I'm back!

OMG, looks like I haven't been writing for ages! I knew once I started working I would have less time to update my blog. On top of that we had unstable internet connection. Sorry Celcom, your broadband is terribly unreliable; I don't know, maybe it's just our location. So last week we installed telephone lines and got streamyx - and our lives are changed forever... It's strange how I couldn't imagine how life was like before computers and internets and that for the first 20 years of my life I didn't know the difference between motherboard and keyboard! Now I can't imagine life without computers... Not that I'm that tech-savvy, but at 50 I think I'm savvy enough, haha! Anyway, the latest news is, our son, Umar and his family are coming home for a month holiday in about 2 weeks time and I'm about as excited as a cat on a hot tin roof (am I getting the right idiom here? whatever) Just can't wait to get my arms around our grandson, Umayr! The last time I saw him he was about 3 weeks old. Now, he's about 2 years 6 months. Ooo I'm so looking forward to see him...

Not much having to do with what's written but I love this song (by Sami Yusuf, of course) and the video that goes with it. It just never fails to bring a tear into my eye everytime I listen to it and I'd like to share it and the message it brings...

50 Years Young

I am 50 years 10 days young today... Yes, celebrated my 50th birthday 10 days ago. Well, not exactly celebrating it as such because birthdays are usually quiet affairs in our family - maybe a home-baked cake or a special home-cooked meal or sometimes eating out; when the children were younger... Anyway, coincidently, 12th January was also an Open Day at the colllege and there was a blood donation drive by the local hospital at the same time there. For 50 years of my life I've never donated blood so I thought it was about time I did and so there I was, the first person to register... The fact that I haven't done it before isn't because it scares me but the opportunity just didn't arise. And I was right, it was no big deal and not very painful at all; so for all of you out there - donate blood and save a life! Here's a picture of the memorable event...

And below is a picture of the cake my colleagues bought to celebrate those of us whose birthdays fall on the same month - for 3 of us: Am, Nita and I (thus the 3 candles... it would have to be 50 if it's just for moi - would probably melt the whole cake lol) Thanks - appreciate it!

New Year Happenings

We went home to Klang New Year Eve - reached KL just in time to join the traffic jam caused by New Year revellers.. The main reason for us making the journey even though 1st January is not a public holiday in Terengganu :( (I had to apply for leave) was because a niece was getting married that day. She's actually my brother's stepdaughter, and I had promised to bake a blueberry cake for her. We were late for the 'nikah' ceremony though, because we had to visit another niece first (my sister's daughter), who was warded for dengue in Seremban Hospital. Her father had actually caught dengue - twice - before this! (they should declare Seremban as a 'dengue-hazard' zone or something) Anyway, she seemed fine and was released the next day. The wedding reception was at a hotel on Saturday night but we had to leave for KT Saturday afternoon as we had to work on Sunday... (still can't get used to the fact that Sunday is a working day, well... can't get used to "working" actually!) The students at the college were sitting for their finals on Monday and I had a class on Sunday for last minute revisions...

At the 'nikah' ceremony "someone" wanted to give us a surprise but what he hadn't realised yet was the fact that a mother always knows everything (after God, ie)... The second son came back from Melbourne without telling us intending to give his mom a heart attack but his uncle (my brother) unwittingly let the cat out of the bag just before we arrived at the 'kenduri'! He'll have to get back to Melbourne in a couple of weeks time, though. Anyway, here's a pic of the happy couple on their wedding day:

And below is obviously not the picture of the blueberry cake that I had baked... (forgot to take a picture; in fact I baked 2 blueberry cakes, arrgh..!) anyway, this is a Terengganu's 'bubur asyura' which one my colleagues brought to share in the staff-room. It's a traditional dish but this one's particular to Terengganu (never tasted it before). Not bad though, only you couldn't decide whether it's meant to be sweet or savoury!

'Cikgu' Again!

It has been a hectic couple of weeks... I've got myself a job! Having been 'unemployed' for the past year, we decided it's about time I become 'financially-independent' again... Also, it got kinda boring staying in a room all day with just the computer for company. Plus, sitting around all day is certainly not good for one's cardiovascular's health. Anyway, I always have people calling me "cikgu" (teacher) even when I was a homemaker and had never considered a teaching career. Even later, when I found out what my actual life's calling is, teaching still gives me deep satisfaction... Thus, here I am, teaching again, only this time the students don't call me "cikgu" but "puan(g-local accent, lol)" or sometimes, "madam".. It's quite a convenient arrangement actually: the hubby's workplace is just almost across the street from the college; we go out and come back together - less than 10 minutes drive from 'home' and no traffic jams at all (utter bliss!). We are even considering staying in the 'homestay' for the duration of our stay in KT; after the exhausting weeks of work and not having the energy to do much housekeeping and cooking...! Here's a picture I took of one of my classes:

By the way, it's the first of Muharram tomorrow - start of the new year of the Hijriah calendar. So, Happy New Year and may the new year brings Hidayah and Peace to everyone!

