Malaysia be-reak

One and a half years since I last came back to my home country. Finally the day has come.. 16 December 2011. We've booked the ticket long ago, and can't really believe that it finally arrived. It was Maqeel's first journey back to Malaysia. He didn't show much curiosity during the flight. Might be because of the late hour, just few crack of cries.. until he felt asleep.. and yeah.. the baby bassinet is no help for my too-lenghty-of-1year-old-infant. He'll sense it every time we try to put him in, and will burst with yet another cries.
Long story short..after few hours, we arrived safely with no serious turbulence .. hooray!

Bagan Lalang
2nd days in Malaysia, we went to HM seafood restaurant in Bagan Lalang, Sepang. It was my plan for my side of family get-together. I chose the place via the recommendation that I got from the internet. I didn't realized that the place was quite far. But okla.. worth the travel n trouble :)
Food was nice.. and reasonably priced. We got all there is on the menu for our big feast, and yet harge kiteorg makan beramai-ramai (there were 13adults and numbers of nieces n nephews) murah dari macam harge makan kat TGIF kat doha utk 5adults.

So for those yang blank taktau nak makan ape whilst in KL/Selangor.. go to Bagan Lalang.. no need to go to Melaka anymore. Here's their website for more details; http://www.hmsribaganlalang.blogspot.com/ 

yummilicious seafood - demm i miss u!

While you are there, do try out their famous pepahat masak cili.. for me ok ok la.. but tgk tak sampai 5 minit dihidang.. dah licin.. so must be super-delicious to others :)



JPO
The next day, we made our way to Johor Premium Outlet. Yeah yeah I know.. so many people are overly excited about this newly opened branded outlet in Malaysia, and have check it out with their full swing of reviews. Well.. doesn't hurt to add another one from me.
I was excited ever since I was in Doha, preparing our long list of itinerary and things to eat when I heard that the first phase of the outlet is finally ready to public.
But my excitement went down a little the minute I arrived - I saw too crowded a place. (Well I am famously known to hate crowds, well not THAT famous hehe)
The outlet is new, and not running in full swing yet, so I guess we hafta cut some slack for any of it's down-sided.
In term of shopping, mainly in clothing- looking for sizes are a real challenge and there aren't that many choices anymore, maybe due to the fact that when we arrived, the so called super-mega sale just ended days ago.. so what left is just either too expensive stuff or too ugly and not that many the "in-between".

Don't judge the crowd by this picture :P

Dalam duk susah nak carik tu, dapat jugakla rembat sepasang CK (NOT Calvin Klein hehe), a wristwatch, pairs of baju kecik, a suit for him and some jeans n tops for the kids. Not bad.. jadilah sikit-sikit.. kang kopak pulak kan. Hehe.And the wristwatch nye price is not too bad.. berbaloi beli.. cam tak jauh beza ngan harge kat US.

But one thing that I still can't get my mind off was the time when I dengan slambe badaknye masuk Burberry shop from its upper-side entrance to find rows of people queuing in agony at the lower-ground entrance. What the?! Klaka.. why queue on the first place? Pastu buat dua entrance lak tu.. and jage satu side je.. kesian mereka2 yang tertipu.. (luckily wasn't me) hiks..

And yeah another good point of having this outlet in Malaysia is finally ade proper surau, and most of the salesgirl/salesman are from Malaysia, so sonang nak cakap lam BM.. kalau tak bergulung lidah den nak bertanye hehe..(seb baik takleh tawar menawar je.. :D)

After few hours, we left to Pulai Spring Resort, that was suppose to be near and convenient for a stay nearby the outlet, but I find it to be rather contrary.. Tapi, sebab kiteorg bayar harge promosi.. tak banyak komplen la.. duduk ajela.. hehehe

Melaka
The next day, we made our way to Melaka. Konon-konon nak jalan-jalan cuti-cuti malaysia.. wanted to bring the kids to see the Taman Mini Melaka, A famosa, and tempat-tempat yang sewaktu dengannye. That night we even ride the boat along the Melaka River.. bes sangat.. the view is fantastic at night! They've cleaned up Melaka well! I specially like the rows of rumah melaka village and the graffiti paints of Melaka well known legends and such. Such a beauty! I'd say even better look than the ever so-famous gondola ride in Venice.

Next day we when for a tricycle ride or also locally known as "beca" around the city (well not quite around the city, just few tourist attraction site). Myra and Maqeel got really excited..posing here and there for pictures (which we still kept in our laptop.. so god knows when that'll be out to public haha).

I love going to Melaka now, the place is not only historical, but also well kept and clean. The only thing that I didn't get to do following my itinerary was our visit to Taman Mini Melaka.. sadly they closed for renovation. I hope we get to go again during our next break in hari raya (yup! we are going back for raya this year..yay yay insyaallah).

Around KL
One day, we brought the kids to see KLCC, KL tower and around the Perdana lake to see the Tugu Negara, along with their two cousins. It was a fun outing. The first experience for their cousins too. yeah, I understand.. nobody will tot about visiting this place while living in Malaysia, but now that we are out, tot they are pretty interesting place. Next time, we'll go to the Zoo Negara, Istana Negara n all k Myra, Maqeel?

