Tuesday, December 8, 2009

From The Eyes of a 4yr Ol Photographer

yeap.

these photographs were shot by my first prince, khaleef - using his bapak's canon. some of these shots were taken even without our knowledge. ntah bila dia amik gamba tu!

makes us wonder what makes that particular item worth the shot to a four year old? i dunno about you, but i LOVE these shots! sharp, nice angles, colorful, meaningful, and deep! i like 'em all! hmm, all except the car air cond...

* * *

HORSE POWER
taken at the car park of one of the malls we went to. khaleef likes fast cars and roaring bikes. this is no surprise!


CULTURE
this shot can never be taken by mr. khairul! lelaki asing amik gambar wanita arab? you're dead-meat, man! setengah tempat tu, pandang-pandang jeling-jeling pun dah kena penumbuk!


COOL
ntah bila dia amik gamba ni. takde keja betui


THE BURJ
burj al-arab, or 'tower of the arabs' - the only 7-star hotel in the world. i think we were at a traffic light junction when he took this shot


BOAT CEILING
what the heck is that, really? i have absolutely no idea where was this taken!


SNOWMAN SANTA
this is one of my favorites. vivid colors, nice angle with sharp and blurry contrast. gorgeous! and it's so cute! merry christmas to all, and to all a good day!


BRO
oh, man. this one takes the cake. adorable. 'nuff said.


* * *

the next time you have a day out with the kiddos, pass them the camera. you never know what shots will turn out! kids have a weird way of looking at the world - something we'd never understand - and that's where the magic and wonders come...

Monday, December 7, 2009

I'm 1 of Mombloggersplanet Contributors!

with nearly 600 followers, mombloggersplanet is certainly one of the most popular platforms for voices of moms who are bloggers, a great resource on motherhood, blogging tips and tools, as well as expanding the circle of bloggirl friends. not to mention the many contests you can enter with very attractive prizes!

i've entered kahfi for two of the contests, as khaleef is not elligible anymore (dah tua dah si khaleef tu! haha) and planning to enter him in the final round of cutest baby contest, december!

though created mainly for malaysian moms, this blog also welcomes visitors from other countries 'who understands the malay language and english!


recently mombloggersplanet 'opened' its doors to fellow bloggers who wish to contribute articles to be featured in mombloggersplanet. these bloggers, who will be called the 'MBP contributor' may write about blogging, working at home and making money thru blogging. bloggers may apply and only 10 will be chosen. more on that here.

my dear friend kak arin was the first to note the application and suggested i join in. i applied and voila - this morning i got the e-mail notification - i'm one of the 10 picked to be an MBP contributor!

much thanks to mombloggersplanet founder, ms ros or fondly known as her nick 'little mama' on the blog. also good luck to the other nine bloggers chosen as MBP contributor, including one papa blogger!

all of us are given this cute pict to be placed on our blogs. cool!


i'm pretty psyched up as i can't wait to write and write and write for mombloggersplanet. i know i don't work from home, nor do i make money from blogging, and i've only been blogging for like a year - so what shall i write about?

heck, the point is - i get to write!

like i said in my application, "mombloggersplanet is huge, with large fanbase, and surely is a great platform for me to share my passion for words..."

alright, i gotta go sharpen my pencils and roll out my writing pads! (err, or rather - switch on my notebook and type the words out!)

Sunday, December 6, 2009

New Members of the Family

it's always fun and exciting to welcome a new addition to a family - new faces, new characters, new experiences - and there's a lifetime to enjoy each other's company!

an old childhood friend of mine welcomed her third child, my best bud's sister just welcomed her firstborn, and my colleague's family welcomed a son-in-law.

* * *


ah, the sleeping angel. until they wake up! haha. enjoy your third one dear fatimah - my ol ol buddy back in primary school. it was definitely a celebration as she delivered a baby boy after 2 girls. daddy finally has a partner in crime!

congratulations, fatimah for the adorable baby fadhlullah - and selamat berpantang!

* * *

this next bundle of joy belongs to a sister of my best bud niraku! congrats kak san, and thank you for relieving the just10 babies from an annoying cheek-pincher aunt! he's the first grandson of the first son and the first daughter of each family - so i can only imagine the amount of extreme pampering that he would get!

welcome atiff! you're a cutie pie! just stay cute and keep your aunt niraku occupied so she won't 'harass' other people's babies!


