A Maldivian Escapade

Well, here I am.....in a place called Velassaru, Maldives...or should i call it 'Heaven on Earth'??. It is a well deserved break, i must say for both hubby n me, since we hv been too preoccupied with work n the kids n being apart from each other due to work commitments.

So, arrived safe n sound here last night....n only caught a glimpse of the beautiful lagoon/ocean in front of our deluxe bungalow this morning....n no words could describe how I felt about what I saw!....

After breakfast (a huge one....no diet2 at this place!!)...we went snorkeling at the beach right in front of our bungalow. Swam in the sun & sea, amidst colorful fishes, baby sharks, barracudas, stingrays...feasting my eyes on the beautiful coral reefs...what can i say?? Utter bliss! Then we lounged on the sun loungers on the beach, looking out to sea as the minutes go by, as if there's no care or worries in the world....it was just the two of us, at one with nature!!

Wish i could post photos right now, but i dont know just how, using an iphone. So, just enjoy reading this entry...once i get back home, i'll surely upload the photos i took. So, now i'm gonna get back to reading my novel n lazing around all day long!

Greatest mystery of all time

Hmmm.....you know what? I have been blog walking during my free time....hahahaha.....I know, I know.....there are other more important things for me to do ey?!!! (like...doing some reading for my research...hehe...so not in the mood for that at the moment). Anyway, during my 'walks' thru people's blogs....it suddenly dawned on me that I do not have any followers for my blog, unlike the blogs that I read.....they have so many followers!! Isn't that sad? I am pathetic!!......How can I make my blog more interesting eh? I am not like those whose blogs I've been reading....they are good cooks, good photographers too who put up photos and recipes of their food on their blogs that make my mouth water everytime, just looking at the scrumptious delicacies they prepared .... and....I am not one of those people who always have fun things to do and get to tell people about it!! ......

Sad, right? It is the greatest mystery to me.....hahahaha....but then again, here's an evidence of me and my poor cooking skills, which may explain why I do not have blog followers....he he he

Excuse my finger there....now, what say you? Do these look like pizzas to you? Baked them tonight....actually, only the sauce was made from scratch....sausages were boiled first, then cut up into tiny pieces and scattered onto the pizza sauce. The pizza base? Bought ready made from Jusco. Then I sprinkled mozarella cheese on the pizzas like there's no tomorrow....(my kids are such cheese lovers!). Put them in the oven for 20 minutes....and then lo and behold, they were .... burnt!!!!.....However, just the outer layer of the cheese was.....inside, it was still runny gooey...and the taste was ok...The crust? (more like a biscuit to me....ha ha ha), although they were hardened due to the temperature....inside, they were still bread-like. Verdict? Fail!!!!.....Must try again next time until it is perfect.

Anyway, the motive for writing this entry is just to express my wonder why I don't have any blog followers, that's all.....for those who are reading (albeit, silently...) my blog....if there is any out there.....you're more than welcomed to follow me :)

Ouch! Threading is painful!

On a whim, I decided to give threading a go. This crazy spur of the moment thing happened yesterday when I was at the Empire Shopping Gallery with my kids. We went there to buy some toys for Fahim using up the money he saved from his school allowance. He had RM80 in all. So, after buying the toy from Toys r us, we headed to Popular Book Store just because Sarah wanted to buy a workbook for her History class in school. Now.....that was when the crazy idea hit me....you see, right next to the book store is this beauty salon...it has a nice inviting decor and there were no customers at that time.

So, I thought of just asking about their threading services that was advertised at the door. And when this nice indian lady told me that yeah...she could thread my eyebrows, to remove the bushy unruly bits at the end of each eye brow, costing only RM12....I immediately agreed to give it a try. Then i also asked her if she could remove the facial hair above my lips (which has always made me look like I have a moustache.....euwww!!!) and she smiled and said she could remove ALL facial hair at RM50. Now, I didnt wanna spend that much, so she said, she can just remove the hair from my brows and upper lips at the cost of RM20. So, apalagi.....I nodded and asked her to do her MAGIC....he he he.....

And.....tadaaaaaa.......my brows look super "tidy" now like this.....

and I no more look like a man woman.....hahahaha.......

What do yo think? Ha ha ha ha

Anyway, as a first-timer to threading......my God, it was quite painful.....should I give it another go next time? Hmmm....maybe, ONLY after taking a pain killer before.... hahaha

Farhan will be in Pekan

Happy yet sad.

Reason?

