art

Skating

2012-01-24T09:03:00.000-08:00

When I was in primary school, I really looooooove to roller-skate. In high school, I went to school with my BFF, Hasniza (cupster.com) on rollerskate (yes, we were) and we even went to roller-skating rink on regular basis. I would love to do it once in a while with my kids so I bought Nabil a pair of roller skate (roller skate is harder to master as to compare with inline skate, but if you have mastered the art of roller-skating, you can inline-skate easily).

I dont think he is ready for it yet. After a lot of bumps and bruises, I decided to hide it.

This was what happened a couple of weeks ago, when one of them discovered the hiding spot. (Both inline skates belong to Haziq and Sarah - my nephew & niece).

BollyNite 2011 : The Night

2012-01-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

On 6 January 2012, Corporate Club had organised a Bollywood Night or in short BollyNite. It is our 4th annual dinner. The first one was Black & White Dinner. Second one was Retro Nite. Third one was Red Nite. Everybody is looking forward for this event every year because we have a chance to dressed to the nines.

I was (as usual) in-charged for the decoration. I will blog about it in different entry. I just want to show happy faces of BollyNite in this entry.

(International Unit photo without Nura since she went home early)

Congratulations again to International Unit since our boss won the title Maharaja of The Night (the guy with red shawl) and yours truly won the title Maharani of The Night (the one in yellow saree, of course!). Weeeee!!!!!! Annual dinner means everybody will bring back lotsa marvellous gifts!

I got a handful of it too!!!

Natural Parenting Programme

2012-01-24T07:20:00.000-08:00

Thanks for Aini Zulfa, my dearest friend who invited me to be part of this programme. Aini is the Head of Family Development Bureau for PUSPANITA.

Me, Azilatul Adilah and Fazrin Nazmi took up one booth to sell yummylicious food. I sell chocolate moist cupcakes (with choc ganache & buttercream toppings!!) & dark chocolate pudding, Azila sells macarons and Fazrin from scrumptioussugar sells red velvet cupcakes, congo bars and buttersctoch brownies. Oh my, it was a HIT!

I love simple presentation

Azila and Fazrin arguing on whether it is caramel or peanut butter filling. They are so cute together

My husband also took up one booth to sell parenting stuff such as Dwink, Dripstik, Boon (feeding spoon) and my Assyahadah kufi.

Hot stuffs being sold by hot mom ;p

I took a day off to make sure I can focus on this programme. It was a success. Kudos all!

It has been a year - Nazreen warded

2012-01-24T06:59:00.001-08:00

January last year, Nazreen was warded due to high fever and seizure. I was there when it happened. He fell down, head first, from the sofa. His temperature was very high so I decided to bathe him. I put him on the sofa, covered with towel and the next thing I know, he fell down from the sofa, head first. He had a seizure and when I picked him up, there was blood all over the place. Blood came out from his nose and his mouth. Lucky everybody was home that day. My sister (a doctor), her husband, my parents, my husband and my kids.

By the time my husband took him, his face was blue and he was unconscious. We took him to the hospital and he was discharged after four days. Four longest day in my life.

Discharged, at last!

When this incident took place, we were also struggling with Malam MITI (this entry).

Kampung life in Kuala Selangor

2012-01-24T06:15:00.000-08:00

My SIL arranged a family vacation to Kuala Selangor. She rented a kampung house and bungalow by a paddy field. There were 19 of us.

I love paddy field. I woke up early and I bring Nazran for a short walk by the paddy field. And he joined papa fishing afterward.

No vehicle on the kampung road so they decided to sit and lie down on the road. Oh, sungguh kampung...

We went home afterward and I took Nabil out for a short walk. He just woke up.

After that, we went home for breakfast, only to found out Nazreen was just woke up.

Owh... I need to bring him out pulakk...

He played kite with my FIL. I am so happy to see my kids having fun, the kampung way.

Strategic Meeting @ Janda Baik

2012-01-24T05:30:00.000-08:00

After we came back from Port Dickson (this entry), we sent our kids to my parent's and find our way to Cherengin Hills Convention & Spa Resort, Janda Baik, Pahang. The plan was, my husband went home after I checked-in, but due to the narrow road and steep hills all the way to Cherengin Hills, I asked him to stay for the night. It is too dangerous for him to drive home, alone. There is no signal for handphone, in case of emergency.

I arrived in time for discussion session on Day 02. After the discussion, me and my husband rented two bikes and we explored the kampung nearby the old way. We cycled for 20 minutes, then we turned back and enjoy the view by the river (it was more enjoying the view of my colleagues swimming in the river ;p). It was so relaxing. I forgot when was the last time I spent time with my husband, doing outdoor activities together. Only two of us.

Then we decided to cycle back to our resort. Cycling down the hill was a breeze. Effortless. BUT CYCLING UP the hill was a true challenge.

That was me and Nura showing our resort on the hill AND that was my husband

That night, we have a few team building games. We had a great time laughing at each other and at ourselves. It was fun. It worth a drive all the way from Port Dickson to Janda Baik.

We went back to KL the next day after the presentation session. Another working weekend.

Nabil to Kem Motivasi Anak Soleh 2011 - Day 02

2011-12-18T00:14:00.000-08:00

Me, my husband and Nazreen were stalking Nabil during his 2nd day @ Kem Motivasi. They had a simple exercise at the playground this morning.

Nazreen joined Nabil for breakfast afterwards.

This evening, we will all go to the mosque for tazkirah, solat jemaah and certificate giving ceremony, until Isyak.

We fell sick together

2011-12-18T00:12:00.000-08:00

Earlier in December, I fell sick. I went to the clinic early in the morning. And at night, all of my children, NABIL, NAZREEN and NAZRAN need a dose of nebuliser as well. Hmmm...

Thistle & Avilion Admiral Cove, Port Dickson

2011-12-17T21:15:00.000-08:00

bare with me, my longest entry ever)

I have to represent my division (along with my director) to a Strategic Meeting in PD in early December. I decided to bring the whole family since I RARELY at home during weekend (work, outstation, oversea, work, work). I pity the kids for staying home during loooong school break. The room was not provided and I am free to choose any hotel for our accommodation. The meeting was held in Thistle Port Dickson - a five star hotel with golf course and a very nice food. And we stayed at Avilion Admiral Cove - since all nearby hotel was not available due to school holiday.

I have to attend the meeting at 9am. We departed from KL early that morning. My husband brought them to the beach while waiting for my lunch break, so we can go check-in at Avilion together. Pity them. They have to wait for me from 9am to 1.30pm. But I know Papa is good in managing the time and the kids!

I envy my hubby when he showed me these photos. They were having fun. Without me.

Nazreen's natural hair colour. YES, it is natural. I don't dye them.

And they had Coconut water & keropok afterward.

I repeat, Coconut-water-AND-keropok.

Then, we checked-in. The room is so spacious. I love the movable partition for bed area. You can close it for privacy and you can open up the area for the kids to run free. There is also a daybed. Large enough for the kids. Nice view toward the marina from our room.

I went back to the meeting afterward, 2pm-6pm and we continue from 8pm-11pm. Again, I felt so guilty. So I asked my husband to bring them to a fun fair at 11.30pm. They had a blast. We went back at 2am. (and I have MEETING at 8am!)

After checking out from Avilion the next day (I was in Thistle since morning), my husband brings the kids to explore the marina.

...and main air @ Tiara pulak... OMG OMG I am so jealous.

I stucked in the meeting room for two days (and night) and they were having SO MUCH FUN everywhere!!!! My meeting & presentation ended at 6.30pm and we went back to KL. I need to be in Janda Baik, Pahang that night. Another Strategic Meeting. In another blog entry.

Nabil to Kem Motivasi Anak Soleh 2011

2011-12-16T18:04:00.000-08:00

My dad just sent Nabil and his cousin, Haziq to two-days Kem Motivasi Anak Soleh 2011 at the nearby mosque. He overnight at Atuk's house last night. I came in late - after the registration, just in time to watch them eat their breakfast with other 78 participants. The camp is open for children from 10-12 years old. Nabil just turn 6 two weeks ago. I am quite worried since he is the youngest among all but I know he will be fine. He is independent. Go Nabil!

