Caring for Mothers

This is the first time ever I'm looking after an elderly.

(Source)

I used to accompany my mom to take care of my late grandfather. But just accompanying. I didn't do any cleaning, preparing food, feeding, carrying, etc..

But at least I'm used to massaging my mom when she's tired from a hard day at school (she was a teacher, by the way) and when she has retired, she got tired nearly everyday because she's getting sicker everyday. She had a lazy arm, and it got weaker as time goes by till she can't use it anymore to do tedious work. One day she found out that her hand shook uncontrollably. After meeting a specialist, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. What's even worse - we found out that it's heritable.

My mom really felt my absence at home once I got married and left home to live with my in-laws. She sulked at first. Haha.. But eventually she finally accepted that I'm now a married muslim woman, I have to faithfully be by my husband's side most of the time. (Plus, she has 5 other children that can take care of her. The house is always packed with more than 10 people. So I don't have to worry about her.)

Right now, I live together with my husband, my mother-in-law and father-in-law, brother-in-law and his wife. So it's us 3 couples under one roof. My sister-in-laws have their own place.

I can be considered lucky, as my mother-in-law is the coolest mother-in-law EVER! She's not the controlling mother-in-law that you see in Malay dramas (that normally end up with tears, shouting and divorce). We usually don't cook a lot, we normally eat out. Thank God, she's not the nagging mother type. (Because I lived with my nagging mother and 1 nagging mom is enough! Haha...) She can laugh at my jokes. Furthermore, she's very warm and lovable.

She had Miller-Fisher Syndrome (MFS), a rare variation of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), early 2011. It took her only 2 weeks to recover. Amazing, huh? God work in mysterious ways, because later that year, I got married to her son.

Last month she went to perform pilgrimage (Hajj) at Mecca - practically - alone.

(Source)

She was hospitalized there right after completing the Hajj. Once she got back here, she was immediately admitted to a hospital before even getting to enjoy the comfort of her own home. We found out that she already wasn't able to eat for a week. She couldn't even swallow her own saliva.

She was diagnosed of having GBS. But it hasn't been 100% confirmed yet because the ONLY expert that we have in Malaysia on autoimmune diseases is not that expert after all. So they had extracted her cerebrospinal fluid via lumbar puncture (which is a very painful procedure) and placed them in 6 bottles. They had some of them flown to Australia for further analysis.

It is a rare case that someone could acquire MFS and then GBS. So she was constantly being examined by doctors, housemen and students. Even the head of division of neurology personally came to see her. Last Friday she finally ate solid food after 13 days of unable to swallow anything. So thankfully, she got to be discharged after a week being admitted.

Now my brother-in-law and his wife together with my husband and myself are taking turns to take care of her at home. And since I work just in front of our house, I get to spend more time taking care of her.

Waking up before 6am every single day, making her breakfast, feeding her, changing her adult diapers, washing her, help her to perform ablution (wudu') before prayers (Solat), taking her to the toilet to poo, seeing an elderly sick woman in her birthday suit - it's all a whole new experience for me.

It has only been what? 5 days? But I haven't been this tired. Nevertheless, I'm glad that I never loved the person, who bore and raised the love of my life, more than this. =)

Options: RM2.00 Strawberry Jams

Okay.

I've made up my mind a few months ago that I want to have cute strawberry jams as one of the doorgifts for my reception.. They're so adorable!

(Credits - clockwise from doily wrapped jam: 1 | 2 | 3 |4)

So I made some surveys on strawberry jams. I searched throughout the jam sections of all of the stores that I've been for the past couple of months and I haven't found any that suited my budget. All are RM 3.99 and above and if not large, they are medium in size. But then I remembered bumping into Gourmandines.com and was very keen for their jam preserves. So there was Option #1.

OPTION #1:
Bonne Maman 30g Strawberry Conserve
from Gourmandines.com

They provide quality imported jams with the lowest price. (Thanks Sabrina for sharing this.)

Below are the information given by the people from Gourmandines.

(Credit)

Size:
Content: 30 gm jam
Dimension: 4.5 cm diameter x 4.5 cm height

Price:
RM 1.70 per 30g jar

Stock information:
Batch from: Jul 2010
Expiry date: March 2012

Customization (labels):
They're not able to do any customization as the jams are made & bottled in France .

Packaging:
2 options:

1 tray - contains 15 pcs; or

1 carton - contains 60 pcs

However you can order any quantity required.

Bulk Offers:
Order 200 to 500 jars, discount 5%
Order 501 to 1000 jars, discount 10%
Order above 1000 jars, discount 12%

Payment methods:
Mode of payment: Cash/Cheque only
Methods:

- Walk-in the office at Menara IMC jalan sultan ismail

- Transfer to their bank account

(Note: After making the transfer, they would need the Bank in slip or online transfer confirmation via fax or email)

Delivery:
They deliver in Klang Valley area only.
FREE DELIVERY within Kuala Lumpur City center, Bangsar, Damansara, Ampang KL, Mont Kiara for RM 250 and above per order. Below that, you'll be charged RM35.
Delivery days: Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Confirmation of order:
Order through email.
50% deposit is required to confirm order.

Contact:
Email: info@gourmandines.com
Phone: 012 290 2135 / 5342
Fax : (03) 2026 4188

Extensive info, eh?!
They're very professional. =)

But I wasn't satisfied... Not yet, according to their description, the size was too small. Besar dia tak sampai 1/4 tapak tangan. (Errr.. Ke tapak tangan aku besar? HAHA)

So anyway, I opt for another solution: instead of imported jams, why not try searching for local jams? We DO HAVE strawberry farms here in Malaysia, don't we? ;) And it was then Option #2 came into the picture.

OPTION #2:
Home Made Strawberry Jam
from Cameron Highlands

I found another alternative. Its size is larger than Bonne Maman jam. Mak and Ayah scouted the perfect jam jars for me while they were having their 893578th honeymoon in Cameron Highlands.

The above image shows the difference in dimensions and err.. the presentation of the jars (sedih gila tengok label jam jar yang dari Cameron tu).

