Domestic Goddess Wannabe

I wanted to blog about this since last weekend, the day of this incident itself, because I was so so so happy. But work caught up hence this late update. 

Anyway the excitement still there...so here I presenting what I've been up to last weekend.

I found a shop selling fresh wet groceries, in 10mins away from my house!!

Ok.. well, maybe it's nothing to you guys, but I was like a happy kid when I get there! First and foremost, we rarely get to buy fresh stuff because of time contraint. Weekend is the only time we at home, and we didn't cook during weekdays. So most of the time we had to succumb with Giant and Tesco online. I used to think Giant's fish is good enough, but when I look at this shop, blehhhh no more Giant after this..err..unless no choice la.

And I haven't been to any market or pasar malam/pasar tani beli barang basah in 5 years of marriage. So this is my first time trying to be..ahem..a real domestic goddess...ahem!

My MIL told us about this shop long time ago but we didn't have the chance to check it out. It's just normal kedai runcit dekat seksyen 4 KD. MrComot went there first, with Zahra and brought home fresh squid  and complaint that he couldn't really shop because Zahra said the shop is icky and stink so she doesn't want to walk. Typical Zahra /:)

So last weekend, I went there all by myself around 1030AM. Quite late already. Tapi gigih okk. Normally we will go everywhere together, but MrComot said it is impossible to shop there with the kiddos. So MrComot took care of Zahra (he brought her to Giant to buy some dry groceries) and I left Emir with my sister at home, and pinjam kereta my sister, drive sorang2 pegi kedai. I rarely drive alone after kahwin..so tell me about it. And my kegigihan is sooo worth it haha. The fish is super super fresh and I feel like buying all!

Some of the stock.

Bought 1 big siakap (barramundi), about 1 kilo pelatling (mackerel), a bag of lala (clams), cili padi, limau kasturi, daun kesum, tomatoes, ginger, taugeh, hard tofu, and coriander leaves for only RM33!! It's cheap!

Talk about that fresh coriander leaves..this is my first time buying such stuff, so I keep on sniffing that leaves ok. Sooo sooo sooo nice!  :D

Reached hole around 1115 and I didn't plan to cook for lunch at first because I know myself, I am a bit lembap in kitchen..I have to start cooking at 1030 not going out shopping the stuff haha.

But because the ingredient is so fresh, I was super excited and rolled up my sleeves and start sweating in the kitchen.

See the siakap? "Masih bersinar" as my mom would say to fresh fish. And yeah, it is sparkling!

Rub some fish sauce, chopped garlic, onion, ginger, tomatoes, cili padi, lime juice, pinch of salt and coriander leaves.

Turn to siakap stim limau cili padi. YUMS!

Taugeh with tofu , fried with ikan masin style

I soak the clams in saltwater to remove the sand and it was 12 something already. Told you I'm slow in the kitchen haha. So decided to cook the clam later and proceed to eat lunch.

After lunch, I didn't take a nap but start process the mackerel and turn it into

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LAKSA KEDAH!!!

Ok tell me now, super effective or not? LOL

I don't know what's gotten into me but I was so excited to cook that day. Which is so not me! I would prefer take out anytime ok? Maybe I'm bored with outside food but my ultimate catalyzer is the fresh fishes!

When everything is fresh, the food will be extra delicious too, bundled with love and my sweat of course! Lol!

Anyway, I don't really know how to cook laksa kedah but I love it very much. The recipe is simple too, so I just belasah buat and keep on asking MrComot how is it?

"Sedaaaappp!! Tengok me sampai hirup semua kuah"

Good boy!!! Tak sedap pun takpe, janji you give me RIGHT answer hahaha.

Oh ya, the laksa is kids friendly - just mackerel + cili giling + daun kesum + asam keping + salt. That's all!! Didn't put bunga kantan (ginger torch) because it's quite windy for my stomach and no belacan..just because MrComot prefers without it. And yet, it still tastes delicious!

So no more fish from Giant after this. Kedai runcit seksyen 4, see you soon!!!

We are 5!!

