Domestic Engineer In Da House...

Of all the things we did last weekend...

2009-05-31T23:58:00.002+04:00

Thursday (May 28th) - Hubby landed in DXB in the afternoon. Dubai Airport Expo was our destination for the night. There was a Grand Book Sale and we wouldn't want to miss the book fair like last year. At the basement car park, we sensed something was amiss as the car couldn't start after several times trying. Hubby gave me the kind of look that I could understand right away. Y-e-s, I did not start the engine while he was away...not even once since he left for Tehran five days ago! The comfort of being in an air-conditioned room made me so lazy to come down to the car park to start the engine, as hubby told me to, especially during this hot summer. (It's not a valid reason though as the car park is only at the basement...). He was staring at me again. I met his gaze and I dropped it....not because I was shy but because I knew I was guilty! Needn't be defensive, I admit it was my fault. I'm sooooo sorry Yang. Will you forgive me...??? ;-)

Friday (May 29th) - Things became worse when all car rental shops were close on Fridays and workshops were only open after Friday prayer. All our plans had to be replanned with certain activities had to be cancelled. We planned to join MY UAE activities at Safa Park this morning but it had to be cancelled including the order we'd placed for mee tomyam and chicken rice. If not for the important meeting (MY UAE EGM) that hubby had to attend at 4.00 pm today, he wouldn't have wanted to go anywhere. He was just not in the mood...worrying about the car and wondering what could go wrong as we had just changed the car alternator and battery not long but just two months ago. At the same time, anticipating the threat of having to have the untimely big hole in his pocket...sigh...

That evening, a cab sent us to MATRADE (Malaysia Trade Centre), the place where the meeting took place. I accompanied him in order to give moral support especially when he was in the midst of a 'headache' regarding the car, other than to give moral support to MY-UAE itself. Luckily, hubby could hide his worry throughout the meeting. Well, he had to. Being the acting Secretary, he had to be all ears in order to be able to take the minutes. It wasn't just any ordinary meeting okay, it was an Extra Ordinary Meeting held purposefully to approve the draft of the constitution of MY-UAE.

Saturday (May 30th) - Alhamdulillah it was a Saturday...which meant all car rental shops were open and therefore, we could go to the destinations we'd planned...which also meant hubby could send our car to the workshop. No wrongly put, our car could be sent to the workshop. It couldn't start at all even after three times being jump started. So, the car was towed to the workshop at Umm Ramool.

With the car rented, we proceeded with our plans...first, a potluck lunch at Arabian Ranches. Due to the car problem, our intention to cook and bring soto ayam to the potluck lunch turned out to be plucking some grapes and 'baking' Tiramisu at Spinneys supermarket. Syukur Alhamdulillah and thanks a zillion to the generous host for the delectable prawn meals made from some fresh prawns that swam all the way from kolam peliharaan terbaik di dunia in Saudi to Dubai.

Right after lunch, we sent Along to her classmate's swimming pool birthday party at Al Wasl and then headed straight to the Grand Book Sale at Dubai Airport Expo - the place where I told hubby by hook or by crook, come rain or shine, we should go this time hihi...(since we missed one last year). Yesss!! Alhamdulillah we made it this time and look what we'd managed to grab here...

It cost me just 60 dhs to get five books of Jeffrey Archer! (when the usual price for each is about 42-49 dhs old or new). It's really worth coming to this book sale for those who love collecting books/novels of their favourite author. Nasib baik tak sempat pegi the non-fiction section, kalau tak mesti lagi shopping buku tak hengat...

Too bad I only managed to explore the fiction section since hubby dah mencuit to leave the place as we had to fetch Along from the birthday party. Most importantly, we had to return the car by 7.30 pm before the car rental shop closed. If closed before we reached, that would cause hubby having to waste money paying for another four days since he would be leaving for Tehran again early the next morning.

Facebook maniac...??

2009-05-27T01:26:00.009+04:00

If the word 'maniac' only refers to 'a person who has an extremely strong desire or enthusiasm for something', then I would dare to call myself a Facebook maniac at the moment. But if it brings the meaning of *'a person who has an extremely strong desire or enthusiasm for something, to an extent that other people think is NOT NORMAL', then I'm not! ha ha ha...

To be frank, I've been more easily accessible at Facebook since the last couple of weeks, as compared to my blog or emails. Too bad that I just couldn't balance my leisure time between facebooking and blogging just like my SIL and a few other friends did. I'm telling myself that I should improve on this, ok.

I will still blog as I need some non-human channel to pour out my feelings, my heart, my mind, my thoughts...to keep me sane and this is it.

This FB craze did not leave me for nothing. I got to be in touch with many long lost, old friends in Msia, UAE and also other parts of the world (especially those who are currently struggling their way towards getting a doctorate). What makes you hooked up to this is that the moment you send a message, you'll get a reply/replies within seconds, sometimes from several friends at the same time.

Through this FB, I also got to know that...when I envy those friends who are currently doing their Phd overseas (because I do not know if ever I have that opportunity too hmm..), to my surprise, they envy me too! (not all). Hmm this cikgu tidak bergaji is being envied ke...hmm...

p/s - To friends who asked, you can reach me at FB by keying in 'Ziela Salih' and country 'Dubai, UAE'. (Sorry friends, lambat inform)

* Taken from Oxford University Press

I'm proud to say this...

2009-05-17T11:27:00.007+04:00

Tidak ada guru yang tidak bangga bila membaca puisi hasil karya Allahyarham Usman Awang ini...

Guru O Guru

Berburu ke padang datar

Dapat rusa belang kaki

Berguru kepala ajar

Ibarat bunga kembang tak jadi

Dialah pemberi paling setia
Tiap akar ilmu miliknya
Pelita dan lampu segala
Untuk manusia sebelum menjadi dewasa.

Dialah ibu dialah bapa juga sahabat
Alur kesetiaan mengalirkan nasihat
Pemimpin yang ditauliahkan segala umat
Seribu tahun katanya menjadi hikmat.

Jika hari ini seorang Perdana Menteri berkuasa
Jika hari ini seorang Raja menaiki takhta
Jika hari ini seorang Presiden sebuah negara
Jika hari ini seorang ulama yang mulia
Jika hari ini seorang peguam menang bicara
Jika hari ini seorang penulis terkemuka
Jika hari ini siapa saja menjadi dewasa;
Sejarahnya dimulakan oleh seorang guru biasa
Dengan lembut sabarnya mengajar tulis-baca.

Di mana-mana dia berdiri di muka muridnya
Di sebuah sekolah mewah di Ibu Kota
Di bangunan tua sekolah Hulu Terengganu
Dia adalah guru mewakili seribu buku;
Semakin terpencil duduknya di ceruk desa
Semakin bererti tugasnya kepada negara.
Jadilah apa pun pada akhir kehidupanmu, guruku
Budi yang diapungkan di dulang ilmu
Panggilan keramat "cikgu" kekal terpahat
Menjadi kenangan ke akhir hayat

Usman Awang, 1979

Yes, this is not the only poem exists concerning teachers...but this is the most moving of all. I've 'fallen in love' at first sight when I first came across this poem years ago. More than words can explain how I feel everytime I'm reading it.

May 16 - Happy Teacher's Day to all my friends out there and all teachers wherever you are. I'm really glad and thankful that I am still being remembered despite being far, far away from my homeland. Thanks for all the HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY messages I've received through sms from my (ex) Boss, a non-teacher close friend, two ex-students (Fariza & Rifa'at from USIM, thanks dear!), a colleague and not forgetting from my other colleagues and friends through Facebook.

As I said before, I may not be a very good teacher but when I'm being remembered, it does tell me something...

p/s - ...and I'm proud to say that I AM a TEACHER.

May 5 - She got a bump on her head on her 8th birthday!

2009-05-07T14:36:00.008+04:00

Apit spilt some water on the floor. Wasting no time, he ran to get some tissue papers before Ibu chewed him out. Ain was on her way to get some snacks from the fridge. The moment I turned to warn her of the spilt water, she was already lying on the floor. Her head hit the floor and she cried in pain.

Panic-stricken, I smacked Apit on his hands for causing Ain to fall on the spilt water. But I didn't help Ain to get on her feet, I scolded her instead for being careless. I knew I shouldn't have done those and I felt very, very guilty! Pity Apit. I took Ain in my arms, kissed her and rubbed her head. Who doesn't feel worried when her child falls and hits her head on something hard. I was very worried especially when her father was not around...what if something bad happened...

Within 24 hours, I watched her closely for any sign of fever or vomitting. Alhamdulillah none except for a swelling at the back of her head. Hubby said tuam that swelling part just like our mother did when we were small, so I did. She was absent from school the next day as she was still complaining of the pain at the back of her head and dizziness. But only one day...the following day, she had to come to school as it was her birthday. Furthermore, Ibu had prepared something for her to share with classmates on her special day.

Ain when she was 3 1/2 years old. With a very fair skin, didn't she look like an Amoi?

This Amoi is now eight years old. She was called Amoi since baby especially by her grandmother and aunties because she looked very much like anak Cina. Luckily she was born at Pusat Rawatan Islam (Az Zahrah, BBB), if she was born at Hospital Kajang, we would surely have thought that we had mistakenly taken an anak Cina from the hospital nursery...

For Ain's birthday, these are what Ibu had prepared for her to share with her classmates and class teacher.

Goodie bags with snacks and balloons inside. Strictly no chocolates with traces of peanuts included.

Ain's classmates and teacher said Ibu's first homemade choc chips muffins were delicious...auuwww!

Our eight-year-old Nura'ain Nabilah memang suka bergaya...

Ibu dan Ayah doakan Ain akan menjadi anak yang sholehah dan membanggakan Ayah dan Ibu.

p/s- While Ibu was in the OT, anxiously but excitedly, welcoming Ain to come into this world, Ibu didn't know that Ayah had experienced a suspenseful story while waiting outside the OT!! Check it out here.

On This First AGM of My-UAE Pro in Dubai

2009-05-04T23:25:00.004+04:00

I've attended several AGMs (Annual General Meeting) or Mesyuarat Agung before. Mesyuarat Agung Persatuan Penduduk, Mesyuarat Agung PIBG sekolah and what not...but nothing like this AGM of My-UAE Pro (the society of Malaysians in the UAE). This AGM that was held at MATRADE (Malaysian Trade Centre) in Dubai on the 1st of May last Friday was neither too formal nor too informal. One thing for certain, it was...meriah!. And this was my first time ever attending AGM abroad.

A few pics of that event...

First from left: The former President of My-UAE Pro was giving a speech; 2). Pengerusi tetap -Prof Dr Rani in his welcoming speech; 3). Consulate General - Tn Syed Hasrin giving a few words; 4). The three ladies in scarves - Kak Aishah (the wife of the former President), Zaida (green) - the 'second' lady and Suraya (black) - our new First Lady hehe...; 5). Proses pengiraan undi sedang berlangsung dengan disaksikan pemerhati-pemerhati tidak rasmi; the biggest pic - Refreshment time, while waiting for the results of the newly elected exco members to be announced (ada nasi lemak sedap...).

The newly elected exco members of My-UAE Pro 2009/2010

2nd from left: Tn Hj Affandi (red) - our new President, Clinton Ooi, KP, Haza Hilmy (ehh dear hubby pun ada...!), Firdaus, Ms Chan, Putri, Rozana, Afza (Treasurer), Yusree (Secretary), Imran (Vice President), Hasnoal, Mushil and Nik.

To all exco members: Congratulations and selamat menjalankan kewajipan kepada agama, bangsa dan negara. Semoga My-UAE Pro semakin proaktif bawah pucuk pimpinan baru.

p/s - Yang, even though you used to be the exco member of our Persatuan Penduduk before, and used to be the President of Malaysian Students of Sacramento, CA long time ago, this one could be different and could have different challenges. I just hope that you can give your very best and do it sincerely, ok Yang.

Swine Flu - Circular To Parents

2009-04-30T17:41:00.004+04:00

Along and Ain brought home this circular from school yesterday. Although this is just a note of caution following the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and US, this pandemic disease has got victims in other countries as well such as Germany, Costa Rica and Austria.

There's no such case reported in Dubai yet but it's quite alarming when this circular issued by the school where our children are studying, especially when there are just too many expats in Dubai including those coming from the two badly infected countries.

Just want to share the important piece of information contained in the circular:

We parents can help educate our own children by taking these common sense measures to prevent against infection, as stated in the circular:
* Wash your hands frequently.
* Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue upon coughing and sneezing.
* Use appropriate gel or foam hand sanitizers (As most food courts at many Dubai shopping malls do not provide sinks to wash hands, I'll make sure that I will not forget to include hand sanitizer in my handbag apart from lipstick and lip gloss).
* Stay away from work or public transportation if unwell.
* Avoid people who might be infected.

The circular also warns parents of a suspected case of Meningitis in a Dubai school (though not yet confirmed by the Health Authority). So, those parents whose child has not received a vaccine for the past 3 years are advised to get their child a Meningitis A&C shot.

As far as I know, none of my children has taken such an injection because if I'm not mistaken (correct me if I'm wrong), in Malaysia it is not included in the series of injections that a baby has to get especially in a government clinic. Now I understand why some private clinics, while we were in Malaysia, strongly advised parents to get their baby an injection for Meningitis.

Bekwoh Gulai Kawah di padang pasir

2009-04-28T16:27:00.007+04:00

I've heard of gulai kawah before, I know it's a Kelantanese dish but I'd never seen or tasted it. When I heard there would be a bekwoh gulai kawah in this desertland, I surely wouldn't want to miss the opportunity of seeing and tasting it.

For this gulai kawah, we came all the way from Dubai to another emirate of the UAE, that was Ajman, on Friday last week. Gulai kawah was not the sole purpose, the main reason of going there was actually to attend a farewell ceremony of our My-UAE Pro President (it's a Malaysian society in the UAE).

Berbekalkan dua bilah pisau pemotong serta anak-anak berbekalkan bantal-bantal busuk dan comforter, maka menujulah kami ke destinasi yang dituju. Tengok tu budak 3 orang ni kalau nak travel jauh sikit mulalah buat kereta tu macam bilik hotel bergerak. Apit siap bawa kengkawan dia Bumble (bunny) and Eddy (the blue elephant). Hmm sukahati laa...

Mr A and Mrs S's abode. Thanks so much for your hospitality. (Maaf baru perasan gambar rumah ada, gambar tuan rumah lupa nak ambil)

So, the gulai kawah together with fried chicken and fish were prepared through gotong-royong just like a kenduri back in our kampung - from cutting the meat up to serving the food. Being far away from home, it was really great watching the gotong-royong spirit among Malaysians here.

Whike the men were showing off their hidden cooking talents, the ladies were busy in the kitchen cutting fruits and kuih-muih. There were just many, many fruits and delicacies brought by other Malaysians who came. Each and everyone did not come with tangan kosong. Name it what Malaysian local delicacies that were not there - karipap, kole kacang, putu ayu, kuih koci, bubur kacang, puding jagung, agar-agar pandan, agar-agar kacang merah, kuih sagu dan seri muka - all heavenly irresistible especially for those who live abroad like us! Dapatlah hilang rindu pada kuih-muih tradisional. There were also carrot cake, puffs, donuts and chocolate cake.

At the end of the day, the serving tables were more than full with many varieties of yummilicious Malaysian dishes and delicacies. Ikan masin, petai dan jering pun ada...jangan marra...So, that's the delicious gulai kawah. Now only I know gulai kawah tastes like beef curry but a little bit sweeter and undeniably delicious.

Sesi makan-makan dan penyampaian cenderahati to Mr President and another Malaysian who are leaving for good.

These are only some of those many who turned up that night. It was real fun!

p/s- Errr what is bekwoh anyway?

It's been almost 7 years...

2009-04-27T12:08:00.003+04:00

It had turned off automatically, unintentionally, a few times for the past few weeks. Never happened like this before. The climax of it was when smoke was seen billowing out of my laptop through the cabel port when I was online. The smoke was not that much though but enough to cause me panicked. Thank God it didn't explode! Huby was quick to turn it off. Everytime there was a problem with my laptop, I always resorted to using my kids' one. Too bad when the kids' laptop had the same problem. Arghhh...mati kutu sekejap since I couldn't watch TV online anymore, read news online, update my blog and log in FB (I did use hubby's laptop a few times when he was home to check important emails).

It's been one of my closest friends for the past seven years...since 2002. I just do not want to let it go...yet.

Pity the kids...their laptop has had only a short life span...less than a year. Hubby refused to have it repaired...at least for the time being. Good for Along and Ain as they can now give their full concentration on the coming final exam at the end of May. (But not good for their Ibu as it made her mati kutu when wasn't able to be online sob sob...).

Two days ago, hubby sent the damaged part of my laptop for repair. Alhamdulillah... this closest friend of mine can now work like normal, serve me as usual. Thanks a lot to dear hubby. ;)

As blogging keeps me sane, being unable to blog for a fortnight leaves me feeling 'not-so-sane' (not 'insane' ok!).

Apit nak masuk KG

2009-04-12T13:03:00.006+04:00

Today is the first day of school for Along and Ain after a two-week Spring break. After a long go-back-to-sleep-after-hubby-goes-to-work, my early morning duties started as usual today. Apart from preparing Along and Ain's breakfast and lunchboxes, hubby and I had extra duties this morning...waking up Apit, bathing him and preparing his milk. Apit's going to school today yeayy!! No, not schooling yet but our little boy is sitting for his assessment test for KG at 8.30 am this morning. We took him to Raffles IS because he had an interview session as a requirement for admission to KG. As a mother, I was worried as if he was sitting for a big exam hi hi...Bukannya apa risau gak mana la tau Teacher tanya in English dia bantai jawab dalam BM ikut sukahati dia...like he sometimes do at home hmm...Lagipun masih banyak English vocabs yang Apit belum tau even though he already knows ABC until Z in both capital letters and small letters, and 123 until 10.

Nampaknya kerisauan Ibu Apit tak berasas. Apit steady je, Ibu dio pulak yang lobih. Apit was very excited sketching, colouring and trying to write any alphabet that he knows and even trying to write his own name while waiting for Ayah filling up some forms (even though what came out was 'AFOFI' instead of 'AFIQ' he he...apa-apa je la..). When the Teacher called him to go to the assessment room, he held the female teacher's hand and was ever willing to follow her without bothering his worrying Ibu.

After more than half an hour, Apit was returned to us by the Teacher. We were expecting a very worried or crying face of Apit after not seeing his father and mother for more than 30 minutes tapi muka Apit selamba je, excited je he he...We curiously asked him, "Teacher tanya apa?" Apit kata, "Teacher ajar main toys, pastu Teacher tanya ABC dengan 123 until 5." "Alaa Apit lupa la nak cakap I don't know masa Teacher tanya Apit tak tau nak jawab"...

Nails In The Fence

2009-04-10T16:17:00.003+04:00

Got this piece from a friend, an ex-coursemate through an email. I just like this...

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence.. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. But It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound will still be there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Remember that friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us."

*If only, there's no hole at all in the fence...

March 20th - Groove & Grind at JBH

2009-03-23T17:29:00.012+04:00

Never did I imagine that I would step my foot at a famous five-star hotel in Dubai. If not for the annual dinner organized by the company hubby is attached to, it would still remain an imagination. My family and I were actually there at Jumeirah Beach Hotel to attend the dinner.

That was our first time at this wave-shaped hotel, so we were like total strangers looking for the place the dinner was held and a prayer room. In no time, the hotel staff approached us and showed us the way. Since it was near Maghrib, we headed for the prayer room first. We felt so welcome although we knew it that this was 'not our place'. With the extravagant hospitality shown by the hotel staff, it is no wonder that Jumeirah Beach Hotel has been voted ‘Best Resort Hotel in the World’ by readers of Business Traveller Magazine, UK, 2001-2008.

Themed 'Groove & Grind' in the 50s and 60s, hubby, the kids and I were trying our best to fit ourselves into the theme. We did not dress to the teeth, we just made do with what we already had. Hubby and Apit were in checked shirts with the sleeves rolled up whereas Along and Ain were in dresses with leggings and hair bands. Me, with ala-ala Saloma style but of course with my head scarf on.

Although we came a bit late, that was not a reason for us not to have fun. With Elvis' songs filling the air together with 70s and 80s nostalgic songs, the night was so lively. We had a blast (but we did not dance though, we just watched). The food was a variety ranging from Japanese to Indian to Arabic food and yummiliciously good of course. What made it so special is that the place we had dinner is overlooking another famous five-star luxury hotel - Burj Al Arab. It looks so near from that open grassy beach of Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

Burj Al Arab is one of the most photographed structures in the world. Your stay in Dubai is considered not complete if you yourself haven't been photographed with Burj Al Arab as the background he he...Let's feast our eyes on this stunningly beautiful Burj Al Arab. Very interestingly, at night its colours change every few minutes as it is illuminated by choreographed lighting representing water and fire.

If Sydney is famous for its Opera House and Paris with the Eiffel Tower, Burj Al Arab is an iconic or symbolic structure for Dubai. Designed to resemble a billowing sail, Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island 280 metres (919 ft) out from Jumeirah beach, and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. It's the world's tallest hotel which characterizes itself as the world's only "7-star" property.

Although we didn't bring back any SONY Bravia LCD or a SONY home theatre set for the lucky draw prize, we were happy as we were full and really had fun.

Of the soft palate and the hard palate and the tip of the tongue etc. etc...

2009-03-19T08:09:00.007+04:00

I thought I wouldn 't have to hear these linguistic terms of Phonetics and Phonology anymore...on how to articulate these letters and those letters and all. I thought when I had to deliberately practice moving the right and left jaw up and down to produce a certain sound etc. etc. in my Oracy class long, long time ago during my matriculation years, that was the end of it. No more after this. When we had to carefully practise touching the tip of the tongue to the soft palate and hard palate or putting the tip of the tongue between the plates of the top two incisors etc. etc. in Dr IH's class during uni years long time ago, I thought that was more than enough (pllleeaeseeee). The fact that he's indeed a very good and knowledgeable lecturer did little to help to reduce the migraine that I often had after his every lecture he he...especially the part when we had to give the linguistic description of how certain letters were articulated. Luckily, in the inroduction class of that thing with Mr J Fitzpatrick, I'd never had any magraine not only because I adored him so much but because the things studied were still less technical.

