Tomorrow's the last day of the school holidays. It has been a week of pure leisure. We hardly ever have school holidays exclusively to ourselves. School holidays are usually spend with family and friends back in Peninsular but this time there is no one else but the four of us.
The first day of the school holidays was also the first of Ramadhan so I decided to do some extra cooking. For the first time in my life I made traditional kueh. Mr. A helped of course. We made buah melaka. One of my favourite traditional kueh. I would say it is an easy sweetmeat to make. That's why I chose to make it! Our buah melaka turned out quite okay except it was kind of too green haha.
On the fourth day, Mr. A and I went to KK to do some shopping. We didn't bring Kakak and Adik because of the H1N1 situation. We came back quite late - around 8.30 p.m. We broke our fast in the car on a roadside.
This school holidays I love how we got to sleep in in the morning. Everything was done leisurely. We got to watch movies - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Brokeback Mountain, The Bucket List, Thick as Thieves, and The Notebook. How I wish we have billions of ringgit in our bank accounts so that we never have to work anymore! Haha such wishful thinking.
One horrible thing did happened though. Adik fell from a sofa he loves to climb just this late afternoon. There was a small gash that almost an inch long. We rushed him to the ER and his small gash was sewn three stitches. It was heartbreaking to see him wailing and screaming while getting the stitches. The funny thing was when we arrived home from the ER, he could merrily danced and jumped to Jojo's Circus' song, Jump For Joy. He even ended it with a huge clap. Boys will be boys *sigh*
After that, he even wanted to ride the motorcycle with Mr. A. Mr. A had to ride and ride because Adik wouldn't let his father stops even though he was really sleepy. He ended up sleeping on the motorcycle haha.
He sure loves us so much!
We love him so much too =)
Tomorrow’s our 4th anniversary. Four years and two kids. How time flies. Mr. A is my first love and he will forever be =)
We met in 2004. Both of us were taking Kursus Perguruan Lepasan Ijazah (KPLI) in Institut Perguruan Temenggong Ibrahim. We met because we played active parts in the Jawatankuasa Perwakilan Pelajar of the institute. We were also in the same class for the subject Ilmu Pendidikan so we always saw each other.
Earlier in the year I saw him as a big brother. He’s nine years older so that sense of respect was automatic. Furthermore, he was always looking out for me because I was the youngest of them all. Big brother and kid sister – nothing more.
However, around April I could sense that there was a different kind of chemistry between us. On the other hand, we only went out two months later. We became an item towards the end of July of the same year.
I brought him home to meet my parents the next month. My mum prepared OTT lunch; with fried pomphret perfectly laid on a bed of lettuce. I remember the first my mum said to me about him, “Hidung dia mancung”.
My dad was the champ. He purposely slurped the gravy from his plate! Picking it up and slurping with no shame. Haih.
I met his parents a few days after that. I went to meet them wearing a slim-fit blouse and tight jeans. My grandma gave me a good scolding for that. But I guess what mattered most was that I was being myself. Not some girl clad in some baju kurung.
We got engaged in November. Everything came fast for us. Maybe it was meant to be. I hate to think about my engagement day. My kebaya was too tight and my makeup was hideous!
Alhamdulillah, we were solemnized on the August 20th, 2005. At that time I was teaching in Melaka and he’s in Sabah. We lived as long-distance husband-and-wife for a year. I moved to Sabah a few days after our 1st anniversary. Kakak was about two months old then.
Living together for the first time proved to be such a challenge. It was too overwhelming to me especially. It was my first time as a “full-time” wife and I was a new mum. In addition to that, it was a whole new teaching experience for me because before moving to Sabah I taught in a matriculation college.
Living in a kampong also got to me. The house where I grew up in is situated next to a busy road. The quietness here almost killed me. But I’m used to it now =)
Marriage is bliss but it’s not a walk in the park. I thank God for a husband who is patient, helpful and a good father to my kids. I am also thankful to be married to someone who loves food as much as I do. I especially love it when he marvels (even) at the smell of my cooking.
We are different as much as we are alike. It is not easy to complement each other but we do give it our best. We pray that the state of happiness is where we will always be. InsyaAllah...
Here are some of the pictures of our wedding.
Some of the hantaran.
My wedding bed.
Khatam Quran the morning before solemnization.
The solemnization.
Both of us were so thin compared to how we are now =D
I love this picture so much!
The specially-ordered bunga manggar by Along and Fidah.
My bridesmaid, Fidah, and my orang kuat, Am.
With Akma, my BFF and her sis.
Ain - so pretty. Kalah pengantin!
My favourite wedding picture.
