Planning a Getaway

Shah has given the green-light for me to plan a getaway to Langkawi during the Chinese New Year holidays which coincides with the mid-term break at Uni*ten. But, most hotels are full and the only dates available are from 21-25 th January. We plan to go with my mom and Shah's parents so an apartment would be more economical. But if push comes to shove (I really need this break!!) we might have to get 3 hotel rooms or just 1 room for the three of us and ditch the plan of bringing the Maisarah's grandparents. We wont want to spend a bomb but due to the holiday season the rates are quite steep. And I repeat, I really need this break! Do you know of any good hotels/apartments in Langkawi? If you do drop me a line ASAP. Thanks a bunch!

P/S: Two posts in a day since it's Friday, the day after Christmas holiday and the eve of a long-weekend as Monday will be a public holiday again. So with everyone else on leave except me and a few others, I am in no mood to do much work. I'm so hoping none of the bosses or any of the students are reading this!

I'm now 1 year closer to being 30 years old!

Last Sunday was my 29th birthday. We spent the day by going shopping for my birthday present. Just Shah, Maisarah and I. We headed off to O*ne U*tama at 10 am. Shah said that I could go into any shop looking for a handbag and a pair of shoes. He had a figure in his mind as the total limit for both items so whenever I found anything I liked I could have it as long as I didn't go over the limit. So we went in and out of shops. I really was in search of a new bag and a really good pair of shoes which I could both use for office or other occasions. I went into Gu*ess but there weren't any bags that caught my eye. We'll actually, I wanted a beg that was a bit more expensive than Gu*ess. We then went into Nine West and I tried on a few comfortable shoes but they didn't have one I really liked in my size. So I settled for the second option which was a dark grey/silver patent leather shoe.

Till around lunch time we still didn't manage to find a nice bag that I liked. So we headed to Chil*lies for lunch. I wanted to try some thing other than lamb so I opted for the Ny Strip (I think that's the name) beef steak. Shah had Lamb Shank while Maisara had her favourite Macaroni & Cheese. Maisarah almost finished the whole bowl. She kept saying 'Nak' whenever her mouth was empty. My steak was too dry for my taste and it wasn't as tasty a lamb. So never again am I ordering beef at Chil*lies. My birthday cake was the Molten Chocolate Cake which Shah and I shared for dessert. We really savoured the taste of the oozing warm cholocate with the spongy cake and melting vanilla ice cream.

Anway, after lunch we headed to Parkson and I saw a few DK*NY bags but nothing made me fall in love. We continued scouring the shops when Shah spotted the DK*NY Jeans boutique. So we went in and there were lots of bags on display. I fell in love with one of the leather bags. Shah gave the OK meaning it was still within budget and the rest is history.

The next day I was still on leave as my mom went for holiday to Terengganu. I stayed home with Maisarah and I got a text message from Shah saying that more gifts are on the way. I told him that I'm contented with what I already have but if he insists than I should just take it with open arms. Right? Thank you Abang for everything! I love you!

One Year Milestone

Alhamdulillah I have now reached the 1 year milestone of breastfeeding Maisarah. I am very grateful to Allah for making my breastfeeding journey rather smooth-sailing. I had a breezy start in which I only had 1 or 2 incidents of blocked duct. This was easily remedied by taking a pin and princking the blocked duct (seen as a white spot) on my ni*ple. I got this solution from surfing the internet. Luckily the blocked duct did not cause mastitis.

After my confinement and starting work, I was blessed with perfect timing (thanks to Allah) as I had no classes for 6 months since I got back to work during the middle of a semester and this continued to the 3 month long holidays for students. So I had my own sweet time in the office to manage my work and still take time to express milk for Maisarah. Furthermore, I made the right decision to get an electric double breastpump (i.e. Spectra 3). This was really money well spent. So with I was able to pump 4 times a day, and was able to store lots of expressed breast milk (almost 120 four-ounce bottles) for Maisarah. At that time, I was worried the management was going to send me on a 4-day team-building trip.

