Climbing Broga Hills

Last Thursday, 16th Sept 2010, I woke up as early as 4.00am to get ready for a trip to Broga Hills. Hubward heard about the hill from his friend a few weeks ago and since then, we've been meaning to go there and climb the hills. I love outdoor activities and since I haven't got the chance to that alot lately, I've been looking forward for this one. :)

So, about around 5.00am we begin our drive to Broga Hills located somewhere in Semenyih. Please don't ask me for direction as I used Garmin to get there. ahahah....I love my Garmin. :D. All I know is, it's not that far from Nottingham University.

We arrive at the bottom of the hill trail at around 6.00am and there were already lots of cars parked at the area and most of them are Chinese (not the cars but the people in it...uhuhu). Maybe the malays are still in raya mood. So, we parked our car and then, we realised...it was still dark and we did not bring any torchlight. How stupid is that? Luckily, there was a group of people with torchlight right in front of us and we used it as our guide to climb up and I also used my hand-phone light (not that it's that bright).

The trail is not that challenging, but it was fun to be able to do it. It was slippery though and you need to wear the right kind of shoe or your feet and knee will suffer. We literally had to queue to get to the top as there were a lot of people climbing the 1.7km hill trail. I told you, it's not that challenging. There was even a few old folks climbing the hills. It's a good cardio exercise. :)

We reach the top at around 7.00am and it's just in time to see the sunrise. And the scenary was beautiful. Ouh...and on our way to the top there was this group of stupid asshole people who stopped and pop some fireworks. Maybe their brain haven't started working yet that early in the morning. Don't they think that everyone is gasping for air and our lungs is wide open as we are climbing the hills? The smoke from the fireworks nearly caused me to use my inhaler.

After the sun rised at around 7.30am....we begin our trip down the hill. It was nice to shed some sweat...and feels the cool morning air breeze on top of the hills. I will surely go there again. :)

Here are some tips if you want to go there:

1. Wear the right shoes. And I don't mean some Converse shoe. I mean a shoe that can grip the slippery soil, especially while you are going down. I saw few people wearing slippers...hmmmm
2. If you plan to go at dawn, remember...bring a torchlight.
3. There is no toilet up there, so make sure you do your "business" first before you climb up or you might just have to hold it. LOL
4. You may park your car in a palm oil estate for a minimal fee of RM2.00.

Women Best Friend!

When I say women best friend, what comes into your mind? If you heard this before, most would say diamond. :). Yes, it is...but only for those who can afford it. uhuhu....for others...well maybe....cheap jewelry accessories, handbags, dresses and shoes. ahahaha...I know that's a lot.  That's why they say, for a women, the best theraphy is 'retail therapy'.

If I talk about myself, there's not much of retail therapy going on except for occasionally on twilight merchandise. Oh yeah....that's my best friends. A lot of these items, I don't dare to use them except for tee. ahahahah....my precious collection. Hey! Maybe I can make a lot of money selling them on ebay one day. Not sure if I would though.....

Well, I do love handbags and shoes. And since raya is just around the corner, it's time to buy a new one. hmmm....when was the last time I bought a shoe? Actually, I got two shoes this year. Both of them are from my hubward. :D. One is for me to do my favorite activities (which I don't really do much these days) which are sports and exercise. The last time I bought a sport shoe was hmmm.....when is it? ouh..like 8 years ago. ahahaha....and it's already worn out. Thank you hubward!!

And a few days ago, as we were window shopping at One Utama, hubward dragged me into Vincci. He knows that there's a stiletto that I would love to buy and he bought it for me! yey! I got my raya shoe. ahahaha....the stiletto is gorgeous! At least for me. :). So, I got me a new shoe to flaunt this Aidilfitri!!

Last but not least, I would like to wish all my muslim friends, SELAMAT HARI RAYA, MAAF ZAHIR & BATIN!!

