Live from the Arena of Stars

Getting ready for a fun Hi5 time!
Full report after this...;)

-dillz blogging out-

To Hi5 or Not to Hi5

Have you heard of Hi5, the 5 team sensation who dances and sings while wearing quirky and fun costumes? They have their own tv show airing on Nick Jr. and happens to be Khaleeda's favourite. She loves them so much that when you count, 1,2,3,4 ; she'd continue with Hi5! She even memorizes some of their steps, I kid you not.

So, imagine our surprise when I found out that:

Picture from :here

AND to top the icing to the cake:

Complimentary tickets for each student in Beaconhouse Bangsar to watch Hi5 Surprise! show LIVE in Genting Highlands. No brainer, right? We should just get in the car and climb straight up to the hilltop.

Aah.. Do not jump your horses too soon , my friend for herein lies the challenge:

• The show is for TODAY, 31st August 2009, at the Arena of Stars, Genting Highlands ; and get this - showtime is at 4pm
  

What's the big deal?

1. Khadra and Khaleeq and me are fasting AND the show is at 4pm- hence, timing untuk berbuka puasa sangatlah sucks!
   
2. Logistics up and down the hill - imagine having to drive up AND down the hill PLUS today is the end of a long weekend. Just let your imaginations run wild with the potential traffic jam from the masses coming back from their kampungs. And we are talking about Karak highway here..
   

Khadra and Khaleeda really really wants to go. *Really* Khaleeq is non-chalant about it, he said it was for Babies and Girls.. So, he's quite okay with staying home (and finishing up his homework with dad) Have been going back and forth with this since the past 3 days. Kejap nak pergi, kejap tak nak pergi.. Kejap nak pergi, kejap tak nak pergi..

Decisions need to be firmed up and ASAP. I so wanna get them there but so malas to deal with all the other implications. Ikut hati, baik dok rumah je buat kerja or rest (a.k.a. tido). But, at the back of my mind, I have this mental pictue of Khaleeda dancing to the tunes and how so darn happy she'd be when she sees them LIVE. Aaahhhh.. Nak tidur lah kejap. I'll most likely just carpool with Ziezi and we'll just redah je lah.. We'll see..

-dillz blogging out-

Waktu Tengahari di Belakang Jalan Pudu

Don't ask me what I was doing "di belakang Jalan Pudu" during one lunch hour in this holy month of Ramadhan. I just was. Ask my undisclosed alibi. He was there too. Just so that we are clear, by "di belakang Jalan Pudu" I meant the small road between the row of shops and the Pudu STAR LRT.

Awak beri ke? Saya pun nak juga...

Sila jangan masuk untuk mencari tempat untuk melepas dendam ya.. Since it is not Public, so it's private, lah ye?

Banyak juga signs yang menggeletek kalbu kat Malaysia ni. From now on, expect more from me, baybeh!

-dillz blogging out-

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

Tanggal 31
Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Merdeka ! Merdeka !
Tetaplah merdeka
Ia pasti menjadi sejarah

Tanggal 31
Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Hari yang mulia
Hari bahagia
Sambut dengan jiwa yang merdeka

Mari kita seluruh warga negara
Ramai-ramai menyambut hari merdeka
Merdeka !
Tiga satu bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Hari mulia negaraku merdeka

Merdeka !
Merdeka !
Merdeka !

-bak kata Allahyarham Sudirman Hj Arshad in 31 ogos

Wah.. Semangat pullok dia nak merdeka. Thanks to the National Day falling on a Monday, workers and schoolchildren across the nation enjoy a three-day weekend. :) Unfortunately, for most of us I really think that's all there is to it. Which translates the situation, at least in my books, as really sad.

Why do I say that? Well, for one, remember this?

Picture from: here

Our very own Malaysian flag a.k.a the Jalur Gemilang. Is it just me or are there really very little flags proudly adorning our homes and office buildings these days despite the fact that our nation is celebrating the 52nd year of Independence tomorrow? As of now pun, my mom's house in Pondok Azlul has yet to put up our national flag. Feeling bad, yesterday, my mom bought 2 flag lines from Giant - itupun tak tau mana nak letak lagi. I am also guilty for this. I have left my very own Jalur Gemilang and the TM's Spot-the-Merdeka campaign car sticker on my office-table. Macam tak kisah je. By the time I get back to work, our 52nd independence day would have already passed, and life would just go on as per normal.

Looking back, it was pretty more "happening" during my high school years. I remember looking at my schoolmates skintone turning darker and darker by the day during their practice and rehearsals for the National Day celebrations at Stadium Larkin. (There was this one time when the national celebrations were in Johor Bahru) - I tak masuk, puteri lilin, you.. hihihihi It was hardwork all the way, but many gained new girl and boy friends out of the experience. Amboi, sempat aje. ;) My mom, on the other hand, was actually one of the school kids performing group traditional dance at Stadium Negara on the day of Merdeka way back in 1957. *Serious. Bangga aku!* My dad pulak marched in the National parade every year as he headed the Tenaga Nasional Berhad contigent right up till he retired. *real semangat, right?*

However, I think there is still hope in store. The kids at school made a Merdeka hat each and here's Khaleeq proudly donning it with his laungan "Merdi-cart! Merdi-cart! Merdi-cart!" :)

Happy Merdeka, guys! If nothing else, do have a good rest.

-dillz blogging out-

Check out my new Blogroll!

Not a toilet roll, but a whole collection of interesting blogs (and more) that I frequently check out!

For now, (this might change in the future) I have called it:

Dillz's List of Blog-errific Sites

In my attempt to de-clutter blogging.my.brains.out , I decided to shift out all my links to a new home where they get all the space that they need. I'm thinking of reviews on the heavenly blogshops that I've personally bought stuff from (the new hair clips comes to mind! hihihihi) and share with you blogs that I find interesting in this big bad blogosphere.

