Housewarming gifts

3 of the invited guests who were not able to make it for the last Sunday event took the trouble in getting gifts for us. 3 lovely gifts pulak tu...

The first gift was the 7 piece kitchen set, goes very well with the kitchen concept.

Next gift for my better half's uncle, inside this wrapping is a mirror like a window type. Forgot to take the photo, will do so later.

And of course, the lovely vase from a workmate...very artistic and just nice to put at the corner of our house.

There are other gifts received as well but I have yet to upload the pics. Will do so very soon...

By the way, to all the kind people that gave all the lovely gifts, a million thanks....appreciate all of the gifts very much!

Choices we made

As most of you know, we have moved to BSP. This place is quite a distance from KL, around 30 minutes drive. But, drive without any hassle, any traffic, just straight along the highway. Hence, lebih kurang travelling from KJ actually.

So, we have to leave the house early, as early as 6am and the latest will be 6.15am. I will usually prepare all the relevant stuff like the cuties uniforms, school bags, what to cook for breakfast and the food for cuties to bring to school the nite before. I am not saying it's easy, but that's the choice that we made hence we have to adjust our life to suit the choice that we made.

The time shown above is 6.24am and we were already strolling on the highway on our way to work and for the cuties to school. I will make sure the cuties sleeps at 9pm everyday, actually this is irregardless where we stay, KJ or BSP, the bedtime will still remain at 9am. And this has been a practice since they were very young. They will wake up at 5.30am so, they will still be getting 8.5 hours of sleep. When they wake up, all they need to do is bath and get dress, the rest has been taken care off.

As the title suggest, this is the choices we made, therefore, adjustments need to be made to suit this choice. Yup, we made this choice after weighing all the circumstances and consequences. And yup, no one force us to make this choice. And so far, we are managing it quite well alhamdulilah. Penat skit but when we look at our house and the surroundings, we are very happy with this choice.

We all have choices. Saying that we don't have a choice is quite not so accurate. If you hate your job, you have the choice to leave. But, you made a choice to stay as the income and perks is so good, that's a choice. It's quite unfair if you are saying..."I don't have a choice" when you actually do...

Sorry if anyone is offended but this is my personal opinion. I have made many choices in my life, some good choices and the rest may be bad choices. I may regret the choices I made, but since I am the one who made that choice, I just have to live with it.

I did utter this word before...I don't have a choice...But as I grow older(kedut dah naik sana sini), deep down inside I realised...I have been uttering the wrong choice of words....

How did the event go?

Some of you may be wondering how did the Open House go? At least pretend lah that you are...

Well........

Alhamdulilah, it went very well. The turnout was great! We estimated about 300 people came. Though it's supposed to end at 6pm, there were still guests arriving at 8pm and the last guests left the house at 10pm.

I did not get to take any photos, were busy entertaining family and frens...

So, ciloked photos from lurza...hehehe...ok ler tu!

Thanks to my blogger frens who came that day...nae, dott, nad, lurza(also workmate), faith(another workmate as well) and not forgetting k red(also a workmate). Your attendance mean so much to me, your kindness in sharing this happy moment of my life with me is very much appreciated. Though the first 3 names, I got to know them on-line, but it seems like we knew each other for sooo long kan?

For more stories on this, read here and here...

Siap pun!

Remember my frustration about this??

Finally, it's completed!

But at the expense us missing 2 open houses on Saturday. The commitment given for this to be completed by 1pm but instead it was ready only at 5.30pm.

We only managed to go to 3 Open Houses, all located in our neighbourhood. The other 2, organised by my colleagues, we have to give this a pass....Sorry yer, memang tak sengaja.

And the vendor, despite failing to meet the time line, had the audacity to ask for payment before leaving via his staff. I said a blunt NO! I asked him to tell his boss to come and see me tonight.

Apa lagik, I gave myself a discount. I told him off, I am paying you the balance only this much, cause this is what you deserve after failing to meet all the 3 deadlines, that you have agreed upon earlier...Akak nie sibuk, how many things disrupted because of your inefficiany, so too bad!

And jangan harap I will recommend you to any of the neighbours, I told some of the neighbours that came to our house...the workmanship is not bad but when it comes to meeting the deadline, this people just suck at it!

Now it's my turn

Another major milestones accomplished! Had the housewarming cum Raya Open house yesterday and Alhamdulilah, everything went well.

Yup, all food were cooked by us. Not outsourcing. The kuih, however, is courtesy of my mom who was kind enough to make 4 types of kuih for this occasion.

For those who came, thanks so much and sorry if layanan tak seberapa.

For those who got the house tour, sorry for the mess yer. Memang tak sempat nak kemas properly. The night before the event, slept at 4am and woke up again 2 hours later.

For those who took photos, puhleaaaaassssseeee, share this with me cause I did not get the chance to take any photos at all!!!

And now it's my turn to terjah open house org since we missed quite a number due to the preparation of our open house....finally!

Incomplete work pissed me off!!!!

