Cerita Baju Raya

Being a wife is not an easy job. Apart from the usual-looking-after-the-family duty, a wife's duty is to determine the color scheme for her family especially when it comes to Hari Raya. Dan saya tidak terkecuali daripada memikul tanggungjawab itu.

Every year, it is my duty to pick the theme color for our Hari Raya. This is not because I am the wife, it is simply because I have a lot of different color clothes that I can wear for Raya. And to avoid miscommunication between the husband and I, he, the husband allows me to be the person in-charge of our Raya theme color. 

The 1st year of our raya together, we picked green as our theme color. It was because I was 5 months pregnant and the only baju that can fit my body then was the green kebaya I had donkey years ago. The kebaya was tailored made to a bigger size hence why it was left in the wardrobe untouched. So, with the growing tummy in 2011, I can finally fit the kebaya and the husband have to look for a green baju melayu. Nasib baik jumpa. Sekali pakai lepas basuh terus hancus. And the baju melayu is nowhere to be seen now.

Our 2nd year, I was busy getting myself used to the new environment - a working-breastfeeding-mom. I did not get the chance to do raya shopping so my sister did it for me. My parents and kakak went to Kelantan for a cousin's wedding. They bought me a chocolatey-pink batik material for raya. And since it was our first raya with lil Iman, preparation was all on her. Luckily, the husband already have a chocolate baju melayu, he did not need to get a new one. Settle baju raya in 2012. I made a simple baju kurung that is definitely fit for a breastfeeding mom. Senang nak selak-menyelak. 

The time has finally here to prepare for this year's baju raya. Well, my priority is still on lil Iman. Untung si kecil itu. And since last year I made a lot of baju baru for friend's wedding, I decided to recycle them and be my baju raya. It was one of my bestie's baju dulang. The only thing that I need to do is to get the baju beaded. Sent it to the trusted cousin and voila! Cantik dengan gayanya. 

And this year's theme is shades of orange

Bought both husband's and lil Iman's at BAK tailor. Nasib baik they open a new branch here at Boulevard Ukay Perdana and it is very near to my house. Bought them last week tak sampai setengah jam and very convenience as I don't need to drag myself to Jalan TAR and berebut with other thousands of people preparing themselves for raya. Cepat dan mudah.

There's a story behind their baju raya which I don't feel like writing it in here. Buat malu je sampai kena pergi kedai tu dua kali. Nasib baik dekat tak payah susah-susah. Little that I know, this color is this year's favourite color. Punyalah susah nak get the matching color but Alhamdulillah segalanya sudah selesai.

All I need now is to practice cara-cara memakai tudung dengan sesuainya yang mungkin.

I will also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir dan Batin. I would like to seek forgiveness if I have ever hurt your feelings intentionally or unintentionally. I hope that this Syawal brings the best out of us dan bersama-samalah kita bermaaf-maafan. Buang yang keruh. ambil yang jernih.

And to those who balik kampung, have a safe journey. We will be heading up Kedah on the 2nd day of Raya, In shaa Allah.

Selamat Hari Raya.

7 + 2

Had our annual breaking fast get-together with the usual gang last Saturday. Terlewat pulak this year due to commitment and to get everyone's free time is very hard nowadays. It's either I'm free or they're simply not. Finally, we managed to settle down last Saturday at Dashing Fish, Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC).

I actually planned to write about the restaurant. Tapi memanglah tak jadi sebab bawa Iman so nak jadi photographer sememangnya tidak berkesempatan. Furthermore, I was not feeling well that day. Makan pon taklah banyak mana. Tak banyak langsung in fact. I don't even finish the small portion that they gave me. Ikan lazat semua tak dapat nak ratah pon. 

The only picture I have from our dishes. Not convincing at all

Based on my sakit tekak punya rasa, I gotto say that Dancing Fish is a place to go. It's an Indo-Malay cuisine and they serve marvelous dishes. We ordered the fish with kerabu mangga sauce & a black color sauce which I can't remember the name. We had the egg taufu as well which is highly recommended, the black pepper beef (I think) and lemak pucuk paku.

And since my tekak is super sakit, I had their Teh Koci which was very nice. It's soothe my sakit tekak.

I shall visit again and I promise I'll write a proper food review of Dancing Fish.

To my surprise, they were actually planning for my belated birthday celebration. Agak terkejut jugak. Didn't expect it anyway. Buy yea, thanks girls. I love you guys dunia akhirat.

12 years and counting

They got me the chocolate cupcakes. Sedap lah jugak but as I said earlier, tekak tak berapa nak sedap so I had few slices of each. It was so nice of them to belanja. Terharu jugaklah.

Anyway, we expanded our group member. Introducing Miss Lil Iman Alexandria & Lil boy Qaysar Farish to the group.

To many more years of friendship. Love love so much.

Sunday, 26 Ramadan

This is how I ended my weekend.

Masyaallah.

Tak apelah, kerja pon adalah salah satu ibadah bukan?

