Selamat Hari Raya 2014!

Salam Aidilfitri & Maaf Zahir Batin semua...

Hari ini, hari pertama masuk kerja selepas raya. Dah puas menjamu selera dengan juadah-juadah enak &bersenang-lenang dah tiba masanya kita siapkan kerja yang bertimbun. Alhamdulillah, tahun ni dapat lagi kita sambut Aidilfitri...semoga kita masih diberikan peluang menyambutnya di tahun-tahun yang akan datang bersama-sama yang tersayang. Insya-Allah.

Bercerita tentang raya, bagaimana Ramadhan anda? Sejujurnya, ingin saya membuat sedikit pengakuan yang Ramadhan saya tidak seperti yang saya rancangkan. Banyak kalah dengan nafsu dan kurang sabar. Namun, saya tak boleh tunggu Ramadhan akan datang untuk memperbaiki diri, saya perlu bersiap sedia mulai sekarang untuk Ramadhan akan datang. Semoga Allah S.W.T. mengampunkan saya dan memberi peluang untuk saya mencari keredhaan-Nya. Amiin.

Cerita raya saya biasa-biasa saja. Tahun ini diduga dengan sakit demam anak-anak yang tidak membolehkan kami berkunjung ke rumah sanak saudara seperti biasa. Alhamdulillah..raya kedua Izzat dah kembali sihat. Mujurlah demamnya tidak berpanjangan.

Seminggu di kampung, kami pulang ke KL hari sabtu yang lepas. Oh ya! Untuk makluman semua, our new online consignment store is already opened on 4th of Ramadhan. Feel free to visit & shop ya? And don't forget to subscribe for our newsletter (you'll enjoy 5% discount on every purchase!). The shop is officially www.pinkierthanblue.com . You will be fascinated with all the choices in the store, owh, we shipped internationally too!

Sekali lagi, saya ingin memohon ampun dan maaf pada semua yang membaca kalau ada yang terasa atau kurang senang dengan penulisan saya. Salam kosong-kosong untuk semua.

Hope...dream...and a new found friend

You guys know how much I anticipate to quit my job (becoming tougher since hearing rumors about 2+2 bonuses this year ;-p ) right? Most of the time, I have been dreaming about this business i'm going to set up and grow with it through out my whole life. Something I could sustained for my children, something that could offer me financial & time freedom. But, everyday I woke up from bed...dreaming...dream...hope...dream...
hope. Full stop.

I have tonnes of ideas in my head, but not brave enough to start. Starting with questioning myself about this and that. What ifs. How? Can it be done? Ecetera...ecetera...until one day...I met a new friend...online...

Yes...a new found friend...online. It is just less than a month I started knowing her. With her spirit & positiveness I learn something (I know this sounds cliche, but, it is the truth). I have never look at somebody and feel ashamed about myself like I look at this girl. With a child in one hand, she managed to pull up her business & now it is a success.

This same girl came out with an idea to make my dreams come true. Believe it or not, today is the 8th day since we discussed the idea & she has done so much to make things move. Her spirit has made me move faster (though I still could not catch up with her). I must run! I must not let her down! I must not let people who has engaged with us down!

This business is about helping others. First few months focus is not to make profits, but to introduce ourselves to the country (to the world someday...insyaAllah). To brand & market ourselves together with our friends who are in his together. To show ways to the homemakers (with crafty skills) out there on how can they grow.

Alhamdulillah...as far as we're moving now, the path is quite smooth..but as she said to me...there will be hiccups a long the way...may we be blessed...amiin...

To all parents out there...expect a new phenomenon for your passion soon! We're excited about it! And so must you!

p/s : I am taking my readers seriously from now on...all of you...yes...you're not going to regret following this blog (if you're!)

Love,
Wanie

Unconditional love

Coming home to see these cute little faces has always been great. These 2 little people love each other's company very much. I really hope that they will grow & love their bond forever. Seeing them playing, laughing & share everything together always makes me smile. Now that adik talks so much, the conversation becoming more interesting. Sometimes abang asked for adik's opinion upon constructing a lego structure & adik will answer ... haa, ya..ya..! So funny!

Mr. Hubby loves to call adik chipmunk as adik sounds like one. But, since we seldom let them watched TV (except for Disney Junior sometimes), she has no clue what chipmunk is!

Abang, being a responsible brother could now be relied on to take care of his adik. He can help adik put on her pants, hold the cup when adik wants to drink, get something in the fridge for adik. Though adik is a little bit tough, abang still can handle her.

Abang & adik, mummy & papa hope that you will always be there for your family. Be a strong man, faithful to Allah & responsible in every way you are going to be directed to. Your journey is still far beyond...may Allah S.W.T. blessed you all the way...amin..

Kain, gunting & mesin jahit

Sejak beberapa tahun ni, banyak sangat kain-kain cotton yang saya beli. Maklumlah...english cotton kan famous lately ni. Dalam kepala ni macam-macam nak buat especially sejak anak dara dah besar. Bukan apa, sometimes bila ke kedai nak cari dresses yang menepati citarasa susah sangat. Alih-alih pattern yang sama cuma beza corak or jenis kain jer.

