old stories

it's been what??... two weeks since i last blogged??... I'm sooo very lazy. but today, felt a little urge to blog, lets see how long i can last heh??...

i had my heart's content of japanese food that thanksgiving weekend. YUM-MYYY. it's a pretty good buffet place, we love it : ). i was stuffing and shoving sushi like there's no tomorrow. i wish i had a bigger stomach (or a second stomach is a cool idea too) coz the urge to eat more was there, but just couldn't swallow any more. ahhhh... what gluttony... and the perils we put our digestive system in the name of food.

the midnight sale was a total disaster!!!... if ever u plan of going next year, DON'T!!!!! at least, don't go to the one in Aurora, Chicago (yes dort, we went to that particular one). We didn't think the whole of chicago were going too!!!...

we headed there around 10:30pm. and by the time chot got a parking spot, it was already close to 3:30am... yeah, we could easily have driven back to waterloo in that amount of time!!!chot was becoming impatient, who wouldn't?? it took us 3 + hours to go 3 miles to get to the exit. we had cars trying to cut into the exit lane on our left, we had people going on the service lane and trying to cut into the exit lane on our right. we had an angry lady, angry at people going on the service lane... got out from the passenger side and stood in the middle of the service lane!!!... she however lost to another angry lady, cursing and shouting for her to get the *uck out of the way. pretty nasty.

we had a car broke down... and how stupid the driver and passengers were, when they just sat there without pushing their car out of the way. anyways, when the outlet was close enough, we decided that i should just walk there. there were others who had abandoned their sorry drivers and opted to just walk.

so there i was, walked through bushes and jumped a fence!!!... how exhilarating since i couldn't remember the last time i did that, also felt like i was breaking the law... i think i did!!! anyways, the plan was to go straight to the coach store. but to my surprise, the was a very, very longggggggg line. people were lining up just to get a chance to go into the damn store!!!... and did i tell u guys, it was a cold night??... yup, what craziness!!!... by the time chot finally got a parking spot, he was ready to go back. we did go into a few shops that didn't have quite a long line but chot was just not in the mood to look and try stuff for size.

we got back to the hotel room at around 5:30 am... what a waste of time really. we could have instead had a nice time sleeping : D...

after we woke up, we got ready to go the the outlet at kenosha. now that was a pleasant trip. the weather was nice, no long line : D... got a few stuff for myself... chot got A LOT of stuff for himself... stuff we don't need. also a few last remaining stuff for my sister's wedding.

after kenosha, we went to gurney mills. but our feet were starting to ache. and i know chot had reached his limit when he doesn't want to go into any more stores. he said all he needed was a short nap and after that needed nap, go to ikea. said it's better to go friday night and not be bothered with the weekend crowd. BUT his nap went all the way to 4 in the morning!!!... there goes the whole "missing the weekend crowd"...

headed to peoria saturday night and stayed with jept, anis and adam. sunday, left for waterloo, but that's without forgetting to stop by the outlets in williamsburg, iowa. all in all, a total of 4 outlet malls!!! it was a good trip i think.

but i do have a few stuff to return since some i bought on impulse :D... chot seemed happy with his purchases and wore his new timberland shoes to work that monday. and his new columbia fleece a few days after...

and since that weekend, we just stayed in town. chot tried to manage as much overtime as he can. as to make the dent we made shopping seem less noticeable.

Happy Shopping!!!

tomorrow is thanksgiving and it'll be a long weekend for us here. but to others (or is it all??) the day after thanksgiving is the event to look forward to... AFTER THNAKSGIVING SALE or BLACK FRIDAY. usually everyone will be getting ready early-early-early in the morning in front of stores, to get the best deal they can get their hands on. this one outlet mall is opening it's doors midnight even!!!... MIDNIGHT MADNESS they call it, yeah!!! totally crazy... but comparing to the day before raya at Jalan Masjid India, i think it is about the same crazy buying, shoving madness... yeah... crazy...

we... ehhmmm... "small fishs" aka "thin wallet" people are joining in the events too, doing some small time shopping & finding good deals... buying pretty stuff we don't need : )...

we will be leaving for chicago tomorrow and staying until Saturday. AND, i am really looking forward to the food... especially Todai, a Japanese buffet place we adore.

ok then people, have a good weekend... we will try to have a good one too : )

: )

it's been quite a long time since i last wrote something, so i feel replying to each and every comments in my last 2 posts will be way too... in the past. TQ for the insight and advise u guys!!!...

i talked to my mom last week and she still a bit pissed... what can i say, old people... when they have a (sort of a ) grudge tends to keep the feelings linger. i relay to her that part about the engagement ring and part of the "duit hantaran" were put on a kitchen plate and she went into story telling/ "mengumpat" mode.

she said "Ya Allah... da... da... da...", "da... da... da..." and more "da... da... da..."... and then said "mama tau pinggan tu, mama pun ada satu kat dapur. tu pinggan dapat free bila beli colgate"... Now, that's funny!!!

and i did think i over reacted a little bit. no marriage is easy so maybe this is my sisters part of the deal. my parents have no issues with the future son-in-law, so that is somewhat good. someone commented i should put a stop to the marriage, i don't think i dare interfere to that level. we did tell her of our feelings and made known our requests (ok... demands) come the nikah time. she & future hubby understood & up to them to be diplomats between the two sides. she said thank you to my folks, i guess for putting with all the BS.