Happy - Farhan got to go to a boarding school .... It has been his dream to go to one, although the school that he was offered is not the one he aimed for...But, it is also a good school, nonetheless

Sad - Mama would have to part with her dear darling son....huhuhuhuhu....and Pekan is not near, you know!

I googled on google maps for the map and directions to MRSM Bandar Tun Abdul Razak, Pekan Pahang....and the distance is shocking!! And the travelling time is even more shocking...4 hrs and 53 minutes!!! Take a look below, if you don't believe me!

Shah Alam in Selangor, is on the West Coast of Malaysia and Pekan which is located in the state of Pahang, is wayyyy on the East Coast....coast to coast, man! Oh dear.......what would I do if I miss him terribly....driving there every weekend is not an option! 5 hours one way....return trip would take me 10 hours....and if my hubby is not around, then I would be the only one driving and that would really be taxing on me.

But, I have to let him go......My dear son, I know it's your wish to be in a good school...this is for your future....It is the best center for the MRSM IGCSE (cambridge) program, and mama hope that you'd be the best! And if you do well in your Cambridge exams 4 years from now, you will be sent to the UK to further your studies in either Cambridge or Oxford......and I would really be proud of you....heck! Even now Mama is already so proud of you son!

**Huwaaaaa.....already crying**

A brand new day in a brand new year

Assalamualaikum,

Helloooooooooo 2012!!!! Yes...this is my first entry on a brand new day in a brand new year. Just felt jumping onto the bandwagon after seeing everyone with blogs penning something to herald the new year. Any new year's resolutions for me? Nope....nada!!! To me, you do not need to wait for the new year to have any resolutions, betul tak? Once you decide to do something good for a change, regardless of what time of the year it is, JUST DO IT! Tak payah nak tunggu the new year baru nak change for the better.

But this new day reminds me of the song 2012 by Jay Sean. It is one of my favourite songs, I can tell ya. Love the melody, so take a listen!

"....The end of the world,like it's 2012?..." No, I do not think that the world is gonna end in 2012. As a Muslim, I believe that the big impending signs of the apocalypse have not fully appeared yet. Yeah..., we still got time, but the time we have should be spent wisely to better oneself for the benefit of others.....ultimately, to get Allah's blessings in life and hereafter. Amin!

Meatloaf anyone?

Oh yes.......terasa rajin today bersempena dengan cuti extra Krisma......I cooked meatloaf you!!! Haaa....very the unsangkarable!! Tak percaya???? Tengok ni....hasil kerastangan...eh...airtangan I....

What say you? Haha.....cooked in two loaf pans...see, one was almost gone and we were still eating then. Fahim took the last piece of the first meatloaf....his fourth pieace, you know! And we attacked on the second loaf. Right now bibik is still eating .... probably only half left for dinner! I am sooooo proud of myself. It is a very very rare occassion for me to cook something different for a change....sometimes I am just lazy to think of what new to cook, so, I always end up cooking (ehm ehm....now, bibik lah yang masak mostly) the usual standard malay fare .... nasi, kari, masak lemak, sambal tumis, sayur rebus.

Besides, my oven cooker yang had been broken for the past few months had been restored. So, today was a kinda trial ... to test if the cooker is functioning without any glitches, as guaranteed by the repairman.

I also mashed some potatoes (from scratch, mind you!....not from the box ye....) and boiled some baby carrots, grean beans and asparagus to go with the meatloaf. And for the gravy (also from scratch), I prepared some mushroom gravy which was a bit salty to my liking. Next time, I will remember to use the chicken stock cube more sparingly. So, the result:

Simply marvellous!

Here's the recipe, for those of you who wanna try this dish:

Meatloaf:

1 kg of minced beef

minced onion

cream of mushroom mixture (2 packets)

some salt

2 medium eggs

2/3 cup of fresh milk

1 tblspoon yellow mustard

3 tblspoon brown sugar

3 tblspoon tomato ketchup

Method - mix minced beef, onion, mushroom mix, salt, eggs and milk together in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix mustard, sugar and tomato ketchup together. Then pack the beef mixture tightly into two loaf pans for baking. Before you put the pans in the oven, spread the top of the meatloaf with the mixture of sugar, tomato and mustard. Set the oven temperature to 180 celsius and bake for approximately 1 hour. When ready, cool the meatloaf for 10 minutes before serving.

Mushroom gravy:

2 packets of mushroom soup mix

1 chicken stock cube

1 tblspoon of butter

some minced onions

Method - melt the butter in a saucepan. Add in the onions and cook til soft and brown. In a separate bowl, mix the mushroom soup mix and chicken stock together with boiled water. When the onions are browned, pour in the mushroom mixture and cook til you get your desired consistency.

