Cruising Around with Mickey

Cruising Around with Mickey
Originally uploaded by ABumbleBee.

Project "Our Hive": The Heart of Our Home

Now that all the renovation work are done, we have bid farewell to Mr Peter. We've moved on to the heart of a home, which is the kitchen. Our kitchen designer, Ms S was supposed to come measure our kitchen last Friday but she was unwell. So, we've shifted the appointment to Monday afternoon.

Once she's got all the measurements, then the designing can start. However, she would need the measurement of the appliances that will be fitted to our cabinets - the cooker hob, oven and hood. The company that will do our kitchen supplies Te*ka, Fa*gor and Rin*nai appliances. After reading through the forums, many said that we should go with Asian manufacturers since our Asian cooking uses lots of oil. So, I was leaning towards Rin*nai and Fu*jioh. My mom uses Fu*jioh and also based on reviews on the net Fu*jioh hoods has higher oil absorption efficiency than Rin*nai.

Equipped with all these info, Shah and I headed to the Modern Ho*me and Life*style Fair at Mid*valley today. Alhamdulillah Fu*jioh had a booth there and there were a few reasonable offers. Suffice to say, I was already set on getting a Fu*jioh hood and hob. We also got an oven to go with it at a price that I had budgeted for. So, we've now got the measurements for our appliances to be given to Ms S.

Hopefully we'll be able to finalise the kitchen design in the next two weeks. Then we've got to get the Fu*jioh people to come measure the ducting for the hood and hack a hole on the back wall of the kitchen where the ducting ends. Once the hole is done, then only can the cabinets be fixed and finally the appliances.

So, maybe by early or mid May will the kitchen be ready. In the mean time, we'll be shopping for lights. Just before the cabinets are in and the lights are all fixed, we've got to do the first round of cleaning for the whole house. The proper clening will be done just before we move in the furniture.

Oh, and it looks like the developer is almost done with our complaints. Maybe next week they'll call us up to check the repairs. I've also put a picture of our grille and the simple cornice we've got on the ceiling. So, our main mission at the Mid*valley fair was accomplished. Next week there'll be a Per*fect Li*ving Fair at PWTC and it looks like that fair will be big. So, we'll be there next Saturday to look for lights, furniture and maybe an alarm system for our house if budget permits. We must always ensure safety comes first!

Yummy? Yes? No?

After watching a cooking show this morning making tiramisu, Shah and I decided to make one. Well, Shah made most of it actually while I just helped to beat the egg white. We also made a smaller cafeine-free version just for the little Princess. Unfortunately, she only ate just a few mouths. Maybe the milo I used instead of the coffee was a tad too sweet.

Let's Go For A Ride

This month has seen some changes to our lives. Firstly, starting from 1st March, Shah is no longer the He*ad of De*partment at the College. If you ask him, he feels like a giant boulder has been lifted off his shoulder. His new post as DDR means he no longer has to manage staff but he will have to make sure that the research and publication targets of the College are met. He's now much happier and less stressed than before.

On the other note, since our previous car had been bought by Shah's brother last December, we had been searching for a new ride. Shah initially wanted the Lan*cer and I liked it too mainly because of it's looks. The test drive was great but Shah was worried about maintenance costs and also due to the noisier engine roar. That meant the Lan*cer had been striked of the list. Sheesh! Men and forward thinking. Why can't he just be an impulsive buyer? If not I could have been parading around town in a Lan*cer, albeit in the passanger seat as I don't think I have the guts to drive it. So, on to the next option, the Al*tis. Also too big for me, a sort of 'playing it safe' car because it has all the necessary safety features, reliable but lacked the looks and the racing feel of the Lan*cer. Shah and I didn't get the exciting feeling when we test drove the Al*tis. We mulled over the idea of getting the Al*tis but we decided not to as we wanted something more suited for a young couple with a child. (hey, we are young at heart at least!)

Finally, last February, we test drove the Ci*vic. We fell in love with the looks, the features, the power. It was a match to the Lan*cer. Shah was bought over by it and so was I. We made the booking that same February day and we finally received it this month. We're loving it but Shah is itching to drive it above 100 km/hr. He can't do so yet as we have to wait for the car mileage to reach 1000km and undergo it's first service before Shah can test it to it's limits. Actually, he has gone up to 120km/hr by 'accident', but I think he purposely did so.

Hence, for the next few days, Shah will take the longest route to work and bring us on long drives during the weekend so that we'll get to the 1000km soon. So, let's get my sunnies out and go for a ride!

Project "Our Hive": Wired and Plastered Up

Peter, our contractor, informed us on Monday that the wiring works are completed. Today he mentioned that the plaster cornicing are almost done too. This means that the major renovation works to our house are mostly completed. With that, Shah and I took leave yesterday to inspect the work done. Then, we headed to The Cur*ve on our quest to kick-off the next phase which is the kitchen cabinets.

We went to Ki*an Classic's showroom there because I wanted to see if their '3 Rooms and 2 Halls' package (3R+2H) was still on. This package includes kitchen cabinets, a TV stand for the living room and 3 built-in wardrobes for the room. They also had a newer package called Golden 2+1 (G2+1) which comprised of kitchen cabinets and 2 wardrobes.

