I attempted making pizza once or twice before but I've never been satisfied with the outcome. But today a good friend shared a recipe she's happy with and I thought I really should give it a try. Oh I am sure glad I did, 'coz it was so good!

Here's the recipe:

Pizza Crust

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp salt - I used garlic salt instead, for extra taste. 😉
2 tbsp olive oil
3 1/2 cups flour - I used high protein flour, but I noticed that the dough was very sticky. So I added flour little by little into the breadmaker while it was kneading until it was no longer sticky. I think in the end I used almost 5 cups of high protein flour. Will properly measure this next time.

The 'manual' way:

1. Dissolve brown sugar + yeast + warm water in large bowl - leave 10 minutes

2. Once yeast has bubbled, stir in salt and olive oil. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of flour

3. Turn dough out onto clean surface and knead in more flour until dough no longer sticky. Place into well oiled bowl and cover with damp cloth. Leave dough to rise to double its size - est 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and then form into ball. Let it rest for a minute before rolling out and topping it

4. Preheat oven to 220 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes.

My way: dump everything into the breadmaker and wait. 😊

I ended up with a huge dough (5 cups of flour, of course!). So I used only half of the dough and kept the remaining in the freezer for the next pizza craving time. Even with half of the dough, I get to make 2 huge, thin crusted pizzas.

Note: For the sauce, used leftover bolognese sauce.
For the topping, I added thin slices of chicken sausages and chicken meatloaf. And of course lots and lots of mozzarella cheese.

I totally forgot that I've not blogged about this. It's really not a big deal really, but the problem is I have collected so many recipes that by the time I want to do something I have done, I would have forgotten which recipe I have used. So, before I forget again, let me just blog about this.

I made this a couple of weeks ago, I think. This yields quite a lot of buns, so it's good if you have guests coming over.

Bun Coklat
Resepi asal from: http://www.tiffinbiru.com/2008/01/bun-coklat-kak-liza.html


Bahan-Bahannya :-)
500 g tepung berprotein tinggi
30 g tepung susu
20 g serbuk koko
100 g gula halus
11 g dry instant yeast
1 camca teh bread softerner (optional)
1 biji telur, dikacau dengan garfu
1/2 camca teh garam
250 ml air
80 g mentega

100 g Milk coklat untuk hiasan (tiada dalam resipi asal) - I didn't use this, but I used the same recipe for chocolate ganache as I have used for chocolate cake instead:

For the chocolate ganache:

150gm cooking chocolate - I used Beryl's dark chocolate
1 sudu besar susu pekat
1/4 cawan air panas/susu cair - I used fresh milk
1 sudu besar butter


Cara membuatnya :-)
UNTUK DOH :-) Satukan semua bahan dalam mangkuk adunan, kecuali mentega, uli hingga menjadi doh. Tambah mentega dan uli hingga mentega sebati dan doh menjadi kenyal, licin dan anjal. Masa menguli kurang lebih 25 - 30 minit.

KAEDAH LAIN :-) Satukan semua bahan2 dalam bread maker, pilih setting for dough, tekan dan tunggu hingga siap.

UNTUK BUN COKLAT :-) Keluarkan doh, tumbuk untuk membuang udara, uli 5 minit dan bagi2kan doh pada saiz yang diingini, timbang untuk mendapatkan saiz yang sama besar. Bulat2kan dan susun atas loyang yang telah digris dengan mentega. Biar naik sekali ganda (kurang lebih 45 minit).
Bakar dalam oven pada suhu 200C selama 25 minit. Bila roti masak, keluarkan dari oven dan sapu permukaannya dengan mentega. Alih roti atas jaringan dan biarkan sejuk.

Untuk membuat choc ganache: masukkan coklat masakan yg dipotong kecil2, susu pekat dan air panas/susu cair kedalam periuk dan masaklah cara double boiler hingga cair. Padam kan api dan masukkan mentega. Kacau hingga mentega cair. Biarkan seketika sepatah ganache tidak terlalu cair.

