Of Heart and Mind

I got this recipe from my sis in law in KB and of course, her version tastes much better....  hehehhe.  Anyway, here goes.... Marinating the chicken: 3-4 garlic 1 inch ginger A pinch of salt (to taste) * blend everything and marinate chicken overnight Making the sauce: Ingredients (A) 4-5 shallots 1-2 garlic 1-2 inch ginger 2 inch lemongrass 1-2 tbsp bawang goreng (thinly slice shallots and fry till golden brown) * blend all Heat (please put on very low heat) coconut milk (from 2 coconut) and stir, while adding A into the mixture. Continue to stir until mixture boils.  Add 1 whole lemon grass, salt to taste and black pepper (optional). Add brown sugar or 'gula melaka' and 1 asam keping. Cook until the sauce thickened. Preparing the chicken: Arrange the marinated chicken on a baking tray (lined with aluminium foil) and scoop some of the percik sauce and pour on the chicken. Bake/grill on high temperature till the chicken is coo...

It's our 15th Anniversary.. For so many years, we have shared heat and cold, sadness and joy, hate and love. May the LOVE never goes away, may our lives will always be full of happiness... Amin. To those who are reading this.... never forget the important dates in your lives, cherish your partner and insyaallah, happiness will always be with you.

I eventually let go of my BB after spending soooo many months thinking about it.  I thought about switching from the moment they released the white IP till the IP 4S came out a few days ago Haaaaah... how long was that??? So when I broadcasted the message to all in my bbm list... more than 50% replied... "Alaaaaaaaaa!!!!!" Hahahahhaah I guess bbm is more 'canggih' that WhatsApp ey? But I still miss my BB, so I still carry it in my handbag :) I know my kids are eyeing the device... well, I still won't let go :)  It was a gift too some years back... And thanks again mr nazura for being kind to me this year ... I like it ..... Heheheh :P

Errghhh.. my plan to continue with my travel journal shattered the moment I set foot in my office ...  huhuhu.... so many things to do.  Now all the things that I wanted to write had long gone from my brain. Let's try to pick up from where I left off some weeks ago. OK, well..... We spent only 2-3 days in Melbourne.. sightseeing and (window) shopping.  We were on foot on the first day because Nik said if I could run, then I should be able to walk (4km one way to the city from our hotel on Toorak Rd!!)... poor feet of mine!  Plus we didnt know how the Tram worked so we decided to explore the town on our own on the first day.  We went all the way up to Victoria Market from St Kilda Rd.  Then we moved on to the factory outlet @ Smith St and it was a disapointment (for me at least).. because I was expecting something great like the ones in the US.  But the weather was nice though, cool with lotsa sun.  But I really lov...

Well…. they said…. Nothing is sexier than a man who’s well read…and nothing is more romantic than meeting that man in a bookstore… Hee hee hee

I secured the tix to Melb some months ago when AA was having their so-called SALE.  I was just trying my luck and hey.... luck was dfinitely with me.  To and fro per pax is less than 1k... that's heck of a good deal right???  Well, little that I know that the 'frills' cost us more than the tix price.  So we ended up paying more than what we bargained for.  Seriously???? Clever Nazura!  An unplanned purchase and unplanned trip... with NOT that reasonable fares....! But that was like months and months ago.  I didn't realize that it was time to travel till they sent us a notification email and we thought, 'Oh dear!  We have not booked the accomodation yet..!!"  So nights after nights we spent our time surfing and trying to look for the best hotel deals and Nik started to plan the road trip that we planned to make. A few nights turned to weeks and still we were yet to complete the arrangement.  I don't really fancy travel age...

OK, I am now back to life... back to reality... back in action... huhuhu Started working today and I am currently @ CoffeeBean KL Sentral, having my breakfast, trying to boost up my morale and finding enough energy to drag my lazy self to walk into that office of mine at the end of the block...  what a way to start my Friday. I miss my fav menu so much!!  Scramble egg with salmon and green tea.. :) I think I need another week to recover after my long break.. LOL! But I really had a good trip.. so much so that I was feeling sad to come back (to office)! OK, I will share some stories along the way and some awesome pics of the breathetakingly beautiful beaches.  Lemme have my breakfirst now and I shall continue writing.... That's me with the bike that we rented in OZ....

I won't be blogging for a while now... Coz I am enjoying my 2 weeks break from ... from work, office and home...  :)  It's gonna be an early anniversary celebration (2 mths early????..... what the heck, ey...)  It'll be our 15th year of marriage ( & 18th year of friendship), so we thought, why not make it a lil' different this year.... So, I will only be back in Nov... till then, have a good week ahead.... GOR.. here I come!