Banyak jugak links that I have so far.. I am slowly transferring it over to their new home and as and when they are completed, the old links will miraculously disappear from this one. The site of course is a Work-In-Progress, I shall be enhancing the flow and features as we go along. bear with me, eh?

To ease your navigation and mine, I have a special link on the sidebar too. Click on it, babe, you know you want to.. ;)

-dillz blogging out-

Hoedown Throwdown

As I have mentioned in my previous entry, I LOVED the Hannah Montana movie. I watched it with Khadra and Teyta that day. One thing about the movie was that it had such an excellent track. We bought the OST and one of the songs that really stuck in my head was Hoedown Throwdown. There was a scene in the movie where Miley took the stage and the whole barn was doing the line-dance. *ala-ala pocho-pocho, gitu*The following video is ciloked from youTube detailing step-by-step dance moves. Very interesting..

Here's a video of Khadra and Teyta attempting the Hoedown Throwdown. (Extra kat depan tu nama dia Puan Neyna - just doing her silly dance) Note their movements, sorang gi depan, sorang gi belakang - ada choreography, you... :)

Ni baru test practice je.. They are planning another one with their aunties soon. Watch out for it!

-dillz blogging out-

Comel Clips!!

Comel tak clips ni???

They are all our and they came from Chomel Crafts. Thank you sooo much Azza! (She's soo talented and creative!) My kids love them loads, boleh la menggaya masa Raya! Yeeha!! Unfortunately the orders for Raya are now closed, but you guys can still order for later, right? Boleh pakai masa Raya Haji, Deepavali, Christmas and Chinese New Year pulak. Semangat 1Malaysia, you... :)

For a sneak preview, here's Khaleeda in her pajamas and noneother than Miss Mimiziouslicious. (The 1Malaysia face under the alphabet i in TM's 1Malaysia logo. Serious)

Enjoy...

Pictures 1,2,3 and 4 are the matching flower pairs digayakan dengan begitu manja oleh our two models.
Picture 5 is also a snap clip with buttony details. Just too cute!

-dillz blogging out-

Road To CIA 3 : Another Step Closer

Road To CIA series | 1:I've Committed! | 2: ... and they lived happily ever after (Part 1) | 3: Another Step Closer| 4: Let's Try This Again| 5: Miss Procrastinator Strikes Again | 6: It's Crunch Time |

I've committed the exam date for my CIA Part IV since sometime in July and my 3-day leave has been blocked, applied and approved. So, there's really no-two-way round it and I just have to dive into it. :) When I booked the time, tak perasan lah pulak it was the first week of Ramadhan.. Anyways, kengkonon nak belajar and maybe slip some serious blogging time. Tetapi hampa on the blogging part. But I did manage to:

1. study my butts off for the exams.
   
2. spend some quality time with the kids for the first few days of Ramadhan (which was a real blessing coz I got to nurture *chewah* and motivate them to keep it together when they really wanted to have a sip of water... :) More on that a bit later lah )
   

So, that's good, right?

The materials wasn't as much as Part I, just a little over 100 pages worth. I managed to finish off the online questions this time, all the 5 sections as well as the Post-test mock exam, albeit at 10:45am on the day of the exam (Bearing in mind that the exam was scheduled at 12pm at Damansara Heights and I was in my mom's place in Puchong and had not taken my shower. hihihihihi) in a typical Dilla fashion - always the procrastinator, always last minute.

Butterflies were fluttering in my fasting tummy and syukur banyak-banyak for KESAS, MEX and NPE for I would not have made it in time to register at the centre had it not have been for them. :) Of course, the radio was NOT on, it was Allahumma Yassir, Rabbish Rahli and Allhummaftah allllllll the way... :) Macam familiar je bunyinya.. I just think that I am beginning to see a pattern here.. hihihihihihi

After a gruelling hour and 45 minutes, I rest my fate to Allah and tawakkal. After the 5-question survey was done, the invigilator handed me the result printout and Alhamdulillah... I passed! Yeay!!!!

Next step: Register for the CIA Part II exams and sit for it by the end of the year. I would like to complete the certification process by Quarter 1, 2010. Insya Allah.. :) Hey, we need to have goals, right??

-dillz blogging out-

DS Lite for Motivation

Have been contemplating on the incentives to get the kids if they fast for this month of Ramadhan.

Sedikit background story: Both Khadra and Khaleeq are avid gamers. Just like their dad. They play the PS2, PSP, Wii, vtech and some random Dora / Spongebob / Sonic joystick games that is a Go! once it gets connected to your TV. As far as portables go, though, they take turns on Azrul's PSP. It's not a new set either. In fact, Khaleeq has always complained about the unavailability of his dad's PSP - it's brokenlah, something wrong with the memory card or something. Al-maklumlah , benda dah tua..

In any case, we thought that they would be really happy, like in euphoria kinda happy, if we bought them the DS Lite EACH. In turn, they'd give their best in their attempts to fast in this holy month of Ramadhan, terawikh and wake up for Sahur. (Stark difference from my mom's RM1 reward per full day yonks ago. Inflation sucks, eh?)

When we struck this deal, Khadra was already at mid-point of her first day of Ramadhan. Khaleeq had already broken his fast at 12pm coz the sizzles of fried chicken frying in the kitchen was too tempting. They were both onboard immediately and the quest for DS Lite commences.

1. Khadra waiting for her Metallic Rose DS Lite to be screen protected.
2. Khaleeq's Jet Black DS Lite getting the same treatment.
3. DS Lite-ing in the car.
4. DS Lite-ing after Sahur. (Khaleeda pun bangun Sahur pagi tadi)

It is now 12:30pm on the second day of Ramadhan.