* * *

5th december marked a memorable day in the life of my colleague haida as she braved the 'M' word! embracing love and celebrating happiness!

i had mixed feelings - happy for her, yet so sad because i couldn't make it! since she had her wedding in her hometown ipoh, it was naturally easy for me to be the first to taste her nasi minyak! too bad i'm way over here!

future-bride dora, 2010-bride mohana, bride-of-the-day haida, and already-basi bride jo haha

my other dear colleagues were there - dora, mohana and jo drove from kl on a girls-only road-trip to attend haida's wedding. i was more miserable seeing their pictures posted on mohana's fb this morning! i wanna be there too! you guys looked lovely - yah, you too, haida!

mohana said someone at the kenduri teased them - "ni 1malaysia ke ni?" malay, chinese, indian and sarawakian - indeed, that's what's great about working with these girls - we're each from different races of a colorful malaysia, yet we can get along so very well, and this reflects in our ongoing friendship, and in our work as well.

i miss you guys so much!!!

the bride and groom with haida's family

haida, heard that one of the hantarans is a pair of custom made nike shoes - with his name sulam-ed on it? daymn that's cool!

congrats to you haida and hubby nik! may you're blessed with bundles of kiddos! isk isk. man, weddings always get me mushy and happy-teary-eyed!


* * *

addendum : to my dubai friends, as you might have known already, our good friend kak zaida nearly lost her girl for a moment amongst the huge crowd in the infinite space of dubai global village! alhamdulillah jumpa and selamat.

according to bro nik's comment in kak zaida's facebook status, parents can get stickers from the information counter and you can write your contact numbers on this sticker, stick it on your child's back and thus making sure that you can be contacted in case of emergency.

with that, enjoy dubai global village, and keep your eyes on your little ones!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

When I Grow Up I Wanna Be Happy

i am counting my blessings of happiness - and it's endless!


5 things that make me happy:
  1. my books
  2. my tissue and stirrer collection
  3. my blog
  4. my olympus
  5. my my my, there's too many!

5 activities that make me happy:
  1. baking - mak said it's like my therapy session
  2. grocery night out with mr. khairul and the boys
  3. watching my boys sleep
  4. kitchen wiped, floor scrubbed, and laundry done!
  5. when i eat chocolates - or that other thing >snicker<

5 moments that make me happy:
  1. when i travel with abah and my sisters
  2. the day he said, "aku terima nikahnya.."
  3. my working days @ e.l
  4. when i gave birth to my boys
  5. the conversations i've had with mak

5 persons i'm tagging:
  1. kak arin
  2. syidot
  3. azot
  4. fida
  5. anyone who's happy enough to do this! :)

Thursday, December 3, 2009

A Year of Blogging

i know i blog too much when my current quote is always, "i'm blogging that!" when i encounter something either interesting, wonderful, shocking or downright awful. i'm an addict!

2nd december 2008 was the day i started blogging. so yesterday was my first ever bloggerversary! yay me! clink! clink! yah, i'm very new at this but i've been enjoying it ever since. why? because i just LOVE to write.


believe it or not, i was never really interested in blogs, or blogging before. i love to write, and i have hand-written journals, create poetry once in a while, write short stories - but that's about it.

some people don't blog, but they love to blog-hop and read what others wrote. some who have blogs, naturally would visit other's blogs. but me - even when i didn't have a blog before, i have never really read anyone's blog. really!

not until i have my own blog did i realize some of friends have blogs since forever! and since then have been hooked - bordering on obsessions! haha.

* * *


must i blog?

of course! i LOVE to write, i love to share, and i feel that i have so much to tell! i mean, google the blogs and you'll find blogs on either parents' experience slash babies, foodie blogs, travel blogs and lifestyle. oh, and politics.

i'm a mom of 2 boys (one topic covered), i LOVE to eat (another topic) and i am currently staying in dubai where my husband works (another topic covered!) - i have 3 main topics to constantly rant and yap about - why wouldn't i be blogging?


things i love to blog about:

food. i love to eat - i love to cook my fav food, and i love to eat out. however, mr. khairul said i can never be a food-reviewer or a food critic - coz i'm a picky eater! itu tak makan, ini tak makan..

my top choice of yummy postings about food

khaleef and kahfi - goes without saying

happenings in dubai

my collections

my sisters, and family

poems

and my personal favorites

...also movies, friends and family updates!

