OUR REARVIEW MIRROR

Kaftan for all sizes

2011-11-15T01:18:00.000+08:00

Kaftan #1- Yellow-Black polka (Short kaftan)

Nice to wear with Batek bottom or legging/jeans for casual
RM90

Kaftan #2 - Purple-brown (soft long kaftan)

Very very comfy especially when the weather is super duper hot. I personally LOVE this!
RM150

Kaftan #3 - White-gold (long kaftan)

Very nice kerawang, and whites are very suitable untuk attend funeral.

RM350

Kaftan #4 - dark green (3 quater long kaftan)

RM 350

Kaftan #5 - Black -red (long kaftan)

RM 350

Kaftan #6 - Hot pink-blue cotton (long kaftan)

Also love THIS!!!

RM250

Kaftan #7 - Grey-gold (long kaftan together with inner)

I LOVE this toooo!!

RM350

Kaftan #8 - Koko-silver (Long kaftan)

This kaftan looksss soo grand and soo Moroccon

RM450

Please email me at iikanuar@gmail.com if interested. Payment and Delivery method (delivery will be free at certain area) can be discussed

The Reception Review - Before entering the hall

2011-11-14T22:26:00.000+08:00

20 May 2011 - Friday

I woke up quite early in the morning (alone..hehe). Penat nikah semalam dah habis. Now is the new excitement. But my main worry about today was my wedding gown. I only got to see it first time the day before (My akad day) at 3.30pm for my one and only fitting.

Mula mula rasa terkejut, sebab first look nampak macam baju tu menonjolkan kegemukkan. It wasn't at all as how i imagined it to be all this while. Either Syaiful changed the design from the sketches he gave me, or my imagination on the sketches sux. Either or, I was not gonna complain. 1 day before reception, there was nothing much anyone could do about it.

The dress was super heavy at the top. Which I specifically said I didnt want my dress to be heavy because it will make me look fatter. But Syaiful said, I will look tenggelam in the hall because of Pak Abu's deco will be so gah, that it will telan my baju. Ok la fine..either that, or because of coz, the heavier the baju, the more expensive it will get kan? But takpe la.. I just have to trust the expert. Sebenarnya dalam hati sangat worry!!! Dah la bajet lariiiii...!!

Everybody bersiap sedia to go to the hall because the rehearsal was scheduled at 10am. My beg ringan sikit sebab I didnt have to bring my baju yang panjang2 tu.. sebab...my wedding gown belom dapat lagiiiii!!!! hahah best kan?

Everybody reached the hall quite on time (special thanks to our pengapits and family yang ambik cuti on that day to attend the rehearsal)

Tapi yang paling best, my wedding planner (WP) yang have been organising weddings at Dewan Perdana, didnt contact and check with management if the sound systems are ready to be used. Apparently, the management had just recently changed rules that sound system will only starts after 2pm on any Fridays. Shoooshhh!! So guess what??? We didnt have a full rehearsal!!

Just some brief explanation on what should be done. Please do not get away without full rehearsals. The best is to do the reahearsal with music and emcee, and I believe that the bride and bridesmaids should wear the actual kasut (to test power, mana tahu kasut tu bikin kaki sakit). No we didn't do that. And I shall share with you what didn't happen that should have happened in my next review entry.

Pukul 12pm, my door gift baru sampai from China, percaya tak??? But it was beautiful, I loved it!!!!

White porcelain with diamonds all over

When I went to SSF, there were no such item in the store, and nothing attracts my eye. So my WP said he will go to China and order for me. So technically, these pieces were the first few arrivals in Malaysia. When they reached the hall, they were all still in courier boxes with price tags!!!! So naturally lah, I didnt have the time to put the "Terima kasih" tag at the gift. So nobody would remember that this gift was from my wedding :( hahah, ok la, not THAT sad, but..terkilan jugak.. because there were no TQ notes.

After friday prayers, hubby and I went to check in dekat hotel Somerset, new hotel in Jalan Ampang. Nak book Double Tree, tak mampu.. hahah.. :p Somerset was sooo affordable and very nice too.. sebab hotel baru.

Managed to rest for a while, then had my shower and thennn, my wedding gown arrived. At 4.30pm!!! Wahhh... Tak try pon ok baju tu... Sebab janji dgn my MUA at 5pm di Perdana. Risau baju tak muat, risau MUA marah sebab lambat..

I was 15 minutes late for my MUA.

Tapi Su Cantik....sangaaaaatttt baik!!! I appologise for being late and I told her why I was late. Tapi he calmed me down and dia suruh I go and take a peek at my hall yang baru finished deco. He said sooooo niceeee!! So I went and take a look.

Breathless!!

Tenang sket hati nak make up.. And sgt tenang sbb Su Cantik sangattttt baik!! Alhamdulillah.

So we started to get ready.

Oleh kerana, I didn't know that the color of my baju was gonna be champagne, I didnt think of my subang and hubby's handkerchief that matches with my baju..They are very trivial, but VERY IMPORTANT!!! Nassssssiiiiiibbb baik, Tuhan tu Maha penyayang, nasib baik ada handkerchief gold and my bff Ira brought extra subang gold. Haaaahhh!!!

Hubby pon kene make up sekali ok, jangan ingat tak perlu.. nanti muka dull dalam gambar!!

Meanwhile, keadaan di bawah, agak kelam kabut di pintu masuk. Sebab my penyambut tetamu semua datang lambat. They were all my cousins. Although my father has given them place to siap at nearby Gurney service apartment, we didnt think of logistic very well. So transportation wise, agak terbantut. And since I hired a separate MUA for my bridesmaids (my engagement MUA, Kak Lela), tetiba ada la sedara lain yang nak tumoang make up, also contributed to lambat sampai. So when we get our family/friends to help us, it will be good to remind them in advance what are they expected to do so that they dun end up asyik busy menangkap gambar ehh.. hehe bila family/friend ni susah sket nak marah. Luckily my usherers/usherettes (tugas yang agak penting) adalah dad's office staff. So dorang tak berani la nak buat hal kan ;)

And please dun forget to assign someone to stay next to your parents sambil pegang big bag. Because your parents will be receiving money from guests, you dont expect your parents to hold the money, right? Diorang mesti la cantik dan bergaya, mana boleh pegang beg besar2.. :)

As usual, taking photos with the VIPs.

Sitting fr left: Hub's aunty, MIL, FIL, us, TPM's wife, mom's boss' wife, and my aunty
Standing fr left: Dad's boss, my uncle n wife, my parents, my dad's uncle, Hub's uncle and mom's boss

So here we go, walking towards the hall. Dah kawin, tapi masih berdebar-debar, takut terpeleot!! (Kasut 5 inchi ok, because my husband is so tall!!)

Awww, and this was the main entrance yang menyambut guests. I love the deco! And the fact that this was my idea!

The sacrifice

2011-11-02T21:36:00.000+08:00

Tonight may be the last night I am spending time here in JB with my husband. It has been 1 month since I left Ernst & Young.

And it has been 1 month worth of thinking what am I going to do with my life. Am I going to be a housewife? Continue to find job? And where shall I start my new job?

For 1 month I have been living the life of a housewife. I cooked, I washed the clothes (machine and handwash), cleaned the kitchen and the house, ironed the clothes and there were other little things I did as a housewife.

I was ecstatic in the beginning (and still are whenever I have the opportunity to do those things), doing things for your husband is something very fulfilling as a wife. Seeing my husband happy, makes me happy.

He comes back from work, dinner is served on the table, after eating, I let him leave the dishes unwashed so he could watch TV. I prepare hot tea for him after dinner, and at night, when he is too lazy to wash up, I wipe his face with my facial wipes, and sometimes when he is lazy to shower but his body becomes sticky because of sweat, I wipe his body using wet towel, so he could sleep comfortably.

But I know I was born a career woman. I can't just sit back at home watching TV during the day while other people working so hard to gain physical and mental input. I cant let my brain just die watching Desperate Housewives.

Not yet.

I feel that I am still young that I still have so much to earn and so much more to give. I cant stop my career now. I have to climb up that career ladder and reach my goal in life. And I believe it is a satisfaction as a person as well as a wife who can help to build the family together with her husband.

Now, I am not even halfway there.

My line of work do not give room for opportunities in JB. And no, I dont want to work in Singapore, because this much of contribution I can give, I'd rather give it to my own people, to my own economy, to my own country.

And at this very moment I am so thankful to my husband for being such an understanding person by letting me work in KL. He understands my passion and never even once he thinks I am being selfish.

He said by being separated, both of us can focus on our work and give our best to our job responsibilities and then have quality time with family during weekends, where he would come home from JB. This is such a huge sacrifice that my husband and I are making.

Maybe bila dah ada anak nanti, I can start to think again whether or not to leave my work and take full care of my child. Till then, I will still continue to strive for excellence.

Terima kasih, Cinta.

Ijab Qabul review - Dia terima nikahnya

2011-11-01T14:36:00.001+08:00

Memang berdebar. Sebenarnya yang paling berdebar kalau ustaz tu tanya soalan pelik-pelik and the groom cannot answer.. haha, but no lah.. it went quite smooth. Lepas the ceramah, terus diserahkan kepada my father, the wali.

Before mula, kene practice dulu. Sebab my father pernah practice before this and dia tersilap nak nikahkan the groom's father.. haha..

Saya terima nikahnya Izrin Irina binti Khairil Anuar....masa ni sebak la jugak sebab at this moment, i felt that after all these years, through all the ups and downs, he accepts me for who I am. And lebih touching, my father yang telah membesarkan anaknya ini took the honor to give me away.

Baca taklik

Ameen, selesai sudah upacara akad nikah. The groom, now my husband went up to the bilik pengantin to perform solat sunat.

Sementara itu, kami di bawah, sibuk tangkap gambar .

Then, there comes the groom, dengan hadiah hadiah to be given to the bride.

Ehem..the best man yg pakai baju brown tu still single ;)

Present the mas kahwin

Sarung cincin

Gelak bukan sebab cincin tak muat ye.. hahah..

Bracelet for me

Ok, the final gift for me was my necklace. Agaknya suamiku ini tak pernah beli rantai untuk sesapa, tak reti nak bukak. Punya la lama. Ada la 2 minit nak bukak rantai tu.

Bila dah boleh bukak, kedengaran suara orang ramai "haaaaaaa" macam lega...Oh wait! But then bila dah pakaikan, nak pasang balik...lagi 2 minit!! Oh my god.

Tengok sikit muka semua orang yang menuggu.. hahah..OK next time for other b2b, if you have gifts like this, make sure you ask your fiance to practice bukak and pasang balik dalam masa yang singkat ;)

Next was my gift to him. Cincin kahwin (yang sekarang dah longgar, and dia pakai kat rantai ala-ala Brad Pitt)

Lepas tu macam biasa la kan, semua nikah pon ada. Although you think that you see this all the time during nikah, like it's normal. BUT, it's not normal to the pengantin. Salam and cium tangan yang pertama kali, like trying to tell the husband "saya akan taatkan awak"

Dan suami pulak menjawab "saya akan tunaikan segala tanggungjawab saya pada awak" :)

Lepas selesai, we started to go around to find our parents and grannies untuk salam-salam tanda terima kasih kerana telah memberi restu.

YEAHHH!!! I did it!!!!!!

With my bridesmaids

We waited for about 15 minutes sambil tangkap-tangkap gambar while other guests sedang enak makan (remember my previous entry, there were no meja pengantin prepared by the wedding planner?), I didnt notice what was not right at that time, I didnt notice that I wasnt eating. -_-

However, we had this upacara merenjis and terbuka kepada semua orang, sesapa yang mahu, bcause we didnt want to have too many people merenjis on the reception night, hence we gave opportunities for other family members to give their blessings on that nikah night.

Bukan saja orang-orang tua sibuk merenjis, the youngsters juga sibuk nak memberi their blessings, ok la fine, bagi la chance.

Ignore the kaki, this is the bunga telur untuk orang yang merenjis

The bottom bekas kaca is the door gift for all guests

Considering it was a Thursday night (esoknya kerja), it was a very good turnup, I must say. The whole event ended about midnight.

Merasmikan katil pengantin

Jangan terlebih fikir, tiada apa yang berlaku malam tu.. hahah

Kerana pengantin lelaki balik ke rumah mak dia.

R.I.P Nayla Blue

2011-10-31T12:55:00.001+08:00

Nayla Blue, yes the surname is Blue.

We adopted Nayla (was formerly known as Sprite) from someone together with her sister Emily Blue (then Coke).

Emily died not very long after we adopted them. Tapi sempat la jugak Emily gave birth to some kittens that were given away after that. Tapi Nayla lived for so long after given birth twice, I think.

Nayla was a very lovable cat. She was very loving, she loved being around people, She would lick you, grab your finger and lick it, she would sit near you. She loved everyone that calls her name, that is why she was a lovable cat. Everyone loves her, including the new family member, my husband.

Few months back, she fell sick. Some virus attacked her organs one by one. However, she was still eating very well. So that's why the vet said there's no reason for us to put her to sleep. Because she was eating and she wasn't in pain.

But the vet said that there's nothing else we could do to help her. She was 11 years old, she was very very old, there is no point doing any surgery or whatnot. Just leave her and let the virus attacked the organs one by one until she die. That was exactly what the vet said. But my mom tak puas hati, went and get second opinion from another vet.

That new vet gave her some medicine and soon, dia nampak macam sangat sihat. She was clean, mata tak banyak taik mata.. macam kucing yang tak sakit. So we thought that she was getting better.

Not long after that, on 28/10/11, she was nowhere to be traced during the day. So my maid didnt manage to catch her to put her to the cage to sleep. Late at night when my husband and I were walking to the stairs, we heard her crying very loud like she was in pain. She was under the dining table. I tried to carry her, but she was struggling like her stomach was really in pain, so I let her go. I knew instantly that she was gonna die the next day (Pets will not want their owner to see them die)

She didnt come to me like she normally did. When you call her, she would run away and go hide at the back of fridge, or under the car, and she didn't even look at us when we called for her. So mom said, she willl take Nayla to the vet again the next day.

29/10/11, husband was in the car waiting for me to get ready and we were supposed to go visit our dear niece at Seri Kembangan. Hubby was in the car waiting for quite sometime with the engine on. Normally cat kan lari when the engine is on? When I came down, I immediately went inside the car without checking under the car ada tak cats.

Hubby reversed the car, looked at his right side to close the gate, and there was Nayla lying on the floor with blood from her face, struggling her last breath. I was crazy shouting around calling for my parents to come down. That was my first time ever seeing a cat die in front of me.

I don't know if we did run onto her, but one thing for sure, we didnt hear anything or didnt feel bumpy like we would have felt if we were to hit her. And muka dia tak lenyek pon, I cannot imagined how it happened. If we really did run onto her it was my fault for not checking out for cats before hubby reversed the car. :( :(

Everybody said that she was gonna die after all, dia menyerah diri untuk dilanggar so that she dies, so that we wont try to save her lagi, maybe she didnt want to live, she lived long enough...11 years of life is like 77 years old in human age.

I believe that she chose me for a reason. She chose me to run onto her, so that I'll remember her for the rest of my life because of the guilt. Maybe she loved hubby so much that she chose to die in front of hubby's eyes and let hubby tanam dia.

Nayla Blue, no other cats act like you. The way you answer when people call your name, like you understand what people say... you'll always be that smart cat in everyone's heart. I love you. Rest in Peace.

Welcoming Baby Khaira

2011-10-25T16:41:00.003+08:00

My younger brother and his wife officially became a parents to a healthy baby girl named KHAIRA ASYIKIN. Little baby Khaira was born on the 17th of October 2011 at 1850 at An-Nur Medical Centre in Bangi. I have become an uncle many times before but this one makes it even more special and official. Little Baby Khaira in the 12th addition to the 4th generation of my BIG family.
Have fun growing up yea baby. Aunty Izrin and I will try to have our own baby so that you can have another friend to grow up with. :)

Doa Taubat

2011-10-25T16:10:00.000+08:00

I was browsing through You Tube to listen to Zikir Munajat, and I came across this nasyid on doa taubat. I have heard it few times from the TV, but never really know the lyrics.

