Jules lost her 'merdeka' for a moment today...

Jules accidentally locked her car key inside her car at KLCC earlier today. And for a while there, she succumbed to the state of being imprisoned!

Well, of course I could have easily walked out or taken the LRT/taxi/bus to somewhere, but I felt compelled to remain within the premise, where my precious orange lay parked at P1, unable to move. It was ironic. While I actually had all the freedom in the world to carry on with my life/routine as usual, as I wait for darling husband to swing by and drop off the spare key, I somehow felt like I was trapped, without the capacity to move. Silly isn't it? It became sillier about 2 hours later when darling husband called and said that the spare key was nowhere to be found! AAAA!!! How could I have been so absentminded just now. I parked, turned off the engine, rummaged through my stuff, stepped out and locked the car door. Then as I looked for the parking ticket in my handbag pocket, I realised that the key wasn't there, it wasn't in my cargo pockets either. Then I looked back inside the car and there it was, still in the ignition! Oh, my Precious Orange! My beloved kancil, the first ever car (2nd hand) that I bought with my very own, very little at that time, hard earned money. Sigh...double sigh.... Darling husband had already rescued the boys from school, so that worry was out of the way, but what do I do about my Precious Orange? "Locksmith", darling husband said, "find a locksmith, pay them a fee and they'll unlock the door for you." Luckily there was one at the concourse level... Finally, my kancil was rescued, and I regained my freedom, to leave the building.

But that feeling I had felt, when I was still locked out of my car, it wasn't nice. And that was only me not being able to get my car out of the building. What if it had been me stuck in a land where I couldn't "move" myself to go anywhere, or to do anything that I want to do? Hmmm.... I'm glad I'm not, Alhamdulillah...

Phewh!

Well, anyway, when I got up this morning, the first thing I thot was that I will start my "Merdeka" program with the boys today. So, when I finally reached home, the boys were already into their second round of Ultraman, Tiga, Gaia, or Dyna, I don't know! All were nicely fed, homeworks done (thank you makcik ati) and all were comfortable. My stomach was rumbling, but I let that wait. Instead I told the boys to clear their play area, put up their foldable bed trays and get ready for....... PAINT TIME!!!!! Woohoo! Nothing excites my boys more than messy, "comot" paint time! Then I pinned up a wrapping paper that had the motif of Peninsular Malaysia (I was thrilled when I first saw that giftwrap at a stationery shop; I think it was some time in June when I bought it) and I showed them the famous local landmarks. They immediately noticed the Malaysian Flag, Twin Towers, KL Tower and Genting Highlands! Abang Long wanted to paint Jalur Gemilang, Abang Ngah Twin Towers, and Abang Chik wanted to paint....Ultraman Tiga!!! Ha ha! Well, I got 2 out of 3 right, so, I shall not complain.... :)



hmmm... wonder what Ultraman would think of that...!

Yay! Hurray for Abang Long!

"This is 1 Twin Tower with 3 yellow legs,"...???!!! Hmmm... Well, maybe he sees it the way Picasso would've...! :)

Yess! Jules has regained her living room!

...and loads of peace of mind... :)

Yup, the 611 astro ceria channel magically came on just now, when dear ayah, upon his return from a successful event, casually swtiched on the upstairs tv. Aaahhh, alhamdulillah, God is Great... :) It's after 9pm, the boys have been fed with Kraft's "Spiderman" mac&cheese dinner (coz mommy thot it would be fun, for everyone!), filled up on latte and aqua, and are now happily sprawled on their duvets, in front of the tv, catching up on Putera Shazlan, etc...

For this month of August, I thot of doing something about Merdeka for my beloved country Malaysia. Share my thots on how it was before Merdeka, during our struggle for it, after we achieved Merdeka, and circa our present time now. My boys aren't very aware of it yet; they know it's celebrated every year on 31st August, but they don't know the essence or the concept of being "Merdeka". And, since I've been creating special Merdeka gifts for the past four years, I figured that perhaps, while trying to educate my boys, I could at the same time share a little something with you... I'll start that fresh next week, bit by bit ya...

