Why I am So In Love With March!

When I was still in the UK, the month of March brought joy as it was the first month of Spring and so it signals the end of the bitterly cold and gloomy winter. I love Spring the most. It carries a happy tune, and is full of hope and new beginnings. My spirits always went up several notches in March.

"The air is like a butterfly
With frail blue wings.
The happy earth looks at the sky
And sings."
- Joyce Kilmer, Spring

"Each leaf,
each blade of grass
vies for attention.

even weeds

carry tiny blooms

to astonish us"

- Marianne Poloskey, Sunday in Spring

And how could I forget the symbol of Spring, the daffodils! A field of daffodils marks that Spring has arrived!

"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."
- William Wordsworth, Daffodils

And of course I love March because it's in the month of March that I was married to the love of my life :)

BUT

There is another occasion, very significant to me in March. To be exact, the very last day in the month of March. That is TODAY!

WHAT?

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?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!

I'm 35 today.

And I feel GRRREAAAATTTTT!!

And That Is Why I Am So In Love With March :)

The BESTEST Anniversary cake I had ever gotten and tasted. Ever!!

I am not lying. Yesterday I'd gotten the very best anniversary cake ever for my 11th Wedding Anniversary. Lovingly made and baked by my BUJANGS. They used Pillsbury Instant Moist Choc Mix and Betty Crocker Frosting aje, but I swear it tasted soooooooo yums.... coz my sons prepared it themselves with a little supervision from yours truly. They were so happy and excited with the project, they insisted to make the cake for Mommy Daddy's kawin2.... hahahaha....

Ammar: What is it again Mommy? U and Daddy's married birthday?

Mom: Yeaaaaa, it's to celebrate the day Mommy and Daddy getting married.

Adam: Eeeeeeeeee, tak malunyeeeee..... Married kawin2.... Eeeeee Daddy u love Mommy ke? Mommy, u love Daddy ke (smirk smirk)

Ammar: Eeeeewwww, u kiss Mommy ke Daddy? She's your girlfriend? (laughed like mad)

Daddy: Yes la, she's MY girlfriend so all of u cannot hug and kiss her. Because she's not YOUR girlfriend.

Azfar, Ammar, Adam: Noooooooo..... (ran towards me with the speed of a tornado and knocked me over) She's our Mommyyyyyyyyyy

Mom: Adoh la................. (Azan happily playing with beras kat dapur, oblivious to the fight over the only maiden in the family)

Ammar beat the batter. Had some help with cracking the eggs open. Pouring of oil and water in exact measurement done by Azfar (not in pic)

Adam arranging the baking cups

Ammar and Adam spooning batter into baking cups. Quite neat their work, I was impressed :)

They frosted the cakes after they were cooled.

All lighted up, they even remembered the box of candles in the kitchen cabinet

Azfar Q snapped this pic of us blowing the candles out

There, now u know why I said that I had had the BESTEST wedding anniversary cake ever EVER!! Love them, love them, love them :)

290310: 11th Wedding Anniversary! WeeHoo!

Peeps. today is my 11th Wedding Anniversary!

Now, I present to all of you...... a few of my wedding photos. It was in 1999! So, retro lah sikit... Hahahahah....

Pics uploaded sempena hari yang berbahagia ini, if not.... cannot release pics ni.... ni kira dah jadi hak milik Muzium Negara ni *wink wink

Enjoy! And jangan gelak kuat sangat eh ;-P

This tag was made by my sis, Baby. Thanks babes :-D Yeahhhhhhh, 11 years and counting darlink!

TAG Kasut From Lady of Leisure

Dapat Tag kasut dari Lady of Leisure yang comel itu. Thanks dearie :)

Brand: Crocodile, Carlo Rino, NautiFit

Harga: I forgot but bought all three on sale so I got a good deal :)

Tahun beli: Hmmnnn I think it was early this year or last year on the last days of 2009.

