October 2nd 2010 - October 2nd 2014

Alhamdulillah... We made it! 4 years have passed.

"The secret of a happy marriage remains a secret".

wah gitu....

... and i lost my wedding ring!!

experience with international friends so far.

ehh, apahal rajin semacam pulak type blog selang sehari nihh? hehehe... i'm waiting for my students to come to my office at this moment.. bosan pulak mengadap kerja yang tak habis2.. stop lah sat kan.

today i will share the experience i have with my international friends who have now becoming very good friends already. in fact, we had arranged some private makan2 during last hari raya just us and the kids. well, i must say that i have learn a lot of things by having 2 good friends who are from Jordan and Iraq respectively. occasionally we had palestinian students in our classes who i actually made friends too. but the two ladies who are now become close to me are just wonderful people sent by Allah. ;) and pretty soon these two friends are going back to their country or to another country to start their work. most probably last raya was the first and last makan2 gathering that we had ever done because they are going back home by next Ramadhan, Inshaa Allah.

previously i have heard stories how arab women won't be involved in any social gathering with the presence of men. but, my interpretation was that, well, maybe only in the arab country that these people will practice it. but, to my surprise, even though they are thousands away from their motherland, they do keep their culture and belief in tact. at lest with these 2 best friends i have now. i had the oportunity to join the makan2 events at their homes where they would send their husbands out ( bukan halau la..hahaaa) for a few hours and we would be in their house having fun, makan2 and chit chatting. 

the hospitality, Mashaa Allah... so nice... the foods and everything was fabulous. i got to taste some authentic arab foods which not known to many. and the best part lepas tu boleh tapau. hahahha... minah2 arab ni tak makan pedas, tapi herannya, cili depa lagi pedas gila kot dr cili kita. berasap telinga skali kena.hahaha... but it was fantastic though. truly enjoyed the experience. i secretly wish they would extend their studies so we get to do the mak2 and anak2 gatherings more...hahahha... memang tak lah kan.. orang nak balik negara masing2 dah pon...

yang baby tu lahir kat Penang, mak dia Jordanian, yang dah besar2 tu mak dia dari Iraq. yang budak mata tak tengok kamera tu mak dia orang Malaysia. hahahaha...

contrary to what many people said that arabs are arrogant etc, etc, i find my two friends are very humble and down to earth people. very helpful, very generous and very religious people. i mean i do have concerns regarding certain things related to being a muslim and they would always have good answer for me. Mashaa Allah, how they preserve Islam so dearly in their lives. not even an inch would they tolarate to anything that not put Islam first. malu i dengan cara pakaian i yang masih kurang sempurna ni walaupun berhijab. as compared to them, they are fashionable too. but they only be fashionable in front of their husband at home. they wear branded clothes too, but only at home. nampak tahap tawaduk depa ni lain dari kita. kita ni kalau pakaian branded inagt nak ka pakai kat rumah sambil memasak?? *pengsan*

they are truly sexy in their home. seriously wey... baju ketat, sluar ketat, rambut mayang megurai..make up etc.. complete! but they are very modest outside their houses.in fact, pintu pagar apartment depa pon depa cover dengan kain curtain so that anytime ada ousider ketuk pintu at least tak nampak lah aurat. they are covered and look normal without any make up on ouside their homes. berapa ramai antara kita mampu camtu, i always wonder. a lot of times, they would try to tell me that i need to improve my dressing. we should impress Allah first and not people. well, very true. harap2 boleh lah i improve seperti yang depa bagitau dulu. and they even checked me on my reading of the holy Quran. they would offer help. Subhanallah... sangat terasa that they are sent by Allah to me. to help me actually. ;)

selain tu, and a lot tips i got from these two sisters on how to take care of my hair so it would shine bright just like theirs. .hahahha... i kalau tanya tahap i siasat habis ok. huhu..segala tip kecantikan i tanya.

ok lah.. tu ja teringat nak update. hihi... ;))
 

#life as of now

Blog ni dah boleh masuk kategori blog hidup segan mati tak mahu... tuan tanah jenis tak update2. kalau update pun bagai melepas batuk di tangga gituw... huuhuu...

alasan busy memanjang. *eyes rolling*

well, i suddenly realized how much i missed blogging... every time i have something to write it is either it was already late at night or it was no more fun to update an outdated story. hahaha...

my life as of now, well let me start with myself first, aside from busy with work and tired of it, my postgraduate studies has also progressing well. i must say that the decision to go back and start my Master was the best decision ever. i enjoy my classes. i enjoy doing my assignments and everything that revolves around my studies. so very much. lillahi ta'alaa... in fact i would be very excited to talk about my studies every time i get people asking how is it going so far. Alhamdulillah... it makes me the happiest girl when talking about it. i am right now in my 2nd yr, which considered as the final year. my research is going to start soon. and i am nervous about it as well. but i guess, this is a good kind of nervous. heheh...

in the 1st class for  new semester last week. ;) heheh...

