The all new desk lamp

All around Scotland

2012-01-22T13:54:00.001Z

We decided to look for snow. Instead of going to Europe continent, we decided to go to Scotland. It is a breathtaking, beautiful country.. What more, the trip put my mind at ease. A distraction from reality. Spending quality time with beloved family.. Alhamdulillah..

Azerbajaini gastro experience

2011-08-26T12:04:00.001+01:00

We sampled a new taste of food for iftar last night. The Azerbaijan cuisine courtesy of our kind hostess Gular at her beautiful flat with gorgeous view.

The food had influences of Persian, Turkish and Russian but the Azerbaijanis made it their own. My favourite was kalam dolmasi which is the cabbage dolmar. Mince lamb meat, cooked with a bit of rice and spices and wrapped with cabbage leaves. There was also the dolmar wine/grape leaves, also with mince meat filling. The grape leaves gave it a slight herbal tangy taste. The other delicious dish was lamb chops cooked with potatoes. Absolutely delicious. i totally approved!

Apparently, this is a typical food for Azerbaijanis which mainly consists of meat, vege and more meat. It is no wonder the girls are hawt because they are constantly on Atkins diet!

We were absolutely stuffed though I was still wishing we could have some more. The hostess packed some leftovers of cabbage dolmar for our sahur. I was a one happy bunny. Though with a full stomach, i was thinking about the taste of those succulent meat and soft tender cabbage leaves all the way back from her house.

Till sahur comes i shall wait..but guess what? I woke up this morning and looked at the clock. It was 7am! I missed sahur completely.

Story of Noah and the potty...

2011-08-24T15:13:00.001+01:00

Noah now already 3 and he is in this critical time of his life.. learning to use potty.

He was so good in the beginning and now...he just a bit distracted.
Once, he just sat with his wet pants for a good half an hour because he was too occupied with ipad.

The other day, it was whilst playing wii that he sat with his pants wet and it was on the same sofa. He even pooed on nursery pillow once. I think they may have thrown the pillow away. Too much mess to clean up. Hehe..

It doesn't help when we always go out during weekends so he always wears his nappies. So we really need to get him started again on serious training.
Insyaallah... He will able to go through this phase of his life. Everybody has to go through this.. Even me.. So we need to remind ourselves to be more patient and persistent.

The kid getting smarter each day. Amazing to see his development of learning so many things in a short time. It is true that they say, human learning curve is at the highest at toddler stage.

Good luck Noah in your future journey. Momma and daddy will support you in which ever way that we can. Semoga membesar menjadi anak yang soleh dan beriman. Amin..

Je Taime , Paris

2011-08-17T11:20:00.002+01:00

We needed a break so we decided to visit our dear friends at Paris. Anis, Ariff and Alis were such s superb hosts showing us around. This trip has made me fell in love with the city.
I thought of listing the things that I like about Paris and below are about 10 of them, which are not in any particular order.

1) The walk along the River Seine after seeing the historic building of Notre Dame.
2) The feeling of humming the theme from la vie en rose out loud while walking along the street of Paris
3) Parisian chic wannabes including moi... Merci beaucoup!
4) The cafe's culture and how's the chairs are lined up facing the street. Parisian loves people watching!
5) Rustic and majestic look of Eiffel tower looking down at the city
6) French language... Even the announcement on Metro trains sounds good.
7) The romantic feel of Paris.. Makes you want to snog in the middle of the street.
8) The shopping spree (liking then... Not after you receive credit card bills though..)
9) The automated portable toilets randomly situated by the streets. It was very clean and high tech. Even better if you know french in order understand the instructions when using it.
10) The food! glorious food! Pastries, baguettes, macaroons, chocolatiers particularly Angelina hot chocs and etc.

Last but not least (yeah.. not exactly 10 lah), the hope and excitement to visit the city again...
This time will spend more time on museums and arts!

Any dislikes? Not gonna dwell on things that i dont like. All positives nowadays! Thats my current mantra... Cest la vie!

Its Noah's 3rd Bday...

2011-07-07T14:04:00.000+01:00

Tokwan sent a beautiful, special E-card to Noah. I love it so much! Tried to put up on FB but has restriction on copyright bla bla.. But I still want to show case this to the world, (by world mean yeah.. all three of you!) So here it is, a special birthday wish on the virtual world from Noah's Tokwan, Tokmak and Paksu.

p/s: Isn't Noah's Tokwan the coolest ever? Even I do not think I will be able to produce that. Not to mention Muzzy... :)

Many happy returns and fresh starts

2011-03-06T11:39:00.001Z

Back on my bike... after a 3-month break due to severe weather condition (freezing/snowing, basically winter!). My main excuse was that I didn't have the right set of tyres to cycle in the icy conditions. Moreover, it certainly wasn't good for my body to be cycling in the subzero temperatures anyway! Hehehe, nama pun alasan...

Back to the textbooks... I'm determined to take three exam papers this May. Haven't started at all but I will soon! Hehehe

Back to basic... shipping basic that is! I have to prepare a ppt presentation for a senior member of my company on "introduction to shipping / the company". It is more a favour to a friend rather than my own, day-to-day work. I haven't started, although the deadline is tomorrow (yikes, what was I thinking volunteering for this?) Have to crank it up now... Luckily I have drafted the storyboard before the weekend started...

Back to Alp d Huez... err... next week insyaAllah. Last time we were there, it was about 10 years ago, and not surprising it was the only time we went skiing. Really looking forward to the much needed holiday... We have even booked a place for Noah in the ski school for toddlers for the entire week we will be there - so his parents can concentrate on their own ski lessons (we definitely need them!).

Some new stuff too...

New place... moved to a new venue for my weekly badminton session that is. The BBC (breakfast & badminton club :) ) decided to move to a much better sports centre, now at Little Venice. Two main advantages here - no more 7am session (now 8am, yeay!) and we got the entire sports hall to ourselves! Boleh main sampai kaki cramped (like yesterday hehehe).

New friends... in the form of Shamsul and his family. They have been living here for ages, one of those families yang kita boleh panggil orang kampung (Croydon!). They visited our humble abode for tea yesterday, and Eju actually served tea and scones! Hahaha... Nasib baik she served roti canai and curry too, for that one particular orang kampung (Pontian!) hehehe...

New experience... watched a live NBA game at the O2, New Jersey Nets vs Toronto Raptors. Not really a fan but since I got a free ticket (dalam corporate box pulak tu), I figured why not! The game was more interesting towards the end (err, with the exception of the half time show :) ), when the scores were tied three times, so three overtimes! Habis jugak la suara... Final result, the Nets won by a point (like that has any significance to me anyway...). Nevertheless, a good night out.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:London,United Kingdom

The juggling of a sick child and work

2011-03-01T22:12:00.000Z

Noah has not been feeling rather poorly in these past few weeks. After one thing to another...

Three weeks ago, he scared his parents by waking up in a morning and unable to walk. He complained and whimpered whenever he put pressure on his right leg. We rushed him to Accident and Emergency at St. Mary Hospital that morning so both of us had to take leave from work. Whilst we were waiting to see the doctor, Noah, miraculously started to run all over the places. He was overwhelmed and motivated by the heaps of toys available at the children clinic's waiting area. Me and Muz looked at each other, relieved but at the same time puzzled at just what had happened.

A week after that fateful morning, I received a call from nursery saying Noah had a little accident. He fell on his head whilst playing football. They called the ambulance. Again, Noah was at the A&E, but this time at Lewisham University Hosp. The minute I received the phonecall, I was up from my bed (I was down with a flu at that time so I was at home) and found myself walking towards the nursery while talking to Muz on my mobile. I followed Noah on the ambulance without my wallet/id. Noah was ok. Infact, he was excited that he was able to be on the a 'ne no'. Kept pointing at the ambulance and said... Mama, mama... yook (look) ne no... then making the so called siren sound... ne no ne no ne no!

By the way, he got a small cut at the back of his head and doctor put some sort of glue to close the wound. This was on Wednesday...

On the next Monday, he woke up and complained about his left leg. Just like the right leg before, he was limping and could not put pressure on his left leg. It is a busy day for Muz so I had to take some time off work and bring Noah to A&E, yet again. At the same time, he had runny nose and eyes infection. He was x-rayed but Doctor could not pin point to anything so... she asked us to bring him home and monitor him for the next few days. She suspected that this could also due to the runny nose and eyes infection. He was better, infact started jumping that evening itself. So again, we had to juggle work to be at home with him and monitor him in the next few days.

It is a nightmare when your child is sick and both of you are working in this country. The nursery do not accept sick children. So when Noah is sick, we have no choice but to take time off from work and take turns to look after him. I am beginning to consider taking a nanny but live in nanny is very expensive. Well.. no wonder a lot of mothers over here decided not to work when they start a family. It is cheaper than having to find full time nanny to look after your infant. It helps as well that they will receive allowances on their kids and for themselves from the government. Although, this new government is slowly taking all that away. Oh well.. that is a different story.

In the past few weeks, Muz and I had been missing work a few times to look after Noah. Although, I always try to catch up by working from home, but it is not something that is common at my workplace. Most of the people there are mostly single, or married without children. So, I do feel kind of odd one out, if I kept on having to work from home.

This is what I miss most about Malaysia. The support system that we have. I am sure Noah's Atuks wouldn't mind looking after him when he is feeling a bit poorly. Furthermore, you are much at peace at work because you know your kids are with people that you trust and who loves them very much.

Looking forward to that once we are back at home. In the meantime, these are the peril that you have to face in return of other rewards.

My parents are coming to visit their grandkids soon. Alhamdullillah...

By the way..

2011-02-13T20:56:00.000Z

Pictures of Noah from BB! From last summer and this winter..

Mini me! Mini me!

2011-02-13T17:19:00.000Z

A dream finally came true! Proud owner of a MINI. Ok.. though I said I prefer red but that was before I saw this one.

The silvery/champagne like colour caught my eye. It stood out amongst others. At that exact moment, when I saw the gorgeousness, I could hear Noah's voice in the background, somewhat blur saying... car! car! Daddy, yook (look) car! In my head, I said... Shhh... yes baby, mama knows.. it is beautiful! *sob* misty eyed..

After looking even more closely, inside and out! Yes! Yes! I decided to adopt it. Without any hesitation. I will call this baby... MINI me!

Errr... I found out later Noah was actually pointing at a Z4 Beemer then, NOT at my MINI. We went to the MINI Park Lane showroom where it shares the carpark with BMW. The showrooms just next door to each other being under one group and all. OMG, Noah has an expensive taste!

Anyway, I am pleased to introduce, the new addition to the family... MINI me!

Hmm... Such a beauty! I know I know... This cutie looks good on me!

Me own MINI Cooper S. It is a pre-loved machine but the condition is still very good. That is a beauty of buying from a MINI dealer themselves under the Approved Used scheme. One hell satisfied customer! (Dang! Can't stop beaming...!)

It took a week for them to sort out the paperwork for the car. One agonising week. A few nights that week that I had a dream about it.

Then came Friday, which was the day, where I hit the road in a sizzling hot wheel. MINI me...

Noah latest antics

2011-01-05T21:24:00.001Z

This entry has been in my draft since july. I just updated it and published it a month late... Well beter late than never...

This is our 3rd New Year with Noah. yes, he is going to be 3 soon... well, in July. How time flies! He beginning to talk now.. We beginning to realise that his brain is absorbing information like a sponge. Without warning, he spurting words that we don't even realised he knows. He repeats most of the words that we say so you know that it is time to cut down on that swearing.

Noah knows how to count from zero to twenty, but skipping seven and seventeen. He has a thing with the number 7. Refused to acknowledge it and he usually goes straight to 8. That poor kid conscious on the way he said 7, so he refused to utter it at all. Yes, my son is quite a proud little guy. I found out that he knows to count by suprise. This was about 3 months back, when he counted the steps as we climbing up to my room. At that time, he did say 7 but I accidently laughed at how cute he had said it. I think its because of that,he has skipped it and refused to say it since then.

His new found antic in spitting when he is angry. This is fairly new thing that he has picked up. if he doesnt get what he wants or when we say no, he will start spitting at us. Tui! tui!

Fast forward 2 months after in Aug..

Noah now already 3 and he is in this critical time of his life.. learning to use potty.

He was so good in the beginning and now...he just a bit distracted.
Once, he just sat with his wet pants for a good half an hour because he was too occupied with ipad.

The kid getting smarter each day. Amazing to see his development of learning so many things in a short time. It is true that they say, human learning curve is at the highest at toddler stage.

Good luck Noah in your future journey. Momma and daddy will support you in which ever way that we can. Semoga membesar menjadi anak yang soleh dan beriman. Amin..

Sumin'sumin'

2010-12-11T12:52:00.000Z

Muzzy got sumin sumin' interesting and I am yet to get my mini! (please see my last post made eons ago..). Felt that we don't really need a new car and I don't want to be seem like wasting some dosh right now since you never will know what will happen in the future. And with the current dramatic climate change that we experience year after year, it is a consolation that I am doing mother nature a favour.

Having said all that, I dreamt about driving a new little chilli red mini last night. MUST BE STRONG!!!

A case of a Mini & a two year old...

2010-10-02T21:32:00.000+01:00

Muz is obsessed with Panerai and I too have an obsession...

This cutie is ridiculously overpriced in Malaysia but it is so affordable here. So I am toying with the idea of getting one - just because I can!

Toying with the idea led to us to visit the showroom this afternoon.

Noah was running all over the places and being his usual melodramatic self when we were trying to talk to the salesperson. Muz had to keep one eye if not both eyes on him all the time. Noah ran around with one shoe off, climbed into the Countryman, press the honk... and other embarrassing stuff that he likes to do nowadays. When we said no to something, he threw himself on the floor and fake crying. So, we did what any sensible parents would do.. which was to ignore him. Good thing the sales lady was understanding and kept on laughing at his antics. She said that I was relatively calm when compared to some other mothers. Yes.. I wasn't fretting. It helps when all the sales persons were warm and seems to be understanding. Not once they gave us that look. The look that some of us get when our child is shouting their tonsils out when they don't get what they want during shopping trips. That look usually makes me nervous. But, over there, they just laughed it off and kept on saying Noah is a cutie!

Not sure whether the Mini staff were truly understanding of this phase that Noah going through or they are trying to make a sale with his mother. Yes.. Noah is going through a phase.. he is TWO after all...

Anyway, back to Mini Cooper. Still thinking about it. Definitely will be nice to have one so I can bring back to Malaysia after we are done here. Though we do not really need one at the moment. The money can better be saved on a downpayment of a property. At least property appreciates in value. But... this is an adorable chilli red Mini Cooper!!

If only human can just stop at what is needed and not what they want. Life will be much simpler...
If only money grows on tree on my backyard, then I don't have to try and be sensible too much...
Yup.. If only...

Timeless passion

2010-10-02T00:02:00.001+01:00

I know, I know... It looks like this blog has only one entry per month... Hehehe not even once a month, the last post was more than two months ago! Even that was a very, very short one (more like a quick note than a blog entry...). Hmmm... we really suck at this eh... Not that we didn't have anything to write...

So, what with the title? Nothing fancy really, just feel like writing about something that has been one of my long-time interests - watches. I have always like them, but unfortunately, I'm no collector. Not that I don't want to, but I just couldn't afford to be one! It really is an extremely expensive hobby, collecting watches (at least those worth collecting lah...). I have always been admiring them - all the Tags, the Breitlings, the Pateks, the IWCs and so on so forth, from shop windows and display counters only...

