The Sound of Music

I heard all the fuss about iPods. at one time, Hardy even asked me whether i would like to have one. i said no (give me a pair of scissors, a stack of coloured papers, a roll of ribbon and a bag full of buttons i'd jump and say yes, but not an iPod!). i then asked him, if he would like one. and he said, nope.

Half a year ago, Hardy attended a convention. he came back with an iPod nano. he had won a lucky draw. we were thrilled to have this really cool thing, its so SO light, groovy and so cool. it became hardy's new toy for about 3 days. he had downloaded some songs and happily brought it here and there. it then died off, no, not the Ipod, but the thrill. i didnt even have a go at it!

We then dont know what to do with it anymore. its just this thing, and this thing just sits on the table, next to our laptop. we didnt even pick it up! it just sits there!

We no longer watch MTV. we will tuned to Bliss on Sky. Bliss is actually a music television channel playing classic hits, pop songs from the 70s, 80s and early 90s. and we happily humm or sing to almost all the songs played!

Are we getting old? how come iPods are not attractive to us. i know some people who'd love to have a nano, saving up to get one. but here we are, we dont know what to do with it!

Well anyway, just to share with you, what i'm currently listening. Apart from listening a lot of dutch songs on dutch radio (i love Marco Borsato by the way), i'm currently into Leona Lewis, last year's winner of british show X Factor (brits version of american idol). her album's definitely worth the wait after a year winning the show.

I'm a big big fan. i believe she's going to be the next big thing. just hear her, look at her and listen to her singing live. she sang our favourite song - the first time ever i saw your face, originally by Robetta Flack beautifully, and the best remake, even better than Celine's version.

My favourite Leona's songs, apart from robetta's: I will be, Better In Time and Bleeding Love.

Love it!

Z

2 Years & Counting

It was a beautiful day my old house No.21 Jalan Emas, JB. a simple union witnessed by only the closest family members and friends. Although 2 very important people couldnt attend our nikah, but the phone was close to me, and at one point, in my hand, and she listened to us from the beginning of the ceremony (i love you kakak & redza).

We had to bring forward our nikah as Hardy's current company had invited us over for a familiarization week in Holland. we flew to Holland the next morning for our "paid honeymoon". the journey started from then on. a journey full, full of exciting challanges.

We spent our 1st wedding anniversary at the hospital, the emergency room. Aidan had severe eczema. with Aidan now fully recovered and all are well, we hope to spend this year's differently.

2 years today. 2 beautiful, wonderful years. i couldnt ask for more.

Here's to Hardy...

How do i begin to tell you how lucky i am to have you in my life,

I'll start by saying what an honour it is to me to be your wife.

You're my best friend in good times,

and my rock in times of sorrow.

You're the reason for lovely yesterdays,

and my promise for tomorrow.

I never thought I could feel this loved until I became your wife.

You made last year and this year the best years of my life.

May all the coming years be as happy and all cherry. today, tomorrow, and every day after, wishing us more love and laughter.

To my dearest husband, my rock, my socks, my sun and my fun..

Happy 2nd Anniversary. With all my love.

The Secret Millionaire

No... i'm not one of them. although i wish i am.

This is a TV programme. a programme that will touch everyone's hearts. this is a programme that is so inspiring and all will be humbled by.

For ten days the millionaires leave their welthy lifestyle behind and go undercover to live in some of the UK's toughest areas. they'd live in a council home with only necessities. much much lesser than what they're used to. they conceal true identities of themselves in search for those people that they think deserve their help. they would only reveal their secret and offer them their help on the last day.

They talk to real life people with real problems, they get their hands dirty in doing some of the roughest and toughest jobs - cleaning toilets, hard labour etc. couple of weeks ago, one parted with their money amounting up to half a million. what humbled me most was they themselves was so overwhelmed by the whole experience. some went back to their roots. they themselves realise that they can live without having expensive wallpaper on their walls, they can live without having 10 cars in their garages, they can live without having a 40inch plasma tv and realised how lucky their children are, privillaged to have such luxury.

