3 in 1 party

Last fortnight was like a whirlwind and hectic for all of us. We were hosting two couples of CSers simultaneously, preparing for the party and doing makeover for our lil' living room. No wonder I didn't manage to cook on time. Luckily mom made us her famous laksa johor, with nasi himpit and kuah kacang or else Ain, Nazri, Stuart and gf would have nothing to much on except for cheesecake and kuih raya la. Open house apa namanya tu?Pfftt

More pics can be found @ here Luckily Man brought his SLR cam and act like a photographer we hire for the party(err,jgn hantar bil pas ni sudah) We didn't get the chance to take so much pics as I'm for sure running around the house to make sure everything's ok. Sorry for those I didn't get the chance to greet or chat with. Particularly Ain and Nazri :( Many thanks to those who came and brought gifts for Aresha. It was great to meet Apek, E.T and kids, Ajeep, Man, Nadia, Kecik, Yawn & Mas, Yunus,Marlia & Isz, Muna & family, Kak Ada, Abg Enol (thx for the lovely painting) & Iwan, Oare, Kerry & Ola, Wong & family, CSers Low & Ed, in case if I forget to put your name, you know who you are and we appreciate your presence.
Most of all thanks to my wonderful parents who did helped me a lot! and saved the day! (Aresha loves the bike so much!) My grandma who made me the nasi himpit My future SIL Siti, who brought the scrumptuos apple crumble and helped out in the kitchen, Erie for the balloons oh you guys were so kind! ( Sounds like Oscar speech plak)
Aresha had so much fun tht day and it shows! She's beaming with giggle and laughter, playing with all the kids and even adults (who has camera, posing, and love to see her own pics, ok?)Tht was the first time we saw her so happy!

Meanwhile,here's snippets of our lovely time with Alia and Luis, me practicing Poi (you're truly a 'legend' ;) Alia!) I miss them when they left, they're such lovely, super nice couple , I admired their politeness and their effort to make our hosting experience a memorable one :) Do come and visit us again guys! Or, we'll visit you soon, perhaps?

Alia doing the ribbon poi

Luis and his diabolo

Riding in car with Bambi

Went to my best friend's, Marlia wedding last Sunday and I can't believe tears almost came down from my eyes seeing a very close friend of mine tying the knot :)
She's glowing, prettier than ever and Isz is sure one good looking groom :) Too bad I didn't take much pics as we're handling two babies, Aresha and Bambi.
We took Bambi for her booster vaccination and earmites treatment. She's actually having a serious infection in her ears.
Bambi is a dream cat. We could travel in the car without having to cage her. Aresha loves it, she giggled all the way :)

10 great years!

We're going to #malscene gig/gathering tomorrow. Can't wait to see faces of our old friends, some we haven't meet for years!

I dunno if I've wrote about this but this is how I met dear. Yes, thru IRC chatting. I was 17 back then and he's 23. He's one of the founders of the channel, I'm just a newbie who gets really excited to meet/make new friends.
To cut long story short, we chatted for hours almost every night, on weekends, till 6am! Mama got so furious (obviously there's no broadband back then,the phone bills went sky high!)She even locked the computer room at night. Lol! I'd climb the window from the kitchen and sneak in. Talk about things you do for love eh? We didn't become online bf gf instead I fell in love with his long ponytail on the 2nd IRC gathering that I went. Heh,I always have a thing for long-haired guys since I was in school. The relationship starts from there, tho' he actually uttered only a few words the first time we met. There goes our monthly Tower Records meet up, hiding from other #malscenians dates, till we actually tie the knot almost 3 wonderful yrs now. How fast time flies when #malscene is actually celebrating 10 great years online and we're almost 9 yrs together.
Happy Birthday Malscene, I'm thankful that I met my #1 love there :)

Our new baby

Since you guys have been asking, or wanting to ask when are we going to have a second child, while here she is....introducing, Bambi (short for Bambina) new addition to the family. She's a Flame point siamese mix, cream coloured neither shorthair nor persian-liked fur, with orange striped tail.



She's really cute and bonded with Aresha instantly! She loves to play and sleep with Aresha (tho' sometimes Aresha got so jealous when Bambi snuggle with me)The best part is she's so smart we don't really have to toilet train her. Just put the cat litter in the bathroom, she went there on her own to do her business, :)

We got her from Ampang's SPCA. She was really meant for us. Why did I say that? When we arrived there, it was raining heavily. We went straight to the cat's area where most of the cute kittens are already taken (adopted/booked) Bambi caught our attention the minute we went in. She was placed in a cage, on the center, left side, she's the only kitten left in that corner, others are either taken or left empty. Dear fell in love with her immediately as she wriggle herself towards us. Then, the caretaker,kakak came in and told us she was taken. Arghhh.. but there's another cat near the office, just like her, only orange in colour. This time it's a male cat but we know he wanted us to take him home too :(
We just can't bear looking at other cats' sad faces, as if they were saying"Why aren't we taking 'em home?" We decided to take the orange cat home, when dear said he wanted to look at the backyard one last time, and..... unexpectedly good news! Someone cancelled to take the cream kitty home! It's officially ours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, that's how we got Bambi. Bought a carrier, the sweet lil' Bambi stayed really calm in the car, singgah open house rumah Che Mat jap for 3 hrs and Aresha just couldn't wait to play with her.

Now, the bed is really I mean really full with 2 adults and 2 babies altogether. Bambi loves to sleep on my pillow. Ah, my new baby! It's easy to leave Aresha when I'm cooking as she'll happily snuggle, cuddle and play with Bambi.