There is Nabil, in the lime green baju melayu, talking to my dad's friend. Although he is the youngest, but you can see that he is not the smallest.

lazy weekend

2011-12-16T17:51:00.000-08:00

Typical weekend.

When they woke up in the morning, Nazreen will lie down on the bean bag. And Nazran will sit in the tiny pail. They just sit/lie there doing nothing for about 20-30 minutes.They each have their own tiny pail (different colour) to keep small toys' parts, crayons, pencil colours, coins, etc. It is more practical and easier to move around. Sometimes they wear it over their heads while watching scary movies.

BOOKS ON SALE!!

2011-12-15T22:24:00.000-08:00

I was appointed as a Council Member of [Asia Pacific Institute of Good Asset Management (APIGAM)] on 16 June 2011, by the President, Mr KC Leong. He is also the Honorary President of [Eastern Regional Organisation for Planning and Human Settlement (EAROPH)].

Just now I had a chat with EAROPH Executive Secretary, Mr Vincent, at his new office. He said that they need to clear a few books on Planning and Asset Management because (1) they are moving into new [smaller] office and (2) they will publish another book on Asset Management next year. These books are ONLY AVAILABLE from Mr Vincent & me. So, grab it while it lasts!

(1) The Essence of Asset Management - A Guide

Author - KC Leong
Publisher - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Year published - 2004
Page - 238
Clearance price - RM60 (USD19)
Original price - RM90 (USD28)

Good book if you want to manage any type of assets effectively, not only office assets, but also applicable for home. It tells you some myths about assets, asset life span & life cycle and the ultimate outcomes of asset management. This book has been published in other languages and sold in a few countries. The content is relevant for...ever.

* * * *

(2) Cities, Citizens & Civilisations

Author - Angela Yap & Patralekha Chatterjee
Publisher - UNDP
Year published - 2004
Page - 108
Clearance price - RM15 (USD5)
Original price - RM40 (USD13)

I REAAAALLLLYYYYY like this book. It contains FAQs on Good Urban Governance such as : What is the difference between local government and urban governance? What is meant by participatory urban governance? What is decentralisation? How did the concept of good governance evolve?

It is VERY INTERESTING. You dont have to be a planner or a policy maker to read the book. If you are an ordinary citizen of any part of the country, any country of the world, you can totally relate and you will have better understanding on your local government system. PLUS, the content was arranged neatly, with a lot of cartoons here and there. The size is small.. and cute.

Thanks, SUE, SJ and SCRUMPTIOUS SUGAR!!!

2011-12-13T08:18:00.000-08:00

Sue Lunatots blog about my event - The Power of Blogging. THANKS, SUE! here.

Our sponsor, Mrs Fazrin Nazmi from [ Scrumptioussugar ], also blog about the event (here).

She sponsored Congo Bar and Red Velvet cuppies for the participants. And you know what, I just picked up my order from her room - Butterscotch Brownies - and IT TASTES SO WONDERFUL!!!!! Seriously. I am very particular when it comes to BROWNIES (since i am a baker too) and I KNOW I WILL ORDER THIS BROWNIES AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN from Scrumptioussugar. U SHOULD TRY!!! (click here to see more)

Before this, both speakers promoted about this event in their blogs.

Thanks, guys!

From Shahabudeen Jalil. here.

From Sue Lunatots. here.

It is so nice to see my design (the round orange thing) everywhere.

Colour blocking

2011-12-12T01:37:00.000-08:00

When I posted [ this post ] on adding blue / turqoise crystal beads on shocking pink baju kurung, I received some feedback on "why not pink crystal?" or "i couldnt imagine pink and blue can go well together"...

Well, luckily my colleague, Kak Norain Othman captured this photo two months ago and kind enough to email it to me. Although I didnt like to put my photo in my own blog, but, here you go. It is subjective, tho. I like pink crystal on pink baju kurung too.

(yes, i know I am chubby, but let's not go there)

How I go to work

2011-12-06T06:17:00.000-08:00

My sons asked me how did I go to work everyday. Last weekend, I made this.

This is how I go to work everyday. I took RAPID KL to Putra LRT Station, then, I took a train (LRT Putra) to KL Sentral, then I change to another train, KLIA Transit to Putrajaya Sentral. There, I took NadiPutra bus to my office in Precint 4. Then, I have to walk a bit to my building. I have to punch in before 8.30am. What time I leave home everyday? You do the math (don't forget the waiting period for each mode of transportation ya!). If I missed the KLIA Transit, I will have to wait for another 27 minutes for the next train.

Then, they asked me how did I return from work because sometimes they picked me up at KL Sentral, sometimes at LRT Putra Terminal and sometimes I just came home in a taxi. They were confused. Instead of using the "back" arrow in the same drawing, in which will make them more confuse, I just explained by using this diagram. haha.

Well, I enjoy the trip to the office everyday. I can finish one book in one week because there is nothing much to do in the trains/buses. I can read while I am sitting or standing. I enjoy the view outside. I learn new fashion, admire some handbags, drool on some heels especially when I am on the train. It is a very exciting trip everyday.

People might say it is tiring, waste of time and waste of energy. It is not tiring at all. In fact, it feels so good to be GREEN and knowing that I've produce lesser carbon footprint every single day. Just be positive.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Nazran...

2011-12-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

I am in Kedah. And tomorrow is my son's birthday. Hmm....
This is the only photo of Nazran in my thumbdrive. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MUHAMMAD NAZRAN SYAZWAN.
Macam la dia boleh baca.

Innovation Day

2011-12-01T04:06:00.000-08:00

I've constructed huge CPU and CD replicas for Innovation Day gimmick. I was a bit disappointed when I went back at 2am before THE day because I dont think it looks like a CPU at all. I just cant go on adding more details here and there because I was exhausted (and frustrated). But, the next morning, when they put it on the stage, with the lighting and all, it does look a bit like a CPU.

This is how it works - The Honourable Minister will insert the CD inside the CPU and that one handsome ICT guy in the control room should hit the PLAY button to launch the multimedia presentation on the big screen. It requires precise coordination and timing, and THAT was exactly what we achieved. Good job everyone!

Let's sprinkle some glamour

2011-11-30T09:19:00.000-08:00

I have a very plain shocking pink baju kurung.

I bought some black sexy lace and blue crystal beads in different hues. Put it together and voila!

Wall of Frame

2011-11-30T09:11:00.000-08:00

Kids' room.

Kantoi - Swahili

2011-11-30T08:22:00.001-08:00

Seriously felt stupid when trying so hard conversing in Swahili with a Kenyan guy (and he was impressed!), then he picked up a piece of paper which I accidentally dropped on the floor, which says "Learn basic Swahili in 5 minutes".

Nabil and Nazreen riding that thing

2011-11-30T08:14:00.001-08:00

seriously, stop fighting now!

2011-11-30T08:03:00.000-08:00

Typical day.

Cool headcover

2011-11-30T07:41:00.000-08:00

Papa bought a new track bottom and he cut off the inner layer which usually irritates - especially when we are sweating. Our young designers love it so much (last year's photos).

Phew! The Power of Blogging just ended

2011-11-30T03:06:00.000-08:00

Evening Talk : The Power of Blogging just ended.

Although it was a bit slow at the beginning due the technical problem, but it went well. We targeted for 100 pax but 70+ is good enough.

Thanks to the speakers - Shahabudeen Jalil & Sue Lunatots. Really love your talks!

We got lotsa sponsors too.

(caution, it might cause a serious drooling problem)

Congo Bars & Red Velvet Cupcakes from scrumptious sugar.

Chocolate cake by cupster. (OMG AP, you are so skinny! Pls eat your delicious cake MORE)

Macarons by cute bites.

Photographer from secretlens photography.

And garlicandbutter sponsored these.... for the speakers and PUSPANITA KPKT's Secretary who officiated the event. i hope they like it! I just made it this morning.

I made button badge for VIPs and secretariat as well! cool, huh?

1433

2011-11-28T02:12:00.001-08:00

Salam Maal Hijrah.

Let's embrace the true meaning of hijrah.