To be honest, saya jarang shopping baju anak-anak. What I usually did is, kumpul duit & tunggu the high end brands buat sale. Masa ni la saya shopping cukup setahun punya stok. It is worth the wait. Tak kisah lah the items are off season pun. Janji cantik & menepati citarasa. My first choice has always been GAP (been thinking to start buying from oversease through Hop-Shop-Go...tengoklah macamana).

Anyway, back to the title. I have been planning to sew a dress for Amani myself & I choose bubble dress for the purpose (ambitious kan? hahaha). Disebabkan gelojoh sangat nak cepat siap, saya tak jahit tepi pun (lagipun jahitan semua tersorok dalam lining). So...here is the result.

 

 

Amani wore it to a kenduri last Sunday & she loved it a lot. Hahaha...bravo mummy! Still...ada la jahitan yang tunggang terbalik since this is my first try for a dress. Well...this is a new beginning for me. Hopefully I will continue with more sewing project.

 

Err...tutorial?  Maybe we start with something easier.

An Ordinary Life

Waking up at 12.20 am after falling asleep in my children's bedroom...I can't put myself back to sleep. Looking into my phone, there's this message from my husband, giving a link to an extraordinary view regarding the recent tragedy of MH370. I'm not going to discuss the link here, it's just makes me think how our point of view does change when something far from ordinary comes across our mind.

Lately, I could not really focus on my work. When I was at work all I could think of is my family. Being a working lady, time is my worst enemy. Out to work at the wee hours with children to send to school & day care, making me so stressful especially to arrive at work on time. When I reached home from work, it has always been dark. I have only 3 hours to prepare dinner, cater to the husband & children's need, settling the house chores before putting the children to sleep (which will usually take longer time). I have no time to actually play with them (which I know that it is something they enjoyed the most). When you're to tired to entertain them, the anger came in.

Amani is just a 2 years & 4 months old toddler that really needs attention. Being the playful one, she always making me tired with the water spilled, biscuits crumbed scattered everywhere in the house and some of her request that makes me moving around the house restlessly. Sometimes I do scold her because of small things. And then, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling bad. She just wants her mummy to cuddle her & play around with her. She is such an angel with her soft voice saying 'hi, mummy!' whenever she sees me (she would never let me out of her sight). She always says sorry for small mistakes such as when she accidentally step on her brothers's toys or when she spilled something on my laminated floor. I love the tone. I love the smell of her curls & chubby cheeks. It is painful to see her crying every time I sent her to day care.

Izzat, being a responsible & well-mannered child always there for her sister. Izzat has a very good discipline. He kept his promise well (if he promised to watch 2 tv programmes, he will stick to 2, nor more or less unless we give him permission). Looking at him, I always wanted him to be my baby forever. I want him to be a good muslim & turn only to Allah S.W.T. & us his parents for guidance & advise when he grew up. I really hope that he won't put his friends first. But, how can I do that if I do not have time to sit with him listening to his problems & be with him through thick & thin?

Well...a friend of mine (who is famously known as an attention seeker) once told me that an ordinary person should never be a blogger. If your life is just about your children, family & food, it's boring & no one would read your blog. Wow...I found it quite harsh friend. A blog could be somebody's something. It could be an open journal to record his/her life journey, so that one day it could be read by his/her future generation. An open secret that you hope will soon be discovered by someone it meant for. I believed, everyone could write whatever they want.

I get different kinds of feedback when I told people that I plan to quit my job in less then 2 years time. Some are very supportive & some are not as they think letting go of my current job is a not a good decision. That is why I am preparing myself for physically, emotionally & financially. Those career woman who actually quit their 5 figures salary is my hero now. If they can do it,why can't I?

These days, I always picture myself as a SAHM. I dreamed of having my own garden, preparing meals for my family & managing the house in my own time. And most importantly...I will have more time to prepare myself for the hereafter. Nothing can beat the satisfaction I guess.

Anyway, coming back to the post title...nothing is wrong to look at things ordinarily sometimes. Be focused & lived it.

Ya Allah, permudahkanlah urusanku...Amiin...

Saya Nak Bagi...'Pay It Forward'

On 25th January 2014, a friend of mine write a status about 'pay it forward'. She offered the first 5 commenters who comented "I'm in" on the status a surprise gift. However, the 5 commenters must extend the 'pay it forward' spirit by offering another 5 people the same thing. Without any hesitation, I commented on her status...but...not with the intention to be indulged with gifts. The reason why I commented is because I like the spirit. Recently, I have also watched a video shared on FB which shows similar spirit.