Thunder n lightning everywhere.. but luckily it didn't rain

That night, we went to Wong Solo Ayam penyet in kampung baru. Oh man, why is that nobody ever tells us that kampung baru is no longer safe for feeding! Maqeel vomitted horribly that night. And not until afternoon, we discovered that most of us too were poisoned resulting with diarrhea and stomach pain! I hate WONG SOLO! Remember guys.. be careful with this place! We ate the (delicious self-made chili in the bottle, but ended up with food poisoning.. so i guess the chili must be old)

Jump around! (yeah lucky two who didn't get poisoned)

PENANG
The following day, is the day to travel to Penang. We've already booked our hotel in Penang, so despite not feeling good.. we had to proceed with our journey to Penang. Poor aza, she had everything ready and excited to bring us to all interesting places in Penang, but we ended up not being well enough to enjoy :(
Not even had the appetite to eat all sort of food in Penang. I'm sorry Penang, maybe some other time we'll meet again k?

Nonetheless we didn't left Penang empty handed, got the chance to visit Rumah P.Ramlee, Toy Museum and Hard Rock (why is hard rock becoming places of interest for Malaysian i don't know??? tapi mestii sume nak gi situ n buy a souvenir.. are we somehow being brain-washed by it??? Pelik tapi benar). Mengagahkan diri untuk pergi jugak jalan2 even sikit sebab pikir, bile lagi?

I don't have any picture of the interesting rumah P.Ramlee.. will upload it once I got it transferred.For now, tgk gambo the brain-washed keras batu jela.. hehe

"Keras Batu"

Journey to Hajj 1432- sneek peek

Hajj - the plan

9 days to go. InsyaAllah..

Today we've got our rough itinerary. Hopefully everything run smoothly according to plan. May Allah grant us sabr.


We are travelling through Hamlah Ali (one of the hajj agent here) to Makkah & Madinah by bus. Yup.. You read me right, by bus.

The plan is to gather on Thursday, 27th of Oct 2011 (29th Dzul Qa'da 1432) at 11:30am at Masjid Aspire near to Khalifa Stadium.  We have 2 groups, with 3 buses; 2 buses coming from Doha and another bus from Al Khor. This is different than the journey that our friends took last year, which was scheduled at night. Well there must be a hikmah disebalik, though this just mean, not that many people can see us through before the journey.. ramai mase tu mesti tengah kerja. It's ok. Maybe it is for the better.InsyaAllah.

Then we were told that in Makkah, we will get the chance to use the interchange train (that was meant for people coming from Saudi and the Gulf countries for now). Alhamdulillah.. another plan for a smoother journey. InsyaAllah.

This mean, we only have another Friday here before 'the awaiting journey begins'.

May Allah protect us all.

Vaccination for Hajj

Alhamdulillah. Turns out, it is pretty easy to get the replacement card from the health center. You just go to see the nurse and she'll fill up a new card with the injection date and chop away.All you need to do is ask nicely. Even my husband yang dah inject tahun lepas pun die tanye date camtu je. Betul-betul trust. Thank you kind nurse! You have help us BIG time!

By the way, for future record for bakal-bakal haji masa mendatang, the vaccination center is located nearby wholesale market, in Abu Hamour.The Health center provide free jabs, just bring in your RP id.

GPS coordinate

N 25' 14'03.9"

E051' 28'57.72"

Meningitis vaccination is a compulsory jab for those going for hajj (I think it is a set standard by Saudi's government). Influenza is like an optional jab. 

I have a friend who is currently 4 months pregnant, she didn't get the chance to take the jab due to her condition, so her doctor just write a letter to prove that she is fit for hajj. So, afraid not, if there's any issue.. ask away, there might just be a solution for it. InsyaAllah.

Ujian

Nearing the date now. 17 days to be exact.

And we couldn't find our vaccination card, which previously lying on my watch zone. Yup, bile carik kompem tak jumpe! The hamla is collecting the card now, without Meningitis vaccination, we won't be allow in. Takkan nak ambik skali lagi? Overdose kang.

That makes me a tad nervous. What if we can't find it at all?

Ya Allah.. tolong permudahkan urusan kami.

tiny tea time with tiny peeps

Tuesday was my only off day for the week. Myra's best friend from her previous nursery wanted to come over for a playdate. It gave me an idea to arrange for a last-minute surprise birthday tea party for Myra.

After school, coming back home.. Myra was thrilled by the sight of the tiny table, complete with helium baloon, gifts and tiny finger foods all set up and ready for her tiny party.I was lucky because I still got plenty of the party pack left from Myra's birthday last year. Seb bajet! hehe.. it took me 15 minutes to set up everything.. sonang kojo.

Alee and Auni were her only guests, one because she always came for a playdate and one because she lives few houses away, so much easier for a short notice surprised party such as this one.Worry not Myra's other friends.. we are planning for a join-birthday celebration for  Myra and Maqeel soon. So jangan terase for not being invited aite? :)
They had a wonderful time together. Maqeel also join in along with the chubby-and-super-cute 1 year old Athirah (Auni's lil sister). Just look at how cute they are from the pics.

Myra.. I hope this had made-up Mommy's absence on your birthday k? Love you so much baby!

