5th Ramadhan..

Gulai daging kemarin :)

Sangat tak sempat nak masak.. so cannot torture my readers with food pics everyday :) Tons of things to be done before I can go home for raya (puasa tak sampai seminggu dah cakap pasal raya! bad.. bad..). Now it is only instant time of telur goreng mata kobau or just heat whatever is left in the fridge. My supper/ sahur only has cereal& milk, instant macaroni & cheese, instant pasta, and bread (minus the hair) on the menu, not everything at one go lah.

I've just tried this Hubbards' bran & berries. They claim it contains these real berries...

Bought 'em a few weeks ago just because they reduced it to almost half price. Yes, I am a cheapskate that way and I am attracted to things with the red 'temporary price reduction' tag like magnets. I shouldn't miss the bargain kan. Anyway, I do enjoy this cereal.. sedap, and it is 97% fat free, kurus lah macam nih. Wait, I had it with regular milk, so I still can get the fat, right? FAT is IN, I don't take low fat milk, tak sedaps.. ape low fat low fat nih? Imaginasi semua tu.. apsal ramai orang obsessed nak kurus? I am a weight watcher too, but I watch the opposite - I am afraid of losing weight!

mild peri quarter chicken

I joined some friends for buka puasa/dinner in Christchurch today. We don't get to eat out often and there's not many restaurant to choose from for a halal meal. Nando's serves halal chicken so we decided to give it a try. I had mild quarter chicken combo. The verdict - I like Nando's in Malaysia better, you get 2 side dish in a combo instead of just 1 here. The coleslaw (my side dish) could be better if they had more dressing. I have no complaint with my 'mild' chicken but those ordering 'very hot peri' said theirs were too salty. Service was good and prompt. I wonder if I could buy their black uniform tee - it says "chicks rule".

It is the fifth day of the holy month, and I've just got myself used to 'good' routines when God says, here's your break...

rinduuu...

Mak: Ubi tau.. si kecik tu datang tadi duk mengadap gambar Ubi dalam frem atas meja tu, tak berenti panggil makcu.. lepas tu cakap jerman dengan gambar tu. Selama ni gambar tu duk kat situ tak de pulak dia ambik kisah.

Ya, saya juga rindu sama awak, budak rambut senget...

Pre-Ramadhan

Warning: If you're fasting and do not wish to see food pics, DO NOT scroll down.

Ramadhan is an ideal month to renew our acquaintance with the Quran. Teringat Tadarrus zaman sekolah. Dah tua ni lagi liat nak tadarrus. For a person yang memang liat nak mengaji like me, a good Quran reading software is a good company like this one by Homesoft, Aloq Staq. Yet, setan atas kepala ni banyak lagi.. I dozed off a few times while reading, leaving Syeikh Saad baca sorang-sorang! Hopefully this thing will help me stick to some reading routine this Ramadhan.

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My friends and I decided to have dinner/breaking fast together every Saturday and we started it last night. Thought of ending the dinner with a mass Terawih, so we waited for news from 'Penyimpan Mohor Besar Raja-raja' zon NZ. News came- 1st Ramadhan in NZ falls on Monday the 25th.

Me & a few friends had to cook for last night's dinner, here's a peek of what we had. My headgirl asked for food pics so I follow orders :) I know this is going to hurt already puasa people, but let me tell you that ikan bakar pic still makes me drool. Don't ask me for recipe, I only had it grilled with some 'Sos Ikan Bakar cap ANI' that I bought at Fama stall in Pasar Tani Hiliran early this year. It was worth buying! Sedap hingga menjilat foil. Ya, saya suka promote local products. I tak rajin nak buat the garnishing, my friend did it.

To the girls & the only jejaka in the group, I had fun cooking with you all. Thank you for taking the parts I don't like- cleaning the fish & cleaning the mess afterwards. Thanks so much.

