Bullion rose vs Bead flower

Once upon a time (well... last few months I guess..) I'm so in love with gardening. Now, I have come to another phase of obsession, or craze ... bullion roses. What are bullion roses? How do I grow them? Haha... it's totally off topic from gardening. It's embroidery. Malay call it 'bunga tahi ulat'. My MIL has learned on how to embroider it a long time ago. It was a trend in yesteryear and now it has made a comeback. So, taking some guide from my MIL and the internet (http://www.needlenthread.com/ and http://cheq-sue.com/blog/2008/11/30/teknik-sulaman-benang/), I have started it... and I have fun doing it. This is another way of refurbishing my old tudungs. So, here goes my first attempt ...

Beading on the other hand.. is progressing slowly. Because, I have a hard time to keep it neat. Hmm... so, the easiest solution is, have it made by Kak Z, whose work is extremely neat and creative. Seriously.. I really adores her work. ;)

Photoshoot & Photoshop

I'm being 'darat' today.. a.k.a 'jakun', or some people say 'peghak'. I just realised that there is a digital macro function in our digital camera. So, today's activity with aisyah is .. shoot some flowers or bugs around our house, and I photoshop them afterwards for more professional-like pics. Well.... not-so professional yet. But, I'm proud with my works, and so do Aisyah ..

The orchids from the pics above and below are from the same plant, but different phase I suppose. It first blooms as a red flower, then, changed to orange (the above colour) ..and soon, turn out to be yellow.

This ladybird is on a Kangkung leaf. I didn't photoshop this one.

This is Honey Dew's flower.

____________________________________

And the following are Aisyah's work.

And here's the photographer of the day

Itadakimasu

Wondering what does it mean by 'Itadakimasu'? Hehe.. it means, let's eat in japanese. We went to Jusco yesterday, and hubby insists to buy sushi starter kit. I believe that I might find the necessary s0-called guide to sushi making in the net, so I agreed with his idea on having our own home made sushi. But, the guide that I got is better than what I'm asking for. The starter kit comes together with a "Fun With Sushi" DVD. Haha, we never realised that until we reached home. And trust me, sushi making is simple and fun. So, without wasting time ... here goes my first sushi project.

And, how does it taste, you say? Japanese would say .. ""GOCHISOOSAMA" (and that means yummy!!! haha).

1 Elit - Class of 2008

Should old acquaintance be forgot,and never brought to mind ?Should
old acquaintance be forgot,and old lang syne ?

For auld lang
syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Enjoy the pics ... ;). I'm wishing you all the best for your future undertaking.

Tinggal memori ...
Ya ampunn.. sapa la jadik cameraman ni?

Kontrol hensem

Year-end Teacher's Meeting

Our year-end Teacher's Meeting this year was held on Saturday, and this time around, we already got our next year's timetable. I was quite relieved when I found out that my timetable is only 26 periods per week, far lesser than this year's 30 periods per week timetable. Alhamdulillah. Most of the afternoon teachers are grateful for this. 30 periods per week are killing us. Well... killing me..hehe. The difference of 4 periods is translated to 2 hours, or, roughly, one free period per day. And that means a lot. Thank you ....

On another note, I was quite impressed with all the powerpoint presentation by the administrators. It shows that our admins are very good with ICT. Bravo!! (clap3x). SMKTPG Boleh!

And.. the quote of the day is .."Apa yang penting?? KERJASAMA"... Waaa...Wonderpets manage to capture our hearts, regardless of our age. Haha.

Last but not least, I am so impressed with Bangladesh Proverbs highlighted by K. Rahimah, PK Koko , which is as follows :-

"Hanya pokok mangga yang berbuah sahaja yang menerima kayu dan batu"

Isn't that brilliant?

Tips to travellers

I have been wanting to share this idea for months .. but, most of the time, I forget about it. However, since the school holidays are approaching, I believe that there are a few friends out there who might travel abroad (there's one teacher friend who flew to Paris today..). So, here's a tip on how to make an easy currency converter table like this. (This is actually my MIL's idea). This is especially helpful if you really want to go to the foreign country to shop.




