Adele - Make You Feel My Love

When the rain

Is blowing in your face

And the whole world

Is on your case

I could offer you

A warm embrace

To make you feel my love

When the evening shadows

And the stars appear

And there is no one there

To dry your tears

I could hold you

For a million years

To make you feel my love

I know you

Haven't made

Your mind up yet

But I would never

Do you wrong

I've known it

From the moment

That we met

No doubt in my mind

Where you belong

I'd go hungry

I'd go black and blue

I'd go crawling

Down the avenue

No, there's nothing

That I wouldn't do

To make you feel my love

The storms are raging

On the rolling sea

And on the highway of regret

Though winds of change

Are throwing wild and free

You ain't seen nothing

Like me yet

I could make you happy

Make your dreams come true

Nothing that I wouldn't do

Go to the ends

Of the Earth for you

To make you feel my love

P/s : I think this is a beautiful-beautiful love song....

The day my least fave purple shirt turned to out to be my lucky charm....

It was like any other working day...
Except this time, I was actually early for an assignment. LoL.
Due to that, I was asked by the PR company if I wanted to join Tes*co SuperMarke*t Sweep Challenge with two other media and seven top Tesc*o Clubcard members...
Since I had to wait another 30 mins for the main event to start (and nak makan lunch pun macam tak sempat je), I said yes...

You see, the participants had to compete with each other to hunt down 50 Price Cut product items (the challenge is in conjunction with the launch of Tesco Price Cut Campaign) in 20 mins.
The speediest  not only take home all the items in their respective trolley but also some cash vouchers...

There were 10 teams - which consist of a participant and a Tesco staff - and each was given different set of items to look for.
Like yours truly, it was snacks, chocolates and biscuits.
Ada yang dapat household essentials like rice, minyak masak; ada yg dapat pet food, drinks and ice-cream; and ada yang dapat personal care products....etc.

Dengan baju kerjanya, and heels (lucky it was only kitten heels!), pun berlarilah macam nak gila cari barang...
Ok, we have shopped at that Tesco a few times before but, seriously, when u nak cari barang tu, masa tulah tak jumpa kan...
I was lucky to get a very competitive and cekap partner...

We managed to sampai the cashier 9 mins before time habis..
Masa tulah organizers confused siapa yg patut doublecheck and tally our loot...
After like 2 mins, barulah nak kira and found out satu item tersalah ambil..
Apa lagi, i ran as fast as i could to cari the correct oreo cookies, while my partner check barang di counter...

Then, problem lagi, the price of our items tak tally dgn the list..
We just print out the receipt and run as fast as we could (dgn trolley skali) ke info counter...

Muka penat tengah tunggu the judges buat keputusan rasmi

Selepas double check, we found out it was OK and we dapat 2nd price!!
Which is RM2K worth of vouchers! Alhamdullilah sangat!
First place won RM3k worth of vouchers, 3rd place (RM1K) and consolation (RM200). Each of us won whatever in the trolley too...
Which, most of it i bagi to my partner....

Menteri KPDKK, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and CEO Tesco Stores Malaysia, Tjeerd Jegen during the price giving ceremony.... (Picture courtesy of UMMB)

My partner : Holisah who helped a lot during the race

 It was a great, unexpected day indeed!
And I thank my husband who practically forced me to get out of the bed early morning to lari-lari anak around the block. lol...

And finally, dapat juga merasa macam mana participant that game show dulu-dulu (Supermarket Sweep) rasa... :-)

When food doesn't interest me...

Well, not me. its Si Bunga.
Picky eater, one thing not wanting to eat, thats the major thing!...
Si Bunga has been refusing to eat for a while. 
Bukan tak makan langsung, just she'll eat like 3-5 spoons and then dah, taknak makan dah...


It is very very extremely frustrating when you see your child taknak makan...worrying too...
We've tried different dishes, at the same time cooking her fave food.
and still, she eats very little. 


Oh yes, she does like those babyfood dalam jar...(which makan pun ikut mood, tapi lagi banyak dr biasa)...