A dream to BaitulMaqdis

Earlier this year, my Maklong proposed for our this year's family trip to go to Palestine through one of the trusted travel agency. I was contemplating at first as security is my major issue especially when I have to carry Iman together with me. But after much consideration, we decided to proceed with the plan as it has been our dream to visit Baitul Maqdis as Al-Aqsa mosque is located in the district area.

But of course, with the current situation that is happening in the middle east, we have to ensure that our security is being taken care off. 

Based on the itinerary that was provided to us, we are going to Jerusalem through Egypt. We were also being informed that only small number of visitors are allow to enter Jerusalem and with this travel agency, we are able to do so under full security assurance. Well, my mother was not convinced at all with the assurance hence we did not proceed with the plan. Glad that we didn't!

Having said that, I'm actually feeling sad that we are unable to visit the holy land. It has been a dream to be able to perform solat at Al-Aqsa mosque, to visit the tomb of most para Nabi and to witness the life of Muslim brothers and sisters who have no major problem performing their duty as a Muslim regardless of having to share the piece of land with the Jews and the Christians. Isn't that amazing?

Dr. Halina (the wife of our astronaut man) posted her visit to the holy land quite sometime ago. It's amazing how she puts it in words and her photos, Masyaallah, she's very lucky to be able to step foot at the holy land. She visited most of the historical places and having to carry 2 of her children (a 4 months old baby and a 2 years old toddler) is amazing, Subhanallah!

Furthermore, last week's Jejak Rasul episode showcased their visit to the holy land. Masyaallah, bertambah-tambah sangat terpanggil untuk ke sana. It's amazing to see how Muslim survived in a country ruled by the Israelis and how Muslims' able to stand together with the Jews and the Christians under the same roof. Subhannallah.

Kalau kita faham dan mendalami sejarah perkembangan Islam di sana sangat mengkagumkan.

But then again, I guess Allah knows what's best for His ummah. I guess it is not our time yet to visit the holy land but Insyaallah kalau ada rezeki, mahu sahaja melawat tanah suci itu.

Lagu Raya! Lagu Raya! Lagu Raya!

My initial plan was to write about the post that went viral yesterday on the story of non-Muslim primary students having their lunch break at the school's toilet room. I've collected my source, pictures and stories but decided to let it down because I think, I will not write it properly. 

Just to note some points:-

1. Don't always jump to conclusion. This is to the mother who posted this article. Do not just rely on 1 source and 1 source only. Instead of believing what the school bus driver said, you might as well go to the school and clarify yourself. There are teachers who I believe can assist you on your concerns. Toilet room and changing room are two different things.
2. Low self awareness. This is to the citizen of Malaysia. This is a good example of how we Malaysians see things. Often that we judge people without really searching for the truth. Paling tepat, what we see is not what we tell. There's always penambah garam, gula untuk penyedap cerita. 
3. Racism. This is also a good example of how racist we are. Baru tengok sikit gambar and the first thing that come to our mind is racism. This is really a serious matter.
4. Orang Malaysia cepat melatah. Period!

Then, I decided to post the most talk of the town story of Princess Kate Middleton who just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. 

But then again, I believe there are thousands of people out there who will be writing about how glowy her post-natal appearance. For godsake, she's a Britain Royal Princess. For all you know, she has an army of people who will help her with her appearance. So yea, no story of the royal princess.

Note: If she was not married to Prince William, she will exactly look like most of us who just gave birth to a baby - having our hair tied up high and wearing kain batik. Ok, maybe not kain batik!

Then finally, I decided to post on my most favourite raya song. Yes, just like a kid I am, I am so looking forward to raya.

And yes of course, I am very sad the Ramadan is so close in waving its hand but I don't tell that to the world. I try my best to perform during this holy month. Every thing that I do is between me and for Allah to judge and not for the world to know. Sad that some people is so sarcastic in giving their comments. But then again, the intention is to remind hence I will take it with an open arms. Thank you for the reminder and Salam Ramadan to you. No hard feelings :)

With that, let me present to you Black Dog Bone with Cahaya Aidilfitri

Salam Ramadan.

Raya resolution

Every end of the year, most people will set themselves with resolutions - nak jadi lebih kaya, jadi lebih rajin, nak jadi seorang yang lebih baik, you get the jinx right?! While I, on the other hand, have never set any resolutions in my life for all I know, I will never follow.

This year is somehow different. I decided to have 1 resolution, and 1 resolution only. Funny thing is, I want to achieve this goal by Raya, in shaa Allah. It sounds a bit cocky (I think!) but this resolution is something that I have been working on throughout this year. Very challenging one, I tell you!

My goal is by raya, I should be able to forgive and forget.

But why raya?

It is because Raya is where you actually seek for forgiveness from your family and friends. If I am unable to forgive them, I am actually faking all my "forgiveness" and I don't want to do that. Being the stubborn me, I have no problem in forgiving, but my biggest issue is to forget. I tend to keep things in me to the extend that I become depressed over things that I shouldn't be and that is what I want to improve as much as I can.

