Willpower

Since i came back from balik kampung, i dont what i've been up to. Not productive at all. Of course i have all sorts of plans in my head...from work to chores to new resolutions, but that is as good as it gets, they stay in my head.

For example, Friday night i was determined to wake up Saturday morning and wash my car (as in literally do it myself)....but look where i ended up.

Yesterday afternoon i was supposed to be burning off the 'raya haji makan tak ingat' effects at the gym. But after lunch,.....

Someone come and save me, or give me a good spanking!!!!!

Food Food Food

I just came back from another long trip home. Plan nak balik one week only, but Mum asked to stay longer...almost 2 weeks jugak la. Makan, makan, makan...i think i put on a couple of kilos kat sana.

Here are some foodie pictures i took from my raya haji baking activities, and a laksa party we had for my Mak Ngah for her birthday.

1. Ini my first attempt buat kuih makmur. My favourite ni. Mak Long dah perturunkan recipe kat I. Raya tahun depan boleh order tau!;-) (iye la tu). Gambar ni belum powder dengan icing sugar lagi..lepas dah siap lupa pulak nak ambik gambar.

2. I also baked these little chocolate cupcakes. My nieces loved them so much that i had to bake 2 batches raya puasa baru ni. Cupcakes dah siap, they all tak jadi balik pulak. Makan sendiri la...

3. The ultimate chicken rendang. Mak and the maid yang masak.

4. This is another first try. Wahdi's mum punya Pretzel recipe. Kalau nak recipe pergi cari kat blog Wahdi. I couldnt find the caraway seeds in the recipe, so i pandai-pandai tukar to sesame seeds. If you are tired of sweet cookies, give this a try.

5. We threw a small laksa party for Mak Ngah's birthday. Orang Kedah panggil 'laksa kilo' because its sold by the kilo. Sekilo RM6 je, and the kuah is really nice. And for dessert my mom made that pengat ubi merah with red beans, suka sangat sebab instead of letak santan she put in evaporated milk and custard powder. Syrup lychee tu i made it myself, biasa je tapi i jarang buat air-air manis ni, sebab tu nak post jugak pic tu..haha.

The Board Meeting

Board member #1

Board member #2

With the new year just around the corner, Jill and I convened our 'Board Meeting' yesterday to discuss our business plans for 2008. Its been 10 months since i quite full time employment, and our company is about 8 months old. Its had its fair share of ups and downs...more 'downs' to be honest, but its expected. We are just starting out.

We chose The Apartment because we love the ambience. We have thrased out issues, have BIG plans and now work begins.

The big bucks are not rolling in yet, but i have to say i am happy to be on my own, to be living my dream. I am not giving up on this anytime soon although i am sure many people are putting their bets against me (us).

I pray that 2008 will be a good year.

Enchanting Enchanted

If u havent catched this movie, i am recommending that you do. But a word of warning, leave all your reality checks at home, and just enjoy.

I took my nieces and nephew, and we had a good time. If u have kids, they sure will love it...especially the girls. My nephew was in denial (tho, during the movie i saw him laughing all the way). And if you are into Dr. Mcdreamy (Grey's Anatomy), you will be pleasantly enchanted to see him out of his scrubs.

A clever movie with real life characters inter-twined with animation, and some of the CGI effects are quite amusing. I especially like the "apartment cleaning" scene by the rodents and birds and watch out for Pip the chipmunk, he is hillarious.

Menunggumu

Di dalam sebuah cinta
Terdapat bahasa
Yang mengalun indah
Mengisi jiwa
Merindukan kisah
Kita berdua
Yang tak pernah bisa
Akan terlupa

Bila rindu ini masih milikmu
Kuhadirkan sebuah tanya untukmu
Harus berapa lama aku menunggumu
Aku menunggumu

Di dalam masa indah
Saat bersamamu
Yang tak pernah bisa
Akan terlupa
Pandangan matanya
Menghancurkan jiwa

Dengan segenap cinta
Aku bertanya
Aku menunggumu

Dalam hati ku menunggu
Aku...
Dalam lelah ku menunggu
Dalam letih ku menunggu
Aku...Masih menunggu

Bila rindu ini masih milikmu
Kuhadirkan sebuah...
Harus berapa lama, harus berapa lama
Aku menunggumu, aku menunggumu
Aku menunggu...aku menunggumu

Lyrics: Peterpan

Terima Kasih

Terima kasih!

