Jungle Fever

 

I simply fell in love with this place the moment I walked in. Acres and acres of lush jungle, a literal therapeutic haven for me.

But before I carry on, this being the month of September, I'd love to wish my 2 bestest dudes Ariff and Hamed the happiest birthdays - as both of them are born in September. Go Libras! I love you both so much and how can I ever thank you for always having my back and being my partners in crime.

Back to the topic, so this place is located on the outskirts of Hulu Selangor and about an hour and half drive from where I live.

Spa, full body massage for men and women, meditation and wellness area, even a river - just to name a few of what you'll find here. Oh and of course - chalets, how could I forget! 

We rented one for day use just so I could play around in the river, then shower before heading for the spa and massage. 

They also have their own eatery where we had lunch and the famous ikan lunak that everyone talks about. But to me, it was over-rated. I found the ikan lunak to be very ordinary, nothing special.

I love this particular thing so much. Am actually thinking of pitching it to my husband to have one built in our lanai at the master bedroom. The only thing I'll have to reconsider, is the presence of cats (and possibly a monkey or two) having a rest on my glass floor! And also, considering the fact that anyone who stand below it, will have a bird's eye view of forbidden scenes haha. But I really loved the concept of it. Imagine having this directly above my pool. Well, something to ponder about.

We went on a weekday, therefore it was peaceful, serene and calm. I'm glad I have the luxury of going anywhere during weekdays and not weekends/holidays. I can't imagine the crowd then, because according to the tour guide there, weekends are insane!

If this place wasn't so far away from where I stay, I swear I would be there every single week. With that said, enjoy the weekend xo.

Eid 2020

Since Syawal is a month long celebration, let me wish all you people who are celebrating, a happy Eid.

I'm pretty sure this year's celebration is vastly different from others, no matter where you're from.

For us, it's been a low key one but ever so thankful that I managed to smuggle my mom to spend it with us that night. Initially before this chaotic lifestyle started, my children suggested we throw a big party for Raya. But oh well.

Even the annual Foreign Nite that me and my friends organize once a year, couldn't take place this year and that was a disappointment indeed.

Anyway, I'll be back soon to write more. But since I'm rushing to have lunch cooked earlier than usual today, once again Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir & Batin.

Love you!

Tandoori Nites

Who loves a good tandoori and garlic naan?

I surprised myself by successfully making these for my family during iftar. After literally spending many hours in the kitchen (which included making a garam masala powder from scratch), I pulled it off nicely.

The verdict from my hungry soldiers? That it was perfect and the chicken tasted exactly how it does from restaurants. And I had additional stars for my garlic and cilantro naan when they said that it was way better and fluffier than shops. I'll have to agree with that. It came out perfectly. My mint chutney came out alright too - but not the consistency that I was aiming for - but there's always a 2nd time for that.

My chicken certainly isn't as red as the ones you get outside, and that's because I totally omitted food colorings of any kind.

So all in all, it was worth the amount of hours I put into making this for my family. I don't particularly enjoy cooking, but it's always a pleasure to try out something new and people like it.

Happy Wednesday!

Quarantine 38th

For the last couple of weeks, I've been bugging my husband to allow me to give him a haircut. He said no, because he was worried what if I messed it up.

For what it's worth, early this January was the 1st time ever that I took a pair of hair scissors to my own hair. It was too long and it had gone beyond my butt. So since I always make it a point to do something new each year, I decided to give my hair stylist a break and 2020 was the time for me to try and cut my own hair myself.  I wasn't really worried because if I had made a mistake with it, it was still long and my personal stylist could easily counter that. But lo and behold, I got it layered and no one had believed that I actually cut my own hair to perfection. Heck, I couldn't believe it myself. A couple of my girlfriends and even family members then told me that I could cut their hair too. But I wouldn't dare. I certainly never expect that I could cut my own locks. But you know me, once I've set my mind on something, I'll find a way to do it, one way or the other.

The 2 pictures you see above there on this blog's main photo with the tiara on my head was taken on my birthday this year, which was 2+ months after I cut it. Silly me that I forgot to take a before and after picture of my mane.

So back to the story, my husband finally relented when I assured him I'll only trim off a little bit. After all, in the worse case scenario if I did mess up, we are all under lockdown and no one will be seeing him at least for the next couple of weeks - where it'll grow back again.

Excited as I was at this venture, I was nervous as heck. But with salons closed everywhere, I just had to do it. And let me tell you this: a woman's hair is much more easier to cut than a man. It's trickier. And a bit more complicated. Like men. haha.

Anyway, I'm happy to say that I done a pretty darn good job! It's neat, not too short and most importantly, my husband approved of it. What do you think?