Here's the description of the local strawberry jam:

Size
Content: obviously more than 30g
Dimension: 6.5 cm height X 4.5 cm diameter

Price
RM 2.00
because they imported the jars, and its pricey

Customization (labels):
No. But you can request for them not to paste their labels on the jar. :)

Packaging
Individual
or
24 jars in 1 box

Extra Info
No Preservatives
No Artificial Coloring
HOME MADE
&
LOCAL PRODUCT

Contact Person
Alice
Tel: 013 524 7120

Bulk Offers
Mak successfully bargained RM 2000 for 42 boxes (which is 1008 jars) INCLUSIVE OF DELIVERY COSTS.

Terrer la Mak!

Colourful Chocs by My Mini Muffin KL

Who doesn't love chocolates?

(All of the pictures are credit to Home Made Chocolate by My Mini Muffin KL)

I'm so lovin the lollichocs (last picture). I'm considering them as doorgifts to give out to kids for my reception.

Home Made Chocolate's pricing is quite cheap.
Lollichocs:
RM 1.80/pc (coloured)
RM 1.50/pc (plain chocolate)

Roses shaped chocolates:
RM 0.60/pc - RM 0.70/pc

Pralines:
are from RM0.70/pc - RM 1.00/pc

2 New Checklists; and our Caterer has been confirmed!

Checklists

As I mentioned in the title, I've got 2 new checklists that I just made yesterday.

ONE
Solemnization Checklist

TWO
Bride's Reception Checklist

Check them out, k.

For future couples that are still in planning phase, feel free to use my checklist. Sharing is Caring! :)


Caterer

And as for the Caterer, my family has got our eyes set on one caterer, they're called Anjung Serai Catering. MashaAllah, SEEEDAP sangat their food.

Jenuh kami cari caterer. My mom is very very VERY particular in food. Kalau lauk sedap, nasi tak lembut dan tawar, REJECT. Kalau nasi sedap, daging keras, REJECT. Last time we went to Pameran Pengantin at Ampang Point, of all the food that we tried, she was satisfied with this one caterer only. She said, "Mmm.. Sedap! K.I.V." Because she wanted to taste another caterer's work recommended by my eldest sister in Klang. Last Saturday, kebetulan they were covering for an event around my place, so they stopped by and gave my mom some food for her to taste. The verdict? Yes, you've guessed it. REJECTED.

So we've confirmed our caterer. Every 1000pax, they'll give us 1 kambing golek.. Heee.. I'll be having one kambing bergolek for my reception! Weee~

Oh, and speaking of kambing golek... Kebetulan jugak, my eldest sister tu mentioned that she took a name card of a caterer that provided really delicious food and their kambing golek is to die for. Guess again? They're Anjung Serai. So far, I've never heard of a bad complaint. If any you guys have heard any, please let me know k? =)

Oh yeah, I have to update my checklist! Ngeeee~

The Interventions

Hi all..

It's been more than 2 months since we've updated our blog. Really couldn't get our lazy bums to write. We practically had not much time to write. And here I am, stealing time after work to update this oh-sangat-kahsihan blog.

A lot of things that has happened. These are the few that I could think of...

1. THE Mom intervention
   
   Alright.. Initially, I was quite upset about this having to follow mom's orders stuff. Because it's MY wedding and I don't like people bossing me around. So ceritanya... Since I told Mak about Ministry of Moment (MOM) [read this post], Mak asked us to pull out from having MOM cover our both events (solemnization and reception). I was like..... WHAT??!! And she also said I should rent out my reception baju. And I was like......
   
   WUUUHHHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT??!!
   Tak nak! TAK NAK! TAAAAAAKKKKK NAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!
   (Well of course I didn't yell those words at her, or else there will be some domestic violence going on. Gimik je. Gimik...)
   
   But when we reviewed our initial plans, we realized that we actually wanted a simple wedding. Heck, we both ingatkan nak buat Nikah je, and to hell with the reception! What we care about is only to HALAL-ize this relationship. Mak really reminded us about that without even trying.
   
   So we straightened ourselves up and pulled out from Lynda and MOM (we decided to stick with them for nikah) with heavy... HEAVY... hearts.
   
   Mothers.. Can't live with them, can't live without them.. Haha..
   



2. The SHOCKING news regarding the Mom-In-Law-To-Be
   
   Not long after Mak's intervention, I received terrible news from Raziku. He said his mom is sick with Miller Fisher disease. Its an autoimmune that attacks the nervous system. But soon after that, doctors diagnosed her with minor stroke because her body is partly paralyzed. Sorry I can't describe her sickness much because I don't know much about medicine..
   
   But anyway, kesian kan? Thank God my Razi is strong.. I'm so amazed by you, hunny.. :')
   
   Friends, please pray that my future mother-in-law gets better and better... I want her to be there at least during solemnization. Because that would be one of the most important moments of his son's life!
   
   
   
3. The solemnization of Brother-In-Law-To-Be
   
   Razi's elder brother got married on 1st January! :) We'll have a triple wedding reception in end of July at Razi's house (probably).
   
   
   
4. The change of Vendors
   
   Since unfortunate but fortunate event 1 happened, we have a change of wedding vendors.
   
   Solemnization Day (1 July 2011)
   Official Photographer: Sapex from MOM
   Makeup Artist: Sue the MUA-wannabe (Haha, myself lar)
   Outfit: Tailored and I'll be sending it off for beading or just do it myself
   Solemnization Dais: Bridal Sanctuary
   Hand bouquet: Mak buat
   Doorgifts: Yasin by Creatively designed
   
   Reception Day (2 July 2011)
   Official Photographer: Options - TopSphere Photography or Fuzuri Design
   Makeup Artist: Dila Ramli
   Outfit: Rins Suzana
   Reception Dais, Walkway, Entrance: Rins Suzana
   Hand bouquet: Mak buat
   Doorgifts: (to be confirmed)
   
   
   
5. The change of Theme
   
   
   I thought of having a forest fairy theme like this:
   
   
   
   
   (Credit: here!)
   
   *speechless!* And the wings! Urghhh!! They are just perfect!
   And guess what, I found those custom made on the net! Take a look:
   
   
   
   
   (Credit: here!)
   
   Just magnificent...
   
