Wordless Wednesday: IATCA - RABQSA

Stepping on to this door mat each time we're going inside and out from our bedroom is really 'something'.. - It remembers me of our honeymoon trip of course. I browsed through Hard Rock Hotel Bali's website last week and I realized they have renovated and refurbished the rooms beautifully! With colorful slides in the swimming pool? Awesome! Shall we plan for a second Bali trip with beloved Faheem hunie? =)

Anyhow I was on training for this whole week. It will only come to an end this Friday, followed with IRCA Examination! Oh boy.. I thought it would be an easy peesy course, well it's just a set of standards/clauses for god sake. Yeah right.. (Dear Australian top guns, be nice with my answer sheets pls!) Our brain was about to explode each time we went through the sample questions. No joke fellas =( No wonder registered auditors out there can really make a living with their mounting pay! Huukk..

Err.. this should be a wordless wed entry, no? Haha.. I'm a quiet person but the fingers can do so much of elaboration beyond my expectation when they started hitting the keypad, like seriously.. =D Okla, prep hours will commence in a few minutes time now, plus mister hubby has started nagging. Ngeee.. Should get myself concentrating with reading and understanding the clauses asap or I'm dead meat this Friday. Signing off!

Interesting Foods and Places in Johor Bahru

We've been cruising by 4 wheels to Johor Bahru nearly four hours and now we have safely arrived here, a region which is just opposite our neighboring and massive-developing country, Singapore. I have a lot of nicest things to type down but I think I should just postpone it to my latest travel tale that will be published very soon, InsyaAllah. Moreover our beloved son isn't doing very well now so I need to pay extra attention for him (more and more cuddles!).

Well, I'm off once he wakes up from his nap!

The scenic view from our room. Tower clock and Singapura! =)

To begin with, the last time I've stepped in to JB was way back when I was still small.. (I'm studying in lower form if I'm not mistaken). I remember we visited my mom's bestest buddies at Batu Pahat (they celebrated our arrival with so much of scrumptious foods!) and we had kerang bakar at Danga Bay with abang Hatta. He's tall, fair, handsome and he rides Harley Davidson! (Off topic, apology!)

Oh believe it or not, that was also the first time we had kerang bakar! Haha.. FYI My mum prohibits her children from eating kerang. Reason being: (According to her) it's dirty, unhealthy, gout-prone and what not. But she had to let us have that yummy kerangs since somebody (which is a very good family friend) is treating us dinner. And who's gonna finish them off if not us? Kikiki.. So that's our JB journey. Full stop.

To cut a long story short, I only have a short term memory during our stay at JB and yes I'm a bit clueless on what should we actually do at JB? If the facilities in Thistle JB is more or less like Thistle PD then it's ok. We can spend 4 days IN the hotel compound happily. Unfortunately, it is not. I've browsed thru the net earlier and regrettably the facilities at Thistle JB is quite limited compared to the one in PD.

Alissa Hz

Ape yang menarik di Johor Bahru?

15 April at 09:45 via iPhone · · ·

But luckily there's Facebook! I posted a single line as above and received many feedbacks from my dear friends. Be it Johorean or somebody who studied there or people who married a Johorean or fellows who stay at Johor for a living. I wish to paste the comments here (senang cerita) but I'm afraid few of my friends might disagree to let their profile viewed by the public.

So here's the list:

1. Mee rebus Hj. Wahid at Plaza Angsana
2. Mee rebus at Stulang
3. Murtabak Singapore Sg. Chat
4. Restoran Singgah Selalu
5. Cendol (Jalan Johor-Pontian)
6. Istana Besar Johor
7. Danga Bay
8. Tanjung Piai (The southern most point of Asia)
9. Kacang Pool @Bomba Larkin
10. Senibong
11. Murtabak Larkin
12. Tepian Tebrau

Gosh.. I have no idea weather we may visit all of these places?

But we'll try our best!

Oh Faheem needs me now, he's having flu =( Till then!

espresSOUP and Farmer Bread anyone?

