5 years of warm hugs & butterfly kisses. Happy birthday, Kimy luv.

‎It has been a looooong, colourful journey since I first held him in my arms. His arrival into this world was accompanied with a loud, furious cry with flailing little fists in the air– as though he wanted the whole wide world to know that he is now here and that everyone had better be aware of that, or else. He was a beautiful, big, bundle of joy – and I mean ‘big’ as in literally; he weighed 3.93 kilos, all chubby arms and legs and pinches of baby fat almost everywhere.

That moment made 18 hours of painful labour worth all the beautiful things imaginable.

I remember the feeling of how everything seemed to stop and went still for a while as the doctor lifted him, announcing “It’s a boy!”. I insisted to stay half-awake for the C-section, I wanted to see with my own eyes the moment this beautiful life is being delivered out of me. This was the life that has breathed within me, this was the life that has taken comfort to the sound of my heartbeat, this was the life that I felt moving restlessly inside me.

Iskandar Hakimy bin Mohd Effandi. Now a tall, mischevious, playful lil boy who never sits still and entertains me every day with his endless chatter.

Today marks Kimy’s 5^th birthday – and I had everything planned. My original plan to personally attempt a birthday cake for him did not materialized, due to my unhealthy state of being and the limited time that I have due to the overwhelming office demand. And yes I was disappointed in myself for not being able to deliver something as simple as baking a cake. But nevertheless, I was determined to make him the happiest boy alive today, and so I bought him a big chocolate cake, prepared little party-packs for his friends in school, and persuaded his teachers to haul the whole class to a nearby McDonalds to celebrate his birthday. And as the party was finishing & I was busy helping the teachers cleaning up the tables, Kimy suddenly ran up to me, gave me a big, warm hug, stared earnestly into my eyes, and said simply,” I love you, mummy. You’re the best”. That made it all worth it.

5 wonderful years of warm hugs & butterfly kisses from my lil one. 5 adventurous years of laughter and joy, and little toy cars & bedtime stories. Happy birthday, Kimy love. You’re a gift sent from high above. Mummy ♥ you.

The Loss. How Fragile Life Is.

Today is a sad day.

The news of a friend's passing (Pedro’s friend, to be exact) this morning came with a shock which left me feeling numb. From what Pedro explained to me via a phone call this morning, arwah Kharis aka TSB was jogging this morning when he collapsed and fell unconscious. At this very moment that I am writing this post I am not sure of the exact cause of death, but what really shook me to the core was the fact that arwah was still very young, and everything happened so unexpectedly.

Takdir Allah memang kadang-kadang tidak boleh diduga. It makes me realize how fragile life is.

Arwah has a little daughter who is slightly younger than my lil Kimy, and I felt a sense of great sadness for the lil one, who might be too young to understand the reality of what’s happening. My thoughts and prayers go to the family on their loss, especially to the wife, and the little girl.

Several weeks ago, another friend of mine has lost her dearly beloved mother (whom I call Mak) due to a serious illness. Alhamdulillah I had the chance to visit Mak before her passing, but I was reduced to such feeling of humbleness as I observed the commitment showed by my friend as she devotedly took care of Mak, and the love that was so obvious as she patiently fed, showered, changed, and did almost possibly every single thing that was required to do to ensure that Mak was comfortable. At that point of time, Mak was too weak to move and was not able to handle anything on her own, and so it was really up to my friend to take full responsibility in caring for her.

For 2 months Mak spent her days in the hospital, had to be fed via the tube with liquidized food, and for that longest time too my friend took care of her mother diligently without fail. Nevertheless, Allah adalah penentu segalanya, Mak left and passed away on 26^th September 2011. It was the saddest day imaginable for my friend, and even I was overwhelmed by the sense of such sadness that swept over me, as I remembered how hard she prayed everyday to be able to see Mak back on her feet again.

I will never forget the experience of observing the love, commitment, and patience that I saw during the days when my friend devotedly took care of her mother. It was such a humbling experience, for which even I do not know whatever strength that I will still have within me if I were to go through the same situation.

Al Fatihah to arwah Kharis and arwah Mak. And my prayers to the beloved family on their great loss. And herewith I will always remind myself to cherish and love those who are important and dear in my life, while there is still time.