There are people that I really want to forgive for things that they have done to my family. Due to that, I have been keeping my distance from them from all occasions. I know it is not right to judge. But what they did really hurts and it is not my call to judge them, I know that! But like I said, being the stubborn me, I tend to take things seriously and yea.... keeping distance is what I did. I just want to ..... forgive and forget!

In-conjunction with this coming Hari Raya, Watson is also doing a Raya resolution campaign. Wow, lucky me! I got to put my resolution and hope to meet Faizal Tahir.

Check this out!

Here's to how to submit your resolution,

Step 1 - Visit Watson's facebook fan page and click their Azam Raya apps.

Step 2 - Click "Mula Sekarang" button and key-in you resolution and  then, click "hantar" button

Step 3 - Check your email as you'll receive your e-voucher. This is my 2nd submission. Before checking your email, you will need to fill in your details first.

Step 4 - you will be able to share your resolution in your Facebook page. The highest vote will stand a chance to win a prize.

Step 5 - check your email now.

So, what are you waiting for? Submit your azam now to win a chance of having Faizal Tahir come to your house during Hari Raya. It's once in a life time opportunity y'oulls!

Submit now!

Friday rambling

I am currently working on this campaign which is supposed to start last May 2013. It keeps on getting postpone even until today, there is no confirm on the live date yet. What's worst is that, they keep on changing the campaign objective on every meeting that we attended or con-call to discuss about the campaign.

I got to be honest that I am already given-up on this campaign. As much as I am looking forward to it before, I don't give a damn about it anymore. 

But the good part about this campaign is that I learned a lot especially in digital planning. I know what conversion tagging is (I don't even know that it can be done at the first place). I know now that there's retargeting process that we can apply to our digital campaign. Basically, I already know the dos and don'ts of digital planning. Memang dah master habis.

But seriously man, can you make up your mind. It has taken a lot of our time just to plan on this campaign. And the planning process has not ended yet. Oh, I'm tired of it already. Memang menguji kesabaran ketika di bulan Ramadan yang mulia ini. 

Speaking of which, we have passed 9 days of Ramadan. How's your Ramadan so far? Mine, so far so good, Alhamdulillah. I hope I can keep to this practice till end of the year - which is by ber-Sabar, In Shaa Allah.

Oklah, off to prepare myself for Zuhr prayer. Nak doa banyak-banyak supaya di beri kesabaran yang tinggi dalam menghadapi dugaan kerja hari ini. Amin.

Have a nice day everyone.

Ramadan tak sampai seminggu dah sebok kuih raya

Yes, you read it right. Ramadan belum sampai seminggu, I am already busy booking looking for kuih raya. 

I don't normally buy kuih raya. Usually, I will be the one busy baking them but unfortunately, my over-used-super-old-oven decided to say goodbye to me last year. Never got a replacement for it hence no baking cookies for raya for 2nd year in a row. I was planning to get a new one, a big new one but yea, it never happens. So, cita-cita untuk membuat kuih raya pada tahun ini terbantut lagi.

I was looking high and low for a good quality kuih raya. It's difficult nowadays to look for the good quality ones. Kebanyakkannya semua jual sebab nak raya. Jadi, rasa semua ke laut. Yang terlalu manis ada, yang tak ada rasa pon ada and they are all expensive. Letak harga bukan-bukan.

Nak dijadikan cerita, one of my ex-colleague from the old agency brought in boxes of cookies to the office and one of it was my all time favourite chocolate cookies. A small square chocolate cookies and I started to become his customer ever since then.

I like it so much, I can finish 2 boxes of this cookies on my own, I'm no kidding! I can say that the taste is still up to my standard which is very nice - not too sweet. 

Cheh, nak tolong promote lah ni. Tak dapat commission pon. But I believe in his quality. So far, belum pernah mengecewakan lagi.

They sell variety of cookies as well.

Vanilla version of the chocolate cookies

Chocolate chip cookies

Nutty Nut

Chocolate Snow Almond

Just to pre-empt you guys that they don't just sell chocolate-y type of cookies. That's just me who is into it. They have others too:-

Pineapple Tart

Gajus Ayu. Aduh, nama tak tahan

Or you can email Azfar at nenepie.my@gmail.com to order.

I strongly recommend their cookies. They are really really good.

Ramadan 1434H

In Shaa Allah in two days we will be welcoming the holy month of Ramadan and Syukur Alhamdulillah, we are given the opportunity to greet and welcome Ramadan again this year.

I wish this coming Ramadan will be a good platform for us as Muslim in reflecting ourselves in becoming a better ummah In Shaa Allah. And as a reminder to myself to always be patience, to do things one step at a time, recites Quran whenever possible (Masyaallah, I've been neglecting this for long time), performing better solat and to always forgive and forget (the toughest one to do). Bahawasanya, banyak ganjaran yang diberikan ketika di bulan Ramadan.