1. Open a blank MS Excel worksheet
2. Type in the title of your table and it's respective column's name (i.e: RM, VND)
3. Type in the value of RM that you want to convert to .. say, RM 1, 3, 5, 10 ..etc in cloumn RM (or column A in the above example)
4. Go to www.oanda.com to get the currency exchange rate. But, bear in mind, sometimes the rates stated in Oanda can be higher than the actual rate. Like last week, my auntie went to Indonesia and she got Rp3,600 for RM1. But, in Oanda, it states RM1 equals to Rp2,800 only. This is because it uses RM to USD first, then, USD to Rp.
5. When you got the rate, let say, for my RM to VND table , RM1 = VND 5152. So, type in both values first in cell 'A4' and 'B4'.
6. Then, in cell 'B5' , type in this formula '=A5*$B$4' . Then, you just have to drag down the formula to the rest of the Rows to get the value for other RM values as well. The '$' sign is to ensure that it always sticks to that particular cell, which is B4, the rate of conversion.

Then, do print it and make sure the size fits your wallet. By doing so, you won't be frowning over the unfamiliar price tags in front of you. It helps me a lot, so, I hope that it will help you too! ;)

English Must Stay

If you're captivated by the above title, then I would like to suggest you to click HERE. It was an open letter from Datin Freida Datuk Mohd Pilus, the chairman of Cempaka private schools, which was published on The Star yesterday (26/10/08).

Still on PPSMI

Posting kali ini akan ditulis di dalam bahasa melayu semata-mata kerana kali ini saya akan menulis sebagai seorang anak jati melayu yang sayangkan bangsanya, tidak ingin melihat bangsanya hanyut di arus globalisasi, mahupun tumbang di buminya sendiri.

Terkejut tatkala dihulurkan majalah Pendidik oleh PK1, Tn Hj Jumiran. Banyak mengupas isu PPSMI katanya. Oh… ada pembaca rupanya blog saya yang tak seberapa ini. ;)

Setelah membelek-belek majalah yang sarat dengan pelbagai hujah untuk tidak meneruskan PPSMI, saya tetap tidak berganjak dengan hujah saya agar janganlah PPSMI dimansuhkan. Sebab utama saya adalah, untuk ‘survival melayu’ itu sendiri. Maaf sekiranya posting kali ini berbaur agak perkauman, tapi, saya tidak boleh menidakkan kemelayuan saya. Justeru, saya harus memberi pandangan sekiranya saya rasa sesuatu perkara itu memberi kesan kepada bangsa saya.

PPSMI menyediakan pelajar untuk bersaing dalam arus globalisasi dikatakan sebagai hujah rapuh kerana banyak lagi negara yang tidak mengamalkan PPSMI berjaya berdiri sebagai sebuah negara maju. Betul, banyak negara maju tanpa PPSMI dan contoh yang diberi adalah Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Jerman, Perancis, China, Jepun, Korea, Luxemborg, Itali, Belgium, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Sepanyol dan Rusia. Soalan saya adalah, apakah kelebihan negara-negara maju yang disebutkan itu berbanding Malaysia? Banyak antara mereka sudah mempunyai teknologi yang diiktiraf dunia, dipasarkan keseluruh dunia. Contohnya, Finland (Nokia) , Sweden (Ericsson), Denmark(Lego, Carlsberg), Jerman (Daimler, Volkswagen, Allianze, Siemens,etc) , Perancis (Negara besar yg pernah menjadi penjajah, Alcatel) , China (Hwa Wei, ), Jepun (Sony, Nintendo, Honda, Nissan, etc), Korea (Hyundai, Samsung, Daewoo,etc), Switzerland (Swiss watches,), Portugal, Sepanyol (Negara besar yg pernah menjadi penjajah), dan Rusia (teknologi Aerospace, military equipments, Sukhoi). Jadi, wajarkah Malaysia dibandingkan dengan negara-negara ini yang GDPnya antara yang tertinggi di dunia? Mereka sudah established. Malaysia baru mengecap 51 tahun kemerdekaannya dan masih digolongkan dalam developing country, bukan developed country. Jadi, arus globalisasi yang mengenai negara kita 'lebih bergelora dan mencabar' berbanding dgn negara mereka.

