text: May | 2011 | Home Maker By Choice
  People just started to arrive
  Couple of months back, we attended Gulf Bank Family Day for the 3rd time, the 1st time was at the Entertainment City, the 2nd was at Hilton Resort and this time it was at a desert camp, north of Kuwait, somewhere near the Iraq border. The weather was perfect and the kids had lots of fun even though most of the time we didn't understand what the emcee was saying he he he.
  Food was good and they have lots of good prizes for lucky draw but as usual.. we were not the lucky ones! It was a windy day… perfect for playing kite!
  Assembling the kite...
  Nurin n Jessy
  Aina n Haqeem
  While we were at the play area, Aina spotted a iPod touch buried in the sand, she picked it up and gave that to me. I looked around to see if there was anyone at that area that looked like searching for lost item, but none… so I gave to my other half so that he could bring to his office the following week. I just don't want to give to just anyone because few days prior to that my friend Anis told me that she found iPhone4 in ZARA and she gave it to the cashier and she just placed the phone in the drawer and didn't even bother to make announcement until the store closed that day… I wonder what happened to that iPhone4…
  Anyway, my other half brought the iPod back to the office and reported it to the security. The next day, a manager from HR called and told him that it was his daughter's iPod that we found. He thanked my other half for reporting it. Couple of weeks after that he sent us this beautiful pendant to give to Aina for being honest.
  There was another incident that happened to us last April but this time we were the one that lost something. We were in Dubai airport at that time and our flight was delayed due to sand storm in Kuwait. Sofea left her camera bag at the food court and she realized it just about the time we wanted to board the plane. I was so panic… Nurin and Sofea ran to the food court and of course the bag was not there… it has been more than 30 min since we left the food court. They approached the cleaner and thank God that he was an honest person, he told them that he gave it to the lost and found section. They ran down stairs and after convincing the officer that the camera was their by viewing the photos in the camera, they managed to get the camera back… to that we were grateful to God for sending us an honest cleaner… unlike the cashier at ZARA.
  Posted on May 26, 2011 by anisq8	in Family	• Leave a comment
  Fridge Magnet – Paris & Disneyland Paris
  Disneyland Paris FM
  We went to Disneyland Paris during our UK-Paris summer holidays 2010.We had a great time in Disneyland and 3 days seems to be too short to cover all rides and shows in the Disneyland Park and the Walt Disney Studios.
  Walt Disney Characters FM
  We stayed at the Sequoia Lodge inside the park and it was totally awesome!
  Mickey and Minie show FM
  We spend 2 days in Paris and to tell you the truth, Paris is not a city for family with small kids… the bus and the subways (tube) are not design for baby strollers.
  Eiffel Tower FM
  We took Paris City Hop On Hop Off Tour… it was worth it as we get to choose where we want to get off and get on the bus again.
  Basilique du Sacre-coeur FM
  Places of Interest FM
  Flag of France FM
  Paris FM - souvenir from a friend
  Posted on May 24, 2011 by anisq8	in Hobbies	• 4 Comments
  Brunei Darussalam - from UMRAH trip in 2001
  First time FM really captured my interest was way back in the 90s when we visited my other half's boss. The boss's wife, Kak Mala collects FM and from the look of her super big fridge, I knew that she has been collecting them for quite some time. Every time I visit , I will definitely spend sometime admiring her collections and it was then that I decided to collect FM.
  Kuwait... you know we get this right?
  Unfortunately both of us just started working then and we do not travel much, so most of my FMs were the one that we managed to grab whenever me or my other half went outstations or souvenirs from friends and families.
  Malaysia - got this during our last visit home
  My FM collections grew after we moved to Kuwait… we did a bit of traveling, so I managed to buy some whenever I traveled and not to mention that I also received FM souvenirs from friends in Kuwait whenever they traveled.
  Switzerland - from my Honeywell ex-boss
  Finland - from my Honeywell ex-boss
  Lebanon - from my other half's office mate
  Posted on May 23, 2011 by anisq8	in Hobbies	• Leave a comment
  This morning my eldest daughter, Aina is sitting for her Physics exam… I'm so nervous as if I'm the one who is taking the exam. All the best to you Aina… I know you can do it! My other half pulak is taking his exam for Chartered Wealth Manager this afternoon and since last night we had a dinner invitation, he only managed to study this morning. I hope he will do well insyaallah.
  So, since last night we had a dinner invitation, so tak kan lah nak gi tangan kosong… so I managed to make this apam yesterday afternoon. Actually have been eying for this apam quite a while now since Kak Rose posted it in her blog but as usual, all recipes kena masuk queue dulu he he he. Since this is the first time I made this apam, I'm quite impressed with the texture and the taste, it is soft and absolutely delicious but not as sweet as I had expected he he he… Kelantanese biasalah… semua benda mesti manis. Next time when I make it, will definitely add additional 1/3 cup of sugar. Here is the ingredient…
  Ingredient 🙂
  1 cup sugar (next time I'll use 1 1/3 cup)
  1 tsp soda biarbonate
  Method 🙂
  Caramelize the sugar and then add in water. Mix till the caramelized sugar dissolve. Set aside to cool.
