Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Pantang o pantang!?

Confinement period.. one could only hope that it'll go by quickly.. and then doomed with disappointment, whenever one count the remaining days to go without that walk in the fresh air that one has always have.

Why is it so important to jage pantang? Was it only one of Malay tradition? Was there a solid reason for all the pantang that we have to obey for 44days from the day we gave birth?

Yes.. I could have run the marathon the minute after the baby pop, and yes that was a bit too exaggerated..hehe. Although I do not feel tired and restless.. but I was told to lie down and rest.. reason being to let all the urat saraf that mengembang tak ingat to come back to its normal size.. or at least as close as it was, before birth. And I have 44 days of doing that.. well who's to complain? We deserve that break after all that hard work we've been through for 9 months plus Mommies! ;)

I know little about all the pantang reasons, but for all I care, I trust my mother and my MIL when they said the pantang is not for now, it is for your own good later in life. Take my mother for best example, she kept telling me how she never have her chance to really pantang during her past life. She had to do the laundry herself, cooking, cleaning and everything from the day after she gave birth.. not much rest at all..and no one to help her with (except my Dad.. but you know how 'helpful' a husband can be)

Then now.. she ended up with lots of sakit-sendi, sakit lutut, sakit segale lah... Comparing her, at 54 and with my MIL at 58, my MIL looks a lot healthier and energetic with less trouble with her body. And my MIL has got her fare chance of pantang.. so I guess it is true what they said about this later-life-thingy.

Believe me, I have tried to do some 'light' house chore 3 days after my confinement period.. that nite itself, I felt some serious miss-placed of my sendi kaki.. can't even stand properly. So after that day, I just simply close one eye to the dust on the floor, or to Myra's toys yang bersepah tak-ingat...sabor sabor.. few more weeks to go I'll say.

I was told one will lose so many million numbers of urat every time one gave birth (well, maybe i didn't get the number rite, but i know they are lots).. explaining the reason why after some years, woman with kids will look lot older than woman with no kids of the same age.. Now lets do some research on this topic and let all the other 'modern' woman out there know the reason and the necessity of these pantang to appreciate ourselves better.

::Pantang main air::

This it the part that I could hardly accept.. can't compute the reason why one can't play with water during their confinement period. My MIL even ask me to leave all my dirty dishes after every meal.. I was uncomfortable to let her clean my dirty dishes, but do as she said.. out of respect. Maybe, logical reason to this pantang is to avoid playing with cold temperature water.. I know it is bad to let yourself being expose to cold air. So, what we should do, is bath and clean with warm water.

::Pantang larang makan::

I guess, this is the most important subject of all pantang. Why some food is good and some are bad? Luckily, both my mother and MIL are not entirely strict on the food subject. They will think of reason for every food, what'll heat up the body (which is good) and what will cool down the body (which is bad). But they never really follow that rule of no watery-dish. So takdela asek makan food yg bakar-bakar jer.. and I even ended up with lots of yummy pantang food, even had Lamb Beriayani the other day! :)

Note: Some good food during confinement includes Ikan Tenggiri, Ikan Bilis, Daging, Ayam & Telur (after a week or lepas wound dah kering), Daun Pegaga, Black Pepper and Ginger. Avoid seafood, timun.

::Pantang berjalan::

Yeah, heard about people who had to do the pengantin-walk during their entire pantang-time. Logical reason that I could think of is to avoid that wound to be worsen.

And one should never do too much of walking, need to lie down and rest more. I know it's killing-us-modern-mom that used to berjalan sane sini (nak nak at these season.. when lots of outdoor activities are happening and lots of clearance sale! Urghh ) but this is to avoid Bentan. Heard of that word before? What is Bentan? Well, from my understanding and through the experience of my sister-yg-degil, Bentan is when one could not walk, shivering and felt cold inside and sometime even demam.

So to make thing easier, just sacrifice your desire to let loose of boredom at home by avoiding that unnecessary outing. Bile dah terkena baru nak terase.. tapi dah terlambat. Prevention is always better than cure (So I said to my bored self)

Hurm.. stakat ni je what I could think of about the pantang-pantang. I needed to put it on black and white for my future reference, mane la tau.. kalau umur panjang.. next time it will be my turn to jage my own daughter during her confinement period pulak, and I don't want to be blur and hopeless on the subject.

Until then.. happy berpantang to myself! (Errr.. happy ke? hehe 3 weeks to go huuuu)

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

The 'unsangkerable' prison break

Man.. one thing about mulut masin, and another on unexplained mother-instinct. After my last post, I've had the strangers feeling that it won't be long until I meet my new baby, and I was right.. on the night of 11th of Dec I started to have some blood show- which is an early sign of delivery. I contacted Dr.Rafah, and due to my previous experience with Myra, she advice me to go for a checkup. The CTG test doesn't show any major sign of contraction, nor there was any different in my dilation. It was still 2cm. The nurse was ready to ask me to leave, but after consulting Dr.Rafah.. she said I am admitted for further observation.
So there goes my entire night.. CTG test after another.. not much different at all.. and yet the blood show started to thicken and changed to hot-red, with me not feeling any of the contraction at all. Dr Rafah then came around noon, after checking, I am only 2-3 cm dilated, but my cervix is shortening, which mean I am progressing, but it is just too slow.. and she's a bit worry to let me go, thinking about the traffic and all. (Kang satu keje plak terberanak dalam kete... hehe)
She then suggested a pill, which can enhance the contraction and hopefully the dilation too. I was contemplating to accept the idea of putting up a pill under 'there' to speed things up. But after consulting another doctor, who is a friend; I then understand.. it is for the sake of not having the risk of infection to the baby.. so I agreed.
So nak pendekkan cerite, at 20 days earlier.. baby Maqeel bin Mohd Aizal, brilliantly (as the meaning of his name) chose 12.12 to be his birth date. Safely came to the world at 7:46pm..weighing 2.55kg.. complete and healthy, alhamdulillah.

So, there was no picnic for Mommy, no Brunch and no Agong too.. but it was all worth it.

And now there are 4 of us ;)

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Makin dekat makin menjadik


2cm dilated rupenye doesn't mean anything serious.. hehe.. maybe 1-2 weeks till the baby pop. And yet, this boyot Mom still got plenty in her mind- nak gi picnic la, nak gi brunch la, and the nearest, nak jumpe Agong.. hehehe.. tahla.. if we made it till Monday, we'll get the chance to see Agong, just takut terberanak time salam die jek.. huhuhu.. (eh ade ke salam? errr.. takkan nak sembah2 kot? :X)
The ''bomb'' in my womb is ticking hard.. tik tok tik tok...

nebes!
(Pic courtesy of google image: obviously not me!)

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Mystical Doha


Foggy morning, two days in a row.. as if walking through the mystical land. Drive pun tak nampak mende.. takut jek.. luckily safely arrived to office with no scratch. But that picture ain't the same as my experience. While driving (at around 5:45am), hardly even see the car in front of me.. and everybody's on the hazard light, which make it rather difficult to differentiate whether they are static, or turning right/left. Hurm.. typical Qatar's I-couldn't-care-less-but-myself drivers.
...And they outnumbered the normal driver each day.

Well.. anyway, maybe the foggy morning is the Maal Hijrah celebration afterall.. happy New Year to all muslims. May it be a better year ahead of us, sheltered from Al-Massih ad-Dajjal.

