Tanggal 31 bulan 8....

Cupcakes for Jennifer

Not so early morning after an iced Nes-lo, i started to ice my cupcakes with buttercream icing and decorated them with dragees and sugarpaste flowers. I tried to do the best and the result was not so bad. I had to deliver it to Jennifer, my customer at 1pm, so i might as well send Adam for his tuition class. By noon i was really hungry, and Edros decided we had TGIF for some celebration. No celebration actually. Just another reason to spend. But 31st of August was spent being patriotically shopaholic.

I did buy my monthly Female mag, groceries, Edros bought something for himself. To shopaholics, just so you know Guess is having their Merdeka Sale and 20% storewide including bags and watches!! Yes 20%!!

September is my birthday month (Im not actually reminding you but since ive mentioned, yes its my birthday month) So, since me being me, i've a collection of discount cards, membership of any store there is. Well, not all but to name a few, i have Topshop, La Senza, Aussino, Goldheart, Crabtree&Evelyn, Bodyshop, Tesco, Lovely Lace, Sushi King, Bonuslink, Real Rewards, Padini, Coffee Bean and many many more. I have a small purse to place them all in my handbag. Seriously, i take them around for good. Savings are good okay!

So the point is, when it comes to birthday month, these shops will start sending birthday cards and discount specials. I love the one from Padini with 20% discount on all items (i see a lot of shoes in different colours, heights and designs) and a lot of discounts for my spa treatments. What more can i ask? This month is all about pampering and rejuvenating, no? Fasting is not going to stop me.

So my shopping trip, i spent at least RM3k. It sounds a lot but I had the birthday special discounts and without its worth RM8k. Believe me, i spend wisely . From RM620 per treatment to RM199, facial from 300 to RM50, who doesnt want that right? I was told not to spend on the card but i did as it was a good offer, i did. Sorry, Pa.

I'm not here to brag about my buys but i wished my day would've been better since the past weeks. Tiring and hectic weeks. Attie told me how satisfying a manicure did to her so I went for some rejuvenating sessions which paid-off. And again today, i need another session. Mengade,kan?

Selamat berpuasa, friends!

Eve of Merdeka

the 30th of August, at 9 am im blogging about i dont know what after delivering 200pieces of colourful cupcakes. Not to mention my post-convex backache since last week and i haven't got enough sleep. How great is that? I need to bake another 50 pieces of cupcakes for tomorrows order and at this point im so not in the mood to do it. Im not in the mood to shop Not in the mood to bake. Im not sure why im like this but i might get it out someday.

Please wish for the best of me :)

Announcements

There are a few announcements to make. Im afraid if you thought it was an engagement or wedding announcement i'll disappoint you. Maybe in the future but not today, okay?

First, is i'm gonna be a god-mother to a child of a friend.YAY!!! Who? Well, i'll let you guess. Congrats! Congrats! to my 2 months preggie friend, Ekin and i cant wait for the next 7 months. Hopefully she's not due when i'm getting married. Haha. Maybe btol kot cakap DiraDari in her blog, "don't give up. usaha, doa, tawakal. hard work and perseverance will eventually pay off, believe me. i have a keychain tht goes, "success is 99% perspiration, 1% inspiration." true tht." Chaiyok, my friend! (ET-tot, did i get the spelling right?or did it sound right?hmm)

Second is i was planning on having a small reunion with my good ol' DBS/YPM friends.

Where? i dont know yet.Will plan it with Attie but drop in some suggestions yeah. Makanan Melayu? Western? Chinese? Maybe i should do some questionnaire kan? KLCC? MValley? Curve?

When? One of the weekends in Ramadhan month (Dirah pls do this once for me cos u said you tanak eat out for berbuka puasa)

Why? Im doing this cos i think we havent met for a while now so its the best thing to do, yes?

Good friends, good food and i might get you to taste my humble cupcakes.

So pls pls pls.......can we proceed?

the crying lioness

I said so cos it was raining cats and dogs Syasya, Edros and i was in Singapore for the weekend getaway. We headed to the Lion City at 11am. 11am!!! when Syasya and i was all dressed up at 730am while the boys still snoozed. After hours of waking them up, finally they got in the bathroom at 10am! I was already half a lioness, ready to aim its prey. On the way to town, we stopped by some 'mamak' place for breakfast.

We walked through roads to get to the Singapore Cab's Hub. (You can only take the cab to Singapore from this hub. Singapore has this strict ruling, i dont know what) For SGD35, the four of us got in the cab with this Chinese uncle mumbling i dont know what. On the way, it started to drizzle and the boys were suggesting that we should just stick to Orchard Road and abandon the sightseeing. Perfect! Just when i figured out not to shop this time, the only time that is, my plans for Sentosa Island, to the city park, to everywhere else where its not all Topshop, Coach, and Guess, was swept away by the droplets of rain.

