I Am An Eskimo (Almost)

We haven't got much luxury in this life. For a start, we haven't got a car, we haven't traveled far, we need to ration out cash on most times, we haven't been able to go to movies for the longest time, but when once in awhile the finer things in life that's free is here, you'd better bet your ass that we'll make the most of it.

'Finer things in life and that's free' yg dimaksudkan itu adalah SNOW.

Lotsa, lotsa snow.

At least by Plymouth's standard la kan. Hehe.

Oleh itu, sila bear with me and maafkan la multiple posts on snow ni yeh. Kesian kitaorg, ni aje la hiburan.

Sebenarnya the whole of the UK is covered with snow right now, particularly the north, the midlands, and the east. London is anticipating 40 cm of snow this week. Tebal tuh! But Plymouth kena tempias sipi2 je la kiranya. Tp kalo rajin cari hills dah bole main sledge dah sebenarnya. Kalo x pikirkan kerja, dah nak ajak Hubs gi Dartmoor, lg byk snow hehehe... Sipi2 snow pon, dah byk interrupted bus services, and a lot of schools have been shut. Even Hubs nya kelas esok pon batal, padahal baru start smlm, so Aisyah x jd hntr rumah childminder dia lah. Suka budak2 sekolah tutup. Baru 3 hari naik sekolah lps cuti Xmas, cuti lg. But for postgrad like me, xde maknanya tutup school. Kerja tetap kerja.

In fact, it is quite fun walking to work in the snow tau. Like pg td, Plymouth kan tepi laut, so it's very windy, so snow yg turun tu dah jadi mcm blizzard (mm... teringat Ice Cream Blizzard Dairy Queen). Siap x leh nak bukak mata sbb snow terjah masuk. Pastu dkt bulu mata yg x berapa nak lentik ni pon melekat2 snow memutih je, tiba2 terasa mcm org Eskimo gitu haha. Sempat jelir lidah ke langit, slurp sket snow (teringat ABC punya pasal, tp x la sampai kaut snow dari tanah bawak masuk mulut tau, buwekkkk!). Pastu tgk snow mencair jd all wet and slushy teringat plak dkt Slurpee 7-11 (apahal la ingat makanan aje ni, ntah hapa2 ntah).

Ok la, nak sambung buat corrections. SV nak jumpa Jumaat ni *ok sila cpt2 panic!*

Jalan nak balik rumah dari Uni, tp sebenarnya x la horror mcm ni.

Dah sampai dpn tgga rumah. Sayang kan nak pijak snow.

Amik gmbr snow falling down from the sky at night. Absolutely breathtaking!

Masih snow pg td, around 8.30 am

Masa ni aku dah keluar rumah. Ni Hubs yg amik gmbr jalan dpn umah. Masa ni dia main snow berdua ngan Aisyah kat front lawn

Muka org yg excited main snow

Muka org yg takut2 dgn snow (mcm alkisah dia takut rumput dulu jgk la)

Muka org bila dah takut ber do'oh dgn snow!

Muka org pakai snow cap di bawah tudung. Mcm besar ek jd kepala? Nmpk cam x proportionate plak. Yg sorg lg tu muka puas dpt mkn masakan ibu yg super sedap (Speghetti Bolognaise)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

A Good Start...

Dah 5 hari masuk tahun baru 2010. So far, Alhamdulillah, it has been a good start.

I am trying to get up at my ideal target of 5 a.m. everyday, a task that seems really, really hard to do. Not only am I sleepy, but the cold! My Goodness, sgt susah tau nak ceraikan diri drpd lapisan duvet yg warm itu. Plus it doesn't help that Subuh skang masuk pkl 6 am lebih, and habis waktu pkl 8 am lebih. Mmg gelap n syok tido punya. But so far I have managed to pry myself away from the duvet at around 5.30-ish, or near 6 am, so not too bad. Cuma kdg2 Aisyah tersedar mintak susu, then terpaksa la postpone kejap keja tu. But as the Zen Master said, start slow, e.g. push your wake up time by half an hour earlier than normal, and gradually push it further until you've reached your desired wake up time. Ye, amalan mesti istiqamah...

Bagus bgn pg ni, kepala aman sket, pastu dpt 'meditate' lama sket, and then x terkocoh2 sgt, plus the positive feeling stays the whole day sbb you start your day right. Hopefully ini bkn amalan hangat2 tahi ayam...

Workwise, I believe I am taking longer than I should with the correction, but I have put a lot of thoughts to what I am writing, bkn sekadar scribbles yg ntah apa2, janji siap. I have tried speed reading, tp still ada prolem sket2, in which I normally skip my designated time for reading and do something else, (like blogging aiyo!), or even writing (bcoz kejarkan masa). Man, I wish I was better at doing things in parallel. I will try to speed up tho'. Time just sorta fly out of my hands right now. Mmg x terkejarkan waktu tu. It sucks when you can't get your words out right.

As for Hubs, he's enrolled himself in a skilled course at Swathmore Community Centre, so he's got classes now for two mornings in a week. Best gile la tempat utk adult learning centre ni, ada mcm2 course, dgn harga yg sgt2 murah sbb ada subsidi drpd Govt kot. Imagine, from Hairdressing, to Spanish, to QiGong, to Ballroom Dancing, to Still Life Art (nude models included!), to Flower Arranging, to Bricklaying, and even Motorcycle Repairing! Haish, kalo la aku yg jadi surirumah sepenuh masa ikut suami belajar pon mmg bykkkkkkk la courses yg aku ikut hehehe... It's good for Hubs tho', sbb ni la peluang dia mingle and mix with the community, along with getting new skills as well.

