Today is officially 1 month before we fly to Brunei!

8th May 2008

Yipeee! Today our one month countdown starts. We've been looking forward to going back to Brunei and mummy said that we'll be flying home around 7th June. Apparently mummy had planned quite a lot to do while in Brunei, especially regarding our new home that is currently under construction (Click here if you want to know more). There will also be a wedding of mummy's sister, and another of a close-relative. Busy, busy, busy...

Nevertheless, I'll be a little bit sad that I have to leave Brisbane, especially my teachers and friends at school. Oh well, it's only for a short while, we'll be back in Australia soon after.

Anyway, here are some pictures of our activities today:

Hehe.. clever sis... when I was at school, Safiya decided that she could have the DVD player all to herself. She looks excited!

And what's she watching? Hehe... Tom & Jerry cartoon, or as Safiya likes to say "Tom Ye Ye".. Hehe, baby talk...

Nini laki bought some stuff from the local Chinese shop. He bought some Okra (in Malay we call it 'bendir'), red chillies, eggplants and beansprouts.

You can never have too much fruit!

Our lunch... Rice with soy-sauce beef and pumpkin.

Crispy thin beef slices especially prepared for me.. Hehe, last night while watching tv with nini bini, I saw a meal of delicious looking steak. This is not the same, but it's close.

Me having a first-hand experience at the signs of autumn. The leaves of this tree has turned yellow, and when I shake the branch, they fell off. So... this is what's the song at school all about.

This tree has also started to turn yellow.

We have been blowing paint using drinking straws on paper at school today. This is my finished artwork.

For dinner, mummy made her first attempt to make couscous. Success!

Mini marble cake for school tomorrow

7th May 2008

In the afternoon today, mummy made some tasty mini marble cakes for my tea-time tomorrow at school and perhaps for Friday as well. It's just the normal recipe (for those who are familiar with it), it's just that mummy baked them in mini-muffin baking trays. Thanks mummy!

Mummy's lazy-time sausage rolls

7th May 2008

For breakfast today, mummy made some sausage rolls.. Hehe, it's not as grand as you may think, mummy rolled the sausages in bread, completed off with egg-wash. The rolls are then baked in the oven until golden brown. Oh mummy, it's really special no matter what you say.. it's the effort that counts!

By the way, Safiya is better today but still has her cold.

Sausage rolls.. If you decide to make them, make sure you eat while it's hot and crispy!

(Above and below) Safiya and I enjoying the sausage rolls. For Safiya, mummy cuts the roll in quarters to make it easier for her to enjoy.

(Above and below) Drinking Milo with our new 'Finding Nemo' glasses. Mummy bought them for only AU$1.50 each!

Safiya has a fever

6th May 2008

Poor Safiya... She wakes up in the morning today with a slight fever... Her temperature was higher than normal.. and she also has a cold, probably because of the cold and dry weather in Brisbane currently..

And amongst all days, it's really unfortunate that it happens today. Mummy felt so sorry for Safiya that she really wished that she could skip class just for today.. But mummy also felt responsible because she has to do a presentation at her 4 p.m. class. Oh well, family always comes first for mummy, so she went home earlier than usual at 7 p.m. (after informing her lecturer, of course!).

Mummy puts on a cooling patch on Safiya's forehead, hoping to reduce her temperature.

Are you okay, sis?

My latest music video

Here's my latest video during our music time at school. Enjoy!



Again, in case you are wondering, I'm wearing a grey turtle-neck shirt with blue pants.

Yaahooo! Mummy's on roster again!

2nd May 2008

Today, mummy was on roster at my school. The last time she was on roster was on 28th March which was also mummy and daddy's wedding anniversary (refer earlier posts). I was glad that mummy was able to witness all of my fun activities, and she definitely took lots of pictures. Especially dedicated to beloved daddy in Brunei, enjoy the pictures!

Safiya sent me to school in the morning, still in her pajamas.


My first activity today, playing with puzzles.


Then, I had fun blowing bubbles in the garden.


Then, I teamed up with my new friend, Nishil, and made lots of bubbles together.


Afterwards, I tried putting rice into small bottles using scoops, thongs and funnels.


I then arranged these circular blocks and made a long 'train'.


Time to get dirty! In the morning we usually spend time outdoors. Here I was playing at the sand pit using the 'excavator'.


Quenching my thirst.


We played Hide and Seek with Miss B. I hid in my usual place, the drum. Shhh...


My fun time riding a tractor. I was actually putting it back in the garden shed, so might as well have fun doing it.


Having fun in the quiet room after all the outdoor playing. We were singing a song about autumn leaves and how they are blown off the trees.


Then, Miss B sang a rhyme about English soldiers. I told her that I saw a real soldier just like that when I went to London last year.


Story time... Today's story is about Franklin the turtle who wanted to plant a tree in one day.


While waiting for lunch time, I played with play-doh with my other new friend, Mateo. We used funny cookie cutters and made some animal-shaped 'cookies'.


Hehe... They look funny, right?


Then, I made some artwork. It was inspired by our new song "My hat has three corners".


Look at my hat!


Enjoying my lunch. Today, mummy prepared some delicious egg-mayo as well as chicken-mayo sandwiches. I also had some 'agar-agar' for dessert. For tea time earlier, I had croissants that mummy had cut in half and put sausage slices in between. Yummy!


Miss B was very kind to suggest that Safiya gets her own hat as well. Mummy made this one for her, and she loves it very much! Thanks mummy, and thank you Miss B!


The hat from another angle. Creative, don't you think so?

"Bubur Amping Jawa"

Hehe... you might be wondering what that means... It's a local Brunei delicacy. It's a porridge, made from toasted rice and coconut milk. It takes a while to prepare, but the end-product is delicious. It tastes sweet and has a distinctive taste to it, probably from the toasted rice. And the bonus, it makes the house smell nice too!

Especially for food lovers out there, nini bini is very kind to share the recipe here.

The initial step. Rice is toasted over low heat (without oil) until brown. There should be no white coloured rice left, but it shouldn't be burnt though. Always give it a stir so that the browning is even. It takes quite a while, so be patient!

After cooling down, the rice is crushed into small pieces (not too fine, the porridge should have a texture to it). A food processor can be used, but nini bini prefers the traditional way of crushing and grinding.

Then the crushed rice is cooked with water until it's soft. Add coconut milk and season with sugar and a little bit of salt.

Tadaaa... Nini bini's exclusive "Bubur Amping Jawa".

Mmm... mmm... delicious!

Welcome to the month of May!

1st May 2008

Time really flies... We're now in May so mummy said that we had been staying in Brisbane around two and a half months. I still think that we had just arrived here yesterday! Somebody once told me that time goes by very fast when we're enjoying ourselves. That's true because so far my experience in Brisbane has been fun, fun and more fun. I'm sure Safiya feels the same way too.

Anyway, here are some of our pictures that mummy took today... enjoy!

Our breakfast. Fried noodles by nini bini.

Safiya has great eye vision. Mummy said she spotted this lovely bird on the way home after sending me to school in the morning. What about you, can you see the bird?

Hehe... mummy took my picture taking a nap at school. It took her quite a while to wake me up. I guess that new blanket makes me feel more comfortable.

While waiting for me to finish school, Safiya played around and developed more skills. Here mummy took a picture of her wearing socks on her own. Hey sis, those are mine! Hehe...


Lovely lunch waiting for me at home. Rice with chicken, prawns and vegetables 'tom yam'. For Thai food lovers, you may notice that the 'tom yam' is quite clear.. nini bini purposely didn't make it hot so that Safiya and I can enjoy eating it better. Thanks nini bini!