Then Fitri saw this parenting portal, Parenthots (which is under The Star) is organizing a forum 'How to get your child to eat healthy'..and we decided to go there. 


It was soo useful as the panel discuss on picky eaters and suggestion in getting them to eat healthy food, and at the same, answering questions from fellow mothers like me...


In a way, it was a relief knowing that you are not alone in getting your child to eat (eating healthy is another part)...
Agak menyenangkan when the good pediatrician also said "don't over analyse things. as long as the child is happy, healthy..." 


They even suggest ideas on how to get your child to eat. The article about the forum is here.
As i was surfing the portal today, i saw this great features as well. 


One of my questions was also answered post forum via email (the portal is beginning to be one of my fave portal :-P) : 


Paediatrician Dr Hon Mun Cheng answers one of your questions:

Is my anxiousness in getting my child to eat making her avoid food?

Yes, I'm afraid anxiousness on the parent's part can contribute to irregular feeding patterns in a child. A child's development include learning how to eat and regulating the amounts of each meal by themselves. Therefore, when the parent introduces this new "activity", they must be calm and composed.If the child detects stress in the parent, it will result in increased stressful feelings in the child which will lead to the child associating food with stress.The child can develop infantile anorexia which is defined as a feeding disorder of separation and is characterized by food refusal by the infant with intense conflict in the mother-infant relationship over issues of autonomy, dependency, and control. It occurs after the infant has learned to regulate himself and has established an attachment to the primary caregiver. The characteristics of the parent include having the perception of a child with poor appetite, being demanding of attention,being stubborn and difficult during feedings. The parental anxiety is expressed as coaxing the child to eat more, distracting the child with toys to induce the child to eat more, feeding around the clock, feeding different types of food or force feeding the infant.

Its all in the whisk..errr wrist.

For those who knows me well, they would also know that i can't cook or bake.
I can't cook. i had to surf the net for kangkung goreng belacan even. *blush*.
Things are (hopefully) slowly to change
And truth be told, i'm beginning to conquer my fear towards the kitchen...

When i was younger, we were fortunate to have a nanny to help in taking care of the family, particularly my brother and i, while my parents goes to work.
In fact, my nanny who is from Baling, Kedah and has been with us since i was 28 days old until i'm about 9...

We were really attached to her, as far as i remembered, she cooks really nice dishes.

When she left, my (now late) grandaunt came to live with us..
she was a great cook as well  as garang in the kitchen.
I remembered wanting  to help her cut some onions and she was angry coz it was so kelam-kabut...
and since then, i kinda hated helping out in the kitchen.

my mother cooks but she prefer us not being in the kitchen, so that she can concentrate with the cooking and not the mess we make.

Well, i usually help with the cleaning, but not cook.

Then, kawin...so, nak taknak kena juga lah masak kan?
My husband was raised in a family where his mom cooks wonderful dishes.
Of course its a daunting task for me to follow, being able to cook at least half as good as my MIL pun ok for me.

Since moving to our own place, i would try to cook when there's opportunity.
Of course, i'm still kinda inept in the kitchen.
Husband like to tease the way i chop things e.g onions, carrots - my left pinky tent to terangkat when i chop.
Something like when the lovely proper english ladies have their tea, pinky terangkat and sip.
Thats how i chop my ingredients. lol. (my husband even took a picture of me chopping while ketawa..hmph!)

Now, my addiction is buying cookbooks!
(well, apart from asking recipes from family and friends and also off the net).
I have a few at home already but these are the books in my wishlist rite now (I'm pretty sure its going to add whenever i go to the bookstore..lol) :-

words are all i have...

I absolutely love writing...and yet, most of the time, i'm too tired to write.

I blame the fact that I write for a living.

But I have so much things in my head, waiting to get out.

Ai Ai Captain!

A short entry :

Went to Terengganu recently and this is Si Bunga's fave pose! :-)

Oh, what a beautiful surprise!

It was a good-surprise kinda of morning today. Hubby dengan senyuman penuh lebar, bangun awal pagi and pergi kedai beli paper. (He could get the paper for free from the office as he is working today)..

