A Challenging 1st 4 days......

It's been quite a challenge the first 4 days of the fasting month.

I had a splitting headache on the 1st day of Ramadhan after we went out to Bazaar Ramadhan in Shah Alam when the sun was still very hot. Before the headache could go away, I had a bad case of diarrhea. 

To top it up, Aiman came down with a high fever that Thursday morning after sahur.

His fever subsided for a while only to be replaced with a bad case of diarrhea. He had to miss his flight back to Langkawi on Saturday due to the high fever and diarrhea. I hope he will recover quickly enough to take the next possible flight back to Langkawi this coming week.

I am still having a headache and was taking panadol but because of the continuous hot weather, and the diarrhea, the headache was hard to subside. It became a cycle.

I get diarrhea, my body gets dehydrated and my tummy is empty, giving rise to gastric. The gastric would go up to my head, giving me a headache.

I try to eat when berbuka puasa, but my tummy refuses to accept the food because it is already filled with gas. I end up having no appetite or would throw out everything I ate if I push myself to eat. It’s becoming a vicious cycle. No food - empty tummy – giving rise to gastric - get a headache.

At 2.00am Sunday morning, I woke up with a bad case of diarrhea again. I took a pill of charcoal and tried going back to bed, and managed to sleep another hour before it was time to get up and prepare sahur.

This morning for sahur, I decided to make Aiman's favourite rice - Nasi Beriani, so that we would both have the appetite to eat.

Aiman managed to finished a big plate of Nasi Beriani, while I managed to  eat enough with the hope that it will sustain long enough in my tummy to solve my gastric problem and in turn, solve my headache problem.  

I managed to find a sachet of pill chit kit teck aun, a Chinese medicine known to cure diarrhoea. I must remember to buy more to keep as standby in the house.

I took that and went to bed, but not before going to the bathroom another 2 more times.

I woke up at 7.15am this morning feeling much better, Alhamdullillah.  I was feeling well enough to do the laundry, sort out the already folded clothes and put them into their appropriate places in the closet, organised my mum’s room a bit and now feeling good enough to sit down for a longer time to write and go online.

I hope that is the end of my headache and gastric problems. I hope Allah will grant me the wish for me to be able to do my ibadah puasa with calmness and patience and to be able to do my sembahyang terawih with my hubby on weekends and all other ibadah that is required of me to be a good muslim, InsyaAllah. Amin.  

On another note, Ma and Lin, please don’t worry. I am feeling much better today. You both worrying about me is only making me worry more and would only make me have a headache thinking of you worrying about me. I just need some time alone to do my own things with a little less chaos because the office is chaos enough already. See you this Saturday!

Lots of love and big hugs!

Take your health seriously!

I have come to realized that getting enough rest and sleep is very important.

I am going through some serious health issues lately due to the fact that I am not sleeping well, and not resting enough the last few years. Pressure and stress at work is not helping me to take better care of my health.

The accumulation of not enough sleep and rest over the last few years is now starting to show and I am going through so many health issues lately. It has come to even be scary to a certain extent.

I have trouble sleeping. I get up and just trying to get myself to fall asleep again gets me all stressed out. When I am all stressed out, my blood pressure goes up.

By the time I finally fall asleep again, it's time for me to get up. I end up not having enough sleep for the day, and driving to work becomes a heavy task as I try to fight my sleepiness.

When I don't get enough sleep, another problem that crops up is that I end up having wind problems, and as a result, I have a bad gastric problem. 

When the gastric problem gets so bad, it goes up to my head and I get a splitting headache. Sometimes taking a dose of panadol helps, but sometimes, when it gets to be so bad, even panadol no longer works.

I would try taking some anti acid medicine like Actal, but, by then, the wind in my head is so great that it pushes against my brain, or least, it feels like that. And that is the scariest part because I could no longer think rationally and is easily angry even by the slightest mistake I make or get all flustered if I can't find things I am looking for.

Now I have to lay out my things properly so I know where my things are or I plan my day one day ahead in advance so that I don't get all flustered.

A visit to my family doctor last week has tremendously helped me to get rid of the wind in my stomach and in my head. Thank God, I am feeling much better, and I hope that I will never have to expereince that terrible headache I have been experiencing the last 3 weeks, because it got to a point when it was beginning to get real scary.

