Of Heart and Mind

Today is my anniversary…and here I am, working in the office, with Nik hundreds and thousands of miles away in Jakarta. Huu huu huu To my husband….. Happy 9th Anniversary, dear! We knew each other in 1993….some 12 years ago through a friend. Well, to be exact, we were introduced by a friend, through the Internet (IRC specifically) …. hahaha… there you go! It was a cyber-relationship which turned out into a marriage. We owe it to our friend……. I guess those who are in the same age-league with me must know what IRC is. That was the time when email-IRC-Internet were so new and hot in the States and students were so hooked up to them (including me, that is). Telephone, email and IRC were mainly our medium of communication as our universities were far far away from each other. He was in Columbia Univ in NY and I was in the Mid-West zone, so courting-dating-or-what-ever-u-call-it is totally out of the question. Hallmark cards with love messages flew around and across the continent, exchanged

Yesterday (24 Dec 2005) was Naqeeb’s birthday, but the celebration was held last week because: Nasreen’s birthday was on 1st Dec so we thought we could do some cost-cutting by doing 2 celebrations in 1; Nik was in town last week for a week or so, and that was the best time to do the birthday party; and This week will be the Christmas week with an extra day-off, which falls on Monday (26 Dec 05 – hey, it’s pay time!!!!) so most people will not be in town or if they do, they must be busy with their families as the weekend is longer. So, the birthday was set on Sunday, 18 December 2005 @ 5.30pm. It was held at McD Sect 3, Shah Alam and we invited some closed friends and relatives. It was just a small party and the kids really enjoyed themselves. I made 2 large cakes, i.e. a carrot cake with cheese topping and ‘Spongebob’ on top for Naqeeb and a moist chocolate cake for Nasreen. I thought the kids must be really excited but it turned out that my excitement outweighs theirs (heehehee) – the

Life’s been quite hectic since I got back from my long holiday. Work to finish, documents to finalize, meetings to attend, house to clean, big big piles of laundry to do, clothes to iron…. The list is endless….and I’m down with fever, athma, flu…. Where do I start!? Anyway, the trip to Jakarta was fabulous! We had so much fun and the kids really enjoy themselves too. Our daily agenda was simple… Morning to afternoon….. sand pool!!! Every single day….. while the kids were having fun, I turned darker and darker each day (or tanned…. hehe, let’s just put it that way). Evening, when Nik came back from work .….. “jalan jalan” time!!! Toyota VIOS are widely used as taxis there.... impressive eh!? The apartment that we stayed was closed to quite a number of malls, so my daily activities were evolved around those buildings... (hahaha! I’m beginning to love Jakarta!). I took the liberty to visit Ciputra Mall – where I bought loads of souvenirs to take home, Anggerik Mall - there’s a Martha Th

Cakes & Desserts: Moist Chocolate Cake with Melted Chocolate Topping (RM35) Marble Butter Cake with Butter Cream Icing (RM35) Banana & Nut Cake with Cream Cheese (RM35) Chocolate Brownies & Walnut with Chocolate Topping (RM30) Coconut-Pandan Cake with Butter Cream Topping (RM30) Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese (RM35) Snowy White Chocolate with Butter Cream (RM35) Orange Delight Cake with Cream Cheese (RM35) Plain Walnut Cake (RM35) - no topping Plain Prune & Walnut Cake (RM35) - no topping Creme Caramel (RM18 per serving) Baked Cheesecake - plain, chocolate, Oreo (RM40) Chilled Cheesecake (RM45) Butter Layer Cake (RM45) Mini Fruit Tarts (RM0.80) - min of 20 pcs Cut-Shape/Decorated Cake : (RM40 per kg) Choo Choo Train - 2kg Standing Barbie Doll - 2kg Enchanting Castle - 2.5kg Huggable Teddy Bear - 2kg Doll Cake - 1.5kg Racing Car - 2kg Photo Icing Cake - depending on availability of cartoon characters Scrumptious Meals : Cottage Pie / Chicken Pie (RM35 per serving) Baked P

My flight to Jakarta departs this afternoon and I'm still here, in my office, doing my work which I think.... I will not be able to complete by 12noon today, and in 10 minutes time, I have a meeting to attend. So, what does that tell me? Yesss.... I have to bring my laptop and my documents along to Jakarta! Aaarrgghhhh!!!!!!!! This is so very unfair! I deserve this trip but what have I done wrong to deserve this punishment.... Hhmmm..... no escape! Got to do what I got to do.... I came home quite late last nite and it was Nasreen's birthday! But I managed to get her birthday cake and a present. Was a veerryyyy small celebration, the big one will be done together with Naqeeb's end of this month. Anyway, I will not be updating my blog for a while as I'll be away until 12 December 2005. So, have a great weekend to all!!!!!!!!