Soalan kedua…..Adakah mereka multi-racial country seperti negara kita? Bangsa melayu berada di dalam ‘comfort zone’ apabila semuanya diajar didalam Bahasa Melayu. Padahalnya, etnik lain seperti orang cina dan India perlua mempelajari sekurang-kurangnya 2 bahasa untuk survive di Malaysia, iaitu bahasa cina & melayu, atau bahasa tamil dan melayu. Itupun, ramai di kalangan bangsa cina dan India di bandar sangat menguasai bahasa inggeris kerana bahasa itu juga turut dijadikan bahasa perantaraan di rumah mereka. And, let me remind you, berapa ramaikah bangsa cina yang menetap di Bandar jika dibandingkan dengan bangsa melayu? Natijah daripada kepenjajahan British yang telah mengamalkan dasar Pecah & Perintah menyebabkan pengasingan kependudukan orang melayu di kampung2 dan orang cina di Bandar-bandar. Jadi, persoalannya, siapakah yang tidak menguasai bahasa inggeris sekarang? Orang kampong bukan? Siapa yang mendominasi populasi di kampong? Orang Melayu, bukan? Jadi, orang melayu seharusnya berterima kasih apabila PPSMI dilaksanakan, kerana sekurang-kurangnya guru-guru, pelajar dan ibubapa mula sedar mengenai kepentingan Bahasa Inggeris sebagai bahasa teknologi. Kalau tidak masakan tadika2 yang menjadikan bahasa inggeris sebagai medium utama menjadi rebutan kepada golongan ibubapa seperti Smart Reader’s Kids, C.E.C, Montessori-based kindergartens, hatta Tadika EEman di Taman Seri Telok Datok sekalipun? Bila tidak dipaksa pembelajaran Sains & Matematik didlm BI, org-org kita menjadi lalai. Selesa dalam comfort zone tersendiri sehingga menafikan yang terdapatnya competition among the races to survive in this developing country of ours. Sebagai anak jati melayu, saya tahu, saya juga harus mempertahankan keunggulan bahasa ibunda saya. Tetapi, bercakap diatas dasar anak jati melayu juga.. saya tidak mahu melihat generasi melayu akan datang dipinggirkan di bumi sendiri kerana tidak fasih berbahasa Inggeris. GLC-GLC seperti TM, Petronas, TNB dll juga memerlukan eksekutif2 yang mampu berbahasa Inggeris, apatah lagi syarikat Multinasional yg beroperasi di dalam negara seperti Shell, ExxonMobil, Ericsson, Alcatel, Nokia, Dell, HSBC, dll? Kerajaan juga senantiasa menguji bahasa inggeris semasa menemuduga pegawai2 kerajaan. Jadi, tidakkah akan terpinggir org-org melayu yang tidak mahir berbahasa inggeris?

Ada cadangan supaya silibus BI dikaji apabila mempelajari BI selama 11 tahunpun, tidak mampu meningkatkan penguasaan BI. Memang betul, kerana, penguasaan bahasa melibatkan penggunaan bahasa tersebut, samada secara oral atau menulis. Pada pendapat saya, apabila sesuatu bahasa diajar dalam matapelajaran tersebut sahaja, ianya tidak holistic. Ia berhenti di dalam kelas itu sahaja. Oleh itu, apabila PPSMI diadakan, sekurang-kurangnya, lebih ‘bahasa inggeris’ di terima oleh pelajar. Sekurang-kurangnya, mereka lebih terbiasa dengan bahasa tersebut. Dek kerana penangan PPSMI jugalah, ramai ibubapa yang mula risau dengan tahap penguasaan BI anak2. Bukankah itu satu perkembangan yang positif?

Pada pendapat saya, adalah terlalu awal untuk melihat keberkesanan PPSMI. Mungkin kerajaan boleh memanjangkan tempoh percubaannya, kerana, tempoh pelaksanaan PPSMI belum pun matang. But then again, this is only my two cents worth. Karangan saya yang panjang ini mungkin tidak memberi kesan langsung kepada keputusan kerajaan. Tapi, tak salah mencuba untuk didengar menerusi blog dizaman ICT ini, bukan? MAKE YOURSELF HEARD. That’s the point.