Balik-balik, dengan senyuman lebar tu, dia buka paper and SURPRISE! 

His first picture byline! Byline nama dah banyak kali keluar, but byline bergambar ni  pertama kali!

Even Si Bunga panggil "Abah, Abah, Abah!" when she saw this picture.:-)

Dear Hubby, 

We are so proud of you and reading your piece, one could see your passion in this particular subject (bukan subjek paksa rela which u have to write on something)...Keep up the good work and finally, I can say out loud and in public, "Thats my Husband!" (even bukan di finishing line pun...) :-P

For the full article, please click here

Parenthood part 1

You know you are a parent when.............

you buy things for your child/children without thinking much the price of the item.

but when it comes to you, which the price of the item is about the same, it will take you a while to think and perhaps, buy....

Birth announcement

Caught your attention didn't i? :-P

I was having a hard time remembering the tajuk of my thesis and cara yang paling senang is of course, to google my name. bukan vain ke apa, ok, but when i started working dulu, i selalu sesaja type my name kat google out of boredom.

the search results then, well, takdela memberangsangkan. hanya satu page with a few list of names yang similar dgn i and of course, my research tittle. :-)

ishk i dah lari topik. anyway, since i've been trying to remember the research i did eons ago, i pun type la nama i ni..kali ni lebih satu page la..and i was having a hard time finding the info i wanted.

cari punya cari, i got a pleasant surprise! This : beritabernama newsletter ...altho salah tarikh, but it still sangat sangat bermakna dalam hidup!

I love you both mama and papa! forever and ever!!

Btw, i still tak jumpa the exct page i wanted (maybe becoz my former supervisor dah pindah uni) but if you guys are interested, my research citation can be found here and here

Kiasu-isme

I nak carut. seriously nak je mak carut kat Malaysians yang tak appreciate being Malaysians or rather, proud of our local product.

I'm not saying ALL our local products is good.

But, ada banyak je yang standard tinggi, export quality.

Padahal banyak je local bizs, SMEs are doing us proud!

I was at GE Mall this afternoon to meet my in-laws...

As I was in the lift, nak balik to my car, theres 2 Malaysian relatively not-so young ladies dekat belakang i, going to the same floor.

Lady 1 : Malaysia's beef is not as good as export quality beef.

Lady 2 : True...thats why i always buy my beef everytime I'm in Singapore! *bangga*

Moi : WTF!!??

Picture from Google

Nasib baiklah mak nak cepat and teringat semangat 1Malaysia.

Kalau tak, nak je mak cakap : Do you ever eat at any restaurants (tak kiralah mamak ke, kedai tom yam ke, kedai mak tipah ke, kedai tepi lorong ke, or even restaurants high class here)? have you ever asked if they use local meat or the ones from India or Oz?? I bet most of them use local meat as it is much cheaper and if you cook something right, or delicious enough, it doesn't really matter if its local or imported no?

Btw, do u drink milk? Do u drink Dutc* Lad*'s milk? If u do, and u find it tasty enough, u are drinking local cow's milk. Even multinational companies uses our local dairy!

Kalau bangga sangat singapore's meat, where do u think they get their supplies? and don't u think ada je imported meat here in malaysia...what an idiot!

Work, Family, Life

I seriously think working mothers are Wonderwomen, esp. those who doesn't have a helper at home.

No, its not one of my 'masuk bakul, angkat sendiri moment', but a serious thought i have right now.

(and I don't think I'll ever be one of these Wonderwomen, as most of the time I think I suck at juggling both career and motherhood).

But seriously, how can one woman, wakes up in the morning and do all the household chores and have the energy to complete a 8-12 hours job and then balik rumah, finish up whatever she needs to do before sleep and be in the cycle again the next day....

Yes, Time management is the key. and i have yet to master it. *sigh*.

Anyway, i totally tabik spring kepada kesemua ibu di dunia, sama ada yang berkerjaya ataupun suri rumah....bila you dah jadi seorang ibu, barulah tau cabaran tanggungjawab ni kan?

