Life needs PURPOSE, SUPPORT and MOTIVATION

Today I decided to write in 'bahasa rojak' i.e. a combination of BM and English for a change or probably to lighten up a heavy topic.

I am currently reading this book called UNSTOPPABLE by Cynthia Kersey (eh..takkan cakap pasal buku lagi??).


Buku ini memaparkan 45 kisah benar perjuangan dan kejayaan hidup manusia just like me and you. Buku ini seolah-olah menyedarkan saya betapa penting untuk kita hidup to the fullest and do something that we enjoy very much. In a study made by Cornell University, senior citizens were asked if they had any regrets in life. And guess what?? The overwhelming response was that they regretted not doing what they had always wanted to do. It is not the risk that they take, but the risk that they do not take, that haunt them for life.

Buku ini banyak menyentuh pasal unstoppable human spirit, manusia yang sanggup buat apa sahaja asalkan objektif hidupnya tercapai (but bukan kearah benda yang tak elok sampai bunuh membunuh tau..). According to the book, an unstoppable person has the following seven characteristics:-
1. Devote themselves to their purpose.
2. Follow their heart's passion.
3. Believe in themselves and their ideas.
4. Prepare for challenges.
5. Ask for help and build support team.
6. Seek creative solutions.
7. Persevere, not matter what the challenges are.

If u can see, the first three on the list talks about purpose, passion and belief. Actually passion and beliefs are the ones that fuels your energy to keeps on going to reach your purpose in life (or senang cerita goal in life lah..).

What's my goal then? It should be something that I am happy and enjoy doing day in and day out. Being there for my kids? Make sure that the house are kept clean, arranged and tidy all the time to keep hubby smiling (my hubby is very particular about time management and cleanliness, I tell you...)? Being able to earn some fair share of salary at the same time? Being able to socialise and meet people?

One solution to that is to become an executive at my own home, surrounded by my children and being there for hubby as he came back from work. Bestnye kan?! Dulu, I always wonder what I want to do in life. Kalau sesetengah orang is very firm on what their ambition is, mine was a very blurry one. I kept on changing my ambition from time to time. Pursue study in accounting ni pun sebab Abah suruh. Since I am very 'flexible' sebab tak tau nak jadi apa, I ikut jelah. Then grad, dapat kerja kat Bank, that's it?! Then after sometime working, I go like, hey is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?

An egroup formed by a well-known business called UKS has introduced me to the idea of working@home. I never thought it is possible to do that so I attended a seminar co-organized by UKS and Famy last Saturday (actually ni second time pergi..first time was last year). It opens up my eyes and inspired me to follow the footsteps of people who shared the same dream job as I am. If others excel, why can't I?

I know they are risks and challenges for you to face if you chose this path, but bukan ke kat mana-mana pun ada risiko? Cuma from what I gather in the seminar is any path you take in life, you have to try to find ways to mitigate it. And once, you are comfortable enough, than go for it. In this case, my concern is of course two things - MONEY and FRIENDS. Kalau kerja ni dapat fixed salary...mengular macamana pun dapat duit at the end of the month (not that I mengular lah, setakat email ngan blog hopping tu adalah..hehe). But kalau work@home by having your own business, you have to work hard to get money. I'm not a spender, so I don't spend much on clothes, make-ups, handbags and shoes. Ashraff punya baju, books and toys pun sekali-sekala. My great concern is the hutang-piutang and insurans. That's why according to the speakers in the seminar, you have to have at least 6 months salary (the best is one year) in your accounts before you can issue a resignation letter. So errrr...I'm not ready in that sense but I am working towards this. Eventhough boleh nak amik VSS, tapi ciput (faktor yang dibagi hanyalah 1.25 sahaja!) so tak cukup nak kumpul 6 months salary. Lunch nanti nak bukak www.envelope.com, nak tengok macamana sistem envelope digunakan.

And then friends. Friends whom you can share stories, jokes, latest gossips, whatever...Kalau dok rumah, you are all alone. Yes, you have your children to attend to but can they really share with you all the latest gossips, parenting tips and what not...Well, this is not so bad as I have UKS e-group to share with. Lots of Work at Home Mothers (WAHM) in the group, which some of them I have met in person. And when u look at the bright side, probability untuk kena menceburkan diri dalam aktiviti mengumpat pun kurang. Kalau kat sini boleh didengar dikiri dan kanan orang mengumpat pasal boss, management, rakan sekerja, si polan bin polan..di rumah, tidak lagi, insyaAllah. Bukankah setiap wang ringgit yang kita perolehi lebih berkat?

I am glad I finally found my dream job at this not-so-young age. Bukan kaya yang saya harapkan, tetapi keberkatan dan kesempurnaan hidup. Sekarang ni hanya perlu bersedia untuk ke arah itu. I need to polish some of my skills especially in PR and marketing. Being the studious accounting student, I am not exposed to those.

But then again, we must remember that kita hanya merancang, Allah yang menentukan. Oleh itu, semasa seminar itu, kami dinasihatkan untuk berserah dan bertawakal kepadaNya.

Oh yeah, in the Unstoppable book, it is mentioned that in meeting your goals, you will encounter discouragement from others, even from the ones close to you. Just close your eyes and proceed. Do buy this inspirational book at RM39.90 if you need something to boost your motivation. Lagi senang, log in to www.mph.com.my, search Unstoppable. All the best in reaching your goal in life!

Me and Books.

I am an avid reader. I love books, fictional ones that is. I can't recall on what method my mother chose to teach me to read, but at the age of 5 years old, I can read superbly...and religiously..in Bahasa Melayu only. I found it a bit hard to read in English back then.

I still remember what type of books I read at that time. It is the RM1 classic fairy tales books, translated to Malay like 'Si Tudung Merah', 'Goldilocks dan Serigala' and 'Snow White dan 7 orang kerdil'. Mak will usually bring back home a dozen of books in various titles and I will spend most of my free time reading those books.

