Snow White's Cradle

Heading off to Manchester

2011-09-13T17:30:00.001+08:00

-All 9 of us ^o^ -

Not me -- my brother.

Yesterday night my whole family plus my uncle and my cousin went off to KLIA to send off my younger brother, Rahman, who's flying to Manchester.

Route (via Emirates): KL > Dubai > Manchester

Reason: Pursuing a degree post-HND completion

We were advised to be at the airport by 10:30pm (as that was when they'll have their pre-flight briefing. They refer to the batch of students flying off to MAN) so there we were, I think around half an hour before the scheduled time.

Then of course, the kids went through bag-wrapping, check-in, etc2.

So obviously, with the quite-big number of them flying, check-in took in quite sometime (I should probably say "duh!" here). And by quite sometime I mean the scheduled briefing at 10:30 ended up being pushed to nearly a quarter before midnight -______-'

Anyway, macam-macam ragam manusia ada dekat airport tu, waiting to depart.

The touchy-feely ones.

The emo ones.

The quiet ones.

The hyper-macam-first-time-masuk-KLIA-airport ones.

The tak-tahu-nak-buat-apa-lagi-dah-while-waiting ones.

But ultimately, everyone was there as a silent prayer that the ones being hoisted on the plane will end up safe, sound and doing well as students in a foreign land.

Further study in the UK.

People normally have these kind of response(s):

"Bestnyaaaaa~!"

"So nice~"

"Later nak kerja resume pun cantik!"

Tapi orang selalu overlook the not-so-pretty sides of it.

And quite frankly, I think if you haven't traveled outside of Malaysia (where Muslims are a minority), you probably won't really understand the extent of it.

There are a lot of things people take for granted here that will not be served on a silver platter there.

To the very least, I'm sure my brother will find an entirely new meaning to the word(s) "resourceful", "independent", and "positive-thinking".

And through it all, may Allah guide your steps always.

So much excitement, yet just as much challenges await.

My uncle: "@ UK immigration: 1. don't step beyond the yellow line, 2. properly greet the fella."

My cousin: "After settling down, start doing calculations on all the stuff so everyone can come fly see you there."

My mom: "Solat jangan tinggal."

Being a good student to end up a respected professional is a good aim.

But above that, being a good Muslim first and foremost, should be always at the back of one's mind.

So Mr Abdul Rahman,

(those Brits will start calling you Mr Yusof pretty darn soon, LOL!)

May you become a Muslim professional that shall serve Islam as its asset, not a liability, insyaAllah.

Till we meet again dear brother, take good care of yourself & have fun while you're at it! (^_^)/

-Rahman going off as Mak & Adik looked on-

p/s:

#1 - Sian Adik, nangis setitik je airmata masa abang dia lambai @ international departure. Sungguh ala2 drama swasta ok, sbb satu titik je mengalir, huhu. .

#2 - Rahman, jangan lupa usha ticket match the big 4~ *ahem*

#3 - original pics courtesy of my uncle H (TQVM!) but edited suka hati by yours truly~

Duit Raya

2011-09-11T17:28:00.001+08:00

Probably as a kid, Raya is mostly-anticipated due to the money collection project.

(p/s: kids, just wait until you get older and the role switches from receiver to giver ~ see how you countdown to Raya then, lol!)

And obviously, the higher the amount, the happier the kid gets, naturally(dlm hati dh plan apa nak beli dsb).

But last year, I think I received my most meaningful duit raya, probably ever.

It had nothing to do with big numbers, at all.

But it has everything to do with the fact that it was given by my youngest sister, who is still in primary school, and unemployed (she was 8 last year).

I think it was 2nd or 3rd day of Raya and it was at night, after dinner, when she knocked at my door.

She came in and approached me, extending her tiny hands.

Adik: "Kak nisa, duit raya."

Me (taking her offer): "Siapa bagi?"

Adik: "Saya la."

Me: (terkejut) "Erk~! Awk bagi Kak Nisa?"

Adik: "Iyeee. .~" <-- she had this expression as if it's completely common that an 8 year old gives out duit raya

Me (still tkejut): "Mana awk dapat duit?"

Adik (muka calculated + bashful): "Daripada duit raya saya."

Wahhhh. . Tak tahu nak cakap apa dah.

*terharu*

I smiled and thanked her for it as she exited my room.

In my mind I was wondering what was it in her little head that triggered the action. I certainly never thought about giving other people duit raya when I was her age >.<

This year she did it again. One more duit raya from the little kid :)

I don't plan on using the ones that she gave me. It's now in safekeeping. Maybe one day in the future I'll frame it?

Kids. . They never fail to surprise me ^_^

Thank you Hazirah ^-^

Salam Aidilfitri 1432H

2011-08-29T23:59:00.001+08:00

"Kami sekeluarga ingin mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, maaf zahir & batin kepada semua yang mengenali diri kami (dan tuan kami!).

Berhati-hati di jalanraya dan ingatlah orang tersayang.

Jangan lupa solat!

Bye kawan-kawan~! ~(^-^)~ \(^o^)/ (^_^)v"

-Rab, ChiChi, & Oranje-

Be safe at all times & enjoy the joyous occasion with your loved ones ^_^ [NHY]

p/s: Ramadhan, syukran kerana sudi menjenguk kami, sudi melawat kami, umat Muhammad S.A.W, sekali lagi tahun ini. Amal yang tidak sebanyak mana, moga Allah menilai melalui keikhlasan hati setiap hambaNya. Dan, mudah-mudahan, andai panjang umur, pintu hati kami sentiasa terbuka untuk menerima kunjungan Ramadhan di masa akan datang.

A-meen~ T__T

3 Strikes!

2011-01-18T22:37:00.006+08:00

How did I end up being so lucky to receive three gifts in a row,
in a day?

Terharu la . . =)

Presenting. . in order of appearance:

1. From my Msat girls ~ sangat suka, thanks korg! :D

( I know already where to put this -- later I'll snap a pic of its new house and do a reveal k ;) )

2. From my dear Miss M, for the pretty & yummy chocs - kamsahamnida!

(sayang nak makan sebenarnya ~ xpe2, sy mkn sket2 as slow as I possibly can, haha. .)

3. From Cik Amy dari negeri Miss Siti Wan Kembang

( yg telah dikejutkan oleh kedatangan guests ke rumah dia, LOL! ~ TQVM :) )

"Life is partly what we make it,
and partly what is made by the friends whom we choose."

[Tehyi Hsieh]

Liwu

2011-01-16T08:05:00.000+08:00

Miss LimEeLin,

Zhege entry shi gei ni le ;p

Xian zai, wo xiang. .

Xiang shenme. .?

Wo hao xiang ni~ (shi zhen de ;p)

Ni yao bao zhong ok ^_^

-EeLin (L); My g'luck gift from her all the way from Taipei (R)-

CNY's coming up, hoho!

Ni huo lai ma? :D

2 Weeks Notice

2011-01-15T21:18:00.002+08:00

To say that I'm doing fine.

And that transition is a period preceding stability that I seek, which will set foot soon.

Though that doesn't mean I'm missing my girlfriends any less (you know who you are ;p).

I am thankful for the graciousness of the people around me,

for they are ones who share knowledge with the thought of enriching others.

And such acts are devoid of insecurity and selfishness.

I am grateful for the welcoming embrace of newfound friends,

in hopes of an even better times ahead, full of an open kindness.

Dear Miss Change, please be gentle in your teachings,

and be patient in handling my weaknesses.

Power up! (^o^)/

MODE: Training Phase
BUSY HOUR: Post-lunch (since that's when we do practicals, but this'll change next week as the schedule then alternates)

p/s: For my friends yg nak tau what's up with the things here, I meant to scribble down several thoughts, but perhaps I'll give the adjustment period it's cooling time first before I summarize. Btw, my induction's due next week ~ wish me luck!

[11-1-11]

2011-01-11T22:15:00.003+08:00

For 2 of my best friends, who oddly enough, share the same birthday (though of different years) -- may the coming days ahead bring you both nothing but wholesome goodness =)

Thank you both for being such awesome confidants ^_^

-p.i.j.o.h.b.e.s.t- && -a.n.t.u.g.i.l.e.r-

-11/1/11-

"Friends are like silent angels,

who lift us to our feet,
when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

Saeng Il Chuk Ha Hae!

2011-01-02T10:40:00.005+08:00

Happy birthday to my (ex)AEMS partner-in-crime, an avid fan of 2NE1, in whom I've found a great friend -- miss Malia! ^_^

May Allah bless your path, wherever you may go;
take you to greater heights, wherever that may lead;

and bring forth abundant of happiness, which you'll receive.

-Us on our last day-

I'm gonna miss talking to you daily -- take care miss M (bkn miss A k ;p) ~

Xin Nian Kuaile

2011-01-01T11:31:00.001+08:00

May 2011 bring about only the best in all of us,

Lots of smiles & lots of love ^_^

Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many—not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.

[Charles Dickens]

Farewell Love

2010-12-31T20:23:00.002+08:00

Dear Msat,

The first time I met you, I was still very much a kid -- a new bun fresh out of the oven.

And in an industry where change is the only constant, you have been a darling friend and mentor.

Knowing I was fresh out of college, you didn't rush me into anything I wasn't ready for.

Instead, you took me into your wings, sheltered me & provided for me a surrounding mimicking my college years, and placed me with a group of people like myself.

You gave me a support system to hold onto through ELTP11,

Strengthen my base with Phases 1 & 2,

Raised my interpersonal skills with gatherings, dinners and cultural nights,

Polish me even more with fundamental knowledge,

Then you handed me my career purpose via QEdge, for which I'll be eternally grateful.

With CTFL to my credit, you tested my readiness for the real-world with "Merlin's N78".

Then with DoC's IoMS.

Before you let me fly with MAS (IET/Enrich).

And finally hanging up with Moto. .

All these years, we've gone through countless compensations, engagements, weddings, farewells, heartbreaks, appointments, disappointments, deliveries (projects *and* babies) and achievements.

And throughout it all, I've seen plenty who come and go.

I remember all those events very well -- the languidness of a separation.

Today, sadly, I join one of those too.

To wish you goodluck and to bid you farewell, in promising hope that one day, if & when the time is right and all is well, our paths shall cross once again.

I may leave with a heavy heart, but one that's also filled with countless pleasant memories.

You & everything you have given me -- saranghamnida guerigo kamsahamnida ^_^

Annyonghi gyeseyo~

Yours truly,

-nhy-

[Date of Join]

27-July-2007

[Last Working Day]

31-December-2010

LWD | Curtain Closing

2010-12-31T15:25:00.004+08:00

My friends were kind enough to actually arrange a lunch-gathering/farewell get-together for me on my last working day, which was formally dated to 31-DEC-2010.

However, due to the great accomplishment of the national football team in winning the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 in Jakarta on Wednesday night, 29th December, the Prime Minister has announced to make 31st December as a national holiday.

On any other day, I really have nothing against holidays.

In fact, I crave for holidays to be given on a silver platter.

But, when that holiday comes at an unfortunately ill-timed (for me anyway) period, causing my final shred of test executions to go haywire as it was overlapping with my exit procedures, I think I'm entitled to be a bit irritated.

Back to the topic title, since Friday was now to be declared an official holiday, I was thinking that it was no longer necessary nor was it convenient to hold the luncheon.

However, one little chipmunk mastermind was going to throw a ruckus if I really went forward with my thinking. And I love you for stopping me in my tracks, Theodore ^_^

For all of my precious friends who came -- thank you very much for taking a little bit of time out from your busy schedules and/or lazying day option, to spend some time together.

Words are inadequate to describe however it is I felt, truly.

I'll remember this day for a long time to come with a smile on my face.

I wish for nothing but the best for everyone & I love you all to bits!

-lunch menu: 6" subway of choice-
(mine was FoC courtesy of Nazrah ~ tq!)

-homemade blueberry filled strawberry topped cheesecake for dessert-
(happy birthday Yus!)

- Us Girls <3 -
(not in pic: Ina; photog: mama Wa)

Syukran jazilan, for your friendship & the empowering love ~ God bless!

K-Cuisine Lunch Round 3

2010-12-27T21:15:00.002+08:00

During the day, after watching a movie, my friend & I decided to eat Korean for the day, hence the following pictures~

-Target for today-

-my drink of choice: sour plum-

-dukbokki (spicy rice cakes) -- steaming hot in the black-stone bowl too!-

- my lunch set: K01 - Kimbap + Dukbokki + Kimchi side dish + (Miso-like) Soup -

-close up shot of the kimbap-

-my friend ordered this (can't remember which one exactly though)-

Apparently, 8TV's "Ho Chak!" team has visited them too~

Verdict:

My friend & I quite enjoyed our lunch there ~ maybe next time we'll try out other options in the menu as well. However, I'm sure the branch'll benefit better if the space is expanded, as it can get crowded during peak hours. Having said that, do try it out if you feel like having a Korean dish =)

Venue: The Street Cafe (Sunway Pyramid)

Website: http://www.thestreetcafe.com.my/

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Street-Cafe/129695477076417

Other outlets: Subang SS15

Halal certified: InsyaAllah, yes (logo from Islamic Food Research Centre Asia is displayed)

Carrot Cupcakes

2010-12-25T15:15:00.000+08:00

Made a batch for a dear friend of mine in Bangi who's been asking for these for quite sometime -- hope you like them ^_^

Btw, the pictures below are from the 3 leftover pieces which are remanded at home ~ just thought I'd show you the inside texture and colour of the cake.

Carrot cakes are really growing on me as of late -- this recipe's quite a safe keeper.

I wonder if it's the cream cheese topping's doing that keeps pulling me back.

-take 1-

-take 2-

-take 3-

*refusing to think about the fat content in cream cheese. lalala~*

I Miss Korea Day 3: Breathtaking Jeju-do

2010-12-24T21:48:00.002+08:00

As usual, let's start the day with breakfast - today it's "continental breakfast" (it simply means that the hotel serves simple convenient dishes - you can normally expect to see variants of coffee/tea/assorted juices, pastries/cereal, fresh fruits, etc).

Side-note for Muslim travelers: Even if you're following a Muslim tour, when you see "Continental Breakfast" spread in the hotel, please do not assume that all food served is halal. Do check with the servers - they're always more than willing to confirm to your queries -- I'm saying this because I thought it's common sense. But apparently not everyone thinks like me, because there were a couple who went after the non-halal sausages and stuff, assuming they're halal. Check, ok? Good.)

-Hotel lobby, on the way to breakfast-

Only 3 of us sat at this table, but there are 4 plates, haha. . Oh, right, do ignore the incorrect date/time settings on McD's cam ~ it wasn't the 10th of May nor was it 1++ am. . -__-

I'm pretty sure this was McD's plate - I L.O.V.E.D the omelet
(why I didn't snap a pic of my own plate? Aish. . ~)

After breakfast, all of us hopped on the bus -- we're supposed to be heading to a place full of fluffy stuffed animals (can you guess?), but our bus driver stopped at the roadside and our tour guide asked us all to head out.

I was a bit weirded out on why we're stopping in the middle of two ordinary roads, until I saw something pink. And lots of it!

Lo and behold, after walking a bit further from where our bus driver stopped, we saw glimpses of pink-colored trees!

My beautiful cherry blossom sakuras!

Everyone was squealing at this point! (right? I didn't think it was just me, haha. . But, in my defense, most of the girls squealed ;p)

We were crossing a normal, functional road to get there, so Mr Park was busy shouting that we cross carefully (though I think my brain wasn't really paying attention - you can SEE sakuras like so darn near ~ hel~lo!).

The moment I actually stood at the edge of the road, I remember standing there, stunned and in awe. My goodness me ~ they are even more beautiful than I have ever imagined them to be. .

If you have seen the movie "Para para sakura", where the girl leads Aaron Kwok to the garden full of sakuras and they break into the cute group dance where the cherry blossoms are freely flowing to the ground because of the blowing wind ~ this was EXACTLY like that. Only more magnificent to watch live.

*sigh*

The *entire* long road was COVERED with sakuras!

And this was a normal road ok, where people live and go to work and stuff - it's not some park. And however stunning it looks in the pictures, it doesn't do half the justice of what it really was =)

Beotkkeot, jeongmal ippeo!

-I'll probably never forget that feeling when I first stopped at this road, ever-

If I can just freeze a moment in time and imprint this with watercolor in my head onto A4. .~

Group pic - thanks Mr Zadil (Tour Lead, not in the pic)

If I could just stay there, I would've.

But, there were other places to go to in the itinerary~

FYI, cherry blossoms don't bloom all at once, all over Korea, all year long.
They only bloom in early spring, thus signaling the farewell of winter season, and they do so in stages, normally led by the southern regions (like Jeju) to the more central regions of Korea (like Seoul).

And they only last for about one week. So, if you're luck, like we were, you'll get to see them :)

Next up: Teddy Bear Museum
I think TBM really became a landmark to visit by Kdrama fans after Goong came out - right?
It's basically a museum full with stuffed bears, portraying various well-known figures and eras of mankind, but in a bear-kind-of way.

There's an indoor as well as an outdoor bear monuments/statues for you to take pictures of/with, including:

-MonaBearyLisa-

-Beary Beatles-

Gandhi-Bear

-Mr Presley in da house-

-A gift for Goong fans-

-Us with a life-size (make that double) and really soft, fluffy bear-

I'll tell you a bizarre story though.

After finishing our round with the teddies inside, all 3 of us went outdoors to the park to aim for cute teddies to pose with.

In the midst of that, I noticed that my cam was running out of memory space (siapa suruh tak clear dulu gambar before depart to Korea?). So, I stopped and sat at one bench while Natni & McD posed for pictures with this bear-celebrating-birthday teddy not far from me.

So while I was busy looking down at my camera, pondering upon which picture to delete and not and pressing over buttons, I heard this bustling sound -- I stole a glance for a second before looking back down -- groups of schoolkids were out and about (our lead mentioned that their curriculum includes tours to places like this as part of school activity, so it was normal).

Me: Delete. Don't delete. Delete. Delete.

"Hi!"

I looked up -- a cute Korean girl, probably 15 yrs old, was smiling at me, and she had a bunch of friends around her, maybe 8 or 9 of them.

So I smiled back and said hi.

Girl (with a camera in hand): "Can take picture?"

Side-note: On average, Koreans can't really speak/understand English well, so the fact that this girl can, was a rare occurrence.

Me (about to stand up): "Sure~"

This is where bizarre starts.

5 or 6 girls came rushing at me and sat down next to me, left and right. Rushing, seriously.

Wait, I thought I was supposed to take YOUR picture?

Why am I IN the picture too? LOL!

"Hana, dul, set!" (Korean for 1, 2, 3!)

Snap!

"1 more!"

What the-? Serious tak faham budak2 ni, haha. .

The 5/6 girls changed with the rest who were standing when we took the first snap.

"Hana, dul, set!"

Then all of them stood opposite me, in a row, bowing and all.

"Thank you 2x!"

I was grinning at the end of this, while thanking them too.
Kids, I'm not a celebrity k. Haha~

Girl: "Where are you from?"

Me: "Malaysia."

Group: "Uuu. .~ Malaysia, Malaysia!" (like nodding, as if they know the place)

Then again they said thank you, bid goodbye and went off while I was still semi-perplexed.

My conclusion: They probably don't see a lot of foreigners around (particularly like us, wearing headscarf) so a picture snapping session can be proof that they've met an alien species in Korea

A thought struck me then -- I didn't take a picture with them using my own camera! Dang it -_-'

And since Natni and McD were busy snapping pics of themselves too, so. . double dang~

See, busy deleting and not deleting pics. .