Ilaa hilaastu lil Firdausi ahla,
Walaa aqwaa,
'Alaa naaril jahiimi,
Allah,
Fahablii taubatan waghfir dzunuubii,
Fainnaka ghaafirun dzambil,
'Adziimi

Tuhanku, aku tidak layak untuk syurgamu,
Tetapi aku tidak pula sanggup menaggung siksa nerakamu,
dari itu kurniakan lah ampunan kepadaku,
ampunkanlah dosaku,
sesungguhnya, engkaulah pengampun, dosa-dosa besar

Not only the melody of the song is soo pleasing and symphonious,
the lyrics... made me cried.

Click here to listen.

Love the wives

2011-10-24T15:40:00.000+08:00

This is a good one, which I think ALL men should have a read. (copied from FB friend's link)

"Love her …when she sips on your coffee or tea.... She only wants to make sure it tastes just right for you.

Love her…when she "pushes" you to pray. She wants to be with you in Jannah (Paradise).

Love her…when she asks you to play with the kids. She did not "make" them on her own.

Love her...when she is jealous. Out of all the men she can have, she chose you

Love her…when she has annoying little habits that drives you nuts. You have them too.

Love her…when her cooking is bad. She tries.

Love her…when she looks dishevelled in the morning. She always grooms herself up again.

Love her…when she asks to help with the kids homework. She only wants you to be part of the home.

Love her...when she asks if she looks fat. Your opinion counts, so tell her she's beautiful.

Love her…when she looks beautiful. She's yours so appreciate her.

Love her...when she spends hours to get ready. She only wants to look her best for you.

Love her…when she buys you gifts you don't like. Smile and tell her it's what you've always wanted.

Love her…when she has developed a bad habit. You have many more and with wisdom and politeness you have all the time to help her change.

Love her…when she cries for absolutely nothing. Don't ask, tell her its going to be okay

Love her…when she suffers from PMS. Buy chocolate, rub her feet and back and just chat to her (trust me this works!)

Love her…when whatever you do is not pleasing. It happens and will pass

Love her…when she stains your clothes. You needed a new thobe (kurta) anyway

Love her…when she tells you how to drive. She only wants you to be safe.

Love her…when she argues. She only wants to make things right for both

Love her…she is yours. You don't need any other special reason!!!!

All this forms part of a Woman's Character. Women are part of your life and should be treated as the Queen.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) advised concerning the woman:

• Treat the women well.

This post was written by a man. May Allah bless his marriage life for reminding other men to be what they are supposed to be.

Ehem..ehem..as you can see, the big fonts are reminder to my husband. hehe

Who are YOU?

2011-10-15T14:40:00.000+08:00

I was browsing through FB and I saw this photo was posted by a friend.

I don't understand what was written on the caption because the words were written in chinese. The only sentence that was written in English was "We fully support PKR and DAP".

So obviously those feet are the opposition supporters' feet. What are they thinking?

I know everyone has the right to say, the right to choose your own leader. But I guess whoever that eventually managed to BE the leader, deserve to be treated with respect.

I am not saying that I am pro-government, nor I am the opposition (undi adalah rahsia, chewah), BUT, if you have read my previous entries on politics, you can have a wild guess which party do I support.

I am not denying the fact that DS Najib as a leader, is not perfect. In fact who is? Some may relate him to Rosmah's issue, stupid 1Malaysia propaganda, and many more, I shall not say it here, because some issues are over too sensitive.

Tapi percaya lah, sesapa pon yang jadi leader will not run from issues. It's whether he can do the work or not. Whether or not, he takes care of our welfare as his rakyat. You can hate him as a leader, like you hated your boss, but you still have to respect him.

And apa saja salah dia pon, he doesnt deserve to be called 'Hey bro' or 'Mamat' or address him as "kau" in twitter/Fb or whatever social media we have now. I dont think you'd dare to go up to your boss' face and say "Ek eleh boss, ntah apa-apa la cadangan kau tuh, cadangan aku lagi bagus laaa". And your boss would say "Kalau kau bagus sangat, kenapa kau tak ada kat tempat aku sekarang?" Mungkin DS pon cakap macam tu dalam hati dia kan.

He works his ass out to be where he is now. Who are YOU to address him that way? Who are YOU to step on his photos dengan hina dan keji.

Just ask yourself, who are YOU if you were to stand next to him (if you even have the chance to)?

Disclaimer: Saya bukan anak sedara, supupu sepapat DS, Not related. Dan saya tak dibayar oleh mana-mana parti untuk entry ini, sekian, terima kasih.

Go eat and do charity

2011-10-12T14:18:00.001+08:00

We usually have Charity Runs, Charity shopping but seldom we hear (I never came across) Charity eating!!

So this is your chance to 'Mengeyangkan Perut sambil Beramal'.

15 October 2011 - this saturday.
Only at the Subang Parade outlet, not the one near to SDMC. Yes, they open new outlet in Subang Parade. (Promo sikit untuk my fren, Hana.. so proud of you, babe!!)

Not only you can do charity by helping to donate, you can also makan best at the cafe. I guarantee you, it's very very yummy! Not because she's my friend's cafe, but honestly, otherwise they would be able to open another cafe right. Ask the Subang people, saper tak tau Bawang Merah? ;)

Tips: You CANNOT leave the cafe without ordering its best karipap and kuih seri muka.

Go check it out!!

Ijab Qabul review - The Groom is Here

2011-10-10T12:39:00.004+08:00

We were busy taking photos in the room, somebody (can't remember who) barged into the room and said "Pengantin laki dah sampai". Tiba-tiba seluruh jantung BLUP macam jatuh ke lantai. And I couldnt remember what happened at that time. The wedding planner reminded us before jangan turun selagi dia tak panggil. So we waited quite awhile up there in the room. I was told not to stand by the window. Tapi all the girls semua tengok tengok from the tingkap and saw the groom. "Ehhhh handsome lah Aliiiii" I heard the girls said. Chewah chewahh

The groom was told not to get out from the car while the rombongan oraganising the hantaran together. Sebab takut hantaran tergolek golek dalam kereta, the kepala and the bottom part of the hantaran were held by different people. So they need to get them organised. Patut la had to wait awhile.

It was raining when I was waiting. But the moment the groom was about to get out from the car, hujan macam reda sikit. (Macam dalam drama haha) Alhamdulillah.

Tengah takut tu, sampai tak boleh nak duduk. Getting ready to go down. Some of my friends were already down at the hall, tak boleh nak naik. Maybe tangga banyak orang. Takut jugak, "what if I slip? what if I tergolek kat tangga? what if I...." There were too many "what ifs" in my mind at that time. So whatever people were talking about, didnt even register in my head. I was smiling, as if I was listening. Truth is... the mind was blocked by what ifs...

Tak ujan pon, saja jer the groom gatal kene berpayung. The whole rombongan disambut dengan bunga rampai by my two lovely aunties, mak ngah and mak chik.

Arranging the hantaran. Kene lah ikut turutan yang mana letak paling depan and yang mana paling belakang. Hantaran semua dipegang oleh para-para lelaki terdiri dari brother, cousins and best friends.

Uishhh..TU DIAAA... berpakaian serba putih, kain adalah from my engagement hantaran. Mula-mula he didnt like it. Sebab dia kata he thinks that kain tu panas. Tapi his tailor cakap, kain tu kain bagus. mahal ok, i dpt free from Jakel. Jakel ketuk me with my kain baju tunang, then when I buat bising, Jakel said I can get one kain baju lelaki of ANY types. I chose the most expensive one. And put it on my engagement dulang. :)

The house is very small so it is very limited. Not everybody could go in. Kene lah bagi space to the groom, nanti panas sgt, sementara gelabah karang, pengsan pulak. The women pulak were directed to the back where the pelamin is.

My spokesman (my uncle) and his spokesman (his uncle), macam berjanji pulak pakai baju kaler sama. Masa ni, PA system tak sampai lagi (my wedding planner forgot about it, and only asked his assistant to look for it about two hours ago). So sementara tunggu tok kadi sampai, mereka pun mula lah mengotakan janji masing-masing yang telah terikat semasa hari pertunangan..perjanjian 7 dulang to the bride.

Sirih junjung

Mixture of my favourite chocolates

Tissot watch that I had been eyeing

Perfume and lotion set

clutch bag and jeweleries (incomplete sebab takut hilang. will update the full photo)

Al-Quran and kain solat

mas kahwin, duit hantaran and wedding ring (pun tak complete jugak)

Di Selangor, orang kata mas kawin and duit hantaran disatukan. It was very confusing. Because what I learned, mas kawin is meant for the bride to use it if ada any emergencies bila ketiadaan suami, duit hantaran is to be given to the parents of the bride untuk meringankan beban membuat majlis perkahwinan. If you combine the two, it will be haram for the parents to use it for other purpose. However, Selangor has combined them together as one mas kahwin, because the minimum RM300 is too low, it doesn't give any benefits to the bride in the future.

Well I chose to stick to what I learned. My mas kahwin is stick to the minimum of RM300 set by JAIS. Duit hantaran will be given to my parents (or like WAS going to be given). hehe..My parents gave them to me anyway. It doesnt matter, I didn't need to announce it like it would have been if it was set as my mas kawin.

AND we didnt go through the stage where the groom side has to mention each and every item in the dulang. They also did not have to mention the price of any barang berharga like the jewelleries and stuff. I felt it was not necessary. To my surprise I had attended a nikah before that requires the groom to announce the price of each barang berharga. I know it has to be written down somewhere in the marriage registration form. We left it blank, and it was not a problem. You can put it, but I think it is not necessary to announce it. Own choice.

My wedding planner cued for the bride to come down. I was walking very fast I thought I slipped. Argghh it was just in my mind. My dress was super long (Because I didnt get the right pair of shoes with the right height). Patutnya, cari kasut dulu before you go for your fitting. That was my biggest mistake. Ok, one of the biggest la, apart from not able to get myself to be thinner.

I was heading to my pelamin that I oh love so much.

My wedding planner said I was the second to use this set of flowers. Tipu lah tuh. I thought I have seen it some where else. But nevermind. I loved it anyway. And I love the chair. It was unique for me. I thought kerusi tu tak muat for both of us to sit. Because both of our bon-bon bleh tahan besar. Tapi mati-mati dia kata muat. OK lah, muat tu muat la..I didnt want to be fussy.

So tok kadi tu sampai. And my PA system sampai just in time when the kadi sampai, alhamdulillah. And nasib la baik, kalau tak.. sure mati wedding planner itu. heheh.. Dia pun memulakan sedikit tazkirah yang sangat straight forward. Takde lawak, takder tokok tambah. Suara pun tak kuat mana. Saya di belakang sana, tak dengar apa-apa. And the tok kadi didnt even interact with me. Mana tau if salah bride macam mana? Hishh..

Tapi ok lah, the ceramah wasn't long. Straight to point, benda yang wajib-wajib je dia cakap. Dia pun lapar agaknya, and lidah pun penat baru lepas bagi ceramah kat masjid tadi (kan khamis malam jumaat).

Tekun betul dia mendengar. Dengar tu takpe, tapi jangan lupa pesan tok kadi tu ok? ;)

Pic credits to Samsultahir, the official photographer and Jannah

Melayu, why you so like that?

2011-10-09T09:53:00.002+08:00

I have been wanting to write about this issue but I never had the time to write. And it is something that is making me so sad when hearing these kind of issues. What's more hurtful is those involved are generally malays, my own race.

Buang anak dalam tong sampah (my opinion on this, read here)
Seks di luar tabi'i
Seks sumbang muhrim
Dera anak
Bunuh mak, bapak, atok, nenek dan sedara mara
Rogol adik-beradik, anak-beranak
Dadah sana sini
And the latest one, liwat own son yang berumur 23 HARI. Read here.

Tak payah la sebut tentang agama. Ini bukan soal tak cukup ajaran agama. Binatang yang takder agama pun sayang anak beranak. Bukan soal agama tapi soal bangsa. Bangsa melayu adalah bangsa yang paling lemah. Sad but true.

Kita banyak hidup mengaharapkan privilege bumiputra. Tanpa allocation for bumiputera mampu kah kita ke hadapan bertentangan dengan orang bukan bangsa kita? Di luar sana our leaders sibuk mempertahankan hak hak orang melayu, Tapi, kita berhak ke dapat kan hak hak tu? We rely on our leaders to fight for our rights, Do we really fight for it? Work our ass for it? No. We expect other people to work hard FOR you.

Sebab itu kita mundur. Sebab itu kita tak pernah maju. OK, off topic a bit.

Dalam dunia dadah, orang lain jadi kaya sebab jadi pusher (business), orang kita yang ambik dan membinasakan diri.
Dalam dunia pelacuran, orang lain jadi kaya sebab provide pompuan pompuan (business), orang kita yang dtg dan hire pompuan pompuan tu
Dalam dunia perniagaan in BIG corporations, konon dominated by malays because it is a malay business example like takaful insurance. Memang orang melayu yang banyak, tapi yang level bawah-bawah. But checkout the managerial levels? Semua bukan orang kita. I have seen enough.

Takaful insurance is something yang kita can take advantage of because we are muslims and we are more familiar with our own syariah rules. In my previous company that I worked with, the takaful experts are two non-muslims, semua bukan orang kita.

We never take the opportunities that we have. Sebab kita hanya duduk untuk tunggu hak kita sebagai orang melayu. Sambil tu kita buat aktiviti-aktiviti/ perkara-perkara yang terkutuk. Of coz la not ALL malays, but generally la. Melayu sangat synonim dengan perkataan-perkataan ni:

Malas
Dadah
Buang anak
Rogol
Dengki
Gossip

Kenapa melayu? Why you so like that?

(Eh Gossip tu saya pun suka. Saya kan Melayu? :p)

pic from: letmefindout.webs.com

Summary Belanjawan 2012

2011-10-08T14:21:00.004+08:00

This the summary of the recent budget, which I summarise for my husband that chose to watch sports than the Budget announcement. The following table is the summary of budget allocation in big sectors.

Tema: Dasar Transformasi Nasional: Bajet membela rakyat, mensejahtera Negara

Focus on five points

First Point: Meligat Pelaburan

1. Rolling Plan Kedua for Rnacangan Malaysia ke-10 focusing on high impact development projects. Any projects worth over RM50 mill will be ensured to benefit the people from every sen spent (Highways and railways)

2. Dana Mudahcara perkongsian awam-swasta to help private sector in developing strategic projects for the country (10% allocation to Bumiputera businesses)

3. Active development on five federal corridors (Iskandar Johor, Koridor Utara, Koridor Pantai Timur, Koridor Sabah, Koridor Sarawak) mainly on highways and industrial projects

4. Forming Central Treasury Management and to attract multinationals to choose Malaysia for this service, there will be income tax and duty stamp waiver

5. Pusat Kewangan Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIFD) with tax incentives, allowances and duty sramp waiver for companies with KLFD status

6. Put Felda Global Ventures Holdings listed in KLSE to attract foreign investors, maintaining majority equity holding by Koperasi Permodalan Felda

7. Prolong the tax concession at 10% on dividends for non corporate and individuals in Amanah Pelaburan Hartanah

8. Fund support for Perusahaan Kecil Sederhana (PKS) from Islamic bankers

9. SME Revitalisation Fund to grants loans max RM 1mill to entrepreneurs for business recovery purposes handled by SME Bank.

10. Emergency Fund for PKS that encounters natural disasters through SME Bank and MIDF

11. Franchise fees will be allowable for tax deduction on franchisee. Full waiver on import duty and excise duty for franchisors to import more hybrid and electric cars.

12. Pelan Induk Lima Tahun Pembangunan Pelancongan Langkawi

13. Invetors in four and five stars hotel will have tax incentives for 5 years

14. Properties disposed within 2 years of owning, will be subject to RPGT at 10% (5% if held the asset more than 2 years.