Thank you so much for all your well wishes for my dad. He's recovering well from surgery. Sekarang ni have to learn to walk again using a walker. We have a physio guy coming over to the house twice a week to help him get back his strength.


And thanks for the birthday wishes. I have recovered from that too...the birthday "OMG, i am a year older" syndrome." i have forgotten my age (haha) and feel young again a.k.a tua tak sedar diri...heheh.

Past few days i had no mood to blog. I was busy rearranging my back room into a little home office - my studio as i would like to call it. I'll share pictures later, cant seem to get the right angle with my humble camera phone. Now i am no longer working or blogging or surfing from the dining table. My back, if it can speak, would be thanking me profusely.

Its My Birthday!

Another year older today....memangla bersyukur Tuhan panjangkan umur, but cant help the pre-bday blues. So Jill and Lizzie decided i shouldn't be alone feeling sorry for myself, and we had an early celebration last nite...more of celebrating the last few hours before i jump into an entirely new age bracket! (please dont ask;-))

Anne's Offline Message

dear blogger friends

Dad fell down
and broke his hip bone
anne went running home

:-(

Breakfast @ Mamak

Lama betul tak weekend breakfast kat Mamak. This is Ali Maju@ Pusat Bandar Damansara. Dulu (as in a year ago), kat sini la Jill and I lepak sambil discuss2 nak buka bisness sendiri. In fact kat Mamak ni la we decided on our company name, and worked on our first job together. Yesterday, on a spur of the moment, ajak Jill breakfast....walaupun terpaksa drive all the way from Shah Alam...nak buat camna, i hardly have friends in the neighbourhood.

Shut Eye

I managed 9 hours of sleep last nite, waking up only once in between to off the tv and drink some water. This in an achievement after over a week of insomnia. I hope the sleep did me some good.

Melankolik

Di sebalik ceria, tiada siapa yang tahu dukanya.......

Resort Holiday

After working really hard the past 2 weeks, Jill and I checked in to a chalet resort to chill out a bit.....

Kenapa...tak percaya ke?????

hahaha...memang tipu pun...we just had makan at Naili's Place - a rooftop restaurant in Damansara Uptown.

Quick Iftar

The plan was to cook chicken curry for 'berbuka', but finished work after 6.

Had a quick nasi lemak and teh-si before heading home.

The Closure

Finally, there's closure...not the break-up kind! I've been in this very sticky project....a simple job that dragged forever. After some persistent "gentle" pushing, the client relented. We had our final meeting yesterday. CLOSED

And now i can issue my bill. Relieved. (Bukan banyak sangat pun, but at least i can get by until dapat project baru)

Pop-tarts

Its now 2a.m. and here i am popping jam tarts into my mouth. That is after 4 (hmm...was it 5) choc-oat cookies that my sister in law tapau for me from her open house on Sunday. Dah tido tadi.....and an sms from my sis woke me up. She's worried because my mum tak sihat, and she couldnt even rest because dad is in one the those difficult phases again - not sleeping well, not moving too well independently....and its taken its toll on mum.

Being so far away, there's little i can do but pray...so i woke up and pray...for her health, and dad's, for strength, for all the comforts that only God can give them.

When i finish all my paperwork this week, maybe i can drive home - while the clients decide on the proposals.........i might have a "window" to spend a few days at home and help out.

Still not sleepy, maybe i should get on with some paperwork.

An Afternoon with Halley

Halley ni kawan i yang kerja di Dubai. She's back for raya hols, and we met up before she flies back tonite. She wanted to have noodles at Little Penang, which was closed for a break when we arrived. While waiting for it to open, we had drinks at this cosy place called 'The Apartment" @ The Curve. My cappucinno came with this cute heartshaped foam.

