Mat Bon

*from my other blog at Dilla Speaks Out

I just love him. What’s his name again? Oh yes — Daniel Craig, right?

When the trailer first came out I went, "OMG. Who’s that guy?" He was a nobody, at least in my books. My hubby said maybe it’s a strategic decision to cast him as the new Bond. Strategic ke bende nya? Then, after a little reflection I could see where they were coming from. I mean, aren’t you just a little tired of the "Look at me. I’m all that, suave, good looking, lompat-pun-jatuh-macam-gymnast" kinda secret agent? For one, I think I am. What is this surfing-in-the-sky and landing-in-a-helicopter-about-to-crash and pulling-it-up-in-time-to-land-on-a-boat business?Sungguh tak logik sekali! In short, the audience is no longer stupid. They have to come up with a different formula to capture the audience. Revamp Bond. And after seeing the movie last night, I AM CAPTURED!

"Casino Royale" shows us how Bond was promoted to the Double-O status. Basically, just forget the old Bond that you know of and give this one a clean slate. This brand new Bond was brutal, rough, mysterious and didn’t really give a rat’s arse about things. When requesting a martini from the bartender, he was asked,"Shaken or stirred?" His reply was a very cool "Do I look like I give a damn?" heh heh heh. There’s no Q with a string of gadgety inventions. The only one I noticed was the very cool telemedicine link up with MI6 HQ with the defib when he had the heart attack. Really loved his dry and cool sense of humour — especially so at the torture scene. (another heh heh heh) No worries though, he is still very much asgatal as before. They had to leave something from his old movies, right? The whole set up is very much up-to-date, really, with a string of Sony adverts– the Sony digital camera, Vaio laptop, Sony E handphones.

My verdict is — Go watch it on the silver screen! You’ll find that he’s the sort of guy that grows on you. Just be prepared to sit through the 3 hour long movie. It really felt like I was watching 2 movies back-to-back. heh heh heh. Can’t wait for the next Bond movie, though.

-dillz blogging out-

Open House Oh Open House

*from my other blog at Dilla Speaks Out

The first Syawal weekend made me feel rather unpopular due to the very small number of invites we received to Open Houses. My sister, ZZ, on the other hand, had 7 invites to attend and we only had one. Sad? Close to pathetic, actually…

"It’s okay la..After all, people are still fasting, what.. There’s probably some next week..", I consoled myself.

True enough(nasib baik , rather),the invites started rolling in the week after. We had invites on weekdays and weekends. (terasa glamer la pulak) My dad always told me to go to people’s functions if you want them to come to yours. So, we always try our darnest to fulfill these invites. Tu yang sampai sesat la.. Datang on the WRONG DAY la.. We even went to one house TWICE, sebab salah hari! Boleh tak? Talk about commitment, man.. Unfortunately, we had to pass on some invites due to time constraints.. It was waaay easier when there were no excess baggages (read: 2 cranky kids). Managing the kids after a long day was just not a pretty sight. Simply not possible, man.. So, I’d also like to take this opportunity to apologize to the hosts we didn’t manage to visit. We truly tried, but we just couldn’t make it.

Due to storage limitations, I could only post the pics I snapped at Lily’s place. That’s me and Khaleeq, Lily and Kash, and Khadra at the koi pond.

Thank you Datin-boss, Lily, Rita, Inalim, Boye, Azalene, Sujack, Aunty Sally, Illa, Abg Suhaimi, Reza, Hasanah , Abang Amran and Mira for the invitation. Don’t forget to invite us again next year, okay?

-dillz blogging out-

My Heart, Your Heart…

*from my other blog at Dilla Speaks Out

You guys ever heard of YouTube? Well, this amazing creation has managed to bring to you Khadra - L.I.V.E.Click there –> Khadra’s My Heart

My sissy, Kira ‘youtube’d this little clipping of Khadra’s rendition of My Heart over one noisy family time in Pondok Azlul a few weeks back. You can actually hear we were clapping to one of the kid’s performances in the background. (I think it was Naqib’s) The little kids are always ‘performing’ there. They take turns singing, dancing or doing a little magic act. They’d go up the makeshift ’stage’ (read: staircase, table or any raised platform), do their little thingy-magit and curtsy/bow to the audience. So sweet, eh?

