6 years ago on Christmas my true love gave to me...

... a marriage proposal.

I was doing time as a Construction Supervisor in Kerteh, and it was a busy period so I could not afford to take leave to come back to KL. He called a few days earlier to say he had a wedding in Kemaman to attend so hey, why not just meet up?

A couple of days before Christmas, after I kept asking which friend was getting married, he confessed that there was no wedding - he just wanted to see me. He was taking a morning flight from KL to Kuantan, so could I spare some time to drive down from Kerteh just to spend the day with him before he flew back in the evening?

I remember not being exactly thrilled at the idea - I must've been planning to catch up on work that day. Anyhow, he missed his flight, took the next one, so I picked him up at the airport just after the lunch hour. He told me he was hungry and felt like having a Big Mac, so we headed off to Teluk Chempedak.

Along the way I berated him for spending so much money on a return KL-Kuantan flight just for a day trip. He bore my nagging with the most gracious of patience. As we sat at an al fresco table with the Big Mac, I asked him in mock seriousness (in an attempt to mimic Dumbledore from one of the earlier Harry Potter movies), "Is there something you want to tell me?"

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I thought, "Ohmigod, what if..." and he said the exact words I was thinking.

Thank you, sayang, for making that trip 6 years ago.

Princess Pictures

Somehow the pictures loaded in reverse chronological order. Never mind lah...

"I'm so excited. My very first car!!!" At Kak Iman's 3rd birthday party.

"I am a model, you know what I mean..." Doing the catwalk at Tok Su Ina's house in Bangi during Aidil Fitri.

Bollywood princess looking a bit glum. Hero has not turned up yet.

"Be off with ye, Cap'n Jack Sparrow!! I be the cap'n of this ship." Ummi's attempt at making Aiesyah look demure in a headscarf during Aidil Fitri backfired. Nu'man doesn't look too impressed either.

Someone's really happy to be sitting in her Ummi's lap. Again taken during Aidil Fitri. (She's got more teeth now).

Gettin' jiggy with it. Aiesyah learning to walk a week before Aidil Fitri.

"Alamak jatuh la pulak..."

Lo and behold, it's another Hari Raya!

Yes, I've been really bad at blogging. And if I say I've been swamped with work, you've heard all that before, right?
I had so many posts planned, with photos and all, but whenever I do get the opportunity to switch on my laptop for pure unadulterated blogging time, my mind goes blank. I surf through other blogs and facebook updates and it hits me how utterly BORING my life is.
So I'll just show you pictures of the Aidil Adha we celebrated earlier today at Putrajaya (I tried loading them up on Facebook but met with an unresolved unidentified problem).

Mak decided we should all wear orange or red or pink. With black scarves. Forgive us if we look like some 80's nasyid throwback.

Nu'man and his cousin Iman posing for the camera. I think he has a crush on her. Iman prefers Aiesyah.

Nuaim decided to do his own thing by wearing blue.

My little princess has picked up a very un-princessy hobby - FOOD!

Nu'man playing photographer of the day. I doubt he actually took any photos though.

The obligatory 'Selamat Hari Raya' post

It's 28th Ramadhan already. Tomorrow Hubby's coming home, and in a bid to introduce him to Baba I've invited the family to buka puasa at my place. Panicking already. The next morning we'll be driving back to Alor Star.

And so, in case I don't get to write again prior to the real occasion, here's wishing everyone Eid Mubarak, Happy Holidays and Drive Safely!!!

Lost

In the midst of all sorts of accountabilities and responsibilities, I'm not so sure what I am or what I really want right now. Right now I can only define myself in terms of what or who I am to someone else. In terms of what others demand of me.

I need to find myself. Who I am to ME.

This is as good a time to take a vacation.

Heck, all I need is a quiet spot with a notebook, cheesecake and caffe latte. On my own.

Facebooking

Yes, I jumped onto the bandwagon. It seems that so many people have recreated their existence onto this portal, I just had to go see what I was missing out on.

I still don't quite get it, all the superpoking and sending people virtual gifts, but I do appreciate getting updated on all the stuff that's been happening to friends in faraway places. Time to see all of them (even on Facebook) is something I don't have.

Kahwah wal-Kitab

NOTE: This post was originally written about 10 months ago, during my third maternity leave. I didn't realise it was languishing as a draft.