After so many years, never did I imagine I would have to study these linguistic terms again. But the fact is I am now learning it. Of course not the same subject but the same linguistic terms which I came across in the book Part 1 have already given me some kind of phobia (he he...). However, since I am now learning it for a good reason, a very, very good purpose, I am sure that The Almighty will be helping me all the way through the process as long as I have the sincere will to continue learning. Not only for my life at present but also for the life after this. It's not merely a linguistic class, it's more than that....

Having missed the first sessions of book Part 1, I have no choice but to do extra work on my part. I guess I have to stop mumbling now as I need, I repeat, I need to study book Part 1 as well as Part 2 for tomorrow's class (hmm like good hi hi...). So that, I don't have to unnecessarily get the jitters when I have to sit beside the teacher and read. (Now I know exactly how my students felt having to sit near me and read or present their part for the oral test). If that sweet soft-spoken teacher reads what I'm writing (which I don't think so...???), she must be smiling knowing how I feel he he...

Fri (Feb 6th) - Hang Loose and Kick Back at Island Escapade `09

2009-03-15T23:38:00.005+04:00

Everyone seemed to be full of anticipation of the Island Escapade `09 - a family day from Malaysians for Malaysians in the UAE. As early as 7.00 am, Malaysians were seen waiting patiently at the jetty for a boatride to take us all to the neighbouring Palm Island, UAQ. Those who didn't stay overnight at Palma Beach Resort were among the early birds. The guest of honour, our ambassador Dato' Yahya and Consulate General Syed Hasrin, were among those riding the early boat.

While we who were putting up there at the resort taking our own sweet time snapping pictures...

Along, Ain and Apit couldn't wait for the boatride.

Even if it is a 10-15-minute boatride, safety jackets are a must...

Our hotel room seen from the boat. It's like a double-storey townhouse in which the first and second floors are occupied by two different families. What's special here is that each room is allocated an exclusive parking space right in front of the door.

Among the activities...

Reminiscing some 28-29 years ago, I took part in the traditional game galah panjang. It was so exciting although we lost...it's not the prize but the fun that matters.

The kids may have never heard of galah panjang, but they were not bad at all. By just listening to the instructions given, they coud understand the game. Along enjoyed playing galah panjang for the first time in her life. Her team got second place.

Knee injury forgotten, hubby took part in champion ball (it's like netball for men). His team also got second place.

Queuing up for food ration for lunch.

It was like our school years when we were all divided into four houses - white, yellow, red and blue - colours of Jalur Gemilang for sure. Penat bermain, rehat kejap sambil tolong Kak L and hubby touched up our house flag - Yellow The Champ.

Sukan, sukan juga, kewajipan sebagai seorang Muslim tetap tidak dilupakan. It was Friday so, the men had their Friday prayer at the beach...a sight that we would never be able to see in Malaysia.

I also took part in medley relay together with 5 other members...the event that saw me accidentally flying like a superman in the sand...(I wonder if anyone's lens managed to capture me in that rare action he he...)...which had caused my team, that almost won, lost in the game.

Sorry friends but I'm proud that it's the sportsmanship of the teamwork that matters most.

Hubby in tug-of-war is nothing new. His team was the champ, the strongest of them all...yeay!!

But, me in tug-of-war...is the sight that my students would kill to see ha ha ha...!!

Small kids looked so cute in this tug-of-war. Judging from their faces, they were enjoying it including Along.

Prize giving ceremony...except for tug-of-war, Along got 1st prize for dodge ball and medley relay, and 2nd for galah panjang.

Hubby was the champ for tug-of-war

...and 2nd place for champion ball.

Since events for kids below 7 years old were cancelled due to a certain reason, each and every kids from the age of 7 and below got a prize each. Good news for Apit and Ain. Apit was seen queuing up for the prize. So cute he he...

Tired...but satisfied and happy. Ready to go home...anticipating body and muscle aching in one or two more days...hi hi

p/s- Sekalung ucapan tahniah buat semua AJK my-UAE pro terutama kepada Island Escapade Project Director dan semua orang2 kuat my-UAE pro atas kejayaan projek ini. Very well organised!

Thurs (Feb 5th) - One Night at Um Al Quwain

2009-03-15T08:29:00.004+04:00

After fetching Ain from school and, Along and me from Safa Park, hubby drove us to Uptown Mirdiff. We were to join another two families to go to Palma Beach Resort at Um Al Quwain. At 4.45 pm, we drove in convoy as hubby wasn't sure of the route.

Um Al Quwain is one of the the seven emirates of the UAE. This is the fourth emirate in the UAE that we've travelled to after Dubai, Ajman and Sharjah. There are three more emirates that we are yet to explore - Abu Dhabi (the federal capital), Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah.

When we reached Palma Beach Resort at around 6.20 pm, it was almost Maghrib.

We'd booked a single room that overloked the sea instead of the resort's swimming pool.

(This particular pic is taken from Channels World of Hotel UAE)

This room which is neatly decorated with an Arabian style is spacious for a family of 2 adults and 3 small children like ours.

That night, about 200 hundred Malaysians, big and small, gathered at this three-bedroom villa rented by several Malaysian families for a BBQ. At least we had some time to kill before gearing up for a big and adventurous event the next morning organised my-UAE Pro - from Malaysians for Malaysians.

I was so tired after joining Along's school activities at Safa Park during the day that I went back to our hotel room early to catch some z's. Furthermore, we had to get up early to catch up on a more exciting thing awaited the next morning.

We woke up early that morning and looked out of our room balcony...what a stunning view! Hubby grabbed his camera and in no time captured this beautiful scenery.

No, we're not in Egypt. Palma Beach Resort, UAQ is a resort hotel with a distinct ancient Egyptian theme. Along, Ain and Apit were so scared to even go near these Pharaoh's big black and golden statues.

We took a few photos that morning right after breakfast and before getting on a boat that would take us to the neighbouring Palm Island.

We'll surely come here again...not only for the peace and tranquility of the place but also because we felt that it was such a waste to spend such a short time at this beautiful resort.

Let's Learn & Play at Safa Park

2009-03-12T01:10:00.004+04:00

Last Thursday (5th March), Along had a class trip to Safa Park. It wasn't merely an outing or a picnic at the park but it was a fun-filled activity held for all four Grade 4 classes from the south and west campuses of Raffles IS. Four buses took them to the park which was not very far from their school.

Once inside the park, the students and teachers assembled at one of the fields for a briefing before dispersing to their own respective groups that had been assigned to them the day before. There were four very interesting activities carried out by the teachers, and assisted as well as supervised by a few parent volunteers (including myself).

Activity 1: Drawing Burj Dubai - the soon-to-be world's tallest building - conducted by Ms Tiffany

Activity 2: A Walk In The Park conducted by Ms Lee

In this activity, the students were to list down living things and non-living things which they found along the way from the grassy lawn up to the top of the hill. The things that they jotted down would be used for the follow-up written activity. It was such a breathtaking panoramic view from the top of the hill which was landscaped with a man-made cave and waterfall. The breeze was so cool and refreshing in this spring afternoon.

The students, together with teachers and parent volunteers, took a break for meal at 11.00 am.

Activity 3: Petunias Counting conducted by Mr ...... (can't remember his name)

These are Maths and Science activities. In an interesting way, the teacher showed the students a metre stick and told them to make a pace forward that measured a metre. By referring to the petunias square nearby, they were asked to show which one was the width and length. Then, they were instructed to pace from one end to the other end along the width of the petunias square. Once again, they had to pace along the petunias square but this time, they had to count how many rows of white, violet, cream and red petunias altogether. This was followed by pacing along the length of the square and counting how many petunia trees in each row. The students were to jot down the number of rows of petunias and petunias in each row. The addition and multiplication had to be done in order to find out how many petunias altogether in the square.

After that, they were given a microscope each and asked to examine parts of a petunia under the microscope i.e. stigma etc.

Activity 4: Playing Rounders by Mr Tony

This was the activity that Along enjoyed very much. She's liked playing rounders very much ever since she started learning to play it just a few weeks ago. The moment I saw her hitting the ball I knew it she's after her father who played softball in his college years and was the captain of the team. Along got the chance to become the batter twice and managed to make a home run after both hittings. Pics 2 & 4 saw her running wholeheartedly after hitting the ball.

It's a free activity now...

Along (standing at the far left) with Ms Lee and classmates.

With other parent volunteers: (from left) Ms Connie and Ms Kattea (Australian) and Ms Abeer (Egyptian)

It was really fun although a bit tiring. I didn't do much actually, just supervising the students and giving them moral supports. Tiring probably because I had to follow them wherever they went around the big park.

At least I've learned some useful refreshing ideas that I could bring back to carry out with my own students back home.

Feb 26th - At The International Fringe Festival, Dubai Festival City

2009-03-11T15:11:00.010+04:00

We went to the Fringe Festival to watch Along performing Little Red Riding Hood with her classmates. Hubby took a half day off just to give her a moral support and also spend the evening at Dubai Festival City since this was our first time coming here. Raffles IS (south campus) was scheduled to perform at 4.30 pm. However, we didn't manage to reach in time. When we reached here at around 5.00 pm, Along and classmates had just finished performing. It was an open stage at the Timeout Kids' Zone, Marina Terrace 2. Upon arrival, this was what left...

However, Along was happy to see us coming although we missed the performance.

Her friendly and sweet homeroom teacher, Ms Lee was there welcoming us while supervising the other Raffles girls.

Pic 1 - The maroon pants children (Raffles IS students) were seen all over the festival area; Pic 2 -Puppet show by Universal American School students; Pic 3 - A song and guitar performance by Al Khaleej National School; Pic 4 - A live band by Deira International School students.

There were also workshops on creative writing and exhibitions on Literature held on the next and following days (27th & 28th Feb), however we couldn't manage to attend all.

While Along was having a late lunch with her classmate cum an Egyptian best friend, Lina, we walked around the mall to savour the stunning view at the Canal Walk area overlooking Festival Marina on the eastern bank of Dubai Creek.

* Dubai Festival City, if fully completed, is expected to be the largest mall in Dubai and the newest shopping venue. It is at present Middle East's largest mixed-use development programme which comprises 550 shops, a 12 screen cinema complex and 90 international restaurants, bistros and cafes including 40 al fresco dining venues along Canal Walk. It is not just a mall but it harmoniously blends hotels, homes, offices, schools and a golf course. Among the famous most visited spots here are IKEA, HyperPanda supermarket (first Panda hypermarket outside of Saudi Arabia), Plug-ins ElectroniX and Ace Hardware (the largest outside North America).

My Little Pink Riding Hoods

2009-02-25T07:50:00.014+04:00

My Little Pink Riding Hoods

went out to the woods

not much equipped with a hopeful basket of cookie

nor had they an overwhelming jar of jelly.

My Little Pink Riding Hoods

went out to the woods

started out humbly with almost nothing

the evil wolf notwithstanding,

they do come back with a little something...

My Little Pink Riding Hood,

in her Grade 1 CW class assembly,

presented 'My Aunt Came Back' song

about countries in the world, if not wrong

with her classmates all along.

Being the lead

whom Ms Claire had carefully picked,

my Little Pink Riding Hood stood up

and threw a question to open up
"Who remembers the countries that we sang about?"

which the audience responded with no doubt.

My Little Pink Riding Hood

on two separate days, came back from the wood

with a basket full of these sweeeeeeeeeet cookies in her hood...

--------------------

My other Little Pink Riding Hood

on another day came back from the wood

with no basket of cookie

but a jar of jolly sweeeeeeeeeet jelly...

My other Little Pink Riding Hood

in her Grade 4 LF class assembly

was one of the three main characters

in a skit on 'Heroes and Legends' though no actors.

Tomorrow (26th Feb)

at the International Festival of Literature

my other Little Pink Riding Hood

will be staging 'Little Red Riding Hood'

with seven other girls in the same wood.

One girl becomes the wolf and another girl plays the little red riding hood
but my other Little Pink Riding Hood

with the rest five who Ms Lee considers good

will be reciting the poem 'Little Red Riding Hood'.

So, come over tomorrow

with no gloom or sorrow

to this International Fringe Festival thingy

that will be held at Dubai Festival City.

We always say

to our Little Pink Riding Hoods

never forget to say

thank you Allah whenever you pray.

May our Little Pink Riding Hoods

live happily ever after. Amiin.

The end.

-domestic engineer in da house

Dubai, UAE

25th Feb '09 (5.21 am)

p/s- Atuk, Wan, Atuk Salih dan nenek selalu tanya camana Along dan Ain sekolah kat sini? Macam ni la...Along dan Ain suka sekolah kat sini. Kalau Ayah dan Ibu balik nanti, Along dan Ain nak terus sekolah kat sini, boleh tak?

Macam-macam Apit 2

2009-02-22T23:59:00.007+04:00

Hi! My name is Afiq. I'm four years old. Ayah dan Ibu kata Apit nak school bulan 9 nanti.

Hari tu, Apit telefon Wan kat Rembau. Wan kata dah lama tak tengok gambar Apit. Ni ensem tak rambut pacak Apit, Wan? he he

Apit suka main power rangers, Spiderman, Superman and Ben 10. Apit nak pakai face mask, Ayah Ibu tak nak belikan. Apit pakai la spenda power rangers Apit letak atas kepala, pastu pakai stokin kat tangan, baru bole main lawan-lawan. Best...

Apit sayang Ayah dan Ibu. Apit happy sebab hari ni Ayah tak pegi Iran, tak pegi Egypt. Kalau Ayah pegi Iran dengan pegi Egypt, Apit selalu letak selipar Apit kat dalam selipar Ayah. Apit selalu cakap Ayah ensem, Ayah pun selalu cakap Apit ensem.

Apit suka makan roti bakar dengan Nutella. Roti bakar tu 'shebet' (favourite) Apit. Kalau Ibu penat, Apit selalu minta Along atau Kakak buatkan roti bakar. Kadang-kadang Along marah Apit minta roti bakar sebab Along tengah buat homework. Lepas makan roti bakar dengan Nutella, Ibu cakap mulut dengan pipi Apit comot kena Nutella. Haa...tengok, mana ada comot, tak comot pun haa.

Hari tu Apit tengah main 'pushka-pushka' (lawan-lawan power rangers), Apit terjatuh. Pipi Apit kena kat bucu kabinet TV. Apit nangis...tapi bukan sebab sakit. Apit boy, Apit strong. Apit nangis sebab Ibu marah Apit lari-lari kan dah jatuh...Ayah kat Iran masa tu. Ibu sapu minyak gamat kat pipi Apit, pastu Ibu tuam dengan towel. Malam tu masa Apit 'chit' ngan Ayah kat Iran Ibu send gambar pipi Apit tu kat Ayah. Ayah kata sian Apit.

Apit suka 'ninum' susu. Bangun pagi dengan sebelum tidur malam, Apit selalu minta Ibu buatkan susu. Kalau Ayah tak pegi Iran, tak pegi Egypt, Ayah yang buatkan susu Apit.

Lepas 'ninum' susu, Apit bawa kawan-kawan Apit masuk tido. Kawan-kawan Apit ada 5 - (dari kiri) Ohok-ohok (sebab penguin ni ada bunyi ohok-ohok bila Apit gerakkan tapi Apit kata 'tenuin'), Sotong, Bumble (bunny), Edi (the elephant with eyes open) dan Eli (the elephant with eyes closed yang pakai baju tu). Kawan-kawan Apit tu sume tido kat sebelah Apit malam-malam. Apit selalu cakap kat Ibu...susunkan kawan-kawan Apit. Kalau Ayah tak pegi Iran, tak pegi Egypt, Apit cakap Ayah susunkan kawan-kawan Apit. Pastu Apit selimutkan dia. Kadang-kadang Ayah Ibu buat-buat tido tak nak susunkan kawan-kawan Apit. Apit nangis Apit ngantuk nak susun sendiri.

Ok la Atuk, Wan, Atuk Salih dan Nenek, Apit nak tido dulu ni. Good nite...jumpa lagi.

Fine Fun Friday

2009-02-21T23:59:00.002+04:00

We started our Friday morning at Mirdiff Park. It has become a weekly activity for Malaysians in UAE to come here for recreations. Here, they come to play volleyball or tennis, and the kids would choose soccer. (Hubby's in that green and yellow T-shirt).

The mothers can spend time jogging or simply accompanying their kids at the children playground. This was my first time coming here (and second time for hubby). We'd wanted to come here to join the activities long before this but just couldn't do so. Alhamdulillah, it did materialise today. Along, Ain and Apit were having fun at this playground.

Not to forget, there's also another interesting activity going on here among Malaysians every Friday. Don't be surprised if you find the selling of nasi lemak, nasi kerabu, nasi goreng kampung, mee goreng and karipap here he he...So, we had a delicious brunch of nasi kerabu and karipap that day, the homemade recipe from one cek mek molek Kelate Mas, delicious of course...Along tak cukup satu nasi kerabu...sedaap giler Along kata he he. Since the nasi kerabu sedap giler, it finished before I could snap the picture of it. Next week probably will take photo of it (Mas, buat lagi nasi kerabu, pleaseee...) :-)

Sambil makan nasi kerabu sedap Mas tu dan bersembang-sembang, banyak pula kapal terbang yang dok melintas atas kepala. This park is near to Dubai International Airport. Managed to capture the pic of this Emirates latest edition of AirBus A380. I wish I can fly in this two-storey airplane (err tapi kapal terbang 2 tingkat ni terbang ke Malaysia ke tak..).

The same Friday evening, we attended a farewel makan-makan event for a Malaysian who's coming back for good. The gathering was held at a Malaysian senior's house at At Twar 3 - can be said as a 'favourite' hang out place for any makan-makan gathering here.

While the mothers were busy in the kitchen, the men performed Maghrib prayer.

I brought bread pudding to complement much, much more delicious Malaysian delicacies served - nasi ayam, nasi tomato with dalca gravy and masak ayam merah, laksa asam and a few other desserts - all homemade ones. The nasi ayam, nasi tomato and laksa asam can jual one, I tell you...hi hi..

The video session followed the eating session. We were full that night Alhamdulillah...but still we were packed with the leftover food. Thank you daun keladi... :-)

When Ibn Battuta Came To Dubai

2009-02-19T23:59:00.000+04:00

Did Ibn Battuta come to Dubai? No, he didn't. However, as a famous 14th century Arab (Moroccan) traveler and adventurer, he is very much remembered in Dubai. Thus, our visit to Ibn Battuta Mall recently has not only answered some of my curiosity but most important of all, my kids - Along, Ain and Apit got to learn about this great Muslim explorer in an entertaining way.

Along, Ain and Apit were enjoying themselves at Ibn Battuta Mall - the only shopping mall where you can view historical icons, learn facts about Ibn Battuta the traveler, and combines education and entertainment under one roof. By coming here, our kids could, in a way, learn that Ibn Battuta was a man of great vision and strong Islamic values. It is the first ever shopping complex inspired by an individual's life six centuries after he embarked on his renowned journey.

Being the world's largest themed shopping mall, it consists of six themed courts namely, Andalusia, Tunisia, Egypt, Persia, India and China – which are named after the six regions that Ibn Battuta explored. Each region is reflected in the architecture and theme of the mall’s six courts. These courts strongly project the historical and cultural richness of this Arabian icon’s life which, in a way, is hoped to give an inspiration to all those who visit.

We captured this at Egypt court. Magnificent, isn't it?

Laa...ni sapa pula ambil gambar Ayah, Ibu dan Apit dari belakang ni...??

Since it is a large and long mall, we didn't manage to explore all the six courts at one round...tiring. We missed China and Andalusia courts which are located at both ends of the mall. We will surely make another visit here next time.

Ain was crying that we didn't allow her to be in that Sky Dubai. We did promise Along, Ain and Apit that the next time we come here, we will be flying in that yellow hot air balloon.

Glad that there is a shopping mall here where we do not only get the entertainment (for me window shopping, of course...) but also education. Thus, one of the the mall's targets to provide edutainment seems to be right.

10 Revealing Facts About Me...

2009-02-09T23:33:00.003+04:00

It's not the award that matters, it's the thought that counts. Thanks so much Eiyda, I really appreciate this. Yup, it has long been overdue but the things I have to answer here are still and will always be relevant...as they are all about me and no one but me.

The rules to receiving this award are:

1. Copy the badge above and paste it in your blog.

2. Tell about the person who has given you this award. In my case, it's Eiyda, the sweet lovely lady whose Laksam Kelate yummmm...you can never resist!

3. As this award will never be given for free, you will have to state 10 hobbies/facts about you.

4. You have to choose 10 other blogger friends to be the next recipients for this award and name them here.

5. Visit the next recipients' blogs and tell them that they have been tagged.

In this case, this tag has long been overdue therefore, I don't intend to pass it to my other blogger friends. I'm afraid it stops here.

So now I'm disclosing myself in these 10 facts about me...

1). I'm the sixth out of eight siblings.

2). Was born in Malacca, my kampung is Kuala Sg Baru, Malacca, grew up and parents' house in Port Dickson, N.S. Never have a Kelantanese blood but on several occasions, people have somehow mistaken me as a Kelantanese at first sight...Pasir Mas to be specific! (still wondering why...???)

3). Wear a wrist watch on my right wrist. My other half also wears a watch on his right wrist...what a coincidence!

4). Dislike perfume. The smell can cause me a headache. Luckily, my other half can't stand perfume too! I would choose baby cologne for it has a soft and sweet smell.

5). Love reading novels both in English and BM. For BM novels, I would choose the female authors however, for English novels, the male authors will always be my choice.

6). Cannot live without teh tarik. By 10.00 am, if I still haven't got teh tarik, I tend to get a headache he he...It started as just a joke amongst my colleagues but has somehow turned out to be a reality.

