Letter Z & A

My best friend back then in school hosted a birthday party for her princess and prince sometime last December. Nada and I were invited. We both were so eager to attend.

Being a self-proclaimed avid crafter myself, I knew the birthday presents must be a handmade. Ever since I was re-hooked with creating and sewing, I feel a handmade is the best gift, (and I mean – BEST) one can give and also receive.

To me, handmade is the combination of passion, thought, effort and abundance of love.

My Mami has always been making special handmade as gifts ever since I can remember. She sew beautiful tiny dresses complete with undies, booties, mittens, hats, blankets, bedding sets and many more as presents if she’s visiting a newborn. One gifted lady she is.

However, she also always say… “I don’t have much money, and the dresses sold on commercial racks are too expensive. I’d better sew myself to make presents……”

For my love to handmade, I totally disagree with her on that point. Not all on commercial racks are that expensive to buy, handmade on the other hand not all could be bought even though with copious money.

She’d taken her effort too lightly, when most people realize handmade are out love, someone’s precious time and carries so much value.

After considering few options, I decided in making a pair of matching towel bath robes for the siblings. Of course one in pink and one in blue, made out of less than RM 15 normal adult towel.

Since the girl’s name starts with Z, I tacked a self-cut letter ‘Z’ as initial and for the boy, initial ‘A’. How cute.

I finished making both robes the morning Nada and I were supposed to attend the party in the afternoon. Unfortunately, I didn’t have spare appropriate boxes to put the gifts in which kinda forced me to make pouch bags for each robes.

So, here how they look once done.

At first, I just stapler the birthday notes to the ribbon ties only to realize how ‘unprofessional’ it looks. Hence, on the way to the party, inside the car… I made a hole each to the notes and slot in the ribbons. Then it made sense! Too bad, I didn’t take any photo of the amended ties.

Nada envied the pink bath robe and I promised her that she would also get one, I’ve yet to fulfil my promise. Too many project plans…..

Kota Bharu and I

It is not my working Monday morning at 2.16am and we are in M.S Garden Hotel, Kuantan. Both Harris and Dew are asleep while I am still wide awake. Must be the hot shower or could be the jumping jacks on hotel bed with Dew earlier that made my eyes wouldn’t want to rest as yet.
We are on our way back to KL after a short trip to beloved home town. I persuaded Harris for a night stay over here with me giving reason that he has to attend for a site inspection. Co-incidentally, he has an ongoing project in Kuantan. Yea..yea…yea… I am always his unofficial boss what !
Well in a more serious mode, he really needs a follow-up inspection after last Thursday’s inspection anyway. I just made it more assured.

I had been postponing for my balik kampong trip since 2 months back. There were always matter(s) that came up which didn’t allow me to do so. Not until last week and after long fought with my boss.
Dew and I took a flight on Wednesday night which later was followed by Harris the next day after his site visit, yes,, here in Kuantan.

My mami’s house is merely 10minutes away from Kota Bharu Airport and I was supposed to contact any of my family members to fetch us once we arrived. I didn’t and instead, decided to opt for a cab to ferry us home from airport. No..no..no, of course I didn’t tell Harris until I did so. Kalau tak.. sure tak boleh punya. Kalau dah buat, then he has nothing to say… except to accept that he has a stubborn wife. Whee hee hee.

It has been long since the last event that I hop on a cab in KB. I always have this uneasy feeling of KB cab drivers. Please don’t get me wrong especially those whom are associated with cab drivers, be it you are the cab driver, or your father or mother or brother or anyone you know, I do not mean bad.

Those days, when I was small and at the time I accompanied my mami to town, we would take a cab or we call it kegheto sewo. The drivers that I encountered always wanting to know and had a gelenya way of asking my mami whom is a single parent if she had a husband like :

“Bakpo la che’ abe tok maghi ambik” means : Why is your husband not fetching you?

or

“Come-come ni che’ abe bui ko naik kegheto sewo” means : You are beautiful… does your husband allows you to hitch a cab?

I may be was a young kid but I did understand and was able to read between the lines. I detested the gelenyaness for ever! Like, for your own sake… Do you have to ask the questions?... I don’t remember my mami answering any of those.

Here now, Nada and I experiencing the cab ride the way my mami and I did years ago. Two females with no male guardian. I swear if I ever being asked the question, I’m gonna switch on my hand phone recorder, record the ‘conversation’ and make a police report for sexual harassment case!