Then I move on to Enid Blyton's collection, also in Malay version like Lima Sekawan and Tujuh Sekawan.

I started reading in English quite late as I have trouble absorbing the reading techniques. For me, Malay is easier as it is concentrates more on syllable like B-A, BA..C-A, CA and so on..I can't really recall what is my first English book's collection, but I do remember that I love reading Enid Blyton's books (this time around in English) like Amelia Jane Series, The Faraway Tree collection and whole bunch of simpler English books written by her.

As my English reading improves, I move on to a higher level of English also written by Blyton like the Famous Five, Secret Seven, Malory Towers, Twins at St Clare's. Those boarding school series have made me wanted to go boarding school really bad!

Then, as I entered high school, I started reading Sweet Valley High and Goosebumps series, before I was introduced to books written by Virginia Andrews. Andrew's manuscripts envolved around a teenage girl's life who is entangled in between family deceptions, love and incestuous act. Her first published books is 'Flower in the Attic', which was later being adapted for the big screen. I actually watched the film first before reading the book. But I found the book is way far more interesting that the film itself (isn't that normally the case?).

I kept track of all Andrew's family saga from Doppelanger series to Castell till I reached form four, where I was forced to read Sidney Sheldon's book out of boredom. The first Sheldon's book that I read was The Naked Face, which drove me to love the book and continue reading almost all his publications. Even till todate, I always on the look out of his newly published book, though I found at times, his story becomes more predictable now that I know his style of writing.

While waiting for Sheldon's, I saw a friend of mine reading Whitney, My Love, a book written by Judith McNaught. She then lent me the book and from there on, I love reading Mcnaught's collection.

In between McNaught and Sheldon, I also love to read Malay novels written by Lamia Aimal like Donia, Tiga Wajah and Waja. Her captivating way of adding true facts and figures to romance is what makes me looking forward to her next book.

So, basically, my life has been envolved around books, so that makes reading my utmost interest or hobby. Hubby noticed a similarity among all the novels that I've read, which I would never have realised should he never pointed out. He mentioned "Eh! Why are all the books you read, the main character is always a female?". Emmmm...I wonder why...

After a long break...

Finally, I have regained the energy to write after a long break. As I mentioned before, my Bank is going thru another restructuring and even offered VSS this time around (but of very small quantum, so I'll pass on it).

Me, myself and I maintained in the same room, under the same boss and doing the same work. But two of my fellow KL branchmates, were transferred to Selangor Branch. They were good buddies so I seemed a lil bit sad. However, the good news is two of ex-department mates from Bank Industri i.e. this lady and this guy were transferred here. So, I am thrilled because I missed working with them and having them nearby to share stories and problems. Not that I can't share it with my new collegues here but I am comfortable with them since I know them longer. You know with merger (or takeover for that matter), there is still a virtual divider between the people from the two organizations. And I do not know how long it will take for that 'seperator' to vanish so that we could work as a team. But as at now, the thought of two of my mates are here leaves me motivated to go to work today!

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My cousin, Tina Naeela has just given birth to adorable baby boy by the name AIMARR BIN RAIHAN on 18th February 2006 at good old Assunta Hospital. The name is pretty short, isn't it?! I asked Tina why he decided to give such a short name for his son. She mentioned that she got inspired by looking at Ashraff's single-word name. The shorter the better, she told me. She said she has gone through enough trouble carrying a long name - with UPU forms to fill up, loan form, examination paper etc. Tell me about it. I have a long name too! And that is exactly the reason why we chose a short name for our son, apart from having the priviledge to call him with his full name.

We could not take Aimarr's picture because he was put in an incubator (something to do with lung, the nurse told us) and we were not allowed to see him. Too bad...or else you would get a good view of newborn baby to enlighten your day.

What to Blog On?

"Hey Rafiqah, update your blog!"

Yeah, I heard you loud and clear Izreen.

It's one week since my last entry. I am addicted to blogging, that's for sure. But within the last one week, I'm pretty caught up with work. I have basically no time to blog hopping, what more to spare more time on writing an entry.

I also found life is a bit plain with nothing interesting to blog on. Everyday, my life goes through the same routine. Get up to work and left the house at 7.30 am. Reached the office at 8.15 am with 15 minutes to spare for breakfast before I started my work, which happens to be monotonous as well - prepare disbursement proposal, write some memos, follow-up on payment, some reporting to do - day in and day out.

Left the office at about 6 am, reached home after 30 minutes (on average). Cook, eat dinner and spend quality time with Ashraff until he fell asleep. After Ashraff is fast asleep, I would normally watch TV with hubby but for the past few nights, I've been indulging myself in a newly bought novel by Judith McNaught titled Night Whisperers, before eventually retire to bed.

So, can you find anything interesting for me to blog on here?
Or probably I'm just not in the mood to write..

At first I wanted to write about our trip to Taiping, which I found it to be profoundly interesting. But then, I have not transferred the photos taken to my computer, thus, I could not add up some photos to spice up the story.
But then again, if I do transfer the photo, I do not think I have the energy to write.

Sorry folks, I have somesort of mental block these few days...

Introducing C.M.O.G Kids!

Finally, after going thru lots of scratching head and pulling hair moments, I am proud to introduce CreateMyOwnGift's latest products - PERSONALIZED CHILDREN T-SHIRT!!

This T-Shirt under our own brand, C.M.O.G Kids is made from 100% cotton and anti-bacterial material, which is safe for children. We have three sizes, 1-2 yo, 3-4 yo and 5-6 yo. Do clad you loved ones with a T-Shirt, emblazoned with their own name for just RM25 only. And if u buy 4, you get 1 free. If you buy the T-Shirt + Book, you can get it for the price of RM60 only (usual price is RM64.90).

So, the next time around you got invited to a birthday party, you will know where and how to find a unique and original gift-:) Gift-wrapping service is available too...