However, now, I have to be careful of what I eat as any food that emits wind is something I will have to learn to avoid.

I am also slowly learning to delegate more work to my subordinates and taking more off days, especially when Aiman is back home.

Even my boss who is also having some health issues is starting to leave the office earlier than usual to go to the gym these days, so I might just follow his footsteps and come home early enough before I get too tired to go on my recumbent bike at least 15 - 20 minutes a day.

I hope everyone will take care of their health.

I hope to live a long, healthy and meaningful life with my hubby so that we may get to see Aiman grow up and succeed in life, insyaAllah.

Take care, everyone! HUGS!

An anxious moment

Last week Aiman lost his MP3. This week he lost something more important - his wallet which contains his identity card, his bank card and some money. 

Luckily there wasn't much money in his bank account, but we were concern on the loss of his identity card as he needed it in order for him to go for his outings, and most of all, to take the flight back home this coming fasting month.

We got all anxious when we found out that he had lost his wallet with all the important documents in it. Our plan to just spend some time going around and do some shopping at KLCC since it is not always that we get to go there and we were already there to attend a Seminar just went down the drain.

We quickly headed home to try to sort the matter out. First thing was to call his teacher to get permission to take him out of school for a short while so that he may go and make a new IC.

Next, hubby had to purchase an emergency ticket to go to Langkawi to take him out of school so that he may take him to the Registration Department in Langkawi. We want the IC to be ready in time as he needed it for his trip back for the Puasa month. 

He did not seem the least bit worried or concerned when he called us to tell us that he had lost his wallet. Instead of going in search of the wallet, he went to play football. It was us that were all anxious as we were concerned that without his IC, it would be quite a hassle to get onto the flight home. *sigh*

After all the hassle we went through to call up his teacher and to buy the plane tickets, guess what?

Late last night he called to say that he finally found his wallet - his friend actually did, but it was already minus RM40.00. But, alhamdullillah, his IC and bank card were intact. 

Hubby flew to Langkawi anyway because the tickets were already bought and it was too late to cancel. At the very least, it's to see him to give him a stern lecture on responsibilities and to give him his futsal boots which he needed for his tournament next weekend. With the money stolen, he is now out of cash. *sigh* 

  

I hope that Aiman will be more responsible and understand the anxiety and difficulty he has gotten us into when he misplaced his wallet containing his IC, bank card and money when he went to buy food at his school foodcourt, or, kiosk, as he calls it.

No matter what, I love him very much and miss him lots!

8 March 2013 - A day spent with Aiman

This was supposed to be posted more than 2 months ago, but, as usual, things don't always go according to plan. That's life, I suppose! LOL!

Anyway, this is more for Aiman's future reading.

I was in Langkawi on 8th March 2013 and this was my thoughts for the day..... 

It was nice to be able to spend some quality time with Aiman today.

I flew in to Langkawi in the morning, rented a car and checked into a hotel .

I had planned it (check into a hotel) with Aiman days earlier on what we were going to do together when I visit.

The plan was, after picking him up, we would come back to the hotel to order room service as Aiman wouldn't have had his lunch yet when l pick him up as he would have just be done with his Friday prayers.

When we came back to the hotel, we found the price of a simple fried kuew teow to be too expensive at RM26 a plate.

I suggested to Aiman that we just have lunch at a restaurant nearby,  but Aiman was tired and sleepy. He just wanted to stay in the hotel room. So I went down and got us each  Fried Rice.

Aiman finished his Fried Rice in minutes. LOL!

He must be really hungry, it being 3.00pm already. Either that, or the Fried Rice must have really tasted nice compared to the meals he has been having at his Asrama. *grin*

After lunch, Aiman set himself up on the bed to watch football on TV, something he missed very much.

I gave him until 4.00pm to watch TV as I wanted him to take a short nap when he complained that he was tired and sleepy, having had a very active week the week before.

He managed to get at least 40 minutes of nap time. I felt sorry for him when I had to wake him up at 5.00pm, seeing how deep in sleep he was. But we had to get going.

I still needed to take him to the barber as he needed to have a hair cut before I send him back to school.  He has to be back before 6.00pm.