My 3rd medal thus far... achievement at the age of 39. Life begins at 40??? Naahhh… I think mine started early… LOL! I was in the Adidas Run – King of the Road last Sunday and I managed to improve my 10km record by a few minutes. Considering that I have not been running since Ramadhan, I was really surprised when I crossed the finishing line and saw the clock ticked 1hr 34 mins 44 secs. Well, to serious runners, that may not be the best time but as for me, I’m ok with the time recorded. 2 more runs this year and I’m done for 2011 events. Waiting as early as 5am in the morning   Yes, he waited too... by the road sign   As the starting line... 7.10am   600m to go and I was running thin on my energy supply   Pheww.... finally... almost at the finishing line....   Nik in his first 16.8km this year And it was my 2nd 10km AM so busy at work and have started traveling from one state to another, rolling out...

We made a trip back to Singapore on Friday …. A few reasons actually. 1. Nik’s nephew, Dr Fathy from KB, wanted to shop for his hantaran stuff 2. At the same time, it was his first time riding long distance and we planned this a few months back when he wasn’t able to join our trip to Tanjung Piai, Johor 3. I wanted to visit my cousins and uncle there 4. We wanted to go somewhere as it was a long weekend Initially I was supposed to ride with them, but changed my mind at the very last minute… so I drove, solo…. With my Mr T while the bikers escorted me…. A few reasons also.. 1. I was not in the mood to sit at the back of the bike for a long 3-hours 2. I wanted to take the kids too .. it’s Syawal anyway, so time to ‘raya’ 3. How on earth are we going to bring the stuff that Fathy wanted to buy if we were to ride there? Well, they were supposed to escort me but I left them on our way there… LOL! I was going at 170… and damn the car was good I didn’t feel the speed. Reache...

I felt like having a  veryyy light dinner yesterday... tho I was back at home a lil' early, i.e. around 6m, as the lab ran by Pemandu concluded earlier than usual. Nothing seemed 'light' in the fridge... so I thought... why not fix a breakfast menu for dinner?  And breakfast menu was all we had yesterday (for dinner) ... hehehe Naqeeb decided to put up at my mom's house, so my menu last night was simple - as Naqeeb prefers rice than anything else.... So I made my special scramble egg.... fluffy, healthy and yummy :)  Let's check out how to do this.... Serving - 2 persons 2 eggs + 2 egg whites (healthy la konon  nya ni...).. but seriously, it tastes better :)  try it if you don't believe me... salt & peppa... to taste 1/4 cup of fresh milk 1 tbsp of mayo Beat all eggs + egg whites, add salt to taste Add mayo and fresh milk, and beat lightly Fry the egg (I used 2 tsp olive oil) and add pepper (if you wis...

It's a week full of open houses... so more food.... and FAT!  hellpppp!! Anyway, this morning I decided to cook Nik's fav dish.... sambal goreng.  It was a brunch because by the time I finished cooking, it was already 11am.... This is my mom's special dish.  I hardly find it here but in Singapore, this dish is quite well known.  And my mom's sambal goreng is the best....  She even courier it to the States during Syawal when I was studying there... LOL!  Actually, I made it a few times already, but today, I went blank... didn't even know where to start.... so I gave my mom a call... and here goes... Sambal Goreng Singapore Bahan A 1/2 kg of hati and paru Rebus and potong dadu (about 1/2inch size) - rebus hati for about 10-15 mins but paru however, you will need to boil for about 1.5 - 2 hrs, or you'll be chewing it forever... Then fry (just enough to dry them - about 5 mins of frying) Set aside Bahan B Slice thinly 2 red chillies, 3 ...

Sorry ... I didn't have the time to update my blog.  Ramadhan had been busy for me... baking cookies, preparing food for breaking fast... etc etc It was sad that Ramadhan was over in a blink and 3 more weeks to go before Syawal is over too.... I have done nothing.  Literally.....! Work is catching up on me and deadlines are approaching... Plus I will be on a long leave in mid October.... huhuhuuh!!!  I need extra hours plizzzz....!!!!! Anyway, I would like to wish all my friends, near and far... have a blessed Eid Mubarak!  It's a month of forgiveness and it's a good time to visit our brothers and sisters so those in Shah Alam... give us a ring :D Enjoy your Syawal!  More recipes coming up after I'm done with my papers....