Tonight, I'll share with you some of my latest projects... But before that, I'd like to thank all Jules family, friends and patrons, for your undying support towards my work... and especially to Jules patrons whose fudgy orders I had to reluctantly cancel and who patiently waited for me to recover from my recent cough and cold (I was actually 'down' for 3 days!) for me to makeup for it, thank you, words couldn't justify how much I appreciate your kindness... :)




Dearest Ila, I wish you and your new husband Zaini, "Selamat Pengantin Baru", semoga berbahagia hingga ke anak cucu...and, thank you for always keeping Jules close to your heart :)


Iza wanted my Bling Fudgy in white & pink, and since it was for her Bertunang, I added some sweet white flowers on the trim to make it a little festive...and she asked for my fudgy with strawberries, for her whole clan to enjoy... :)

Dear Iza, I knew your darling sister Aini during my heydays in KGV! Alhamdulillah, I've found her in Facebook, after losing touch for so many years...and thanks also to FB, I've now gotten to know you too :) Selamat Bertunang... and Aini, I'm truly glad that you think my fudgies are evilicious and devilicious!... Alhamdulillah...

My friend, Fid, recently introduced a new verb in her daily routine, "hubbying", as she updated in her FB status. I've just made some angel hair pasta with pesto sauce...the boys are almost in slumber now, with the tv watching them...so, I guess, I'll be doing my own "hubbying" now... :)... goodnight and have a good week ahead...

PS. : I'm going to play Pixie Lott's "Mama Do" from imeem; if you can't get the whole song here, I hope you'll catch it elsewhere, coz I just love this song now, and the video is so cute! Thanks Heska for sharing this with me... oh yes, and thanks also for ordering my fudgy with strawberries for your cousin ya... :)

Jules was overpowered by Goons!

Yup, I was...it happened yesterday, and such an agonising defeat it was...and the Victors soon succumbed to slumber, proving that they had put up a worthy fight to secure their new territory...!


It all started when the astro in their domain (upstairs living room) failed to transmit porgrammes, about one week now. Ahh, I will never understand the mechanics of these things! I believe the aircond cleaners were the actual culprits; when they stepped onto the balcony upstairs, they must have knocked against one of the astro dishes, which caused it to malfunction, somewhere, somehow, I don't know! Swapping upstairs/downstairs decoders didn't work, and dear ayah had been too busy to call for help. And the astro 611 ceria channel, that airs ultraman dyna/gaia/tiga, transformers, geng bas sekolah, and hikayat putera shazlan, in my room is locked, and dear ayah cannot recall the password to unlock it! (hee hee).

So, with ayah away in Penang for his SinarFM concert, and while mommy was busily rushing out fudgy orders and trying desperately to get back to deadlines after recovering from a 3 day down time due to flu, darling goons decided to act on a highly critical gameplan, that is to take control of the downstairs tv!!! Without me, or their makcik ati, realising it, they had transported all their sleeping stuff into the downstairs living room, right smack in front of the tv. They built forts with the sofa and throw cushions, and secured the remote controls for the aircond and astro decoder! And that, ladies and gentlemen, was how the living room was won...! I am now only allowed into their stronghold when they need me to lull them to sleep at night. Else, mommy stays nicely, quietly and peacefully on the dining room side, at her workstation... :)

Even when their tv upstairs was working well and fine, my darlings would always find their way downstairs into my domain...and I would shoo them back upstairs, and they would, obediently, retreat to their territory. I guess, they just wanted to be near mommy... and now, they have finally succeeded!... :)... Well, just till this weekend... I'll let them have their fun :)

Jules on dreams...

...I have a small book which I keep very close to me. Actually, I have many small books that I keep very close to me, books of quotes, motivation, wise words...and of course, one rather big book, with purple and white stripes and that black and white logo that I love so much - Lulu Guinness's "Put On Your Pearls Girls."!

Well, this particular small book is "100 LEO'S ~ Wit & Wisdom from Leo Burnett". I've had it for quite a while now, my true loyal friend, with red apples on its cover and a size to fit all my handbags. I used to have it on my office desk, at the top right hand corner, for easy reach. The inspiring words of Leo Burnett kept me illuminated in my darkest "dead out of ideas" hours, "my writer's block" days, and days when "too much heat" flowed down from the boss's office! These days, it's on my "utensils" rack, to the left of where I work, with the other small (plus 1 big) books; to remind me that a fulltime stay-at-home mom can do wonders to and for the world too... and realise all her dreams... :)...

I love the mural of Yasmin Ahmad by Jeng and Kioue, and what hit me most this morning was Air Asia's beautiful ad for Yasmin on page N15 of The Star today...

Jules Fudgyliciousness Diversified...

...with strawberry gummies for a little cutie's birthday...


...a very special request from Heska, for her darling mom's birthday, the queen of everyone's hearts...


...two hearts entwined... in celebration of 37 wonderful years of marriage...