PPSMI 'membunuh' Bahasa Melayu??

That is a title of a letter in readers' column (Berita Harian, yesterday's issue). Do you think so? From my humble opinion, PPSMI does not kill Bahasa Melayu, nor B. Cina or B.Tamil. It is inline with globalisation. English is the main language spoken across the globe. We have to be fluent in English to compete with other nation. If we don't expose the students to English in Science n Maths, will they be able to withstand the challenges of globalisation?

Yes, it's true that Japan and Korea don't need English in establishing their countries as the developed countries. But, they are way ahead of us. They built their own technology. We, on the other hand, still depend a lot on foreign countries. Like in Telecommunication industry, the local players like Celcom, Maxis and DiGi need people who can converse in English because all the technologies used are from overseas. The vendors like Ericsson (Sweden), Nokia(Finland), Motorola(US), Lucent(US), Hwa Wei(China), etc, are from foreign countries, so the medium of communication is English. That is an example in engineering industry. In medic, does they teach medical courses in BM? Hmm.. I don't think so. What about IT? I teach ICTL form one and the syllabus is in English because the language used in Microsoft Office and Windows operating system is English. So, need I say more about English being the language of technology?

I have faced the hardship of not being able to speak english fluently, so, I will not let it happen to my kids as well. I still remember my former boss who resist to send his child to a Gred A boarding school because he was afraid that his child won't be able to be good in English. He believes that if his daughter sticks with her normal SMK, she will mix around with other races, hence converse in English better. For him, staying in boarding school with huge population of malay students will weaken his daughter's eagerness to speak in English. And, let me remind you that my former boss graduated from the States. So, maybe (I'm assuming here .. hehe) he faced the difficulties in his tertiary level studies because of English.

Jangan risau. We will remember our roots.Siapa yang akan lupa usul-asal mereka? As for me, I will never forget my roots. I'm always ready to kecek kelate whenever feasible. Saya cuma beriya-iya menulis di dalam bahasa inggeris kerana saya ingin memperbaiki kelemahan bahasa inggeris saya. Bukan menidakkan keindahan dan kepentingan Bahasa Melayu. Di peringkat PMR pun, bukan BM dilupakan terus. Hanya 3 daripada 8 subjek teras diajar dlm BI, iaitu Science, Maths & English. Terkilan rasanya bila ramai yang ingin PPSMI dihentikan. Tidak dinafikan, memang susah mempelajari Sains & Matematik dalam BI. Tetapi, kalau tidak bersusah-susah sekarang, macam mana nak bersenang-senang kemudian? Org jepun pun dah mula mempelajari Bahasa Inggeris. Profesor lama saya, Ryoichi Komiya, sudah berumur lebih 50 tahun, tetapi masih mempelajari Bahasa Inggeris kerana ingin diterima diperingkat global, bukan sekadar di Jepun sahaja. Jadi, adakah kita wajar mengorbankan pelaburan berjuta ringgit (i believe so :- textbooks, laptops, LCDs, coursewares) yang telah dibelanjakan untuk mengendalikan PPSMI kerana menganggap susahnya belajar dlm bahasa inggeris, ataupun kerana menganggap PPSMI membunuh bahasa ibunda, Bahasa Melayu? Think again. Di zaman kolonial inggeris pun, ramai nenek2 dan mak2 kita yang belajar di English Medium Schools, and they survived. Most of them holds various positions in private or government sectors. Masa tu lagi laa.. mana ada cybercafe, astro, loads of books? TV pun hardly seen in their house. Boleh jer survive. Tak hilang melayunya pun. However, this is only my 2 cents worth. So, what say you?

Facebook promo ...

