simply instant

I was at Johor Giant Supermarket the other day when a lady asked me to try something . She was handing me a spoonful on porridge and sambal anchovies . It was crunchy . The taste was there . And i grab a packet . Honestly , my mum's sambal anchovies was and still the best !!! I remembered kept going to the kitchen to eat them with bread , just like that . I have never tasted such a great sambal anchovies other than my mums' . I guess nobody can ever beat her , every almost of her cookings . But because mum was too busy to make a bottle and i wanted to just try something so instant , i bought . Nowadays , instant mee was not just handy but other instant food too . Back to the sambal anchovies , this is the first time i saw such food . It was a bit salty but what i like most was the fact that its crunchy and the sambal taste is there .Oh , i forgot to say that this sambal is the dry type . Some may like it , some may not . I still prefer my mums' ;)

Its best eaten with porridge or fried rice . If you asked me whether will i buy again , the answer is No . Its not highly recommended . Im ringing my mum up to make me a bottle of her Sambal Anchovies .

The Best Friend's Engagement

it was a small affair . close relatives and just a bunch of close friends , and im glad to be part of it .

let the pictures here do the talking ;)

before make-up , with the last minute make up artist that we engage , Wiwit .

she really did a good job by turning her into a

gorgeous swan , really . she
did it effortlessly !

the engine starts ..

getting ready .. almost there ..

voila .. didnt i tell you she's gorgeous ??

ok snapping first before everyone else ..

close-up of ma bestie and me , congrats dear !

hanis and the gifts frm him to her

whats happening outside the room . "melamar - merisik -menyunting bunga "

her close friends who came to witness the affair , thanks gurls for coming . hanis definitely appreciate lotz ..

with beloved family

with a nice piece of ring , im so looking forward for the wedding next year .. Congratulations Hanis and Hafizh !!

Hijab

the entry here were from my previous blog as i thought its one of my favourite ones thus , would like to share in here .


"TELL THE FAITHFUL WOMEN TO LOWER THEIR GAZE AND GUARD THEIR PRIVATE PARTS AND NOT DISPLAY THEIR BEAUTY EXCEPT WHAT IS APPARENT OF IT , AND TO EXTEND THEIR SCARF TO COVER THEIR BOSOM "
- SOURCE : QURAN , 24:31

Lately i find that i am being asked many questions , even by other Muslim women who chose not to wear hijab , and by non-muslims who know other muslim women who chose not to wear hijab . Here , im giving my own personal reasons . If you wanna know why someone else does not cover , or cover less or more fully than I , u would have to ask that person to share their experience wit u .
All clothing that is said to follow the laws of Allah swt is called HIJAB . Still clothing should be simple and not be meant to attract men or express vanity , according to the Quran .
The reason i began to wear hijab was simply becos i believed (And still believe ) , it is mandated in Islam . When dressed in a covering way , i am not showing my physical attributes ( or perhaps lack of ) to anyone . People are focused to judge me by my action n speech , by how well i do things or how i interact with others rather than by whether or not I am " good looking " n interest them .
There is an Islamic saying , " God is beautiful n He loves beauty ." As a Muslim woman, I am required to be beautiful , fresh n perfumed , but only for my husband and especially at night in the privacy of the bedroom . My beauty is then saved for my husband's full enjoyment and he knows that he does not share me with anyone . I am not out getting a lot of attention frm others that may make him feel insecure or that is disrespectful of me .

I am noticeably different , a Muslim . Most pple respect that . They can clearly see that I am not the kind of woman that you whistle or cat-call at , nor am I going to agree to meet u in a bar or club . There is a level of respect that men give me whereby they do not treat me the same way they might treat other women n belived they can "get with " .
And hu says a Hijabi is old-fashion n outdated ? Once , I went out with my gurlfren ( yes, a muslim but chose not to hijab ) . A chinese fren of ours , was asking my gurlfren " eh , so u after married u also wear lah ? " n gurlfren replied " NOLAH , I YOUNG N MODERN ! "
Saddened by her words , I want to prove myself that by carefully combining the hijab with western fashion , I find I can express individual creativity , too .

