The patriotic side of me! :)

Esok adalah hari Kemerdekaan Malaysia yang ke 53. Sudahkan anda mengibarkan jalur gemilang di rumah anda? Kami sudah :)





Am proud to be a Malaysian! Semoga negara kita aman damai dan kekal merdeka forever and ever... :)

Shopping in Ramadhan

The first birthday card I received this year is from CLINIQUE :) Almost every year, CLINIQUE send me birthday card in August.. very impressive customer service! I like :)



Unfortunately, they arranged my gift to be picked up in Lot 10... probably because once upon a time.. I was registered here by my favourite CLINIQUE girl, Dilla. Dilla is no longer with CLINIQUE, so I was told. Ever since I was transfered to Dataran Bangsar, I no longer shop my CLINIQUEs at Lot 10... sudah tentu saya berubah arah ke Mid Valley :) So basically, I have never picked up my CLINIQUE presents all these years... huhu! They SMSed and called to remind me to pickup my gift... but I always fail to come :(

But this year.. somehow I managed to pujuk dear hubby to go to Bukit Bintang today! Other than picking up my gift... we need to buy a kasut raya for Izzaty :) So off we go to Bukit Bintang this morning... :)

As expected, Bukit Bintang tersangatlah ramai orang!! We went to Lot10's CLINIQUE counter first to pick up my gift. I was told that the manicure set that I am supposed to get is 'out of stock' at the moment. So the CLINIQUE girl offered me to have either a CLINIQUE note book or a CLINIQUE lipstick. The note book looks chic and elegent... but I prefer the lipstick!! :)


The colour is nice!! But most important thing... it's worth RM66!!! But I got it free-of-charge! :) Yeay... I have a new lipstick for raya... woohoo!!! :)

On top of that... there is also a 'raya gift' from CLINIQUE....

In this cute box ada homemade dodol. Wahh... seronoknya dapat byk hadiah dari CLINIQUE!! Berbaloi la kami datang all the way from Lucky Hill! :D

After picking up the gifts, we browsed around to find a suitable kasut raya for Izzaty. Whoaaa... tahun ni my girl insisted to get herself a 'high heel' shoes! Gosh... when did she grown to be so ladylike??! And it is so difficult to find a suitable shoes for her! The shoes are either not to her liking... or the heels too high! We walked and walked to find her 'idaman kalbu' shoes... sambil pusing2 cuci mata tenguk persekitaran Bukit Bintang...

Pusing2 Lot 10... National Geographic exhibtion or something...

The famous junction of Bukit Bintang... very, very busy on a beautiful Sunday!

Kanak2 berpuasa taking a break while ayah browsing baju2 'East India' @ Bukit Bintang Metro. Penat giler agaknya diorang nih!

Meriah suasana di Bukit Bintang Plaza...

FINALLY!!!! After tiring trips to I-Setan, Metro, Parkson and those small shops in Bukit Bintang Plaza and Sungei Wang Plaza... Izzaty finally found a suitable shoes at Parkson!

Just nice... a size 4 Carlo Rino high heel shoes (as per her requirement) but not so high! The price is also not so expensive... lebih kurang harga kids' kiki-lala shoes la gitu.... so I guess mama has no objection! Approved!!

And ohhh..... mama also mengambil peluang mencari kasut raya jugak! (mana boleh kalah ngan anak dara ku itu.. hehehe!).


So okay lah... our raya shopping completed! Finished!! :) On the way back... the kids lena tidurrrrr.... penat giler berjalan!! But alhamdulillah... jumpa jugak apa yang dicari... malam ni ada la orang tidur peluk kasut idaman dia agaknya... LOL!

Beading Project in Ramadhan

This year, baju raya kami dah settled waaaaay before the Ramadhan month... sangat2 advance! :) I bought them during my previous Bandung trip. Baju Melayu for beloved hubby and son were tailored by hubby's favourite taylor who happened to be a dear friend's eldest sis. And mama and daughter's baju kurung were tailored by my favourite tailor - Kak EsDilla, Medan Mara :) Izzaty requested me to sew some beads on her baju kurung raya. But mama has been so busy.. lots of work at office and at the same time trying my very best to do the recommended acts in Ramadhan. The only free time for me to do beading is on weekends. Baju mama and daughter tahun ni sama ajer.... in term of materials and design... boria la gitu :) So, since I have 2 pasang baju to bead... I decided to make it very, very simple... and Ta-Daaa!!!

Simple ajer kan?