Reason beli: Ohho - to equip myself with sepatu lenjan for everyday wear. Bought them @ Sunway Pyramid if I'm not mistaken. Must be there lah, coz we usually go there for shopping as it's nearer. These 3 do serve my purpose well. Just for daily routine of a stay-at-home mom. Chauffering the kids, groceries run...... u get the idea.

So now this tag goes to:

All my readers who's crazy about shoes and would like to have a go at this tag :) Silakan ye...jangan malu-malu. Ceritakan kepada kami perihal kasut favourite mu itu.....

Resipi SHM: Ayam Masak Kicap + Kentang Ooh la la

Sesiapa yang ingin mencuba resipi ini dipersilakan. Masakan mudah, ringkas dan sedap InsyaAllah. Selamat Mencuba!

Especially to Mell and Azreen :)

Bahan-bahan ( 8 orang )

• 8 ketul ayam yang dipotong besar2-digaul dgn sedikit garam & serbuk kunyit dan digoreng setengah masak
• 2 biji kentang - potong wedges and deep fry - I just pop them in the deep fryer
• 1 labu bawang besar + 4 shallots - dikisar (*) - can just hiris
• 6 ulas bawang putih - dikisar (*) - can just ketuk
• 2 inci halia - dikisar (*) - can just hiris also
• 15-20 biji cili kering - dikisar berasingan daripada (*) - alternatively can buy cili boh from shop, or just use chilli powder
• 1/2 cawan kicap manis - I mix kicap cap udang Habhal + Kicap ABC
• 1 sudu besar sos cili
• 1 sudu besar sos tomato
• 1 sudu besar oyster sauce
• Cili padi - (if u like it pedas) - I had to omit this because my kids cannot take it yet
• 2 sudu besar air asam jawa - or I just add cherry tomatoes for that lil bit of masam2 manis taste
• Rempah tumis secukupnya - bunga lawang, cengkih, kayu manis, dll
• Minyak untuk menumis

Cara-cara

1. Panaskan minyak dan tumis bahan bertanda (*) bersama dengan rempah tumis hingga naik bau.
2. Masukkan cili kisar dan tumis lagi hingga terbit minyak.
3. Masukkan kicap, sos cili, sos tomato dan oyster sauce. Kacau hingga sebati dan mendidih.
4. Masukkan air asam (if u don't use air asam just add a bit of water so it won't be too dry) dan kacau lagi.
5. Masukkan ayam dan gaul hingga kuah sebati dengan ayam.
6. Add in the cili padi, gaul sebati.
7. Masukkan kentang yang telah siap digoreng.
8. Akhir sekali masukkan cherry tomatoes.
9. Angkat dan sedia untuk dihidangkan :)

Ehhrrrmmmm
Dengan ini bahawasanya saya mengumumkan, dengan sedikit pengurangan kadar keberatan keseluruhan, hidung saya juga mengalami pengurangan saiz. Yehuuu! LOL

Ha, xde la hidung cam serombong kapal sangat dah skang kan :P
Selamat Jumaat semua! Senyuuuuuuuuum je memasing eh :-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Old Favourite: Ayam Masak Kicap + Kentang

I remember that during my school days, after school, I would wait in anticipation to reach home because I knew I was going to have a good lunch at home. My mom was a homemaker so me and my siblings were a lucky lot as we always had good home cooking prepared with love by my mom. One of my favourites was (and still is) ayam masak kicap + kentang. Soy sauce chicken + potatoes. Owh, how I relished every bite of my mom's ayam masak kicap eaten with piping hot white rice! The feeling was pure heaven! Sometimes, I would have seconds. Such was my gluttony! Pausing to reflect, we owe so much to our mom. Like me, my mom has four children too. Now I realise the sacrifice and unconditional love that a mom has for her children is comparable to none.

Anyway, today I made ayam masak kicap + kentang for my family =) Ammar and Adam had had their share with piping hot white rice earlier, my Azfar will soon have it during breaking fast later this evening. And it put a smile to my face when they said to me earlier "Mmmm, sedap!" while smacking their lips.

