Nick Nacks With Noris

Chicken Pox - Day 6

2010-11-13T11:56:00.005+08:00

Alhamdullilah.. When Naufal woke up this morning, he is looking so much more relaxed. As the day goes on, he shows signs that he is definitely back to his old self again. The temperature is gone and he is no longer itching. However, it is still only the 6th day. Hence, there's no way he is ready to mingle just yet. So that also means that mummy is stuck indoor for another day. Infact, I think the whole weekend!!

So how are we keeping ourselves occupied? Again, the coloring books and endless Thomas the tank engine DVDs..
Naufal is really enjoying drawing and coloring. I'm quite impressed that he can color within the lines, will have to buy more coloring books soon. He seems quite content with his drawing pad and some felt tip pens..

Though I really have to keep an eye on him for fear that he would start drawing on our cream-colored leather couch!!

Will need to start applying Vitamin E gel/creams to his skin so that he doesn't have any scars from this chicken pox.

No Pain No Gain..

2010-11-12T16:31:00.006+08:00

I just ran 5.4km and burned 141 calories in 20 minutes... and man, am I exhausted!!! Oh I am so not ready for a marathon..

Every Tuesday and Thursdays I make it a plan to join the aerobic classes that are being organized in our office gym. It used to be sponsored by the company which came out from the "Healthy Lifestyle" budget. But since the new organization was created, there were not budget to cover this activity any longer, hence a bunch of the regulars decided to chip in to pay for it ourselves. The instructor also helped by lowering his rates, so we continued to exercise twice a week... and it was paying off. Alot of people noticed the slimmer me, and I am so happy that I could fit into my old clothes again.

Then came ramadhan and the muslims stopped going, my absence continued through the whole of Syawal and even the month after that... My old eating habits are starting to appear and I fear that soon I will loose this waist-line.. I'll go again next week, I promise (that is, if I don't have to go to site)..

Before when Norman worked nearby, we would go jogging at the KLCC park after work. That was so much fun.. but now that he moved to another office, I couldn't find another consistent running partner, so I just quit..

Last month, I had an idea to buy my husband a birthday present... one that I hope I will also benefit from as much as he does.. so I bought him a Reebok Crosstrainer.

I guess we all have our excuses for the lack of exercise. Long working hours, lots of travelling, too busy with dealing with family, can't resist good food etc... I hope that having a machine at home will help us get a little exercise on a regular basis. Even if it means a 15 minit workout, it does make a difference.. The guy who sold it to me reminded me before we left the store that the important thing is not just to own a machine, but to make sure it is used. Need to be consistent and motivated.. I hope my husband and I will continue to motivate each other to use this machine. No pain no gain!! Hopefully we could start the day with some exercise before getting ready for work.. a little effort, goes a long way :)

Even little Naufal is getting excited.. he thinks it's a toy!! I have to make sure he won't get hurt.. So both Norman and I have a target.. hopefully the transformation will be obvious, insyaAllah..

MEGAMIND.. and a boy's beautiful mind...

2010-11-11T19:38:00.004+08:00

It has been afew months since we last went to the movies, so last weekend (before the whole chicken pox series bagan), we decided to go out to the movies. It was the long weekend and my sister came home from Kerteh, and for once our whole family is around. Megamind is playing at the Cathay Cineplex at the Curve, for once we wanted to see the 3D version.

I must say even the adults were excited.. We had no idea what the movie is about but it was the only cartoon playing..

Here's Naufal and his aunts after the movie!!

I must say, watching in 3D is so much fun.. The movie? well it was great!!! Highly recommended, even Naufal liked it. He was laughing all the time, even when no body else was laughing he was laughing out loud, which subsequently made us laugh at him..

I think he got giddy from all the sugar on the popcorn.. in the last 30 minits he started taking his 3D glasses off, and playing about with it. Overall, I think he behaved well.. he's really enjoying these rare treats to the movies. This is his second one after Toy Story 3, I was reluctant to take him before that for fear that he would be restless in the theatre and start bawling his eyes out and stuff.. infact, to be honest Norman and I have not been to the movies much since he was born..

Afterwards we strolled along the street market that connects the Cineplex with The Curve. Once inside we stopped by a couple of stores, then we stopped by at Borders.Naufal loves books, be it coloring books, story books, activity books, you name it...

And his favourites are surely the books about his favourite characters.. Lightning McQueen (Cars), Thomas and His Friends and anything to do with either trains and cars...

Look at him concentrating on the pictures.. He can recognize letters and its phonics already, both in Roman alphabet and arabic letters. It's really remarkable how fast he learns, he's only just 3 years and 3 months. I think I only started recognizing the alphabet after 5 years old.. maybe I'm slow.

We bought two books for him.. that night he wouldn't stop making us read it to him repeatedly until he falls asleep...

Get well soon Naufal..

2010-11-11T18:22:00.007+08:00

Woke up this morning and immediately checked on Naufal.. Alhamdullilah, his rashes have gone down.. I hope this means that he is gradually getting better.. Last night his Aunty Fatin came for a visit, today his grandma and Aunty Nora is coming over to cheer him up.. they've both had chicken pox so I hope they are immune to the bug..

The redness have toned down, and he seems less itchy.

His face doesn't look so bad.. I just have to make sure that he doesn't start scratching. Good thing his nails are still short.

I noticed that the red spots also appears on his lips and inside his mouth like an ulcer. Fortunately he's not complaining of the pain, and I keep on lathering on the lotion from the clinic to stop him from feeling the itch.

It must be the chicken pox season, even people from different districts are getting it too. The doctor told us that sometimes even people who have had it could still catch the virus again if their immune system is not strong.. Chicken pox could last as long as two weeks in some cases.

We were adviced to get the anti-viral vaccination, the clinic we went didn't have any stock of the vaccine. I thought of going to the peaditrician but I didn't want to expose other kids to the virus.. so I haven't taken Naufal to get it.

When did you have your chicken pox?

My husband haven't had it yet.. which is why he is being extra careful. He's sleeping in a separate bedroom from me and Naufal for the time being. I don't want him to take the risk. Adult chicken pox could be quite bad..

I had my chicken pox when I was 8.. It was quite memorable cause my brother and younger sister also had it simultaneously, while our parents were both out in their pilgrimage!! So say it was "demam rindu".. maybe it is true, we have never been segregated for so long before that..

But it wasn't just that for me.. while my parents were away, my grandma and my dad's relatives came over to take care of us.. and instead of taking us to the clinic they gave us traditional medicine.. one of the cures for itchiness was to put mashed up leaves which was made into a paste with mixtures of some cold powder (bedak sejuk)... Unfortunately, I must've scratched one of the red spots, and it was bleeding. Somehow, it got infected and turned bigger and bigger..

It was so painful as it turned into a painful wound.. It was on my knee and it was so bad that I couldn't walk. My uncle took me to the clinic and the doctor cleaned my wounds.. soon I was ok.. or so we thought...

Weeks later my parents returned, and I guess I felt alright. But not long later, my parents realised that something was not right. I'm not exactly sure what it was, as I didn't realise that anything was or felt wrong. One day, after my father returned from the mosque he brought along one of his friends.. who happens to be our neighbour, and a doctor. He examined me there in the living room... and told dad to bring me to the clinic for a check-up..

The doctor referred me to the hospital, I remember thinking I was going to die.. I'm not sure if I was in pain, but I was just so scared. My urine is as black as coffee, it's contaminated with blood. My kidneys are not functioning, it is infected...

When we arrived in the hospital the next day, there were so many needles stuck in my arms. They took so many blood samples. During lunch my mum told me to eat green vegetables, and other things that could generate blood. I never liked greenies, but I remember eating them that day. So much as if my life depended on it.. Nonetheless, it was not enough.. At the end of the day I was still admitted.

I stayed in the children's ward for almost a month, a bed by the window overlooking the city. It was so strange, I felt so lonely... especially at night. My siblings were not allowed to visit me and I missed them terribly.

Even when I was discharged, I had to bring back my urine sample. We had frequent visits to the hospital to follow-up on my recovery. My veins on my arms and back hand looked like a drug addicts'.. there were marks from the needles where the nurses took my blood samples, not to mention the bruises.

Thankfully, it's all history now. It's over 20 years ago, I'm fortunate that my kidneys have recovered. I'm grateful for modern medicine, grateful for my parents' love and care. Alhamdullilah.. I'm grateful for every day that I am still alive.. Allah is all mighty..

Life is full of surprises…

2010-11-10T20:50:00.002+08:00

Naufal is sleeping on the living room carpet and Grey's Anatomy is playing on the TV. It's the episode where Meredith dies, reruns from the season before the one where Lizzie had cancer, and Danny is already dead. Funny thing about TV series is the main character's is never really dead. The show is, after all, about Grey's anatomy.. So if Meredith Grey is dead then that would mean the rest of the show is out the window.. So despite what we would think the ending is, the show pulls a "one-eighty" and Meredith lives another day. And that's what keeps us glued to the screens, these unlikely twists of the plot.. but how are we suppose to know, when things suddenly turns to it's lows, that life (as we know it) would always turn out alright at the end?

The answer is you don't. Nobody gets to read the plots and scripts of their lives before they start the act. You only get to know about it after it is done, after a chapter is lived…

And before that, all we have is hope.. the wishes and prayers. All we can do is plan.

Like how every weekend I plan to fix the curtain that is 3" too long. It is sitting on the red love-seat on the upstairs living room for the past month.. Every weekend I am always too occupied with other plans that I never really got to it. Never would I have imagined that today, on a week day, would I actually finish the sewing that I started a while ago.

There were so many things planned this week.. all the documents to review, the pre-production meeting, the site visits and the pre-commissioning audits.. and I am the lead for this package, my next big "baby" and I have made so many plans of things to do for this week. The site team is being created, CV's flying about, people to interview, and the offshore crew from the last campaign is gearing up to start on this onshore fabrication scope..

On the other hand, Naufal's first sports day will be this Sunday. We just received his sport's day outfit on Monday. Yellow always looks good on him…

Monday was also his last day in school, atleast for this week..

When I got home on Monday night, Naufal was already at my mum's place. His body was warm as he greeted me. As if he is starting to get down with a fever.. he was already coughing that morning, but that's normal when he wakes up. His throat is always a little dried. He had his dinner earlier than us, mum always feeds him while she waits for the rest of us to return from work. This is cause he is always so hungry after playschool, despite the 4 o'clock tea time snacks that the teachers gave him.. Nora was complaining about how he has so many mosquito bites on his arms, and I looked while Naufal starts scratching away. Again, I start talking about how we should put insect repellent in his school bag to give a hint to the teachers that there's mosquitos in the bungalow. It is worrying, especially at this time of the year when it rains in the evenings… but it hasn't been raining in Kelana Jaya, right?

So I had dinner with the others, Naufal was occupied with his toys and the Thomas cartoons that's being played on the TV. It seems just like any other night, until I took him in the bedroom to change his nappy. I wanted to change him into his pajamas, and so I took his shirt off and there it was.. his whole body is filled with spots, the same mosquito-like bites that were on his arms.. then I searched his body for more, his back, his face, his neck, and his upper legs… it's not rashes, it's CHICKEN POX!!

I just can't believe it, just last week our department's secretary's daughter had chicken pox, our prime minister just had chicken pox and now my son has chicken pox!!! I'm positive that the three of them have not been in close contact in the last 7 days, so how…??? I rushed him to our regular clinic to see the GP.. he took one look and confirmed my suspicions.. As I drove home, I realize… I'm gonna have to be home for the next couple of days. Naufal was already scratching in the car, I had to apply chamomile lotion at once.

He just couldn't stop scratching... even his palm was itchy, so we put a plaster on it to stop him from scratching it.

We called his school the next day, and indeed there was another child who just had chicken pox the week earlier. I'm guessing this kid is not completely done with the virus when he/she returned back to the playschool and now my son is the next victim. Honestly, some parents are so inconsiderate!!

So as it turns out, we will be missing out some of the events that are planned this week. It just shows, we can only plan and pray and hope for the best. But life has its own plot in store. Secret twists that we couldn't have predicted. Just have to adjust and move on..

I hope Naufal will get back to his old self again soon. InsyaAllah no complications... Amin.

Riang Ria Berhari Raya..

2010-09-18T00:56:00.006+08:00

First and foremost I want to wish all the muslims in this whole world Eid Mubarak!! Ramadan has surely breezed in a thousand blessings, and has left us with a month of celebration in Syawal :) and what a great month it has started out to be!

I hope everyone is enjoying it as much as I am over here.. to me this year, Syawal has brought the family closer to each other. We have just returned from a long, and I would also like to add last minute planned, trip "balik kampung", starting from Subang to Kelana Jaya (my parents' place) to Batu Pahat (my hubby's mother's hometown) to Mersing (my dad's hometown) to Kuala Terengganu (my hubby's father's hometown)... all in all we have travelled 1400++km... We travelled both day and night, until I lost track of what day it is!! But it was worth it, getting to see the family again.

For me this is the 4th raya that I am spending with hubby. The first time we celebrated Eid together was right after confinement, and we took our little bundle of joy for the first time back to KT after spending a few hours with my parents on the morning of the first day of Syawal. Back then, I was so anxious of how I would be accepted in the family. It was the first time I would be sleeping over at his granny's, and there was so many people I still need to know. There's so many things that was running in my mind, will they like me? what if I say something wrong? .. and so for most of our time there, my dear husband was always by my side, or atleast in the same room as me. The only time I would let him leave me (and little baby) alone is if I was already asleep. Back then, Naufal was very dependent on me too, and that made me feel like I need my hubby's assistance even more...

The 2nd Eid we celebrated, I was still wary of my actions. I'm still in doubt whether I'm part of the crowd yet, and at times I am not sure whether everyone I met remembers who I am... But it was fun getting to meet not only his side of the family but also his friends too. At this time one of his friends whom I met earlier in Dublin, on my visit from the States, was getting engaged.

The 3rd Eid was much more relaxed, I am much more comfortable with people and Naufal is starting to mingle with the other kids.

This time around, as you can imagine, I am more of myself. Naufal is no longer interested with hanging around with me cause he has other kids to play with. I don't mind Norman leaving me with others anymore. I'm open for discussions and talks, I can say NO if I feel like it, and I really feel like a member of the clan :) Finally, we're on the same wavelength, hooray!!

To all my friends out there, SELAMAT HARI RAYA, MAAF ZAHIR & BATIN

THE GRAND OLD LADY

2010-08-13T09:59:00.002+08:00

Other than the start of Ramadhan, the Malaysian Independence month (yes, the flags have already been hung at home, probably the first house in the neighbourhood who has the flags up), there is another memorable celebration for us in the upstream EP (exploration and production) business in the red-yellow pecten oil & gas company. For us lot in KL, the celebration is not as grand as in Miri, where the history all began..