On another note I made pot roast chicken (since we don't have oven yet), with baked potato served with, sour cream beef bacon and spring onion and Caesar's salad on the side.






So here's the recipe of Pot roast chicken, Baked potatoes and my interpretation of Caesar's salad for 2.

For the Chicken in this particular recipe I only use half of the chicken (preferably one whole chicken cut into four) Mine was already cut into twelve hence the presentation is not really that good :P

Pot Roast Chicken

1/2 Chicken - if u don't have it quartered, choose drumsticks, wings or thigh
1 cup chicken stock/broth (I use Maggi cube)
1 bay leaf
2 garlic cloves - smashed
2tbsp light soy sauce
1cm ginger - slivered,smashed (if u like it gingery, smash it or use more than 1cm)

It's easy peasy, just fry the garlic till brownish or aromatic with some oil and put all the ingredients in the pot. Leave for 45 minutes.

When it's done, heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok transfer all the chicken, fry each side for 2-5 minutes ( I like it crispy) and add some black pepper to taste.

Now, for the baked potatoes what you need;

2 Russet potatoes
2 slices beef bacon
2 tbsp sour cream(I love sour cream, so I use more!)
scallions/spring onion to garnish on top


You can either put it straight in the oven wrapped in alumininium foil or if you don't have oven like us, just boil it till it becomes soft abt 15 minutes [I think, I just left it since Aresha always distract me from the kitchen ;)]
then wrapped it in foil and put it in a pan (dry fry) for 5 minutes each side (cover it if u can).
Meanwhile,you can fry the beef bacon with 1 tbsp oil for few minutes and chop it.
when your potatoes are ready,transfer to a plate, make a cross cut and spoon sour cream in , garnish with beef bacon and spring onion.

As for the salad I made the sauce beforehand with
6 tbsp mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp vege oil/olive oil
1 sprig dill( I don't have it in stock so I just leave it be)
salt and pepper to taste

Blend all the ingredients in a blender/food processor till it becomes smooth, or just whisk everything in a bowl.

For the salad;I use;
Butterhead lettuce - tear or chopped
2 boiled eggs -sliced
potatoes - boiled with the ones used for baked potato, diced and fried with garlic- this is substitute for croutons
purple cabbage- shredded
8 cherry tomatoes (yellow and red)

Voila! A healthy meal for the whole family. Aresha digs boiled eggs, she ate most of 'em and no kids would refuse to eat chicken!

Aidilfitri

Salam Aidilfitri to all
Maaf Zahir & Batin
We're off till the 2nd of raya to Jeram (dearie's kampung) then till the end of the week to USJ with my family and relatives :)

Too bad dear has to work on the 3rd :(
We didn't spent much on ourselves this year. I guess we threw it all on the new place :)We didn't even buy clothes for the lil' one. Luckily mama bought her one. what would I do without you ma? Oh, I managed to make 2 kuih rayas yesterday but this silly lil' me left it at mama's, and boy, mama spoilt me with kuih raya she made for me. Emm, I should continue packing as we'll leave in less than two hours

Have fun y'all and have a great Aidilfitri!

Host

Finally we've got a CSer in our crib today. I don't feel so guilty anymore :) We're blessed with meeting wonderful Csers while we were in Europe and this is a great chance to turn the favor. Gio is such a great CSer to host. He got plenty of stories to share and great with our lil' Aresha. Aresha just adores him and she actually cried when he went to sleep. Oh, did I tell you he's doing a world tour on his bike? Mamma mia!
That means, he rode all the way from Tuscany to KL! It took him 1 1/2 years to get here.
Will write more about my hosting experience. I'm sure we'll have a blast :) Maybe take a picture of all of us having a great conversation. Toodles!

New post, new home

Just got back our internet connection after almost a forthnight of excruciating wait.
It's great to have a place to call our own :) Dear has been busy with drilling new wall shelf,blinds, curtain rods and lamps, all for this coming raya.
We had a shopping spree @ IKEA last Saturday and it was the first time I saw dear got really excited in buying stuffs there. (Usually it was me trying to convince him that we need to buy certain things while he's telling me not to as we don't have a home of our own) His eyes lit up, going thru his lists , oh I just love it when we share the same interest!
Luckily I managed to bring along homecooked Singapore Noodles and fried chicken for Aresha, talk about saving some penny, healthy nutritious meal and avoid here screaming all at once! She took almost 45 minutes to finish her meal (and her own sweet tiem too!)before we proceed to more shopping.
We didn't even realize that it's almost break fast while we were at the check out, end up having ice cream and their famous curry puff for buka puasa
It was dearie birthday anyway and since I've already got payment frm M.c.K.i.n.s.e.y
it was my treat of Classic Pizza, Calamari and Seafood Tagliatelle. Portion was huge as we even take away for sahur.
Well, since we moved in I try to occupy myself with the usual chores i,e : washing clothes by hand [I'm so used to it, it's very satisfying, Ain would definitely agree with me :)]I've always wanted a washer-dryer machine but since dear's clothes need tlc (read -hand washing) I ditched that idea to the drain, it's not so hard, I got all the time in the world, hehe, plus it's only laundry of the 3 of us, why bother waste money right?
During Ramadhan, my cooking preparations start as early as 8.30 am. I have to make use of Aresha's sleeping time as she'd hold on to my feet, trying not to let me to go to the kitchen. It's not easy peasy to think of berbuka menu. Dear's on low carb diet (no rice)
So far I've tried, pad thai, porridge (Thai style with chicken soup), Hailam mee , Mee goreng mamak, Pot roast chicken served with mashed potato and salad)Wh would've thought cooking would be this pening?

