Nuffnang Charity Project - Baby Ammar

I know a lot of people have already blogged about this but I figured one more person blogging about it, may help the odds of Baby Ammar getting the help he needs for his operation. This shall remain a sticky post until 18th February when the charity drive ends.

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2-year-old Ammar Danish has suffered from Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) since birth. He has a hole in his heart which results in oxygenated blood and non-oxygenated blood mixing together, which in turn puts a lot of strain on his heart and lung arteries. In some cases, the hole eventually seals itself up after some time, but during a routine checkup on 11 January 2010, it was clear that that wasn’t the case with Baby Ammar and doctors pronounced surgery as being necessary to prevent the situation from growing worse.

Baby Ammar’s mother is Nuffnanger Azmaniza bt Mohamad Kamal, who blogs at http://mylife-asz.blogspot.com/. When this misfortune was brought to our attention by some concerned Nuffnangers, we immediately felt compelled to do something to help a member of our community. The deposit for the surgery to close the PDA will cost RM12,000 and is a tremendous burden for Azmaniza, a full-time working mom with five children to feed.

There are a few ways you can help Baby Ammar get the surgery that he needs; we’re sure everyone would be able to contribute through one of the ways as mentioned below:

1. Enable ‘Show Charity Ads’ in your Blog Manager preferences for the duration of this fundraiser. You will not be paid for displaying the ads, but the ads will greatly help to promote this cause to more people who might be willing to do something for Baby Ammar. ~done~

2. Blog about Baby Ammar’s condition, and include a link to this Nuffnang blog post so that your readers will know where to go for more information. Again, this will also do a great service to Baby Ammar by spreading the word about his condition. ~done~

3. Make a donation to Azmaniza Mohamad Kamal – 514093114912 (Maybank). Every little bit helps, so please do contribute any amount you can. ~done~

Baby Ammar’s surgery is scheduled for 22 February 2010, and the fund-raising effort will end on midnight at 17 February 2010. It is indeed a short period of time, but let us all rise to the occasion and prove to everyone the strength of a blogging community like ours.

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I'm pleading to everyone who reads this post, please take the time to view the link above and see the cute photos of Baby Ammar. Such a beautiful boy who needs our help. To all those who have contributed, may Allah bless you.

The Cows, The Witch and The Dressing Table

Since Saturday was spent entertaining my mom (Hi mom, love you!!), Sunday was supposed to be the day I bought my new shoes.

Hubby decided to take us all out after lunch. Initially we headed to the Pyramids but parking was horrendous!! Even the valet parking was full and since we had bought Daria, there was no way we were parking too far from the mall.

In the end, I suggested heading to Tropicana City. We had passed the mall several times but never been.

It was smooth traffic all the way there, surprisingly. Parking also was a breeze.

Finding my shoes was another issue.


That shopping mall sucks!! Hardly any shops around. I don't know what their theme is. Nak kata high end pun bukan, nak kata low end pun bukan. Even Dania was like "Ibu, ini je ke kedai dia?"

In the end, we headed to Carre4 for some bread and sit for a while to enjoy the sausage buns. Daria was an angel throughout, eating her biscuits and grinning at everyone who passes by.

In the end, we went home. Seriously, who knew shoes shopping would be so stressful.
On the way back, we passed by the UPM fields and saw some cows. Hubby stopped by the side of the road and we entered the road beside the fields.


The girls were very excited to see the cows. Even Daria was fascinated by them especially when they started mooing. Moooo!!! Heee..

We arrived home around 6pm so I dragged hubby out again after Asar to look for a dressing table. I cannot believe I've been searching for one for nearly a year!!


We headed to the nearest Courts Mammoth but the after finally finding one that fitted my criteria, we found out that they only sold it in a complete set. We headed to the Bangi furniture store and still no luck. Grrrr...


So, I'm still shoeless and dressing table-less. Better luck next weekend.

Curtains, Hair Cut and Some Really Good Food

So yesterday I was suppose to go buy some new shoes, right? That was the plan before my mom called.

"Pssstt, ada plan. Ibu tengah boring la."


When my mom is bored, it's my responsibility to come up with some activities for us to do. Cancel the shoe shopping. What say you we go to Nilai 3 for some new curtains?


My mom and her maid came over after lunch. Since it was "curtain shopping", I told the girls to stay home. I did however drag hubby, since I wanted his opinion on which pattern to buy.


Mom took us to her usual tailor. After circling the shop several times, hubby selected this flower pattern for the curtains.


Hubby...and flower patterns??!!


Yeah, my thoughts exactly. The 1st patterns he choose, I rejected straight away. It looked like curtains for a kindergarten!! The 2nd one was slightly better but I had my eyes set on a more exclusive pattern.


Hubby wouldn't budge. In fact, he decided the whole house should get the same pattern.


Grrrrr...ok la. Demi hubby tersayang, berbunga la rumah kita lepas ni.


The funny thing is, when it was time to pay the deposit, I pulled out my credit card. Why the hell did I do that? Bang, minta balik duit RM400..terasa nak beli SK-II la. Heeee...


