of cuti sekolah and makan-makan

It's that time of the year again! Cuti sekolah is back! We are taking leave next week but no big plans so far. A night getaway at One World Hotel, a day makan-makan trip to Sungai Besar. We will also balik kampung to spend time with Atok and Wan. I hope this time around Atok will not keep a musang for the kids to see he he. Things Atok does for cucu. Of course my kids were super excited. Now, who gets to see a musang? Real life! Even for me who was brought up in kampung, that was the first time I saw a musang. I ran. Seriously. So fiesty. With eyes so big. Deep dark dark black skin like midnight. And those claws.

Okay enough of that musang thingy. See, even I got super excited haha.

We may selit some shopping trips. I have this project going on now, it's called BlingMyKitchen. Yes, I am full of drama like that. My project basically revolves around changing worn-and-torn pots and pans, fork-and-spoon and if there's good deals, I want to have new knife sets and their matching wooden block. And I need sidetables in the bedroom. You know to letak all the minyak angin, vicks, minyak panas and the likes. But let's see la. Coz I have these in mind for months now and all I got to do as of now, putting my baking supplies in coordinated containers, labelled and stacked uniformly in kitchen cabinet. And I haven't done a slightest thing about the sidetables. But first, let me check my purse he he.

Anyway, just want to share my dinner many weeks back.

My kinda sad-looking dinner.. but alhamdulillah. I still have food on the table. Came back late and the kids already dinner at taska. Fried egg mata kerbau style and stir fried greens for me.

Grilled Chicken + gravy and some cherry tomatoes. Definately not one of Iman's favorite. Saya tak suka ayam bakar atas dapur, saya nak ayam bakar dalam oven.

Ayam bakar dalam oven is Roast Chicken. I am one proud mother when they refused to eat Kenny Roger's. Ummi buat lagi sedap. Awwwww!!!



 

of keeping promises

Spent the weekends keeping promises!

 

Siap pinky-promise kait jari okeh. Even the boys pun made me pinky-promise them. Fink pun fink la kan, asal tercapai hajat di hati.

 

I promised Kakak, Iman and Adam to belanja them with my bonus payout. Kakak opted for books which came to me as no suprise at all since she loves books so much. And I am glad that she has upgraded he reading materials. She picked two books, one of which entittled The Book Thief. Tengok kulit depan pun Ummi dah menggigil nakk oi.

Like her. She 'steals' book from the bookcases at home and secretly reading them when I thought she was fast asleep. I am quite strict with my children's bedtime and imagine my suprise when I go to check them up in their bedroom, she was sitting upright, reading!

The boys got themselves a box of lego each. Adam picked one under Galaxy Squad series and Iman picked one under Lego City series. Each box came with about 5-6 packs in it and they spent good hours assembling those little bricks!

 



On top of that, the boys also got me to pay for their books as well. Some animal series under Gempak Starz publication. Boy, they are hooked! You see, they have ample free time now coz I only let them play with gadgets on weekends. They picked up new hobby and I am glad it's reading! I don't think I'll mind the growing stacks of books at all. Afterall, they say.. children can never have too many books.

And Tebby, he went beserk buying comics and he came out from Kinokuniya  with two bags of those. And a big smile.

You see, boys they never grow up no matter what age they are.


Anyway.

I bought myself Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea. Other kind and smell of perfume may come and go but Green Tea is a must at all time. It has a nostalgic value to it coz I started using it when we first got married almost 14 years ago.

Time well spent with the children I must say.

of friends and friendship

Jumpa kawan-kawan lama hari Selasa lepas. Friends since we were 13. It has been that long, yes. 27 years. We rarely see each other (except for few friends) and yet when we do, it is as if we never grew apart at all. Still the same noisy crazy lots!

 

Sweet 40! Ha ha!


And back in the office, I have this Geng Lunch friends. As the name goes, we embrace our friendship and sisterhood over lunch he he. And thanks to wassap, we virtually communicate almost all the time! We have agreements and disagreements. But I think those are the things that keep us going. We have check and balance thingy in place.

Here's an example..
Wah cantiknya cincin ni! Should I?
One says - Ya cantik sangat. Belilahhh.. tengah murah tu
The other says - Kan dah ada? Kenapa nak beli lagi?

Get the drift?

 

This was where we had our lunch last week. Time ni dompet tebal lagi coz baru kachingggg bonus. Selalunya makan lunch set RM5.00 kat Burger King hehe.

usah buruk sangka

I drive a small car. A Viva to be precise. Senang kacang je nak parking, bak kata orang ni. Kalau ke MidValley, boleh selit-selit celah tiang atau temple-tempel tepi dinding time kereta banyak. Kalau kereta tak banyak boleh ambik masa buat side parking atau reversed parking. Dulu terkagum tengok orang park MPV besor gedabak reversed-parking some more with no hassle.  Sekali tu.. rupanya ada kamera.

Anyway. On one of those days that I drive to work, sampai awal so I took my time buat reversed parking. Ala keta kecik kan, senang je. Then a MyVi nak park kat sebelah. Punyalah lama si driver nak betulkan keta dia. Keluar masuk ntah berapa kali. In my heart, hek eleh, keta kecik je pon, itupun susah sangat ke. When she has settled urusan parking keta dia, I went out and took my things and walked away. Turned back to ensure that I have locked my car. Oh my, ai parking senget.. padanlah orang sebelah susah nak adjust keta dia. Ya, Salah sangka dan buruk sangka.

