.:Behind Closed Door:.

Dear Chocolate........... from Yours Truly~

2011-04-20T15:38:00.002+01:00

Dear

....................................

for last night~

It was a nice long talk over a cup of

I was in utmost

to see you again after a long time~

Can't wait to meet you again this

Till then....

and

..................................

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P.S..............

CHOCOLATE Makes Me Happy!!!~

2011-02-16T16:32:00.002Z

Thank you for making me smile right before I sleep~
I shall dream of sweet things tonight!~
(But I don't think I can even close my eyes for being this excited!~)

P/S: Your sweet and caring words just now really touched my heart~
Thank you~

I Miss.... I Miss... I Miss...

2011-01-06T17:23:00.003Z

I miss playing with the snow in Plymouth!~

But most importantly.......

I miss you guys!!!!
Syaz, Nadhia & Fizah...

Syaz,
I miss the time when I ended up going into your room when I was actually dying to go to the toilet...

Nadhia,
I miss the time when I barged into your room to have a peek at what you bought online...

Fizah,
I miss the time when we had serious chats about our lives in your room...

Girls,
I miss the time when all of us shared stories while cooking in the super-small kitchen...
I miss the time when we watched movies while eating dinner in the common room...
I miss the time when we YMed eventhough our rooms were just steps away from each other...
I miss the time when we stayed all night preparing for open houses...
I miss the time when we went shopping together at the city centre...
I miss the time when we had our rock kapak karaoke session...
I miss the time when we danced poco-poco together...
I miss the time when we travelled around UK and Europe together...
I miss the time when we spent hours talking about everything and anything under the sun...

but most importanly,

I just miss the time when we had each other by our sides...

Two years spent living with you guys has been one of the most meaningful, beautiful and unforgettable moments of my life~

Syaz, Nadhia & Fizah...
I miss you guys soooooo soooooo much!!!
Let's hang out together again sometimes!~

How I Spent My 23rd Birthday... Plus a Brownies Recipe!!

2010-12-27T15:03:00.004Z

I'm back my fellow subjects! LOL! Kidding~ Had to be apart from my blog because my lappy had to undergo a massive repair! So, while I was silent from this blogging world, a lot people asked me to post an entry about my birthday but I was super lazy to do so (with a very valid reason may I say!). Now that I'm finally online..... let me enlighten you guys with the 'fabulous' celebration I did for my birthday which was....... N.O.T.H.I.N.G!!! Yup! Nothing!~

So, here's the whole story... On 16th December 2010, a day after JYJ's Xiah Junsu's 24th birthday (ceyh.. nak sebut gak tu.. hihi) I celebrated my 23rd birthday. And to be honest with all of you, that has got to be the most boring-est (grammar exception here please.. lol) birthday I'd ever spent in my life! Dad's in Penang for a hearing (I don't know why these people pandai sangat asked my dad pi dengar hearing kat mahkamah Penang sedangkan he works in Ipoh High Court!), Mum had to work.... jaga SPM and my 2 younger sisters were too busy doing their own stuffs to celebrate their kononnye beloved sister punye birthday.. (bertuah betol! I jadi beloved sis bile belanja u all shopping dgn tgk wayang je ek?).

But let's sweep this issue aside. Birthdays were never a big thing in my family anyways (nak sedapkan hati je ni)... So I don't really give a damn actually.. Especially since my friends threw me a birthday party in 2008 back in the UK and last year I had an awesome time spending my birthday with my midnight shifts colleagues in Royal Mail UK!!! So not doing anything for my birthday this year is nothing big! (Uisy.. terasa sangat loser menulis perenggan ini~ Big 'L' to the forehead peeps! LOL!)

So, to merely spend my boring birthday by myself, I decided to bake myself a birthday brownies! (OMG! I feel like a double loser writing this.. double big 'L' to your foreheads! Okay not your foreheads.. MY forehead! Rofl!). I've tried many brownies recipes before, but this has been my favourite so far and I've baked this a few times already! So peeps, here I am to share the recipe with you guys!~

The ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of sugar
200gm of melted dark cooking chocolate
(I suggest you spend more on this because more expensive dark cooking chocolate i.e Van Houten or Hershey's make your brownies taste better.. cheap ones are not nice!)
1 cup of vegetable oil
(can also use sunflower oil or canola oil for substitutes.. in my case, I used sunflower + canola oil.. please don't use normal cooking oil because they kinda smell)
2 tsp of vanilla essence
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups of flour (sift)
1 tsp baking powder

The methods:

Combine sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl. They will look like this after whisk...

Add melted chocolate and mix well.

Mix together flour and baking powder and add them to the chocolate mixture.

Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin and pour the mixture in. Bake for 40 minutes under a 180 degree Celsius temperature.

And this is how it will look like. Make sure to cool it down before serving~

To decorate, you can sprinkle some icing sugar on top of it or you can also make a chocolate glaze for topping. Another tip for making chocolate glaze, besides doing a normal double boiling method, add 2 tsp of vegetable oil to the chocolate to make the glaze look shinier and more beautiful + appetizing!

There you go! I never thought I had many cooking tips to share in the first place.. LOL! Hope you enjoy trying this recipe and if you do, please do respond to this entry and tell me how do you do! Maybe you can share with me your own brownies recipes~

And back to business.. this was how I spent my birthday. Nothing interesting really... but the next day, we went to KL and my dad paid for the whole family to do facial!!!! (Yup, my dad pun join skali!) Yeay!! Go DAD!!!! And to make it more awesome, instead of going to a spa, the facial was done at my aunt's home! Poor that lady had to stay until late evening.. Haha.. Pictures of the facial session are with my cousin and I have no intention at all to upload them here because trust me, all of us looked super funny!

I guess that's all for now~~ Happy 2011 and don't forget to enjoy and cherish every single moment of your life!! Chiao~

I Dreamt of ..........

2010-12-27T08:51:00.003Z

I dreamt of you last night....
It was such a sweet dream that I wished it wouldn't end....... but it did~
Which brings me back to the reality that I have forgotten exists...
I guess letting go isn't easy...
So please do me a favour... please......disappear~

Happy 24th Birthday Xiah Junsu!!!

2010-12-15T00:00:00.004Z

A very special post for a very special person.......

This entry is solely dedicated to the only guy who has been my top crush for the past 5 years....

Xiah Junsu!!!!!!!!

Yup... this is a Kpop post! Why? Today, 15 December 2010, Xiah Junsu of JYJ is officially 24 years old!!!!! If you notice, he is at the top of my L.O.V.E list at the left hand corner of this blog. He might not be the hottest or the most handsome Korean guy but wth! I LOVE HIM to bits! He's smart and adorable but the most important thing is... everytime I hear him sing, I'll either be smiling ear to ear or shedding tears because of the emotions present in his voice. His cute and charming personality can easily flatter my heart and his jokes can make me roll on the floor laughing even though they are not always funny!

So, here's a birthday shout-out to the most amazing guy and I hope for his success and happiness. FYI, he has been casted for a Broadway show! Go Hollywood! With all my love from the bottom of my heart....

HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY, XIAH JUNSU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Believe it or not, when I went to Paris last year, I purposely searched for the field above just because Xiah Junsu has been there!!! LOL!~

As a finale, let me share with you the reason of why I love this awesome person...

A Day with Horses........ and McDonalds?

2010-12-10T12:30:00.011Z

Hello peeps!!~ I know it has been as a while but now I'm back in the mood for blogging! At the moment, I'm chatting with my bestie since high school, Hanin and yep, sorry to any Yunho's fan out there, we're currently bit***ng about how awful he was as a leader of DBSK which caused the group to disband!~ No offence! Just look at who are more successful nowadays! JYJ FTW!!!!!

Okay, I'm not here to promote any Kpop stuff whatsoever~ I actually want to share my awesome Sunday last week! My day started at as early as 6am last Sunday. Kira early la kan considering the holiday season sekarang ni~ hihi... Thinking of the places that I had to go that day I decided on this boyfriend's look...

