Of Heart and Mind

Life’s been busy and I find less and less time available for blogging. I’m temporarily assigned to another subsidiary company to look into some compliance issues. Therefore, documents are piling up my desk and emails are flowing in my Inbox like…. no mercy! I’m supposed to complete this task by 12th December (that is 2 weeks from now)… the problem here is…. How can I!!!???? I’ll be on leave from 2nd December to 11th December… that means I only have now until Thursday (1st December) - F.O.U.R days, I kid you not! - to complete them…… hoollyyy ssmmokkee!!! OK… this should be my last post for this week before I’m off for a 10-day-long leave. How was your weekend? Mine? As usual…. Saturday morning, I was busy putting some final touch on my Lemon Cheesecake, ordered by a friend of mine for her husband’s birthday. After that, I went out to do some banking chores…. and managed to open up a savings account with HSBC bank in USJ. I will give the ATM card to Nik so that he can withdraw money fro...

I've been busy.... veerrrryyyy busy! Actually, I have tons of things to write but since I was so tied up with work, cake orders, house chores, the kids, yadda...yadda...yadda.... all the juicy stuff that I wanted to write evaporate into the air, though I tried hard to seal them inside my almost-filled-up brain - which can holds less than 100KB of information per day, and it's deteriorating each day, mind you! Gosh... I'm so old! Aaahhhh! While we are on this topic, the other day I was looking at the mirror in my room and I saw an image of a middle aged woman and she looked oh!-so-old!!!!! Oh no!!!! Was that really me? Yeah, I know I'm having a mid-life crisis of some sort but couldn't be thhhaaatttt old!!????? Quickly I asked Nik (via SMS laaa.... hehehe. He's still in Jakarta) if I do look old and he said probably because I smile less these days (that means he agreed that I look older than my age????) Hhmmm....why ah? Not sure myself lah! (And I didn't know...

I adore flowers. Tulip and Lily are my favourites. When I did the 'flower-quiz', ...guess what? I am a Lily! These are what Lilies like....... "You are graceful, gentle, calm, and pure and perhaps a little shy (though your shyness is part of your charm). You are a very honorable person who always wants to do the right thing. Your calm attitude has a soothing effect on others. The lily has long been used as a symbol of majesty, honor, chastity, and purity of heart." True of false? Hmm.. sounds too good to be true, but I have no problem at all believing in it (hehehe). Find out which flower you are.... check out my Fav. Quizzes.

It's 17 November 2005 and my watch says the time now is 7.40pm..... wondering what should I do !?#$%^&**(&^ Last nite was a busy one, indeed. Here's what happened... 8.00 pm Took the kids to McDonald in Sect9, suddenly both of them felt like eating burger and fries! 9.00 pm Stopped by at East India, Shah Alam Mall. Nik bought some stuff, and I too .... hehehe 10.00 pm Drove back and we had late dinner (almost supper!). Fat! Fat! Fat! 11.00 pm - 2.00am Packed, packed and packed... Some of his stuff and his bags The kids went to sleep quite late as they wanted to wait until we finished packing.... and the teddies too. 5.00 am (17/11/05) Woke up early to send Nik to airport. We left the house around 6.00am and reached KLIA around 6.45am. 7.30 am Nik checked-in his luggages and then we had breakfast at one of the cafes there. Cafe mocha, hot chocolate and beef pie.... what a healthy (!?) breakfast to kick start the day! 7.50am Oops! Time to go. I need to be in KLGCC at 9...

Remember in one of my previous stories, Another Lesson Learned , I said I will snap a shot of Nik's shoes that he bought in MidValley? This is it... He just loves those shox! Actually, I can't write more. Need to help him to pack.. will write again tomorrow, with more pics!