Based on how badly I did time ganti puasa haritu, it is going to be a challenge for me this time. It took me 3 weeks to complete 7 days of ganti puasa and I skipped those days where I have to attend client's meeting or events. Teruk betul Masyaallah and di tambah pula that I am still breastfeeding Iman. Last year, I skipped 4 days because my mind is not strong enough to convince myself that I can breastfeed and fast at the same time. Psychologically, I am very weak. I hope this year my energy remains till the last day of Ramadan, In Shaa Allah and psychologically strong too. I hope I can handle those dugaan, In Shaa Allah.

So let us take this opportunity to muhassabah diri and to improve ourselves in serving Allah as His Ummah. 

With that, I would like to seek your forgiveness if I have ever hurt your feelings through my writing intendedly or unintendedly. I have no intention in breaking those beautiful heart but as human, we can never run away from making mistakes. Apology from the deepest of my heart.

Semoga Ramadan in memberi seribu kerahmatan kepada kita, Amin. Salam Ramadan from me to all my muslim friends.

Balik Kampung, Ohh! Balik Kampung

Web checked-in to only find out that our seats are on separate. Tak delah jauh mana, just separated by the walking aisle tuh je but still on the same row just that we are not sitting next to each other which is a big deal for me as I am a pregnant lady and I want my husband to sit next to me. Diva much?! Yes, I am. Tapi, nak buat macam mana, dah tak mahu pay extra to get side by side seats, nasib kau lah kan Ajlaa.

Oh, I am so looking forward to balik kampung. To even announce "balik kampung" pun dah put a smile on my face. Excuse the jakun-ness.

For the very first time in my life that I have to salam both my parents a day before Aidil Fitri. Mak was on her senget-benget baju kelawar while bapak was on his short pants and over-sized old shirt as he was in the toilet washing his clothes (oh, my dad washes his own clothes) and I, I was on my working attire getting myself ready for work. Terhiba sedikit perasaan but I managed to take control of my feelings. I thought I would be crying buckets but surprise, surprise, I was laughing while salam-ing them. I guess, I've been a good daughter this year. Alhamdulillah! I will be leaving to the airport straight from work and won't be able to meet them before I leave as they will be at grandma's house to prepare rendang and I don't want to salam them after like 3 days of raya (upon arriving from Kedah). It just don't feel right that way. We were laughing looking at the clothes we put on while bersalaman. We are all good. Syukur!

I managed to make a visit to meet my grandparents yesterday. It feels good to be able to meet them again this Ramadhan. Oh, how I miss them so much. Semoga roh mereka dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatkan di dalam golongan orang-orang yang beriman. Amin.

I am actually killing time here in the office. Cepatlah jam 5pm!


/edit

My GM just released me to go back at 3 pm. Woohooo!

Setahun sekali

Three more days till Ramadhan waves its' hand saying goodbye and how have our ibadah looking so far? I must say that my Ramadhan is on its' minimal. Sadly, I have not being able to perform terawikh this time around. And looking through the condition, I don't think I will be able to do so for the remaining days. But Alhamdulillah, I'm able to fast (with the exceptional of 4 days) with no complications and all and I must say that this Ramadhan has brought so much life to me than before. Syukur for I have been given the rahmah, Syukur for the rezeki and Syukur for the love to be able to embrace the beauty of Ramadhan.

And the best part of all is welcoming Syawal that's opening its' door soon. I am pretty much excited for this raya not because it is RAYA but this raya will be the first raya for me to experience balik kampung for raya like a real balik kampung. I've always been raya-ing here in the city and this year, I will be heading to Kedah for raya. It will also be my first raya as a wife and a soon to be mom. Ahh, excited! It's the first to everything that's new in my life and that is the reason for my excitement. Bags are packed and we are ready to move.

The part where I still have to go to work on Monday and come back to KL on Thursday to resume back to work the next day is not going to ruin my raya spirit. Raya tetap raya!

For those who will be leaving to their hometown soon, Selamat ke destinasi. Drive carefully and please, please stop at the nearest R&R if you feel tired or need some rest. Don't drive with your eyes half open. Everyone wants to go back to their hometown to celebrate raya with their loved ones peacefully. Be considerate while on the road. Safety is what comes first.

And with this opportunity, I would like to wish all muslims, family and friends Selamat Aidil Fitri. Sorry body and soul for all my wrongdoings. Semoga Syawal kali ini memberi seribu kerahmatan kepada kita semua, Amin. And to the non-muslims, Happy Holiday! Don't drink and drive.

The one that stays

Life is not about the people who act true in front of your face, but it's about the people who remain true behind your back

#The Love Stories



My favourite girls



Annual buka puasa with the gang last Saturday was the bomb! Chewah! It wasn't about the food, though we stuffed our tummies with unstoppable in-coming good yummylicious food for berbuka but it was more of the company that was there to enjoy the food with you. Syukur Alhamdulillah for I have been given the opportunity to share my love and life with people that's true to my heart.