I myself started my career in this business in Miri before transferring to KL to venture in the high profile deepwater project, which is the first for Malaysia for this company. So I understand the truth when people say that “in Miri, almost everyone living there is either working for Shell or related to someone working in Shell”.. Some of my friends from Miri are 3rd generation Shell staff whereby their parents and their grandparents used to work for this company. This is not a norm anywhere else in the country, so it is quite unique. Coincidentally even in my immediate family we have 3 members working for this multinational company, there’s colleagues who joke that perhaps one day my son will also be working for this business.

If anyone out there is wondering how Malaysia started to venture into oil and gas, well here’s a little history (that I have extracted from the PC Sign-On screen…)
It was exactly a century ago, on August 10, 1910, that a group of curious local inhabitants of Miri in Sarawak gathered on top of the hill overlooking the small fishing village. Back then, Miri consisted of 20 scattered houses and a few shops.

The villagers were watching a small party of Shell employees and thirty local labourers undertake the slow and laborious task of drilling by the old cable tool method, first used in AD 421 by the Chinese to extract salt. While the occasion was cause for great interest, none of the onlookers could have realised what tremendous consequences the event would have for Sarawak.

Four months later oil was struck at a depth of 136 metres and brought into production. The wooden derrick, erected at 79m above sea level, began to produce an initial 83 barrels a day. The well was Miri Well No. 1 – which came to be called the “Grand Old Lady” - on top of Canada Hill. The company was the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company, forerunner of Sarawak Shell Berhad and part of the Shell Group of Companies formed in 1907.

As the birthplace of the nation’s petroleum industry, Miri would be transformed by the landmark event into one of Sarawak’s most developed towns post-independence. In the course of the last 100 years of upstream business, Shell has recorded remarkable achievements in the development of oil and gas resources in Malaysia. Contributing capital, advanced technology and skilled human resource to the country, these achievements are milestones that the company continues to be proud of today.

Today, Shell operates as upstream contractors to Petronas after the national oil company was established to look after the nation's hydrocarbon resources in 1974. Since the signing of the first production sharing contracts in 1976, Shell has continued to achieve firsts in Sarawak, among them the development of E11, the country’s first gas field in 1982. The company also started Shell MDS, the world’s first commercial gas-to-liquids plant of its kind in Bintulu in 1993.

The 100-year journey would not have been possible without the support of the community it operates in. In giving back to society, Shell has implemented a diverse range of events, projects and programmes - commencing with the construction of the Miri-Lutong road and the Miri hospital in the early part of the 20th century - which evolved into today’s corporate social responsibility initiatives in human capital development, educational excellence, sustainable development and road safety awareness. Flagship programmes include the Shell Scholarship Awards, Project Link (a coded welder training programme), the Shell Traffic Games, Nature Education Camps and the Shell Kenyalang Press Awards. Through its signature “We Care We Share” programme, the company funds staff volunteerism for community projects in areas of large operations such as Miri and Bintulu.

As Shell celebrates the centenary of the “Grand Old Lady” and its first hundred years of upstream operations in Malaysia, it looks forward to the next 100 years of powering progress together with its partners and the community, confident that its second century will be just as memorable, exciting and successful.

Getting into the spirit of things

2010-08-11T10:26:00.002+08:00

Look at this cheeky little face.. can’t decide whether I want to cut his hair or leave it long and curly…

naufal's toys are always scattered all over the house, in the car and also at his grannies'.. when I was looking in my handbag today I found his Thomas train in there too. So I put it on my desk, and even my boss was interested with the toy. I guess boys will always be boys!!

Anyway, as of hearing the announcement on TV yesterday, it is official that today we will begin the fasting month. Time has changed many things, and now Naufal is big enough to play by himself. So Norman and I decided to pray solat sunat Tarawih together at home. Last year my sisters would look after him if I go to the mosque to pray but now that we are living in different house we need to manage the changes.

When it comes to food, I have to prepare the cooking myself again. So I cooked a little bit more for dinner last night and when it is time for sahur I just heated up what was earlier prepared. Tonight I am planning to make bubur kacang hijau for dessert, but I still can’t decide what will be the main dish.. will have to look at recipes online to see what is interesting.

Was planning to get to work earlier so that I can get a full 8 hours and still leave early, but I still ended up leaving the doors at 7am. Have to try getting ready faster tomorrow and beat that traffic. Another change that I plan to make is to wear baju kurung everyday throughout this month… haha.. the pants and slacks will get a rest in the wardrobe for a while. I still remember when the world cup started and me and Norman both went to work wearing our football jerseys, then when we arrive at work we realised that we were the only ones in each of our offices who was wearing a jersey. Talk about getting into the spirit of things.. good thing it was casual Friday..

Selamat Beribadat di bulan Ramadhan

2010-08-10T14:14:00.002+08:00

“Barangsiapa Yang Berpuasa Ramadhan Kerana Keimanan Dan Mengarapkan Rahmat Allah, Maka Diampunkan Dosa-dosanya Yang Terdahulu” – Hadith Riwayat Bukhari

Rasulullah SAW bersabda bermaksud:
"Sesungguhnya di dalam Syurga terdapat satu pintu yang dinamakan pintu 'al-Rayyan' yang hanya dimasuki oleh orang-orang yang berpuasa. Ditanyakan (oleh pintu tersebut): 'Di manakah orang-orang yang berpuasa?' Maka mereka pun masuk dari pintu tersebut. Setelah semua orang yang berpuasa memasukinya, pintu itu pun ditutup dan tak akan ada lagi yang masuk melaluinya." (HR. Muslim, dari Sahl Ibn Sa'd).

Antara persiapan yang perlu dilakukan menjelang Ramadan ialah :

IMAN:
1. Bertaubat dengan taubat yang bersungguh-sungguh.

2. Berazam meninggalkan segala maksiat.

3. Sentiasa berdoa “Allahumma Ballighna Ramadhan”.

4. Perbanyakkan puasa di bulan Syaaban.

5. Membaca Al-Qur’an (meletakkan matlamat satu juz sehari misalnya).

6. Mujahadah untuk bangun malam (beberapa kali seminggu).

7. Berzikir setiap masa.

8. Membaca Al-Ma’thurat pagi dan petang.

ILMU:
1. Mempelajari hukum-hukum dan perkara-perkara yang bersangkutan dengan ibadah puasa, agar ibadah puasa itu dapat dijalankan dengan betul dan diterima oleh Allah SWT.

2. Membaca buku-buku penyucian jiwa.

3. Mendengar ceramah-ceramah tentang Ramadhan.

4. Mengulangkaji surah-surah yang telah dihafal, sebagai persediaan solat samada sebagai imam atau makmum di bulan Ramadhan.

DAKWAH:
1. Bersedia untuk memberi tazkirah/ ceramah tentang kelebihan bulan Ramadhan.

2. Meluangkan masa menghadiri majlis ilmu di masjid-masjid samada sebagai penceramah atau pendengar.

3. Mengingatkan orang lain tentang kepentingan membuat persediaan untuk Ramadhan.

4. Menyediakan risalah/ majalah kecil untuk orang ramai tentang persediaan menyambut Ramadhan.

KEAZAMAN:
1. Membuka amalan baru yang jauh lebih baik.

2. Menjadikan hari-hari dalam bulan ini, lebih baik dari hari-hari biasa.

3. Sentiasa memakmurkan rumah Allah, pada setiap solat fardhu dan iktikaf.

4. Membersihkan puasa dari perkara yang merosakkannya.

5. Sentiasa berlapang dada.

6. Menghadirkan niat untuk amal soleh di bulan puasa.

JIHAD:
1. Merealisasikan matlamat “bersungguh-sungguh melawan nafsu”.

2. Menahan diri dari berlebihan dalam perkara harus (pakaian, tidur).

3. Menjaga lidah dari berkata keji, mengumpat, dan mencaci.

4. Menahan syahwat dari perkara yang haram.

5. Membuat semakan amalan di bulan Ramadhan tentang segala yang dibincangkan di atas.

“Allahumma Ballighna Ramadhan” merupakan doa dan harapan, menunjukkan betapa hamba-hamba yang soleh mengidam dan tamakkan limpahan Allah (Rahmat, Keampunan, Pelepasan dari Neraka) dalam bulan ini. Para ulamak dan solihin terdahulu bersiap menunggu kedatangan Ramadhan bagi tujuan mengharapkan keampunan Allah pada sepanjang Ramadhan. Oleh itu, kita hendaklah menghargai bulan Ramadhan yang bakal tiba beberapa hari lagi ini dan tidak mensia-siakannya dengan membiarkannya berlalu tanpa dimanfaatkan. Semoga Ramadhan tahun ini lebih bermakna dari Ramadhan yang sebelumnya...

Oleh itu, dengan persediaan ini kita sematkan azam masing-masing untuk mencantikkan dan sempurnakan amalan fardu yang wajib dan membanyakkan amalan sunat pada Ramadan. Ramadhan Mubarak!

For the love of it…

2010-08-09T11:38:00.000+08:00

Through my recent chats on FB and tea breaks with my buddies, a lot of people have been asking when will I update my blog… there is so many things roaming in my mind but just haven’t had the time to actually put it down on paper.. This is just a warm up entry..

In particular I want to write about my preparations for this Ramadhan (the first one for me and Norman in our own house, before I have been pampered by my mother’s cookings but this one will be slightly different), our recent holidays (both are early birthday celebrations for Naufal’s 3rd birthday to Universal Studio Singapore, and my dad’s big 60th in Kuantan, in lieu of the fasting month), my virtual encounter with a delusional housewife (you won’t believe this one when you read it).

Work itself has been rather busy, there are many packages that I am dealing with that will be starting production/fabrication soon, and we are also busy loading out pipes and components from one yard into another. Being focal point for interfaces between different parties, it takes a lot of my attention to coordinate things. But in the grand scheme of things, these are the things that I do enjoy about my work. It is having to deal with different types of people and giving technical input in order to make sure that compliance to standards and safety regulations are always adhered to.. Other than that we are also reviewing and approving a lot of documents for start of production of some of the components. With all that, I have managed to excuse myself from going on another offshore trip.. hehe.. Naufal will be happy.

Family-wise, everything is very much normal.. I can’t believe the speed of Naufal’s developments, he learns so fast… and soon he will be turning 3!! I am beginning to understand what people say about “troublesome three”.. he always wants things done his way, he want to eat only his favourite food, he wants to wear only his favourite shirts and shorts, he wants to watch only his shows.. he also seems to be taking over mine and his aunt’s iPhone, playing games and looking at Thomas videos on youtube.. haha.. the funny thing is that he always asks to go to GIANT because he thinks that we can buy Thomas toys in the supermarket (he probably thinks that giant is ToysRUs)… Naufal is constantly asking for a sibling, Norman and I are again excited at the thought.. we’ve started talking about baby names again.. hehe.. wish us luck :)

Love, Life and the World Cup....

2010-07-11T03:23:00.008+08:00

OMG!!! I can't believe that it has been so long since I blog. It's kinda weird because at the back of my mind I draft what I plan to blog, but with all the things that has been happening the last few weeks, I just didn't get a chance to actually jot it all down on this blog.

Not wanting to summarize all the exciting moments of my recent life, I'm just gonna talk about what comes to mind naturally at this time.

Well, right now I am actually staying up to watch the World Cup!! It's Uruguay vs. Germany and it is the half time break with the score being 1-1... Oh what a nail-biting game. It's early Sunday morning and I still have the whole day to rest and relax before the finals tomorrow (I'm not sure how I'm gonna survive 8+ hours of work on Monday!!).. Part of the reason that prevents me from blogging this last month is the World Cup itself.. I would be at my mum's for dinner and we would stay there until the game is over. By midnight we would start heading home to rest for the night, and obviously there's nothing else you would want to do as you arrive home other than sleep.. hehe.. My neighbours, who we met at a gathering one of the weekends, actually asked us if we are still living in this house, cause they don't see us at all. The porch lights are only on after midnight, and by morning they have left before we are out of the house.

This is definitely the song of the moment.

Naufal is having fun too. He loves singing the chorus of this Wakka Wakka song :) Not only that, whenever he sees anyone wearing a jersey, he would ask to change into his. Not just the jersey, but he wants to wear the full kit.. shorts and even shoes. Luckily he had a couple of sets to change into, but we had to buy him a new pair of sports shoes cause he doesn't fit into his old Nikes'.One day he woke up and insisted that he change into his football jersey for school. He even had his WC ball with him.
Even on our morning jogs on the weekend, he wanted to wear his football jersey. Btw, for all you ManU fans out there, you can get the kid's football kit (jersey, shorts and socks) for as low as GBP14.99 (50% off) from the official website right now!! So if you know someone living or visiting the UK right now, get them to get your son one.. hehe.. I'm thinking of getting Naufal the away (black and blue) kit.

Anyway, I have recently fulfilled another one of my three new year's resolution recently... Yes, you guessed it right, the new car is here!!! I ordered it on the first weekend after I return from the last offshore campaign in April and because I wanted a white one, I had to wait 2 months to it's arrival..

At first I wanted to get a CRV to which Norman was trying to convince me otherwise. After checking it out, I was not quite satisfied. Norman shifted my attention to the Accord, and after a test drive I was convinced. The funny thing is, the CRV and the Accord costs the same, but you get so much more comfort with the Accord.

Next, we hesitated on whether we want to pay so much for the number plate.. We had to do a little bit of homework to figure out how much we are willing to spend and where we would find a good deal. We ended up tendering for a number in Penang. It was just the number that we really cared for, the latest one with a KL registration number was on the brink of a 5 figure digit (money-wise) and any other state could go down by almost 50% less. I guess we were lucky, we checked to see if there are older numbers not registered, and there was one in Penang which we immediately took at less than 10% of the latest KL plate number.

When we found out that our car has arrived, we started surveying for accessories. We found out the store that the dealer would send new cars to install the free paddle lock, and went there to check out other accessories. We met a guy who was installing something to his new car. Norman was intrigued at the limited edition Honda Civic Type R..

Interesting interiors.. note the push start button in red under the driver's side aircon..
Norman wishing that it's his car!! Manufacturing stops in August 2010, so you still have time to own this limited edition baby...
Look it matches my handbag...

We got our car, the week after this.. and man, we were excited!!

First stop at the Honda dealer, to submit the car registration.
Then off to the tint store, we choose WINGARD Royale.
Next to the accesorries store to install our number plate, we paid extra to upgrade the plate.
Paddle locks installed for added security..

As a plus we also installed front and rear camera to assist in parking. (don't wanna scratch the car)...

With our car dealer, Ms Zizi.. at this point we are minutes away from walking away with our new car, Mr. Nakamura :)
om

What's cooking tonight?

2010-05-18T16:38:00.006+08:00

When it comes to cooking I am so not the right person to talk to.. but tonight I am planning to try out a new simple recipe, so I shall share the recipe for now and the next post will have a picture of the end product.. (if it turns out right!! haha)

Recipe : Spaghetti Aglio Olio

1 portion of spaghetti – Cook according to instruction

Meanwhile… stir fry a few cloves of chopped garlic and 2 stalks of dried chillies with generous amount of olive oil. You can either break the chillies into flakes or leave it in huge chunks if you don’t fancy chewing into them.