2 more papers to go and i'm done by next semester with all the classes, Inshaa Allah.

i will most probably extend my study for 1 semester because i will be focussing on my research without the interfering with classes at uni. i must confess that i am not much of a multi tasker. i do things slow and bits by bits most of the time. and i'm pretty happy with my way of doing things. the best thing about going back to uni is that i feel fresher. i feel content.. i feel alive kot mostly... imagine being in teaching line for almost 7 yrs, terasa sungguh letih. tired of the job.. hate the boss... hate the attitude of some co-workers, etc..etc.. i was afraid i would be burnt out before i hit 10 yrs of teaching experience. i'm only 31 yrs old... i have long way to go in this business, if Allah will. so i don't want to be upset with my job. 

The only way to rejuvenate myself i think, i need to back and study. i need to upgrade myself professionally. forget about naik pangkat dalam sistem politeknik yang sunggh merapu... i hate it. in fact i have heard so many cases of polytechnic lecturers blah and join other institution after they get their Master and Ph.D because of the frustrations. and i don't understand why some people still terhegeh-hegeh nak jadi pensyarah poli?? seriously, tak paham.As for me, i also have my own mission after finishing my studies too. Inshaa Allah.

Anyways, my point is, going back to study is the best thing ever. i truly enjoy. Alhamdulillah. i find new great friends, locals and internationals too. things have been fun so far. and when u truly enjoy something then only u can deliver well and perform well too. i can feel that this is happening to me. Syukur.. my semester results have been good. i get A and A- only. this kind of thing motivates me more. ;)

as for family, i try my level best to spend lots of time with my baby. i am not gonna say that everything has been perfect. no, sometimes when u are tired all u need is just rest and sleep and the guilty feelings about not having longer time with your baby is always there. but, i will try to make up the loss. we try to bring Maryam to her favorite places. bawak pegi main, pegi playground, etc. 

yesterday we were back on horse stable. her favorite place ever kot.

sayang pony... dia kata masa ni.

 ever since she was 1 yr ++ we have exposed her with horseback riding. but not  joining any classes like that, tak mampu la i suami isteri.. huhu.. but more on  spend time with horses only. she loves it. she likes cats, rabbit and horses. but i can see that she is much more natural with horses. yesterday we went to a stables in Balik Pulau, Penang. the ususal place, and boleh dikatakan the owner pun happy having Maryam there too. they would snap pictures of her with their horses. and they were amazed to see how natural Maryam was everytime she approaced horses or rode them. tak payah ajar, she basically aquire the skill on her own i guess. the best moment when she actually played peek-a-boo with the pony. Masha Allah, cute sungguh. she would stroke the pony so gently, hugged and even kissed the pony. kita yang tengok ni pulak seriau.

muka paling tak boleh sabaq... kept telling she wanted to be on the horse for hundreds of time. letih menjawab!

she's gonna turn 3 yrs pretty soon. in november to be exact. how time flies kan... yes, we do want more children but let me finish my study first and see how it goes. ada rezeki, ada lah kan... Maryam pun dah semakin membesar and semakin memahami that she is alone. kesian jugak tak ada adik. heheh... 

ok, that's all...

ohh husband. still the same husband. hahahha...

biasa lah... dah kawen almost 4 yrs ni, semakin banyak kita cuba memahami pasangan. he's been helpful. alot helpful these days. hahaha... i think i have to let go certain things too... biar husband yang buat jugak. especially berkaitan Maryam. dulu masa awal2 sem i sambung belajar, i would station Maryam at my mak's place, tapi nowadays, i trust him.. lantak lah dua beranak ni nak bedal ice cream and coklat banyak mana pun sepanjang i tak dak umah, dan rumah in one big mess pun.. i'm fine with it.janji hepi.

ok, till i write again.

Salam Aidilfitri 2014

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir dan Batin from me to everyone. hope everyone had great time celebrating with the loved ones. tahun ni we decided, i mean i decided to celebrate at my in laws. hahhahaa.... nampak sangat macam every raya we celebrate kat penang ja kan...well, tahun ni my in laws were at home as compared to previous raya(s) they were always not home, celebrating at kampung or rumah anak2.. so rumah depa memang tak raya gitu... Alhamdulillah, tahun ni since they decided to celebrate at their house, so i pon ajaklah bapak maryam ni beraya ja di Aloq Staq on the first day. selalunya kami balik on the second day of raya to my SIL's place.

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As for this girl, she had a blast meeting her cousins and friends. Thank your to all aunties and uncles for the duit raya... tengok duit anak, rasa macam nak mintak pinjam uols.. hahahaa....

oh ya, we all tak matching2 pon tahun ni... baju raya i tak siap. so tema caca marba ja la.. ikot mana yang ada.  maryam was such a lucky girl, baju raya dia aunty Ipoh dia beli sampai 3 lai.. so i was relieved. kalau dak, budak tu tak dak baju raya.huhu.. nak buat cemana, mak dia prepared at the very last minute, bila last minute ni paham2 la.. the choces were limited. ;(

thank you to aunty Ipoh Maryam who helped me with the buying of her baju kurungs... and special thanks to my SIL, kak dilla who was so generous to help my mak with the preparations for raya. we are truly blessed to have such a great sister in law. macam2 sangat dia beli bawak balik kampung hari tu. jasamu tak terbalas. May Allay reward u with the best reward in life and the hereafter. Amin~

last kopek, gambaq Maryam dengan tok wan dan nanny dia. budak ni kerja dia makan nasi impit saja. sampai 2 hari tak sentuh proper nasik...

ok, that's all. Eid Mubarak!!

