Xmas day @the city

I was at the office working on Xmas day (is it odd that this year all of my work days fall on all those important holiday; including Eid? hurmm). Anyway, one weird fact hit me to know that here, everything is shut dead today.. so people could stay home and spend their Xmas with their family (how lucky). This includes all of the public transportation ie; buses, trains and tube! So today, the city is suppose to be empty and clear. Knowing that, I went out to snap some memorable pictures of the-quiet-streets around the city - that is streets that I walked to & flo from office to Trafalgar square.

Yes, it is much much quieter... but still there are some people who still enjoy walking by the empty city (maybe they are opportunist like me ;) ). All those shops, big or small are all closed. But as I'm nearing the end of Regent St toward Picadilly Circus, I saw few shops open, Starbucks is serving their hot coffee! With plenty of cold-thirsty people lining up. And at the back is Donut & Bagel - also open for business. They sure know when is the best time to rip-off profits!

To my not-so-surprise-anymore, i even passed by many tourist lining up to go into Ripley's Believe-it-or-not center. Wow.. how come it's open? And then Angus Steak House - full with people dining in. Well i guess it's not as dead as i tot it would be.
I don't celebrate Xmas.. but living ere, i feel that I need to blend in the spirit and see how they actually celebrate it from my own point of view, not from the-typical tv-fairy tales. Am sure bummed that it's not a whity Xmas tho... it could have been soo picture-perfect! ;)

Fun nite @Winter wonderland

Yesterday we brave ourselves to take Myra out for a fun nite out through the winter. But luckily, the weather has been nice for the past few days, not too cold (by not too cold I mean 10 degree celcius jugak! still.. )

They have set up a very nice fun fair (or what they call Winter Wonderland) somewhere around Hyde Park, can't believe that it's a temporary.. looks so strong and permenant-like building (like the kind you'll see in Disneyland). Fairy wheels all over, haunted house, surround musics -almost too magical for a young at heart.. hiks.

There are many fun rides for the kids, one of which includes a super high gelongsor with 6 slopes! (which actually called Giant Toboggan snow slide.. err i think) you can just imagine how hyper a kid could get when skidding down with it! Seb baik.. Myra is still too young to say ''Mommy mommy I wanna ride that!''. I even saw a kid literally rolling over the ground screaming to his dad just so he can play the Snow Ball Bungee Demo (which is a super cool trampoline by the way, if only I could join.. hehe).
There are also German Market set around the park, which sell foods, drinks and many souvenirs mainly for the Christmas season. It's kinda tradition -that is according to Seb.

But my main objective for a winter-nite out is to see the outdoor ice rink, i tot it's gonna look so cool and romantic like that movie in Serendipity- where people skate around the lake or park or something in the middle of New York, but to my dissapointment, it didn't even come close to it. The ice rink set is just like any normal one you'd see in the supermarket (except it's outdoor).. so much for my high imagination.. hurm.. mebbe i hafta look for more.. there are plenty of other places that have ice rink set up for the holiday season.. i just didn't get the chance to go... just yet. Well.. anyway, back to mah story bout our outing..

The actual reason for last nite outing was for Myra play date with Elena; Seb's adorable daughter, she's all smiley and friendly just like Myra. They sure connected well. Like usual, Myra babble some baby chat then gave Elena some kisses; how so cute to see a baby loving another baby. ;)

All in all we sure had our fun nite out with Seb and family.. it is nice to finally go out to enjoy the winter, who knows how long we gonna be ere, might not make it for the next season.. heh..

Even the one thing that annoys me most when going out on weekend nite like any normal family- the disasterous traffic jam, not only on the road.. the park itself were packed with people that I think we had to walk 0.1cm/sec! (well maybe that's a bit exaggerated.. but still!) seems to keep me smiling..

London, you sure did get me this time ;)

Shud I be worried?

Hurm.. if my lil GIRL is showing a massive lasak-ness at her age, is it normal?
She's climbing table, chairs, sofas, be it asal ade angle yang panjatable, she'll there. Even the chokia IKEA side table pun become her rest place..yup.. as shown on picture, that's her.. trying her best to turn herself up in between the small spaces of that side table that I'm talking about... (actually, not sure if it qualify as a side table or a TV bench or something- it came with the so-called ''furnished'' house).
Today, Aizal as a concern daddy tried a new trick to make all the dining chairs un-panjatable by putting it elsewhere or in a difficult angle that climbing is impossible. And guess what she did? She hang onto the table (yes..lika lil monkey!) and scream her lungs out that she can't climb to the top of the table like usual.

Shud i be be worried??!!

Am I allowed to paranoid now?

London for dummies part II

In UK (more specifically in London for me) if you are not dying or bleeding, you better cross your finger and hope to get well on your own. I am again frustrated by the so call excellent NHS services. I was told by many of my friends who live here that if your baby isn't well, they would be given first priority to see a doctor, let it be in GP clinic or in the hospital, irregardless of their sickness- big or small. But to our unfortunate moment, we were told otherwise, TWICE!

Sure, here we have to pay for our own National Insurance monthly by the unwilling cut they made from our salary. So, is it too much to ask if our baby is sick, and we, as a concern parents need to seek for medical treatment or advice even? If it is too much.. then, what are we paying for?

Myra isn't feeling well for the past 3 days. If in Malaysia, we would just walk to a clinic and see a doctor, but here.. they seem to find many many different excuses for not wanting us to come and see the doctor..and don't get me started on the medicine.. lagiiii kemut badak!


Last month, we went to our GP for myra jab, and one of the nurse claim that baby clinic is open on Monday but at the opposite center- no appointment needed. So, fine.. we came back the next week, and the same S*&*%d nurse was there.. he said to come to the previous clinic which we've been to last week in the afternoon, he said the baby clinic is open everyday after 2.30pm- no appointment needed. OK, fine.. we just follow the flow. Sabar sabar..

But this time, again, when Aizal took Myra to see the GP, the same S*$@^& d nurse said the baby clinic is not until Monday! FGyroajhcauyfcuahca%^^@!#!!

Then a friend advice me to take Myra to the nearest hospital, as they have an emergency dept for kids. She said the dept are to entertain any cases, not just a traumatic emergency. Boy, how I regret going there..

The snob nurse not only told us that we aren't s'pose to be there (cos apparently, a sick baby should wait to see the GP whenever the GP is available.. so if we have to wait for a week, we just have to wait for a week). She add, you only bring a kid here if she either can't breathe, bleeding or have a serious fracture; in other word.. if bleh tahan tak mati.. jgn datang hospital!

After an hour or two of waiting with frustration, we then ushered to see the pediatrician , but yup.. as i suspected, the doctor here seem to memorize the same line ''this is viral infection that has been going around to everyone, there's nothing i can provide you to heal, it'll go by itself''

Sabar je aku.. dah berjam-jam jalan gi hospital dalam sejuk.. waited and being told-off, this is what we get in return of our monthly cut for National Insurance. typical..

to Raye or Not to Raye

I think I almost forgot what it feels like to celebrate Hari Raye, let it be Aidilfitri or Aidiladha...
this morning I woke up feeling just as normal.. there's no sound of pots and pans in the kitchen nor screams of children let alone any raye song in the air..
will my Hari Raye will always be as empty? for how long more? hurmm..
To lift out a bit of our hari raye mood.. I baked chocolate cake, cook some lontong and serve it with the serunding (that we managed to smuggle from Malaysia.. but I swear, not worth the risk! there's a sniffing dog waiting for you in Heathrow! so do bare THAT in mind before you decide to bring any food into UK! We were lucky enuff that the dog got distracted with a chinese woman who then got caught with her dried fish! fyuhh).. anyway, back to my raye story..
I even dress Myra's up in her too-big-a-abaya that I bought from Doha just before moving here.. mmm.. maybe next year it'll fit nicely ;)
And before touching all those simple raye dish, i snug into my black hari raye kurung-which is a lovely gift from Ibu.. thanks again bu.. love the design!