Allahamdulillah, my ‘fear’ was groundless may be at least to KB Airport cab drivers. May be also I am not as beautiful as my mami.

The man was polite to me. I gave him the ticket indicating my destination and he requested me if I could help to fold Dew’s pushchair for he’s not familiar with it. Yeah, I don’t mind. He asked me if we were on a ‘balik kampong’ trip and I answered with a short one. He seemed to understand and respected that I didn’t want for any long conversation. The cab is clean and smell fresh. Better than our own sedan. It was a safe ride home……, only then I realized why was I really wanting to hitch a cab.

I want to face my ‘fear’ and hoping for my daughter not to have to go through the bad experience I had.

oh... how i love this cutie pie.

That’s a little sour experience of mine, I carried for so long……… I just want to share.

On the other hand, I also want to share this wonderful activity for many Kelantanese, especially whom reside in KB, I witnessed ever since I was a small child. I want to believe whoever that had gone trough the cupid love phase of their life in KB, surely had experienced this activity for a date. I did !

…. Lepak tepi pagar airport tengok kapal terbang turun dan naik. Muakakakakakakaaka. It is so festive, isn’t it?

You can judge by the numbers of cars being parked by the roadside. :) LOL.

My 35th birthday - Part 1

I so must blog about my birthday this year, though more than a week had passed. It was definitely one of the best birthday celebrations I had. For that matter it was celebrated for 3 hari 3 malam berturut-turut macam anak raja kahwin. :)

This year 28th March falls on Sunday. The few days before Sunday, Harris had been reminding our girl…. “Nada, nanti birthday Mommy… Nada nyanyi to-yu okay…”
On Saturday the 27th , we had the first dinner outing at Manhattan Fish, just the three of us and a little Chocolate Mud Pie for dessert made Dew singing “to-yu, to-yu, to-yu” This marked my first day celebration.

The little Chocolate Mud Pie ice-cream cake.

Macam burung ciak!

See how 'cool' I was enjoying my dessert.

She decided that she had to make an important call to Tokyo in the middle of our dinner to check on Nikkei !!!

The day 28th March started early morning with my Subuh prayer praising to Allah s.w.t with all greatness that He has lend me thus far. A husband whom has so much patience, a daughter whom means everything to me, other family members whom always plays a part in my story. A career that I like…..though at times it does strangle my neck. The fact I am able to contribute to the family well being by having a career on my own, I am just so grateful.

How can I resist these two LOVE ?

After my prayer I went out of the room and took a peek to Dew’s room to find out she was in a deep sleep and looked so solemn. I gazed all around the living room of our tiny apartment with just a bulb lighted at room corridor. Everything is in it’s place and neat. The lime scent from KIWI floor cleaner could still be smell from my mopping works at night before. I slide to side the glass sliding door and drew the curtain. Cool wind gushing through blowing the soft curtain up. I stepped out to the balcony feeling and inhaling the fresh air. A streak of first light shone at a far horizon. It was indeed a beautiful dawn. Praise to Allah s.w.t, that I live for another day.

We had planned for a family day out to International Book Fair at PWTC. Nothing starts for us unless we have a good breakfast, off we went to KRB Ampang Water Front after getting readied. I had the weekend favorite – Mee Kari. What I like about the curry mee serves for breakfast there is it’s portion. Medium scale : the ration of mee – tauhu – chicken – kerang – vegetables are perfectly sized for my breakfast level and the curry is yummy. A nicely do breakfast will ensure my smile at least for half a day.

Even though the day was still early, we guessed crowd in PWTC was surely packed judging from the lines of busses being parked at roadsides. I thought we would need to spend hours to look for a car park space, but the luck was on our side when we got one so near to the shopping entrance instantly after entering The Mall Basement.

She went to Book Fair in style.

Harris and I picked up few books and dictionaries for ourselves and selected few for Dew’s bedtime reading at the book fair. Dew behaved relatively well considering it was a packed event with sea of human. She requested to be on her feet at areas with lesser crowd and wouldn’t mind to be tied to the push chair at areas where people move at the pace of a turtle crawl.

While we were touring the fair, my cousin Nslave called me. As soon as I picked up the call, high pitch voice almost like chipmunks sang me : "Happy Birthday to YOU! hAPPY bIRTHday to YOU!......" Awwwwww.... those were my two little cousin niece and nephew. That was so sweet and I was delighted.

