Being abroad has taught me...

Before you read the rest of this entry, just wanted to thank my readers who come to my blog, let it be everyday or your first time being here. My page hits have been hitting the peak since 2 days ago…but with the lowest number of comments which is not my priority factor. Commenting is not a requirement when reading my blog, always been my pleasure to have visitors to this page :)

Thank you for coming!!! To the loyal readers (peminat ku semua! Hehehehe), I would be nothing without you, cewah!

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Being abroad has taught me...

To value 'my' people
Never knew that I am a true melayu until I moved far away from home. Barulah terfikir kan Mak Joyah dan Cik Kiah yang tak henti duk gossip pasal anak Makcik Tenah. Actually, that’s when I feel the urge to find and make new friends, malays who live abroad and share our experiences and to feel that we're not alone in this 'not so many melayu' country.

Pergi jalan beraya, kalau kat Singapore, sejauh2 nya rumah orang tuh, 45 mins drive jer, kalau di sini, at least 45 mins and to an hour drive or more pun sanggup.

~Takkan hilang melayu di dunia!~

To be more tolerant
I tend to hold my breath and count more than 10. Let it be arguing with the spouse, getting mad at the kids or problems at work.

Tolerant also involves
-Not interrupting when a conversation is being held (I am very bad with that)
-Eye to eye contact when you hold a conversation
-A child is to be heard and not just be seen. A child is expected to respond socially when asking how they are doing and not to look on the floor and not answer (that’s if the parents having to tolerate in training them from home!).

To be more understanding
To understand that this country does not consist of just Malays (hard to find), Indians (you can find them at the IT department) or Chinese (abundance here!) but also hispanics of all kinds, europeans of all kinds and asians of all creatures. And get this, I found out also that asians are not as ignorant as orang yang tinggal di sini.

Being married to an american and of jewish decent, it makes me excited to learn about the american (eh dorang ada culture ker?) and the husband's culture (eh dia tuh tau ker culture dia?).

And that the husband was not born a muslim. Cannot expect him to dive into the muslim culture in the blink of an eye. Mesti pelan2.

Bersyukur of the goodness upon me
Since I moved here, I do not care about looking forward to a new pay check (cos I know they go to bills) but am thankful that the bills are taken care of and that we have a job, the kids are well fed and I do not slog for money and still feel that its not enough. Alhamdulillah, I am glad that I have a husband who is the financial manager in the house (besides him coming from the decent of knowing how to be tight fisted with money).

Any good grades from the kids, any pay increment for me and any business sale from the husband is something from Allah Almighty. We're so protected by Allah, in terms of happiness and wealth…syukur syukur.

What love and true sacrifice is
I moved 8,000 miles for my love. The husband sacrificed by taking on my kids and me. The kids sacrificed their lifestyle to be with me. My parents sacrificed me and my kids for my own and the kids' happiness. My sister sacrificed her only sister for my happiness.

That you come to work to be heard too

That thongs are the BEST lingerie in the world (enough said)

That moisturizer is a must here

That sushi is meant to be eaten RAW (yes, you don’t cook the fish!)

The aftermath...

How do you get the momentum of working after 4 days holiday?

Nothing much to mention about Turkey Day. Good family day, we even had time to stroll down Fisherman's Wharf, just for the sake of it. Come weekend, the husband had 'full blown' work days. We had the kids spend the night at their respective friends' places. And Saturday, I brought the daughter and her gf to the mall. And then it was the gf's turn to spend the night at our house.

Believe it or not, I really love having the kids' friends over for the night…the only thing that I worry about is food. I always wanted to make sure that the little visitor has food and gets well fed, either when they're out with us, we feed them lunch and before we send them home. Don’t want to hear any rumor saying that I send the kids home feeling hungry.

Yesterday, Sunday, after sending the gf home, I begged for the kids to please leave me alone, on my bed, by myself with the laptop turned on and movie playing on TV. Sempat jugak tukar template hehehe. As I was watching 'Spanglish', my girl came by to say hello.

Mas : 'Hey ibu, what you doing?'
Ibu : 'Watching tv…wussup? Its my day off from taking you guys anywhere today.'
Mas : 'I know that! Well….(she starts climbing on my bed…slowly), can't your daughter just sit on the bed next to you?'
Ibu grunting : 'Hmmmmph, just cant leave your ibu alone! OK you can sit here, but I am watching this movie. Not a sound out of you OK!'
Mas : 'Yes ibu…'

She fell asleep 15 minutes later, from not talking and having to watch 'Spanglish' with me. Gawd…we're both having PMS, so we tend to have clashed all weekend.

