argh-gila

tieks or tula?

Saturday, October 18, 2014


If, let say you have an option between the following two, which one do you choose and why

A pair of tieks - obviously a very indulging pair of flats which i've been drooling for quite some time huhu can't find it in any shops, you have to buy it online http://tieks.com

design - oh yes.
functionality - can't say as i don't own one, never tested before.
price wise - pricey :(

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Happy first day of fall! A much welcomed change after this L.A. heatwave :) #Tieks #FirstDayOfFall


never ever imagined that i'd go ga ga over another baby carrier after baby bjorn. bought in 2006 when aaqilah was less than 3 months, it served us obediently. we've been tru thick and thin over the years, from aaqilah to natalia, to our nephews and nieces and now sufi. to me baby bjorn is like the ultimate baby carrier, until i tested tula last week. since i've already had a baby carrier, i don't really bother about getting a new one. however, ssc or soft structured carrier was hailed as a better carrier because of it's ergonomic  design and very natural to your little ones. when i put sufi inside, the extra weights i felt when carrying her with baby bjorn seems disappeared. more importantly i could carry her at the back and we both still look very cute with it haha

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Tula best 👍 tq aunty @theshyshy Model: #wisesufi Photo by: @theanum


design - oh yes
functionality - oh yes yess
price wise - pricey ;(

drools, more droollssss

i guess sufi won this time haha

inspirasi

a better person

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

You are your own product.

I've read it somewhere, but it didn't really struck me until I heard on radio this morning. The fact that Sarimah the deejay completed her degree, got her martial arts thingy which I think on instructor level, she's also a pilates instructor certified etc etc made me realized that there's so much more in the world that you can learn, invest, be good at and make a living, who knows.

I am an IT person. People may say that I could do other part time IT stuffs such as website, coding, hard core programming but for me IT is my main source of income aka 9-6 job at the moment. Coming back home I have three kids to attend, and after dinner either I cook or buy from kedai, all energy left is for putting Sufi to sleep. Laptop is left untouched beside me. No more codes or even games which I could bear to stare at, not even lay my fingers on.

What else apart from IT skills? I guess I have baking. Baking is my other passion, but to be honest I can't stand baking 24-7 too. I learn baking from books (when you buy there some investments), youtube and by experiments since young. I went to classes as well but couldn't afford to go many, so I'm a bit picky about which ones is more suitable to attend. Some skills you need learn from a master, some you can train and build over time. Alhamdulillah so far baking is part of my financial aids and one of my future investments.

However, I have started to obsess with exercises and work-outs such as yoga, zumba and cardio classes quite recently. i still swim whenever i can. I've started yoga in 2011 and was pretty amazed at my own capability. I really liked zumba when I first went to the class until I thought I should be a zumba instructor in order to do zumba like everyday hahaha but where do i begin to get certified? whenever i see new shoplots area, i thought, what if i invested in a studio? not only that you lead a healthy lifestyle but probably you'll have more time to roam free :)

the other skill that i've always dreamed long time ago is learning foreign language. not only learning but i want to be fluent and able to converse like speaking english. back then when taking japanese during uni days, i did well and really enjoyed the whole experience. for me, learning new languages is way easier than computer languages hahahaha many years ago, i used to self-taught myself basic french and italians which i demonstrated in front of o.h and left him in awe. such a joy and victorious! when taking classes, it's a commitment but a good opportunity to meet people and build network.

as i am listing down the mentioned above, funds and time won't allow me to achieve all at once. but i guess i can do one by one, by setting up a short-term goal. at least until end of the year, i should be able do this or at a certain level of something. more realistic and manageable put less pressure on myself hence they're doable. the most important thing is to never give up and never think that it's too late for everything. there's always a start for something to begin.

pray hard and work smart, insyaAllah. later play hard :)

argh-gila

peminat sukan

Wednesday, June 18, 2014


sebagai peminat sukan agak tegar, so far 2014 ni banyak membuat aku senyum melebar. mana taknya, see the following list:

