Little Miss Tardy

Sorry..been ages since I've updated my blog. Due to my lack of access to the internet (excuses) since I'm no longer employed (excuses) and have just survived the first trimester of my pregnancy (24 weeks preggers now - but this is still an excuse) and at the same time settling down with my new role as a SAHM (excuses) to a feisty 1yo toddler (excuses) and a full-time student (excuses), I truly apologize (very sincerely now...)

So what's new?

A lot and nothing much all at the same time (is that even possible?)

Well for one thing, my little family is all living under one roof! VERY thankful of that. I am back in KL and employed by my dear suami (I get paid by him every month..isn't that nice?).

I have also started the first semester of my Masters program in UM. Very nice to be back in my alma mater, but it's not quite the same without the old gang. The new gang is fun in their own way tho..(yes..I have a new gang now! :P) Classes are on Sundays only..which sometimes can be such a drag..and I zonked out every Monday... 9 consecutive hours of class can totally drain you out (or maybe the age has finally caught on). And it's not quite the same being a student when you're a wife and a mom at the same time either.

I came back to KL during the month of Ramadhan. Finished off the last week of my notice in KL because my morning sickness was totally crazy. I couldn't eat or drink for a whole week in Perlis. Mom said it's probably psychological because I was alone there (sent Mama and little CKD back to Kuantan). And I think I kinda have to agree. I mean, not entirely psychological, but some truth in it. I'm not the lucky ones who breezes through the first trimester of pregnancy without any nausea or 'dates' with the toilet bowl. Came back and still couldn't really eat much. Not much of an appetite either. I think I lost weight during the first trimester..but ho-hum...that's definitely not the case now! LOL! I have nicely been gaining half a kilo a week (and a little extra recently). At 24weeks, I am 65kg..(and little bun is 681g..a normal weight for it's age)

Hari raya was celebrated in Kuantan. I have pictures. So I think I will dedicate a proper post for it..soon..(i hope :P)

I am not working. It feels kinda weird. And I get bored sometimes too..but I do enjoy the extra sleeping time I get to clock nowadays. I don't go out much except to the mall that just recently opened literally in front of our condo. I don't get constant internet access since we don't have internet at home (we used to, but now we don't. We don't subscribe to Astro either..surprised?) But I go down to the coffee houses here at the mall (like what I'm doing now) when I need the internet..which has been a very disciplined dose of checking emails and doing assignments. I hardly ever access my facebook either now. So that is why I seldom update my ramblings here. I used to have the luxury of doing so previously during my working hours (kantoiiii!! :P)

So okay..I think that covers most of what's going on. Suami is already sleepy so we have to leave soon. We're off to a family vacay on Monday! Can't wait! So I'll try and see if I can sneak in an update from our blissful spot - IF little CKD permits me to do so. She's been rather a handful lately and occasionally drives me nuts. But I love her to bits anyway. She's started to babble a lot more now in her own language but knows to call us by our titles (Ayah, Tok Wan, Tok and Mama-sort off). And again, will exclusively update about her soon!

Okay..Okay..gotsta go! Til later (soon..I promise, with pictures)

Daily reminder

From Daily Quran & Islam: 

"Your Lord has commanded that you should worship none but Him, and that you show kindness to your parents. If either or both of them attain old age with you, say no word of contempt to them and do not rebuke them, but always speak gently to them. And treat them with humility and tenderness and say "My Lord! bestow on them Your Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood." 

Quran 17:23-24-DUH..

Bismillahirahmannirrahim

May Allah grant me the patience and strength to do so. 

Amin.

*promise to update blog soon!*

Love Means..

Being able to act silly with each other and have fun doing it!

- inspired by Marry Me, Mary.

Marry me, JGS! LOL!

If during my last pregnancy, I was crazy about Rain, this time round I'm crazy about Jang Geun Suk all because of the drama Marry Me, Mary (or Mary Stayed Out All Night). If you are an avid KBS fan, you'd know this drama. No review about the drama tho coz it aired a few months ago.

I don't like still photos of him. They don't seem to do justice. So I'll share this video of him from the drama instead.



Hihi! I don't know what's with me and Korean boys during my pregnancy. But if Keisha looks Korean because of my obsession with Rain, my new baby is more than welcome to pull off a Jang Geun Suk! (He's sooo cute and baby faced that it won't matter if my baby is a girl or a boy)

Plus, not only is he cute, he sings tooooooooo!!!hahaha!



That's his voice. aaaahhhh..so dreamy....

Ok..I'm off to obsess over JGS.

*funny how I'm not feeling my morning sickness much right now..pbbhhttt!*

Korean Girl?

A couple of weeks ago I went to town to get some fabric for our raya outfits. Kangar has limited choice, but I love the quaint old shops that they have here.

It was quite a long walk from the parking lot to the shop that we were heading for so I made CKD wear a hat to protect her from the really hot mid-morning sun.

You see, we're used to having strangers coming up to CKD and complimenting on how fair and cute she is (and it makes me uncomfortable when people do that, especially when they try to pick her up too). Most of the time, the little girl would give her fake smiles. But sometimes (to my horror!) she would let them pick her up. Sigh..little kids are so oblivious of any dangers..

