Insyallah me and hubby will be going to Mecca for our Hajj tomorrow, Dec 15. *Nervous,excited, nervous*
I have not finished my packing and yet here I am blogging!
We decided not to bring our kids as we think they are better off in Riyadh. Fortunately Onna, my good fren here volunteered to take care of them..bless her! Sigh...it does feel 'berat' to leave them for 6-7 days but it think this is the best arrangement. Insyaallah. One thing tho, it's comforting to know that they will be in good hands as Onna is a great mom :-)
My mind is actually full of things and list that I need to pack, prepare and buy! So just a quick note for now. Can't think straight. We will be back Dec 23. Then I will write a long story of our journey.
Till then, do pray that everything will be safe. May Allah bless our pilgrimage. Insyallah!
By the way, Salam Aidiladha to all!
Friday, 14 December 2007
Friday, 7 December 2007
Blogging is not that easy!
Today I'm proud of myself coz finally I woke up early.he..he...since masuk musim sejuk ni, it is so difficult to wake up early coz it's so cozy to be under the duvet!
The day is getting shorter so I alwiz feel like I dun have enuff time during the day. (of course main reason being I'm not a morning person!) Now Magrib is 5.00pm so it's already dark by that time. Masa tu baru je rasa nak minum petang! heh..heh....
It's so nice to be outside now coz it's cool and breezy. Kinda like beginning of spring. The govt has also planted flowers along the roadside....which makes the dusty road looks pretty.
U know...it alwiz amazed me how people can write so freely in their blogs, describe and share their inner feelings, fear and sadness. I wish I could do that! At times I feel I wanna pour my heart out here(esp. time tension!) but then I changed my mind. Rasa malu lah! It get me to analyse myself.....am I an introvert person? Am I a very private person? Am I a shy person??
But then again when I'm with friends, I do like to share my feelings..be it my excitement, happiness, tensions or sorrow. When I talked about it, bukan main berkobar kobar lagik! But when it comes to blogging, I feel like I had to censor those inner feeling parts. Just dun feel that comfortable...so macam mana nak maintain blogging?? Maybe those bloggers sifus out there can help me out! (elisa?he..he..)
The day is getting shorter so I alwiz feel like I dun have enuff time during the day. (of course main reason being I'm not a morning person!) Now Magrib is 5.00pm so it's already dark by that time. Masa tu baru je rasa nak minum petang! heh..heh....
It's so nice to be outside now coz it's cool and breezy. Kinda like beginning of spring. The govt has also planted flowers along the roadside....which makes the dusty road looks pretty.
U know...it alwiz amazed me how people can write so freely in their blogs, describe and share their inner feelings, fear and sadness. I wish I could do that! At times I feel I wanna pour my heart out here(esp. time tension!) but then I changed my mind. Rasa malu lah! It get me to analyse myself.....am I an introvert person? Am I a very private person? Am I a shy person??
But then again when I'm with friends, I do like to share my feelings..be it my excitement, happiness, tensions or sorrow. When I talked about it, bukan main berkobar kobar lagik! But when it comes to blogging, I feel like I had to censor those inner feeling parts. Just dun feel that comfortable...so macam mana nak maintain blogging?? Maybe those bloggers sifus out there can help me out! (elisa?he..he..)
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Awww.......
The other day,, Haekal came up to me and said;
" Mama.... can I call you sugar mama?"
with a cheeky smile on his face.
Me- "why do you want to call me that?"
Haekal - "saje la...."Me- "why do you want to call me that?"
Then the next day he asked me again, this time....
"Mama bole tak I call you sugar plum"
My heart just melted.... :-)
My heart just melted.... :-)
p/s Girls..beware!!
Sunday, 25 November 2007
It's cold in Riyadh!
The whole day, I have cold feet, not becoz Im nervous but because it started to get really cold now....
During the day it's about 24C and its very windy. Rasa macam di Cameron Highland je :-)
But come evening time, the temperature drops to 12C 0r 14C. I think very soon, we have to wear sweater in the house.
It's lovely to be able to experience cold weather here...rasa mcm tak percaya je when u see the dessert but u are wearing jackets and sweaters.
My kids are pretty excited about the weather..they keep asking if there will be snow..ha ha...I wish!
However it's kinda weird coz tho it's cold, the women still have to wear the jacket or sweater inside and the arbaya outside. I dun like it, make me looks fat! Normally when u wear arbaya, u can cover those spare tyres! heh..heh......
During the day it's about 24C and its very windy. Rasa macam di Cameron Highland je :-)
But come evening time, the temperature drops to 12C 0r 14C. I think very soon, we have to wear sweater in the house.
It's lovely to be able to experience cold weather here...rasa mcm tak percaya je when u see the dessert but u are wearing jackets and sweaters.
My kids are pretty excited about the weather..they keep asking if there will be snow..ha ha...I wish!
However it's kinda weird coz tho it's cold, the women still have to wear the jacket or sweater inside and the arbaya outside. I dun like it, make me looks fat! Normally when u wear arbaya, u can cover those spare tyres! heh..heh......
Monday, 19 November 2007
My dentist experience
Actually I have been suffering from tooth ache since like 4 months ago. But as the pain was not excruciating, I tot I could tahan until we go back to Msia. Biasa la kan...more comfortable with the dentist u r familiar with... *sebenarnya takut!*heh..he...*
But alas, I couldnt tahan anymore and we also found out that our insurance card covers part dental expenses, where we to pay 20% of the treatment cost, so we braved ourselves to visit the dentist...
The system is weird here. First, u have to do the x ray. Then you see the specialist Dentist. She will analyse your problem and tell u what u need to do. However, before the treatment, you have to see the the hygienist first for scaling where u have to make another appt. THEN only u go back to the specialist dentist for treatment. Luckily my pain is still bearable and it goes on and off. Imagine if I'm in real pain yg tak bole tido malam tu....mcm mana nak tahan another week!
Managed to secure the hygienist appt one week after. It was a HORRIBLE experience for me coz it was the most painful cleaning I ever experience! The hygienist (local lady doc) was so rough (i have sensitive gums mind you..) and gotta admit that few times , there were tears in my eyes coz she was like scraping my teeth like nobody 's buz! I did tell her it's painful, but she just ignored them. Geramnya!!! #%@!!@#&^#!!
She did my bottom teeth first and I already planned to tell her that for my upper teeth we will do it next time coz I have another appt coz i cant wait to run back home! Fortunately as she already spent 1 hr to 'scrub' my teeth she said to come again for another appt to complete the scaling. I almost jumped for joy! "You crazy doc, I dun want ever to see your face again!"
I kid you not that for 3 days I could not eat properly coz my gums hurts!
Kat msia buat scaling takde la rasa sakit mcm nak tercabut gigi..... The next few days I was contemplating to complete the cleaning or not but well I have gotten tis far and the pain is still there, so we decided to change the hygienist. They give me a korean doc the 2nd time and oh how lovely , gentle and friendly she was.... LEGA. I am so glad that my ordeal with the hygenist is finally over yday. Please note that my 2nd appt with the hygenist was already in week 3.
Wanna know the cost???? Well...
The scaling of my bottom teeth ONLY - SAR620.
For scaling mu upper teeth ONLY 0- SAR500
Total = SAR1120 for scaling only.
There u go, kat sini tak payah jadik dentist pun takpa, jadik hygienist pun dah boleh kaya :-)
Day after tomorrow, I'm gonna visit the specialist dentist again for my long awaited treatment. She said I have to do 5 fillings. On average, one filling cost SAR 500 -700 here. So u do the maths!
Wish me luck. Form my first encounter with her, the specialist seemed nice n friendly. I hope she's gentle too. Most probably I will request for anesthetic cant afford to take the risk!