The old saying says ‘procrastination is the thief of time’. Hmm.. that is true. But, what happens in my own little small world today is .. internet is the thief of time. Really? Yes, really, really. I think that I’ve been spending too much time on the computer. No wonder our electricity bills are always 'high'. One reason is, I need to use Skype to communicate with my dearest hubby. Secondly, I have a blog and fotopage to update. Thirdly, I sometimes need to attend to our school’s Joomla-based portal. Fourthly, I love to read Forum Cari, be it on the Current Issues thread, Gossips, or Home and Gardening thread. Next, I love to shop online. Currently, since hubby is in the states, I should have utilise ebay rite? Then, now.. comes facebook. Ohhh.. this is really a thief of time. I don’t have much time to gather with my friends, especially when I changed job. In my previous job, some of my friends are my uni coursemates, and I even have a friend who has been in the same boat with me since we were in Form One. So, we always manage to share stories about our friends from time to time. But now, I lost track on everyone unless I called my friends, texted them through YM or email them. With facebook, getting connected is so much fun. I never thought that I would be able to communicate with my long-lost highschool friends through facebook. I always feel that I’m too old for myspace and friendster. But facebook .. I love it. You should try it too! :)

Hatiku berbunga ...

Flowers are blooming everywhere. Wohooo... besnyer. I love looking at those flowers. I have been ignoring them since Raya, but, today ... as I was walking to open the gate, I saw a lot of flowers. Lotsa them, in variety of colours. Yeehaa!!






But.. One of the Japanese Rose plant has been attacked by bug. Bena putih bug. I put it in isolation, far from others, and sprayed it with Ridsect H2O. I'm not sure whether it will survive or not. Let's hope that it will. Sob3x...




Sedutan ... gambar dibawah menunjukkan kakak memaksa adik berposing di pagi raya.

La Tahzan

It's been almost one week that i felt like my head is going to explode because of a very troubled news. I felt so sad .. and today, i remembered a book given by my mentor, Pn Zaleha Zainul Abidin. A book entitled La Tahzan, an infamous motivation book by Dr Aa'id Abdullah Al Qarnee. You can download the pdf version here.

Don't be sad he said. There are a lot of reasons why you can't be sad. And, this book really is a perfect cure to me right now. There are plenty of reasons why I can't be sad. La Tahzan ... :). Every cloud has a silver lining, rite? So, cheer up!

Salam Aidilfitri

Me and English

I always try to find ways to make my students realize how important English is. I am glad that PPMSI is being conducted in our national schools because the students can be exposed to ‘more’ English rather than learning English only in B.Inggeris subject. For me, early exposure is important when we are still young, because at that time, our brains are like sponge. It can easily absorb anything. It’s like, you have to learn muqaddam when you’re still small and learn to solat by the age of 7. Young age is tender age, so, if you want them to absorb more, expose them early.

I learn how important English is the hard way, after getting less favorable result for my degree programme despite being a recipient of TM scholarship. I have my own personal bad experience that give me a hard time learning a 4-year engineering degree programme fully in English. I was born in a small town in Tanah Merah, Kelantan. My old folks are not graduates, but, my father is a government servant and my mom is a teacher. We stayed with my grandma and grandpa, and the whole family speaks in kelantanese dialect. Standard malay language is not spoken, and what more for English! Zilch! I still remember one time when I go to kindergarten and my teacher asked me (also in kelantanese dialect) what did I have for breakfast. My answer is “Make air milo nge roti (makan air milo ngan roti)”. And I still remember my teacher’s smile afterward. She said that, one cannot makan air… you must use minum air instead. Haha .. Ye ker? Seriously, I didn’t know that until my teacher corrected me.

But, I am lucky that I have a smart brother. He has indirectly given me an opportunity to learn English better by teasing me whenever I want to watch ‘cheap’ malay movies. He is into English thriller/action-packed movies, so, he really hated it when I tune the TV to watch cherita chenta. He’s my big brother, so, I gave up and watch his favourite stories instead. As a result, I think my English is quite okay as compared to my other classmates. I remember using the word ‘fantastic’ when I was in standard four, and my English teacher Sir Rozmi was quite surprised to hear that. He did ask me where did I learn the word from, and my answer is … yesterday’s movie on TV. Waaa…. The teacher complimented me in front of my friends. Hihi..suka giler! From that day onwards, I rarely argue with my brother on his selection of movies to be watched.