I've been wanting to bake cinnamon rolls for so long, but I just didn't have the push to do it. But when a dear friend asked me if I could bake some cinnamon rolls for her, I knew it was a sign that I really should try it. I couldn't bake these for the friend due to time constraint at the time she wanted to order, but I sure hope I could make it up to her one day.

Actually, the last time I ate a cinnamon roll was when I was still in high school! That must have been in 1994 or 1995! There was a fast food outlet in Seremban called The White Castle if I'm not mistaken, and they served really really yummy cinnamon rolls! So, in actual truth I am a little scared of baking this as I'm afraid I'm going to be disappointed since I remember loving the ones I had back in Seremban.

But I woke up this morning and I knew I just had to do it!

Searched the Internet (where else, these days) and found one recipe that seems to be a favourite among bloggers.

I'm sharing the recipe here, with some remarks based on what I did.

Cinnamon Rolls
Resepi asal: http://www.myresipi.com/top/detail/256

Bahan-bahan ( 10 biji ) - I made 12 instead

= Bahan utk Roti =
300g tepung roti
50g butter
1 biji telur
50g gula halus
100ml fresh milk/air (room temp)
8g dry yeast
1 sudu kecil garam
-----------------------------------------------------
= Filling =
2-3 sudu kecil cinnamon powder (ikut suka ) - I don't want the cinnamon to be too strong, so I put just a tea spoon of cinnamon ground instead. It turns out just nice for me.
60g gula perang
20g butter-suhu bilik
-----------------------------------------------------
= Icing =
50g cream cheese - suhu bilik
20g butter - suhu bilik
100g gula aising
secubit garam
beberapa titik vanila esen

I didn't use all of the cream cheese frosting. In fact I used probably only a quarter of it and it was sweet enough for me. So maybe you can make only half of this cream cheese frosting recipe.

Cara-cara

Cara buat roti: I used my breadmaker, so if you do too, just put all the ingredients for the bread into the breadmaker (liquid first, then the dry ingredients). Set the function to dough and wait for one and a half hour. Hehe.

---If you're doing this by hand (oh my respect goes to you!), here's the cara2.

Gaulkan butter dengan tepung sehingga jadi macam serbuk roti
Kemudian masukkan gula dan dry yeast. Kacau dengan sudu sehingga bergaul rata.
Masukkan pula garam, telur dan susu. Uli sehingga tak melekat ditangan atau sehingga licin.
Wrap dengan plastik/ kain lembab. Biarkan naik sehingga 1.5 kali ganda. Bila dah naik, buatkan bentuk bulat sekali lagi dan rehatkan selama 10 minit.

---Once the breadmaker has done its job;

Bahagikan doh kepada 2 bahagian. Ambik 1 bahagian dan canaikan lebih kurang 20x25cm. Letakkan bahan-bahan filling.
Kemudian gulung. Bahagikan pula kepada 4 bahagian kecil( lebih kurang 4 cm panjang). Ulang untuk doh yang sebahagian lagi.

--- What I did was, I divided the dough into 2, and once I put in the filling and roll it, I cut it into 6. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Lapikkan roti dengan muffin cup. Biar naik 1.5 kali ganda lagi. Bakar dengan suhu 180C selama 15 minit.


Sementara itu sediakan aisingnya. Masukkan semua bahan-bahan untuk aising ke dalam mangkuk. Pukul sehingga jadi bentuk krim.
Bila roti dan masak( ketika masih panas), letaklah aising 1-1/2 sudu besar ke atas setiap roti. Jangan letak terlampau banyak aising. Aising yg banyak boleh menghilangkan kesedapan rasa roti.



The verdict: Oh sooo yummy! I took the first bite and I was all yummmmmm-pejam pejam mata! I might try adding raisins the next time since I think The White Castle's cinnamon rolls had raisins in them too.

It seems that all I ever talk about these days is food isn't it?

Well, last week one of our neighbours gave us some bananas her husband had planted along the roadside near our area. Hmm, tak tau la pulak pisang apa, at best I can tell you is that it wasn't pisang emas, hehe.

So I decided to make this cake and share some with them. The cakes ( I made 2) turned out really good, Alhamdulillah.