There, I have tried my best, but yet.. still.. it isn't enuff.. it's not raye enuff, plus, I am now in my office.. yes... working.. like i always did.
To those who could actually feel the spirit of hari raye, Selamat Aidiladha.. hope you enjoy your day.. best wishes from us in our gloomy raye day in london..

Surprised visit to Malaysia

Flight ticket to KL - GBP XXXX
1 big beg of Souvenirs - GBP XXX
Cost for going to buy the souvenirs - GBP XXX
Cost to see the-face-of-people-in-shock-to-see-we-are-back-in-kl

- Priceless..

Alhamdulillah.. our secret mission to come home last Tuesday went well. Mak Abah is now in Mecca for their journey to hajj. Yup, if (and only if anyone is reading this blog) we are in KL now. But only for a very brief period. We are heading back to London on Monday the 1st. Not enuff cuti ma.. so balik kejap je.. jengok both our parents (specially for Mak Abah sacred trip) and to show Myra's new skill- walking lika star.. hihiks.. am so glad that our plan works out well, I didn't tell a single soul about this trip (Except for certain someone yg turut bersubahat..wink wink). What more interesting is that, the first day when we arrived, Myra's Mak Long yang tgh sebok ber-meeting, drop everything off and rush back just to see her glimpse! wahhh.. gile hebat Myra ni.. sampai camtu skali orang sayang die.. hehe

Our prayer goes to Mak and Abah, semoga mendapat haji mabrur and have a safe journey home.
Amiinnnn...

it's Snow it's snow it's snow!!

Just now I woke up to see snow flowing down outside! Was so excited that I woke the whole house up. Jakun tul.. hahhahaha.. pes time la katekan..
Dengan tak mandi, tak gosok gigi.. we went outside to feel what it's like to touch the real ice rain, kalau ade bahan2 dah lame dah aku bukak stall ABC! muehehe

I hate this game!

Hehe sorry Capt.. it's not you.. it just that Tag in general is too long & embarrasing! hehe.. but to kill time.. why the heck not?
(strictly written while goyanging-kaki at work).. so here goes.. versi melayuku..

1) bekas kekasih saya adalah seperti seekor monster jadian

2) saya sedang mendengar berita dalam bahase arab (sepatah haram pun tak paham)

3) mungkin saya perlu blaja bahase arab so paham sket laa news dieorg..

4) saya suka belajar masak makanan yg simple-but-pinggerlikingud

5) sahabat baik saya ialah suami saye juge (skema nyee ayat ni)

6) saya tak paham laa tujuan tag ni? utk malukan diri sendiri ke?

7) saya kehilangan sabar la dalam menjawab soalan2 tag ni.. boleh skip ke?

8) ramai yg berkata-kata, tapi saye buat dekkk aje

9) makna nama saya emas yang lembut (saye reke sendiri ni)

10) cinta tu mendalam maksudnye, make saye malas nak explain

11) di suatu tempat bername BALI, saye pes time terjumpe binatang namenye barong.. sungguh scary!

12) saya akan cuba tahan sabar dan jawab tag ini walaupun saye dah malas nak menaip

13) makna SELAMANYA ialah bile tag ni habis selamenye

14) henpon saya... dah mati

15) saya paling meluat bila henpon saye mati

16) bila saya bangun dr tidur saye tgk myra, pastu slow2 gi toilet.. takut die terjage skali

17) party adalah salah satu care utk makan free

18) haiwan yg paling cute ialah baby hippo.. montel, nak2 yg tgh tengah berendam lam air.. hiks!

19) peringkat umo yg paling menyeronokkan - lepas abes blaja.. yahoo! i hate school!

20) hari ini saya rasa sgt tensions sebab arini kene keje.. asek2 keje.. bosan laaa

21) mlm ini saya akan cuba tidokan myra awal sket dari semalam, so saye pun bleh tido awal and pispuli

22) saya btl2 inginkan rumah sendiri di london, bleh laa nak hias2 ikut selere hati

23) bila tgk muka kt cermin, saye nampak bidadari.. wakakakakakaka

24) shopping kompleks adalah tempat setan menggoda aku membeli >:)

25) makanan segera biasanya mah peberet, tapi takut makan selalu sebb nanti cepat lupe cam skrang

26) ayat2 terakhir kata pd org, yes.. everything is alrite (dalam hati.. aku je yg tau)

27) nk pnjgkn tag ni? malas la.. tag ni dah ckop panjang! lapa plak aku buat bende alah ni.. ape nak makan aaa?

Menapak ke Westfield

Westfield- in Sheperd Bush, is to date, the largest in-town shopping and leisure destination in Europe. It was launched sometime end of last month.. so consider blom celebrate 1st month anniversary pun laa.. i think

The best part about mah new home is that it is soo near to those fancy2 place and attractions, so I could choose to ride a bus or even walk- NO MORE annoying-TUBE!! yay! ;)

From my house, we took bus 31 towards Sheperd Bush, an easy-beasy journey, straight to the point. But this time around it's only me, Myra and Auntie Min. (Aizal dah pegi dah sorang2 the day b4, slamber je tak ajak pastu cite2 kat kiteorg, nak tak nak kne gak la pegi sendiri..huhu) We went in to see sooooooo many shops inside.. but for me.. KL dah bersepah2 dah big mall macam ni, so I didn't quite feel jakun or anything...(err.. mungkin ade sikit la kot? hehe). Maybe for the londoners.. this is lika new deal to them.. having all the big brands under one roof, (unlike their traditional high street style).... but for me Westfield ni kinda remind me of OU yang dah bercambah2 tiap2 kali we came back to Malaysia.. adeee je new wings.. or that new shopping mall kat Bukit Bintang.. ape tah name die? Aza.. if you are reading this, please respond, coz u r the one who brought us jln2 there last time around ;) Was it Pavillion? hurmm.. anyway..

Most of the posh shop like Dior, Prada, Burberry, MiuMiu, Louis Vuitton & etc still got their 'to-open-soon' signboard, so.. i think if you are up for those designer brands.. you better wait till next year, when the mall is fully-launched. You'd love 'the village section'. But if you are just someone who are keen to see what-is-the-big-fuss-is-all-about-this-new-shopping-mall like me.. no harm in visiting it whenever.