Safe trip back Halley, and thanks for coffee and the makan2....and thanks Jill for making her pay for everything! haha...

Working Lunch

Getting back to normal routine.

Before raya..."I'll do it after raya"

After raya.....OMG OMG this week i'm being hunted down, there's nowhere to hide...hahaha.

Eid Mubarak

I'm off to my hometown today to spend the rest of the puasa with mum & dad, and of course hari raya.

Here's wishing everyone Selamat Hari Raya & Maaf Zahir Batin, and happy holidays.

Will be back and blogging after the holidays, so drive safely everyone and jangan makan tak hengat dunia, k.

This Ramadan...

This Ramadan is my first bulan puasa kerja sendiri. Compared to time kerja office dulu, memang lebih relax and tak kelam kabut. Kalau dulu sahur minum air cepat cepat, then tidor balik sebab tak nak loose much sleep before getting up for work.....sekarang i can take my time for sahur...minum, makan light-light while watching tv waiting for subuh. Short nap lepas subuh before i shower and mengadap laptop by 8 or 9a.m.....kerja sendiri pun kerja jugak!

If i feel like cooking, around 4pm i can already masuk dapur. Usually lepas asar, i will drive to Pasar Ramadan at Stadium Shah Alam...this is the best time before the road gets too crowded with traffic. Living alone i dont buy much, but i enjoy the atmosphere - and getting out of the house as well. Rasa sikit meriah bulan puasa.

The only thing is terawih this ramadan baru sekali dapat buat kat masjid, other nights buat sendiri je kat rumah. Previous years the apartment's surau memang ada berjemaah, which is super convenient...this time tak buat pulak.

Past one week or so really busy with work, mostly proposals to get new projects. The thing with proposals is that there are no guarantees, but at least you have a shot at it. So i cant complain much kan kalau Tuhan dah buka window of opportunity bulan2 puasa ni. The past few days sibuk preparing for meetings just to have it postponed and rescheduled....memang tiring.

Since i kerja sendiri also, my mum is expecting me to balik kampung earlier than usual. Masa kerja dulu paling awal pun a 4-5 days before hari raya. This time i sort of promised to spend most of my puasa at home with mum and dad. Kesian mak i, bulan tak puasa pun penat sangat take care of my dad....lagilah bulan puasa. But i didnt expect to be so busy with work.....

I'm trying to settle the urgent work by this weekend and escape balik kampung by Monday. Mum is waiting eagerly with chores and tasks for me....Mum is the type yang memang semangat nak prepare the house for hari raya, from cleaning to decorations to food. Kenalah jadi anak yang baik kan;-)....

Work on Sunday????

All of a sudden work is piling up on me....at least i have fully recovered from the flu., but urrrggghhhhh, working on a sunday!!!???!!!!

My daydreams

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible."

T.E.Lawrence

Too Sick for Blogging

Too Sick for Anything............

Loads of work to finish, but my brain is all fuzzy like the picture above. Just got back from seeing my favourite GP, Dr Razana. Hope her potions will do the magic. Been under the weather for over a week now. Visited the clinic on Thursday after some prodding by a dear, dear friend, but Dr Razana was off and whatever prescribed by the locum doctor didnt work.

Gonna go lie down now...zzzzzzzz

Ramadan Mubarak and Selamat Berpuasa

Ramadan, a blessed month, has come to you during which Allah has made it obligatory for you to fast. In it the gates of Heaven are opened, the gates of al-Jahim are locked, and the rebellious devils are chained. In it Allah has a night which is better than a thousand months. He who is deprived of its good has indeed suffered deprivation.

(Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi, Narrated Abu Hurayrah)

Selamat Berpuasa and have a blessed Ramadan to all muslim bloggers from Anne's Prelude.

