A week of Raya has passed, and we have 3 open house weekends to go! Only in Malaysia that we celebrate Raya for a month! It was a moderate affair for Zazamazu this year. All adorned in purple, we celebrated Raya in KL. No kampung for us, which is good since we avoided the hassle of balik kampung journey. After Raya prayers, we dressed up and beraya with our close families. We visited our families and met with our relatives, which most of them we only see once a year. So, it was good to see them and catch up.
As some of you may know, our bibik went home to Medan this year. So, we got our hands full with two very active kids and at the same time trying to enjoy Raya. It is really tiring without bibik, but I really feel that it is not that bad. Hubby may not agree, as he is tired of the very naughty and mengada2 kids. I don't blame him, as he deals with them a lot, especially during poo poo time.. :) I am thankful that he helps a lot, and made things much easier. Thank you dear!
All in all, we had a blissful Raya. The kids seemed to enjoy it, they liked visiting relatives and friends and most of all they like the Raya angpow! They didn't appreciate the money inside yet, but they like receiving them! This year, Zazamazu wont held an official open house, but our house is always open for relatives and friends to visit. We would love to entertain you guys, just give us a shout first!
Zazamazu in purple Girl power...with Zara, my mom, aunts and nieces
SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI & MAAF ZAHIR DAN BATIN FROM ZAZAMAZU
We would like to wish everybody a blessed Hari Raya Aidilfitri and seek forgiveness for any wrongdoings on our part. Those who are driving please be safe. I would like to remind myself and others not to eat too much but do enjoy the festivals.
Talking about jari, heres a few pics of Zareef's pingers as an example of kids excessive sucking and biting their fingers.
Other people buy songkoks, sampins, tudung et al. Same o same o. So i decided to treat my self to a shirt that i would really like to wear and dont mind spending (RM60 je - Bangkok mari). Personally it beats wearing a sampin anyday!!! Benzaammaaaa!!! Hala Madriddd!!
Next plan is to buy Kaka for Maz (she insists Kaka even though i wanted to get Kaka for Zareef - mentang2 lah Kaka hensem), Granero or Lass for Zareef and Ronaldo for Zara. It would be my dream to go ber'raya'ing with all the family pakai Real Madrid jerseys. Just have to pass the idea to Maz.
Went to Mc'ds the other day (during Ramadan) cause the kids wanted to have their lunch while playing on the playground. During my order i told them i wanted the food for 'here' instead of 'to go'. They didnt let me (understandable sebab they will get in trouble letting me eat there) but i told them it was for my 2 and 4 year old kids and it was obvious cause i ordered 2 happy meals. They still didnt let me. I flipped but not all out sebab puasa mode. They said "kita ni melayu... nanti org cakap apa". I told them whats that got to do with me feeding my kids and insisting the kids wanted to eat here. Even had to guarantee if they got into trouble for it they can blame me and in addition to it a malay guy behind me was also pleading on my behalf. Seeing me all riled up, they reluctantly folded but with the tak puas hati look.
I dont know if i was being overboard and feeling too righteous but i just cant stand shallow people more sow shallow people that inconveniences my life. You expect me to feed my child sorok2 during puasa. I guess i could have avoided it all just by ordering 'to go' but having it there anyways but that way the shallow people wont see my point of view will they.
Its been a while since we posted anything. To make it up i want to post about my weight, a very heavy issue. Actually I cant wait to boast about it (i know its going to bite me back after raya).
Wohhooooo!!!! Officially I have lost around 5 Kg during this Raya month. I achieved my goal of 68kg (halal lah .2kg) from 73kg (sebelum ni rahsia/sulit/top secret/PNC/OSA). Dont have to congratule me cause that weight scale kembangkan diri ini secukupnya. Dont want to bangga diri terlebih sebab i dont think i can maintain it. Just wanted to gloat while i still can.
ps.. Kawan2 yg still struggling tu.. jgn jelessss!! and the pic above is authentic as it gets.
Yesterday I had a chance to visit Anas (Peeps@Masri newborn son) and Mom Rozilawati at their home with Shahrul+Su+Shania and Bo. Small and so fragile. We were happy to see him (the mom too) looking healthy and sleeping away. He was incubated some time after birth due to complications. But alhamdullilah he seems healthy and strong now. Babies are stronger then most would assume. Sometimes I forget how miracle looking and amazing new borns are. Their are also scary in a good way especially to macho/rough/kasar men. Thats why you rarely see non family related men carry newborns.
