Got bun or no bun?

Last week I was sick as a puppy. But I still went to work eventhough my face was green and my head was spinning. This happened for 3 days. When the co workers saw me, they said that I had a 'bun in the oven'.

Yeah sure, we have been trying, but I did not expect for it to happen too soon. But it was 4 more days to go before my period was to begin. So everyone was speculating…they said from the way I looked, the way I was so lemah longlai, I sure was supposedly to be baking the bun.

The period day came. My girlfriend was saying 'well???' I said 'Nope, no period yet' and my face was white as a ghost. Friday, Saturday, Sunday….nothing. Monday, there were signs that I was spotting…another sign to indicate that I could be preggy. But…I didn’t want to hope…false hope. Everyone's holding their breath…I was getting nervous, unsure and not quite hoping.

Tuesday, the day came when the dam finally broke. So it was a 'bantut' bun in the oven! The sweet husband was excited all along. Now that he knows that it was a 'bantut' bun, he says that there are many other moments to capture the momentum.

Oh how the body can be so unkind to me. I was never late and this body just had to play tricks on me.

I am not disappointed. I did not hope for the quick 'reaction' to begin with. But these people around me just made me feel excited…for them hehehe.

So don’t hope yet everyone…the project is still on. I told everyone in the office to stop speculating me and let me live 'naturally' (literally).

Maybe Ailin and I could have a virtual baby shower if we time it right...right Ailin?

Bapak...

Believe it or not, it has been almost a month since bapak arrived in San Francisco. He will be leaving us on Sunday night.

I feel that this time, bapak's visit has been strictly 'rest and relax'. Since he has been here more than 5 times, he had not been requesting to go to LA, nor the sierras to see snow, nor anywhere. If he wants to go downtown, he would walk down the hill, takes the bus and roam around for a day and then come home. He surely is more bus savvy than me who takes the train everywhere I go.

But he sure had his agenda for the husband and me…to complete the remodeling of the laundry house for Mat. NO, let me rephrase that, bapak has been aggressively keeping us on our toes on remodeling the laundry house expecting the house to be completely remodelled and move in before he leaves…which is impossible. But he is just being our bapak. The laundry facilities had been moved to the garage. The new wall had been replaced last weekend. The walls painted and the tiles 10% laid. With work and me haven't been feeling too well, it is hard for us to keep working on it unless it was the weekend. But bapak is 'kind of' happy that it is 80% done now.

This last week of bapak being here, the kids happened to be off from school…due to President's Week. So, it was bonding week for the cucu and their yayi. They went to the mall, the movies and today, they're going to the mosque for bapak's last Friday prayer here. He might take the kids to the Fisherman's Wharf…but he might have gotten sick of the Wharf!

I might shoo bapak to take the kids out tomorrow, to spend time with him and then take him out to dinner.

It sure have been nice having him around. It was a good bonding session for him and me when we were painting the laundry house. It was nice to have someone to talk to before going to work, just like when I was back home when I had mak and bapak to talk about nothing before and after work.

Thank you bapak for everything. We love you and will always think of you…till July. Big hugs from your 'anak kecik'.

Bedak dan gincu...

This is Makeup...the Ely way, not the proffessional way.

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What is natural beauty? Hehehehehe, pardon my laughter cos it reminded me of the chat Ayu, Nazrah and I had on Friday night. Ayu decided that she would like to do a makeover on herself…eerrr, not extreme makeover lah (can't afford the plastic surgeon), just a 'kemas kemas' look on her side.

I think she might have regretted for thinking out loud and sharing with Nazrah and me cos the kakak2 surely could not stop typing…trying to give her tips on how to look beautiful. Hehehe…again I am laughing cos it was such a sweet moment between the 3 of us.

So here I am sharing what Nazrah and I had shared with Ayu, 'follow' us if you're interested :

Skin deep - Before anything else, whether you're a makeup wearer or not, you MUST (I repeat Ayu) must..take care of your skin. Wash, tone (if you must) and moisturize (that’s a must to me). The wash will clean your makeup or dirt that you might have picked up at the fast food restaurant, dandre that you might have picked up from that mamat who had acne, etc etc. The tone, will close up your pores after washing to 'tighten' the skin and the moisturizer, to make your skin supple. The tricky part is that, not all skincare products are good for you. Everything is trial and error.

The color - You do not have to love makeup to apply it. You also do not have to be a beautician like 'The Nanny' to put that makeup on. For that natural look, firstly, ensure that your skincare products are reacting well and you have the habit of using it before even thinking of makeup. But sometimes, makeup can force you to care for your face kan?

