I am without a maid

I am now without a maid. Sedih kan? For one and a half month, that is. My maid (eh eh...dah balik, so, my ex-maid) Sum has gone back to Indonesia (Surabaya) last nite. Sedih tu ... not because I miss her but because I've to juggle everything now on my own. What with work, the kids and their tuition/swimming/music classes and school, Sarah and her dirty laundry, household chores, cooking etc ... hmmm...I dunno whether or not I can manage. I guess I can....makan je lah kat restoren and clean the house during the weekends. So, just need to get the laundry and ironing done everyday, that's all.

Today is the first day I am without the maid. Pagi2 after subuh tadi, I was terkebil2 back on the bed, thinking what a mom-without-a-help around the house would do. Oh yes.....a mom like that would not go back to bed but would terus turun ke dapur and get the breakfast ready. So, there I was, jumping out of bed again, went into Farhan's room to get him ready for school (since he happened to have his motivation seminar in school this morning...) and headed to the kitchen. Cooked french toast and made some tea.

Then, got the washing machine running with one load of laundry and then off I went to send Farhan to school. My daughter who's back from SSP for her overnight weekend, was still sleeping (what else kan....) as was Fahim. Tawakal je lah....praying that nothing untoward would happen as I was out sending Farhan.

Balik, terus swept and mopped the living room and kitchen. Then, hang the laundry to dry in the sun. By then, Fahim was already awake.....jerit2 nak makan coz hungry. Sarah was awake too and we had breakfast together. Then, I practically ran upstairs to tidy up the rooms upstairs, swept and mopped the floor upstairs too, sebab the time was already 10 am. You see, I had to go fetch Farhan back from school at 12. Then when those things are done....baru I realized that my pajama top was soaking with perspiration (oh yes.....of course lah I tak mandi lagi kan coz nanti busuk balik after buat all the housework). Hehehe.......kalau macam ni gayanya, I dont need to workout anymore, do I???

So, after showering, I turun pula ... back to the kitchen to cook our lunch. It was sambal tumis udang, sayur campur rencah hati ayam and ikan selar goreng today. Tepat 12 everything was ready except sayur tak sempat tumis.....it's ok, after balik from fetching Farhan, I can get that done...all the better to eat sayur panas2 kan!

After lunch, we had durian for dessert...hehehe....my neighbour kak rozi gave me two biji durians this morning. It was good I tell ya.....I just ate one ulas so that tak kempunan...coz I'd get sore throat if I eat durians (despite drinking water from the pangsa ... ikut petua orang2 tua)...the flesh was yellow and 'gebu' mak oiiii....Farhan ate the most! yes, durian is his favorite.

After solat....angkat kain and folded them straightaway.....and now I'm blogging away.....baru dapat rest at 3 pm tadi. Huiiiihhhh......very the tired!!! But I am glad.....even though I feel so tired, at least I get the satisfaction of doing things my way!!!! I even had a second helping of rice during lunch which was a rare thing indeed.....I guess I must have missed my own cooking hehehehe....

Anyway, found this cartoon on the internet...... Macam ni lah I.....hahaha...couldn't agree more with the caption that "A woman's work is never done"!!

Also, layan these pics I took at the airport last nite....oh, no...not of my ex-maid Sum....hahaha....you can tell that I'm not that fond of her kan? kan?...but of the kids at McD in LCCT... having supper, after sending Sum off.

Heheh....Sarah looked ceria indeed....why not? her no 1 enemy has gone back to Indonesia....yeehaaa!!! Fahim pulak, tak tau....apa pulak yg dia stare tu...

Haha....not a very good photo of Farhan, looks like he's still 'jongang' even though his buck teeth are almost 100% corrected...he was actually eating his GCB burger tu...

OK....signing off now....looking forward to tonight as we're having dinner and watching Harry Potter at Sunway Pyramid!! Yes, let's not think about the housework anymore until tomorrow!!

ISO in Seri Costa

Hi everyone!!!