"Minta Mak Kueh Sepotong, Saya Mahu Makan Kenyang Perut Kosong"

Pejam celik sudah 15 hari Ramadhan, how's Ramadhan so far?! Mine, Alhamdulillah, sudah 4 hari lompang. Can't help it. Been vomitting due to empty stomach and fever I had during the first week of Ramdhan and prior to that, 3 hari harus dilompangkan to make sure that Ibu and baby is all OK! Well, the extra one day tu terpaksa di buka half day because paginya terlajak sahur. I was shivering, shaking & feeling so weak last Saturday I thought it was just the pregnancy symptom that I normally have tapi tiba-tiba teringat ceramah TV ustaz apa ntah cakap kalau bimbangkan kesihatan ibu dan bayi di dalam kandungan diharuskan berbuka. I went straight to the kitchen, made myself a large glass of Anmum milk and toasted 2 slices of bread sapu butter dan ngap! I was still shivering and shaking but after few hours of resting, saya kembali bertenaga sampai boleh redah Bazaar Dato' Keramat dalam hujan lebat mengalahkan orang yang berpuasa. Kesian Izwan jadi mangsa keadaan kami. Takpelah setahun sekali, bukan selalu!

Oh lupa, parents are back. Yey! Itu sahaja.

Oh, cerita tak masuk post title pula. Begini ceritanya. Normally, after 15th day of Ramadhan, most local radio stations will be playing raya songs but unfortunately, this morning on my way to the office, all that I heard were the edited and newly composed songs yang tak ada bunyi lagu raya langsung. I was hoping for the all time favourite raya songs, the ones you hear every year yang enak itu but sadly, they weren't playing it. Hibo hati den! And since I'm all in raya mood today, I spent first half and hour of my morning downloading raya songs and I'm all stuffed with raya songs that's on loop kasi meleleh tahi telinga dengar.

I know we shouldn't be too excited over raya since we are still in the midst of Ramadhan. Our ibadah that counts but sekadar untuk halwa telinga meyambut Syawal, apa salahnya tak? Yes, No? But yeah, I'm all about raya song today.

Jadi, selamat mendengar lagu raya kawan-kawan. Ibadah jangan dilupakan.

Oh footnote tertinggal: I got my kasut raya. Kasut ibu mengandung Izwan dengan baik hati belanja yesterday. It was the first time I'm out to shopping mall since pregnant. I have this stupid allergy with shopping malls during the first trimester. We went to KLCC yesterday dan kasi tawaf the whole building. Kasut down, handbag to go.

Ramadan ke-3

How's Ramadan for you so far? Mine, Alhamdulillah, today is the third day for me and I hope I'm able to puasa healthily for the next 26 days but on the sad note, I have yet to perform terawih. It's either I reach home late or break fast at the nearby area with Izwan. Since parents are away for umrah, I'm now the responsible wife cooking for her husband and to make sure that my dad's two healthy-fat-cats are feed with ikan kembung rebus. They eat like a lot. Crazy a lot!

But Alhamdulillah, every day is...so far...manageable. I'm allow to leave the office at 5pm everyday during fasting month. But since I'm working on the other side of the world from where I stay, it takes a longer time for me to reach home. I dare not drive during the hour or ask Izwan to fetch me coz boy, the traffic is madness even DUKE highway was bad last couple of days. I rather take the LRT. At least, I can have my quick 45 mins nap in the train. The last time I checked, I reached home at 6.30pm. It was good enough for me to prepare sambal tumis sotong, daging goreng kunyit and fried instant popias mom got me before she left for Umrah as our first day of berbuka meal. But I got very tired at night I fell asleep as early as 9pm hence why I've not been performing terawih yet. Am still adjusting my time so that Izwan and I can berbuka on time and sempat to terawih.

It's a wonderful experience I must say (and tiring too) for the fact that I'm fasting as a wife this year and actually DO wife's job. All these while, mom has been the responsible chef at home. I cook but boleh kira dengan jari berapa kali. Since mom is away for Umrah, I've been cooking every day and I can say that I actually enjoy cooking. Just that, time does not allow me to do so and being pregnant makes you feel tired easily. Oh speaking of which, everyone in the office are not happy with me fasting. They keep on saying that it might harm the baby. Ahh, they are just being too conscious. As long as I take my vitamins every day and eat sufficient food for berbuka and sahur, I should be ok right?! Hey, I'm not going to force myself fasting the whole month, only when my condition permits but so far Alhamdulillah, baby and Ibu are doing fine. I don't want to make pregnancy as an excuse for me to not to berpuasa. As long as both mommy and baby are healthy and in good condition, I don't see the point of not berpuasa-ing. Being pregnant does not hold me from continuing beribadah, right? But lets see how long I can stand berpuasa. Hopefully till the final day of Ramadan-lah!

Ahh on the happy note, we've bought flight tickets to Alor Star for Raya. Big yeay!

Ok now, back to work. Selamat berpuasa kawan-kawan.