i on the other hand, have not called her since that time i babeled on the phone to her. i did emailed but she hasn't replied. i should engage her in some kind of interaction but it's easier isn't it to run away from saying the hard things??... especially when u live on the other side of the world. i will make my peace, i think i'll write her a letter (damn it, just call her already!!!)

anyways... moving on. what have i been doing, being so quiet without a post to my blog??... well, we had guests that first weekend in Nov. Audra's family came from malaysia and she was taking them to Minneapolis. So, they stayed at our place and made a day trip to the outlets and Mall of America.

we also went to minneapolis with them but our destination was Ikea (as always). i had the brilliant idea of adding more cabinets in the kitchen. rented a van but it was a bit broken. the door became jammed so there we were, 3 engineers and 1 housewife trying to "make" the door close. freezing our butts off in the parking lot. we called for help and help came, the door closed but not without leaving us with about 3 hours wasted. but this being America, all we had to do was call and complain. we got 50 bucks coupon on our next rental.

last weekend, did nothing. lazied around the house. both didn't shower from the time we woke up saturday morning. come sunday evening, we were ripe!!!...

anyways, have pictures of the Hari Raya in Peoria. Click here. the top i wore was given to me by my MIL more then a year ago. but those butterflytailundersleevething kept getting into food. and... I LOVE ADAM. chot's shirt was also courtesy of MIL, i realized i should have washed it before wearing, it was a bit stiff and somewhat rode up, making chot's short neck looked even shorter.

so have a good weekend u guys!!!...

tak sedap hati nie

sebelum win masuk bab cerita pasal kenapa win tak sedap hati, nak umumkan yang adik win yohaniz dah selamat lahirkan anak isnin 30 Oktober. cucu & anak sedara no. 1 utk kitaorg. Namanye Nurhusna Imani bt. Mohd. Rafizal. Agak panjang tapi takpe la, anak diaorg... suka hati la nak taruk apa pun. Panggilnye Husna... win suka, bunyi comel.

pergi pulak bab adik win farahanim aka bobo. majlis tunang selamat & selesai Sabtu 28hb. Tapi ada beberapa isu yang buat mak & abah (& lepas mak cerita kat win)... win tak berapa puashati. abah bising & mak terkilan, & win susah hati memikirkan... ada ke kitaorang anak beranak "over"??

tapi bila bercakap ngan bobo, dia tak rasa apa yang jadik tu isu yang perlu di pikirkan.

majlisnye jadik kelam-kabut sebab lepas mak tanya bakal besan berapa ramai nak datang sebab nak sediakan makan dll, yang munculnye 2 kali ganda. semua sebelah famili win terkedu & terkejut besar sebab katanye dalam 40 orang tapi yang datang satu bas kilang + 4 buah kereta... dua kali ganda. macamana jadik macam nie tak berapa pasti lagi. tapi mak kata dia rasa macam kena tipu sebab dia bercakap & bertanya dengan mak pihak lelaki sendiri.

siapa yang aturkan bab bas kilang pergi dari Felda 1, ke Felda 2, ke Felda 3 & Felda 4 ambik orang kitaorg tak tau. kitaorang tak tau semua tu saudara-mara, kenalan atau orang yang pihak lelaki tak kenal langsung. tak kisah lah siapa diaorang kepada pihak lelaki, cuma kata lain & jadiknye lain. kalau korang, tengok orang turun satu2 dari bas and jalan ke arah rumah korang, masuk rumah tak henti2... macamana reaksi korang?? mak win terkedu sangat, sampai kepala dia pusing, tak berani bangun takut2 pengsan.

win kata ngan mak yang kot ada jiran2 dia yang buat keputusan nak angkut orang & mak ayah pihak lelaki tak dapat kawal. tapi lepas cakap ngan mak, win telefon bobo & dia kata mak pihak lelaki maksudkan 40 orang dewasa... budak2 tak masuk kiraan... tapiiii mak kata, mak pihak lelaki sendiri kata ngan dia berulang2 kali yang tak ramai yang akan datang, cuma 30 ke 40 orang sebab saudara-mara dah takde kat kampung. dia kata jugak rumah kitaorg kecik, tak muat kalau bawak orang ramai2.

jadik bayangkan keadaan rumah yang penuh dengan orang (dalam & luar). nak buat perkara lebih haru-biru, hujan pulak hari tu. wakil pihak lelaki & pihak perempuan yang nak bercakap dah duduk macam kadi & pengantin lelaki nak lafaz akad. makanan tak cukup, sampai orang rumah hanya makan kuah kari & lebih2 roti jala. pulak ada yang tak malu mintak bekas nak bekal makanan & dengan mak win tengah terpinga2 & masih tergamam tengok orang tu bekal makanan, orang tu takde pun segan silu kata minta maaf ke apa, kata terpaksa ambik bekal sikit untuk anak2 & cucu2 utk makan dalam bas. tak... ambik bekal pas tu pusing & pergi.

pulak beramai2 mintak air panas untuk nak buat susu anak, segala air manis yang ada di tuang dalam botol2 susu. nie perkara normal ke untuk orang2 dari Felda?? bukan tanya sinis, cukup ikhlas soalan win sebab kitaorg tak tau apa nak pikir??

bobo terangkan, kata diaorang nak memeriahkan keadaan. tapi bukan caranye macam nie. nak meriahkan keadaan tapi pada kita, majlis rasmi kami cacat... tak terlintas ke kat fikiran mereka?? siapa yang buat keputusan angkut orang beramai2 tu betul tak patut...

