Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Shopping Frenzy

Remember the day when I went shopping at Osh Kosh B'Gosh and had to restrain myself ? While that was that day. Yesterday I went crazy shopping for my new sweet-as-a-honeycomb niece. A new shop just opened in my office building, selling branded kid's clothes. And I think I spent enough to cover her rent for February.

They were selling branded items that were actually excess stock from department stores and were selling at close to 30% discount off the retail price. Clothes were for children from newborn up to 10 years old and u can find Guess Kids, Baby Gap, Osh Kosh B'Gosh, Polo Ralph Lauren and Abercombie & Fitch & others. Stock was limited and sometimes a particular item came in only one colour AND one size. So sometimes its all a matter of luck... or expertise digging. hehe

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And just because, I bought a Polo Ralph shirt for my darling nephew, Idris as well. I so wanted to buy the jeans but I wasn't sure of the size so thats K.I.V. (The Don says its guilty conscience at buying stuff for the sister and so I feel I must buy for the first born as well) How could I resist when he will look like this ?

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These things are still with me but I'm meeting my mom for a girls' Night out today so I'm gonna pass it to her to pass to my sis. I dun wanna face the wrath of my sister face-to-face. On the telephone, I can hold it away from my ears. hehe.

I went absolutely crazy in the shop like a mad lady on steroids. Oh my god... I'm gonna be so broke when I have my own kids!!! Lucky it won't be so soon. So still have time to start saving. Ok no more shopping for Nur's or Idris's clothes for a while now.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Happy Birthday to You ... U r Born In the Zoo.....

9:00pm Hyatt Hotel
From


eating


and more.....


to

Our place 12:00am


then finally,
4:00am Simpang Bedok
eating

again....

Go here for the full report

Friday, January 20, 2006

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This is for you, my best friend,
the one person I can tell my soul too
Who can relate to me like no other
Who I can laugh with to no extents,
Who I can cry too when times are tough,

And I hope you know that I am always here
To listen to you laugh and cry and help
In all the ways that I can
And I will try to be at least half the friend you are to me.


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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!


I've been friends with M since we were in Pri 5, when we ended up sitting next to each other in the front row (since we were both vertically challenged) in Mrs Muthiah's class. We were both super giggly and chatter-boxes, so short of a glare from Ms Muthiah, the-anak-dara-kerepot teacher, (thats what we call her, remember Maya ?) we'd be giggling and gossipping the whole day long. Even after the glare we'd still scribble notes to each other on the foolscap on the table, a habit that we brought with us right into Sec School, where we ended up in the same school and again in the front row seats (we were still vertically challenged!!)

Needless to say, by the time we got to Sec school, we were very close. It got to a point where we needn't use words to communicate. A nudge, a raised eyebrow, or even a smile was enough to send the other roaring with laughter. I remember we used to irk some friends who tried very hard to decipher what the both of us were saying but ended up feeling more confused. We kept each other's secrets as best friends do and spied on each other's crushes. I used to collect adverts of timepieces for her and she would keep cutouts of luxury vehicles for the decoration of our respective files. We were sweet junkies and the 7-11 across the road from school was a favourite hangout. And every new movie that came to town, we were the first to go watch it. (that hasn't changed much has it?) Thanks to her, my secondary school days are days I will cherish and remember forever as the best years of my life.

We maintained our friendship all thru the years post-school. And unlike some people who has found the "love of their life" and ditch all their girlfriends (some only to look for them again during heartbreak), I maintain my friendship with M throughout my relationship with The Don and she was a pillar of strength for me during my wedding. Spending 4 nights at my house before, during and after the wedding and all the while suffering from high fever and a horrendous flu.

She is more than just a best friend to me. We are closer than I know most sisters are. She is the equivalent of a soul-mate, If I dare say so. I cannot boast of having a few truckloads of friends. But of the handful that I've got, the one I hold closest to my heart is more precious than all the riches in this world.

I must certainly be the luckiest girl in the world to have a best friend such as M. May our frienship last till the end of our time, Insyallah. Amin.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

What Are Little Girls Made Of?

On Monday 16th January 2006, my sis gave birth to a bouncing baby girl. She looks exactly like her brother, Idris except she has this super feminine lips. Her cheeks are just as chubby as Idris' although everybody seemed to think they both got it from me. Oh and her name is Nur Sakinah (Cahaya yang menenangkan)

Unlike her super agile brother (yes even at birth!) Nur (as I prefer to call her) is contend to open her eyes for a few mins then return to her peaceful slumber. The only time we actually heard her cry (and boy! can she cry!) is when my mom was changing her and the cold draft on her exposed nether regions gave her the shivers.