*image googled*

Just something random, our marriage turns 5 last 10th Oct!!! Thank you Allah..for all the happiness and blessings that you shower us. 5 years is definitely a long time but not long enough for you to  master your marriage. There are so many things I need to learn about. However, marriage definitely made me a better person. It's where I learn to be selfless. Life is not about me, me, me anymore right. Well, most of the time is all about me (thank you Mr Husband!) but yeah..marriage is a hardwork. The is no such thing you fall in love and happy ever after. You need to nurture it all the time. Then you'll be happy. InsyaAllah..trying my best here =D

We didn't make any celebration during last year's anniversary because both of us were extremely busy and I sharply remember that we  made a pact in the car that we going to take annual leave and make something special for this year's anniversary. But oh well...this year pun busy jugak. In fact MrComot wasn't in town on our anniversary as he has meeting in another state. So there goes our pact *sobs* *sobs*. And after he came back pun takde celebrate mana-mana sebab both dah start busy that time. But it doesn't matter really..maybe next year! ;)

Anyway, I ordered this shoes from ebay UK about 3 weeks before and been checking the mailbox a week before the anniversary date and was 'ready' to accept the fact that my parcel is missing, because international parcel is not traceable when it reaches Malaysia. But Mr Postman decided to hand me the parcel on my anniversary day!! How sweeeeeet is that? So I considered this is my anniversary gift untuk mengubat hati yg lara haha.

 All the way from Great Britain ;)

Freckle Face in Navy Nubuck ;) ;) ;)

I've been looking up and low for Freckle Face (it's an old design from Clarks so it's not in market anymore) and most the sites don't have my size. Then one day jumpa this one, it's like a miracle!

By the way, since MrComot is not around, I made a crazy thing that day. Skipped my lunch and went to SSM to register my own company....

Which is crazy because.... I don't have any product to sell!!! LOL.

Well, I have something in mind, of course related to crafts and handmade stuff. I have a lot of buttons ribbons fabrics that I keep on buying and mounting in the craft room, and was thinking to let it go. Well, I can just sell it without register a company right? I mean, takat jual 10 butang je, perlu ke nak company bagai hahaha... but 1010 means a lot to me. So if I want a registered company, I want it to have that date as the registration date! Ini semua POYO! Hahaha

Nevermind that.

Since I already have a company, I HAVE to sell something right. InsyaAllah..when I'm less busy and get to upload the pics, I'll announce my shop site ;)

I announced this move to my husband and he gave me a short and sharp reminder:

 "multimillion, but we won't rob from the people"

Yeah, I won't rob from the people! InsyaAllah. Semoga Allah pelihara my heart from all this thing. Business is not easy..you tend to be blinded by the money right. Cewahhh cakap banyak, barang pun takde nak jual haha.

Anyway, my shop is going to be a place where I share my passion in crafts. Sharing is caring. Robbing is not allowed!! =P

Beach Bums

Ok last entry about balik kampung during last raya. Bercinta betul nak finish this entry..

Anyway what is balik to east coast kalau tak pegi pantai kan? Yes we went there but only on the last day we were in Terengganu and too bad that we only get to spend less than 1/2 hour as it started to rain after that. Sigh. Kesian the kids as derang baru nak warm up main pasir. 

This is one of my favourite public beach in Besut - Pantai Air Tawar. It is a long beach with fine white sand. It has one small fresh water lake that connected to the salt water beach. Somehow the water doesn't mix but I didn't dare to taste as the lake doesn't look that clean haha. But the beach is pretty clean for a public beach and do recommend this place as it has a long stretch which spread the crowd and you'll have ample space to claim it 'your space'. One of my pet peeves is when I go to a beach where I get to see others bum like a few centimeter away. Bukan menenang kan otak..but lagi serabut ada la =D

Anyway, below are some pictures before the heavy rain.

Found a stick and drawing something

Look at his hair. It was verrryyy windy 

Zahra is happy as she gets to touch the sand

Enjoying the ambiance. Can you see the dark cloud is racing towards her? 

Ok before I close this balik kampung/raya entry, few pics form our last raya!!

A little drama on baju raya though. It is last year's baju raya because I don't really have the time to think about it. My baju lagi la..it's my normal baju kurung that I wear to office, but since it matches the others, belasah je la. But last year was our first time spending Raya with 4 of us, so gigih ok last minit cari baju. Siap ambil annual leave, went to Jalan TAR naik LRT (wisma yakin) and sebab dah last minit susah nak cari 4 pairs of us. Kalau Zahra ada, Emir pulak takde. Last skali jumpa for 3 of them only at BAK so belasah je ambil and went to BAK Kota Damansara to find mine, only to know that they have different colors in each branch ^@&#@&%^#@. So end up I wear my normal attire la. Last year wore my normal brown dress from poplook, and this year we were extremely busy so just recycle last year's. Is still fits them well so why not and for a change, I wore baju kurung instead of the same dress. Well, I'm not really particular with new cloth but bila Raya dah dekat tu, mula la sentap takde matching satu family hehehe..

My hensem boy. Look at the haircut! He looks like a girl! Well, it's because mommy cuts it *cough* *cough*

Four of us! 

Penyapu dan Emir tak boleh dipisahkan. During raya pun sibuk nak menyapu and that's when other  people is around! 

