BBQ

Fun & memorable - two words describing our recent gathering.


Firdaus, Kaled and Ani came back for the weekend in conjunction with Yasmin's 22nd BBQ birthday celebrations. I obliged Min's request who insisted to have a small private party to be with only those closest to her heart.

Her boyfriend, Faris, graduated last week. Congrats Faris! This calls for a double celebration! I ordered Baskin Robbin's ice-cream cake for both to share.

BBQ started early... selepas asar. Alhamdulillah, though weather was not sunny... it was not raining either.. so, it was rather cooling. Perfect !!


I recently bought Amway's portable grill and this was the first time we're trying it. Kali ni kita ada portable grill, portable oven and the usual charcoal grill. Haa... siapa nak yang macamana... help yourselves !

lamb and salmon

Left: Hairi, 'orang kuat' yang wajib hadir for all our BBQs;
Background: one itik angsa stretching her neck to be included in the photo;
Centre: Ani grilling the marinated salmons... nyuummy! ;
Right: "Hello Tina (girlfriend), ada kat mana? Awat tak mai lagi?", Farid.

Kartina

this group 'charcoal grilling' the marinated chicken, sausages and potatoes

Kaled

my parents

Left: Kartina, Kaled, Farid, Faris (standing behind), Hairi

Faris, Yasmin & Nabila

Yasmin & Firdaus

My sister yang sudah kekenyangan; Tina... menung apa tu, dear?

happy faces

Happy Birthday

She's 22 today.

Siapa?

... my day brightener and my heart warmer,

... the treasure and cause of sleeplessness to her daddy,

... the victim of her elder brother's teasings,

... the fierce protector of her younger brother,

... the darling of her Maksu,

... last, but not least, the sweetheart of her boyfriend.






Eh!.. sorry! sorry! silap photo. Takkan ni umur 22 pulak kot, kan?






hehehe... cakk!!


HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY, YASMIN my luv...


Ba & Mama's one and only daughter,
most precious of our treasures,
the dearest possession of our home,
and the object of our most watchful love.

(photo credit to Yasmin Faiz)

Sophie Izzana Saiful Fitri

Alhamdulillah, dah 2 tahun pun si Sophie ni...

Happy Birthday, my luv.











Sophie with her Mama, Nur Izzati Hafiz







Tok Chaq Faiz sedang ajar Sophie cuit icing and jilat jari... isy! isy!



Tok Chaq Faiz & Tok Chaq Dolly excited jadi grandparents jugak



Mee Rebus (top), Nasi Beriyani Ayam (bottom)

Myself, tanpa rasa bersalahnya, makan two bowls of Mee Rebus and one plate of Nasi Briyani... haa! ambik terpelanting diet-diet semua!

my parents helping themselves to the food (bottom right photo)



Mak Tok Ina Hafiz with Sophie

top right: Faezah (kakak Faiz) & her husband Badri;
bottom left: Yuhaniz (cousin);
bottom right: my two nieces - Nur Izzati, Aina Qistina & my mother-in-law

top left: si handsome Aidiel Atif, my nephew's son and his Mama, Shela (bottom left photo) ;
Yasmin and Nabila taking turns to carry baby Samir, Sophie's little brother

top left: Faris, Yasmin's boyfriend;
bottom left: Farid Rizal, my son

Yasmin & Nabila yang sangat happy berposing

Healthy Activities?

What activities do you do when spending time with the people you love?

Main games?
Tengok wayang? (one of my favourites)
Bersukan?
Cuci Rumah? (not a bad idea.. *evil grin*)
Berkebun? (hahahaha... gelak besaq ni!)


My favourite of all the above ....


... aktiviti "Makan" !!

Lepak-lepak at Dome's with loved ones....

From left: Kaled, Nabila, Faris & Yasmin

Nabila's Fish & Chips

Left: Chicken Gourmet Pie, Seafood Pie and Minestrone Soup

Food is an integral part of our lives. We need it to survive, correct or not? (correct..!)

Therefore.... we should look for someone to eat and drink with, before looking for something to eat and drink.... because it's the simple pleasures of food plus conversation... that makes life so great, correct or not? (correct lagi!)

Cuma one drawback, however, is that weight gain loomed as a threat!

My nutritionist pun sampai dah pening kepala dengan I. Macam-macam slimming menu yang dia dah bagi ... tapi tak dapat nak strictly follow laaa.. Sebab apa? sebab menu dia tu boring!! haish!!!

So last sekali, she advised me on a daily basis to try and include the seven foods to boost my body’s fat-burning potential: oats, eggs, skimmed milk, apples, red meat, cinnamon and almonds. There is also her formula of dividing my plate in three sections: half filled with fruits and vegetables, one quarter with whole grains and the last quarter with the lean meat or protein. (apa-apa jer lah!)

