Khayra's Admirers

SRB just sent me this pic of me, lil Khayra and her 'admirers', which was taken from his iPhone a couple of months back. And awwww, don't these kids look cute together?

These boys adore Khayra so much that whenever they see her datang main kat padang, they'd stop whatever game they're playing and just run towards her, screaming her name. Until today, I myself don't understand why they like her so much, especially given the fact that she has not spoken a word to them, just gugu gaga baby talk je.

Sometimes, it becomes like a competition among them, "Saya nampak Khayra duluuu!" "Saya main dengan Khayra ni, awak tak dapat main dengan Khayra huhu!" Sangat kelakar! And my niece would just stare at them blankly at first, then adorable little grin would begin to shape. I'm sure she doesn't understand a thing, it's just that seeing/hearing people talk around her amuses her sometimes.

The one with the long hair (he's a boy btw - I know, I was shocked when I found out gak dulu hehe) is Khayra's no.1 fan. He's always the first one to ditch his friends and play with her, then even belai2 rambut and cium her pipi some more, adoiii terharunya tengok. Then he'd start to ask questions like "Kakak, Khayra kena gosok gigi tak?" "Khayra ada berapa banyak kasut?" "Bila Khayra boleh pegi sekolah?" omg letih gue nak jawab okkk. And no, I never correct him when he calls me Kakak muahahaha!

I wonder if they would still remember all these childhood moments if they get a chance to look at this picture again someday. Apehal makciknya pulak yang terlebih jiwang ni? Hahahaha!

Weekend Update

Went to TKC last Saturday night for the annual English Drama. Had quite a great time last year when I went to see it with Aida, so this year decided to bring dear SRB along, just to share the fun with him. But aisehman...it was the wrong year to show him what it's all about coz this year, 4 out of 5 plays kinda sucked. Most were lacking the 'wow factor', only the fifth formers did something different - dressing up as cats complete with make-up and cute little cat ears and tails.

As expected, the fifth formers won the Best Play. The fourth formers won the Best Props and Settings - they used a big projector with pictures as their backdrop, very modern and high-tech but honestly, me no likey this coz I love the look-and-feel of hand-painted backdrop. Apparently they eliminated the award for Best Backdrop, it has been combined to become Best Props and Settings - booohooo! Best Costume went to the fifth formers, the obvious choice coz the rest just wore ordinary, everyday clothes, camane nak menang kan?

Am I going again next year? Sorry, it's a 99% no. Perhaps I'll go again after they move to the new school in 2012 - a good excuse to check out the new place which I've been told, will be very the canggih manggih. Dah nama sekolah baru, build in the 21st century pulak tu, takkanlaa tak canggih kot hihihi~

On Sunday morning, we headed to Alamanda, Putrajaya from Seremban to go bowling with the workmates. 12 peeps RSVPed to come and join at 12 PM, but only 6 showed up on time and actually bowled. The rest cancelled and some arrived at 4-ish PM. What THE?!! Hampeh betul budak2 ni! Ni camana nak commit if buat plan nak gi pulau ni? Nak kena sampai tertinggal bot ape ke?

After bowling, which I suck at big time, we just lepak and chit chat at the food court, while sharing few rounds of waffles, banana split, popiah, abc. As long as it's all vegetarian, I'm okay hehe

Reached home at 6 PM and decided to remove the variety of weeds from our small lawn. Rumahku dah nampak macam rumah tinggal dah with the semak samun, ish ish ish sape yg malas sgt ni ahaha! Dad dropped by from his jog, luckily after everything has been cleaned out pheww (if not, kena lecturelaa daku hehe) and helped to clear out the mailbox. Did I tell you that he sometimes comes by, unannounced, then dengan selamba proceed to potong rumput, sapu sampah, throw out all of our junk mails and even water the plants at my house? Hehehe. Of course we never asked him to do all that but I guess there's just this powerful, unstoppable thing called...the love of a father, chewahhhh!

Now, let's get into the business of my ongoing vegan-diet:

Saturday 27/03:

Brunch - fried kuey teow (removed the tempting udang & kerang isk isk), mango cheese ball

Dinner - MIL's mihun soto with one beef begedel (tak sampai hati not to eat the begedel coz MIL was right in front of me asking me to tambahlaa, tambahlaa lagi adoiii)

Sunday 28/03:

Breakfast - MIL's nasi lemak with sambal udang (did not touch the udang of course) and timun

Lunch - a bit of rice with tofu, kentang sambal, terung sambal, sayur kangkung

Tea/dinner - waffle with choc & banana, small piece of popia (got udang kering in this, but did not care enough to stop myself)

Happy Monday-blues-at-work in advance!

Rashes Schmashes

I have been having rashes at some parts of my body (Thank God my face is not affected!) on-off for almost about a year now. Couldn't remember when it actually started but I think it got more noticeable after we moved into our USJ home. Is it the air in USJ? Don't think so. I sort of grew up here (minus time spent in boarding school and in college far far away) and I was fine then.

