Minum Petang

Finally made those kueh keria............
From these :



to :



And since I am on the Food subject, my other favorite kueh minum petang is :



I could never get enough of cinnamon rolls, and ....... a simple marble cake....



Now, who said I am lazy??? :)

Home is where the heart is

A month ago, Amir asked me how long are we going to be here. I said 3 years maybe, or even 5 years. He did a mental calculation and said, can it be just three years because he wanted to go back to his old school in 2012, when he will be in Standard 6. If 2013, there is a possibility that he might not see his old school friends ever again especially his best friend, Luqman who is now in Perth but will come home next year. He sounded a bit sad when he said all this that my eyes got welled up a little bit.

Then a couple of weeks ago, Nina told me that she has an essay to write about DILEMMA for her Local Studies Education. So I asked her what her dilemma was and she won't tell me. Then I said, :If it was me, my dilemma would be whether I want to stay here or go home. And she said, "That's what I wrote!" I looked at her face and I know she's missing home.

Even Imran sometimes, out of the blue, would say home-related things/stuff, like the tv in the family hall where he watched his Ultraman dvds, the playground where Bibik took him, the noisy dogs behind our house, mummy's car yang best.

Relocation for kids are only easier if they were younger like below 8. That's my opinion.

As for me who is way above 8, I don't understand why it's so hard for me this time around. Di US dulu, tak missed home this much pun!

It gets harder today when my neighbour told me that the property agents were in my house compound today ... I did not expect to hear this this soon. I was expecting May or June, so at least if there is buyer, it would probably take a few months before the house changed ownerships, so that we still have a place to stay this summer.

Now, how am I to tell Amir?? There will be no more Adam, no more Lokman, no more Faiz, Amrin, Ikram for him to play with. And Nina will miss Aqilah, Afiqah, Allyssa and I will miss being so near KL....

I remember Nina when she was 5 and we sold our first house in USJ. When the house was all empty, I saw her standing in my room as she sadly and slowly said, "Bye,bye House.I will miss you."

But if all goes well, my dearest kids, Nina and Amir, our next home will be nearer to where your placentas were buried ... if God wills.



My favorite part of the house, the living room and the very cooling wood floor (this was taken just a few days before we left for KSA)

Am just saying - not really complaining

When I first got here, the first 3 months, each time I opened my FB account, my friends and family back home would want to chat and their main query was how was I settling in. Sometimes, I will be FB chatting with 2 to 3 friends at one time, re-typing the same responses over and over again. Until at one point, I decided to turn off that chat room because it can be quite distracting as it stopped me from doing other online things like reading the news and checking my emails.

Come this April 22, we would have been here 10 months and honestly speaking, I feel like I have been here way longer than that! Macam dah rasa lebih setahun.

In this entry, I want to briefly describe my life here - in the land where women are forbidden to drive and taxi fares are so damn Mengarut!

Last weekend, I bought some very good looking sweet potatoes. I told myself that sometime this week, I would make kuih keria, one of my favorites local kuih. I did not really know when exactly I will make it but will buy the keledek anyway because in my household, following the rule of the man of the house, barring any unforeseen circumstances, grocery shopping takes place only once a week. So, I kinda have to plan ahead which involved stocking up the fridge, the kitchen for any sudden craving.

Last Thursday, I "planned" that I will crave for kuih keria. Six days later, the craving never made its appearance. So the sweet potatoes are still there, in my rattan-like basket, on the kitchen counter, next to the sink. Each time I stand by my sink, I would glance at them, asking myself : "would I end up throwing them away soon as they slowly rot away?" like most of the veggies I bought a week ahead but never got a chance to cook them. Even if I did cook them, there will always been one or two tomatoes, one cucumber, half a packet of bean sprouts, that ended up all soggy and thrown into the trash bin!

Last Thursday too, I "planned" not to want to eat taugeh or spinach. But by Sunday, I want to eat taugeh. And today, I wished I had some spinach so I can rebus it together with the good looking keledek. But this is not like back home where I can easily grab the car keys and drive to the nearest grocer.

It is frustrating. Really. This lack of spontaneity. The overdependence on the man of the house who even back home hardly liked going to supermarkets and I personally never minded this. I loved doing grocery shopping alone but since Jeddah, that feeling has waned.

So that my dear friends, in a nutshell, describes my life here. My experience may differ from others so please don't assume that life here is a pain for everyone else too.

If only this city has good public transportation system, like public buses or light rail transits (I wish!), no doubt, I would find living here more bearable. When I was working my butt off in England, I did not drive. I cycled or took buses. Money was tight but heck, I was happier because I can go to the market or shops anytime I wanted.

(Some of you may say now, buatlah keledek goreng ke, mee rebus ke (but mee kuning tak de??)etc but, if I am not in the mood to do it, what to do? But I promise myself, that sweet potatoes will be consumed one way or another!)

There is a quote by Charles M Schulz "I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it."

And I think I am going to do just that. He... he...

Naked in the Abaya

The title above says IN and not UNDER. So.... I was not wearing nothing underneath my abaya, ya?. But yesterday, I went out alone. No mahram, no girlfriends with me. And I felt like I was walking around naked pulak, despite the oversized abaya, no thanks to me being perasan that every other men was looking at me!

Back home, I never felt uncomfortable being alone in public places. I can have my meals all by myself in warung, kedai mamak, fast food outlets or even good restaurants. I have no qualms of being judged by strangers of my decision to dine alone. As long as I have a good book to keep me company, I am fine. Unlike my two close friends, who pergi canteen office pun will rasa like they are being scrutinized by others. Not me. Never me.

But last week, I felt what they felt and it really is not a great feeling.

This is what happened. I had a dentist appointment and to avoid taking a cab, I took the shopping bus which was going to the same district where the clinic was located. So I had to do a bit of walking. It was only 9am and it was already HOT! I was not so familiar with the place and got a little bit lost. It did not help that the roads here are not very pedestrian friendly. What I thought was a shortcut had a dead end. What I thought was the clinic building was not. So I had a few u-turns before I finally found the place but I was way too early. The clinic was still closed and next to it was like boys' college of some sort and yes, I became a bit conscious. Nasib baik I had a book with me.

Walking all by myself, no other females in sight, was a bit awkward. No wonder the women here cover themselves head to toe. It's better to be unrecognisable. Maybe I was being perasan, but I could feel being looked at by men who probably was thinking why is this girl/woman out alone? (But I must say, the sight of female beggars is common along road junctions in this city.)

Then I went to a mall. One man, I think followed me at the supermarket. I was sure he did because I was looking at pots and pans, cookery utensils, baking dishes and he was at the same section too? Seriously?? Then I moved to the ladies' clothing section and he was there too! I gave him a look and he got the hint.

Then at the food court, one young man kept looking at me and gave me THAT how-u-doing smile!!! I rolled my eyes in disbelief and he got the hint too. Soon after, I saw him changing what I believed was his hp number with two well-covered young girls. Then another young man smiled at me and when I went to get my food at the counter, he left his no on my table!! I took the paper and crumpled it. Seriously lah... macam tak pernah tengok pompuan! Dia ingat pompuan sorang2 is easy..... What amazed me is I am bukan anak dara. Surely I look old? Maybe I don't look THAT old, eh?? But honestly, I did not like the attention.

So yep, one might be wearing loose clothing here but if you are out alone, it's like you are wearing one skimpy clothing!