For natural look…very easy, get compact (I like bronzer) or loose powder (Nazrah likes this!) and a big powder brush and brush it on your face. Why a brush? So that it will be applied evenly without caking your face and look like wayang. You can also use foundation or tinted moisturizer of you feel that you have the confidence to evenly spread that stuff on your face. Remember, all these colors MUST match your skin color. As in, when you put the powder or foundation on your test wrist, the color should not appear on your skin at all…do not get anything too dark or too light or you will look like someone else (trust me on this, and I am not talking about any beauty queen).

Some will feel that foundation will make your makeup look heavy which is untrue. It will cover the open pores on your skin and make your face look 'naturally' smooth. Do not overapply this stuff or it will look heavy. Ensure that it blends into your skin. Oh and good skin care is important to remove it at night.

The eyes - Nazrah likes eyeliner (shes very complicating, uses up to 3 colors on the eye) and I love using eyeshadow as eyeliner. Depending on what kind of eyeliner you use, some eyeliners make your eyes look smaller. So I like the natural look, I use the dark colored eyeshadow to contour the top and bottom of my eyes…looks smokey kan? Again, you do not have to be an artist to 'draw' your eyes. Use a very very light glowey color on the top of your eyelids to the bottom of your eyebrows. This will make your eyes look dewy and fresh. Next, use the same color that you used to contour the bottom of your eyes to color the contour of the top of your eye. This will 'pop' your eyes out…not in a scarey way and no…not like Bambi's mom (so says Ayu).

The cheeks - again, the blusher is not meant to 'show up' at all. It should be natural color. The purpose of it is to give you that glow. One stoke, 2 strokes…oklah…don’t get carried away. If you can find a liquid blusher, even better, will definitely make you look glowey.

The lips - we all know that true red is NOT the color for anyone. I like 'icey' pink or 'icey' brown, depending on your skin tone. Lip goss with lip pencil is fine too. Wear bold colors only if you feel like you're confident with the color, if not, don’t even think about it.

Hair - If you're not wearing tudung and have not visited the hairdresser past 6 months, you might want to think about saying hi to them. Layering your hair will give it some body and keep you look 'maintained'. Rebonding your hair (for those who have the mullah) will make that curls go straight like china doll! The right shampoo and conditioner is the most important. Again, hair does not grow on your head naturally beautiful unless you're aged 5 and under (baby hair's the best!). Hair needs tender loving care too.

You must be wondering how long I take to get dressed for work? Mandi- 15 mins (kalau basuh rambut, kalau tak 10 mins), makeup-10 mins, dress up - 5 mins (kalau gosok baju, add 10 mins), hair - 2 mins (dry) or 5 mins (wet…must hairdry and put gel what!)

So there…I am not a beautician, neither am I known to be a makeup artist (I can't shade my eyelids too well for nuts compared to my co worker who could 'design' her eyelids!) but I can share some 'natural look' tips!

For those who still do not like makeup…do not feel obligated to do so (I know, banyak sangat steps), as long as the skin is taken care of, nothing else matters :) . And I don't judge my friends for their faces. I love them for their personality.

Oh and why did I keep mentioning natural? Can you imagine if you make yourself up like some film star (or porn star as the americans say)…take that makeup off and mak datok!!! I'll let you put the thoughts in your head for now.

But to me, natural beauty is what you're born with, inside and outside.

How to be a couch potato

Anyone who visits the US longer than 2 weeks will realize that they turn into couch potatoes within a week of being here.

All they need are :
- a working TV, who cares, 14" or 60" HDTV, they all work the same
- the remote, this is a must, or you will have to move your butt and would not be able to concentrate on 'fermenting' to be a couch potato
- a nice thick couch, to get yourself situated strategically in front of the TV, without getting cramps on your back
- a side table, so that before a movie starts, you have your popcorn, shrimp chips, kerepek whatever and diet soda to put on.
Oh and of course…
- a good movie or short 'show after show after show'

When I mentioned 'show after show after show', I really mean show after show after show…as in, show marathon. Sometimes on a weekend, a certain channel would show South Park ALL DAY LONG. Don’t worry if you fell asleep while watching the 4th episode, you can catch up on the 5th one. OR if you really fall into deep sleep, some channels show Dirty Dancing ALL DAY LONG…so catch up whenever you can.

And then I mentioned the good show/movie. My favorites are Dr Phil (yeah babey!), The Chappelle's Show, South Park, Miami Ink (my father in law thinks that only crazy people watches it), Dirty Dancing (all weekend), Grease (all weekend), all the movies in the Lifetime Movie channel and dozens others. So, if are taking a break from the 'big people' show, go to Disney Channel and watch Lizzie McGuire all day or the COURTTV channel and watch Forensic Files. If you have short attention span, how about watching 'The Osbournes' or 'The Hogan' (remember Hulk Hogan?) family run their everyday crappy lifes. Then there's Video on Demand. Movies from HBO, Cinemax, Showtime and TMC…the movies don’t start til u hit the button…there's 'White Chicks', 'Casablanca', 'Harry Potter 3', 'First 50 Dates', and many more to choose from. Hey and don’t forget to watch 'Tom and Jerry' all day too!

