Snow Day

Zareef refuses to come inside eventhough his hands are freezing, nose is becoming all red and oompa wompas is coming from his nose.

It has been snowing on and off for the past 3 days here on the Island but the worst hit areas would be the whole eastern stretch of England and Scotland. About 100+ schools were closed due to heavy snow. Hehehheh... lucky kids! I had to scrape of the bloody snow off the windscreen of my car despite B putting a bedsheet on it the night before going to work.

I skidded my car twice on the first day. The ground was covered with fresh soft fluffy snow. It would be fun if I had the time to roll around and flap my hands making angel pictures but no such thing. I was already late. Fresh snow and icy road is a recipe for disaster when it comes to driving. I wasn't going fast at all but my tyres won't grip hence the skidding incidents. Once when I was turning a corner and I almost ran into a friend's car but missed it by mere inches.
The other one was when I tried to reverse park. When I turned, the tyres skidded again and I almost knocked into a parked car. I press the brakes with all my might, praying that I don't hit the car. God answered my prayers and my car again stopped just in time. Phewwww.... very, very close calls there.

And to top if off, I was deducted 15 minutes from my paycheck for arriving late eventhough it wasn't my fault. Seriously! It wasn't. How was I suppose to know that it was going to snow heavily when I was sleeping and my car decided to dance on the snow for that matter. It was all nature's fault. Sheessshh... so not fair!

But the snow in Loughborough didn't last long. As soon as the sun came out, everything melted. The temperature wasn't freezing enough. So, my plans to take Zareef for good whizz on the sledge at Beacon Hill didn't materialize. It it did, it would have been a perfect snow day with us having a blast for the last time.

Zareef with just a few of his many, many outdoor toys. Most of it Mummy and Daddy dah pack and store safely in the shed. If not, nak run around the garden pun susah.

The snow has melted but it's enough for my boy to be bouncing up and down all over the garden while screaming in delight 'It's snowing Mummy! It's snowing!!'

A pose for the over-excited mom

Same Old, Same Old

Last weekend, I tried my hands on Dilla's tiramisu. Whalllauuu... terangkat sehhhh!! Sedap giloss!! There were plentiful to go around, so I invited some friends to come over and we had a mini buffet going. To top it off, I cooked Seafood Spaghetti. It was simple and delicious albeit cair sket. All was done in an hour's time. Here's the recipe...

SEAFOOD PASTA

Ingredients:
4 tbs olive oil
1 tps cili boh
6 cloves garlic (crushed and chopped)
2 cans chopped tomatoes (blend for a coarse texture)
6 sprigs of fresh parsley
1 tps oregano (kalau ada yg fresh lagi bagus)
2 packs frozen mixed seafood
1 pack spaghetti
salt and sugar to taste

Method:
1. Boil spaghetti with 1 tbs of veggie oil till al dente.
2.Heat olive oil and add chilli. Tumis sampai garing.
3. Add garlic and fry for a minute then add chopped tomatoes. Stir.
4. Put in fresh parsley and oregano. Stir.
5. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes on medium heat sampai pekat.
6. Bila dah pekat, campur mixed seafood and stir until they are cooked but not too long because you don't want them to be tough like rubber.
7. Add salt and sugar to taste. It should have a spicy taste just enough to tickle your taste buds, seafood sweet, sour but nottoo salty to complement the spaghetti.
8. Serve with warm spaghetti with just enough sauce to coat the strands (jangan banjir ye), fresh parsley and finished with two or three dashes of olive oil.
9. Apa lagi... makan la... slurppp slurppp slurppp.

Adding garlic bread and fresh salad would certainly take the dish to the high heavens. Sorry, I didn't have enough hands to snap a picture or two.

Bon Appetito!

*****

Yeay!! It has been confirmed and booked. We're off to Disneyland Paris on 14th-18th June. Yes! Yes! Yes!