I'm still working on a special presentation of my fudgies for Raya; looks like I'll be stretching the timeline somewhat, with many more urgent deadlines in between. Please have patience and please do bear with me... I'm trying my level best to offer you the very best! :) :) :).....

Jules mourns the loss of a spectacular human being...

...The first time I heard that Yasmin Ahmad had passed away, I was shocked and in disbelief. Fortunately then, that news was proven wrong, as it was confirmed that Yasmin Ahmad had been hospitalised after she collapsed at a meeting/presentation. I was relieved, alhamdulillah, yet anxious. I truly admire Yasmin Ahmad, for her ingenuity, boldness, audecity; she was to me, one solid human being.

But late last night, when I saw an update in facebook that Yasmin Ahmad had passed away after several days in coma, after her collapse, and when that news was confirmed and reconfirmed...my heart broke...and my tears fell...I was once again shocked and in disbelief. I felt that same feeling I felt at the end of 'Sepet'...that hollow feeling in my gut where I felt, at that time, utter emptiness, and when I hoped and wished that it wasn't true, it wasn't true...But, sadly, it was true...I had lost yet another great idol...

My friend Fid, has written a beautiful poem for the late Yasmin Ahmad; please drop in at My Life Journey for her touching words...

While I mourn this great loss, I also celebrate the memory of Yasmin Ahmad, because like in any case when I lose someone, I always remind myself that I have to feel this and then let it pass, hurtful as it may be...because the living must move on. Yasmin Ahmad has left us with many wonderful things; her unforgettable merdeka ads for Petronas, her provocative movies, her extraordinary writings, her benevolent efforts... in all of these, her spirit shall remain with us, with me at least...always. I will keep them close to me, to inspire me, so I will keep on striving to create many many more wonderful things, good things, noble things...and achieve greater heights and success...as what she has done for us, Malaysians...

Your demise will be greatly felt, Yasmin Ahmad...

Al-Fatihah...

Jules goes Hannah Montana!

Yup, Jules goes Hannah Montana! How hapnin' is that?! Hee hee!

By the way, just to share with you, as I'm writing here, I have inawhiz running, with Kenny Roger's "Through The Years" in the background... I just so love the song... I'll have it running the whole day, I don't care... :)

Anyway, back to Hannah Montana... I must say that when I accepted the task of creating a Hannah Montana Tin, from a devoted Mom for her bubbly little diva, it was, not only at around the 11th hour, but I suddenly wondered..."hmmm, how do I create a Hannah Montana?" I know Ultraman, Transformers, Ben10, but Hannah Montana? So I called up sister and sister-in-law, both blessed with darling princesses, and they gladly gave suggestions...thank you, thank you! As I started on the tin, I became so excited... I Googled, I browsed and I caught bits of the show on YouTube! Woohoo! She is indeed one cool gal, funny too! And, the part that thrilled me most was that her favourite colours are purple, pink, black and blue, the first 3 being my favs too! Hee hee, an old gal feeling young again...!

Well, it wasn't just Jules Tins. The little diva's Mom also asked me to make a Bling JulesFudgy, in pink & white...! EEEEEk! I know that, by a miracle wonder, I pulled it off the last time with the black & green Bling, but another one?! EEEEEk! Can I do it? I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and with tons of butterflies doing summersaults in my tummy, I accepted that task too...AAAAA! Each moment praying that I don't goof it for this precious little girl...

So, my dear Raudhah Wardina, I hope you enjoy your fab birthday, please do pardon any of Aunty Jules' flaws (esp in your pink & white Bling!) and I pray you grow up to be simply fab too... :)

Jules alone with 3 goons!

Hee hee hee... yup, it's just me, and my 3 adorable monsters this weekend. I have a small window now while Marrakesh stays glued to "Kapten Boleh", and Esfahan and Damascus carry on with their "Dexter" mission! I had shooo-ed them hurriedly for their showers earlier, before they end up not showering the whole day! And yes, they've been fed with healthy, nutritious cereal + milk!

Phewh! It was indeed a looooong and challenging night last night, entertaining my kiddos and working on my assignments/gift orders, while at the same time trying to catch glimpses of the Anugerah Planet Muzik (in Jakarta) on Astro Ria, where Darling Husband/Ayah was. Marrakesh, in his true fashion, was the last to drop, with mommy having to "garu belakang", "garu perut", "tepuk"! And this morning was very early, as I put together the lovely flowers for a special baby's christening, while waiting for La to pick up her gift. I had asked the boys' Makcik Ati to drop in for a few minutes to keep them company as mommy rushed out to send the baby gift... Deep inhale, big exhale... aaaaaahhhhh...! And in case you're wondering, Makcik Ati helps us out at home Mon-Sat, 7.30am-7.00pm :)

Lovely pink roses and lilac eustoma, with my all time favourite baby's breath...