If you get tired of watching the goggle box, don’t be wary, go to the mall and window shop, get some air …relax those eye muscles. And when you're ready, the TV will be right there to welcome your return!

It surely is not that hard to be a couch potato. I truly am a semi couch potato. I watch TV from my bed, with the laptop in front of me too. I drift in and out of sleep on a lazy Sunday morning just cos I feel that I need to be a 'vegetable' for a day before I start working the next day.

Application not needed, come join the couch potato club.

*Bapak is sitting in front of the TV watching a movie from 'video on demand'*

What can I say...

It is Friday...but the day can be deceiving,
It has not been a pleasant day to begin with,
Part of it is totally not my fault,
But what can I say, I can't stop people from having attitudes.

Apology has been said and the rest is up to you.

Just don't fight with me when I am having my PMS...cos you will never win!

Bossy boss

Eversince the boss moved to the 1st floor, things have changed. I am working with him virtually, we message each other and use the telephone to communicate…emails included. But then I have the assistant manager who is sitting at the boss' former office up here. She took over some tasks of what the boss was doing when he was here (in terms of insurance and Reps admin).

Day by day, I have been feeling a little depressed, a little underachieved as I don’t seem to be getting the daily 'up to the minute' admin scoop…which lead to misadministration and miscommunication at times. The assistant managers are mostly in their own worlds and come to me only in the 11th hour to complete a project.

Today, the boss proposed a new project to me. Before that we had a pep talk (after I complained that he's virtually bossy too!)…he said that I am doing a great job. Sigh…and I meant a huge SIGH cos I am really not feeling that I am doing anything great. I feel underachieved and underperformed. But hey, I did not want to sound like a whiner yet. I asked 'You think? I don’t feel so!'…then as usual, we got sidetracked on other issues and didn’t really talk about how I was feeling.

But as we both left his office (him to a meeting and me back to the 2nd floor), he mouthed 'Thank you' to me. And I said 'Sure sure…and stop being bossy'…and he said 'You better take them stairs instead of the elevator!'…HAH!

'V' day again?

Update : Feb 14th 2006

It has been such a beautiful day today. Lots of sun and everyone seems to be happy.

The office was cheery at 8:30am. Most are wearing dark red or pink just cos its Valentines Day. One brought a tray of glazed cinnamon buns, one bought a dozen of donuts. The corporate cafeteria was decorated with Valentines Day ornaments and ribbons...red and pink.

Went to Union Square today just to get some candy for the family. Crowded...the Lush boutique was also crowded. I didn't look into the jewelry store...don't know if it was crowded or not.

Nothing big planned for the day. Nothing REALLY special going on here. Maybe a dinner for 2 at the neighborhood sushi place. I warned the husband not to buy me flowers...save the money for dinner.

This morning the daughter said 'I HATE Valentines Day...it's garbage!'...maybe cos she does not have a Valentine (what a relief!) or maybe shes being a feminist for now...after a so called 'breakup' with a fellow class mate (she kinda dislikes boys for now). The boy's oblivious to this occasional 'national holiday' thingy.

The husband is on his way to the Dr's office for his shoulder check up. After the surgery, the shoulder has only been 20% better as oppose to supposedly 80% better. So the specialist will determine if (a) they operated on the wrong problem or (b) they need another Dr for a 3rd (yes hear me out...THIRD) opinion.

Whatever it is, the day is not over yet. I hope you all had a sweet V day yesterday..if not...dont worry...everyday can be a V day and thats the most important thing?

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Valentines Day…something that the husband and I think to be the tackiest day in the year, apart from Xmas. But then again, if I don’t get candy or flowers, I would feel dejected eh? So…maybe this time, I would like to write a love note to my husband, for those who don’t like chickflicks to begin with, please click the 'back' button or just the 'x' to exit.

There's truly nothing much to say apart from reconfirming that I love my husband still and have not kicked him out to the curb yet? Or should I say that we are still discovering ourselves and that we have stopped that regular fightings (we have not fought for almost a year!)? I don’t know…

Anyway dear husband…

It surely was a miracle on how we met,
Thousands of miles apart,
Out of millions of fish in the sea,
We picked each other almost instantaneously,
No regrets of my decision for you.

I know we are not 'mushy' people,
No 'smoopy', no 'honey buns', no 'sweet cakes' calling,
But just plain ole Ely and plain ole David,
Sometimes we call each other names that could in turn offend us (like psycho, crazy, silly) :)

So there, my love note for you,
Nothing to really sweep you off your feet,
But at least you would know that…
I LOVE YOU & HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

Oh yeah…to all bloggers, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY to you too! Much love from moi!