My Super Cheesy Beef Lasagna, yummmms!

As I have mentioned numerous times before in my previous posts, I have been extremely unwell as of late, which caused me not to enjoy my weekends as much as I usually do. It has been an endless tiring cycle of visiting the doc, gagging horrible meds, getting slightly better, and then getting unwell again. Just thinking about it gives me a pounding headache that I finally give up and resolve to think on more pleasurable things in life.

Interestingly though, in the midst of my chaotic health cycle, I have uncharacteristically spent my time in the kitchen poring over recipes (simple ones of course, I wouldn’t want to overestimate my limited capabilities in the kitchen) – and decided to try a few!  And I am not ashamed to say that I have managed to produce some edible dishes, did not burn the kitchen down, and Pedro is still alive and kicking after tasting some of my humble attempts.  (We do not count Kimy into this experiment as he still insists to maintain ‘nasi + kicap + telur’ and ‘maggie +kicap’ in his daily menu, God bless my son).

I recently made a home-made super cheesy beef lasagna which I successfully baked in my new oven (thanks to Pedro). I googled the recipe from the internet and found a simple one which I felt brave enough to try, credits to Kak Ida of http://www.koleksi1001resepi.com/. Since I am happy with the result, herewith I’d like to share the recipe with you (p/s: I made slight revisions to the original recipe in accordance to my own personal preference J ):

The Beef Sauce – ingredients:

Minced beef – amount depending to your preference, add more if you prefer a thicker sauce mixture

Butter - loads of this as well as I love the richness and intensity of the buttery flavour

Olive oil

Garlic, Large onions, finely chopped – I prefer to have loads of this, adds more taste to the sauce

Button mushrooms – thinly sliced

1 bottle of Prego Tomato-based Pasta Sauce – you may not need the whole bottle, depending on the amount required.

Seasonings – Salt, Pepper, Fresh/ Dry Basil, Dry Oregano

Note:

1.       Heat butter mixed with olive oil, sauté garlic and large onions until slightly golden

2.       Add minced beef according to your preference, stir a little until the mixture is incorporated.

3.       Add button mushrooms, and the pasta sauce. Stir until the sauce thickens and the mixture is well combined.

4.       Season with salt, pepper, herbs, or any seasonings of your preference.

The Cheesy Sauce – ingredients:

Butter – 3 table spoons

Plain Flour – 2 table spoons

Full cream milk – 3-4 cups

Grated cheddar cheese – 2-3 cups

Salt & pepper, to taste

Note:

1.       Heat 3 table spoons of butter, 2 table spoons of plain flour, and stir until mixture turns slightly golden and bubbles.

2.       Add 3-3 cups of full cream milk. Continue to stir, and leave the milk to simmer for a few minutes.

3.       Add 2-3 cups of grated cheddar cheese, stir until sauce thickens.

4.       Season with salt & pepper.

Pasta:

250g of packet dry instant lasagna sheets (amount needed will depend on the measurement of your baking dish)

Toppings:

1.       Grated mozzarella cheese – amount depending on preference

2.       Grated cheddar cheese – amount depending on preference

Lasagna Assembly:

Start the layering in your baking dish by spreading the meat sauce over the base of the dish, followed by a layer of the lasagna sheets. Cut or break the sheets to fit the shape of the dish. Spread another layer of the meat sauce, followed by a layer of the cheese sauce. Top with another layer of the lasagna sheets. Repeat the steps of layers, allow to at least 4 layers of each combination. Finally, sprinkle the combined mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese.

Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes at 180’c, until cheese is golden and the pasta is tender. Set aside for 10 minutes to allow lasagna to cool off before cutting and serving.

And here’s the result, yumsss! Try it – it’s real simple, especially for kitchen-newbies like me!

Think First.Think More.Think Different.

ARE YOU ONE OF THE 'CRAZY ONES'?

"People with a passion can change the world....Those people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who actually do." - Steve Jobs.

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as crazy, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

Steve Jobs was one of the crazy ones. He'll definitely be missed.

