good news & bad news

the good news is... after almost 2 weeks on the eating regime & lots of walking, both of us saw some improvement on the scale. kalau boleh maintain macam ni for a month or so, hopefully boleh achieve our target to lose another 2kg, if not more! i dont want to buy another pair of jeans becos i cudnt fit into my favourite ones; neither do i want to go back to my bigger sized jeans which i wore 5-6 yrs ago..

the bad news - the first one is kind of expected.. i know i didnt do well in my last portfolio coursework. when i found out the result this morning, i wasnt upset. i have to do well in the coming exam in mid june to pull up the average marks. that means spending a week at a quiet corner in the library, if i can find one cos the students are also having their exams now. it is a seen paper meaning that we will get the questions a week before the exam to help us prepare the answers but we cant take the prepared answers into the exam room.

the other bad (worse of the two) news - i received a letter from our letting agent that the landlords require the property for their own personal use. we are given 2 months notice and to vacate this house by mid august. we've only lived here for a year..never expected to leave so soon. but apakan daya..if only we could sell one of our properties in msia, boleh buat downpayment beli rumah kat sini. tak payah nak risau landlord nak ambik balik rumah or whatsoever. i just hate the hassle of packing & moving.. we have started online search for properties for rent.. there are a few properties nearby on the market but the price is slightly more than what we are paying now. actually we got quite a good deal for this house. the most important deciding factors are the rental, safety & distance to the kids school. hopefully banyak sikit selection in june..

apa2 pun, kena usaha, doa, sabar & tawakkal...i have to think positive or i'll be so low and go bonkers.. Amin...

Tonight's the night

after 2 months of waiting, the night finally arrived..
on sunday nite we joined the crowd (reported about 12,000 people and most of them are over 50 yrs old... ) for a concert by the legendary Rod Stewart at Birmingham NIA. Nottingham was also in the tour venue but tickets were sold out when i wanted to get them 2 months ago.

it was worth the wait and the diehard fans were not dissapointed. for a guy who's 65 years of age who sang and moved and grooved for 2 hours, the young singers have a lot to measure up to his standard. he belted his numerous longtime hits - rhythm of my heart, maggie may, first cut is the deepest, its a heartache, i was only joking, i dont want to talk about it, hot legs, do ya think i'm sexy, have i told you lately (my most favourite song), sailing (of course) and baby jane (his last song which i was looking forward to); to name but a few ... and of course few hits from his latest cd - Soul Book which i bought in april. it was simply awesome!!

both of us & the rest of the crowd had a blast and it was worth the 1 hour drive to/from birmingham.. we got home at around 12 midnite.

sunday barbie

sunday was glorious - lots of sunshine and HOT with maximum temperature of 27 deg C. we planned to have barBQ lunch and so kamar went lauk shopping which he normally does every 2-3 weeks..and he brought back a huge chunk of lamb shoulder!

before lunch, both of us did the garden - buang weeds and planted the 3 heather pots i bought few weeks ago. after about 1 hour of gardening, kamar started the fire and in about half hour, we had our lunch - on the picnic set at the back garden under the hot sun.

this one is for u ayah cik (see..we thot of u all the time!) and also our birthday treat for a dear friend - oya..

by the time we finished lunch at around 2.30pm, semua orang dah berbelang macam zebra !! its time to get the fan out of the shed.. and both kamar & aisyah dozzed off on the floor..

searching for Robin

last saturday afternoon, we went to Sherwood Forest for a walk.

this was our second visit, first time around was in winter 2006 with richard & ivy when they visited us not long after we came to notts.

infront of major oak in winter 2006

richard said it looked like a urinal..

the same tree.. 4 years on, but in spring time..

first stop was the children playground sebab dah janji dengan kenit, while we had our picnic lunch. then we walked to major oak and the fairground where you can try your archery skill.

our very own maid marian

'wan robin'

the tree has been there for 800-1000 years, waistline measures 35 feet, height of 52 feet. kalau ikut cerita dongeng (or maybe true story ??), the hollow trunk was used as hideout by robin hood's men..

major oak in spring time

tent for rent

after so much pestering from the 2 girls (especially the little one), we bought a tent yesterday after work. coincidently argos has a sale on tents and camping accessories.. maka dengan cepat nya i reserved it online and collected it from the store nearest to our house. berkejar sebab traffic jam after work, managed to get to the door at 5.20pm, just 10 minutes before closing. also bought folding picnic table & stool set for 4 people. the kids didnt know about it until this morning.

i got daddy out of bed at 8am and soon all were at the back garden, helping out. it took 45 minutes to get from this....

to this..

as fresco breakfast??

2 bedrooms and 1 living room tent which sleeps 6 persons will cost our guests £75 per week including breakfast of toast & jam, cereal & coffee.. ok tak???

different day, different things

dont know how many times we've been to wollaton park but there's always something different each time we're there..

the english ladybird

the deer resting under the tree

ducks in the lake
reflection...


flora & fauna

carpet of blue bells

tell tale signs

few days ago i realised that i've gained weight without even going on the scale. how do i know?? dah ada 'mangkuk tingkat', pakai jeans pun tak payah pakai belt, panjat tangga to the office on 2nd floor pun mengah... oh no - disaster strike!! i thot i was alone, rupanya kamar pun realised the weighing scale has not been nice to him and he thot the scale was faulty (penimbang tu digital.. takkan tipu pulak) and he said he was also short of breath when he walked up to his boss's room.. ni tak boleh jadi, so last nite both of us sat down & discussed what we have to do..

