Water park_Malaysia

My old draft on water parks. Published on this date

Last Friday, I took the day off to spend quality time with my hubby alone (who had a Deepavali leave that fell on Saturday). We had lunch at TGI Friday, Sunway Pyramid and off to the Water Park around 2.30pm. We were eager to have fun ourselves without the kids (that was the plan). We managed to try all the water rides (it was a working day for others thus the place was not crowded). There were 5 slides to try. I was rather nervous, remembering the frightening (to me, maybe mild to others) slide at The Carnival, Sungai Petani. Come to think of it, although I’ve been to all water parks, I‘ve only tried the water rides first time at The Carnival.


The Carnival
I thought I’m used to water rides thus confidently went for one. I remembered being very frightened and wondered why. Then I come to conclusion that although I’ve been to many water parks, I’ve actually never been on the rides due to following:
I’ve to look after my children
I didn’t have suitable clothes with me


Sunway Lagoon
After experiencing the rides, I rate the rides as mild to medium. I am not boasting but want to encourage others who has never been on rides before to try them. I’m not an adventurous type thus when I say the rides is ok, you should take my word. The rides are not really heart stopping and I specifically like the Congo Ride (you slide with your body on the ground on a slide mat). Do take note that the rating was based on me being at the back (in the 2 person buoy). The rating may be different if was at the front end.


Other water parks that I’ve been to:


Desa Water Park, Desa Petaling
Once, just to bring my inlaws for some fun in 2008.


Lost World of Tambun, Ipoh, Perak
Once when it was newly opened in 2005. Not a lot of people back then so the place was clean.


Bukit Merah Laketown Water Park, Perak
In 2007, because we had a complementary stay for 1 night from Pipi.


Water Park Batu Pahat
At my hometown. Only once, when I was heavily 9 mths pregnant (Jasmin) in 2004. Just for Irdina to have some fun


A Famosa Water Park, Melaka
I vaguely remember this one but I definitely just sit on the side possibly watching Irdina & Jasmin.


In conclusion, starting 1998 I’ve been to all the water parks (that I’ve known of) in Malaysia with my family but my 1st experience with water ride was in 2009.

Welcome back! Limastiga

My draft when I was surveying for a location for Keluarga Tok Cai Family Day....
Alhamdulillah my wish came true on 9 June 2014. Read more here.

Rasa seperti baru sahaja menyambut tahun 2011. Tup!Tup! Dah bulan November, dah nak masuk tahun 2012. Banyak peristiwa yang berlaku tahun ini. Ahli keluarga pun banyak peringkat, jadi macam-macamlah seperti menduduki peperiksaan penting UPSR/PMR, yang graduate, yang bertunang, yang berkahwin, yang menerima cahayamata. Tahniah! Alhamdulillah! Kira lengkaplah tahun ni....Tahun depan, insyaallah meriah juga, ameen.
Event baru yang telah diwar-warkan di fb ialah melawat Universal Studio Singapore pada bulan April tahun depan. Respon so far banyak daripada mereka-mereka yang muda belia. Harap-harap plan ini menjadi.
Hari ini semasa melayari laman sesawang, terjumpa pula blog Limastiga ini. Menarik! Harga pun macam ok. Cantik dan ada swimming pool. Macam sesuai untuk percutian keluarga apa tah lagi kalau booking kesemua bilik. Cuma tempat ini hanya menerima maksimum 24 orang sahaja. Kalau ramai ahli keluarga nak ikut, macam mana? We'll see how it goes ok..

Swimming pool

Some pictures taken during the events:

Waiting for next activity

Games instructions from AJK

No one can resist the pool!

My dad

Solat jemaah

Dinner

Story telling by Danish

Everyone was so sporting!

A la Chef Zubir in MasterChef Malaysia

Sponsored lunch. Daging masak kicap, ulam, ikan asam pedas.

View from Rumah 2

It was totally fun and memorable!

Cameron Highland encore

Taken exactly from my fb:

Noor Rafiza A Rahman appreciates trip to Cameron Highland arranged by Mohd Rahimi joined by Noor Rahila and sporting makciks Zaida Hussin and Zaiton Hussin. Little accomplishments:

1. Fulfilled mum's wish to revisit CH. The last trip was 38 years ago, in 1976!
2. Celebrated Lutfi's 3rd birthday
3. Enjoying rain and cold @ CH with satifying homemade steamboat
4. 1st attempt at monopod. Haha!