A friend said if u need to do like root canal treatment here, u can buy a house back home in Msia! I think that might be true .heh..heh......
Moral of the stroy - Rajin rajin lah jaga lah gigi anda!
But alas, I couldnt tahan anymore and we also found out that our insurance card covers part dental expenses, where we to pay 20% of the treatment cost, so we braved ourselves to visit the dentist...
The system is weird here. First, u have to do the x ray. Then you see the specialist Dentist. She will analyse your problem and tell u what u need to do. However, before the treatment, you have to see the the hygienist first for scaling where u have to make another appt. THEN only u go back to the specialist dentist for treatment. Luckily my pain is still bearable and it goes on and off. Imagine if I'm in real pain yg tak bole tido malam tu....mcm mana nak tahan another week!
Managed to secure the hygienist appt one week after. It was a HORRIBLE experience for me coz it was the most painful cleaning I ever experience! The hygienist (local lady doc) was so rough (i have sensitive gums mind you..) and gotta admit that few times , there were tears in my eyes coz she was like scraping my teeth like nobody 's buz! I did tell her it's painful, but she just ignored them. Geramnya!!! #%@!!@#&^#!!
She did my bottom teeth first and I already planned to tell her that for my upper teeth we will do it next time coz I have another appt coz i cant wait to run back home! Fortunately as she already spent 1 hr to 'scrub' my teeth she said to come again for another appt to complete the scaling. I almost jumped for joy! "You crazy doc, I dun want ever to see your face again!"
I kid you not that for 3 days I could not eat properly coz my gums hurts!
Kat msia buat scaling takde la rasa sakit mcm nak tercabut gigi..... The next few days I was contemplating to complete the cleaning or not but well I have gotten tis far and the pain is still there, so we decided to change the hygienist. They give me a korean doc the 2nd time and oh how lovely , gentle and friendly she was.... LEGA. I am so glad that my ordeal with the hygenist is finally over yday. Please note that my 2nd appt with the hygenist was already in week 3.
Wanna know the cost???? Well...
The scaling of my bottom teeth ONLY - SAR620.
For scaling mu upper teeth ONLY 0- SAR500
Total = SAR1120 for scaling only.
There u go, kat sini tak payah jadik dentist pun takpa, jadik hygienist pun dah boleh kaya :-)
Day after tomorrow, I'm gonna visit the specialist dentist again for my long awaited treatment. She said I have to do 5 fillings. On average, one filling cost SAR 500 -700 here. So u do the maths!
Wish me luck. Form my first encounter with her, the specialist seemed nice n friendly. I hope she's gentle too. Most probably I will request for anesthetic cant afford to take the risk!
A friend said if u need to do like root canal treatment here, u can buy a house back home in Msia! I think that might be true .heh..heh......
Moral of the stroy - Rajin rajin lah jaga lah gigi anda!
Friday, 16 November 2007
Syawal updates
Gosh..where do I start.....it ha been quite sometime since I last updated my blog......the past 2 weeks I was busy being nurse to Nadia who was down with viral fever and at the same time both nadia n syafiq had their 1st semester exams.....Thankfully nadia is okay now, unfortunately now its yours truly turn to get sick! Been down with flu, cough, headache and fever for the past 3 days! Hopefully I will get better soon coz when mom is down, the house goes hay wire! I have like 3 piles of laundry to fold, Ironing..hmmm dun even start! ..and off course the kitchen, I have not been cooking for the last few days.Luckily hubby was so helpful, he folded sum clothes and did the laundry for me yday :-)
So today here I am trying to update my blog, still feeling quite lethargic but then again, surfing the net alwiz gives me good vibes so I do hope I feel better after this :-)
So now where do i start... I hope my stories blum basi lagi!
So now where do i start... I hope my stories blum basi lagi!
I do want to share our first hari raya in Riyadh...Meriah mcm kat Msia jugak. Off course since the first day, there was so many open houses. One thing beraya kat sini no need to sedia duit raya! heh..heh......
Kids di pagi raya, the boys baju melayu dah kecik so they all pakai jubah je!
with their frens on pagi raya
At Ina's hse, my neighbour in OlayaWe did our first open house too. For the first time, I cooked for about 30 people! Panic jugak takut tak cukup food but alhamdulilah everything went well. I didnt cooked rendang coz by that time I figured out people might get tired of eating it, so I cooked ayam halia, kari daging, sambal goreng hati (my MIL recipe) and acar timun. Dessert just sum fruits. Hubby was in the kitchen too from morning helping me out. By magrib baru we all settle semua. Phew! People start coming in after isyak... Glad tat it was a success, in fact most of them liked my ayam halia! Jeni even posted the recipes in her blog! He..he.....thank you Jeni!
ladies section
Guys section
One week after raya, we moved to our new apt in malaz. The apt is smaller compared to our Olaya Apt but it's cozy. As the new apt is not furnished we had to buy some basic stuff like stove, fridge, washing machine etc.....best jugak dpt shopping barang barang rumah!
I will post sum photos of the apt soon. Now that we have better internet connection, my next project is to upload our photos on the web. So next time it would be easier to view the photos rather than uploading them in the blog.
Sunday, 4 November 2007
Finally!!!
FINALLY I'M BACK ONLINE!!!
As I'm writing this, I'm smiling from ear to ear... it has been an agonising 2 weeks or so going day by day without the internet! After weeks of waiting, complains and some furious exchanges, finally the Saudi Telekom guy came and connect our phone line. (it's amazing how most govt related bodies are similar in their services huh!)
However the not so good part is we cant go wireless yet, seemed like there are's not enuff lines to cover etc...so we are still on dial up but at least here its a little bit faster.
So where should I start huh...........................
First of all we have nicely settled down in our new apartment in Malaz. (not Malas aaa!) It's smaller than our previous apt but cozy for us. Since we moved, today is the first day I didnt go back to sleep after the kids were off to school! Gosh...I didnt realised how much the internet motivates me :-)
I do have to mentioned that it is COLD in Riyadh now esp. at nite! At the moment, during the day its 29C and at nite it drops to 14C. During the day, the sun still shine brightly but its cool and windy, kinda like in cameron highland. At nite memang sejuk beb! We seldom switch on the air cond in the house now It feels weird to experience this cold weather in the land of the desert! Hubby said it's gonna get cooler soon and later on we have to buy thermal clothes and thick jackets to wear. This reminds me of our days in the UK ;-)
Will post sum updates on Eid celebration, the many many and still on going open house,my new home etc etc....
Right now I'm gonna check my mails, read my friends' blogs, check out friendster, myspace, online newspaper etc etc and get connected to the world again. Cheers!
Sunday, 21 October 2007
Berita terkini
A short update from me for now...
It has been a hectic week since Eid. ...
Last week, our days were full with makan and makan and makan..... :-)
This week, our life is hectic as we are moving to a new house....the last few days our days were filled by packing and packing and unpacking.
Unfortunately at our new house, we will be without internet for the next 1-2 weeks. Good news is we will get better internet connections-like streamyx. So downloading, reading mails,blogging etc etc will be much faster. Best thing is there no limited usage per month! Tat means I can on YM all the time. ..heaven! *grin*
Quite a lot of story n pictures to share on Eid celebration...hopefully I'll be able to update this spot soon!
It has been a hectic week since Eid. ...
Last week, our days were full with makan and makan and makan..... :-)
This week, our life is hectic as we are moving to a new house....the last few days our days were filled by packing and packing and unpacking.
Unfortunately at our new house, we will be without internet for the next 1-2 weeks. Good news is we will get better internet connections-like streamyx. So downloading, reading mails,blogging etc etc will be much faster. Best thing is there no limited usage per month! Tat means I can on YM all the time. ..heaven! *grin*
Quite a lot of story n pictures to share on Eid celebration...hopefully I'll be able to update this spot soon!