Monday morning, the husband was already banging on the computer keyboard at 6 am, business does not recognize the time! The daughter and son arguing while having their breakfast and me…dazed…in denial, that it is already Monday!!!!!!

Back in the office, 5 days worth of reports coming to me in just about an hour. I am still savoring my supposedly strong coffee, but still feeling sleepy. The Auto Show was just over, so the aftermath process can be a pain in the behind.

In the meantime, Happy Monday everyone, or Happy Tuesday to the ones in Asia dan kawasan yang sewaktu dengannya...Eggnog anyone???

Something for ME to ponder...

Remember my previous post about the divorce and how my kids were coping it? Do you believe that sometimes you know your kids so well but you actually don't? Sometimes you want the kids to express to you how they feel deep inside but they can't simply express themselves directly to you?

The son borrowed my MP3 player a week ago. I have many songs in there, all categorized by genre. The next morning, I retrieved the player back from the son, he had this song playing for him...Cenderawasih.

Now that song, was played by the ex to the kids when we were going through the divorce, he would be with the kids for a couple of hours a day and play that song over and over again. Of course, he meant for me to hear it too (Ely buat tak dengar). He was trying to 'pujuk' me and tellng me that he could not afford to live up to my standard (what standard? I didn't know that 'responsibility' is a 'standard'?)

6 years later, the song still lingers in my son's heart. I know that he still loves his father dearly and I will never tell him to not listen to the song ever. Maybe that's the only thing that would keep his love for his father still strong.

I wish I could turn back the clock and 'unhurt' my kids. But I did not regret being separated from the ex and took a stride on my own. As I always promise to myself, I will never hurt my kids like how there were hurt 6 years before. But I cannot undo what happened and how it effected them.

Here's the lyric to the song,


Cenderawasih

Cenderawasih burung kayangan
Tuanku putih kilau keemasan
Pandanglah hamba si gagak hutan
Sebelah mata pun hamba tak terkilan

Cenderawasih burung kayangan
Tuanku putih kilau keemasan
Adumu bercadarkan pintalan gemawan
Tidur hamba beralas reranting hutan

Tak hamba terkelindan sayap dipatahkan
Tak hamba terkilan telur hamba dipecahkan
Hamba akur dengan suratan
Hamba akur dengan kehendak Tuhan
Hamba akur berketurunan bermandi hinaan

Cenderawasih burung kayangan
Tuanku putih kilau keemasan
Kau pinta didodoikan rintikan hujan
Ku mampu rintih senandung kedukaan

Post Turkey Day...

Ely has to work today. There is an auto show in San Francisco and my company is participating in this show. Aper nak buat. All I can say is, the husband better not be begging for us to get a new auto when he gets to the show.

Also, this Auto Show is located 1 block away from Union Square...swell! When people go for their post-Thanksgiving Sale, Ely walks to Moscone Center to work for 6 hours! Tomorrow, Ely and kids will go to the mall very early in the morning and do their share of the damage.

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Ayam Belanda Lagi...

Belum...belum habis lagi cerita aku tentang Hari Ayam Belanda nih. Malam nih dah kira malam Hari Ayam Belanda lah eh?

Train station suma dah lengang, orang semua balik kampung. Banyak juga orang yang menaiki keretapi untuk ke lapangan terbang, bawak beg bertimbun2. Mungkin di lapangan terbang tuh penuh sesak eh? Stesen keretapi di kawal ketat oleh BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Police, begitulah keadaan ketika waktu percutian sebegini.

Kalau nak cakap pasal supermarket…ish jangan cakap lah, penuh sesak. Line nak bayar panjang menjela. Cake shop? Di San Francisco nih ada satu kedai kek bername Dianda's (italian cake shop), dorang punya cake, mesti semua dah habis. Suami nak pergi beli cake ataupun dessert hari nih, hmm, mungkin dia dapat yang 'koret koret' (cakap orang Jawa tuh belen2 lah) jer. Gasak lah, tapikan, cookies dan canoli mereka, MasyaAllah…sedaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!