However,  when we got to the barber, there was a long queue. We hardly had 30 minutes to spare before I had to send him back to school. So we decided to abandon the idea of getting a hair cut for that day and we headed straight to his school.

When we got to his school, it was 5.40pm. I wanted to stay in the car awhile to chit chat with him some more, but he was anxious and eager to join his friends for a game of badminton. 

Boys! You come all the way to see him and he is in a hurry to play with his friends!

When we talk on the phone, he tells us that wants us to come visit. When we come visit, he is in a hurry to go back to his dorm! *sigh*

  

However, not wanting to get him all anxious,  we said our goodbyes with hugs and kisses.

As I see him walk into his school building, I cannot help but feel a lump in my throat. I miss my baby already.

I consoled myself by saying that at least he looked more settled than he was just 2 weeks ago, on the phone, when he was calling me, crying, not wanting me to go home as I was getting ready to board the plane after just dropping him off in school just an hour earlier.

Love you, Sayang! Take care!

A Journal for Aiman - a page from FB, 24 March, 2013

 

BTW, the soundtrack is sung by Yuna! I am proud of her achievements, even though I am not a fan of hers.

A Journal for Aiman - a page from FB, 23 March, 2013

A Journal for Aiman - a page from FB, 21 March, 2013

A Journal for Aiman - a page from FB, 16 March, 2013

A Journal for Aiman - a page from FB, 24 Feb. 2013

A Journal for Aiman - a page from FB, 23 Feb. 2013 (Part 1)

A Journal for Aiman - a page from FB, 22 Feb. 2013 (Part 1)

I guess being an only child, Aiman is afraid to ask for help even when he really needs it and is too shy to even ask his teachers and friends a simply question that is not related to school. He is even afraid of his cousin whom he is actually close to and is only 2 years older than him.

He would rather come to mummy or Abah for help or ask mummy or abah to call his teachers rather than go ask himself, like when he had the diarrhea, he called us to ask us to call his teacher/warden that he is suffering from diarrhea.

When I told him to ask his cousin to go along with him to see the teacher, he said that his cousin might scold him for waking him up at 5.00 in the morning.

This is something he will have to learn to survive in this world, although we would be there to guide him where we can. It will take time but I hope that he will be strong to go through this stage and phase of his life.

It took me several weeks to adjust when I went to boarding school but then again, my parents visited me every week during the adjustment period.

I could only visit Aiman once a month and on his last trip home, I wasn't around as I was in the US for work. I guess him not meeting me during his last trip home could probably have something to do with him going through all this emotions currently. He misses me but would not admit it outright. LOL! *wink*

During this adjustment period, I feel that I have not had much time to settle down to do my own thing, or even focus on work entirely, as I spend a lot of time on the phone giving him encouragement and moral support, draining myself mentally in the process.

Soon, I hope, Aiman will adjust so that we may move on to the next stage, insyaAllah.

A Journal for Aiman - a page from FB, 21 Feb. 2013

A Journal for Aiman - a page from FB, 15 and 16 Feb. 2013

Entry posted on 15th February 2013

It's one month today that we sent Aiman to Langkawi. When we left him a month ago, he was eager to join his friends to play football. Each night that he calls us, he always seems to be in a hurry to join his friends in their chit chats before lights out. 

We visited him 10 days after leaving him for the first time and he was all excited to tell us what he had gone through the last 10 days. 

A few days before he was to fly home for the CNY holidays, he called me several times and he wanted to talk longer and was upset when I yold him that international calls are expensive. 

We spoke for a minimum of 10 minutes at a time. 

On the day he was to fly home, he called me at 1.55am New York time all excited to tell me that he is on the way to the airport. 

Hubby said that he was all excited upon seeing hubby and did not mention anything about missing me though there were a few small signs. Even when hubby sent him to the airport to fly back to Langkawi, he showed no signs of not wanting to go back. 

This morning he called me at 3.00am complaining of diarrhea and that he has had to change his clothes twice. I told him to go and see the warden but he was afraid, it being 3.00am. He was crying. He wants me to come over. 

I told him that I can only be there earliest on Saturday but he kept insisting that I come. I told him to calm down and to try to get some sleep and go see the warden as soon as daylight breaks. 

He called me again at 4.00am and told me that he had to change his clothes again. This time he wants me to come get him as he wants to come home. 

