Pisang Goreng oh Pisang Goreng

today during lunch i bought pisang goreng from a stall near my office. yes i bought pisang goreng during lunch for tea. i'm 'advanced' like that. anyway, who doesn't like pisang goreng, right? of course pisang goreng is best eaten when it is still hot but I am too lazy to go out in the evening just to get pisang goreng for tea. so i bought them in advance during lunch. by the time i want to eat it, which is now, it will be cold and not nice anymore. this particular pisang goreng from this particular stall is not nice and disgusting. why is it not nice and disgusting? no, i did not drop them on the floor. 1st is because it is already cold. as cold as my room. 2nd is because it is so freaking thin. 3rd is because the batter has become chewy and not crunchy because it's so damn thin. looking at the pisang goreng, i think the person must have sliced one pisang into 5 (if not 10!) very thin slices. and the pisang is just about the length of my middle finger. how ironic. so imagine that 5pieces of pisang goreng costs RM1. that means the cost (or is it profit?) of 1 pisang itself is RM1. but the price of a comb of pisang cannot be more than RM5-RM6, right? not this type of pisang at least. and I am pretty sure this seller bought in bulk so it's definitely much cheaper. i suck at maths therefore I can't count the costs, profits and losses so this is just an agak-agak calculation but I'm pretty sure I am not wrong. If anything, I may be slightly inaccurate. Anyway, my point is, the pisang goreng is freaking expensive. I am not going to buy pisang goreng from the seller ever again. Thankfully their donut is nice so that's a consolation. Yes, I bought a donut too for tea.  I might go for their donuts again but definitely not the pisang goreng. Unless they're thick and hot and crunchy. or maybe not.
who says you can't get rich just by selling pisang goreng, huh? but then how come he's still selling pisang goreng for a living?

Mom Fail Moment

Yesterday was a Mom Fail Moment for me. I was busy preparing for my hearing today when boss called for a meeting at 5pm. He said it will be a short meeting. I went in and it went on and on and on. There is no such thing as a short meeting. I did not wear my watch as I removed it earlier. I also did not bring my bb with me into the meeting room. At one point, I saw boss’s watch and it looked like it was 5.50pm. another time I look, it appears to look like 6.10pm. And then my staff’s hubby came to the office with their baby and my staff asked to leave. I thought it was only 6pm –ish. When the meeting finally ended (with me having to almost burst my bladder), I looked at the office clock and it looks like it was 7.20pm. when I went to the toilet and looked outside, it was a bit dark and I thought it was going to rain. I came back to my room and checked my bb and saw the clock 7.21pm. 

PANIC. OMG BABYCAKES!! It’s almost 7.30pm and I’m still in the office!!! I quickly packed my briefcase and threw whatever’s on my desk into the bag. I hope I brought the right documents and cause papers. I even had a bottle of pumped milk still in the bottle which I’ve yet to put in the storage bag. I did not bring the bottle lid so I had to put it in the storage bag. I quickly did this while trying not to spill any milk. I called hubby but as usual he did not pick up his phone. Grrrrrrrrr. I called again while packing my stuffs and I said to hubby, “I tak amik Babycakes lagi!! I ada meeting tadi and I ingat masih pukul 6! OMG OMG” Hubby then calmed me down but he was in a meeting himself in Kiara. I quickly dashed out of the office only to find my car blocked by another car. Grrrrrrrr again. I then called Babycakes’ nursery and informed her sitter that I am on my way and apologized for not informing earlier. I asked how Babycakes was and her reply was, “Irene OK je ni kak. Dia tengah main ni. Tak nangis tak apa pun.” Phewww. I quickly drove like a mad woman and then informed hubby that I am on my way to pick Babycakes. Every car that was slow in front of me will either get the high beam flash or honk or both. When I see a green light, I secretly wish for it to stay green. When it was red, it felt like the longest red light ever. At one point, I cried. I don’t know why but a sudden wave of emotion crept through and I felt so guilty towards Babycakes. At the same time, I kept chanting, “Mummy’s coming Babycakes” “Wait for Mummy Babycakes”. I looked at the mirror behind me (a mirror which I stick on my car, facing Babycakes and I can see her from my rear view mirror. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check it out here.) I saw her empty car seat and I felt more emotional. I also thought, what if she gets hungry? What if he wants her milk? Will she be angry at me? Will she think that I purposely leave her there to wait? When I was at the traffic light in front of the court complex, it was red but there was no car at all and I was THISCLOSE to jump the red light but I told myself that it is better that I wait rather than hurt myself along the way and not able to pick Babycakes in the end. When I finally reached her nursery, her sitter told me that she pooped so they’re changing her diaper. I couldn’t be more relieved when I heard her voice and when I saw her face and I could not stop kissing and apologizing to her.