Second point: Menungguli modal insane, mencerna kreativiti dan mencetus inovasi

1. Gerakan Inovasi Nasional in schools and IPTAs. Introducing Anugerah Cipta 1Malaysia to recognise students and youngsters innovations. Reality programmes, articles and documentaries on students' innovations

2. Dana Inovasi Pengkomersilan to fund PKS companies

3. Invention and design industry will be qualified for Taraf Perintis with tax incentives up to 70% for 5 years

4. Allocation in development and refurbishments of schools

5. Ensure access high quality education that is affordable by abolishing school fees for primary and secondary schools. There will also be tax incentives to private schools that plan for reduction in school fees

6. Donations by individuals to schools, mosques, temples and churches will be tax deductible

7. Tax allowable with double deductions to companies with expenses on internship programmes, scholarships and career exhibition in overseas

Third point: Program Transformasi Luar Bandar

1. To form Pusat Transformasi Luar Bandar (RPT) as centre to integrate services, banking and insurance, business consultancy, training, clinics and business centres. For starters, focus will be on Terminal Agrobines Negara, Wakaf Che Yeh and Gopeng.

2. Profesional Services Funds for professionals such as lawyers, doctors and accountants to open up firm in small towns through BSN granting loans with 4% interest

3. Program Lonjakan Mega Luar Bandar in 11 Agropolitant Project areas for agriculture

4. Strengthen the development of infrastructure for Program Jalan Luar Bandar dan Projek Perhubungan Desa especially in Sabah and Sarawak

5. Banking services, transportation, utilities improvements.

Fourth point: Memperkejap Perkhidmatan Awam

1. Exit policy for civil servants with low performance and those who leaves the service

2. Increase the salary structure for civil servants

3. Better career path and promotions for teachers based on time-based method, not based on vacancies

4. Better increment up to 7 to 13 %. Increase pension rate to 2% a year

5. Retirement age change from 55 to 60 years old

6. Offer help on education fees for civil servants to further studies part time

7. Allocation to development and social needs of PDRM and army forces.

8. One off contribution amounting to RM3,000 given to people who had served the country in defense unit

Fifth point: Meredakan inflasi dan mengimarah kehidupan rakyat

1. Allocation to develop agriculture sector through Projek Pertanian Bersepadu Terengganu Utara, Projek Pengairan Sabah dan Sarawak, Tabung Ekonomi Kumpulan Usaha Niaga

2. Allocation for welfare including poor old folks RM300 per month, poor children RM100 per month and OKU up to Rm 300 per month.

3. To add more Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia that offers products with 40% price lower than market.

4. Opening Agro Bazaar Kedai Rakyat that offers agriculture products

5. Encourage cafeterias to include Menu Rakyat 1Malaysia

6. Skim Rumah Pertamaku for income earner less than RM3,000, house price max of RM400,000 developed by PR1MA in Sungai Besi and Sungai Buloh area

7. Program Perumahan Rakyat affordable houses under RM10k

8. Program Rumah Mesra Rakyat, each house will have subsidy of RM20,000

9. Program Pemulihan Rumah Terbengkalai

10. Expats are now allowed to take out EPF for housing loan

11. Tabung Khas Perumahan nelayan

12. Develop and refurbish hospitals, add 81 more clinics and 50 klinik 1 Malaysia

13. Improve and refurbish HKL

14. Flexi timetable medical officers in average 60 hours a week. Allowance on waktu bekerja fleksi amounting to RM600 per month. On-call allowance up to RM80 per night

15. Skim Amanah Rakyat 1Malaysia for combine income of lower than RM3,000 wher einvestors in this scheme may apply for loan up to RM5,000 with 5 years repayment term period through PNB

16. Peneraju Agenda Bumiputera to help Bumiputera in business. Guidance will be given to Bumi corporates to be listed in KLSE

17. Tax incentives given to taxi owners including road tax and subsidies

18. Additional RM 10 mill to Yayasan Bantuan Guaman Kebangsaan

19. Additional allocation to Kebajikan Masyarakat

20. Training programmes for women professionals to return to working world

21. Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia will help to fund micro loans to entrepreneurs especially women

22. To build a hospital especially for women and children in KL

23. Allocation to Majlis Belia Malaysia to offer trainings, courses and leadership activities

24. To form MyCreative Venture Capital

25. Improvements on football fields and futsal courts

26. Allocation to find new talents for high profile sports like football, badminton, cycling

27. Citizen above 60 years old will not have to pay for registration fees as outpatient in hospitals and clinics including dental clinics owned by government

28. 50% discount given to citizens above 60 years old for LRT and monorel

29. New tax waiver for annual EPF and insurance amounting to RM3,000

30. Employer’s contronution on EPF increase from 12% to 13% for employee earning lower than RM5,000 per month

31. One off cash of RM500 to household with combined income of less than RM3,000

32. One-off contribution to school students amounting to RM100

33. One off book voucher to IPTA and IPTS students amounting to RM200

34. KWSP contributors can register for Haj through ring-fencing method from Account 2 amounting to RM1,300 without taking out the money from the account

35. Additional half month bonus to civil servants and RM500 contributions to pensioners

I guess nothing of the above benefits me,

UNLESS, i want start a business

UNLESS, i want to venture into agriculture

UNLESS, i have children going to schools

And those one-off one-off contribution, does it REALLY HELP? i don't know.

Whatever. That makes us, the middle class people at the same position as before.

The lady at home

2011-09-30T09:46:00.005+08:00

First week as a lady boss at home, oh well, you can call it lady boss or lady of leisure but those are just other words of calling a housewife.

Some may ask, why lady boss? Because I decide what to buy for the kitchen, I decide what to serve for dinner, I decide what to do during weekends, and I decide IF WANT TO COOK OR NOT :)

Pic taken from: zazzle.com

So why lady of leisure? Because I don't have to work? NOT. My husband always say that the house works like a company. It needs managers and workers. And shall I add a banker? However, in this small corporate body where we only have two people in the house, we have to brush up on our inter-personal skills on MULTITASKING. And the banker in the house is really a related party (my husband himself). So he is the sales manager who brings money in to the house and also a banker who disburses money whenever we need.

I am the auditor because I am so used of being one, only this time I am less lenient on myself. hmm..hmm.. I don't impose on audit trails where we need to have evidence of receipts in the house.

I am also the accountant, where I control certain budgets and cash outflow. Especially on cigarettes. My husband would ask me should he buy this and that. But I am not a queen control, because I don't ask for this budget controller position, I was NOMINATED by my husband *muka tak bersalah*

I am also the entertainment manager, well mostly for self entertainment during the times when my husband is at work. I watch all sorts of channel changing from Malay to English to Korean to Chinese to Hindustan, and sometimes to Cartoon channels. Because when my husband is around, I give him some autonomy to operate the sports channel.

Apart from all those chill tasks, I am also the maintenance department manager. I am the cleaner, my husband is the engineer. But there's not much technical jobs to be done in the house, however, there a lottts of cleaning to be done daily and weekly. So since I am the manager and I do not have enough resources, my husband sometimes get to be seconded to the cleaning unit. Sometimes he wash the dishes and sometimes he does the laundry. But really, it's just SOMETIMES, because most of the times, I do things myself.

Well, what else to say, I am also the Food & Beverage department manager. And because I don't employ any workers, I have to cook myself. And SOMETIMES when he is not working, he helps to cook. Ohohoooo.. when he is in the kitchen, he becomes Chef Ramsey and my kitchen feels like in the Hell's Kitchen show.

Because you see, he cooks better than I do, not because I can't cook (chewah, nak jugak), but because I never really cook for the past 5 years. I lost touch (chewah, nak lagi).

So you see, I still have to work you know? And I am still answerable to certain things to the Board of director, which is the ultimate boss, my husband, because I am not only working for myself. I am working for us. So time management is also important. I wake up the same time he wakes up for work. I drive him (Oh, yes, did I not mention this? I am also the driver!!) to the station for him to take the bus to Singapore. During the day, I have to study (sambil tengok TV of course) and I have to manage my time to cook so that dinner will be ready just in time when he comes home. After dinner I have to do a lot of washing and cleaning.

So it's really not that leisure. Unless, I get a maid. *eyelashes* Hmmm for the meantime, maybe I should impose giving salary to myself yang setimpal dengan gaji manager-manager di luar sana. heheh..

InsyaAllah, I am hoping and praying that I would come to that stage where I can call myself the Lady of Leisure, hopefully when I finish exams (Lady of Leisure, Association of Chartered Accountant) and have kids of my own, and hire a maid and husband getting his first million (insyaAllah). So I don't have to do the house chores while maintaining the 'manager' position for all departments. So I can focus my time on my kids (insyaAllah) and my husband. Ini impian seorang surirumah.

P/S: Semalam mak mentua saya pesan pada suami saya "jangan suruh dia masak hari-hari, nanti dia penat. makan la luar" Yahooo!! I love you, mak!

Ijab Qabul review - Waiting for the groom

2011-09-28T10:27:00.003+08:00

19 May 2011 (Part 1)

The day started very very early as I could recall. I couldn't sleep well because I wasn't even sleeping on a bed as the katil pengantin was all made up already. And mom said, I have to wait for my husband to sleep on the katil pengantin. So I slept on a daybed in my parent's room. Not that it was uncomfy, but the thought of not sleeping properly on a bed annoys me (just an alasan, maybe I was damn nervous about the wedding that was gonna take place in less than 24 hours time).

My advice to the b2b, PLEASE SLEEP WELL!!!!! Make sure you prepare a tilam that is very comfortable for you to sleep off the nervousness.

I was tired when I woke up (believe me), but when I came down the hall, I saw people already started to work on the pelamin and stuffs. I forgot about the nervousness and started to be excited again.

The theme for the akad nikah was 'Moroccan wedding - Black and Fuschia Pink'

Outside the foyer was all carpeted and all the chairs and tables from the house was brought out to be utilised by people during dinner

From different angle

Just some decoration for the pond

We adopted the concept of buffet style with stalls

MUA, Kak Saidatulnissa arrived my house with her assistant Kak Liza at 4pm. Both of them are very very nice people, so what you heard about Kak Sai being diva and all sorts are definitely wrong. Kak Sai never talks to you on the phone, Kak Liza always sounds garang, but believe me, they are very friendly in person. But some tips that some people tell me about Kak Sai, jangan buat dia hilang mood, nanti hilang seri pengantin.

Theme colour for the room - white, green and brown (kaler kayu)

Oh, another thing, don't always assume that the MUA will bring her assistant like I did. I thought Kak liza will tag along to assist her and I thought I could just ask her assistant to make up the MOTB, mother of the bride. Unfortunately, Kak Sai was supposed to come alone, because I didn't ask for any assistance. Nasib baik I called and reconfirmed. Kak Liza actually rescheduled her appointment to help me out for my mom. She was very nice.. and I was very thankful to her. Otherwise, MOTB will have to make up herself.

Saidatulnissa

Malam menjelma, hati mula berdebar kembali. Berdebar sebab apa pon tak tau sebenarnya. Nak kata tak pernah jumpa bakal suami, dah bercinta 6 tahun, nak kata takut persiapan tak betul, dah ada wedding planner. Serious tak tahu kenapa.

Night view of the khemah.

We put a TV outside, so the people not getting place inside can also watch the akad nikah. We adopted a concept where the guests can start to eat first even before the arrival of the groom. Reason being, it was a Thursday night, so the akad would naturally start very late because the Tok Imam needs to give ceramah first and only come to my house after isya'. So we didnt want people to wait. However, the tables for the groom's family are berhidang and reserved.

Yang slack nya from this is, there was no volume coming out from the TV. So next time (not for me lah :p), must remember to get some audio assistance for the extra TVs or screens. Well it was last minute pun.

The centrepiece for each table

Tables for the groom's family and my VIP (atok-atok and opah-opah saya)

Since it was not a seated dinner, people can laze around makan-makan bersila like arab style at this side of the house. Brilliant idea! I love it.

I have no comments on the deco, I loved every single area of the house. Like it was transformed. But... Guess what's missing? Meja makan pengantin!!!!!!! OK, I overlooked this and the Wedding planner oso overlooked this!! haiyaaa, no wonder la i hungry sampai esok pagi. So moral of the story, although you have a very reliable wedding planner (believe me mine was very reliable so they said, and he had done a lot of famous weddings), you must always have your own checklist. They too are human.

Well, ok.

The hantarans are all ready now. Tunggu untuk dibalas jer.

Jam tangan

Cake sponsored by bff Zetty, thank you syg

Casual wear set, baju, pants and belt

Set baju melayu

Camera

Wedding ring

Macaroons

Sejadah and al-Quran

Sirih junjung

All the hantarans are ready

Almost done

Always the first to arrive, love you babe!

So thankful to my girlfriends, walaupun hari kerja, they were there before the groom arrive. Tapi yang tak bestnya, by the time they arrived, the cameramen already left my room, to capture the photos of the guests and also getting ready for the groom. If I can turn back time (and if I had extra bajet, ahaha) I would hire a photographer to stand just near me and my girlfriends. Well, I had the intention, but the cost wiiiiuuueee, out of my bajet laa.. so harap gambar kengkawan je la to remind me that these girls actually came to my akad nikah.

Zetty, Ashik, Syikin, ShoN, Aliaa, Dini and Nana - Pemberi semangat

All ready

Take a peek

Dalam hati, "mana pengantin ni, perut dah lapar nih". Pengantin, please makan dulu sikit before make up. Sekian.

photo courtesy: Samsultahir, the official photographer, and Nana and Jannah

Wedding review - Malam Berinai

2011-09-22T18:39:00.000+08:00

The malam berinai night wasn't really like some other malam berinai that you may have seen before. Some people would do 'khatam Quran' and marhaban (put baby in the beautifully decorated buaian) for those who has small babies in the family, of course. However, we think that it is not necessary as I have khatam-ed before several times and I dont have small babies in my family. So what happened during my malam berinai was simply geting together with my close friends and family members.

Called the henna lady to help me with my Inai.

I started to feel excited on that night. Started to see the tents,

the pelamin, bilik pengantin yadaa yadaa yadaa..

Other people in my family as well as some of my friends also had some henna on their hands to show support.

But what I didnt do, but should have done was fotography session on my pelamin... ALONE! without the groom. I should have changed to multiple selections of traditional baju kahwin and pose at my pelamin and get blessings from my close family members. Maybe some advices from family, or something like that, I dont know, can be turned into a formal-informal occasion kinda thing? It'd be nice to have that I think. I just didnt have the time to plan for it. Maybe I'll do that for my daughter in the future, chewah!

Another advice from me, based on my experience, try to get the henna from Mekah instead the indian henna. The difference is in the colour, which the Mekah inai is more reddish than orange-ish. Or the inai from the pokok is also so much better. It lasts longer too. The indian henna that I had only lasted up to my honeymoon time (thank God it was still there during honeymoon, baru la ada rasa pengantin baru)..But after two weeks, dah no more pengantin baru.. inai pon makin hilang.. so get the Mekah one, or the one original from the pokok. If i can turn back time, this is one thing that I would change.

I loved my malam berinai anyway, because all the important people were there.

And I love the designs on my hands too..

My left hand fingers look like monster's, because the nail is super long. You can only leave your nails long if you decide not to put henna on, and do manicure instead. If you want to put inai..better not, nanti jadi macam gambar di atas. (Anyway, I cut my fingernails the next morning) :)

Wedding review - Before I became a Mrs

2011-09-21T10:33:00.001+08:00

I am very grateful to be around these lovely and thoughtful people in my life. Although everybody was busy with things running in their lives, they had taken the time to plan and organize friends to get together before I get married. So even when I was very busy with my wedding schedules, I didn't mind to take some time off from 'weddings' and just be around my girls before life starts to change.

The first get-together was with my lovely ex-housemates at The Pressroom in Bangsar Shopping Centre.

With Adzy, Monzy, Tashy and Meeman (Dadat couldnt join sebab tengah berpantang). The theme was something like the B2B wearing white and the rest will wear striking colors. Very cute!

Great dinner and foto-shooting (a MUST).