Sleeping Disorder

If you read my short self profile on the left column of this blog, you can see that I'm insomniac and I hate it. And Ramadhan doesn't help it either since I have to wake up at 4.30am everyday to prepare sahur meal for the last 26 days (including today). Last year, there was a few days I missed sahur as I overslept. Why? It's so damn hard for me to even get to sleep and having to wake up that early is frustrating. But this year, hubward says he wants to sahur for the whole 30 days of Ramadhan. uhuk.

Can you imagine, I tried to sleep starting around 11.00pm and I think I finally fell asleep at 1.00am. And as I was in my deepest sleep I already have to wake up. :( And everyday (work day) I will feel like a zombie at work. I think most wives with hubby who wants to sahur experience this. I said to hubward that maybe we can take turn to wake up early to prepare for sahur. But, hubward being the normal guy that he is.....what will he be preparing anyway? So, no take turn. It's always my turn. Seriously, I can't wait for raya and after that, I will get back my normal sleep which is not that normal in the first place.

I hate that, just when I put my head on the pillow, my brain started to reminisce all things that I need to think of or recall and it will take me at least around 1 to 2 hours to go to sleep. No, sex counting lambs sometimes doesn't really help either. I really envy those who gets to go to sleep as soon as they put their head on the pillow. uhuk.

Hope things will be better after Ramadhan because my sleep will not be interrupted so much. :)

Special Request Break Fast Menu - Chicken Stew

Two days ago, as we were going to sleep, hubward and I started to talk about food. Yeah..I know. It's kind of funny to talk about food as you are going to sleep. hehehe. And as we were talking, suddenly hubward said he wants to eat chicken stew. ehehe..it's been awhile since I cooked stew coz normally I only cook it on certain occasions. :)

So, as requested I cooked Chicken Stew for break fast meal for hubward. For those who have never tasted chicken stew before, it is delicious to be eaten with bread. Toasted bread is even better. uuu...yummy!! I know my beloved friends Bani and Diyana loves my chicken stew. :D

The recipe was given by my mom to me and I have passed the recipe to few others as my mom did too. But somehow, not everyone quite manage to get the best taste result. Not sure why though. So, here is the recipe if you are interested to try it at home. However, since I learn my spices and recipe in Bahasa Melayu, I'm not quite sure what they are called in English and will list down most of the ingredients in Bahasa Melayu. To those who know the translation please do give your translation in the comment box. I want to know also. :)

CHICKEN STEW (For two person)

Ingredients:
Cooking oil
Butter
Black Pepper powder
10 x Red onions (Bawang Merah) and  4 x garlic (Bawang Putih) - Blend
A pinch of nutmeg (Buah pala)
cinnamon stick (Kulit Kayu Manis) x 1
Cardamom Pod (Buah Pelaga) x 3
Cloves (Cengkih) x 5
Star Anise (Bunga Lawang) x 1.5
Corn Starch (Tepung Jagung) - need to estimate yourself based on how much is your sauce
Ketchup (Tomata Sauce)
Salted Light Soy Sauce (Kicap)
Macaroni
Potato (Kentang) - cut into blocks
Carrot - cut into blocks
Chives (Daun Bawang) - cut into small fine cuts
Chervil (Daun Sup) - cut into small fine cuts
Chicken (4 pcs/cuts) - u can add more if you want
Tomato x 1

Preparation:
Heat you pot and then put some cooking oil and butter. When they are hot enough, put in a pinch of nutmeg (Buah pala), cinnamon stick (Kulit Kayu Manis), Cardamom Pod  (Buah Pelaga), Cloves (Cengkih) and Star Anise (Bunga Lawang) and later blended red onions and garlic. 

Let it simmer until you can smell the aroma and then at the black pepper (as you feel like it) and some water. Let it cook for awhile. Then, add in more water + corn starch (as much as you like) + ketchup + light soy sauce. After that, put in the carrot and potato. After awhile, put in the chicken and macaroni. you may add some salt if you want. You might want to add chives and chervil from time to time to add flavour.