But this time, with the hat, people kept on saying and asking "Eee..comelnya. Macam anak korea. Bapak dia orang Korea ke?" ("Eee..so cute. Like a korean girl. Is her father korean?")

I'm like..HELLO! her sepet eyes are from ME! Fine, her fair skin may be because of her father, but she looks really asian because of ME! hmph! hahahahahah!

Oh well..her ayah is more than happy to know people thought he was korean. But I think this is probably because of my obsession towards Rain when I was pregnant with Keisha..hehe!

My mom's malay and people say my dad's korean. NOT!

ok..ok..I am VERY thankful that my babygirl is cute. But I really hope she won't warm up to strangers too much. Please don't give mama any heart attacks babygirl!

Now I suddenly miss her a lot. Been 4 nights since she hasn't slept with me because I'm still recovering from my flu. And I haven't much energy to play with her when I get back from work everyday. Tonight mama will gomol you til you cry!ngehehehe!

It's Contagious!

Sorry I have been quiet. Suami came over for the weekend so I took Monday off so I could have a long weekend with suami. Was really nice having him around and I didn't realize how much I missed him til he got here.

But he left with a gift for both little CKD and me..the FLU!

Yep..we're still recovering from it but getting better.

On a different note, we have news to share..

EDD March 7, 2012

Hehe..yep..we're expecting a new addition to the family soon *huge grin*

And yes, I do think it's contagious. Being pregnant I mean..LOL! Because almost everyone in my current office is expecting a baby, my friends either just had one or is expecting soon and most of the bloggers I follow are also expecting. LOL!

I guess hearing them talk about expecting a new person probably put my hormones on overdrive and made me superbly fertile!haha!

So yeah people..I'm 6 weeks preggers and so far the crazy hormones hasn't kicked in yet. I hope they don't this time round. I've got school to go to...or at least let this flu be gone first..It would be REALLY terrible to go through morning sickness and having the flu at the same time...

Well..here's hoping for a happy pregnancy and a healthy baby..Amin!

So Mak Buyung is back!!

*and maybe I might have a rockstar buyung with me this time?ngehehehe*

Do the impossible

I love what Kimora Lee Simmons-Honsou tweeted today

 Just thought I'd share with you guys!

Let's do the IMPOSSIBLE!

The Little Blankie Thief

I have a safety blanket..well at least I used to.

Haha..laugh at me if you like but I don't carry my blankie around like Linus from the Peanuts comics.

Linus - Source

But I've had a blankie since I was in boarding school. It was like a security for me when I sleep at night. It was this old flannel baby blanket that belonged to an older cousin of mine. Yes, the original blankie was older than me. And when I went to Uni, it was almost falling to bits. I remember one of my not-so-favorite roomie made a statement about blankie "Oh! Ingatkan kain buruk!". 

So when I graduated, I found another blankie to replace my original one. Original blankie just couldn't be saved anymore. It was this old Ikea single duvet cover with white and yellow stripes. It had the same feel like my old flannel blankie so I was okay with the replacement.

I sleep with the blankie coz I just love the feel of the soft fabric on my face as I doze off to dreamland. It's always there on my bed.

You see, my little baby girl would usually toss and turn all over the bed before she goes of to sleep, whether for a nap or the usual bedtime. One day, my mom decided to give my blankie to CKD just for the fun of it..and you guessed it...

She's the little thief!

The little thief and her loot!

My mom said, with her eyes closed, she pulled the blankie, gave it a little pat and hugged it to sleep! Just like that..no tossing..no turning!

Sigh...now I'm stuck with one of my normal flannel blankets to use. It's no blankie but I guess I'll just have to if it means my daughter will sleep better. Oh the sacrifices we make as parents!

She sleeps with the blankie all the time now. It seems to comfort her, just how it used to comfort me..It's fun to see how she develops her personality as she grows up and to see as much of me and suami's personality in it too. 

Snazzy little fashionista in the making?

Oh well Keisha Damia...whatever makes you happy.

Nazar & d'Extensions

So buih is part of the band Nazar & d'Extensions and the band has been nominated to perform at Urbanscapes happening on 16th July. Coolness..

The not-so-cool part..they need to get people to vote them in.

So here I am, asking for a favor to all of you to please vote for them here! Now! There's no limit to voting and GOOD NEWS, Top 10 voters gets free tickets to see the show!

We've only got 5 days left to put them on the lineup! Go ahead! Vote NOW!

vote for them at http://everyoneconnects.net/urbanscapes/?page_id=1535 

*psst..even if you're not in Malaysia, would be great if you could vote too!every single vote counts!*

And just for a taste of what they can offer, this is their original song, Kali Pertama. Enjoy!

When I Grow Up

Today is my darling suami's birthday. Sucks that I can't be there to celebrate it with him because he has to work this weekend and has forbidden us to come back coz he couldn't bear the idea that we are near him but he can't spend time with us hihi!

Well..usually I'd post pictures of him on his birthday. But this year, I had a different inspiration for it while I was on the way to work this morning.

Heheh! Of all songs why in the world would I choose this song, you may ask?

Well, the line "Be careful what you wish for coz you just might get it" was actually what hit me the most.

