Dugaan berpuasa...

Masha Allah...letih betul harini. Today start practice berpuasa...memang jadi kebiasaan kalau dlm bulan Rejab ni practice puasa...yelah..takut tak larat. Sebab Mama Mia ada sejarah gastric and memang jenis kuat makan, tak tahan berlapar sangat...so, practice puasa time Rejab is considered a kind of preparation before the coming Ramadhan, mentally and physically. Apatah lagi, dlm keadaan berbadan dua nie...di mana satu hari sampai 5 kali makan, selera tgh "on" jer....I wonder tahan ke tidak.

Dugaan betul, harini panas terik...tekak punyalah kering... Allah saja yg tau mcm mana rasanya. Pukul 2.30 tadi, dah tak larat sgt, tertidor sampai 4.30pm. mcm org pengsan! Bangun tidor barulah boleh bercakap dan bergerak. Nak panjat tangga ke tingkat atas rumah unutk solat Asar pun mcm tak larat. Anyway, after Asar, towards the evening, alhamdulillah start bertenaga semula. bolehlah ke dapur masak sayur, nasi dan reheat lauk sambal sotong kering. And pesan hubby suh beli ikan bakar and tauhu bakar. Wah....bukan main lagi ngidam nak buka puasa..mcm bebudak pulak.

Mama Mia doa....during Ramadhan nanti, dptlah puasa...especially time pergi kelas nanti. Dahlah kelas semua from 2pm-5pm....gi kelas/kampus kena travel by commuter and taxi aproximately sejam..kat Kl Sentral kena naik tangga, turun tangga...so..tak dpt bayangkan...larat ker.....uhuk..uhuk.... 

Mudah-mudahan Allah bagi kekuatan....dan extra tenaga untuk beribadat. Amin 

The 26th week...

Alhamdulillah, the baby is around 26th week, and this pregnancy is becoming more smooth and enjoyable. During this second trimester, I feel more comfortable with my pregnancy and alhamdulillah, all the worries and sleepless nights are gone. My belly somehow has became quite apparent and keeps on adding its diameter.....due to my BIG appetite. Heheh....

The tiny human inside, who weighs approximately 900g (according to the latest ultrasound scan), is becoming more and more active. Recently, she starts to kick, playing futsal, practicing taekwondo and doing some gymnastic routines in my belly. As much as I enjoy it, I also feel angry and irritated at times, especially when she kicks too hard at midnites, when I'm about to fly in my dreams. I also know her timetable and sleep routine; usually she wakes up around 8 am, and starts palying around 10 am, feels hungry at 12 noon, then sleep again until 4pm. After 4pm, she starts playing again, happily and excitedly watching the "Indonesian sinetron" with Mama Mia. But I'm not sure whether she loves my lectures or not, cos' she always response to my Professor's high pitch voice by kicking vigorously during class. Heheheh....

The doctor said that the ant. placenta is on top of the baby now, alhamdulillah. Anyway, the baby is still in breech position. Hopefully she will turn downwards after 7months to prepare herself for the labour stage. The recent ultrasound scan was very interesting and satisfying. We could see the four valves in her heart, the cross-section view of the ambilical cord, and the doctor really took an effort to explain all the things that I wanted to know about the baby. The gender? Well, most probably she's a SHE....but yet to be confirmed again next month. But most importantny, the doctor said that she's quite an active baby. O God, I can imagine a baby like Afafita, who was very active, and started to walk independently at 10 months!

If she's turns out to be a SHE, I don't care much about how will she resembles or looks like. It doesn't matter if she looks like Angelina Jolie, Catherine Zeta Jones or Aishwarya Rai. I only pray that my baby will be a healthy one, and be among the pious believers and those who loves Allah and Islam. Amin...

The Vacation: Pangkor Island

Honestly, the idea of going to Pangkor Island last month had never came across our minds and never been highlighted in our family events calender. It came out all of a sudden, when my brother in-law blurted to my hubby few days before their sister's wedding last month that my parents in-law really needed a getaway to a nice, serene place, away from home, to ease their minds and de-stress themselves from all the problems that life brings lately.

