ayam adobo & terung goreng berlado

terong goreng berlado

ayam adobo

i didn't know what to cook for lunch (cum dinner). dah lah makan ayam everyday because the niece doesn't eat fish, she couldn't stand the smell. i called ibu how to make ayam adobo (ke sebenarnya bodo but she didn't want it to sound vulgar). fried chicken combined with sliced garlic and ginger, soy sauce, lemon dressing and salt. but it didn't turn out like ibu's.

then, there were some aubergines so i decided to make terong goreng berlado. shallots, garlic, belacan and cili padi+cili merah. i don't know how it taste because i rarely taste during cooking. haha. but it looks quite edible though.

okay, off to park.

tengah mood bergossip ni

it's saturday and i know i should be going out and have fun but i'm contented as it is. i'm having the whole house to myself, the kids are out with the mother. they have been cranky and screaming all day, being cooped up in the house. a moment of peace.

i wanted to upload some videos i took of nuha but my lappie couldnt detect the phone. something must be wrong, either the phone or the lappie. lagipun, i just realise my voice sounds so different and unrecognisable. rasa macam buruk je. xpela eh, maybe another time, with my camera.

my almost 5-year old notebook (how time flies, i feel like i just bought it yesterday!) is starting to show signs of old age. i pity how it tries to fulfill all my demands, especially when i urge it to be quick. i can imagine, like an old man trudging up the hill, panting and gasping for air. ;p kesian kan? i'm not a gadget freak so i don't feel like buying a new one. maybe, i just need to reformat everything and start afresh (on an old notebook). mesti banyak gila virus berkulat-kulat kat dalam ni. ish ish.

it's been almost 2 weeks i haven't spoken to ibu. seeing that perempuan kecik itu did not go to school last week, i feel uncomfortable having intimate conversations with ibu with her around. you'd be surprise of what she can pick up from your conversation and suddenly if it reaches the mother, i'd be dead meat. with a new trick in the pocket, i hope to talk to her soon after bundling the little bugger off.

so, i did some groceries this morning. and i still cannot grasp of how cheap things are. everything amounted to 70quids which i believe would have been WORTH rm300++ back in malaysia. mind you, fresh grad salary is around 2k here, so that means it's dirt cheap. and halal food is more convenient compared to 16 years ago when we were here. now, there is this place called medina, which is just 10 minutes drive away, that sells koshered meat (halal), hotdogs, burgers and many more. i'm proud that muslims are getting concious of what they eat and took great considerations to make them easily accessed. so universal lah. no more of DIY dishes after this. hahah.

still on the same note, right across the street, ada a thai restaurant that has a halal sign up on the window. tapi dia ada jual stir fried pork juga ya. ('_') maybe dia ingat if the pigs are slaughtered, then it's halal. someone has to do something about that, it's deceiving.

almost a month now. rasa macam nak balik, jumpa sayang, pastu datang balik sini semula. ada berani?

BIG EGO, small body

figured out a way to get her to school. yesterday, in the kitchen.

me: napa ha taknak gi sekolah? semua orang pergi sekolah tau. bukan best pun duduk rumah, asyik gaduh je dengan cik sarah.

her: biarlah. ha suka aduh dengan cik arah.

me: (melampau kau ye? ;p) ehh ada pulak macam tu. nanti macamana ha nak pandai. haa, kang emil (a neighbour's son) lagi pandai dari ha.

*an idea starts to form in my head*

her: taklah. ha lagi pandai.

*ceh, pandai syok sendiri. start cucuk jarum*

me: tapi ha tak pergi school, emil la menang. mesti nanti dia pandai baca dulu, pandai kira dulu, pandai cakap english dulu. hah, nanti mesti nuha kalah.

her: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa mana emil menang. ha lah menang!!

me: ha nak menang kena lah pergi sekolah. taknak emil menang kan?

her: *nods* ahh, ha nak pergi sekolah ha nak kalahkan emil.