I was at The Book Cafe in MPH One Utama and browsing through a magazine, waiting for my spaghetti carbonara to arrive when I came across an article about sacrificing your career for something else, be it family, charity or whatever your passion may be. There were interviews with women who gave up their jobs to become stay-at-home mothers. One had me laughing as she stated how she couldn't even go the the toilet without a three-footer banging on the door demanding for "Mummy to come out and play now." Reminds me of my own three-footer and his shorter-by-6 inches brother.

It also got me thinking as to whether I would actually be able to make the same decision to give up my career. The answer, I have to disappoint some of you, is NO. If the question is about doing something I really love, I have to admit I really am passionate about my job. It really is NOT about the money. If it was, I'd be writing this post from a swanky apartment or five-bedroom bungalow in Abu Dhabi and buying myself a new luxury handbag every other month. Sometimes I think I'd even do my job for free! (If by some remote chance you happen to read this, please note that this is purely rhetoric and slashing my salary is a direct violation of my rights as a human.)

What I would really love, though, is flexi-hours and working from home. To be able to avoid wasting 2 hours or more of my day just getting through the crawling traffic to and from the office. And when the kids' demands and tantrums are just too much for me to handle, I can always use the office as an excuse to escape. Okay, I am so not an ibu mithali.

Hubby used to suggest that I start a business of some sort. He's seen some of his colleagues' wives open up bakeries and boutiques, so he thinks it's simply a matter of letting your hobby make money for you. But I just don't have a head for business. It would be fine if I could let someone else do all the money-managing for me. Of course, I would never consider him for that position. As a cook, maybe.

However, if I were to really give up my job for a business, it'll have to be in something I am purely passionate about. Something that combines coffee and books. Yes, I know the cafe-in-the-bookstore concept has been milked dry by the likes of Borders and MPH and such, but mine would be different. It'll be more like a bookstore-in-the-cafe, with lots of comfy sofas and bean bags for one to lie back in while indulging in a cuppa java with one's nose stuck in a novel or collection of anecdotes. And the books are not necessarily brand new either. I'd line the walls with some of my own collection, and there's no requirement to purchase a book to read in my cafe. Just pay for the coffee and doughnut. I'll even put Hubby's pau and curry puff on the menu. And my very own version of spaghetti carbonara (the one at MPH was disappointing).

The cafe will be called 'The Magic Faraway Tree' or 'The Wishing Chair' in honour of the first two Enid Blyton books I ever owned, which eventually lead to the complete 'Rewards' set of 48 Enid Blyton titles. Those were the books that introduced me to Greek mythology, golliwogs and boarding school. These books will have pride of place on the top shelf.

Hmm, I may just have a business plan there. You read it here first.

15 Questions

Another tag from Adita:

1.When you buy a greetings card, are the words or the picture more important to you?
:: Both - but I'll pick the prettiest cards before checking the words.

2. What's your favorite kind of cake?
:: Cheesecake. Taken with a cup of coffee.

3. Do you ever make gifts for people, if so what, or do you buy them?
:: I can't remember if I ever did. Nowadays I just buy gift vouchers. I'm not Martha Stewart.

4. What's your favorite holiday?
:: Probably my first ever overseas trip that included London, Boston and Los Angeles in the itinerary. It was April 1982 - there was snow in Boston, sunshine in LA and neither in London. It was my first Chinese fortune cookie, my first Disneyland and my first sighting of a colourful Mohawk hairstyle that left me gaping (it was the punk era, after all). I wish I could afford that kind of holiday for my kids.

5.Are you going on holiday this year? If so, where?
:: Obviously nothing like the answer to number 4. Initially we wanted to take the kids to Australia but Aiesyah is still too young. I might join Hubby at one of his FAT's early next year though...

6. What was the best party you've ever been to?
:: My new nephew Ziad's 7th birthday party, which happened to be last week on Malaysia's 51st anniversary of Independence and also the eve of Ramadhan. His mum runs a kindergarten in Mutiara Damansara, and that was the venue. Nuaim and Nu'man had a blast playing on the slides and swings, and the clown really got everyone going (except for Nuaim who was too scared of him).

