My Current Fave Snack

I know this post is silly and meaningless but this is just to document what I feel at this moment.. and right now.. at this very moment, I'm in heaven munching away....

WHAT IS THAT?? That is semi-ripened mango with sambal petis.... odd combination but it so so works! Its like eating Rojak without the nitty gritties...

Sounds awful to some people but at least mangoes contains all the Vitamins I need .. 

Mangoes contain Vitamin A ( of which Beta-Carotene is a precursor and more usable), Vitamins C & E and Selenium.

Mangoes also contain B-complex (anti-stress) vitamins, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, selenium, Folic acid (folate), and zinc.

Mangoes are very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. Plus are a good source of dietary fiber. They also contain some protein and amino acids, about 2% of your daily recommended amount.

I'm not gonna go into petis .. i doubt there's any nutritional goodness in it except giving me smelly breath!

My Cavalli Jeans

I always wanted to channel this rock-chic kinda look.. so to ring in the new year... Fai bought me my second 'Just Cavalli' jeans... which totally rock! He was a bit conservative on buying ..worried sick that I might not like it.. but then when its free you'll love it no matter what! ehehehe

So one the New Year Eve going to work, I wore the jeans, a black cardi top and black patent wedges from River Island (that I was supposed to sell off on ebay and then decided not to!) with River Island sunnies to complete the look... just to show a little appreciation to Hubby so that he feels its worth buying me more stuff next time! lol

My final look... simple... just the way Hubby likes it....

Goodbye 2008.. Welcome 2009

31st December was a bitter-sweet one for me.... first and foremost I started getting jittery because Fai had a fiasco at the airport before flying home! Qatar has this funny rule. You have to check in with the same credit card you booked.. no card, no fly! Fai uses 2 debit card from UOB.. one platinum and one visa electron which is linked to the same savings account.On his last trip while trying to withdraw some cash, his Visa Elctron card was 'swallowed' by the ATM. Called the bank and they said its becasue the card is obsolete so its auto retrival from the ATM and we were told to use the Platinum one from now on as its linked to the same account. Okay so no issue there.. but the unfortunate thing is we purchase the ticket using the VE which is gone! So Qatar officials refused to let Fai fly! I called UOB and there were very helpful in assisting Fai by being on the line for 30 min with them! I even emailed a picture of Fai's Visa transaction as proof! After 45 heart pumping minutes, they finally let him board! phewww....

Next up, I've been transfered out of Ang Mo Kio to Rochor branch.. a little far but it gives me new fresh surroundings (ie, more places to shop!) for 2009.I can have lunch at Hajjah Maimunah, Bugis Junction, Tong Seng Coffeeshop for chicken feet noodles or Serangoon for Thosai & Chapatti!!

Packing up was heart-wrenching, the CSOs kept coming up to me one by one saying how sad it was to see me go.. I hate goodbyes.. so I didn't say it. Instead I bought them A1 curry puffs, packet drinks, dessert from JollyBean as a token of thank you for accepting me as part of them this past year. (okay sounds cheapskate but there was little options in Ang Mo Kio!!) 

Before I left (I had to work a full day mind you!) the Branch Manager Mrs Tan gave me home made chocolates, a watch from all of the staff at the branch and a card that read 

"Dearest Isnarny, Good People are remembered as blessings... We will miss you.. You are Our Sunshine"..  that was a Hallmark moment for me.......

We didn't do anything as spectacular like last year.. no checking in hotels, no balloons drops.. instead we did a last minute BBQ and camping at ECP! It was homely and surrounded by families.. Faiz and Faris had fun with their cousins running around playing with sparklers & lying around with the fresh sea breeze..Not much pictures taken though.. my batt went flat before the new year! Faris stayed up until 4am playing his PSP and running around!

We finally packed up at 9am before going for breakfast at Simpang Bedok... chilling at home with DVDs and sleeping until 6pm! 