Ceritera Puteri Analusia: Bahagian 2

Puteri tercari-cari yang mana satu Pengiran Muda. Ramai betul rakyat jelata di taman pada petang itu. Pertama kali Puteri bertemu Pengiran Muda beberapa purnama yang lalu, Puteri dah lupa rupa parasnya. Nasib baik Pengiran Muda yang menegur Puteri dahulu.

Pengiran mengajak Puteri duduk dan minum bersamanya. Mula-mula Pengiran banyak bertanya tentang Puteri tetapi selepas itu Puteri mula rasa bosan dan nak balik...Pengiran tak putus-putus berkata-kata, dari masalah keluarga, istana...ke masalah negara dan dunia....Ahhh, terlalu banyak untuk ditelan. Tapi sebagai seorang yang bersopan santun, Puteri mengangguk-anggukkan kepala dan senyum, berkata-kata bila perlu sahaja.

Selepas minum, Pengiran Muda mengajak Puteri menemaninya menonton Bangsawan. Puteri agak keberatan. Dalam mereka sedang berbincang, mereka didatangi seorang wanita. Wanita yang agak berumur itu terus menyapa Pengiran Muda yang pada amatan Puteri sungguh tidak selesa dengan kehadiran wanita berumur itu.

Kemudian, wanita itu memandang Puteri dan bertanya ”Siapa awak”? ”Saya Puteri Analusia” jawab Puteri dengan lemah lembut. Wanita itu kemudian terus beredar....pelik sungguh, fikir Puteri.

Pengiran Muda kemudian menghabiskan minuman dan ajak Puteri beredar dari situ. Sungguh ramai rakyat jelata berjalan-jalan di taman, sehingga terpisah Puteri dan Pengiran seketika. Tiba-tiba Puteri terasa disentuh dari belakang. ”Tuan Puteri, Tuan Puteri.....minuman tadi belum dibayar”...rupanya Tukang jual minuman telah mengejar Tuan Puteri dan Pengiran Muda.

Tuan Puteri tidak tahu di mana mahu meletak muka ....mencemar nama Tuan Puteri saja Pengiran Muda ini. Pengiran Muda masih tidak kelihatan, terpaksa Puteri membayar sendiri.

Puteri mencari-cari ke mana menghilang Pengiran Muda. Oh, di situ rupanya....berbual bual dengan wanita tadi. Siapa wanita itu.....kakak sepupu? Ibu saudara? Ibu gula?

Pengiran kembali mendapatkan Puteri, sahabat lama katanya. Puteri pun tidak mempedulikan hal itu, dan terus berjalan-jalan bersama Pengiran. Banyak betul masalah yang Pengiran ceritakan, sampai pening kepala Puteri mendengarnya.

Hari pun sudah malam, Puteri meminta diri untuk berangkat. Pengiran sempat mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Puteri kerana menemaninya, dan ingin berjumpa lagi dengan Puteri.

Puteri tidak sabar hendak pulang ke istana dan berjumpa Tengku Jahara untuk bercerita, pertemuan dengan Pengiran Muda bagaikan satu malapetaka.

Sampai saja ke Istana, wanita berumur tadi sudah menunggu Puteri. Ana Durjana namaya. Ana Durjana memberi amaran kepada Puteri perkara-perkara buruk tentang Pengiran Muda. Puteri diam saja, tidak mahu masuk campur hal mereka. Keesokan harinya, Puteri diganggu lagi dengan beberapa utusan dari Ana Durjana. Lagi cerita keburukan Pengiran Muda.

Sebenarnya selepas pertemuan yang agak membosankan itu, Puteri pun kurang berminat lagi dengan Pengiran Muda, tapi sekadar bersahabat apa salahnya. Selepas diganggu Ana Durjana, semakin berat hati Puteri untuk melayan Pengiran lagi.

Selepas beberapa hari, Pengiran menghubungi Puteri, untuk meminta maaf dan menjelaskan segala yang berlaku. Puteri katakan tidak perlu minta maaf atau menjelaskan apa-apa, kerana itu urusan peribadi Pengiran yang Puteri tidak berminat untuk tahu. Pengiran berkeras mahu bercerita, katanya Ana Durjana bekas kekasihnya yang tidak mahu melepaskannya walaupun telah lama berpisah. Kata Pengiran lagi semua yang dicerita Ana Durjana dusta belaka.