You see..he is what I've always wished for (yes my friends, I may have complained about him a bit here and there sometime..but I complaint about EVERYTHING!LOL!) From his appearance (I have a thing for botak guys with cute butts..) smack down to the way he walks. He's a scrooge but he's also a spend thrift, he's funny maybe because he is smartmouthed :P and he may look tough, but really..he's my little puppy dog.

He's my dream come true and has made many of my other dreams come true too...*cue PCD "Be careful what you wish for coz you just might get it!"*

So here's to you sayang..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 

May Allah bless you with all that makes you happy as He has blessed me with you..

I love you and can't wait to see you next week.. We'll celebrate it just you, me and baby Keisha okay?

Master in the Making!

Forgot to say.. I got in! hehehe!

In what you may ask? Will be back to my alma mater to pursue my post-grad course in September!

Master of Engineering - Safety, Health and Environment, University of Malaya here I come! woot! woot!

And back in town for good?? That's the plan peeps!!!

See you soon my KLites!

Weekend Lunch with Friends

Was in KL earlier this month for a family dinner (will spill on this later), and surprise! surprise! I finally had the time and energy to actually go out and hang with some friends! Well, actually I was supposed to meet Sophie to pick up a technical manual I've asked her to help purchase from SIRIM and we decided to make it into a gathering and invited Azie and family to join us too.

So we decided to meet at our go to place, The Empire @ Subang. I invited buih too but since he's sucha young stud *sarcasm*, he wasn't up yet when I texted and called him and only later replied that young studs don't wake up early on Sundays..pbbhhhtttt!!!

And just our luck, friends of suami, Ezran and Nadia, was at Empire too when we were on our way there. I haven't seen them in ages and heard that they we're finally expecting a bub in August so we sort of forced them to wait til we got there so I could see Nadia's lovely little baby bump!

Sophie and Azie was running late and suami was sooo hungry, so we had lunch at Madam Kwan's with Ezran and Nadia first. Nadia was sooooooo cute waddling with her 7month belly around and said she had even started waddling during her first trimester coz she felt it was more comfortable!haha! How cute is that?!? Hope that everything will go smoothly for you babes!!! We were later joined by Syed Umar who just returned from a surfing trip in Bali. haha..seems like our impromptu lunch turned into quite a gathering!

Managed to squeeze in some gossip about our obgyn (Nadia goes to the same obgyn as I did when I was expecting CKD) and share some preggers & baby stories while the boys did their thing. And all through, my little baby girl was doing real good eating her pasta. Finally got her to eat some solid food. She's been soo fussy with her food lately and resorted to her eating bananas and papayas only.

Sophie and hubs finally joined us when we were just finishing our lunch and said Azie was running late waiting for baby Mya to wake up from her nap. After we were done with our lunch only did Azie and family made it to Empire so we decided to move to a different venue. By then, Ezran and Nadia had to go as they had a wedding to attend and Umar had some stuffs to do.

Sapet (Azie's hubs) decided to go to Pasta Zanmai and finally the little ladies got to meet.

Meet & greet session between CKD and MM

Both are a week apart when they were born (Mya being the older one) and they were soooooo cute. We had so much fun seeing how they both reacted towards each other.

Lunch time..trying to keep the little ladies occupied while we gossiped and chatted

CKD was a little blur coz she's not really used to being around other people. But Mya was being sucha social butterfly and led the way for CKD! LOL! By the way Azie, if you're reading this, Keisha has picked up Mya's "skill"!hahahaha!

After lunch and much gossiping, we had to leave because I needed to pick up some stuffs from our old condo for work. It was soo much fun to meet up with our friends and was really great to be able to see the little ladies growing up. I'll post up the video of the girls later (and please excuse the conversations the adults were having *unless i can somehow post the video muted..hmm*)

Resharing pictures of CKD and MM from previous functions. How they have grown!

MM & CKD at buih's birthday last November. Babies were about 7months

First time baby MM and CKD met during CKD's aqiqah hence the bald head for CKD. They were almost 2 months I think.

Hope they'll grow up being good friends with each other and become gossip buddies like their mommies and fave aunt!!haahah!

Pey, you missed a cute session with your two girls dude! Next time wake up la..:P

First Family Vacay

Well sort of.

Suami and the in-laws came to Perlis the weekend before Wesak Day holiday. The in-laws had to attend the Perlis King's birthday celebration and suami was here for his much missed time with the family.

My mom took the opportunity to go off to Jitra and visit her friend and also to give my MIL some more time to be with Keisha.

But since it was a long weekend for all of us (I took leave from Friday til Wednesday the next week since we got 2 days public holidays because Wesak Day clashed with the King's birthday), I asked suami to take us to Penang since there's not much to do anyway in Kangar.

I've never been to Penang and suami was so surprised. Sometimes my husband surprises me too...how can I've been to Penang if he has never taken me? :P

Well, our original plan was to actually just go to look for some DVD boxsets in Batu Ferringhi. But I gave it little thought and asked suami to make it into an overnight trip since we were bringing Keisha along. It would've been very stressful for Keisha (and mostly me too!) to take a day-trip to Penang even if it only takes about an hour and a half to get there from Kangar.