I was not well yesterday so I took the day off. Since there is so many things to be done for the big event this Sunday, I went back to BSP to see the progress. And, that makes me sicker than before.

I just hate working with people than don't know how to follow timeline, not able to keep promises and not punctual.

When you know you have soooo much work to do, datang ler awal, nie tak...you arrived nearly lunch time and then even have the guts to have lunch break...what the hell is that!!!!

So, ultimatum needs to be given. Either this is completed by 1pm Saturday or.....I am not paying a single cent of the balance payment. I may perceived to be friendly and jovial, but once you cross the line, no way I am gonna be nice.

And since we are the first group of people staying here, no way I am going to recommend you to others. YOU WISH!!!!

2 nights before Raya

Hi, I'm back after a wonderful Raya celebration thus far. We had so much fun and banyak giler gi jalan2 beraya.

But, let's start with the 2 nights before Raya.

As promised made to the cuties, we baked some Raya cookies 2 nights before Raya. The cuties were very excited and were really into this baking this.

I only guide them on what to put, what to stir and so on. The cuties did all the work except for the part which involved the oven since it's dangerous.

I was sleepy and tired but the cuties can go on and on with this baking. If not because I called it a night, I don't think we are going to get any sleep at all!!

The taste test, which the cuties claimed they have passed with flying colours...hehehe....

Nevertheless, the fun factor was still very much intact!

The fountain - The new look

Early Sunday morning, right after taking a nap after sahur, my better half woke up quite early. He planned to do something around the fountain area. He bought some small pebbles, some small trees and some steps.

He is so into this fountain. He has been arranging, re-arranging and more re-arranging the fountain alone. And we are not even come to the fish stage yet. I think once we entered the fish stage, the obsession will increase...

When I have finished cleaning the house, I was quite impressed with the outcome though he keep on saying "Tak siap lagik lah!!!". Cantik lah sayang...maybe you can consider landscaping as a career...hehehe....

IKEA, here we come!!!

We have planned for this trip for the past 2 weeks, marking what to buy in the on-line catalogue since we misplaced the one we received earlier.

Important things to buy :

1. Chest drawer(ke drawer chest) one each for the cuties.

2. The bar stool for the kitchen

3. Photo frames

4. Chairs for the dining table

5. Some accesories for the house

6. Mirrors for the bathrooms

7. Mirror for the cuties rooms

We arrived at 6.15pm so we decided to look for the place to have our Iftar first. My baby wanted to have A&W so A&W it is.

After maghrib prayers, our journey begin.

From one area to another, I just love coming to IKEA. If I have the money, everything in the house would come from IKEA and IKEA only...YOU WISH!!!

We got all the items that we were looking for except for the chairs for the dining table. It's quite costly there, so maybe we'll just purchase the one from Cavenzi. Some of the items couldn't fit the car so it will be sent to our house later. The que to pay was very long but the wait was not that long. I guess IKEA staff is very efficient.

Before we left IKEA, my better half dropped by ACE Hardware at Ikano to purchase the power drill for us to hang frames and other hangable stuff.

We left IKEA at 10pm, and the cuties were exhausted and thirsty. Now, to unpack the things that we buy...penatnyer....

Another wish list accomplished - The new gate

Alhamdulilah, another wish list was fulfilled yesterday, our new gate is completed.

Now, just waiting for the machine to be installed after Raya for the new auto gate to be fully operated..

I know some people may be thinking I am spending so much for the house. I have 2 version of answers to them :

The polite version

Kalau kita tak buat for the house, duit yang ada tu habis gak and benda tak nampak


The not so polite version.

Rumah aku, duit aku, suka hati aku ler...


HAHAHAHAHA - evil laugh

The grass is greener on myside of the fence

Our garden is 70% complete. Yesterday, the vendor came to place the stone for the foot steps and also planted a "pokok rhu"(don't know what this is called in English) since my better half said it goes well with his English theme...Whatever!!!

The fountain is also nearly completed, just missing the fish and to place some flowers(in pots) around it. My better half also planned to put some small pebbles around the pond. What I love about the fountain is the sound of water running, somehow this has a calming and soothing effect towards me.

There are some work will be done for the backyard, will blog about it soon...

On another note, BESTNYER NAK RAYA!!!!!

The Garden

Finally, we have grass on our garden. It was so soothing and breath taking. The work is expected to be completed by end of this week. Meaning, rumput raya lah akak yer...

After few round of negotiations, arguments, sulking session yada yada yada, we finally came to an amicable agreement on the fish pond. It will not be a permanent kena gali tanah fish pond as per my better half wish lists. It will be like a water fountain kind of fish pond which is big enough to have 15 japan cab(ke cub or is it cup, confuse akak) swimming around comfortably. Okey lah tu kan bang...

Did you notice the ugly wall dividing our house to the next door neighbours. We have planted some sort like pokok duit2 yg menjalar tu. But the result is only visible within 3-5 months. We did not want to paint it, it won't look natural so we opted for this method. Hijau skit and mana tau fengshui baguih, pokok duit2 tu...see the connection...Insyallah, kalau Allah izinkan....

