A multitasker I am not

In case you're wondering where I've been in this last few days, wonder no more. I was busy sewing my daughters' badges and name tags on their tudung sekolah. On top of that, I have to do wrapping for their school text books that are piling up on the table. Manyak leceh punya kerja oii! I have only two school going daughters but the way I'm preparing things its like I have 10 kids in the house...sheesh! Well the truth is, this kelam kabut scenario is expected if I do things at the last minute. Serves me right.

Sometimes I wish I could do multi-tasking like Mrs_Doubtfire. Who? No idea who she is? Helloooo!

Yup, that well mannered old lady who can do mountains of house chore and keeping the house spotlessly clean no doubt and yet had that same level of energy left to prepare delicious home-cooked meals that look like a perfect display in a posh restaurant. As if that is not enough, she is also a confidante to the madam of the house and a nanny to the children and still looking perky and tidy after a hard day's work.

Only sometimes I tend to forget that it is just a movie. Nobody can do that in real life. No way Jose! I've tried doing several house chores in one go and I would be completely exhausted by the time I'm done let alone prepare a decent meal. Yeah, looks like age is getting to me alright but for Mrs Doubtfire, age is just a number. Oh, you wicked wicked woman!

So in between this and that, the news of Benazir Bhutto's assassination somewhat jolted me. Speechless was all I could muttered. Her untimely death is certainly a big shocker to the rest of the world. Al-Fatihah! May her soul rest in peace. And since today is the last day for the year 2007, I have nothing to wish for or new resolutions to make except that Nurin's killer(s) MUST BE found at all cost!

Happy New Year!

Lagi lagi tag!

I've been tagged by Elara. Please don't be fooled by her name. She happens to be a man actually!

Its pretty hard to dodge when you're trying to avoid being tagged. I've been doing just that for every blog that I'd been visiting to and pray hard that my name won't be mentioned. Heck, I didn't even dare to leave comments on certain blog, afraid that I'd have to answer them....tee hee hee.

Okay, in the spirit of sporty-manship, lets do this tag very quickly.

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night. A: A friend of my tukang urut. While I was being massaged (heavenly) by the masseuse, her friend told dirty jokes. And the woman is in her 50's! Dasattttt....

2. What were you doing at 0800? A: Washed the porch

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? A: Bancuh susu for my youngest son

4. What happened to you in 2006? A: Sheesh, tak ingatlah! Nothing significant I guess...

5. What was the last thing you said out loud? A: Balik balik... dah maghrib nih! Sapa tak masuk rumah kang kena kurung kat luar sampai esok pagi! I was yelling that to my kids yesterday.

6. How many beverages did you have today? A: Donno...never count one

7. What color is your hairbrush? A: Don't have hairbrush only a comb, purple color some more!

8. What was the last thing you paid for? A: This morning bought text books and paid school fees for the religious school for my daughters

9. Where were you last night? A: At home

10. What color is your front door? A: Grey color

11. Where do you keep your change? A: In my purse and also in small container in the kitchen

12. What’s the weather like today? A: Right now? Its raining drizzily

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? A: I guess it has to be yam flavour (my tastebud)

14. What excites you? A: Many things...too many to mention here

15. Do you want to cut your hair? A: Nope, I'm keeping it long this time.

16. Are you over the age of 25? A: Way over...

17. Do you talk a lot? A: When I am with good company...yeah! Macam bertih jagung...pot pet pot pet

18. Do you watch the O.C.? A: Nope

19. Do you know anyone named Steven? A: An ex-colleague of the husband. Femes tol nama nih!

20. Do you make up your own words? A: Hell yes! Shec-ka-feck, unta baral, sitambara....just to name a few and those are normally expletive words..haha!

21. Are you a jealous person? A: Hmm, this one is tough. I'm not really a jealousy type of person. Jealous towards the husband? Hmm, maybe a little but I WILL NEVER show it to him! Tak main lah tunjuk jeles-jeles kat org laki ni! Mesti maintain vogue ok? Hahaha...

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter 'A'. A: Ayu

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. A: Aiseh, takde lah kut

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? A: The husband of course

25. What does the last text message you received say? A: From the husband that says - malam ni masak apa?

26. Do you chew on your straw? A: Nope

27. Do you have curly hair? A: Yeeahh, sorta. I have natural wavy hair

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? A: After I'm done with this tag, the kitchen to start cooking for dinner...sigh!

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? A: I've encountered a lot of rude people in the course of my work back then but I've learnt to take it in my stride. There's no point in arguing with rude people and I try my very best to stay away from such people in my life. So much negative vibes around these people I tell you....not good for my health!

30. What was the last thing you ate? A: Rice with the usual lauk pauk. Today I cooked hati masak kicap berempah, sayur bayam tumis air and telur dadar...my kids love them!

