LUPA LA TU...(SAMBIL MUNCUNG PANJANG)

Hmmmm, he did it again. My hubby conveniently forgot my birthday again last year. Waaaaaaaaaa!!! So very the sedih. Okay, so I exxagerate. He didn't forget...but he was the third person to wish me "Happy Birthday" and we live in the same house! He should have been the first! Okay, okay, it's me being the spoilt brat that I sometimes am. So there was the usual "tamil drama" and tears, and snot (spoil jer la hingus nih!) and the "you memang tak sayang I"...ish, ish, ish...sesungguhnya gua memang drama queen. But then he made up for it...hmmmm...niceeee...don't ask for details...they are not for the faint-hearted...ha! Ha! Ha!

However a few days later he got me flowers and chocolates...the man definitely knows the way to my heart (not to mention tummy) pending the actual birthday gift, and this blog, although long delayed is to record for posterity the loveliness of the flowers.

I luurrrvveeeeee roses...very much! And I am partial to chocolates as well.

Bunga kembang...hati ku pun kembang...unfortunately badan ku pun kembang jugak!

Cinta...love...la, la, la, la, la...

The card...also so full of love one...I hope it'll stay this way until death do us part.

The roses and chocolates in the car...just after I received it from my hubby...

The venue wasn't some exotic faraway island paradise, just the basement parking at One Utama Old Wing but I was in seventh Heaven...God, I'm so easy to please am I not?

Aku sungguh terharu...muka tengah tahan airmata daripada bercucuran...ish, drama sungguh uols!

BARBEQUE RAYA HAJI 2009

I've got an invite to a birthday barbeque after work tomorrow but alas I will not be able to make it. What a waste, the lady (who also happens to be the second in command in the department, so she's me Boss) who invited me is a great cook. It's to celebrate her twin daughters' birthday. Would be fun but after a day at the office, all I can afford to do in the evening is crawl into bed and pretend to watch the footie match on the telly. Ahhh, barbeques. Had a few at the petit-de-maison in "Mantin-Montreal" but it wasn't anything fancy. Wish I had my boss' funky high end barbeque set and the lovely setting that is her house to go with it. But...we have to make do with what we have, so it was the round barbeque set (which we got free from Proton Edar after spending a small fortune on the car maintenance) and the backyard at Mantin-Montreal.

Pagi Raya Haji...Anak daro den melaram habis pakai kebaya! Anak daro yang lagi sorang tu den raso "ehem, bau asham..."armpit" siapa "toot"!

Ish, ish, ish...Papa dengan anak daro dio. Papa pun raso eh, ado bau-bau "gambin".

Anak dara zaman sekarang, Bukan main pandai, melaram.

Arose dengan gaya "Chipmunk"! Cute gitewwwww! Asalkan the shot is above the "empire line", if bawah sikit nanti nampak "the entire empire" (emphasis on the "tire" = "tyre" - same pronounciation, different spelling only maaa!)

Ewah, dua jejaka "hashem" ("handsome" the way Amira pronounces it). One to blow on the "arang" [as any stray pieces of "arang" will not be detectable on him - I am mean, I am mean, I am very mean!] and one to "kipas" the "arang" into life.

Arose and Mader (when life was simpler and Mader was still just Mader)...note the loveliness of my cousin Arose's curvy figure...very the lentik uols! But there is a secret...perut pun lentik jugak and ianya tidaklah lentik ke dalam...get what I mean?

The chicken and the beef, which had been marinating for a whole night, undergoing its "trial by fire".

The smell was so "wonderful" even the cats were attracted! Dey tanggachiiii, itu daging juga jangan kasi sama kaler macam itu Mader, vokeh!

Anak daro den dah paneh! Nakdo laie kebaya, berlengging ajo. Anak daro sorang laie tu memang cas lawa dari awal, tapi tak po la, dio rajin jago daging, jago api...cayang Aunty Alosh!

The result. Don't look without eye (direct translation - jangan pandang tak ada mata), the colour may have been a bit dark but the taste was superbly delicious! Look out AFC, soon you'll be begging for my recipes and it'll be "Thrilling for a Grilling with Roza"...ha! Ha! Ha!

My coleslaw!!! Success!!!

My mashed potatoes - also a success!!! I'ts sooooooo gooood...from the front to the back...oppss, that's a line from the song "Body Beautiful" by "Salt n Pepa". Over pulak!

The deserted back side of the house after all was over and done with...*BURP*...I mean the deserted BACKYARD, BACKYARD! Sometimes my brain just refuses to provide the right words and I figured "bahagian belakang" translated becomes "back side". I guess I was not quite correct...

Anak daro den dah mandi, pakai baju lain pulak sambil tayang-tayang selipar "bling-bling" yang Aunty Alosh beli kat Bangkok.

If she likes it, it must be good...coz this young lady is rather finicky when it comes to food.

Raya Haji 2009 was the way a family gathering should be despite the overcast sky. The rather moody weather forced everyone into the house, good food, good company, good conversation where no one took offence coz everything's in jest, the warm lazy feeling where you are free to be yourself, no need to impress, just bring your own skin and be comfortable in it coz no one's judging...I wonder if we'll ever feel that way again...

RAYA PUASA 2009 - CONTINUED

And so the saga continued in the Petit de Maison in the unassuming little village in "8th Mile, Mantin-Montreal"...

The second raya morning...and the family was still keeping to its "lepak" dressing mode, except of course for that "Muay Tai Contender" wannabe trying to hide his little pouch with what suspiciously looks like my pillow...IT IS MY PILLOW!!! Ish, ish, nak kena Mat Bangla nih.