• So far, Khadra has succeeded in completing her first puasa of her life yesterday AND without Sahur at that. Today, both are still fasting and neither had asked for fried chicken or water, yet. :)
  
• Terawikh completed two days in a row for Khadra. Khaleeq hit his head *alasan* last night while playing with the kids, so he took a rest. But, he did stand beside his dad in the mosque on the first night of Terawikh.
• Both kids woke up for Sahur this morning and once done immediately meng-hadap their DS Lite before going back to sleep. :)
  

I really hope this works. I guess, having the item of their dream in their hands is such a great motivator for them to really work on their fasting. (Of course I threaten them to take it away if they don't try hard.. ;) Itu standardlah.. )

-dillz blogging out-

Ramadhan Is Here

Syukur , another Ramadhan is here.
Syukur, I am still breathing, still enjoying the wonders of life, still having things to complain about.
Syukur, my hubby, my kids and my family are all well and healthy.

There will be attempts this year - Khadra and Khaleeq are both old enough to join us with the fastings. Khadra would like to try the full-day. Khaleeq? Well.. Ikut je lah Khaleeq.. After all, their cousins will be fasting too.. Biarlah.. Kalau tak larat, boleh je buka.. Separuh hari pun jadilah.. Asalkan try..

A bit late, I know. Their cousins kat Kelantan around their age, semua dah puasa penuh. Anak-anak aku barulah nak terkedek-kedek meng-try. hihihihihi

I remember sometime , long, long ago.. My first full-year of fasting was during my Standard 1 in Sekolah Sri Petaling. I remember my class teacher, Mrs Fong asking me to break my fast coz I was having high fever that day. I blatantly refused coz I had set my target to get all RM30 that was promised to me by Ibu should I succeed in fasting the whole month of Ramadhan. Mrs Fong had to ask Teh Kok Hin, my 1Kenanga classmate, to carry my schoolbag out to the waiting area once school was over. (Sweetlah, Kok Hin - I still remember that, you know..) Alhamdulillah - that was my first year I got to puasa penuh. :) Aaawwwwww!!

Thinking of giving them incentives lah, macam trick my mom dulu-dulu.. One day of full fasting = RM1.00, half day = RM0.50. So, my Kak Long Ziezi would always try to tempt me to buka if she had already done it for the day. Siap makan ice-cream depan orang lagi. Dengki, kan? hihihihihi

That was , what? Some 30 years ago? Putting things in perspective and the inflation rate and what nots, perhaps a review of the rates are in order.. Maybe, I'll just bribe them with toys. That normally does the trick. hihihihi

We will be based in Pondok Azlul for a while. At least throughout the school break. Need to get the kids to mengaji and solat at the masjid and all. And I just love praying at our Masjid al-Amin in Taman Tenaga. Boleh bawak budak-budak sekali to get them accustomed to the jemaah and all. :)

Looking forward to Ramadhan. A lot.

Maaf zahir batin, guys. Have a blessed and productive Ramadhan. ;)

-dillz blogging out-

Skin It!

They were asking and looking around for a nice compact camera for us. They went into a Mac shop and came back with this for Kira to slide over Ema's iPhone. Cantik juga, ya?

The iPhone 3G skin is not like the one I got from Digiskin in Jakarta. Definitely NOT like the blings I got much earlier. It is made of silicone, methinks, so it has this rubbery feeling to it. A few days later, Azrul got the monkey Julius from Paul Frank. (It was RM10 cheaper from the one they got off the Mac store)

I just love that monkey - Julius, I mean, not Azrul.

Anyhoots, I thought the writings on the packagind were kinda cute:

skin for iPhone 3G
to protect your iPhone from danger

Care
Paul Frank recommends the regular cleaning of your iPhone and case to prevent dust, scum and other particles from building up. If you do not follow a regular cleaning schedule, the collection of dust, scum and other particles may cause slight abrasion to your device as well as leaving a scummy residue on your face. Ewww...

Comel, kan??

-dillz blogging out-

Khaleeq @ the 'Spital

It's just incredible to see how my boy reacts when been put into the same situation as my girl. Khadra was also admitted sometime last June and I actually blogged about all her drama, here. Now, Khaleeq is admitted and I would say a picture speaks a thousand words:

The nebulizer was scheduled every three hours throughout the stay without fail. 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm, 12am, 3am, 6am, 9am, 12pm.. You get the drift.. And is still so chirpy about it. :) Siap buat thumbs up sans all the drama that was Khadra.

The nurse also came in to take his temperature and oxygen level and he would just let them do their job. For medicine shots, he just had to be reassured that he would need to take it in order to go home. Lepas tu, he'd just take it like a man. :)

So senang lah jaga budak ini..

Tapi, ada gak terkucil sedikit. We were having dinner (Chicken Mandy from Al-Rawsha, okay..) when he was happily playing with his new Ben-10 collection, courtesy of Wek Anjang. Then I noticed him playing with his birdie (a little more so than usual). While we were debating who would take him and the drip machine to the toilet, he ended up wetting the bed. Hah - padan muka mak bapak dia.. hihihihihihi..

The hospital itself, I don't have much to complain. The single room came with a day-bed (yang Azrul tengah lounge on) which made it so convenient for a parent to sleep over. We had an extra duvet and pillow imported from Pondok Azlul (Thanks Ki, Ems and Pez) to make it extra comfy. I shared the bed with Khaleeq. It totally worked out since the nurses came in often during the night time to give him the meds and nebulizer.

