No Luck....

Just a simple notes to said that we have no luck this time.

Will try again next time.

Eya's Fifth Birthday...

Eya's birthday, as usual will fall on either Syawal or Ramadan, being a girl that was born exactly at 1st of Ramadan 5 years ago. This year, initially I was planning to celebrate it at Kepong.

As we still in Syawal, cu planned to gather all of us during his open house. He will do the cooking and later, all of the LL clan will have a sleepover at his home. So, I agreed and thought that Eya birthday should be celebrated there.

Eya, being 5 years old, know what she want for her birthday this year. Me, hubby and her opah will buy different things for her. She is not into expensive toys now, and her choices are much simpler.

She asked:

• Me: Dora stuff, so I bought her a set of Dora plate, mug and tumbler
• Hubby: Cars coloring stuff, so he bought her Crayola Cars and Princess coloring set
• Opah: She asked for masak-masak stuffs, all kind of plastic foods

Her acu bought her bedsheet + Mickey pillowcases, Uncle Shamsir bought her a set of dolls + clothes and Cik Yong bought her smurfette. 

As for the cake, I ordered a small cake with Powerpuff Girls - Blossom on it. The cake was gorgeous, and it cost RM75. I ordered from an online store that is based in Bangi, www.babycakes2u.com. Even the owner is a nice lady. Really loves the cake.

We also bought her a set of tiara and wand, as she told us that she wanted to be a princess this year. Even that two things is costly. Luckily, my friend lent her daughter's fairy wing to Eya. Another RM40 was saved.

Overall, her birthday was a nice one this year. A funny scene was when Zidane blew her candles everytime hubby light it up. She cried her heart out. We have to console her, and later she told us she cried because she didn't know how to blow the candles out. 

Eya, a princess for her 5th birthday....

Lil Update: Puasa, Raya, GH, etc..

Its been almost 2 3 months I wrote to this blog. The main reason is I am so busy. Not that I'm complaining, just that I don't have any spare time to write.

Nothing much has happened in this past few months.

The major one will be Syawal just ended. As for this year Ramadan, we didn't go for any Buka Puasa buffet and we only been to Param for a few times only. Reason for not going to param was all of the params in Bangi are boring. Too many lauk and a few kuihs. Our favourite stall will be the one in front of our housing area. We will get our daily dose of karipap from the kakak.

As for Raya, as usual, we will celebrate it at Kepong and Taiping. Few days before Raya were spent in my mom's house. The normal raya dishes will be rendang ayam, daging+limpa+paru and of course sambal goreng for my siblings. My favourite dish of all time will be rendang limpa. Not many person can eat limpa but this is totally my favourite.

Me and sis baked a few raya cookies and our chocolate chip is a must. I baked sandwich cake and kek masam manis, and this year everything were perfect. Really love the Kenwood mixer.

No special things happened during Raya. Hubby's sibling were all at Taiping except for Abang Duan and Kak Jah. And, as usual, we will travel back to Tanjung Tualang to visit tok chik, and the new LL clan tradition is going to Penang to have our dose of nasi kandar line clear. I didn't spent the night with my family but headed back to Taiping.

As for our GH, we have more neighbors now. Left and right are occupied by female students from MFI, and none of them are friendly. We also managed to attend a few open houses organized by our neighbors.

Sport Days @ Ana Montesorri

The sport's day was organized on 31st October, which was a few weeks ago. We were quite excited as it was Eya's first sport's day.

The event started around 8.30 a.m. at the Sports Complex in Section 15. We registered her and got 2 goodies bag, containing sandwich and several snacks. Me and hubby also signed our name for the tarik tali event.

The 3 and 4 years old were combined into 1 group. She was in the same group as her best friend, Aqilah so she was quite comfortable being in the group. The games she joined that day were:

Eya waiting for the event to start

The children queuing up...

Eya with her group

Eya running during the bean basket

Aqilah, Eya and Aril...

Me and Eya before the passing baton event

She participated in 4 events, and almost all the games involve running. She being the biggest in her group, looked so cute when ran. She was lucky to have Aril in the group as he was quite an athlete. She lost in the tug-a-war event as the other group parents' helped their kids. It seemed unfair as the games was meant for the kids but for us, we were happy Eya enjoyed all the games.

