Saturday 22 December 2012

Parents Act


Most people would be thinking how lucky we are or may be thinking negatively on us when judging on the number of times we have been making our come-back-home trip to kuala lumpur for these past 1 year.

But then again, they dont know our story. So why bother about what others may think right?

For the past one year, me and my dearest hubby have been doing what any parents out there would be doing if they were in our shoes  and means.

Any parents would put their children in the top of their priority list. And when that is the case, money will become secondary . Or it will be in 2nd ranking . Why? Because with money, it helps you to fulfill the number one needs.

Alhamdulillah. We are thankful . Really thankful as we have the resources to spend.

It is just that, if others knew how worry and concerns we are now as time is clicking to the DD , then they too wouldn't want to be in our shoes.

Yeah..i know all of us are on borrowed time. But its not easy to think positively all the time.

So hug more tightly, kiss more often,sniff and inhale that heaven-sent smell now and then for as much time i have on my side. For we are all on borrowed time.

Wednesday 19 December 2012

End of Term1 Year3


Today is the last day for term 1 year 3.

Gosh! How time fly so fast  that i wonder have i make full use of the time i have ? Not only for the benefit of me but more important for the benefit and wellbeing of my children.

And i have been on my own without maid to help me for these past months ie since early October precisely.

My baby Alya have been my loyal companion since our last maid gone MIA. I can only pray to Him to make sure Alya is healthy . Its tiring for a 14 months old baby to follow her mom every where.

To school. To pasar moderan ie wet market. To Giant or Lotte mart. To school again. To the 'mpsj' to pay for abudeman. Every where la this baby has to follow me. I will be babywearing her ! Time to get a new one.

And each day from monday to friday, i will be rushing home after sending my two girls to school. Yeah! My 3 year and 4 months old girl has been in preschool since last August. And alhamdulillah. She is really looking forward and excited to go to school each day . In fact she will be sad if it is friday.

Ok.so why am i rushing back home? Well to make sure Alya have her morning nap. Actually by 8 am she will be sending out signals how sleepy she is. Those pulling hair, rubbing her eyes and yawning. And off she goes to la la land when i breastfeed her.

We all know how important it is for babies to have a routine each day. So for Alya, her nap can be from 8 am onwards until 1130 am. Of course she will wake up in between . Just to see if i am there next to her. Most of the time she will go back to sleep after i feed her again. Nice huh to sleep with a fulled tummy!

By 1145 am we ie Alya and mama dearest will be in on our way to school to pick up kak Aisyah. Her school ends at 12 am . Lunch is always at the Rainbow cafe. Big sister Kak Arissa will join us there as her lunch is from 1205 -1250 . Sometimes Aisyah gets to eat with her best friend Sara Mcleod. I just have to put her full name here coz it so old english name !!!

By 1 pm, we ie me ,Alya and Aisyah will head home which is only 5 minutes away from school. Once home, I will be rushing to have Aisyah bath, wash her snack box, and cook for dinner or pack my hubby dinner box before Alya start giving her nap signals!!!!

Most of the times, Aisyah will be sleepy by the time we reach home. So that is why i have to plan my time so that she can have her nap  before we have to leave our house by 215 pm to pick up big sister Kak Arissa from school.

So packed huh my daily monday to friday life right?

I pity my girls when i have to wake them up from their afternoon nap. There are good day and bad day too. Either Aisyah wakes up crying or just to sleepy to get up for having mama to interrupt her nap.

Arissa's class ends at 240 pm daily. But twice a week it will ends at 340 pm as she goes for her after school activities.

And we will be rushing to get home too. All because so that my supir will have enough time to reach girls' baba's office by 5 pm. In this land of macetness, we have to factor in the macetness in our daily life. Though the distant is only 25km from our house to my husband's office , but it can be a one and half hour journey or two hours journey!!!!! Only on Sunday you can have a 30 minutes journey ..

Back to my story after picking up my eldest. Once home, i either cook my second dish or only one main dish ie western dish . But all these will depends on how Alya is..If she is sleepy , then i will quickly bath her and feed her early dinner. Bath time is always together with Aisyah...easy but not so easy . Alya will be in her baby bath tub. Her tub is inside the big tub. So most of the time she will be trying to get out from her  tub and into the big tub. You will see her trying to bath her big sister who is just there in the big tub..this moments is priceless.  Both girls just enjoy each other company.

Next, all dress up in jammies. Arissa will be doing her homework which is only 3 sets in one week. Dinner have to be something easy to prepare. If not, i will have cooked it in the morning. All because Arissa will be asking for my help with her home work. And also i want to help her . These moments are more important than fixing dinner time...

And Aisyah will be asking me to read to her too..thus i need  time for this and not to be stucked in the kicthen preparing dinner. Not only that, Alya seems to eat more when i sit down and feed her.. Rather than having mama to feed her inbetween cooking!!! And even though arissa and aisyah can feed her, alya still prefers mama!!!

