Belum cuba belum tahu kaannnn?

Tadi check email sebab tengah tunggu email dari Adik - dia selalu macam tu, dah lewat malam baru nak sibuk-sibuk suruh tolong buat apa-apa..baru nak email, nak esok, abih aku ni? jenuh la bersengkang mata, nak reject tak sampai hati...adehhhh- pastu nampak ada email dari Nuffnang.

Ada offer untuk sponsored post berkaitan diapers, tapi for 45 parents only.

Tetiba ja macam excited coz sebelum ni rasa macam tak pernah dapat email offering sponsored post macam ni. Tengok orang buat sponsored post tu banyak la & selalu gak terdetik, "Hmmm, macamana depa ni dapat offer to blog about certain things eh?" So now I know lah..heheh

Dah lama tak blogging kan. Bukan sebab busy siapkan projects pun. Busy catching up with my current life; 3 boys & 2 of them go to school. Rasa almost 3/4 of my time dihabiskan settling depa punya uniforms; basuh, iron, sediakan untuk the next day, etc. and checking homeworks, sharpening pencils/colour pencils, check buku2 skolah..heh..banyak kerja lah...

Anyways, just wanna say HI! before I go MIA again. heh.

BYE!

2 sad news in one morning.

First sad news:

I sent Nazrin to kindy this morning and stopped at my favorite nasi lemak stall on the way home. While waiting for my nasi lemak to get wrapped, the owner told me that there has been an accident a few kilometers down the road that involves 2 motorcyclists. Her husband has gone there to help. I heard the siren of an ambulance just before we went out of the house this morning, so it must have been on its way to the site. When her husband came back, he told us that one of the victims has just given birth 19, people, 19!! days ago. She's practically still in her confinement period. She should have stayed home with her baby but she was on her way to send her older child to a kindy nearby when she collided with a man who was on his way to work. What really bugged me was the fact that the onlookers who were there said that her husband was asleep at home when this happened. ASLEEP???!!! I mean, come on! She gave birth to your child! Couldn't you have woken up & help send your other child to kindy for a minute?? Is that so hard to do?

Poor mommy...she could still be hurting down there from a normal birth since I know from experience that if she had a C-section, she wouldn't be riding a motorcycle this morning. Only 19 days ago. Poor baby too. 

Second sad news:   

Ok, this is not entirely a real life situation but the reality of it is very real. Really.

If you have ASTRO Diva (Channel 702) subscription, then, you would've seen the snippet for the next episode of Downton Abbey. Spoiler alert!

When I saw Sybil's husband standing by the window, holding a baby in his hand, and the narrator saying something about 'a joy turned into sorrow' or something, I knew Sybil would be in some kind of trouble. This morning, my favorite blogger confirmed it. Read it here. Sybil died during childbirth due to preeclampsia.

She, Cecily the blogger, not Sybil the character, went through this same problem with her last pregnancy that almost took her life. But sadly, she lost her twin due to complications brought on by preeclampsia. It is horrifying to think that 76, 000 women died of it in a year, even with the advances in medicine we have today. I am thankful that my 3 deliveries went well, my boys are healthy & I am still alive. 

Makes you wonder why, after all the hardship women go through to ensure the survival of the human race, couldn't men be nicer to us? 

Trippin' down memory lane.

Don't have much to say, I got stuck on something & a month later, I still can't shake it off. *sigh*

Now I know how Mak felt when Monster said those horrible things to her. Back then, I thought Mak was being overly dramatic but now I know.

Anyway, school term has entered its 3rd week & we've finally gotten into the groove. Things go smoother in the morning but you can still expect Shahrin to make me 'see red' some days. Just goes with the territory, I guess. 

Work-wise, I do have some projects lined up but they are still tentative ones. The clients have yet to confirm whether they are going to hire me or not, so, I've been pretty relaxed this month (if you rule out going from doing 1 load of laundry to 2 loads per day due to the additional uniforms worn by both brothers & getting Shahrin ready 2 times a day; regular school in the morning & religious school in the evening).

Talking about uniforms, I got a bit nostalgic a few times already while dealing with Shahrin's school uniform. Plus, I even got crazy memory flashes while putting the 'kapur kasut' (literally translated as whitewash for shoes?) on Shahrin's shoes. While washing Shahrin's white shirts, I'd think back to my mother who would often tackle the boatload of dirty laundries during the weekends. Back then, we had a semi-automatic washer but she would always have some clothes that she washes by hand. She had a few huge basins; plastic ones and a metal one that she still has today. I do remember helping her rinse a few loads in those basins, with the water pouring out of the pipe and me holding & rinsing one item at a time. Then, we'd wring out the water in the spin part of the washer. I remember going out during the afternoon (after finishing each load) and hanging them on the lines outside the house I was born in.