And the begining of Ramadan

They came by surprise yesterday. Yanti called to ajak lepak since she'll be at the nearby area to get her stuff done. It was half and hour past 4pm and I already had Pisang Goreng panas with hot tea on the table. So I ajak-ed them to the house instead for tea break. She said she'll be a bit late that she had to cancel. I was getting prepared for dinner pon at that time and since they're still around, I invited them for dinner and knowing Faiz, they agreed to have dinner with us yesterday dengan alasan "bila lagi nak merasa Puan Ajlaa punya air tangan". Little that I know, Yanti invited the rest of the crew to the house. Konon-konon nak kasi surprise. Zarina came in by surprise around Maghrib time. My chicken masak cili and kobis masak lemak santan were already cooked for four people. Nasib baik lagi 2 orang tuh tak jadi datang, else they would have to eat an empty plate.

This is the first time I cook for outsiders other than the usual 4 people; mom, dad, kakak and Izwan. Tak taulah apa rasanya. But Alhamdulillah, lauk yang tak seberapa habis licin. It's either they were too hungry or my food were simply delicious. I think because they were hungry. Heh!

They lepak-ed for awhile for photo session since Izwan bought his new I-don't-know-what lense, he wanted to test it out with them. Ini lah hasilnya bertangkap gambar di padang gelap.

Jongkak-jongket di malam hari

The soon-to-be-I-don't-know =P

Us, missing Taj!

The forever gay-partner!

Flying solo, but hey, I'm A-OK!

Beruk mat-ye!

Swing baby swing

Ni pon nak jugak!

Thanks for coming guys. Kalau siapa-siapa sakit perut saya minta maaf.

Oh btw, with this opportunity I would like to wish all Muslims, Salam Ramadhan. Semoga ibadah kita sama-sama diterimaNya, Insyaallah. I would also like to seek for forgiveness from all friends and family members who I've hurt intentionally or unintentionally throughout the years. Kalau ada terkasar bahasa, moga harap dimaafkan. May we receive the barakah of Ramadhan, Insyaallah.

Saya tidak mahu pergi ke kantor esok boleh?!

Ye, saya akan kembali ke kantor bermula esok. Semenjak dua menjak bercuti raya, the body and mind have stopped working and having the determination of going to work. If money grows on trees? *sigh*

Oh, bukan ini sebenarnya tujuan penulisan blog. Tujuan sebenar adalah untuk mempamerkan akan visual-visual yang telah diambil pada majlis tidak rasmi berbuka puasa bersama rakan-rakan seperjuangan seperti yang telah digembar-gemburkan dahulu.

Tapi maaflah, visualnya hanyalah visual makanan yang separa enak sahaja yang mampu untuk diupload. Since my laptop has decided to go dead on me by missing its' networking card, I can only use my sister's broadband connection which took me years to upload the pictures. Yes, I wrote it right. YEARS bebeh, years!!

Sebenarnya, niat di hati ingin memperkenalkan tomyam ayam yang serupa tomyam bawang masak air tetapi hanya separa saja gambarnya yang kelihatan. Jadi, inilah hasilnya.

Inilah ia kangkung belacan yang ditempah. Nasib baik rasanya seperti kankung belacan walaupun agak tasteless di situ.

Ikan pari yang sudah dikerat-kerat dan dibelah-belah kepada dua. Al-kisahnya si Faiz membisingkan dirinya kepada si penghantar makanan kerana tidak berpuas hati dengan kondisi ikan pari bakar yang ditempahnya. Yang di ambil adalah 2 ekor tetapi hasilnya serupa seekor saja. Mengamuk lah member ikan parinya kecut seekor.

Banyak-banyak makanan, inilah makanan yang paling kami berpuas hati sekali. Sotong tepung. Tidaklah superb rasa. Superb lagi yang saya goreng tetapi, bolehlah untuk di makan.

Dan akhir sekali dan yang laing enak sekali dikalangan makanan yang telah dihidangkan adalah ketam masak merah. Lihat gambarnya saja sudah boleh mengliurkan mulut yang sudah berisi nasi lemak sebelum membaringkan diri di katil. Rasanya, sedang-sedang saja tapi sedaplah juga jika nak dibandingkan dengan yang lain-lain.

So there you go, food for your soul. Eh silap! food for your tummy. Not recommending this place though. Cuba sekadar untuk mencuba dan jika tidak ada pilihan lain lagi boleh lah.

Oh, did I mentioned that we met Sheila Majid that night? We did!! She's pretty and humble. Like very pretty and super humble. Awesomeness!!

Ohh, need to go to bed now. Why do I have to go to work tomorrow?? *sigh*

Cerita Malam Raya

Sudah menjadi kelaziman dan perkara yang paling wajibul-ngunnah untuk dilakukan oleh kami sekeluarga yang berdarah minang (yes people, I am a proud Minangites) untuk memasak rendang daging. Bukan rendang ayam ye tetapi rendang daging. Maka bergegaslah si Busu (panggilan untuk makcik yang paling bongsu sekali) untuk memasak rendang untuk kakak-kakaknya sekalian; iaitu ibunda saya dan Maklong tersayang.

