MY FAMILY - THE FURRY FOUR LEGGED TYPE

I did promise to introduce you to the rest of my family kan? Well, I guess today is as good as any day. I am still waiting for Rose to give me her glamour girl photos so I think we will have to settle with the furry four legged members of my family first.

I adore animals, I think they are wonderful. Whenever you look at an animal, you just can't help but marvel at the power of Allah, that such a creature can be created, be it the not so good looking toad, the absolutely gorgeous Lion, the slithering snake and its glittering scales, the fish, the seals, the birds, the bees...You do not have to go far to know that there is a God, because without a God how can we have such beautiful, wonderful creatures in this world.

I am nut about cats, totally absolutely nuts. As far back as I can remember, there have always been cats in the house. Whenever I lose any of my cats, there will be tears and a vehement oath "I'll never have another!", but a few weeks maybe months later and I'll fall in love with another furry bundle and have another meowing friend.

When I married my husband, he was not partial to pets. He never had one. We never discussed about having a cat, I sort of made the decision by myself one day. I don't know what got into me. I can't even remember how it was that I ended up at the pet shop in Uptown, Damansara. All I knew was that I had to have the furry little black bundle with those yellow, yellow, yellow "tanglung" eyes. Thus, I brought BABYLICIOUS SUPERSTAR REAMIEY home. We call him "BABY".

My husband could not understand why I would spend so much money on a cat and he disliked the idea of having to clean the litterbox. There were fights and tears. I was on the verge of having to choose between my lovely BABY and my hubby. Then we found out that I was pregnant and the Vet told my husband that he has to help with the litterbox...and he has been doing that ever since.

And I have never seen someone fall so completely in love with a cat the way my husband did with Baby. The bond got stronger as both of us tried to carry on with life after we lost our son. It was rough but we made it...it has been two years since Baby joined our life and he is still the SUPERSTAR, all five plus kilos of him.

BABY having his daily "dry cleaning" session.

"Ala Ma, can I have some privacy please? How's a boy gonna clean himself with a cameraphone in his face?"

"I am not a pampered cat, I am not a pampered cat, I am not a pampered cat....Ma, can you scratch my tummy please?"

Checkout those eyes....cantik kan kejadian Allah.

I think I'll stop now, I am suddenly too tired to continue. Sometimes I get rather emotional when I talk about BABY, because I just cannot envisage life without him. Funny huh? Well, not to me. I've had him since he was three (3) months old and I have seen him grow, and I know one day I will have to let him go back to Allah. Will I be able to continue? Of course, life goes on but a part of me will always be with BABY... My husband says I think too much....maybe I do...

So I'll stop now, I'll write again soon, and introduce you to Hammie, Darling and Honeyz. Ciao!

A LITTLE GIRL, A CAMERA AND HER CRAZY UNCLE

It was one of those hot Saturday afternoon, when everybody stays indoors and turn on their air-conditioning. But that is not the case for this little girl, her uncle and his camera. Check out the latest poses from Amira the Bon-Bon......

When I grow up...

I want to be famous

I want to be a star

I want to be in movies....

When I grow up...

I want to see the world

Drive nice cars

I want to have boobies!

When I grow up...

Be on TV, people know me

Be on magazines...

When I grow up...

Fresh and clean

Number one chick when I'm stepping on the scene!

Pussycat Dolls (2009)

Ini pose pewaris family "mafia" - the MantinBatu8 Clan.

*************************************************

"AMIERA DA BONS BONS RULZ 4EVER!"

"TYRA BANKS.....EAT YOUR HEART OUT!"

AMIERA DALAM POSE RAKSAKSE CITER "ULTRAMAN".

"I SHALL TERRORIZE...I SHALL RULZ THIS DOMAIN...I AM THE AMIERA!!!"

Anak Kucing 1 : "Ek eleh.....apa hal minah kurang tinggi nih?".

Anak Kucing 2: "Gua pun tak tau la Bro, gua rase dia terlebih susu cap gantung kot".