It’s not a surprise that they are doing this now. I remember back in the Gullimard years, the three of us (ZZ, me and Illa) would also do the same thing on the raised platform in our garage. (Author’s note: Gullimard is now known as Persiaran Ledang. That’s where we stayed until I was around 6 years old) I can remember quite vividly we also recorded "Rindu Bayangan" through my mom’s mini recorder -

"… berputar-putar membelitkan kata-kata, hanya linangan ayer mata yang menitis.."

Ha ha ha… Now you know why she’s such a drama queen. I was one too!

-dillz blogging out-

Cooking Like Jamie

*from my other blog at Dilla Speaks Out

I must say that I have been rather good at this cooking thingy. Seeing that I have quite a chronic case of the hangat-hangat tahi ayam syndrome (I am recovering, you know..) I was expected to be doing it for only a while before I get bored and move on to the next ‘thing’ I term as my passion. Seal the not-so-new Zanussi ZOE535 Electric Oven / Grill (refer if you have forgotten how it looked like ) and shelf the expansive cookbooks. However, I beg to differ in this particular case, my friends. By the way things are going, I can see that this ‘cooking’ thing will be a very frequent event in my life.

Most of my recipes hail from three main sources:

1. My Mak Langkawi : She is THE resource person back in the heydays when I started cooking - when I was a bachelor living amongst the Mat Salleh in the UK up until now as I have already become a mother of 2 kids. Her dishes are simple and she can make SOMETHING good out of whatever raw material taht is left in the fridge. She cooks a mean dish of Ayam Masak Cili Kering, Ikan Bawal Masak Halia and Pajeri Nenas. But of course, she can make just about anything under the sun. This lady doesn’t use measurements, "Bawang sikit.. halia sikit.." and PRESTO! The dish is done..

2. My Datin-boss : She LOVES to cook A LOT. (In terms of both frequency and quantity) My first tried and tested dish from her was the Steak with Mashed Potatoes and Buttered veges. I got raved reviews from hubby, so I decided to offer them to my siblings, in-laws and nieces. They also agreed. Since then, I have been referring to my Datin-boss for dishes such as : Daging & Ubi Kentang Oyster, Nasi Beriyani, and I am due to learn how to make my own Beef patties.

3. My Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks :I have two at the moment.Jamie’s Dinners and The Return of the Naked Chef (So you know what to get me for my next birthday :6.1.2007 *hint hint*) I love his books ‘coz there’s not much preparation that needs to be done and he just BASICALLY chucks things in and it gets cooked. The instructions are easy to follow too. Sure, he uses parts of ‘the animal’ that we can’t eat, but the is easily replaced with all the alternatives available in the market now. Case in point: streaky bacon with streaky beef bacon. I have to admit he uses a lot of ingredients that are not available / grown locally but you can find most of them at Bangsar Village’s Village Grocer or Jaya jusco Supermarket in One-Utama. The best part is it tastes really really good. And that’s what matters in the end, right?

Among my accoplishments so far:

From L to R: Scottish Pete’s Cheesy Steak Sandwich, Lambs with Chickpeas, Yoghurt and Tray-roasted veg, Roast Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary Roast Potatoes & Pesto.

Not in the pictures: Super Tasty Lamb Cutlet & Salmon and Couscous

Quite an impressive list, eh? heh heh heh

-dillz blogging out-

Khaleeq Is A Big Boy

*from my other blog at Dilla Speaks Out

Very happy to note that Khaleeq has successfully weaned off my b**bies for the past 9 days! No more +=+=< for Khaleeq! Yeay!!!!

