Second Trimester

Salam semua.. sorry lama tak tulis pape since dpt tau pregnant. First trimester was so so so bad. I couldn't even find time to sit, usually tido je la. With the hormones yg tak menentu, mmg la sgt2 terseksa.

I think I found out that I'm pregnant in February, after the trip back from Independence. At Independence, I got really really sick and nauseous. Tak sangka pulak la pregnant since I was having bleeding throughout the month. Rupa2 nya bleeding is a sign of early pregnancy. Terkejut beruks bila dapat tau hehe. Si gem and amin tak dapat tido bape hari sbb terpikir je hehehe..Amin nak baby tu gem *hint*hint*

Anyway I'm in my second trimester now, 17th wk i think..aiyo tu pun tak ingat. This weekend I'll be going to Portland to get some baby stuff and maybe some maternity clothes for me. Kalau dulu rasa best je nak pegi Portland, bila dah pregnant ni mcm malas je nak bergerak. I'd rather sit at home and sleep ke...penat sgt rasa. Dah la keje 10 hrs a day...aduuhhhhh

OK la saya sudah mau tido. Now keje masuk kul 6 AM- 5 PM...agak gilos la. Pukul 5 dah kena bangun. The best thing is Fiday tak payah keje yahoooo...zuhri still kena keje but next week dia start cuti Friday jugak. Hehehe boleh la angkut dia gi shopping...these few weeks mmg la asyik shopping je. We bought a car *grrrr I hate it*, 46" LCD TV, TV stand, ni nak beli couch pulak. Zuhri ckp it's the 'nesting syndrome' and very common among org pregnant. We act like a bird or anything la yg buat nest for baby..hehhee...but for my case...more like buat nest for myself sbb beli brg2 for diri sendri. Bad mommy.

1. Baby at 9th wk. Looks like a hamster.

2. Baby at 12th wk.. you can see the head, backbone etc.

New Used Loveseat

Just bought this used loveseat for $60. Lawa tak lawa tak? Sesuai utk berdua-duaan :D

Babysitting

Amin's coworker, Andrew, needed someone to look after his twins last Friday. They had a day off from school due to the Presidents' Day holiday on Monday. So Amin asked me if I wanted to take care of them. Well, I wasn't so sure of myself, and I kept telling Amin I don't know... I don't know.. I don't know.. until I met the family on Thursday night.

They were Nikki and Claudia, both 7 1/2 years old. Very cute and funny, and very talkative. I felt sorry for them because their mom weren't living with them anymore (Andrew divorced his wife). And I could tell that they missed their mom so much. They always said something about their mom like.. 'Remember mom always...' / 'Mom won't let us ...' I felt sad when I heard that.. and I just decided to babysit them the next day.

One of the twins, Claudia.

I can tell you guys, it wasn't as easy as I expected. I thought that since they go to school already, they might somehow behave better than a toddler/ baby boy. Haha I was sooo wrong! The first few hours were the hardest, because I didn't know what they liked to play, what they liked to eat and what they wanted to do.

First, I let them watch Disney channel on TV, but after an hour they got bored already. For some reasons, Mickey Mouse, or Chipmunks cartoons didn't appeal them anymore (maybe those were for smaller kids). Then I let them play games on Xbox. That also, they tried a few games for like 30 mins, and then they said they didn't want to play anymore. Maybe because they got an Xbox too at their home, and they got more games than mine.. hmm whatever. Then, after they ate lunch and complained that they were bored again, I couldn't stand it anymore. I told them to put on their winter jackets and lets get out.

The only place that I could think of at that time was the fancy playground nearby. It is a big playground with a few giant animals that kids can ride/ get inside them; and lotsa playground equipments. Nikki and Claudia were so excited, and when we got there, they ran here and there, screamed and laughed. And I was so relieved.. finally I found something that they couldn't complain about ahahaha! Good thing they got to play together with a few other kids at the playground. They were happy.. and I were happy too :)

We went back after an hour and a half at the playground. By that time, they were so hungry. So when we got home, they asked for some food, and they just ate quietly in front of the TV. At 5.30pm, Amin came home, and Andrew took his twins home.