Happy 4th birthday my sweetie

Sedih rase dari malam tadi after coming back from work. Myra was already asleep. It was almost 11pm. I crept through her bedroom, kissing her forehead.. then when I was about to go out, I heard her little voice "Mommy?". I went back in.. kinda happy that she realized my presence. Myra asked me to read a story book. I didn't want to switch on the light for that so I tell her that I'll read a make believe-story about a girl name Myra. She was happy. She throw a light giggle sometime.. so bleh tahan jugakla my bedtime story rupenye.. hehe. Then I told her to get back to sleep, she nodded. Such a good girl.. Sayu rasenye.. tibe-tibe anak dah besar sikit, 4 years old. I then made the video above just so I have a lil memory of her being so excited with our outing at aspire park the other day. She love the grass so much.. running around barefooted, as if it was her first time to ever laid her feet on the grass (memang jarang!)
In the morning, when she woke up, I brought her to see the simple video and said, happy birthday Myra!. She laugh happily.

Dear Myra,
Today you turned 4. But you will always be my lil baby.. no matter how big and how tall you'll get. Know that my prayers are always about you and now your lil brother too. I pray that you grow to be not just a good daughter, but a good human being, a solehah.
My love and life will never be completed without you sayang.

Love you so very the much! muah muah muahhh

Makna Surah At-Takathur

Dengan nama Allah, Yang Maha Pemurah, lagi Maha Mengasihani

Kamu telah dilalaikan (daripada mengerjakan amal bakti) oleh perbuatan berlumba-lumba untuk mendapat dengan sebanyak-banyaknya (harta benda, anak-pinak pangkat dan pengaruh), (1) Sehingga kamu masuk kubur. (2) Jangan sekali-kali (bersikap demikian)! Kamu akan mengetahui kelak (akibatnya yang buruk semasa hendak mati)! (3) Sekali lagi (diingatkan): Jangan sekali-kali (kamu bersikap demikian)! Kamu akan mengetahui kelak (akibatnya yang buruk pada hari kiamat)! (4) Demi sesungguhnya! Kalaulah kamu mengetahui (apa yang kamu akan hadapi) dengan pengetahuan yang yakin, (tentulah kamu akan mengerjakan perkara-perkara yang menjadi bekalan kamu untuk hari akhirat). (5) (Ingatlah) demi sesungguhnya! Kamu akan melihat Neraka yang marak menjulang. (6) Selepas itu, demi sesungguhnya! Kamu (wahai orang-orang yang derhaka) akan melihatnya dengan penglihatan yang yakin (semasa kamu dilemparkan ke dalamnya)! (7) Selain dari itu, sesungguhnya kamu akan ditanya pada hari itu, tentang segala nikmat (yang kamu telah menikmatinya)! / (8) 

................................................................................................................................................................

Hmmm.. I am obviously among those who lalai- berlumba-lumba for dunia. Nothing is ever enough.. not to mention am fashion slave meself (not that I'm that fashionable anyway, but still a victim of media influence.. demmit..)

So how???

Makna dalam solat

Yes.. as normal as I am.. my ignorance as traditional follower of Islam, I have never been  bothered to get to know the meaning of solat, let alone the good and the secrets of it. I just follow what others do, 

yes.. shame on me. 

But I hope that will change from now.. I hope by sharing this here, others will join me to do the same too. InsyaAllah. 

I admit, change is really a hard thing to do. But god willing, anything is possible. I am someone who can't really memorize ayat not at least after hundreds of trial..Even until now, my solat are fill with surah-surah lazim.. ONLY?! (yeah I know.. I am as bad). I am someone who behind is too lazy, specially when it comes to spiritual stuff such as this. But that has got to go. I have to be more serious about making my journey to hajj more meaningful, not just another traditional-things to do. I hope I'll be bless with all the strength to fight my old self, and be a better muslimah. InsyaAllah.

Allah knows best.


Another good piece, taken from Berita Harian online. May Allah reward those who share this. Amin..

Allah Maha Besar


Doa Iftitah
Allah Maha Besar dan segala puji bagi Allah dengan banyaknya.
Maha suci Allah sepanjang pagi dan petang.
Aku hadapkan wajahku bagi Tuhan yang mencipta langit dan bumi,
dengan suasana lurus dan berserah diri dan aku bukan dari golongan orang musyrik.
Sesungguhnya solatku,
Ibadatku,
hidupku,
matiku
adalah untuk Allah Tuhan sekelian alam.
Tidak ada sekutu bagiNya dan kepadaku diperintahkan untuk tidak
menyekutukan bagiNya dan aku dari golongan orang Islam.

Al-Fatihah
Dengan nama Allah yang maha Pemurah lagi maha Mengasihani.
Segala puji bagi Allah, Tuhan semesta alam.
Yang maha pemurah lagi maha mengasihani.
Yang menguasai hari pembalasan.
Hanya Engkaulah yang kami sembah dan hanya kepada Engkau kami mohon pertolongan.
Tunjukilah kami jalan yang lurus.
Iaitu jalan orang-orang yang Engkau kurniakan nikmat kepada mereka, bukan jalan mereka yang Engkau murkai dan bukan jalan mereka yang sesat.

Bacaan ketika rukuk
Maha Suci TuhanKu Yang Maha Mulia dan dengan segala puji-pujiannya.

Bacaan ketika bangun dari rukuk
Allah mendengar pujian orang yang memujinya.

Bacaan ketika iktidal
Wahai Tuhan kami, bagi Engkaulah segala pujian.

Bacaan ketika sujud
Maha suci TuhanKu yang Maha Tinggi dan dengan segala puji-pujiannya.

Bacaan ketika duduk di antara dua sujud
Ya Allah, ampunilah daku,
Rahmatilah daku,
kayakan daku,
angkatlah darjatku,
rezekikan daku,
berilah aku hidayah,
sihatkanlah daku dan
maafkanlah akan daku.