I also remember Mak ironing MY school uniforms & the ones that struck me the most are during the 5 years I had to stay at a boarding school. I remember reluctantly washing my uniform that has been washed & ironed by Mak when I have to return to school after the once per month weekends at home. I didn't want it to lose the smell & the crisp ironed look from home, buhuhu. Hahaha..this feeling lasted the whole time (5 years!) I had to stay at that boarding school especially after long school holidays. Ironing Shahrin's uniforms just brought back those bitter sweet memories.

As for his school shoes, I don't really remember when I started washing my shoes myself but I do still remember Mak teaching me how to put on the 'whitewash' (not sure if this is the correct word) shoe white on my shoes. Back then, the whitewash shoe white bottles had separate wands with the sponges but the one I recently bought was cleverly designed as one piece with the sponge on top. 

Found this pic here. See how old school these are? Hahah
Now I know they are called 'shoe whites'.

The one I bought is similar to this one, clever, no? :D

       

I kind of love getting Shahrin's school items ready for him, although I do realize that I have to teach him and let him take the responsibility soon. It's this thought that made me think back to my primary school days when I was 12years and below heheh. What I do remember is waking up and trying to take a bath with my eyes close (the water was super cold though which would instantly wake me up heheh), putting on my uniforms alongside my sisters, eating our breakfast which is almost always nasi lemak. I remember cycling in front of my brother before he had to attend boarding school (he's 3 years older than I am) and riding on my Baba's motorcycle with my sisters. I wondered how Mak managed to manage all of us even when she's busy with her own work (she's a retired teacher as my Baba). I only have to manage 2 boys but I struggled during the first 2 weeks. What's with the washing (whites with whites, colors in a different load, thus increasing my daily laundry load from just 1 to 2 per day), the ironing (2 sets of uniform each day plus Nazrin's uniform which I have to wash everyday since he only has 1 pair) and off course, the part where I have to remind Shahrin every other minute to;

                  take a bath, Shahrin!, 

                  hurry up, Shahrin!, 

                  wear your uniform, Shahrin! 

                  put on your shoes, Shahrin!

                  

                  HURRY UP, SHAHRIN!!!!!! 

Alhamdulillah, Nazrin practically readies himself in the mornings which gives me sooooo much joy. :D

It's 2013 already?? The 1st week of school update.

Hi all!

And assalamua'laikum to all Muslim readers.

Man, the first week of school term was hectic with a capital H!

We had to rush around buying more school supplies as the week progressed as we figured out what it takes to send 2 kids to school. Well, technically, only Shahrin has to attend the public primary school since Nazrin is only 4 years old but Nazrin has been so excited about going to school (like his older brother), so we decided to send him to Shahrin's old private kindergarten/preschool.   

We thought that we were well prepared for the start of the new year & new chapter in Shahrin's life. But, even with only 3 school days left since Monday & Tuesday were still holidays, I felt like I needed more than a 24 hours day. I spent Tuesday night sewing Shahrin's school badge on his uniform till 4am! My sewing skills leaves much to be desired, heh. Then, on the 1st day of school itself, I woke up 10 minutes before Shahrin's 1st day of school is supposed to start!!!! 

Can you imagine how we scrambled around that morning? Plus, I forgot to iron his uniform the night before & had to make Shahrin wear his still-hot-freshly-ironed uniform. My poor son. Heh. Luckily, I had prepared his bag, shoes & lunchbox the night before, so, Ahmad later told me that the drop-off went well. A teacher was there to greet the newcomers, so the Standard 1 students were well looked after. Ahmad told me that the next 2 weeks will only be sort of an orientation period where the teachers will show these kids around the school, take them to the canteen & supervise them on how to purchase their meals, show them where the toilets are and etc. 

I couldn't go with them that 1st day because I had to get Nazrin ready for his 1st day at kindergarten. He was WAY better at getting ready for school compared to when I only had to deal with Shahrin. He did cry a little for having to wake up earlier than his usual time but after I told him that he should get ready to go to Abang Long's school, he became quite excited. Too excited, in fact, that the moment we got to his kindergarten & he was safely inside, he didn't even look back at me or wave me goodbye. Bwahahahahaha...      

Then, later that 1st day, Ahmad said we need to buy Shahrin more uniforms for his religious classes [KAFA or PAFA] (in the evening at another school) so we rushed out that evening to find white Baju Melayu and green songket. This part was rushed because we weren't aware that PAFA classes starts at the same time the public school starts & that registration was open since December the 24th, 2012. Luckily, Ahmad's friends who have kids already attending school told him about it. I'm not quite sure how this religious school works since Shahrin already has religious class during school hours but Ahmad said that it is sort of compulsory for kids to attend this school. So, Shahrin's schedule were packed on Thursday and Friday; 7.30am - 1.20pm at public school and 3.00pm - 6.00pm at the religious school. 