I've just booked and paid for the package i.e. returned Eurostar, unlimited park passes to both Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios for the whole duration of 5 days and 4 nights and hotel with continental buffet breakfast all for the price of £335 per person. Cheapo, eh?! Zareef goes everywhere free of charge because he is below 3 years old. Ahhhh... all the better.

Now... if only I can persuade B to pay for a dinner birthday party with the Disney characters on the 14th. When else can I get to celebrate my 29th birthday amidst all the pomp, fun and grandeur of Disney?! It's a celebration of a lifetime!! Hey, I may be 29, but I still am a kid at heart just like Zareef when it comes to Disney and the likes of it.

Aling... if you're reading this... PLEASE, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE......

*****

I had a very, very long chat with Zoowra today. It felt really good talking to her. I get to hear all the latest scoops, bear my soul and catching up with her. It felt like opening a can of whoopass!!

Zoow, I hope I didn't bother you while you were busy working. Believe it or not, it was very therapeutic. We should do it again.

Man I miss my friends back home! I can't wait to get back this September, InsyaAllah. It all depends on B's completion of his PhD. I pray and pray that he will sail through it with ease.

Mind Your Ps and Qs

Bagi tu

Pass tu

Tepi sikit

Nak yang tu

Try saying the above sentences in loud, sharp voice to me and you'll see me not doing anything, not even moving my butt an inch. Why? Because it annoys the hell out of me when people asks me to do something without saying PLEASE and THANK YOU. Even if B were to ask me without so much as saying please, I'll just ignore him. That's how far I'll go just to teach my family to be polite especially when it comes to asking for help or favors, even to my own husband.

The funny thing is, I've noticed it mainly in our people, the Malays. Granted that we are rich in old traditions and adat but we still lack the certain basic finesse when asking for help. This is particularly obvious nowadays, especially in young Malay children and some adults, I might add. I'm saying this based on my observation during a Raya Haji gathering held here. The food were laid out buffet style and everyone had to queue up.

Bagi pinggan

I remained quiet

Bagi pinggan tu makcik

Dlm hati rasa nak piat2 je telinga dia firstly for not saying tolong and secondly for calling me makcik which is a big NO NO.

I turned to her and said

Tolong bagi pinggan, auntie.

She stared at me as if I've said something alien to her and ironically, her mom was beside her (who happens to be much older than me) too stared at me. Her mom got her the plate and glared at me. I just kept quiet because I didn't want to cause a situation, so I moved up the line queueing patiently to get my food. It's unbelievable how clueless of them when it comes to saying TOLONG. I mean, is it so hard to say please and thank you?

I know if it was me and someone said "Nora, tolong bla bla bla", I'd do it in an instant without any hesitation. It'll certainly make my day if that person then said "Thank you". You see how these two magic words certainly makes a world of difference between someone wanting to do your bidding and someone ignoring you completely.

The Mat Sallehs have no problem in this department, that I give credit to them. The Ps and Qs are ever ready at the tip of their tongue, so much so that they over use them and sometimes without even meaning it. Like when I reach the till to pay for my stuffs, the cashier would say thank you when I put the stuffs on the counter but with a sullen face. After ringing everything up, she'd look at me and say the amount ending with a blank-thank you-face. When I handed her my cash, she'd say it with a deadpan-thank you-face. She'll then hand me the balance and the receipt and say it with a stiff-thank you-face. See what I mean?! That's four thank yous but not even one did she mean it. I'm not saying all are like her. Just one or two who must be having a bad hair day.

When I was small, my mom and dad would teach me the Ps and Qs relentlessly. Their way was not to give me anything or do any of my biddings if I didn't include any tolong or please with it. They'll just ignore me and continue to do their activities. This happened a lot especially during meal times. I'd ask them to pass me the rice or chicken or anything on the table. They'd say "Say please and thank you dulu baru Abah bagi" and so the teaching began. Over time, I got so used to saying the Ps and Qs that it has become part of my daily conversation and believe it or not, sometimes I over use it too. Like the other day, I said to Zareef "Tolong tidy up your toys please". But I think it turned out to be good because it kinda rubbed on Zareef. Now I'm proud to say that my son knows his Ps and Qs darn well. At least he won't be snubbed by other makciks or pakciks for not knowing how to say please and thank you.