Has anyone went to espresSOUP? If I'm not mistaken they have 7 kiosks all around KL now. With 2 more coming up at Penang and Singapore. We came across espresSOUP so many times before this since it is situated at the entrance of Cold Storage (and we went there for grocery shopping almost every weekend). But none of us even bother the kedai sup =p

Until one day a good friend of my husband dropped by the place from Malacca and the family of one cutie daughter invited us to have tea together at espresSOUP. Little that I know they don't serve soups solely, but with various sandwiches and pastas and what amazed us most was their mushroom soup. It was yummier than Pizza Hut's or Campbell's. It's thicker with more mushroom pieces! And unique enough, it's served in a Farmer Bread.

Farmer Bread is a traditional German's village bread that normally baked everyday and commonly served in the countryside. But now you're having them here in Malaysia. The Farmer Bread is a simple white bread made of wheat and rye flour. The best part of all is, it's oil free, sugar free and preservatives free! Makanan sihat indeed..

Opps I've amost forgotten. Dear Faheem seriously in love with the Farmer Bread dipped in the warm mushroom soup! He'll scream when mama lambat suap roti tu ok. And bila dah kenyang he'll vomit the bread pieces when he chewed them twice. Why can't you just let us know that you're full now and you refuse to have more Faheem? Haduii.. Anakanda oh anakanda.. =D

Anyway, I strongly recommend this kiosk if you wish upon

light and nutritional tea meal away from home!

The little guy who enjoys mushroom soup like no other!

It is Yours Truly's Birthday!

Drum roll please! Announcing the silver jubilee celebration (twenty fifth eyy?) ooppss.. the birth anniversary of the owner of The-Anecdotes! Hip Hip Hooreyyy! Standing ovation with a loud applause ladies and gentlemen! ------> Exaggerating again, pfftt.. =p Hi loves, yap.. Today is indeed my **th birthday. Mama Faheem is becoming older and wiser? Nahh.. You should read what Abraham Lincoln once said,

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.

It's the LIFE in your years.

So, how much have you gained now Lisa? Err.. Not even half of what I have listed earlier in my serebrum I supposed. But still I'm so grateful with what I have today. The most-loved and precious yet over protective parents that have been my back bone since ages ago, a loving and supportive husband that completes me in everything that I do, a rapidly grown up child that brings me laughter every now and then and not to be forgotten dearest siblings, family members, friends and foes (if there's any).

Alhamdulillah.. Alhamdulillah.. Alhamduillah..

And for all of these years, how much have you devoted yourself as a Muslim Lisa? Err.. For this particular question, I guess only god knows the absolute answers. I admit that I'm still not doing my very best and I'm very well aware that I should not let the precious days gone by meaningless. My bad.. My bad. I really hope in the days to come, starting from this very moment, I will change for a better me that someday may leads to a better family and a better ummah. InsyaAllah..

Birthday girl got a lunch date at Subway with mister husband today. He always prefers Subway Club but today is my birthday so he ordered chicken teriyaki instead. With yummy chocolate chip cookies! Wee... =)

And what's for a birthday present? Well well well.. I really had a blast one last night from my very own handsome, cuddly son, Faheem Darwish. He woke up at 3am. At first it started with a bad dream and stuffy nose but ended up with he himself playing his toys, performing solat (tahajjud agaknye) on the bath rugs? (we're so sleepy so what ever Faheem, as long as you're not crying! Kekeke). That has resulted to? We woke up a bit late and there you go! We were off to the office with panda eyes! Huhu.. Saje je Faheem torture mama on my birthday ek..

Anyway, the grand birthday present would be... A vacation down south to Johor Bahru! =) Thank you so much my dear loving husband for making it happen! (Well, almost happen la. Hihi) Sayang sangat2 tau.. serious! Hik. We'll be staying in Thistle JB for 4 days. Can't wait! Okla, I should stop now, I'm off to home sweetest home in 15mins time.