And while Natni's happily clapping with teddies, I was bombarded by the girls at the back (^_^)v

-Final shot before we fled the scene-

After that we went to a restaurant for lunch, before moving on to see Cheonjiyeon Waterfall, where we ended up seeing more cherry blossom trees in the park.

-Lunch with Korean style pancake-

-Cheonjiyeon Waterfall (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)-

Next stop: Seongeup Folk Village
This place basically replicates how the folks lived back in the 19th century in Korea, and pictures their environment and surrounding so that the visitors know what it's like to have been in that age.

-Seongeup Folk Village (Credit: VisitKorea)-

Moving on --> ATV-Riding
Our itinerary was for the spring season, and among the activities which we were looking forward to (esp. miss Natni) was this -- ATV! (I think it stands for All-Terrain Vehicle, but you can always google it out ;p)

Prior to actually riding the ATV, they had us all suited up in the full green army gear from head to toe, complete with gloves and helmets on. So if after all that you still don't feel like buffed up to fight, I don't know what will. And of course, we were given a couple rounds of practice sessions before going out on the actual terrain (we don't want people skidding off course do we now? :p).

Since it was our first experience maneuvering the vehicle, it was pretty exciting (wasn't that hard really - somewhat like driving an auto-car -- you only have the accelerator and the brake) :D

We also saw several pictures of the Jewel in The Palace at the ATV center's Wall of Fame, but I'm not quite sure of its relevance (if there were scenes filmed somewhere there, I mean).

-A variant of RTV, but not the one we rode-

Next: Seongsan Sunrise Peak

You can easily see a very beautiful spread of luscious green and sea. Cantik~!

When we got there, the wind was blowing furiously (so furiously we were almost freezing!).

Obviously the trick to experiencing the pretty view here lies in the height to which you're able to reach. Simply saying, the higher the altitude (which is also directly proportional to the distance you're covering on foot), the more of an eye-candy it'd become.

Easier said and done, since it was really a *huge* area of ground to cover.

As an alternative, you can just take a look on some of the shots we took ;)

At the far bottom of Seongsan Sunrise Peak's entrance (credit: Cosmojin Tour)

Us three before climbing the path up

Natni enjoying being amidst purple lavender-ish flowers
(see the valley/bay at the back?)

Four of us taking in the view - the sea is stunning from where we were. .

Long road up; equally long way down

We were then all ushered inside the bus to make a move to Seopjikoji but we stopped midway, when we saw a place which was full of these yellow rapeseed flowers. Apparently it was its blooming season, so all of us went out to take several shots before proceeding with the journey~

The wind was blowing when this shot was taken ~ rasa macam dalam drama Korea ;)

Marking down Seopjikoji, with love <3

Back inside the bus and the night was slowly creeping in. It was very fitting to then go visit the infamous Mysterious Road.

What was mysterious about it?

Well. . At one point, our bus driver stopped the engine and the bus continued going uphill on its own. Not DOWNhill ok -- UPhill.

Sounds weird, right?

It was surreal to experience, but sure, science & physics had an explanation for it -- it was apparently a result of an optical illusion, in which the ground and environment played its part. And I've been told that there are several other places in the world in which these things happen. You can always google "gravity/magnetic hill" for a more detailed explanation.

Mysterious Road (credit: Trip To Korea)

Next: Yongduam Rock (Dragon Head Rock)

Dragon Head Rock (credit: Visit Korea Official Site)

Can you make out the dragon head in the picture above?
Well, when we came here it was already night time so it wasn't as clear (to see in pictures).
The waves did look fierce though. .

And. . .

Last but not least -- dinner time!

Allow me introduce you to one of the most popular Korean food = bibimbap :D

Bibimbap literally translates to "mixed rice". It is basically a bowl of rice topped with seasoned vegetables and chili pepper paste. There can be other additions to bibimbap though -- in our case, it was eggs.

I can now officially certify bibimbap as miss Natni's favourite dish ;p

Bibimbap -- as initially served

Bibimbap -- the right way to eat a.k.a. mix all the ingredients (ala2 cara makan Nasi Kerabu)

Others that accompanied our Bibimbap dinner ~ steamboat, kimchi & side dishes

It was only then, with our stomachs completely full, that we finally get to go back to the hotel, lie down for a bit, before drifting off to sleep -- the next day we would have to say goodbye to Jeju-do~

I Miss Korea Day 2: Pt 2 Peek Into Seoul & Jeju-do

2010-12-22T23:23:00.006+08:00

We were actually waiting to board our flight to Jeju Island sometime later in the evening -- which was why our tour guide suggested that we go for some Seoul sightseeing to bridge the gap. Hoye!

view from the bridge connecting to Incheon Airport to Seoul

Incheon Bridge, a seriously long bridge

First stop in Seoul:
1. Cheongwadae or the Blue House (literal translation: House of the Blue-Tiled Roof)
---> perhaps equivalent to White House in its purpose, this is the executive office and official residence of the President of the Republic of Korea

Around this area there are plenty of cops around, guarding the area.

natni trying to pick out the Blue House rooftop tiles for you

Mount Bugaksan stands as the background of Blue House (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Symbolic monuments at the park opposite Blue House, the highest being the Phoenix

-McD posing in front of a nearby police station close to the park/Blue House-
(it kinda reminds me of HK police stations, for some reason. . the colour and logo, I think?)

Next: Lunch pit-stop!

Koreans take to heart the importance of having a healthy and balanced meal.

In their meals, you'd probably, more often than not, see a steamboat/soup/sauce dish, accompanied by various side dishes which incorporates several kinds of veggies as well as a bit protein choice (like sweet anchovies), served alongside a bowl of rice.

Their dishes are generally far less oily than the average Malaysian dish (although you may not be able to make that out from the pics). And another thing we noted, though at the time of consumption, the food may taste darn spicy to the tongue, that's as far as it goes a.k.a. the burning spice-sensation stops at the throat and doesn't linger/reside in your stomach. Awesome~

yummy steamboat
(taste-wise, rasa ala2 "asam pedas" - a combo of sourness & (the most dominant flavour) spiciness)

side dishes (water jug will come in handy for what's to come. . )

that's the spicy squid in the middle, apparently best friends with the water jug

personal highlight of the meal (aside from the steamboat): sweet omelet rolls

miss this per-person style of serving

Third Stop: KimChi School, where:
---> all of us learned how to make kimchi

Kimchi ~ traditional fermented Korean dish, made of vegetables with a mix of seasonings (most common veg used: cabbage; popular veg choices: cubed radish; seasonings: salt, red chili pepper paste)

as displayed

briefing on the many varieties and variations of kimchi

Ingredients to make kimchi

making our very own kimchi

kimchi, the finished product (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

---> we got a chance to don the traditional korean attire = hanbok (for the girls).

hanbok (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

After enrolling in the semi-cooking & photo-op session at KimChi school, it was already time to depart to Jeju Island from Gimpo Airport (domestic airport).

Inside Gimpo Airport

inside the plane otw to Jeju-do

official arrival at Jeju Island

We arrived at Jeju, a beautiful island (also known for the infamous tangerines so closely associated with "My Girl" scenes), from Gimpo, in approximately an hour.

We were told that the climate is Jeju is a lot more temperate than Seoul. But coming from a hot and humid weathered country, what is considered "temperate" here may not be so temperate. .

Anyhow, from the airport we were ushered to go to the restaurant where we will be having our dinner for the day. Within that journey Mr Park told us that our team was in luck, because he's been told that the cherry blossoms have started showing in Jeju.

Cherry blossoms, you're a huge part of the reason why I've always wanted to go to Korea! \(^o^)/

And I can safely say that I wasn't the only one beaming with glee at that moment in time ;p

However, cherry blossoms will have to wait until tomorrow ~ Mr Park has already arranged with the bus driver to bring us to a place which is (hopefully) overflowing with those sakuras.

Back to dinner, this was what we had:

dinner: seafood steamboat (not in the pic: kimchi, side dishes, noodle)

Looks pretty simple doesn't it?
Truth be told, I was actually expecting it to taste bland, since it really did look simple.
But, however simple it looked, it was definitely a whole lot of flavour in your mouth ~ superb!
Perhaps the fresh seafood was the trick ya?

So after dinner we headed to our hotel to check in and stuff. At night we were free to explore the area on our, which we did. Jeju's a pretty intimate land, quiet & cosy -- it has a relaxing feel to it. With the night breeze flowing, we took the chance to stroll along the beach (which was pitch-black-looking), where there were a few of the locals who were fishing.

We didn't stay outside for long though, because ultimately we agreed that it was freezing.

this shot was taken opposite our hotel, if I'm not mistaken -- look at the pretty moon =)

So after a couple of pics here and there, we went back to the hotel and chilled (watched 2D1N without subtitle and amazingly enough, still able to understand and laugh along), but not before stopping by their local mini marts (ala 7 Eleven) to grab some stuff to munch on.

snacks, biscuit & to-die-for milk (flavour: blue vanilla, green banana, pink strawberry)

If you want to know whether we got to see those cherry blossoms (or not), it's in the next entry~

Cairo. Mekah. Madinah.

2010-12-19T23:42:00.002+08:00

I am the lucky bearer of lovely gifts from:

Cairo (thanks Aunty Yam!)

Mekah & Madinah (thanks Uncle Harun!)

Good Luck

2010-12-16T21:31:00.000+08:00

I have never, ever, in my life, been "lucky" enough to grab anything through lucky draws.

Not in school.

Not in college.

Not at work.

Eh, wait, that stops today.

Today, 16 December 2010, is the day I get to put an end to that tough luck.

Yup, after rounds of clapping, cheering, laughing and smiling at the efforts put on by my friends for the Blue Chip team leaders who were in town to visit the campus (WDA, Moto & Nishant -- loved your performances!), the lucky draw event held eventually surrendered to me :D

And my magic number is. .

I like how 4+3 = 7 (self-claimed favourite number since forever ;) )

What did I get?

Something practical, something black, something full of glimmering "bullets" ~ I like it ^_^

Finally, I get to have something from you ~ a bittersweet token, looking at the timing.

Anyhow, thank you Msat =)

Glory Glory MU Cupcakes

2010-12-11T22:18:00.000+08:00

How can I not adore cupcakes (or say no to baking them) that bear MU logos on top? ;)

This is ordered from a friend of my brother's -- as a wedding gift for his friend.

(tak teringat pula nak tanya nama to my brother, but he lives just in the neighbourhood)

-12 pcs chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing-

-that's the logo of the best football club in the world right there (jgn marah ;p)-

Thank you for ordering ^_^

Tangled

2010-12-05T20:51:00.003+08:00

Surely you guys have seen this, right?

Rapunzel & Pascal. Flynn vs Maximus - what more do you want from an animated movie really?

I'm rating this a tad higher than Megamind, with equally lush graphics plus broadway style musical and a given natural flow of comedy air. 3D animation movies like these do us justice.

With the release of Tangled, Disney can sit back and be proud of their production - tastefully done!

I really won't mind seeing this movie twice :D

If you really haven't watched this, and you're a Disney production fan, or a musical-lover, or a softie for happily ever after fairytales, you're missing out.

Big-time.

"Flower, gleam and glow.
Let your power shine.
Make the clock reverse.
Bring back what once was mine.
Heal what has been hurt.
Change the fate's design.
Save what has been lost.
Bring back what once was mine.
What once was mine."
-Healing Incantation [OST Tangled]

Get-Healthy Pills

2010-12-03T07:20:00.000+08:00

Dari Abu Said Al-Khudri r.a dan Abu Hurairah r.a meriwayatkan bahawa baginda Rasulullah SAW bersabda:
"Tiada seorang muslim yang ditimpa musibah, keletihan, sakit, terganggu fikirannya, sedih, bimbang, kecemasan sehingga tercucuk dengan duri sekali pun melainkan diampuni akan dosa-dosanya."
[HR Bukhari]

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri r.a. reported that the Prophet said:
"Whenever a Muslim is afflicted with a hardship, sickness, sadness, worry, harm, or depression --even a thorn's prick, Allah expiates his sins because of it."
[Hadith: Muslim & Bukhari]

A-meen.

p/s #1: Don't my pills resemble an emoticon? ^_^
p/s #2: Travel updates lining up -- awaiting health restoration for deployment, insyaAllah.

Caught on Fire

2010-12-02T21:36:00.001+08:00

Literally.

0900 GMT+8, Wednesday

All dressed up to go to work. Walked out of my room towards the stairs to go one level down. Something, somewhere was smelling like the kitchen gas had invaded the floor.

Weird.

And apparently I wasn't the only one thinking that since my Dad & Mom were both already wandering around looking out for clues of possible entities sparking that effect.

Mak asked me if I can smell the same weird air they are. I said yes.

Still don't know where that smell's coming from. . .

0910

Finished my breakfast in the kitchen.

Went to the sink to wash my mug and touched the water tap.

-!!!-

1 slight second after that I pulled my hand back.

Erk!

There's electric jolts running free through the water tap!

Definitely *not* normal -- 1 alarm bell ringing in my head.

Told my mom about it who was then calling out to my dad (who's still upstairs) to come down and check it out.

Moved from the kitchen to the dining room.

Another sound broke out.

Like the second clock ticking so darn fast to an attached time-bomb (or rats biting/eating furiously at the wire?)

Looked around to find the culprit.

Pretty sure it came from the fuse box.

. . .

In my head, alarm #2 rang.

My dad was coming down the stairs (next to the fuse box, mind you) when I told him about the sound.

Then the fusebox started behaving like a mini-canon - blasting small explosions!

!!!

I was somewhere between semi shocked and partially stunned, but definitely worried+scared.

Good thing my dad's an electrical engineer (he's recently retired). He went and called a couple of friends from his TNB days who are still servicing.

After that point onwards, things got haywire.

I remember him switching off something on it, but couldn't use the screwdriver on the fuse box - probably a combo between the jolts & the heat. I was a lot more worried that he'll get hurt while trying to fix things.

From downstairs, my mom was already shouting for my second sister to wake and bring out the rest of the kids down a.s.ap. They were downstairs within a couple of mins (which is a miracle considering some of the kids are not the easiest creatures to buzz out from their sleep, LOL!).

Our custom "mini canon" did a couple more of its trick shots a.k.a "mini bombs".

But this time with an added fuel -- the fuse box was erupting from inside, since we can clearly see the smoke seeping out & the fire burning steadily at the back.

*insert a not-so-good word in here*

My dad pulled out the small blue-coloured fire extinguisher (which my brother helped pulled out the break-free string) and the fuse box was covered with 'snow'.

So now it was intermittent canon shot sounds minus the flame.

0930++

My dad's friend arrived. The two teamed up to do something, checking with fuse box and the meter outside.

The kids were lounging at the living room/front porch, some looking dazed, some sleepy, some giggling (because of their attire and the things they brought out to "save"). My mom was rambling I-can't-remember-what, haha. .

Me? Texting a colleague that I'll be in a bit later than normal because of the occurring things.

1000

Waiting for the TNB team to come in and fix the fusebox/wiring, but things looked under control. So off I went to the office.

Later I got a message from my Mom that the TNB peeps were there & fixing things so there was no need to worry. TNB fix-team continued for quite some time actually.

They even had to come back the day after to replace the fusebox casing to a new one.

Same spot, new fusebox -- normalcy is restored. Alhamdulillah =)

[01-12-10] -- You've done well, you 25 year-old fuse box.
~Rest in peace~

Note:
#1 - It's recommended to check your fusebox/wiring in the house after 20 years, as loose wiring can trigger friction and cause sparks (as what happened at home), which can lead to fire
#2 - Please know how to use the fire extinguisher in cases of emergency
#3 - Stay calm in times of panic (or at least try to)
#4 - 15454 <-- TNB Careline number

K-Cuisine Lunch Round 2

2010-11-14T20:31:00.008+08:00

Venue: Midvalley Megamall Foodcourt
Section: Korean

-Korean lunch for us three-
from top, left to right: seafood ramyun (mine), kimchi ramyun (McD), chicken bibimbap (natni)

natni's bibimbap, back in Malaysia

bibimbap, cleared

ramyun, cleared

Conclusion:
Bibimbap & kimchi tasted exactly the same like what we had in Korea.

On ramyun we couldn't compare since we didn't try that in Seoul.

However, if you're wondering what it tastes like -- ramyun is very similar to our Mamee fastfood noodle, but more springy. Therefore, it's the taste of the soup that brings the difference.

So if you like the Korean taste, you can opt for Ramyun kimchi (because seafood ramyun gravy tastes like a mix between asam pedas/kari, if that explanation makes sense to you)

There are plenty other food to taste in the menu - I'll keep you posted =)

p/s: It's Round 2 even though I've never posted on Round 1, because of lack of pics~

Minda Mega?

2010-11-13T23:30:00.004+08:00

-short commercial break before I continue on with my travel logs soon-

(Megamind Official Poster, starring (clockwise, from top right):
Metro Man, Roxanne Ritchi, Megamind, Minion, Titan/Tighten
-- credit here)

Megamind is DreamWorks Animation's second child of the year after How To Train Your Dragon (which was good too!)

Simply put, it's hilariously funny with a simple yet clear message as its underlying backbone, along with a great cast to note (and of course, don't forget the fact that you have gorgeous animation invading the huge screen!).

A highly entertaining, witty, family-friendly flick to watch ~ so make sure you see it! (^o^)/

And no, I'm not saying this simply of my fondness for animation movies. Trust me, I've seen a lot. Megamind is one of a few that's really worth it.

Next on my animation radar --> Rapunzel (Tangled)

P/S: Just incase you're wondering, I saw it in 3D, which wasn't a waste given the terrific graphics quality. However, if you don't feel like spending more, I think seeing it in 2D wouldn't be any less damaging.

I Miss Korea: Day 2 Pt 1 Incheon International Airport Touchdown

2010-11-09T00:01:00.002+08:00

Before we proceed to Day 2 journey, let's first take a quick look at South Korea below:

picture courtesy of Seoul Airport (ICN) Orientation and Maps - Airports Guide to Seoul

Now we take a closer look to Incheon International Airport via the following map:

picture courtesy of Dynamics Days Asia Pacific 4 (DDAP4)

So if you're able to view the map right, you'll see that Incheon International Airport is actually located on an island (Yeongjong-Yongyu Island), to the west of Incheon (think Langkawi & Kedah, somewhat). I definitely didn't know that before landing.

And finally, after 6.5 hours of wriggling in our seats, the flight captain made an announcement, informing that we'll be landing shortly. Me & natni were grinning at each other. Yay!

Aerial view of Incheon International Airport (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Korean Air (KE) Starcraft II, a common finding in Incheon Airport
(doesn't the logo at its tail-end remind you of anything else famous? ;p)
(credit: Wikimedia Common)

It was pretty cool when we landed (and by cool I mean the temperature was at 14 degrees Celsius, as announced by the flight captain earlier) so obviously the first thing which we wanted to do soon after arriving would be to visit the toilet! (but not before having a short chit-chat session with the MAS steward/ess in green overcoats while walking there, via automated walkways)

Automated walkways (see that similar-to-escalator-handrest at far right? good~)

And consider this a friendly reminder to my other Muslim travelers (girls esp) planning to visit Seoul -- have an empty water bottle at your side at all times. It will prove to be an essential necessity throughout your visiting course.

So incase you're wondering, their toilets are impeccably clean. No complaints there whatsoever.

Then we proceeded to the airport immigration (if you happen to be in the same situation like us, stuck in the queue behind a group of a potentially-suspicious-to-the-immigrations individuals, this process might take a while. .), where you have to explain your purpose of travel to the officers. If all goes well, you can then proceed to the baggage claim and be well on your way.

Seoul Airport Shuttle: Make sure you take your shuttle at the right gate!