Check out the photos of our personalized T-Shirts...




This one has not been personalized yet. The personalization will be in pink.

Bukan selalu nak tulis blog berbentuk iklan...

Career Makeover

My Bank is in another round of restructuring after the merging process. And I am still waiting for The Letter to inform me whether I will have to change department, or stay where I am now. I would prefer staying here, with a not-to-busy schedule (as compared to doing loan evaluation), a nice boss who treat us free pizza every month...and a lovely room of my own.

With all these merging, restructuring and what not, I think I need to make a move elsewhere. Not that I have a high resistance to change, but all I need is to have at least a lil bit of comfort, assurance and predictability in my working life. I also have the urge of moving out from the banking industry coz I do not think I am passionate enough to work in this hot boiling sector. And without passion, your motivation will reach zero level in no time at all. So before it reaches that stage, I better start thinking of a way out.

This is where I decided to take this career makeover test.

And to my suprise, here is my result:-

Rafiqah Eliza, you're a Teacher!

You're the sort of person that people think of fondly, when remembering who helped make a difference in their lives. Your stellar interpersonal skills and compassionate ear for the troubles and life experiences of others makes you a godsend when the going gets tough. And since you're especially smooth at managing responsibility, your listening skills and wisdom are their sharpest when you're in a position of authority. Consider yourself the soul doctor to the world—it's your true work personality.

Who's like you:
Florence Nightingale

Likely careers:
Nurse, pediatrician, veterinarian, party planner, teacher, professor.

A TEACHER???? Nurse? pediatrician? veterinarian?
Do I click on the wrong button when answering the questions?
Or am I not that honest in answering them?

I do not view myself as a soft-hearted or patient kind of person. Thus, the result is what I least expected of!

On the other hand, would an educator be a nice choice of work for a change? Sharing knowledge is a holy thing to do. And lecturer usually have more flexible working time. Perhaps I should give it a try...A child educator, perhaps?!

A Tribute to the Readers.

BLOG..is a boon to all writers - experts or amatuers. I see blog as a diary, where we can freely express our thoughts and emotions. I see blog as a type of drug, which you can easily get addicted to it in a few months time. I see blog as a place to 'jejak kasih' as I met two of my long-lost friends while blogging. I also see blog as a place for us to make friends, as half of the people in my Friend's list is a total stranger to me before I am into blogging (and most of them are just my virtual friends..bila lah nak jumpa ye?).

But to top it all of, I see blog as a form of communication. Most of us here are too busy with our lives. We haven't got the time to contact our friends either via email or phone. So, the only way for us to keep up todate with what's happening in our friends' life is by reading their blog.
This is the prime reason why I gave my Blog's URL to them (apart from getting some comments *wink*), eventhough some of them are totally clueless about blogging (or Internet, for that matter).

Despite doing so, I always thought that the only clan who will take some time off from their busy schedule to read my blog, are people who blog themselves.

But I am wrong! Some of the people that I gave my URL to, which I thought they wouldn't care less to have a peep at my blog, actually visited and read my blog..regularly! It just clicked my mind when somebody, whom I haven't told them a particular occassion or issue, came up to me and made a statement or asked me questions like:-
Dah ok dah kereta you?; or
U dah officially pindah rumah ye?; or
Ni lah budak yang tak nak makan ni...; or
Ingat apa kata Premila...(This is Hubby warning me when he saw me trying to add some rice in my plate..

My natural reaction will be "Do you read my blog?"...

So, to all my fellow blog readers (including the hidden ones like Kak Z, Uncle Raymie, Nissa and Hubby), thank you so much for taking your time off to visit and read my entries.

My Hugs and Kisses to all of you...Muah!

CreateMyOwn ANNIVERSARY Gift.

Do u like my blog's new look?

Hei, do you remember how panic I am two weeks ago as I do not know what gift to give my dearest hubby for our anniversary?

Finally, due to limited budget, I've decided to spare some time to make my own gift. Hubby said this is a bit intimate to blog on, but I feel like sharing because it might be useful if you ended up in a feel-like-giving-but-not-much-money-to-spend-on situation.
Note to hubby: I will keep this as general as possible, okay?!

This year, I gave him 'A Box of Feelings'. For every emotions I felt for him, I tried to express it in a physical form. I attached the items to pieces of thick paper (which u can get from any stationery store) then wrote on it what that item represented.

The things I put in there:-
Match for "the fire he lights in me".
Heart patch for "how much I love him".
A band-aid for "all the wounds he have helped heal".
Smiley face for "all the fun we had together"
Sweets for "how sweet you are".

Then I put all the items in nice box (you can get them at any gift store or if you want a good quality ones, visit D'Nata of KLCC), and attached a self-made card that comes with a self-written poem..Then, use your creativity to decorate the box.

My husband was so happy to receive the gift I gave him. And I am grinning with satisfaction coz it is really worth the effort!!

Note to hubby again: I do not disclose everything right? At least not the self-written poem and there's no photo too.

3 years have passed...

There is this girl...
Born in Kuala Lumpur. Live in a city full of lights, in a house made from brick. Her father was a manager of the Bank, while mother was an administrative assistant in a government body. Was chauffeured to and fro to school by her mother/father. Back from school, lunch was ready on the table. Spent the rest of the evening either reading or watching TV.

Then, there is this boy...
Born in Johor Bharu and raised in Pontian. Live the ordinary live of a kampung boy. His father was what people said as 'kerja kampung' where he run his own pineapple orchard, while his mother is an attendant in Pontian's General Hospital. He either walked or rode his bicycle to school. As he reached home from school, he has to cook his rice as his mother only left the lauk-pauk for lunch. His evening was filled up with lots of physical activity, like mandi parit and playing Malay traditional games like konda-kondi and main tutup botol.

The girl is known as Rafiqah Eliza Elias.
And the boy, Mohd Fitri M Yatim.