But why this sudden entry about my passion for watches? Because that passion has just been revived... After all, I did mention in my first blog entry that I would, once in a blue moon, write about my interest... :)

I have had a few wristwatches (Game & Watch tak kira la... despite owned a few!) over my thirty-something-years life. If I can recall correctly, I remember owning a Beatle (yup, the band) timepiece, a special edition Fossil, a couple of Adidas-es, a Quiksilver, a Swatch (my first ever self-winding automatic) and of course, a couple of Casio calculator watches (my earliest, real watch I think). None of them exist / working anymore, except for the Fossil. Like I said, they were not worth keeping for any collection...

Oh, I almost forgot... I also used to own a Vacheron Constantine, but a fake one, bought in HK! (Hehehe... mana mampu beli yang betul punya...) Nevertheless, it was still a beautiful watch, a self-winding automatic with see-through glass back where you can see its internal workings (love this feature very much!). Used to own because I gave it to my little brother... In fact most of my watches I handed down to my two brothers, especially the youngest one, but none of the watches survived... Hampeh betul...

Now I own a couple of cool premium watches - a Tissot original T-Touch and an automatic Hamilton Jazzmaster chronograph (which I'm wearing everyday). The best bits are that both were presents, and both were given by the same person - Eju!

My passion for watches extends "For Her" as well. If I'm not mistaken, I got Eju all the watches she owns right now, except for just one (a Folli-Follie). Her mini collection includes a CK, a Tissot, a Cartier and the latest, in support of her upcoming 10k charity run (will try to write more on that later), a Garmin Forerunner heart monitor watch.

Revival?

About a week ago, I started to search, browse and read a lot more about watches, about Officine Panerai timepieces to be exact, thanks to my beloved. At this rate, I really think I'm on my sure way to become a paneristi, despite short of owning a piece. Takpe, one fine day nanti...

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Happy 2nd birthday our little prince

2010-07-28T21:45:00.000+01:00

Happy birthday darling... Hope you will have loads more wonderful years in front of you. Its a belated post, but hei... better late than never.

The new age kids

2010-07-17T07:34:00.002+01:00

Only two and already has gadgets. Kids nowadays..

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Noah swam at Greenwich Park.

2010-05-27T09:24:00.002+01:00

We brought Noah on a bike ride to the park on that Sunday evening. He had fun with the swings, slides and running around the field. After spending half an hour at the playground of Greenwich Park, it was time to leave. As usual, Noah being Noah would run around expecting mama and daddy to work a bit running after him. He didn't give up easily, I tell ya! I let Muz did the catching while I waited by the bikes. Next thing I know, Muz came back with Noah in his hand, wet from head to toe.

He jumped into a pond next to the playground. Luckily Muz managed to pull him out of the water. To be fair to Noah, it was not without warning, Noah did stopped at the edge of the pond, pointing at it and said "Air! Air!". Then, he looked at Muz and simply stepped into the water casually.

I guess then he realized that he forgot his floating device! It was not all that great like the heated swimming pool mama always brought you to right, sayang? Good thing that he knew how to float a little bit so it was easy for Muz to grab him.

It was nearly eight so the sun is setting and it was a bit windy. Muz had to sacrifice his t shirt for our little cheekie chimp! He cycled around town showing off his beautifool bodeh!

The ground zero! Smelly and dirty pond.

On the way home, I smelt something foul and thought I stepped on a dog's poo but it was actually coming from Noah clothes that was strapped at the back of my bicycle. I scrubbed Noah clean once we arrived home.

We did asked Noah to seat on his naughty chair for two mins so he can reflect on what he has done. I was telling the story to my colleagues and somebody mentioned, maybe Muz the one who supposed to be on the naughty chair.. Hmm!

Happy birthday Imaan!

2010-05-23T21:28:00.000+01:00

Happy birthday Imaan! We love you so much. You are destined to be somebody great. InsyaAllah... Mama Eju can feel it in her heart. With much love and kisses... Mama Eju, Ayah Muz and Noah!

The 3 stooges enjoying the cake... This was taken minutes before the same kids turned the house upside down!

You are 4 today darling.. how time flies.. soon you will go to college, find a nice girl and settle down... Mama Eju though will be older, but still hawt at that time! Haha...

Orang biasa.. Basikal tua..

2010-05-16T18:46:00.004+01:00

It was still cloudy that Saturday afternoon when we took Noah for a ride. His first time on Daddy's bike. He really enjoyed it. He loved the cold breeze against his face. The thrill from the speed when daddy cycling down the road, and the excitement from the bumpiness on cobbled pavements. Kept asking Daddy to cycle faster. "Sepi Go!! Sepiii Go!" (if you have watched Geng the Movie.. You know what I am talking about!)

Daddy felt tired. Noah still wanted to keep going though his nose has started to be runny. His hands were cold. We asked him to get off. He refused and kept on asking daddy to keep going. Daddy's legs (yup... the muscular, sexy also slightly hairy legs..) have turned into jelly. Apparently, the legs felt even worse the next day!

It is time to get inside. Had to fight with him to unbuckle the seat belt. Struggled to carry him in since he was scrambling to get back on the bike. Good thing that we were stronger than him. Once inside, he still trying... Used tears as the weapon. Oh well...

Next time my baby.. When the sun is out and it is not raining and when the feeling in Daddy's legs return. Too bad that Sunday was forecasted to rain. Most probably only next weekend we are able to enjoy the bike again. Hope the (stupid) English weather improves! I am so ready for summer. Anytime now...

The Allahyarham Sudirman song stuck in my head.. Orang Biasa.. Basikal tua...

more pictures...

2010-05-03T12:31:00.004+01:00

Kildare Village

A chic outlet in Ireland similar to Bicester Village in UK. However, the trip was very disappointing since not many worth buying because they were very expensive. Bicester is a hell lot better!

Ferry Ride

Nothing much to do except to wait and take pictures to pass the time. It is about 2 hours ride from Dublin to Hollyhead.

Fresh Oysters at Ivan's Oyster Bar, Howth, Dublin.

The Oysters were so fresh and delicious. We came across the restaurant by mistake because Mak and I needed a loo. I tried the yummy oysters and had a craving for them the next day so Muz decided to bring us there again. We sampled the farmed and the 'wild' ones. Verdict? the wild ones were more delicious. Natural is always better I suppose... As you can see, Abah is a big fan too...

Hard Rock Dublin

A must place to visit for souvenirs!

Pandang kanan.. pandang kiri sebelum melintas.. bagus!

Pictures from the road trip

2010-05-03T10:44:00.005+01:00

Three generations

Rolling all over the field

Care for fish and chips from Beshoff fishmarket?

New hobby, pick and throw pebbles...

Cayang anak mama!

Noah not really happy huh?

Pebble beach...

Comel lah.. daddy's boy!

Beautiful Bath

The river Avon, Bath

Noah looking determine on the swing... faster Mama! Higher!

The famous Stonehenge

Now, where shall we go next...

The road trip of the year..

2010-05-02T10:12:00.012+01:00

Finally! The urge to update the blog is here. A lot has happened since the last time we updated.

My in-laws came to visit. They are still here but leaving for Malaysia next week. Already!?? Before we even realised it, it has already been over a month. Noah has grown accustomed of having his atuk and nenek around, where almost every bit of his whims and fancies are met. I suspect he will miss them terribly once they leave. It will be like weaning off his nyot nyot all over again...While amongst other things, Noah's momma and daddy will miss having atuk and nenek's extra pairs of eyes on Noah!

We took a week off and went on a road trip to bring them around and spend some quality time together. First to Dublin and around Dublin County. Realised that things are so damn expensive there. Almost all of the things are double the price as compared to UK. I think, this is because, the Euro has strengthened almost double compared to pounds since it first introduced. Can see why the European loves to shop in UK. We just went around sight seeing at Ireland's coast line and small villages. The highlights of the trip were to be able to see my cousin Man the night we arrived, had fresh local oysters the next day and the ferry rides from Hollyhead, Wales to Dublin and back. Not much to see in Dublin really... Plus, it was very expensive!

Then, off to Stoke-on Trent! Another must go place for Malaysian who comes to UK. A hometown of Wedgewood and Royal Doulton. I have been there when I first arrived in UK last year and bought a set of china. However, I still could not help but to 'invest' on more china sets. Why not since you already there, right? Amazingly, we managed to squeeze all of these shopping into our car. Muz's mother got some bargain on 1 pound plates. She took almost all of such plates on display. Definitely a steal!

Next destination on the trip was the City of Bath. A very unique and beautiful City. I love it! Since it thrives on tourism, the city is also quite expensive. Almost all of the 'interesting sights' are with charges including the parks and gardens. The charges are not cheap. Muz parents do not believe in paying so much to see these places so we ended walking around the town appreciating the sceneries. Can't help to thank the Mayor of London for the free entries of museums and parks in london! Despite all that, Bath is still the place to go. The town started as spa resort by the Romans where temples and bath area were built around the hotsprings. The town had then stayed to be a popular and fashionable place for leisure visits amongst the royalties and aristocrats. Now in the modern world, it has recognised as a World Heritage Site (like Greenwich) and remain popular amongst the Britons and tourists who come UK. It is located in a valley surrounded with beautiful hillside and a river called Avon, runs through the centre of the town. The view is just breathtaking! One of Wikie's description of the town is 'the streets are steep and so the buildings appeared to be climbing'. We stayed two nights there but our hotel is bit of a drive from the town. Muz and I both agreed that it is worth coming again for a weekend and this time we shall stay in the town centre.

Finally, to end a week long road trip is a trip to Stonehenge. Can't believe that big boulders arranged on top of another in a circle formation could formed an amazing sight. Nobody knows why exactly it was built. Based on the formation on how the effect of the shadow from the sun, they suspect it has something to do with astronomy. Based on the history of civilisation, the historian believes it was built for the paganism practises in worshipping the sun and lunar and human sacrifices. Based on myths and legends, the existence is magical since Merlin has charmed the stones all the way from Ireland. Some extreme thinks Aliens had their hands on them. Since it is dated all the way back from 3000 BC, the experience of seeing it is awe-inspiring! Just imagine how it was like then, the intensive labour being put into building it using only ancient medieval tools! That is why, towering big rocks in the middle of field could look very majestic to me.

That ended our trip. Could not help arriving home feeling glad and relieved. Though we had seen a lot, had a lot of fun, it is still not easy to have a road trip when you have a demanding two year old with you. Good thing that we had extra hands of Noah's atuk and neneks to keep him distracted and entertained.

Pictures to be posted later. (Just so I would have more posts to make up for the lost time...Shhh!)

Two sets of hawt wheelies!

2010-03-21T22:53:00.001Z

Cube Hooper 2010

Looks good eh! Somebody will get that soon!

We went bike shopping today. Muzzy wants to start cycling to work so we enrol to Cycle to Work Scheme. The scheme lets your purchase of bicycle to be taxed free and taxed deductible and... on monthly instalment for a year! The overall discount came to be 49% from the original price. It is just so amazing so we max-ed up our allocation for this 'for him' bike.

As 'for her' bike, I just went for a modest option...

Globe Vienna 1 2010

Nothing fancy on the specs, unlike 'for him' bike just now. It just looks very pretty and fits my simple needs. Good for in town cycling, to the train station and leisure ride on weekends.

Since the 'for him' bike has max-ed up his allocation, we piled up all the accessories e.g. helmets, locks, lights and child seat (for little Noah up until he is 22 kg!) under my allocation. Same discount and perks applied on accessories. Isn't that just amazing. I am so excited and still can't believe how great the scheme is!

Cara hidup sihat coming up!

I heart weekends!

2010-03-21T08:35:00.001Z

Weekends are the best! Every Saturday now I have been bringing Noah for a swim. The first time, that was 3 Saturdays ago, he was a bit nervous. Clinging on to me. I brought him to adult pool so his feet never touched the floor, an alien experience for him and he didn't like it at all. So all the time, he made sure his feet were safely planted on me. I was his sense of security. Not always my son was that attached to me nowdays.

However, that was only for the first 20 minutes! Then after, he was already flapping his feet in the water and swimming forward without my help.

Getting ready to swim

Yesterday, he did not want me to direct him at all. He swam refusing me holding him and went whenever he felt like it. A parent brought a ball at the pool yesterday to play with his son. My son got excited when he saw it. He swam towards the person went to ask for it and said Nak? Nak?! To a Caucasian man. While pointing at the ball. Malu lah mama! He was nice enough and let Noah played with him and his son for a bit.

He swims with floats now. Will be enrolling him to a proper class which starts on 5th April. The class is open from babies age 4 months! No idea how these kids will be taught since they don't really understand directions. Oh well.. We shall see.

After swimming, we had a lovely brunch at a nice restaurant in town introduced by Linda. Nice family friendly French restaurant. The place looks very deceiving from outside but as you entered, the decor, the space and the jazz music gave you a nice relaxing ambience. The waiters were friendly and understanding of Noah ran around in the restaurant. The food was good too. This can be a routine for our Sats.

Noah scoffing his food down

at Bar de Musee

Spring is officially here. Sunday is the day to catch up on errands or just a day to laze around. Walking in the park is always in the plan but yet to be done, since the weather were quite shite for the past few weekends. Today is a maybe because it is simply a gorgeous day outside. The sun is shining and we have a lovely huge park very very near our home. About half km away. The World Heritage Greenwich Park. It's about time we pay a visit there. A chance for Noah to run around... And we scurried awkwardly chasing after him!

It's been a long time eh...

2010-02-26T01:57:00.001Z

It has been a really long time since I penned anything in this blog. If I can recall correctly, my last real entry was just after Eiduladha, when we were busy attending friends' open houses. And that was months ago! Time really flew... Unlike Eju's, my excuse is not laziness, but, to be really honest, most of the time I forgot that we even have a blog! Hahaha... What can I say? I'm still not used to writing a blog! (Alasan... alasan...)

Obviously there are loads of updates, so many thoughts to pen as a lot of things has happened over the last few months. I guess the most significant, at least in my case, is that I have started working (yeay!). At the time of my last entry, I was preparing for the interview. Needless to say, I nailed it (hehehe) but of course not without hurdles. I'm not going to talk about the problems, I'm just thankful that everything worked out as well as I hoped for...

Now I'm doing CRM. It is something very new to me, but I guess that makes it even more challenging and I hope, interesting (and stimulating). Officially it has been a month now (dah dapat first gaji dah, yeay!), and things are still looking very good (I'm still looking forward to go to work every morning, that should be a good enough sign!). But I have to say, it wasn't easy, the first couple of weeks. My brain was still on sabbatical mode and I was struggling to get it back online! I was trying really hard to figure out what I needed to do, and how I was supposed to do them. But brain just took its own sweet time to recover. Hehehe. I guess that's normal after a long break. Luckily tak lama. Now I think my head is working at about 70% of its pre-holiday efficiency, sufficient to garner positive and encouraging feedback from the new boss. That will do then :).

The hardest part of returning to work is none other than leaving that little boy Noah every morning (hehe nie skrip wajib for any full-time parent!). Believe me, getting used to the new working routine was fairly easy, but seeing him crying nak ikut every morning is a little difficult. Tough. Oh well, he'll (and I'll) get used to it... eventually...