And I received a a wedding present too. I dont need to show the lingerie now, do I? :D You see the tables are empty, not because we didn't eat...but because we left our table and went outside to take fotos...teehee!

Everybody was supposed to make ugly face but Monzy was cheating I guess... hmm..

Second get-together was with my wonderful bffs at Metropolitan Condo (I just made this up, coz I dont know the name) at Damansara Perdana. The theme was Tea Party by The Pool. Ohhh it's soo nice..

I was having so much fun with Ira, Sho-Anne, Zetty and Dyla. Everything was home-made (make with love) :)

This is us with door-gifts, done by Ira, lovely!

You see the bottom picture, especially made for me. :) Two tea-bags one for myself and one for my husband to be consumed during our honeymoon.. haha so thoughtful.

This was what written on the teabag.

And here again, they were all supposed to show ugly expressions except me, but it turns out that Zetty and Sho-Anne were cheating! grrrr..

The last gathering was with my extraordinary amazing and awesome girls from highschool. It was held at the Upstairs Cafe in Subang. We had the whole section for ourselves. And I oh love the decoration. There was one small section decorated, and there were wedding gifts, I cannot describe how lovely it was. I dont have much fotos here, because obviously I dont take fotos on my own occassion. And other people who had the fotos obviously did not upload them in FB. heheh.. So here are the little things that I can share.

We had some games and of course, foto-session (how can we call a complete occasion without that!)

The lovely people at the top foto from left, Jan (a gf), myself (was engaged), syikin (a wife), hana (a wife), ashik (a gf), hana (a fiance), dini (a wife), aliaa(a wife), dyla (a fiance), aziati (a fiance). I guess you can say that almost all my frens are taken :)

With favours for everyone to remember..It was cotton candy, how sweet :)

I had such great times with these people, those wonderful gatherings had helped me to get through the difficult days towards my wedding day. Those smiles, laughter and gifts of course, have kept me motivated and confident to go through the hardship and moments of stressed during the wedding preparation. Because they made me feel how important I am, and it is important to make somebody else feels important to get them moving.

They helped me to get through the days before I became a Mrs! Love you all so much.

New life, new beginning

2011-09-19T11:30:00.002+08:00

I know I havn't been updating the blog since the day I got married. Not blaming anything, coz I was blissfully living the life of a 'newly wed couple' for the past 4 months (exactly 4 months from today). I will definitely update on wedding post mortem when I can find the time.

My husband is now stationed in JB, and undergoing training in Singapore, for how long, I am not too sure. Yes, he had been a weekend husband as much as I have been a weekend daughter to my parents. So during the weekdays, we were all very busy with work, and I can only call myself a human when it's Friday night, fetching my husband from the bus stand when he comes back from JB.

3 months ago was also the time when I decided to continue with my remaining 3 papers to get me to Chartered Accountant (CA). So 3 weeks before raya, I sent in my resignation letter. Serving one month notice was not very difficult, I had 1 week of raya and and there was a long weekend on Malaysia day, my boss also were not much around during that period, so wow!! 1 month felt like 1 week to me.

This raya was my first raya as a wife. What was different? I still go back to my kampung, but only on the first day of raya, so I wasn't there for bunga api, masak memasak, takbir raya from house to house and no malay raya movie on tv. I was also not there during the salam-salam mintak ampun part where it's usually a tradition to go to each person according to the rank in the family.

I was at my inlaw's the raya eve and also on raya morning. But I am not complaining coz the feeling is really good to be the new pengantin, everywhere you go, people will ask for the new pengantin. What's NOT nice is when people starts to hold my tummy and say "takde lagi ker?" pressure!

What else was different? I had to make sure that both of us have matching baju raya, ironed the sampin for the hubby, when it's makan time with the family, I have to make sure that my husband is eating first, had his drinks ready and make coffee for him after dinner. Really, this raya was the first time we ever spend time together for that long period of time...1 week!

Ohh, what else was different? I seek for forgiveness from my husband the night before raya and it was very touching. Tapi esoknya, buat dosa lagi.. hehehe :p

I have ended my career as an auditor in EY last thursday, a day before Malaysia day. Now I am in JB with my husband becoming the Lady of Leisure, that is now my job title! I'll seek for other new title next year, insyaAllah.

For now, I am happy with the thoughts of living together as husband and wife for the first time. And I am sure that there will be a lot more changes in my life as I go on.
This is my new life, my new beginning.

A week before Nikah

2011-06-05T21:28:00.001+08:00

A week before nikah.. what did I do. I started to go on leave 6 days before nikah day. At that time, I felt I was at zero base.

- I have never done ANY fitting to ANY of my wedding attire.
- I have not gotten my bridal shoes
- No spa/facial/waxing/manicure-pedicure whatsoever
- I have not trimmed my hair for more than a year
- Have not found my source to do my henna
- 2 incomplete dulang for hantaran which eventually became macaroons and sejadah
- I did not have any baju for my malam berinai
- No ring for the groom
- The groom have not completed the dulang for my jewelleries
- Marriage approval have not been completed
- Bilik pengantin belum ada perabot (literally only a small walk-in-wardrobe, a katil and a tv)
- Have not searched for my wedding bedding sets including duvet
- Belum kurus lagi

Well, I think not mentioning the rest of other things is enough to make a bridezilla become panic. But not me. I went with the flow. I was never a bridezilla pon to begin with. hehe

In five days (a day before nikah, I was not allowed to go out anymore) I went to do the following:

Fitting Baju

Went for my nikah baju fitting five days before nikah. That was the first time I saw my baju nikah, and I fell in love with it. It wasn’t all ready, no laces, no beadings up yet, but I was already excited to be wearing that Ivory beautiful schiffon. I got my baju nikah 2 days before nikah ceremony.

I also went for my kebaya songket fitting. Still needed to alter after several time of fitting (ehem..bukan untuk besarkan ye..untuk kecikkan lagi.. heheh :))I got my baju kebaya 1 day after my reception, one day before the groom’s reception

Fitting for my reception dress one day before nikah, 2 days before the reception itself. I donno if there is any other person who was as calm as I was. The designer came to my house for first fitting at 3.30pm on my malam berinai day. First time I saw the baju I did not like it. Because it was champagne color. Not that I didn’t like the color, I just never had ANY idea that it was gonna be champagne. I thought it would be off-white with bit of silver, that was what in the sketch given to me...at least that was what I expected it to be. My husband had his suit grey, my bridesmaid and MOH are all wearing grey. And seriously, me being non-artistic at all, I couldn’t imagine my champagne could match with their greys. BUT, I had less than 48 hours, I couldn’t complaint could i? I kept on telling to myself, “Just a wedding reception, just a wedding reception, whats important is the marriage itself” I let it go. I got my baju 3 hours before my reception starts.

Bridal shoes

I really had no idea where other brides go and search for their shoes. I know Lewre had some good ones as my designer’s boutique is full of that brand’s shoes. So I went to Mid Valley, 1 days before nikah. I went to Lewre boutique, nothing caught my attention. Ada lah yang cantik but only 3 feet high. And considering my husband’s height, the designer told me to look for 4.5 height of heels. Gila nak mampos. My friend, Adzy told me to go to Lewre bridal Couture at the Gardens. MY GODDD…. They range from RM 1,500 to RM2,000 per pair of shoes. I will NEVER buy such expensive shoes, walaupun saya kaya macam Ivana Trump.

Adzy also told me to try to search at a shop at Ampang Park. Tapi, it was already evening, I had to go back to get ready for my Berinai session at night. So, my BFF’s lent me their wedding shoes, and my designer also lent me his 5 inch heels for my reception.
Bridal Pamper Treats

I went to do my Manicure and Pedicure 4 days before nikah. That only costs me almost a hundred bucks. Also, I went to salon to trim my hair, color and did some hair treatment, almost RM500 bucks on that.

Spa and facial was done at Tini’s spa in Shah Alam Section 7 2 days before nikah. But altogether was only about RM250. I loved it!!

Body waxing was done 1 day before my nikah. Thanks to my friends for the voucher. I loved it too

Henna

I had actually engaged a lady to do my inai, she agreed, she said she could come to the house and charging me RM150 plus transportation costs. 1 day before the Malam Berinai, she said she had no transport and asked me to go to her shop to do my inai. WTH??? I was gonna have a small ceremony for malam berinai at my house and she asked me to go to her shop. Bodoh.

So I cancelled and luckily, my friend Ira helped me to search for the Henna lady who did for her nikah. Her name was Rajesh. I loved all her designs. And she was only charging about RM100 for both tangan and kaki. She came to the house! Alhamdulillah…

Incomplete dulang

One was supposed to be an I-Pad (which he doesn’t want, tapi I yang nak :p) However, short of budget, so I tak jadi beli, he didn’t want it anyway. I replaced with Sejadah that my mom recently bought from Syria.

Another dulang was supposed to be chocolates. But I remembered that I gave chocolates during engagement, so I didn’t want to give the same thing. I told my wedding planner to handle that one. He bought some macaroons for the dulang. All these were settled on the day of my nikah day!

Jewelleries

I first bought the groom’s cincin suasa and my husband bought my bracelet from Tomei, Subang Parade. Only later we got to know that men cannot wear suasa. It has gold in it, so to be safe, we returned back the ring to Tomei to get something else, but they didn’t have platinum for men that goes without diamond on top. Mr A doesn’t like diamond. So I went to Diamonds and Platinum to buy my Mr his plain platinum ring that cost me a bomb. And my Mr also bought my one set of jewelleries over there that cost him Megabomb. Oh well, but they all were beautiful.

Marriage approval

Completed 5 days before nikah. Phewww!!! Orang nak kawin one month after me, also completed one month before I completed mine. Haiyooo.. But all were good, Alhamdulillah..

Bilik Pengantin

I bought a king-sized duvet, plus white bedding sets for my room 2 days before nikah. I bought furniture for the room like a writing desk, drawers, a bigger chest of drawer, a dresser, a TV console, all 6 days before nikah. And they all arrived 1 day before nikah.

Kurus

Something that was not achievable. Hah! I was a fat bride, whatever!

I am always a last minute person. And he married me anyway.

We Are Married

2011-05-28T09:41:00.002+08:00

Alhamdulillah we got married last week on 19th of May 2011. We both look forward to this exciting new journey together and building a new chapter of our lives together as husband and wife.

Marriage Approval - DONE

2011-05-13T01:06:00.000+08:00

I know this is a bit too late to share, not because i delayed the process of sharing, but the whole process of getting the documentation done was delayed upo to the last second week before the wedding.

1. Kursus kahwin
We first started our process for the marriage approval way in 2009, i guess (without intention to get married any sooner). We started by attending the kursus kahwin in majlis negeri, Shah Alam. There are few other places you can get your kursus from, but I guess the one in Shah Alam, could be the best as it is organised by JAIS themselves. They are a bunch of fun speakers too. Banyak benda you can learn from the kursus.

Antara my favourite was, (and I kept repeating this to many other people) that, women's responsibilities is only to satisfy their men in bed. ONLY, meaning, they are not supposed to work, not supposed to cook, to clean the house etc... those are men's responsibilities, to make sure food is on the table...is men's responsibility. If they can't do it because they are working, they are supposed to provide a servant for the wife, and not make the wife as the servant! ouhhh.. i love this, man! :p

The two days kursus costs you RM80, over the weekend. The first day would take probably from 9 to 4pm and on the next day would only take about 4 hours. Lunch is provided, and the food was damn good! Books for reference are also provided. All inclusive in the RM80.

2. HIV test
We did our HIV test separately, although at the same place. HIV test must be done at ONLY klinik kesihatan approves by JAIS.Opening hours ONLY from 2 to 4pm, mondays to fridays. We did ours at jalan tanglin, near masjid negara. You must take the borang to fill up at the klinik itself, and make appointment. Although sometimes, you can just walk in to do the test, it is advisable to make appointment with them.

Fill up the borang in advanced, went to the klinik as planned according to the appointment made. When I was there first time I didnt really know what to do and where to go. And nobody there BOTHER to ask if I was ok. Nak pergi klinik kerajaan ni, mulut kene kasi ringan sikit..must ask, otherwise, you'll be lost.

Sent in the borang, left IC with the registration counter and took my number. When my number was called, I had to pay RM5 maybe for the test, I dont know. I was then asked to go to the back and pass my borang to the nurses. Lama gila tunggu, I was eventually called after almost 2 hours of waiting.

The person explained to me about HIV (what, who, when, how), macam yang kita selalu dengar masa ceramah-ceramah HIV kat sekolah dulu, well, i took it very lightly...sapa tak tahu what is HIV kan. and how boleh get infected kan? While he was explaining, he poked my finger with the needle. sakkkiiiiiittt! berdebar jugak tunggu result. After result keluar, it was proven to be negative, i was then sent to the doctor who was gonna sah kan my result. The doctor then asked me what, how, when, where about HIV. I was blank. And although i felt i sounded kelakar, i went ahead and gave her a text book answer. She finally signed and approved the borang. This result is only valid for 6 months.

3. Groom's documentation
In this case, i think Mr A was very efficient. He got his saksi, got his borang ready and complete and went to pejabat agama for his housing area, and his application was approved. This approval is only valid for 2 months. His documentation is part of my list of documentation.

4. Bride's documentation
a)Borang 2C - borang about the bride and the groom.
b)Borang 2D - borang about wali and saksi details
c)HIV test result
d)Dokumen sokongan - my IC, wali's IC, saksi's IC, sijil kursus kahwin (copy and original), surat keterangan nikah parents (as I am first child, to know if my father can really be my wali)
e)Borang bermastautin as my address in the IC is different then my current address as I just moved into new house early this yr. This borang must be signed by saksi to approved

5. Approval
Called JAIS to ask where I am supposed to get my pre-approval from. According to my address in Bukit Jelutong, they assigned me to go to Masjid TUDM in TTDIjaya. They also passed me the contact person who is actually the Penolong Pendaftar Nikah. They prefer to meet up in between maghrib and isya', however, if you wish to go after isya', they want you to solat there, so after solat can go straight to his office. I went to see him with my wali and two saksi (my bro n uncle) two and half weeks before nikah. He vetted the documentations, all of us need to sign the borangs (in Note 4) in front of him.

A week before nikah, I went to the Pendaftar nikah from JAIS in shah alam, opposite the mosque. The documents were ready and signed for final approval within 3 hours. You have to pay RM5 for the approval. I had to bring back the approved documents to the Penolong Pendaftar Nikah in Masjid TUDM and left it with him. By then, you can book your jurunikah already.

ONE WEEK TO GO!!!

The kind that I loike

2011-05-01T21:54:00.000+08:00

2 weeks to go!!! ok 2 wks plus plus laa ekceli.. Looking at Kate Middleton's wedding dress, I can't help but to think, if I were a lot more thinner, this is EXACTLY the kind of dress I have been dreaming of.

Soft lace at the top with, satin embroidered at the bottom, this is the perfect one.

Exactly how I have imagined it to be...IF i were A LOT thinner...this is what we call simple BUT elegant! but now it is a bit too late to do anything with mybaju, no? :p

Inspired by Grace Kelly's dress in the 50s, I thought Grace's dress was breathtakingly beautiful.

I even wanted the same kinda veil, but Mr A said it is sooo Christian'ish to cover the face. I dont know what is the logic, but...wth.. ikut jer laah!!

It's too late for me to kuruskan badan whatso ever, I wish I can wear something like this on my 10th anniversary of marriage. (bukan angan-angan di-siang hari)

Cotton for all age

2011-04-29T23:31:00.000+08:00

Second round of kain cotton, anybody wish to get it, pls email me at iikanuar@gmail.com and quote the Cotton #. Can be delivered for free at certain areas, if i happen to pass by. Otherwise, I will post it to you with extra charges.

Cotton #11

Cotton #12

Cotton # 13

Cotton # 14

Cotton #15

Cotton #16

Cotton #17

First wedding gift - You must see this

2011-04-28T03:41:00.002+08:00

Ini adalah mungkin kebiasaan bagi girlfriends untuk hadiahkan to another girlfriend for wedding gift.

