Painting and 'A splendid Treat'

I had just came back from outstation for business trip with hubby. Never I was this glad to come home. Missed my babies so much especially my girl, we sms so often. And also my garden. Some of my plants blooming with colours. My orchids, never disappoint me though, I had waited long time, but worth waiting. I was glad to be home! Oh ya, I missed my laptop too. Wow, wee!! my sister teh's blog, yummy wonderful dessert. Very interesting nowadays, not only news travel fast, pictures too!





We went outstation on Monday until Thursday. It's another tiring journey, I was still coughing and having flu. We started the journey around 2 something in the afternoon and arrived around 6.30 evening. Checked into the hotel puteri Pan Pacific was no problem, since only last week we were there. We received a warmed welcome by the staff. And it's like a second home. The floor that we stayed, mostly all the rooms we had slept. We did the prayer 'jamak' and off we went out for dinner.

It was not a delightful place, but a small corner shop by the roadside. We were introduced to the spot by the locals. It didnt look inviting at all until we tried it. The food was fantastic. I loved the Char Kway teow and Nasi goreng ikan masin. It was tasty, you knew that nothing was left out. Should have brought my camera. Next time, I promise. It's not only posh place to show off but this tiny little place is something to brag about.

The very next morning we had breakfast at the Hotel. Tried to have as heavy as I could, which I know I can't. Anyway, didn't feel like going anywhere, so I tar pow two Danish pastry in my bag..Oops! shh! it's for my lunch laa.. Then hubby left for meeting. I knew it would be the whole day to myself and began to paint my big canister. I had prepared the basecoat before I went. I painted my favourite still life. Was happy indeed with the outcome, still a lot to be done.

We dine at Singgah Selalu which was close to the Hotel and very famous among the Hotel guest. Same things as usual as for the next day except that I roamed around the shopping complex, bought myself some tudung and a floor mat for my kitchen. And also t.shirts for my girl.

'Splendid Treat'
Hubby came back early. We watched American Idol. Fortunately we did not draw down the curtains. As I was mesmerized by a nice view, looking through the large window in our room...from sunset turned to night.
The city lights from dim neon to the brightest, slowly shone through the evening night.
As though celebrating our romantic moment together being created especially for us.
The ambience was enhance by beautiful music from American Idol 'The Rolling Stone Night' Gosh! What splendid colours!
A priceless and unforgetable experience. As a painter, I love those colours.
It was a wonderful moment. Again I missed this oppurtunity to share, if my camera was with me!

Down under the weather!

I was under the weather. Almost ten days. I had to rest on bed. Oh god! it choked me down the throat each time I swallowed and it's painful. Every part of my body ached. I had tonsilitis, dry cough and runny nose. I did see the doctor three times, and two courses of antibiotics and was asked to have complete rest. I was without my voice for several days.

Food was out of the question..no taste and smell. All I wanted was soup and sleep all day long. Tissues was scattered wherever I went as my nose was stuffy and blocked. My head was heavy like having a big stone on my shoulder. I hate to be like this, I dont practice this kind of lifestyle, lying on bed eeveryday long doing nothing. I need to be on my feet socializing, doing my favourite things, running my arrands etc,.. My son Syazwan who started the virus then followed by my hubby. But my other two kids, syafiq and fifa they are survivors somehow..they dont get sick easily, thank god!

I was touched as mum called a few times to know whether I was ok. She always sounded worried whenever her babies got sicked. It's a mum's job anyway. But sometimes, you never really thought at this age that you need your mum's lulluby. She had plenty of remedies to share. My son Syafiq teased by calling me "baby".

I recollected what my sister Teh mentioned in her blog 'the never ending love' how parents had been there for us. I know how it's like eventhough Granma had brought me up. Yes, with plenty of love...unconditional love. I missed her and grandpa sometimes, semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke roh mereka, Amin! But never once in my life I did not love my mum and dad. Maybe I was taught the right direction...thanks to granma!! I love my parents of course. Without you both I wont be in this world.

