Ramadhan Datang Lagi..

Salam Ramadhan semua! Pejam celik pejam celik dah pun hari keempat. Kejap saja kan. Alhamdulillah Kakak dan Iman ikut berpuasa. Kebetulan 1 dan 2 Ramadhan jatuh on weekends. Iman had no problems coping on the first 2 days because he was so tied up dengan games on the iPad. Kakak pulak napped 4 hours straight on Sunday! Semalam 1st day sekolah berpuasa. Iman tak tahan haus he sipped a bit (memang bekalkan jugak, just in case) and his friends habiskan the rest. Dari takde promises of rewards, nah.. semalam dah keluar pekeliling dari abahnya hihi. Si kecik Adam takmau kalah (mungkin sebab nak Transformers as rewards), katanya hari ni dia puasa (walhalkan.... celik mata aje dah hisap susu botol!) Takpe, pelan-pelan kayuh. 

Likewise the past few years, as much as possible, iftar dengan homecooked meal. Simple menu. Like on first day, we had ikan pelaling and ikan merah goreng, sup ayam with potatoes, udang telur masin, ulam timun + sambal belacan and fruits. I made jelly for dessert tapi ada kesilapan teknik that I had to redo the whole thing. Masa ambik gambar ni jelly tengah rest dalam fridge lagi hihi. My neighbour pulak bagi sausage rolls yang lazat.

Anyway. I've been contemplating on going for terawikh with the kids @surau. Afterall, my youngest is already 4 and I couldn't even remember when was the last time solat terawikh kat surau. We have discussed the matter earlier on and decided to bring them every weekends. At least they can get the feel of it. Before fasting months dah brief the kids on what to expect, what to do and what not to do. Most importantly, jangan kacau orang lain, jangan bising-bising.

So we went. The elder 2 were okay. Adam was a bit restless. Maybe patut bagi dia bawak few small toys to keep him occupied next time. At about 11pm, selesai urusan di surau, we went home. The kids were hungry! Tapi Iman takut-takut nak makan sebab dia ingatkan bulan puasa cuma boleh makan time sahur and time berbuka aje!

Second day iftar. Tebby ajak pegi Pasar Ramadhan so masak awal sikit. We had bawal putih goreng (the kids' favorite), daging goreng kering, kailan ikan masin, fruits, jelly (yes, menjadik jugak akhirnya walaupun terpaksa jadi siaran tertunda hihi). Most importantly anak-anak dan bapa kepada anak-anak suka! My neighbour bagi rendang ayam. Sedap.

Pasar Ramadhan, year in year out, cam tu la kan. You know the drill. Lauk-pauk, kuih-muih, ayam bakar, murtabak and the likes. We refrain the kids from buying air. Iman pun baru baik dari demam and muntah-muntah. Adam je tak makan saman mintak air kaler biru. The elder two beli agar-agar 3 ketui sorang. Tak makan pun sudahnya.. Dok terjah jelly yang Ummi buat (kembang semangkuk Ummi sebab jelly dia laku ha ha)

3rd day puasa, Monday. Hari pertama bekerja bulan Ramadhan 1433H. To save time and whatnots, I have pre-prepared bahan-bahan untuk masak. Balik rumah capai periuk nasi (thank God ada periuk Tefal that has 'quick' function - masak nasi tak lama sangat), ambik kuali dan beraksi. On the way balik from taska awal-awal dah warning kids jangan kecoh-kecoh and assign everyone with tasks once sampai rumah. Takdelah teruk mana pun task tu, angkat beg, keluarkan bekal (Adam la) dan letak dalam sink, kain kotor masuk dalam bakul and do not fight (Adam dengan Iman la ni). And on kan TV, tengok TV1.

Among the things I pre-prepared  over the weekends. I spent almost half the day kat dapur. Sebenarnya spring cleaning dapur. Dah berzaman tak buat. Tu diaaa aihhh, siap ada yang expired awal 2011 lagik! Got 2 buntil-ful of expired food, and ntah apa-apa in the cabinets) Seen above is ikan sardin goreng. Earlier on, rebus ikan ni with little water. Taruk garam and asam keping. In Terengganu-speak, that process is called 'mmati air'. Tapi ada bahan lain la. In my case I just add up garam kasar and asam keping only. After 2 days, dah lemak merdu rasa masin, masam, manis ikan tu. Goreng garing-garing. Makan dengan nasi panas-panas. Berselera you.

Apapun hopefully dapat lalui bulan Ramadhan smoothy dan penuh makna. Masa untuk tingkatkan amal ibadat (and stick to it through out later), time to muhasabah diri dan memperbaiki diri. InsyaAllah..

