Taking A Break....

...or taking a bow seems inevitable now due to my poor health lately.

Thank you all for being my constant followers. I'm glad, along the way through blogging I've made many friends.
I really had a good time here reading your comments and receiving feedback through e-mails and smses.

To my fellow bloggers, keep on updating your interesting stories. I promise, I'll drop by whenever I can.

Take care everyone....I'm gonna miss you all. :-)

It May Be Raining But There's A Rainbow Above You....

One of the reasons why I stay away from facebook for sometime now, is reading status from my families.
This one came from my beloved niece, Nadine...

You have to take the good from the bad

Smile when you're sad

Love what you've got and remember what you had

Always forgive but never forget (huh?)

Learn from your mistakes but never regret...

People change

Things go wrong

Just remember...

Life goes on.

Thanks, baby... and be strong, okay. It hurts me to see you've been hurt. 
Ahhh...what's with us?

 Ateh loves you so much, Nadine...

Cerita Semalam punya Semalam....

When I wrote that previous entry on Musings, it was with mixed feelings to make it my last. I must say, writing the last three postings in bed to mend my illness, has contributed to my intention of taking a break, for now or perhaps, forever. But you all know-lah...with friends like Cik Ja, Cik Som and Cik Shidah, I had to reconsider my plans and thus, my break is as good as null and void - just whatever that means! hehehehe))
If my last entry is filled with such misery, then rest assure more are to come...because that's the way my writings are meant to be...bluekkkk!
So, bear with me...

Okay, drama asides, let me get down to business.

After about a week of feeling, one-minute-ok-then-the-next-tak-okay... I was up and about and already gatal nak kuor rumah. Pagi-pagi lagi dah membelah awan biru ...er..I mean, memBLAH pergi merempit ... eh, kita merempit dengan kereta tau... Dah puas round-round the world, kita balik rumah buat apa yang patut like preparing bahan-bahan for my LaksJoh. Hah, cer teka, cer teka LaksJoh tu hape? Takde ler hadiah tapi kira terer ler sape yang tau I masak apa tu nanti... Eh, apsal I guna 'kita' for my gantinama? Sah, I belum sihat sepenuhnya. 


Sebenarnya, yang terkocoh-kocoh prepare bahan-bahan tu pepagi yang tak buta dah adalah (chewah, adalah!) sebab I nak 'menjongkit' ke rumah kawan yang bukan sekadar kawan. I'm not keen at first to go, tapikan tapi, I memang teringin sangat nak masuk this exclusive residential area. So, watdehek, ikut aje... And when I got there with three other friends, it was a 'oooohh aaahhhh' moments for us. Macam tak pernah masuk kawasan ni...pernah...cuma kali ni after the rebuilding of the new quarters for the high ranks airmen, this place has turned into 'Wisteria Lane'! 

 To the members of DHW, eat your hearts out...

this is where our klabhaus supposed to be, no? ;p

Mencik kan? Dah ler umah tepi laut...besor gedabak lagi.

Masa ni siap tanya dengan Puteri, the host,

"I nak kawin dengan pilot lah...ada yang available tak?" :D

My muse for the day...Tun Ariq, a distant cousin...

he's a natural Tun...mummy dia Puteri/Megat

Hambik ko..tak tau dah susun atur pangkat,

so I asked him to call me, 'Nde.

I left Puteri's house at about noon and rushed to cook lunch. So, dah dapat ke teka LaksJoh tu? Takpelah kalo tak dapat pong...ni hah, dah siap masak...jamu mata saJA ye...

This is my laksJoh yang masih suci murni...

 oh, yang ini sesudah dikocakkan hatinya  :'(

hehehe...sedap hingga berulang kali makan... ;-)

As Time Goes By...

Feels like throwing up.
I don't know how long I will last: here. When I took some time off from blogging, I'm somewhat saturated and dreary. I need some outlet to drain everything inside that I could not and should not utter. When it rushes profusely, it does in a way, mollify the turbulent me. And then, when the flow abates, I'm back being miserable...

I know, I'm impossible.
 

Musings....

Hi everyone! It is a beautiful day here in Penang. I just can't wait to go out in a short while, and as always to tan myself by the seaside. I don't know about you guys living on the island....are you a sea-freak like me? I love the sea but am scared of water. Some ironies eh?

 pic: credit to encik google...

ya ampun!