Then, getting myself into a boarding school has given me some help in improving my English. But, I improve in writing English, not speaking English. I hardly speak in English because I don’t know how to. Plus, I felt inferior since my friends from KB town are way better in English than I am. But thanks to them, they are also the ones who encouraged me to read English novels. I remember Boo-chique, De’ and Mok Nik. They read a lot of English novels and their english are good. I manage to read only one, after my PMR exam, and it took me almost three months to finish it. Itupun.. there are a lot of parts that I have skipped because I don’t understand them. It was Mok Nik's book, on a psycho killer. But at least, reading that novel has widen my vocab. The next English novel that I manage to read is after my SPM exam, a John Grisham’s which belongs to my brother.

Wah..this is gonna be a long story ya? Yes..because I have a long history with English. Then, I got an interview with Telekom after scoring 7 agg. in my SPM. Before entering the interview room, I was very nervous because I CAN”T SPEAK IN ENGLISH. Whoaaa….the interview is in English. Plus, I heard that those interviewers are quite reluctant to interview us, the kelantanese candidates, because our English is bad. And that is so true. They called five candidates into the room, expecting us to compete with each other when attempting their questions. But, it turned out that … almost everyone was in silent mode. Payoh wei nak speaking London nih!
I never thought that I will ever get that scholarship.. tapi, rezeki dah tertulis kan. Alhamdulillah, dapat jugak, but, it was a 2-years diploma programme locally plus 2-years degree programme abroad, not the one which is directly an oversea programme. And lastly, it turns out to be a 4-years degree programme locally (George Soros and Asian economic crisis punya pasal!).

Ok..this is the climax of the story. My degree programme is horrible! Lecturers are from everywhere around the world. So, I need to constantly try to understand everyone’s English and at the same time try to understand all those engineering jargons used in our thick textbooks. Did I score badly because of English? I don’t blame it all on English, but, I think that it did contribute a portion of it. However, that degree programme has helped me a lot with my English. Met a lot of friends who can speak English fluently. Working in an engineering office for 5 years has also improve me, but still, I rarely speak in English. Most of our colleagues are malays, so, why bother speaking in English, rite? Then, getting myself into KPLI and learned Physics in English has truly opened my eyes that I can converse in English. It gives me confidence to speak in English in front of the class. Thank You Miss Tan Mun Wai (our mentor!). Thank You Physics Class of IPTek 2006.

And when I thought that my English is already ‘okay’, I was asked to teach English Form One. Waaa… only then I realize that I still need to improve my English. Grammatically. That is really a blessing in disguise. Even though I didn’t get to teach my option, at least I can prepare myself for better English. All in all.. I am still learning now. Learning to improve my English grammar. So, pardon me if you find ‘broken english’ , manglish (malaysian english) or grammatical errors in my postings. Learning is ….. a lifelong process.

Ok, since I'm talking about English Language here..there’s a story that I always share with my students in my English class. (My dearest hubby told me this, so, I searched for the written version on the net). I rationalized how practice makes perfect with this story. I advise them that they need to practice English more often to make it perfect…

One day during a speaking tour, Albert Einstein’s driver, who often sat at the back of the hall during his lectures, remarked that he could probably give the lecture himself, having heard it so many times. Sure enough, at the next stop on the tour, Einstein and the driver switched places, with Einstein sitting at the back in his driver's uniform.
Having delivered a flawless lecture, the driver was asked a difficult question by a member of the audience. "Well, the answer to that question is quite simple," he casually replied. "I bet my driver, sitting up at the back there, could answer it..."

See? Even a driver can give a lecture like Einstein just because he often heard them. So, can we speak good english if we often heard english?