My Airwalk's 'My Boyfriend's in a Band' sleeveless which I bought in UK last year, topped by an over-sized denim shirt which I wore when I was super obese once upon a time.. hihi.. (now it looks like a boyfriend's shirt.. I loike!), my Primark's dark blue skinny jeans (also bought in UK last year. dark blue sneakers given by Abah and a black selendang. Accessories? Just my favourite Charles & Keith handbag. No contact lenses and my make up? Just a simple moisturizer, powder and a dash of MAC's Viva Glam V lipstick~

P/S: My mum insisted on taking this picture with our kitten, Onyx in frame.. lol~ Cutie2~

With this look, one will know I'm not doing anything fancy for the day. I started off following my Mum and Abah to Pasar Tani to buy some groceries and breakfast. After breakfast at home we headed to this place...

Yup! An equestrian training centre! Why?.......

There was an equestrian championship plus a horse show!!! Hihi.. Me love horsies! Lol~ Because of the horse show and competition, there were a lot of activities organised for visitors...

Sand Art for children~

Performance by clowns with balloons~

And I met this cool guy who was on a tall wooden feet!~ Tak payah suruh pon dia ni memang automatik posing depan camera.. haha~

Horse cart.... It reminded me of the time I rode on a horse cart in Neuschweinstein Castle in Fussen, Germany last year.. The horse ended up farting while pulling the cart.. ROFL!~

Pony rides for little ones... Thought of riding tapi sekali dia bilang untuk budak kecik daaaa....

In that hall was everything ON SALE!! I was not interested though because there were only equipments for horse-riding and horse feed~ haha..

Watching the workers making horse shoes~
Seronok abang2 Bangladesh ni bile gambar dorg kene snap.. hekhek~

Sape yang selalu tgk lumba kuda sure tau ni ape.. Ni la tempat dorg letak kuda masa race nak start~ Hihi~

Into the stables!
Banyak betol gambar my Mum enterprem!~ hikhik..

The main attraction.. a white horse named Peanuts! Yup Peanut with an 's'. I don't know why they gave a name that's in a plural form when there's only one horse. Confuse bebudak yang datang tgk..

Looking into the future...

Talking to Push Lady~
Tak tau la dia faham, ke tak. haha..

Another attempt of mine to be a horse whisperer.. oh wait.. a donkey whisperer.. lol~ This donkey's name is Bella (Twilight?!).. Very beautiful and friendly!~

Beware!!

This is the horse~
The name?...

MIRA!!!! Sorry to my friends yang bernama Mira.. Nampaknya anda menggigit! Hihi~

Cayalah kuda ni.. the hairstyle resembles a kpop idol's.. haha~

Meet Cucu... He was born in 1980! Kene panggil Abang Cucu ni.. hihi~
He's a registered miniature horse and stands less that 1 metre tall!

Another registered miniature horse called 'Libby'! Born in 1984.. Oh Kak Libby~ Haha..

Meet my favourite horse! A registered miniature horse named 'Ginger'! We were born in the same year! !987! Chingu yah!~~~

After a very fun morning at the equestrian centre, we took off and headed to this place!~....

McDonalds! The reason is.....

It was the official opening of its drive-thru!
Dah berzaman dah aku jadi pelanggan setia.. baru nak rasmi? Pe kes? Nevermind that.. sebagai pelanggan setia, I went there to join in the fun..

Colouring contest for the kids!
Adik baju oren tu cari mak ke?

Kids from an orphanage were also invited!

Booth for donating blood~

Waiting for a performance~

It was a fun day indeed and I'm definitely looking forward to attend more events in this holiday season!~

And before I forget.. Happy 19th Birthday to my boy Minho!!!

Oh comelnya anda!!!
*faints*

Best Wishes to Malaysian Hockey Team!!

2010-11-25T09:57:00.003Z

I'm writing this in front of the TV while watching the final hockey match between Pakistan and Malaysia in Asian Games.. Watching this reminds me of how much I've loved hockey after leaving the sport when I was 14 due to studies. Pakistan is leading by 2 -0 now but I still wish the best to he Malaysian team! Let's cheer for them!!!

P/S: I can't believe Sohail Abas is still playing for Pakistan after all these years!

Crazy Lil Sis~

2010-11-22T05:57:00.001Z

My 2 lil sis were still hungry after having their lunch and so they made peanut butter and milo toast. Before eating their snacks, they sang a very funny song~

Khalisyah: Let's eat!

Khalilah: Let's get fat!

Khalisyah: Oh, let's get fat.... you and i!~~

Khalilah: Oh yeah~

Both: Nanananananananana~

And to think that both of them were performing in front of me was totally EPIC! I love my sibs~

DBSK.. Memories Strike Back~

2010-11-17T15:11:00.002Z

I was busy posting the entry before when suddenly DBSK's Rising Sun MV was played on TV! It was very nostalgic and it brought back memories when I spent every free time downloading their MVs and shows, dancing to their songs, singing their songs eventhough the lyrics were all mixed up, fighting over Junsu with my friends, buying their merchandises and most importantly, it reminds me of the time when I spent a night in front of Stadium Merdeka, lining up to be one of the first people entering their concert at the rock area. But that was before..

Now, Junsu is still the my number 1 K-pop crush and they still produce great music... But to watch them perform together on the same stage and being funny on variety shows together are impossible. They've parted into 2 groups and it was not a good split~ Regardless, I believe that DBSK is still the best K-pop band ever! Their talents are unbelievably awesome and when they perform together, they were unbeatable~

Here's the video of Rising Sun.. Hope it brings you memories too~ T_T

Grocery Shopping on Mum's Birthday~

2010-11-16T14:55:00.007Z

It was my mummy's birthday yesterday and as I wrote before, we had an all-girls outing today! And when mentioning an outing with my mum, there's one thing that we all love to do.. grocery shopping!!!! LOL!!!~ I know... crazy right?! Since today is Hari Raya Aidiladha, we decided to go all out in today's shopping...

Beginning our mission to buy groceries for tomorrow~
Me and my mum will join forces to make Nasi Minyak, Dalca Tulang, Rendang Ayam and Acar Rampai~ Gosh! I swear I just swallowed my sliver for God knows how many times for just writing the menu! LOL!~

An unnecessary picture of my baby, Charles & Keith handbag~ Hihi... My favourite of my collection at the moment~

My mum was on holiday yesterday, so we woke up early in the morning and went straight to...

Tesco Station 18!!~~

And after that, our mission begun~~~

Maggi?! I'm very much sure that it's not on the ingredients list! LOL!~ Mak dah ngidam makan Maggi ek? Hehe~

Not even halfway through!~

A mountain of junkies!~

My mum maybe 49 but she's a huge fan of potato chips! Hahahaha~ A must buy item everytime we go grocery shopping!

A sudden craving of mine for the past 2 weeks... Horlicks! Don't ask me why.. I don't even have an idea myself~ LOL!~

A treat before going back!~

Right after, we straight away headed to Ipoh Parade, where I'm supposed to meet the baby of the house, my sis Khalisyah after she finished school while my mum fetched my other sis, Khalilah from her school~ We were then joined by Khalisyah's bestie, Farah who's like a family to us already. She's like the fourth daughter of the family and she even call my mum 'Mak'. Our next stop was for lunch. We had the most delicious sizzling mee I've ever tasted ever in my life. The stall is situated at Ipoh Parade's food court and I've been a regular customer ever since I was in high school!

Nyum2!~

My mum & Khalilah were so focused on their noodles that they didn't even noticed I snapped this picture!

Same goes here!~

When I told you we love grocery shopping, I was seriously serious okay~ Need more proof? After lunch, we went for another round of grocery shopping and this time it was at....

Giant!~

Khalilah picking on chocolates!~

And then she was joined by my mum, the junkies lover.. Hahahaa~

Farah choosing spices for rendang and kuah kacang.. She has to be the cook this year because her mum is performing Hajj in Mecca~ Prayers for her mum's safe return!~

Time to go back~

Have to drop Farah first~ She accidentally took our yellow onions!~ Have to buy again or my Acar Rampai tak jadi~

Bye Farah!~

And that's how our outing ended... to my mum...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY again.....