Amin..

Monday, December 6, 2010

Winter Saviour

Ibu is here again.. to help look after Myra while I'm finishing my last bit of working life up until the delivery of baby M.
1 day after her arrival, she's already on her feet cooking for the winter nite market done at our Embassy on Friday. 40 packs of Laksa Johor and 45 packs of Roti Jala- sold out! Alhamdulillah.. we are happy for Ibu. She always love to do cooking business, and she is a great cook too. So, it was sure a good experience for her. :)

2 days after, I treated her for our small AJE ladies Hi-Tea gathering at Ritz Carlton. The food, ain't that great.. but okla.. at least its a release session before i'm locked up for my confinement. ;)
But the companies were the most important, old (not that old as age, old as in org yg lame skit kat Doha) and new gather to mingle, it was a fun evening in deed.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Horray for Qatar WC2022!


Yes.. it'll be a hot games all around, and hot ''maksiat'' in Qatar too .. but just think of the positive side of it? Qatar will be well developed (hopefully la.. dulu time Asian games pun hancurr.. airport pun tak siap2 sampai la ni! huhu). Maybe they'll install air-conditioner all around the country.. huhu..

But until then, just wait and see.. (Hoping for the best)

P.S: To those who think Qatar tak best: "In your face!"

Sincerely;

Me, who-do-not-regret-coming-back-to-Doha-Qatar ;D

Hurmmm.. 12 years to go....

Friday, November 26, 2010

Oh Tidak!!

Why am I so behind in getting my maths rite? I am actually now in my 9th months pregnancy! And I still thought I have plenty of time for the baby-stuff checklist! Uh oh.. Time to get nervous and hit the store for a last minute shopping.. Aaaa.. panic panic!

Time to scratch out stuff from these endless list!!! Erghhhhh!
__ Comforter/Quilt
__ Bumper Pad
__ Crib Sheet(s)
__ Diaper Stacker
__ Dust Ruffle
__ Canopy Cover
__ Mobile
__ Pillow
__ Cradle Set
__ Porta Crib Sheets
__ Wall Hanging
__ Lamp
__ Wallpaper/Border
__ Changing Table Cover

Nursery Furniture

__ Crib & Mattress
__ Cradle & Pad
__ Chest
__ Dresser
__ Rocker/Glider
__ Porta Crib & Pad
__ Bassinet & Pad
__ Changing Table & Pad

Infant Feeding Supplies

__ High Chair & Pad
__ Bibs
__ Booster Seat
__ Pacifier & Holder
__ Dishwasher Caddy
__ Sterilizer Kit
__ Bottle Brush
__ Bottle Warmer
__ Plastic Bottles
__ Disposable Bottles
__ Glass Bottles
__ Nipples
__ Bottle Caps
__ Breast Pump Set
__ Nursing Pads

Infant Health & Child Safety Products

__ Nursery Monitor
__ Safety Gate
__ Vaporizer
__ Thermometer
__ Nasal Aspirator
__ Night Lights
__ Fireplace Bumpers
__ Drawer Latches
__ Outlet Plugs
__ Appliance Locks
__ Toilet Locks

Infant Bathing Needs

__ Baby Bath Tub
__ Bath Sponge
__ Bath Ring
__ Hooded Bath
__ Towel
__ Wash Cloths
__ Tub Spout Covers
__ Deodorizers
__ Potty Chairs
__ Safety Scissors
__ Nail Clippers
__ Brush/Comb

Infant Travel Products

__ Play Yard
__ Infant Car Seat
__ Toddler Car Seat
__ Diaper Bag
__ Baby Sun Shades
__ Umbrella Stroller
__ Large Stroller
__ Soft Carrier
__ Back Pack Carrier
__ Peek A Boo Cover

Infant Clothing

__ Diapers (cloth)
__ Diaper Pins
__ Plastic Pants
__ Diaper Covers
__ Diaper Liners
__ Gowns
__ One-piece outfits
__ Sleepers
__ Playwear
__ Booties
__ Socks
__ Shoes
__ Receiving Blankets
__ Undershirts (Snap-side or Pullover)

Miscellaneous Products for Baby & Nursery

__ Crib Mirror
__ Activity Quilt
__ Activity Gym
__ Toy Chest
__ Child's Rocker
__ Toys
__ Door Jumper
__ Walker
__ Swing
__ Bouncer Seat
__ Picture Frames
__ Record Book
__ Photo Albums
__ Wipes Warmer
__ Diaper Pail

Monday, November 22, 2010

Pasir Berdengung

Last weekend was packed with instant activities. No plan was really made, but luckily everything fall into places; we managed to go for Singing Dune (yeah.. after that many years of kene-tinggal-sebab-keje) finally dapat jugak gi main pasir berdengung ni.

Funny thing is, the sound resembles bunyi kentut sikit-sikit.. hehehehe
And just imagine that number of 'behinds' sliding simultaneously down the dunes.. it was like a fart-fiesta.. hiks and yucks!! :P

Well.. here's some of the shots during our last minute trip (pics courtesy of others-kami lupe bawak kamera! seb baek videocam ade), will upload the video later on.. (malas nak transfer hehe)

After the brief fun, everybody agreed to an instant BBQ session at Zahed's, which turn out to be brilliantly filled with lotsa food that i can't stomach anymore! huk huk..

Then, the next day, same crowds agreed to play futsal at our place. it was nice to finally get to use one of the court .. kalau tak, slalunye penuh ngan kekanak riang jek.. main beskal la.. apela.. hmmm.. i do miss playing futsal.. can't really recall the last time I had fun sweating out kicking anymore.. i guess it's true what my mom and MIL said.. once you are a mother.. all those activities will be part of history.. sob sob :(

Well, enuff talk about the what if and the what was.. let see some 'jumping-sekerat-acts' hehe


Oh.. btw, here's the coordinate to go there: N250 02.466' E510 24.540'
Someone told me, there's only one particular hill that'll sing as you rub down the dunes.. others.. will only be a pain in the 4$$.. hiks.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Eid-ul-Adha

Pic: Googled (Thnx!)

AidilAdha, time of sacrifice..

Wondering what's going on with few of our Doha Friends in Mekkah now, hopefully their hajj rituals running smoothly and come back home safely. Aminnnn...

On another note, we felt so blessed that this time around, we were showered with lots of invitations to open-houses. The first day alone, we've covered breakfast time, lunch and dinner.. (tak penah2 ni) hehe.. rezeki baby, mommy takyah susah2 masak pagi raye! :) tambah2 dgn Mr. Ai yang berjangkit demam dgn Myra..

And today, after work, we've got 2 more houses to go to. Then another house the day after.. Kinda feel like Malaysia.. maybe even more meriah? Hiks..

But I am sooooo sleepy at work now! Please wake me up! Urghhh!

Anyway, Eid Mubarak to all! (Orang Malaysia baru raye hari ni.. kiteorg dah raye semalam :)

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Feed ME!


Another set of appointment with the Gynae.. not long now.. 7 weeks to go. And she's saying I hafta feed myself MORE! Hello?! Can't you see my bulging tummy already?