*puas hati*

berjaya suntikan aku. itu je ubat untuk orang ego besar ini. cannot stand being on the losing ground. even for the last day of the week.

why cute pandas are always hungry

when i first arrived in england, i didn't experience jet-lag like most people do. that's because i never sleep sticking strictly to time. in fact, i can sleep whenever i want to or not. instead, i face serious hunger pangs.

it's summer so we have longer daylight. maghrib is at 930pm and isyak at 1130pm while subuh will be at 330am.

i thought i could wait up till subuh then crash the pillows. it's easier said than done. since i get up at 730am everyday, sleeping late isn't exactly a wise option. and i would be on the move all day without a nap.

back in malaysia, i try to avoid eating at night. if i do, it would be on rare occasions. but now, since sekarang malam pun lambat, the brain (or should i say the tummy?) still computes that it's still daylight and it's okay to eat. AND it's not!

if i have something around 9-10pm and goes to sleep at 12am, imagine what i would be? and it doesn't help that the effort of staying awake for isyak really makes my tummy grumbles and to make things worse, my last meal is usually lunch at 4pm (and breakfast at 9am). yang paling annoying is that i don't really feel hungry during the day but exceptionally hungry at night. see where the 'jet-lag' is?

bet the fasting month will be a great challenge. masa kecik-kecik dulu tak aci, sebab ada main tipu. hehe.

now, i'm like a dark circled eyes and a forever hungry panda except that i'm much cuter. can ah?

comel kan? tapi berhati-hati ya..

okay, my previous stated observation turns not to be valid at all. she did wake up early and even came with me to send off her sister. but she still refused to go to school today.

im not being biased here but i realise that anak2 buah sarip memang semua macamtu, abit mengada, spoilt and boleh kureng ajer skit dengan orang lagi-lagi with parents yang buat tak kisah. anak2 buah aku belum tunjuk belang lagi agaknya. ;p

nasib baik bukan anak aku kalau tak dah lama aku buat drama scene. so, sebab tu aku tak kisah sangat kalau taknak pergi sekolah sebab bukan anak aku yang taknak pandai. boleh gitu? ;D

there was a bit of drama yesterday. the little punk tested my patience.

i was face-booking when she suddenly came up and threw me an ikea plastic bowl. yes, it didnt hurt, of course, but i said to her,

'ha, jangan buat orang macam tu. mana boleh sakit2 kan orang.'

did she listen. nope, instead she banged me with the bowl which hurts little bit.

'kalau macam ni, cik sarah taknak bawak gi park petang ni. taknak bawak orang yang taknak dengar cakap.'

she threw a tantrum.

'NAK PERGI PARK!!!'

'okay, jangan pukul orang macam tu lagi tau?'

dan budak kecik tu libas aku dengan kain seluar dia. naik angin aku.

'okay, memang cik sarah taknak bawak langsung.'

and i ignored her. totally. so she pulled my hair and scratched my face while sreaming her head off, 'NAK JUGAK PERGI PARK!'

since i didnt flinched at all, even though i was abit afraid that she damage my face, lagi la bengang budak kecik tu. she stomped around the room and menjerit2. that was the final straw.

'KELUAR BILIK CIK SARAH SEKARANG JUGA!'

oh, melalak dia tak pernah kena marah macamtu terus menangis dan masuk bilik mak dia. and i just let her be. aku pun jahat, after a few while, i took the keys and opened the front door, pretending to go out. i scooted back to the living room. she went out of her room and realised that i wasnt in my room. lagi lah dia menangis sedih. haha.

then, i was busy in the kitchen cooking lunch, dia pun datang terhegeh2 sambil nak buat2 baik. asking all kind of questions to get my attention. i just ignored her and kept silent. when she pestered, i said

'cakap sorry dulu'

'cik arah yang buat ha'

'sapa yang tarik rambut?'

'ha' (in a little voice)

'so siapa yang cakap sorry?'

she kept quiet. and she wont say sorry, being the big ego she is. haish anak orang nih.

when i told him about this, all he asked is,

'muka you cantik lagi tak?'

tolong jangan mengamuk ya?

so much for the success getting the lil niece to school last week, this week is such let-down. yesterday, and today, she has missed school. and i dare not imagine how the whole week will be like.

such a drama queen, aint i? ;p

well, according to my observation, the main reason i got her off to school is because the mother woke her up AND her mood will start off in a good way. but then, its only when she hears the mother is around because for the past few days, she woke up to the mother's absence. she didnt make any fuss at all though she still refused to go to school.

when i asked if the niece has woke up yet, the mother will say,

'takpe lah dia penat kot. biar jelah dia tidur nanti mengamuk plak kalau kejut dia.'

what more can i say? at least, i have more fun things to do besides sending/fetching school. ;D

weekend project

so, i was forced to make these over the past weekend so that someone can satisfy her craving needs.

spagetti carbonara topped off with roasted chicken

fabulous oreo cheesecake

i know they are not mine but can you get them right, please?