New Year Resolution

I'm sure everyone has it... i managed to keep to my resolution this year although it only happened after the second quarter!!  hhehehehe .. yeap you guessed it.. to lose weight..I had the same resolution every year since 2003!! I was never Fat but somehow after having the boys I could never get rid of the access post-children weight! My face was rounder, I was looking 'soft' instead of toned..Why I didn't say its post-pregnancy was because I lost the pregnancy weight immediately after... its the after after... eating left-over food from the kids, nibbling on chips and chocolates after midnight while reading a book, jogging twice a month just to say I did exercise and going for yoga class for a certain period!..... I'm sure we are all guilty of it..

This was me early 2008 with a much rounder bloated face!

Also sitting on my bum all day didn't help... thats my job.. but it didn't help that i was sitting on my bum and nibbling at the same time!

So in June when we went to Melbourne, I saw that Cik Ima had a threadmill at home and how good she looks now as compared to say 10 years ago! So something just triggered.. if my aunt can do it why can't I! So we bought the AIBI threadmill during the GSS for $1000 and its worth every penny!

I've dreaded running because I had ops in 1996 to remove my ACL - anterior cruciate ligament and my ruptured meniscus.. so I could no longer sprint like I loved to.. even sudden jerking movement hurts... yes yes.. I sound like a 60 year old in a 30 year old body! Thats what my phsiotherapist used to say!

Anyway I started brisk walking.. going from 2km to 3km to 8km... then when my stamina increased I started slow jogging and then now running... I do pilates which really helps to lengthen and tone as I'm quite a big girl... the fasting month also helped to accelerate the loss... in total.. I lost 8kg.. I've never been happier! I'm back to my pre-marriage weight and I intend to keep it that way..

My 2009 resolution? To be a Go-Forward kinda gal...just accept whatever comes my way with a positive outlook... when things are meant to be, Its meants to be.....

 The Now me.... after losing 8kg....

Shocking!!

It was 1345 and I decided to text my dear neighbour thinking she should be at the airport leisurely strolling waiting for boarding..... Her reply? "rushing to the airport at SLE" WHEN HER FLIGHT IS AT 1430!!!

Next thing I knew my phone rang with a private number and all I heard was a voice saying "They wouldn't let me in!"

All I could say was "what??? OMG!!! What??" hahahaha

Fifteen mins passed and no text so I'm assuming they let her in..or maybe in the process of making her pay for another flight! My phone beeped and the text read "I begged and I cried! I m in d plane now" hahahha thank goodness!! All I could say that for a 31 year old woman
she's a disgrace to the woodlands community !!! Lol

The big question she will answer when she gets back from Vietnam is "what was the rush for??? You weren't even working today!!!"

My Cousins

Family means the world to me and amidst our busy schedule, I'm really happy that we managed to still stay in touch through Multiply.......

Hanan juggling a new baby and managing husband & family in 3 different countries, Yan with her teaching job and finally 'exposing' her other half...me with all my dramas.....

Here's to Us..... ahahhahahahah

(by the way.. this was right after swimming at the Loyang Chalet... )

Kueh Keria

This is in response to my neighbour Ashley's blog on Oct 16..

http://abuley.multiply.com/journal/item/162

I found Kueh Keria that can rival the ones across the causeway at Pasar Tani babe!! hahhaa

Right at our Causeway Point Bazaar!! There's only 1 stall open in the morning and I was surprised its not those hard-flour-tasting kind... these were soft, sweet-potatoey kind!! (see pic.. after I bit it its yellow not white!) Then again, I've yet to try it again so dunno about quality control.. lol... Go buy.. 3 for $1

Frustrations!

I can't believe kiasu Singaporeans have started booking for the weekend long holiday NEXT YEAR on Chinese New Year weekend!!! Okay granted I'm one of the kiasu ones but I can't believe there are more kiasu people than me!!

I've already booked Faisal's flight home next year on Friday before the long weekend and he would stay the whole week right up till after my 31 birthday.. With Faris going on to primary 1 its harder to 'ponteng' school on whim... i think its harder on me than the poor boy! I feel so restricted now! Having to wait for long weekends, school holidays to plan anything.. so now comes my current dilemma..