The event finished around noon and all the kids got several present.

Getaway for the 3 of us...

These last few weeks had been quite hectic for me. I decided to have a weekend getaway for us.

Me and hubby searched for the best place for a getaway. Among our ideas were:

• Genting - cheap but can be quite boring if you don't want to play at theme park, plus we cannot take our car
• Boulevard - which is our fave hotel but hubby said it was boring, as we don't want to do any shopping
• Bukit Bintang - too hectic
• somewhere near river - no river provide any proper accommodation

So, at the end, we decided to go to Port Dickson. I wanted a modern hotel but not that expensive. At first, I wanted to try Avillion or Legend Water Chalet but the attraction is just the chalet on water, nothing else plus it will be quite dangerous for Eya. So, after a few surfing session, I chose Avillion Admiral Cove.

My first impression was the hotel has good location. The hotel environment was nice and the room is great. We booked the deluxe room for it king-size bed, while the pangkin daybed is actually a single bed. So, the room can fit 3 person nicely.The only downside was the room was not carpeted and we have to walk quite a distance, took the stairs if we want to go to restaurant or the swimming pool.

Talking about the swimming pool, me and hubby discovered something new of Eya. A hotel patron lent Eya his baby's life jacket. We noticed that Eya was very confident in  the water using the jacket.

She could walk on her own in the pool, dive into the water and float on her own using the jacket. It was something that she could not do before.She showed hubby some beginner techniques in swimming. We were quite puzzled as she didn't start her swimming class yet due to her hospital episode this month.

We asked her if she did learn it from school and she said yes. So, we thought that maybe she followed her friends to the swimming class but just practiced it on land. We were happy and surprised that our baby now is confident in the water.

We could not wait for her to start her swimming lessons next week.

As for hubby, he tried the Segway, which is a cool ride. We got it free as it came with the hotel package. THe ride cost RM35 for 10 minutes. The Segway costs about RM32K, which was made available in Malaysia by some Datuk. It can only be found in Avillion and Langkawi.

 Both hubby and the trainer name are Rizal, and both from Taiping

As for the short vacation, overall everything was great. Looking forward for another one soon.

LL Family Trip to Penang + Adib + Broc

Me and Kaklong had planned for this road trip a few months ago. The exact plan was to visit relative in Mata Ayer,Perlis. The plan was made as we did not attend a cousin's funeral last December. This cousin was one of our favorite cousin who had worked and lived in Langkawi. Every time one of us visit Langkawi, he will be our tour guide and treat  us to a lavish dinner at the hotel he worked. So, to make up for that, we decided to visit his parent.

 Our trip began on Wednesday night, and arrived in Mata Ayer around 6 a.m. After we had lunch at their house, we traveled down to Penang. We stopped at Pekan Rabu, Kedah as we never been there. we bought kerepek, asam jawa, all the normal stuff people buy there.

We managed to get to Penang around 6 p.m. and checked in into one of the apartment in Batu Ferringhi. As the Indians were celebrating Thaipusam, almost all hotel were fully-packed. After we freshen up, we went to our ultimate goal in this trip, to eat nasi kandar line clear.

It was 2nd time for my along + kaklong and first time for adib and broc. At first, adib told us that the nasi kandar was ordinary and nothing special but after a few hours, the taste kick in and he admitted that line clear was the best nasi kandar he ever had.

 So, in total we ate at line clear for 3 times before we went back to KL. We also tried nasi kandar beratur which was so famous for its long queue. The only difference with line clear is their rice is fluffy and delicious, but line clear still won my heart for its curry and fried chicken. So, nothing can beat my love for line clear.

And if for those who are new to nasi kandar line clear, make sure your rice is being served by an old guy wearing sarung as he is the best.

 As along is regular HRC visitor, he managed to get us in for free to see the live band. Only wearing slippers and did not have to pay cover charge, it was a great way to watch live band performs.

My family also went to try kuetieaw goreng doli in Taiping, hubby's hometown as we stopped by at MIL's house. The place was so packed that we have to wait a while before we got the table.

Overall, it was  a good trip but for me any trip with LL clan is the best for me.