I felt sick in the heart. My baby needs me and I am 100s of km away. Again I tried to calm him down and told him to go look for his cousin Abang Ayin but he was afraid that Abang Ayin would scold him it being only 4.00am. 

I talked to him until he was simply exhausted and fell asleep. How do any parents go through such crisis? I am heart sick and wish that I could hold him and tell him that everything will be ok. 

Entry posted on 16th February 2013 

My new toy! - Prym Mini Iron Reviewed!

The last two weeks, since recovering from the bout of high blood pressure, I needed something to do that is not too stressful, and would actually calm me down. And what could be more therapeutic than to work on my crafts.

So, last week, as I felt well enough, I decided to work on the Sunbonnet Sue blocks that my cousin, Nik Ima, ordered from me. She wanted 16 blocks in pinks and purples. She wants to turn them into a queen size quilt. Hmmmmm, wondering why she's not commissioning me to make the quilt too....... LOL! *wink*

Anyway, I set out to trace the template onto fusible web, cut up the fusible web, ironed the web onto the fabrics, cut up the fabrics into the required shape and started appliqueing them onto blocks of 10 1/2" x 10 1/2".

 The preparation alone took me a few days but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was really very therapeutic as I had fun choosing the pinks and purples for the dress, the greens for the apron and browns for the hats. Even matching the threads to the dress, the apron, the hats, the shoes and the flowers were fun!

My blood pressure was almost back to normal the whole of last week as I spent a few nights of last week working on the blocks.

However, I felt that a lot of time was wasted going from my sewing area to the utility room where the iron is located and back to the sewing area at every stage of the appliqueing process as I had to iron on the pieces of the dress, the aprons, the sleeve of the dress and the hat.

The fact that the normal iron was too big for my 5" x 7" embroidery hoop made the process even longer because I had to be really careful when ironing the pieces onto the blocks when the blocks were still in the hoop.

I had burnt the rubber mat that helps to tighten the hoop a few times already. That's when I thought about getting a mini iron which would work nicely within the size of my hoop.

I had actually bought a mini iron from Clover when I was in Singapore a few years back. However this particular iron took a long time to heat up, and even when it felt really hot to the touch, it wasn't hot enough to melt the glue on the fusible web to adhere it onto the fabric. Even leaving the iron onto the fabric for a few minutes made no difference.

I was starting to get frustrated using the iron and decided to put it aside and went back to using the standard iron. But it was clumsy using the standard iron in the hoop and trying to be extra careful when ironing in the hoop was beginning to feel like it was almost like a difficult task.

I am not about to get all stressed out trying to iron my applique pieces onto my blocks when my intention to work on the blocks was to get myself to calm down and bring my blood pressure down! LOL!

So I posted on my Quilt Group on FB to ask if anyone could recommend to me a mini iron.

Someone suggested I check out Greenie Clover on FB (http://www.facebook.com/clover.greenie).

However, Edina from Edina Crafts came to the rescue when she posted that she sells the Prym Mini Iron that is the size of the palm of your hands.

I immediately checked it out, and after doing some research on it, decided to put in an order for it.

It arrived by PosLaju at my MIL's house on Tuesday. However, I was only able to pick it up today when we went over there for breakfast.

I couldn't wait to get home to try it out!

So, after coming back from having a late lunch at Subang Parade, I came home to try it out by working on the Sunbonnet Sue block.

First, I must say that the iron is really small and it takes getting use to holding the iron on the top (Edina, pinjam photo! Thanks!) which is where the thermostat is located and also where the water reservoir is if you want to use it as a steam iron.
 

I had only just used the iron for only a few hours, but I had already accidentally touched the hot side of the iron twice as the iron sometimes flips over when placed on the surface of the cloth which I folded over several times to use as a surface to place the iron on, as it was advised in the manual that the iron should not be placed on a metal surface.

It wasn't hot enough to burn my fingers though as I had only put the thermostat to the number 2 dial instead of the number 3 dial as instructed in the manual when ironing cottons.

I also felt that the dial of the thermostat is really small and made my fingers feel clumsy trying to turn the dial each time I need to use the iron in between ironing the applique pieces because I did not want to keep the iron switched on all the time while I machine embroider the applique pieces.