And to all Muslims...

Happy Eid-Ul Adha~

GOD BLESS!~

A Birthday Shoutout to my MUMMY!!! =))

2010-11-15T16:05:00.003Z

16th November 2010...
Today is my mummy's 49th birthday!!
So here's a Happy Birthday shoutout to my beloved mummy!!!
Me, my mummy and my sisters are going on a all-girls outing tomorrow~
Poor my Abah kena tinggal for being the only guy in the house.. hihi~ But he's gonna be in his office till late evening anyway~

Anyhow,
I would like to wish my mummy a very Happy Birthday and may she have another blessed year ahead!
Thank you for loving us and for always being there for us...

I LOVE YOU, MUMMY!!!!!

Second Upper Class!~ W00t!!!!!!!!!!

2010-11-12T05:38:00.002Z

Got the results for my degree course just now!
I got 2.1 (second class upper)!!!~ Alhamdulillah~
Congratulations to all Cohort 4 especially Marjonians for completing this 5 1/2 year course.
A special congrats to Zubaidah for being the only student from University College St. Mark & St. John (Marjon) to get the 1st class!
If not for the quota I'm sure more of us will get 1st class~
Congrats again peeps!!!
Nak balik UK grad!!!!!! Sape nak sponsor tiket flight?!! *wink**wink*

Rihanna's Take A Bow Cover by Me & Sis

2010-11-11T10:37:00.003Z

One thing that my baby sis Khalisyah and I loves to do when we get together is me singing while she plays the piano. I was at home for the past month and we did a lot of that and I recorded one of them. It was Rihanna's Take A Bow and I would like to share it here. It was just us being crazy and this recording was unplanned. My voice wasn't that great and I even stumbled on a bit of the lyrics at the end..LOL!~ Since both of us didn't want our faces to be on the video, you could only see my sister playing the piano from the back.. Haha~ Too much of a low profile huh? So here's the video below. Enjoy~

P/S: You could hear my dad shouted 'Bravo!' at the end of the video~ LOL~

A Decision Made.

2010-11-10T13:21:00.005Z

I went to class for the first time today after a long break. After it ended, I realised that I was ready to make this decision.

Moving on~
Letting go of the past~
Holding on to tomorrow~

Thanks for the memories... Farewell~~

Damn You YM Hackers!

2010-11-09T14:33:00.003Z

I got really shocking message on Facebook from my friend this morning.. This is how it goes~

its 3.50 rite now. I opened ym n saw u on9.
this is what happened:

dyaudin: u still up ? hahaha
Ka-E: hey there
dyaudin: hahaha
Ka-E: I just took an IQ test here.. pretty cool
dyaudin: so how?
Ka-E: got a 113 lol... I thought I was smarter than that
dyaudin: good la
dyaudin: i juz wnt to zaki room n read comics
Ka-E: you should see if you can do better than me... http://iqscorecalculation.com/?invitecode=9c9gocb7d3 if u can ill give you twenty dollars lol
dyaudin: lol
Ka-E: try beating me... I bet you cant lol
dyaudin: u led me to a porn site
Ka-E: take it now while I take a shower lol
dyaudin: no u lead me me to porn site
Ka-E: ill be back in a few after im all fresh
dyaudin: hey
Ka-E: BRB, let me know your score when im back!

I don't think its u who's on9!

DEFINITELY NOT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

First of all, I got 126 for my IQ test! Since I'm in Malaysia, I won't be able to pay him in dollars! And most importantly, I don't take shower at 3.50 f****ng A.M! My YM got hacked, that's for sure! So if any of you who are chatting with me and finds me leading you to a porn website than that's definitely not me okay? NOT ME!!! And fyi, I don't use 'BRB'! Please take note of that. I don't want any of you to think that I'm some kind of a pervert!~

Bring The Noise!!!~

2010-11-08T13:55:00.003Z

Back in KL.....
Lazing around in my room~
This apartment is so quiet that it's driving me insane~
Really miss the noise back home..
Mak, Abah, Khalilah & Khalisyah~
Although it has only been a few hours, I already miss you guys like crazy!

P/S: Mak, good luck in Penang!~ Travel safe~

Monday Blues~~

2010-11-07T14:59:00.004Z

Going back to KL tomorrow~ Me no likey!
Have been pampered at home for a month now and going back to that lousy apartment again is killing me!
No more free food, no more free rides, no more free internet connection, no more poco-poco session with mummy and sisters and most importantly no more 24 hours TV!!!
Luckily, I only have a couple more weeks to go~ =)

Looking at the bright side, I'll be meeting my friends after a month!! Missing you guys so much! Wait for my grand entrance tomorrow ya?!~
Then we can go makan2, lepak2, ngeteh, watch movies and SHOPPING!!!!
You guys gotta help me choose an outfit for my cousin's wedding okay?

Last but not least... to my fluffy, cute and adorable MR. HEFFALUMP, I miss you to death!!~
I can finally manja2 with you again!~ Hee.... Muax!~

Onyx for Star Newspaper!~ Please Vote!

2010-11-06T07:14:00.007Z

It was a quiet Saturday morning and as usual I was having breakfast while reading Star Newspaper. I came across a monthly column by Ellen Whyte called Katz Tales which is about cats. As a cat lover myself, I enjoyed reading the column. There is also a contest sponsored by Fancy Feast in which you can send you cat's picture with funny caption and you can stand a chance to win a RM 150 worth of hamper from Fancy Feast. All you can do is send your entries to:

Katz Tales
c/o Weekender
L3A, Menara Star
15, Jalan 16/11
Section 16
46350 Petaling Jaya
Selangor

I'm thinking of entering this contest myself . A few months ago my cat gave birth to a kitten named Onyx. She's very cute and have the talent of posing in front of the camera! LOL!~ Seriously! These are some of her pictures edited by my babysis Khalisyah...

So, I kinda need your help here. I was browsing through Onyx's picture and had a hard time choosing the best one for Star Newspaper. I have shortlisted the pictures to the 7 below and I would love to ask for your kind help to vote for your favourite picture. You can also leave your idea of what funny caption can be added to the picture. Thanks a lot ya!!~~ (All pictures courtesy of my babysis, Khalisyah~)

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

Picture 4

Picture 5

Picture 6

Picture 7

Cast your vote please~~~

Mr. Speckies!~~~~

2010-11-05T16:53:00.003Z

A very quick post here!~ I am busy surfing the net now and I realised that 2PM's Chansung had just tweeted a picture of him and my man Taecyeon, both sporting the old-fashioned preppy look complete with spectacles and side-parted gelled hair!~ Hillarious!!!! Check this out....

Cute!!!!!
The man in black is mine!~ LOL~

Here's the link to the TwitPic

You can also follow me on Twitter here and you can see many Malaysian, Hollywood but mostly Korean celebrities that I follow and you can do the same!~

Show Me The Monay!!!!!

2010-11-05T09:21:00.003Z

AT the top of my wishlist right now is: MONEY!!!

The reason? Simply because I'm broke... ape lagi kan?

I'm going back to KL soon which means that there'll be no more FAMA (father mother) sponsored food, transport and shopping money. It's nearing the end of the year now and I'm in need of buying new outfit for Abang A's wedding. I'm also planning to go to some of my friends' weddings all over Malaysia this coming December and I have to look my best for my high school reunion on 10/12 which definitely means that I have to buy new outfits and shoes.. maybe handbag? lol~ Dream on Kae.. mane nak dapat duit ni??!!!

