It seemed like only yesterday..

i received the phone call which made my world fell apart. It was the day that i lost someone very close to my heart.

I still remember clearly, the morning of 14th February 2001. I was working as usual and was so looking forward to celebrating my 1st Valentine's Day (time tu zaman jahiliyah) later that evening with Mr A until i received a phone call from my close friend who told me that my ex-bf whom i knew for almost 8 years has passed away early that morning.

Some people may say "why do i have to care about an ex?" Well, eventhough we were not together anymore, we became close friends and he was already like a part of my family.

14th February will always be a sad day for me but it is also the day where i knew i have found my true love. Mr A was my bf back then and we were only together for less than 6 months but the sacrifice that he showed on that day was enough for me to know that he's the one for me. On that day, he took me and my mum to see my ex- bf's remains at UH's mortuary and then to my ex-bf's parents' house for his funeral, which during all those times i was bawling my eyes out.

I don't think any other men would want to see their gf cry over another man. He was really calm and stayed with me until the end of the day and even until today, he would understand if i were to be a bit emotional on 14 February. In a way, it's like a blessing in disguise bcoz we never celebrated Valentine's Day.

Today marks the 10th year of his passing and after 10 years of lost contact, earlier tonite i received a facebook mail (as above image) from his sister which made me cry after reading it. My mum cried too after i forwarded it to her.
A lot can happen in 10 years. A baby who was born 10 years ago is already in standard 2 primary school today. A couple who got married 10 years ago could be celebrating their 10 years wedding anniversary today. 10 years is a long time but the memory of 14th February 2001 is still fresh in my mind. I always wonder how it would be like if he was still around. What would he look like, how many kids would he have or will we still be friends? If he was still here, he would be 33yo end of March but he is not here anymore and all i can do is send him du'as and read Al-Fatihah/ Yaasin.

Rest in peace Amirul Mazli.

May Allah bless your soul always.

Sun, Sea & Sand on Lunar New Year

It was an impromptu trip. Mama's boss has an apartment in Port Dickson so we decided to spend CNY there. Initially we wanted to go on 3rd Feb and come back on 5th Feb but mama's boss' SIL wanted to use the apartment on the 4th so we went 1 day earlier and came back on the 4th morning. As Mr A was still working on 2nd Feb, me and kids went with mama and my sister in the morning and Mr A joined us in the evening after he finished work. Alhamdulillah the traffic was smooth and clear.

We reached PD around 2pm and searched for Ocean View Resort which was located at Batu 9 right after Ancasa Resort. It was not like any fancy hotel/ resort but it was just perfect for us. It was a fully furnished apartment with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, living room and dining hall. Once we were done tidying and cleaning the place, we went out to PD town to get some late lunch.

Luq and Leia were so happy and can't wait to go to the beach.

When we got back to the apartment it was already 5.30pm and it was just nice to go to the beach. Since it was quite a distance to walk to the beach and Mr A wasn't around to accompany us, my sister decided to drive to the beach which was about 3 minutes drive from the apartment. The weather was perfect that evening and surprisingly the beach was clean too and not many people. Maybe bcoz most people were still working. As soon as we settled our things on the beach mat, Luq and Leia started building their sand castles. They were really enjoying themselves.

The last time we brought Leia to the beach was last year when we went to Club Med, Cherating but she was scared of the water then. This time around, she was the one who ran towards the water and was excited to catch the waves. She even didn't want to leave.

We went back to the apartment close to 7pm as it was getting dark and there was no one around.

Mr A arrived just after maghrib as i was preparing dinner. Since everyone was on quite a tight budget, we decided to cook our own meals instead of eating out. The kitchen was complete with a fridge, a microwave and kitchen utensils except for a stove. Fortunately, mama's boss lent us her portable stove which was really convenient and useful that i'm thinking of getting our own for emergency purposes.

The next morning after breakfast we went to the same beach again but this time Mr A was with us. It was already the CNY holiday so the crowd was bigger unlike the day before. The weather was lovely that morning and the tides were low. As usual, Luq and Leia started building their sand castles while mama and my sister strolled on the beach.

Once Luq and Leia were bored with the sand, it was time for some splish splash. Words can't describe how i felt looking at Luq and Leia having a good time.

Just look at them. It was a blissful sight.

We were also happy to get to spend the holiday with mama and my sister. By the time we left the beach around noon, the parking lot was already full and cars kept coming in. After having lunch, we just stayed in the apartment to rest and went to PD town around 4pm to buy some kuihs.

