my instant best friend.

The best thing about having your own sister, is that you have an instant best friend. Sure, you make friends while you're growing up, sure it's nice to have colleagues who understand, but nothing beats having your own sister as your best friend.

Adik and I were never particularly close while we were growing up. I was always away and she has always looked up to my brother as her "hero", not surprising, seeing the amount of time they spend with each other. While we never fought much, we never really talked much either.

But as we grew up, we started to confide in each other about everything. And as she grew older, we also became Whatsapp buddies. And shopping buddies. And "let's ogle over this together" buddies. And OOTD buddies. Okay, that's enough, you get the drift. Now that she's 20 and I'm... well, still 20-ish, we have so many things in common it's just difficult to NOT tell each other everything. 

So, imagine how I felt when I saw this baby sister of mine leaving for Australia last February. While my brother was betting on who would cry the most, I surrendered even before the game began. I knew I was going to cry the hardest (which I did). I knew that she was no longer that "baby" and that I had to let her go. She's such a big girl already!

In a way, I'm kind of glad that our parting was short and sweet. 

Still, doesn't make it any less sad, especially when I see something and immediately think of her, like how I saw this yummy looking banana chocolate muffin at McCafe earlier this year and wanted to tell her "Let's taste this together and see if it's better than the one we normally have!", only to realise that it's probably going to be a couple of years before I get to see her again! Gahh!!!

Thing is... I don't have to wait for a couple of years for that because she'll be back in November. 

While she's homesick, I'm terribly Adiksick as well. 

Like, how can I NOT be, right?

'Cause we're both creepy like that!

CAN'T WAIT!

♥

a journey of continous self-discovery

One of our colleagues is getting married pretty soon (like tonight!) and each time she talks about it, the rest of us ladies (all married) have been scaring her off the idea and we tell her that there's still time for her to change her mind. Of course, we do it in good fun and all in jest but we do hope that she pays heed to some of the the advice we manage to slip in, in between all our jokes. 

After talking about marriage with other married women... I came to realise that all married women have something to say about it. Which begs the question of,

"Why do we get married in the first place?" 

 In this time and age, I think almost everyone who gets married does it at his/her own volition. And that means we make the decision to get married with open eyes and open arms and that we are aware of what a marriage entails. 

Only we're normally not. Not fully aware anyway.

And I say this because I think of marriage as a journey of continuous self-discovery; of what you're worth when you are half or part of something else. Sure we have strengths of our own but can those strengths work when we have to work together?

unexpectedly good.

For as long as I can remember, I have never liked oats. Be it hot, cold, savoury, sweet, in a drink or in porridge; I just don't like oats. The ONLY form of oats that I DO like are those in cookies and in there, I'm not too sure how much nutrition is retained. 

So, when overnight oats took the world by storm... I didn't think much about it. However, it is hard to ignore when your Pinterest feed is full of them and each time you go on Google and key in the words....... O V E R, "overnight oats" are among the first few links on the list. 

Of course, I clicked on those links to see what the hu-ha is all about, especially now that I am on a quest to lead a healthier lifestyle. 

And after much deliberation, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. 

xxx

Before that though... although all the recipes call for the oats to be stored overnight in airtight containers... all I saw were pretty oats in pretty MASON JARS, which to be honest... is probably the only reason I didn't make the overnight oats any earlier than last night. 

Last night though... despite the absence of mason jars, I went on with my plan. I just had to make them to see what the hype is all about. 

Every time I trolled the internet for recipes, I saw that the key to making good overnight oats is the ratio of oat to liquid, which should always be 1:1. 

Since this is the first time I made them, I decided to try small portions first, just in case I hate them. 

result (colour) may vary, depending on lighting and filter used on your photo editor ;)

ingredients:

So, 1 portion of oats (mine is about 3 tbspns quickcook oats);

1 portion of liquid (mine is full cream milk)

2 tablespoons of sweetener (mine is Hershey's Chocolate Syrup);

1/2 a banana.

method:

The next best thing to a mason jar that I have is a Thermos container, specially made for cold food.

I put the oats in first.

Then the milk.

Then the Chocolate Syrup.

And then I put the lid on my container and shook it a bit. 

