Hati Wangi!

Sikembar suka sgt ngan buku2, just like I do. Though belum pandai membaca lagi, diorg suka everytime sy bacakan buku cerita. Kami ada byk jugak la koleksi buku2 cerita, dr kisah2 nabi, mengenal sifat2 Allah, kisah2 dongeng Melayu dan juga fairytales stories.

One of the favourite book adalah cerita Bawang Merah & Bawang Putih. Buku ni dlm English so kerapkali la diorg tanya bila tak paham. After a while bila dah faham, diorg akan tanya soalan out of the box. Like Nabilah tanya kenapa mak bawang putih tolak mak bawang merah dlm kolam and I remember telling her once sbb mak bawang putih tu hatinya busuk.

Then recently masa sy baca buku tu lagi, Nabihah pulak tanya soalan yg sama (asking the same questions over and over again mmg kebiasaan budak berdua ni, I dont know whether diorg mm tak ingat or just to test my patience!). Before sy sempat reply, Nabilah responded to soalan kakaknya:

Mak bawang putih hati dia busuk, kan Ummi?

Sy angguk.

Then dia sambung....

Mak bawang merah hati wangi!

Hati wangi? Hahahaha...mana la dpt term hati wangi ni?

Well, all I can conclude she practices her knowledge on perkataan2 bandingan. Like BUSUK lawannya WANGI la...though kita jarang guna term hati wangi kan?

Hati baik selalu la!

A Quiet Day

It´s Christmast day but outside is so quiet, it feels like this area is deserted. Mcm takde perayaan. Tak mcm raya kat Malaysia, hari raya sgt festive, dgn org keluar menziarah sanak-saudara dan sahabat handai. Maybe sbb snow tebal diluar meyebabkan org malas nak keluar. Tgk snow on the road pon mcm x disodok and I hardly see vehicles nor people on the road. The Germans probably celebrating inside their homes with closest family and friends. Lagipon I guess diorg dah puas berpesta about a month ago with weinachmarkts dan christmast dinners held before hand.

Kitorg pon x kemana2. Nak kemana pon...satu kedai pon x dibukak bila ada cuti umum mcm ni. Before ada jugak terfikir nak travel ke mana2 within Germany masa cuti krismas tapi memandangkan byk sgt travel chaos news - flights, trains and road traffic jams, it´s the best kami stay kat rumah aje. Sy and sikembar pon x berapa sihat since yesterday. Hari ni cik HB yg masak, it´s bubur nasi on the menu since it´s the simplest thing to cook and suits the situation - org2 demam dan cold winter.

Mat, Liza & Liya selamat juga berlepas ke UK hari ini dan selamat sampai kat Leeds utk bercuti selama seminggu despite the travel chaos around Europe with the heavy snow and cold harsh temperature. Alhamdulilah. Kami agak sunyi jugak bila diorg xde because at least selang 2-3 hari mesti kami jumpa2. Moga diorg dpt balik on the arranged schedule next week, no delay or cancellation of the flight.

Hmmm....a bit bosan jugak bila x berapa sihat and then have to stay indoor for few days to come. I´m hoping to get better, at least sy boleh main masak2 kat dapur to occupy the time.

Hoh!

Been reading the South Beach Diet website over and over again....

Been reading the Success Stories all over the Internet, hoping to get motivated.....

Thought the will power is there, thought "I can do it this time"

But it lasted just for a few days....

I cook more, I eat more!

And I gain MORE of course.....

In fact, I´m at my heaviest weight ever recorded (the non-pregnant weight).

But as cik HB said - I have no one to blame but myself...

Yeah.....if only controlling what I eat and doing exercise as easy as reading.....

And all I keep doing is sighing

* mode frust mau kurus tapi x kurus2*

Winter Blizzard

The long winter continues....

Malam tadi snow turun ngan lebat dan pagi ni bgn tido, tgk kat luar balkon...mak aii, tebalnya!

Snow malam tadi at 12 am

Buka pintu balkon, nyaris snow masuk ke rumah

Cik HB mengukur kedalaman snow

Pagi ni dah la kena hantar sikembar ke kindy sbb sbb diorg ada rombongan menonton wayang. Ngan snow tebal melebihi buku lali org dewasa, kesian jugak budak berdua tu nak mengharung snow. Suasana pagi kat neighbourhood Raunheim ni agak huru hara la jugak...semua org sibuk menyodok snow, buang dan scrap snow dr kereta, jln pon byk kereta sbb kereta x leh nak gerak laju2. Confirm pagi ni ramai yg sampai tempat keje lambat!

boleh buat ABC ni...

whitey morning..cantik kan?

And the German newspaper this morning reported this:

The blizzard “Petra” hammered Germany with more snow overnight, causing three auto accident deaths, forcing airports to cancel flights and creating havoc for commuters on Friday morning.