Finally, after it's cooked, you may add the balance of the chives and chervil and also tomato.

** It is advisable for you to mix the corn starch with water first rather than just adding it into the hot sauce/soup.

HAPPY TRYING!!

Happy Package from United States

Today, I received a package from US that I really have been waiting for. As you can see, The Twilight Saga dominates about 45% of my blog. Yes! You guest it right. The package is full of twilight merchandise. But no...not all are mine. :). Some of Twilighters Malaysia members order together so that we can enjoy lower shipment after we divide it amongst those who ordered.

I am so thankful to have a friend is US (Katie Dirga) who is willing to help me acquire some of the merchandise that they don't send to Malaysia. Especially those limited edition and also from ebay. So, what did I get for myself? A Cullen Crest Hoodie (and a matching one for hubward, of course!), Eclipse Bella & Edward water bottle, Cullen Crest T-shirt (for hubward), Eclipse Deluxe Edition Soundtrack and Eclipse Team Edward Pin Set. And the best thing is, Katie put some extra stuff for me as a gift. Actually, a Team Edward Eclipse tee, Team Edward Eclipse Bandage (this is cute), New Moon trading cards and Volturi Lip gloss are from her and Edward bookmark from her friend Shari. Thank you girls!! Love yah!! :D

All the merchandise I receive today

Cullen Crest Hoodie and Team Edward Eclipse Tee

Cullen Crest T-Shirt for my hubward :D

All these merchandise will be added to my existing collection of twilight stuff that I own. ahahah...yeah...I have damn a lot. ;). Tomorrow, I'm gonna pack other merchandise to be sent out.

Note: Hubward is what we twimoms call our hubby..:P, I'm a twimom just by age, not that I have any children, yet.

The One Day Holiday - Malaysia 53rd Independance Day!!

So, what did you guys do for your one day holiday? Did you all go for raya shopping? OMG!! KL is so pack! No...I didn't go shopping for raya. Well, my clothing are all ready and will only buy raya biscuits literally like one day before raya. uhuhuhu. Maybe when I have kids....I might have a lot more to shop for.

What did I do? The eve of Independance day, my hubby and I went strolling around KL on his motorbike. (who would insanely go on a stroll around KL in a car on the eve of Independance day?). Before that, we stopped at Chidas, Taman Tun to hang out with my TTDI clan just to catch up. It seems like ages since I've seen and chat stupid things with them. :P. Around 1.30am we left and head to KL. I guess that's the perks of not having children yet. uhuk.

Since it was Ramadhan, the celebration was a bit mellow, I guess. There were no fireworks or concert but there were sure a lot of people in Dataran Merdeka (Independance Field/Area - that's the best translation I can come up with). Not sure what they were doing there of course.....maybe Dataran Merdeka  seems the right place to be on an Independance Day celebration. We reach there around 1.45am and still there were so many people gathering around the area and the road is OMG so jammed and packed. There was a group of people (not sure what they were doing) that attracts so many people just stopping there looking at them. Hubby stopped, but when we discover that there's nothing to see, he stroll off and just ride around Jalan TAR. Again, massive traffic and bazaar ramadhan/aidilfitri was still open with lots of people hovering around it. We didn't stop of course. Both me and hubby don't really like to thrive through crowds unless we really really really have no choice.

So, at around 2.00am, we start our journey back home and arrived home at around 2.25am. It was such a hard thing to wake up again at 4.30am for sahur and hubby nearly missed it. :P Not my fault since I've tried to wake him up like a million times. ahahahah....

For that day, I had a break fast gathering with my old Banting friends. That's another whole story. ahaha....you know, when you didn't see your friends for like 6-8 years and now they are with their family with kids running around here and there. LOL...I went alone my friend Farah (who went alone too, coz we think our hubby will be bored to death to hang around with us and friends they don't have history with). All in all, it was nice to see them again. Most of them didn't change much :)

And today, I am back at work as usual and writing my blog working like my normal day routine. ;)