Rainy Days...and TTI

It has been raining and raining and raining these past few days. Actually the rainy season started about a month ago and we do have sunny days once in a while; like on Eidul Adha, Alhamdulillah. Some people may find rainy days like these depressing but some like me may find it 'invigorating' somewhat. The days are cooler and refreshing to the senses. Of course, too much rain bring floods and destruction but curiously enough, people in the East Coast deem the monsoon season as a time for festivities and actually look forward to it! Hard to believe, but there you are.

Anyway, about 2 weeks ago the daughter came to KT as she had completed her 5th semester and wanted to spend sometime with us before she commerce with her practical early December (which is today actually). It is fortunate that the Friday when we took her to the Taman Tamaddun Islam (Islamic Heritage Park) the day started clear although rather cloudy. However, after about an hour there it started to drizzle and pour... Nevertheless, the Park is quite a remarkable place to visit actually. There are replicas of mosques from all over the world, including the Taj Mahal... Very impressive. Here are some pics, although we didn't manage to look at all of them in detail (due to the rain):

This is the Kubbah As-Sakhrah of Baitul Muqqaddis, Palestin (from afar)...

You can even enter it and see the 'hanging rock'...

Another view of the Dome

I think this is the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan

Front view of the Badshahi Mosque

Another view?

This one is Al-Haram Mosque from afar:

The Taj Mahal...

Kudus Minar, Central Java, Indonesia

Another view of the above...

Of course there are many more to see in the park, so if you ever come to KT, you must come for a visit. I think it's worth the RM10 entrance fee (of course try to come when it's not the monsoon season and you may enjoy it even more!)

Close Encounters of the Furry Kind...

Our home in Klang is breeding squirrels... Yup, that's what we found out when we went home for the Eidul Adha last Thursday. Of course we have had our fair share of resident rodents/creatures sharing our home for the last 13 years or so. Let see, we have had the occasional rats, bats, snakes and adding to the list - squirrels! Encounters with rats are usual - only you'd find me jumping on the the nearest table and commanding their disposal from there... As for bats: believe me, nothing is more terrifying than having a furry squeaking creature suddenly swooping down from the attic (yes, we have an attic unfortunately...that's one of the reasons we have so many little tenants...) and scaring the daylights out of you! Fortunately we haven't had bats for ages now. Don't get me started on snakes (it's either rats or snakes; one is the predator of the other?). I remember the one that curled up on the book-shelf which I thought at first was a toy snake propped there by one of my sons to play a joke on me.. Anyway we called up the fire-station and got some firemen to come and take it away. There was another one where the hubby found on the undercarriage of our car and he drove the kids to school with it (it was morning rush hour) hoping it will drop somewhere en route. Unfortunately it hanged on for dear life and so the hubby drove it to the fire-station (to the amusement of the firemen over there). So, anyway, squirrels are breeding in drawers and vases and we don't really know how to chase them away... Looks like they'll be staying when we are not...(sigh) Pictured below are not the squirrels we have in our home but I bet that's what they do when we're not around..lol!

(picture: courtesy of 6dependents.wordpress.com)

27th Anniversary

Yesterday (11/11) was our wedding anniversary; our 27th year together... Praise be to Allah, we are blessed with a happy marriage and 4 wonderful children. Of course, we went through the ups and downs of married life but with the Grace of Allah we are still in one piece (or two pieces...). What can I say about the hubby... he has always supported me in anything I do, never a harsh word and is always there for me or the children (God, there's a lump in my throat now...) As we usually do annually on this special day, we went out to dinner to a fancy restaurant...well, what can one expect in KT...we decided to try out the cafe' of a new hotel in town (Sumai). We usually order Western Cuisine; something I'm not usually inclined to cook at home. Unfortunately, the food is nothing to write home about... On the bright side, we didn't leave hungry and the dessert was lovely - fried ice cream. Ever had one of those? Absolutely yummy! However, I made the hubby promise to take me out again when we go back to Klang for a proper fancy restaurant food! Anyway, our most memorable anniversary dinner was the one we had for our 25th anniversary which was in Beirut. It was a belated one because we weren't together for the exact date so we had it the next year... well it was only 3 months later. The food was... different. The hubby loves Lebanese food, well anything Middle Eastern, actually. Here are some pics of the dinner date:

May the rest of our days together be blessed by Allah, always... love you hubby!