I'm not sure if any of you have actually come across a movie called Pay It Forward filmed based on a novel with the same title. The movie was out in 2000, and here is the synopsis :-

When eleven and a half year old Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) begins seventh grade in Las Vegas, Nevada, his social studies teacher Eugene Simonet (Kevin Spacey) gives the class an assignment to devise and put into action a plan that will change the world for the better. Trevor's plan is a charitable program based on the networking of good deeds. He calls his plan "Pay It Forward", which means the recipient of a favor does a favor for three others rather than paying the favor back. However, it needs to be a major favor that the receiver can't complete themselves.

Trevor does a favor for three people, asking each of them to "pay the favor forward" by doing favors for three other people, and so on, along a branching tree of good deeds. His first good deed is to let a homeless man named Jerry (Jim Caviezel) live in his garage, and Jerry pays the favor forward by doing car repairs for Trevor's mother. Trevor's efforts appear to fail when Jerry relapses into drug addiction, but Jerry pays his debt forward later by talking to a suicidal woman, who is about to jump off the bridge.

Meanwhile, Trevor's mother Arlene (Helen Hunt) confronts Eugene about Trevor's project after discovering Jerry in their house. Trevor then selects Eugene as his next "pay it forward" target and tricks Eugene and Arlene into a romantic dinner date. This also appears to fail until Trevor and Arlene argue about her alcoholism and she slaps him in a fit of anger. The two adults are brought together again when Trevor runs away from home and Arlene asks Eugene to help her find him.
After finding Trevor, Arlene begins to pursue Eugene sexually. Eugene has deep burn marks visible on his neck and face, and he initially resists Arlene's overtures out of insecurity. When they finally sleep together, he is seen to have extensive scarring all over his torso.

Arlene accepts Eugene's physical disfigurement and forms an emotional bond with him, but quickly abandons their relationship when her alcoholic ex-husband Ricky (Jon Bon Jovi) returns to her, claiming to have given up drinking. Ricky's return and Arlene's acceptance of it angers Eugene, whose own mother had a habit of taking his abusive, alcoholic father back. When Arlene attempts to explain to him that she believes Ricky has changed for good, he explains that his father intentionally burned him by knocking him unconscious and pouring gas over him, berating Arlene for being "one of those women" and warns her of Ricky's potential to abuse Trevor. When Ricky drinks again and resumes his abusive behavior, Arlene realizes her mistake and forces him to leave.

Trevor's school assignment marks the beginning of the story's chronology, but the opening scene in the film shows one of the later favors in the "pay it forward" tree, in which a man gives a car to Los Angeles journalist Chris Chandler (Jay Mohr). As the film proceeds, Chandler traces the chain of favors back to its origin as Trevor's school project. After her date with Eugene, Arlene paid Jerry's favor forward by forgiving her own mother, Grace (Angie Dickinson), for her mistakes in raising Arlene, and Grace, who is homeless, helps a gang member escape from the police. The gang member then saves a girl's life in a hospital, and the girl's father gives Chandler his new car.

Chandler finally identifies Trevor as the originator of "pay it forward" and conducts a recorded interview in which Trevor describes his hopes and concerns for the project. Eugene, hearing Trevor's words, realizes that he and Arlene should be together. As Eugene and Arlene reconcile with a passionate embrace, Trevor notices his friend Adam being bullied by gangster-like kids. He pays it forward to Adam by rushing into the scene and fighting the bullies while Eugene and Arlene rush to stop him. One of the bullies takes a switchblade out of his pocket. Trevor is then accidentally pushed into the knife and is stabbed in the abdomen. Trevor consequently dies at the hospital. This news is reported on television; Arlene and Eugene are soon visited by hundreds of people who have participated in the "Pay It Forward" movement by gathering in a vigil to pay Trevor their respects.

(Source: WikiPedia )
Have we ever noticed that doing good to others will actually make our day?

Well, I think it is time for me to see things differently now. It is no point for me to be annoyed by ill-mannered people around me or being offended when my so called best friends are no more acting like best friends & etc.. Let's do some changes in life.

Therefore, I would really like to offer the same 'Pay-it-forward' spirit & my friendship to any 5 of my dear readers who willing to drop their comments in my comment box. Be it where ever you are. Here are guides for you :-

1. Leave your comments on this post together with your email address
2. Take pictures of my surprise gift to you & write a special post on how would you like to extend this 'pay-it-forward' spririt to your readers.
3. Put a link to my blog in your post so that I could pay you a visit.
*But if you do not have your own blog, you could spread the spirit through other social media, be it FB, instagram etc.

London & Paris Trip Part 3 : Jalan-Jalan

Lama benar ambil masa nak sambung cerita yer? Nak buat macamana, the mood is not there...hehehe...ok..ok..jom sambung lagi...

Hari ketiga kami di London adalah hari Sabtu. Seperti biasa trip kami just nak rileks-rileks jer, so, tak payah la nak rushing sangat. Seperti biasa, pukul 9 pagi kami keluar dari apartment & heading to King's Cross Station to visit the famous Natural History Museum.