Today, it's gonna be Porridge, served with chicken soup, garnished with fried garlic and shallots, salted egg, lobak asin and fried anchovies with bird eye chilies, onions , don't forget the lime wedges!
I'm gonna make mungbean dessert( in English bubur kacang hijaulah!) and fruit cocktail drink with a splash of ice cream soda.
Better soak the beans now! I need to run to the grocery to buy gula melaka, sago and pandan leaves. Toodles!

Updated: I changed my menu last minute to Hainanese Chicken Rice complete with chilli and ginger sauce. It was my first attempt, a success!

on print

Dear and his Streething crew were featured on JUICE last month. Shot @ The Curve's Showroom early August and here's the outcome.



Left to right JamastaJules, Skuirtgun himself, Kzzit, UrawaRed and Headhunter. They're all sneakerheads and the backbones of Streething, a street culture forum. These peeps are really cool and they're so friendly they made me feel welcomed, even on the first time we met. can't wait for another swap meet or Nike party!

Home Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet Home!

Just paid a deposit to our very own crib (for the time being la )last evening.
We'll move to Sri Gombak Phase 9 end of this month and that means more entertaining friends, parties, barbeques and ALWAYS a place to couchsurf!

I'm walking on sunshine oh , oh , oh!


Dear, this is the best gift ever! Je vous aime beaucoup!

Joyful , joyful

Yeah, I've been lazy again... been riding almost every weekend, yes I'm back on track now. Slowly trying to get over separation anxiety from Aresha (tho' I still wish she's with us all the time)
The past few weeks was a bliss. It's my birthday week. Dear made sure that it lasts till last weekend. Had two dinners one at the usual and the unforgettable , very affordable seafood galore @ Coconut Flower not on the same day, mind you ;)
Oh, dear surprised me with his gift , a biker-styled leather jacket which I've been longing since last year! I'm just lucky my birthday falls in autumn. I've searched hi and lo when we were in Europe last year, be it at the vintage shop, flea markets or department store. European girls look really cute with these, cowboy/leather boots on and skinny jeans! If only I could wear it during the day lah :( everyday!
However, this year, while having Caesar's salad, I told dear that this is the first time that I felt birthday is just another day in my life, not a big deal as I always felt previous years. He said, that's how he feels every year, wait till you reach the three-oh. Cheittt! In other words, I'm getting oldlah!

How fast time flies... but to look on the sunny side, I'm walking on rainbows, couldn't ask for more!
Big thank yous to mi familia, my Cik Nab, Dzeti, Marlia, Masnah, Nadia, Ichah, Bob for remembering my birthday :) Love you guys to bits!

I miss travelling :(

My fellow CSer friends Reen and Anne are now in Europe and I wish that I could do the same too! However we have to be patient and wait till Aresha's big enough to understand and remember the journey before we embark on another Euro trip. We're gonna be staying with as many CSer as possible and most prolly staying with the same hosts in Berlin, Amsterdam,Barcelona (Jan asked us to wait till he get back from his Globetour) and London.

Pics uploaded above were Jan the ever so kind host who picked us up @ Barcelona Sants train station (his place is literally an hour drive from the city)and Phaeny & Sergi, the lovely Greek+ Catalan couple who's also Easyjet's hostesses, they've been so helpful on giving us guides to flea markets and best places to shop for vintage clothes. We miss you guys so much, and here's hoping our paths may cross again!

A long awaited ride!

This is what I've been up to the past few weeks. Yes, I'm back riding on dearie's Springer,after almost twenty one month of long hiatus. It's not that I didn't ride at all, very minimal to tell you the truth. Now it's not so hard to leave Aresha at home. My parents and MIL always ready to take care of her, She's not totally dependent on my milk anymore, yeay for me!

Last Saturday we went to PD, a short ride which I miss the most after having Aresha. I just love riding, long rides are the best especially with fellow IMG brothers and sisters. Can't wait to ride maybe to Fraser's Hill next weekend!

Quickie

Time: 8.15 pm
Location: Sierramas West (Kzzit's crib)

Watch out for this Friday's (18th August) 8tv Quickie @ 11.30 pm as my dearie and his Streething crew will be on air! Well, not live but they've just shoot the short segment last Wednesday with Malaysian Airmax collector Chris aka Headhunter and Streething founder Choo Ee aka Kzzit.
I couldn't stay and watch the interview as Aresha's making loud noise talking and running around the house but basicaly they're asking about the sneaker collecting culture in Malaysia and how it influence their lives.

Here's some pics from behind the scene

These boots are made for me!

I wanted a Puma Pele Brazil, but as usual they don't bring it in in my size. What a discrimination towards women's collectors :(





Dear was being super sweet yesterday to think of me when he bought me these cute Rbk boots.
I lurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrveeeeeeeeeeeee it! In fact I'm gonna rock 'em today! SO if you see anyone with these dope boots on, that would be ME!

Wonder what would be my his next pick up for me? ;)




Last nite, dear and his colleagues went on b/o/m/b/i/n/g session and here's the masterpiece.

Raise!

This is beyond content. I'm overjoyed, jumping off the ceiling, exhilarated basically everything that rhymes with happy as dear just got a FAT raise last evening!
We can finally move out and run around naked in our own crib! WUhoooooooooooooooo!