Thursday, 11 October 2007
EID MUBARAK
Salam Aidilfitri from us in Riyadh
Maaf zahir batin sincerely from my heart to my family and friends out there.....
Selamat balik kampung, enjoy your makan makan (not too much aa!), enjoy tengok rancangan raya (miss tat!!) , enjoy your family time and drive safely.
Monday, 8 October 2007
Raya Melodies
Asked hubby to download raya songs (u can tell I'm so in the mood for Raya!)
Excited to find out that hubby downloaded like 100 over Raya songs, new and old. Yay!
Since I was a teenagers, when we helped my mother to bake raya cookies, My sis and I would play Raya songs in in the kitchen. Usually we bought the cetak rompak cassette from pasar malam (RM2 I think!) .....It just created the mood for the upcoming celebration I guess :-)
Also during that time as we do not have the cake mixer, we have to beat the sugar and butter using wooden ladle! U can guess how long it takes to make the mixture white and creamy! At least while singing to the raya songs, it makes u forget how numb your hands and fingers are!
Now that I have my music...(motivation!!) today I'm going to bake some cookies.Lets hope they turn out yummy!
Excited to find out that hubby downloaded like 100 over Raya songs, new and old. Yay!
Since I was a teenagers, when we helped my mother to bake raya cookies, My sis and I would play Raya songs in in the kitchen. Usually we bought the cetak rompak cassette from pasar malam (RM2 I think!) .....It just created the mood for the upcoming celebration I guess :-)
Also during that time as we do not have the cake mixer, we have to beat the sugar and butter using wooden ladle! U can guess how long it takes to make the mixture white and creamy! At least while singing to the raya songs, it makes u forget how numb your hands and fingers are!
Now that I have my music...(motivation!!) today I'm going to bake some cookies.Lets hope they turn out yummy!
Thursday, 4 October 2007
Citer nak Raya
Time flies huh…just one week to go before Hari Raya. Rasa macam baru je puasa… of course at times like this rasa nak citer pasal raya je….(dah dlm mood raya la katakan walaupun kat sini tak meriah mcm di msia) Kalau kat opis, time ni semua orang memang dah takde mood nak keje, asyik borak pasal kuih raya, baju raya and gaduh nak balik kampung siapa!
Kat sini kemeriahan nak sambut Hari Raya tak terasa coz maybe we dun go for the usual raya shopping and we do not hear those Hari Raya sing along songs at the shopping malls! That reminds me I want to download those classic raya songs *baru semangat nak buat kuih raya*
Kalau di KL mana nak sah raya kalau tak bershopping di Jalan TAR masa bulan puasa. Tho you have to walk among hundreds of people, drained in sweat and suffering from thirst, berebut rebut nak tengok tudung etc…its all those that makes u feel like yeah….Raya is coming!! (which men like my hubby never understand why we like to endure all that just to get a scarf or a packet of serunding!)
My friend Has, would unanimously agree with me coz she is my shopping partner when it come to Jln TAR. shopping sessions. Be it rain or shine we can get “lost” like 3-4 hours browsing for things in Jalan TAR. Best thing is when both of us miraculously get our “cuti” at almost the same time. Masa tu paling best shopping anywhere esp. at those bazar Ramadan/Raya . Usually what we did was to buy some kuihs and drinks at the bazar. Then we would sneaked back to our car at the car park and eat! It was fun all rite-Thrill gitu! Then after we freshen up we continue our shopping feeling energetic as ever!
Anyway, back to Riyadh, although it’s a quiet event here, they do put up decoration lights on the highway and some malls do have extra tents for traders. Amazingly some of stalls are selling mercun bunga api and pop!pop! Other stalls sell rempah(??) , veils and some knick knacks from China. But unfortunately no Syawal delicacies. I wonder what do the arabs eat for raya… .
I have not checked but I do hope the boys' baju melayu and Nadia’s baju kurung still fit them (brought them from Msia). I also plan to bake some Raya cookies in 2 days time. (have to wait for Saturday when Hubby is off to buy the stuff) I borrowed some msians magazines and found some good recipes for raya cookies which the kids are excited to do. *my kitchen helpers aka tukang sibuk* One thing tho, I have not seen acuan biskut raya here , kalau tak jumpa then most of the cookies will just be round or squares and in paper cups! I'm hoping better luck on the cookies coz during ramadan my cooking skills is so teruk. I failed miserably! I tried a few traditional kuihs like bingka tepung beras and kuih keria (which seemed so easy to make) and they end up in the trash. After that I just gave up making kuih traditional…..better stick to karipap or popia!
At the moment we do not have any raya plans, just to cook the usual raya dishes like rendang, kurma daging and nasi himpit (syukur still ada 2 packets). Some of us plan to go to the Msian embassy as they have makan makan there. There’s also a group of msian friends who just moved to a new building. (I named the place kampoung melayu) There are about 14 families living there. Maybe we will crash their houses…. Last week when we had our buka puasa at their building (on the roof top – its so lovely with the cool weather now) , they already played lagu raya…..oh syahdunya………Seemed like it’s the best place to spend your raya coz at least you feel you are surrounded by families, they are a lot of kids too so my kids will have a blast. After all almost all those yang terrer masak are staying there, so guaranteed of good food! heh..heh..heh.......
Kat sini kemeriahan nak sambut Hari Raya tak terasa coz maybe we dun go for the usual raya shopping and we do not hear those Hari Raya sing along songs at the shopping malls! That reminds me I want to download those classic raya songs *baru semangat nak buat kuih raya*
Kalau di KL mana nak sah raya kalau tak bershopping di Jalan TAR masa bulan puasa. Tho you have to walk among hundreds of people, drained in sweat and suffering from thirst, berebut rebut nak tengok tudung etc…its all those that makes u feel like yeah….Raya is coming!! (which men like my hubby never understand why we like to endure all that just to get a scarf or a packet of serunding!)
My friend Has, would unanimously agree with me coz she is my shopping partner when it come to Jln TAR. shopping sessions. Be it rain or shine we can get “lost” like 3-4 hours browsing for things in Jalan TAR. Best thing is when both of us miraculously get our “cuti” at almost the same time. Masa tu paling best shopping anywhere esp. at those bazar Ramadan/Raya . Usually what we did was to buy some kuihs and drinks at the bazar. Then we would sneaked back to our car at the car park and eat! It was fun all rite-Thrill gitu! Then after we freshen up we continue our shopping feeling energetic as ever!
Anyway, back to Riyadh, although it’s a quiet event here, they do put up decoration lights on the highway and some malls do have extra tents for traders. Amazingly some of stalls are selling mercun bunga api and pop!pop! Other stalls sell rempah(??) , veils and some knick knacks from China. But unfortunately no Syawal delicacies. I wonder what do the arabs eat for raya… .
I have not checked but I do hope the boys' baju melayu and Nadia’s baju kurung still fit them (brought them from Msia). I also plan to bake some Raya cookies in 2 days time. (have to wait for Saturday when Hubby is off to buy the stuff) I borrowed some msians magazines and found some good recipes for raya cookies which the kids are excited to do. *my kitchen helpers aka tukang sibuk* One thing tho, I have not seen acuan biskut raya here , kalau tak jumpa then most of the cookies will just be round or squares and in paper cups! I'm hoping better luck on the cookies coz during ramadan my cooking skills is so teruk. I failed miserably! I tried a few traditional kuihs like bingka tepung beras and kuih keria (which seemed so easy to make) and they end up in the trash. After that I just gave up making kuih traditional…..better stick to karipap or popia!