   
   But well... Later on my Mak basuh Razi and I sampai we thought it's simply IMPOSSIBLE to be done, so we changed the theme to.... *drum roll please*
   
   
   
   
   It's a surprise!
   
   
   
   Wait for it!

Feelings that I never want to Feel again

Okay, this entry probably has nothing to do with our wedding... but I'm gonna write it anyway.

At midnight, I'll be going to a place far far away from my robot misai jawaku. Yes, this is for the first time I'll be away from him since we're officially in love, and hopefully it will the last.

(Credit)

It feels so awful inside. I need a hug. :(

Oh how I wish we're already married (+ have tons of money, of course..) and take him with me. Dahla I'm going to Europe, which at this time of the year is in sub-zero temperature.. With no one to warm me up during the extremely cold nights.

By the way, have you read the news about how bad Europe is right now? Well, thankfully the Netherlands is not so bad... I hope.

Thank Allah that the duration of the training is reduced from 2 weeks to 1.

Friends,

Please pray for my safety going there, when I'm already there and when I head back home (literally and home = Razi).

E-Day Photos and New Layout (Wooohooo!)

Sorry for the late update, been busy with work. :)

As promised (a long... LONG time ago), here are our engagement pictures. It was just a small ceremony. Bak kata my office colleague: "Sempoi je your engagement." Hehe..

The beautiful purple, pink and white themed dowries from Razi's side:

Oh my, oh my! Cantik kan? Credits to Pak Andam and sister.

And... From my side:

Two heads are better than one! My eldest sister and I came up with a few "crazy" ideas ("crazy" because at first Mak doesn't approve of them), which are:

1. I figured placing some pebble stones around the miniature picket fences would be just right... Considering it looked quite empty without them at first.
   
2. Kakakku found a purdy luggage bag (in a home deco store at Amcorp Mall) while looking for English related things. So I decided to put Razi's Baju Melayu (the one he'll be wearing during our solemnization) inside the luggage bag (sendal beg tu dengan 3 satay sticks wrapped with 2 different ribbons kasi nampak cun sikit).
3. For the sireh junjung, I came up with the idea of having a candle in a wired birdcage (that looks more like a gazebo) hanging beside the sireh junjung bouquet. We couldn't find a mini hook-stand-thingy (we searched high and low for it tau.. Penat je..), in the end, my handy Ayah decided to bend some wires he found around the house, spray some white paint on it and VOILA! Jadilah hanging wired gazebo! Haha... Cantik sampai Encik Photographer tangkap gambar benda tu je, bukan nak tangkap angle yang menampakkan sireh junjung yang sister sulungku penat-penat gubah! Haha, maaflah ye Kak oi...
4. Since decoupage boxes are hard to find (even if we found it, it must be expensive) plus Mak and sister has some background in decoupaging, I guess it's best to D-I-Y the box ourselves. We placed Razi's NB shoes in them! (Sorry, no photos of the DIY decoupage box... He was supposed to bring his assistant along but ada hal la pulak. So maybe he was rushing, tak sempat tangkap gambar hantaran betul-betul...)
   
   
   
5. Remember Sweetie Yummy Cupcake? Well, the owner called my sister a week prior to the E-Day and told her that she's having Dengue so she probably couldn't recover in time to make the cupcakes. Dugaan... *sebut macam cara Pendekar Bujang Lapok sebut ok!* The next cupcake supplier I could think of was my other sister's friend's sister. She makes the best, I repeat, THE BEST red velvet cupcakes ever! (Tapi makan satu je dah muak, takmau makan lagi haha... Bukan tak sedap... Actually it's very VERY rich.) Kakakku dengan bersungguh-sungguh balut kotak cupcakes yang putih, kosong lagi BURUK itu dengan flowery wrapping paper so that it would fit the theme. Hehe..
   

Em... I guess that's all.

See you later in December..


P/S: I JUST LOVE THE NEW LAYOUT.

It's SO ... Clean. :)

Invitation Card: Petal Envelopes

I just LOOOVVE petal envelopes, don't you? :)

Design Credit (clockwise from right): 1 | 2| 3 | 4 | 5

Especially if its made of embossed vellum or tracing paper like this design:

(Credit)

Aww... Nampak suci jer. Sejjuuuukk hati si penerima kad. :D

(Of course if I want to hand them out via postage, I'd place them nicely in another standard square envelope)

Razi and I are thinking about making our own invitation cards. Is there time to cut (at least) 1000 four petal envelope, sampai kedua bakal pengantin punya tangan bengkak-bengkak? (FYI, 500 for bersanding and 500 for bertandang, Mak said 1 invitation card represents 2 prospective invitees)

I haven't tried cutting them petal envelopes but in case if its troublesome, maybe we have to give Scrap 'N Crop another visit and get our hands on a circle cutter! Or we'll retreat to a simpler design like this:

(Credit)

Purdy.

'Till then.

Bye bye for now. :)

One Week After: The Story of Vendors

After spending 6 EXHAUSTING hours (or maybe more) surveying vendors, we finally went home...

The catch of the day:

1. We booked photographers for both solemnization day and reception day. The guys at the Ministry of Moment are SUPER AWESOME okay! I mean, seriously.. They're a bunch of cool people, who are easy to negotiate with and we really could relate to them. We got along really well that Francisco thought that Shafiq (principal photographer and owner of M.O.M.) was already friends with Razi before. It's like CHEMISTRY AT FIRST SIGHT!! They captured a few photos of us posing at their booth (with Razi wearing a free M.O.M. T-Shirt we got for booking our dates) and together with Shafiq as well..
   
   
2. We also placed booking fees for a designer for our reception outfits (my side). I've always heard Lynda Rahim makes beautiful BEAUTIFUL modern wedding dresses. So I thought I want to have a look at her collection. Initially we wanted to rent our reception outfits, but after a lot of thinking and persuasion by Lynda's sister Ella (sorry if I got your name wrong), we decided to have it specially designed to our tastes and our body. Plus Razi, being a fashion-lover himself, wants his outfit to have a little twist.
   And why not have them all for yourself rather than giving them back to the designer, right? Dahlah harga sewa lebih kurang je dengan harga tempah! You can actually wear it on special occasions -- your company annual dinner or even for special moments for you and your would-be husband. (Provided that it is not white in color, because nampak sangat baju kahwin!)
   