Unfortunate Event @ BSC

No Kepong for last weekend as we decided to spend a night at Pullman Hotel @ Putrajaya. So, the day before, we did our grocery shopping in the morning and had a quick lunch at Jusco.

Night came and we were so bored doing nothing at home. Thinking and thinking, we decided to went someplace which has easy parking. No Midvalley or OU. So, the best option we had was anywhere near Bangsar and BSC it was.

We went there quite late as all the roads leading to Bukit Jalil was jammed. All because of the match between Kelantan and N9. Totally forgot about it since I was not a supporter for both of the team. I was once a Selangor fanatic when I was in maktab. During that day, I could sneaked during my prep to watch the match. How I love it back then. Now, I don't even know who are their players.

So, once we arrived there, our tummy was growling asking for food. We had our dinner at a 'small' cafe in BSC. After paying for the food, we wanted to go to SS2, to have weekly meeting with our dealer.

Hubby tried starting the car but failed. He tried for quite some times but still it could not start. It must be the battery, although the light and horn still work.

Luckily, our AIG insurance was bundled with AAM, so we called them to bring a new battery. If they could jumpstart the car, it will be great. They arrived almost an hour later, although they was just around Jalan Maarof. Anyway, the AAM guy asked whether we want to jumpstart or just buy a new battery. He said they have 2 sizes, with RM200 or 280.

Hearing that the battery was only RM200, I opted for the battery. Last year, when we bought our battery, it cost us RM230 for battery with maintenance. I don't know whether it could last for a year but as long we got a cheap battery for the car to start, it was enough for us.

I was so lucky that the battery 'kong' when hubby was around. If it just me and Eya, it will be a total chaos.

By the way, we also changed 2 tyres as they had totally wore out (in the morning). Another RM400 flew from our pocket. So, last weekend was shopping day for the car.

Due to the unfortunate event, we had to cancel our Pullman plan. Our car was so choosy that it planned to 'tersadai' at BSC with all the posh car.

Eya turns 3...

Eya, 3 years old with her birthday cake...

Eya, Ayah and mama...

This signified that my little angel just turn 3 on 24th September.

Again, I did not plan anything big as her birthday fall on a long holiday. The birthday celebration was just between the family. Initially, hubby planned to celebrate it at Taiping with all her cousins but something came up so plan was changed.

She knows how a birthday should be celebrated as every week her friends from the nursery will have a birthday bash. She kept asking us to have Happy birthday for her. Everytime she sees a big cake, she will sing the birthday song.

So, this year we plan to have a small celebration with cake at her favourite fast food restaurant, KFC. Kaklong volunteered to buy her a birthday cake.

We put the candles on and asked her to blow the candles. And she knew how to do it. Maybe from her observation at the nursery.

Me and hubby is happy to see her growing up so well but at the same time quite sad as she is no longer our small baby. I hope time will slow down as we don't want her to grow up so fast.

I can still remember the moments I held her in my arms 3 years ago. It was the best feeling in the world to have your own flesh and blood.

To Eya, mama and ayah will always love you. You are our little angel.

Bangkok Trip I

Bangkok trip was meant for my family vacation. My big, extended family. We purchased the ticket during the RM1 promotion by AirAsia last year. I thought everyone will go but due to the H1N1 break, only 7 out 0f 14 went for the trip. Nevertheless, it was a great trip and experience for all of us.

Planning

I was the trip planner. Once I bought the tickets, I started surfing for the trips. I searched on the best map, accommodation, transportation and anything that was related. After a few month research, I found out the best for everything was:

Map: Groovy Map for Bangkok
A complete, easy-to-use map that cover everything. My sis bought it from MPH Midvalley.

Accommodation: Samran Place
Budget hotel that near to Halal food, nice staffs and got a high ranking in Tripadvisor.com for its range.

Transportation: A mix of BTS, Boat, Tuk-tuk and taxi.

Shopping: Will be covered below.

The real itinerary

4/8/09:
Our day started with departing to LCCT. Our dear Chu brought us there. My flight was supposed to depart at 6.50 but we arrived at LCCT around 2 p.m. We did not take the same flight as mom and abo was in the earlier one at 4 p.m.



We hang around the LCCT, had a light meal at a very expensive Marrybrown. Although I hate anything that is associated with any celebrity that I hate, I need to put that aside as there was no any other cheap food. (Tips: The celebrity name start with M) If I had the money, for sure I will have my hot chocolate at Theobroma.