Note: The one-minute commercial featured black-and-white footage of 17 iconic 20th century personalities. In order of appearance they were: Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard Branson, John Lennon (with Yoko Ono), Buckminster Fuller, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Ted Turner, Maria Callas, Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham, Jim Henson (with Kermit the Frog), Frank Lloyd Wright and Pablo Picasso. The commercial ends with an image of a young girl (identified as Shaan Sahota) opening her closed eyes, as if making a wish.

*video & text credit to youtube & wikipedia.

Ta-daaaaa!!

This is what happens when...

....I'm stressed-out!

....I end up listing down things that piss the hell of out me. Yes, apparently this is a channel for me to ease my annoyance at whatever it is that's irritating me at this point of time..

20 things that annoy me beyond imaginable:

1.    Stupid drivers on the road who drive a tad (NOT!) bit too slow on the right lane. And hit on the brakes every 5 seconds. And change lanes without indicating and took all the time in the world to change lanes. And then very, very slowly, found a parking space..and park crooked.

2.   People who are too lazy to think. And expect to be spoon-fed with information all the time. Your brain is there for a reason, people.

3.   People who take credit over someone else’s success & claims all the limelight. If it’s not your effort, not your sweat & blood – then it’s not ok for you to bask in the limelight.

4.   Bad combination of clothes – be it on me, or anybody else.

5.   Bad hair day. There is always that day when nothing goes right. It could be that one strand that kept sticking out no matter how religiously I waxed it down (my short-haired days); or how messed-up my hair becomes when I wear them long. It’s never a win-win situation.

6.   Ugly clothes in posh upscale boutiques. Seriously. I’m not an expert when it comes to defining the true art of fashion, but honestly not all collections available in these expensive boutiques are nice to look at. Somehow I think the expensive labels justify the ridiculously over-priced ugly pieces.  

7.    ‘Friends’ who backstab. In any imaginable way.  

8.   People who never say thank you for anything. You’re not God, your parents are supposed to teach you manners. Whatever good stuff that you get now are all based on God’s will, so be thankful. And say your thank yous when it’s due.

9.   Annoying, obnoxious, rude people who speak loudly anytime, anywhere, and oblivious of surroundings – and apparently thought that they are entertaining.

10. Socially inept people. When you make small talks, please ensure that you don’t offend the other party. I’ve known people who absolutely have no idea how to make jokes, attempted a few and ended up offending others. The sad thing is they absolutely have no idea that they’re acting offensive.

11. Squareheads that score the average of 4.0 in your university years and expect that everything in life is managed based on textbook theories. Go down the street and get a lil street-smart will you please.

12. People who prefer to stand too near to you, and intrude your ‘safe zone’ – eg when you’re queuing up for something, you can practically feel the person behind you breathing down your neck. I mean, is that really necessary? Are you familiar with the term ‘space’?

13. People who can’t sing or are tone deaf, literally – but love to display their ‘talent’ in public. Think public karaoke sessions. With off-tuned vocals. Sigh.  

14. Busybodies.

15. People who gatecrash. There is a reason why people invent invitations. And there is a reason why you’re either invited or not invited. If you are, yay! If you’re not, you can either choose to take offence, or accept the fact that you’re just not wanted there. Learn to understand that.

16. Bad host/ hostess. If you plan to host a party, a get-together, or a kenduri – please ensure that you’re capable of smiling and putting a face that actually shows that you’re happy to receive your guests. Pretend all you want but please make that attempt. It really is pointless if you invite the whole town, and yet when these poor people make the effort to come to your party, they are greeted with your unpleasant façade.

17.  Poyo-ness. That is my term for people who think that they are God’s best creations and are just too good to be true. With display of arrogance at its maximum in all imaginable ways. But with very, very minimal substance. If none at all.

18.  Insecure people who think that they are the center of the universe. Get a grip.

19. Foolish parents who never supervise their children in parties, get-togethers, or whatever social gatherings that require you to at least know where your children are and if they are behaving and not stamping on other children. You are responsible to ensure that your child knows how to behave, not other people's.

20. Dirty toilets. Unfortunately almost all public toilets in the country are unbearable. I will reserve the most crucial moment when I really can’t hold it in any longer, only then I will resolve to make a quick suicidal visit. Hold my breath and do the business real quick.

There. I feel much better now. Now let's get back to work.