There's always a price to pay

I am a detailed person and a planner. Both are my strongest point. I look into things line by line and I live by check lists. As the matter of fact, I have check lists for everything. I am a strong believer of planning. I love planning. I love coordinating, hence why I love doing events. I love connecting the dots. That s what keeps me going.

However, I am beginning to learn and trying to accept the higher I climb the ladder, the less detailed person I will be, even now I am getting less and less detailed which frankly speaking, I totally hate it. I love that I am detailed and I love that I am hands on in many things. Just that with the current workload on my plate I need to accept, I can't do everything as much as I want to.

Before this I am ok to go for meetings by myself and come back with information to be disseminated to the rest. But now, running from meeting to another I must confess I don't have the luxury to send a recap email like I always do. Even if I did, it will be few days later. And I hate this kind of inefficiency I am portraying.

I know, I am killing myself in setting such high expectations. Something that I need to overcome. I have been working like this for the longest time and doing things by myself is something I am used to. Now, I need to convert to a delegator, which what I have been doing, just in a smaller scale. Now, I need to expand the delegating and let go...

So far, I am making good progress *clap clap*. I begin to bring my team for meetings and they will then take it on and trigger me only something pressing that requires my attention. Don't get me wrong, I trust my team completely, this is just something I need to deal with. It's part of my development.

Deep in my heart, I am afraid I will loose the "being detailed" skill, I don't want to loose the skill in coordinating. Therefore, I know there will still be things I want to be involved in end-to-end. Just that I need to prioritise which projects that allow me to "continue practising" this skill.

It's not easy, but Insyallah it'll be easier...And I have a great team who are also helping to make it easier and grooming me to be a better leader. Alhamdulilah....

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Married Young

I just came back from sending Baby to her tuition class. One of the question Baby always asked me is why am I not old like other people's mom. I know what she meant. During any of her school events, or at PIBG meeting, I often get comments from her friends or teachers or other parents on how young I am. That happens more frequent if I go to Mira's school since Mira is 15 therefore I am expected to be older like other parents who have kids my age.

No, it's not because I awet muda, or even the effect of anti aging cream I am using (which reminds me, esok nak kena beli new bottle since the current one dah nak habis, nanti habis kerepot muka tak pakai cream). It's more because I got married at a young age therefore gave birth while I was young too. 

Yes, I got married at the age of 21 (technically 20 as I got married 6 months before my 21st birthday). It was not an easy decision, not only to me, it was harder for my parents to accept. However, I know my better half is the right one for me so I proceed even to the dismay of my Abah and Mummy. Alhamdulilah, after nearly 16 years of marriage, my better half takes care of me really well. Even my Abah told me, he don't think anyone else can tahan living with me.

I must say, it's not easy. In fact, it was really hard. First few years of our marriage, life was really tough, both financially and emotionally. Dating someone and finally living with them is not the same at all. You begin to see sides you never seen before, which I think are mostly my ugly sides my better half did not know before he lafaz Aku Terima Nikahnya. 

I was only 22 when I delivered Mira, 23 when I have Ilham and by the time I was 25, before I know it, I have 3 kids, delivered Baby 2 years after Ilham. While I see my friends enjoying life, going to concerts, parties and socialising, I was battling with diapers, sleepless nights, working and cleaning our home in between. Knowing we can't afford a maid, made it even tougher. I am blessed with a husband who helps me and making all this manageable. 

I have no experience whatsoever taking care of babies. I remembered when I had to bath Mira for the first time, I freaked out. She was so tiny, I was so afraid I will drop her or even hurt her. What if while I bath her she slips and fell into the basin. And hundreds of other what if ran through my mind.

Nevertheless, I enjoy being a mom very much. It gives me loads of satisfaction knowing both of us raised our kids when they were smaller all by ourselves. I hardly can participate in any social activities. Even if I want to and plan it carefully, if one of my babies fell sick, all plans will change. I must admit, at times I just want to get away and run to somewhere I can be just by myself. What I usually did, take a half or full day off, buy a good book and sit at one quiet corner and read. Cheap and satisfying. Money was really limited back then, so spa, pedicure or manicure or facial was never an option.

Alhamdulilah, everything turn out well so far. Long journey to go but things look really promising. Kids are bigger (and now have different set of problems so never say "anak2 ko dah besar, senanglah", when they were smaller, it's different challenges, when the get bigger, that's another set of challenges) and I am still energetic to handle them and keeping up with their active life. As our age gap is not that huge compared to other parents, many things they do I can understand and now how to relate to them. We listen to similar kind of music (except for Mira who has yet to exit from her kpop phase, I love her so much but no way I can accept her kpopness), we can speak the same language. I am so thankful and blessed for all this.

Berakit-rakit ke hulu,

Berenang-renang ke tepian,

Bersakit-sakit dahulu,

Bersenang-senang kemudian...

May Allah continue to protect and bless us. May this happiness stays till Jannah..Amin...

Nota tapak hati *chewah* ~ About a month before our 16th Anniversary. Moga Allah terus memberkati.

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Oh, I so wanna be Donna!