Thank God Iswanah is handling the transfer of my money in the UK to my account here in Malaysia... Tak lame lagi la kot duit tu masuk.. Many thankies to my dearie Iswanah yg sanggup tolong... Tapi duit tu mane boleh pakai byk, I still need to save for next year.. I won't be getting my starting salary for 1 - 3 months.. so the UK money will be a big help~ Nak harapkan duit practicum nak masuk... Mimpi di siang hari je la.. We are supposed to get our practicum allowance but duit tu tak masuk2 walaupun dah sebulan lebih practicum habes.. Kenape? Sebab there are some of us yang tak reti2 lagi nak submit claim form. Apakah?!!! Taula dalam wallet korang berkepuk2 duit kn.. tapi tolongla fikir kitorg yang memerlukan duit ni.. I don't really mind cutting on my food expenditures because I can shed a few kilos yang dah terbina kat badan ni... But I still need to pay for my transport, broadband and whatnot..We're living in KL ok?... so, tolonglah faham ye!

P/S: Oh Mega Sale yang akan coming soon~~~ T________________T
P/P/S: Patut tak buat muke tak malu mintak duit raya haji? Tak pun pergi bertandang rumah kaum India mintak duit raya Deepavali? Tak sanggup!!!!!!!!!! Anyway....

HAPPY DEEPAVALI TO MY HINDUS ALL AROUND THE WORLD!!!!!

Mak Tam's Raya Open House~

2010-11-04T06:42:00.013Z

Salam peeps!~ Another post today and it is another post of an open house of my aunt's.. a different aunt this time and yes!~ she is also a good cook! (I really should consider starting a family food business! lol).

A week after Mak Su's open house, Mak Tam held hers and this time it was a biggie! On Saturday, people came to the house from 11am - 2am and on Sunday, guests came from around 8pm - 2 am! As what I said to my relatives, inilah open house paling lunyai aku pernah attend! Serious beb, tak tipu!

Mak Tam ad Pak Tam are a successful business couple and this open house was not only attended by family members but also their business colleagues and clients. Since it was a big open house, Mak Tam asked for my help and me, being a very kind and sweet niece agreed without thinking twice. Nak makan sedap snanye.. hikhik~ Mak Tam punye asam pedas memang meletop la wa cakap lu! Besides that, dorg ni satu family sempoi2, so memang best crashing at their place! Hihi~

Pak Tam picked me up on Friday evening an once I arrived, I could see them already started cleaning the house...

Mak Tam and her eldest daughter, Aqila were busy in the kitchen~

Dishes to be used~

Aqila... rajin btol anak dara ni.....

Isy2.. anak yang belum dara ni pun rajin.. lol~
This is Mia, the baby of the house! She's so adorable that I've dedicated a post about her before, here...

Another interesting moment accidentally captured... Is this what you call generation gap? Pak Tam finding peace in watching fish in the aquarium while his son Aiman spent his quiet time playing FIFA computer game! LOL~

So, I helped with the preparations that day that lasted until late night and then..... bedtime! Because tomorrow was going to be a hectic day~ I woke up early next morning and helped with the final preparation. Luckily most of the dishes were catered. If not...... pengsan la jawabnye! At around 11 am, guests started coming in..... and that's when the real thing begins~ Before that, let's look at the most important element of the open open house..... THE FOOD!!!!!!!!

Nasi Impit, Kuah Kacang, Lemang, Rendang Limpa, Hati, Jantung dan ape2 je organ yang korg jumpe dalam badan.... Mummy Pak Tam yang buat... It was insanely delicious! Memang sedap.. sumpah tak tipu.. guests2 yang tak berapa nak malu siap tapau lagi.. termasuk la yours truly ni.. Hikhik... Nyesal pulak tak mintak resepi.... T_T

Roti Jala & Chicken Curry~

Mak Tam's homemade Laksa~ Yang ni sempat berguru dgn Mak Tam.. hihi~

Cake~ A gift from a guest~

Mak Tam's homemade Fruit Cocktail Pudding~ Sedap punye pasal, never mind the calories~ lol~

Curry Puffs & Seri Muka~

Watermelon! My favourite fruit.. mind that please.. hihi~ Bermacam2 bentuk sebab tukang potong dia tak berapa nak bertauliah sangat.. I la tu... hihihi~

Jelatah~ Reminds me of the time in UK.. This was our house punya kepakaran.. kalau ade kenduri, memang inilah tanggungjawab bebudak House 12 Marjon~

Papadoms~
Dah macam makan popcorn plak sebab dok pegi balik ratah bende ni~

Rendang Hitam Daging~

Dalca~

Ayam Masak ape ntah.... Hahahaha.. ampun, patik ade short term memory lost macam ikan Dory dalam Finding Nemo tu.. Hihi~

All laid out ready for dig out! Alamak lupe lak amek gambar Nasi Briyani.... lauk sume dah balun kene amek.. haha.. takpe, kalo korang jakun sangat tak pernah tgk Nasi Briyani sile lah google ek? Ampun lagi skali~~

The guests.. Aik? Kak Anum join skali?

Mak Tam: Isy, ponek den layan tetamu.. Tak kire nak makan jugak.. Lapar tahap gaban ni! Para tetamu sile layan diri sendiri ek? lol~
(Dialog adalah rekaan semata-mata. Tidak ada kaitan sama ada dengan yang masih hidup mahupun yang telah tiada)

The princess-like Mia!~ Comel kan?!

Hamek ko! Siap letak kon kat jalan tu... Mane taknye, byk VIP dtg~

While guests were busy stuffing themselves, moi and my camwhoring sidekicks a.k.a my cousins stole some time to snap a few piccies of ourselves!~

Aqila & Farah~
Dua orang anak dara Mak Tam yang memang boleh harap kalo suruh buat keje umah.. tapi sorry guys.. Umi dorg tak kasi green light lagi selagi tak abes blaja.. haha~

Aqila & I~

Aqila & Farah again~

My favourite mirror picture! Huhu~

Me and Mia yang dah salin baju sebab tak tahan nak bergaun sepanjang hari~

Future model? Haha~ But Mia really loves everything regarding cameras! LOL!~

Cak!

Mia and her beloved Umi~

It's late at night and guests are still around... The power of business huh? I learned from Mak Tam that an open house like this gives you the chance to meet future clients~ Brilliant aite?

Before the last guests went back that night..... another camwhoring session!!!~

Mia took this picture of me... a bit shaky but nice angle~

Farah sporting the Cleopatra pose.... minus the peace sign~ Haha

Aqila & Farah again~
Memang kaki posing la korang!

So, the night ended at around 2 am and that's when Mak Tam, Kak Anum and me started tu kerjakan the pots and pans. I, however could not stand it and retired to bed earlier. Mak Tam & Kak Anum continued until around 4am.. Memang kasi tabik spring toing!~~~ kat korang!

The next morning I woke up early to follow Mak Tam and Pak Tam to see their presentation to their possible new clients. After that I followed them to an event where all their partners and colleagues were gathered. Masing2 income ribu riban, juta2 tahap dewa! Ni nak suruh Mak Tam carikan prince charming sorg ni.. haha~ Basically they do their business from home through internet by promoting a community site called Ads4Bucks. Takyah pegi ofis pun. My Mak Tam siap surirumah sepenuh masa lagi.. Hihi~ I'm in no position to explain further about this. Yela, takut nanti jadi penyampai ajaran sesat macam Ayah Pin pulak kang~ So for further info, this is the link for Ads4Bucks and it would be better if you reach my Mak Tam or Pak Tam through their Facebook. I'm sure they would be more than happy to explain everything. Just click on their names there~

Back to the story, after the event, Mak Tam ad Pak Tam brought me to eat Sate Kajang Haji Samuri!!! Oooooooohhhh... my favourite! I can eat them as my meal everyday!!!~~~ Before we reached there, adela org tu call cakap nak makan kat Kampung Baru.. Kampung Baru? Wah memang sedap.. tapi I makan Sate Kajang! Lagi sedap~~~ Siap Pak Tam yang bayar lagi tu.. Haha~ Time kaseh Pak Tam.. Mcm tau2 je.. hihihi... We tapau some of them as there would be a small get together between orang2 kaya muda at the house later that night... hihi~

Itulah jutawan muda yang dikatakan~~

The food~~~ Lemang & Rendang~

Sate Kajang!!!!!