Ramai betul orang keluar hari tu...maklumlah...sabtu kan? Queue nak masuk museum pun bukan main panjang lagi. Izzat memang excited la bila bagitau dia yang kita nak pergi tengok dinosour dekat museum (walaupun cuma rangka dinosaur). Maka beratur la kami walaupun panjang. Tapi, sekejap jer beratur tu, dalam 5 minit je sebab dia just nak release yang keluar dulu then baru lepaskan yang beratur nak masuk. Oh ya, masuk museum ni free jer.

The queue (Kalau boleh elak weekend lebih baik)

Hmm...apa motif bergambar dengan globe ni yer?

The famous spot of Natural History Museum

Izzat & the dinosaur skeleton...yang dia excited sangat nak tengok tu

 

 

Kami kat dalam museum tu tak lama, around pukul 1 dah keluar. Kalau ikutkan itenary saya, lepas keluar dari museum, nak ke Harrods yang katanya cuma a few blocks away from the museum. So, jalan la kami...dah la hujan masa tengah jalan tu. Jalan punya jalan, bila dah nampak Harrods terus hilang letih. Biasa la...perempuan..hehehe. Masuk jer dalam tu, ramai sangat orang...ARAB...memang kaya la diaorang ni...sorang-sorang beratur bayar chanel, LV & all those high end punya brand. Dalam segan-segan, saya approach la sorang salesman ni, asking for Harrods items department. Dengan penuh mesra, dia berikan direction pada saya. Hilang la jugak rasa segan tu.

 

Masuk je ke department yang diingini, memang rambang mata la weh. Habis berterabur memori ni nak recall balik sapa kirim apa. End up, all types of handbags aku sambar. Adalah dalam 9 biji (untuk mama, mami, umi, acom etc...mostly for family members). Then sambar pulak shopping bag harrods yang colourful tu. FYI, barang-barang kat sana murah banyak berbanding Harrods kat KLCC or KLIA ya. Mr. Hubby & anak-anakku sangat well behaved, siap duduk bersila kat lantai lagi tunggu mummynya yang dah tak tentu arah memilih barang. Lepas dah pilih yang berkenan, saya pun pass la kat Mr. Hubby mintak dia beratur bayar. Hehehe...lama betul menunggu giliran nak membayar sebab nya ramai pak-mak Arab yang shopping lagiiii banyak.

 

Welcome to London Harrods!



 

Lepas habis bayar, kami bergerak ke kaunter VAT claim pulak. Sedar tak sedar dah dekat pukul 4 petang, tiket nak masuk Madame Tussauds pukul 4.30 petang. Mula la kalut masa tu. Nak berjalan ke sana tak tau kot mana. Last-last, teringat pesan sorang kawan ni, kalau ada emergency, naik taxi je. Bila kami turun, nasib baik taxi dah ada, terus masuk dengan stroller sekali (ini yang bagus tentang taxi di London, stroller boleh tolak masuk jer, tak payah lipat-lipat). 

Sesampainya kami di Madame Tussauds, punya la ramai manusia beratur. Sepanjang kat dalam sana, memang sesak nafas rasanya, manusia punya la ramai, nak skip ruang tak boleh dah. Nak tak nak terpaksa la redah. Tapi, kami betul-betul syukur sebab anak-anak memang behaved & langsung tak buat hal. Nothing much to say about Madame Tussauds, lets the picture do the talking.

Jumpa spiderman...ok la tu..

Ironman pulak...lagi seronok dia

Two well behaved children! Welldone!

Sian Lady Di, duduk kat tepi stage sorang-sorang, takde sapa nak ambik gambar dengan dia, meh..meh..kita ambik gambar dua ek? (Tak kuasa nak beratur ramai-ramai nak ambik gambar dengan other royal family members)

Jumpa shrek jugak!

Mr. Hubby...jumpa kawan lama...hehehe

 

 

Setakat inilah dulu yang mampu saya update. Next is on our trip out of central London...till then...tata

London & Paris Trip 2013 : Part 2 - The Journey (2nd Day)

Ok...kita sambung citer sikit lagi ya...

Hari kedua kami di London, itenary kami cuma berjalan-jalan di sekitar kota London. Lepas breakfast, kami terus berjalan ke King's Cross station & naik tube ke Trafalgar Square. Semua research nak naik line mana & connection from one station to one station kami dah buat siap-siap. It's good for you to check the lines & routes through this website . From here, you could plan your route & will be given a few choices to decide the best & shortest route possible for your journey. Dekat website ni pun dia akan inform station yang mana wheelchair & stroller friendly.

Satu perkara yang saya puas dok meng'google' sebelum ke sana adalah tentang ber'stroller' di kota London. Al maklumlah, kami travel with small children, it is important to know the road condition, public transport etc.. Tapi, saya tak mendapat jawapan yang tepat sepanjang research saya. Oleh itu, saya ingin berkongsi tentang tips ber'stroller' di London. Sebelum ke sana, banyak perkara yang kami bincangkan pasal isu stroller ni, perlu ke tak bawak double stroller, or bawak 2 stroller or satu stroller dengan buggy board.