Exactly at 6.30 p.m., we boarded our flight. It was Eya's first time in a flight. She was not that excited as she thought it was just another mode of transportation.

We arrived on time and searched for mom and abo. Once I found them, we started searching for taxi to bring us to the hotel. They had public van but we were unsure what they meant by public. So to be safe, we took the airport limousine, but due to our number, they give us van. The van was so great, and it was large. It can fit 10 people, I think. It was called Toyota Kommuter. If they sell it here, my mom was sure to buy it.

The traffic was horrible although it was 9 p.m. The first thing we did after checked in was thinking what to eat for dinner. Although the halal food was opposite of the road, we were afraid it was closed and being just a small lane, maybe we could get lost finding the food.

So, me and hubby being an adventurer, we proposed to have dinner at the hotel. We asked for squid and shrimp fried rice. Mom ate fish and chip. Luckily, it was nice.

5/8/09:

Our first plan was to visit the Grand Palace.There was no bus or BTS directly to get to the pier. So, the best option was to take BTS to Saphan Taksin and from there, we would take boat from Sathorn, the Central Pier. The boat ride only cost 1.30 and we took the orange flag ferry.



The Sathorn pier was N1 and the stop for Grand Palace is at Tha Chang, N10 so it was quite a boat ride from me. I was not a fan of any transport that is related to water. Thats why I stayed near to the life jackets in the ferry.

From the stop, we need to walk a little bit before we arrived at the Grand Palace. We need to pay 35 per pax for the entrance fee. If you took any tour service, it will cost you the cheapest of RM70 for the trip to the palace.

The GP was quite a big area. Due to the hot weather, we just briefly visited some of the main attraction and left the palace.



The next plan, was to have lunch. So, the only thing I could think of, was halal food at MBK. The food was great but pricey. For fried rice, it was 80baht and for something like nasi paprik, it cost 150 baht. Food was expensive here even if you go to stalls. I love the Iced Milo there. It was heaven.

We rest at the hotel before going for dinner at Ali Selatan. The owner is a Kelantanese. All the halal food you find on Zabihah.com can be found here at the street. The food was marvellous and the sirap bandung was great.

The next plan was to go for Suan Lum night market. So we took BTS to Silom but failed to find the market at the Lumpini Park. So, changed plan to visit Patpong night market. It was similar to Petaling Street. If it just the both of us, I would go to see of the night show but as I went with family, I cancelled the plan.

The market is located in the middle of Patpong 1 street, so when you were walking, you can get a glimpse of whatever happened in the bar. I managed to see some pole dancing and girls doing their show. However, in the Patpong rate, it was still considered a decent view.

So, as I read that Patpong night market is expensive, I did not buy anything. Once we arrived at our hotel, we had a foot massage at a place beside it. It was cheap, just 200 for an hour. The guys tried the body massage for just 200 baht.

That was my trip for the 1st 2 days. Will blog the second part of the trip later.

p/s: Pics will be included later.

A rockstar in the making...

Rockstar in the making...

Abo and adik just bought a PS3 complete with the Guitar Hero set. It includes a guitar, drum and microphone, complete to create a rock band. As for the games, Abo had bought about 15 games from Ebay UK.

Previously, when they played PS2, they also played guitar hero using 1 guitar. So, when they bought the set, the old guitar could not be used with PS3.

I respect that adik and just anyone who could play the guitar as it was really hard for the player to follow all the colours from the game. For those who are unclear of the game, the guitar and drum have 5 colour keys/buttons. They have to follow the color exactly when it is being displayed on the tv.

For me, I could only play the drum set with easy level. The guitar was out of my league, it was quite hard for me to play it.

As for hubby, he become the vocalist of the band. To sing it is quite easy, as you only need to know the rythm and lyrics of the song. You need to match the tempo and lyrics.

As it was hard to follow the key colours, some people who play the guitar, concentrate really hard and was very static when they play it. So, we love watching Eya playing the guitar. She was really cute and act just like a true rockstar. She can sway to the music and move the guitar to the beat. She can do that as she don't play the game. She just follow whatever her Acu did and I did teach her to follow the colour keys.