Anak Kucing 3: "Susu cap gantung? Mana? Mana? Gua dah lama tak rase susu cap gantung?"

Mak Kucing: "Korang jangan nak mengade-ngade. Karang aku serahkan kat Hantu Kopek Keliwon karang baru tau!".

"Sesungguhnya aku la aweks Melayu, kalau pose-pose tak pegang bungas ke, dauns ke mana bolehs kan, so pegang la bunga Neneks ku ini. Jangan marah Neneks, Miera picits-picits jer....Kalau tertiba bungas ni kenas hearts attacks dan 'Innalillah...' Neneks ajaks Tatuks gi Sungai Buluh ye....Cayang Neneks and Tatuks."

"PAPA, AM I GETTING PAID FOR THIS? SHALL I GET MAMA TO DRAW UP AN AGREEMENT?"

(Pose ni Mama yang ajar, tapi kenape masa Mama buat cam kurang cute jer?)

To the dearest most beloved little girl in my (and the rest of my family's) life, Allah bless you always, laughter, love and happiness for every minute of your life and remember....I've got your back!

P/S: Don't worries abouts the boobies part....you come from a long line of women with enviable "ehems" which have stood the pull of gravity...not convinced? Check out your Aunty Rose!

And a word of warning....Becareful what you wish for coz...

"YOU MIGHT JUST GET IT, YOU MIGHT JUST GET IT!"

Pussycat Dolls (2009)

BLAST FROM THE PAST - "KAMDAR REVISITED"

Hi, it has been sometime since I've written anything. This is what happens when you don't have internet connection at home. I wanted to get the WIMAX thingy but when I made enquiries, I was told that they do not have coverage for Puncak Alam. Alahai, terasa cam duduk kat hujung dunia la pulak. I wanted to langgan Maxis broadband, but when I asked whether there is good coverage in Puncak Alam, the girl who was beria-ia mem "promote" the service tanya I balik, "Puncak Alam kat mana?". The best thing is she was stationed at a shop in Saujana Utama, which is like se "shout" (sepelaung 'kay) saja from Puncak Alam. So terpaksa la guna komputer opis tapi kena la tunggu lepas waktu pejabat...........ketika tinggal sorang-sorang, masa tunggu my husband sampai.......neno, neno, neno, neno (ini bukan bunyi siren polis, ini my version of theme song for "Twillight Zone").

This is me in my own "Twilight Zone"....

Still remember "Twillight Zone"? What a blast from the past. Once upon a time that was the WORD in scary programmes. Now we have "Keliwon". Hmmmm.......did you see the last episode, the one titled "Hantu Kopek"? I wonder if it was intentional that they chose a rather well endowed actress to play the part of the "Hantu Kopek". Still, what I remembered was that the "hantu" will hide children underneath her "ehem" which has succumbed to the powers of gravity rather badly. But then how do you hide four young men (as the hantu did in that particular episode of "keliwon"), all five footers, behind you know what....you must really have gargantuan "ehems".

Talking about blasts from the pasts, last Friday (20/3/2009) I wore my really, really old baju kurung to work. I was not in a good mood and was not up to wearing anything colourful. So I opted for the usual black and white, the safe colour as far as I am concerned. I have lots of blacks and whites, which is something usual for former litigation lawyers. So I arrived in the office and settled down to the daily grind. All went as usual before Bie, one of my colleagues came out of her room. Bie is my GGM's secretary so unlike the rest of us poor mortals, she has a room to herself. I turned and realised that we have both made a fashion boo-boo, we were both wearing something similar. Have a look.........

Roza and Bie dalam pose mengada-ngada di pagi Jumaat.

Thank God, she was only using the same material for her "kain" and not the whole baju kurung (and the fact that her design was bigger and was white on a blue background while mine was white on black).

She asked me "Ko beli kat Kamdar ke?".