Mashed potatoes:

2 kg of Idaho potatoes

2 cups of heavy cream

3 tablespoons butter

salt

pepper

Method - peel potatoes. Cut the potatoes into quarters and boil in a pot. Add some salt into the boiling water. Once tender, drain the potatoes. Mash the potatoes. On the stove, cook the butter, add in the heavy cream and stir until everything is melted. Add in pepper. While you are mashing the potatoes, pour the melted cream mixture into the potatoes and hand whip them up til fluffy.

Sarah and her string of As

Hey hey hey.....another happy update from me! Yes.....Alhamdulillah, Sarah aced her PMR!!! 8As!! Congratulations dear gegirl! Mama and Papa are so proud of you.

As always, mamanya was very nervous on the day of the results announcement. We went to Putrajaya first because I had to get my hubby's UPENN scroll and translation endorsed by Wisma Putra (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The results would be out after 10 am, Sarah found out. So, after the endorsement was obtained, we headed to Pappa Rich in Cyberjaya to have our breakfast (again....hehehehe.....had eaten at home before leaving the house but everyone was hungry again as we had little food in our rush to go to Wisma Putra). By then Sarah found out that the results would only be released after 11 in her school....so, we took our own sweet time 'lepaking' in Pappa Rich until almost 11 before we headed to SSP.

When we got there, we saw nervous looking people (girls and parents alike) waiting anxiously in the hall for the announcement to be made. When finally the Principle and Assistant Principle took to the stage, the hall turned absolutely quiet that you could even hear the sound of a pin drop on the floor, I tell ya.

The Assistant Principle, En. Aziz was given the honor (I suppose) to deliver the results.....he announced the overall achievement.....and where SSP stood in the country's/state's/ all SBP ranks. Everyone was jubilant upon hearing that SSP has beaten SAS (their arch enemy!!!) this time around. Then it was time to announce the individual results.....starting from the top class 3P. En. Aziz told all students from 3P to walk up the stage when the names of those who got straight As are called. Well....you could just hear the cries of joy, whoops and hoorays when each name was called out. Apparently ALL 3P girls got 8As. And then, the moment of truth....3U....the second best class....my daughter's class. You could hear my heart beating fast and me and Sarah were squeezing each other's hand so tight, that time!! My mom who followed too was also looking so anxious! Farhan looked like he was hoping Kakak to get all As like he did in his UPSR. But my boy Fahim....hahahahaha.....looked so like "tak tau" what all this was about.

Anyway, luckily En. Aziz, to ease our suspense, began telling us for 3U....ALL STUDENTS GOT 8As.......And my anxiety dissipated in a flash.....I hugged and kissed Sarah many times and saw my mom's tears of joy swelling in her eyes.....Farhan flashed the biggest smile ever and tapped kakak on her back...and Fahim...hehehe...still look 'lost'...."apa mama? apa mama?" And Sarah.....no words can describe how happy she looked!!!! And then En. Aziz started to call out each girl's names.....what a relief!!! Sarah's name begins with an S....and if En. Aziz had not made the announcement that all got 8As....I would have been in a suspense a whole lot longer...nak sampai ke letter S tu.

Look at Sarah (center in grey baju kurung and tudung) and whose names have been called on stage. She looked so happy!

A group photo of those who got 8As (145 out of 166 students). I could not locate Sarah but later she told me that she was at the back...so, since my daughter is "vertically challenged" like me...he he he....tak nampak lah dia in the photo tu. But if you know who Datuk Seri Rizal Merican is....a 'somebody' in UMNO (sorry la, tak tau exactly what portfolio he holds in UMNO....I don't give a s**t about politics, you know..), then he is the only man you see in the photo....FYI, his daughter Aulia is a third former in SSP and she also got 8As!! So, since Dato's Seri ni is a somebody, people from the media came to the school too....TV3 and NST!! And of course they interviewed his daughter and him. I was kinda hoping that they would interview my daughter too (biasalah.....mama yang over....wishing that the daughter would be in the limelight.......hahahaha) and I asked Sarah to hang around close to the media crew but she refused and left with her good friend Rahmah to go to their classroom. She specifically told me "Mama....I am thankful enough for the 8As.....I don't need to announce to the whole country what I got!!" Hmmmmm....1 Sarah, 0 Mama. Hahahahaha.

So...... 2011 has definitely been good to me....both my kids got straight As in their major exams. And I am truly grateful to Allah for that. Just wished that my hubby was there to share the moment with me both times!