Other than the new job, we have moved to a new home (Eju has covered that part), I have passed the CIMA Managerial stage (now Strategic level babeh, yeay!), went back to Malaysia and returned, and I have more grey hair than ever before (getting old really fast!!!). Oh, and I think I'm going to miss MISC Treasure Hunt this year: no real reason to go back plus now I have to apply for leave. Unless there's a meeting in KL that coincides with the hunt? Mimpilah... Tak dapat pertahankan 3 tahun kejuaraanlah nampaknye... To whom it may concern, "Why having it early this year?"

Weaned off..

2010-02-25T21:04:00.000Z

Noah is free of pacifiers! His life is no longer depending on nyot nyot! It started when he lost his dummy at Abu Dhabi, where he was on transit to fly back to London from Kuala Lumpur. He was visiting his beloved Atuks back in Malaysia last January.

We took the incident of losing his dummy as a sign for him to let go. He went cold turkey! Had some tough withdrawal symptoms but now, if he could speak, he would be proud to say he is free from nyot nyot! Well done darling... Mama proud of you!

During the times of ignorance... But extremely adorable!

An entry for the sake of an entry..

2010-02-24T22:34:00.000Z

It has been awhile since we updated our blog. Not much to update? Loads! But just plain lazy... Cannot be helped..

Noah is growing and getting smarter each day. Sometimes testing our patience as parents of his overtly stubborness and grumpiness! I supposed this is what "terrible twos" are all about though he is not quite two yet. We will just have to wait and see what other tricks he will learn when he is turning two.

His vocabulary is expanding each day but still can't express his "wants" with words. If he wants anything, he would take our hand, asking us to follow him and he would point to the thing that he wants. Say if he wants to go out, he will point at the door and bring his shoes to us and say... Nih..! That means... Mama I want to go out now!!

This little guy has a huge temper. Tak padan dengan the size! If he doesn't get what he wants, he will scream his lungs out. Good thing that the neighbours are an understanding lot!

That little boy Noah is also liking attention and always seeking for one. I guess it is normal for kids this age. Many adults that I know still love and crave for attention so... even more so for a toddler like Noah. Poor little guy.. mama and daddy have to leave him at home for work everyday, so no wonder he demands for constant attention whenever we are around.

Having said all that, he is still our little angel! Sometimes marah marah jugak but can't help but feel kesian especially when he is giving us that sad puppy eyed look! That look works everytime cause he always end up with a big kiss and hug from his mama and daddy!

He is truly a bless! Though as I am writing this entry, Noah is shouting from inside of his cot refusing to go to sleep. Mama is turning a deaf ear... Good night darling! I love you!

Our new home in Greenwich

2010-01-03T09:51:00.000Z

We have now moved into our new home. Moving is tiring. Always make you wonder how and why do you have so much stuff. The simple rule is do not hoard! But... you just do not have the heart to throw your things out.

The old books, old clothes during skinny era, plates and cups from our wedding gifts, pots and pans that we have accumulated and not to mention, cables and wires, which kind of get on my nerves! We seem to have so much of them! From current and old phones, computers, tv and stereos!

You are torn between wanting to throw, no no.. recycle or keeping them, just in case you need them, or for the case of clothing, in case you lose the extra
pounds. Then you go for years not using them. Need to be strong but somehow, it is kind of hard to do!

My sister helped to clear some of our stuff! We found a few items which are great for Christmas gifts... Still spanking new and in it's packaging. She and Adam helped with our moving which we are so so so thankful! Only Allah can repay your kindness. Love you all!

Anyway, love the new house. We have our own conservatory and much bigger main bedroom. I am loving our wardrobe.

Spacious, its almost a 'walk in'! Almost... But loving it still!

Storage storage storage.. to put my handbags and all!

Noah even has a nice little corner for his cot!

The house is 3 storeys mews... With three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Two of the bedrooms located at the second level. Ground is the living, kitchen and conservatory.

Have to place our old sofa at the conservatory since the house came with it's sofa set.

We even have a small yard in the back. Great for BBQs in summer!

They are certain things that we need to do for this house:

1) buy full- length mirror! Urgent! It came without mirror.. Help!
2) set up utilities and broadband! Takes ages over here!! Have to face British private sector inefficiency.. Again!
3) our old bed could not fit through the winding stairs. Have to carry it through the windows. Later.. Not urgent! Or should we recycle??! As I said... Later!
4) get some heaters for the conservatory! Freezing during winter! Our dining table is there.. Can't even bear to think to eat there!
5) storages for Noah ever piling up toys and rack for our books. Also not urgent.. Next month's pay..
6) coat hangers at the landing. Our jackets currently everywhere...

There! Moving is tiring and costly! Hope we will make this place our home for few years at least.

We are now living in a quirky town named Greenwich. Where she used to be a thriving and important port in her previous lifetime.

Though missing being at Westminster, with the 'W' postcode, and the 'W' Factor, but I am sure we will grow absolutely and irrevocably fond of this area.
(macam Bella rasa ngan Edward... )

InsyaAllah and Alhamdullillah...

Random Picture

2009-12-18T10:20:00.001Z

Hai yai.. Captain!! We are going for a ride....

Rambling in one cold evening

2009-12-15T20:48:00.001Z

The forecast says it will snow tonight. In some parts of UK that is. London will also see some snow, but maybe tomorrow or the next day. The sky looks grey and the clouds look really heavy and dense. We could see a white Christmas the forecast said.

The cold weather was a bit sudden, it was very mild last week. We even had a nice sunny day when we were in Wales last Thursday. It is now -1 degrees outside and I am now snuggled warmly under the duvet waiting for Noah to fall asleep. Got to be careful or I will be joining Noah in a dreamland. Happened so many times before. Mommy snores away whilst Noah still jumping up and down in his cot.

Been a bit lazy to update the blog lately. Let Muzzy has his airtime. I am now in a phase. Phase of Twilight obsession. Just saw the movie 2 weeks ago and I quickly downloaded the books. Read all 4 books within two weeks. My ebook reader was broken at Barcelona (yes, was there briefly for meetings!) and I ended buying all the books. Stupid Sony... Why do you have to make your goods so fragile! I will need to pay 175 quid to fix it. Better off buying a new one. This time, I will get it insured.

Anyway, back to twilight. I am in nobody's team. Not Jacob nor Edward. Just happy that the series had a happy ending. My kind of story. I forced Muzzy to watch the movie with me (again for me!) last night. Like most other straight men, he didn't see what's the hype is all about! Like most other teenage girls, I wonder whether my man would love me like Edward loves Bella. Muz said "yes sayang.. I love you like Edward loves Bella..." Yeay! I got my own Edward here. Though I have a sneaking suspicion that Muzzy only said yes to shut me up. Who cares.. Let a girl has her moment!

We are finalising our tenancy agreement for our new home. If everything goes well, we will be moving in on 1st Jan 2010. Good way to start the new year... Breaking our backs on heavy lifting!

Another good news, if everything goes well Muzzy will start a new job in Jan. Alhamdullillah. Will update once things are more firm.

Noah is fast asleep now. I am going to join Muz on the couch. Maybe convince him to watch New Moon with me tonight.

The curious case of jet-lag...

2009-12-04T19:01:00.000Z

Can one get jet-lag returning from Spain? Hehehe... Noah saw an opportunity to 'tumpang sekaki' and took it with his eyes closed(!!!), enjoying the warmth of his Mama in this freezing English weather...

Another week, another weekend...

2009-12-02T00:29:00.000Z

How was your weekend? Ours were... well, really packed, especially so for Eju!

It all started last Friday night for her, as she attended an annual dinner at Christie's (the posh auction house) in Mayfair hosted by one of her main business couterparties. She was mesmerized, awed even spellbinded if you like by the whole thing... I know this because she can't stop talking about it! Hehehe... According to her (I wasn't there obviously...), it was an amazing do, with its Spanish-Russian opera concert backed by a full-blown orchestra, which also played classical background music throughout its 7-course dinner! In fact, that particular night made her fell in love with the opera, "Even though I tak paham, I could feel the emotions through her voice!" And now she wants to go to more opera concerts... Oh well, that's Eju for you :)

As for me, my weekend started early on Saturday like usual. I had my 7-9am badminton games at the Seymour Leasure Centre, but it's just that that day's session ended without the usual nasi lemak and teh tarik sebab takut lambat. We had an appointment to view another house in Putney at 11am, despite the fact that we have more or less made up our mind on the house in Greenwich. Anyhoo... the Putney house was nice, with a beautiful garden at the back and a proper English dining room complete with a fireplace. Moreover, the neighbourhood was very pleasant and there were loads of free parking spaces around (an important factor in London!). Put it this way lah, at the end of the viewing, Eju had a second thought... Hehehe... Luckily the place is a tad more expensive...

Next on the agenda was a couple of open houses to celebrate Eid that Saturday afternoon. Kak Tita and family came down to London to join us, and all of us went to the first house near Golders Green in North London. The supposedly short trip was spoilt by the really bad traffic - the 10 miles journey took us 1 1/2 hours! But I guess it was made ok by the delicious, authentic Turkish meal at Nazlin's house. Then after about an hour eating and chatting, we made our move to the second house at Ealing in West London. The traffic on the North Circular was still really bad, so we decided to take jalan dalam instead. Hehehe... not that I know London's roads that well, we just relied on TomTom! :) We went straight home after an hour at Teratai's, and called it a day quite early that night...

Sunday was nothing less than busy too... We had some friends (which are also our neighbours at Maida Vale) over for brunch and dinner. The menu for that day was nasi lemak, and I have to say, Eju cooked a superb one too! (After bertungkus-lumus all morning, the result beats Malaysia Hall's anytime!) And between the two meals (and visits), we still managed to go to Eju's big boss' open house at Highgate in North London... Talk about commitment :P.

Some of you might find this entry's a day too late... The thing is, I planned to post it yesterday whilst it was still fresh, but I was interupted by a phonecall midway through, a phonecall I've sort of been waiting for. Cut the story short, I have a job interview this Thursday! (Yeay!!!) To make sure things go well for the interview, I tried on my work suits and surprise, surprise, none of them fit! (Hahaha... They are certainly not tailored to fit in my holiday fat!) But fortunately that's sorted now - I bought a suit from M&S that very afternoon (it was tough though to shop under pressure!) I've even organised for Noah's sitter on Thursday, and planned my route / timing so that I won't be late or lost. Now, all I have left to do (other than a haircut...) is to prepare my mind for the interview, but it's quite hard to do that when you are having a cold and headaches, courtesy of this freezing weather (it's 3 degrees!). I just hope I'll be better come Thursday...

Btw, Eju is off to Barcelona for work tomorrow for 3 days. Noah and I couldn't tag along this time because the flight tickets were too expensive. Oh, and I have that interview... Takpelah, I've been to Barcelona and Noah is too young to appreciate the trip anyway...

Ticking the right boxes

2009-11-27T12:08:00.000Z

I wanted to write this entry ealier, from the seconds we finished our exams on Wednesday. Yelah, excited since I had just stroke off one of my *sighs*... But at that moment, I just couldn't think of anything, let alone write something... I then realised that my brain needed to recuperate from the intensive up/downloading of information, one of many side effects of last minute studying. (Hahaha!) On top of that, I just couldn't stop myself from straightening up the house first, clearing the mess from days of neglect...

I'm pretty sure we'll repeat the whole routine again next time! :)

Another *sigh* stroke off - we've decided to move house by the end of the year! We figured, of course with the help of Kak Tita, that we don't really need to spend money on all the cleaning and moving, we can do it ourselves! How hard can that be? Plus, it could be an opportunity for us to minimise our belongings, to get rid of stuff that we don't really need or want. Hey, it's killing two birds with one stone: saving money AND getting better organised!

A more fortunate news, we found a house that ticks all the 'what we want from our new home' boxes! First of all, the rent is much cheaper than what we are paying now, even if we include the higher council taxes into the equation. Secondly, the house itself is nothing short of perfect for us: a gated, good sized landed property with 3 beds and 2 bathrooms, a small paved back garden, parking spaces and dig this, it even has a cosy conservatory at the back! Best tak? Hehehe... Locationwise, Greenwich may not be as 'nice' as Maida Vale (even the name!), but who cares? More importantly, there is a couple of nurseries for Noah near the place we are settling, GPs are a few steps away and the Greenwich Park is just a stone throw away. In terms of commuting to work, it is still very convinient for us - Eju can take the Overground from Greenwich straight to Charing Cross, where her office is (it's cheaper too!) and, if I get a job in Canary Wharf, I can just cycle to work. How's that for saving both the earth and money? Hahaha...

Talking about work, I heard a 'khabar angin sepoi-sepoi bahasa' that AET is considering me for a new position in its office in London. Nothing's official and I still have to go for the interview, but I'm positive... I really hope I get this one, insyaAllah. It'll be a HUGE tick to the list... Pray for me guys!

Btw, yesterday was thanksgiving day in the US. No reason, no significance.

Today is Eiduladha. Nothing special is happening for us today, only more people (4 groups today!) are coming over to view this house. But if I'm not mistaken, we'll have a full day tomorrow visiting friends literally at all four corners of London! That'll be interesting...

Last but not least, my thoughts to all my family members in Mecca performing the Haj, especially Abah as tomorrow is his birthday. Happy birthday Abah and Eid Mubarak everyone!

Sunday Brunch Munch

2009-11-22T13:19:00.000Z

I woke up feeling like wanting to do something special today with the family. We decided to have brunch at Cafe Rouge near Warwick Avenue. It is very near our place at Maida Vale but we never been there. So we better go now before we move home this end of the year.

Maida Vale will be missed. But what to do? My employer is cutting down our housing allowance, hence cutting down some aspects of quality in life. I think they expect us to stay at council housing (which we are not entitled anyway...) then they feel they are being fair. Sounds bitter? You damn right I am! I feel that my rights are being violated!

Any hoo.... Back to cafe rouge..

As the name suggests, the Restaurant's setting is ala Parisian chic, the dish titles are in Francais but with Anglais descriptions.

We ordered a baskets of French patisseries for Noah and he loves them.

What's left is just the basket for him to occupy himself whilst daddy and mommy enjoy their coffees.

Cappucino. A dose of caffeine to kickstart the morning!

No sayang... Not old enough for caffeine. Do not want to stunt your growth. You will grow up to be a 6 footer!

Muz ordered smoke salmon croque with gruyere cheese. Very delicious indeed!

Crepe with tomato, mushroom and fried egg for myself.

Noah's verdict, daddy's choice is better!

Mommy's one is healthier but not when you chomped them down with pain au chocolat and buttered croissant!

After exam start working out again. Yes... we are seating for a CIMA paper this Wednesday. Wish us luck!

sigh(s)

2009-11-14T00:58:00.000Z

It is cold and wet outside. It has been like this all week... Oh well, we've been thinking, discussing, arguing about it all week too... (The gloomy weather is the last thing we need to worry about right now...) *sigh*

Why the long face?

We are at one of life many crossroads: we have to make important decisions that would ultimately alter the course of our life. Ok la, to a certain extend, all decisions are potentially life-changing ones... but I guess the magnitude that makes the difference. To illustrate, the problem we are facing right now is challenging even the existence of this blog! How huge is that? Hahaha... If you know what I mean... I've been trying to apply everything I learned from work and CIMA: decision trees, scenario planning, sensitivity analysis etc to help us make the right decision, but somehow it seems much more complicated and difficult in real (personal) life. I feel like we have too many unknowns in the equation that by just applying assumed probability for things to happen is too big a risk for us to take at this juncture. Faham tak? Neither do I... I think what I'm saying is that we are not sure what to do next, considering the new circumstances that are upon us... *sigh*

"Deal with just one thing at a time" Abah advised me. So, here we go...