At the moment we do not have any raya plans, just to cook the usual raya dishes like rendang, kurma daging and nasi himpit (syukur still ada 2 packets). Some of us plan to go to the Msian embassy as they have makan makan there. There’s also a group of msian friends who just moved to a new building. (I named the place kampoung melayu) There are about 14 families living there. Maybe we will crash their houses…. Last week when we had our buka puasa at their building (on the roof top – its so lovely with the cool weather now) , they already played lagu raya…..oh syahdunya………Seemed like it’s the best place to spend your raya coz at least you feel you are surrounded by families, they are a lot of kids too so my kids will have a blast. After all almost all those yang terrer masak are staying there, so guaranteed of good food! heh..heh..heh.......
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
Kids' Ramadan progress
Alhamdulilah so far the kids managed to complete their fasting. Since Ramadan started, Syafiq tinggal 2 days coz he felt so tired after he came back from school.
The greatest challenge for them at school is most of their school mates tak puasa! Even nadia's classmate in Grade 5 tak puasa. So syok aje their frens makan dan minum macam biasa depan they all. Canteen pun mengalu alu kan budak beli makanan!
In Syafiq's class (grade 3) he is the only one who is fasting! So u can imagine how my poor syafiq has to control his urges to join his friends yang tengah syok makan and minum...I'm so proud of him and nadia coz day to day they have to face these challeges and still managed to keep their fast. Off course bila balik sekolah, masuk pintu je the first word they say - mama bole tak nak minum.... which I usually answer back..la kejap lagi je nak buka puasa ..rugi...(tho masa tu lagi 4 jam nak buka!) So far it works ;-)
Rupanya arabs kat sini tak emphasis for their kids to start fasting at a young age. When they reached adolescence then only fasting will start for them.
Totally different from us huh.... where kids started to fast from 5 years old and in fact sum kids fast for full month since they are 6! Most of the time it's not becoz the parents force them too but the kids themselves wanted to fast. Off course one of the reason are usually the RM reward per fasting day :-)
Teringat masa my time dulu, (ages ago!!) even at 10 yrs old, I still selamba je minum kat sekolah, siap bawak bekal air lagik!*malu*
This is not to be told to my kids! heh..heh.....
The greatest challenge for them at school is most of their school mates tak puasa! Even nadia's classmate in Grade 5 tak puasa. So syok aje their frens makan dan minum macam biasa depan they all. Canteen pun mengalu alu kan budak beli makanan!
In Syafiq's class (grade 3) he is the only one who is fasting! So u can imagine how my poor syafiq has to control his urges to join his friends yang tengah syok makan and minum...I'm so proud of him and nadia coz day to day they have to face these challeges and still managed to keep their fast. Off course bila balik sekolah, masuk pintu je the first word they say - mama bole tak nak minum.... which I usually answer back..la kejap lagi je nak buka puasa ..rugi...(tho masa tu lagi 4 jam nak buka!) So far it works ;-)
Rupanya arabs kat sini tak emphasis for their kids to start fasting at a young age. When they reached adolescence then only fasting will start for them.
Totally different from us huh.... where kids started to fast from 5 years old and in fact sum kids fast for full month since they are 6! Most of the time it's not becoz the parents force them too but the kids themselves wanted to fast. Off course one of the reason are usually the RM reward per fasting day :-)
Teringat masa my time dulu, (ages ago!!) even at 10 yrs old, I still selamba je minum kat sekolah, siap bawak bekal air lagik!*malu*
This is not to be told to my kids! heh..heh.....
Friday, 14 September 2007
Citer citer bulan Ramadan
Day two of ramadan today. Alhamdulilah both Nadia and Syafiq managed to fast full days. Their greatest challenge has yet to come as only tomorrow they will start school after the weekend break. Although the weather is a little bit cooler now it is still tiring to be in the hot sun...Fortunately their school starts at 9am so after sahur they can still continue their sleep...
I do hope Syafiq can hold on as this is the first year he is fasting full day. Past years we let him fast for half day only coz he is so so skinny and he will whine and whine about "I must eat" and ate he did! Which is unusual coz on normal days, it was a struggle to let him eat!
Nadia alhamdulilah, she's already a 'pro' at fasting :-)
These past 2 days, our buka puasa is as simple as can be. One becoz hubby is working on afternoon shift so there's only me and the kids. I made agar agar marble yesterday, thank god it turned out fine! Minum air oren and just rice and ayam masak merah.
Sigh.......how I miss the kemeriahan bulan puasa in Msia! not that I'm a great fan of the ever famous bazar Ramadan but it's just that the way we msians with Ramadan.....and also the convenience of having the choice of not to cook on your lazy days. (usually on most days!)
Ahh...all the kuihs, lauk pauk, murtabak, air yg berbagai bagai rasa......most of all I miss buying kuihs at this makcik's gerai in menjalara. Her goreng pisang is the best ever! During ramadan, she will sell more variety of kuihs. After work, I will just make a quick turn to her gerai and buy kuih lopes for hubby and Nadia(Its strange but they go nuts over kuih lopes during ramadan) some karipap, seri muka, goreng pisang etc etc....(mengikut naluri nafsu pada hari itu!)
I seldom go to the TTDI ramadan bazar coz it's too crowded and pening nak pilih wat you wanna buy coz they are so many stalls and so many people! My usual stop overs were gerai makcik or Uncle's Rahim shop (bihun sup daging sedapppp!!!!) in menjalara. Paling jauh in Sri Damansara where I usually bumped into my frens Han and Has dengan tangan yg penuh beg plastics! *Nostalgic betul teringat citer camni malam nih......*
I also miss the terawih....bila buat terawih kat masjid then U feel that your puasa is more complete... here ladies are not encourage to go for prayers at the mosque. Nadia luvs going for terawih coz she enjoyed the moreh(food) after the prayers!
Puasa this year in Riyadh is different alright.....it's actually a very quiet event. During the day, most of the saudis stayed in their home. Most of shops are also closed till after asar. Only after terawih prayers, the streets are busy.
hu..hu....sure miss kemeriahan ramadan back home....
I do hope Syafiq can hold on as this is the first year he is fasting full day. Past years we let him fast for half day only coz he is so so skinny and he will whine and whine about "I must eat" and ate he did! Which is unusual coz on normal days, it was a struggle to let him eat!
Nadia alhamdulilah, she's already a 'pro' at fasting :-)
These past 2 days, our buka puasa is as simple as can be. One becoz hubby is working on afternoon shift so there's only me and the kids. I made agar agar marble yesterday, thank god it turned out fine! Minum air oren and just rice and ayam masak merah.
Sigh.......how I miss the kemeriahan bulan puasa in Msia! not that I'm a great fan of the ever famous bazar Ramadan but it's just that the way we msians with Ramadan.....and also the convenience of having the choice of not to cook on your lazy days. (usually on most days!)
Ahh...all the kuihs, lauk pauk, murtabak, air yg berbagai bagai rasa......most of all I miss buying kuihs at this makcik's gerai in menjalara. Her goreng pisang is the best ever! During ramadan, she will sell more variety of kuihs. After work, I will just make a quick turn to her gerai and buy kuih lopes for hubby and Nadia(Its strange but they go nuts over kuih lopes during ramadan) some karipap, seri muka, goreng pisang etc etc....(mengikut naluri nafsu pada hari itu!)
I seldom go to the TTDI ramadan bazar coz it's too crowded and pening nak pilih wat you wanna buy coz they are so many stalls and so many people! My usual stop overs were gerai makcik or Uncle's Rahim shop (bihun sup daging sedapppp!!!!) in menjalara. Paling jauh in Sri Damansara where I usually bumped into my frens Han and Has dengan tangan yg penuh beg plastics! *Nostalgic betul teringat citer camni malam nih......*
I also miss the terawih....bila buat terawih kat masjid then U feel that your puasa is more complete... here ladies are not encourage to go for prayers at the mosque. Nadia luvs going for terawih coz she enjoyed the moreh(food) after the prayers!