7. If you are married, describe your wedding. If not, what would your ideal wedding be like?
:: My wedding was not exactly my dream wedding, except for the dress. But given that I was in Kerteh up to a month before it actually took place, I can't complain much. The colour was a peachy salmon pink, the venue was Dewan Perdana Felda which managed to sit 1000+ guests (most of them my mum's friends) and the 'cake', courtesy of the venue management, was a 5-tier fake. But the ambience was wonderful with strings of fragrant jasmine buds adorning the walls. Instead of a merenjis ceremony, we sat on the pelamin (wedding dais) to the narration of several verses of Surah ar-Ruum and its translation. Dalcha Duo provided the entertainment for dinner and there was a homemade slideshow prepared using Powerpoint (which, according to Mally, showed what an overachiever I was).

8. What's the most romantic thing that's ever happened to you?
:: When Hubby proposed. It was Christmas, I was in Kerteh, and he flew up for a day trip to meet me in Kuantan just for that purpose. Apparently, his car broke down on the way to KLIA and he missed the first flight. After all that, how could I not say Yes? McDonald's at Teluk Chempedak will always have a special place in my heart.

9. What's your favorite girl's name?
:: Errr, can't really think of one. Zulaikha, maybe.

10. What's your favorite boy's name?
:: Gibran.

11. Which celebrity would you like a dream date with?
:: I'd like to say a double date with Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt, but I think both Hubby and I would end up ogling Miss Jolie and poor Mr Pitt would feel left out.

12. Which female celebrity do you find beautiful?
:: I have to agree with Adita here - Aishwarya Rai is so out-of-this-world gorgeous.

13. Which male celebrity do you think is attractive?
:: I used to really love Tom Cruise until he left Nicole Kidman. Right now? Arjun Rampal (okay, too many Hindi movies already).

14. What is your best character trait?
:: Perfectionist.

15. What is your worst habit?
:: Procrastination.

In Dian's Kitchen

For lack of ideas to write, I'll start by responding to Adita's Kitchen Tag.

Five things I want in my kitchen

1. Time
2. Space
3. Being able to cook without referring to the recipe every 30 seconds
4. An island unit - but refer to item 2 above
5. Jamie Oliver - so he can do the cooking for me instead

Five things I plan on cooking pretty soon*

1. 5-spice chicken
2. Honey chicken a.k.a Ayam masak madu
3. Chicken kurma
4. Macaroni tuna
5. Spaghetti bolognese

*Of course, pretty soon depends on when I actually have item 1 on the first list. And since most of these come out of ready-made Maggi mixes I already have at home, I don't need to refer to a recipe book so much.

Five things I have to get from the grocery store / supermarket

1. Vegetables
2. Dishwashing liquid
3. Bread
4. Nutella for Nuaim
5. Ready-mixed 3-in-1 Coffee for me

Meet the New Family

9th Aug 2008. An important date to remember...

Mak and my new Baba (the roses are gifts from my sons, picked from one of the 'hantaran').

My new Abang and Kakak on the left...

And 6 more grandchildren.

Happy Birthday to Nuaim...

...and to me, too.

Granted, this entry is a day late.

Yesterday I turned 32. I wish I was still 22. Physically I feel like 52, I think like 42, and depending how my day goes I behave anywhere between 12 and 62.

Anyway, as Nuaim rightly pointed out to his Cik Ain, it was His Birthday, not mine. He had been bugging me for toys since Thursday night, but I told him to wait till it was his birthday on Saturday for me to get them.

So the first thing he said to me in the morning was not 'Happy Birthday Ummi, I love you' but, "Pagi ni dah Sabtu, kan? Jom kita pergi beli train! (This morning is Saturday, right? Let's go buy a train!)"

We went to Toys R Us, where there's a large selection of 'Thomas and Friends'. Since Nuaim already has a few Thomases, the plan was to get some 'Friends', but Nuaim preferred some other generic-looking modern trains instead. I decided to buy a Friend (Ben, specifically) for Nu'man so he'd have something to play with, and decided to wrap the toys as presents.