   
3. Oh yeah, the best thing is... We booked a package with Lynda Rahim that is inclusive of makeup service by any professional makeup artist, with service charge not more than RM1,000. Kalau lebih, kena bayarlah lebih tu sendiri. They'll call and arrange for the booking of the makeup artist! When I asked who's in the list, Ella said there's Sue Cantik, Ayang Kamell, Tiar Zainal, Kak Sai, Chomel, Nurul Shukor... and many more, you name it!!
   
   
4. Regarding our wedding cards, we have come to a mutual decision that we'll have to look for a company that gives the lowest printing price (not forgetting -- with good quality as well) and we'll definitely design the card ourselves. I have a few experiences publishing banners, buntings, flyers and stuff like that. This would be similar, I guess.. But I need the aid of Razi, from Quality Assurance, to give me some of his invaluable constructive criticism. We work great as a team, right, Honey? xoxo
   
   
5. We did some food testing while we were there. One caterer captured our hearts (more like taste buds! Hehe) -- Anjung Ekslusif Catering! Their Daging Masak Hitam is TO DIE-FOR... No wonder it's their signature dish! And their prices are very reasonable as well: from as low as RM 6.60/head (food only). I'm interested with one of the Hall packages: RM 9.00 per head for catering services including waiters, 2 tier cake, meja pengantin setting, and other tables and chairs. There are other packages too: click here!
   Actually Mak wants to do the food tasting and decide which caterer to hire, but she's at the moment is having fun in Aussie. I think its easier for me to shortlist the candidates of our potential caterer for her. Heee..

Sue: Yeayyyy!! Dah banyak benda boleh check off!
Razi: Ha'a.. Tapi kita kena buat list baru la!
Sue: Eh.. Yela! I lupaaa... *beams meaningfully*

Thanks for reminding me, Razi..
Macam tak percaya je dah tunang dengan you!


P/S: I don't know about you.. But Francisco's fiancé told us that this Karnival Pengantin is much better than Pameran Pengantin held in KLCC early October -- in terms of that they have more booths, and therefore more choices!

Karnival Pengantin SACC2010?

Thank God both Razi and myself went to Diamond and Platinum's D-Rewards Member's Day (SACC branch). Alice, the SUPERRRR FRIENDLY sales assistant, urged us to come and eat some food they serve there and we thought we'd drop by to say Hello. Haha.. Right!~ ;p

Razi came up with a great idea -- he thought since they're having Member's Day, we could survey for something "shiny" to give me in celebration of our unity in July. (Oh yeah, did I tell you that we're going to get married on the 1st of July? Well, Alhamdulillah.. We already set THE DATE and my parents have booked a hall for the day after solemnization day). I've always love the month of July. I just love how it sounds -- "July~" -- "We're getting married in July~~".. Heeee.. Argh *angau*

*Owhkay, back to the point now, Sue*
*rolls eyes*

Oh well, basically Alice kind of blurted out a question while we were looking for the most suitable ring for Razi.

Alice: Jadi kamu sudah pegi ke Karnival Pengantin kah?
Razi: Uhhh? Kat mana?
Alice: Di Shah Alam Convention Centre lah. Hari ini..
Suzie: Ehhh, tapi kitorang dah lambat dah ni. Nak pegi rumah kawan lagi.. Bila habis ha? Kalau sampai hari Ahad, bolehlah kitorang pegi esok.
Alice: Kejap.. Kejap saya tanya kawan saya. *speaks in Chinese to her friend* Ohhh, sampai hari Ahad lah.
Suzie: Ohh kalau macamtu kita pegi esoklah, ye Abang?
Razi: Ehhh.. [Mr. Francisco's Fiancee] ada ajak kita pegi la aritu.. Tak tau pulak yang ini. *sengih bajet innocent*
Suzie: *tepuk dahi*

So, we discussed with Francisco's Fiancee and decided to get our cute Raja-Sehari-to-be's butts in front of the entrance to Karnival Pengantin once it opens tomorrow morning. Hahaha.. It'll be a double date! Uuuuu... I love double dates!!!

Jadi marilah beramai-ramai memeriahkan event ini.

See you there! Kalau jumpa, tegur-tegur lah ya. *grins*

P/S: Something bothered me though, why is it this Karnival Pengantin event is badly promoted..? Or am I just not up-to-date? *teringat Cik Panda (adik angkat si Razi) cakap bila dia tak up-to-date, rasa macam BIMBO. Hahaha*

Wedding Milestone: Engaged!

Home smells like jasmine yesterday, it still does actually. Whilst my new room has a strong smell of bunga rampai. *sound: vinyl scratch rewinding* CHOPPPP..!! New room? Yes, my mom told me that I can already move my things into the guest room of which my elder sister used as her marital chamber... I guess, it'll be the tradition of our family -- each bride-to-be in this family shall decorate this room and share it with her husband on their first night together. Whoopeee~*

Hello Lovelies,

I'm officially Razi's fiancé =)

And it feels SO AWESOME okay! Can't wait to be officially his wife pulak. *wink-wink*


Other than feeling SO AWESOME, I feel..

• Relieved - especially when you planned your engagement day and it turned out just fine. You faced all of the attention given to you from the moment you walked out of the room until the ring is placed on your finger. Yela bakal ratu sehari has to practice to be comfortable with all the attention, right? At least one event done, three more to go (solemnization, bersanding and bertandang).
  
• Excited - because you're ONE STEP CLOSER to getting married to the person you love.
• Starting to feel a bit stressed - you'll need to consider A LOT OF THINGS when preparing for your wedding. Kalau nak banding dengan E-day preps, memang macam langit dengan bumi!!
  
• Worried - because nobody knows what will happen before you reach the point of marriage. I pray that nothing bad will ever happen to the both of us.. Darah manis kan?
  

Basically it's all mixed feelings. I can't really justify what it feels like to be engaged. Besides, different people may view things differently right? =)

By the way, sorry for not updating this blog. (Nasib baik Sayangku Razi rajin post and replying comments =D )
I'm being secretive at work about my wedding plans. I'm a new staff so I don't want to get caught writing an all-about-wedding entry. Takut kena buang sebab nanti kena mintak banyak cuti. Haha~* But some of my colleagues know about me getting married, so I'm not surprised if the news spread even to the other side of the building. =p

I replaced the engagement ticker with our wedding ticker! Yippppieeee~* At the moment, it says: 8 months and counting.