During the passed weekend my nephew Taqi slept over my place as we were all invited to my sister Liza in Subang Jaya.Taqi is rather closed to me as when he's a baby I took care of him most of the time. He was the big brother to all the cousins. And as he grew up and studied in kl he used to spent time with us until now. And since he's married to Mimi and has a little baby aydan,he' s more than welcome to the family.

My sister liza and family lives in Ipoh and has a house in subang which her daughter Dira stays.
She cooked Mee rebus, rice with pecal and fish curry . I brought pizza peperonni and apple pie.
My whole family were there except for my hubby..out dinner with friends. We got back around 11pm. Here are some pictures of baby Aydan and dinner at Sis liza's.

Baby Aydan

Taqi & Syazwan

My Pepperoni Pizza

Apple Pie

Ticket to Heaven

Like other people, I had many regrets during my past, for not being able to perform well as a person and muslim. And the do's and dont's that we did not understand, no matter how hard our parents taught us. All we knew that we wanted to look perfect or the best. We were more concerned of what other people think. We were being ignorant to the mistakes.
Malu, nak mengaku salah. Mana ada bumi yang tak kena hujan, dan mana ada manusia tak buat salah? We learned new things everyday. Be free to ask forgiveness from ALLAH. And I hope that God show us the right path.
And as we grew older, things were different..matured and wiser. And trying our very best this time to catch up what we had left.

And to start with, there are a few good tips we should practice in our daily life.
Being good, starts from the heart..think positive towards others.
Then, words ..that comes out of our mouth..make sure it does not hurt others!
And show concern..to one another, not only to our family but people around us!
And most of all do your prayers..that will save us from doing bad things!
Take this as the ticket to Heaven!!!
It's simple... dont you think? But it's hard to do, because bad habit hard to die!

Sempena kita menyambut Maulidul Rasul, marilah sama2 kita renungkan:
Rasulullah saw bersabda "janganlah bercakap melebihi zikrullah, sesungguhnya
banyak cakap akan mengeraskan hati dan bila hatinya telah keras, ia akan menjadi semakin jauh dari Allah"

My hubby and I never stop trying to be the best parents to our children Syazwan, Syafiq and Afifa. We taught them according to what we knew was right, then. There were disapointments and achievements along the way. I kept telling myself that life is not like a bed of roses. There're always test from The Almighty to make you stronger and a better person. There were times during my bad days with the kids, I confided who else, if not my hubby. But he kept on saying that his children are not robots. That I could tune them to whatever I wanted them to be. My hubby is the coolest man I've ever known, that sometimes I wished to scream on top of my voice to make him awake *melompat sama* or get him to be emotional. But he seemed so relaxed! Grrr...rr!!!
On second thoughts, he's the best for me! If not because of the encouragement he gave me, I could never be the person I am today. And my babies too, they are great kids, no matter what, I love you all so much!!! May Allah bless us all, Dunia and Akhirat. Amin!

Favourite past time

I woke up quite early to prepare breakfast. My niece Ida, her hubby and her cute daughter Alya had put two nights here and going back to Ipoh that morning. It's good to have them around. My hubby, I and my son Syazwan was invited to Zafran's engagement kenduri which was held in Klang at 11am. Zafran and Syazwan were friends since they were in primary 3. They studied almost the same course in University and worked in the same company. It was a special invitation from Siti, Zafran's mum who is my dear friend. We were honoured indeed as it was a personal affair that involved only closed relatives. Thank you Siti and family for inviting us!

Later that day, my three guys watched Dvd *Avatar..'the last Airbender' Cartoon*And that spoilt whatever plan we made for the day! Tv is my hubby's favourite past time especially animation movie. While my dear fifa baked Hot chocolate pudding. It was served warmed with white sauce and ice cream. As of late she enjoyed cooking for us. The last weekend, she made orange sponge cake, and asked whether I would like to snap photos of the food. He,he, lucky us..nice food and photos for my blog.