On dishes, there are days when i do quiche, baked pasta , grilling . Just imagine when i need to cook for breakfast and the kids' snack and lunch dishes too..not forgetting alya food too..which is why i am slowly exposing her to my main dish.  basically she is slowly eating the same food that i cook for her big sisters n baba too..

And that is how i end up my term1 year 3 life so far...

Me no superwoman. Just a normal woman who has to do what she has to do for the benefits of her children and family. 

And yeah!!!! I will be sleeping in my own bed tomorrow night! Home sweet home malaysia!!!!




Sunday 2 December 2012

Yogurt pancake



I made for Alya her first pancake today . Sans the egg as she is allergic to white egg. Took a glance at Annabell's recipe and just made my own measurement as i only have little flour ! Just realised there were no stock of it left ..

Guess what? The yogurt that was the only different ingredient that never use in making pancake , made the pancake softer than normal.

I have used buttermilk when making pancakes. It does give the pancake a fluffy texture.

Well, will definitely be using more yogurt in my next pancake batter.

By the way, Alhamdulillah. Alya loves her fluffy pancakes.

Friday 30 November 2012

Farewell note



My old collegue sent me this photo via whatsapp.

It is my last written note on that whiteboard at my old office.

Wrote it for my collegues .

Worked in the same office for an exciting 13 years.

The office scene was like a tv soap opera like Dallas .

Back stabbing. Hatred. Jampi serapah. All the whatnots la.

And not forgetting some found true love there too. Also there were some looking for unforbidden love .

And my last scribble is still there on the white board. Until now. Touchy!

I was the last one in my department to leave. The last one to leave in my account room. There were other staffs in another department who were still at office. But very few of them. Like 2 people.

Had plan to leave early on that last day. But somehow i didn't managed too. Suddenly there were stuffs to be clear up or prepare for others. Some notes of works. Some mess to clean n clear up.

And i remember sitting down at my table for the last moment of my working life.

I feel happy and sad altogether. Hard to beleive it that the day was finally there.

And my table n place is still there. The place has turn out to be a gossip place. Any one of my collegues would just sat at my old place to chit chat for a while. Like a stress reliever place it has turn out to be.

At this very moment, i am missing my old office life.

Sunday 7 October 2012

One year old


Today is my youngest child's birthday.

My Alya is one year old today.

Tuk Umi was here with us .

We were in Gandaria City Mall.

Arissa and Aisyah went to Lollipop with Baba. While Mama and Tuk Umi together with Alya went for tea.

At one year old she will hold strongly to what is in her hand. Alya wont let go . The sharing concept is still new to her. InsyaAllah she will understand "that sharing is caring"!

And again she is little bit under the weather. Had slightly fever since early this week. And flu too.

Thesedays you can almost understand her baby talk. That you can make out what she is saying. And she is talking n calling to her sisters. And how Alya easily laugh at Aisyah's tactics.

Alya is lucky to have her two funny sisters. My eldest likes to make funny dance and sounds ..while my second girl is always the lucu bangat one.

Currently mama is trying to make alya gain more weight. So thesedays alya's food is more aromatic and flavour too compared to aisyah's baby food . Same recipes but mama tweak or modify it a bit. All after she read about making baby food more flavour  than before. 


And now just as we say good night, i have only one wish for Alya. May her pda condition improved with hole slowly closing up. Amin.

Friday 21 September 2012

Double standard


Its a pity that they get treated double standard from their own people!

Yeah! How shock i was to hear it coming from my mommies friends here. It aint their fault that they are married to bule man or white white or foreigner.

But it is not you or anyone that have a right to judge poeple by their looks! You n me are not God ( even He  did not do these) !

These ladies will be look upon or perceive by others as nany or maid by their own local people. And these local people are educated people who at least have a diploma or degree.

By right we should people equally . And not straight away think them differently.

Imagine you are queuing up in a line at the bank with your  baby in the stroller. And suddenly the bank officer or one of customers said hi to the man behind you and asked him is that baby or child is his!

Or imagine the supervisor of the apartment where you lived knocked at your door. And asked you in a harsh manner of where the house owner is. Suddenly along came your child running n calling you mommy. You can imagine the look on the supervisor's face when he thought you were the maid and not the house owner..

Really i pity my friends! Which make me think do they think that i am my children's nanny when i pick them up at school?

Thursday 26 July 2012

Anak perantau


This ramadan marks our family first ramadan away from our family members . All this while, it was us who read and heard news about other people performing their ramadan in foreign land. It never crossed my mind that we will get a chance to do it.

Being away from family makes the heart and mind missing mom's dishes. Eventhough we have gone back more than 3 times in the span of 7 months ofr living in Jakarta, i still miss my mom's cooking.

Hubby being his usual adventerous self , had brought us looking for local kueh mueh. On our first day of fasting which fall perfectly on saturday, we went bazar ramadan hunting. Came back zero result . Instead We bought murtabak bandung aka apam balik from the usual stall near our house.

On the next day, we found one which is located near pasar moderan. Bought and ate kolak pisang n someother local kuehs. Hemmm! I miss our local malaysian kueh la! Ours more tastier in flavour and choices too. That was our verdicts!

