Syawal is here again

I'm writing from my office PC, and it's 3 days before Syawal. I'm planning to take my leave only in the noon, a day before the Eid Mubarak.

It's hard to imagine we're still going to have a meeting this very morning. Things are very different here in HQ compared to my working life in the power plant. By this time, all the staff at the power plant would be busy chatting with each other, either inside one of our collegue's room or at the newspaper corner in Level 3 about how we were going to celebrate our Eid Mubarak. Here in HQ, life is a bit mundane and everybody is still into their work, which adds a little confusion, as to what it is that's causing them to still throw a meeting at this time.

Anyway, this year's celebration won't be as much fun as last year, due to the following reasons:

1. My cat comel died on the 19th November 2010. I miss him, still do.

2. My Aunt Zukiah passed away in March 2011.
She 's one of my aunts who are still single (1 have 3 aunties who are not married) and when I was small , my perfect life would be ..you guess right, SINGLE, UNATTACHED, INDEPENDENT just like they are. They set the bechmark for me to be single lady who is confident to make her own decision, without any strings attached.
Anyway, things have changed as i'm married now. Back to Aunty Zukiah, she's overly perfectionist. However meticulous anyone is, nothing can compare to her level of perfection. She managed to bring the perfectionist world to a different height. Like Bonia and Coach, or..or..Kate Spade and Salvatore Fereggamo...She'll be the Coach and Ferragamo while the rest of us would be the opposite.

Take this for example, whenever any of her siblings were having open houses during raya, she would be the one to take control on the arrangement of things/food/utensils.

She was always there to criticize and re-fix our table and food setting which i find a little bit irritating and annoying (no, in fact it's actually VERY irritating) and we were always telling mama that there is no point in arranging and setting the table as she would come and re-arrange everything in a split second. (which made my mom furious as the person we were talking about was HER sister).

She passed away due to stroke and it was actually a tragic end to her life as she fell from the bathroom, all alone for 2 days. She was in a semi-coma the day my mom and her siblings broke into her house after many failed attempts to contact her handphone and her failure to turn up at my grandma's house during those 2 days.

Now, during this coming raya, things would be very different without her. Gone are the days when she comes for our open house and re-arrange everything and instructed us to follow her way. Gone are the times when she drops by to pay a short visit to her grandchildren (my son and my siblings' children).

We miss you Aunty Zukiah. We will always miss you. You're one of a kind. Selamat Hari Raya Aunty Zukiah. May Allah SWT bless your soul and place you in the Paradise.

3. My grandmother passed away on the 12th July 2011.
My grandmother, hmm...there's a lot to speak about her. I'll make a special post for her rite after this as i'm due for this MEEEETINGGGG sharp at 10.00 am

I finally received my bonus for 2010 (at last) and after setting aside more than half of it, I’ve decided to splurge on a new pair of good running shoes. Influenced by the advert in SELF Magazine, I bought myself a second pair of Reebok toning shoes, but this time, it’s focusing on the running aspect.

The shoes is quiet costly, RM 399 but thanks to the Christmas Sale, there was a 20% discount which reduced the price to RM 319.00

I was intrigued for a pair of these shoes after months of reading this enticing Reebok advert promising a more toned calves, hips and butt for its wearer. I finally have to agree with my hubby that my butt has been giving its fair share of ‘saggingness’ (if there is even such a word).

My first reaction when I tried these shoes was how comfortable it is. It’s light and very airy and it has a bouncy effect during walking and running which I found different from other types of running shoes that I had. The color is not to my liking (green and silver, whoever thought of that!!) but it’s not something I can’t live with.

I've tried running with these shoes in the gym and after 15 minutes, i felt soreness and tightness especially on my hips area. I can't relate whether it's the shoe that’s causing me to feel this way or is it because I haven't been running for more than 1 week.

So, on whether it fits the purpose as promised by Reebok, let’s just wait for another 1-2 months while I try it out and re-measure myself.

Status of my personal achievement

Dear blog

Remember my previous entre on my resolution? Which goes something like this:-

Resolution Number 1: To write a about my late brother inside this very own blog of mine- the fun we had together till the day he left us for good.
Resolution Number 2: To enter sprint category Triathlon for at least once in mylife time.
Resolution Number 3: To learn how to play piano (and of course, minus the "professional" word)
Resolution Number 4: To paint a drawing and hang it in my house (aha, my very own masterpiece , picasso in the making).
Resolution Number 5: To be a voulenteer (forget the spelling) in WWF by saving the endangered species (men excluding!!)