So what's next, Debbie J's Salon? ⌣.

Let's Play

With all the time I've had on my hands for the last 20+ days, I decided to cleanse my older unused phones today. And while doing so, I came across a game ap called 'Ruzzle' which I've totally forgotten about.

Surprisingly, the old account I used was still was still there and usable.

So, if you're into word puzzles or ruzzles and have time to kill, come find me there. This is the name I go by, so drop me a note to say that you came from here ok? Because there are other players that I'm playing and would like to know if I'm playing with any of you guys. I gotta brush up my skills to topple Hamed. He's too good!

If I don't respond to your game request fast enough, just be patient. Because as I said, I may be engaged with other players and each round takes about 2 minutes.

So let's play!

A Birthday Wish

This is my birthday wish.

That sprinklings of magic dusts 
falls over the Universe to swiftly start 
a healing process across the globe 
and 
lay clouds of protection over my entire 
family, friends and those I care for.

In all honesty, that is the only thing I wish for at the moment.

This is when I wish my whole family were staying together, the ones abroad and also those who live here. It scares the hell out of me at the thought that I can't even go visit my mother who lives only 20 minutes away. It's been a little over 2 weeks since I last saw her and I'm missing her terribly. The reason she's not living with me during this, is because she doesn't want to be away from her home and my brother for too long - fair reason as no one knows how long this is going to last.

We video call each other about 4-5 times a day, and there were 2 occasions where I pressed the 'end call' button when I felt my tears building up as I didn't want her to see me cry.

We are all going through a rough patch aren't we? But let's all do our part in staying home, be extra careful with our hygiene and keep our distances from everyone. It's a small sacrifice, but it goes a long way towards combating this war that is affecting mankind in a scary way.

Stay safe my darlings. We've got this!

Chaos Explained

This is for all those of you wondering what exactly happened since Sunday night.

This is an article by Wei Jiet Lim which was commissioned and edited by Kelly Anissa for New Naratif.

https://newnaratif.com/journalism/explainer-whats-going-on-in-malaysias-game-of-thrones/

20-02-2020

Two zero, zero two, two zero, two zero! 

When a clear but indirect green light came to you just days before an extremely memorable date like this, I call it synchronicity. 

Long overdue, unplanned, unexpected but a 100% spontaneous. All on 20-02-2020. What can I say? It was definitely worth the wait all these years!

Good morning and Friday blessings everyone.

Raised Me Up

I 've always said that the most attractive thing about a man is the volume of his intellectual capacity. His brain. Oh yes, this is where size really matters.  Everything else comes 2nd. And now, I can fully attest to that.

He is a neuroscientist and also an expert in the field of epigenetics.

The last few months, I've been paying a whole lot of  attention to him. The way he speaks, explains, thinks and the amount of respect he garners from people is astounding!

I can't begin to describe how much he's changed my general views on life, thoughts and basically everything else. I've even introduced him to both my children who are equally impressed with him. But my husband on the other hand, who has always been somewhat sceptical about certain people, especially when he doesn't know them well doesn't share my sentiments and I truly respect his views.

But guys I kid you not when I say that this man is on another level. 

Not sure if I mentioned it previously, but I was in a semi-dark place some months ago. Well he pulled me out of the rabbit hole, repaired me, changed me, energetically charged me - and it took him less than 24 hours for him to achieve that. Now, what do you call that?

My only question to him is, "where have you been all my life?" ha ha.

And I'm sorry I can't share him with any one of you. Not just yet, at least.

2020

Cheers to the start of a new year and a new decade! Fairly hard to imagine that 2020 is already here when a mere 20 years ago the world was preparing to welcome in Y2K.

The past decade (2010-2019) had been a blessing, but not without our own share of heartaches and pains. During those 10 years, our family had to endure the loss of 3 people - my father in 2012, my godfather in 2015 and the latest to leave us was my aunt's husband, Uncle Allan who passed away right  before Christmas on Dec 10 2019 after being hospitalized for 2 months prior to his passing. That is the reason I haven't had the time to update new posts up here as the last couple of months have been hectic.

But as we grief together in sadness, we are ultimately a most blessed family as we are big and have each other for support.

That being said, life goes on and death is inevitable. So, it's humble to focus on the countless of blessings bestowed upon us instead of the losses. For every single thing I have, every single person in my life that I love, I am totally grateful for.

Pictured up there with me is my Princess and my Queen at our New Year's eve ball. It was a great party and most of us collectively agreed that it was one of the best! The theme of the night was 'Glitz n Glam' and it lived up to it's name of being a very glitzy night indeed.

I love you all, let's have a great start and leave the past where it belongs.

Salud, babes!