P/S: I solemnly swear that I'll post some photos of my E-day soon when Kepep the photographer finishes with them k? Till then, have a great week ahead!

Today is THE day!

Haha. tgk tajuk da tau. semangat lebey :P

Malam menjengah

Hati meresah

Menunggu-nunggu fajar menyerlah

Fikiran mencelah

"Takde papelahhhh!" :P

Pak Andam gua Francisco The Magnifico akan tiba beberapa minit lagi...

Siyesly, excited sgt nk share ngan korang gamba2 hantaran.. tapi nnt spoil aa surprise, kan?

Oklah.. ni utk tatapan pembaca budiman (chewah!):

<-- gambar tak berguna langsung

Ha-ha-ha!

Ye aaa...

Mana leh bitau...

Tak puas ati? Nak gambar lagi? Nah!

Ni lagi takde kaitan* -->

Selamat menyambut Halloween!

(if sue ada mesti ckp "potong gila! x romantik trus")

Saya yang sengal (sebab tak dapat gayut dgn Suzie mlm ni :( boohoo),

Razi the Zombie

*gambar cupcake masa jamuan kt ofis td laa

Counting moments and killing time

As I'm writing this, Suzie's already on her way to my office* . And it's raining (should have bought her that cute lil red rain coat at Elle last time, dammit!) I'm sure she's thrilled right now..she's all set up for a manicure treatment at our usual spot, and I'll be joining her later =)

*Haha.. if she ever read my final comment on the previous entry this evening she would definitely say,"haha jakun! seronok la tu.. seronok la tu"

I'm hitting this keyboard basically coz I wanna kill time. Just another hour to go. It has been a week full of boredom at work(but not after, haha!).

What about you guys?

Hehehe. Err.. umm. What should I write now huh?

Hmmmmm

Aaaa

HA!

No. Not that. That's like.. totally.. no.

Umm..

(I guess I write more bcoz of anxiety rather than boredom. Am i.. am i.. nervous?) <-- u turned green when u nervous, right?

Nevermind me.

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the works of Anne Avantie (well, I'm not. Where have I been all this while? :P). I'm lovin' her designs.. they are so fan.ta.bu.lous



(at the time of writing, the www.anneavantie.com's server has exceeded it's bandwith limit. Can't show you the exact ones that I like right now. It was there the other day. Pfft)

Ok ok.. i know they are a lil o.t.t but then it's for marriage right? What better excuse can you have.. what other valid license for you to actually dress up LIKE THAT? *drool drool*

[are you in agreement with this? I'm sure Suzie's not :P]

If only I have the means to get her one of those..

++++++++++++++++

On the other hand, we're gettin engaged.. wooo! This is so awesome.. <-- poyo nak mam

Okay..she's almost here..gtg..till later!

A lil' sneak peek

As promised, here are some piccas for your viewing pleasure (err, not really :P):

Haha, talking bout being seriously lazy :D

(ek eleh.. baik tak yah)

FYI, that's my side of the story. Don't ask me about Suzie's; she's been insidiously secretive about her dowries(Sue: ala. biarlah. mak kata surprise!) The only thing I know is the theme and the color (so as to not screwing a good E-day -- coordination, right?)Hope those pix will do the talking! =) Will give you more micro-updates like this soon.

Roger and out!

Misteri 10/10/10 <-- entry basi hahaha

TAHUKAH ANDA?

• Semalam dua bas telah terbalik di Lebuhraya PLUS berdekatan dengan Simpang Ampat, menyebabkan kehilangan 12 nyawa dan lebih 40 orang lagi cedera. Kemalangan ngeri ini telah menyebabkan gangguan trafik yang bukan kepalang selama berjam-jam lamanya, sehingga menyebabkan polis terpaksa mengambil langkah menutup jalan lebuhraya di kedua-dua arah dan trafik dialihkan ke tol Alor Gajah untuk yang menuju ke utara dan Pedas untuk yang berhaluan ke selatan tanahair. Boleh dikatakan kemalangan sebegini ngeri yang melibatkan dua bas, sebuah van dan tiga kereta ini amat jarang berlaku.

• Perjalanan yang sama melalui lokasi kejadian menjadi bertambah pelik dengan kehadiran sekumpulan lelaki yang menaiki kenderaan Exora bernombor plat XXX YYYY yang berkelakuan sumbang dengan mengganggu keharmonian perjalanan yang sudahpun sedia terganggu dengan cuba menggoda wanita-wanita didalam kenderaan lain dengan pujuk-rayu bodoh dan menunjukkan isyarat-isyarat seolah-olah mahukan nombor telefon bimbit mereka. [Penulis dan enturaj antara yang menjadi mangsa. "Pelik doh, lama dah aku drive tak penah kena cmni"- Miza (bukan nama sebenar].

• Semua ATM yang digunakan penulis sewaktu di Batu Pahat sama ada kehabisan wang atau pun mengalami kerosakan apabila giliran penulis menggunakan mesin tersebut. Yang tambah menghairankan, kedai-kedai yang dikunjungi penulis juga mengalami gangguan teknikal dan tidak dapat memproses transaksi menggunakan kad kredit*.

• Lebih ajaib apabila seorang jejaka yang selama ini selesa berpakaian kasual dan sepanjang hidupnya TIDAK PERNAH memakai baju melayu lengkap dengan samping dan songkok secara TIBA-TIBA berpakaian lengkap, awal pagi ini.

ten ten ten....

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

Hahaha. Saje bikin panas. Bikin heboh. Bikin kecoh <-- eh, macam rap plak. Too Phat masih hebat!

Ok. Ok. Let's get to the point:

The above stories are all true (well, almost). The man who actually wears the complete Malay traditional outfit from top-to-toe is my man, Isuzu because he's finally getting married. And guess what? Yeah, you know that already. I'm the -- wait for it -- BEST MAN!!! Whoohoo. It was legendary.

("Lelaki Terbaik", talking about upping your own ego, haha!)

