Pootz In Boots

Mine is a life worth living and if I could turn back the clock, I would play the same scene at the same speed with the same players... regrets? Of course I have some but that adds the colours to this life..

My Photo
Name:
Location: KL, Malaysia

Female (quite obvious, right?), married (for 17 years), have 4 kids - 2 boys aged 16 & 4, the latter we said goodbye to 8 minutes after birth and 2 girls aged 9 & 7. Clocked 18 years of working at the same establishment, into the 19th year (and then I am considered a museum artifact). Working line is doing stuff involving the laws, legal documents and playing with words.

Tuesday 29 September 2009

Eid ul Fitri 1430


It was fun, simple and colourful but exhausting!!
We chose maroon this year for the family... I have ironed all clothes a few days before returning to Klang, so there was no chaos over the ironing board. I think we all look nice in that colour scheme.
SELAMAT HARI RAYA! EID MUBARAK EVERYONE!!

Eid ul Fitri 1430 - The days before

It was fun but exhausting....
I took the day off from 18th Sept as Bibik is leaving on that day via a delayed flight at 1420hrs. The rest of the day was spent adjusting to look after the 2 little ones. I packed Bibik some pulut palas and serunding, muffins and cookies for her breakfasting and journey home. Traffic jam must be very bad! Bibik did as much as she could for the house before getting ready to go.
The next day was a non-working day (not exactly a company leave) and I spent half of it packing. For all of us for the first day in Klang, for hubby and Haakem for 3 days in Kelantan and for me and the girls for another day in Klang, the cooked food, the raw food for me to cook, food (cookies, muffins, pulut palas and serunding) for Kelantan, babies milk and food..... argh!!!! We plan to leave after Zohor but I was still in my worn out kaftan at 2pm. It took me another 1.5 hours to settle everything and at 3.45pm, we were off to Klang. Missed the exit to KESAS, twice, and took the Federal Highway instead. Arriving at my mom's at 5.25pm and it was raining heavily. My elder sister's family was already there.
My eldest sister Puti was in KL fetching my younger sister Angel from work and eventually missed the last iftar together, only arriving home at 1.30am much to my mom's disappointment. My brother, Adli's family was with us. We had the usual spread - nasi himpit (pressed rice), lodeh (mixed fresh, fermented & dried vegetables cooked in coconut gravy), sambal kacang with sotong (spicy peanut sauce with dried squids), rendang daging (dry beef curry), ayam goreng rempah (spicy fried chicken), paru goreng (fried cow's lung), pulut palas (glutinous rice cooked in coconut crean, stuffed in palm leaves and steamed to perfection) and serunding ikan (sweet and spicy fish floss).
After Maghrib prayer I put Zara to sleep and to the care of my sister Kak Aja. I joined the Isya' prayer led by my husband and then we recited the Takbeer.....
Stop Press! Zara refuse everyone except me and Mak Yah!!!
Errr... she fell off the bed and her forehead was swollen!! Huge!! But we placed wrapped ice cubes on the swelling part and thank God it wasd reduced almost to nothing except a hint of yellowish bruise by morning.

Tuesday 15 September 2009

Blog Goblog!!

Somebody blew the whistle a few days ago.... about an office mate's personal blog and louder whistles were blown!!! ARGH!! This is so stupid. I just cannot understand why somebody has to stoop so low to score points. And it was such an innocent blog. Well, unless you are "gulity" you wouldn't feel a thing if you read the blog.
And the stories behind it just want to make me puke. Now, almost everyone who has internet access in the company is reading the blog, which used to be accessed to by only a few people in the office.
Thank you "Daddy" for clarifying things with us. I just pray that the guilty people get paid, in cash, for their wrongdoing. This is wrong!! Totally wrong!

Friday 11 September 2009

Ramadhan... then and now


I remember my first fasting during Ramadhan way back in 1976 when I was only 5 years old (turning 6 at the end of the year). I had to stop halfway for the first 2 days. The first day I broke my fast at 12.00 noon with a piece of kuih bengkang pisang (densed banana cake) and the second day at 10.00am with a glass of milk. I also stopped from attending my kindergarden class. The rest of the fasting month went by without any incident. In 1977 I fasted the whole one month. 1978 was also fine but in 1979 I missed 3 days. 1980 was fine and so was 1981. In 1982 I started missing a few days of fasting and had started to replace them too!! Argh!!

I remember that I always dreaded Ramadhan during my teens and twenties, well except when I was in UK for the days were very short. In 1992-1996, we generally only had to fast from 7.30am to 4.00pm and that was a breeze!! I took the chance to replace all my missed days during those winter seasons too!!

When I came back to Malaysia and started working and leaving on my own (with my younger sister), Ramadhan was more meaningful as we used the time on reading the Holy Qur'an and night prayers. I count my blessings for those days, especially the year Abah passed away, a few days before Ramadhan.

But now, as a wife and a mother (and an employee), Ramadhan goes by very swiftly..... Haakem is an angel, he started fasting even earlier than I did, at the age of 4 and completed a full month on his first attempt. We never have any problem with him whining or complaining of hunger, thirst or anything of the sort, oh well, except that he sleeps alot during the day and last year he missed one day of fasting because Millie's Ribena and fried chicken was too tempting. For the past years he would only drink some water for sahur but this year he wakes up every morning at 5.15am for his proper meal.

As for me, I would usually make sure all the baju rayas, shoes etc are in place a few weeks before Ramadhan so that I can spend the fasting months doing more beneficial things, spiritually. Except for the cakes, cookies and crisps for Eid, the rest are done.
At the workfront, we were quite busy for the first 2 weeks but things are slowing down. Everyone is in Raya mood (except for a few who always think that they are busiest - I always put that to lack of organisation). I put up festive lights in my room, which I share with a colleague and brought some festive lights and old money packets from last years for my other colleagues to decorate our little office. I have completed writing all the greeting cards, ready for posting before end of the week.

I would try my best to be home before iftar time. I dislike breakfasting at hotels and for the past few years I manage to keep it to maximum of 2 trips the whole month. I just cannot swallow the fact that the price of my food for that particular day is enough to feed a family of 6 for a week. That always makes me sick. I would go to those costing less than RM40 and only if the event is not pretentious.

This year I have only missed 3 days of breakfasting at home while one was spent outside (Satay Station) with hubby and the kids. I would try to do whatever I can during the nights, in between attending to the little ones. I pray for a chance to encounter laylatulqadr, insya Allah.....

And with only 9 days more...... I pray too that all of my loved ones will experience another Ramadhan..... ameen...

Tuesday 8 September 2009

My Two Princesses




The top pic is Zara and the bottom is Millie!!

Zara's Latest Pix
















She fell down from her bed a few weeks back and her plump cheek was bruised. It's okay now and she's ever a happy baby.





Papa and the Kids




Hubby was home over the weekend, to celebrate Millie's bday and we had quite a busy weekend too.


Iftar With My Best Buddies (Minus A Few)





































We decided to meet up for Iftar and the location chosen was Satay Station. Great atmosphere, great food, great company. Too bad my old friends Naj, Kelar, Moon, Syir weren't around. But we still had fun!


Friday 4 September 2009

Millie's Three Today




Millie aka Kakak aka Kamaiyah aka Jengkit aka Megatrone whose real name is Puti Kamaliah Zulaikha Binti Azman is three (3) years old today.
I can still remember vividly my check-ups, my hospital admission, my stay at Klang GH, my labour, her birth..... her face and her scream when the midwife place her on my tummy after she burst out of the womb......
My darling angel is a big sister now.....
May ALLAH grant her the best in life and may she become a solehah.