7). Am always impressed with bilinguists - individuals who are EQUALLY proficient in both English and BM and can do code switching very smoothly. Paling bengang dengan orang Melayu yang tak 'gheti' cakap Melayu.

8). My main weakness - procrastination.

9). Choose to be quiet when angry or upset.

10). May sometimes appear to be a reserved person when in a small group conversation. I'm more an observer than a talker. However, I will turn out to be a 'somewhat different person' when talking in front of an audience. I like public speaking. Always took parts in competitions that have something to do with public speaking when I was in a primary school as well as in a secondary school. (Tapi tak la terrer mana pun. Achievement paling tinggi pun setakat tempat ke 3 peringkat negeri je). At this age, no more public speaking competitions for me. At this age, I've always liked the honour of being the MC/emcee. By profession, English has always been my medium but being the MC, so far it has always been in BM (and pantun has always been my trademark). Seems like now in Dubai I have to 'bersara sekejap' from this thing that I so enjoy doing. I really like it when I can charm an audience with my words.

p/s - Eiyda, sorry for not being able to do the other tag as it is about new year, and I feel it's too late for me already.

My Guts Brought Me Here...Sahara Centre

2009-02-04T18:33:00.012+04:00

Despite keeping my fingers crossed praying for a speedy recovery of my father, I am aware that our life here has to go on. I cannot just stay at home worrying myself away.

With that in mind, the kids and I made our presence at Sumaiyyah's birthday party held at Adventureland, Sahara Centre last Thursday night. I was bound to turn down the invitation due to my usual reasons. However, Sumaiyyah's mom is a person who does not take "my husband is not around or we have no transportation" as reasons not to give her sincerest invitation to us to join in the fun. Her insistence had made me change my preconception of not going anywhere whenever hubby was not around. Probably it's not too much to say that her sincerest invitation had melted my heart. Furthermore, Sahara Center is a shopping mall and it's easy to get a taxi to and from any shopping malls as compared to other places. That made me confident to go there with my kids especially when hubby had given me a green light through sms.

I'd never been to Sahara Centre before. When I googled Sahara Centre, this pic appeared. Its appealing ambience seems to be welcoming. Moreover, it is a shopping mall and it is Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) now!!! ha ha ha...At last, I succumbed to the temptations to go there.

Started operating 7 years ago, who would have believed that it was once standing in the middle of a desert.

This Adventureland is like an indoor Genting Highlands with many thrilling rides and games that children surely can't resist and parents will surely have a hole in their pockets. Most interestingly, it is the largest indoor family entertainment centres not only in UAE but also in the Middle East.

Before heading to this Adventureland, the kids and I looked for a prayer room for our Maghrib prayer because we left the house after Asar around 4.45pm. It took us 45 minutes before we managed to get a taxi because it was peak hour and almost all taxi drivers tried to avoid to go to Sharjah area at that hour due to the heavy traffic jam. Luckily, there was a good samaritan still willing to take us there.

Sumaiyyah with her sweet mommy, Shiela.

After performing Maghrib prayer, we saw a large Toys 'R' Us on the way to the Adventureland. It was just nice as we hadn't bought any birthday present yet for Sumaiyyah. I really didn't know that there's a Toys 'R' Us in UAE. I met a few other friends who were also looking for presents. Then, we headed straight to the room where Sumaiyyah's birthday party was held. This two-year-old cute little Sumaiyyah seemed not to be aware of what was going on around her although it was her party he he he...

Along and Ain were enjoying themselves with other friends in the games carried out even though they looked a bit too shy as they were not used to attending such a birthday party. There were more than 20 children altogether - boys and girls.

Apit and little Sumaiyyah. They are just friends, no gossiping ok...he he

Anak sapakah yang chumel ini...?

After the games and and eating session, the children were released to the castle playground in the adjoining room. Along, Ain and Apit were really making the most of it as their requests to be playing in the castle playground at Berjaya Times Square have always fallen on our deaf ears. I was really happy to see them happy.

Before the party ended, each children was given a voucher and an Adventurecard each. A voucher is for one free ride and the card values 20 dhs which can be used at anytime and reloaded once finished. Woww...thank you soooo much Sumaiyyah, Auntie Shiela and Uncle Ma'ju for giving us all those...Along, Ain and Apit said happily. Since we had to leave early to catch a taxi, I told Along, Ain and Apit that the vouchers and cards could wait until their father came home from Egypt.

So, as promised that Saturday hubby drove us to Sahara Centre with a mission - to let Along, Ain and Apit use up all the vouchers and cards to enjoy the rides, and also to let Ibu window shopping and/or shopping (hari tu tak sempat kann kena balik awal he he...the 40%, 50% discounts seolah memanggil-manggil...).

There was this acrobatic show or something...

Along had wanted so much to ride this Adventure Train and asked Ibu to accompany her since Ain didn't dare to and Apit was too small. At last, her father was on the train with her. (Jangan cakap orang, sebenarnya Ibu pun tak berani hi hi...)

Ain and Apit wanted to have a ride on this Barnstormer. It looked okay and not frightening, so all the five of us enjoyed it. Real fun...should try it again next time.

Along asked permission to try this Tidal Wave and a roller coaster. Hohoho...tada berani ooo...So, no Tidal Wave and no roller coaster.

After all the fun rides, Along, Ain and Apit tried their hands at some of the games. Here, we don't have to slot in coins, instead just swipe the Adventurecard at the machines. Ayah also tried his shooting skills he he...

We had so much fun at Sahara Centre. Ayah and Ibu were really happy to see Along, Ain and Apit overjoyed with the joyous experience there. (Ibu could be happier if could grab a pair or two pairs of blouse or shoes...too bad tak sempat juga ish...).

My father, without a...

2009-02-03T22:25:00.001+04:00

Jan 28 - My father was transferred to Hospital Tuanku Jaafar, Seremban in an ambulance.
Jan 29 - He had to undergo a surgery for a diabetic foot ulceration or sepsis that he's been suffering from for the past few weeks (or months). It was a minor one though as the doctor just wanted to remove the pus produced on the infected part on his right toes.
Jan 30 - He looked more cheerful than he was for the past few days although still dehydrated. If anything went well, he could be discharged tomorrow. I was relieved.
Jan 31 - He texted to say thanks to Along, Ain and Apit for 'writing' the long warkah for him. Apparently, their Mak Ngah had printed it and passed it over to him to read in the ward. Couldn't imagine how he must've felt when reading it...
Feb 1 - No sign he would be discharged today.
Feb 2 - My eldest brother texted me telling that father would have to undergo a second surgery. It seemed that the first one wasn't enough for father's present conditon. But this time, I was told that he didn't sound as worried as he was before the first surgery. Probably, he was mentally prepared now. - Angah texted saying father looked healthy after the surgery and had the appetite to eat. Alhamdulillah.
Feb 3 - I texted my father asking his condition today and when he would be discharged from the hospital. He said he didn't know yet, probably tomorrow...Really hope so. He sounded so optimistic.

One thing’s for certain, my father will be leaving the hospital without a toe on his right foot.

Warkah buat Atuk (kat wad Hosp Sban)

2009-01-28T08:58:00.003+04:00

Assalamualaikum Atuk,

Harap Atuk dan Nenek sihat walaupun Along, Ain n Apit tau Atuk tak berapa sihat sekarang ni.

Kat Malaysia sekarang ni tengah cuti sekolah Chinese New Year kan? Kalau kat Malaysia, time cuti panjang macam ni mesti Ayah dan Ibu bawa kita pegi cuti-cuti Malaysia...ke Penang, Kelantan n Terengganu, Cameron Highlands, Bukit Merah, Kuantan rumah Pak Lang, Melaka dan mana-mana la tempat menarik kat Malaysia. Tak pun, Ayah Ibu bawa Along, Ain dan Apit balik kampung je...Port Dickson atau pun Rembau. Kita seronok balik kampung. Kalau balik PD, mesti Atuk dan Nenek bawa kita breakfast roti canai kat tempat favourite Atuk Nenek - kedai Motai. Dah jadi tempat makan favourite (Apit kata 'shebet')Along, Ain, Apit dan Ayah Ibu gak. Roti canai dia best giler...sedap dan garing, Along mesti tak cukup satu hi hi. Kedai dia kat tepi pantai, best dapat tengok laut dan angin tiup kuat. Lepas makan roti canai Motai, kita selalu jalan-jalan kat tepi pantai tu, kadang-kadang mandi laut terus. Best..

Ibu kata Atuk dimasukkan ke wad hospital PD dari hari Ahad lagi, sebab kencing manis. Orang putih kata diabetes. Kesian Atuk. Kaki Atuk yang sakit hari tu makin teruk...ada nanah, darah dan berair. Ibu suruh kita doa supaya Atuk cepat sembuh. Along, Ain dan Apit serta Ayah Ibu selalu doakan untuk Atuk. Atuk tak kasi bagi tau kita kat Dubai dan Pakcik Amam n family kat Holland sebab takut kita risau. Tapi Mak Ngah selalu updatekan tentang perkembangan kesihatan Atuk kat Ibu thru sms, Atuk dan Nenek tak tau. Mak Ngah kata 2 hari lepas Atuk nampak dah segar balik lepas Doktor cuci kaki Atuk. Makan minum pun terkawal. Paras gula Atuk pun dah turun sebab Doktor dah suntik insulin 3 kali sehari. Ain tanya insulin tu apa? Insulin tu ubat la nak turunkan kadar gula dalam darah, eh betul ke? Nanti la Along google tentang insulin.

Semalam Mak Ngah sms bagi tau Atuk curi-curi makan kuih manis. Ooo Atuk naughty ehh...Doktor tak kasi makan manis Atuk makan lak. So, gula dalam darah Atuk dah naik balik dari 7 ke 16, Mak Ngah cakap. Doktor kata Atuk bila-bila masa je akan di bawa ke hospital Seremban. Atuk dah mula risau, Nenek pun susah hati. Takpa la Tuk, kat hospital besar tu kan lagi ramai doktor pakar boleh ubatkan Atuk. Nanti Atuk lagi cepat sembuh insyaAllah, Atuk jangan risau ya.

Subuh tadi, Mak Long pula sms kat Ibu kata Atuk akan dihantar ke Hospital Besar Seremban (Hospital Tuanku Jaafar) pagi ni. Mak Long suruh bagi moral support kat Atuk sebab Atuk risau sangat-sangat. Ibu pun risau. Semalam Ibu ada sms Atuk tanya kabar, baru la Atuk cakap kaki Atuk dah teruk. Pagi ni Ibu nak call Atuk tapi tak jadi sebab Ibu takut nanti Ibu meleleh. Along, Ain n Apit tak pandai nak pujuk kalau Ibu nangis. Kalau Ayah ada, Ayah boleh pujuk Ibu tapi Ayah kat Egypt lak sekarang ni. Lepas 2 hari kat Iran, Ayah terus terbang ke Egypt. Ayah cuma sempat balik sekejap je semalam untuk makan tengahari dengan Ibu n Apit (Along dengan Ain kat sekolah masa tu) sebab flight Mahan Air yang Ayah naik dari Tehran tu transit kat Dubai. Along, Ain n Apit kena faham, Ayah ada tugas. Nanti la Along, Ain n Apit cakap kat bos Jepun Ayah - Tanikawa tu jangan la bagi Ayah kerap sangat outstation. Kalau ada emergency kan susah. Tapi Ibu selalu update tentang keadaan Atuk kat Ayah thru sms kalau siang, kalau malam YM macam biasa.

Ok la Atuk, dah panjang ni. Atuk jangan risau sangat ya. Kat hospital besar tu lagi ramai doktor pakar, insyaAllah Atuk akan cepat sembuh nanti. Tahun ni Ayah Ibu kata kita balik raya kat Malaysia. Eee kita rasa tak sabar...Bila kita balik kampung bulan 9 nanti, Along, Ain n Apit gembira kalau tengok Atuk sihat macam sebelum ni. Nanti kita makan roti canai kat kedai Motai lagi ya Tuk. Kirim salam kat Nenek, Nenek pun jangan susah hati sangat. Kita selalu doa Atuk Nenek sihat. Sampai jumpa lagi...

Salam sayang dari cucu-cucu yang jauh di mata,

Along, Ain dan Apit
Dubai, UAE.

What A Rainy Night In Dubai

2009-01-25T22:37:00.007+04:00

I've been 'absent' for almost a week. There's so much to blog about but something happened that caused me to be in a tizzy. Hubby brought the camera to Tehran hoping to capture a pic or two of the beautiful snowing Tehran...the camera with all the many pics yet to be downloaded. What frustated me was that I had planned to blog about all the pics. Although hubby had emailed the pics to me the next day, I'd lost interest to blog...there and then. Tergencat emosi sekejap he he...merajuk la lebih kurang...(Yang, I tak marah you ya, I cakap je).

So, just to warm up emosi yang dah tergencat sikit ni, just want to share a few pics depicting a rainy night in Dubai for our remembrance once we return to our homeland. It's nothing special if we're in Malaysia but it's something in Dubai as it is a desertland where rain is a very rare thing. It only falls during winter.

It feels so good to actually drive in the rain in Dubai as we've never experienced it since coming here seven months ago. There was less traffic because it was around 6.00 pm, Maghrib time. We were on our way back from a friend's house at Dubai Marina.

The famous Burj Al Arab looks so magnificent at night especially in the rain. However, this pic was taken by the not-professional-at-all photographer (...yours truly :-) ) from inside the moving car.

These twin towers have really attracted us as they resemble our world-famous twin towers in KL. So stunningly beautiful at night though we have yet to find out what building this is. This pic was captured by Along. Seems like she's after her father who loves photography.

p/s - It's CNY tomorrow. I miss the free oranges given by students.

At The Eleventh Year

2009-01-19T08:34:00.000+04:00

Last Thursday (15.1.09), Along got out of the school bus with this big paper bag in her hands. Grinning from ear to ear, she showed the paper bag to me.

Once inside the house, I peeped inside the paper bag and these are what I found.

Presents and cards...Tickled pink, she opened one of the presents.

She received this card from her teacher and classmates. One of the presents given by one of her best friends revealed this manicure and pedicure set for children...several bottles of nail polish, nail polish base, artificial nails, nail adhesive for the artificial nails, nail brush, nail glitter, nail sticker roll, and what not...The things that I myself have never paid much attention on but she'd always had her eye on everytime we went shopping/window shopping.

Along and Ain had a good time trying on the new manicure and pedicure set. Quite honestly, these things have never really attracted my attention but to these girls...Well, girls nowadays...

Ain and Apit say Happy 11th Birthday Along!!!

Along was really in seventh heaven when Ayah and Ibu presented her with this birthday present...which she had always hinted that many of her classmates already have a pair.

To our dearest eldest daughter, Nurlina Khalidah bt Haza Hilmy, Ayah and Ibu wishes you many happy returns on your 11th birthday. May this eleventh year gives you more maturity and sense of responsibility. May you be a very good daughter, sister, grandaughter, student and a wholesome person in the future. May success always be with you in your academic, in your life, in your future. Ameen...

Honey + Lemon

2009-01-14T21:21:00.002+04:00

Thanks to all the well-wishers, my concerned friends. Thank you so much for your prayers. Due to your kind prayers, I'm now back blogging. The headache, the muscular aches and pains have subsided but I'm still not feeling myself yet. I'm still left with coughings and a sore throat which are about to subside too.

As expected, some have presumed that Along, Ain and Apit might be getting an adik baby he he...How delighted hubby and me if it is true and nothing but the truth. But no...no such thing. I won't be knocked up as my protective shields are just too efficient he he...Well, unless it's "kun fayakun.." hubby and I will be more than happy.

Hey, I've just been under the weather - I've caught a cold. I didn't go to any clinic though. When hubby's not around, no way I'm going out of my shelter (unless my kids are sick). So, I've been depending on honey and lemon these few days.

Scientific research shows that by taking a spoonful of honey (with or without water) can help you get rid of the irritating phlegm when you have a cold and also sooth your sore throat. When mixed with a few drops of lemon juice, not only it tastes good but also helps reduce the flu as lemon contains a lot of vitamin C. Thanks to honey and lemon. Without them, I can't seem to shake off this persistent cough. My cold's better now. Alhamdulillah.

Honey is Allah's gift to humans and it is even mentioned in the Qur'an in surah An-Nahl. If you google 'honey' or 'madu', you'll find lots of information about the health and medical benefits of honey.

Not Feeling Well...

2009-01-11T15:17:00.006+04:00

Ni dah masuk 3 hari rasa tak sedap badan. Nak kata demam, temperature taklah panas sangat, dedar je tapi badan sakit-sakit lenguh-lenguh yang amat, kepala pun pusing je. So, 2,3 hari ni dok berbaring kat katil je lepas makan panadol, pastu berselimut nak bagi keluar peluh. Kalau dah keluar peluh barulah rasa sihat sikit tapi sejuk-sejuk ni peluh tak nak keluar la pulak. Petang semalam, kitorang jalan-jalan ambil angin petang. Ingatkan nak keluarkan peluh juga tapi time winter ni peluh tak sudi nak keluar.

Hubby pula baru terbang ke Egypt subuh tadi. He'll only be back this Thursday morning. Minggu ni pula exam week for Along n Ain. Risau gak takut tak larat nak bangun pagi tadi preparing their lunchbox. Last night, dah siapkan bagi duit kat Along n Ain, in case Ibu tak larat bangun pagi ni beli je food kat school canteen. Alhamdulillah gagahkan juga diri pagi ni dapat la bekalkan Along n Ain even though it's only french toast. For lunch, nasib baik chicken soup hubby masak semalam banyak lagi, so panaskan dan masak nasi je. I cook poridge for myself sebab rasa tak lalu nak makan nasi. For dinner, Along, Ain n Apit tak kisah sangat. Dapat makan roti bakar with Nutella pun dah cukup especially Apit because it is his favourite.

For the whole last week, hubby ada kat sini tak pula demam. Time dia outstation ni, time ni lah nak demam...hishh...Last night. I wanted to cook beehoon soup for him instead, he turned out to be the one who cooked chicken soup for me and the kids. Nasib baik dapat gak bermanja dengan dia semalam time demam-demam ni. Ok la, kepala dah pusing balik ni..nak makan panadol and nak rehat...Malam karang nak YM dengan hubby.

p/s - Kalau kita rasa kita susah, ramai lagi yang lebih susah dan menderita di dunia sebelah sana. Sesungguhnya kesusahan yang sedikit ini meginsafkan kita bahawa kita masih berada di bumi bertuah.

Sup Ekor Lembu Chef Wan

2009-01-07T00:30:00.001+04:00

Ini bukan sebarang sup ekor tapi sup ekor Chef Wan tau. Kalau jadi, this would be the second time I make ox tail soup...in my life. The first time I made, the recipe was taken from a recipe book. Hubby kata ok tapi I rasa macam kureeng sikit so, nak try sup ekor Chef Wan ni pulak. Dengar namanya aje dah boleh rasa macam sedap. Lebih-lebih lagi bila kawan dah tempek dalam blog dia so, mesti sedap punya.

Dari hari tu lagi nak buat sup ekor ni asyik tak jadi je. Ekor tu dah beberapa kali keluar peti ais, pastu masukkan balik sebab tak jadi buat. Kalau ekor lembu tu tau merajuk, dah lama dia merajuk. 3 hari lepas dah semangat nak buat, sekali lada hitam n ketumbar lak takda. Nak turun kedai kat bawah tu malas la pulak. Esoknya dah beli lada hitam n ketumbar, skali tengok kentang n karot lak takda...ish ish..nak kena turun ke kedai lagi...alahai..Last-last ekor tu masuk balik dalam peti ais. Semalam bahan-bahan semua dah ada, dah ready nak buat, pastu baru teringat hubby ada budget meeting. Everyday terpaksa balik lewat malam nearly 12 sampai hari ni. So, hubby takda tak jadi lagi la nak masak sup ekor sebab takkan nak bagi Along, Ain n Apit lak makan sup ekor. Tak elok...sebab orang kata sup ekor ni aphrodisiac.

Tapi sebab dah teringin nak makan tapi tak jadi-jadi juga buat disebabkan pelbagai alasan yang boleh dielakkan (sebenarnya penyakit M dah datang!) so, I just put the recipe here which is taken from a friend's fp. Thank you Nor! Moga-moga dengan adanya resepi kat sini, tiba-tiba boleh datang balik semangat tu...

Resepi

Bahan-bahan

125 ml / 1/2 cawan minyak sayuran
500 gram ekor, dibersihkan dan di potong-potong
2 sudu besar ketumbar serbuk
1 sudu besar jintan putih/halus serbuk
1 sudu besar jintan manis/kasar serbuk
1 1/2 sudu besar tomato puri
1.5 liter/ 6 cawan air
1 batang lobak merah, dikupas dan didadu
1 biji ubi kentang, dikupas dan didadu
2 batang saderi, didadu
Garam
lada hitam yg baru dikisar
daun ketumbar, dihiris-hiris
Bawang goreng

Rempah Tumis

4 biji buah pelaga
1 cm kulit kayu manis
6 kuntum bunga cengkih
2 kuntum bunga lawang

Dikisar halus-halus

10 ulas bawang merah, dikupas
4 ulas bawang putih, dikupas
2 batang serai, dihiris halus-halus
1 cm halia, dikupas

Cara

1. Panaskan minyak sayuran di dalam periuk. Tumis ekor lembu hingga perang sedikit. Angkat dan toskan
2.Didalam minyak yang sama, masukkan rempah tumis dan bahan kisar dan goreng sehingga naik
baunya.
3. Tambah ketumbar,jintan manis/halus,dan jintan manis/kasar serbuk dan kacau di atas api kecil selama
3-4 minit sehingga wangi. Campurkan tomato puri.
4. Masukkan ekor lembu, tambah air dan renihkan.
5. Tambah lobak merah, ubi kentang dan saderi, renihkan selama 1 jam 45 minit sehingga ekor lembu
empuk. Perasakan dengan garam dan lada hitam.
6. Hiaskan dengan daun ketumbar dan bawang goreng sejurus sebelum menghidang.