  • tennis - always top in my list. rafa nadal won his 9th french open, NINE titles ye. dengan itu dia still the no.1 player in atp rankings, cuma gap in points takdela banyak mana. vamos rafa!
  • golf - ok, aku tengok golf sekali-sekala, kalau nak borak golf sikit-sikit tu bolehlah but not the technical terms and stuffs ok. cerita sweet tu, bubba watson won his second Masters after the first one in 2012. kenapa aku suka dia despite his attitude yang tak berapa disukai tu? senang, he's a lefty :)
  • basketball - the only spurs i support, which is san antonio spurs. menang nba final semalam weh :)
  • football - juventus is a serie a champion for the straight 3rd times. the more important one, sekarang kan tengah world cup. dengan winning streaks yang aku sokong so far, adakah italia akan muncul juara? hahaahhaha apa punya superstitious laaa ni. anyhow, forza italia!!
nak terus senyum, wimbledon is starting next week. us open in august.

argh-gila

french toast

Wednesday, May 21, 2014


i love pancake so much that i used to show off my cooking and photography experiment a few years ago about pancake. probably since i was overseas, i got affected with the breakfast they serve although uk is not the pancake heaven, if not mistaken :) once we got back, why bother with pancakes when you can get the best of malaysian here. hello nasi lemak, selamat pagi roti canai. oh pewitt soto, slurppp slurpp teh ais

anyway, once in a while i still wanted to have out of breakfast ordinary. not so long ago i've tasted one of the best serves of french toast at plan b. i even ordered it during lunch time once just because i couldn't find something appealing on the menu (that's only me i guess). i got frustrated when i knew they serve it until 6pm daily.

but what's up with french toast all of a sudden. aaqilah used to request for sticky bun french toast after watching it on tv. since i love french toast hence why not as it's quite easy to make. during my first attempt i only served with icing sugar.

getting better at becoming french toast master is the goal for now hehehehe

that caramelised banana, i made them myself. there's maple syrup and vanilla ice cream, next time i'll make sure we gonna have whip cream instead of ice cream. kids only attracted to ice cream, aiseh..

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ada apa dengan nama

Monday, May 19, 2014

generally people told me that my kids names are very long, followed by auuw that's nice, or once in a while they ask me to repeat. i admit that my kids names are lengthy that both aaqilah and natalia's filled up all the boxes during registration. 

each names has their own story behind, particularly the first ones. ok, my kids got 3 names, first and the 3 always random with the same ASFI in the middle. i was once asked if ASFI is a combination of my name and o.h, to which my answer is actually no. asfi was one of few names given by my father in law that o.h decided to give to his daughters. unlike o.h, i personally prefer short and strong names. he told me that he doesn't want his name to overshadow his kids and it took me a while to finally agree. nevertheless we enjoy the tensions and headaches during the process of naming the kids haha totally worth i'd say :)

i fell in love with aaqilah when i first heard it in edinburgh. do i need to be in edinburgh to liking the name? of course not and akilah is actually quite a common name in malaysia. i couldn't recall how's it spelt but i remembered her being called lala fondly by her family. when i asked for her actual name, her mother told me it's akilah and i was kinda like star-strucked. there and then i decided to give akilah when i had a daughter one day. when aaqilah was nearly born, i searched for the name's details and fell again for one of the spellings, double AA with Q hence it's AAQILAH due to its unique spelling. from the moment she officially named AAQILAH ASFI IZZAH (izzah means noble in arabic), we hoped that she'll live up to the true meaning of her names - intelligent and noble, amen..

when i was pregnant with natalia, we didn't know it's a girl until the moment we saw her for the first time. however i've always had the feeling that it's gonna be a girl although it's not 100% confirmed. one day i was wiki hopping from one page to another until i stumbled upon christine hakim, a living legend in indonesian film industry. i happened to know that her middle name is natalia because she's born on christmas day, as the root of 'natalia' is natal relates to it. originally it's an italian name and i was opposed by o.h in the beginning. but when he found out that natalia is also a name of one of kobe bryant's kids, he was on board with my suggestion and thought it's kinda cool. heh so typical. our families were like are you guys now out of ideas? i liked azraa (again with the double AA) too hence it's NATALIA ASFI AZRAA. it sounds so unique and like a magnet, it attracts people's interests as well.