Habitat Magazines travel around the globe!

2011-11-24T08:36:00.001-08:00

I had a chance to attend a meeting and conference for a week in Brunei. (The answer for this entry). I brought a very heavy box of souvenirs and magazines. I want to give Habitat Magazines to as many people from different countries as possible because I've spent days and sleepless nights in making it a reality. From collecting articles, Google-ing/gathering photos, arranging layout, design, looking for filler, WRITING AN ARTICLE (with the help of Rosdiana and Nadia for translation), went through one tough proof reading after another and running to the printer's office a couple of times. I am not familiar with InDesign at first, I have to rely on step-by-step guide from a book and Youtube.

NOW, I am so proud to know that people around the globe bring the magazine back to their countries/offices and share it with their colleagues. Although the printing set up was a bit OFF (the margins are too narrow), but never mind, as long as they can learn Malaysia's best practices and our strategies dealing with the climate change, it is enough for me.

Alimaa Altengerel from Mongolia, my best bud since Adelaide meeting until Brunei. The future first female Minister in Mongolia. She loves the cover.

Kerry McGovern, EAROPH Australia's President really love the cover design by Cepoi (here)

Derek Martin, CEO of International Federation for Housing and Planning (IFHP) in Netherlands

Prof Konami from Japan

Evelyn from Brunei

Jung from Korea. They will host the next meeting & conference in Daegu, Korea (2012). See you (and another Jung, and another Jung) there!! FYI, 3 Jungs from Korea attended this time.

Ar John Koh, an architect from Malaysia

*so proud*

It was a bit embarrassing to get those prominent individuals to pose with the magazine. But I need to do it. Dont ask me why.

Thunderstorm @ Putrajaya

2011-11-24T07:48:00.001-08:00

I am on the level 20 in one of the tallest buildings in Putrajaya. I dont know how scary thunderstorm in Putrajaya could be (I only heard about it before) until it happened every single day in early November. The frequent lightning (like, every 5 seconds) during thunderstorm usually accompanied by strong winds and heavy downpour. Driving home in that weather condition is really a nightmare.

I can see those scary lightning strikes through the full glass wall in my office. Even though I've shut the vertical blinds, but I can still see its glaring light followed by the sharp and loud crack of thunder. So, I just leave it open. Sometimes it is exciting to guess where the lightning will strike.

My hubby enjoyed it very much. It has become an obsession. He will pick me up at the office with a car full of lenses, tripod, monopod/unipod, u name it (oh ya, kids). We have to wait for him in the car quite a while for him to capture the best lightning photo of the day. I usually prepared some sandwich in the office before I went down so we can eat and enjoy lightning 'performance' with Papa.

Trust me, all photos ARE GREAT. I will never see thunderstorm the same way again. The lightnings are so beautiful. (Below, cloud-to-ground lightning and far below, double lightning) See I am into lightning as well. I know the terms already. LOL.

Happy Graduation, Nabil

2011-11-24T07:05:00.000-08:00

Nabil just graduated from preschool!

First, he performed dikir barat with his fellow classmates, then, they rushed out and prepare for the graduation.

I helped the teachers to took off the ribbons and put on the robe. Owh, he is so adorable.

Then we went home, he change into something more comfortable and we went out again. Just the two of us. Papa have photoshoot the whole day and my mom agreed to take care Nazreen and Nazran. Nabil really wants to eat at Kedai Tuti. I guess I can give it an exception. Your kids doesnt graduate from pre-school everyday. It is once in a lifetime thing. We should celebrate. Plus, Mama also wants to eat at Kedai Tuti ;o)

Evening Talk : The Power of Blogging

2011-11-22T23:59:00.000-08:00

Come and support (me)! My first program after being appointed as Head of ICT Bureau for PUSPANITA. It is open to outsiders as well, we only charged RM5.00 (yes, FIVE RINGGIT ONLY).

I am looking for blogger friends who wanted to promote their blogs / businesses by sponsoring *anything*. For the time being, I got sponsors for RED VELVET CUPCAKES, BUTTERSCOTCH BROWNIES / CONGO BARS, FRAMED KUFI and THUMBDRIVES. They are meant for speakers (the cupcakes) and for those who have guts to ask questions to the speakers.

If we received a lot, all participants could at least bring home one cupcake.... Just like OPRAH dan ELLEN, eh? No one go home empty-handed.

Well, what are you guys waiting for??? Register as participant OR sponsor anything (10 cupcakes/macarons/shawls pun ok!). Thanks!!!

Qurban 1432

2011-11-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

Alhamdulillah. I manage to perform Qurban this year. One goat was all I can afford for the moment but it means a lot.

...The act of Qurban (Sacrifice) is carried out by millions of Muslims every year during Eid Al-Adha following the example of the father of Prophets, Ibrahim (AS).

Allah (SWT) says in the Quran: "It is neither their meat nor their blood, that reaches Allah, it is your piety that reaches Him". (Al Qur'an, Ch:22 v:37)

The prophet Muhammad PBUH was asked "What is Qurban?", He answered, "It is the sunnah of your father Ibrahim (AS), for every hair of the Qurban you will receive a reward from Allah and for every hair in the wool you will receive a reward". (Hadith - Ibn Maja and Tirmidhi)....

(via net)

When it first arrived (we have someone else to slaughter and skinned it first), we (me, my husband, my brother and my dad) spent a couple of minutes STARING at the flesh, thinking where to start. Then, we looked at each other and "You go first", "No, you go first", "How to do it?", "I think we better watch Youtube first", "Oh, I heard the telephone rang" (flee inside the house - NO, it actually doesnt rang) and "I am going to call up my friends to help". They involved in qurban at the mosque every year, but to do everything on their own for the first time, it kinda funny.

see??? Where to start?

Everything went well. My brother grilled some on the spot and later we distributed the rest to relative, friends and neighbours.

(small bite size for kids, large one for ME)

So guys, let's save some money and perform qurban next year!

Travelling. Again.

2011-11-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

I am off to an official trip to our neighbouring country on 2nd day of Aidiladha. See ya!

Salam AidilAdha

2011-11-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

Just feel like putting my family's (my mom, dad, brother & nephew) photos during Hajj in 2008. I can still remember, they went to Mecca with my in-laws to perform Hajj and two days later, I delivered Nazran via c-sect. It was a true challenge for my dearest hubby. I couldnt move for a week, Nabil and Nazreen were handful and he had to take care one small delicate newborn. Alone. And to make things even worse, three of them got chicken pox when Nazran turned 21 days old. OK, enough about us.

Just enjoy these photos...

(Haziq was just 6 years old that time. Circumcised. They put him on a wheelchair for his safety)

KUFI - my favourite khat on our wall

2011-10-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

Late entry.
It was all started with boredom... and a pen... and a doodle on graph paper...

The next day, I transferred it to my computer. Of course with some help from my khatat friends who are into kufi as well...Taaadaaa!! AsSyahadah. In kufi. I asked my husband to hold it so you can imagine the actual size. Then my dearest hubby sent it to frame shop to *duh* frame it. I requested for 3-inches grey mounting board frame around the kufi before they framed it with wood (since they didnt have thicker frame) but it is costly. So, we just make do. We arranged small mirrors (look familiar?) to fill up the wide feature wall in our living room since the kufi looks so small without mounting board frame. The final composition actually turned out well, so, I dont mind about the absence of mounting board frame anymore.

Volleyball

2011-10-30T22:33:00.001-07:00

I didnt attend last Saturday's volleyball tournament althought my husband really wants to play volleyball (on my behalf because I usually will be busy chasing my kids around). My uncle passed away on Friday (AL-FATIHAH).

I was told that my team is the winner. *again*

World Habitat Day 2011 - All women team

2011-10-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Do not underestimate women.

The event was a success but we refuse to let others know the hard-working people behind it. (We actually smile behind those boards when the photographer counts...1...2...3!)

Futsal

2011-10-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

Corporate Club Sports Carnival 2011 has just started. Last Saturday we had a futsal tournament. I am on the Red Team. In order to be the overall champion, the whole team practices balance lifestyle started last week. We pledge to exercise a lot and eat well.