Catatan: untuk menjimatkan masa, anda boleh masak sup ini dalam masa 25 minit dengan menggunakan periuk tekanan. Tetapi airnya hendaklah dikurangkan menjadi 1 liter / 4 cawan sahaja.

*Tiada gambar sup ekor buat masa ni sebab sup ekor belum jadi lagi. Nanti kalau dah buat, baru masuk gambar dalam blog.

p/s - Tu la kalau kat Bangi dulu takyah susah-susah nak buat sup ekor sendiri. Food court n kedai makan merata. (Sekarang...padan muka aku!) Apa makanan yang takda kat Bangi tu? Semua ada...tunjuk aje kedai makan mana nak. Sampaikan kadang-kadang nak pilih kedai makan pun boleh gaduh...he he he...

Grateful...

2009-01-05T15:36:00.007+04:00

Hubby texted me at 1.00pm just now just to tell me about a good news that we've been waiting for so long . Syukurrrrr...the only word I could say. We are so grateful that Allah has granted our silent prayer this time.

However, money has always been the possible hindrance. Here in Dubai, money is everything. One has to have BIG money in order to live a true meaning of life in this cosmopolitan city of Dubai (I'm talking about the necessities, not the luxuries). A certain service that costs you only a few hundreds in some other big cities in the world, will cause you thousands in Dubai. Reputed as the fastest growing city in the world, this metropolitan city seems to have 'no mercy' to the disadvantaged less fortunate ones.

At least, we can now come out of our temporary 'physical hibernation'...bit by bit...And hope that 2009 will grant us some happiness of being able to go with the flow, once in a while if not always. Henceforth, more stories of exploring Dubai etc. etc. may be expected here... :-)

First Day Of School After Winter Break

2009-01-04T11:50:00.008+04:00

The second semester commences in winter so, Ain wears a long school pants today together with a sweater. This girl, unlike her sister, likes wearing her skort (a combination of skirt and short) to school. Along has lost her school sweater so, she has to wear her other sweater. After so much playing computer games at home (and less doing revision for their mid year exam next week ...hmm..) they seem to be ever ready to go to school. To tell the truth, some of the games website are even suggested by the school for children to try at home as they are educational but yet fun (but of course with our supervision).

As for the sweater, they just need it in the morning and probably when they are on the way back from school around 3.30 pm as it is just two hours before sunset. In the afternoon, the temperature now is about the same as the afternoon in Malaysia. We also experience a longer night during winter and Maghrib starts around 5.40 pm as compared to Malaysia at around 7.15 pm. Sunset is also the time I feel is the coldest...colder than in the middle of the night.

When the kids have sharpened their pencils to start a new semester, it's their Ibu who seems to be still in a holiday mood. Suddenly ran out of idea what to prepare for Along and Ain's lunchboxes. At last, I just made for them hotdogs and plain sausages. No fruits today because they don't want it. At the moment, am busy thinking what to prepare for their lunchboxes tomorrow morning...

The last day of a long break

2009-01-03T21:58:00.003+04:00

Today is the last day of a two-week winter break for Along and Ain...and a four-day new year break for hubby. Since we didn't go anywhere, we just spent time together having lunch by the swimming pool.

We used to have makan-makan spaghetti and nasi lemak before at the swimming pool, this time we just had fried beehoon and hot lemon tea that seemed to serve us well in that cold and breezy day. So cold was the weather that Ain and Apit did not dare to have a swim in the pool although the water was lukewarm.

Hubby even planned days earlier to go to the gym (on the same floor) everyday during this four days break. Unfortunately, the four days went by with not even a day spent at the gym! I'm not worried if he's getting bigger but I am really worried when he's started complaining of a backache lately...

When the scone gets into your mouth...

2009-01-02T18:42:00.000+04:00

I've made this scone a few times already since after I saw the recipe together with its pic in a friend's blog (thanks drNO). The first time I saw Chef Wan baking it on TV a few years back, I was just too lazy to jot down the recipe. But after I found out that ingredients are the things within my grasp in the kitchen, I baked it right away. So, here's the recipe to share with...

SCONE

Ingredients

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 5 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 egg, beaten
* milk

Method

-Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

-In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter, until resembles breadcrumbs (the easiest way, is doing this step in a food processor).

-Mix the egg and milk in a small bowl, and stir into flour mixture until moistened.

-Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll dough out into a 1/2 inch thick round. Cut into 8 wedges, and place on the prepared baking sheet.

-Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

*You can add in choc chips, raisins, nuts or anything that you like.

So, the second time I baked it, I addded in choc chips upon request from of course the kids and the other half of the dough, I added in peanut butter to fulfil hubby's request. As for me, I prefer the plain one.

Along helped me out but she was so creative enough to come up with a gingerbread-man shape instead...he he.

Whatever it is, this has been our family's favourite ever since, after the pancake. We love the taste...hhmmm..

No candlelit but...

2009-01-01T00:12:00.001+04:00

It's been 3 days since I last updated my entry. It's not that we went for our 'first' honeymoon for 3 days. It was only a day but I guess I was still in that mood of dating and honeymooning until the year ends. It's a simple but delightful enough day for the two of us. Along, Ain and Apit are the most sporting of all. They didn't mind to be left at a neighbour's house for the first time for a few hours.

Pictures can be deceiving, yes, but not these ones, hence let them tell the stories...

There's no mamak stall involved...It's neither the food nor the handbag. It's the wonderful little precious time we've spent together alone that matters most. Whatever it is, I still got what I want...that XYZ thingy (yes yess yesss! hi hi..) and I in return got a pair of designer jeans (on sale, of course) for hubby which he 'fortunately' had to pay himself...oopss..for I have a very concrete reason, I'm on UNPAID leave...Well, it's the thought that counts right. :-)

p/s - May all the muzakarah and muhasabah that we've done on our anniversary day which falls on this Maal Hijrah will promise a good penghijrahan for us both, and the kids too, for the better.

Salam Maal Hijrah 1430 and happy new year 2009 to all. :-)

On this anniversary...

2008-12-28T00:35:00.014+04:00

Yang, all of a sudden I've lost words to express what I've been rehearsing for the past few days... But I really want to wish us both...

...and let's cherish this song...that you used to dedicate to me some 14 years ago...which I can now use to represent what I feel deep down in my heart.

Why even think about

a second honeymoon...

...when there's no evidence

that we both have even

finished our first!

So Yang, let's go out and celebrate our first honeymoon on our 12th anniversary...!

p/s - Along, Ain and Apit...jangan nakal-nakal tinggal kejap dengan Uncle n Auntie kat rumah atas ya.

Roti Canai vs Roti Paratha

2008-12-25T02:04:00.010+04:00

Sapa kata takda roti canai kat Dubai ni? Ada walaupun tak serupa. Doll, oooh you tempek gambar roti canai kat blog you nak kasi I jeles ya. Mentang-mentanglah sini susah nak dapat roti canai. Haa tengoklah roti canai Dubai ni...

Selepas 6 bulan tak dapat menikmati keenakan roti canai, last Friday dapat gak melepaskan rindu dendam. It isn't as delicious as Malaysian roti canai tapi boleh la, can do la. Tengok tu Apit siap buat 'peace' lagi, Along dan Ain pula menikmati roti canai sampai tak menoleh kiri kanan lagi dah...hmmm...

But people here call it 'paratha'. We had this 'paratha' at High Star Restaurant (a South Indian restaurant) which is just a walking distance from our apartment building. Kuah dal dia sedap walaupun chicken curry dia tak boleh lawan kari mamak kat Malaysia.

All this while, if we feel like eating roti canai we just bought this ready made 'paratha' from Carrefour. This one is made in Singapore but if we find 'paratha' Kawanku brand, we'd surely buy that one because it is made in Malaysia. Boleh la buat melepaskan rindu kat roti canai. Kalau cicah dengan kari sardin...fuhhh...sehingga menjilat jari!

This is what I found at Wikipedia :
Roti canai (pronounced "chanai," not "kanai") is a type of flatbread found in Malaysia, often sold in Mamak stalls. It is known as roti prata in Singapore, and is a close descendant of Kerala porotta.

p/s : Yang, if you can't afford to take me out for a candle-lite dinner or to expensive restaurants on our anniversary that's coming soon, it's ok. You bawa I ke High Star mamak restaurant ni makan roti canai pun dah ok. I don't mind as long as we can spend time together alone...or with the kids, I'd be happy. (Tapi hadiah handbag jenama XYZ tu I tetap nak gak. I tak kira). Peace. :-)

Kekasihku Seru...thru YM

2008-12-24T00:01:00.001+04:00

I will be right before my laptop by 8.00 pm every night. We talk every night. We discuss many things every night. I report to him about my well-being, our children. He asks me whether Along and Ain have done their homework or not. If it's a school holiday he'll ask if Along and Ain have read their books and done the exercises. He asks me about what each of the kids is doing. I'll report to him that Apit is playing power rangers or watching his favourite 'Chon de Sip' (Shaun the Sheep cartoon). Sometimes playing Spiderman, Ben 10 or jigsaw puzzle games at the laptop. Along is reading story books or playing kibagames at the laptop and Ain is engrossed with her drawing, sometimes also seen playing kibagames. He always asks if Apit has taken his shower (because this little Apit likes to play hide and seek with me when it comes to having shower..he he).

He wants to know what we eat for dinner and I'll ask him the same. I take pity on him everytime he tells me what he has for dinner - always a simple one. If only I were with him, I'll cook everything that he wants to eat.

We discuss about the good news and the bad news, about our finance, where to go for the weekend outing and what to do if not going out. Just now we even had dinner 'together' since the time there is just half an hour later than Dubai. I mean spiritually, not physically. He told me he was hungry and wanted to order a room service meal. I told him to let me know once the food arrived so that we could eat 'together'. So, when the food arrived he let me know and we did 'eat together'... he there alone and I am here with the kids.

We even quarrelled through YM...sometimes over jealousy. He knows most of my contacts in blogspot and most of them are female, no problem. But when talking about my contacts in Multiply, his claws are showing...sometimes. Many of them are of the opposite gender. There was a time when I blogged about a certain guy, he got quite mad but he never holds a grudge though. I've learned my lesson. I'd have to come down to earth. Similarly, I have jealousy on his fb things too. Well...anyway it takes two to tango!

Again I'd say thanks to the technology. We are far but yet so near. I always wonder what would have happened some 15 years ago if we had the same modern technology as it is now. One thing for sure, more than half of my scholarship would go to the mobile phone prepaid cards. Cannot imagine how much I'd have spent making long-distance calls to the US. Luckily there was no YM in Malaysia 15 years ago. Otherwise, I'd have been stucked to the computer spending most of my making assignments time YMing to the loved one overseas. I just feel like I'm once again on a long-distance love affair with him. The only difference is that I'm now accompanied by the three As - our offsprings.

Every 2 to 5 days a week, he'll be working there in Tehran.

A beautiful rose in winter in Tehran snapped by hubby.

My SIL said, quoted from somewhere, a rose in winter is a sign of true love found...

Pancake...My Kids' Latest Crave

2008-12-23T01:04:00.011+04:00

A pancake is frying in the pan the moment I'm writing this. I've prepared the batter, my ten-year old Along is helping me frying it.

We just had dinner an hour ago but Along, Ain and Apit want to eat pancakes. This winter could have caused their metabolism rate to be higher than usual he he.

This pancake recipe is the best I've ever tried so far - the simplest but yet delicious. It's much tastier and fluffier than the ready made one bought from a supermaket especially when you eat it hot yumm... You've got to try it to believe it...

Pancake

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil /melted shortening

1/2 cup chocolate chip (optional)

Methods:-

Heat your frying pan. No need butter if it's a non-stick pan. Mix all the ingredients (except choc chips) together in a mixer @ food processor @ even simple blender. Mix in choc chips if using. Pour a scoopful over the pan. Cook 1 minute each side. Ready to eat.....

(Thank you drNO for the recipe :-) )

* I just use a whisk instead of a mixer or a blender. The choc chips, I sprinkle onto the pancake instead of mixing them in the batter.

You'll get 9 pieces of cute little pancakes from this recipe in just half an hour. Worth trying.

As for my family, they like their pancakes to be served with :
Hubby - peanut butter
Along - with choc chips, butter with pancake syrup, Hershey's syrup, Nutella and milo.
Apit and Ain - with choc chips and milo.
Yours truly - butter with pancake syrup and Nutella.

This pancake is not only suitable for breakfast but also for tea and supper. For Along, Ain, Apit and their father, they'd like to have it bila-bila teragak aje. Lately, they even want me to make it almost everyday. Even so, Along and Ain don't want to bring this pancake in their lunchbox to school because they said...dah sejuk kurang umphh.

Kekasihku Seru...layannnnnn...

2008-12-22T01:17:00.007+04:00

For the past one week, I had been 'busy'....being hooked up on TV3. I mean TV3 online (tv3.com.my). What a true wonderful satisfaction watching your favourite series back-to-back with no disturbance, no distracting commercials whatsoever. That explains why I could finish watching Kekasihku Seru - all the 13 episodes in just one and a half days. (Could've finished all the 13 episodes in just one day if not for the fear of having a 'sleepless' night in horror he he). Most interesting of all, I don't have to wait for the following week to watch the next episode.

Staying abroad doesn't mean you will miss all the Malay drama or your favourite series back home or Cerekarama etc. Thanks to the technology! This online TV website enables us to catch up on the latest shows. Takda la rindu nak tengok citer Melayu. Looking at the comments from viewers, we know that the viewers are Malaysians not only from Malaysia but all over the world. With the advancement of technology, a distance is no barrier!

Kekasihku Seru, a-must-watch scary series, is full of horror and suspense. I can't help but feel proud to see an improvement in the Malay horror drama. Directed by the well-reputed Kabir Bhatia, this one can beat some of Hollywood scary movies. And now, Puaka Niyang Rapik - the new horror series replacing Kekasihku Seru. Have never missed watching it every week.

Buletin Utama is another program I watch - if not everyday, once in a while. However, I prefer catching up on the latest news through the online newspapers (especially NST and Berita Harian, sometimes Utusan) and some blogs. Not to forget Melodi - I also want to be updated with the latest gossips in Malaysia he he...You can't expect me to dwell upon political and economical issues all the time.

TV9 online is another one I've been hooked up with. Bong, is the comedy series my kids and I enjoy the most. We've managed to watch all the 13 episodes from Season 3 and another 13 from Season 4 in just two days' time ha ha ha. We love watching the two small kids, Aiman (played by Shafimie "Hikayat Putera Shazlan" and Chah (played by Mysara "Drama Ramadhan Rafik"). When I googled about this series, apparently it has won The Best Comedy Series in Anugerah Skrin 2007. No wonder, it's so entertaining.

That's the answer to my 'absence' from a week blogging. :-)

Hubby's Potato Salad and My Aunt's Daging Dendeng

2008-12-15T20:32:00.002+04:00

Some friends asked me for a recipe of Potato Salad after they tried our Potato Salad during our picnic last October. They seem to like it. To tell you all the truth, it's my hubby's spontaneous recipe ikut suka-suka hati. Alhamdulillah if our friends like it. Since it's hubby's recipe, go check for the recipe in hubby's entry here.

In Malaysia during raya, we've never missed going to my Aunt's house in Kuala Sg Baru, Melaka. Apart from being the closest auntie to our family, we go there for her delectable Daging Dendeng. This year, no more Aunt's Dendeng, only the recipe that was sent to me he he. Being away from home, I have no other reason but to cook it myself as hubby and I like it so much. So, here's the recipe, with no modification, exactly like what my Aunt gave:

Daging Dendeng

Bahan-bahan:

Daging

Cili kering - dikisar

Bawang merah (banyak) - dikisar

Bawang putih (sedikit) - dikisar

Halia - dikisar

Kicap masin

Air asam (perah dengan sedikit air rebusan daging)

Gula

*Garam dan serbuk perasa tidak perlu sebab dah guna kicap masin. (I tambah sikit kicap manis semestinya kicap Kipas Udang :-) )

Cara:

Daging dipotong agak besar (ketul). Rebus hingga hamper empuk. Toskan. Setelah sejuk, hiris nipis dan perap dengan kicap selama 3 jam.
Bila dah siap diperap, goreng daging tersebut hingga agak garing dan angkat. Goreng daging saja, lebihan kicap perapan simpan bila masak nanti.
Tumis cili kering, bawang merah, bawang putih dan halia kisar tadi hingga garing.
Setelah itu, masukkan daging yang telah digoreng tadi, air asam, gula, kicap lebihan perap dan tambah lagi kicap lain. Masak hingga sebati.

Yang bestnya, resepi my Aunt bagi ni takda sukatan. Biasa la kan orang tua-tua, mak-mak kita yang dah terror masak tu tak main sukatan-sukatan ni. So, I yang not so pandai masak ni main ikut logik sesedap rasa dan ikut sukati-sukati je la.Orang kata bubuh serai sikit supaya lebih sedap, so I did. Memang lagi ummph. Orang kata lagi, daging dendeng nak sedap kena tumbuk-tumbukkan sedikit, the step which I think my Aunt has probably forgotten to include here. And so I did, memang lagi lembut la. Tapi I tak pasti tumbuk selepas direbus dan dihiris ke atau selepas digoreng. So, I pun ikut sesedap rasa tumbuk lepas digoreng.

Bila check resepi Daging Dendeng dalam internet, ada pelbagai versi yang kebanyakannya lebih kurang sama, ada juga yang bahan-bahannya lain sikit. Tapi yang pasti, dagingnya ditumbuk selepas direbus dan dihiris, iaitu sebelum digoreng.

(These are pics of Daging Dendeng from my own kitchen, not from the internet ok).

* This recipe of Daging Dendeng from my Aunt is highly recommended as it is very, very easy and most importanty has been proven to be very, very delicious! (part menumbuk daging dalam lesung tu je yang leceh sikit). Yang pasti, kawan-kawan yang dah merasa masa raya puasa dan raya haji hari tu sukakannya Alhamdulillah dan siap minta resepi. So, apa lagi SELAMAT MENCUBA!

Guests From Malaysia

2008-12-13T23:31:00.000+04:00

We had guests today, hubby's colleague from SONY Malaysia with wife, who dropped by on their way back from hollidaying in London. They were not long here as they arrived at 2.50 am this morning and left our house at around 3.00 pm the same day. Even though their next flight was scheduled at 3.00 am the next morning, they left early in order to be able to explore and take photos of the city of Dubai and Mall of the Emirates. We really wished we could make a very good tourist guide for the couple this whole day, however, keadaan tak mengizinkan for us at the moment. Luckily, Dubai is nothing new to Mr Abu as he used to come here a few times before for a biztrip.

Since it was still raya haji mood, I served them nasi impit with kuah lodeh, sambal tumis ikan bilis and peanut gravy for breakfast, plus some pancakes and caramel pudding for dessert. However, the breakfast turned out to be lunch as our guests still had jet lag and needed more rest I suppose.

So, this is the peanut gravy which I cooked for the first time in my life (he he...) using my mom's recipe, texted to me by my sis Angah last Eid ul Fitr but only yesterday I got the opportunity to try it. Hubby said ada rasa macam Mak punya. I rasa pun hmm ok gak for a first timer though I still think macam ada yang kurang lagi. Takpa...practice makes perfect.

Eid ul Adha Potluck on the Rooftop of Al Attar Escala, The New Gold Souk, Dubai

2008-12-10T09:00:00.003+04:00

In Malaysia, Eid ul Adha is usually not celebrated as grand as Eid ul Fitr especially in the west coast. However here in Dubai, the celebration of Eid ul Adha among Malaysians is almost as joyful as Eid ul Fitr. We do have open houses and visit other Malaysians' houses. The dishes served are as splendid as during Eid ul Fitr.

During the last Eid ul Fitr, we spent most of the days visiting other Malaysians' houses. However for this Eid ul Adha, as planned, we celebrate it with fellow Malaysians by the swimming pool on the rooftop of this Al Attar Escala apartment. There are only three families - our family, Amin & Laila and Razi, the 'bujang sementara' who's brought here his family from Malaysia during the school holidays. The rest are all orang-orang bujang and 'bujang sementara'.

So at 1.30pm Monday afternoon, we were on the rooftop gathering and eating the special raya dishes joyously.

We occupied the pondok there when other mat sallehs were seen sunbathing nearby. Bujang-bujang tu siap pasang bendera Malaysia...wah bangganya. While Laila, Norita (my guest) and I were preparing the table and food, the men killed the time puffing cigarettes and chit-chatting.

The food is ready...Razi's family brought nasi impit, rendang, spaghetti and fruit cocktail pudding, Laila prepared peanut gravy, two types of salad and also nasi impit. As for us, hubby cooked his speciality mihun soto and begedil, I made daging dendeng to be eaten with lemang Nona, roti jala and chicken curry and also puding dadih strawberi. The 'bujangs' brought a few types of drinks. Aiseyy...no teh tarik la he he.

We were so hungry...apa lagi sesi makan pun bermula soon after hubby recited some du'a. All this while, I only met 4 or 5 Malaysians in this apartment building. However today, I realized that there are more than 20 of us including 6 kids. Ramai juga rupanya.

Ain and Apit wanted to have a swim in the pool but they were clad in baju kurung and baju Melayu. So, main air je la. At about 3.15pm, we all pun bersiap-siap packing things and put chairs and tables back at their places, bujang-bujang tu cabut balik bendera yang they all bawa dan simpan for the next occasion. Before leaving, not to forget sesi mentapau makanan yang paling meriah especially amongst the bujangs he he...We feel happy that we could share this special raya dishes with all the bujangs because most of them seldom cook for raya. Cuma ada sorang bujang tu yang rajin masak nasi impit walaupun 'rendang'nya di beli at the nearest mamak stall.