Yes, both me and hubby have different upbringing. Though we were both born in 1977 and gone through the same schooling system set by the government, our lifestyles are totally the opposite.

With Allah's will, we ended up in the same college, but we never talked to each other. I knew people in the college called him as Mat Pet (like a drug addict?). Later, we, together with another two girls (Nissa & Sheila) and two boys (Atan and Radzi), were selected by Mara to continue our studies in Melbourne, Australia. From then on, just like the other two boys, he became my friend, JUST FRIEND. Someone whom I'll share my crazy jokes, my sorrow, my problems, my admirers (hehehe) and how I hate being hunted by some men (cam bagus je kan?) and some of my inner secrets. He will do the same as well. He'll tell me (or Sheila or Nissa) should he encountered problem with girls (like someone he has a crush on, or admire dearly). I remembered how he asked me to tumpang the puding jagung made by Sheila in my fridge. The puding jagung is to be given to another girl (not our batch) whom I reckon he liked to be with (but he told me that girl admired him..whateverrr...it's not important now).

On the other hand, he has accompanied his male friend, who wanted to get to know me, went out for a date. So, he became somesort of like a middle-person between me and that guy during the date, which he hated so much.

My hubby is not a soft-spoken, gentleman kind of person. He is a rather frank person, which some girls would not favour. He treated his girlfriends like me, Nissa and Sheila as if we are one of his boyfriends. He'll be the least favoured guy if you want to seek for help. He'll go like "Eh! Buat sendirilah. Aku malas nak layan."

There is this one time, he and I were discussing about marriage. His opinion at that time was "Aku taknak kawin ngan pompuan overseas grad. Bukan boleh percaya sangat." My response was "Kau ingat aku percaya sangat ke budak2 lelaki overseas ni!." Yeah, we refer to each other as kau and aku.

To cut the story short, we graduated and he got a job in KL, despite him not wanting to work in KL. Since the two other girlfriends, Nissa and Sheila have choosen their life partner at that time, and most of hubby's guyfriends have not graduated (we graduated one year earlier than our Malaysian-grad friends), we ended up going out with each other. So, only then 'things' happen between us, to the suprise of Nissa, Sheila, Radzi and Atan.

We have to change from 'kau' and 'aku' to 'I' and 'you'...and from 'Mat Pet' to 'Fitri'. How we struggle to make that changes!! Yelah dah tiga tahun dok cakap 'aku', 'kau' and 'Mat Pet'. And not only that. It's not easy to change from being JUST FRIEND to MORE THAN FRIENDS. Coz before we were like boy-to-boy friends, boleh selamba kutuk each other with no hard feelings, now we have to make some adjustments. It's definitely not an easy step!

After one year of some serious relationship, we were finally engaged on 5th January 2002. And one year later, on 17th January 2003, we had our nikah ceremony in a simple yet resplendent affair.

Now, 3 years have passed.

We were grateful that Allah is on our side. We are blessed with a charming little boy by the name of 'Ashraff'. We have both been promoted at work. We have moved to our own house. Our relationship, alhamdulillah, has becoming stronger with each passing days of our lives.

My prayer will be for Allah to continue his blessing on this family. Murahkan rezeki kami, tetapkan iman kami, panjangkan umur kami. Lindungi kami daripada fitnah and malapetaka...dan semoga berkekalan sehingga ke akhir hayat...

HAPPY 3RD YEAR ANNIVERSARY, DEAR! I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH..."

The long Friday lunch break.

Every Friday, we were given extra time for lunch, from 12.30pm to 2.45 pm. I'd normally go to KLCC, Berjaya Times Square, Bintang Walk, Sogo, or spend time relaxing at the office.

But last Friday, I went to Weight Management Information Center (WMIC) at Wisma Selangor Dredging (near KLCC) to get a Free Counselling from a dietician and do some body fat analysis (you have to pay minimal sum of RM5 for the analysis). WMIC is a non-profit organization of health professional who have special interest in prevention and treatment of obesity. You have to set an appointment if you want ti meet the professionals. Fo further info, you can read here.

There, I met Ms Premila, a nice Indian dietician. The process started of with asking you your objective and some health history background. Oh yeah, prior to going to WMIC, you have to jot down things u eat 3 days before the appointment, which in my case including the things I consumed during Hari Raya Haji. Yikes!

Then you step on the body fat analyzer. It is just like a normal weighing scale but with a metal foot pad. Here is the findings:-

Height : 159 cm (I thought I'm only 158 cm tall)
Weight : Shy to disclose but what the heck..54.8 kg
BMI : 21.7
Body Fat% : 29.5

My BMI is within the normal range (phewww..). BUT, my body fat composition is beyond the normal by 4 kilos! Meaning which, despite an average BMI, I have lots of fats restored by body, which could lead to high cholestrol. Now I understand the idea of why thin people can still suffer from high cholestrol.

Premila then showed me a replica of fats. It is about the size of two full bowls,and that according to her is what 2 kilos of fat looks like. So mine is double that, which means 4 full bowls?? That's a lot!! And scary too!

Here is some advice given by Premila to shed some fats:-
1. Rice (or any carbo like bread, potatoes) should only be a quarter of the plate, chicken/beef/fish (protein) should be quarter also. The balance of half plate should be filled with vegetables, preferably steamed, raw or boiled. Since I do not quite like eating veggies, this will be my biggest hurdle, apart from reducing my rice intake.

2. Reduction of weight is not a perfect indication of reduction of fats. This is because muscle is heavier than fat. Thus, if you build muscles by exercising, your weight will either maintain or probably slightly increase. So, how do we know we have shed some fats? If u build your muscles, you can feel that your clothes becoming looser, meaning that you have toned your body.

3. Muesli Bar is not the best option for a healthy breakfast as these bars is usually coated with sugar or honey. The best is to take cooking oat, mixed with low fat milk.