I know it's such a small matter, but when it comes to dealing with people, what you say or don't say will certainly reflect on your upbringing. In my case, when the girl did not say please, what immediately crossed my mind was "Parents dia tak ajar ke cakap please? Parents educated bukan main". That was very quick of me to judge but hey, aren't we all?

As for me, saying please and thank you brings nothing other than good and well-fortune. I got to go to Allders and buy my KitchenAid, didn't I (hehehhe... thanks to B for relenting after countless of pleases from me... )

Awal Muharram

I'd like to wish everyone a very good Awal Muharram. May this year be filled with love, joy, prosperity and blessings from Allah AlMighty.

Today also marks our 4th wedding anniversary according to Hijrah years. Yes, B and I got married 4 years ago on Awal Muharram. We chose that date because we wanted to start our new lives together as husband and wife on a fresh new slate at the beginning of a new year.

Darling,
I may not be the perfect wife
Nor the perfect mom
But I am who I am that you met 11 years ago
Whom you fell in love with.

Like wine, we get better with age
I learn from my past mistakes
I learn to love you more and more with each passing day
I learn to accept my faults and yours
I learn to be the wife that you want me to be
But please be patient with me
For I am still learning.

Yes, we've had our fair share of squabbles
Yes, we've had our fair share of merajuk sessions
Yes, we've had our fair share of disagreements
And yes, we've managed to make up for it each and every time with renewed passion.

I am lost for words when it comes to describing my love for you
I can look up in thesaurus.com and come up with infinite words
But they all mean the same
LOVE
That's what I feel for you
Neverending, rock solid, unshaken by the mother of all tsunamis.

I pray that Allah will bless our marriage till the end of our life
I pray that we'll be together till death do us part
And I pray we'll never, ever fall out of love.

Aling.... I love you till the power of infinity!!

A Prayer for the Stressed

Got this at work today...

A Prayer for the Stressed

Grant me the serenity for the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I cannot accept,

And the wisdom to hide the bodies of those I had to kill today

because they got on my nerves.

Help me to be careful of the toes I step on today

as they maybe connected to feet I may have to kiss tomorrow.

Help me to always give 100% at work...

12% on Monday,

23% on Tuesday,

40% on Wednesday,

20% on Thursday and

5% on Friday.

And help me to remember

When I'm having a bad day and it seems people are trying to wind me up,

It takes 42 muscles to frown, 28 to smile

but only 4 to extend my arm and smack someone in the mouth.

On Smelly Old Fart and Potty Training

Yesterday, while changing Zareef's nappy, he gave one long loud stinky fart.

PROTTTTTTT

I laughed. Kuatnya Zareef kentot!

Heheheh... Zareef kentot busuk macam Mummy la...

Halamak!! Terkena balik kat aku. Ceitttt!!!

*****

I haven't started potty training Zareef yet because

1) I'm not sure whether he's up for it, yet.
2) I'm quite lazy to tend and assist him in his ardous task.
3) My rented house is wall-to-wall carpeted hence the reluctant attitude in me on the idea if he were to accidentally spill his guts or kidney out.

So, it came as a surprise to both of us, yesterday when

Zareef nak go upstairs kejap ek. Nak kencing.

I looked at B and him me in disbelief.

Betul ke Zareef?

Haaa! Zareef nak kencing. And he started to take off his PJs and undoing his nappy.

Wait! Wait! Lets go upstairs kay.

We went upstairs and he truly peed in the toilet bowl.

Nak flush jap Mummy

Wait. Mummy wash first your k**e.

Ok. Lepas tu Zareef flush, alright?!

Alright.

I am so proud of my son. I didn't even teach him how to pee in the toilet bowl and yet he can do it without even a blink! And he did it twice!! Phewwww... Lega. One milestone has been conquered. Now, if only I can get him to poo in the toilet bowl as well.