Happy birthday to ME!

Malaysiakini down: The alternative links

I guess many enlighten readers out there are already aware that Malaysiakini is down for almost 3 to 4 days now. It has been hit by cyber attacks due to reasons that I'm sure everybody knew. Anyway this is the alternative links if you wish to keep updated with the breaking news and views. (Tho it's such an eye sore to read them from a blogging dashboard!) I wish Malaysiakini will stand up and kicking back very soon!

facebook.com/malaysiakini

http://malaysiakinicom.wordpress.com/

http://malaysiakinicom.blogspot.com/

Planning for our second home - Property Investment

We are currently planning for a property investment, a home, yes the second one. Real estates keep on skying high nowadays so we just don't want to be left behind with other property chasers. People get easy money every month by doing this, so why hesitate? We've been planning this property investing thingy quite some time ago but only driven to do so when my mom keeps on advising us to get another house, a slightly bigger, for future investment. Again, mommy's word taken place. Heheh

Why for investment?

Living in the fast lane city we need more money. Extra financial support I would say, to cope with the posh-ness cost of living (seriously I will never think about this if I'm settling down at my home town. Hidup seadanya dengan hati ceria saban hari!) One has to agree that tho money is not everything, but everything needs money, real life babes. With the oil price that keeps on hiking, tho we are producing low sulfured petroleum? Crap. But it depends on oneself lah. If you're just fine with what you're having now and can assures sustainability towards the days you will no longer be working in an office, then that's ok, lucky you!

But surely not for us =( This little family will someday grow and grow, insyaAllah. The more kids we have, the more expenditure we will likely to anticipate. Babies stuff, school stuff, uni stuff. With the parents that can't stop the interest of traveling? (though we can only afford to have vacations in Boleh Land and neighboring countries which currencies are cheaper than here). Berangan nak hantar anak kat international school lagi, nak pegi europe tour lagi, nak bawak satu family pergi umrah/haji lagi. So on and so fourth. Millionaires out there, derma kilat kepada saya amatlah dialu-alukan. Mekasey!

So, do you really afford a property investment then?

Err.. This has been a huge question mark on us all this while. Beloved husband did the calculations earlier and apparently we can only live on a happy-meter if the second property costs us 380k and below. With the total home size that is almost equal with the current one? Not worth it kan. We went to few developer show houses recently (that's our second hobby by the way) and we kept on having interest with 400k plus condos. Erk! (1600+ sq. feet, 4R 2BR, 2 carpark lots plus standard amenities).

Awesomeness..

This is the second bathroom. Can you imagine the master bathroom?
Heaven.

Dear husband has made another calculations when I convinced him that I'm willing to spend my savings on this matter. And I don't mind if that needs me to apply some personal loan etc. It's for the children's sake so bring it on! (Cakap besar memang best..) He said, we can afford it.. But, no more holidays in 5 star hotel and no more dining out at fancy restaurants and no more long about to-buy-list every weekends. Hmm.. The other thing that worries me most is, what if there's no tenant or buyers?! What if tetibe one of us being sacked from work? Nauzubillah.. Where to cekau 1.5k (current home) or 2.5k (another home)! Die horrr... =(

We've spoken to a real estate agent last week and according to her the current home we're living may get tenants or buyers as soon as it is vacant, in other words, no worries mate! The Putra LRT is just minutes walk (with covered pavements some more) from our resident and the MRR2 is right in front of the entrance. Err.. Though she's our family member, a real estate agent she still is!! Heheh Jangan marah eh kak.. =D She might knew everything from top to toe regarding this field but the was-was ness in us can never be subsided.

No pain no gain. Yeah, I love the quote. But it's no longer applicable to parents who have kids. No one would sacrifice their children's growing up life right? So how to solve this hunie.. Maybe we should postpone this to next year, kut2 ada rezeki lebih. Tapi kalau by next year adik Faheem da ada? Oh tak sanggup mak nak pening2 hal cenggini lagi..