My first (of many) New Year Resolution for 2011 : To become a happy mummy at home and at work.

It took me a month plus to read this :


Its taking me almost 2 years to read this and i have yet to finish it... ;-)


Now, I'm itching to read this :

Which is now safely hidden in my closet until i finish reading Stardust

Haih! Tulah menggatal lagi beli buku..LOL :-P

Si Bunga the Chatterbox

My dancing Ladybug is going to be 2 soon!

My husband and i still remember during our last visit to Aquaria last Aidilfitri when a mother asked me what my daughter can say. During that time, Dahlia was near her daughter, obviously nak berkawan., dekat depan the big tank.. It goes like this (or something along the line) :

Mom keypohchi : Anak you umur berapa?

Moi : Nak masuk dua tahun bulan 12 ni...

MK : Oh, anak saya dah 2 tahun dah....anak awak boleh cakap apa?

Moi : (taken back sebab tetiba tanya pasal tahap keupayaan percakapan anak) dia dah boleh cakap sikit-sikit, kebanyakan bahasa dia la...

MK : Anak saya dah boleh cakap, boleh baca Alif, Ba, Ta sampai Ya....

Moi : (senyum ajer).

And then, since her daughter takdelah plak nak bercakap dgn my daughter yang sedang menghulurkan tangan nak pegang utk berkawan, i just tunjuk Dahlia some of the impressive fish yang ada....

Yes, my almost 2 year-old daughter tak reti bercakap then. She can says Mama, Abah, Atuk, Papa, Nenen very well...(kalau nak susu je, sendiri amik botol and cakap nak nenen)

Yes, she can't recite the Alif, Ba, Ta until Ya yet...but i'm sure she'll be able to recite them at her own pace...

But, she is a brilliant-brilliant child, which after only a few months, dah pandai cakap and such an entertainer, a happy-go-lucky toddler...

She can sing some of Sesame Streets and Barney's song. Walaupun tak berapa jelas, but you know which song she's singing.

She can now cakap "3,2,1...blast off!" before saying "The Sky!" (please tgk Barney : The Space), she understands the concept and meaning of "Terima Kasih" and "Thank you"...and says "Akum" sebelum masuk pagar and rumah...

She can identify which one is her Abah, Mama (which sometimes she would cheekily calls us by our nicknames "Abi" or "Anne"), Atuk, Mak, Mami and Papa for her grandparents, Abang Afeeeq, Achak, Jojo for her cousin and uncles.

She would call my Bro-in-law, Yuyu or whenever she tgk logo Starbucks, Yuyu! sebabnya, my BIL tu kerja di Starbucks and of course, almost sentiasa pakai their t-shirt.

She calls my best friend, Mami Jess.

She calls herself Baby (tho we are still trying to identify isit becoz she thinks she saw another toddler dkt mirror or mmg dia panggil diri dia Baby) or Lia.

She will jawab 'OK' when u ask her to wait or something. and she can count...1 to 10 (with a few nos missing..)

And she can say "No" if she doesn't want anything....

She can handle and play with an iphone, dvd player withe ease.

Like most toddlers, she loves the phone, pc...camera! :-P

She loves to sing esp. when she's alone and dance...and would entertain us whenever she can, sometime out of the blue e.g while we were having brekkie.

And boy, can she play!


And yes, like all parents who adores their child, I'm gushing about my almost 2 year old daughter. :-)

Adilfitri 2010

“The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity.”
- Benjamin Franklin (i think)...

Dear family and friends,

Wishing you Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Maaf Zahir & Batin atas segala silap dan salah..
Jaga diri baik-baik
and have a great day!

Lots of love,
Anne & family

Taking the plunge....literally

Just sharing a memorable event - Wilderness Langkawi Challenge 2007 in Pulau Tuba, Langkawi. :-)

Berbuka puasa di pejabat

One might think berbuka puasa di pejabat is a sad, sad thing. Yelah, tak dapat berbuka bersama keluarga, makan air tangan ibu (or kaum keluarga lain) sambil menikmati gelak ketawa mesra family....