Bacaan ketika Tahiyat Awal
Segala penghormatan yang berkat solat yang baik adalah untuk Allah.
Sejahtera atas engkau wahai Nabi dan rahmat Allah serta
keberkatannya.
Sejahtera ke atas kami dan atas hamba-hamba Allah yang soleh.
Aku naik saksi bahawa tiada Tuhan melainkan Allah dan aku naik saksi bahawasanya Muhammad itu adalah pesuruh Allah.
Ya Tuhan kami, selawatkanlah ke atas Nabi Muhammad.

Bacaan ketika Tahiyat Akhir
Segala penghormatan yang berkat solat yang baik adalah untuk Allah.
Sejahtera atas engkau wahai Nabi dan rahmat Allah serta keberkatannya.
Sejahtera ke atas kami dan atas hamba-hamba Allah yang soleh.
Aku naik saksi bahawa tiada Tuhan melainkan Allah dan aku naik saksi bahawasanya Muhammad itu adalah pesuruh Allah..
Ya Tuhan kami, selawatkanlah ke atas Nabi Muhammad dan ke atas keluarganya.
Sebagaimana Engkau selawatkan ke atas Ibrahim dan atas keluarga Ibrahim.
Berkatilah ke atas Muhammad dan atas keluarganya sebagaimana Engkau berkati ke atas Ibrahim dan atas keluarga Ibrahim di dalam alam ini.
Sesungguhnya Engkau Maha Terpuji lagi Maha Agung.

Doa Qunut
Ya Allah, berilah aku petunjuk sebagaimana orang-orang yang telah Engkau tunjuki.
Sejahterakanlah aku sebagaimana orang-orang yang telah Engkau sejahterakan.
Pimpinlah aku sebagaimana orang-orang yang telah Engkau pimpin.
Berkatilah hendaknya untukku apa-pa yang telah Engkau berikan padaku.
Jauhkanlah aku daripada segala kejahatan yang telah Engkau tetapkan.
Sesungguhnya hanya Engkau sahajalah yang menetapkan, dan tidak sesiapapun yang berkuasa menetapkan sesuatu selain daripada Engkau.
Sesungguhnya tidak terhina orang yang memperolehi pimpinanMu.
Dan tidak mulia orang-orang yang Engkau musuhi.
Telah memberi berkat Engkau, ya Tuhan kami dan maha tinggi Engkau.
Hanya untuk Engkau sahajalah segala macam puji terhadap apa-apa yang telah Engkau tetapkan.
Dan aku minta ampun dan bertaubat kepada Engkau.
Dan Allah rahmatilah Muhammad, Nabi yang ummi dan sejahtera keatas keluarganya dan sahabat-sahabatnya.
“wahai tuhan ku,aku tak layakutk kesyurgamu …namun tak pula aku sanggup
keNerakamu.. ..kami lah hamba yang mengharap belaskasihan darimu .”ya allah
jadikan lah kami hamba2 mu yang bertaqwa..ampunkan dosa2 kami .kedua
ibubapa kami .dosa semua umat2 islam yang masih hidup mahupun yang telah meninggal
dunia”

And this is taken from halaqah.net;

Inilah dia rahsia as-solat, sebagai peringatan bagi yang dah tahu atau panduan bagi yang baru tahu......

1 - Niat Sembahyang : Sebenarnya memeliharakan taubat kita dari dunia dan akhirat.

2 - Berdiri Betul : Fadilatnya, ketika mati dapat meluaskan tempat kita di dalam kubur.

3 - Takbir-ratul Ihram : Fadilatnya, sebagai pelita yang menerangi kita di dalam kubur.

4 - Fatihah : Sebagai pakaian yang indah-indah di dalam kubur.

5 - Ruqu' : Sebagai tikar kita di dalam kubur.

6 - I'tidal : Akan memberi minuman air dari telaga al-kautsar ketika didalam kubur.

7 - Sujud : Memagar kita ketika menyeberangi titian SIRATUL-MUSTAQIM.

8 - Duduk antara 2 Sujud : Akan menaung panji-panji nabi kita didalam kubur

9 - Duduk antara 2 Sujud (akhir) : Menjadi kenderaan ketika kita dipadang Mahsyar.

10 - Tahhiyat Akhir : Sebagai penjawab bagi soalan yang dikemukakan oleh Munkar & Nankir di dalam kubur.

11 - Selawat Nabi : Sebagai pendinding api neraka di dalam kubur.

12 - Salam : Memelihara kita di dalam kubur.

13 - Tertib : Akan pertemuan kita dengan Allah S. W. T.

Dari Abdullah bin 'Amr R. A., Rasulullah S. A. W.bersabda :

"Senarai di atas adalah salah satu sebab mengapa orang Yahudi /Kafir tidak
 sukakan angka 13 dan juga Hari Jumaat. 

wallahu a'alam

Hajj soon insyaallah...

Alhamdulillah.. my husband and I got our hajj approval number few days back. Means, we are 50% there, in our pursue of completing the fifth pillar of Islam,

...insyaAllah

At first, I was hesitated about writing anything to do with religious in my blog. Coz, personally I am not that very good in that area, I hardly even improve my knowledge too. My journey to the 'good' side is like waves, sometimes I'm up high and motivated to proceed... sometime I'm down below, forgetting the purpose of the creation of mankind, and be gone with the world surrounds. I'm only human..a normal being.