untuk win, dengar cerita pun macam tak percaya... macamana boleh jadik macam nie? kenapa orang2 nie takde segan silu, takde sopan santun. tak sedap hati nak lepaskan adik win pergi, utk kawin and pergi ke komuniti yang macam nie. iye lah, dia nak kawin budak lelaki tu, bukan mak dia ke, ayah dia ke... komuniti dia tapi... iisssshhh...

pas tu masuk bab hantaran & rupanye. punya kecik hati mak win bila tengok hantaran yang diaorang bawak. iya lah orang miskin tapi ada beza kan dari "spending for it and preparing for it??... preparing it to look presentable and nice does not require money. it doesn't take much right?? to present stuff nicely??... to not buy the small or smallest sized fruits & cake and stuff, to just wrap it up in paper. yes i know... it is just fruits and cake but that's just it!!!... it is just fruits and cake!!!... it doesn't cost but a few extra ringgit to have nice ones... is it too much of an effort for my sister.

it stings for i know my sister was racking her brain, saving & working, tying her stomach for the "hantaran"... and to get what she got as a return is so sad. and the bad thing is, she doesn't seem to mind... or maybe trying not to mind, i dunno.

she kept on saying, "diaorang orang miskin, diaorang orang miskin"... so what thry are poor??... does it make what they did OK??

and then as my sister was trying to explain and give a reason behind every single unpleasant issue to me, she told me of something my mother did not. she said "& pasal cincin & (part of) duit hantaran tu, makcik X tak sempat. jadik dia ambik jek pinggan kat dapur..." what???... pinggan??... pinggan makan??... u have got to be kidding!!?? my eyes nearly came out of it's socket.

i told bobo... actually i don't really remember what i told her, half of the time, i was just babling and trying to contain myself. i was and still am sad... still very much disappointed...

don't get me wrong. we're not snobs... we know we're not rich people, we have our shortcomings. and we don't mind if our daughter/ sister is marring into a poor family... we sooooo don't mind. BUT we do mind common sense and common courtesy.

as of yet, just the future son-in-law said "minta maaf kalau ada terlebih & terkurang"... but not a single call to my mom from his mom saying whatever she should be saying. even if she's not behind the whole thing of the bus load of people & how badly they behaved, the least she could do is call... common courtesy...

and i feel bad because i made my sister feel bad when i called her. oh, i feel i am over reacting... but i do feel uneasy and quite worried. i feel like plucking my sister and putting her in a different place... i want to save her... i want to tell her 27 years old is not old, she doesn't have to marry the first guy that asks her. value herself enough to not just swallow everything... & ur not even married.

also, i want to tell her that when she does marry, she has to learn to draw the line, to know when enough is enough in helping to provide. to know when to stop giving to others and instead give to her. it is not ok to keep on saying "takpe"... "takpe"... "takpe"...

i am over reacting... the guy might well be nice and loving and caring and considerate towards my sister. my sister is not perfect i know, she has he flaws, she makes mistakes. i am telling myself that he is not a reflection of his family & his community... no... i am hoping he is not a reflection of them.

i am sooo worried...

(and sorry for the inconsistency in language... when i am flooded with emotions, i tend to abandon malay...)

Nice sunny day

Nice sunny day today with current temp. in the lower 40's. i feel cheerful enough to write a blog : )...

Eid was yesterday (Monday the 23rd) for us in Waterloo... we fasted for 30 days and friends in Peoria fasted for 29 days... not complaining really, what is a day or two of fasting. Just hoping muslim communities in the US could come to an agreement so all can fast and celebrate Eid on the same day. But it's an impossible request for this has always been the case year after year. No harm done... just that it would be nice.

Regardless what day Eid falls on, I didn't acknowlegde it much. Didn't dress up or make anything special for Chot. He had to make his own coffee and rummage for breakfast. He then went to the masjid for Eid prayer while I continued sleeping. He took half day off, going to work at 12 noon.

I heated up last night's soto for him for lunch. Pretty pathetic... i know. And adding to the pathetic-ness of the special day, I had him go pick up chinese food for Eid dinner.

He says he doesn't mind but it would be nice to make it somewhat stand out than regular days, a little special.

: )... to my defence. I was sick... actually we both were under the weather, with fever, runny nose and sore throat. I slept the whole day but chot had to press on and work, even came home late... close to 8 at night.

He even went to work for a few hours Eid-eve (any such word??... but u guys know what i mean). Such a trooper right?? If i were his boss, I'd give him a promotion!!!...

++++

Last weekend, we had guests. Anis called telling of their plan to come and visit. Luckily, I cleaned the house just for the heck of it days before. They arrived Friday night and Anis tried my attempt at making Mee Rebus. A bit hot but pretty decent i think, my cousin's recipe. Thank you Kak Teh for the recipe, I don't know and don't have "tepung attar"... what is it anyways??...

My friend lin went to JB and hanged out at this place where there's a famous Mee Rebus stall... propelling me to make my own because I missed it so much. She made me miss home too... bad lin!!!...

And the last day of fasting, I was inspired to make Soto. My mom always make Soto on the 2nd day of Eid. Although mine was much less in the degree of taste and is not complete. I was short of spices & other ingredients making it more of chicken soup and less of Soto. Nonetheless, my guests and my husband ate with no complains.

We snapped some pictures... they are primarily of Adam. I kept saying "aunty win tak tahan tengok adam!!!"... he is adorable with those cheeks and dimples and trying to outsmart the camera flash by squinting... over and over again.







They left for Peoria Sunday night and unfortunately had an accident. Anis called me close to midnight asking me to find the number for Honda roadside assistance. I asked if their car broke down, then Anis gave me quite a shock. She told me THEY HIT A DEER!!!