Using teknik 'lingkaran' yang simple kat lengan baju

'Double lingkaran' or also known as 'Lingkaran Kasih' at leher baju

Simple and sweet I hope... :) Tak sabar nak raya!! huhu! But an ustaz said during a kuliah Dhuha at Surau Al Insaf, Menara Maybank "Jangan dok sibuk buat preparation nak sambut Raya aje. Sesungguhnya menyambut Ramadhan itu lebih afdal.... rebutlah peluang berbuat kebaikan di bulan Ramadhan yang mulia ini.. "

Ubadah Bin Somit ra. meriwayatkan bahawa Rasulullah SAW bersabda pada suatu hari ketika Ramadhan hampir menjelang: "Telah datang kepadamu bulan Ramadhan, di mana Allah melimpah ruahkan di dalamnya dengan keberkatan, menurunkan rahmat, mengampuni dosa-dosa kamu, memakbulkan doa-doa kamu, melihat di atas perlumbaan kamu untuk memperolehi kebaikan yang besar dan berbangga mengenaimu di hadapan malaikat-malaikat. Maka tunjukkanlah kepada Allah Taala kebaikan dari kamu. Sesungguhnya orang yang bernasib malang ialah dia yang dinafikan daripada rahmat Allah pada bulan ini."

Semoga kita tidak terlalu leka dengan urusan duniawi di bulan yang mulia ini. May Allah give us the strength, the patience, commitment and determination to multiply our efforts to improve our amalan and ibadah in this holy month of Ramadhan... Ameen.

ASHR 2010 invitation

Yeap... they finally got the official invitation card today! Syukur alhamdulillah, both of them made it again this year as Kumon's ASHR students.







Mommy and kids are so excited!! =) This is Izzaty's 4th and Izzat's 3rd ASHR invitation.. but last year's ceremony was cancelled due to the H1N1 havoc. Hope this year's ceremony would be as grand as ever :)

Reaching the BIG 40

I can't believe it myself... but yeap... I am 40 today!! :P Syukur alhamdulillah... diberi peluang oleh Allah untuk masuk ke abad baru ini... what did my friend say? 'A new series'... yeah... I like that! :) Entering a new series... upgraded from 3 series to 4 series... hehe :D

Anyway, after I performed my Suboh prayer... Hubby passed me this card...

LOVE the card!!!

Signed by ALMOST everyone! (those attended the majlis berbuka puasa at my place last weekend. Hubby must have arranged everyone to sign it behind my back... =) It makes me smile... =) Am so touched... rasa nak nangis pun ada!! *oh no!! ni mmg symptom orang dah tua!! GOSH!!*

Okay... let's focus on the card to see who signed it...
Thanks everyone!!! LOVE YOU ALLL!!!! *muahhhhh!!!*

I noticed hubby did not signed the card. Because... there's another special card just from him...

Sungguh terharu okay!!! *sob!* *sob!*. Told hubby that I don't want any present this year.... dunno why, but sempena Ramadhan ni.. I just want to be thankful for what I already have.... :)

My FB wall was overwhelmed with birthday wishes from friends and family... you guys are so cool!!! Your messages really made my day!!! Thank you everyone.... from the bottom of my heart!! =) But the one that touched me most (bukan pilih kasih okay! Cuma yang ini benar2 make me think!) was a message from my cousin, Ustaz Rozli. The message was..

Hj Mohd wrote:
"Mafhum hadis Nabi s.a.w. Org yang terbaik itu dikalangan kamu itu bertambah umur bertambah ilmu, bertambah umur bertambah ibadah dan bertambah umur makin taqarrub dgn Allah s.w.t Selamat Menyambut hari lahir Za.. "

InsyaAllah.... mmg sudah ditanam niat itu!! And thanks Abang Li... for reminding me =)

Breaking fast with family (edited)

I always look forward to the first Saturday of Ramadhan :) Many people took this opportunity to go back to their hometown to break fast with their parents. I remembered my 'zaman2 bujang' when I really looked forward to go back to Kuala Pilah to break fast with my parents and the rest of my siblings... Seronok berebut lauk masa berbuka! :) Those were wonderful memories that I will never forget :)

This year, alhamdulillah, we got the chance to organize another majlis berbuka puasa for both side of the family - my side and hubby's. And again alhamdulillah... most of them managed to make it except hubby's brothers, Hamzah (& his family) and Zali.. and my nephew, Johan who's now studying in MRSM Merbok. As usual, my mom was so excited! Pagi2 lagi sudah sibuk di dapur dengan bibik(dia pesan kat bibik, 'arini tak yah sapu rumah la bik... kita ke dapur terus!' Hah?? Nasib baik la bibik pandai curi masa mengemas rumah lepas sahur.. kalau tak... aduss... segan le makcik rumah berhabuk! :P).