Ber'stroller' di London
Susah ke senang? Sebenarnya it depends...kalau bawak anak kecik, memang perlu bawak stroller. Especially untuk memudahkan anak-anak berehat & tido, lebih-lebih lagi kalau maknya nak bershopping...hehehe

Kebanyakan kaki lima di London sempit & berbatu kasar, tapi at least ada kaki lima kan? So, ok jer kalau nak bawak stroller. Tapi kalau guna double stroller yang side by side tu susah sikit la, better lagi guna tandem stroller.

Cuma, kalau nak travel ke sana ke sini menggunakan tube, be prepared untuk mengangkat stroller turun naik tangga, sebab tak semua tube station ada lif (sebab tu better check di website tfl ). Sesetengah station yang banyak line tu kalau ada lif pun jauh-jauh jaraknya & makan masa serta meletihkan. Jangan main-main kalau letih ni, mood pun boleh jatuh merudum...hehehe..

First & 2nd day kami banyak naik tube, tapi, disebabkan dah tak larat, kami naik bas. Amazingly, naik bas di London ni lebih convenient dari naik tube, especially dengan stroller. Timing pun tepat & bas-bas kat sana akan ada selang 10 minit. Tapi, kena rajin baca route di bus stand, sebab tak semua bas akan berhenti di bus stand yang sama. Tak susah lah, senang jer.

Sebagai guide, kalau duduk di area King's Cross, boleh naik bas no. 10 (operate 24 hours - bila baca route dia automatik kita tahu) terus sampai depan jalan besar nak ke Studios to let tu. Cuma, setiap bas, maximum no. of stroller/wheelchair allowed are 3 only. Kalau you all tahan tp driver bas tak berhenti or tak buka pintu, cuba jenguk dulu kat dalam tu, mungkin dah penuh kuota stroller dalam bas.  Takpe, boleh tunggu next bus.

Tapi, kami tak bawa double/tandem stroller. Kami cuma bawa stroller + buggy board. Kalau abang tido, kami letak abang dalam stroller & adik berdiri kat buggy board. Kalau dua-dua tido, papa dukung adik..hehehe..tak larat la nak mengangkat double/tandem stroller. Kata travel light kan? Nak shopping lagi..huhuhu.

Trafalgar square. From here, we just walk to

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.

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Big ben, horse guard museum, London eye & other attraction



Kiri : Horseguard museum

Kanan : Big Ben

Kiri : London eye

Kanan : Izzat at Disney Store @ Oxford Street

Kiri & Kanan : Still at Disney Store. Adik is so excited to meet Princess Sofia

 

Oxford street ni pun walking distance jer from other attraction, tapi, kami ni mana la biasa berjalan banyak, so, naik bas la jawabnya. Tujuan ke Oxford Street ni sebenarnya just nak get familiar with it jer sambil2 memilih kedai nak masuk later. Kalau ikut itenary, shopping day kami hari Isnin nanti.

 

To be honest, I love shopping in London. One of the reason saya pilih ke London during summer sebab banyak sale. Kalau pergi hujung tahun pun banyak sale, tapi, banyak winter clothing jer, kalau ada yang lain pun balance yang tak habis masa summer. Ok, enough about shopping, will update in another posts ya.

 

Lepas jalan-jalan di Oxford Street, kami ke Harry Potter Studio. Yang ni tragis sikit, nak masuk studio ni, kena beli tiket online jer, pastu kena pilih timing. Dekat tiket tu dia dah tulis, kalau kita lambat, ada kemungkinan tak dibenarkan masuk tapi, boleh cuba tanya dekat kaunter. Cuma, entrance tak dijamin. Huhuhu...nak tahu apa kisah tragisnya? Kami lambat 1/2 jam!!!! Ni Oxford Street punya pasal la! Konon sempat la...padahal nak mencari tube line tu satu hal...tapi...nasib kami baik...punya bagi alasan macam-macam...mat saleh tu sengih jer...dia cakap boleh masuk sebab tak ramai orang (nasib baik beli tiket hari Jumaat...kalau sabtu or ahad konfem naya)...Alhamdulillah...dapat juga kami masuk. It's like a dream comes true! I love Harry Potter series (semua citer magical saya suka) tapi takde la sampai hafal detailnya, bila dapat tengok all the props & masuk ke set filem ni memang best sangat. Budak-budak ni bukan faham pun..mak dia jer yang excited lebih...hehehe...enjoy the pic la yer...nak letak caption pun dah lupa dah semua nama set ni...huhuhu...yang mana terer tu teka la set apa yang ada kat bawah ni...

 

Balik jer dari Harry Potter Studios ni, dah pukul 8 malam...masak tetap kena masak...lepas makan semua terbongkang tak sedar diri. Hehehe...next trip, kita citer next post.

