How to keep ants away for good without using aerosol spray

I am very particular about getting the house bug free. That include .. roaches, ants, lipas... cicak... etc...

My mother complains that my dad uses up the whole Ridsect can in a day, juz to kill ants...

Now I know where I get that obsession with insect sprays...and now my hubby complains about that.

I got a good tip from a friend, using soap water as an alternative. It is faster and more child friendly. I can assure you it does work... for roach problem. SO how about ants??

They get into everywhere... your sugar.... your prepared food, your coffee.... your cake!

GERAM!

So, if you want to kill them and make sure the entire colony is annihiliated ... which means month and months of ants free house.... then use this chinese ant killer.

You put this bait with a lil bit of their favourite cuisine... bread crumbs, sugar... etc.... in their usual path... let them carry the bait to their colony..... Let the bait there for a while.... You can scoop it up and set the trap in their other usual hangouts....

Soon, in a week... you'll notice.... even with crumbs around.... no semut/ants will come anymore.

Legaaa.....

This packet cost you a mere RM0.80!! Some hardware kedai may try to upsell it to RM1.20.... but who cares....

For a solution that works permanently.... doesn't choke the family lungs.... I don't mind. And spares my hearing from complains..... this is THE solution.

Our Garden/Terrace Makeover Project

 The garden isn't completely done yet, we're taking it slow and easy... doing most of the things our self... So it is taking a while.... fresh small seedlings from my in laws, from my mom..... tak sabar nak gi Sg. Buloh nursery to get all the lovely, cheap pasu and plants.

The phillipine rumput is about a ringgit plus.... Initially the lalang and old soil removal & replacement with new soil is about 3 ringgit per sqf ( i think)... at least we didn't have to think about the lorry transport etc....

The garden may not be much to look at now.... but I am content. Looking out of the house is very calming and therepeutic... (which exception of cat poo, which i am trying to solve that problem) ....

At least, tension2 macam mana pon.... sejok hati bila pandang luar....

Now, we've added some heliconias, frangipanis, chinese bamboo, maniplants(?) .. cactuses...

Boleh lah....

Lovely blue sky to accompany me while blogging

Tetamu setia, cari makan..... dia makan rumpot ker??

Below is my future plan for the garden and terrace section... hopefully we'll have extra cash to realize....insyaallah. Some pergolas.... Brick fencing.... Water feature kecik ker....

Photos below is from my aunt house in Alor Setar, Kedah.

Kitchen Renovation Project & Dining Floor Makeover

Kitchen is our favorite place to hangout. Both me and hubby loves kitchen...

We really wanted to kitchen to be something new, rustic and homey.... A chunk of the budget, more than half of it went to the kitchen...

Although there's some details overlooked, not expected changes were there.... it is not perfect.
Nonetheless, I am still happy with the outcome.

The concept was suppose to be natural brick, rustic broken tiles ala2 meditereanean.... well, somewhere along that line....

But, bolehhh lah. Sipi2 pon jadik lerrr. (ada skit tone tension) Syukor ler Linda oi!

The original kitchen was up too the pink tiles area only.

Some of the flaws and things i hate, didn't like:
- Rubine's hood, too high... stupid cabinet people.... stupid kedai which sold it.... has the worst customer service, in puchong. Lousiest engagement I've ever made. Nak beli all this electrical stuff during expo, make sure the SA is attached to the company, bukan outsourced. Becoz you may end up having to deal with the original shop owner yg perangai mcm 'manusia' jual sayur tepi pasar. Padahal SA yg jual tu, bukan main friendly and expert giler.

- Notice the window is skewed to the right??? Pelik betol.
- Leben hob.... I hate built in glass top hob. I prefer freestanding stove to be honest... like the old days. The supposedly stainless rim of the burner is stained(!!!!) after 3 days of using it.

WHAT THE HELL?

Aku pakai Zanussi make aku 20 tahun pon elok jer lagi, tak der karat apa pon! Bodo kan?

Bullshit betol quality barang zaman sekarang!!

OK, sabar.

The rest..... is OK la.... budget la katakan.

Here is the dining area part. The only part we changed was the floor, which we added the vinyl floor on top of the tiles. The furniture was given a facelift with fresh coat of clear shallack. We're still looking for an affordable bar stool to put at the countertop area.