With the same group, we had iftar together at Molek's. The only addition was the wifey and many declined the invitation due to work (Nuzul Quran = KL people sad - Selangor people happy cuti ). Tried to layan the nasi kerabu but kurengggg sikit terutama sekali the daging salai ala chipboard. Maybe its due to the bukak rush. But the drinks and kuih2 was still awesome as ever. We were exposed to Molek's Akok, a traditional Kelantan kuih. Shahrul's been talking about it for a while now. I tried ordering it but they ran out. Kecewaa!! Complained to Shahrul about it. He went to the back and brought back 15 Akoks. Seems like there werent any left because he asked them to set aside some (cronyism) . Our disappointment was no more. Excellent and tasty, you know diorang tak kedekut bahan2. Another great thing was the Bandung Molek = Sirap Bandung with ais krim soda. Just the right mixture, tak manis and not too gassy.
The great news of the day was about Bo and Aza the newly weds. Dengar Aza dah ada isi.Alhamdulillah and Congrats to both of them. We pray and wish you a safe pregnancy and healthy baby. Bo seems happy (maybe sebab we kurang yaking ngan kelakiannya sebelum ni.. hahahah jgn marah) havent seen Aza yet to convey our congrats but i bet she'll be tired all the time and nauseated. Bo was saying dah 5 weeks pregnant.. hmmmmm come to think of it they just got married last month.. hmmmmm agaiinnn..
hhhmmmmmmmmmmmmm
ps.. didnt get pics cause left the camera and everybody else brought cams. hope they can upload so i can link it.
Note: Wanted to write this sooner, forgot somehow and only remembered back when i saw a giant fish at the pasar yesterday.
Before puasa I went with a couple of other colleagues (Jebat and Saiful) up to Grik for so-called work matter. I was more keen running away from the office. Even though I went there during my off days just so that i wont be available to come in. Cant even have peace during our off days. But enough about that...
Considering Grik as a former communist infiltrated area, i didnt really know what to expect. There wasnt much of a difference compared to other small towns apart from the high presence of army personnel. Everywhere we looked there were soldiers. There were lining up at ATMS, filling gas, at the warongs etc etc. There was one corner we turned to (looked like a dead end at first) and it seemed like 20 of them sitting on the curbs eating ice-cream and kuih-muih. It looked funny at first, but looking at their sunburned black man-eating ugly faces, no-doubt fit bodies and their ability to kill us at an instant (probably know how to dispose a body properly without trace) it was daunting and horrifying. Wished i thought of leaving Saiful (the new guy) there just to see his reactions.
Before going more into Grik, i have to advertise our lunch. Above are a few pics. The place is called Restoran Tasik Raban and its located about 30 minutes from Kuala Kangsar on the way to Grik and about 5 minutes after the Raja Nazrin bridge. The restaurant is really out of no where. Theres jungle and more jungle and then poof.. a nice looking restaurant at the side this long road. A pleasant sight if your hungry and have been driving for hours. Thanks Izwan (ask him about food and directions all over Semanjung - you will never be let downed, experienced gained from being a TNB staff and traveling all over) for the suggestion. Their specialty is ikan air tawar bakar especially Tenggalan (RM40 sekilo). You wont get Tenggalan in KL easily. We bought half a head of Tenggalan and surprisingly the amount of meat is about 3 times a chicken breast maybe more. Even had trouble finishing it. Lauk to go with it pun berlambak-lambak-lambak-lambakkk.. This restoran is a must in my opinion. Do try it yourself.
Getting back at Grik.. nothing much. Really nottthiiingggg muccchh. We stayed at rumah rehat Grik. No wonder they dont call themselves hotel, cause it will be shameful to do so but i still think it was comfortable and ok apart from the weird smelling blankets and pillows. Didnt do much apart from playing snooker. Jebat hated the snooker place. Imagine 30 mat rempits, gambling, smoking (no ventilation), cursing at each other the whole time but they didnt bother us (obviously outsiders due to slang and clothing). So later on we just played cards in the room. I introduced them to Texas Hold Em. Everybody got the hang of it real fast. Lots of emotions showed especially when you see all your chips taken away but lets not get into details.. takut yg kalah emo lagi. I'm not worried cause i win all the time - right Jebat?? hahahhahaha...
