Tuesday, November 24, 2009

denim skirts for sale







holidays in malaysia- jjcm

Woohhooo..we are going home .Balik kampung...

It's not that we haven't balik kampung for years ..saje je nak rasa seronok, though we just came back from kampung on 4th Aug this year. The thrill of balik kampung is always there, no matter whether you balik kampung from Kajang, or from UM ( uni days) or from JB ( in laws).

In fact, I feel the same thrills if we were to balik kampung JB from Kuala Kangsar ( KK- my kampung). I guess it's the travelling that makes me so excited. Betul la kata orang, it's not the destination, but the journey that matters!

We will be in Msia from 27th Nov till 15th Dec. A bit over 2 weeks, and already i can see us rushing to go here and there, meeting relatives, friends, makan-makan, buying stuffs, settling our unfnished businesses, paying bills, etc. This time around , i am so determined to get the keropok lekor on board. Musti, musti..

During our previous trips back to Msia and coming back here, we bought the fish crackers, but never managed to bring it here, because of excess baggage. Keropok lekor were never really our priority because there were always books (mommy's and childrens') , food stuffs, other food stuffs, more food stuffs but not keropok lekor.

So, yes, this time, your time will come keropok lekor! ( Ya Allah, permudahkan lah urusan membawa keropok lekor ke sini. Amin) I am now thinking that once we have keropok lekor in our current house, alangkah indahnya petang hari, makan keropok lekor, cicah sos cap Pah Bedah , minum teh -o panas, mata bertaut, senyum terukir , oh alangkah indahnya sekali lagi). Hee.hehe..

Oh yes, we will be bringing lots of paratha as well. Memandangkan saya tidak pernah berjaya membuat roti canai yang menjadi roti canai, maka keputusan ini telah dicapai. Dan burger, frankfurter, fishballs, meatballs, crabsticks, etc. Bayangkan kalau keadaan memerlukan, dan anda agak liat untuk mengeluarkan duit sebanyak RM15 hanya untuk mendapatkan 6 keping burger patties, bukankah lebih baik membawa bekalan dari Msia, where it is much much cheaper and InsyaAllah, kualiti terjamin, halal dan bersih? We bought quite a lot of those from HPA, or Az-Zain or any muslims products available. It's just my personal options.

Once in Malaysia, we'll be doing lots and lots of makan-makan. I once went to Laksamana Cheng Ho's restaurant, ( ehm not once, twice) but it was closed. This time around we hope to be able to sample their food, dengar macam sedap sangat??! Ye ke?

Anyway, even in Bangi (we live in Kajang-near Bangi), there are lots of reataurants/ food outlets opened recently. It's very much welcomed by us hehe. There are Wong Solo- ayam penyet, Nasi Ulam with their scrumptious nasi kerabu and nasi dagang breakfast spread, Ghazali Nasi Bryani Gam- i love their kambing and ayam masak merah, and a few more kopitiam and what nots. Memang gantung periuk, senduk and kuali.

I shall make a list of where to go, what to get now. Recommendations of outlet makanan sedap very much welcomed.

Monday, November 16, 2009

having fun with playdough..

This is the playdough recipe that is used in Hafiz's preschool. Mr Dave was so nice to share the recipe with the other parents, and we have been making it 3 times, since. Next, i will ask tempe recipe from Mr Dave, dengar kata dia suka sangat makan tempe, he might have his own simple recipe to make them, who knows? ehehe

Playdough recipe
( adik, kakak abang and bibiks, sila ambil kertas dan pensil, atau anda boleh kopipes dan tampal di fridge menggunakan fridge magnet Vladivostok yang anda kirim kawan tempohari :D)

Use proportions of:
1 Cup of flour
1/4 Cup of salt
2 tablespoons of cooking oil add water ( to desired consistency)
~ waaahh..kalau taruh gula dengan sedikit vanilla essense, sudah boleh buat biskut raya nih! :)

Method:
To make regular playdough, just mix up the ingredients then add oil and enough water a bit at a time to see how things are working out.
If you make it a bit sticky, then the kids can add extra flour to play making things. You might want to start with a little water, then build up to the consistency you want.

Some kids like to prepare the playdough themselves, a sticky dough is great so they can add extra flour. Umar loves making shapes, scluptures and doesn't bother to modify the dough. For him, i usually make playdough with just the right consistency so he can start right away..
Oh yeah, we added food colourings and flavourings as well. We have had blue playdough with banana flavour ( what a weird combinations), eggyellow-coloured strawberry-flavoured and apple green colour with vanilla flavour.

From the start to the end ( 'end' means until the dough finally crumbled all over the floor, because it dries up really fast here..), there will be testing assumptions, tasting, tasting and tasting... Oh, did i mention tasting? Here are some photos from our 2nd day of having fun with our playdough.. I hope you have fun making your own playdough too! Try it!