The greatest challenge in life is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less often...  To be humble, we need to be around humble people more often.... but more often than not, we can't help but to talk about ourselves... what we have, what  we do, where we go.  I keep reminding myself of that but sometimes it happened without you realizing it.  As much as we hate to admint... I guess being humble doesn't come naturally, it needs to be learned... and I bet this is one of the hardest lessons to be learned. As a Muslim, when we pray.. do you notice the beauty of our postures as we pray?  We stand up looking down.. or when we sujud and ruku' .. everything reminds us to be humble as we are facing Him. The standing posture is as if to say that we are ready to obey Him and his teachings.  Sujud and ruku' are as if to express our feelings that we will bow to his commands in our daily lives and submit to Him com...

hahaha.... since mid July, my life has been goin' upside down... and sometimes... sideways too.. Work is catching up and piling up on my desk... and I am so upset with myself for not updating this blog of mine.  I mean, this is where I'd turn to when I'm happy.. or down... or bored... but lately, I hardly have time for myself. Anyway, enuff whining.... 31 July was Nik's bday and it fell on weekend... means... time for a short getaway peeps! :D The night before his birthday, we met up with Kak Maz and her husband @ Naili's... just to hang out.  We planned a lil' surprise for Nik.  Kak Maz was kind enough to help me buy a cake.  And when the waiter brought our drinks out, he brought the cake too... and Nik's jaw dropped.  Hahahha.... gotcha!  He was damn surprise...  just look at the pics....   Then the next day we went to Kuantan... we decided to take the bike, since it's been quite a while.  It was a simple cele...

Yes I am... losing everything... my mind... my calories... my patience.... my sanity... Well, I started working with my new company mid July 2011 and it is located right smack in the middle of KL Sentral where parking costs you a bomb and traffic drives you crazy! I love the work that I am doing... love it!  Lurveee it!!! And I like the company too... new people, new friends, new office, new scope... eveything new and it's fun working.  No more sleepless nights... more 'ka-ching!' for me..... But going to work drives me crazy everyday ... Finally, I resorted to taking LRT to work.  And so many times, I missed my stop... pffttt! I ended up in Pasar Seni this morning... and last week I went as far as Datuk Keramat!!!  Yes, I kid you not!  OK.. OK.. must get my bearings right... focus! .. focus!  But I think it's ok actually, because I get to have my morning walk on weekdays ... from car park to the LRT station... and more walk from KL Sentra...

Wow.... it's almost the end of July and I have not been blogging..... hmmm... 0 entry for July... nadda... elek... Yes, I have been busy.  Busy with handing over, busy with free lunches (2 weeks in a row... phew...) ... and busy with my new work. I finally left company S on 6 July 2011 after serving more than 6.5 years...  The parting was hard, the friendships I made over the years made it even harder.  The 'scolding' that I got for leaving .... hmmphh..... no, I did not betray you, neither am I abandoning you or the ship, but I am doing this for myself.  I'm really sorry.  I appreciated the text messages that you sent daily trying to make me change my mind... but , I am sure you know that I am a hard headed person and nothing you say or do or offer, will make me change what I stand for.  I cherish the time spent all these years and value the knowledge that I have gained from you, and you will be the best-est employer I have ever worked for, bu...

Sangat ketara keberatan badan ittew kan??? Azam 3rd quarter 2011 - sila kurangkan makan!

I was enjoying my half-day leave @ Starbucks when my phone rang... Raymond, my ex-boss called me up and he went... Raymond : Are you happier now that you are leaving? Me : Yes, why? Raymond : Yes, I can see that.... Me : Are you saying I'm fat???? (marah sudahhh) Raymond : Hahahhahaha..... Me : Even if I AM FAT, at least I can ran in the marathon (masih tak nak menerima hakikat - in denial pls!) Raymond : How many km? Me :  10km Raymond : What is your time? Me : 1.5++ hrs... why? Raymond : Sally did 1hr 20mins..... Me : Well, that's becase she's lighter ok!  And she's younger (trying hard to find reasons to shoot his points) Raymond : Yeah.. maybe.... and maybe you were 'bouncing' all the way... hahahhaah Me : Pppffttttttt!!!!  Shut up and don't disturb me!   That's Raymond.  His daily KPI is to irritate me, 24-7!

So the Day finally came….   The Day that we all had been waiting for with full of excitement. I registered for the run back in Mar/Apr, if I can still remember.  So the excitement went back as far as 3 months ago.   I have never gone beyond 7km, so when the registration site was up, I registered mine and Nik’s for 5km and 10km respectively.  So every week, running for 5-6 km diligently was all I did.. until 2 days before the event..  Jeli texted me.  Oh…. btw Jeli is our neighbor & our cycling buddy. Jeli : Ada sapa2 nak bib 10km Men? Me : So far I lari 6-7km je, takut lari 7km,  lagi 3km jalan :D Jeli : Let go ur bib to beginner, lari with us.  Ada berani? Me : Kalau tak ada takers, I amik.  IC lain takpe ke? Jeli : Kalau u naik podium, maybe akan jadi issue… hahahha Me : Hahaha itu confirm tak akan terjadi… naik ambulans maybe :D So there we were on Sunday – Me, Nik, Sha, Ajees and Jeli, already at Padang Merbok as early...