4. Slimming tea (or any slimming products for that matter), is not the best way for you to slim down as it shed water from your body, and less fats. So, it is easier for your body to gain weight should you stop consuming these products.

5. Exercise 60-90 minutes a day, for 3-4 days a week. The cardio activity like treadmill and bicycle will help to burn some fats, while muscular is for building up the muscle and toning your body.

Not bad for a free counselling section right?!

As for my case, I have to comeback in one month time for to do the body analysis again. Hope by that time, my fat composition has reduced or else, malu!!

All about Ashraff

Babycenter.com stated that a 17-month old toddler can do amongst which, the following:-

Climbing. Your 17-month-old demands that you let her walk up stairs, rather than be carried. She also wants to try climbing up onto chairs — and other pieces of furniture that are about chest height — and, once she gets up, is able to turn herself around and sit facing forward, a complex feat.


At Atok's place...





Another one...At our place...


Ashraff is definitely on the right track!

Apart from climbing, Ashraff is fond of...errr..Rides? Easy Rides? Gentle Rides? A Device? Hey, what's the name of the thing that basically most shopping complexes have where you put coins in it, and it starts moving with loud music on? When I was small, I called it 'dak-duk' (just like the sounds of galloping horses). Yeah, that is Ashraff's latest interest...


And he even got a 'girlfriend' to join him for the ride...


Note : That 'girlfriend' was a complete stranger to Ashraff/us. She is 2 months younger than Ashraff and came rushing to us when she saw the ride. I said she was attracted to the ride but Hubby said she's attracted to Ashraff coz Ashraff is a 'chick magnet'. Oh, whateverrr...

Press the panic button!

What a topic to start for year 2006!! Can't help it coz I am in a panic mode now. Reasons being:-

(i) My mother-in-law is here! She and my sis-in-law are spending the whole week at our crib. I'm glad but...What to cook? What to cook?

(ii) Two weeks to go before our 3rd Anniversary. What to buy for dearest Hubby? It's only 3 years and I've run out of ideas. Help!!

Releasing the anger within.

Our 4-month-old Innova was knocked by Vios yesterday at Jln Tun Razak! The lady driver apologised for her mistake as she was looking elsewhere (probably SMSiNg) and did not notice that our car has slowed down and stopped. Idiot! And I am glad that it was a bumper-to-bumper crawl so it was a soft knock. But that does not mean that our car was left unscar. Eventhough it is slightly dented, but the thought that the car is considered very new (only 4 months old) makes us all very dissapointed that it happens!

But the impact has hit hubby the most. He has gone ballistic over the whole incident! He has lost his appetite yesterday eventhough I served him his favourite asam pedas (courtesy of mak, thank you). Our topic yesterday lingered on these subject ONLY - how the accident happened, that lady driver, the repair, the police report..I tried to divert his attention to the issue by coming out with new topics, but it is back to square one after few minutes. Even Ashraff's first-time calling him Ayah does not excite him!

Can't blame him for that as he has been taking care of that precious gem like his own baby. But u see, some things are beyond our control. Just like our case. Kalau nak kena, kena jugak.... What to do...

Now we have to drive that dented MPV back to Pontian tomorrow..Gee..

P.S: Will post a picture later, folks!

*******************

What is your opinion when I say most Malaysians are last minute people? Give me a break, I am Malaysian too. But if you notice, Malaysian will wait till the eleventh hour to settle its bills, pay their taxes..and now the MyKad thing..

If you happened to watch the news, you will see some of the standard feedbacks given by these proscrastinators when they were interviewed:-

(i)"Dulu, takde masa.." - so now you have all the time in the world to wait for almost the whole day waiting for just a piece of plastic card to be issued?! And sometimes more because you might not have a luck to obtain an angka giliran the first time you went (ni case my sisterlah, sampai 4 kali pergi baru dapat nombor).

(ii)"JPN sepatutnya buka lebih banyak kaunter dan memperbanyakkan angka giliran." Hellloooo...look who's talking...

Sorry if this offended anyone here, but sometimes we have to put the blame on ourselves rather than pointing fingers to other. And now JPN staffs have to burn the midnight oil just to clear all last minute MyKad applications. Poor thing!

I'm glad I did my MyKad way back in 2002. Yup dear, it's 3 years ago! Well, I'm not a super-duper obedient citizen but I was forced to do it. Why? Because my purse was stolen while I was praying at Sogo's surau! A blessing in disguise indeed. Or else, I might be the one who is currently waiting in a long queue at JPN...

P.S : Have you apply for your MyKad? It's two days to go!

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Mak called me at my office this morning. We had a long chit-chat over the phone. Something which I never thought I would do with her. It was nice to hear her voice. Yeah, I miss her..and Abah too..
She told me that she wanted to go to our house today as Abah is missing Ashraff badly (Mak went to our house yesterday while I was at work to send asam pedas but Abah can't make it). And she asked us to drop by at her house today to pick up Ashraff and Bibik and have dinner together..Well, how can I say NO..

P.S: Izreen, you tagged me hah? Sorry babe, I overlooked. Next entry ok?!

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HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
MAY YOU HAVE A GOOD YEAR AHEAD!
From,
Rafiqah & Co.

From Landed Property to High-Rise Building..

Alhamdulillah. We have officially moved to our own home. Although there is still lot of decorations to make as the walls are pretty bare, but we are glad to call it OUR HOME.

It took us two days to carry our stuffs, which mainly consists of our clothings back and forth from Ampang to Cheras. I left some of my clothes which I hardly wear because I believe that there won't be enough space for me to put them in our now smaller room. I did make a correct decision! We used to have a walk-in cabinet and a stand-alone cupboard at my parent's and now we have to deal with just three doors of built-in cabinet with few drawers, and we have to share it with our lil Ashraff! We would not want to carry Ashraff's own cabinet as there is no possible way for us to position that thing in our room.

