The Regency Jerai, Gurun, Kedah

Hubby is well-known for being a very spontaneous person. On the 4th of January this year, a Friday night, hubby asked me what was my plan for the weekend. So my list goes on to something like this: blood test (just for normal check up), Hepatitis B vaccination for myself and scaling. Then hubby said, let's go to Gunung Jerai instead. So all plans postponed and after brunch Saturday morning, off we went to Gunung Jerai.

The journey to Kedah was uneventful. Traffic was smooth (except for one accident along the way) and Tricia behaved herself, being a seasoned traveller that she is and slept almost all the way there. We arrived at our destination around 6pm. The journey upwards from the base was not that long, around 15 minutes or so but it was quite steep and the turns were quite sharp.

The first thing that caught my eyes were these hydrangeas. Reminded me so much of Mimi. It is her favourite flower in her favourite colour! They have lots of 'em here in different colours.

First thing first, we checked in. The lock was quite old-school. We were provided with a key to the sliding door (no access card). The room was small-ish but comfortable and nice. We had TV, make up table and closet. Shower had hot water. Underneath the sink there were many white decorative stones that Tricia likes to play with. Haha. Phone reception was not that good BUT wifi was very fast! I was very impressed. Managed to upload the whole album of my previous photoshoot on my facebook in a matter of seconds.

After a quick check-in, we headed out before it gets dark. There wasn't that many people around this time of the year as it was not a public or school holiday. So we SORT OF had the entire place to ourselves. Hehe. They have a playground and connecting pools. They also have spa facilities but we didn't try that.

The view from up here was outstanding. Hubby kept telling me that we could see the paddy fields, the sea and the hills from one place!

After that we had our dinner at their Puncak Kedah restaurant. Service wasn't fast even though they weren't that many people but waiters and waitresses were very pleasant. Food was okay but price was very reasonable. Not expensive considering this is the only place where we can get food.

The next morning, we woke up late so we missed our buffet breakfast. Checked out in the afternoon and had brunch before we headed back home. It was a nice quick getaway from the busy city and a nice place to enjoy the view of nature.

There was Anugerah Juara Lagu on TV that night so I thought, after a tiring trip up north, we could just curl up in front of the tv and watch people compete. Hubby looked unsettled and wanted to go out for a drink. Not wanting to leave him alone, I tagged along with Tricia. Little did I know, after we went for a carwash nearby, hubby drove us straight to Genting Highland. It was a Sunday night and I had to work the next day. Aishhh. I didn't even bring Tricia's milk. If only he would COMMUNICATE. I didn't know what have gotten into him that night but he became depressed until Tuesday. I suspect  he was just tired from the travel and taking care of Tricia during the day. Lucky he recovered by Wednesday. If not, I would taken him to see any uztaz. Mane la tau kene tegur ke ape. But all is well now. And we will definitely go again!

Photoshoot Pictures

Location: Taman Wetland, Putrajaya
Date/Time: 23rd December 2012 9.30am

As promised earlier, here are some of the pictures from our photoshoot last month.

Father - daughter relationship

Hubby has always been a hands-on dad since the day Tricia was born. But ever since we moved back to Bangi after Tricia's first birthday, their relationship has been closer/tighter. They spend more time together with each other than with me. They woke up late together and went to sleep late together too. Even though I may have verbally said I am jealous of their relationship, deep down I actually LOVE seeing how close they are. It reminds me of the relationship I had with my dad.

More updates on Tricia.

1) She is NOT afraid of the dark.

One night, she was playing with my containers in the kitchen. When we asked her to leave the kitchen, she refused and just stayed where she was. Then we turned off the kitchen light. She didn't move. After that, we turned off the stairs light and the whole house was dark. She still didn't move and kept playing with my containers! Gosh...

2) She LOVES to read.

Hubby told me in the morning, she will just read her book instead of waking her father up immediately. Somehow last night, when I turned off the lights in the living room to sleep, Tricia protested and carried her book to the kitchen (since we left the kitchen's light on) to read! Anak siapa lah nih? =p

3) She bites her straw and definitely not a light sleeper (just like her mummy)

This is self-explanatory. Haha. My hubby and I concluded that Tricia has his physical attributes (except for the eyes) and my characters. She has always been a deep sleeper. She sleeps through the night since she was 1 month old. I can change her diapers without waking her up when she doesn't want too. And she conquers the whole area when she sleeps. Whoever is in her way will get kicked.

4) Tricia can salam already.

Only last week hubby made this comment to someone. "Belum boleh salam. Tapi boleh hi-5". When I came home from work yesterday to pick her up, bibik Mar told her to salam me, which she did! Wow! You learn so fast, sayang.

Happy New Year, 2013!

I didn't feel like making it a big deal but when I read my past new year's posts, it was actually quite fun to look back. Hubby and I spent our new year's eve at the comfort of our home; playing Wii and watching TV with of course our beloved baby. 2012 has been kind. Here's a summary of the "happenings".

Work

I've been wanting to change my job so bad and I finally got it without having to leave my beloved company. It was a "bonus" to have friends as my teammates, guiding me through the new territory. And not long after I joined, we already got a new junior, which forced me to step up faster. So new year's reso #1: Catch up with work FASTER.

Baby

Batrisyia has been growing up so fast, I wish I could put a brake on it. People are making her a benchmark to track their children's growth and a lot of them got frustrated thinking their children are late bloomers. My advice to all moms out there... don't compare your child's growth to others. As long as you know it is normal, then let them be. Of course all moms want their child to be the best, to have the best... and as long as you are healthy and happy, I am a proud mummy, baby. New year's reso #2: Make time for and spend as much quality time as I can afford with my baby.

Travel

We started 2012 with me still being in confinement. It definitely didn't slow us down though. Went for holidays so many times that I lost count. Only went out of the country once in 2012 sending my brother off to study in Bristol, United Kingdom. Managed to slot in Vatican City, Rome and Capri Island in Italy. Plans for 2013? Still deciding. I'll be going to Singapore in January over the weekend since my mom has to attend a conference there. I'll be bringing Tricia but Hubby doesn't want to go. InsyaAllah going for my brother's graduation in July, which is going to be in fasting month but hubby doesn't want to go too. Thinking of slotting in Paris this time, on mom's request. Maybe going to KK with the Halim's family in June after CFA. New year's reso #3: not about travelling but pass my L2 CFA? Hahahahaha... My never ending story, man...

Money

Oh ya! We bought an apartment in Nilai... Starzvalley, right across Inti University. Still under construction at this very moment. Target completion time is end of this year 2013. So looking forward to that. It is an investment property anyway... so it's not like we are going to move. We have decided to delay our K5 purchase for possibly a year or so. Hubby refused to take our names out of the waiting list to ensure that his dream is still alive? Hehe. Also we max out on our ASB loans. One of the best decisions ever, the ASB loan. Dividend time (new year like now), we get to see our savings grow.

Health

Managed to keep my weight around my pre-pregnancy weight through out the year. Signed up at Fitness First very recently so that I can work out during lunch time. New year's reso #4: maintain a healthy body weight. I can put achieving a certain weight but I think maintaining a healthy weight is more important.

Did I achieve my last year's resolution. Not really but it wasn't that big a target. I wanted to use make up and wear high heels more often. But that's not REALLY what I wanted. I wanted to be confident with myself, my body again after my pregnancy. And happy to say, throughout the year, I don't feel too bad. So yeah, consider it achieved! On to the next missionS.