and family vacation. although the trip was exhausting, the experience was rather priceless - been to so many places, ate lots of food, and shop! (just a tiny bit, though :P).

real work has started. just got to be more productive, got to have enough sleep and stop munching on those junks already. and most importantly, got to stick to the good and positive habit. hope it'll last :P

miles

spent raya 6610 miles away from home for 7 years, yet i have the hardest time to digest the fact that i will be celebrating eid at a place that is way less than 660 miles from the rest of the family this year :(.

nevertheless, this year's eid is the most that i look forward to - celebrating with the bunny *excited*. if everything go as plan, hunny n bunny will celebrate first day of eid in kl and the second day in kb, insyaAllah.

as at 11.00pm on raya eve, everything is so different from what i've experienced as long as i can remember. from food preparation for both today's iftar and eid tomorrow to takbir raya from house to house (only for guys, that is). exhausting but i think everything is well worth it...

patience

"Allah sedang berbicara kepadamu tentang sabar dan ikhlas" 

quoted from ayat-ayat cinta. one of the indonesian films that i adore. great story. proved that being patient is the key to everything. just endure the obstacles of life. challenges are here to make us wiser. as long as we're sincere, Allah will show us the way. and remember, being arrogant will only bring us down, down, down...

twenty-nine

it's august 29, 2010 and it's my 29th birthday! a little bit older but definitely a lot more wiser. is it really? :P. time will tell, hehehe...

oh btw, i've prepared a 4-course meal for my family last nite for iftar and it was for a party of 9! quite impress with myself ;). i made veggie spring rolls (erm, without the sauce :P) for starter, chicken lasagne as the main course, the side dish of bbq chicken wings and crème caramel as the sweet ending. i didn't eat much cos was too tired from the hard work. will do it again, of course, with some minor adjustment to the recipe...

and today, am preparing some food for the new family. gonna make another batch of veggie spring rolls (again, minus the sauce :P) and gonna bake an orange cake with frosting. hopefully all will go well as plan. fingers cross!

and tomorrow, planning a night out with the bunny and some friends. am so craving for some peanut butter banana smoothie. how long have i waited to get hold of this delicious beverage and the best is only available at delicious. so delicious :P. so excited! ;)

magic

magic fingers have made a comeback! second attempt at tiramisu making (after years of absence) was a success, yeay! also, managed to prepare 2 types of chicken dishes, one a slightly spicy chili fried chicken and another was teriyaki chicken for iftar. warming up the cooking skills, hehehe...

well, back to tiramisu. the first attempt was last week, which failed miserably. not because of rusty skill :P, but the wrong use of ingredient. it was actually the right ingredient but wrong choice of brand. as i've previously mentioned in entry titled cook, the cost of preparing tiramisu right here is unbelievably expensive. so, for the first try, i bought the cheapest mascarpone cheese available at cold storage, for a start. tried and tested, and it tasted awful. for the second try, i bought the more expensive one (costs double), and had to use 2 pots of cheese! but the result, it was very much worth it. sometimes, we just had to go for the more expensive ones for the quality. expensive items are better, although not all the time but most, isn't it?

and here is the recipe, if anyone interested. it's actually the simplest to the original and have been modified to my liking ;)

ingredients:

3 egg yolks
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
500 grams mascarpone cheese
24 ladyfingers (boudoir fingers / sponge fingers)
1 cup cold espresso (strong coffee)
cocoa for sprinkling
 

methods:
1. in a medium bowl, beat yolks with sugar and vanilla until smooth and light yellow over double boiler. fold mascarpone into yolk mixture. set aside.
2. dip ladyfingers briefly in coffee and arrange 12 of them in the bottom of an 8x8 inch dish. spread half the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers. repeat with remaining cookies and mascarpone. cover and chill for at least 7 hours in the fridge. sprinkle with cocoa just before serving.

have fun making them! 

blog

i blog whenever i've got loads of ideas. i blog when i'm out of any.

i blog if i have things to say. i blog when i don't feel like talking to anyone.

i blog when i'm frustrated. i blog when i'm happy.

i blog if things got complicated. i blog to toughen myself up.

i just blog. whenever, wherever, whateva. period.

middleman

hate being one cos the messenger is the one who got shot, everytime!

soundtrack

sometimes u will learn new and most likely to be little-known songs from movies or tv series. i've found some and IMHO, they are just splendid and better from those released as singles. one soundtrack song that i love til now would be life in mono by mono from the movie great expectations. another would be one of the songs from spiderman 2, we are by ana johnsson. recent favourite is darling i do taken from shrek forever after.

if anyone could choose any song to be their own story soundtrack, i would consider this song to be mine ;)

the right man by christina aguilera


and the right man will of course and always be... mr bunny, although he's not a fan of this song :P.