The first thing on our list is our CIMA exams. In less than 2 weeks time, both of us will be sitting for yet another paper (each of us is taking different papers) in our never-ending quest for the professional qualification. Yup, I know... After 3 years you would think that we should really have our certs already... Yup, we REALLY are taking our sweet own time! And without fail, again this time, we left the studying to the very last minutes... Mana la tak stress! *sigh*

Next, come January, our tenancy agreement for the Elgin house will expire. The landlady has been pressing for our answer whether or not to continue with the tenancy. In fact she wants the answer by this Monday, so that she would have ample time to look for a new tenant should we decide to move. We would love to keep staying here but the thing is, with the certain reduction of our housing allowance (another issue in its own right *SIGH*) coupled with the inflating rent, we may no longer be able to afford it. Sounds like a straightforward decision? Think again... Moving costs money upfront, quite a big sum pulak tu! We would need a minimum of 6 weeks rent for deposit, plus some dough for cleaning and moving services. Moreover, we haven't got the chance to really look for alternative houses, as the bad news about the allowance came only very recently. Only then we can do a little bit more detailed comparison of the relevant costs of staying vs moving: rent, commuting cost, nursery, council taxes etc for us to make the right decision.

This predicament, I believe, on its own is no big deal. Only that it is being magnified tenfold by the fact that I'm still jobless. I've been applying for some jobs that I thought would be good for my career and at the same time make good use of my skills and experience. Sadly, I've hit a wall taking that path... *sigh* Now I have no choice but to try for everything, to go for anything that I can get hold of, tak kira la kerja apa... "Desperate time requires desperate measure"... *sigh*

But hey, I'm still quite positive that I'll get a job, and that it's just a matter of timing. Unfortunately though, time is what I do not have right now... Here in the UK, thousands of workers are being laid off and thousands more are reported to follow suit, all fallen casualties of the current economic recession. My optimism is running (very) thin... *sigh*

The thing is, it's quite... Err, I stand corrected, it's REALLY difficult to enjoy a quality life here by relying on just one income. Of course we can survive, but is it better compared to living in Malaysia?

Are these ques for us to move back to Malaysia? I don't know... But it's an option that we are seriously considering if the situation does not improve i.e. if I don't get a job soon... *sigh*

On a different, unrelated note: my parents, older brother and some of my aunties including Cik Yam are going for Haj this year. They'll fly off for Mecca this coming Monday and will be back a few days after Christmas. I wish them all a safe journey, and semoga dikurniakan haji yang mabrur, amin...

Double celebrations

2009-11-03T21:28:00.002Z

Last weekend was a special one. One is turning 6, another is turning 35 25. We celebrated double birthdays of two very special ladies in my life.

One of them is the person that I always able to count on, my loyal confidante, my advisor, my supporter, my sparring partner, my fair assessor, my GIRL FRIEND!!, my strong advocator, my role model, my gossip buddies, my partner in crime... who is happened to be my only sister.

I remember when I was small, you were so garang but I still follow you around because in my eyes... you are so terror and so clever. A lot that I wanted to learn from my big sister so it didn't matter to me whether I was being pushed around. Hahah...

It is undeniable that you have a garang persona, but it is also indisputable that you have the kindest heart. We are proud of what you have accomplished and what you have become!

And.. you are also a wonderful and proud mother of another girl we were celebrating on that day, my darling niece Rahil.

Rahil darling, you are 6! It has been a great 6 delightful years knowing you and I am sure you will bring more joy and delight for years to come (even during your teen years...i hope!)

Mama Eju, Ayah Muz and Noah love you so much. It is amazing that you are so young yet you never fail to make us feel very proud of all the achievements thus far. You can be sure that you can always count us to be the loudest who will cheer for you... especially Mama Eju... your uber chic and fabulous aunt! Wink! Wink!

A smart and intelligent girl you are and I see a lot of the strengths of your mother in you.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please raise your glasses. Here are to my two special girls. Hope you will have more great years ahead of you and may all of your wishes come true... I wish you well now and thereafter....

More pictures of the momentous occasion...

Kenapa macam Imaan punye cake dulu?? It is the family's favourite cake - Concerto from Maison Blanc...

This cake has became another family's favourite cake - again from Maison Blanc... It is very delicious! The light spongy texture makes you feel less guilty to indulge.

Crazy pose!! Imaan mana? Taking the picture ke?

Noah and his beloved kakak Rahil.

He enjoys the cake very much. Yeah... it shows.

Imaan just woke up from afternoon nap, straight to devouring the cake. His eyes are barely open...

"This train terminates at East Grinstead..."

2009-10-30T23:16:00.000Z

Today was the third and final day of our intensive Advance course in East Grinstead. Err... where? Never heard of this place? Neither did I... It's a small old town in West Sussex, about 30 miles (that's the straight line distance, according to Google Map lah... TomTom's fastest route comes up to more than 60 miles!) south of London. It is really small - you can walk around the town covering all the important and not-so-important landmarks (e.g. the high street, cathederal, theatre, cinema, museum, library, supermarkets etc) in less than an hour! I found it quite unique, a lovely town, a piece of 'Ye Olde England'. Hmm, I think pictures would describe it better than (my) words...

Anyway, the reason I went there was more for 'bonding' with my nephew, Imaan sementara his parents concentrated on learning the massaging technique...

Btw, unlike the past two days, today I took the train because Adam's car was full, with Eju tagging along to East Grinstead... It was my first train ride since a very long time (underground tak kira la...). I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it albeit it was only about an hour ride. Both return trips were smooth and comfortable, but the outbound journey was particularly more enjoyable, thanks to the beautiful view of British suburbans and countryside on an autumn morning (everything was brown, green and gold!). Anyway... The best thing about taking the train is that you don't have to worry about which route to take or whether there'll be traffic jams. You can, more often than not, depend on its very reliable schedule. My ride today was no different - on time even to the minute, and almost right to the second!

The last time I took the train, if I can recall correctly lah, was during my uni years, probably a trip from Lancaster to London (one of many of course...) which took more than 3 hours a trip. Back then, I was travelling with a student travelcard which made tickets much cheaper and hence, the frequency. But those were the days, no more discounted train rides for me... All is well though as I hardly take the train anyway, yelah with Noah and all...

Love is here!

2009-10-27T15:43:00.000Z

I don't have much to write, just want to share some photos of Noah having a stroll in the park on yet another beautiful autumn day. If I'm not mistaken, days like this that made Eju loves the UK so much...

Last weekend

2009-10-26T17:17:00.001Z

Yet another eventful weekend had past...

Well, more like an eventful Saturday. Adam, Kak Tita and the kids came down to London on Friday night and spent the weekend with us. They were here for the Scotson Technique Massage Therapy session on Saturday afternoon in West Sussex, which was about 1 1/2 hours drive from our place. Anyway, it was great to have them around, especially so for Noah as he could play with his beloved cousins Kakak Rahil and Abang Imaan. I guess it was a pleasant change for him from the same everyday faces of his Mama and Daddy!

On a different note, I've added another activity to my weekly routine - playing badminton on Saturday mornings with a bunch of guys I hardly knew. I didn't know any of them (at all!) before my first session last week. Eju met some of them during the CIMB Buka Puasa do last Ramadhan and decided to register my name into this badminton club (Seymour BC is a small recreational club, of which members consist of mainly Malaysian and Bruneian). I supposed she felt that i was in a dire need of some real physical activity, perhaps gauging from the increasing size of my waist (apparently playing Wii does neither qualify as a REAL physical activity nor help reducing waist size, at least not by the way I play lah kot!). Hahaha... Err... but the best part of this activity is actually the nasi lemak and teh tarik breakfast at Malaysia Hall after the game! Hehehe... tak membantu betul!

Ok, moving on...

That Saturday afternoon, we went to presumably our last Eid open house, since the month of Syawal had already passed. The event, hosted by Petgas for its stakeholders, was held in a small yet cosy tent near the pavillion in Hyde Park, set on a very beautiful autumn day, albeit a little wet from the light on-off rain throughout the day. The food catered by Delima was just OK, but I can't say a lot about it because I didn't eat that much (yup, that was very unusual of me...). There were satay, rendang and other Hari Raya's usual suspects, and a chocolate fountain! The fountain was a nice touch, it made the do not your typical Eid open house... (No wonder lah the children were extra active - they were high on sugar!)

All the kids had loads of fun playing in the playground next to the tent, Noah and Rahil included. Noah was extra energetic (despite no chocolate fountain for him) and very excited about the whole outing thing, which meant extra work for me! Rahil pulak managed to make some new friends while on the playground. Kids, so easy to get along with each other...

Btw, last Sunday marked the beginning of the Daylight Saving Time i.e. people in the UK (not sure about other countries la pulak...) wound their clocks/watches back by an hour (for additional sleep time!). So, as a result, the time difference between KL and London is now 8 hours. Please take note peeps! :P

To blog or not to blog...

2009-10-24T21:18:00.000+01:00

"Hi, my name is Muzamil and i'm a first time blogger."

Yup, this is my first ever blog entry - despite the fact that Eju has been bugging me to contribute to this blog for more than 9 months now, since day one she started this blog. "This is OUR blog... You should write something too!" The thing is, I've never been good at writing (or reading for that matter! But that's a different story. Maybe worth another blog entry?) She told me to write about things that I like - treasure hunts, cars, gadgets or movies. But I don't think I'm qualified to give my two cents worth on those areas... We are no longer treasure hunting, I don't test drive cars or own many gadgets, I'm not even an avid movie-goer! Most of my knowledge are from secondary research aje. Ah, ok lah... (thank you Adam!) maybe a word or two, here and there perhaps. I'm sure I can't stay away from those interesting topics for long! (Hmm... I think I'll have a short paragraph on my interests at the end whenever I post an entry into this blog. Ok tak?)

Btw, another reason why I didn't write earlier is because I like to read what Eju would pen in this blog... In fact, it's one of the things I look forward to almost everyday! It just doesn't happen that often, unfortunately... Oh well, she has been busy enjoying her (not so) new job!

Now, here goes...

It has been 9 months. Wow. "Time flies when you are having fun" they say. In my case, time flies even when you are not doing anything! Hahaha... No lah, although I'm not working, my hands are pretty tight - all thanks to one Noah Amzirin! Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all... Believe it or not, I'm actually very proud to say I'm a full time househusband whenever people ask me what I'm doing, or where I work in London. In fact, it has been a great 9 months being a dedicated father to that boy! Kena banyak bersabar aje la...

Interest: The mother of all hunt - The Sun Hunt is back and is just around the corner, in November. This will be the first such hunt we'd miss since we started hunting in 2004, if I'm not mistaken lah. Treasure hunting is one thing that I really miss... I really enjoy it and I think it's a great way to spend a day or a weekend. The last hunt I went was a closed hunt, the MISC Hunt back in July with Ami and Linda (they were not my usual team, but we worked well and won!). They'll be in the Master Category this time around and I wish them all the best. So, Acat and Ezanee, tak join?

Need a dose of motivation

2009-10-16T10:37:00.001+01:00

Wish I can pop a pill which will turn me into a motivated freak at work!

After hearing the news that they will reduce the allowance that they are giving us, I have gone down into the valley of frustration. Frustrates of lack of choices, either accept it or leave! Yup, they are so good at that. This is not the first time and doubt that it will be the last time. Quite optimistic that there will be many more in the future. I dont know how many more I can take. Maybe one day, I will take the other option. LEAVE!

Effective date November 1st, but we are yet to be briefed. We definitely need to move. perhaps outside London where it is a lot cheaper. Too bad... forget about efficiency, we have to be frugal.

Ezura declares that today is her Can't-Be-Bothered Day! But changed her mind shortly after looking at her to-dos list...

It is never enough...

2009-10-12T16:12:00.001+01:00

Why is it that it is never enough no matter how much you are earning...?

If somebody told me a year ago that you will still feel the pinch eventhough you would be earning 4 times more that your salary then, I would say... hahah.. yeah right! Unfortunately, this is exactly the case. What's worse... I used to be able to save but now I just can't!

I saw at the back of a bus this morning, 'it is not how much you earn, it is how much you save...' just not helping to my nerves right now!

What is wrong with me?? In the past few months, I have to pay higher council tax, higher car insurance and of course - much higher childcare. We want Noah to get the best early education as much as he can and it seems that it has created a huge dent in our pockets.

Nope it is not the handbags. Momma has stopped buying handbags months ago... Honest!

Have to evaluate our spending and see areas to prioritise. Pastu, have to learn to bersabar (patience) dan bersyukur (thankful)... which I always find it hard to do especially on the patience part... It is in my nature to PANIC!!

We definitely have to find cheaper place to rent. Bye bye to the convenience of being only 20 minutes away from work!

The small talk on a big issue...

2009-10-09T12:05:00.004+01:00

Black tie event -an Inauguration. We were out at the balcony appreciating the wonders of Wales' nature in the evening.

A Welsh lawyer bidded me & hubby to come over...

'Come, let me introduce you to The Mayor!'
'Mr Mayor, these are the true Malaysian, they both are Malays, one of the main race group in Malaysia.' 'Malaysia is a multiracial country. The minorities which are the Pakistanis and Chinese, live side by side with the Malays. There are very tolerant lot', he added.

In my head- Its Indianlaa... not Pakistani, but I didn't bother to correct him since I was kinda excited to meet the local mayor.

The Mayor said,'Hello! Nice to meet you'

I couldn't help but noticed the long chain of medals around his neck that forms some sort necklace or vintage costume jewellery that is in fashion nowdays.
I then said with a slight curtsy (that seems to be an automatic gesture came out of nowhere...)
'It is a pleasure to meet you. I sort of know that you must be of importance when I see that amazing chain that you are wearing!'

'Yes, I am the Mayor!'

Ok already - we got it the first time, I thought.

'So tell me, is it really that all the different races live in harmony without any feuds. Are you really integrated?'

'Yes, of course! We celebrate all different race's festive seasons, we go to school together, work together and inter-marriages are very common..'

'My grandma is Chinese!', my handsome hubby said.

'That makes you quarter Chinese!' the lawyer said.

They all nod appreciatively.

In the meantime, I was thinking that I have to thank the Javanese and Chinese parentage for my hubby's good look. And may I add... he was also looking extra dashing that night with his tux on. Hehehe...

But I felt the need to tell The Mayor about my views and what I truly think about the plight of Malaysians nowdays... I continued on without much thought...

'However, it does feel quite different recently. I am indeed very sad that now days our own so called leaders are instigating the animosity amongst us. The politicians are using this race issue for their political gains...'

'Politicians you said?' The Welsh Lawyer stopped me before I can elaborate more....
'Hmmm... On that note, lets have our dessert...' he laughed sheepishly and ushered us back to our tables...

The Mayor followed him with a poker face...

Ooops... I just blamed the politicians to a politician. He is The Mayor after all. Oh well... so much of small talk...