You can see our determination last week. First, we play futsal like crazy. Then, we eat like we haven't eat for a week. lol.

In the end, we are the futsal champion!

Let's negotiate the terms...

2011-10-28T01:42:00.000-07:00

I was introduced to the art of negotiation while I was representing my office to the Malaysia-United States Free Trade Agreement Negotiation Round in KL back in 2005. Then followed by series of Malaysia-New Zealand, Malaysia-Australia, etc negotiation rounds from 2005 until 2010. It felt so good to be able to be a part of such important process and read about its success in the newspaper afterwards.

Since I was curious to know how the lead negotiator made it (negotiate) looks so easy, I bought some books on negotiation - particularly on international trade, strategies and tactics. I also attended a few courses on negotiation in Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) and INTAN Kiara to learn more on cultural influence and cross-cultural negotiation. I got this during my recent Effective Negotiation Course.

Well, I am not that resourceful yet. I still didnt have guts to negotiate at Pasar Malam. International trade, fine with me. Local night market? erk....

[simple] makeover : TV area

2011-10-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

Last week of Syawal, we did a simple makan-makan for family and neighbours. You guys knew our house was never ready for any guests back then (it never did until now! ;p), but we determine to do simple makeover - overnight - to sprinkle some Raya mood in the TV area.

Buffet was served in the living room so our living room was left empty without furniture (until today) since we moved all the sofas to the TV area. We kinda like the whole look so it might take a bit of time for us to return it back to the living room.

Scroll down and tell me what do you think of our simple last minute makeover.

BEFORE

IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING IN

AFTER AN OVERNIGHT MAKEOVER (...until NOW)

It was quite messy near the TV after the kids finished playing their PS2

Karnival Raya - Nazreen the 10kth

2011-10-21T02:05:00.000-07:00

Yeah, late entry.

One fine day in last Ramadhan, we broke fast at Mangiamo Cafe @ Equestrian Club, Putrajaya. After Isyak and a quick tarawih, we went to Karnival Jom Beli Barang Raya or something like that, at Precint 2.Nazreen was the 10,000th person to walk-in!! They were a bunch of people interviewed us and took photos. Nazreen received a bag full of cookies from one of the sponsors. OMG, he was so happy. He was dancing and smiling all night.

Bivouac

2011-10-20T23:27:00.000-07:00

They have these in their room for about 2 months now. They refuses to sleep on their bed. They prefer to sleep like a sardine (in the can) in that small tent. I love camping very much (here).

Please study, kids!

2011-10-20T23:14:00.000-07:00

The kids have special area for studying. There were cute moments worth watching whenever one of them start to teach the other.

But it usually lasted about 3-4 minutes.

It will then be followed by an argument.

And at least one will broke into tears.Kids are fun.

Kicking board

2011-10-20T23:07:00.000-07:00

Kick board usually used by beginner to learn how to swim. I bought two for my kids (before Nazran was born). It lasted for a few years.

Until one night, Nazran decided to make me a birthday cake. He really insists me to BLOW THE CANDLE and ask Papa to take photos. Just like the real birthday.

Nabil got [kool] fever

2011-10-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

Nabil got a fever. And Nenny (my mom, Nabil's grandma) give him a Kool Fever. You know, the gel-in-a-pack thing that you stick on the forehead of the sick person to lower down the temperature.

Of course Nazreen and Nazran want it too!
So I stick a bit of masking tape on their foreheads. They can't tell the difference. They seems happy.

Happy World Habitat Day 2011!

2011-10-05T23:22:00.000-07:00

3 October 2011 @ Putrajaya International Convention Centre. Official launch of World Habitat Day 2011 by The Hon Minister of Housing and Local Government. 500 invitees including Ambassadors / High Commissioners from Kenya, Singapore, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Lesotho. Great food. Awesome choir. Beautiful tree for the launching gimmick (thanks to Mariam Zainal, Hafiz and their team!)

It was a successful event. Thanks to all involved!

Special thanks to members of International Unit - Rose, Nadia, Nura, Misspi and Zaza. (yes, all women team!).
I will blog more on this. I need to buy a new adaptor for my laptop first. For the mean time, enjoy our videos :

1 - Cities and Climate Change theme launch (by Aziqqurol Hakim Azizan)

2 - Our programmes for World Habitat Day 2011 (by Muhammad Fakri Zaki Abadi Ahmad Zairi)

Thanks, all!

Oh, Nazreen

2011-09-17T17:56:00.000-07:00
On our way back Balik Kampung on 2nd day of Raya.

Him : Mama, hari ni hari apa?
Me : Rabu.

(5 minutes later)
Him : Mama, hari ni hari apa?
Me : Rabu.

(5 minutes later)
Him : Mama, hari ni hari apa?
Me : HARI RABU, sayang.

And it went on and on and on from Kuala Lumpur to Muar. Luckily Mama was so patient that day because she has nothing much to do in the car except for sleeping (which Papa dont like - lol).

That night,

Him : Mama, hari ni hari apa?
Me : RABU, NAZREEN. Kenapa tanya banyak-banyak kali?
Him : Semua orang dalam radio dengan TV kata hari ini Hari Raya. Patutnya hari ni Hari Rabu, kan? kan?
Me : Mm.... (explaining for 10 minutes but he seems not satisfied with me saying that hari ini is also Hari Raya)

Before he went to sleep...
Him : Mama, hari ni hari apa?
Me : Hari ni hari Rabu, Nazreen.
and he sleep. Smiling. Satisfied.

Last two days...
Him : Mama, hari ni hari apa?
Me : Jumaat.

(5 minutes later)
Him : Mama, hari ni hari apa?
Me : JUMAAT, WHY?
Him : Kenapa semua orang dalam TV cakap hari ni Hari Merdeka dengan Hari Malaysia? Hari ni Hari Jumaat, kan? kan?
Me : oh, Nazreen....

I have to go through the same old explanation over and over again.
Oh, Nazreen! You'll get the concept one day...

UPDATES

2011-09-11T22:27:00.000-07:00

Our laptop has been kaput for a while. I dont blog from office esp during office hour, hence no update. I have tons of entries to be posted but it can wait. It can always wait.

Right now, I am struggling to produce our HABITAT MAGAZINE 2011. Our annual baby. And I am proud to announce that my BFF, Cepoi is the winner for the Habitat Magazine Cover Competition 2011! Congratulations, Cepoi! Well, dont request for open table, guys. He is married and he has lotsa responsibilities for his family. So, let him keep the money, ya!

My hubby sent three entries and I had prepared one entry, quite similar to Cepoi's (did I told you we are bff?), but unfortunately I withdraw my entry. It is a long story. I will blog about our entries later. And this is Cepoi's winning 'cute' entry (the theme is Cities and Climate Change) on the magazine's template :

And, afterward, I will be struggling with our makan2 for Raya since we received requestsss from our relatives to have makan2 at our new habitat. Well, you guys know our house is not ready for guests, right? BUT WE WILL MAKE DO.

We will leave the window frame paintwork half complete (we are talking about half white - half grey). We gonna let the old messy landscape in front of the house as it is (believe me, IT IS MESSY like 100 years old untouched garden with weeds and all). I really have no time to do everything since our office shifted to Putrajaya. I came home at 10pm everyday. I cant do much.

(edited - my ILS cant make it on 17th so we are postponing the makan2 that day BUT you guys are invited to come anytime, just inform us 2 days prior)

Eid Mubarak 1432

2011-08-25T19:11:00.000-07:00
SELAMAT HARI RAYA AND MAAF ZAHIR BATIN.
Have fun with your family and please drive carefully.

I am still working.
My tailor had accidentally gave my baju raya to other people.
I didnt have any kasut raya yet.
Our house need A LOT OF WORK for Raya. Seriously it is not ready for guests.
Kids didnt have any baju raya yet.
I will bring back tons of work to be submitted by 5th September 2011.

but this is the best Hari Raya ever!
Me, my husband and my three lovely kids will celebrate our first Raya at our new habitat.