It was a satisfactory event for me with books and books and books every where. The only part that I don’t really like was when being harassed by salespersons of those early child education programs. You name it… Grolier, Scholastic what evah!… Not that I do not believe in all these media for early child education, but I solely do not agree when people put it as if I have to depend on them to ensure my child turn out brilliant, to be like Mr Astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al Masrie or Mr Tony Fernandez for that matter. (Apsal la mek pilih dua nama tu….)

“Kak…. Akak kena guna program ni…. Orang semua dah pakai sekarang ni. Nanti anak akak ketinggalan kalau akak tak beli dan guna program yang kami buat ni……….” Cheh! Please put it some other way la..

A salesperson kept nagging and telling me how a child may master English by watching their CD’s when he spoke English tunggang-terbalik, no better than me. I was about to tell him – May be you should watch the CD and learn your pronunciation well. However, since it was my birthday… I decided to be a gracious lady and not some bacul bitch. (Thank you to the good breakfast, kalo mek lapar……. Keluar tanduk!)

We then made our way to Jalan TAR as I wanted to get some stuff for my tailoring projects. You see, I may look and sound rough but ribbons, lace, little satin flowers could melt my heart. I felt like sleeping in Bunga & Riben shop which is full with wonderful colors. If I couldn’t have a Baby Products shop, I want to own a shop that sells ribbons.. Heh! Heh!
After getting hold of what I wanted at Bunga & Riben, five design selection of cheapsket fabric at Nagoya, two sets of Noevelle bed sheets at Sogo and sepinggan penuh Nasi Beriani at Insaf…. It was already close to 4pm and we headed home just in-time for Zohor prayers yang dah nak habis waktu!

Dew was asleep once we were home, so Harris and I had a quiet time to conclude our part time job of a bungalow renovation before the big event at night. Could she was awake, she would want to join signing and folding the plans too. The fact that Harris and I were collaborating and co-operating with each other for the job really gives me the sense of satisfaction. I hope one day we’ll achieve of what we both always dream of.

The tickets. Check out the book... I still have my Matriculation books nicely kept.. more than 15 years, ok!

Cik Ani the Nanny came over to our house close to 7pm to look after Dew while Harris and I went out for our night date at Amy’s Suatu Masa concert. It has been SSSSOOOOOOO long since only Harris and I went out together to have some fun. The loving Harris treated me extra nice and I am extremely a lucky women.

I wouldn’t say Amy’s musical concert was the best concert I had watched……. but surely it was an entertaining one.
Somehow….. I do not know, it was either the concert or may be Amy himself, reminds me so much of my own brother…. Mohd Safari Nasir.
May be it was because of the story line which narrated Amy’s life line being an entertainer from the darkness in the early until now that some lights had shone.
May be my brother has some resemblance of Amy physically. Yes, my brother is totally a good looking man only if hadn’t lost much weight for the last 17 years.
By end of the concert, my thought was all to my brother. I hope and pray he will lead a good life at present and on. Now that my silence promise to myself to buy my mami a house is fulfilled, I made another promise to myself……… I want to support my brother in all my might for the success in whatever he’ll do.

Amy and me

Yours truly

My other half

.............. to be continued

It's Never The Same

I have been stacking up Nada’s homemade frozen rations during the weekend until I ran out of the freezer bags.
(urgh… one of it, I made Fillet of fish (Salmon) with Steamed Vegetables Cheese Sauce…. Curi-curi makan sikit – I tell ya…sedap sampai menjilat jari – whoever want the recipe, just gimme a ring or text. And last night, apart from Chicken with Sparing Vegetables, I also baked her orange pudding for breakfast., pheeewwiiiiit! – I know she’ll gonna love it, the smell of grated orange peel already doubles up her dripping saliva – he, he)

Since I needed to use the ice cube packs for the last batch of rations to finish up the chicken stock last night, I’ve got to transfer those already inside into the freezer bags. So we headed to Carefour Ampang after work. (which my cheeky 6 year old nephew Aqil calls it Carefour Su ! ……. Su is what he calls me and as Carefour Ampang is near to my place, he thought it belongs to me!… that’s how Carefour Su comes about. How I wish…….. to own a Carefour and shake leg.)

Nada has ‘gotten’ her legs for about a couple of months, with me witnessed her first three wobbling steps on 03.03.09. Now, she is more stable in-fact practically running, but still can’t turn back without falling or smoothly while walking. What she’ll do if she wants to turn is make a big loop like a ‘U’ turn…. Or may be a small round-a-bout. Cute, eh?