You may think I am a drama queen, I am exaggerating but I am not. I have never felt like this before in my life. It was definitely a Mom Fail Moment and I hope I will never ever have to face it again.

NOTE TO SELF:

1. Always wear your watch.

2. Always bring your handphone or blackberry to the meeting room BUT make sure it's on silent mode.
3. There is no such thing as a 'short or quick meeting.'

My first Mother's Day

I celebrated my first ever Mother's Day as a mummy this year and it felt so great. All these years I celebrate Mother's Day with my mummy, to celebrate her as a mummy but this year, I had a little celebration of my own, courtesy of Hubby and Babycakes. Hubby made Babycakes write a card for me and it was so cute! I can imagine the hard time Hubby had when he had to hold Babycakes' hand to hold the pen while recording it on his handphone at the same time. Hubby is a lefty so he made Irene write with her left hand too. The video ended up with shaky images and Hubby's voices in the background saying " Irene, cepat tulis ni untuk Mummy. Jangan makan pen! No Irene! No!" hahaha. All this happened while I was taking my bath on Saturday evening. I came to the living room when Hubby called me and said, "Yang, datang depan! Tengok apa Irene buat!! Cepat!!" Naturally I came rushing only to find Babycakes holding a pink envelope and chewing on it at the same time. It was cute all right but I went "You biar je dia makan envelope tu??" before going all "awww" about it. I then took the card from Babycakes and it was the cutest card ever. I also received a Mother's Day card from Hubby. Then we went out to Jake's at Starhill Gallery and had some really good steak and a rack of lamb. I made an apple puree for Babycakes but she doesn't seem to like it. 

The next day, we went for a buffet hi-tea with my family at Mz. Nina Bakery Cafe at Publika. The foods was simple but nice. We had a good family time and I gave my mummy a Lancome lipstick. I hope she likes the colour! And I hope she wears it as she is known to keep stuffs rather than using it as she sayang to use it. Hehe. 

After that, we went to my sil's house in Kajang and thought of surprising MIL with some KFC but Hubby didn't know that she has gone back on Saturday. So the surprise tak menjadi and we ended up eating the KFC. We will celebrate when she's in KL again.

It does not matter how you celebrate Mother's Day, what you give to your mother or how expensive/big your gift(s) is/are. It's the thought that counts, it's the times spent that count and most importantly, your prayers for your mother. I may not be the best daughter and daughter in law but I am trying. 

I wish each and every mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day. It is a blessing and a special feeling to be a mother yourself to know how much you can love someone unconditionally. Babycakes is only 7 months young but I have so much love for her that I can't bear the thoughts of not having her. She may cry, she may whine, she may throw tantrums at times that it drives me up the wall sometimes but I will always and forever love her with every breath I take. I hope Babycakes will be a good daughter, a good person, a good citizen and a good Muslimah, insyaallah for one day Babycakes will be a mother herself.

glitter-graphics.com

the voice matters

On Labour Day, we went to Bangsar Village to meet up with a friend and also to bring Babycakes meet baby Noah, my friend’s baby boy. It was like a date for Irene and Noah, but accompanied and chaperoned by the parents. We went to Marmalade and had sandwiches and burgers and a huge slice of delicious red velvet cake. Marmalade is located at Level 1, BVII. Marmalade is a family restaurant and it is a kid and baby friendly place as it has a small play area. We took Babycakes and Noah to the play area and the babies had a great time. We then went around BVII and BVI. There are a number of shops that cater to kids and babies namely Toys R Us, Pumpkin Patch, Bebehaus  among others. There is also Gymboree so it is a family mall, unlike BVII which are mostly fashion and lifestyle boutiques. 

