A Wedding to Start the Year

Yeah..I'm starting 2014 in February (*sigh*) Actually a lot of things to blog about; with the ending of 2013 and the beginning of the year but I was pretty busy with all that had happened that I kept postponing the task...honestly, let see...we had to move from Kuala Terengganu as the hubby was at the end of his contract, the first son and his family were back in the country for about 6 weeks, the hubby and I went to Melbourne for Christmas (Corelle sale...yeay), the daughter got married early in the year, took us a couple of weeks to settle down in a new place (and problems with internet connections and all)...so there you are.  For this first entry I will have to start with THE WEDDING as the daughter has been ceaselessly prodding me, "when are you going to blog it ma, when are you going to blog it ma..!" Good grief..

Well she was officially married on New Year's Day 2014 and the reception 11 days after that. The event for the solemnization was held in a rented establishment in Shah Alam while the 11th January event in Kelana Jaya. Anyway here are some pics arranged chronologically from 1st January to the 11th and beyond..enjoy!

Here's a picture on New Year's Eve..cousins helping with the hand-bouquet

Needing help to apply the henna too..

1st January: An elegant home rented for the event

Poolside dinner planned for the evening

Nine gifts in purple ready for the Groom

The place where the ceremony would be held

Part of the gifts: made in Australia..hehe

The bunting at the gate..

Door gifts for guests...

The bride getting ready for the ceremony

The arrival of the Groom and family members

Bearing seven gifts for the bride..(mind, these are all Malay traditions)

Getting ready to start the ceremony (Ammar is already too tired to care..LOL)

The Father of the Bride giving away his daughter...

The signing of important papers...

Putting on the ring (cheeky girl..!)

Obedient wife now huh..!

Happy couple...insyaAllah..till Jannah

Umayr having a picture taken with his favourite aunt

Jed with grandsons at dinner..

Poolside dinner party

Guests taking food..

Bride and Groom making their grand entrance

Husband and wife

Picture with cousins who gave lots of support

This is the next day; we got to stay for the night and the kids (and adults) enjoying themselves in the pool!

Jed teaching his grandsons to swim

11th Jan: D-day...at Kelana Jaya

Arrival of the Bride and Groom

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Not Vera Wang's OK but just as pretty...and don't ask me..I don't understand either..LOL

Umayr just loves his pretty Mak Lang!

That's right Ammar..everyone comes for the free food..haha

Nurul, SIL, Kak Lang, Amalina and Faris...cousins forever!

Kak Lang with her brother and family

My ex-school mates who came: Lili, (came all the way from Penang) and Rosni (recently received her doctorate) both I haven't seen for over 30 years!

Ex-school mates: Zaiton, Siti, Balqis and Puziah....thanks a lot for coming ladies!

Family gathering: aunt, cousin (father's side), SIL and cousin (mother's side)

Ex-school mates and guests..

The Honeymoon..

Honeymooning to Istanbul...made possible by working with an airline...haha

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Yeay...souvenir from Istanbul!

Alhamdulillah...a load off our minds that the only daughter is married at last...she's someone's else responsibility now!

Mukhayyam Khoriji

It is monsoon season now in Kuala Terengganu or for the most of the East Coast area. It has been raining, quite heavily at times on and off. Fortunately, no alert of flooding yet, alhamdulillah. Luckily the weather was not as wet about 5 weeks ago (24th - 26th October) when I participated in a camping training programme organised by the NGO, IKRAM. It was a 2-nights and one-and-a-half-day affair and this time, as opposed to the Mukhayyam Dakhili (Indoor Camp) I attended last year, it is Mukhayyam Khoriji which is an Outdoor Camp. Yes we had to sleep in tents and do a lot of outdoor activities... I'm not actually an out-doorish kind of person and what with being stricken with OA (osteo-arthiritis...not Old Age, ok), participating in this kind of activity is the last thing on my agenda! But..what can I say, it's part of a training programme and being a senior member..have to set a good example for the juniors...haha 

Last year we attended the indoor camp at Anguilla Resort near Kuala Terengganu but this time we had it at Merantau Inn near Dungun. About 80 participants attended (ladies only) from all over Terengganu...and we had loads of fun..Here are some pics of the event:

About 40 minutes drive from Kuala Terengganu

The camp started early evening and by the time we arrived it was already dark so we had to set up the tents in the dark...well..in dim lighting..

Of course, dinner was pot luck (outside the musolla..)

Listening to the briefings..

..from the Programme Director, the Camp Commandant and her assistant..

Early morning at the camp site

These were members of my group, ready for the morning task..

..which was picking litter left by careless picnic-goers and campers along part of the beach

Sunrise..simply amazing..SubhanAllah!