Just came back from Melaka today. I went there on Sunday morning to attend a workshop on ISO 9001:2008....hah....ambik...sekali dengan version mana satu gitu! I was looking forward to going to the workshop, not so much for the knowledge about ISO but because i thought I could go to Kedai Ikan Bakar at Muara Sungai Duyung or do some sightseeing. But alas, I never went because there were night workshop sessions too. Hehehe....sebab nawaitu sudah tak betul.....I didnt get much out of the workshop pon. Seriously, if you ask me anything about ISO, all i can remember is that there are many sections and clauses that one has to know at the tip of their fingers. For the most part of the lecture given by PM Alwi, I was busy chitchatting with Marhani.

At the beginning of the workshop tu, PM Alwi said that there are 3 groups of workshop participants. Group 1 is for those who are selected by the dean and forced to come to workshops. These participants come anyway because lodging is provided, food is free, and travelling expenses is covered by the university. Group 2 is for those who come because they have been selected to and they are willing to learn so as to make their time spent at the workshop worthwhile. Group 3 pula is for those who volunteer to come even though their names are not selected but they want to be involved in the management of the faculty. Hmmmmmm.........I am definitely in Group 1.

So, during the workshop, we stayed at this hotel. Hotel Seri Costa....the hotel sucks, I can tell ya!

I read that it is a 3 star hotel but then, by the looks of it...macam takde star aje. I mean, i've stayed in other 3 star hotels that are wayyyy better. The food was not consistently good (breakfast and lunch tak sedap but dinners and tea breaks were ok lah sikit), the hotel room was small, and the lighting in the room was not enough (very dim). Housekeeping staffs were only available after 8, so I couldn't get them to send me the iron. So, i was dressed in crumpled clothing and tudung as I couldn't get them ironed before the workshop's morning session on Monday. The only positive thing about the hotel is its location. It's very2 close to Mahkota Parade (apa lagi...me and Marhani pun shopped til we drop after the afternoon workshop sessions), Dataran Pahlawan, Golden Screen Cinemas (where me and Marhani went to watch Harry Potter 2.....midnight show lagi!!...shhhh.....don't tell the kids as I had promised to watch it with them next weekend...) and other Melaka tourist attractions.

Anyway, at the end of the last session, we had to take a 'test' of some sort.....just to gauge the effectiveness of the workshop and to see how good we have been at absorbing the knowledge on ISO delivered by PM Alwi. You can see the questions below.....haaa....all we had to do was to determine the section or clause that's relevant to each question tu.

Wanna know what I scored???? 78% wooooohooooo!! For someone who wasn't paying attention most of the time...that's one hell of an achievement!! Highest score was 84%....and there were a few who scored in the 60th percentile. Hehehe..... All in all I can say that I did enjoy the kursus, especially for the opportunity to get to know Marhani and Ain more (both were in the same group as I, and Marhani was my roommate). Enjoy the pics below.

Me, Marhani and Ain...tiga mak dara pingitan...

Heheh....look at the participants in the other group tu....attentively listening to PM Alwi's lecture.....me? Makan and posing for the camera lagi besttttt!!

Sleepless in Seattle opsss .. Shah Alam

I seriously think that there's something wrong with me lately.....I have been having sleepless nights. Kept tossing and turning.... I even did a 360 degree spin around the bed to find myself the most comfortable position to sleep in, last night. When I glanced at the clock on the wall, it showed the time to be 3 am and I was still wide awake. I guess I am now an insomniac (bukan maniac ye, tuan2 and puan2!!!).

Hmm.....what are the reasons why I can't get a good night's sleep ni agaknye ye???

These may be the possible reasons:

1. I miss my hubby so much (I just came back from visiting him, so, I gotta start getting used to sleeping without a companion again huhuhuhu). So, masa teringat2 kan dia tu, it got me thinking ... WHY AM I NOT WITH HIM???.....

2. Watching gossip girl....heheh....am addicted to it! Bought season 4 of Gossip Girl and once i begin watching it (after tucking the boys to sleep in their room), I simply cannot get myself to turn off the video....so, I watched from 1 episode to the next... and ...next...So, by the time I'm done watching 3 to 4 episodes in a row, it would be about 2 am....My mind is still alert from watching the series, so that's a possible reason why it's difficult for me to sleep.