Us three before stepping into the shuttle train (think LRT boarding area at KLCC) en route to the baggage claim counters

After a fairly decent waiting time at the baggage counter (decent because we were traveling in a group, so we waited as a group too -- some got their baggage early, and others not-so-soon, but altogether it wasn't that long really), all of us went and relaxed for a bit while waiting for our tour guide to settle logistics issues.

Departure lobby (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Arrival lobby (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Bus terminal (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Shortly afterward, we were signaled to follow our guide's lead. So off we went, out of the main entrance of Incheon International Airport and into the actual 14 degrees Celsius air outside, on the bus terminal sidewalk. You can feel the cool (more cold than cool, really) refrigerator-like wind seeping through your clothes as you walk, all the while pulling our baggage to our awaiting bus.

The chilly air is now my friend, of Korean descendant, shouting "Anyeong haseyo!"

In the bus, we got a proper introduction to our awesome tour guide, Mr Park Yong Kee, as he briefed us about the activities we'll be going over for the day.

Mr Park, our sporting tour guide :D

And as the bus slowly moved away from the airport and heading into the city of Seoul, each of us took in the sights of Korea in awe, eagerly anticipating our trip to come =)

Next stop -- Seoul!

I Miss Korea: Day 1 Takeoff

2010-11-07T08:30:00.008+08:00

If you have seen those commercials inviting you to Seoul, the capital of South Korea, it tags with:

[[ I n f i n i t e l y Y o u r s ]]

Trust me that this trait of possessiveness over the land, which sprouts the pale cherry blossoms, will stay and inhibit its visitors long after they leave.

And it's been 7 months since I came back, but a lot of times when the memory seeps in, it feels like I should be transported there. .

Some people asked me before/after I went: "Why Korea?"

I think I kinda scrunched my eyebrows and thought in wonder: "Why *not* Korea?"

The initial root cause to that answer could probably be traced back to my college years, when K-Dramas, such as Winter Sonata (not a fan of this, but it's well-known), Autumn In My Heart, and My Girl, erupted and took over millions of hearts with their antiques.

Through their dramas, South Korea has successfully pulled in prospective tourists, showcasing the spectacular scene of the land, as well as their passion for food.

And some places are prettier when seen by afar, through the TV, than they are in reality.

But Seoul, Nami Island, and Jeju Island, through my experience, in my eyes, are really beautiful.

However, I'll always above all, remember the kindness of its people. Stories to come later =)

These scribblings on South Korea, for 8 Days 6 Nights, shall serve as pieces from my memory to remind me of all the pretty things that were, for the times when I may no longer be able to recall.

***

Travel Date: 28th March 2010 - 4th April 2010
Destination: South Korea
Main Stops: Seoul, Nami Island, Jeju Island
Pictures compiled are from either my fellow comrades, Miss Natni and McD, or myself.

-Magnificent night view from our plane, overlooking KLIA's aircraft runway-

Flight departure time: 2330
Flight duration: 6.5 hours
Flight route: Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia - Incheon Airport, South Korea
Flight provider: Malaysia Airlines

Meals on board:
Miss Natni's late-night supper (mine's already devoured)

My Breakfast: Malaysian-style Nasi Lemak

Miss Natni's breakfast: Western-style omelet

Shot for the day (well done ms natni)!:
Sunrise through our window (see that stretch on the horizon & the sun beaming through? ^_^)

Interesting Encounters:
- Korea National Badminton Squad at KLIA (coincidentally managed to get one of them in a picture with us, LOL)
- Watching Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel in Korean (or arabic, if you'd prefer that)
- Miss Natni hyper-anxiety stage in anticipation of her first ever flight-ride (you made it! ;p)

I know you're fretting because there's no picture of Korea yet, haha. . Later in the afternoon maybe?

p/s: Natni + McD, fr winter season (nxt year Jan), there's a 6D4N trip starting at 2.4K :D (don't really know why I bother telling you girls this since surely natni & I can't make that date -_-')

Why Do You Bother?

2010-11-06T20:09:00.000+08:00

With blogging, I mean.

***

Top 10 reasons people start a blog

To Express Your Thoughts and Opinions
To Market or Promote Something
To Help People (through the sharing of experience)
To Establish Yourself as an Expert
To Connect with People Like You
To Make a Difference
To Stay Active or Knowledgeable in a Field or Topic
To Stay Connected with Friends and Family
To Make Money
To Have Fun and Be Creative

Where do you find yourself in the list above?

***

When I'm swamped with work (that's probably every working day of my life), I've always associated the word 'nuisance' to blogging.

How can it not be, when there are many other much more pressing matters to attend to than to isolate a timeframe to run over your thoughts which you initially thought about blogging?

However, perception is a funny thing, isn't it?

Example:
When you have bundles of workload to cater to and you see your team member colleague coming in late to the office, most probably you'd think that they're slacking off.
Thinking about that in your head, you could care less about their reasons.
But, once you hear that the reason for their coming in late was caused by a flat tire or their sick child, your view of them changes in that instant as well.
That's when feelings of compassion, pity, or tolerance, arise to the surface and engulf you.

Exactly a wonder how perception works.

So, coming back to the focus of my ramblings, I never really pondered upon the reason of my blogging (which makes my rate of updating incredibly rational due to its lack of focus).

Perhaps because a popular thing to do back then -- every one in the team has a blogger page.
Then again, maybe it was a good outlet to pass the time with (back when we had time to spare, that is).
It could also be due to the fact that blogging connected our network of friends, in the same circle, within the comp.
Or maybe we just wanted a space of our own to say a couple of things.

Thinking about it now, probably it was a little bit of everything, wrapped into one.

But eventually work caught up with us.
And carefree times were soon filled.
Leaving the shaky blogs to finish looking even more rustic than ever imagined.

Nowadays though, I think blogs are one of the several good options to stay reachable to your friends, especially the ones who you're no longer facing each day, at work.
It allows for unrestricted content coverage, for as much or as little as the do-er wish.
Sure, it's no match for Twitter's simplicity (IMHO only) or even the speedy FB (for its users).
And although it may not be the most convenient form of keeping in contact, it could still prove to be a little bit more than not connecting at all.

Staying in touch takes work.
That means blogging to stay in touch would also take work.
But hopefully, at the end of the day, it'll all be worth it.
As ties are not meant to be severed, but to be cherished and indulged in.

So dear friends, let's do our best to stay connected ya (I'll try my hardest ~ promise!) ^_^

“Barangsiapa yang ingin dilapangkan rezekinya dan dipanjangkan umurnya, maka hendaklah ia menyambung tali silaturrahim.” [Muttafaqun 'alaih]

"Do you know what is better than charity and fasting and prayer? It is keeping peace and good relations between people, as quarrels and bad feelings destroy mankind." [Muslim & Bukhari]

Pic courtesy of http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/eduwonkette/

Mahjong vs Manjung

2010-10-31T09:08:00.014+08:00

(this is an attempt to revive the blog, and to exercise my English ~ let's see if it works)

Date: 30-10-2010
Start time: 0730
End time: 1840
Path: Putrajaya > Tanjung Karang > Teluk Intan > Lekir > Seri Manjung
Team size: 4

History timeline:
0540 - Wakeup call from miss driver (tho technically it wasn't a wakeup call since I was already awake)
0645 - Revved up the engine and off to P11 in the persistently steady morning rain
1130 - Arrived at the destination (half an hour earlier than guests-arrival time)

So at this stage, we were pondering on possible kill-time activities (one of it includes staying still inside the car and wait for half an hour to pass before we can legitimately crash the scene, which we were *thisClose* to doing) -- we ended up calling the bride herself.

What did the bride suggest?

Accompany her to a nearby place for her make-up session.

Why not? It's not as if we had better things to do anyway. So we delightfully obliged.
And there we were, in the beauty parlour, waiting for her to be made up on, which she did, eventually (at 12:15++, mind you. and the reception's at 1! looks like the make up artist sis does not wear a huge watch on her wrist. . -__-')

1300 - Make-up session finally ended (thank God!) ~ sped back to the groom's house.

And because we had with us this huge wrapped gift, we also had the chance to enter the house (to put it down, since they didn't have a designated place for the gifts) and snapped a few pics ;) Photos are all courtesy of cik natni's miss biyu~

Bilik Pengantin (Bride & Groom's Room)

Pelamin (Wedding Dais)

Pengantin masuk berarak (Bride & Groom's Arrival)

Pengantin plus pelamin (Bride & Groom + Wedding Dais)

Luxurious lunch plate (^_^)v

L-R: Sambal sotong (Dried cuttlefish in spicy sambal), Udang goreng (Fried prawns), Daging masak kurma (Beef kurma), Acar (Cucumber + pineapple salad), Ayam goreng (Fried chicken)

Regarding our luxurious lunch plate (since we had a representative from all of the popular picks in animal kingdom, excluding fish) -- the hosts, who helped in putting the dishes onto our plates, insisted that we have everything to taste. Not that we mind really. . So. . o-k~!

1400++
We started our journey back, starting with going to a nearby mosque to perform the Zohor-Asar prayers before proceeding onto the road, heading back to Putrajaya.

However, there was a request from one of the team members (whose nickname resembles a fast-food chain), that we stop at one of the roadside stalls selling Cendol Pulut. And so we did.

Somewhere in Lekir, overlooking the paddy fields under the cloudy sky

View from the Cendol pulut stop

Serving dish

Cendol Pulut (Cendol = dessert consisting of coconut milk, a worm-like jelly made from rice flour with green food coloring, shaved ice & palm sugar; Pulut = glutinous rice)

1840 - Arrived at P11 (we could have arrived earlier if not for the slight traffic jam encountered)

Then all us split up, headed home accordingly, and each arrived safely. Alhamdulillah~

Thanks girls for a great trip! Looking forward to double-celebration in the east coast ;)

- Selamat Pengantin Baru Puan Yus & Mr Hubby En Zul -
[Moga sentiasa dibawah lindungan & kasih sayang Allah hendaknya]

S for Swirls

2010-10-17T15:41:00.001+08:00

Brought these mini apams to a potluck gathering with my friends:

They're in little bitty bite-size (similar to the size of the raya cookie called Suji).

Pictured above is a swirly motive, but you can easily play around with other shapes & colours.

Made these with blueberry filling inside ~ soft & squishy!

Octo Babies

2010-10-08T18:10:00.003+08:00

Made the American Choc Cake displayed below for my friends -- three of them who happened to be celebrating their birthdays close to each other, namely:

4 Oct - Baanu
5 Oct - Dila
7 Oct - Fida

American Choc Cake

American Choc Cake + one of the birthday girls

Apparently Fida had successfully distributed the cake to *every-one* at that side of the office.

But too bad Baanu was on leave that day to prepare for her trip to India. Next time k akka ;)

p/s: This could just be my forgetful mind talking, but the cake cutter has yet to reach me no?

Love(s) of My Life

2010-08-24T21:13:00.002+08:00

Introducing. . .

Cheesecakes! :D

I'd be lost without them ;) And please, known rule-of-thumb -- no counting for calories ok =p

This time it's Baked Oreo Cheesecake's turn for the spotlight~

You see that obvious crack at the single cheesecake slice?

It's because I've already dissected that piece with my fork before thinking about capturing it on camera, LOL.

Anyone want to bake cheesecakes?

Don't forget to send some to me! :D

Red Bean Dumpling

2010-08-23T20:25:00.002+08:00

a.k.a. pau kacang merah

Dumpling sounds like a bit of a weird substitute for the word 'pau' kan? or is it just me?)

These treats are very simple to make ~ it's somewhat similar to bread-making in a way; and they're perfect for tea break =)

Other variations normally found for the filling include chicken curry, sardine, sweet kaya, or even coconut. But since we have the red bean paste at home, red bean it is~ ^_^

Bring Me Into The Light

2010-07-16T21:04:00.002+08:00

Says the chocolate cupcakes topped with choc buttercream and choc ganache~
(the picture brightness pretty much explains everything, don't you think?)

Apparently these cupcakes, along with another chocolate cake, went traveling in a car to go down south of Malaysia.

Thank you lala ^_^

Pink Favours

2010-06-10T20:18:00.001+08:00

When someone asks me to make a batch of cupcakes in an adhoc request, I take a couple of things into consideration.

And when all those criteria seemingly fall into place, a box of cupcakes like the ones you're seeing down below might just be what greets them in return.

Thanks for trusting me DiDi -- dealing with you is terribly easy. Glad I could be of help ^_^

Code Name: 9490

2010-03-16T23:57:00.000+08:00

Isn't she the cutest thing? Brightens my day with a kilowatt effect~ ^__^

And the Best Surprise Award goes to. . . the BLA duo that gave me this 3 days in advance. Very the terharu, as you'd have already known ~ thx dear(s) ^_^ And I told you that I'd frame it and keep it in a box kan, so here goes ;p

Every prayer uttered is a wish yet to be granted. And mine will do so, one by one, because of all the great people surrounding me, making my success. So really, thanks to all of you ^-^

May Allah bless each & every one of my silent angels, here and thereafter.

Bulk-y Cookie?

2010-03-14T23:26:00.001+08:00

Buat bulk order for cookies in the weekend, as a condiment for a friend's wedding, resulted in this:

Gambar lepas dah masuk bekas butterfly tu terlupa nak snap, sebab tuan punya order yang settlekan packaging. Lalala~

Arigato Ajishu, & congrats for your wedding to (now-Mrs) Maya ^_^

Marble Cheese Brownie

2010-03-09T22:04:00.003+08:00

My only note: Next time slicing a cheese-y dessert, kindly wipe the knife with a warm towel before the next cut. Or, this is exactly how it'll look like in a pic ;)

Carrot Eye Walnut Brain

2010-02-26T10:56:00.002+08:00

People often say that carrots are good for the eyes & walnuts are best for the brain. Wallahu'alam.

I'd say that anything with C.H.E.E.S.E spells out brilliant for me ;)

This particular cake recipe contains around 3 cups (more or less 9/10 grated carrots) to make (do excuse the sloppy-rushed dabbing on the top).

Bakes for a deep, rich colour.

Hopefully the person who requested for this cake found peace at last ;p

And while we're at it,

[ Salam Maulidur Rasul 1431H ]

-mudah2an kita semua akan lebih lagi menerapkan sunnah Rasulullah SAW di dalam kehidupan seharian, insyaAllah-

Stress Reliever

2010-02-16T23:38:00.002+08:00

I haven't been to any sort of baking stuff gathering/class in a while (no thanks to the hankering things around me, & my work, among other reasons) but a little over a week ago, I went for another class with Kak Lynn (and that's around approx. a year after I joined in the first class with her, hoho!), which is only available for ex-students.

I can happily say that I was 1 out of the 9 who made it to the first showing of this type of class (^_^)v

It was actually a lot more of a knowledge sharing session than it was ever a formal class. And perhaps that's part of the why it was good fun to be in. The atmosphere was a lot more relaxed as well, as some of us there already knew each other beforehand (and the fact that we have been under the direction of our beloved teacher before is another key-plus integrating factor).

And as all of us would know, anyone can bake (kan? final taste not considered la tapi ;)). However, it's really the littlest of things -- like a specific technique, that extra lift, a supposedly 'secret ingredient', or a kitchen tip, etc2 -- that makes the difference between one dessert & the other, even though all of them originated from the same recipe.

Someone asked me this question a couple of times before:

"Awak tak pergi kelas pun dah boleh buat kek semua kan. Resipi kat internet pun banyak. Kenapa nak masuk kelas lagi?"

True, I can, without having to go.

But. . . a lot of people underestimate the things which a good teacher can teach. Only those who learn and understand them would appreciate. And, no matter how advanced technology appears to be, there are certain things which are best conducted in person.

Besides, when it really comes down to it -- it really is my time spent, my money, my enjoyment to fulfill, and my knowledge to gain, ain't it so? =p

Anyhow, if you're wondering what were we up to on that Sunday, these might hint a clue:

Therefore, to Kak Lynn & friends whom I met on February 7th 2010 ~ thank you all for the great time! Wishing everyone the greatest success & may all of us meet again sometime, insyaAllah ^_^ (and to the ones taking down the contact details ~ do drop a line & keep in touch!)

Salt vs Sugar

2010-01-27T18:42:00.002+08:00

A friend of mine loves this phrase:

Have a unique character like salt,
its presence is not felt, but
its absence makes things tasteless.

To which I always say to her in reply:
"You be salt, I take sugar ~ I'd prefer sugary to salty" ( 'o')
"It's called an a-na-lo-gy. . Be-lah whatever you want. ." (-_-' )
"Sugar it is then!" (^o^)/

Perhaps it's fitting for many of those prepping to fly away ya~

No overloading on salt/sugar-content though, I don't want any of you peeps to go on high blood pressure or diabetic on me ;)

StrawberryChick's Strawberry Cake

2009-12-02T13:13:00.003+08:00

This is simply to say:

Happy birthday Hazirah! \(^o^)/

You turn 7 today my dear!

May Allah bless you always -- we love you kiddo! =)

Ok2, I'll treat you for your birthday ya~

p/s: By request, (finally) made that strawberry cake for her but not today for this occasion. Fresh strawberries on the side and topped with a dollop of cream~

Adik: "Best cake ever~"

Me : "You say that about anything with strawberry =p"

November Rain

2009-11-24T21:25:00.001+08:00

(Blog-post title has absolutely no relevance to the actual entry at all ~ just reminded of the song all of a sudden. And it *is* November still. . )

The batch in the first picture, I received on the very same day I was supposed to bake cupcakes for someone else. Normally kena buat untuk orang. Ni orang bagi untuk kita? Serious? Eeek!

Sangat terkejut bila dapat message kata ada cake delivery for me addressed to my house. Surprised and somewhat confused. Berkali dah check calendar event kalau ada anything.

Excluding my baking project, memang tak expect anything else.

Dah, siapa pula yang terlebih rajin hantar kek to me ni?

Nak kata April fool, it's November. Nak kata my birthday, dah lama lepas dah.

So, kena la tunggu until package arrives at my house - thanks Wati for the personal delivery ^-^

So, Cik Ikan, arigato gozaimasu!
(Lain kali toksah terlebih rajin spend duit ke ctu k ~ simpan duit tu =p But thanks anyway my dear, it's a really nice, totally unexpected gesture ^_^)

As for the second pic, the trio in the middle went as a gift to Laila (sori ek adik, rezeki adik kamu dapat 3 large cupcakes only. Dah la tak deco pun ~ ampun2. Aishh. .). Laila yang comel nak bagi moral support for her sister who's sitting for SPM this year ~ good luck!

Meanwhile, the 16pcs cupcakes + chocolate moist cake went for a trip to Pahang, untuk Maya. TQ+congrats Maya! ^_^ She took it from me on Friday for an occasion scheduled on Sunday. Tak pernah2 ada orang minta gambar bola + logo Liverpool

(*cough*OfAllBPLClubs*cough*)

paired up dengan design yang dia nak ~ terkejut orang ;p

And ada a few cupcakes yang dapat ke tangan budak2 @ office the other day sebab ada a few leftovers, tapi sebab sangat malas nak frost, I simply topped them with chocolate ganache - ok la tu kan?

Btw, Q servicing is taking up *plenty* of my time these days, but that's fine - mudah2an ada keberkatan disebaliknya, a-meen!

Esok:

reboot -> new ~~moon~~ campus sightseeing -> meet old frens = yay! \(^o^)/

p/s:
Current seat map (for those who know):
Me @ Chan's ol place. Opposite me = Int. On her right = Wa. To Shi Shiang's left is Aida. Chan's right beside me. Yang lain2 as per usual. Tp, time mkn lunch still @ port lama, tak tau kenapa =)

Love, London.

2009-11-24T20:32:00.001+08:00

One a very fine Monday, after a long time waiting, this is what finally got into my mailbox:

For some reason, I was super excited to have it in my hands, and reading the contents ~ you can't help but laugh. Adik orang yang baca pun gelak sama.