Memandangkan busu sekarang ini telah menjadi pengusaha Rendang Minang yang baru sahaja beroperasi semenjak bulan Ramadan dan menjadi tonggak utama dalam mewarisi masakan rendang minang ini selepas arwah nenda saya meninggal dunia, maka menjadi heroin lah beliau dalam "berdendang" bersama kayu api dah kawah besar.

Resepi utama dalam menghasilkan rendang minang bukanlah terletak pada santannya mahupun kelembutan daging itu tetapi terletak pada kayu api yang menjadi punca utama kesedapan rendang tersebut. Maka terjadilah ia seperti gambar di bawah.

Gambar ini di tangkap sewaktu api sedang membara dan keadaan rendang yang sedang menggelegak panas di dalam kawah. Hanya bergantung kepada kekuasaan voltan kayu api itu sahaja bisa menghasilkan rendang yang begitu lazat sehingga menjilat jari.

Ini adalah contoh bagaimana rendang sedang "didendangkan". Jangan keliru, wajah di dalam gambar itu bukanlah Busu. Busu merupakan seorang wanita yang comel dan berbadan genpal sedikit dan tidak lupa juga ibu kepada 3 orang hero-heronya yang super nakal. Figura di dalam gambar itu merupakan pembeli yang rendangnya sedang dihasilkan di dalam kawah untuk di bawa pulang ke kampung halaman di Kedah. Cuba perhatikan longgokan kayu api sebagai backdrop gambar itu. Itulah longgokan kayu api yang digunakan bagi menjayakan rendang minang.

Memandang di saat-saat akhir penghasilan rendang seberat 6Kg terdapat bakian sebanyak sekilo setengah kilogram, maka saya telah mengambil keputusan untuk "open table" dan menjualnya secara suka rela tanpa perlu di paksa di hadapan rumah nenek saya dan memulakan operasi penjualan jam 5 petang. Sungguhlah tidak logik tetapi dek kerana suka-suka, maka terhidanglah 13 pack rendang seberat seratus gram di atas meja itu. Oleh kerana waktu penjualan yang sungguh tidak logik maka dengan sukacitanya dimaklumkan bahawa tiada sebarang jualan yang berlaku hanya pencucian mata saja yang dapat dihidangkan. Oh, pada hari kejadian, sungguh banyak pemandu-pemandu yang berwajah kacak lalu lalang di jalan raya. Saya sungguh suka sekali!

Beginilah ceritera rendang minang di malam hari raya. Oh, untuk promosi tambahan, Busu saya menjual rendang minang enak sedap sehingga menjilat jari dengan harga RM50 sekilo. Tempahan boleh dibuat melalui saya dan jika berminat, bolehlah mengisi borang "Comment" di bawah.

How was your Raya? Mine was as expected. I'm enjoying every bits of it. It's my last raya as a single lady Insyaallah and I'm looking forward for next year's already. Everyone is showing off their beautiful and colorful raya dress. Mine, well it was halfway done. Didn't get the tailor to do the beading but Alhamdulillah, I still got the chance to celebrate Eid Fitr' with my loved ones. That's more important than the dress' beading. Still in the mood of rendang and lemang.

Till then, see ya when I see ya!

Have a bless raya!

1431 Hijrah

Ramadan has come to an end and Syawal has finally opening its' door. Semoga Ramadan yang bakal berlalu ini telah menjadi Ramadan yang dilimpahi dengan penuh kerahmatan dan barakah-Nya dan telah menjadi Ramadan penuh bermakna kepada kita semua. Hope we benefited the rahmah and taqwa that He gave us through out this holly month of Ramadan. Semoga kita bertemu lagi di tahun Hijrah yang akan datang.

I don't have any fancy card to show but I would like to wish all Muslim friends and readers Selamat Hari Raya. Sorry body and soul for all my wrongdoings or I have offended you with my silly posts or hurt anyone with an inappropriate statements intentionally or unintentionally. Semoga Syawal ini merupakan Syawal yang penuh bermakna kepada kita semua. Have a safe journey balik kampung and take care! Have a bless Hari Raya!

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI

Ikhlas dari,
Saya, Ajlaa Azam

Malam Ramadan yang ke-28

As I was on my way to the bus stop, walking slowly towards the side of the road, taking my own sweet time, hoping that somehow I can just lay on bed on a cooling Monday without the needs worrying over the workloads that need my urgent attention before closing for holiday. While reaching the entrance of the exist between the housing area and the road side, there was a man, an Indonesian man dressed properly in his jeans and shirt standing at the side of the corner. Let me remind you that I was still mourning over the fact that I have to go to work on Monday morning. Still blurry and sleepy.

As I passed him by, guess what he was doing. Flashing his penis to every possible people who are passing the area. Gila weyh! It's in the month of Ramadan and this silly idiot bustard was standing there tanpa rasa bersalah langsung. Shocked, I am but I feel like smacking his face down for doing such thing. Better still, chop his penis and hope he die there on spot.