I then put the sliced banana onto the whole mix.

Put the lid on.

And put everything into the fridge.

I couldn't stop thinking about it last night! 

This morning, I reached the office, unpacked my coveted breakfast, put a few spoonfuls into my mouth... 

 And my verdict is?

I TOTALLY GET WHY YOU PEOPLE LOVE CHILLED OVERNIGHT OATS SO MUCH! It's no longer a mystery to me!

Sure, my oats aren't in a pretty mason jar. Sure they look all slimy and gooey (as they should, because when you shake your oat, milk and sweetener mixture, you'd discover that there is no way you can make these babies without all the slop), I would have liked it better if it had some crunch, so I might just go out and get myself rolled oats or steel cut oats and I wish my banana was riper... BUT they are healthy and nutritious AND they make breakfast so appealing. I have another jar in the fridge and I ain't sharing.

*googling more recipes*

[p.s.: total calories for this is - 259, the most coming from the chocolate syrup, which is 100 calories for 2 tablespoons *gasps!*]

hmmm, sneaky.

Last week we were at Ayer@8 for dinner, which is fast becoming one of our favourite go-to places because there's plenty of parking space and quite an array of food choices, (most of) which have yet to disappoint us.

Apart from the fact that there are now more restaurants than when it first opened... there are also other shops mushrooming in the area like tudung shops for example.

I'm a sucker for tudung shops ESPECIALLY if they come cheap.

While we were there last week, I saw one of the shops having an "Opening Sale"... Tudungs flying round in multiple shapes, sizes and colours at just RM15 per piece. 

My eyes gleamed at the sight. 

My husband, who has developed eyes at the back of his head... sensed this and immediately turned to me (I was walking behind him) and offered to stop by.

"It's just RM15! Go!"

"But we have to take our shoes off and I don't want to take my shoes off."

"RM15! Seriously, go! I'll wait outside."

"Eh, wait aren't we here for dinner? We'll be late for dinner and I don't want to eat anything past 9 p.m."

"Seriously, you don't want to go in? They all look nice. And they're cheap."

"Well.. I do need something in this and that colour but it's okay, I guess."

So we went past the shop with my husband asking me multiple times whether or not I was sure I didn't want to stop by. And we didn't stop after all...

I actually wanted to go by myself, in my own time so that I don't have to shop with the boys pressing their faces against the glass while waiting for me... but guess who hasn't been there on her own until now? 

YES, ME! 

In retrospect, I think my husband was playing the reverse psycho card on me. I think.

And it worked!

Ish, so SNEAKY! 

Hanisa's INNOCENT breakfast.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, says everyone. 

And although I am not really a fan of breakfast, I'm now trying to pay heed to this piece of advice to avoid overeating during lunch, which I think has been the root of all evil to my "mysterious" weight gain. 

Please don't roll your eyes. I get enough of that from my husband. And despite all that, I'm still kind of obsessed with getting back my pre-marriage figure. *rolls eyes at myself*.

For a while (during Ramadan), I felt like my old self again. But as delusional as I am that I'd be able to maintain that kind of body without having to do much (just like old times, aahhh...), I knew that after I was done with puasa 6 (puasa 8 in my case)... I'd have a tough time resisting all the lemang and kuah kacang during open houses and open offices because surely, with everything being open, the only appropriate thing to do would be to open my mouth too, correct?

Correct. 

So to make myself feel better... I continued with my exercise sessions on my "treadmill", although my brother says that they are done in futility.

I started eating breakfast so that I won't be starving by the time lunch hour comes. 

I also started reading more health articles, which categorises my lifestyle as SEDENTARY, which I'm going to quit trying to change because I can't think of any solution that would work in everyone's favour for now.

And since my lifestyle is sedentary, I've decided to START COUNTING MY CALORIES, yey! (oh, yey?). For me to reach my goal weight (47kg BAHAHAHAHA), I can only consume 1000 calories per day (as set by myself)!

To track my progress, I downloaded a few apps on my phone. Problem is... these apps were not developed by locals, thus they (obviously) do not list the foods we Malaysians normally eat in the appropriate portion sizes. 