That night, we received an invitation to Amali and Zarina's house which is a just a walking distance to our apartment. We were served with plenty of Johore special dihes - rendang daging, chicken curry, lemang Nona, nasi impit, fried mixed vege, rojak buah and desserts...hhmmm all were delicious. Nak balik, Zarina siapkan bekalkan our family and Razi's family with nasi impit and rendang daging sedap dia. Alhamdulillah rezeki, thank you so much kepada tuan rumah yang pemurah ni.

p/s - Moi and family, thank you so much for the invitation tapi our makan-makan time coincided that afternoon. And to Nik and family, thanks for the invitation but we got your message a day late! Takpa la, lagipun we had another invitation nearby that night. InsyaAllah, next time we all datang beraya rumah you all ya. :-))

Eid ul Adha

2008-12-08T01:40:00.004+04:00

Happy Eid ul Adha to our beloved parents in Port Dickson and Rembau, our sisters and brothers with families, all relatives and Muslim friends in Malaysia, Dubai and other parts of the world.

p/s - Setakat pukul 1.30 pagi Isnin, lemang Nona telah pun siap direbus, daging dendeng dah siap masak dalam kuali, kari ayam untuk roti jala pun dah ready, kuah soto dah siap masak, kicap cili telah siap di blend dan begedil pun telah siap digentel. Dessert pun tak ketinggalan...puding dadih perisa strawberry hhmmm...So, Atuk-atuk, Nenek, Wan dan semua ahli keluarga, tak perlu risau sebab insyaAllah kitorang kat sini dapat juga menjamah juadah hari raya sama macam kat Malaysia. Errr...rendang negori.....????

Tengahari nanti semua warga Malaysia di New Gold Souk ini akan ber pot-luck jamuan raya bersama-sama di tepi kolam renang at the rooftop of our apartment building. Can't wait... :-)

A Milo Pancake, Pengat Keledek, A Landslide

2008-12-06T20:42:00.001+04:00

Just got this pancake recipe from drNO. Thanks so much drNO for sharing it in your blog. It's not a Chocolate Rice Pancake like you did. I didn't have chocolate rice in my kitchen so, I modified a bit by sprinkling milo instead on the pancake which my kids love so much. I find that this pancake tastes much nicer than the recipe I always use. We had this for breakfast.

The other picture is Pengat Keledek which I made about 2 hours ago not long after reading another friend's (Wardah) blog. She made Pengat Keledek and it looks so hhmm...yummy. Being away from home is not the reason not to cook this Malay dessert. It happened that I had sweet potato in my kitchen so, in less than an hour...not only we could eat it, it's already in my blog he he.

We had a picnic this afternoon by the swimming pool at the rooftop of our apartment building. What makes the picnic more special is that hubby cooked his speciality Meatball Spaghetti today...which means a 'half day' off for this domestic engineer...yesss hi hi. It's cold and breezy on the rooftop as our apartment building is located near the Arabian Gulf. The kids were shivering once coming out of the heated pool and still were while eating their favourite spahetti.

Just now, I texted my sis Angah asking for a recipe for Rendang Negori. Nak minta dari mak mertuo malu sebab sebelum ni tak pernah nak belajar he he he. Sebelum ni, balik Rombau tau makan yoo hi hi. Angah texted me the recipe and also told me she was watching Buletin Utama about the landslide that has buried 4 lives and 14 houses (the moment I'm writing this).

Right away, I caught up on the latest news from NST online, the Star online and Utusan online. So sorry to the family of the victims. Also the family who had lost two daughters in the landslide at Ulu Yam Perdana a few days earlier. Regret that 'people' seem not to learn from the past mistakes, mistakes in 1993 when almost the same mishap happened at the same area. Al-Fatihah to arwah Saiful Khas and the two sisters.

p/s -. Hubby did text to his Adik too asking him to ask his mom how to cook Rendang Negori. Kalau jadi nanti, masuk dalam blog. Kalau takda gambar Rendang Negori sehari dua lepas raya haji ni, maksudnya tak jadi la tu hi hi...Better late than never, right.

My Observation...Arab, 'Cekodok' Arab, 'Lempeng' Arab dan Wanita Arab Bertopeng

2008-12-05T09:27:00.000+04:00

Parents were welcomed to attend the UAE 37th National Day celebration at Raffles International School Last Monday. If only schools in Malaysia also welcome parents to attend their National Day celebration... which as far as I'm concerned, they never.

I could see that the number of parents attending the ceremony is almost as large as the number of nannies. The parents present were mostly the non-Arabs. The Arabs who couldn't attend just sent their nannies. Correct me if I'm wrong but from my observation, bangsa Arab ni merupakan bangsa yang suka menjadi tuan. Sampaikan hantar anak ke kelas dan jemput anak ke kereta pun nanny diorang yang buat. Itu baru nanny, yang maid buat kerja-kerja rumah pula lain. Ada ramai juga the Arab mothers yang datang tapi dalam part menjaga anak-anak tu nanny yang buat. Diorang dok bersembang sesama Arab dengan kaca mata dan beg-beg tangan berjenama yang dipegang secara 'amat ketara' sekali. (he he minta mahap la orang Arab, this is only my observation).

Ini gambar-gambar sekitar sambutan National Day kat sekolah Along dan Ain, Raffles IS. From left clockwise: Pic 1 - tempat duduk disediakan for parents sambil makan-makan, 2- the mascots, 3- the free henna painting, 4- the man is Raffles IS President from Spore, the mat salleh lady is the newly appointed Principal who will start her service in the next term in January and next to her, the present Acting Principal, 5- kids love this magic show, and pic 6- the interesting Youla dance

These are among the very interesting loooking desserts served for students and parents. Nampak cantik tapi rasa biasa-biasa je, tak boleh lawan kuih-muih tradisional Melayu. Tapi syukur Alhamdulillah makanan mewah hari tu, siap dengan the famous nasi mandy and laham (lamb) lagi.

Haa...ni lah dia cekodok Arab (gambar atas kanan tu). Macam jemput-jemput yang kita selalu buat tu tapi ianya dimakan dengan dicurah madu ke atasnya. Rasanya...hmm macam cucur lemak manis Adabi, ok la.

Yang bawah tu pula lempeng Arab (yet to find the exact name). Tepung dia dan cara membuatnya macam buat tepung popia. Lumur tepung yang telah dibancuh tu atas kuali panas menggunakan tangan, kalau siapa pernah tengok orang buat tepung popia mesti tau. Lepas tu, diratakan telur sebiji atasnya dan diikuti dengan cheese (the bite size tu). Angkat dan dilipat empat. Rasanya...rasa telur je dan tawar. Tapi syukur lah dapat gak merasa makanan tradisional Arab ni walaupun tak tau apa ke namanya.

However, what attracted me most is these two makciks Arab. I wonder what they are wearing...it's a face mask tapi takda kain penutup cuma rangka-rangka je. I got to know this kind of Arab women can also be found at Heritage Village (one of the tourist spots in Dubai) also doing the same 'cekodok' and 'lempeng'. Orang kata orang Badwi. So, I googled to fulfil my curiosity. I typed 'badwi' keluar nama Pak Lah, pastu google image 'badwi', keluar lak muka PM kita tu ishh...Then, I typed 'bedouin women' barulah dapat. Not stated whether they are really bedouin or not but this Burka is commonly worn by the Arab women of the older generation. Some article refer to Burka as the black robe they are wearing and some refer to it as the black robe as well as the face mask. So, I'm still not sure. Can someone who knows better enlighten me on this?

A Week Summary - Thu (Nov 27) - Wed (Dec 3)

2008-12-03T19:27:00.001+04:00

I've not been actively blogging for exactly a week. All my three kids have caught a cold and I've been tirelessly tending them. Here are the updates for the past one week.

Thursday (Nov 27) - Apit Has Caught A Cold This Time

Siannya Apit...he has caught a cold after his two sis got it. Atuk-atuk, Nenek dan Wan mesti kesian tengok muka Apit masa tengah demam ni. Mana taknya...muka dia monyok dan mata kuyu je. All this while he'd been the most active and cheerful of all the three As. Ibu lagi susah hati kalau Apit demam sebab bujang sorang ni susah betul nak makan ubat. Ayah dia je pandai paksa dia makan ubat he he.

Ain went to school today after 4 days being absent. Today she was alone as Along was still having a cold. When she got back, we noticed that she came back without her red school bag. When hubby asked her, she said, beg tinggal kat sekolah kat bus waiting area...

Friday (Nov 28) - To Dubai Outlet Mall

Having a cold doesn't mean we have to stay at home and just lie down in bed. We need some fresh air and an outing would be nice for a good air circulation...that's what hubby said.

So, off we went to Outlet Mall as hubby wanted to get himself a pair of Skechers to replace his most faithful old Skechers that have served him for almost 15 years. He bought that pair when he just arrived in the States in 1993 and is still wearing it till now ! Unlucky for him that he didn't find one that suited him. Instead, Apit got a pair of Skechers to replace his old Nike. We bought that Nike also at this Outlet Mall two weeks after we arrived in Dubai about 6 and a half months ago and now, it's become too small for Apit. Usually, we'd choose to buy inexpensive shoes for our kids because kids are growing very fast. We feel that it's not worth buying for them expensive ones as they can only last for a few months. What a waste. But for the one and only Apit, Ayah doesn't mind...hmm.

Saturday (Nov 29) - To Burjuman

Dubai Shopping Festival has started but we came to this shopping mall just to jalan-jalan cuci mata. Very attractive discounts could be seen here and there but none could attract us as we are aware that this mall houses all international retail brands. We know it's just not 'our place' for shopping he he.

After performing Maghrib prayer at the 'unisex' prayer room, we had dinner at The Noodle House. Just wanted to try because people say there are Malaysian foods here or at least foods that suit Malaysian taste. Yes, it's true. So, we had a taste of curry laksa, tom yam and egg fried rice. Hubby wanted to try Nasi Goreng Kampung because it is his favourite. Looking at the price 40dhs, hubby said...takpa la I pun boleh buat kat rumah. Lagi sedap dari ni. (Mind you 1dhs is almost equal to RM1). Nasib baik food nya boleh tahan sedap especially its dessert Mango Pudding with vanilla ice-cream, rasa worth it la juga paying xxxdhs for our dinner that day.

Afetr dinner, we went Magrudy's bookstore as planned. Along, Ain and Apit bought a story book each. Ibu also got herself another novel yayy. These pics were taken while we were queuing up for a taxi. While Ain and Apit were so engrossed in their reading, Along was fatigued by her flu that she was just sitting there doing nothing which was not her usual acts.

Sunday (Nov 30) - Ain Got Back Her School Bag...he he

Along went to school today although she was still having flu. She had to come as the next day she would be performing Arabic Dance for UAE National Day Asembly at her school. I didn't want her to miss the rehearsal.

Ain came back from school today with her lost red school bag! When I asked her where she found the bag, she replied, Tak tau. Memang ada kat locker tempat beg Ain kat dalam kelas tu. (Bertuah punya budak...)

Monday (Dec 1) - Along Danced A Traditional Arabic Dance at Raffles IS National Day Celeb

Along and Ain joined in the celebration of UAE 37th National Day at her school level. Along took part in the traditional Arabic dance, a very interesting colourful performance . She is the fifth from left.

To see Along performing Arabic dance on youtube, click here.

Ain didn't take part in the performance but she became the girl volunteer from her class to answer some quizzes on UAE. Bravo. She gave the correct answer and was happy rewarded a prize for it.

On this day, all the students had to wear either UAE national costume or an outfit with the colours of UAE national flag - black, white, green and red. Ain put on a green t-shirt, black jeans, white shoes and socks and a red jacket while Along was already in her Arabic dance costume.

(More updates on this in my next entry)

Along's very interesting Arabic dance performance failed to lure Apit to join in the fun. He was just lying on the chairs as he was still having a bad cold. Apit cakap...Apit tak raraat...Syiannya Syayang Apit.

Tuesday (Dec 2) - UAE 37th National Day Celebration

There were lots of activities and interesting programs held in the UAE to celebrate its 37th National Day. But transport has always been our limitation to go here and there. So, we just stayed at home and in the evening walked to Choitram for some grocery.

Wednesday (Dec 3) - Happy To See The Kids Are Recovering

Syukur Alhamdulillah...Along, Ain and Apit are recovering from the seasonal flu now. It's good to see Apit playing power rangers again after a few days this power rangers has been sick.

And Alhamdulillah, sempat juga Ibu khatam 2 novel ni sambil berjaga malam masa seminggu lebih Along, Ain and Apit demam. One English novel and one Malay novel. Am finishing the third one, another English novel just bought at Magrudy.

I hear thunder...

2008-11-26T20:36:00.001+04:00

It's drizzling in Dubai the moment I'm writing this. I've missed rain so much since I came here last summer. I went out to the balcony stretching out my hands and I could feel very tiny drops of water falling on my hands. Aahhh...it feels so good. No wonder we could hear thunder just now. Eh no, I can hear thunder now. Loud ones.

This is the second one, the first was on Sunday (Nov 16) when the skies in Dubai opened up to bring light showers to Dubai and also other parts of the UAE. I didn't realize when actually it rained that Sunday or Saturday night. I was sending Along and Ain down to the lobby early that morning to take their school bus when we were greeted by a new cloud cover of Dubai, the fresh air and of course the wet ground. The smell of rain hhmm...I missed this! The rain, which had brought down the temperature to a minimum of 21 degree C, was followed by a sandstorm that evening. Again, I was safe and sound hibernating in my apartment and not knowing what was happening outside there. This one I've never experienced. I hope I get to experience it one day.

It's the beginning of winter in Dubai. Ain has had fever since last Sunday (Nov 23). Ain was given a two-day MC but until today she is still not fit enough to go to school. Along just had it yesterday. So, since yesterday I had to tend to both of them. At night, had to keep checking on their body temperature while they were sleeping. Although they're no longer babies, I'm so worried the temperature might go up drastically which could bring bad consequences. I've had sleepless nights these few days. For the kids, I don't mind.

Just now, Apit was in a bad mood. When I took him in my arms, oh no...a nasty temperature. Worse still, he refused to be given medicine, Ain's medicine. Seems like another sleepless episode for me tonight...

Could it be due to the weather changes? Probably. It's seasonal ailments that are brought in by change in weather.

p/s - What if the mother is having fever? I'm not going to ask who's going to take care of me. Instead, I'm going to ask who's going to take care of the kids..especially when the father is not around??

Nov 21...happy birthday to me

2008-11-21T01:08:00.009+04:00

Glitter Graphics Maker & MySpace Layouts

I have pictures of my hubby and all my three kids either cutting a birthday cake or blowing out the candles. But I just can't find any of my pics in the same acts. :( There is none. I guess I'd have to stop being the photographer most of the time.

p/s - To all dear friends in Malaysia and in the UK who have sent me birthday wishes (up to now 1.30 in the morning...) via FB, email or sms, thank you very very much. I really appreciate it. I've received the birthday wishes as early as 2 days ago. To my dear Principal, thanks so much for being the first to wish me today. That's very sweet of you. :) Dearest hubby is jealous because he couldn't be the first to wish me happy birthday today...hi hi.

p/s - I wonder what hubby has for me. Let's check it out here...

Kelebihan dan kelemahan lahir bulan November...

2008-11-20T00:05:00.002+04:00

NOVEMBER

banyak idea dalam sesuatu perkara
otak dan pemikiran yang sangat tajam
cara berfikir lain dari orang lain
berfikiran kehadapan, unik dan bijak
banyak berfikir, kurang bercakap tetapi mesra
penuh dengan idea-idea baru yang luar biasa
sukar untuk dimengertikan atau difahami sikapnya
perangai tidak dapat diramal dan mudah berubah-rubah
sifat yang berahsia, pandai mencungkil dan mencari rahsia
amanah, jujur, setia dan pandai berahsia
daya firasat sangat halus dan tinggi
bagus sebagai doktor
cermat dan teliti
personaliti dinamik
tidak hargai pujian
bercita-cita tinggi
terlalu degil dan keras hati
apabila hendak akan diusahakan sehingga berjaya
sangat rajin dan berkemampuan tinggi
kekuatan semangat dan daya juang yang tinggi kepada sesuatu kehendak
pandai mendorong diri sendiri
berani, pemurah, setia dan banyak kesabaran
mudah ambil berat terhadap orang lain
tak suka marah kecuali tergugat
pandai muhasabah diri
romantik
tidak pasti dengan imbangan kasih sayang
suka duduk di rumah
tidak berapa berjaya dalam mengawal emosi

Taken from : http://aidacutes.com/?p=9 (Thank you Ummi Afifah)

p/s - Do not know how far it is true but many seem to be true. Could be a coincidence...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY APIT!

2008-11-19T02:36:00.009+04:00

19 NOVEMBER 2008 - Our one and only precious son, AHMAD AFIQ HILMY BIN HAZA HILMY has turned FOUR today.

Since all our babies are caeserean ones, getting the third one was my last chance. Thus, Ibu and Ayah had to really keep our fingers crossed hoping that the third one would be an 'Ahmad', since we've got 2 'Nurs' already.

Of course la Ayah Ibu berusaha keras he he. Orang kata banyakkan makan sea food dan kurangkan makan asam, so Ayah Ibu buat la (masa tu belum belajar tentang bikarbonat... ;) ). Di samping tu, amalkan doa tertentu untuk dapatkan anak lelaki. Doa tu Ayah bacakan setiap kali lepas solat Maghrib dan usap kat perut Ibu semasa Apit 3 bulan dalam kandungan (kalau tak silap...sebab masa tu roh telah ditiupkan ke dalam janin). Syukur Alhamdulillah berkat usaha dan doa, akhirnya keluar juga seorang Ahmad...Ahmad Afiq Hilmy.

Ayah dan Ibu bersyukur sangat-sangat, tu yang buat kenduri aqiqah dan kesyukuran sampai tumbang lembu seekor. Sebab memang dah pasang niat kalau dapat 'Ahmad', buat kenduri berkongsi dan sedekah makanan dengan saudara mara, jiran tetangga serta anak-anak yatim.

Semoga Ahmad Afiq Hilmy menjadi seorang anak yang soleh, berilmu, berjasa dan menyejukkan hati Ibu dan Ayah, serta hati semua. Amin.

The thought of not going to have another baby makes me feel that I just do not want Apit to grow too fast. I feel like I always want him to be a baby forever...although I know that is impossible.

For more of Apit's stories and lovely pics, refer to his Ayah's entry here.

Saturday (15.11.08) When the kids have become 'gila lensa'...

2008-11-17T13:18:00.001+04:00

It felt so good strolling in the breezy evening. We were on the way to Al Rais Shopping Centre which was situated opposite Al Khaleej Centre. Hubby had to do some currency exchange at Al Ansari there. Along, Ain and Apit were all prepared with a sweater each in case it was as cold as the night before on the rooftop. Apit and Ain especially enjoyed the evening stroll. Just look at their pics above. Sempat posing sambil jalan.

The kids were attracted to this very colourful and attractive spot. Since Ibu starts blogging, the three As have also become gila lensa...ha ha. As if they understand Ibu likes to insert their pics in her blog. So, apa lagi posing la...

Ibu and Ayah would also want to be gila lensa...he he. Sekali-sekala...

We crossed Mankhool road afterwards to go to Spinneys as we had some groceries to buy. On the way back, Maghrib azan was heard. Afraid we might not be able to perform Maghrib prayer once we reached home, we stopped by Al Rolla mosque to perform the prayer. Here, the prayer will usually start half an hour after the azan. By doing so, more people will be able to get pahala sembahyang jemaah. One good thing I could observe was that the Muslims in the vicinity would rush to the mosque once they heard the call of prayer including taxi drivers, a scene seldom seen back in our country.

Along, Ain and Apit were enjoying the brownies bought from Spinneys while waiting for Ayah. Ayah and Ibu had shawarma and a cup of tea bought from Bin Awardh in front of the mosque for a simple dinner, a spicy one for Ibu and Along, and an ordinary one for Ayah. By the time we finished eating, Isya' azan was heard and hubby performed Isya' prayer before walking back. The way back that night was not as breezy and cooling as it was in the evening.

p/s - All the pics were shot using my old Nokia 6111 and hubby's Sony Ericson SEP1i. Berat la nak usung kamera.

Friday (14.11.08) - Suatu Petang Di Atas Bumbung...

2008-11-16T10:21:00.005+04:00

As Friday is a holiday, we always think of a way to make the kids happy. This time, we took them up to the rooftop of our apartment building Al Attar Escala. See...there are lots of exciting family activities that we can do kat atas bumbung ni...

The swimming pool has always been Along, Ain and Apit's favourite place. Since this place we're staying is situated by the seaside and near Port Rashid, it's cold and breezy especially kat atas bumbung ni. No more scorching hot sun of Dubai as it is the beginning of winter. Rasa macam kat Cameron Highlands pula...syoknya. But the water in the pool is very cold that we couldn't dare to dip ourselves in it. So, we just spent the time in the jacuzzi since the water is slightly warm. Patut la mat salleh-mat salleh kat situ pun sunbathing je.

That was not the only activity. We brought Along, Ain and Apit to another favourite place of theirs, the children's playground nearby. During summer, it was very dusty in the playground. That's why we seldom bring them here. But today it was just nice. So, the three As apa lagi...

Pastu, pegi favourite place Ayah pula he he. Ayah seldom comes here as he is always busy at work or outstation. Tapi sesekali dah berada kat sini, bukan aje Ayah yang seronok main pool, Apit pun sibuk nak main sama walaupun batang pool tu lebih panjang dari dia hi hi...cute je. 8 has always been my lucky number (kebetulan...) and 9 is hubby's favourite number.

Before we 'climbed down', hubby snapped a few photos from the rooftop. Selalu melihat ke atas, sekali sekala seronok gak melihat ke bawah...Interesting, isn't it?

That night, again we climbed up to the rooftop to savour the night view from the top of Al Attar Escala. Except for hubby (who has a lot of hidden fat inside he he), the kids and me had to put on a sweater. It feels like at night in Cameron Highlands. Sangat nyaman dan mententeramkan berada di atas bumbung ni pada waktu malam especially when it is in early winter. Eh eh Uncle Amin dan Auntie Laila pun ada la, diorang selalu naik kat atas bumbung ni waktu malam rupanya...romantik gitu berdua-duaan.