Well.. according to her, the baby is not getting enough! And weight just at par. No wonder all the fat distributed evenly throughout my chubby face, tripled chinsss, flabby arms, gigantic legs and not forgetting my 'not-so-lil' (but still cute) behind..

oh how I envy those who didn't gain!

Yes.. I am aware that for every pregnancy- be it girl or boy, my body will just swollen up. So, the so-called myth about having a boy and not really put on weight is totally a fairy tales.. well at least to me :(

And now my Gynae is asking me to eat more! And I bet most of that 'nutrient' would go all over ME, and not my baby.. huk huk.. poor baby M.. Mommy will do her best to feed you with lotsa protein aight? Insyaallah.. see you soon baby.. grow big now (But not TOO BIG please.. takut lak nak teran kang! hehe)

:)

Monday, November 8, 2010

It's London all over again

No.. we are not moving back to London :P

I'm merely talking about the uncertain feeling that i had when having to babysit Myra in between job, with Aizal and me working in opposite shift. Yeah, it sucks.. but hopefully work well. Here we go again!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Uninspired

Feel like years since I have updated my blog. I was bored at the office that I googled 'hadiah kahwin', when I came across this beautiful artistic blog by azreenchan. Her space filled with lotsa cute doodles, which I think is preety clever. Truth is i love scribbling too.. if I ever hold a pen/pencil and a pad, I'd find meself drawing some random stuff that me myself am puzzled to where it came from. But yeah.. being the lazy-me, i never got to improve nor explore more on that side of me. Thus, leaving the old boring me, staying put in my tempurung land. I wish I could be more like azreenchan..

I wish I could be inspired to do more..

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Disney Fiesta

Four years, and 8 houses later (yes!! we moved that many time!!!), only now my wish to paint our home is granted.. ;)

Barulaa ade rase home sweet home..

It's our house warming and Myra's birthday celebration.. everybody were invited to dress in any of Disney's character.. it was a marvelous time. Although we were struggling to get the house done, with working in odd hours and all, but alhamdulillah everything went well. Just in time to bake & decorate the cake, buy the goodies and party pack and order in foods (yeah.. terpakse cater jela.. tak larat). Almost 90% of the vision i had in mind for Myra's 3rd birthday party came true... ;) Including the clown! and the games, and the cute chicken dance.. hehe thanks to Aina yg tolong pikirkan games.. hiks..


Almost all the kids are supportive of the idea to 'dress-up'. And even some adults came dressed in a slight pinch of disney's toon. My favourite.. the headless-Monster inc. And of course, yang memang takleh celen- Mr.Clown and family; fully dressed as a clown with wifey Tom & baby Jerry.. how so cute! (Thanks again guys.. korang memang sporting ;) well u know who u are..)

The party all in all went well, except for few hiccups here n there. During the candle blowing ceremony, the Minnie cake (luckily baked from the box.. hehe preggie Mommy's lil tired to bake from scratch) flipped over to the floor- abis pecah my lovely Burleigh cake stand.. huk huk kenangan from UK :(



TAPI, yang bestnye kek selamat! maintain- thanks to fondant I guess.. just the Minnie bow jer pecah. So, after that few second of glitch, with sobby Myra crying, we resume with the candle-blowing, and party popper-popping (which creates another unfortunate incident.. abis poppers masuk lam makanan!! lupe nak cover! hiks..) But then again.. what a party without any glitch kan? Barula meriah skit kalau ade bende-bende camni.. leaving us with sweet sweet memories... that'll make us awkwardly smile alone out of no where. ;)

Hurm.. besar dah anak Mommy.. next year, takde dah kot party2? hehehehe

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Hong Kong Trip part 2

Disneyland!!! yes.. both kids are over excited for that particular day (but I believe my hubby is slightly more over excited..hihiks).. checking out from our hotel to move to Disney Resort for another nite stay there.
Oh yeah.. pardon me for forgetting to share some basic cost of transportation there. The taxi cost from the Hong Kong Island to Disney Resorts was +-300 HK Dollar. The taxi cost from airport to HK island was +-400HK Dollar (if I remember correctly). And you oughtta take a different colour of taxi to get to different island, so be sure to check on that before boarding. They charge more based on your luggage and toll. But that was the total cost that we paid. So, divide by the 5 (and a half) of us, that's still not too bad.. I think it is the best way to travel with the bags and everything.
Sadly, while waiting for our taxi, the sky turned dark and suddenly its pouring rain! All the way to Disneyland!!!! The 11 years old Tisya starts to feel sad.. and tot there goes all her hopes of glory and joy to have her dream vacation in Disneyland.. :(
We reached the Hollywood Hotel with a warm welcome, the bell boy immediately took our luggage and stack it onto his trolley, then professionally label them together and hands out the reference card. He then pointed us to go to the provided bus to go to Disneyland. Bayangkanla.. belom check in ni.. baru keluar dari taxi jer, pandai2 je apek ni.. nasib baik betul mmg kiteorg nak buat camtu pun.. haha
So, dengan rase yang sikit2 happy and sikit terkilan due to the rain, we boarded the bus. Then 5 minutes later, we've reached the gate. Our assumption that the ticket booth would be flooded with people (like the one in Paris) was so wrong. The place is practically empty. And so was the crowds inside! Man.. memang rileks gile.. don't really have to think about the long line of queue (except for picture taking with Disney's famous idols- Mickey & Mini Mouse).
I felt quite happy to be able to take Myra in, now that she is older, she recognize most of the Disney character.. and was really happy to see them. But, the down side of taking her now was the fact that there were not that many rides to go to that suit her age (or height). There were 4 part of the whole park; the Main Street USA, the Adventureland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. Pusing-pusing kejap cam dah abis.. Compared to Disney world in Paris, 2 days is the minimum time to really enjoy the whole park! But still.. I think it is just the right size of a park for a 3-5 years old kids. So, no complaint there~
from then on, starts the fairy tales of the kids.. enjoying every little bit of their time in Disneyland, ignoring the drizzling rain.
Well.. enough 'talk', now let the video do the talking. Enjoy~



We left the park right after the last shot of fireworks.. the not-so-crowded place seems packed now. Everybody were rushing to get to the hotel. We tot we gonna wait long for a bus, but the resort has everything under control. Rows and rows of buses were lining up; ready to take passengers. It was a well organized process, people were divided by numbers and quickly boarded on bus in no time. Same thing at the hotel.. lucky for us, that Me and Aizal had took the opportunity to check in earlier (we took a little detour to the hotel during our time at the park, because Myra need 'to go'). Overall, we are 110% satisfied with the services and the hospitality that the resort had shared. It was surely worth it.

The next day, the rain just kept pouring harder.. So we cancelled the plan to visit the Ngo Ping 360. Instead, we took the train to Tung Chung station, and strolled along the branded outlet mall. It has got plenty to offer, but sadly not our pocket :(. I guess ade gak hikmah hujan lebat, rupe2nye the cable car for that 360 view tour was closed for yearly maintenance.. so takde la penat je terkejar2 nak gi visit..