So, this week was very challenging for us, what's with getting things ready for the boys; iron school uniforms that are way to big for them, even the S sized ones, that I had to sew up the arms and pants to fit them, wrapping Shahrin's textbooks, buy more school items for them..etc. etc. Ahmad was in charge of sending & picking Shahrin up from the public school as well as sending & picking him up from religious school. As for me, I only have to send Nazrin to kindy but Ahmad would pick him up & bring him home. 

Ahmad is so into the whole 'going to school' thing which is so 180 degrees from how he acted when Shahrin only attended preschool/kindy. Back then, I was the only parent actively involved with Shahrin's school days; get him ready, send him to preschool, pick him up (although Ahmad did this more than I did but still..), prepare his uniform/bag/pencils/colour pencils..you know..school stuff. This year, he registered Shahrin for the public school and the religious school. He sent & picked Shahrin up from both schools and he asked Shahrin about his days. Plus, we initially bought each brother new school bags with Transformer pictures on them which the boys chose themselves. Then, after the 1st day was over, Ahmad told me that we needed to buy another bag for Shahrin, this time it has to have wheels because he said he couldn't stand seeing Shahrin dragging his 1st bag which was heavy with his textbooks & exercise books. This is quite the opposite to Shahrin only having 2 bags (one was a hands-me-down & the other was bought 2nd-hand) during his 3 years in kindy/preschool. Nazrin is the lucky one, he has a new bag, new pencil box (Shahrin never has one), new uniform. Hehe..

Apart from the hectic preparations, Ahmad is also busy making things. His welding business has taken over his time this past month and it looks like more orders are coming in, alhamdulillah. In fact, Shahrin's and Nazrin's new school items were bought using the money Ahmad received for making the parking-tent thing while I was waiting for my translation payment to come through. Which it has. As for me, I barely made it through the week trying to juggle between altering the boys' uniforms and proofreading for my loyal client but I managed to get my boys to school and finished my project, albeit 1 day later than the dateline, ahem. 

p/s: I LOVE!!!!! school term. Love it! Love, love, love it! hahahhahah..The past 3 days were heavenly, the TV got its well deserved rest, no one screaming or crying or demanding drinks. The house stayed neat the entire morning. Can't wait for the new week to start. Hahahahahahahah. <---crazy :p=":p" laugh.="laugh." nbsp="nbsp" p="p">

Money, money, money, money...MONEY!

Yes, today I'll be talking about MONEY. Can't live without them...

But before that, I just wanna say, "I have FINALLY submitted my month long translation project!!!!" YA!!!YA!!!!!

err...alhamdulillah...hehhe

I managed to stick to my plan of translating 5 pages per day and I made it! It was such a relief to be able to email the translated document to my client and inform her that I have finally finished. 

I email her the document around 3.40pm and I simply crashed. 

I managed to keep myself together for the past weeks; staying up late (the only time I can really focus on my translation job without having 3 sets of hands clinging onto me, 4 if you count Ahmad hahahha) and waking up early, completing my usual household chores and stealing a few minutes to translate. But today, I completely ignored ALL housechores, except for those scrawny kids off course..can't forget them! heheh..and I focused on finishing the final 3 pages + proofreading the whole thing, you know, for typos, grammar etc..

Afterwards, when the file is already emailed, I planned on picking up the slack & settle cleaning up the house BUT when Khairin wanted to nurse, I simply clocked-off beside him. I woke up only because my mom called at 6.34pm. Right now, the sink is full with dirty dishes and I have 3 piles of dirty laundry to go through but I am cool with that because I AM FREE!!!!! hahahha

Ok, back to the topic at hand. *Ahem

I am really lucky to have been raised as a middle-class child who never sat foot in a KFC till she was already 15 years old, even then it was because her friends (from her boarding school) dared her to, hahah. A child who was never allowed frivolous foods such as candy, carbonated drinks, crackers and chocolate bars while she was growing up and now she would still feel a little self-conscious and guilty if she does buy any of these foods because she is still scared of her Baba, hahaha. 

I am fine with my present life these days, when other 'people' do not intrude on the somewhat 'tranquil' balance Ahmad & I have right now. We may not have a lot but we have been living on what we have and for us, these are enough. Yes, I do want a better life for my family but as Friar Tuck say, "The LORD works in mysterious ways" (you know, in Robin Hood, the one Kevin Costner was in..) and so far, I think HE has given us just what we need, when we need it. Alhamdulillah, we have never been so dirt-poor that we don't have anything to eat, we may only have enough to eat fried eggs but then again, Ahmad is not a picky eater, hehh. We do enjoy eating out at KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds every now and then but we are fine without. 

Even when we both are unable to bring in any money; I don't have any projects & Ahmad's bundle business slows down because of the weather, we are so lucky to have family members + my parents who give us loans except for my parents off course, they never ask for their money back. I am thankful for my safety nets who are always there for me.