In my experience , hijab is beneficial to me . Not only do I have the security that I am following the mandate set by Allah swt and thereby pleasing Allah swt , but i also experience great comfort in this life because of my coverage . Contrary to what many think , I am not forced to wear it ( I chose myself to wear it n hubby have never forced me to wear it ) , its not an obstacle or a discomfort to me , and it does not in any way impair my opportunities or abilities .

egg-cited me .

for now ,
theres 4 major things im looking forward to :-


1) dolling up ma dear Hanis Farhana this sunday (merisik -risik)

2) going over to Bandung for 5 days . i promise you , i will be a new me ! a life- changing experience .

3) the new edition , adding a number in my family . Lil Qaseh 's future brother . wooohooo..

4) be involved in INDULGE ( an event organised by sis Nazlin Hilal )


hoping the few months ahead will be a good one , insya allah ..

DELIFRANCE , extinct not .

im not an avid lover of delifrance . but yes i do visit them for my madeleines and their sandwiches . especially for madeleines , when its warmth and fresh plus the buttery smell . ooo.. so sedaaap ..

a few weeks back , i wanted to eat fruit tarts . a good one . cos usually i ate them , its kind of soggy at the bottom part when the pastry touch the fruits . i went to this bakery shop in redhill , recommended by Tanti , ate before and it was indeed superb . its 70 cents for a mini one and i couldnt resist eating them . so fresh and so good to be true . sadly , there wasnt any tarts for me to purchase cos the lady didnt bake them today ;(

anyhows , fruit tarts reminds me of Delifrance . i remembered someone 's mum love their fruit tarts . so i manage to grab when i was at Causeway Point , along with my madeleines . It was superb . i pay for the quality , the freshness of the fruits and its most importantly , not soggy . yeah . $3.25 per piece . but its real worth the price .

so , i crave again 1 week later for the same thing . Fruit tarts . Delifrance . i dont want others . so me and sil , was at takashimaya and thinking of dropping by . Guess what ?? DELIFRANCE was replace by Cedele . Went home , and i clearly remember theres DELIFRANCE outlet at Harbourfront . To my amazed , it was replace by this roty prata cafe . The next day , sil text me to try Centrepoint . Again, it was replace by New York New York . what is wrong here ???

and i check the locations in singapore , mostly are situated in hospitals . a few in the neighbourhood malls. haiz . perhaps im just not fated to eat em . it was only when my recent trip to Kuala Lumpur , that i jumped for joy upon seeing Delifrance there . and its only RM3.65 .

Have you tried ? if no , dont wait too long . before Delifrance extinct in Singapore , just like A&W.

Fat or Pregnant ??

whoah ...

Staying over at nenek's place was a real holiday for us . Today ,marks the 5th day im here . And all we did here was watching tv and browse the net ( all thanks to Uncle Khai for subscribing to Starhub , at least we're not that bored ). Plus eat , eat , eat and sleep . Anyone who came here were forced to eat . Thats the first thing nenek would want us to do each time we salam her . Every 4 hours , she would want us to eat . And without her being asked , we also munched . Biscuits, fruits , crackers .. anything . My weight went boomed ! Its not just happened to us but to the rest too , who slept here even for a day .

Oklah , i wont blame 100% on nenek . Pity her . heh .

But the moment i became Mrs Fast , i ate a lot . My appetite grew . Its small quantity but many . And oh , i have sweet tooth . Especially to chocs and ice-creams !! I wasnt expecting anyone ; perhaps im just happy . I realise when my clothes getting tighter . I knew im gaining . Over the years , i have been always wanted to be slim . Yes i did , losing 12kg in a yr . But somehow or rather , this time round , i dont care much about my weight . To me, so long as im healthy , its far more important than being 'acceptable weight' . So long as i kept a lookout on whats the in-thing in fashion , its ok to be plus size . I am ME . And i dont care what people say .