To proceed with a very tight budget..
or to hold and let the property rising like phoenix from the ashes?

Maybe we should solat istikharah first.

May Allah lead us the correct path to this.. Amin

When Faheem threw his second tantrum..

"Ops I did it again! I played with your heart.. Got lost in the game.." Sing it like Britney babes! Ya ya, he just did it again for the second time last weekend at Kulim - We went to papa's home town to pay a visit to our dearest family. Well it has been 3 months we haven't met them! Sorry Mak, we've been very busy lately, especially papa..

I don't have any idea what in the whole world that struck into his body. He behaved nicely during morning till afternoon but started to get cranky and whining through the evening! He burst into tears whenever I tried to leave him. To the extend that I had lost my temper and I tapped (sikit je pun) his leg because he refused the diaper. With everybody else were WAITING for us anxiously outside for family big feast and both of us haven't even bathed yet? Nice one.

I hate waiting.
I hate making people wait for me.
And what more to face the little boy who makes everyone L.A.T.E ?

Faheem at KFC, Kulim Landmark Central

Can you imagine such a cutie like this can throw such a bad tantrum on Saturday?

Goshh.. Lucky that you are my very own son sayang. Nasib baik jugak masih ada sedikit keimanan di dalam diri mama ni Faheem. Kekeke.. Me and hubby keeps on thinking about it over and over again and I think this happens because we seldom bring him to Kulim. Dia rasa lain kut (insecurity maybe) with all the cheerful and very friendly makciks and pakciks =D Last time we spent almost 4 days at Kulim (in December) and he reacted the same on the first to second day but behaves excellently on the rest of the days. Oh he didn't have his usual afternoon nap that day! That was one of the biggest reason too I guess.

Lepas ni mama papa bawak Faheem balik Kulim and KT kerap sikit ok. Hope you'll be able to get along with the family members real soon Faheem! =) Foot note: Next Monday will be yours truly's birthday and two days after that we'll be heading south to Johor Bahru! Lucky us faheem has never been cranky at all whenever we're on a holiday. Just can't wait for another travel tale! Smooches baby!

The down side of living in a condo..

Every leaking(s) to the unit below you is ON YOU!

Huhu.. We received this love letter from the management office few days back attached with pictures of what had happened to the toilet ceilings of the unit below us. (Read: Both toilets in their house!) Sigh.. It's indeed our responsibility to take action, tho half-heartedly. But we're cool. We will definitely do the same thing if the same unfortunate event happens to our unit right?

And it's a good thing too that the owner of the said unit is such a polite Chinese lady. We'll proceed with the repair and refurbishment stuff once we get the quotation ok!

Is raisin healthy for your kids?

Faheem and raisins are bagai isi dengan kuku, bagai lagu dan irama, bagai mata dan mascara and what ever idioms lah. Ligo California seedless raisins are currently his favorite snack. This happens coincidently on one starry night when dear husband feed the little boy the raisins while both of them were watching football (though the little guy only enjoys the "goal!" screaming part).

He frequently requested for raisins since then. At first I thought ok kut. Raisins are full with natural sweetness (the simplest sugar) and I don't think it will bring any harm. After all it's just for a week. Err.. actually he's having 1 small box of raisins (42.5g) every DAY for 2 weeks in a row! That has exceeded the sensible line, like seriously. Moreover he's also having jus Tok Guru (yet another sugary supplement?) every morning. This concern momma started to think bad and so googled about it yesterday.

Little that I know, pediatric dentist doesn't really keen with kids on having raisins in their daily menu since they are sticky and they have a lot of sugar in them. That leads to? Cavities!! Erk.. Though raisins aren't the only reason, tooth decay may develop at such an early years if they keep on having them consistently (plus no regular brushing). According to pediatrics.com these are the pros and cons of eating raisin.

