100 Happy Days Challenge - Day 3 to Day 7

"Your destiny is shaped by choice, never by chance. Beware of the decisions you make, no matter how small, for they will be your salvation, or your death..." ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon

Hello Readers,

More friends have taken up the challenge! Yeay!! Lets do this!!

Okay let's go...

Day 3 - Kindred introverts speaking through hearts. Kitorg hang out mmg takleh ramai ramai. Berdua je selalunya, kalau ramai mmg arkward tak tahu nak cakap apalah jawabnye. We are introverts, who get immensely uncomfortable in crowds and prefer deep one on one conversations, other than being alone of course. 

Day 4 - Airiel, my amateur photographer and the current object of his photo obsession. Airiel is obsessed with taking photos these days. His own selfies and mine as well. He likes taking photos of his mama. I think he finds it awesome that moments are captured forever. After we take photos, he will insist on looking at it to see if he likes it haha. I am seriously contemplating buying him sort of a durable, cheapo camera to feed this budding hobby of his. My 5 year old son, believe it or not, took the photos of me above all by himself. And I find them to be quite awesome!! Pandai anak aku. Heheh

Day 5 - Setinggi langit di atas, kan ku kejar bahagiamu... Airiel starts school!!!  Haa, gamba kat bawah yg tgh tu dgn kiri tu, selfie dia sendiri tu. Haaa, bukan main lagik. 

Day 6 - Pillow fight!!! Cinta ini kupersembahkan setulus hati kasih... kepadamu. Pure, unconditional love. Can't describe the happiness in my heart in these photos...but I think you guys can tell right? Hehe

Day 7 - When I first saw you I fell in love...and you smiled because you knew... Shakespeare said that, and he is so right. This is a throwback of how cute Airiel was back in the days. Mata bengkak tu sebab this was the time he didn't actually sleep much (3 months to be exact) and drove me insane! haha. Mesti Akif comel gak macamni if he was around. Look at his chubby cheeks!! *geram*

Alright readers.

Have a good week ahead. Halfway through already dah ni.

Much love from me and Airiel.

Peace and love to everyone.

1. Kohinoor; 2. Coffee Etc; 3. Namoo on the Park; and 4. Jibby & Co

"In the first place, you shouldn't believe in promises. The world is full them; the promises of riches, of eternal salvation, of infinite love. Some people think they can promise anything, others accept whatever seems to guarantee better days ahead, as, I suspect is your case. Those who make promises they don't keep end up powerless and frustrated, and exactly the fate awaits those who believe promises" ~ Paul Coelho

Hello readers,

It is Monday huarghhh. Busy week ahead.

As such, I have decided to have a collective foodie post. Cram everything in one post. Sorry but it would have to do.

First up, Namoo on the Park in Publika. Contemporary Korean food at its best.I have to say that I am not a fan of Korean food at all. I remember tasting the worst Kimchi ever at one Korean restaurant and swearing to myself that I won't ever pay for something so nasty ever again. But Namoo was a surprising change in so far as Korean food is concerned. I found that I actually liked the Kimchi they served. From left to right 1. Our drinks (my colleague told me the ice cubes were flavoured in peach!! such a nice touch) and my blue punch. 2. Spicy Ramen 3. My garlic rice with kimchi; and 4. The cute tissues!!

Kohinoor Part 2 - My colleague and I absolutely love this place. And we are slowly going through the menu every time we come here to order all the different dishes. From top to bottom 1. The mushroom and green peas in gravy. 2. The chicken in mint gravy. 3. The simple rice with spice. 4. My rice with a hint of saffron; and 4. Lean lamb and mince in spice. Let me tell you guys. NOT a single bad dish. NOT one. Never. This place is truly a hidden gem.

Coffee Etc - A new coffee place in Oasis Ara Damansara. I hung out here on Saturday with kindred Diyana S, the place had simple quirky decor (case on point, the hanging monkey and funny poem haha). High ceilings and lamps with copper finishings. Love the empty frames on the brick walls. There is a huge chandelier made with table lamp accents and a tree smack dab in the middle of the cafe. There are plugs at every side table so you can hang out for hours with your lappie and phone chargers in tow. I had cappuccino and kindred ordered the Americano, medium roast. I liked my cappucino. They have a food menu as well, although nothing to extravagant at the moment. Cool place to hang with friends and loved ones for coffee and a bite.

Jibby & Co., Empire Shopping Mall - Met with my Shearnies at Jibby & Co, located at the outside parking area of Empire Shopping Mall/Gallery. Located opposite CIMB Bank. Aly made it but is not pictured here. It had an interesting decor with a funky, industrial feel to it. Sue ordered the Linguini Goreng (yes, it was on the menu hehe). It is sort of Mee Goreng but linguini replaced the mee. She says it was pretty good. I was lost on what to order so I left it to the waiter to recommend me something. He said the soft shell crab burger with brioche was good so I went with that. He told me an entire soft shell crab will be used to make the burger, and man he wasn't kidding. When my dish came,I saw an entire soft shell crab with its face staring right at me sandwiched between 2 burger buns. Hahaha. The dish was good and I loved the sweet potato chips. But because the soft shell crab was super rich, I couldn't finish everything. The servings were huge. Pics from top left clockwise: 1. The cute table adornments; 2. Our drinks; 3. Sue and I; 4. My soft shell crab dish; and 5. Linguini Goreng.

Fuhhh, so relieved I managed to update this.

Okay readers.

I have to go. Work and coffee awaits.

