Day of Arafat...

Today is the 9th of Zulhijjah 1427 where all Hajj pilgrims will stand as one at Arafat..rich poor..powerful&less..strong&weak..young & old..handsome & not so handsome..will all be in Arafat the men wearing just the 2 piece of white cloth..it reflects the day of resurrection when all will rise and face Allah swt on the day of judgement..Today on earth is when Allah swt will come down to the lowest level of heaven to hear us seeking forgiveness from Allah swt..

'Arafat literally means knowledge and science. 'Arafat represents the beginning of man's creation, that of our forefather Adam. It was shaytan who misled our forefather by whispering to him saying: "O Adam! Shall I show you the tree of immortality and power that wastes not away?" (Quran 20:120) He caused the downfall of Adam and Haw'a (Eve). For years, they were separated from each other having descended at different places. It was in 'Arafat that they met again. It was in a small rocky hill of Jabal al-Rahma in the center of 'Arafat that their sins were forgiven by Allah. So, here in 'Arafat, you act like Adam or Haw'a and seek forgiveness for you and your loved ones...islamiCity.com

I remember just 2 Hajj ago in Jan 2005 that I was blessed to have performed Hajj with Azlan.. the emotion was too much to contain. Although I may have make mistakes for the rituals I prayed wholeheartedly that my Hajj will be accepted by Allah swt. as the reward is paradise by Allah swt..nothing less...Year in and year out..this reminded me as to the path that I have chosen...may I be strong and do the best and more of my ability...for now and the hereafter..

Today Adzrul & Azlan do the sunnah fasting..may they get the promised rewards..I couldn't do so because of women issues...but I hope that I will have the blessings of doing more in the time I have left...Ya Allah swt forgive all my sins..reward me with syurga firdausi..accept all my good deeds..May my children and their children so on will be guided in their true faith..keep my faith strong and show me your guidance and patience..amin..laillahaillalah muhammadarasullullah...

Zayd is 13 years old today...23rd. Dec 2006

Hannah Is Now 11 years old....21st. December 2006

Forever Luv Sweetheart....May Allah swt Bless you Always..The time flies by so fast without us realising that 11 years ago you were brought to us.. a joy to everybody..at 8lbs. at about 5:45am Thursday by natural but induced labor. Remembered moment of the time..a Mariah Carey concert was on TV..papa was cornered at the bed-side, Dr. Siti Zaleha was attending with 2~3 nurses at SJMC.

Spicy Sweet Shrimp ~ Sambal Tumis Udang

1/2kg Large shrimp..shelled
1 large Onions..sliced
1tsp shrimp paste
2 tbsp dark brown sugar or gula melaka
2 tbsp tamarind pulp / asam jawa
10~20 pcs dried long chillies
3 pips garlic
5 shallots or 1 med onion
salt, oil

• Blend the dried chillies with garlic and onions.
• Heat up about 2tbsp oil till steamy
• Put in the blended chilli mixture ~about 5~6 tbsp.
• Fried till it is fragrant..you can see the paste separating
• Add in shrimp paste...wait a little while
• Mix the tamarind pulp with some water about 1/2 glass and pour the liquid into the frying mixture
• Let it thickens..
• Add in the brown sugar
• Add the shrimp..let the liquid thickens..
• Add in the sliced onions..
• Add in salt.
• Taste as per your liking..add sugar,salt,tamarind more if desired to taste..
• After the liquid has sufficiently thickens and shrimp has cooked..remove from pan.
• Serve with steam rice or "Nasi Lemak".

**The key to this recipe is getting the balance between sweet, sour, spicy and salty...so taste it and let the liquid thickens to stick to the shrimp..you can also cooked it with the shrimp shells not removed..the taste will be better but eating it will be tougher..