Shopping @ IKEA tomorrow morning is gonna be a blast and meaningful :)

Meowwww

Content. One word that describes my emotional status right now. Life's good (especially after that Twisted Logic tour) Still can't believe that we were only few metres away from the greatest band on earth! Aresha's enjoying the clips we brought her home. Watching the bear wandering aimlessly on the screen while singing 'Talk'. She taught it was a cat! Constantly calling 'Meow' which is quite funny and I think she has an imaginary cat. It's been almost a week now. While we were in Segamat, (grandma's place for her yummy durians)she started with this 'Meow' thingy, pointing her fingers to an invisible object, making that "Tchu,tchu" sound (when you're calling ur cat), she did too many times when the fact that there's no cat around. I didn't find it freaky but quite amazed that she's having an imaginary cat, which is pretty cool! I realized it last night @3 am, the three of us were lying on the bed and she made that sound. It was dark and since her birth we rarely bring a cat/kitten in the room.

And dear, if you're reading this, I don't want any expensive prezzie for my coming birthday which is 38 days away, I just want a place of our own were we could run around naked when Aresha's sleeping/not around, cook whatever/whenever I want, where we could display your collectibles ;) I know, it's gonna be a reality soon, but it will be the best prezzie ever as I'd love to have a birthday party for all of us in our own crib! You can start with your birthday wishlist now as I'm now saving as much as I could to buy you a gift!

Ah, IKEA's annual sale is back! I so wanted to go to the member's preview this morning, but mama is on cranky mode, I dunno why she merajuk, as if she's the one who has to pick me up. Weird. Last-last dua-dua melepas

slip on a tiger or AM90?

I've always wanted an Onitsuka on my feet. Saw 'em in London, boots and sneakers in chinese silk which is soooo prettyyy but damn expensive! This particular OT is kinda cute,

I'm now searching for quickstrikes...





Vans slip ons are the best. Got one from Miz 29 at a special price. They're so light, comfy and best of all, no laces! I dunno abt leather slip-ons tho' but I gues it's like loafers the more u wear it the softer it gets :)



Oh,AM90! This is dope! Only available in Canada? Any hook ups? I bet they don;t have it size 6. There goes another dope kicks :(

Coldplay!

Chris Martin
Originally uploaded by zachreza.

It was a stellar show! 90 minutes seems to pass very quickly. They didn't even pause to have a drink! Just changed clothes before the encore.
Played almost every song in X & Y, complete with strobes, LED, laser, video, and yellow ball! We didn't take so much pic as we got 5 video clips, not to forget Fix You for our lovely Aresha.
I almost broke down in tears when singing along to Fix You, reminds me on how Aresha loves the song so much and misses her presence. When Coldplay comes again, and Aresha's six, we'll definitely bring her along. Overall, it's worth every single dollar in $170 and the long drive!

Mom's the word

I've just finished watching Stepmom on Star Movies and I cried the whole time! I'm a sucker for sappy love stories, mother-daughter bonding movies (Mom's sacrifice, dying of cancer etc) movies. But, I have to watch it alone, all by myself, not even with dearie. I know he would laugh or make fun of me, lol!

It was an old movie back in 98, seen it once before I was a mother myself and watching it the second time brings more emotional interpretation of mother-daughter relationship. I always have this perfect picture of a mother (ala Hollywood movies) and I wish I had that with my mom. To be honest,since 5 year old I realized that I'm always hunger for attention from my parents, especially my mom. It's not that I grew up being neglected or anything, but I envy the attention she gave to my siblings, well, that's what I always thought. I got a brother when I was 2 1/2. Back then he was sooo cute, being really fair, great skin and he's a BOY! I remember when he's only few months I hit him on the head when no one's looking, (ha!Evil lil' Zach) and when he's 3, I hit him with a broom and he got bruises all over. Papa was an army officer and he's been relocated like every 3-4 years but we never move with him(except for KK)as they wouldn't want us to keep on changing schools.
Mama works as a Head Dental Nurse and when I was 9 she was transferred to JB. So we only see her once a week.

Atuk raised me, she's technically my parents. So, I got really close with her. I'm practically her youngest daughter!Oh, she showers me with her unconditional love, she did all the houseworks (never asked me to help, hence I don't even bother to learn how to cook until I met Faizal) Only the last few months, I realized that mama's absence made me really independent. That was the most precious lesson she ever taught me. I took a public bus to school, and at 16 I'm already on a bus,from Kluang to KL travelling on my own to watch underground gigs @ Piccadilly,Damansara Jaya every month! (KS, you were so worried about me, thanks for being a great sis, your nagging kept me in school, haha)

This is where I met the most beautiful people in my life. I guess those were days where I learn true friendship which lasts 'til today. This is also the path that leads me to meet my beau. To cut the story short, I got acquainted with Man (of Sufferage circa 95-98, I hope I get it right) who introduced me to the world of IRC who happens to already know dearie and let's say that's how it all started. 1996-2000 were the best years of my life until Aresha came in '04.

I remember how furious my mom and dad when I brought home a long-haired guy, torned jeans and very much older than me! I've just finished SPM and she tried with all her might to end my relationship with him. (Now she loves him to bits,she knew the guy with that unforgettable ponytail, now spotting mohawk ;) will never break her eldest daughter's heart) Yeah, that's how much mama loves me, she wants what's best for her precious. I've made mistake once when I was 15 to fall in (stupid puppy)love and broke her heart when I didn't score 8A's in PMR. I should've listened to her back then, but what did I know? She was right, that so-called boyfriend is no good for me but I'm glad that I follow my heart when I met dearie, I know I'll never find someone who makes me laugh every single day, puts me above everything else, and works really hard so that I could care for Aresha 24-7.