The hospital is pretty small, all the wards are located on the first floor. But, because of that there are abundance of parkings available. :) Food-wise was OK. In fact it was rather tasty before we switched the diet to bread and plain porridge for Khaleeq. I can't complain about the location either since it was only about 5 minutes to my parents house. We even went out to IOI Mall for a while last night to get a shot of coffee. :)

Anyhoots, the Dr came for his normal morning rounds and confirmed that we could be discharged today. Here's Khaleeq chilling while waiting for his discharge papers.

Alhamdulillah, everything is looking well..

-dillz blogging out-

One Man Down!

Khaleeq is down.

He has been vomiting since morning and there's even spots of blood clot in one of the projectile vomiting bouts. We were actually from my mom's place in Puchong for Shoshoff's aqiqah. His temperature also suddenly soared which was an added reason for us to act quickly. With the influenza threats around town, we were not about to take chances. He was all dressed for the occasion, but his baju melayu got drenched in vomit in the car, so we quickly made a change of clothes before dashing to the clinic.

Destination: Klinik Kanak-Kanak Dr Ting in Puchong Jaya. It's 5 minutes from my mom's place and besides, the clinic was given raving reviews by my Mak Anjang who sends all her kids over there for any prolong bouts of flu. Apparently, his medicine works. :)

By the time we arrived, Khaleeq was so dehydrated, he was sooo lembik. His temperature was recorded at 39.3C. He even managed to demonstrate the vomitting in front of the Doctor which in turn gave him a pass to be admitted. Dr Ting suggested that we transfer him into Columbia Asia Hospital in Bandar Puteri, Puchong. I was hesitant. None other than logistics issues and besides we have never tried any other hospital except Pantai Medical Centre in Bangsar. (Oh, except that one time Azrul had his nose done up in Gleneagles, Ampang) But, then again, what if there were no beds in Pantai and thinking that we had to go through the diagnosis yet again, just imagine how long it would take to get admitted (if there were available beds, that is). We decided that we'd just go ahead and arrange for the admission at Columbia Asia. A phone call to PM Care later confirmed that they are apart of the approved panel hospitals, so Phew.. (This is why I love TM so much. Thanks for the superb medical coverage, guys..)

Here is Khaleeq, taking a nap while waiting for the referral letter for admission.

Hope there's nothing to worry. Please pray for his speedy recovery. Nampak gaya mommy tidur hospital lagilah dua -tiga malam ni.

-dillz blogging out-

Travelog Jakarta 5: Ada Apa Dengan Makan(an)?

Travelog Jakarta Series | 1:A Quickie | 2:Business Class All The Way | 3:She came, she saw, she bought most everything.. | 4:What about FUN things to do? |5:Ada Apa Dengan Makan(an)?|

Jakarta is a haven of glorious food. Personally, I could appreciate the distinct yet varied taste of Indonesian food. Nasi Padang , for example is one of my favourite dishes. Ayam Penyet, is another. So, I was rather looking forward to the gastronomical treat we'll be having in Jakarta.

The day we landed in Jakarta, our gracious hosts, DZ and Marin took us for dinner at One pacific Place. There were soooooo many restaurants there. Ones where you could dine in a boat (serious) or by the waters, Japanese (we spotted Rakuzen) , Western and of course authentic Indonesian ones.

After a few rounds, we chose to eat at Magenta Cafe. Menu indicated that food are of the Western and Indonesian variety. I can't quite recall what each one had, but I remembered quite well that the portions were rather small. Yet, it was tasty nonetheless. Thanks Marin for picking up the tab. :) (Kita yang datang holiday, tuan rumah yang bayor. hihihihihihihi)

Oh ya, here's a picture of DZ. She lost 11 kgs since the accident. Looking good, girl!! Woo-hoo!!

Since the hosts were not very big fans of Nasi Padang, they took us to Sari Kuring for lunch the next day. Grilled patin, cumi-cumi, ayam kampung (kot), ikan sedap giller masak mangga... Wahhh!!! Sedap gillos.

Of course, lah, once in Jakarta, tidak sah if you do not try the yummilicious 1. Sosro Teh Botol and 2. Alpukat (avocado drink drizzled with chocolate syrup) .

Yummy.. Dah rasa sekali, pasti nak lagi..

The rest of the times, we just belasah aje apa yang ada dekat foodcourt. It was pretty easy to eat I think. Unlike Bali where you have to be extra careful. But, just to be safe, I would still ask if the food is halal. *out of habit, I guess* We ate Ayam Penyet, Sup Bontot, Nasi Padang... yumm, yumm and more yumm.. :)

Of course, J.Co was a must stop. Must have it in it's motherland, maa.. :) The donuts were lembut-gebu as per usual. Only that, I noted that the lines were longer for their yogurt which is not available here. Initially, I also wanted to taste the Krispy Kreme over in Jakarta just to compare it with the ones we have over here, but tak berkesempatan. Next time ajelah conduct experiment tu.

Another outlet worth mentioning is Sour Susan Sally. Wahh!!! It is SOOOOOO Goooood!! It's sour yogurt like you've never tasted before. You can even choose several toppings on top - we had strawberries and peaches. Yummmm.... Sapa nak bawak masuk franchise ni to Malaysia. Seriously. Sedap giller!!!

Last, but not least (never in a million years) was the quest to find Corica in Jakarta. DZ googled the place upfront and took me to tapau 4 boxes of Corica bersaiz medium (Satu Adeeb punya). Apparently, there are 2 more outlets which are located near the shopping malls that we went to. But, no matter, thios place that we went to was the Head office - a quaint little cafe out of nowhere. very nice.. very nice..

Corica, Apple Strudels mu menawan kalbu..
Biarlah ku heret walau ke mana ku pergi...
Biarpun dugaan datang menimpa...
Biarpun sekotak hilang entah kemana...
Corica,
Dikau sungguh berbaloi...
Oh.. sungguh berbaloi...

