EGTCCC

Earl Grey Tea & (freshly baked) Choc Chip Cookies on a cold (end of) winter afternoon is a bliss....

recipe is from here http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chocolatechipcookies_72335

temperature suddenly drop to 2 deg C at lunch time today; shock to the system especially when i thought spring is here cos we had good few warm & sunny days last week and some students turned up to classes in summer attire..

snowdrops

these are close shots of the snowdrops, after the rain..




i'm pretty sure these pix will look sooooo much better kalau guna NEX5 yang diidam-idamkan tu..

mmmm... yummy!

she's a fussy eater, her carers at the nursery tried so many ways to get her to eat her dinner (lunch). she loves her pudding though and can finish the bowl. one dish that she said she likes at the nursery is cabbage with mashed potatoes; of which her kakak said 'yuck!, how could she eat that??'.

we tried everything possible; our last straw was "if you dont eat, people (social services) will come and take you away from us because they think we dont feed you". she cried after her daddy said that and promised to eat her meals. she takes one tsp Abidec in the morning, more to improve her appetite, rather than a supplement and haliborange vitamins twice a day. we could see a bit of improvement. her usual meal - yogurt, grapes, berries, a bit of cereal in the mornings, cheese crackers, cheesy crisps & fruit flakes for snacks and dinner would be soup & bread, bit of rice with chicken & brocolli or baby corn, pasta or cheese & tomato pizza.

yesterday i found 'thomas the tank engine' shaped pasta, boiled them and put in the tomato soup for her lunch and she ate them all; after a bit of persuasion so that she can have her dessert after.

and this is our sunday lunch - braised lamb with mixed vege (cooked by en suami), Tesco's creamy coleslaw with rice.

Dory the cat, not the fish

this was our cat, Dory. she came into our household after Chomot died in 2005 at 15 yrs of age, and thats a pretty long life for a cat. we took Dory from my BIL's house.

before we moved here, we gave away Dory to our friend Naza & Meor to be looked after by their kids. Dory slept in Sofea's room. but on one unfortunate day Dory went out and never returned which left Sofea devastated.

the kids been asking for a pet cat but we have to say NO for now.

new toy

yesterday en suami bought a new printer/copier/scanner yesterday. our previous one is not broken but gobbled up ink like nobody's business and Epson ink cartridges are getting more expensive.

we tried scanning few old photos (pre-digital camera era) and are pleased with the results.

my beloved grandparents

my arwah grandma with my aunty..

sign of spring

spring is definitely on its way.. the snowdrops appeared in our backgarden since early february.

read this article by the curious owl . http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/natureuk/2011/02/signs-of-spring-update-snowdro.shtml

the daffs, narcissus and tulip bulbs were planted in october, leaves are coming up on our flower bed, which was covered with frost and snow in nov/dec last year that ruined our geraniums & pansies. hope these will bloom in time for our long awaited guests who will be arriving in mid april.

love the smell

my pot of hyacinth is in bloom & the smell lingers in our living room. love it! these would probably last for another week or so.

i planted the bulbs in october last year, put them in the greenhouse and took the pot inside during the bad frosty wintry weather in december. they are supposed to bloom in feb/march anyway.


in early feb

10 days later...

4 days after..
in 2 days, they bloomed and smell really2 nice...

short trip to kota bharu.

my fb profile status on tuesday 22 Feb 2011 :-
"esok 6.40am bertolak ke kota bharu..." and string of comments came in. friends and relatives were led into thinking that i was going back to kampong halaman, i didnt deny nor admit it, i just went with the flow.

yes, on wednesday, i went to kota bharu, a city at the north eastern part of england. kota bharu in msia is also at the north east kan?


beza nya, kota bharu in uk tak ada nasi kerabu, laksam, nasi dagang and the geordies (thats the name for their locals) are not an attractive lot, unlike the kelantanese (hehe). they speak with a 'sing a song' lingo, a bit but not as soft or melodic as their scottish neighbours. i was there attending a seminar/workshop with about 30 lecturers teaching Measurement subject in universities across UK at Northumbria University.

taxi came at 6am, train left notts at 6.40, one change at Chesterfield, arrived Newcastle at 10am. finished at 4pm, walked to train station, stopped at few shops, train left at 5.20pm, one change in Sheffield, arrived notts at 8.30pm, got home before 9pm. and full day classes the next day & friday..

a famous landmark of chesterfield- the crooked spier; seen from the station while waiting for the train to newcastle.

train stopped here..

and here on its way up.

changed in Sheffield on the return journey.