I dream of having Anna and Jackie relationship where Me and mom could be really good friends like what she's doing with Fara now. I knew I broke her heart too many times
while growing up. I was a rebel, we had arguments on almost everything right until I got married. All of us a sudden she came to her senses that I'm no longer her baby girl, and belongs to dearie. However, our relationship is having a great headstart, we talk more, share experiences on child care, I come to her for advices, we cook together hey, we're practically walking on clouds now!

I guess I've always wanted to be a good mom since I was a kid. That's why I choose to stay-at-home and give my all to Aresha. I don't want to miss her any of her firsts, and I hate to share Aresha's love with babysitter/nanny. I hope I did it right.Seeing her gorgeous smile and her spontaneous act of wrapping her arms around my back is more than enough to make me stay, at least till she goes to kindergarten.I never thought I'd choose to live some called 'conservative' life over being a successful writer. Tho' I miss having my own money (and my shopaholic days), I love who I turn out to be now, I'm a better person and not so slf-centered anymore. The world did not evolve around me anymore,maybe in Aresha's ;)

I miss mama more than ever and she's coming home with my other mom, Atuk this Sunday. Really looking forward it!

Blame it on the referee

England lost 2-1 in penalty shoot out against Portugal
I have a feeling that it is not good a sign after Beckham limps off and has to sit on the bench, followed by referee Horacio Elizondo's outrageous decision to send off Rooney to the locker room.

I am as baffled as Shebby when history repeats itself, another failure in scoring penalty.

I'm sick of prediction that Brazil gonna take home the Golden Cup once again, Ribery, Zizu, Henry , I'm counting on you guys!

Shiny happy people

IMG_7539
Originally uploaded by zachreza.

I didn't realize it was 11.30 until Erie called telling me that he'd just test ride a Sportster which happens to be one of ex IMG and asked me to get ready as he's coming over in 45 mins! OMG that means I have to take a shower along with Aresha, lol! I guess I had an overdose of @ctifed, fell asleep instantly after drinking more than 10ml of the syrup.

Headed to bike shop cum service center @ Jln Pahang and surprised to found the ol' technician from 222 and Sunway HD the petite, always shiny Zailan working there. Haven't met him for a while, only to be more surprised that he'd just remarried last month! However the red 'Porter' wasn't really all that nice, spraying black wrinkle to the engine block is a no-no,unless if it's done professionally.

Ooohhh, dear just bought Bell & Ross M1 by Sinn for a bargain, @ Swiss Union Starhill. It is so military (it is a military model) and he's always wanted one. He used to dream of having a Porsche Design military watch but it's really hard to find. The M1 was meant to be his, if he's not working on M@xis' project he might not know that that particular shop has an exclusive preview sale for members. It's a discontinued model(Bell&Ross now made their own watches not manufactured by Sinn anymore) He couldn't stop smiling and looking at it the whole day!






And he bought me Vans slip-ons with skulls motifs all over, Andy said, just soooo dearie (He 's always inspired by skulls and bones)Lurve it and the best part, I don't have to tie shoelaces anymore!

It was a long day alright, and we end it with a rare eating out with Uncle Khir's family and Pak Usu with very soon-to-be wife, along with of course ma pere, Erie and his ol' buddy Erwin. We had so much fun, wish that mama and atuk are here with us :(

breaking news

Which one would you like to hear first? Good news or bad news?
I have both, well, since I haven't updated for a while I should start with something good to hear eh?

As a result of my previous entry, I'm now back to chirpy mode again, albeit living in my own private life, no need to elaborate more on that, enough to say that I'm now ignoring the elements that made me feel sad, mad and furious. Tho' my heart (and belly, of course) is aching for home made food, I'm satisfied with 'tapau' food for a while. This is dear's suggestion and I'm quite happy with it.

Last Thursday we went for a very short break to Genting with the whole of dear's family (minus the sight for sore eyes of course) and I can't believe how I could be so ecstatic, like a five year old jumping on every ride that I could. In fact, I enjoyed the theme park more than my 19 months baby girl! Check out my flickr for more pics.

Just received a letter from Fisher Price indicating that Aresha had won another Look-A-Like contest we entered before going off to Europe last year. Hey, it's a consolation price but,it's a new toy for Aresha!

what else, what else? Oohhh, 9 more days to watch Coldplay in action which means sorry to my good buddy Zaidi, I have to miss your wedding this Sunday since the date is too near to our Singapore trip :(

Germany has secured their place to the semis as they won penalty 4-2 against Argentina. Dear predicts that England and Germany will kick their way to the final.(He has his RM10 worth of money on these two, lol! He's always an England fan!) I, on the other hand would really want to see Zizu cast his magic in the final of World Cup, adding a wonderful end to his career in football.

I found this brilliant site while google'ing' for best tiramisu and cheesecake recipes. Micheal Chu is a genius, he's an engineer, mind you.

And the best news of all.... I've just got another freelance job from McK/i/n/s/e/y!
I'm not gonna screw up this time, who knows if this could be permanent. Gonna start early in the mornig, shouldn't take too long as it's only 2-3 pages of translation.

It's gonna be a full day tomorrow with scheduled work(aha! how I miss that word), footie @ 11pm and 3 am. Dinner with my uncle Khir's family all the way from Labuan plus squeezing here and there to MerryGoRound flea market for babies' stuff @ Bangsar Village, accompanying my bro to scrutinize (lol!) the Sportster he's about to buy, sending my Jakarta kebaya to a tailor, might be buying Bell & Ross' watch for a bargain...Wow, you can sit around do nothing for 5 days and have one day full of things to do!


