Random Rambles of Lotfi

Semalam akak sempat melawat (haha lawatan katanyer..lawatan sambil belajar ker???)) ke Calvin Thoo's boutique in Lot10 to sort out some stuff for our upcoming award show. This new place is much bigger than his old place in KL Plaza, which I went to a few years back.. Calvin, as usual is his friendly self. This chap memamg kecik-kecik cili api...the dresses he makes are nice...some flamboyant while some classy. Check his stuff out at Lot 1o, peeps! Thanks for entertaining us, Calvin!!

I knew that today was going to be another fabulous day...I had that feeling from late last night. And true enough pepagi buta, si bujang berdua kat opis tu gave me my birthday present. This really nice, nice necklace with a biggie pendant that I absolutely love!! And a bit later, datang pulak segerombolan manusia to my table to present another gift, that surprisingly matches the gift that hubby gave me...What a wonderful coincidence!!! Very the girangs sesangatnyer!! Guys, I absolutely adore all the gifts and again many, many thank you yang tak terkira!! Later in the aftrenoon, I went to the launch of Xan's new show, that's going to be aired soon in May on ntv7. The launch went off smoothly. The venue,The Apartment is a very nice place and fits this new travel and lifestyle show of hers. Susan, Xan's mum was there as well and as usual it's always good to meet this duo of mum and daughter, both full of life and energy. I'm so happy for them that the show is fi...

Ingatkan birthday celebration dah abis hari ni...rupanya hari ni kengkawan surprisekan kita lagi dengan brownie yang besor dan syedap...Kita suker, suker, suker....! As my colleague Ee Ling puts it..."Fi, you have such sweet friends". I can't agree more. Terharu sesangat and thank you from the bottom of my heart!! These friends also treated me to lunch at our favourite restaurant, Delicious. Couldn't have asked for a more perfect thing to start my week.

My birthday started way before the clock turned 12am on the 12th April, when friends and family started sending text messages, facebook wall-to-wall and phone calls. Ah…the joy of technology!! Less paper wastage… Again, mummy duties overruled even birthday girl privileges. Was up by 6.30am to send Khairin to school for some drama thingy that she’s involved in. Then straight to yoga. The gym door was not even opened when I reached there!! Efficient tak akak?? After an hour of yoga, drove home and Imran was ready at home to be sent to Kota Damansara for a futsal match and Aisyah wants to get to a cyber café. Akak birthday girl yang juga chauffer anak-anak yer… Then back home again before me, hubby and Zaim went for brunch in this new café. Café Rozali in Kota Damansara has nice, cheap food. Pergi ar…!! After the boys’ barber visit, made a quick tour to The Curve and bought the kids some clothes from Debenhams. Cik Mur tau. Aisyah managed to get a lift from a friend so we’re relieved fro...

I am so not myself these days. I remember a time not too long ago when my weekends usually start way after 11am. I must really be getting old and a tad boring as both days last weekend I was up by 6.30am..Come on! Who gets up at 6.30am during the weekend??!! Turned out to be ME!! So there I was, sending Aisyah and Imran who have stuff going on in school on Saturday, after which I made my way to the gym for yoga at the gym. Uiihhh!! Ramailah pulak datang yoga on Saturday…I must admit although I was supposed to free my mind and let go of everything during yoga, my thoughts were all over the place.. So many things to do, so little time to do them!! After yoga, rushed home and cooked lunch, picked Aisyah up from school. At 4.30pm, went out to Alif’s birthday party which was so much fun. The kids had a blast while the adults overdosed on curly fries and root beer. By the end of the party, I think the attendees get to take back more goodies that the birthday boy…hahaha…that’s Lynn for you!!...

If you guys happened to be at home on Wednesday night, do watch these two new programs on ntv7. Damn funny, guaranteed to chase your blues aways!! And yesterday, the creative guys from our production brought me these cute clay characters for Mr. Siao's Mandarin class which they will be using in one of the promos for the show. Look out for them TV spots!!