It was a new experience to me seriously. I can't imagine how parents can be so so patience, dealing with their kids every single day, listening to their complains etc etc :-|

Amin's 24th Birthday

My friend Zurin invited us to dinner at her house yesterday. And since it was Amin's birthday, I volunteered to help her with the cooking. We just planned to make the usual Malaysian dishes, nasi with some lauk: ayam masak kicap, gulai ikan, ikan goreng and sayur kacang panjang goreng.

I forgot to take close-up pictures of the food. Duhh tak bley nak jeleskan korang ;)



From left, another guest Intan with her sons, Afzal and Akmal; and Zurin. They all loved gulai ikan I cooked , sume org tambah dua tiga pinggan :)


Sara, Zurin's only daughter. She wore her cheongsam for CNY weekends.

I also secretly bought a birthday cake for Amin hehe. This year I only bought a small cake for him, considering that we would have a big meal that night. I actually thought that it might be a little bit awkward to celebrate the birthday at someone's house. And we only knew each other three/ four months ago. But it turned out to be a great gathering alhamdulillah. Everyone really enjoyed the food and each other's company. When we got home, Amin told me that he loved the celebration. So not a bad idea huh :D


Amin and I with the birthday cake. Again forgot to take a close-up picture of the cake because Amin was so excited to cut it hehehe

Escargot aka snail

I did some research on my own after Janet told me that she ate snails (???) sorry to say, but it was quite disgusting hohoho

Here's a picture of a French resepi calls escargot de Bourgogne which uses snails as the main ingredient.

[This picture is taken from biggestmenu.com]

And these snails are from...

[This picture is taken from fauneflore06.site.voila.fr]

[This picture is taken from wikipedia.com]

And Amin told me that most French dishes uses wine/ red wine in it. So even if there are no snails, we still can't eat because of the alcohol.

Wichita, Kansas

I'm writing from Wichita, Kansas. Today is my last day here. I've been spending the week at Independence and had a very exiting experience.. and the week is over.
It's always fun when you work + travel + get paid for the week & food, thou it's a little tiring. I wish that zuhri were here with me. It feels really weird staying at a hotel alone.
Today at dinner, I had escargot for the first time. It's siput babi !! I wasn't sure if it can be eaten, but after doing some thinking..hey we eat siput sedut in Malaysia, so what the heck. So I gave it a try *eurghhh*. It sure looked weird and yikey, but the taste is like a mushroom, not so bad la. But, I keep thinking about siput babi...so rasa mual2 sampai la dah nak tido ni.
I was on the phone with Gem..she told me that we cannot eat siput babi. Err?? is that really true? I vaguely remember.. tapi nak buat mcm mana..dah termakan. Kira halal la eh....I'll post some pics.

Business Trip to Kansas

I'm going to Wichita on a business trip tomorrow. I'll be gone Monday- Friday. I will leave at 9:30 AM local time with Cessna Citation Encore..hehe. I will keep updating this blog while I'm in Independence, Kansas.
Gem wants to drive 3 hours to Independence to visit me. I don't know if it's a wise idea. I've never seen her driving, I heard that she's a lousy one. hehehe gem gem...kidding!
Meng & Enol...sale aritu yg aku ckp tu tipu ler. tension betul. Barang yg diaorg jual was barang knock off/ fake. So aku tak beli pape pun. So tade la camera korang tu.

Zuhri will be spending the week all by himself. He's trying to act sedih, but hari ni for superbowl, he left me alone, watching superbowl with his friends. I'm pissed.

Here's a song for all of you:

All my bags are packed
Im ready to go
Im standin here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin
Its early morn
The jet waitin
Hes blowin his horn
Already Im so lonesome
I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that youll wait for me
Hold me like youll never let me go
cause Im leavin on a jet plane
Dont know when Ill be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

Theres so many times Ive let you down
So many times Ive played around
I tell you now, they dont mean a thing
Every place I go, Ill think of you
Every song I sing, Ill sing for you

The Cessna Citation Encore