And for me to talk about my journey to hajj is like.. something that I am scared of. I have no confident upon. And knowing that most of the readers are among friends who know me personally... I am terrified. I admit, I am scared of being judge.  Malu pun ade. Ye la.. who am I to write about such a holy journey, takut salah tulis je.

But Insyaallah.. all judging-fear aside, I will start writing on our journey here starting from today, to keep as our memory and hopefully serve as a lesson for us all. 

Please bear in mind, if it's any good, it is from Allah, and if there's any bad or wrong.. it is from me -his humble slave.

First of, I'd like to share this piece that i found on the net while surfing for hajj-thingy. It is simple, yet it had motivated me to write and share.. may he/she be rewarded for this...insyaallah..

MOTIVASI HAJI

Hari ni tak berapa rajin nak tulis. Terjumpa lagi satu artikel dlm Panglima 7.Mudah2an penulis ni mendapat limpahan pahala atas perkongsian ilmunya. Korang layan je lah...

Tuan Guru Haji Mohd Baqi Osman,menceritakan tentang peristiwa yang bakal berlaku di akhirat kelak.Tentang syurga,neraka dan berkaitan dengan titian As Sirat. Jambatan yang merentangi neraka menuju ke syurga itu bersifat fleksibel. Ia boleh membesar, mengecil, memendek dan memanjang mengikut kumpulan yang akan melintasinya.

Jika orang beriman,ia akan melebar dan memendek. Manakala bagi orang kafir, ia akan mengecil dan memanjang. Antara yang akan turut berarak menuju ke syurga ialah kaabah. Malaikat datang membawa perintah Allah kepada kaabah yang dihias indah pada hari itu supaya bergerak menuju ke syurga.

Yang menghairankan, biarpun kaabah tahu itu perintah Allah, namun ia enggan bergerak. Lalu malaikat bertanya kenapa enggan bergerak ke syurga. Kaabah menjawab bahawa ia tidak akan bergerak ke syurga melainkan jika diiringi oleh semua manusia yang pernah tawaf di sekelilingnya.

Lalu malaikat mengumpulkan semua yang pernah tawaf untuk mengiringi kaabah ke syurga. Kaabah terus mendiamkan diri tak mahu bergerak. Malaikat bertanya lagi kenapa tak mahu bergerak. Kaabah menjawab, ada lagi beberapa orang yang tidak hadir.. Apabila diperiksa, rupa-rupanya orang-orang berkenaan telah dilempar ke dalam neraka kerana kesalahan yang pernah mereka lakukan di dunia.

Malaikat maklumkan bahawa orang berkenaan adalah orang-orang yang berdosa dan perlu disiksa di dalam neraka.

Kaabah berkata, ia tidak peduli orang itu berdosa atau tidak. Yang penting ia tidak akan bergerak ke syurga melainkan diiringi oleh semua orang yang pernah tawaf di sekelilingnya.

Malaikat mengadu kepada Allah tentang hal yang berlaku....Allah yang Maha Pengampun dan Maha Mengasihani terus mengisytiharkan bahawa orang-orang itu telah diampunkan dosa mereka. Mereka lantas di bawa keluar daripada neraka dan mengiringi kaabah menuju ke syurga....

Satu motivasi bagi rakan-rakan yang mampu untuk ke Mekah..sila2kanlah menjadi tetamu Allah..pergilah ketika masih muda dan kuat agar setiap langkah dan setiap nafas kita gagah dan diberkati oleh Allah swt...Kebahagiaan itu pasti datang, namun sejauhmanakah kita mengingati Allah swt dalam setiap urusan dunia kita?

Wallahu alam....

Raya..oh yeah

Selamat Hari Raya buat semua ahli keluarga dan kawan-kawan di Malaysia. Enjoy this short video made just for you....

Resepi Ibu: Bubur Lambuk

Poor ibu, that everytime I wanna do makan-makan, I'd ask her to estimate the amount of bawang, rice, santan & etc2. But most of the outcome are not just satisfactory, but yummilicious even for a puase chef!.. memang terer Ibu bajet.. so untuk tidak hilang resepi yang diperturunkan.. adalah better I share it here, senang I nak repeat cook :)

Resepi Bubur Lambuk 

Bahan-Bahan (Ingredients) for 10 people approx

Beras 4 pot               (Rice don't use basmati for porridge-like texture)
Air agak2 sendiri  I think around 24 pots    (Water  - self estimate for porridge-like texture)
Daging 1 kilo -diris nipis           (Beef -thinly sliced)
Ikan Bilis  1 cawan - ditumbuk   (Anchovies 1 cup - munch)
Ikan kembung 1 kilo - direbus dan diambil isi   (Fish- I used Durduman, pre-boiled and took the flesh only)
Serai 5 batang       (Lemongrass 5)
Bawang merah 10 biji dihiris     (Small Onion 10 pieces)  -thinly sliced
Halia 2 inci dihiris halus             (Ginger 2 inch)  -thinly sliced
Lada hitam 1 tsp ditumbuk       (Black pepper  1 tsp -munch)
Belacan 2 inch ditumbuk          (Shrimp paste  2 inch -munch)
Santan 1 cawan                         (Coconut milk 1 cup)
Kerisik 4 tbp                             (Coconut paste 4 tbp)
Halba 1 tbp                               (Fenugreek seeds 1 tbp)
Minyak utk goreng bawang         (Oil to fry the onion, around 2 tbp)
Garam secukup rase (typical resepi hehe)   Salt to taste
Daun bawang & Parsley for decoration and for after taste. ;) 


::The how to::

Wash and boil the rice like boiling any normal porridge.. put lots and lots of water. Then when you start seeing the rice whitening, you can then put all the other ingredients in except for onion & Coconut milk. 