And no stalls selling those aromatic ikan bakar , thirst quencher balangs of drinks n good spread of kueh mueh..

Argh! I am missing our bazar ramadan food even if it is only murtabak , or air mata kucing or even roti boom. 

And i miss that bazar ramadan feeling... With all those smokes that make your eyes teary n nauseted your nose. And that food stalls operator calling out to customers to stop by and buy their food.. Argh!

I wonder what is the same food  that is being sold at the bazar ramadan this year. I remember some ramadan ago where nobody was selling roti bom.

Roti bom is favourite. And i was upset when all of sudden no one is selling it at the bazar ramadan that i normally go.

And for the ramadan after that, so many people are selling it! Talk about having the same mindset or clueless on what to sell when they applied for bazar ramadan license stall?

The same thing also happened at bazar ramadan at subang jaya. I can never remember the section. But it is near jm briani shop la..

So last ramadan there were so many nasi briani stalls compared to the year before. And less roti boom stall! I.did try the new briani stalls. But still the old stall is the best! I can only remember the akak's face who is the cashier for that stall when i went looking for her briani stall.

Hemm...being anak perantau, if one is craving for a certain dish or kuih, then one needs to make it.. So insya Allah we shall eat kuih keria for breaking fast tomorrow.. Got mamafami's recipe already!


Monday 23 July 2012

Miette


He found new love who can shower him with loads of loves, hugs and kisses and play too..

And i am glad it came as early as we made the decision to give him away..

Last wednesday , my cat miette has found a new home. Most important and relief for us is that the new owner name fiza is a cat lover.

And somehow by coincidense, Miette resembles FiZa's old cat who had passed away. Allah itu Maha Kaya.  Fiza was excited when she found out about this.

We all are just so relief knowing that someone can love him like we do. For the past 7 months he didnt have us to play with. Especially my Aisyah who is the cat's favourite bulier.

Aisyah was just one year plus when we got our cats from my BIL.  We got two cats Miette n her brother who is now had passed away  2 months earlier.

The cats would missed Aisyah terribly everytime we went balik kampung during the weekends. My mil said the house will be scattered with papers n they will be looking for Aisyah around the house.

And aisyah will simply pull its legs and neck ..and the best part is our cats will just act motionless like no pain at all..And when she hugs, boy! It was really a hug ! And the cats just love it.

So how am i and hubby not thankful for this good news!

Miette


He found new love who can shower him with loads of loves, hugs and kisses and play too..

And i am glad it came as early as we made the decision to give him away..

Last wednesday , my cat miette has found a new home. Most important and relief for us is that the new owner name fiza is a cat lover.

And somehow by coincidense, Miette resembles FiZa's old cat who had passed away. Allah itu Maha Kaya.  Fiza was excited when she found out about this.

We all are just so relief knowing that someone can love him like we do. For the past 7 months he didnt have us to play with. Especially my Aisyah who is the cat's favourite bulier.

Aisyah was just one year plus when we got our cats from my BIL.  We got two cats Miette n her brother who is now had passed away  2 months earlier.

The cats would missed Aisyah terribly everytime we went balik kampung during the weekends. My mil said the house will be scattered with papers n they will be looking for Aisyah around the house.

And aisyah will simply pull its legs and neck ..and the best part is our cats will just act motionless like no pain at all..And when she hugs, boy! It was really a hug ! And the cats just love it.

So how am i and hubby not thankful for this good news!

Miette


He found new love who can shower him with loads of loves, hugs and kisses and play too..

And i am glad it came as early as we made the decision to give him away..

Last wednesday , my cat miette has found a new home. Most important and relief for us is that the new owner name fiza is a cat lover.

And somehow by coincidense, Miette resembles FiZa's old cat who had passed away. Allah itu Maha Kaya.  Fiza was excited when she found out about this.

We all are just so relief knowing that someone can love him like we do. For the past 7 months he didnt have us to play with. Especially my Aisyah who is the cat's favourite bulier.

Aisyah was just one year plus when we got our cats from my BIL.  We got two cats Miette n her brother who is now had passed away  2 months earlier.

The cats would missed Aisyah terribly everytime we went balik kampung during the weekends. My mil said the house will be scattered with papers n they will be looking for Aisyah around the house.

And aisyah will simply pull its legs and neck ..and the best part is our cats will just act motionless like no pain at all..And when she hugs, boy! It was really a hug ! And the cats just love it.

So how am i and hubby not thankful for this good news!

Friday 20 July 2012

Fasting date anouncement


Several hours ago you would find me glued to tv. Yeah! And this is something i seldom or rarely do in my entire life!  I do and did watch fasting date announcement. But there were time when I missed it .  And it is something that i take for granted.

Ya la...all because i know i can rely on my parents and siblings on the date confirmation.

But beinng and living in Jakarta, i cant do that anymore. Which is why i was glued to my tv since 6 pm this evening.