Now, it become our family pastime favourite to play Guitar Hero.

Eya and Dede

We can sing, so surprising...

Me and Eya having a good time

Just a gimmick! We still could not sing well like even a average person could sing. My SIL planned for the whole family to go for karaoke. I resisted the idea but love being with my family, no matter what, I just agreed to it.

So, last Saturday, after my cousin had finished her cupcake lesson, we headed down to Ampang Park. It was quite cheap compared to what Red Box @ The Curve charge. Just RM35 for an hour for a medium room, which can accommodate up to 15 people. So, my whole family including Adib went to have a 'melalak' session for the first time except for my SIL, who was quite a pro.

Along, Kaklong and Zidane

We booked the room for 4 hours which for me was quite long. My SIL said 4 hours was too short and we might ask to extend the hours. Me and hubby being quite an amateur in this area was quite 'kekok' with this whole karaoke thingy. We didn't know how to choose song and set for it using the karaoke machine.

Me and hubby chose our fav song which includes Hotel California, some oldies for hubby and for me too. My first choice of songs would be N' Sync but their collection contained songs that I didn't really like.

Hubby and me trying our skill in karaoke'ing

Hubby who was so reluctant to the idea at first started enjoying the singing. He tried to conquer the mic and almost all the songs. The funny part was he is tone deaf. He just follow the lyric blindly without knowing how the songs sounded. It was funny but it was exciting to see how hubby enjoyed the whole session.

As for me, I got to sing my most favourite song, Januari by Glenn Fredly. My Eya sang her Ketahuan song by Matta. Both she and Zidane enjoyed the session too.

Eya n Zidane is starting from young

Really looking forward to have another karaoke session when Abo is here. Okay, guys, start collecting money as it going to be a really long session.

Belanja makan...

Recently, adik managed to get back her money from her uni. So, she decided to treat us for a family dinner. Usually, we would go for western food especially Chilli's but some of us are bored eating the same dishes.

This time, to be more value for money, I suggested to have it at a Muslim Chinese restaurant somewhere near our house. We ordered quite a number of dishes but it was nice and cheap. The total was below what adik had budgeted.

As for today, mom treated us for nasi padang at KJ. The food was great for us minang people but it was quite costly, compared with what we had the last night.

Tomorrow, mom will cook us nasi lemak for lunch. Yeah!!!!

Another New Year...

I never make any resolution for any new year. I afraid that if I make one, I will be devastated if I could not achieve it.

2008 had witnessed me doing something was quite a bit extraordinary for me.

I changed my job, quit from one of the big company and moved to a smaller one. Alhamdullilah, I had found my tune in this job. I love doing my job, so I hope it was a correct move.

I purchased my own house. It was an impulse purchase and a major price to pay. Thanks to the job I have now, I have a little extra money to pay for it. InsyaAllah...

I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. Only a few years to go before we reach the 10 year marks. Hubby is my best friend, soulmate and husband. Love you so much...

Eya started walking in 2008, exactly when she was 18 months year old. One of the most awaited milestones..

I moved out from my mom's house and stay sumwhere near my office...just the three of us initially but now my little sis stay with me too...its been almost 6 months now..

My little brother flew to UK to further his study....need to browse e-bay more...

Got a nephew....Shafique Zidane...love you to bits....

A few things that happened that must be forgotten before I step into the new year...

One of my family member disappeared, vanished into thin air...(maybe this can be considered as sumthin good too...)

A few issues with my houses...was so angry with the bank...hope this issue will resolve soon...

Not many issues to be left behind but for 2009, I am so waiting and looking forward for our big family vacation....Bangkok to be exact...still have a few more issues to be dealt with...

Who is this??

By now, Eya has know all of her family by names. She can recognise them if I point to anyone in a picture.

So, last weekend, I showed her my wedding pictures. She can identified her opah, dede, acu, abah, her ayah and mama. The weird thing was when I point to a MIA family member, she couldn't recognised that person. She went blank for a while and uttered the word 'nenek'.

This made me wonder whether kids have short term memory. That person has been missing from our life for a few months and Eya cannot remember her anymore.

Thats why every week when we chat with her dede, we would use webcam and always shows her the picture of her dede. Abo will not be here for 2 years and I don't want her to forget her dede.