3. Haaa....ni macam x-files sikit, rasa2 macam ada paranormal activity.....takuttttt!! You know, I came to realize that after 1 am or so, when it's starting to get very2 quiet....mula lah I rasa macam terdengar2 weird sounds....like someone turning on/off the switch, furniture being shifted about (sounds like coming from the neighbor's though....but hey, it could come from downstairs, could it?), hear Mr Mohan's dog howling etc. Last night was the scariest. I heard deep breathing from outside the bedroom...it's like there's something or someone walking nearer and nearer to the door....breathing heavily!!! Even though i was scared shit, I mustered enough strength to jump out of the bed and headed for the door to lock it from inside, switching on the light too. Lepas tu, boleh pulak I pi intai through the bottom of the door to see apa ke jadahnya benda tu.....Tak nampak kaki...so, it wasn't a robber ...fuihhh lega..... tapi kata orang, hantu kaki tak jejak the ground kan.....ALAMAK!! But i'm convinced that my house is 'clean' from these entities!!

Pergh...i hate this. Umur dah 38 pun masih a coward!

Anyway, today i did some googling about sleeplessness and I'd like to share it here with you:

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Physical Causes of Sleeplessness

There are a many possible causes for waking up in the middle of the night and being unable to fall back to sleep. It could be physical such as muscle aches, muscles tension, need to go to the bathroom, you left the TV on, your partner is snoring, the dog is snoring, you had too much caffeine today, and on and on. For these we can usually figure out the solution:

• do some light stretches for muscle aches
• take some aspirin/Tylenol/Advil/etc if pain is keeping you awake
• move to a different bed
• turn off the TV
• get up and do something until you’re tired enough to fall back asleep

Mental Causes of Sleeplessness --------- (Haaaa.... I think this is relevant in my case)

When you’re worried about something, that can be a real bugaboo. If you’ve got something on your mind, it can be hard to sleep. Many times you may not even be aware that you’re worried, much less what you’re worried about. But, in most cases, you will need to address the problem or you probably won’t get back to sleep anytime soon. So what should you do? Follow these steps to relieve your mind of worries and get back to sleep.

1. Signs from our Dreams. If you woke up from a dream, think about it for a moment. What was going on in the dream? What do you think each part represents? Is there something you are afraid of, worried about, or a problem you need to solve?

2. What’s on Your Mind? Whether you had a dream or not, ask yourself,

• What’s bothering me?
• What problem do I need to solve?

Maybe you are worried about your health or a loved one’s health. Maybe there is an issue at work that you’ve been avoiding. Maybe you’ve been in an argument with your spouse or a good friend. Or perhaps you’re just feeling scared of dying. (Night time has a pesky way of doing that sometimes.) Or it might just be that your to-do list is so daunting it’s waking you up at night. Whatever it is don’t be afraid to identify it and label it. Thinking about it is not going to make your fears materialize. Not thinking about it is going to keep you from sleeping. Figure it out and you’ll back on your way to some restful zzzz’s.

3. Pen, Paper, & Solutions. You’re awake anyway, so flip on a light and grab a notebook and pen. Write down the issue that is on your mind. And then write down action steps you can take to resolve your issue..

• For problems, write down the steps you will start to take tomorrow. If you don’t know where to begin, write down that you will enlist someone to help you.
• For fears, write down the fear. Write down why it is scary. Write down any action steps you can take to alleviate your fears. If it is something that is unavoidable, write down reason why you are strong enough to handle this. If you have to fake it, then do so! Come up with a “strength mantra” that you’ll use to fall back asleep. Some suggestions are “I am strong” or “I am calm” or “I turn it over to God.”

4. Stretch and Breathe. Once you have your issue worked out, do some soothing simple stretches either in bed or on the floor. A great one to do is the child’s pose. Sit on your knees and fold forward with arms outstretched. You will feel a wonderful release in your arms, shoulders, and back. After that do any stretches that you sense would feel good. Then lay down and take several long slow breaths in and out. Breathe in for a count of 8, hold for 8, and breathe out for a count of 16. This will help slow down your body and mind.