Ok,now it's hard for me to start with the bad news :( but I really have to mention this as an Ambassador, I'm in disbelief when receiving an email from Casey Fenton saying thatCouchsurfing is no longer exists. I thought this is just another prank from a hacker whatsoever but in my horror, the website is gone what's left is a sad note from Casey. I lost lists of friends we've made thru CS. I don't even have their email addresses to tell you the truth :( CS changed our life and just when our dream of hosting CSers about to come true, they lost their precious database and left with nothing to recover. My heart goes out to Casey as he's done all his might to save his project from going down the drain but... I just hope we could build up this community again, rise up even if it takes another 2-3 years to get back to what we are now. With fingers crossed, even if they need some funds, we'll help in any way we could.

there goes the summary of my almost 14 days of what's up and down in my so-called less ordinary life. I shall blog more, later!

Over

Holiday is over, and I must say I had much needed rest while nestling @ mom's place. There's always someone watching over Aresha and mama never ask for help when she's cooking. AS if I'm on school hols, hehe.

Managed to bake carrot cake, cookies and cheese cake as an added bonus :)

I kinda miss mama today :( She's already safely landed in Labuan (my uncle Khir's place)She maybe vocal, but at least she's being straight-in-yer-face. I don't mind her nagging and high pitched voice. I miss it, more than ever!

My biggest pet peeve is ppl being ultra super nice in front of me but behind my back they're talking bad about me. Please, I can take your criticism, and I rather be told about what I did wrong than knowing it from other sources. Don't get your drama in front of me cause I'm done being nice.
Sorry dear, I don't mean to put u torn in between but this is just who I am. I choose not to talk and just do whatever, as long as it doesn't concern anybody.
I'm on not-so-nice mode.

Home and away

I'm now @ mom's place for school hols since my baby sis is back. Dearie's such a sport (and very busy too, ;) ) he let me spend girlie time with my sis. Last nite he surprised me with taking me out for dinner and spent the night here, with me! Yay! (and a ride on his Springer, after months of not having a blast riding)
I love it when he made unexpected gestures like that :)

It's been a while that we didn't go out just the two of us like two lovebirds. The last time we did, watching Da Vinci Code. I never thought a couple time is such a big deal after having a baby. We used to go out every weekend, riding (up til a week before I gave birth)having the best time of our lives. No regrets of having Aresha in our life, she's such an angel but I'm sure once she gets older we'll have time for ourselves, again!

On the other hand we'll move out for sure maybe next month and we're looking for houses to rent around RM500 to 800. So, if you know any houses/apartment to let around that price and within Klang Valley area please let us know asap. Just found out the ugly truth and I guess some ppl just wouldn't stop bugging and stabbing us from the back till we move out of the house. N'mind, you don't know what you got til it's gone. Dearie's really hurt and I totally understand how he feels after what we both did, and not appreciated at all. Sometimes you just don't see what's under your nose. I rather have ppl being vocal and tell me that I did something wrong rather than acting like everything's cool and talk about me behind my back.

Well, enough of that, it's gonna be a bake week for me and so far I've successfully made carrot cake and tomorrow Hershey choc chip cookies, been thnking about baking cheese cake, hmm let's see how it goes.

Aresha's now mastering words like "No" (and knows how to use it, too) "Go", "Mimy" ( for MOmmy)Thank you and "Scheh" (bilingual) She's such a chatterbox and not so shy anymore.

it's 4.16 and I miss cuddling with my dearie :( Wish that he'll come tomorrow, miss you terribly dear.

Therapy

After a long day with two babies to take care of, nothing beats eye-feast on lingeries @ less than RM50 each! Yes,FJ Benj@min Warehouse sale is back! The best part is that now it's held @ Queen's Park which is literally 10 minutes walk from home! I went kiasu this time by taking advantage of dear's 'plastic' yesterday (cardholders preview sale) and bought two lace, see-thru ;) L@ Senz@ cami and pant set. With just RM54 dear's smiling from ear to ear, if you-know-what-I-mean. This afternoon I got myself a cotton nightie, and terry cloth capri, plus two nighties for mama and Farra.

Who would've thought everyone would flock the once-serene-and-oh-so-quiet Jalan Peel? I heard girls clad in office attire talk to each other, "Have you been here before?" quickly answered by of course, never. We got Esprit Outlet too, y'all. Last Wednesday, my MIL bought Aresha a tee for RM10 and matching pants for RM20!

Err, I'm going there again tomorrow,(without sounding like a shopaholic) with my sister as I promise to buy her a pair of jeans and maybe some tee/shit to go with it.
If we're going to move in the future, this is what I'm going to miss the most, retail therapy within your walking distance! Sweet!

Would you?

What would you do when you saw something you shouldn't be seeing and you can't use it against 'em yet they are going to use that incident to did something bad to you? As in damage your things and stuff?

This is crazy and it supposed to give a huge advantage to me but dear kept on saying I might be in danger. Damn! What am I supposed to do? Lock myself in?

A letter from Marcel

Marcel
Originally uploaded by zachreza.

This is what I've been looking forward to all weekend.


Hi, ooooh how fantastic to see Aresha on youtube :-)))
Excellent way to share it! She has grow so much. I
wonder what her first words will be when she starts
really talking....pc or mummy ;-))
I am shopping around at the moment to get myself a new
digital camera. One that is quick, makes nice little
movies and so on. Not made up my mind yet.

Good to hear you have a car now, it makes travelling
with aresha a lot easier indeed. Maybe you can install
a keyboard and screen to the back of a front seat. That
will keep her occupied and she can do your
administration while on the road hehehe.
How's the shoehunting going? Does Faizal still hunt for
specials?
Here life is quite busy having a few shops to do and
the private mansion of the shops owner at the same
time. Means 7 days a week work for the month to come.
That's just fine with me because it will give me extra
free time later this year to travel. I will probably go
back to Vietnam around December/January. At least I
hope.....

