Meal of the Day.

Meal of the day is Ikan Bawal Masak Merah. I made this with Taugeh Goreng as the 'buddy' meal .

I'm tired....

It feels like a lifetime that i haven't updated anything in my blog. Things have gone super crazy busy this month. I and my SAHM friend agreed that we can't wait for the school to reopen to shoo the kids back there...hahaha(super evil laugh). And did i mention that she got a maid to help her...so what about me who has to do everything ...EVERYTHING!! Truth to be told...i'm tired physically and mentally with their toys, books and colouring pencils laying around the house everyday and their non stop want this and want that list....get what i mean??

Anyway...i will updated some other stuff soon....or maybe i will resume blogging next week when the school reopens...hhmm...

Got a new Hp.

Took this picture using my new Hp Sony Erricson W995 camera (8.1 mp) and i love the quality of this picture.That means i don't need to bring my camera all the time with me. Yeah!!Dh asked whether i wanted iphone more than twice and i answered No because i rarely went out and i have my beloved pc at home but if i'm working, definitely i will get iphone for sure because it is really a GREAT HP!!

We paid less for both HP because we got $160 vouchers($80 for each HP) from Singtel to redeem.

After we bought it, we went to ION for coffee at CoffeeBean and we get Rosemary Roast Chicken with a bread of our choice which is Baguette with side salad for 8.50. I've been meaning to try it months ago since i saw the Halal logo stated on the menu. Hubby also promised to bring me to Fish Manhattan Restaurant end of this month. So yeah yeah....

As for my sewing project/business...i have sewed two of out three because the third one, i had insufficient material given by customer and i forgot to ask for their phone number so i need to wait till the school re-opens before i get to meet her and discuss about her daughter's kebaya as i got other alternatives to make it work and need to discuss with her.For now, i'm making my kebaya and Aliah's. I sketched the simple design kebaya with bell sleeve and cekak musang as my neckline on sketch book and showed it to Aliah and she love it!! My konon konon little customer......hahaha

OK that's it for now...got to go back to work and i'm now already starting to payback my fasting days ...well 5 days to go....

Been Busy all week!!

It's been sometime i have not updated anything on my blog including the trip to Melaka with my mother and my aunt for Belated Mother's Day celebration....
Just days before the school holiday, Cik norsiah the grandmother of Shami (my kids's classmate in nursery) asked me whether i'm a home-based seamstress. I was shocked as to why she asked me that because i never said anything about me sewing malay traditional clothes.....

i remembered being berat mulut about saying yes because i'm not sure i'm ready yet to take any orders. But i was telling myself to give it a try and do my best....so i said YES to her. But i told her that i only make Baju kurung Pesak and Baju Kebaya Modern with simple neckline. Even though, i do make Baju kurung Lelaki for the men in my house but i'm not ready to make for others...I try to give myself another 2 years before taking any orders for Baju Kurung Lelaki because to me it's the hardest pattern that i've learned.

Few other peoples and even my cousin have asked about it when words get around. For now, i've got three Hari Raya clothes to make plus another 4 more for myself so i'm gonna be really busy for this month but i love it!! I;ve completed one baju kurung pesak so 6 more to go.....

But what i don't love that my kids fallen sick so it made me super duper busy especially today. Dh worked afternoon shift today, i gotmy period today plus all the cramp pain and Aliah's fever went up to 40.2 degrees!! So i have to bring Aliah and Aniq myself to the clinic while trying to control my own pain.

So now i'm back at home....already gave Aliah her medicine and right now she was sleeping soundly while Aniq watched Transformer 1 DVD...so i can rest a little while before starting my crazy schedule again...hope they get well soon...

Body shop sale at Causeway Pt

I was actually at Causeway Pt to get a new wallet and to look for moisturiser. But to my surprise, i saw Body shop sale near the Clinique booth on the first floor of Causeway Pt. For so long i was contemplating to get the Tea Tree Skin Clearing Foaming cleanser(that comes with a pump) and the Tea Tree Oil Mattifying Moisturiser...so when i saw this sale going on...i jumped into the bandwagon. Bought the regular size cleanser for $12.90 (regular price is $19.90) and the moisturiser is for $16.90. (not sure about the regular price).

Once i reached home, i took this opportunity to try to wash off my makeup with the cleanser and i really like it...so far i love my HG Neutrogena fresh foaming cleanser and now i can say that the Body shop one is good too despite the antiseptic smell ...it's not as drying to my skin as my Neutrogena one which is a bonus. Would i buy this Again? Probably yes...especially in a sale like this. hehe Why i say that? Because my Neutrogena only cost $16.90 while this cleanser cost $19.90 ..so you do the math...