After few hours, its time to go home. We picked up our bag at the hotel, then took the taxi to the airport. At 1830hrs, we bid farewell to Hong Kong. Another fun filled holiday to remember.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Myths of the 'Orang Tue'


Yes, I know.. I'm writing a completely different story, whilst my trips (sss) stories are yet to finish. But I just couldn't sleep until I write this one off my head (No.. I do not hear voices like the manics people.. it's rather inspirational thoughts by the way :P)

From day one that I announced my pregnancy, people surround me just couldn't help but to guess on the gender. They all somehow become 'the expert'. Comparing all mine and their own past experiences lah, physical appearances lah and the what they call rather abnormal behaviour of the mother (i.e Me).

So, the myths of petua orang tua begins...

1. Orang tue-tue cakap kalau 'Perut membesar kedepan, ade pinggang, anak lelaki'. (This was my mom.. she had it wrong before, dulu time myra pun die kate ade pinggang! :P)
2. Orang tue-tue cakap kalau 'kite malas2 time pregnant, anak lelaki'.
3. Orang cakap kalau 'time first pregnancy dulu lain, sekarang lain, anak lelaki' (in case the previous one is a girl)
4. Orang cakap kalau 'mabuk teruk time first trimester, anak lelaki'
5. Orang cakap kalau anak perempuan tu tak suke kat Mak die mase pregnant, anak lelaki (This is supported by Myra's abnormal behavior towards me, she is now more prone to manje with her dad than me :(
6. 'Eh eh, anak orang suke kat kau la.. anak lelaki kot lam perut tu.. Dulu die tak suke Eicha sebab pregnant girl' (my younger sister was telling this, when her 1 years old son somehow like it that I held him)

But one contrary prediction from my pinoy neighbour was that 'I think it would be a girl again, because you are so beautiful (I think she meant blooming, yada-yada)... hiks (Note: Ini yang die cakap, bukan saye nak masuk bakul angkat sendiri :P)

Then, come the Chinese calendar...

Some of my husband's officemates (No, they are not Malays nor Chinese.. and yes, they include a matsalleh too ) AND my sister both predicted 'Baby boy' on their assumption of the consumed date of the baby and the Chinese calendar calculation.. hik hik.. agak lawak considering, how on earth do you actually calculate based on the exact dates the baby is consumed?

Well, this is just few of their own initiatives, in their eager to 'bet' whether the myths are actually true. And I, myself am curious too. Sejauh mane kebenaran teori-teori ini???

Although, yesterday I have had the support of technology to confirm their prediction, semua ni still Allah (SWT) yang tentukan. Kami hanya berserah, and hopefully, 4 months after this, all those who had their share of prediction would be quite happy seeing the little bird 'flying off' my belly. Insyaallah..

Well...what's more important is the baby is safe and healthy. Aminnnnn

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Hong Kong trip

Gosh.. i know it has been a while since i last updated my blog. There are so many things happening that i kept delaying an entry after another. But certainly not today! Today, I will finish off my entry on our last trip to Hong Kong. (Well.. that was my determination 3 weeks ago.. hehehehe)

It was a sudden plan to go back to Malaysia, urged by a sudden 'kerinduan'.. First, we booked our flight ticket home from 2nd of June, then Mr.Ai suggested why not go to Hong Kong and take Myra to Disneyland? So, we booked our flight and hotel to HK; a 4days and 3 nites trip, 2 nite spent on Hong Kong island and 1 nite on Disneyland Resort. Then, lepas dah excited2 with the booking and all.... i discovered a joyful news, I was already 6 weeks pregnant!! So I guess we've created our spontaneous-tradition; both my babies had their chance in Disneyland while in my womb. Last time Myra had her chance in Disneyland, Paris and now baby M2 got its chance in Disneyland Hong Kong... ;) And that just mean Mommy aren't allowed to have fun with all the blood-thrilling rides! (phewwhh.. agak lega.... hehehe)

So after few days in KL, came 7th of June, joined by Mr.Ai's sister and her daughter Tisya; we took the 4hours airasia flight to Hong Kong. Myra was not that excited at all, she kept asking us to go back. But her mood turn to joy when boarding the plane, she opened up the 'meal-tray' then curiously shouted 'Mommy! Takde? TV takde?!'. Oh boy.. the joy of explaining mengapa kapal-terbang-tambang-murah- ini tidak menyediakan tv to the 2and a half years old kid. :P

Luckily, she fell to a deep sleep few minutes after take-off.

The 4 hours ride isn't a joyful one for me because of few reasons;
1. The seat is too cramped. No space to stretch your legs
2. The flight was full. No chance to get an extra seat or two
3. The back ache caused by my pregnancy
4. My squashed bladder that kept pushing regular visit to the loo.

So, note to myself; never again board a normal airasia route for flight longer than 2 hours. It really serve you with its lowest possible comfort. (Well, what you pay is what you get la pun..)

Nevertheless, on the plus side; we reached Hong Kong safely and the pre-booked meal is as good as ever.

After checked in and few hours of quicky nap, we carry on with our first destination; The PEAK. From the hotel, we adventurously took the tram to Shau Kei Wan terminus. Determine that it should be a short and easy ride to the PEAK (well, according to google map, the hotel is just a walking-distance away from THE PEAK). Well, turns out google map was wrong, luckily I took the initiative to ask the local the arah-tuju. The locals there are quite friendly, and speak good english too! I'm impress ;) So, based on the direction from one local woman to another local man, we finally reached THE PEAK! pergh.. bleh tahan jauh! Memang menipu btol la google map nih! (or izzit because the hotel's add yang tipu?!! grr...). Well, anyway.. I'm glad that we are still on track with our day 1 itinerary. Dalam sebok2 beratur nak beli tiket tu, tibe2 my phone rang.. Doha's number.. hurm.. i just simply picked it up and answered. Rupe2nye an old colleague of mine, asking if I'm interested to do a freelance work from July! Wahh.. another rezeki.. alhamdulillah.. after one year plus being a housewife, i think i should give it a try, at least before baby M2 arrives ;)

Pic: Tisya on top of Hong Kong

After spending few hours at the top, we then made our way to the ferry station (but this time by cab.. hehehe with 1 preggie lady, a cranky myra and 1 lady in period-pain, i guess cab is the way to go). We took the ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui and then waited until 8 pm to board the ferry back to Central, awaiting the so-called magnificent "Symphony of Light show'' from the ferry view. Oh how disappointing, the show lasted like 5 minutes and the only lights we saw came from not more than 10 buildings! Gosh.. talking about exaggeration! Luckily we already ventured the Tsim Sha Tsui surroundings, and found few beautiful spot to hang.

The following day, we took the tram again to the nearest bus station to go to Stanley Market. It was not that difficult to find, the bus station is just few meters opposite the Central MTR station. (Yes, i had the local help again..malu bertanye, sesat jalan maaa ;)

Myra was really excited to took the double decker bus ride. She sang 'The wheel on the bus' song over and over again throughout the journey. Even Tisya was excited, it was her very first experience, riding the tram, the double decker bus and the ferry, lucky to have an adventurous uncle and aunt huh Tisya? ;)

It was a scary journey to Stanley Market, being on top of a double decker bus, on the front row! riding the bengkang bengkok hills, we felt as if we nearly scratch the hill, for every turn it made. Kecut jugak perut.. cam naik roller coster! And some more, the bus driver dgn slamber bawak laju! huhu.. tapi naseb baik, slamat sampai..