This is because the whole process of embroidering each block of Sunbonnet Sue alone from start to finish, including ironing each applique piece (not including the preparation process of tracing, cutting and ironing the fusible web onto the fabric) takes between 40 to 50 minutes, sometimes even an hour when I have trouble with tangled threads.

The size was just right, though, when it came to ironing the applique pieces inside the embroidery hoop.

It looked so cute, almost like an iron that belongs in a doll house! LOL!

I suddenly went into an ironing mood frenzy so that I can play some more with the iron when I decided to iron some of the scraps from my scrap bin. 

I then cut them up into 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" pieces with the intention to make them into a Postage Stamp Quilt (PSQ) SOMEDAY! Heheh....LOL!

Some of my stitching friends from Needles n' Crafts have started since last year on the PSQ where as I have even yet to cut my pieces! LOL! Well, now I have, and yes, Sally, I owe you some! *blush*

By the way, did I tell you that I made myself a portable ironing board? Well, I did!

Same like the reason why I bought the Prym Mini Iron, I also made myself the portable ironing board when I realised that a lot of time was wasted going back and forth between the utility room and my sewing area.

Initially, I thought of going to a hardware shop and buying a thick plywood, have it cut to size and then covering the plywood with batting and heat resistant material. After that, I thought that I would wrap the batting and heat resistant material with fabrics.

However, when I went to the Popular Book shop last week, I found this ready made portable plywood table of about 1/2"' thick and about 17'' x 12'' in size.

Sorry, no photos because I was excited to get started on making the ironing board! LOL!

I then went to Ace Hardware and bought an ironing board cover which says that it is made out of heat resistant material. It was expensive though, but buying batting and a heat resistant material separately would probably have cost me more, I think.

I then covered the ready made portable plywood table with the ironing board cover twice over since the ironing board cover was long enough to cut in two.

I felt like a handyman using the stapler gun for the first time as I stapled the cover to the back of the plywood table! LOL!

As I wasn't happy with the way the back of the board looks like as it was uneven when I wrongly cut the cover in two, I decided to cover it again a cotton fabric I already had in my stash.

Here's the finished ironing board with my cute little Prym iron on it!

Yup! It's not pink but it was the only fabric I had which was enough to cover the board. Besides, I did not want to use my expensive cottons to cover the board.

Here's the back of the board and the sides.

I think I will have lots of fun playing with my new toy on my DIY ironing board!

The iron is small, yes, as it is the size of your palm, and yes, it is hot enough for appliqueing work, but a friend said that it does not iron clothes that well.

I think it is not meant to be used to iron clothes, but more for small craft works. But, in emergencies when you need to travel and stay at hotels that does not provide irons, I guess it should be good enough.

I like the fact that it works very well inside my embroidery hoop but I really don't like the handle to hold the iron. But, I guess once you get used to it, it shouldn't be a problem.

It also takes getting used  to turning the mini thermostat dial too. I think I should find an easier way to not have the iron switched on all the time, yet need not have to keep turning the dial to '0' in between ironing the applique pieces.

If I resolve this so called issue, I think my Prym iron and I are going to be good friends and friends for a long time! LOL! 

By the way, I have since completed 5 blocks of the Sunbonnet Sue. I have got 11 more to go!

A Trip of a Lifetime - to the US and the UK (Part 9) – Another day in New York

I had to wake up early on the 3^rd day of my stay in New York as we had been invited to join the Consulate General (CJ) of Malaysia for breakfast with his family. Our transport was picking us up at 7.30am.

I was tired from yesterday’s excitement, but forced myself to get up at 6.00am to get ready.

As we drove through the city to the CJ’s official residence, I managed to snap a few photos of the sceneries.
 

I was looking to find Donald Trump Tower because I watched the construction of the building on Discovery Channel before making the trip to the US, but, from the photos here, I can't seem to recognize which one it is.

As someone who is architecturally trained, I can't help but look at details of buildings and structures where ever I go, and would take photos of structures that I find amazing, unique or simply interesting. And I find this bridge structure to be interesting....

We arrived at the CJ’s lovely home slightly early then expected when we received conflicting information. But, never the less, the CJ and his family received us warmly.