And I came to discover there are two newly-open GUESS store there (maybe more? I dunno.. blom abis tawaf pun).. Since some people in KL kept asking me to do some price-comparison between Guess ere and in Malaysia, so I gotta see.. to be honest, I think it is way more expensive here.. but then again I could be wrong.. for example, how much does this new arrival Avani Top Zip Hobo cost you in KL? It's £90 ere and if I compare it to their US-based website, it is only $USD56.50.. jauhnye beze!! Ke.. I saw a different one? but i swear to god, both looks the same to me.. hehe

Anyho.. sempena our first visit there, I decided to let Myra go for a walk (or run.. more like) with her new ''buddy'' that arrives earlier that morning. So.. Myra ape lagi.. dengan pantas kilat berlariii from one TV screen display to another. The cute thing is, she'll stop by as if the tv is talking to her, then off back to see bunch of people yang tgh sebok trying out the PS3 karaoke set, while geleng-geleng paler with the tunes. She continues back-and-forth for about 5 minutes until she discover the static esclator; and starts to lift her feet to climb! (Mane die blaja ni? cam dah biase je panjat tangge? dulu gune tangan nak panjat.. now angkat kaki je? wahh tande2 sudah besar!) tak larat aku.. So, before it's too late.. I struggle to buckle her up in her stroller...

hehe.. sowwy myra.. next time tunggu daddy la nak men panjat2 esclator k? muahhh!

KENT

NO! it's not that rokok-brand kent. And NO! it's not that barbie's boyfriend either.

Kent- located just out-of-london, south east corner of England. We rented a car for a day to make a short travel to Ashford (one of it's town) to another Designer Outlet village.. in hope to get some bits and bops (as what the brits likes to put it). But our mission this time around isn't great.. the outlet village is not worth a travel.. yes, they do have some discount here and there.. but not much.. and if you calculate back; the travel expenses for renting a car+fuel+ energy and time wasted on bad bad traffic in london.. we would have to think thrice before going back there... and maybe it was the wrong timing anyway.. should have wait till x'mas sale..

It took us nearly 2 hours just to go through the bad traffic jam in london- crossing over to the east side then proceeding toward Kent, which actually just 20-40 mins away (Anyway, sape suh duk at north-west of London pastu gatal2 nak ke south east lak kan? makan diri laa.. hehehe lagii mo komplen!)

All in all, the best part of that travel is for Myra- she got herself some new clothes, winter jacket, a brand-new lit-up shoes that she's been showing off while walking by herself all over the store! adehh.. penatttt mommy nak kejar tau?!

Sunday Walk

On Sunday, Auntie Min (Oh.. she's our newest Nanny, but become more like our mak-angkat ere ;) asked if we could walk to Bayswater like I did before with Aizal. And of cos I would say yes.. me? walk? kuar jalan-jalan? have i ever said no to that? I didn't born with that fly-poo (taik lalat) on my ankle for nothing! hehehe..

But on the contrary, we are still waiting for Nik, who are coming over from Malaysia to visit London, his flight is due to to arrive anytime soon. But since we tot it'll take him hours of queing n getting the immigration clerance, we would walk to Bayswater first then come back.

But not until we are nearing Paddington that Aizal got the message that Nik is alreay in Queen's Park. So Aizal ask us to carry on with the plan while he head back and will join us later.

At Bayswater, Auntie was so excited.. she said she's been here.. but roughly.. she didn't really cover the area much. So we ended up walking towards Kesington Garden to Princess Diana Memorial park and then towards the lake-where we meet lots of friendly Swans.

After a while, Aizal n Nik came by to join.. since Nik still got the energy and all, Aizal suggested why not we walk over to Harrods? It is just the other site of the road. So.. that's how our 'short walk' became that long! I still can't believe that Auntie Min and I manage to walk from Kilburn all the way to Bayswater then to Harrods at Knightbridge! Dahla hujan lebat lak tu.. (and if we look at google map, we've walked more or less than 5km). Kire takde la jauh sangat rupenye..Bes bes.. next time jalan gi Madrid lak.. hehehehe

UK Trip- London

I know I said 'the end' at my ultimate vacation story.. but I just remember to pen down some more stories i gather while 'tourising' london, like any other ordinary (and a lil bit jakun version of) tourist ...reason being, i just found the london-pic folder and i tot.... this is good stuff, in a dear-bloggy kinda way (besides.. this is my blog, so heck.. i'll blog whateva n whenever i want! hehehe)

Oct 11th, 2008, I woke up with a flu and coughing my lungs out. demm... I hardly ever got sick.. and if I do, it would not be more than 1 or 2 days of mild flu or cough..but now dah jangkit ngan virus d.. lame lak tu nak baik! I think this is becos lately (since lepas beranak, to be exact) I did't get my usual vitamins supplies I.E; fresh fruits. I am what I called hantu-buah. I could eat 1 or 2 boxes of mandarin oranges on my own..(hurm.. teringat kat mesia. every year, during CNY... this is like my must have..makan berkotak2!!) and it doesn't stop there.. I befriended any kind of fruits...irregardless of time. So, maybe that's why I'm fragile now.. i dunno.I think I completely recovered from the flu only after 2 weeks.. huhu.. record time for me..
Anyway, berbalik kepade cerite asal..

First stop is Madame Tussaud (yes... yet again! kate dah ade annual card) hoping for a lesser crowds in hope to hug 2 or 3 hot-waxed-stars (yup2.. even manage to let Myra pose kat celah kangkang Madonna.. hahaha.. hurm.. kne korek balik gambar tu..). Luckily, it is just nice, not so crowded and not so lengang gak. Next, London Eye.. uh uk.. too long a que.. so ended up cruising along the park to see the good stuff that I was so keen to talk about; I had never notice them before, not until that day.. there were mimes, clowns, and many coloured live-statue in gold-pink-silver-white-blue, to name a few. These are much better than riding the eye for the xx-th time! A must see! But bare in mind.. these people are doing it for the money, so if you're taking picture with them.. hulur2 la a pound or two.. ;)


And like any other normal tourist, we then head to the Big Ben.. and walk to Trafalgar Square (which looks wayyy closer in the map!!!). By the time we reached TS, it's already dark.. and as any other small-digital camera, it won't look as nice.. so mite as well skip it and leave. So, with the flu that getting more and more serious I dragged my legs to follow aizal to our frens' open house to complete our day..... yadi yadi yada.. the end (this time I mean it seriously).
P/S: Sorry azerdills n kimi, since that day, dah tak larat gile.. sebab tu tak masak dah for u all.. anyway, hopefully you guys still enjoy the trip with us! ;)

FALLin in luv

FALL :: the in-between of of the not-that-very-sunny summer and the very-chilly winter. Even with the so-called mild-weather, I'd trembled. I dunno how can we survive the winter..brrrr.. But good thing about fall (or in brit-english, autumn) that I lurve so much, are the yellowish tree leaves at their tips, waiting to fall..

It's Saturday, which means there are carboot sale almost everywhere more outskirt than London, but since we didn't have a car (yet), we just hafta go by foot. Luckily enuff that there's one just around the corner.

I have been hearing so many good stuff about car boot sale, how you could get lots of good-quality junk for a pound or two. But our expectation went down the hill. The car boot sale there is not as good.. plus it's heavily rain..lagi potong steam . But, memang banyak betul la junk there.. i dunno how could they possibly think that they can sell their used electric stuff out in the rain and some more demanding a high price? C'mon la.. i think if you put your pc monitor or plug2 letrik tengah2 hujan, obviously laa.. rosak.. kan? And yang lagi tak tahan tu.. siap cakap 'this is brand new.. in the shop you'll get it at so and so price, so this is cheap'... I was like..Duuuh.. we came here for a reason, if we were to look for a brand new stuff, we wouldn't bother going through your junk there.. like.. hello?