Mum's wish

My mum said she could not enjoy the first visit because she was in her 1st trimester pregnancy with morning sickness and all carrying my brother, Apis. It was a day trip on a bus with uncomfortable seats (if you could imagine old buses during the 70s). She mentioned she wanted to revisit CH a few years back but I just came back from CH in 2009 with my in laws thus the delay in fulfilling her wish. My mum loves fresh produce so I know she certainly would enjoy a visit to Cameron Highland.

Love you, mum!

Kasyif picking strawberries

Rumah Peranginan Persekutuan: Cameron Highland

I got to know my aunt, Zaida who is a senior officer could reserve a bungalow (restricted only to officers with higher grades) under Rumah Peranginan Persekutuan (a collection of subsidized vacation properties for government staff). Once I know the accommodation is spacious,  I insisted my brother (who is a government officer with lower rank) to place a reservation under my auntie's name. The plus points of this accommodation are:

1. generous space with 3 big rooms suitable for our big family, the living room has large glass sliding doors thus provide a view
2. a kitchen that enable us to prepare meals although only the microwave works. Not sure about the stove because none of us are smokers so no matches/lighter to ignite the stove. Basic cooking utensil with plates/bowls and all.
3. just next door is 'Healthy Strawberry Farm', listed as one of the good options to do strawberry picking
4. very near to Brinchang, where the fun is

Homemade steamboat
Having a homemade steamboat was just perfect. My helper made delicious dumplings from fresh fish+ prawn paste, seasoned and wrapped in wantan skins. Coupled with abundant fresh veggies easily available (and cheaper) there, we managed to survive the Saturday without rice during meals!


Healthier theme
I suggested to named this trip as 'Healthy trip: Reduce carbo, reduce cholesterol'. The idea was to prepare meals with healthier options e.g more veggies intake, substitute white rice with brown rice, use olive oil instead of normal cooking oil, green tea instead of normal tea and no deep frying. It was successful on the 1st day but quickly abandoned the next day.

My other aunt, Zaiton who is creative at cooking, as if waving her 'magic wand' (i.e frying spatula & wok) cooked up some dishes using fresh veggies bought there. Thus a few dishes were never cooked before and made special for the Cameron Highland trip. I said special as she said she could not remember what she put in her cooking because she just used whatever were available, yet the dishes were yummy!

Lutfi's 3rd birthday
It was Lutfi's birthday on the 20th Sept Saturday, the day we traveled to Cameron Highland. It was Iridna's idea to buy lots of balloons when I asked her what is simple to do that could wow Lutfi. My brother bought a chocolate cake and that was it really. However, the excitement at Lutfi's face when he received a big fire engine from his grandma as birthday present was something to remember.

Lutfi & Aisy is 20 days apart, Aisy came out first....

Weather and visits
We spent equal time in and out because of the occasional rain during the day and night. It was really cold! Had to wear a cardigan and socks all the time and stayed indoor when it rained. Managed to visit Mardi Agro Park and had English scones at KHM on sunny then turn cloudy Sunday morning. Then headed back just in time before it rained after 1.00pm.

Now with monopod, we shall have more family photos!

Would you like to join me for a cup of tea? (with English accent)

All in all, we had so much fun despite the weather. I enjoyed the trip although i didn't get to do some shopping, which you can tell from this lengthy entry.

Pick up copy of the S&P

A few days after signing the loan agreement in Puchong, Andaman called to inform the copy of S&P is ready to be picked up at their office on Saturday. That was rather quick. I notice the advantage of buying new property is you'll be alerted by the developer and lawyer for the next course of action.

Simple. Just sign. Ask if you don't understand

Keep your copies and remember where you keep it
Apart from the S&P, there's another letter stating my entitlement to free maintenance fee for 36 months. I need to keep that as well and inform maintenance office about the privilege

Signing the loan agreement

I was on half day leave to pick up Irdina from UPSR exam. I went to Puchong frist at 2.00 to sign the loan agreement.