Last night at Carefour, we let her have the freedom to be on her two legs and was not being cordoned in her Peg-P since we knew it would be an abrupt shopping, she won’t get much tired. (Amazing Race Final for Harris and Prison Break were on the way – I got to finish cooking by 10.30pm! It’s all about planning – kesian nya Scoffield…)

Nada got fascinated with those small tricycle and wheel toys on the floor that she wanted to try and sit on one. However, she was not able to move her legs still and gave us a curious look on her face – Mommy, Daddy…. Why is mine not moving like that boy’s? ….. He he, it’s not battery operated, love! You got to push with your feet.

Harris picked her up… saying… “Nada, Daddy will buy you the tricycle once you are a little bit more stable than now.”
It comes to me – Nada doesn’t have to show good school results or even ask………, her Daddy already made the promise for her.

It’s not the same,…. I never had any bicycle of my own. What I had was a shared old bicycle with my one and only elder ‘sister’, that we both inherited from our aunts – also was earlier shared among them. Cik Jah, Cik Ra, Aunty Jie & Busu. Really, not easy to have anything of my own.

Both of our brothers had a Bicycle Motor Cross (BMX) each. My brother’s was blue-chrome in color and Safrul’s was yellow-chrome. The BMX was supposed to be shared. But, you know with boys….. if we rode the bike for five minutes, that’s considered long enough. I knew my mami can’t afford another bicycle for me and I was fine with that, but Kakak… I think she should have had one.

I remember how she so longed for a bike, one day while washing our bicycle… she uttered out to me that if she ever got a new bicycle, she would wash it e.v.e.r.y day, on her knees, in a deep sobbed and tears rolling her cheeks.
I replied her…. I would be very happy if she has a new bike that I can also borrow and I would be the one to help her wipe clean-dry the bicycle…… But sadly,……….. she too never had any new bike.
(I sincerely invite Miss Lavender’s comments if the event that I pen down here is wrongly recorded or not agreeable to her, vice-versa)

Those days in a typical Malay Kelantaneese family, the sons are always prioritize beyond daughters especially from their own mothers. This one value that I have observed long enough, I totally disagree with it and I vow to myself that I shall never implement it. Girls are as good as boys if not for the better. The princess from heaven, I now have – Nada is in-fact the BEST.

I have always been known as being independent even as a child. Me, hardly ask anything from my mami. At times, my mami brought me to town for her tailoring need shopping. We usually would stop by at a supermarket called Chin Seng. It was my mami’s favorite place, I guess. May be also due to it’s convenience. It was near to the Bazaar which was at one time a wet market and the ‘taxi-sapu’ station. If I ever followed my mami, it was ‘look-only’ not ‘look-and-buy’.

Apart from the necessities like school fees, school allowance, school tuition fees and stuff , the two things that I can recall really requesting my mami to buy for me were :
1. At Std Six – A plastic see-through school bag, written “Happy Sammy”. It was an ‘in’ thing at that time. Many of my friends already have it and I wanted it too. I have been using the same school bag from Std One, my aunty – Cik Ra bought in KL.
So, I think I deserve that bag, huh. It was not easy,…. I quietly cried under a dressing table surrounded by stacks of my school books after my request was objected for the existing bag was still in good condition.
Until Busu fished me out from under the dressing table and convinced my mami to buy. Thank You, Busu…. I got my cream color plastic see through “Happy Sammy” bag.

2. At Form One – A Guy Laroche watch. Also, got influenced by school friends. My mami told me, it’s an expensive watch…if she buy the watch for me, she’d no longer be buying me any watches if I spoil it. I agreed. Yup… it cost close to RM 450 considered expensive for my mami and for me too.
I used the same watch all the way until I change for Tissot that I am now wearing being part of my wedding hantaran. That was f***ing good 17 years okay…. for a watch. Don’t know how many times the battery and straps have been changed. My ex-bf once got the opportunity to choose the strap. He chose black leather strap.

Truly, it’s never the same between of what I had and of what my daughter had or about to have.

When I want my daughter to inherit the ‘strong’ characters especially being independent out of me, I also want to give as much as I could to her.

When I want my daughter to understand it’s not easy to earn a penny, I also want her to have the luxury that I can afford to give, I once not able to have.

When I want my daughter to appreciate every single toy that she has, I also keep buying for her more and more.

When I want my daughter to love me for the love that I shower her and not the material, I also keep thinking that RM950 Maxi Cosi toddler car seat I’ve been eyeing is better than the China Product – Hartford toddler car seat. Macam mana ni??????