Tapi komplen-komplen pun, still ade gak beli hehe.. we bought a bathroom scale.. cos im a lil bit concious that I didn't know myra's latest weight... and uh hurm..meself... ;) We got it for 5pound.. bolehlah.. it's brand-new (die cakap laa.. tapi by the look mmg still look good n new, but i doubt la it's THAT new).

To go in we hafta pay 50p each and it opens 11am-3pm every Saturday (which explain the long Q before the opening hour). At least that is the price for Kilburn's carboot sale...so I was told.

Gloomy bloomy

Just when I tot there’s no more interesting things happening around me (or at least until Christmas), then come segerombolan police with their school of horses, crossing the street in front of me... and to think it’s gonna be the usual wednesday morning..hu uk.. exceptional for the-Obama-wins-news.. ;)

The scene made me smile.. snapped the pics off my hp then off walking towards my office, where another segerombolan Santa Clause coming towards me on their foot-scooters. Hahaha.. they sure did cheer my days up!

And today, again.. I came across the segerombolan polis dan kude-kudenye…so I tot to myself, this is soooo going to my blog!

Hurm, awal btol dieorg dah start preparing for Xmas. John Lewis and BHS seems to fight on who-lit-the-most-lights and who got the-most-creative-new-window-christmasty-displays already. And by night, (Oh, it’s night around 4-ish now, btw) the street are lit by the blue fairy lights; the one that I wish I had for my wedding.. hurmm.. how so nice..

Baru Nov, kalau dah masuk December.. I think it’ll be much much much more! Can’t wait!

Day 8: Stonehenge & the sophisticated Oxford

Oct 09th 2008, Day 8- the final day of motorhoming. Our Salisbury camp turned up to be so spacious.. the field is sooo huge that you could maybe fit 1 or 2 football stadium. After the usual business.. (plus trying to finish off all the leftover food by stuffing our drumming tummies.. look at the beside pic, Mr.driver comes cook is making his special burger again..) we then head to Stonehenge.. just few minutes away.

I dunno what is with Stonehenge.. even for my second visit, I could still be mesmerized by it's beauty- there it was, stone-up in the middle of the field. It's like there's some special energy or some beautiful spell being cast-out. You would feel that it is amazing.. but why? why do we feel that way despite not knowing the history beyond it? If you do happen to visit stonehenge in the future, do listen to its historic audio tour (given free with the entry tickets). I couldn't listen to mine.. myra dah kebas. Just to prove that I'm not wrong about the energy.. i can see that Myra is suddenly being hyper active and super happy. We let her free on the grass.. so ape lagi.. die blasah la guling2 cam lam bollywood movie.

After the chilling tour of rocks.. we then head to Myra's future University (aminnn....) Oxford Uni. Not much to do besides site seeing and picture taking.. but I gotta say.. by the time I got to my 8th day of visiting almost all of the must-visit cities in UK, I'm kinda bored of taking picture of buildings.. it looks almost just the same.. so we didn't snapped that many, plus the sky is darking- lagi la turn off nak bergamba.

What I can gather from comparing Oxford and Cambridge.. i think Cambridge is much nicer looking, more organized and more tourist friendly. But Oxford does have more souvenirs shops... ;)

In Oxford, finally we set down in a proper restaurant and ordered ourselves some Pakistan Briyani.. a lil bit surprised by the not-so-typical-portion, I'd expected more.. (maybe dah terbiase ngan Doha nye arab-like portion.. gabak2.. hehe). The lunner (lunch + dinner) was great.. memag btol kate Shah n Kimi.. paki nye briyani mmg terbaek!

We head home around 7 or 8-ish.. saying goodbye to our unbelievable sweet experiences with the motorhomes. It was the best trip that I personally ever had... even dah berangan nak buat lagi for Europe trip plak! huhu...

The End.

Day 7: Swanseaing to Bath

Oct 8th 2008, Everyone was sleeping lika baby until almost 10, releasing all the exhausting tense from last night's journey. What an experience.. abes lembik sumer.. hehehe

And the best part is myra's souvenirs. Throughout the journey, she threw up on all of the newly washed quilt AND on me. Memang jadi mommy ni memerlukan kesabaran tahap dewa AND kelalian pade bau-bau yang kurang menyenangkan. hiks..

So waking up, one by one of us went for a hot shower in what they call the almost perfect bathroom, everything is just nice, clean.. except they don't have the hot water controller, which is a real turn point for me. Trus malas nak gi mandi.. mandi lam motorhomes je.. hehehe.

And Oh.. I almost forgot to update, i think at day 5 or 6 (or was it 7?!!) dill was attacked by the unpleasant cold fever. Dahla pregnant, demam lak tu.. and in another country, with no medical record and all.. so manela nak gi jumpe doktor, so at the end she just blasah telan panadol only. Memang tabik spring la dilla.. kuat tul.. despite her petite figure ;). Dalam demam2 tu.. die boleh lagi pusing2 like no body business..

Swansea's campsite boleh tahan gak lawa.. like most of the top-notch-up-the-hill-facing-seaview kind of resort. There are sooo many other campsite around it.. and seperti pepatah omputeh; 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the hill'...we all think.. demm.. should've booked that campsite instead... hehehe


After breakfast, ermm... did we had any breakfast? I can't recall anymore.. hehehe.. we then shoot down to visit Bath, the World Heritage City, so what they call it.

My original plan was to drop by Cardiff then to Bath.. but due to our (again) bangun-lambatness, we just had to skip Cardiff (cos they said I won't find any fridge magnet there anyway, so no point.. hehe). Since this is my second time visiting Bath (my first visit was when I had my business trip to London way back in 2005) I'd suppose i have some experience of the where-about.. kononla.. alih-alih, i didn't remember any pun! haha.. seb baek gak ade gps.. tolong tunjuk jalan and attraction. But their major point of going to Bath is to see the Roman Bath -dilect translation; roman nye toilet . So.. sampai2 Bath, first thing was to find a parking space big enough to fit our home. We ended up parking on coaches bay. ;)


Inside the Roman Bath, we can see some of the remaining building which they have turned to museum. There are few rooms which I'm too bore to remember...with their own unique-jambaness smell... hiks. I think, the major attraction is their big green swimming-pool in the middle of the building where two old guy dressed up lika Roman paderi chanting some unrecognized mantra. .

But all I can see is 1 old guy wearing skirt, holding a batton.. ready to cheese for the camera..and another old guy guy geberishing his way.. hehehehe. Kind of scary, to be honest.

So that's all we did for that day.. tot of going to Stonehenge.. but it's kinda late.. and we don't want to rush, thus we then make our move to our final campsite somewhere in Salisbury- where we treat ourselves with the most yummilicious-pingerlikinggud dinner of all the travel day- freshly grilled salmon steak.. ermmm.. dap!

Bad news

Quoted from Utusan.com.my

Titled: 30,000 rakyat Malaysia di UK diminta akur balik segera.

''Cuma sekarang kita masih menunggu keputusan daripada kerajaan Britain sama ada mereka akan melaksanakan penggunaan visa baru ke atas rakyat Malaysia pada tahun hadapan memandangkan kita diberi tempoh selama enam bulan untuk kita membuat pembetulan,'' katanya kepada Mingguan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

If they do decide to carry on with the visa thingy.. then it'll be much harder for any family or friends to come over to visit us! :(

Trick or treat!!!