And it was an interesting experience too. Imagine having one party  people with a different islamic principles from the norm saying that puasa will start on Friday july 21st.  At this time, no national announcement had been made on tv by the government .  And there I was feeling confused watching and hearing what these group of people were saying.

Another interesting things was what happened after the date was announce by the ruler keeper or by the official. The ISBAT  ie the body that decide and make the announcement , had allowed debates among its members soon after the announcement. And this was live telecast on tv!

Ahahahah.....we dont get to see things like this in malaysia. And i pity the confusion that the young ones may be feeling. Even a foreigner like me is confused.

How come we can have a certain group of people who has started fasting yesterday wednesday july 20th? And another group of people who will start fasting tomorrow friday july 21st ? And the rest of us who fast on saturday july 22nd? Is this too much for a kid to handle?

Imagine going for your prayers at mosque tonight. You came because you want to sembahyang isyak berjemaah. But found out that they are doing sembahyang terawih?

Hemmm!!!

One thing for sure, it's a tough and challenging job for indonesian prime minister to unite his very segregated and racial people. In general they look the same but actually different due to religion beliefs .

My neighbour may looked like a muslim to me for their looks are similar to malays. But who would have known that they could be hindu, or batak , or christian or even atheis free thinker?

Sunday 15 July 2012

Family


Tonight is my last night of sleeping at our own house here in malaysia tanahairku... And eventhough i like it here more than my jakarta house, home is where the family is. Either in jakarta, or any other places.

And eventhough how i wish i can stay here up until after raya which i can too as Arissa will only attend school on Aug 29th, I dont want to if it means being away from my hubby.

Which is why i am surprised and shocked to hear what one lady friend of mine said to me : she will ( is by now) be staying in malaysia until after raya and wouldnt care of leaving her hubby behind all by himself in jakarta. I pity her husband moreover puasa/fasting month will be here soon. Wouldnt it be sad to fast and break fast without your children and wife?

Of course i can understand from where and why she is acting like that. But i just cant accept why she should do it. Even if you are stress with something, family should still be your number one priority.

I do understand that we SAHM do need our little time out here and there. But family should be the ultimate reason when we are making any decision. And not individual or our ownselves should come first.

So i will be sleeping at the same bed size like what i have in my malaysia house  tomorrow in jakarta. Of course i am sad to leave this place as no more kedai mamak until my next trip home. But i am happy as my hubby will be with us . And our family will be complete like a unit!


Monday 9 July 2012

Extra 1 kg


Dont pissed off with me but here i am sitting on my bed thinking of what food should i eat tomorrow!

I only have less than a week to enjoy what ever food that drools me .  Sometimes, when i looked back of how i agreed to come back home for 3 weeks instead of 2 weeks , my heart just go out to my hubby.

I do missed him . But i do have to agree with him and his valid reasons too on why it should be 3 and not 2 weeks.

He said that i will get to rest and relax and go out . Its not that i cant do that back in jakarta. But here it will be easier for me to do it as there will be my parents n MIL to keep our kids occupied. And so it is true!

And this 3 weeks has passed by  at a good pace. Alhamdulillah i got to eat and do what i wanted to do. Of course how i wish that hubby was around to accompany me.

So what to eat for tomorrow ? Nasi arab at saba?



Friday 22 June 2012

Y2 to Y3


Today is my eldest child's last day of school. Come August 28th, she will be a Year 3 student. How fast the time flies.

We have been a Jakartaian since Dec 31st 2011. Those 6 months of schooling flew by just like a blink of an eye.

And reading Arissa's year end school report is truly overwhelming. Her progress and development in learning is no small feat considering that she will only turn 7 years old on this August 15th. She came only with her kindergarten/preschool knowledge. And if we were in Malaysia she is will be in standard one which is actually in year 1. But because of international education system here used at school, she was put in year 2.

I have my worries on her learning. Mostly because the high standard level of education at BIS. Arissa is a smart girl. Together with help from school and also help from home teaching, she is able to catch up with what is being taught in school.

But we still need to help her somemore during this holidays. It breaks my heart when i saw her crying telling me she couldnt answer some maths questions.

During the begining of school year , we managed to get some info on arissa's learning progress. It is based on that that her teacher gave me teaching aids and information on subjects that she is weak..

When i look back at this, now i know the reason for me being a SAHM. How lucky I am to be able to help my daughter in her studies.

So if you ask me how her year end report was, all i can say me and my husband are so proud of her achievement. Even her class teacher is proud of her too.

And she got two merits award to end her year two !!!!

Y2 to Y3


Today is my eldest child's last day of school. Come August 28th, she will be a Year 3 student. How fast the time flies.

We have been a Jakartaian since Dec 31st 2011. Those 6 months of schooling flew by just like a blink of an eye.

And reading Arissa's year end school report is truly overwhelming. Her progress and development in learning is no small feat considering that she will only turn 7 years old on this August 15th. She came only with her kindergarten/preschool knowledge. And if we were in Malaysia she is will be in standard one which is actually in year 1. But because of international education system here used at school, she was put in year 2.