Puasa this year in Riyadh is different alright.....it's actually a very quiet event. During the day, most of the saudis stayed in their home. Most of shops are also closed till after asar. Only after terawih prayers, the streets are busy.
hu..hu....sure miss kemeriahan ramadan back home....
Tuesday, 11 September 2007
Salam Ramadan 1428
Insyallah esok puasa...This will be our first experience berpuasa di tanah arab.(mcm jejak rasul pulak!)
As now the weather is moving into the cold season, magrib is earlier. (yea!) Subuh of farj time is 4.17am. That means we will have our sahur at 3.30am. Breaking fast will be at 6.02pm and it be earlier as days goes by.
Best thing here, for the kids during ramadan their school will start at 9am and ends at 12.30. (normal school hours is 7.30am to 1.30am) As for office people, they start at 10am and go back at 4pm. Best gile!
Unfortunately as hubby works on shift, no change in the working hrs for him. Just that for breaking fast and sahur, they have a buffet prepared daily in the office. Ala ala hotel gitu...
As for me, I hope this ramadan will bring blessings to our family....
P/s will also be bz trying kuih recipes for berbuka as here no bazar ramadan, hu..hu..hu.......
As now the weather is moving into the cold season, magrib is earlier. (yea!) Subuh of farj time is 4.17am. That means we will have our sahur at 3.30am. Breaking fast will be at 6.02pm and it be earlier as days goes by.
Best thing here, for the kids during ramadan their school will start at 9am and ends at 12.30. (normal school hours is 7.30am to 1.30am) As for office people, they start at 10am and go back at 4pm. Best gile!
Unfortunately as hubby works on shift, no change in the working hrs for him. Just that for breaking fast and sahur, they have a buffet prepared daily in the office. Ala ala hotel gitu...
As for me, I hope this ramadan will bring blessings to our family....
P/s will also be bz trying kuih recipes for berbuka as here no bazar ramadan, hu..hu..hu.......
New routine
Sigh...since the kids started school, my life is full of chores! First of all, waking up in the morning is quite a task as Im not a morning person. Fortunately here by 5.30 am it's already so sunny so senang sikit nak bangun compared to msia where at 6am it is still so dark.
The kids go off to their bus by 6.45am. Stimes after they go off, I go back for a short nap which I consider as luxury now that I dun have to rush to the office! More than often I continue with the laundry, masak etc etc....sampai la the kids came back from school by 2.00pm. Yet I dunno why tak habih habis kain baju yg nak di lipat! Macam gunung! *I so hate lipat-ing kain, i rather iron the cothes than folding em*
In between my daily chores, occasionally I get sum stolen moments on the net between 1 to 2 hours. Then by the time they came back, its lunch time for them and homework time! 5.00pm to 7.00pm they have their quran session with the ustaz which is rotated between 4 houses. Normally we will each prepare a dish for the kids and ustaz to eat beramai ramai after their magrib prayer. So still no rest!
Balik from mengaji time for them to mandi, have their dinner, continue with homework or sum revisions (ada la tengok TV jugak sambil sambil tu) . By 10pm the kids will already fall asleep. kesian they all.....
Which after that, yours truly will also go zzz......
So how cum I tot being a full time stay at home mum gives me more leisure time?????Hmmm....
The funny thing is, when I whined to my kids how tired I am...Syafiq said, "now I know why they say mom's job is never done!"
Exactly my son.... :-)
The kids go off to their bus by 6.45am. Stimes after they go off, I go back for a short nap which I consider as luxury now that I dun have to rush to the office! More than often I continue with the laundry, masak etc etc....sampai la the kids came back from school by 2.00pm. Yet I dunno why tak habih habis kain baju yg nak di lipat! Macam gunung! *I so hate lipat-ing kain, i rather iron the cothes than folding em*
In between my daily chores, occasionally I get sum stolen moments on the net between 1 to 2 hours. Then by the time they came back, its lunch time for them and homework time! 5.00pm to 7.00pm they have their quran session with the ustaz which is rotated between 4 houses. Normally we will each prepare a dish for the kids and ustaz to eat beramai ramai after their magrib prayer. So still no rest!
Balik from mengaji time for them to mandi, have their dinner, continue with homework or sum revisions (ada la tengok TV jugak sambil sambil tu) . By 10pm the kids will already fall asleep. kesian they all.....
Which after that, yours truly will also go zzz......
So how cum I tot being a full time stay at home mum gives me more leisure time?????Hmmm....
The funny thing is, when I whined to my kids how tired I am...Syafiq said, "now I know why they say mom's job is never done!"
Exactly my son.... :-)
Tuesday, 28 August 2007
School
Tis is unusual...coz for the past few days our lives have been quite hectic. Bangun seawal pagi and keluar dari pagi hingga ke tengahari .Berpeluh peluh!
Finally the kids will go to school after almost 5 months bersuka ria at home. It was quite messy coz at first we decided to go to school A but when we visited the school, it was in a such sorry state..tak sampai hati nak hantar my kids there. So we decided to find another school although we had registered with school A. Nasib baik tak bayar apa apa lagi. Finally we found a suitable school in the same area which all of us like, Al Iqbal International School. Nope it's not my father's school heh..heh.......(I wish!)
At least it looked like a proper school with neat classrooms and a huge playground for sports. (some school here converted a villa/hse into school- macam sekolah tadika je) We are just hoping they have good and commited teachers coz here there are many schools that have problematic teachers not problematic students!
So the kids had to sit for their assessment test(which we did together gether coz no teachers were around!) and of course they passed with flying colors! Glad that Syafiq can start with Grade 3 and Nadia with Grade 5. That means they skipped one grade. I do hope they can catch up!! Cikgu Noor is supposed to make sure they do -hubby said seriously. *GULP*
Next few days we will be going around to buy books, school stuffs etc etc......Believe it or not their school books cost about Saudi riyal 1000.oo each!! Pengsan!
Their school starts on 1st Sept and my honeymoon days will be over then! No more getting up late (the schools starts at 7.30am) and I have to add "tuition teacher" to my resume beside kitchen and home administration. heh..heh...
Finally the kids will go to school after almost 5 months bersuka ria at home. It was quite messy coz at first we decided to go to school A but when we visited the school, it was in a such sorry state..tak sampai hati nak hantar my kids there. So we decided to find another school although we had registered with school A. Nasib baik tak bayar apa apa lagi. Finally we found a suitable school in the same area which all of us like, Al Iqbal International School. Nope it's not my father's school heh..heh.......(I wish!)
At least it looked like a proper school with neat classrooms and a huge playground for sports. (some school here converted a villa/hse into school- macam sekolah tadika je) We are just hoping they have good and commited teachers coz here there are many schools that have problematic teachers not problematic students!
So the kids had to sit for their assessment test(which we did together gether coz no teachers were around!) and of course they passed with flying colors! Glad that Syafiq can start with Grade 3 and Nadia with Grade 5. That means they skipped one grade. I do hope they can catch up!! Cikgu Noor is supposed to make sure they do -hubby said seriously. *GULP*Next few days we will be going around to buy books, school stuffs etc etc......Believe it or not their school books cost about Saudi riyal 1000.oo each!! Pengsan!
Their school starts on 1st Sept and my honeymoon days will be over then! No more getting up late (the schools starts at 7.30am) and I have to add "tuition teacher" to my resume beside kitchen and home administration. heh..heh...
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
I mizz u all la...
I so miss my frens....each one of them in Malaysia, the ones from my sekolah rendah convent days, the ones from Sek.Men convent days, the ones from MRSM Ps, the ones from my a level days, the ones from my NCUK days, the ones from my Univ days, the ones in Kuching, the ones in KL....