Khaleeq turned two on the 30th of July 2006, so, that makes him 2 years and 3 months when I started to wean him off. I breastfed him exclusively for 11 months ( –> stopped breastfeeding Khadra when she was 7mths coz I was pregnant with Khaleeq) After which I introduced the formula milk and kept on breastfeeding him when I am with him and especially during sleepy-time. It’s not that he is getting much milk from me. Sometimes, after a nursing session with me, he’ll happily go off and get a drink of water from his tumbler. :)~~ I guess it’s more about snuggling close and having exclusive WE time with me, eh? 2 years and 3 months… I mean, cukup cukup la tu, kan?

2 good friends told me about their method to wean off their kids involving blood-red lipstick, biji sawi and a whole lot of acting. Hey, it worked for them! I decided that I’ll take the straight forward route - I’ll tell Khaleeq straight out. I’ll tell him that:

1. He is a big boy now

2. Big boys don’t drink from mommy’s +=+=<

3. If he succeeds , we’ll get his him a blue bike, complete with training wheels..

I have to say that it wasn’t easy, though. The first night was filled with clawing and shrieking and yelling and crying and biting and hair-pulling, but I kept at it. "No more +=t=k for Khaleeq, coz he is a BIG boy now, right?" More clawing and shrieking and yelling and crying and biting and hair-pulling. I just kept on patting his butt to put him to sleep. He’d keep on crying, while placing his hand around me, hugging me as he tries to go to sleep. I’d just keep on patting him and telling him what a good boy he is, what a big boy he has become… His cries gets slower, softer.. until he finally falls asleep, his hands still firmly placed over my shoulder. Sedih la pulak dibuatnya.. At about 3am, I find him beside me, with more clawing and shrieking and yelling and crying and biting and hair-pulling. I was almost willing to give up and shove ‘it’ up his mouth but I kept at it, yet again.. "No, Khaleeq, you’re a big boy now.." The cycle continues.. and once again at 6.30am — I just brought him out to watch whatever is on Playhouse Disney Chanel, made him a bottle of milk and sat in front of the tv with him, while I slowly run my fingers through his hair and try to catch a little bit more of sleep. But, in summary, he finally did it! ONE full night without my b**bies. Well done, Khaleeq boy!

The coming days got better though - less clawing and shrieking and yelling and crying and biting and hair-pulling until there was NO MORE… Khaleeq truly is a BIG boy now and he deserves that little blue bike with training wheels.. [B, are you reading this? :)]

-dillz blogging out-

Belated Selamat Hari Raya Post - Take 2

*from my other blog at Dilla Speaks Out

Both my parents, my brother Boy and sister, Kira were away for umrah during Ramadhan and only returned to Malaysia on the 4th of Raya. That went quite well with our plans to beraya in Kelantan first.

Have you ever noticed that the yearly question ; "Beraya kat mana tahun ni?" — actually means where will you physically be on the morning of the First of Syawal. So important is the morning of First Raya — nothing beats the Mohon Maaf session and the theDuit Raya session that comes together with it.

After their return, we decided to recreate the feel of First of Raya and so, the Nazrins, the Azruls, the Wafis and the singletons gathered in Pondok Azlul one Sunday evening all dressed up with Duit Raya packages in their pockets.

The only thing missing was the Takbir Raya — I normally look forward to the Takbir Raya in Pondok Azlul .. We would normally have a session on the night before together with the Khatam Al-Quran (Normally, dad would have at least completed one round of Al-Quran during Ramadhan, sometimes 2 or 3). At this event, the small kids (cousins, nephews and nieces) would be practically fighting over the shortest surahs and it is sort of a showcase on how well they have progressed in Quran reading.The next morning , there’ll be another Takbir Raya session, before going off to the mosque for Sunat prayers. The final one would be after prayers when dad would start off and then ask his sons-in-laws to take over. That would be when butterflies will flutter away in my hubby’s tummy. ha ha ha - I miss those days!!!

-dillz blogging out-

Belated Selamat Hari Raya Post - Take 1

*from my other blog at Dilla Speaks Out

Selamat Hari Raya everyone!!!