We want to fully utilize the long weekend and thought a short trip to Phuket would be nice.. Take them to Phuket Fantasea and see how much Phuket has changed since Tsunami..breathe in the fresh air at Patong beach but I guess my excitement were blown out of proportions cuz when I saw the ticket price I almost fainted!! On Thai Airways & Silkair, the ticket per person were $893 and 903 respectively!!!


Then I calmed myself down and went through Air Asia & Tiger Airways..total ticket price for the 4 of us? $1800!!! Its $450 per person return and this is not considering the hotel price is gonna be a killer..

Then i checked with www.pricebreaker.com.sg and finally they had something.. adults cost $568 each, child with bed, $478 and Faiz $398.. BUT.. we leave on saturday at 4.30pm flight and have to return to SG on Monday at 10am as Tuesdays flights are totally fully booked so that leaves us with only 1 day of sight-seeing!!! aarrrrrrggghhh
Bali was the alternative availability but we're heading there in MARCH!!!

So I thought what a brilliant idea if we go to Sibu Island or Redang and to my dismay, they are closed for the moonsoon season!!!

Even my last option of going to Colmar Tropicale is dashed.. went online and its fully booked!!!

So help.................... if anyone can offer me another alternative suggestion which has availability........I would really appreciate it!

It's HFMD!!!!!

okay my worse nightmare has semi came true! It's not Herpangina but HFMD as dreaded!!

If you're wondering how come I can still blog about when I have a sick child at home is cuz I'm stuck at work!

We were just lying in bed last night watching The Waterhorse on DVD when Faiz said his hands hurt and he wants plaster (his only remedy for anything that hurts)

So I switched on the lights and was aghast to see a few spots .... We got changed and took a cab to the clinic where e doc confirmed it is the dreaded virus ...

Fai rushed to the airport with no prior bookings and barely made it.. Although the ticket was really expensive, I know he wants to be back to be here for us..

The ticket was one thing , the 'hulur' was another issue!! Fai gave 50000rph and the officer got the cheek to say 'ini kan mendadak pak.. Mana cukup!!!?' when Fai opened his wallet, there was 250000rph in all and he asked for ALL OF IT!!!!

Whatever it is, Fai is now here with us giving us the moral and physical support we need...

See... I told you my life is one big drama..!

Herpangina

Okay.... It sounds a lot like vagina but NO!! Not even close... It's something Faiz was diagnosed with last night ..
He has slight fever since the day before and he complained his mouth hurts so we saw a lot of small ulcers and blisters in his mouth.. Worried it might be HFMD so went to the doc last night..

What is herpangina?
Herpangina is an illness caused by a virus , characterized by small blister-like bumps or ulcers that appear in the mouth, usually in the back if the throat or the roof of the mouth. The child often have high fever with the illness.

What causes herpangina ?
Coxsackie virus or echovirus
It's spread by saliva and mouth to mouth contact, as well as contact with an infected person's stools! It usually take 3-6 days after exposure to become infected.

Treatment for herpangina :-
Unfortunately, since it's caused by a virus, the is no medicine that will make the infection go away!
You have to wait for your body's immune system to get rid of the virus.

Hmmm so in the meantime my poor Faiz will just have to bear with it until his immune system decides enough is enough ! I'm gonna fight this thing ! I always thought in this time and day there's meds for everything!

What Do You Do During Lunch?

I'm not one of those who will stick around in the office doing nothing at lunch time...even if I'm dead tired... reason? my office is very open and there's a lot of unreasonable people around..

As most of you know I work at SingPost even though we're not part of them, the common public somehow thinks we are!! Once I got screamed by this A*^hole who demanded to know why am I sitting on my ass doing nothing when the Post Office is packed!! huh?? hellloooo.. none of my business!!!

The last overkill was last week when I went for lunch during my designated lunch hour of 12.30pm to 1.30pm... At 12.35pm one guy calls asking when I'll be back so I said 1.30pm and I'll see him then.. 2 minutes later my phone rang again.. this time from a different no...