Terharunya that the sender actually sent this!

My friend, kamu memang sengal ok. . =p

Yin, thanks anyway - it's very much appreciated ^_^

Three-In-A-Box

2009-11-13T18:42:00.002+08:00

Just incase you're wondering, no, those cupcakes weren't made by me ( -_-')

Miss shearizan, rindu kamu! (T_T)

Thanks for calling me today-
take good care of yourself k my dear ( ^-^)

And yes, work has been *crazy* - at times I have a few things to say but not the time to focus and write. Although, I can say that I've a couple of updates (with pictures) lining up.

Till then, "lalala~"

MNL for Manila

2009-11-13T18:24:00.000+08:00

Ok, this is clearly a backdated entry but like that matters (heh)!

I wrote this a long time ago actually. Not sure why I never came around to actually publish it =S

Btw, Miss Lim Ee Lin, you better be reading this post -- the entire thing is about you =p

Pagi-pagi hari, on the fourth day of Eid, dah dapat call - from out of nowhere, ada orang dari jauh (that orang translated as a current generating-statistics-related-to-football-operating-from-overseas employee) nak makan rendang. Fine2, luckily time Raya and ada stock still at home. Kalau tak, confirm kita keluar take-out kan Ee Lin kan? ;p

She was actually back here for a friend's wedding (in S'pore) but sempat juga dia singgah Johor sama and then back to KL and then back to Seremban before jetting off at a little past midnight from the time I met her.

And as a matter of fact, Ee Lin did say that she'll be coming back again for a week in early November (for her mum's birthday ~ anak baik ni ^_^). However, with the cutover craze and all, this piece of information totally escaped me. Ampun Ee Lin ampun! +(=_=)+

Ee Lin, give us all a buzz every once in a while & take care dear!

Evidence to support theory a.k.a. "proof of existence"

p/s: Finally dapat serah plaque belonging to her (berapa zaman la kena tlg simpan ~ gomenasai!)

Almond Cookie, meet Royal Icing

2009-10-04T18:21:00.000+08:00

Kalau nak ikutkan, I've never really been a fan of cutout cookies (maksudnya biskut yang kena terap), simply because I was never rajin enough to roll out the doh and bla3.

And in regards to icing cookies, I'd never go for royal icing finishing if the cookie was for normal makan2, because royal icing, as opposed to normal icing, tends to dry up and harden really fast. That and the decorating technique is slightly trickier (ie. wet on wet, border vs flooding, etc).

Needless to say, if you, like myself, like to work at a snail-like pace, this type of icing can end up fairly frustrating to handle.

However, I must admit, they make for cute gifts come the right occasions.

And the event was a friend for a friend's engagement item.

It was heart-shaped cookies with a white/pink color combo for the initials/deco.

Time buat cookies untuk Aida's doorgift the other day, tak sempat nak snap pics. And nak jadikan cerita, time buat untuk Wawa last Thursday pula tak teringat nak snap photo. Dah siap package dalam see-through case with the ribbons lagi. Aish. .

So, terpaksa lah adopt the leftover cookies dengan icing yang tinggal sikit, baki dari yang tinggal from her order (which would explain the all-white one layer comot icing (-_-') )

Tapi ada cerita dengan icing tu sebenarnya -- the first time bancuh icing tu, tak sukat barang siap2 (sengaja cari pasal, I know). So, with my mixer on beating the egg whites and me adding icing sugar bit by bit, baru perasan there was no lemon in the fridge. Then again, jangankan yang fresh, lemon juice pun nowhere in sight.

I thought I was dead meat.

. . .

Royal icing = Egg white + Icing sugar + Lemon juice

Itu kalau ikut resipi Kak Lynn ~ the one I made for Aida.

Nak keluar rumah pergi kedai, dah malam sangat -- it was sometime around 10++.

Wajib ke ada lemon tu, you ask.

In this case and recipe, wajib, because they're all to be mixed together and beaten. For that technique, acid from the lemon is required -- kalau tak, tak jadi icing - blob campuran macam fondant ada. That was what happened to Batch #1, whose bestfriend that night was the dustbin.

So my Ops Geledah Almari started -- tengok barang apa ada dalam cupboard. Luckily Mrs Cornflour ada. One other option -- kita go with white icing ala Mama Carries.

On mixer again, whipped up 2nd batch. Alhamdulillah kembang macam icing. Cumanya, icing macam ni is a bit runnier than your royal icing. But no choice, pandai2 la~

My surprise finding was that I like the taste of it better than the one with the lemon. Because paired with the almond cookie, I thought lemon was competing with the almond taste. In this case, they match up well together.

Not so good news - terrible consistency for piping, so initials yang Wawa nak tu chubby sikit, because the mix spreads a little.

Lucky me, I think Wawa liked the end product -- domo arigato!

Lalala~

Heart-shaped cookies with white icing

p/s: My 1st ever PNR migration @ 6 AM @ weekend -- breakfast buffet included k~ (^_^)v

Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

2009-10-03T17:30:00.004+08:00

More commonly, people divide brownies into 2 major categories, namely:

Cake-y brownie (texture closer to cake -- soft & fluffy)
Fudgy brownie (texture = dense & heavier, top is often cracked slightly)

Brownies are normally slightly denser/richer than the average cake and is dependent on the sugar content in the mixture. And no, it's not like a muffin either.

The only pantang larang for brownie-baking that I know of is to not over-bake, because if you do, you'll end up with a dry brownie, which is not nice to eat =S

I generally prefer cakes over brownies (not quite sure why) but for a once in a while baking project, it's a nice change. I've made cakey brownies before, so this most recent brownie-attempt @ Raya '09, I went for a supposedly fudgy brownie.

And I tell you, it really is fudgy.
Fudgy as in goo-ey fudgy.
High sugar content & very chocolaty indeed.
Very much different than cakey brownies.

However, I must say, this is not for the faint-hearted.
And I suggest you only take 1 or 2 slices at a time.
Otherwise you'll turn into a Yahoo! emoticon - "S u g a r h i g h"

I think 1 slice is enough to wake you up in the morning since at that point of the day our sugar level is lower (*cough*excuse*cough*)

Unveiling the end product. .~

Sweet Things

2009-09-10T22:55:00.006+08:00

The only ones from the recent times which I've managed to grab a pic of:

-Plg latest: Blueberry Cheesecake @ Merdeka Day ~ thanks Aida!-
(wrap-around the cake on top tu so that driver x spill blueberries while driving~)

-(L-R) Thank you to Lily, Ina, Wawa, and Laila!-

Some others I didn't snap ~ sebab kalut sangat. Aishh. . ~(+_+)~

. . .

Anyway, we're now into the final third of Ramadhan ~ the finish line is nearing. So peeps, if previously we've just been jogging, let us all make an effort to now up the sprint.

Diriwayatkan daripada Abu Hurairah R.A. daripada Rasulullah SAW bersabda, maksudnya:
"Segala amal kebajikan anak Adam itu dilipat-gandakan pahalanya kepada sepuluh hinggalah ke 700 kali ganda.
Allah berfirman:
"Kecuali puasa, sesungguhnya puasa itu adalah untukKu dan Aku memberikan balasan (pahala) kepadanya, (kerana) dia (orang yang berpuasa) telah meniggalkan syahwat dan makan minumnya kerana Aku."
(Hadith riwayat Muslim)

And, if we're lucky enough, we might just meet the jewel of Ramadhan, insyaAllah.

Dari Ibnu 'Umar ra, katanya Rasulullah SAW bersabda:
"Carilah malam qadar itu pada sepuluh malam yang akhir bulan Ramadhan. Jika kamu lelah, maka janganlah dilewatkan pada tujuh malam yang masih tinggal."
(HR Muslim)

Power up! (^-^)/

How Do You Take A Call?

2009-08-25T18:29:00.002+08:00

Imagine your handphone ringing with your favourite ringtone, right about now.

You pick up your phone, see the all-too familiar name of a loved-one popped up across the display screen.

So now think along with me.

How long does it take for you to run your thumb over the 'Call' button and answer?

{. . . }

Surely you answered with something just now didn't you? (in your head counts too!)

But before you answer, let's play simple switch-up.

Switch the ringtone with the sound of Azan.

Change that loved-one name displayed on your screen to Allah SWT.

And your response time to pressing that 'Call' button and picking up, is how fast you attend to Solah.

Does your answer remain the same with the first scenario I gave just now?

If yes, Alhamdulillah ~ only Allah can reward you with the greatest gift in due time.

If no, praise be to Allah still, as perhaps now you're triggered to make your current 'world record' even better than it is.

Don't mind me with my rambling ~ take whatever good you feel you have gained and leave all the nonsense aside.

It was just something that crossed my mind on the first night of terawikh @ NY last Friday.

At that point in time, terasa sebak pula waktu azan dilaungkan untuk solat Isya'.

How often do you contact your loved-ones in a day?

Sayangnya Allah pada kita (yang sedihnya most probably lebih kerap tidak bersyukur daripada mengucapkan syukur, lebih kerap lupa daripada ingat, lebih banyak lalai daripada taat), so much so that He 'calls' us 5 times a day, at the same period of time, *every* day and without fail, from the start of our birth up until the day we get buried six feet under.

Kita angkat call ke, delay time pick-up ke, ignore or reject ke, His calling stands.

So now tell me, how do you take your call?

~*~

My sincere apology to anyone I've hurt (however that happens), unintentionally or otherwise; and may the many blessings of Ramadhan fall upon us all, InsyaAllah.

Abu Hurairah r.a. berkata, Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda; “Apabila masuk bulan Ramadhan terbukalah pintu-pintu syurga dan terkuncilah segala pintu neraka manakala sekelian syaitan dirantai dan dibuka segala pintu rahmat.”
(Bukhari & Muslim)*

*Taken from himpunan hadith harian JAKIM @ http://ii.islam.gov.my/hadith/hadith1.asp?keyID=669

Simply Sensational

2009-08-06T08:22:00.005+08:00

What is?

Syaaban! (duh!)

So kids, if you feel cheated because of the title, I'd say "Do I look like I care? Erm, no." (~_~)

And feel free to breeze elsewhere, but you wouldn't be losing a cent should you continue reading.

Onwards -- as I'm not in a mood to write, let's extract from useful articles (here here!) ;-p

So what's so 'sensational' about Syaaban, you ask.

Some others scream: "Mega sale!"

. . .

Right. . .

So anyway, let's make it a 3-point turn of good things which (has) occur(ed) in the month of Syaaban~

Pertukaran arah kiblat
- From Baitul Maqdis to Kaa'bah
Prior to this, a story that follows:

Baginda SAW bangun pada setiap malam menghadapkan mukanya ke langit menunggu-nunggu wahyu daripada Allah. Sehinggalah Allah mengurniakan dan merealisasikan permintaannya seperti dirakamkan di dalam al-Quran:

"Kerap kali Kami melihat engkau (wahai Muhammad), berulang-ulang menadah ke langit, maka Kami benarkan engkau berpaling mengadap kiblat yang engkau sukai. Oleh itu, palingkanlah mukamu ke arah Masjid al Haram (tempat letaknya kaabah); dan di mana sahaja kamu berada maka hadapkanlah muka kamu ke arahnya."
(al-Baqarah: 144).

It corresponds to firman Allah SWT:

"Dan sesungguhnya Tuhanmu akan memberikanmu sehingga Engkau reda - berpuas hati." (al-Dhuha: 5)

Sidenote trivia:

Abu Hatim al-Busti berkata:
"Orang-orang Islam solat mengadap ke Baitul Maqdis selama 17 bulan 3 hari. Rasulullah datang ke Madinah pada hari Isnin 12 Rabiulawal dan Allah memerintahkan mengadap ke Kaabah pada hari Selasa 15 Syaaban."

Diangkat amalan

Ketika Usamah ibn Zaid r.a bertanya kepada Rasulullah SAW tentang sebab kesungguhan Baginda SAW berpuasa pada bulan Syaaban, Baginda SAW menjawab:

"Ia adalah bulan yang sering dialpakan oleh manusia, di antara Rejab dan Ramadan. Ia adalah bulan diangkat segala amalan kepada Rabbul 'Alamin (Tuhan semesta alam). Saya suka amalan saya diangkat ketika saya berpuasa". (riwayat al-Munziri)

Ditentukan umur

Pada bulan Syaaban juga ditentukan segala umur, iaitu dizahirkan takdir tersebut. Namun perbuatan Allah itu tidak terikat dengan masa atau pun tempat.

Rasulullah SAW bersabda:

"Sesungguhnya Allah mencatat pada bulan Syaaban bagi setiap jiwa yang akan mati pada tahun tersebut. Maka aku suka ajalku datang kepadaku ketika aku sedang berpuasa". (riwayat Abu Ya'la).

Oleh yang demikian, Rasulullah SAW paling banyak berpuasa pada bulan Syaaban kerana itu, Syaaban adalah bulan berselawat ke atas Nabi SAW.

Pada yang suka meneroka sanad hadith, I've found that the hadith excerpted in point 2 is grouped as 'sahih', meanwhile some scholars have regarded the hadith excerpted in point 3 as 'maudhu' (lemah). Jadinya, baca guna akal & mata hati ~ rajin lagi, sila google sendiri. Sekian, harap maklum.

The point across this post is that Syaaban is the month of entrance before the arrival of Holy Ramadhan.
The ultimate gift of Ramadhan is the purification of the heart of soul.
And for any deed, preparation is important.

Macam kalau nak buat kek, kena sediakan bahan dulu. Baru mudah prosesnya. Kalau tak prepare bahan dulu and 'make it up as we go' pun boleh, cumanya nanti berserabut la time baking.

Same simple logic applies here.

Therefore, to maximize our profit in Ramadhan, let's wipe the slate clean in Syaaban.

Mudah-mudahan amal yang baik akan berkekalan bukan sahaja untuk dibawa ke Ramadhan tapi all-year long, insyaAllah.

-Yang baik itu dari Allah SWT dan yang buruk itu dari kita sendiri. Wallahu'alam.-

-Salam Nisfu Syaaban 1430H-

Nisf (Arab def): Setengah/separuh

**For a full-on read, 3-point turn section was originally extracted from:
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0803&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Bicara_Agama&pg=ba_02.htm

Thinking of fasting?

2009-08-02T09:47:00.008+08:00

Hari-hari yang disunatkan berpuasa dalam Islam*

Diantara hari-hari yang disunatkan untuk berpuasa dalam Islam adalah seperti berikut:

Puasa enam iaitu puasa yang dijalankan selama enam hari dalam bulan Syawal.
(puasa ini dilakukan sehari selepas 1 Syawal sama ada secara berturut-turut atau tidak)
Puasa awal bulan Zulhijjah dari 1 haribulan hingga 8 haribulan Zulhijjah.
Puasa pada Hari Arafah iaitu pada 9 haribulan Zulhijjah.
Puasa pada 9 haribulan Muharram.
Puasa pada Hari Asyura iaitu pada 10 haribulan Muharram.
Puasa dalam bulan Rejab mengikut kemampuan berpuasa.
Puasa dalam bulan Sya'ban kecuali pada hari syak iaitu 30 haribulan Sya'ban.
Puasa pada tiap-tiap hari isnin dan khamis.
Puasa tiga hari pada tiap-tiap hari bulan Qamariah.

And suppose if you kids need a refresh on the order of bulan-bulan Islam, here goes:

Muharram
Safar
Rabiul Awal
Rabiul Akhir
Jamadil Awal
Jamadil Akhir
Rejab
Syaaban <-- currently we are H.E.R.E ~ in 1430H!
Ramadhan
Syawal
Zulkaedah
Zulhijjah

Hari-hari yang diharamkan berpuasa**

Hari Syak iaitu hari yang apabila ia ragu tarikh sebenar Ramadhan (30 Sya'ban).
Ini berdasarkan hadith dari Ammar bin Yasir r.a yang bermaksud :
" Sesiapa berpuasa pada hari syak, sesungguhnya dia telah menderhaka Abu Al-Kasim (Muhammad) s.a.w."
Hari Raya Aidilfitri dan Aidiladha iaitu 1 Syawal dan 10 Zulhijjah.
Ini berdasarkan hadith dari Abu Hurairah r.a yang bermaksud :
" Bahawa Rasullullah s.a.w menegah berpuasa pada dua hari iaitu hari raya fitri dan hari raya adha "
Hari-hari tasyrik iaitu 11, 12 dan 13 Zulhijjah.
Ini berdasarkan hadith daripada Imam Muslim dalam sahihnya daripada Nabi s.a.w yang bermaksud :
" Hari-hari Mina merupakan hari-hari makan dan minum juga hari mengingati Allah s.w.t "
Ulama' Mazhab Syafii berpendapat adalah haram berpuasa pada separuh akhir bulan Sya'ban yang mana ada di antaranya hari Syak melainkan mereka yang biasa berpuasa sepanjang tahun atau bagi mereka yang berpuasa pada hari tertentu seperti hari Isnin dan Khamis yang puasanya berkebetulan dengan hari selepas 15 Sya'ban atau puasa nazar yang tertanggung ke atasnya atau puasa qada' atau fardhu ataupun puasa yang bersambung dengan puasa selepas Sya'ban dan puasa sebelumnya walaupun satu hari sebelum 15 hari Sya'ban kerana berdasarkan hadith yang bermaksud :

" Apabila telah tiba pertengahan bulan Sya'ban, janganlah kamu berpuasa " (Riwayat Ahmad)

Mazhab Hanbali dan mazhab-mazhab lain tidak berpegang kepada hadith ini kerana ia da'if menurut pendapat Imam Ahmad.

Sumber : Fiqh Islami wa Adilatuh - Dr. Wahbah Zuhaili

This post is just a point of sharing, since I sometimes get asked with:
"Hari sekian2 boleh puasa tak? Sunat kan? Ke haram?"

Counting down to Ramadhan 1430H ~ let's get prepared! \(^-^)/

- For each and every good thing which we acquire ourselves to do, may Allah bless us all ^_^ -

*taken from: http://soaljawab.jais.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=252&Itemid=85
**extracted from: http://soaljawab.jais.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=85

Special Delivery

2009-07-27T18:50:00.002+08:00

Got this in my inbox this morning, with the same subject as the title for this post:

You Made It!!!

2 Years and Counting!!

Hehe..

Emi, thank you so much ~ you're so sweet la my dear! (^_^)

Happy 2yrs++ anniversary to you too k \(^o^)/

Jadinya. . :

h a p p y 2-y e a r s a n n i v e r s a r y

to all my (relevant) Satyamites (ke Techies?) colleagues -- (the ones still surviving that is!) with a special shoutout to Batch ELTP11!

Wherever the future may take us, may it be to a further joyous & more fulfilling destiny (^-^)

p/s: Sorry kids, since baru je dpt buka OWA after all the work was done, tak dptla nk forward the email (bcos surely you guys buka esok je kan? =p) -- sama je rite? It's the thought that counts! ;p

MU Asia Tour 2009: Malaysia XI vs Manchester United

2009-07-26T14:32:00.001+08:00

(Warning: If you don't like football, or Manchester United FC for that matter, stop reading right now)

Salam all \(^-^)/

Disebabkan dah kena bebel sebab dah half a year (serius?) x update, yours truly update la now k =p
(Side note: Can't really blame me now ya ~ bila dah kena penangan DOC, IET and now Enrich, after office hours balik rumah mana ada nak on computer sendiri dah ( # '.') )

So, anyone who knows me well enough would know that at some point I'm gonna talk football or MU-related stuff. Well, wait no more, the moment has arrived ;p

The trip to this event went far back -- we bought the tickets on the 1st day of pre-sale period, which was May 22nd (a friday ok ~ dedicated ke tak ni? *peace2*). And finally, after almost 2 months of waiting, the day finally came.