I cooked my first laksam a.k.a laksa kelantan last nite and it was so delicious!!! (ha ha ha) Just look at these pics... Ok, ok…. I know some may say that the recipe is as easy as ABC (to those chefs and cook masters out there!)…. But to me this is the biggest accomplishment ever in my endless quest to master Kelantanese dishes. It’s a triumph that should be celebrated…. Yeee haaaa!!!! Yeah, the happiest person on earth this morning, I guess, was Nik (I assumed, as he said my laksam was good!) because from today onwards, 16th November 2005, we don’t have to go through the hassle to find the most scrumptious, yummy and appetizing laksam in Tmn Tun, KL (TTDI). I know there is one stall somewhere around IBM plaza that sells the best laksam, nasi dagang and nasi kerabu (my favorite!) in town and some Sunday mornings (or even sometimes on our way to work) we would go there, traveling probably 20-25km from home, just to fill up our tummies with laksam and nasi kerabu. Oh yes, we definite...

It was a quite weekend for me last week. The kids were off to Singapore on Friday with my mom visiting my uncle there. So, me and my husband, we got to spend some quality together. We went to catch a late night movie at Sunway Pyramid – Just Like Heaven - on Friday. It was a nice movie, so funny & entertaining, so romantic – it’s just like my kinda movie! I know Nik prefers something with more actions, – like Troy-like or Bad-Boys-type of movies, but since we didn’t make any bookings, choices were limited, and he had to give in to my preference….hehehe. But I know he enjoyed it because he didn’t fall asleep… (well, he did when we were watching Chicken Little with the kids last week!) On Saturday, we went to my niece’s birthday - Qaisara (look at the cake, nice ain’t it? I made it! Hehe..) She wants a Barbie birthday cake and I think that was the closest that I can make and she sure liked it…a lot! And that's me & Qaisara on her 5th birthday (11/11/05) Later we adjourned to ...

I’m on my lunch break. I’m attending training on Internal Compliance issue today (don’t ask me why I joined..!) and surprisingly, I was not sleepy at all. The subject matter was a bit dry though, but thanks to the big GULP of strong, black coffee I had early this morning that I was still wide awake, alive and kicking right until lunch time. Well, the creative side of my brain did a bit of thinking somewhere along the way during the 15-minutes break of the training session and I guess that’s the main reason why I was able to endure the mental torture. I’m a ‘shopaholic’ creature – like my other blogger friend used to put it. Even just thinking about the word ‘shopping’ already stimulates the pumping of adrenalin in my body, not to mention the act of doing it… hehehe. So there I was, skipping my tea break, concentrating my full thoughts on writing a complete list of the things I want and need now, with no target dates! (Don’t jump into conclusion yet, guys! These two words indicate a ver...

It’s been a while since I last blogged. My, my, my.....life was a bit busy…… Let me tell you about the 'happenings' since the last week of Ramadhan (it's gonna be a bit long though!). A week to Hari Raya My office closed early for Hari Raya….for one whole week – 29/10/05 to 06/11/05 so I got the extra time to bake my cookies and cakes. Yeehaa! I was like a zombie. Cookie orders kept flowing in from my customers…. and at the very last minute. My husband kept telling me to stop taking new orders. It’s hard to say no as they were my regulars (and they are the ones who NORMALLY place last minute orders, believe me!...what other options do I have!?) I stayed up until 1-2am in in the morning, woke up again at 5am for sahur, slept for an hour or so, up again for work at 6.30am….. What a life, eh? All for two reasons….. extra CA$H and $HOPPING! hahaha…… and I managed to put off some 5kg just before Hari Raya. Yes!!!! Now I can fit nicely into my baju kebaya…. (not to worry though, ...

YAB Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi YABhg Datin Seri Endon Mahmood (1940 - 2005) This morning, around 7:50am in Putrajaya, we lost our First Lady, YABhg Datin Seri Endon Mahmood , the wife of our Prime Minister, YAB Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi . She finally succumbed to the deadly breast cancer, which pain she had endured for quite some time. Personally, I see her as a very inspiring woman to everyone around her, a supportive wife to her beloved husband, a loving mother to all her children and a respected leader by the society. All the significant and valuable contributions she made during her life for humanity causes, her passion, strength and patience will always be remembered. She will always be cherished by all, respected by many and loved by the public. My prayers are with her and my heart and condolence go to YAB Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his family. ‘Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke atas rohnya. Al Fatihah .’