We've made up our mind that we are going to stay here until hubby finishes his contract in another one and a half or two years' time. We have no reason to move out of this place as we like it here. We can have our family recreation without having to spend a lot of money. Most important of all, our kids are happy here.

p/s - Syukur Alhamdulillah...walaupun Ibu Ayah belum dapat nak bawa Along, Ain dan Apit pegi Burj Al Arab untuk ambil gambar tunjuk-tunjuk waktu malam atau pegi makan ikan bakar kat Jumeirah waktu malam tapi Alhamdulillah Along, Ain dan Apit happy. Harap Along, Ain dan Apit faham. Kita belum seswai pegi tempat-tempat macam tu. Sebab kita takda keta (lagi).

Good Luck For SPM!...to all form 5 students

2008-11-11T14:33:00.002+04:00

Today, 11th November 2008, is the first day of SPM examination in all secondary schools in Malaysia. Bahasa Melayu and Sejarah papers start it all. Thank you Pn Basinah (my dear ex-Principal) for informing me through an email. So, all the best to all my dear Form Five students whom I left since June 2008. May you all get flying colours results (including for the subject I taught for just a few months). I believe you all are able to! I'll surely pray for your success from afar.

Also, all the very best of luck for SPM to my niece, Ayu, in Melaka. Along, Ain and Apit say good luck to you.

Tahun ni tak kena jaga periksa SPM (invigilating) because I'm on leave...in a far, far away desertland. Fuhh...selamat...ha ha ha... Well, it's not that bad actually. I'd prefer invigilating for SPM rather than just staying at home for 1 1/2 months school holidays. I get to know many new friends, teachers from other schools. To all my colleagues in school, selamat mengawasi peperiksaan SPM. Bekerja dengan ikhlas ya kawan-kawan...banyak dapat pahala. And soon after that, have to start marking SPM scripts. Again, I am spared the headache of marking essays this year. Aaah legaaa... Tak yah nak pening-pening kepala, migrain burning the midnight oil.

At this time around in November last year, I was busy marking the final exam scripts and preparing the final exam marks for all the classes I taught. Being a class teacher, I had to key in marks for all subjects, prepare the class mark sheet and report cards and 001 cards, and what not...In November this year, I'm here...hoyea...hoyea...enjoying myself before the laptop la la la la...

Macam-macam Apit...

2008-11-09T09:44:00.001+04:00

For the whole last week hubby was around, no outstation to Tehran. Only on Tuesday, he had to fly to Tehran for a day monthly meeting. When Ayah was around Apit apa lagi...ni la cara Apit bermanja dengan Ayah...hi hi

Pastu bila Ayah ada kat rumah, kalau tak dapat apa yang dia nak, dia merajuk lebih sikit dari biasa...

Picturte 1 - Apit cembeng sebab Ayah tak bagi dia makan ais krim. He didn't cry aloud, just a silent one but his face shows that he's really sad...hi hi

Picture 2 - 4 - Dia nak ratah milo tapi Ayah tak bagi. So, dia merajuklah nak tarik perhatian Ayah Ibu. Mula- dia merajuk kat depan bilik, pastu dia beralih merajuk kat belakang kerusi tu sebab kat situ Ayah Ibu could see him clearly...hik hik

The biggest picture - Picture of Apit eating milo. Ayah Ibu tak sampai ati tengok dia majuk so, he got what he so much wanted. Last picture, tersengih puas...

Ayah just flew off to Tehran this morning and will be there until Thursday. As usual, at night Ibu will chat with Ayah through YM. This is when Ibu reports to Ayah about Along, Ain and Apit. Sometimes feels like zaman cintan-cintun dulu pulak hi hi hi. Melepaskan rindu through YM...jauh di mata dekat di hati. Thanks to the technology. Besides Along and Ain, Apit would also want to chat with Ayah (Apit kata 'chit'...he he).

The first row - Apit's pics chatting with Ayah...Walaupun Apit cuma tulis "addfsfffffffffffffff" ataupun main smiley je, Ayah dah cukup rasa terhibur, dapat lepaskan rindu kat Apit. That's how Apit communicates with Ayah.

Second and third row - Apit tengah main kibagames. Ibu terkejut masa Along n Ain pegi sekolah, tiba2 tengok Apit tengah main kibagames. Macam mana dia tau nak on kan laptop and click on kibagames, Ibu pun tak tau...anak zaman IT.

Kalau Ayah takda pegi Iran, Apit punya aktiviti berjalan macam biasa...main, main dan main sampai penat. Dia main sorang2 pun ok asalkan dia happy. Probably he has his own imaginary friends to play with...Atuk2, Nenek, Wan, Mak Long, Mak Ngah and all cousins, tengoklah Apit tengah main 'kombat-kombat' ni...hi hi hi

Setelah penat bertarung main 'kombat-kombat' atau main power rangers, Apit pun apa lagi....ZZzzzzzzz...zzzzzz...tak yah susah2 nak tidokan dia.

As Parents of Raffles IS Students...

2008-11-04T14:00:00.003+04:00

These are the things I do everyday concerning my girls who are studying at Raffles IS...

1). Going To and Coming Back From School

Everyday I have to accompany Along and Ain waiting for their school bus at the lobby downstairs. Most of the time carrying the sleepy Apit . Ya la takkan nak tinggalkan dia tido sorang-sorang kat dalam rumah unless the father is around. At 3.15 - 3.30 pm, I have to wait for Along and Ain downstairs to make sure they get down from the school bus safely. Here, if the kids go to school by bus, they mustn't be left unguarded for both the waiting for or getting down from the bus. What's interesting here is...if they are late in the morning, the school bus will wait. The bus will also wait until parents arrive before letting the kids get down from the bus. Ya la kan...what's the 8000 dhs per year per student for if not for the waiting...he he

2). Everyday Homework

Ini baru homework Ain yang Grade 1 tu, belum lagi homework Along yang Grade 4. Along pun everyday ada homework at least one. So far the most given homework is for the subjects English and Maths. That's fine. When they come back to Malaysia, these two are also important subjects to be learned.

3). Reading Journal

Picture 1 - Along (pink) and Ain's (green) reading journals that I or their father has to check and sign everyday.

Picture 2 - The reading journal's entry. Everyday from Sunday until Thursday Along and Ain have to record the pages/book/article that they have read. Ibu or Ayah's duty is to check whether they really read and then sign. Sometimes I even ask Along and Ain to narrate to me what they have read. Every Thursday, the teacher will check and sign.

Picture 3 - Among the story books that Along has read, either on loan from the school library or own personal book.

Picture 4 - One of the books that Ain reads for her reading journal, on loan from the school library.

4). Reading with Ain/for Spelling Test

Once a week, Ain will be given a high frequency words list. This is to ensure each Grade 1 student practices pronouncing the words as well as spelling them right. Every Tuesday, the teacher will give a spelling test for the words given on the list for that week. So, I have to go through the words list with Ain and make sure she pronounces the words right. Sometimes, I ask her to spell the words orally.

5). Homework Diary (and checking homework)

Picture 1 - Along's homework diary. She brings home this book everyday.

Picture 2 - See everyday she has homework and must jot down there in the respective entry for parents to check and sign. So, every night I've got to check her homework before signing it. If Ayah is around, he will do that job.

Picture 3 - Sometimes a circular on a certain class activity will be attached to a homework diary.

Picture 4 - Grade 1 students are not given a homework diary but just a Post Box. The teacher will put all homework or any circular for parents in this Post Box folder. Sometimes the kids are not aware of what their teacher puts inside the folder. Well...Grade 1 students, what do you expect. That's why every parents are expected to check this folder everyday without fail.

6). Preparing for once a while class/school activity

Once a while, a circular or two is given out to inform parents of certain activities that are conducted in class or school. For this week, Along and her classmates are invited to wear anything spacey to school as it is the end of a topic Space for her Science class. They may even dress up like an alien if they want to this Thursday (Nov 6). Well...I've no idea at all to help Along come up with a space outfit...Hmmm friends out there, have you any idea? I welcome ideas, please...!

WHAT ACTUALLY I AM TRYING TO SAY...

I just don't understand why some people or 'those' people keep complaining that their kids are not given homework, no teacher teaching, can't learn properly because not enough facilities, not up to the expectation and bla...bla...bla...I believe those are all last year's history since it was the school very first year. How can you evaluate a big thing in ONLY one year? Kalau buat research pun tak valid.

Syukur Alhamdulillah...I've never heard of such things since Along and Ain started schooling here in September. What I know is that Along and Ain are happy with the school, the environment, the friends and most of all the teachers. Unless there's a criminal case or a really poor performance in this school, do I have a reason to take them out of here? I as a parent always have to find time to check Along and Ain's books and homework everyday, every night (when 'those' people keep claiming that their kids are not given homework, not up to the so-called 'expectations'...? Hello, are you sure you have checked each and every book of your kid every night?? )

And I am very impressed that Ain's class teacher, Ms Claire, is a masters' holder in education. In Malaysia, a masters holder teach college or university students but here a masters holder is teaching my Grade 1 kid! Isn't that good enough?? Along's class teacher, Ms Kelly, though not a masters holder, is a very experienced teacher with years of experience teaching in a few other countries. So what more should I expect from the school? (Or what MORE should 'those' people expect from the school???!!!)

A lot of activities and meetings with parents have been conducted since the semester started last September. I believe the school is striving hard to be as good as its counterpart in its origin country. There, the school is established and has a good reputation. I believe in the years to come, this school will also get its good name here. Just give them the chance, time and parents' support.

p/s - Probably, I am not good enough to evaluate a school or education. Or maybe I am not the so-called 'elite' people who think that their kids are just too good to be schooled in a certain school. But I'm glad that I am not a 'lalang'. Who am I to judge a school...but excuseeee me, I AM a teacher. Fullstop.

High School Musical 3 as a reward

2008-11-02T11:44:00.001+04:00

As promised, hubby and I brought the kids to watch High School Musical 3 (HSM 3) at Deira City Center. All this while we'd been like 'ignoring' everytime Along hinted to us about HSM 3 and that most of her classmates had watched it. It was supported by Ain everytime Along mentioned about it. Ayah always said to them Nanti Ayah belikan CD ya...Tiket wayang kat sini mahal la 30 inggit, kalau kat Msia 8 inggit je. But since we've promised a reward for their pleasant performance in school, so they deserved to be pleased with what they like...

Friday was a public holiday here in Dubai. A large crowd was expected to be seen at the cinema. There were so many movies playing at the same time. Nasib baik tak termasuk wayang Golmaal Returns (some Hindi or Tamil movie not sure...he he). It was already a long queue when we reached at the ticket counter. Hubby had to spend about half an hour before we managed to get the 7.30pm seats. It wasn't long enough for the three As as they were having a good time at a toys shop nearby.

After having dinner and performing Maghrib payer, we went straight to the cinema. Although Apit's favourite is actually any Disney animated movies, he was as excited as his two sisters. Tak kisah la janji tengok wayang sebab sejak sampai kat Dubai ni belum penah tengok wayang lagi.

Before entering, as usual popcorn and also these Ayah and Along's favourite nachos with cream cheese and very spicy salsa sauce...hmm yummy...

When the movie finished at 9.30pm, we headed to Carrefour for our usual grocery shopping. It was very crowded with people...rimas. At 11.00pm we started queuing up to get a taxi home. It was the longest queue we had experienced here. We only managed to get a taxi at 1.30am!! We reached home at nearly 2.00 am. Thank God, next day was also a holiday.

p/s - What I could say about HSM 3 is that...if it wasn't for Along and Ain, hubby and I wouldn't have chosen to watch this. Hubby showed his boring face most of the time and sometimes almost fallen asleep...hi hi hi. It's not that the movie is not interesting at all but it's just not our taste at this age he he...But I have to admit that the choreography is excellent and the setting is just beautiful. I know I would have chosen this movie as my FIRST on the list movie some 18 or 19 years ago...That was the time when we were at PPP Shah Alam, when New Kids were still On The Block, when we went to watch a movie 'together-gether' with roommates at Subang Parade or REX KL or Cathay KL. Or with ehem...ehem...Now REX or Cathay or NKOTB is already a history.

Ain's Story (part 2)...Along Got It This Time

2008-10-30T21:32:00.001+04:00

1). I brought Ain to Al Raffa Hospital for a second appointment yesterday (29.10.08). Alhamdulillah she's better now although she still feels slightly painful under her navel area. When I wrote the Tuesday entry, I plain forgot that Ain's Mak Long, Mak Ngah and cousins would be reading my blog entry. Forgot to tell them not to worry about Ain. InsyaAllah Ain ok la Mak Long, Mak Ngah...Ha tengok tu Ain dah boleh ketawa, dah boleh jalan, dah boleh main dengan Apit n Along. Tak payah lah bagi tau Atuk n Nenek kat PD dan Atuk n Wan kat Rembau ya. Pegi hospital semalam pun Ain jalan kaki je dengan Ibu, Along n Apit. Ain seronok jalan-jalan waktu petang, tak panas pun.

This Sunday, hubby and I will be taking Ain to Medic Imaging Polyclinic for a scan. Next Wednesday (5.11.08), will be her 3rd appointment with the same paediatrician at Al Raffa Hospital to know the results of the tests on her urine and stool sample. InsyaAllah nothing serious.

2). Last Tuesday (28.10.08) when Ain was on a two-day MC, Along came back from school and excitedly said to me : "Ibu, Along ada surprise untuk Ibu!" Of course I felt curious, "Apa dia?" Once inside the house, Along opened her school bag and take out this certificate...

Whoa..Along was announced Student of the Week at the school assembly that morning!! Syukur alhamdulillah...tercapai juga hajat Along. We know it that she's a strong-willed girl. Seems like Ayah has to think of some kind of reward for her two girls he he. So very elated Along is that she even blogs about it in her own Princess Diary.

3). Parent Teacher Conferences (PTC) at Raffes IS was held yesterday and today (29-30.10.08). Since hubby just landed in DXB last night, we made an appointment to come at PTC this morning: Ain at 8.00 am and Along at 8.20 am.

Syukur Alhamdulillah...the comments from Along and Ain's class teachers and specialist teachers (subject teachers) are all very, very pleasant to our ears. It sometimes made me think that...cikgu-cikgu mat salleh ni memang suka cakap yang positif-positif je ke?? Ikhlas ke apa yang diorang cakap ni?? Here, the class teachers purposely lay each pupil's books and classroom work on his/her own respective desks. The class teacher will show them to parents who come. Looking at all our daughters' exercises and classroom work plus both being the Student of the Week, we had no other choice but got to believe what their teachers had reported. We always pray that Along and Ain will keep up the good work.

Seems like Ayah has to think of a double reward for Along and Ain...!!

Cerita Ain Sakit

2008-10-28T10:59:00.005+04:00

Ain was sick yesterday.

I got a call from Raffles IS clinic at 2.00pm. Ain was sent to the school clinic by her teacher and/or teacher assistant for the second time. She said Ain complaining of stomach ache. The nurse suggested to take Ain for a further check up since she didn't show any signs of usual stomache ache or food poisoning. In fact, there was a swelling under her navel and Ain complained it was painful everytime the nurse pressed her fingers on that area.

The nurse asked if I was going to take her home. I said I've no transport and her father's in Iran now. Reluctantly, I had to let Ain take her school bus home. Furthermore, it was almost time to go home at 2.30 pm and I had to have faith in the assistant on the bus to take care of Ain. I had to. Deep down in my heart...kalau kat Msia dah lama ambil kunci kereta, bukan drive tapi terus 'terbang' ke sekolah anak and take her home safely with me or straight to the clinic.

I tried to call hubby in Tehran. After several attempts, couldn't get hold of him. (What has the US done to Iran's telecommunication systems as it is very very bad! Why on earth did I blame the US...? Because I've nobody, nothing else to blame in this frantic moment...) I left hubby a message to return call a.s.a.p. Hubby did. I told him what happened and asked him what to do. He told me once the school bus arrived, ask the bus driver to take Ain and me and Apit to Al Raffa Hospital nearby. (Along had after school activity and would come back late at 4.40pm). Ya la...what other choice do we have?? The cab won't take us as Al Raffa Hospital is just nearby, about a km away from our apartment. I was thinking of walking to the hospital (plan B) but the painful Ain was not in the condition where she could walk that far.

Almost said ok to the school bus idea...but then when Along reached home at 4.30 - 4.40 pm, nobody would be at home. No, no cancel plan C. Had to think of plan D...

Got no other choice. Had to SOS a friend, the nearest good friend I could think of...Moi, yes Moi and her hubby. Moi's motherly instinct could easily sense my anxious, almost breaking-into-tears voice and feelings. Alhamdulillah, her hubby was willing to help and would come and fetch us at 5pm after Along had reached home. After I hung up, eh tiba-tiba je rasa ada air mengalir kat pipi...

While waiting for Along downstairs, I saw Tini. Ohh she came to send Along, Ain and Apit's milo from Malaysia (but tersilap bawak Iman and Ieam's Nesvita instead). Anyway thank you auntie, Along, Ain and Apit said. Pssst...auntie Tini also had another important mission at this New GOLD Souk building...he he. Upon hearing about Ain, she offered to take us to the hospital as she was free that time. Alhamdulillah...I called Moi right away telling her no need to trouble her hubby since God had sent us this ANGEL!

So, after Along had her meal and Tini had her 'mission' accomplished , off we went to Al Raffa Hospital.

The kind Indian paediatrician said it wasn't appendicitis. Nor was it a hernia. (Ain used to undergo a minor operation for hernia in 2006, that was why I was worried it might be hernia again). Since he couldn't tell the actual cause of pain, he had to do urine and stool test on Ain. For that, we have to come again tomorrow (Wednesday). I also have to make an apointment for a scan at Medic Imaging Polyclinic. After given two types of medicine and an MC, we headed home. It was 8.00 pm when we reached home. Walaupun Ain nampak macam dah sihat boleh jalan kaki balik tapi the kind-hearted Auntie Tini was still willing to wait and send us home. Thank you very much, Auntie Tini. You're sooo very nice!!!, Along, Ain and Apit said.

p/s - To those dear friends: Moi and hubby, Jeda and Nor, thank you so much for your concern. To Tini, semoga Allah s.w.t memudahkan segala urusan anda di muka bumi ini kerana telah memudahkan urusan orang yang berada dalam kesusahan...Amin. We feel very much indebted.

I Feel Soooo Touched (a dedication to my ex-students in USIM)

2008-10-26T21:24:00.001+04:00

I was searching high and low for my other handphone. I found it at last under my pillow on the bed in the master bedroom, not long after Maghrib. Oh my...there were 4 missed calls and a message written :

"Salam Madam..sorry disturb..r u at home? If yes, we want to come.."

The message I received at 10.20 am Dubai time (2.20 pm in Msia) but unfortunately I got to read it only after Maghrib. So, I replied to the sender right away, feeling so much guilty and apologising for not answering the calls and reading the message earlier.

The message came from Fariza, my dear ex-student from USIM (Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia) or previously known as KUIM (Kolej Universiti Islam Malaysia), Nilai, NS and the calls were from her and her few other friends.

"...yes Fariza, I'm at home but afraid that I'm too far away now."

"Td ktrg 5 keta beraya kat Selayang..ingatkan nak gi umah Madam td..tu yang call2 Madam tp x dapat2"

(What...5 keta??) "Aisey...ralatnya dgr. 5 keta pulak tu. Tq for still remembering me n sudi nak dtg beraya. But I'm no longer in Bangi...," I texted her back.

Fariza was surprised when I said I was no longer in Bangi. I felt so guilty for not informing them. But heyy...how would I know they wanted to come to my house because we've never met since end of 2006. I didn't even expect that they would still remember me, though Fariza and a few others were still in touch with me once in a blue moon. I taught them Listening and Speaking and, Reading and Writing when they were in their first year in USIM. Now they're all in their third year (am I right...?).

This bunch of students were once timid lots (still there were a few cheerful talkative ones though) but towards the end of the semester I could see their positive improvement. Not to say they were perfectly accurate but they'd become more confident when using English. Well, they had no choice as the medium of instruction in USIM are English and Arabic which I think would create a positive atmosphere for the students to use English more often, if not intensively. Most of them come from religious/Islamic school or colleges. That could be part of the explanation for their shyness especially their class rep, the guy named 'R.....'. See...Madam could still remember hik hik. 'R.....' ni I could say jenis yang tak pandang perempuan bila bercakap (Kecik ati Madam tau, Madam pakai cantik-cantik mengajar, you tak nak pandang pula...ha ha ha). Sorry guy, I'm kidding!

The whole class used to come to my house during raya 2006. It was our open house which coincided with Apit's 2nd birthday (Ibu's 2 days after). Silap la tak ambil gambar beramai-ramai masa tu. Madam could only get these two pics snapped.

That day I, together with hubby and father-in-law, had to fetch them from Stesen Komuter UKM. But today, they were in 5 cars...did you hear that? Whoa...another positive improvement, good he he. Bila nak bawa Madam jalan-jalan naik keta you all?

What I could say at the moment is I really feel so touched...for being remembered, I really didn't expect this. Anyway, thank you so much my dear ex-students. By just receiving your few sms-es and missed calls, it made my day! I really apprecate that. And this entry is especially dedicated to all of you for still remembering this Madam in this faraway desertland. KIT.

p/s - I shall say this again...I may not be a very good teacher, but when I am being remembered it does tell me something.

Entertaining Guests From Malaysia

2008-10-24T18:29:00.002+04:00

Today we had guests from Malaysia coming to our house. The threee engineers, Dzulrizal, Ezwan and Iskandar, are hubby's colleagues from SONY Msia who came to Dubai on a week business trip. Since today is their last day here and hubby just came back from Tehran yesterday evening, we invited them to come over for lunch.