Entah-entah orang tu menyumpah-nyumpah driver Viva parking senget. Hek elek, keta kecik je pon, itupun susah sangat ke. Okay, salah sangka lagi sekali. Ntah-ntah orang tu tak cakap apa pun.

Moralnya. Jangan cepat buruk sangka dan ingat kita sentiasa betul. Bila mana kita rasa diri kita lebih dari orang lain, selagi itulah kita nampak orang lain tak betul belaka.

Saya akhiri entry dengan gambar pokok cili yang dah berbuah. Suka sangat ai tau. Konfem minggu ni buat sambal.

Ada 2 pasu sebenarnya. Yang ni kecik tapi berbuah. Yang lagi satu besar tapi kena serangan semut, sempat berbunga tapi buah tak menjadi. I googled tips on how to get rid of ants, tip-tip alami gitu.. chemical free. Tips nya – cengkih. Tabur je, insyaAllah semut lari. Mula-mula macam tak percaya, tapi try jugaklah. Alhamdulillah menjadi.

 

 

Ni pulak peach in raspberry jelly. Terlajak rajin buat dalam ramekin kecik-kecik ni. These are my first ramekins.. beli masa Metrojaya Sale, RM6 sebiji. Jelly tu guna instant jelly brand Nona. Just add water and bring to boil for few minutes. Senang.

 

Adam turns 6!

Adam turned 6 last Sunday. Co-incidently it was Mother's Day as well. But of course, he stole the limelight he he.

We bought spiderman cake that he's been pestering us for days. Nasib la ada bakery still ambik order the day before his birthday. Else, I'll have to do it myself and I have a feeling it was going to be a sepai-derman cake!

Earlier on that day, we went to Pasar Borong Selangor for some fresh provisions. Halfway from Cheras, Tebby's car honked endlessly that we had to turn back and get my car. Too much attention from a honking car, especially when the traffic was clear! For lunch, Tebby did Steamed Crab. Worth all the trouble (and to endure the honking!) going to pasar I tell you.

 

of new taste and new blooms

I seem to have lost things to ramble about these days.

Day in day out, my life is of predictable routines. Bored? How can one be when there's so many things to do, albeit predictable and routines?

Anyway, I have a huge change from my normal self - the liking towards salmon! The buttery, melting feeling.. oolala! There were two things I used not to eat - one is salmon, the other is honeydew. One down, one more to go.

And my fondness and liking towards cooking and baking and roasting - is blooming like never before. Tebby often remarks Ummi dah pandai masak sekarang, which clearly explains how I was doing in kitchen department. And sometimes he chips in berjasa Abah belikan Ummi mixer tu.
I got a kitchen mixer for my birthday last year. Actually, I gave super strong hints of what I wanted as a birthday present. A hint that said yang, boleh you belikan I mixer for my birthday? I am glad I was that blunt. And I am loving it to bits he he.

Yup thanks for the mixer. And I think an Empress Red food processer would look nice seated beside the mixer *hint*.

I made Stuffed Tofu (fried version) and Meatloaf some days ago for dinner. Kids were super excited. I was super anxious. You see, Meatloaf is Tebby's territory. Likewise nasi ayam, tomyam and few more. He leaves nasi lemak, sambal, nasi daging well under moi. I was glad it turned out well and my kids liked it.  

of Adam's FITC trip & moist nutella cake

Since this year Adam is gonna be 6 (it's next week!,  May 11th!), I permitted him to join Genius Aulad's trip to Farm In The City last Monday.

He was so excited. I meant, he was super excited. We lent our ears to his anticipation (in form of oral) repeatedly for a week prior to the trip. The moment he entered my car masa jemput from taska, he mercilessly told and re-told and retold us. Much to the elder two's annoyance. By the end of last day before his trip took place, sampai aje rumah, my elder two scrambled out from the car to their safety haha.

 

In red cap. All smiles. Bus B, he said. He's been telling me that for a week already. How could I forget, young man!

For a 6yo, a trip via big bus like this was a big deal. He kept peeking out and waved at me and only stopped waving when I waved back. For half hour.

 

2:30pm. He got back and I fetched him. All smiles. Bigger ones! Adam pegang cameleon Ummi! Adam pegang iguana! Adam pegang ular! Wow, all things I'd run away from. Sejukkkkk jeee badan dia. Tadi ada kambing macam Pak Long tapi besar. Kuda pun ada. Kambing tu bila angkat makanan, nanti dia berdiri dua kaki. yada yada yada. We later picked up Iman from taska. Adam, of course related his story again. Likewise when we picked up Kakak much later afterwards. And as soon as Tebby came from work. Again.

Anyway, I made Nutella Cake last weekends. My 2nd attempt. The 1st one ended up dry and brittle. I amended the recipe by adding up some cream and got the texture I wanted.

 

 

Ingredients

100 gms butter - melted and leave to cool

200 ml whipping cream

220 gms Nutella (smallest bottle)

2 eggs

3/4 cups brown sugar

200 gms glour
1/2 cup macadamia nuts - halved

 

- Beat eggs and brown sugar until light and fluffy
- Add whipping cream and beat for another minute of two.

- Add melted butter and Nutella. Beat until well mixed.

- Add flour. Use the flat beater if you're using a mixer. Otherwise use a spatula.

- Add macadamia nuts

- Bake for 30-40 minutes in 160d, api atas bawah with fan.