We (meaning my sis, my first couz and myself) went out at around 3:30pm (because he finished work @ 2:30++) in which my couz drove up to Bandar Tun Razak and we hopped onto the LRT for 3 stops before arriving @ Bukit Jalil to see these guys live in action (^o^)/

(Side note: The day before we went to the stadium by car to watch their training session -- around 30-40K ppl were there ~ so apa lg, jam teruk -- hence naik lrt on matchday)

Sangatlah packed dengan manusia stadium tu. . Luckily we had numbered seats, so tak payah nak datang awal to book good seats (mcm kawan adik yg dtg pukul 1pm -- match started @ 5:30). That, and we all duduk right next to their stairway, so, keluar masuk tak kacau orang (^_^)v

View of the stand right opposite ours (entrance via Green Gate, I think ~ ours was Red) -- penuh kan?

Both teams lining up prior to match (FIFA fair play flag joining in)

So no, I'm not gonna review the match, but surely everyone knew we MU won 3-2 (courtesy of Rooney, Nani & Owen) and again securing a 2-0 win in the 2nd re-match (*batuk*NasibBaikDiorangBagiCan*batuk*)

However, some interesting findings of the day:
-Since match starts @ 5:30, we all went out for solat @ surau (P) dlm stadium @ 4:50 -- ada la around 30++ ladies there. Hopefully the rest of the peeps in the stands did their round too.

-Attention Liverpool fans:
Do not, I repeat, do N.O.T, come to an MU game wearing a Liverpool jersey (common sense ain't it? Apparently not~ ).

Sebab apa?

Ada la satu abang ni (yg duduk a couple of rows behind us, mind you), tak tahu la silap beli tiket ke confused ke apa (erm, pakcik, Liverpool dtg Bangkok+S'pore je ye, bkn M'sia), datang in his Liverpool jersey, tak pasal je kena "Boooooooo!!~" macam 5 minit or so by the fanatics. Dia tak buat apa pun. Selamba je buat bodo, haha. .

Solution?

Bawa jersey Man U sekali!

Not kidding ok.

Another bro also pakai jersey Liverpool. And dia pun kena boo tapi dia ni bijak sikit la. Tengah2 org start boo dia, he held up his hands mcm kata: "Kejap2x!" before reaching out for his MU jersey and held it up in the air, all smiley, as if saying: "Friends, I come in peace!" Dan2 fanatics cheer!

Haha. . Memang kelakar. Manusia macam2 perangai~ (",)

-Lps Amri Yahya score, ada sekelompok nasionalis spectators a bit further up on my right, in the spirit of Harimau Malaya, bangun nyanyi:

Inilah barisan kita,
Yang ikhlas berjuang~

And diorang nyanyi the entire song sampai habis tau. We all senyum je. Ok. . Semangat sungguh~ ( ' o ' )

-The most rooted for players on the pitch malam tu was probably Rooney, Owen (boleh tak?), Giggs and Scholes (although, it goes without saying that every time an MU player gets the ball, crowd went wild).

-Oh, and if you didn't know, Man U also unveiled their home kit for season 09/10 on our very own turf @ Bukit Jalil. When they marched into the field ~ darn proud moment!

The guys in the new home kit -- black 'V' chevron across the chest

-So match ended @ 7:40++ but with prize-giving bla3 and the waves of manusia serbu LRT right that sec, we decided to chill so off we went for Maghrib @ surau nurhidayah @ luar stadium, pusing2, makan aiskrim before finally got on board @ 9pm. Yup, you read that right. .

If you follow their Asia Tour, again they won with 3-2 scoreline against FC Seoul last Friday (this time the team looked a lot sharper, especially in their passing, as compared to when they played M'sia).

And tonight United'll play their last match in Asia for this pre-season tour, against Hangzhou Greentown FC before heading off to Germany to play in Audi Cup. Then, Valencia CF awaits in OT before our title defense kicks off against Chelsea for the Community Shield.

2009/2010 BPL match #1 -- 16 Aug -- Manchester United vs Birmingham

-G l o r y g l o r y M a n U n i t e d

a s t h e R e d s g o m a r c h i n g o n, o n, o n !-

p/s: How I wish I was there in the stadium in 2001 to watch my all-time fav ~ 2 0 L E G E N D
Thank you SPM for denying me that luxury ~(-_-)~

Tagged #005

2009-02-07T06:23:00.004+08:00

This time by Miss Natni & her PIC (partner-in-crime, mind you), Cik Ding Dong~

(ya2, sy update la ni =p)

~*~

Intan
-manja (lalala~)
-suka menukar cara orang kebanyakan mengeja perkataan-perkataan am =p
-ada tendency utk pakai stokin yang bright in colours and cheerful

Didi
-antara pemandu berhemah yang sukar utk dijumpai di dunia high-tempo drivers sekarang
-hobi kesukaan adalah untuk pose dengan tema-tema yang tidak dijangka =p
-kalau tengah blur, tak payah la explain, memang akan stay blur, huhu~

Hobbies/facts about me
-Fact: 1st out of 7 siblings
-Hobbies: Banyak. . Baking = salah satu di antaranya (when I have the time, that is)

Nomination
-The ones I want to tag semua dah kena tag ~ how? :S
-So, anyone yang nak kena tag tp belum di-tag, sila leave a comment -- I'll consider ;p

My Note
Sorry guys (and girls too! =p), memang tau dah lama tak update, but DoC memang ada virus yang menyebabkan malas untuk update. That, and the next time I do update, it might be from somewhere unexpected. Lalala~

Take care everyone! ^o^

p/s: Kak Fida punya tag on-hold dulu ek (even though dah berzaman) ~ I'll do it when I get the time, insyaAllah.

Cupcake DC #2

2009-01-31T22:04:00.001+08:00

I've been meaning to meet Kak Lynn for *ages* and finally I got to meet her ~ yay! \(^o^)/

Kak Lynn: "I want you girls to learn that even with soft-textured buttercream, with the right technique, you can still come up with a sharp finished design."

Indeed that's what she taught us to do. She's delicate in the handling of CCs ~ meticulous as well as a perfectionist (it's highly likely to do many3x rounds of practice before actually getting the final 16 on the cake board, but it was worth it). Learned many nozzle tricks which are not displayed here, even. And I :heart: the rose-like swirl!

Kak Lynn, thanks for everything (and for responding to my mail queries even now, huhu~). Hopefully I get to join your other sessions in the future as well, insyaAllah.

Blueberry Bonanza

2009-01-24T21:39:00.001+08:00

When you have both cream cheese and blueberry filling in the house, match them with a stressed-out head awaiting release ~ this might be a possible result:

Excuse the filling yg mcm nk melimpah keluar ~ in-house dessert tak kisah sanga rupa, janji rasa puas hati (^-^)v

Adik: "I like this. Especially the blueberry. I *love* blueberry!" <-- What dessert doesn't she love, can you tell me? =p

However, if you don't like tartles and still prefer cakes, the image below might help. This is the outcome of one can of blueberry filling (as can be seen below), dripping off (or stuck in between) on top of a slab of whipped cream that coats a vanilla-flavored sponge cake.

Blueberry = very berrylicious (^o^)/

Splitsters

2009-01-18T21:43:00.004+08:00

16 large pieces of chocolate CCs with buttercream split into 3 boxes.

Hope you girls liked it ^_^

Cupcake DC #1

2009-01-11T20:43:00.002+08:00

Session with Kak Lea ~ it was great fun altogether. Thanks Kak Lea ^_^

Going Vegan vs PB Craving

2008-12-16T22:00:00.001+08:00

At least for 1 bite of this cake, all of its consumers were vegan (take note of the phrase 'at least'). And by vegan I mean no egg content.

How this hoopla came about, you wonder eh?

Say thanks to Kas, who is vegan (she gives the greenlight to milk, but eggs are off limits), for jumpstarting the need for me to venture for a vegan cake recipe.

I've been meaning to do this since forever, since I've baked cakes several times for QE team before but she never got to share the joy (because duh, most cakes include eggs in them), so, I've been thinking to do one which she'd be able to chip in. And ta-da! I found one in my mom's book. A no-egg cake, my to-be-tried-and-true try for the day.

Risau juga buat kek ni. I was thinking of how it would be able to rise without the egg. .
That was actually #2 in my priority list.
#1 was its taste.
Takkan nak serve as a gift something I myself can't get down -- right?
Then I flicked the book's cover, before I laughed ~ it wrote "Bestseller!"
Well. . it better be!

Choc ganache which I've made countless times for the topping pun boleh jadi issue all of a sudden. Blame me for my 'generosity' while pouring in the cream ~ choc layer got to be a bit more mellow than usual, which is not ideal for decorating purposes, as it doesn't set as firmly as it should (picture's proof), but tastes just as equal (if not better) than it did in the past.

I think.

I was pleasantly surprised -- the no-egg cake was actually quite nice (it's better than some eggy-cakes as well). The cake is somewhat thicker (dense) than an eggy-cake and some of the others said that the cake was void from "egg smell" (don't ask me about this as I've yet to understand this part, hoho!). It didn't quite fluff up as the regular cake would, but it did rise well nevertheless.

And I bet, had I never mentioned it, the omnivores would never have guessed it was vegan ;p

Next up, let's talk cookies.

In Cookie World (not Cookee, ok wawa =p), peanut butter and chocolate chip are best friends. Well, they are in *my* Cookie World anyway. . .

When I think of peanut butter, my mind kinda goes back to my kiddy times, for some reason. It's the same syndrome which has made PB tagged as comfort food by many.

And I'm regularly not PB-obsessed (jenis yg boleh makan satu sudu PB alone, straight from jar) but at this point of time, it's a nice change from pure sugary stuff, like a choc chip cookie, which it does resemble visually.

A medium-sized PB-cookie-filled jar sat on my desk in the morning.

Yes, you know perfectly well how this one turns out ;)

The day has yet to end, but cookie jar filled no more.

-Happy to share my one jar of small happiness with you guys (at least the ones who came to my desk fast enough to take a bite, that is ^_^ )-

Backtrack

2008-12-15T23:46:00.003+08:00

Entry backdated to December 9th 2008.

These 16 large cupsters were Baanu's gift to Sree, for her Dec 7th date, but since it was a Sunday and the day after it was a public holiday, this package came to greet on the next working day, which was Tuesday.

Cheeky Ms Baanu actually sent Sree this box of cupcakes with a message -- "from a secret admirer". Kesian la Sree habis akal memikirkan possible candidates for the list. Alih2 cupcake sender yang punya scheme rupanya. . Pandai betul Cik B =p

As usual, deco+colours were up to me ~ time to play with colour combos (^o^)/

I came across the design idea while I was watching tv (though now I can't remember how that helped ~ erk!) & happy with how the pieces came together.

Hopefully the 'end-users' agree (^_^)v

Thanks Baanu & wishes of happiness for Sree ^_^

Dine-In

2008-12-12T21:42:00.001+08:00

Anyone else want to join in?

Ingredients for Macaroni Salad (right in pic)

Macaroni (rebus ikut packet instructions)
Chicken frankfurters (rebus)
Purple cabbage
Celery
Carrots
Mayonnaise
Salt, pepper, oregano

Intan, original recipe kena mtk Ijan, dia yang punya idea ~ my version was made ikut the things I like (and what was inside the fridge ;) ) The veggies were all uncooked and hiris nipis (ikut la size yang senang untuk makan). Oregano is optional -- orang letak because it was already in my spice rack. Kalau tak silap Ijan letak hirisan ayam (udang pun boleh, kalau suka) dsb.

From a coleslaw-like side dish, add in macaroni and protein -- there's your healthy full meal!

Ijan, arigato! Intan, slmt mcuba! ^_^

Eid al-'Adha 1429H

2008-12-08T14:45:00.003+08:00

Brought these to Tok's house ~ choc ganache topping with simple buttercream, for a hint of colour.

I should've snapped a picture of the cupsters on the 2-tier display stand at the dining table as well kan? (-_-')

~* Happy Eid everyone (^_^) *~

Shengri Kuaile

2008-12-04T09:03:00.002+08:00

Peace be upon everyone who's reading ^_^

Haven't been visiting my own blog in a while~ *peace2*

Today I'll just share my joy with others ~ do-able ain't it?

Presenting, the seventh and youngest kid in the family, who turns a year older every year on December 2nd:

-Adik @ car, on the way to school (morning session, sekolah agama)-

-Adik @ Ihtifal (primary school pun blm, tp dh convo ~ bravo2!)-

When she was born, I was a 1st year student.

[021202]

I still remember the day -- I was walking to class (Pendidikan Agama) with one of my housemates, mid-day, and just before entering class, my phone rang. My dad's nick flickered on the screen. My mom has safely delivered -- it's a girl.

And the first time I saw her at the hospital, when the nurse strolled her in and left her in the room with us, I took one good look and noticed her puffed up Mandarin-orange-like cheeks.

Adik then = ( -.-) [sleep 20 hrs per day]

Memang confirmed adik sendiri (all of my siblings have that trademark cheeks ^_^)

In the past, for half a decade, her growth encapsulates my learning years.

Now, six years have gone by.

Next year she'll be off to Standard One for both sessions of the day.
So, that means no more tadika in the morning and Smart Reader in the afternoon.

And instead of sleeping 20 hrs daily, she's running around ragged, tengok all sorts of cartoon, sing along to Disney+PHDC, main internet games, play Polly Pocket and spends time drawing. Not forgetting the fact that she can't take much of spicy food, loves cheese, eats rice only when the urge comes (which would mean once or twice weekly), crazed about pink like there's no tomorrow, and, if you watch AFC, her fav is 'Sugar' (^o^)/

Adik rajin ramble about her day and her friends, asks us to help her with her homework and knows how to get what she wants (very smart in having us buy her things without actually forcing us to $_$ ). But all in all, my family is undoubtedly a lot merrier with her in it ^_^

So my dear,
happy 6th to you and many more to come in the promising future, insyaAllah (^-^)/

-xiao haizi, on Tuesday night with her cake-

That's enough for now on my baby sis, I think.

And to close the curtain, sempat chuck in this picture masa browse pic Adik td. Food talk.

This was May May's order on Monday ~ she was craving for choc moist with heavily infused choc ganache topping, similar to the proportion I made for QEdge's cake sometime back. She basically pesan for only one thing and one thing only, which was:

"Choc tebal2 ya *tambah icon mata bsinar2x*"

Memang la tebal choc tu kalau I pakai 3 quarter of the amount I normally do for a cake twice the weight, hoho! Arigato ne ^_^

Other baking projects haven't been edited. Jadinya, kalau rajin, ada. Kalau tak. . . lalala~

Balancing the Reds

2008-11-20T07:03:00.004+08:00

-Assalamualaikum warahmatullah-

Greetings earthlings! ^_^

Separa forcing myself to update blog right now (that and catching up on various virtual ramblings which I've missed these past few days).

Kind of funny how time seems crammed when we have things lined up for us to do, ain't it?

Yet, the same 24/7 time allocation could feel so slowly (un)moving on certain days, when we don't direct our time to good use.

Then again, each of us born into the world are already entrusted with a straightforward task weighing on our shoulders ~ so how still we manage to feel time is more than tasks to perform?

~(+_+)~

Nevermind, set aside my rambling ~ below is the CCs made for Ina (friend of my repeat customer and wedding favors biz woman, Ms Aida A).

Adhoc's in the title because it was so when I got the order -- considering her request popped up less 12 hours before its delivery time. Tapi bila memikirkan niat yang meng-order nak bawa balik makan2 dengan family (and sebenarnya ada rezeki dia sebab barang2 dah siap ada dekat rumah), mungkin sebab tu, Allah mudahkan urusan.

Her request was: 36 minis, colours of red, pink & white, design "bunga2" & the 8 names

These mini CCs went traveling all the way up north to Kedah. Hopefully they survived the journey unscathed.

To Ina & Aida A ~ xie xie nimen \(^-^)/

"I like having to juggle in balancing my time than having it leisurely spent." -Yours Truly

Road Block

2008-11-14T20:31:00.000+08:00

Assalamualaikum peeps,

Lately macam makin banyak benda kena block ~ isn't it? =s

Anyway, in the midst of chaos, just thought I'd take some time to post this:

Repeat order from Ee Lin for her mum ~ thanks Ee Lin & happy birthday Auntie ^_^

I was trying to do a really thin crumb coating of the icing because Ee Lin request moderate icing (since yg nak makan tu mostly veterans ;) ) except for the 4 with the swirls (that's for her yang sangat suka icing, of course =p). It's a freestyle design, mcm biasa, since Ee Lin will always normally just bagi the message to be displayed ~ rest is up to me (^o^)v

Barisan tiga serangkai ~ rightmost and topleft went to my sister's office. The remaining five in the downleft corner stayed at home ^_^

Hope all of you have a great weekend and an even better week to come =)

Cheddar Cheese Journey

2008-11-10T19:16:00.002+08:00

What would you do if this happened:

One fine day when you brought home a 2-piece cheese bun (leftover from lunch). . .

Adik: "Sedapnya cheese bun. Ada lagi tak?"

You : "Dah habis. Nanti kita beli lagi k."

Adik: **angguk**

And the next day when you went back to the shop, the bun was out. You came back home empty-handed.

That evening. . .

Adik: "Cheese bun ada?"

You : "Tak ada la dik. Nanti kita buat ek, insyaAllah. Adik boleh makan banyak sikit."
Adik: (sad face) Ok. . .
You : =s

Well. . . if you happen to be me and you have all the ingredients needed at home (and the interest to try out breadmaking, of course), this is what you'd get:

Welcome my first-ever Cheddar Cheese Bun, fresh from the oven!

Memang tak susah sebenarnya buat roti ni, cumanya I waited for the weekend to attempt it. And like everything else, buat roti pun ada petua, which was also my only hurdle in making it.

Mak: "Nak buat roti, better buat siang2 hari. Kalau hari panas lagi elok, yis cepat naik."

Well, the day I made this, hari memang steadily mendung. Aish. . .

But takkan nak tangguh lagi ~ kesian pula kat si kecik tu, hari2 tanya pasal roti cheese.

So, with a bag of patience, I went forth and had to wait quite sometime for the yeast to rise. Twice, as that's what the recipe said. And I actually have bread improver at home, but since the recipe only called for bread softener (which I've already inserted) and it was my first try, better not mess with the recipe. So . . . I waited and waited until I was happy enough with the puff and chucked it inside the oven.

All things considered, I'm quite happy with how it turned out ~ Adik was sound and happily eating. That, and the entire thing was finished in an instant (mana taknya, panas+gebu bila keluar daripada oven and thanks to the other peeps at home). Excellent for breakfast or tea time I'd say ~ makan dengan air panas ^o^ Ayah pun suka sebab ada cheese+not too sweet.

Next time perhaps I should try the sweet bun pula. . . Lalala~

Now, the recipe (I got this online, x ingat dari site mana), as requested by Miss Nazrah:

~*Cheddar Cheese Bun*~

Ingredients:

300g All purpose flour (that means tepung gandum biasa ~ if sifted lagi bagus)

120ml Milk

1 tsp Instant dry yeast

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Bread softener **Optional**

60g Castor sugar

1 Egg

50g Butter

60g Cheese (shredded ~ I used Cheddar)

A little bit of sugar (to be sprinkled on top)

How to:

1. Add flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and bread softener (if using) in a bowl.
2. Mix well, add beaten egg into the milk.

3. Then, slowly add in the egg and milk into the dry ingredients.
4. If the dough is too wet stop adding the liquid in.
5. Add butter and continue kneading until a dough is formed.
6. Cover dough with a piece of damp towel until double in bulk (about 40minutes).
7. Divide dough into small portions of 60g each and shape each into a ball.
8. Place onto a greased baking tray & cover it (till double in bulk).

