We waited so long for Fai to finally come home. He was supposed to come home end March for Faiz birthday, but Faris had the pox, he delayed it for 2 weeks later in which me and Faiz both had the pox.. so he finally came home on Friday evening .. it was supposed to be an early flight at 8pm but he called saying the flight still hadn't taken off... Finally he arrived at 10.30pm ..

We went to Bedok to have tea and supper.. my MIL, FIL, SIL, BIL and niece & nephew came along as well. They haven't seen Fai since CNY in Feb! I had to work on Saturday so not much time were spent together! By the time i got home, half the day was gone... Fai was sweet enough to fetch me at AMK with the kids.. Cik Nani wanted this Indo movie called Ayat Ayat Cinta so Fai managed to buy but we didn't even have the time watch it! We didn't even have time to play a game of Scrabble! By the time we got home from the flyer i was so knocked out from waking early i totally snored! Faiz had fever so he woke up like every two hours crankily.

Sunday morning was spent with MIL & FIL over breakfast at jurong.. nothing spectacular.. wanted the Nasi Ambeng at Bt Batok but the queue would be a killer! So we went to Makan Shiok instead.

How time flies, next thing we knew Fai was packing up to leave for the airport... it was a sad goodbye.. my heart breaks every single time he leaves... then again as the saying goes, absence makes the heart grows fonder....

SINGAPORE FLYER EXPERIENCE

FOR PICTURES ON OUR SINGAPORE FLYER EXPERIENCE PLEASE GO TO

www.isnarny.multiply.com

My New Hairdo

It takes a lot of guts to do what i did......... i finally cut my hair after 16 years.. not trim trim but actually chopping the whole lot off.. I was scared out of my mind initially.. but I had no choice... there was no way I'm gonna keep 'bunning' my hair every day to work! I was so sick of it! The 'wave spa' that I did in Jakarta absolutely ruined my silky straight hair... Jazz (my hairdresser) said that half of my hair is damaged and if i do not chop it off now, the rest of it will get damaged too...

So that's me at the salon...

Front & back view of my new-do..




I think i look fresh... I'm kinda glad I did it... i got the thumbs up from my colleagues... I MMSed Yati & Choo immediately after and they both said Faisal might really like the new me..

Actually that was what triggered the whole thing.. me talking to Fai about how damaged my hair is and told him I was contemplating on cutting and he sounded so excited! He said he's never seen me in anything but my long straight hair ever since he got to know me when I was 21!! Gosh thats like ages ago and I realize I feel so dull and boring! I mean marriage is hard work as it is.. seeing the same person looking THAT way for 9 years must be hard to swallow too!!!

So this 'sacrificial' cut is dedicated to husband....... hopefully you feel like you're loving a new woman! :-)

Back to reality

We went to JB yesterday for lunch & Faris had his first lesson in pumping petrol! wooo hooo

(secretly I think he loves the smell of petrol because he always gives some excuse to get out of the car when we're at the station!) Something stupidly hillarious happened on the drive back.. my tummy was a bit unwell... maybe its the chemistry between sambal tumis, Berocca tables & the flu & cough Meds but I could feel my tummy rumbling... I thought " ah well.. its only 15 mins thru the customs".. right at the Singapore customs I knew I couldn't take it anymore... my bulu roma was standing upright and I was trying to concentrate not to let it go right there and there! Faris had the cheek to blurt out.. "Mommy... WHAT'S THAT SMELL!!!" I quickly rolled down the window... heheheh 

The JB car in front of me was taking ages!! One woman in the car and yet taking so long...why must this happen to me!!!!! okay okay... maybe i was in so much urgency that it felt like ages...(in my head kept singing that stupid song when we're kids... about pusing pusat, terpusing taik aku to distract my obvious discomfort!)

When it was my turn, I couldn't help but tell the Customs officer that I urgently needed to use the restroom (luckily it was a very gentle looking middle aged lady -  who prolly could understand the meaning of bowel incompetency) ahahah

She said "Ok OK I'll be quick!" Gave me the directions to the loo...Bless her soul!!

After i drove off i couldn't find the lane towards the loo (well obviously they were not going to put up a big 'TO TOILET' sign for people like me but I drove right into the RED LANE - THE TO DECLARE LANE.. at that point I didn't care if they want to do a 100% check on the car! All I want was the loo! The police or ICA guy allowed me in and needless to say the rest was history.....

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After being in my jammies daily for the past 14 days, now its back to reality and get my ass back to work... sob sob sob..

The thing I miss most (definately not the fever or the pox!) is spending time with the boys... playing Monopoly, PS2 and even hide & seek...... 

There was a lot to clear at work! My tables doesn't look the same as I left it (wide -eyed)! Having 2 guys covering me while I was gone definately had its destructions!

Lunch was late though.. I dunno why customers always walk in the moment I decided to step out for lunch?? Every damn day!! uurrgghh

Decided on Ban Mian at Banquet with loads of chilli padi at the side.. yuuummmm.... oh no.. my tummy!!