We were caught in the traffic jam as the crowd were still arriving that by the time we reached the apartment, it was almost 6pm. So we quickly ate our kuihs and changed into our swimsuits to go to the swimming pool.

The swimming pool was quite full so we didn't spend much time there but nontheless, Luq and Leia were happy.

Since it was our last night in PD, mama decided to take us out for dinner instead of cooking that night. It was quite difficult to find a place to eat bcoz all the restaurants were full. In the end, we were lucky to find a decent restaurant which wasn't full. After dinner, we visited my uncle and his family who were staying in Royal Palm Springs Golf Resort.

The above are snap shots of the apartment's interior. I forgot to take photos of the bedrooms but they were equipped with airconds and fans.

The next morning after having light breakfast, we quickly packed and made sure that the apartment was clean and tidy bcoz mama's boss' SIL was going to use it later.

We left the apartment around 11am and had brunch at PD town. The traffic home was also smooth bcoz people were still heading down south instead of KL. Now that we're back at our own home, i kind of missed staying in the same house with my mama and siblings. I wish we can go on more vacations together again.

On his birthday...

we celebrated it by having dinner at San Francisco Pizza. He didn't want to be celebrated but my mum insisted that she bring us out for a dinner treat.

The food at San Francisco Pizza was not bad actually and it wasn't our first time eating there.

The birthday boy (boy ke?). Hehehe.

Happy 33rd birthday daddy! We LOVE u!!!

Private party for a little princess

As usual, no birthday party or eating out at a fancy restaurant. Just us, a birthday cake, at home. If only Leia's Mbah Kong (my dad) was here, it would have been perfect.

Leia's a big, smart girl now. She knows how to blow her birthday candle on her own. She was even shy at first when i put the birthday cake in front of her.

Luq also wanted to blow the candle. Fuhhhhhhhhh!!

Me and my 2 munchkins.

It was a coincidence that everyone wore red/ pink yesterday.

Leia showing the world that she is now TWO years old.
Mummy and daddy hope that you will grow up to become a soleh child who will always remember to send your du'as to us when we are no longer in this world.
Happy 2nd birthday my little princess.

You will always be mummy's baby girl.

Nuraleia Ekaputri is TWO!

Alhamdulillah. My baby girl is two today. Since last Friday was a public holiday (Deepavali), i've requested Mr A to take leave today so that he could spend the day with us since it's Leia's birthday. We went to Wangsa Walk Mall to let the kids play and it was also the first time for Mr A to join us there bcoz normally me and the kids will go there with my mum.

Luq and Leia really enjoyed themselves especially bcoz daddy was there. So did Mr A.

After a couple of hours in Wangsa Walk Mall, we went to One Utama to collect Leia's birthday cake and since we haven't had lunch, we ate at Teppanyaki. It's been quite a while since we went out for an outing and having to go out on a weekday made it more enjoyable and stress free bcoz the malls are less crowded. Most importantly, we were together to celebrate Leia's birthday.

Five years ago..

i married my best friend n soul mate. I've known Mr A for 10 years now n today is our 5th wedding anniversary. Although 5 years have gone by, the memories are still fresh in our minds. Our wedding was really hectic bcoz it was back-to-back.

16th September 2005 - Solemnization ceremony @ Dewan Perdana Felda

17th September 2005 - Bersanding ceremony @ Dewan Merak Kayangan

18th September - Bertandang ceremony in USJ

I have never posted any of my wedding photos anywhere except for one solemnization photo in my facebook last year so these photos are exclusively for My World readers. I won't bore you with any mushy stories. Just enjoy the photos :)

16th September 2005 - Solemnization day. The theme was white n apple green.

With mi familia.

With some of my Indonesian relatives who managed to come.

With my uncles n aunties from my mum's side.

With my Indonesian relatives n my late grandmother.

With close friends who managed to attend since it was on a Friday morning.

17th September 2005 - Getting prepared for the bersanding ceremony.

With my in laws.

My Indonesian relatives managed to attend our bersanding ceremony and went back to Jakarta the day after.

With close friends n our 'pengapits'.

18th September 2005 - Bertandang ceremony.

Alhamdulillah our wedding went smoothly with no glitches eventhough we had tight schedules. The only thing which i regretted a bit was that i did not hire a professional photographer for the solemnization n bersanding ceremonies. I had a cousin who work as a freelance photographer for magazines so when he said he would take our photos as a favor, i simply agreed but the photos didn't turn out as well as i expected.

Mr A and i have been through a lot of ups n downs these whole 5 years and i pray that we will still be strong together for many more years to come. InsyaAllah.

