Happy Birthday to Ayah Sayang

That morning of 23-Aug-2012, I woke up the kids and we went out to Jusco Equine Park.  The kids volunteered to use some of their Raya money to buy gifts for their dad.  Thank you kids!

It's their dad's birthday.

Right before we left, I left prepared 2 half boiled eggs and tea for his breakfast.

Happy Birthday to you kutuk and may Allah bless you and our small family.

Do Not Forget To Visit Them on Raya.

This Raya we were not able to stopped at Teluk Kemang, like we always do on 3rd Raya.  Instead we traveled to Teluk Kemang, Port Dickson on the 7th day of Raya.  This visit is a must!

Kubur Nenek Ramlah (my biological mother, passed away 13-Jan-1977)

Kubur Moyang Aishah (left) and kubur Moyang Taib (right) - my maternal grandparents

Moyang Aishah's mother

Nenek Ramlah's older sister. She died due to high fever when she was 4 years old.

Dear Shakira and Shakiel, when I am gone, please make it an annual pilgrimage to nenek Ramlah's grave and sedekah surah Yssin to her, her parents, her aunt and her grandmother.  I have instilled this for 10 years now and do not forget to visit them.  Kalau both of you tak ziarah kubur nenek, siapa lagi?  With that note I am attaching pictures of their graves and location so you won't forget their location. 5 kubur yang semuanya warna biru.

Finally, we still have our roots there. Jangan lupa visit Nek Wan. Kalau Nek Wan dah tak ada, visit Aunty Ijan tau.

And also jangan lupa visit Atuk Wi ye!

Niquitin

The other night my son came running into my bedroom and wanted to borrow a pen.He said he wants to write down the name of a medication which is good for me.

Later he came back and passed me a slip of tiny piece of paper with the word, 'Niquitin' on it. I know what that is! Then he said, "Mummy buy la, this is good and it will help you...."

Boy, it is easier said then done. Thank you Shakiel, I know you mean well. I love you too.

Insya Allah, jika ada kekuatan diri ini............

1st Day of Raya

It has always been our routine on every Raya: Ampang on Raya eve, 2 am on Raya we travel back to Parit, 2nd Raya we travel to Klang, after lunch we continued our journey to Melaka and finally on 3rd Raya we will stopped in Port Dickson. So far we have not diverted our Raya plan ever since we got married, let me count...14 years!

It is the best plan so far.  We have taken so many things into consideration and until now we are ok with it.  Alhamdulillah.  Don't want to get into details of how we came up with that decision for now.  That will be an entirely different post.

Those who benefit most were the kids. Collect duit raya lah kerja mereka, This year I was given the honor to prepare my Assam Laksa Penang. Unfortunately I did not take pictures of it.  My mobile phone battery has been giving me problems so I did not even bother to carry it around. Assam Laksa has been my signature dish on hari raya. We would change our main raya spread every year. Couple of times, I prepared my Laksa Johor.  Sheri like to prepare Prawn Noodles, Mee Curry and there was one year she prepared Lontong and Lodeh.

I miss my dad during Raya.  On 1st of Raya, we went to Tanah Perkuburan Talang Batin and read verses from surah Yassin for Abah. I find it hard to control my tears whenever I read Yassin for him. Then we met aunty Salmah and family who just about to leave. She is still in mourning the death of Uncle Ros. Still weeping when she saw my mom and both hugged to comfort each other.

I missed Abah who occasionally would compliment and tease my Assam Laksa was delicious or my Teh Tarik was the best, that I should open up a small stall in front of the house. Ha ha ha yeah right Abah!

I missed the times when he would accompany me in the wee morning hours of Raya while I cook. I would tell him, its ok Abah you go ahead and sleep, I will be okay.  He left but later came back, sat down, smoke another cigarette and asked me for Milo.

I missed when Abah used to squeeze my arm commented whether I gained or lose weight.

How much I wish Abah was still with us....

On a good note, this year is the very first time that my mom kissed me on both cheeks and forehead.  It was very unusual, which made me pause and think. Why? She has never done that before. Is it a sign? Just like when Abah said he loved me during his last stay at my house in Puchong? A few months later he left us. I thought I should put it in writing. But I pray mom will leave a long life just like Nenek Klang who is 92 years old.  Though she is weak and bed ridden, nenek still remembers everyone, including myself.

Aunty Aishah came back to Klang for 7 weeks holiday to spend time with nenek klang.

To all whether you celebrate Eid or not, Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. May God bless us all!

Rendang Daging Manis Mak Tok

Every year my mother-in-law will prepare this dish.  So it is a must for us every raya. Since mom-in-law passed away, the recipe was passed down to her 2 daughters and they manage to preserve the original flavor and taste, just like 'mak tok' buat.

Its Eid Again!

How fast time flies.  Its 2012 Eid already.  Kids did very well.  They completed 29 days of fasting days.  I couldn't do that when I was at their age. Good job guys!

Here I am sitting on the couch and thinking what's my Raya going to be like. Raya is just like another day but with new clothes. I wonder what does it takes for me the get back the spirit of Raya.

As usual raya clothes for us is a must. In total I spent RM500.

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf zahir dan Batin.

Berbuka Puasa

Hari tu iye2 je excited nak pergi berbuka dgn rakan2 mengaji. tapi tadi merampus tak nak pergi. Adik tak nak pergi, kakak pun tak nak. I negotiated I will pick them up at 9 selepas solat isya' instead of lepas tarawih. Bila kita dah sampai, tup tup dia boleh cakap, " Ala mummy, kan mummy kata nak ambik pukul 11 malam?' What?!! Was I speaking in Russian ptg tadi???? So now here I am, waiting for 11 pm to pick up pak cik gembel!!!Am I a softy? Go figure.....