I have my worries on her learning. Mostly because the high standard level of education at BIS. Arissa is a smart girl. Together with help from school and also help from home teaching, she is able to catch up with what is being taught in school.

But we still need to help her somemore during this holidays. It breaks my heart when i saw her crying telling me she couldnt answer some maths questions.

During the begining of school year , we managed to get some info on arissa's learning progress. It is based on that that her teacher gave me teaching aids and information on subjects that she is weak..

When i look back at this, now i know the reason for me being a SAHM. How lucky I am to be able to help my daughter in her studies.

So if you ask me how her year end report was, all i can say me and my husband are so proud of her achievement. Even her class teacher is proud of her too.

And she got two merits award to end her year two !!!!

Friday 1 June 2012

Needle and thread


One thing that i dont like about here is that the lackness of specialty shop . Not for high end products. But more for simple basic stuff like needles and threads. If back in malaysia , we can just pop into any  sewing shops or handcraft shop or just the local groceries shops.

But here in jakarta that is a different story. After searching for needles and threads high and low , I found it at a shop that  not  only sells plastic products but also ribbons , paper bags n balloons.. And i found out about this shop after i asked my landlord cum my neighbour on it. Argh!

Same thing also when i wanted to buy Al Quran. I have yet to see a shop that only sell Al Quran and other religious reading material. All i know for now is that i will have to get it from a bookshop. Umph!

Mind you that I am staying in place that is almost like USJ or kinrara. Not many places here have that kind of environment. Thus, I am pretty upset with all the troubleness in finding a simple products.

Of course i am getting used to all of this!!!..

And the shop where i got my needles are located in a pasar or market here . Its half fresh market and dried market too. Thanks goodness its a new modern market and not like most old markets here in other parts of jakarta.

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Gerobak


At first when i saw it, i wonder why the owners of gerobak dont want to use a motorcycle . And there so many of these gerobak here in jakarta.

I guess after seeing them day in day out while living my life here in jakarta , finally something makes some sense to the existance of gerobak.

As much as how attached and dependant all of us to our kedai mamaks, so is gerobak to indonesian . To them, gerobak sellers are their kedai mamak. To them, gerobak also is the ice cream man or dessert seller. To them , gerobak sellers is the kedai runcit, apek jual sayur dan ikan , kedai bermacam kedai la...hahaha..

And for lower to middle income group people, gerobak is the way of life in indonesia.

I used to wonder why on earth do gerobak sellers sell plastic hardware such as pail, dustbin, plastic tapisan, mop, broom and house stuffs. And seeing this gerobak at lower income housing area just points it out how those people only have motorcycles to take them for groceries shopping. Thus, how on earth would they be able to bring home big household stuffs . Furthermore, most of the road or lanes that lead up to these houses are narrow . If i were them, i too would buy water storage pail from the gerobak.

And we all know how macet it is here in jakarta. Imagine if it is macet total which means unmoving traffic and you in your vehicle are stuck there at the same spot for almost one hour. Well, if you are hungry and thirsty, a pau or a quick hot cup of tea or cofffee made from premix sachets  are just near by. The gerobak is there to help.

And its common to have breakfast , lunch ,dinner or tea or even for dessert from the gerobaks. In the morning, its bubur ayam, bubur kacang ijo, nasi uduk . Lunch can be the same food like bubur ayam , mee ayam, bakso ,and soto.. And same things also for dinner.. Actually some food are being sold day and night. Gorengan like tahu semedang , banana fritters , murtabak bandung( apam balik for malaysian or pancake to western people )  and dessert like es podeng all can be bought from gerobak.

When i look at the owners.of gerobak, i know that these people dont earn much at the end of the day. You may say how could that be when they have a steady and regular customers.  To me,  there are so many people living in jakarta. And there are so many gerobaks. And cost of living is expensive actually. And petrol is not cheap even it is still a subsidies items by the pemerintah. So in order to make ends meet for these gerobak owners, best to use gerobak.

If u ask me.if i have tried eating jajanan food or food from gerobak, well no... I am afraid i will get diarheria as my tummy still lack the local bacteria...

But do not think the food is not tasty . I have seen a few gerobaks near my house  who have lotsa customers eating at thier small gerobak. All they need is just one two tables only. And like the gerobak that sells bubur kacang ijo at my house, the owner dress smartly and look clean too..and Of course food by the gerobak is cheap.

Tok..tok...tok... Ting...ting...ting... Thats the sounds from the gerobaks that is passing by infront of my house day and night...

Bakso bakso!mee ayam mee ayam... Even my aisyah have gotten used to this jeritan!

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Sunday 13 May 2012

Selamat hari ibu


This marked my first time celebrating mother's day outside malaysia. 

The day started with eating home cooked nasi lemak for breakfast.

Next dearest hubby helped Arissa with her online homework. Yeah! For term 3 , parents are required to help their children to view weekly homework online. Thank goodness it is only one homework per week. Totally different from malaysian education systems .