This show that you need to be near kids always and don't leave them for a long time. You may risk the possibility of they not knowing you.

I have 2 brothers and 1 sister...

***This entry is for my family reading only. If you are not interested, please do not read it. It is quite an emotional entry. You are warned!!!***

You must wonder why I suddenly want to highlight to the public that I have 2 brothers and 1 sister. Yes, I think all of my close friends or even strangers need to know that I am the second from 4 siblings. Some of you might be confused with these fact. You may refer to my lil sis blog entry of why I need to tell the world about this.

I was quite a patient person. From young, I was told to give in to that other person. Anything, you just named it. Clothing, mom had to buy us the same design, material as she will be jealous if she get something different from me. If I had a fight with her, I need to 'mengalah' as I'm the older sister. She was borned 1 year after me, which means I only had 1 year to get the full attention of mom and dad. But, being a sister, I do not mind as I know a sister should protect her younger sister.

When we grew older, I didn't see her that much as I went to different schools and later, went to a boarding school. So, we were not that close.

Then, when I was in uni, in a relationship with hubby, she also was in a relationship with her ex-bf. This was such a bad influence of her. I was by her side for a lot of things that our family did not know. At that time, I knew she really need my support and help. I did the best I could do to help her.

The most unforgiven thing that she did was during my wedding. I was so frustrated with her and some people at that time because of some horrid things that she did. I was so lucky to have mom's support and hubby's companionship to go through this problem. I never forget what she did to me. Because of that, I vowed to do something if she ever get married. But, don't worry, it will not be something as horrid as what she did to me.

Now, she did something bad again. We, the 4 of us, didn't really care if she doesn't acknowledge us as her siblings. In fact, we are happy she did that. Without her, we are really happy and all the moments we spend together is just pure heaven.

But, just like what my sis said, please think of what you are doing to mom. Although, she never express her concern about you missing in our life, deep in her heart, she misses you. I don't know why you are being so stupid by ignoring her. A short call, a simple sms will do. I don't think that is too hard for anyone to do. She sacrificed a lot of things for you.

You kept saying she is unfair to you. Before you throw that sentences, please take a look at yourself in the mirror.

Why we ignore you? You are the one who create stupid, untrue story. You always tried to create havoc in the family. But, me and the other 3 do not really care. Again, we are happy without you.

As for my daughter, as long as I live, I would not allow her to meet you. As long she is under my care, she will not meet you. Although mom had advised me that this is wrong, I simply don't care. Why should she be meeting someone that doesnt give a damn about her. I think by now you should have your own nephews and nieces, and maybe your own daughter or son. Maybe its original or someone else that you shared with your 'laki'. Please don't disturb my daughter or nephew for that matter.

If you ever come back home, I will not return to that house. I would not let my family to be under the same roof as you. I am not the one who made the mistake. It was you. You should ask for apologize from us, not the other way round.

Please do not create more stupid stories to strangers or anyone else to ask for more sympathy. Whatever that you do, we are happy especially without you. All of our trips together, vacations is much more happier and calmer without you.

I think even my daughter now forget that she ever have you as her makcik. For now and ever, she only have her acu and maklong.

Raya 2008

Hubby and Eya...

Us with the kids...

This Raya was kind of different to me. First of all, we do not follow our normal raya traditions. Instead of baking and cooking on the raya eve, this time we finished everything early. By noon of raya eve, everything was ready. All of us had some extra time to do last minute shopping at Jusco. This was the first time we ever have extra time on raya eve.

Adik and me were in charge of baking all the cakes and cookies. Adik was brave enough to bake cake sandwich this year, which was something that we must have during raya. We also modified our chocolate chip cookies, instead of the normal walnut, this time we used macadmia nut. It was expensive. For a small packet, it cost about RM8. However, the result was great. Our cookies taste almost similar to Famous Amos.

Mom and Abo cooked rendang and sambal goreng.My rendang limpa this year (cooked by mom) was so great. Its the best mom ever cooked. Rendang was cooked a day earlier.

Sambal goreng was also modified this year. We cut the ingredients bigger so all of us can easily choose what item we like to eat. Before this, everything was so small and it takes us the whole day just to cut all the items. As Abo said, this year sambal goreng was cooked with lots of LOVE, SINCERITY, HARMONY & everything NICE !. Although along said it taste not so good as before, the three of us agreed this was the best sambal goreng.