9. Brush bun with egg wash and sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on each bun.
10. Lastly, sprinkle some castor sugar on top of each bun.

11. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 10-15minutes or until lightly browned.

My thoughts/tips:
-Step#1: I suggest you mix everything but the salt first. Dah mix every other ingredient, baru add in salt. Why? If the yeast directly gets in contact with salt semata2, yeast mati. End of story. Or so I was told. . .

-Step #4: I didn't really know when is "too wet" so I ignored this and poured everything anyway.

-Step #5: If you're wondering, kneading just means to stretch out the dough on the surface and lenyek2 dia macam nak buat roti canai. Do it for a few minutes. The better you do the kneading, lagi comel the yeast will rise up when the dough bakes. Want more detail? Google! =p

-Step #6: Let the dough rest properly. Yeast will mengembang. Like my mom said, warmer climates = better+faster result. Seriously.

-Step #7: You can use the scale, but boleh agak2 kalau tak rajin nak timbang. Either way is fine.

-I used this recipe because it didn't require the use of tepung roti a.k.a. bread flour a.k.a. high protein flour (which was not in stock at my house then) but supposedly roti kembang lagi cantik with bread flour (some people say roti lagi ringan), so maybe you can try that out and tell me k?

-Next time I attempt anything of bread-base, nak letak bread improver ~ I think it'd help.

Good luck! (^o^)/

One too many

2008-11-03T13:02:00.003+08:00

I'm wondering ~ what's with my coming-to-be habit of 'peram' gambar before actually taking them out for posting lately?

Disturbing behaviour. . .

Anyway,

This is a shot of the unfinished 20 minis+4 large cupsters for Miss Aida A (omit the vertical 4 minis in the middle as they're not in the package but only inserted to ensure that the others don't do a crazy lap while I was doing my driving). And I say unfinished because it isn't.

Aside from the 20+4, I had made along the requested 4 squares of white choc with 'Happy Birthday' scribbled on them (supposedly to rest on each of the large cupcakes) and a two liner icing scripting on plastic to be placed at the middle of the entire thing.

Can't imagine what I'm rambling about?
Well, the final look of the entire design rests in my handphone, if you're curious. But not here, gomenasai!

CCs in the leftmost pic belonged to: DD, Fida, Intan's Cupcake Deal (two), Baanu & Mahes. One of the choc ganache topped CC also went to Intan as part of her deal. So Intan has three! (^o^)/

9 pieces of medium-sized assorted CCs which were supposed to be on the way to my sister's office for fast sale but ended up at home because the kiddos kindly asked me for it, huhu. . Yela2, sila2 makan ek kids ^-^

p/s: Looks like I'm still talking about 'food' stuff. Aishh. . ~(T_T)~

Peas in a Pod

2008-11-02T22:17:00.002+08:00

When you're so used to bake for others and someone does it for you in return, it's always a flattering+humbling feeling.

Happy to be on the receiving side ~ with my nick stamped on it, no less, huhu. .

Arigato Nazrah ^_^

Cakes and Kathina

2008-10-28T14:00:00.003+08:00

It's a day past Deepavali public holiday here, so happy holiday for those who are still having them or happy getting-back-to-work for the rest of us ^_^

Time to publish some images which I've marinated for a weekend.

Lalala~

Brought this to QEdge's open house invi and baked another three in succession at the end of last week for three different occasions ~ wah, boleh tahan penat. Sadly, the other three I didn't get pictures of, so one would do fine ya?

A box of five for the kids at the office (the ones yang sempat that is) and another box of two for my lovely customer who also ordered these. . .

I made this the same night I baked the choc moist for QEdge. The request for 'Happy KathinaDay' to be spelled out in that order and placement as well as incorporating the colour orange. The rest was up to me. And for some reason, I thought the minis were extra bulkier than usual. Not sure if it was just me or my vision going bananas. Hmm. . .

Don't know what is Kathina Day? Well, you can always Google it up =p And I'm very glad to hear that everyone were happy with the cake ~ thanks Ee Lin! (^_^)

I've noticed kan, yang this blog is halfway from becoming somewhat of a foodie blog. Apakah la. .

So, in the next entry I can't talk about food is it? *thinks*

Tagged #003

2008-10-28T13:10:00.002+08:00

This post is courtesy of Miss Wawa, who not only enlisted me in her own blog, but also *darn* kind to remind me again by leaving a comment at my previous post ~ sabo je la =p

Here goes nothing. . .

~*~

1.Apakah benda yang paling penting dalam hidup kamu?
Benda? Since that'd be an object, it's gonna have to be -- my specs or
contacts (@_@)/

2. Apakah benda terakhir yang anda beli dengan wang sendiri?
A tiny bottle of 'dough softener' costing RM1.90

3. Dimanakah tempat impian perkahwinan anda?
At my house?

4. Berapa lama anda rasa hubungan anda akan berkekalan?
All beginnings and ends are only to His knowledge ^_^

5. Adakah anda sedang dilamun cinta?
Every day I am ~ thank you Allah \(^o^)/

6. Dimanakah restoran terakhir anda makan malam?
'My Dining Room' -- restoran ni very exclusive; my house je ada
(^-^)v

7. Namakan buku terakhir yang anda beli?
Stephen Covey's "The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness" (lama dah
ni. . .)

8. Apakah nama penuh anda?
Nur Hanisah Yusof -- after this kalau ada yang salah eja lagi. . . =p

9. Anda lebih senang dengan mak atau ayah?
Both. I go to them for different reasons and issues. Wo qin ai de fumu ^_^

10. Namakan seseorang yang anda ingin jumpa untuk pertama kalinya dalam
hidup anda?
I can't think of one right now.

11. Christina atau Britney?
Dah takde soalan lagi baik nak tanya ke? =s

12. Adakah anda mencuci pakaian anda sendiri?
Nope. Washing machine yang basuhkan. Penat mesin tu operate tiap-tiap
hari.

13. Tempat yang paling seronok anda mahu pegi?
Either Korea or Australia's Gold Coast ($_$)

14. Pelukan atau ciuman?
Not that I can't say, tp nnt tak pasal2 pula ada yang pk bukan2. .

15. Butirkan 5 perkara tentang orang yang tag anda

#1: Drives a black Ms Oval Myvi (registration plate consists of 4 consecutive odd numbers)
#2: Owns a big red heart (really)
#3: Has a cute undying pink rose on her table
#4: Loves dressing up (duh!), eating good food (double duh!), and
of course, shopping! (triple duh!)
#5: A huge softie who cherishes her friends & loved ones ~ so be her
friend and you'd know =)

16. 8 perkara yang amat saya gilai

(now2, 'gilai' is a strong word. but these would be the things I enjoy, in no
specific order:)
#1: TV
#1: Family time
#1: Bracelets
#1: Baking
#1: My grandma's pudding pisang tanduk
#1: Mak's cooking
#1: Cold drinks
#1: Desserts

17. 8 perkataan yang sering di ucapkan

#1: Lalala~

For the others you're gonna have to ask the ones around me ~ maybe they'd
notice.

18. 8 buah buku yang paling terbaru dibaca (magazines also can?)
Tak ingatla all 8 ~ refer la #7

19. 9 lagu yang boleh saya dengar berulang kali
Kalau asyik sangat repeat, muak juga nnt. So, I guess no one song I
can give this honor to =s

19. 8 perkara saya pelajari tahun lalu
Tahun lalu? That's 2007. And I only graduated come Sept '07.
What la asking me to recall events of a year back. . Aish. . .

#1: Completing FYP is not easy, not hard, yet daunting -- prioritize!
#2: When you set a goal, make serious effort to accomplish it
#3: Life has a way of turning out as how it wants to be, with or without
your consent
#4: My family will always be there for me, regardless
#5: Planning does wonders, in the long run
#6: Procrastination pays, now
#7: I quite like the intricacy that lies behind data security (not that I'm
good at it)
#8: Working life would more often than not be what you imagine it to
be

20. Mangsa tag seterusnya
Anyone in my list who has read this and feels tempted to be tagged ~ be my
guest ^_^

~*~

p/s: Amboi2 cik wa, kenapa la suka sangat main tag2 ni ek ~ penatla my dear =p

Eye candy

2008-10-23T14:13:00.000+08:00

Another send-off of longtime marinated shots.
Don't really feel like rambling nonsense now, so, visual feasting pun acceptable-la ~ kan?

Let's count.

1. . .

2. .

3!

This one sat in one of those hantaran trays (although this picture I snapped just of the cupcakes inside the decorated box on the dining table in my house), made for one of my best fwens for her recent engagement. Her theme was pink+white, hence the colour and the silver casing. That, and I've modified the image in which nama tunang orang dan tunangannya itu telah pun di-invi-kan for privacy. Congrats laling! \(^o^)/

The leftmost single cupcake, with sprinkles of pink sanding sugar falling like snow, is a gift to Ms Limeelin (who is crazed about buttercream icing, so made for her a 2-tier swirl with silver dragee on top). She said that the cupcake in the casing looks like "a martian in a UFO", haha. .

The 9 large pieces in the center my fifth-grader sis brought to her Saturday-school day to makan2 with her friends (nak hilangkan rasa malas sebab kena attend school function on a weekend is it?). Those were frosted using simple deco & leftover icing ala suka hati in 15 mins (because she left for school at 7:20am and I started at around 7am, huhu. .), except for the requested duo with alphabets 'A' & 'N'. Siapalah manusia2 itu agaknya ek Nur Aini? ('',)

And the rightmost consist of 4 cupcakes bearing the same design of the hantaran ones ~ for my engaged friend (or family members) to eat at home (since yang dalam kotak will be shipped to the other side).

The pics for the next post are actually already attached, but perhaps I'll wait until tomorrow to update k, considering it's already 13 minutes past end-of-lunchtime period.

Lalala~

Traffic lights

2008-10-17T21:01:00.000+08:00

Dropping by kejap to give these off ^_^

~*~

Yellow. . .

Red. . .

Green!

This one order untuk Raya dulu tapi tak nak theme raya
(boleh x? boleh je (^-^)v )

Yang ni makan kat rumah Tok @ Raya Day 1 ~
thanks to Secret Recipe's Choc Moist (I think)

Yang ni stock kat rumah sendiri courtesy of the leftovers from picture #1 above

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Therefore, as you can see, these are delayed pictures (considering it's halfway through Syawal). Dah lama dalam cam tapi tak sampai2 kat PC for posting. Finally made it here because ada a few more pics in line after today. Keep your eyes peeled je la ek.

Today marks the final day of examination for PMR-takers ain't it?

My dearest cousins Liyana & Shahirah:

~ I'm sure you girls have done your best -- g'luck! ^_^ ~

A bit worried after reading the case of a 14 year old school girls beating up their 27 year old lady teacher. Sure, cases macam ni aren't new. But itulah. . . mana hilang rasa hormat pada cikgu? And regardless of the offenses committed and who's right or wrong, mana pergi adab yang Islam dah outlinekan?

Teringat kata-kata one of the lecturers when I was studying:

"Kalau ingin meneka kekuatan bangsa kita di masa hadapan, nilailah barisan pemuda zaman sekarang. Dan kalau ingin melihat perilaku anak-anak bangsa di masa hadapan, lihatlah pada himpunan pemudi di zaman ini."

My quotes may not be 100% to the dot; it's just roughly what I remember.

So kids, looking at our present affairs, try and paint the canvas of our future --

what do you see?

Pit Stop Entry #002: Rainbow paddle pop

2008-10-14T13:44:00.007+08:00

-Assalamualaikum warahmatullah-

Ramai dah yang menegur suruh buang habuk2 sawang kat sini, huhu. .

A: "Eh boss, update2!"

B: "Blog kamu bilakah mahu di-update?"

C: "Cikgu dah lama la tak update blog ~ dah 2 minggu dah. . ."

Update la ni. . . (T_T)/

Sian pula ada yang sampai rindu2 nak baca my writing (ek ct? huhu. .) ~ xie xie ni men \(^o^)/

Actually masa time baru2 raya hari tu, dah start type draft dah, tapi fikir apa entah, jadinya sampai tak post2 sebab entry tu macam unfinished. And lepas daripada tu, kadang2 computer kat rumah tu dah memang ada keeper(s) dia (a.k.a. my siblings) yang stay on-guard depan monitor daripada malam sampai pagi. So, kekadang time tunggu turn sampai tertidur, huhu. . Tadi, percubaan pertama dah selesai, hence a post of my own thoughts now underway k ladies & gents.

But anyway, I actually haven't seen a rainbow in quite sometime.

And it must really have been quite sometime because I can't recall the last time I saw a rainbow.

But as I was driving back home yesterday, up on the flyover heading for Sunway toll, this huge paddle pop ice cream stood in the air.Me, looking kind of bewildered and somewhat awed, kept looking at the huge paddle pop (while swerving my car to the L-shaped corner, mind you) until a thought struck.

"My dear, that's not ice cream ~ it's a rainbow!"

**ding ding ding!**

Then, happily smiling, rasa takjub tengok cantiknya ciptaan Allah. So while I was repeating 'Subhanallah' for gazillion times, with my head trying to pusing and look at the back (because, like I said, I was turning the corner kan) where the rainbow still stood, had to remind myself to concentrate on the road. Rainbow tak rainbow, life is still utmost precious.

So you see, I was then thinking about this quote I've read somewhere before:

"Think big thoughts, but relish in small pleasures"

How I envy the perception I had when I was a kid. Macam kata trainer Java dulu, we are the smartest when we are a kid (so, does that mean that the spin of evolution has made us all dumb, Sir? Think for yourself la k ^_^).

Kids have a knack of viewing the world with such simplicity and honest truth. They tell you exactly what they see or how they feel. They don't play with words nor sugarcoat sentiments. And the most astounding aspect would be that they gain the greatest joy through the smallest things.

Something a lot of us adults lose as we age, realize it or not.

Why, I'm not sure.

Kata sesetangah orang, "hati sejernih air". And specifically I'm talking about kids below 7 years of age, a phase in which I believe to be their brightest peak. Within that period of time, do optimize a kid's learning as they will gulp it all in an instant without much hassle and if done properly, remember those values for an entire lifetime.

For me, tak payah tengok jauh-jauh ~ the youngest one in the family (she'll be 6 this coming December) is somewhat like those bubblegum machines (yang jual gula getah bulat2 tu), in which you can never guess the questions she would ask. Nor can you predict the intelligible answers she gives out when you ask her questions. Fascinating la the mind of a kid ^_^

**tiba-tiba rasa macam nak jadi budak kecil balik**

Balik ke sekolah untuk makan aiskrim roti 3 scoop, minum milo free daripada van milo yang datang sekolah, beratur ambil vitagen free bila lori vitagen datang promo, dapat berus dengan ubat gigi free (and berus gigi dekat paip air tepi longkang kelas) daripada Colgate macam yearly.

Apa lagi?

Makan sate ikan yang harganya 10 sen setiap cucuk after school. And of course, main lumba daun (daun pokok ok, bukan kad, bukan plastik aiskrim) siapa yang lagi laju redah longkang besar time tunggu bas nak balik.

Apa apa la aktiviti pandai time sekolah dulu kan =)

Kamu semua ~ what do you remember best about primary school? Main lompat longkang tak? =p

#1-- Actually ada gambar2 comel untuk tatapan umum, tapi tak ter-upload sekarang ni. Next entry la k, insyaAllah (ada la reason kena queue for computer usage at home kan? Hoho!)

#2-- Pernah rasa duduk dalam bilik sejuk beku for an entire 9 hours tak? Tepi cubicle intan ada kawasan mcm tu ~ boleh try masuk kalau curious (^_^)v

#3-- Teringin nak makan Classic Cheese, PV & BC's egg tart. Bila nak weekend ni? (''_)

#4-- Two entries in a day ~ dah ok la ni kan? ;-)

Ayat-ayat cinta?

2008-10-12T09:36:00.007+08:00

Salam.

Renungan buat semua,

“Kakak.. Jatuh cinta perkara biasa.

Apabila kita jatuh cinta pada seseorang, itu tandanya ada sesuatu keistimewaan pada seseorang tu. Apatah lagi orang yang kita jatuh cinta tu di atas jalan dakwah ni.

Tetapi kita kena ingat. Kita tak akan dikahwinkan dengan seseorang atas sebab jatuh cinta atau saling cinta mencintai. Bercouple mungkin. Tetapi bukan berkahwin.

Kerana kita berkahwin dengan jodoh kita, jodoh yang Allah dah tetapkan sejak azali.

Dan tak mustahil orang yang kita paling benci itulah jodoh kita yang kita akan dikahwinkan dengannya.”

Saya bertanya kepada emak, “Mana satu pilihan hati, orang yang sayangkan kita atau yang kita sayang? ”

Mak jawab, “Dua-dua bukan.”

Saya tercengang. Mak mengukir senyuman.

“Pilihan hati mak adalah yang sayangkan kita kerana Allah.”

Saya menarik nafas dalam-dalam.

“Macam mana nak tau orang tu sayang kita kerana apa?”

Mak diam sekejap berfikir dan kemudian tersenyum.

Rasanya mak dapat menduga apa yang sedang bermain dalam hati anak perempuannya. Mana mungkin saya mampu menyorokkan rahsia hati dari mak sedangkan sekilas saya pun mak mampu membacanya.

“Yang paling tahu hanya Allah.”

Mak merenung dalam-dalam wajah anaknya. “Kerana hanya Allah mampu membaca hati hambaNya.”

Mak menyusun ayat-ayatnya. “Dan keikhlasan kerana Allah itu akan terserlah keberkatannya tanpa perlu sengaja ditonjolkan oleh seseorang tu.”

Saya memintas, “Tak faham...”

Mak menyambung, “Cinta di dalam jalan Allah, bertemu kerana sama-sama mencari redha Allah.”

Mak menyambung lagi, “Begini, setiap insan yang bergelar manusia telah Allah ciptakan berpasang-pasangan. Rasa ingin dikasihi antara seorang suami dan isteri suatu fitrah. Automatik boleh ada daya tarikan magnet tu.”

Wajah saya merah, sedikit cemas jika mak dapat mengesan gelora jiwa muda ini.

Mak menyambung, “Setiap manusia telah Allah tetapkan rezeki, jodoh dan maut sejak azali lagi. Persoalannya ialah, siapakah jodohnya itu?”

Mak berhenti seketika. Saya tunduk malu, cuba menyorokkan rasa panas di pipi. Emak buat-buat tidak nampak.

Secret Admirer
“Kakak, mak dulu masa besar ada secret admirer. Rajin betul dia hantar surat. Masa tu mak dah tahu yang bercinta sebelum kahwin ni tak halal. Dan masa tu mak tekad tak mahu layan sebab mak takut arwah tokwan kena seksa dalam kubur.

Mak sedar mak anak yatim, anak orang miskin, adik beradik ramai. Mak nak belajar sungguh-sungguh.

Lama budak tu tunggu mak. Akhirnya mak bagi kata putus, mak hanya akan membalas cinta dia jika dia sah suami mak. Dan dia memang bukan jodoh mak, maka tak pernah dia menerima balasan cinta tu.”

Mak merenung jauh. Saya merapatkan badan kepada emak, semakin berminat dengan kisah lama mak.

“Mak memang tak ada perasaan langsung pada dia ke?” saya menyoal sambil memandang tajam wajah mak.

Emak ketawa kecil.

“Walaupun mungkin ada, mak tak pernah bagi peluang pada diri mak untuk mengisytiharkan perasaan tu. Mak takut pada Allah. Mak bukan seperti rakan sebaya mak yang lain. Mak, seperti kakak.”