Tonight, they featured a 27 year old millionaire. i'm not kidding you. he's so young he looks like he just finished high school! he volunteered as a youth worker at Hackney, London. like other millionaires in this series, he too gave quite a substantial amount of money this week. read about Ben Way here and here.

Been watching the programme since last season. each episode never fail to make me cry. this show contains real tenderness, and real joy, or perhaps i'm such a softie and a real sucker for such 'reality tv'. some might argue that this is just one of the ways that the millionaires are paying off their debts to society, another way they're 'marketing' themselves, but i sincerely do feel that they are genuine people. genuine in helping and giving. and everytime i watch the show, i feel guilty having more than them, the less fortunate. i feel there's more that i can do to help them, the less fortunate. i feel that what i have now is more than enough. i feel that i shoud go out and do charity work.

I feel blessed.

How thankful we are today to have what we have and to be where we're at. we will give what we can and we will try to live our life modestly and unselfishly (although sometimes it can be quite tough with the boxing day sale coming, etc) but we shall try our darnest best. but nonetheless, we're always, always thankful and grateful.

New season of The Secret Millionaire on Channel4 (UK tv) every Wednesday at 9pm GMT.


Z

Babies, Bumbo, Bouncer

I absoultely love these rubber bumbo seats. i think they're brilliant! unfortunately for me was, i only discoverd this when Aidan was 5 months old. and yes, at 5 months, Aidan could bearly fit into the seat. i actually had to push him down in order for his chubby little butt to touch to the base of the seat. and so we returned it to Mothercare and bought him the hanging bouncer instead (another brilliant, excellent invention!)

(pictures Aidan 5 months old)

Last weekend when we were in the UK, my dear cousin K.na and her beautiful baby Aiesha, together with Aiesha's nana, Mak Wan drove all the way from Watford to see us at Fifi's house.

It was great to see them again, lovely to see the babies in their bumbos! we'll bring you guys some hagelslag next month ok?

Aiesha: eh, Ferran, are you ok? are you ok?

Ferran: who says this seats are comfy?!?!?!

Aiesha: push your butt further down...

Aiesha: there you go... better?

Ferran: er, well.. yea... sorta.. but lemme adjust me neck..

Ferran: i'm ok! i'm ok! much better now!

Aiesha: hurray!! ok, lets pose for the cameras now!

Ferran: your mommy made you wear that colour? and you have matching shoes?! how come i dont have that colour in my wardrobe eh?

Aiesha: boys wear blue la Ferran... girls wear pink. err.. are you sure you're comfortable Ferran?

Fi, looks like Ferran will grow out of that seat in no time!!!

By the way, what do you guys think of the Bumbo seat?

Z

Romantic Hearts

Hardy swept me off my feet since day one. and he still makes me all warm, mushy and fuzzy till today (and i hope it stays for the rest of our lives!) . He leaves a note everytime he goes on his business trips, by the bedside, underneath the duvet. he planned a treassure hunt and hid all gifts for me to scout on my birthday, and not to mention few others, which i will keep them private. but the most romantic moment that i will always always remember and treassure was the day he said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. it was just so special (regardless where the event took place! haha). it was the way he said it, the words he choose, the timing, the situation we were in and the tone of his sincerity.

Another romantic one in my family is dad. both my parents love gardening, loves plants. he once bought 25 species of roses for mum on their 25th wedding anniversary. flowers for her birthday, without fail, even during hard financial times, he peels off kuaci for mum, he peels off pistachios for her, spoons the food to her plate, opens the car door and closes it for her, and (dont tell anyone this), he once wrote mum a very very long letter during their long 5 year courtship.

Our husbands are total romantics! and arent we lucky! romance keeps relationships alive, romance makes it more interesting, romance makes it work, romance keeps the love going, romance will make you feel young, romance makes us feel loved, cared and remembered. romance will fill your heart with love.