The recipe is from:

http://ummizaihadi-homesweethome.blogspot.com/2012/01/banana-chocolate-rice-cake.html

BANANA CHOCOLATE RICE CAKE
Resepi & Sumber : Buku Lovely Butter Cakes oleh Amy Wong & KS Lee
Dicuba Rasa & Terjemahan: Ummi @ Home Sweet Home

Bahan A:-
150 gm marjerin ( I used butter)
150 gm gula kastor (I reduced this to about 135g)
3 biji telor
100 gm susu segar
100 gm pisang ranum yang dilecek (I put in about 150g)
Bahan B:-
200 gm tepung berprotein rendah (I used self raising flour))
30 gm chocolate rice
1/4 sudu teh soda bikarbonat
Hiasan:-
2 biji pisang ( dipotong nipis bulat) - didn't put this
1/4 cawan hirisan badam ( I have some almond nibs, so I put those instead)

Cara-Cara:-
Pukul marjerin (mentega) dan gula hingga nampak keputihan.
Masukkan telor satu per satu (*pukul telor hingga bercampur rata, baru dimasukkan yang berikutnya.) Pukul hingga sebati.
Secara berselang seli, masukkan bahan B dan susu, adun rata.
Perlahan-lahan masukkan pula pisang lecek dan gaul sebati dengan spatula.
Tuangkan ke dalam loyang saiz 8x3x3 inci yang telah digris dan dialas
Ratakan adunan dan susun hirisan pisang di atasnya. (Didn't do this, but tabur almond nibs instead)
Bakar dalam oven yang telah dipanaskan terlebih dahulu pada suhu 170C selama 40 minit/hingga masak.

I actually doubled the recipe since I wanted to give one to that neighbour. I love it when the whole house smells of banana. This is definitely something I will bake over and over again.

My youngest brother's birthday is a day after my eldest sister's, so after the lemon cake we had the other day, I thought this cake is the opposite, hence appropriate. I wrote this recipe before, but I'm just going to put it here again for easy reference.

BLACK BEAUTY CHOC. CAKE

Ingredients (A) :
2 cups flour (I used self raising flour)
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons bicarbonate soda
2 teaspoons baking powder

Ingredients (B) :
2 cups castor sugar ( I reduced this to about 1.5 cups)
1 cup evaporated milk (I used fresh milk)
1 cup cooking oil or melted butter
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon chocolate emulco - I didn't have this, so I omitted
3 eggs

Method :
1. Sift together all ingredients in A. Set aside.
2. Mix well all ingredients in B.
3. Pour ingredients B into A and mix well.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Oven temperature and time of baking may differ.

For the chocolate ganache:

150gm cooking chocolate - I used Beryl's dark chocolate
1 sudu besar susu pekat
1/4 cawan air panas/susu cair - I used fresh milk
1 sudu besar butter

Untuk membuat choc ganache: masukkan coklat masakan yg dipotong kecil2, susu pekat dan air panas/susu cair kedalam periuk dan masaklah cara double boiler hingga cair. Padam kan api dan masukkan mentega. Kacau hingga mentega cair. Biarkan seketika supaya ganache tak terlalu cair masa curah atas kek.

My kids really like this cake, Alhamdulillah. What I really love about it, is how simple it really is to bake .

I've been wanting to bake this for a while. I even watched the video on making this on You Tube several times in anticipation of doing it. Finally found the perfect reason to bake it yesterday. Not that I needed a reason to, but it made it extra special.

I used the recipe found on Joyofbaking. Divided the batter into 2, one for my sister and another one for Mariessa's teacher.

Lemon Cake Recipe:

1 cup (230 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
Zest of 1 large lemon (outer yellow skin of lemon)
2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice

Lemon Frosting:

1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
2 - 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


Lemon Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick cooking spray, a 9 inch (23 cm) spring form pan and then line the bottom of the pan with parchment or wax paper.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and pale in color (about 3-4 minutes). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition (batter will look curdled).

Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Add the flour mixture (in three additions) alternately with the lemon juice (in two additions), mixing until you have a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. Bake about 40 - 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Do not over bake or the cake will be dry.) Place on a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes, then gently remove the sides and bottom of the pan.