When we got home, I took the girls out for a haircut. My last haircut was 5 months ago (I think) so my hair was a mess! Since I wasn't sure what the current hair trend was (Lady Gaga?!), I just told the hairdresser to shorten the back and thin out the back a bit. For the girls, I gave them their usual "helmet" haircut. Muahahaha...


I had instructured my maid not to cook dinner as my mom was itching for some good Tomyam. We decided to take her to this restaurant we've passed by a couple of times (but never been) called Village View Restaurant. Sapa dok Bangi tau la restaurant ni, but we went to the one on the way to the UKM train station.


When we got there, the parking was rather packed. However, getting a place to sit was no problem as the place was huge!! I don't know if you can see from the photos (using my handphone) but the place had some really nice decor.

We ordered white rice, Tomyam campur, kangkung masak belacan, fried mushrooms, Kerapu masak pedas (spicy grouper) and some kerabu mangga.
Oya, we also ordered soursop juice for drinks. The waiter warned us since we had ordered fish, it would be at least 15-20 minutes until our food arrived.


As we waited, we watched the local drama showing on the big screen projector. Sapa yang tengok Cerekarama yang Ummi Aida lakon tu, apa ending cite tu? Tak sempat tengok habis.

Anyway, once our food arrived, we were amazed at the quantity. Even more so at the taste!

The tomyam was..how to say...tomyammy. Not like some places, where it tastes like watered down ketchup. The tanginest was just right and they weren't stingy with the ingredients. Tons of squid, prawns, chicken and meat bits inside. Very nice!

The fish was heavenly too. The sauce was what made it a hit, just spicy enough. You could tell the fish was really fresh.
The veges were remarkable too, not only for their taste but also their quantity.
We had ordered the tomyam for 2 people but everything else was for one. Still, it was a lot.
I loved the kerabu mangga. Unlike other places, they had less peanuts and more mango. For once, I had to force myself to finish that dish. Usually I'm wrestling with my mom for that dish but this time it was more than enough.

When it came time to pay, the bill was surprisingly low. For all that food, it only cost us RM73. The fish was slightly pricey because they calculated it by every 100 grams but it was worth it.

All in all, I give this place 4 1/2 stars out of 5. 1/2 star taken away just because they don't accept credit cards. But in terms of food and hospitality, I'll be coming to Village View Restaurant again and again.

ps: My mom was very happy and said we should bring my dad here to eat next time. Hubby was happy too and from the picture above, he was very, very, very full. Heeee.

A Heel of a Time

Yesterday was tiring. For one thing, Dina threw up the night before and was still very much under the weather that following morning. Hubby had left for work (without telling me!!) but since my meeting didn't start until 10am, I took the time to comfort her and get her to eat something. She threw up some more so I told her to go wash her face and lie down on the couch to watch TV. She was more than happy to oblige though she did show some concern about missing school.

I finally reached work about 10am but there was no available free parking so I made my way to the building beside our office to park there. Even that was almost full. Since the meeting had already started, I walked quickly through the parking lot. As my luck would have it, the heel of my shoe caught in between the cracks of the ramp and broke.

Magnificent!!!

I hobbled to the wall and took off my shoe. The heel was dangling dangerously. I banged the heel to the wall. Looks ok. I put it back on and tried to walk. If I didn't walk fast, the heel would stay put.

The shoe lasted until the end of the day (my last meeting ended at 7.30pm) but it's obvious I need new shoes. Sigh...well, the pair I had was already 2 years old. Plus I wear it almost everyday to work so it's way time for a new pair.

So, that's the agenda for today. Shopping for new shoes. Time to get into my Bradshaw persona.

Mau Tutup ke Takmo Tutup

I was reading Metro today and as always, I read the daily sms comments that come in (highly addictive). There were a few that expressed their unhappiness at this particular advertisement.
Apparently they are upset that the model is wearing a head gear and all, but also wearing see-thru outfit. Ketat lagi tu! But then, it is a weight management ad, what do you expect.

Personally I think the model could have shown some courtesy and NOT wear a see-thru outfit. Or, since her "before" picture showed her without any head gear, forgo the head gear in the "after" picture too.

Heeeee....itupun mau kecoh!!

Wanted!!

Name: Daria Syazmin

Nickname: Adik, Si Tembam, Si Bulat

Age: 8 months plus

Height: As tall as the kitchen table

Weight: As heavy as a sack of rice

Crime: Refusing to sleep during the night, insisting on having her mother carry her on her shoulders for hours. Climbing the stairs without supervision. Acting cheeky when being scolded. Being too cute for her own good.

Punishment: Big hugs. Tummy tickles. Wet kisses.

Warning: Approach with caution!! Able to melt hearts with a simple smile. Slobbers on people when they least expect it.

How I Spent Federel Day

Dania's Kafa school fees: RM70

Dina's Smartreader fees: RM290

Apartment's assessment taxes (cukai taksiran): RM380

Apartment's maintenance fees: RM660

Ikea Credit Card bill: RM185

Dania's bus fee: RM35

The fact my wallet now has an echo: Priceless

ps: Sungguh tak romantiknya caraku menghabiskan day date. Muahahaha...