So, I kept one mobile app just to keep track of my daily food consumption (malas nak kira sendiri) and searched on the internet for the calories of the food and drinks that Malaysians normally consume. (click here for a start)

Since I now begin my day with breakfast (pats self on back)... that obviously became one of the first few things that I searched for. 

And? Surprise, surprise. 1/3 of my daily calorie allowance gone with this one INNOCENT meal - 

calorie count
Neslo (1 pack of Nescafe 3 in 1 with 3 spoons of milo) - 185 (like OHMYGOD kan?)
Gardenia wholemeal bread (2 pieces) - 146
Total - 331

Since nasi lemak telur mata is a staple for breakfast here in Malaysia and I obviously love it to the max, I looked it up too.

calorie count
Nasi lemak telur mata ayam - 669

I JUST DIED. 

Here's to sticking to my very innocent breakfast, I guess?

T__________________________T,,,,,

mamahood 101: get creative!

I don't think that kids are manipulative by nature, but I DO think that they're highly EXPERIMENTAL in which they live the first few years of their lives based on the concept of "cause and effect".

In that department, Luqman is of course, no exception. 

Where no danger is involved, I normally let him push the envelope a little further to let him see the whole consequence of his actions. 

But where his safety is at stake... I normally have to go to the extremes before he even gets to try his luck.

Yesterday, when I picked him up from school... he told me he wanted to sit in the "Kuski", which means that he didn't want to sit in his own carseat (yes, after all this while we're still struggling in this department). I didn't have the energy to negotiate plus it's actually a non-negotiable item in our list, especially when I'm travelling with him alone in the car. So, I told him that I wanted him to sit in his "Superboy Seat", which of course, he defiantly said NO to. 

He ran to the car thinking he beat me to it.

He touched the door to the front passenger seat...

 .

 .

 .

AND...

 I 

PRESSED 

THE 

PANIC BUTTON 

ON MY CAR ALARM!

TWICE!

Guess who was panicked by this?

HAHAHAHA.

(I'm so mean)

And when he finally touched the door to the rear passenger seat, where his Superboy Seat is... I pressed the other (correct) button to unlock the car. 

"Ha, baru betul..." said Luqman, who then unhesitatingly climbed into his carseat, ever willing to be strapped.

Phew! Lesson learnt! Mamahood 101 sangat!

Puts shades on, flips tudung.

*EVIL GRIN*

each (wo)man for himself.

Recently, someone told me a story about a couple; husband and wife. 

One day, the husband told the wife that he wasn't pleased with the fact that she wasn't reciting the Quran as often as he'd like her to, so the wife told him that with all the office work and house work she had to deal with, she was trying the best that she could... 

She also humbly requested for him to remember her in his prayers and told him of her hopes of sharing his good deeds (pahala) so that she too could go to heaven. 

He wasn't too happy with the idea of sharing his pahala with his wife and told it straight to her face. To put it bluntly, her humble request was declined. 

At that point, I was flabbergasted. The only thing I managed to say was, "Seriously?"... while I thought of what I would do if I were to suffer the same fate, which to be honest... I have no idea. 

I know that this world is coming to an end, but I honestly didn't think we would all come to this end; where it's each man for himself, even between husband and wife? *gasp*

And in this case, I do think that the quote below is pretty apt -

"Some guys might think it’s a waste of their time to do these house chores. What about her time? Is your time more valuable than hers? If you think you’re tired, then what state do you think she’s in after she spent the whole day cleaning up the house and preparing the meals?

Don’t get me started on working wives. They do twice the work, with half the appreciation."

Source: Isnalanterns.

 So, to all brothers out there, if you're not willing to share your pahala with your wife, I beg you... let her spare some of her time to make pahala of her own. 

I hope to never encounter this kind of insolence ever in my life and hope that whatever time I expend in caring for my family would be able to carry me to even the lowest of heavens. 

And I definitely hope the same for all my sisters out there. 

welcome home.

About a month ago, I received a text during sahur about an aircraft. 

Since it was so early in the morning, the only thing that caught my eye was the number 7.

"It (370) has been found?", I remember asking my husband.

And we both rubbed our eyes again and saw that it was a different aircraft in the news. 