Lemon Frosting: Place the sifted confectioners sugar in a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice and stir until you have a thick and smooth glaze. Add more lemon juice or powdered sugar, as needed. Pour the frosting over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Let the frosting dry before covering and storing. This cake will keep for several days in an airtight container.

Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cake.

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/LemonFrostedLemonCake.html#ixzz2K6QLC5KV

I love the tangy lemon flavour in this cake. The glaze is a little too sweet for me though. I think it's already perfect on its own.

To avoid the part that I hate the most in cooking i.e. thinking of what to cook, I plan the menu on a weekly basis. Okay I actually drag everyone to the small white board I have in the kitchen and ask them what they would like to eat next week. This is done either on Friday night or very early on Saturday morning before we go to the pasar tani.

Panjangnya mukaddimah cerita cekodok.

Aaanyway, last week Shahril put in cekodok (pisang) as today's breakfast. (When we were small, my brother called this cucur hitam for obvious reason. So yesterday, we went looking for bananas, and Shahril bought a huge bunch of it.

The nice guy that he is, he even mashed the bananas and keep it in the fridge before we went to bed. You can tell he's excited for cekodok now, can't you?

So we had cekodok for breakfast. Afiq originally wanted to bring a small box of Frosties as his 'bekal' to school today, but changed his mind when he saw I was making cekodok. Even Mariessa wanted to bring some to school.

After school, Afiq told me that the cekodok was really good. Mariessa said, " Memang sedap kan, bang. Kawan- kawan Kakak berebut tadiiii, nak makan cekodok yang Kakak bawak!" Then Afiq said, "Terror la Mama buat cekodok, sedap betul "

It's just cekodok, really. But today, cekodok really made my day.

4th October was my last day at work. So I've been a SAHM (that's stay-at-home-mom for those who are wondering) for a little over 3 months now.

I didn't think I could survive the 51-day school holidays, with all 4 kids at home. After all, I am someone who needs her 'me' time more often that anyone I know. But Alhamdulillah, I survived. So did the kids. 😉 Some days are better than the rest, some days are worse.

Come December, I was looking forward to January like never never before!

Don't get me wrong, I love my kids to bits and pieces, but they can drive me up the wall... And I say this in the most loving tone I know how. 😝

Now that the kids are in school, life is just as hectic... But I do get more quite time for myself, Alhamdulillah. This of course depends very much on Muiz's mood in the morning, but he's quite an easy boy so far, Alhamdulillah.

I try as much as I can to wake up very early in the morning, ideally at 4.30.., but so far the earliest I could drag myself out of the bed is at 5. If I could settle everything before 6, that guarantees lazy time between 8.30 to 11.30 a.m. when Afiq, Mariessa and Adreena are at school. By everything I mean breakfast and lunch meals ready, house is clean (definition of clean varies, depends on my mood) and also laundry (most of the time Shahril gets this settled, Alhamdulillah).

I then send Afiq to school, which is something I love doing because this is the time when I can concentrate solely on Afiq. A lot can be talked about in 15 minutes (the school is only 3 kms away, but traffic can be really bad), and I feel that this is my opportunity to get him in the mood for school.

Shahril sends the girls to kindy on his way to work, so I'm basically free until it's time to go and fetch the girls.

When it's time, fetch the girls. Come home. Then out again to fetch Afiq, then home again. Shahril sends Afiq to KAFA after lunch, but if Shahril's extra busy or have meetings elsewhere, I'll send Afiq instead, dragging everyone along with me of course!

3 hours later, we go out again and fetch Afiq.

I'm starting to get tired just writing all these down. 😅

I am lucky Muiz is accepting his carseat very well. On days he doesn't feel like being strapped into his carseat and cries all the way to and fro, I am lucky that after 3 kids before Muiz, I am immuned to kids crying in the car. Haha.

So that's how a day roughly looks like for me. That is of course the 'good' part of it. The not-so-good part involves washing dishes almost non-stop, sweeping the floor countless times, mopping, picking up toys, picking up bowls and spoons which were turned into toys, you get the drift.