where should i begin with sufi? o.h was kinda liked sophea but when i told him that sophea/sofea has started garnering attention lately, he changed it to sufi. the lexical root of the word is traced to safa (arabic) which means purity. also, etymologically sufi is derived from a greek word 'sofia' meaning wisdom. we added KALEELA at the very last minute as we weren't decided on her official name even after nearly 2 weeks since she's born. i love khalila but o.h wanted it spelt with double EE. both kaleela and khalila have different meanings in arabic although they sound quite similar. and unlike aaqilah and natalia, this time the first name is shorter as i tend to go with longer names previously.


there how the kids got their names. for me, i've always liked random names ever since i was young and o.h has his own taste and prefers systemic and rhythmic names. it's not easy but we managed to come up with solutions that we both love.

daily life

#fmsphotoaday april2014 challenge day06 - 10

Friday, April 25, 2014

Day 06 A taste of spring/autumn
I will always love you, and make sure that you'll be in safe keep babe hahaha



Day 07 Where I'd rather be
Apparently I've had the birthday dinner at the same place as last year, and probably in the coming years since the choice is mine.


Day 08 Hobby
Apart from dslr and instax camera which is the latest member to my photography clan, personally I think iPhone camera takes quite stunning photos :)


Day 09 Dark
It's actually the liquid electric repeller.


Day 10 My fave part of the day
Auwww seeing sufi smiles the very first thing in the morning wakes you up instantly. Stronger than coffee :)
 

argh-gila

bake like a french

Wednesday, April 16, 2014


never thought that baking macarons can be very technical.

last year i went to a macarons class and was so overwhelming once i tasted the scrumptious and pretty looking macarons after the class finished. up until that time, the only macarons that i usually bought was from whisk empire as i rarely buy online. even aaqilah and natalia love macarons from whisk. i once bought from a kiosk in klcc and sadly, they're quite disappointing. i've tried once from a kiosk in metrojaya mid valley, and they're also not really satisfying although looked promising. so i thought, why it's such a big hit?

since i'm not a patissier and have not much experience with macarons, my opinions are solely based on my personal taste and what i think is good. to me, a perfect macarons should have this crispiness on a thin layer of skin but won't easily break when you have a bite. the softness inside the shell holds the sandwiched macarons but it's not soggy. surprisingly, a chocolate lover like myself prefers salted caramel filling macarons over chocolate ganache, but i think chocolate praline filling is one of the best i've ever tasted.

my first attempt with macarons was like a week or two after the class. based on my performance in the class, i was confident that it could work. nah, i was wrong and demotivated just after 1/3 of the process. my meringue wasn't consistent as it should have been, and as i suspected, most of them were flat and took so long to cook. i guessed i was clueless at how long it takes time to cook perfectly and the experiment was quite a disaster. but what i've started must be completed not matter what was the end result, hence sandwiched the shells with ganache fillings, and put them neatly in container. my spirit was lifted a bit as my sister told me it tasted quite good contrary to the looks.

so i had another go last 2 weeks. i prepared the raspberry jam filling the night before and went quite smooth. i thought ok, this is a good indication. the process went smoother, the meringue was quite a success with the extra help from sister, the part-time baker. even when i piped the macarons, they all looked good and i was quite confident that finally i've started to conquer my fear over previous attempt.


wait until they're in the oven when i've started seeing something went wrong. macarons are not like cakes so basically they're not supposed to rise during baking, that's what i thought to myself. pray hard, i really hoped that at least i could get enough for cake decoration.


oh my god, look at these. couldn't say that they're a failure but it's more to something that wasn't work out as expected. however, they're tasted as good as the cute ones, see the following ;)


what went wrong during the first round was basically due to my less experience with macarons. although i did performed well during the class, never forget that it was conducted by a very experienced chef and we were taught in the heart of a fine dining restaurant. the atmosphere, equipment, everything was in a right place.

hence, i had better prepared myself as i knew what should and should not do. i managed better in a more timely manner, and technical aspects were improved too. so why did most of macarons become fluffy was quizzical to me, but i think every techniques applied must be precise. i'll let you know once i have become better next time.

so, back to the test kitchen to achieve perfection!