BUT....i regretted buying the moisturiser :( ....i will still use it till i'm done with it though. I don't feel it do its job in moisturing ...it sink into my skin so quickly ...it smell like tea tree (duh) which i don't like in my cream but later it gave out this talc-ish smell which i find it weird ..it does gave me matte finish to my skin and this contain salicylic Acid which help in battling my acne-prone skin which is good. But will i buy this Again?? definetely NO.....but i would recommend this for teenage skin.

Once i'm done with this moisturiser, i'm gonna try the Clinique dramatically different moisturising gel in a small tube first because i heard lots of good stuff about it. =)

Must-have foods in my kitchen

Stock my kitchen wih these must-have foods

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Bread

Fruits -usually either apples, oranges, grapes and banana

Biscuits or plain crackers

Cheese-mostly for the children

Tuna

Eggs

Butter

Coke Zero (bad for me, i know)

Coffee -drink only in the morning

These are the foods that i found myself stocking up...but what i really can't live without is Bread, Coffee and Fruits.

Bio Multi-Effect BB Cream review (just like i thought it would be)

Yesterday, Dh asked me out for a movie date at Ang Mo Kio Jubilee to watch Bounty Hunter at 2.10pm (the kids were at school btw). Initially i wanted to watch The Back-up Plan because it seems funnier but the timing wasn't right.

So i took this opportunity to use my sample packet of Bio Essence BB cream to try it out. Just like i though it would be......it was a 1-2 lighter shade from my skin so i look ASHY!! i used my stippling brush to buff it out and used my inexpensive ELF contour powder to counteract the whitish effect the BB cream gave me. The substance was thick so my makeup felt 'heavy' on my face. I guess this stuff only suited for fair skin tone. So weird..that it came in only 1 shade to fit all...don't we come in different colour??..(shrug) Anyway, i'm not crazy about BB cream..so it's okay.

Mother's Day

The ant-looking picture is actually Aliah and me(the one with 4 strands of hair..lol)

This is Aniq's card.

I don't celebrate much as a mother but was pleased with the cards my kids made for me with attached paper flowers with a lollilop in it act like a flower bud. It was my first mother's day present from my children!!

My hubby and i got a perfume(Elizabeth Arden) for my mil because she adore perfume apart from handbags. As for my mother, Cik Isa (stepfather) and i shared to get her on a one day tour plus high tea at Malacca with me on this 23/05(belated mother's day celebration). We will be going with my guru ngaji and some other people we knew from our ngaji class. I have never went away with my mother alone, just the two of us anywhere in Singapore let alone overseas. So i was quite excited till i knew that she will be bringing Cik waidah ( my aunt) along and i was a a little disappointed by that. I didn't voice it out and i let her do whatever makes her happy...i mean that's the real meaning of mother's day, i guess..... is to make her happy and appreciate her. My hubby's present for me is that he will take care of the children when i'm away on that day...and hope he will a great job and i'm sure he will. I have to remember to cook the night before and refrigerate so that his job will be easier. All he need to do is to cook rice and heat up the dishes.

Wee......i'm getting excited already..since i've never been to Melacca before. Hopefully i will enjoy it and bring my family there the next time......

11th anniversary

The Burger King that we went every year to celebrate is no longer there... :(

I always imagining that we will continue going there till our hair turn all white or maybe i able to go there with my grandchildren one day but apparently i can forget dreaming about it anymore. But the bigger picture is that as long my hubby and i have and love each other...other things seems pale in comparision already. ;)

I'll wait for now.

I don't know why all i can think about these days is to go back working...i'm talking about just getting a job not a career...cause i don't really care a hoot about that.
But i need to get realistic about it ...Dh don't like having maid, mum stay a bit far from us, can't bear to put the kids in the child care centre especially they already used to the comfort of own home all these while and i can't afford help since i dont think i'll be earning that much. And the most important thing of all is that ...in my personal opinion...the kids are so much fun to spend the day with...and i wouldn't miss it for the world.

So i did a mental planning for myself....I'll think i'll wait for at least 5 yrs from now when the kids will be 10 yrs old and i'll start on part time job so that i still have the best of both worlds. But for now, i hope to enjoy every moment with my family..creating many many beautiful memories...

School project.

One of the reasons they simply love going to school.

Spaghetti with Seafood sauce

This recipe i got from http://www.recipezaar.com/ and if I'm not wrong it was actually called Amazing Spaghetti with seafood sauce and it's truly amazing to me. I haven't tried lots of different pasta recipe and I'm truly satisfied with this one and this recipe is a keeper!

