Spend to get Barry Smith Trolley Bag!

Last month, there was a campaign specially for Maybank staff - those who spent RM5000 and above between certain date can claim a Barry Smith trolley bag. Only 100 bags available on first come, first serve basis! Yours truly so lembab :P Kebetulan we wanted to book flight tickets for my parents in law... so of course we spent more than 5K! But by the time I want to claim the bag... bila call to ask if the bags are still available, minah tu jawab "Sorry Puan.. baru semalam last trolley bag was claimed!" Sheesh!!! :(( Kecewa!!!!  -_-

This month the campaign is back!! Campaign date - 26/06 - 26/07.

Darn! I bought the flute for Izzaty on 15th June!!! Kalau tidak, sure capai dah target 5K!!! :P Duh... Kecewa lagi -_-

I really want the bag!! I want the pink karerrr one!!! :P Nak berbelanja up to RM5K memang no problem... nak bayo balik tu yang susah tu... huhu!

Kansas City roomies reunion :)

I went to Selayang yesterday to meet Ain, my ex ITM-mate and also my ex UMKC-mate! :)) Ain is now working with Abbot Laboratory based in Chicago, USA. She is currently in Malaysia with her beautiful daughters - Sarah and Nana. Her hubby, Isham (also known as 'Amoi' to close friends and happened to be my ITM-mate as well but later further study in Iowa States University, Ames) was with them but had to go back to their home in Chicago earlier last week.

Bukan senang nak jumpa Ain nih! Last we met was back in 2009 (read here). Sury & Mieda, another UMKC-mates were there too :)) Memang sengaja pakat to meet up on that day :)) We were house-mates when we were studying in UMKC you see :) So kira mini reunion la ni... :) Sukerrrrr sangat dapat jumpa diorang!!! :))

The happy times in KC during early 90s:)

The housemates - from left : Sikin, yours truly, Sury, Ain and Mieda during 'Malaysia Day' at University of Missouri - Kansas City :)

Having a ball during winter 1993 - Ain, yours truly and Sikin :)

 Infront of our house in Grand Avenue, KCMO :) We rented the ground floor level jer... our landlord stayed on the top floor and another tenant stayed at basement. The house got different entrances for each level... so okay laa.. :)

 Now, back in Malaysia in millennium year...

'Us' now :)) From left - yours truly, Mieda, Sury and Ain :) Too bad Sikin can't make it :(

 

Me, Mieda and Mieda's hubby, Mr Lat. Mr Lat happened to be my ex-schoolmate when I was at SK Batu Kikir... what a small wordl!! :) 

 So happy to be together again! I can't remember when was the last time we gathered like this! :)

When I knew Ain is coming back to Malaysia, I emailed her to order 'some' items :)) Alaaa... kalau dah dari US tu... sure lah nak order Coach products kan? :))

These are for me!! :)

Alaaa... cheap, cheap ones only.... bukan la LV... huhu! :P

It was really nice meeting the girls again after all these years! We have gone through good and bad time together during our stays in Kansas City. Seronok bercerita kisah2 lama bila berjumpa again... haha! :D Ain is going back to Johor Bharu today to visit her family and later going back to Chicago from Singapore next week. Have a safe journey my dear friend! We'll definitely be missing you again.... huhu! Till we meet again.... *bila la agaknya... huhu!*

P/S : I really, really miss those happy times in KC.... terrringiiiiinnn sangat nak visit KC again! Agak2 tercapai tak hajat ni?? Hmm..... 

Report Card Day - urgh!

I went for Izzat's report card day at SKBB  yesterday. Urghh, frankly, I dread going for report card day! :P Sure ada benda2 yang sakit telinga nak dengo... huhu!

Anyway, I was quite early but there were already a few parents waiting for their turn. Got the chance to chat with Ilyas and Nazim's mom while waiting. Ilyas is the same batch with Izzaty and now studying in KYS and really enjoying his stay there... wah... good for him!! :) Whilst his brother Nazim is Izzat's classmate yang sama nakal and sama lasak! :D

Izzat's result is NOT getting any better nowadays :( I only got myself to be blamed :( Been so busy lately that I don't have much time to sit down and see his work :( He only got 2 As - Maths and BM penulisan (surprise! surprise! the most unexpected result!). The rest are all Bs... all 75 and above. I am a bit disappointed with his Science result which he usually got A :( Pemahaman improved a lot - 78 compared to 72 in the previous test! Well done boy! :) Sikiiiiiit jer lagi to get an A Izzat!! English is the worst result  - 75 - I seriously gotto do something about it! :P

What did I learned from his class teacher today?