argh-gila

tanti auguri 2014

Tuesday, April 08, 2014

when i was asked what do i want for this year's birthday, i was sincerely clueless. how can i ask him for a present when i still owe him one for last year's. and then i've got the ultimate loafer for anniversary and accidentally lost one of the pair in a such freaking way within a month. i also couldn't make up my mind on what i want. ok, i want bottega veneta's nappa and i don't want to splurge myself to an impulsive buying which will make me regret after that. even i've had burberry's lace clutch in my hands, twice in jpo, i'm very proud of myself for having the ability to put a stop at this craziness. bravo hasniza, bravo!!

but actually, what more could i ask when i have o.h, aaqilah, natalia and now sufi in my life. it's a blessing when my parents and in laws are still around, in good healths and my siblings are all doing quite well. john and paul, you were totally right that money can't buy me love.

 we have a new addition to the family, baby sufi asfi kaleela.

 

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change request

Thursday, April 03, 2014


aaq: maa, boleh saya nak change my name?
maa: (quite surprised) eh, kenapa nak tukar? awak kan suka nama tu?
aaq: saya nak tukar to something else. my classmates semua panggil aa-aa-qilah. (this must be her spelling with the double AA)
maa: oooooo.. maa and ayah gave u aaqilah sebab spellingnya unik. ada nama Aqilah, or Akilah but yours is unique one..

and she was in silence, probably digesting the reason that i gave her.

dearest aaqilah,
you might always be on top of the name list and kids might make fun of your name, but we wanted you to know that it's not an instant to come up with your name. we took time because we care, and we'll always love how AAQILAH spelt ;)



argh-gila

something purple

Tuesday, April 01, 2014


quoted from my instagram,

I wasn't really on a particular colour but I just loved the fabric and it happened to be purple for my husband's reception.
After nearly 9 years and 3 daughters 

He still can fit in the baju melayu, but i need to shed some pounds here and there to get back in that kebaya shape haha although that kebaya was tailored a bit loose than my actual measurements.

ok, next.. 2nd day, keep on posting ;)

argh-gila

photo a day

Tuesday, April 01, 2014


april has arrived, yeah!!

for those who doesn't know me well, i've always got something special for april. i used to buy a lot of magazines in april during my younger years. don't be surprise if there's a spending splurge in april, but i guess i've slowed it down as years go buy.

so, this year's april i guess i'm up for a challenge - photo a day challenge by fat mum slim. i've seen some of friends got themselves signed up, and it looks fun to me. so get ready for april's photo bombardments. a photo a day based on a daily theme sounds easy but human nature, we tend to get bored after a while. i'll pray to stick until the last day of the month, and will post a compilation, let's do it!!




*latest news*

lately i've started to develop a new unhealthy habit which is drinking coffee after 10pm. hence, my sleeping pattern has slowly changed, again, as i only feel sleepy around 2 am. less than 2 months ago, i was so desperately needed this since sufi chose to stay awake up until 3 or even 4 in the morning. but now, hers is improving unlike in my case, the new 'burung hantu'.


thoughtful me

the most remote place on earth

Wednesday, March 26, 2014


It is such a heartbreaking tragedy in which not only Malaysia but I think the whole world is in the mourning period. 

i may not be one of family members but i have those who are close within my circle directly affected. 
i have an uncle who is a mas pilot.
my husband's in law is a mas stewardess.
my brother underwent maintenance ground training with mas and had a brief exposure with them before left in 2010.

my thoughts and prayer go to the family of those who on board mh370. deepest condolence ;(

Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un..

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i look, i see

Friday, March 21, 2014


my mother sent my siblings and i to our quranic reading class near our house when we were young. very near that we only walked to the class and once in a while we ran in order to arrive at earliest.

i still remembered that there was a weekly fardhu ain class, where we had tazkirah sessions and solat berjemaah after that. in one of the classes i was introduced to yusuf islam or previously known as cat steven. my ustazah told us about his journey story embracing islam, and we learnt to sing his song. all i could recall was the first few lines something like these..