According to google; Stanley Market is the place to go for all sorts of souvenirs and bargain hunts. But it works rather on the opposite for us, the shop mostly being unfriendly and won't allow any bargain at all. Nevertheless, there are still few shops that's still kind enough to lower down the price, but still even after the bargain, I still think it was way too expensive!

After the 'satisfying' shop, we went back to the Central, took the cab to go to Islamic Central, not far from Causeway Bay. Finally eating rice, halal dim sum and few other halal chinese dishes. But surely our taste bud can't really swallow the un-spicy chinese food, looks tempting enough, but tasted literally like a fried beef in a salty-soy, full stop! :(.

The same nite, we took the MTR to kowloon and venture one night market after another. The best is surely the 'Ladies Market'. It is simply the biggest night market there with many stuff to buy. Almost like the Petaling Street in KL. If you are looking for imitation watch, or designer items, this is the place to go, but don't expect it to be displayed on the shop, as it is illegal. If you walk around the market, somebody would definitely approach you with a file filled with the pictures of the 'hot-stuff'.

Fyuohhh.. i'm tired now.. recalling all those memories in Hong Kong.. i think i should stop here, and continue again after some time.. stay tune for our Disneyland stories! ;)


Saturday, May 29, 2010

Wake Up!!!

I was a bit behind on this, (was it 2 years ago?? ), nonetheless perhaps there are others like me, who never been exposed to such excellent discoveries through this amazing online film production called The Arrivals . A must see, for those who believe of the end of the world. There are 2 more interesting series on the WakeUpProject website called '' Phase 3" and "The Divine Book" also worth your time to watch. You can also watch it through Youtube, you'll find plenty, find the one under Noreaga/Archernahr. Go and have a peek, it'll change your perceptions of the world insyaallah.

Better late than never~




Wednesday, May 12, 2010

menyahut PanggilanNYA.. (pt 3)

We arrived in Mekah late at nite. As we approach nearer we recite the talbiah... whilst our little heart felt excited and overwhelm to finally reach our main destination... Mekah al-Mukarammah.. and to finally see the the holy Kaabah with our own naked eyes, insyaallah. From afar, I could see the brightest light coming from Masjidil Haram.. subhanallah. But, my first sight was distracted by the bigger building just right to it, The Zam-Zam Tower..memang potong stim. Why would they build such a gigantic tower in this holy land? It has taken the special grand-appearance of Masjidil Haram.. I would personally think that because of this, people could be more amazed to see the big tower than the Kaabah.. (sigh..).
But alhamdulillah.. despite the BIG distraction, my heart is still itchy from curiosity..
curious to see the magnificent Kaabah, the Baitullah. At that moment I was excited plus scared, would I see it? Bermacam-macam cerita tak bes dari pengalaman2 orang lain (actually pengaruh dari bace cerita2 cerekarama dari metro la.. apela.. hehe) terngiang-ngiang kat kepale.. ade orang yang tak nampak Kaabah sebab dosa yang tergantungla, and macam2 lagi la cite tak bes... So I pray hard.. moga-moga we are among the lucky one to be able to perform umrah without any hiccups.
And Alhamdulillah.. that very nite, we approached the Masjidil Haram, and there it was.. the big black cube.. as beautiful as people said it was, dan yang paling penting, I saw it! ;)
Around midnite, we performed umrah, from Tawaf to Saie and to Tahlul.. and khalas.. at around 1++ i think, we are free from the pantang-larang ihram. Mase buat umrah tak rase letih, tapi once dah selesai, fuhh.. terase jugak, nasib baik Myra kena tinggal kat hotel, kalau tak, sure lagi mencabar nak angkut die sekali tengah2 malam buat umrah (although I am sure akan dipermudahkan olehNYA kalau kiteorg bawak pun..;).
The hotel we stayed in is just few hundreds meters away, so agak senang nak berulang-alik. The next few days were just us and our own activities, berulang-alik ke Masjid, ambik sebanyak mungkin peluang untuk tawaf, because this is where, the only place we could do so.

I recall from a video I saw about tawaf, claims that ''the Kaabah has the strongest energy on earth that flows counter-clockwise, so by us flowing in co-relation with this energy, we are uplifting ourselves, we are reaching spiritual level that we rarely felt anywhere else, and the fact that we perform 7 times of the tawaf is because of the 7 level of the skies. So, we are reaching the ultimate state of wisdom spirituality''.. wallahualam.

I don't remember which day exactly we went for the group tour to see the Kaabah's Museum and the ladang unta. It was a brief tour, tak sempat nak bergamba sangat pun, hiks.
Anyway, the very last day before our departure, me, my hubby, nizam and Aiman went for our own quick tour with the local taxi. Paid Saudi Riyal 100 per taxi, to visit Jabal Nur, Jabal Thur, Jabal Rahmah, Mina, Padang Arafah etc2. During that tour, we could just imagine ocean of people coming to perform hajj. That empty tent, that empty field would be filled up with millions of pilgrims, with one hope; to not only fulfill one of the 5 pillars of islam... but to be accepted by Allah.
That same evening, we performed tawaf widaq, partly sad that it's time to say good bye. Praying that we'll be invited again..soon insyaallah.
23 hours later, we reached Doha... dengan azam dan semangat baru, semoga Allah terus-terus memberikan hidayah. Memang betul bak kate ustaz Abdullah, doa Nabi Ibrahim (a.s) sememangnya sangat makbul, doanya, semoga sesiapa saja yang datang ke tanah suci Mekah akan rindu untuk datang kembali..

that is exactly what we felt until now.....

Saturday, May 1, 2010

menyahut PanggilanNYA.. (pt 2)


Another day in Madinah Al-Munawarah.. which is by rukun, is not part of the umrah, but as one of the respected sister once told me, 'How could you not come and visit Rasulullah (s.a.w) when you are so very near already?

She was right..

The ziarah to Madinah is mainly to send our salam to rasulullah (s.a.w) and his sahabat and to also visiting Raudah; which is as per rasulullah (s.a.w) is part of the heaven's garden.. and is among the most mustajab place for doa. So, whenever you have the opportunity, go ahead and make your wish to visit it, after raudah you are just meters away from makam rasulullah (s.a.w).

For ladies, they have provided few time slot for ziarah, sometime after subuh, after zuhur and after ishak. The guys have much more convenient to visit, which for them are open all the time.

Me and ibu went at around 10-ish that nite (taking turns as we left Myra at the hotel with her dad). We were guided straight to Raudah's way (so we tot). They have a system to gather all the ladies as per their nationalities; which of course put us among the Indonesian and Singaporean group. The ladies guard (as fierce as they can be) would constantly shouted 'Dhudhuk ibu..dhudhuk..' (which is kinda cute, considering they are arabs and all, hiks). So there we goes...from one point to another, like a heard of sheeps we were guided and ordered to make our way, meter by meter nearing Raudah, everytime asked to dhudhuk (sit) then again making few step forwards, then sit.. until we can actually see the Raudah. At the very last point, few of the Pakistani and Turkish ladies got so angry with our group. They stubbornly sneaked in to be among us (as they tot we are next in line to get into Raudah). The ladies guard kept shouting for them to get back to their group, but their ziarah spirit seems much stronger than to bother about a small system as this. We've waited 10 minutes, and another group went in, 15 minutes, another group went in.. it was told that our group (which is the most well-behave and dengar cakap) will be the last to go, so that the Turkish or the Pakistani won't have the chance to push us (which is apparently their best known-behaviour, hence the system). So bagus jugak la ade system ni, at least semua kompem dapat merase.