Today is the 13th day of Ramadhan. Life’s getting busier and busier for me as the days progress towards Aidil Fitri… with husband (Nik) away in Jakarta, with two kids in tow and with all the cookies and cakes to bake for my customers… I bet it’s gonna be the most challenging time of the year. Last weekend was the busiest day in my entire life for Year 2005 (whhooaaa!!!) and it was an extremely tiring and gloomy weekend for me. Saturday, after sahur (around 5am), I stayed up to bake some 500 pcs. of my hot-selling Chocolate Oat cookies. The baking lasted until 9am -10am (wasn’t really sure as I was too engrossed with my baking activities). After baking, I cleaned up the utility room downstairs, Nik removed the extra bed and a cabinet from the room and fixed the cable TV… haaa… now I have ample space to store my baking supplies and cookie-jars, PLUS I can now watch the TV while baking (no more missing on CSI, Desperate Housewives, Charmed and the likes). Around noon, I was already ex...

The Reason by Hoobastank I'm not a perfect person There's many things I wish I didn't do But I continue learning I never meant to do those things to you And so I have to say before I go That I just want you to knowI've found a reason for me To change who I used to be A reason to start over new....and the reason is you I'm sorry that I hurt you It's something I must live with everyday And all the pain I put you through I wish that I could take it all away And be the one who catches all your tears Thats why i need you to hear I've found a reason for me To change who I used to be A reason to start over new...and the reason is You It's my favourite song..... and my husband's favourite song... and the kids too! Aaarrrggghhhhh, I am so-very-bored today! Why? Because yesterday my husband told me that he'll be leaving for Jakarta next week for a new project & will be back before (or after!?) Aidil Fitri. Hmm... that's news to me. Yup, that's ...

We always though that Ramadhan is the best time for us to keep in shape and discipline ourselves…. think about the needy ones, value what you have, think about those children in Sudan/Palestine, do not waste your food, eat healthily and the list goes on. My invalid assumption : when we eat early in the morning before the sun rises (yes, we can hardly consume anything at this hour as we are busy fighting for our eyes to be opened), will definitely helps us to stay in shape…..bbbuuuutttt, wait until it’s time to break our fast when the sun sets. We will all be geared up for the food battle, ready to crush the dinner table which holds countless types of jellies, cakes and all sorta desserts, grilled chicken (and fish too!), noodles, soups, rice, satay, kebabs, otak-otak…. You name it, it’s all on the table (talking about staying in shape!). So last night, me and my colleagues went to break our fast at one of the restaurants in KLCC to bid farewell to Khalid (who’s leaving the company) an...

Today is the first day of Ramadhan, which means the first day of the fasting month for Muslims. Yesterday, on my way back to office, I made a short trip to Jusco Supermarket in Mid Valley Megamall to buy some food (and I had two things on my mind all along, one type of fish and 1 tray of chicken wings)… I drove through the heavy (massive!) traffic along Jalan Bangsar (because I came from Jalan Semantan, headed towards Jalan Mahameru and exited at Jalan Bangsar) and I looked at my watch, it showed 6.15pm – damn! Right at the peak of rush hour…. What was I thinking??? My car was literally crawling and I think I was 2 seconds away from going nuts. I stopped by KL Sentral to pick up my husband and off we went to Megamall. Well, parking was easy… of course not everyone was as insane as me. Who wants to drive to this area during rush hour?? Me, of course! Remember I told you that I had only two things on my mind? I ended up buying twenty… still number 2, but with a 0 (20).. hah! Talking abou...

In other words, it's all about myself and my baking business. That is the reason why I'm sacrificing my so-called precious and invaluable time (yeah right....!) to create this tiny little spot which we called ' BLOG '. Wait till my husband finds out about all this 'blog-business' ..... will definitely make him jump out of his seat .... I can tell you that! I must be ready with a camera if that happens.... can be one of the attention-grabber-photos of my blog. Oh! There's so much to write with little time to spend.... so many pictures to showcase and stories to tell but again, with very limited resources to allocate..... man! I seriously need to re-organize my life and prioritize my time! Need to find that extra time to do some 'life re-organization' or they normally refer to as 'paradigm shift' (hmm.. I guess that phrase sounds a little bit sophisticated and intelligent!) Actually, I've been wanting to set up a website specifically dedica...