Bukaan pertama,

Card salam sayang dari Farah, Sayf and Zayd

Ehem ehem.. harap maklum apa yang berada di dalam, censored! :p

BUT THIS.... I just have to post this, man!!!!

Persatuan Bola Sepak Selangor, signed by Safee Sali!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :)

AND, Bukan itu sahaja!!!!

yang berbunyi.....

Isn't she the sweetest??? Walaupun ini adalah memalukan (how cud she tell him I said I am his number one fan??) but I LOVE this anyways!!!

Thank You, Farah!

Invitation cards - DONE

2011-04-11T00:14:00.000+08:00

Initially both of us, had plans to go Jakarta/Medan/Bandung that sort of place to do our wedding things including doing the invitation cards. However, considering the resources and time, we changed our mind.

In the end, both of use settled with local producers in Medan MARA. Their designs are as good, and they are not any much more expensive pun, if I may say this...they are just slightly more mahal sikit per card then if we were to do in Indon. But if calculate on the whole, you don't lose anything.

The hard cover cards are about RM4-7 per piece, but if you were to do it in Indon, probably about RM 2-3. Groom's type of card costs about in the range of RM1-2.50 (Indon's would be about less than RM1). Yes, in general, Indon's designs are nicer, however, think about this:

1) Leave to take for you to travel back an forth to Indon
2) Transportation wise, not only on planes, but you have to hire a driver to drive you around town
3) Accomodation that you have to spend not only for yourself, but for whoever suku-sakat that is following you there
4) There are a lot of typos, emailing flying around here and there to correct mistakes printed on the card. The more mistakes you detect, the more you gotta spend
5) The extra money that you'll need to spend for designer shopping over there ;)

You end up paying more!

Kad dekat sini, walau you may think tak secantik or se-grand if you were to order from Indon, I feel 100% relieved to see the outcome. More than I was expecting.

Bride's reception

Groom's reception

Bride's card was done at a shop call Cahaya Idaman in Medan MARA.
Groom's card was done at a shop call Ixora, also in Medan MARA.

Happy, Alhmdulillah!

1 month 1 week to go!!!!

Baju kahwin matter - DONE

2011-04-06T00:52:00.001+08:00

Let’s see my progress on my wedding attire. I finally managed to tick on this one for all three events last weekend. Normally, this item is the first agenda or shall I say the utmost important thing to settle. But not for me though. Could be due to two reasons:

1. I am not a superstar, I don’t need to have extravagant and over-elaborate wedding dress

2. I am fat, and I want to take whatever time left to shed some fats. (Macam la boleh kan?)

Three months away from the wedding, I met up with one freelance designer named Gary who used to work for some famous designer in kl. Introduced by my bff, Ira as well as some other friends of my mom.

Ira’s dress beautifully done by Gary.

Prices are from RM1,200 to RM 1,500 for reception dress. He is very professional. He will put your wedding date 2 weeks earlier than the actual date, so that there won’t be any problem of late delivery. He does not have a boutique, and he goes to your house for consultations. He is a very pleasant young man, I have no complaints over him. He is very much recommended for brides with pear shape like me. He knows how to cover your butt.. If you want to go for modern designs, with good price, you can go to him! However, he drew some sketches for me, very nice designs, but they just didn’t make me go “ooooohhhh la la”. The best design out of the three drawings, has got feathers all over the dress, which I thought was too elaborate. I didn’t commit immediately. I know it was not his fault, he is good, its just that I am fussy and it is not easy to do a dress that can fit my body perfectly.

Next, I went to see Syaiful baharim. He did my engagement dress, and I just loveeee his designs, simply because they are simple. I don’t like wedding dress with heavy beads on the body. In fact, I don’t like beads at all. But you know la how people always say, “takder beads, tak pengantin laaa” betul ker? Look at the mat salleh’s weddings, their gowns are normally plain satin. Simple, nice and elegant. That’s what I’m looking for. Hence, Razuan R, Rizalman yada yada yada, are definitely not in my list. Although I did have some intention to check out on them, but somehow, I always never manage to find time, but anyway… even before I decided on anything, I have put my foot down that my nikah dress will definitely be from Syaiful. He understands my body type, he understands my taste.

So my nikah baju will be just a simple chiffon kurung moden, a biiiiiit of lace, probably about same design with my engagement dress, only thing different, this baju has less laces from the engagement one. What I love the most is the kain and the veil. Nothing special about the kain, just that I happen to see a photo from some source of a wedding nikah where its kurung modern top is matched with a flowy kain. I thought it was something different, at least to my eyes. However, I didn’t show that picture to Syaiful, he just read my mind. The veil that he drew for me was veryyyyy long, and I loved it! He said when I sit on the floor, just let the veil fall all over me. Ahhh, I cannot imagine it yet. But insyaAllah… nak nyesal pon tak guna, sudah bayar deposit J

Syaiful also drew me a few sketches for my reception dress. Told him I wanted something like a bit of Victorian like, but not too much. Haha..To be honest, I didn’t know what I want ..hehe.. To keep it simple but a bit of Victorian, he drew a one-piece gown, a combination of satin and french lace, with chiffon as the tail. Gonna wear a short veil, as I have decided, to let the chiffon be the tail instead of my veil. Maybe also something different, at least to my eyes. In the end, 2 month plus away from the wedding date, I confirmed my reception dress with Syaiful Baharim.

Baju bertandang was another thing that got delayed up to last week. With the concept of traditional, I would like to do a traditional kebaya songket. I have always wanted to do my songket with Salikin Sidek, since I was 17! But he is too expensive la for a kain songket, that may not need so much beading pun. So my cousin introduced me to an ex-staff of Salikin Sidek, “tak dapat tuannya, pekerja pun jadi daaa”. He did wedding dress for my cousin’s wedding.

It’s beautiful, and he is cheap too. BUT, If you are the type who is particular, cepat panic, I suggest you don’t even bother to consider him. He is the type that seldom pick up calls, never call you back, or sometimes just MIA. But he will make sure your wedding dress siap la, that is for sure. He is a friend of those HATTA Dolmat and the rest la.. I am not bridezilla, so I dun really know their names. However, Mr A is not the type that can tolerate this kind of people, so since he is paying, he gets to say “No, I don’t like him, don’t do business with him” :p

Later, I was introduced by my friend, Fariza, to a very nice lady, Kak Wawa who does a lot of songket, the owner of Cleo Studio Ampang. She is super nice and generous. She does make up too.. nice one tau.. but too bad I have booked my MUAs. Well, other than baju kawin and make up , she also does facial, spa, hair, sewa baju, sewa accessories (traditional and modern), she has them all, also she doe pelamin service. For a simple kebaya songket, with no beadings, I shouldn’t spend more than 1k. But I was pretty shocked when I hear her quotation. Not only my baju costs less than 1k, I get to sewa accessories for both man and wife, baju songket plus lining, do tanjak and bengkung for you, berinai, all below 1k. yeahhh!!! Go check them out.

So yeayy!!! My baju kawin all settled Alhamdulillah.

1 month and 2 weeks!

The Wedding Nightmare

2011-04-02T15:18:00.000+08:00

I just woke up one morning feeling very uneasy, like there were lots of unsettled things. Had been very busy with work that I forgot about the wedding. It was my reception day. But I couldn’t remember the nikah.

I looked at myself, I was fatter than I ever remembered. I was confident that I could not fit in my dress. I looked at everyone in the house. People are doing their normal daily routine. Papa was reading his newspaper, mom was playing with the cats, brother was eating like there was nothing to rush. And there were no other family members. The house was neat. I asked myself again. What date issit today? It was 20th of the fifth month.

I panicked when everyone was very calm

Then I remembered. The makeup artist. She was supposed to be there by then. I called her up. She said I did not book her time. And I did not pay any deposits. My heart stopped. Then I realized I got the wrong MUA. I called up another MUA that I know, and this time I was pretty sure I booked her.

A man picked up and said she couldn’t come because she was not well. Oh my god. Is this a nightmare? I asked myself. I begged the man (guess he was the husband because he was over protective of her) to let her go and help me with the wedding and told him that I have paid the deposit, she cant do this to me. He finally agreed.

I looked around, this time I was in a hall. But not quite the hall that I was expected. It was like in a school hall. Saw my family members all dressed up taking photos and all. The clock shows 1 hour to the event time. And I was still not dressed. I looked around for my wedding gown. It wasn’t there.

I called up my designer, and he said he would send it to me, but he was still in somewhere around Tropicana.

I felt like crying, but nobody could hear me..nobody see me.

They just walked passed me, and never even bothered if I am not ready. Stress building up. I got so panic, I wanted to shower to calm myself down. But there was no water coming out from any of the taps. I shouted but no one heard me. They continued talking and laughing like I was a ghost.

Where was the wedding planner? Oh, I saw him…ushering guests. Why would he do that? That’s not his job. I ran to him. I didn’t care if I wasn’t dressed properly..the guests couldn’t see me anyway. I ran down the stage. But I slipped and fell and…unconscious I guess?

When I was conscious, I realized that I was lying on bed. I didn’t want to open eyes, I just wanted to sleep and let the day goes off. Let the wedding get cancelled off. But somehow, my eyes were forced to open….by my alarm clock.

I looked at my mobile phone. And saw the date. It was still March 2011!

IT WAS IN MY SLEEEEEP???????

Bridesmaids and M.O.H - DONE

2011-03-21T01:29:00.001+08:00

After so long of ding dong here and ding dong there, I have finally decided on my Maid of Honor (M.O.H) and the other bridesmaids. It wasn't very difficult to choose although I thot it would be the most challenging for someone who has many best and close friends..

But let's just see who I have.. my best-friends-forever...

1. My very very best friend, who is like a sister I never had...Zetty, the closest not only to me, but to my whole family, she is like my mom's God-daughter. Her sacrifices towards me, I will always carry them until I die...

2. Dyla, my FIRST bestfriend, and amazingly, it lasts until today. Someone who even had her hands on my muntah before when I was very very sick and I vomitted in my classroom.

3. ShoN, my bestfriend through thick and thin. Always there, and always understanding..The one bff that I have never had any disagreements/discomfort with. We never fight :)

4. Dini....the one bff who knows and understand me inside and outside. We were roommates, classmates, collegemates, UK-mates, sleeping mate, eating mate, you name it. We share almost everything.

5. Ira, the bff's lovely wife. But now..she is not just one of my bff's wife...!! She is more than that..She is MY bff.. She gives me mental support, help me wherever she can and whenever I am stuck! She will always have a solution, and I will cherish her sincerity in friendships.

Maid of honor by definition is:
1. The chief unmarried woman attendant of a bride.
2. An unmarried noblewoman attendant upon a queen or princess.
Otherwise, she would have been called the Matron of Honor.

Anyway, I personally think it doesn't matter whether or not she is married. I just wouldnt want to burden the married bffs too much, as they would have their personal responsibilities towards their husbands who are also going to be my best guests. Hence, I try to limit their duties as much possible.

Well I guess one of the reasons to get the unmarried bffs for MOH is for them to 'ambil berkat' and hopefully they will get their jodoh thereafter.

The two maid of honor for the receptions are going to be Dyla (for my reception) and Dini (for his reception) simply because Dini has got an office event on the day after my reception night, so I dont want her to rush to get home that night, just to sleep early for the next day event. I didnt have to choose who becomes MOH for which.

But, how happy I was, you won't be able to imagine! After the announcement of my wedding, not long after, these two bffs announced theirs as well, which fall in the same year! I believe it is the berkat of being selected as the MOH, such an honorouble duty.. hehe...

Ira was my MOH (refused to call her matron :p) during my engagement, simply because she was there early enough to help me out with my veils and all. I didnt have to choose who became my first maiden, she was perfect! She was the expert, she knew how to usher me to the pelamin very well, she took care of my veil and my baju if nampak gemuk or whatever, she will tell me to change my pose.. THAT is the real MOH! :)

Zetty and ShoN will be the maids of honor for my nikah. They will be there next to me, holding my hands when he says 'Saya terima nikahnya....' I didnt have to choose, however, hopefully by then, Hazrieq is big enough to let mummy attending to mama Yien for a lil while. *kiss*

I have also confirmed on my bridesmaids for my reception. The four bridesmaids are my cousins. How did I choose? Also wasn't very hard.. One girl cousin from each family... So for arwah Maklong's family who has 5 daughters....? I get them to choose the most suitable candidate. AND they chose my single and available cousin to be the representative. Hopefully dapat jodoh jugak nanti? :) InsyaAllah....

Today I have completed buying the kain-kain for my bridesmaids and MOH. Many people say that Jakel is expensive. I thought so too when I bought my kain for my engagement. Tapi when we tried going to Nilai 3, kononnya the wedding heaven...:( takder yang menarik minat.. I suggest dont waste time and minyak. Jalan TAR lagi best. Price? Sama jer... Jln TAR is more economical, since you don't have to travel that far.

Next, we went to all other kedai kain like Kamdar, Gulati's, Euromoda...........some kain tak cantik, murah sangat pun takder la... But yg paling tak best is when the sales girl dont even know how to sell. Dah la we have to go round and find our own kain, when we ask for the lining, she said 'tak ada la kot'!!

OK, maybe other people have never encountered this before in any of these shops, tapi...since it happened to us.. and my mom very skeptical pasal service service ni... hence, in the end, Jakel here we comeee!!! The selection of kain is very nice, with good quality.. Yes, the price you can't compare dgn those you buy in Jakarta or Bandung..but...if you consider time to go there, money for accomodation and logistics for few people, not forgetting the extra money you will spend for fake designer handbags and casual wear, I think it is the about the same or maybe just a biiiiiiit less that what you can get at jakel. You do the calculation.

Sekurang-kurangnya, beli di jakel, if you think it is expensive, tapi puas hati...kain-kain dia bawak dpn mata you to choose, you just sit and enjoy them modelling in front of you. well, there are always pros and cons la i guess. Tolak la perangai-perangia buruk the owners of the store tuh... They are very pushy, determined, and adamant on you buying their kain. If you weak like me, suggest find someone who is as strong as my mom who can say "No, let me look around first!" or "Takmo la... MAHAL!" so, you're safe! :)

So.. what is the story of my baju kahwin???? BELUM SETTLE..:)

2 months to go! At least kain for bridesmaids and family of bride - DONE!

MUA second wave - DONE

2011-02-15T19:44:00.000+08:00

In my previous entry, I mentioned that I have confirmed all MUAs for all three events (nikah, sanding and tandang). In fact, that was the first thing I did after confirming on the venue of course.

Unfortunately, I can't remember, I think about weeks after that, the MUA I hired for my nikah, Ian Sham, called me to give me a bad news. She said she will not be able to make it for my nikah because she has booked a ticket to Bali and she forgot about that when she called to confirm on the date. When she told me the first time, I was blank. I couldnt get at first, I didnt know what was she trying to tell me. I slowly absorbed, but I was still blank.. I did not know whether to be angry or to be sad. She said she can get a replacement for me. But I have lost my confidence. She refunded me, the next day.

The first time when I found her website, I fell in love with her work. I kinda like what she does to certain people. But 'certain people' would mean, not all of her work are enticing. I guess, it depends on the bride laa..

When I called to ask for availability, she was nice.. and friendly. But what I didn't like about her that time was... the terms and condition that she provided to me before I banked in the deposit. I was comparing to Su Cantik of course. Or even Saidatulnisa.. those are the famous MUAs. Although their prices are higher than Ian (because I guess Ian is not really that famous), the amount of deposit that she requested was higher. And she had other terms like transportation cost, extra cost for staying back bla bla bla..that was made clear to me on the phone. So that gave me a bad impression the first time.

But because I had no choice, it was between Ian and Saidatulnisa, of course I chose the cheaper one. Now that she has cancelled on me...I had to turn to Saidatul.

This is Saidatulnisa's work. Her make up are all natural, which I like..but sometimes, they seem too normal. But what's important in MUA is not what colour she puts on your face. It is more like whether she understands your face, she knows how thick and how thin the make up should be in order to appear nice on tv/magazine/picture/video. And she has that expertise.