It's halloween.. i just came back from work and saw some scary faces running around Oxford Street. Apparently not that many people celebrate it here. It's not as big as what the typical american movie/tv had been projected.. Then again.. it is london.. not part of the state culture. I so adore to see some cute kids with their funny custome going from door to door looking for candies.. but I missed it.. maybe because the fact that it's already long past their bedtime by the time I step out of the office...hehe.

So.. there goes my October.. tak sangke, it's already 4 months!!

Day 6: Colwyn Bay wiggle through Wales

Oct 7th 2008, Waking up in a cold fresh breeze, on top of a hill, facing the big blue ocean as if married with the sky...... and... a train track.

It is in deed a sceneric view. One that many won't regret waking up to by the sound of sonic train passing by every few hours. Even the cloudy weather can't really hide its natural beauty.

After breakfast, we made our move to Conwy Castle and the Great Britain Smallest House.. a challenging road with a 'muat-muat' terowong. But luckily enough there is an allocated parking bay for motorhomes! The Great Britain Smallest house is painted red, red red.. we can't get in as there was no one but the sign '1 pound per entree' there.. so we ended up posing2 depan rumah je la..

The side view on another case is the beautiful romantic bay, full of luxurious boats (so i figured), which kinda remind me of the scene from Mr.Bean the movie.... only with much much smaller portion..hehe. The surrounding town is small and cozy, just nice for a walk.. but unfortunately the weather doesn't really agree with us, it then starts to pour rains.

While others sebok visiting the inside of Conwy castle, me and aizal went back to our motorhome to settle myra's business.. bushyuk tak ingat!!!

By late afternoon, we then make our move to Swansea.. going through the most challenging road we had ever encounter- up through hills, narrow snake-like roads of Wales. Almost all of the passengers were 'car drunk d'. But all of the dizziness and nauseous vomits and even with my imbalanced mind and with one eye open.. i could tell..that they are worth the journey; we were accompanied by series of beautiful misty natures throughout, which aizal said like being in the Lord of the Ring's movie- marvelous, superb and breath-taking.. which no natural vocabs in the world could just describe. (I'm sorry..not to exaggerate..but you ought to try it yourself to believe it!)
After the long 6-7 hours drives (again.. ditipu si GPS.. kate 4 jam je.. ciss), we arrived safe and sound to our Swansea campsite - it's dark and almost coming to their closing time, luckily enough that we made it.

Confused weather

Apparently it snows overnight and we missed it. No wonder there are ice everywhere that morning.. so.. this is what its like huh? The unpredictable english weather. Can't wait to see the real deal :)

Day 5: Liverpool and Cheshire Oak village

October 6th 2008, What a nice hotel.. thanks to my own mistake and lack of homework, we spent the night at Liverpool Premiere Inn. Not too bad.. it has got big bed (1 double bed, a pullover and a single bed to be exact) but yet only allows 2 adults occupation at one time. What a rip off.. dah la stakat nak tido brape jam je.. huhu.. whatever.. since we've paid for that, might as well enjoy it while it last.

And no breakfast! huh uh.. so, bangun pagi-pagi, after check out kami beramai-ramai masuk ke dalam motorhomes for our own quick breakfast before heading to Albert Dock.

Thank god, It is easy to find spacious parking (another point to consider when driving a motorhomes- you are no longer in the normal lenght categories, and the behind is too big..thus need to carefully pick the right place to park!)

There's nothing much to do there except some quality photo times and visiting Beatles Story (I think it's lika Museum). We didn't go into Beatles story of course, it cost too much! we value our money more than to waste it on the magnificient Beatles.. (dengar lagu korang cukup la kot? hehe apparently we are not that big a fan.. sorry folks!) . Because Albert Dock is so famous for the Beatles, there are plenty of souvenirs shops around.. you can easily get any kind of fridge magnet you want! After few shots.. we then head to the ultimate shopping spree - The Cheshire Oak Designer Outlet village!

how i wish!

At first I wasn't that keen on getting anything there.. cos we are almost broke from moving to the new apartment and have used all our cash money for the trip. But after making few round, we realized, it is just sooo hard to resist! Almost all of the shop slashed up their price like crazy!. For example, Aizal got himself a pair of timberland for 9.99 pound slashed from 52!! how cool is that?! Definately a place to go again and again ;) The signboard even says: Chesire Oak Designer Outlet - GUILT FREE SHOPPING. So.. what can i do?

There are few designer outlet in UK and I've done my research; there are two that closest to London, one in Kent and one in Swindon, but both are smaller than Chesire Oak.. this is in deed the biggest, thus I think it has got more shops.. (tak abes jalan pun! letih.. )

I even manage to grab a lil treat for myself (that I rather not share here.. hehe..but all i can tell is i am BERRY happy ;)). Disebabkan kami ini hanye insan yang lemah.. terpakse jugakla swipe our only credit card Malaysia.. We've got rid of other credit cards and don't plan on getting any in london.. takut pisang berbuah 8 kali! hahahaha

So.. after few hours of satisfying bargain hunt.. all of us gather again and head up to our next campsite in Colwyn Bay.

Oh yeah, on the way to Cheshire Oak, we found a caravan campsite! it is just few minutes away from liverpool.. ciss.. kalau tau dah duduk situ dah, takyah susah2 carik kat liverpool.. urghhh!!..

Day 4: glorified MANCHESTER

So, after 3 days on the road, we have learnt few crucial things to prepare ourselves for travelling. One of which, the wheather forecast! So, according to the website, it's going to be rainy in Manchester and Sunny in Edinburgh! How cruel is that?! We should have turn our itinerary around! (That If only we knew). So, as I told before, we have agreed to wake up really early to start our journey from Lothian down to Manchester. In deed we did. It was the earliest that we ever woke up! So, by err...I don't really recall what time.. but i think 7-ish? we made our move.

People says the best part of travelling is the journey to the place we're heading. And again, people do tells a lot of true stuff. The entire journey from Scotland back to the land of England - to Manchester is so beautiful. We stop several time to snap some fancy photos and still managed to arrive Manchester by noon.

First stop; Old Trafford, Aizal's so-called holy dream (reallllly not getting it). And it must be his lucky day that despite the rainy forecast, it is bright and shiny Man U!

Funny part about our arrival there was, he kept missing the junction and ended up being far and farter apart than the stadium! So, after his 3rd attempt to approach the holy-stadium, we finally manage to park safely. So, what more can you do in an empty stadium in the middle of the day without any match?

Plenty of shopping! The merchandise is lika paradise to all the crazy fans out there (my husband to name a few).. you name it, you'll get it, They have absolutely everything! The most shocking part was, they have more stuff for baby than adults! they've got travel cots, pacifiers, bibs, sleeping suits.. just everything lah! some marketing huh?.. (pancing mommy2 yang daddy2 nye crazy fan of MU.. huhu)

Next stop, the Manchester city. A lil too small than what I'd imagine, and frankly, pretty dull. The worst part is, they don't even have any souvenirs shop, cos apparently in Manchester, all they have as an attraction; is the Old Trafford Stadium and the glory Manchester United. But, lucky me, still managed to grab the last fridge magnet from Hard Rock!