My version of Ayam Masak Kicap + Kentang

Just can't resist Sparkly Colourful Glitzy things, can we?

Wedding @ Tapak Yusof Ghani

Last week attended another wedding. This one was in Shah Alam. I wanted to wear my black and red modern kurung that I wore to my BIL's wedding (bride's side) last year yang kat Alor Setar tu. But what do you know, dah longgar :) nampak serebeh bila I pakai. So I decided to wear another modern kurung, still baju lama but cutting kecik sikit dari yang black and red tu. And what do you know, also longgar but ok la. Dulu I pakai agak ngam-ngam hampir ketat gitu. Heh heh. I dah turun 3.5kg yo! But most important my BMI juga turun and also my fat percentage :) So I know that I am not simply losing water and muscle kan. Alhamdulillah! Still a long way to go before I reach my ideal weight but kira this is as my pembakar semangat lah tu meneruskan perjuangan :) Maybe dari pandangan mata kasar tak nampak sangat my perubahan kan, as I am short, so losing 3.5 kg ni maybe tak nampak sangat la lagi. But as long as I know it, I'm happy. I know that my digital weighing scale don't lie. heh heh.

Wore old baju but with new tudung. 'Naked Look', malas nak mekap, just sunblock and gloss.

panas2 ni rimas nak berfoundation etc etc. Berlengas!

Before going, sesi posing dulu with my No 1 and No 3. No 2 and No 4 tak ikut :) No 2 nak main game and No 4 tidur.

Oh yes, tuan rumah juga merupakan seorang pengkarya seni tersohor. So his house is not only a house but is also a gallery and also where his studio is located. So my boys really enjoyed the artwork displayed there and sibuk pilih which ones are their favorites.

Adam loves this one here. He was the one who insisted nak ambil gambar kat sini. And see, we match kan dengan painting? hehe

They love the architecture of the house also, they just sat there and gawked at the paintings and sculptures. And they did not want to leave the house, they wanted to stay longer. hahaha. First time tu, if not cepat je nak balik kan.

Everything was lovely

And tastefully done, in my opinion

But there was no pelamin as the pengantins tak bersanding so there was no bunga pahar thus no bunga telur :) But I get Gardenia muffins in Ikea cups and the kiddos get candies :)

Terima Kasih

The boys cari I sampai ke The Curve!

Remember my previous post about the girl gathering that I had with my uni mates at Garden Cafe, The Curve? Well, while I was gone hubster said sebok dorang tanya I tak balik lagi ke? I buat apa keluar jumpa friends? Hehehhe, kecoh kalau mommy dorang takde kan. So Mr Ako bawak the boys to the Curve and bila nampak I masing2 berlari jerit "Mommy Mommy" macam tak jumpa I dua tahun!! Funny la them :D

Teruja pose dgn Robot

My Ammar in red mmg pandai buat mcm2 gaya

He likes this so much, robot katik hahahah

pose kat backdrop satu kemestian

showed them where I met my friends

backdrop pic again, this time with me in it

dapat sekor Ultraman sorang... haiihhh

dah berapa ekor dh kat umah tu

Ammar and his pose again

and gambar bawah ni baru nk tangkap gambar berdua, ada pulak si kenit enterframe...sighhhhh

hahaha

Girls Get Together @ Garden Cafe!!

Had a blast with my girlfriends at the Garden Cafe, The Curve yesterday from 12 noon to 5 pm!! kehkehkeh..... Sooooooooo seronok!! Love you girls... next one in Kelantan yes? :)

Excited look nak jumpa beloved fwens from uni days :)

Cute kan Garden Cafe? perfect for a girly gathering :)

Shah, me, Intan H and Nat

Sooon-to-be Dr. Lilly, me and Yong

Zann managed to squeeze time to drop by. Heart you

Naji and Anita too! muahsss

Having fun in the Garden :)

Okeh, takleh tulih banyak2 hari ni. Penat. Enjoy gambar je k?