Raya with a nice garden...one more wish list taken care off!!

Iftar anywhere

For the past 2 weeks, there were few occassions where the cuties, me and my better half had our iftar in the car. Reason being ; there were days that we need to go back to BSP and can only start to travel once baby is back from school. Then, my better half would pick me up at KL and straight to BSP. Usually, about 5km towards reaching home, the azan magrib will be heard over the radio.

Since I finish work quite early, I will proceed to the food outlet in KLCC in search of food for iftar.

Yesterday, I got them 2 pack of chicken rice, pizza, nasi lemak bungkus, A&W fried chicken and some kuih. Alhamdulilah, the cuties are not that particular about food. I did ask them if they would prefer to have their iftar with their Wan and spend the nite there. They refused to that suggestion and would prefer to have iftar with Papa and Mama eventhough the iftar can be categorised as Iftar the kelam kabut style...So sweet of the cuties...As long as we are all together, susah senang bersama...Chewah!!

All huhu haha about lights

What were the cuties staring at. Why are they still outside after iftar. What are they up to?

Actually, we have just installed the sensor spotlight outside the house. There are 3 all together, one at the front, one at the side and another one at the back of the house. Once the sensor light sense any type of movement, it will shine.

We have tried and tested and can safely say this thing is really sensitive. Even when the guard was doing their round using the motorbike and rode pass our house, it will shine. Which is a good thing, that's the purpose of installing it anyway.

Another huhu haha about lights...while others like to put the some sort like the classic light at the car porch, I insisted to have this some sort like disco light for the porch. My better half was quite sceptical, but I assured him it goes well with the whole house concept. Iyolah tu...

The house is now 50% completed, so another 50% more to go...And the fund has depleted to just 30% left...Camno nie??

Finally, it's here

Remember this entry??

lil^red commented, Di manakah ovennyer...

Finally the oven arrived last Sunday, but it arrived very late! The commitment given was at 5pm but arrived only at 6.30pm, tak tau ke orang nak buka pose...I was angry at first, but after looking at how wonderful the kitchen looks like now, I managed to control my anger...

The cuties and I have planned to bake some Raya cookies and some muffins and if sempat, cupcakes. Muffin's recipe is courtesy again by my dear sista, lil^red...

Of course, my better half asked me what's the contigency plan if katakanlah(and this is if with capital I and F) tak jadi...He answered that question himself, "takpelah, kalau tak jadik sempat lagik nak beli". I told him, "pernah ke Liza buat kuih tak jadik" and then gave him the look and continued, "you bette don't answer that"...Hahaha!!!

My better half's speciality

Yesterday was Nuzul Quran, the day Selangor employees got to be on leave and the KL people still have to gigih bekerja. The cuties were also not schooling, however, my better half who works in the service industry, still have to work ; it's on rotation basis who works and who's not. However, he got to work only until 12pm. Taking that into consideration, I took the half day off as my better half has made some arrangements to meet the vendors for some work to the house.

My better half knew I was not well for the past couple of days so he volunteered to cook. And of course, we all wanted to eat what he cooked best, Mee Rebus. I'm not saying this because he is my better half but his Mee Rebus is the best that I have ever tasted.

No pictures while he was cooking since yours truly was catching a nap. He was all alone in the kitchen and insisted that I just go and rest. How sweet!

So, this is the famous Mee Rebus.

The cuties love this dish soooo much. Especially my princess yang tambah sampai 4 kali ok!!! My baby and my hero stopped after the second serving...Recipe? Nanti I asked him whether this can be revealed since it's his family recipe kan...

Thanks Sayang, I had a good nap and feel much better now.

Raya mood is here....

It's like a tradition, we will buy bunga api(what's that in English by the way, fire crackers or fire just doesn't seems right, takkan fire flower kot) for the cuties as Raya is about to arrived. And this year is more special since they'll be playing this in the compund of our own house.

When we were doing some shopping at BBB, we saw this small stall selling the bunga api. Mercun is a big NO NO, I want the cuties to celebrate Raya with all the body parts in tact!. So we bought some for the cuties to play after iftar.

Right after iftar and magrib prayers, they couldn't wait to start playing. They started to light the candles and having a blast. While us, the parents, as much as we were tempted to join in, just sat at the side to monitor them and ensure they won't hurt themselves.

On another note, while looking at this picture, I noticed how ugly the house compound look like without grass. Sayang, cepat ler kita tanam rumput yer....

The checklists - Gate crash!

The next thing on the checklist is to search for the right vendor to build the auto gate for us. Initally, we wanted to engage the same vendor that did our grill. But, since the work done was so lembab, we thought again we will look for few options before deciding who will get the job.

The selection criteria will be similar to the grass thingy...

We wanted the gate to be auto because of this...We also wanted the material to be combination of wrought iron and wood, and the design should be able to make the front door not to be visible from external. Something like this....not exactly like this tau!

Alhamdulilah, we finally found what we are looking for. And the work will also start on Friday.

Sempat ke siap before raya nie??