For the past weeks, while I struggle with my translation job, Ahmad took up the slack, alhamdulillah. Since I haven't been able to accept any other translation/proofreading/writing projects because of this big project, I couldn't provide my family with anything. But as I said before, ALLAH provided us with more work for Ahmad instead. He has began to get a lot more welding projects, which ironically started when I got this big project. This month alone, Ahmad completed 4 projects; awnings, 2 door grills and a parking-area-tent and he has 3 more projects lined up. 

So, technically, we have never been poor because ALLAH still provides us with just what we need. Sure, we may never set foot in Legoland, Nusajaya, Johor or see what the hoolaabaloo is at i-City, Shah Alam, but as long as my kids have food to eat, clothes to wear and all-day-cartoons to watch, I am thankful.

P/s: This is not my 'one word' end of the year post. Will do that soon, though.  

BM entry: air tangan Ibu?

Dah 2 3 hari memasak. Tetiba macam rajin walaupun hakikatnya aku banyak keja.. 81 mukasurat nak kena translate masuk English..target at least 5 pages per day tapi tau saja la kan..dengan anak2 ni, nak dapat 3 pages per day pun susah :(

Dah la tadi dapat call dr client, Big Boss dia review ada 1 file yg aku dah siap translate & email kat dia. Benda ni nak kena translate ikut lingo perundangan..cek mana ada background law, so ada la dia tegur word choices yang tak on par dgn lingo law. So now, aku punya momentum dah down sbb asyik doubt myself. Buat sikit then rasa mcm salah plak..baca balik ayat2 yg dah translate, click kanan tgk synonyms..then baca blk ayat..dok ulang2 benda yg sama..buang masa ja huhu..rasa cam nak ngadu kat sapa2 tp tatau sapa yg boleh di call :'( takkan aku nak ngadu benda ni kat mak baba plak..depa nak tolong pun tak bleh, lgpun aku keja kat rumah, takdak makna depa nak mai cni tolong jaga cucu while aku siapkan keja aku nih... *sigh*

Harap2 malam ni dapat balik momentum, due 20hb. & plan nak siapkan by 19th, insya Allah.

Eh, nak cerita pasai air tangan kan? hahah..terbabas plak. Ok, dah tak ble fokus kat keja, meh la nak cerita skit. Aku ni kan minimalist, dlm fridge paling kurang ada kicap & sos cili ja, condiments lain takdak. 2 3 hari ni masak cara minimalist la, goreng2 ikan bilis, ikan masin, sayur kicap, buat penkek utk anak2.

Dah tu, nak mai mana ayaq tangan nya? Cuba pikiaq, macam tadi, Ahmad suh masak ja, so dia pi kedai beli 1 tin sardin. Aku panaskan minyak then terus tuang sos tomato dlm tin tu, tuang plak 1 tin air dalam tu sbb nak kuah, pastu amik sos cili, tuang sikit bagi ada rasa pedas, then amik sejemput gula & sikit garam. Masa masak tu, sikit pun tangan aku tak kena sardin. So, nak mai mana air tangan? Kacau sardin tu pakai senduk, nak rasa pakai sudu..see what I mean?

Masa nak buat penkek pun, tuang bahan2 dalam cawan penyukat, blender sampai sebati, panaskan pan & tuang minyak skit, pastu tuang adunan penkek tu straight dr dalam blender (dasar pemalas kaaannn heh), balik2 penken dengan sudip..so, bila yang tangan aku nak kena penken tu?

ISh..tak jadi keja sungguh tetiba dok pikiaq pasal air tangan nih..hahahhahahahahaha

Hey there..

wow..almost a month had gone by...just like that, eh?

didn't realized i've neglected this blog for that long..but still..i had things to do, noses to wipe and tears to dry...

things are still pretty crazy these days; after nazrin's week long fever, he's still got the runny nose & he finished up 2 boxes of my 200 pull tissues in just 3 weeks! shahrin came down with fever on and off, e.g. he'd  be feverish for 2 days then gets better for about 4 days then gets feverish again..not sure if i should worry but he did vomit prior to showing fever symptoms. khairin's been like this as well, as do myself but he didn't vomit like shahrin. i was sick twice but each lasted only a day...no time for ibu to be sick...my babies need me more.. *adeh*

i've also been busy with my projects..alhamdulillah..although lately, it seems that i have assumed the role of breadwinner for this family..well, ahmad seems to be getting his mojo back so hopefully he'll re-assume this role soon..i'm tired of having to do everything around here..luckily, ahmad has taken over some of my daily chores like doing the dishes, getting the boys ready (the 2 older ones but they can manage bathing by themselves but putting on clothes is another matter as i haven't been able to do much folding & the pile is growing!) as well as hanging the laundry to dry. i mentioned to him how grateful i am when he helps me with chores & i pointed out a snippet from DIVA UNIVERSAL's "The Break Up" featuring Jeniffer Aniston and Vince Vaughn - J.A: I want you to want to do the dishes!
                         V.V: Why would I want to do the dishes?

see? and here i thought i'm the only one getting depressed over doing dishes, heheh..but lately, i do think he has changed, has gotten a bit understanding about the stuff i have to do just to keep this family functional.. plus i do have a job that pays the bills, groceries and other stuff. i'm still waiting for him to be more open about his past though..7 years of marriage is not long enough for us to truly know each other..heck, we could spend the rest of our lives together & still wouldn't know everything about each other, right?

well, got to get back to work..

p/s: i once heard someone said that she needed a wife & now, i understand what she meant, heh

Being a WAHM is really stressful...

