"Handle? I can handle it. Handle is my middle name. Well, actually its the middle part of my first name." - Chandler Bing, FRIENDS.

 

 

Hey peeps! Are you stuck in traffic on your back to your hometown? Saw a picture of the traffic to Kelantan my ex-schoolmate posted on Facebook and I've just got to say that I do not envy her at all! But I'm gonna be all jealous tomorrow once she posts pics of her mother's yummy food, that's for sure. I'm going nowehere, celebrating Eid here in JB, as I have a trial on Monday (sucky dates, I know) and now, at 6.40 p.m. on Eid eve, I am still in the office, yeay me! Not. But MIL's making rendang ayam so yeay, and I'm gonna be making Laksa Penang (my mom's recipe, no less) later tonight, insyaAllah. Do come over tomorrow if you want some. But for now, for all of you stuck in heavy, annoying traffic, here's some of Chandler Bing goodness, to make you feel better.

 

 

 

 Ba dum tss! Feel better already? Enjoy your holiday and Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha!

 

 

“Of course she'll be cool. She’s the essence of cool. Cool’s her street name. She’s got it monogrammed on her towels and everything." – Rory Gilmore, on Lorelai Gilmore.

 

Don’t you just love the Gilmore girls? Back in my uni years, I used to wait in anticipation for the show to air on TV3 every Sunday nights (yes, my life was that exciting T___T) I’d always imagine myself being best friend with my make-believe teenage daughter with me being all cool and witty just like Lorelai. But I guess you’d have to give birth to your kids at the age of 16 like Lorelai did for you to have that kind of sisterhood relationship with them. I’m already old (30 for God’s sake!), Hadi is only two and my daughter has yet to exist T___T 

 

 

Anyways like I wrote on Facebook, I’d really hate it if they cast Alexis Bledel as Anastasia Steel of 50 Shades of Grey. That’d totally ruin the image I have of her in my head for ages, the sweet and awkward Rory Gilmore. Sangat eyewww. Yes, I know she starred in Sin City as a prostitute and Ninie told me that Miss Bledel was topless in the recent season of Mad Men, maybe trying to prove to the world that she’s Rory no more, but still, 50 Shades? A big no no! She does fit the description of Anastasia though; big eyes, innocent look and what not. But she’s my Rory; the sweet, smart mouthed little girl who loves coffee, good books and movies and lost her virginity awkwardly to her first boyfriend! Wait that does sound like Anastasia! Eeeek. Uncanny.

 

I miss the Gilmore Girls; the awesome mother-daughter relationship, the lovely and close knitted Stars Hollow community (Kirk’s insane though), Lorelai’s best friend slash love interest Luke Danes who I used to think is the epitome of a perfect man (he’s handsome in a rugged way, responsible, caring and macho gila weh!) and of course, I miss the witty banters between those two girls, fitting perfectly with the show’s tagline, "Life's short. Talk fast". Love love.

 

 

Oh yeah, gotta love Jess!

 

"Vacation used to be a luxury, but in today's world it has become a necessity." - Author Unknown

We were in need of a getaway from the stress and routine of everyday life and hub's birthday seems like a good excuse to do so. We initially wanted a beach getaway but it seemed to be raining setiap petang lately so we scrapped off that plan and went to the nearest seberang laut instead, Singapore lah apa lagi. The negara jiran is very near to us in JB but memang jarang sangatlah pergi, the last was in March!

 

After checking in at Orchard Hotel, we went to Newton Food Centre for some seafood. Fret not, 70% of the stalls here have Halal certificates from MUIS.

And clearly, the foods were good.

 

Smart TV. They have cable as well, varities of movies including porn! Yes, porn! Costs $20 per movie though (thank God, or someone would never want to leave the room. Ngeee)

Sexy bath. Handy for lazy moms, yeay.

 

Strolling along Orchard Road, salivating over unaffordable branded goods.

 

 'The Joy of Women' namanya. Apparently our joy is playing the flute in awkward position T___T

 

Gotta start them young katanya. Father of the year lah sangat.

 

Clarke Quay; where mat sallehs act like rempits melepak bersidai on the bridge getting wasted.

 

 The next morning, fresh out of bed and straight to the pool.

 

 The boy got excited when he saw Papa in the gym next to the pool.

 

 Gym freak.

 

Papa had to finish his gym routine and there is no kiddy pool so I had to jump in with mat sallehs looking at me all weird in my tudung and what not. This is freedom, mat sallehs, to be able to swim in peace without men oggling at my body.

 

Then Papa joined us, yeay!

 

 We had breakfast by the pool after the swim and it was one of the most relaxing mornings ever.

Sexy baby.

 

  Hadi couldn't care less about mirror-family-portrait, as always.

 

 

 We love Bussorah Street. A must-go everytime we're in Temasek.

We had lunch at Istanbul Grill and he had Turkish coffee. It was bitter, yikes.

 

 I much prefer Starbucks (from 7-Eleven nearby), thank you very much.

 

The boy was fully recharged after all that Istanbul meal goodness.

 And they got back their grooves, all kenyang and happy.

 A little store full of childhood wonders.

 This  wooden flute (don't know what it's called) costs only 50 cents but Hadi likes it so much.

It was a fun, relaxing weekend and I have this man to thank for. Happy birthday sweetheart, I adore you from ever fibre of my being. Praying for many more years (and getaways) together! Love you banyak-banyak!

 

 

"All right, look if you absolutely have to tell her the truth, at least wait until the timing's right. And that's what deathbeds are for." - Chandler Bing, FRIENDS.