Syasya and I at Takashimaya s.c

I exchanged only a small sum enough for any entrance fee, taxi fare, MRT fare and meals. But since it was raining, i had that sum for shopping. Weird enough, i was just browsing through with no interest of buying anything for myself. I was in and out of all the boutiques you can name it. From Takashimaya to Far East plaza to Wisma Atria to Raffles Plaza (I remembered my graduation ceremony which was held at the Raffles Convention Centre). I tried on jeans and tops and bags and no signs of shopping bag.

Che Che New York

However, i did found potential buys. A pretty Che Che handbag. Well Che Che is a new name in Malaysia. Che Che in Mandarin means Sisters and they are sisters, how talented! They have 70 outlets to date in USA, China Hong kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia. So i thought i should get one bag for its funkiness and the cupcake inspired coin bag. Then i was thinking that i should just get it at Midvalley, they have a branch there. Im sorry but im not interested with Guess bags anymore since too many of us has one and the designs now are just so blah and unless they improve i'll stick to my guts! . So i moved on to another.

And theres another potential buy, the Royal Albert 50th celebration teacup and saucer which was going for SGD29 (RM68.15) per set. I thought of getting one for myself .Then i'm thinking, "Great, takkan nak beli sampai 6 set kan?". That'll be SGD174 (RM408.90). So we figured, we shouldn't buy it now, maybe when I'm married or we'll be left starving on Orchard Road. So tak beli la kan?

Royal Albert 50 years Collection

We ended up going home early as all of us were running out of life battery plus we were craving for Malaysian food. After 2 hours stucked in the traffic from Woodlands checkpoint, we paid for a good SGD45 for the cab itself. We quickly headed for a quick fix of Assam Pedas Rumah Limas at Danga Bay. The best so far. Sorry for no photos as all of us were eating like hungry lions.

(More photos are with Syasya. Will update it later as she's preparing for SPM. Sorry)

Ramadhan

The month of Ramadhan will soon greet us. It will greet us to being humble and to be fasting during the day and performing Solat Tarawikh at night. To me, Ramadhan is a beautiful month as each day is a challenge and the best part is for its Solat Tarawikh, each nights bring different meaning of its performance. Im not 'ustazah' so pardon me if i'm wrong.

Besides that, i've always loved the fasting month.

I just can't wait when we'll have the Zubir's annual family trip to KL for our Raya shopping. (it's no fun Raya shopping nowadays cos everyday i have a reason to shop). Usually, we'll stay at The Zon in the Park, a service apartment. Maybe this year we should change the venue. Then 'buka puasa' together. The kids will then continue to have a drink and 'sahur' early to avoid waking up at 430am. Let's see what we'll do this year.

To all my beloved friends,

SELAMAT MENYAMBUT BULAN RAMADHAN AL-MUBARAK!!!

Mama's Birthday

Happy birthday to you..
Happy birthday to you..

Happy birthday to Mama..

Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuu....

Mama turned 45 this year. Young enough to have 2 working kids. Well we did nothing much but some shopping in the evening. Some time for her to select her own birthday present from Papa. After Tag Heuer to Dior to Ferragamo and Coach, she settled down for a classic Longines watch. Papa must have paid a fortune!

Aishwarya Rai and her Longines

As for me, this time we, my siblings and i, didnt buy her handbags, purses or perfumes. We got her a makeup set from Bobbi Brown. A nice 3 tone eyeshadow and blusher palette and a Tea Rose lipstick which left us paying beyond our budget. Whatevs.

It took me 30minutes to try most of the colours there. Believe me, when it comes to buying makeup, choosing colours can be tough eventhough they more or less look the same. I learnt that theres the pink family and the brown and theres different undertones as well. I was having this huge grin that i'm starting to get wrinkles. Not like i need to know all that, but its worth knowing. Thanks again to Ai Lin the makeup artiste from Bobbi Brown, Gurney Plaza, Mama loves it!

Malaysia oh Malaysia

Jalur Gemilang

Yesterday, i was supposed to be happy with the extra public holiday for the By-election at Permatang Pauh. The election was between Anwar Ibrahim and Arif Shah. Sad but true, i got the news that Anwar Ibrahim won the by-election from a friend. I'm not a politic fan as you may know but i had a talk with a friend and it strucked me. I don't know how but he did it regardless of the rumours. It showed how strong his team were. I'm not on anyone's side, not BN nor PKR. But the fact that Malaysia is in such chaos with politics, increment of petrol price, the debate on MARA colleges for non-Bumis made me wonder where the nationalism had gone from our spirit and soul.