We all need a little bit of romance now and then. and everyone will benefit out of it too i'm sure. if you need help in that department, you certainly can get help from mills and boons! they have the best range of Romance Novels , with compelling love stories that will capture you and your hearts, engaging characters, all made alive. from modern to historical, and not to mention medieval, where romance are lived and love guaranteed!

What are your romantic experiences?

I should stock up more books to warm me up this winter! perhaps you should too!


Z

Visiting Volvo

Aidan's been to Volvo (where his Tante Fi and Om Redza works) almost everytime when we were in the UK. the people there were just so friendly. we love our Volvo friends! No prize guessing where we went last week - yes, to the UK.

Aidan laughing at the clowns!

Aidan's first truck! a Volvo!

"Visiting Volvo was sure tiring... i wonder if working there is even more tiring!?"

(To our dearest blog friend, Rita, this one's for you! Aidan at Volvo! Here's wishing you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY. sending you all our love)

Have you ever..

Have you ever thought of using this 'space' to send a message across to certain people? have you ever thought of writing your hearts out in this blogsphere to explain the whole story? have you ever thought of telling everyone your side of the story? have you ever thought of pouring everything out in here to what had actually happened? have you ever felt like telling everyone in your 'blog world' that you're not 'that sort of person', or "no, that's not what actually happened"..

I certainly have.

Everyone's gone through bits. people talk. and most of the time they talk bad, or wrongly about some things. some have the wrong impression beacuse they only want to see and believe their side of it. sometimes only one or two cards were laid on the table and the rest they keep in their pockets....

Sometimes i feel like writing and wanting everyone to know what had actually happened, but when my true true inner voice surface, and when my ever so super positive husband's voice gets the better of me, i tend to say this "its not worth it, they're not worth it". it took me a day or two to finally say it though (somtimes longer). i have got to stop analyzing and asking all the whys!

As i was often taught by my parents, and now reminded by my dear husband Hardy - fikir baik, always think of the good in people.

And who am i trying to prove to anyway? it is Him, He can see everything, and listens to everyone. it is Him that is fair and it is Him that you'll answer to later. it is Him that judge us, it is Him who knows what's in our hearts. it is Him that you turn to, it is Him that we seek all the guidance. He knows everything, absolutely everything.

Like Oprah often suggests, write a journal. by this i'm sure she didnt mean an online journal! perhaps i should make my own personal journal on my next craft project! ;)

Happy things! happy thoughts people! always assume the good in people, no matter what they did/do/doing to you (try la eh, i'm doing it now, so can you! if they continue, let them be, just ignore and brush them aside/out of your life. its you who determines your own happiness!!)...

(p.s: che' Hardy, mulia betul la hang ni!!)


Z

Kip

Last couple of years when we were building our house, we needed to find all sorts of things and furnishings. the place that we often go to is called Woonboulevard, in Heerlen. its like a centre where there's more than 30 huge stores for one to shop for one's woon (living). there's DIY centres, kitchen centres, bath and bed centres, lightings, floorings.. you name it! imagine you're building your house from scratch, and you have to find all sorts of things to make it a home. thus my point - we go there quite A LOT!

We've been passing this road (see picture), everytime we go to the boulevard. and just opposite the centre, there's a KFC. (bearing in mind, i was pregnant with Aidan at that time). everytime i pass that KFC, i began to drool. Hardy even had to drive to HFC (Halal Fried Chicken) in Brussels, an hour away from us, just so that i can eat my Kentucky-like Fried Chicken! (that only happens twice in the period of 9 months).

During our last trip to Maastricht, we passed another KFC. Hardy straight away said -" i'm gonna call the HQ and ask if their chicken are halal". he called. and they confirmed it. YES it is halal. all their products except their tiny chicken pops (what do they call them?). those little pops come from a UK supplier. everything else is halal. they confirmed that all KFC in the Netherlands are halal and you can ask instore for the certification of halal. i jumped and jumped and jumped. Early this week, just to reconfirm, Hardy emailed them to ask of the same query. they replied Hardy's email and confirmed it again! this time in writing. Yippeeyayeyy!!

Why la didnt we called them earlier?!

tak ada rezeki namanya..