I was finally able to submit an article due 2 days ago, TODAY!, after the client repeatedly called me asking about my progress. *sigh*

I didn't mean to take this much time but it is utter chaos right now (well, technically, right now all 3 boys are sleeping! can you believe that??!) with the dirty dishes in the sink, laundry all piled up high, floors not swept... errmmm...somehow I'm getting a dejavu while writing this. It is so reminisce the months when I was pregnant with Khairin..ahakss..

Unfortunately, the only thing that's coming out of anybody is snot, snot more snot and throw in some barf too. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, our household is currently under attach! At first, it was just Nazrin coming down with fever which started 3 days ago. Then, Khairin got it too, so I've been keeping up with fever medications and keeping the boys cooled whenever their temperature got too high. I was practically (still am today..my arms are cramping!!!) 'wearing' Khairin all through the day. Man! he was clingy and with the runny nose, he couldn't take naps like he normally does, thus he gets even clingy-er. Nazrin cried over every coughs and whenever his nose started running and when I asked him to take a bath because I needed to try & get his temp down. Owh...that one can sure turn on the waterworks..and he keeps asking for cough syrup BUT wouldn't eat it when I wanted to give it to him. I mean, COME ON!!! He complaints (and cries) every time he coughs then asks for the cough syrup but when I place the spoon near his lips, fully expecting him to open them, he cries so hard till he coughs and coughs and coughs and throw up.

Yeah...that's the story of my life right now.

I couldn't find the time to sit down and work on the article all day yesterday. The client has been very understanding till she couldn't stand it anymore. Hahah. But all in all, she was still very kind for making the payment even when I fully expected her to bail. Fortunately for me, so far, I've never had a client bail out on me without paying for my services. Although I know I should change the way I conduct my services which is ask for payment first before submitting the article/paper/thesis that I've written/proofread/edit. But when clients give me just a few days of completing the task before they have to submit it themselves, how can I ask for money first?

Alhamdulillah, this month alone, I made almost the highest I've gotten so far. I did have to juggle quite a number of clients almost one on top of the other but I managed. The only problem I face constantly these days is juggling between work and household responsibilities. And my boys.

Like last week, I practically had to 'import' Ahmad's step-sister to come over and look after the boys while I focus on finishing 2 articles that needed proofreading. This week I couldn't go get her since we crashed my sister's car and she's still using ours so we're car-less right now. I think I need to set-up some kind of schedule to separate my work and my household responsibilities. I normally just spend whatever minute I can grab between finishing my chores and looking after the boys to complete my projects but after the last 3 days, I think I need to be firm about my timetable. At least, if I can come up with some workable time allotments for my projects, I can request or instruct my future clients that I have a certain time-limits for completing certain projects. Then, I can estimate how long I would need for each project.

Well, I think I'd KIV this for the next time I am in trouble. For now, I need to finish writing a report for a long-term client of mine who happens to be my neighbor's niece. heh.

Sleep tight boys, Ibu's gotta work!    

p/s: I bought something totally out of character 3 weeks ago after I was paid for an article. I bought myself a handsome black chair! Soooo professional looking, let me tell you! Now I can pretend that I'm in an air-conditioned office while I work. heheh...next time I just might buy myself a nice looking office table to fit this chair. hahahahha

Looks identical enough to my chair. Isn't she pretty? Heh. I love the latticed back. 

What if...?

Sometimes I wonder,
"What if I had gone to a different school?" or
"What if I had chosen a different course for my degree after finishing my matriculation?" or
"What if I didn't listen to my mother & insist on doing what I want?"

*sigh*

I'm currently working on writing an article for a client. While surfing the net for info, I couldn't help but think  "Thank you, ALLAH for this gift of writing". At least I do have a marketable skill that I can use to support my family. I wonder if my life would've been different if I had taken an English language-related course instead of pursuing a Chem. Eng. course.

Well, like they say, "Don't cry over spilled milk".

Back to writing......






p/s: writing at this hour does not suit me...I'm feeling sleepy already *yawn*

Productive day indeed.

I was finally able to persuade Ahmad to start his business going again, alhamdulillah.

We went to the market this morning and open up shop there after being away for sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long.