Alhamdulillah.. 15 minutes before midnite, we finally got in.

(Pic by Aizal)

The next day we have our ziarah with few local ustaz (which are from Malaysia themselves). We visited Masjid Quba, Bukit Uhud, Ladang Kurma and Kilang pencetakan Al-Quran (which is the biggest in the world). The mutawwif in our bus is ustaz Abdullah, throughout the journey he was talking really passionately about the sejarah that all of us felt so tak puas, and rase nak dengar lagi... so Haji Mansur invited him again for another session that night, none of us felt sleepy. All eyes and ears are onto him, memang best.. sayu je dengar sejarah rasulullah (s.a.w) and para sahabat. I hope one day to get the chance to hear the history told by him again..
Never in my life, have I felt so into the scene when people talked about history until that day.

The next day, we checked-out and ready with our Ihram, making our way to Miqat in Bir Ali, untuk pasang our niat umrah and off to Mekah Al-Mukarammah.

To be continue (Insyaallah)

Thursday, April 15, 2010

menyahut PanggilanNYA.. (pt 1)

I think this is the only trip that one could never really plan on their own, unless they are 'invited'.

Our trip started on Wednesday evening March 31st, we left home after Asar, around 5pm. The meeting point is at Al-Saad stadium. Mr.Zahed was kind enough to offer his big Armada to send us off, alhamdulillah. So, there we are, nervous and excited to see the BUS that we gonna make as our bed-on-wheel throughout our journey for umrah.

Sampai-sampai je Al-Bayyan compound, we saw 3 of the buses lining up- gorgeous good looking brown metallic buses! New and Super cool, complete with a nice toilet (like the one in airplane) Alhamdulillah.

After maghrib, more and more people start to come, we loaded our bags into the bus and started choosing our seats, when we discover it's a full reclinable seat, sweeeeet! So there goes our worry . With a nice bus like this what could possibly be wrong? ;) The best relief is knowing that we can scrap off 'ke-taklalu-an untuk gune tandas awam' throughout the journey (which by experience from other people are super terrible!)

Some friends are kind enough to come and see our departure. So while waiting for the rest of the passengers, we hop on and off the bus (more like Myra yang forcing the hop-on-and-off) to meet them. At around 8, as planned we made our move. There are 4 buses all together, our bus was No 1, with the organizer Haji Mansor as a head. So, we lead the way to the Qatar-Saudi border.

We arrived Qatar border 1 1/2 hours later, with quite a smooth ride..

At around 10:30pm begins our best ujian, the Saudi border. First, Haji Mansor asked all of us to stay while he gets the immigration chop. Then the men were asked to go for fingers scan and picture taking. Then, the ladies turn. It seems quite a smooth deal, until one of the lady got stuck with her finger print; 5 times of failure and we started to panic. Tapi dengan izin Allah (rupe-rupenye almost all of us pray for her success serentak) 2 minutes after, she came out with a happy result, Alhamdulillah.

The next step was to go for baggage scan. We were asked to take all our belongings down and clear up the bus. Nothing should be left inside, not even a botol susu! It was already 1 AM i think.. so we were not in our best energy-level, plus the cranky Myra..cooobaaannn. The Saudi do a thorough check of the bus, using their special-trained dog. Then, the ladies were asked to enter a room for some handbag inspection and name filling. The immigration officer was a nice lady, all she had to do was to write down our name and check our handbag (if any). Once all done, we are back on track. Finally proceeding with our journey to the first destination; Madinah al-Munawarrah.

25hours later (yes.. campur tolak break), we arrived Madinah during Maghrib. I considered myself very lucky that I manage to get the room key and get ready in time for Ishak prayer (Further more, memang bersyukur that my period elok2 je abis time sampai Madinah!!). Ibu asked us to went ahead without her, as she still a bit too tired to rush to Masjid Nabawi. The magnificient Masjid was only 100 meters away, with the ladies entrance right across our hotel. It was my first best experience ever... seeing so many other sisters eager to perform jemaah prayer.
The spiritual experience is just unimaginable and beyond words. I couldn't really know how to express it here. I guess one can only know by own experience.

It was true what people say about the holy place, any wish.. any niyah will be granted almost instantly... so careful for what you wish for!
Among one of the magical thing that I experienced was when we lost Myra's crocs. We kept all our (cikai-slipper-that-intended-to-be-use-for-masjid-takut-kasut-mahal-hilang) along with her crocs, and yes.. like we expected, the slipper hilang.. tapi yang sedihnye so is Myra's crocs. The next day, my little heart was wishing that 'harap2 ade la crocs myra..' then I tried eyeing the shoe rack....then there it was.. myra's crocs with our emptied slipper bag; elok je ade! wah.. instant reward, alhamdulillah.
Banyak sangat cerita-cerita magik jadi, but i think this is enuff for now.. ;)

To be continue..

Monday, March 29, 2010

Soon..insyaallah

Dearest family friends,

we are going for umrah in 2 days insyaallah. Please pray for our safe journey and being rewarded with Umrah Mabrur..

Hope to see you again..

....Aminnnnn...



Dua in Arabic

‘Here I am O Allaah, (in response to Your call), here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily all praise, grace and sovereignty belong to You. You have no partner.’

Friday, March 19, 2010

Tok Mi in Doha!


It was already late, but yet Mommy and Daddy didn't try to rush me to bed like they always did. Hurmm.. something seems wrong. I wonder what is up with them? Instead, they took me out for a ride, still.. nobody is telling me anything, are they taking me to the Zoo? I wonder.
I was tired, but the twinkling lights along the slow and relaxing journey makes it harder for me to shut my eyes, so i rather stay up and stay fresh.
Oooo.. airplane!! Are we going for holiday? Are we flying to Disneyland? oh.. i wish.
After some time, I started to yawn, and my cranky nerve has got to me, I then started to behave abnormal. After sometime in the airport, I then saw a very familiar face, i know her from somewhere.. I felt a sudden rush of warm love... So I ran to hug her. Yes.. it's her! My Tok Mi is here!

Upon Ibu's arrival at the airport, I didn't aspect Myra to act the way she did, gosh.. budak kecik ni memory die kuat dari yang kite jangke. We tot they are just too little to remember, yet, they know just what is happening and who's who. Or maybe we should thank Skype?! Zaman teknologi.. the world became smaller than it used to be. Ingat lagi rupenye die kat Tok Mi.. siap berlari peluk.. memang terharu.

We made a sudden decision to bring Ibu to Doha. Sebab ade rezeki lebih, so dapatla ajak Ibu jejak kaki ke Doha lagi, and insyaallah to join our umrah trip at the end of the month too (I am praying to Allah so everything went as planned). 2 days after Ibu's arrival, we joined MAQ's camping program in the desert, on the way, few cars terstuck, sebab pasir terlalu lembut, so bergotong-royongla kaum bapa untuk menarik kereta.. Sampai-sampai the camp site, wow... ini jauh panggang dari api from our desert-camp experience, the place is like a resort, the only thing missing is a comfy bed and our own room. Lain-lain facilities memang tip-top. Siap ade surau, proper toilet and shower. Cantik.. untung Ibu dapat merase..