Well, i could last 2 years of not eating KFC! during craving period pulak tu! if i can beat the craving.. i can beat anything! hahaha...

(Oh, and if you're wondering, what's with the title, Kip is chicken in dutch! cute kan?)

Z

The 'extra space'

My quite-reachable ambition to make Z a table remains to this day. Well, it's quite chilly out there, I'll pick it up in the summer.....My garage now turns into multi purpose storage for used paper and glass bottles (both yet to be recycled). And of course, our limited gardening tools - heavily utilised by Z's dad. I installed some garage cabinets , mainly to store my electric drill, sander and cordless drill. I have yet to work on them.....

I reckon as most Dutch, my garage will start to fill up along the years, which will, one day, make my car roof-less....

H

This post is sponsored by CarGuyGarage.com

Aidan's New Space

Aidan woke up this morning and found a new 'working place' specially for him!

We went to the ever reliable and affordable Ikea on Saturday, after our usual morning shopping at the Geleen market. got a table and 2 tiny cute little chairs, a playing rug, and a storage place for his toys. Hardy put them all together within mins that night, Aidan was already in bed.

And today... earlier this morning, he found out he has a new 'office'. its about time we gave him his own space where he can play and mess with his toys, rather then messying up the whole living room. we're now trying to teach him to sit on a chair, a little bit too early considering he's just 13+months old, but we will be supervising. i think i should be implemeting what we taught at the montessori - one toy at a time, to increase his level of concentration and work within your boundaries, to help to minimize the mess! we'll see if that will work! (wish me luck!)

Z

De Herfst

Everytime when i sit on the toilet seat i go "waaaaagghh".

Almost every tree are either red, yellow or orange, some no leaves left.

The grounds are covered with dried brown leaves.

It gets dark at 5pm.

We went to Roermond to change our car tyres to winter tyres.

Our electricity bill and heating bill will now start to hit its peak.

We now have to wear our jackets, and wrap ourselves up when we go out.

Therefore, taking an extra 5 mins to go out, and another 5 mins more for aidan!

We will feel heavier now that we have at least 3 layers of clothing to wear.

Late night shopping on Thursdays means shopping in the cold now.. therefore we're not tempted to go...

Shops now keep their doors close, therefore you'd have to push them when you want to go in. (quite a task when you're on your own, and the doors are small and have a stroller to push)

Trying on a piece of clothing in the fitting rooms are now not such a good idea coz you'd have to take each layer out. it will take you twice the time compared to a couple of months ago.

We are now feeling the 'change', we're now with sore throats, we sneeze quite a bit and aidan now has a little bit of a flam.

The clock went backward by an hour last weekend for us. so we gained an extra hour of sleep!

Capturing photos of my food wont be up to my level of satisfactory for my craftsandcooks blog coz now there's less of day light and i have to use the flash.

No more sitting at the cafes, on the decks..

Hardy does not cycle with aidan every evening anymore..

We will start drinking more hot drinks now compared to last few months.

We will no longer eat ice cream.

We will be very lazy to walk to town or to the park and will depend more on the car!

Away goes our tshirts, capris, shorts and in goes long sleeves, sweaters and polonecks.

Lotions.. lotions.. lotions for our dry skin...

Back to boots and no more sandals.

Now when i'm under the duvet, i'll go "g..g...g....g....gg....gg"

We now gonna have to change to doube duvet.

Time to stock up lots of my crafty bits, lots of time will be spent indoors from now on..

Christmas lights are up!

I'd jump for joy and clap my hands when i see a glimps of sunlight!

This is Autumn.

honestly, it is beautiful!

Mijn Zus - 35 Vandaag

My sister, my friend, my pal, my best friend.
My advisor, my strength, my confidant, my helping hand.

She defines the word beauty,

She's very strong and witty,

Although sometimes can be moody,

But she's our absolute sweety.

For all the memories we've shared,

and for all the dreams we've yet to share,

I thank you for making my world, my life, a meaningful one.