And another thing, we could not bring Ashraff's favourite cot along too. We were thinking of co-sharing the bed with him (a good idea?) but our bed is queen size and not king size like what we used to have, so three is a crowd on the bed. So now my lil lad has to settle himself comfortably sleeping on the floor. Poor thing! I called it 'Rumah Setinggan'..hehehe..
Since he is not used to the new environment and I'm pretty much afraid he'll roll-over and swept the whole room, both of us ended up restless during our first few nights there. Gee..

Then finally, on Sunday night, everything is nicely transferred and arranged. As I take the final look before I stepped out from my previous room, there is this weariness feeling inside me. The room which I have been occupying for the past 15 years of my life is now empty. It is even sadder to look at Abah's face when we handed over their house key. Mak decided to go back to Johor Bharu for no specific reason but Atok Lon (my aunty who is living with me) told me that Mak would not want to see us leave. I am not trying to be extra-melancholic here (as Ampang and Cheras are not that far anyway), but it was indeed a sad moment for me...

Then starting Monday, we have comfortably settling in. I started to cook for lunch (make it extra so I don't have to cook for dinner). We had a jolly good time bringing Ashraff for a swim. I wanted to put on my swimming attire and join the fun, but it is bright sunny evening and I am getting a bit too self-concious with my bulging tummy, so I decided to do it at night. Not that night, some other night. Probably tonight.

Then we have this gymnasium which I so look forward to have my regular exercise. But I need someone to actually do some physical check-up and advise me on the right machine to use. Perhaps I can try to have a peek at the Equilibrium Gym that is situated at Maju Junction.

Oh yeah, tonite, our community will have somesort of AGM meeting to pick the new committee for the people at Mentari Kondominium. For the first time, we would be able to make it, insyaAllah. I am so looking forward to get to know our neighbours.

I have to say that I am slowly adapting to the change in environment. There is still teeny weeny sorrow in me to be leaving my parent whom I know are badly missing their grandson at this very moment, I know I have to accept this. And hope Mak and Abah will be able to adjust with their new life without me, Fitri and Ashraff.

One thing that I know will take me a very looongggg time to accept is what used to be 20 mins journey back home from the office is now taking a whole 1 hour of our precious time! Cheras, Cheras, you definitely need elevated highway like we had in Ampang...

Entering a new life..

Finally, we are moving in to our OWN home sweet home in Cheras. Dearest Hubby decided that once and for all, without further delay, this long holiday will be used to transfer all our things from mak & abah's house in Bukit Antarabangsa, Ampang to our condominium in Bandar Tasik Permaisuri, Cheras, which has been completed in early 2003.

For the past 6 months, we have been going back and forth from my parent's house to our house. Weekdays in Ampang, and weekends in Cheras. I found it a bit too taxing for us to maintain two houses, with half of our things here and half there. There will be times when I searched high and low for my long skirt or pants, and eventually realised that I left it at our house in Cheras. Darn..

Soon, insyaAllah, gone are the days where we have to switch from one place to the other. Along it will be the days where our dinner is ready everytime we get back from work. Hubby has insisted me to cook for dinner every night regardless of how late we get back from work. So now, I would have to learn to become a master of the kitchen, something which I don't quite like doing but I know responsibility is a responsibility. And a wife gotta do what the husband wants her to do..So I am fine with that.

But one thing that touches my heart is my mak and abah's reaction towards us moving out from the house. This is partly the reason why we have been postponing our plan for such a looonngggg time. Mind you, it's 2 1/2 years of delay! Everytime when we brought up this issue, mak will either keep quiet throughout the dinner or abah will make the remark "pindah-pindah abah tak nak dengar." So, we were torn between our plan and mak & abah's feeling. And we still are..

And now with Ashraff around, it makes things harder. For example, last night, while watching the TV with mak & abah, Ashraff as usual will dance and jumping around the living hall, with his usual shriek of excitement. Abah then said "Tak lama lagi senyaplah rumah kita ye Adah (gelaran abah untuk mak)." And mak will give her usual gloomy look...Haiyaa..

Despite that, I WANT us to move. I insisted we move. I had a slow woman-to-woman talk with mak one night. I told her my attention to move is the only way for me to become a real wife to Fitri (not that I am not real, but at least it's time for me to take charge of the household). Apart from that, I pity my hubby. Staying with my parent, has one way or another hinders his side of family to come and lepaking with us at our house since it is not our OWN house. Not that my husband complained but I can sense it (macam bagus je..)

And then I said something which is rather adverse, but somehow makes sense to my mother. I told her, it is the evolution of life. We must put at the back of our mind that all our children will leave us one day to go on with their lives. She left my tok mak as soon as she married my father years ago. And now it is time for me to go on with my life. And soon there will come a time where Ashraff will move away from me. But moving to a new house, does not mean that we are moving away for good. We will still come back here once in a while (or probably every weekend). Cheras and Ampang are not that far anyway.

With this, she had not made a single comment when I finally put a strong footing saying I am moving to Cheras this Christmas holiday. And suprisingly, Abah too. She must have told Abah about our rationale to move in one of their husband-and-wife talks at night..hehehe..

So here we are, finally, packing our stuffs to our own adobe (quoting Mrs Corporate Tai-Tai) and entering a new life...Semoga Allah merahmati perjalanan hidup kami ini..

Just in case you are wondering now, which i am sure you are, insyaAllah there will be a house-warming makan-makan at our house. Will keep u posted on this one.

Oh by the way, despite our busyness to move this weekend, we, I mean CMOG will be opening a stall at Sunday Flea Market @ Kelab Ukay, Bukit Antarabangsa from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. So if you happen to be somewhere in this area, please drop by...

It's a good start.

Yesterday, I managed to control my appetite and took less food. Here's what I had yesterday:-

Breakfast
A bar of muesli and a mug of milo (less sugar, add my fav soy protein powder).