A view from the residence was breath taking as it overlooks the a river. Unfortunately I forgot to snap a photo of the scene.

We were served Nasi Lemak and Laksa Johor. Nothing beats home cook meal anytime!

I wanted to snap a photo of the food but was afraid that it might be considered rude to do so, so, you will just have to use your imagination and trust my word for it that it was a delicious meal. *grin*

Seen here is me with Dr. Hasnah, one of the members of our delegation from UKM.

 

 

One for the album - with CJ and his family.

 

After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel to rest as our next appointment with Autism Speak, an autism advocacy organization that sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, and the public was at 3.00pm.

 

However, when I got back to the hotel, my brother suggested that we try to look for this Carlos Bakery (http://www.carlosbakery.com/) which I told him I wanted to visit prior to coming to the US when my son and I have been watching Cake Boss on Astro ever since it started showing on TV.

I had to see for myself what I have been watching on TV, and since I was already in New York, why not, right?

It was a 10 block walk to Carlos Bakery, but, we took in the sceneries as we walked to the Bakery and so, the walk did not feel so far.

I could not conceal my excitement upon seeing the Bakery! Gosh! I am dreaming again that I get to actually see the bakery in person after watching it on TV almost weekly!

 

I think my son would have been excited too had he been here to see the bakery.

I hope that someday, I will be able to come again with him and my hubby to the US, God willing.

 

We ordered some cannolis and lobster trail and yes, they were awesome! I must learn to make them myself!

Soon it was time to make our way back to the hotel as I needed to get ready for my meeting with Autism Speaks and my brother and SIL wanted to go back to New Jersey to pick up their kids and bring them over so that I can get to meet them too.
 

On our way back, I finally found a cart selling berets which I liked and immediately bought it.

See the excitement on my face? Like a little kid who just got a new toy! LOL!

More scenes to feast the eyes.....

One for my son who likes listening to Justin Bieber but would not admit it! LOL!

Believe it! I am in front of Ripley’s Believe or not!

A glamorous McD!

My brother left as soon as we got to the hotel while I got ready for the meeting.

The meeting with Autism Speak was more of a discussion to better understand the programs that they do around the world, and by the end of the meeting, plans were made for Autism Speaks to come to Malaysia to further discuss their programs to suit Malaysia’s needs in building our own Autism Center, similar to what they did in other parts of the world.   

On our way back to the hotel after our meeting, we made a slight detour to see the site of the 9/11 Memorial.

It was along walk from where the driver dropped us off, but so determined were we to see the place that we walked for about an hour before we finally arrived at the site because we had to go around the site.

Looking at the site, it hard to imagine that only 2 towers used to sit there as now they are building 5 towers to replace the 2 towers. They also put up a special memorial of falling water where the 2 towers used to sit.

It was an awesome sight – the new towers, the water fall, the gardens, etc., but it was unfortunate that many people had to die.....

I arrived back at the hotel to find my brother and SIL already waiting for me, together with their children.

It was so nice to see the kids again after more than 2 years of not seeing them. I miss them, and my, both of them have grown so tall!
 

Sarah is as pretty as her mum, as Farhan is as tall and handsome as his dad.

As soon as I freshened up, we sat down to have dinner of Tadoori Chicken, Nan bread, butter rice and other food that my brother and SIL had brought.

 

 

Too bad picture is kind of blurry.
 

 

After dinner, while the kids did their homework, yes! they brought their homework as they still had school the next day!, my SIL and I chit chat while I started packing. My brother, in the mean time, had gone to dreamland! LOL!

It was passed midnight when my brother decided that it was time for them to head home to New Jersey. I felt a pang of sadness as I felt that the 2 days spent with my brother and SIL was simply too short. I wished that we could have spent more time together.

Maybe, God willing, I will come again, and this time with hubby and Aiman, insyaAllah.

When my brother left, the snowstorm was about to hit. The weather forecast on TV predicted a very heavy snowstorm coming our way.

I made my brother sms me as soon as he arrives home as I wanted to be sure that they arrived safely.

Thank God, they arrived safely, but soon after that, he smsed me to let me know that all flights out of New York, including my flight, had been cancelled due to unexpected severe weather condition within the next 24 hours.

I hardly slept that night....

Day 6 – 7^th February 2013 – a very long night.....