Help me, help me, Ya Allah…. Help me to set things right, to guide me if I go overboard. Help me to always portray fine qualities benefited for my girl, just like I benefited from my mami.

In conjunction to the Mother’s Day this year …. we are treating our mothers for a little trip to Bandung the coming week. Hope they will like it.

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers in the world.

Mommy, I’m all ready for Bandung too.

Girls of my life. Told my mami – tak payah pakai lipstick la mi, u’ll look younger than I do. Jeles of her fresh facial even at 59.

A VOW

It was such an experience for both Harris and I to visit our friend who was critically ill on the last two Sundays.
Harris knew her since they were attending architectural school in Skudai and I got to know her when I was working in Seremban in the Year 2000 until mid 2001. All three of us at that time were in the same office.

The night before the visit, Harris received a message informing of her condition. Not knowing at all of her critical status, we then arranged with few other friends to pay her a visit at the Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya.
When we arrived at the PPUM for 12 noon visiting hours, we were informed that she had been discharged and had returned home. So, we decided to trail her to Kuala Pilah and arrived at her visitors packed home at around 5.00pm.

Knowingly it is a SUNAT to recite and contribute the surah of Yassin when visiting an ill patient, that was what I did. I also asked for forgiveness for any of my wrong doings and surely I forgive for whatever her wrongs to me if there is any at all. She looked so different from the last time I saw her. With the oxygen supply tube in her nostrils, her breath was difficult and short, I couldn’t bear to see.

At 6.15pm, we depart for return to KL and stopped at Seremban R&R by PLUS highway for solat. Just about to leave the surau, I met other friend who also went for the visit.
She informed me that our friend,......... had passed away minutes before Maghrib……, which then I elongate the news to Harris.

Our friend was 38, leaving a husband and 3 beautiful children with the eldest daughter only at 10 due to cancer. From what being told to us, she found out about the cancer after a fibroid removal surgery in August last year. Sadly, it was at difficult Stage 4 and the cancerous cell was spreading fast.

Life is so unpredictable and short.

Later in e-mails, Harris circle of friends were spreading the news. It dismays me to know that she once informed a friend, of all the things in her life ….. she’ll regret the most for not able to raise her children with her own hands and see them grow up.

I believe, that is the one thing any mother couldn’t put up with. Not even the thought of it……

I told Harris, I am so scared….. thinking the para-urethral excision surgery that I have to go through in the coming four days as I pen this entry.
Close to my 34 age, this is the second time I will be admitted to hospital. The first was for giving birth to Nada almost a year ago.
Advise from my OB-GYN, the para-urethral is supposed to rarely occurs. As happened to me, it doesn’t look bad and the surgery should be a minor one.
Still, I am so-so scared. I hate hospitals. It paralyze me!

Apart from being terrified, I reminded Harris that should anything unwanted happen to me, my mami will still be staying in the house that we bought in Kota Bharu for as long as she wants … as long as she lives with no pay.
That he should never thought one day he’ll go back to live same place unless he’s invited. That is my mami’s house.

Harris comforted me giving his assurance that I should trust him and things will be just the way I want it to be. I responded to him to be careful with his words as it is not him I do not trust but his ‘wife’!

Who knows he might end up with a stupid moron thinking whatever in his name will be hers too! It has to be ironed out on the intended purpose of why we wanted to buy the house. It's for my mami. For that, I commit to shoulder the responsibility and at the most time has been paying for installments. The fact that the house is insured, it will be free of financing and makes it even more rightful for my mami to live in the house happily.
Should it happens the other ways due to him and his wife foolishness, I told Harris… I vow that I’ll strangle them both while they are having sex! (O yes…. I do speak to my husband that way)

Rude it may seem. Respectfully, I enlightened to Harris that it is my duty to place to him the mistakes he might do before it comes about and not after.

ALL THIS IS BECAUSE HE IS MY HUSBAND AND I LOVE HIM WHOLEHEARTEDLY.

THE PLEATED DRESS

During our shopping for Aidilfitri, I spotted a dress for which I would love to see my daughter Nada wearing it. It was a little simple round neck, smart cutting dress with pleats at hip level fitted right for the smart Nada. I always have the fond for these types of dresses rather than those pink-satin-girly gowns with jaggy edges, fancy ribbons and lots of frills. Those are pretty dresses but they just don’t hit my nerves.