After walking around and made a purchase of a cute white headband at Pumpkin Patch for Babycakes (even though she keeps pulling them off!) and Noah’s mummy bought a Toy Story handphone for him at Toys R Us, we felt that it was time for coffee. We then head back to BVII and decided to have coffee and yummy breads at The Loaf. By this time, Babycakes who had a nap has already woken up and it’s time for milky again. I forgot to bring my shawl that I normally use to cover while nursing in public so I went to look for a nursing room. Meanwhile, Noah’s mummy brought him to the changing room to change his poopie diaper. We went to level 1 and there is a changing table in the toilet but there are neither proper changing rooms nor a nursing room. There was no bench either, unlike in Bangsar Shopping Centre. How am I supposed to nurse Babycakes then? I then took her to level 2 and looked for a nursing room but there was none. There is a changing table but it is in the toilet for the disabled. I went to the surau with the hope that I can nurse in it but there were three ladies praying and there was no room left. The surau is very small anyway. I had no choice but to go in the toilet for the disabled. I pulled down the changing table to put my handbag and Babycakes’ diaper bag because there were no hooks for hanging. I then pulled down the toilet seat cover and sat down and nursed Babycakes in the toilet. -_- Thankfully the toilet is clean and doesn’t smell but it was not a pleasant experience. 

While Babycakes was nursing, I told her to hurry up (with the hope that she understands me) as I don’t feel comfortable nursing in a toilet. I am not comfortable nursing in public either, not without my cover at least. After she was done, I needed to change her diaper so I put her on the changing table but the strap was broken. I had to hold her down to make sure she doesn’t fall while juggling my handbag and the diaper bag. By this time I was already sweating. I did not have the stroller with me as I left it with hubby at The Loaf. I quickly changed her and when I wanted to dispose the diaper in the bin, it did not open when I stepped on it. There is no way I am gonna bend down and lift the lid because it is unhygienic as I was holding Babycakes in one hand and also it was hard having to juggle her and my handbag. I also had a hard time washing my hands as I still had to hold her. I then quickly washed my hands, exited the toilet and threw the used diaper in the waste bin near the escalator. Too bad for them but I wish the diaper was soiled! 

I was so disappointed with BV that I decided to write an email to them, voicing my displeasure and they replied, quite promptly. They informed me that works are undergoing to provide proper baby rooms and they expect to be ready by the end of May or so. They better! They also apologized for the inconvenience that I went through and the best part is, they offered me a complimentary PriVillage card, with preloaded amount for parking in it. Ha! It pays to voice out your concern, doesn’t it? I don’t frequent BV that much but I expect it to be a family & baby friendly mall, especially that it has a number of shops for babies and kids.I have submitted my details for them to prepare my card and I am waiting for their call for me to collect the card soon. i can't wait for the baby room to be ready for I do enjoy going to the lovely cafes and restaurants in BV.

So people, if you are not happy with anything, just voice it out. Who knows that you could end up getting something out of it, huh?

much needed me-time

It has been a while, a long while before I get to spend some 'me time'. Ever since Babycakes came into our lives, everything is about her. I can no longer simply go out with my friend(s) on weekends but last Saturday, I had some girly time with my best friend Sara while Hubby babysit Irene. We did manicure and pedicure because Sara was getting engaged on Sunday and then we head over to BSC for coffee and chocolate hunting. It was only for a short period of time but it was rejuvenating. However, I can't help but think and wonder about my two loves at home. I told Hubby not to burn the house down while I'm away lol.