Wow, Hebat!!!

Wow, Hebat! is the only expression i could use to describe my feeling right now. according to google definition of this exclamation word- Wow means; impress greatly at the situation or as in belly laugh; to a joke that seems extremely funny.

it's an expression that i often use in almost all situation, be it when i'm impressed, amazed, funny (as in all of these~funny haha, amused, curious or  something fishy is going on )  or even when i'm disgusted. it can be for any type of the situation above or all in one package & usually  it sounds like this: 'Wow' followed by the malay word "hebat!!!', as for this word 'hebat', according to webster online dictionary it means; great, grand or tremendous.
but my definition of the word hebat combine with Wow simply means, Ultra or Super.
this favourite exclamation of mine can also be expressed sarcastically.

so yeah~ "Wow, Hebat (with a capital H)!!!!" (in sarcastic manner) is exactly how i feel. i shall not elaborate  or bother (exactly)to discuss why i'm feeling the way i am now cos i just can't be bothered!!! nuff said.

Life without limb.

to those who think their life suck to bits, that they are the poorest of the poor, the weakest of the lot, the most unfortunate person in the world, that their pain is unbearable, that God is working against them, STOP! think again....try live this man's life!!!!

Nick Vujicic was born with no arms or legs - but he doesn't let the details stop him.

The brave 26-year-old - who is mainly torso - plays football and golf, swims, and surfs, despite having no limbs.

Nick has a small foot on his left hip which helps him balance and enables him to kick.
He uses his one foot to type, write with a pen and pick things up between his toes.

Dive right in: Nick Vujicic, born without legs or arms, plunges into a pool for a swim

Bethany Hamilton teaches Nick how to surf in Hawaii in 2008. Bethany got her arm bitten off by a shark when she was a teenager - and was back on a surfboard within three weeks.

'I call it my chicken drumstick,' joked Nick, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, but now lives in Los Angeles. 'I'd be lost without it.

'When I get in the water I float because 80 per cent of my body is lungs and my drumstick acts as a propeller.'

Due to his faith as an Evangelical Christian, Nick has chosen to remain a virgin until marriage although he has had long-term girlfriends in the past.

'He's very modest but he gets marriage proposals from women all the time,' said Nick's friend and publicist Steve Appel, from Los Angeles.

Water sports aren't Nick's only thing - he also plays golf with a club tucked under his chin, and is a huge fan of the English Premier League

Nick at school as a ten-year-old child. His parents decided not to send him to a special school - a decision he said was very hard for him, but which may have been the best decision they could have made for him

'He would love to get married and start a family but he's waiting for the right girl to come along.'

When Nick was born his father was so shocked he left the hospital room to vomit. His distraught mother couldn't bring herself to hold him until he was four months old.

His disability came without any medical explanation - a rare occurrence called Phocomelia - and Nick and his parents spent many years asking why this cruel trick would happen to them.

'My mother was a nurse and she did everything right during pregnancy but she still blamed herself,' he said.

'It was so hard for them but right from the start they did their best to make me independent.

'My dad put me in the water at 18 months and gave the courage to learn how to swim.

I also got really into football and skateboarding. I totally love the English Premier League.' Nick's father was a computer programmer and accountant and he taught his little son how to type with his toe at just 6 years old.

His mum invented a special plastic device that meant he could hold a pen and pencil.

Despite the risk of bullying, his parents insisted Nick attended mainstream school.

'It was the best decision they could have made for me,' adds Nick, who later achieved a degree in Financial Planning and Real Estate. 'It was very hard but it gave me independence.' 

Nick, who was teased and bullied, had an electric wheelchair for mobility, and a team of carers to help him.

'I was deeply depressed when I was eight years old,' he said. 'I went to my mum crying and told her I wanted to kill myself.

Nick pictured during his travels in India. He has visited 24 different countries, touring the world as a motivational speaker

Nick enjoys the Hawaiian sun in his customised electric wheelchair

'I felt cold and bitter. I hated God for doing this to me and was terrified of what would happen when my parents weren't there to look after me.

'I could brush my own teeth with a wall mounted brush and wash my own hair with pump action soap, but there was so much that was impossible for me.'

At age ten Nick, tried to drown himself in the bath but luckily the attempt was unsuccessful.

'I felt there was no purpose when you lack purpose and strength it is hard to hold on,' he said.

But with the help of his religion, friends and family, Nick managed to pull through to become an international symbol of triumph over adversity.