Arose, sebelum mandi, bersantai dengan"satay sejuk" from the night before...

Moi, Arose (yang dah mandi dan wangi) lepak-lepak depan TV dengan ayah...(you can only see his knees).

Amira da Bon Bons, buat muka "cute" lepas kena marah sebab tak berhenti makan gula-gula dengan coklat.

Amira and Arose in "fighting mode". Ayah was doing a "Switzerland" ie. keeping himself cool and impartial. And my pillow was again a victim of someone's need to cover "ze bulge"!!!

Acik Ujang's Family, Along, Atai, Cik Nab and Angah, while waiting for us to get into "our gear", before leaving for Melaka with ayah, ibu and Amira to attend anak Mak Teh's, engagement.

Ibu ku yang sentiasa jelita di mata ku. One in a million!

My brother Adi, his wife Sue and their daughter Amira...soon there'll be four of them.

My ayah and ibu...soulmates...they will be celebrating their 46th Anniversary come this September and I pray they have many, many more.

The family...except for ayah and ibu who were going off to attend the function at Mak Teh's house in Malacca, the rest of us actually got dressed especially for this photo session. InsyaAllah this year there'll be further additions, Adi's 2nd child, my baby, Mader's wife and two kids. I guess we need more space now.

My bothers and sister.

My hubby and me.

Arose and Mader. Despite the apparent difference in coloring and the not so apparent difference in attitude, these two are siblings, same mum and dad. Tak tau kenapa, yang sorang tu bulan gerhana sikit.

Moi and Adi...ten years older than him and some people thinks he's my elder brother...Yesss!!! Awet muda uols! Tak tahaaaannnnn!!!

Moi and Arose.

Arose...what this young woman has been through in her life would make most of us break down and give-up...but she's still around, still fighting and I pray she will one day find her Prince.

Three generation of ladies of the "Batu 8 Clan of the Bear-Bears"...we are all lovable and huggable. Don't believe me? Just ask our men.

Mr Poyores Al Bangla and me hubby...don't ask me why one is grinning like a (black) cheshire cat while the other is trying to look so "official".

RAYA PUASA TAWUN LEPAS...1st DAY.

All was silent, even the birds loathed to leave their nests for it was the first day of Hari Raya Puasa. The day when Muslims all over the world celebrate after a month of fasting. And in that "petite maison" tucked away in that unassuming village in Mantin-Montreal, Negeri Sembilan...

Ya Allah, anak daro den!

Walaupun tengah tido mak masih maintain pose "vogue"! Arose, striking a pose on the same long suffering sofa...Raya morning.

Alahai, lawa anak daro den pagi Rayo.

I wonder what these two are up two...partners in crime, Arose and Amira Da Bon Bons.

Dua wakil Dewan Undangan Negeri Kelantan dari Kota Bharu dan Kuala Krai sedang hangat berdebat sampai diperhatikan Amira da Bons Bons dan Mr Poyores Al Bangla.

"Ish, ish...nasib mu baik mu abe ipar, kalau tidak dah ku sungkup dengan balang nih!"

The view from the "rear"...Ha! Ha! Ha!

Gambar lawa di pagi raya, dengan muka sembab sebab tak cukup tido, tak kuasa mak nak pakai baju kurung...jadi capai yang paling selesa, t-shirt oversize dengan skirt. Pas tu, nyammmm, nyammmm!

Nyammmm!!! Nyammmm!!! Sebab ada wakil Pantai Timur kan so menu ada sikit lain la, ada itu nasi berdagang juga, sangat la sedapnya.

Uncle and Aunty Tan...good long time friends of the family.

And as the day got older...

Rasanya kerusi ni memang ada ubat tido...sesiapa yang landing sure berdengkur. Auwwwww, it rhymes! I'm such a poet!

"Den tokonang jo kampung...induk, ayah, adek sadoeai...". Cian hubby den, rindu KB la tu, renungan sungguh jauh...jangan risau, tawun dopan kito balik yo. Kalau tak balik nanti ado anak Mok Nab yang lupo caro nak cakap loghat Kelate.

Kerahan tenaga, mencucuk satay untuk hidangan tetamu yang datang...ehhh, macam lagu Raya pulak.

The posse entrusted with the task of ensuring that the satay is well cooked. The fellow trying desperately to suck in his stomach is none other than "Mr Poyore Al Bangla", my cousin Mader. The Yuna look alike is my brother's wife, Sue and the guy with the close cropped hairstyle is my one and only brother, Adi a.k.a Didie a.k.a El-Doyots. And the guy in the black t-shirt is me hubby.

Anybody needs extra luck??? Rub my brother's tummy...ha! Ha! Ha! And the headless figure in the white baju kurung with the blue rose motifs is none other than Arose, she finally ditched the bermudas for something more...ummm...feminine(?).

The satay must be good...judging by the smile on my sister-in-laws face.

The end-product...not bad for our first attempt.

Auwwwwww...adegan romantis di belakang rumah...

Arose's friends came a visiting...Wisa and her brood.

The men having a chat.

Auwwwww...sungguh lentuk gitewwww!!! Jangan tak caya, mamat pakai baju melayu grey tu and the "awek mengancam" in the "baju kurung" are both Chinese...so the very 1Malaysia!!!

Friends and food...just the way "Raya" should be celebrated.

This is not a scene from "Misteri Nusantara" or some other paranormal documentary. It's my hubby tengah main...oppps...tak boleh sebut...

My hubby bought me a belated Birthday Cake...

After the last visitor had gome home...the family sat down for a late nite supper and some cake before dragging ourselves to bed. It was a good day.

I love this man...