Have to get back to work now, let's stay in touch.
Love, Marcel

>He could make me smile just by reading his mails.
It's strange how can you bond with a stranger you've just met for few days.
The nicest, warmest host and most loved by Aresha. Just look at expression on Aresha's face. She adored Marcel. He even made a play area for her on our short stay @ lovely Amsterdam.
We couldn't thank you enough for making our visit unforgettable.
Oh, he's a big shot interior decorator too! Very humble and always put other ppl first. Visit Colourforkids to see his work with orphans in Vietnam and recently Kenya.

Soul Patrol!

Taylor HIcks is the new American Idol!
I looooooooooveeeeeeeeee it!
Tho' I honestly believe Chris Daughtry should've won but between him and Kath, he deserves it.
Who would've thought a grey hair 30 year old could win American hearts? Soul Patrol made it happen!

p/s: Did anybody notice that his song actually sounds so much like Bo Bice's? Must be from the same composer :)

Listen to this song carefully. It's an exclusive sneak preview of KRU's latest song Lagu Untuk Mamat for their new album diBawah Skala Richter (I hope i get it right, jangan marah yea abg2 KRU)

This is hillarious, ok ? KRU's witty approach to mock songwriters who always make songs for women, this is for all men out there. You guys are important too! LOL!
Thanks to Bob for sharing it with me and I hope I won't get sued by Edry!

The many faces of Aresha

Field trip
Originally uploaded by zachreza.

Miss Piggy impersonation
Originally uploaded by zachreza.

How can you be mad at her when she's driving you crazy with her tantrums and making a mess all over the house? Everytime I look at her , she'll draw a cheeky smile on her face and sometimes did this spontaneously!

I feel like crying when I realized that I've gone too far yelling at her when I'm really exhausted and she spill another cuppa water on the floor. She's only 18months and I love her to bits! Sorry baby, mommy didn;t mean to make you cry xoxo

Fix you

Coldplay is coming to Singapore in July and we'll be seeing them for the second time. Yeayyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

But,can I leave Aresha with my mom? I mean can she sleep without drinking mommy's milk all through the night? Hmm.. I gotta start giving her bottled milk (she refused to drink expressed milk in her bottle) or just warm the milk and give her in a cup, whichever way that works! I'm not gonna miss this. It's been almost 3 years that we didn't go to any concert. Managed to peep thru their lounge room window and saw Chris Martin last time, who knows if Mrs.Chris Martin came along with Apple and Moses?

Can't wait to see them live again. I even dream of bringing Aresha to the concert, haha! Too bad we can't bring her along as she's the biggest fan!

I'm a mom and proud of it!

Whoever thought being a stay-at-home mom is easy, you're absolutely wrong! I used to get headache with my boss' demand of everything to be done fast, sorting out his ridiculous bills and stuff but now I'm a personal assistant to dearie( just finished doing his taxes, sorting and listing bills to be paid), a cook who wakes up @ 7 religiously to prepare breakfast, a nanny who bathe her kid, feed her and put her back for day nap, and not to forget a lover at night, lol!
Multitasking, get it? And I'm actually good at it. hehe.
One quick question how can a woman be so good in multitasking whilst a man can only do one thing at a time? I'm not overgeneralizing, there are men who can, but can every man be a stay-at-home-DAD? My dearie, already surrendered, I mean he knew he couldn't possibly be doing what I've done now. Hey, I'm not implying that I'm a superwoman but from what I can see this is what our mothers, grandmas, great grandmas has been done for million years!

On another thought, Lauren our lovely soon-to-be a doctor host in London, is coming to Penang this summer! Yeay! And being half-MAlaysian Chinese, she can't wait for her inaugural visit to daddy's birthplace. We might catch her in Ferringghi this August. That's the least we can do when we can't offer her a couch. Oh, we're gonna be travelling so much this year July- Zaidi, my schoolmate/best friend's wedding, August- my Pak Usu's wedding both held in Kluang, and we might also be travelling in dearie's Suzy(not the car's name) to Penang the same month, and going back south for Man's wedding in November. Whoa! So much for a new ride ehh?

I'm leaving for USJ, mom's place tonite. Farra called she'll be teaching me how to make pastry. I'm looking forward to bake brownies and pie. Yeay, It's the baking weekend once again! Have a great weekend y'all. I know I'm gonna have a blast!

Pheever

Aresha is recovering from her fever, her Mommy plak sore throat. I hate sore throat + runny nose, so uneasy. @5amish she woke up crying,having a hard time to breathe, her nose, respiratory clogged with phlegm, even mommy's milk couldn't help.

Made Jamie Oliver's burger patties last night with

400g minced meat (I use Ramly's, the fresher the better)
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt (4 condiments above, mashed together in a mortar)

1 tsp mustard
1 egg
1 onion (fry till brown/soft)

parmesan as much as you like (I'm a sucker for parmaggiano)

You can also add fresh herbs like dill/parsley(chopped)

Method:
Mix everything together and form into round patties (a pack of Ramly's could make 4-6 depending on how thick your patties are)

Put at least one hour in a fridge, if you want to eat it for breakfast, make a night ahead and store it on greaseproof paper, if you wanna stack 'em, sprinkle breadcrumbs or flour on top)

Chargrill, or bake in the oven (well,done, medium as you wish)

Serve with burger buns,sliced onions,tomatoes,and gherkins.

Voila! Burger ala Jamie Oliver!