Semalam duk makan malam, cakap dengan si Abang David 'Heh, tahun yang lepas2, your makcik ada saja TERkomen pasal orang asia nih. Tahun nih aper agaknya komen dia eh?'. Memang tak boleh kulupakan waktu makcik mengatakan yang orang hutan makan dengan tangan! Hehehehe.

Jadi kami akan ke Fairfax pada pukul 2 petang (hai, lagi lambat pun takper), suami kata pukul 8 malam kita blahlah. Aku tak kisah, aku dan anak2 ikut saja.

Di tempat kerja waktu ini, sungguh lengang. Ada yang dah balik rumah, nak kasi mandi itu ayam belanda sebelum masuk ker dalam oven. Ada yang tengah last minute grocery shopping dan ada juga yang akan balik kampung. Tapi kerja tidak lengang, boss takder jadi aku lah jadi problem solver. Dah 2 problem aku solve, 5 more hours to go, anything can happen within this period of time kan? Makan tengahari hari nih mungkin best sikit, makanan halal mediterenean bernama 'Gyro King'. Yeah itu Shish Kebab saya yang punya! Jangan lupa sama itu cous cous juga kasi mari!

Dari itu, aku harus mengakhiri entry ini sebab I have to get back to work! Kepada sesiapa yang tinggal di US mahupun dimana2 yang akan memakan ayam belanda macam aku nih, Happy Thanksgiving, kalau makan ayam belanda tuh, tutup mata dan bayangkan ianya dimasak dalam kari ataupun rendang hehehehe. Waktu mereka berpegangan tangan dan berkata 'Thank you God etc etc ' bayangkan lah makanan di depan kamu itu sambal goreng dan sayur lodeh hehehehe.

InsyaAllah, gambar ayam belanda dan sanak saudara Abang David akan ditayangkan selepas esok.

Hari Ayam Belanda...

Thanksgiving Day is here again. Waktu untuk kita berkunjung ke rumah bapa saudara Abang David (hehehe) di Fairfax (seberang Golden Gate Bridge).

Aku masih baru lagi di dalam hal Thanksgiving nih suma. Macam Hari Raya juga, cuma tanpa rendang dan sambal goreng. Hanya makanan yang tidak pedas langsung seperti ayam belanda, kentang lecek (betul ker aku ckp nih), sayuran yang dikukus dan juga cranberry sauce. Kalau makanan tuh tak bersambal, memang terasa tekak nih kembang betul, tak tertelan!

Tapi aperkan daya, beginilah kalau kita berkahwin campur. We adopt each others tradition. Dia sungguh kagum dengan tradisi kita dan aku juga harus merasa sebaliknya.

Aku memang suka juga melawat si bapa saudara dan famili nya tuh, Cuma mereka tak semesra dan sekecoh keluarga bangsa kita. Sopan santun mesti teratur. Tak boleh menyampuk dan sudu garpu, pisau semua mesti beradab kalau di gunakan. Kalau senang pakai jer tangan kan? Suatu masa dahulu, anak si pakcik nih menggunakan tangan untuk makan, sekali isterinya berkata,'Eh, orang hutan saja gunakan tangan untuk makan tau!'…dah lah aku kat sini terasa mcm si orang hutan! Tak, aku tak marah, dia tak tau yang kita nih makan gunakan tangan, jadi aku maafkan dia. No big deal. Dan isterinya juga ingat yang orang Singapura hanya menaiki basikal sebagai kenderaan ke mana2. Alah cik kak…nak marah pun dah tak boleh. Takper…dia tak tau! Tapi apart from that, aku sayang mereka tuh semua.

Thanksgiving Day dirayakan, pada hari Khamis ketiga pada bulan November. Jadi, ofis akan tutup pada hari Jumaat, long weekendlah! Dan…pada hari Jumaat, Thanksgiving Sales akan bermula di merata tempat. Best place to go (or not to go if you do not like crowds)…Union Square!!! Macam2 orang kita dapat melihat, sambil berbelanja.

Musim sejuk juga akan tiba. Jadi di Sierras, salju akan turun atau pun mungkin sudah pun turun? Mungkin kalau Abang David tak malas, dapatlah aku ajak budak2 bermain snow hujung minggu nih.

A 'Star' is born...