5. Mantra. Lay down in a comfortable position in your bed, and use your “strength mantra” or some other calming, soothing mantra to help you sleep. Here are some good ones:

• Mmmmmmm
• Om
• Ahhhh
• So Sleepy

(For orang Islam macam kita......baca lah apa2 doa yang patut!!)

The idea is to quiet your mind by focusing on a simple word or your breath. Be kind, gentle and patient with yourself. Sleep will come. Let your thoughts be like clouds in the sky. Just watch them go by without attachment. Keep returning to your mantra and your breath.

6. When All Else Fails. If you can’t fall asleep after a long period of time, consider getting up and starting to work on your solutions. If you have too much energy, then it makes sense to get up and do something with your time. Follow your instincts about what you should do. Don’t worry about losing sleep for one night. You can handle this. (Tapi kalau dah banyak malam camne????)

7. Consider Self-Hypnosis. Using positive self-talk and creative visualizations can be a wonderful way to break out of the habit of insomnia or restless sleep. Here are a few resources to try out:

• Beat Insomnia – Hypnosis MP3 download. This is helpful if you have trouble falling asleep. It’s inexpensive and 100% guaranteed to work or they will give you a full refund.
• Quiet Blissful Sleep -Hypnosis MP3 download. This course is helpful for people like myself who sometimes wake in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep. This also has a 100% money back guarantee. (This company has very good products that I can personally recommend.)
• Sleep Solutions (The Calming Collection). Highly rated CD on Amazon for helping with going to sleep. (check out the reviews!)
• Instant Self-Hypnosis: How to Hypnotize Yourself with Your Eyes Open. This book presents an interesting method for self-hypnosis via reading.

Prevention is the Best Medicine for a Good Night’s Sleep

To ensure a good night’s sleep in the future, consider these tips.

• Take it easy on the caffeine. Either eliminate it or limit to morning only. The effects of caffeine last for 9 hours, so you do the math - (I have not succumbed to my caffeine addiction, dah lama tak minum coffee!!)
• Have a bedtime ritual that is calming. You could read before bed, plan your day for tomorrow, write in your journal, meditate, listen to soothing music, or anything else that helps your mind to slow down.
• Turn off the TV at least 30 minutes before bedtime. TV is a stimulant so establish a routine that helps you turn it off. You’ll fall asleep better.
• Listen to your body. If you feel tired, go to bed. Don’t torture your self by not getting enough sleep.
• Listen to your mind. If there is something on your mind before bed time, write about it in a notebook or talk to someone about it. Come up with solutions that you can work on tomorrow.

Oklah ye tuan2 dan puan2......that is one hell of a lonnnnnnggggg entry!!! Mesti ada antara tuan2 dan puan2 para pembaca dah zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........Chet!! Tak aci!!! It's supposed to be me yang tidur!!!

Hmmm....gonna force myself to bed now.....wish me luck tonight ya!

Signing off: 12.37 am....the night is still young for an insomniac like me!!

Oh I wish.......

How nice it would be if I could afford to buy this:

and this too

Wishful thinking? :)

Boys vs Food

My boys, Farhan and Fahim

vs

Food

Guess who won??

FOOD!!!

Both boys: Mama.....can't take another bite, anymore....can we go???!!!

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Waiter, bill please!!

@Manhattan Fish Market, Subang Parade

Slow Saturday

Dear readers,

It's close to 2.30 pm and I am feeling terribly bored. I am usually very busy on Saturdays....by this time I would have already sent Farhan to his Math tuition class and should be zooming by on the Elite highway like a mad woman in a mad dash towards Cyberjaya (sebab kena reach there by 2.45 and then balik Shah Alam to fetch Farhan by 4 pm) to see my darling Sarah. However, Farhan's math class has been cancelled (errrr....Pn Maziah pi Bersih rally ke, Pn Maziah??). Msisters pulak told me to stay home coz there could be roadblocks that would hinder me from going to-fro Cyber. Instead, both of my sisters would go c Sarah and get her dirty laundry... (Hahaha....kesian their maid Jinggo kena wash and iron, and lucky my maid Sum), bring her food , etc. Heard that they would go to SSP in Keme's brand new Ferrari. Besides, Farhan has quit his guitar lesson which used to begin at 4.30 pm. That made my afternoon, today, free.