After5 minute, pour in the coconut milk and stir. Let it cook until you get the right porridge texture. Add salt to taste. Close the fire and close the pot with lid.


In a different pan, fry the onion until golden brown. Then mix in to porridge together with the oil. Stir then close the lid of the pot so the aroma will stays in.


To serve, sprinkle some sliced spring onion and parsley.


Enjoy!!


(Adeh.. nak kena translate jugak ke?)

Happy Birthday you..

Alternative: Vimeo

3 series ain't bad.



Love,

the M family.

Abaya exclusive from Doha

Anyone looking for something special and exclusive this raya can try and check this out. My friends are selling abayas at booth 83, Bazaar Ramadhan Jalan TAR (the parking lot area in front of Pertama Complex/ Medan MARA) KL. Don't miss out the chance!

Below is their fb page for some product example and price range;

http://www.facebook.com/AdDawhahAbaya

Tunggu ape lagi? beli beli beliiii..

Ramadan spirit

This year, is the second Ramadhan I had while freelancing at my old company. The feeling was different.... this year, during Iftar I was surrounded by many Malaysian.. meriah.. i felt like home. Lame tak rase camni. This was the result of many Malaysian colleague who has been absorbed from our KL branch late last year. Now, the company who used to have very few Malaysian in Doha branch have got so many that I can't even catch up the number anymore. Even on my desk, they are 4 now.. best. Working with Malaysian, you'll feel much different in quality.  :) and of coz bleh 'speaking' heh heh.


Another year, another Ramadhan.. the company didn't failed to provide free flow of Iftar and Sahoor for us hungry employees. Temporary but well carpeted and air-conditioned tents are set up just like last year, the only different is the caterer.. Alhamdulillah. So many varieties of foods, endlessly being top-up. There is even a Shawarma stand (kalau kat Malaysia orang panggil kebab laa :P)

This is another one of the good thing with the sheikhs.. come Ramadhan, many are providing free Iftar-tent all over the country, mostly for the labourer. It's good to know that there are many kind-hearted rich sheikhs, looking for sadaqah jariah, Alhamdulillah. Only one thing about the iftar, it might cause pembaziran.. which is really not good for your book-of-deed. Well, nevertheless, may Allah accept their kindness and good intention and shower them with many more rezk. Aminnn..

Ramadan datang lagi

The best time of the year... enjoying life without evil.. so any act of evil is no-one but yours alone. (Think about it! hehe).. Ramadan Kareem all!

Breaking News

The Army Birthday Party

It's the second time we were invited to Army theme birthday party. But too bad that I only got this new hobby recently that i didn't do any video on the first army birthday party (no hard feeling huh? doing this video out of hobby and interest) Am still learning.. hopefully I have support and encouragement to keep going. Anyho.. enjoy the video..uploaded fresh from iMac today.

Pen-out

Blog vs Vlog

It's a trend, when blog became famous, everybody started to blog termasukla aku (tapi i did it for the memory more than to be known-of, I have never publicize my blog address to anyone, but somehow people find me (bajet bagus la ni :P) then when vlog become more and more well-known, there goes more post of more 'interesting' videos around. Some of entertaining with a pinch of good message, some with nothing but silly and ridiculous video of me-myself-and-I world and some with it's own category or agenda. Which I noticed trends that are growing bigger with the Malaysian teenagers (I guess another thanks to technology and more accessible internet, i:e via smart phones).

And then there are always some who remain to be the silent reader or viewer only (Yes! YOU!).


The good side of having these things are, it provide a space of channeling one's thought and sometime talent too. You could voice it all out, and not bothered of the restriction. You could be imaginary at the same time keeping it up with the reality. But sometime, people not just expressing their concern and sharing their point on something, but they are also showing off their life, making the border less world be more limitless as it already is, and sometime even share some eerie story of their life with too much details to handle. 

Blog help with the thorough explanation in writing, whilst Vlog require more of a creative way to get the idea across via the edited video (or for some, simply Vlog to fill up their lonely & bored self of facing the big screen pc monitor alone?) . In maths word; the work done are more for Vlog than Blog. Nak kene shoot lagi, nak kene edit lagi, nak kene cretip jugak at the same time! huh! Anyway, my salutation goes to those who have the balls to Vlog with their own face put up on the net. They are opening up to any consequences really.. good or bad, online or off. Because, with Vlog of your face on the net (sometime with the clear shot of number of obvious pimples), once people know your face, then that's it.. Anywhere you go, if someone could recognize you.. pamm.. terimelah padahnye.. hehehe. Whilst with Blog, yes.. you are still very much recognizable if you have put up your pictures, but at least no one have ever heard of your true 'voice' like Moi (who sounded a bit lika 'chicken'.. hiks).

Anyway, Blog or Vlog.. the objectives are slightly of the same: To be heard of.

right?