Nick writes using his mouth

Nick bobs happily about in the pool

The football fan is now a motivational speaker and has travelled to over 24 countries speaking to groups of up to 110,000 people.

'When I was 13 I read a newspaper article about a disabled man who had managed to achieve great things and help others,' said Nick, who also plays golf with the club tucked under his chin.

'I realised why God had made us like this - to give hope to others. It was so inspirational to me that I decided to use my life to encourage other people and give them the courage that the article had given me.

Nick at just six months old

'I decided to be thankful for what I do have, not get angry about what I don't.

'I looked at myself in the mirror and said: 'You know what the world is right that I have no arms or legs, but they'll never take away the beauty of my eyes.' I wanted to concentrate on something good that I had.'

In 1990 Nick won the Australian Young Citizen of the Year award for his bravery and perseverance.

'When kids run up to me and ask 'what happened?' I just lean over and whisper 'cigarettes', he laughed.

'And once I was in a car and this girl at traffic lights was giving me the eye. She could only see my head so I decided to do a 360 in the car seat to freak her out.

'Her face was like woooooooah what is going on? She sped off really quickly.'

Nick began travelling the world and in 2008 he went to Hawaii and met surfing master Bethany Hamilton, who had her arm bitten off by a shark when she was 12.

'She was amazing,  said Nick. 'She taught me how to surf and I was terrified at first, but once I got up there it felt absolutely fantastic and I caught some waves pretty well.'

Nick quickly learned how to do three 360 degree spins on his board - a feat that got him on the cover of Surfer magazine within 48 hours.

'No one has ever done that in the history of surfing,' he said.

'But I have a very low centre of gravity so I've got pretty good balance.'

He moved to Los Angeles two years ago and plans to continue to travel the world - this year he will visit South America and the Middle East.

'I tell people to keep on getting up when they fall and to always love themselves,' he said.

'If I can encourage just one person then my job in this life is done.'

moral of the story: always count your blessing....if u think everything in life goes against u, there are always people who suffer & live a lot more worse than u!!!

my sirih junjung challenge.

Sirih (betel nut leaves) and accompaniments with flowers known as 'Sirih Junjung' is a must item for hantaran.so this was my challenge during my BIL's~ Jomey wedding recently. for the last 2 weddings; my Sil's~ Eyna & BIL's ~Kerry weddings, i was only asked to do & arranged  the hantaran but never been entrusted with Sirih Junjung before, my MIL always had someone else attended to it. but this time around she somehow insisted that i take charge of this most main item in the hantaran according to adat!
well......i'm pretty good @ handicrafts but sirih junjung!? Alamak!!!...quite frankly i don't even remember how mind looked like when i got married let alone who made the arrangement!

anyhow...i took the challenge, i thought it would be interesting actually..it's always good to learn something new..problem is...the Akad took place on Saturday in JB & we're here in Semenyih...so it's kinda impossible to use fresh flowers for the arrangement...
basically to avoid the sirih junjung looking like this after a long day event & a long journey home....

so we settled for  fake flowers but using fresh Sirih...
err... another problem is, for this wedding of her 2nd son, she was kinda anxious for some reasons...most probably because we had to travel all the way to JB with all the hantaran  i guess, insisted that i made the arrangement on the Thursday night..since she said we'll be leaving for JB on the next day( even though the Akad will only take place on Saturday)...being a good DIL i said "ok mak."
so the challenge began....

 errk...ignore that inter-framing lil Korean girl...;P

quite amazingly, i managed it with just one attempt.

but.....

 

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!  the next (fri)day after a half day journey by car to JB.....:'(

so almost halfheartedly this time around~ after dinner, i sat down quietly surrounded by the rest of the wedding entourage while discussing the next day agenda, i  started my second attempt but only worked with the sirih, cos the flowers...they were good to me....;P

so to ensure that the leaves stayed fresh the next morning (Saturday) for the Akad, some suggested that i should put it in the fridge over night!!! 

could they be right? one may asks....

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~part of the leaves wilted!!!! :'(

since the Akad was due at 10 am, i went on my touch up mode at 6am....in my Kebaya!!! & that was why i went bare faced that day........;P

these were part the hantaran that i made or helped arrange & beautify....

 the Holy Quran & the Sejadah 

the telekung that i turned into a huge white flower...but mehubby thought from afar it looked like headstones at the cemetery...;P

 

the mas kawin (dawry)~RM22.50, of which RM10.50 were in RM0.50t hat sue, bam-bam & syaniz helped wrapped in gold foil paper to make it look like gold coins & the balance of RM10x1 & RM1x2 notes were origami folded to look like heart shapes, 

the wang hantaran in the Album & 

the wedding ring all in one tray...