Video : Nazreen's Frustration Over Uncompleted Paint Work

2011-08-11T01:28:00.000-07:00

Meet Tomato

2011-08-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

This is Tomato.
(She is a CAT and her name is Tomato)
Firstly, I dont like cats. I dont like anything furrrrry but since my husband and kids loved them so much, I have no problem having cat as our pet. I just have to scream out loud and jump onto the sofa whenever THE CAT entered our house. It is not that hard. First, scream. Then, go to the higher spot (continue screaming). After that, the kids will take care the rest (read - take the cat out).
Last time there were two of them. Tomato and Carrot. But Carrot died. I dont want to talk about it. Although I didnt like cat, but the fact that she is no longer with us makes me sad. Just like when our red and blue fishes died. Sad. And when a tortoise I bought for my nephew escaped a couple of years before that. Sad. And when I released my pet snake before I married my husband. Sad. He didnt like snake. I have to choose between the snake and a husband. OF COURSE WISE PEOPLE WILL CHOOSE A HUSBAND, kan?

No more pet after this. If they insisted to have another pet, I will make them using cardboards.

UNICEF : Somalian babies and kids

2011-08-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

I cant sleep at night without thinking about starving babies and children in Somalia. My heart sank when I saw their super-skinny photos in the news.

NAIROBI, 29 July 2011 - With an estimated 1.25 million children across Southern Somalia in urgent need of life saving interventions and 640,000 acutely malnourished, UNICEF called for all actors to make saving children's lives the top priority and to urgently support all efforts to reach children in need.
via UNICEF Malaysia

You could make an online donation using credit card via UNICEF Malaysia website by clicking at the image below in the website. I couldnt create a link to this image that can direct you to the secure online payment window. Maybe because it is secured. I dont know. Pls help them.

25th July 2011 - Our division is officially move to PUTRAJAYA!

2011-07-25T00:51:00.000-07:00

Finished packing.

Today, at 7pm, all boxes will be transported to Putrajaya. I cant wait to work in the new office. Right now the mover is busy bubblewrapping everything. I just packed my last box.

What is IMO?

2011-07-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

I wanted to log about this for a long time but I didnt know where to start or perhaps, I dont know how to explain. Since my brother posted an entry on this, I just copy and paste it here but in different order...

My brother has represented Malaysia three times in this competition (in Romania, 1999; Taejon, Korea, 2000; and Washington DC, USA, 2001) and since 2006 (after he graduated for the MIT, Boston), he has been training Malaysian team to the IMO. He has been appointed as a jury (the youngest, perhaps) for the competition. He had attended the IMO every year that was held in different countries - German, Spain, Kazakhstan and right now he is in Netherlands as the leader of Malaysian team.

The IMO (International Mathematical Olympiad) is an annual global mathematical contest which is considered the most prestigious academic competition in the world. Started in 1959, the IMO has produced a number of top mathematicians including winners of the Fields Medals, the “Nobel equivalent” of mathematics. In the 50 years of its existence, IMO has created a tremendous impact in mathematical education around the world, specifically on the development of talented students. IMO is the oldest, largest and most prestigious of the Science Olympiads.

At the IMO, students sit for two tests on two consecutive days, where each test consists of three problems to be solved in 4.5 hours. Students write their solutions individually. The problems are original and created specifically for this competition by mathematicians around the world. The level of difficulty of the problems is so high that a geometry problem in the paper was only solved completely by 6 students.

The Malaysia IMO training program, organized by the Malaysian Mathematical Sciences Society (PERSAMA), is a year long program to identify, shortlist, and train potential students for the IMO (More details at http://suhaimiramly.wordpress.com/imo). This program is run under the patronage of the Ministry of Education.

Malaysia won our first International Mathematical Olympiad Gold medal at the IMO 2011 in Amsterdam. Congratulations to How Si Yu, Form 4 student at SMK USJ12. He managed to rank #25 overall among 564 top math students from 101 countries.
His identical twin, How Si Wei who is also in Form 4 at SMK USJ12, won a Silver Medal. Tham Ying Hong, Form 5 at SMJK Katholik PJ, bagged a Bronze Medal. This is Ying Hong’s third IMO (he won a Silver Medal in IMO 2010 in Kazakhstan). Two members of the team, Anzo Teh Zhao Yang from SMJK Chung Ling Butterworth and Justin Lim Kai Ze from SMK Tinggi Kluang, both in Form 3, won Honorable Mention award. HMs are given to participants which do not make the cutoff points for medals but able to solve a problem completely. Another member of the Malaysian team is Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin, an A-Level student at INTEC Shah Alam, and former student at SM Sains Teluk Intan.

More about my brother :

Utusan Malaysia & Kosmo! (just ignore the awkward pose). I have no time to search for more (yes, there are actually more), just dig up his blog. you'll find it.

Moving in : Part 11 - Pop Kitchen

2011-07-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

Earlier, I wanted our kitchen to look modern (& monotonous) with grey wall, white tiles and black, silver & white kitchen utensils. We went through such an agonising time searching for modern /chic silver, black and white ONLY utensils. OMG, it was so hard considering our tight budget. One day, I was just gave up. This one was a minor gave up over the kitchen utensils. I rarely gave up on something - maybe once in ten years.

I need to run my kitchen and I need to run it RIGHT NOW! No time to go around looking for some WHITE / SILVER / BLACK kitchen utensils that fit my strict specifications. White chic scoop for scooping rice, black ladle for frying - so it is not obvious if it burnt, all containers should be glass (transparent) & silver...

So I started to buy a few pieces in different colours because those were the only colours available on the display shelves that time. Later on, I found out that adding a pop of colours here and there made our kitchen more interesting, well, at least for me who spend most of my time in the kitchen. Colours make me smile. Sometimes, putting a stop to a nonsense is a very good start for something better.

eh, wait, where's my potted plant?

Thanks, BIL

2011-07-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

My bro-in-law just came back from a short trip to London today. He brought us these. Thanks!

Family : Port Dickson, July 2011

2011-07-15T08:08:00.001-07:00

We let the kids play with the sand by the beach at night, in their pyjamas. But, Nazran hates SANDY beach. He hates sand. We dont know why.

He clinged to me like a joey (read - baby koala).
He refuse to stand on the sand at all. Everytime I put him down, he will stand on my Crocs.
Until I gave him a pen and ask him to draw a cat on the sand. Using the pen.
At last! Phew!
The next day, it happened all over again. He refuse to took off his pair of slippers. He doesnt want leave the grassy area. I have to go through the same battle with the baby koala again... Oh, Nazran!

Dating

2011-07-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

It felt so good to be able to hang out once in a while, sipping our favourite cappucino (frappe & italiano) and talk for hours at Cafe Barbera, KLIA. Just the two of us.

Another photographer in the house - Nabil

2011-07-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

Last time I'd posted an entry on Nabil's interest in photography (here). Lately, since we bought a 60D, we gave him a chance to play around with our 1000D (and of course, the 60D) once in a while (for those who are not familiar, they are the models of Canon DSLR).

Earlier this week we went to Port Dickson. Papa taught him some lessons on capturing photos of flower and birds while waiting for sunset (Mama was busy running around with another two in our hotel room). When they came back and Nabil showed me his photos, I was so proud! Not bad for a 5 years old, eh?

Nabil in action.
I hope you'll become a famous photographer in the future. I will be here to support you all the way.

Happy 4th Birthday Nazreen

2011-07-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

LED Watch

2011-07-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

This is my not-so-new LED Watch. You know I just can’t say NO to anything WHITE. It comes in many shapes but as usual, I opted for square wristwatch. It is covered with two-way mirror and all I have to do is push the upper button and voila, the time will appear in a bright red LED lights. After a few seconds, it turn back to mirror. I can touch up my make up anytime.

Owh, I am feeling so Retro right now (LED watch was introduced in 1970s). I can even check my teeth after a meal at the table without excusing myself to the powder/restroom (before I can smile and converse confidently), every time. LOL.
For a cool white gadget like this, YES, it is cheap.

My sons are in ohdeedoh....

2011-07-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

I was a silent reader of ohdeedoh for a couple of years now. I was hoping to post some photos of our new house or enter any ohdeedoh contest in the future. Last month they were having a Reader Survey titled What's The Weirdest Place Your Kids Have Napped?