Me - Hi This is Narny speaking , can I help you?

Guy - Are you out for lunch? (in a rude tone)

Me -  Yes I am, I'll be back at 1.30pm, if you're keen to take a loan, I'll see you then?

Guy -  I am here already.. (pauses)

Me - Yes i understand but I'm out for lunch already

Guy - Why can't you come back do my application and go again for your lunch!!

Me - I'm sorry but I've ordered my food already and I'm not near my office..

Guy - WHY MUST YOU GO FOR LUNCH!!!

Me - Excuse me? Why must I go for lunch?? Its my lunch time.. I have to eat!

Guy - WHY CAN'T YOU GO FOR LUNCH SOME OTHER TIME? BEFORE YOUR LUNCH TIME OR SOMETHING!!!

By now this A&*hole was really pissing me off!!

Me - Look Mister.. I'm out for lunch now and I will be back at 1.30pm.. I'll try my best to come back earlier but no promises. Thank you.. (I hung up ... shaking!! What the hell was this guy thinking!!!" When I got back, the jerk wasn't there and when i called back he walked in like the King of The World.. not even a word of Thanks!! uuuuuurrrrggghh

So today, after all the fiasco that happened during lunch I contemplated to either get my hair washed or a foot reflexology...AS LONG AS I DO NOT STAY IN OFFICE!  I chose the latter but the shop that charged $22 per 45 min was closed! Darn.. what to do now? So i saw this shop...

It was pricy was worth every single cent! The chairs were beige (usually others uses those black chair to camouflage the dirt! This one was comfy, has its own foot tub under the foot stool and the guy was extra attentive!! 

Covering me up in towels and wrapping my feet in warm towels.... it was bliss! When I closed my eyes all I could hear was the waterfalls (they had a mini waterfall at the corner) and the guy massaged gently but firmly... the painful parts were my toes and right above the base of the heel... cuz he said I lacked of sleep!! BINGO!! My goodness! He was right!!

They offered me ginger tea but too bad.. I was fasting.. In the end, the 45 min session ended up being a 1 hour session anyway.. for $32?? It was worth every cent!

Sad Story

Its so sad... at 6pm today .. one of closest girlfriend texted me saying that she lost the twins she was carrying.. Its only 8-9 weeks.. went for the scan and there's no heartbeat...When I spoke to her she was crying and crying... just came out from Thomson Medical and saying that she needs to 'remove' the foetus tomorrow...

I feel for her.. as I have gone through the same thing and the devastation I felt when it happened was unbearable.. its as if I am going through it once again...

For her its twice the pain... knowing that the twins would have been the same gender .. "I think it may be two boys... i just feel it" she said to me last week over breakfast ...

My dear.... please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you at your time of despair...

Weird of the weirdness...

When I got back from Jakarta on Sunday i totally couldn't sleep because somehow I K-Oed in the plane and couldn't even open my eyes when the rest of the passengers started to move out! So i was updating Facebook and Multiply and i saw a chat prompt... it says 'Farhana Satar- Nezondet'.. asking why am i not asleep at 1.30am!!

Ok... just to recap... my husband has had a very long history of many relationships in his life.. i always thought I coincidentally happened to be around since he vowed to get married on his 30th birthday! Anyway, he was engaged once to this girl ,Fazila and when his engagement crumbled, he started dating this Farhana... then she left for Melbourne to study and things didn't work out then only I came into the picture... (trust me.. its not as complicated as it really is... Fai dated many more people .. i'm just cutting the story short!)

I've always been civil when I met Fazila..i mean we're both married now anyway so whats there not to be civil about... however I have never verbally spoken to Farhana although I 'saw' her at her sister's wedding or at some expo thingy.. then I added her on Facebook and suddenly I get the about chat thing!