After sendiri-sendiri lunch and prayer, we enjoy a camel ride and some sukaneka for kids (yes.. si budak kecik myra participated! Rupenye dah pandai!! hehehe) Kiut sangat tengok Myra lari bawak air dalam sudu.. even die tak tunggu turn die, tapi what matters is she knew the concept of taking one spoonful of water from point A to point B (again silap point, instead of isi cawan team sendiri, die gi isi cawan team sebelah.. hehehe nasibla sape dpt Myra in their team! hiks)

Habis sukaneka, Myra trus main lompat dalam blown up castle.. I tried lompating too.. best!!! hehehe. Then I heard an announcement about a volleyball game to whoever interested. Aizal was nowhere to be found, so I went on and play with others, best.. lame tak enjoy a game like that ;)
After dinner, they started the fire and organize some congkak game, but I was already in the tent putting the cranky Myra to bed. Thank god it went easy. I then snugged out to meet with other ladies, borak-borak for a bit then forced to went back to our tent bile dengar Myra melalak. Our night was chilled but cozy enough, we slept on our own sleeping bag, sharing the tent with another sister while the rest of the bapak-bapak budak shared their sleep in a big tent opposite us.


After breakfast, all of us had to rush to leave, as the camp is booked by another group of people at 9. So, the journey home begins.. yang kusangke sekejap dan senang, rupenya sangkut ditengah jalan.. dieorang ajak main turun-turun bukit pulak! So, nak dijadikan cerita, sangkutla satu kereta ni at the tip of the hill, sebab the car is quite heavy and the bottom dah touch the sand, so tak bergerak-gerak.. Mr. Super Ai konon nak tolak sorang2.. haha memang tak jadi ape! Even tolak ramai-ramai pun tak gerak2, akhirnye kene tarik dari belakang jugak.. After almost half an hour, berjaye jugak kereta tu di-unstuck kan, then he went on to slide down the sandy hill, followed by Aizal. Me, Ibu and Myra tak berani nak naik kereta, so we slide down on our own, best.. main gelungsur pasir~

We reached home at noon, getting some rest for more activities to come..

P.S from Myra: Tok Di.. there's more story of Tok Mi.. that Mommy will update soon~
Enjoy the pic for now ;)

Monday, March 8, 2010

Dear Aza..

Alhamdulillah, i saw some pictures of your ceremony, i bet all went well as planned. I wish you a lifetime of happiness with your loving new husband. Although I'm not there to wipe the nerve off your hand, I'm pretty sure you are doing fine. Congratulation once again.. may he be the one who love you, guide you and protect you. For he is the bless and the answer to your prayer.
Aminnn..

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Doha Transit visit

Farah and Ekmal is going back to Malaysia for good. At their last minute impulse, decided to take Qatar Airways from London to KL, which means a transit stop in Doha.. and luckily, their stop were made longer, sebab there's no flight from Doha to KL on thursday, so they had to leave on Friday nite.. a comfortable 2 days 1 nite stop in Doha, sufficient enough to experience Doha (with of coz, a cekap tour-guide from us hehe).

At 6am Thursday morning, their flight landed.. I was busy preparing the welcoming dish, while Aizal out to pick them up. Bile sampai je rumah, macam tak sangke.. our short perkenalan kat London dah bersambung kat Doha.. it was so kind of them to even think about visiting us here.. ;)
The four of us, seated and enjoyed the nasik lemak Doha, sambil borak-borak..sampaila Myra bangun. Then at 11am we started with our trasit-visit-itinerary; first stop Doha Museum of Islamic Art.

A good excuse to go for us Doharian, yang tak penah pegi jugak. The entrance to the Museum is free.. (Except for the special exhibition, this time is on Pearls) with magnificent collection of arts, ceramics and all sorts.. And the best part, boleh ambik gambar sesuke hati.


After the 3 floors tour of the museum, we went out to the corniche for a relaxing Dhow cruise. A good way to experience Doha- naik boat sambil tengok the beautiful scenery of the modern and old buildings collision. And best thing about their visit, it's tengahhari bute, yet the wind is so cool.. so tak terase keterikan matahari at all. After the cruise we went off to Al-Rumailah park, having lunch in Thai Smile sampai kembung perut. Our last minute plan seems to agree with the time, that dalam tak sedar, it's already 4pm, just nice for a quick visit to Souq Wakif as it's already opened. Yeah, yang tak brape best, all souqs kat sini mostly open morning til 1, then close up till 4 baru bukak balik sampai malam.

Souq Wakif has got all of the typical tourist attractions. And now there are plenty of choices for souvenirs too. A must visit, not just to shop, but to also appreciate the arab's traditional building, architecture, surroundings and even food.
After the quick tour, we then head off home to freshen up and carry on with our next stop; The Pearl. Surprisingly, the pearl now has got more shop opened, and many street performances, including the scary guy with his flaming act. Takut terlepas, masuk lam kedai..hancus terbakar.. hehehehe. The luxurious Pearl is not just a place to shop, but also a good place to hang and stroll along. Ade ala-ala Mont Kiara kate Farah. Yang bestnye, you park your car at the designated area, then the tuk-tuk will pick you up and send you off to the shopping area. Yes, for free! Both Farah and Ekmal were so tak biase with the fact that most of the things in Doha doesn't cost a penny. No parking fee, free buggy ride, no VAT, etc2.... yela, kat London, almost everything cost money, so memang culture shock skit la for them (but in a good way) hehehe.

So that ends our first day of touring Doha. That nite all five of us pengsan tak ingat.. penat jugak jalan-jalan ni. ;)
Next day, Farah and Ekmal woke up a lil late, dah due malam tak tido, kesian. Bangun-bangun, Ekmal sempat lagi pegi Friday prayer. Aizal is at work, so we decided why not take them into 4ljaz33ra for a quick peek. Lucky them, the gate pass were approved, so they got in to see how the news work and all. After almost an hour, we then head off to singgah beli arabs chocolate dates nearby Markhia Roundabout. The shop has got many types of sweets made of variety types of nuts, chocolate and perhaps dates too. Yang bestnye boleh taste satu2, makan je sampai puas. You can choose to fit the sweets into all sort of container or box, memang sangat cantik for souvenirs. Harge pun tak mahal, berpatutan dengan bekas n sweets. Then it's time for them to go home. With a berat hati, we bids farewell..
Farah and Ekmal, thank you for visiting, I hope your life in Malaysia will turn out fine like your plan ;) Come back anytime!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Adding up the numbers +++


Ok.. I'm upgraded a number now,
Do I feel older?
Do i feel wiseR?
or do i feel nothing at all (like my typical-usual-self)? hurm..

Truth is, I'm avoiding the fact that today I officially turn........ **sigh**..
But when I come to my sense, i tot, wait, why should i feel upset? At this age, I've accomplished many that I once only dream of. I have a fine fine husband, a lovely daughter, more skills that I never tot existed and the best is being blessed from Allah.. for everyday I saw the path for a better life, to a much happier soul.

