Olive Music Cafe

Once, I posted a pic of me having coffee at Chaiwalla. My friend, Nurul then immediately asked me wether I've tried Olive Music Cafe? Woa... That's my first time hearing it. When I asked her where is this Olive Cafe, she said it's in Nong Chik, I said Whhattt???? No way! How come I've never seen anything except that Big Food, which I'd rather skip always?

      So one beautiful night, I dragged the whole small family of mine there. Seriusly.... That's place is like 3 minutes from Ibu's house. If you peeps know where is the Masjid Kolam Air? then it is on the opposite side of the road. But you can't see it from there. You would need to go to the back rows of the shoplots there. They opens from 5pm till midnight, by the way.

      Anyway, as we went inside, the place is almost packed and it was few minutes after 8. I saw some reservations sign on the tables too. But I can assure you, even that, once you set your foot into it, you'd love the ambience. It's so love at the first sight kinda thing. There was a live band singing beautifully. Since, we were seated right in front of them, they asked us to request for any song we want. Wasn't it lovely?

Here are they singing a Yuna's number. Beautiful3!

        They don't call it Olive Music Cafe for nothing. Apart from enjoying lovely entertainment by the band, the cafe is really using music as its theme. The placemates are of old records and the coasters are of CDs. Cool isn't it?

And oh yes, they take orders using their small palm pads which look like Samsung Tabs. So, be mind that your normal phone line should be interrupted. If you want to Whatsapp or Instagram your pictures of food, you got to get out of the place. Hahahaha. Well, not funny. Skip! 

       Foodwise? Nurul said she enjoyed hers, the last time she went there. As for us, we find the it quite oily to our standars but did tasted nice though, My guess, this is not the kind of place where you have dinner. It is more for relaxing, chit chating and is for coffee and snacks. I did however tried their coffee and it was good. Price is normal for this kind of cafe. 

      Let's check out what we were having.

Mine.

Abang's.

The kids had lasagna but I couldn't snap the picture as it went straight into their mouth. We were starving for dinner when we came. 

I would definitely come again and again and again. Really love the ambience. Well done! Jb should have more of these cafes.

PS! Did I tell you their washroom is also clean? 😊

Angry Birds Activity Park

We had so much fun last Saturday at the newly opened Angry Bird Park Johor Bahru. It is located on level 3 in the newly upgraded KOMTAR building. So come rain or shine. You won't miss the building though even if you are not familiar with Jalan Wong Ah Fook as you can already spot few angry birds outside the building.

         Well,  as the name suggests, it's a park for doing lotsa activities. So, if you intend you to go there, make sure you dress appropriately. No dress, no baju kurung & jubah of sorts, ya.... No.. No... No!

Unless you pay a heap amount just to take pictures there. 

        The entrance fee is RM70 but of course with Mykad and Mykid, you"ll pay less. Fees are the same for children and adults. As for us, we took family package ( for two adults & two children ) plus a single entry ticket for the total of RM278. Oh! Yes, please wear socks as you can't go in without a pair of socks. But of course, they do sell socks at the entrance. Since my fashionista husband wore his Florsheim shoes that day, we have to rent a locker for RM6 for 4 hours. Alternatively, you can rent it for RM10 for a day.

        Well enough said, let's check out the photos. See it for yourself.....

Jumping on the trampoline. 

My overacting husband.

Come on swing Arissa!

In the pool of sponges

Sarra's favourite spot.

Of all the indoor theme parks in Johor Bahru, this is so far the best for us. We are the type who enjoy physical activities. So, if you are like us, then you might enjoy this park as much as we do. Highly recommended. 👍

The SEARCH band & Us

My husband and I are among those who grew up listening to all the rock kapak, particularlly the band SEARCH & especially my hubs as he grew up in Kelantan. You can even call us Search die hard fans. My husband is even die harder fan than me as he is into the Dunia Search, Search fan club. When the band did their 30 years Concert, he followed them everywhere. And.... You guys would say that it's over statemenf if I say that he got invited to every, I mean every private function of the band. Like.... Amy's wife, Norish birthday celebration. Get this, recently Amy da legend followed his Instagram. I mean.... What???

Anyway, it is such a devastating feeling that we could not go for the band's Istana Budaya Concert. 😫 Eventhough we have planned for it months before. What to do, hubs is soooo caught up with work. He's married to work, what....

So, one fine day, after our visit to IJN, we just parked by the road side simply to take a picture with the big poster. It just happened so that they, the assembles were just arrived for the sound check session. After waiting patiently, we finally got the priviledge that turned out to be the envy of many. Hahahahah!