As I looked at the price tag…. My, my.. it costs about RM 175 for such a simple dress. Not that I can’t afford the price once in a while, but at that moment I don’t feel like paying the sum. May be it didn’t go well with my overall budget for Aidilfitri shopping. Hey, I am a very wise money spender! ok.
Somehow, I can’t let go the site of the dress. I like it so much. So, I thought I would get some cloth and request my mami to sew. Coincidently, she planned to come over to my place the following weekend and I do have a sewing machine.

Before the weekend came, my mami changed her plan. She cancelled the trip, leaving the cloth that I bought unattended. Having the cloth laying on our utility table inside the utility room for almost a week, I decided to make the dress on my own.
I started by figuring out the plans and steps to be taken to execute the dress…. Not on paper but all in my mind. Visualizing which part should I cut first then the other? How to assemble the parts? How to hide the joining and stitches just like the dress that I saw in the boutique? And many more other questions even before I touch the cloth to start the sewing. I never have any formal training in sewing, but being a tailor’s daughter and granted with good EQ by Allah swt, I am so grateful that I am able to figure things out by just little observation.
All these, I did during my bathing time. Oh yes! I do a lot of thinking during bathing. Because to me, bathing is the 10 to 15 minutes time that only my physical works and hardly use the brain. One doesn’t need to think when to pick up the soap and start soaping one’s back or shampooing one’s hair. It’s all in your sub-conscious mind. It’s rather wasted not to use the brain, further more it’s a private time by myself and I can really focus on matters that I want to. I even answer exams questions during bathing (of course …. In my mind!). Most of the time, I plan my house chores and realize it really save me a lot of time by just doing the 10 minutes planning.

After 8 to 10 bathing, I was confident enough to start on the dress and it took me about 2 hours to finish it during Nada’s afternoon sleep on one weekend. The first person that I shown the dress to was of course… Harris! … His response was … “wah! U finish it ? when did u sew it?” Even Harris didn’t realize. … (he was sleeping too!)

When I went back for Aidilfitri, I showed my mami the dress that I made. She gave a remark… Not bad.. and started pointing out the flaws… where have I gone wrong. I expected that…, she’s a professional tailor by experience and for her to criticize my work, that means she cares. Even-so, I know deep inside her she’s proud of me too because for every relatives that came over, she would take the dress out and started showing off. “Look at this dress Yanti made for Nada….” She said.
Among the many comments that I received… Honest or not.. I do not know, were :
* Ngoh said : Yanti, you have such good talent!
* Mok Teh said : Yanti…… rajin betul.
* Busu said : This dress carries so much more value than the one hanging at the boutique.
* Cik Jah said : Yanti, you actually have time to sew?
* Thirah said : Kak Yanti memang pandai. Dulu masa kecik, Thirah ada baju smocking Kak Yanti buat. (I am so pleased she remembered… I guess, she was only 3-5 years old when I made her that smocking dress)
* Most would exclaim with unbelieving expression : “U sew it?”

AidilFitri gathering housed by Harris’s former boss, one of his close friends actually was looking for the dress’s label while carrying Nada around. Since he couldn’t find any, he judged - “Harris… you only put on exclusive dresses from oversea to your daughter? I couldn’t find the brand.”
Harris answered him… “Even if I did buy the dress oversea, there should be a brand. That dress doesn’t because Yanti didn’t put. She made it herself !” The whole full chorum table “roared” and started praising here and there.
(I wonder…. Ada jugak lelaki yang bz body …. Wanting to know what brand one’s kid is wearing?)

AidilAdha came, Nada wore the dress and I wore the kurung that I also made for myself using the same material. Looking at both of us, my mother-in-law asked, did mami made Nada’s dress? I replied her..
“Yanti made the dress”. Her reaction was… “That is nothing less than those being sold at shops!”…

Christmas brunch party with my colleagues at Chilis-KLCC, I dressed up Nada in the same dress. My principal’s wife, Cindy made a remark… “That’s a beautiful dress Nada wearing…. Suits her Osh Kosh shoes… How much do you buy the dress, Yanti?”. I told her… “o! This dress cost me about RM 10 - I sew it myself!”
Shockingly… with her eyeballs about to bolt out, she exclaimed. “ Are you joking? You are bluffing me, don’t you? That’s a perfect dress!”

…. As a person, as a wife and as a mother …. I AM PROUD OF MYSELF!

Nada being the feast at Christmas Party

NADA & DADDY

US....