What I heard about her is, dia a bit sombong and hanya nak layan VIPs sahaja. But when I first talked to her, I swear she was nice and humble. She didn't sound snorbish at all. However, she told me that she has a contract with the Queen, so whenever the Queen calls her, she has to cancel on her client. But she will put her assistant, Liza to replace.

Based on other friends' experience, Liza does her magic too. She learned a lot from Saidatulnisa. So I thought, hey why not? If I lose a diamond, I get a gemstone. Both are equally beautiful. I imediately booked her and I feel very good about it.

Setiap yang berlaku, ada hikmah. I was told by Sue who had experiences with Ian Sham that her make up is not really nice after all.. She makes your skin looks darker. Alhamdulillah.. and when people know that I booked Saidatulnisa, they give positive feedbacks. Alhamdulillah.....syukur..confident sikit.

I have 3 months and 4 days left!!!

Hazrieq Ziyad

2011-02-10T00:24:00.001+08:00

Welcome baby boy!

08.02.2011

I am 4 hours-old

Meet my godson, the son of my bff, Zetty Zaihasra with beloved hubby, Harith Hamdan... I am so happy for you guys. Congratulations..

Rasa bangga my bff did it without taking any epidurals. She went through normal labour, and the experience I guess was indescribible..

Oh, btw, sejak-sejak nak kawin ni, bila orang tanya bila my turn, I will automatically say, "InsyaAllah...bulan May, tak lama lagi..."

So semalam, during the visit at the hospital, Harith's mom asked me, "So when is your turn?"

I answered, "InsyaAllah aunty, bulan lima.."

then muka dia macam hairan, dan aku pon hairan la kenapa dia hairan..

Then it occurred to me, adakah mungkin dia tanya when is my turn to give birth????

Hmm...mungkin juaa... hahah..memang la tak mungkin bulan 5, kawin pon blom :p

Theme colour - DONE

2011-02-06T23:42:00.004+08:00

I am three months away from my wedding day. Oh boy, yes, I have just decided on the theme colour. These are the colours that I would like to have in my weddings, and I have pre-discussed them with my wedding planner. But I need to go through them again with him.

Nikah Day

Green. Well, don't ask me why I choose green. Suci, no? Like very soothing, yes!. The rest of my family members may be wearing the apple green shade as follows:

Parents of the bride, the special people, may wear another tone of green that is slightly different from other members. Yellowish green.

My wedding reception

My wedding planner told me to choose between salmon and mauve colour. I chose Mauve! The theme colour for the deco should be the same with the colour of cherry blossom.

So family member decided to wear Salmon color to match with the family of this cherry blossom's colour (I dunno the name). The colour that will be worn by my family member is:

So my friends as well as the M.O.H will be wearing Mauve as how I had always wanted it to be.

Many would think that it looks like lilac, but it is not. This is called Taupe Mauve.
The groom's entourage will be wearing something silver-ish or grey-ish. I hope the colour matches with the main theme colour of the reception.

Bertandang

The theme colour would be a combination of blue, green and gold colour...the colour of a peacock!

My family members would be wearing something gold-ish like below:

Ali's family will be wearing blue colour, since they have decided to wear blue, but the pengantin's baju is green, the only blue that suits green and gold is the 'peacock color"

Although I have decided on the colours, they are still open for changes. But as for now, I am settled with the colours.

Cotton for sweet baju kurung

2011-02-04T22:16:00.003+08:00

I guess kain cotton is the 'in' thing now for baju kurung. It is sooo comfy, cooling n the designs are very sweet too.. So anyone interested in these?

~~Cotton # 1~~ SOLD

~~Cotton # 2~~ SOLD

Cotton # 3 SOLD

Cotton # 4

Cotton # 5

Cotton # 6

Cotton # 7

Cotton # 8 SOLD

~~Cotton # 9~~ SOLD

Cotton # 10

These kains are selling at RM150 at the shop. If you buy from me, here is the deal:

Buy 1 : RM 150 each
Buy 2: RM 135 each
Buy 3: RM 135 each the third one will go at RM120

Delivery in Klang Valley are free at certain areas.

Interested in getting for your work/raya baju kurung, pls email me at iikanuar@gmail.com

Hello neighbour

2011-02-04T01:33:00.001+08:00

I have been off the internet connection for I think almost a month now since my family and I moved to our new crib in Bukit Jelutong. This is my first day using the internet after Unifi is installed in the new house.

The circled area is where I live. Normally when people move into a new house, new area, there will be lotsa crisis as most people refuse to accept change in environment and lifestyle.

As for me, I love everything about this new area. OK la, not everything. But most of it. To cut it short, I don't have much problem in moving to Bukit Jelutong other than packing and shifting stuff from Subang house to Bukit Jelutong. We did not hire any movers, so we have to do them ourselves.

I love the area, the fact that it is a gated community. My nature of work requires me to work late and most of the time, I travel back home pass midnight. Those days in Subang, I had to be very careful while opening my gate. Not to say in BJ I dont have to be careful, but I feel less scared and more protected. I don't know why.. maybe because my house is just next to the guard house. It somehow, does help me in giving some comfort.

Jogging and exercising is not a problem. I dont have to take up gym membership ok. I think running around BJ is good enough. There are very few cars passing by, and you'll see lotsa peopl doing their morning jog/cycle. Oh, I just love that feeling you know, like you are not the only one trying to lose weight.

Cuma one thing I cannot help feeling "aaarrgghhh". My travel time takes longer to reach client's office every morning, and I need more money for the toll because the only good way to go to work is using NKVE and DUKE.

My neighbourhood is very nice. In my lorong, there are only about 6 houses in the same lorong. So it's good in the sense that, nak kawin nanti senang nak mintak permission to use the road :) And they are very nice peep too..

It is also very cooling here in BJ, I hardly use my air-cond.

Oh, if I wan to talk about BJ, memang susah nak abis. Cz it is very satisfying...

I have not finished exploring.. and I fell in love with it already. I hope my future husband will like it here too..

I Wanna Die

2011-01-20T10:23:00.000+08:00

A song by dubbed by I-dunnowho, but I am pretty sure that he is an auditor. Dedicated to all auditors.

They warn you about going through peak,

When you step into audit,

Everyday do casting, vouching,

And also cross-referencing,

You must know your debit credit,

If not you can't tie your balance sheet,

You whole day press your calculator,

Now can count faster than the cashier,

I wanna Si (die in hokkien)
After pluck leadsheet,
Still must do timesheet,
More work for me..

Why can't everything be I/C (inconsequential),
Suggest to leave, go home and watch TV,
Office so messy,
Can't find my TEH-C
I wanna Si..

When people are going through peak,
No time to work out and keep fit,
When parents ask us go home to eat,
We can't, we eating with colleagues,

On some days when we are lucky,
We can go home early 6.30
Do you know what's AUDITOR meaning?
All You Do Is Think Is Think Of Resigning

I wanna Si
I want throw letter, straight at the partner,
Take it from me!!
We work late hours everyday,
But we get so damn little pay,
We can claim taxi,
But can't claim OT,
I want MC!!!

Working through weekends

Listen to the song.

Pappa Rich

2011-01-16T21:55:00.001+08:00

Maybe some of us, especially who stays in Ampang area, would have noticed this new place to hang out for coffee-coffee. The name 'Pappa Rich' might sound normal to most people as it has always known as just 'another kopitiam other than Oldtown'. But i think Pappa Rich's food is way better than Oldtown la.

But that's besides the point. The usual Pappa Rich in the malls are just a kopitiam-looking ones. But not this one that we have just discovered along Jalan Ampang.

It's like a bungalow by the road side, not sure if the building is named Nihonkan or what. But what I know there is a very posh looking Italian restaurant at the top level and Pappa Rich is at the bottom.

This is the entrance to Pappa Rich. First time there, you'll be looking around to search for the restaurant. Coz it's nothing like the ones in the malls.

And yes, they have a swimming pool. This is not just for show. You can really swim in the pool, although I have not seen anyone doing it.

That is Pappa Rich's seating area by the pool side.

Walking inside the restaurant. So cozy and nice. There are two LCDs showing astro channel.

Don't worry, food and prices are the same.

If you are coming from Ampang point going towards KLCC, along jalan ampang on the left side, you'll see this bungalow. It is before Great Eastern Mall.

Please go there, it's so nice. And I love Milo Dinosour!

Peak period

2011-01-13T01:49:00.001+08:00

Agak-agak bila accounts tak tie, balance sheet tak balanced, figures you are looking at does not make sense, makan ni:

Di perkaya dengan DHA. Serious terasa pandai lepas makan. :p

I am 27, and I still enjoy eating Rusks!

DHA - for developement of brain and eye, improve cholesterol, lower the risk of Alzheimer and Dementia

Bridal Spa hunting - DONE

2011-01-09T00:57:00.001+08:00

I have always wanted spa session to be one of my fixed activity monthly. I would like to pamper myself, once in a while get people to scrub you, mandikan, even sapukan lotion on your body..wow that's nice. Macam anak raja.

Tapi sebab masa tidak mengizinkan, so tak pernah la ada masa nak buat spa as a monthly activity. Sampaila sejak sejak nak kawin ni, mahu tak mahu, ada masa atau tidak, I HAVE to make time for it! So I started searching to spa yang ada dikawasan klang valley. Spa memang banyak, but depends on what type of spa you'd like to do. Most spa yang ada macam aromatherapy kinda thing, macam modern modern la. Tapi, untuk brides, I think I'd prefer to go to the traditional ones, which...tak sebanyak the modern types.

I found one yang the nearest to my place, in Kota Kemuning. Made appointment a week in advanced to go for bridal spa consultation together with my friend, Dini, who is also getting married about the same time with me. I noted down the address stated in the blog, googled it and was actually there at the area, called up the lady only to find out, they have actually moved to BUKIT KEMUNING. And they only briefly mentioned that in one of the blog entries.

Adoii.. Dah la jam dalam Kota kemuning tu, not familiar with the place, we left, heading back towards subang. We quickly googled other spa centre, and found one in Sungai Buloh. Thinking that S.B is only somewhere near Curve, from Kota kemuning (Shah Alam), drove to curve, entered S.B masuk dalam lagi on the way to Kuala Selangor, rupanya that place was just belakang Shah Alam. It would have been only 20 minutes drive from Subang, but it took us an hour plus..oh my...

Tapi tempat tu... worth it giler!

There are lotsa packages, you can choose from Package A to Package E.

The package that we chose, started with infra red sauna for half hour.

Both of us went in together. Heheh.. So we gossiped like oh my god! that was really fun!

Next, bila liang-liang roma dah terbukak, dia lulur badan with beras and ntah apa lah kan, haha can't remember. (No picture, sorry huhu), lepas about 20 minutes, dah kering, she scrubbed your body like nobody's business. Best giler, memang terkeluar lah segala daki-daki.

Lepas tu rinsed, then did body bleaching. Nama je body bleaching, tapi bukan la bleach macam Michael Jackson tu ye. It is more for making your body glowy. Disapukan seluruh badan.. Sementara dia menyental badan, adoiii terasa malu seketika. She could feel the stiffness of my body while she sapukan that thing on my body. Malu ok. Segala lemak-lemak bergetaran.

And then mandi susu for half hour lagi. Berendam dalam susu mixed with roses and lime.

Masa berendam tu, dia tutup lampu, pasang lilin, bau lavender n roses n susu, rendam..layan perasaann ..hehe

After that, berendam dalam jacuzzi plak. Then shower. After that dia sapukan lotion seluruh badan. SO FRESH!

The total cost was RM260 for almost 4 hours there. Everything else except bleaching is only RM170. Bleaching tu tak yah la tiap bulan kan.

They also offer bridal spa for ratu sehari for the price of rm350 dengan facial, facial kollegen, scrub, mandi bunga, mandi susu, sauna, berinai, whitening...to be done 1 week before wedding.

And the best part is, orang yang buat menyental, membasuh, mencuci your body is the owner, Kak Rozie. Dia turun padang, tak main la bagi the inexperience staff to do for you.

Overall, I think her packages are quite reasonable. And it is not very far from Subang. Sebenarnya saya malas nak buat survey lagi.. but because this lady pun very nice, staff pon baik baik..price ok.. I don't mind going there again.

Checkout DF Nusantara in Saujana Utama.

Kulit jadi sangat licin, dan lembut seperti bayi yang baru dilahirkan. chewah! :)

Wedding make up artist (MUA) - DONE

2011-01-06T23:30:00.001+08:00

Surprisingly this is the first thing and the only thing at the moment that I can safely say is done. I have like 4 months and 1 week left for the preparation, and I have only done THIS.

But Alhamdulillah, at least one is checked.

It started off two weeks ago when my friend Dini, who is getting married 1 month AFTER me, told me that she couldn’t book Su Cantik for her wedding because she is fully booked. Tetiba dapat heart attack. Orang yg nak kawin later pun dah mula cari MUA. Me????

Immediately I contacted Su Cantik (semua orang cakap dia make up cantik) and asked for her availability.

Unfortunately, she is only available on my reception date. So kene la cari MUA lain for my other two ceremony. But I terus book her for my reception.

I contacted Amy Janz (yang makeup Rozita Che Wan), introduced by my bff who was beautifully dolled up by him during her wedding.

Tapi dia macam sombong la plak. Maybe sebab aku bukan artis. I had to remind him to check his availability. So walaupun dia free, Ali tak bagi hire him, because of his attitude.

Next, I contacted Tiar Zainal (cantik makeup natural), but.. he quoted over 1k. My gawdd!!! Cancel!

These were my top three. Dah cancel dua taktau la nak hire siapa. Thought of taking back the MUA who did for my engagement. Tapi I wanted my face to be different in all four ceremonies. So I decided to take all different MUA.

The next in line, Ayangkamel.

Also very famous. He quoted very very reasonable price. Unfortunately, he is not free on Ali’s reception. Couldn’t take him for my nikah, because I have always wanted to hire a lady MUA for my nikah.

Then bila google, jumpa other MUA like Lova, Fiza Zainuddin, Ian Sham. I loveee Ian Sham’s makeup. She does wonders to a lot of people. Lova did not reply my msg. Fiza and Ian replied and I managed to book them for majlis bertandang and solemnization respectively.

Ian Sham's

Lova's

Fiza Zainuddin's

Nak book MUA ni memang takut, all you need to do is redha. You don’t know whether they can really do wonders to your face. Sometimes I think kita nampak dorang makup orang cantik..but maybe because orang tu memang cantik. Macam mana orang buruk macam saya? Risau jugak kan.. hmm..takpe laaaa gamble. Terima dan redha aje.

Ali has helped me to pay all the deposit to secure my dates. So, MUA…DONE!

Photos: google

Favourite photos in 2010

2011-01-05T00:20:00.002+08:00

Throughout 2010, I have collected some photos from friends and families yang comel, yang funny, yang sweet, segala expression dan perasaan ada bila tengok these pictures.

Arissa Dania...tido macam mana tu?

I just looooooove this photo. Both daughter and dad like in love with each other. so sweet.

Nana...this picture is damn cool. like she is enjoying every bit of the run and she made it to the end, and it felt great!

Lulu Alani...she is an adult but jelma dalam badan baby..look at her shoes. :)

Sangat aman dia tido, macam masih dalam perut. what i like about this picture is his chubby cheeks and tangan berlipat

Ok, this is from Fotofreaks, the groom, is one of the owner

Sophia Nadine, first time naik baby seat.. sengsara je muka dia.

Lulu Alani, like Bunda, like daughter

Emir, tengok dia tido, giler nyenyak.

Aww..the sweetest

My favourite couple..on the billboard ke apa nih. sweet!

Tadi Lulu Alani in love dengan papa dia, now merajuk. love-hate relationship.

Lulu Alani likes to do that..

Raessa says 'bluek...'

She has a loveable face...

Raessa says "Ah, dont kacau me, I want to shleep'

This is a one yr old baby!!!! big and cute! Daddy hopes u turn out to be Shania Twain one day

OK, ni comel. Rasanya kepala dia tak patah lagi kot.