Sausages & Marina Beef Burger

If one of us is one leave, the one who works would sms-ed 'I nak balik sekarang'. The other one would normally replied 'K. Nak makan apa dinner?'
 

Today was his turn to inform he was coming home and I was the one who asked 'Dinner nak makan apa?' Rather than letting it left open-ended, I added up 'Burger or sausage?' He replied 'Burger'. We rarely have heavy dinner with full-fledged menu. Simple ones like fried rice, sandwiches or soup will do.

Time to test the patties I bought. Marina Beef Burger, Salisbury Steak. Tak taulah apsal nama panjang sangat tapi ianya adalah sedap. Besar dan lebar! There it was, on my skillet. No need letak minyak because fats were oozing outside from it! :D

Inilah rupanya comparing with my hand. Besar dan lebar kan. Bila dah masak, it kecut a bit. Just nice to fit on roti gardenia tu. I'll definately buy this again. Other than pan-frying it, boleh juga masuk dalam oven.

Anyway, I also cooked these too. Asalnya saja nak tunjuk to Tebby things I bought. Tetiba dia terliur pulak so these, also cooked. He said a tad bit too masin but I think it was fine aje kalau makan dengan roti. The price go by weight and type. This one is RM13.74 for 5.

Other varieties. Lain jenis, lain harga. I took the cheapest one :D Ada yang sampai almost RM20 for 5 sausages. My verdict? Sedap. Very meaty. Boleh rasa ketul-ketul daging. And of course lah ada jugak lelemak tu kan but not much la.

This is based on my personal preference la. Kalau u ols beli and don't find them sedap, jangan marah ai pulak..

My Favourite Concubine @Hammam Bangsar

Took a day off. It was very-very short notice, thanks boss sebab approve :D Plan nak pegi Tanamera Sooka Sentral(read my first time going there here) but they were fully booked at the time slot I wanted. Yang ada pukul 2.00ptg. I had planned to take one of their packages that takes about 3 hours. Kalau start pukul 1.00ptg, haruslah siap pukul 5.00ptg kan. 

Then I called up Hammam Bangsar. (I first went there last year, read here)They started at 10.00am but also fully booked at 10.00am time slot. The earliest they have is 11.00am. Kalau 11.00am haruslah siap pukul 2.00pm gitu kan. I have a lunch date pulak pukul 1.00tengahari tu. Last-last they let me come at 9.00am hihi. Finish at 11.00am. Then 12.30 I can go makan-makan already.

For the past few days, jalan Pantai Dalam heading towards Bangsar memang jam. Since my appointment is at 9.00am, I decided to keluar macam biasa. Macam time pegi office. Sent the kids ke taska. Then baru perasan I left my handbag at home! Dah kena pusing balik. Last-last makan roti canai kat kedai depan rumah ni ha. Asalnya nak makan somewhere kat Bangsar but alas, I changed my mind. Didn't wanna sampai spa dengan perut kenyang amat. It took me around half hour sampai Bangsar so roti canai pun dah digest. In fact, I was hungry again dah masa tu!

Sampai kat Bangsar Village, it was around 8.30am.Gelap still. Tapi Village Grocer dah bukak.After the spa session and lunch-date with frens, I decided to buy some frozen food there.  

Numero uno. First customer. Diorang tengah vacuum kedai lagi time tu hihi. I was given a locker to keep my things. The key is with me all the time. Tagged on a bracelet and boleh kena air.

Pintu changing room. I like. Very classical.

I bought Geranium shampoo for the smell of it. They use this in the spa. Somehow bila pakai kat rumah my hair tak jadi as soft as kalau kat spa. I need to find a conditioner to help me with that kot.

I took 'My Favourite Concubine Hammam' which took 2 hours to finish. Hammam and Gommage - best. Moorish Body Polish - best. Mandi first then lumur this black thingy all over. Marinated for 15 minutes. Then bilas. Then did that body polish. After body polish, did body mask (which was very minty and eucalyptus-y smelling). Marinated again for 10 minutes. Pastu cuci and condition rambut.

Yang tak bestnya was the massage. I wanted a massage yang macam urut orang bersalin but I got a very-very relaxing massage that I almost doze off! At one time when she did a back massage, rasa macam kucing je berjalan atas belakang. Serious tak tipu.

Oh ya. If ambik package 6 times, akan dapat harga lagi murah. Ala.. you know the drill la kan. Contohnya kalau the package I took tu, it costs RM315. It is RM250 kalau beli 6 sessions sekaligus. Alaaa.. you know the drill. Biasa la cam tu kan. I was tempted tapi belum decide yet sebab was still quite frustrated the Ms. Masseur yang tak best tu.