Its surprising how you can converse with anyone and there's no weirdness.. We chatted about the commonalities.. people we know... her life in France.. kids.. jakarta.. but our main topic apart from the obvious was my mother in law and Fazila!! I guess its hillarious that we both we sort of 'mentally tormented' by the fact that Fai's mom loved Fazila to death and we both played second fiddle to her. I used to argue with Fai all the time even after we got married about it as to why her name was always brought up... 'Fazila this, Fazila that.... uurrrggghhh' .. I didn't realize Ana went though the same thing!!

When I told Fai about it he was silent... maybe there was no reaction because it sounded... well... weird... when I asked about some of the things that happened.. he bloody can't remember it... does men have an extremely short-termed memory capacity or is it just that they do not want to answer certain questions for fear of dragging the whole conversation into an arguement?? ahhahaha

I can understand if he thought it was weird... i would too is he started talking to Ismail.......... yikes!!!!

Why my 'surprise' trip ended up not being a surprise!

Tomorrow's trip was supposed to be a surprise trip... to celebrate our post anniversary but silly me dumped all this year's tickets together and Fai 'accidentally' saw it! darn it!!

Anyway since I grabbed the booking off him before he actually saw the date, he wasn't exactly sure when I would be flying up except that its in August somewhere!! 

Last weekend when I was there...he said his staff made arrangement to go to Bandung for the weekend and he said 'You're not coming up next weekend are you?'

huh????? darn!! If i didn't tell him I'm either stuck in Jakarta alone for the weekend or I'll have to spend another US$50 to cancel and re-book my flight for the following weekend!! What would you have done if you were me??? I gave him a pout.. this pathetic... pleading look... THEN HE LAUGHED!! I got tricked!! 

His staff is still in the midst of arranging appointments but its not firmed and its just his way of tricking me into telling......... hmmmppphh!!!

Happy Anniversary to me

I just want this year to pass by quickly so that we can do everything right in 2009... Fai wasn't with me when I celebrated my 30th birthday and he's not here now when we're supposed to be celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary & his 37th birthday...

I guess we didn't planned it properly enough..granted everything fell on a weekday..but after yesterday's trip i felt everything has to change next year on... never again will we celebrate our birthdays or anniversaries alone.. its sucks! 

Fai gave me a card though which was short but sweet although it might sound corny to some people but it helped lighten my mood... and what he wrote actually brought tears to my eyes while I read it in the in toilet at Soekarno hatta airport....I suppose men have never been great with card choices... the words were sweet but the 2 rings and glitter??? Or maybe he just didn't have much choices in Jakarta! Maybe the rest were in bahasa!! But I know no matter what it meant something to me...

Testing the efficiency of online orders

I was so excited about the birth of my new nephew I went online at 7am looking for something to send..... after googling the many sites that do deliveries I settled on Petals... wanted flowers but I'm sure RZ would have gotten his wife some really nice ones so I decided on a bouquet of balloons instead..

I was apprehensive about the delivery ... thinking whether it'll arrive at all since the order was sent only this morning but they totally exceeded my expectation.. At 3.27pm Hanan smsed saying she received it....I'll definately use them again!!

Alhamdulillah!!

I jus text Cik Imah after reading Raizan's post about being activated......... and I'm so excited to announce Hanan has safely delivered her baby boy at 1.10am AUS time... 9th August 2008... 

National Day baby?? But in Singapore still the 8th August!!! hmmmmm . That lucky boy gets to celebrate his birthdays for 2 days in different countries...

No official name given yet but for now can call him 'IBNU RAIZAN'.... CONGRATULATIONS MY DEAREST CUZZIE!! I now have a new nephew!!

Craving For Fajitas

Faris had  sudden craving for Tacos today... what he actually meant was Fajitas but its a bit of a mouthful for him to pronounce.. plus the poor boy started wheezing last night and had to see the Doc today so I gave in... even when he insisted that he wanted to cook it..

Its been awhile since we had Fajitas... I think the last was many moons ago when I packed it for the trip to KL! That was long!!!

Its really quite simple.. you sauteed onions, capsicums, then the beef which is marinated with the Fajita Seasonings.. then add some diced tomatoes..

Heat up the Tortilla, add a little bit of Salsa or Nacho Supremo (which is not as spicy as Salsa), wrap it and you're done!