-dillz blogging out-

Oh No! I didn't do my homework!

If you know Khaleeq. You would know that he and homework - well, they are not exactly friends..

Scene Setting: Kurang lebih 5 minutes before leaving for school.

Khaleeq: Oh No! Oh No! I didn't do my homework! I didn't do my homework.
(He was saying it over and over again...)

Me: What's wrong Khaleeq?
Khaleeq: I didn't do my homework, mom. I forgot.
Me: It's OK Khaleeq. You can do it tonight. I'll call your teacher and tell her you forgot.
Khaleeq: NO! Teacher Rita is going to be angry!
Oh, tahu takut sekarang rupanya...

Me: OK. Khaleeq. Get your homework and we'll do it now.
Khaleeq ran to his bagpack and retrieved a piece of paper - it was subtraction. Easy!
We went through the work and it was done in about 7 minutes. I thought we were set to leave for school now. Tiba-tiba, ada balik suara itu..

Khaleeq: Now, I've got to count my dots. I have to count my dots.
Me: Dots? What dots?
Khaleeq: I have another homework, mom. I have to count my dots.

Waah!!!! Dua rupanya homework dia. Kalau ku tahu awal-awal tadi, memang lah tak buat homework tu..

Pandai-pandai.. Inilah yang dikatakan survival techniques.

• If he had taken out both his work at the same time, I might have insisted that we just head to school and he'll have to deal with his teacher on his own.
  
• By taking only one worksheet out, mom would think, "Oh! It's just a quick one. Let's just get it over and done with"
  
• Once one worksheet was done, he pre-empted me with the Dots. "I have to count my dots. I have to count my dots." How to resist? Dah tu, dia lak yang sungguh-sungguh nak buat. Kesian la pulak... hihihihihi
  

Hai... Budak-budak zaman sekarang ni, macam-macam taktik ada... Sila belajar, tuan-tuan dan puan-puan..

(p/s: adnil9, please take note :))

-dillz blogging out-

Iklan Kejap

Just thinking out loud.

Kalau happy sentiasa, gelak kuat and having as much fun as you possibly could even when you have loads of work (outstanding , at that) ; does that mean that you ni pemalas dan tak buat kerja?

Perlu ke nak iklan dan kempen yang aku tak cukup tidur dah berapa hari dok buat kerja tak berhenti? Perlu ke? Kalau perlu, then aku dah iklan dah kat facebook.

Puas hati. hihihihihihi

-dillz blogging out-

Upgraded to CPM Campaigns!

*Disclaimer: blogger-talk ahead

An interesting development just came about in my days as a paid blogger with nuffnang. (Chewah! Macamlah dapat duit banyak sangat pun.. Baru ada seratus lebih dah nak memekak.. hihihi) As some of you might already know, there are two main types of adverts, the CPC (Cost Per Click) and the CPM(Cost Per Impression) campaigns.

For technical definitions, I have taken this off nuffnang's FAQ page:

• CPC Campaigns
  Launched on advertisers' request. It will show on all blogs under Nuffnang network which have 'Show Global CPC Ads' selected under their Blog Preferences in Blog Manager. CPC Campaigns will only be shown on blogs which are not serving any CPM campaigns at the moment. Bloggers are payed based on the number of unique clicks by their blog's unique visitors. A CPC Campaign will ceased once it reaches its maximum clicks and commences update to all bloggers' account whose blogs generated genuine clicks during the campaign. If a blog has served the CPC Campaign ads but did not generate any clicks towards the campaign, no earnings will be updated to the blog owner's account.
• CPM Campaigns
  
  Our Advertisers will choose which blogs they want to advertise on as they pay much higher compared to CPC-type campaign. Their decisions may rely on several factors such as the demographics of your blog readers, the desirability of ad units, membership exclusivity and the availability of ad units. If you're chosen for one, you'll either receive an email notification regarding the campaign or find it in your "Buffered Earnings" section under the "Earnings" page.

As a beginner, it is only normal that you'd only be serving Global CPC adverts as it would take some time, sometimes a long, long time before you get to serve CPM campaigns. Saya pun faham, sapa sangat la kita ni, unique visitors pun berapa je seminggu, and they have to match the target audience based on your demographics and so on. So sabar... jela..

For the last week, however, I did notice two ads running in between my posts (called the LR (Large Rectangle) position) and was wondering why it was so. When the earnings portion was updated last week, lo and behold..

My first thought was: Apakah itu Buffered Earnings?

Second thought: Wah!!! Dah ada CPM lah kita.. :)
Third thought: Yee-ha.. Alhamdulillah.. :)

Seronoknya tak terkata.. Since I first joined nuffnang on 23 March 2009 , that makes it four and a half months before I got my very own CPM campaign.. :) It's true that they really target the audience of your blog. In my case, for example, kerna banyak posts tentang parenting, family, entertainment, music, anak-anak, etc (agaknyalah) maka my adverts at the moment are on Johnson&Johnson (anakandaku memakai shampoo dan baby bath, serta powdernya,okay?) , MeadJohnson (which I totally use, by the way - Khaleeda is an Enfagrow A+kid!) , PruHealth is all about having the security for your family and MTV WorldStage - happening jugak my taste and style, kan? hihihihihi

Here's another printscreen of my recent earnings. (nuffnang pun dah tukar layout dah masa nih) In this shot, dah start ada Metered Earning. That means the CPM campaign is over and you could already redeem that much yang sebelum ni dok kat Buffered Earnings.