Do not let the garlic brown. Add in the cooked spaghetti and flavour with salt, black pepper and herbs (optional).

If you have chicken stock, then the taste will be better. Otherwise, just use Maggi chicken cubes.

You can also add in portobello mushrooms and yellow capsicum plus parmesan cheese in the cooking process. Depending on what's in the fridge.. Don't forget shrimps and squid for seafood style or chicken strips for a little protein. The spaghetti will be a little moist but not soupy.

Let's see how well this recipe turns out tonight. I told you it is an easy recipe right? Give it a try..

THOMAS CUP

2010-05-13T10:25:00.004+08:00

Wow.. it has been so long since I last updated this blog. Everyday I have (at the back of my mind) plans to update it and ideas of what I wanted to write about, but lately 24 hours in a day is just not enough for me to do all the things in my TO-DO list. Regardless my recent busy schedule I've decided to update it today.. atleast with what I'm thinking at this moment.

You cannot be in Malaysia right now and not talk about BADMINTON... Why badminton? Well, the Thomas Cup is what's going on...

Even Naufal is excited about it, it seems to him that everyone is also excited about "THOMAS" as he is.. everytime he heard the word "thomas" mentioned on the radio and TV news/game commentator, he would turn to me excitedly and said "dia kata thomas, ibu?"...

Naufal's idea of the THOMAS CUP

It was very satisfying watching the Thomas Cup quarter final match between Malaysia and Denmark last night. After an unexpected beatings with Japan the night before it is such a refreshing match to see the Malaysian team suddenly raising from defeat..

Malaysia beats Denmark 3-2
Lee Chong Wei (MAS) bt Peter Hoeg Gade (DEN) 21-17, 21-17
Jan Ø Jørgensen (DEN) bt Wong Choong Han (MAS) 22-20, 16-21, 21-18
Mohd Hafiz Hashim (MAS) bt Joachim Persson (DEN) 21-12, 21-10
Koo Kean Keat/Tan Boon Heong (MAS) bt Carsten Mogensen/Mathias Boe (DEN) 21-17, 21-19
Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen (DEN) bt Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif/Hoon Thien How (MAS) 24-26, 21-12, 21-19

Good Luck with the next match with China!!

May Day.. May Day...

2010-04-30T00:18:00.005+08:00

Yes, May is approaching fast.. make sure you do your income tax declarations before time runs out. I just did mine yesterday at 5am, on my way out of the house to the airport for my regular day trip to Kuantan.. I'm quite surprised that my "cukai terlebih bayar" is almost equivalent to one month's basic salary!! Can't wait to get the cheque from LHDN. It would feel like getting a bonus :) I'm thinking of buying a new DSLR camera if I get it.. My dream camera is the NIKON D90.. I had a chance to play around with it while I was offshore a few weeks ago.. and I fell in love with it instantly... (I promise I'll do an entry on my offshore trip sometime soon)..

With 1st of May being the famous Labor Day, and a Saturday, my company has given us all Friday off (tomorrow) in lieu of the the public holiday on Saturday. Hooray!!!

HOMEDEC expo started today at the KL Convention Center but this year gonna give it a miss cause I've been going to too many home expos for the past 2 years. Instead I'm gonna stay home and paint our fence and gate.. Norman started it already on our side fence, but have stopped for some time (enough time to allow our next door neighbour to start and finish off all their fence and gate).. I hope the weather will be good tomorrow..

So the plan is to wake up and send Naufal to his playschool, jog afew rounds at the Kelana Jaya park, then come back home to paint the gate, stop by at mum's house for lunch, go to IKEA (buy a table for Naufal cause he loves drawing and coloring nowadays), to SSF (to buy flowers and other indoor decorations), stop by at the car dealer to drop of some documents and then pick up Naufal from playschool...

Big plans for a fine Friday, let's see how much will be accomplished... hahah

Quarantine No More..

2010-04-25T19:39:00.006+08:00

What a great feeling :) Naufal is now back to his old cheeky ways and we are no longer under quarantine!! Just in time for a double birthday celebration :)

Other than Nora's birthday on the 20th, we also have another April baby in the family. My other sister Husna's birthday is on the 23rd. She drove all the way from Kerteh to enjoy the weekend with us.

So on Saturday we all drove to Equatorial Hotel in Bangi for some dim sum at the Golden Phoenix restaurant..
Norman and Naufal wearing a matching father and son Manchester United football jersey. Naufal is wearing the full kit, socks and all..

Norman, me, Aisyah and my mum.. waiting patiently for our lunch.. (we skipped breakfast for this big meal..)

Naufal and Sofea reunited again.. these two cousins greatly misses each other as they haven't met each other in almost 2 weeks..

Look at how excited Naufal is...

I really like this picture, reminds me of Beckam and Posh Spice in a candid shot by the papparazis... hahha

This orange juice is sour mummy... My brother and his family..

My parents with the two birthday girls.. Husna on the left and Nora on the right.

Me and my family.. the triple N's..

The meal was quite good (sorry no pictures of the food, everyone was too hungry and dug in as soon as anything was placed on the table), and the price is not bad too.. Although I'm much more familiar with the dim sum at Mandarine Oriental, which I would rate higher than this place.

Welcoming a new addition the family..

2010-04-25T15:45:00.006+08:00

Early last month, my loving husband got a new job. However, the location of his new office has the worst parking system available. Not only is it difficult to get a parking spot, the charges to park your car is horrendously high. Traffic heading to and from his office is as bad as it gets, so he decided to ride a motorbike. He already has one that his brother is borrowing, so on the day before he starts his new job, his brother sent the bike back to him. It is an old bike from his single days and is prone to breakdowns.. so he decided to buy a new bike.

After much research, he decided on the model that he liked and he started to tender his number plate. The regular 2 digit number that he was aiming at is much much more expensive for a KL number plate in comparison to the Melaka registration number. He checked with his friends who are working with JPJ, and other states have also become expensive. So he decided to tender for he number below... the motorbike was just made available to us on Thursday. Naufal is also overjoyed at the new addition to our family. So I made sure that Norman gets a SIRIM approved toddler's helmet..
Just look at how excited he looks.. Me on the other hand is not a motorbike gal. Have limited experience on a bike (I think maybe 3 times only in my whole lifetime, if you ask me all bikes are the same), so I have no plans to get on a bike. Naufal's bike riding is also limited to the Subang Galaxy residential area only.Hold on tight.. keep your hands and feet in he vehicle at all time..
Bye ibu.. we'll be back in a jiffy :)

What is it with men and their machines? My husband refuses to let go of the old motorbike. Sentimental value he says.. what are we going to do with 2 motorbikes? Anybody want to rent a bike?? haha....

On the same day that Norman bought his scooter, I also bought a car. We'll talk more about that when the car is in our hands in June. For now, we are in the process of tendering for the number plate. My ideal 2 digit number costs more than 2 months graduate starting basic salary!! What a big NO-NO!!

I could get used to this

2010-04-21T11:41:00.005+08:00

As this week I am a stay at home mum, I wanted to do all the things that I haven't had the time to do on a weekend. One of it is to wake up early for no particular reason (usually if it is a weekend we would only wake up early if there is an early appointment). Today I wanted to make a special breakfast, and even top it off with dessert. Since yesterday was Aunty Nora's birthday, Naufal had mentioned cake a couple of times that he wanted to have some cake. Since we can't leave the house, the only way to get cake is bake it!!

So I woke up early to bake a cake.. all the ingredients are readily available, so it didn't take long to get started. My initial plan was to bake the cake for Norman to bring to work but as Norman is leaving early to beat the morning traffic and there's so way to speed up the baking process, I had to bring myself back to reality and keep some for dinner's dessert.

The oven haven't been used in along time. So I decided to bake two cakes, one of which I would send to my mother's house (via Mr. Norman)..

By the time Naufal woke up the cakes are ready and just cooling out of the oven on the cooling rack. He could smell the bakery-like smell arising from the kitchen.
He's overjoyed that he will be getting a breakfast dessert today. Lemon cake..
I pretended that it was HIS birthday and sang him a birthday song.. I guess he's expecting presents too..
No candles but he's still excited..
Nyum.. nyum.. let's eat ibu!!

Staying home with Naufal is much much more fun now that he's recovering.. After breakfast he would help me with the laundry (well most of what he folds need to be refolded), a quick shower then he would watch Play House Disney while I would sweep/vacuum the floor and prepare a little lunch for the both of us. After the meal and his medicine, I would read a book with him and he would fall asleep for his after lunch nap (maybe due to drowsiness from the cough syrup). This would give me some time to go online or clean up the rest of the house and prepare dinner.

It is really rewarding cause I would get hugs and kisses whenever he's feeling happy.. I could really get used to this :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NORA..

2010-04-20T22:50:00.009+08:00

Ever since I could remember, my sister Nora has always been there whenever I needed a helping hand.. when Naufal was born she was initially awkward at even the thought of handling a baby, but within a few days of welcoming the baby home, I could see that she warmed up to the idea of it and had since fell in love with the little angel. So whenever I needed someone to take care of Naufal, Nora would definitely jump to the chance and never look back..

As you can imagine, she has been a great help to me in many ways. So for this year's birthday present I decided to get her a new handbag from my favourite brand... COACH!!

One of my friends in Houston is absolutely in love with shopping, so she offers to buy COACH handbags from the outlet and retail stores. Whenever there is a sale, she would snap pictures and ask her friends if they are interested to buy. So I decided to buy this bag for Nora. Before choosing which design is desired, I ask Nora to choose between a couple of designs that I liked best.. but our tastes are very different and she didn't like any of them.. so she looked at the COACH website and choose bags that she liked, the choice in color is much more subtle than what I am used to, but I guess these are the things that make us all different.. so from there I knew what her tastes were. I asked my friend to check it out in Houston and luckily it was on SALE.. I just knew it was meant to be.. I quickly placed an order, and in about 10 days the handbag arrived in my hands..

And Voila!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NORA!!
May there be many more happy moments to live through together.

Sorry that we couldn't be there to celebrate your birthday as we are under quarantine, we'll see you this weekend instead. If you're wondering, your little nephew Naufal is getting better, he's definitely enjoying every minute with mummy, and to tell you the truth I'm really enjoying this "stay-at-home-mummy/wife" thing too. Very relaxing, and entertaining. Anyway, good thing your present is already at mama's place, so that you can have it to enjoy on your happy day today.

I'm so glad you love your new handbag :)

A bad POSITIVE..

2010-04-19T06:14:00.014+08:00

Wow.. I can't believe it , a month has gone by like a flash of lightning. So many things has happened, new experiences good and bad..

Let me give a quick summary of what has happened since my last entry. That same evening, when Naufal woke from his sleep, his temperature was still high and his breathing was irregular, so we took him to the same clinic that he went to the previous week. The doctor was not sure why his temperature went back up and why he was wheezing, so he referred Naufal to the hospital. We waited another 2 hours to see our regular peadritician at Sime Darby Medical Center, Subang Jaya (previously known as SJMC). By the time we met her, she checked Naufal thoroughly. he suspected lung infection, so she prescribed the nebulizer to loosen the phlegm, and warded Naufal for further tests.

Naufal looking extremely exhausted

It was a horrible feeling for us, not knowing what your only child is suffering from and seeing his small tired body wheezing away. After the nebulizer in the treatment room, Naufal started to feel hungry, which is a good sign cause he has lost his appetite for some time, so we fed him the buns that was packed.
We had to wait quite sometime for the doctor to come back to us to insert the tubes on Naufal's arms. We were then wheeled to the ward where we spent the next 3 nights.

Naufal was on the nebulizers every 3 hours, water dripped through the tubes directly into his blood streams for the next 2 days, X-rays were taken to check for fluid in his lungs, antibiotics were injected into him, and several other medicines were pumped into his system ..

Just look at his hands, both of them are taped to a board which restricts his movement so that he doesn't pull the needle from his left hand.
Tok is always around to keep Naufal cheerful. At night his aunts and uncles would also come over for a visit, often with toys, which really put a smile on his face. Thanks all..Two of Naufal's favourite nurses checking up on him periodically. He wouldn't let them leave him sometimes, so the nurses had to make an extended visit and Naufal would chat away.. charming them with his smiles.

After all the test results were out the doctor informed us that there was no lung infection, but he had Chronic Bronchitis. I googled it up (like you would at times like this) and here is what I found out about it. Chronic bronchitis is an ongoing inflammation of the airways in the lungs. The inflammation causes mucus to form in the lungs which makes it hard to get air in and out of the lungs. This can seriously affect your ability to breath and can give you a tight feeling in the chest. The main difference between bronchitis and chronic bronchitis is that chronic means it last a long time. Commonly affecting smokers, but in children it can be caused by dusts and other things. The common symptoms for chronic bronchitis are trouble breathing, tightness in the chest and coughing up mucus.

When I back to the office, everyone was asking about how my son was doing. Most were surprised when I mentioned chronic bronchitis but a few had their own share of tales to share. One had both of her daughters also suffering from it currently and another friend was a sufferer during her childhood. She mentioned that chronic bronchitis could lead to pneumonia, and she used to get attacks often as a child. In her teens, the symptoms just vanished and she no longer suffered from the illness.

Since then, Naufal has been the regular cheerful, healthy boy. Suddenly last Tuesday his school teacher called me at 5.30pm telling me that Naufal started to have fever at about 4.30 that day and they are asking me if I would allow them to start giving him medicine. As I was already 10 minits away from picking him up, I told him that I would take him home. He had some fever medicine left from his last visit to the hospital so I gave it to him and his fever seems to get better.. The next two days his temperature was still quite high and I sent him to his grandma's to recover while I am away at work. It seemed like a normal fever and coughing. But on Friday morning he started vomiting mucus while he was sleeping. So I decided to take him to the children's clinic.

It was already his 4th day sick and his temperature has rose to 39.1 degC. The coughing has paired with running nose. The doctor was going to start him on antibiotics, but at the same time he also wrote a referral note to the hospital emergency room to check for the influenza virus. I was already scared at the thought of it, but was sure that I needed to get Naufal checked just in case. So we headed to SDMC SJ again and met with the peaditrician. Naufal's high temperature and his coughing, plus his past medical record suggested possible lung infection. So again we were warded for further tests.

That same day, the nurses took a swab from Naufal's nose to test for influenza. The nurses told me that the results would be available within two hours. However after waiting more than 2 hours we still didn't get any results, so I asked the nurses to check and inform me what the outcome was. We were in great shocked to hear that the influenza A test results were POSITIVE!!!

We were moved to the quarantine room immediately and once everything was settled, I just cried and cried.. my thoughts were already at the worst case scenario.. I can't imagine life without my son. He is the apple of our eyes, our everything! Later the nurse came in and explained that although Naufal is influenza A positive, he isn't necessarily H1N1 positive. Norman calmed me down too, things might not be as bad as it sounds. We will get through this and Naufal will get better.. That night itself, Naufal's Tamiflu treatment started.

The next day, Naufal's temperature had gone down and he seems to be recovering but his cough is still quite bad. We were later told that he had a lung infection (pneumonia) based on his X-ray results. We continued praying for him..