:) Looking back at my collections in 2009, some of these babies in the photos had been in my collection previously. Forever comel lah you.

Let's kumpul for 2011!

The Pages of my 2010

2011-01-02T21:34:00.001+08:00

Overall, I think 2010 was not a very good year for me. Mainly because I did not manage to get through exams. And there are some other misunderstandings, crisis bla bla bla, but I thnk that's very normal lah. Because it's new year, I plan to just erase the black memories, and only remember the good ones. To summarise my 2010 happy moments:

Unnie and Najib wedding reception, Equatorial Bangi, (1.1.10)

Eric and Soo Yan Wedding dinner at Rotunda Club, Melaka (2.1.10)

Zetty and Harith akad nikah in Subang Jaya (8.1.10)

Zetty and Harith wedding reception, Shah Alam (9.1.10)

Harith and Zetty wedding reception at Concorde Shah Alam (10.1.10)

Jajan surprise bday at Red Box, Curve (23.1.10)

Putrajaya Night Race Marathon, Putrajaya (6.2.10)

Manai Nikah in Sungai Buloh, (13.2.10)

Manai wedding reception at Sime Darby Convention Centre (20.2.10)

Sun Dress baby shower party for Dina, Hana and Aliaa, Putra Heights (21.2.10)

LZH farewell, Red Box, KL (3.3.10)

CNY holiday, Cameron Highlands, (6.3.10)

Hiking Broga Hill, Semenyih (13.3.10)

1Q bday at Full House Ara Damansara (28.3.10)

Adzy's pink hen night, Luna Bar (29.5.10)

Adzy and Syah wedding reception at Bukit Komuniti Damansara (6.6.10)

Surprise bday from bff, Upstairs Cafe, Subang Jaya (7.6.10)

SCKLIM Dataran Merdeka, (27.6.10)

ETIQA pre peak period at Fish & Co Bangsar Ville (1.7.10)

EY Worl Cup Dinner at Banker' Club, KL (1.7.10)

Lulu Alani 2nd bday, Subang Jaya (1.8.10)

Maybank Fortis Closing at Nong n Jimmy (5.8.10)

First Raya with dad's family, Ayer Tawar, Perak (10.9.10)

Second raya with mom's family, Ipoh (11.9.10)

My engagement in Subang Jaya (30.10.10)

Dini's engagement, Subang Jaya (5.12.10)

Abg Jo and Citra wedding reception, Wisma PKPS Shah Alam (6.12.10)

EY 2010 Annual Dinner, KL Convention Centre (10.12.10)

Sweet Final AFF cup 2010 Stadium Bkt Jalil, (26.12.10)

But I love the ending of it! Good bye 2010. I hope 2011 will be a great year for me, insyaAllah..

New 2011

2011-01-01T02:35:00.001+08:00

Hello 2011. This is the time of the year where people start to plan for new year, establish new goals to achieve, but many, would just don’t bother. Some of my staff asked me if I have any plans for NYE. I stopped and think, I have not had plans for so many NYEs and this year’s would be the same. I don’t feel like going to town to do countdowns anymore, I guess I have passed that period where we dress up very very nicely, head to town very very early, lepak until very very late to wait for countdown with very very many people you don’t know, heading back home and stuck in very very horrible jam. I have totally passed that time. Then it got me wondered, waaahhh I am so old already!!!

Whatever!

So to start my 2011, I would like to review the things that I have wanted to achieve but had never been able to do so and will be carried forward next year.

Met

1. Cameron Highlands
I had not been to Cameron Highland for so long, maybe the last time when I was 8. So I have been wanting to go, and Alhamdulillah it was a good trip with my bff.

2. Broga Hill hiking
Never thought that I could do this. Thanks to my team-mates for insisting me to go with you

3. Get engaged
Alhamdulillah… to the man I love.

4. Get promoted
My position is a bit weird, because they changed the title of the pose. It is supposed to be an assistant manager, but since they want to cut down cost to pay less, they replace the AM title to supervisor where I have the responsibility as an AM but the name does not sound like a manager. But..whatever, bersyukur anyway…

5. New handbag for office
I wanted a DKNY, tapi sejak sejak nak kawin ni, kene banyak simpan duit.. so bought something that I really like from Charles n Keith. I love it!

6. Go to Bootcamp introduction
Fariza and Sarep invited us, it was a really a good experience, now that it has opened in Subang Jaya, I might consider joining after I lose some weight to get some stamina.

7. Own a smartphone
Yeayy.. I love my bb! Able to connect with friends at any times at a fixed cost.

8. Buy running shoes
Shoe lama sudah haus tapak dia. So have not been running because I was always contemplating to buy shoes. So blardy expensive. But just recently, I managed to get a 50% off for RM500 Reebok. And I love it!

9. Join KL Marathon
I did it with Ali

10. First medal in running
Got it from KL Marathon. Glad I joined it.

11. Book reception hall for wedding
Although did not get the date that I like, but… Alhamdulillah, I managed to get the place that I like and the date pon takder la mengarut sangat…Friday night.. 

Not met

12. Lose 10kg
Huh, ini adalah paling mencabar..hilang 5 kg naik balik 6 kg. Tak guna btol. This yr, kene lebih berusaha. Oleh kerana terlalu difficult, I will lower down the target to 7kg this year. Maybe lebih logika.

13. Learn play tennis
Blame Ali for this. Dari sehari ke sehari nak ajar main.. tak juga ditunaikan. Grrr..! This year..mesti at least tahu main. Berusaha!

14. Start swimming class
This is also a way to kuruskan badan. Tapi..still searching for a lady instructor. Will still continue searching.

15. Enrol French class
Will enroll in 2011, since insyaAllah I will drag my fren Dee along to go to classes with me.

16. Singapore run
Wah, carried forward to 2011 because by then insyaAllah I will be going with my FH. Senang dari segi logistic and accommodation!

17. Pass Exams
I will try to pass any one paper this year. I must! At least I know that I am not stuck.

18. Get a new job
I will still search for new and better jobs. But this will not be carried forward because it will no more be my goal to achieve. It will be more like if I can get a better job, it is a rezeki for me. Otherwise, I won’t fret.

19. Start to pay zakat
To be honest, I never pay zakat pendapatan and I am not gonna give excuses for not doing it. I realized after all these 4 years of working, without paying zakat, I ended up paying out more unnecessary things like paying over 4k for car problem, being cheated by orang jual kain for my tunang dan banyak lagi. Tu semua sebab tak bayar zakat. So although tak sempat nak bayar before 31 December 2010 to be able to be included in this year’s tax exemption, I will still pay my zakat after I get my EA form so that insyaAllah my income for 2010 adalah bersih.

20. Go to Langkawi
The last time I went to Langkawi was when I was 11 maybe, itu adalah sebelum pembangunan yang sangat pesat ni. Since the kemajuan, I have not gone there not even once. Jadi 2011 mesti pergi bersama FH.

21. Start to save 10% of salary in ASB
Ni adalah satu benda yang memang nak buat dah lama, tapi asyik malas jer nak pergi ke PNB or maybank to deposit the money. And since nak kawin ni, bukan nak simpan, nak kuarkan lagi adalah… huhu.. so lepas kawin nanti.. will start to make it a habit.

22. Find ‘See Jane Run’ book
One of the best books I have ever read. Thriller suspense best giler, but my friend misplaced it before returning it back to me. It is kinda an old book, because I bought it 6 years ago, second hand. Now, I don’t know if it still on sale. But, I am gonna drop this goal and redha je.

23. Skytrex
Takut nak try sebab badan gemuk, takut berat sangat. But was told that it is alright. Even lelaki berat 90kg pon bleh pergi, why not? SO 2011..watch out!

24. Wall climbing
Haaa..ni pon bila dah fit nanti saya akan cuba at least once tahun ni.

Happy New year to everyone. May 2011 brings you good health, and wealth and all the happiness in the world.

My NYE, went to a friend's house had wonderful bbq at his balcony, celebrated by only 4 people. what's more wonderful, at the balcony can see fireworks from Tropicana City, BB Walk, KLCC, Dataran merdeka, Tmn Tun, Curve..... aaahh.. bliss!

New year resolution: To achieve majority of my goals in 2011.

AFFcup 2010 Final in Bkt Jalil

2010-12-27T23:49:00.003+08:00

I was definitely not a stadium virgin. I have been to football stadiums to watch matches a couple of times when I was little. Back then, the atmosphere was absolutely different than what I experienced last Sunday at the Stadium Bukit Jalil.

Malaysia v Indonesia is probably a match that nobody in this country would ever want to miss it, especially those who enjoys watching football. What more if it’s a final match. I believe that tickets were all sold out as the stadium was so full, and I have never seen any stadium that is as packed.

From the twitter updates, the roads to Bukit Jalil have started to get jammed up since 11am. We decided to drive to Salak Selatan, Cheras and take the train from there which was about 4 stations away from Bukit Jalil.

Let me tell you how semangat I was. Two days before the event we have been searching high and low for the original Malaysia yellow jersey, but to no avail. So takpe la, just wear any baju that we have first and we intended to buy any t-shirts at the stadium (Ali refused to buy the imitation jersey, semangat kan? *clap clap*)

When we reached the stadium, there were so many people, and it was only 3.30pm. We bought ourselves a t-shirt each that says “Tanah tumpahnya darahku”

I also bought stickers for my face. Semangat tak -_- Kalau bukan kerana panas terik dah nak mampos kat luar tu, I would have painted my face with Malaysian flag color. Tapi tak larat laaaa…It was soo hot and I was sweating like a piglet.

Nampak tak gambar harimau :( First time tatau guna sticker, so rosak..heheh

Malaysia

We decided to go in early. So we can find the best spots. Out seats were just next to the VIP. Ok tak la next to VIP, next to the sponsors who were seated next to the VIPs, chewah.. nak jugak! Anyways.. why I said this, is because the players keluar masuk from our side. So the best part was when the players went out for warming up, then on the way to go back in, Safee Sali was looking at my seating area (not me, but my seating area). I was waiving at him (nobody else did, because I noticed either people were clapping hands or waiving the flags, but NOBODY waived with hands, only I DID) and Safee waived back at me. (Sukati lah nak perasan! :p)

Where we sit

Malaysia vs Indonesia

As early as 5pm

At 6pm

At 7pm

Our players came out sekejap untuk amik feeeeeel of hte atmosphere

Our players warming up

Indonesian players, tatau knp they chose the colour, maybe celebrate Christmas :)

Despite of the players gets 'boo'ing from Malaysian supporters, I think we are generally nice that we still allow them to hang all these posters and banners to show their support. I wonder how la if we were at their place, takut kene bakar jer.

Indonesian supporters

Our neighbour yang semangat satu family!

Well I am sure everybody knows about the laser incident. To me it couldnt be the factor for the lost. If Malaysia had lost the game, we would have said the same thing, that the indonesian players were throwing down bottles to the players who were taking corner kicks. But the fact is, they have got nothing to do with the performance of the players. Even the coach of Indon players admitted that. Read here. SO STOP IT OK!!!!!! THEY WERE GOOOOOD..!

When we scored our first goal

The clebration up to the third goal...

oh-o

Sorak lagi-sorak lagi

People shouting "satu lagi!"

The best game ever.... Even Ali admitted it to be better than watching Liverpool matches. This was awesome I tell you. I wish I can go to Indonesia to watch the game over there for the second final. I wish I could witness the victory live! Tapi takper.. semangat itu penting.

I pray that there will be sufficient number of Malaysian supporters watching the match live in Indonesia. I pray for their safety, while at the stadium, selamat pergi dan balik. And the most important thing is for our Malaysian players to be well prepared, more energetic, dont panic, balik dengan piala. Please score at least 1.

I believed in you even before everybody ever did. Because I am your number 1 fan! :)

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T18:12:00.000+08:00

Just stayed in town for Christmas as Ali has been quite busy these past few days and my parents are in Turkey for about a week now. So kadang-kadang curi la masa Ali untuk keluar dating. But urggh..he works while dating, boleh? :)

Anyway.. went to Pyramid on Christmas day. The parking was like oh-so stressful, we went straight up at the roof top and we managed to find ourselves a parking space. And it was just past 12pm masa tu, parking dah penuh. To quote what my bff said, "Bila raya, jalan lengang, bila christmas, jln sesak" hmm, i wonder why too..

Look at the following pictures, every places in the mall yang boleh makan, semua penuh.

Dunkin Donot? Selalu takder orang sgt

Maybe I didn't get the right angle for this, tp masyaAllah, ramai gell

Ntah bila wujud kopitiam yg nak follow Old Town ni...PON penuh jugak

Laksa shack was also full house

Wendy's yg bodoh ni pon full house

I think you can imagine how other places would look like. Macam McD, kfc, Tony Roma's, Pizza hut...omg!!! cannot tahan, so we went to Chicken Hartz Buffet for lunch. Prolly the only place that was not full.. But, hey it's really not because of the location yg tak strategic..the food sux ok! Kecewa...

Lalu, mengubati hati yg kecewa itu, I bought this:

*Semangat mode* ok, have to start running again...after Christmas, oh no, after New Year :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Break-in

2010-12-22T01:58:00.003+08:00

Just earlier today, a friend's house was burgled. Not sure what was the loss, but alhamdulillah no one was at home, so everybody was safe.

Nowadays, people don't wait until midnight or during the quiet night to break into houses. It can happen in the broad daylight, and even when there are neighbours around. There was once when my aunt was watering her plants outside her house, she saw a man whom was using saw blades trying to cut through a neighbour's front door. She did not do anything, thinking that the man was helping out with renovation.

Another case I know, the buglar was in a house for three days, siap masak maggie dalam rumah tu, and NO ONE around the neighbourhood realised it. Apparently, the owner of the house was away for 3 days, but neighbours did not even notice as there were sounds of people moving around the house during the day in that supposedly empty house. They only realised it was broken into when the owner complained the house was ransacked.

I myself would feel very scared if I were to be left alone in the house during the day. I will always try to make plans to go out, if anything happens, it is always better if no one is at home, so no one gets hurt. Few tips that insyaAllah will help to avoid this happening to you.

1. Burglar alarm, nowadays, it has become a necessity for every house. The sound of the alarm will awake us, prepare to get ready, better than being caught while you are sleeping where you are helpless. More often that not, the burglar will run away, shocked! Better still, if the alarm is connected straight to police station. Well, I even put this on during the day.

2. Since most break-ins normally start from the roof top and the hole to enter the house is usually in the toilet, we have this at each of our toilet door.

Buruk la tapi... :p but insyaAllah...

3. Porch area, try not to live it dark. On the lights the whole night. Better to save your life than save the electricity. Put a timer or something. If it's well lit, chances are, they are afraid to enter, scared that people might see them peeping around.

4. When you plan to leave the house for some time, inform your neighbours, so they can help to watch out. Inform the police, so they can also help to make rounds around your house (I donno if they still have this service. but we used to do it back then)

The rest are pretty much trivial, but I think equally important to remember.

5. DO NOT announce that you are home alone on facebook, twitter or any other social network.

6. DO NOT open up when people knock your door to sell things or ask for donation or what not. Just dont be too nice.

7. When you are home alone, try not to show that you are. On the TV, lights, play some music. (From the story Home Alone)

8. Baca yassin 4 penjuru, insyaAllah your house is 'gated' and will be invisible to the eyes of the evil.

9. Be extra careful/alert when washing clothes/hanging clothes, watering plants during early morning and early evening when it is very quiet and sunyi.

10. Also be alert when coming home, opening up gate to enter the porch. My god, this is the most scariest moment of my daily routine. Because people can just follow you and rob. It happened to my aunt before and that robber forced her to open the house and dragged her in macam tarik kereta sorong. Scarry, ok. So just be careful and look around you. Jangan leka.

So this is all I have got so far. Tak jamin selamat, but some effort will help.

To Ayman, hope everything is ok with u and family.

Nak buat hantaran

2010-12-19T00:55:00.001+08:00

I know you can put ANYTHING as your hantaran. Especially things that you like. I know someone who got a guitar for his hantaran because he is a musician. Another guy I know got his wife to give him a very expensive football boots because he plays football like A LOT.

