Its Almost Raya!!

3 days to go! Pheww!! Terrible, i know...a good muslim should mourn the end of Ramadhan...but this year has been trying for me, for some reason...i think its mainly because I was solely responsible in the kitchen so I had spent most of the time in it this month!! hehe...

Well...its almost Raya but I still haven't figured out what to cook for that special day! The procastinator that I am, I'd probably decide the night before!

last Saturday was spent at my boss' place...buat kueh raya with his daughters. We managed 2 jenis - biskut nestum and choc chip. Brought some home but its almost finished now! So...i'd have to bake some more!! aaarrrggghhhh....can we not have raya cookies for raya?? can't i bake cakes instead??

As for baju raya...the girls would have to do with last year's dresses coz mummy knew this would be our last raya here and somehow thought there was no point to get them new ones. Tak per...mummy promise..next year we'll do the works! Everybody will have new dresses to wear for the whole first 7 days of raya!!! haha...kalau Pak Lah give bonus laaaa....

OK folks...gotta go bake some cookies...or NOT!

Still...

Been announcing all around of our impending departure and generally got 2 kinds of reaction -

1. So soon? But you just got here/got yourself settled!
2. Your husband must be very happy!!

Let me tell you why people make those remarks -

For reaction no 1 - Overseas postings are usually for at least 3 years. We've been here slightly more than 2 years.Then, in the setting that I work in - WTO - people like me, from a developing country... muslim...pakai tudung...mummy of four...it takes a while to be "accepted", so to speak. I think, with all those "baggages" I had to work harder to be taken seriously and to be included in professional and social events. In my mind..I have managed to do so...but only after almost a year! Thats why my working colleagues from other countries felt that they've just gotten to know me! Well...too bad for them, I suppose...sapa suruh judge a book by its cover, kan!

Still...its been good for me. ALL my life I've wanted to work overseas..in international setting and this posting was most definitely a dream come true. Professionally, I've enjoyed every minute! The meetings..the negotiations...the working and non-working lunches (especially!!)...they were good experiences ...

So, I patut bersyukur coz I was given this chance..albeit for a short time...to taste my dreams...and at least dapat rasa duduk overseas and get to see bits of the world with Abah and the girls...still...

For reaction no 2 - Abah has made known to ALL who'd listen that coming here was a mistake, as far as he is concerned. Well...minus all the trips that we've taken! He (and I) discovered that being an at home dad 24/7 is definitely not his cup of tea... or coffee...or milo! He's been miserable but stuck with us because of the commitments he made..and his promise to support this decision and my career whilst we are here. Still...

So...Abah's misery is about to end and to a large extent, I'm happy for him and I thank him for the sacrifices he made...Still....

Ahhh..there's also a 3rd reaction - one that i like the best -
"we'd have to arrange a farewell do for you"!! yay...free makan!!

Procrastination

Definitions of Procrastination on the Web:

to put off intentionally and habitually.thelifeprescription.com/glossary.html

the act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or defering an action to a later time
dilatoriness: slowness as a consequence of not getting around to it wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Procrastination is the deferment or avoidance of an action or task to a later time and is often linked to perfectionism. ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procrastination

well..well! i like the last definition..and would like to associate myself to it! haha!

I must be one of world's worst procrastinator...nothing gets done on time...even if it meets any deadlines (datelines??), it would be at the eleventh hour...but you see, I consider this trait a luxury..that I take time to do things so that I have the luxury to do those other things that I'm not supposed to do! E.g. blogging during office hours when I should be doing alllll those reports!

So today, from morning till just a couple of minutes ago, I finished and submitted 4 reports that could have easily been done way, wayyyyy before today! yay for mumsie...

Transfer Order

To answer the question from Superwomanwannabe...we're heading home by end of November! Yeap! Its THAT soon!

Actually, I just got the transfer order yesterday - to report duty in KL on 1 December 2007. Later in the day, I emailed my boss in KL, asking whether its possible to ask for a short term extension (I really don't want to go just yet!) and was told in not so many words..."just follow the order and don't do anything foolish!". There you go...thats the end of the matter!

So, Abah is MEGA happy..he's starting to pack already!! And has been talking non-stop to the children (mummy wasn't interested to listen coz still upset about the timing!) about Malaysia...his family...what we can do back home...what we can afford back home...The girls are happy too, although Sarah is a bit uncertain. Soraya is just happy that she will get to see Wan again (and get to sleep with Wan again!).

But I don't think the girls realize how difficult its going to be for them...especially where school is concerned. Here, they have it reaaallll easy...Sarah, who is in Year 2, never had any homework except a book to read to mummy and Abah every night. We in turn has to sign a booklet proving that she has indeed read the book for us (and by the way, she reads beautifully, says the proud Mummy!).

Kak Ngah, who is in Year 4, has homework given out on Mondays to be passed up on Fridays. And we were specifically told that she should not spend more than half an hour each evening on them! Kak Ngah being Kak Ngah usually spends the whole of Monday night to finish alllll the work so she'll be free the rest of the week!

Kak Long, now in Year 5, has homework everyday, which she manages quite efficiently ( i.e. done before Mummy gets home from work, otherwise Mummy will just start barking!).