 

 

 

If you don’t watch FRIENDS, I judge you. I do. And if you’re a fan, I’d feel instantly connected to you, as though there is this special good-taste-in-30-minutes-sitcom bond between us. Haha. Tapi betullah, how can one simply not like FRIENDS? I could watch the same episode over and over again and laugh at the same punch lines, it is that good. And timeless, like P. Ramlee comedies. Their first season was more than 10 years ago yet the jokes are still relevant. At least to me. But yes, to each their own lah kan? Maybe Frasier does it for you. Eeeek.

 

We managed to score complete 10 seasons box set of FRIENDS on sale and it’s so handy that every time I feel a need for a good laugh, my FRIENDS (pun intended) are just within reach. I’m currently watching the 5th season, when Monica and Chandler are secretly dating. Too cute, really.

 

How I Met Your Mother cuba membawakan the same premise; a bunch of best friends, always hanging out at a bar (instead of a coffee shop) if they’re not at Marshall and Ted’s apartment (instead of Monica’s) and sometimes they date each other but when that fails, they remain friends. Familiar sangat tau premise tersebut. Hubs call HIMYM a failed imitation. I quite like HIMYM lah, but it’s nothing compared to FRIENDS.

 

Everybody Loves Raymond, Seinfeld, Gary Unmarried (too bad it only lasted for 2 seasons), Arrested Development, 2 Broke Girls (can’t wait to watch Season 2), The Nanny, 3rd Rock from the Sun (Gordon-Levitt!), That 70’s Show and Scrubs are among my other favourites (Eeek that’s a lot! I used to be a TV addict, remember?) What’s yours?

 

“If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?” ― Milton Berle
 

 

 

Yep. Welcome to my life.

 

"You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again." - Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762

I love the idea of indoor playgrounds for kids. Dengan tahap kepanasan negara dan keselamatan yang membimbangkan, more parents choose to bring their kids to indoor play gyms and what not these days. There are many good ones in KL but not here in JB. I always bring Hadi to Kidz Room, the one in Danga City Mall, but that one is more towards imaginative play, video games, art and craft but no aktiviti berlari berpeluh sangat. Good nevertheless, he gets to interact and play with other kids which I think is pretty important.

I was delighted when our friend told us his wife's gonna be opening a kids play gym in Bukit Indah. And so we went to the launching of Little Play Loft last Sunday and I was impressed! The location is very easy to find, mengadap Jusco Bukit Indah. The place is not too crowded hence easy parking. Ada 2 floors, the lower one is for aktiviti berlari berpeluh and the upper floor ada imaginative play, art and craft corner, reading and colouring corner, balls net and many more. I was told that they have occasional additional activities and if you sign up as member, you will get to join them.

 

If you’re a fussy mom, I think you’d be happy to know that they have many penjaga to look after the kids (younger ones need guardian supervision though, handy if you have maids), and these penjaga wipes and cleans everything with sanitizer all the time, and like Kidz Room, they’d test your kids’ temperature before masuk so no issue of berjangkit demam with other kids, insyaAllah.

 

Little Play Loft is opened Tuesday to Sunday, 11 am to 7.30 pm. The price is RM21 per entry for unlimited time and RM110 for membership and 7 visits. We’re going again soon, so if you’re in JB, come and let’s have play dates!

Lower floor.

Kids gym equipments, cars and what not. Really cool.

"Come I read for you," said this older boy to Hadi. Such a good boy :)

Siblings ni memang well mannered kids. Anak doctors next door.

Art and craft corner. Excuse his messy, out of bed look.

 

 Reading corner.

 

Hadi obviously had too much fun and yes, menangis bila kena balik. Haih!

 

“Animals are reliable, many full of love, true in their affections, predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to.” ― Alfred A. Montapert

This is an outdated post. We went to Zoo Johor around 2 weeks ago and boy, did Hadi have lotsa fun there. Like most kids, my boy loves animals. Don't be fooled by the gun he's carrying around in all the photos, Hadi really is a softie at heart. Like most kids are anyway. Isn't it wonderful to be little and not to feel hatred towards anything at all? Sigh, we were all that little kiddo once. Anyways, here goes.

 

Someone asked me (tak ingat siapa, I hope you're reading this) where did I get those capal of Hadi's. Those were bought by his Tok Wan in Mekah. Comel kan? He has 2 pairs, another one in brown and he loves them both.

 Zoo Johor, despite being too small and panas nak mati, is surprisingly clean and well kept. Kudos!

 I freaked out a bit as the tiger kept staring at my boy sedangkan ada banyak kids lain. Maybe dia intrigued as to why this little boy was carrying a gun in the zoo T___T

 Unta here kelihatan lebih bahagia dari unta di Zoo Negara. Seriously.

 

Hadi is convinced that these are horses and refused to believe that they are donkeys. He kept telling everyone that he fed the unta and horses at the zoo. Suka hatilah anak. Bukan ada exam pun. Ngeee.

 

 

 

"A diet is when you watch what you eat and wish you could eat what you watch." - Hermione Gingold

 

I’m on a Segelas-Air-Manis-Per-Day challenge (of course I cannot quit cold turkey, I’m obsessed with teh tarik and what not!) It’s been 8 days (of course I cheat on weekends!) and at the moment I’m typing this, it is taking so much courage to not go to the pantry and bancuh a glass of hot Milo. I’ve already had my poison today, Iced Cham at Hua Mui, a worthy one I must say. Wish me luck, people. And no, no apparent reduction to my tummy size yet, thank you for asking. Maybe tomorrow I should start walking to the office, eeeek!

 

 

But, but, I deserve that cheese cake! Tsk.