A' is for Allah, nothing but Allah
Ba' is the beginning of bismillah
...

when aaqilah was around a year or something, i was suddenly heard that song playing in my mind. i thought since i was in uk, it'd be easier to get the cd. so i was searching for that particular cd on amazon uk, and finally bought one based on the reviews that i've read about it. why i just didn't google the lyric back then.. duh.. ironically the imported cd was all the way from malaysia.

i didn't find the same song in the cd, but my kids really enjoy most of the songs until now. even they have their favourite playlist and make me play them over and over again. from aaqilah, to natalia and will be passing to sufi one day..

recommended =)


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gary blauman

Wednesday, March 19, 2014


there'll be one more episode before the 1 hour finale on 31 March.

How I Met Your Mother is bidding adieu after the 9 year journey. hence, most of my 9 years has been spent with the himym gang on a weekly basis and 9 years is quite a long duration. from my mid twenties until now (not yet mid thirties), we live, eat and sleep with the show. wah, dasatlah haha

in my case himym came out at the right time when i wasn't really attached to any show except bleach, honey and clover, yakitate japan, just naming a few anime series that i got stuck onto during that time. by that time means i was a housewife back then. we were young parents with a baby girl and still adapting to family life adjustments. o.h was a full-time student, and boy, life was simple and quite easy.

as time passes us by, the show itself has it's own ups and downs. sometimes it's not accelerating at good pace, there's time when i just watched it because it's himym. personally for me, himym has been a very good companion and watching it every tuesday is always a joy.

"And that's how it goes kids. The friends, neighbours, drinking buddies, partners in crimes you love so much when you were young, as the years go by, you just lose touch.
You will be shocked kids, when you discover how easy it is in life to part ways with people forever. That's why when you find someone you wanna keep around, you do something about it."

probably after it ends, i'll rerun the whole season again 1-9

;(

legend - wait for it.. - dary! self-five



cupsters

Instagram

Thursday, March 06, 2014


Although it might be a bit late, introducing to you guys these 2 special instagram accounts, @cupsters   and the latter @projekshawl.

@cupsters
Our humble online baking business which I've founded many many years ago with the chocolate cake as the beginning. It's not really huge but manageable and we're proud of our homemade products ;) Highly recommended - Red Velvet cake/cupcake with creamy cheese cream frosting and always my favourite, Devils Food cupcake with chocolate ganache.

Feel free to follow @cupsters and to like our page too Cupsters.Monsters



@projekshawl
Due to my petite built, I've always had problems finding my perfect shawl. If the width is ok, I've had issues with the length and vice versa. Sometimes I've had issues with the materials's opaqueness and material itself. When I see others wearing cute shawls, I always wonder where did they get theirs and one day I thought why not do it myself ones. So that's how it began, a small side project by yours truly. But who knows where this step might lead me to, amen.. Psss, just let me know if you like any of these..

Anyway, there're still many rooms for improvements and a lot for me to learn. It's exciting, challenging and yet could be rewarding. So please, your supports are very much appreciated..

Follow @projekshawl and like the page projekshawl



argh-gila

perihal bercuti

Tuesday, March 04, 2014


saya tengah bercuti maternity, sekarang nearly 2 bulan, 1 month to go.

ops, sebenarnya permohonan untuk extend lagi 3 bulan cuti dah approved. in total aku akan cuti 6 bulan, i'll be back to office in july insyaAllah. of course unpaid the extra 3 months tu.

dari tahun lepas lagi aku dah poyo-poyo inform erik yang aku nak extend cuti cuma tak sure berapa bulan. camni, my colleague started this trend of extending maternity leave to the maximum of 6 months in the office and followed by others. aku ni orang ke-3 bercuti lama sakan. bukannya apa, aku kesian nak hantar sufi ke babysitter as young as 3 months, by 6 months she should be ready by then. lagipun disebabkan aku went tru c-sec ari tu, aku rasa eloklah berehat lama sikit.

once cuti aku dapat lampu hijau, tiba-tiba aku pulak yang jadi panik. how am i going to pay my bills? adakah decision aku ni tak berapa wise? money issue, financial woes.

akan tetapi, aku yakinkan dalam hati, rezeki itu rahsia Allah. kenapa aku nak risaukan perkara yang dah ditentukan. aku berusaha from my end, dan pray for the very best.. ameen..