I didn't think I panicked but guess i did. I went straight to wake chot up and made him literally jumped up in bed. He asked me the details... but was a bit "kelam- kabut" and said i don't know shit, didn't ask Anis anything.

I got the full story from Anis yesterday. I wanted to call her and ask how things were but 1) i didn't want to bother... it being Eid and her having to make arrangements for the car, and 2) i was so groggy from all the drugs i took.

Anis reported that they were fine. No one was hurt (even the deer continued it's journey into the forest). Anis said the dear was big, it's back was higher than front of their Honda Element... Now, that's huge... no wonder their front hood was literally smacked open and still the deer was able to walk away... disappearing into the night.

Most importantly, and thank to Allah, no one was hurt... just the Element Anis bought brand new. Owch...

(Hehheh, Anis said the policeman told them it's the deer's mating season... damn horny deers : O... )

SELAMAT HARI RAYA

Selamat Hari Raya, minta maaf mana yang silap.

Raya kat tempat orang tak sedap langsung. Setakat nie, takde rasa nak beraya, malap & mendung macam cuaca kat luar.

Adik win pernah hantar kaset raya, masih dalam sampul plastiknye. Takut nak pasang sebab nanti sedih.

Nanti cerita2 lagi... bila duduk lama2 dalam bilik computer nie, jari2 jadi biru. Cuaca dah sejuk, dah turun salji dah pun sekali. Rumah tua nie banyak masalahnye, banyak lubang dan segala macam kekurangan. Harga gas makin lama makin tinggi, naik cepat, turun lambat.

So, Selamat Hari Raya, bawak kereta baik2, biar bawak lambat tapi selamat sampai destinasi. Dan jauhkan kereta anda dari pemandu2 gila. Jangan main mercun, meriam buluh, meriam bola, paip, tin & seangkatan dengannye. Jangan jual mercun, nanti polis tangkap.

good morning!

there must be a rule somewhere, not letting me put up new pictures in older posts. i wanted to put these pictures... one, of Harris' uniquely angled almond shaped eyes & a picture of my dad in my post about him.

i CAN however post the pics in a new entry & that's what i will do.


the picture of my dad was taken on my sister yohaniz's wedding Dec, 2005. chot & i haven't seen our family for ages and rarely get pictures from home. so on the times that we do, we're always taken aback at images of our aging folks.

but it's funny though... coz even with these pictures of our gray haired moms & dads, the images that's forever planted in our minds are of a younger them, those times when we were still living in malaysia, when we spend time with them the most.
++++

i want to tell a story about my dad and his thick moustache.

chot is a pretty chatty person u see, very friendly, very social. so when he was to meet my dad for the first time, i was confident he will be able to strike a conversation, win my dad's heart... that sort of thing.

but to my surprise, chot went dead quiet. the initial hello... yes, but then he just sat there... silent. with occasional awkward grins, he was like a timid little mouse.

he later told me of that first encounter. of my dad and his thick moustache. coupled with the fact of him being a seasoned policeman made chot very2 uneasy... and a little afraid. my dad is also not a talker... doesn't help... pity chot.

in actuality, abah is quite a nice man.

masin mulut ku

baru jek cakap... walaupun kita pemandu yang bagus, tapi kadang2 ada la pulak orang b.o.d.o.h kasi kita susah.

abah win seorang pemandu yang bagus. selama hidup dia cuma sekali dia silap & terlanggar budak sekolah yang tengah lintas jalan. budak tu ok sebab abah sempat elak sebanyak yang mungkin. tapi rasanye dia trauma sampai sekarang. 2 kali yang lain, orang lain salah.

semalam, abah win tengah elok2 duduk dalam kereta kat tempat letak kereta surau. sementara tunggu mak habis tadarus, dia baring sat. datang lori tong gas langgar kereta kancil yang baru umurnye 10 bulan. abah win alhamdulillah selamat, alhamdulillah!!! syukurnye kepada Allah. cuma luka kat ibu jari kaki terkena kaca. abah tak terkejut & terkedu dari cerita mak, alhamdulillah sebab jantung dia tu dah tak kuat.

yang buat darah win menggelegak sangat2, orang yang bawak lori tu TAKDE LESEN.

mak cerita kat win man-man & ada lawak jenaka. taknak win melenting atau terkejut (rasanye la). iye la kut, dah win kata SAMAN, SAMAN, SAMAN. dia kata tuan punya lori tu baik orangnye. dia takde kat kedai & cuma tinggal isteri dia yang kecik molek. pekerja dia yang besar bagak degil & tak reti ikut kata. dia dah suruh hantar tong gas pakai motor tapi dia pi bawak lori.

tuan punya tu kata jugak yang ada baiknye si pekerja dia tu terlanggar kereta abah sebab dia memang tengah nak cari cikgu mengaji untuk isteri & anak2 dia (mak win ajar mengaji). eemmm... tadi masa mak cerita bab yang nie, tak bunyi aneh, tapi sekarang bila win cerita balik... sungguh "twisted"... abah win tak perlu kena langgar untuk orang tu jumpa cikgu mengaji... tapi nak sedapkan cerita & kasi kesudahan yang bermakna, boleh la...

takde buat aduan polis & mak kata dah selesai. kereta akan dihantar ke kedai & orang tu bayar semua... mak kata yang paling penting, abah ok. pasal kereta rosak atau kecuaian orang lain tu no.2... baiknye la mak abah ku.