Playdough – sedia untuk diapa-apakan saja…

Umar’s blue colour, banana flavoured dough..
If it were to be a dough-nut- I’d call it Smurf Do-Nuts!
Hafiz- mula mengapa-apakan doh tanah liat itu..
Tenaga dalaman diperlukan untuk membuat prints
sebegitu rupa, ya adik-adik..!!

The boys in action.

my rolling pins......

Umar's Smurfs Do-Nuts?

Umar menggelecek dan menggentel!!


Lutfil, Umar (dan siputnya)

Lutfil seperti biasa, menunggu 'bantuan' sampai..

Lutfil cuba modify antennae siput Umar..jaga-jaga..’praaappp!- bunyi antennae itu dipatah-patahkan..(adegan ini tak dapat disiarkan, takut mengganggu ketenteraman awam..)

Hafiz must have thought making siput out of a playdough is ‘kacang’, and was out to prove that he can do better than Umar!

Hafiz’s siput . The siput I think is a bit nervous, ye lah..kaler pinkish kan…
(Note the reflection of the snail, never thought it would show up that clear..the table top must have been so shiny –clean or maybe oily-shiny? Errkk)

Umar is always into animals/living things. I had thought that he would make a T-Rex, or creatures from the oceans, or a sea-horse. Turned out it was a snail!
The red fish was Lutfil’s. Don’t worry, it doesn’t smell that bad, and the taste is the combination of roses and mango..! care for some tasting?
























Sunday, November 15, 2009

colour of my life..

Every weekends , i will be reminded of the promises i made to the boys. Tuntut janji tuu..When they asked if they could cut a picture out of an old newspaper, play games on PSP, help me bake cakes, make playdough( they like to make rather than play playdough!), use water colour or the tempura paint, the answer is always
"Wait till Friday/Saturday/weekends" ( 'weekends' is when i don't feel like being specific, so it could be friday, saturdays or the next weekends) :D
Umar will of course, remember what he asked for, and what day i told him he could do it then.

So, early Friday mornings he will bug me to take out the brushes, paints, paper, scissors, glitter glues, all the necessary stuffs neededto produce that magnificent piece of art. As other kids, they love mixing colours and painting their favourite subjects, Umar's the natures and ocean livesand it is cars, planes, horses and cats for Hafiz. Lutfil is not so choosy and he'll just paint anything and ON anything! ishhh...:D
Photos that were taken last Friday...









On top of that, they use the glitters to put that glamour touch to their final work. It's amazing to see them put all their focus and energy on the papers and colours. It amazes me more to see how they perceive their surroundings, by what they put on the paintings. Sometimes, it's from their imaginations, or books they have read, or from places they have been to.
Umar did some paintings on beaches ( siap dengan pokok kelapa membuai-buai) and lots of sketches on ocean-floor creatures-
that's definitely from picture in books he'd seen, or maybe NatGeo Wild or even Nemo! haha

It is the only time when i can have the TV all to myself ( BBC Lifestyles is what i want to watch), because at other time it is either Baby TV, or Disney
Channel or NatGeoWild ( news can only be watched in the mornings). That, or i switch it off altogether, semua orang tak payah tengok.
However being me, memang suka playing with paper and colours; so i will join them and show off my art talents - macamlah ada pun..hahah
DH masa ni is either watching us or doing his work on his computer, takut nak join, karang kena gelak kuat-kuat punya...!! heheh





When it's time to clean up the mess, i will just need to sing a song out from barney's show, 'Clean Up'and Umar, Hafiz and Lutfil will quickly come to the rescue. "Kalau tak mau, next week no more painting for you"- ini janji Ibu yang ingat!!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Yeeha..


Life has been good.


Alhamdulillah, things are going very well with the kids and oh yes, i have only Lutifl to accompany me during my morning march to morning coffees, arabic class, badminton lessons, cooking class ( last Tuesday's was Kek Gula Hangus, siap tapau lagi). Bunyi macam banyak giler aktiviti kan? Eh, memang banyak pun. Oh ya, tidak terkecuali my dear Playgroup classes every Monday and Thursday..The other 2 boys are at schools from 7.15am to 1.30pm.

Umar is now in Year 1 @K1CS, Khart0um Int'nal Community Scho0l, while Hafiz goes to KAS ( Khart0um Amer1can School). Yup, they do go to different schools. Why? For Hafiz, I wanted him to go where he is going, and Umar wanted to go to his current school- the fact that they offers swimming lessons and horse-back riding contributed a lot to his choosing the school.



Anyway, seeing that they enjoy schools and coming back with stories of friends, teachers, current projects, books they are reading are enough to convinced me that they should be where they are now. The 2 schools look so different in appearance and 'feel', but i am sure they provide just the same best quality education and nurturing them just the way it should be. hehe..emak-emak biasalah, semua mengharapka yang terbaik, anak-anak harta kita wehhh..!!

I take Hafiz to school everyday at 6.45am, with the block van ( ya macam van pekerja kilang di tanahair kita).Now that i have 2 schoolgoing children and DH's workplace doesn't have any cafe ( ok, tipu, bukan takde cafe, but not the type yang dia boleh beli and makan- terlalu local taste, withflava beans and local salads, and he's an expat - eh betullah kan?), so i have to prepare breakfast and meals ( to bring to schools/office) for 3 .