While they were busy with homework, I  decided to cook my kaya jam. Had been putting it on hold eversince i got the recipe from my mom  three days ago.

Hows the kaya jam? Delicious ! Infact i had my roti kaya butter toast as late night supper just now.

Wishes? Well, received it while i was baking chicken for lunch . Arissa made the card all by herself and signed with love from the rest. And the card is posted at the fridge.  Its a wonderful feelings to get personalised and self made card like that from your loved ones.

Lunch was baked chicken with fries n bbq gravy.  Then, spent the noon resting n relaxing at home. Also hubby helped the girls to paint the masked which were bought yesterday. As usual, pink mask for Aisyah. While arissa's mask was in pink and orange tone.

And dinner was  at plaza bintaro. This after we found out that our favourite murtabak bandung stall was still closed. The plan was to buy it and eat it for dinner.

And the closure for this year mother's day was chocolate chip cookies frappachino at starbucks.

I like my sunday today. No macet. Just like back home.



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Friday 27 April 2012

Friday lunch outings


Reading my sister's FB status today being its a Friday , makes me miss my friday lunch outing.

Since lunch on friday is a two hours lunch break, i have ample of time to do shopping or just to window shop .

And ever since my sister's company relocated its office to a new building which is near to my old office, thus she gets to follow me .

So on fridays, it could be either KLCC, Pavillion, Jusco AU or jusco wangsa maju, carrefour  or even all the way to 1Utama and Ikea.

I remember how she followed me to Ikea on one of the friday lunch. We went there all because I was craving for Ikea food. I was on my third pregnancy at that time.

Having an office located at such strategic location in Kuala lumpur city does have its advantage. I can chose to dine at a little bit expensive places or at the affordable ones. Either places offer delicious foods.

I love pavillion food republic food court. Almost most of the food that i had eaten there are delicious n worth the price i paid. Even at picnic klcc foodcourt too has some of delicious food. The briani ayam madu is tasty. Both the rice and the chicken. And if i am craving for cendol , I can get it there. Drooling now!

For chinese dishes like mee curry that comes with cockles , wantan mee or mee soup , then I normally go to the other foodcourt located on top floor. Forgot its name. Asean ?

Now you know why i miss my foodcourt food here in jakarta. And why i miss my friday long lunch outing...

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Thursday 26 April 2012

Breads



Not so gebu

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Breads



Not so gebu

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Breads



Mmmmmm

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Roti tawar


I remember my first bite of roti tawar during my early stay in Jakarta. The bland taste and less soft texture of that plain bread was so much different from Gardenia bread that i normally had back in KL.

Cant figure out out why the bread here is so much different from back home. Can it be the lesser gluten content in the wheat flour here? This was noticed by my supercook MIL who is here for a month.  She said that the flour here contain less gluten. Hemmm.. I dont know what it means by that.

However now my tastebud can accept the roti tawar flavour and texture. But then again there are other brands or merek of breads that has better taste than roti tawar sari roti.

And how indonesian loves cheese that there plenty of cheese bread or pastry stuff with cheese

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Friday 20 April 2012

Alya



At 6 months old. Easy to get her to smile. How she can laugh at her two big sister's funny acts.

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Friday 13 April 2012

Home


The first thing that we or i had to do once we got arissa's school confirmed was to look for house ASAP.

Reason was because i really dont want to go through the macetness of jakarta daily for five days in a week. And that i dont want to see arissa vomitting in the car on daily basis too..not that she vomitted everyday. But to see her having headache on each trip to school and having to wake up early i mean really early, i just pity her..

So arissa and me got to experience the famous jakarta macet for almost a month. And mind you, that i almost vomitted on my 5th day on the first week of Arissa's school. Imagine being in a car for 4 hours for 5 days in a week. Aiyo!

I remember having to drag myself to sit in that 2C cafe on friday during that first week. I wasnt feeling well on that day. But still i did my internet search on houses for rent  after feeling how i owe it to hubby to look for one and also for arissa's sake too.

Somehow Allah just directed me to give two houses a visit during the weekend. Until today, I am still thankful for this . One of the houses is the house i am currently renting.

I remember looking at so many houses that were advertised on the rumah123. Two houses available for rental caught my eyes. The price and location met my target. But one of the two houses just caught my interests. So I gave the agent a phone call and quickly set date and time for a house tour on that weekend itself.

Saturday came and we met the lady agent and her partner. She showed us two houses that just close to each other. We were not impressed with the first house eventhough it has a swimming pool. The fact that the house has been vacant for quite sometime and poor maintenance by the owner just put me off. The badly conditioned of the bathrooms wooden doors caught my eyes. And i hate the sight. The house layout too was not that appealing.

But things were different with the second house. No swimming pool but the house has fish pond right outside the main door . The house layout was simple and all rooms are big. Even the furnitures are in better conditioned than the first house. Plus its not that dark inside the house as there is an airway area in the house.