But in Utusan, keadaan a bit berbeza. Yes, you still tak makan masakan ibu, but u are definitely not lonely.

Utusan has this tradition -- Berbuka puasa beramai-ramai. Macam you pergi kenduri kawin, macam tu lah berbuka puasa di Utusan.

Akan ada dua meja panjang yang dijadikan meja bufet lauk (both placed at opposite corners) and beberapa meja panjang (and of course seats) utk mereka berbuka.

Lauk, buah and kuih-muih are usually disediakan oleh pihak katering/kantin and there are some occasions where companies like banks, glcs akan sponsor the berbuka puasa by having their own caterers datang ke our office.

i think for them lagi senang buat macam tu berbanding nak jemput sorang-sorang berbuka di hotel and tak tau sama ada akan datang ke tak....plus, it is also an opportunity for the companies to jumpa the bosses and staff sendiri and interact, daripada nak jumpa masa event biasa...

Unlike the years before where the berbuka is usually held kat dewan kecik yang nicknamed, Ballroom Utusan, this year is a bit different. We all berbuka di kawasan padang lapang (sikit) dalam compound office ni, di bawah khemah.

This is because 'Ballroom Utusan' dah jadi kecik sebab bahagian baru kosmo took over half of the dewan. Jadi tak muat dah untuk semua warga utusan.

For those yang tak tau, Kosmo is under the Utusan group and the editorial deparment yang terletak di jalan chan sow lin ni consists of Utusan, Jawi, Suppliment, Kosmo, Photography and its graphic unit.

Our marketing is based in PJ, while Corp. Comm and HR is in Wisma PGRM and Majalah and printing di Bangi. (Don't ask me why its all merata...)

So, sekali berbuka puasa adalah lebih kurang 150 orang, akan ramai esp minggu kedua, ketiga puasa sebab masa tu peak nak siapkan stock story/page sempena persediaan nak raya...

and, the majlis berbuka ni akan start dari hari pertama puasa, sampailah ke hari terakhir sebelum raya!

Although i takdela akan berbuka setiap hari di pejabat, tapi, every year since i started working here 6 years ago, this has been part of my working life.

like today - the first ramadan 2010.

In a way, i'm glad that utusan organise this every year without fail (ingatkan tahun ni takde since takde dewan). it really does mendekatkan lagi warga utusan. i get to talk/see ppl that i don't normally bump into....

eventho berbuka dengan keluarga lagi seronok, having this tradition make the company unique in its own way.

Apart from that, the surau also organises terawikh and for those who work untuk the weee hours at night, sahur pun disediakan....

Simple toys, happy days

I've been one of those mothers that would worry whenever i think Dahlia is not getting as much toys/books compared to other toddlers out there. :-( i mean, admittedly i would be envy when i see other parents would not mind spending an exuberant amount of money just for toys or books, or having the time to look for good bargains for them...

But, about a week ago Dahlia has prove me wrong. Money really doesn't matter when its for her joy or laughter.

A simple green washcloth and her cousin, Afiq (which she would say, not too clearly yet understandable enough, Abang Afeeek) and my MIL would be as good as the most expensive and colourful toy in the world.

She was having a fever, tho it wasn't as high compared to a few days after this event but yet, having a much moody time earlier the evening. Realising that her mood was much better, Afiq took the now dried green washcloth i was using to cool her body and played cak, while at the same time acting silly like those slapstick comedians with funny faces and clumsiness.

She would giggle and giggle, like my MIL likes to say - berkekek ketawa- until terbaring kat katil. We were at my in-laws room as it was much cooler compared to our room (that is the only room w an AC).

The thing was, it wasn't only Afiq that was holding the washcloth or tutup-tarik his face with it...Dahlia, being a funny and dah pandai menyakat girl, would also be doing it with herself. and tak puas hati Afiq je yang kena, she was also doing the same with my MIL who was seated by the bedside reading the kitab while waiting for the Isya' prayer (while FIL was seated kat hujung katil, also reading at the same watching the grandkids punya perangai while waiting)...