The last time I went along with Ahmad to the market was way back when Nazrin was only 2 years old. He is now 3. It has been THAT long. Anyway, nothing much has changed except for the vendors who were there this morning. I don't know most of them, maybe they are newbies, maybe they have been going there for the past year. But I did recognize a few of the old time vendors who we used to be tight with before we stopped going there. Customers come and go and we did receive visits from quite a number of our 'loyal' customers from back then. Well, suffice to say that we managed to get the ball rolling again with Ahmad saying that we'll be going back there tomorrow morning. YAY!! to the end of Ahmad's bundle drought. 

Since we were already at the market, I took the time to buy half a chicken and the makings of 'Kailan Ikan Bilis'. When we got home around 12, I quickly went to work cleaning the chicken and the kailan. Okay, I was only motivated by the fact that Ahmad's mother and sister were here heh & I wanted to get lunch ready before they head back to Pokok Assam (they rent a house there since Ahmad's brother works in Taiping). Konon menantu yang baik la heheh.

I fried 1/3 of the chicken and made some chicken soup with the other 1/3 and get this, I made the soup using  ingredients already prepared by MY mother! Talk about instant! She knew that I am a lazy cook, that's why she went through all that trouble of preparing these things, heh. She gave me 1 small container of chicken broth/stock and a few packets of spices that she packed herself when she came here last month. I kept the stock in the freezer and was able to use it when I made the soup just now. THANK YOU MAK!!!! Love you lotsss.... <3 nbsp="nbsp" p="p">

As for the kailan, I sauteed some onions, garlic and 3 chilies. Then, I added a handful of anchovies and stirred them till they were a bit crispy. Finally, I added the kailan and some soy sauce. Should have used oyster sauce but I didn't have any. So, today's lunch was prepared by moi and not bought at a restaurant like we usually do. *patting myself on the shoulder* 

I'm so proud of me.

Heheheh...feel free to make silly faces at the screen now....  ~ _______~

p/s: how I wish I can upload pictures...waaaa...

Excuses, excuses...

Remember this post?
I barely managed to finish the project while operating on auto-mode the whole time.
Then, the next day, my neighbour's friend who's a teacher asked me to do something for her.

I botched that project. Couldn't finish the 3 articles she wanted me to do. Well, I did finish the 2 main articles that she wanted but I only completed 3/4 of the 3rd one. :(

It was embarrassing!

I've never submitted incomplete work before. I've been late and I've been way past my datelines but I have NEVER submitted incomplete work before. *sigh*

Not 2 days later, the same friend I mentioned earlier SMSed me asking if I can translate several pages of his original work into Malay. Turns out he wanted 7000 words of English (from his thesis) to be translated into only 3000 words of research paper.

I have to admit, the promise of the payment got me excited about this project but I failed to evaluate my current sleep-deprived condition. Plus, the task at hand was near impossible since the Malay language uses way more words to convey the same idea in English.

But I pushed myself to complete the project because i) it belongs to my ex-schoolmate and ii) I needed the money. I spent 3 more sleepless night* editing and translating his work. The translating part was manageable but the editing part really got me. I mean, can you imagine trying to compress 7000 words worth of research into just 3000?? I really had to go through the whole document several times just to work out the best way to keep the research idea & results intact while keeping the words to the bare minimum.

In the end, I think I had disappointed him. I was late and couldn't satisfy the paper requirements as he had requested. But he made the payment anyway which made me feel a bit shameful with myself for submitting a half-assed work but still took the full payment. He was gracious about the whole thing though which made it a bit better for me.

I have to admit that I spent the next few days catching up with my sleep which can be said to be a lesson in futility. The boys kept interrupting my sleep with their endless demands! Then, Ramadhan arrives and threw my daily schedule to the dumps. After 2 straight weeks of staying up late and waking up late, having to wake up for Sahur at 5 in the morning have turn me into a zombie. 


I'm slowly getting into the rhythm of things. Sorry to have kept this blog silent for so long. 


* I have to wait till the boys are asleep before I can really do my work. Unfortunately, these kids sleep waaayyyyy past 11'ish so I have to stay awake at night to complete my work :(      

Personal best..

2 days ago my ex-schoolmate contacted me, asking about my proofreading services.

He wanted me to edit/proofread his literature review chapter in just 2 days.

2 DAYS!!!!!!

I mean..I barely slept last night, I stayed up all night till 5ish this morning.
I'm awake now just because I had to get Shahrin ready for school and now I couldn't go back to sleep.
I'm so messed up right now..aagghhh..

but

man..to be able to finish editing/proofreading 24 PAGES!! in under 24 HOURS!!! when I usually would take at least a week to do so..

I am so proud of me right now..hahahahaha..

ok..backtracking..

last night i complained about the clutter in this house.
i wish to take them back..the complaints..not the entry.

why?

because this morning, i happened to read a FACEBOOK note* written by Saiful Nang about his wife who has a full time job but still manages to cook and look after her family well.

his note really made me realise that the clutter is not the problem.
my mental state is the problem.

i tend to say i can't before i even try..or give up halfway..or most often, blame it on somebody else.  

ok, so..i have admitted that i have a problem.

now what???

hahahaha..


