Experience is a loyal teacher who is never tardy in sharing her lessons...


Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Growing up fast...

This may look like I'm having my annual hair-do, but no, the lady on the chair is my daughter. A Cut Ab*ve is quite far to go, so we decided to try Thomas & G*ys. Both of us are satisfied with the results. Great, no more messy hair days for her.


This lady so piously praying is my youngest girl, in a few days time she'll be 7. Photo captured at my parents' house. She gave her favourite cousin a pink dress, which Sarah proudly poses in (pic. below).



Both of my children are growing fast...Wasn't it just yesterday that they are still babies cuddled in my arms, so delicate and helpless, wailing only for my attention?



Pic.
Both of them playing kite at Kemasek Beach, Terengganu.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Caramel pudding

cooking time = 30 mins
recipe based on 6+3+2+1 formula, easy to remember.

For my recipe click here.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Visions came true...

Alhamdulillah. My daughter's results are as envisioned in my previous post.
I was so happy I cried, but my daughter told my siblings "Dora OK je dapat result, but mama pula yang nangis-nangis". She didn't understand that I felt God has been kind to me, and those tears were of happiness and gratitude.
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Alhamdulillah too for having another work being published by a university publisher.

I had hoped to meet Emila Yusof the artist whose creativity and talent I admired and wished to have. I first stumbled upon her on Oldstock's space, and had linked to her ever since. I had previously read Mamasita's post on Pahang art exhibition, with Pak Yusof Gajah in it, and wondering if I'd ever meet him in person. These hopes came true too.

Pic. Linda Tan Lingard, Emila Yusof, yours truly, Mama Gajah (Pak Yusof's wife), Sarah Joan Mokhtar.


Pic. Yusof Gajah. As usual, the pair of eyes belongs to me.


Pic. One of Emila's work that I like. I have yet to ask her what inspire her to draw this. The drawing is meaningful to me.


Pic. I bought calendars by Emila, and she signed mine and for my children's.
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My daughter's results called for a majlis kesyukuran, with Yasiin recital, and doas. Thank you all for your good wishes.

Pic. Pasta and carbonara sauce, home cooked by Chahya. (for my recipe, click here)
Pic. What's left of laksa, kuih-muihs, fries, pasta, for the guests. My pasta and carbonara sauce sold out!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

5As





Sunday, November 15, 2009

Horror

Ghost stories never scared me.
But cases on abuse always do, especially physical ones.
Terrifiying.
For they're men who turned beasts and become devil themselves.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Recommended

Al-Quran.
"Inilah al-Quran yang memimpin ke arah jalan yang lurus" (surah al-Isra':9)
"Al-Quran benar-benar telah termaktub dalam kitab-kitab yang terdahulu." (surah as-Syu'araa: 196)

"dan agar aku membaca al-Quran. Sesiapa yang bersedia menerima hidayah, dia telah memberi petunjuk bagi diri sendiri, dan siapa pun yang sesat, katakanlah, 'Saya hanya seorang pemberi peringatan'." (surah an-Naml:92)

For the benefit of those who do not understand Arabic, there are various prints of Al-Quran that comes with translation. My personal choice so far would be these two:

(Pic. left: Susunan pengenalan, makna, & kod-kod tajwid oleh Ustaz Mahadi Dahlan Al-Hafiz & Ustaz Azharuddin Sahil, disemak oleh Dr. Muhammad Uthman el-Muhammady)

This Al-Quran is written in Rasm Uthmani, has tajwid guide & explanation, as well as translation in BM. It also has a brief history before the beginning of every surah. It comes in volumes (from Jilid 1 to Jilid 10), and each Jilid would consists of 3 Juz. For those who've been reading the Quran without understanding what is being recited, may I also humbly suggest as I'm reminding myself that it's time to improve, and start reading it with its translation in order to understand more.
Price: Very affordable, ranges from RM14-RM19, depending on the Jilid (some contains longer surahs).
Suitable to be given as gifts. The elderly may appreciate it more, for the prints are big and easy to read. I have 20-20 vision but I too prefer big prints!