• Izzat is not giving full attention to his class - never focus in all the subjects! 
• Playful as always! 
• Tak boley duduk diam... esp when he was sitting with Zahirul! So the teacher separated them. But still they will find each other whenever possible... haha!

Hmmm... all those are nothing new lah :P I know my Izzat... huhu! The thing is... I also know that my Izzat can do better if he puts more effort!! It stressed me out to find the best way on how to make him focus more :(

Any suggestions friends??

A 'delicious' Father's Day celebration

Since both kids were home last weekend... and since it was Father's Day weekend, I decided to treat the father of my kids for lunch at Delicious One Utama on the Father's Day :))

♥ ♥ ♥

Kalau pergi delicious, we never miss trying their  delicious desserts!!! 

Insanely delicious Pavlova (above) and brownies + vanila ice-cream (my fave!!)

For her with LOTSALOVE ♥

Remember I wrote about Izzaty's 1st flute here? Ever since Izzaty joined the Tunku Kurshiah Wind Orchestra, she realised that her flute is not 'good' anymore. I guess I understood her feeling. The flute is just a cheap one. Sudah meragam pun a few times! Had sent it to Yamaha Service Center for repair just one month after we bought it! :P I was told by Dima, her ex flute teacher, the flute is a bit 'difficult' to handle. Susah sket nak dibunyikan. But alhamdulillah, she survived with the flute all these years! Performed a few times with the flute during her primary school and once during English Drama in TKC :) But lately, ever since she starts practicing with the wind orchestra team, she asked me if I can buy her a better flute. I guess, since Izzaty wants to do her best... she needs a better flute... yes, I do understand that.

I thought to myself, kalau betul nak beli.... might as well beli now! So that she can use it fully the whole 5 years she is in TKC. So I messaged Dima for advice. She recommended Yamaha flute YFL-311 or YFL-411. Tak reti la nak cerita banyak pasal flute ni kan... so I just follow Dima's advice and opt for the cheaper between those 2. Dima was even kind enough to accompany us to test the new flute at Yamaha Mid Valley :))

Wahh.... bersinar2 muka Izzaty dapat flute baru! This is the picture she uploaded in her FB :))

On top of that... I also bought her a new pair of school shoes!

I decided to buy a leather shoes this time cause I have bought her 3 pairs of Bata shoes this year.... all koyak!! Aiyooo... baru 6 bulan you all!!! :P Let's see how long this leather shoes last pulak... :P 

There goes my budget for an LV handbag for myself! :P Not that I need it anyway... huhu! -_-

PBS - for better or worst?

The new education system known as 'Pentaksiran Berdasarkan Sekolah" (PBS) was still vague to me until I attended Hari Akedemi 2012 at TKC last Friday.

There was a brief talk for parents of 1st formers of TKC on PBS. Since dear hubby cannot take leaves, mama has no choice but to volenteer herself to go... huhu! Someone has to know about this PBS thingy laa...

The talk was done by Encik Salleh Ibrahim, guru cemerlang matapelajaran Sejarah TKC. Quite interesting, I must say! The implementation of PBS system is to 'penambahabaikan' (first time dengar word nih?!) UPSR and PMR exams. It was implemented last year for standard 1 students (now they are in standard 2) and first time implemented at secondary school in 2012 for this year first formers.

 

 

I think En Salleh did a good job explaining to us on PBS. Well done Sir! :)

More slights on PBS which managed to give me some ideas on the new system

 

There is no marks in PBS. So that the kids are not so exam oriented (which I think is good!)... instead they are labeled into 6 categories depending on their ability. After end of each chapter, students would be tested and evaluated on how in-depth his/her understanding of the topic. Band 1 is just to test their basic knowledge of the topic and followed by band 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (see below slight). At each band there would be a test/assignment/ect for teachers to evaluate the students and those tests/assignment will be kept as evidence when MOE officer came for verification. Each student will start at Band 1... and will be marked as 'menguasai' for that band.... kalau tak lepas at any band, kena repeat, buat correction ect until he or she got the idea and 'menguasai' the topic.... then only he or she can proceed to the next level. Kalau tak lepas jugak, then he or she will stop and labeled at the previous band. (eg: if she fail in band 3, she will be labeled at band 2).