sorry, didnt mean to play a trick on you guys. well, i didnt do anything wrong, i didnt lie; its just that i didnt tell the truth.. kesian pulak kawan2 sibok tanya sempat ke tidak to meet up. well, put it this way, if i really had gone back to msia, u seriously think i wouldnt make an effort to see my friends/relatives even for a few minutes? but then again, maybe i could turn out to be so cold hearted and decided NOT to see anyone except my mom, siblings, en suami's sister & brother, my bff & maybe 2-3 close friends. of late, i find it a bit 'tawar hati' with a few people. some whom i thot were friends are now 'mere acquaintances', few family members can be categorised as 'just relatives'.

i dont want to go into detail here, let the bruises heal first. it may take sometime though. those who want to know our well being & what the kids are up to can always read this blog which will be updated from time to time, just like before there's fb. but i will still be the silent reader on fb to know what everybody else is up to & how they are doing with their lives - who's got a new baby/job/bf/gf/car/house/toy, who's got engaged/pregnant/married/dumped, who's been eating what etc...

a quickie

title sounds a bit 18SX rated for a 12A family blog.

dont jump into conclusion..this is about our dinner tonite but of course, so what else is new in this household. big missy's gone to her best buddy's house for sleepover, little princess was already in la-la land by 7pm - she had fun at her friends' (anna & madeleine) birthday do at Denz.

we went grocery shopping (most exciting activity of the week) at Tesco. the store started selling halal dishes in january; last week we bought Lamb Rogan Josh & Chicken Tikka Masala, and this week its Jeera Chicken & Karahi Lamb Curry. not much meat but the gravy is nice; not bad for the price of £2.50-£3 per pack. i was starving when we got home from the shops, had the lamb with garlic & herb flat bread..nice!!


for dinner, since its just the 2 of us, we decided to have the chicken with pilau rice & papadom & lime pickle; cooking all done in less than half hour - that was quick but sumptuous.

coffee & crisps

the framework for my dissertation proposal, drafted during the 2 hrs train ride from Chesterfield to Kota Bharu

and yesterday i received 17 files/scanned document from my friend EFS via email. a great big massive thanks to her; the articles and conference papers certainly will help me with my pilot study and lit review.

its hard to write about the malaysian construction landscape when i'm so far from homeland but this subject matter really interests me and i know i can do this, while juggling with teaching & marking & housework & spending time with the family.

wait for summer

i'm going crazy with buying books but of cos not as bad as my friend Mira.

havent even finished "i heart paris" which i started in january and yet i bought all these (except for Counting My Chicken, which is a present from Jam, bought in Bakewell) in a span of 2 weeks simply because i couldnt resist the temptation/offer at the bookstore.
Committed is the sequel to Eat Pray Love; the 3 books by Phillipa Gregory are the historical fiction about King Henry VII's wives - the Boleyn sisters; PS I Love You was made into a movie and i cried when i watched it on telly few weeks ago (which prompted me to buy the book); Room & My Last Duchess were recommended by Richard & Judy bookclub; Great British Wit is an assembly of british wit and humour & short anecdotes by british comedians, actors and celebrities.

i will find time to read them, maybe in the summer!

Kamar finished Tom Clancy's new book Dead or Alive in a week and now quarter way through Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Objective.

sunday feast

i baked chocolate peppermint cupcakes this morning, dapat 24 pieces altogether; dah bagi neighbour depan (big missy's friend) 7 biji, nak bagi Richard & Jane (encik suami's ex boss & wife, they live across the road) 4 biji, yang lebih for orang2 dalam rumah. this is my second time buat these cuppies and they taste nice, rasa macam Aero Mint chocolate. i got the recipe online, cant remember which website; thank God i wrote it down nicely in my recipe book.

the man of the house went out to the butcher to get our 3 weeks supply of chicken & meat (we prefer lamb) and he bought a BIG chunk of beef (cost him £16!!), to make pot roast for lunch which took 3 hours in the oven. terimakasih yang tak terhingga kepada encik suami. memang besar & banyak, but this is also for dinner and tomorrow's packed lunch - roast beef with salad in ciabatta...

lunch was delicious - complete with roast vege & tatties, Aunt Bessie's crinkle cut oven baked chips, Aunt Bessie's Yorkshire Pudding and Schwartz Pepper Sauce gravy.

omputih selalunya lepas Sunday lunch pegi jalan2 kat park sebab nak 'turunkan makanan' but its so cloudy and rasa macam kalau di sorongkan bantal, mau terlelap.. its been years since the last time i had an afternoon nap...

bisnes pinggan mangkuk?

i think i want to start a business - bukan nak jual designer wear macam orang buat tu simply because nak buat business macam tu kena ada modal banyak, kena tau taste customer & market, kena pandai beli barang, kena up to date dengan trend semasa. nanti beli ribu riban tak laku, boleh pengsan!

