My Mock Viva

Everything went well lately...I got my viva date, finally! huh! My mock viva? Not so well....I got to hear a lot of evil critiques (ha! ha! ha!) from the fellow lecturers who listened for my mock viva presentation just before the Raya Haji....my heart wasn't there, ok? and I didn't get enough time to prepare for the presentation....I was expecting the worst, so the critiques were some sort of entering through my right ear and leaving through the left ear....sorry...I don't take it to the heart....I got the notice about four the days before my presentation and they were expecting me to prepare for both thesis summary and presentation slides, which I prepared with half of my heart (less than half actually!)....I must admit! it was my fault, I should be readily prepared, I shouldn't have wait for the date to come and then getting ready for it....it is my work, it should already been at my fingertips....when they were asking questions, the answer should be popped out of my mouth instantly! there, my confidence level suddenly dropped....I went blank in front of them...nothing came out of my mouth smoothly....if that was my real viva, I will surely have to reviva....hope I will do well than this...well enough for me to continue further....I've already secured a place....I don't want anything to come before it! Insya Allah....

Please pray for me!
29 Nov, here I come!

Sami Yusuf - Mother - My Ummah

I just want to share a song with you, my dearest blog viewers....hopefully you'll love it as much as I do....

Blessed is your face
Blessed is your name
My beloved
Blessed is your smile
Which makes my soul want to fly
My beloved
All the nights
And all the times
That you cared for me
But i never realised it
And now it’s too late
Forgive me

Now i’m alone filled with so much shame
For all the years i caused you pain
If only i could sleep in your arms again
Mother i’m lost without you

You were the sun that brightened my day
Now who’s going to wipe my tears away
If only i knew what i know today
Mother i’m lost without you

Ummahu, ummahu, ya ummi
Wa shawqahu ila luqyaki ya ummi
Ummuka, ummuka, ummuka ummuka
Qawlu rasulika
Fi qalbi, fi hulumi
Anti ma’i ya ummi
Mother... mother... o my mother
How i long to see o mother
“your mother, your mother, your mother”
Is the saying of your prophet
In my heart, in my dreams
You are always with me mother

Ruhti wa taraktini
Ya nura ‘aynayya
Ya unsa layli
Ruhti wa taraktini
Man siwaki yahdhununi
Man siwaki yasturuni
Man siwaki yahrusuni
‘afwaki ummi
Samihini...
You went and left me
O light of my eyes
O comfort of my nights
You went and left me
Who, other than you, will embrace me?
Who, other than you, will cover me?
Who, other than you, will guard over me?
Your pardon mother, forgive me

Weight Loss Quest...again???

I'm on a new quest now!!! Instead of losing weight, I've been gaining weight...more than I've anticipated. Now, I am looking for a way to shred a few kilos (more than a few actually). So, the first step is to look back at my activities for the past few months. Okay! I admit. Less activities involving calories burning except that I've been eating more than I should. So, as a start, I'm trying to reduce my food intake. Strictly no junk food including 'kuih raya"...hehe...love 'kuih raya' so much to the extend that I can't stop it once I start eating. I also try to reduce high calories food especially nuggets, drummets, sausages and everything alike. I ate it a lot during Ramadhan....my husband likes that kind of food so much...he requested that on the days when the food are not to his liking....and I end up eating a lot of it....

I missed all those times I was studying in UiTM...I ate a lot but never gain weight except during semester break...I used to walk a lot, so as new semester began, I can always get back my ideal weight...I weighed around 50 to 52 kg but never exceed 55 kg....the way I am today, I doubt if I can get those weight again....No matter how hard it is, I want to keep trying...I want my old self...being overweight sometimes kills my confidence to meet people, my friends and relatives....therefore I must try hard to lose weight even if it takes a year to do so....the most important thing is not giving up...when there is a will, there is a way, Insya Allah....

Jakel vs Nagoya

I've never really like buying cloths at Jakel. The first time I set my foot inside, I was surprised. There was too many people inside looking and choosing variety fabrics. Looking at these people, I started suffocating and choosing a fabric has became almost impossible for me and my mom. As we (my mom & I) started walking around, a salesgirl started following us. I don't really mind if she was just following us around, but the she started pushing us on buying this and that. Being in that situation has suffocated me even more and in the end, we got out of the the store buying nothing. Last Saturday, I went to the store again, with my mom in law and this time in Shah Alam. Although there are less people here, I still can't bring myself to buy even a single fabric. The salespersons are still pushy as usual which I don't like. As a buyer, I need time to carefully think before purchasing something and with them pushing around, how can I make a choice? I know that it is their job to persuade customer into buying but sometimes it is annoying when they don't let us think. Purchasing something without thinking is definitely not an option.

On the next day, I went to Nagoya Textiles and for the record, with my husband, not my mother. Okey, I never go to any textile stores without my mother. Mama is my best shopping buddy even after I got married. Yes, I bought fabrics for hari raya last year with my mother instead of mrwan. Well, fabric shopping for the first time with mrwan was fun. Why? When asking for his opinion, which one is prettier, he will casually answer, just take both. True, why bother when I wasn't the who is paying (sbb saya adalah penganggur terhormat)....hahahaha....tapi saya tetap pilih satu....plus, he was kind enough to follow me around until I made up my mind. I really appreciate that.