Personally, I think PBS is good as it is not too exam oriented! Instead, students are encouraged to be active in both curriculum and extra curriculum activities. Students potential would be discovered and hopefully would be polished to his/her best advantage. Dan harapan kami dapat melahirkan pelajar yang hebat2 dari segi akedemik, ko-kurikulum, sahsiah, rohani dan jasmani!

Tapi ada gak yang tak syok nya PBS ni. So many 'unclear' thing in PBS. For example, now that there is no more exact marks in the exam, no PMR, how do they evaluate students to enter SBP during form 4? (FYI, PBS is only until form 3. There is no changes in form 4 and form 5 education system. SPM is still ON! ) We were told that semuanya masih dalam tahap 'percubaan'. Aiyooo.... I really hope they are not risking our kids future!! Suspen juge la macam ni kan.... huhu! :(

Later, I got the chance to meet Izzaty's science, arab, geography, sejarah and maths teachers. Most of the comments are positive comments, alhamdulillah :) Tapi ada jugak la comments yang kurang manis didengar...  haha! But I guess it wasn't so bad... :)) I am proud of you girl :) But I am sure you can do better, right? ;)

Left Bukit Merbah at plus-minus 2pm! Brought Izzaty along with me as the Kurshians are scheduled for OB (outing bermalam) until next Monday.... yeay!! Rushed to KL as we had an appointment with Dima (Izzaty's flute teacher) at Mid Valley! Ada la project kami... hehe! Will update about it later....

 Happy to be home!! And paling happy sebab ada project baru @ Mid Valley!! :)) Wait for next post for update ya! :))

The un-plan trip to Kuantan

We did not plan to go anywhere far this school holiday. Then hubby told me that he had to go outstation to Pekan, Pahang for 2 days and he asked if yours truly and the kids would like to tag along. Owhh.... sudah tentu the kids melonjak nak!! And yours truly dengan segera meng-apply leave - let's just forget about all the unsettled business at the office... muahahha! :D *sorry boss! :P*

We went there on Sunday 2nd June morning. Alhamdulillah, traffic was very smooth :)) The journey was about 3 hours drive from Lucky Hill via Batang Kali - Genting route.

Kids got bored during the 3 hours journey and acting crazy in the car! :P This is Izzaty's first trip to Kuantan and Izzat's 2nd! :)

Once we reached Kuantan.... terus cari makan!! Most of the gerai2 makan here either closed or not open yet :( Then we saw this gerai ni yg sangat ramai manusia!!

Kedai Pak Su & Mak Su! :)

Izzat chose to eat this - looks like goreng pisang but it's actually a sotong goreng! Sedap!! Crunchy and yummeh! :))

Izzaty opt for udang goreng 

Hubby and myself ate laksam :)

Having ABC in  Kuantan's hot weather is heaven!! :)

We basically did nothing special in Kuantan. Did not even go to Gambang Water Park... huhu! This time around, we stayed in MS Garden Hotel which is located right beside Berjaya Megamall. So, when hubby went to work, senang la me and the kids meng-entertain ourselves :)) And the kids love the hotel's pool!! :))

The pool - view from our room 

What's so special about this trip is I gotto spent 1/2 day with my good old friend, Lily Toed :)) 

Me and Lily - been a long time since we last met! Lily has not been well - was hospitalised for months for a complicated disease which I do not know how to describe... But alhamdulillah, she is doing better now :)) Really miss you babe! And I sure had fun melepak with you and Ayla :))

Lily's daughter, Ayla really had fun with Kak Izzaty :))

A trip to Tg Lumpur for dinner is a must! :)) This time around, we ate at Tinie Ikan Bakar Special... yummy!! (oh my cholesterol!!)

 Our menu... 

After dinner! :))

Before going back to KL on Tuesday, Izzat requested to eat at Mc Donald Teluk Chempedak again.... layannn.... :))

Vacation with family mmg syiok!! :) Yang tak syok nya... kena unpack and doing laundries after the trip... huhu! Thanks god Izzaty is still around to help out... huhu! :)) Thank you sooo much darling ♥ 

Next time (IF there is a 'next time') we go to Kuantan, let's try Zenith Hotel pulak nak? :)) 

A letter from a 'Survivorian'

*gambar 2 years ago :))

Adoiii.... sedey dan terharu baca surat ni.... huhu! Nak gelak pun ada gak :D Anyway, mama and ayah love you too darling!! X tau la berapa lama mode 'insaf' ni.... tapi mama and ayah will always remind you to be a good boy... doa mama dan ayah agar Izzat menjadi anak yang soleh dunia dan akhirat.... ♥