Mango drinks tu I yang buat!~ LOL~

After I snapped the pictures, Mia grabbed the camera from my hand and try to imitate the way I took the pictures.. The results? Not bad!~~ Genius la adik akak ni... Check the pics out!~

After having those delicious food, everyone gathered in the living room and share stories... sempat jugak promote blog sendiri ni~~ Hahahaha...

Mak Tam yang memang sentiasa boleh detect camera.. ade antenna ape?

After the get together, Pak Tam suggested that he would send me back to IPBA the next morning. I had no problem with that because I teach in the afternoon. As soon as I reached school before school starts, everything will be alright~ Hopefully my Year 2 students yang comel2 tu tak perasan muka teacher dorg yg ala2 hangover sebab balun sate kajang macam tak hengat dunia!~ Haha...

All in all, yes~ it was one of the most tiring experiences I've had but that was no big deal because I was having so much fun hanging out with my cousins, meeting new people and learning many new things termasukla cara2 nak buat laksa.. hahaha~ Many thankies to Mak Tam, Pak Tam, Aqila, Farah, Aiman and Mia for being fun hosts of the open house. I truely had a good time!

Mak Su's Raya Open House~

2010-11-03T12:53:00.007Z

Salaam and a very good day peeps!!~~ After a month of hiatus, I'm finally blogging again. I've been very ill for the past one month and that cause me to miss doing a lot of things, from blogging, going out shopping to a very, very, seriously serious matter such as attending classes! Haha~ gua tak gi kelas sebulan babe!~ Jangan marah aaaaa~~~ It's no fun anyway staying at home without the strength to do anything.

For some of you who are wondering what illness I've been having, just hold on to that thought. I'm not in the mood of talking about it just yet. Anyhoooooooow~~~~ I'm still recovering and surviving on pills and other sorts of meds but I can tell you guys that I am definitely a lot better! Alhamdulillah~ Many thankies to all my dearies (family and friends) who prayed for my recovery. May God bless you!~ Ameen~

Now that I'm back on the blogging scene, I'll try to update whatever posts that were put on hold starting from my aunt's raya open house. I know... dah zaman Tok Janggut punye citer kan? LOL~ But as promised to many people, I'm going to charge my energy and going on full blast in uploading posts! Here goes~~~~

My aunt, Mak Su held an open house on the 3rd week of raya at her apartment in Menara Bangsar. It was mainly for her son's Amer's friends and some of the family's close relatives and friends. Mak Su asked me to bring some of my friends as well and I decided to bring Syila, my roomie and my three very lovely housemates when I was studying in the UK, Syaz, Fiza and Nadhia (Syaz is still my housemate here in KL though). Slightly after 10 in the morning, we hopped on Syaz's ride and head to Menara Bangsar. It turned out that we were the first to arrive and there were nothing to help because everything was ready. That's my Mak Su, cekap tahap dewa dalam bab masak2 ni.. hihi~

A walk into the apartment~

Nothing to do... let's hog the remote control and watch the TV! Ooooo... Miss Khairiyyah memang cikgu yang baik.. baca newspaper lagi.. lol~

Bak kata Uncle Haziran, inilah Chief Cook of the day, Sharifah Sazlina Syed Ibrahim, my Mak Su!~

A very unique and ridiculously delicious starters.. various kinds of dates!

Kek Lapis Sarawak from singer Deja Moss, a close friend of Mak Su's. Highly recommended! At the top of the tier are cakes made by Uncle Haziran's mum.

The masterpieces!
Mi Udang, Nasi Impit & Kuah Kacang, Lemang & Rendang Ayam, Nasi Briyani Ayam, Ketupat Daun Palas...............

........and my favourite dish that was responsible in adding tonnes of extra calories to my diet, Mushroom Quiche!~

Although those scrumptious dishes are right before our eyes, we decided to wait for other guests to arrive before digging in. Yela, takdela nampak kebulur tahap cipan sangat kan. So, anak2 dara ni pun menahan la nafsu yang dah membuak2 walaupun perut masing2 bukan je dah berkeroncong. Malah irama2 lain seperti asli, dangdut, hip hop dan techno juga telah kedengaran!~ LOL!~

At about 11.30am, people started coming in.........

Other guests have arrived.....

Uncle Haziran's superfriendly dad was also there. Had fun talking to him. It turned out that he taught in SK La Salle Brickfields before, where Fiza and Nadhia were sent to.

Mak Su's son, Amer on the right with his friend Farid who sport the same style. Macam twins pulak bile tengok dari belakang..

Ramaila pulak orang.. Relax2~~ Snap dulu segambar dua... haha

Finally! We got our food... Lapar punye pasal, tak pedulik dah nak duduk atas sofa yg selesa lagi empuk itu.. Janji spot depan TV..lalala~

After meal... back on the couch, eyes on the TV! Haha~

Japan Badminton Open was on and Dato' Lee Chong Wei was in the finals againts China's Lin Dan! A match not to be missed. Dengan tuan2 rumah and chief cook skali dok depan TV.. haha~ Guess what? Dato' Lee Chong Wei won!!!

Mak Su: Isy, sedap jugak mi udang I masak ni kan?
Uncle Haziran: Jangan sampai tersedak sudah~~~
(dialog rekaan semata-mata.. tiada kaitan sama ada dengan yang masih hidup, tidur, pitam, pengsan, mabuk ataupun yg telah tiada.. haha)

Finally, the picture of me, courtesy of Amer. I was so busy being the mamarazzi of the day that I hardly got into any pictures~

After a round of meal, one episode of The Amazing Race Asia, three back to back episodes of CSI Las Vegas, New York & Miami, another round of meal, one badminton game and a couple of trips to the loo (lol~), we finally said our farewell to Mak Su, Uncle Haziran and Amer. It was really fun being invited and we totally had a blast! A bunch of thanks to the hosts for the delicious food and warm hospitality. You guys are super-duper awesome! Don't forget us next year k? Hihi~

Gotong-royong in SK Bangsar~

2010-09-25T15:43:00.016+01:00

There was a gotong-royong in SK Bangsar yesterday and me being a very committed and hardworking practicum teacher (lol... don't puke! I know it sounds so syok sendiri! haha) decided to get involve even though it wasn't compulsory. Nak markah lebih punye pasal! Lalalala~

It was supposed to start at 8am but when I got there, there were just me, Zu Lee, Cikgu Wan Rosdan and 10 students! Gosh! Whatever happens to MR. PUNCTUALITY huh? Regardless, we carried on making hot tea for everyone so that we could drink it while eating biscuits as breakfast. At about 8.30 onwards, more teachers started coming in and we had breakfast together. Now, here comes the funny part.....

I took a cup of hot tea and put it on the table. Then, I reached for my handbag and accidentally swung it over my cup, spilling out everything on the table and then down on my thighs. In no time, the lower half of my body was soaked in hot tea!!!! Trust me, you don't even want to imagine that. The thing is, I don't really mind soaking in hot, sweet drink that made me uncomfortable with the stickiness ... but the fact that the hot tea spilled on my Charles & Keith handbag and my new sneakers just made me furious! Yela, salah Kae jugak kan? Kae yang cuai~ Haih... but of all 365 days in a year, why must the tea spilled on the day I wore my most precious handbag and new shoes?! Urgh~ All I could do was cleaned everything up and then proceed with the gotong-royong~

First up, collecting rubbish around the school compound~ Note my now-clean handbag and sneakers~ Kutip sampah, kutip jugak.... but hey, even Naomi Campbell did her social service wearing heels. What harm can a handbag do huh? lol~

Year 6 kids trying to switch on the lawn mower~

FIRE!!!!!! They're burning old tables and chairs~ Pembakaran terbuka ni.. Campak cikgu, campak!

This reminded me of the Bonfire Festival celebrated in the UK. Never missed the event while I was there.

Encik Ismail giving pep talk to some girls~

Even the headmaster, Encik Nordin were there to help trimmed some plants! Sempoila Sir!