After being an 'eBay Trading Assistant' for almost a year (or more dealing with just eBay auctions), the husband has decided to expand his business, by being a licensed business owner. He feels that’s he has enough clientele to work this business on his own, place advertisements on certain medias and let it work for him.

First things first. He needed a name for the company. I suggested a Jewish name, he suggested a malay name. He wanted the name to sound…asian…exotic. I suggested my middle name 'Suraya' and he loved it. So his business is named Suraya Trading Company.

Amaciam…ada ummph tak? Hehehehe...

Tamak tamak, ku sungguh tamak!

Who says that dieters won't crash and go into bingeing roll? Heh, after 3 months of doing this diet, I have crashed into a weekend of BINGE...and regretting it! I oughta be struck by the South Beach Diet 'heaven' lightning!!!

First sinful binge...Friday, the baby shower...OK I was good, did not eat the whole slice of cake but just a teeny weeny slice, not enough to make me feel bad. Then came dinner time. It was our department dinner (with no boss!) at the Italian restaurant...ooooooooooooh, no stopping Ely! First came the cheese garlic bread, I had a teeny section of it. Then came the seafood, aaahh, bedal, seafood is OK. The worst part is the Triple Flavored chocolate cake with ice cream. Halo...how to refuse like that...had 3 spoonfuls. Balik rumah cursing myself for mencekik.

Second sinful binge...Saturday, Open House at Kak Sarimah's house in Livermore. This is a Singaporean family, first time to their house for raya. Not just is their house lovely, the food...ooooooooooh lala...cannot refuse. Rojak india, satay goreng, nasi himpit, sambal kacang, laksa johor, kueh lopes, popiah pedas...aper lagi? SEMUA aku bedal!!! Yes, semua! I had a huge lunch that when I got home and went to bed, I woke up with the worst heatburn I ever had. Woke the husband up at 2am and asked him to drive me to Walgreen's (drugstore), bought 2 kinds of antacids (one for chewing and the other to swallow). Sakit sangat! Nak buang angin pun boleh siksa camnih!

Third sinful binge...Sunday, Harry Potter Movie. Brought a backpack full of garbage, alah for the kids (and the mom, shhhhhhhh). For me, I brought the shrimp cracker (alah 27 gms of carbs jer for about 20 pieces of crackers). Then the husband bought a bucket full of popcorn, thank goodness with no butter, but had to reach over to the son to TRY his Kettle Corn. Balik rumah, 2nd phase of mencekik the rojak india, from last night. Dinner, just steak. Dessert? Errr, about 10 pieces of the shrimp cracker? Ayoh, so bad...ordered the kids to finish them up for me.

So....Ely had done enough of bingeing. Yup, its the PMS 'oh I so want to eat' time again. But tomorrow, I have to stop. So I have decided to go back to South Beach Diet Phase 1...no fruits and no carbs at all, not even good carbs for 2 weeks, padan muka aku! Now Ely is sitting here typing sambil gigit jari...of GUILT...GUILT GUILT!!!!!!!

Next week, the water retention will start, the perut kembung will start and the monthly 'bitch devil' will start coming. Noooooooooooooooooo...

The Baby shower...

I did not know that friends and co workers of pregnant women and daddies do 'baby showers' for them! In Singapore, orang kata lenggang perut kan? How ignorant of me when I was invited to a baby shower few years back…didn’t know that it was even suppose to be a surprise. No……did not tell the preggy husband/wife that we're going to have a baby shower party in the office, at company's time…to eat a cake, open presents and having a good time…don’t forget them favors either!

Now, I am always the contact point to either make banners or cards or even send email for the surprise party…if not me, then my lovely co worker Monica. We both have the artsy skill to unfortunately be appointed by the co workers to do the set up.

So today…baby shower for our co worker, Erick. Wife is due in December. First time daddy, very very the anxious! Monica did the setup and I helped with doing some cards for the co workers, including myself, who cant afford to buy a card hahaha.

This baby shower is the 3rd one we had this year….all for daddies. You know how men are, they tear up the presents, look at the baby clothes, say thanks and then throw all the clothes in one big pile and stuff them into a huge bag…so messy and so cannot tahan. So the ladies would let the daddies open the gifts, then we take them back and fold them back into the lovely pretty bags.