++++

nie bukan kali pertama abah susah sebab kecuaian orang lain. sebelum episod yang nie, abah kena langgar jugak. pemuda cina mabuk, datang dari arah bertentangan masuk lorong abah... "head on collision". kereta adik win remuk habis, lemah lutut semua orang bila tengok keadaan kereta & membayangkan abah ada dalam kereta tu. tapi alhamdulillah abah takde apa2 cuma lebam2 & luka sikit.

mak cerita dia buat berlawak kat orang2 kat rumah. dia kata "abah terror la, dua kali accident tapi takde apa2... kebal...". tapi adik2 win tak gelak, tanya mak tak sayang abah ke? & suruh mak jangan kata macam tu.

dia cerita dia berlawak ngan abah & abah kata "kot kali ke 3 baru... dot... dot... dot...". mak cepat2 tarik balik & kata dia main2 jek. rasanye dia cuba nak ceriakan keadaan.

dan... takde kena mengena dengan masin mulut win, dah benda nak jadik. Tapi win berdoa yang Allah berikan abah perlindungan dari semua keburukan, juga untuk semua ahli keluarga win... dan juga untuk win & chot, perkenankanlah doa ku ya Allah, amin.

just call me lazy

i've been neglecting my blog... and replying emails... and most of my official housewife duties... so, what else is new huh?? : )...

some stories to tell today. spoiled my dream of a full month of fasting, not by choice of course. that's right folks, finally got my period after close to 10 months.

reporting (1) it is much2 less in the degree of pain, only needed minimal amount of pain medication. i am praying for bearable future episodes, if possible forever.

(2) lingering pain on my left side (the side with those 2 good sized cysts). it's 8 days since menses started but it's ok though, compare to the endo "rolling on the floor crying" period pain, i'll take this pain any day of the week.

(3) next will be the week long peeing on a stick to detect ovulation. of the many2 times i did this previously, maybe only 2 or 3 times did the stick said "yes"... i assumed i did the test wrong coz it is highly likely. but later realized, i may not be ovulating... reallyyyy... how hard is it to pee on a stick!!!...

to those who are grossed out reading the above, sorry ok...

soooo... i have so far only managed one day of fasting... "one", "1", "se", "satu"... "uno"... before my period started again, and wonder... will i be breaking last year's record...

moving on, did some painting in the kitchen and got paint on my hair. was quite tired and easily lost patience trying to remove it bit by bit. so naturally, i took out a pair of scissors and snip, snip, snip them away. my new Raya hair, with one side longer then the other... like i care.

and since i am on the subject of hair, would like to report, chot got his first ever grey hair. a momentous event, befitting a picture taking session.

and not so great news. our friend audra got into an accident a couple of weeks back. she totaled her car and broke a leg and an arm at 3 places. is now resting at home and missing her fasting just like me. but really, on a serious note people, take every precaution in driving as to always reach your destination in one piece. but u know, sometimes as careful of a driver u are, there are those menace coming out of nowhere.

Ika at the hospital... she's so smart and funny. i was demonstrating to her how she should take a forceful bite out of the plum. she mimicked me... really, i don't think i made that forceful of an expression : D...

and Harris's first birthday party will be this weekend. Mus reported yesterday that the boy has gotten his "L" walking license. i love his eyes... have a close up pic of them somewhere, will show it later (bila la tu ekk??). i will make "pulut serimuka" to try out a tip i got off a friend's website and maybe scrapping the "kek lapis asam manis" for "roti inti kaya"... made some a few days back and loved them for turning out good.

most favorite picture from the camping. i think it makes me look like i have purfick skin : )...

got to go now... have the new Ikea catalog to study ; )... muaahahaha

ramblings & camping pictures.

it's 6 am in the morning. i couldn't sleep after we woke up for subuh and somehow chot did not going back to sleep also. we'll see how long he can last today.

i've been replacing my fast these last 3 days... 2 more to go. i missed a (record) total of 15 days last ramadhan. due to the unbearable & lingering period pain from the endometriosis and me having to constantly swallow down pain medication.

this ramadhan... i dunno. i'm done with lupron end of June and am still waiting for my period. it should be coming soon... i think. if not, it would be nice to have a whole full month of fasting. ehek ehek, little old me have NEVER had a "rompong" free ramadhan yet.

i'm reporting, some of the plants we put in and transfered, posted here are DEAD. i swear i watered them without fail ; )... so today, we'll access the damage, discard, move & plant stuff.

also reporting, camping and whitewater rafting was a success!!!... Here's where we stayed and played. had a lot of fun and enjoyed each other's company. i forgot to pack snow caps and thus, us not getting a comfortable night's sleep, worst for chot as he has no hair.

am still waiting for friends to share pics from their cameras. especially teng coz he was there to snap pics of us at the end of the rafting excursion in our funyaks, helmets, paddles and such. it was a loonnngg 3 hours of paddling the close to 5 miles length whitewater adventure. and what an adventure it was!!!

see it didn't rained resulting in a low water level, resulting in us getting stuck on A LOT of rocks. was quite a trip, we were all tired, and sore, and cold and hungry. but it was fun, somewhat fun... at least i didn't fell into the water... did i tell u guys i can't swim??

pictures from our camera are uploaded. Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3...