Cheekiness =)
A picture taken during our honeymoon in Pangkor. I love how it shows how alike our facial features are. 
1) Lose weight (up to 14 kg just to get to being overweight. Yes, I know it’s crazy)
2) Exercise more.
3) Stop stressing out about my job (so help me)
18.5 – 23 – Normal
23 – 27.5 – Overweight
More than 27.5 – Obese
Freeman plays Carter Chambers, a mechanic, and Nicholson plays eccentric billionaire Edward Cole. In Chambers’ freshman year, his philosophy professor suggested that his students compose a “bucket list”, a collection of all the things they wanted to do before they die (kick the bucket). The other day my FB status read: (My full name) is going to cook mee udang for today and she's going to cook it with THE special ingredient. Whenever she cooks with this special ingredient she always know that even without tasting the food it's going to be good. And no, it's not ajinomoto ;p
However corny it may sound, I must admit that the special ingredient is L.O.V.E. I once read a story in one of the Chicken Soups for the Soul books about a mother's secret ingredient stored away in a jar and kept away from all her children's reach. When this woman passed away, a daughter of hers finally had a peek in the jar. In the jar was a note, worn and looked like it had been passed down from one generation to another. The note said that everytime one cooks, one should cook with all his/her love. Only then the food taste good.
I truly believe in that story.
And I also believe in the theory of how positive energy and thoughts impact water and its molecular structure.
As a wife, I know that I'm definitely not a "trophy". But I want Mr. A to be proud to have a wife who can cook good food for him. One of the best things that he said to me was that even though he loves his mother home-cooked food, he eats mine with more selera (appetite). I was so happy to hear that. He loves my ketam masak lemak cili api, asam pedas ayam, ayam masak cili api (fried chicken with thick gravy based with oyster sauce and cili api) and sambal petai udang. On some weekends I would cook nasi lemak (i have yet to master this), nasi ayam, spaghetti, mee kari, mee rebus, mee bandung, mihun sup or (the latest) mee udang. Mr. A also has been pestering me to cook laksa and make traditional kueh which I don't think will happen so soon because they are too tedious for me.
As a mum, my only wish is that my children would say their favourite food is my home-cooked food!
I had to include some of my food pictures (taken by my beloved Mr. A) in this post. I have no intention of boasting. Err maybe just a need of some ego boost haha.
The ketam masak lemak cili api.
Ikan tiga rasa.
Ikan stim.
Nasi ayam.
Udang galah goreng kunyit.
Last weekend's mee udang.
PS: I'm a foodie married to another foodie =)
This has to be one of my favourite forwarded emails.
Recently, in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tanned woman appeared in the window of a gym.
It said: "THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?"
A middle aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.
"To Whom It May Concern:
Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans). They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins, stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Barren Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia. Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.
Mermaids don't exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex? Therefore they don't have kids either. Not to mention who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?
The choice is perfectly clear to me; I want to be a whale."
P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver and a good cup of coffee with my friends. With time we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, "Good gosh, look how smart I am!"
And looking at the size of my butt I guess I'm definitely one of the smartest! ;)
Currently there’s a fiesta in the town I live in. It’s a three days fiesta and today’s the last day. The fiesta is called Pesta Gata (an abbreviation of Gasing / Tamu Besar). This fiesta is held every two years in the sleepy town of Sipitang. It is a truly big event for the locals here. Most locals can’t afford going to KK for some leisure and entertainment activities so whenever Gata comes the whole town is buzzing with excitement. Everybody dresses their best and wouldn’t be left out of anything relating to the fiesta.
On the contrary, I have not the slightest interest in going to the festival due to the spreading of H1N1 virus locally. Last Tuesday the principal at my school announced that a student from our school had tested positive for the virus. The number increase to three students in the following days. Mr. A’s school was also inflicted. Four students of his school were positive of the virus. However, these four students were affected by the virus when they were in Melaka (some two weeks ago) for a national event and haven’t been allowed to attend school.
In my opinion the state should’ve have cancelled the fiesta. I think the risk of the H1N1 spreading wildly easily increases with all the close proximity. I heard rumors that the local Health Department had advised against the fiesta but were brushed off because Gata is one of the main events in the Sabah Tourism Calendar.
You would wonder why my school hasn’t closed down yet. I think there’s a politic to it. I mean why go on with the fiesta if a local school has been closed down because of the virus right? I am afraid for the week to come. Pray for us.
PS: Mr. A had to go there today because he somehow in charge of one of the events. Luckily he was provided with a mask and he wore it all the way through.
PSS: H1N1 has been declared as a Phase 5 of WHO pandemic alert. The pandemic alert has only six phases.