I told the co workers, when I get preggy, make sure the baby shower is the 'talk of the town'! You see, you can't do your own baby shower…your friends and relatives will have to do it for you, preferably a surprise one. If you do your own baby shower, noone will attend…its more like a 'popularity' thingy. You know what I mean!

And the same concept goes with the Bridal Shower as well…only that bridal shower is wilder!

Baby Shower setup

Erick opening gifts

The day we jalan Raya...

Is it too late to be talking about Hari Raya?

Yup, my jalan raya came late for us…well, at least for Mat, Mas and myself (the husband was too sick to jalan raya).

1st Stop : Mountain View, Lilac's and Sam's house. Lilac made delicious tandoori chicken, meat curry and cheesecake yummy….sehingga menjilat jari. There was also beryani and other food on the table. The raya kueh hmmm…wish I ate more suji kueh when I was there!

2nd Stop : Walnut Creek, Sharun's house. Another place to binge and sabotage my diet. Kuah lodeh, lontong, rendang and more kueh! Time to catch up with Sharun, almaklimlah, jarang berjumpa!

1st time in my life had I driven more than 50 miles in a day! Bravo to me!

I had a great time with Lilac, Sam, Alya, Sharun and her brood :). I am sure Mas and Mat had a great time too!

Yummy food prepared by Lilac

At the backyard

Please ignore the rice on my plate :)

With Sharun and her brood (husband taking this picture)

More pics

The one that adopted us...

Our house has been a 'Cat Haven' since we moved to this house 4 years ago. We tamed the ferals, fixed them and feed them everyday, including the raccoons, skunks and oppossums.

Since my kitten, Pinky was adopted a year ago, we promised to ourselves that we will never adopt another cat. But 2 weeks ago, a black cat came into the house, and refuses to leave.

The husband swears up and down that this cat is someone else's pet...why? Cos he knows to sleep on the bed, sits on our laps and asks for love, would even come to us when we shake a bottle of medication, thinking that it's cat treats. He even uses the litter box!

Now, this cat is so attached to me. He does disappear when I go to work during the day...maybe back to his home, that 2 timing cat! And everyday, the husband would tell him,'Where's your home, go back to your home!'.

I know...6 cats is a lot for us. But we love them cats...how could we ever deny them love and affection????????

The Ex...

I thought that I would pen this just so that down the road, I would remember…

After being divorced from my ex husband for 5 years, the ex has decided to communicate with my children. The kids first received a Hari Raya card by him, something which was very very unexpected. Then today, Mat received a Birthday card from him. Hmmm…something must have knocked some senses into this person.

I have a feeling that our visit to Singapore last year and my husband's effort to let the kids meet up with their father had somehow made the ex realize how much time he had lost on the kids? I remember my husband saying 'I want the kids to know that they have a father. That they need to see their father even though they have not seen him for years. At least when they grow up, they will not have resentment upon us for not making the effort to let them see their father'. Yes, I am blessed to have my husband who cares for the kids' feelings. Having come from a broken family himself, he surely does not want my kids to feel as miserable as he was when he was a kid.

So…could it be the visit last year that made the ex want to catch up with lost time communicating with the kids? Is he feeling bad that he had been ignoring the kids? I don’t know. All I know is that I have been 'banned' from communicating with the ex as I might end up ending his life there and then (yeah yeah, sure, I don’t mean it).

But I am grateful that the kids finally are getting some communication with their father (who had 'disappeared' for years…shuddup Ely). My husband suggested that they call their father tonight to continue communication with him. I am just going to stand back and listen to them. And then be there should there be 'aftermath' effects on them.

You know, the kids will have to get the hang of communicating with their father again after so long. My son is more of an introvert who is more understanding on what actually happened many years back, but not my daughter. She gets upset pretty quickly when her father is being mentioned. She would say that there is no point in communicating with her father as he did not care for her since she was 5. That he left the house while she was begging for his return…amazingly, she remembers all that. There was once when she cried and asked me why I broke up with their father. And that her father is a stranger to her now…and that she doesn’t care.

Who am I to say that the ex is a loser (again Ely…shuddup!). But what I told my daughter on why we broke up was 'I was too young to be married (18 then). And one thing to remember always, NEVER let anyone control your life. When you marry someone, this person must love you for what you are and not to change you'. The rest was up to her to think about.