We stopped by the Arau train station to have breakfast because some locals told me that the nasi dagang at the train station in Arau was the best in town. It wasn't as great as the one that my mom would make, but it wasn't entirely disappointing either. The gulai ikan tongkol was nice, just that the rice was a tad bit hard. I wouldn't say it's the best I've had, but possibly the best in town for Perlis la.

We arrived in Penang around 1pm and check-in was at 3pm so we stop by 1st Avenue Shopping Mall. I have a confession. It was sooooooo nice to be in a MALL!!! LOL! I guess there is still a lot of city girl left in me. They had almost anything you need there (except for a baby store). And I must say that I personally feel the items in the boutiques and shops in Penang are much nicer than those in KL. Hehe. Didn't purchase anything there but just went walking around aimlessly til it was time to go and check into our hotel.

We checked into Naza Talyya Hotel in Tanjung Tokong and was glad that suami managed to get a room for us. He only did the booking online the night before and managed to get a room for RM115/night plus breakfast (without breakfast was RM80). The original price was RM250++ so I guess it was quite a deal.

Keisha was soooo excited inspecting all corners of the room and especially the telephone. We had to unhook the phone just incase she kept calling the reception. :P

our room in Naza Talyya Hotel. Little girl so excited exploring the room.

So after freshening up and Keisha made a poo poo, we headed out to town. Geared with our trusty Papago and suami's endless bbm with a friend who's from Penang for places to go, we headed for Bangkok Lane for fried noodles, mamak style.

Mee Goreng Mamak @ Bangkok Lane, Penang

Ice please..yum!

Old Semi-d houses on Bangkok Lane

Afterwards, we did some sight seeing and headed for Batu Ferringhi. I love how they have beautiful beach villas along the road. But I must say, Penang has a different feeling from any other Malaysian towns that I have been to. It kinda gave me a feeling like I was not in Malaysia, but a lot like I was in Singapore. Maybe because both are islands? I don't know.

PAPAGO! Must have when traveling to foreign towns!

Her makeshift bed in the car

We didn't stop by the beaches or any tourist spot coz it looked so crowded and parking was quite a challenge. The fact that we were driving the Hilux didn't help either. Plus coming from Kuantan, I'm quite a snob when it comes to beaches. Coz I think my hometown has the best in-town beaches, heh! So we did what any other city folk would do and headed to the Gurney Plaza, another shopping mall since I told suami I needed to get some baby bottles for a colleague who was expecting a baby soon. Plus we needed to get some food for Keisha too coz I forgot to bring her cereal and she hadn't had anything solid yet.

And that was where we burnt a terrible!terrible! hole in our pockets! But I was satisfied with the purchase. I bought the baby bottles for my colleague and a pair of swimsuit for Keisha. And suami bought a new camera for us since our old one broke just before we went for our Bali trip last year. But it think it was a good deal coz 

1. We needed a new camera (my BB is overloaded with badly focused pictures of CKD)

2. I'm definitely fully utilizing it now(refer previous post)

3. did I mention we needed a new camera? LOL!

Fuji Finepix S2900HD @RM700

It's no DSLR, and I'm no pro at photography either. But I don't like those point and shoot compact camera and I don't think I'm good enough to get a DSLR. So this camera was right up my alley and similar to the old Olympus we has before (don't even remember the model coz it was THAT old, 8MP old enough?) Not reviewing this camera on this post. Don't even think I'll review it coz I don't think I'm eligible to review cameras. But do expect LOADS of pictures on future posts!

Anyway..back to the vacation. We headed back to the hotel after the shopping spree. Rested for a bit, got Keisha fed and washed and then headed back to Batu Ferringhi for dinner and for some DVD boxset shopping. I know we should've had dinner at Gurney Drive as recommended by many. But again, parking was terrible in Penang, ESPECIALLY Gurney Drive, and its such a hassle coz we had Keisha with us. We try to avoid overly crowded and congested places when we're with her. Well actually, maybe not so much because of Keisha, both suami and I aren't really big fans of congested places.

So we did a VERY touristy thing and had dinner at one of those many restaurants at Batu Feringghi. Within walking distance to the roadside stalls selling all sorts of arts, trinkets and treasures. The restaurant had a cozy feeling to it. But the food was nothing great and overly priced that I'm not even bothered to review about it here. One tip tho, don't eat at Batu Ferringhi. It doesn't do justice to Penang's reputation as a food haven as raved by my friends. Promise next trip to Penang, I'll make it a food fest! Provided we have the right company with us coz if it was up to just suami and I, we're pretty bad at experimenting new foodies.

Ayah and his little island girl

I loveeeeee the paintings sold at the stalls at Batu Ferringhi. But since I'm practically house-less, and my stuffs are still in boxes both in Perlis and KL, I didn't want to get any. But maybe before I move back to KL (did I just spill that out?opst! :P) I'll make another trip with suami for more DVDs and paintings.

Keisha totally KO towards the end of suami's DVD rampage purchase (he bought about 126pcs!!) stayed out til the next morning.

Enough excitement for me today please

Stressed out with mama who wouldn't stop taking her pictures with the new camera! 

In the morning we woke up and just had breakfast at the hotel. Washed up and headed back to Kangar. Yeah..we're sucky tourists!hahahah! It's just that we didn't feel like we wanted to explore Penang so much. But we really promise we'll do better on our next trip here.