Mak memandang saya sambil memegang pipi dan dagu saya. Kemudian tangannya mengusap rambut di kepala saya.

“Mak anak ustaz ustazah. Tapi zaman tu ustaz ustazah nya masih berkebaya pendek dan ketat. Tok wan mak kiyai. Mungkin berkat doa keturunan sebelum ni yang soleh-soleh, hati mak tertarik sangat pada agama walaupun tiada sesiapa yang mendorong.

Bila di sekolah, mak pelajar pertama yang bertudung. Mak membawa imej agama. Kawan-kawan dan cikgu-cikgu panggil mak dengan gelaran mak Aji. Sebab zaman tu hujung 70-an dan awal 80-an tak ramai lagi yang bertudung betul menutup auratnya. Zaman tudung nipis dan nampak jambul.

Kemudian kawan-kawan mak sikit-sikit ikut bertudung. Akhirnya kami semua dipanggil di perhimpunan. Kami dimarah guru besar kerana bertudung sedangkan ustazah kami bertudung tapi nampak jambulnya.”

Emak melemparkan pandangan ke lantai.

“Selepas tu ustazah jumpa kami secara persendirian. Ustazah kata dia tak mampu nak pakai seperti kami. Dia suruh kami teruskan.” sambung emak.

Ada getar di hujung suara emak.

Kisah silam perjuangan emak di sekolah dahulu sikit-sikit emak ceritakan pada saya. Itulah juga salah satu inspirasi kepada saya untuk bangkit semula setiap kali terjatuh ketika berjuang di sekolah dulu.

“Mungkin kerana personaliti mak, mak menjadi tempat rujukan kawan-kawan mak. Jadi, bila mak nak ambil sesuatu tindakan, mak kena fikir betul-betul sama ada tindakan mak tu akan menyebabkan Allah marah atau tidak. Mak ayah berdosa tak? Dan maruah pembawa agama terjejas tak?

Kalau mak membalas cinta si lelaki tadi, bermakna mak sedang menconteng arang di muka-muka pembawa-pembawa agama. Orang akan pandang serong terhadap orang yang bertudung sedangkan kesilapan tu hanya seorang dua yang buat. Besar fitnah akan timbul apabila orang-orang agama mengambil ringan batas syariat duhai anak.”

Mak menelan air liurnya. Saya diam. Fikiran saya sedang cuba memahami maksud mak saya.

Adakah ia suatu diskriminasi?
“Kakak.. Jatuh cinta perkara biasa. Apabila kita jatuh cinta pada seseorang, itu tandanya ada sesuatu keistimewaan pada seseorang tu. Apatah lagi orang yang kita jatuh cinta tu di atas jalan dakwah ni.

Tetapi kita kena ingat, kita tak akan dikahwinkan dengan seseorang atas sebab jatuh cinta atau saling cinta mencintai. Bercouple mungkin. Tetapi bukan berkahwin.

Kerana kita berkahwin dengan jodoh kita, jodoh yang Allah dah tetapkan sejak azali. Dan tak mustahil orang yang kita paling benci itulah jodoh kita yang kita akan dikahwinkan dengannya.”

Tiba-tiba air mata saya mengalir. Argh! Ego saya kalah bila mendengar hujah emak.

Emak meneruskan, “Allah itu Maha Adil. Dia tak pernah menzalimi hambaNya. Sesungguhnya, yang selalu menzalimi hambaNya ialah diri hamba tu sendiri. Sebabnya hamba tu degil. Dia mahukan yang bukan haknya, yang bukan milik dia. Mencintai seseorang tidak semestinya memilikinya.

Dalam Islam, kita dah diajar untuk saling mencintai antara satu sama lain seperti diri sendiri. Jadi apabila kita mencintai saudara perempuan, kita bebas peluk dia. Tetapi bila dengan lelaki, kita ada batas-batasnya.

Orang kafir kata batas-batas ini suatu diskriminasi, tetapi sebenarnya batas-batas syariat itulah yang memelihara kehormatan seorang lelaki dan seorang perempuan.

Cuba kakak renungkan, kita mengenali seorang insan yang amat baik, sempurna agamanya dan rajin. Lalu kita jatuh hati padanya. Ditakdirkan jodohnya dengan insan lain, kita pula dengan yang lain. Tetapi itu tidak bermakna ukhwah antara kita dan dia terputus.

Kita dan dia sama-sama mencari redha Allah. Kita dan dia masih boleh sama-sama bekerjasama untuk mencari redha Allah. Perbezaannya, dia halal untuk isterinya sedangkan untuk kita, dia tetap lelaki ajnabi seperti yang awalnya.”

Emak berhenti seketika.

Bukan luar biasa
Tentu kering tekak emak menerangkan kepada saya persoalan hati ini.

“Kakak... jadi di sini mak nak kakak faham, jatuh cinta bukan perkara luar biasa. Dan berkahwin pun bukan suatu jaminan untuk tak jatuh cinta pada lelaki lain. Kerana itulah ramai isteri yang curang, suami yang curang. Ada orang tukar pasangan macam tukar baju.

Apa yang penting ialah kita kena perjelaskan pada diri kita supaya setiap kali kita jatuh cinta, jatuh cinta itu kerana kita jatuh cinta kepada Pencipta dia. Kita bagi tau pada diri kita berulang kali yang kita mencintai Allah, kerana itu kita mencintai si dia.

Letakkan Allah sebagai sempadan hati kita, segala perkara yang kita cintai dan sayangi termasuk mak abah adalah kerana mencintai Allah. Dan apabila kita membenci seseorang atau sesuatu, beri tahu pada diri sendiri berulangkali yang kita benci sekian-sekian hal kerana Allah semata-mata.”

“Kakak... Hati kita ni walaupun dalam dada kita sendiri, ia tetap bukan milik kita. Kita tak mampu untuk mengawalnya. Hanya Allah yang boleh memegangnya. Sebab tu kita kena dekatkan diri dengan Allah. Sebab kita nak Dia pegang kukuh-kukuh hati kita.

Bila Dia pelihara dan masuk dalam hati kita, itulah nikmat lazatnya bercinta. Masa tu biarpun satu dunia menyakiti kita, kita tak rasa sakit sebab kita asyik dengan nikmat bercinta dengan Allah.

Bercinta dengan Allah sangat berbeza dari bercinta dengan manusia. Kerana tentulah pegalaman bercinta dengan lelaki kaya, rupawan, sempurna dan bijaksana tak sama rasanya bercinta dengan lelaki miskin, hodoh, cacat dan dungu. Betapa nikmatnya cinta Allah, hanya mereka yang pernah merasai sahaja yang mampu mengerti.”

Redha
“Kakak... Walau siapapun jodoh yang Allah hantarkan untuk kakak, terimalah dengan hati yang redha. Tak mustahil dia adalah orang yang kita benci. Kalau yang kakak sayang, tak jadi hal lah. Tapi kalau dapat yang kakak tak nak, lantaran kelemahan yang ada pada dia, ingatlah bahawa dalam diri setiap insan telah Allah ciptakan dengan kelebihan masing-masing.

Dan mungkin kakak ada kekuatan yang dapat mengubah si lelaki tadi supaya hidup dia bermakna dan mungkin kakak sahaja yang mampu mencungkil kelebihan yang ada pada dia.

Mungkin juga si lelaki ini ada sesuatu kelebihan yang kakak sangat-sangat perlukan yang satu dunia tak mampu bagi pada kakak.

Alangkah bertuahnya kakak kalau kakak mengerti setiap pemberian Allah dan belajar untuk bersyukur.”

Sekali lagi berjuraian air mata saya turun. Terasa lemah lutut hendak berdiri. Emak menarik tubuh saya dan memeluk erat. Pelukan emak sangat-sangat kuat.

“Emak dah didik anak emak dari belum lahir untuk mencintai Allah. Sekarang emak serahkan anak emak yang mak sayang sangat ni pada Allah untuk Dia pelihara.”

Emak mengakhiri kata-katanya dengan suara sebak dan air mata yang mengalir ke bahu saya.

~*~

I got this as an e-mail from my junior back in uni, entitled 'Cinta Luar Biasa' as its subject. Thought I'd post it here (sebab ramai sangat yang akhir-akhir ni kemaruk dengan novel & filem AAC, so maybe lebih mudah untuk appreciate writings mcm ni sekarang). And I believe you don't have to be anak "ustaz ustazah" in order to understand the meanings and advices which were given. Yang halal itu jelas dan yang haram itu jelas. Mudah-mudahan dapat menjadi peringatan untuk kita semua, insyaAllah.

The author is unknown (not sure if the girl who gave this e-mail to my junior were actually the original writer or whether it was case of forwarded routine) to me as of now. But if you are the actual writer, and you stumble across this post here and would like to be properly acknowledged, do drop a line and let me know.

Arigato ^_^

#1-- Tak pernah baca novel AAC. Why? Entah. Tak pernah tergerak nak baca (perhaps I'd blame that to its title). Last Malay novel I read was 1511H Kombat tulisan Faisal Tehrani -- meaning to say it's been a while since my last novel read. Lalala~

#2-- Ulasan AAC versi filem? Reserved. There are things I liked and disliked. Susah sebenarnya nak mengadaptasi unsur Islamik ke skrin besar, even ke buku. Banyak sangat yang sangkal itu ini. Hmm. . . Nevertheless, the messages to be conveyed by the author are of good intentions, which hopefully are to be appreciated and pondered upon.

#3-- Kalau nak tengok a real Islamic-infused film, I can suggest the latest one I've seen in this year, which was 'The Kite Runner', adapted from the same title international best-seller novel by Khaled Hosseini. The story sets in Kabul, Afghanistan, and it's pieces of many heart-tugging elements rolled under one narration. Without shots of sentuhan antara yang bukan muhrim (siapa kata kalau tak physically touching tak boleh nak emit strong emotion? alasan.) dan jauh lebih menyedarkan dari melekakan. It's not a light-hearted movie though, not centered on Encik A berkenan pada Cik B then ada masalah hati dan sekian2, which, for me, was refreshing to watch. The stars of the film are the two boys, who played their parts without a glitch and share with you the expressions which only a child can evoke. This one will make you think.

"Al-Islamu ya'lu wa la yu'la 'alaih"
-Islam itu tinggi dan tidak ada yang lebih tinggi darinya-

Swirl and twirl

2008-09-25T19:27:00.007+08:00

Yang tertera di atas ini adalah kompilasi cupcake pics yang selamat dibuat last Sunday (sebab the order was due the day after). Info berkenaan kekcawan adalah seperti berikut:

Base: Chocolate
Topping: Buttercream

As you might have already seen, cupcakes on the top left-most are the ones yang Pjo order, 36 mini-sized cupcakes, which was in line with his & Yaya's special occasion. You can read about their special event or take a look at the cupcakes here. Actually, Pjo dah lama booking my baking service untuk the event (a couple of months back, I think) dan alhamdulillah, ada rezeki dia. Bila teringat balik. . :

*flashback a couple of months*

[via Communicator]
pjo: nisa, cupcake yang macam tadi tu (makan dalam pantry) tu ada kamu buat jual tak?
me : ada. kalau kamu nak, and date tu tak clash, insyaAllah orang boleh tolong buatkan
pjo : ooo. . bagus2. nak booking dulu
me : booking utk bila?
pjo : sept
me : lama lagi tu
pjo : tau. xpe, nak booking je dulu k
me : baikkkkkkkkkkkk~

*end flashback*

Dan masa memula dulu, bila ditanya apakah occasionnya, ini kata incik pjo:

*start flashback*

[still via Communicator]
me : pjo, kamu dh nak tunang ek?
pjo : eh, xdela. utk birthday

*end flashback*

Birthday la sangat ek pjo, haha. . Tapi, pjo ni mmg sgt senang utk urusan dealing2 cupcake ni. The only instruction he gave me was to purely spell out each letter of the message he intended to give away. Yang lelain, colour, design dsb memang totally up to me -- which I find is the best way to get a cute end result, sbb I get to imagine what'd look comel on the minis and draw them out with icing!

And truth be told, I only first set the three colours to be used and where the letterings are to be scattered in a box. Design tu, I never knew, or rather planned, for it to come out the way it did.

One of the reasons why is that, for me, minis don't allow for too-elaborate of a design. Bcos dia kecik ~ a heavy pattern would be overpowering. I've learned from experience that simple is best when it comes to minis, cumanya kena interleave the corak here and there -- then it should be ok. Tapi kalau tukang order said to do "A, B, and C", heavy ke apa ke, if I can, i'll do it -- we try to give the kids the closest to what they want kn? (^_^)/

But anyway, ada rasa risau gak sekejap bila dapat freestyle hand-off gaya gini, sebab takut dia imagine output A tapi yang jadinya output B. Erk!

So, tak kira, kena drill sket to give me a hint, and finally dapat ayat di mana pjo kata "kalau colorful pun ok gak". So, set -- bagi dia bright colours, hoho!

~*~

What I like most in that order?

Suka tgk the boy+girl icons -- purely because of their hair, which yours truly susun guna choc rice, row by row, while waiting untuk masuk azan Maghrib, hoho! And the girl has a pink icing ribbon on her head. Ingatkan nk wat specs for the girl tp area cupcake tu limited, so. . . The final outcome, you can judge for yourself. Apapun, arigato pjo! (^_^)v

~*~

Lagi satu nak cerita, everytime I do an order, batter dia I'll make sure to be enough so that I have a few spare for budak2 kat rumah ni. Cumanya for them the cupcakes are in medium or big size wrappers ~ baru puas makan. And while I was happily icing the cakes @ dining table, my 5-going-on-6 year old Adik, nestled beside me and asked:

Adik: Banyaknya cupcake. . . Kakak nisa, siapa punya? ('o')
Me : (pointing to a round tray in front of me, filled with 30+ minis) Yang ni kawan kakak nisa punya (^_^)
Adik: (mata tak kalih pun daripada dulang tu) Semua sekali?
( __'')
Me : Yup, semua sekali (^_^) (like I don't know what she'll ask next, huhu. .)
Adik: (turn daripada dulang to face me, mata bulat tkebil2) Untuk dekat rumah tak ada ke? ('o')
Me : (laughing ~ macam mana la boleh tak gelak?) Ada. Nanti dah siap yang ni, I ice your cake k? (^o~)/
Adik: Ok! \(^0^)/

Dia nak cupcake dia ada gambar butterfly la itu la ini la. Ish3x. . Budak2 skrg blh thn demand =p Tapi tak kisahla kan.
Bila tengok Adik makan tak berkelip. . . (^_^)

As you can see, the first six icing ikut suka and for the remaining ones I had a mission:

- f . l . o . w . e . r . p . o. w . e . r -

That's how I ended up having one yellow rose, a couple of carnations, and a few tiered begonias.

FYI, kalau terasa nak org buatkn flowers mcm ni, I only do them on big sized cupcakes. Yg ni ideal, sbb ada ample space and ratio cake to icing berpatutan. Medium size blh juga, but sbb these flowers require a good amount of icing, so, if you feel like there's more sugary icing than there is cakey-flour, don't say I didn't warn you. Minis -- definitely not, kecil sgt for the huge flowers.

But still, mission accomplished! (^-^)v

~*~

My as-of-now toppers in to-do list:
#1 -- Tidy up my room
#1 -- Go get supply stuff
#1 -- Two more baking projects underway
#1 -- Make the most out of the (very) few dates left I have with Mr Ramadhan (T_T)
#1 -- Wallowing in sadness for the sooner-than-I-think departure of my beloved Ramadhan
#1 -- Round up the must-do but yet-to-do list

~*~

p/s #1:
Pernah tengok 'Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup' tak? Bukan2. Bukan versi hitam putih. Ni versi kartun M'sia di mana karakter2nya adalah anak beranak keluarga burung yang bercakap dalam loghat orang Utara. Kali ini pertaruhannya bukan telur ikan tembakul, tapi cacing tembakul yang digoreng oleh mak burung, huhu. . Siap ada sebut pasal Legolas lagi, haha. . Sila2 lah tengok ~ pendek je ceritanya dan boleh tahan kelakar la (thanks to my Adik a.k.a. tadika-goer sebab suruh kakak dia ni buka Youtube and type full form of BBBB -- mesti kakak dia yang sek. rendah tu yang bagitau suruh tengok kartun ni, hoho!)

p/s #2:
Lala Lels, kamu kepingin nak mkn cupcake ek? Kalau nak order blh, you can tell me that in a msg/email/bla3. Tp kalau setakat nk mkn satu dua, then kalau tunggu CS raya punya gathering pun blh, insyaAllah ^_^

p/s #3:
This is meant for anyone & everyone whom i've ever known and especially for those yang dah memang secara halalnya ataupun secara undergroundnya menghilangkan diri daripada cs bermula selepas end of office hours esok:

-selamat hari raya, maaf zahir+batin ^_^
sila pandu dgn cermat utk slmt sampai ke destinasi-

p/s #4:
Setiap seorang adalah digalakkan untuk membawa bersama mereka, sebarang juadah hari raya sekembalinya ke pejabat setelah seminggu berhibernasi =p sekian, harap maklum ^-^

p/s #5:
All the best everyone!

Tagged #002 -- K.B?

2008-09-25T18:34:00.006+08:00

Intan: "Nisa, jangan lupa pasal tag tu =p"
Me : Baikkkkkk. . ~ (T_T)

So, even though dah lama dah kena tagged. . . here goes nothing:

. . .
. .
.

-Bismillahirrahmanirrahim-

~*~

ANDA HENDAKLAH MENYEDIAKAN SATU UCAPAN BERANGAN

*rolls eyes*

Apakah la punya request. . .

Saya kan sebenarnya seronok tengok kawan2 lain masa mula2 sibuk2 kena tagged dengan benda alah ni tapi tak pernah pula pk akan di-tag sama (mcm x berapa nak 'kreativ' je =s) disebabkan oleh umur tapak sarang ini yang masih belum genap sebulan dengan jumlah post belum melebihi dua angka (post ni tak kira k). Tetapi, sesungguhnya rezeki itu datang daripada Allah SWT semata2, huhu. . (^_^)

Oleh itu, saya mengucapkan jutaan terima kasih kepada manusia2 yang meng-nominate-kan tapak sarang ini (kerana mereka berdua berkongsi sifat genetik yang sama iaitu pantang melihat makanan (atau/dan gambarnya)), iaitu pasangan datuk dan cucu, Miss Intan & Pak Ajiz (^o^)v

And that, ladies and gentlemen, signals the end of my skema-speech. Sekian, harap maklum.

Tapi kan, many thanks to everyone yang rajin datang jengah and even more rajin to comment ~ highly appreciated! May all of you be blessed ya, insyaAllah (^-^)/

~*~

It should be done according to the following rules:

1. The winner may put the logo on his/her blog. CHECK!
2. Put the link to the person you got the award from. CHECK!
3. Nominate 5 blogs. CHECK!
4. Put the link to the blog. CHECK!