Life as a SAHM (with 4 kids), now that I have 3 months experience of it, I can say that it is very, very, VERY tiring.

But to be able to watch my children grow in front of my very eyes... THAT is priceless!

Suddenly in the mood to bake.

Found the recipe at

http://www.secubitgaramnor67.com/2009/07/bun-pandan-berkaya-2.html?m=1


BUN PANDAN BERKAYA

bahan2:
350 g tepung roti (high protein flour)
200 ml air sejuk (dari peti sejuk)
50 g gula halus
1/2 camca teh garam halus
3 camca teh instant yeast
1 camca teh bread improver
20 g serbuk santan
1 camca besar susu tepung
1 biji telur kecil ( guna telur biasa, kacau sedikit dan timbang 40g)
30 g mentega
1 camca teh pandan paste

bahan hias :
Kelapa kering secukupnya (I left this out)
Seri kaya secukupnya

CARA MEMBUATNYA :-)
UNTUK DOH :Masukkan semua bahan2 diatas kecuali bahan hias ke dalam Bread Maker dan pilih setting untuk doh, tekan "on" dan tunggu hingga siap...
Tumbuk dok untuk membuang udara. Bahagikan kan doh kepada 16 bahagian yang sama besar, bulat2kan doh dan susun. Tutup dengan kitchen towel bersih dan biar naik selama 45 minit - 1 jam.
Spray sedikit air atas permukaan roti, tabur kelapa kering dan paipkan serikaya (masukkan seri kaya dalam plastik bersih, dan gunting sedikit muncungnya) atas roti tadi...ikut lah style memasing yeaa...
Bakar dalam oven yang telah dipanaskan pada suhu 180C selama 20 - 25 minit...Bila masak, keluar dari tin dan sejukkan sepenuhnya atas jaringan....Lepas tu boleh lah makan.

The dough comes out really soft, I wondered if I measured the ingredients wrongly. It was tough trying to work with it, but the end result came out really soft and fluffy. A keeper, this.

I took it out of the oven 5 minutes before Afiq had to go for his KAFA. He brought 2 to school, Alhamdulillah.

This is the first picture taken with my new toy. :) Just thought I should jot that down. :)

I seem to have lost the mojo to write, which is sad because I feel like I have so many things to write about now that I'm watching my children grow in front of my eyes.

Hopefully I am able to write more from now on, InsyaAllah

How time flies...

Alhamdulillah it has been almost a month (29 days to be exact) since I started my new 'job'.

I can tell you this much: It's the most tiring job! I expected it to be tiring, but still it's so much more tiring than I thought!

It is also the most rewarding job ever! Alhamdulillah.

(I'd love to write more, but now that Adreena and Muiz are sleeping, I'd better go and get lunch ready.)


Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device via Vodafone-Celcom Mobile.

So we said goodbye to Bibik on Friday. I am grateful to report that there was no drama swasta  at the airport that night. Alhamdulillah

 

I think a huge part of the ‘success’ was because we decided to tell the kids about our plan just before we left home for the airport. Afiq was not so happy about going to nursery, Mariessa was eager, Adreena, well she doesn’t understand anything yet. So Shahril told them that they only have to go to the nursery for 5 days.

 

Mata terbeliak… “5 days je?”

“Lepas tuuuu?”

“Lepas tu duduk kat rumah la, macam biasa”

“Sapaaa nak jaga kitoranggg"?”

“Mamaaaaaa”

“Mama cuti?”

“Takkkk… Mama dah berhenti kerja”

“Hahhhh?? Berhennnntiiiii?” Terbeliak some more.

“Sampai bila bila?”

“Iye, sampai bila bila la, InsyaAllah”

“Yeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy”

.

.

.

.

A few seconds later

.

.

“Alamakkkkkkk… maksudnya siang dengan malam lah kena mengaji dengan Mama??” <- guess who said this.

 

Muahaha

------------------

Spent the Saturday in Bangi.