And whenever I have the time in between, I go for my slimming treatments to 'burn' whatever 'lemak tepu' I can get rid off!.

If not for all of the above steps taken, with all my food consumptions... tak tau la nak jadi besar mana. Takat sekarang ni pun dah 'bulat' manje manje gitu.. hahaha..

No regrets!

Because for me ...

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food!.”


p/s: Sedang bersiap-siap nak attend birthday party tengahari ni at my sis-in-law Ina Hafiz's house. Dengar kata, she's making Nasi Briyani Ayam and Mee Rebus. yahoooo!!!.. makan lagi !!!

Captured Moments

Semenjak berkepit dengan gadget baru dia, these are a few of Yasmin's 'work' ...

Nak comment... kena tanya kepada yang pakar. Kalau tanya dekat Mama, of coz la I find the images cantik-cantik belaka! Nama pun Mamaaaa..., kan?


Among the first photos taken using her camera was this beautiful photo of Yasmin's childhood best friend who is also her cousin, Sarah Hazwani, at her recent USM Graduation.

Congrats my dear Sarah. Aunty Dolly tumpang seronok dan turut berbangga dengan pencapaian Sarah dan mendoakan kejayaan yang berterusan serta berkekalan, insyaAllah. Amin.

Our relatives are the family that we are born with...
but our friends...
are the family...
we choose.

~~~~~

True Friends

There are many people
that we meet in our lives
but only a very few
will make a lasting impression
on our minds and hearts
It is these people
that we will think of often
and who will always
remain important to us
as true friends

~ Susan Polis Schutz

This two, shared many smiles and many tears but I tell you, nothing beats their laughter !! Walaupun you tak tau/tak dengar apa punca, apa cerita the two have been cerita-ing and gossiping.. when they both suddenly break into laughter... oh my! it's really a fun sight to see! One would be laughing hysterically (tak padan dengan kecik molek dia!) and the other would be laughing just as whole-heartedly with tears streaming down her eyes ... followed by asthma!


Itulah antara treasured moments I fondly remember and still continue to have the privilege of sharing with them.

Gold..
a very valuable item..
as valuable as a friendship.

Friendship..
is like a gold chain..

each link ..
is a memory ..
from the past ..
to the present.

Never let the chain break.

or else..
the friendship ..
will be gone ..
forever.

Ladies Getaway To KL

The last trip was to Singapore.

It was time for a getaway again... but ... where to?

Bandung was on top of the list during the few discussions that we had but had to choose another location because to go to Bandung, Noraini had to apply for visa and we didn't want to go through the fuss. And so, KL it is !

Noraini, Kathy and I took the 9am NICE Express Bus to KL. Yati was not able to join us for the trip this time because of her son's PMR exams on those dates.

6 - 8 October, 2011
3days 2nights
Boulevard Hotel, Midvalley.

Studio Suite

After checking-in... jom makan!!

at Tempanyaki

wah! bergayanya dia masak

yeay! this is my chicken tempanyaki set

oit!! started without me aaa.. ?

After lunch, we wandered about and we came upon an ice-cream parlor...

time for dessert

My sister, Ani, joined us after finishing her work. Continued with more shopping and ended with dinner at Madame Kwan's. Kathy's son, Alif, came a while later to pick up some things from Kathy and joined us for dinner. After dinner, Ani left for the airport to fetch Yasmin, who also decided to come spend some quality time with her Maksu in KL.

2nd day - Yasmin joined us for breakfast and later, the four of us took a taxi to IKEA. We each bought a little bit of something that we could manage to hand-carry.


For lunch, we proceeded to Tony Roma's at the Curve.

Though the ribs look harmlessly small, they're actually quite a mouthful! We ate till we're about to drop ! Thumbs up to both Kathy and Yasmin who managed to 'clear the plate'.. hahaha..


Alif arrived as we left Tony Roma's. Laaa... kesian dia... I'm sure dia belum makan (me.. the concerned Mum always ... when it comes to food!).


Oh! Look!! There's Chocolate Lounge! Let's pop over for desserts and "what-have-you's" there (the image of my weighing scale was making frightening appearances in my mind.... eeyahhh!!! karate kasi pecah sama dia!!).

eemm... yummylicious

Ms Coco

We did not venture much into the shops at the Curve because dragging the IKEA bags and shopping at the same time proved to be quite a hassle. That's why we ended up from one food outlet to the other where we sat, relaxed, enjoyed the food and chat.


We got back to Boulevard Hotel just in time to beat the evening rush-hour traffic. After resting for a while, we went out again. This time to Garden's.


Later, Ani and Yasmin left for dinner and karaoke activities while the three of us decided to dine at Delicious. With all the food we had consumed throughout the day, we were feeling considerably full. So, dinner was a light one with just soup and cakes.

carrot cake

Wild Mushroom Soup (didn't finish my soup, too peppery! bleaakkhh !)