Cikgu Halim (the one with the red cap) cleared out the bush behind the bird cage and I helped out with stuffing the sampah-sarap into the black bags~Still not putting down my handbag! Ngee~

After filling up just two bags, I was asked to stop. The reason? Because I'm a girl! Excuse me? Are you underestimating me?! It's not that I had to repair a broken car engine or something. I just had to basically stuff batang pokok and daun kat dalam plastic bag je! Not gonna kill la~ I'm a Convent girl. I'm from an all-girls school. Where do yo think we would find boys to do those ganas stuff??? NOWHERE! We had to do them by ourselves dudes! Moving heavy furniture, handling PA system, electronic wiring... just name it, we've done it! That's the reason why I refused to stop and continued my work.

In the end.. everything is in those 11 black bags!

At about 11, everything was done. Zu Lee wanted to jam with Cikgu Halim and so I decided to walk home alone. Cikgu Rosdan offered a ride but I declined saying that I wanted to go somewhere else before going home plus it would be extremely awkward if there were only both of us in the car. I first walked to Thoyyibah, a regular mamak restaurant that we always hang out at to tapau my lunch. I ordered my 'mi goreng tak mau ayam' with some spicy fried innards! Hihi.. my favourite. I also bought a bottle of Ribena and guava juice before heading home.

Time to dig in!!!

Watching 3 Idiots while eating my fried mee... Getting the Indian feel.. Hihi.. and this movie is awesome~

Later at night, I went to Bangsar with Syila to get my Mak Su something for her open house today. Then we had our dinner and right before I slept, I watched My Name is Khan. A day for Hindi movies huh? LOL!~

Awesomest Dinner!

2010-09-22T16:04:00.011+01:00

Just got back from an awesome dinner with my awesome confidante a.k.a my best-est sidekick, Syila! This dinner was originally planned to be on Thursday but since both of us were already craving for the food, we decided to go today! lol~ These are the brief details of our fulfilling dinner~

Where?

Food Garden, The Gardens~

Why?

Although it is just a food court (a very expensive food court that is.. lol~), we love the ambience of the place and the food there taste superb. Korean stall in charged by Korean people, Iranian stall ran by true Iranians and so forth.. so, you'll get quite the authentic taste of the food.

What's on the table?

Syila decided to go all Korean tonight and these were what she had...

Kimchi Jigae (Kimchi Stew)~
The best one I've ever tasted so far!

Dolsot Bibimbap
(Rice topped with various veges, gochujang (chillie paste) and fried egg served in a hot stone bowl)
Very tasty and filling~

I decided to go back to my roots on my mother's side and had some Iranian food.

Lamb Kebab Platter
Looks a lot but the portion is just nice for my tummy because it was served with pita bread instead naan bread.

We also decided to share on the snack after dinner and this was what we had...

Dukbokki~ (Korean rice cake~)
One word.... YUMMY!

There you go.. all the food with slices of watermelon, dwaenjang soup, some side dishes, a bottle of mineral water and a cup of Chinese Tea... Wondering whether both of us could finish them?

The result?

Burp!!! LOL!~
All in! And we left with full stomachs that can last us until tomorrow's dinner! Rofl~

Marjon in My Heart~

2010-09-19T16:06:00.002+01:00

Suhaimi shared a video on Facebook which he found on Youtube. It was a promotional video for University College Plymouth St. Mark & St. John (Marjon), our university back in the UK. It turned out that our faces were in the video! Oh yea! LOL~ Famous gua beb!! Check out the video below. We came out a few times...

1st of Syawal in Kuala Lipis: The Mayhem Continues...

2010-09-10T10:18:00.030+01:00

Finally!!!! An entry which I thought would only take 2-3 days to post is finally published after 6 days! Alhamdulillah... I got back to Ipoh and was busy cooking rendang, lontong and baking chocolate chip cookies for guests as my supermom and superdad were off to work. Plus, thanks to the internet connection who refused to co-operate with me and made the uploading of the pictures super slow and delayed the publishing of this entry. Boo-hoo!!! Anyhow~~~~ no more complaints peeps~ The entry is here and I hope you guys will enjoy reading and getting to know my superduperly-havoc-and-awesome family!!

p/s: The entry below were written from my point of view on the first day of Hari Raya...

Salaam~ 1^st of Syawal is here and yup.. it’s Hari Raya!!! So another Hari Raya shout out to all Muslims out there! I’m here with Part 5 of my Raya Countdown entries and it’s D-day!

I would define my family’s Eid celebration as a very festive affair as ‘Keluarga Haji Latif’ consists of very lively and sporting people of different attitudes and behavior. When all of us are brought together, you can expect a scene you usually see at a ‘pasar malam’ taking place everywhere around the house.

Ikat sampin tu betul2.. Kang londeh time sembahyang raya.... Kantoi!! LOL!~

Going to the mosque~

As usual, we gather early in the morning and when those who went to Raya prayers got back, we head to the cemetery to visit the grave of my late cousin, arwah Rafiq. It was my first time there as he passed away last year when I was still in the UK. Tears were rolling down and I prayed for his spirit to be loved and protected by Allah always.. Ameen~

At arwah Rafiq's grave~

My first time there~~

Raziq and Raees sprinkling flowers on their big brother's grave~

When we reached home after that, it was the highlight that everyone has been waiting for.... seeking for forgiveness from each other.. or should I say, ‘sesi mengumpul duit raya’ as what mentioned by my younger supercouzies… LOL!~ Again, tears were strolling down some faces and YES!! After 2 years, I got to collect duit raya from my supergrandparents, superparents, superuncles and superaunties! Yeah baby! I can already see the images of my favourite handbags and shoes flashing before my eyes~ hihi~ Sadly, this would be my last year of receiving duit raya though T_T.. I’ll soon join the club of the ones giving money as I’ll start working next year. Gosh~ I feel so old! DANG!~

Lining up to ask for forgiveness from Tok Latif and Tok Wan...
And the queue was lead by Mak Long- the eldest child~

After that, we took a whole lot of family pictures as may I also declare that ‘Keluarga Haji Latif’ is also filled with camwhores who can easily detect when cameras are on site! LOL!~ We started to receive guests after that. I’m gonna write no more and let the pictures below speak for themselves and for what have been happening throughout the day~ Sit back and enjoy~

Mak Long's family~

Mi familia!!!~

Mak De's family~

Mak Teh's family~

Mak Tam's family~

Strike the freestyle baybeh!!~ LOL~!

Pak Anjang's family~

The newlyweds~ Cikna and Abi~
Finally Cikna dah ade teman dalam gambar raya! Muahahahahaha~

Tak bleh blah punya freestyle picture!!~

Anak-anak Haji Latif~

Freestyle~
Picture perfect!~

Menantu-menantu Haji Latif~

Unleash the masks!.......
and they became.... The RETIRED Power Rangers!!!
Mengucap jela bila tgk gambar nih!~ LOL!~

Cucu-cucu Haji Latif~

Freestyle!~
Lorh~ Ade plak yg control macho!~

And finally~
Haji Latif Ibrahim & Hajjah Siti Tagiah Sheikh Ali..
My supergrandpa & supergrandma! (Bubur lambuk Tok Wan sedap tau!~ Ngee~)

Cikgu Rosli and his family arrived when we were busy camwhoring and so they were forced to take a family picture too! They're like family already!~

Thanks to Cikgu Rosli's son, Aizuddin and a neighbour whose name is God-knows-who (I forgot to ask for his name.. Ampun~ Hihi) for being 'bidan terjun' photographers, we managed to snap a few pictures of the whole family.....

Waiting for the 'Datin' (Mak Tam) to get into position~ LOL...

And there you go!.....
Keluarga Haji Latif
Raya 2010 - Kuala Lipis

Eh..eh... Superman datang nak beraya lah!~~

Dah penat ambik gambar.. Jom attack lemang!!!!

Makan Time!~ Dig out peeps!