And you know what? I will never drag this ex to jail for not paying nafkah to the kids since the divorce. Sure, I was challenged by him to do so. But I don’t want the kids to find out that I have dragged their father to jail. This nafkah issue is between him, Allah and the kids. Not for me to stress over. Alhamdulillah, rezeki for the kids have been endless.

Bless my husband's heart for his good intentions towards my kids, whom he loves dearly.

Blog Works

UPDATE ::: I have decided to change my template back to the old one. The previous template seemed to be too big for many readers' screens. My laptop has a big screen, I didn't seem to see how horrendous it was until I came to work!

So back to the old face. Will still be looking for another template to play with. Look out for it!

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Thanks to Queen of the House, I have decided to remodel my blog too.

Took me a whole day to decide which design and layout I like. Tonnes of tweaking and lots of thinking.

Please ignore some unfinished works on this page. Most postings in archives will be hard to read as they were coded as light colors, to coordinate with my previous template which was dark blue. I shall try to change all the colors for easy reading.

Hope you guys like the new paint in my house. Tuh lah, orang cat rumah sebelum raya, kita lepas raya pulak hehehe.

Losing it...

< Frances & Me

Sorry, I really do not mean to brag again but I have lost 23lbs to date!

Last weekend, I weighed in and saw that I lost only 1 lb, after the raya and Chutney binge. 'Fine', I was telling myself…'I binged on raya and ate all the cookies and tarts and whatever was on the table'. But then I went on a strict no carb diet for 3 days to so called 'detox' myself…guilty jugak eh dah mencekik 2 hari!

So yesterday, I stepped on the scale…OK, I lost 5 lbs…I LOST 5 LBS??????? I got off the scale and got back on it 3 times…sanity check. Woooohooooo….betul lah, 5 lbs! boleh tahan. So I have 10-15 more lbs before I reach my weight goal. It’s a long way to go, but perseverence and discipline is the key! InsyaAllah….

As you have read how I started this South Beach Diet…hai, memanglah first 2 weeks payah betul…rasa macam tak boleh survive. But it gets easier after seeing the pounds melting away.

Nope, you don’t have to buy this South Beach Diet food, cookies or meals. Just get the book and you will know what I am talking about.

Clothes? Even my 'upper underwear' do not really fit as well. Was a C cup, I think now I have lost them 'girls' a little bit, I slipped to a B, grrrr. I do sporadic shopping, if I go grocery shopping by myself or with my daughter, I would divert a little bit to Burlington Coat Factory to see if they have good collections. So far, I managed to get 3 new blouses and a pair of work pants…that fit me. I bought a belt which I did not measure against myself due to the stupid theft detector, when I got home, the belt was too big…exchange again! So far, half of my clothes are acting funny when they're on my body. Either the crotch of the pants falls 5 inches down my thighs or the button down blouse just do not fit anymore.

Some of my co workers think that I am 'disappearing' in my cubicle each day they see me. They have to look hard for me, not getting used to the shrinking Ely, who still sounds as loud as before.

That’s the update for now, will update more when I reach the 10-15 lbs mark ok!

My son, the teenager

Click here for more photos

My son is a teenager effective 12 midnight on Sunday. Sigh…dah besar anak aku. Rasa macam baru semalam dia dilahirkan. Kecik jer, very good baby he was.

Today, hes taller than me by at least 2 inches, but weighs lighter than me for now lah hahaha. Jerawat dah menumbuh kat hidung tuh. Kejap sebelah bawah hidung, kejap, sebelah atas. Ibu dia kelam kabut carikan Oxy Pads for him to clean his face every night and day. Tak nak pulak anak aku dipanggil 'Mat Selekeh'.

Dah pandai bergaya jugak anak bujang aku satu nih. Pakai kemeja ke sekolah…Dockers, Ralph Lauren…boleh tahan. Pakai gel rambut menimbun, kat sebelah atas jer kepala dia…mcm pesen budak2 sekarang gitu.

Now that he's a teenager, he is celebrating the fact that he is able to watch PG13 movies without his parents having to hover over him. He has also advanced to another level for the Baseball League…no more 'Ponies'…now he is in the 'Broncos'…kuda lebih besar ker? Alah the bujang league lah kata orang tuh.