I especially miss the lepak time with them
I miss the sinfully delicious makan makan time with them
I miss sharing sensational gossips with them
I miss our escapade at the malls
I miss the intellectual conversation with them
I miss laughing about nothing with them
I miss mengutuk people with them
I miss merepek-ing with them
I miss pretending working out at the gym with them
I miss checking out guys with them (I was on a look out for my single frens ok!)
I miss having their support no matter how crazy I am
Frankly I juz miss them being them!
Sigh...I so miss u all la....
(Psst... pms time so mushy a bit la...)
I especially miss the lepak time with them
I miss the sinfully delicious makan makan time with them
I miss sharing sensational gossips with them
I miss our escapade at the malls
I miss the intellectual conversation with them
I miss laughing about nothing with them
I miss mengutuk people with them
I miss merepek-ing with them
I miss pretending working out at the gym with them
I miss checking out guys with them (I was on a look out for my single frens ok!)
I miss having their support no matter how crazy I am
Frankly I juz miss them being them!
Sigh...I so miss u all la....
(Psst... pms time so mushy a bit la...)
Thursday, 9 August 2007
Finally a good meal
It has been quite sometime since I last blog. The hot weather makes you feel so lethargic to do anything adventurous... (another reason for being plain lazy!)
Our tap water is just like boiling water during the afternoon, I think most of the time my hands are numb after I washed the dishes! We now have to “takung” air in the bathtub during the nite, to use it for our bath the next morning. Huh....I simply cannot imagine how the nomad live in the desert! Air cond pun rasa macam angin je!
Some update on oh so exciting things.....(not!) For something different, we had a proper dinner at 2 restaurants last 2 weeks. Normally when we go out, we prefer fast food coz its fast and u can never go wrong with the order . *self confess fast food junkie here*
It's an exciting event for us as normally when we go out it's alwiz to buy groceries at the Hypermarket or just to do window shopping at the mall so U can imagine how excited we were to do something different this time! heh..heh....
So first, Hubby brought us to a Turkish Restaurant, he wants me to try Turkish food tho he is doubtful that I will like it. He is rite, I dun really fancy them except for the bread yg teramat sedap. The rest of the dishes are just ok I guess. One thing I noticed tho, in their menus there are so many dishes with eggplant. Berangin beb!
Then the week after, we went to Applebee which is just 5 mins away from our apt. It is similar to Chillies. The restaurant was huge and deco was good, very American and food was oh so yummy! The price was above average but it's worth it! For once the waiter can speak proper English and in a good mood! We had steak, grill salmon and grilled chicken. It was a damn good meal coz dah lama tak makan proper western meal and to my delight they served the dishes with mashed potato. Sini susah nak jumpa shop yg jual mashed potato, so far none. Even KFC does not have mashed potato and the chicken does not taste like the KFC back in Msia. It’s more like ayam goreng pasar malam! Also no yummy KFC smells. I wonder why…...
Kids with an astronout in Applebee...cool huh!
Our tap water is just like boiling water during the afternoon, I think most of the time my hands are numb after I washed the dishes! We now have to “takung” air in the bathtub during the nite, to use it for our bath the next morning. Huh....I simply cannot imagine how the nomad live in the desert! Air cond pun rasa macam angin je!
Some update on oh so exciting things.....(not!) For something different, we had a proper dinner at 2 restaurants last 2 weeks. Normally when we go out, we prefer fast food coz its fast and u can never go wrong with the order . *self confess fast food junkie here*
It's an exciting event for us as normally when we go out it's alwiz to buy groceries at the Hypermarket or just to do window shopping at the mall so U can imagine how excited we were to do something different this time! heh..heh....
So first, Hubby brought us to a Turkish Restaurant, he wants me to try Turkish food tho he is doubtful that I will like it. He is rite, I dun really fancy them except for the bread yg teramat sedap. The rest of the dishes are just ok I guess. One thing I noticed tho, in their menus there are so many dishes with eggplant. Berangin beb!
Then the week after, we went to Applebee which is just 5 mins away from our apt. It is similar to Chillies. The restaurant was huge and deco was good, very American and food was oh so yummy! The price was above average but it's worth it! For once the waiter can speak proper English and in a good mood! We had steak, grill salmon and grilled chicken. It was a damn good meal coz dah lama tak makan proper western meal and to my delight they served the dishes with mashed potato. Sini susah nak jumpa shop yg jual mashed potato, so far none. Even KFC does not have mashed potato and the chicken does not taste like the KFC back in Msia. It’s more like ayam goreng pasar malam! Also no yummy KFC smells. I wonder why…...
Kids with an astronout in Applebee...cool huh!
Sunday, 29 July 2007
Wasting time at work? You're not alone: survey
DEDICATED TO ALL MY DEAR FRIENDS ESPECIALLY THOSE READING THIS IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR CUBICLE
Thu Jul 26, 10:06 AM ET
Americans who feel bored and underpaid do work hard -- at surfing the Internet and catching up on gossip, according to a survey that found U.S. workers waste about 20 percent of their working day.
An online survey of 2,057 employees by online compensation company Salary.com found about six in every 10 workers admit to wasting time at work with the average employee wasting 1.7 hours of a typical 8.5 hour working day.
*How ironic, they did the survey on wasting time using online survey!
Personal Internet use topped the list as the leading time-wasting activity according to 34 percent of respondents, with 20.3 percent then listing socializing with co-workers and 17 percent conducting personal business as taking up time.
Bla bla bla......
*********************************************************************************
Well.... not ashamed to admit that I used to be one of the statistic too, handling multi task work in trying to juggle between work and surfing the net, online news and gossips, YM, emails, skype etc etc etc.....
After all why not mix business with pleasure!! Keep on surfing my friends! Muahahahah!!
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
zzzz......not!
Its 4.02am and here I am in front of my laptop , I can't sleep! 
Ironically when I logged in to YM, no one is online yet , most probably my frens are enjoyin their breakfast in KL! Ahh....how I miss the nasi lemak bungkus, the oily mee goreng and the ever fattening roti canai and off course the nescafe tarik....sigh............
p/s Plus the free newspaper everyone read in the morning - The Sun!
Ironically when I logged in to YM, no one is online yet , most probably my frens are enjoyin their breakfast in KL! Ahh....how I miss the nasi lemak bungkus, the oily mee goreng and the ever fattening roti canai and off course the nescafe tarik....sigh............
p/s Plus the free newspaper everyone read in the morning - The Sun!
Thursday, 19 July 2007
How do u like your egg?
When hubby bought these eggs I tot to myself did he buy chicken eggs or duck eggs??? Turned out to be most of the eggs here are white. I dun like em coz the shell is really thin....and somehow I felt it tasted different. My kids and hubby said it's the taste is the same like any ordinary eggs, after all how different can an egg taste??
From what I gathered from the conversation that took place masa gatherings, kat sini eggs seemed like an essential commodity for msian homes. It serves as main food for kids and hubby. For breakfast telur goreng scramble or mata kerbau. For kids to bring to school- egg sandwich and at nite when the wife is too tire(or malas!) to cook, its nasi putih and telur goreng with kicap. Those yg rajin sket, it's nasi and telur goreng sweet and sour sauce.
Here, they dun have gred A or B eggs, semua sama je. Its either white or brown! Neither do they have omega eggs, or eggs with extra vitamins, no cholestrol and all those craps! Back home I never like those 'healthy" eggs anyway. One, the egg yolk has a funny color and off course I feel the taste is different. I alwiz prefer the good old fashion eggs from the farm!
Friday, 13 July 2007
My Kitchen Tales
Since I become a full time stay at home mum, the kitchen is my office now and I have more time to try my skills there. ... I have also suffered from more than 4 cuts from the knife. (must be day dreamin that time!).
Actually I do enjoy cooking juz that in KL, I had no time to cook (yea rite...!!) and when U have a maid, I guess u take things for granted. During the weekends, there were alwiz more exciting things to do rather than sweating yourself in the kitchen eg going out with frens, window shopping, sleeping, tengok TV etc etc…. 1001 excuses!