The pros:

1. Low in fat
2. Low in cholesterol
3. Fairly high in fiber (which is good to avoid constipation)
4. A good source of iron with some calcium
5. A good source of potassium

The cons:

1. Kids prone to have cavities..

Well this is my summary for the raisins issue. Raisin is undoubtedly a healthy snack not just for kids but for every one. Apart from the good taste, it also contains vitamins and minerals that every human being needed in their daily life. It is also sunnah nabi kan. Tapi sunnah nabi suruh makan 7 bijik sahaja beserta doa2 tapi anak kesayangan saya makan satu kotak teros! Hoho..

It's ok for him to continue with the raisin but I have to cut the volume intake and no more raisin before bed time. Hmm.. I tried to stop him from having raisin last night but he requested the sticky snacks once he noticed the tupperware case that we used to keep the raisins! So this mission has failed miserably last night. I'll make sure the tupperware is being kept in the kitchen cabinet, totally out from his sight tonight!

Beware: Fake eggs from China

I received this email yesterday.. It's a shudder, seriously. The shock wave of fake milk powder few years back (that kills many innocent infants while few of them lying hopelessly due to kidney failure and 'big head' syndrome) was still a tremor to the human being and now they are producing what?? This is beyond humanity guys. Total nut case.

But luckily as far as I'm concern, I've never encountered with imported eggs on the egg shelves in the Malaysian super market be it Carrefour, Jusco, Cold Storage, Tesco or mini marts. Oh I remember one brand of eggs that are imported from Singapore, using a Korean technology and what not. But I'm so not going to feed my family with that.

I believe Malaysian eggs are the best (mind you NOT the Malaysian government). Currently we stick to LTK Omega Plus and that will be our first choice until another dreadful news appearing in the country. Anyhow, just beware of fake eggs. Pay extra caution when searching for eggs in the market. Take care loves!

Beware u guys and gals!

During a recent raid on a wholesale centre in Guangzhou city, the capital of China 's Guangdong province, a large quantity of fake eggs was seized.

Their wholesale price is 0.15 yuan (S$0.03) each - half the price of a real egg.

Consumers have a hard time telling a genuine egg from a fake one. This is good news for unscrupulous entrepreneurs, who are even conducting three-day courses in the production of artificial eggs for less than S$150. A reporter with Hong Kong-based Chinese magazine East Week enrolled in one such course.

To create egg white, the instructor - a woman in her 20s - used assorted ingredients such as ge latin, an unknown powder, benzoic acid, coagulating material and even alum, which is normally used for industrial processes.

For egg yolk, some lemon-yellow colouring powder is mixed to a liquid and the concoction stirred. The liquid is then poured into a round-shaped plastic mould and mixed with so-called 'magic water', which contains calcium chloride.

This gives the 'yolk' a thin outer membrane, firming it up. The egg is then shaped with a mold. The shell is not forgotten. Paraffin wax and an unidentified white liquid are poured onto the fake egg, which is then left to dry.

The artificial egg can be fried sunny-side up or steamed. Although bubbles appear on the white of the egg, those who have tasted it say the fake stuff tastes very much like the real thing.

But experts warn of the danger of eating fake eggs. Not only do they not contain any nutrients, a Hong Kong Chinese University professor warned that long-term consumption of alum could cause dementia

To make the egg white, various ingredients, including a powder and alum, are mixed together.

The 'yolk' is shaped in the round mould. 'Magic water' containing calcium chloride is used.

Hardy shells are formed by pouring paraffin wax and a liquid onto the egg, which are then left to dry. Tada!

Warning on Fake Eggs by NST

Finally Flaming Frawn! Err.. Prawn!

Finally the craving for Manhattan Flaming Prawn has come to an end today! Alhamdulillah.. (I had the same dish two months back at Pavilion but suddenly yearning for it again now, hehe) Been planning for the right time to feed myself the yummy-juicy-cheesy prawns since two weeks ago but the precious hour only arrived during lunch today!

I was so tied up with workload this morning and I need to freshen myself a bit with some comfort food plus a quality conversation with dear husband. Lucky me he was not chasing any deadlines today so we decided to have lunch together at Manhattan Fish Market Ampang Park.