After completing this task, I was suddenly overcome with mixed emotions... the joy of having a baby, the joy of looking at baby stuff...those kind of things, you know? Well, I guess many women, moms and even dads would understand... :) And this particular gift affected me even more coz it was all purple and lilac and pink and white... ! Thanks Mary, for giving me this opportunity... :)

As for my dear Puan Naib Yang Dipertua PIBG, La, I hope you have a good event at your kids' school today! This special gift (well, I consider all the gifts I make special!) for your guest speaker has a lovely Borneo batik sarung, some delightful Fererros and a relaxing lemongrass eye pad...


Okay, now to prepare the boys' meals for the day...think I'll wait till darling husband lands back in the nest to start on my next assignment, which must be delivered first thing tomorrow morning... Inhale...exhale... !

Jumble Sale For Charity is POSTPONED! Thousand apologies...

...I've just been informed by the organising team that they have had to postpone the sale yet again, due to some unforeseen circumstances.

Kindly take note of this, if you had read my earlier post today. The new date for the jumble sale is yet to be determined...

Thank you so much for your ever so kind attention... Have a good weekend! :)

Jumble Sale For Charity

Good morning! My friend, Disha, is organising a charity jumble sale this weekend, 18 & 19 July 2009. I had intended to put up a table selling JulesFudgies and JulesAddiction Tins, but sadly, logistics aren't on my side, so I won't be able to participate. But, I will try to pop by, maybe drop off some of my fudgies to Disha so she and her gang can sell them and bring in some proceeds.

I'm rushing quite a bit this morning, so I couldn't wait for the actual flyer file, but here are the basic details of the jumble sale (she put up a very nice invite on Facebook; me very blur about IT, don't know how to link, so, I'm afraid we'll have to settle with this viz, sooooryyyy....hee hee).

I hope many will be able to visit there and pour some joy into this noble cause... :)... Have a fab weekend!

Jules has more goodies to share!

Yup! It's almost that time of the year, the time when everyone starts getting excited about sahur, buka puasa, kuih raya, dodol, lempuk, baju raya, duit raya, hamper raya...! I must admit, I'm getting all excited myself! But at the same time, I'm also looking forward to a calm and meaningful Ramadhan, insyaAllah ... :)

Here are some things that Jules, in collaboration with KerepekLa, is thrilled to share with all of you...




There are also cool and stylish cannisters; these are some samples of what can be...


As for JulesDelightfulness and JulesFudgyliciousness for this coming festivity... jeng jeng jeng! Hee hee... I hope to unveil my special Raya/Festivity2009 range next week; let's hope all goes according to plan. I'm all anxious, excited, nervous... Because, at the end of the day, whatever that Jules does, it is always to create joy and delight, as well as to enrich the hearts and souls of all those who savour Jules products and services, insyaAllah... that's a challenge I always welcome :)

In the meantime, do feast on the pictures above; these are also items that Jules would provide for Giftmagique. If you are interested, please sms me or/and drop a line at JulesMD or email me ya, I will be glad to entertain you :)

Jules fudgy embellished...

...for a special 30th birthday party for some fun loving, hapnin' gals! It was a party with a "Bling" too, as it was held at the Carat Club. Hmmm...I'm pretty sure the girls had a fab time, and I'm glad that JulesFudgy was able to add to the merriment, alhmadulillah... thank you Nadia and friends :)
I must say that I somewhat panicked when Nadia asked me to make a special brownie for her fab gals' birthday party, with a green & black theme. I even asked Wiz about icing the top with chocolate, and so, she gave me some tips...thank you dear :) But, eventually, I just used only green mint flavoured chocolate to cover the entire brownie, then chocolate (with a little bit of cream) with black coloring for the lines. The diamond shaped lines are part of my homeage to my favourite handbag designer, Lulu Guinness, who is reknowned for her fishnet design. Then the silver sugar pearls are for the "Bling" effect! Hee hee, I know it's a far cry from the wonders of the cake experts out there, but I suppose, one has to start somewhere...! I'm glad I was able to stay true to my fudgy, in a sense that I only added more chocolate to it, though with a different flavour; and apart from mint, I believe that vanilla (white), orange (tangerine) and strawberry (pink) flavours would also gel with my fudgy!