(Pic. left: Syamil Al-Quran terjemahan per-kata)
This Al-Quran is big, but the prints are smaller than the one I mentioned above. It has the whole surahs in. It is worth mentioning that this particular Al-Quran is written with translation for each word, and the full translation for each verse is written at the side of each page.
Price: Slightly on the high side, ranges from RM90-RM150, depending on the place one buys it. Mine, I got it at RM100. Once I bought two wall clocks with quranic verses from a shop (something like Little Egypt) and the taukeh Pak Arab offered me this Quran at RM90 because I bought two clocks from his shop. But at other times, I saw at other shops this Quran is sold at more than a hundred ringgit.
This is Al-Quran Majid (according to my mengaji teacher), which is written slightly different from Rasm Uthmani (those who've learnt tajwid would know what I mean). Some says Rasm Uthmani is easier to read. From my experience, it is true, but I also find it is helpful to have this Al-Quran, as I sometimes do cross-reference on the words which I'm not sure of the pronounciation. For instance, had I not learnt tajwid, I would have 'langgar' this hidden 'nun' such as in this ayat:
إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنۡيَا بِزِينَةٍ ٱلۡكَوَاكِبِ (٦)
I would have read the ayat as : "inna zaiyyannassamaa addunyaa bizinatin kawaakib". Or sometimes "...bizinatil..." Because I do not know how to join the alif lam mati with baris dua bawah. That's how ignorant I was.
It should be read as: inna zaiyyannassamaa addunyaa bizinatinil kawaakib.

"Bacalah al-Quran dengan bertartil (memelihara hukum tajwid)" (surah al-Muzammil:4)



Which is why sometimes I do the cross-reference with this al-Quran when there are moments I'm not so sure, as in this al-Quran the 'hidden' nun is written below the alif, in small print, to remind the reader on how it should be read. This 'hidden' sound does not only exist in Arabic, as in English too we have 'silent' sounds like silent 'b' in the word debt and silent 'h' in the word hour. Had we not learn this, we too would have pronounce debt as deb and hour as hawe, wouldn't we? The meanings of the words have either totally changed or become totally meaningless.
Only when we begin to learn, we'd notice of things that we're not even aware that we're ignorant of.
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"Al-Quran benar-benar diturunkan Allah, Tuhan semesta alam. Dia dibawa turun oleh Ruhul Amin (Jibril). Masuk ke dalam hatimu agar kamu menjadi salah seorang yang memberi peringatan. " (surah As-Syu'araa:192-194)
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"Kami turunkan al-Quran sesuatu yang menjadi penawar dan rahmat bagi orang mukminin" (Surah al-Isra':82)
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"Bila al-Quran Kami turunkan kepada orang selain Arab. Lalu dibacakan kepada mereka, mereka pun tidak pula beriman. Demikianlah Kami masukkan al-Quran ke dalam hati orang yang penuh dosa." (surah as-Syu'araa: 198-200)
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"Sehingga apabila mereka sampai, Allah berfirman, 'Kamu telah mendustakan ayat-ayatKu, tanpa kamu pelajari dan kamu teliti apa yang kamu kerjakan.' Mereka ditimpa seksaan kerana kezaliman, dan mereka sama sekali tidak berkata-kata." (surah an-Naml:84-85)
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"Ini adalah sebuah kitab yang Kami turunkan kepadamu dengan penuh barakah supaya mereka memperhatikan ayat-ayatnya dan supaya orang yang mempunyai fikiran mendapat peringatan (pelajaran)" (surah Sod:29)
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"Dan apabila engkau (Muhammad) membaca Al-Quran, Kami adakan suatu dinding yang tidak terlihat antara engkau dan orang-orang yang tidak beriman kepada kehidupan akhirat" (surah al-Isra':45)
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"Dan sekiranya ada suatu bacaan (kitab suci) yang dengan itu gunung-gunung dapat digoncangkan, atau bumi jadi terbelah, atau orang mati dapat berbicara, (itulah Al-Quran)." (surah ar-Rad:31)
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"Kalau sekiranya Kami menurunkan Al-Quran ini kepada sebuah gunung, pasti kamu akan melihatnya tunduk terpecah belah disebabkan takut kepada Allah. Dan perumpamaan-perumpamaan itu Kami buat untuk manusia supaya mereka berfikir." (surah al-Hasyr:21)