There goes our day, after few rounds we then head to liverpool for an overnight turns nightmare! I was the one in charge of the itinerary plus the camp site look out. There was only one caravan park in between Manchester and Liverpool. So, I didn't really mind about reading reviews from their previous visitors. Boy how I regret that! The liverpool campsite was like the stage for some serial killer movie. When we meet the owner, an old skinny guy, he said due to lots of rains earlier he couldn't let us park in his usual campsite, which is in the middle of a field, so he suggest the scary-serial-killer-barn instead. Plus, he said he didn't have any toilet let alone shower facilities which he claims he already put out on his website. I admit to have missed to see the important symbol of facilities on the website. Another point need to remember, when booking a campsite, always.. always check their facilities and reviews! trust me, it helps!

So, since there's no place else to go, we use the excuse of not having the shower facilities to get out of our booking deal and look for another place to stay, a nice BnB or Inn or something. So there goes 60pound for each room that you can't even share with more than 2 adults! huh uh.. typical british.

Day 3: Scottish-ing away!!

We arrived at Linwater campsite in Lothian before 9pm. More than enough time to relax, cook and had a proper meal together. So, for that we've decided to have a special dinner; sardine, telur dadar and hot rice. Simple but yet delicious (dalam lapar and sejuk, even batu will taste like kfc i figured hehe). So, the next following morning, with time running ahead of us, we took our time to actually enjoy the campsite facilities. Hot steamy shower with its own control, proper room to leave your bag dry, and a handy hair dryer. So, dengan seleranya, me and dill make use of the time to shampoo our hair. After a great breakfast treat by Aizal (we were served burger aizal special), we then make a move to Edinburgh into a pouring rain.. huwaaaargh!!!

It's true what people said about Edinburgh, it is really beautiful and it has it all. It is a place to go is you really in a short schedule to cover Scotland. Castle in the middle of the town, shopping spree at every corner and green green park just about everywhere. We enjoy our time there even in rain! We were all soaking wet, but yet satisfied.. even bagged our self some cool scottish sweaters. I dunno why i didn't feel as cold..maybe the fact that I wore 5 pieces of clothes plus 2 jackets helps! hahaha.. i feel like a marshmallow man- baloon up. But as I scroll back through all my scottish pics.. i kinda look ok.. so no complaint there! hehe

Because we love the campsite so much, we then decided to stay another night at Linwater and make an early move to Machester the next morning. We'll see how 'early' is early on my next post ;)

Day 2: Leeds and only leeds!

I think Day 2 was the worst of all... dahla sampai after midnight, gate kunci.. gelap gelite.. ade telepon tak angkat2, after 3-4 cobaan meng-call the so-called emergency contact number, akhirnye we've been let in (hampir2 putus ase dah), then dalam sejuk2 abang-abang sumer kne blaja care2 nak hook up electric, fill up air, pasang gas etc2. So, abes je pasang .. masuk2 sumer sapu je ape yang ade.. asal perut berisi... hehe kesian tul bile ingat balik!

Becos of the bad drama last night, the next morning all of the following-the-itinerary-timing moods are out. None of us get up early to start the day. The park man whom last night claim he gonna come by the morning to sort us out, didn't show up at all. We walked through the cold breeze to go to the toilet and left frustrated by the locked doors!!! I mean.. the park is nice and everything.. but the service? I think kedai mamak lagi better! So, ended up me, aizal, dilla, aidil n myra take our turns to mandi lam the compact shower room inside or motorhomes. (Seb baek air boleh refill). And the other two gents managed to get their way into the park shower room (which according to them much better left untold - teruk la tu i figure? hehe)

After our very first leisure-lazy breakfast, we then heads to our first and s'pose to be brief stop; Leeds, when we eventually spent the rest of the afternoon looking for a place to park! then an hour or two for dine-in fish&chip lunch, lurking for the non-existing fridge magnets and a drop or two to the chinese shop (in hope to find aidil's formula). I didn't even remember to take much photos! So, since we are really out of the schedule.. and if we carry on to Newcastle-upon-tyne, we will pretty much endup arriving to our next campsite as late as today.. we just had to drop Newcastle. :( shoots.. i was told Newcastle was very nice n a must see.. well then takde rezeki, maybe some other time then..

So after i think 3 to 4 hours driving, we speed across Scotland and landed on Lothian to overnight in Linwater Caravan park. By far the best campsite of all.

It is indeed nice, clean park, and have got showers all berselera to be in. The best part of the park is, it is only 10 miles from Edinburgh. So, we can take our own sweet time for getting ready tomorrow.

UK Raye Road Trip Day 1

Akhirnye.. mase yang di tunggu-tunggu telah tibe. Our motorhome arrives around 12-ish. Besar!!! Bes gile.. ade 1 permenant double decker (single), 1 double bed and 1 convertible double bed and 1 single convertible bed. Everything is there; shower, toilet, kitchen, oven, wardrobe, 2 sinks and 6 seater dining table. I just can't believe how a small van (or it is more lika lorry type?) could have got all of these features fixed in. Unbelievably stunning. If anybody interested.. check out their website; http://www.wildhorizon.co.uk/ and to book for the campsite http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/





So, after almost 1 hour lesson with the company driver, we then loaded up and ready to push off to our first destination - Cambridge University town. (That is not until 14-ish).

We arrived at Cambridge around 16-ish; quite late but still picture-managable ;) . So, ape lagi... try out the infamous gondola ride around the campus area.. nice but a bit too chilly (I wasn't prepared for sucha cold weather, i tot Cambridge just gonna be slightly more like London.. but I was so wrong. Rase mencucuk2.. sejuk tak ingat! with no glove whatsoever.. lagi seksa.. huk huk

And ape yang lebih menakutkan ialah.. I learnt that Myra is staring at the gondola guy way too long - as if she is falling in love or something.. mate tak berkelip! bahaye bahaye (this is like the 2nd time I saw her looking at guy like that, the first time was in a tube, siap tongkat dagu tuuu!)


After all the drama.. we then push off to West Yorkshire to overnight at Upwood Holiday Park. Drove through the narrowest road, climbing hills after hills.. then arrived safely at 12midnite.. when everything is already closed. We've been trying to call up the campsite owner since afternoon.. but no answer.. and since he said it is a flexible camp site, no check in time limits or whatsoever.. we just turn up. Only after 3-4 times trial, only we manage to get hold of someone through the emergency phone number listed in front of the campsite. Itu pun after hesitating and malas2, baruuu die nak bangun bukak gate, nasib baik dah bayar dah park tu. kalau tak, sure stranded laa kiteorang tak bercamp. sob sob.


So, what I gather from our first day experience, few facts you need to know about Motorhoming;


1. Know where to park - There are few limited area to park in Uni area specially. So, try to find Side Road parking area or If you are lucky, Coach Parking area (blasah je.. sebab motorhome besar, so boleh di kategorikan as coach gak la hehe). Jangan mimpi la nak park betul2 depan tempat yang you wanna visit. hehehe


2. Do not arrive super late to your campsite, even if the owner said they are flexible.. I think to be safe, 9pm should be the cut off time. And it is better to pre-book yor campsite, so at least if you are coming late.. they can arrange for something. (Lagipun naye tengah-tengah malam, sejuk2 nak carik jalan lagipun)


3. Do not always believe the GPS - Banyak gile jalan yang GPS tunjuk tu salah.. cos it doesn't count for bus & taxi road only. So, super careful.. preferrably, get a co-pilot to read the GPS instruction with a map on another hand (so boleh compare)


4. Don't fill up the water tank full before driving. It'll get heavier, so more fuel consumption.


5. Take more conforter/sleeping bag.. it can be super chill at night! (but the motorhome does come with a heater.. but still not enough for me!)