10.15am, she's up and smiling, lying on the bed for a while before running around the room, dancing to MTV and play with her toys. I'm happy that albeit having a fever she's still able to make me run after her :)

im getting cranky

im getting cranky
Originally uploaded by screamingsonic.

I love this pic courtesy of pwetty Dr. Ain :)
Thanks babe, Aresha in the pic look so muchh like a big girl. Or am I gettin' older? lol

Couchsurf for life!

I'm now a Couchsurfing Ambassador and if you're willing to absorb the culture and meet great people who offer tehir couches for free check out

http://www.couchsurfing.com/ZACH

Happy Surfing y'all! Spread the word!

more picture of me?

more picture of me?
Originally uploaded by zachreza.

Aresha spotting daddy's mohawk on our deux anniversaire.
She had her first free meal that nite. She loves munchin' chicken fingers

Wake up call

After a deep and very satisfactory conversation with my dearie just now i felt much better. I almost break down(err am I exaggerating? ;) when I realized that something went so wrong. I guess I have to be strong, and think that this is all just temporary. Everything happen for a reason and due to 'unnatural circumstances' it's time to move on and have a privacy of our own. Aresha needs her own space a too! Enough sharing with mommy and daddy.It's now so clear that when you have something right under your nose, you won't be able to see and appreciate it, but when it's gone, there's no turning back. we often take things for granted and I always remind myself to be grateful for what we have now.
What keeps me sane is the presence of my dearest who's always listening albeit Pages and MOnkey Say hectic schedule, and of course my lil' Funny Girl. Oh yeah and my 'day companion' sister-in-law. We'd talk, blurt everything out while watching soap and America's Next Top Model.

{Aresha was laughing, giggling while watching the Opening Night of Ice Age 2}
The new characters (squirrels) are so hillarious, she had never laughed that way.
And I hate to admit this but as this is also work as her development journal, she'd dance with her hands holding her shirt up ala belly dancer,perhaps? to Aduh Saliha.
No thanks to AF.

I should blog more, how many times did I promise myself to do that?Maybe someone should knock my head or yell "Start Blogging!" Write something!

Ok, no promise, I'll write when I feel like writing. Nitey!

One for the blog

classic pose
Originally uploaded by zachreza.

Aresha 2 months ago. Now she's less chubby but extra active

Domestic goddess

I can't believe how I've become so obsessed with cooking. I surf for recipes most of the time apart from doing my duty as Couchsurfing Ambassador (replying emails to you and me)I cook like 3 times a day. Breakfast is a must as I'd devotedly wakes up at 7.15 to make a hearty meal for my dearest. We usually have heavy breakfast so my next meal would be around 3 or 4. I'm usually busy around 2.30 to 5.00 pm as I keep myself busy with Philipino soap ( a rerun, haha!) and then fixing up meals for Aresha and the whole family. I'm sooo into Chinese cooking or (fusion perhaps?) My ingredients are usually ginger,garlic,sesame oil, light and dark soy sauce, hoisin etc. And last night I've successfully made a sphagetti sauce with fresh basil and button mushroom to eat with meatballs and Warm Chicken Salad with homemade garlic dressing. Too bad I didn't take any pictures (too hungry/busy to take one)

For the past 30 days I've been stocking foodstuff/ingredients every week be it shopping at Jusco,Carrefour and markets. I'm head over heels for fresh herbs and organic veges. Jusco had great selection of organic vege and delicate fresh herbs like oregano, basil, thyme,dill,rosemary etc which really helps with my Italian dish.
And boy, Romaine lettuce, Butterhead lettuce, rockets can be easily found there!
I'm really worried that I'll gain pounds from cooking my favorite dishes but I guess since we've been eating nutritionous food, a few healthy pounds should be okay.

I promised my dear long-time friend KS, Aresha's pics and I realized that we didn't take so much pictures of her anymore. The last time we took it was on our 2nd Wedding Anniversary which is last month and it's in my dearie's removable hard disk so I'll post that later.

Once a bitch always a bitch

"A bitch could really ruin family ties"
Ever heard of that? If you haven't, well I may have just invented that. Some men would do anything, even foolish, stupid and mean things for their so-called significant other. So absurd that they're willing to break family ties when they're so blinded by love? Can love be sucha cruel thing? I don't know.

This bitch is so bad that she intentionally try to make me look so bad in my MIL eyes. Luckily my MIL is not easily fooled by her. You're not even a part of the family, yet!

Wait, your time will come and you'll know who exactly we are. You can suck up any way you want to, but you'll fail miserably. I'll pray that you won't become our FAMILY!

Blame it on ....ME!

My new year's resolution was to less procrastinate and start writing a travelogue about my recent couchsurfing around Europe. Well, it's still January right? I actually writes in my head, literally ;) usually while taking a shower but my laziness took over me as soon as the water dries off. There's no excuse for me not to update, but one thing for sure, Aresha made me really worn out after a long night, therefore I have to sleep more during the day. (What kind of excuse is that?)

Btw, she's walking now! After Aidiladha,(or was it Xmas? Blame it on not document it on this blog) and never stopped since! And boy! She's been circling around the house, wandering to every nook and cranny.

Last Monday on our 2nd Anniversary she started walking with shoes for the first time. (Okay, it may sound weird to some people, what's the big deal of it, right?)
See, I can't even figure out on which topic I should write on first, there' plenty!
And yeah, to those who thought that the guy with German military jacket and West Coast Chopper cap on Star Two yesterday seems familiar, that's my dearie. We'll talk about the interview later.

It's 4.43am and I should get my long-delayed sleep now.Keep your fingers crossed that I'll post more in the morning ;) Ta!