Anyway Faris loved it and dessert was even better... raw sugarcane ... to nibble!

My poor hands & Our new laptop

Did I mentioned I went to Sentosa to 'train' for a volleyball competition next saturday?? Well after 2 hours of being tortured my hands turned black & blue today.. the picture didn't capture the blue or the black but its quite obvious my right palm is bigger than my left! Plus that arm part above the wrist had spots of red & blue.... siggghhhhh

Anyway I didn't snap any pictures of me training.. i think my bruises are enough proof..
maybe I had no technique.... maybe I am used to 'softer' balls.........

As a consolation though, I came back from work with a new toy.... our new HP Mini Note PC..


Pretty sleek eh?? Its free by the way.. I realized how silly we've been for using StarHub broadband with no plan (since we are using the unlimited access) we've been paying a monthly premium of $56 all these while.. so when I called up Starhub, they conveniently said "Yeah..you have no tied up plan" only when I enquired if we are eligible for the laptop that they said yes.... duh... its not as if we WILL NOT be using the broadband for the next 2 years!!

Its so small its smaller than my portable DVD player!!

Spontaneous Visit

On thursday I just had this huge empty feeling of missing Fai.. I dunno why!!! To think we've been talking on the phone every single day, texting.. and worse considering he just flew off last Sunday I dunno why I was feeling that way!

I decided to do the unthinkable!!I message my mom saying I needed to fly off to Jakarta and to please understand and take care of the boys, texted my 2 bosses saying I need to take urgent half day & full day leave on Friday...

I checked and the earliest flight available was Qatar at 2.50pm... time check was already 12.30pm.... I took a cab straight to the airport! Luckily I had someone to cover me at work and Mama is ok with it.. it was also a weekday there were seats available but the damage? $417!! To think when I fly with Lufthansa it usually cost me less than $300...and this time its only for 1 day!!!

It felt so euphoric!!! Leaving with just the same clothes I wore to work and nothing else. Thank godness I had my passport with me all the time ever since I lost my wallet!

Before I flew off, I call Fai and he didn't even sound surprised that I was flying over... he just joked "Nak spot check ke??" hehhehhe... I just told him I missed him...

I took a cab from the airport to Plaza Semanggi to get a pair of flat sandals since I had only work shoes and buy a dress for coming home since I can't possibly wear the same shirt and pants back!!...Fai was still not done with his appointments so I went to do some Mani & Pedi at La Diva for only Rph 85000!! So cheap!

The girl was so slow!! By then he decided to go back to the apartment, do his prayers, change and then fetch me for dinner.. since he changed, I decided I should change too!! So I changed into my dress right there in Semanggi's toilet! hahahaha

We went for a nice Spanish dinner at Moya and listened to a Jazz band .. it was so romantic!! They were playing 'My Funny Valentine' and we ordered Tapas & Seafood Paella which reminded us of our 1-month-long honeymoon.. 7 years ago! We made a pact to go back to Spain again some day with the kids...

He had to work on Friday (obviously couldn't change his appointments for me!) and I was so lazy I didn't even leave the apartment! To think I had planned to get my hair washed and get a 'cream bath' done at the Salon and do a little shopping while waiting for him to finish work. In the end I ended watching the entire first season of New Amsterdam, My Mother's New Boyfriend (starring Meg Ryan & Antonio Banderas) and Cleaner (Samuel L Jackson & Eva Mendes) from 730am to 430pm until he got home! Thats what I call a couch potato!!!!

So we did nothing but laze around and talk since my flight is not until WIB 11.35pm.... its so different talking to each other when the kids are around.. we get distracted and can't fully lavish our attention towards one another. This time its just us having a heart to heart talk... reminding ourselves how in love we were and why we got married in the first place..

I think its so important in every marriage not to 'let-go' and allow the marriage to become monotonous and routined... every marriage needs effort... I'm so glad i followed my heart and did mine.. This short spontaneous visit made us realize we should treasure our relationship more than ever..