Why don't you guys check out our pictures to see whether you can get jealous, ah ha!

 

This close? 😱

Kid yaw!!!

This is after the session.

My girls.

Well, just to confirm that I, myself is an ardent fan, I share with you these,

This was at Amy's solo concert at Istana Budaya. Such an entertaining show it was.

Can you just see how small sofea was, hahahha. This was in JB, again in the soundcheck session.

I simply like soundcheck session as you can get this close to them. Anyway, all the best for the band. I will keep on supporting you peeps.

Botanical Garden Melaka

I can hear my knees go queekk queeekk.

     What a way to spend the weekend. The girls have been pestering us to take them here since last week. So, we finally made it today.

     We rented the bicycle RM5 each for one and a half hour. Try the bicycle first and pay. The bicycles are mostly in good condition. The park is quite big. It is recommendable.

The Fault In Our Stars

For the longgggg hiatus, I've been ..... errrr

   Reading? I guess so.... Well, it was the month of Ramadhan. I feel guilty if I use all the gadgets to do other things than read the Quran. Then, when Ramadhan was over, I was busy trying to finish reading the books that I bought before but have to lay still on the shelves waiting for me to explore. So one of the books I got to finish reading was this best seller 'The Fault in Our Stars'.

  I don't read fiction much because well, they being fictionous. I fancy real stuff. As real as biography. But eversince I registered my Instagram account, I couldn't resist but to read most popular books shared by the instagramers. And of course, The Fault in Our Stars appears almost everyday in #books  and its hashtag families.

  It took me very quick to finish this book obviously because of the intresting story line. Language used is also light and easy. The characters potrayed, (being fictionous) seemed close. Maybe because I am a teacher and teens are somehow close to me naturally. 

  Prior to reading it, I thought the story is about dying. But it is not. It's about love. So beautiful and yet so simple although it seems quite impossible. But that is what fiction takes on you. It is also about fighting. Hazel Grace and Agustus Walters fought in their own way admiringly. 

 

  It is a sad story but is not melancholic as potrayed in instagram. I guess because it is a story for teens. It is a story about teens. People also said that the ending is a spoilt. I couldn't agree more. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful story. A must read.

P/S : I didn't get the chance to catch the movie though.

Ammagaddd!!! - Johor Premium Outlet again

Long school holiday means going back to my beloved hometown, the home of the southern tigers, no other than Jay Bee yoo! Oh! Sounds so urban. Like duhhh

        

      So each time we are in JB, we will surely pay a visit to the JPO. My husband likes to shop. He loves shopping more than I do. I, on the other hand, just tumpang sekaki. 

      This time around, I went to JPO with mission. I need to buy Clark and Nike. I was so frustrated when I entered Clark as there were only one tier of shoes left for my size. I wear UK6. And those shoes left were not of my kinda taste. 

       Ok, ok..... Next, to Nike. Oh!My! The designs were so not my type but like it or not, I still have to buy one. I practically have no more sport shoes. The one that i've been using for the past three years has finally commited suicide. Ghee! See, I just can't live without a pair of running shoes. So after much thought & consideration, I settled with this;

These are waterproof shoes. Though I don't really like the colour and design (obviously I'm looking for neon pink), this is the best I could get. It stated that the retail price for these shoes is RM419.00 and JPO's price is RM339.00. But, as I was about to pay, I was informed that it has an additional 30% markdown. Well hey, I only paid RM270 for it. So unbelievable right? 

   

But wait for this, my real catch is (drum rolls pleasseee......)

TADAAAA!

I'm sure you could get it much much much cheaper online, from our local homebased sellers, but guess what, I don't have to pay a dime, so I shouldn't care much. Ha! Ha!!!! Thanx so much darling. You know how much I love you (and the bag). I really do. So, this one is RM1238.00. 

I also got a Charles & Keith handbag for my mom. They are also having a sale. 

Now, what else are new in JPO....  Kate Spade is finally opened and is having a 2 weeks opening sale. Swatch is closed, my husband's favourite Florsheim is having a school holiday sale. So irrelevant huh? Kids don't wear Florsheim to school. Furla, Braun Buffel, Coach are as usual having sale. So much more interesting sale at the moment. Go check it yourself. 

I, in the meantime, is satisfied with my catch. 