Penang bridge. Bye bye Penang! I'll be back!

So the next day was the King of Perlis's birthday, and FIL being a member of the Jemaah Dato' Dato' Perlis was invited to the glorious event. I just wanted to share the official uniform FIL had to wear for the ceremony.

FIL looking grand in the official uniform for the King's ceremony

and stinky little girl interframes!

It was a wonderful long weekend for us. Especially nice because this was the longest suami stayed since we moved here. But it was truly heartbreaking to see Keisha when suami left for KL. She looked so confused when we said good bye and was acting as if she was expecting her ayah to come open the door anytime soon the whole day. She doesn't seem to understand the sadness that she feels, but I do and I hate it.

My in-laws left the next day, so yet again, another heartbreaking moment for the little girl.

Owh baby girl..fingers crossed things will happen as planned for mama and we will be back together with ayah, mak tok and wan soon ok sayang?

And as to NOT to jinx the plan, I will only reveal it once everything is confirmed.

A Rockin' Good Time!

Motherhood is Not Easy, But it Has its Rewards

So I was going through my regular blog reading and Sarah from welcome to the gOOd life wrote something that hit home, about how frustrating it is to be a mom, especially being a SAHM with 2 (very cute by the way) little girls.

Most of the blogs that I follow (my crafty inspiration list) are of SAHM who has mad sewing and crafty skills and each has 2-5 kids. Honestly..I can't imagine having 5 kids. I'd probably go mad or probably die along the process of raising the kids! yes, no doubt CKD is cute and all..but there are times when I wish I could have my old single life back. What I miss the most is sleep! Undisturbed 8 hours of sleep! (a little longer would be nice too! my record is 20hours..:P)

Does that make me a bad mom?

I guess I don't want to dwell so much on the matter. It's just really good to know that I'm not the only one who feels like we need a break every now and then.

But on a contradicting note..with my TKC friends (who texts non-stop on our BBM group chat) are either just had a baby or is expecting one really soon..I kinda miss being pregnant!hahah! But Nenn said (the only doctor in the group chat - who I think should start charging us for all the medical consultations that she is giving through the chats!hahah!) being pregnant for 2 years in a row (which what happened to me) is not good and can cause the mother to be anaemic and even with vitamins, would be very hard to increase our Hb count.

Yeay! Now I have a new excuse to blame my lazy-bum self! LOL! I can imagine seeing my mom rolling her eyes at me when I tell her this! :P

Well people..Motherhood IS HARD! And as much as we say we enjoy being a mom and how rewarding it is to see our children grow up, etc etc etc..there are moments when it's soooo hard and could really push our stress level off the roof! There are moments when we wish we could just up and leave!

But hey..reality is reality. You can't just leave everything behind and go. What keeps me going now is my mama actually. If I feel being a mom (for only a few hours of the day since I'm at work from 8am-5pm) is hard, then what I should do (and is doing) is put myself in my mama's shoes coz she is with Keisha ALONE, the WHOLE DAY..and my mom is 62years old.

I know how difficult Keisha can get, and I get frustrated with her a lot when I spend the whole day with her - and that's only on weekends. Mama is with her from Monday-Sunday..gives me a BIGGER sense of appreciation to my mama.

So I try my best to take over handling Keisha when I get back from work. I let my mama hog the TV and watch her KBS World shows at night (and causes me to have a new found addiction for Korean Dramas). And Keisha sleeps with me everynight, so yeah, I get the graveyard feeding shift. Coz as much as I need my break, my mama needs some too.

And although every morning I wake up wishing I could sleep a little longer. I drag my feet every morning getting ready for work..secretly grumbling and complaining in my head (hey..gimme a break!), I'll kiss my sleeping baby and my lovely mama before leaving for work, also secretly wishing I didn't have to go to work and spend the day with them instead.

My baby girl is not the most perfectly behaving little girl. She's naughty and difficult most of the time, now more than ever. But "Praise Him for the sunny days" she's adorable and lovable and cheeky and a joy. Must share that her favorite song right now is Colbie Caillat's 'I do' which she will sing "Atem, atem, atem" while clapping and moving from side-to-side everytime she hears the song or whenever she feels like breaking into a song herself. I don't even mind the sleepless nights sometimes especially when I get to catch her smile in her sleep, and see how peaceful she looks sleeping.

So I guess I just need to see things in different perspective, to highlight the good and accept (and manage) the hard. There will be times when I will get frustrated and feel like giving up..but that will just mean that I'm human.

That's my reality.

It's not all sunshine, blue skies and green grass. I get the occasional rain, stormy clouds and muddy fields that sometimes feels as if they last longer than most. But there will ALWAYS be a rainbow at the end of the storm!

So choose to be happy people! BUT REMEMBER that it's still okay to cry sometimes! (and the occasional complaints *wink*)

Happy Mother's Day

It was mother's day yesterday and Keisha decided to give me a very special gift..

She walked on her own for the very first time!

I couldn't ask for a more special gift than that..*fuzzy feeling* CKD has been pestering us to hold her hands as she tries to walk these past few weeks. And at the same time, I have always tried to encourage her to walk unsupported. But she always only gives me a huge cheeky grin and deliberately fall on me.