Birthday Party & Jumpa Gang Uni Lama di AU2

Aku baru sedar aku tak pernah buat birthday party secara besaran, panggei orang for my kids. We usually celebrate amongst family ajer... kadang aku pon terlupa tarikh. terok betol. My cousing antar wish sms, baru aku realize birthday anak aku laaa!

Anyway, my friend invited us for her son's party, in AU2.... thanks Ada. The kids had lovely time, and we had great time catching up too..... Rasa tak puas berborak.... Maybe someday, we shall do it again.

Living Hall & Terrace Entrance Makeover Project

Giving an old house a makeover with minimal budget is very daunting task. So, keeping it to a minimal.... only surface makeover without changing the layouts (originally we wanted to extend the hall)... but instead, this is what we did;

DONE:

- changed the paint (from red, yellow, blues to muted browns and soft orchids white)

- put box plaster ceilings, wall lights.

- took out the aluminium sliding door, replace it with a smaller black folding door

- added a dead window next to the folding door.

- put decking facing out the folding door

- replace curtains with bamboo blinds for the new window

WORK IN PROGRESS:

- put wooden decking facing out the folding door, the custom made decking are sooo expensive... so we're buying it in small sections from Houz Depot (1X3).. and planning to cover up the pink tiles with powder flecks resembling pebblelike wash.

- to buy large mirror in Nilai 3, collect our outdoor chairs, put up the shelf for deco



Our own furniture HASN'T been put in yet, we're just using the existing rattan furniture which is still good condition. We kept it minimalistic. Simple.
The hall 1 is for receiving formal guest (pic above).... whilst Hall 2, NOT shown here is the lepak2 type of guest... with lots of bean bags, throw cushions, TV, carpets.....

Still a lot of work to do......

Model kecik tak bertauliah

Off to our favourite salon in Damansara Damai

You know it is hard to find a good stylist and tukang gunting rambut that knows what you want, what suits you.... and remembers what you want dari single to anak susah dua....

I realize paying more expensive sylist, in more luxe salon..doesn't mean you are guaranteed walking out of the saloon happy. A lot of times....

So, i consider my self very luck when we jumpa this lady, who quit her Toni & Guys (or apa nama ntah, well known company gak la) and opened her won modest salon in Damansara Damai....

My hair isn't easy to style.... it is not straight, it is wavy and curly depending on length... Basically my teenage life, I was stuck with awful haircuts.... bcoz I keep choosing haircut yg sesuai for straight hair, instead of wavy hair. You know, Aaron Kwok la... mana sesuai.....! Mcm penyapu atas kepala aku....!

She charges ridiculously cheap.... belas2 je kot.... tapi I am sooo happy with how she cut it, and the result. No frills... no expansive product is used, but aku ok jer.... Nak barang kelas, korang bawak sendiri.. suruh dia guna.... Kakak aku selalu buat gitu. Tak yah guna shampoo, hair mask kedai dia... just use her service ajer.

So, to complete the tradition... anak2 aku pon dihantar utk kerat rambot with her..... They were soooo excited... Dunno whether they were happy that mommy isn't the one holding the scissors ke, or usually they end up waiting and waiting for mommy to finish ..... both of them could'nt wait for their turn.

Muka happy giler sitting on the chair.... admiring, looking at their reflection in the mirror.

Recipe Nasi Lemak Bibik Jiran Belakang Umah Linda

**UPDATED WIV RECIPE

Jgn gelak.

Aku bantai letak aja title tu...

So, intro ckit... few days ago, bau sedaappppp giler came flowing into my kitchen. Bau sambai nasi lemak.
Mmg power.

So, as the bibik tu sidai kain belakang umah aku punya fence, aku pon meramahkan diri, memuji bau masakan dia.... dgn tanpa segan silu ...minta recipe.

Then mlm tadi aku buat la.... fuhhh... warna lawa! Rasa pon sedap!

Selalu aku buat nasi lemak, tak sedap! Tak best..... tak leh lawan nasi lemak Bashri( nasi lemak time skolah rendah) ...

Apa recipenyer??