Of course, since we (I mean my family which consists of me, hubby and my two kids) have never gone to a vacation (one-day trip or a picnic at the waterfalls nearby is technically not considered as a vacation) with my parents in-law before besides the trip to kampung in Bandung in 2005, we felt that it was high time for us to spent time with them in their dream vacation.

The wedding was held on Saturday. On Friday, hubby applied two days leave, eventhough we hadn't really made up our minds on this vacation. Since I was considered as one of the wedding planners, with all the pains and backaches, I was not fully looking forward for a long journey right after the wedding. All I really needed was a good rest, sleep in my comfy bed. On top of that, I had a sound reason for being reluctant to that idea to Pangkor Island. Based on the doctor's advice, I shouldn't be so active , for I have a quite low-lying ant. placenta. That's also the reason why I often feel some kind of pain around my lower belly. So just imagine, after several days preparing the wedding, how could I possibly go for a holiday?

On the wedding day, after the ceremony, I suggested to hubby another vacation option, which is Cameron Highland. The justification? Well, first of all, if we go to Cameron Highland, we could just drive right from our house to the hotel's door, without having to take a ferry or speedboat. So basically, it's easier for me, and more relaxing. I could just sit in the car for a two hours journey, and I could avoid walking and bringing any luggage. Secondly, I have been secretly planning and dreaming to go to Cameron Highland in July to celebrate our wedding anniversary this year. Since we can only afford one vacation this year due to money constraints, I guess if we really had to go, we'd better go to the place that I have been dreaming of.

So, at last, later that Saturday nite, we told our parents in-law that we were going to bring them to Cameron Highland early in the morning the next day.

And as usual, I started busily packing all the necessary things to bring to the vacation that nite after definite decision had been made. Sweatshirts, jumpers, jackets, jeans, some food, etc...all the necessities for a 3-day-living in a quite a colder place than our hometown. Oh no...I had to do the laundary too...so that when we return home from our vacation, I wouldn't have piles of dirty clothes waiting me!

On Sunday morning, I cleaned the house and did some last checkups before leaving home. However an hour before we started our journey, hubby said to me that we ought to change our vacation destination since my in-laws insisted on going to Pangkor. O My God! This really made my blood pressure went up drastically. After all the packing works which I did last nite and sacrificing my nite sleep, changing the destination was the last thing on earth I would ever do. Don't get it wrong..I didn't mad at anyone let alone blame my hubby or my parents in-law, BUT...changing the destination means that I must re-packing our luggages! How could u bring jumpers, sweaters and thicks clothes to a hot, airy, sunny island?

So, I quickly threw away all the clothes in the bags on the bed and started to grab everything that I could. Swimming suits, short sleeve shirts, thin pyjama, sun-block lotion...etc...e.tc........I was quite surprised though that I all of a sudden, I was so energetic and all my pains and backaches disappeared.

So at last, we started our journey at eleven o'clock. In the car, all the way to Pangkor, I kept on praying and hoping that I could enjoy myself and Allah grants me energy and good health.

We managed to catch the 4.30 pm ferry to Pangkor Island from Lumut jetty. As we stepped our feet on the island's ground about 45 minutes later, it was drizzling. We straight away went to the resort at Pantai Pasir Bogak to get some rest as well as enjoying the seaside scenery. The kids were the most excited ones. They really love the beach. So, eventhough it was drizzling, they couldn't help themselves from running down the beach, catching up the waves and and collecting the seashells. As for me, I spent the whole evening walking down the beach, appreciating God's great creation and taking some pics. The cloudy weather made the air so fresh and breeze. Subhanallah, it was so relaxing and at that particular moment, I secretly thanked my husband for bringing me there.

The breathtaking scenery, the sound of waves, the fresh air, the horizon, the white, clean, sandy beach, the flying birds, it all helped to to unwind and really relax. Most importantly, my feelings and emotions were indescribable as I spent my time sitting on the beach.