ME !

Having said, I made a conclusion. For me to execute and complete a dress for my daughter, I have put in:
1. A reasonable duration of time. Thanks to the unseen thinking process.
2. So little money. The cloth cost me RM 3.90/m, the ribbon complete with ready made cute yellow flowers – RM 4.20/m (ribbon cost more than the cloth? Emph.. emph.. emph…), buttons – RM 1.80 a dozen. All in …. Less than RM 10.

3. Lots and lots and lots and lots of LOVE.

It triggers me, if I put so much Love to make one dress….. what can I say about my mami. All my life since birth until I manage to buy on my own, 90% of my clothing are sewn by my mami. (Save 10% for clothing which were bought by my aunties / uncles).
I thank her sincerely for all my daily use, my outing dresses-gowns-pants-shirts, my night wears, my kurongs, my kebayas, my school uniforms and even my shorts for school P.E classes……………..
My mami had put her mountains of unconditional-ultimate-infinity Love for all that.

Now that I never miss to pay her for the clothing that she makes for me, double or triple of her normal charge to customers as a token of Love and appreciation…………, I know……………….. I can’t never afford to pay her Love. Not even with all the money that I have, in my entire life.

I hope one day…. My daughter will realize and understand, for me to make her dresses is no big deal. After all, a dress is just a dress but the Love being put into it, is the TREASURE to be cherished.

MY GIRL IN THE PLEATED DRESS

Nada Hates Carrots

Introducing solid food to an infant is not as easy as it sounds…. I started with puree.. that was boiled-mashed banana to Nada when she’s about 6 months of age. She likes it and gulps everything down her throat. A week or so, I switched to dates. Also in puree form… she likes it too. So, I thought… ok! enough on “sweet taste”, lets try some “vegy” now.

To start of, I tried carrots. Boiled… mashed…. And fed her.
The first fed.. she gave me this kind of look = “mommy? What are you trying to feed me?” with her eye brows frowning! … I ignored her facial impression.

The second fed…. She spewed it out. Again I ignored her.

The third fed …. She just kept it in her mouth, not wanting to swallow! I MADE her swallowed and she gave me the FIERCE looking face.

The fourth fed…. That’s it!….. She yelled like no body’s business, with her arms and legs banging onto the bouncing chair. Her head swaying side to side… and I think the whole block apartment that we reside can actually heard her.

What a HUGE protest from this tiny monster. I gave up for that moment and realized the mistake that I have made. Shouldn’t have started with the “sweet” taste. But, too bad… damage have already been done. I have to figure out how to fix it!

Close to 7 months old, I bought the ready cereal from supermarket rack and till now, it is never enough for her at any meal. She surely wants more. Such big eater she is.

Still, I don’t want to settle with just ready cereals and with so limited time that I have, I always try to put my best effort to feed her home cook meal. Anytime that permits me, I will try to cook even though I used to hate cooking and my cook is so lousy. Until now … quite variety of porridge that I have tried, chicken .. red meat .. fish .. cabbage.. spinach. She would finish them all …. But CARROTS.. No way! Even if I mix and blend in the rice porridge. She just hate it! Was it the trauma that she had the first time? … I don’t know.

I remember then how my mami always tried to make me eat when I was little kid for I was a picky eater. So skinny I was. (God! What happen to me, now?… I’ve got no waist line already). I hated rice and instead I chose bread.
To think back, it’s very weird that my comfort food was hard-top bun bread that I bought from a sundry shop owned by an old Chinese couple I called
A-long and Mek, dipped into just plain water! It’s even tastier to have it in late afternoon at the 1 foot height ‘bendul’ of our house verandah leading to where my grandmother used to dry her laundry and listening to my mami’s sewing machine musical sound. That’s where I did my homework too.

My mami used to have the trick of “nasi ajaib”, those were rice balls with fillings inside. So, if I want to know what was inside the rice balls, I’ve got to eat them. It could be fish or eggs or chicken. Anything…, but those days, chicken was rather a luxury item.

To make me finish the meal, my mami had this tale that the food I was eating… was actually supposed to go for a gastronomy trip into my stomach. (of cause she didn’t use the word gastronomy!) So, it was rather sad to left behind the unfinished meal on the plate and made them cried for not being able to go.