5. Leave a massage, err, message for your nominees. CHECK ! CHECK! CHECK! CHECK! CHECK!

~*~

So, listed in no particular order, here are the nominees:

[Afida AN]
~ Link list dia panjang ~ suka tengok sbb sgt the meriah, huhu. . And she is what I categorizekan as a 'sempoi' blogger. Rajin update. Pastu tak tahan sebab dia asyik tulis 'ngeeeeee' =p

[CT Hid]
~ Almost every post dia ada gmbr dlm susunan yg sgt comel, random, tp nmpk teratur -- i loike2x. . Rajin update pun lg satu plus ^_^

[Lala Lels]
~ Adikku yg sepesen dengan kembarnya yg baru sahaja disebut di atas. Style serupa tapi tak sama. Also loves editing pictures & I like viewing her posted pics, so that makes for good combo ;)

[Intan Natni]
~ Manusia pertama yg btanggungjawab utk fasa ke-ada-an entry ni in the first place =p Her writings can mirror her facial expressions sehabis baik, haha. . Bagus2! ^o^

[Aziz JR]
~ Manusia kedua yg btanggungjawab utk kewujudan entry ni, so obviously nak drag dia sama saing dgn cucunya di atas. Cpt2 beli flash, rajin2 klik and makin rajinla update gmbr2 comel k ^_^

~*~

And truth be told, ramai je lagi yang boleh nak di-nominate and di-tag, but since the ones listed kat atas ni dah selamat pun buat entry memasing berkenaan tajuk yg sedang dibincangkan sekarang, senang kat everyone ~ takdela ada manusia lain yang bersusah payah dok kena reply tag -- aci kan? (^_^)v

Therefore, berakhirlah sudah kisah tag-menge-tag ini. So now cik natni tak blh dah nak remind2 org suruh fill up this Tag portion, sebab dah selamat buat ~ yay! =p

Private franchising

2008-09-23T06:53:00.007+08:00

Since semlm we all had a lesson in franchising, which also led to the introduction of Ray Kroc (he's the founder of McDonalds, mind you), I thought about my dad's favourite choice of food when he decides to have McD sometimes ~ it's their fried-then-baked apple pie.

Me myself, dah lama sangat tak makan McD ~ it's been more than 2 years (or has it been 3?) and I stopped going by their fast food chains while I was still in univ.

Why?
Ask me that yourself ^_^

So, in the spirit of apple pie, here's my take on homemade baked apple pie:

Intan+Fiza sempat merasa that batch bila orang pulang bekas Ms Natni, ye kan? They had theirs with (melted) whipped cream, but truly, I suggest that the next time you girls have apple pies, get it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side~ best2! (^o^)/

So this is only a quick drop for the (rushed) entry (sbb ada la cik akak ni dok usha blog berkali2 last weekend tapi still tak update2, haha. .) ~ sorry la dear, banyak benda buat last week. And insyaAllah I'll post another one in the very near future with some more pics k.

Toodle doo~

Nasi kerabu & lai chi kang

2008-09-15T20:05:00.006+08:00

Nasi kerabu was the menu for yesterday's break-of-fast.
Lai chi kang was there on the menu the day before.

Now2, when I see nasi kerabu, a few things comes to mind, especially during the fasting month. Let's see. . they are:

1. It's my best friend from uni's favourite dish ever (ok, maybe not *e-ver* but one of them definitely)
I had the chance to experience fasting in uni for 2 straight years, if I'm not mistaken, and this cik akak would end up buying nasi kerabu almost every time (if not everytime) when we make the trip to the bazaar. Until now, I've no idea what's her fascination with nasi kerabu (and don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's not good food since I do eat it occasionally & it's fine. I just don't crave it every so very often like she does.)

2. Trip to Kelantan for another one of my good friend's wedding
Pun makan nasi kerabu for breakfast (ok, that nasi kerabu is sedap). Tastes homemade. Which reminds me of the other plate of nasi kerabu I had in K.Krai backtrack a few years. Time flies, really. . .

3. Nasi kerabu (and nasi dagang occasionally) that me and my friends had for breakfast on Friday mornings when we had no early slot classes
Tempat nak belinya tak jauh from my uni (still naik kereta juga la, huhu. . ) and a few people have recommended, namely my junior and my lecturer. Finally this one Friday morning, we all managed to siap2, go there & buy nasi itu ini, air and kuih2 and headed back to uni, before berkampung at one of the girls' apartment and had breakfast together, all 7 of us. And after that trip, many more followed, on the same day of the week. Sekarang ni I heard nasi kerabu tu dah tak sama sedap macam dulu. Wallahu'alam.

Next up, lai chi kang reminds me of:

1. Mader Aini -- as it was her favourite drink back then, although some people thought it was mine (I prefer ABC to LCK actually, tapi, selagi mana dia sejuk. . . ^-^)

2. Malaysians' ability to make up new words, no thanks to various spellings of LCK available (kalau nak tolong eja, silakan, but which is correct, don't ask me =p)

3. Makan2 with my friends, senior sis' and even adiks2 @ countless locations (normally ABC+LCK will be there somewhere)

4. LimEeLin describing to me the imaginative rupa bentuk of sea coconut before it becomes jelly-like, used as one of the ingredients in LCK (which I still fail to understand, even now (^o^)v)

Basically, I was just thinking about the experiences I gathered in uni in the fasting months for that two years. Kena masak sama2, buka sama2, kelam kabut nak siap utk terawih sama2 & bla3 sama2. Maybe I'm thinking of all this bcos Team Destroyer buka sama2 @ SoHo maghrib tadi kan ~ hopefully you kids have a great time & tak lupa pd aktiviti susulan selepas makan, huhu. .

What are you kids reminded of ek come this time of the year? You think your friends think about the same things which you are reminded of ke tak? Hmm. . .

p/s:
#1 -- Two more weeks before Mr Ramadhan leaves (and he's leaving for a year, mind you) ~ snuggle up close in successive intimate dates with him while you can!
#2 -- The baby girl I talked about in a previous post, dah ada nama -- huan ying Nurin Khaira ^_^
#3 -- Wishing miss fida & mr city wan kembang a speedy recovery ~ aja2 fighting!
#4 -- Didi, nak samosa! \(^o^)/
#5 -- HCU vs HCI ~ serupa tapi tak sama? (and no, it's not Human Computer Interaction)
#6 -- "Dirtiest among seven nations" <-- Interesting NST write-up. See what you think.
#7 -- "The ISA was created by the British to be used against the communists. This government should be a government of law based on principles and rules." <-- An even more interesting quote from Datuk Zaid Ibrahim. Interesting doesn't even begin to describe the endless possibilities on how the future may unfold. Watch this space, folks.

"If you reveal your secrets to the wind,
you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees"
-- Kahlil Gibran

Sunglasses & Sunshine

2008-09-11T00:40:00.006+08:00

Today (yesterday kalau nak ikutkan) presents a good scenario to manipulate the saying:

"Everyday may not always be good, but there will always be something good in every day."

I can't, for the life of me, remember the author of that saying. Nantilah, bila teringat I'll let you kids know.

But anyway, rasanya hari ni Allah nak bagi pahala mudah, sebab Patience-O-Meter again turun naik macam fruit cocktail dalam custard jelly yg Aida bg (tq ^_^). Baikla fruit cocktail kena kepung dalam bancuhan jelly merah yang lebih padat ~ kalau xde jelly tu as outer set, alamatnya melompat keluar dengan gaya bebas la geng fruit cocktail daripada plastic container bila kena kacau dengan sudu.

Siapakah fruit cocktail? Mengapakah mereka berada di dalam tahanan jelly?
Apakah pula sebab untuk lompat tinggi versi Beijing?
Dan dari manakah datangnya sudu yang mengacau concoction tersebut?

Untuk mengetahui jawapannya, sila ulang tayang episod terbaru daripada drama bersiri 'DailyLara' yang dimainkan sepanjang bulan Ramadhan ini.

Frequency hopping will occur in, 3. . . 2. . .1. . .

*hop!*

My highlights of the day:

#1 -- Dapat tazkirah daripada Ustaz Abdullah Mahmood hari ni ~ thank you Allah!
#2 -- Makan homemade karipap by my grandma ~ seriously the best-ever karipap! ^o^
#3 -- Ma--

!!! Paging channel status: Active
!!! Command for incoming page received via paging channel
!!! Resource available? Affirmative. Traffic channel already raised? Negative.
!!! Allocating traffic channel. . .
!!! Converting digital signal into analog
!!! . . .
!!! . .
!!! .

"You've been tagged."

(+_+) : { . . . }

_First Time_

1. 1st time naik kapal terbang
Rasanya when I was 4 ~ pergi US of A

2. 1st time beranak
?!!
N/A

3. 1st time pergi overseas
Refer #1

4. 1st time duduk jauh dengan family
Kalau a prolonged period of time, univ level, so that was back in June 2002 (even then I still balik weekly every weekend, huhu. . ). Kalau kes2 g camping & bla3 tu tolak tepi la ek sbb byk.

5. 1st time kerja
Officially and related to IT: July 2007, di ofis seperti sekarang. Sekian, hrp maklum.

6. 1st time rasa gemuk
Apakah la. . Kalau tengok balik gambar, maybe Form 3 kot, sebab pipi bulat masa tu =S

7. 1st time bercinta
. . . Ni bkn P&C ke? Next! =p

8. 1st time rasa diri cantik
Aiseh. . . Masa budak2 dulu la kot. Xde pape sgt nk elaborate pun ~ next2.

9. 1st time masuk cinema
Tak ingat what year (primary school la tp) ~ my aunt+uncle brought my sis, my bro, me and my four other couz to go watch Ariel, The Little Mermaid. Pretty enamored la at that time.

10. 1st time admitted to hospital
Alhamdulillah, tak pernah perlu admission. Mudah2an Allah terus pelihara. A-meen!

Who I want to tag?
Tak payahlah susah2 -- ni pun sbb terbuka page laila (sabo je la). Besides, dah ramai sangat orang lain yang tag other people. And I respond as it is a light feed amidst a few other heavier subjects that had occurred today. Tapi kalau rajin, silakan.

"Out."

!!! Tariff channel calculating estimation
!!! Sending command over access channel for session termination
!!! Acknowledgment from base station received
!!! Traffic channels terminated
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!!! .

Nothing much to vent now really. Sbnrnya saja nak buat promotion of the new drama series -- aside from that semua jatuh dalam category commercial break, huhu~ (entry title from fida ~ nak sgt kan, haha. . related ke tak dgn isi topik -- wallahu'alam)

Ending with Ms. Natni's once-fav quote:

"Yesterday is history; tomorrow's a mystery; today is a gift. That is why it is called the present."

~*~

Today is 11 Ramadhan 1429H ~ moga hari ini lebih baik daripada semalam, InsyaAllah.

"Ya Allah, jadikanlah puasaku sebagai puasa orang yang benar-benar berpuasa. Dan jadikanlah ibadah malamku sebagai ibadah orang yang benar-benar melakukan ibadah malam. Dan jagalah aku dari tidurnya orang-orang yang lalai. Hapuskanlah dosaku wahai Tuhan sekalian alam. Ampunilah aku wahai Pengampun para pembuat dosa."

Hujan & Payung

2008-09-07T23:34:00.007+08:00

Lately, hujan rajin turun in the evenings kan. Semalam pun, masa nak head out for terawikh, hujan renyai2. Terasa malas nak keluar rumah pun ada. Tapi memikirkan perihal terawikh, ghauzatul fikr dilancarkan terhadap diri sendiri ~ tak boleh malas2 la cik kak. .

Alhamdulillah, syukur Allah izinkan ke masjid ~ hati jadi lapang lepas habis solat. Yang seronok tu sebenarnya, was seeing ramai lagi hamba2 Allah yang jalan kaki dengan payung menghala ke masjid. Seronok bila memikirkan masih ramai lagi hamba2 Allah yang sangat sayangkan tetamu bernama Ramadhan, dan gerak juga ke masjid ~ atas satu niat dan tujuan yang sama, lillahi ta'ala, insyaAllah. The guys and pakcik2 brutal yang duduk dekat dengan masjid redah without cover, no umbrellas whatsoever, huhu. . The ladies je yang rajin comel2 kawan dengan cik payung. Bagus2 ~ moga setiap langkah kepada kebaikan dibalas dengan pahala berganda. A-meen!

And me? Datang dengan BenGoT ^_^

~*~

Anyway, a week of fasting dah pun selamat langsung, isn't it? Tomorrow is a brand new day, the second week of Ramadhan, which means we're roughly three weeks away before Syawal greets and Ramadhan leaves. Terasa macam baru semalam Mr Penyimpan Mohor buat announcement untuk start puasa. . . Sedih tak?

Then, tunggu apa lagi -- kena makin rajin la dating dengan Ramadhan! Jom! (^-^)/

Extracted from khutbah Rasulullah S.A.W. menjelang Ramadhan:

"Ramadhan adalah bulan yang permulaannya rahmat, pertengahannya maghfirah (ampunan) dan akhirnya pembebasan dari api neraka."
[HR Baihaqi]

Today also marks 2 weeks from the recent convocation of my sister (and lots of my friends and juniors), now officially a graduate owning a Bachelor in Human Resource. So, to anyone and everyone who went through their convocation ceremony this year ~ congrats! You should be proud of your accomplishment & look forward to even more great things to come in the future, insyaAllah.

So here's another eye candy as a memento (dah lama dah tak buat buttercream roses) in remembrance of her convocation, which we brought to my grandma's house and ate with the big family (since some of my uncles and aunts and lil' nephews/nieces were there too for makan2):

-Convo cupcakes-

Flavour: Chocolate
Frosting: Buttercream, star-shaped candy, silver dragees, and combo of Cadbury+Crunch(i think) mortar board

August 31st vs. September 16th

2008-09-05T18:14:00.003+08:00

<-- Intan, this pic is for you ;-p

Objek di dalam gambar di sebelah kiri ini telah selesai dimakan oleh keseluruhan isi rumah sewaktu Malaysia ligat menyambut harijadinya yang ke 51 a few days back (^_^)v

Base: Choc Brownie
Topping: Buttercream + White Choc Rice + Coloured Sugar Sprinkles

Do excuse the lighting & the ikut-suka piping & sprinkling -- since it's for internal makan2 por mi familia, hilanglah protokol ke-fussy-an time nak cover the top portion (can you tell I was trying to habiskan the sprinkles stock? =p). Nasib baik Kak Pijoh tak nampak ~ sprinkle2 fav dia tu (^-^)

The best challenge was to actually work the sprinkles into forming 14 startips, which could easily be achieved if I decided to pipe using buttercream alone. Sprinkles were all sprinkly and sticky and scattered and it was yellow on a blue base so any hanky panky occurance, the sprinkles can turn into blue-coated ones. So, while 'rajinnya' membuat susun atur sprinkles satu2 for the edges, I was going like:

"What-was-I-thinking-with-the-sprinkles? Seriously!"

But. . I did plan to maximize the usage of the sprinkles, so. . no choice lor. .

Anyway, on to related stuff, isu holiday ke tak for 16/9 is never really an issue for the folks at our office, I guess. And that's due to the lovely PowerOn regulation we all abide to. 10 is the magic compound digit.

Yang faham, faham. Yang tak pun, it's fine ~ nothing major concerning you peeps anyhow.

Meanwhile, telecomm has started unraveling, going into a more-uncharted-territory section with so many long acronyms and non-existent graphics! My 3lbs brain is somehow easily susceptible to multipath distortion and interefence ~ eeek! (>.<)

Nanti kemudian2 org post gmbr2 lain plak k~

p/s: Miss Natni, thank you so much for the bread pudding ~ 1st time try very nostalgic tau, apatah lg bila share ramai2. And walaupun belum makan lg, insyaAllah mesti sedap! =)

Circle of life

2008-09-04T23:17:00.003+08:00

Congrats to my (non biological) sister, Mader Jan (and hubby, of course), on the birth of their first-ever newborn baby girl, who safely entered the world at around 6.25 am @ Putrajaya hospital, though (slightly more than) a month premature. The as-of-now-unnamed princess weighed around 2 kg when she made her debut. The entire family is ecstatic and both mommy and daughter are well off.

See you girls soon, insyaAllah ^_^

Let's end the post with an SMS I received from an unregistered (in my hp anyway) number:

"Wahai tetamu Ramadhan,
Untukmu rahmat & maghfirah.

Airmata taubat,
dendangan tadarus,
selimut terawih,
berbantal tahajjud!

Moga mewarisi Jannah. ."

A-meen!

Pit Stop Entry #001

2008-09-03T23:36:00.003+08:00

This morning my Patience-O-Meter got tested.

How?

Ask a lady driver who was busy painting her face when the traffic beamed a bright green and her unmoving car stayed still right in front of mine.

And she stayed still even when the car in front of hers was at least two and a half meter away

. . .

I was thinking of jamming my hands on the lovely small honking buttons at the sides of the steering wheel.

One second. Two seconds.

I didn't. Instead, I watched like a hawk straight at her rearview mirror. Lucky her there were no impatient lorry drivers at her back. Otherwise. .

Anyway, finally, after only-God-knows-how-long-those-seconds-were, she saw through her mirror, the multiple cars which were halted because of her self-centered 'moment of glory' and started moving.

At a rate of an inch per 1/2 a minute, mind you. . .

Again tempted to depress those little buttons.

Light still green.

Don't honk.

(Throughout my entire driving years experience, I try my best not to honk people if they're not endangering anything. That, or annoying others like this.)

If I see the slightest hint of yellow from those traffic light stands. . my subconscious mind will end up succumbing to a full-blast screaming fest, surely.

Lucky me, she started moving (slightly) faster (than an inch per half a minute rate). And I got through the turn with green still beaming. Praise be to God.

~*~

And actually, my little bundle of annoyance wasn't caused by the fact that her car was moving at a rate of a snail.

It was more because of the fact that her car was (not) moving when the light turned green and subsequently delaying other cars in line, on purpose, due to her diligent technique in face-painting and improper time management of self-preparation which made her attempt to sketch art on her canvas-like face at the expense of others at that precise period of time and still had the nerve to look at the rearview mirror with not an ounce of civilized guilt intact.

Macam the entire jalan as well as the traffic lights, dia yang control switch Red/Green. Kalau mati enjin, lain la cerita. But ni. . Aish!

They come off as if other people's time is less worthy and/or important than theirs. Jual ikan.

!!! ( +_+ ) !!!

Sabar2x . .

Therefore, moral of the story would be:
#1 -- Try keeping your Patience-O-Meter in Blue Zone as opposed to Red (no Green Zone)
#2 -- Istighfar does help in reducing the number of pain-heart bubbles inside your head
#3 -- *Move* your car when the traffic light turns G.R.E.E.N
#4 -- NO slow motion, elaborate face-painting at the traffic light intersection when you are the driver!

“Sesungguhnya puasa itu tidak lain adalah perisai,
apabila salah seorang di antara kamu sedang berpuasa
maka janganlah berkata kotor dan jangan pula
bertindak bodoh.
Dan jika ada seseorang yang
menyerangnya atau mencacinya
maka hendaklah ia mengatakan
sesungguhnya aku berpuasa,
sesungguhnya aku berpuasa.”
[HR Bukhari dan Muslim]

Long awaited love

2008-09-02T21:06:00.005+08:00

-In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful-

Today marks 2 Ramadhan 1429H; with the night being third tarawikh in succession.
Thought I'd share one hadith translation from Sahih Muslim to start off. It reads:

"Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: When there comes the month of Ramadan, the gates of mercy are opened, and the gates of Hell are locked and the devils are chained,"

[Kitab Al-Sawm (The Book of Fasting), Book 6, Number 2361]

Dan lagi satu dalam bahasa yang mungkin lebih mudah difahami:

Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. bersabda: "Tidurnya orang yang puasa tetap dalam ibadat dan diamnya dianggap tasbih dan amalnya dilipatgandakan dan doanya mustajab dan dosanya diampunkan."

[Riwayat Al Baihaqi]

Subhanallah.

May all of us strive our hardest to grab the best out of Ramadhan, while we still can. A-meen!

Por que

2008-09-02T18:32:00.003+08:00

Por que blogspot?

Por que no?

Ahora mismo, yo no saber.

Actually, I do know why ~ it's accessible from the PC statued on my desk at my cubicle =p

Besides, there's a saying which goes like this:

"If you can't beat them, join them!"
(in other words, I'm saying so many are chained into this!)

And the rest, as they say, is history. (^_^)v