1. firstly, change our eating habit. both of us bring packed lunches to work. so now kena tukar menu. instead of leftover dinner (nasi & lauk) or 2 paninis or small baguette filled with cheese salad etc (yes he has 2 of them daily!), kamar wants vege/fruit salad and cereal bar. i will have fruit salad plus a pot of yogurt. for dinner, we will eat as usual but reduce the quantity and eat less jajan when watching tv.

2. exercise more. we are not the gym buffs cos i hate being confined in the gym and follow some kind of regime. the only exercise that both of us enjoy is walking, not jogging or running cos rasanya belum reach that level lagi. so we will do more of that from today onwards.

to start off, pagi ni i just had a pot of yogurt for breakfast; for lunch just had 1 croissant. bought a cereal bar tapi tak makan pun, can save that for tomorrow. after kamar balik office, both of us walked to & around wollaton park. left home at 5.45pm, had a good 2 miles walk and back at home at 7pm. i suggested to kamar that we do this every other day; weekend go walking with the kids. we'll try..balik from the walk tadi had dinner and i managed to control my nafsu.. kakak made adobo chicken and kukuskan semula botok-botok ikan yang chah bagi - yummilicious!! i ate lots of pucuk ubi & pucuk labu which wrapped the fish and less rice. sedap tak terhingga especially bila dah lama tak dapat makan lauk pauk macam tu. i resisted having the leftover vic sandwich birthday cake as well.. tak tau lah berapa lama boleh bertahan ni; bak kata kakak 'jangan hangat hangat tahi ayam' sudah lah.. looking at the scale earlier gave me a scare - really!!

happy 66th birthday

tonight at dinner, we celebrated my sis in law @ the kids' aunty yan's 66th birthday. kakak shares the same birthday with arwah cik neng (my late mom in law) and as such, my other sis in laws - ti & nani sent their wishes to kakak via my fb. kamar has always called her kakak and i followed suit; her younger cousins call her 'abang yan'..

as kakak was away, i work at home today while looking after kenit. so dapatlah masak for dinner - nasi hujan panas with kurma daging, ayam masak merah & salad and baked victoria sandwich sponge cake.

punya lah dah lama tak buat cake (the last time was for kamar's birthday in march), tak perasan pun self raising flour dah habis. check kat dalam shed(store) jumpa mc dougall s.r. flour for sponge cake which ina tinggalkan in september last year and its still good. cake turned out really well & light. for the filling/layer, i used butter icing sebab double/whipping cream tak ada. berry jam pun tinggal sikit aja dalam fridge but cukup lah and i added whole & mashed fresh raspberries. at the end, the cake was delicious after all - light and not so sweet.

kakak took the train down to london on saturday afternoon to meet up with her cousin chah who arrived from KL on the same day. petang tadi kakak balik with her bag full of goodies, which chah brought all the way from msia. macam2 ada..keropok lekor, botok2 ikan, rendang daging, sambal tumis sotong, kuah rojak, kerepek ubi pedas, dried mango, sotong kering, sotong giling pedas, mee rebus johor/bedali complete with benderam, serunding ikan bilis.. alhamdulillah rezeki, dapat makan macam2. we've been quite fortunate as kawan2 & saudara mara selalu datang & bawak makanan dari msia. Alhamdulillah custom check kat airport pun ok..kalau kena confiscated, nak buat camana, tak de rezeki lah namanya tu.

senyum meleret

i bet she doesnt understand what that means.. she would know what 'senyum' means but not 'meleret'. kalau cakap 'senyum lebar' pun belum tentu dia tahu...darling daughter, 'meleret' basically means 'from ear to ear'.

this is her favourite activity of the week and her life is circled around the 4 legged mammal - her books (fiction & non fiction), school bag, dinner plate & mug & place mat..and mummy pun excited jugak, belikan sweat shirts online from horsey gift websites.

when asked what she wants to do when she finishes school, she would say something to do with horses.. this summer holiday, we may let her work all day at the stables at her riding school with other girls. she said she doesnt mind even though she has to work while berpuasa... they dont get paid for doing the work - clean the stables, feed & clean the horses, take them to the field etc but they get to ride the horses as a reward.

this week she started taking the private lessons again where she gets to ride alone for an hour, following her instructor's order. it was tiring but she enjoyed it and never complained and senyum sampai ke telinga...

bila bercerita dengan kawan2 pasal kursus apa anak2 nak buat lepas habis sekolah, anak2 sekarang dah ada interest masing2. to me, its good that we the parents dont ask them to do what we want them to do. let them decide what they want to do and we just give them the guidance and encouragement. most parents nak anak2 buat kursus yang kaw kaw punya, nanti can make pots of money which of course make sense lah kan... when friends asked what our first born wants to do, i just told them 'kursus yang tak boleh buat duit' ha!ha! its still too early for her to decide what she wants to do when she leaves school; this september baru nak masuk secondary school.. still a long way to go.