But that didn't dampen my spirit nak makan-makan with some close friends. Lunch at Madam Kwan Bangsar with full fledged gossiping time. Ala gossip pasal anak-anak, bulan puasa, menu etc. I had Lamb Chop with loads of vege and selambak fries.

Overall, I had a great Friday and ready to welcome and embrace Ramadhan. Singgah jap kat Village Grocer before making my move. They had varieties of frozen food yang sangat menggiurkan. That I shall share from time to time. I bought sausages, burger patties, mini murtabak and few other things.

Back to the spa thingy. For scrub and whatnots, I prefer Hammam. For massage, I like Tanamera. Maybe I should go alternately between these two.

Lunch-Date @Noodle House MidValley 22032012

Went lunch-dating the other day.. (er.... bulan March lepas). Had lunch @Noodle House MidValley. Need to find time for ourselves between office and children.

Kuetiaw goreng tu ai punya. Tak mengecewakan. Yang cam mi megi tu suami ai punya. Juga tak mengecewakan. Afterall, sapa tak suka makan megi kan? Hi.. hi..

Ai like. Wiken tu siap bawak anak-anak pulak makan kat situ :D

Kids - You Made My Day! A 'Pilaya for Iman' & A Book for Kakak

Tebby is not around since Monday. Wehenever he's not, I'll clock out right on time. Dengan harapan boleh sampai rumah cepat dari kebiasaan. Furthermore I was fasting semalam. Plus I needed to make 2 stop, beli pizza and spaghetti for the kids and roast chicken for me to buka puasa. Then I needed to singgah kat Sutera Dobi to pick up my laundry (sent for ironing). Nevertheless, traffic was not kind yesterday. The normal equation here in KL. Hujan = jalan jem. Hujan lebat = jalan extra jam. Hadap je la kan. 

Back to my errand yesterday. I finally reached taska at 7.05pm. Memula nampak Iman emerging dari taska. Hands at the back. Muka berseri-seri. Saya dapat 'pilaya' Ummi, untuk food race. I remember weeks back he told us dia ada main games waktu subject sains. Ran and picked up food from a box then dropped it in another box according to category - untuk kesihatan, untuk tumbesaran or untuk tenaga. His team won first place. That's my boy. It really made my day. Hilang sengal kaki dok accelerate, brake. Accelerate, brake. Brake. Brake. Brake. Accelerate. 

It didn't stop there. 

Kakak pulak proudly informed us she won 1st prize for 'Mind You Grammar'. She got a story book for that. Syukur. They maynot be the best-est in class. But what and who they were to what and who they are now, I'd say tremendous improvement. It is true that we do not have rows and rows of medal at home. But still.. I was lecturing on the importance of learning things formally at school and things that we learn to keep life going such as washing dishes, tidying up bed, 5 compulsory prayers a day and whatnots but the kids were busy 'kita makan apa malam ni?' Oh well! 

When Tebby called up last night, they excitedly told him about the prizes. Adam was a bit down, perhaps because he hasn't got any medals yet so far. Back hunched, face down. Sulk. Takpe Dik. Sabar okay. Tapi homework tu jangan malas-malas buat yerr... 

Just before bed, Iman bisik kat telinga ai 'Ummi happy tak saya menang 'pilaya'?' It's piala Bang. Not pilaya. But anyway of course I am happy. Having the 3 of you pun dah cukup menggembirakan Ummi. Whenever you all excel in anything, it's a bonus. Not winning anything will not make me love you all any lesser. That's what a mom always does. Loving her children unconditionally.

'Pilaya' Iman and storybook for Kakak.
Syukur Ya Allah.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair

Advanced Night Repair

Synchronized Recovery Complex

BENEFITS

Repairs past visible damage Helps protect skin's future

The one formula beautiful skin can't live without. See a dramatic reduction in the visible signs of aging. Inspired by DNA research.

To tell the truth, despite my seasonal craziness for skincare, health supplement and whatnots, I am a 38-yo mother of 3 that looks like a 38-yo mother of 3. If you expect to see a head-turner - NO. I have numerous skin conditions. Uneven skin tone, wrinkles, occasional zits etc. Sometimes it confuses me as to what range of skincare I should give a try :D And I haven't started anywhere else other than my face ha ha.

I do my homework. Read reviews. Search for fair testimony. I stay away from those blogs that promote from one thing to another. Maybe they are paid to do that, I don't know but personally, I have lost faith in them when it comes to giving testimony. I was almost sold recently when I read about one person's experience using a XXX sunscreen. The next day, loads of people in blogsphere write about XXX sunscreen as well. Oh well! Kenot trust.