 

Excited…

Baruuuu je masuk lift,

Edrick: Errr..Aunty Reennn.. I forgot my goggles, I cannot swim without my goggles.

 

Naikkkkkkkkk atas balik. :)

 

Berlima… riuh sekampung.

By the way, that’s as far as Adreena would go. Baru masuk sikittt je..”Mamaaaaa, basahhhhhhhhhhhh!” Hish.

 

See? Still there.

 

--------------------

Sent the kids to the nursery this morning. We were not sure what was the best way to go about it – Shahril & I send the kids together ke, I send the barang2 dulu and then Shahril sends kids ke… Sebab we know if I was there, mesti lah ada drama sikit (not me, kids lah of course). Problem solved when tiba tiba, enjin Savvy tak boleh start. I find it amazing in ways Allah answers us.

 

So berangkut la semuanya (except Afiq who has left for school) ke nursery. Sampai nursery - Muiz tak faham apa2 lagi. Buat muka heran je. Adreena who was excited dari pagi about going to nursery, sampai pagar je, dah stop. Tak nak jalan. Pujuk2.. masuk la jugak ke dalam. Kat pintu rumah, stop lagi. Last2, we kissed her goodbye and terus masuk kereta. Meraung la itu budak. “Mama! Mama! Taknak! Taknak!”.. Kannnn dah kata, mesti ada drama kalau Mama ada.

 

I got in the car, terus nangis! <- Ini yang sebenar2nya drama. Hehe.

 

Mariessa saw me crying and said “Takpe lah Mama.. Nanti Kakak balik sekolah, Kakak tengokkan Deena dengan Muiz”

 

I, of course lah cried harder. Drama, kan?

 

Had breakfast with Shahril and Mariessa kat kedai after that. Senyappp je masing2. Then Shahril said, “we’re doing the right thing”.

Me: which right thing?

Shahril: Ainil resign tu.

Me: Kalau Ainil belum resign, hari ni jugak hantar surat rasanya. :)

 

It’s going to be 5 chaotic days. But thinking of the days to come after that 5 days, I know it’s sooo going to be worth it.

 

Cepat la pukul 6. I just want to go home.

Today,

- is my last Friday at the office. I have to work until Thursday next week. After that I’ll be putting on a totally different hat. One I’ve been dreaming of, waiting for, praying for, but at the same time one that makes me excitedly nervous.

- 2 of Shahril’s uncles are going for Hajj. Bila dengar Talbiyah, hati rasa bergetar, air mata terus mengalir. Semoga Allah menjemput kita menjadi tetamuNya dalam masa yang terdekat ni, InsyaAllah. Perkenankan lah doa doa kami, Ya Allah. Hanya Engkau lah yang mengetahui isi hati kami.

- Bibik’s going home for good. Kids have been told about this since last week as to prepare them. They are also told that they’ll be going to nursery starting next week. What they don’t know yet is, they will only go to the nursery for a week. We’re keeping it a secret still, until I don’t know, maybe tonight?

- Going for lunch with the girls at the office. I’m touched and honoured. Rasa perasan glamour sikit pun ada that some friends have asked to ‘book’ me for lunch next week. Thank you girls and guys! :)

 

I’m having mixed feelings. Ada rasa sedih, ada rasa happy, ada risau. Sending the kids to nursery makes me worry. Afiq & Mariessa can InsyaAllah cope. I’m not too sure about Adreena though. Muiz lagi lah. Itu lah yang paling merisaukan. Deep down I know (I hope), they’ll be fine. But i’m a mother. Worrying about my kids is what I do.

5 months old now. How time flies.

My thoughts are jumbled up at the moment. Apart from finishing whatever work I still have, I can’t stop thinking about the million things I want to do at home. Have to start planning. Have to start making schedules and lists for me and for the kids;

 

1. Daily activities with Adreena & Muiz while Afiq & Mariessa are at school.

2. Activities with Afiq & Mariessa when they’re home.

3. What to cook for breakfast, lunch and dinner. At least for the next 2 weeks or so. So we can shop accordingly. (I have to get that 1 hari 1 resepi cookbook).