We were suppose to move forward together as Malaysians regardless which side we're on. Yes? We should try to improvise ourselves together as a nation. Help those who are in need with a sincere heart. Or have all those politics and craziness of material has made our people blinded and evil. Like Darth Vader? I'm not saying money could be ignored, but we could at least be more realistic here, right? Who wouldnt want easy money? But is easy money 'halal'?

Do we see any of our big shots who is not doing their job for the sake of money? I bet theres a minority of them. Im not having negative thoughts but i'm being realistic here. Im not a political science student but im here to voice out my thoughts. This is a thought from a Malaysian. What would foreigners think of us? I don't care what they say but i'm being ignorant of truth if i did. Are they laughing at us?

I'm sure with such political chaos, silently we're chasing away multinational companies to invest in our 'beloved' country. Not meaning to say that other countries, big or small, have their own issues but i dont care bout them. I care about our country, Malaysia. What's going to happen next?

Tugu Negara

In the spirit of our 51st Independence Day we should really think as Malaysians. Have we done good for our country? Have we been a warrior like those who died in Malaysia's struggle for freedom? Or have we took our independence for granted? Have we become a warrior in the search of 'Datuk'-ship title or otherwise? Have we fought our best to maintain independence?Look into it people. Think as Malaysians.

Im not saying i'm a good Malaysian but at least i'm serving for my country. Giving back what they have given me, directly or indirectly. Even though i have never been a scholar and never have i received any loans as well from any government bodies or NGOs but i'm still trying to serve for my country. Maybe its just my way of thinking. All i have is hope and faith. After all, I am Malaysian!

thirsty tuesday.

it had been sunshine all day and it made me thirsty. With the workload, i cant take it. My post-convo rest had not even start a second. I pity my body working overtime. Perhaps its good for the fat in my body. Haha. Kutuk diri sendiri.

I just came back from Rumah Anak Yatim Perempuan Penang. Handed them some cupcakes. Just to be clear, im not showing off my deeds, telling the world i'm the worlds greatest but i'm just being human. What's wrong sharing what we have with others? I dont do it on a regular basis, minus donating to those at 'pasar malam' and all. If possible, i'd like to even get more friends to join me in doing it on a regular routine. Its just a thought. Execution will take time. Its ok at least nawaitu is there.

I remembered a week ago before Convex and my parents told me not to hope for profit. Do it for charity and informing people about my cupcakes and cookies. At first i thought it was ridiculous, but somehow i felt the beauty. I was happy with what i got. I may have spent way beyond my pocket could offer, but the thrill of earning mown money made me feel good. I'm not saying im better than others, i'm not saying i can find my own money and you can't. Its the effort you put in, that is.

I know some of you would put a weird face reading this. Why would i make cupcakes? sell stuffs? Is my paycheck not fat enough? Am i not into working? No. I just don't mind working hard for another ringgit. It's fun plus i have the passion for food and fashion. So thats another advantage.

I personally think that we have no boundaries to do what we love to do, (if it is profitable or otherwise). The boundary is ourselves, not your parents, spouse/boyfriends or whooever. Do whats best for you. Work your passion and you'll get there.

Enough with the talking, i should get going with my cupcakes now! Have a good day :)

Phew!

The week's finally over. Long rest here i come but whoops Wednesday, i'm heading off to JB for work. Another 3 looooooong days of work work work and a day at the Lion City.

Convex was great and tiring. I have high respects for those who does this for living. People, it's REALLY tiring. All i do is unload goods, start packing food and no breakfast till after lunch. Things gets so busy once i start. There's always things to do. Gosh. And after a week, my soles are aching, my arms everything on me screams and i can barely imagine doing it for the rest of my life. Its crazy. I start at 530am and come back at what? 11-ish? Crazy la tu. But somehow, i find it peaceful when my hardwork gets acknowledged. My booth was a hit with the cupcakes tier. They cant seem to keep their digicam or SLR's off from it and my cupcakes were so well behaved, they just blush and pout it away. Hehe.

So after working my heart out, i came back calculating what i got for the week, as anyone would say, it didnt pay off as much but i learnt a lot of life lessons. Seriously. I mean a lot came to my stall surprised seeing me behind the piles of fried bihun/me, nasi lemak and cupcakes. They were like, "what are you doing here?", "is this what you want to do?", "are you into food business now?" and all those crazy questions. But, hey! im not stealing anyone's money, not doing any dirty job, and im definitely not asking money from my parents nor Mr. Boyfy. Its my hard-earned money.