As explained in the nuffnang's FAQ page , some considerations when choosing to place a CPM campaign include:

• Blogs with suitable blog readers as their target audience.
• Desirability of ad placement - Just ensure that your ad units are at their intended place i.e. A Skyscraper ad unit is supposed to be the first element of the sidebar and not anywhere else. A Leaderboard as the first visible element upon visitor's entry to the site and Large Rectangle right after your first blog post.
• Availability of ad units - If your blog have all 3 ad units in it, your chances of being selected for campaigns would be fully maximized
• Membership exclusivity - Make sure you are a Glitterati.

The feeling is pretty awesome. Rasa accomplished, gitu.. It's not so much about how much money I make, not really (but it would help with my shopaholic trips though.. hihihihihi).. I feel like it's kind of an endorsement that I do have a spot in this blogosphere and looks like someone out there is finally acknowledging it. Hey, look here, this blog is worth advertising on.. Camtu lah lebih kurang..

Excited.. Excited.. Next milestone - advertorials. They say, that's when the real moolah comes rolling in.. hihhihihihi

In the meantime, you lot, teruskan usaha! Insya Allah, the time will come soon.. Sabar itu separuh daripada iman.. As for me? I'll just keep blogging my brains out!*Wah, macam cerekarama pulak, kat hujung mesti ada character sebut tajuk drama*

-dillz blogging out-

Reading Habits Survey

Got tagged on facebook by the sweet Kay. Sorry babe, replying here coz I am so not a Notes person. ;)

BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?

It's basically trying to prove whether BBC was right or wrong. Let's see how I'd fare. I'd bold the books that I've read or am reading. Here goes..

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (all three of them - can I count as three?)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (all seven! :))
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible /Al-Quran
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno – Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Berapa tu? 18 hahahahahaha.. Just double the average number? What an abysmal performance. makcik malu.. Itupun nasib baik dah baca The Little Prince and am reading Catcher in The Rye , thanks to Adeeb's recommendation. Plus, some of them classics were a must read when I was in high school. Kalau tak sure, lagi parah.. hihihihi

Oooo Kalau buku-buku chic lit (and more recently chap lit - Ya, meet Mr Tony Parsons) tu.. Cepat je habis baca, ye?
Which reminds me, Istill have 4 Cecilia Aherns waiting for me in my office drawer. hihihi

How well did you do?

-dillz blogging out-

Overheard

On our way to school, yesterday.

Khadra: "Mom, can we have another baby brother when Khaleeda is bigger?"
Me: "Ask your dad, Khadra."
Khadra: "I already asked dad. He told me to ask you."
Me: "I'm asking you to ask dad, Khadra."
Khadra: "But, mom. You were the one who borne me and Khaleeq and Khaleeda."

Hah, jawab, kak.. Jawab...

-dillz blogging out-

Let's Keep It Clean

There was a health-talk by Lifebuoy at the kids' school last Saturday. One which we had signed up for a week prior and for which we had to skip 2 birthday invites. (Sorry Rita and Azni)

Some of the highlights of the events were:

• Story-telling with En Durian: It had a simple theme. Adventurous Kids gets themselves dirty, adventurous kid gets sick. Adventurous kids need to be clean and practice good personal hygiene. Adventurous kids get to be adventurous and healthy! The storyteller was the bubbly, expressive and energetic En Durian, who took his time and turned it into something fun for the kids. Here's a little snippet of En Durian in action:
  
• Hygiene talk and Quiz: After the story was done, En Durian explained the expected hygienic activities that the kids were supposed to maintain. How many times they should bathe with Lifebuoy shower gels. :) When to wash your hands, and how to wash them with Lifebuoy hand wash. The kids had to imitate a series of step-by step instructions and once again En Durian made it fun. Even Khaleeda joined in! :) There was also a simple quiz at the end of it.
  
• Hand-washing demo: The kids took turns, one-by-one, to step on the stool and have a go at the mobile wash basin. En Durian was there again to guide them. So sweetlah En Durian ni. And so patient. :) Here's Khadra giving it a go.
  
• Colouring competition & Facepainting: Next was the colouring competition and to complement the activity, me and Kira facepainted the kids too. :) No pictures, sorry. I was too busy "working".
  

I did think it was a great and fun way for the kids (and their parents) to learn about personal hygiene. Even I didn't know the exact techniques to wash my hand, know what I mean? All this while, I have just been winging it. Mana ada buat claw and gosok-gosok on the palms, segala. hihihihihihi Why lah zaman dulu takde pun orang nak ajar kita cuci tangan? Kids these days are so lucky, they have everything handed out to them, eh?

Anyhoots, with the influenza scare about town, it could not have come at a more appropriate time. Thank you , Lifebuoy! Thank you, Beaconhouse Bangsar! I sure learnt some great lessons!

-dillz blogging out-

Travelog Jakarta 4: What about FUN things to do?

Travelog Jakarta Series | 1:A Quickie | 2:Business Class All The Way | 3:She came, she saw, she bought most everything.. | 4:What about FUN things to do? |5:Ada Apa Dengan Makan(an)?|

Let's see a show of hands for those who thought my Travelog Jakarta (1, 2 and 3 are already posted!) series of posts were done? You are sadly mistaken, my friend.. There's still more from where that came from.. hihihihihihi.. Now, it is time for me to share with you what were some of the fun and/or stoopid things we (almost) did whilst we were over there..

1. KidZania , One Pacific Place

We were at One Pacific Place for dinner one night so we took the opportunity to check the place and its stores for a bit. Our gracious hosts, DZ and Marin, mentioned that there's KidZania on the topmost floor and we were eager to check it out. (for the kids, I mean) Even from the outside, I must say that I was intrigued and impressed! Note that AirAsia aircraft head? Yup, that is the entrance / arrival hall!