Even the lil one is not being spared of this new breeze of change. Memandangkan Hubs have plans for two out of seven days a week, Aisyah is now left for 2 hours under the care of our friend (Mal, isteri Wak), whilst we are away. I was very anxious of how she will be when we leave her, coz she has never been left without either of us around in the UK, but syukur Alhamdulillah, to my surprise, Mal ckp she was like an angel. X nangis pon dari start kena tinggal, sampai la Hubs amik. Mal masak, Aisyah ikut gi dapur masak and main tupperware. X sentuh pon pinggan2 kaca (mcm kat umah la hehe). Mal bg biskut, Aisyah makan. Mal psg TV, Aisyah tgk. Syukur sgt2. Harapnya mmg kekal la mcm tu. I was expecting the worst, I suppose. Sama2 la berdoa agar Aisyah behave ye.

We're not looking into nurseries just yet. Maybe after she turns two. But it looks like she's okay by being left on her own, so hopefully she will be ready for nursery when time comes. Tinggal korek duit je la yeeeee :)

Weatherwise, this morning it snowed heavily. The heaviest I've seen in Plymouth, and the heaviest I've personally experience as far as I can remember. Even the snowflakes are really huge and chunky, bkn la sebesar hama spt selalu nya, heck they are even visible on pics! And it snowed again this evening just now, almost blizzard-like. It's very, very nice. Snow takes the negativity away and changes it into something so much more positive, such as a grumpy 'Blimey, it's effing cold in here' into a sweet 'Oh my Goodness, it's so beautiful!' So let's hope the positive vibes are here to stay. Enjoy the pics that follow.

I must say it's been a good start to 2010. I pray that it only gets better after this. Semoga Allah berkati usaha dan pengorbanan kami jua, Insya Allah...

Oyis Corner

Smlm keluar gi town kejap (asyik2 gi town je ek?). Tp tgk la muka Aisyah, x kesian ke tgk dia ala2 kebosanan tu? Sampai bertenggek kat tangga dapur dah ha... huhu




Tp skali pergi town, hamboih2, usik sana, usik sini. Siap eksyen nak naik basikal tayar empat lg kedai. Padahal basikal tayar tiga dia kat rumah pon x lepas lagi nak kayuh!




Erm usik apa tu? Lambat lg nak guna Tampax tuh. Don't be too eager to be an adult sayang. Nanti dah jd umur Ibu baru la nak reverse balik ke alam youthfulness!




Sempat gi Kedai Oriental kat Barbican. Dapat la merembat ikan kerisi, punya lama x makan. Pastu beli ikan kembung dgn sotong, wat stock sampai 2 minggu, Insya Allah. Ni la dia lauk mlm td.




Sila pay attention pada lauk yg ini. Sotong masak x tau apa nama ni, dan rupa pon x la menggiurkan sgt, tp sedap gila babeng, I must say!




Rahsianya? Sos ni - Hot Basil Sauce. Tinggal tumis bawang, masukkan lauk, and mixed vege. Haha mmg cheat sket la, nak godek sendiri I la x pandai kan? Sebijik rasa mcm sos yg kalo kita kat Msia order nak makan Siakap 3 Rasa tuh. Wallaweh, terangkat!... pedas kaw2, pastu ada rasa asam sket2... cukup la semuanya! Terubat la sket rindu nak mkn kedai Seafood mcm zaman kat Msia dulu2 tuh... Ntah2 org kedai pon pakai sos ni x? Mana la tahu kan...




But if u have a small child like me, kena la masakkan kuah yg lain utk dia (I made her Sup Sayur je hehe). Kalo x, konfem melalak la weh. Kita yg dewasa ni pon makan masa winter siap rasa panas nak berpeluh, budak2 apatah lg. Tp berbaloi... *thumbs up*

Next time gi kedai oriental, sila cari. Cari jgn x cari.. hehe. Jgn konfius dgn sos yg ini udah le, tp kalo terkonfius pon xpe, sos ni best wat cicah ngan keropok ikan, keropok lekor, popia, chips, hot chicken wings, dsb nya hehe...




Tinggal lain kali nak beli ikan Seabass la, ala2 siakap gitu. Goreng rangup2 then curah kuah tu atas. Pastu sotong wat celup tepung goreng, bole cicah ngan kuah Mae Ploy tu. And instead of sup sayur, gantikan dgn Tom Yum Campur utk Aisyah... Gerenti malatoppp! *drool, drool, drool*

Hmmm... mcm mana la azam nak kurus utk 2010 tu nak terlaksana? Among the first few posts pon dah membebel psl food, food, food... Aiyo!

PS: Semua sos ada certified Halal by the Islamic Committee Office of Thailand

A Mother's Dream..

A definite 'Kodak-moment' - mother and daughter, walking hands-in-hands.. :)

Mother and daughter relationships are complex because the daughter looks to her mother as a role model of what a woman is. As she grows up and sees other woman who live their lives differently, she chooses between imitating her mother or other significant influences in her life. As an adolescent she may come to look down on her mother and think that other woman are much better. Of course she is not a fully grown woman so she does not understand the challenges and choices that her mother faces. It is only when she herself becomes a woman that she can fully appreciate her mother.

Source: Mother Daughter Poems http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/family/mother-daughter-poems.asp#ixzz0bUq4wUVA

Happy New Year 2010

Semoga tahun ini adalah lebih baik drpd tahun2 sebelumnya...

Insya Allah!

Have a great year ;)