Lihat menu-menu di bawah ini:

Breakfast: Cekodok pisang ( DH), cereal (Umar), Roti with Nutella spread ( hafiz).Lunch box menu: Nasi goreng (DH), cucur pisang (Umar- percayalah, inilah yang umar bawak ke sekolah..habis!!), hafiz- roti sapu nutella( kalau Londobisco roll cake habis, atau kalau yang chocolate flavour habis , dan yang tinggal strawberry aje-which he doesn't fancy! habis tu siapa nak makan yang rasa strawberry tu?!!).

Atau, set yang ini juga: Breakfast: Nasi goreng ( DH), cereal (Umar), susu (Hafiz)- sonang bona!Lunch box: Nasi goreng ( DH), Mee goreng - for both Umar and Hafiz.Umar and Hafiz ni tak reti makan nasi goreng, tapi mee goreng ok. DH plak tak suka mee goreng, nasi goreng dia sukaaaaa!!Kadang-kadang DH bawak nasi putih dengan lauk-pauk, ( fish fillet goreng tepung with some sauce, or daging masak asam pedas with lots of tomato chuncks, fried thin-sliced beef mixed with some long beans, etc.

Harap-harap teman-teman semeja makan DH ku itu tersangatlah impressed dengan my cooking dan mungkin menyuruh wife-wife mereka memasak yang serupa: fish fillet goreng tepung? ikan bilis goreng? sheessh!! ahahah- tak lawak!!Tapi jangan adalah yang menjeling dan mengkomen dalam hati kalau nampak hubby bawak nasi lauk telur mata bersos kicap atau emm..bawak cekodok pisang!! heheh...Pagi-pagi memang sangat gedempun-gedempang kitchen kitorang, sampai kakak rumah bawah tu dah biasa sangat tanya: apa lah yang kelentng kelentang pagi-pagi tu ?:. eh, masaklah kak,western ada, thai ada, menu panas panas!! Kang orang tak tau pulak saya masak untuk seluruh ahli keluarga terchenta! heheh( sekali tengok DH bawak roti sapu coklat je pi ofis, akak ni mesti tau sebab hubby dia seofis ngan DH, maknanya lunch partner jugaklah! Bocor rahsia !!
Tak habis lagi. I take Hafiz to school, DH still at home, and i really , really like it if Lutfil has woken up from sleep by this time. Biasanya i hint to my DH, "hari ni ada arabic class at 9.30am, or morning coffe at 9.30am,or badminton lesson at 8am". I f i am lucky, he'll give Lutfil a bath, and that usually is a BIG relief! Susah gilerr biasanya nak mandikan dia, dengan amuknya, dengan rengeknya, orang lain start badminton pukul 8am, i datang 9am. Patutlah 'stroke' i tak pernah improve!Asyik lambat sampai training ..heheh. Kalau morning coffee tu, asyik mkan dessert je lah, pasal main menu dah habis! Not complaining here..i memng suka target dessert dulu pun..
Tengah makan dessert kat acara minum kopi tu, mata asyik tengok jam, pasal at 11.30am kena naik van lagi ambik Hafiz at school. Bawak Lutfil dan bersama geng Van Sekolah, kami menngharungi panas terik dan bahang, merentasi.... Eleh, Mohammed yang drive pun rileks je , madam-madam ni nak kena bukak mulut and bukak cerita je sepanjang jalan tu. Tapi i pernah jugak tertidur selama 15 minit dalam van tu, penat beb!! Sampai rumah biasanya i goreng mee je ( mee kicap ), atau kalau tanya Hafiz, dia mungkin cakap" Ibu feeds me roti canai for lunch" hahha..buleh dipercayai jugaklah dia haha.Hafiz kalau mintak i buat apa-apa yang dia nak makan, it's either roti, or mee or donuts! Kalau kek coklat, dia makan semua , except yang i buat! Ngapalah anakku ni. Eh, Ibu buat sedap tau! :D


Umar is more on the cheese-pizza-bread-fresh milk-cereals types of food! I think he has sweet-tooth just like me. Tapi i suka pengat, dia suka tak eh?


Oh ya, I have this resolution to finish the current stock of cream cheese. I have been doing this creamcheese buttercake for the past 2 weeks. I have made this 6 times already, and i still have about 400g of creamcheese that could make about 2 butter cakes. Patutlah my pants and khakis yang selama ini elok-elok muat dah tak muat.Okay, lepas ni berkain batik. Tak pun pakai seluar punjabi yang pakai tali je, verryy flexible! haha. On the other hand i managed to gain the 6 kgs that i lost ( and thought that would be forever!!) isk, isk !! Jangan berani congratulate me. Nahas anda nanti! Dari mana agaknya all those kgs/pounds came from? Emm..let me wonder !! Ye lah tu..!!