31. Will you get married in the future? I'm already married duh! I'm happy to say that I'm a one man woman!

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? A: Just yesterday I watched the movie Stepmom on HBO with Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon in the lead role. I've watched it countless times before, yet it has never fail to evoke emotion in me. I so heart this movie!

34. When was the last time you did the dishes? A: This afternoon

35. Are you currently depressed? A: Nope

36. Did you cry today? A: Nope

37. Why did you answer and post this? A: Coz I got nothing better to do

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey: Ok, let see if CikDinz, UBA, Gab, Ibu and U.Lee are willing enough to do this.

Saved by the seatbelt!

an accident photo snagged from google image

Last weekend was a bit of an eye opener for me. And also something to pause and reflect deeply. About life that is so precious. About how some of us took for granted the very basic of safety in the car precisely.

Last saturday we got to know that a friend of the husband had met with an accident. It was a major accident. She was travelling with her husband, 3 children and both her parents. Sadly, her mother was killed in the accident but the rest were still alive, thankfully!

When we reached the hospital, there were many people loitering around the ward area. We assumed they were the relatives of them. We managed to speak to her husband; he was treated as an outpatient due to minor injuries suffered but his wife was in bad shape. We were told that part of her liver had ruptured and that she'd have to go for surgery. She was still under observation and was heavily sedated when we visited her. We were surprised to see her father was well and not a scratch on his body. He is one lucky man indeed.

Then we went to the 8th floor - the paediatric ward. All her 3 children were safe, Alhamdulillah. The eldest child was covered with minor cuts and bruises all over her body and she was a bit upset. She was wailing. Later we found out that she was crying for her grandma. We weren't sure if she had known the truth about her grandma. The second child was ok. He was also treated as an outpatient and only had cuts on his head. But the youngest child's condition made my heart weeped. His left arm and right leg were bandaged, his face was swollen like a balloon and we were told that he had suffered a fall on his head. How bad it is we don't know. He's only 14 months old. The prognosis was not good. The impact of the fall caused his brain to swell. His brain could be partly damaged. However it is only a prognosis, nothing is certain yet. Pray hard to Allah that he'll be alright and back on his two feet again. It is so hard to imagine a child that young would be disabled for his whole natural life.

Only later we found out how the accident happened. They were traveling in an MPV going north for the holidays when the car skidded somewhere in Tanjung Malim after trying to avoid something infront. Apparently a canvas from a truck had fallen on the road causing the driver to swerve the car to the right but he lost control of the wheel. The car was rolling all over like a ball until it came to a halt. The car had landed on its top! The grandmother was thrown forcefully out of the window and her head smashed on the road. She was killed instantly. When they found her, she was clutching the baby tightly to her chest. Blood was splattered all over the place. It was a heartwrenching scene. From the info that we gathered, we came to know that the grandfather had escaped unhurt because he had worn the seatbelt. None of the other passengers in the car wear it not even the driver himself! Can you imagine the speed that they were travelling on a highway without wearing seatbelts? It is tantamount to reckless endangerment. The baby should have been strapped to a baby car seat not on a lap.

Accidents may occur even if we are careful with driving and take all the necessary precautions. That is fate. But I just can't help thinking that if only they had fastened their seatbelts, the casualty could have been reduced. The grandmother's life would have been spared.

Just a thought

A quote from a recent movie that forever etched in my mind;

"People should not be afraid of their governments. The governments should be afraid of their people"

From the movie "V For Vendetta"

TV series of yesteryears

Just like what this gal wrote in her entry here, I too was bitten by the youtube bug. Besides youtube there's another current craze ongoing - facebook! Whilst I'm not into facebooking just yet, it is a matter of time before I'll jump on the bandwagon like everybody else.

In the meantime, enjoy watching some of these long gone tv series (opening credits) that used to grace our idiot box back in the 70's and 80's respectively in no particular order.

Little House On The Prairie

Bonanza

High Chaparral



Space 1999

Hawaii Five 0

Kojak



Starsky & Hutch

Six Million Dollar Man


The Bionic Woman



Charlie's Angels

Cagney & Lacey

The A-Team



Airwolf



Macgyver

Even responsible mom makes mistake too...

Although I may not be perfect in so many ways, I'd like to think of myself as being a responsible and doting mom to my kiddos. I was also willing to suspend my career (not like I have a super duper one) for them. I want to be there during their formative years. To hear their first words, to witness their first giant steps and to just simply watch them grow up. Every single moment of their babyhood and childhood that are precious to me is the reason behind my decision to be a stay-at-home mom. I wouldn't want to miss it for the world. After all they live as a child only once.

Okay, enough with this monologue thing. Just go straight to the point please!

Last monday was a harrowing experience for me. I made a careless mistake. Totally big. I blame myself for not monitoring Little B as I always have. Never underestimate the inquisitive mind of a two year old child.