Happy Birthday Ma!

My mom always have a thing for globes... so for her birthday last year i bought this electronic globe at Toys R Us (hahahahah!) for $349!!! So ex right for a globe?? Anyway you can upload new software into it, it has currency exchange, languages.. bla bla bla.. up till today she has not had a chance to 'main' with the thing for fear my kids will 'cocok' with the electronic pen!

My mom turns 54 tomorrow since we are very unconventional people... I got her gift last week.. 

I know.... so uncool to give it to her in advance right? I have zero idea on what to give her this year so I asked... no..in fact I suggested if she needed new pots & pans... hehehei

She said she's looking for a nice stew pot (influenced from watching too much AFC - Asian Food Channel) watching Nigella & Micheal Smith boil their pasta in they stylo-milo stainless steel pots!

So we went shopping and she choose 1 stew pot, 1 22 inch pan & 1 24 inch pan.from Meyer!... well well... whatever floats her boat............. I felt guilty.. so to top it up, I bought her favourite truffles from United Chocolates ... happy birthday Ma!

How To Get a Kid to Lose Weight?

As you all know, Faris is a tad overweight... I'm at loss about what to do about it.. he doesn't eat much, he doesn't snack.. hell he doesn't even like sweet stuff like chocolates or sweets! Having asthma also doesn't help because he's on ventolin and inflamide (which apparently has steroids in it) which somehow makes him bloat up!

Its not even in the family history to have asthma... all I know is on my maternal side we get migraines a lot and mouth ulcers.. i have it, my mom, my grandma and all my aunts.. 

Anyway back to Faris, I make the effort to minimize fast food so if he's craving for burgers.. i'll go for a healthier option like this one.. Salmon burger...

Went to this Gourmet shop (at the outskirts of Woodlands) called Fassler and bought some smoked salmon and salmon burgers and Faris surprisingly liked it.. i thought he was gonna say its fishy etc... pan fried it on thick toast with thin slice of low fat cheese...I mean its still way healthier than what we Malays normally eat isn't it ? Like mee goreng and stuff! Imagine the calories in that!

Bad Week

Its not that I have been hibernating ... or the lack of ideas to blog.. this week is filled with exhaustion and anxiety!

I think I am more exhausted this week than last week when i was struck with chicken pox! Mama started coughing quite badly on Sunday night, so bad that she had to use Faris's inhaler to breathe! So Monday morning (not realizing that loads are people are taking MC) we trudged from 1 doctor to another only to discover we were like 20th in the waiting list for all!! After waiting for 45min at the first clinic (and only 2 patients went in) we realize we'll end up wasting the day.

So finally got to the doc on Tuesday and they gave Mama 2 jabs.. one for fast acting anti-biotics and for something else..doc said any later it could be bronchitis which can result to asthma in the long run! So once thats settled, we drove all the way to clementi for lunch as i was craving for my rojak and then we saw that the shop was closed..urrghh... what a kerfuffle it was when we reach! One scoop of chicken rice into Faiz mouth and he vomited all over the place! we felt his forehead and it was very warm... why couldn't he have vomited when we were at the Doctor's!!

Anyway for the last 3 nights his fever shot up, coughed very badly until i had to put a bucket for standby whenever he wants to cough cuz he'll vomit at the same time! So I was like a guard on duty! Last night was the worse.. every 15 mins he would cough and vomit.. =  me not sleeping for the whole night! Imagine wandering off to dreamland only to be jolted awake..aarrrgghh exhausting!

Took him to the doc today, spent $50 and came home with 5 types of meds for the poor boy... i feel extremely lethargic... 2 weeks of MC = to zero rest. If only i have a husband here then maybe I wouldn't feel so exhausted. Fai gives me a lot of moral support and kind words but its not enough...

I guess thats the sacrifice one makes once the kids come along..its not an easy road ESPECIALLY if you're doing everything on your own.

In with the New.. Out with the Old

OOOhhhhhhh Goodbye Manolos helllllooooo Courtney!!! 

Only available at Saks for now... I tell ya... all the fashionistas in Singapore will be so outdated.. Geram tapi price tag MENYERAMKAN!

Energy Food

Since I've had the 'dreaded disease', i realize i've been weak and moody.. even Faisal notices and said so on our conversation today! The only real answer why i've been moody is 'I've been lacking of Food!

So with much gusto i decided to cook Mutton Briyani! Ensuring sufficient disguise (complete with hooded sweater) i trudged to NTUC to purchase my much required ingredients. Could get everthing except Coriander leaves which is essential for any Indian cooking! Imagine that! All off NTUC and not a single bunch of coriander leaves... not even a leaf!

Finally at 10am Cold Storaged open and to my dismay no sight of Coriander Leaves on the shelves either! uuurrrgghh .. Luck was on my sight though after locating one 'ah-soh' she managed to find a bunch somewhere in the storage area ... phhewwwww..