Tok sah letak belacan.... guna gula melaka..... tambah garlic.

Owhhhh........

So, I have discovered cara buat sambai nasi lemak yg boleh repeat lagi. Thank you bibik belakang rumah. Eka namanya.... very ramah & rajin sidai kain.

Owh ya.... nnt aku buat entry pasai bibik2 jiran2 aku ni.... which are nice people, really.

**Recipe Nasi Lemak Simple**
(Specially for my friend Chris)

Nasi Lemak :
1. Nasi biasa pon boleh/ beras mathi pon lagi cantik.
2. Wash beras nicely, then campor air with santan perah. Not too thick ya...
3. Throw in a teaspoon of gula n garam. Slice up ginger and garlic. Campak inside.
3. Simpol pandan leaf, campak inside too. Make sure ko tekan ON button for the rice cooker.

Bilis Goreng garing, jgn hangit  tau.... when the popping almost stops, angkat cepat.

Sambal Bilis:

1. Blend a handful of red onion/shallots + 3 or 4 garlic.
2. Tumis sampai wangi.
3. Add in 3 spoon of cili giling/cili boh (depends on your 'cili tolerance')
4. Tumis until pecah/naik minyak.
5. Add 1/2 small bowl of air asam jawa. Adjust slowly.... dun dump the whole thing in, nnt termasam ke apa.
6. Add a handful of bilis. You may add half piece of bilis stok cube, optional. Add gula merah 2-3 teaspoon, salt. Lastly add rings of large onion.
7. Cook until the thing is lovely deep red, thick consistency. This is done over slow fire, and takes time.

A little encouragement for a lost soul

Anybody feeling lost, broken... giving up?
I do.. a lot of times....

'Chicken soup' doesn't work for me... reading self help books puts me to sleep... And I absolutely loath counselling. During school, I just can't help feeling rebellious... and sitting in front of counsellors while they preach, really did nothing to help.

I can't tell you what to do, what's right or wrong during these 'down period'.... we heal differently...method and duration as we are not the same.

But, I am mildly less moody reading this biography from the Lauder family.

Evelyn H. Lauder, daughter in law of Estee Lauder (1936-2011) dies at 75 recently of ovarian cancer. I was reading the news in New York Times, and was intrigued with her fond memories of Estee Lauder. Here's and excerpt it:

Mrs. Lauder frequently told the story of how, early in her marriage, she returned to the couple’s apartment to find that Estée had rearranged the furniture more to her liking. When Evelyn and Leonard were dating — it was only their second date — Estée implored her to stay and be the hostess for a birthday party she was giving her son.
“So I stayed,” Mrs. Lauder said in an interview in 2008. “What could I do? She was like a steamroller.”



If you'd like to read more on Evelyn Lauder's life and death, click here.

Now if you're interested to know the humble beginnings of the a company with annual sales of
3.6 billion !!

Read Estee Lauder (1908-2004, dies at 97 of cardiac arrest) bibliography here. Or wikipedia here.  

And here is some quoted from Estee herself  which I am trying to grasp and hold on :

"If you have a goal, if you want to be successful, if you really want to do it and become another Estee Lauder, you've got to work hard, you've got to stick to it and you've got to believe in what you're doing."

Why Do I love Jamie Oliver?

First of all, allow to tell you my humble beginnings... from a gal that wears swimming goggles, 2 layers of baju and gloves just to fry french fries(!) ....

to a fulltime mommy who can cook myriad of food, western, chinese and even create her own fusion recipes.

I only learnt to cook (really cook ya, not boil water and campak MAGGI)... after graduating. I was unemployed for a year, so staying at home 24hours... I decided to learn to cook. The essence of cooking is actually wanting to learn, experiment... and to feed your love ones. There's nothing technical about it, unless you treat it that way.

Which is why I love Jamie Oliver...

He makes the most intricated cuisine seems easy, peasy.... less intimidating. And it inspires you to try... He doesn't complicate with crazy techniques or odd ingredients... He makes you think, that YOU CAN COOK TOO. Simplicity of his style of cooking is absolutely breathtaking.... and you know the food will turn out delicious.