Another thing why I dun mind being in the kitchen now is that here U dun sweat, despite the weather coz humidity is high and the house is air conditioned. So tak le muka berminyak minyak lepas masak!
My kitchen tales may sound like a tale from a 12 years old but for me it’s an achievement!
I baked my first cake.
Since my Sain rumah tangga school days (dedicated to my cooking partner then, Yati!) I never baked a cake! I luv baking cookies during raya time but never a cake. Never had the confidence. So, last few weeks I baked the most basic cake in the world – Basic Butter Cake. It was easy enuff that I think even nadia could do it! The kids had a great time ‘helping” out in the kitchen, especially licking the creamed butter and sugar. (I wonder why all kids like to do that!) Happy to report that it turned out not only edible but yummy too. I was beaming the whole day.
Rice crispies
Kids bought the cereal and they decided they dun like it. So instead of throwing it away, I made rice crispies cups based on the recipe at the back of the box (I think it was meant for the kids to make it!!) It was a hit with the family and neighbour!
Yep..I dun believed it either but I tried to cook apam balik last couple of days! (missing the food at pasar malam!) As u can already guess, of course the recipe was a simple one. My neighbors, dah buat and its yummy. Well, my kuih nak kata jadi, jadi la jugak but it can taste better and should look better! Maybe I didn’t follow the recipes correctly as being me, my hand is so gatal to tambah this and that!
Actually I do enjoy cooking juz that in KL, I had no time to cook (yea rite...!!) and when U have a maid, I guess u take things for granted. During the weekends, there were alwiz more exciting things to do rather than sweating yourself in the kitchen eg going out with frens, window shopping, sleeping, tengok TV etc etc…. 1001 excuses!
Another thing why I dun mind being in the kitchen now is that here U dun sweat, despite the weather coz humidity is high and the house is air conditioned. So tak le muka berminyak minyak lepas masak!
My kitchen tales may sound like a tale from a 12 years old but for me it’s an achievement!
I baked my first cake.
Since my Sain rumah tangga school days (dedicated to my cooking partner then, Yati!) I never baked a cake! I luv baking cookies during raya time but never a cake. Never had the confidence. So, last few weeks I baked the most basic cake in the world – Basic Butter Cake. It was easy enuff that I think even nadia could do it! The kids had a great time ‘helping” out in the kitchen, especially licking the creamed butter and sugar. (I wonder why all kids like to do that!) Happy to report that it turned out not only edible but yummy too. I was beaming the whole day.
Rice crispies
Kids bought the cereal and they decided they dun like it. So instead of throwing it away, I made rice crispies cups based on the recipe at the back of the box (I think it was meant for the kids to make it!!) It was a hit with the family and neighbour!
Chicken fajitas
(I like to think it tastes kinda like the Chillies fajitas we luv sooo much!!)
This comes out from no where. As most of the time we eat chicken, I wanted to create a new dish, so I threw some spices, oyster sauce, button mushrooms (luv them!) and capsicum and wallah! The dish reminds me of the chicken fajitas in Chillies- minus the cheese and hot plate. The picture does not do justice to the taste so plz ignore the picture!heh..heh….
Kastad Jagung
I read in the recipes/forums that this is the easiest dish someone can make. However the first time I tried to do it, it was a real DISASTER! I never made custard pudding before so I didn’t know that u have to keep on stirring it till it becomes thick! So I keep on adding the custard flour thinking the recipe must be wrong. Heh..heh..it went to the waste bin after a few hrs.
I didn’t give up…recently I tried it again- based on the simplest recipe on kastad jagung via the net. Finally jadik!!....and yes it was so easy to do and it only took like 15-20 mins!
Moist chocolate cake
After the success of the butter cake I had high hopes when I decided to try out the Moist choc cake recipe. But sadly the cake didn’t turn out the way I imagined it to be, instead it was dry and flaky!! Again it was fed to the waste bin. Will try again next time! *malu*
Yep..I dun believed it either but I tried to cook apam balik last couple of days! (missing the food at pasar malam!) As u can already guess, of course the recipe was a simple one. My neighbors, dah buat and its yummy. Well, my kuih nak kata jadi, jadi la jugak but it can taste better and should look better! Maybe I didn’t follow the recipes correctly as being me, my hand is so gatal to tambah this and that!
Having visited more than a few forums on recipes and having to see those dishes others bring on makan makan events, really makes me feel inadequate la! Like the last makan makan we went, someone made mini donuts with colorful icing and top them up with sprinkles that make dunkin donut looks plain! I dunno when will I reach that level but hope to do so one day at my own phase.....
So far, on the daily dishes I’m doing quite well, paprik ayam and daging masak merah (masakan siam) is a big hit with hubby! Reminds us of the good ol times makan at the gerai….!
Saturday, 7 July 2007
Things I noticed.....
There are few things here in Riyadh that amused me….
1. Fitting rooms
Kat sini all shops have no fitting rooms be it for men or ladies. So u really has to know your size before buying the clothes u like. However, most shops give a warranty of 7 days to change the clothes if it doesn’t fit. But the hassle of going back to the same shop esp. if it’s quite a distance, lecehkan!
2. Lingerie shop
There are so many lingerie shops here (that tells something abt the arabs huh!) but ALL the sales assistants are men! (actually takde sales girls pun kat sini except at Kingdom Tower where they have ladies only floor)
Its ironic coz here they are very strict about ladies n men section but when it comes to buying lingerie, undies or bras, it’s the men that serve you! These guys are not the lembut type either u know….. agaknya that’s why most of them wear the veil? With the veil, it’s much easier coz they can’t see your face and give you the look like …. “pompuan ni nampak je innocent tapi pilih lingerie sexy habih” something like that!
Fortunately like I said earlier there are no fitting rooms here... ..if there are can u imagine telling the guy “huh...can u get me a bigger size coz this one doesn’t fit quite nicely”. Erkkk!!!
3. Syiling
In Msia we are so used to korek our purse and give the exact change to the cashier that. sometimes it gets to the point of testing yr patience esp. when u are queuing at the back of that that person. The cashier will also take their own sweet time to kira the change they give to u, kalau cashier baru tu sampai 2-3 times dgn muka toya they all….
Tapi kat sini,they seldom give syiling back, instead they will give u a box of chewing gums or sweets- Wrigleys ke, chiclets ke or yg sewaktu dgn nya. Normally for a change of less than 1 riyal. Its faster no doubt and kids luv it. In some store, they dun give back your change at all! Tensen jugak!
1. Fitting rooms
Kat sini all shops have no fitting rooms be it for men or ladies. So u really has to know your size before buying the clothes u like. However, most shops give a warranty of 7 days to change the clothes if it doesn’t fit. But the hassle of going back to the same shop esp. if it’s quite a distance, lecehkan!
2. Lingerie shop
There are so many lingerie shops here (that tells something abt the arabs huh!) but ALL the sales assistants are men! (actually takde sales girls pun kat sini except at Kingdom Tower where they have ladies only floor)
Its ironic coz here they are very strict about ladies n men section but when it comes to buying lingerie, undies or bras, it’s the men that serve you! These guys are not the lembut type either u know….. agaknya that’s why most of them wear the veil? With the veil, it’s much easier coz they can’t see your face and give you the look like …. “pompuan ni nampak je innocent tapi pilih lingerie sexy habih” something like that!
Fortunately like I said earlier there are no fitting rooms here... ..if there are can u imagine telling the guy “huh...can u get me a bigger size coz this one doesn’t fit quite nicely”. Erkkk!!!