Well, i'm not saying everyone came by with negative aura, even some came to support me. Friends came to help and I see a lot of familiar faces coming back for what i served. So what i had should be good, yeah? :) Then there's also those who wanted to order cupcakes and i was flipping, if i could that is. Its wonderful how i've promoted myself to people that cupcakes had hit the shores in Penang. A florist even wanted me to put my cupcakes as an alternative to cake in hampers, and a mother, a member of the PTA, asked for some cupcakes for some event. How cool is that? Plus, a lot of customers thought i had a bakery of my own. I really hope so, InsyaAllah, please pray for me.

And people, when people sent out flyers, just take it. It feels awful when someone just shake their head, turn away or whatever you do to ignore the person giving out flyers. Thank you would do good.

Okay so i think i need to catch up with sleep. She missed me a lot. Ahlan Wa Sahlan!

Angry, Mad, and everything BAD!

I'm running out of time.

1000 cupcakes ready to be iced and packed.
Cookies to bake.
Begedil to ball.
Tuna and egg spread for sandwiches.
Stall to clean and set up.
Things to buy.
Adam for school.
Work piling.
Aching soles and arms.
Tired eyes.
Restless nites.

and i have less than 24 hours to do all that with some little help. How am i going to get it all done? i dont know. So i would appreciate if you could either help me do all that, or just leave me alone and let me have my space. Making me tick off is the last thing you want to do cos i just started my day being a lioness this morning. Thank you.

080808 This is MADNESS!!

Guess where i got the line? 300, the movie.

The Gardens Hotel

The mirror at the hallway. Havent been doing this for a while now.

After 3 1/2 hours drive, my family and I was in KL by noon and checked in at the Gardens Hotel & Residences. We were excited at the same time as its a new hotel, and can't wait for the surprises. I love hotels for the interior, the bed, the shower/tub. And the Gardens did not fail me. It was simple, modern and chic. Plus its a smoke-free hotel, so no smoking is allowed in their premise.

The bathroom

They have a lot of mirrors, which i totally adore and the bathroom, i even thought of sleeping in it. They divided the bathroom into something functional and pretty at the same time. You can choose the tub for a long hot bath or choose either two showers to clean you up.

The king for the queen

We had the king deluxe, so the bed could accommodate us three; Elly, Edros and i. Breakfast was good as well, very healthy at the same time. Less sugar and carbs, loaded with greens, fruits and everything healthy. However, i think its a bit on the pricey side, RM365++. Maybe its for the plasma TV. So, since i'm not paying for it, i might as well enjoy it, right?

The Wedding

the Hantaran

After checking in, going 'ooh' and 'ahh', we managed to take a tour around Gardens and Midvalley before getting ready for the 'Nikah' that nite. So my cousin Rudzman is now a husband with a lovely wife namely Haslinda on 080808. At first,I was not in the mood to attend the wedding after a long and tiring week. But to meet my relatives, how could that be possible to not make me smile?

The newly weds. Mr and Mrs Rudzman

The 'nikah' was simple and minimal at the bride's house, the space was filled with a lot of people. The place was crowded with people. For my cousin, i squeezed in. Then during the akad nikah, i was touched when the kadi mentioned about life and responsibilities as husband and wife.

Adam doing the pouty look

My cousin had to vow on certain issues that includes talak and such. I dont know how i'll behave when my future husband were to read his vows, cos at my cousins, i had to control myself from dropping eyedrops. Call me emotional freak or sensitive, but i was touched. I met my cousin Anim whom i havent met for a terribly long time and within that short meet, we managed to catch up. She lost a great deal of weight since high school, so if she can do it, so can i!

For the "Sanding", the bride had it at MBSA hall in Shah Alam. It was okay, and the great cousin had his montage done by himself (Rudzman is the assistant director for AF3). So it was totally great. After a looooonggggggg reception, we came back exhausted.

After rounds of gossips, and girly talks, i wished she could sleepover. Its endless. Thankfully she was there for me to throw my tantrums. Sorry Attie, but people she's the World's Greatest listener. Sorry, she's taken, she's MINE!

The Best Friends

Because of the loooooong reception, my gathering/reunion with my friends were a disaster. 2 of my friends Fafa and Nad, had to leave Midvalley for other issues and left me with pretty Attie. Thankfully she was there to wait for me. I was glad. However, we were running around for a place to talk. From Chillis to Madam Kwan, to Coffee Bean to Baskin Robbins. I had 2 scoops and she had a banana split. I was surprised she ate it to the last bit.