* * *

my sis syida wrote in her blogger profile, that she's blogging '..for abah'. living far from friends and families, my concern was exactly that too - blogging for my abah - telling him all about my adventures and mis-adventures of living in dubai. i know he's my biggest fan! hihi.

also, being a mom of 2 boys - there's an endless stuff for you to write on about your precious. their milestones, their mischiefs and mayhem - and all the cute stuff they do. it helps my sisters and mr. khairul's siblings to catch up on their developments.


soon enough, i know i had to do more. i'm living in a foreign land, with lotsa new things to see, new people to meet, new experiences to gain, new tastes and wonders to indulge in. it'd be a crime not to blog descriptively about all the things i did, saw, went to or ate!

rasa rugi tak blog!

* * *


sigh. kids these days are so lucky with so many mommies blogging about their kids. they would know every little thing that happened to them since the moment they were brought into this world. every step, every tear and laughter, every snapshots - well documented for all internet eternity!

wait a sec - so 'lucky' or so 'unfortunate' - haha - since future potential girlfriends and boyfriends would be able to google and get details on their partner's first tooth, first step, first day at kindy or worse - they day they wet the bed!

oh well, let khaleef and kahfi worry about that! i can see it now - "aww mak! boleh delete tak part yang khaleef dah tak pakai pampers tu!"

* * *

click here for a list of 25 best blogs of 2009 by TIME magazine. the list might not include your cup of tea, but it's interesting to know that these blogs are the best and most popular. check it out!


i love to write. and now, i love to blog. here's to another year!


Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Selamat Hari Kebangsaan, UAE!

semua tanah merdeka pasti ada hari istimewa yang mereka sambut untuk memperingati detik tersebut. malaysia menyambut hari merdeka pada tiap 31 ogos, dan hari malaysia pada 16 september saban tahun. hari di mana jalur gemilang berkibar megah di serata pelusuk negara.

di dubai, sambut hari kebangsaan emiriyah arab bersatu (UAE - united arab emirates) juga tidak kurang meriahnya. 2 september 1971 merakam hari bersejarah di mana 7 emirates - abu dhabi, dubai, sharjah, ras al-khaimah, fujairah, ajman dan umm al-quwain bersatu di bawah payung UAE.

UAE dipimpin oleh presidennya, sheikh khalifa bin zayed al-nahyan, bersama timbalan presiden merangkap perdana menteri sheikh mohammed bin rashid al-maktoum, yang juga pemimpin dubai.

sheikh khalifa & sheikh mohammed

aku yang tinggal kat dubai ni pun join sekali memeriahkan! tambahan pulak si kecik kahfi tu lahir di dubai! yang lawaknya, kalau ade je iklan hari kebangsaan di tv, kahfi mesti stop main dan tepuk tangan. maklumla, rase dia tu part of uae!

khaleef bergaya bersama bendera UAE

macam kat malaysia jugak, rata-rata sibuk hias bangunan masing-masing dengan bendera UAE, dan potret wajah pemimpim-pemimpin UAE. kalau kat kereta pun paling tidak ade letak bendera kecik, atau ikat riben kaler hitam, merah, hijau, kuning di pintu kereta.


kami sekeluarga ke mall of emirates, pernah jadi pusat membeli belah terbesar di dunia sebelum dubai mall dibuka. saje jalan-jalan hari cuti, tengok gelagat rakyat uae sambut hari kebangsaan. kalau tulis ucapan di guest book, dapat bendera percuma! kena tulis ucapan, nama dan tempat asal.

'happy national day, UAE. god bless! love from khairul, syigim, khaleef & kahfi. MALAYSIA'

aku tulis 'malaysia' tu besar-besar. bangga lah!


tiba-tiba ade bunyi orang buat sound check yang sangat bising. shoppers dah mula berkumpul. ada show ke? ok, maaf la aku tak kenal diorang ni sape, tapi memang artis popular di uae. diorang rap lagu memuji negara mereka, sambil pakai baju kebangsaan arab, dan warna bendera di bahu.

tak dengar butiran lagu tu, pasal sound system memang agak lemah dengan bergaung suma! tapi beat memang rancak dan ramai yang enjoy nampaknya!


kalau korang perasan kat bahu artis-artis tu ada selempang yang pakai di bahu tu, yang macam bendera diorang - memang ramai rakyat uae yang bergaya dengan selempang tu kalau keluar berjalan di hari kebangsaan. lelaki yg berpakaian moden atau tradisional; malah wanita-wanita arab yang serba hitam abaya pun ada yang pakai selempang tu di bahu.

itu dah jadi macam uniform mereka di hari kebanggaan mereka ni.

kat malaysia ada tak yang pakai songkok jalur gemilang atau selendang, berjalan-jalan di one utama atau midvalley mega mall?