*Starting this year our anniversary will be more special bcoz 16th September has been declared a public holiday (Malaysia Day) as Malaysia was formed on 16th September 1963.

Our 1st iftar outing in 2010

Since we're celebrating Ramadhan in a very moderate way this year, it includes avoiding any iftar outings at fancy restaurants. However, last Friday (27.08.10), Mr A's company hosted an iftar session for one of their vendors and since most of their vendor's staff couldn't make it, the invitations were opened to family members as well.

The iftar session was held at Tropicana Golf & Contry Resort. Mr A was on leave bcoz it was a public holiday for Selangor so there was no rush to come and fetch us first then go to Tropicana that day.

The buffet spread was more to Malay cuisine so the only wester food was spaghetti and pizza. The main attraction was the bbq corner where they had grilled lamb, beef n seafood which was the first place i 'attacked'. As usual, there were also rice with variety of dishes, char kuey teow, porridge, oxtail soup, noodles, laksa, satay and many more.

The buffet rate was RM55 for adults n RM35 for children.

Thank you to Mr A's company for having us.

I juz got to know..

Published: Wednesday August 25, 2010 MYT 7:45:00 PM

Malaysia Day on Sept 16 is a paid holiday: Dr Subra

KUALA LUMPUR: Workers who work on the Malaysia Day public holiday on Sept 16 will be entitled to a paid holiday, Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said Wednesday.

This was provided for under Section 60D(1)(b) of the Employment Act 1955, he said in a statement.

The government has declared Sept 16 as a public holiday in view of Malaysia Day beginning this year. - Bernama

How cool is that? Another public holiday is added to our calendar. It was actually announced by our PM last year but i only got to know about it yesterday. So why am i fussing about this particular public holiday? The answer is bcoz 16 Sept is OUR (me n Mr A's) wedding anniversary. Who would have thought that of all the dates, the PM chose 16 Sept as Malaysia Day!

Club Med Cherating

Mr A and i have been planning a beach retreat since May and our favourite destination is of course the east coast of Malaysia. We were in the midst of deciding which hotel/ resort to stay when he 'bbm'ed me one May afternoon to inform that he had juz got out from a staff meeting and his MD announced that they're going to organise a 3D2N company trip to Cherating in July. The best part is that we'll be staying in Club Med! Since that day onwards i started to count the days to our all expense paid vacation. Weeeee!

30th July finally came. The agenda was for everyone to meet at the first check point which was McDonalds Genting Sempah and once everyone was there, drive and meet at the next check point which is after the Jabor toll and convoy to Club Med Cherating. We reached Club Med around 2pm and were greeted by their G.O team. I forgot what G.O stands for but they're like the events co-ordinators. We were then led to the reception area where we were served welcome drinks and were briefed on the resort's facilities and activities. After that, we went to our respective rooms and were required to gather at the theatre by 3.30pm where there will be a tele-match cum ice breaking session.

It took us about 5mins walk from the reception area to our room bcoz it was quite a distance and we reached our room around 2.45pm so we had some time to unpack. The room was not as i expected as it was so simple and the bathroom was rather small. I think it was the cheapest room in the resort as it was all paid by Mr A's company. As the saying says "beggars can't be choosers". Juz be grateful with what you have. But overall the room was juz fine bcoz we were spending most of our time outdoor. There was a king sized bed, a single bed and a baby cot ready. Although Mr A said he did not request for a baby cot but i guess when the company made the bookings, Club Med will automatically provide a baby cot in your room if you have a child under 2yo, which i find very proactive.

I guess Luq and Leia were also very happy to be away from home once in a while.

Once we've settled unpacking, we went to meet the others at the theatre. That was when Leia said she wanted to poopoo so i had to wait for her while Mr A and Luq went first. As Leia and i were walking towards the theatre, we bumped into the group who were walking towards the field near the archery area. Before the tele-match started, we got to know each other (all the other staff's wives and children). The tele-match took about 1 hour and after that we were brought to the snacks area. One of the many things that i loved about Club Med is that you will NEVER be hungry bcoz the package includes accomodation and food throughout the day and evening. There's breakfast, lunch, te-time snacks and dinner. Not to forget the open bar drinks where you can request any drinks (juices & soft drinks) u like at anytime.

After having some snacks (sandwiches & french fries), we headed back to our room. While most of the other families decided to go to the beach or swimming pool, we opted to stay in so that the kids can rest. We went to dinner after maghrib and i was really thrilled to see the variety of food which were served. I had mini lobsters (take note on the plural), sushi, grilled lamb and not to forget the yummy desserts. I didn't even capture any photos bcoz i was too busy eating. Hehehe.
After dinner, we wanted to see the magic show at the theatre but we were a bit late so it was already full. Every night, there will be a variety of performances in the theatre. Since we were still tired from the travelling, we went back to our room and planned to explore the whole place the next day.