Puteri hanya berdiam diri, tak mahu tanya apa-apa. Mungkin Pengiran pun faham-faham sendiri yang Puteri tidak berminat lagi. Pengiran ada bertanya bolehkah dia berjumpa lagi dengan Puteri di Taman? Puteri kata mungkin tidak. Berakhirlah episod ceritera Puteri Analusia dengan Pengiran Muda.

Baru Puteri menarik nafas lega, kecoh pulak dayang-dayang Istana. Ayahanda dan Bonda terima rombongan merisik, Puteri Analusia akan dijodohkan dengan pilihan keluarga.....???????????

Sleep Deprivation

Ceritera Puteri Analusia akan disambung tidak lama lagi atas permintaan anda.

Please bear with me, i've been busy as well as sleep deprived the last couple of days.

Ceritera Puteri Analusia : Bahagian 1

Pagi Sabtu itu, Puteri Analusia bangun awal walaupun hari cuti. Sibuk betul jadual Puteri hari ni, banyak betul rancangan. Pagi-pagi dah berangkat ke kenduri doa selamat, bersenteng lengan jugak Puteri Analusia mencemar duli membantu menghidang makanan dan kemudian membasuh pinggan, mangkuk dan periuk periuk besar. Memang tak sesuai dengan baju sutera dan tudung permata yang dipakai, tapi sebagai Puteri berjiwa rakyat, Puteri tak kesah buat semua tu.

Puteri bernyanyi-nyanyi gembira di dalam hati kerana selepas kenduri yang melibatkan kerabat kerabat, dia tidak sabar untuk berjumpa Tengku Jahara dan adindanya untuk bersama sama menghadiri majlis tari menari di Istana Amanpuri. Atas desakan Tengku Jahara, Puteri Analusia juga telah menjemput Pengiran Muda untuk menemaninya ke majlis tersebut. Puteri Analusia mula-mulanya agak gusar untuk ditemani Pengiran Muda, tetapi selepas bertukar tukar warkah beberapa hari sebelumnya, Puteri begitu teruja.

Sedang Puteri bersama dayang dayangnya memilih busana yang sesuai untuk majlis itu, satu utusan diterima dari Istana Amanpuri. Majlis Tari Menari terpaksa dibatalkan kerana perang saudara di Istana. Alangkah terkejut sang Puteri. Puteri terus menghantar utusan kepada Pengiran Muda dan Tengku Jahara, membatalkan acara.

Sedang Puteri bermuram durja, satu utusan diterima...Pengiran Muda ajak berjumpa di Taman . Hati Puteri berbunga semula. Puteri tiba di Taman tepat pada waktunya.

(to be continued by popular demand! should i?....)

Happy 50th Malaysia, Mum & Dad

50 years ago, while the nation celebrated its independence, while Allahyarham Tunku proudly faced the nation with cries of Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!......

..my Dad & Mom was marking their own history.

Happy 50th Merdeka Malaysia!

Happy 50th Anniversary Bapak & Mak!

Sabrina Week

My niece Sabrina stayed over during the school holidays last week. She's 9. Her Abang and Kakak are studying for UPSR and PMR, so she had no one to play with. Sabrina just discovered that i'm working from home, and to her it means i dont work at all...!

The good auntie took the whole gang minum-minum, a breather from their studies;-)

Macam tak sedap je...

Laptop kena takeover budak kecik ni.....playing games and even answering my YM messages..

A McD Happy Meal treat for dinner (reads the night aunty malas masak).

I had to join the other poolside mums and 'bibik-bibik' because she insists on having a dip every morning....berjam2.

Me:"You want 2 doughnuts?"...

She:"No, one for you...you are too thin, you have to eat".

Pandai je budak ni....

Her daddy and mama came to reclaim her thrusday nite...phew!

p/s:It was fun to have you around little girl;-)