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!

Home sweet home!

Touched down at KLIA from London yesterday 1730. NO jet lag but need to get a good rest since we are so worn out from the approximately one month travel.
BAdly need to buy a new buggy for Aresha. Heathrow cargo people are so bad, they broke and bruise her lil' carrier.
Aresha had a little fever as we board on the plane @ Heathrow. She were crying most of the time and refused to sleep on the bassinet.
So many things to write, a journal of our travel would be a great idea to compile everything. Soon I hope!
It's great to be home, met my mom, bro, beloved grandma before heading back to our tiny but sooooo comfy bed.
Ah, heaven! All in all we've seen the best of Europe and would always prefer MAlaysia no matter how hot the weather is! (Europe weather is cool, breezy and no wonder the people there don't shower as much!)
We miss MAlaysian food badly! Cheap, tasty, spicy everythinglah!
Will definitely put up more pics soon (as soon as I get enough sleep)
Happy Ramadhan!