Anyway, I got this Advanced Night Repair (ANR) F.O.C. Free.Of.Charge. I went to recent (well, not so recent actually) Secretary Week @KL Tower. I am not a secretary btw. My office bought a table so why let it not filled up kan? Tebby went as well but with his secretary. So I can intai-intai. Good.

The goody bag? Dalam banyak-banyak benda, I treasured this one the most (tho I took sometime to actually try it). Last week I routinely dabbed this on my face and did that circular motion and whatnots. Guess what? My pores mengecik u ols! Suka hati ai. Walaupun pores mengecik tak masuk list khasiat ANR ni hihi. Easily absorbed. As the name goes, use nightly. Now my FTE lambat sikit susut sebab guna just one a day instead of twice sebelum ni. Facial skin feels soft and my pipi less sagging. Should dab some on my chin as well kot :D :D So I can get back my single chin :D I am putting this in my skincare wish-list. Meantime, kumpul $$$$ dulu.

Yang, don't forget to hand me your goody bag. I am quite sure you got this one as well.

Buka Puasa @Sekinchan Ikan Bakar, Taman Duta Mas Cheras

Ramadhan is very near. InsyaAllah Khamis ni tengok anak bulan. Puasanya Jumaat atau Sabtu. Sekolah agama Kakak dah keluarkan notis cuti hari Jumaat tu sempena menyambut 1 Ramadhan. Masa ai sekolah menengah dulu pun macam tu. 1st Ramadhan cuti. I was in Johor btw.

Walau bagaimanapun, ai masih ada 1 hari hutang puasa tahun lepas and today I am fasting, InsyaAllah. Last 2-3 weeks pulun mengganti.Then off sebab bulan dah mengambang. Lepas tu ada jamuan ofis pulak. Godaannnn!! Then Iman masuk hospital. Cubaannn!! Apapun tinggal satu hari lagi. Harap-harap tamat dengan jayanya today.

During my puasa marathon 2-3 minggu lepas, dapat peluang buka puasa @Sekinchan Ikan Bakar, Taman Duta Mas Cheras. Dalam daerah Balakong jugak tapi guna address Taman Duta Mas. Hospital Columbia Asia kat sebelah tu guna address Bandar Tun Hussein Onn. Econsave belakang hospital guna address Balakong :D Tapi semuanya dekat-dekat je. Bangunan sebelah menyebelah gitu..

I couldn't help but to notice. Tak payah beli collagen mahal2 yer.. singgah je minum Lai Chee Kang kat sini everyday :D Kolagen semulajadi tu.. I didn't try it tho.

Ikan kerapu berselimut sambal. Thing is my husband prefers kerapu dari ikan lain. Ai suka ikan tilapia as well but he doesn't. Ai suka kerapu jugak.. so layan bersama-sama k. Kalau ikutkan, I am more receptive to new kind of food and my pick of food is more universal. So kalau nak makan, let him choose. Whatever he eats, I can eat. But not all that I eat, he can eat.

Lala. Juicy and plump. With balanced taste of garlic, ginger and lemongrass. Cukup masin, manis dan pedas.

My menu wajib. Vegetable. I love green ones except broccoli. Broccoli gives me flatulence. Kembung perut dan dan tu jugak.. my pick that day, kailan with some mushroom. Yummy as well. Sayur pun fresh.

Seafood Tomyam. Lengkuas agak terover kuat rasanya. Isi banyak so dimaafkan :D 

I remember when this outlet first opened, kalau lambat sampai, kena beratur tunggu meja. Now the excitement dah sangat berkurangan, meja pulak beratur tunggu customer hihi. Kalau tak silap pemandangan mata, cuma dua orang pekerja manned the restaurant masa we all makan hari tu.

While eating, mata ai dok terpandang-pandang tembikai dalam fridge diorang. Sangat menggiurkan okay. Tup-tup after we all habis makan, berdesup waiter letak slices of cooled watermelon atas meja. Wahhh... syukur alhamdulillah!

So macamana persediaan Ramadhan u ols? Ibadat-wise, of course we all want to do better than what we did last Ramadhan. Same goes with me. I have plan to bring the kids for weekend terawikh kat surau or masjid this time around. Kalau Adam tak menganggu jemaah lain lah kan. Iman is pretty excited to fast a full moon. InsyaAllah. Untuk berbuka belum ada menu. I should start drafting as to not merenung dalam fridge tapi taktau nak masak apa later on. I'll have my hands full kupas mengupas, potong memotong and whatnots during this coming weekends.