And doze off kepenatan haha. This is a rare sight because he can't really sleep without latching on me. He must be very tired that day.

Ok this will be a closure to  my Raya aka balik kampung entries! We had so much much much fun!!! It's definitely a fresh change of air, because my kampung is very kampung one! With all the trees, cows, chicken and duck. Maybe I should write about my kampung next time..before it becomes town :(

Ohh crap! I miss my hometown so much! And my mom and dad! Sigh..

Have a good day everyone!

Persuasive Princess

I had this fun conversation with Zahra couple of nights ago, in the car on the way back home from work.

She asked me to choose between Dora's house or Barbie's house, and by choosing means, I HAVE to pick Dora's because Barbie's is hers by default =D

But I'd like to play with her a little bit to see her reaction. Zahra asked:

"Ok, mommy nak rumah Dora ke rumah Barbie?"

"Mommy nak rumah Barbie"

"Mommy amik rumah Dora. Rumah Dora cantik"

"Mommy nak rumah Barbie jugak"

"Rumah Dora color pink"

"Mommy  nak rumah Barbie jugak"

"Rumah Dora best"

"Mommy  nak rumah Barbie jugak"

"Mommy amik Dora. Dora princess."

"Mommy  nak rumah Barbie jugak"

"Ok..mommy amik Dora. Dora barbie"

Up to this point, i lost it and burst into laugh. Nak jugak I take the Dora and declares Dora as barbie hahaha.

"Ok..Dora barbie? Mommy nak lah!"

In the end I hugged her tight gave her the winning trophy. Such a funny girl!

My Handsome Boy Turns 2!

My handsome boy turns big two last weekend. We didn't plan anything special because MrComot was very busy and need to finish his work. Well, we actually did plan to invite some friends and family for small celebration over luncheon but we have to hold that thought as MrComot is truly busy..he's been working his ass off 2 weekends straight and throughout the nights already. We even had a fight about this last two weekend sebab I can't stand his stuck up face, with his laptop lagi..like all the time hahaha. Geram betul. But we are through about this, so gotta support him for now.

Ok back to handsome boy...I didn't mind the celebration sangat pun sebab he's only two, not that he really understands it right. But since we are not going out last weekend and the kids are bored to bits, so I decided to bake a cake.

Zahra in action. She loves doing all the mixing stuff, and cracking the eggs of course.

Decorating it with sprinkle. Emir is stuffing himself with raisins haha

He doesn't really interested in baking, so he's back to what he does best - cleaning!

Cake made with love, out of boredom (hahaha still ada unsur-unsur tak puas hati tu)

Got few funny moments to tell.. after we blew the candles, zahra asked me

"Mommy, kenapa orang tak datang birthday Emir"

I was so touched that she thinks deeply about Emir's birthday. We threw a birthday bash for her earlier around January this year and had a handful of friends & families coming over, so she remembers.

I explain to her that I didn't invite my friends and that's why they didn't come.

Then later of the evening, she asked me again why nobody comes to Emir's birthday and made her own conclusion:

"Mommy..orang tak datang birthday Emir sebab kek Emir tak besar kan?"

I swear I almost roll laughing.

Zahra..Zahra, you are one funny kid. In a way I kinda kesian jugak..like..ok how come we didn't make any birthday party for Emir, sampai Zahra concern. Well..maybe later..

Anyway, nai-nai and yeh-yeh drop by on the afternoon to send some birthday presents (a playdoh set) and as usual, the sister will conquer everything as Emir seems not very interested with it. Instead we caught Emir doing this:

He refused to get out of the bathroom, so I let him play with the water longer and suddenly he went quiet which is not normal, so MrComot took a peep and saw this!

All he interested in is only sweeper, vacuum, mop and brush. So now I know what to buy as his birthday gift! =D

Oh ya, talking about my little prince, he's 2 already but still doesn't utter a word, even mommy and daddy! All he can say is "nak nak nak nak" and "ma ma ma ma ma", and sometimes simple "ooooohhh" and other baby sound. I don't know if I should be worry about this but as I did talked to some and they said it's normal for certain kids. And as I read, some kids mmg macam ni, I just need to encourage him talk more. Anyway, we are going to see his paed for next jab, so am going to ask about it.

As for other development, he is doing very well, in fact better than Zahra especially if involves with physical activities like climbing, jumping, etc.

I stopped pumping for him already so he is on formula now, but still 100% breastfed if at home with me. Tried to wean him but still unsuccessful. He refused formula when I am available so don't want to push it, will wean when he's ready.