Aftermath of the aftermath

Aaaaah, a new template...again! Hopefully this template would not crash anyone's wifi cell phone due to the stupid pop ups!

The aftermath of the trip was not positive. We came home on Tuesday, one thing weird about me is that, I count my cats to make sure that they're all ay-okay. But heck, it was 2.45pm and the weather was beautiful so most of the cats were out enjoying the day. Come 8pm, one by one started coming in like 'ayam pulang ke reban'. Okay...where's Pinky and Puffy. 9pm, 10pm, 11pm, no Pinky nor Puffy. The husband jumped out of bed and called out their names...Puffy came back in 30 seconds...still no Pinky.

Wednesday...no Pinky
Thursday...no Pinky
I was getting frantic and started to cry each time when I was thinking of her. Where could Pinky be?
Friday...
I cried even more. Started to make flyers to put up in the neighborhood and planned to knock on neighbors' doors to see if Pinky was 'domesticating' in their houses. No...no sign of Pinky by 7pm. Aiyoh...how can Ely live without Pinky?

I forgot to mention that the husband brought Tuco, our previously 17 lbs cat to the vet as he has been losing too much weight since the past month. Costed us $300 for this cat to be diagnosed. The vet called on Friday to let us know that Tuco is diabetic. We have to bring him in on Saturday for some insulin dosages and consultation on how to care for diabetic cat. The vet says that diabetes for cats are not neccessarily premanent and they could be cured and have a normal and happy life. Now the husband is crying. Sigh...double whammy surprise eh? Pinky is missing and Tuco is diabetic.

But life went on for me...Friday night is shopping night. The kids have their baseball and softball tryouts in the weekend and we need to buy them baseball/softball gloves. And then to Petsmart to get cat food. Sigh...I was at the verge of crying when I was at the petstore...Ely can't live without Pinky!!!

Got home, bapak was talking on the phone with his beloved mak. I went into the room and started crying uncontrollably. Ely can't live without Pinky!!! Then I decided that I needed to do something to cheer myself up...change this blog template. Think positive...think positive...

10pm...
I heard a tiny mew from the sliding glass door outside my bedroom, I turned around and waited ...another tiny mew...then came the white head...PINKY!!! Tears of joy this time while I opened the sliding glass door...my Pinky is back!!!

Yup, she smelled musty though not dirty. She sure had been accidentally locked up in a neighbor's garage for 4 days!

Aftermath...

It was a beautiful wedding, very jewish, very personable and very very memorable. I get to meet 'new' cousins of the husband's whom he had not seen for over 20 years. For the siblings, it was another reunion for us.

Firstly, I reached the in laws place with the in laws busy counting the number of gift baskets for each room of the hotel that they have booked for the guests in Miami Beach...40 rooms altogether. Yes, not 4, not 14 but 40. The bride (my sister in law) just left the house and she was frantic...frantic as in panicky. The next night, 2 nights before the wedding, Kimberly, the SIL (sister in law) was begging for help in tying the ribbons for the wedding program. Here comes the SIL made in heaven (me lah) shooing her from the MIL's house and telling her to go home and get some sleep. The bride, wanting her wedding to be nothing but perfect had been so emotional, she cried over every little thing that did not fall into place. Sometimes nak jugak rasa macam nak cekik budak nih suruh bawak bersabar.

(Skipping my kebaya part, refer to pictures)The ceremony was held that the jewish temple. Like I said, my first ever jewish wedding. It went so well, at the end of the ceremony, guess who was bawling away besides my brother in laws?

Then came the oh so wonderful wedding banquet. If you have watched the Wedding Crashers, thats the exact scenario of how my sister in law described it to be. Life music, the 'Hava Nagila' chair dance and tonnes of 80's live music to dance to. I think my kebaya outfit attracted the attention of the cameramen...ahemm, enjoy it while it lasted eh?

We had been having late nights preparing for the wedding, the rehearsal dinner, the wedding and the aftermath. Right now, my eyes are hardly open...begging for beauty sleep before work tomorrow.

I love my husband's family. They're a bunch of good people who loves me as much as I love them!

Enjoy the pics, ask me questions if you want to :)

The invitation


The Bride


The ceremony


Happily Married


With the Bride


With mom in law


Errr, the Ratu Kebaya and her kids


The husband and step brothers


The husband, the bride, the sister (she rocks!!!)


The dance

More pictures...click on the thumbnail and click next for enlarged slideshow.

The time has come...

for us to leave,
the wedding is over...oh how beautiful it was,
another day left before we go,
with all the nice memories that we will hold...
in our hearts...FOREVER