After bersilat-ing and 'breakdancing' in the kitchen since morning, these are what I prepared for lunch : masak lemak cili api rebung (sejak rasa macam dah terer masak lauk ni, rasa macam nak buat masak lemak cili api rebung selalu jer ha ha ha...), sambal goreng ikan bilis, sayur campur goreng dan, ayam dan udang BBQ. The guys pulak after almost a week tak merasa masakan Melayu, nampak begitu berselera sekali Alhamdulillah.

Since they'd checked out from the hotel in the afternoon after Friday prayer, they continued packing things in our house...including the many souvenirs bought from Naif. Seems like the baggages have been doubled from the time they landed in DXB a week ago. :) Tu yang sampai keluarkan bathroom weighing scale sebab nak estimate kot-kot ada excess baggage...he he

Before departing, sempat posing jap. Ma'ju and Shiela also came as Iskandar is a brother of Ma'ju's best friend.

In fact, the kind-hearted Ma'ju was the one who sent them off to the airport in his newly bought car...hhmm..Eh KP pun ada. Our Mr KP just standby in case terlebih muatan. Sebelum berangkat, sempat posing lagi kat car park tu buat kenang-kenangan kawan-kawan yang balik ke Malaysia tu.

p/s - Ain sleepover kat rumah Nana (anak Shiela and Ma'ju) hari ni. Pantang dipelawa...Apit nangis nak ikut sama he he tapi Ayah Ibu tak bagi. Kat sini budaya sleepover at friends' houses among small kids is common. The kids here really look forward to having one on weekends. :)

Good and bad news

2008-10-22T07:48:00.002+04:00

1). The good news is Ain came back from school yesterday and told me she was announced Student of the Week at Raffles IS school assembly that morning. Along confirmed that. She was given a certificate but wasn't able to show it to me as it was kept by her class teacher, Ms Claire. Probably to be put up on the class or school noticeboard, Along said. Or probably to be kept in her own personal file and later handed to the parents when coming to Parents/Teacher Conference next week. A beam of satisfaction could be seen on her face when I said, "Wahhhh best la Ain!"

Last night, during YM session with her Ayah (in Tehran), she was elatedly proud relating it to her Ayah. Ayah said Ain bangga giler cerita dia dapat Student of the Week award...he he he. It's maybe just a little award but to a small girl like Ain it is really something to boost her motivation. It will give her confidence to do things that she initially thinks she can't.

Actually I myself do not know the criteria taken into consideration in order to be selected as Student of the Week. But I remember Ain telling me a few times especially last week that she's been given stars by teacher/s in school. There was one time when she said she got 10/10 stars...wow! From what I collected and she herself told me she was awarded Student of the Week for behaving in class, being kind to others, sitting properly, being obedient, doing exercises given excellently and neatly, doing extra exercises, and for bringing healthy food from home in the lunchbox as well as sharing the food with friends.

Ayah (through YM) and Ibu told her that she was given the award because teacher/s want her to do better in the future and always be a nice girl. So keep it up. To Along, Ayah and Ibu told her that it's ok if you didn't get Student of the Week award. Maybe next time. Concentrate on the coming term exam as it is more important. Try to score in the exam just like she did when she was in Sek Ren Agama Integrasi, Bandar Baru Bangi. So far Alhamdulillah Along has always made us proud with her academic achievement. We've never failed attending Hari Anugerah Cemerlang ever since she was in kindergarten until she was in Standard 3 to see her being up on the stage to receive one of the best student awards. So, let Ain experience it this time. Along nodded and seemed to understand what we were trying to say. Hope she does the same here. InsyaAllah.

2). My father is not well. His diabetes is getting worse. He'd just been discharged after a few days warded. Patutlah rasa tak sedap hati je semenjak dua menjak ni. I've told hubby a few times nak call Abah but credit VOIPSTUN kitorang dah habis pulak. Hubby pula last week had been busy with SONY exhibition at a hotel here that he had to work till late at night, which he seldom did. So, takda masa nak pegi reload. Bukan boleh reload online kat sini. This week pula, dia ada kat Iran. But I don't blame hubby, I understand.

Nak call pakai handphone too expensive. (Tapi kalau dah emergency, expensive belakang kira). So, bila rasa tak sedap hati terus sms kat Abah tanya kabar. Rupanya memang betul Abah tak sihat. All my sisters and brothers memang berkumpul at my parents' house last week to give moral support. How come nobody informed me? Patutlah lepas solat bila baca doa ibu bapa, a pity look of Abah yang terbayang kat mata. Selalunya masa baca doa tu selalu bayangkan all my four parents and parents-in-law. Tadi Angah baru sms kata Abah dah beransur sihat Alhamdulillah. Mak Abah saja tak nak bagi tau Kamal in Holland and me sebab takut kitorang risau. Kitorang kat sini tak lupa mendoakan dari jauh.

3). We've been telling people we're coming back in July next year. We've been telling friends who ask we're purposely coming back in July not only to see parents, family, the loved ones but also for a certain special occasion. We've been telling friends we're coming back specifically, particularly, purposely in July to join in the supposed-to-be glorious special occasion that makes us feel more thrilled to come back. We plan to buy and bring home many special things from Dubai, not only as souvenirs, but specially for that occasion.

The bad news that we just received last night is that there might be (will be...) no special occasion next year. The special occasion is (might be) off. So sad. Berat mata memandang, berat lagi bahu yang memikul. But heyy we're still coming back to see our beloved parents, family and friends...of course. Can't wait to see them all though not necessarily have to be in July, maybe later, earlier or for raya...

p/s - Jodoh pertemuan, ajal maut di tangan Tuhan. God knows better what's (...or who's) best for you. Be strong ya!

Masak Lemak Cili Api Rebung Dengan Ikan Kembung

2008-10-20T17:39:00.000+04:00

For the FIRST time in my life, I cooked masak lemak cili api rebung dengan ikan kembung after almost 12 years I got married.

Sebelum ni mana pernah terfikir nak masak lauk ni sebab nak kena perah santan lagi, tak pandai nak basuh rebung nak hilangkan bau dia, tak pandai buat masak lemak la dan macam-macam alasan lagi yang boleh dicipta. Lagipun apa susah kan...kedai banyak boleh beli kat kedai je. Takpun bila balik kampung PD or Rembau, cakap ngan mak teringin nak makan lauk ni, lauk tu, pastu mak tak sampai ati dengar mesti dia masakkan. Dah berada di perantauan ni haa...baru tau tinggi rendahnya langit ni. Teragak nak makan, semua kena buat sendiri...padan muka aku! No reason, reason anymore...har har har

Furthermore, hubby was around for the whole last week, so masak sedap-sedap la especially hubbys's fave. If hubby goes outstation, tinggal ngan anak-anak I masak simple-simple je.

Kat sini, ada jual rebung dalam tin. In Malaysia I never bothered to find out whether this canned rebung is available or not. Maklum la tak penah masak rebung...Kat Malaysia, selalu jumpa kat pasar jual dalam plastik dan baunya pun lebih kuat dari yang dalam tin tu. Rebung dalm tin tu sebuku besar so, kenalah hiris nipis-nipis sendiri. I guna santan kelapa perah tau! Santan peket ke, santan tin ke, santan ready made ke tak main aah (cheh eksyen...). So, inilah hasilnya. Alhamdulillah hubby suka. Dia bagi 9/10! Ni kalau mak mertuo esey raso ni agak-agak la bule tak dapek 9/10 ni aah...ha ha ha. Memang lah tak boleh challenge yang mak mahupun mak mertuo masak tapi kalau hidangkan lauk masak lemak rebung ni untuk mak mertuo makan kira tak lah malu...hi hi hi

Besides that, I also made BBQed seafood and chicken wings for dinner last night. But I didn't use BBQ pit, just grilled it in the oven. Resepinya...belajar dari Ibu Febrianti. Tu lah hasil kitorang berpiknik Jumaat lepas, dapat belajar resepi baru. Best, memang best resepi BBQ Ibu Febrianti ni. Yang lagi best, salin resepi through YM session...he he. Wanita zaman moden kann...

Bawang merah, bawang putih, jintan manis, jintan putih, serai sikit (yang serai ni I gabungkan idea dari Jeda, tq), cili mesin sikit, garam dan bubuh kicap manis banyak-banyak.

Jintan manis dan jintan putih ni lagi satu...Honestly speaking, I tak penah masak guna jintan-jintan ni sebelum ni. That explains why until now I'm still condused which one is which...cumin and fennel...jintan manis dan jintan putih...Tak kisah la tu tapi orang kata kalau masak guna jintan kena bubuh dua-dua sekali. Oh ya ke? How come I never knew before...? hi hi hi

Lepas tu, perap for at least 2 hours. I mixed all the chicken wings, squids and prawns together in one bowl and marinated them with the blended herbs and onion. Then, I grilled them all in the oven. Tarraaa....

Memang sedap banget resepi Ibu Febrianti ni! So yummilicious that you should try...Thank you so much my friend. The chicken wings were so juicy, the squids and prawns were so tender, all deliciously well-marinated...and the aroma could kill. Hubby gave me the thumbs up for the BBQed seafood and chicken wings as well...another 9/10! he he he...

So, this is our menu for last night's dinner. Tambah satu lagi lauk...kari sardin. Yang ni anak-anak suka. Alhamdulillah kenyang banget...

Bercanda Di Pasiran Pantai...Al Mamzar Park

2008-10-19T07:15:00.004+04:00

Last Friday, we went for a picnic at Al Mamzar Park, Deira. Five families altogether. Since we left Malaysia four months ago, we'd never had a picnic and stepped our feet on a sandy beach. But today, it materialized. Along, Ain and Apit especially were enjoying themselves. Being at this Al Mamzar Beach somehow made them feel closer to their kampung and Atuk Nenek in Port Dickson.

Mommies, Riri, Nor, Jeda, Moi and yours truly, while preparing for the food and drinks, apalagi sok sek, brok brek, brok brek...

While waiting for their fathers to finish their BBQ session at some designated place nearby, the kids wouldn't want to waste time...

The fathers, Imran, Fazil, Norris and my hubby, supervising all the small kids in the water (konon...hi hi hi) while they themselves having a great time swimming in the sea. Ok sangat le tu...so that the mommies could continue with the brok brek session with no disturbance...huh heavennn...hi hi hi. Mahadi couldn't be seen in the pics as he was not really well that day. My hubby and Norris tengah menengok-nengok ikan-ikan kat dalam air tu. Unlike PD beach, the water here is very clear and the beach is very clean and well-maintained.

The makan-makan session...

Nasi lemak, fried meehoon, the BBQed chicken wings, drumsticks, squids and prawns (very delectably unresistable I tell you!! Very well marinated...air tangan Riri Mahadi and Zaida for the chickens). I brought well, what else...my signature dish kek batik marie la plus coleslaw and potato salad air tangan Chef Haza...Nor pula bawa teh tarik...sedaaap...hilang rindu kat teh tarik mamak. Eh lupa nak cakap...kuih koci pun ada.

Adegan-adegan yang ingin anda saksikan : Alaa cute nya Ieam....

Telatah anak-anak...

Gambar-gambar ni semua untuk tatapan Atuk, Nenek, Wan, Tok Wan, mak-mak sedara dan pak-pak sedara kanak-kanak riang ni. Tataplah puas-puas wajah-wajah comel yang dirindui ni...

Atuk-atuk, Nenek, Wan, don't worry ya InsyaAllah we're doing fine here. We miss you so much!!! Nanti balik Rembau, kita mandi kat Pedas Wet World ya Atuk ngan Wan. Kita balik PD, nak mandi kat laut PD lak sambil makan roti canai Motai dengan Atuk Nenek kat pantai Bagan Pinang tu. Nanti la tahun depan ya Atuk-atuk, Nenek dan Wan...

Let's Wear Pink Today...

2008-10-16T05:13:00.002+04:00

Along and Ain were very excited this morning as they can wear their favourite colour pink to go to school today. Raffles IS is having Breast Cancer Awareness Day and therefore invites all students to participate in a pink 'mufti day' (no school uniform) today as they are raising money for Breast Cancer Research.

Students who do so will be asked to donate AED 10 which will be given to cancer research in the UAE. For the ten dirham donation, they will get a pink frosted cupcake which Along, Ain and many other small kids in the world would love so much to eat.

As many of us know, October is observed as the Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM). It is an annual international health campaign organised by major breast cancer charities to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into the cause, prevention and cure for breast cancer. The campaign also offers information and supports to those affected by breast cancer as well as providing a platform for breast cancer charities to raise awareness of their work and of the disease. BCAM is also a prime opportunity to remind women to be breast aware for earlier detection.

Last night I asked Ain : Why do you have to wear pink tomorrow?

She answered : Teacher kata sebab cancer.

I asked again : What cancer? Who got cancer?

Innocently she replied : Haa...tak tauuuu. Tapi teacher kata pakai pink and blue jeans.

(kih kih kih...)

It's probably a bit too early for a seven-year-old to understand what a breast cancer is. But if the school or every organisation around is concerned enough by holding charity events relevant, somehow or rather it will make children curious and if it is held every year, sooner or later the children will understand and develop awareness in them for early detection. If not for they themselves, at least they can help remind their mothers, grandmothers, aunties and big sisters to do self breast exam. At a more advanced level, don't be surprised if your kids may even suggest to you mothers, grandmothers, aunties and sisters to go for a mammography screening for early detection of breast cancer.

Click here for other ways we can celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Day.

p/s - Orang tua-tua kata, melentur buluh biar dari rebungnya...

Raya 'Camel Trophy' at Ajman...and Oud Metha

2008-10-14T05:56:00.000+04:00

Just like in Malaysia, Malaysians in Dubai seem to be celebrating Eid for a month. We received another open house invitation on Friday Sept 10th and this time it was at Ajman. What's unique about this open house is it is a combination of three hosts: Afandi/Suraya, Kak Sharifah/Abg Mustafa and Kak Faridah/Abg Musa and there were 2 sessions : from 1-4pm and from 4-7pm. So, just imagine the exodus of people coming. It was our first time going to Ajman. So, berkonvoilah 7, 8 kereta sekali. We ols ikut je.

The way to Mr Afandi and Suraya's house was really an interesting adventure in a desert. We could see camels along the way just like we saw buffaloes on our way back to Rembau. Along, Ain and Apit were very excited to see many camels around. Unfortunately, hubby's H50 was not ready to capture any pics as he himself didn't expect to see many many camels along the way. Upon reaching Afandi/Suraya's house, we saw a friend's sedan car stucked in the sand nearby. Some of the men got off the car and gave their helping hands. That's why I said it was like a 'camel trophy' adventure. I whispered to hubby...see we have a GOOD reason to consider getting a SUV or a four wheel drive, no more sedan because we are living in a desert...Alhamdulillah, semuanya selamat juga sampai ke destinasi.

Tengoklah rumah Mr Afandi and Suraya ni memang tengah padang pasir...

Alhamdulillah...kenyang macam-macam makanan dapat makan. Yang paling best, dapat makan mee udang yang mee nya Kak Sharifah buat sendiri...(kalau tak silap la). Maklumla bukan senang nak dapat mee kat sini.

On Saturday, we got another invitation to Moi's house at Oud Metha. Even though not as many people coming as the open house in Ajman, it was more merrier because we had longer quality time to chit-chat. The best thing is we ols ni sekepala, kira boleh sekapal la...especially the five of us as in the last pic on the right tu. Walaupun berlima tapi gempaknya mengalahkan penuh serumah, riuh...bapak-bapaknya pun boleh tahan gak. Anak-anak toksah citer la. These pics can tell...

The kids were also having a great time just like their fathers and mothers...port biasa diorang, dalam bilik.

Thank you to those friends for the invitation, the delicious food served and your hospitality. Terima kasih daun keladi, tahun depan jemput lagi ya. :))

A Week Recap - Sunday (5.10.08) to Thursday (9.10.08)

2008-10-10T23:08:00.002+04:00

Sunday (5.10.08) - Along and Ain's First Lunchbag To School

The new semester for school kids in Dubai this year started on 1st September which coincidentally fell on the 1st day of Ramadhan. Because of that, I did not need to prepare meals for Along and Ain's lunchbags since both of them were fasting. Alhamdulillah cukup sebulan. They were complaining, "Kalau ada kat Malaysia, mesti Atuk dan Wan dengan Atuk dan Nenek bagi extra duit raya sebab puasa habis". To make it up to it, their father had promised to get them lunchbags of their own choice and a wristwatch each. What are parents for if not to make their children happy...

So, since early Ramadhan everytime we went to Carrefour, they'd been eyeing for the many mostly pink lunchbags. Well...you could easily tell girls' taste. And they'd also been observing the kind of food their friends or classmates brought to school. (Maklumlah bukan aje anak-anak mat salleh tu je yang tak puasa, anak-anak Pak Arab tu pun majoriti tak puasa!) When they came back, they reported to me...he he so that, I'd have an idea of the kind of food to prepare for their lunchbags. At least, I was spared the headache of having to think of what food to prepare for their meals in school. So, since today is the first day of school after Ramadhan, Along and Ain excitedly bring their lunchbags to school. I made their favourite french toast with cheese. I also put in their lunchbags some cut apples and a box of fruit juice each. I guess that would be ample for the first day. If not, I'd have to add more menu in their lunchbox the next day...

Monday (6.10.08) - Along Gave Us A Shock Of Our Life!

Along had her first after school activity today. She has signed up for Environment Club and the activity is held every Monday from 2.30-3.30pm. Therefore, instead of taking the usual 2.30pm bus home, she had to take the 4.00 o'clock late bus. However, after she had texted me for the third time since 4.07pm telling the bus had not arrived and she was the only one waiting there, I was panicked. Could she have missed the bus..? I called the 2.30 pm bus driver asking whether he was going back to school to fetch my daughter, he said he was heading home and his shift had finished. I called hubby in Tehran asking him to give a call to the staff from Diamond Lease about the late bus. At that critical moment, I couldn't even find the number of either Diamond Lease nor the school reception counter! The person in-charge said the late bus had left at 4.10pm and according to him, the coordinator for after school activity had made sure that no one was left behind before the bus left!!! . How come?? My daughter texted me at 4.07 pm...meaning she was around before the bus left.

I tried to call Along wanting to tell her to just wait there and not go anywhere but she did not answer even after a few attempts, even from her father in Tehran. I was horribly worried, especially when thinking of girl kidnapping cases in Malaysia! OMG. Hubby's far away in Tehran, my house is far from school and I've no transport to fetch her. I wanted to take a cab but it might take me more than an hour to wait for a cab and reach school, and in that one hour, anything could possibly happen to her. And what if I were already in a cab, she managed to catch a school bus and already on her way home. I wouldn't know since I couldn't get hold of her. I could only leave her a message more than once telling her to please, please, please return call.

After being restless and boiled in a hot soup for nearly an hour, she at last returned my call at 4.50 pm telling she was already on another school bus and on the way home. Phewww...thank God. When Along reached home at around 6.00pm, I hugged her, avoided to even ask her about the incident and let her rest first.

That night, she related to me that her class teacher, Ms Kelly, saw her alone and took her to the reception counter. There, a helper from another school bus took her and brought her home. If only I had a driving licence and own transport, I would have sent and fetched my daughters from school (just like my routine in Malaysia) and did not have to unnecessarily go through all these hassles. Or should I put it this way...if only the Dubai government did not make our life difficult by making it damn difficult to get a driving licence!!! What an experience...

p/s - Syukur Alhamdulillah anakku selamat...

Tuesday (7.10.08) - At Last I Received 2 Raya Cards!

Everyone knows raya e-cards and sms-es are in-trend now although snail mail raya cards still do apply. So, I never expected to get any especially when I'm far from home and people might forget me or may think twice to send raya cards via air mail as it is more costly. This afternoon while waiting for Along and Ain coming back from school, I simply went to the guard's counter and checked if there was any mails for us, so far there was none. I was surprised when I saw two white envelopes with my name on them. I opened them and they were these brown and green raya cards. One from a good friend, Fuzah and another one from my loyal ex-student, Lim Leong Chye. This boy I taught when he was in Form 5 in 2006. We've been in touch ever since he left school although as far as I remember he never talked to me in class! hi hi...Thanks a zillion you two. The raya cards really made my day. I really appreciate it.

p/s - The sentimental value of the snail mail raya cards couldn't just be compared with the latest trend...

Wednesday (8.10.08) - Layan Sindarella the whole day

Thought of updating my blog today but suddenly I just felt like logging on tv3.com to keep me updated with the latest shows on TV3. I saw Sindarella and only then I remember that I had missed the last few episodes. I had been the fan of this series before leaving for Dubai on June 13th. So, layanlah Sindarella that day from episode 17 or 18 can't remember. Ingat nak tengok sikit-sikit je tapi terrrtengok till the very last episode pulak...! Apalagi esoknya sampai merah-merah mata tak cukup tido sebab layan Sindarella sampai tengah malam...sampai tak cukup tidur. Ha ha ha...tak penah buat keja ni before.

p/s - I enjoyed the most episode 21 which was aired on June 24. So cute and romantic...very the!! (Ingat nak embed the video kat sini, tak reti pulak).

Thursday (9.10.08) - Hubby's coming back from Teheran...

Waiting for my beloved to come back from Tehran...

Happy World Teachers' Day

2008-10-06T22:51:00.003+04:00

I received an sms yesterday from someone I used to work with saying "SELAMAT HARI GURU". I was puzzled as yesterday was 5th Oct and not 16th May, the day we always celebrate in school . I replied to the person sending the message :

"Tq but wonder why you text me SELAMAT HARI GURU? I suppose you mean Selamat Hari Raya...".

"Today is world teachers' day," his short and sweet confident answer surprised me when I was about to think that he had wrongly typed the message.

"Really?? How come I never knew...." I asked back. "Probably because I'm now a domestic engineer, no longer a teacher...at the moment," my 'nak cover line' answer.