Splenda Splendid Banana Cake

400gm Banana ~ mashed
320gm Self Raising Flour
1 tsp Baking soda
200gm butter
100gm Splenda or 220gm sugar
4 eggs
6 tablespoon milk
2 tsp vanilla

• Cream the butter and sugar
• Add in eggs one at a time
• Add in vanilla and milk
• Put in the mashed ripe banana
• Finally, fold in the flour.
• Put into lined cake tins.
• Bake at 375 F till done ~45mins.

This cake was made for a friend who has diabetic...the butter can be further replaced with oil. Originally..the butter was 250gm +5 eggs..the flour was adjusted with all other ingredients to get same moistness and sweetness as original ingredients.

Cinnamon Florals etc....

I love the smell of spices and varying colors...so I match these combinations for my floral crafts...I used a lot of cinnamon and silk flowers and ribbons..to this day I still have some stocks. Mainly the pieces were made as is basis..depending on what type of flowers and colors I have.. I did not get any formal training or attended any classes as I was working fulltime..but I do browse flower & gift shops a lot and buy books to guide me and the internet... so from these, I managed to come up with what I have...no two pieces are the same...

I guess my training as an engineer helps to trigger the creativity side of making these crafts and understanding the set-up of starting them..but I do had a lot of burns from the hot glue gun and piercing from wires etc...

So..in my bio I can add....engineer..production & engineering manager.. trainer...crafts maker... mom&wife..and the most precious is the last one....

Swags..Topiaries..Wreaths...

I learned to do these florals crafts right at the time when my maid ran away..probably it was a stress buster...sometime in 2000..I love every pieces that sometimes I find it hard to part with it when somebody wants it... it soon became a very productive hobby as I sold them at malls and flea market and by word of mouth...

Wonderful Life...

It is very nice cool days even in the afternoon...raining in Dhahran i.e. Saudi Arabia will be something that is look upon as an important event here..because it hardly ever happen... we had 2 long rainfall days last week or so..couldn't remember the first rain day probably Sunday as Hannah had to miss the soccer practise because of wet field...but the 2nd was Fri Dec. 1st...

Why I remember this was because we had that morning picnic by the soccer field that day.. it was very very nice before the rain and we manage to have a few rounds of walk around the field.. us 5 ladies Gee,zahrah,Eli,Rozi & me Rozie..our talk centered around kids, the weather, handbags branded & knock-offs, Villeroy & Royal Doulton...and the music of yesteryears... mainly late 70's and 80's..uh..uh..zaman-zaman Grease & Saturday Nite Fever katakan...as they were talking and me chipping in here and there..I was sort of taken back to those time...hmm..I was very much into songs then and still remembers the tunes and some lyrics..so Ayman was really surprised when I know the tune to Saturday Nite Fever, songs by Westlife~Season In the Sun.. etc..etc...

During this era years..late 70's to 80's..my life has taken a whole lot of changes..I still remember thinking that my Form 3 year was the best time of my schooling years, I was into sports, doing well in LCE and school clubs..tambah-tambah glamour juga kat sekolah masa tu..he..he.. than I move to Sek Teknik Tuanku Jaafar -Ampangan and received quite a shock during my first few days there probably the orientation week...in 1978 I make a decision to start wearing the scarf as I feel that was the road I am going to follow..wow..was it tough then as people have certain perceptions of those who are transforming..but for me it was a time that clears up a lot of uncertainties for me..and I never look back...from than on I started to built my life to the way that I wish Allah swt would want me to..Oh..yes..there's just too many hiccups along the way..but then they say..life is a "dugaan Allah swt pada kita " so life will not have it's meaning if everything is predictable...yes..we do fell into deep bottomless pits but from here we learn how to climb back and become a better survivor in many aspects..You shall not be tried by Allah swt on something that you will not be able to find ways to survive by his grace also...Hopefully..come the time when we shall meet our creator we shall have many more positive points than negative points that we shall be able to cross the sirat and make it to our ultimate sanctuary... simply saying it...but basically..enjoy life with all it's tribulations and become a better person after each and every trials... so looking back one step so that we can move forward with a leap...