The guys watching dvd

Hot chocolate pudding

Orange Sponge Cake

I did not cooked dinner as we decided to eat out. My niece Dira who used to stay with us came to spent the night..*housemate balik kampong.* We finally went out around 10.30pm after a long haggle with my hubby as he was still watching the movie...3 season dvds altogather! But not the boys, they preffered not to follow.

Fifa and Dira

We spent almost the whole day at home the next day...continuation of the movie!!! There goes my Sunday. But as you know, free time is painting time for me! Here are some paintings which I have not varnished yet.

The unfinished paintings

Another food fiesta!

It had been a hectic week with heavy traffic on the road and big crowd in the supermarket as it was chinese New Year week. I did my usual routine,sending and fetching my girl and attended to some paintings that needed to be painted urgently. One of it was another cutlery box, from a friend of my sister who preffered red and some bright color roses. It's quite a challenge to me as I always did pastel. Whooh! what a relief when she finally text me that she loved the painting. Dont mention it, Dtn Faezah, it's my pleasure.





Fortunately, I managed to finish painting on time as my family from Ipoh wanted to have tea at my house on saturday. It has been always my habit to clear the mess from the previous project before I can even start to cook.

The Hi-tea was fixed after they watched Afc channel, they requested Mousaka and chocolate bannana cake. Naturally, I added some more varieties ..carrot cake, tortilla, and wanton Ho meehoon. For I guessed they must be hungry and would skipped lunch.
My sister Teh, her hubby and daughter Izian, and aunty Enda, cousin Chuwa, Anis, her hubby and kids came around 3 pm. We were remarkably loud, when we were among ourselves *bunyi riuh rendah sekampong, kalau tak tau, orang ingat bergaduh* especially cousin Chuwa who 's the loudiest of all. You never know who listened and who talked and did not take turn..everyone wanted to tell their side of the stories. But somehow, we understood each other very well and migrated from one topic to another.

The interesting part was, time to say goodbye, we smooched and kissed but still talking like never ending episode. It continued about 10 minutes and so. .then walking towards the car, took another 5 minutes???

The hasle from the cooking, laughing and chatting changed me from energetic, vociferous back to a lifeless being and with so many aches and pains.. soon after they drove off. *Catching my breath* According to my hubby, that's normal!!
The get-together will make us closer. That's what we want in a family!!!

Cousin Chuwa with the tall glass.

Tortillas & Mousaka

A slice of Chocolate Banana cake

Carrot with cheese topping cake and chocolate banana cake.

Trying to keep fit!

"Bila nak kurus?" I looked at my myself in the mirror and I keep on asking but hopelessly did nothing!! I have gained extra lbs for the past few weeks. What's happening to me? With the growing of enticing restaurant to select from these days, we eat out more often. I can't seemed to resist anything. Quite a number of times this month I had makan2 with friends, and during the night, out with my hubby to some coffee shop. And not to mention the times I had lunch alone somewhere at shopping mall after sending my girl to college. It's this period of the year I crave, really really craving for curry laksa. The last time I had was at Sri Melaka, before that at Papa Rich twice last week. Hmm, mana tak gemuk. Well hubby, you have to live with a fat wife!*sob* Oh no, no! I won't let it happen to me, never.

How many times do I need to be reminded to Eat well. I have failed each time I passed by any kopitiam that showed pictures of Curry laksa with cockles and maybe foo chuk in it. *Sigh* Sungguh lemah diri ku ini. But, Insyallah I'll start to cut down some calories tomorrow, maybe by doing exercise first, huh! I have been a fan to channel Zee(hindi) for sometime now, doing yoga and aerobic..*off and on*. For all you know, as we aged our movement is getting slower and so does our metabolism. That means, eat well and do the workout.Whatever... never give up! And have self control on anything that allures you like curry laksa, he,he.
Sorry, no picture of curry laksa!

Night out with hubby at Starbuck.

Painting? oh yes, I'm doing blue and white cutlery box for a customer. It's pretty cool I guess. And still unfinished. Somehow or rather painting has given me a wonderful feeling of satisfaction. And sure does give a relaxing and laziness after spending hours of sitting. Every part of your body ached. Fats start to show around my hip downwards. Anything you do, do it moderately.
This is the cutlery box and has not been varnished yet. Cool, huh!!