Hasil pokok buah2an

dah lama jugak simpan gambar2 nie, ambik dari masa buah2 semua kecik sampai la masa masak. dah tengah layan diri sebab tengah ganti puasa nie, sibukkan diri meng"post" gambar2 yang ada.

nak cerita pasal pokok2 buah kat belakang rumah. pokok ceri dan buah2nye. masam yang amat dan kelat lidah bila makan!!! selain burung2 kerjakan, kitaorg kasi jiran belakang rumah ambik buat pie ceri. chot tak suka ceri jadik win tak la cuba bagaikan jadik hidangan petang.





nie buah "plum"... pertama kali kitaorg jumpa jadik kitaorg jakun sikit (ok, jakun banyak!!). sebab tak tau, mula2 win agak nie buah "pear" tapi tak lama kemudian, buah2 nie tukar warna. sedap jugak, manis... petang karang nak pi petik...





buah epal. dari kecik sampai besar. masam jadik win guna dalam masakan. cuba buat inti pie / tart... ok la sedap (ye lah, dah campur gula & jem... mana tak jadik sedap dok??) bila buah dah cukup besar, kulitnye menggerutu sikit. sila tengok reaksi muka chot petik buah tak cun : )

Last of the Tiles

we've been tiling our kitchen backsplash since forever it seems... took us a very very long time. so last weekend when chot came to the last piece of tile, i was standing by to snap up pics of the momentous event.

it was painstaking for him because he had to cut a section of it out and this made the tile very fragile. so fragile in fact it broke twice...

but in the end he was victorious... : )

i know we're not finished yet, we have the grouting to do (when is that going to be, i can't say) but this is the kitchen so far...

dent + car

the story behind this...

chot went to pick up the car from the shop. it was send in for fuel flush of sorts and change some belt thing and (the only thing i've been complaining about)... the squealing noise the car's been making.

he came home and began telling that the car was still making the noise, so he took it to another place. and at this place, our car acquired a dent. the guy that worked there accidentally rammed our car into a chevy aveo...

he was realllyy sorry about it (by right he should!!) and they will fix it for free (by right they should!!)... : )

Merdeka

Esok 31 Ogos, hari merdeka...

hari merdeka pada keluarga win ada maksud baru sebab arwah mak tok, ibu mak win tenat & meninggal sehari sebelum hari merdeka 2001. tok seorang yang sangat "considerate"... dalam nak pergi pun dia pergi dekat dengan hari cuti jadik anak2 dan cucu2 senang nak balik kampung.

dulu bila orang kata dia ada ayah, ibu, anak... tok yang PALING dot dot dot, win tengok sinis kat diaorg. macamana diaorang tau diaorang punya tu yang PALING dot dot!!...diaorang tak boleh pakai perkataan PALING.

tapi win paham, tu semua subjektif... sebab kita sayang dan hargai seseorang tu. dan utk win, tok PALING "best", arwah mak tok... yang PALING baik, PALING bersabar, PALING penyayang... rindu kan tok dan doa cucu nie sentiasa utk tok.

berjalan lagi

asyik-asyik pi jalan, asyik-asyik pi jalan.

hujung minggu nie kat US cuti hari buruh. cuti hujung minggu jadik panjang satu hari sebab hari buruh hari isnin. perancangan asalnye ada kawan2 nak datang melawat kami kat kampung waterloo nie, tapi masa kami di Peoria 2 minggu lepas rancangan berkhemah dan "whitewater rafting" timbul.

mula2 win tegas kata tak... mana boleh orang nak datang melawat dan win dah ajak datang pas tu kita suruh tak datang. chot pun cakap yang sama tapi lepas pikir dan pikir dan pikir, win sedar yang sekarang kitaorang masih senang nak berjalan... mana la tau tahun depan, mungkin tak boleh.

jadik win cerita kat chot apa yang win pikir, dia pun dengan pantasnye kata dia dah lama pikir macam tu... bila lagi kalau bukan sekarang. tahun depan kita tak tau apa yang bakal jadik, pas tu kawan2 yang lain kut tak se "free"... nanti menyesal. RUPA- RUPANYE DIA MEMANG NAK PERGI, DIA KATA DIA TAK MAU PI SEBAB WIN "INSISTED" KITA DUDUK WATERLOO UTK TERIMA TETAMU. chot nie ada kebolehan goreng baik punye.

jadik jumaat nie kami akan ke Peshtigo, Wisconsin utk aktiviti camping dan main air... chot sukaaaaaa air. dan lepas dapat tarik kawan2 yang win terpaksa batalkan "plan" diaorang ke sini utk ke sana, rasa tak la bersalah lagi.

berjalan lagi...

when i was small

a friend of mine emailed me these pictures. it's quite funny...

when i was small...

i break rocks with my head
ride my bike down the street and challenge the police

Kansas City Aqiqah Pictures

ameer's aqiqah went well. although he was very fussy on the days leading up to the event, like a good boy he behaved himself as he was passed around.

emmy's parents came to help her adjust to motherhood and were there cooking up a storm. makcik is really friendly and outgoing but pakcik is a bit on the quiet side. they reminded me of my own parents : )... my mom could really talk up a storm and my dad could really end conversations.

here are pictures of our Kansas City trip. Click here.

uh u guys??? is the sheep smirking??...

"bheeekkkk" the sheep said. "this is my fate... my dear mother warned me of this possibility and it's actually happening". and in his final moment as the knife sliced into his flesh he smirked, forever freezing the expression on his face.

