September Babies September 29, 2009

September is almost coming to an end. The month in which both Hubby and me celebrate our birthdays. This year my birthday was a day after we arrived in Doha from KL, it fell in Ramadhan just like last year. I had an early celebration with my family in Klang the night we left. My mum cooked nasi briyani and its lauk pauk for iftar, my elder sis cooked lasagna and my younger sis brought a birthday cake. It was a cozy family affair though followed by kesedihan of our leaving back to Doha. I even got  prezzies from all of them. On my ‘real’ birthday, we took the kids out for dinner as they were so looking forward to it (again).

10 days after my birthday it was Hubby’s turn. My plan was to invite a couple of close friends out for dinner but birthday boy had other plans in mind. So his birthday was finally spent by the beach though we couldn’t even see the beach as it was in the night! We actually went crabbing and since we left the house after maghrib, we couldn’t see nothing as the ladies and kids only lepak at the campsite. We had BBQ while waiting for the men to bring back the hasil tangkapan. I brought a birthday cake from Opera though initial plan was to get an ice cream cake, camna lah nak tahan since the crabbing place itself pun dah 45 mins from home. The guys managed to get some good catch, ada lah at least 80 ekor or more ketam. As usual we BBQ the fresh crabs on the spot and took the rest home.

As with birthdays generally, kids lah yang paling seronok sekali. Just a day before that we attended our good friend’s son’s birthday party. Other September babes include my cousin TL and a couple of other good friends – Voguemom, my famous producer cum scriptwriter buddy, my other glam politician fren, my ex college roomie, ramai lagi lah, you know who you are. Here’s to all of us – semoga dipanjangkan umur, dimurahkan rezeki and all our wishes come true!

Satu Hari Di Hari Raya September 26, 2009

Our third consecutive year berhari raya di perantauan, the second one in Qatar. Sad to say, not much excitement. As hari raya comes earlier in the year, more and more people extend their summer holidays back home. Unlike last year which I think was very meriah, this year it was pretty quiet all around. Amongst our close friends, only a bunch of us stayed in Doha while the rest joli sakan kat kampung.

We started the celebration on the eve of Eid with takbir raya organized by Colosseum Compound cawangan Malaysia. About ten families turned up and fortunately the suasana taklah sayu sangat. Teringat kembali takbir raya while we were in Oman. On the morning of Eid, we went for solat raya at Embassy. Ramai muka2 baru tahun ni, and the place was jam packed as usual. The typical Embassy organized function, very ala kadar, again unlike last year whereby the food was plentiful and every raya dish you could think of semua ada. Maybe coz Dato’ not in town this year. But hey, no complaints (or rather, tak larat nak complain dahh…).

After Embassy, we invited our close friends and neighbours to our place. I stayed up till 2.30 am the nite before cooking rendang daging, kuah kacang and soto. No ‘real’ open house lah this year, this preggy mummy can’t afford to cook and entertain no more. So alang2 masak for ourselves, just increase the portion a lil bit and invite friends over terus. Meriah jugak akhirnya.. In the evening, we went for one more open house and called it a day.

The next few days, we went for more raya invites, taklah banyak, tapi ada lah at least one each day. A relaxing week it was for all of us. Makan tidur makan tidur. Now, one day before school and work starts, we just got to know that the Ministry of Education had announced an extended school holiday for another week. Aahh how I wish that applies to work too! Dream on…

 

The trip back home September 18, 2009

It’s been a while since my last entry (apart from the kad raya below). I’ve been away on a fabulous 4 weeks holiday in Malaysia tanah tumpahnya darahku. After more than 18 months in Doha, it was definitely a much awaited vacation. The saddest part of course, is not  being able to celebrate Aidilfitri with loved ones back home. Our original raya plane tickets had to be brought forward a month due to foreseen difficulties of yours truly going on a flight beyond 28 weeks pf pregnancy. Of course other friends have done it at even 33 weeks pregnancy, but at this maternal age, I’m not one who would take that risk. As it is, pregnancy at late 30’s is far different from the 20’s. I get tired all the time, not mentioning the backaches and sleepless nites.

Anyway, our agenda of makan, makan and makan was somewhat restricted during Ramadhan. We chose to stay at my parents’ house thru out the 4 weeks since our abandoned house was not exactly in living condition with leaking pipes and everything. Administrative matters were also a priority, from banking to car selling to property hunting. These are the things which we can never totally rely on family or friends to handle while we are away. Not that it’s a trust issue, but the urgency and priority are sometimes simply not there. Apart from the admin stuff, shopping was also very ala kadar this time around. I wasn’t in the usual mood to shop for personal things as they seem less important during pregnancy, so it was more of the kids and hubby that shopped mainly. I didn’t manage to meet many old friends either, well actually, not many of them knew I was in town. Malas nak announce. So it was mainly centred around immediate family, cousins and very close friends. Quality time indeed. 

It was great to just sit back and enjoy the lush green landscapes of Malaysia especially the rain! Although Ikhwan wanted to ‘go home’ after two days there, the kids ended up having a great time exploring new things which they had totally forgotten. Myisha loved the nature – from chasing the grasshoppers, discovering garden snails and helping her granny water the plants. My Blackberry being barred after two weeks there was a blessing in disguise as the next two weeks were spent leisurely. It was sheer pleasure to not have to think about work and checking e-mails all the time.

Back in Doha, kids have immediately started the new academic year after missing about 10 days of school. Ikhwan goes to Year 1, Myisha Year 2 and Dina Year 6. And poor Mummy has to get back to work. Thank God it’s only a week of work before another 9-day Eid break. What a relief! Weather in Doha is still hot and somewhat humid this time of the year but somehow we don’t sweat like we did in Malaysia. I am so looking forward to the winter months. After one whole month of eating Mum’s home cooked food, I now have to hit the kitchen again. Argghh, reality bites! No more nasi kandar, kue teow goreng kerang, paru goreng berlada and traditional kuih muih to point my finger to. .

Salam Aidilfitri Dari Perantauan September 17, 2009