We love you loads, And miss you tonnes,

We wish you all the love and joy by the bus and truck loads,

And hope you'll have fun!

Thanks for giving, for sharing, for listening and caring,

Now go and have your usual morning hot lemon tea and we'll give you a ring!

Een heel fijne dag voor jouw, en gefeliciteerd met hopelijk vandaag jouw mooie verjaardag!

Happy Birthday Fi! May all your dreams come true!

You're the best sister anyone could ever have,

you're our star,

way above par,

i hope you know how wonderful you are,

we love you more eventhough you're slightly far!

With all our love,

Adik, Hardy & Aidan

Aidan's 1st Steps & His Blabberings

Date: 20th October 2007

Venue: Shopping One, Genk, Belgium

Aidan's age: 13 months

Our Aidan has started walking. he was holding Hardy's hand in the beginning, and slowly Hardy pulled his hand away, gradually letting him go. and then he had his first few tiny steps, on his own, unaided. what you see on the video was his 3rd attempt, thus the whining, tired probably! or... probably scared of the loud cheers he had! 3 cheers to Aidan!! Hip Hip Hoeraaa!! Hip Hip Hoeraa!! Hip Hip Hoeraa!!

And these are currently the noises that he makes...

His new word these days- "bu...ah". will try to capture it one of these days!

Dah besar dah Aidan....

Aidan & Ferran

We had a memorable Eid. Fifi, Redza and baby Ferran drove all the way from the UK, to be with us. it was really wonderful. we had a lovely week, where we spent quality time together, as a family.

We toured Holland and Limburg, in two cars with walky-talkys in each. it was like being in one of those police movies, minus the sirens and chases. thank god for those walkies! we would not have that much fun without them.

It was a long time ago that all are together under one roof on Raya. seldom i should say. and by far, this was our best raya ever. all together. forget baju raya, forget raya shoes, forget new hairstyle for raya, forget raya hampers, forget jars and jars of raya biscuits... this was the time to be together, and be thankful that we are still together with our new additions.

There were loads of laughter, loads of laksa and rooms full of love.

This was one of Aidan & Ferran's moments:

Aidan: "Che' Ferran, this phone's really cool..."

Ferran: "huh? what phone? which phone? i cant see, i cant move.. "

Ferran: " hey, why are they all looking at us and making funny noises Che' Aidan?"
Aidan: "eh, ye la...this must be a trick Ferran, the phone's just a decoy rupanya!"

Aidan: "lemme have a go at it first.."

Ferran: "yeah sure... dont worry about me.. i still cant see the phone.."

Aidan: "ok, thats it, they're laughing louder now.. i'm outta here.."

Ferran: "help me la..."

Aidan: "sorry mate, you're on your own..."

Ferran: "fine... you guys wait till i can crawl and walk!"

Ferran was then left alone on the sofa..

Ferran: "i'll get you guys for this one day!"

(1 min later, Aidan joined him)

Aidan: "ni la telefon Ferran, nanti Ferran besar boleh amik mummy Ferran punya k.. they're very useful when teething"

Ferran: "finally! at long last i can see it!!"

The UK-factor

I have to admit that we are quite fond of the UK, I guess because both of us attended schools and studied at the uni's there - so much so that we were used to the getting around and about. Getting used to the things here in the NL took some effort, mainly the language, the culture and how things work. Nonetheless, we grew to like NL too. Since last year, with main destination West Midlands, and in particular Warwick (Fifi, Reza and Che' Ferran...we miss you!), we flew and drove a couple of times each. I think driving is by far the most convenient - no weight limit and stop as much as you want. It's just that we realized that we need more space, not that we're having more kids but for more stuffs and things we tend to buy!

I still have Scotland as my yet-to-check destination - wondering how the old school of mine looks like - probably not much.... Came across UK Hotel Reservations and Bookings which specialize in last minute booking, even on the day of departure. Being me, this is great news as I tend to decide on Saturdays - 'where do we go today? Don't know....ok let's go see kakak'....only then Z put my feet back on the ground when she mention the journey Aidan has to endure....1400km in 2 days....I got her point....