Before setting on our beach trekking, we had to perform the Dhuha prayer on the beach..

Stopped along the way to have breakfast (sandwich and plain water)

Reached our destination (about an hour of trekking). Having a rest and listening to a tazkirah

A daunting task for everyone; to put up our flag as high as we can using a number of poles to be joined together and strings..

Everybody had to participate: connecting the poles, tying the strings, holding the end of the strings..or just shouting warnings of impending disaster..

There you go..

Oh no...somebody tighten your grip or give a bit of slack!

This is team work everybody!

Well, that's as high as you can go..7 poles...*sigh*

For this task, we need to prepare posters for a Flash Mob activity with the theme 'Saving Syria, Palestine and Egypt'

Here we are..after our presentation on the beach; a group picture with our master-pieces

On the last day; getting ready for a war game between 2 large groups

Graceful, gentle sisters becoming aggressive when provoked (this is one of the mildest image of the game I could show you..lol)

Scene at one of the meal-times..

A waterway near the beach..love the reflections from the still and tranquil water..but beware, as the Malay saying goes: 'Do not assume there's no crocodile in still waters' Because apparently a crocodile did emerge from these waters some time ago...!

Some of us having a picture taken before leaving...

Well, I managed to survive the camping trip...knees aches and all, alhamdulillah... Anyway, this may be the last time I attended a camping trip with the Terengganu sisters as we are leaving Kuala Terengganu soon. The hubby is at the end of his contract with PERMINT..

A Pioneers Reunion

It actually began with a whatsapp group which I started with my ex-secondary school mates. A number of us had already joined a group which consist of both gents and ladies but we found out it might be better to have a group with just us girls. Most of us are friends in Facebook but somehow it doesn't bring us closer together... but with whatsapp we managed to organise a meeting in just a week after the group was formed! Even though attendance was about only 40% but it was an achievement indeed as it was the very first reunion after leaving school about 36 years ago! Of course some of us did see each other over the years but this is the first time we managed to gather in a large group. There were actually a couple of girls I haven't seen since end of 1977! Anyway, we met on the 19th of October in one of the girls' home in Bandar Baru Bangi. It was really fortunate actually because I was in Meru due to the Eidul-Adha holidays. The hubby had gone to Melbourne for Corelle shopping and I was left in our home in Meru with the daughter... It was certainly a merry event, just talking (and eating..) and reminiscing..We are all mostly Negeri Sembilan born and bred so just the dialect that we used bring back fond memories for me (felt a bit rusty though..). The gathering ended after Maghrib prayers that we did together, alhamdulillah.. I reached home sometime after 10 pm..

Here we are, all thirteen of us that made it to the gathering..

Five ladies who were from the same class..

Sharing stories...

Tun (in tangerine scarf) relating a story about how she once nearly burned her kitchen..lol

The spread...(from left: Hanim, Shimah, daughter of Noi, Balkis, Noi and Sal)

Our kind host was Balkis flanked by Deksu on her right and Sal and Kamariah on her left

In the background are the daughter, son-in-law and grandchild of Deksu who came along

Our used to be popular girl at school, Norazmah (still is, apparently...)

My two bosom friends (Siti and Faridah)

Packing food to take home..far right is our friend from royalty, Tunku Sharifah Shazelin (yep, I've got everyone)

We call ourselves the Pioneers because we were the very first batch of students (1973-1977) for the school Sekolah Menengah Sains Negeri Sembilan then (it's called Sekolah Tunku Jaafar now). So ladies...till another reunion...love ya'll!

An Engagement

About two weeks ago (21st September) our (only..) daughter got officially engaged. According to the Malay tradition, the family from the male side has to come to the home of the female side bearing gifts and the ring... Since our house in Meru is not fit for welcoming guests, I asked my brother who lives in Putra Heights to play host. It turned out that he also had to be the spokesperson for our side since they had an uncle to speak for them...We don't actually follow strictly to tradition, so to speak...as long as the Islamic code is adhered to. Anyway the ceremony, if you can call it that, went smoothly even though my brother was rather taken aback at first at being pushed into the limelight..lol (thank God there wasn't any poetry-spouting). Some pics of the event:

Arrival of guests in traditional garbs and matching blues..

The guests..spokesperson uncle second from left requesting permission to 'pick our flower'..lol

My brother: 'Yes, you may pick our flower..'

Asking the hubby to inspect the ring..

Putting on the ring by the future MIL

Our gifts to the other side

This cake was made by our niece Amalina (who came with us to Bandung/Jakarta recently) for the modest feast after the ceremony...and it's really yummy!

So, what's coming next is the aqad nikah (reciting of the marriage vows) and then the wedding feast...all in January next year, InsyaAllah..