4. Those new recipes I’d like to try but never had the time to.

5. My own schedule. – What time to wake up, how often do I iron (excited to try our new vertical clothes steamer – I take it as a ‘resignation’ gift from Shahril), how often do I mop (this, i dread. I don’t like doing it. Can anyone suggest a really, really good mop? Saw one at Cosway, quite fancy, not too sure how good though). Also to “include'” Shahril in the chores. Sidai baju has always been his favourite task, so let’s leave that to him among other things, of course. :)

6. Where to go on weekends. Hehe. I’ll be home 5 days a week now kan, so I have to go out to widen my horizons on weekends lah, ye tak?

And the list goes on and on. Do wish me luck, guys.

 

I hope I can be istiqamah and be the kind of wife and mother I’ve always wanted to be. InsyaAllah.

A friend wrote this on  her FB wall, taken from another FB wall. I like it a lot, so I thought I’d share it here.

 

1. Make peace with your past, so it doesn’t spoil your future.

2. What others think of you is none of your business.

3. Time heals almost everything. Give the time, some time.

4. No one is the reason for your happiness, except for yourself.

5. Don’t compare your life with others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

6. Stop thinking too much, it is alright not to know all the answers.

7. Smile – you don’t own all the problems in the world.

 

I googled and found a lot of other variations too. Among the ones that I like:

 

1. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

2. Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.

3. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

4. If you know GOD, you will always be happy. So, be happy.

5. Don't take yourself so seriously; no one else does

6. Forgive. Don’t ruin your present happiness

7. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

9. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: In five years, will this matter?

10. Forgive everyone for everything. Don't hold grudges against anyone. It only hurts you.

11. Remember GOD heals everything. Prayer can change things when nothing else will

12. The best is yet to come. You will reap what you sow.

Baked this Marble Cheese Brownies last weekend. Got it from a friend. Apparently the recipe is all over the internet too. :).

 

MARBLE CHEESE BROWNIES – I’m copying it from K.Nor@SecubitGaram

sumber: Rinnchan
sumber : K.Nor@SecubitGaram
Bahan-bahan Brownies :
250g butter
1 cwn serbuk koko
3 biji telur gred B
1 1/2 cwn gula castor
1/2 cwn susu cair
1 1/2 cwn tepung gandum *Ayak dgn BP & SB
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda bikarbonate
1 tsp esen vanilla

Cara-cara:
1. Cairkan butter. Masukkan serbuk koko dan kacau rata.
2. Handwhisk gula dan telur. Masukkan ke dalam adunan butter+koko. Kacau sebati.
3. Masukkan susu cair dan kacau sebati.
4. Masukkan tepung+BP+SB sedikit demi sedikit sambil dikacau hingga sebati. Akhir sekali, masukkan esen vanilla dan kacau rata.
5. Panaskan oven pada suhu 175 darj cel. Alas loyang 10" x 10" dgn grease proof paper. Biar kertas berjuntai pada dua belah yang bertentangan supaya mudah mengeluarkan brownies.
6. Tuang adunan brownies ke dalam loyang dan ratakan. Tinggalkan sedikit untuk membuat marble di atas lapisan cheese nanti.
7. Bakar selama 20min menggunakan api atas dan bawah.

Bahan-bahan lapisan cheese:
250g cream cheese
1 cwn gula castor
1 biji telur gred B

Cara-cara:
1. Pukul cream cheese hingga gebu.
2. Masukkan gula dan pukul lagi hingga sebati.
3. Masukkan telur dan pukul lagi hingga sebati.
*Selepas 20min keluarkan brownies dari oven. Tuangkan adunan cheese dan ratakan. Paipkan baki adunan brownies ke atas lapisan cheese dan lorekkan corak ikut citarasa. Masukkan semula ke dlm oven dan bakar lagi selama 15min atau sehingga cheese masak. Biarkan sejuk sebelum dipotong.

 

*Best to chill it first before cutting.

 

 

The only picture I have.

It’d be better in a square tin but since I don’t have one, bulat pun bulat lah.:)

 

Afiq gave me two thumbs up, so I know this recipe is a keeper!