My answer was...."La, kat mana lagi!" and suddenly "pling, pling, pling"...... (kalau sinetron Indonesia this is the part where the screen is infused with a rainbow of colours and the pari-pari appears flapping her wings) I "teringat semasa dulu" (I believe there is a song with these exact words).

Those were the days, kalau nak beli kain you have to brave the concrete jungle named Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman/Jalan TAR. Have not been there for yonks. I believe the last time I was there was three years ago when I was shopping for my wedding trousseau (did I spell this right?).

Yes.....I was looking for the lace and bling, bling with the hope that I would look anggun for my wedding. Don't laugh 'kay, I beli kat GULATI's, I repeat GULATI's. Nak beli kat Euro Moda....hmmmm, I was shopping with Ringgit Malaysia and not Euros, 'kay. I remember the days when shopping at Dyalchands (did I get this right as well?) was the in thing.....help! I feel so antique (never old dahling, never in my life!).

Check out Bie's "ambik gambar tepi swimming pool pakai pareo" pose.

Here we are again, same baju kurungs, different pose. I was kinda hoping to hide the "perut" but no chance lah. That's why I was once asked by someone "You pregnant ya?", to which I answered "Trying, still trying....everyday you know..." with a wink.

Tapi sekarang kan, kalau lalu depan "Celebrity Fitness" ke, apa fitness ke, and they try to hulur-hulur the brochure, I will cakap dengan kuat "not fat la....pregnant meh!"....Heh! Heh! Heh!

And now for a "cair" moment. Last week, on Friday, the same day I wore the Kamdar get-up, my hubby and I went to One Utama to have dinner. When we came off the escalator by the Nike shop (in front of Body Shop, old wing), this girl came a running with (surprise, surprise) a brochure for another slimming centre in her hand.

I started to jalan cepat-cepat and just waved my hand and said "No, thank you", but the best thing is my husband intercepted (macam jet pejuang plak kan) the woman and said "Tak apa, tak apa, no need...". Awwwwwww!!!! I so cair like that. Love you Yayang, muah! Muah! Muah!

NEW KID ON THE BLOG

Hello....Sebenarnya I am not into all these blogging thingy. Tapi kan hari tu , adalah si Bunga Matahari nih dok minta tolong pasal blog dia, so while I was typing and typing, I was suddenly mesmerized and lost myself in the words and sentences (ewah! ewah!) and terasa "Hmmm, best jugak buat benda nih, Sure Kacang punya, I can do this. Then I dok layan si blog Tulipot, Beez and mamatiamia....sesungguhnya teruja. So I asked Tulipot for her help and ta daaaaaa......Sweet Ginger Brown is born.

I was discussing the idea of creating my own blog with my hubby this morning. He said, "Why Not?". Alahai, so the very supportive. That's why I love you Ayang, muah, muah, muah!

So this is a start. Quite a big step for someone who is not very computer savvy. Tak apa la, I have colleagues who are old hands at this. Before we proceed further, I would like to introduce my not so big family:-

This is my one and only ayah, the love of my ibu's life.

This is my most beloved ibu, the love of my ayah's life, the pillar of strength in mine and the anchor in my dear brother's world.

My parents. Come this September, they would have been married for 45 years. I asked my ibu, how do you stay that long with someone, without wanting to kill him. She said it takes lots and lots of patience and compromise. Hmmmm, I'm a bit low on the patience side....

This is my brother and his family. There is actually a gap of ten years between us. I was already in Primary Five when he was born. Quite a transition from being an only child to a big sister. It was hard to slip into the role of caring elder sister. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother to bits and bits and bits. Nevertheless, it was so much fun having a much shorter person to boss around so it was easier to develop the role of "terrorist" (heh! heh!). Not to say that I have since resigned from the post of resident terrorist to the family, still am and will always remain so. When he was a toddler, my bother looked like an "anak Jepun" in contrast to me, who, as my husband likes to describe it, ada miss miss Preity Zinta!!!! (Ewah! Ewah! Ewah!)