I was totally absorbed in browsing the internet like always when I noticed that Little B was unusually quiet. He must be up to something this time. I began looking and calling him in the kitchen and living room but there was no response from him. I went looking for him in the bathroom. Nada. Then I went into the bedrooms upstairs searching for him under the beds and in the closets (he likes to play hide and seek in those places) and the linked bathrooms but found nothing. I began to feel worried and wondered where on earth did he go to. Its like he'd dissappeared into thin air.

Then I went downstairs and remembered there's one more room I hadn't checked. There he was behind the door holding something in his hand and coughing. At first I thought he had choked on something and immediately I carried him onto my lap made him sit up with his head slightly facing down and began patting harder on his back to remove whatever that it was in his mouth but nothing came out. The coughing won't stop and it was getting worse until I saw his reddened face and teary eyes. Only then I realised the thing that he had held in his hand. It was an empty bottle of Kak Ngah's bath oil. It was for external use only. Ya Allah! Little B had swallowed the liquid! I don't know how much. I was getting panicked but tried to remain calm as possible.

I inserted my finger inside his mouth and tried to tickle his throat to make him vomit but it didn't come out. Since he kept on coughing I gave him water to drink. The coughs didn't stop but Little B had become tired, probably from incessant coughing and crying. Slowly his eyelids became droopy and he dozed off in my arms within seconds.

I began to reach for the handphone and text messaged the husband to come home pronto. Too bad that he had just started work in a new company on the same day and the briefings he had attended to was abruptly interrupted by the news at home. While waiting for him to reach home I immediately called the emergency dept at nearby hospital and asked the nurse on duty what I should do in my son's case. She said she can't really tell over the phone and that she had to see my son in physical form and she advised me to hurry up. If there's a need to pump out his stomach content then so be it.

While doing all the above, I kept putting my hand on Little B's chest just to check if he was still breathing. Thank god, he was but his breathing was a bit croaky.

Long story short.

The good doctor checked his abdomen and found nothing serious. We brought along the bottle and after checking the ingredients he said there was nothing to worry about. It was non-toxic. The liquid paraffin that my son had swallowed also acts as laxative and will come out eventually when he pass motion. Just give him lots of plain water to flush out the liquid and he should be fine after that. Phewww! He also REMINDED me not to let it happen again. Hahaha padan muka!

Good advice doc!

Moral of the story (especially yours truly); Janganlah dok asyik berinternet je sampai anak pun lupa nak tengok ... isk isk! People, don't be like me ok?

Where do broken hearts go...

I just got to know that my friend Enon had recently gone thru another broken heart episode. All I could say to her was; tak pelah Enon, dah bukan jodoh you dengan dia. kumbang bukan seekor.

Enon's story on how she discovered her ex's true status was quite comical. On that fated day, she was listening to a popular radio station while driving when one of the radio callers happened to be her ex-beau. He was calling in to dedicate a song to his wife!

Of course she was devastated and felt cheated.

So I'm dedicating this song solely for Enon. I sincerely hope that she will find her prince charming one day. Just don't lose faith and hope ok babe!

Renjis-renjis dipilis

It's that time of the year folks! 

pic snagged from google

Yes, wedding invitations are pouring in like spill milk in my postbox lately. Mostly from our relatives and office colleagues (in my case ex-office colleague). Some with addresses coming from as far as Kedah and some from within KL itself. It seems that our weekends starting late last month are fully booked till end of December just to attend these weddings.

When someone posted you a wedding invitation card follow up with phonecalls that start with something like; please make sure you come ahh or make yourself available on that date or you better come or else, it's pretty hard to avoid it when you are being blackmailed.

And then you have to scratch your head searching high and low for the perfect gift for the newly weds. Whilst it is very convenient to give presents in the form of monetary, it is not that simple when closest friend comes into the picture. Sometimes you need to think out of the box what sort of present that will most suit them in terms of sentimental value, uniqueness and most importantly appropriate for married couples.

When my sister in law got married 3 years ago, we gave her a National cooking stove with 2 burners (not so pricey anyway). Yes I know, it is not a cool wedding gift to give to a newlyweds. But we are practical people. So when she and her husband finally got to opening their presents, she was dumbfounded and managed to utter a few words;

"What, a cooking stove? This has got to be one of the most weirdest gift I've ever had", she claimed.

"Why not? This is the perfect gift for you to start learning how to cook and make your husband proud knowing that he has NigellaLawson wannabe wife preparing meals in the kitchen..." I replied in a zest.

Well, she wasn't exactly the domestic kind of person. In fact, she never cooks in her entire life not even for herself. Anak manja dalam family lah tuh. Good advice in a very subtle way huh? Ha ha ha!

In the meantime, it looks like I have to forgo my plan to watch that sappy movie CINTA that has been the talk of the town lately. I'm really not a big fan of malay movies but this one has caught my attention due to its overwhelming hype from the media and people. Well, there's always the dvd pirated version to look out for.

Opps, just don't tell that to anyone ahh?