Ingredients Required

3 onions sliced

3 cloves garlic } blended

1 inch ginger  } blended

all stir friend until aromatic in 2 tablespoon of ghee

Brown 1.5kg of mutton (i managed to get a variety of cuts - individual preference)

in the above condiment

Add in the masala (or briyani spice which contains a mixture of salt, paprika, powdered coriander, cumin, tumeric, caraway, aniseed, cardamom & screwpine)

Add about 2 cups of water and start the cooking process ( I used a pressure cooker so the cooking time is about 1 hour - short cut lah....)

Once cooked and tender, I add,

1 bunch of corinder, sliced

3 tomatoes, sliced

1 cup of yoghurt

Simmer until the desired consistency is acquired

For the rice... another short cut method.. i boil about 12 glasses of water with 3 tablespoon of salt. Add about 1 kg of basmati rice. Taste the rice. Once cooked, drain and add 1 cup of milk to the rice.

I use a little saffron for colouring which i add with hot water (plus some yellow colouring.. saffron alone too light lah... wait not so appetising!).. i also heat about 2 tablespoons of ghee, 1/2 cups raisins, 1/s cup cashew nuts & fried onion. Pour it over the rice and gaul thoroughly.

I serve my briyani with cucumber raita..

1 cucumber sliced with the seeds removed so you get the crunchy part only, 1 onion thinly sliced, 1 chilli chopped, 1 cup of yoghurt and salt. Tadaaaaaaa  

Sea Monkeys

I've always wanted them but contemplated cuz i can buy a lot of things for $29.95.

Maybe it was instinctive i was meant to be sick for the 'monkeys' to keep me occupied but i bought them while the kids got their toys over at Toys R Us on sunday..

After going online and learning the proper way to 'grow' them without making a mistake, i realize their growth is dependent on weather and our weather is most ideal!! I bought the castle ones so my 'monkeys' can feel like a princess... 

The 1st satchet is to purify the water and that took 24 hours, the 2nd sachet was the EGGS!! My microscopic monkeys are already floating and i can't wait to feed them their Growth Food this Saturday.

Cravings

Today is like my super-cravings day! Maybe the 2 night of non eating created this carnivore instinct in me.. or more like the glutton in me!!

I was craving for chincalok of all things!! Stir-fry it with oyster sauce kailan... or add sambal belacan.. ooohhh

Since my dad was going to JB, i requested for Tapai (fermented tapioca), Satay Kicap (which is only available at the top level of Larkin), Goreng Pisang with Sambal Kicap! Sounds pregnant don't I?? Nope definitely not! Just after that time of the month...Anyway when he came back, i was a tad disappointed.. no goreng pisang stall opened so my dear mom went to the bazaar near Causeway Point to get some local one.. i dunno why but Singaporeans just dunno how to goreng their pisang lah!! The closest i came to a Malaysian one was my neighbour's.. Cik Ju got the recipe from someone in Terengganu or something and man it was mad scramble to see who got the most pisang between me, Faris & Mama! Must remember to ask her for recipe ! So if my dear neighbours who happen to read this, please ask your mom for the recipe to share can??

Chicken Pox

Okay okay time for the big reveal!! I have been hibernating the last 3 days because i was shivering, feverish and i feel like there's this huge rocks sit atop of my head.. I have been skipping dinner for 2 nights in row.... NOT in a bid to lose weight (although god knows i need to! hhaha) but because i just can't seem to swallow anything! All I wanted to do was close my eyes and wait for daylight! I know i look like a tribal warrior from Zulu or an Aboriginal bride?? ehehehehe

Faiz was quite mild... maybe i got double dose for him!

Lorraine, Faisal's ex colleague, sent me a long advice on the No Nos..

Hey girl!!!! You kena chix pox????? Oh no.... No dark soya sauce and chillies!!!! They will leave you unsightly scars.. believe it or not..... dun eat grapes too during this period... for what reason i can't really remember... my mum told me that when i had my 15 years ago... can't ask her now, she is in heaven... :) oh yes... no seafood.... and NO CHICKEN!!!!! basically, you can have porriage and fish... not sure about mutton and beef... dunno and not sure means can la... hahaha.. just chill out at home... oh yes... try to make yourself cooling... like stay in the aircon room.... stay away from sun, coz you will have more pox...ome brief about the NO NOs...

No Chillies (RED) / Dark soya sauce (BLACK) - Will leave marks/scars due to the colour

No Chicken - Because of the name.... It comes from chicken... Hahaha.. So you are eating it's own species...

No Seafood - Will cause the itch during the period and especially when it's drying. Especially prawns and crab!

No Sun - Body being heated up will cause more to pop out... Like boiling water.... Lots of bubbles.... So stay cool.... Emotions affect as well...

I was really touched by her concern...