London & Paris 2013 : Part 1 - The arrival

Lamanya berhutang posting pasal trip to London & Paris. Natijahnya, banyak details yang dah terlupa. Nasib la kan...sapa suruh malas ek?

Sebelum disalah anggap, ingin saya terangkan di sini yang posting tentang trip kami ini bukan tujuan untuk menunjuk-nunjuk. Sekadar ingin berkongsi pengalaman & tips-tips dengan sesiapa sahaja yang merancang untuk melancong.

Saya rasa, beberapa perkara yang menjadi tanda-tanya dan yang penat saya buat research sebelum pergi hari tu adalah sangat perlu diterangkan dengan lebih terperinci. Contohnya ber'stroller' di sana, travel dengan anak kecil, makanan, kos & macam-macam lagi. Oleh itu, postings saya akan diterbitkan dalam beberapa siri. Hehehe...tak tau la bila nak habis...ikut tahap kerajinan la yer?

Ok...kita mulakan perjalanan cerita kembara ini sekarang. Maaf yer, saya takkan recap date sekian-sekian kat sini sebab memori ku sudah caca marba. Yang saya ingat adalah, kami bertolak ke London pada malam 21/8/2013 & sampai di sana pada pagi 22/8/2013.

Perancangan untuk ke London & Paris ni dah ada dalam kepala sejak hujung 2012 lagi, tetapi, percaya tak kalau saya cakap all the bookings (be room, tickets etc.) were made only in Jun? Hahaha...memang last minute punya orang la kan? Sebenarnya, survey tu yang makan masa, especially when banyak perkara yang tak jelas. Last time I was in London was in 2006. Masa tu bujang & pergi atas dasar kerja, so, memang lain la.

Kalau naik MAS, ada 2 choices jer timing untuk pilih penerbangan, flight pukul 11 pagi atau 11 malam.

Tips 1 : Untuk yang travel with kids, it's better for you to take the night flight as the children will be sleeping at least 6-7 hours. So, you'll have some times to rest.

Oh ya, lupa nak mention, sebelum beli tiket, please pilih timing dulu. Yang saya maksudkan adalah musim apa yang best nak melawat satu-satu tempat tu ya. Kami pilih summer supaya tak sejuk sangat. Tapi, summer in London selalunya HUJAN. So, tak la bagus sangat sebenarnya. Ada jugak hari-hari yang kami basah meredah hujan. Mr. Hubby pulak lupa nak bawak stroller rain cover. Nasib la kan...tapi alhamdullillah...budak2 ni tak demam or selesema sepanjang kat sana. Of course saya bagi dorang mandi & makan ubat everytime balik from any trips (ada juga time2 kami sampai apartment dlm pukul 10 malam...hehehe..oxford street punya penangan la ni...nanti kita citer ek...)

Hello Heathrow! After a looong flight...at last sampai juga

 

Dari Heathrow kami dah buat some study on how to move around London (Thanks so much to Cari Forum, ramai yang membantu saya dalam membuat research tak kurang juga yang menjawab soalan-soalan saya). Di London ada 2 jenis travel card, visitor oyster card & travelcard.

 

Oyster Card

Oyster card ni macam touch n go la. Tapi harga dia beza ikut zon. Saya pilih beli visitor oyster card ni untuk zon 1 & 2 sebab kebanyakan attraction adalah dalam zon 1 & 2. Kalau kita nak travel di luar zon 1 & 2 contohnya macam kami nak ke Harry Potter Studios di Zon 6, kami just top up the required amount jer. Untuk oyster card ni, kita boleh juga pilih 7 days travel card option. 7 days oyster travel card ni dia dah siap calculate (sekali dgn discount) minimum fare yang kita perlu bayar untuk travel within zone yang kita pilih (in my case is aroung 32 pound untuk seorang adult. Kad ni kami beli di Heathrow punya tube station. Oh ya, oyster travel card ni kita boleh guna untuk naik other public transport such as bus etc. & also boleh dpt 10% discount untuk naik river cruise.

 

7-days Travelcard

Kita akan diberi kad kertas yang kita kena tunjukkan pada gate keeper/bus driver. Function dia lebih kurang sama dgn oyster card, cuma kita tak boleh top up kat situ kalau nak keluar dari zon yang kita pilih. So, kalau nak travel luar dari zone, kena beli tiket lain. Unless memang u all nak beli travel card dari zon 1-6 la which will cost you around 50++ pound.

 

More about travel in London

 

On the other hand, maybe ada banyak perubahan berkenaan transportation cost in 2013 & 2014. Untuk penjelasan yang lebih lanjut, saya cadangkan anda bertanya terus kepada forumer Cari Forum kat link London ni. They're all very helpful. Tapi, sebelum bertanya, sila baca the whole thread sepenuhnya ya, sebab mungkin pertanyaan anda akan terjawab sepanjang bacaan ni.