I can't seem to stop kissing her chubby, bouncy cheeks and plant a peck on her oh-so-feminine lips. Her hair is non existant as of now but I won't be surprised if she ends up with thick luscious hair as the girls in my family do.

While waiting for The Don to fetch me from the office to go to the hospital, I dropped by the dept store near my office and drooled at the soo chanteq girl's dresses. From Guess Kids to Levi's to Osh kosh B'Gosh and even Barbie. I was so tempted to buy this cute dress + shoes from Osh Kosh B'Gosh but I knew I'd get a lot of shelling from my sister. So maybe I'll wait till she grows up a lil' bit then I'll start buying all those delicious dresses and shoes, and hair ribbons and etc etc etc....
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There isn't much you can do with a boy's clothes but a girl's....is limited only by your imagination. I can't wait to bring her shopping with me.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

The Cow Jumped Over The Moon And Ended Up Dead

After my cousin's engagagement (of which I do not have any photos since I gave everything to my cousin) we all went back to my uncle's place in Temerloh to celebrate Hari Raya Haji.

Most people in Singapore have at one time or another surely experienced seeing a goat being slaughtered in the mosques here but back in Malaysia, they prefer to slaughter cows. And it is nothing like the slaughtering of goats. Imagine the size of a typical cow and then imagine the huge man-strength needed to make it stay still for the slaughter. Even watching it can be nerve-wrecking. It takes highly skillfull men to "capture" and slaughter the cows and there have been incidents where the cows managed to escape and disappear completely. (My family should know. For two years running, the cows that were set aside for my family escaped and we had to make do with two puny goats instead.)
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As usual, there was an array of food for hari raya. And as usual too, all we did was gorge ourselves silly with food.
Image hosted by Photobucket.com LemangImage hosted by Photobucket.com Rendang
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Unfortunately since Wed was a working day, we all had to leave for home on the afternoon of Raya itself.

Oh and on another note, on the way to Temerloh, The Don stopped by a shop in JB to get more moassel for sheesha sessions with my cousins and uncles. He ended up buying a sheesha for himself too. It's very nice, with a blue glass vial and a woven Nargile pipe. Now he has joined the club and need not ask my uncles or cousins to bring theirs whenever we have a gathering. And he bought enough moassel to last the whole of 2006.
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I just hope he won't get addicted to it.

Friday, January 06, 2006

ITS A HOLI...HOLIDAY (PART TWO)

......con't

the first sight of Penang already got me excited. I simply love Penang. Everything about it. The great food, the friendly people, the picturesque beaches, the scenic sights and the endless shopping. I always tell The Don, if we were to relocate to Malaysia, apart from KL, the only other state I'd stay in is Penang.
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A view of the Penang bridge as we crossed it.

We drove straight to our hotel on the Ferringhi beach. Our room had a balcony overlooking the sea and the view was fantastique. Since we were too tired to leave the room, our first taste of Penang food was right in our rooms, with a view to boot.

In our three days there, it seemed all we did was SHOP, EAT, SHOP THEN EAT again. For some reason, The Don this time did not complain as I dragged him from mall to mall from Island Plaza to Gurney Plaza, Prangin Mall and even Komtar. I chalked up a great deal of shopping in Penang. Let's hope when the bill comes next month The Don won't freak out. But of all the shopping frenzies, the only shopping that he truly enjoyed was at the Ferringhi Night Market.
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As my mother would say, "the only thing they didn't sell there was mommies and daddies." Everything else under the sun was available. I bought a few table runners for our new glass top dining table and many many t-shirts and jerseys. (They were already selling the 2006 World Cup jerseys) Needless to say we bought all the latest movies (and not-so-latest ones)and x-box games too.
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we even managed to catch a movie there. (My first time watching a Malay movie in a cinema all because of my Idol Awie) Image hosted by Photobucket.com

But the best thing of all in Penang was the food. Its insurmountable!! Before we actually went there, I did some research on the internet as to the best places to eat in Penang and coupled with tips from friends and families, we managed to taste many die-die-must try places in Penang.
Image hosted by Photobucket.comNasi KandarImage hosted by Photobucket.comPrawn MeeImage hosted by Photobucket.comChar Kway Teow

The prawn mee at Teluk Kumbar is simply delectable. We chose our own tiger prawns then this lady will cook. Did u see how big the prawns are?? Each plate costs RM10 but that must have been the tastiest 10 bucks The Don has ever spent on me.