Unfortunately, the designer we met previously wasn't there as her shift starts at 1pm. So Shah and I went to I*kea to kill time and get some decor ideas as well as survey furnitures. While browsing, we decided that the 3R+2H package was too much. Our main aim was to get the kitchen done and the wardrobes for our room. So went we met Miss S at Ki*an Classsic's after lunch, we asked if we could take the G2+1 package but have both wardrobes in our master bedroom. How happy were we when she said that was ok. You see even with both the 8 feet and 6 feet wardrobes in our room we still had to add an extra 2 feet of wardrobe space.

So, suffice to say, we have placed the booking for a high gloss kitchen cabinet with additional solid surface worktop and 10 foot built-in wardrobe. Next week Ms S will come over to our house to take measurement and then do the 3-d drawings. Once we agree with the plans, it would take 3 weeks for the cabinets and wardrobe to be installed. InsyaAllah, we hope to get these done by end of May. But we can't install them until the developer has completed work on our complaints which we submitted more than 2 weeks ago. I've got to give them a call and chase them on this. But our complaint were a quite long list as we have some leaks on the ceiling and cracks high up the walls.

Anyway, with the kitchen almost sorted, we'll next move on to the next phase of lighting up the house.

P/S: I've got to take pictures of the house the next time we go.

Surely an Adventure!

Today, for the first time, I felt the 'priceless' moment from the Master*card adverts. The moment Mickey and Minney came on the ice, Maisarah's was all excited and she didn't even budge from her seat for the first hour of the show. She was totally excited and was waving at Donald, Goofy, Pluto and the two mice. She was happy to see Snow White and Cinderella make an appearance but I think she would have wanted to see more of the two Princesses.

But this show was about The Disneyland Adventure so it focused more on Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy's adventure around the Disneylan Theme Park. The show had snippets from the Tiki Room where Stitch came on the show. Then came Baloo from the Jungle, followed by a ride on the Magic Mountain train. Then came then Space Adventure where Buzz Lightyear danced with Donald. Later on was a snippet from Alice in Wonderland and then Snow White and Cinderella came during the Parade. But the main higihlight was the appearance of The Incredibles whol helped Mickey, Daisy and Pluto save Donald and Minnie from the sleeping spell cast by a Malificient, the evil witch from Sleeping Beauty. Anyway, The Incredibles saved the day and Donald was reunited with Daisy and Minnie with Mickey.

I must say the two hours flew by too quickly. Before we knew it, it was the end of the show. I didn't bring my Canon as I thought they didn't allow cameras in. Boy was I wrong. But I did take lots of pictures from my Nokia. I hope they'll look ok on the PC. I did take lots of videos too from our rinkside seats. The money spent was worth it as Maisarah had lots of fun. In truth, I had fun too, maybe even more than Maisarah.

We're going to meet Mickey & Minnie Mouse

We're bringing Maisarah to the Disney on Ice: Disneyland Adventure show tomorrow at Stadium Bukit Jalil. Maisarah has been excited about going since we first bought the tickets in December last year. We're hoping she will pay attention during the show and not lose interest half hour after it starts. We've even bought a dedicated seat for her rinkside. I'm not sure if we're allowed to bring in a camera so we're not going o risk bringing it. We'll just use our phone camera to take pictures if were allowed to do so. Anyway, I'll write more about the show later.

It' close to 12am as I type this. My feet are aching coz I had to work today, delivering a 6 hour lecture. Anyway, despite the tiredness, Shah and I was intrigued when we saw a trailer of the Cereka*rama telemovie tonight. (yes, we both are suckers for malay dramas)

Anyway, the telemovie was about a young couple, well the girl is still studying in uni while the guy works as a mechanic after finisihing high school. They decided to marry because they are madly in love and want to be together and believes that with love they can make the marriage work. But the girl doesn't know how to cook or clean the house and likes to sleep. She was never taught to do housework by her mom because if she did any housework it was not up to par with her mother's standard. So the guy had to clean up after her and endure eating instant noodles or packed food. In the end, the guy got fed up and they seperated. A few weeks later, after realising that the guy wasn't going to come back to her, the girl decided to change and become the faithful housewife. So, he got back with her and they lived happily ever after.

The plot was simple and the acting was funny but it has a powerful age-old lesson that marriage requires lots of effort and hard work no matter how strong you love each other. Anyway, it got me to reflect on myself as a wife. I'm not sure if I have made any improvements compared to when Shah and I first got married. Maybe I've become worse. I think I need to put in more effort. Since we've been back from UK, I have been spoilt by the comfort of being back home. Why cook when readily cooked food is just a few minutes away? Why iron clothes when the maid is paid to do it? But actually, it's the thought of a wife cooking the food or ironing the clothes with love that counts. So, this month with us marking our 8th year togther as hubby and wifey, I aim to become a better wife to Shah by doing more things for him. Also, I've got to train Maisarah to become a good wife to her future hubby. Oh Allah, please give us the strength to better ourselves and always give us guidance to keep us on the right path.

Ok, got to sleep and wake up early tomorrow to prepare breakfast for Shah and Maisarah. Nite nite!