 When I was a kid, somewhere in Ipoh, I remember the time when it rained that morning at school. When the rain stopped just before recess, I noticed puddles had formed almost everywhere under the huge yellow flame of the forest tree outside my classroom. Looking out of the window, I saw a different world outside.
It was as if I was transported to an enchanted world. Darn, was I this dreamy since little?...no wonder! But then again, I read a lot of Enid Blyton, you know....   
Anyway, at break, I was the only girl wondering under that tree and standing at the edge of my now make-believed ponds - the puddles, of course. As I stared longer into the pond, I tend to see pretty images from its reflection. The branches of the tree seemed quite eerie though. The floating tiny yellow flowers were like fairies frolicking. Withering pods from a saga tree nearby, and the dripping water from the leaves above added scenes to my little pond. The gentle breeze that blew rippled the surface a bit. I was so enrapt in my reverie that I could not describe how easily amused I was. Nothing fancy, but these were the simple things that awed me and I was already taking in my surroundings seriously.

As I stoop lower, I could see my own reflection with two pony tails on each side of my head! But then I became frightened suddenly. I felt strange when out came the sun and the image of the clouds formed inside the pond resembled a very deep ocean. The sky dominated the whole pond and gave depth to it. When the water moved it was like waves and I imagined myself being pulled and was drowning. My quick thinking got me casting a broken twig I found lying nearby into the pond. All of a sudden my dreamland was gone.

And to this day, I still stop by any puddle I see and always catch a glimpse of the fluffy clouds in it. You should give a try too. Them clouds never fail to give me the chills like there's an ocean beneath my feet.

Now, where was I?  Oh, yes...it's the sunshine that makes my day beautiful. But I'm wise you know, I wouldn't dare to go near the sun. I know, it will burn me. I'll stick to my moon because the moon is always there whether the sun is out or sets in. And it will rain again someday, I know... but I bet the rainbow will hang over the horizon after the rain. So, I'm not afraid. And you...don't have to be too.



"Just because you keep something a secret, doesn't mean it never happened, no matter how much you want it to be true..." - Jodi Picoult (Vanishing Act)

Fast To Break? OMG!

There are days when I long for something light for breakfast. Of late, I start my mornings with something simple. No nasi lemak; and it has been quite an achievement too for I TRY going through the day without wan one.. hehehe! It's all about appetite, no? By the way, don't get me wrong guys. Please do not associate the lost of appetite to you-know-what. Kertu dah, bak tagline Aznil..hahahaha! But otherwise, I'm perfectly alright... Blame it on the weather, hokeh?

So, how's this for breakfast this morning and the last few days too ;-)

...the good ol' milk and shortbread :-)

enough to keep me on the go...

With this new breakfast, at that unusual hours after Mysarah left for school, my body has quite sportingly adapted to the changes. I used to have breakfast with just a mug of instant coffee and depends on what my tekak Melayu or kadang-kadang mengade-ngade tekak omputih crave that day. It could be egg sandwich - my all-time favourite, or maybe once in awhile nasi lemak, or all kinds of noodles - fried definitely and pancakes and etc etc... But the funny thing is, I can never settle for my breakfast in one sitting. It had to be savoured little at a time. The deal is, I eat while going about my chores. Cute kan? hehehe...my ferasan moment dah datang! By the time I'm done with my work, only my mug of coffee is cleared. Pssstt...tapi heran, bila balik Ipoh, breakfast macam anak raja...semuanya nak melantak rasa!

Dah...dah...tak nak citer pasal makan lagi.  But before I take leave for now, I'm including a song here for you all to enjoy, and especially to my dear hubby for him to know..ahaks..(macam ler dia masuk blog I!) on the occasion of our wedding anniversary today....hehehe






Er...another ferasan moment...see that guitarist (Nuno Bettencourt)...ish ish ish... >:d<

Still No More No Less!

My lunch today...

 Gulai ikan talang kering tumis darat...

This time letak gambar not so step by step....hehehe!

The first gambar, top left, is the curry almost cooked

after simmering it in curry & bawang2 paste. 

 Dah tu, masuk santan sikit and air asam jawa yang tak sedikit..hehehe...

Gambar second tu....

I tumiskan bawang merah and putih, halia (sikit jer) yang dihiris, 

halba campur plus jintan manis, daun kari and cili kering sebiji-biji...