Lunch
A quarter plate of rice only (usually it will be a full plate) and spent most of the times, gatah lauk sahaja. It was pretty hard for me not to eat rice with lauk, but I managed to resist my food temptations. Yey!

Dinner
A quarter plate of rice plus the normal lauk-pauk. Double yey!

I planned to reduce my calorie intake gradually instead of indulging in self-stalvation method. So from a full plate of rice (sometimes double plate) to a quarter plate is a good start for me. Am so proud of myself!

Now I am into studying the food pyramid to ensure that I have a well-balanced diet. I do not want to end-up like a collegue of mine who fainted right in the middle of the office, as she is too obsessed with losing weight and chose crash diet method. Ouch!

Let me see whether my effort yield any return at the end of the day. Perhaps next Friday is a good day for me to jump on the weighing scale. Do remind me, yeah buddy..

As for Ashraff, he is still carrying the motto "Say 'NO' to FOOD!". Guess it is a good time for me to join his campaign..

"Ibu, No!".."Ashraff, please..."

The sign above signifies Ashraff's motto for the past three days. He is back in his no-mood-to-eat mood, leaving his mother totally devastated! I am so sick worried of his weight, that is for certain. After the drop of 1 kilo due to the Mouth Disease he had earlier, he never actually regain his weight. He is still at 10kg++, which is considered low for toddler his age and for a baby who was born at 3.74kg!

One thing that somesort of ease my mind is that he drinks lots of milk as compared to before. All these while, he has been depending on small bottle (the 4oz bottle) for each milk time. Lately, his consumption has shoot up to 6-7 oz (at one time 9oz) per session. So, I guess he must have substitute the solid with milk. But any mother will freak out to the fact that their child would not have sufficient nutrition from depending on milk ONLY.

It is also pretty hard for me to deal with picky eater like Ashraff, whom will only eat from the ready packed food like Nestle or Gerber. He will puke whenever he takes the home-cooked meal, no matter how we vary the ingredients. After sometime, we sort of acknowledge the fact that cooking for him is just a waste of time (and gas).

Then, a friend of mine told me that maybe he wants to eat like any adults would, coz now he has lots of teeth. And I thought that maybe he is bored of eating the normal Nestle or Gerber products that we gave him - gandum campur soya, gandum campur madu, mixed fruits, beras & ayam etc, as he has been consuming that for the past one year. Perhaps I should try something with a more substance in it.

Here is a recipe that I got from a friend (thanks Ivy!) that I would love to try:-

"You can try making your own chicken nuggets. Blitz some chicken breast (no skin of course) in the food processor, campur with fresh bread crumbs sikit (one piece fresh bread, blitz in the food processor), add an egg yolk, some herbs if you like, a tiny pinch of salt - or not and mix. Then dunk it in egg and breadcrumbs and saute with olive oil"

Sounds yummylicious, aye?!.

I hope my effort to make Ashraff eat is pay-off this time around. Or else, it will be another round of waste-time-and-waste-gas.

Sometimes I wonder, apart from the joy of having children, parenting job also comes with a bag of worries. For the past 16 months, there have been countless time I have to deal with anxiety attack. I told my mother that probably if Ashraff can talk and voice out his feelings, I will stop worrying. My mother's reply was "Tak jugak. Kita hanya akan stop fikir dan risau pasal anak-anak hanya apabila kita dah mati." Guess I have to agree with her...

As for now, Ashraff deary, please eat...

How to back-up?

Today is a peaceful day for me. Hardly any client calling in, asking what is their balance outstanding, or pouring their problems in meeting their loan obligations. Can be because of the holiday for the State of Selangor...

I do not have much to do either. I have finished doing the disbursement proposal, have submitted the follow-up report and fulfilling client's request for 1001 things (selagi boleh they will request). If I'm motivated enough, probably I can start doing some of the 'forecasted' work like loan foreclosure for some bad loans, but I chosed not too.

Instead, I spent my precious free time, going through my archives, reading all my rants and rambles in the past. Some are funny, some are pretty sad, some are what-the-heck-are-u-thinking-at-that-time..

Having done so, it dawned to me that I do not do any back-up for my precious entries. How do I do back up yeah? Any advise for an IT idiot like me? Thanks!

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Just got an email from my collegue. It's my boss invitation for free pizza. He treats us every month. I missed the last one as I was on 'puasa enam', and it's a big dugaan at that time since I've been longing to have one. Now this is the time for me to whallop some of the best pizzas in town by the name of Free Pizza!
There goes my diet...

Shed them off!!

One day at the surau..

"Rafiqah, just want to ask you something. There's this rumour going around saying that you are pregnant. Betul ke?"

My immediate response was..

"Gemuk sangat ke saya ni?"

Why am I not suprise? It is because that was not the first comment I got regarding my weight lately. Some of the comments I received were:-

"Eh, eh, dah gemuklah you sekarang" - a straightforward one.
"Eh, lama tak jumpa dah berisi sikit ye. Dulu kurus je" - this one is trying to cover line by using words like "berisi", "naik badan" etc.
"Gemuklah kau sejak kawin. Mendadak pulak tu naik!" - this one really 'dropped my water face'. Remark given by a man, in a lift full of other men. Geee!!
"Dah 'berisi' ke?" - asking whether I'm pregnant, which is definitely due to the weight.
"Cantiklah awak sejak dah ada anak ni. Berseri-seri. Kalau dulu muka cengkung, badan pun kurus semacam" - This one I like best! *grinning like kerang busuk*

Yes, I have to admit (eventhough still in a denial stage) that my weight has increased a lot..yes, A LOT after I stopped breastfeeding Ashraff. Previously, my weight was..emmm..let me see, the most was 45 kilos. And I've had a hard time maintaining that weight, as I'm scared I will become thinner and look like cicak kubing. It becomes worsen after the fasting month or after recovering from illnesses like severe coughing (which drains out your energy) or diarrhea. Muka cengkung semacam!