When we left the 2nd house, me and hubby sort of ilike we have choosen that house to be rent. The lady agent made a follow up call the next week. I must say that she was not the pushy type kind of agent who just eager to close the deal. 

She was patient enough to provide me more details on the second house. Infact we were always on the phone during the week after the house visit week. And the deal was sealed after two weeks .

Whenever i look at this house ie the second house that my family are staying now, i only have this to say " memang rumah ni rezeki arissa , aisyah and alya". This house is meant for them right from the start.

Wanna know why I mean it that way? Because the house is nicely located near Arissa's school. Because the house has fish pond that houses some big japanese kap and koi fish. But most of all,we are indeed lucky to have  a neighbour who is our landlord !. And that our landlord is kind and helpful too . They may be rich, but alhamdulillah they are good people itoo!

So far what ever house stuffs that need to be fixed were deal quickly.Less headache for us.

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Wednesday 11 April 2012

ABC kicap



These can be easily found anywhere. Aren't the packaging convenient to bring during trips?

So here in indonesia, these are the culture . And i have bought them but not the kicap, for souveniers!

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Tuesday 10 April 2012

Refills


One of the things that you will notice at the supermarkets and shops are the refill pouches. Almost 99% products are being sold in refill pouches. Oh! Forgot to mention that I am refering to supermarkets here in jakarta and elsewhere in indonesia. Its not that that there are no in bottle packaging. But somehow refill pouches are the norm here.

Tomato sauces, laundry detergents, floor  cleaners, body shampoo, hair shampoo , cooking oils, hand soap etc. Even tissue paper dont come in paper boxes like what we normally see back home in malaysia.

At first I do find it all strange as I am used to buy stuffs in bottles n boxes. And imagine when there are products in sachets too. Not the sugar size sachet. Its bigger than that. I must say that its convenient for travellers to buy hair shampoo , sauces, milk, coffee premix and tea premix in sachets. More space in the luggage for souveniers ..

I think this refill pouches n sachet are actually a mirror to the standard of living and cost of living in indonesia. The marketing departments have well identified the customers buying concept.

The lower and poor income people cant afford to buy in big quantities. Going to supermarkets would intimidate them. But they dont mind coming to buy stuffs if it is within their buying power. So anything in less than 1 kg or 2 liters is ok with them.

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Monday 23 January 2012

Ah Mei in Jakarta

I am not refering to the Hong Kong singer.

But I am refering to this singapore brand restaurant located here in Oakwood in Mega Kuningan.

Remember when i mentioned how expensive food is here, well, so far the food at Ah Mei is delicious and big portion too.Which is why i told dearest hubby how i dont mind eating there when the food is worth what we paid.
They even have roti canai/prata and the Ah Mei milk tea is so sedap. It's milk tea which is it's house brand is similar to teh ais. Even its teh tarik is sedap..

I remember eating at Plaza Senayan food court. The place is similar to KLCC & Pavillion. But the size of the food court is smaller than in KLCC or Pavillion. The food is expensive and smaller in portion. One need to spend like around 40,000.00 rupiah for a meal.

I would love to try the local food that is sold at the gerobak.But do not dare if i will get stomachache. So far me and hubby only dare to buy local food from the food court only.. I still do not like the alpukat or avacado drinks. The lemak taste does not suits my tastebud somehow. But hubby loves it..

I have been going to malls just to check what kind of brands do they have in there.. And sometimes I don;t do lunch even though my two girls are with me. Hubby of course la  is at work.. I either make sure my girls eat some food before going out or we come back home to eat  for lunch. It is no worth paying for lunch at most of the big malls. But what I did is i buy for ourselves some treats like ice blended or some bakery. Only 1 ice blended ye!

My friend here commented how she prefers to stay at home rather than going to malls..Well, she has been staying here for 6 years. And i am at the 1st phase of checking out the malls. Actually I am not a shopaholic. But I am eager to see for myself what has been said by other about the size of jakarta shopping malls. Memang besar bangat!

Sunday 22 January 2012

cooking

Yep!

I have been doing lotsa cooking thesedays.. How not to when my eldest requested this and that. But I really do not mind at all ..In fact I just enjoy cooking it for them.. which is why this new hat as a ibu rumah tangga fits me so well!!! hahahahah...

Anyway, things here are so expensive . And I hate wasting my husband hard earned money like we are pouring water to our flowers or like the water tap where we leave it on when we are brushing our teeth. Ops! but not me. As I dont leave it on while brushing my teeth.

I did my own apam balik for two solid reasons. First reason is because the ready-to-make apam balik flour sold on the supermarket shelf is so expensive and secondly , actually one can make their own apam balik flour too.You just refer back to the box for its ingredient. Which I did that. So apam balik is just like pancake. Except you excluded the milk or buttermilk & eggs.

So yeah, Arissa is having the marvelous time of getting me to cook this and that. I have been making apam balik these whole week. Last week was the cekodok cheese flavour...Yep! it is cekodok cheese which u just subtitute pisang/banana with cheese. OOh! It's so nice.