yeah, its friday and i got the kid to school for a week. nothing biggie but still, an accomplishment for people who can handle tantrum-throwing kids.

so you see, not only her who has a tantrum, it seems that i develop one too. i have no patience for small children who always want things go their ways and have whims fulfilled. i understand that children love to get what they want but if they dont, they'll start yelling and kicking and scratching like nobody business, i absolutely have no tolerance for that. you need to knock some sense in their heads. learn to respect. so what i do is, i tell them i dont care if you dont follow my way because i wont go yours. and i'll leave them screaming their heads off. as if i care.

i realise that nowadays parents are giving too much face to their children and the children stomp back their faces. yeah, i admit that my parents were quite strict with us when we were kids and i dont blame them because we were like hooligans. but im proud of what ive become and i thank them for what i am today. perhaps these parents think that their childhood had too much scolding and spanking and wouldnt want that to happen to their kids, without realising they are bringing up a bunch of spoilt brats.

no, it is not abuse if you spank your kids. there are ways of doing that, islam has set guidelines on that. and you dont go and spank or scold all you like, you tell them off ONLY when they do something wrong. not go and pujuk them and say sorry. oh my god, you apologise for the bad deeds your children did? no wonder the youngsters now are out of control.

or if your child did something wrong, you blame someone else's kid when its YOUR OWN kid who did the shit.

'mana belajar ni jerit-jerit?'

'john yang ajar'

so you blame john padahal kau tak nampak pun john tu suka jerit ke tak or ntah2 tak exist pun sebab kau percaya bulat2 apa anak kau cakap. get this one right, whenever your kid did something wrong, never blame someone else because your kid will grow up a bull-shitting liar. and a big bully too. kalau kau tak tahu pun dia cakap betul ke tak, kau sound je lah yang kau tak suka apa yang dia buat.

make your kids likeable, and they'll get to places some day.

gila lah, sekarang ni aku bergaduh dengan budak kecik-kecik je. ;p

so, i got the little punk off to school today. another notch down.

though she kicked me when i woke her up, surprisingly she agreed to go to school. and this time i left her playing happily with emil.

in the three hours to myself, i googled up recipes for tomyam and ayam paprik. im also thinking of making a strawberry cheesecake since we still have two boxes of strawberries in the refrigerator. so, i found some recipes that sound credible enough but its a matter of choosing which one to dish up. i'll figure out once i fetch nuha from school.

its already wednesday and i havent make plans for the weekend yet. i want to catch up with old buddies but everyone is tied up with exams and projects.

i wish sayang is here with me...:(

pergi sekolah nak?

sending nuha to school is an ordeal. she has her own mind and she decides whether she wants to go or not. last week she went for two days only. this week, we have to see. if i can get her to school for a full week, its a big accomplishment.

yesterday, i had to stay with her for half an hour just for her to get used to the surroundings. until her teacher took her away, she looked as if she wanted to cry but didnt. so i went home relieved.

but today, i left her with her teacher, crying. she grabbed my sleeves not wanting me to leave. the teacher assured that nuha will be just fine. i went home, feeling not relieved.

i know that the little kid will be fine because she's a fighter, thats what she is. if she cries too long, that means she's just doing it for the sake of attention. she's more independent than her older sister. she can reason things out, in her own way.

'nuha pergi school okay?'

'g ambat ikit eh?'

'ok'

have to follow her tune though. sometimes, its quite bad too because then she'll throw tantrums if things dont go her way. if i have kids one day, i wouldnt want to spend the whole day at school, accompanying them. yes, i know, they're small children, but at certain point they need to get in touch with the society. they have to learn to interact. its not healthy if they scream their lungs out when you leave them at one place.

tapi because she's someone else's, i feel a bit guilty. i hope she's okay when i fetch her. i know she will but she dont forget things easily though. mesti esok taknak pergi sekolah lagi. ish, habis la cita-cita aku to get her to school for a week straight.

other option

am not exactly in the mood to write actually. my chest is wheezing with chesty cough. i dont know what went wrong because its such a hot day today unless the cause is too much of strawberry consumption or sweeping out my room. or the iced cold shower i took earlier. in fact, it was hot without the chilly wind.

i had to switch on the heater which i never did so far even though my room is the coldest to make my blocked nose runny so that i can blow them out. i took cough syrup too. all in the name of going for a picnic tomorrow in kensington. for i rarely take medication, solely on self healing. heh.

its been a week already living on the foreign land. not exactly living, i would say, rather more of hitching for the next 3 months.