You can see from the way he cooks, he generously peppers his food with sincere love... for the people he is feeding. He is NOT doing it for the sake of TV show.... like most chef you see locally. There's basically ZERO connection with the audience or camera, nor love... it feels like a mindless lecture.

The other thing I admire and love Jamie Oliver is his support in being a part of the solution in empowering the lesser fortunate society. His restaurant called the Fifteen is powered by the unemployed, under qualified people. They are trained with myriad of culinary skill, and most of them has graduated and even running their own restaurants or working with top class kitchens in Australia and Sydney. How many chef do you see doing their bits for the society? Most are busy with the glitzy and glamourous life to care.

He is also known to be a loving husband and doting father. I have no doubt that this public affection is true and honest.

So, with this, I hope Nia will see how much I really do love Jamie Oliver. ;)

Anyways, if you guys.. (which I know a lot of my friends LOVE him too) would like to have a try at winning Jamie Oliver cookbook, do visit Nia's blog at :

http://niaangel.blogspot.com/2011/11/results-jamie-oliver-giveaway.html

Just follow her blog (you won't regret it, as she has a lot of giveaways and interesting stuff goin on there) and write a post of why do you like Jamie Oliver. More info by watching her video.

Good luck you guys! Sharing is caring!

Home makeover project - Wood effect VINYL flooring ( looks like wood floorboard right, but it is NOT)

I was hoping nak buat before and after comparison of the total house makeover... TAPI

My earlier photos corrupted and only recently found d cables of my camera (charger masih hilang...arrgghhh)
SO, only bits and pieces of the photos are available.... nak blog pon takder mood tau....

But anyways.... kita make do with what we have....

So, one of our challenges we had with the home makeover was ...

TASK ONE :
Pink tiles in the kitchen & porch
Why:
We don't really adore pink shades... and having pink tiles in the dining area made us feel like we're inside a toilet... blergh...

So, yes...some of you may say.... tuko jer ler tiles.....

The prob is nak kena upah tukang remove existing tiles pulok..... and that takes time. Aduhaiii....

So, terjumpa la this wood effect Vinyl flooring from Coco... cantik, murah and DIY....

Ape lagi, suka la hati kami.... Vinyl flooring ni tahan ayaq (kalo tumpah skit2)... mop ker..... and mmg sesuai apply over the tiles. We had fun putting it together....

I think some may think that this is normal floorboard kayu kalo pandang dr pic.... but it is NOT. Ini vinyl flooring yang dibuat untuk nampak mcm floorboard kayu..siap ngan texture kayu lagi. Vinyl floor ni mcm tikar minyak la gak, but it is thicker and more durable....

Harga dia.... Korang budget dlm RM4 per sqf... then glue vinyl is RM50 per tong... skirting/edging dia aku dah lupa harga.... 9kaki RM25 kot...

Mula2, korang lay down style mana korang nak... herringbone ke, dino bone ker.... kami buat ala parquette aje....
Then, mana nak kena kerat.... kerat siap2....
Apply glue... sector by sector..... tunggu dia tacky/melekit... then korang stick on the vinyl.

TADA!!

What would Puss in Boots do?

This is the 101 of how to defeat bad guys.... exclusively from Puss and Kitty Softpaws.
Read on for trade secrets in how to defeat da baaaad guys...


If you wanna defeat the bad guys.... you have to be cool. That's why it is rule no #1 in how to defeat the bad guys.
So.... get your style right, start wearing classy boots or cowboy hats... or sleek ray ban rays... whatever rocks your boats. WHY?

Coz heroes has to adhere to certain codes of honour.... which is looking cool at all times.
So the bad guys will be jealous. Don't try pulling a Superman faux pas OK... You'll regret it. Ya kids will hate you for it.

You guys all heard of the expression.... cool as a cat?

Well... that's us.
Yep, ya heard it right.... Puss and Kitty Softpaws legend started that English idiom. That's how cool we are....

RULE# 2 : You gotta have a side kick.

You see.... Ya always gotta have a wing man (or woman...)
If we gonna beat the bad guys, we need all the support we can trust. A dedicated side kick will always have your back when times get rough. You know, when the public thinks lowly of you... or when the bad guys surprises you with a double whammy....