All the weekend plans had to be cancelled, we are under quarantine during our stay in the hospital and also another week once we return. Please pray for our little boy :) insyaAllah he will be well..

Get well soon my baby..

2010-03-22T11:06:00.000+08:00

Last Friday afternoon, his kindergarten called to tell me that Naufal's temperature has increased to 38degC. Luckily it was WHPH and I was already on my way home early. However, knowing that Norman is closer I called him to pick up Naufal and take him to the clinic. It's just the common flu but since it is rare for Naufal to get sick, we really had to be careful.
He was getting better in Saturday and by Sunday he was back to being the regular Naufal.
Then comes Monday morning and he woke up complaining of a tummy ache at 5am. His whole body was boiling hot!! He wanted to go to the toilet so I decided to give him a shower to cool down. Later we gave him his antibiotics and tried to feed him breakfast but he was too sleepy. So we decided to take him to the children's clinic but it was still too early. While waiting we stopped over at Tok & Tokki's house. At first Naufal was sleeping in the car, but he soon woke up when he realized that he was at his granny's.
Once inside he had his favourite breakfast, hash brown and orange juice. Afterwards he willingly took the rest of his afrermeal medicine and was soon back to sleep. His temperature has gone down so we decided to let him sleep. Drugged and drowsy...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

How much would you pay for a number plate?

2010-03-19T11:43:00.002+08:00

For the new car that we are planning to purchase, I was planning to have a matching 2 digit number plate like my husband's car. However, I found out that for the 2 digit number on a Wilayah Persekutuan car plate, the number I want is about worth RM5000++... it didn't cost that much in other states... we'll have to check out Selangor next..

And guess what, a second hand special plate number is worth more than a newly registered number, particularly in KL... why???

Naufal's first bleeding nose

2010-03-17T15:46:00.002+08:00

At about 4 am this morning, Naufal was crying for milk. Due to my non-existence milk supply, I had to wake up to make a fresh batch of milk for him. However before I left the bedroom, I noticed that there were dark stains on Naufal’s face and top. As I turn on the lights, I realized that Naufal’s nose is bleeding. Blood smudges covered his nose and cheeks and his sleeves are covered in blood. This is the first time that this had happened.

I woke Norman up and showed him Naufal, who at the moment is still clueless of what had happened to him. His eyes were still shut, and he is still in sleeping mode. At first we thought that Naufal’s body was hot but when we touched his forehead his temperature is just ambient. Other than the bleeding nose, he is normal. I took a baby wipe and started to dab the blood away. Hoping that it would stop, but even after wiping the blood stains from his cheeks, the bleeding has not superceeded. Not knowing what to do we woke Naufal up and gave him a quick shower. At the same time Norman went to make fresh batch of milk and took out Naufal’s diapers and pajamas out from his bedroom wardrobe. Blood was dripping on the bedroom floor as we rushed to get Naufal to the toilet. The bleeding stopped while he was in the shower.

Later we got Naufal dressed, and within minutes he was slurping his warm milk and started snoozing again. While everyone was getting back to sleep I couldn’t resist but to read up on bleeding nose in toddlers. So I grabbed my iPhone and went online to read up on the topic. Off course, the site that came to mind is babycenter.com, which has been my main source of reference from pregnancy to birth and subsequently child care.

The first paragraph was very assuring as they stated that “Nosebleeds are very common and are rarely a cause for concern.” Here are more learnings from the site that could help both me and you if your child suddenly have a nose bleed.

Nose bleeds could be cause by colds, allergies, and sinus infections; low humidity; and trauma (like nose picking, a foreign object in the nose, or being hit in the nose).

As Naufal is not having a cold or anything like that, I am assuming that it is the low humidity in the room. As it is so hot nowadays, it is common to turn on the air conditioner here and there. I usually wake up and turn the air con off cause I don’t like it when it is too cold. The air is so dry when the air con is turned on for long periods, so much that you would get a dry mouth when you wake up in the morning, and it is noticeable that your skin feels tight and dry such that you need to apply lotions to moisten the skin.

Anyway here is the recommended way to stop a nose bleed:

Seat your baby in your lap and lean him forward slightly. Using a tissue or a clean, soft washcloth, gently pinch the soft part of his nose shut. Apply gentle, constant pressure for a full ten minutes. (Resist the temptation to peek earlier to see if the bleeding has stopped.)During this time, you might distract your baby by singing to him, looking at a book together, or watching a video (depending on his age).

After ten minutes, release the pressure and see if the bleeding has stopped. If it hasn't, pinch your baby's nose closed for another ten minutes. (If your baby seems distressed when you close his nostrils, you can try plugging just the side that's bleeding, if his nose is only bleeding from one side.) You can also apply a cold compress to the bridge of his nose. If that doesn't do the trick, give your baby's doctor a call.Two important tips:• Don't tilt your baby's head back or let him lie down. Either would allow the blood to run down his throat, which tastes bad and could make him vomit.• Don't pack his nose with cotton during or after a nosebleed. Bleeding can start right back up again when you remove the cotton and disrupt any clots that have formed.

How can I prevent nosebleeds?
If the air in your home is dry, use a humidifier in your baby's room at night. Discourage your baby from putting anything in his nose, and if he has a habit of putting his fingers in his nose, keep his fingernails trimmed so he's less likely to injure the lining of his nose.

Coffee Goal Zero

2010-03-16T14:18:00.001+08:00

It is with sadness and great lament that I announce the infringement of the “Coffee Goal Zero” campaign.

The incident took place just moments before midnight on 5th March 2010 in Kimanis Bay, Sabah when a meeting was held to discuss the “Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment” (also known as HIRA) of the beach pull operation for the shore approach of the oil export pipeline. The IP (injured person, name to remain discreet but off course since I am the only person participating you can only guess that it is me) relented to a cup of coffee which happens to be the only thing served on site.

Upon further analysis, it is concluded that the IP had no other source of hydration and the IP had to make a choice of coffee or temporary unconciousness due to extreme sleep-deprived condition. The IP made the right decision in order to maintain conciousness and shall be rewarded accordingly.

Unfortunately it is made known that since the incident, the IP is finding it hard to resist to coffee and has been succumbed to coffee temptations ever since. The IP shall report to “Coffee Addiction” sessions daily to once again resist coffee and subsequently continue to participate in the “Coffee Goal Zero” campaign.

Lessons learn: Avoid late night meetings!!!

Could it be true?

2010-03-15T14:48:00.005+08:00

I was at the Company preferred clinic this morning to do my offshore medical check up and I could swear that the measuring stick was incorrect. It seems that I have shrunk, I am no longer as tall as I thought I was.. which resulted in a higher BMI than I had anticipated.

So before I get my own measuring aparatus out I decided to google whether it is true that we actually get shorter as we age.. and I stumbled upon this article. Reading through it just made me realise that I should start taking care of my bones more seriously nowadays. I should start drinking high calcium drinks, otherwise I may shrink to Naufal's height.

Why Do You Get Shorter with Age?
Published August 13, 2009 by:Kristie Leong M.D.

Have you had your height measured recently? You may never have been supermodel tall, but if it's been a while, you may be surprised to find that you're a little shorter than you used to be. Don't blame it on the measuring stick. Chances are that height loss is real. What causes height loss with age and is there anything you can do about it?

Loss of height with age is a normal phenomenon that can rear its ugly head as early as age thirty. It affects both men and women, with women showing a slightly greater loss of height over the years than men. Getting shorter with age was initially thought to be due to shrinkage of the discs separating each vertebrae, but a study showed the actual cause is compression of the bony vertebrae themselves. How much height do most people lose? The majority of people sacrifice an average of 0.4 inches in height every ten years after the age of forty.

Unfortunately, there's little that can be done to control this type of age related height loss. A more serious reason for loss of height with age is osteoporosis. This is where the vertebrae actually break down due to bone loss. This can lead to bony deformities such as the hunched over appearance seen in older ladies as well as loss of height. Although osteoporosis is more commonly seen in women, it also affects men and some people believe this disease is under diagnosed in the male population.

How do you know whether you're experiencing normal height loss with age or osteoporosis? Osteoporosis can be a silent disease until the first fracture occurs. One way to identify a problem is to keep careful track of height. A height loss of two inches or more during adulthood is a warning sign of potential bone problems and should be followed up with a bone density study to check for osteoporosis. Height should be routinely checked at each doctor's visit and any changes noted from previous measurements. If there's a significant change or there are risk factors for osteoporosis, further evaluation may be needed.

Can hormone therapy such as use of estrogen in women prevent height loss with age? A study published in the journal Menopause showed that estrogen has little or no affect on prevention of age-related loss in height.

With the potential risks of hormone therapy becoming so apparent this is unlikely to be a safe solution for this problem anyway. The bottom line? Height loss with age is normal but too much loss in height is not. See your doctor regularly and make sure your height is checked at each visit and compared to the last measurement. Be sure to discuss with your doctor any risks for osteoporosis you may have including family history. Then, stand tall!

I feel like going for a bone density check, I think my calcium "malnutrition" is probably due to the 2+ years of breastfeeding Naufal. I guess I need to change my diet too. My calcium intake needs to be in the range of 1000mg per day.

Dairy foods are very high in calcium, see the values given in the following table.
Food Calcium, serving size, mg of Calcium per serving.

Dairy Products
Skim Milk, 1 cup, 301
Whole Milk, 1 cup, 290
Plain Low fat Yogurt, 1 cup, 415
Cow Milk Cottage Cheese (Paneer), 1 cup, 208
Baffalo Milk Cottage Cheese (Paneer), 1 cup, 480
Calcium in Beans & Grains
White beans, 3/4 cup, 120
Navy beans, 3/4 cup, 94
Black Turtle beans, 3/4 cup, 75
Chickpeas (Chhole), 3/4 cup, 58
Tofu, 150g, 350
Soy bean curd slab, 150g, 310
Cooked Soy bean, 1 cup, 130
Instant oats, 1 pkt, 165
Calcium in Nuts
Almonds roasted, 1/4 cup, 93
Almonds butter, 2 Tbsp, 88
Sesame seeds, 1/4 cup, 50
Calcium in Vegetables & Fruits
Cabbage/bok choy, 1/2 cup, 190
Turnip greens, 1/2 cup, 104
Broccoli, 1/2 cup, 33
Okra, 1/2 cup, 65
Orange, 1/2 cup, 52
Orange juice fortified with calcium, 1/2 cup, 165

Following is a list of foods that give you more than 300 mg of Calcium per 100 gm of that food.
Milk and milk products, Cereals and Grains, Vegetables (Green leafy vegetables are an excellent source of calcium), Spices and Fish

Just My Luck!!

2010-03-11T10:32:00.002+08:00

I just realized that the one and only training that I will be attending this year is the week after Raya in Miri!!

That means that I will have to return back to KL on the 4th of Syawal itself so that I could fly to Miri the very next day :(

My in-laws are not going to be happy..

Annoying new officemate.. (venting session)

2010-03-10T16:02:00.000+08:00

Recently there has been a slight re-org in my company. Like many companies that are trying to adjust to the recession, things change for the better in the interests of the company. We went through a transition exercise and subsequently there are changes to the organization globally. For my office, the change is quite minimal and although some things are different on paper everyone is still working on the same thing. Along with this change, some people are relocated and as a result we are seeing new faces on our floor.

On most occasions I am happy to greet a new officemate, but this one guy is starting to get on my nerve. Every time I am in the same elevator with him, usually as I am heading to breakfast or lunch, he would ask me when I am planning to treat (belanja) him. I mean literally EVERYTIME!!! Regardless of how many other people are in the elevator too.. I really don’t understand it, what makes you think I even want to have a meal with you?? You are obviously years a head of me, why should I be treating you to lunch!!??!! We’re NOT in the same team, we’re NOT even friends!!

As I was going to breakfast today, again he was in the elevator with me and another guy. He asked me if I would treat him, so I just said that I am broke (mid-month crisis). Then he started asking about what my husband does, where he works, what’s his name, bla bla bla… I don’t understand it, why are you interviewing me?? Off course, all my answers were a one liner, some were even one syllable indicating “I do not want to talk to you”. Despite claiming that I am broke, in order to escape from him I had to buy breakfast at San Fran (as I realized that he was going to the food court). I wish my husband is around to have breakfast with me again, like we used to when he worked nearby.

Later he came to my desk to continue his interrogation, as if I don’t look busy enough (I have a presentation to make before lunch which I am only made aware of 1.5 hours before). Leave me alone!!!

I think I need to wear a BIGGER ring!! But then again, he should know that I am already happily married. I have pictures of my happy family hanging on my workspace. BIG A4 size!! Hard to miss!!

"Make Room for the King" Sale

2010-03-02T00:23:00.006+08:00

Here is a picture of the sofa-bed that we are selling.. the color is dark brown though. Regular price RM1099 (at Macy), selling for RM399.
It was delivered to us 3 months ago, and has been staying in the downstairs guest room ever since.. Never been kissed.. hehe

Transportation not included (outside Subang Galaxy)

When it's hard to say NO (Part 2)

2010-03-01T14:37:00.003+08:00

Can you believe it.. MACY is holding a mattress SALE where you can get a mattress and matching bedframe for RM10 and they are giving away a 4D/3N hotel accomodation to a 4 star hotel in either Bali/Phuket!!

I sooooooo need a vacation..

The offer is further enhanced where in facebook, an announcement is made such that you can trade in your old mattress and get a RM500 further reduction on your purchases.

The problem is:

1) I just bought a spanking brand new bed and an 11-inch queen size mattress a few months ago..

2) Even the mattress in the spare bedroom is spanking new, and has only been used twice in the past 2 months by our overnight guests..

3) All the rooms in our house has a bed (and mattress) already, eventhough the room downstairs only has a sofa-bed...

(is that ALL really a problem?)

BUT Norman and I both agree that we NEED a King size bed.. so we're gonna get rid of something, anybody want to buy a sofa-bed? It has never been used before.. bidding starts at RM399 (bought at Macy and delivered to our house late December 2009, usual price RM1099) .. anyone?? I'll even throw in free delivery (limited to Subang Galaxy residents.. hahha)

-Posters curtosy of Macy

When it's hard to say NO

2010-02-28T00:25:00.000+08:00

Today we went to Babyland in SS2 to buy a potty for Naufal to start potty training.. Like every other time that we went before, Naufal would point at everything from clothing to books to toys in hope that we would agree to buy him something. This time he was screaming for a bike, but for the numbers that is shown on the price tag, I felt that we could get him something of a better quality if we added just a few extra pretty penny and bought it from a bike shop. So we coaxed him by promising that we would go to the bike store next.
Moments later we arrived at SS3 and entered a bike store (situated just outside taman bahagia LRT station).. Naufal was so excited and couldn't stop smiling

At first Naufal grabbed the closest bike to him. It happened to be a pink bike..

He decided to try a green one next..

Time to examine the cartoon characters and the squeaky bee honker..

I just can't decide which color I like best!

The White one looks cool too..