The German Weather Service (DWD) said severe storm warnings remained in effect for the states of Saxony and Baden-Württemberg.

But even in regions where the heavy snowfall was expected to ease, the situation for roads, rails and airports was chaotic, authorities said.

In North Rhine-Westphalia police placed a ban on any trucks over 7.5 tonnes overnight after dozens became mired down in snow and ice. In the Bergisches Land region some 50 trucks were reportedly parked in a row on the A4 motorway, while autobahns near Cologne, Dortmund and Münster were closed.

Traffic jams of up to 40 kilometres formed in the state, with rescue workers providing hot drinks and blankets for chilly drivers.

By morning the truck ban had been lifted in most areas, but treacherous ice near Münster would keep the vehicles of the road indefinitely, authorities said.

Traffic jams were also reported in the states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin and Brandenburg following countless accidents.

In Dresden police counted more than 100 accidents within just a few hours.
Meanwhile three people were killed in auto accidents caused by ice. Two men were run over near Straubing while trying to help a friend tow his car. And a 60-year-old Passau man died when his car lost control on a patch of ice and hit a tree.

Heavy snow began falling in the morning in the neighbouring state of Baden-Württemberg , leaving up to 20 centimetres of snow on motorways, but there were few accidents because residents stayed in, police said.

There was so much snow in the state of Hesse that even street cleanup vehicles became stuck, while in Frankfurt so many people slept in their vehicles during traffic jams that police had to wake them once the roads began to clear.

Air traffic was also hindered by the storm, with Germany’s largest hub, the Frankfurt Airport, reporting more than 62 cancelled flights for Friday morning. On Thursday the airport had already had almost 250 cancellations, a spokesperson said.

Many flights at Berlin’s Tegel Airport were also cancelled.

But the storm pleased at least some children in parts of northern Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, who got a second day off from school thanks to the snow.

Outing ke Frankfurt & Weinachtsmarkt

Kami dah lama x ke Frankfurt. Selalu ke Frankfurt adalah utk shopping2, makan2 atau saja jln2. Dah tak ingat pon bila last time ke Frankfurt. Kalau sy mmg suka la dpt pi Frankfurt, keluar masuk kedai kat Hauptwache tu walaupun x beli apa2.

Sepanjang kat sini, every year (baru 2kali je pon)kami mmg pegi weihnachtsmarkt (chrismast market) kat Frankfurt tu. Yg ni yg last la kiranya sbb thn depan dah nak balik. Seronok tgk gerai2 comel jual mcm2 brg. Ada house decorations, ada jual winter accessories, christmast accessories, bunga2, segala jenis makanan dan ada fun rides utk kanak2 & seisi keluarga. Weihnachtsmarkt Frankfurt mmg besar dan meriah tapi bersedia la mengharung umat manusia yg ramai.

Kami pegi pon dah petang, lepas Zuhur. Sebelum ke weihnachtsmarkt, sy ajak cik HB keluar masuk kedai dulu, tgk christmast sale, kot2 la ada jumpa barangan yg berkenan....hehehe. Dan pegi C&A juga, sbb nak check out sale kat situ. Beberapa hari lepas, C&A buat online sale, ada 10,000 summer blouse yg dijual pd harga 5 euro satu, yg harga asal antara 14 - 25 Euro. Banyak la juga yg sy berkenan dan Sy dah pilih konon nak beli, tapi x confirm pembelian sbb nak tunggu cik HB balik rumah , kot dia nak beli baju sekali. Sekali malam tu byk dah habis, tinggal yg sy tak berkenan dan yg dah takde saiz...huhuhu. Pegi store C&A, ada la jugak saki-baki baju yg sy tgk kat online tapi instead of 5 euro, dijual pd harga 9 Euro...huwaaaaaaaa. Tapi beli la jugak sepasang dua sbb masih murah compare dgn harga kat Malaysia.

Suka budak berdua ni dpt belon free dr Karstadt

Lepas Asar & Mahgrib kat masjid Konstablerwache, kami pegi la meronda Weihnachtmarkts. Susah la jugak nak berjalan dicelah org2 yg berduyun2 tu. Si kembar dok komplen lapar, nak beli roti tak mo, offer banana salut coklat pon x mo, nak fries la pulak. Nak beli fries, mak aii....org beratur punya la ramai. So baru cover 1/3 weihnachtsmarkt kami decided patah balik dan pegi makan kat KFC. Aiseh...mak dia baru berkira2 nak tgk deco2 yg cantik2, yg kot murah boleh dibeli.

Jenuh nak bergambar di tgh kesesakan org ramai!

Gerai buah2an bersalut coklat & candy...

sy dah serik mkn epal salut gula merah tu...keras yg amat epal dia!