I posted two links at the comment section and to my surprise, on 11th July 2011, they published the result / entry related to the above topic with the title - Your Kids Sleep In The Darndest Place. I was jumping up and down when I saw my sons' photos! It is among the funniests! Yay!

(From ohdeedoh)

From stairs to hallways, from furniture to hands in jars, your kids truly fall asleep in the darndest places!
Photos above are from the following folks:
• Life In Motion Photography
• Cherlyn Wagner
• Julianne Hudgins Marcellus
• My Convertible Life
• Flickr member Tetê Carneiro
• Flickr member giozi
• Flickr member NannersP
• Garlic and Butter
When children are tired their batteries run out and they power down in some of the funniest places. Did you miss the boat and forget to leave us a link? Don't be shy and leave us one below!

(HURRY!!! Submit your link @ ohdeedoh!!)

Another artist in the house - Nazreen + Pop Art

2011-07-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

There was one point of time that I really into pop art, a movement pioneered by Andy Warhol. This is an example of pop art (via net).

A couple of week ago, I bought Nazreen a colouring book and I was so excited to see his work - very POP ART-y and very different from Nabil's work. He used a lot of colours but it doesnt overlap as if he has already drew invisible boundaries within the object. Not bad for a 3 years old, huh?

This is how the artist keep his coloured pencil before he went to sleep.

Lazy Sunday : Strolling at a park nearby my new office

2011-06-26T06:29:00.001-07:00

Nabil's FIRST Report Card Day

2011-06-26T06:20:00.001-07:00

Actually, it was my FIRST too.
The teacher gave a good remark on Nabil and we were quite relieved, knowing how playful he could be at home. We need to double the effort to make sure Nabil could read, write, draw, colour and speak in English well before he enter Standard One next year. (Sarah, my niece, on the right was having a fever that time)

Nabil bought some books and some plastic springs for his brothers, using my money, of course. How thoughtful.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-26T06:05:00.001-07:00

All 12 of us celebrated Father's Day (for three superb fathers in our big family) at Middle East Restaurant : Sawarabina @ Titiwangsa. Yummy. The kids were having fun with the masks and bubbles.
(Sawarabina means We grew up together in Syrian - as being told by the cashier)

Ultraman

2011-06-26T05:31:00.000-07:00

It is getting hard when Nazran thinks he is really an Ultraman whenever he put on the mask. It was weird when he seems not interested with bubbles like everyone else (at the back) does.

He ran here and there, kicked (and of course, fell down a few times after "being kicked" by an invisible monster), shoot everyone who are in his way fighting forces of evil on earth.

And boy oh boy, he was getting very serious when he bumped into another boy with an Ultraman mask! He just felt the urge to fight because there cant be two identical Ultramans on earth!! The other one must be a poser and has to be destroyed!!

I dont capture the rest of the drama (where he shoot the boy - Ultraman-style) because I was laughing out loud and I couldnt hold the camera still.

Angkat!!!

2011-06-26T05:28:00.000-07:00

Designer in the making

2011-06-25T14:43:00.000-07:00
When Mama got a lot of work to do...
I dont mind clearing up the mess, as long as I can do my work peacefully, for a couple of hours.

Moving in : Part 10 - TV Area

2011-06-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

Our TV Area have a very special natural daylight that penetrates through a transparent roof tile. I love it so much because we don't have to switch on the light inside the house during the day. BUT it is bright alright.

I pity the children who always find a way to avoid the glaring hot sunlight, and the heat - which hit directly on the sofa in front of the TV. Yes, it is HOT especially between 12.01pm to 2.30pm. They have choices whether to sit on the floor or other sofa or the other part of the sofa, but, the middle part of this sofa is the best spot for watching TV. We fought for it all the times. LOL. Sometimes they wear their caps and some other times, they uses umbrella while watching TV. Dramatic, yes?

This will help you to get the better picture of the HOT SPOT in our TV area.

We did a lot of sketches of all possible solutions and we end up with the simplest, fastest [and cheapest] measure, for the time being. We hang three huge Japanese rice paper lanterns. The lanterns diffuse [and absorb] the sunlight and solve the problem that was haunting the kids for quite a while. It look nice too.

We were thinking to hang a few smaller RED lantern to make it more outstanding. For the time being, the lanterns are sort of blend with the wall and ceiling.

Moving in : Part 09 - Moving stuff with a lorry

2011-06-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank a very nice neighbour of ours - ARIL, a 20yo gentleman who live across the street - for always been there for us. He helped us a lot in clearing out the house since April, taking care of our kids, paint some part of the house, be the first one to arrive whenever I had an encounter with ugly pests (and scream) and recently, he rented a lorry, drove it and move all furniture from my parent's to our new habitat, together with us. He never complaint. In fact he sings for us all the time.

This was the kids' first ride on a lorry. They were extremely excited. First trip - carry Atuk's sofa, a few cupboards and book shelves to our new habitat. Only 2km apart.

Although they are handful most of the time but they are very helpful when it comes to teamwork. (They were carrying their book shelves).

Second trip - carry quite a number of potted plants to Atuk's house. Nabil sat with his favourite Abang Aril, while others remained at the back of the lorry with the plants.

Third trip - another sofa and other small stuff. Atuk also gave us a huge frame of Quranic verses as a present. Nazreen joined Nabil and Aril at the front. The rest traveled by car.

It was tiring. We slept for the rest of the day. This was the most tiring moving in work so far.

Moving in : Part 08 - Kitchen morph

2011-06-10T11:17:00.000-07:00
Kitchen morph.
I will blog about one small portion of the kitchen for the time being. There are tremendous amount of work to be done before I can utilise the whole kitchen.

Last time it was apple green.

Last weekend, Aril turned it into grey. He did it in 2 days.

Then, papa hang the old blind taken from my dad's stack of old stuff (that he wanted to throw away). The size it just right to cover two bathroom windows located in the middle of the house. We wanted to paint it white, but suddenly we fell in love with its soft gradient and old rustic look. It gives the wall character. Later, this space will be papa's workstation. The old dining table will be shifted somewhere else. Or will be replaced by white dining table set by IKEA (you wish!).

Moving Out - Artist & Masterpiece

2011-06-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

When we started moving out from my parent's house, my dad decided to re-paint the whole living room and change the furniture set from modern to Italian set (of course, the old sofa goes to our new habitat - in kitchen and TV area :p).

He painted the whole house a couple of times before - he enjoyed painting like I do - BUT, there are some artists in the house who couldn't get their artistic hands off the wall. I had a chance to capture the artists' photos with their masterpieces before their grandfather apply a fresh coat of paint on it.

Moving in : Part 07 - Red carpet

2011-06-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

We went to IKEA again. I need some fabric for our sofa, cushions and table runner. The kids... they keep playing 500 Days of Summer in IKEA, like the other day (here). I was running everywhere because they were sitting, rolling on the floor, lying on the sofa, SLEEPING on the bed (like, real DEEP SLEEP - imagine that!) and getting excited when they found a television... Luckily I put on my pair of crocs that day.

Finally they behaved themselves when I assigned them one trolley each. I don't need to chase them around after that. Thanks for being so thoughtful, IKEA.

And, at last, we bought THE red carpet that we've been contemplating for about one month. We intentionally bought the small one, because any bigger will make our living room seems cramped. Nazreen pulled out his reading sofa to the living room because he said it matches the colour of the new carpet.

Red bean bag

2011-06-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

I bought red fabric to make panel curtain for our new habitat. But it ends up as a bean bag because the fabric is so damn stretchy, i can't resist. I only took one hour to cut the fabric and sew it together. But papa took more than one hour to fill in the beans with the help of red bean bag superheroes, of course. There were five of them but we manage to capture only ONE photo.
(Nazreen and Nazran were busy collecting the beans on the floor / under the sofa)

I need to buy another 2 bags of bean to fill the bean bag.

Good find : (all) under RM20

2011-06-10T09:44:00.000-07:00
for our new life at our new habitat. We just love cute stuff.