13 years, memang bohong lah kalau dia dibesarkan tanpa masalah remaja. Tahun lepas, nasib baik ibu dia tak kena heart attack bila dapat 'report card'. Apa lagi, kena grounded budak tuh selama 6 bulan. No baseball, no tv, no nothing! Pandai dia kelentung ibu dia, pandai lah ibu dia kelentung dia balik. Alhamdulillah, he got he grades back. As and Bs…nothing less. Markah dia di sekolah nih adalah report homework dia tuh. Jadi kalau As, dia tak lupa homework…sume beres. Bagus!

Hadiah? Ish..minggu lepas dah bawa dia pergi ke Dave & Busters. Joli katak lah dia tuh dengan Masturah. Semalam, kita berikan dia CD 'Bowling for Soup', baseball bat dan Razor Scooter. Hai…dia bawak tidur scooter tuh! Meriah sungguh.

Semalam dia potong kek. You know, each time when its his birthday, and we have the cake in front of him, he has that glow on his face, just like when he was 1. That baby glow…my baby glow.

Selamat Hari Lahir yang ke 13 Abdul Mathein. Ibu sayang kamu!

What I did this Raya...

Seems like the blog world has been very quiet. Semua orang masih beraya lagi di kampong ker?

1st day of raya : 1 shawal for us was a very quiet one. I cooked rendang, sayur lodeh and sambal goreng. Ayu came in the morning to savor the food…we had so much fun watching malay movies….Pendekar Bujang Lapok, Mami Jarum and Anak Mami…until Mardiana came over…3 hours late (hehehe).

Oh and I also received the sweetest Raya card from OOD and a phone call from Anedra…thank you ladies, you’re the sweetest. I miss my twin tho, she must be really busy right now preparing for visitors coming on Sunday.

2nd day of raya : We woke up at 4am, took our showers and headed east bound to Pleasanton. The husband was due for the shoulder operation. The operation was at 7:30am, for 1.5 hours. I did not waste too much time and headed to the mall…more grocery shopping. The husband was not discharged till it was 1:30pm. Long long day…

Update : The husband is doing fine than expected. The Navocane has worn out and he is in great pain. Nevertheless, he is in good spirits and is handling it very well. Thank you to the well wishers and for caring. He will soon be having bionic left arm in no time :)

3rd day of raya : Went to the mall, errands to run for the son, the daughter and the husband. Ely had to hold on to her ATM and credit cards (sumpah aku dah nak retire the credit cards!) cos its hard to indulge when the husband was around, grrr.

Now…afternoon of 3rd day of raya, sitting on the bed, the husband has ‘video on demand’ playing and I am ready to take my nap The cats are sprawled, relieved that their mommy has stopped harassing them for pictures.

One more thing…I have hitched a ride on the husband’s photoblog.


CLICK : Ely's Photo Gallery.

Salam Aidilfitri...

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Maaf Zahir Batin!!!

How we celebrated Mat's birthday...

Saturday was the day we celebrated Mat’s advanced birthday. His actual birthday will be on November 7th. Since the husband is going through a shoulder surgery this Friday, we have decided to celebrate a week in advance.

We went to Dave & Busters, in Milpitas, 60 miles from Daly City.

Ibu gets a quick-fix to fight sleepiness while the kids were having a good time.

Thank you my family...

When the husband called me at work and told me that the package from Singapore has arrived, I was ecstatic! Happy that at least I get some home made kueh from home.

Little did I expect that when I came home and looked at the package one by one, I imagined mak, kakak and my nieces painstakingly making them tarts, cookies and the serunding and then rushing them to us. I could not hold back my tears as I was touched by their thoughtfulness and love that they have extended, 8,000 miles away.

Like I told the husband, 'I can pay each cent that kakak had paid for postage, but their cookies....priceless'. Mind you, I bawled for 30 mins, could not contain the sadness of not being able to be there with my beloved family.

How I miss my family, especially during Raya. Last year was the best raya we all had...all under one roof, chance of a lifetime gathering. Though I know that we would see each other again in the summer, but the spirit of Lebaran is so dampened by distance.

Then there was a birthday gift for me. Especially for me.

Thank you my dearest family...for the love. We all love you so very much!

*Ely's bawling again...*

Ely the Show Off

OK people, as promised, here are the pictures that I took over the past few days. Ely's not done with her camera yet!

Bella

Pinky

San Francisco City Hall

The watch that Nazrah gave me :)