Tarakihi Bakar Bersos

Ikan Goreng with Sambal Tumis Bawang

Happy Ramadhan Everyone!

foodies..

Winning a $100 food & drinks voucher a few days before bulan puasa at a cafe that opens only at daytime is not fun. Lesser fun when there is not much choice in there that you can have.

So I did many trips to the cafe with different groups of friends each time, my non-muslim friends have more selections to choose from.

The last trip I had today was a pre-puasa "just order what you want" session with the 'sisters' in my attempt to use up the voucher. Look at what we had, tak menarik pun kan? Dah itu je yang boleh makan.

On another note I had a yucky encounter with food last night. I made some tuna sandwic at midnight to fill my growling tummy. Yum yum yum.. but it suddenly stopped at the last few last bites when I saw this (see pic). I found a strand of hair in it. No. Definitely not mine because the hair is in the bread! Euwwww!! Then I started to think that it might get in that loaf of bread packaged with dandruf & other scalp scales. Double yucky! That brand is now banned from my shopping list.

Next time, watch every bite you take!

Ah-choooo!

I'm not feeling well. Having sore shroat, runny nose, watery eyes, my body aches and I've been sneezing all day... can't stay outside too long, the sun gives me headache (ni symptom mengada-mengada ke? time kat Msia tak pernah pakai payung tak der plak sakit kepala). I'm not sure if I'm allergic to the pollens, I don't think I am.

Now don't tell me to eat more fruits & veggies. I had loads already. If I eat more than my current huge fruit & veggie portion, you can start calling me Capra hircus, not Homo sapiens anymore. Don't tell me to drink more water either, I've drank gallons & been visiting the ladies every 10minutes . Lucky the toilet is just nextdoor. Leceh tau nak pegi toilet banyak-banyak kali ni.

I am yet to see a doctor, tak suka jumpa doctor! But I don't mind seeing my doctor friends outside.. just not in a clinic or hospital, ok. We'll see, if I have enough courage tomorrow, I'll go and see one.

Anyway, since Ramadhan is coming, have a blessed Ramadhan to all.

Have a good weekend people.

dream..dream..dream.....

How many dreams one usually get in a night?

I had 3 different dreams last night and I woke up in betweens. My dreams are different these days. I used to know that I'm dreaming in my dream, telling myself ‘it is okay, these aren't real, these aren't possible. Things are going to be ok when you get up’. These days, my dreams seem so real, I feel so trapped, helpless & hopeless in it.

The first one I had last night, was scary (for me!) and I really thought was real - somebody stole my laptop right in front of my eyes! I had everything in that laptop, all my work in there which mostly had no back up. I was crying and wailing for help but no one came to the rescue. Ok, at least that taught me a lesson- back up everything!

Second dream, I had a miscarriage after my first trimester! (Wohooo! So I got pregnant at last?!) In that dream, I was married to this guy and he was a very good loving husband. (In real life, I've met him only once, and we had nothing going beyond "YM friends" friendship. Tapi apsal aku mimpi kawin ngan dia nih? Tak der plak berchinta-chinta ngan dia). So there I was, crying my heart out for losing my unborn child. My wish to be a mother turned to dust. Everything seemed so real. The pain of losing was unbearable. I cried and cried and cried. The funny thing was some friends came to ‘comfort’ me but they did not talk about my loss, they were telling me how lucky I was for marrying such a good man, your hubby is this , your hubby is that. Hey, I was the one needing hug & comfort, it was supposed to be about me, not him!

The third dream was a happy one. Earlier yesterday my officemate told me that our postgrad administrator was going to come and measure the wall to put up some new cabinets. In my dream he came not just to measure, but he let everyone in my office building get whatever we need to have an Extreme Makeover Office Edition! It was a happy happy day choosing color templates, custom designing the office and later we had an office day decorating our office rooms! I can't remember the final color of my office but the office next door was blue with yellow stampings. At least the final dream was a colourful & happy one.

So what did you dream of last night?