As promised, I will now explain the experience to you; my observations and understanding of the whole wedding ritual. Job scope and some criterias will be added, as well.

[i] Background

I think it's better if I lay out the details of this wedding; it's cultural context, flows and other quirky stuffs and observation. Let's get to the bottom of things:

1. The bride and bride groom's family are very traditional. The former is from Javanese ancestry and has a very profound Java overtones. The latter is from Negri Sembilan and is famous for it's Adat Pepatih.

2. The Malays of Javanese origin are not homonogenous in its cultural observation and as such are not uniform in practice. Yet, they do share some commonalities between, say, the community in Sg. Besar and the ones in Johore. For example, they both still speak the dialect. And some of them do live in a close-knit community; the uncle being just next door, and even second-cousins are all within walking distance from each others' home.

3. Each of the Malay states have their own customs and practices; some are more restrictive than the other, and even then are not exactly observed unanimously. The bride, Dayanah hails from Batu Pahat. Johore, as often understood, stand as the Malay par excellence when it comes to customs, particularly Melayu-Riau traditions: it's accent, religious understanding, cultural practice, etc. However, they have a unique set of customs Marriage-wise and it can only be found here. I will explain more on that later.

To be continued..

P/s: we've been MIA for quite awhile, and we're sorry for that. As you can see from the ticker, the day is almost upon us and preparations are being made as we speak. So, hold on, dear readers. I'll try to come up with a few entry now and then (Sue is busy with her work, pelamin, dowries, and the list goes on. Tuan rumah lah katakan! I, on the other hand, will come to her house leisurely.. jalan melenggang woohoo!)

Progress Report: D-I-Y Hantaran and Doorgifts

How's your week so far, lovelies?

Mine's a bit hectic, considering our E-day is just around the corner. (Sampai tak jadi pegi Pameran Pengantin tu... Boleh bayang tak betapa sedihnya saya? Wuuwu~)

Mak and I are busy decorating dowries (hantaran-hantaran) -- whenever we find the time, we would sit down; and mix and match some stuff, also pintal-pintal some artificial flowers with my own bare hands. Whenever Mak is tired, I'd get into my room and start punching my TQ tags. HAIYAAaa~ Simua pun bikin sakit tangan punya kije lo!

Anyway, we're almost done with the dowries. Just a few more left and we still have to add up some final touches before the actual day arrives. Since Razi could read this entry, I have to save the photos showing the progress of making them later -- after 30 October 2010. =D But here's the theme color:
Pucat kah? Tak "pop" kah? Lantak la... Asal saya suka! ;p

Sue: Musya... By all means possible, jangan sampai sama sangat pulak theme colour kita ye. I dah chop ni duluu.. Nyeh nyeh.. *sticks tongue out and crosses eyes* YA ALLAH, buroknya muka aku!!
Razi: *bunyi cengkerik*
(Sebab tak tau respon dia lagi. Hahaaa)

In one of the dowries, we're going to put (more or less) a dozen of cupcakes. My eldest sister is going to sponsor those, yay! She gave me this link: Sweety Yummie Cupcake and asked me to have a look on which design I like the most. I remembered she ordered some cupcakes from this website to celebrate Mak's and her husband's birthday. It was truly oh-so-yummie-in-my-tummie! Hehe~*

And have a look at this Sweety Yummie Cupcake's design of 2-tier wedding cake. Simple and sweet, just the way I like it!

(Credit: Sweety Yummie Cupcake)

Tangan ni rasa macam gatal je ni nak cuit bunga-bunga kecik tu. Cute sangat!

And I almost forgot: TQ tags sudah habis ditampal! Pasni nak potong itu riben banyak-banyak...


P/S - At the moment I'm writing this, "2 weeks and counting.." can't stop echoing in my head. Don't worry, this is not a panic attack. I'm still keeping myself together. *heeeeee grins*

Tomorrow's mission:
Buy E-day hijab and material for veil.
(ya, saya tahu - sangat SANGAT last minute! Tapi asal siap, kan? ;-)

Review: Zila Ziman Makeup Class... by Suzie the MUA Wannabe!

I wanna do my own makeup on my engagement, so I decided to sign up for a MAKEUP-101. I've done my survey online and Razi and I came to a conclusion that Zila Ziman's makeup course was the most pocket friendly. Plus I've seen the photos of her previous makeup class, which includes photos of her studio -- it's very evenly lit up. And I've always like to be in a small group of students, to maximize the amount of focus given to each student.

Yadayadayada~*

Now, now... As promised, this is a review on the makeup class I attended last Saturday. It was A.W.E.S.O.M.E.!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Makeup Class Aidilfitri 2010
conducted by
Zila Ziman
2 Oct '10 @ 1oAM - 5PM
Zila Ziman's Studio, Damansara

(Photos courtesy of Zila and Azwan)

There's so many things I wanna talk about but I'll start by using the above photo as a guide. Or else, I'll end up with a super long entry! Haha

Clockwise from top-left:

1. This is Zila Ziman. She's once a B2B blogger (she blogs here), now happily married. Come to think about it, I came to know about this class from her blog. After seeing her face-to-face, I can see that she has got one of the BEST complexion I have EVER seen. Unlike me yang ada jerawat (and parut jerawat as a bonus!) serata muka.
   
2. Next, these are products and tools used in class. The products are from Kryolan, M.A.C., Bobbi Brown, Revlon, Maybelline, BodyShop, etc... Rambang mata tengok semua ni... Bestneee jadi MUA!
   
3. Hi, it's me! I was putting eyeshadow base on Asmaa's eyes. She did my makeup, I think Kak Asmaa is a natural artist... Plus, she's got such beautiful features. Jealous sangat! On the background, you can see Thirah (Zila's younger sis) doing Liyana's makeup.
   
4. Azwan took this photo at the end of the class, with us holding our certificates, masa semua dah santek-santek belaka. *Hihi*
5. Zila Ziman's studio. It looks so cool, right? Well, it's cooler when you get to see it in reality. The room is SOOO evenly lit up, which is SOOO important for makeup!! Azwan made all this for his wife. Aww.. Sweet kan?
   

