Short Gateway to Cameron Highlands..

Every year, fyi, we will step our foot in Cameron Highlands, Pahang.. *Boleh dikatakan kelebihan berkahwin dengan orang Kelantan kot* So every time we went back to daddy’s hometown, we will take opportunity to climb up the hill to CH (if we want to lar) on our way back to KL..

~2010~
Honeymoon and jalan-jalan di CH.. I can't find our pictures in tea valley.. Masa tu tengah mengandungkan Iman.. *Sobs.. sobs*

~May 2011~
Masa ni Iman umur 8 bulan.. Adek Umar still dalam peyut mummy.. 1 month ++..

Three of us.. (plus 1..)

Tak nak pakai hood.. Huhu..


Nape macam nak nanges je ni Iman??


Daddy yang memborong disaat hujan rintik2..

~Dec 2012~
Bercuti dengan FIL

Kakak tidur kepenatan otw back to KL..

Adek pulak tidur sebelum keluar jalan2 di CH..

Last month, we were going back to Kelantan as my SIL doing the Kenduri Cukur Jambul and Doa Selamat for her new-born baby girl.. After everything was settled, we’re packing to CH before KL.. Nak berhenti berehat di CH sebelum continue our journey to KL..

We stayed in Parkland Hotel in Brinchang.. It’s a 3 stars hotel and we paid for Quad Room which consist of 1 king size and 1 single size bed.. I have made an online survey before selecting the hotel.. The main reason why I choose this hotel is that it’s in Brinchang area (near to pasar malam), provide Wi-Fi and it has nice and modern interior..

Hotel view..

I just found that there were no wardrobe and hot water provided in the hotel room *it is only provided at the foyer for every level actually*.. Tak convenient langsung.. Plus the wi-fi was not at the good strength.. When you in the middle google -ing something, suddenly there was no connection.. Arrgghh.. Tension ok.. Personally, I think that the management need to do something by improving the service..

After having shower, we decided to stay in the hotel room until Maghrib prayer and planned to go to nearby Pasar Malam.. Unfortunately, it was Sunday and the Pasar Malam in CH is only on Saturday's nite.. As other option, daddy brought us to a Tom Yam restaurant owned by Kelantan people for dinner.. Sedap jugak la.. After fill in the tank, we went back to hotel room to have a good rest.. You know how it feels when you’re lying down in comfort bed with full of stomach rite.. Very comfy and felt very sleepy.. Hehe..

One thing that I realized in CH is the weather.. It is not cool as it was when I came in CH last December 2012.. Like everyone knows that there will be no fans or air-conditioner in the hotel room, I found that the temperature is bit high  I would say and it made us can’t slept well that nite.. Luckily it was raining and it help to cool down and blew away the heat..

The kids were woke up late that morning and we had our breakfast on 10 am.. The hotel restaurant was under renovation so daddy was out to the food court in front of the hotel to get nasi lemak for us.. And mommy packed all the things before we checked out..

Budak bangun lambat..

Adek Umar pun sama..

 Menjenguk daddy dibawah yang membeli breakfast..

Lokasi hotel ni sangat convenient sebab berdepan dengan food court and pasar raya..

Adek dah get ready to jalan2 but kakak still naked with her pampers..

 Ready to get out but refuse to wear jeans.. Macam mane tuh??

So we checked out from the hotel at 10 something am and climb up the hill again to buy strawberry (a MUST when you come to CH), vegetables (segar dan murah) and sweet potatoes.. Then we made our move down to KL right after mummy finished shopping.. 

There was a story actually before the vacation..

Initially, me and my fellow uni-frens had planned a reunion a month before.. As one of my fren who now study in overseas *Jepun ye* will be in Malaysia during that time, we thought that it will be a perfect time to chill and hang out together.. So we decided to have a short vacation in CH.. Everything was well planned and 2 hotel rooms were booked with deposit.. * Coincidentally, the date of the reunion is the same day with my SIL kenduri*

To cut short the story, the reunion need to be cancelled due to some personal reasons and circumstances.. But the stay need to be continued as the hotel room was paid earlier..  No refund from the hotel even though the cancellation has made a week before.. So it’s either we continue the vacation or just burn the deposit without getting any cents.. Oh tidak lah.. Sayang pulak nak burn duit macam tu je kan.. I try to negotiate with the hotel to postpone the date so that we can go to Kenduri and later on can continue the stay at the hotel a day after.. Alhamdulillah, boleh.. So we’re agreed to take only 1 room while the other one is cancel and of course burnt..