*the note is in Malay but in summary:

he wrote that
1- his parents demanded that their future in-laws have at least these 2 important criteria; wears hijab and can
    cook
2- his wife has both criteria although he initially thought that knowing how to cook is not very important
3- after his mother died, he realised that what he missed the most about his mother is her cooking
4- he wanted his children to have the same kind of memory of their mother (his wife) so he himself began to
    cook at home
5- his wife who is a PhD holder, picked upon his effort to cook more at home
6- he praised his wife for being able to manage the family well even though she is a very busy career woman

there's more but i'm pressed for time right now, still have to 'manage' my boys and complete a translating project due next week

but all in all, THANK YOU Saiful Nang for the inspirational note. I applaud you and your wife!  

When it rain, it pours!

Literally and figuratively.

Although the weather has been hot all week long after the downpours we had 2 weeks ago.
Well, all in all I would just like to say that I am thankful either way.

My workload is also experiencing a downpour. More of the cats and dogs variety.
Mind you, I'm not complaining..this is very good actually. I'll be swamped for the next 2 weeks with 3 projects; 3 editing and 1 ghostwriting (2 articles for 1 client). I just need to get organized and set my priorities right in order to make the deadlines. Off course my children come first (well, the baby does, his brothers can just entertain themselves hah!) but I think house chores may get pushed to the backburner for the time being. And this blog as well.

*sigh*

Can't complain. Not complaining.

I'm thinking of the money and the rewards I'm getting for myself afterwards.

p/s: I might throw in a post about said rewards sometime tomorrow (or whenever I'm able to). I just need to take pictures of them and upload them here soon. A teaser; one is yellow and the other is stack-able. Any guesses?

Torn...

I'm thinking of taking a break from ghostwriting, editing and proofreading for a bit.

The house is such a mess that I'm not feeling the 'love flow' (<---feng shui talk :D) anymore.

But if I do that this break, I might mess up the flow of good money *sigh* since work is coming in at a steady pace these days. They are just the right amount of work that I can still juggle between being the working mother and the stay at home mother.

*sigh*

The hazard of working at home is that I'm constantly torn between completing my household chores and finishing my current project. I'm not complaining though since I get to raise the boys myself (sometimes I do feel like leaving them with their father for an hour or two just to get away from their constant bickering and demanding my attention) and at the same time bring some money in to help with the bills.

But after doing nothing during my pregnancy, the house really need some TLC. Plus, we've been planning to put Shahrin and Nazrin in a separate room of their own. It's not good for me & Ahmad to have 3 distractions in the same room as us, if you get my drift. If I decline a project or two while we get things under control again around here, we might be able to make this house presentable again.

I'm torn......

To do list.

I've finally, FINALLY finished all the backed-up projects I accumulated during my confinement.
Alhamdulillah for the extra income. But I really need a rest from staring at the computer all day. Well, there is still one more project coming in but that customer still hasn't email in the document yet, so here's my to do list for tomorrow;

1- *Sweep the floor
2- *Mop the floor
3- *Fold the laundry
4- Clean the stove
5- Tidy up the house
6- Write entries I've promised to write but never got around to do..


*Priority!!

The house is falling apart (think of a hoarder's house) since I last tidied up anything during my pregnancy. Don't know how long it's gonna take me to get everything under control again. *sigh*

I suck as a freelance writer because...

I've neglected this blog for almost a week. *ugghhhh*

How can I promote myself as a writer if I can't even find the time to write on my own blog? Hah!
How uncool is that??!!

Anyway, in my own defense, I've been busy going to and fro between my local clinic and Hospital Taiping for my antenatal checkups. Thankfully, after peeing in so many sample cups and got my blood drawn so many times that the inside of my right elbow seriously resembles a junkie, the specialists at the hospital declared that my renal profile is OK, I don't have UTI or other pregnancy related issues i.e. high blood pressure, gestational diabetes. Syukur, alhamdulillah.

As of this week, I've hit the 37th gestation week. Looks like I'm good to go..you know where..heheh. Unfortunately, I still have a TCA with the ANC specialist at the hospital next week. I truly hope that Baby doesn't decide to enter the world anytime soon. Please, Baby? Wait till we're back at Tok and Wan's house, ok? Pretty please???

I have also completed 2 assignments for a client and currently working on 2 more articles. So far, things are moving along, slowly but assuredly. The dateline is 1st of April but since my EDD is the 4th, I plan to finish these articles at least by next week, before we head home to my parents'. Personally, after reading through the half-finished article No.1, I think I need to do more research. I haven't done that much lately since I've been relying more on whatever comes to mind. This trend cannot continue because my piece (so far) sucks and I intend to rectify that. 

With that in mind, I hope you all can forgive me if I don't update as much later, ok? Heh...

Nite..nite world! 

Counting down to Staying-At-Home-Again

So,

today is Tuesday.

