Saturday Morning @ Tesco

Posted on 9 May 2009 by Mimi

I hate crowds. Especially crowds in shopping centres. I hate the mad rush for a shopping trolley. I hate having to elbow my way through the fruits and vegetables section, then queue for what seems like forever to get my selection weighed and tagged. I hate having to pick through scrawny shrimps, left over by people who’ve already picked out the juiciest and freshest.

That’s why I find it such a boon to have Tesco Hypermarkets open their doors as early as 8 a.m. everyday. By 9 a.m., I’m done with my grocery-shopping and can spare a few minutes for the twins to savour their ice cream as they check out the empty pay-per-entry play area (empty because it only opens at 10.30 a.m.).

twins @ Tesco

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Categories: Rojak | Tags: | 2 Comments

An Omani Wedding

Posted on 7 May 2009 by Mimi

wedding cakeI was in Muscat, Oman last week to attend the wedding of the daughter of a very close family friend and business associate. Our families have known each other a long way back. As in, I’ve known the bride since before it became obligatory for her to cover her hair, i.e. long before she reached the age of puberty.

For starters, let me give a short background on Omani customs when it comes to weddings. The wedding ceremony, which they call the melkah, is done in the presence of the bride’s and groom’s respective families and very close family members only. After the melkah, the bride still continues to live in her parents’ house. Whenever the groom visits, the bride no longer has to cover herself like she does in public. However, all the visits remain chaperoned. And they only live together as husband and wife after the marriage is officially ‘announced’ at the wedding party. The time period between the melkah and the wedding party can be anywhere between several months to a couple of years or so.

As for the party, ahh..now this is where it gets very interesting indeed.

First off, the wedding is for females only. All the staff on hand (photographer, videographer, waitresses) are all female, as well. And not everybody allows to have their photos taken.

On the night of the wedding party, starting at around 8 pm, you’ll see all those women clad in black from head to toe being dropped off by their chauffeurs/brothers/husbands/etc at the venue of the party. In this case, it was the Grand Ballroom of the ultra-posh Al Bustan Palace Hotel. However, the moment those women enter the doors of the ballroom, the black outer garments are shed off — just like a butterfly emerges from its chrysalis — revealing opulent evening gowns, elaborate hairstyles, and jewelry worth a king’s ransom. By evening gowns, I mean evening gowns worthy of a red carpet event, such as the Academy Awards, of every style and colour imaginable. I felt like I was a spectator in an impromptu fashion show…or the evening gown portion of a beauty pageant…which was also, at the back of my mind, an amusing gallery of fashion hits and misses.  As for the hairstyles, I mean upswept hairdos, hair cascading down bare backs or shoulders, hair shimmering with Swarovski crystals, hair adorned with jeweled combs (which I bet feature real gems!).

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Categories: Rojak | 31 Comments

Before I Was A Mom

Posted on 5 May 2009 by Mimi

mother & child

 I found this beautiful poem from A Mom’s Diary, the blog of another Malaysian working mom:-

Before I was a Mom
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn’t worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn’t want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn’t stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom
I didn’t know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn’t know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn’t know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn’t know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom

I got all teary-eyed and felt inspired to write a few lines myself (just a few, as the poem already covered most of it!):-

Before I was a Mom

I never thought so much pleasure can be derived from merely watching your child sleep and dream, and that so much joy can be had just by merely holding those chubby little hands.

Before I was a Mom
I had no idea that the most beautiful scent in the world is that of a newborn baby.

Before I was a Mom
I never knew I could love with a love so deep, so hard, so intense.
And that I could love each child so differently yet just as strongly.

Before I was a Mom
I never knew I could be so strong and yet be so vulnerable.

Before I was a Mom
I never realised how dangerous this world can be.

Before I was a Mom
I thought heartbreak only comes from unrequited love.
I never realised it’s more heart-breaking when you have to be hard on your children because you want them to do the right thing.

I love being a mom and, even though it’s not easy being a mother, I just can’t imagine life without my children.

This is my entry for ‘Around The World In 80 Clicks’, a meme where moms from all over the world are encouraged to answer a simple question: “Don’t you just love being a mom?”. Thanks for tagging me, Jessie. Now I pass on the tag to Sheng.

Categories: Parenting, Thoughts | Tags: | 8 Comments

Savouring Stroopwafels

Posted on 4 May 2009 by Mimi

In a past post, I’ve written about how much I’ve been longing for stroopwafels.

At long last, I now get to savour them one lovely piece at a time, after having successfully purchased a small tin of stroopwafels from KLM’s inflight sales during one of my trips to Jakarta recently. The KUL-CGK flight on KLM only takes 1 hour and 40 minutes, thus, they rarely get the chance to do any inflight sales after the meal service. Plus, stroopwafels seem to be almost always out of stock either because of their popularity or because of the fact that it’s one of the more affordable duty-free items on board — €5 for a small tin (about 8 pcs inside, if I remember correctly).

stroopwafels

I like to eat my stroopwafels the Dutch way, that is, by first putting it on top of a mug of steaming coffee or tea. The steam softens the ooey gooey caramel inside, making every bite such a delight.

Just one word of caution though — don’t leave your stroopwafel far too long on top of your mug because it can soften too much and end up slipping into your coffee or tea!

Categories: Travel | Tags: | 7 Comments

KL Marathon 2009 Route Tour

Posted on 30 April 2009 by Mimi

Greetings from the Sultanate of Oman!

I’m lucky enough to have some time to catch up on my emails right now and even make a quick blog post.

As I opened Google Reader a few minutes ago, I was exhilarated to see Running Mom’s latest blog post which features a link to a YouTube video of the KL Marathon 2009 route.

The video is an excellent way of having a quick tour of KL. And it’s a major eye opener to non-runners, as well. Watch the video and imagine running that distance in — or preferably, under — 4 hours. All 42.195 kilometers of it! 

Click on the image below to watch the video:- 

KL Marathon 2009

Just this morning, I felt so proud of myself for having run 4.2 km on the treadmill. After watching the video, I suddenly feel so puny!

Click here to see the route for the full marathon, half marathon, 10 km run, and the 5 km run (which I’ll be participating in).

Categories: Malaysia | Tags: | 4 Comments