Bump into him again that evening, I smiled... he didn't smile back. In fact, he was not smiling to anybody at all... I decided that The Mayor is not that friendly after all, just like some of the Malaysian politicians... after they won the election that is...

Came across a video which is a brilliant depiction of Malaysia and her different races. It summarises well of what I think about my Tanahair... Enjoys...

2009-10-07T13:38:00.004+01:00

Noah got excited with the mechnical truck..actually it is a fork lifter. We took this at Bridgend Designer Outlet where we had a break from driving home from Milford Haven, Wales. We had a nice black tie function to commemorate the company's regas asset there.

Noah is too excited until he didn't realised and refused to acknowledge the seat is for sitting. But in the middle of it all, he still stopped to admire the carousel ride.

This is one of those simple moments that makes you appreciate life.

2nd weekend of Syawal

2009-09-28T02:15:00.000+01:00

Kak Tita and Adam came and visit us in the weekend. Glad that they did because we could celebrate Muz's birthday together as family. We got him an absolutely delicious chocolate cake from Maison Blanc. So on that Sunday morning, the song was sang, pictures were taken, cake was devoured and my dear sayang Muzzy turned 31. We had our own small yet intimate party for our beloved Muzzy. Happy birthday dear. Sorry no big do but hope you had a great one!

Raya is still on...! The faze of rendang pandang in the family has not dissipated even after daily dosages over the past one week. As predicted our rendang padang stock has finished (rapidly!), we decided to cook it again this weekend. This time we imported a lean mean shallots cutting machine. A French Chef who had a way with knife that totally blown our minds away. Dear friend Ras came as the beautiful Bawang Merah and straight without wasting anytime went into peeling the shallots skin away. When the power combined, these ultimate duo made the shallots peeling and slicing a breeze.

Ras continued to help out at dapur like an 'anak menantu' from heaven. Well, even with the extra help and after that practice during 1st Raya, the second attempt still took us quite sometime. We ended up eating lunch at 4pm. Again, we had fun cooking the rendang padang. My kitchen was very lively with banters and beautiful singing of 3 ladies... We made a great team my sis and I (plus Ras, of course!). Pak Ghazali and Mak Haminah must be proud of their daughters.

In the meantime, Noah is not feeling really well. Though still active, he was going around coughing and with a running nose which made him a tad bit cranky. He had a fever the night before so feeling a bit under the weather. We had to cancel going to a dear friend's daughter's birthday party and a friend's raya do in the evening, since we know that Noah would be cranky and feeling uncomfortable. Also, we feel responsible of not wanting to pass the germs to other kids. I am hoping that the germs were not passed to his Abang Iman and Kakak Rahil.

Other highlight during the weekend, I have found a nice dress that able to camouflage my extra kilos for an upcoming black tie dinner and Muz has found a tux that further enhanced his dashing look. He said that he feels , like a James Bond when donning the tux... (You are my Jebon, my love!!)

It was a great weekend and I am still up at 2pm updating this blog- which my bro in law has kindly spruced up the look. Thanks Adam!!

The weekend was not short of pictures. Here are a few which painted thousands of words.

Yummy Maison Blanc cake... our favourite cake shop...

Cucu Tok Mak still in PJs.. courtesy of Tok Mak....

Cake cutting time...

Yes darling... Happy Birthday!

Family photo.. as usual missing a person... Adam is taking the photo...

Ras... bersimpuh alahai...

Masukkan air rebusan tadi ye puan puan...

Pulut kuning...

Teh tarik satu... mesti ade...

Noah not feeling well, fell asleep on Muz lap... (Muz ni makin tue makin hensem lak..!)

My beloved anak-anak sedara- the computer whizz...

1st Syawal in perantauan.

2009-09-21T22:26:00.011+01:00

The 1st Syawal was spent in Coventry with my Sis and her family. Though we were away from home, I am thankful that the Syawal was spent with people that I love and filled with joy and laughter. It is Muz and my first Syawal spent in UK as a family. We got the away-from-home-blues and excited at the same time.

Our raya started on Friday night where we spent almost the whole night up peeling and slicing shallots - the main ingredient of the uber nyummy Rendang Padang. With grogginess from the lack of sleep and irritated eyes from the dreadful onions, we then off to Coventry the next day. The cooking continued as soon as we arrived there.

Rendang Padang is very troublesome. Not only you have to slice the shallots, but the same is done to the garlic and ginger. A kilo of beef requires a kilo of shallots and quarter kilo of garlic and ginger. We cooked about 3 kilos of beef so you can imagine the work on peeling and slicing those damn onions! Not only the shallots and garlic, the meat has to be boiled and then, pound them one by one to flatten and soften the texture. On top of all that, the cumbersome preparation of cili boh. The cooking and putting the ingredients together is a carefully orchestrated effort to make this delicious dish to eat with your ketupat.

The slices of beef after being pounded.. great for arm workout!

Rendang Padang.. the mixing of chilli and meat...

The subsitute of Tuk Sidah's ketupat palas... pulut pun jadi lah...

Glad to say that our Rendang Padang turned out to be a successful attempt. Well, it better be so after all the hardwork of an almost one day one night kind of preparation. It was so good until we are reluctant to serve to anybody and only want to keep them for ourselves. Hahaha... kedekut and greedy! With the rate that it is going, I suspect it will last only for a few days. May have to make some more next weekend.

The fruit of our labour of love... in food...

We finished cooking at 2 am. It was tiring but kinda fun. To add into the Raya feeling, the Raya songs were in the background all the time.... with a bit of Lady Gaga in between. Don't ask me why.. just felt like Lady Gaga to psych us up.

In short, the first raya was spent eating and meeting people (what else??). First, we started on bingeing our laboured meals... then we left my sis place (with very full tummies...!!) to visit some friends, to eat some more. Altogether, we managed to go to 3 houses in Coventry. So like any other raya, it was spent visiting people and eat, only this time in a nice and cooling weather. We didn't need to wear jackets on our baju kurung but at the same time, it is not hot and humid like in Malaysia which would wet your armpits. The weather was beautiful and perfect in Coventry.

We left London on the same day. Muz and I managed to squeeze in another open house in London before hitting the sack.

The second day is a bit boring. It is like any other Monday but with me not working. In Malaysia, 2nd day would still fill with events, but over here... people have started to go to work and so no such thing as open houses. So nothing much to do and we decided to start on our puasa enam, also to make up after yesterday's bingeing.

Well, that is the summary of our 1st Syawal. I have a feeling the rest Syawal will be a good one as we already have a few open house invitations lining up for the coming weekends. Looks like have to work harder to lose this stubborn extra kilos. Even after a month of Puasa, the fat didn't seem to budge. Boring betul! Blah!

Here are some pictures of 1st Syawal. Noah looks so cute in his linen baju Melayu courtesy of Tuk Mak.

Noah getting ready for his 2nd 1st Syawal...

My favourite boys.. looking good in baju melayu!

Eating, munching... chomp! chomp! Chomp!

Selamat Hari Raya everybody... (me missing because taking photo!!)

Selamat Hari Raya from all of us here... Maaf Zahir dan Batin.

An old kind friend & the good old Noah..

2009-09-17T15:40:00.001+01:00

Our dear old friend paid us a visit. Ezanee was here for work and he extended his stay for extra one night and stayed at our place. It was a short and sweet visit. It is unfortunate that he has to leave the next morning. He was kind enough to get Noah a present being a teddy bear with MAS pilot suit which he bought on the plane on his way in. It was so nice of him. I think these small gestures that make a friendship last. It doesn't have to take much actually.

Apparently, he has been trying to get the bear for his nephew but never in stock. Noah is lucky this time. If only E knows that Noah is now chewing on the teddy's ear. Gosh Noah...!

We have invited a few friends over for buka puasa that night E staying in. As usual, Noah thrives with all the attention of so many people. Showing off his new antics, or calling out on other to carry him or have a bite of what that person is eating. Noah loves to eat right now, but not so much of his food. He wants to eat what the adults are eating.

Breaking fast is an affair that he wants to get truly involve, which also can be a menace sometimes. He would go to his daddy or mama, tug on our sleeves and look up to us pointing to a glass of juice or try to reach our plates and merengek. He would stop bugging us for awhile only after we pop something in his mouth, or let him drink of our glasses. Then he would smile happily and turn his attention to toys or telly. He will come back again after he finishes the food in his mouth. His persistent pestering will only stop when daddy and mama finish eating and leave the table.

So sometimes, we let him join us. We put him on the high chair, and put food on his plastic plate and let him eat on his own. He will be eating for awhile, then boredom creeping in. He then start playing with his food ... and the mess he leaves behind!!

I still remember when he was a just baby when he sleeps when we were breaking fast. Or happy with just our maid carry and keep him occupied. This was last year's ramadan when he was just 3 months then. How time flies...

We have started to put Noah in a nursery and send him to a child minder. We want him to learn how to socialise with other kids and to play in group. The child minder said that he is very smart and extremely curious baby. He showed his skills off to her on how to operate the tv remote and mobile phones. When he wants something, he would point to that thing. The child minder said that she needs to keep up with him because he is very energetic and likes to explore every crook and corners. She would bring him to drop in centres where he meets other kids and do some interesting children activities. She said Noah needs to learn how to share. He is used to be playing alone at home with his toys. Sharing is caring darling!!

We are sending Noah for two days to a child minder and one day in a week to a nursery. Though the cost is eating us alive, but I think, it will be good for him to explore new things, learning to interact with others and to build his self confidence. It will be worth it! Insyaallah..

Noah is growing up to be such a delightful toddler. Handful sometimes...which has tested his parents' patience once in while, but nonetheless entertaining.

We are grateful and feel truly blessed. Alhamdullillah...

Ramadan 2009

2009-09-15T20:52:00.002+01:00

I do not think I can take another year raya away from Emak, Ayah and Qasim. I don't know how my sister has done it. Must be quite a sorrow and painful experience having to spend Raya here for the last 3 years.

The fasting is not that hard in UK. The hours were relatively long in the beginning of Ramadan but improved tremendously in the end. Now we are breaking fast at 7.15 pm as opposed to 8.30pm before. There are a few things I missed about Ramadan in Malaysia:

1) Mak's cooking
2) Bazaar ramadan
3) Kek batik Kelana Jaya
4) Creme caramel Kelana Jaya
5) No missing of sahur because Emak without fail will wake us up
6) Sembahyang terawih at Masjid Al-Hidayah (when rajin only...)
7) Leaving office at 4pm
8) Going breakfast with friends and family
9) Ramadan buffet spread
10) Free corporate buka puasa

However, the experience of Ramadan away from Mak's cooking and Malaysia has helped me to discover my inner talent on cooking. I have whipped up, for the first time ever, Nasi Ayam Hainan, Ayam Masak Merah, Sambal Tumis Ikan Bilis, Rendang Daging, Kari Daging and Daging Masak Lemak Cili Api. Yes...for the first time. I hardly cook and never have cooked these typical malay dishes before. My expertise would usually be Italian and roasts or grilled stuff. I realised that I have a knack for cooking when my guinea pigs, usually Muz sometimes some friends (who were brave enough to sample them..) would praised my dishes. All the trouble and tiredness melt away when I see my guests treat themselves with seconds or third helping of my food. Worth all the effort.

This Ramadan has definitely developed and enhanced my culinary skills. It makes me become a more versatile cook. I have a new found confidence in cooking malay dishes. Can now attempt to impress the in-laws. Haha!

A lot has happened since we are back from Malaysia. I am yet to post our pictures from Pangkor Laut and a few more latest pictures of Noah. Will do that soon. I haven't been diligent updating the blogs... Just plain lazy..

Anyway, Muz is looking for a job now. We are praying hard for him to get a job from his old company but it seems that the re-alignment exercise at the London's office is taking too long. We hope there are some opportunities beckoning around the corner. Yes, the job market is kind of tough now. All he can do right now is to send his CV to as many places as possible and pray hard. He will need to fight with many applicants out there. We just hope that something will come soon.

As for Raya, after much discussion and contemplation... we are celebrating raya at Coventry. Actually my sister got me when she mentioned Ketupas Palas. So much of deep contemplation. Aww... how I miss Tuk Sidah's ketupat palas. The best ever since the slice of bread. Especially when you eat it with Rendang Padang - a must dish for raya as part of our long family tradition.

This year, I will attempt to make the uber famous Rendang Padang. Though I have attempted it once before but it was years ago, so barely remember on how to make them. Emak has kind enough to email the recipe. Hopefully it will turn as nice as hers.

So they say, there will be dodol and wajik making at somebody's backyard in Coventry. This makes Coventry sounds more meriah and much better than London's usual High Comm open house. I need a meriah raya to get rid of this nagging and sorrow feeling in me. Syahdu raya di perantauan....

Oh sod it... Baby, we are going to spend Raya in Malaysia next year... ok?

Back here...

2009-08-10T16:17:00.001+01:00

The day as we arrived in KLIA. Excited and happy to be back in Malaysia. Lots of people to see, lots of stories to catch up, lots of things to do, lots of food to eat!

Two weeks passed so quickly. We are back in London. Missing our family and friends back home.

Thank you so much for those who made an effort and spare sometime to see us. We feel very blessed to know that we are loved by so many of you. Hehe...

Till we meet again. Cheerio!

Our little boy turning 1!

2009-07-05T22:28:00.009+01:00

Noah my angel.. almost a year ago...

Noah is turning 1!! Errr... in two days time that is. However, we managed to have an early celebration for our little one. Thank you great friends for coming. Thank you so much for the nice presents. It was nothing big, just an intimate family and close friends affair.

We wanted to do a picnic at a park near our place since our humble abode might not be able to hold up the crowd... albeit not a big one. But the weather was teasing us all the way... on the 11am, it rained a bit, then sun came out. At 12, we were about to pack up then, the dark cloud was looming above us hinting rain...but the rain never came. So we decided play-by-ear, to eat at home and perhaps, go to the park later to enjoy the dessert.

Noah was happy with the attention he is getting. Everybody was amazed how good he is now at walking. The kids were having much fun with balloons (courtesy of BMW Sauber Paddock Club.. hehe..) and Noah's toys. But the space in the living hall is quite limited. So after eating the main course which were very delicious (thanks to Cik Yam!), we decided to head to the park.

The cake was 'presented'at the park. It was courtesy of Uncle Ras. It was baked by his friend Ludo, a French Chef. Noah's 1st cake is a freshly made marble cake, amazingly decorated with fresh fruits and it is served with Chocolate Orange Blossom Sauce. Simply delicious! We had the birthday must, i.e. the candle blowing and singing to our Noah! We also sang to Uncle Ras since his birthday was two days ago!

Our contribution were beautiful Lola Cup Cakes that we got from Raoul. We arranged them into the No 1. Oh well... so we tried. We realised that the same cup cakes cost much less than buying them at Harrods.. but still much much more expensive that the cup cakes you can get back home!! It cost about RM10 each if we convert them! There... just an irrelevant information for you...

Anyway, the day ended with all of us feeling satiated with food and tad guilty of over eating! But most importantly, happy and thankful that we have such great companies to celebrate this momentous event with us. Our little boy turning 1! Again, thank you for each of you who came, for the Noah's presents and the Chefs who gave us delicious food... Love you all!!

Do you see what I am trying to do with the cup cakes?

Baby Khyra... The name like Noah's little sister, Jada Kyra..

Noah learning to play together

The magnificent OTT cake! Mind the spelling... Perhaps, French way of spelling?