Ok you can have the bike.. Could you possibly smile any wider Naufal?

Let's try the red one first before we make the final decision.

Honestly I like the White one best!! Ok, let's do an inspection to see if it needs a service before we take it home.

The mechanic added more air to the tyres and tighten the bolts..

Naufal excitedly watch as the final touches on his bike..

Test drive.. Hehe

Naufal's next birthday present, bought 6 months in advanced will be stored at granny's place until it is time to bring it home.. I have a feeling that mummy will be buying more presents within these next 2 quarters leading to Naufal's 3rd birthday!!

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Naufal, cepat pakai kasut!!

2010-02-22T08:10:00.001+08:00

It is undeniably true, kids are creative creatures...

We were at my parents' house last weekend and Naufal was happily playing with his toys. He was pretending that the alphabet blocks are birthday candles. He stacked them up as high as he could and then he would sing "Happy Birthday" (arguably one of his favourite songs right now), and he would blow the blocks. Hoping that his blowing is strong enough to blow it all down. When he felt that he has blown long enough (but the blocks wouldn't bulge), he would push the blocks and clap cheerfully as if it was his powerful blowing which had crumbled the structure. He would repeat this a couple of times until he sees another toy, and his imagination starts playing again...

So when we told him to quickly put on his shoes so that we could go out to dinner, he grabbed the closes toy next to him and pretended that it was his shoes... hehe.. 5 steps later, the whole thing crumbled, and he ran screaming outside to get his real shoes..

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Talk to the guy in yellow

2010-02-22T07:48:00.000+08:00

Have you ever been to a store, then realise that your shirt is exactly the same shade as the staff uniform?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Current thoughts

2010-02-19T11:05:00.003+08:00

This week has been breezy, everything seems light and easy. For one, the traffic back and forth to work has been absolutely fantastic. My travelling time has been slashed down to half.
The office itself is so quiet and the email input has been kept low.

Not only is this week a 3 day week, Friday is also pay day and work hard play hard (WHPH) day. This means that we get to take the afternoon off to do whatever we want.. for me, it usually means shopping (Friday is usually the start of some sale in KLCC), or just going home and enjoy the free time. Today, Norman and I are planning to go to IKEA and Houz Depot. There's still some things to buy for the house, so I hope we would get most of what we need in time to pick up Naufal from kindergarten later today.

Other than HR screwing up my payslip (last month's and this month's), I am so looking forward to BONUS next month... I feel like going on a holiday, I mean a real holiday where I am a tourist!! I'm thinking of going to Hong Kong or the Gold Coast, I want to take Naufal to Hong Kong Disneyland or Warner Bros. Movie World in Australia. Will have to discuss with Mr. Husband first, must look at the schedule and all too.. Anybody been there before? What's your review?

HAPPY 30th MONTH BIRTHDAY, NAUFAL!!

2010-02-17T08:56:00.006+08:00

Last weekend my cousin came over to visit my mother’s house, her eldest daughter baked some cupcakes and shared it with us. When we arrived at my mum’s that evening, Naufal saw the cupcakes on the dining table. At first he didn’t want to try them. To lure him into trying them we lit a candle and stuck it on the cupcake. Everyone started singing Happy Birthday to him, and he would excitedly blow out the candle.. with a sweet smile on his face he would say “Again!”.. so we repeated it all over again.. after a while he picked up a spoon and happily ate his “birthday” cake.

This morning when I got to the office I realized that again it is the 17th.. which means that it is Naufal’s 30th month birthday!!!

So what can he do now?

Well, he can walk, run, jump, balances on one feet, dance and sing. Memorizes the alphabets, numbers and Arabic alphabets. Able to recite “doa makan” and some “zikir”s and simple “surahs from Al-Quran”.. He is able to brush his own teeth, with little assistance. With supervision he could take his own shower, washes and dries his own hand after meals. He can wear his own pants, in fact he sometimes puts his pants on over his pants (which makes him literally look like superman, hehe).. He’s still not potty trained, we haven’t really tried yet. I think when he starts sleeping in his own bed we’ll start. I hope his bed will be delivered this week.

The best thing about this age is that he wears his emotions on his sleeves, his kisses and hugs are so sincere. Unconditional LOVE. And your heart would just melt when he sings “I love you, you love me, we are one happy family, with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won’t you say you love me too…” Ahhh, I hope he will always be this cute!!

Some of the things he would say are really charming, unintentionally funny and most of the time surprising to me. He is obviously learning English at his kindergarten, once he was eating something and once it finishes he turns to me and said “Ibu, I want some more!” in his regular sing-a-song tone. The funny thing is that he picked up the local Malaysian “LAH” slang too.. whenever he’s correcting me he would use it. Like yesterday, when we arrived home from my mum’s at 10pm, I told him that the neighbour’s kids are already asleep. However, the neighbours are obviously entertaining guests and their door and gate was wide open. Upon hearing our car driving in, their kids ran out calling after Naufal. Naufal turned to me “Ibu, belum tido lagi LAH!!” hahah…
I noticed that he is also interested in music. Like on our last trip to Penang, he was strumming his uncle’s guitar and excitedly singing nursery rhymes. Perhaps we should get him exposed to musical instruments.

There are times when he can be challenging to manage too, he’s starting to make whining sounds. I know that it is not crying, and so I would always tell him to stop, cause I don’t want it to turn into a habit. I would always have to distract him so that his attention is shifted to something else.

I recently noticed that he begins to have fears. Last weekend, he was afraid of the CNY dragons. He used to like it, but this time he is afraid. He was also afraid of the moving animal toys that he has in his room. Again, he used to like it when he was younger. Perhaps this is all part of his emotional developments. I will have to explains to him that there’s nothing to be scared off.

Anyway.. HAPPY 30 MONTH BIRTHDAY NAUFAL!! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH...

For the love of books..

2010-02-15T19:26:00.005+08:00

Naufal just simply LOVES books.. eventhough he can't quite read by himself, he's already recognizing the letters of the alphabets. When we read together he would point out letters that he knows.. sometimes when we go on long distance trips the best thing to keep him in his seat is the good old jolly book..Sometimes he would read out loud, well make up what he thinks the storyline should be..

Often he would sing some song that associates to the things he would see on the page.. which is often the theme song of the cartoon.. or something that resembles that.. hehe
To encourage his love for books, I would occasionally buy him a new book once in a while, depending on what cartoon he likes at the time.

So when I saw a contest that would give us a chance to win a book, I just couldn't resists it..

The winner will be selected randomly (random.org) so the higher the number of entries you have, the better the chance of you winning.

To take part in this give-away, complete the following items:

For 1 entry
Follow this blog and/or become a fan of Huiwearn Kids Store on Facebook -

For 1 entry
Link us to your blog by adding littleredreadingnook.blogspot.com to your blog list

For 1 entry
Add Little Red Reading Nook's new blogshop banner (logo) to your blog sidebar

For 3 entries
Blog about this give-away. In your blog post, pls include the giveaway banner above and make sure you place a link back here.

Grand prize : Maisy's Home & Garden Pop-up & Play Book
Selling price at major bookstores RM79.90. This is the most expensive children's book in my blogshop - my selling price : RM58.00. Click on link above to read full description of this interesting book.

Best blog entry: Hello Kitty Mystery Gift Hamper sponsored by Huiwearn Kids Store

So what are you waiting for? Get those entries in QUICK!
Dateline : 3rd March 2010

It's that easy.. let's all give it a try !!

Nowadays, other than pop-up books, and books with musical buttons to press, Naufal is also enjoying write and wipe books.. I guess with this new development, I will have to hide the crayons when he is done.. otherwise the walls will be in jeopardy!!

It's so much fun, it's like a new adventure for him.. and everytime we are done reading together he would surely have a smile on his face :)

2010-02-12T15:37:00.000+08:00

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE weekends (who doesn’t?).. but I’m having jitters at every thought of this weekend. Getting nervous with every second that passes, as this will be the weekend that I have the in-laws over.

Not just the parents in-law and Mr. Husband’s siblings, but the whole extended family.. the aunts, the uncles, the cousins, with their kids (if any).. AND it will be the first time that I’m cooking for them!!

As they are coming for tea (which may extend to dinner), I’ve done my homework by hunting the internet for recipes and getting them QA/QC’d by my super-chef mother and sister. In fact, I am even contemplating on kidnapping my sister in these desperate times!!

Yesterday, on our way to the supermarket to buy the food for this weekend, my mother-in-law called. I think she knows that I am worried about the incoming of hungry relatives, and she was reassuring me that she will be there to help me “bersilat dalam dapur” when the need arises. Talking to my mum, she was adamant to make sure that I don’t resemble a COOKING DUMMY too.. I am so glad that I have the moral support.

Today, before my immediate in-laws arrive, I’m going over to my mum’s to prepare the Cucur Badak and jelly trifle. Will have to shove it all in the fridge when I get to my house until it is ready for consumption tomorrow. Tomorrow morning I plan to make chicken curry, which they can eat with Roti Pharatta for breakfast. I also plan to start cooking bubur kacang hijau (for tea later).

For lunch we will all be going to one of the cousin’s wedding (which is why the whole extended family is here).. and the family gathering at my house will be afterwards… tea and maybe dinner. If they stay for dinner I might just cook bihun, or order pizza!!!

Oh how I wish I know how to cook, and be confident that it will be delicious every time.

2 Cempaka

2010-02-12T00:06:00.004+08:00

As I was surfing around Facebook, looking at my own profile, I came across a class photo of when I was 8 years old :) I am overly joyed at this, because I have lost this photo.. I wonder if anyone has the other class photos of me when I was at SRK Sri Petaling.. (I was transferred to Armley Middle School when I was 10)...
Guess which is me? No... No... Yes, I'm on the front row, the 3rd from left. :)
Oh, how I wish could go back in time...

5 Things On My List

2010-02-10T11:03:00.004+08:00

I was tagged by Monina...

5 things I’m thankful at…
1. God for giving me a chance to live this wonderful life.
2. Having a great husband who understands me in and out
3. Great parents (and parent in-laws) who has been very supportive and loving
4. Contact Lense, my vision would be blurry without it (I have a childhood memory on this.. I hate wearing glasses)
5. The sunny weather in this blessed country – having spent most of my childhood and teenage years in seasonal countries where most of the year is freezing cold, I am really thankful for the warm weather, it gives me a happy pink glow :)

5 things I regretted about…
They say we shouldn’t have regrets in life…but I can’t help it to have a few, such as…
1. Not making an effort to learn how to cook from my mum. Now that I am a mum myself, I always have to refer to a recipe book before I start cooking, where as my younger sister is a SUPERCHEF..
2. I also regret never making the effort to learn to sew.. I love fabric (especially beautiful silk batiks from Terengganu), and I am willing to pay generously for them, but tailoring costs just as much as the material!!! I feel cheated!!!
3. Not keeping in touch with my primary school friends when we moved to UK. I really missed them, but being so far away I didn’t call or write (no email at the time). We finally got back in touch through friendster, but with each of us leading our own separate lives we have never met yet since 1990.
4. Not buying any CORELLE dinnerware and COACH handbags while I was living in US.
5. And my number 5 regret, is saying yes to that senior guy in college in my first year. I was getting over someone else, and am definitely not ready to get into another relationship. I knew he had high expectations, and I broke his heart and he hates me forever.. and I am sorry, really. I’m not a heartbreaker in real life.. (I must’ve been temporarily insane at the time)

5 Alive Celebrities I wanted to meet….
1. The whole Grey’s Anatomy cast (can that be count as one person?)
2. Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom
3. Suri Cruise (she’s so cute)
4. Jessica Alba
5. Beyonce Knowles

5 Places I wanted to go…
1. I want to go to Houston (or London), and spend 4+ years as an expat!! I have been daydreaming about this for so long…
2. Dubai.. or Egypt.. wait, I want to go on my umrah/haji first!!
3. South Africa (for the World Cup!!)
4. Outer space.. and I want to go for free like Dr. Syeikh Muszaphar Shukor.
5. And DisneyWorld!!! Just like Monina, I want to bring my family to DisneyWorld, spend the 4 days exploring each kingdoms like we did a few years ago!!

5 childhood memories
1. After our daily mengaji session at a nenek’s house on my street, this was when the Al-Ikhlas Mosque (also on my street) was being built, my sister and some of the other kids were collecting tadpoles at the playground next to the construction site. We just completely lost sense of time, and my mother must’ve been so worried. When we finally got home, she was so mad at us!!!
2. When I was in kindergarden, my teacher brought the whole class to the library and my friends and I was excitedly choosing our book. Before that we have booked our table and seats, but when we came back someone else was sitting there. So in frustration, I screamed for the other person to sit somewhere else.. As screaming in a library is forbidden, my teacher had sent me back to class alone. As I arrived, I sat there crying alone until I feel asleep.
3. Before pre-school, my sister and I would pretend that we are rock stars. So we would usually take turn standing on top of the double-decker bed (pretending that it was a stage), ad we would belt out any song that we could think of at the top of our lungs. I guess we did this quite often, if not everyday. Then a year later, I started going to kindergarden and my sister was left alone at home. Our concerts have stopped. Then one day, we were picking up the clean laundry from the hangers and our backstreet neighbour says that she really missed hearing our singing… We were really shy when we realised that someone else was able to hear us sing.
4. I used to remember how my friends and I was so head over heels over ‘New Kids On The Block’.. it was the first boy band that we loved!!
5. When I was in form 4, I discovered that I needed to wear glasses. So one day my dad bought me to the opticians and we bought a pair of glasses. They were huge, and I am sure it covered half of my face. So I only wore it when I am in my class, any other time I would take it off and clip it to the buttons of my baju kurung school uniform. One day, I went to the toilet and my glasses fell in the toilet hole (it was one of those squatting loos).. We had to get the janitor to fish it out. I wore contact lense ever since then….

5 people to continue the tag circle…
1. My ex-officemate, Antz
2. My officemate, Liz
3. My ex-classmate, Nang
4. My soon-to-be-a-bride friend, Shahida
5. Whoever readers who have time ok!

Devil in Disguise

2010-02-09T13:44:00.002+08:00

It is always a dilemma for working parents, when they have to spend time away from their children, particularly if one of the spouse has to be away (frequent trips out-station, or even short term assignments abroad).. Do you have an in-house maid or part time maid or send the kids to nursery? Some maybe of slight advantage where they could have their un-working sibling or parents to look after their children while they are out, but some are short of options and have to divulge to a maid.

Every time I read a news article or an email on how maids are abusing the kids and babies under their care, I had to cringe with anger at the irresponsible devil in disguise. Today I read in an article about a maid who was just recently hired (6 months ago) whose antics were caught on video by a hidden camera that was installed by her owner. The parent of the 2-year old child and an infant baby was curious about the sudden change in her children’s behavior, as they seemed hungry and constantly crying and seeking attention. It turns out that the maid was making the 2 year old do the cleaning in the house, repeatedly hitting both the children and worst of all, feeding the baby an empty bottle in an effort to stop him from crying and not feeding the other child. In fact, the little toddler is left high and dry as he begs food from the maid who eats in front of them. So what is the maid doing? It seems that her routine is to lie on the couch and watch TV.
From my personal experience, I have heard many, many other tales from my cousins and friends who are disappointed at their maids. Tales of their baby and toddlers left alone while the maid makes a run, tales of their maids who brings their boyfriends in the house, tales of maids who hit the kids, tales of maids who steals, tales of maids who doesn’t understand your orders, maids who keeps making long distance calls, and the list is endless..