None of them have exams!! not in the middle of school year..not even at the end of the school year. Here, their school days are all about play, play, play and fun, fun, FUN!

Well...all that is about to change, ain't it? ALLAH swt have mercy on my babies!

The Rajin-ness of Mumsie

Last night, when I was making all those entries and posting those silly pixes, I was also brewing chicken soup in the kitchen! Ahhh...there'll be these days of rajin-ness which we simply have to capitalize!

Last night after buka (menu then was ayam masak kurma, steamed vege cicah kuah pecal, and ikan-supposedly-3-rasa-but-turned-out-1-rasa jer-i.e. rasa sweet and sour sauce!), Mummy asked the girls whether they wanted bubur nasik (lambuk style) or macaroni cheese. Majority voted for the latter. But as Mummy was stirring the cheese sauce, Mummy had a craving for mee soup coz mummy had some home made bawang goreng prepared during the weekend (that makes sense to you? never mind!).

So, after the cheese sauce, i made chicken soup - bodo style - everything dumped together - chicken, bayam, taugeh and tomatoes! Then rebus some dried kueh tiaw coz that was the first thing I saw when I opened the cupboard to look for mee of some kind.

Voila!!

Sahur was simply divine and once again, one is ever so proud of oneself...The girls had macaroni cheese whilst Ma and Pa had bowls of kuew tiaw soup!

Kalau mood baik...(and if they are lucky) the gang may just see a repeat performance tonight!! Otherwise..its back to cereal and toast...

First Impression of Geneva

When I first came to Geneva back in early 2005, I came alone for a meeting. Without any friends, without knowing where to go for sightseeing...I spent most of my free time in my hotel room and took these pictures from the room...

Suffice to say I wasn't at all impressed! But today...almost 3 years on..after living here for more than 2 years..I am sooooo gonna miss the easy, quiet life of Geneva...it may be boring for some, but I love this slow paced life..no traffic jams...low crime rate (I assume..)...good friends...and cold..cold winters!

Oh well! C'est la vie, as they say...I leave this post with some gonjeng pictures of the girls when they first got here...

They are soooo gonna kill me for this!! Kahkahkahhhh....

Old pictures

Am posting this from home, where I found some pictures of Sarah and Soraya...taken a couple of years back...

Cutest lil' things, aren't they? Siggghhh..why do they have to grow up so fast?

I also found this...Kak Ngah di zaman gonjeng!! (ampun kak ngah! She'll kill me for this but I'm her mummy, so I do have the right to embarass her...right? Right?!

To be fair..she has blossomed into this beautiful girl...

siggghhh...

The Weekend That Was

We had a relatively good weekend, setting aside the fact that it was cold, still.

For me, it started on Friday evening. I attended the farewell reception for my US colleague - George. It was held well before buka time at the US Mission but I like George, so I went anyway to bid him and his wife, Julia, goodbye. The food looked good, dammit! Hinted for a doggy bag but they only laughed, thinking I was making a joke! As if!

Then the gang picked me up at 6.30 and off we went looking for the nearest McDonalds! Aishah's family joined us, making the girls even happier! Dahlah dapat buka puasa kat McD, dapat buka dengan best friends pulak. Bonus, as far as they are concerned. As for me, highlight of the meal was the caramel macchiato...Out of this world!! Almaklum..its been a while since we've had any good (relative!) coffee...With all the excitement I forgot to take any pictures to post them here. Oh well!

Saturday started really quiet. Abah went marketing with Abang Yunos and came back with enough food to feed a small nation! (Come to think of it..we might just as well qualify as a small nation, actually!) I stayed home and kemas, mumsie's style - done every couple of months! hehe ...

Buka was at Aishah's place...and OMG, there was a lot of food!! Macam-macam adaaa...mee kari, nasi with all the lauk you can think of (well, am exaggerating but there was masak assam ikan, daging goreng, hati goreng kicap, ikan masin, sambal sotong, ayam masak lemak, kerabu mangga - last 2 was courtesy of Ita, by the way - and maybe a few more yang i dah tak ingat). Kueh..where do I start? There was karipap sardin (Ita's), kueh koci (beautifully prepared by tuan rumah!), seri muka, apple pie. I brought popiah and my not very exciting pudding. So shy one..I had to bring back the pudding coz no one wanted to eat it, except Nana, God bless her soul! I always knew she is one sweet child!!

Sunday's buka puasa was at Puan Hiswani's place with people from the office. Again, there was a lot of food! Lontong (courtesy of yours truly!), nasi with kari ayam, ayam goreng, loads of sayur campur, kerabu mangga, sayur lemak labu...Aishah brought bubur lambuk, which disappeared within minutes! Kueh...there was yummy lengat pisang (cousins of lepat pisang), ondeh-ondeh, tepung pelita (God Bless Normah!!), bread and butter pudding, currypuffs, cekodok jagung, cucur udang and big yummy, juicy, expensive kurma courtesy of tuan rumah. Me..i modified my left over pudding and still...only Nana appreciates it! siggghhh....Of course, the modification managed to fool Abang Yunos into thinking its part of the lauk so he had some with his nasi!! Silly, isn't it?

So, that was my weekend that was....and it was alllll about food!