My Favourite Time of Day

9pm onwards is the time I look forward to every single day. It's the time I love most. Yes, it's also when I'm truly and extremely exhausted and bloated but at least I'm home. At least I'm fresh from the shower and I've performed my prayer and recitation. At least I've spent quality time exchanging stories, hugs and kisses with my husband. 9pm onwards is when I lie down on the fluffy bed, turn on my laptop for some quick reads or read my monthly book and the kittens will be playing around me or taking a catnap on the same bed. Bliss. Until the morning comes.

A New HUGE Chapter

Here's why I haven't been updating my blog as often as before. And why my book is way behind schedule (but it's almost done, 5% more!).

I've been sooooo knackered. Apparently that's what happens when you're pregnant. 

Yes, you read it right. I... AM... PREGNANT! I guess when I wrote that I didn't mind getting pregnant as early as this year, God couldn't agree more. I'm now into my 14th week and I've been dying to write about my first trisemester. If only I could muster up the energy to do that. I read that usually you start feeling better in the second trisemester. I'm still waiting.

I'm going to be a mother. Can you believe that? I still can't wrap my head around the idea and I think Rafiee is still in shock too. When I first told my ayah in January, the first thing he said was "Yeah, right." I guess he too found it mind-boggling that his little girl is going to have a child of her own.

Well, you have to start somewhere.

The Trouble with the World...

"...is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."
-Bertrand Russell (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) 

Most people believe everything they read or hear, don't they? Like Facebook is closing down or a so-called religious ritual to get a spouse heard from some ustaz of dubious credibility or a minister's wife buying a million dollar handbag read on a blog, etc. Come on people, do some research first before you start spreading the news that only makes you look ignorant and downright silly. Sorry for my harsh words, I guess I just got sick of those posts that are sprouting like mushrooms after the rain but I don't want to sound like a snob by pointing it out to the particular individual. This is just to rant so that my husband's ears don't bleed from listening to it. If only everyone takes their time to question and research instead of taking things at face value, we can all achieve great things in life together.

A Working Adult's Guide

This has to be the easiest way to get the five daily servings of vegetables and fruits - smoothies! You can basically throw in any fruits or vegetables that your heart desires but of course fruits with a high water content and green vegetables are recommended for better results. In the photo above, I used the following:

125 ml yogurt drink

250 ml low fat & high calcium milk

1 pear

1 apple

2 bananas

A handful of spinach

A handful of cereal & nuts

1 scoop of protein powder

The ingredients produce 900 ml of smoothies so that will last me one whole day at work. It only takes about ten minutes to make it so it's perfect for a lazy busy working adult like yours truly.

In and Out of Love

Before you start assuming that the title refers to my marriage in any way, stop! Rafiee and I are happier with each passing day. Still giggly like on our first date almost six years ago, still madly in love like the newlyweds three years back and in sync like an old couple. Alhamdulillah and insyaAllah we'll keep improving from this point on. In fact, this matter wouldn't cross my mind if not for some divorces going on around me including celebrity couples that I think are too sweet to be separated.

Why does it happen? There can be so many reasons and they may differ from one couple to another. We just try to do our best and trust that whatever happens has a good reason. How to maintain a happy relationship? Well, google it and you'll get endless sources but it doesn't matter how many books you read; if you don't practice then you're only wasting your time. Being married for only three years doesn't grant me the right to say that I've got it all figured out but to me, the key is being able to communicate and screaming doesn't count. People stop listening when they're being yelled at. Of course if one partner refuses to communicate then there will already be trouble in paradise but that's the thing. Marriage takes two people to make it work so when at least one stops trying, then that's the end of the road for them.

Everyone in their right mind enters marriage with the best intentions but it doesn't always work out. You just have to try your best to make informed decisions every time - to marry or not (we dated for three years before tying the knot), to tell your secrets or not (Rafiee and I do, it's easier to live together without having to cover up), to have a baby immediately or not (a child is a huge responsibility so I personally would like to make sure we have spent enough time with each other before we both start focusing on another person), to fight over issue A or not (very subjective but we always try not to drag any issue for more than a day) and well you get the idea. A healthy relationship is supposed to make you happier, calmer, safer and better. If you can't find this in yours, then sometimes letting go is the best you can do for both of you.

Sick

This blog has been temporarily abandoned as I haven't been feeling well since last weekend. Now I still have a nasty sore throat that's making me sound like an old lady. I finished two bottles of cough syrup and now on my third, this time a Chinese medicine given by a colleague as he felt responsible for bringing in the virus. I'm so exhausted from coughing that I have to drag myself to work. I hate to take medical leave, it makes me feel useless and weak. I'm trying a new remedy next week, lemon and honey.

Apart from that, Rafiee and I got Tumas a new friend. They got along within a couple of days and even though we have to put up with a messy apartment everyday now that we have a double force, we strongly feel it's unhealthy for an indoor cat if it's left alone in the house all day. And they look so cute together as you can see right here.

Two is always better than one when you have the right match, isn't it? Her name is Munee after her rescuer. Okay, can't write anymore. My chest even hurts now when I cough. I'm not taking any chances, I'm going to the clinic (again) tomorrow.

Post-Holiday

They say a vacation rejuvenates your tired mind and body but why do I feel more tired after a four-day holiday? I guess they mean a 100% selfish retreat because I had a day of selfless acts and though I was happy at the end of the day, it left me feeling battered. 

 

Hubs and I went on a road trip to Johor on Thursday. We had a wonderful time stopping for food and singing in the car. Then we had a great dinner spread on a floating restaurant overlooking Singapore. The next day was spent there where we skipped the touristy Universal Studios and armed with a map and an endless supply of cold water (from most 7-Eleven that we came across), roamed the city to immerse in the local essence.

Organised and sterile, Singapore has little in common with Malaysia compared to my initial perception before the Kuala Lumpur tour. First, the service of the KL hop-on hop-off tour bus is ridiculously slow. The conductor thought we were foreigners and with other tourists around us complaining, we didn't correct him because we were too embarassed to be associated with KL. 

Second, the sellers in Petaling Street are anything but customer-friendly. Rafiee almost got in a fight because one of them forced him to buy the sunglasses that he tried on. 

Third, we saw a foreign couple holding some decomposable fruit seeds trying to find a waste bin as an old Malaysian man just right behind them tossed his big empty plastic bag on the pavement like it's the most natural thing to do. I still don't understand people who litter. Is it lack of education or common sense? I think it's stupid, disgusting and reflects the person's upbringing. The parents most likely do it too so they fail to see how morally wrong it is. 

Hoping that things will gradually improve (unless you want to get beaten up for telling some ignorant strangers off), we concluded that KL can learn a thing or two from Singapore although I still prefer Malaysia in general because we have so much more to offer.

On Saturday we went to a small town in Johor to help out with Rafiee's cousin's wedding so by the time the clock struck midnight, both of us were already snoring like a bear. A kitten that we fell in love with in Johor Bahru was also sleeping in the same bed, a little girl we named Tumas after our two favourite kittens that we lost recently, Dumas and Tamas. It's a Hungarian name so it's pronounced as Tu-mash. We decided to keep her in our apartment when she started licking our fingers as if to say "Thank you for saving me from the street" or so I'd like to believe. 

As I try to motivate myself to keep editing the book (now 70% completed) in my family house right now, I can't help thinking about the pants and shirts I have yet to iron. Thank goodness I love my work so that takes away any post-holiday blues, but I honestly don't mind having more vacations. Ah well, don't we all?