When I started lecturing again in July, with the help of the Spectra 3 pump, I managed to maintain expresing a total of 16-20 oz per day for Maisarah's daily consumption. However, I had to reduce my pumping schedule from 4 to 3 times a day as I had to prepare lecture notes for my new subject and rush in and out to lectures. Soon fasting month came along in September. I was again afraid I couldn't maintain my daily output so I made sure I ate rice for sahur. During the fasting month, I managed to get 16 oz of milk per day so I had to dig into my frozen stock. By the end of the month, I had used up 20 bottles from the stock pile.

Now that it has come to 1 year of being a fully breastfeeding mommy, I am proud to say I can strill manage to express 16-18 oz per day. I now express twice in the office and my stock pile at home is at 110 four-ounce bottles. InsyaAllah, I will try and continue till I hit the 2-year mark in November 2009. But for now, I am very grateful to Allah for allowing me to last this long. Everything after this is a bonus for Maisarah and I. My target right this moment, is lasting till May 2009.

December baby

In about 10 days time I'll be celebrating my 29th birthday. Last year I celebrated it at home with my 1-month old baby girl. There was no present from Hubby. So this year, an email was sent to me from the BDay Fund. They had contacted me the first time in 2006. So, I'm guessing this will be a bi-annual event. Is it true Abang?

Anyway, in 2006, the offer came exactly 1 month before my birthday in the form of a letter and I had to list down five most desired birthday presents, two of which will be presented to me on my birthday. This year, the offer came to me via email on Tuesday (9 December). Below is the email i received:

Dear U*ngku A*nisa,

B-day fund allocation for your birthday in 2008

It is the time of the year again!, and as you might have noticed, B-day fund is going international since we last contacted you in December 2006. We have also gone paperless in order to save the environment. Please consider the environment before you print this email.

It gives me great pleasure to announce the following 2008 B-Day fund allocation for you. The followings are steps to claim your B-day fund allocation:

1. Please send an email to our representative in Malaysia and list FIVE Items and TWO Events that you want the most for your upcoming Birthday

2. The requirement:
a. The FIVE ITEMS must contain at least ONE ITEM that benefit your husband and daughter in some ways, and:

i. Item 1: Cost between RM 1500- RM 2500
ii. Item 2: Cost between RM 1000- RM 1500
iii. Item 3: Cost between RM 500 - RM 1000
iv. Item 4: Cost between RM 100 – RM 500
v. Item 5: Cost between RM 2 - RM 100

b. For the TWO events, please name TWO places that you would really like to go with your husband. You are allowed to name hotels/restaurants/parks etc. and the places must be in 50km radius from your home address.

The B-day fund Board of Directors will choose THREE out of FIVE items for your presents and ONE out of TWO events that you have listed.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

· Please bear in mind that You must name ALL THE SEVEN ITEMS + EVENTS, or the offer will be void.
· You are not allowed to ask your B-day fund coordinator to get some ideas on the list, or the offer will be void. You may consult ONLY TWO PEOPLE from your friends and families.
· The B-day fund coordinator will bring the presents to you in a number of ways around your birthday.
· You are required to reply to this email with list not later than 9.00 am Monday, 15th December 2008. Should you fail to do so, this offer will be automatically void.

Your B-Day fund coordinator whom you need to reply this email to, is:

Nor*shah Ha*feez, PhD CEng MIMechE BBEng BDFundE,

We wish you a very pleasant year ahead, and have a nice birthday,

-B-Day Fund, making dreams come true for hopeless people -

I've basically listed 4 out of the 5 items. One of the items will defintely benefit my husband and I'm hoping another item off my list will also benefit my daughter. Although not directly, but the things we'll get out of the item will be able to capture memories of my daughter as she grows. I also have in mind 2 places to visit within the 50 km radius from our house in PJ.

So far, I have not asked help from the two persons I am allowed to consult. But I might ask my sister on her views of my list. I'm determined to email the coordinator by Friday as I won't want to miss the 9 am deadline next Monday. And, as the title from my post 2 years ago goes, the wait begins!

P/S: A very big thank you to my Hubby for this exciting BDay Fund event!

P/P/S: Congrats also to my dear Hubby for passing his UK Chartered Engineer exam. My Hubby is now a certified Chartered Engineer recognised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers UK and internationally. Well done Abang!