The menu? Hmm.... the usual Roti Jala (ni permintaan ramai okay! Almost every year majlis berbuka puasa with family members kena ada roti jala! Dah jadi tradition gitu... it's everyone's favourite!), Kari Ayam (to eat with the roti jala of course!), ikan masak lomak cili padi with mangga (ahhh... my stomach is making funny noise right now by just talking about food!! :P), Sambal Udang (fresh udang imported from Selayang... bought by Dik Ma... thanks sis!), Sayur Campur (Wan's evergreen favourite!)... ada lagi ke?? tak ingat lagi ahh! But there was 'menu tambahan' - Laksa Johor (especially made by my sis, Dr Na), Rendang Daging (prepared by mother in law... love you mak!), Kuih Tako (sponsored by Dik Ma) and Kuih Tepung Pelita (sponsored by my bro, Angah). Lots of mouth-watering food... I tell you!!! And not to forget my famous punch and bibik's teh panas! :) Another special menu prepared by Bibik was Sambal Ikan Bilis Kacang tapi tak keluar pun masa buka puasa tu - this one special 'lauk tapau'... atas permintaan ramai!!! Huhu... :D

After stuffing those yummy food in our hungry stomach, kami solat Maghrib berjemaah... diimamkan oleh my bro-in-law, Bang Long Azhar :) Syukur alhamdulillah... Seronok berkumpul sebegini... mengeratkan lagi silaturahim sesama kami... especially between the 2 families :) Moga tahun depan dipanjangkan umur dan dimurahkan rezeki lagi untuk meng'organize' majlis2 sebegini! Amiin :)

Photos? A lot!! But bulan Ramadhan ni time is so precious! Tak berkesempatan nak upload gambar lagi... may be later okay :).
*********
31/8/10 - Sempena cuti Hari Kebangsaan nih... boleh la upload gambar2 for this occasion.

Terliur pulak tenguk gambar2 nih... :P

The Guys enjoying hidangan di meja makan #1

Meja makan #2 juga tak kalah meriah!

From left : Farhan , Along, Ashraf, Sara (all from my family side) and my FIL - alhamdulillah, both families sekarang dah macam SATU keluarga :)

The boys - Daniel, Izzat and Adam - cheeky as ever!

The girls - Alea (hubby's side), Danisyah, Izzaty and Aishah.

Adiel, Ilhan (both from hubby's side), Harith and Aiman (from my side) chose to berbuka sambil tenguk TV. Seronok tenguk both families 'blend' together :)

Solat berjemaah imamed by my bro-in-law, Bang Long Azhar

The kids as usual... sibuk main computer dlm bilik tetamu

Ohh.... this is the time when everyone signed my birthday card! Baru ku tahu!!

Banyak lagi left over... so ramai boleh tapau balik for sahur :)

Marhaban Ya Ramadhan!

Syukur alhamdulillah.... am very thankful I am still breathing and fit enough to celebrate the holy month of Ramadhan once again this year. As previous years I will try my very best to make this Ramadhan more meaningful than the previous ones... insyaAllah. Semoga kedatangan Ramadhan ini memberi jalan untuk kita memperbaiki iman dan ibadah... Amin.

To all my friends and family members (who managed to find this 'merapu' blog of mine.. hehe..), I would like to take this opportunity to ask for your forgiveness whether it was intentionally or unintentionally done by yours truly (huhu!). InsyaAllah, I myself would forgive you for if there were any done towards me. Kira 0 - 0 la kita ya? :)

Happy fasting everyone! :)

May Allah swt give us strength and taufiq to perform the recommended acts of this holy months of Ramadhan...

May the blessings of Ramadan Mubarak shower on all the muslims of the world...

Marhaban Ya Ramadan.

سبحان الله والحمدلله ولااله إلاالله والله أكبر

2 days break @ home

Last weekend, we all went back to Melaka for a small kenduri doa selamat at hubby's kampung. So basically... I did not get enough rest last weekend that I felt so tired when I start working on Monday. The kids have ujian bulanan this week... and I felt so bad as lately I did not spent time doing revision with them. Mana tak nyee... by the time I reached home, I was literally dead tired! Exhausted!! How lor to teach the kids??? :( Feeling guilty... I decided to take 2 days leaves... just to monitor the kids doing revision for the test. I need a break anyway.... boleh la rehat sket kat rumah sambil tu kan? It is a good excuse to take leaves :)

So 2 days at home.... BEST!!! Heaven!! Other than monitoring the kids doing revision, berehat and bergaduh ngan Izzat (yeah... he's being so difficult! Penat betul nak suruh dia buat latihan or revision... ada je jawab dia!! He really has lots of excuses! :P), yours truly juga sempat habiskan menjahit beads on a baju which I started monthsssss ago! (I think I started doing it somewhere in April??) Punya la berzaman nak siap! Huhu!

So... yeay!! boleh la pakai baju ni Raya nanti :) The kain for this baju was bought by my colleague Linda @ Kelatan's Pasar Siti Khadijah. I love Malaysian batiks :)











Baju raya tema tahun ni tak siap lagi ni... sempat tak agaknya nak tambah beads nanti? hehe... *no harm berangan kan?* ;)