Rocky Mountain Pictures

hike up pictures click here.

camping pictures click here.

hike down pictures click here. put mouse over picture in slideshow mode to see caption.

the hike up was damn tiring. chot & i never felf this tired in our whole life and swore we'd never do it again. then we reached the camp site and got a little rest, we felt a bit better and swore we'd only go again if it'd be a shorter hike or a day hike. and now after close to 2 months since... noooOPE, never again... not this trail. but ask me again in 6 months : )

wednesday

we got back into town later than we usually do, close to midnight!!! usually we'll make our move earlier so we don't end up driving in the dark. quite a challenge to stay awake when it's pitch black all around. plus cars with headlight are very annoying.

it's already wednesday huh??... how time flies... chot wanted to mow the lawn yesterday but since he's still tiling the kitchen backsplash i said i'd do it. BUT went to bed late last night and proceeded to wake up at 11 am. it's too hot outside to do it now. i reckon chot will do it after he comes home from work... that is after he cut the 2 last tiles to size.

ahhh... the life of a slacker housewife with a too good of a husband who doesn't demand. cik win slacker slack slack!!! feels crummy when i answer chot's "what did u do today?" question with a very short2 list... usually i don't even try to think of the stuff i did, i'd just say i did nothing.

NOW, i need to address a little issue that arose from my last post. i have to say i've made my friend bee (we stayed at her place last weekend) feel bad for not preparing meals for guests. and ellie meticulously planned out our expenditure if we'd visit her in Omaha... just pay gas and the rest is on her.

u guys and future friends we'll stay with in the future, this is for u guys... don't worry about it. i'm neurotic nowadays where money is concerned but the worry isn't warranted really. the reality is we are in a bit of a squeeze but not to the point of sorrow. it would be nice when we can get the nilai house sold and when my medical bills is paid off but we're managing fine. and when we come to visit, any meal option is fine and we definately do not want our meals paid for... no... no... no...

moving on... i'm still uploading pics of rocky mountain. and tons of other pics too, so a bit of a wait until that gets done. nonetheless, i'd like to end this post with the latest picture of adam and me... us and our squarer faces : )

salam hello

i'm thinking in english today, no... not because i sound stupid conversing in malay or prefer english over my mother tongue. i value my bahasa melayu and i think i'm fairly good in my grasp of both languages (ehm... ehm... BM SPM A1 i kid u not). and bahasa melayu is the language i'll teach my kids if ever i'll have any because they'll pick up english when they walk out the front door.

i think i'll try to write in english AND malay but not both at the same time. and today i feel english : )...

i've been so very quiet, at first i didn't think anything of it but then friends started calling and asking if i was well. since they didn't see any activity on my blog, they wondered. and a few days ago, my old buddy bai emailed me from malaysia... an alarmed sounding emailed asking if i was doing OK, if anything bad had happen because another old friend in Omaha (yes u kak ellie) asked her to call up my in-laws in gombak. now why didn't ellie just called or emailed me herself??... why because i was being a bad friend of course... my laziness overtaking my life. i was lazy pysically and mentally... lazy... lazy... lazy...

so that's it, i'm ok, we're ok... just plain old lazy...

anywhoooo... i'm writing today and i have a few more hours before chot gets home and off we will go to Peoria, the closest thing we have to a kampung here. Peoria is where chot went to college and where all of his friends and later they became my friends live. we enjoyed seeing and spending time with them and now with a lot of little ones there, we loved it even more.

but (there's always a "but" right??)... i am wrestling with myself inside to not worry too much about all the trips we make and all the expenses we incur from it. that's all i seemed to be about nowadays, worrying about money and afraid of being short. more now since we've started payments on our nilai house... and that's on top of everything else. i pity chot really, when i've become a bit of a dictator of "yes" or "no"...

the dictator said "no more trips after KC, not until december"... but really, do we really want to spend another weekend in this town with nothing to do. i mean, with nothing we like to do.

and the dictator said "we'll go to Peoria but only if u finish tiling the kitchen backsplash"... but on the last evening he had to work on it, he ran out of tiles!!!. how convenient really... a good excuse because we didn't see how he can finish the work in time.

but we're going to Peoria regardless because (1) our minds are already there, looking forward to the trip (2) i was the one who made the boo boo because i was the one who counted the amount of tiles needed and then coming up short... heh heh...

so, a fine dictator i am huh??... seems like nothing i say sticks... and i'll start worrying about our expenses when i come back ; )...

tried uploading some pictures but something isn't working somewhere... later then. oh my gosh, chot's on his way home and i haven't pack... or shower... or edit this post...

Kansas City

esok lepas kerja kitaorg akan ke KC. KC dalam 5 1/2 jam dari waterloo sebab kawan kat sana nak buat aqiqah hari sabtu.

kenapa pi awal sangat?? sebab diaorg nak sembelih kambing sendiri dan mintak tolong chot lapah kambing. sebab tempat nak sembelih kambing tu tutup hari khamis, dan aqiqahnye hari sabtu, nak sembelih hari jumaat lambat sangat... dah nak sembelih, nak lapah... nak masak... jadiknye rabu pagi.

rabu pagi beberapa ekor kambing akan hilang nyawa mereka...

cerita pasal sembelih2 binatang nie, teringat kat arwah tok win. win ingat win jadik tukang pegang ayam dan tok tamat nyawa ayam2 tu. paling ingat ayam2 tu mengelupar & melompat keliling laman pada saat2 terakhirnya... innallillah... ; ) nanti win ambik gambar...

perkembangan terkini

semalam nak post gambar2 nie, tapi blogger.com tersangkut2, lembap yang amat. nak taruk gambar perkembangan kat depan.

dah janji tak nak beli pokok, tapi beli jugakkk... dah seminggu pokok2 tu duduk dalam pasu tapi hari nie baru la win tanam. tu pun tinggal 3 pasu lagi, tak tahan dah, panasssss... penat pun iye. dari minggu lepas asyik penat ajek... nie semua sebab lupron : )...

