Dis Weekend

This weekend I'll be busy at my late grandmother's house for her kenduri arwah.

Am supposed to be there now to kemas but my kids are still asleep. Yup Faiq slept at 3 a.m. yesterday watching Ultraman Movie.

And my brother and his family will be spending the night here..YIPPEE! Am so excited to prepare dinner tonight.

Happy Anniversary To Us!

Took 'the plunge' 5 years ago on 31 July 2004.
Here's to 5 years of marriage and many more years to come. Muahhhhs!

Sleeping Beauties

My angels

Wishing and hoping..

Hope everything goes well tomorrow and that there will be enough food for everyone.

After that I can go on with my life and normal working mode.

Wait a minute..there's another event coming up!

Sigh..

Of Calvin and Hobbes

My friend Rose, was texting me about her desire to go on a shopping spree. She managed to behave herself yesterday, leaving the shopping mall without making a purchase so she decided to balas dendam today. I told her to go window shopping as it builds character. That advice, the build character part, came from Calvin's dad. And I was reminded of Calvin and Hobbes.

The genius work of Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes remains as my favourite comic strip. I love his sarcasm and wittiness especially when he fights with Susie. And the way Susie got back at him. But most importantly, the potrayal of his imagination, bringing Hobbes, his stuffed tiger to life as his best friend and experiencing so many adventures with him. Not forgetting his alien-related imagination.

With Susie

Best of friends

I was so in love with Calvin and Hobbes that I named one of my cats Hobbes. Hobbes died of an illness a few years back. Now I miss Hobbsy!

The Climb

My SIL, did a cool video on hubby's triathlon events. Watch it here.

Thanks for completing the project, Jan. It's really amazing and you sure made your brother very happy!

Luncheon with Two Hot Mamas

Took the opportunity to meet up with Raz & Zalia, two of my close friends who are expecting their first baby. We decided to meet up at Itallianies, The Curve. Raz will insya-Allah deliver her baby girl in mid-August whilst Zalia's EDD is in November.

We ordered 2 starters, Caesar Salad and another dish which name I have forgotten but I know that there's artichoke in it.

Each of us ordered a different pasta. Topics of conversation range from in-laws to work but the most talked about was delivery, of course.

My Shrimp Linguine

Raz's Shrimp Olio




Zalia's Penne Carbonara (I think..)

Last but not least...

NY Strawberry Cheese Cake

As usual time flies so fast when you are having fun. By the time we asked for the bill, we've been yakking away for almost 3 hours.

At Italianies

Another one for the album

After lunch, we went shopping at Ikea. Zalia was frustrated coz she couldn't find any finger puppets. So she now craves for finger puppets...hahaha. She did however, found a side table lamp which she has been looking for for quite some time.

Our goss session ended at 7 p.m. As usual, it was good to meet up with old friends. We will probably meet again when we go visit Raz and her mini :o)

A Day for Mr. Potter & Mr. Jones and Babies

Agenda for 16 July 2009



1. 10.50 a.m. - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

GSC Mid Valley

First experience

2. 2.00 p.m. - Lunch

Ninja Jones, Mid Valley City

Soft shell crab salad

Dynamite Roll

Chargrill King Mushroom

Waghyu Cube Steaks, pops in your mouth

SERIOUSLY!

Foie-Gras

A Thousand apologies to all animal lovers out there

I promise that this will be a once in a while dining

3. 5.30 p.m. - Visiting Haziqah & her newborn, Muhammad Ariiq Irfan

SJMC, Subang Jaya

Haziqah & Hanif's bundle of joy

Geng Bukit Pringgit: The Next Generation

Ariiq & Faiq

4. 7.00 p.m. - Visiting my niece, Ilham Muneerah

Subang Jaya

1 month-old Ilham

PD 2009: Chillaxing Part II

While Babah was busy completing his triathlon, Mak Teh accompanied Faiq and Aira together with Abang Sher's family for a fun-filled day at the beach!

Si tembam

Wheeeeee!

Akisha

Excuse me while I take a nap :o)

You guys go ahead and have fun!

Acara wajib.

L-R: Faiq, Asif (muka tak rela), Akisha & Akif

I'm done. Let's go support Babah!!

PD 2009: Race Day

I remembered sleeping very early on Saturday (10 p.m.) and realised that I kept on thinking, "Apsal tak pagi2 lagi ek?" Maybe it was cheer-leader anxiety or that I'm used to having less sleeping hours. I think I woke up to Faiq falling off the bed and Rafiq preparing himself for the race.

I left the comfortable bed and got ready by 6.30 a.m. It was raining quite heavily and I didn't have an umbrella with me. After Rafiq cycled to the race site, Jan and I decided to get ourselves umbrellas and breakfast.

All set!




Cycling away

We went to 7-Eleven and got ourselves raincoats and snacks. We bought breakfast opposite Bayu Beach Resort. Alhamdulillah by 7.30 a.m., the rain had stopped so we can watch the race in peace.

Upiq's Cheerleading Team




With fellow participants, Julie & Bandit

With Barath & Ishsal

Before the event started, many had gone in to test the water. As it just stopped raining, the sea was kind of choppy. As 8 a.m. drew nearer, more and more participants started assembling at the starting line according to their race numbers. We spotted Datuk Bernard Chandran amongst the crowd. There was a final race briefing where the participants were informed that they will be released in batch of 100s. After almost 10 minutes delay, the starting horn flared and off they swam. Rafiq was in the 3rd batch.