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s.a.k.e.i

Monday, January 27, 2014


status: confinement period only comes once in 3-5 years so sit back and please relax 
note: please excuse my ayat rojak dan grammar yang tunggang langgang, dah lama tak menulis maaa

alhamdulillah, it feels so surreal that i am now a mother to 3 beautiful daughters. kalau cerita pasal kuota, okla tu to us when it comes to the number. takde boy lagi so far, tapi anyway boy or girl aku terima dengan penuh syukur. 

3 kids with 3 totally different journeys. i remembered telling o.h the other day about this, and he said to me, i think we have enough stories to tell. aaqilah dulu, seingat aku smooth dari awal sampai nearly 3rd trimester. aku takde alahan, in fact aku cakap kat mak aku, morning sickness tu macam mana? amboi berlagak kan. during check up, midwife perasan tummy aku dah tak berapa membesar. contohnya 30th weeks, reading yang sepatutnya 30cm, acceptable range between 2-3 cm. tapi aku dalam 24cm, dan midwife sent for further checkup kat hospital. adelah dalam beberapa minggu jugak ulang-alik gi hospital, sampai doktor satisfied dan came up with conclusion yang aku ni kecik, so it is expected yang baby pon kecik too. bila aaqilah lahir, barulah tau yang placentanya knotted jadi nutriens tak sampai kat baby. disebabkan aaqilah lahir below 2.5 kg, maka kena tahan kiterang kat hospital for couple of days. fyi aaqilah was 10 days earlier than her EDD.

natalia pulak zaman bermula muntah-muntah dan finally aku paham apa rasanya morning sickness tu. kebetulan aku tengah on hiatus (housewife), so cuti-cuti or mc takde problem. hidung sangat super sensitif dengan bau, dan aku menjadi sangat baran. sepanjang pregnancy alhamdulillah takde masalah, dan aku gained weights dengan jayanya. sebab tu natalia pon was nearly 3kg when she's born dengan 2 weeks before EDD. walaupun normal delivery, tapi pengalamannya memang lain. tak sakit lama dan agak tiba-tiba. midwife cakap, baby ni playful la sebabnya dia dah engaged dan seemed ready tapi tanak keluar lagi. after a day kiterang dah discharged. maklumlah normal dan baby pon sihat. natalia sangat 'baik', tak banyak meragam, in fact jarang menangis, jarang berjaga malam dan asyik tido je. we both were happy at first, tapi sekejap je. bila health visitor datang visit kat rumah, dia perasan yang baby kuning dan amek sample darah untuk check. tak sampai berapa jam, terus hospital call dan summoned us asap. rupanya jaundicenya sangat serius, in fact waktu nurse cucuk drip natalia bunyi sikit je. aku pon baru tau baby jaundice ni memang 'well-behave',  very sleepy dan tired. natalia duduk bawah 4 lampu dan masuk air lagi.after a week, dapatlah kiterang balik rumah. 

so apa cerita dengan baby sufi this time. buat pertama kali dalam hidup, baby was delivered via c-sect operation. oh ye, i was having a miscarriage in 2012. sufi was in breech presentation since 30th weeks tak silap aku la. orang cakap nanti dia akan pusing balik, so aku takdela risau sangat. risau sikit bila mengenangkan operate tu tapi aku positif-positifkan diri yang baby akan turn. setiap kali check up, kepala baby sentiasa kat atas. during the final scan kat ppum, it's confirmed that i've to go tru operation. disebabkan amniotic fluid sikit, doktor cakap tak berbaloi pun nak buat ecv. so kiterang set date on 15.1 hari rabu. o.h kata okla by, at least awak dah ready dan tak payah go tru sakit nak bersalin sume tu. aku ni bukannya apa, c-sect ni seriau bunyinya. recovery period pun tak sesenang bersalin normal.

pagi 14.1 sewaktu aku nak mandi sambil pikir-pikir nak breakfast kat mana, aku noticed the same sign macam aaqilah. alamak, aku berderau. cepat-cepat aku call ppum dan tanya apa patut buat. bila derang cakap datang hospital dulu untuk assessment, aku call o.h yang waktu tu away. within the next 2 hours, baby sitter yang diimport dari semenyih pon sampai, aku pun on the way to ppum. bila assess, aku pon dah dilated 2 cm, early contraction bermula maka kenalah emergency operate. 

so that's the beginning of her story, sufi asfi kaleela :)

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