Robin Hood

Did you know that Robin Hood is the second cousin, twice removed of the uncle of the Little Red Riding Hood's grandma? thats a trivia for u guys!!!



Nottingham City Council declared May as Robin Hood Month in conjunction with Robin Hood the movie returns to silver screen in May; well actually the premier was yesterday. there's been so much hype about Robin Hood and his connection with Nottingham. there are lots of activities taking place across the county.


last nite kamar & i went to see the movie, 10.15pm show. penuh jugak panggung as it was the premier nite. there has been numerous critic about the movie. you either love it or hate it cos the movie is not about the Robin Hood that we've always known; the outlaw who stole from the rich to give to the poor. but it gives an insight on why he was known as Robin of Loxlear and how he became the outlaw. Cate Blanchett was really good as Maid Marion. i enjoyed it ..


the other day, Sam & Amy- Heart radio DJ commented that Russell Crowe pronounced NoDDingham instead of NoTTingham. i think russel crowe was not correctly adviced how to pronounce it properly and it did irritate the locals. biasa lah kan, americans (well russell crowe is NZ born but lives in states); what do they know about proper english diction ha!ha! but i must say i have all the admiration for Mel Gibson who played William Wallace & fought for scotland's freedom in Braveheart. for an aussie, he spoke scottish like a native and its not easy to speak scottish. maybe i'm biased cos i was (still am but not as much) a die hard fan of Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapon series.


back to the Robin Hood month in NoTTingham, we plan to go to Sherwood Forest next weekend where there will be costumed characters, have a go at archery, join the walks through Sherwood Forest and mediaval story telling which will be good for the kids.

13 hours

yesterday i had to go to Guildford in Surrey, visit student yang buat year out/placement (practical). it was so tiring ... i spent 13 hours out of the house just to go to one office to meet one student (and his supervisor). the full itinerary :-

8am - left home & took the bus to city, walked for 15 minutes from the bus stop to train station
9am - train departed to London St Pancras which took 2 hours
11am - arrived at St Pancras, then made my way to the underground station
11.30am - took the underground to Waterloo Station
12.15 noon - took the South West train to Guildford
12.50 pm - arrived at Guildford and took the taxi to The Guildway Business Park to meet my student & his supervisor, appointment set at 1pm but was 10 minutes late.
3.00pm - left for Guildford Train Station, bought lunch (long overdue) at Costa Coffee and ate on the train
3.40 pm -train departed for Waterloo Station
4.40pm - arrived at Waterloo Station and took the underground to Euston Station
5.00pm - arrived at Euston and decided to walk to get some (fresh??) air to St Pancras Station sebab dah lemas duduk dalam underground...
5.45pm - train supposed to depart for Nottingham but got stranded for 45 minutes due to signalling problem.
6.30pm - train finally left the station
8.40pm - arrived in Nottingham and waited for kamar to fetch me
9.00pm - arrived home - AT LAST!!

glare problem??

sesiapa yang ada glare problem like what we are experiencing at our new office, boleh la order the new anti glare device newly invented by my colleague yang tidak lah berapa muda tapi crazy & innovative...

we are experiencing serious glare problem from the roof lights. kat tingkap dah letak blinds which help a lot.

pilihanraya 2010 : the sequel

at around 6.30pm, Gordon Brown announced his resignation as PM. shortly after 8pm, after meeting the Queen for just 15 minutes, 43 yr old David Cameron was appointed as britain's 13th PM. (kesian Queen kena kerja overtime malam ni)

he's the youngest PM since 1812. it took him 9 yrs since he joined politics to get to the top post.
DC is forming a coalition government, sharing power with Lib Dem and the 40 something Nick Clegg will be the DPM. after 13 years of labour government ruling the country, tak tau macamana tory-lib dem government ni and the public in general is quite apprehensive.

openly, i've always been a labour supporter since my student days in scotland. masa tu Mrs (now Lady) Thatcher was in power and the scots never favoured the 'stiff upper lips tories' and have always wanted to get scotland out of GB (sejak zaman dulu kala as depicted in the film Braveheart). that could never happen but the scots have their own scottish currency notes (same value as bank of england notes), parliament & ministers. this election, tory only won 1 seat in scotland while labour has 41 seats.

personally i think en perang is a victim of circumstances. he became pm selepas his predecessor 'terpaksa rela' turun takhta after making lots of blunder, at the time when world economy suck and britain was going into recession. tambah lagi mr sayang kurang pandai bagi advice. sedih jugak bila dengar his departing speech...and petang tadi was the first time he showed the nation his 2 young sons (around 8 & 5 yr olds).

best of luck to us....

favourite snapshot of the year (so far)

muka yang tak mandi and still in their jammies; taken last saturday morning...

2 girls, 2 different looks, 2 different characters but mummy & daddy love both of you indifferently...