There are 2 types of documents I need to sign:

1. Deed of covenant
2. Loan Agreement

Tip from the lawyer
If you have cash, use it to reduce your loan. Make sure call your bank to inform you're depositing money into the loan account and ask to revise the interest rate.

Bali Diet_Mid Week 5 Report #6

Trying to remember what is my target....

To lose 1kg per week from 18 Aug to 18 October (8 weeks)
That's 8kg loss in total
Meaning my target weight is 69.4kg - 8kg = 61.4kg

Current weight @ 4.15am today = 68kg
Current weight loss = 69.4 - 66.8 = 2.6kg

I'm already into Week 4 thus I should have lost 4kg so I'm 1.4kg behind.
If I'm only 1.4kg behind, I would weigh 62.8kg by end of Week 8.

I have to resist temptation
I have to start walking on weekend
I have to take lots of fruits
I have to lower carbo intake

Bali Diet Progress Week 4 Report #6

Start/end date: 8 - 15 Sept
Weight: 67.9kg - 67.6kg = 0.3kg loss

What happened during Week 4? The whole week was crazy! It was a 'touch and go' week for me as I literally dashed out of the office to pick up Irdina after UPSR exam on 9-11 Sept. I also had my period so higher tendency to eat more. More update here

Bali Diet Progress Week 3 Report #5

This is Week 3 report. I can't even remember how I was doing. I was so caught up at work and providing Irdina moral support to face the UPSR exam. No, that would be Week 4 update...

What did I do in Week 3? Nothing much I think because I had to cover my colleague's work who's currently on maternity leave. Went to mass solat hajat at SK Jalan 4 on Thursday 4th. Went to yoga once on Tuesday. Attended Kak Illa's invitation for high tea. Food intake wise, nothing exciting to report about. Still unable to resist temptation, had late lunch sometimes thinking I would lose some weight if eating out of the normal pattern (which didn't work)... that was it really.

Start/end date: 1-8 Sept
Weight = 67.3kg - 67.9kg = 0.6kg gain !!!!

Darn!!!!

Post UPSR celebration

Although UPSR 2014 is not officially end yet, we decided to proceed with what had been planned post exam....

Tuesday
Went to fetch Irdina so I was out of the office at 12.30pm. I think I only had nasi putih and eggs at home around 1.30pm after I picked her up. Good!

Wednesday
 Met a friend on Wednesday at Putrajaya and had chicken burger with charcoal bun for late lunch at 2.00pm. Not sure how much was the calorie

Thursday
Went to sign my housing loan agreement at the lawyer's office. I went out at 1.00 so I only had green apple and pear that I brought and ate in the car on my way to Puchong. Good!
Fetched Irdina at 4.30pm and went to Azura's restaurant to have a little 'celebration' although UPSR has not officially end yet. I ordered 'kuey tiaw goreng'. Bad!

Friday
Half day meeting at the office. Nasi lemak provided as refreshment but saved it for lunch. Good!
Didn't had the nasi lemak for lunch but nasi kerabu instead. Marketing & Sales Unit had a little treat for leavers and we were invited. Shyly took small portions of everything and I really mean everything because my stomach was already rumbling, hungry! So my nasi kerabu was lower in calorie compared to 'nasi ayam penyet', the usual treat at Pasar Tani on Friday. Good!

Saturday

Irdina_Where next?

Applied for Axiata Foundation scholarship on 4 Sept. This is what was filled in for the extra curricular activities section:

1. Public speaking - AMPAC pidato
2. Creative writing -  Essay competition - Maulidur Rasul 2013
3. Entrepreneurial skill - Sale of beverage and recycled magazine - Little Caliph Sports Day 2013

Irdina & UPSR 2014

On the 1st day of UPSR, I sent her to school as normal. Extra advice than usual because UPSR is an important exam to mark your hardship in primary school years.

Irdina looked calm like she has always been. I was not sure whether she knew how important UPSR is that some parents willing to sit next to exam hall to provide support for their children.

Milestone
UPSR to me is like a milestone to remind me my daughter has grown to become a young lady. Once I dropped her at the gate, I could not stop my tears.