  In blender, add condense milk, egg, butter and oil. Blend for 3 minutes. Add the caramel & water mixture, vanilla and soda bicarbonate. Mix well.
  Gris the apam cup with oil and then pour the batter 3/4 full. Steam for 10 – 12 minutes.
  Posted on May 19, 2011 by anisq8	in Kuih Muih/desserts	• Leave a comment
  Today is closet cleaning day…. every now and then I have to rearrange balik all the clothes on my 2 younger daughters; Sofea and Jessy. Normally after folding their clothes, I will make sure they will arrange them in their closet themselves… just to make sure that they will get use to doing some house chores, after all they are girls, right?
  Fortnight ago, I went and check their closet and to my surprise, Sofea's closet was a mess… I was shocked by the messiness! When I asked her to explain why it was so messy, she told me that my little boy sometimes loves to sit and play inside her closet… mmm… that explain why he sometimes go inside the girl's room and when I called him, he will come out running with a naughty smile on his face…. I always thought that the smile was because he messed up all the toys…. now I know why…. mischievous little boy!
  My Jeruk Betik
  Ok, back to the recipe… yesterday I went to Sultan Centre and ternampak belik muda yg mengkal…. teringat pulak jeruk betik Mat Gebu, so apa lagi… beli la. The recipe is quite simple and I would say it is the same or maybe better than the one that you get in Penang and of course without preservatives. Here is the ingredient.
  1 papaya (about 750 g)
  4 – 5 small red chilies (optional) – cut into 2
  Peel the papaya and slice it into medium thickness and place them inside a tupperware. Add limewater and 3 cups of water , soak it for about 2 hours.
  Pour out the water and then add another 3 cups of water and salt and then leave it again for 2-3 hours. Pour the water out, rinse the sliced papaya and then leave it in the strainer for at least 30 minutes.
  While soaking the sliced papaya, simmer the vinegar and sugar until the sugar dissolve. Set aside to cool.
  To assemble, place the sliced papaya in a container, add red chilies and then pour the vinegar & sugar mixture. Cover the container and leave it for 1 – 2 days. (mine turned out OK after only one day yahoo!)
  Posted on May 17, 2011 by anisq8	in Snack	• Leave a comment
  Everyone knows how to make lemonade, right? Just squeeze the lemon, add some sugar and water…. but what is the secret to make a lemonade that taste right every time you make them? I have learned from Food network that the secret to make perfect lemonade is in the way you make your sugar syrup. Sugar syrup is made from equal part of sugar and water. Let's check out the ingredient for our lemonade shall we!
  By the way, below are some of Sofea's pictures when she went to Doha to participate in British School of Middle East (BSME) games host by Al-Khor International School, Doha.
  New English School BSME squad 2011
  This was taken before the boarded the bus to the airport on 16 Match 2011. Sofea was so excited… she even managed to wake up before everyone else.
  Al Khor Internaional School
  Everyone was so excited when the first arrived at AKIS on the 17 March 2011. Sofea didn't participate for any event that day… just there to give moral support for the Basket Ball team.
  Sofea also took part in high jump and 4 X 100 meter relay. For the relay event, she was the 3rd runner. She told us that she managed to close the gap between their team and the other team but since their 4th runner was not that fast, they only came 2nd place. She was so sad because she said she had tried her best. She really wanted a GOLD for this…. I told her she could try again next year. Hopefully she will be selected again, insyaallah.
  Waiting for the baton.
  Starts running....
  The 3rd event that she participated was netball. She told me that she was not good at this netball thingy… well, you can't be good at all event, right?
  Posted on May 16, 2011 by anisq8	in Drinks	• Leave a comment
  Ubi rebus (Poached Tapioca) & Sambal Tumis
  Poached Tapioca with Sambal Tumis
  This morning my other half is off for golf, he said he has "golf tournament" arranged by the Equite guys. So after sending him off (at the gate je… he he he) at 5:45am, teringat kat nasi dagang pulak but I have not soak the rice yet, so it's gonna be awhile before I can have my breakfast. Then I remember that I did buy tapioca yesterday from Lulu and yesterday we had nasi lemak for breakfast and I still have the left over sambal in the fridge. So why not makan ubi rebus dulu , anyway by the time my other half balik (most probably at 10 am) all of us can have a proper breakfast together.
  Lets have a quick glance at the ingredient. Nasi Dagang punya recipe nanti I post later, but below is the nasi dagang in the making.
  Yang blur tu is the steam from the rice.
  Ingredient Sambal Tumis:
  1 handful ikan bilis (anchovies) .
  1 lemongrass – crush
  6 tbsp blended chili
  1″ belacan
  salt and sugar to taste. ( I normally use gula melaka)
  Cut the tapioca into medium size pieces, peel the skin, wash and place them into a large pot. Fill the water until it covers the tapioca. Add salt and cook them until tender. Drain the water and set aside.
  Blend together onions and garlic. Heat up oil in a pan and add the blended chili. Cook for few minutes and then add in the blended ingredient together with lemongrass. Cook until fragrant. Add tamarind juice, anchovies, belacan, salt and sugar. Add a little bit of water and let it simmer and thicken using slow heat. Bila dah naik minyak (oil emerge… not sure the terms here he he he), off the heat and serve.