KidZania is a world for kids to explore the ways of the world. In this themed park, they would have to get a "job" to earn money to spend in KidZania. There's many jobs to choose from - chef , pilot, construction worker, doctor etc etc.. "It is a kid-sized replica of a real city, with streets, buildings, retail and different vehicles going around the City." You can get more info here: Kidzania, Jakarta I also heard sometime ago that they will be opening up a place here, in Malaysia soon - somewhere in Mutiara Damansara, I believe.. :) Yeay!

It's apparently suitable for kids from 4 - 16 years old. Can't wait to return and bring the kids over to experience KidZania for themselves!

2. Velvet Room @ Blitzmegaplex , One Pacific Place

Boleh percaya tak we watched a movie on a bed in the movie theatre? Serious! All is possible at the Velvet Room @ Blitzmegaplex. The one we went was also in One Pacific Place. (Saya sukalah One Pacific Place nih) The price is also reasonable, Rp 250,000 for a bed. (tak sampai RM90) Reasonable lah, kan? Kat sini, Gold Class kat Signature, The Gardens pun RM60 per pax. Tak dapat tidur, pun.. :) Just for the sake of experiencing it, we watched Public Enemies - a movie I would not have watched at the theatre, kalau tak terpaksa.

pictures from: here , here , here

You are greeted in the special lounge for Velvet Room-ers, whereby you could wait around before your movie screens. Free wi-fi included, of course, and you could order from its special menu (not available from the concession counter outside). Don't worry if you could not finish your meals nor your drinks, they can bring it in and it will be served on a small table-top ala breakfast in bed. :) Best woo.. Serious - an experience you need to try for yourself! Satisfaction, guaranteed!

3. Atmosfear @ FX Mall, Sudirman

First heard about the slides that twists and turns down 7-levels in a shopping mall from my sister, Kira. We were actually looking to get some stuff for the kids and decided to check out FX Mall. There weren't any stores for kids' clothes at the FX Mall, but the Atmosfear was there. :) It really had my name written all over it. The queue was non-existent , I guess it was because it was a Monday morning. The admission was reasonably priced at Rp 50,000 (RM18) per head with a promotion to boot. Buy one admission and get another ride down for free. It wasn't really a question of whether I would slide down the Atmosfear. It was really a question of how many times. hihihihihihi

I was all suited up with the safety helmet, knee-guards and jacket before I climbed up the opening and slipped into the sliding mat. I was given a little instruction on the Dos and Don'ts - you know the usuals, keep your knees closed, body at 30-45degrees inclination, yadda, yadda yadda. The instuctor reminded me one more time, "Whatever you do, keep on holding to the sliding mat handle. Oh, don't forget to scream your lungs out." Yes, maam! They were sound advices, indeed.

There was nothing left to do, I just inched my butt and down.. and down.. and down.. I went! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

picture of Atmosfear from: here

How can I adequately describe the feeling? Simply put, it was like AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!! going down. There was this one section when the momentum slowed down somewhat and I could feel I was on a conveyor of some sort. Took a little breather and before long it was another round of AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!! Landing was pretty smooth, I finished in 13++ seconds the first time down the slides. Pheww! :)

There were two gentlemen standing by at the end of the landing area ready to help me up and take off the helmet + knee-guards + jacket . I got up, and felt a litte giddy with excitement. Somehow, it didn't feel real - I still can't believe I just slid down 7-storeys!! hihihihihi

The landing portion was actually documented by a photographer. He was happily snapping away. He had some pictures of me which I was contemplating of printing and turn into a little photo-book. But, they weren't all that great, though. As soon as I told him that I had another free pass, he followed me up and started snapping my pre-slide photos. (Suiting up included) I managed to better my time somewhat too. 12++seconds. :)

The price of the photo-book was another Rp50,000 and the softcopy version was burnt onto a CD for another Rp25,000. With the additional spending, I could have gone down the Atmosfear for free yet again - but we skipped it 'coz we didn't exactly have that much time left. hihihihi.. Kalau tak, harus TIGA kali turun itu slide!

4. Skin and bling your phone @ Digiskin in Senayan City

Remember my blinged out mobile earlier? We chanced upon this little outlet tucked at the back in Level 4 of Senayan City shopping mall. You basically choose a skin and they would customize it onto your mobile, camera, laptop- whatever. I chose a butterfly motive, purple background with black and white butterfiles. I thought it looked rather sweet. You could also skin it with your own designs or photos, if you want. What I really wanted was to bling it with swarovzki crystals but again, time was our enemy. Tak sempat. :( As is pun, it took the guy some hour and a half to complete my skin.

Cost-wise? Basic skin would cut you back by Rp400,000. (RM130) For minimal swarovzki, add something like Rp120,000 (RM40) more. For a full-blinged out mobile, get ready to pay about Rp3,200,000. (Wah, RM1100 to decorate mobile phone, kah?)

Seronok kan? In a way, I kinda fell in love with Jakarta on this trip. Just felt like staying there forever. Apa-apa pun, am definitely coming back. Insya Allah, this time with the troop in tow. ;)

-dillz blogging out-

Growing - The Making Of

Khaleeda takes after Khadra in terms of her love for performing, her music sense, rhythm and dancing. She will be 2 in November and she loves posing for pictures and recording her "performances". Often times, she would request to have a look at the recording / picture shot every after "take".

She has a number of "performances" in her repertoire now. She loves imitating the moves off her favourite shows like Barney and Hi-5. She could, if she wanted to, perform to "Growing", "If All The Raindrops", "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "One, Two Buckle My Shoe". I was trying to capture her performing to "Growing" just the other day..

Take 1:

First try to get her to perform the song. Tak habis satu verse pun, main talent telah menyuarakan rasa tidak puas hatinya...