Proud parents!

Group Photo!!

Masam ke sayang??

Run run...

My cutie..

He is feeling free.... getting ready to fly..

His little pressie...

But.. prefer the box better.. Eeek!

Bye bye MJ...

2009-06-26T23:47:00.001+01:00

I was stunt when I heard the news this morning. The King of Pop was pronounced dead. I remember a couple of months ago, I was trying to decide whether to go to his one of the 50 concerts that was supposed to be held at O2 arena. But the tickets were sold out in just one morning. There were tickets being sold online but at over inflated price. It was so ridiculously expensive so I decided not to go...

My first reaction was shock but can't help but felt kinda glad that I decided not to buy the ticket.. Then ashamed with the feeling because it was kind of mean (the old man is dead for God sake!!), then after awhile... I felt the sorrow. Slowly seeping in.

I went for dinner with Ras and we decided to go to 'The Thriller' musical theatre since Ras mentioned they are doing some sort tribute for him. I went there, and saw a memorial was made specially for the King where his fans came to lay flowers, light candles and write messages expressing their sorrows on the great loss.

It was such a heartbreaking scene. Good bye Michael, you are gone but your legacy lives on!

It was more for symbolic than anything so I lit a candle for him and at the same.. Al fatihah...

A night to celebrate..

2009-06-20T23:06:00.001+01:00

Just had a celebration on a deal... My first deal in my current job. A first deal in my career even. This deal is apparently a first of its kind in the industry in this region. I am glad that I played a big part of it. Seeing it through from just boney structure to a complete body.

Times like this makes me feel that I love my job. The satisfaction you get of seeing your sweat and pain blossoms into something grand.. And of course bringing some grands into the company..

But this is just the beginning. Contract is signed but has not operationalise yet. So the value anticipated is yet in our hands. I am hoping for the best. I got good feeling about this. Since this is a pretty unique deal, it seems that we are charting a new path for the industry. Feeling quite proud for myself, not too bad for a first deal yeah?

The other good thing is, we are fast becoming good friends with our counterparty. They were easy to deal with and we had a very open and honest negotiation. We put things that matters on the table and we managed to formulate a win win deal. Just hope that it works when it is commercialised. Hoping for the best, but if it doesn't work, (touchwood!) at least we had a wonderful celebration dinner to remember it by.... And maybe a bad performance rating next year... Eek!

Silverstone this weekend!

2009-06-17T08:21:00.000+01:00

I am swarmed at work at the moment. Our facility is commissioning soon and so many commercial deals need to be sealed.

This weekend is Silverstone weekend! I have to be there on Saturday and Sunday. I was excited at first by the thought of it because I love Grand Prix. The noise of the F1 cars, the crowd cheering and people with funny hats. It is just like a festival! I used to try my might to get hold of free tickets when I was in Malaysia. I even volunteered to help out, with no cost, so I can be part of it. That was then, before I had Noah. Now the idea of not seeing him this weekend kind of dampen my excitement.

Just putting a positive mindset. Never been to Silverstone circuit so that can be a good thing. Muzzy is coming with me on Saturday so it can be our fun day out. Furthermore, we will be at the paddock area so might be able to check out the drivers! Hehe..

Ok.. Noah, you just have to see Mama at night. Mama has to work. We will back to tuck you in bed.

Noah is walking!

2009-06-16T00:01:00.001+01:00

Yup.. Not so latest news but promised self to blog about this so here it goes...

Noah is so cute! He is trying so hard to walk right now. It all started about a month ago, just a few days before his Tok Mak gone back to Malaysia. He was 10 months then and I have to say that I am proud and thankful to see him able to reach this development milestone.

He started with one or two small steps. But in the past 2 weeks, he has been bolder and bolder in trying to walk. He will try to practise whenever he has the chance. First he will be on his knees, he now knows how to stand without help, and stay standing for awhile before starting to take few steps. He usually managed to take 5-6 steps before he falls back on his knees. Then, he will quickly stand up and try again. Usually after a few steps, he begin to get excited and start to throw his hands up in the air which makes him lose his balance and fall again, on his knees. This will go on a few times until he gives up and opt for a faster way, crawling.

Just a random observation. Yesterday, I was dancing.. Ok..more like hopping and do silly moves with the music playing on the tv in the background, just to attract Noah's attention. Of course, he began to imitate and tried to dance along. My little angel stood up on his two feet, and tried to shake his body and wave his hands and balance at the same time but only to fall 3 seconds later. Of course he tried again and after a few attempts, he just decided to hop and wave his hands on his two knees! Much easier to balance. How cute is that!

Dang! If only I had my video cam on!

I love to see him him trying! The determination look set on his cute little face. The raw joy when he thinks he has achieved something. The cheekiness when he is up to something naughty and waiting for his momma and daddy's reaction. Oh.. He is such a joy. Makes me feel truly blessed able to experience these moments. The moments of parenthood! Will not trade them for anything. Thank you God. I am truly thankful. Alhamdullillah..

Last weekend..

2009-06-01T15:27:00.002+01:00

After sending Mak and Qasim at the airport on Friday (we are missing Tok Mak, Qasim and Tok Wan so much!). Our home was yet again graced by another wonderful guest, our old friend Nikkie. Work brought her here from Monday until Friday but she stayed on another night to shop at London... and to see us, of course... Oh well, at least I would like to think so!

It was her first time seeing Noah and she was excited to see how chubby Noah's cheeks are. Yup.. that boy is so tembam right now... I also geram nak gigit gigit!

Tembam tak? Noah at Bicester...

Noah loves Auntie Nikkie, always flashed that dazzling smile of his. Even let Auntie Nikkie, hold him once in a while... more like a few seconds before he tries to jump back to his daddy's arms! Oh well... that is an achievement, because usually it would be an outright refusal.

We brought Nikkie to Bicester Village on Saturday for her to shop (like crazy!!) but we had to rush back when the clock striked 4pm since she is catching a flight home that evening. We sent her off at the airport. Auntie Nikkie gave Noah 50 quid before she left. So nice of her. Thanks Auntie for your generosity. It will be added into Noah's education fund. Mama wants to send him to UK to study medicine.

On Sunday, we went to visit our dear old friends, Elyna and Afdzal and their cute 2 year old, Nina. The weather was gorgeous and Elyna arranged an Al Fresco lunch at their own backyard. Their house is in a quaint English country side, so beautiful and immaculate. It is amazing how they can keep the house so nice and tidy with a two year old. Oh well... thats Elyna for you.. She is like Monica but a nicer & polite version!

We were also treated with a high tea.. English style, with proper tea set and all. Yummy cakes were prettily arranged in a multi tiers trays and sandwiches on a platter. Again, that's Elyna for you... always a perfect host!

It was great to catch up with old friends. We wouldn't imagine, during our student days, that we can still meet after all these years in a different phase of our lives. All of us are married now with our kids playing together...err..more like 'berebut' toys from each other! I am so glad we had a chance to meet up. Afdzal said that, since me and Muz have moved to UK, the less likely they will go back to Malaysia. We are now waiting for Acat and his wife to move here, then the gang is almost complete!! Teringat masa Acat and Afdzal strumming guitars singing Awie's songs masa muda muda dulu... Hmm... notice or not Muzzy is not in the picture... that's because his talent is elsewhere. Do not ask me what eh...

Si comel Nina

Noah climbing out to join Nina

Al fresco dining..

Noah joining the lunch

Cheeeeeessseeee!

Theatre crazy II..

2009-05-27T16:37:00.004+01:00

Enjoyed the show very much especially the music. The acting was superb and singing was amazing. The show is about the tribulation and excitement of teenage years. When adolescence meets adulthood. The years of awkwardness, identity searching and emotion upheaval. The recording is spot on and truely reflect the emotion of the scene. It is ashamed that they are ending the show. Next week is the last week. It didn't really pick up in West End as well as in Broadway. That is why Muz and I decided to watch it before it's too late.

But it is not the kind of movie for faint hearted. Muzzy and I were shocked and embarrassed of one scene. A vivid lovemaking scene where we could clearly see the cheeks and let's just say not those on your faces. Definitely, will never reach Malaysian shore.

However, I have to say that I prefer Wicked. We saw this production on last Tuesday. It is the story of the Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz, with a twist. The story is suitable for all ages. I wouldn't mind to go and watch it again. Thoroughly enjoyed it every single scene and line.

Below is one of the scene in the play... enjoys!

Theatre crazy

2009-05-23T11:07:00.001+01:00

We are queing to grab half price tickets for Spring Awakening. Apparently, this production is huge in Broadway. This is a second show we are catching in this week alone. The previous show was Wicked and it was wicked! (if you know what I mean!!) We are becoming addicted!

It is a beautiful Saturday morning, the sun is out.. But the que is damn long, see picture. Not that I mind since it is a gorgeous day to be out!

This is a normal sight every morning at Leicester square. The theatre enthusiasts would start queing early in the morning. This booth is an official booth of The Society of London Theatre so it does give us a peace of mind that we are getting the best deal when getting any theatre tickets.

Yeay.. We got the tickets at good seats in stall area for the matinée show. Feeling like a true Londoner (my a*s!!) I looked at Muzzy excitedly and suggested to do this every weekend. But Muzzy gave me that 'don't be ridiculous look'.

Ok.. Ok.. Once a month then..

Will provide update on the show later..

Seeing places through my eyes

2009-05-18T21:22:00.001+01:00

It has been a great month. We had visitors one after another. I took leave from work to spend more time with our friends and family.

My parents arrived on the 25th of April and my dad left last Sat since he started working on Monday. My mom and brother are still around which is very reassuring.

We went to Rome for holiday and had a great time. It is definitely a different experience as compared to the time when I went to Rome during the student days. More 'fund' to play with! We can pay ourselves into the Museums, Colloseum, take the tours without having to worry so much about the costs. Whenever we were tired, we just stopped at the nearest cafe enjoying the Cappucinos, Gelatos and indulged in local Italian culinary experience. It is a far cry as a student where we just see things from the outside, go to tourists area mostly on foot and local metro and eat Mcd for all our meals in attempt to save costs. Sometimes we didn't know what we are looking at except if its written in the guidebook or free tourist maps or brochures that we got our hands on from the tourists information office. Which we fondly called it the 'i' toncet! There were no live commentaries, no live tour guides unlike this trip. Aaa.. Earning in pounds also helps tremendously.. Alhamdullillah!

Sure it is more comfortable, more things to do and see when you have more money to spend. But I will never trade the experience I got when we went inter railling with anything! Except if somebody wants to give me 1 Billion dollars... Muahahaha! (Ala.. Dr Evil)

I have to say, without a doubt it was the greatest adventure in my life. I had an unexplainable sense of achievement and fulfillment when I went on that journey. So many things that we saw and learned all crammed in 3 weeks. From the new places that we see, the journey from one point to the other, human behaviour from my travelling friends and of course also from my loved one (now my husband..) and to end it all, lost your travel documents in a foreign land. I am not afraid to say that I came back a different person. Plus, I got to show it all off in my slideshows on our wedding day! Haha...

Anyway, the last trip to Rome inspired me to plan more holidays around this region, whilst I am still seconded here. This is the time right? Anyway, some pics from the latest excursion...

I am fit to work?

2009-05-15T10:51:00.000+01:00

I just recovered from fever and still recovering from bad case of sore throat, runny nose and coughing. Today is my first day at work after 3 days of downtime. I hate staying at home because it makes me feel useless and guilty of being paid for doing nothing. I woke up this morning feeling not too bad and thought I can survive the day at work including the 1 mile walk in a breezy, rainy cold spring morning to work.

My tube ride was ok. I managed to control the sniffles and coughing. I did cough once or twice but I made sure I covered my mouth with a tissue. Yet, I can still sense that uncomfortable look given by the passenger opposite me and a careful, trying not too be obvious passenger sitting next to me putting her hand to cover her mouth and nose. Aahh.. With the news of swine flu plastered all over the paper, I do not really blame them.

I arrived at the destination station and legged that 1 mile. I arrived at the office with the urge to cough so bad and blow my nose. I did exactly that. Then my boss came to me and said, nothing much to do here Eju. So I think you better off at home.

My boss just sent me home to rest. (and not want to risk me spreading this germ to eveybody at office). Ahh.. Thank you so much boss. I love my boss.

Enough lah...

2009-05-14T00:34:00.001+01:00

We get it and we had enough. We are not making assumptions but based on what was beautifully written, it was loud and clear. Will not try to make you understand because I think there is no point to it. People will justify their own doing. You think you are right... Fine.. You have the right to do what you like and say what you like.

Do not have to think about how you treat others or what you say to others as long as your conscience is clear. Good! Be that way.

Everybody else should be more like you. Give it straight and there is no need of sugar coating things. Or think before speaking your mind off which might offend others. Some people tak cakap because they are just not the type but doesn't mean dia tak terasa. But of course, you are always right, who cares about what other people think because they are just making assumptions and the most important thing is your conscience is clear.

Senang... Let's just end it here... Dah malas. Sakit hati bila baca. Should not have said anything.. Makan hati lagi bagus... Tak payah nak deal with this awkwardness... Dah memang you ajelah yang betul dan terror! You menang.. You menang... Because you are right! You are great!

Orang lain yang terasa, I pulak yang sibuk! Malas dah.. Really... Malas!! Banyak lagi benda nak pikir!

I believe...

2009-05-04T10:30:00.006+01:00

It has been awhile since I updated the blog. A lot has happened since then. Our good friend Acat, his lovely wife and daughter came and visit. Stayed with us for a week. I took the opportunity to utilise a few days of leaves] so I can spend some time with these favourite people of mine. We rented a 7 seaters and managed to go berserk at 3 different factory outlets and one big shopping complex at the outskirts of London. Thanks to Muz for driving us around and thank to the ever reliable Ms Tom who got us around. Glad that they had fun and I thank them for coming all the way to visit us. Acat and Juan, gave me this beautiful gold pendant for my birthday present. It is a sign of 'eternity'. Unfortunately, I do not have a gold chain to wear it with. Can't wait to go back to Malaysia to get my hand on one so I can wear this lovely gold pendant. Hope our friendship will last an eternity.

The weekend of the week when Acat and family went back, my parents and brother arrived. It was lovely to see them. I realised that I do miss Malaysia. I miss my family and friends so much. We uprooted our lives to move here and so much that we have left behind. Perhaps just temporary, but I can't help but to ask myself will things stay the same. I even unsure whether I still will be the same person when I return. Whether, I still can be a good friend to my friends after not being able to spend much time with them for the next few years. I am missing their birthdays, their weddings, the birth of their babies and other special moments. I am already missing 4 weddings this year alone. Just hope that they know I am thinking about them constantly.

Maintaining friendship requires work actually. First step is to stay in touch. I try to call them once in a while so that I do not lose touch of the happenings in their life. I have lost many friendships in the past simply because I did not make an effort to call or even drop an email to them. Each of us went to lead our lives in different tangent and your paths were never crossed again. So I lost them my once good friends. To just call them now and try to catch up is just not the same anymore.

That is why, I have learnt the importance to maintain the current friends that I have. I do not want to lose them as friends. However, there are times where we hurt them and there are times when we are hurt by them. We think we are beyond that. We think we already accept the person the way there are, but the problem comes when you expect something from them. I try not to take them for granted but at the same time, I try not to feel easily offended. How do you want to tell a good friend that you have felt offended? It is not as easy as it seems... Can things still be the same after that? Will the friendship change? I guess it is a test whether a friendship will weather.