The next day, early in the morning, we had a walk along the beach, enjoying the morning breeze and scenery. After breakfast, we (my parents in law and my family) enjoyed ourselves in the swimming pool, had some fun splashing in the water. The best part was, there were only US in the pool! Since it was Monday morning, there was hardly any other guests at the resort besides us. So we really enjoyed the privacy in the pool, something that we couldn't enjoy during weekends. We spent almost two hours in the pool. Hubby and Chichi joined us a bit late as they went cycling around the resort.

After Zuhr, we checked out from the hotel. We moved to another resort at Pantai Teluk Nipah. It was my idea, cos' I wanted to have a different experience at a different beach. This beach was not less breathtaking than before. At this beach..there were a lot of stalls along the road. So...my kids couldn't help themselves from the temptation to buy beach toys and clothes. We had our dinner in a nearby restaurant. At around 4.30pm, we rent a boat to Pulau Giam, an island nearby, which was popular for snorkeling activities. At first, I was reluctant to join the others snorkeling at the island. I just sat on some rocks at the edge of the island, watching Chichi and hubby excitedly shouting in joy as they watched various kinds of fish in the crystal-clear water. I just read Zabrina A. Bakar's book to kill the time. But, after half an hour, I couldn't help myself from joining them in the water. The joy was so irresistible. Tak tahan! That was my first time ever snorkeling. It was soooooooooooo enjoyable, exciting and fun. Once I jumped into the water, I didn't get out until one and a half hour later! I really enjoyed myself watching the fish, and the scenery under the sea. We also found some sea cucumbers and 'gamat' alive!


That night, we had 'siakap masak sweet sour', tom yam, and 'pari bakar' for our dinner. Wow, it was really a scrumptious meal! We went to bed quite early as we were really exhausted after the snorkeling activity that we had earlier in the evening.

The next morning, after breakfast, we just spent our time at the beach...we played swing, wrote our names on the beach, climbed some huge rocks at the beach, made sand-castles and took a lot of pics. Then, the kids played in the pool until noon, while hubby and I read newspapers and some books at the poolside. We checked out at about 1 pm, and hired a van for a tour around the island. We visited the monument of "Perjanjian Pangkor", the fishing village, the dried fish factory, etc. Eventually, we took the 2.30pm ferry to Lumut, the mainland.

The 3 days 2 nite vacation was really a memorable one and enjoyable. Everyone enjoyed the vacation, and we return home feeling refreshed, contented and relax.

Confinement...Changes....What else in My Life?

hehehe...don't be puzzled with the post title. I haven't deliver my baby yet..there's still a long way to go...The tilte is supposed to imply my confinement days from blogging for more than a week! It was so meneyeksakan.... After the wedding on 28th June, I led a very busy and activities-filled life. The new semester hs started again, so I have to go to and fro the campus to attend classes....which make me so tired and drained out. My daily routine nowadays has changed tremendously. I do the cooking, laundary, house tidying in the morning untull afternoon, then after zuhur I attend PhD classes at the campus, which takes around 40 minutes journey from my home. The classes are done 3-hour with only a 5 minute break, so just imagine, this pregnant lady have to bear a severe backache sitting 3 hours on the chair! Upon returning from campus, I have to fetch the kids from daycare center and school respectively, and usually reach home at 6.30 pm. Then, after having some time relaxing the muscles and joints, after maghrib I prepare dinner, then I supervise the kids' homeworks untill they go to bed. So usually, by 10.30 pm...I'm exhausted enough to do anything else, let alone do anything related to my studies. So..apa lagi..tidorlah....But sometimes...I go to bed straight away after Isya', leaving the kids and house to my husband to attend to.

Actually, I'm so worried with my very low level stamina and energy. When I was doing my Masters and expecting Wafitos 6 years ago, I didn't have any problem with energy level. I was so energetic, I could go to campus during daytime, did all the housechores happily, and even went to work as a Qur'an teacher at night. I was a better student and housewife at that time, 6 years ago, when I was 6 years younger. But now...I feel like I'm a very old woman.....At times, I'm so angry at myself for not being able to handle everything and excellently do all my duties. Maybe, I need some good supplement intake to boast my energy.