Aiman & Raziq...
Hai.. dan takde tempat kat dalam rumah ape?

Some prefer reading the newspapers over the food.....

....and some prefer snapping unnecessary and meaningless pictures! Muahaha~
That's me with Farah and Aqila...

Joined by Mak De~

With supermom, Farah and Intan!~

Ehem2~ Mood pengantin baru lg ke?

Nape Raziq nangis tu?~

Intan, Me, Aqila & Farah..
Munching on 'aiskrim Malaysia' made by Tok Wan!~ Hihi..

Lelong kasut!!!!! LOL!
Flashing our Jimmy Choo's and Gucci's....... NOT!!

The kids.... Ranting on Pak Teh's awesome ride!

Mak Tam and her 'anak daras', Aqila and Farah...

Yay!!! Dah raya!!!

Me & Ahda~

Raees: Macam best jer mainan Faqihah tu.... Hmm...
Faqihah: Apsal Raees pandang camtu? Nak join skali la tu...

The guys going for Friday prayers...
Abi teringin nak join budak2 dok blakang~ Haha!

Mak and Najha eating fruits~

Aqila, Farah & Intan~
Dah molek la tu anak2 dara dok kat dapur... Jaga api ke tolong makan tu? Hihi~

Back from Friday prayers...... Lunch time!

Menu of the day, Bihun Sup Daging!~ Awesomeness!!!

Not forgetting the lemang!~

Slurpppp!!~~~

The head chef tasting his own masterpiece~

Ape kene plak la dgn Abg Iwan ni? Igt awek ape?~

A beautiful moment accidentally captured~

Another one here~

Dah kenyang~ Jom lepak!

A few guests arrived after that and after they left later that evening, Tok Wan, Mak & Khalisyah headed to the dusun behind the house to pluck some fruits~

Pilih.. jangan tak pilih~

Aksi paling mahal!!
Tok Wan panjat pokok rambutan!!!

After Maghrib, all of us went to Cikgu Rosli's house and guess what?! Eventhough there was only our family there, it felt like the whole neighbourhood was also there! That's how happening our family is! As for me, I was busy emptying jars of kerepek there! LOL!~

Mak Tam & I~
Mmg buang tabiat pakai sunglasses dalam rumah... tengah malam plak tu!~ LOL!
Ooooohh.. Mak Tam doing the Angelina Jolie pout!

Tu dia!!! Sedapnye kuih lopes tu~

We head back home at around 10 and straight away launched the next project..... Main Mercun!! And as expected.... bapak2 budak lagi excited dpd budak2!! Muahahahaha~

Ustaz main bunga api ke tu?

Rayyan pon?

So, there you go.... bits and pieces of the first of Syawal spent with my beloved family in Kuala Lipis. I hereby represent the whole of this big family to wish all Muslims around the globe, 'Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri & Maaf Zahir Batin'... Please forgive any of our wrongdoings and may this Aidilfitri brings you closer to your loved ones! Happy Eid Mubarak!

And to end this post, I'll dish you guys out with a footage of the highlight of the night! The most beautiful firecrackers!!! Enjoy!~

Countdown to Raya: Four - Raya Eve Mayhem~

2010-09-09T14:52:00.018+01:00

First and foremost….. A Selamat Hari Raya shout out to my beloved family, relatives, friends, lecturers, colleagues and students! Happy Eid Mubarak to everyone.. Maaf Zahir Batin~

So yeah peeps, tomorrow is the first of Syawal and as usual, all my relatives are back in Kuala Lipis (except for Mak Long’s family, they’ll arrive later tonight). And as expected from my very oh-so-havoc-and-sporting family members, tonight is a total chaos! Just imagine my Tok Wan, Mummy and aunties nagging everyone to do house chores, my uncles and male supercouzies grabbing tools and started to do God-knows-what to the house, my younger supercouzies running around the house and moi, yours truly, also running around the house, trying to snap candid pictures of what have been happening on this Raya eve (special thankies to my Mak Tam and Cikna for helping this unauthorized mamarazzi.. lol~

Today, the mayhem continued as the families of Mak Teh, Cikna and Pak Anjang arrived with their boys and girl. As usual, everyone was in Raya mood and was helping out with the chores. House was cleaned, delicious dishes were cooked and last minute decoration was done to the house. After breaking fast, we prayed together, lead by Abi and then we perform the Takbir. Undoubtedly, family bonds were tightened and all of us were, as the cliché phrase goes; spreading the love! Yeah baby! Muahaha~ So, below are the pictures that my mamarazzi crew and I managed to snap up until now.

Pak De~ The busiest person everytime Raya comes...

Naja... Trying to hang the decoration lights~

And when you can't do it..... ask your father to continue......

and you can play with the lights instead.. lol~

Ladies of the house~
Mak Tam, Cikna and Supercouzie Ahda cleaning the hall... Posing je snanye.. haha..

Father and son team... Pak De & Naja..
Fixing a table~

Ahda and I.... Choosing the tableware to use for Raya~

Naja & I~
Preparing for buka puasa~

Supersisters Aqila & Farah~
Susun kuih raye... Nyum2~

Haaaaa... Tak puase!

My Supermom!

Supreme Duo! Pak De & Mak De preparing grilled fish!

The head chef!

Handing over the job to Abi~

And Abi was left alone... muahahahaha..... NOT!
This picture's taken by Cikna... his beloved wifey~

The result!

Goreng pisang~~

Tok Wan: Laaa~ Yang kat dalam kuali pun nak ambik gambar jugak? LOL!~

Ribena.... Me favourite!

Rendang ayam~

Goreng pisang yg bukan dalam kuali,, hihi~

Pau goreng inti kacang merah~ Sedap woooo~~~

Batang Keramat... and NO! I'm not joking.. it really is the name! Scary~~~~

Look at that! It took more than 1 hour to fold those clothes!

Introducing another one of my cute little supercouzie...
Wan Mohd Rayyan Haziq! You just wanna pinch those cheeks!

Hearing tazkirah from Tok Latif...
Tu la.... sape suruh tak buat keje.. kan dah kene sound!~

My supergrandad, Tok Latif with Rayyan!

Buka puasa time! The guys~
Lapar benor sampai tak nampak camera!~

The ladies~ Mcm ni la baru sporting!

Our clothes matched!

Rayyan pun nak solat jugak?

Angelic little supercouzies... Mia & Najla~

Maghrib together~ lead by Abi

Takbir~

Mak Tam pinjam anak Mak Teh~ Raees~~

Rayyan couldn't resist the big botol susu!!! Hee~

Waiting for Isyak~

Countdown to Raya: Three - While Spacing Out.....

2010-09-09T07:29:00.005+01:00

Salaam~~ I was taking a break from doing some chores and was surfing the net when i found this very interesting article on Yahoo! It definitely speaks for the teachers and acts as a very useful information to parents of students. As a teacher, I heart this article.. hahaha... Here it is...

13 Things Your Child's Teacher Won't Tell You

Interviews by Neena Samuel

A look inside a teacher's mind could help you understand lesson plans and maybe even guide your child to perform better.

1. If we teach small children, don’t tell us that our jobs are “so cute” and that you wish you could glue and color all day long.

2. I’m not a marriage counselor. At parent-teacher conferences, let’s stick to Dakota’s progress, not how your husband won’t help you around the house.

3. We’re sick of standardized testing and having to “teach to the test.”

4. Kids used to go out and play after school and resolve problems on their own. Now, with computers and TV, they lack the skills to communicate. They don’t know how to get past hurt feelings without telling the teacher and having her fix it.

5. When I hear a loud belch, I remember that a student’s manners are a reflection of his parents’.

6. Your child may be the center of your universe, but I have to share mine with 25 others.

7. Please help us by turning off the texting feature on your child’s phone during school hours.

8. Guys who dribble a ball for a couple of hours a game can make up to $20 million a year. We educate future leaders and make about $51,000 a year.

9. We take on the role of mother, father, psychologist, friend, and adviser every day. Plus, we’re watching for learning disabilities, issues at home, peer pressure, drug abuse, and bullying.