Much love from me and Airiel

Peace and love to everyone.

The Lil Diva is here!

Hello everyone.

I do not have many friends, social interactions make me uncomfortable... but I have always remained close to my chambiemates in SD, boy did we have some fun times back in the day. And recently, Aly gave birth to the anticipated Lil Diva which we have all been waiting for!

There's our Lil' Diva, all cute and sleeping! From left, Illa, yours truly (14 weeks along and struggling to gain weight), Aly and Farah! Missing from this session is Sue (under the weather at the time) and Sri (who is currently in the UK).

What would be a more suitable gift for our little diva than a Lil' Diva Diaper Cake!, made by unimate Am. Thanks Am, my friends loved it!

You can see more of her lovely creations on Diaper Cakes and Such.

A lot of work awaits so I must take my leave. Have a good week everybody.

Best Friends, heart and soul

I have only ever considered 2 people as my best friends. Sam (I am still searching for her) and Huda.

Huda I still keep in contact with.

We don't fit in the category of what  'best friends' are.

We don't hang out very often. Since I got married, we met each other less and less, when she got married, even less. But it does not affect us. Have you gotten that mass e-mail about where when you don't speak to a friend for a week, and then a month and then a year and you find that you have less and less to talk about? Our distance, never affects us. I can drop from her radar and she can drop from mine for like months and months and when we do have the time for a chat, we speak for hours about everything, no awkwardness due to the lapse of time, no shyness..nothing. It's as if we never stopped speaking during those months.

We understand that by getting married, we have responsibilities to our husbands and family and they always come first, I do not pressure her to make time for me or put me first and she does not either. There is no pressure  to commit. She is in my mind and I am in hers... we never get 'terasa' with each other, because there are no sky high expectations about one should do for the other and there is no doubt about the bond that we share. We do what we can when we can.

When I got serious with Aries, I took him to see her first. She saw him and met him before my parents ever did. Why? because her approval of him was important to me. I remember asking her "ko rasa dia ikhlas tak?". And she says "Ntah, tapi dia nampak macam serius, ko bagilah peluang dekat dia". So I did.

When I got engaged in Sg Siput, she was with me all the way. Saw Aries' mom put on the engagement ring on my finger. She fixed my tudung, helped me tidy my grandma's house. When I got married, she was by my side throughout. She sat behind me during my nikah day. Slept with me the night before the wedding. Walked by my side to my pelamin. When I got pregnant, Huda went with me for my first ever checkup at the Klinik Kesihatan. She was there when Aries was not.

When she wanted to get engaged, I was the first person she told. Same as when she wanted to get married. When she went under the radar for 3 months, I knew in my heart she got herself preggers, hehehe. And then tetiba dia on handphone, preggy confirmed!!! hehehe

Why am I writing about this? Because she gave birth to a wonderful baby boy weighing 2.75 kg on Tuesday morning. When she was in labor, I was the first person she called in the afternoon of Sunday. She is not the healthiest of people. So her pregnancy was risky. I got worried. But I did not want to go there to the hospital all whiny and crying. I would be of no help right. So we sms each other all day. Night came and her labour did not progress. I was so worried I could not sleep. I ended up sleeping at 3.30 am. First thing I did when I woke up was sms her, only 1 cm dilated. She was going to be induced... so by the evening dah start sakit. And then night-time, I lost touch already. I smsed and called and got so worried sampai Aries cakap "Buat apa nak risau, biarlah husband dia risau". I told Aries "I have known Huda longer than her husband knows her, and she has known me a lot longer than you have".

The next morning her hubby smsed me saying she had a ceasar, and the first chance she got, she mmsed baby's pic!!!! So cute!!!

I still have not visited her at the hospital. Am thinking of what to buy. Will visit her tomorrow.

Don't you see? I love her. She knows that. And that is what matters.

If you have a friend like this in your life, know that this is what  a 'best friend' is. Someone that will walk beside you in the darkest of your times to hold your hand and guide you through it, but chooses to walk behind you when there is light to let you enjoy the most of it.

May Allah bless our friendship.

Heart and soul.

A friend I truly miss

There is a calender of words of wisdom and thoughts on life given by a friend who was really close to me in law school..

She was indeed a friend in every sense of the word.

This calender has been on my table since my chambering days and almost 3 years later when I have become a full fledged legal practitioner, it remains... as a testament to how much I value her friendship..

She was instrumental in getting me to accept Aries in my life. Indeed, at certain times when Aries could not handle me (I am notoriously difficult , he would agree :-P), Aries would call her for help. I used to think that he had her on speed dial..heheh

I think in some ways, and this applies equally to men and women alike that we tend to put our friends on the backburner when you are in a relationship..deny it all you want but inevitably... it just happens.. you tend to put your partner, spouse e.t.c. first. I am guilty of this as well.

Some friends react by having outbursts to get your attention, but she was not one of those.. when she saw me happy..I think it was enough for her... and she slowly retreated, not wanting to get in the way..

Neither me or Aries have heard from her for almost 4 years... and I get pangs that strikes me at the very centre of my heart at times, when I think of how I have lost the friendship that I so cherished..

Sigh..

Sam, If your somehow stumble upon this blog or post, know that I have not forgotten you or 'us'.

I want to show you my son.

I want to know what is going on in your life.

Lets reconnect.

Last but not least... I am sorry for neglecting our friendship, I am but human.. but one who has realised what she has lost.

Please take care wherever you are.

That calender you gave me, will remain on my table for as long as I am alive.

Hugs & Kisses

Idza