DAN... rambut baru : D...

kepenatan & kepanasan

semalam jadik super(??) surirumah. berhempas-pulas buat kerja kat taman dari pukul 10 pagi sampai la ke pukul 2 ptg. basuh & sidai baju, masak daging panggang utk makan malam & kalau tu semua tak cukup, sempat selit buat kuih apam beras.

tidur lambat tengok tv. bangun pulak awal, cadangannye nak buat kerja taman lagi sebelum hujan tapi duduk kat sofa lepas tu tertidur. sedar2 dah pukul 2!!!... kita ingat kita handal, tapi badan tak handal.

dan jugak semalam, jadik tukang gunting rambut... bukan potong rambut chot tapi rambut sendiri!!! panas dan rimas & rambut jadik mangsa... tak membantu pun melegakan kepanasan, mungkin cuma menyenangkan kerja bila nak basuh.

nanti kalau rajin win tunguk imej baru. chot dah panggil solat lepas tu ke taman buat kerja... masuk jugak taman hari nie gamaknye. macam kena kerah kerja macam buruh mexico... warna kulit sama dah!!!...

Apa??

win jumpa gambar nie kat surat khabar Berita Harian Online. kelakar sangat... kelinik apa ni sebenarnye?? cuba teka... ehm ehm, ada clue (apa clue dalam BM??) kat banner (BM??) bawah iklan tu.

rasanye ura2 nak kenakan denda salah guna bahasa untuk kes2 macam nie. nie bukan salah guna bahasa... nie tak tahu bahasa!!!...

kesimpulannye, bahasa kena digunakan kalau tak hilang... kena selalu guna, baru la handal : D

nie yang win tengah buat.

ok sikit dok bm win hari nie???... bunyi dia tulin macam bm cakap hari2... dok???

BAHASA JIWA BANGSA

eh... orang kat dalam gambar tu, dia korek idung ke??...

keras bekerja

hujung minggu lepas, kitaorg kerjakan semak dekat sebelah depan (tak sudah lagi...). tahun lepas tak la nampak teruk sangat tapi tahun nie dah naik macam hutan. pas tu malu dan kesian kat jiran sebelah. bila diaorg bersantai kat deck (apa aaa dalam BM??) diaorg kena tengok semak samun. jadiknye kitaorg membuat la kerja2 mencabut, mengorek dan membuang.

dalam semak tu jumpa la pulak bunga lily nie. lawa kan??... kalau tak kemas, tak tau kewujudan nye. harum semerbak ruang tamu win.

jumpa jugak hostas dalam semak tu. kitaorg tanam balik kat sekeliling pokok2. tahun lepas kitaorg buang banyak pokok nie. win tak suka, tapikan sebenarnye, tak la buruk mana hostas2 nie. dulu win kata win tak suka, tahun nie tak la pokok kesukaan... cuma sayang nak pi buang2 macam tu jek... pokok tak lawa pun nak hidup jugak : )...

eeerrrr... alamak, dah buat diri sendiri rasa bersalah la. sebab banyak pokok tak lawa jenis2 lain dah selamat masuk tong.

tapi, banyak jugak yang kitaorg gali dan selamatkan. macam bawang2 daffodills dan bawang2 musim bunga yang lain. banyak sangat!!!!... hmmm... ada la satu baldi penuh. rasa macam mencari harta karun. akan di tanam semula dan mudah2an hidup.

TAPI yang sebenarnye pi tulis blog hari nie, nak tunjuk gambar nie. kat batang pokok ada terpaut kulit serangga sebesar ibu jari. dia membesar, salin kulit pas tu yang tinggal kat pokok kitaorg, benda alien nie... masyaallah ciptaan Allah... win jadik jakun, chot ketawakan.

sori ekkk... nak cuba tulis guna bahasa melayu. ada ayat yang bunyi rasmi, ada yang pasar. payah jugak tapi boleh la dok?? : D...

hhmmmm... bukan ke ada ura2 kat malaysia nak di kenakan denda kat sapa2 yang tak guna BM dgn betul??... siapa la pandai sangat kasi cadangan tu??...siapa yang cakap macam P. Ramlee cakap sekarang nie???

tergendala

there's more on the Rocky Mountain trip but i have to post later- later.ter rajin (i mean behind on) doing housework : )...

Rocky Trip - Estes Park

the only picture we took in Estes park is of Adam as we were walking off a big lunch. Estes Park is at a lower elevation than Grand Lake about 7000 plus. but it's a bigger town with more tourist trap type stores.

when jept and anis were here last, they found this Nepal restaurant. i guess since nepal is in between india and china, their food reflects their neighboring countries. this restaurant is basically an indian restaurant but they do have some dumplings in their menu. i think there are aunthentic nepal dishes out there but either the owner wanted to cater to the masses or them themselves came from a town closer to the indian side... i dunno... but the food was sure good. we decided to go there again after turun gunung.

we did some laundry at the motel... in between trips to the laundry room, chot came into the room and grabbed the camera. "ada moose kat seberang jalan la" he said... so being jakun osso, i slipped on my footwear and ran after him. we saw moose... click here for pics. there are the female kind, so takde with big horns (do i still call them horns??)... or is it that the horns fell off in the off season?? (i mean non-mating season... do they sprout and lose horns ever??... i totally don't know...)

later in the evening, we proceded to stuff our bags with clothes, camping gear and food.