Ok then, so far that's all that I could think of .. to be continue..

UK Road trip begins

I am currently away from 02nd of Oct to 10th of Oct 2008 with budak ebott as below itinerary;

London--> Cambridge--> West York --> Leeds--> Newcastle-Upon-tyne -->Edinburgh --> Manchester --> Liverpool --> Colwyn Bay --> Swansea --> Cardiff --> Bath --> Stonehenge --> Salisbury --> Oxford --> Windsor --> London, London, London..
Please leave a message if applicable.. hehe

Myra's first birthday eid

Alhamdulillah.. Myra's birthday celebration comes hari raya was a success.. although many of the guests had to excuse themselves from coming di sebabkan faktor2 yang tak boleh dielakkan.

That's fine.. as long as Myra had fun.. Thank you all for coming and actually blending in with the theme hehe.. and thanks thanks thanks again for the gifts... (for Myra's Doha family.. thank you so much for the gifts yang di kirim, jauh di mata, dekat di hati.. hiks)

Adeh.. raye besok daaa

Si kenet ingin mengucapkan selamat hari raye aidilfitri kepade semua ahli keluarge di Malaysia - atuk, nenek, Tok mummy, tok daddy, paklong maklong, pak ngah mak ngah, pak teh mak teh, pak usu mak usu, cousin2 seangkatan; Qarmiela, Ashraff, Isabell, Kak Lyssa, Abang Ariff dan Kak Tisya, kawan-kawan (eh dak besar ni dah ade kawan ke?) dan sume auntie-auntie and uncle-uncle (kawan mommy & daddy)...

Ok, Saye nak continue send sms.

Sape2 nak hantar duit raye kat saye di london, bleh la mintak address kat mommy saye.. mekaseh

My Chaos week

This week has been really tiring but interesting. Believe it or not in my 3 days off (from 24-26th) I've managed to bake some raye cookies, packed to move to the new apartment, moved to the new place, unpacked & clean up the new home (85% done hehe) & cycled to IKEA to get a suitable curtain (which is 3.2 miles away from my home). All in all it was AMAZING!!

We've got way too many junks, and too little space to store em. It's like pushing an elephant through a mouse hole!! Although the new home is much more bigger compare to our old place.. but the storage area is much smaller.. tambah pulak with the 2 bikes.. lagi penuh rumah! adeh..
Anyway, before I forget.. thanks again to Karl and his brother that help us move.. kesian korang.. sorry la.. didn't know that we've got that many stuff while living in that small 1 bed apartment! Penuh satu van!! hehe

Anyway, I'm loving my new life in my new home.. cycled around to find LOTS and LOTS of kedai2 seafood, halal butchers, and just about anything that I need to get by. I wil update the house pictures someday ;)

And to add to my chaotic week, from yesterday I've had all my after-work-hours planned out.

yesterday, 27th - went to do a lil bit of shopping for Myra's bedday prep. Then, came home to bake tart nenas (turns out to be too big a size!!! hahaha klakar gile.. tapi sedap!)

today, 28th - I plan to bake another biskut raye (just to bring the malaysia-homy-raye-ish sort of feeling, bukan nak makan sangat pun! haha)

tomorrow, 29th - By hook or by crook, need to finish off with the unpacking business and do lil bit of Myra's party packs (but this time .. i'm afraid, due to the time constraint and with lots of stuff to work on, can't really take the risk to use my seni hand (seni sangat laaa hehe) to do the favours meself.. so mostly beli je :(

Tulat (30th oct) - To start with the raye2 preparation - Byk ni nak buat!!! (I'm inviting few family over to do the HariRaye-Myra's Birthday-HouseWarming celebrations all in one wrap on the 1st of Oct). Ambitious tul.. harap2 berjaye (but if no post about it, you can just take that my plan did't work out quite well hehe)

Skali raye jatuh on 30th of october.. haha.. kalau jadi, tak raye la beta.. coz I'm due to work that day. Anyway, that evening also the long-waited guests are due to arrive from Doha.. so hopefully anak bulan tu tahan-tahan la nak kluar sampai 1 hb! hehehe

So, sekian.. doakan plan saye berjaye! Bak kate Aizal: Nandayooo!

And.. oh yeah.. I cycled to work today.. took me 20 minutes ;) (BEST!)

Main masak-masak anyone?

When I was younger, I didn't recall if I ever played masak2 or mekap2 like a normal lil girl. I was more prone to play galah panjang, batu seremban, hide&seek, and bile dah besar sket.. my favourites lompat getah & Rounders..hahaha bes gile laa bile teringat balik! guess it was my nature not to be interested on all those normal girlish-toys. That is until now!
So, hari ni jom kite main masak-masak.. As requested from my sister, I'm gonna share the resepi for ayam percik (courtesy of Ros Delights & co a.k.a Ibu mertuaku -which I have to stress ere is the total opposite of the P.Ramlee version of evil mother-in-law hehe).

::AYAM PERCIK ROS DELIGHTS::

Bahan-Bahannya

1 ekor ayam - belah dua
5 biji bawang merah
3 cm halia
Kunyit serbok
3 - 4 sudu lada giling
1 cm belacan
1 sudu asam jawa
1 biji kelapa (buatkan santan pekat)

Caranya:-

Ayam dipotong dua, kelar atasnya, sapukan garam kunyit. ( Kukus ayam sampai lembut)

Untuk membuat kuahnya:-

Tumbuk bawang merah,halia dan belacan,kemudian campurkan lada giling,masukkan kunyit serbuk 1 sudu
Masukkan bahan tumbuk tadi kedalm santan dan kacau bersama dgn asam jawa, masukkan gula 1 sudu, dan garam.
Masakkan sekejap diatas dapor kacau jgn berhenti sampai pekat.(Kalau nampak tak pekat sangat campurkan sikit tepong jagong)
Bila dah pekat angkat dan ketepikan.

Bila ayam yg dikukus tadi masak curahkan kuah tadi diatasnya. Bakar sekejap dan ulangi curahkan kuahkan kuah tadi sampai dia sebati dengan ayam tu.

Sekian dan selamat mencuba. Kalau tak faham hubungi ibu.
(Memang bulat-bulat copy paste dari email Ibu.. hehehe so, sape2 tak paham BM, translate sendiri laaa )

P/S: Thanks again Ibu!!

A silly question..

Does anybody watch Desperate Housewives Season 4 Ep 17? What the heck happened? Is that the end of Desperate Housewives? It is sooo not great.. looks like the pay-back version from the script writer! I am sooo tak puas hati. Ok.. end of story. Sekian.

Simple math equations

Baru je nak menapak kat Stratford.. dah kene pindah. But in a way, it is for our own advantage... We are thrill, (Specially for me.. I am like jumping up & down my imaginary bed.. hiks). We will move closer to work (Insyaallah) thus, below equations applies;

Equation 1.
Closer to work = < time to commute = > free time

Equation 2.
< time to commute = > confident to cycle = > exercise = > happy me (leh kurus.. yay!)

Equation 3.
> free time = > family bonding = > lurveee

Oleh sebab itu (no symbol for the three dots.. shoot!)
Final equation,
> free time + > happy me + > lurvee = > happy baby = > happy mommy = > happy family ;)

See, it is all about doing the right math. Work out well for most.