I remember how we both ate our sahur in silence. Could be because we were sleepy but for me at least... I couldn't fathom the whole situation. I never in a million years thought that Malaysia would become a "target" because as far as I know, we have no enemies. 

Or do we?

The weeks that ensued saw me reading each and every theory, news and article on the fallen MH17. And how they started recovering bodies from the site. And how they started the identification process. And how they arranged for the homecoming.

And today, they are finally home. 

None of us have ever imagined that this calamity would befallen such a small nation like us. 

And yes, the only certainty in life is death but I don't think any of us think that we would lose a family member THAT way. 

I think this year has been a tough year for Malaysia as a whole. And though I'm not superstitious, I do believe that we could all learn a thing or two out of these ordeals. 

Treat everyday like it's your last. 

 

Love like you can never love again tomorrow. 

Because you don't know if tomorrow never comes. 

Next thing we know, we're all headed for "home".

Innalilillahiwainnailaihirojiun.

From Him we come, to Him we return.

Yang pasti itu Mati. 

*terkesan*

be apart to stay together.

I don't know about other married women, but for me... having some time apart from my husband keeps me sane AND keeps us together. While some people love being attached at the hip, I do enjoy the occasional solitary drive, going to work at different offices in different cars, and of course, time off (physically) from being a couple. 

And since the last "time off" I had was some time in January (I think), I made sure that I gave ample advanced notice about this time's time off so that everyone would be able to plan their time around me, for once. 

Plus, since these "time offs" come far and few in between, I made sure to choose the time off well.

And I chose to spend time with them; my sisters from another mother at a venue just 3 minutes from home - Maritime Club Putrajaya. Bahahahahaahhaha! But, still, 3 minutes away from home for half a day really made me happy!

8 of us came, which to me is no small feat considering the fact that the venue is in Putrajaya (where nobody wants to come to sobs), but these amazing girls came! Alhamdulillah. 8 TAPI meriah, hurrah! Pic Credits to Ayeem for this one.

One of the games we played on that day is one of my own creation. I call it Nipple Confusion.  

What you need? Your kid's bottles (of all kinds. I had Medela, Mom's Little One's, Pigeon, Anakku, Avent, Tommee Tippee, Tollyjoy), kitchen roll, marker pen and some tape.  

Method: Wrap the bottles in kitchen roll, and try as best as you can to cover the bottles so that no one can see which brand is which. Mix the bottle caps around if they fit. Mark the bottles with numbers or alphabets. Give some clue to the name of the bottles used. And prepare the game sheet as in the second picture.

Rules:  The bottle caps cannot be opened. And Googling is allowed. The one with the most correct answers will be crowned the winner! One of the girls got all correct, okay! And she's the one without a kid! Goes to show how much you get from extensive research. With this game... the girls got some education as to what nipple confusion (really) is and why it's important to know the different types of bottles. Trust the lawyer to come up with games. Bahahahaa. Oh by the way, pic credits to Ayeem for the second pic.

You know how first time moms tend to overbuy everything? Well, yes, I was one of those moms too. In fact, I sometimes still overdo everything, like packing Luqman's clothes for instance, but it doesn't matter (I think). Have extras, give them away. I still had these small sized diapers (still in good condition, of course. I checked), which I have been meaning to give away. But every time I go and visit a newborn, I forget the diapers!

On Sunday, I was determined to give them to my good friend Aleng for her baby. And what better way to give them away other than through a game! This isn't a novel game and you can find ideas on how to play everywhere on Pinterest. You just need a pack of diapers, marker pens or sharpies, some crazy friends and a fancy box to give them away!

Once I told the girls that they can Google for ideas, everyone went crazy with the messages! Some of them sweet and some of them really, really funny, okay!

At the end of the day, everyone had loads of fun and really enjoyed their Sunday.

Here's to hoping for a save delivery and recovery for the mommy-to-be and that a healthy baby will be born. In sha Allah.

May Allah bless.

Oh, by the way, I do believe that even with friends, you do need some time apart to stay together. In fact, I believe that the measure of a good friend is not how often you meet up, but rather how seamlessly you get along when you do see each other even after a long time apart.

Semoga kita terus menjadi kawan sampai tua bangka, okay girls!

♥

chatterbox.