To Cherish Memories

Beside being with our love ones, life is never complete without friends. Going out for breakfast, lunch or tea twice a month is good enough. It's one of the way to release tension and makinggood relationship. I looked forward to outing.

There were times when we got together at our house. We cooked like mad, we served like mad even chatted like mad, and worst, we laughed like mad..(haru biru) But it's fun. Friends are for life!

I believe that body and mind go together. If both are in balance you can achieve best results in your life. Also getting enough sleep and tasty food and a good laugh with friends is priceless for the body and soul.

What's for dinner Ma..??

So, good food comes from our kitchen. Tasty or not is different thing, but you know its healthy. I enjoy cooking but sometimes I don't. Somehow, food has to be on the table. After flipping a few pages fr my recipe book, I ended baking bread. Focaccia. It is nothing special for my kids, as bread is baked once or twice a week (bila rajin, ha,ha.). Everyone in the family loves bread compared to rice. Tonight, I cooked roast chicken with salsa to go with my focaccia. So, take a look at what we had for dinner!!

Focaccia with roast chicken and salsa.

Burp!! Ops! enough for the night??
Help your yourself, with another slice!

Focaccia bread.

Bread with jam and butter.

My no 1. Celebrity!

Last Friday night, my son Syafiq decided to have barbeque with some friends.The menu were simple. Besides chicken and pasta salad I made chocolate cake and baked macaroni and cheese.

I was excited, know why?? The famous Yuna came to my house!!! The celebrity who won 2nd during the song festival recently. She was my son's classmate. And also a few more others who came that nite. Love her voice, will get her album in no time...mesti beli! Very unique in her own way. Thumbs up!
Well Yuna, next time I have to be in the picture..not syafiq!!

My off days!!

Being a wife has lots of commitment..'In sickness and in health until death, do us part!' Remember that..and you'll be forever loved..I hope, my dear! I had to follow hubby outstation every 2 weeks for business meetings. We went on Sunday and back on Wednesday. Its tiring tho as the journey took us 3 hrs plus by car. And I took that as a break.

I brought my painting stuff along. The hotel staff somehow recognized me, the one with the basket, I carried everytime to the hotel. I sometimes gets special treatment like getting extra coffees, tissues and what not..tu je! Happiness you! bcos they remember you. While hubby is out meeting, imagine the whole day to myself, painting! And I got a few items painted. What a bliss!!

But, after awhile.. things can be bored! The thoughts of travelling is exhausted, nor I realised being in the hotel for too long hours. And you need to stretch your feet and some fresh air to breathe. I wandered around the shopping complex nearby.

Will show you what I bought this time. Its china blue t.pot and mugs from china. Not that expensive but not cheap either. Maybe you'l get cheaper in Chow Kit. I think, my friends kak Non or Shidah know where to find it. They are expert in getting lovely china's sets. Anyway I love the set. Not for display but for the family to enjoy coffee or tea in china blues.

More paintings to show off.

Hobby

Since I started this blog, as you can see I have posted about four post in just a few days..kind of addicted to it. Nevertheless, I should thank my dearest and only girl Afifa, for making this blog possible. Here are some pictures of my embroidery cushions and framework. I did years ago before started into decorative painting. Could not continue due to my sinus, allergy to dust.

"Apple pie, anyone?"

I baked Apple pie for tea! It was my eldest son Syaz who requested, after watching Afc channel. Boleh tahan sedap! he, he..especially the crust. But the filling should be softer. We ate it with cream and cranberry sauce..hmm yummy! sounds delicious ya!

I honestly love baking. But weighing scale is mine, and my daughter's No.1 enemy... tak boleh control. I am not that health conscious neither is my hubby. Precaution is better than cure, I got that in mind all the time. Having tried new delacies in a restaurant make me impatient to get the recipe. I'll make sure it turns out perfect, if not I'll try try try and try!..sampai anak muak!