I've never had any allergic reaction to seafood before. I love seafood, have been eating them since like forever. So I just couldn't accept it when the doctor mentioned that I might have an allergy to seafood and have to stop eating them. But okay finee, nak baik punya pasal, I did as what the doc told me. From that point onwards, I would always reluctantly handover all my udangs and sotongs in my tomyam, pad thai or whatever to dear SRB for him to consume right in front of me huuuu =(.

But after few months of seafood-celibacy, I still keep on having occasional rashes/allergies. Some docs told me that I might be allergic to dust - Ok, I admit, I did use this reason to escape from doing house chores for a while hahah! But come on, I've never had this kind of bimbo-ish allergy before, so this is crap, doc! Allergic to certain type of clothing - if only I have loads of money to renew my entire wardrobe. Sadly, I don't so there's nothing I can do about this kind of allergy. Allergic to certain type of soap - I switched to Johnson and Johnson's body and facial wash ever since this diagnose. Allergic to chicken - whaat? If tak makan ayam, aku nak makan ape? Last but not least, rashes triggered by stress. Now this, I just couldn't agree more. Have you been in any kind of stress lately? At work, perhaps? Oh yesss doctor, yessss!!!

During my most recent trip to the doctor, he advised me to go on a vegetarian diet for a week, just to try and see whether I have indeed been consuming the kind of food that possibly caused the allergy. He also told me to start taking cod liver oil and oranges in the morning to increase my immune system, in order to prevent my body from developing more and more allergies.

So I did as per the advice no. 2 - took Seven Seas pure cod liver oil, the liquid version coz I am just hopeless when it comes to swallowing pills/tablets. I nearly choked myself to death when a friend once taught me how to telan panadol by minum air sahaja. I just couldn't do it, I couldn't bring myself to swallow things that tasted like crap. So alternatively, I would eat something like roti or pisang, kunyah sampai hancur and masukkan the pill into my mouth right before I was about to telan the food. Or pecahkan the pills to small pieces, small enough that I won't even taste it in my mouth, then minum air. Pathetic I know, but this is how I am built y'all, what to do =p..

Okay, back to the cod liver oil story. It's just utterly, outrageously DISGUSTING!!! The first time I took it, I ate like 8 biji Sour Mentos straight after that to stop me from puking my guts out and to lose the 'hanyir'ness from my throat. Masa tu memang dah muntah angin dah. Omg torture I tell you, pure TORTURE!!! The second time, I finished up the whole 0.5 litre of bottled mineral water in maybe 2,3 big gulps. And yet I could still taste the hanyir tu everytime I burp, eewwww nak muntah, serious! Why do people invent this kind of horrible ubat anyway? Memang kejam! Tomorrow, I'll make sure that I buy enough orange juice that can last for weeks so I can take the disgusting cod liver oil with it. If not, rashes schmashes, I am not going near that nasty thing again mannn, no wayyy!

As for doc's no.1 prescription, well...I am proud to say that I have been a vegetarian (eggs are no-no as well) for the past 3 days. It's not as easy as I thought, but the family was supportive so it helps. After all, the parents' house is basically our source of food. Mostly laa not entirely hehe. Mom cooked potato, tofu and su'un soup just for me yesterday - aiseh ni sama mcm makanan Khayra je hehe. Do I have to eat this for many days to come? Ngaaaa! But who knows, if the rashes totally disappear, I might continue to be a vegetarian. If I'm strong enough to resist ayam penyet or nasi ayam or ikan pari bakar or huwarrgghhh! Ok, one step at a time.

So to keep me motivated and also as a self-reminder, I plan to write down everything I eat here in this space, hoping that I'll be self-conscious enough not to indulge myself in fattening stuff coz I know I'll have to publish it later. I might have some days when I won't give a f**k of what people think and just eat whatever I want. But I'm sure there will also be days that I'll be embarassed if people think of me as a fat cow who has no self-control. So we'll see. If this doesn't work, well sue me! =p

Wednesday 24/03 (first day of officially being a vegetarian):

Breakfast - half mee hoon, half kuey teow (carefully removed any trace of fishball, udang & telur)

Lunch - caesar salad, mashed potato

Dinner - a bit of rice, with kuah lemak tauhu and sayur hijau (tak tau ape nama sayur tu hehe)

Thursday 25/03 (took day off from work):

On an empty stomach - a tablespoon of cod liver oil, torture!

Breakfast - a bit of home-made nasi lemak with sambal sahaja (removed the ikan bilis)

Lunch - a bit of rice with tofu, potato and su'un soup

Dinner - a bit of rice with tofu, potato and su'un soup

Friday 26/03:

On an empty stomach - a tablespoon of cod liver oil, war-crime!

Breakfast - half kuey teow, half mee goreng (carefully removed any trace of fishball, udang & telur)

Lunch - mushroom soup, salad, baked pasta (removed the salmon), bread pudding

Dinner - chicken soup (ok sedikit fail di sini but I didn't eat the bits of chicken in it hehe) and a bit of mom's home-made pasta (minced meat tolak tepi)

Wish me luck!

Balloon Fiesta 2010

Went to the 2nd Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2010 last Saturday. We're so determined not to miss the take-off session this year that we literally left the house sesudah Subuh. Reached Precinct 2 just as they were about to inflate the first balloon of the day yeayyy!