I can only pray that Allah will help me throughout the coming days.... and bless me with more energy, good health and time..to juggle everything in my life.

The Wedding

The preparation for my sister -in- law's wedding last Saturday was quite hectic and fulled with ups and downs. Banyak sangat cabarannya. Poning kepala dibuatnya. However, alhamdulillah, thanks to Allah, the wedding went smoothly when the day comes. Everyone was truly relieved the moment the ceremony ended at about 3 pm in a hotel nearby my in-law's house. Deep down from our hearts, we hope and pray that the brides will live happily ever after, after all the challenges and havocs!

Even though mak buyong was so tired as the man of the match during the ceremony (kena jadi pengapit pengantin pompuan, layan v.i.p and org kuat time nikah), mak buyong felt so contented that she had done her role as a "menantu mithali" as best as she could! hahahah.

Rindunya...

mmm..rindunya blogging..almost two weeks tak update blog...not even doing any surfing.

sebenarnya banyak sgt events happened for the last two weeks.

my adik ipar's wedding and the unplanned family vacation.

the updates will be posted soon insyaAllah.

ada sikit 'keje' from kin and iu...insyaAllah
kalau sempat akan dibuat

Speed Reading

Speed Reading - The Technique to Increase Reading Speed And Understanding of Text Speed Reading is a method of improving a reader's reading ability, improving both the speed at which a text can be assimilated, and the level of understanding of the material. Today we are in the world of information explosion and information overload. There are so much information for both adults and children to read. Often we hear adults and students complain that they do not enough time to finish reading what they need to read in their work or preparation for their test and examination Reading is one of the most essential skills to help us acquire knowledge. Hence it is important and necessary for everyone, including our children to acquire the ability to read.

We need to be able to scan and filter information and facts that are useful from those that are unimportant or useless. And we must do it in the most effective way and within the shortest possible time. Speed Reading helps your children to read and understand text more quickly. It is an essential skill in any environment where you have to master large volumes of information quickly, especially in today information society. The Key Insight To Speed Read The most important trick about speed reading is to know what information you want from a document before you start reading it. If you only want an outline of the issue that the document discusses, then you can skim the document very quickly and extract only the essential facts. However, if you need to understand the real detail of the document, then you need to read it slowly enough to fully understand it. You will get the greatest time savings from speed reading by learning to skim excessively detailed documents. How A Skilled Reader Read A fluent speed reader read many words in each block. He will only stay on each block for an instant, and will then move on. Only rarely will the reader's eyes skip back to a previous block of words. This reduces the amount of work that the reader's eyes have to do. It also increases the volume of information that can be examined in a given time. How A Poor Reader Read A poor reader often get held up by spending a lot of time reading small blocks of words. He also skip back often, losing the flow and structure of the text and overall understanding of the subject. This irregular eye movement will make reading tiring. Poor readers tend to dislike reading, and may find it harder to concentrate and understand written information. By speed reading you can read information more quickly. You may also get a better understanding of it as you will hold more of it in short term memory. To improve the speed of your reading, read more words in each block and reduce the length of time spent reading each block. Use a pointer to smooth the way your eyes move and reduce skip-back.