* * *

malamnya, kami ke the walk, dubai marina - jalan kaki je sebab jalan teramat jem, lorong nak masuk ke the walk memang bagai tak bergerak. apa taknya, di tengah-tengah the walk tu, warga dubai marina berdiri di sepanjang kaki lima tu, menunggu kereta-kereta mewah lalu dengan sebahagiannya terhias menarik dan unik sempena hari kebangsaan.


memang penuh. memang sesak. memang meriah.

paling kelakar (dan punca utama menyebabkan jem) ada sekumpulan anak muda dubai siap menunggu kereta-kereta yang lalu lalang, pehtu diorang sembur snow spray yang guna untuk hiasan cermin masa christmas tu atas cermin kereta-kereta yang lalu tadi.

target diorang pastinya anak-anak muda jugak terutamanya yang memandu sambil tingkap terbukak - habis kena spray! tapi ada jugak driver keta yang bawak spray sendiri. abih la mamat-mamat spray tu yang kena spray balik! crowd suka dan gelak-gelak sambil bersorak. kalau yang bawak keta tu awek arab, lagi lah diorang nak spray!

diorang stopkan keta, sembur-sembur sampai keta tu try escape

namun awas - ade pakcik-pakcik arab otai yang cuma angkat tangan buat muka macho sikit dan mamat-mamat arab tadi hormat dan tak spray. mane taknya ade yang bawak maserati! selamba ko nak spray keta yang harga juta-juta! ada yang taknak di spray pun diorang jugak akan horn. mamat-mamat spray tu pun bukannya budak-budak jahat. diorang memang seronok-seronok je.

pada aku, ala rileklah. bukannya sembur cat yang susah nak hilang. all in the name of fun! kalau aku yang drive aku lagi jerit la, "spray my car! spray my car!" hihi.

lama lepas tu, polis pun datang kasitau mamat-mamat tu supaya mintak kebenaran dulu sebelum spray. jangan main spray je. alamak, hilang la thrill! jadi kejap je mamat-mamat tu spray balik - lepas tu agak bosan kot, jadi diorang stop dan blah. masing-masing terus naik moto-moto besa ducati kat tepi jalan tu.

tu lah dubai. mat rempit diorang pun bawak ducati tau! haha.


kereta yang lalu kat dubai marina the walk ni bukan calang-calang. ada yang (menurut mr. khairul) terlampau la mahalnya sampaikan ade 20 je dijual di dunia ni. dan korang bole nampak keta tu lalu selamba je kat sini. maserati ke, bentley ke - malahan kalo ferrari tu dah biase sangat nampak kat tengah jalan. takyah pegi sepang!

pak-pak arab ni boleh tahan beria jugak dalam menghiaskan keta diorang sempena hari kebangsaan. banyak yang bubuh sticker bendera negara, letak riben dan gantung potret wajah pemimpin uae.

ada keta ni cute sangat dia guna bulu-bulu macam penyanyi cabaret tu, kaler hijau, merah, hitam, putih - dan lekat kat keliling keta dia. comel sangat nampaknya. ade satu lagi, dia bedazzlekan hummer hitam dia - bubuh manik-manik kilat all over keta dia! cool gile dan memang bila hummer tu stop, berambat orang pegi dekat untuk amik gamba.

setahun sekali kereta-kereta ni bergaya betul!


tu lah pengalaman menyambut hari kebangsaan negara lain - tak kurang dan tak lebihnya dari kita rakyat malaysia. bendera sini sana, berpesta, riuh pikuk mereka sama dengan kita! hari ni memang hari gembira, hari menyambut hari kelahiran negara masing-masing - pastinya kemeriahan yang tak terkata.

ok, selamat menyambut hari kebangsaan yang ke 38, UAE. terima kasih kerana menerima kami sebagai tetamu sementara di negara padang pasir ni!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

10 More Days

dubai would be receiving guests in 10 more days.

one wants to look for nice scarves, fridge magnets and take lotsa pictures - the usual touristy stuff. another one wants to eat. a lot.


my baby sisters.
i'm beyond excited.

check out these postings too!

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