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At the start of the class, we were given a set of papers that has a list of essential tools (different types of makeup brushes and other tools) with pictures on them! Nanti nak buat reference senang... These are necessary for professional makeup (ya, bukan mekap cikai-cikai ye..). Then Zila introduced us each of the tools and explained their usage.

Afterwards, she started a demonstration on Thirah. (Tengok kulit dia pun cantik jugak. Memang ada gen kulit cantik kot? Zelesss...) What I like about Zila's touch is that the outcome looks more natural compared to the works of most MUAs I've seen. Tak caye, tanya Razi... Dia lagi fussy tentang makeup dari Sue tau. Cantik sangat...

When you observe how a MUA does his/her work, it looks so simple. Well, it is kinda simple and easy. But only once you've practiced over and over again; and gained a lot of experiences, of course...

Just after the demonstration has finished, there was a Q&A session, which lasted for a few minutes because obviously we didn't have much to ask -- we haven't even gone through the practical yet! Hihi. Lepas hands on je terus tanya macam-macam.

Right after lunch and Zuhur prayers, kami mempraktikkan apa yang telah diajar. She pointed out heaps of useful tips and tricks during practical session...

The BEST part was we get to play with her tools. Semangat kemain masa makeup.. Tapi ada jugak gelabah-gelabah because it's our first time kot! ;p I screwed up one time sebab nak cepat. I used a concealer brush as a lip brush. Hehehe~ Maap ye Ciku Zila...

It was an invaluable educational experience for me. For only RM250, I get to experience all of the above and Ciku Zila siap cakap: "Kalau ada apa-apa soalan, email jela." Thanks to her, sekarang dah berangan nak become a MUA someday. Perhaps I'll start with my own circle of friends first. Haaa~ Siapa nak jadi mangsa pertama aku? MUAHAHA...

Kisah Bapa, Anak dan Keldai

Hai kawan-kawan!

HaisSSs.. (tiru pelat Razi.. Hehe) Sue ni mimpi apa tulis dalam BM pulak?! Haha..

Saje tukar mood. Selama ni tulis dalam BI sebab tiap-tiap hari cakap BM je dengan semua orang, bila nak praktikkan ilmu BI yang dipelajari? Kalau tak guna, lama-lama karatlah..

Okay, bila baca blog B2B pasal persiapan majlis perkahwinan, semua (atau hampir semua) sebut pasal apa mak ayah, makcik-makcik, tok nenek, jiran selang 20 rumah cakap pasal majlis kita.

Masa mula-mula bercinta dengan Razi dulu (ceh macam lama sangat je bercinta), dia pernah cerita kisah ni pada saya. Tak tahulah apa sebabnya, tapi pendek kata mungkin saya terlalu risaukan apa orang lain cakap pasal saya.

Sekarang saya mahu kongsi cerita ini dengan pembaca blog ni... terutamanya untuk para B2B.

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Suatu ketika dahulu, sebelum terciptanya kenderaan berenjin seperti motorsikal, kereta dan keretapi, manusia menggunakan haiwan berkaki empat seperti kuda, keldai dan unta sebagai pengangkutan.

Pada suatu hari, seorang bapa yang sudah tua bersama anaknya yang berusia 10 tahun pergi ke pekan untuk menjual seekor keldai peliharaan mereka. Bapa dan anak tersebut berjalan kaki sambil menarik ikatan keldai yang hendak dijual itu.

Semasa dalam perjalanan, mereka terserempak dengan dua orang pemuda kampung itu. Mereka terdengar perbualan pemuda kampung itu...
“Bodoh betul bapak dan anak itu, ada keldai tidak mahu ditunggangnya”.

Si bapa tua tadi pon memanjat belakang keldai bersama anaknya. Mereka meneruskan perjalanan dengan menunggang keldai bersama-sama.

Tidak lama kemudian mereka terserempak pula dengan sekumpulan makcik-makcik yang sedang berbual-bual di tepi jalan. Mereka terdengar makcik-makcik tersebut mengata...
“Tak berperikemanusiaan betul bapak dan anak itu, keldai yang kecil itu ditunggangnya berdua...”

(Photo Credit: Kevin Kelly and Source: Click here)

Terdengar kata-kata itu, bapa yang tua itu pon turun dari keldai itu. Bapa tua itu meneruskan perjalanan dengan menarik keldai yang ditungangi anaknya.

Selepas itu mereka terserempak pula dengan sekumpulan remaja yang sedang bermain guli. Mereka terdengar perbualan remaja itu...
“Teruk betul anak orang tua tu, tak patut disuruh bapanya yang dah tua menarik keldai tu...”

Si bapa terus menyuruh anaknya untuk bertukar tempat. Si bapa menunggang keldai dan si menarik keldai yang ditungganginya. Mereke pon teruskan lagi perjalanan.

Sampai di satu simpang, mereka beselisih dengan sepasang suami isteri yag sedang berjalan kaki. Si bapa tua terdengar pasangan itu bercakap sesama mereka...
“Kasihan budak kecil itu, tidak berhati perut bapanya menyuruh anak yang masih kecil menarik keldai yang ditungganginya..”

Mendengar kata-kata sinis itu, si bapa tua turun dari keldai dan berjalan kaki bersama-sama dengan anaknya seperti mula-mula mereka keluar rumah.

Sebelum sampai ke pekan mereka bertembung dengan beberapa orang lagi yang bercakap-cakap tentang perihal mereka. Tetapi si bapa dan anak itu tidak menghiraukan cakap-cakap orang itu. Mereka tetap meneruskan perjalanan mereka dengan cara mereka sendiri.

Akhirnya mereka sampai ke pekan dengan senang hati, tanpa mempedulikan kata-kata orang di sekelilingnya.

(Source)

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Jadi, tanyalah diri korang sendiri, majlis yang korang buat ni majlis siapa? Nanti muka siapa yang monyok dan tak berseri kalau dah asyik kena ikut cakap orang lain je?

Ambil iktibar dari kisah diatas dan renung-renungkanlah... (ceh macam Ustazah pulak. =p)

Sekian.

Mekap-mekop dan Gubah-gebah

As I'm writing this, my darling Suzie is attending her course on makeup at Zila's. (Takpe kan yayang?) Since we love the idea of having a hands-on approach on everything (because of both fun and economic reason :P), why not D-I-Y all the way, even makeup right? So instead of spending some more money on some MUAs, better invest it in some education, no?