So, why should the number bother me so much? Afterall, it's only a number. (hehehe tapi still takmo tulis umo tu.. hahaha lawak)

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Deserted camp


One of my must-do-thingy while living ere. Finally we manage to find a way to join a group of friends camping in the middle of the desert. The itinerary said meeting @6pm - Sealine. First thing first is to get the air out of the 4-wheels tyres as to get the just-nice-a-pressure to drive through the desert. It was our first time to off road wheeling deep into the desert. I was a bit nervous, dunno what to expect, and further more, it was already dark.. but I somehow convince my little heart to believe in my husband's driving skill.. There we go, a +- one hour of a slow and steady journey of a line of ten 4-wheelers, hardly no obvious bounce at all. Everybody was equipped with a set of walkie-talkie, we are number 3 on the line. Myra was a bit scared, tightly holding up my hand and kept quiet along the journey.. seeing many other 4wheelers pecutings to cut our snail-line.. must be arabs yang dah expert.. ;)
and Alhamdulillah, we manage to safely reach the camp site at 8-ish. A complete site, with seat-toilet, dapur serba lengkap, BBQ pit, table and few ready tent of the regulars. Huhu.. camping zaman moden~

The first thing we did was to set up our tent.. there we went, opening up our freshly-bought tent for the first time. Yeah... we only went for the camping-things-to-bring shop few hours before departure.. hehe. Ape yang unsangkerable was, our tent dah terlebih over dari orang lain! Canggih tak canggih, siap ade 2 separate 'room', that we then decided to convert one for walk-in-closet. AND a living room kat tengah-tengah.. hahaha.. kalau ade competition tent-paling-cantik memang kompem dah menang!

After we've settled with the tent, kaum-kaum ibu terus bergotong-royong masak dinner, feeding all the rumbling tummies. They've got BBQ, segala macam nasik and bihun gorengs, yeah.. macam biase.. melayu dan konsep hidup-untuk-makan.. hiks. After the burps, we then went for some fun games. The most memorable was the first game, which was a bit exotic.. acare makan epal berkapel. I held up the apple with my teeth while Mr.Ai eat-it-all-up, with Myra giggling for his every bites! Lawak.. tapi kami berjaye jugak menang tempat kedue.. hehe (sorry, no picture due to censorship). Tup tup, lebih kurang 12-ish jugak baru semua games habis.. pastu tidoooo. I was thinking the temperature would drop drastically that I couldn't sleep.. but I was wrong, or maybe the fact that I snugged into the cozy sleeping-bag helps to ignore the cold-breeze. Anyho.. I had a great and undisturbed sleep.. and so was Myra.
See the result.. pengsan tanpe kompromi!

Paginye.. i went out to see the beauty of the nearby sea,, tenang.. dah lame tak tengok nature at its best. ;) After the quick breakfast of kaya toast and teh tarik, they got some more acare sukaneka.. but mostly involves the kids. It was already boiling hot.. so I mostly settling in the tent, overlooking the ongoing games, until they call for the last game- Pak Andaman.. yup, I was the model, and Mr.Ai was the Pak Andam.. hancur muke ku.. ade sedikit berupe bapuk.. hahahaha, and as expected, memang tak menang.. (takpe sayang, this just mean you are a real man.. taktau make up make up ni ;P)

After lunch, we pack and get ready to leave. Little that I know, the journey home is far worst than coming. The location of the campsite is actually surrounded by water. Berpusing-pusing carik jalan keluar, avoiding the water, tapi tak berjaye-berjaye, sampai sangkut kat tanah lembut. Luckily the other 7 wheelers are expert in menarik kete-sangkut. So off we went again.. looking for the best possible way home, when we met with the police-truck yang selambe badak melintas air. With the police assurance, we then slowly make our way out of the 'island' through the cetek sea.
The excited Mr. Ai sudah naik syekh.. makin terer controlling the wheels doing some sand duning, nothing major.. main sikit-sikit je (as per Ifw4n). Huhu.. kecut jugak tau perut ni :P
Anyway, once we reach our previous meeting point (by the entrance of sealine beach), they start pumping in air again, as to allow our normal driving on the road. So that ends our 2 days 1 nite camping trip in the desert.. best! boleh buat lagi.. ;)

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Our quad-end with the visitors

Rizal's family are here in Doha. As a man with lots of activities in mind, he organized some to include anybody else whose interested. So, along came us.. memeriahkan event-event for his family trip here.
First activity, is the BBQ by the beach, overlooking the road of Doha's skyscrappers. Yeah.. janganla ingat Doha takde modern buildings.. hehe ;)
The location is just nearby the Intercontinental hotel, yup, takde orang akan terpikir nak buat kat situ, melainkan Rizal.. rajin aje bab-bab pikir aktiviti baru ni. (and I thank him for that ;)

Anyway, it is not an unknown place to hang. When we came, there was already few other smaller groups of people hanging out; either BBQing or just lepaking. So memang dibenarkan.. ;)
Mule-mule sampai, angin was just sepoi-sepoi bahase, tapi makin lame, makin sejuk beku.. huhu global warming is getting more and more serious I guess. The weather is so tak stabil, by experiencing the winter this year alone, I could tell. Sekejap sejuk, then panas tak terkate, then you tot, oh.. what a short winter, so, simpan jela balik all the heaters & sweaters. Then unexpectedly, the cold-icy breeze came by.. Mannnn.. susah nak agak dah. The world is really nearing to its end. :X

Anyway, back to the topic..


So, then, we just lepak by the beach, watching the kids seronot2 baling2 batu masuk air, jerit-jerit lumbe lari dalam kegelapan.. then kejap-kejap lari carik mak bapak masing2, screaming for food.. lapar.. Then sambung balik aktiviti.. The parents lak, like always.. borak sambil makan.. hmmm.. there goes the 4kg that I've lost last month!!! Grrr..

The BBQ was potluck based, so everyone brought a lil something to be 'burn'.. and the best is the chai's cerek.. hehehe memang layan minum teh tarik tengah2 sejuk..Although at heart i'm a bit terkilan sebab Mr.Ai tak dapat join sebab on duty :(
It's ok, next time kite buat lagi k?



**All pictures courtesy of Kimie n Fairul's FB.. mekaseh aaa.. saye cilok ;P**

Then come Friday, we joined for a quadbike in the sand. It's our first time to drive that thing.. rupenye letih jugak bawak menatang tu.. Mr.Ai was the most excited, asek merempit naik turun bukit. As for me and Myra, we just take a more relaxing cruise around the desert. For the newbies like us, yang teringin nak rase merempit bendealah ni sambil sand duning.. come by the Inland Sea, you'll see along the road, banyak port2 quadbike for rent, price ranging from QR80-200. Have a go! ;)

Sunday, February 7, 2010

If I die tomorrow..

Would there be any tears to shed?
Would there be any rain to fall?
Would there be a scratch on any heart?

If I die tomorrow...

please tell her..
I love her with all my heart and soul
I never knew my soft side
Never knew such selfless sacrifice
Never knew such phobic and horror of losing someone..
Until I met her;
my baby, my love, my world

If I die tomorrow..

please forgive me for all my wrongs
I may not be perfect outside,
but please know that, my inside is all about you..
every second of a day, I thank god..
for you are the clog to my hole
you are the dot to my sentences
forgive me for not showing enough..
but please know, i love you with all my heart..

If I die tomorrow..

I pray that they would know
How sorry I am for not sharing
How sorry I am for not caring
How sorry I am for not trying

More...