And then we turned 2..

Pejam celik pejam celik dah due tahun dah we've been married.

Of all the ups and down... you know me best.

We went through good and bad,

Shed tears together

Had our laughs

You are just the most amazing husband in the world.. and i'm the most lucky wife there is .. i hope it continues for years to come! muah muah muah!!!

And best of all.. thank you.. for the lil gift that I'd treasure for eternity....

My lil nottie-pie!

Favour Returns

For Melayu, in order to get to know each other better, they have to exchange their hospitality. The phrase 'jemputla datang rumah' is quite commonly used. So, like any other ordinary melayu.. I've invited people over to my house.. (ermm.. btw this pic is NOT my house..it's ibah's -lady in black)
I'm sure some of my friends (and my sister specially) who happen to know me from before would feel that I've changed.. A LOT! And yes.. indeed I did. Being abroad, far away from home has taught me a lot. More in London than Doha.. in Doha.. we were kinda spoilt, so we don't really feel the need to exhaust ourselves over for something that we could easily buy. In London.. it's all about getting things done by yourself. Jimat sket.. hehe
So, what happen was, Saturday we went to Ibah's house for berbuke.. (having had them over to our home before - quite good example of the melayu-culture that I was talking about.. hiks). Had delicious briyani, kueh2 traditional.. but not so much of intimate chat (although all of them were quite friendly and nice to talk to) as I was running around to chase the lil rugrat up and down the stairs!!! cobaan tul Myra ni..

And.. it's our turn on Sunday, but this time - we invited another two family over for berbuka - as their first time visit to our humble home... hiks
..The menu..

::Nasik Lemak sambal udang, sambal ikan bilis, telur rebus, some timun, kueh gulung (which lesson learnt- to make the filling using desiccated coconut, you need to add water to get the right texture!).. and as a side dish, AYAM PERCIK (from my-mother-in-laws-famous-recipe..thanks Ibu!)::

How on earth did I manage to pull this off, god knows! But that's me now.. living my life away from Mak.. Pasar Ramadhan and everything that make me life so simple before.

Then, on Monday, we invited another two more guests -my old colleague Karl and his aunt for some thai night in - there were tomyam, padprik, telur bungkus and fried veggie plus Aizal's famous cheese Samosa.. (but no pics taken- terforgot). Hehe.. boleh tahan jugakla rase..

So, there you go.. the new me- a mother and a cook (apparently.. hehe). By the way.. if any of my guest happen to read this, thanks again for coming! It's our pleasure to have you around.. and sorry kalau ade termasin tertawar and any other ter... ;)

Satu malam di bulan puase

Yesterday I dunno why, rase tak keruan.. it s'pose to be our day off together, but Aizal had to attend some 'Upfront' course - he even got a free night stay at Ramada Jarvis hotel, so that leaves me and Myra home alone (cam tak biase jek..hiks).

Actually my plan is to go out for lil bit of shopping raye, then maybe meet Aizal up in Bayswater before going to the hotel.. I've got myra all dressed up, but as if she can sniff the tension air, she too had her mood swing. Takmo tido, takmo duk lam pram.. asek jeritt jer when she can't get what she wants.. geramm tul!

So.. at last, I give in, and ended up couch-potatoing meself. It's a chilly day anyway. I even let Myra play on her own (at least most of the time.. until she scream her heart out for attention that i gotta layan die jugak hihiks..)

Until towards the very end.. there's no call from Aizal.. not until 7-ish pm that is. Almost time for berbuka. So, after all the waitings over, Aizal finally ring and said I so have to come and see the hotel.. it's beautiful.. rugi tak tido situ.. But since it's late.. and soooo after Myra's bedtime.. I contemplated. With her being cranky, plus Mommy yang malas tahap dewa.. I tot of cancelling. But then Aizal, as sweet as he always be called and said he'd be home to pick us up to the hotel.

So, dapat jugakla merase tido kat hotel that cost GBP250 a night..

Ramada Jarvis - Hyde Park.. niiiiice!

Wah Senangnye!!

Since yesterday, abah keep asking me to give him my IC photocopy so he can arrange for my road tax claim through pejabat pos. All these while I tot I'm not gonna get it since I'm away and all. Then, today my sis just shared this useful info with me.. from 1st of August.. you can make the claim ONLINE! how great is that? Malaysia sudah maju!
So, if anybody happen to come across my blog, please feel free to try out this link... there are few other pos-material stuff that you can access online too.

POS MALAYSIA SUDAH MAJU

Preeti darn good Iftar

We were invited to our very first Iftar majlis at Kak Preeti's house. I know.. I'm a bit blog-greedy, 3 posts in one day? takde keje ape yeen ni.. hehehe.. tapi since I'm still in my bloggin mood.. why not? Besides.. all that happened today worth a share ;)

We were last to arrive and 10 minutes past the break, due to some taxi-situation and me coming home late to swing by the festival earlier (I hope my boss won't find this blog and caught me going home early.. hehe).

Coming in, there were like more than 10 families in her house!! Mann.. i thought it gonna be small.. but then again, it's never small when it comes to Melayu gathering.. Kak Preeti was sweet enough to invite us so she can introduce more of her friends to us here, so we won't feel that home sick anymore ;)

The foods are great! We were served Nasik berlauk; ayam masak kicap, rendang daging, bihun goreng, kueh-mueh and best of all is Nazrul's special murtabak buatan sendiri...hebat!

To top it all up, so are the crowds. They are all friendly and nice.. most with small baby like ours. So, we blend in quite alrite... specially Myra; waving both her hands up and down excitedly.

Then when everyone started to leave, Ikmal n farah (which we just met) being so sweet to offer us a ride home.

So, here are some of the pics that I managed to capture..

Thank you Kak Preeti and Nazrul for the warmth & homely Iftar! Yum yum! Kenyang..

::Street paR-tay::

On my way from work to home, I bumped into Regent's Street festival (well actually was told by Aizal about it, so I'm all set with my camera! hehe) I have been meaning to go to one of these street festival in London.. and finally.. something is happening so close to my office.. hiks
So, this has make up my frustration for missing that infamous Notting Hill festival last month..

Apparently according to the brochure, the theme this year is 'A Great British Experience' (duhh..). There s'pose to be marching bands, fanfare trumpeters, pipe bands, live music, dance performances, a veteran car display, gourmet food stalls… and bla bla bla.. well.. where the heck is all that? As I passed through Regent Street, all I could see were some empty tents labelled 'face makeup' then some 'chokia' fun-fare wheels.. Hurm.. maybe I am too late after all.. it's 6pm and the festival was meant to last till 8. So, what left is some british band performances (which actually sound rather fab ..hiks.. talking lika brits already), pipe bands- which was surrounded by too many curious tourist including myself hehe.

I got to say, I am not at all impress! Maybe because my attention was more to the rows and rows of shops (Burberry, Hermes, Jaeger, Jigsaw, Banana republic- to name a few, in such a BIG block) alongside the street rather than the so-called festival. Yup, it was my first time to walk on this street.. usually I'd go towards Bond Street.

Anyway.. since I got the camera and all.. let me just share some of the onsite scenery;

And alang-alang tu.. why not I share also a lil bit of the street that i walk every other day to work.

Pic: Mind the statue on top of my office block entrance. That boy is showing off his fly!!! hehehehe