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime" - Confucius

"Hire a woman a makeup artist and she will look great for a day. Teach the woman to make-up and he (the boyfriend/spouse/partner) will die waiting for his whole lifetime * "

hahahaha
* - due to prolonged duration from sayang-jom-kuar till the actual start of the date

Ok-ok stupid joke. I know. Moving along...

I know I've been neglecting this blog for quite sometime. Been very busy, with work and Ramadan and then Eid; with the preparation and everything. <-- alah, ke alasan je ni Razi? C'mon admit it: u're a procrastinator! :P (hey, that made it two of us, Suzie! Talking about being soulmate huh? (albeit in a bad way)) So, while she's busy with the M.A.C. set and some Bobbi Brown brushes, why don't I keep you -- dear Readers -- busy as well. Nak? nak? (kalau nak tengok before-and-after pictures, then you guys have to ask her yourself k?)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All right. The engagement is approximately 684 hours from now, and yet my hantarans for her is still in its conceptual stage. I've a few options, but in order to make this event more eco-friendly (and also pocket-friendlier that way :P) I managed to actually gather up all wedding-related stuffs from my relatives; to see whether some of them still reusable or could be deconstructed and remix into something new. I admit that I don't have much at my disposal right now, but you can never know how a little bit of creativity could save a lot of money :D (effort too!) So here's a sneak peek of one that I really like (sorry gamba burok; pki fon camera je):

Razi: Honey, i concur with you. We better get ourselves a good DSLR lah

Sue: Kan i da ckp.. lama dahhh

[DISCLAIMER: The final product might be different altogether; you know with the oh-tu-tak-cantik makciks and baik-buat-camni kakaks]

My plan is quite simple for the gubahan hantaran:

1. Dig up the old stuff (completed) -->
2. Go to SSF with my fellow Pak Andam, Francisco The Magnifico (hahaha toksah la nak Google plak. I know that's a bombastic name but he's not established like Nas Great Idea) to take note of things and their price -->
3. Go to Nilai 3** If they are found to be really cheap than I'm gonna bag them all mwahahahaha -->
4. End of journey

** - Suzie actually just went there the other day with my in-laws <-- kalau Suzie ada skang mesti dia ckp "amboi amboi, blum pape da panggil shentu? Perasan!" and I'll answer in a hip hop manner "SSap Mak! Ayah!" (ada beran ke ckp cmtu in real-life en. Razi? :P) She said actually sama je. Ada yg even mahal daripada kat sini.

If you want to know what will be in those trays, stay tuned. (might leak a few pix later, hehe)

Now, now. Where am i? Sheesh. This always happen. Dah la dulu punya entry pun dok lamaaaa dlm draft. Ni kena lagi. Haih

Oh, ok. baru ingat.

I'm the designated Best Man for my bestie, Isuzu. His will be on this coming 10/10/10 and I'll be in Johor starting from the 9th (don't miss me that much my dear!). I'm hoping that the experience will give me more insights into the whole procession, and observations that I'll make could help me in avoiding the same pitfalls (if there are any). For the moment I was only briefed to wear my full prim and proper Baju Melayu with the Songkok all through the day (hahaha, the very thought of it makes me laugh. Never once wear the full attire in two straight hours, let alone the whole day -- dengan songkok plak tu. Mati aku!) Plus, I might have to wear something that could hold a lot of envelopes -- apparently I'm entrusted with keeping the whole "toll" expenses along the whole majlis, heheh! Will write the full report next week.

Roger and out!

P/S: Baby, I know I owe the readers that little story of which you've already photoshopped the pix -- I'll finish them later aight?

This entry is actually written on the noon of 2nd of October 2010 as a surprise but due to his abovementioned friend's arrival to pick him up to go to an open house, the author had to save the entry first and had only been finalized just now.

Can't do without you, Burt..

You're the drug that I'm addicted to. I need you every 30-minutes or so everyday... Burt, next time I'm going to have a detecting device so I could have it stick on you so I can locate you every single time I lose you.

Because you're a tiny...

(Source)

Lipbalm. (Yes, I call it Burt). Herkkk~

This is my drug. I've already become dependent on it.

Because it feels soooo good on my lips!

This is by far the best lipbalm I've ever had (and trust me, I've searched high and low and I've tried almost all lipbalms available out there). I have super dry chapped lips. One of the things I hate (I repeat, HATE) of all time would be chapped lips. Because once I start trying to scrape the dry dead skin cells off of my lips (seriously, dah jadi rutin sampai dah tak sedar tau), hey waddaya know, it'll result into a DISASTER , where blisters and some blood will involve. And I'll look like I have rotten lips. Haha~

Yesterday I misplaced Burt in my huge bag when I brought it to the family gathering in our lovely pondok at Batang Kali. For not applying Burt on my lips for just about 24hours, my lips has got that familiar excessive/severe dryness it has been having on and off since I can remember! Eee~ But once I got home this afternoon and settled everything down (including cleaning up my baby nephew's shit-covered bum), I quickly applied Burt on my lips vigorously (mainly because of geram.. and rindu (haha~ Razi jangan jealous please)) and I immediately felt the reaction. I felt some stinging and I could even feel blood rushing towards my lips as though my body itself is working together with Burt's combination of 100% natural ingredients to repair the condition of my lips.

Active ingredients: Camphor (0.6%) and menthol (0.6%) for external analgesic.

Inactive ingredients: Grape seed oil, beeswax, coconut oil, lanolin, shea butter, anise oil, cardamom seed oil, commint leaf oil, eucalyptus leaf oil, spearmint leaf oil, clove flower oil, vanillin, calendula officinalis flower extract, lemon balm leaf extract, black current leaf extract, golden seal extract.

You can find Burt's Bees at these places:

• The Curve
  G Floor (next to Borders)
  Tel: 03-7725 4006
• The Gardens Mall
  LG Floor (next to Cold Storage)
  Tel: 03 - 2287 7450

Pendek kata: My lips feels better now.

Note to Sue: You're running out of Burt. Please buy 10 more if you have to. =)