splashy holiday

I've finished reading the last of many books piled on my bedside table courtesy of Logos Hope and Popular clearance sale. It was perfect when the house was empty 2 weeks ago, the kids off at their grandma, and it rained everyday. Most ideal reading weather.

And then the kids back I have to put it down and we packed up to spend 2 nights at a splendid resort villa not too far out of town. Splendid place. To say the villa has a beautiful ocean view is an understatement. The ocean was right at the door step. Listening to the waves and nothing else made us feel in a far away land. Peace and quite and heavenly. Although its also high tide season and at night fall , the view was both amazing and scary.

The narrow pool at the side of the house made it very fun for the kids. They were practically in the water all day long coming out for food and sleep only. Seriously. Until their lips blue and their fingertips wrinkled. If we don't hear waves we hear splashes around here.

We all went into the ocean and played for hours. Mother in law was having so much fun. She thought its been 20 years since she last swam in the ocean.

We had bbq the second night and got sleepy early from too much swimming and eating. You should see my mother in law in action in the kitchen. With minimum equipments, she made proper dinner and then a dessert of bubur durian. Try and beat that.

Think I pen off here. My 2 sisters and a friend are back from their vacation. Its time to catch up stories. See ya.

Sick and unfit has its perk

A lethal combination of gastritis and migraine attack sent me crashing on the bed for 4 hours yesterday. Unable to move, head splitting, bile up my throat. I kept vomitting until i just sat slumped beside the toilet. I made the mistake of taking my migraine med first and then remembered an hour later when my tummy ached and twisted that i SHOULD take the gastric pill first, ALWAYS. Oh god, the realization just double up the pain.

I also realise i'm so unfit because my tummy cramps when i heave and squeeze to vomit, like the muscle is jolted and shocked to suddenly be squeezed so many times. Muscle Cramp.is.painful. like i'm not already dying. I'm sure i won't have muscle cramps if i had done push ups. Regularly. Sick and unfit. Can i be more sad?

In my sadness though, my spirits upped by the show of kindness and maturity from the kids. Them and their cousins are all here. One immediately brought me water and made me sandwich, another collect the dirty clothes and put in the washer, the others tidied up the kitchen. They tiptoed around making sure not to bother me. They can actually do chores unsupervised. (tunggu sakit dulu la kan baru merasa). Its sweet though.

This morning the girls were up early wanting to hang the clothes but i've already done it.i'm feeling better. When i went down after shower, they were in the kitchen trying to make breakfast. One was frying the egg, the other spooning the rice out with the idea to fry it. She got the perencah nasi goreng out and the oil but wasn't sure how to proceed. (insert 'aaaaawwww' here for cuteness).

Once in a while i think its worth it to be sick and unfit. Don't you?

The excuse

I have neglected blogging because i have been maidless, and still is, so i'm a little bit bogged down with endless chores, and during the time that i'm not exhausted, i cherish the chance to curl up in bed watching tv rather than blog. I'm into Korea soaps these days. Luckily one has ended (i'm following 2 drama series). I don't intend to get hooked again after this but who knows.

I've got more time and energy to blog now since the school is over. Just some updates around here - the eldest is off on a school trip to Terengganu for the national scout event. The youngest misses him more than we do. He can't sleep in their room now that he's in there alone, so we got his cousin over to accompany him. He suggests that we all go holiday to Terengganu. (what can you do in Tganu anyway, other than visiting Sri's inlaws, dan apa kaitan?).

I dislike a post without picture but my camera is now with the travelling son and i hate taking pics on my iphone and transferring to this ipad.

As i'm writing this, hubby and kids are downstairs cheering on Malaysia soccer team against Indonesia. I'm the only one in the house who don't speak football. Even my daughter knows a bit about the national team. Me, ada aku kesah?

By the way have you all collected the cash from school? I've got the primary school's today, i'm collecting the secondary's tomorrow. I wish they hurry up about this. Luckily we didn't leave the country. We are doing cuti-cuti Sabah this time after Azim gets back the week after next.

Ok , that's all for now, as Najwa said, Got To Go.

Happy holidays! Have fun!

(They've gone quiet downstairs. They were cheering so loud earlier. Are we losing?)

I like ..

This new thing i got for my house plant.

Pretty, yes ?

The tiny colorfuls are beautiful and so cute to look at especially in the morning when i wake up and start the day. I love their texture and the fact that they thrive under my neglectful care. They're the perfect houseplant for me.

nature strike

some sort of hurricane last night. no, early this morning.

the roof lost some of the shingles. some flew to neighbour's roof. some scattered on the ground. flower pots in the yard strewn about. newly planted trees nearly uprooted. a mess.

the wind was scary wasn't it? lucky it didn't go on too long.

have a better day ahead.

Helmi..the accident prone

Anak aku luka. Lagi. Berjahit. Lagi.
Dulu di muka sekarang di kaki.

Nda tau la anak sorang ni. Kalau nda luka-luka sampai berjahit setiap tahun nda sah kan.

Memang accident prone dia ni. Orang lain berbasikal laju-laju tak jatuh. DIA jugaaa yang jatuh.
Lepas jatuh, baru basikal hempap dia, roda dan rantai masih berputar kena dekat-dekat buku lali. Koyak.

Dia punya teriak masa mau jarum ubat bius ! macam apa saja. nasib baik ada Ira ikut pegang.
'JANGAN!JANGAN! SAKIT!SAKIT! NDA MAU! AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!'

Tangis mati bah!

Sudah masuk ubat bius baru ok. Sempatlah Ira ambil gambar.

Nasib baik bapa nya tiada. Pergi KL. Kalau inda, sudahlah basikal tu kena buang.

Let's hope it won't happen again, next year, or ever.