The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State - a review

My friends and colleagues were like 'why do read this book?'  and I was like 'I'm just boring like that...bla..bla'.
       I took Political Science during my uni day, but so do my other friends, including my husband (we were course mate, uh well, didn't I said I'm just boring like that?). Anyway, of course my course mates don't read this book anymore unless they are pursuing their study and I doubt they choose Political Science. So let's just say that I have this thang on history. And of course, when I read history I don't really take it sooo seriuos like I'm gonna take a test or something. I just read pleasurely and always it really, really broaden my so limited horizon.
      This book is written by Noah Feldman, a Bemis Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. His style of writing thus is very academic. I even felt so tensed reading this book at some point of time as it really got too serious. Apart from the writing style, I felt kinda stressful reading this simply because I just felt that establishing shari'a is somehow my responsibility. All these while you really take it for granted. Let the PAS and BN deal with it kind of attitude. But hey, reading this make you see how glorious it was when Shari'a was above the state. So I guess, those rhetoric politicians and politicians wanabes should at least read this book so that they can adapt it to our Malaysian society. As a Muslim, of course I want it to be implemented but giving the type of environment we are, I pray that it would be implemented wisely. Like what the author argued in this book as the case of Pakistan. Even a proclaimed Islamic State failed to implement it.
       The author argued that the reason for the success of sharia during the later years was because of it was in the hand of the scholars.
     " .... the system of the scholarly control over the law encouraged stability, executive restraint, and legitimacy".
        The Tanzimat movement during the Ottomans played a major part in the decline of Sharia and the scholars as the interpretors of the law in particular. Felman also gave reasons on why the re-establishment of Sharia fail in some Muslim Countries with the example of Iraq, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.
        The book concludes that the implementation of Shari'a is possible provided that is supported by the other institutions of the states, and is not established in vacuum.
       As for me, this book is really an eye opener in so many ways and the writer has done justice in presenting his argument. I highly recommend this book if you think you can take the pressure and be open about it. So well, Happy Reading!

Reflect

My girls and I call this box 'The Reflection Box'.

What do we put in this box? Our notebooks recording our reflections of the day.

Why do we call it as such? Well, first, I have no better name to think of. Secondly, I just want it to sound big to my girls and thirdly, let's just say that I want my girls to know what does reflection means.

In this book, we share on our thoughts and feelings. I was listening to a talk recently on parenting and it strucked to me, how can we expect our children to share with us if we ourselves don't actually share with them. So before this, we just talk. I consider myself to be talking to them a lot but i still feel that it was not enough. I am sure talking but hey, they don't talk much to me. 

So in this book, I also want to see my children learn to be expressive. Previously I gave them a diary each but they felt it was so much of a commitment and soon the discipline of writing it faded away. So this time around, in this book, they will have to write only a sentence at the minumum reflecting to reflect their day.

These are some of their entries;

Arissa's, a more mature writing, 

( She should be, afterall she's 11, mind you....)

The introvert Sarra's

and my 6 yrs old Sofea, 

(Today I not afraid. Today my daddy call me. I love my parents)

The most important thing is to not be judgemental so critism is not allowed. 

The idea to do this came to me when I saw a friend of mine showed me his son's notebook. She is an English language graduate so the book was intended to polish her son writing skill. Of course, to make my girls write better is also one of my intention in having these books but my primary reason is for them to learn to share with us, and among themselves as sisters.

As for my day today, I had a quite tough day at school. I was really under pressure that I yelled and nag at my pupils. I even used physical to one of my pupils which I feel so bad about it. I wish I could write in my book about it all but on the second thought, I don't want my children to see the bad side of me, that it is okay to vent your frustration that way. Moreover, in posting status on Facebook, my husband always remind me to share only sweet and good things.

 So after a much thought, this is what I wrote;

Later on, I really reflect, regret and motivate. 

The Confession - a book I couldn't finish reading

                                

This book is special in its own way. Around this point of time last year, I was battling in surviving with an unknown illness.  I am so thankful to Allah though that I can still breath healthily today.

     Anyway, this book was actually came with a dear friend whom I have not seen for nearly 13 years. A schoolmate who continued to be my roomate during my uni days. After graduation, we only kept in touch via facebook. However, upon knowing my illness, she drove all the way from KL alone just because she was worried sick about me. Of course, there were so many of my friends who suddenly called and texted me, none can compare to her bravery spontanious act.  

    After few minutes of catching up, she then gave me this book. She said she knows that I can simply forget on anything  once I read. Boy, she is correct. She knows me inside out.

    So despite the friendship value that is so deep, I still cannot bring myself to finish reading it. Of course, fictions are not my cup of tea but I can sometimes indulge in it for lighter reading. However, this particular John Grisham's book is so draggy that I loose patience and had to abandon it. The plot is quite dull and so unlike his other books. So, this is one of those books that I can't really put myself reading. 