Still not satisfied, I googled World Teachers' Day right away and among the things I found are the themes for each year since it was inaugrated in 1996. The theme for this year 2008 is :

Deep inside...shame on me...shame on me...a teacher not knowing a world teachers' day....? Hello my TEACHER friends out there...how come I've never received any world teachers' day greetings from any of you before? Errr...I myself have never greeted any of my TEACHER friends on world teachers' day as I myself was never aware of it...! hi hi

Interestingly, this world teachers' day greeting that I got comes from a non-teacher friend...my ex-boss...a corporate figure @ a successful businessman...our kind-hearted YDP PIBG (I was his very dedicated secretary then..he he..before coming to Dubai). Thank you so much 'Mr A'. Thank you for still remembering me in this far far away desertland. I know you may not be reading this (because you do not know) but if you ever accidentally come across this entry of mine, I want you to know that I really appreciate this first time in my life world teachers' day greeting!

p/s - To all my TEACHER friends : Happy (belated) World Teachers' Day!

Special RAYA Entry - 1st Raya (Tue 30.9.08) to 4th Raya (Fri 3.10.08)

2008-10-05T12:34:00.002+04:00

Today is Sunday. Hubby was off to Teheran until Thursday, and Along and Ain were off to school this morning after a week raya break. After a long 'blogging' raya break, I'm now before my laptop updating and reporting the glorious raya celebrations here in Dubai.

Yes, we should expect the unexpected...but my first ever raya celebration away from home is really something that I didn't expect. It is one of the most glorious raya celebrations I've ever had. Only pictures could describe how glorious it is...

1st RAYA - To 5 open houses :

1). Raya Breakfast at Abang Fudzail and Kak Azma's House (At Twar 3)

Abang Fudzail (in dark blue baju Melayu) is one of the most respectable Malaysians here in Dubai. He, a famous blogger in Malaysia, and his wife, Dr Azma (in black), are very down to earth couple and we really felt at home being in their house.

2). Pak Payne's House (Arabian Ranches)

Pak Payne (in purple baju Melayu) is another respectable man among Malaysians in Dubai. He's our Penghulu in fact.

3). Kak Jah's House (Mirdiff)

Kak Jah and husband, Abang Azman, are one of our Malaysian seniors in Dubai.

4). Riri's House (Sharjah)

My ever friendly blogger friend Riri (wearing glasses) and husband, Mahadi, also invited us to their house.

5). Zaida/Imran's House (Uptown Mirdiff)

The friendliest couple in Dubai, none other than my colleague Zaida with hubby Imran, also 'opened' their house for us that night.

2nd RAYA :

1). Neighbours came over to our abode. We were glad to have shared our raya special dishes with this group of orang-orang bujang and 'bujang sementara' .

2). At Nor and Fazil's house (Al Nahda)

3). At Abd Karim and Salina's house (Al Mizha)

This is the most grand raya open house in Dubai so far. There were a lot variety of food including Salina's own signature dish laksa Sarawak.

3rd RAYA : Another neighbours came over to our house. Too busy eating and chit-chatting that we forgot to snap pics.

4th RAYA : At Ziela/Haza Hilmy's open house

Our very own open house...

The first entourage, Kak Jah's family arrived

The next rombongan Cik Kiah...Zaida and the gang

Alhamdulillah our cute abode could accomodate these so many people. But we're really sorry friends if there's any inconveniences. We're so delighted to have served you friends. For those who couldn't make it, we still have 3 more weeks before Zulqaedah coming...

Our very last guests that night

Thank you very much friends for making my raya day and all the raya treats and invitations. We also feel very grateful and indebted to those ANGELS who have lent us their helping hands. May Allah bless you all.

p/s - Penat beraya rupanya tapi sangat menyeronokkan. Betul kata sesetengah orang...pengalaman beraya di perantauan is NOT bad at all! Seronok dan meriah. Mungkin lebih meriah dari di tempat sendiri, cuma ibu bapa famili terdekat je yang takda.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI

2008-09-29T22:22:00.001+04:00

Kami di Dubai beraya pada 30.9.08 bersamaan Selasa.

8.05 malam - baru dapat tau esok raya!

8.20 malam - dlam keadaan terkejut, baru terhegeh-hegeh pegi pasar beli daging dan ayam dll.

10.30 malam - sampai rumah terus masak

At the moment, kuah soto tengah berjerang atas dapur dan baru lepas menggentel begedil.

Nak tido dulu, esok 5.30 nak sambung. Dubai sembahyang raya 6.30 pagi.

Akan di updatekan kemudian...

My Only and 'Most Expensive' Raya Card This Year...

2008-09-29T06:29:00.001+04:00

Last Thursday (25.9.08) was the last day of schooling for school kids in Dubai before having their 9-day Eid Mubarak break. Along came back from school today and took out a white envelope written 'To: My Mother ' . She handed the envelope to me with a smiling and proud face. I wonder what was inside and I opened it in no time. This was the content of the envelope...

Wowwee...it was so beautiful! I was so impressed the moment I saw this colourful beautifully created card.

Mana Ayah punya kad raya?

Takda. Teacher kata buat untuk mother dulu. Along buat dalam Art class tadi.

Nanti Ayah merajuk nanti...(luckily Ayah was not around. He was in Lahore that time).

Tak...Teacher kata untuk father buat kemudian.

Actually this wasn't the first time she created a card for me. The last time she made one was during Mother's Day in May...

That time her father was also not around as he was off to Teheran for a month biztrip. Just imagine how I felt...the father wasn't around but it was not the reason for the kids to forget Mother's Day celebration. They did not need to be reminded to make their mother happy. When Along and Ain handed this pink card written 'TO: OUR MOTHER (Nor Azilah)The beautiful mum!' and a cute gift to me, I was so very touched! More than words could describe...

Thank you Sayang, you've made my day...

p/s - Yes, this is the only raya card I received this year, 1429H. However, with the advancement of technology, I've received several raya e-cards and insyaAllah will be receiving lots more raya sms-es by this Wednesday...Thank you (in advance) family and friends out there for the raya e-cards and raya sms-es sent. It makes my day, albeit the sentimental value just couldn't be compared to the snail mail raya cards. With the advancement of technology, I shouldn't feel disheartened...!

28th Day of Iftar...without hubby

2008-09-28T19:46:00.002+04:00

Hubby was off to Teheran this morning right after sahur. He's been at home with us this whole week. Today, he's got to attend his monthly meeting in Teheran and will be back tonight. With hubby not around, a simple meal for iftar would suffice for me and the kids..

I cooked 'nasi goreng bodoh' as a friend of mine would call it to refer to a very simple (but still delicious) fried rice with less perencah inside. Then fried some keropok ikan as Apit insisted to have it. Not that bad an idea since keropok ikan can go well with the fried rice. As I had some sweet potato left in the kitchen, I made cek mek molek. Along loves eating it and last but not least, I made the colourful bubur biji nangka. Hmm...Alhamdulillah simple but I'm still full the moment I'm writing this.

27th Day of Iftar

2008-09-27T22:14:00.004+04:00

As we are approaching the end of Ramadhan, the more we feel like having just a simple iftar. Our menu for today is hubby's signature dish, spaghetti. Our kids all love it. Frankly speaking, I cannot cook spaghetti as good as hubby. Hubby's spaghetti has always been 'menu wajib' for our open house, apart from my Puding Jagung Koktail Berkuah and Kek Batik Marie, and also the must-eat menu among his friends who come. Besides spaghetti, I made cucur udang and ox tail soup to add to our simple iftar. Then Along asked for kuih gelang @ keria, since we had sweet potato in the kitchen, so there goes kuih gelang.

To tell the truth, actually I've never made kuih gelang before. However, my parents used to sell kuih-muih when I was small and the kuih-making sight is nothing new to me. I guess that explains why I seem to know how to make certain kuih when I myself have never kept the recipe. When we were small, we also never missed having evening tea and there must've been some kuih made for us either by my mother, my eldest sis or even my father. I'm proud to tell that my father is also good at making kuih. In fact, I learned how to make gula sira for kuih keria from my father. My father used to tell "...tunggu sampai gula tu 'kanting', baru masukkan kuih". Until now, I've never bothered to look up the meaning of the word 'kanting' from Kamus Dewan, but what I know that's the word my father used to use when describing gula sira for kuih gelang.

Happy Eid ul Fitr

2008-09-26T20:18:00.000+04:00

Sometimes We Just Don't Feel Like Eating Rice for Iftar and Sahur

2008-09-24T11:09:00.000+04:00

I did not know why suddenly I felt like I wasn't in the mood to cook. I sms to hubby asking "Yang, any idea for iftar?'. Hubby too had no idea of what to eat for iftar. "Order je la." Ha ha...that's exactly what I wanted to hear. So, for iftar today, we had fried chicken and apple pie ordered from Southern Fried Chicken (SFC), the Dubai version of KFC.

Ain had fish n chips, Apit with his favourite fries (he could have all by himself) and Along with her favourite pizza cheese.

The day before, we also had something else other than rice for iftar. Hubby and the kids love eating burger, so Chef Haza took over the kitchen that Tuesday preparing for the whole family.

On Saturday (20.9.08), we had pizza for sahur. We bought the ready made dough at Carrefour MOE on Friday after coming back from Ramadhan bazaar. It was a plain dough with only tomato sauce spread on it. We garnished it with more tomatoes, onion and sprinkled more cheese and there it was...the super supreme pizza for sahur.

Sprinkling more mozarella cheese...

The smell of the baked pizza could make the kids' eyes wide open for sahur . An unusual sight to be seen during sahur time.

Iftar...Some Life Experiences...

2008-09-23T07:10:00.000+04:00

We went to Maxim supermarket last Saturday to buy some groceries. Strolling in the evening to the 1 km away supermarket might be challenging enough for the fasting Ain. But jalan-jalan punya pasal, she was just excited. Furthermore, it's the end of September which means the heat isn't as maddening as when it was in July or August. So there we went from our green and yellow striped apartment building.

There were some interesting life experiences that we managed to capture on the way to Maxim. As we passed by the mosque, we saw a few people (could be the AJK Masjid or volunteers) busy spreading plastic mat in the open area in front of the main entrance to the mosque. Some were seen putting boxes of orange drink, mineral water, dates and bananas on the mat, while some others were seen carrying more dates and more boxes of drinks. This sight really attracted Along, Ain and Apit as they'd never seen this in Malaysia. Ain, as seen in on of the pics with her favourite yellow winnie the pooh bag, looking on curiously. What are they doing and who's going to eat and drink all these. Along, Ain and Apit kept asking. I did not know, probably the poor or any musafir or just anybody but obviously they were preparing for iftar. I wonder if on the way back we could drop by and have iftar here if we happened to pass by this area in time of Maghrib azan...he he. Well, let's see...

When we arrived here at around 6.10 pm on the way back, this was what we saw. The place was already packed with people, all men. It seemed that no rezeki for us to even sniff the food there...he he. Looking at their faces, we could tell that they were the more unfortunate people than us and they deserved that free iftar, not us.

Iftar was at 6.21 pm and we had a few more minutes before we could reach home and have iftar on our own. Upon arriving, sempat panaskan roti Arab on the frying pan with butter and the smell was so mengancam. This Arab bread is my kids' newly found favourite bread. So,that evening we had simple but delicious iftar with roti Arab cicah kari daging campur dhal and bubur lambuk that I cooked the day before. (My mom said jangan membazir...). Kenyang Alhamdulillah.

Later that night, I baked Dates and Raisin Bread Pudding sebab dah tak sabar nak makan puding ni. This is the newly learned recipe that I got from a friend in Sungai Kurus. Amacam...jadi tak puding roti I Teacher? Out of 5, agak-agak berapa markah Teacher nak bagi? Alhamdulillah, hubby and the kids gave the thumbs up...sodaaapp he he he.

We are really, really grateful even though we had simple iftar with no rice (because we chose not to have), it could be so lavish as compared to the iftar that this group of labour workers had when we saw them on the way back from Maxim.

I just couldn't imagine these Pakistani workers, who had to work from morning to evening under the scorching hot sun of Dubai, just had watermelon for iftar to cover up the energy they had lost during the daylight. It was really a very touching experience that I've seen. If only we were having some decent food at hands that time, we'd surely give it all to them. Unfortunately, what we had in hands were flour, uncooked roti paratha and fresh vegetables. The curious Apit and Ain asked...kenapa orang tu makan tembikai je, kenapa dia tak beli makanan lain, kenyang ke orang tu makan tembikai, orang tu takda duit ke nak beli...

Hubby and I made it a point to show Along, Ain and Apit how very fortunate they are for always having enough food unlike the 'uncles' that they saw before their eyes. So, stop grumbling if Ibu prepares food that does not fulfill their likings. The kids were in total silence as if they could understand the situation. Hopefully they do and learn something.

22.9.08 (Mon) - Iftar With Friends

2008-09-22T20:46:00.000+04:00

Today we break fast with a few friends at our abode. Two of them are going back to Malaysia to celebrate Eid Al Fitr with their beloved family. Since they may not be attending our open house this coming raya (if we were to hold one), so we invited them to our house for iftar. I wanted to invite more friends but unfortunately the limited space of the abode couldn't accomodate too many at a time. InsyaAllah, there will always be a next time.

After breaking fast with drink, dates and some kuih, the husbands had Maghrib prayer together at the living hall while the wives performed the prayer in the room.

We continued with more heavy food after solat. Alhamdulillah our dining table was full with yummilicious food that night, some brought by friends. Jeda brought Ayam Masak Kicap, Tini with her special mutton curry, Shiela brought with her kuih sagu biji and Riri baked her delicious kuih bakar pisang. Those added to the list of my own cooking - fried vegetables, sambal goreng ikan bilis with potato and tempe, fried chicken for the kids, fried meehoon and my mom's mouth-watering pajeri nenas. Also not to forget my signature dish, Puding Jagung Koktail Berkuah and Kek Batik Marie plus the newly learned recipe Dates and Raisin Bread Pudding. We ate and talked, ate and talked till one of the hubbies had to remind ber babbly wife that it was time to go back...hi hi hi. This was her answer, "Ala...tak nak lah." So cute! ha ha ha. It was really fun chit-chatting that we didn't realize time flew. Furthermore, this was the first time we could really have a long chat with each other for all this while we've been communicating most of the time through our 'cyber world'.

While mommies and daddies were chit-chatting, the kids also had their own activity. Apit was so happy because all this while he's been seeing a lot of girl friends. This time he could play his bicycle and gun with his new power rangers friend, Andri. His sisters were playing in the bedroom with Nana, Iman and Ieam.

"See...our mommies and daddies were busy talking, talking and talking...," complained the two cutey Debots - Aryan and Dina.

Well...what else to do before departing...all the mama vogue posing la. From left: Riri, Tini, Jeda, Shiela and yours truly. How 'cyber world' can bring us close together...

Kuih Raya Dah Siap Dah...!

2008-09-20T12:38:00.000+04:00

Last Wednesday, we received this box from Malaysia through a friend who came back to Malaysia for a biztrip. Upon hearing Uncle A nak hantar ke rumah, Along, Ain dan Apit dah terus berlari buka pintu, Ain siap pegi ke lif nak tunggu kotak dari Uncle tu. As usual, bila kotak dah sampai, bebudak ni lah yang paling excited, tak sabar nak tengok apa kat dalam...

Haa...yang ni mula-mula diorang terkam sebab dah tau Mak Ngah diorang kat Melaka tu nak kirim buku cerita dan majalah untuk Along, Ain, Apit dan Ibu. Ayah punya je takda...sebab Ayah tak main baca majalah bahasa Melayu, Ayah baca MU magazine jer...Terima kasih Mak Ngah!

Another 10 more days to go!!! Kuih raya dah siap dah...semua kuih-muih tradisional lagi. Terima kasih Atuk dan Nenek kat Port Dickson, Atuk dan Wan kat Kota, Rembau dan Mak Long di Lukut, Port Dickson kerana sudi mengirimkan kuih-muih raya tradisional ni untuk anak cucu dan anak saudara di sini.

Atuk dan Nenek kirimkan Along, Ain dan Apit serta Ibu Ayah kuih sepit ni. Kekadang orang panggil kuih gulung atau kuih kapit (especially yang bentuk kon leper tu) or sometimes called 'love letters'. Atuk Nenek tau Along, Ain dan Apit suka kuih ni...very crispy.

Atuk Nenek macam tau-tau je kuih lidah jin ni favourite Along. Terima kasih Atuk Nenek! Kalau pergi rumah Nenek Chik kat Kuala Sg Baru, Melaka tu, Along mesti nak makan kuih ni banyak-banyak. Nenek Chik tak pernah miss buat kuih ni.

Kuih buah rotan aka buah redan ni pun Nenek Chik selalu buat. Ingat lagi masa kecil-kecil dulu, mak dan Along selalu gak buat kuih ni pakai tepung pulut (err ke tepung beras...?) serta santan dan gula. Masa tu sekolah rendah, I pun seronok tolong menggentel kuih ni. Bukan susah pun, gentel bulat-bulat, gelekkan dengan bijan dan goreng. Rangup dan sedap. Yang keras je tak sedap.

Haa...yang ni pula favourite Ain...kuih baulu. Apit kata kuih 'ballu'...he he he cute jer. Masa call Atuk semalam, Ain kata kat Atuk "Terima kasih Atuk bagi kuih baulu...Ain suka kuih baulu." "Laa..ya ke? Kalau Atuk tau Atuk hantar baulu banyak-banyak lagi."

Yang ni pula kuih gunting. Nenek Chik bebudak ni kat Kuala Sg Baru tu tiap-tiap tahun buat. Nenek Chik tau kitorang semua suka kuih gunting dia...cukup dengan rasa udang kering dan rempah-rempahnya serta rangup dan tak keras. Kekadang I buat muka seposen siap minta tapau lagi! Bukan tak boleh beli kat tempat lain tapi yang Nenek Chik diorang ni buat menepati citarasa.

Kuih gunting ni kalau nak buat pun bukan susah sangat. Tak payah nak terap-terap, main gunting jer. Selain daripada dah banyak kemudahan 'tunjuk-menunjuk' kuih raya kat luar sana sekarang ni, kitorang dah lama tak buat kuih ni sebab ada nostalgia pahitnya yang tersendiri...! Masa kitorang adik-beradik kecil-kecil dulu, Along pernah buat kuih gunting ni. Sedap memang sedap tapi sampai bergaduh-gaduh nak buat kuih gunting. Sebabnya...mula-mula tu semua excited nak tolong menggunting tepung kuih gunting ni tapi bila dah lama duduk menggunting penat. Dah la puasa. So, masing-masing tinggal la. Tinggallah orang yang sama aje duduk menggunting. Mana orang tu tak mengamuk, sakit pinggang duduk menggunting sorang-sorang! Bila orang tu mengungkit, tu yang bergaduh-gaduh tu...ha ha ha!! Sejak kejadian itu rasanya kitorang tak pernah buat kuih gunting lagi. Tak boleh ingat nostalgia masa kecil-kecil ni. Begitulah cerita kuih gunting...

Ni la semua kuih raya tradisional yang Atuk Nenek Along, Ain dan Apit kirim dan biskut kelapa tu Mak Long kirim.

Atuk dan Wan pula kirim gula Melaka ori punya yang balut dengan daun nipah tu siap dengan tepung pulut. Wan tau Along, Ain dan Apit suka makan kuih kelopung @ buah melaka @ ondeh-ondeh. Nanti Ibu buatkan ya. Wan pun kirim tepung cucur Adabi perisa coklat dan strawberi. Ini pun favourite bebudak tiga orang ni...dah lama diorang tak makan. So, berbuka puasa esok tu Ibu gorengkan untuk Along, Ain dan Apit cucur Adabi tu. Terima kasih Wan, Along, Ain dan Apit cakap.

So, everyone out there...we're in raya mood now!!!

16.9.08 (Tue) - A Kitten On A Tree...

2008-09-18T12:45:00.001+04:00

While watching tv, Along told me that Ain cried in school. I asked why. Along said Ain was stuck on the slide at the playground in front of her class and didn't know how to get down. That happened this morning when the kids just arrived in school. While waiting for class to start, she played at the playground.

Suddenly, Along saw Ain crying on the slide. Once reaching up, she only realised that the slide was too high and she was too scared to slide down. Along asked Ain to come down but she said no. Her sis went to find Ain's teacher, Ms Claire, and informed her that Ain was stuck up on the slide and didn't know how to get down.

Since Ms Claire was wearing a long skirt that day, she couldn't climb up and helped Ain. It was another Grade 1 teacher, Ms Eimear, who was wearing pants had to climb up and got Ain down. Her teacher told her that the slide was actually meant for Grade 4 - 6 students and not Grade 1.

I couldn't help laughing when Along relating the incident to me. I was imagining a kitten climbing up on a tree and didn't know how to get down...har har har!!

p/s - Nasib baik Teacher tak tarik balik the stars given the day before...hi hi hi. Well...kids.

15.9.08 (Monday) - You Deserve It...

2008-09-16T21:01:00.000+04:00

1) As usual, everytime the kids come home from school, they must relate to me what happens in school. Along told me about her French and Computer classes. Ain, smiling to show her happy face, told me she has been appointed as 'a helper'. When I asked her what that means, is it a class monitor? She said no. 'A helper' is someone in the class who has been rewarded 5 . The stars are given to those who are obedient in class, do not make noise, finish all the work teacher gives and can give the most correct answers for all the exercises given. 'A helper' is also given a privilege to assist other classmates if they have problems doing the exercises given.

So today, her Canadian teacher, Miss Claire, has rewarded her with the 5 . Her glowing face showed that she was so much flattered that she was the second (after a German boy) in the class of 25 students who has been given the stars. To us adults, it's probably just the stars, but to a seven-year-old girl, it is really something to boost up her motivation to go to school and learn. Right away, I gave her the hugs and a kiss and told her to inform her father when he comes back from Tehran tonight.

2) Today my sis-in-law's blog is featured in the NST on the Tech&U section. Read it here. She's been blogging since 2006 and she writes on life, family, career and most of all running. She was once overweight some time in 2003. You can check here to find out how running can make her as slim and young-looking as ever, and at the same time an optimistic person. She enjoys writing and she just has the flair of language.

p/s - We all kat negara pasir berdengung ni tumpang berbangga dari jauh.