I've never really minded milestones or unlocking of achievements where my child is concerned, so long as he is healthy and growing wonderfully, and with that, I try my best not to compare him with children of his age. 

But sometimes, I DO worry because after all, I am all in all a mother. 

Sometimes, I talk to other parents about my concerns and then they tell me to ask Luqman about those concerns since we're close and that means that he would gladly open up if I asked. 

I then say my thanks to those other parents and part with them even more worried than I was before because when I do ask Luqman things like "How was school?" or "Luqman buat apa hari ni?" or "Ada orang pukul/gigit/cubit tak hari ni?", he still replies with gibberish (at least to my ears...). 

And then I start wondering if there's something wrong with him since he can't really answer any of my questions coherently and whether he has a speech problem or whether he is behind his peers in certain areas...

So much for not worrying and not comparing, eh?

But this Raya... Masya Allah, banyaknya dia cakap!

As of today, Luqman can say, among other things - 

"Eh, apa tu ni?"

(curious about everything and confused whether to ask tu or ni! hahahaha...)

  "Ala, Mama, pis (please) la!!!"

(when I refuse to let him nurse from me (yes, he's still on the B!)...)

"EH, INI UMAN KUNYA (punya)!!!"

(when anybody tries to touch whatever it is he deems as his!)

and the latest revelation which happened just last weekend...

I was shopping for groceries and Luqman was really thirsty so my husband bought him (and himself) some juice. 

In the car, Luqman was devouring the juice with all his heart when my husband asked for some juice from him. Reluctant at first (obviously "eh, ini Uman kunya" came into the picture) he finally relented when Daddy said please.

My husband then said,

"Ala, dah nak habis dah? Tak ajak Daddy minum pun!"

To which Luqman replied,

"Ada satu lagi.",

dengan muka dan tone suara seposen.

He must have seen the other box of juice my husband bought and assumed that it was his as well, but "ada satu lagi???". SIAPA AJAR DIA NI! HAHAHAHAHA. 

Anak, oh anak! You are so worth it. Alhamdulillah.

(clearly, whatever he was talking about before was gibberish only to my ears. from whatever little experience I have, if you want to improve your child's ability in speech, please do talk to him/her (not in pelat language ye please!) even if their replies are non-coherent. in time, it will pay off, in sha Allah!)

;)

budaya menunggu...

Menunggu apa? 

Menunggu open house baru nak pergi melawat.

I don't know when this culture began but has for some reason become a well-accepted one. 

This year, I was all set on changing that culture and practice. I believe that you shouldn't wait for invitations for houses to be "open". It's Raya so houses should be open all the time (with certain limitations, of course). As it is, our time with family is now limited to only weekends and festivities and now this; having to wait until you're invited to go to some aunt's our uncle's or relative's house before you can actually visit? 

Absurd, I say!

So this year, at every opportunity I got, I visited friends and families alike. Not exactly easy with an overly active toddler in hand, whose timing and mood is pretty unpredictable most of the time, but do-able all the same.

And with that, this year's Raya has become one of the most enjoyable ones I've had in the longest time (actually since I started to not get the green sampuls for myself, boohoo!). 

But in all seriousness, there's just something about visiting some other person's house (not during an open house), which promotes a certain closeness and forges a bond between the guest and host. 

When you visit a person or family (not during an open house), they are in their (for lack of better word) "rawest" form; they are probably in their casual clothes and they'll probably serve whatever it is they were planning to have for dinner or tea or lunch. And frankly, for the one visiting, it doesn't really matter (for me at least) because the whole point of the visit was to keep in touch, to inquire about each others' well being, to catch up and to make sure that silaturrahim tidak terputus. 

So, go! 

Visit your aunts and uncles and relatives and friends. Be mindful of your manners, never overstay your welcome and always be sure to be grateful for their efforts in trying to make you feel at home.  

Likewise, open up your houses to children. Let your relatives and neighbours come over. Get the satisfaction of seeing them sprawled on your living room carpet after a lovely homemade meal that you cooked, biarlah ikan goreng dan sayur rebus sahaja sekalipun. 

And pray and hope that in the event we predecease our husband and children, they would have more than just their family members' houses to call a place their home.