Pulut Durian..

Hari ni EL sebab babysitter budak2 ni ada emergency.. So ada masa terluang nak masak.. lagipun mmg ada frozen durian dalam fridge.. Nak clearkan sebelum pindah.. Sepatutnya kena kemas and packing barang - barang untuk pindah akhir bulan ni.. tapi terasa penat pulak.. lain kali lah kemas.. hihi..

 

Pulut durian memang sangat senang nak buat.. Ada jugak orang panggil serawa durian.. Xkisahla.. Sama je.. Cara menyediakannya sangat simple dan yang pastinya sangat sedap.. Moh la kite membuatnye..

 

Bahan - bahan untuk serawa durian:

Isi durian

Gula pasir - 1/2 cawan *bolehlah tambah kalau nak lagi manis*

Gula melaka - 1 ketul

Santan - 250 ml

Air - 250 ml

Garam

 

Cara - cara membuatnya:

*Masukkan ulas / isi durian kedalam periuk..

*Masukkan air..

*Tambahkan gula pasir dan gula melaka..

*Masukkan santan dan sedikit garam. Kacau serata..

*Masak sehingga mendidih..

Untuk pulut:

Basuh pulut dan masak seperti menanak nasi tapi air yang digunakan haruslah diparas-paras pulut je.. jangan terlebih pulak.. nnti pulut jadi lembik..

*ada juga yang suka pulut yang dikukus dengan santan*

 

Tadaa, dah siap pun serawa durian kita..

 

Pulut durian..

Dah licin dah pun..

Si kecik, Umar pun sukekannya.. 

*sila abaikan kotak-kotak dibelakang tu ye.. untuk urusan perpindahan*

p/s: Serawa durian ni sedap juga dimakan dengan roti putih.. Sedap sehingga menjilat jari tau..

Laksam @ Laksa Lemak..

Had this menu last nite.. Teringin nak makan laksam.. Tapi mana nak cari tengah2 malam ni.. So decided to cook with ingredients left inside my fridge.... Laksam @ Laksa Lemak.. Simple and delicious yet easy to cook.. 

Ingredients for kuah:

Item A:

Onion -2 biji

Garlic - 4 ulas

Halia - 1 inch

Black pepper - to taste *adjust according to your taste*
Belacan - optional

Item B:
Ikan kembung / ikan lolong - 7 ekor *I used medium size*
Asam keping

Bahan lain:
Santan - 300 ml
Water *depends on how thick the gravy you want*
Salt and ajinomoto to taste..

For ulam:
Timun *I used timun jepun*
[You may use bean sprout, long beans (thinly sliced) and daun kesom (thinly sliced) too]

For sambal:
Dried chilies (blender)
Belacan

Cara - cara membuatnya:
- Blender semua item A.. Masukkan kedalam periuk..


- Bersihkan ikan dan rebus item B sehingga isi ikan menjadi lembut.. Ambil isi ikan kemudian blender.. Masukkan kedalam periuk yang sama dengan item A..



- Masukkan santan, garam, ajinomoto..
-Masukkan air mengikut kepekatan yang anda mahukan..
- Masak sehingga mendidih..


Ni la hasilnya..

*Untuk sambal, tumiskan cili kering yang diblender bersama belacan..


*I just bought laksa from nearest kedai and bring to boil until its tender.. Malas pulak nak buat laksam sendiri.. Hihi..

Terubat jugak rasa mengidamkan laksa.. Hehe.. Mari cuba..

Mencari Redha Illahi..

Found this cute reminder yet meaningful on fb and wanted to share here.. Sharing is caring right!

Earthquake ke??

See this quake impact..


This..

And this..

Scary kan??

It happened to us last week.. Daddy just arrived home late that day.. And mummy just about to fall asleep while the kids were playing just beside her.. 

Suddenly mummy heard something big crashed.. It sounded very loud and it’s really woke mummy up spontaneously.. Without thinking so much and delayed any longer,  mummy quickly get the kids and brought them outside.. They were no ideas why mummy distracted their playing time.. Iman was wondering why mummy brought her out and keep asking nape mummy so many times.. She will not stop until someones answered her.. Haish Iman ni.. Mummy tengah saspen ni..