All the joy of having her since she was born came back refreshed in my mind:
How her presence was much awaited being the 1st,
Good memories of my pregnancy,
Experience of bringing her up as a toddler
All in the UK which was full of fun although it was only for 3 years

I felt so grateful...... to be blessed with such an obedient child and also very observant. Does not talk much but always smile like her father. Irdina is much like her father.

And now I have to prepare myself to be a responsible parent to her so she will grow to her full potential and ready to face the real world. A very heavy responsibility to me which I am very afraid I may not be able carry out properly. I have to grow up to help my daughter to grow.

The thoughts caused the tears which I was trying to hold, came pouring down my cheeks.

My driving to work that day was a moment I have to remember to remind myself of my responsibility.....

Good luck Irdina. I love you so much.......

Shirataki noodles

This is a must have if you want to as if eating real food minus the calories. My husband order cartons of these when he was on his quest to lose weight last year.

I'm not a fussy eater so I don't need to force myself to like it. To me it's just another type of noodles and the best part, it's low in carb!

You can find more about the noodles here but for now, see how I prepare and cook the noodles....

The packaging. The noodles is preserved in a liquid.

Other ingredients: tuna, soy sauce, oyster sause, mushroom, charred pepper

Cut veggies into cubes except enoki mushroom.

Soak in water before cooking to get rid of the fishy smell. Rinse well

The best way to cook shirataki noodles is by using Asian noodle recipes. Staple ingredients are soy sauce, oyster sauce, chillies, garlic and red onions. then use your imagination!

I added spring onions, a common ingredient in chinese cooking.

To me that looks yummy! I can take that and knowing it is low in carb, I can have seconds without feeling guilty!

Charred Pepper

I would like to share a technique to spruce up the ordinary bell pepper/ capsicum. The pepper will taste completely different compared to when you prepare them as usual.

Pepper taste better when you char it. Just leave it on the stove until the pepper turn completely black on the outside. Remove from stove and peel off the charred skin.

To me, this looks yummy!

I peel it in bowl of water to easily clean it

Ready to be used

Then use it in anything, best in pasta. It tastes sweeter. You do feel like a  kitchen goddess when you do this! So go on and try it!

Daging masak padprik

Been wanting to cook padprik. This is not my first time, I think I've tried it before but it was a longgggg time ago.


Edible but not like how I want it to taste like. Lack of sourness and the zingy taste from the 'daun limau purut'. I didn't add any water because I didn't want to dilute the red sauce sticking to the beef. So I think the leaves need to be immersed in water to let the zingy taste comes out. I shall take note and improve next time.

I did this without referring to any recipes prior cooking.

Bali Diet Mid week 3 Report #4

In Week 3, I have started to do yoga during lunch twice. The weight seems to drop a bit but I still have not been strong to resist temptation and dinner. Week 3 progress report is tomorrow and today, Sunday my weight is 67.8kg. Not doing too well, am I... I will stop writing to go for a morning walk. Right now is 6.28 am.

Bye!

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Hi! I'm back. I did move my butt and start walking!

Took around 16 mins. Shall target about 20 mins next time. Well done Rafiza!

Bali Diet Progress Week 2 Report #3

This is Week 2 report. Still within 78-79 kg. On 25 Aug (start of Week 2), weight was 67.9kg.

For Week 2, expecting to lose at the same rate as Week 1 (1.5kg) but I didn't do anything different from Week 1. Achievement for Week 2:

Start/end date: 25 Aug -  1 Sept 2014
Weight = 67.9kg - 67.3kg = 0.6 kg loss

Call from the loan lawyer

Received a call from the loan agreement lawyer stating my agreement is ready for signing. I did asked about the reduction in the legal fees amount saying that my loan agent said it can be reduced. He said he would need to look back at my loan which he left the details in his car thus we have to discuss about it when I come to the office. I plan to go and sign next week.

I did browse and this is my understanding how to estimate the legal fee:

1. 1% of loan value for legal fee
2. 0.05% of loan value for stamp duty
3. 1,000 for disbursement fee

Not sure what is disbursement fee. My friend who paid the legal fees by cash paid about 4k but not sure what was her detailed bill.. Mine is 6k.