Here's the status update:

Resolution Number 1
Status: i'm yet to compile the list of my late brother's photos which i plan to turn them into a short video clip. My target to complete will be this August 2010.

Resolution Number 2:
Status: Err, guess i have to put on hold firt this target since hubby is kindda sceptical of me swimming in the open sea. For the time being, my focus would be completing the 10k run - at least 3 run for year 2010.

Resolution Number 3:
Status: Yeay!Guess what, i'm now offically declared Ms. Mozart in the making..har!har!Took up the courage to register myself in the piano class (The guitar shop) near my house. Currently, i'm in gred 1 and i'm using the Alfred book for adults to learn piano. Bought a second hand upright piano at RM 6k and has been practicing the piano at least 30 mnts during my free time. it's never easy to learn a new languange and it's the same with paino. I'm struggling to read the 'taugeh notes' most of the times but since i've made a promise to myself not to write the notes under the bar line, i guess I have to find extra time to revise the note reading from time to time. Currently, I'm learning to play Minuetto in C based from the ABRSM 2003 Gred 1 book. The good thing is, I'm not registring for any Gred 1 exam which means, STRESS FREE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT for me. I set a target to be able to play Beyonce's Hello by end of 2010. Go figure!

Here's myself playing the song from the alfred book.

Resolution Number 4:
Status: Since my last attempt to draw, i've produce 2 of my very own masterpiece. Currently, i've to put a stop to this to give way to my piano lessons. Anyway, here's two of my very own drawing, one hanged in my bedroom, another inside my bathroom.

Resolution Number 5:
Status: I've regsitered myself with WWF and made a contribution of RM380 per year to support the program. Nevertheless, I still want to challenge myself to participate in their endangered species program which i plan to do with my family by this August 2010.

All in all, out of 5 resolutions, 2 have started with progress, and 3 has yet to be achieved. I might be revieweing my resolutions especially on the triathlon case as my fitness level sucks big time this time.

My mom's Puding Raja recipe

Ever feeling wanting to eat desert served for the malay royalty? Here's a recipe from my mom, known as Puding Raja. My mom first made this when i was a small kid and i just couldn't have enough of it. It has been years since i last tasted this mouth watering dish and while i was busy surfing the web, she presented me with this recipe, and requested me to give it a try.

Puding Raja

Bahan Bahan:

• 5-10 biji pisang lemak pahang/pisang nipah/pisang lemak manis (don't ask me the difference)
• 5 atau lebih buah prun
• 5 biji atau lebih ceri merah
• 5 biji ceri hijau
• 5 biji atau lebih kacang gajus
• 1genggam kismis (your option)

Bahan untuk kuah

• 1 liter susu cair
• 2 sudu besar susu pekat
• 1 sudu kecil tepung jagung
• 1 biji telur dipukul
• 125 ml air

Cara menyediakan:

1. Kupas kulit pisang dan goreng dengan minyak di atas api sederhana panas sampai warna bertukar kuning tua.
2. Bahan-bahan untuk membuat kuah dicampurkan dan digaul hingga sebati.
3. Masukkan ke dalam periuk dan masak sehingga mendidih
4. Kacau sehingga kuah menjadi pekat
5. Biarkan kuah tersebut sejuk sebelum dituangkan ke atas pisang. Hidangkan.

Viola1and the dish is ready.

What blood type RU?

Admist the hectic working life and the non stop preparation for AKP 2009 assessment, a colleague of mine took the initiative (God, my english words revolve around initiatives, strategies, empowerment..blah!blah!blah!) to email us on the blood type and its relationship to our personalities. I'm a 'B+' and it's crazy to see the list of things related to your blood type. Let me just share here the details of it:

JENIS DARAH : B

Main Character Thinker; Task Oriented
Motto : Let do it the right /perfect way!!
Strength
1. IQ tinggi
2. Biasa golongan bijak pandai datang dari group darah B
3. Suka berfikir
4. Soft spoken
5. Fikir tentang sensitivity orang
6. Sesuai bidang R&D
7. Biasa excellence dalam pelajaran
8. Tempat kerja selalunya bersih
Weaknesses