How I/we pulled off World Habitat Day 2010's gimmick

2011-06-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all. I really appreciate your help! Now the whole world knows how great you guys are!

Nazran and kain pelekat

2011-06-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

I've made a mini kain pelekat for Nazran using remaining fabric from my Grameen projects (will blog about it whenever I feel like it). He likes it very much that he wants to wear it everyday.

Kangaroo is delicious

2011-06-02T13:48:00.000-07:00
When I told my friends that I've visited Australia a few times, some of them will be like... "Have you ever tried kangaroo?"

As a matter of fact, I DID. No. 17 on the menu. Love it!

just kidding (here).

Fire & Rescue Team

2011-06-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

Yup. I was in the Fire & Rescue team last time. It was a thrilling experience with oil spill fire, leaking gas pipes (which leads to fire), scuba diving, cutting cars to save accident vics and my favourite, went into the sewer (and BA gallery) with the bulky breathing apparatus. Oh yes, so claustrophobic but yet so exciting. I was 3-months pregnant that time.

Leaking gas fire on the oil platform.

The first one to go inside the tank. Ready? *splash*

They were busy cutting car and we were busy giving the best pose.

With my team mate who is the lead singer for Nitrus (a local band), the one sitting with the helmet on.

We were just finished putting off massive fire inside the chamber. Hot. Heavy suit. I need air.
Be kind to the firemen, people! Their job is really tough!

I was trained as a soldier.

2011-06-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

I was browsing my old files at 3 am. And I found this photo. At Pusat Latihan Tentera Darat (PULADA), Ulu Tiram, Johor. I am at the 2nd row from the front, FAR LEFT (I know it is tiny and u can barely see my face, but IT IS ME). It was a very torturing training with all the bombs, explosion, guns, shooting, battle inoculation, blood, vomits, diarrhoea but yet I survived. How? FRIENDSHIP + COOPERATION + SUPPORT SYSTEM & of course A STRONG WILL TO SURVIVE. Every soldier have to have that. OMG, I miss being a soldier...

Hungry.

2011-06-02T12:03:00.000-07:00
Every time I told my husband that I am hungry, this is what I usually get.

Thank you for being a very good [house]husband and a father. Happy early Father's Day.

HIJAB : Wear It Right Campaign

2011-05-27T21:54:00.000-07:00
LET's COVER OUR CHEST, sisters! (and our shoulders and our back too)... Do not hesitate to tell me if my hijab is short or the way I wear it is wrong. I am trying my best to be better. Thanks!

campaign by fellow blogger

New look

2011-05-27T02:20:00.000-07:00

I dont know why I suddenly felt the urge to change Garlic & Butter background to white. I dont plan it at all. It was all started with an experiment of possible background colour for the blog. Next thing I know, I keep changing the font color, type, link colour, hits counter and re-design the header to something that didnt represent garlic and butter at all.

I dont know why. I still trying to love it.
I have more work to do now since most of the highlighted fonts for previous posts are YELLOW or OTHER LIGHT COLOURS (due to black/latte background last time), I have to edit all highlighted fonts in this blog during weekend. Why did I change it at the first place??? Hmmm.... Do u like it?

Fruit Cocktail

2011-05-26T23:43:00.000-07:00

My junior in KAED / my teammate for paper clip video / generous LEGO lender, who is now my colleague, Shahnizam, emailed me about the watermelon scoop which I used for my Division's makan-makan last time. Since I couldnt remember exactly which branch of which hypermarket I bought the scoop last two years, I decided to lend him my scoop because his division's makan-makan is just around the corner.

To my surprise, he came to my office just now and give me these!!! oh my, oh my! Thanks, Shah! They did a good job in scooped out TWO whole watermelon (red & yellow), add in green & purple grapes and sprinkles some almond chunks and raisins! They also have nata de coco inside there. It gave the cocktail a lot of texture and taste!

I like it so much, so I decided to capture some photos of it to share it with you FIRST, before I eat them. Kudos, HR!

LEGO - it is contagious

2011-05-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

This was what we used to do after office hour - building a kingdom. It feels good to be able to catch up with each other and release the stress at the same time before going home. I think we should buy more LEGO when we move to the new building. Thanks to Shahnizam, for lending us your LEGO.

House Build Project 2010

2011-05-26T19:36:00.000-07:00
I am in the World Habitat Day mood for a couple of months now. I found these plans while doing some housekeeping just now. I made these around one hour by tracing a sketch by the volunteer, using Photoshop. One of the houses involved in the House Build Project 2010.

World Habitat Day 2011 - Cities & Climate Change

2011-05-25T00:50:00.000-07:00

Well, to those who really into UN-HABITAT's World Habitat Day, you might know by now about the theme for the year 2011 - Cities & Climate Change. This is my slide design for our previous WHD meeting. I designed this during one of my bad design days (oh, yes, I do have bad design days). It was a very quick design, around 30 minutes. I dont like the skyline silhouette because it is BLACK and it took most of the space. It drew people's attention off the theme & main issue (climate change - represented by those little boxes with climate icons). I will re-design this for our next meeting.

FYI, we are going to publish our 3rd Edition of Habitat Magazine in September 2011. Anyone from all over the world who are interested to submit articles on human settlement, cities or climate change for our magazine, you can contact me for further information.

Like Mother, Like Sons

2011-05-21T02:10:00.000-07:00

Papa was away for a photoshoot over the weekend. So, it is time to spend a quality time with the kids doing my beauty routine!

Chelsea! Chelsea!

2011-05-21T01:30:00.000-07:00
Upon departure to a futsal tournament. Yes, we do play futsal once in a while.
Thanks to the photographer.

Nazran oh Nazran...

2011-05-21T01:24:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, during EARTH HOUR, someone ate my brand new lipstick. The doctor asked us to bring Nazran to the Emergency Room to flush his stomach due to its toxic active ingredients.

So, people, dont let your kid play with your make up set. Or perhaps, dont turn off ALL the lights during Earth Hour.

Meet Jiji

2011-05-18T05:41:00.000-07:00

Meet Jiji, the cameraman's assistant who wanted to be a cameraMonkey.

Happy Teacher's Day

2011-05-18T01:45:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Alaska on the Teacher's Day. I had a chance to buy Teacher's Day cards in AS and I bought A LOT of chocolates from KLIA for my sons' teachers. My husband fetched me at KL Sentral and we went straight to our sons' schools.

First stop : Nabil's Preschool. I asked them to write something on the card for their teachers (Nabil and my niece, Sarah are in the same class). Then, we went to the canteen where pregnant Teacher No.1 usually sit and wait for her husband. After that, we went to the class to give the present to the Teacher No.2.

Second stop : Nazreen's Preschool. Nazreen was sleeping when we arrived. His class ended at 11am and they will sleep together from 1pm to 4pm. He refused to give the card and chocolate to his pretty teacher. And he refused to look at the camera during the photography session.

(Never wake Nazreen up when he is sleeping, people!)

Trip to Alaska

2011-05-18T00:54:00.000-07:00

I like Alaska but it was freaking cold. Snow, snow and snow everywhere.

haha. gotcha!

It was actually a photo of cloud taken from a flight back from Alor Setar. I just had a tiring site visit for House Build Project 2011 (more here) around Alor Setar, Kedah (Kedah is one of the northen states of Malaysia). The Ruler @ Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Dipertuan Agong just had his lunch at the Holiday Villa Hotel & Suites Alor Setar when I checked-in *super-excited*.

We've visited 10 houses in total. This is my first time to AS all by myself, exploring AS during the day and night for three days, alone...

Family : Malacca, May 2011

2011-05-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

I was an invited speaker (again) for a course at Puteri Resort Ayer Keroh, Malacca. We stayed at the same resort. Spacious room. For the first time, I did not capture photos of our room. I only have photos of our kids playing around with cloth hangers in the room. They enjoy hitting each other with that. All the time.

It was rather a challenging trip because Nazran was having a diarrhoea and Nabil was having a fever. Both of them threw up practically everywhere. And we have to change Nazran's soiled diapers at almost every stop (or was it twice at every stop?). Nazreen was behaving like usual. Falling asleep anywhere he likes.