For those who watch Suits series would know what I am referring to. I actually enjoy watching court drama or investigative kind of series. I think the first court drama I watched was LA Law. I can still recall the series montage where the car boot was close and have LA Law license plate on it. That was so cool back then.

I also love watching Law & Order, CSI (my favourite now is the NY version as Horatio is getting too annoying and CSI Vegas without Grissom just lost the magical touch), Blue Blood (still can't believe Danny Whalberg of NKOTB has no hair!), The Good Wife, NCIS to name a few. Can't watch Criminal Mind though, too explicit for me. Scary!

So when Suits started, I fell in love immediately. Harvey the cocky lawyer, who is so full of himself and yet see talent beyond just a piece of paper called degree (and it has to be from Harvard, mind you), or Mike, A Harvey wannabe however, tried to show he has more integrity than him when he is turning into Harvey by day, or Louis, the guy the whole office love to hate, we have one like that in every office kan. Or for the ladies, wanting to be Jessica, an iron lady who have to keep on proving herself, Rachel who can easily be a top lawyer just by using her dad's name but decided to work her way up. Or your choice is like me, Donna, the awesome and amazing PA for Harvey. Her character is the most interesting one, in my opinion at least. The way she speaks, how she handles stressful situation, how she zasss back those who tried to be funny, is just so different. At times, when I watch her scene and relate it back to the work I do, I would secretly wish, why didn't I respond to some not so pleasant individuals the way Donna did. 

Suits also shows what office politics are all about. Would not want to elaborate on that since I am sure for those who are in working world would know what I am referring to.

I love Suits and can't wait for Season 3 which will start in June/July. As always, the end of Season 2 is another cliff hanger and a steamy cliff hanger indeed. That filing room scene which I am sure it will not be shown in Malaysia.

For those who have yet to see it, watch lah in channel 702, Diva. Can't remember when and what time, sila rujuk laman sesawang Astro.

Yes, I so wanna be Donna.

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

My princess turns 15!!

Today, though my princess celebrates her big day, I am the one who are feeling so old. How can I have a 15 year old girl, how did she get so big! And how did I get so old! Don't worry, this entry is not about me, it's my princess's big day so let this be about her.

Amira, fits the name which means princess and she is indeed our first born princess. When I got to know I was pregnant, the feelings were just to surreal. Nothing can ever described it. And how bless my better half and I felt, and nervous at the same time, not knowing what to expect.

When I delivered Mira, I was 21 years old. While others are still berjimba2, there I was in labour room fighting for my life, nearly 20 hours of labour pain to welcome our bundle of joy. She was just the cutest baby ever (yes, all parents say this to their babies, I got to say this 3 times Alhamdulilah). I can see my better half shivering while he whispered qamat to her small tiny ears. And that was one of the most wonderful moment in our life.

Mira has always been adventurous. She is not afraid to try new things. When she learned how to walk, she practised and practised for hours. She woke up in the middle of the night and kept on practising in the playpen until she gets it right. I was pregnant at that time with Ilham and I can sense that Mira just want to walk before her baby brother comes into this world.

Being a sister at such a young age helped Mira to mature faster. She is very independent. She not only can take care of herself, also of her siblings. However, surprisingly, as she gets older, she is more manja than Ilham and Baby. Perhaps making up the time being the adult in our family way ahead than schedule.

Mira is always so smart, always top of her class, getting straight As and now her smart streak continues byt being in Dean's List for 2 years in a row. I always wonder how she gets so smart, I don't think she gets this from me. Convinced it's from her Papa.

One thing about Mira, she is very stubborn. If she believes in something, she will do what she can to prove her point. Like now how he craze for K-Pop has been going on for nearly 3 years. No matter how others hate this, she ignores all the non believers and still feel this so called music is the best in the world. And being a smart person, she can now speak a bit of Korean just by learning the songs. Speaking and understand Korean mind you! And of course annoying the whole house along the way.

And today Mira is 15, she is a teenager. A very pretty young lady which worries my better half so much. What if she starts to have boyfriends, and when she starts to bring boys home to be introduced to us. Are we ready for that, or better yet, is her Papa ready to accept that his princess is all grown up. And of course, the biggest challenge is to get through Ilham who is obviously more protective towards his sisters than my better half.

Happy birthday my dearest princess sayang Mama, Mira. We all love you to the max and will always be proud of you. Our prayers for you to be successful in whatever you do and strive the best results for your PMR. Also to be anak yang solehah who are able to continue praying for us when we are no longer in this world.

Happy birthday Princess...May Allah continue to protect and bless you always...

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Online Business, to do or not to do

I have this issue. This issue usually happens when I am bored, or upset about something or frustrated when something don't go my way. And this is when I start to create new projects. Personal projects on my own. Usually it does not involved profit making elements, however, I thought of embarking into something different. Coupled with a natural entrepreneurship blood running in my better half's veins, we are experimenting to start our own online business.

After going to UK 3 years in a row, I see lots of business ideas. How branded items sold in UK are very much cheaper than sold here in our country. It's cheaper by at least 30% to 40%. Not everyone is concern about seasons and being up to date with fashion, so our target audience should be those who just want to have a feel on what it's like to own a Prada, Tod's, Gucci among others. Don't get excited yet people, we are still toying with this idea, nothing concrete yet.

