How my cousin's wedding brought my groove back...

My days post-Christmas were quite gloomy as I lost my mojo...again. I don't feel like celebrating, I don't feel like mingling, I don't feel the excitement of being merry. I just don't know the real reason why...perhaps, my mojo was "stolen" or I was too reliant on a person to be the "mood activator" of some sort. But, came 27th December as I journey back to Keningau, I realise that if I let my moodiness to overshadow the excitement of life, then I'll be a living fool. 

My cousin, Gabriel is getting married on the 28th December and his reception will be held at our village in Kg.Sawang, Melalap the day after. It's been awhile since Aru's abode held a celebration. And for that reason, almost everyone balik kampung to help out with the preparation and to share the occasion with the groom and bride.

Us putting up the decorations..

Some of us were given church duties a.k.a jadi pengapits...I did the offertory with the rest of my girl cousins.

One big happy family...by the way, Getz took this photo. She was there, too!

The next day, it was the reception at the groom's side. A week before, I was told to get a white dress for the reception because "adalah tu..." said my uncle. Actually, all us singles (technically and literally) were asked to ikut rombongan fetching the groom and bride from the bride's house. First time la I join this sort of custom. Interesting hehehe

Single ladies taking the aura of wedded bliss from the lovely bride.

Over hill and vale and kelapa sawit...the course of true love will never run smooth.

Then, macam biasa...we all makan-makan...minum-minum...and....

WE PARTAYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Doing the "chair" dance...bersolo-solo menari atas kerusi plastik...

 Let's partayyyyyyyyyy the family wayyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!

 Yamseng to the pengantins!!

 The groom kena paksa menari di kerusi...siapa suruh kau jadi raja sehari?hehehe

 Do the train dance!!!

The next day, we gathered again to gotong-royong cleaning up the after party mess. Well, no pics here sebab sibuk kan mengasi bersih. It was a hot day...so the groom ajak kami pi mandi sungai...sia ingat dorang pigi sungai yang depan rumah tu. Confident kunun ni mau "kasi basah kaki seja"...

Sekali...

 I just knew that there is another river nearby my kampung..I saw a signboard that says it's Sungai Padas, but really?

 That's us before getting ourselves wet.

 That's us..all wet.

I came home that day feeling so refreshed and happy. I guess, sometimes going back to our family roots can be uplifting to the spirit..

Here's a Happy New Year 2011 to everyone!!

Two days before Christmas...

Two more days before Christmas and I am so glad that my Christmas Mojo is back!! Where did it go? That is another story. So today, I want to blog about yesterday and today sebab siok...hehehe...

Bah, cerita 22th December dulu...

Ladies and gentlemen, after 28 years I finally gotten myself a professional pedicure. Iya, kesian kan? Lama suda bah kunun sia mau pigi, namun because of kekangan kewangan and masa, my dreams of getting an OPI-ed pedicure remained a dream until yesterday. By the way, a note for the male readers, OPI is a brand of nail polish...it's not just a nail polish, it's one of the best nail polish around the market.

nah, ini lah OPI punya nail polish..

So, after picking Belle from work, we made a beeline to CentrePoint and then to Palm Square. There at the Nail Bar, we both catch up over cerita-cerita lama and just enjoy each other's company. Who is Belle? She's my bestfriend time sekolah menengah duluuuuuuuu....

This is Belle. 

 Ini saya. (Dei...ignore the bad hair.)

 My feet pre-pedicure. Punya banyak kesan-kesan luka...uhuhuhu...nonetheless, an hour later...

TADAAAA!!!!

UuuUuuuUuuu...those little piggies are so sexy in red!!!

Then, after pedicure my cousin Abigail texted me and asked me to come along with my other cuzzies to look for the Pink dress. What for? Another cousin is getting married this 28th so all of us single ladies were asked to do the offertory during Mass later. My aunt (the mother of the groom) asked us all to wear pink at church and white at the home reception. I only have to look for a pink dress. So, we meet up at CityMall (the land of so many babelicious dresses) and found what we were looking for...yeay!! Then, we all dinner at PapaRich and baru kami realised...we had just had our cousins' outing!! Well, we did planned for an outing but balik-balik postpone...baru sekarang terjadi nie hehehe...

 Abigail and Becky. They're sisters (in case you were wondering).

 Livvy and Haydee (Livvy shares the same parents with Abigail and Becky. Haydee is my aunt's daughter),

 Dudut, Ezekiel (Maryanne's fiance to be) and Maryanne. (Si Maryanne and si Dudut adik beradik).

 I was the waitress-in-charge that night.  Bulih-bulih ah tersalah tulis order. Fail lah kalau jadi waitress...adeh.

Us.

Bah, sekarang cerita ini hari. 24th December is my mom's birthday. For this year, I decided to summon my dormant Nigella-side and relearn my baking skills which I had left for almost 8 years now. I revisited Putatan's Bake With Me shop, got my supplies and get ready to dirtify my sleeves. Oh, I also prayed that the cupcakes would turn out okay. 8 years of abstaining from baking could be cake-castrophic!!

 My cupcake making ingredients and supplies. Oh, and my kitchen hehehe

 I bought the measuring sets just for this project. I don't know why I feel so proud of owning these thingamajics..hahah...

 Mom's electric mixer broke on me just when I needed it the most!! Nah, tagaplah tangan kanan sia due to excessive cake mixture beating...

 Second batch ready for the oven. First batch? Hehehe...hangus sebab tu oven terlampau panas :-P 

 Cupcakes yang sudah jadi cupcakes...

 Cupcakes in pink. It's Mom's favourite colour, sia decorate sendiri nie...

The finished product!!! Just for your information, the pink one is vanilla flavoured; the chocolate ones are chocolate mint (my fave topping cos they taste like Tim Tams) and the white toppings are cream cheese frosting. 

I hope Mom will love it!!