I have been planning to make this since my confinement period. It was put up in my cousin's blog and the recipe is purely created by my aunty.. You need to use kraft cheedar cheese for this.. Here the kraft cheddar cheese is so expensive. It's  cost about RM5 ringgit more than in Malaysia..And i did try the made-in Indonesia kraft cheddar cheese which is totally  tak sedap. So my next substitute will be the Bego brand. Will use it next when Arissa requested for it.

But I can't bake in this apartment as there is no oven. Plus all my cooking gadgets are still inside the boxes in the warehouse. So not all types of food & cooking I can do . I am limited by the gadgets and also by the food stuff that is not widely available or not available at all here in Jakarta.

Mind you all, that I have yet to see cili kering or dried chili which is the main ingredient to make sambal tumis. Sambal tumis is Arissa's all time favourite. She can have it on a daily basis.  I do not know what I will have to use when we ran out of it  later. We have packed a good amount of cili kering .But it is at the warehouse. And the frozen & cooked sambal tumis that is lovingly cooked by my MIL is almost finishing . In fact the blended cili kering is almost finishing too.. Hubby gave an idea of using cabe merah here. This I will resort in the near future..hehheh

Saturday 21 January 2012

Teh Tarikh RM10

I mentioned how food  is expensive here. Well, raw or cooked, almost everything on the supermarket shelves are expensive.

I had the greatest idea of using locally made in indonesia stuff for cooking. Nevetheless to say, i got a shock when these locally Indofood brands are expensive too. So at last, i resort to  what is cheaper. Does not matter the brand or whether it is imported or local products.

Even my indonesian maid got a shocked of her life when she found out how expensive the fresh cabe merah is. Of course the place where you buy it does play a major factor in the price. But things here are  expensive. I have made comparison of Carrefour located in Kuningan area ( upmarket) with Carrefour located in middle class market. And yes, its cheaper there. I just can't wait to do my groceries shopping at the pasar once we get our house..

About the teh tarik..yes, it is priced like that. Thank goodness it is sedap and served in big glass. Not in small glass like in some kedai mamak ok..

Thursday 19 January 2012

Ibu RumahTangga

I am wearing a new shoes these days.. And it’s a well-known brand that is recognized all over the world.


I have just started wearing it just a day before new year . Before year 2012. So far the shoes fit nicely with me. It fits nicely that I hardly notice any bruises on my toes which a new pair normally leave.

Have been wearing it every day without failed. Wanna know what brand is it?

New shoes aka SAHM status!

I am a stay at home mother/mom/mama. I am also the Finance Minister, the Event Planner, the Nanny, the BFF and also the EVIL MONSTER!!! Hahahahah.. My cousin called it “ naga berapi” aka the fire dragon. But I can be my girls fairy god mother too in a split seconds..

Anyway, I have to say that I barely notice or feel the differences in my new work..Yep! It is a work indeed. And it’s a hard work too..I really don’t know why is it that I do not notice any transition phase from being a working mother to a SAHM now.

By right I should be feeling something. But none with me. Is it because of the apartment where I am living currently? I do believe that it makes me feel like I am on a holidays. But you do not do lotsa cooking when on holiday’s right?

Maybe because I have been so busy with Arissa’s school finding.. Yep..We, err r more to I actually as hubby needs to be in the office. So I did a lot of school hunting for Arissa.

Need to pick the right school for her in the sense that the school’s education systems shouldn’t be different from Malaysian school system. This is vital as we want a smoother transition for Arissa when we come back to Malaysia for good once my husband’s contract expired.

This is why we did not pick any international school even though we can do that.

Back to my new shoes aka new status as SAHM, I feel like I am born for it ..hahahhahah… All because the shoes fit nicely and no any red marks/bruises on my toes and feet.

And I did a lot of cooking in the sense we have teas too. I really do not mind making cekodok or apambalik or any type of food that is specially requested by my two girls. But I wish I can have all my cooking gadgets ASAP. All of it is still in the warehouse waiting to be shipped here. And it will be shipped once we found a nice house . This can only be settled once we get Arissa’s school confirmed!!

I used to be worried about being a SAHM. Worried what will become of me. What if I become bored of it. But I don’t deny that could happen to me once Arissa starts her school. Argh!

Saturday 7 January 2012

Life & Live from Jakarta

Today is day eigth of my life in Jakarta.

We arrived here last Saturday Dec 31st 2011 on Garuda Airlines.Why Garuda?Well, all because  dearest hubby had found out that each seat in the flight comes with its personal tv screen. Judging from the flight interior, i think they had it redesigned. One think that it is not hard to notice is the steward & stewardes. They are in their late 30's with average looks. hahah.. I always think that they will be handsome & pretty like Ken & Barbie!

The first few days of my life without being able to stay connected to FB was horrible. I felt so loss! hahha..Hubby had a great laugh at this. I was at a new place. Living a new life. And there was no FB to make me feel like home in a new country. Alhamdulillah.. Now I got my FB back after hubby got my new local hp no.

And we are staying in what is called as Jakarta Golden Triangle..