Take 2:

Musnah harapan bonda. Start-start pun dah takde angin nak perform. hihihihihi

Take 3:

When it started it looked like she would go all the way... Sampai nak hujung first verse, member dah buat tak pahammmm je. hihihihi

Wah!! Susah juga ya nak manage small talents ni. Mummy pun dah tak larat nak tunggu. Lain kali je lah nak, ya?? :)~~

House Arrest!

Azrul has not been feeling all that well since our travels back from Jakarta. I blame it on his frequent fly-out in the past few weeks. He has also scheduled another trip to Phnom Pehn this Sunday. When one's body has been put into the stress of travels, rushing hours, unfamiliar territories and food, lack of sleep etc etc , your body would somehow find a way to tell you to slow down. Mulalah batuk-batuk, sakit badan, demam segala datang menjelma.

After a few days back from Jakarta, he started to feel weak, tak sedap badanlah kata orang.. Then, the high fever started on Sunday. His temperature reached upto 39.7C so, we went straight to the Emergency Department in Pantai Medical Centre. The ED was filled to the brim, eventhough it was at 11:30pm. After they took his history and temperature, he was given a 3-ply mask and immediately taken to the isolation area. We stayed till 2:30am when he was finally released to go home, but with a self-quarantine advice. I also underwent self-quarantine the next day and worked from home, just in case.

He felt better soon after. The high fever was completely gone on Tuesday. However, he noted that his chest was giving all sorts of funny noises. He could even hear his wheezing with every deep breath. So, he decided to go back to the clinic on Thursday and have a check. True enough, he was referred for an x-ray at the ED in Pantai Medical Centre. We spent Thursday lunch at the ED and he had his chest scanned and also some blood works done. He sent me back to the office and he went home to wait for the results.

At about 5pm, he went back to the ED and was told that he had developed mild pneumonia and needs to be self-quarantined at home for about 7 days. (Later, we went back to ED to get some clarifications on what to do and was assured that he just needed to rest and just stay away from gatherings and the masses as a whole so that he won't get infected by the gen pop. You never know what other people has and it's just sound advice to just carry out social distancing.)

So, with our masks still on, we went to borong two boxes of 3-ply masks (one for adults and another for kids) , a few bottles of Dettol antiseptic gel and some supplements for the kids. BTW, OMG on the price of the face masks. RM1 for each 3-ply = RM50 per box. The N95 variety is going at RM5 per piece. Don't get me started on the antiseptic sterilizer thingamabobs- the surgical standard ones are going at RM45 per bottle. (Medium sized) Last-last, pharmaceutical companies jugak yang kaya bila ada outbreak macam ni. Way to feed on people's paranoia! :(

Anyhoots, Azrul will, from now on (until his 7-day quarantine is over) live in the space I stayed during my confinement, separate from the others in my household.

1- The two of us while waiting to get his chest X-rayed at the hospital
2- Bahan borong dari pharmacy
3- Patient under house arrest dalam keadaan duduk and melayan bosan at isolation room in our house
4- As above, but dalam keadaan baring
5- Khaleeda putting her mask on to show daddy how cute she looks. :)

Would have to ask for his wish list on how to kill the boredom. Would also need to stock up on the jajans in the kitchen. Kesian, suami saya..

Saya sudahi dengan a good read on A(H1N1) --> A(H1N1) flu: Updates on 10 FAQs - Dr David KL Quek. Be informed, do the right thing!

-dillz blogging out-

Road To CIA 2 : .. and they lived happily ever after (Part 1)

Road To CIA series | 1:I've Committed! | 2: ... and they lived happily ever after (Part 1) | 3: Another Step Closer| 4: Let's Try This Again| 5: Miss Procrastinator Strikes Again | 6: It's Crunch Time |

I had it all figured out. Right to the very last page to be read, which review papers to latih tubi, complete with the online tutorials and mock tests. We were supposed to reach KL on Tuesday night, leaving Wednesday morning ample time to cram in some last minute preparations. The examination was scheduled at 3.30pm on Wednesday.

It was supposed to be a perfect study cum shopping cum relaxing getaway...

All hell broke loose when our our flight from Jakarta was delayed. No, not delayed, actually it was cancelled. Let's not dwell on it at the moment 'coz I'll give you a blow-by-blow of THAT in one of my Jakarta travelog series.

Long story short, I only got a flight out of Jakarta in the wee hours of the morning of the exam day. Flight was at 5am, had to check out of our courtesy hotel by 3am. Suffice to say, I DID NOT get enough sleep that night. By the time we reached home, it was already around 9:30am. Had to make use of the time left to finish up on the reading ( I only skipped 2 topics) and do as many questions as possible - a bigger priority. Syukur there's the online questions from learncia.com; I managed to finish up Sections 1-3 and tried the Post-review test. A little terkilan coz I didn't get to finish Sections 4 & 5 plus the Mock Exam. But, hey.. I think I've done the most I could in the given situation.

Went to the exam centre in University of Sheffield at Damansara Heights. Along the way I was reciting Allahumma Yassir, Allahummaftah, Rabbish Rahli, etc - almost all the ayat penerang hati and ayat to make it all smoth sailing that I know. Tummy was fluttering like no butterfly's business - I was shit scared.

Anyways, I went in and registered for the CIA - Part 1 examinations 30 minutes earlier than time. Crammed in a little more latih tubi before going into the exam room. When it was time, I just had to tawakkal and try I best. After my second round of reviewing the answers, I really felt like I have had enough. Could hardly make sense of the sentences at that moment, and my eyes felt sooo heavy. It's time to let it go and see how I did. Takut, okay.. Keluar je bilik tu, I closed my eyes when the invigilator passed me the printed result. I could only focus on one word - Passed! Syukur..... Alhamdulillah...

Felt like letting out a little scream. Yeay! Lepas satu perkara..
hihihihihi (Nantikan Part 2,3 and 4 pula..)

-dillz blogging out-