Daddy was in the kitchen during that time.. Mummy quickly called him and asked him to check what was really happened inside? The sound was coming from the master bedroom.. To our surprise, we clearly saw that the tiles were cracking here and there and it scared me to the max..

Some point of views say that this is due to #1 earth movement either by earth itself or explosive effects due to #2 underground gases accumulations from decaying plants or animals underground.. In happens especially in landed property.. But then we are now staying in the apartment.. So I would assumed that it’s because of reason #1..

This is what Daddy did to the broken tiles.. 

The MB's door is now closed at all time as we don't want the kids enter the room and get injured because of the broken tiles..

Now we are in the process to move into our new house.. We only have less than a month to settle everything as to prepare the house as a ‘home’.. You know what I mean right.. Pray that Allah will simplify the way for us.. Amin..

Iman & Umar's free day..

Kids' daily routine on weekdays:

Bangun tido - to babysitter's place smpai petang - balik rumah - Main-main, makan - Tido semula..

When weekends come, kakak ajak going to taman to play.. Nasib baik adek tak pandai cakap lagi.. Kalau tak, mesti bising.. Ajak keluar jugak.. 

I have to admit that we're not always have a time bringing kids to playground as we're working on Saturday.. We only have Sunday to have rest and bermalas-malasan dirumah.. 

This is what happen when those kids dapat menghabiskan masa di taman.. Sampai berebut-rebut nak naik slide..

Ok.. Kakak naik dulu, adek lambat..

 

 Usaha betul Iman nak naik.. Padahal ade je tangga..

Yeay! Akhirnya kakak da sampai kat atas..

 

 Bila nak naik ni adek??

Umar sampai termenung dapat naik ni..

 Kakak naik kuda..

Iman was singing her favorite song, buai laju-laju..

We've spent 1.5 hours at the playground.. Lama jugak la kat sana.. Bagi chance to kids to enjoy their playtime to the fullest.. Before we went home, Iman saw a Bangladesh selling ice-cream using motorbike.. She persuaded daddy to belanja her an ice cream..

Ended up..

Chicken pox - Itchy - Scar..

Poor my little boy..

Umar on Day 2..

 He was infected with chicken pox last 2 weeks.. Too bad until now he did not fully healed even though the fever was fade away.. Still scratching all over his body especially around his face.. May be his effort to diminish the itchiness..

Many of us actually knows and aware what chicken pox is.. The perfect mate to it is ITCHY I would say.. Only God knows how it feels when you suffered from it.. As for info, chicken pox is an airborne disease that will spread easily through sneezing or coughing of ill person.. It will also spread through direct contact with secretions of the rash.. It usually starts with skin rash on the body and head and becomes itchy which mostly heal without scarring.. *Kalau jaga dengan betul + pantang makan*

 I have no idea where on earth Umar got this disease.. From the source, there’s no clues that it would come from the babysitter’s place.. All the babies and toddlers there were all fine.. *Mungkin terserempak dengan orang kebanyakan dijalanan kot.. Kasihan..*

At first, I only realized that rash appear on his eyebrow and a single blister down at his chin and just assume that it was a pimple.. Silly me.. *Takkan lah tak dapat bezakan jerawat dengan gelembung air* There’s no other sign and symptom seen at all.. No fever.. Only that..

 The rashes were not coming out yet..

So as usual, I will send them to the babysitter’s place before going to work and hoping that nothing to be worried of.. But during fetching them in the afternoon, I was so startled when I saw so many red dots on Umar’s face.. Nasib baik kakak ok.. Not infected until to date.. *Mintak dijauhkan*

The next day, Umar’s body temperature was significantly high.. Before that night, I asked daddy to get kelapa muda for him.. Some people says, do not consume any medication from clinic/hospital as the blister will not fully appear.. Then it will come again and again to that person.. *Katenye la* I am not pretty sure about that.. But daddy will not compromise when it comes to his kids' healthy . He really wanted to get professional advice and know what is best solution for his hero.. So we brought Umar to clinic for future treatment.. Ended up, we taking EL on that day..

According to the doc, the rashes caused by a virus may however last for up a month even though the infectious stage does not take less than a week or two.. For treatment, the doctor gave antibiotics for Umar.. As another part of treatment, I cut Umar’s nails and keeping them clean as he’s more likely to scratch the blister more deeply when he felt itchy.. I don’t want the scar permanently stays on his skin..