Early last year, I almost succumb to the services of a live-in maid. I thought that I needed to have a made for my big move into the new house, and most importantly for the 44 days that my parents would be away while they are on their pilgrimage. Not wanting to pay a bomb, I took the recommendation of a friend who knows of a friend’s ex-maid who is helping her friends from the village to get jobs as maids in Malaysia. The fee was half of the regular maid-agency’s and it sounded like there would not be any fuss. So January 2009, although I was hesitant (I hate the thought of a stranger living with us) I paid the deposit (thinking that I would give maid-ing the benefit of the doubt and give it a try), but come September I was still maidless. There were excuses after excuses that I decided to cancel the whole thing and ask for my money back. It has been 13 months and I have still yet to receive all my money, this time the agent is unreachable… (she might be dead for all I care, may she rot in hell)

After multiple frustrations and disappointments, I am now actually glad that I cancelled. The truth is, I really CAN live without additional help. Never need a maid that never made it. My son is far better off in a playschool (he is learning so much and his confidence level has tremendously increased), and best of all, I am happy that I don’t have a stranger living in my house :)

NO COFFEE CAMPAIGN

2010-02-09T08:43:00.002+08:00

Other than the NO PLASTIC BAG DAY campaign, I am also setting up my own NO COFFEE campaign... I've hit a milestone today, it has been 7 days since my last cup of coffee :)
I have been surviving on MILO...

MILO and oat for breakfast, MILO after lunch, and MILO at tea time..

Soon I will change MILO to Soya.. and drink that for the next 9 months!!!

Going Green

2010-02-08T08:57:00.004+08:00

Selangor state government declared that Saturday is the NO PLASTIC BAG DAY effective January 1, 2010. Retailers and shopping centres throughout the state were urged to reduce the use of plastic bags.
At first I was one of the many shoppers were caught unaware of the new declaration. In fact, I was frustrated at the cashier at Giant who wanted to charge me 20 cent for a plastic bag when I have a full trolley full of goods on our regular trip to the groceries on Saturday. Not wanting to spend so much on disposable plastic bags, I decided to cart the trolley to the car park and unload the items into my car boot.

Later, I am constantly reminded that I should carry a plastic bag to do my groceries. Looks like I need to buy a bigger handbag that could fit all the other bags that I need to carry to buy my groceries.. hahha

However, being the forgetful little missy that I am, I completely forgot to bring our shopping bags last Saturday and was once again caught out at the cashier. This time I was buying baking utensils. So there I was with my mixing bowl, measuring cup, weighing balance, flour sifter, baking tray and a karipap mould (Naufal insisted that I buy, although I have never made my own karipap, but I guess now I have to make an effort to learn cause Naufal loves karipap).. and again the cashier would ask, do you want to buy a plastic bag? I said NO, and this time Naufal’s stroller became the next victim.

Back at home, Saturday once again became a historical day, as it was the first day that I finally installed the oven racks and started baking :) To mark the occasion, I invited my parents and siblings over for dinner, where I cooked IKEA's meatballs, with potato, carrots and maccaroni and cheese (Naufal's latest favourite) and a chocolate cake.

That night I was also informed that our neighbour is hosting a get-to-know the neighbours housewarming, so when my parents left at about 10pm.. my husband insisted that we walk over and say hi..

Anyway, when we again went out on Sunday, I made sure I had all our bags in the car in case we needed to go to the store to buy anything... and guess what, when we did go to the supermarket later that night, we were again bagless at the cashier counter because we drove in my car (and not my husband's car which had the grocery bags!!!)

Caffeine Addiction

2010-02-04T10:45:00.000+08:00

I hate it when I am so dependent on that morning cup of coffee. Without it everything seems unorganized.. and I would feel unmotivated… not myself… sometimes even headaches.

When I was a student, I used to be addicted to my daily dose of Coca-cola. Nowadays, the first thing that I would do while I wait for my laptop to start up is to head to the pantry and make myself a cup of coffee. On weekends, I am just not functioning without it. And it has to be NESCAFE!! Any other coffee just won’t do..
I need to get rid of this addiction, have to reduce caffeine intake for the planned P.. Any tips?

Langkawi Island

2010-01-30T23:14:00.007+08:00

The trip to Cameron Highlands was actually last weekend.. this week I took two days off my annual leave but manage to get 6 days off work, how? Well I took Wednesday and Thursday off, Friday is a public holiday (in lieu of Thaipusm on Saturday), Saturday and Sunday is an official weekend, and Monday is a public holiday (Federal Territory day).So what did we do? We went to Langkawi Island, and then stop by Penang to catch up with the in-laws.

The plan to go to Langkawi started off two weekends ago when I realised that the dinnerware set that we got for our wedding is non-microwavable (due to the gold rim decorations). During lunch on the regular week day, I went to KLCC and looked at Corelle dinnerware at Parkson and Isetan and found out that the standard price for a 16 piece set is RM699. After taking to my cousin who went to Langkawi last x-mas, she told me that the price in the duty-free island is almost 50% off. So I was convinced that going to Langkawi is economically feasible, to add to it all, my birthday was just around the corner, so the trip was furthermore justified.

So Norman and I discussed and since this was a last minute trip, we decided to drive to Kuala Kedah jetty, take a ferry and stay in Langkawi Island for two nights. We decided to stay at Bayview Hotel because it was he closest one to the jetty and right next to the shopping district.Naufal and Norman on the ferry. Notice that Naufal is carrying a first aid kit that he stores all his car toys.

The Executive Suite that we stayed in.. the offpeak weekday rate is only RM45 more than the Deluxe room.. but on the weekend the rate is almost double...
The connecting door from the bedroom to the living room..

In addition to this we also get to use the Executive Lounge where the hotel provides high tea everyday and also free internet. Everything in the minibar is also free.

Anyway, we spend the first day in Langkawi surveying the price of Corelle dinnerware and matching Corningware set. I wanted to buy Kobe design, but it was not available anywhere in he island.So instead we bought European herbs... this 20-piece set was selling at RM368 (KL 16-piece set is selling at RM699).

The 2nd day, which also happens to be my birthday, we started off the day with a trip to see the Eagle.It was a beautiful day for a holiday...Then we went to Makam Mahsuri... There's also a mini bird zoo at Makam Mahsuri with peacocks, eagles and many more. Later we went to visit Beras Terbakar and to Pantai Chenang.

Because Naufal loves fish, we decided to go to the Underwater World. Naufal is making friends with his peers..
So many types of fishes on display..There's also birds, turtles, sea-lions and penguins.. to name a few...

Afterwards we went back to the hotel for tea and snacks. Later Naufal and Norman went for a swim at the hotel's swimming pool. Naufal took an evening nap, and soon we were out again to go shopping for my Corelle and Corningware.
There was so many other things that I felt like buying but I was consciously worried about how we are going to carry it all back. Anyhow, no visit to Langkawi is complete without buying chocolates, so we squeezed in afew bags of chocolate before leaving the jetty.. Norman had to carry all 4 boxes of goods and our bags out of the ferry while I was carrying Naufal.
It was great to be away from the office and go on a holiday on your birthday. I will definitely visit Langkawi again soon (to buy more dish sets like Pyrex bowls and gamat oils).. perhaps next time we could plan a trip with Norman's parents and siblings, so that we could carry more things out of the island.. haha

Once we arrived back in Kuala Kedah, we drove to Penang to enjoy the weekend with our dearest in-laws :)

The Trip To Cameron Highlands

2010-01-30T21:11:00.005+08:00

After weeks after weeks (or shall I say months after months) of getting the house ready and preparing for our historical move, it was relaxing to be away from the city scene and go to the quiet hill side. So I am more than grateful for this trip to Cameron Highland.

Like many things in life, this is my FIRST visit there. People have commented on how sometimes it can be very cold, but for this particular visit, the weather was disappointingly not cold. The mornings are misty, but it was still a shorts and t-shirt weather. It was only mildly cold...

So anyway, my parents and my youngest sister went on Friday, but due to work demands, Norman, myself, Naufal and my other sister Nora left on Saturday morning. We drove for a few hours and then exited the highway at Simpang Pulai. As we started the climb up, the fuel indicator started to blink and at first we thought that it would be a quick drive to the highlands like Genting, so we decided to brave it out. But after 15 minutes we realised that it was just trees and the winding road and so I decided to call my mum to ask if she knew when we could next see a petrol station. She told me that there would be almost 2 hours drive to reach the top and no mini town with petrol station in between. The fuel indicator kept blinking and we are confident that we would be stranded in the jungle should we decide to continue with the inevitable. So we made a turn and drove down the hill with the air conditioner turned off and with a conscious mind only to stop on the brake and not the accelerator.

20 minutes later we arrived at the petrol station, we celebrated by turning on the air conditioner as we sigh wih relief :) Once we had out pit stop and filled up, we continued with the trip.

Finally we arrived at the Equatorial Hotel, and it was just in time for lunch (a late 2pm lunch, but lunch nonetheless).. we were definitely hungry but greatly satisfied that we have arrived..
Norman playing fussball with Nora and Naufal..

After lunch we decided to take an evening stroll and start sight seeing in Cameron Highlands.
Aisyah with the beautiful blooming flowers. There are so many roses everywhere, and I thought of bringing them home with me. But who am I kidding, the roses will not bloom in the typical SG weather...
There was a Saturday night market in Brinchang, so we bought flowers, cactus, and vegetables and STRAWBERRIES!! Strawberry tea, strawberry jams, dried strawberries and fresh strawberries :)
The next day, we went to the tea plantation, bought more vegetable and fruits from the Rose valley and made a stop at Cactus World.

There are so many beautiful cactus plants, of many sizes and colors..
Norman just fell in love with them..At the tea plantation, Cameron Valley.

Adjusting to family life.

2010-01-25T10:26:00.001+08:00

Since moving out of my parents house, it has been quite a little struggle trying to adjust living without the luxury of my parents and siblings. For the past few years, life has been so easy. There’s hardly any rush getting to work cause our son is looked after by his grandparents, and we can get back from work whenever we want. Dinner is instantly ready, and whenever it is my turn to clean up (or do the cooking on rare occasions), there’s always someone who can temporarily babysit Naufal :)

When my parents went away for 44 days for their holy pilgrimage, we had to start sending Naufal to the playschool. This meant waking up an extra 30 minutes earlier to pack Naufal’s bag, leaving the house an extra 15 minutes earlier to send him there. And then coming back from work, we had to leave the office at exactly 5pm, in order to pick him up before 6 so that we will not have to pay late penalty which will be imposed at $6/per 30 minits. Then either my sister of I will start cooking dinner (that is if we didn’t eat out) and then taking turns again to clean the kitchen.

Now we’ve moved one more step closer to being completely independent. Yes, we have officially moved in to Subang Galaxy. That is since the Majlis Bacaan Yassin and doa selamat on 17 January 2010, in conjunction with Naufal’s 29th month birthday (separate entry with pictures will be posted later). We attempted to live independently last week, but we ended up spending 2 out of 5 nights sleeping over at Kelana Jaya cause we were too tired to go back home (and truthfully still too comfortable with the easy life). Honest be told, we still had dinner over there everyday before coming home. This week we plan to change.

One things for sure, in order for me to get the official 8 hours of work and leave at 5pm, I will need to leave the house at 7am (the latest). And in order for that to happen (without me sacrificing my sleep), I will need to get Naufal’s school bag and my daily attire ready and ironed at least the night before. Coming back from work I will have to be disciplined enough to fetch Naufal at his kindergarden (yes, he has upgraded from his playschool to join the 3+ kindergarden), and go straight home to Subang Galaxy. Then start cooking while watching over Naufal and his daddy. As cooking is still not in my expertise, I hope Naufal and his daddy will not be too fussy to taste my experimental recipes.. haha

This week will be an easy start as we will only be at work for 2 days before spending the rest of the week in Langkawi (to celebrate my birthday) and Penang for the weekend (to visit the in-laws).

Going to Cameron Highlands

2010-01-22T16:42:00.002+08:00

Will be going to Cameron Highlands tomorrow :)
Everyone is in shock when I told them that I have NEVER set foot in Cameron Highlands.. It's like living in Leeds but never going to Yorkshire Dales, or living in Minneapolis and never setting foot in Mall of America or living in London but never visit the Eiffel Tower!! (you get the idea).. it's only a few hours drive and yet I have never made an effort to go there, simply because I know that I can always go there whenever I feel like it..

So this weekend, since my parents and sistas have planned to go there, I decided to tag along and bring the whole clan with me (Norman and Naufal that is).. can't wait to breathe the cool air, I'm really missing the cold Minnesotan winters (though I can guarantee that Cameron Highlands is nothing in comparison to the freezing cold northern American winter).

Moving in to SG (Part 3)

2010-01-18T08:55:00.010+08:00

After such a busy weekend, I am more than grateful for a MOVING DAY leave. So I decided to take Monday off to continue unpacking.

On Friday, after work, Norman, Naufal and I went to IKEA to buy toilet accessories, curtain railings and other tid bits. We took the full tour of the store without missing an aisle as we think about what we should buy and what could be put on-hold for now. The good thing is that IKEA was opened until 11pm on Friday, Saturday and Sundays.

On Saturday we had a full day of unpacking and cleaning, and also finalizing the arrangements for our Majlis Bacaan Yaasin and Doa Selamat. It was a sudden decision to hold this event, hence the late invitation notice. We only confirmed the catering 36 hours prior to the event. Luckily we have reliable connections that could help us out. After a tiring day of mopping, vacuuming and etc, we also had to go out to send the house maps to our relatives. After dinner we went to buy groceries. Once again we were at the store while they were closing down for the day. When we arrived home, I started cooking while Naufal is asleep.

On Sunday we rearranged the furniture to make room for the guests to pray. Outside the workers started to install the grass that Norman just bought that morning. The installation of the grass was completed an hour before the first guest arrived. Inside, we were still busy unloading the boxes and cleaning. That night the ceremony started with maghrib prayers, doa, solat hajat, yaasin recitation, tahlil and isyak prayers.

Naufal in his jubah, ready for the ceremony.

Me and Naufal reciting the verses for the tahlil.

Waiting for isyak prayers.

Distributing the yaasin booklets. Reciting the doa of well wishes for the family and the security of the house.

Faizal concentrating in his prayers.
Azwin and Farzaana reciting the Yaasin.

Guests chatting.

More talks as families catches up on latest happenings.

Naufal (with Alya in the background).

Alya just woke up from her evening slumber.

My three nieces eating dinner.

Friends enjoying the nasi kerabu

Faiz on a giraffe scooter??