Tgk keje2 org salut buah ngan coklat

Tgk la lautan manusia...

Ni la antara benda2 yg sy suka tgk kalau pegi weihnachtsmarkt

suka hati budak berdua ni makan KFC

Kat KFC, masa tgh makan, kami perasan ada satu pakcik tua duduk sorang2 mengadap leftovers (x tau la ada makanan lagi ke tak tapi mcm tinggalan org lepas makan). Looking at his condition, dgn baju yg compang-camping, dan miserable look, kami rasa dia pengemis. Tapi x tau la samada leftover depan dia tu, mmg makanan dia ke or dia saja duduk2 kat situ. Lepas pekerja KFC angkat dulang leftover tu dan dia masih duduk disitu, looking miserable, I was thinking kalau betul la dia pengemis, alangkah kesiannya dia kalau dia lapar tp dikelilingi ngan org2 yg sedap2 makan ayam goreng panas. So sy ngan cik HB berkira2 nak pi bg makanan kami sikit sbb kami pon dah kenyang dan ada lagi seketul dua ayam yg tinggal. Sikembar pon sama dok kata kesian org tu, tapi bila kami suruh pi hantar ayam diorg tak mo pulak...malu la, takut la...unless kalau sy temankan. Tapi bila sy approached org tua tu dan offer ayam, dia jenguk bucket sy dan tanya itu apa. Sy kata ayam la..dia kata `nein, nein, keine fleisch für mich!´ (no, no...no meat for me).

Lerrr...vegetarian ke?

So xpe la, sekurang2nya sy lega sbb dah offer dan kalau dia tak nak, itu hak dia la kan,...

Lepas dah makan, jumpa kawan sy - Ina & geng yg mmg sedang menginap kat rumah sy weekend baru ni, dan baru saja sampai dr Wertheim Village tika itu. Bagi info dan directions about Hauptwache, then kami gerak pulang rumah dulu.

Award: Blog Cantik & Menarik

Thanks to my dearest friend, Liza for this award and let´s see what we should do bila dah dpt anugerah ni...

**Apakah pandangan anda terhadap blog yang tag blog anda untuk terima award ini?

Oh, ni blog kawan baik sy, Liza merangkap jiran sekampung Raunheim ni. She has a lot of stories regarding experience living in Germany - good for those yg mencari2 info about Germany ( I did, masa nak dtg germany dulu mmg dok mencari2 blog2 malaysian yg dok germany tapi masa tu blog cahyaschatz belum wujud lagi). And stories of her cutie daughter, memerangkap anak ´melekat´sy, Liya Raihany.....so whenever I´m missing her, I´ll check out the photos & videos of her in this blog :)

**Kenangan manis dalam hidup anda?

Oh, banyak...apsal x specific kan bape je kenangan manis nak suh citer? Let´s see how many yg still ingat record down:

1. Masa sekolah rendah, dpt masuk TV pendidikan dan dpt bayaran RM50.

2. Dapat UPSR 4A dan dpt RM100 dr wakil rakyat daerah, pastu guna duit tu pi rombongan sekolah ke Pulau Pinang.

3. Menang pingat gangsa acara kayak single masa Karnival Sukan Antara Universiti kat UUM tahun 1999 kot...

4. Zaman naik gunung dgn geng2 kembara UNITEN especially trip to Gunung Tahan tahun 2000.

5. Dapat Dean´s List utk 2 semester berturut2 masa final year (setelah masa 3rd year CGPA jatuh dgn dasatnya!)

6. Graduation day 2002

7. Hari nikah dan kenduri kawen (mesti lah kan)

8. The day sikembar lahir (can still remember the first time nurse tunjuk muka Nabilah...tapi Nabihah x tunjuk pulak)

9. Dapat opportunities to travel some places in the world...alhamdulilah

**Kenangan pahit dalam hidup anda?

1. Nyaris maut dilanggar treler 8-tayar masa stop kat traffic light Parit Sulong, Batu Pahat. Something i would never forget for the rest of my life.

2. Tempoh bekerja kat Yong Peng for 15 months - with shitty boss, travelling 240km a day, miserable Kembara, dangerous site works - hopefully would never have to do that again for a living.

4. Year 1998 when JPA informed us, A-Level students at that time, that they would not send us to UK to further study due to economy crisis...

3.CGPA masa kat uni dropped gila2 masa 3rd year disebabkan leka bercinta (dok bergayut tepon!). Mujur cepat sedar selepas kejatuhan CGPA itu - stop bercinta for a while dan concentrated pd study. Tapi disebabkan kejatuhan itu, my final CGPA tidak la berapa cantik :(

4. Miscarried bulan Disember thn lepas...

**Anda puas hati dengan kehidupan sekarang?

Syukur alhamdulilah....walaupun terpaksa melepaskan kerjaya (despite ramai dulu kata rugi berenti keje) dan jadi surirumah sepenuh masa, I´m happy. Rasa bahagia bila pagi2 siapkan sarapan utk suami dan anak2, lepas tu hantar suami yg nak keluar kat pintu. My life is more serene these days walaupun hari2 bergelumang ngan keje rumah dan anak2. Tak stressful mcm zaman keje sampai blood pressure pon selalu x normal!