Red Velvet

Right this is the recipe I used for the red velvet cake if anyone care to try. Its from Joy of Baking.

Red Velvet Cake:

2 1/2 cups (250 grams) sifted cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (15 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk

2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted

1 1/2 (360 ml) cups cold heavy whipping cream (double cream)

Red Velvet Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter. 

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or overnight). (This is done to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

Cream Cheese Frosting: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to spread. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.

Assemble: With a serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half, horizontally. You will now have four cake layers. Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with a layer of frosting.  Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost and stack the cake layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Can garnish the cake with sweetened or unsweetened coconut.

I followed it to a T except for the buttermilk which I sub with a homemade by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to a cup of milk.
Topped with this frosting it  really is a delicious cake. I don't really care for the colour and seriously the first time my children saw the cake they were aghast. Like 'aaahhhh...merahnya!' but they taste it and slowly got past the freaky look, so next time I'm doing (for personal consumption)  I'll omit the coloring and just let it turn out the original color, probably a dull brown.

Have a try and tell me how you like it.

our open house

the concept was garden party.
the weather was ok.
the turn out was good.
a happy event.

 peserta-peserta karaoke pusingan pertama sebelum hujan turun

percubaan pertama red velvet. sukacita dengan hasilnya. texture sangat lembut, moist dan frostingnya 'to-die-for'. (kalori pun 'to-make-you-dead' tapi itu belakang cerita kan). nanti aku share resipi nya ok.

the usual cuppies.

ini lah antara orang-orang kuat dibelakang khemah yang membantu menjayakan majlis. Supermom, SuperMak dan Badang. Kapowww!

Tuan rumah ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada yang sudi hadir dan memeriahkan sambutan open house kami dan mohon maaf atas apa-apa yang terkurang.

Salam Aidilfitri. Selamat Hari Malaysia.

beraya di kampung kali ini adalah..

1. meriah seperti biasa, walaupun hujan lebat raya pertama
2. sedikit kelam kabut seperti biasa juga
3. adalah penat kerana tiada orang gaji
4. adalah bosan tiada kedai menarik di pulau wilayah persekutuan ini (mati kutu)
5. tetapi seronok sebab saudara mara biras datang memeriahkan raya dengan mercun dan bunga api
6. anak-anak happy itu yang penting

gambar-gambar kami di Labuan.

what about you.what's your story? selamat kembali bekerja dan menguruskan anak sekolah. selamat panik dan berdebar-debar kepada yang ada anak sit UPSR. Good luck and happy hari raya!

the long awaited high tea and some shopping

I enjoyed high tea yesterday with beloved friends whom I don't see often enough lately. I guess the next time we do tea will be after Raya. It was to celebrate their birthday this year, one in July one in August.

I'm happy they like my birthday presents which I got an hour earlier.

Tea was great. So much more buffet spread on Saturday, the only downside being the place too crowded and noisy.

S made us go shopping and I ended up buying 2 dresses when I've vowed not to splurge anymore. Hate her.

But the lovely thing were so irresistable. Take a look.

I really like the pattern and the rich color.

The turquoise in this one pops out the dress and the v neck looks elegant.

And they both do look gorgeous on me don't they? (sila muntah)
They're just the right size and length. I've worn one (purple) last night to kenduri. It's very comfy.


Well, see you and happy fasting.

the school trip

So he came back ok. He didn't lose his wallet, didn't need to pay for excess luggage or anything, he liked the trip and he like his new friends.

When they left for Singapore last Tuesday, it was on a high note. The Principal was on cloud 9, the school having just won the Dance World Cup in Paris. Did you read about that ? Sabah College came out champion. Find it here .

at KK airport

First thing they did upon arriving Singapore , before check-in to their rooms or anything, was to set out on the first trip - Night Safari. Pandai cikgunya kan...memanfaatkan masa.

And then for everyday during their stay, they visit  the twinning school -Juying Secondary, sit through their lessons and learn about their subjects  and syllabus. For each visiting student, Juying assigned one of their own as a host to socialise, entertain and exchange notes with. Adzim's counterpart, or 'buddy' as they term it is a Secondary 3 student, named Jasmin.

Jasmin is the red shirt guy, next to him (the one with big smile) is the buddy of Adzim's room mate (the serious guy).

So the buddy is the one who takes them around the school, showing them what and where and how.

The classroom is impressive. No battered or half broken wooden desks and chairs. Only good quality plastic furnitures.

And the school building has lifts.

They were put up at the school's hostel and Adzim said it's unlike the asrama back home, but rather like an apartment.

The hostel is named YoHa for Your Habitat.

When the school sessions over, they went out for trips, bringing  the buddies along, to places like the  Science Centre, Bird Park , and a river cruise off Clark Quay.

Science Centre

 bird park

the river cruise

On their last night, they performed a dance for the school.

My boy is at the back wearing yellow.

After 4 days, checking out from the school on Friday.

saying goodbye to singapore friends

They were not off to the airport yet. They had one more day before the flight home. So it was on  to another 'school trip'. The important trip. Why. THE UNIVERSAL STUDIO. You think the teachers will let slip this important piece of detail from the itinerary? Not a chance. Goodbye school, here comes fun.

He loved it. He went on all the rides we missed the first time. The crate adventure at Madagascar, the roller coaster ride- cyclone at Sci Fi City and  spent all his money on keychains and stuffs.

They were grouped in 4s and 5s and since they were more girls than boys, girls made up most of the group. He was stuck with 3 girls the entire time. But I don't think he mind. They had too much fun to care.

They finally checked in to a hotel past 9pm. Grand Sanda Hotel. I don't know where exactly is that. And stayed up all night going over the trip.

Next morning before airport they chanced one last walkabout at the Merlion Park.



THE END.