Gardening on my birthday

I have a special privilege this year. My birthday falls on Selangor's Public Holiday (including some other states as well). 17 September this year comes together with 17 Ramadan. So, we have a Nuzul Quran holiday, in line with my birthday. Hihi..
Thinking of my birthday, in Ramadan, I thought of my late father. I was born in Syawal, 2 weeks after Raya. But, since I was quite big in my mom's womb (still big now..), my father has to take charge in preparing our house for Raya. He even help mom made some biscuits. I was surprised when I heard that from mom because my father is a very strict man. Manly. Veto. Etc .. (bekas askar lah katakan ..) So, to think of him helping mom in kitchen is quite unbelievable for me. And now he is gone .. I really think that I miss him. Very much. Remembering my birthday would also be remembering him. Alfatihah...

Well, life has to go on rite? On the other note, I am still in gardening mode. So, as for today .. these are my calorie burners.


I have to dig those plants from the 'induk' (what's this word in English by the way? parent is it? ) first. Then, fill in the pots with soil before putting them in. It's very tiring .. plus, it is a very hot day. But, I still think that it's worth it. I have plants .. and at the same time, I'm burning some calories. IMHO, it is an enjoyable exercise, rather than running on a treadmill staring straight at a dull-looking wall, rite?

Gardening ... in Ramadhan?

I'm unable to update this blog for a little while because I have too many things to catch up with. I have a garden to look after, two kids who constantly need my attention, a 'long-distance' hubby who needs to talk to me online thru Skype whenever he's free, and bla, bla, bla.

There are stories that i want to share in this blog. One, on my beloved cute son, Wawan a.k.a Juan. Oh my! He's very naughty and active now. He did many sorts of things that make my blood 'go upstairs'. Some of them are ...
1. running naked here and there after his bath, trying to avoid me whose trying hard to make him wears his diapers. Gerammmmmmmler sesangat!! He won't come near me until I threatened him that I would leave him naked and continue my chores.
2. exploring/touching everything in front of him. When I was at the back to hang the clothes, he would run here and there, and try to find anything that will fancy him. One of the things that he found interesting these days are the detergent bottles arranged near the washing machine. I caught him trying to open the Clorox's lid. Eiii..bahaya betul!
3. asking for more and more bottles of milk because he's unable to sleep. Last few days, he asked for the fifth bottle before drifting to sleep. And that very last bottle was made by sleepy me at 12.15 a.m. Can you imagine that? I was already asleep, and I need to wake up for sahur some more. Urghhh ... sabar jelaa.

All in all .. I think he was just trying to catch my attention. Last night, I had a headache. I was lying down in front of the TV, and there's a glass of cold carbonated drink on the dining table. He brought the drink to me, and said "Mama, minum la sikit. Baru kuat." .... Ohhhhhhhhhh...terharunyaa...

Ecah on the other hand, gave me a letter. She got an A4 paper and fold it to an envelope-like pattern. It says I Love You. I wanted to scan the letter, but, I don't know where she keep it ( She insist to keep it ). How sweet ... At first, I cannot read what was written on the letter because I read it upside down, and I thought she was just kidding. But then, when she showed me what was actually written on it.. I was soo touched. It is her own handwriting, and she wrote them on her own. She didn't even ask me how to spell them. Dah pandai rupanya anak aku. I Love You too Ecah. MMuaahhhhss... I'm speechless ....

My Gardening Activity on the other hand is still in progress. Here are a few updates on my gardening activities ..



Petunias have bloom .. from this


to this


New concrete slab@RM9 each ... yet to be arranged..

I'm Sad ...

I'm very sad today for hubby has to go to US despite being feverish. What scares me more was, Achik was admitted to ward because of dengue fever a few day earlier. Tawakkal je lah that nothing worst will happen to hubby. Hopefully dia bukan kena denggi, but demam biasa je sbb penat sangat. He has a four hours flight to Taipei, wait for 1 1/2 hours there before proceeding to a 12 hours flight to LAX. Then, wait for another 1 1/2 hours for his 1 hour flight to San Francisco. Fuuhh... That is sooo exhausting! Siyannya. Aku hanya mampu berdoa..*sigh*

Ecah - Flower Girl Part II

The first time Ecah became the flower girl for a wedding was last year, during Mak Ngah's wedding. And, at that time, she was accompanied by Harish, a.k.a abang susuan dia. So, when Wan Anjang (Pak Anjang Ai's) was about to prepare for her daughter's wedding, that is Mar's, she asked Ecah to be the flower girl too. Ecah nodded almost instantly, grinning from ear to ear. Woohoo.. bab-bab melawa.. anak aku ni memang suka. So, here she is .. in her pink flower girl dress. Mar's wedding was held on 10 August 2008.