And then followed by another balloon, and another, and another. Memang sangat jakun and kinda overwhelming seeing all the ginormous balloons from dekat. So this is what we missed last year. Thank God we set the alarm clock right this year babe!

I tried to remind ourselves not to get too crazy with the picture-snapping coz let's face it, sometimes people fail to enjoy the good moments when they are too busy clicking away. And it's always better to live life by the moments, isn't it? Plus it's not like we have a Facebook or Twitter account for us to quickly update pun kan dear? Hehehe. *No offense to those who have. I respect your extra-curricular activities just as I respect people who write blogs in their spare time.*

And then...the moment that we've been waiting for, jeng jeng jeng. The rise of Darth Vader in Putrajaya wooohooo! I'm not a Star Wars geek or anything, but I saw a picture of the Darth Vader balloon in the newspaper last Thursday and I thought, whoaaa that's just waaaaayyyy too cool man!!!

The I-am-your-fathaaa look hahah! Ok toye =p

Another way-too-cool balloon was the one shaped like Levi's Jeans. But too bad it didn't manage to take off that day. Sampai dah merah2 muka orang yg bakar balloon tu, tapi takmo naik2 gak. Kesiannn...

By 9 AM, the day was already unbelievably hot so after briefly checking out the food stalls and exhibition area, we headed to Cyberjaya for brunch. And pretended that we're just one of those MMU students, chilling at a kopitiam, who have not much too worry about in their lives except for the next tests and the well-being of their boyfriends/girlfriends hehe. Ohhh alangkah indahnya hidup as students *sigh*

On the Verge

A vacation is what you take
when you can no longer take
what you've been taking.
~ Earl Wilson

Well said, sir.

Not Enough Face Time

For the past couple of weeks I have been overwhelmed and mentally stressed out by the growing responsibilities at work that I turned into a pessimistic, moody, depressed person. I felt tired all the time, I didn't have the energy to talk and express my misery. I couldn't even enjoy one of my fav authors, Nick Hornby's new book - I'd fell asleep after reading max 3 pages every night (either I was too exhausted to concentrate or Juliet, Naked kinda sucked. A little bit of both, I think). I was like a walking zombie, a total emotional wreck.

SRB has been quite busy at work too, coming home no earlier than 9-ish PM most days. We rarely saw daylight in USJ on weekdays coz we usually left the house before 'hari terang', went our separate ways to work and wouldn't be seeing each other until it's dark again.

Today, we only managed to have about 1 hour of face time before I have to leave for work again...on a freaking Friday night aargghh!!! Is it possible to miss a person who lives under the same roof as you?

Dear, if you're reading this from your iPhone, I just wanna say I miss you, lotsss.

To others, excuse me if this entry is a bit corny and possibly TMI, but work has been hell and I honestly miss my husband.

Can't Catch a Break

"Why can't we ever be the ones to catch a break? I'm soo tired of the compromising. I want my grand foyer! I worked hard, I sacrificed, I deserve it! You know, we give and we give. Do you think that the big shots at Sheet 'N Things care that I sell more personal massages than any other Assistant Manager? NO! Or do you think that those kids, they give a damn that we go with so little because you spend aaall your spare time choreographing those stupid dance routines?

I mean, when does anyone start giving back?"

-Glee, "The Showmance"

Toothpaste on My Toothbrush

Emily: Is that why you keep putting my toothpaste on my toothbrush for me every night? It's something you and Garv did?

Maggie: Whaat?

Emily: Every night since you got here, after you've gone to bed, I've gone to the bathroom and my toothbrush is waiting, with toothpaste on it. If you're not doing it, then who is?

Maggie: Okay, it is me. I didn't realize I was doing it. I can't believe it!

Emily: And it's something you and Garv did?

Maggie: Yeah. Whichever one of us went to bed first would get the toothbrush ready for the other person.

Emily: That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard!

...or ever read, in my case. The sweetest thing indeed. This is why I looove chick lit books!!!

A Wedding @ Mambau

Drove to Mambau in the hot, sunny Sunday yesterday for Beddy's wedding. Met with the boisterous (yup, I think this is the best word to describe us lot hahah!) TKCians to catch up with the latest updates on who recently got engaged, got married, gave birth, moved into a new house, etc. And of course not to forget, cam-whoring for a bit hehe.

I know almost everyone acknowledge, especially the partners/spouses, that we girls can get out-of-control when we got together, but yesterday things got to a whole another level when the groom, yes people, the celebrated groom was being sort of dethroned and asked to become one of the cameramen instead hahah! First time I personally saw this happened nih! But luckily he's cool enough to entertain our craziness/gedikness (good choice Beddy!) and was allowed to return to his rightful place in the pelamin soon after his short-lived cameraman duty hehe.

Congratsss babe and may your life is filled with nothing but happiness, aminnnn =)

P/S: Sorry Nirma, I dunno how to photoshop this pic. Pls don't be mad.
If I knew how, dah lama I'd make myself look like Gisele Bundchen or something :p
But we all look so cute and happy in this pic, so the rest doesn't matter hihi