Abo also treated us to a nice buka puasa buffet before he left for his degree, on the weekends before raya. After that, the 4 of us together with our cousin, nabila went to buy jeans at Pertama Complex. It was such a great moment. Eya and Zidane was asleep after the dinner and we left them with their opah.

On the day of Raya, the guys went for sembahyang sunat while the girls prepare breakfast. Eya was an early riser that day as usual. I dressed her with the new baju kurungs we prepared for her. This year she got 2 baju kurungs. By the way, our color theme for this year was blue, along was green while cu's family was turqoise.

Adik was our photographer for the day. She snapped about 150 pics for the first raya. We did a lot of different pose for that day.

My Only Family....Loves all of you...

This year raya was a little different as we going to send abo to the airport later that day. He is going to UK for his degree in electronics. Everybody important to the family were there, including several of Abo's friends.He went in about 11 pm. Adik and along were the saddest. They hugged and cried. As for me, I was sad too but I really couldn't cry. My one and only little brother. Make us proud. Next year raya, it will be just adik and me again.

Salam Aidilfitri

I've stopped giving out traditional kad raya years ago. Its maybe after I started working. Giving raya card is something that I look forward when I was studying. Now, as e-card is easily available and with the help of blogs, its become easier for me to wish everyone 'Selamat Hari Raya'.

Note: E-card was courtesy of www.speedfinger.org

First Part:

I would like to generally wish all my best friends Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir dan batin.

For my special friends:

To Masyu, Selamat Hari Raya. I hope you could forgive me for any kutukan, sindiran, sesi umpatan bersama, email2 panas (if any) and anything that I might do that may hurt your feelings. I hope you will enjoy your raya with your family in Teluk Intan and do enjoy eating all the food especially lemang and rendang. Jangan risau sangat, tak lari ke mana TLS tu.

To Nurul and Ira, Selamat Hari Raya. Eventhough we may not be that close now, I still considered you as my best friends. I do apologize if I did something wrong to you, e.g. not contacting you as much as I can, didn't come to any events that you hosted. Irr, still terkilan pasal takleh gi potluck hari tu. Lain kali, aku try sedaya upaya untuk pergi. Enjoy your raya with family. If any of you is in Perak for this raya, do come to hubby's house.

To Oya, maybe you don't know about this blog but I still want to wish you something. I really hope you will be here to celebrate the raya. I just hope this year you have a nice celebration with Kairil.

Second Part:

To all my Sussex friends, especially Amy, Bett, Evi, An, lil Ardini, Indah, Rozi, Nor, Mas, Seha, Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin from me and hubby. Really miss the old time.

To all my blogger friends, especially to all the links in here, although we never met, I really loves our cyber friendship. Selamat Hari Raya and selamat bergembira di kampung halaman. Don't forget to keep blogging...

Last but the most important part:

I really don't know how to do all the raya forgiveness drama, so I try to put here what I really want to say during that moment.

To abang, I really want to apologize for all my wrongdoings to you. Only you know what. Thank you for really understanding me.

To Eya, my baby, lil angel, this is your second raya. Its the first raya when you can walk and speak. Its going to be havoc. Mama loves you soooooooooooo(infinity) much.

To along and kaklong, this will be your first raya with Zidane. Enjoy it. Its awesome. Sorry for any mistakes that I might have done. Selamat Hari Raya. To Zidane, Selamat menyambut your first Aidilfitri! Makyang loves you so very much!

To abo, I don't know whether I can send you or not, but forgive me for any mistakes that I might have done to you. Have a nice raya celebration there. Remember me when you eat the choc. chip cookies. Really going to miss you. Next year, make sure you send the Salam Perantauan to us.

To adik, you are the best sister anyone could ever have. Thanks for everything you have done/bought for me. Although I'm the big sister, I want to apologize for any inappropriate actions that I have done. Enjoy your raya even if you're alone.

To mom, I will apologize to you personally. But, in here, I just want to say, forgive me for anything that I do to you that may hurt your feelings. Forgive me for my mistakes. Forgive me for everything.