That’s the title of the email I received today from BabyCenter on Adreena’s progress. I find it really amazing that most of the time they can be spot on like that!

 

What strikes me the most is the fact that Adreena is still a 2-year-old. I hardly think of her as a 2-year-old to be honest. She’ll be 3 at the end of November but I’ve thought of her as a 3-year-old since early of the year and I now realize that it’s really unfair of me.

 

The rest of the email: from here

 

As you've noticed, 2-year-olds are striving for independence. They tend to ignore their parents' no's because they're determined to assert their own will. (Aih, this is soooo true!) Their motor and language skills are booming (that explains her talking non-stop. :P), too, which makes them perfectly capable of both running away from you and loudly proclaiming that they're unhappy with (or simply unwilling to abide by) your request. As frustrating as this may be (very, very frustrating sometimes), take heart in the fact that your child is practicing her new skills on the person she trusts most — namely you (Yay!). What's more, she's still a long way from being able to control herself. So when you tell your child to stop playing with the telephone cord, she may be able to think of nothing but the cord and find it nearly impossible to put down.

When you find yourself in a moment like this — and you will — be patient (Easier said than done..:p). Distract your child from trouble whenever possible, and provide a stimulating, childproofed environment that gives you plenty of opportunities to say yes. Then choose your battles carefully and focus on the transgressions that are truly worthy of reprimand — such as running into the street or pinching her baby brother. When you do say no, make sure you mean it.

Since early last week Shahril has informed me that we were going to his friend's open house on Sunday. It was his friend's first time hosting since he just got married sometime last year, so naturally we were excited to go eventhough this means going all the way to Klang.

Shahril tried to call his friend before we went out to get his advice on direction but he didn't pick up. So, armed with a map which he had given in an email and also with a kadang-boleh-on-kadang-tak-boleh-on GPS navigator, we set out for Klang.

Took the SILK highway, on to SKVE, down to NKVE and then reached the Shapadu's Bukit Raja toll.

Just as we were 7 kilometres (according to the GPS navigator which could be switched on that day) away from the friend's house, he called back.

Turns out his open house is NEXT Sunday!

Obviously Shahril's getting a little too old. :p

But then I realized it's ME who's getting old (although I'm always 3 years younger than Shahril, let's not forget that) because when Shahril turned to me and told me that the open house is NEXT week and that we have travelled FORTY kilometres just to turn back, I did not get upset! In fact I was not even annoyed! (I'm a 'panas' person, for those who don't know me.. And I usually get annoyed very, very easily. So, this not getting mad is new).

We both just laughed, took the next turn and stopped by at the nearest fast food outlet we could find.

The hikmah is, the kids got to have their lunch at KFC all the way in Shah Alam. :)
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I recently made a huge decision. A decision which will definitely change my life when it takes effect. It wasn't an easy decision to come to, I've been thinking about it for so long, looked at it from all angles imaginable, playing with it in my mind in so many scenarios. It is a very logical decision to make but logics don't always make things easy.

I always believe that things don't just happen. Things happen for reasons that are sometimes too big for us to understand. Sometimes I think things happen as signs that lead us to bigger things. They don't always make sense when they happen but at one point when we look back and think about it, it always does. .

I have come to a point where I think I've seen and felt too many signs. I've been praying about it for so long that I've become accustomed to just praying about it. It took some time for me to digest the signs, but I am relieved that I have finally understood them.

Still, it wasn't easy. I am lucky to have full support from Shahril. He thinks it's time we take ourselves out of our comfort zone. "How can we expect different results if we keep doing the same things?" - that's what they always say at work and I think it applies here too.

My intention is clear and if our deeds are judged by our intentions, I hope I'll always remember why I'm doing this. Doing something "lillahi ta'ala" (semata2 kerana Allah) sounds so simple and yet I think it's extremely hard to achieve. I'm taking baby steps and I pray that my next chapter in life will be blessed.

Note to self: Someone at work recently said, " If you're climbing a ladder, first make sure that the ladder is against the right wall". I am climbing no ladder, but I am sure InsyaAllah, I have the right walls around me.

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