BLR has gone up from 6.6% to 6.8%

Jasmin's development Friday 5 Sept

She was very good on Friday! The usual independent Jasmin! Alhamdulillah!
She walked by herself to the bathroom. She did everything by herself, the usual her when she is OK.
I asked my husband (Whatsapp) what did he say to her. Still haven't got the answer till now.

However, came home late evening and my helper informed me Jasmin was throwing things just because she was hungry. She didn't answered when asked, she just started to throw a tantrum.

She has been refusing school for 7 days with 2 days she was forced to go although she was late, Another 5 days she was absent for genuine medical reason. Total 12 days in August.

Develop her cognitive behaviour

I am thinking to send Jasmin to a course where it will teach techniques to activate mid brain which connects left & right brain. Why? Because I've done some readings about school refusal and Jasmin's symptoms shows more towards 'social anxiety'. She complains about not having friends, she's quiet in class, she has been behaving this way since the long Raya break end of July (exhibits school refusal   when has not been in school for a long time) and she just doesn't want to speak up when I ask.

I'm supposed to provide emotional support for her but at the same time allow Jasmin to develop positive cognitive behaviour on her own, I'm making assumption that by attending this course, Jasmin will start to use her right brain which functions for EQ (Emotional Intelligence). I'm using the word cognitive behaviour loosely so I shall read more on the topic cognition.

The course was suggested by my colleague who has sent her 6 year old to a 1 1/2 course. She said her daughter has shown tremendous improvement in Maths and speech. She has started to ask a lot and express her feelings.

For the sake of my love for Jasmin, I shall give it a go....

What's wrong with me?

Suddenly I'm not excited anymore about Bali. Jasmin refused to go to school (for many times) today.

I walked away from her because I felt like screaming again. I just didn't know what to do.... She still went to school at 8am sent by her father.

Bali is supposed to be a reward for the whole family.

I know it's my fault. As a parent, whatever came out from your kids are due to parent's doing. We are supposed to teach them so they can grow up to face the world. What have I taught my children about life?.....

Surveying for Bali paintings

I thought it would be a good idea for me to buy some oil paintings in Bali. So have been googling to estimate how much should I spare to buy paintings when I am in Bali.....

These are some pictures taken from other bloggers:

Absract painting. From IDR500k down to IDR250k. Blogger here

IDR200k

IDR1.0m. Blogger same as abstract painting above

3 small paintings for IDR50k 

Location to look out for:

• Not Ubud Market but street Jln Raya Gentong from Ubud to Bangli Kintamani
• Maybe Sukawati Market.

Me & cooking

This is how I describe myself about me cooking:

Likes to watch cooking channels for inspiration although only a few recipes have been tried and tested. Eager to cook after watching but got lazy afterwards. I admit I have not cooked for my family consistently often, something that I am not proud of. Sometimes she feels adventurous to try something new but afraid people not gonna eat what she has cooked. 

Prefers to prepare healthy meals but will not turn her head away (or mouth rather) from greasy oily fried food such as fritters, fried chicken or 'keropok'. Wants to be good at baking but cleaning afterwards sometimes puts her off.

Often cook western meals e.g roast chicken ++, pasta, pizza. Always look for the simplest way and simplest ingredients.

Happy when Jasmin mentioned she liked my mushroom bake. She said she likes me to do TV inspired recipes and ask me to do more... Hokay, that's really a tough challenge to take up! Haha!

Simple dishes

In the mood to cook which something I have not done for agesssssssssssssssssssss!.....

I admit I have not cooked for my family consistently often, something that I am not proud of. I thought of 'healthy' theme thus cooking should not involve frying. So no sweet sour fish, sambal or 'goreng tepung'.... Something soupy or alternative cooking method such as steam, bake or grill.

Fish and veggie I bought for today's lunch:

Purple spinach & eggplant

White pompret. Love this fish!

Siakap, species of seabass. Love this too

And how they turned out:

Simple common veggie dish

Soup of white pompret 

Eggplant, grilled with my new 'periuk ajaib'...

Siakap grill and air asam as the sparing partner.

Although dishes prepared were not highly sophisticated, I was very satisfied to spend that much time to feed my family.