I hope everyone will have a great Raya this year. I couldn't wait for malam raya when I will sit in front of TV to watch all the sampaikan. Need to finish baking a few more cookies and cakes. Only once a year.

31st August 2008...

Mom has planned to do kenduri doa selamat before the fasting month started. It was such a simple planning (according to my mom's standard). We decided to try a new caterer, which actually one of mom old, best friend. We suggested the menu and she said it was okay.

The only thing we need to do before the day was just to move the big sofas to outside. That's all. I really love kenduri at my mom's house as all the family members and close friends of Abo will be there. Cu's family came at 3 a.m. and we kind of expected it. Cu was known for his 'janji melayu'.

The day started around 9 and mom's marhaban clique started to arrive. Yes, mom decided to have a marhaban. Out of the blue, they suggested to have 'cukur jambul' for Zidane as well. Mom were quite stunned as we never do things without proper planning. We searched the house for nice bowl to place the cut hair and the 'bedak sejuk', nice tray cover to place all the bowls, the scissor and the leaf that was going to be used to wet the boy's hair.

Zidane was quite pleased with all the marhaban, and he even sang together. It was cute. We could hear him singing from the kitchen. Then, kaklong carried him while I carried the tray. Yes, I was trying to get some 'berkat' (blessing) from holding the tray. Who knows, after this I may have my own Zidane.

Later, in the noon, surau's men came to read some tahlil for my late dad. So, basically we have two sets of kenduri. One by the marhaban group for Zidane and the second was the tahlil for my dad.

After, everything was finished, we sat down, lepaking with all the family members and chatting. The boys together with mom's anak angkat/abo's friends ( a bunch of them) played cards. It was some kind of poker but instead of cash, they have to drink the syrup balance from the kenduri. One of them was so bloated at the end of the game.

The rest of us had a nice chit-chat. The main topic was about ghost or supernatural. Now, we know why Cu is such a scaredy cat. The chit chat last for few hours and then, we decided to watch 4Bia. It would be a really good complement. Chat about ghost and continue with ghost story. Really a good Thai horror movie. I really recommend watching it. While watching it, Kaklong and Aka cooked us Maggi Asam Laksa.

Eya with her acu....

A week in the new house...

Its been exactly a week after we moved. Everything has been settled including the drilling, nailing, hanging of pictures, etc.

Even Astro has been installed. The most important item in our household. The one that we couldn't live without. I even called Astro for several times as the smart card didn't arrived after 3-5 working days. We were so desperate to get Astro. On Tuesday, we called mom and luckily the card did arrive. Fuuuhh....what a relief....

As for cooking, I only managed to cook on the 4th day, as something was wrong with the gas cylinder. At first hubby thought it was the head of the gas but after we bought a new one, it was still leaking. So, the next step was to buy a new cylinder. Luckily, it was okay.

Previously, hubby did all the cookings but as he was tired driving around, I think this time its better for me to cook. Unless, I want him to cook something special for me. Yes, he is a better cook than me. I knew all the theory and can cook all the main dish but I hate cooking. Hubby loves cooking, so as a win-win situation, I prepare everything and he will do the cooking. See, how our partnership work out great.

Eya on the other hand, sleep with us. Sometimes, we put her to sleep on her mattress beside the bed but as we have a huge bed, the size was enough for the three of us. We want her to sleep on her own bed in her own room but we still do not have the courage to let her sleep on her own.

And as agreed with mom earlier, we will come home every weekend to accompany her. Along also is moving out. Kaklong had found someone to take care of Zidane.

New Place to Call Home...

After the disclosure of our decision to mom, we had started the moving process. I took a leave just to pack all my stuff. Although, I had lived in the house for a few good years, our stuff was not that many. Me and hubby like minimalist design. It took us half a day to do all the packing up.

Last Saturday, we met the house owner together with the agent. They seemed like very nice people. The husband was around hubby's age and surprise, the wife is a TNB-ICT staff and she knew all my friends. Currently, she is on study-leave, doing her master at UPM.

The next day, hubby went to our home to move the packed stuff into our new rented house. We still use the same lorry, the one we used to move to our home few years back. Their service was quick and more importantly, cheap.

Next week, I'm going to take another leave as to tidy up the house and unpacking all my stuff.