So, here I am, at home, blogging. There are a few more photos I'd like to share here of my trip home to Malaysia from Jubail. Left Saudi with a heavy heavy heart, coz my sayang is gonna be alone again. Besides, thinking of the long journey back home (transit for 10 hrs in Doha, sebab nak cheap ticket punye pasal lah) really made me rasa tak nak balik. But what to do, my 3 kids and job beckoned.

Ini my puffed up (sebab seminggu have been stuffing myself up with the oh so glorious Arab Kabsah, mutton briyani, cheesecakes, chocolates etc) but sad, sad face, in the car on the way to the airport in Dammam

The flight from Dammam to Doha lasted around 45 minutes. It was pretty much uneventful, except for some cases of turbulance. Then, once landed, the queue at the transit lane was surprisingly very2 short, so, I breezed thru the section within minutes. Not keen on buying anything at the duty free shop, I headed straight to the Oryx lounge to lepak2 in comfort while waiting for the connecting flight to KL in another 10 hrs. Since I was just an economy class passenger, I could use the lounge only if I paid 40USD. Oklah, willing to pay coz it's quite a reasonable sum for enjoying the facility to shower, free flowing food and drinks (served buffet style), tranquility etc.

The Oryx lounge

A thing i noticed, those Arab women who came in here looked so sophisticated in their expensive sequined abaya, designer sunglasses, LV or gucci handbags, and high shoes. There were this Arab woman and hubby with their small son, came and sat somewhere near my section, together with 3 Indonesian maids...(apakehe nya nak 3 maids to take care of 1 small son).......Yang amazing nye, the maids, semua were decked hair to toe in the same attire (tudung hitam, t-shirt long sleeve warna pink and striped hitam...body hugging pulak tu...black skinny jeans, and get this....adidas walking shoes and burberry sling bags each....!!!!) ala ala pakai uniform le tu. The couple must be very2 kaya, tokeh minyak ke apa. The arab couple toksah citer le ... walaupun the couple pakai abaya and thobe (jubah ...male version of abaya....it's white in colour) but then nampak kainnye of high quality. Hidung pun ada tinggi juga...lubang hidung? nasib baik kecil...kalau tak dah serupa macam Ahmad Nispu dalam Seniman Bujang Lapok.

So, that was pretty much what i did to while away the hours .... people watching!!!

Tapi I takdele keghojenye nengok orang je hokey...ada jugak le something worthwhile that i did... like...reading my novel and eating (that's for sure....free food you!!!....).

My faithful companion in the lounge: Novel ("The memory keeper's daughter"), tarts and sandwiches, and steaming hot mugs of chamomile tea! Bliss!! For dinner, I had asparagus soup, dinner roll with butter, pita bread, three bean salad, another kind of salad whose name I've forgotten, and humous!!

Makan tak hingat dunia....dalam plane terimalah bahananye.....kena attack dengan angin pus pus!!! Aiyooo....nasib baik they were the "silent-and-no-smell kind" ones...hahaha...kalau tak, kesian the mamat in the next seat.

Alas, a lesson learnt from this trip home:

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Apakah???

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Clue? Look at my foot tu!!

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Never ever ever wear boots!!! Huwaaaa......kakiku sakit!! These boots AIN'T made for walking!!

Hubby brought me to Applebee!