Besides..... it's good to have a stand in to defeat bad guys when you got to call in sick. Then, bad guys don't stand a chance 24X7, 365 days....

...and you still get your off day.

RULE# 3 : Have 9 lives.... (or at least lots of band-Aid)

Defeating bad guys is bad for health. Very bad.... It should come with govt warning.
Insurance policy won't cover this sorta job, ya know.
So.... have 9 lives.

RULE #4 : Good reflex.

Well, they don't say 'cat-like reflex' for nothing.....
Never heard anybody say, man like reflexes... right?

RULE#5 : An irresistable adorable demeanor...

This is the top secret. Elude d bad guys with wide eye, innocent look. It'll buy you time to kick their ass.

It takes about 30mins to master (some may require makeup, like how the Japanese gal do it)....
kung fu takes waaay too long to master... and a heck lotta pain involve.

SO...
Do it d smart way, you can find in youtube tutorials...

There you have it.... how to defeat the baaaaad guys, Puss and Kitty Softpaws style.



here's PUSS during his 'off day'



New Chapter... New Place

Assalamualaikum.

Happy days ahead my dear readers....

With so many things running thru my head these past few weeks.. unable to type them down bcoz my lappie is still in the ICU...(am using an old one, which may quit on me anytime) ... I think I'll begin with thanking Allah, God almighty for all the rezeki he has bestowed on me and family... indeed he is Maha Pengasihani and Penyayang.

All the tension, fening2 kepala has passed... gadoh2 manja.... ngeheheh...

Previously living in an apartment, we have friendly and not friendly banter over everything... from spoon to cooking to garbage sorting, garbage throwing......
Can you imagine the magnitude of disagreements when we masok into a bigger place??

Mak aii... lagi byk benda nak debate..... Aku really nak tergelak teringat pasai pilih warna cat umah.... Hishh.... Nippon buat sale 20% off aritu kan.... Amik la kesempatan..... Aku agak dlm 50 kali kot debate panas pasai warna..... Hahahahah....

Takpa la.... But, korang next time nak pilih warna, careful... ada warna tak sama langsong seperti dlm katalog..... ada yg Tergelap, ada yg Tercerah....

TERnganga kami tiap kali bukok tin cat...

"Ehh, ini ke kaler yg 40 kali pikiaq nak beli tuu?! Mcm kaler taik baby jerrrr"

Apa pon, cuba bersabaq.

Maksod aku, umah tu bukan kita sorang jer dudok kan.... ada dua perspective, ada dua preference yg berbeza..... So, mesti ler kena meet somewhere in between... try to merge your ideas, or choose sections....

Kalo dapat laki satu pala, tak kisah hangpa hias satu rumah dari lanttai ke siling ke laman dgn bunga ros... then suka la korang kannn... Aku tgk kat magazine mak aku, ada rumah family ni, dr carpet, wallpaper ke, sofa, almari, pinggan mangkok, langsir... SMUANYA corak english rose!! Depa punya suka la kan.....

But pada mata aku.. serabotnyer.... fenin weih. I mean, I LOVE roses.... sangat suka tgk.... but I'm not gonna put it everywhere in the house. Suka tengok di rumah orang, tak bermakna suka di rumah sendiri....

I mean, aku suka menda antik, klasik.... but it don't mean I'm gonna make my house jadi mcm mini museum plak kan..... Or, if aku suka pokok2, bunga2.... takdo la aku nak hias satu rumah mcm botanical garden.....

I just like a BIT of everything..... So, ada part giler2... ada part serius ..... Simple pon ader, complex pon ader.....

Hubby aku has 'generally' good taste.... Cuma..... yer la... Kita manusia yg berbeza.....
Aku realize lately, VERY VERY different. HAHA...

Nonetheless, I am VERY happy with the current outcome... Simple and happy.... With his suggestions, ada yang agak bernas.... Am glad. Kadang2 sebagai seorang pompuan yg agak 'strongheaded'.... rasa aku aja yg betolll..... sesekali kena la dgr ckp/pendapat org lain....

Tambah pulak aku ni Aries (alasan!!)

Nnt aku kasi sneak peak.... bila aku jumpa mana aku packing cable wayar camera aku..... :P