10. Kids dish on your secrets all the time—money, religion, politics, even Dad’s vasectomy.

11. Please, no more mugs, frames, or stuffed animals. A gift card to Starbucks or Staples would be more than enough. A thank-you note: even better.

12. We love snow days and three-day weekends as much as your kid does.

13. The students we remember are happy, respectful, and good-hearted, not necessarily the ones with the highest grades.

or... you can read the article here:

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/backtoschool/13-things-your-childs-teacher-wont-tell-you-2332811/

Countdown to Raya: Two - My Irresistably Cute Little Supercouzie~

2010-09-08T18:02:00.006+01:00

Heyya peeps! Was chatting with Fayadh for hours tonight when my supercute 5 year-old couzie joined me. She was exchanging greetings with Fayadh when I decided to dig out photos of her which I got from her Ummi, my Mak Tam.... So yeah, introducing my baby cousin, Dameeya Batrisya aka Princess Mia as she proclaimed herself! Ain't her cute, you just wanna pinch those chubby cheeks!

Awwwww~~~~

Alamak, Mia merajuk la~~

Mia with her Ummi, my Mak Tam~~

Countdown to Raya: One - Meaningful Eid~

2010-09-08T10:09:00.012+01:00

After 2 years celebrating the 1^st of Syawal with only friends in a foreign country, I will finally get the chance to celebrate this festive celebration with my loved ones back in Malaysia. I’m now safe and sound in my kampung in Kuala Lipis, busying myself doing all sorts of chores with my supercouzies prior to Hari Raya! There will be 2 more days until the 1^st of Syawal and right now there are the families of my mum (Mak Ngah), Mak De and Mak Tam with my one of Mak Long’s sons, Amier, supergranddad and supergrandma…. which total the number of 21 people in the house! We’re still waiting for the families of Mak Long, Mak Teh, Pak Anjang and Makcik Dina to arrive and that will bring ‘Keluarga Haji Latif’ to the number of 37 members~ Just imagine the chaos that’s waiting to happen on the eve of Hari Raya when everyone’s here!

3 days here and I’ve done almost everything that’s need to be done, from replacing the curtains (I now vow that I’m not going to build a house with many windows and doors~ LOL!), replacing the cushion covers, cleaning the house to folding the clothes of 21 people! (With the massive development of technological appliances nowadays, I wonder when a machine for folding clothes will be invented! Soon hopefully!). Anyways, while doing all these chores, my mind was brought back to the best Hari Raya experience I’ve had. To some, the best Hari Raya would be the day when everyone gathering together, doing house chores, eating lemang and ketupat and playing bunga api and firecrackers but to me, my best Hari Raya experience is the exact opposite of that…..

If I were to name the best Hari Raya I’ve experience, it would be the Syawal that I spent last year…..

Syawal fall during the summer holidays for all Muslim residents in the UK and for us, foreign students in the country who lived on campus, we knew that it would be a very quiet memory as the campus were nearly empty as everyone was back home for holidays. That’s why for most of us, purchasing the ticket to Malaysia for Hari Raya was worth it. Some who could not afford the ticket to Malaysia resulted in getting the tickets to London, to celebrate Eid with the Malaysian Embassy.

In the case of my housemates and I, we were just back from touring Europe and the idea of purchasing tickets to even the city centre is a BIG NO – NO!!! LOL!~ But that was not the case for Fiza and Syaz. Fiza went to London because her family was coming and that her aunt’s family lived in London. Syaz travelled to London with all expenses covered as she was accompanying Meng to fetch her family…. And so, there were only Nadhia and I left to spent the Hari Raya together. Two housemates spending Hari Raya in a nearly empty campus!

That might sound dreadful to you guys but both of us were determined to liven up the mood of Raya and so, both of us went shopping 5 days before Raya. On the last day of Ramadhan, we broke our fast together quietly thinking of how our 1^st Syawal is going to be. I still remember myself cooking masak singgang for buka puasa with other dishes. After prayers that night, both of us rolled our sleeves up and started ranting the kitchen for our Eid preparation. There were only two of us but we managed to cooked biskut cornflakes, tiramisu, rendang ayam, kuah lodeh and kuah kacang… all from scratch! Even the nasi impit and kerisik was done manually! While peeling and cutting, we played a Takbir Raya video from Youtube and without realizing it, both of us were silent, cooking with our families back home in mind. After a few rounds of the takbir video, we moved all our utensils to the common room and we started preparing in front of my laptop, watching Raya programmes available online (Thank God for the internet!). At about 3 in the morning, everything was done and we took turn ironing our baju raya sent by our families. We spent that time talking about our Raya experiences since we were kids when we realized how adult we have been.

Rendang ayam~

Kuah Lodeh and Kuah Kacang on the stove~~

Nasi Impit~~

Making the Nasi Impit~~

Takbir~~

The next morning, I woke up to my handphone’s alarm and on the way to the bathroom downstairs, Nadhia who’s just woke up opened her bedroom door. We smiled upon looking at each other and wished each other ‘Selamat Hari Raya’ with a very meaningful look. We knew in our hearts at that time that on that Hari Raya, we are each other’s family and we would try to make that Hari Raya a very a memorable one for each other. After putting on our baju raya, we joined the raya prayers with some of the Malaysians and Syrians left on campus. We mingled while eating kuih raya sent by our respective families and then…… we were back in our common room looking at each other, not knowing how to spend the rest of the day. We finally decided on stuffing ourselves with food while watching raya programmes online and so we did. That went on until the third of Raya when Syaz, Fiza and our other Malaysian friends came back from London. It was very festive after that. We hold an open house for everyone and the loneliness felt on Raya morning disappeared.

Raya prayers~~

Those left on campus~~

This year, both Nadhia and I aren’t housemates anymore. We’re back in Malaysia, living in separate apartments and we hardly see each other. However, I’m very sure that the Raya experience we had last year will have a permanent place in our memories. Nadhia, if you’re reading this, I would like to wish you Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin. Thank you for the Raya memories last year and I hope that we’ll stay in touch for the longest time! Wait for my call/text on Raya Eve! Love ya ex-housemate… and will always miss ya!

Nadhia and I... 1st of Syawal 2009~
Memories remain...

A Guy in Spectacles~~

2010-06-23T08:03:00.004+01:00

Hey peeps~~

This is a Kpop fangirling post, so if you're not into Kpop... just ignore this entry and don't bother to scroll down~ LOL!~

I'm currently on my daily routine of updating myself with the latest Kpop news and I just found an adorable picture of my beloved Taecyeon~~~

Awww... don't you think he looks cute??!!!

Okay, okay... I know some of you are thinking that I'm crazy because this is obviously NOT the cutest picture of him. Well, one fact about moi: I looooooooove guys with spectacles! They look intelectual...... yeah i know... you guys are lol-ing right now. But hey, I find myself liking guys with preppy, nerdy look and this picture of Taec just melt me to the floor! LOL~

Rainbow Coloured Lollipop: A Gift from a Friend~

2010-06-20T15:57:00.004+01:00

Rainbow Coloured Lollipop

There is a lollipop at the door
Its shades so vibrant
Its shine so grandiose
Its taste no one knows

There is a lollipop at the door
You pick it up, and take it in
You stare at it in wonder
So deliciously delicate
So delicately delicious
Your fingers leave its wrapper
You leave the lollipop untouched
You put it back at the door
Faint scent of cooking chocolate lingers
Where you touched it
Where you found it

There is a lollipop at the door
It longs to be held
It wishes to be noticed
By you. By you. By you.
This rainbow coloured lollipop
It doesn't taste fruity
It's sweet and bitter
It calms and energises
It tastes like chocolate
It tastes like the chocolate
you just had.

~Adlina 2010.

N/B: A poem written by Intan for me after all the heart-to-heart sessions we had. Many of you will have no idea what this poem is all about but it means a lot to me. Thank you Intan... for everything!~ Love ya~ <3