#sajaLamaTakUpdate

Another Haircut

pegang botoi Upin Ipin sambil merenung naseb rambut.

This was her 3rd haircut this year. the 2 previous haicuts were more like a trim to her fringe and a little bit at the back. but this time around we went further by cutting it short. like way shorter than usual. huhu...this is actually her Maktok's wish. cos Maryam hates to have her hair all tied up in pony tail and such. so that left us with no choice but to snip..snip..snip... i particularly was a little sad to see her curls gone. ;( i love her curls so much. that was her trademark all these while. we don't really know where she got the curls from cos both me and my husband are naturally straight hair. i even asked the hair dresser whether we could maintain her curls, she said no way...hahaha...so bubbye... 

on the other hand, i think i love loking at Maryam with short hair version. looks so cheeky... ;) and i'm so proud to see her maintaining her cool during the haircut session. no drama. #happyMom. 

one big girl.

ohh, for that 5 minutes session, we had to pay RM15. pheww... i still rember, when i was little, my haircut only cost my mak around RM2-RM5 only...hahaha...

20+ books at Big Bad Wolf Penang With RM0 spent! : my humble review of the event

budak paling banyak buku.

yeahh..that's how amazing shopping should be when u spent ZERO ringgit and brought home almost 30 books. hahaha.... it's a true story okay.

Alhamdulillah, tercapai jugak hajat hati menjelajah the BIG BAD WOLF edisi Penang which is now still going on until 30 March 2014. selalunya dengar dan baca review Big Bad Wolf in KL saja...so the penangites kali ni i rasa serbu kaw kaw jugak weekend hari tu. we went on Saturday and i think, the Venue in Times Square Penang is approriate. the place is crowded and the air-cond was functioning well and temperature was great inside. i was worried we would have to suffer with heat inside the place since a lot of people in there. but, no...sejuk dalam tu! good! good!

well, let me tell ya the reason why i spent zero ringgit, i am a student remember? hahaha...so i made full use of the BB1M voucher that i received. at first agak cuak sebab takot2 kalau certain books saja they allowed to use voucher, it turned out that all books can be paid by the BB1M voucher. so thankfully. ;) i had to pay nothing for the amount of book i took. itu pon i bukan spent the whole RM250 of the voucher tau.

well, sorry tak sempat nak capture the moments and the atmosphere inside the venue of the Big Bad Wolf sebab i was too busy looking for books. i found that the children section was the BEST since the variety of books are enormous! i literally went crazy taking the books for Maryam, Happy lah makcik tu dapat buku 20 ketul! hahah..love the children section, again!

buku2 yang i beli semua beteween RM2-RM20 sahaja. i managed to grab Annabel Karmel's book which ran out very fast that day. hehehe...

But, i must say that the other selections of books were not that suitable to my taste. again, i might be wrong here, it depends on what kind of books that u are looking for at this kind of book fair anyway. so it didn't really appeal many of the genre to me. but i think the teenages would benefit the most since a lot of books were fiction.. i must say that at the age of 31, i don't really go for novels and such. i prefer the self improvement and parenting books mostly which i found lacking in the Big Bad Wolf Penang. tak berapa best sangat buku2 genre macam ni kat sana. sorry.

still i managed to grab a few books yg i bekenan. My husband bought 2. satu tentang cara2 nak jadi kaya. LOL...and another one is a traveling destination book. okay la..man's book i think. ;)

overall, i love the experience. u know dragging your own box and filling up books into your box. but, i think next time i should bring a small trolley. yang macam trolley isi ikan bila pi pasar tu...letih tau angkat kotak. i admit at one point i memang tolak kotak i pakai kaki ja masa berbaris nk bayartu..

ohh, the line...a very longggg que. but very efficient cahshiers line walaupun 1 saja barisan. they had a lot of cahsiers spots and i think, waiting to pay for 20-30 mins in line is still acceptable by looking at the long que that had to bear. i memang time how long my que was. sebab i beratur panjang gila..from one end to the other end gitu..luckily Maryam was sleeping masa nak dekat2 balik tu. lega..so daddy dia bawak dia pi lepak kat  luar while waiting for me to que up towards the cashier.

so, i think the penangites should take this opportunity and experience the event themselves la kot..orang lain maybe lain perspective dia. but, seriously the price of the books are crayyyyzyyyy cheap!


ok last kopek, gambaq Maryam. hehehe

#MH370

My thoughts & prayers are with each and everyone who is involved in this incident. and my sincere Doa for all of them and may Allah S.W.T grant the family members the strenghts to be strong during this difficult time. Ameen.

Cukuplah Allah menjadi Penolong kami dan Allah adalah sebaik-baik Pelindung. 

(Ali Imran: 173)

 Tiada ada daya dan kekuatan kecuali dengan pertolongan Allah semata-mata.