i bercita2 & berangan2 nak buat business barang2 dapor yang orang pakai hari2, affordable and tak payah lah nak beli tiap2 bulan, maybe kalau nak beli in future pun sebab nak tambah collection. bukan nak bisnes pinggan mangkok royal doulton, royal albert, aynsley bone china or spode ala2 collection cik kiah, datin bedah, puan sri minah tu dek non oi; thats way beyond my level & not my interest as well. btw, i own dinner set pinggan mangkuk portmeirion which i bought sikit2 on monthly basis sebab berkenan dari dulu2 masa kat msia which were only sold in Janine or Isetan and harga memang mahal gilers & unaffordable masa tu. i use them occassionally, dah few times. i'm not the kind of person who buys things and keep them under lock & key, just for show.

i also bought a lovely Noritake teaset from a charity shop in Oakham few years ago; which cost a fraction of the original price. my mom cakap, beli satu set cukup lah, pada takde lansung.

this angan2 nak buat bisnes started when my friend Jam came the other day & i made after dinner coffee in teko 'alice in wonderland' (thats what jam called it) and served in colourful mugs yang mix & match which i use on daily basis.

some of my mug collection - come in different colours, shapes and sizes

si Jam sudah berkenan dengan teko alice & mugs and asked me to buy them and ship them over with some other things. so last weekend, i bought her 6 mugs and 1 teko and posted the pix on fb.

laaa...tak sangka ramai pulak yang berkenan & pesan suruh beli. then my other close friend EFS (one of the peminat mugs jugak) suggested why not buat bisnes aja..orang selalu cakap, orang kelantan business minded. well, i'm not one of them unfortunately. selalunya buat kerja sukarela, suka2, tolong kengkawan beli apa2 yang dia orang nak & i would ship them over. but then again, maybe what EFS said make sense..

i cracked a joke about nak buat business jual tong sampah Brabantia; little did i know that the products are so pricey in msia and some makdatin2 konon nya berlawan2 beli tong sampah mahal tu and tayang kat kitchen depa. i suggested to my friends, kalau dah ada touch bin brabantia tu, tak boleh lah letak kat kitchen sebab nanti orang tak nampak, kena letak depan pintu masuk rumah so that bila guests sampai, terus nampak... but then kena rantai kat tiang nanti kena curi pulak!

actually last weekend i spoke to a good friend in Msia (my potential business partner la konon nya) to start off this business of selling things that we like to use daily; alah bisnes kecil2an, tak yah modal & untung ribu riban, janji income from bisnes tu dapat beli flight ticket datang melawat kawan dia kat sini !! our target customers are middle/working class part time/full time moms or single women or makcik2 pencen. so, see lah how, kena tengok market dulu, Insyaallah.

smiley faces

this was drawn by little missy - she's getting better at drawing/sketching and writing alphabets and numbers, but we have to help her spell some of the words though.

what we can learn from this simple sketch is a child's perspective & sincere expression of her family - everyone has smiley face and gives bigggg hug; and that to me is very important to the child's mental (& physical) development.

yesterday morning she woke up and sang to me "cos you're amazing, just the way you are"...(her current fav song by Bruno Mars). aaahhhh bless her!!

mood: rajin

i've had few good 'cooking & baking mood' days.

last sunday we bought Colman's season & shake (as recommended by tracy) and kamar made mediterranean chicken for dinner. all we need to do is cut the chicken into pieces, put them into the roasting bag with the seasoning, add in vegetables and shake the bag and bang it in the oven for 45 minutes. we love the advert where the mom shakes the bag to the song "shake your groove thing"..well kamar tried to do that but the big missy shouted "dont embarass me!" but anyway, i cooked pilau rice which went well with the chicken dish.

on tuesday someone brought " a shop bought cake" to work and put it on the common table. one of the guys said that the cake was dry and an insult to me haha!! on thursday, as my classes started at 2pm, i decided to bake Mocha Cupcakes with chocolate frosting in the morning and took them to work, left with 2 at the end of the day - one each for me & kamar to have after dinner.

tonite, i made nasi tomato with ayam masak merah, with salad & off the shelf coleslaw at the side plus ready made daging dendeng which we got from kamar's sister.

i'm a proud mom..

few minutes ago, my darling big missy told me that today at school, she was called to the drama room with about 50 other kids from year 7-9 (maybe, she wasnt sure about that). the teacher told them that they are in the list of 'gifted and talented' students.

this is the excerpt from the pamphlet she brought home from school:

G&T is the term used in schools to describe children who have the potential to develop significantly beyond what is expected for their age.
Gifted refers to a child who has abilities in one or more academic subjects such as English or Maths. Talented refers to a child who has skills in a practical area such as music, sport or art.

between 5-10% of pupils in each year group make up the list. the pupils are identified by examining the SATS results, CAT scores, Reading Age test, info from primary school and teacher assesment. the list is reviewed annually and pupils may be added to or removed from the list. they will be continuously challenged and achievement will be monitored.

being on the list is not a guarantee of academic success and the child has to continue to work had to reach their potential. however it doesnt mean that the child must increase the work load to achieve higher grades. its an indication that by working well and working smart, they have the potential to achieve higher grades and be successful in various subject areas.

she told me that she's the only one chosen from her class of 26 students; she reckons there are a few more who deserve to be in the list.