Once back in the room, we fooled around in front of the camera for a while and watched tv.

Luq and Leia getting ready to sleep.

The next morning, we went for breakfast around 8am. Eventhough it was a company trip but everyone were allowed to have their own activities. The only time the whole group were together was during the tele-match. So, after breakfast Mr A and i brought Luq and Leia to the Ohana Cabana. One of the many Club Med's attractions is the Mini Kids Club where you can leave your children (aged 4yo & above) at the mini club and they will be taken care by the G.Os with a day full of fun activities so that the parents could spend more time together and join the all day activities organised by Club Med. Eventhough Luq is almost 4yo but he's not the type who listens to instructions yet, so we didn't register him for the mini club. Since there was no one at the Ohana Cabana when we reached there, Luq and Leia got to enjoy the place all to themselves.

After about an hour at the Ohana Cabana, we decided to go back to the room and change to our swimming attire and hit the pool. By the time we reached the swimming pool, it was already 11+am and the sun was smiling right above our heads. Luq and Leia were more than happy to jump into the pool and play.

The above photo was a pool game where a G.O stands on a surf board and whoever can knock him down will win a prize but no one managed to do so. He was real calm when people knocked him a few times as though his feet were glued to the surf board. It was really entertaining bcoz the people who knocked him are the ones who fell into the water. Hehehe.

As it was getting too hot, we went back to our room to bathe and went for lunch. Around 3pm after lunch, a few of Mr A's colleagues invited him to try out archery. So off we went to the archery area.

While waiting for the others to come, Mr A decided that we take the train to the beach juz to check it out. We could also walk to the beach but riding the train seems to be more fun. So off we went on the choo choo train. Luq and Leia were so excited.

The beach did not have milky white sand but it was very clean and the water was clear too. Since it was an unplanned trip to the beach, we didn't have our swimming gears on so we juz walked on the beach and let Luq and Leia play with the sand. We planned to come back later in the evening when it's not too hot.

When we reached our room, Luq and Leia were already exhausted from waking up early and playing at the Ohana Cabana and swimming pool that they slept after drinking their milk. By 6pm they were still asleep and i knew that we'll not be able to go to the beach again and it rained that evening.

We went for our last dinner at Club Med that night and i was hoping to have some more of the mini lobsters but they served different foods which nevertheless were still delicious. I had scallops, prawns, steamboat and more desserts. Remembering all those food makes me hugry. Another thing that makes Club Med special is that they're G.Os eat together with the patrons so that there is a special bond between the resort and the patrons. I can't imagine how the G.Os looked slim and fit when they actually get to eat delicious food everyday. I guess they must go to the gym everyday too.

Since it was our last nite at Club Med, Mr A and i decided that we spend time a little longer at the bar area and take photos bcoz we don't know when we'll get the chance to come back. It was already almost 11pm and the kids were getting restless so we decided to retreat to our room. Check-out time the next day was at noon so we have to leave the room by 12pm but can still stay until after lunch. Lunch was also provided on the departure day, which was why i said earlier that you will never be hungry.

The next morning, the plan was to have a quick breakfast, spend a while at the beach, the swimming pool, pack our things and get ready to leave the room before noon. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the train station, we waited until 9.15am but the train did not come to take us to the beach and we didn't know how far we had to walk to the beach. We didn't want to waste time waiting for the train so we juz went to the pool instead. Luq and Leia really enjoyed the pool that they didn't want to leave.

Once we reached our room, it was already 10.30am and we had about less than two hours to pack and get ready to leave. Luckily, Mr A and i have packed everything the night before and only left the clothes that we were going to wear the next day. We left our room around 11.45am and headed to the reception area. Lunch was only ready at 12.30am so after returning our room key, we sat at the open bar area and took more photos.

After lunch, we finally said goodbye to Club Med Cherating.

The above is a photo of me and Soey, the G.O who was in charge of our group.

Mr A stopped outside the guard post to take photos. One of the many things i learned when you're travelling with kids, EVERYTHING is about them. Eventhough Mr A and i had some tough times during our holiday when both kids wanted to poopoo during dinner and nap when we were supposed to be trying out as many activities as we can, we will cherish every moment that we spent with them bcoz one day they will not want to follow us anywhere. We hope to come again when the kids are older so that Mr A and i could enjoy more. InsyaAllah.