**Nyatakan 3 impian yang belum tercapai.

1. nak tambah anak

2. nak rumah impian - not necessarily big and expensive but main thing, dapur yg practical sesuai dgn my cooking hobby dan yg ada halaman so that I can do gardening ( martha-stewart-mode....hehehe)

3.nak buat umrah dan haji

**Tag org lain

Durra

Mis

Nana

Azma

Winter dan Kerja yg Banyak

Hari ni snow turun ngan lebat lagi, snow setakat ini setebal 10-11cm (based on my measurement on the snow at my balcony). Tadi lepas hantar anak2 ke kindy, terserempak ngan tuan rumah yg tgh gigih mop lantai tangga level dia...aduhai, means sy pon kena mop gak ni walau tau sia2 aje kang kotor balik dipijak oleh ahli keluarga sendiri dan keluarga diatas. Tapi as my landlady ni sgt fussy dan rajin orgnya, with high standard of cleanliness, I just follow suit.

Bukan setakat mop tangga aje yg nak difikirkan time2 winter ni. Nak jaga rumah time winter ni pon mencabar jugak. Sebab, time winter rumah sy ni senang naik fungus kalau tak dijaga sebaiknya. Problem utama - toilet/bathroom rumah ni takde tingkap dan ventilation system. So bila winter humidity menjadi bertambah tinggi dan akibatnya bilik tidur anak2 yg sebelah toilet selalu aje naik fungus. Fungus is a critical issue kat sini, jgn la buat main2 kalau rumah anda ada fungus kat sini...satu, sbb kesihatan sbb spora2 fungus tu boleh mengakibatkan masalah serius pd sistem pernafasan dan dua, boleh merosakkan rumah dan kalau menyewa, tuan rumah boleh tuntut ganti rugi disebabkan masalah fungus ini.

First winter kami disini, kami x notice sgt hal ni. Nampak la fungus naik kat ceiling tp cepat2 sembur anti-fungus spray. But winter last year paling teruk la sbb kami tak tau pon akibat masalah humidity, rupa2nya disebalik almari, dinding sgt lembap sampai wall paper rosak. Bilik tu winter last year mmg kami tak on heater sbb konon nak jimatkan bil gas. Anak2 tido sebilik ngan kami masa tu. So imagine la tahap humidity nya. Mujur la perasan cepat, sebelum fungus membiak dgn dasyatnya sampai merosakkan dinding. Cuma wall paper saja yg rosak, so kami peeled off about half of the wall paper in the room. Sampai sekarang kami tak ganti lagi wall paper tu. Ni kami decide bila dah dekat nak pindah nanti baru kami pasang wall paper.

Then one thing lagi, sy takde pengering baju dan kami menyewa dirumah ini pon tak diberi kemudahan basement. Kebanyakan org menyewa akan dpt basement utk storing barang dan buat urusan laundry so rata2 akan sidai baju di basement. Kami ni takde choice kena la sidai baju dlm rumah. So bermakna humidity bertambah. Heater pulak, kalau on tinggi, satu - of course bil tinggi dan satu lagi heater yg tinggi akan buat rumah sgt panas dan kering, hence boleh buat kulit kering, gatal dan sakit tekak. So kena balance kan setting heater.

Mujur kami kenal kak liza yg byk experiences utk menghadapi isu2 mcm ni. So byk la nasihat dia yg sy apply utk jaga rumah ni dr serangan fungus and at the same time balance the humidity dan jimatkan kos heating. Cuma kerja byk la sikit. Contoh: pagi2 sebelum keluar hantar anak2 ke kindy, sy akan off heater, then buka tingkap dapur, bilik dan hall utk pengudaraan. Lepas balik dari hantar anak2, tutup semua tingkap dan on balik heater. By this doing, dpt menurunkan humidity level dlm rumah. I can see this by looking at the humidity meter. Recommended humidity should be at 65.

But then since heater cuma on up to setting 2.5, it is not high enough to dry the house, so u can see wap2 air kat tingkap rumah. Wap2 air ni tak boleh biarkan sbb boleh meyebabkan fungus, so from time to time kena la lap wap2 air ni.

Dan from time to time jugak kena check kat celah2 almari, kotak2, sofa, ruang2 tersembunyi takde fungus yg wujud.

Ini la keje sy hari2....leceh kan?