But yesterday, I tried to get her to walk on her own and SHE DID!! She followed me all over the living room laughing and grinning..walking by herself! I was ecstatic! Happy to see it with my own eyes her first steps...

She's so big now..trying to remember how tiny she used to be...sigh..

I love you Keisha! and thank you for coming into my life..thank you for all the happiness you've given me..

Silly moment with mama!

Smile baby!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies and mommies-to-be out there! Your child is the best gift you could ever have as a mother!

Praise Him for the Sunny Days!

I've seen a rainbow yesterday but too many storms have come and gone
Leaving a trace of not one God giving ray
Is it because my life is ten shades of gray?
I pray, all ten fade away, seldom praise him for the sunny days

- Waterfalls, TLC

I seem to be channeling negativity and pessimism a lot lately. And like the lyrics to the Waterfalls song, "Seldom praise him for the sunny days" I have been ungrateful.

I guess that has always been how I deal with things. By complaining and making excuses for myself. My wake up call came when I found out my Scheduled Waste Manager Certification has expired and I didn't get my 'Competent Person' title because I failed to submit my report. The thing that smacked me in the face was finding out that the certification course now costs RM3000 plus when it was about RM1500 when I took it 3 years ago.

I feel as if I have failed myself.

I reflected on what I have been given (material and spiritual) and I noticed that yes..I have deliberately sabotaged myself by being ungrateful, lazy and a spoiled brat.

You might think that it was just a course I failed, why make it such a big deal? The course would've been a major added value to my resume and my value as an Env. Eng. Something like a certified Safety Offficer but even more because I would've been one of the pioneers to have such certification. And I blew it. All me and nothing or no one else but MY OWN FAULT!

So I'm set to turn into a new leaf. And I have a new mantra..

"Stop wishing and start doing!"

I've applied to do my Masters and fingers crossed I'll get accepted to my chosen course and varsity and I am set at doing my very best. First class honors here I come (I'll try!)

And for my current situation, I'm gonna change my ways. I swear, I'm trying my best.

Turning 30 this year, bout time I act like one and grow up already.

My Baby is ONE!

 future pianist?

My baby turned one yesterday. How time has flown and how she has grown. From a meek little girl who does nothing but sleep throughout most of the day, she won't stay put anymore, not even for a bit. Even throws tantrum when it's nap time coz she still hasn't had enough of playtime. 

naaaww..i just love to play!

Getting clever everyday with new tricks and antics.

yoga anyone?

But she is the perfect little charmer..capturing people's heart with that cheeky smile of hers.

first trip (second actually, this was taken during the flight back home) on an aeroplane

felt like you were just born yesterday (keisha @ 1day old)

Happy birthday dear little Keisha..Soon you will no longer be little but in my heart, you will always be my little girl, my love and my life..

in front of her birthday cake - rainbow+smarties cake made with love by her Aunty Julie (who claims that Keisha is her baby sometimes..hehe!)

Pictures were taken when we were back in KL for a week last week (except for the one when she was a day old of course). She had so much fun playing with the cuzzies (and I guess the cuzzies had equally as much fun - and possibly her mak tok and wan too..hik!) I loved being back in KL, which meant I had suami around. A week flew by in a blink of an eye.

Back in Perlis now and back to the nice laid-back life, but can get lonely without suami around :( Well, at least I have the cheeky little girl with me. She hasn't started walking yet, but forcing everyone to hold her as she tries to walk as if she's an expert. Sigh..but cheeky, clever little girl...you can never get enough of CKD...

The simple life in Perlis

I took this picture while waiting at the traffic light on the way to work yesterday. The motorcyclist had just help close the door of the car that wasn't shut properly. And later proceeded to have a chat while waiting for the light to turn green.

Blissful eh? To be able to trust people around you. No worries about driving the car with the window down..

When I was in KL, I was paranoid as hell driving in town. All the stories I heard about being robbed while waiting at the lights or while waiting in the car or even while being stuck in traffic! The Modus Operandi would be the motorcyclist will smash your car window and grab your handbag that's sitting on the passenger!

And latest I heard, there's some crazy dude on a motorcycle going around splashing acid to people, targeting random ladies in cars!

You could suffocate from all the paranoia from living in KL.

But I'm not saying that EVERYONE here in Perlis are virtuous. Take my recent incident where my handbag got stolen. And there was also an incident where my groceries was ALMOST stolen while I was still shopping.

What happened was, I had paid for the diapers I bought for my daughter and later proceeded to the groceries area downstairs of the store. I put the paid diapers in the shopping cart and left it at the side of the aisle coz the cart couldn't fit through the aisle I wanted to go to. When I came back with my groceries, my cart was GONE!!!

I quickly searched the store, thank god the store wasn't that big and found my cart! Some idiot chinese lady took my cart! And I know it was deliberate coz she had already put some items she into the cart itself! When I approached her, she just sheepishly smiled and quickly left the cart! Not even an apology!! I was just relieved to get my cart back that I didn't manage to give her a piece of my mind!