You may think a certain gestures are very small but sometimes these small gestures that matter. You seem to understand about courtesy and how to be polite to strangers but why do you sometimes forget to extend the same courtesy to your own friend. You give in a relationship but sometimes it is not 'thank you' that you expect. Just the thought of that person would do the same to you and your loved ones is enough. You do not expect an immediate pay back but sometimes a small gesture that shows, you will also being treated the same if its you at the other end. Sometimes these small gestures makes you feel that your friend is doing things to you out of kindness and from their heart rather than out of obligation. Which makes you feel that you always have friends to fall back to when you are in need.

I hate to be calculative. And because of that, I also do not like people to be calculative with me. This is simply because I do not like to feel that I owe them something. I never expect anything in return when I give but sometimes this devil in me can't help but wonder is the other person being calculative when I fail to see a simple voluntary gestures of giving?

When these deemed simple and small gestures are overlooked consistently, makes you wonder whether can a major gesture be extended in the future? These small gestures are stuff which you would do anyway to your acquantaince or people whom you have just met but why sometimes we fail to provide the same courtesy to people that we called friends. A reminder to me... never ever take things for granted. No matter how harden you have became, no matter how cynical life have thought you, never to forget simple act of courtesy. So, I try to be aware and conscious in my act to others, whether it is to my friend, spouse, parents, in laws, elders... or even to strangers.

Also, gestures can be misunderstood. Sometimes the circumstances make people assume. So it is best to get it clarified rather than live in false presumptions. But somebody told me... you can't see what is in the person's heart, you can only see from his/her actions. I guess another reason why you should be more careful in what you say and how you act. This is definitely an area which I need to improve. I seem to make that mistakes a lot these days.

The same to your wife or your husband. You are together because of love... or for some people, the love that they once had in each other. Years of being together makes you know each other better and develop certain understanding in each other. But the comfortable reliance sometimes make you take each other for granted. Each one of you have made sacrifices to ensure the relationship works so that is why I believe it is important that you do not lose sight of what the other half have done to you. The focus should be more than you are taking stock of what you have done to the other half. The same in friendship... it is never one sided, hopefully. So I should focus on what others have done to me, then I can really appreciate the friendship that I have.

I see a lot of this not happening in marriages too, a husband thinks he has the right to marry another one because he thinks he has fulfilled his obligation to provide for his wife/wives. A wife may think that the husband deserved to be talked down in front of others because she is also contributing to the family. I admit it, even me sometimes, I only see the things that I have done for Muz and feel as if his wants and needs can sometimes be spared. Whatever the reasons being, you should not take each other for granted. Always treat each other with respect... if your temper is short at least try not to do it in front of others. Your spouse has feelings too and at least spare his/ her dignity. In other words, jaga air muka.

An ex boss told me before, never ever jatuh kan air muka orang. The same you should treat your staff, strangers and even your bosses. Nobody like to be embarassed in front of others. If you keep that in mind, you will go far. That is why, he is one of the greatest boss I have ever known. He managed to lead and formed a great team even with difficult personalities. Unfortunately, we heard a rumor that he went to take a second wife though... If this is true, I guess he doesn't really practice what he said in his personal life. He just jatuh kan air muka his first wife.

Anyway, having said all these... the ultimate thing in life is down to tolerance and forgiveness. I have seen husband endure his rude wife and I have seen wife tolerate her husband infidelity and these people actually happy (maybe they miserable inside... I don't know). If you think you have give a lot, be thankful that you are able to give. Do not expect everybody else to be the same as you or do not have certain expectation on other people. In the end of the day it is the state of mind. Focus only on positive things. Try not to pick out on these negatives bits and life will be much simpler. If you focus on positive things, you will be happy, and when you are happy, good things will come to you. It is the law of universe. Happiness attracts happiness and maybe you can inflict happiness onto others too. Hehe... I am trying to spread my believe in The Law if Universe. For those who has read The Secret, you will know what I am talking about... I believe...

On the way...

2009-04-10T11:56:00.001+01:00

It's the start of a long weekend. We decided to head out of London. Just to changebthe scenery, see another parts of England and also to test drive the new car on a motorway.

First, we thought of going to Coventry to see my sister and family, but Rahil and Adam are down with a bad cough. My sister warned us not to come because she doesn't want us to get infected. Miss them
so much but we do not want to risk it. From our brief experience here, itis damn hard to get well here once you re sick. Even my sister's family has been sick for more than 3 weeks. See you lovelies some other time them.

So for today...We decided to go to Portsmouth for a day trip! Take the m4 then cruise along the coast. Yes.. A road trip!!

Dang... We end up stuck in traffic jam instead... Everybody is getting out of London and taking the motorway! Oh well.. Hope it will get better further south!

Just enjoy the brand new ride...

Thank you for the lovely flowers..

2009-04-06T21:27:00.005+01:00

I came back today and saw yet another lovely suprise. A bunch of beautiful flowers sitting on my dining table. They smell heavenly.

The card says "Happy birthday our dearest Eju. We love you so much! From Mark (I think the writer meant to write Mak), Ayah, K'Tia (Kak Tita kan, wrong spelling again..), Adam, Tok Sidah, Qasim, Rahil + Imaan.

Regardless the misspells... I know exactly what it spells L.O.V.E. It is from my dearest family. I feel blessed and the luckiest girl alive. So much love... beautiful flowers! Thanks! Again and again.. you have made my day! Love you all too... to bits!!!

The red ones Tulips right? But Muz said Kak Tita said something else because Tulips not supposed to smell that nice... really ah?

Muzzy Anniversary present

2009-04-05T10:00:00.006+01:00

To make up the fact that I didn't buy him a present before our 11th year 'bercinta' anniversary and ended looking stupid when he did give me a present that morning, I decided to buy him a present on that day itself.

Happy Anniversary Sayang... I hope you like your new toy...

I went overboard... must be the guilt! Hehehe....

One lovely suprise after another...

2009-04-04T09:52:00.001+01:00

Strikes midnight was the mark of 11 years being in love with each other. Muzzy suprised me with another present! The exact same present that he gave me 10 years ago... During our first anniversary being together. A lot has changed since then. We both have changed as persons, our lives have changed and our love has change too... It has evolved for the better. The feeling has become more intense, much deeper and stronger than ever. If soulmate does exist, I think this is it...

Love you too baby.. Sorry, I tak sempat beli present. Teruk betul perempuan ini!

New toy or fitness equipment?

2009-04-02T23:47:00.001+01:00

In an attempt to shed unwanted fat, burn off calories, to gain healthier body and most importantly to continue indulging on Cik yam's delicious cooking... guilt free, we bought ourselves Wii console and with Wii fit.

We have been on it everyday since day one. It is quite addictive and you can exercise at a comfort of your home. Yours truly wakes up early in the morning to exercise before getting ready to work. Hope I can get back to my figure 2 years ago... Haha!

I was considering to join the neighbourhood gym which will cost me 49 quid a month with a min 6 months contract. Even then, i do not think I would have time to go everyday because it quite a walk from home. Wii is a lot better then. Plus now both Muzzy and I can exercise.

Tapi tak leh hot hot chicken shit! Have to reach the ideal BMI in a month time!

The photo is Muzzy in action! Following his lady fitness trainer. Nasib baik virtual LADY personal trainer. Another upside on Wii fit compared to the gym!

Birthday comes early...

2009-04-02T23:15:00.001+01:00

Muzzy suprised me with delightful early birthday present. He knows I like reading. Moving to London makes me able to indulge in my love to read again. Somehow, I find that I have more personal time. Tube rides are great to steal a few pages and it sometimes feel to short especially if I am on an exciting chapter.

Because of my love in reading and Muzzy love in me... He gave me an E-book. Preloaded with 100 titles.. Thanks darling. Love it! Like it!

Something flattering

2009-03-30T22:00:00.006+01:00

Had a my performance appraisal session with my boss this morning. She is happy with my performance so far. She said I am quick to learn and has the right attitude. Alhamdullillah. Even though the rating does not really relate to my increment this year because I am new to the position, I am still flattered and estatic with the result. To know that your hard work is recognised is a wonderful thing. Especially when I have this guilt feeling of not being able to be at home with Noah. I feel slightly sad sometimes when Noah prefers his Daddy. I could be a homemaker and raise Noah full time.. but because of the circumstances, I can't right now.

A take away from my previous boss, if you feel quilty of leaving your children to go to work, make sure you make the time at work worth while. It was a greatest revelation for me then. I remember it well because it was the time that I just got Noah. I believe she is 100% right. What is the point if you are away from your love ones, and not even good at what you do. You will be a mediocre with the guilt feeling that is haunting you at the office. If you are good at you do and being rewarded accordingly, you are able to provide the best for your love ones too. You have done some sacrifices so it should be properly rewarded. The rewards should gives you the work satisfaction and that is a very important element to keep you motivated.

However, things at home should be of your focus too. I believe unhappy home, will effect your performance at the office. The key is to strike the right balance. Maybe I am not able to spend a great deal of time at home so I should make the time a Quality time.

Back to the appraisal, my current boss said that she wants me to aim to replace her one day. She is confident that I can do it and she is giving at most 3 years to be in her position. I just have to put my mind and work towards it, she said.

My current boss has high expectations on herself and also on other people. So if a person like her thinks I can do it... I guess I have what it takes. I just need to believe in myself. I shall remember this and should set it as my career goal. InsyaAllah, I will get there one day. Just has to work hard... and pray hard. InsyaAllah.

A cook for Noah

2009-03-30T21:39:00.003+01:00

This is a bit of an overdue entry.. but I am going to post it anyway.

Inspired by Senorita culinary skill, I decided to spend my last last weekend slaving myself in the kitchen to prepare some wholesome meal for Noah. On last Saturday, I cooked the cauliflower, tomatoes with cheese and basil. Froze some and fed Noah with some. He seems to love it. It is the best feeling for a cook when the diner enjoys her food. It was unbelievably easy and quick to make.

Excited from the previous outcome, I decided to attempt another recipe for the Annabel Karmel book. Since Noah is a growing boy and needs his supply of iron, I chose beef, parnips and sweet potato as his next meal. But I forgot to buy the ingredients for chicken stock and decided to do without it. When it was cooled, I had a bit of a taste, it was ok laa.. So so.. I thought it was lacking of salt... but babies under 1 one not supposed to have salts. Oh well.. the moment of truth when it entered Noah's mouth. Yes, he eat it but not as keen as the previous dish. He did finished it though. As long as he finished his food, he can benefit with all nutrition from the root vegetables and beef that I had in there.

Noah.. Mama in pureeing mood! Next week will attempt the brocolli, cauliflower and cheese sauce. My baby seems to love cheese. Just like his Mama and Daddy.. Good boy!!

Performance appraisal time.. again.

2009-03-18T21:33:00.003Z

I was asked to do my Peformance Appraisal. I thought I can get away from it this year but no.. I have to do it if I want to get company's bonus. Oh well.. that gives me enough reason to complete it. Waste no more time! I am on it! ....but I cant get into the portal right now.. so I decided to update my blog instead.

I always dreaded the appraisal time, it tires me out physically and mentally. Over the years, HR have made some so called improvements with the process that it is done twice a year now. Great! it is not enough with one time stress, they have to make it twice a year. Oh well, it is supposed to be a good thing for you to get feedback at half year then waiting the bomb to be dropped at the end of the year when it is a bit too late to do anything.

I remember how it was like in my old working place. You just have to thread carefully during this time of the year. People are more moody and extra bitchy. Somehow, we can know what the other person is getting though it is meant to be a confidential thing. Not only you are appraised by your bosses but your peers will be appraising you as well to evaluate whether you are deserving of the rating. You can really feel you are being judged especially if you are one of the lucky ones to get good ratings. The whole process such as the write up, filling in online forms, 'conversations with bosses, awaiting for final committee results, just drain your energy but at the same time, you also need to deal with your colleagues, their judgement, the perception, the talking behind your back. This year, I still have to go through the motion on the formal process part, but I am thankful that I am physically away from those informal juries.

Alas, I am not spared and still get slightly burned by the process when somebody who used to be a friend misunderstood the feedback that I was asked to give on the leadership assessment. Apart from the good.. no.. excellent ratings that I have given, and good elaboration on the strengths part, I was accused of being a traitor of a friendship because I provide not so great feedback on the development column. Oh well, already said sorry. Actually when I re read the reply I sent to this person again, I sounded like I was grovelling for forgiveness (but the attempt was being ignored completely). I thought is a waste to throw away a friendship just like that. People do make mistake and I think my mistake was putting the feedback on the Leadership Appraisal instead to the person's face. I should have known better that my friend (or ex-friend) will not able to take it well. I felt somewhat remorse and very sad when I was told, through the person's email that the friendship ends here and don't bother to reply because he/she was so angry. Heck, I replied anyway... I needed to explain myself!?

But come to think of it again, the person obviously did not think that the friendship is that important. I believe that a true friend will be able to to forgive a mishap because you know it is not done intentionally. The freaking form asked to fill in the development part, I was just being honest. Oh well, lesson learn. You have to be careful when you provide a feedback. It is an art whereby you have to use the right language (well i thought I did.. but my english is not good enough until I was misunderstood), the right moment and platform (my bad that I used the formal platform). You also have to think on the consequences. Will it backfire?

I think next year, I will surely ask the people, who request me to be the assessor whether he/she is ok in me providing developmental feedback. What is the exact intention of asking me, as a good friend, to provide feedback? Do you expect good rating and safe answers? Is it 'you scratch my back, I scratch yours' kind of thing where I give you good feedback and in turn you will reciprocate? The expectation need to be cleared upfront, though, you are not supposed to because you are meant to be truthful and provide your views with integrity blah d blah d blah. But the what the hell. The system is flawed in that sense. It is important to get the expectation clear especially with your friend, so you know what you are dealing with. Oh well, that is what I think. Feel sad about the lost of friendship but no point dwelling because life goes on. I am gutted that the friendship ended with an email.. without even bother to seek for my clarification. It is that easy...

I take this as a lesson learn and it does provided me with different perspective about life and human behaviour. Strangely, it makes me value my other friends better. The friends who accept me of who I am, as a very out right and frank person, and knows that for me is what you see is what you get. I have no time to plot a scheme to destroy you, or have no desire to stab you at the back. I do not dare to do that because I believe Allah is fair and one day it will get back to me. I will tell you what I like and don't like but still accept and love you as a person you are. You can choose to take heed or ignore me, but still love me as a friend. I am happy when my friends are happy and I truly mean it when I look into your eyes and say I am happy for you. More importantly in any relationship is ability to forgive. I would like God to give me wisdom to judge what is right and what is wrong, so I can be more forgiving and able to see the insight not just at the surface.

Truthfully, I have mixed emotion about the whole 'I dont want to friend you' thing. At first I felt very very sad but now, I feel slightly angry at the same time. Angry because one can be so accusing and throw away a friendship so easily. But not too angry until I lost all hope in our friendship. I am still hoping that one day, this person is able to see beyond the words of the feedback and see the true meaning of it. Hope.. this friend of mine will find in the heart to forgive me. Able to see the friendship that I have to offer is more that just a stupid annual process of performance appraisal, it is a lifetime deal... sampailah ke anak cucu.