Whenever I look at fashion & beauty magazine, all they talk about is weight loss but seldom touches on how to gain some weight. Do you know the Appeton Weight Gain available at all major pharmacies? I always had the urge to consume those, but my close friend stopped me from doing that as she said it may cause your weight to keep on increasing (something which she learns from other people's experience). I remembered what she told me..

"You kahwin dulu, dapat anak, then tengok whether you still kurus lagi ke tak?"

And my stubborn answer was..

"Tak mungkin! My parent jenis yang kurus and I doubt I can increase any weight"

Yeah right! Look what I've become now!

Now my weight is fifty..errr..ahh! I better not disclosed. But to give you the hint, it is towards the end of '50' scale. Isn't that scary??

If before I try to avoid jumping on the weighing scale because I'm scared that the pointer will move further left from the previous one, now I am scared of the opposite. I do not know what actually happened. My eating habit is just like before. My suspect would be because of a decrease in metabolism rate, probably due to age factor. What am I suppose to do now?

Basically to shed some fats you have to do the following:-
(i) To control calories intake. Have a healthy diet!
(ii) To exercise regularly.

Let me see whether I can do these things:-
(i) Healthy Diet - Currently, I am actively searching the net for the right food to eat. I would not want to skip meals as I don't think my minor gastric problem can tolerate that. Anyone willing to share me some diet menu and tip?

My biggest hurdle would be my high food temptation! You see, I am so used to eating whenever or whatever I want to eat without worrying about my weight. So, it is really hard for me to control my desire to consume favourite foods like fried chicken, nasi beriyani. That's a No-No right?

(ii) Exercise. Yes, but not regularly. I just could not find way to discipline myself when it comes to exercising. I feel like enrolling to any good fitness club where they have this trainer who can give your professional advice. But then, my financial will go haywire and I don't think dearest Hubby will allow that. Then again, would I have the discipline to drag my feet to the fitness club every now and then?

Yeah, I'm still thinking of ways for me to exercise..and discipline myself to exercise.

Don't you think the slimming centres ads in the media is very attractive for someone who has weight problem? For me, yes it is! Especially the one with celebrities like Amy Mastura - losing from xx kilos to xx kilos. Do you think those places are effective?

Guess it is a bit too early for New Year's resolution but I do have few things in mind. One, is definitely to lose some weight. I would not want to look as thin as before but just to reach an ideal weight that I am comfortable with. But what if I am pregnant next year? That will be a different story altogether..

Good luck to me! Any tips and advice are most welcome.

A miserable two-week..

Not only people who are getting married next week is busy (referring to Fina), but married people with children too (referring to Yours Truly)..

The past two weeks was an exhaustive 14 days of my life. Work is the normal reason. But, beyond that is Ashraff. The first week, Ashraff was attacked by a disease called Balanitis, an inflamation and redness at his "bird" caused by bacteria/virus. At first, we thought it is just the normal nappy rash. But looking at Ashraff who screamed his heart out in what used to be an enjoyable bathing time, made us bring him to the paeditrician. According to paed, not all boys can get easily affected at that place but Ashraff is the type that is vulnerable to it. And by right, boys like Ashraff has to be circumcised at an early age (under 6 mo), where the procedure can be done under local anaesthetic (lesser side affects as compared to general anaesthetic). Since Ashraff has passed that age, paed advised that he has to wait till the right age (the earliest is 5 yo) to get a normal adult circumcision, with again under local anaesthetic. Within that period, Ashraff might suffer from Balanitis for maybe another 2-3 times.

Oh! How I wish we have circumsise him the moment he was born. We have thought of that before but the cost to do it at the place where he was born was beyond our budget so we decided to find somewhere cheaper. But Ashraff's fussy and colicky behaviour has taken its toll, so we had to put our plan on hold. And I presumed you know what happens to the plan, yeah..Proscrastination kills! So, if any of you has given birth to a baby boy, do get an early circumsicion for him!

Right after he has recovered from Balanitis, Ashraff was attacked by another disease..A Mouth Disease (doctor has forgotten to give us the scientific name for it, if any). At first, I thought Ashraff was teething as he showed the same sign like drooling, loss of appetite and restless nights.

Then he had a slight fever, so as usual, Ibu took an emergency leave in the morning. During the day, I observed his temperature and just gave him the normal standby medicine in the fridge. But, when I saw his gum was exceptionally red and swollen, I rushed to the paeditrician for a check-up. It turned out to be that all Ashraff's gum, tongue and lelangit was full of white spots i.e ulcers caused by bacteria/virus and he was put on antibiotic again. Poor baby!! How he hates taking medicine!

So, the next few days was a dreadful event for the whole family as we seldom hear Ashraff's laughter and blabbering. Only crying and wailing, out of pain and hunger. Our nights was even worse as Ashraff woke up every half and hour, screaming(you should see a pair of panda eyes I have now...a sign of a caring Ibu. Cehh!). It is sad to see how he kept pointing to his milk and food, and yet when we tried to give it to him, he pushed it away, crying.

Yesterday, Ashraff has shown a sign of recovery as he started taking plain rice (but not his normal cereal and porridge) and drink some milk. And he also had a sleep-thru night yesterday, perhaps trying to recover some sleep after the interrupted sleeps he had few nights before.

During the two-week crash course, I learned these lessons:-
(i) No matter how tired we are, do not complain as it is never as tiring as taking care of a sick child (sekarang ni tgh insaflah..esok2 lupa lagi..hehehe).
(ii) Hygiene is very important in taking care of a child. It is not that we do not know or practice this, but the two diseases occured recently involved virus, so there must be something lacking. So now, I'm like a freak..sikit-sikit sterilise. Sikit lagi nak jadi macam Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets.

But all in all, with the recovery of both disease, it is a sign of relief for both Ibu and Ayah..which leaves me with something to blog on..hehehe..