Sigh..I don't even know if her kid could fit into CKD's diapers! Coz she was with her son, about 7 or 8years old. I dunno if she has a younger child but demmit woman! Why in the hell did u TRY (coz I got the cart back!) to steal my cart?!?

Interesting life and experience I've had here. Mostly it's fine here apart from being away from suami. I actually like it here, liking the fact that its a small town with quaint old shops. I still haven't fully explored this town..mainly contributed from my old big city paranoia of going out on my own (yes! I'm scared to go out alone in KL) also from the fact that CKD is going through her 'terrible two' phase early (she knows how to throw tantrums now) so she's almost impossible to handle right now.

But I could live here, and I could NOT live here too..I don't know..I still can't decide.

But what I know is, I'm going back to KL on Monday! Will be there for a week so its gonna be a week worth of food fest for me. Have already made a list of places I wanna go to suami. Hehe..can't wait!

Plus, CKD turns 1 in a 10days time! Time flies eh? Will be having a small dinner just with the family but she will have a special first birthday cake made with love by her aunty Julie! I think her aunty Julie is more excited to make the cake than CKD can even comprehend! Hehe!

So friends! I will be in KL from the 12th til the 19th! Make time to meet up!!!! See you guys soon!

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More (mis)Adventures

It's flooding here in my new place. No..not my house, but the town. It's starting to get more and more challenging for me to be here now, and I am secretly questioning myself for coming here in the first place.. But before I get to showing you guys some pictures (yes!i have pictures this time!:P) of the flood condition here, lemme just recap on a few more misadventures I've had here since I last updated my blog.

We found out a couple of weeks back that the owner of the house we were supposed to rent pulled out on us. I'm not too sure on why he bailed, but a few days after he informed us of the cancellation and returned our deposit, we found out he had a new tenant willing to pay an extra RM20 for the house rent. Oh well..but 'silver lining' coming right up for this 'cloud'!

Then just last Friday, my handbag got stolen..from INSIDE the house! No, our house was not broken into. Apparently the thief found an open window (our mistake..:( ) and actually managed to pull my handbag out using some galah! ALL my important documents are gone! Including my passport and my bank books! And to make things worse, my mom's wallet was in my handbag too! But the thief was in for a surprise coz there was only about RM50 combined (mom and I) in the handbag. But I CURSE you thief!! I've been setback almost RM300 just to replace all my ID, License etc. I still haven't gotten my passport replaced so that's gonna burn a bigger hole in my pocket soon too.

And come Monday, it started to rain heavily in the evening and didn't stop the next day. Only on Wednesday did it stop raining for a bit in the evening but it already started to flood. Apparently the water from the nearby dam was released, where all 6 doors at the dam was open to relieve the dam and caused most areas in Kangar and Arau to get flooded in.

Being the Occupational Safety and Health Unit for the uni here, our office became the Control Centre for the situation. And driving a Toyota Hilux, my colleagues took full advantage of my car and we went around checking the flood situation. The worst hit is the town centre itself.

the view at the back of my office. the paddy field looks like a lake

road going into the town centre. Jalan Hospital is totally inaccessible by cars.

the town folks are actually enjoying the flood by doing some FISHING! that's the Perlis River. They are even fishing at the paddyfields. such a simple life.

road leading to the EPF Building

Pretty bad eh? And this is the area that I can still go. The main roundabout is closed to cars so I can see people going around in bicycles and a LOT of cars are damaged by this flood. As of this morning, more than 4000 people has been evacuated from their homes. Thank god my house is not affected.

Hence, the silver lining..the house that I was supposed to rent, you guessed it...VERY badly affected by the flood. I guess it's a sign that I should be strong and god has his way of telling me of where to go and what to do..Just need to see the silver lining for my stolen handbag...sigh..

But the beauty of Kangar is, even though the roads are flooded, I was only 2 minutes late for work..and didn't even try to leave earlier (yes..I'm tardy like that!) But in KL...hahah! Even when there is no flood, and I leave home an hour earlier..I can still be late 45minutes to work!!

So that's it for now. It's 12.30pm so I'm going home for lunch. Work resumes at 2.45pm. hehe..hey..I work for the government now and it's a friday..Later peeps!

*only downside, i don't look forward for the weekends much. suami's not around and there's not much to do. I like it better when its a working day! damn! I'm turning into such a nerd!!*

Hiks

This came with my staff ID card. I've never felt more important!hahaha!
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My (Mis)adventures!

Phew! Sorry for being such a slacker. It's the beginning of my week 4 (already?!?!) here in my new hometown and yes..it has been a series of misADVENTURES!! So okay, let's just recap..

Week 1:
Reported in for duty only to find out my office was not where I thought it would be! Thank god this town is small and suami was still around (although I've become more expert about the roads here than he is now! :P) Got to my new office and again! only to find out that they were not expecting me! But all was solved quickly as they made space for me in this cozy office. I didn't have to worry about the awkward first day lunchtime at work, coz just my luck, the office was having their monthly birthday celebration. So lunch with everybody at the office..nice eh?