Overall, a very cheeky but manja boy. Rarely cries (unlike Zahra whom likes to voice her emotion through crying hahaha) and like to be hold most of the time. But suka merajuk and kicking his feet on the ground to show dia punya tak puas hati. If I marah dia, he won't easily cry but will bend his body and throw himself. Haishhh..this one susah betul..ganas sangat, takut terlepas and hurt him.

Knock his head so many times already, cut here and there, benjol kiri kanan....memang sangat lain dengan Zahra.

Anyway, mommy loves you soooooo muchhhhhhhhh muchhh muchho muccchhhh! Grow up good and well ya sayang!

Cooling Session @ Lata Belatan

A special separate entrance about this place that we went during last balik kampung, Lata Belatan :)

Ohhh ohhhh... how I adore this place. It's well known for its beautiful cascading waterfalls. I've been here long time ago..before having the kids..so it is like almost 5 years ago! I'm not a waterfall girl (I always prefer the beaches) but this place is serene and not overly crowded. The water is very clear and clean, and of course is cold. So I decided to bring the kids there.

The entrance

There is entrance fee imposed, RM5 per entry per person if I'm not mistaken (and lesser for kids) but since we were there around 5PM and they are about to close in another 1 hour, we just paid RM5 for a bunch 7 of us. Semua atas budi bicara, maybe the guards tengok..alaa kesiannya, masuk je la haha.

Some crowds

This is at the bottom of the waterfalls. It's more like a river actually. If you fancy the splashing waterfall, you can climb higher.

Some sides got slides.

And very shallow, you don't have to worry about your kids.

Zahra having fun

Emir with mommy. Surprisingly, my hensem boy who loves water was afraid with the place that day (and keep on making that masam face). Maybe he was intimidated by the crowd and such big "pool".

But my eldest one enjoying it sooo much.Too bad it was almost dark so we have to spend there shortly. 

Funny thing happen though. The first thing Zahra said when I asked her to dip her feet into the water "Mommmy! Kena pakai shoes, banyak kuman!"


Hahaha...town girl sangat. But seriously, the water is very clear and clean that you won't worry such thing. And it's a flowing water, so actually you are enjoying fresh water all the time. It's definitely a very nice place to expose your kids to nature. If they are big enough, you can climb some path. How I wish we were there earlier and next time if we go there again, I'm going to bring my swimsuit and go wild with the kids!

Fun under Terengganu's Sun

Ok so here is the recap on our last balik kampung event. We went back for a week, that's the longest holiday we ever had! The kids had so much fun, like so much much much! Maybe because we rarely balik kampung, plus the festive season, all my siblings also gather at home so they had a lot of activities, ramai orang nak melayan. Ok so these what have the kids been up to!  ;)

Watching grandpa kopek kelapa the first thing in the morning. It was around 10AM and still in pajama hahaha

Making bubur assyura. It's a sweet delicacies made of coconut milk and sugar, mixed with sweet potato, peanuts, jackfruit and other stuff. Some people also add corn and sago pearl.

Having fun with the penyapu. I was about to bathe him that he saw the sweeper and refused to go into the bathroom

"Atas ni pun kotor mommy!"

 Watching grandma grilling the fish traditional way. It's bawal percik by the way, NYUM!

 And I find it interesting that the fish is as big as her face

Making delicious pineapple tarts, which is truly delicious made by my sister, but I didn't bother to get the recipe, because I'm not rajin enough to remake it hehe..

Putting on everyone else's shoes

 And chase the cat with that over-sized shoes

Making fat satay from scratch

Experimenting with cheese tart and Zahra was very excited to draw on the surface..

Which turned to these

Played some sparkles

And made crazy shapes

Admiring cock from far, because it might cluck your feet.

 And visit its home. This is how reban ayam looks like, baby.

Picking up sand

Forcing the little brother to touch the thorny durian

Hogging the grandpa's car just because they can. I won't let them do this back at home.

Helping grandma making kuih melaka - sticky rice with palm sugar in the middle and coated with desiccated coconut.

 Mixing butter cake

Get a whole big chunk of icecream! "This is one of the fortunate days you know, because my momma always says no cold stuff or you will get a flu!"

Can you tell how much they had fun? And that was in normal days..not to mention that we had trips to beach, waterfall and relatives houses. The best of time is when we were in the car touring the village and pass by cows or goats, they will gawk and screaming "mommmmyyyyyyyyy dadddyyyyy ada moooooooooo". Emir tak boleh cakap lagi so dia buat sound "mooooooooo" kuat-kuat. Hahaha so funny.

Zahra been raving about balik kampung til now, even I missing the time we were there. I wish we can go back often but time will be the main constraint. Well, most of the leaves used for babysitter's off day and I have to consider MrComot's schedule as well. He's been very busy this year, but I hope we can give a break soon.