Sometimes, without warning we are reminded of our own faults and shortcomings through our observations of others with the same faults, Sometimes, kita akan terdajal diri kita sendiri bila kita kutuk orang lain....(yang ini memang sure, sure punya...), Sometimes, we don't realise, we make assumptions about a person, based on our own views on things, And when these realisation hit us, when it slaps us on the face, when it hit a raw nerve....it can be quite shocking....when suddenly we realised that hey! we're not that smart mouth, smart ass after all... Good thing we come to a realization and try to improve ourselves though, sebab kalau tak sedar diri, lagi shusah...kan, kan, kan??? Promise to self: I have all the willingness I need to let go of my judgments. I can feel my heart filling with peace and love as I practice acceptance. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. — Stephen R. Covey

Imran turned 14 last Sunday. We took him for his birthday lunch at Pasta Zanmai and ended up spending the whole day out until late last Sunday. Before lunch sempat visit nenek and atuk yang sudah agak lama tak visit...guilty... Abis sumer shopping mall kat PJ, kami tawaf. Really beats going to the gym! By the end of the day, we managed to get ourselves a new bed with mattress and a new coffee table...haha...siapa punya birthday sebenarnyer yer?? Alhamdulillah, rezeki namanyer.... Monday night, we surprised him with a birthday cake. Good that he wasn't expecting it sebab Khairin commented loudly..."Look, he's smiling..." Imran's birthday also marks the passing on of my late husband Captain Ezral Hussein. This year I went through old diaries, letters and cards and ask myself whether I should still keep them or it's time to let old memories go. 14 years is a long time... Alfatihah for Arwah....

Gosh! The week since we came back from Bali has passed by so swiftly and I have been super duper busy that I don't even have time to update the blog. Matilar tuan blog tak der time untuk blog sendiri!! Tolong, tolong....!! Cerita Bali pun tak habis lagi...huhuhu... The setting for our Earth Hour candle light dinner...cun! Just to summarize, we had a real nice time there. The night when everyone is busy with Earth Hour on the 28th March, we had our own Earth Hour initiative with candle light dinner, which was part of the package. Siap ada wine berbagai yang lepas dinner telah diakikahkan kepada para waiter yer...They even filled our private pool with flower petals and had tea lights all around the pool...So lomantic one..wor...The same day, earlier, 2 orang pompuan Bali from the spa came to our villa and gave us a good massage, with a good scrub...the works lar...hehehe...I think I'm getting addictive to massages. We even managed a two hour sun bathing in the villa...

We reached Bali yesterday afternoon at 3pm and was brought to Dreamland Villa that we have earlier booked at the Matta Fair. Mazlan was so nice to come down from his office to meet us briefly at LCCT. I miss his candid jokes and funny sarcasm.. We are now waiting for the shuttle to take us to Dreamland's private beach. After this morning's breakfast of "tak mahu babinya", we need to walk the food off on the beach. Dreamland has been a dream...We chose a private villa with a private pool that we managed to swim in as soon as we arrived yesterday. The beauty about private villas, is that you don't need to bother when you realised you have forgotten your swimming gear. Hey...be my guest and jump with your jeans on or in your birth suit!! We managed to check out Kuta Discovery Plaza yesterday night looking for a currency exchange. Lots of good stuff to see and will definitely revisit before we head home. And seafood dinner on Kedonganan Beach in Jimbaran w...

Gosh! Three months into 2009 already? Pengsanlah the time passes without me realising it. Let's call this a quarterly post...macam quarterly appraisal kat office tu lar...Ehmmm....what has happened the last 3 months that's worth mentioning, if not for you, at least for myself? Here's my list: 1. Zaim took the life changing experience of going to school very, very well that Mamaayah rasa tak rugi bayarf 2. My BFF, Umi came to stay over night a few weeks back from JB, and I have a lot to learn from her experience in life; 3. My other BFF, Pyaw also from JB came and took the time to have lunch with me...we should do this more often; 4. I brought out the kitchen goddess...not.. in me this last few months, coming out with all the sweet stuff that I love, puddings, scones and stuffs...more to come; 5. I can finally splurge on a new glasses yang rimless dengan transition lens yang canggih and another one for gym use and at the same time get new ones for Aisyah and Imran (yes!!) ...