3. Syiling
In Msia we are so used to korek our purse and give the exact change to the cashier that. sometimes it gets to the point of testing yr patience esp. when u are queuing at the back of that that person. The cashier will also take their own sweet time to kira the change they give to u, kalau cashier baru tu sampai 2-3 times dgn muka toya they all….
Tapi kat sini,they seldom give syiling back, instead they will give u a box of chewing gums or sweets- Wrigleys ke, chiclets ke or yg sewaktu dgn nya. Normally for a change of less than 1 riyal. Its faster no doubt and kids luv it. In some store, they dun give back your change at all! Tensen jugak!
Monday, 2 July 2007
A visit to Madinah - 25th June 2007
Last week we went to Madinah. Stayed there for 3 days. We took the budget airlines Flynas. The way they operate is exactly the same as Air Asia, online booking, ticketless and they sell snacks in the plane
:-)
It took us 1 hour to reach Madinah from Riyadh. It's an overwhelming feeling to see Masjid Nabawi in front of us..... I luv the city as its very clean and the streets are alwiz bustling with people from various nationalities shopping at the bazaars and going to the mosque. The hotel we stayed in is just in front of the mosque so it was really convenient.
The boys in Nabwi mosque
At nite
The weather in Madinah is similiar to Msia and its not as hot as Riyadh. If Im not mistaken the temp there was 35c. Shopping best coz u can find everything under the sun esp stuff from china! Most of sellers can speak BM/indon, U can hear - " kakak mari sini, murah murah" , "Malaysia boleh" and "Kuala lumpur bagus" Kelakar betul!
Di Kedai kurma.
Saturday, 23 June 2007
Action Kids
Baru baru ni we bought Nadia a roller blade. Most of her frens here have it and they usually have a spin at the corridor. She's quite an expert for a beginner!
Of course as parents we bought the safety set for her to use. Unfortunately she never use them coz she said it's a hassle and she look funny in the helmet (girls! ) End up, they use the helmet for play!
Granada mall
These photos were taken at Granada mall- my fav mall in Riyadh. Its huge with the anchor tenant being Carrefour (open till 1am daily and till 2am on wkends) and Debenhams. They also had one of the biggest playland for kids. Here, most of the shoping mall have playland for kids with rides and arcade games. Rides like ferris wheel, carousel, bumper cars etc....kinda like a small fun fair. In Granada, they have a roller coaster! Boleh tahan jugak! As hubby is not the 'adventurous type" I had to teman Nadia. Syafiq prefers to stay on the ground with dad (like father like son!) Had quite a blast! Boleh tahan jugak the roller coaster ride. If any of you had been to cosmoworld in Timesquare KL, its like a smaller version of the ride.
Granada mall reminds me of Midvalley. Its huge (200,000 sq meters) and had a lot of lovely shops (2 floors) where you can shop for anything under the sun - clothes, handbags, shoes and accesories. Heaven for shopping!
Family vs singles section
Here, most of the makan places eg fast food outlets and food court have family and single sections. Even Starbuck (banyak gile kat sini-the arabs like drinking coffee juz like msian luv lepaking at mamak stalls!) have family section and singles section. Singles sections are actually for men only. They should put the sign "for men only" to avoid confusion! The entry for family and singles are normally different with the family section glass window frosted so memang orang tak boleh nampak!
In a way, I kinda like the segregation coz it gives u privacy. U can close the curtain to Here are sum pics taken at McD where the kids luv to lepak-actually they like playing there. Here the fast food outlets playland is huge with very high and winding slides and lots of places to climb and run. Kinda like a section in the playland we have in Midvalley or 1utama where u have to pay. Some outlets even have playstations. Best of all it's free! Not bad huh! Fast outlet kat sini mahal jugak- average meal in McD cost 14-16 riyals (about RM14-RM16). At Burger King average meal is 18 riyal.
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
A day with the camels
Life in saudi arabia would not be complete without a picture with the camels!
We went to this badwi camp and u can see lots of camels.Most arabs goes there for fresh camel's milk .They just put a rug on the sand and drink the newly milked milk from bowl. Its still warm they say.....no thank you for me!
The smell is huh....quite alarming when we first arrived. Hard to breathe!!! Tu la nampak muka we all berkerut aje!
Makan makan
Today we had makan makan event again. Im not complaining just amazed that we have makan makan event happening almost every other week. Within 2.5 months, we have been to at least 4 makan makan events and that does not include those that we didn’t go coz hubby has to work.
Its amazing that here I see more food variety than in Msia. Macam macam ada! Satay, kuah kacang and even laksa penang! All home made!.As for dessert, where can I start! Its kinda like those dessert table u c at high teas! Cheese cake, chocolate cake, all sort of pudding and jelly and not forgetting kuih traditional like seri muka, kuih talam etc etc…all the cangih canggih types. Gosh these ladies really terrer la! At one event, someone actually bring in the ice kacang machine (small one) and the kids had a good time making ABC!
In a way it good coz we get to know each other to exchange recipes, check out which kedai selling serai or lengkuas and the kids can play and have fun. Its ironic coz here we attend more gatherings that we had with our family back home where mostly it ties to someone’s birthday or some celebration. Here people do makan makan just to get together and it’s like a pot luck session so the host never have to worry that the food is not enuff. Usually it’s too much!
I do have to upgrade my cooking skills fast coz if there is another makan makan what can I bring!!! So far popia is my escapade! Cepat dah senang!!
Its amazing that here I see more food variety than in Msia. Macam macam ada! Satay, kuah kacang and even laksa penang! All home made!.As for dessert, where can I start! Its kinda like those dessert table u c at high teas! Cheese cake, chocolate cake, all sort of pudding and jelly and not forgetting kuih traditional like seri muka, kuih talam etc etc…all the cangih canggih types. Gosh these ladies really terrer la! At one event, someone actually bring in the ice kacang machine (small one) and the kids had a good time making ABC!
In a way it good coz we get to know each other to exchange recipes, check out which kedai selling serai or lengkuas and the kids can play and have fun. Its ironic coz here we attend more gatherings that we had with our family back home where mostly it ties to someone’s birthday or some celebration. Here people do makan makan just to get together and it’s like a pot luck session so the host never have to worry that the food is not enuff. Usually it’s too much!
I do have to upgrade my cooking skills fast coz if there is another makan makan what can I bring!!! So far popia is my escapade! Cepat dah senang!!
Friday, 1 June 2007
Syafiq's 8th Birthday
May 8th was Syafiq's 8th birthday. Again, we celebrated it on a small scale basis, juz us. Tot of havin makan makan with the neighbors but at that time I didnt have the confidence to cook for people yet!
We had an ice cream log cake for Syafiq- yummy!
Our Micasa in Riyadh
We lived in a 7 floor apt. This is the view from our window on 5th floor. Every morning when I woke up, I will 'termenung" in front of the window -cerahkan mata they say! Most of the arabs houses are like these..its HUGE and all walled up. U cant c anything..so privacy is assured.
We divided the living room into two parts coz hubby wants the second living room to be for games only. Most of the days, the second living room is just like an arcade room :-)
Normally kids n me lepak in the first living room, more than often we had our lunch there too!
Our apt is furnished so most of the things u see here are not ours except for the carpets!
Kids room (after dah kemas nih!) Haekal sleep on the tilam next to nadia's bed. (on the floor coz we all takut dia jatuh katil). His bed sheet covers are from the movie Cars.Though I would luv to live in a compound where the houses are like meditranean style with pools and parks...(never could afford those-mahal gile) this apt is kinda cozy for us. Its also convenient coz its just 15mins drive for hubby to go to work.
Just that the kids dun really have a place to play. But then again here I dun see kids playing outside-too hot I guess. Most of the times, we can see the kids on their bicycle at the corridor n our kids played football there too. Balik nanti, most probably we will be like 2x fairer! Tak payah pakai fair & lovely! heh..heh.....
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