The site is managed by Hotelshop - co-founded by Vivienne Hudson and Julie Shorrock, two highly successful businesswomen. It offers plenty of 2-5 star hotels from privately owned to large groups of hotel chains, with lots of weekly and special offers to choose from. You can even buy gift vouchers (could be useful for wedding present!) and tailor-made your holidays/breaks according to your liking (I would love to try the Alton Towers Break......it was more than 10 years ago I last went on the Nemesis ride).

H

Selamat Hari Raya

Pictures of Aidan wearing his first baju melayu on Hari Raya. his baju melayu arrived just in time! he'll probably grow out of it in the next couple of weeks!!

Still a little bit shy showing off his malay traditional costume! come on Aidan, give everyone back home a smile in your baju melayu!

There we go!!

"Selamat Hari Raya Semua, Maaf Zahir Batin Daripada Aidan, Mama & Papa"

(Thank you Cu, for buying Aidan's first baju melayu, thank you uda, a.faizah for posting us the whole package! we really appreciate it and love you lots!)

NEXT UP : AIDAN & COUSIN FERRAN!

61

I wonder how you do things the way you do...

I wonder how you manage to look so good all these years...

And i've come to a conclusion - its simply because you're one in a million, simply special and different from the rest. you're simply the best!

For what you have given others,

For how you have treated and helped others,

For all the love and care you have given especially to us,

You trully deserve the best of everything!

So mum, may all your dreams come true and be blessed with many many more happiness throughout the coming years!

HAPPY 61st BIRTHDAY MUM

We hope you've enjoyed your day with all of us here, together with you! we love you!!

Grateful & Hopeful

We heard from our family doctor, our good family friend, dr. chng last weekend that my grandad fell off his bed. he is 86. i entered mum's room and she told me of the news. her eyes were red and she looked extremely worried. mum then texed my aunt and she confirmed it. we called my Tok Bah right away to persuade him to go to the hospital and get it checked. as usual, he didnt want to and changed the topic to Aidan.

We kept on persuading him by carefully choosing our words and layering it up with a few jokes so that he wont feel pushed or forced.

Before we hung up the phone and said our goodbyes, this was what he said to me:

"jaga cicit saya tu baik baik. didik dia betul betul. i would want all of you to come back for raya one day" and my eyes started to water. holding back my sadness, i said "insyaallah (god willing) i love you tok bah". went into the bathroom and cried, but of course, without mum or anyone seeing me.

My aunt's bringing my grandad for an x ray today and hopefully there's nothing serious.

At times like this, i wish malaysia is only an hour away and i can fly all of us back home. and at times like this i am grateful and thankful regardless whatever problems and worries we are all facing, we are alive and well. alhamdulillah.

I hope these two pictures will merge, and become one, hopefully Aidan will meet his greatgrandparents one day.

Z

Garage as you know it

To most, garage as we know it, should be able to hide your car, at least. But it is not certainly the case here in most Western European countries as most houses have garages for storage purposes rather than keeping your automobiles away from the morning dews or the snow during the hard winters.

Our garage is reasonably spacious, luckily planned with a window but need extra lighting. A budget double flourescent tubes was all I could afford for my garage lighting, but that's sufficient for now. I'm yet to kick off on any project, well maybe I'll start when Aidan is big enough to give me a helping hand instead....you know, like men quality time....I can sense Z's frowned-one-eyebrow-higher-than-the-other- one look....

H

This post is sponsored by CarGuyGarage.com

Happy 3 months!

My nephew Ferran is 3 months today!

Yippeyayeyyyy!

He is really a happy baby..

Laughing and smiling away!

He poos and he pees

And he clearly sees

He is one smart pea

Our chubby bumble bee!

50% mummy, 50% daddy,

Your eyes are very chinese-y, And cheeks are so rosey!

We love you,

We miss you,

Cant wait to see you!

Well done mummy,

Well done daddy,

We are all very happy,

Love you 3 dearly

From Aidan, Zaza and Hardy!