I could tell that the kids were not the only one having fun during the whole thing ;-)

Oh, i could still remember their laughters to this day. Fitri has asked me to blog about last week, but then, me as usual biasalah kan? :-P

Not just the green washcloth mind u, apparently, ugly and yet believable rubber spiders (if your kids tak takut la kan) also works wonders! :-)

Dahlia, eventho both Mama and Abah didn't have the opportunity to buy you so much toys as we wish we could give you, you have shown us that even simple, silly things meant a lot for u...Just remember that we love you very very very much and your adorable-ness could melt our hearts. everytime without fail. :-)

Apologies

my apologies to Sha, Bee and Aunty L, and those who have leave their comments into my blog. I've accidently rejected them. ingatkan approve tp sedar-sedar, salah button. huwwwaaa....seriously nak nangis.

but, i thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kind and supportive words!

From childhood friends to married couple...

The first picture of us. The event that brought us together.

Sonnet 43 - How do I love thee? Let me count the ways by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,—I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!—and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Boy, how time has fly...sedar-sedar dah tiga tahun we've been married.

And yet i could still remember the time I asked Abah (my FIL), "Abang Fitri mana, Uncle?" masa balik sekolah dulu.... :-)

Three years of love, happiness and lots of laughter, with of course like every other couple - some not fun moments.

Nevertheless, that is life and i bersyukur dengan setiap pemberianNya.

In 3 years time, a few things that we have endured & accomplished : long distance relationship (which i am grateful it was only kl-melaka), having a beautiful baby girl, our first apartment and adjusting to our new life di luar sarang keluarga.

Suami, thank you for loving me and accepting me as i am. thank you for being there and truly listen to all my ramblings. thank you for the understanding. thank you for being a wonderful son and son-in-law, husband and father.

So, Abi dearie...semoga jodoh kita berpanjangan, sempai kita tua kerepot pun we still sayang-menyayangi, jadi romantic couple ok? :-)

I love you dulu, kini & selamanya....*hugs & kisses*

Hitting the big 3-0!

My vain moment as soon as I hit 30 :-P

Alhamdullilah I've turned 30 the last couple of months...
Yes, this entry is late.
But for those who knows me well, lateness and johanna goes hand-in-hand. hahaha.

Anyway, about turning 30.

My fashion is definitely waaay different from before.
No longer tiny baby-tee that shows my lower back (and hopefully not the butt crack..ewww)..
Since I wear the hijab, most of my bajus are hopefully decent enough, tho, not too makcik-makcik...
For me now, clothes means practical = being able to chase and dukung dahlia with ease.
Hijabwise, whatever senang. and kalau boleh tak perlu nak iron. :-)

Turning 30, is just like turning 20....25...29.
No big celebration.
Just a beautiful, normal day with the family and a yummylicious new york cheesecake fitri buatkan di tengah-tengah malam.. :-)

30 years have past and i would like to say that i've had the time of my life.
one great 'adventure', learning, ups and downs after another.

some of the highlights :
* worked (illegally) for the 1st time when i was 15
* worked in a toy store while waiting for my spm results
* matriks kat a converted shopping complex before tercampak di kem bina semangat sebab kampus baru lambat siap
* failed economics while in the 1st year (ironically i now write for the economics desk) and kena retake, which i barely passed.
* worked in an awesome outdoor education centre as a trainer (and sometime buruh kasar) and planning coordinator (something like the hr officer).
* boyfriends, crushes and now, husband (which was my 1st crush!)
* trying time that tested relationships, love and faith.
* motherhood :-)

some of the things that i wish to do before i hit 6-0
* of course, go umrah and haji
* travel to vietnam, cambodia before modernisation destroys the heritage
* run a marathon or
* join in a triathlon
* learn to swim (hahah..ada lesen diving, able to kayak really well pun tak berapa reti swim)
* learn to bake and decorate beautiful cakes and cookies
* able to cook ala chef wan and jamie o
* become an editor-in-chief, if i'm still in the media industry
* going caving in mulu
* teach my kids about learning how to use the map (a real map, not the gps ones) and compass.