 

the fruits

shoes & clutch bag

& not forgetting the personalized custom made chocolates that my MIL managed to leave behind, only remembered all about it after the Nilai Toll & forced us to turn around to retrieve it all the way back home....

 

the sirih junjung that i arranged ....

& the  one from the bride's

phewwhhh....finally i managed to finished this entry.....;D

Big, Bigger, Biggest....

picking up mehubby & my BIL at the airport the other week, Eric, my lil nephew ...

went wild with excitement seeing this huge mother of lollipop at the airport candy shop. after a lot of coaxing & playing tug of war with him i managed to distract him away  from those gigantic lollies so that he will not be subjected to a hyperactivity disorder later on that day, at least... or so i thought...
but of course after all that effort, he was only to be presented by this huge mother of Smarties (the winnie the pooh series) a two year old could imagine having by mehubby the moment he stepped out from the arrival hall~ *sigh*!!!.:(

these are during his hyper mode ON!!!of course it's nice to see a happy smiling child, but a hyper gigling child is super hard to control! phewh.... thank GOD there's kak MIS!!;P

Royal Pudding Raja....

first time i set eyes on this pudding, i seriously thought it's an exotic aphrodisiac oyster of some kind. what's more, it's been served during my BIL's wedding as dessert...hmmmmm..;P

this one was made by kak Ji for the wedding.

but of course Mak Yan was quick to hear my comment & told me what it was...hehehe...
accordingly, Puding Raja ("Royal Pudding")~  is one of the Sultan of Pahang's favourite dessert hence it's name.

it is a traditional Pahang Malay dish prepared as appetizer !?...err did i hear that correctly? or dessert (more likely). a favorite by local folks taken with their evening tea, this colorful cuisine is also normally served during weddings and festivals.
anyway here's the recipe...no idea how to make the jala mas though but one can always go to Kelantan/ Trengganu  & Pahang to get those jala mas to complete the recipe...hehehe;P

Ingredients
5 – 10 pieces of (not too ripe) bananas (pisang lemak manis preferable)
pisang emas can also be used.
5 or more pieces of prunes
5 or more pieces of red cherries
5 or more pieces of green cherries
cashew nuts(optional)

Sauce (Gravy)
1 liter of milk
2 tablespoons of condensed milk
1 teaspoon cornflour /can also use custard powder
1 egg (beaten softly)
125 ml water

Method
~ fry the bananas in cooking oil (just a short while in low heat) until they turn a little dark yellowish (not fried). then take them out and put aside on a plate. if available, spread the "jala mas" on top of the bananas.
~ the sauce or gravy ingredients are blended and mixed together and then boiled in a pot. Stir them well while cooking until the sauce becomes a little thick.

Serving
~ let the sauce or gravy cool before pouring them on the bananas and other fruits. ready to serve.

please note: this dessert is sweet, so do not over eat or u'll end up a diabetic!

left over lamb stew

no idea what to do with the left over lamb from bbq party... turn them into a delicious stew! this is my version of stew after my BIL's wedding couple of weeks back.

ingredients:
leftover lamb/ can also work on beef or chicken.
lime/ lemon
potatoes
carrot
onians
garlic
ginger
tomatoes
green apple
leek (optional)
black pepper sauce
chicken/ beef stock
flour (thickening purposes)
salt to taste
lea & perrins
water

note: size & quantity of the ingredients above are all depending on the quantity & size of the leftover lamb.

mixed everything (except for the flour)in a pot (if not using oven) or in oven dish and cook until tender, then mix the flour with water & pour over the gravy to thicken it....Wallah!!!
serves with garlic bread or rice.
Bon apetite!

don't feel like eating....no worries, u can just SMELL it!

offers to SMELL their Smelly Tom Yam!?

this lil restaurant is situated in Semenyih town opposite Laith's school.
i wonder what did they really have in mind when naming it.
did they mean the verb Smell as in to sniff ~ like to get a whiff of the Tom Yam aroma which i really hope is the case instead of the noun Smell as in ~ smelly/ stink/ reek/ stench as in disgusting odor of their tom yam!? or it's just catchy as in their marketing strategy?  errk...if that's the case, it's catchy enough to make people stay away from it, i'm sure!