Alhamdulillah.. bless her. she made me proud to be her mom!

eavesdropping bus hopper

my cousin's comment on her fb status this morning.

"ari ni silap tpt duduk lah..dpn sy amoi duk picit whiteheads kat idung..hahaha..hopefully better view tomorrow..;".

today is the first day she took the LRT to work. before chinese new year she moved house, to somewhere closer to an LRT station and decided to leave her car at home and take the LRT to work for several reasons:-

1. parking fees kat office dah naik.
2. traffic getting worse - her blood goes upstairs pagi & petang.
3. nak exercise sikit - she gets to walk to & from the station to her office.

her comment gave me an idea - why not i create a journal to tell people about my interesting bus rides..i take the bus to & from work almost everyday since we moved here. during the 20 minutes ride (on normal traffic, kalau traffic jam maybe 30 minutes), i get to see so many characters/things and overhear so many juicy conversations - people talking to their friends on the phone or talking to friends sitting next to them. memang boleh buat buku. i'm not the kind of person who can easily close my eyes and ears; i wish i could though..i tossed the idea on my fb status and surprisingly lots of my friends agreed that i should create another blog to capture these interesting stories. since some of the things i saw and overheard are a bit 'distasteful', some people may find it offensive and doesnt suit their palette. its my blog and i'm going to write what i see & hear, kalau tak suka tak payah baca.

i will create the names of these people mengikut my citarasa, sesuai dengan their characters. now tengah pikir what should i call this blog. a very close buddy of mine said the title should be a bit spicy to suit the juicy content, rated 18SX..and trust her to come up with the title Nottsville Naughty Bits or Nottsville Naughty Nuggets..i suggested Notty Thongs and Perfect Snogging because basically those are the things that i see regularly on the bus!! tunggu what the other half says when he gets home from work tonite cos i need his help to create this new blog.

monday bake

i'm bored despite having few things to do...so i decided to bake this. its in the oven right now.

Lemon drizzle cake recipe - Recipes - BBC Good Food

yesterday i baked Red Velvet Cupcakes but somehow they dont taste nice. the big missy had a bite and didnt like it. its nothing more than just mere vanilla cake with cocoa powder and lots of red colouring. maybe kalau letak cream cheese icing sedap sikit kut..

on the wall

our new wall deco..

in december last year, we went to little missy's xmas fair and was 'terpengaruh' oleh promosi by Venture Photography (http://www.venturephotography.co.uk/); they have galleries in notts and derby. so we took up their offer (without obligation konon nya) and fixed appointment to get our family photo taken.. the session took 1 hour and we enjoyed it cos it was so casual and hilarious!

the pro photographer took lots of shots; few weeks later we went to the gallery to choose which ones we wanted to frame. they chose the best 30 pix; siap buat viewing with background music in their mini studio, macam tengok wayang. i dont want to mention how much we had to part for 3 frames and 13 pix in a pen drive but we are really happy with their work and professionalism. we've been wanting to do this since aliyah was born and we dont really mind spending for the family...

last guests of 2010

this post is more than a month overdue..

during the xmas break, we welcome our last guests of 2010 - su & her 2 kids, julia & usop. this was su's 2nd visit to our place and the first time for the kiddos. su & i went back a long way; we were housemates at lrg beluntas; infact she & Jam lived there at the same time. julia was like my own daughter and i used to babysit her and took her everywhere when she was just 2 or 3 yrs old. now she's already in Form 5 and doing well at school.

when they came, the weather was horrible..most airports and motorways were snowed down and closed but luckily stanstead airport wasnt badly affected. the house was so cold; temperature plunged to -10 deg C on some days but the kiddos were happy cos they got to play in the snow.

su is a good cook and she did the cooking most of the time; order aja apa nak makan - teochew porridge with all the accompaniments, mee kari, asam pedas, nasi goreng kampong, nasi lemak etc etc. we didnt go out much as they preferred to stay in anyway, watched dvds - all the harry potter series and su loved mrs bucket (mrs bouquet) in keeping up apprearances. we took them to the city & J28 to shop for teenage stuff, went sledging at wollaton park which they enjoyed so much.

on boxing day we drove to cheshire oaks outlet (ramai betul jumpa melayus yg memang hantu shopping). we left for london few days before their flight home; sempat lah bawak jalan2 to a few tourist spots and herot. kids were not that keen to go to oxford street, preferred to shop in whiteleys at bayswater aja.

we had a good 2 weeks break and hope to see them again sometime...