Often , the aunts will go " why u so fat ? u pregnant is it ? "

And happily i answered , " no . alhamdulillah im blessed with a great husband who fed me dengan sempurna . "

And some would advise to stay slim if i wished to be preggy . Nonsense . All i did was just listen . Deep in my heart , i knew that a child is given by Allah swt . And it doesnt matter whether you are fat or thin .

I am fat lah , and im happy the way i am . In case , if im preggy , will definitely tell the whole world !

i dont really update my blog much . And as much as i always browse thru the net basically my Facebook , i dont do it often now . Going to granny's place everyday was my top priority than any other thing just to keep her company . I know , i cant help much cos i dont really chat with her but to me as long as my presence are there , its better than never .

Just to keep the environment there livelier .

She often cries when she talked about my late granpa . She's been looking at the family photo frame and recite prayers . Absence makes the heart grows fonder .I know she misses him . Living almost all her life with him and when he's gone , the impact was so great that nobody understands her . Both were bedridden . Both had a bed next to each other . They were so close to each other . That was the past .

I hope to live each day , being a stronger person especially for granny who missed her husband just like i missed my late pa . Till then ..

in loving memory of my beloved Tok

Its been a while since i last update my blog . and its all due to time constraint , mostly visiting tok ( a nick for grandpa in malay ) in the hospital . this entry gonna be a long one . So , bear with it .

I badly wanted to type this story of mine with tok . so here it goes .

Flashback . When i was very much younger , we often slept over at Tok's place . My sister (Yana) and me would slept with him , he being in the middle on the Queen bed. nenek ( grandma) would slept on the floor . in the middle of the night , when Yana and me couldnt sleep , Tok will advise us to recite some prayers cos he said that by reciting some prayers, it could make us asleep. On the very morning when nenek have left for work , Tok will be the one making breakfast . Boiled water to make milo / tea for us and he then will read newspaper for the day .

When he went to work , which is only about 15mins walk from home , we would wave to him from above . There were times when we went over to Tok's working place at West Coast Recreation Centre and play at the playground . We were so young back then.

Tok was a man of few words . He was a very nice and kind man I've ever met and known . Nenek on the other hand , wants us to go home as soon as evening arrives but Tok understands us more . Because he loves company , he'll siding us . No matter who the person was , Tok loves when people came to visit him . And when we wanted to go home , he would sadly said " why so fast , u want to go home ? "

Despite these , Tok was an emotional person especially when watching dramas or movies that touched his heart . He would cry .

Few years ago , Tok was bedridden and suffered gout . There was nobody to look after him . I cant recall why I was the one who took care of him but somehow , Im glad that I did . It was months of difficult time for me . Nobody knew how hard it was to be me at that point of time . As soon as the clock strikes 7pm , he would shout for pain . Family members who came to visit will massage his legs to ease the pain . And when they went home , i took over until the very next morning. 2am , i would carry him to the wheelchair myself to bring him around the house and back to his bed . Continue to massage n recite prayers for him until 7am . Bathe him , help him wearing his clothes , feed him . He slept during the daytime and awakes at night . It was unforgettable until a maid came by .

He dont talk much as nenek . But he loved to share history with everyone . His family history , and how he experienced World War . He can speak english , malay , boyanese and japanese . Mind you , he was a great joker too ! That was my Tok .

A week before he pass on , i have been diligently visited him in the hospital . Seeing him with so many tubes being inserted to his body , was painful in sight. It was worst when he was in coma 3 days before he was gone .

This was sadly , my first , experiencing death in my family .

Tok will always and forever be in our heart . We love you . We miss you .

You will always be in our prayers.

Ameen .

Haji Hori Bin Matrais 1927-2010