As expected, there were crowds but in an acceptable manner. FYI Manhattan FM is currently running a promotion on their signature dish, Manhattan Fish 'N Chips for only RM6.99 The normal price is at RM15.99 How crazy was that? This special price lasts until 8th April.

This is the thing! The mouthwatering prawns... Ada lebih kurang 8-9 ketul kut encik udang di situ. I wonder how they made the cheesy sauce. It was so delicious for god sake. Google la kejap lepas ni. Kut2 jumpe resipi boleh buat sendiri!

While this is my husband's Fish 'N Chips. Actually he wanted the pasta (Super Saver Pasta is also running until 1st of May!). But we had mistakenly ordered it earlier so nak tukar dah tak boleh cos the meal was almost ready. Huhu. Next time k baby? After all that meal was nice too aight!

Abang hensem was burning my delectable prawns! =D
Sweet alabama smoothie and tropical breeze just add in more flavors to our lunch menus..

Lip-smacking Manhattan Mud Pie for dessert.
Ahh.. Delicious dish to jump start the after-noon activity! Daa~

Faheem and Flash Cards

Last Saturday we (me, hubby, Faheem, lil sis & babysitter) went to Pavillion KL just to have an unwind weekend-stroll with loved ones while searching for few things in the to-buy-list. (We were getting bored with KLCC to be frank). First thing first I'm wishing upon the scrumptious Flaming Prawn at Manhattan Fish Market! Boleh? But everyone were still satiated with ayam masak merah and mixed vege soup I've prepared earlier during lunch so we postponed it for few hours later..

We went to Toys 'R' Us to find a suitable ride-on for lil Faheem (I'm prone to shop at Toys 'R' Us - collect more points with the Star Member Card!). Our son loves to ride his green soil truck that we purchased at Pantai Bagan Lalang during our stay at Golden Palm Tree. Rasa kesian sangat hari2 tengok Faheem duk kayuh truck kecik tu dgn kaki. Huhu. We searched at Toys 'R' Us KLCC before this but postponed it since it was quite pricey.. =( We spent almost an hour right there discussing which one to pick and was it worth it to spend few hundreds for a ride-on?

These are the ride-ons that are currently available by Vtech, Fisher Price, Little Tikes and Playskool. And I've been seriously longing the Vtech Grow and Go since months ago! But it priced at RM259. Mahal! Though his baby step walker was much more expensive than the ride on, hubby thinks we shouldn't spoils him with too much of fancy toys. He already had abundant of those. I have to agree with him, but.. Nevermind. We'll get something else for you ok handsome..

Momma and Faheem the explorer!

Manhattan FM was so crowded with hungry homosapiens that day so we switched to Pizza Hut half-heartedly. Kempunan lagi Flaming Prawn =/ While waiting for the food I decided to surprise Faheem with the new Flash Cards (at least he may sit properly on the high chair for longer than usual!) Look how excited the young man seeing his momma tries to open the box? =D

Happy & determine faces of a boy who just got a new err..

Educational stuff la konon =p

It's the flash cards! (Err.. I think you can just ignore the attention mark =p) I've been exposing Faheem with visual + audio flash cards from my iPhone apps since he was still small, 6 months and up I guess. But I started thinking to get him a real flash cards when he's beginning to grow a new hobby of throwing-away-the-iPhone-just-for-fun. (I almost get an iPhone replacement from Maxis due to that!) As to date he's having fun with the new 'toy' and I really hope I may witness another amazement in the months to come. Can huh?? Hopefully!

"She's just a baby but she can read!" This is no jokes mommies..

Now Malaysians can do that too.

Read here to know more: myMetro Satu kad satu saat tiga kali sehari

Done with flash cards, it's time to fill up your tummy baby. Mushroom soup is the best!

Err.. If people might have noticed..

I haven't wore my gelang kahwin for quite some time now.
Hmm.. Nantilah story mory.. =)