The pinky sayangness

To Fafa and Nad, i deeply sorry to have stoo you up. I never meant it that way. Believe me, we'll have another session. Looking from the pictures Attie snapped, i bet you guys had a load of fun. Sorry to be missing. Again i'm sorry. P/s : Nad,the goodies are still with me but Fafa, you can get it from Attie. Love you guys.

LI party planner

Well, I'm not exactly one but the preparations are making me go mad. This is only a small thingy compared to other preparations like wedding preparations. Thankfully, I've been able to manage my time so Alhamdulillah, my cookies and deco for cupcakes are finally done.

We managed to bake the last tray at 12.ooam and lay them out in the jar, ready to sell. As for the cupcakes, the only thing left is the execution of icings and decorations, but I'm still figuring what else i should do with it. Let's se how it'll turn out.

Kak Muhaini, Rosli and I

Yesterday while google-ing i found this cupcake with a scroll and mortar board for the cupcakes. So i took the idea for MY cupcakes, and during lunchtime i got some pretty candies. Today, we tied the candies with gold thread and turn it into pretty scrolls.

The Scroll

Truthfully, i have not been sleeping well for the past week and i don't think i'll be sleeping well till the final day of Convex. The 17th that is. So I'll need the extra rest while i can. Hopefully the Gardens hotel could offer me plush pillows and a luxury king bed? We'll see about that, yeah?

However, on the 19th, I'll be heading to Johor Bahru for our project there and I'll be there for 5 days Yikes! I thought I'll be able to put on my sunglasses, stretch my legs and sip cocktails by the beach. But looking at the "South" side, Hello! Singapore. Yup, InsyaAllah, Edros, Rosli,and i and perhaps the rest of our entourage will be heading to the Lion City . For fun. We need a break after our July Holiday in Mad Medan.

(Posts on the cookies will probably be done during the Convex week. Probably, maybe later? Stay tuned and have a great weekend)

Note to my GALS: please RSVP me on our date Saturday evening. I know we're all on a budget but let's have some girly fun and gossips. Plus, how often do we meet? So lets head to the Gardens? I sound so 'Paris Hilton', but whatever!

Chomel cupcakes and cookies

Its already Wednesday and i have only 2 days this week to prepare for the Convex. Yikes! Plus Kakak has not been well and everything, i mean EVERYTHING had to be done with my 2 little hands. Thankfully, i have my Tuttera team with me.

My brother, Edros, Kak Muhaini, and Rosli. Edros had also lent some help with the cookies in the kitchen department (cookies pics will be posted soon). Then the ever-loving Kak Muhaini offered her hands to de-stress me with her massage. Super-Rosli managed to pull of a wonderful flyer for me. Cantik kan? :) Thank youuu....

I have also been google-ing on ideas to design my cuppycakes in between my working hours. Believe it or not, there's over 700,000 pictures, blogs, websites that features on cupcakes.And here's a few of it. I'll be getting these ideas for the cupcakes but the outcome, i'll wait till next Monday and Tuesday. Hopefully all the marshmallows, jellybeans, sprinkles and chips are ready to cover 1500 cupcakes.

Wish me luck!!

Bizzy Bee

Its monday again and i have 4 days to cover up my job and also the project im working on. I have 4 working days as i'll be going to KL this friday for my cousin's wedding as well as girly dates with my friends. (Please people don't envy me for that :) I hope they have confirmed

(Note to Attie, Nad, Fafa, Ekin, Dirah, Shaz, Fairy and the list goes on)

Convex, USM's convocation is happening next week 13th to 17th August and I got a spot to sell up my nyummy cupcakes and cookies as well as many other stuffs too. I'll blog on that in detail sometime this week. Probably in between baking my cookies.

What am i doing at home at 11.30am? Kakak got really sick last night. So i have to nurse her and take her to the doc, that means now but i'm stretching out this time to catch my breath as i had been running around like a mad lady with my lovely brother for the preparations and its not going to end till the 18th.

I went for non-woven bags to stall deco and props to cookies and cupcakes stuff to everything else. From Kamdar to Tesco to Seberang Jaya and everywhere else. It's a crazy job! As you might have read earlier, i'm using "non-woven bags" as an alternative of plastic bags and paper bags. Konon-konon environmental friendly lah kan?. Well, talking on behalf of the green-er part of me, i agreed with USM's policy this year to abolish plastic bags. However, recyclable items such as plastic wares is an exception (as it is recyclable? d'uh).

So, i hope to see you guys around at USM's convex. 13th to 17th August 2008 to support me at Stall 108. The Pink-est stall i hope. Pink is the new green! Thank you. I'll post the flyers soon (if i have the time to design one, that is)

Well, i should not leave kakak for too long now. I better get going. Please pray so she'll get well soon. Thank you. Insya-Allah.