In the mean time.. I'd stick to Blog..easily accessible while 'working' at the office.. hehe blog ni pun jenuh bersarang.. inikan pule nak buat video, sebulan skali pun blom tentu! haha

(Excuse the entry.. am bored at work..and my behind just glued to this uncomfortable-yet-lustful-chair that I'm finding something to fill up my time, hence this!  macam karangan keje skolah cikgu bagi dolu-dolu jek! :P)

A Glimpse of the Arab's culture

I was told by my ustazah to post a paragraph of anything that I know of Arabs. In my struggle to produce a flawless beginner's level of Arabic essay, she came by and said, oh.. so cute.. you tried to post it in Arabic? You can just write it in English! man.... poloh tiak den nak translate tadi tau! ,(-_-)`,

Yes.. I am currently learning the Arabic language (yakni lugha Arabia), after 4 years living in one of the Arab countries, I still haven't learn a squat! That is until now.. Ish ish ish..(shame on me, I know)

I have recently set a goal to learn Arabic (actually been meaning to learn it ever since I moved here, but not until now that I felt really serious about doing it), and Alhamdulillah, god must have listened to my intention that he open up a door of opportunity to learn it without anymore of the lame excuse such as "I want to learn, but I work in shift, and none of the classes are suitable with my time table", or "What?! how much is the cost for personal coaching now?!".

My office has been kind enough to set up few set of Arabic courses designed according to level of expertise (expert ke? hikss..:P ) and scheduled to match most of the shift pattern there is. To my surprise, the Arabic language is not as hard as I always thought it was. Lots of similarity with my mother tongue language (malay yang memang sah-sah bahase pencedok). Even the way the sentences are made got many similarities of rules.. why laaa I found it too darn difficult before?

I now dare all Malays to burn up your spirit and learn Al-Lugha Al-Arabia, as we already have 50% of the language at heart; YES! Believe it or not, we've known 500 roots words with similar meaning with the Arabic, we've learn to read it since kids and we've been hearing it through Al-Qur'an yet why are we still hesitate to learn the meaning by heart? I so hope that one day, Arabic language is made compulsory in Malaysian education system and not just in Sekolah Agama, and they should enforce learning to read the Qur'an with the meaning too. No more like the blind man, reading to the deaf. I do not want to be in the dark side for too long, I pray that my spirit will continue to grow and be blessed to succeed and hope many others will take this challenge seriously too, Amin.......... (janganla I be hangat-hangat-tahi-ayam-self)

Anyway, here's the short essay that I've written on FB as per request from my ustazah (part of the entire test), which I actually had pages more to write, but considering the effect that it'll reflect on (yes, I have many  negative values to contribute to the subject), I leave it to stop at that one tiny paragraph :)

Four years of living my life in Qatar, I got to learn a glimpse of Arab's culture.  I see many Arabs who love to spend time outside and chat with friends and family, drinking coffee but often not very friendly to strangers. Their ties to friends are so close that they can even slow down while driving alongside each other’s car for a chat or even stop in the middle of the roundabouts just to say hi to one another. Although many of them look conservative, particularly women with their hijab and niqab, they are actually quite open to latest technology such as the cinema. Just last night, we enjoyed a night out to see the latest Hollywood movie, and there beside us, sat an Arab couple, with the wife fully covered revealing just her two eyes while the man looked protective of the wife, yet can still take her out for a nice date at the cinema just like the rest of us. A scenario such as this is the best example of “Don’t judge the book by its cover”. We can never know someone from the first look, but through experience and time, we’ll get to know their beauty and perhaps the common interest that we share.

Sayu..

Sudden mixture of feelings..

Cause: unknown.

But hang on.. it mite be from that few sob stories over this few days, or mite just be from my monthly hormone check-in.. (yup.. Mrs.P has started her monthly visits again). Or or.. that touchy video of pilgrimage.. I dunno..

A good friend of mine just left Qatar for good... her husband, had reached his maximum level of kesabaran with the oh-so-well-known of Qatar's custom. No, I'm not talking about the traditional custom, I'm referring to the unusual unique experiences one encountered on one's own term. You would love Qatar of you would hate it, or just settled for the in-between. You are either stuck or blend in, all depends on your term of defining your experiences.

Over my return to this country, I've lost 2 friends.. ( I mean they moved back to their home country, not entirely gone :P). Making me think.. what would happen to us, do we have a place to call home, when everything here doesn't make sense anymore.. do we have the insurance to turn back to? And..do we have the 'shoulder to cry'? :'(

Almost five years now,

not sure if we can ever double the time..

Anyway, I just wanted to share the link to the most recent video that I've produced. Need lots of improvement specially in recording, I'm so not fit to be a camerawomen. Hiks.

a lil touch of something..

I was browsing through my newly upgraded gadget (another gift from Mr.sweet Ai.. ;) , then a thought hit me; why do we always.. ALWAYS post our beloved baby's video.. just like it is.. a video of him giggling, turning, blabing bla bla bla..
there's no harm in a little bit of editing..

So I started to experiment with the power of IPhone4. I downloaded iMovie for iPhone, then started my production, with the star of the day; Mr.Maqeel. (He was actually bargaining for more milk during the 30minutes filming.. being a typical-demanding-star-on-the-rise ;).

The apps is so easy to use, and best part is the iPhone didn't even hang once! No more the hustle-bustle of filming video on camcorder, then uploading it to a pc, then edit, then upload to the internet. That's 2 steps down from the traditional 'movie' production. Thumbs up for iPhone4! Because of you.. I will definitely produce more fun video!

Here goes peeps.. Enjoy, the 3minutes plus short movie i called Susu Ninja!