i did try to write an entry the minute of my arrival but it didnt work its way to a completion. im not saying that im busy like a bee but those little things can take up more time than you realise. life's been good without any work pressure. hubby's in preparation to brazil and im sad that i wont be able to see him off. to be frank, i shed some tears to sleep a night ago.

while i have no work at hand, i offered myself to take and fetch the kids from school. i even did some housechores, well mainly i just do the dishes and cook up simple dishes. already i have a fan of my cooking! its a pleasure to see a young child giving you a thumbs up for something because you know they wont lie. such blunt honesty that you wont find nowadays.

eventhough its summer, the weather is still a bit chilly with the sun glazing. i havent sweat one bit since i came until yesterday when i had to carry a 10kg kid from the park, which took 10min walk. phew! tapi sikit jelah pun peluh aku tu. heh

i was never quite good with small kids. main biasa2 dah lah kan. but this one is exceptional. i think a grown-up is stuck in a 3 year old kid. the things that small kid will say to you is really hilarious. she has a mind of her own and is independant at her age. the biggest problem now is that she doesnt like going to nursery. usually she would go at 10am, which is an hour late, that is if she makes up her mind to go.

and today, dia tak mahu pergi sekolah lagi. she's still sleeping and its 1pm. i just let her be supaya tak menyusahkan aku pun. heheh. because if she doesnt want to wake up yet, she wont. so, aku kena pikir nak masak apa je hari ni. heh.

weekend's coming up, need to plan some activities. have to meet up with old childhood friends. been 16 years, i wonder how everyone will look like. will be quite interesting walking down the memory lane.

"uha penat lah. nak uduk ini engok orang ain"

a little while..

yeap, its 421am and im not asleep yet, fearing that i wont wake up tomorrow. the flight will be at 950am and i have to be there by 7++am. knowing that i am a very slow person in the morning, i have to take of not falling asleep. ;p

kind of frightening though. i'll be all alone. he will leave later in the week. its going to be the first time we will be apart for the longest time. i hope i can get through this.

to close friends and relatives, im sorry couldnt meet up or inform earlier. well, i did made a drastic decision, within a week that is, and i can barely breathe now making all the necessary preparation.

who knows when i will look into here, so folks, pray for my journey.

up to no good

i have been neglecting this page too long. not that i am not writing, cuma sejak akhir ini, aku lebih kerap ke blog lagi satu. it was the phase of soliloquy. keperluan untuk berkata-kata tanpa hirauan keliling.

so much for menyendiri, i had a sociable weekend regardless the extremely hot weather that my make-up melted. tetapi tak mengapa, yang pasti tetap cun! ;p



as usual, high dosage of wedding food that could have lasted a year but then, kasihan lah mereka yang aku tak memenuhi jemputan pula. it was our turn to bertandang ke rumah pengantin lelaki. dah besar adik aku seorang tu. tak sangka dah berkahwin. boleh lah kau berjoli sekarang ya!


last week, i made a drastic decision. i was exhausted of everything and really need to do something about it. he would be gone for 3 months next week which made me feel even low. i couldnt imagine facing people explaining all the time why im alone. i also couldnt imagine myself driving to work alone and come back to an empty house. so, i applied 3-month unpaid leave. after that, i booked myself a flight to uk. walaupun sehingga sekarang aku tak tahu lulus ke tidak lagi. tawakalillah kata orang.

memandangkan akan lama lagi la nak berasap dapur nanti, aku pun cuba la satu resipi ini. oatmeal baked chicken. sihat katanya. walaupun baked tetapi outcome dia macam ayam goreng KFC without the deep frying method. jadi aku teruja lah sebab sekarang mahu menjalani hidup yang sihat sikit. ;p aku pun keluarkan oven yang tak peranh digunakan sejak kahwin 2 tahun yang lalu. hadiah orang. ni lah je baru nak rasa jakun sedikit. aku ikut to the letter of the recipe tetapi tidak seperti yang aku lihat di gambar orang itu post. rasa pun macam pelik tetapi bila dip dengan sos cili dan thousand island, not bad lah. so, next time i will omit the spices sebab aku rasa yang itu lah yang potong stim.

ya, memang buruk rupanya, disaster betul

lagi 2-3 hari berangkat. belum pack apa-apa lagi. kalau ikut hati, memang taknak bawa terlalu banyak sangat tapi faham-faham jelah mertua ipar tuai ibu semua mesti mahu kirim, bukan?