This was not the first time I experienced such incident. About a year ago and I bet it was from the same idiot Indonesian bustard who did the very same thing on Ramadan at the very same spot.

They came here without permits, working illegally and now causing troubles and the authorities have done nothing except being flexible and keeping everything under table about these idiotic Indonesians. They caused crimes, pecah masuk rumah, selling drugs, snatch thieves dan ntah apa-apa lagi dorang buat and all we have to do is NOTHING! We do exactly nothing.

Sungguh menyedihkan. I seriously don't understand the whole scenario that we are facing. We are being too lenient with these immigrants. Not pointing to Indonesians per se, but over all in general. We have the "mat black" which I don't actually know which country they came from. The Pak Arabs, Banglas tuh dah immune dah, Vietnamese and all dah serupa pusat pengumpulan pendatang-pendatang asing dah Malaysia ni.

So now the question is, where have our own citizens gone too? Migration. If I have the opportunity, I would do the same thing. Migration.

It has officially ruing my day! Please clock tick to five PM please. I want to go home now!

Nur Kasih

Siapa yang tak tengok Nur Kasih. It reaches almost 2.4 million viewers last year semasa drama ini sedang ditayangkan. It was rated as most viewed drama series TV3 has ever screened. Memang tipu paling tak munasabah kalau ada yang kata tidak pernah tengok drama ini; at least one episode pun mesti ada yang tengok. Even yang tengah study overseas pon sanggup tengok drama through web. Tambah pula bila dah boleh view through web, adalah yang tengok berjuta kali ulang. Sila jangan tipu! Ini adalah kebenarannya walaupun awak malu nak mengaku.

The reason was simply because, jalan cerita dia sangat best dan berkaitan dengan keadaan reality kehidupan sekarang (ditambah pula dengan pelakon-pelakon yang sungguh menawan kalbu kerana kehebatan mereka dalam menjayakan watak) EXCEPT for one particular part which I'm not really agreed.

Ok, lets face it, mana ada wanita yang sanggup hidup bermadu. Walaupun seribu tahun, tidak ada wanita di muka bumi ini yang mempunyai 9 nafsu sanggup untuk hidup bermadu. Walaupun percentage wanita yang sanggup berkorban jiwa untuk hidup bermadu ini MUNGKIN, mungkin ada tetapi percentagenya sangatlah sekecil semut. I'm a woman and I know how it feels hidup bermadu. It's no fun. Even isteri-isteri Nabi juga ada timbul perasaan cemburu sesama mereka inikan pula kita wanita yang bernafsu 9. Kalau tak tarik rambut memang tak sah. Tambahan pula, lelaki pada zahirnya tidak akan boleh berlaku adil kerana mereka dilahirkan tidak sempurna dan akan pasti membuat kesilapan kerana mereka bukan semulia Nabi. Itu adalah hakikatnya.

So yeah, cara perjalanan Nur Aminah dalam bermadu adalah kurang boleh diterima pakai.

You know why the sudden of writing about Nur Kasih, it is on TV3 now airing during Sahur time. It got me thinking, if I were in her shoes, how would I react.

Knowing lelaki yang pada zahirnya tidak pernah berasa cukup dengan apa yang telah dikurniakan kepadanya, Izwan jokingly asked if he was to marry another one, how would I react? So I replied (and he thought that my reply was nothing serious) honestly that I would agree to it but he has to promise me that he will do nothing behind my back. Meaning to say, if he decided to marry another one, he has to come clean with me. I will "pinangkan" the lady for him. Yes, this may sound stupidly ridiculous but my reply does not stop just yet. I want nothing from him after he married the other lady. I would live separately at a different house and if we were to have children together, I'll bring along and we live together without him as a father. No, I would not ask for a divorce but I rather stay and live on my own at my on path. Tidak terikat dan dia juga tidak ada hak untuk meminta atau menguruskan. I don't want him to pay for any nafkah(s) as I want nothing from him. Yes, he is allowed to come and visit the children but he has no right to stay. I set my own rules and it is for him to follow. I will prepare for him; the kenduri, pinang and whatnot but he has to leave me in peace.

Guess what he replied. You figure it out!

So you see, although there's possibilities of agreement in "hidup bermadu" but there's always reasons behind it. Securities, responsibilities among husband and wife tidak lupa jugak si madu (sanggup betul dia ambik laki orang) and the assurance of being fair to both families. Ini semua bukan satu perkara yang mudah.

Kerana hati perempuan adalah sangat lembut dan lemah. One may looks tough and independent but you may never know what's inside her heart. The pain she carries. You would never know!

Jadi kepada lelaki-lelaki, before you decided to marry another lady, fikirlah masak-masak. Sekian terima kasih.

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Fadhilat Solat Terawih Malam Ke-Limabelas
Semua Malaikat yang menanggung 'Arasy, Kursi, berselawat dan mendoakannya supaya Allah mengampunkannya