 



 



 

Kiri : Tengah study map kat luar King's Cross Station (Nak cari studio apartment yang kami book)

Kanan : Kat depan Studio To let, letak barang dulu kat lobi (tapi belum check in sebab kami sampai awal) & now going out for breakfast & jalan-jalan.

 

Di London, kami menginap di Studios To Let. Macamana kami tahu pasal apartment ni & kenapa kami pilih? semuanya setelah buat research di Cari Forum (seperti link di atas). Apartment ni dekat sangat dengan King's Cross Station (stesen yang menempatkan Eurostar Line ke Paris - our next destination) & dekat King's Cross Station ni jugaklah yang jadi lokasi penggambaran Harry Potter. Remember Platform 9 3/4 ? You could not miss this attraction! Apartment ni ada washing machine & dryer, tapi kena share la dengan tenants lain. Kalau travel abroad, kami memang suka ambik apartment dari hotel, lebih convenient & mudah sebab boleh basuh baju dan masak sendiri.



 

Kiri : Seronok depa ni dok main kat cafe ni. One of the cafes in King's Cross Station.

Kanan : At Green Park Station.

 



Kami punya schedule that day just jalan-jalan gi Buckingham Palace nak tengok changing guard ceremony at 11.30 am everyday. Tapi, sampai sana hujan pulak. Nasib baik dah siap-siap beli baju hujan kat Malaysia sebab memang dah ready tentang cuaca yang tak menentu di sana. So, kami tak stay lama kat sana & proceed to Bayswater. Kenapa Bayswater? Sebab kat situ la memori saya pertama kali ke London tersemat. Tapi, semua dah berubah. Kedai bunga cantik kat tepi blok dah tak ada, banyak kedai makanan halal yang best dah tak ada, yang ada cuma expensive middle eastern food jer. So, kami singgah la makan kat salah satu kedai tu. Tapi tak best sangat, pelayan pun kurang mesra. Lepas makan, kami singgah di Tesco Express for grocery shopping.

For the whole plastic bag (almost 1 week punya stok tu) I only spent 17++pound which is soooo cheap (kalau convert pun masih lagi murah). Dengan beras, minyak, telur, udang besar2, smoked mackerel, wedges, curly fries, berries, roti & macam-macam lagi la.

 

Oh ya, Studios to let tu, walking distance jugak ke euston station (the only train station yg kita boleh naik train ke Harry Potter Studios) & dekat euston station tu ada macam-macam kedai, M&S (a small Marks & Spencer yg jual groceries saja) so, senang la nak cari stok makanan.

 

Fuh, banyak lagi nak story mory ni. Tapi, tuan tanah dah penat dah menaip. Kita sambung nanti ya? Untuk anda yang merancang nak ke London tu, di alu-alukan untuk baca post ni. Kalau ada yang nak bertanya lanjut, sila la tinggalkan komen so that I could answer your specific questions.

Mummy macam syaitan?

Sedar tak sedar, dah setahun Izzat bersekolah. Alhamdulillah, banyak perkembangan diri Izzat yang positif kami lihat.

His english vocab has increased & he is more confident speaking in english. He could just switch to english in seconds if we asked him to do so!

Being a shy kid eversince, Izzat has changed so much. He talks a lot & always questioned us so many things.

A few months ago (yeah, yeah, I have been neglecting this blog sampaikan kena quote cerita 'a few months ago'..kira ok la tu...kalau jadi 'once upon a time'...haa...itu memang tahap legend la kan?..hahaha), he started to question us about heaven, hell, devil, angels & some other religous matters.

Nak dijadikan cerita, satu hari tu saya temankan dia wee wee (it means 'pee' people!) then, this conversation took place :-

Izzat : Mummy...my friend taught me to wee wee like this... (Berdiri ko! Sambil buat aksi orang wee wee!)

Mummy : (Terkejut ni)...Abang..it's not proper to wee wee like that...do you know who actually love to wee wee like that?

Izzat : Who? (Curious)

Mummy : It's syaitan...if you don't want to become syaitan's friend, don't wee wee like that again ya? Always sit. Understand?

Izzat mengangguk je la. Sejak dari hari tu, banyak sangatlah soalannya pasal si setan ni. Rumah dia kat mana? Kalau kita azan, syaitan pegi mana? Macamana nak halau syaitan? Hmm...memang maknya kena digest balik buku teks agama darjah 5 la jawabnya.

Nak dijadikan cerita lagi. Satu hari ni, saya tengah membebel pasal diorang dok main toys tak kemas balik. Maknya dah la penat sepanjang hari kerja, balik rumah nak kena menikmati pandangan indah  rumah yang bagaikan tongkang pecah dek penangan toys yang berselerak. Tiba-tiba, Izzat bersuara...

Izzat : Mummy ni macam syaitan la...

Ambik kau...terkedu mummynya sekejap mendengarkan statement anak yang mencengkam jiwa...dah tak jadi dah nak marah...terkejut jugak bila anak samakan kita dengan setan...

Mummy : Kenapa abang cakap mummy macam tu?