Found out the basic function of my Unit. I'm with the Occupational Safety & Health Unit. So nope, am not gonna be teaching any kiddos for the mean time. Although the unit's main function is to manage the campus' OSH MS certification (technical lingo, too lazy to explain. maybe later) but our SIDE function are as the Receiving Committee (AJK Sambutan) for ALL of UniMAP's events! And with the amount of events this uni has, it might as well be our main function!hehe! But I am greatful for it tho. It has helped speed up my knowledge on the locations of our very scattered departments and schools. *note: UniMAP doesn't operate in one area, it operates from all parts of this state!:D

Suami left for KL after I came back from work on my first day. So sweet of him to send and pick me up for my first day, but it didn't make the separation any easier. He had to go back to KL to settle some stuff with our condo before we put it up for rent.

So for the first week that I was here, I have had to attend THREE events and become the Liason Officer to a VIP..and receive my first visitor. Thanks Amad! Nice to see a familiar face!

Week 2:
I had to attend a 4-day training as a Lead Auditor conducted by NIOSH. Nice! So still not much work done by me, but we did manage to go around and audit one of the departments. Finally, some REAL work!

Week 2 was not without any events either! I think we had 2 major events happening at the campus, some Inter-ASEAN uni Tennis Tournament and Malaysian University Robot(ic) Competition which each had their Formal dinner and respective ceremonies. Which also meant - 2 event x 2 programs = 4 events my unit had to go to. There goes my weekend!

At least by mid-week, suami was back in town. So I was chauffeured to and fro from work. :) And I had my second visitor, my hommies Anies & Sapik who was back for the weekend.

But the MAJOR misadventure for this week was finding out about the condition of the house we were supposed rent. My heart sank when I saw the inside part of the house for the first time. Let me just quote my mom on it.."It looked like a torture chamber! Even the prison looks better!" 

So began our frantic journey in looking for a new house to rent. IT WAS SO FREAKING HARD! and I was stressed outta my head. But I have to thank all those of you who responded to my frantic BBM & FB statuses and my frantic tweets. I am touched with all the help you guys offered!

Let's just say, it's easier to look for a needle in a haystack than finding a house to rent in Perlis.

Week 3:
Another week of 4-days training for me but this time was on Basic first-aid. Not even the end of my first month, already I have completed my 7days training quota for the year! :)

The Uni's event calendar was looking pretty clear for the week except for the New Student Council ceremony on Saturday. so not so bad.

And the best news was, after frantically looking for a house to rent (sometime even considering to buy), my dearest suami finally found us a place. It needs some repairs but definitely a space I could work with! *happy* Insya allah we'll be moving into our new place in April.

And yesterday, I took my mom and CKD to Alor Star. I wanted to cook spaghetti and wanted to go to Tesco to look for some of the ingredients. Secretly, I just wanted to be in familiar grounds..:P We had a good day-trip driving along the 'Terusan Wan Mat Saman' - the famous water canal built years ago to supply water for the vast paddy fields along the entire journey (will definitely write about this in the future and with pictures!) I even felt a bit adventurous taking the back way back to Kangar, passing by rawkstar's parents' house..:)

But the downside of my week was that suami has gone back to KL since he will be starting his new job today and is indefinite on when he will be back here..*bawls*

However..I am definite as when I will be back in KL..hiks! Have already applied for my annual leave for it (over kan!baru keje tak sampai sebulan dah apply AL!!hahah!)..See you guys soon!

I am here now

I'm here..in Perlis. And I am going through withdrawal symptoms as anies puts it.

I've never been gracious in accepting changes and I have a pretty embarrassing track record.

First time I had to leave home was when I was 13. Off to boarding school..my coping mechanism was to imagine that it was all just a dream! I didn't stop begging my mom to let me come home til I was 16! 4 years! Only when I was in my final year did I started to enjoy my school..I'm thankful my mom didn't give in..

The next major move I had to do was when I went to uni for the first time. To think 5years in boarding school would prepare me for it..oh boy! I didn't eat for a week...til my dad came and visit for a bit before he went back to my hometown. I started to feel a bit human when I made friends with some of the girls at my dorm. And I'd look forward for my lunch time coz that was when I would be able to see some of my friends from high school who went to the same uni. But most of the time, I'd keep to myself and cry on the phone to my then boyfriend (who was in another uni in JB) every night. Mind you, there were no handphones then (well, not like they have it now) so it was the good'ol public phones. I spent a fortune calling him (who was soo hard to get in touch-so I ended up talking to the next best person, his bestfriend- also in the same uni as he was, which might not have been the best decision) and don't get me started on the queuing to use the phone..ahhh..the good'ol days..

And this is major too...I've left ALL that is familiar to me to come to a place that I know deep down will give me all the opportunities for my career to grow without losing my quality of life.

But you can't have it all...

Suami just got a new job in KL with a major bank company. So far the prospect seems good for him. But he promised, give him at most a year to get everything sorted out and try to get a transfer here in Perlis.

My pillar of strength is not around..so what do I do?? Lose all control of my tears dam....

Like I said..I don't accept changes graciously..I'll become an introvert, lose my appetite and make my suami worry by crying every chance I get. I suck!

I know things will be fine..I know that this is the right choice..I just don't want to be a sport yet. Let me sulk..let me be a brat but I promise I'll try.

Give me at least a week and we'll see how I progress ok?

And thanks guys! For the moral support! You know who you are!

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