Bila dah fragrant, curah dalam gulai tadi as in pic 3, bottom left.

The finish product as in pic 4, bottom right and below...

Gambaq ni tak terang ler pulok...tu pasai dia jadi koneng...hikhikhik!

Gulai ni sedap ada nenas and terung...yum yum...

I 'hantu' terung and nenas!

 

The accompaniment for the gulai ikan kering are these:

Button mushrooms in oyster sauce...

letak sweetpeas and corn shoots sikit...

I had this ratah-ratah aje...kenyang setahun! (bbpj) ;p

...ni lauk MyC - ikan kembong masak merah

masak sambal tumis ikan, some people say...

MyC tak akan sentuhnye gulai ikan kering tu...

Well, itu aje yang ada... meriah carey kan? ;-) Tapi how come I sedey ni....

No More No More Less 2

Dah ler malas nak menulis, memasak pong takes its toll too...

Macaroni goreng pedas...

kasi close-up sikit

yesterday's lunch...been having kerabu mangga

for two days in a row now...

itu aje yang selera!

Got the recipe from my favourite Thai restaurant 

.

.

.

Have a nice weekend! <):)

No More No Less

It's going to be a wordless posting from time to time now...oops, there goes!

Athiah Ilyana Dato' Samat & Azizulhasni Awang's reception

Hello, lain kali bila orang ambik gambor tengok kamera...

Ni datang kenuri bukan nak main squash...

er...is that your girlfriend? Kesian....oops, sowi

Jojo having a word with MyC...

The pelamins (dais)...

Yana with my mom...

Can you believe it..

...these three young ladies (my second cousins) are MyC's aunts?

Syyy... more than words...

 

Saje Saje Jer....

"Keding ding ding ding ding ding!!!" - hmm...cilok jap my cousin, Che Nyah Teh's greetings to another cousin, Dr Nana! Hehehehe.....we met again during the recent wedding in Ipoh. Laughter rang again like we always had when most of us gathered. Sometimes, at weddings it is not the food, the ambient or even the pengantins.. ..oops...but mostly the company that we're with make the difference. Like the other day, I get to see many familiar faces that I don't know where to start and whom to mingle first! But all in all, meeting everyone at Yana and Jojo's receptions on Saturday and Sunday was meaningful...

Okay, let's get back to business. 

As promised, about my updates for the wedding reception at the Dewan Banquet Bangunan SUK Perak Darul Ridzuan. Well, it is not going to happen. I'm so sorry to disappoint a few of you especially those who have checked my blog through Yana's blog. Firstly, it is because the recorded majlis will be aired on TV3's Nona this Sunday. So, rajin-rajin ye you all tengok nanti ye... Secondly, biasalah, it's me yang malas nak edit mengedit gambar-gambar yang terbanyak ler pulok dah ambil! Nak crop gambar yours truly ler yang paling challenging sekali....huahuahuahuahua)))) In the end, I decided to upload all the photos in facebook. Ehem, my facebook friends, tunggu ye...itu pong kalau rajin, hehehe...


Anyway, going back to Ipoh has always been exciting. Moreover, after the last meeting at Kajang in February, I have not been home as often as I used to do. And every time we do go back, we would stop over at Changkat Jering for the best fried koay teow and also satay perut at the weekly pekan sari...

Changkat Jering is also the playground of my late father. Every time I pass this place, I always take a glimpse of the old house where my father and his entire Taiping clan spent their school break, like that one house, I'm so fond of in Butterworth. Aha, nostalgia comes a knocking! ;D

Hmm...*sambil fikir-fikir ni...nak letak ke tak satu dua gambar wedding tu kat sini... Kalau ade sape sape yang setuju dengan cadangan teman, angkat tangan macam Usop...hikhikhik
(Updated: 9.50pm: Oh ye, tak cukup 20 'setujus' tak de chance ler....hohohoho!!)

O...soley soley...soley ley...soley soley ...ahaks!


Tata! ;-)

The Wedding...

Salam to all...

Am here now in Ipoh for this last night...

Will update the details later after today's reception at the bride's house, insyaallah.

MyC with Pengantin and adik pengantin, Dira
at Dewan Banquet SUK hosted by the bride's parents

 Selamat Pengantin Baru sekali lagi...hikhik...Yana and Jojo!