Swimming away

Another celebrity sighting: Samantha Schubert

She participated in the sprint event the previous day

The first participant who had completed the swimming event was from Hong Kong and he did his 1.5km swim within 30 minutes. I think the first 15-20 participants came out individually ahead of the rest. Later they came in batches of 5-7. Whilst waiting, I managed to chat with Datin Mary Lourdes. After introducing myself as the mother of the child who left blood traces at her house, she asked how Faiq was doing. We chatted for a while before going separate ways. I saw some of Rafiq's friends coming out of the water and after waiting for almost an hour, I spotted Rafiq swimming towards the shore.

1.5km swim completed

After completing the swimming event, Rafiq prepared himself for the 42km cycling event. As he was doing this for fun and training purposes, he took his time to get ready. Siap boleh duduk pakai socks. Some of those who were there to compete just ran to their bikes and started pushing them. They even have their cycling shoes attached to the bicycle pedals.

Preparing for the cycling event

Cycling away

Whilst Rafiq cycled, I was making arrangements with Amy to bring Faiq to the racing site so that he too will be able to witness Babah's victory. Rafiq completed his cycling event 1 1/4 hours later and proceeded to complete his final 10km run.

One more event to go!

Datin Mary Lourdes congratulating her husband for completing the race

Amy and Faiq arrived at the finishing line at about 11.30 a.m. Amy and I waited at the finishing line while Jan and Faiq went to the side at about 50m towards the finishing line. Rafiq had requested that Faiq ran with him to his victory. Infact I saw many people doing that.

Alhamdulillah the weather was very good. Due to the morning rain, the weather was cloudy throughout the race. Kalau tak perit jugak tunggu dalam panas. After almost 3 1/2 hours of being a spectator, I saw Rafiq from afar, running towards the finishing line. Jan saw him to and asked Faiq to wait for his Babah and run with him.

As usual, the drama. Most people run hand in hand with their children but Faiq being Faiq, of course ran ahead of Rafiq as if Rafiq was chasing him. It was really funny!

Babah, catch me if you can!!

A well-deserved finisher's medal

As I saw my husband running towards the finishing line, I beamed with pride. My heart bursts with joy upon seeing him running towards victory. This is his 4th triathlon and even though I felt proud when he told me his victory stories of the past 3, being there to witness the moment was a different feeling altogether. I watched in awe at the man who was about 150kg almost 5 years ago. At that time he never even dreamed of going jogging, let alone participate in this kind of event. Who would've thought that he was able to go the distance and inspire others? To cross the boundaries that he never imagined he would. And for his size, to not be the last to cross that finishing line.

Eventhough the first participant crossed the finishing line long before he even completed his cycling event, it didn't matter. What matters was that he was able to finish the race. To prove to himself that he can do it! I was just so proud of him, felt so lucky to be married to this man! Congratulations Sayang! You definitely do us proud. I was just so happy to be able to share your victorious moment with you!

Proud moment for all of us

Die-hard supporters

I really had a wonderful time with my family, and to watch Rafiq conquered the triathlon was a bonus. I was glad that both my sister and sister in-law were also there to lend a helping hand and share the exciting moment with us!

PD 2009: Chillaxing

Saturday (11/07/09) started off with MyVi servicing, followed by grocery shopping to Econsave and Jalan Alor nasi lemak breakfast courtesy of Kak Tine. Kak Tine had sent Jan to her office and stopped by our house to leave Jan's stuffs for PD. After she went back, my dad came to send my sister who will also be joining us to PD. I would then pick Jan at BTS LRT Station after work.

Rafiq and I drove separately as he needed the backseat for his bike. We said our goodbyes as he left the house at 12.30 p.m. I left the house around 1.30 p.m. after receiving the cue from Jan that she had boarded the LRT at Hang Tuah station.

Our home for one night was Desa Lagoon Residence. My first time staying there. I loved it. It has a really nice ambiance. The residence, which was painted in blue and white had a soothing effect. The other interesting feature was the fact that the apartments were surrounding the pool, so technically every room had a pool view. It was also convenient for us to bring Faiq.

After we ate our lunch, we headed to the race site, the Avilion Admiral Cove. Rafiq will be competing in the Olympic Distance (OD) Triathlon the next day but the Sprint Event were held on Saturday.

To the race site

Sprint event is about to start



Li'l Bo Peep

Family Potrait

Aira with Mama & Mak Teh

Desa Lagoon Residence

After hanging around the race site, we went back to the hotel. It's pool time for Faiq and Babah! Faiq enjoyed it tremendously, running from the adult pool to the children pool.

Whee!

Fun time with Babah

After pool, we got ready for dinner. We wanted to eat at Bangi Kopitiam but decided against it when we saw there were not many customers. We walked further to a nearby stall, only to find that it only served roast chicken, grilled fish and steamed rice. Since we already ordered our drinks, we had to stay on. The food was ok, but Rafiq expressed his dissapointment by going to the nearby pasar malam to buy nasi briyani. The nasi briyani was excellent!

After dinner, we went to Avilion Admiral Cove where participants had their carbo-loading dinner and race briefing. Carbo-loading is a place where you see how much people eat to gain energy for the race the next day. During the race briefing, we saw Datuk Bernard Chandran who was also participating.

Rafiq & fellow participant, Bandit.

Race briefing

Preparing for the big day

The race briefing ended at about 9.30 p.m. after which we headed back to our hotel. Rafiq did some preparation for the race before calling it a night at about 10 p.m. We all needed the rest for the big day on Sunday!