(4 Servings)

==========

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion and 2 garlic chopped

1 1/4 cans of Hunts tomato diced tomato (then i used blender to smooth out the sauce)

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp oregano, 1 bay leaf

2 tsp sugar

1 cup of prawns (12-15 pcs)

8 crabstick (each pc cut into 3 parts)

white clams (i don't use it cause the kids sure will not like it)

1 tbsp lemon juice

300gm spaghetti or penne

2 tbsp butter

Instructions

==========

1)Heat the oil in a pan and add onion and garlic till soft.

2) Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in another seperate saucepan of boiling water salted water till al dente.

3) Stir in the blended tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, bay leaf and sugar to the onion.

4) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer or 2-3 mins.

5)Add prawns, crabstick and lemon juice.

6) Stir well, then cover and cook for 6-7 mins. Do not overcook. And the sauce is done.

7) Meanwhile, drain the spaghetti and add the butter to the pan.

8)Return the spaghetti to the pan and stir well so that the spaghetti well-coated with the butter.

9)Season with salt and pepper to taste.

10) Serve the spaghetti with sauce on top. For my case, i mix the spaghetti together and stir well so that the kids have easy access to it.

Simple guidelines for happiness

Simple Guidelines For Happiness
------------------------------------------

1) Free your heart from hate

2) Free your mind from worry

3) Live simple

4) Give more

5) Expect less

Importance of Reading to Children

When my kids were still babies, i have read somewhere in the paper about this 4 yrs old preschooler who able to read simple words and i was amazed by that fact.

I was asking myself, "4 yrs old knows how to read..REALLY??!!" So i always bring the kids to the library and even bought them book hoping that they will love to read like their mummy...not like their daddy who don't love to read.hahaha....well, it's never too soon to start our children on the path to reading

I told Dh about the importance of reading skill development for our children and he supported me by converting his free time at home just to guide them reading simple words from Peter and Jane books...(this is what i love about him...that he don't just give me verbal commitment but in action...way to go DADDY!) and when the kids about 4yrs 3 months old...THEY CAN READ all the words from their Peter and Jane books..

Now we have proceeded to level 2A and 2B of Peter and Jane books. And they can read at least 80% of that books. Thanks to Dh's colleagues who recommended us these books ...so i'm really proud of them to be able to read at this young age. And i can see their love for reading without me pushing them towards it. Sometimes they will asked me about unrecognised words in the newspaper or in my scattered magazine, just to know how it pronounce. I guess if we really put something on our mind, insyaallah we can do it...nothing is impossible or at least try, try and try..

It's simply about the choice that we make.

A friend asked me this today, " Linda...kalau yor hubby found someone new and wanted to leave you, what would you do?" And i say, "hhmm....kalau dia berselingkuh dgn org lain dan sampai tak hiraukan allah, our marriage and the kids, i would let him go and be with that woman if that makes him happy, tak rela aku kalau dia berterusan melakukan dosa." And my friend said, " Huh dgn mudahnya kau mengalah?" And i said," Pada kau aku mengalah tapi pada aku...itu adalah kerugian suami aku.(doesn't mean to sound kerek, hehe) I will tell him that if he's willing to let go of me who love him like no other and always think of his interest first, who take care of the family, who at least try to cook delicious food when he's at home, who makes him feel that he is the head of family, who redha with his whatever final decision, who nurture his children, who never allowed him to wear crease clothing, who never fails to celebrate his birthday even in a small way, who treats his mother respectfully. I am not a materialistic woman....i never asked to be so rich, i never asked for a very big house or condo, i never asked for a car, i never asked for a maid but what i keep repeating like a broken record to my hubby is that i wanted to grow old together, go pasar and sarapan together, enjoying our 'senja' time together with love. I always trying to be a good wife, a good friend to him, a good mother and most importantly a good human being and most importantly insyaallah a good muslim. So in some way or another, i believe that i will get a good ending insyaallah even when he choose not to be with me . I believe in doing the right thing no matter what obstacles i may have. And that's my principle and my faith in Allah..and may Allah bestow his blessings on me. If he really can't see all that...then it will be his loss...or maybe it's just our fate and redha that allah has a better plan for all of us. My friend paused a short while and said, " Insyaallah laki kau tak buat mcm gitu....memang dia akan rugi kalau dia nak lepaskan kau (aww...so sweet).." I thanked her for saying that and prayed for my happiness but for now ..... let's just live in the moment where my hubby is the best husband, the best father and i'm thankful for that....Alhamdulliah. Leading a happy life is actually an easy task...it's simply about the choice that we make.