Yes, many people would say to isolate the affected person, as a prevention action but in my case I can't separate my kids from being together.. They eat, play, sleep and doing things together..All I can do is to isolate their wear and clothes.. I will not mix Umar and Iman’s when do the laundry..

The most scary part after having the chicken pox is the SCAR.. How to avoid the scar being permanently stays on our skin? The old traditional people says don't eat kicap if not the scar will get black and stays longer on you skin.. Haha.. Don't know whether it's true or not.. As I'm writing this post, Umar is in the healing process.. The scars has not seem very obvious and I hope that he will recover soon..  

Secret of Successful Savers

I found a common article with interesting input just now while browsing thru the net and decided to share it here..

Saving money is something millions of us want to do, but do we make any effort to that? To quote a line in the article.. 'Most finance experts recommend having the equivalent of between three and six months’ worth of your salary stashed in an easy access account in case of emergencies..' This article makes me think and think.. Do I have that much of money as my saving to face any emergencies?

Many of us have their own habits/strategic plan when it comes to save their own money.. A simple practice that might give a huge impact in future..  Here are some of the habits of successful savers..

They save regularly. You may not be able to save a huge amount every month but a small amount saved often will soon add up.

*As saying goes, sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit kan..

They save at the start of the month, not the end. Really successful savers set some money aside as soon as they’re paid. That way they can factor their savings into their monthly budget and save a consistent amount each month. Don't wait until the end of month and save any leftover cash.

*If I don’t reserve it first, I don’t think that I will have it at last.. Hihi..

They keep control of their spending. If you think you can’t afford to save anything, it’s worth taking another look at your budget to see if you can reduce spending elsewhere. Really successful savers see their monthly savings deposit as a priority over more discretionary spending. You need to look back and wondering how much money that would free up for your saving account.

*I do control my spending actually but in some circumstance I can’t resist to spend for an item which is tak perlu pun.. Hihi..

They actively manage their money. Successful savers are proactive about switching their money to better accounts so they can earn the highest amount of interest possible. Many accounts are boosted by a 12-month bonus, so it’s important to keep track of when that ends and be ready to switch to a higher-paying bank.

*Ok, I admit that I have lack of knowledge about this and only use one or two account for years..

They have a rainy day fund. You might be saving for a number of reasons; for a holiday, to overpay the mortgage, to decorate the house. But whatever your goal, it’s important to have an emergency pot of money that you won’t dip into unless you really need it. Really successful savers don’t factor this emergency fund into their savings goals, because they know that they can’t blow that money on a dream break or garage conversion.

*Keyword here is save for emergency!

They clear their debts first. It makes no sense to be paying high interest on a loan or credit card, while earning low interest on savings in the bank. Although it makes sense to save up an emergency fund, most people are better off clearing their debts before adding to their savings.  Successful savers don’t waste money on high interest loans if they have the cash to clear them.

*We are working on it right now.. And the mission is no credit card for life..

They keep track of their loose change. How much money do you lose down sofas? How much do you dump in a penny jar and never cash in? Money works harder in a savings account than it does sitting in an ashtray in your kitchen. It really is worth emptying your penny jar occasionally.

*I just realize that I’ve been keeping loose change for a long time in a bowl.. I have seen a coin machine in Tesco Shah Alam last time when buying our groceries.. Have idea to change the coin for Tesco voucher and use it for our next month groceries expenses.. 

They set savings goals. If you’re saving for a specific goal, then it’s a good idea to work backwards. Instead of deciding how much you can afford to save each month, consider how much you need in total and how quickly you need it. Then you can work out how much you need to save each month to reach that goal, and tailor your other spending accordingly. Really successful savers understand that setting goals can be really motivating.

*So many goals need to set up.. Hihi.. But I will ensure that I can accomplish it one by one..

They start young. There’s plenty of evidence that saving as a child helps you manage your money better as an adult. You can get your own children in the habit of putting some of their cash aside, even if it’s just their duit raya. If you can teach them the benefits of regular saving, you’re helping them to become successful savers in their own right

*Want to buy cutey little coin box as to encourage my kids to save money now.. Melentur buluh biarlah dari rebungnya..