Magnolia

Hati saya berbunga-bunga setiap kali musim bunga..

I fell in love with magnolias.. no, not the ice-cream-lah, not about that dorm on first floor block G- Yellow house either... I’m talking about these lovely spring flowers. Mature magnolia in full bloom is a breathtaking sight. I’m not well versed with these bunga-bunga omputeh, so I can’t give you the names of each hybrids & cultivars. If I’m not mistaken this flowers are connected to our very own cempaka (Michelia champaca), also known as tropical magnolia, but their mostly bare branches and prominent flowers remind me of kemboja (Plumeria sp.), my favourite tropical flower.. ye, saya memang suka bunga-bunga kubur, apa lagi kalau putih & wangi.

Mari kita tengok & kenal bunga magnolia...

white magnolia (M. Soulangiana)

pinkish-purple magnolia (M. Soulangiana)



purple magnolia (M. Soulangiana)


light pink magnolia (M. Soulangiana)

This white one is my #1 favourite,

White star magnolia (Magnolia stellata)

ok.. dahhh...

It's a lovely day outside, I shouldn't be sitting here in front of my pc.. gotta get my camera and enjoy the sun and the flowers out there. Have a good day!

Running

Bz bz, I can't think properly to write a post.. so I'll just let you ppl enjoy this song by Evermore, a NZ alternative rock group. Video clip ala hindustan, nyanyi satu lagu pusing satu dunia. They went to 12 countries around the world in 16 days to make the video.

Running- Evermore
too many words
too many lies
i cant quite see the truth
when i look into your eyes

i feel im cured
and i know i should
step away turn around
let my feet hit the ground...
running, running, running, running...

you dont need a broken heart
to know one can be broken
you just need to open your eyes.. yeah
we dont need to be deceived
to know a lie can be spoken
we dont have to learn everything twice

I dont know
I really dont know
If this castle in the sand
is strong enough to stand

i feel im cured
and i know i should
step away turn around
Let my feet hit the ground...
running, running, running, running...

you dont need a broken heart
to know one can be broken
you just need to open your eyes.. yeah
we dont need to be deceived
to know a lie can be spoken
we dont have to learn everything twice

Coz i know
how it feels
all the pain
is so real
coz u sink
and you drown
till your feet hit the ground...
running, running, running, running...

coz you dont need a broken heart
to know a heart can be broken
you just need to open your eyes.. yeah
we dont need a tv show
to tell us which way to go
we just need to do what we know

Have a good week everyone! Sapa belum ganti puasa cepat ganti beb!

moon again

Moon on Mid Syaaban
-07092006-1855-

Ubi-bik

Staying at home for one whole day on a weekend could make one change her goals in life. Now I think I want to be a housewife! Well, the first part - ‘house’ is probably achievable in a few years time, if I can’t own one, at least I can rent one, but the second word is beyond my control.
Found many things I love doing at home. Changing sheets, change the throws & rugs and have everything color coordinated, did the laundry, did an inventory of canned/dry food/spices I have (mak datuk, cukup nak makan lagi 4-5 bulan!) vaacuming, scrub bathroom walls & floor, checking out the spring flowers in the garden, hanging clothes outside (finally we have sunny windy spring!) and later fold them. On top of that I cooked four (simple) meals – Bread toasted with cheese& tomato + omellette + salad for brekkie, buttered fish + mushroom for lunch, baked potato for tea time and steak + hasselback potato + baby carrots for late dinner. It would be a waste if I cook only for myself, so I kept sending meals to my housemate’s room (lucky that she was unwell, otherwise she would not be home). The third time I sent her food, she asked, what’s wrong with you today? Why are you at home? Are you okay? This is so not you!

Seriously, I found it therapeutic doing all those. May be I should apply for part-time bibik job while waiting for Datuk L, M, N…..Z to come and pinang me to be his housewife :) Err.. wait, a Datuk’s wife doesn’t do housechores, right?