Wawan dengan posing 'hantu'nya

Nanti next year - Wawan n Nuha punya turn plak jadik flower girl n boy

This is Ecah the Flowergirl last year

My new craze - Gardening

I have no idea when did I start to fall in love with gardening. I've been reading a lot about plants lately, especially in Forum Cari' s Home & Gardening. Bes banget. Feels like planting lots and lotsa veggies & fruits. Oh.. and not forgotten, cute flowers. But, I have one weakness that I wish I could throw away once I'm into gardening. Forgetting things. What happen if I forget to water or fertilize my plants? Hmmm... I could risk my plants if i keep forgetting things. I risk my money as well, for I have invest almost 100 bucks yesterday at a nearby nursery. Tak boleh jadi ni... I have to discipline myself!

So, for a start, plants that I've already planted are :
1. Mango (Mempelam epal)
2. Japanese Roses
3. Betik
4. Limau Nipis
5. Limau kasturi (Mak Usu yang buat ni)
6. Semai cili & tomato

Waa.. banyak jugak yer? Hihi... But, most of my time for the last few days (a few hours before going to school), I do some weeding because I want to plant Bunga Bintang. Bunga Bintang ayah dah banyak sebenarnya, tapi, if possible, aku nak dia merebak byk2 lagi.

And, I have bought two "Pokok halau Nyamuk" a.k.a Pokok Jermin, and pokok garuda. I bought Pokok halau Nyamuk because whenever my kids play outside the house, they end up being bitten my mosquitoes. So, I bought two - 1 to be put in front of the house, and another one in our backyard. So far so good. There's no mosquito bites today.

Recap

Lama tak update blog. Bila baca balik posting lama2, I have a note for myself. I have to update sbb this blog reminds me of a lot of things happening in the past. I am really good in forgetting things, so, I really have to get this blog going before I really forget about everything.

Jan
- Mom n Auntie got back from Mekah. I have to use 2 days of CRK to go back to kelantan. At the same time kami buat tahlil ke-40 abah. I wish I could do more for Abah. But he is a kind of man who rarely request anything. He only wants people to obey his command.

Mac
- Went back to Kelantan during school hols. Tahlil ke-100 abah. Didn't even vote on 08032008 because hubby casts his vote here in Banting, and tickets sume dh abis untuk aku balik anak-beranak. Kalau Arwah masih ada time ni, sure dia letih sangat sbb dia mmg tak boleh duduk diam masa pilihanraya.

Apr
- Satu keluarga Banting pergi ke Hutan Lipur Kanching. It was Tok Tan's idea.


May
- Kuantan Trip : For Majlis Pertunangan Ira. The whole family except my beloved hubby went there. It was an interesting trip.. siap pegi Muzium Sg Lembing and Cherating of course!






- We went to Vietnam, including Tok Tan, Andong and Wan Tam. Hubby went there for two months, so we join him since we manage to get cheap tickets from AirAsia. By the way, accommodation is free rite? Found out that Ho Chi Minh City is quite a shopping heaven for us. Things like embroidered and beaded bags are cheap. Same goes to telekong, baju kurung, girls’ dresses, and etc.






- Balik kampong to Kelantan – Kak We’s Kenduri. Dah kawin dah sepupuku tu. Couldn’t stay long though, coz Hubby has to settle a few things before going to Mexico. We didn’t even go to Johor (the groom’s side) because of that.

Wawan n Cik Na (Asyik nak Cik Na jer..pesal haa?)

Silat Pengantin... lawan bang, jgn tak lawan

Congrats to Jarer & Erma

Fuiyo..laki sapa yang mithali tu? :)

June
- Hubby went to Mexico. He stayed in Malaysia for only two weeks. Itupun, one week is considered gone since we have to rush back to Kelantan for the wedding. I miss him…*sigh*