The last time I was in Penang with my girlfriend, M, we visited all the major sights like the snake temple and all so we decided to skip all of them this time. But we could hardly miss going up Bukit Bendera (Penang Hill) The journey up itself is an experience I hardly got enough of the last time.
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It was almost sad when we had to leave but we'll definitely come back. For the food at least. Besides with just 3 hrs from KL we might start making it a weekend destination.

We drove our way to KL on new year's eve with a few hours before the new year. We marked the turn of the clock into 2006 at KLCC with other revellers enjoying the wondrous sights of the fireworks above the twin towers. What a sight! Cars were a standstill on all roads around KLCC as people stopped mid road to enjoy the display.
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The next day The Don and my cousin's hubby became instant addicts when they started smoking the shisha and simply can't seem to stop. We went to Bangsar to get the
moassel in strawberry and apple flavour. While I detest smoke and cigarettes the disguising sweet smell makes it quite bearable, I guess. I won't be surprised if a sheesha end up in our home one day. Let's hope its not too soon.
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The anniversary hols was a blast. We had such a great time, the week flew by in a breeze. Before we knew it we had to get back to reality. I had the time of my life. Thanks to The Don who made all my requests and shopping lists come true. Can't wait to start planning the next anniversary trip.

And while we are still recovering from the travel lag of the one-week vacation, we're off again tomorrow. This time to Pahang to attend my cousin's engagement on Sunday and celebrate Hari Raya Aidiladha at my uncle's. So till I'm back....

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILADHA TO EVERYONE

Thursday, January 05, 2006

ITS A HOLI... HOLIDAY Part One

We were supposed to leave on Thursday for our trip to Penang/Langkawi/KL but a phone call from a prolific man in KL to see the Don for potential business saw us leaving on Tuesday instead. (Ps: Sorry Fiona for missing your wedding. All the best to u and hubby!)

After the morning business meeting, we were in KL with no reservations for the night. Our Penang hotel was only booked for Thursday onwards. We decided to drive up all the same, after all hotels were a dime a dozen in Penang and one day more there would be a great treat. As we were on the North-South highway, I saw this sign and pestered (and begged and pleaded hehe) The Don to detour since we had one extra day.
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I've never been to Cameron. Genting, yes. More times than I'd care to remember but never to Cameron. I was sooo excited when he agreed. The road up was super steep and winding. But the scenery was simply breathtaking. We could even see clouds suspended in the air. Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Equatorial, the highly recommended hotel at Cameron was almost fully booked and were left with only the non-choice rooms so we decided to put up at Century Pines Resort instead at Brinchang. Its a lovely hotel with impeccable service and huge rooms. When I entered the room it was quite cool and started searching for the air-con thermostat to check the temperature when I realised there isn't any air-con in the room and the windows were all closed. We were very amused to see lotsa families there clad in two, three layers of clothing as if it were snowing.

Strawberries were plentiful and everywhere in Cameron. Apart from the strawberry farms, every single shop were selling something or other made from strawberry. We found dried strawberries, strawberry cordial, strawberry cakes, t-shirts and ornaments with strawberry motifs. If we had stayed there longer, we'd die of strawberry overdosage!! The dried straberries were simply marvellous tasting. And the fresh strawberries was nothing short of divine. We bought a few basketfulls to distribute back home.
Image hosted by Photobucket.comSTRAWBERRY PRESERVESImage hosted by Photobucket.comFRESH STRAWBERRIES

We went to Boh Tea's Sungai Palas Plantation too. Its a loong way from the main road and the road leading to the plantation was super super narrow such that only one vehicle can pass at one time. And it was even more snaky than the road which led us up to Cameron. When there was another car, we had to stop by the side of the road to let it pass first. Lucky all the cars we encountered were normal cars. If it were a lorry..... I dun even want to imagine.
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The tea shrubs turned the hilly area into a great magical maze. The view was magnificent. As far as the eyes could see, there were stretches after stretches of tea shrubs. All green and so serene looking. After about half an hour on the narrow road, we came to the Boh factory. We toured the factory, watched the video on the rigorous techniques of producing tea as we know it and saw first hand the machinery used in withering, sorting and packing the leaves.
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Since we were there for only one day, that was all we managed to visit. We'll definitely come again, perhaps this time with the whole extended family.

So off we were to Penang.....