    Well, since I did not finish it, could anybody share with me how does it end? 

The Kids' Favaourite Simple Meal

Despite my laziness to cook, I still announced to the girls that I made them their favourite food. Their reaction would  make me melt with guilt. Kids are so easy to please and yet we make too many selfish excuses not to cook for them. 

So, today I cook Paprik Campur and I am not lying when I said it's one of the girls' favourite. it's one of the easiest to prepare and I believe it's nutricious too. You can simply put anything you want in it and since it is ketchup and soy sauce based, it is tasty and the kids simply savour it.

Just look at sofea enjoying it. 

Gores Dan Menang To The Extreme

Wednesdays are tennis day for Arissa and Sarra. Since the training is only for one hour, I usually use this one hour as an excuse for my coffee indulgence. My regulars are would either be McCafe or Secret Recipe as they are the nearest to the court. 

      This time around, I choosed Secret Recipe the one which is just opposite Mydin. I usually park at the Mydin parking area as I was summoned once parking by the roadside nearest to the restaurant. That one Wednesday, as Sofea and I were about to cross the road, there were four Chinese men beckoning us and saying something which I somehow knew that they were selling something. I just waved him off. To my surprise, instead of ignoring us, these four men were now walking towards us. Salesman, usually when we wave them off would just stand there and would try to find other potential buyers. But not them. To add to our horror, all four didn't even look like salesmen at all. They looked rather like ah long if not like rapists. So, Sofea and I rushed to our car. They rushed towards us too. I told Sofea to quicken her pace saying that 'orang jahat ikut kita'. As we were about to reach the car, the four men splited. Two went ahead of us. We quickly enter the car and I sentral locked it immediately. I thought it was over. To my horor, one of them knocked on our windscreen. He said that he had coupons and I don't have to buy their stuff immediately. I ignited the car and went away. 

     Later that night, I couldn't sleep thinking of the scary incident. To make it worse, I couldn't confide to Mr Hubby as he was away outstationed. I whats apped my colleagues and then only I knew that they were from the gores dan menang scheme(scratch and win) which happen to be active around Mydin Melaka area. My friend also said that one of her friend had just recently lost RM5000 paying with her credit card because she was so scared being experience similar to what I had. She was however attacked at Melaka Mall. 

     It was so terrifying and the face of my mom and mother in law came into my head there and then. I would warn them of these schemes first thing in the morning and I just hope you would do too after reading this. Last time, these criminals were persuassive but beware! They now use force. 

      Please.... Spread my words around. 

Tuesdays With Morrie

So finally, I finished reading this book. 

I took this book because my friend said it was a good book. I have a friend suffering from ALS, so I thought by reading this book, I could be of much help to her. Or even if it won't, at least I could be better in comforting ayah who has been battling with cancer for 5 years. To my dismay, none comes no any closer to my expectation. 

        This book is about a former student spending his 19 Tuesdays with his former professor. That is all. It could be emotional but it turned out to be purely a narratical report. I was reading The Kite Runner prior to this so when a friend suggested that I pick up this book, I was hoping to have a similar emotional tense as I had inThe Kite Runner. Mitch Albom's One Fine Day is far better than this. 

         It was an struggling effort in finishing this book and I nearly give up as it really serves no purpose for me. Does it touch me in any sort? Nope! None at all. So, it's not recommended.

Balik JB!

Even though I hardly come home, my mom's home that is, only Allah knows how It feels whenever my hubby tells us to pack to go balik kampung. My heart just leaps to the moon. My mind starts making plans, especially the eating plans.

       But since it will be so brief, I don't think I could conquer the best of what my hometown could offer. Owhhh! How I miss kacang pool and murtabak singapore. Salivating already!

       Our journey started with brunch in our favourite eatery in Pengkalan Batu, Melaka. I had Mee Bandung and a rich foamy Nescafe.

We drove 2 and 1/2 hours non stop and stopped at our mandatory JPO, Johot Premium Outlet. 

Sales still continues but I did not get anything though. Kate Spade is still unopened. My husband on the other hand grabed a Pedro bag and a coach long wallet. They were truely good bargains.

     As usualy, time spent there is usually longer than our journey.  So we reached my mom's just in time for dinner.

      We headed to my family's favourite. Since it is very nearby.

The Malay Village in Jalan Kolam Air. We love the ambience, and food is also okay. 

The rest of the stay was for catching up. Especially with ayah.

Ayah has been fighting with prostate cancer for 5 years. 

For the next day, we just lazed around at home while hubby busied with his fashion stuff with JbFashionPolice and The Garment Movement in Nusajaya.

I just love JB.