Tolong akok-akok dengae mokcik-mokcik, tak yah muntah 'kay. My husband is looking at me through the eyes of love. Of course la dia nampak I cam Preity Zinta sekejap, cam Ashwarya Rai sekejap (itu pakcik mamak kat kedai Jalan TAR yang cakap, beria-ia kata I cam Aishwarya Rai, kalau tau si Aishwarya dia terus jadi nun!), cam Kate Winslet pun ader, nak kata I ni ada lah sipi-sipi darah Aryan tu kan.

For those who are old enough to remember, a ship named "the Hai Hong" carrying loads of refugees from Cambodia, docked at Port Klang sometime at the end of the 1970's, early 1980's. So me being the angel that I am, told my brother that as he is "sepet" like them, and not have big eyes like me, he must one of them as well and that my ibu actually took pity on him when she found him "hanyut" dalam storm drain...jahat kan, kan, kan.

Then one day, masa tengah hujan lebat kat luar rumah, I repeated the same thing and my brother (he was only about two or three years old at that time) , merajuk tahap dewa tujuh petala langit. Dia siap nak lari dari rumah. Tapi sebelum tu kan, dia sempat masuk bilik and capai satu baju ni, yang one of our family friend, Aunty Tan, knitted for him. Berbekalkan baju tu, ala-ala baju panas la, my brother pun berlari-lari anak gajah cute (masa tu cute, cuba la sekarang.....) nak keluar rumah sambil airmata bercucuran, siap tak pakai kasut lagi. Nasib baik my ibu sempat peluk dia!

Lalu berlatarbelakangkan air hujan, kilat sabung menyabung, berlaku la satu drama tamil. All they needed was the "aaaaaaaaaaa......" song yang selalu main kalau masa part sedih dalam drama/filem Tamil. Got an earful from my ibu after that and was told never to say such things. Yes I have stopped calling him "anak Hai Hong", now I affectionally call him "Dodot". Hey, I am not being mean! He calls me "Grodot" 'kay.

And this little "amoi" is my brother's only child and my parents' only grandchild (to date). Amira "Da Bon Bon". Very naughty, very very spoiled and so very-very-very loved. She'll be three this August but when she was born, I thought she would not make it. She was born premature, not 100% developed and weighing only 1.98 kg. The doctor told us that she may have complications and her development has been monitored by the hospital. She was so small, I was afraid to hold her. But this gutsy little girl is a survivor, passed all the health tests she had to undergo with flying colours. Finally the doctor gave this verdict "Perfect and so very intelligent!". Alhamdulillah! I don't know why but everybody keeps saying that Amira has inherited all my "perangai". Well, I don't think that's something bad, after all I am her Mama. My brother thought there is no need for the Mak Long, Mak Lang, Mak Teh business as there's only two of us. So Amira calls her parents Ayah and Ibu, and calls me Mama and my husband Papa.

Here's a photo of Amira when she was only a few days old.
Her Papa was absolutely terrified when I told him to hold her, he was afraid he'll slip and she'll fall. They're best of friends these two...my ibu said kalau tanya pasal Mama, lepas tu mesti tanya pasal Papa dia. Almaklumla, satu bendera. Hmmmm, there's some truth in that......my husband's a Kelantanese and so is my brother's wife. In fact my brother and I got married about one week apart, so that my wedding kenduri was also the kenduri sambut menantu. Well, we'll get to that part of my life's journey one of these days.

Ini gambar masa Raya 2008, anak dara tu tengah bergaya sakan dengan baju baru dan kasut merah dia. She is really partial to red and pinks and all shades in between. What to do kan, dah pompuan gitu. Tapi ada jugak ulat gonggok nak enter frame.

There are a few others I would like to include namely my cousins, Rose and Mahathir but that will have to wait. I can't seem to find that cd that contains their photos. I'll add them in later. I'll also tell you guys about other members of my family, ie. the furry four legged kind. Till then, ciao and God Bless All.