Takper..at least you know the use of gitar and kasut bola.

So bila nak mintak hantaran tu biarlah munasabah.

You can say "Eh, jangan pandang rendah ok. Benda ni mahal tau! Dekat seribu pon ada. Sangat berguna ok" Nooo, it's not about that.

But can you imagine if I put these on the dulang?

Pernah tak ada orang buat? :p

Do you EVEN KNOW what are these for?

Proverbs

2010-12-18T13:41:00.000+08:00

Got a diary given by my client that has proverbs on each every dates. These sayings are mainly about life and love, maybe boleh dijadikan pedoman and some dijadikan pengajaran. I pick up some meaningful dates in my life and see the selections of the sayings.

8 Jan (Zetty's Anniversary)
An inch of time is an inch of gold. But an inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time - Chinese proverb

9 Jan (Jo's anniversary)
Anything less than a conscious commitment to the important is an unconscious commitment to the unimportant - M S Ludlow

13 Jan (ShoN's bday)
As it is with a play, so it is with life - what matters is not how long the acting lasts, but how good it is - Seneca

29 Jan (Myra's bday)
As one person I cannot change the world, but I can change the world of one person - Paul Shane Spear

28 Feb (FMIL'S BDAY)
He who gives to me teaches me to give - Danish proverb

15 Mar (Bro's bday)
I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free - Michelangelo

3 May (FFIL's bday)
It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has - Henry Beecher

5 May (Mom's bday)
Life is like wheel, sometimes you're at the top, sometimes you're at the bottom - Filipino proverb

14 May (Ali's bday)
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends - Dr Martin Luther King Jr

5 Jun (My bday)
None of use is as good as all of us - Ray Kroc

12 July (Dyla's bday)
Resolve to be a master of change rather than a victim of change - Brian Tracy

2 Aug (Dad's bday)
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others - Mahatman Gandhi

18 Sept (Zetty's bday)
The health of nations is more important that the wealth of nations - Will Durant

24 Sept (Latip's anniversary)
The measure of your life will not be in what you accumulate, but in what you give away - Wayne Dyer

25 Sept (Dina/Dini's bday)
There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live - James T Adams

9 Sept (ShoN's anniversay)
The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives

11 Dec (Latip's bday)
You can never quit. Winners never quit, and quitters never win - Ted Turner

26 Dec (Aziati's bday)
Your fears are not walls, but hurdles. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the conquering of it - Dan Millman

19 MAY (insyaAllah...)

Look closely at the present you are constructing, it should look like the future you are dreaming - Alice Walker

Flashback - Summer 2005 Cardiff

2010-12-18T00:23:00.001+08:00

I want to help you
But I don't know how
I want to soothe you
But I can't speak out
I have many fears
About rejection
I have many memories of pain
I have always been a little shy
So I'll turn and look the other way

Other way
Other way
I will turn and look the other way

I want to hold you
But I am afraid
I want to touch you
But I'm not that way
I have many doubts about my motives
I have many fears about my greed
I have always hurt the ONE THAT I love
So I'll turn and look the other way

Other way
Other way
I will turn and look the other way

I have many doubts about my motives
I have many fears about my greed
I have always hurt the one that I love
So I'll turn and look the other way

Other way
Other way
I will turn and look the other way
Other way
Other way
I will turn and look the other way
Other way
Other way
I will turn and look the other way
the other way
the other way
the other way
the other way. (wayyyy)

=w=

Suzuki Cup 2010 semi-final

2010-12-15T22:23:00.001+08:00

I remember when I was young, my father always took me to the stadium to watch matches especially when Perak was playing. This time round, my father cannot tahan going to stadiums anymore, and Ali had never bothered to watch Malaysian games.

Only lately, he realised that Malaysian team is getting better, that was in the previous game (SEA game 2009 if not mistaken) also when Malaysia vs Vietnam. I was all out supporting for Malaysia, but he wasn't. We even put our bets on the game if Malaysia wins, he has to buy Malaysian jersey. And, Malaysia did win 1-0 against Vietnam. Since then, he started to put hopes on Malaysian team. (Oh, he still owes me the jersey btw)

Today's game, he even bought ticket to watch Suzuki Cup's Semi live in Stadium Bukit Jalil.

Ramai giler orang.....!!!!!

So sad that I couldn't go to watch the game. Hopefully I can watch the final (please la jangan ada banyak kerje)

I requested for Ali to send me a photo of him, for the purpose of this entry. Asked him to camwhore a bit. Was just trying my luck :) He finally gave me this. Haha

Takde rupa Msia dah goal pon...

Sporting jugak la dia nak camwhore walaupon mukanya macam cuka.

Congratulations to Malaysian team 2-0 from Safee Sali...!

Yes, I am

2010-12-14T23:30:00.000+08:00

1. Emo
2. Careless
3. Tembel
4. Talk a lot/nag all the time
5. Manja (some would call it mengada-ngada)
6. Fat
7. Stupid
8. Super sensitive
9. Critical mind (some would say unsupportive)

But I always believe with the phrase "If you can't take my WORST, You dont deserve my BEST"!

If I have to change to cover the worst, you definitely unable to bring out the best in me.

I believe in this life, we can't get she's-all-that kinda person. It's just close to non-existence.

But please, if you know ANYONE that has all the opposite traits of the above, please please let me know.

I would like to be like her.

Garden pelamin

2010-12-13T07:49:00.000+08:00

Somebody we know punya pelamin. Very nice.

By Fotofreaks and team

EY Annual Dinner and Dance (AD&D) 2010

2010-12-12T13:16:00.002+08:00

The last AD&D was held at Shangri-La,KL (they have it there every year) with the 'Retro' theme. This year, it was 'Dress like a Star' theme.

So two weeks before the event, my colleagues started to go round the malls and boutiques around Kota Damansara and Damansara area to find a long dress that can suit the theme. I too was busy looking for one but only started one week before.

Found a few nice ones in Tribecca, Parkson Avenue, Dorothy Perkins, but everything costs RM200+. The problem with me is, I always buy new stuff for an occassion. Some I can wear it again, so shouldnt be a problem. But some would just be hang on the closet, not knowing when is the next time I'm gonna wear it again. Sampai dah tak muat pun ada, sampai dah buruk pun ada.

In the end, I decided NOT to buy new dress. *_* I recycled one of my baju kebaya that uses a long dress inside an overcoat lace. So it becomes a very plain long dress.

I thought to myself, I was not gonna spend another RM200 just for a dress that is to be worn for this one occassion. I couldnt think of any other occassion that I can wear it with in the future. I didnt care if i did not look like a star. Not that I was aiming win the best-dressed competition. So I saved my 200! Berjaya untuk tidak beli baju baru! Proud of myself *)

The dinner was held at KL Convention Centre. Anyway, the food sux. I donno is it because of the choice of food or what. But i prefer chinese courses than western.

Bread was readily served on the table. We were so hungry when we reached, so we only managed to takewhat's left.

Appertizer was served at close to 9 pm. Raw salmon, prawns, and donno la whats the rest. I dont eat raw stuff. I only took the prawns, the rest, derma to other people.

Next was mushroom soup which was served about 20 minutes later. Did not manage to take photo of it, as I was too hungry, I forgot to snap.

In between, they have got performances, which I think not many people actually bother to watch because people busy taking photos and walking about the halls meeting other colleagues. The theme really makes people dressed like one. I really feel, that I was in Grammy award.

Main dish was served at 10pm. Waaaahhhhhhh...by that time, I couldnt make myself finish my food. It was late, and it wasnt very nice too.. Chicken on top of mashed potato, I just finished the potato.

Dessert was served not long after that, too sweet, I couldnt take it too.. hehe.. banyak songeh, yes.

After dinner and announcing the top 10 lucky winner (I am never lucky, huh), the dance officially started at around 11.15pm. Some stayed inside for the dance, but most people hang out at the foyer to drink and take photos.

It was kinda sad thing for me though. Most of my friends in EY has left, and I am still here with some other guys that I work with. These are the only friends I have in EY.

My boss, and my colleagues, the best friend I have had in EY

Soon, they will be leaving me too..

A bunch of insurance team that I have pleasure working with all my four years

This is the last annual dinner in EY for most of us :)

Pic courtesy: nwj and kkm

Impulse purchase

2010-12-11T21:00:00.001+08:00

I have been keeping the intention to buy a new handbag to work for so long now. I know I should just replace my old bag. Been using it for two years, the same bag, 5 days a week, for TWO years. I am the type that keeps 1 bag and use it sampai rabak baru nak beli baru. Rabak until macam ni.

Seriously I donno what the hell I do until it becomes like this. Maybe because I take it all the time with me, sometimes I carry my pencil case in there, my water bottle, my heavy wallet, my tags (I have plenty of client's tags). Ok.. that doesnt count cz it doesnt add to the weight. Ouh.. SOMETIMES... just sometimes, i put my laptop in there!! *-_-*

Ali always NAG at me, to take care of my stuff. He said I donno how to handle things. Beli mahal-mahal, lepas tu rabak. Hey, to my defence, this is THE ONLY office handbag I have, and I dont have a permanent workplace, I travel a lot, and I need my stuff to be carried with me. Fair, right. So two years IS a good number.

Recently I changed my purse that Ali bought for me many years back from Braun Buffel. He said that was the first expensive gift he had ever given to any girls before. And now it became like this.

So Ali has this perception that I donno how to take good care of things :(. He said he is not gonna buy me a new designer bag to replace my DKNY. Oh I love dkny so much, the only brand that I am always drooling over for handbags. So he bought me a Vincci purse, which I also like lah, to replace my buffel. Although for handbags, I believe that if he refused to buy a new designer, I am very adamant to get it myself. I think it's not because of the brand..it's self satisfaction! Because I love dkny's designs for bags. I can go without Coach, LV or Gucci (because I dont really like the brand names written all over the bag), but it's kinda hard to resist dkny. For me lah.

But today however, changed my persistency in looking for new dkny. Because I found this.

It has a simple design that I like, with the right color, the right size, definitely cannot put a laptop inside, so I won't have the chance to do it, and if I get bored, or if it is easily worn out or tattered, or if I decide to force a laptop inside and spoil it, I can always buy a new one without much hesitation. Because it is very cheap!!! It is only 10% of my previous bag. And it is new arrival!

Most importantly, it is environmental friendly. They did not give paperbag for the purchase, I got this instead. So next time I can use it for future shoppings.

Ok, saya jakun baru tahu Charles & Keith itu murah. Tak mahu jadi bodoh lagi to buy a 1k bag only to get it lusuh after a year. Baiklah, saya mengaku saya tak tahu jaga barang :(

SCSM 2010

2010-12-07T11:00:00.015+08:00

2010 is not a running year for me. I have registered myself in less than 10 runs and showed up at 8 runs only I think. But since joining the SCSM 2009 last year, I knew I had to join the run again this year. It was very well organised as expected. But overall, last year might have been a better event. Firstly, the sporting goods exhibition they had last year was not included this time. Runners looking forward to shop at comically low prices merchandise will be disappointed.

Ayman and I decided to drive this time around, (we took a flight last year). We left KL at approximately 0400 Saturday and reached Larkin Bus Station about 0800. We got to Singapore just before 1000. We knew the race kit collection will begin as early as 0900, so we headed straight to 'The Float @ Marina' to collect the kit. On our way there I snapped these amazing building and playing field.

We checked in at a youth hostel named G4 Station Backpackers near Little India MRT Station. I would rate the place a 7.5/10, mainly because of its strategic location and cleanliness.

Friendliness of the personnel is not as good as the Hives Backpackers and the rooms are really tiny. I bumped my head several times on the bunk bed frame.

I called the night in at around 2215 and woke up at 0450, but continued to sleep in while telling myself "sedapnya selimut ni sejuk2 tido balik la, mamat kat atas ni kalau bangun die gerak la aku, kalau tak sambung je la tido". And at 0505 both of us was awaken by our alarm clocks. We got ourselves ready and took the 2nd train from Little India to Harbour Front.

I got to the starting line just at the right time, and by then thousands of runners are already there.

The route chosen this year was very tourist oriented as it covered the whole of Sentosa Island including their famous Universal Studios. However I was in and out of Universal Studios in 12 minutes approximately.

But there are some stretches where the road gets really narrow and for people eyeing for a PB will definitely get agitated. I am not affected since I was merely enjoying the whole thing.

Along the run I felt really hungry and felt like breaking wind a couple of times and I did it at strategic points. Firstly at the Sentosa Coach Depot where it was noisy and filled with coach's emission, secondly when there was an ambulance on emergency and finally towards the finishing line next to a line of coaches along the roadside.

*DISCLAIMER: the next paragraph could be disturbing to some readers
But what was really disturbing was this one female runner, I think she may have suffered from a bad meal the night before. I saw a brownish patch at her left cheek bum which looked a lot like poo at first glance. I thought to myself she might have sat at a muddy area while stretching or had her chocolate flavoured gel burst, but the smell that followed as she run past by confirmed it was poo! Yikes! She should have wash it off at the water station at least. Don't leave it to dry up.

I crossed the finish line at an unimpressive turtle timing of 3h 26m 14s. I am just glad to have finish it. This turtle timing is an indication that full marathon is not going to be attempted anytime soon.

We left Singapore at around 1500 and reached Larkin at 1600. We got back in KL safely at 2000. We surprised ourselves that we could survive the long drive after a run earlier that morning. :p

Well Done to ALL runners who participated and I look forward to SCSM 2011 with my wife by that time InsyaAllah. :)

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2010

2010-12-06T16:23:00.005+08:00

more photos will be uploaded and some words and comments to follow...
stay tuned :)

Engagement - Part 1

2010-12-05T16:32:00.002+08:00

I would say that I did not spend much time doing surveys for my engagement. Like some other bride-to-be would do. Not because I did not have time, I was just pure lazy to think of the whole engagement thing.
Hantaran, baju, mini pelamin, house deco, food, khemah, guests, makeup, photographer, dan banyak lagi nak fikir. So I just left it to my mom who knows a lot of people and she can sweet-talk too, so sometimes she gets things cheap her own way :)

These are the hantarans, 7 dulang membalas 5 dulang presented by the boy's side.

Mini pelamin konon ala-kayangan, wasnt expected it to be like that. I didnt have any theme or any specific choice in mind. Just left it to the guy, and he did it all. But alhamdulillah, I loved it so much. Although initially, I did not want to have any pelamin.. I wanted it to be traditional, let the mom come in to my room and sarungkan cincin in my room. Gaduh la dengan parents macam mana pun, they prefer to have the pelamin, so ok there you go.

Baju tunang ni from syaiful baharim. Saya sangat puas hati! I didnt want my engagement to look like nikah (altho some would say that it does), tapi alhamdulillah, i chose the right color other than white and cream. So tak la nampak macam kawin sangat. But the most important thing is, i love the cutting and the design. it didnt make me look so fat, and dia tak banyak sangat beading on the body...which i like so much!

Makeup was done by one lady who works in TV3, introduced by my friend, zetty. Malas nak pikir punya pasal, i straight away took the same lady who did for zetty's engagement and nikah. It was worth it too.

Rombongan sampai with their dulang. Terpaksa menyempit dalam teratak yang kecil ni. The discussion wasn't long. Mainly because both our sides have agreed on the dates and venues and stuff. So it was just purely for formalisation, they mentioned them again.

While discussion, masuklah satu pak haji ni , an ustaz called by my dad to bacakan doa. He was dressed like pak kadi, and the boy's side macam terkedu seketika. Macam upacara nikah dah ni. My father said jokingly, "Kalau Ali ada ni, I dont mind to nikah kan aje. Lagi bagus. Save duit! semua dah ada." OMG, nasib baik the boy was not there..Kalau tak, sure berpeluh panic.

Upacara kemuncak, sarung cincin by my future MIL. Dia kata dia panic naik atas pelamin tu. Sebab banyak cameraman. Tak biasa, hehe comel!

Aalhamdulillah, upacara doa, dilakukan oleh ustaz yang macam tok kadi tu.