The next day we went to Bersia Hydro Power Station. The normal stuff. Got to see people and naturally knowing we were from NLDC they treated us extremely nice. Showed us whatever we wanted to see. I was also trying to share what little I know with Jebat and Saiful. Some of it were the CT explosion in the switchyard, the dam operations, the control schemes et al. The peak event was the water release. Got a video of it. Will try and post it soon. Water release is always looked as a waste and dangerous, but in this case it was a sample and warning had been issued, siren and all. After that it was the normal power station visit. Jebat and Saiful headed up to Temenggor Hydro Power Station but i bailed out (had to work the following day and there was at least 5 hours drive back left). I remembered the last time I went up the winding, isolated and dangerous road. You can sometimes see wild elephants on the way. I asked Saiful and Jebat about seeing any. They answered they just had to make do seeing the elephants poop instead.
So thats the story.. not really much of a story but better than being suffocated in the office wouldnt you think. Pics and video are being uploaded and as usual taking a hell of a long time
For this month of September, the challenge at Scrap-It-Lahis to use 70% of our favorite manufacturer products in a layout. It is perfect time to use my DT kit, Basic Grey June Bug collection, courtesy of Michelle (Thanks dear!). I just love the vibrant colors of the collection. It fits this lovely picture of Zazamazu by Amrufm. Come and join us at Scrap-It-Lahthis September, lovely RAK awaits the winner!!
I am guilty of abandoning this blog for some time (and letting hubby take over), but I am not a big writer anyway, plus hubby tells the story better than I do :) I am glad that Ramadhan is here again (time flies so fast) and the kids are growing up right in front of our eyes. Zara learns to talk a few more words.. her favorite words now are "Ayyyyahhhhh", "Babangggg" and "Bibbbiikkk"... She has been calling everyone "Maammmaaa" before :0 Zareef is also growing smarter and more mischivieous, but is still sticky like glue. Hubby is still stressed up with his work, but still caring and 'semangat' as ever.. life is good so far, alhamdulillah.. we are grateful
We've been sending our Za & Za to Gymboree every Sunday now. Zara is attending the PlayGym while Zareef goes to Art and Music classes. Zara enjoys the PlayGym a lot. She is very active, but is attentive and follows instructions well. A bit of a mellow version of Zareef at her age.. :)) Zareef seems to enjoy his classes too, but we had difficulty in 'dumping' him to the teachers.. no parents are allowed in his class. So, being sticky as usual, we often have to bribe him with something so that he willingly walked into the class.. But all in all, Sundays are family time, much enjoyable by all of us.
Raya is around the corner, and it will be a moderate affair for the family. Bibik is going home this time, (she's so excited, she's been counting days even before Ramadhan.. I can imagine, if I did not see my children for more than a year, I'll be counting days too!!) so it will be me and hubby taking care of the kids, the house, the laundry and at the same time preparing for Raya. I know I know, most women do that everyday, but I am spoilt, having everything done by Bibik.. hehe.. I havent buy Raya clothes yet! For the first time in my life, I didn't tempah my baju raya before-hand and have to buy a ready-made one. Good luck with that, right? hehe.. The house also wont have any Raya uplift too. Most of the things are new (but looks old), anyway. (Plus with 2 active kids around, no use of buying new stuffs).
I did tons of new layouts.. mostly kids related. Here are some of the kids.. just for sharing... More pics in myScrapperocks!blog. Lastly, wish everyone a blessed Ramadhan!
the kids playing in Shah Alam park
a pink one for Zara...
and a blue one for Zareef.
one for princess Zara..Our sweethearts..You're the man, Zareef!
Shahrul's Molek -best restaurant in town according to him.
Yesterday i had nasi kerabu for berbuka. It was good but not Molek Good. There wasnt enough tumis, so i whined to the wife. She said if you want proper nasi kerabu, we had to go to Molek's. Here is a picture(not enhanced macam Mc D's) of what we mean by proper Nasi Kerabu.
Keeping in mind, bulan puasa wont be complete without breaking fast at Molek and we promised each other to do so (Shahrul kinda coaxed us into it). Nobody can refuse. Good food, good price, great location, easy parking, environment bagus, tauke hensem and why not support a friends business.
So its a matter of organizing it. So this entry is also an invitation for those who would like to open fast together. If possible, lets do it this friday 4th Sept. I'll call Shahrul and try to invite everybody through SMS. Will contact you soon.