Our friend, Xan launched her book last Tuesday and we were there to share her happy occasion. You could certainly know what kind of a person she is just by looking at the throngs of people who were there to celebrate with her. Susan, her mom was busy entertaining and hugging everyone and Dad was the photographer of the day. I've read a few chapters of the book and I find it to be Xan's honest and candid approach to life, guided by her ever-loving family. I would recommend the book to anyone. It's very feel good, that's for sure...and at times gives you this warm, fuzzy feeling. There we were at registration

I spent almost 6 hours last Saturday in the MATTA Fair. Manusia punyelah ramai! You would have thought that people would be cutting down on travelling in this economic situation...but no it isn't yer...Berdoiyon-doiyon orang macam semut, looking for good travel deals. And they are real good deals really...if you know what you are looking for. The next travel fair will be in September, so save your hard-earned moolah for that one folks! I know, I will!! London, here I come!!! On Sunday, we checked out thisnew eating place in TTDI, Popeyes. Such a nice change from other fast food. And the dessert is so sedap ... strawberry cheesecake, chocolate something.. something so syiok!!!

I went to the launch of STYLO FASHION GRAND PRIX this morning, where I saw a congregation of people in the fashion industry that I only saw in newspapers and the glossies all these while. A lot of stuff will be happening during the 9 day event which will start on March 28. Akak bukan reporter so kalau nak tau pasal event ni...ha google ler...!! I really admire this guy who can never be more individualistic in his style than he already is...He's got guts and he dresses to show that... Kee Hua Chee, a very stylo celebrity writer.

Me no Monday blues today...not that I always have the blues to begin with anyway...but today, I decided to start the day right with the Biggest Breakfast my tum can take. We head to BSC's La Bodega which was a mad house this public holiday. We were hungry and when they finally got the orders right, we really chow down!! And today I ended up not eating lunch proper after that big brunch! At home later, after getting all my ingredients from BSC's Cold Storage and running around Kota Damansara looking for dates..( try looking for dates when it's not Ramadhan!!!..susah nak jumpa ok??), I baked the Sticky Date Pudding which we savor as late lunch/tea, early dinner treat. Sedap hingga menjilat sudu...dan I think I could easily give Delicious a run for their money...hehehe...perasaan sangat!! Hmm, when people ask me what I blog about, now I can safely say that I mostly blog about FOOD!!! The food that we eat, and the food that I make...besides the usually rantings, rambling ...

This has been a well...relaxing weekend. We chilled at home. Watched lots of episodes of Californication. I cooked lunch two days in a row...wow!! Am at home now. Went to Borders today to get Khairin some books and also bought myself a new CUPCAKES book. Let's see whether we'll try something tomorrow.Hubby, Aisyah and Imran are out at futsal. The other two are here with me..though Zaim's already in dream land. Although I always look forward to Mondays...having another day off tomorrow is always welcomed. Am signing out with this quote I received... LOVE IS LIFE.AND IF YOU MISS LOVE, YOU MISS LIFE - LEO BUSCAGLIA and me love coffee too much...it scares me. Enjoy the rest of the weekend folks!!

It was the weekend where we marathoned 7 episodes of DAMAGES season 2...and really confirmed that I loathed Glenn Close's character; It was the weekend where we also marathoned almost an entire season of DEXTER season 2, and I realised I really, really liked the disturbing DEXTER character which disturbs me; It was the weekend that I realised that I missed going to Subang Parade; Confirmed! you only miss something when you don't have it it anymore...SP used to be our lunch port when we were in Glenmarie; It was the weekend of Hakim's birthday which Zaim and Khairin enjoyed immensely and I get to eat laksa johor; The birthday boy with his 'mean' looking birthday presents and the equally excited friend And it was the weekend that I realised that my fish curry is really not bad at all...syedap!! Especially with that cencaluk and ikan kembung goreng yang sungguh menjilat siku....Nyum, nyum...

The picture above are the hopefuls to win "the best red dresser" in our monthly town hall. This month the organisers decided to do a post Valentines, post Chap Goh Mei celebration as a theme, hence the red dress code. After this standing in line thingy they were made to parade themselves...and that's where we saw poses such as: This - "I should've been in Mamma Mia" pose.... This - "I'm named after a caterpillar or some insect..." pose And this - "I couldn't be bothered - I'll just walk" pose But alas, there could only be one winner; this one...She walked like a "Top Model Wannabe" by the way..hehehe... so the rest...eat your heart out lah... What's important, I feel is that we get to be together, laugh at people and laugh together...and keep the feel good thing going...like these people..