When we got home, Nu'man was asleep. Nuaim proceeded to open his present (which consisted of three trains, a station and a tunnel) and play with them immediately. He seemed quite happy for about an hour, when the novelty wore off and he decided that Nu'man (who was still asleep) should 'share' Ben with him. Besides, the tracks that came with the station and tunnel were not long enough for Nuaim's three-carriage train, and Ben came with four pieces. Fortunately the tracks all fitted together, (coming from the same manufacturer, so from today I'm sticking to the same brand for trains) so when Nu'man finally woke up there was no fighting over the tracks. The only contention was who got to play with Ben.

A Princess and her two Hulubalang's

Still Alive and Kicking

I know, my two-week break turned out into a 3-month absence from Blogland. Kenapa, rindu ke?
The truth is I have been really super-duper busy. Honest. In chronological order, this is what happened after Hari Raya Haji:

Hubby came home for his 18-day RnR, but he extended it with the hope that the Sudanese will just forget about him. After three months, they noticed his absence and called him back.

We finished packing up for the move, and moved the furniture into the new house on the last Saturday of 2007.

Had a do'a selamat and proper moving in the next day, when my maid threw in a clanger - she REFUSED to move in with us (we'd all been staying at my mum's house then). For weeks she'd been asking to go back to her hometown in Sulawesi, saying her kids missed her and her dad was ill. Her two-year contract was supposed to end in April this year, and I was willing to give her a couple of weeks' break to visit them, but she wouldn't give me an answer as to whether she was still willing to come back here. So I terminated her work permit and sent her off for good. In the first week of January.

Nuaim started kindergarten. First day Hubby sent him - he was fine. Second day I took him - he wouldn't let me go. When I finally managed to leave an hour later he was clinging to the front door wailing his lungs out.

I was MAIDLESS for almost a month! Luckily Mak had a friend who could arrange for a new Indonesian maid almost immediately - otherwise I'd probably have to wait for another couple of months before some sense of domestic order arrived. She's quite old school (she's even got a 7-year-old grandchild already) but so far so good. I've had to travel to Kerteh several times with her and Aiesyah in tow (I'm still breastfeeding) and it helps that's she's a lot more talkative than the previous ones I've had.

My boys get along well with her too, but they're still pretty attached and cling to me whenever I'm around, especially when I come home from work. So you see, with Office blocking Blogger.com and hardly any time to myself, please excuse me when the sneak peeks into my totally hip and happening life are unavailable. The only reason I can blog now is that I'm spending the weekends at my mum's (now that Hubby's in Sudan again) so the boys' attentions are diverted elsewhere.

With all the activities and changes going on, it's no wonder that I am physiologically a grandmother!

8 Random Facts

Got tagged by Adita to do a simple meme.

The rules:
- Link to your tagger and post these rules.
- List eight (8) random facts about yourself.
- Tag eight people at the end of this post and list their names.
- Let them know they've been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blogs.

List eight (8) random facts about myself:

1. I’m an engineer. My dad was an engineer, so are my two surviving paternal uncles. My brother was studying engineering but quit halfway to sort his life out. I am married to an engineer. Guess what my children are going to be when they grow up? Definitely NOT engineers (if they have to, it’d better not have anything to do with Instrument, Electrical or Electronics).
   
2. If I hadn’t become an engineer, I would have pursued a degree in History. Or Egyptology. Or Theatre. Or even Fashion Design. Once I considered opening a kindergarten but after three kids I’ve changed my mind.
   
3. Between my sister and I, we have the whole Enid Blyton Rewards series. As a child I thought of turning our family home into a public children’s library but my parents didn’t like the idea.
   
4. I love to collect recipes but the only thing I can confidently cook is Garlic Chicken (from Ken Hom’s Hot Wok). And any pasta dish that involves an Italian called Prego.
   
5. I went to an all-girl’s school, but due to my voice I almost always played male parts in school plays. I finally got to play a female character in my final year because there were no male speaking parts available. But in university I reverted back to type and played Tun Perak.
   
6. I never played competitive sports until I started working, where I somehow got roped in to represent my company during a volleyball tournament. We played against 6 other teams – won 3 and lost 3. Guess which matches I played in.
   
7. I look good in maroon and royal blue. But now I’m into olive green and deep chocolaty brown. So Earth Mother…
   
8. I have found The Bag…
   
   I am tagging these people:
   CikMilah
   Careen
   Ubisetela
   Hubby
   Stingrayz
   Lina
   Ayin
   Lady Verde