Hi guys! Another day, another update. This time, I wanna introduce to you guys to this restaurant that seems to be popular among the saudis. It's called Applebees. I believe that it is an American franchise. There's one in Fanateer (a suburb about15 minutes out of Jubail) and another one I saw in Al-Khobar, next to Ikea there. The setting looks interesting, but the food I must say does not quite satisfy my palate. Ate here once before on my previous visit and a second time on this visit. At both times, the food I found was quite bland and dry. But the Saudisand expats seem to love coming here....I guess for the ambiance and to savor Western dishes. Boring jugak kalau have to makan kabsah, shawarma, kebab, humus, tabouleh hari-hari kan!

Haha....kita continue sessi tengok gambar with this photo of my hubby. Gazing into the future, hmmm ...wondering what was on his mind tu... Alamak, he was wearing the same exact baju that he wore masa we went for lunch at the Indonesian restaurant I wrote about in the previous entry lah. Yeah, you guys guessed it right...he is very much into recycling...clothes that is! :) Takpe, jimat duit laundry kan sayang!

Now, look at the food that we ordered

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My hubby ordered spare ribs and the plate u see nearest to u tu was mine! haaaa....percaya tak, I ordered 300 gms of rib-eye steak! Diet buang dalam longkang je lah! As I said, the food was not that good....my steak was supposed to be "medium well", but I must say it came a bit "well done". It was so different than the rib-eye steak my hubby ordered at Foodruckers the day before when we were in Al-Rashid Mall in Al-Khobar. It was so succulent....the fat was practically still dripping from the meat and....I tell you, it was the best steak I've ever tasted...sebab tu lah, i ordered the steak sebab teringat2 the one we had at Foodruckers. Sigh.... next time in Saudi, I'll definitely go have the steak at Foodruckers and not at Applebees lah. Sorry but I terforget to snap a photo of the steak we had at Foodruckers coz we were so famished and couldnt be bothered to take any photos there. Besides, there were many people there and the Saudis are a bit suspicious if they see people, especially foreigners taking photos...macamlah we all ni spies...

Anyway, let's cut to the chase. The lessons learnt from the dinner at Applebees:

1. Never order steak or ribs at Applebees

2. Reprimand the waiter(s) if they are a bit slow in fulfilling your request for napkins sebab nanti they'll be very apologetic and will sekejap2 datang and say how sorry they are and tanya if they can be of any service...hehehe....(this is a whole different story altogether, tanya my hubby!!)

Sweet memories

Jubail....that's my other home, that's where my heart is....coz that's where my sayang is. Even though the visit was a short one this time around, I really did enjoy every single second of it, terubat rindu sekejap. Although I'm missing him even more now that I'm back in Malaysia again......sigh......I hate saying goodbye!

After he picked me up at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, we went straight to Al-Khobar for a two night romantic getaway....hehehe....Anyway, here are some pics we snapped while having lunch at this Indonesian restaurant called Restoren Nusantara, located in Dammam. So, layan....

Ikan bakar with sambal. My hubby said this fish is called ikan cherry (?)... a common catch in the waters off Eastern Saudi Arabia..... a testimony from his fishing expeditions.

Since I have a sweet tooth, could'nt resist myself from ordering this sinful ABC....waduh waduh....kok manis sekaliiiiiiii es campurnya pakkk!!!! Unlike Malaysia's ABC, there ain't any kacang in it, me n hubby dok tercari2 the kacang but none in sight. Guess that's why it's called es campur instead of es kacang.

Hahahaha....konon wanted to capture the beautiful mural but the truth is... just wanted to show off my beautiful Abaya....can I pass for an Arab woman???? tak kuasa.....!!!

Jeng, jeng, jeng...this is my man, my superhero (sorry guys....missing him much, so bear with me and my terms of endearment ni hahaha!!). At first look, macam kat tepi pantai aje kan?

Aiseyman.....senget pulak my head tu, sebab tulah tak boleh jadi model.

Anyway, for those of u from Jubail yg nak makan Malaysian food, ke sini ajelah ye! My hubby said Malaysian Kitchen restaurant in Al-Khobar, frequented by Malaysian expats and families, has already ceased operations due to a hike in the shop rental.

Yikes! Just look at the time. Gotta go pick up my son from school. So, will see you guys in the next entry ya for more updates of my trip!