Anyway, we have experienced three modes of transportation in Malacca (if sitting on a deck of Menara Taming Sari is considered as air transportation...LOL). They are unique. And you could get those three ONLY in Malacca.

Water - River Cruise

Adult - RM10. Children RM-5.

My teaching session ended at 9.30pm and I finished preparing my kids for the cruise at 10.30pm. The last cruise will depart at 11pm. We arrived at 10.51pm and I ran frantically to the ticket counter. You don't want your kids to be frustrated, do you? Papa's camera was out of battery. We only captured a couple of photos at the entrance while we were happily chasing a kitten.

Land - Trishaw, of course!

RM20 for 20-25 minutes ride around Malacca city (4 stops - the pakcik needs a rest too!)

Despite having a fever, Nabil really determine to ride a trishaw on sunny afternoon. We rented two heavily decorated trishaws and Alhamdulillah Nazran was fine along the journey.

Air - Menara Taming Sari

Adult - RM10. Children above 2yo - RM5.

110m revolving Gyro tower with 66 passangers capacity on its wide deck. It goes up and down and revolves at the same time. The whole experience took about 7 minutes.

One more thing... You need to buy parking tickets to park your car in Malacca city. It is RM6 for 10 tickets. 1 ticket worth RM0.60 for one hour. Failed to do so, you will be fine RM30.

Moving in : Part 06 - White living room wall

2011-05-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

It is already white! (Pat on the back). Refer [this post].

Sorry for the not-so-good quality photo. I really need to hire someone to help me with the painting. I would love to paint the whole house myself, but I dont have the time. I have the whole kitchen to paint next. I dont want my lack-of time-ness delayed our plan to move into the house by the end of May. (I see June now... or perhaps, July....)...

Happy MAMA's Day

2011-05-17T05:40:00.000-07:00

To our mother :)

We are so glad to be born into this beautiful world... so now we are giving you five cute grandchildren in return.

We had a makan-makan @ Shah Alam - my parent, my nucleus family, my sister's family and my brother. All 12 of us. Well, we are currently live under the same roof (imagine the chaos?), but this makan-makan was meant to celebrate a very special day, so we have to take it somewhere else.

After makan-makan, my small unit headed to IKEA to get some new gadgets for our kitchen. And we played 500 Days of Summer in IKEA. It was fun.

"I like you, you are fun", said Summer.

**I really want those beds for our kids but it is costs nearly RM500 per unit... RM500 x 3 units? Plus another 3 RM200 matresses? Hmm...

This is where I should really differentiate between THE WANTS and THE NEEDS.

Meet the designer - Shamrizal

2011-05-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

I can see my hubby is slowly becoming like me.... and I becoming more like him. Recently, he is very passionate towards FASHION. Designing cloth for the kids to be exact (OR for a start).

He had been talking about how much he adores traditional Malay bridegroom's attire (baju layang) again and again and again (he had involved with wedding photoshoot way too much) and how he really wanted the kids to wear it. At first, I thought he was joking. One fine afternoon, we went to a fabric store and he spent quite some times comtemplating on the best material and the best colour for the tiny version of baju layang. Then we did a very quick sketch and hand it over to our favourite tailor.

The next two weeks we received these :

Surprise Party and 3 years worth of handbags

2011-05-06T01:37:00.000-07:00
My sister SMSed asking us to have lunch at my parent's on 2nd May. Before we went there, we stopped by at my in-laws' house to celebrate my MIL's birthday. She cooked lovely lunch as usual. And we arrived 1-hour late at my parent's. God knows how guilty I felt when I saw my cousin's and my aunt's cars outside our house, after answering endless calls from my mom (where are you? are you here yet? how long more? could u pls hurry up?...). They planned to throw a surprise birthday party for me!!! The food were all cold when we arrived. Some sour faces in the living room add to my existing guiltiness. They were just sit there for hours staring at the food waiting for ME. I AM SO SORRY, ALL *sad* (this is the main thing I wanted to convey in this entry. The rest are just plain stories I wish to keep for the future).

Anyway, we had a blast. My sister has scanned numbers of old photos and we laughed hysterically during the slide show. Then we were all fell asleep due to...mmm...over-eating and too much laughing. I got a full make up set from my sister/mom (?), shower stuff from my aunt/cousin (?) and a lovely Charles & Keith handbag from my brother.

(I know I have flash issue here)

Last two (or was it three?) years he gave me Guess handbag for my birthday. Love it! Love it!

Then he bought me a Salvador Bachiller purse in Madrid, Spain. A bit of stain here and there because I use it a lot. I love it very much.

Last year my sister gave me this handbag for my birthday.

Oh, I love them all (the handbags and the people). I dont have to buy any more handbag for at least three years *giggle*

This is my current handbag. From Cleef, my favourite brand - i love the texture, the heavy-duty material and the colour. An A4 size documents fit inside this bag. (Photo : In Qantas Golden Lounge @ Adelaide - nothing better to do than to capture the image of my handbag and blazer..hmmm..in the washroom).

I also have a document bag by Cleef. Love it! Love it! (Photo : In Sofitel Hotel, Perth)

This is what happened when you travel abroad with the VVIPs. You have no one to capture your photos and you end up taking photos of your bags at different locations all the time. I swear I have at least 20 other photos of my bags (on the boat, on the plane, on the airport trolley, etc) LOL.

(ok, enough about bags)

Moving In : Part 05 - Yellow living room wall

2011-05-06T00:47:00.000-07:00

On the previous Labour Day, I was busy painting the living hall, after spending hours on door frames on the 30th April. My late grandmother loves yellow. But I found yellow is too warm for the living hall. I like yellow but I am uncomfortable being in a yellow space. Last time, there were green sofas to match the yellow wall. But now we are going into totally different concept.

There will be one feature wall in grey and the rest of it will be white. We have bought a grey flowery L-shape sofa to soften the solid-ness of the living hall. I am going to sew a couple of red cushions to accentuate our WHITE-GREY-RED living hall theme. There will be red area rug, red coffee table and a few other red stuff in our list. We will buy them next month. This month we have already spent a fortune.

Photo : I am preparing the hall for painting work. Moving into my late grandma's house meaning we got this super-great massage chair FOC. It comes with the house. Weee!

Moving In : Part 04 - Painting door frame

2011-05-05T23:41:00.001-07:00

There is no better thing to do on my wonderful birthday rather than paint the wooden door frames with the kids running around, screaming and laughing hysterically in our new house. Papa was away doing his photography work (The unfinished painting work in the master bedroom was 5-yo Nabil's - he fell asleep half-way through).

And there is nothing better than a glass of ice lemon tea - on a chill evening - made by a wonderful husband for his hard-working/tired wife (still painting, tho) after he got back from work.

Yes, it is a recycled Nescafe bottle. I am VERY FUSSY when it comes to choosing dinner wares and you knew how much I love green living. Currently we serves our guests a drink in this "glass". It is not we dont have any proper glasses, but, hey, we are making a statement here!

We bought a book shelves too. Since that part of the house is going to be white (currently it is yellow), so the book shelves should be dark brown, to match the colour of the new doors (my dad sponsored THREE nice bedroom doors - THANKS!). I was so excited when it arrived since I have a lot of BOOKS (still in my parent's house) and this is the first book I brought to our new house. I dont know why, but I really wanted to see something - even only one book - on this shelves. Now, I am happy.

We also bought new beds for the kids. It is actually two beds with one pull-out bed. The best thing about these beds is they are stackable! It can be a double-decker (with a pull-out) at the same time. And of course, the kids opted for the double decker :o) It saves space but I am worried about their safety.

For the time being, Nabil is still afraid to sleep alone on the top, so he sleeps with Nazran on the pull-out, which is good. Right now the beds are in dark brown shades. I will post the photo when it has been transformed to WHITE. You know how much I love white furnitures (here)....

First wish on 29th April 2011

2011-04-28T20:35:00.000-07:00
Thank you, Mye.

Haha. I put different birth date in my online profile for a few sites (never reveal your personal info online, remember?) and my friends are all getting confuse. I am getting birthday wish, like, every two months but the real one is actually on 30th April. So, you can wish me a Happy Birthday starting today.