She also used to say in her rich kelantanese dialect : “Tak po adik… tera dulu. Kalu tok sedak.. Kehek atah tange mami ni.” Every time she was introducing me to new food or delicacies.
Ok la!… let me translate … Meaning is “It’s okay, honey … u taste it first. If it doesn’t taste good .. spew it out on mami’s palm” …. and sure! her palm is opened right beneath my jaw ready to receive any spew at all… That was the extend she tried on me. But, I know… I have never spewed anything out… because all she fed me, taste good.

My mami …. Never a highly educated woman, what more a sophisticated 9-5 office-working woman.
She is a widow whom earns her living being a tailor to raise my brother and I, with so much patience, will and grace in her. Everyone would agree with me if I say,… when ever she smiles… it’s always a genuine smile from her innocent heart! That’s why at 58 now… she’s a healthy person who just looks 48.

And so, Nada hates carrots. Such a challenge for me but I will never give up. It’s a hurdle that I am sure I will leap over one day. Right now, I am so determine to feed her home-cook food as much as I can, and for that… I am now also eyeing for that Panasonic HR-2068 Food Processor that will cost me RM 229!

…. Nada.. Nada..
Strange thing how a small child that we love so much… even if that small child is not of our own can make us all…… change for the better.

.....................Being A Tailor.......................

My mami…. Gimme a call. Of course it was a ‘miss’ call and I have to call her back. It was a loooooooooooooooooooooooog chat. As usual, she’ll go round and round and round. But at the end, it’s gonna be the same stuffs that she always tells me about for as long as I can remember!

What is the stuff?

Well…. According to her…. As the case may be, she does a lot of sewing particularly clothing for her customers. Her customers can be close or immediate family members, semi-close family members, distant family members, friends, neighbors, so on and so forth.

Among all, sewing clothes to immediate family members is the most difficult to her. It’s because either the immediate family members pay her very late upon completion of their clothes or immediate family members just don’t pay her at all. It’s like the immediate family members expect her to sew for FREE because of the immediate family members relationship.
(Why do I use the phrase ‘immediate family members’ again and again? That is to emphasis the importance of it!)

And so I ask her…
Why don’t you just ask them? She’ll reply me…. It’s difficult!

I ask her again…
Can I ask them on your behalf? She’ll reply me….. No you shouldn’t. It won’t be nice!

It really annoys me !!

……………………. Dear Beloved immediate family members, just think! Sewing is my mami’s means of getting money. It’s her JOB! Her OCCUPATION! just like everybody else, for GOD sake! Those whom are working or being employed always expect to get paid by end of the month. You’ll get angry if your employer miss your end of the month pay. For at least you can expect to get paid by end of the month, but my mami…… she can’t expect that.
Because? Because of the ‘immediate family members’scenario.

So, I plead to everybody in the world. Please.. please honor or pay My Mami’s work accordingly and timely just like if the sewing is made by any other tailor. Again, just think.. the time she spent sewing clothes to those, whom pays her late or not paying her at all could have been spent sewing other peoples clothes that is assured to pay her timely, isn’t it?

I’m very sorry if I have offended people with this Blog, but I’ve made it clear in The First Blog, my intention of executing Blogs is not to show how happy I am (that is easy to do)… I want to speak my mind… be it Good or Bad!

NADA FIRAS @ 6 MONTHS

Nada and her orange ball

Pejam-celik.... pejam-celik... It's already been half a year upon the birth of my current one and only baby girl. Nada Firas 'celebrated' her 6th month birthday, 2 days back.

She's now.. I guess about 68cm long and weighs about 7++ kg.

Skill wise, she can roll onto her tummy and of course roll-back on her back.
Other than that, i always say it's nada's helicopter blade turn. Laying on her back, with a leg wiggling and pushing to the side she makes 360 degrees turn and with that we must make way for her. She's taking the whole bed!

Among all, i love most when she giggles.

Those days during childhood, my cousin, Feby and I used to play "Cat Eats Fish" with my mami. Both of us were the Fish and mami was the Cat. Mami would 'scare' us as if she's gonna eat us... giving that 'fierce' cat looking. We then ran all over the place for her to catch us... It was damn fun and we love it. At least for me.

So, with Nada... I play it too, but this time is "BITE YOUR FEET" game. She can't run of course... so every time I approached her acting to bite, with big giggle and squeaking sound, it's her feet that she'll try to protect first.

Time flies in just a glimpse of our eyes. How recent that we brought her back home from hospital after being admitted to nursery ward because of jaundice, she's now 6 months old. Soon... she'll walk her very own first step.

How I wish this first year can be a longer one ......................................................