Naufal

One of my aunts chatting away.

Sofea

Welcoming my sister in-law to the house.

Our living room with the LCD TV that just arrived that afternoon.

Afterwards, we all had dinner and we took ours guests for a mini tour of the house.

Master bedroom walk-in closet

The secret door unveiled.

Our bed, still need to buy side tables.

Naufal's blue room without his bed.

The green room for guests.

Upstairs living room, still need to install the plasma TV.

Most of the things we bought have been carefully selected and purchased over the past 3 years, through mega sales, warehouse sale, home dec expos and such. I pointed out the things that are great buys from the many sales and bargainings, like our walk-in closet lighting that was bought at 75% off (from $1500++ down to $300++) and a mirror with solid wood carvings (from $1000++ to $450). People were surprised when we told them, as they would’ve been willing to pay atleast double of what we paid for them. Full credit to Norman for his super ability to bargain, bargain and bargain.

The event ended quite late , Naufal was still running around with our neighbour’s kids and we had to tear him away. Soon he was well asleep and we started to clean up. We were completely exhausted, and yet so happy as we rested our heads on our new bed in our new house on our first ever overnight stay in Subang Galaxy. We have now officially moved in!! (The housewarming party is planned sometime in Feb)

Moving to SG (part 2)

2010-01-16T00:43:00.009+08:00

Yesterday we had the curtains installed at noon. We also decided to hire a lorry to move all the things that we could not move in a car (such as the bed that I used while working in Miri, the boxes that was shipped from there, the wardrobes that we bought, the bookshelf, mirrors, TV dining table and many2 more). We ordered a 2 tonne lorry, but luckily a 3 tonne lorry arrived to pick up our goods as they had a bigger job after ours. We filled the lorry to the max.

Everything was filling the house quickly, and it will be a big job unpacking in the next few days (or weeks or months).

The chairs were custom made to match the marble table which was being recycled from my parents house (in order to make room for a bigger table which would fit us and their grandkids).

Naufal's toys which we will unpack into his room in hope that he will start sleeping there.

After the curtains were installed, we decided to go to buy carpets. During the last HomeDec Expo I had put a deposit for Naufal's wallpaper, but we decided not to install the wallpaper anymore since we have bought lots of stickers for him. Luckily the store also sells carpets and floorings. So we bought carpets for both the upstairs and downstairs living room as we are also entitled to get an extra 30% off. We love discounts!!

Looking at the carpets and thinking whether we need to buy more now or later..

Norman cleaned the floor and started placing the carpet where it is planned to be. Pushing aside the coffee table, the floor is ready for a major slouching. All we need for the living room is our TV (will be delivered Sunday) and our BlueRay DVD player (not sure when it will be delivered).

On the way to work

2010-01-13T17:13:00.002+08:00

I almost killed someone this morning..

The little git was crossing the street while texting on his phone and with his headphones on..

What a bugger!! Are you trying to commit suicide or something???

Good thing my brakes are working in time. If it was a second too late, I might have had to spend the morning making police reports and such.

What a waste of my precious time...

To everyone out there " STAY FOCUS, DO NOT TEXT WHILE CROSSING THE STREET" - The unofficial 13th Life Saving Rules.

Moving to SG

2010-01-08T10:40:00.014+08:00

By the way, I hope it’s still not to late for me to say “Happy New Year”.. haha, yes I realize that I am a week late in wishing you all that, so perhaps I should say “Happy Belated New Year”. And what a great year it will be, there's so many plans for it I really hope that everything will go smoothly without glitches. Also wishing everyone the pinkest of health and continued prosperity for the year ahead.

I haven’t been online much the past two weeks, a huge chunk of my time has been at the new house which involves me as an “inspector” looking over the contractors while they install the lightings, fans, air cons, water heater, grill, kitchen cabinets and also the delivery of other electrical appliances that we have bought. While I’m there, I’m also starting to unpack the small things that we have and start cleaning whatever that I can clean (which is why I am now coughing). By the time I am home, either my laptop is occupied or the internet connection is bad.. which is probably for the best as I am too tired. Here's some preview pictures (by demand by my office peers) of our new house in Subang Galaxy.

Once the kitchen extension and all the plaster ceiling is done, the walls are painted and the next thing is to install the grill so that the downlights can be installed. We got a little bit disappointed at the lighting store who gave away our downlight (which we have made full payment in August) to other customer, resulting in 2/3 of the downlights missing when we requested it delivered to our house. They had to reorder the downlights but the delivery would be after the electricians we planned to be at our house. So after two stressful days of negotiating, we decided to ask for a refund and went out to buy new downlights. Luckily there was a lighting store nearby that had availabe stock of the selected downlights.

The door grill to our entrance. We're also planning to have built-in shoe racks at the side.

While waiting for the kitchen cabinets to be installed downstairs, I decided to start decorating Naufal's bedroom walls with this train sticker. At first we thought of putting wallpaper but we later decided that Naufal will soon out-grow the Disney characters. By using stickers we can easily change it later on.

Finally, the kitchen hood, hob and oven arrived. The kitchen is almost finished but the guys are still installing some counter lights.

The window grill is being installed.

The lightings at the entrance.

Our almost finished kitchen (notice tha the hob is still not installed yet). The breakfast bar at the front is actually mobile, so I can move it about to the center to create an island in the kitchen or move it to the other wall next to the tall cabinet and fridge if I need more space at the opposite end. It is quite stable, so I will need some strong & strappy young men to help me move it.

Last weekend my parents and sisters came over to have a look at the house and also helped to clean the house. Some people asked why we didn’t just pay someone else to do the cleaning? But the truth is our contractor has done a good job cleaning the house (including the mopping believe it or not), such that when they are finished with their job the house is ready for our move in. But off course we would only be satisfied if we re-clean the house again.

This week while I’m at work this week, Norman is taking over the "inspector" role while the wardrobe is being installed and the final touches of the painting are being done.

Our lawn, in dire need of grass. However, we just couldn't decide what type of grass to buy..

I can’t wait for everything to be ready, and we will finally be able to move in to Subang Galaxy :)
We already have our car stickers and the security "smart" tag which needs to be swiped at the security gate. It really makes us feel part of the community.

The Chandelier was finally installed on new years days itself. It took 6 hours for the guys to install it (from 10 am to 4pm)

Wardrobe in Naufal's room.

The fan-light for the dining hall. This is a new model which is not yet in the manufacturer's catalogue. Not many people have this model yet.. the price is also quite steep, but I definitely think it is worth it.

The view of the fan-light when the fan is off. The lights also have dimmers, which I really like. Suitable for those romantic dinners.

The built in window bench. This is where I will put the cushions we bought during the Macy warehouse sale.

Our secret wall, which has a hidden door that hides the entrance to the master bedroom's walk-in wardrobe and the toilet. Can you guess where the door is?

The downstairs living room furnitures. The seats are all leather reclining chairs, absolutely comfortable for regular couch potatoes like us.

We are still waiting for the delivery of our free 42" LCD TV (from the ID guys), need to buy carpets and the curtains will be ready for installation next week. The upstairs living room will be like a lounge with lots of bean bags and big cushions.

Once we finished packing, we will need to hire a lorry to move the boxes and the other big furnitures into this new house. Some people are surprised when I tell them that I alreay have alot of household goods. This is because I still have all the things from when I was moving from Miri packed in boxes from 3+ years ago. Everything from that 40-footer cargo. And to add to it, we have been buying things for the house slowly with the thought that we would be moving in early last year. Also, you'll be surprised to hear that we haven't even opened most of our wedding gifts yet. Only last week did we really know what people have actually bought for us. There's definitely going to be jumble sale soon, cause there are also items that we have accidentally bought in excess.

We plan to have our housewarming party soon, but we can't decide which weekend... it will definitely have to be after pay day (20th Jan) and in combination with my birthday celebration, but need to confirm whether it will be the weekend before or after, or in February all together!!

Free ice-cream

2009-12-23T16:11:00.004+08:00

My bos is feeling generous today, he just bought everyone a Cornetto ice-cream and has declared that the tomorrow is a half day :)

Woohoo!!!
Long live Sir JBW!!
(bos I ni pun berangan nak dapat gelaran Datuk dari Queen of England, he's British, in return he calls me Lady Nor.. haha)

Still in the office..

2009-12-22T17:14:00.000+08:00

Can't wait for the holidays.. Next week I plan to stay away from this place.. And I don't plan to check my emails

Gonna get ready for 2010!! New year for new things :)
- new house
- new car
- new baby (target D.O.B 10.10.10)

Wish us luck...

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Lunch with a stranger

2009-12-15T13:51:00.001+08:00

Miraculously my Tuesday morning meeting ended before 11 today (usually it would drag until almost 1pm).. So I went to the bank at lunch time today.. Yes you guessed it, to transfer RM3000 from Naufal’s savings account to his SSPN account so that I can claim my tax deduction next year… and by the time I am done, I was so hungry. But because I was alone, I didn’t feel like eating at the food court, so I called up my dear Norman to ask him to join me for lunch but he’s caught up with year end work-work-work that he couldn’t quite join me just yet.

So I decided to grab a quick lunch at Modesto’s asy Pizza.. the little stall just at the entrance of Cold Storage in KLCC (don’t know why but I kept thinking of a good slice of pizza since last night… cravings????) At first I was eating alone but then after afew bites a lady sat next to me, I saw that she was carrying her X-mas shopping presents so we started talking about kids. She was probably one of the expat’s wife, and after a while I realized that she was most likely either American or have lived in America.

She confessed that she was initially thinking of getting fast food, either Burger King/McD/KFC but the line was so long that she decided to get something quick (just like me). Then she started talking about how the whole fast food industry is pure evil!!! About how nobody really know about what they’re eating anymore.. the suffering of the commercialized animals… about how people now get cancer, and the source of it may be from all the chemicals that are added into our food… and how more and more people are taking anti-depressants because they are unhappy about themselves, how tired they often feel, how the look… etc.

At one point she was starting to ramble on and on.. but she realized that and soon stopped. She told me how in America some states are banning food with trans-fat because they claim that it is just as deadly as smoking. Now that was news to my ears…

Still not too late!!

2009-12-14T13:43:00.000+08:00

It’s coming to the end of 2009, some people are taking advantage of the school holidays and taking time off to go on a holiday while others are busy finishing off their task and targets for 2009.

There’s afew other things that you can do before 31 Dec that could potentially reduce your income tax payment next year. There’s still about 3 weeks to go, so let’s get going:
· Buy books (deduction up to RM1000)
· Go for a medical check up (deduction up to RM500)
· SSPN for your kids (deduction up to RM3000)
· Zakat (no limit)
· Buy a personal computer (deduction up to RM3000, once in every 3 years)
There’s other small deductions too that you can check on your BE form submission.

Mummy... I wanna read!!

2009-12-13T06:05:00.006+08:00

Day after day, again and again, I am always amazed at the progress of my son's development. Ever since he went to the playschool I am beginning to see what a toddler is capable of. You would read and be told that a child's mind is like a sponge, the brain is developing and he is absorbing every small detail of the word around him. Regardless of what you think, it's never too early to teach a baby the alphabet, numbers, colors, animal etc..

We have been counting the steps with Naufal, so ever since he started crawling the steps he has been exposed to numbers. And so by one year old he could count 1-20 in English and Malay. Then I started singing the alphabet to him and showed him videos from Sesame Street that I found in youtube that increases his interest to sing along to the alphabet. By 18 months he was singing the whole alphabet and started recognizing simple characters (like X and O)..

In October this year, we started sending him to playschool cause his Tok and Tokki are going on their haj for 45 days. And after two weeks we noticed something remarkable. Once he was humming while he was playing with his cars and I couldn't quite catch what he was singing, but after listening closely to what he was repeating I realized that he was reciting verses from the holy Quran that I know I have not taught him. From then, I started testing him and sure enough he had memorized all the letters of the Arabic alphabet.

We've also noticed other small changes in him, for one he is more confident around his peers, and willingness to try new things.. his new interest: Books.

And I guess he's got the shopping gene from me too.. cause he also enjoys reading catalogs and leaflets that comes through the mail box.. especially those from Toys'R'Us..
Not quite his own library, but rather the books at Kinokuniya (KLCC).. Mummy felt like buying everything, but finally settled for 3 new books.
Naufal enjoying his Thomas and Friends 2010 Annual book, Sesame's Street Pop Up Book and another one with Elmo on the cover. The Disney book mummy bought a few weeks ago at SJMC during one of the follow-up sessions.. Naufal thinks Buzz Lightyear is Norman and mummy is Princess Jasmin :)

More books.. I think I will buy more as gifts for future birthday parties..

So many to choose from.. Felt like I could stay all day at these bookstores...

Gen-2.Net Family Day

2009-12-09T17:00:00.003+08:00

We went to the beach.. without a CAMERA!!! We have our camcorder with us but my husband was busy taking pictures of the cars.

Naufal saw the swimming pool and wants nothing to do with the activities that was organized by the club. So most of the time I was getting wet in the kiddy pool with him. It surprised me that he was brave to try out everything new. Often I had to chase him to stop him from entering the adult pool.

We got a T-shirt for the event and Norman bought one for Naufal but unfortunately is was an adult XS which Naufal would probably be able to wear when he's 7.. haha.. but when he saw that we were both wearing our shirts, he wanted to have his on too.. So we tried to fit the shirt on him without making it look like it was too big (which it is)... His hair is getting curlier now that it is long. Norman wouldn't cut it cause he says that it looks cuter like this..

2009 Annual Dinner

2009-12-09T11:32:00.010+08:00

Oh NO!! I just realised that I have left my iPhone charger at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.. Just called them a moment ago to find out if they have cleaned my room and hope that they have found my charger!! Otherwise I will need to go straight to the Apple store when I get back and get a new charger.. huhu..

Anyway, that's what happens when there's just so many things happening that you are rushing from one place to another and when you finally have time to rest all you want to do is lay down and rest. The last week have been of no exception. After a busy week in the office with poor Naufal and daddy at home recovering for the pink eye (also known as conjunctivitis as my sister highlighted), the weekend begins with my Company's year end dinner. At first we had other plans of departing to Port Dickson that night for the Family Day that was scheduled for the weekend. We have even paid for the resort appartment which we are sharing with another couple. Plus I wasn't sure that I could bring in Naufal for the dinner because some other parents said they have asked the committee and the option was disappointedly rejected.

But in the past annual dinners, we have noticed one staff who always brings his daughter to join so my friends and I decided to bring our little toddlers along. So since there was no dinner plans at PD for the night, we decided to go to the dinner and just resume to PD either that same night or early the next morning. I had rushed to buy an outfit for the dinner the day before, so right after work I rushed home to pick up Naufal and Norman.

We arrived at the Westin Hotel just as everyone was getting food to eat. We didn't manage to register in time, so the door gifts were already distributed. The rumour was that the door gift was going to be an external hard-drive, so when the gift turns out to be an organizer with matching pen alot of people were a teeny-weeny disappointed. However, after a while everyone started to enjoy the latino music and the 10 Million Man-Hour celebration was on its way.