Jules is speechless...

...I sat in front of the TV last night, watching people around the world celebrate the life of Michael Jackson. Yes, I cried, a bit, every now and then, it just wasn't possible not to shed any tear, coz the memorial was so overwhelming.

Throughout my life, I have lost people dear to me. It became easier when I started to accept that death is part of us and that it is bound to happen anyway, and that the best way to make the life that used to be mean anything is just to "redha", and reminisce the good times, the priceless good times. And I also learnt that we must love the best we can, while we can, it's not something to procrastinate.

I say a prayer to all the blessed souls that are no longer with me, I was blessed that I was ever in their lives and they in mine, alhamdulillah... And I also say syukur for all the people I still have with me now, alhamdulillah... Life is fragile, and precious, and that is why we must celebrate it everyday that we live it.

I will always remember Michael Jackson... :)

Jules is on the roll...

...yup, like I said yesterday, when the creativity sets in, I'd be working and working and working...! And, it helps when my goons are all fast asleep!


Remember the 'proud peacock' box in my earlier post? Well, I fine tuned it a bit last night :)



I just so love purple and I love everything girl, girl... :) Okay, I'll start making more masculine, macho ones too!

Now, after I boost myself with loads of caffeine, I shall start on more stuff, and hopefully I'll find the prefect one for my precious Fudgies... :)

Jules is so in love...

...with her new paper stock from ScrappingGlitz!



Congratulations A&A...Selamat Pengantin Baru, semoga berkekalan hingga ke anak cucu...

I have 62 pieces more of the lovely, lovely cardstock, and I want to be selfish and keep everything, or use all of them for myself! hee hee... But I know myself, when the idea comes, and the creativity sets in, I could end up using all that paper to just decorate many, many tins and boxes, and make other people happy and joyous! But in the meantime, I'll cuddle the papers close to me :)

By the way, here's another box I worked on...ideas on a free flow now! This is also with acid free paper from ScrappingGlitz...




On another front, I'm also crazy about some things I recently discovered... perhaps ideas for this year's Ramadhan and Syawal...



Do sms or email me if any of the above interests you ya... :)


...and these...are my forever love...my very own Alvin, Simon and Theodore... :)



As I write, I'm listening to old, some unreleased, songs of Michael Jackson, "Someone In The Dark", "For All Time", "Speechless", "Fall Again"... recalling my younger days, growing up to the sounds and moves of that dynamic entertainer. How sad it all turned out for him, someone so wonderful, so glorious. I can't help but feel sorrowful over his demise, a big chunk of my childhood is no more. It gets me to think of how fragile life is... life can be very hard sometimes, making you feel like you just want to give up, or surrender to the "demons" because that's so much easier to do. But life is just too precious to give away so easily like that...and when you look hard enough, rumble through the abyss of your fears and darkness, you will find faith...and if you look a bit further you will also find love. Faith and Love, that works for me... :)

Jules is overwhelmed, humbled, touched...

to help brighten your day and to ensure that all is not lost, here’s my comment – though it may not be in the exact words. i would appreciate if you could post it onto your comments page or even better, post it on your blog !



dear julesmd,



on behalf of the AOGC organizing committee of PETRONAS, we would like to express our deepest gratitude for your agreeing to take up our order of the “Tree of Life.” as usual, you have pulled through for us and we must add that the hospitality gifts were delivered on time and enjoyed by all our VIPs. we would like you to know that this year, your gifts together with wiz’ delicious cupcakes had reached, among others, heads of international conglomerates, heads of states, and ministers from around the globe who had come to participate in our conference. we have received some favorable comments including some who said that it was a “pleasurable indulgence.”



PETRONAS is indeed proud to have supported local talents and especially the talent that both you and wiz possess. it is our hope that your commitment, dedication and personal attention given to our request be emulated by other aspiring entrepreneurs. we encourage you to continue what you have done with the humility and kindness that you have in your heart and that it should be accompanied with the spirit of never giving up. if only all other malaysians are like you, we’d live in a better place.



we certainly look forward to working with JulesMD again and of course, with friends of JulesMD. good luck in your future endeavors.



by the way, someone said that your brownies were “eeevil...” (in a good way, of course). :)



regards,

for the PETRONAS AOGC organizing committee

tessa


...Alhamdulillah... thanks so much Tess, I can't begin to tell you how much this means to me... :) To all Jules family, friends and patrons...thank you for your undying support, I will indeed strive to make you all happy for a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonger time to come, InsyaAllah, God Willing... :)