1. Kalau jadi leader, orang biasanya tak boleh ikut cara dia
2. A bit pendendam
3. Moody
4. Agak pendiam
5. Kurang sesuai jadi leader
Ketahanan terhadap penyakit
Nampak semua bakteria (samada baik/buruk) adalah sebagai buruk dan dikeluarkan dari tubuh
Jenis penyakit yang biasa menyerang

Kronik ’fatigue syndrome’ / cepat lupa bila usia dah meningkat kerana terlalu banyak berfikir
Makanan sesuai
Balance diet (sesuai semua jenis makanan kecuali seafood bercengkerang)
Makanan tidak sesuai
Seafood bercengkerang seperti udang, ketam etc

Question is, how far does the above relates to me? so, here's the lists which I think is relevant to me:-

Main Character: - Yep, i'm a task oriented person. I keep every detials of my daily activities inside a diary.Don't be suprise to know i even jot down my food intake..yeah, freakkk....I'm NOT.

Strength:
IQ tinggi - har!har!well, kindda average..or i would've been the best student in the U
Thinker : Yep, at times..depending on topics that interest me...
Tempat kerja selalu bersih- Hell noooo...you'll be suprised to see my office desk..it's a total mess

In general, not all details described there are true but it'sfun to know the blood running inside your body have their own characterics to it too.

My very own master piece

As promised in the previous entree of mine, I've at last fulfilled one of my previous year's goals , to have a piece of my mind, my very own masterpiece. I found this one shop which i've already forgotten the name (I became a member on my first visit). It's located at the new wing of OU. After getting my bonus for this year, i dragged hubby and my sister to this shop. The items are set at reasonable price and the sales person for the day was very open to answer all our questions. Before i realised, we went straight for our shopping spree and trust me, this was even better than shopping for clothes. Check out our purchase:

i) 5 canvas board (1 for me, 1 for my sis, 3 for the kids)
ii) 2 boxes of acylaric colors (12 colors in 1 box)
iii)paiting brush (we got them at cheaper price in the hardware shop in OU)
iv) Glossy paint (for glossy finishing)

So our quest to be the next picasso begun in the late sunday afternoon at my parent's house in Seremban. All of us sat at the patio, each holding the painting brush and started to sketch our thoughts. To play safe, i chose the abstract concept coz there is NO WAY you can go wrong with this concept. One black line can be considered an art, i convinced my sister. Kak long and abg li were to no denial blessed with very fine hands so it came to no suprise when they produced impressive arts.

Nuff said, I think i will continue with this new hobby of mine. After all, the colors are still wet inside the tubes.


My next attempt is to sketch this and to place it next to my bedroom door.Guess the price of this, RM 120? ekkk!wrong..it's RM1,200.00


I present my very first acrylic canvas drawing

BTW,I know! I know! it looks a little bit like the carpet sold at IKEA coz IT IS indeed the duplicate pattern of the carpet..minus the colors. Okeylah, for my first trial.


1 box of 12 acrylic tubes cost me around RM76.

Firas' very first canvas drawing, not bad for a 5 year old little kiddo


This canvas board cost me RM14.90. Cheap, yeah,indeed. compared to the paintings sold at IKEA

My son's next project, "Beware of the killer shark' a piece of his mind.

out of ideas

I very seldom write in here since facebook makes its debut but that doesn't mean i totaly neglects this blog of mine. Firas is already asleep and hubby is away at the badminton court, trying his best to shrink his belly. I'm kindda sleepy but well, surfing the internet for a short while won't do any harm to my body, will it?

Comel the old cat is sleeping next to my keyboard and I'm sure he's glad that mommy is spending some time with him today. Gosh, why is it so difficult to express my thoughts lately? Everything is cluttered inside my mind, and I MEAN EVERYthing but I just don't know where to start.

Actually, I'm on my journey to seek for the IUI treatment, and basically, the treatment is going to start tomorrow.har!har! I'll have to go for shots (4 times every alternate days) and the insemination process is going to start somewhere on the 29th this month. I hope i can bare the needles and NO!I'm not going to do it on my own. I'll get a doctor (from the clinic nearby to do this for me).

I'm praying hard everything's gonna be okey and I'm still wondering, "what the hell are you doing girl?" I've spent much time thinking about this and decided that maybe, maybe this mite help me in getting pregnant for the second time..

So,i guess the next update will be in december 08...Hopefully, by that time, there'll be more interesting things to share.

And yes, I knoew, takde kena mengena gambar si aristotle with this article. But gee.. what the heck.