Fully filmed and edited on iPhone4.. with supercool surrounds sound effects! hiks :P (yeah.. i know I went a lil bit overboard with the storyline..) and please pardon the quality of my editing.. I was rushing to go to work.. i know it could have been much shorter and cooler. :)

Oh yeah.. and here's a lil something from Mr.Ai too. Maqeel news

Err...Can I ask you something?

A colleague of mine out of the blue pop up a bonus question for me. We've gone longgg back since 2006 when I'm still not wearing hijab.

He suddenly ask "Hey yeeney, tell me why are you wearing that thing all the time now? (pointing out to my hijab) Is it because you have children now, so you have to wear it?"

I laughed. I'm not really sure whether to answer him, or to smack his big nose down (well he literally has a BIG nose).

Then I answered "Well I didn't wear it until Myra's almost two didn't I?.. so that's not really the reason why I wear it.. Truth is, it's compulsory to all Muslim women to cover up, but when I was younger, I chose not to.. cause I'm a bit evil-like back then..and nowww, I feel like I wanna go to the good side, avoiding sin and all, so.. that's why"

(Yeah.. the westernization had a big impact on all of us, from my own experience and observation; most of us -muslim women in Malaysia- refused to wear hijab in our younger life. Maybe because we were so immature and easy to influenced. That all we could see was that sexy hairdos are so in!.. and I wanna look just like that.. Thank god that phase has past, thank god that there's still a tiny bit of me that wanted to change to the good side)

He nodded.. then open his curious mouth again "But then, why some of them cover up like this" (Gesturing niqab-like cover with only two eyes showing)

I laughed again.. "Hurm.. good question. It's because they are super pretty I guess?"
Dalam hati aku pikir: Soalan yang agak susah nak jawab.. I then just summarize it to be because of the differences of mazhab, some says you hafta cover all except for your two eyes, and some just your face and two forehands.. and some says depends on your beauty.. the more beutiful you regards yourself as, the more you need to cover, and vice-versa =)

That short conversation reminds me.. I so hafta build on my islamic knowledge! I'm pretty sure there are plenty more curious friends that wanted to know, but just too shy to ask.

After sometime when I thought the topic was over, he again brought up the subject, still curious to why women has to be forced to wear hijab. He thought every women who wore hijab were forced by their husband or family as a symbol of protection of his belonging. I then corrected him, I was never forced. Mr.Ai has never forced me to wear it, we were married with kid for sometime before I decided to wear.. it was my choice, and my choice alone....

Then I gave him this youtube video to better understand "Why Hijab'


"That's good that it's your choice.." he said.. silence... I guess knowing that it was by choice he was convinced and satisfied.. hopefully now gained a respect of one of the most important point in the beauty of Islam.

"Freedom is about doing the right thing without fearing other people"

timed

I came home from work today, showered with Myra's cheerful voice "happy birthday Mommy!". I cheekily joked and said "wish je ke? kek takde?" and she honestly replied "ade-ade, kek kat blakang!" then she ran off to the kitchen calling her dad to bring the cake in. So, there goes the surprise that daddy planned for Mommy ;P
geli hati..
Just when I tot he didn't quite care, he surprised me with the lil celebration. Then just when I tot that's that.. he surprised me with more. A flower, a touching card and a glittering gift on our bed.. awaits me.
thank you you.. for the most thoughtful touch of my heart... muah!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Shape Up!

Time to face yet another fitness challenge. Now i understand why some mother never bother to try to get back in shape... it's either there's no chance and time or they just couldn't care less.
Me on another hand is standing in between. I wanted to start all the fitness regime that I could think of to get rid of all those yucky fats off me bummm, but knowing the fact that attending fitness classes means leaving my babies more often, I kinda hesitate. Then come the malas factor; sejuk, ngantuk and macam2 lagi... huk huk cooobaaaan
But tonite I finally made the big move, went to Aspire ladies club, cheking out the classes there, for a one-off trial class, they charge QR50, and to signup for a month is only QR200. And for 3 months is QR450. We (me and another lepas-branak friend) tried the 315 class- a comby of some aerobic, with weight and step. Focusing on toning of the entire body. Best.. berpeluh2. And the best part to go with a friend is; when we made a pack to keep each other motivated. Anyho our enthusiast effort dah terbantut, when they said february registration is closed.
Nak tak nak terpakse look forward for March jela; hmm sementare tu, mintak2 semangat nak kurus tak hilang..

huuu 10kg to go!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Dubai and DSF

more like disaster shopping festival. 2 days after completing the ever so-'torturing' confinement, i decided to join my family for a short trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Thinking it'll be super fun and all.. when it turns out, people with small kids stays at home more for a good reason! (padan muke beta eheh). Just forget how canggih the itinerary was, everything won't go as you plan, and if it ever did, you won't quite have that super energy to enjoy it to the fullest. And.. just leave all that shopping dream at rest.. even a quick 30seconds window shopping become lika super-special and rare previledge.. uhhh you'd think just for a tiny bit moment, let me eye on those shoes.. then BAMMM.. the baby cry for attention. But, nonetheless, going with family served a lil comfort, i still got to do the essential shopping (look&grab) for 3-4 items, which is good enuff considering the cry baby thingy heh.
but sayangnye, my in laws didn't quite get the promised trip that they've been told, many of the itenerary changes, and they didn't quite see all the must-see-thing in Dubai. huk huk will there be next time???? hmmmmm

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]