Apart from that, baby's stuff are also lower in prices compared to those sold here. Avent bottles, Mothercare products, Fisher Price products are the items I have in my mind. It's like fulfiling my wishlists, buying branded baby's stuff. When our kids were growing up, we can't afford all those and settled with generic brand. So, it's a pleasure to make it affordable for those who can only dream to own one.

Another potential exploration are items from Indo China like Vietnam, Cambodia to name a few. Textiles would be the must have. Bandung used to be textile heaven however, recent years show textiles in Bandung are getting more expensive. It's not as cheap as it was before. So, market moves to Indo China.

No, I am not leaving my job and don't plan to this near future. I love what I do. This idea should it's materialised will be spear headed by my better half and I will play the supporting role. Putting my accounting knowledge into practise as well as learning more on how to market via social media. 

Again, this idea is still very much premature. Still in WIP stage. Lots of research and feasibility study needs to be done before we jump into this. I am excited though to launch this project. 

Doa2kan lah yer kawan2 :)

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Endless battle to loose weight

I must confess, I am one of the most not discipline person I know. I wish I am more organised so that I can keep my life in order. I love structure in the way I do things, but at times, there are a couple hit and miss. Some think I am being too hard with myself but from the bottom of my heart, I totally acknowledge this is one of the things I seriously need to work on.

Let's see some facts in my effort trying to overcome this greatest challenge in my life. It's like a monologue I have with myself :)

#1 Myth vs Fact

Myth ~ Busylah, got no time to exercise. Morning meeting, afternoon meeting, evening meeting. Balik rumah do housework then pengsan

Fact ~ It doesn't take more than 20 minutes of my so called precious time. I spend more time on social media, So, 20 minutes should not be a big issuelah Liza

#2 Myth vs Fact

Myth ~ People around me sabotage my dietlah. Always like to ask me go out for makan, tempt me with food, how to diet like this

Fact ~ It's your mouth that food is entering, your teeth use to chew it, you stomach to digest. So, which part of it that require people to force you to eat. You can just politely say no thanks or still follow but order just sugarless drinks or fruits

#3 Myth vs Fact

Myth ~ I enrol in races so that I can push myself to practise and exercise. Otherwise, I will drop dead lah when I run

Fact ~ Yes, you did enrol but then you did not show up. Cause you claimed you are too busy on weekends, when you know you can manage your time better. Come on Liza, stop giving yourself excuseslah

#4 Myth vs Fact

Myth ~ Malaysia's weather not good lah. At times too hot, at times it rains. And with current safety issue, not safelah to run.

Fact ~ If you remember very well, you bought elliptical machine 2 years ago. Just do a mental count how many times have you use it. It's an achievement if the frequency is more than total fingers you have. 

#5 Myth vs Fact

Myth ~ It's my genes, I can do whatever I want to loose weight but my genes are as such, nothing much can be done

Fact ~ What a total load of crap! You were only 53kg before, and you have proven you can loose 8kg within 4 months if you want to. So, what genes again??

I know, I know. I am full of excuses. I can do this if I want it real bad. If I don't do it, perhaps I don't want it bad enough. New mantra ~ ignore the temptation, exercise consistently!

And Baby told me a good quote from her favourite cartoon series, Boboiboy couple of days ago 

"Batu ini macam alasan kamu. Nah, batu dah dibuang jauh2, alasan dah hilang" *or something like that, she did it better*

Happy Tuesday peeps, let's at least try to lead a healthy life shall we?

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com

Liza Can Cook ~ Ayam Masak Merah

This entry is long overdue request from Gina, who have been asking for the recipe Ayam Masak Merah from me. Sorry dear for the long delay. Honestly, I am not that good with this recipe stuff. Usually when I cook I just campak2 jer. Let me try to give this a shot ya. By the way, of all the food I cook, this is Ilham's favourite. That is why I always cook this.

This ingredients are suitable for family of 5 servings (aka my family :) )

Half chicken, cut into medium sizes

3 shallots grinded 

3 garlics grinded

30 dried chillies, boiled and grinded

quater of small bowl of tamarind juice

2 lemon grass (smashed as the root)

1 big onion, sliced

2 tomatoes, cut into 4

Salt and sugar

Brown sugar

How to cook

1. Add tumeric powder and salt to the chicken. Fry the chicken, half cook

2. Once the chicken is done, tumis the shallots and garlic that has been grinded.

3. Add the chilli paste and continue frying

4. Add tamarind juice, together with salt and sugar. Also add brown sugar. Continue to cook until the mixed look red and shiny

5. Add the haf cooked chicken. Make sure it's fully cooked.

5. Add big onions,tomatoes and lemon grass

Yes, you are done. I can't seem to find Ayam Masak Merah photo, what I have is combination of this dish with other dishes I cooked that time.

So, Gina, hope this is ok. Please do let me know if you need more info from me. I'm not a good cook, just love to cook :)

Signing off,

liza365.blogspot.com