Several reasons why I don't like shopping at Jakel:

1. The Prices - I can get at least two 4 metres fabrics at their prices
2. The Colours - the colour combination doesn't fit me
3. The Workers - they are a bit pushy because there are too many of them  and they need to grab whoever walks in front

thinking to cook these....

I love cooking and looking at gorgeous beautiful food. My interest in food and cooking is suddenly growing tremendously after watching Junior Masterchef Australia. These tiny kids are challenging me. Haha...As a start, I am going to try these recipes which you can find these recipes here. Oooopppps...saliva is coming out!! Hehe...

Prawn Scotch Eggs with Coconut, Chilli Sambal

 I think I'm going to make my own version of sambal because I don't think I can eat this one.

Sausage Rolls with Hidden Vegetables

I think this dish is suitable for my husband because he loves sausage rolls.

All images in this entry are taken from the Junior Masterchef Australia web page. I might modify these dishes a little bit, but credit goes to JMCA.

Spaghetti Bolognese

I cooked this twice last week, with a slight modifications. The first one was on Thursday & the second one was on Friday. The I cooked on Thusrday was for my husband and the Friday spaghetti was specially  made for my dearest piranhas in Klang. The ingredients for both spaghetti were slightly differed. Why? Because I used whatever I had during that time. Since the first time I cooked  was at my in laws' house and  the second time was at my parents', surely the ingredients were different.

Okey. Here's how I cooked it...Please bear in mind that this is not the original traditional spaghetti bolognese...Hahaha...I have it 'diMELAYUkan'...

My Bolognese Sauce-My husband loves button mushroom

 

The spaghetti (I tried to 'landscape' this photo, but when uploaded, it turned this way...so I just leave it)

Ingredients:

1 packet spaghetti (400 g)

2 packets minced beef (I used Ramli's, 250g each)

2 cans of button mushroom - sliced/diced

5 cloves of garlic - chopped

5 onions - chopped

A carrot - diced

A quarter capsicum - diced

3 tomatoes - diced

2 cans of Prego (Traditional)

1 spoonful chili paste

Black pepper

Salt

Olive oil/Oil

Directions:

Spaghetti

Bring the water to a boil, add salt and oil. Put the spaghetti into the boiling water. You can bend them around the saucepan once they have been in the boiling water for a couple of seconds.Taste the spaghetti after the recommended cooking time is over. When the spaghetti are to your liking, pour into a colander and rinse under water to cool it down.

Bolognese Sauce

1. Heat two spoonful oil in a large saucepan. Add in chopped onions and garlic and cook until they turn brown.
2. Add in minced beef. Fry the onions, garlic and beef until nice and crumbly.
3. Add in chili paste and Prego. Add diced carrots, tomatoes, capsicum and button mushroom.
4. Add half cup of water and let it simmer on low heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Stir occasionally. Season it with salt and black pepper according to your liking.
5. The sauce is ready when it has reduced, thickened and blend together.

Sotong Goreng Kicap

Sotong masak kicap ni mmg favourite suami saya. Kebetulan semalam kami ke pasar malam. Suami belikan sotong, minta saya masakkan sotong goreng kicap kegemarannya. Jadi, tidak boleh tidak...hari ni saya buatkan juga. Wajib bagi saya menyediakannya...betul ke? Ni ustaz kursus kawen tu yg beritahu. Alhamdulillah...selesai sudah tadi dan dah selamat dalam perut suami. Kelebihan isteri tak bekerja....hehe...

Sotong goreng kicap ni, senang saja. Rasanya semua pn tau buat, kan? Saje jer gatal2 tangan nk post kat sini....

Bahan2

1 kg sotong (semalam suami beli, RM 18/kg...harga biasa? x sure la pulak)
Kunyit serbuk secukupnya
Garam secukup rasa
2 biji Bawang besar - dihiris
2 ulas bawang putih - dihiris
Halia sebesar ibu jari - dihiris
2 batang cili merah - dihiris
5 batang cili padi - dihiris
Asam jawa
Kicap manis & masin (saya gunakan kicap manis cap kipas udang & kicap masin Tamin)

Cara-cara

1. Gaulkan sotong dengan garam & kunyit secukupnya. Goreng sehingga garing (sebab saya suka garing). Tapi jangan lama sangat sebab x nak sotong jadi keras. Toskan minyak & ketepikan.
2. Panaskan minyak dalam kuali lain. Boleh juga kalau nk gunakan minyak goreng sotong, tapi saya x galakkan sebab kolesterol. Hehehe....kena jaga kesihatan skit.
3. Masukkan hirisan bawang merah, bawang putih, halia, cili merah & cili padi, goreng sehingga naik bau.
4. Masukkan sedikit air asam jawa & kicap. Masak hingga mendidih
5. Masukkan sotong goreng tadi.
6. Masak sebentar. Angkat & hidangkan.

Saya ni, x berapa pandai memasak. Tapi sibuk nk post dlm blog. Tapi saya xde amik gambar, sebab segan ngan ibu mertua. Hehehe.....Lain kali lah ye....Kalau masak sotong, saya memang suka goreng dulu. Masak sambal sotong pn sama juga. Saya mesti nak goreng garing dulu sebab saya x suka rasa hanyir sotong. Cuba la ye. Lain kali saya masukkan resipi lain pula....

Sekian. Kalau x sedap, beritahu ye....boleh saya try cara korang pulak....!!

++...Betol la azee...kite terlupa pasal kicap....Dah masuk dah....++