Sedondon di Hari Raya - What's our Theme Colour for 2015 ?

Day 11 of Ramadan. Every time Ramadan comes, it hit us like lighting, fast and impactful. I always wish that it didn't go by so quickly. Terawikh and Sahur are amongst the activities that we don't usually do on other months plus breaking fast with the family, a common old tradition that is lacking in the modern family house hold now. Cakes and dishes that you usually won't find on normal months too due to Bazaar Ramadan and for me that extra time i get between Sahur and Sun rise, time spent on reciting the Quran, checking emails and finishing up some paper work before the kids wake up.

Soon, Eid will be approaching. Simple but yet complicated question pops up - Warna baju Raya kita apa ? (What's our Raya theme colour this year ?).  Every single year ever since we had children, we try to coordinate the colour of our Baju Raya. Corny as it sounds, but this practise actually makes the Baju Raya hunting a much memorable and fun experience.

Let's recall, the pass year's theme colour.

This was taken in 2011 Raya. Both of us wore light green and it was so difficult to find baby baju kurung in the same colour. Kaseh wore Peach, but ok la still look in sync with both of us .

Raya 2013, I was heavily pregnant with Kefli. In this photo , i was due anytime during the Raya month. Of course, I didn't feel like "bergaya di hari Raya" (fashionable), with almost 20 kg additional weight gain due to the pregnancy. Thus, I opted for a cotton Peach based Kurung Pesak which I bought at Kompleks Karangkraf, Jalan Conlay to match Sol's Peach Baju Melayu Johor. I bought Kaseh's Kurung at Amcorp Mall. Photo taken at my mother's house in Bandar Utama, PJ.

2014 our theme was Grey. This is by far my favourite Raya family photograph. Classic ! Any parents would know that taking a perfect family photo is impossible with kids. It was the morning of Raya and Kaseh was not in a very good mood! Taken at Kaseh's Moyang's house in Seksyen 16, PJ. I opted for a blause from @surisara and paired it with a batik sarong, Sol's and the children's traditional attire are from Omar Ali, TTDI. 

So what will our theme colour be this year? I guess we shall wait and see on the morning of this coming Raya. For you who are still thinking about your colour, here's some guidelines to what certain colour means to the wearer. Taken from a seminar i attended with @theimagecreator. 

Green - Hope

Blue - Productivity

Red -Powerful

Orange - Energetic

White - Organised

Black - Convincing

Yellow - Cheerful

Purple - Royal

Grey - Intelligent 

Good luck with your Raya shopping ! 

Happy Ramadan 2015 & Yummy Lasagna Recipe for Iftar

Salam Ramadan everybody ! How's you Ramadan so far ? It's the 6th day of fasting and my body and mind is still getting used to the whole routine. Fasting is actually more of a mind over matter, psychological and spiritual. For me the non eating or drinking is not so much the issue because if your mind is set to it, you will do it.

For me, Ramadan is similar to New Year because i often reflect, reset and re strategise life outlook and plans. There's a lot more time during this month to do so, because there's extra time during lunch breaks for pondering, some gap time during sahoor and sunrise plus Terawikh prayers are great time for Dua and seeking his blessings. I hope you've adjusted to the timings and change of routine, it's only the first week, but i'm telling you time will fly and soon it will be Eid. So let's make the best and optimise the month.

Over the last weekend, I had an opportunity to Emcee the opening of Mother Care 13th Outlet in Atria, Petaling Jaya. Wow, this is rezeki Ramadan, and i am so ever grateful that i was invited to host it. On top of all the nice presents, i met so many other Moms and Dads who shares the same interests.

Yasmin Hani, Irma Hasmie, Blogger Ben Ashaari, Anabelle Kong, Winnie and FourfeetNine.
It was a great start to Ramadan, i wasn't planning to shop for Raya for Kaseh and Kefli , but couldn't resist browsing thru their latest collections.

Ok, take a breather , I don't have a specific Shopping day for Raya, and to be honest we have purchased our traditional attire well in advance, but yes might KIV these cute baby tees!

Another headache that Moms get during this Ramadan is - nak machine papa ? Preparing the anticipated Iftar meals for the family. It must be something that everyone would agree too. And Mom don't have much time and energy to spend long hours in the kitchen .

So what's cooking ? How about this 80 kg Grouper i found at Village Grocer will grocery shopping ?

Check it out! You can feed the whole family for year with this 80kg beauty.

Curry ? Steam ? Masak Lemak Cili Padi. I'm kind off afraid to cook this fish, not so sure who will purchase this, or perhaps it will remain as attraction to shoppers. What would be more practical is Yummy Lasagna that's absolutely easy to make ? So here's what we had for our Father's Day Iftar Session. The recipe is below, be sure to try ! 

500grams of minced chicken

2 cans of tomato pasta sauce

Button mushrooms

Full cream milk

Cream

Butter

Flour

Lasagna Sheets

Garlic and Onions

Mozzarella Cheese 

Tomato Sauce

1. Stir fry onions and garlic.

2. Add minced chicken 

3. Add 2 cans of tomato pasta sauce

4. Add 2 cups of full cream milk. 

White Sauce

1. Add some oil and butter in a pot 

2. Add flour and stir

3. Add milk and cream

4. Stir in low fire

Layer the sheets, an alternate between tomato sauce and white sauce.And when you finally done, 

sprinkle loads of cheese and bake for 20 mins in 180 degree. Great for Sahur too. Selamat berbuka ! 

Happy Anniversary and We Celebrated It @ Avillion, Port Dickson.

I know, a wedding anniversary with the kids ? Isn't anniversaries a romantic event and should be celebrated in private ? Plus come on, just for a few day, the kids will be all right. Just go, just spent time together. Well, for us , we've never been away from our children, only if it's work purposes. I've never had the heart to leave them behind, and plus for me a holiday is not a holiday without them.
I know that other parents have different perspective, but yeah , we take ours where ever we go.
Being a mother with a career , it makes it tougher for me , knowing that , the weekend and short breaks are the only time i have with them.

I see anniversaries in a different perspective now. I strongly agree that it should be celebrated. It's time to reflect in the life that you have build together , to celebrate the mile stone and to re-egnite your love for each other. For me, if we teach our kids and include them in this important date , hopefully  they will appreciate relationships and marriage once they are an adult. I hear people say,
hey my parents have been married for 30 years now and most of the time, i hear them say it with pride. And they hope to follow the foot steps of their parents.  Some even go the extra mile and organise a surprise anniversary party. So i hope Kaseh and Kefli will throw a big bash on our 25th, 40th, 50th wedding anniversary and so on and so forth. ( Insya Allah).

Well, i did a short video, i thought , i'd like to move forward with more videos for this blog. So here's a quick review.

The last time we were in Avillion is two years ago. I must say that the customer service has improved tremendously, much friendlier staffs and they are prompt when answering to house keepings requests.
I enjoyed the duplex Beach Studio very much. It give us some privacy from the kids and they have plenty of space to roam around. Booked online and with tax it was all in RM600, without breakfast.
But that's all right, cause eateries aren't a problem in PD.

I ordered a small tiramisu cake from room service. The kids retired early that night (Wohoo) , thanks to the pool and running around the beach, thus gave us parents some quite time together.

On our way back , just before entering the PD highway, i discovered a gem ! This stall sells hot Cakoi and some Malay kueh. I love Cakoi and couldn't get enough of it , plus the makcik is super nice.
You can't get 6 kuehs for RM 2.80 in KL ok. The stall is kind off hidden , it's on the main road , so you gotta keep your eyes wide open.

A short but sweet and memorable trip. So here's to more years to come. Happy 6th year Anniversary !