Amster D D ya!!

2009-03-15T16:49:00.014Z

HI!!

It has been awhile since the blog is updated. My experience in this country has turned out to be routine and mundane. So it feels like I have nothing interesting to write about. My creative juice is not stimulated and Muzzy is still not contributing!! Gosh... it is all up to me isn't it?

Latest event! The whole family made a trip to amster d d ya! last weekend. We were there from Sunday to Wednesday.Caught up with my dear friend Noreen. Lovely to catch up. She impressed me with her flair in Dutch language. All I know is danke. The Dutch speaks good English (and german and French etc etc) so we had no problem going around. But I find that to shop there is very expensive. Earning in pounds is no longer an advantage since it has devalued so much against euro. It will be even worse since Gordon Brown is happily printing more money.

Noreen... the Dutch Lady...! Well ...she is earning in Euro.

On the first day, we just spent exploring the city of Amsterdam on foot and on the Canal cruise with Noreen.

Muzzy, Cik yam and Noah did all the tourist thing like bus tours to places of interests. I did only the canal cruise at Amsterdam and the rest of the days stuck at the conference room trying so hard to learn and network with the industry at the same time.

Waa.. so many potteries.. No Noah.. you can't touch that one!

Umi Yam, obviously I can't fit in there...

Now.. where shall we go next?

On the very last day, while passing our time waiting for our flight, we managed to have that unique Amsterdam experience. Not the magic mushroom, hash brownies and all that of stuff, but we walked through the 'red light' district (in broad daylight). It was interesting to see the kind plays and theatres available, it is almost like West End but in a crooked sort of ways. We saw the different types of 'fishes' displayed in the aquarium, in all shapes and sizes... Dancing around in the 'aquarium' attracting the onlookers. We were fascinated but.. afraid to make any eye contact. Sorry no pictures.. to scared. Muz seems to be just looking straight ahead... but I am sure he stole some glances at the corner of his eyes, albeit discreetly. Hahah...!

Look at what the shop is selling... Waaa... so open one. They pay tax too you know...

The infamous Red Light District!!

Now... Enough excitement for trip... lets go home!

Greatest man ever!!

2009-02-28T10:36:00.012Z

This post is a tribute to the nicest man I have ever known. He is always there for us whether we are in need or when we are oblivious. His presence always grace us. Though not much of how we feel towards each other is spoken verbally, but it is very clearly seen from the gesture, the look, the eyes that we are much loved by him.

His sacrifices are countless. His contribution is priceless. His loyalty is divine. His intelligence marvels us. His kindness humbles us. His love to our mother dignifies us. His love to us has made who we are.. we would like to think that we are his legacies... We hope we have made you proud.. in our own ways.

Happy birthday Ayah. The greatest man I have ever known!! You are my hero... always!

Though this may seem a few days late birthday wish..(I did sms you... did you receive it?). We love you and feel sad that we are not there to celebrate this event with you, but you know that you are always in our mind.

You are the best Ayah or Tok Wan ever!! XOXO!

Alahai.. immune system...

2009-02-28T09:30:00.008Z

What is wrong with me.. My immune system has gone haywire since I arrived in London. I had a fever.. twice! I seem to have this constant flu and tickly throat coughing and now... behold, I am having conjungtivitis on my left eye.

I have to spend my weekend staying away from Noah. Can't imagine if he caught this. It is tough enough to put the saline solution into his block nose, let alone putting solution in his eye. So.. I am not staying in the same room with him. But poor him, he must be wondering why his mother is not picking him up and kissing him like usual. Several times, he tried to attract my attention by looking at me and throw that dazzling smile of his, but all I can do was baby talked to him, from a distance. He also crawled to my feet and tried to climb onto my legs, but his father quickly picked him up. Poor little guy... strive for attention.

Noah likes to make this face for some reason. We call it busyuk face... as if he smells something bad...

Anyway, I really need to step up my immune system. Can't affort to be calling in sick every month! The another annoying thing about this country is you need to make an appointment, 48 hours before, to see a doctor. Unlike Malaysia, you can see the doctor right away when you need them. Overhere, the first 48 hours is self medicated. They feel that fever or flu can just wait. If there is an emergency such as you are unconscious or bleeding, just call 999.

Even if you see them for fever, cold, or flu, they will not give you any medication except for an advice to drink a lot of fluids and rest. I miss Malaysia where they willl give you antibiotics, cough syrup, clarinese etc etc... and you can recover over one day. Over here, you have to fight it on your own which can take ages. So people will resort to self medication from the off the shelf medicines. But you will never get antibiotics. They are scared that the bug becomes immune of antibiotic and become SUPERBUG!!! jeng jeng jeng...

Immune system, you still has a lot to improve. I should start exercising again... that will help.. hmm..

Here are pictures of Noah the cutie...

I am so happy momma taking my picture!!

Hmm... is that a phone camera. I like that phone.. I want to put it in my mouth!

Look.. I can stand! I can stand!!

Missing key features

2009-02-23T17:22:00.001Z

Iphone is a great phone. I am loving it! But it also has its annoying setbacks!

Iphone is missing a few key features that makes you yearn to go back to your good old reliable Nokia phone. The obvious missing features that I have realised so far are like video recording, zoom in and out when taking photos, unable to forward your text sms and no business card/ v card sending through sms. Why does Apple makes such a great phone with so many other great features but left out the basic features that have been around since the early days of mobile technology? Deliberate sale strategy? Hmmm...

I was told by a friend before that 'if in doubt... google it you moron!!' And google I did! And I found some solutions, but quite a complicated one. Apparently, the capabilities above can be added in the form of third party applications. However, you can not find any of them in Itune which is the default store for Iphone. Trust me, I have searched high and low in the application store of Itune.

The complicated part is you need to install an 'installer.app' in your Iphone which requires at least an hour of my time to go through step by step of the installation. Yes, I am quite 'duh' in this kind of thing. Apparently, this might make your phone warranty void too, which I don't see the relevant whatsoever. Maybe they are scared that you might accidently bought a virus instead of an application.

Just wish Pinkpacat is here to help me out! Now Eju.. go figure!!

Zoological Experience

2009-02-20T10:55:00.001Z

My niece and nephew are on mid-term break so we decided to bring them for a day outing to London Zoo yesterday. The tickets are quite expensive but thank god we didn't have to pay for Noah and Iman since they are under 3 years old. It was good day out especially for the kids. Rahil had her face painted into a PINK rabbit and got herself a PINK dolphine balloon too. It so happened she was wearing all PINK yesterday, so literally from head to toe, she was PINKED!! The mother was an avid fan of PINK when she was her age but she outgrown of it and prefer black now and listen to heavy metal when she was a teenager. Whatever happen to that sweet PINK breaded hair girl!? hahaha... She is hoping Rahil would outgrow her PINK fetish too. As at now... everything in her wardrobe must have PINK! Everything she owns must have PINK. It is kinda cute.. I have to admit!

Iman stays nonchalant most of the time except when he entered the Aquarium. Just like his Ayah Muz, he loves to look into the lighted tank with fishes swimming around in a dark place. The Gorillas swinging behind the glass gave the same effect to him too. I was fixated myself since that was the first time I have seen a Gorilla in real life. I don't remember seeing them in Zoo Negara! Is there one? If there was one, I don't think I have seen them so closed up as this before. Knowing not many of them left in the world gave me quite a sad feeling. They seem to be a very smart creature. They gave something for the zoo goers to get excited for by putting up a show swinging and playing around in their den very near to the viewing glass. People were ooing and ahhhing!

Noah was amazed too.. at least I think so. He was looking so intently at the gorrillas without any single sound coming out from him. I suspect he was kinda amazed and scared at the same time because usually, he will show some reaction and make a lot of noise if he is excited about something. My suspicion grew stronger today since he was sleeping poorly last night. He kept on waking up every hour and cry. Maybe he thinks the big hairy gorrilla is coming to get him. Its ok dear.. I am sure Daddy will come and save the day. But he was still crying even when daddy picked him up. Oh well.. I think it was just too much excitement for him in a day. Kata orang tua tua, kalau excited sangat nanti mengigau tengah malam. Betul lah tu kot.

Kesian anak mama tak cukup tidur... and he made sure the whole house tak tidur with him! *yawn*...

Rock-a-by Noah...

2009-02-17T10:28:00.004Z

This blog is fast becoming about baby Noah only...

We are trying to teach Noah how to sleep on his own. Some of my friend's babies can just suck their thumb and fall asleep. While Noah, we need to cuddle and rock him at the same time, while walking around the house and chanting La ila ha illallah in our most soothing and melodious voice so he can fall asleep. And this can take as long as 15 to 30 mins depending on his mood.

I also read in the net that for a baby Noah's age, they suppose to get 14 hours of sleep. At the moment, Noah sleeps at 10pm, wake up at 7am (thats 7 hours), then nap about an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon (thats 2 hours). All together that is about 9 hours sleep. This is not optimum? What will happen then? Will this retard my baby's growth? Hope not.

God knows we tried putting him to bed at 8pm but he always wake up an hour after, crying to be picked up, then he would want to play and then fall asleep again at 10 or 11 pm. Or he will sleep but wake up at 2pm, crying wanting to play until the wee hours. The latter will make the baby and parents very cranky. Baby cranky because the lack of attention, parents cranky because of the lack of sleep. But neither of the occasion he will clock in 14 hours of sleep. Still not the optimum, right?

Anyway, back to trying to teach Noah to fall asleep on his own. Apparently, 'the parenting book' (more like reasearch on net) say that by having him fall asleep on his own, he can wake up in the middle of the night and can still put himself back to sleep when he sees the parents are sleeping and the room is dark. But first we need to teach him to associate his cot and the room with sleeping. Then, have a wind down routine where he can relax and be at peace. Apparently, baby will not sleep if he/she is excited. Well who can? Maybe then, he can clock in the 14 hours of sleep.

We tried the 'cry-out' method during his first week here. That was a big failure! He cried so hard sampai tersedu sedan. The book said that we are suppose to check on him and try to pujuk him every 5 mins, but don't ever lift him out of the cot. This is to let him know, we are not abandoning him. All of us checked on him. Everytime, he got even louder. There was no sign of him slowing down.

Cik Yam (Muz Auntie) was so kesian at him and said 'don't follow the 'book' so much. Bukan betul sangat pun...' She was so tempted to pick him up and pujuk him. But I said, no... let him be. We are trying to teach him to fall asleep on his own. He needs to learn. The motherly and sweet Cik Yam really could not stand it. Keep on repeating kesian dia, kesian dia and gave me this pleading look to let her pick him up. But his mama was adamant to teach him.

After 30 minutes, he was still crying and it got even louder. I checked on him and he was kicking his feet and waving his hands madly. Even when I tried to touch him, he pushed my hand away and shouted even louder. Kena sawan and kena sampuk did came across my thoughts at that time. His adamant mama relented. More like I got scared and lifted him up. He calmed down a little but was still very much crying until his daddy took him. Then he stopped crying but still has his tersedu sedu. Kesian... but this little guy has big temper!! He was showing to us that he was very angry. He didn't even show any sign to give up crying, instead got louder even though it was closed to 30 minutes. Noah won.. big time! That put us off the cry-out method. For awhile...

After two weeks since that fateful night, we think it is high time for us to try and train him again. It is good to have some routine set in his life, so we can also plan our ways and chores around it. Right now, we are not sure when he is sleepy, sometimes he overtires himself and it became harder for him to sleep.

So parents out there. Some tips will be great!

Noah's weekend.

2009-02-15T21:23:00.014Z

Weekend started with saying goodbye to Mama Hana. We hope to see you soon. Send our love to Papa Nazeem and Kakak Lara.

The next day, on Saturday morning, we all went to Ikea. Since daddy and mama forgot my babybjorn, I had to be strapped at the trolley using mama's scarf. This is to ensure I can sit straight.

Trip to Ikea was fun. I even tried on the fruity hat. Now... now... how do I look?

A different pose this time.

I got back from shopping feeling hungry and cranky. Mama is happily snapping photos of me...

... which makes me become angrier! I got tired and decided to go to bed. But daddy has to rock me to sleep first. Tomorrow is Sunday. We are going to Westfield Shopping Complex. Good night everyone!

Settling in

2009-02-13T10:50:00.008Z

Noah is getting accustomed to his new home. During the first week, he was crying all the time. Even when his Mama Hana came, he was still a very sensitive baby. He will cry over a very small thing like when we lift him up from the floor or take something off his hand. But now, he begining to show his cheerful side. He beginning to sing along with us and the tv and laugh along. I am glad.

The good thing is, he is getting less clingy to his daddy. His daddy is getting quite worn out of having to carry him 24/7. Having said that, he is still his favourite. He doesn't mind if I carry him but when his daddy put out his hands offering to carry him, he will just pushed me away, yes literally push me, my face, my chest and my hands away, and try to jump into his daddy arms. Noah... Noah.. anak mama ni pandai betul!

My good friend Hana (Noah's ibu susu) came by and stayed with us for 4 days early this week. It was great to see her and wished I could spend more time with her. Unfortunatley, I was extremely busy this week, or else I could have taken some time off from work and show her London. Well, she managed to do that without my help.

By the time I finished with work, I got so tired to go out and the cold weather makes it even harder. She is leaving for KL tonight and we will be sending her off to Heathrow. Noah also grow fond of his Mama Hana. Hope she will come here often since her new job covers this part of the region. Will definitely miss her and hope to see her soon. Hopefully next time, Noah will be able to see his kakak Lara too.

Muzzy has become more domesticated. Poor darling... it must be quite a change from the 'corporate' life to a 'homemaker'? Tried to open a bank account for him but the application was rejected. Apparently, his points did not cut out. We just wanted a saving accounts, not a mortgage! Oh well, these people just bunch of 'bankers' after all!! Will have to try with other bank then. The Global Local bank is too good for us.

We are settling down quite well now. Beginning to feel at home.

They brought the snow with them (Dejavue?)

2009-02-10T21:53:00.000Z

I am reproducing pictures of Noah and Muz in the snow! Some of the pics didn't appear in my earlier post on wordpress. Another reason why we decided to move. Snow! Weeee.....

We woke up on 2nd February, the Elgin Mews North was filled with snow. It was like a celebration outside. People couldn't go to work so they came out to play...

Noah gazed out the window... he wants to join the fun!

We piled Noah up with layers and brought him out to be part of the historic moment. The first time in 20 years it was snowing in London.

Wah... Daddy also jakun...

Noah was speechless, enjoying the moment. He was crying so much when we were putting the clothes on but once he was outside... he became calm and relax. He understood the fuss of his momma and daddy on him just now... all to keep him warm.

The wintry walk in the park near our home...

Daddy was throwing snowball at momma! Tak aci... he has Noah as human shield!!

Umi joined the fun..

Beautiful landscape of Paddington Park...

tak caya London snow ye?? This is a proof.

The tube station near our home..

Having the last fun at our little mews before the miracle snow melted away...

Noah fell asleep after all that excitement. Time to go back inside...

I am crap at wordpress 2

2009-02-10T16:35:00.000Z

I am still crap at wordpress so I am shifting my blog to blogspot instead. I am not sure why my layout in wordpress has gone wonky. I have been trying to fix it for the last few hours but I couldn't find any solution for it. Hence, I am abandoning ship.

Here's a toast to 'The desk lamp' new home.... Cheers!