pen

the bunny bought me a new lens for the pen yesterday, a 25mm f2.8 zuiko digital lens, equivalent to 50mm on a 35mm camera system. not so well verse on the technical term but i love it to bits. and the bunny too of course ;).

never knew i could do so much more with my beloved pen. with the new lens and higher speed broadband, i managed to discover plenty more on what this very gadget can do. all valuable info through the net via youtube and other forms and source of info are just a click away. accessing to youtube is no hassle. videos can be watched quicker. no buffering. browsing is easier. just in milliseconds. the connection is just fast.

sounds fake and exaggerating rite? but it's true :P. try it to believe it, hehehe...

unifi

officially unified. at my PIL's, that is. been longing to have a much higher speed and stable internet connection for ages. the last time i've experienced such speed was in early 2007. it was 25mb. and u know what, that was the lowest hsbb speed the company were offering. and now the technology has arrived in malaysia with the fastest speed of 20mb. don't really care much as long as i don't have to face another intermittent connection of internet via copper. very much relieved.

at first i planned to install unifi at my own house in melawati. unfortunately, since i have just upgraded the connection to streamyx staff netbook package, i can only migrate the streamyx to unifi package in january. since the PIL's house is also unifi enabled, and after brief discussion with the new family, we've decided to install the package with no delay. great stuff ;)

detox

many of friends are doing the detox. why? eat too much? consume alcohol too much? smoke too much?

why waste so much money on detox products when we can do it naturally. just fast or drink lots of plain water and pure fruit juices while at the same time reduce those processed food and dangerous food intake. or maybe do the fruit fast by replacing the regular food with fruits.  i've done it before just for a try and the toilet was my best friend :P. only try it if you have a VERY strong stomach, hehehe...

whatever it is, the best way to be and keep healthy is to know what you eat. learn the food. understand the ingredients. avoid harmful food. protect yourself.

disclaimer: fruit fast is not suitable for those with candida albicans or blood sugar problem (borrowed from helium.com)

anniversary

it was the parents-in-law 40th anniversary. went to celebrate it at an arabic restaurant in ampang. can't remember the name though :P. nway, 40 years together and the FIL said he felt like he just got married to the MIL yesterday. how romantic ;). they are such a loving couple. blessed with 8 children and 4 S/DIL & 11 grandchildren and counting... so lovely. oh, how much i miss my father and the happy family environment when he was around...

another great event happened today. it was also my younger brother's engagement ceremony. he is now engaged to be married to emmy (emmy kecik that's what we call her as another brother's fiance is called ami, the ami besar, hehehe...). both brothers are scheduled to get married after eid, this year for the elder and next year for the younger one. good luck to you guys. i can be the wedding planner, with a hefty price tag of course, hahaha!!! *evil laugh* :P

label

heard on the radio a couple of days ago. marion caunter urging people to scrap the fakes. i'm not a fan of hers but love the message. have always stand for it anyway. people should never buy counterfeits. only buy what we can afford. the original ones of course. if can't, then save up. fake is not cool. imitation is so old fashion. help to bust the counterfeit syndicate. that is cooler ;)

fair

shocking news just broke at the office that has made few, not few but many unsatisfied. is it fair? in the world of work that always prioritize equality and in the end made such decision, what's going on? we understand the significance of making such decision was to attract more. but what will happen to the experienced ones? are they gonna be ignored? think harder. and most importantly think smarter.

a malay proverb: mendengar guruh di langit air di tempayan dicurahkan...

...which literally means emptying water out of its tank at the sound of thunder, or in better understandable words translate as to throw away the fortune in hand at the first sign of a greater fortune although it is still uncertain. just, don't be a fool...

p/s: i think i might have used the wrong proverb as an example here but whateva :P

overload

overloaded. very much. not cool :(

criticism

criticism is NOT, i repeat NOT welcomed. that is so not helping. with just less than a week left, what i need now are only helping hands.

planning a wedding is beautiful. but it's just messy right now. so many things to do in so little time. unorganised? me? definitely NOT! multitasker, yes i am. but to do all in roughly 5 weeks and juggling my time as a wife, daughter (and DIL), sister, staff with lots of big projects at this very time (oh, why?), self-proclaimed maid at home and as my very own wedding planner (thank god for little fairies who made the job a little bit easier), is definitely a hard work.

who wants to be my personal assistant please stand up? for free, that is :P. definitely need one. but it's ok. this is part of life's challenges. as a test. will most definitely pass all, with flying colours. all the best to myself ;).

oh btw, i miss mr bunny so much. he's in kuching away with his mates for his bachelor vacation. well, meant for pre-wed but we got married too soon ;)