Izzat : Ye la...mummy ni asyik marah je...syaitan je suka marah orang...

Mummy : (Dengan nada yang tenang)...mana ada mummy marah...mummy cakap je...ok la..ok la...mummy tak marah-marah dah...abang tolong mummy kemas ya?

Huhuhu...tamparan hebat sungguh...tak semena-mena...gelaran setan yang mummy dapat...so guys, berhati-hatilah ya bila anak-anak anda sudah mula curious...mungkin hidup anda akan diselubungi misteri...

Friends with benefit

Salam semua...

Eh, dah lama tak menulis di blog ni...tiba-tiba tajuknya macam ni ya?

Owh...jangan cepat melatah...kisah ini tidak berniat menyentuh peribadi sesiapa. Sekadar mahu berkongsi apa yang terlihat dan ternampak di pandangan mata.

Semua orang punya kawan kan? Kawan sedari kecil, kawan sekolah, kawan universiti, rakan sekerja, jiran-jiran, ibu kepada kawan-kawan anak kita dan macam-macam lagi jenis kawan yang tak tersebut kat sini.

Ada kawan yang makan kawan, ada kawan yang baik kat depan, ada kawan yang ikhlas berkawan, ada kawan yang berkawan dengan kita sebab mahukan sesuatu dari kita. Bila dah dapat, poof! terus hilang.

Kali ini saya teringin menyentuh tentang 'friends with benefit'. Perkara ini timbul dalam fikiran saya ketika melihat satu situasi di pejabat saya.

Di penghujung tahun 2013 baru-baru ini, ketua bahagian saya (seorang wanita) telah dinaikkan pangkat. Alhamdulillah, tahniah kepada beliau. Pangkat baru beliau telah meletakkan beliau sebagai orang ketiga di dalam barisan menuju ke puncak.

Ketua saya ini, orangnya agak reserved, kawan-kawan yang selalu datang ke bilik beliau untuk bertanya khabar dan berborak hanya 5 orang sahaja. Rasanya, mungkin mereka ini adalah orang yang sentiasa berkongsi suka duka dengan beliau.

Pada hari beliau menerima surat kenaikan pangkat, dengan tidak semena-mena, bahagian kami menerima kunjungan segerombolan manusia yang beria-ia datang mengucapkan tahniah kepada beliau. Siap berpeluk cium lagi. Gayanya seperti memang 'best friend forever' lah!

Kunjungan itu benar-benar membuka mata kami. Kerana di dalam gerombolan pengunjung itu, ada di antara mereka adalah orang yang selalu memburukkan beliau di belakangnya (kadang-kadang terdengar juga ditelinga kami bisikan-bisikan nakal tentang gosip di pejabat ini). Wow, begitu mudah sekali mereka menukar persepsi, hanya kerana pangkat yang dimiliki. Dalam masa yang sama, timbul rasa kasihan kami kepada sang ketua, adakah teman-teman ini akan bersama-sama menyedekahkan al-fatihah & bacaan yaasin sekiranya beliau pergi menghadap Ilahi? Sanggupkan teman-teman ini sama-sama mengiringi jenazahnya ke kuburan kelak? Wallahua'lam.

Ketika ini, saya merenung kembali perjalanan hidup saya. Adakah saya punya teman-teman yang setia? Perlukah saya mengharapkan kesetiaan dari seorang teman? Sepanjang hidup saya, saya tidak mempunyai ramai teman rapat. Dari satu fasa ke satu fasa, saya punya sekumpulan teman yang saya kirakan 'rapat'. Namun, istilah rapat itu terhenti disitu sahaja. Tamat belajar, 'full stop'. Bertemu memanglah jarang, bercakap telefon pun kurang. Lebih-lebih lagi bila masing-masing sudah berumahtangga.

Saya cemburu bila melihat status teman-teman lain keluar bertemu teman-teman rapat masing-masing. Tak kiralah masing-masing dengan  stroller masing-masing pun, namun, tetap punya masa bertemu dan bertanya khabar.

Namun, tak semuanya begitu...alhamdulillah, baru-baru ini saya berpeluang bertemu teman-teman lama yang suatu masa dulu sangat dekat dihati saya.

Buat Gee, Kat, Fika, Pija, Yan, Azee...korang tetap dihati aku...sampai bila-bila...insya-Allah, akan kupelihara persahabatan kita hingga ke akhir hayat...

Buat Che A, Diey, Farah, Atem & Su...you will still be in my heart...no matter what...

Buat Lin & Kak Zulia...thanks for being there for me & may we will be friends forever

Buat Ashra...terima kasih kerana menjadi teman sekasut yang sangat memahami...terima kasih juga kerana rajin tinggalkan jejak di rumah usang ini...semoga persahabatan kita kekal sampai bila-bila

Buat teman-teman yang tidak kusebut namanya disini...terima kasih kerana menerima ku sebagai teman...

Alhamdulillah...Thank You Allah for blessing me with wonderful friends throughout my life journey...