Ladies in blue.. me and Farzaana. She has such beautiful skin, I'm sure it's the envy of most ladies in the office.

Jaja, Iryan, Myra and Yazid

Naufal and his lollipop that Zuka's wife gave him.. he's enjoying the lobby more than the dinner hall. Dancing to the music while wearing one of the decorative hats at the entrance lobby.

More dancing... I couldn't get him in to the hall.

Me and Naufal enjoying a dance together, though I think he's checking out the other girls that night.. haha

At the dinner table..

Everyone was looking forward to the local band, Iryan was performing solo for one of the songs and in the audience Naufal was dancing with Alya.. they look so cute together.

Iryan singing "Hotel California"

Naufal and Alya swinging to the music..

Naufal... Too tired to move

It's getting hot in here!!

After a while, we begin to realize that the lucky draw prizes were not so appealing and Naufal was clearly too sleepy (it is way past his bedtime).. Awin and Faizal also decided to call it a night.. So with Naufal in our arms and Alya in their's, the six of us made our silent exit.

Anyway... Just got a call back from the hotel, they have found my charger.. yooohoo!! So now I have to drive back there to pick it up. Maybe I'll just have lunch at the hotel too since I'm there :) Blessing in disguise.. As you may have guessed I'm working outstation again at the Coating Yard in Kuantan, can't wait to get home tonight...

Back at work...

2009-12-02T12:06:00.002+08:00

Was gone all last week and Monday of this week, but when I returned back there wasn't really that much that I have missed.. haha

Need to plan on the end of year break.. I still have 15 days of unused leave. I think I'll apply for the last week of the year so that I can move and settle down in the new house. The balance leave days can be forwarded to next year. At this time of the year all the expats will take leave anyway and progress will be low as everyone is in holiday mood..

Smooth Like Cotton

2009-11-30T15:38:00.006+08:00

My one and only sister-in-law has a store in Amcorp Mall that sells cotton from UK. Here is a sample of what she is selling.. The store is called "Eyana House of Cotton" on the 3rd floor. The website is www.eyanacottonhouse.blogspot.com

Although the store has been opened for a long time already, I haven't had a chance to step foot into it. But last week when I visited her at home, she showed me some of her cotton goods that she was about to send to her friend who was on her way back to her hometown for Raya Haji.

All this MOR stuff at work is forcing me to look at alternatives, I mean I've always wanted to venture into business but have not been adventurous enough to risk it. I hope that over the years I will be able to find a good idea that would bring in the dough without too much hard work.. maybe I can get Nora to work for me as the head chef in a restaurant/bakery.. she is really good at cooking... or maybe I can be Husna's bos in a pet store... Wait, why does it sound like I want to be everyone's boss??

If only money grows on trees.... haha

Congivitis

2009-11-30T08:45:00.001+08:00

Poor Naufal.. He caught the congivitis from me, though I'm not sure who I got it from... Must be from someone I met during the raya haji celebration afew days ago.. This morning even my sister's eyes are red too. So we are all under quarantine until we get better.

This is the first time Naufal and I have congivitis.. Pray for our fast recovery!!

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3 year anniversary..

2009-11-26T01:32:00.000+08:00

Since Naufal's accident I have decided to stay at home and monitor him during the recovery.. Not only that I was feeling under the weather myself and Hari Raya Haji is coming up (I am planning to cook rendang.. haha.. yes, you read it right!!! This non-domesticated engineer is cooking... I have never done it before so I am putting 100% faith on internet recipes)..

Anyway.. today is our 3rd wedding anniversary. Time definitely flies when you're having fun, huh...? Naufal has definitely been a great part of that fun..
We both had the day off.. We took Naufal on the LRT for the first time, and man he was excited.

Later, we celebrated by going out to have dinner at Bora Asmara. It's definitely a nice romantic place to go.. and we also had a live musical group singing to us privately as we ate dinner (we were the only ones in the secluded air-con dining room at the time).

I pray that our marriage will last to celebrate many many more anniversaries.. Hope that we will still be together with many more happy days ahead all the way til the end.

To Norman, I'm sure you know I love you... for it is with this love that I have faith to spend the rest of my life with you..

Naufal's accident at his playschool

2009-11-24T11:00:00.000+08:00

Yesterday turns out to be quite a traumatic day for us.. Imagine getting a phone call from your son's playschool telling you that your one and only son had an accident and the clinic has referred him to a hand or plastic surgeon for stitches!! I felt that my heart had just skipped a beat..

The day began like any other day where we would drop Naufal off to playschool and rush to work in order to avoid the morning traffic. As I arrived at the office I noticed that the floor's air-conditioning was not working right, and so after a few hours of working in the heat and trying to survive what feels like the brink of a coughing spree I decided pack my laptop and work from home.

Before that Norman decided to pick up something from his previous company for his professional membership. So we were running around from KL to Bandar Damansara and back to KL before I am able to head home. So by the time I got home it was past 2pm.

My sisters were just leaving the house to get some lunch and do some grocery shopping. So I sat down and took my laptop out to start scouraging through my emails again. While waiting for my laptop to start up Norman called and asked me why I haven't been answering my phone. I thought that I might have missed some calls while I was driving but when I checked my phone there was no missed calls. Norman told me that the playschool headmaster called to tell us that Naufal had an accident and they took him to the clinics but it turns out that he needed stitches so they are on the way to the hospital. So I called the school up and talked to the teachers. I was so shocked and I know that I need to have someone else with me when I see Naufal, otherwise I might just panic when I see him. So I called my sisters and told them to meet me at the hospital. When we arrived, Naufal just sat on his teacher's lap in silence. His left tiny finger was wrapped but I could still see the blood. As he saw me, he immediately wanted to be hugged, so I took him in my arms while the teachers tried to explain what had happened..

Apparently Naufal was taken in the toilet, one hand was holding the teacher's hand while the other one was at the door. Then one of the other toddler pushes the door and it banged and trapped his little finger between the hinges. He didn't cry out but just said " nak ibu.." like he always does. Not realizing what had just happened, the teacher tugged him to move from the spot but he seems frozen to the spot. When she looked at him, she realized that his finger was stuck. So she rushed to open the door and immediately saw the blood on his nails and skin. They took him to the clinic. Upon further analysis, the doctor cleaned the wound and tried to stop the bleeding. However, due to the severity of the accident he had to refer his to the hospital.

At first we went to KJMC but their surgeons were all involved in other operations elsewhere and no one could commit to any time frame. So realizing that help is not within our grasps, I decided to take Naufal to his regular pediatrician at SJMC (now known as SDMC SJ). When we arrived we were set up to meet the plastic surgeon, but after he saw the wound he said that i would be best that a hand surgeon operated on the hand in order to better analyze the degree of the damage. So we were admitted, on the way to the ward we met the doctor who will be doing the operation at the lift and he said that the surgery is planned for 9pm because Naufal has to fast 6 hours from his last meal.

Naufal in my arms as we registered ourselves for admission for tonight's surgery.

Naufal's little finger wrapped to stop the bleeding.

Naufal in his surgery gown.

Keeping Naufal occupied and distracting him from food with his favourite cartoon Thomas the Tank Engine using youtube. Thank good for the speedy wifi at the ward.

That night, the surgery took place at 9pm as planned. Naufal was knocked unconscious by the anesthetic gas within afew minutes. This was the only time he cried because he had to be detached from me. After 30 minutes, his finger was stitched and the operation is over. As soon as we arrived at the ward, we gave him water to drink and he immediately asked for food. Although the nurses had advised us to avoid solid food for fear that he would vomit it out, we gave him KFC nuggets and fries which his uncle bought for him, and Naufal ate it with full appetite. And within afew minutes, he drank his milk and was snoozing away in his mummy's arms. He didn't vomit at all.. we had to wake him up to eat his medicine, but within minutes he slept again like a baby.

The next morning he woke up with a smile as if nothing had happened the night before.. We were discharged by noon and he is well into recovery.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Unforgettable weeend and the day after...

2009-11-16T12:02:00.000+08:00

The past weekend has been full of historical events, one of which I had to miss due to the other two events..

So to begin with, I'd like to congratulate Marcus and Lily for their wedding. May the love they share grow and multiply to last their whole lifetime. So sorry I couldn't join the merry celebration in Miri.

Instead I was sending off my parents to do their haj. It's been 21 years since the first time they both went on their haj back in 1988. My youngest sister was only 5 months at the time. That was also the time when my brother, younger sister and I all had our chicken pox. This time things are quite different, all my siblings are grown up and even the grandchildren are here to wave them goodbye.

As our house is a 5 minits drive from the Tabung Haji Kompleks, Norman drove my parents to the gathering ground. There was so many other groups of people sending off their loved ones too, and as you can imagine this opens a business opportunity to those enterpreuners out there selling many things from haj accessories to kids toys and balloons.

Very appropriate to the occasion, Naufal wanted an aeroplane shaped balloon. I think we need to go on a holiday soon, somewhere which involves a short plane ride preferably as he kept repeating that he wants to go in a plane. The fact that we see planes flying left and right every time we visit our new house also doesn't help. (Yes, the new house is close to the airport)..

Next, we went to the pediatrician's as Naufal has been coughing for the past week. It's getting worse because he nose is running it's own marathon and for the past few nights he would wake up and vomit phlegm. So the doctor gave him some antibiotics and medicine for the cough/sneeze and phlegm. Getting Naufal to take his medicine is turning into a "wrestling" challenge. When he was smaller it didn't seem so difficult but now he is putting up his own fight. We managed to cheat him into drinking one of the clear medicine by adding it into plain drinking water, but when we tried it on the dark coughing syrup he knew immediately what it was. So we had to force him to take it.. any tip from other parents out there on how to trick them into taking their medicine?

Then Sunday was Naufal's first concert. (click on the hyperlink to see the video). Being a two year old and a new member of the playschool, he is still uncomfortable at the thought of being away from his mother, in the presence of his mother. So as soon as he saw me in the audience, all he wanted to do is to cry for me so that I would pick him up.. hehe.. Usually he would be the loudest to sing but I guess he's a bit stage fright. On a brighter note, Naufal won a prize in his first ever lucky draw. And off course, mum and dad were the ones more excited about this.

And then since the teachers are working overtime on a Sunday, the playschool is closed today. So in return mummy is also out of the office for the day. I've washed two rounds of laundry, but then the rain poured its heart out. So I need to wait for it to stop before I put it out. Hope the sun will shine soon..

Too Tired To Sleep...

2009-11-13T03:38:00.001+08:00

You might be asking what am I doing still wide awake at 3.38am on a Friday morning!?!? I have no idea myself.. it's been a long day and I am absolutely knackered, I think I'm too tired to sleep. Now don't get me wrong, I have tried.. I was asleep a few hours ago but I just woke up cause my son was weeping for milk (mummy's fresh milk, but that's another topic I shall talk about next time).. and now I can't get back on the sleeping wagon!!

So what have I been up to that makes me super tired?? Well, if you've seen my post in facebook then you'll know that I took the day off to join the crowd at the Macy Warehouse Sale!! And what a sale it has been.. Me and my friend Liz was there from 10am to 6pm (the whole duration of the sale), and we're still thinking of going again. Initially I was thinking that I would be back after lunch and I could hang out with my mum or something, but with all the offers and bargains, it was closing time before we even know it.

As it is a home furnishing store, the sale was a warehouse clearance in order to make room for the new batch of goods. So things were practically given "free" with deals as good as 90% off the retail price. There were also auctions and what I was shocked was the fact that you could still bargain with the cashier to ask for more discounts when you were paying.. :)

The sale is suppose to be 4 days but better deals were made for those serious buyers who turns up on the first day, that's why we took the day off to take advantage of it!!

Being a new house owner, we have so many things to buy for the BIG move. Most of the items I have either bought or already ordered, but there are still some small things to buy to complete the house. So this time I bought (in chronological order) a sofa bed (70% off), 2 Queen size mattresses (one at 50% off and the other at 70%), pillow pads and mattress protectors (at 50% off), 7 cushions (at 50%).. had a short lunch then continued with.. curtains (mixed pattern and sizes, with discounts upto 90%), 15 cushion covers (over 80% off), a towel (50% off), 3 toilet mats (70% off), 4 pillows (50% off), vase (70% off), 10 placemats (60% 0ff), bean bag refills (almost free), flowers (40% off) and 4 packs of dish cloths (50% off)... We also made a little saving as the delivery is free (thanks to facebook).

Here's the sofa bed I bought, it was the one we saw in the leaflet. At the time Liz and I thought that it was the last two units so we bought one each and tried to get the cashier to rush cause here were other people who wanted to buy it too.. Later after lunch we noticed that there were many more just loaded out!!

Thanks to facebook, I managed to get free shipping. Here's the list of first 50 lucky people to get free shipping. Notice my name in the list (the one with the tick as I was the first one who started buying.. hahah)

This is the mattress I bought for the master bedroom, it's 11-inches thick.. we needed a thick mattress to fit in the bed frame..The other mattress I bought was 8-inch thick, that one would be for the guest room.

I went crazy on cushions.. I was undecided on getting one with a striking color or earth tones, cause we haven't quite agreed on the color theme of the living room. So I just went for these, just I also bought more cushion covers so that we can change it to match the curtains.

Notice the pillows and the boxes below it, I needed to get some strappy strong men to help me carry these into the car.. plus, it started raining by the time Liz bought the car to the crime scene, so we had to move them fast..

Taking a break.. good thing the Macy staff gave out drinking water too..

Once I got home at 7pm, I was so tired I went in to have a shower and relax first before getting my big and strong hubby hero to help me move the goods into the house (thanks Sayang..) Perhaps I wouldn't be buying so much if he was there with me, but we both know that everything was worth it..

There is a black and white arm chair that I also like but I don't think I have a place to put it in the new house..

If I do go again, I would like to get another vase and maybe more curtains (if I find something I like)..

And one more announcement for you parents out there, the Pureen Warehouse Sale will be held once again next weekend.. get your stock of baby goodies (I usually stock up on diapers and baby wipes).

What's Cooking Good Looking?

2009-11-09T22:19:00.000+08:00

Wasn't sure whether I'm up to it, but after being silent for so long I've decided to start blogging again :)

And why not? There's so many things to say, so many opinions to express, so many tips to share.. and let's not forget the gossips, the laughs, the announcements (particularly of sales and such) and so many more emotions all buckled up like a bubble just about ready to burst!!

Although I must say, the thing that really started the ball rolling was from a conversation we had over lunch last Friday about a dear friend, who happens to be a blogger who knows of a blogger who was friends with another blogger who was.. hmm.. how should I say it.. "interestingly insane".. then the topic moved on to bloggers who makes big bucks, and how that happened. So, we started thinking.. maybe it's not such a bad idea.. So voila! here it is, the birth of a new blog :) I call it "nick nacks with Noris" because the intent is for it to be enjoyed like a snack.. something quick and filling.. sweet, tangy, sour or spicy.. whichever fits the mood.. particularly at lunch time, yummy!!