Tomorrow would be Wednesday and the day after tomorrow would be?

Thursday! Yes! Pandai anak Ibu..eh..silap heheh

And finally, the day after the day after the day would be FRIDAY....

I think Friday would be my last day as a working mom :'(

At least I'll be getting my pay by then. 

A summary of incidences..

Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted something here.

Work is still at the trial-and-error phase though my office-mate cum partner-in-crime has been really understanding and great at showing me how to do things here. Even though we are almost 10 years different, age-wise, I think she is very much more mature than I am. She delegates wisely, stayed cool when we were swamped with completing tender proposals and always ready to answer my questions regarding our company.

The past weeks has been about learning my way through the intricate network of documents pertaining our company's service-business. I updated the list of outside workers (those working at the site) plus their current contracts and their updated salary. Other than that, I mostly assisted my office-mate with day-to-day workload.

Then, we were hit with tender proposals upon tender proposals. We've completed 10 tender applications (my first experience with completing tenders) just yesterday and our boss had just brought in 10 more tenders. *gasp* Each one as thick as a Webster dictionary, maybe even more. 2 of them are due by the end of the month while the other 8 are due by 15th next month. Each and everyone of them have calculations in them, meaning we're going to be bent over the pages with a calculator by our side.

As per my side-business, I've only got one project this whole month. A friend of a friend asked me to edit 5 pages of her MSc project proposal. Unfortunately for me, on the day I was supposed to e-mail her the completed documents, the internet connection at the office was suspended due to unpaid internet bills. Duuuhhh. So, I had to improvise. I saved the document into my thumb-drive and took it home with me.

Oh, and by the way, my broadband modem is currently MIA. !waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I don't know what happened to it. Ahmad said maybe someone stole it since the day I found out that my b/band modem was missing, he said 2 of his mother's friends came over with their children. Maybe one of the children took it home with them. I myself am thinking that it could be Nazrin who loves to play games on my lappy. So, maybe that day he pulled out the modem and played with it and left it somewhere. I've searched around the house but since Ahmad's bundles are all over the place, I might have missed it. We've reported it to Maxis and the person I spoke to on the phone informed me that my b/band account is currently suspended. During this time, I will not be charge with anything and it will last 3 month. If I ever find my modem back, I'll only have to pay RM20 to reconnect my account. However, I think I need to terminate this account and buy myself a new modem instead. No internet at home is not good for me because.....

In continuance with my previous story regarding my editing project, I had to go to the nearest cybercafe in order to email my customer's document to her. I always hated going to cybercafes. I hate their dark interior, the closeness (no privacy!) of each computers in it and the worst, the noisy gamers playing online games. Not forgetting the smell of ciggies and BO and sweaty teens. Most of the gamers in these cafes are school students wasting their allowance on hours of mindless games. So, getting back to my story, when I tried to send the document through email, Yahoo! flashed me a notice. My email was scanned and deemed harmful to the recipient due to the presence of Trojan virus in my document. SAY WHAT?????!!!!    

I've never had this problem before, so I panicked. I needed to send that document that day and my email was blocked?? So, I scanned my thumb-drive (while all the noise in that CC were making me progressively uncomfortable) and found Trojan infection all over my documents. DANG!!! The only option I had was to delete all the infected files but I can't do that because most of the files I kept in there are not backed-up. Stupid, I know but I never thought something like this could happen. *buhuhu*

The next day, with the internet connection in our office still blocked, I went to see a friend in USM, I went to the MSc room and asked to use her lappy there since they have LAN. The moment I clicked on my thumb-drive's icon, her lappy's scanner flashed red. Then, it completely blocked my thumb-drive. Nothing we did could open the files in it. I was getting really frustrated by this point so I went to see another friend there who is a computer-technician. I asked him to repair my thumb-drive the best that he can and he hasn't call be back yet. I'm still waiting for him to contact me regarding my 'sick' thumb-drive. I had to call my customer and told her the unfortunate events that had befallen me. Luckily, she's a very understanding person and wasn't mad at me for being late.

Thankfully, my boss paid the late internet bill and we now have access again (thus my updating my blog heheh). I think, the virus came from this computer I'm using and it has infected my thumb-drive. I'm saying this because when I attached the documents for my customer and emailed her from here, the email went through with no problems at all. Anyways, I'm just glad that I was finally able to send her the edited proposal and get my payment for it.

Well, I guess that's about it for now.
Have a nice day, folks.

Working vs Staying at home..

Personally, if Ahmad is a working man and we are financially stable, I would prefer staying at home.

I love being with my boys.
I miss playing with them.
I miss watching TV while nursing Nazrin.
I miss Shahrin's incessant talking.
I miss my boys.

BUT

TB's home.

So, what's a girl to do but come to work to avoid any more confrontations?

Plus, end of this month I'll be getting my own, hard-earned MONEY!

Syukur, alhamdulillah...............