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Football fever

How can split teams be together under one roof?

Possible.
Football does it.


Tonight the family is split into two. We gather in my parents' place to watch the football final between NS and Kelantan. We of course give support to the NS team, meanwhile some of the in-laws from the east coast would discreetly pray for Budu team to win.

My youngest brother texted me his regrets for not coming back as Petr*n*s sent him to do some offshore work in Labuan.

Had it been end of the month, my other younger brother would not have made it too, as accounts closing would make him turn the office his second home.

One of my sisters manage to come back since there's no duty at the camp, and she has also stopped doing locums in anticipation of her tummy ballooning.

And here I am, writing this just before the game starts, to shout my best:

Hobin Jang, hobin!!!! (Beat them!!!!)

Chahya thinks the Cili Api team can manage 3-0 with the Budu team.
Hobin jang, hobin!!! Kasik podeh Budu tu!

p.s
Jange bergocoh deh!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Bon Voyage My Friends


To my friends Kak Kizah & hubby Dato' Hj Mohd Sharkar, Cikgu Roslan & wifey, Dot, and Nozie,...selamat menjalankan ibadat Haji and may you are blessed with haji mabrur.
Nozie is leaving Madinah today to head to Mecca, and I hope all her prayers are granted, including getting a jodoh like my neighbour recently did.


Links for similar stories:


Friday, October 30, 2009

Have a ball! (pun intended)

The sky was already very dark and I had not performed my prayer yet. I quickly decided that I have to leave the place as fast as I could. The journey home seemed hours, as I had to reduce the speed from 140kmph to 90kmph due to the heavy torrents of rain. When I reached the deserted R&R stop area, the sky gives that feeling which one could get from watching horror movies, like the feeling of the presence of bad omen. An MPV reversed and left as I parked my car, the only vehicle left now. I was alone at the surau area, except for one cleaner lady mopping the floor.
It was already 4.00p.m when I finished my zuhur prayer. Alhamdulillah. Then I ran to my car, drove and reached home safely at 4.30pm.
The end.
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Yup, that's it. Not a spooky story. Nothing happened really. Actually I'd like to tell my friends Lee and Yhda why I could not show them 'the ball' I told them about as I had to rush back from campus yesterday.
The ball is great and I've been using it. This is the ball I told them about:
What is it?
It's a laundry ball.
The Winner of Aving VIP Asia 2009 Award
(Aving selection was based on the energy saving ability of a single product from the Asian market).



Technical information

Main components:
Body: SEBS
Biocera Green Laundry Ball
Far Infra Ray Ceramic Ball
Size/Weight: 100X90mm/200g
Lifetime: 1000 washes;5kg laundry per wash



(Nano Technology ceramic ball)
Negative ions + Far Infrared rays =water tension is reduced
=water molecules become smaller = dirt moves through fabric easier





This is a laundry ball that can clean clothes without detergents. It is chemical free, and hypoallergenic.
Perfect for those who are concerned about irritation or skin allergies caused by laundry detergents.
A real eco-friendly product!

(Pic below) My laundry ball. Product used, tested, recommended. :)
For more info on this product, you may contact greenprodelight@gmail.com
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Let's have some balls! ;P





Sunday, October 25, 2009

Words

My all time favourite song...the lyrics, melody, voice..*owh!*

p.s
Paula, KRK!