We had a long break this Raya and it was Kelantan’s turn for the first day of Raya this year. Let me just point out an obvious fact at this point in time : balik kampung during festive seasons is a feat in itself. We were trying to be clever and outwit everybody by starting our journey at about 5.30pm on Saturday. The logic was simple:

1. We figured that since the holiday break is inclusive of Deepavali which is on Saturday, most people would have already started their journey on Friday. So, day of journey was set to Saturday.

2. Most people would choose to start their journey at a convenient time, say: after Subuh, after iftar.. So, we picked a time with the expectation of berbuka puasa on the way - say, in Raub or Gua Musang.

3. We get to munch and drink during a big percentage of the journey.

There were 2 cars in the convoy - The Azruls and The Amrans (my hubby’s brother). Abg Amran, being super organized, went ahead and packed 6 packets of Nasi Goreng of varying spicy-ness. We met up at the iftar place in Raub- Restoran Muallaf that serves yummy Chinese-inspired dishes. We had our pre-packed Nasi Goreng there, with Western Prawn, Squid Dried Chilli, Blackpepper Chicken, Steamed Siakap in Soy Sauce and some veges. Sedap gila, okay.. Despite the volume of cars on the road and the slow down at Bukit Tujuh, we made it to Kubang Kerian at 2.30am - that makes it a whole 9 hours after we left the Petronas Gombak petrol station. And that is inclusive of the 1 and a half hour of iftar break in Raub. Not bad, eh?

Raya morning, I had to get the kids readily bathed , clothed in our Brown ensamble and fed before ‘they’ all got back from the mosque for Sembahyang Sunat Raya –> Mission easily accomplished by outsourcing it to Parmi. :) After the visit to Azrul’s dad grave, the whole family is all gathered up for the traditional Mohon Maaf and Duit Raya session. We then went to visit other relatives.

Didn’t go to many of friends’ houses though. It was kinda hard to sync our schedule with those few friends that we actually have in Kelantan. We only made our way to Rashdan’s (Azrul’s primary school buddy) house in Kubang Kerian and Suhla / Hiday ’s house in Pengkalan Chepa. Not too surprising seeing that Azrul went to school in KL post-primary education and yours truly is not a Kelantanese.

<– The very single and available Rashdan, Suhla’s birthday in PC and Khadra being ajakun about tikar mengkuang at Hiday’s place.

-dillz blogging out-

Kembar Tak Seiras

*from my other blog at Dilla Speaks Out

Meet my T10 twin sister. She’s pink though. heh heh heh. Owned by CikPijah and this picture was taken during our mini-PPP gathering for iftar in IKEA last Ramadhan. Remember the RM15 buffet I was raving about?

Yup, that one.

Summary? Basically,there was a lot of queueing up involved; the food was plentiful but I couldn’t be bothered to get them coz the line was so damn long. Anyways, there were 8 of us on full count. But the number grew very slowly from 2 , thanks to the massive downpour which blocked all entrance to Damansara Perdana. We basically ate off each other’s plates. The dish that I remembered the most was the paru goreng — did we eat a whole lot of that stuff! heh heh heh

Despite the queueing up, the conversation was great (read: gossiping) and the company was amazing. What more could you ask for, eh? [Note to self: Should really do a whole lot more of this.. ;)]

-dillz blogging out-

Khadra the Ballerina

*from my other blog at Dilla Speaks Out

Khadra has officially joined the Federal Academy of Ballet! First class was last Saturday on the 4th of November 2006. You can see her and Teyta in the pictures.

We actually came in a week earlier to try out the class, you know, see if they could follow instructions and catch up with the rest of the kids. It was an ongoing class - the kids had already been at it for several months now. Miss Thong gave us the go-ahead after the trials and so I brought it up with Hubby and was given an OK! Khadra was really excited about it..

She was even more excited when we went to get her the ballet tutu! As soon as she had her ballet shoes on, she went in front of the large mirror, excusing herself - "I have to practise! " Twirling and jumping and running on tippy-toes.. Her hours of watching Angelina Ballerina really paid off. She refused to take off her tutu the whole day , showing off to whomever who would watch.

So, cancell all my appointments on Saturdays from 1.00 - 1.30pm; I’ve got to send my girl for ballet!

-dillz blogging out-