Teladan Pemuda al-Kahfi

Kuliah Tafsir Maudhu'iy

Dato' Dr. Siddiq Fadzil, Kolej Dar al-Hikmah. "Kami ceritakan kisah mereka kepadamu (Muhammad) dengan sebenarnya. Sesungguhnya mereka itu adalah pemuda-pemuda yang beriman kepada Tuhan mereka dan Kami tambahkan kepada mereka petunjuk." Dan Kami telah meneguhkan hati mereka ketika mereka berdiri lalu mereka berkata, “Tuhan kami adalah Tuhan langit dan bumi; kami sekali-kali tidak menyeru Tuhan selain Dia. Sesungguhnya kami kalau demikian telah mengucapkan perkataan yang amat jauh dari kebenaran. Kaum kami telah menjadikan selain Dia tuhan-tuhan (untuk disembah). Mengapa mereka tidak mengemukakan alasan yang terang (tentang kepercayaan mereka?) Siapakah yang lebih zalim daripada orang-orang yang mengada-adakan kebohongan terhadap Allah? Al-Kahf:13-15 Pemuda Kahfi adalah sekumpulan pelaku sejarah yang mengabadikan keunggulan iman, kecerdasan akal, keberanian bersikap dan bertindak Mereka bangkit melepaskan diri daripada belenggu budaya dan tradisi pembodohan: penguatkuasaan dan pemaksaan amalan menyembah berhala, budaya warisan yang dipertahankan dengan setia tanpa dipersoalkan rasionalitinya, tanpa dipertanyakan kerelevanannya. Fitrah insani yang masih dimiliki tujuh pemuda Kahfi itu tidak dapat menerima agama dan budaya yang tidak serasi dengan kesejatian sifat keinsanan yang memang tercipta dalam acuan tauhidik - kecenderungan fitri kepada penyembahan Tuhan Yang Maha Esa, Maha Berkuasa dan Maha Sempurna. Akal sihat pemuda Kahfi tidak dapat menerima faham yang tidak rasional. Kemampuan dan keberanian berfikir kritis-evaluatif telah menghasilkan keberanian bersikap - menolak kesesatan yang telah begitu lama membudaya dan mencari alternatif yang benar dan meyakinkan. • Fitrah insani yang masih dimiliki tujuh pemuda Kahfi itu tidak dapat menerima agama dan budaya yang tidak serasi dengan kesejatian sifat keinsanan yang memang tercipta dalam acuan tauhidik - kecenderungan fitri kepada penyembahan Tuhan Yang Maha Esa, Maha Berkuasa dan Maha Sempurna. • Akal sihat pemuda Kahfi tidak dapat menerima faham yang tidak rasional. Kemampuan dan keberanian berfikir kritis-evaluatif telah menghasilkan keberanian bersikap - menolak kesesatan yang telah begitu lama membudaya dan mencari alternatif yang benar dan meyakinkan. • Ketulusan mencari kebenaran mendapat perhatian dari langit. Pemuda Kahfi mengalami pencerahan hidayah, lalu menemukan hakikat tauhid, Tuhan yang hakiki hanyalah Allah, satu-satunya Pencipta, Pemilik dan Penguasa langit dan bumi seisinya. • Kebenaran adalah kurnia istimewa yang paling berharga dan membanggakan. Pemuda Kahfi membuat deklarasi tauhid, suatu keberanian yang tercetus dari kekentalan iman dan kebanggaan memilikinya. Motifnya bukan sekadar ingin membuat kejutan atau bangga dengan sikap berani berbeza, tetapi secara tidak langsung menyedarkan masyarakat agar berfikir, mengaktifkan akal sihat yang selama ini beku terbelenggu dalam budaya “dikir barat” - sebut apa sahaja yang disebut oleh “tukang karut” termasuk segala karut dan carutnya. Memang deklarasi tersebut cukup menggemparkan. Mungkin kejutan seperti itulah yang diperlukan oleh masyarakat yang telah lama kehilangan daya fikir dan kematian idealisme untuk membangkitkan akal yang tidur dan menghidupkan hati yang mati. • Deklarasi tauhid pemuda Kahfi segera dirasakan sebagai gugatan terhadap kemapanan dan kestabilan serta ancaman terhadap pihak-pihak yang berkepentingan. Raja yang selama ini ikut di”berhala”kan bertindak memberikan kata dua: rujuk ke tradisi datuk nenek, atau hadapi tindakan brutal pihak penguasa. • Berani bersikap, harus berani menghadapi risikonya. Demikianlah iman tulen pemuda Kahfi yang mendapat pengakuan dari langit,”…sesungguhnya mereka adalah pemuda-pemuda yang beriman dengan Tuhan mereka, dan Kami tambahkan petunjuk buat mereka.” Pengakuan Ilahi tersebut sekaligus mengungkapkan hakikat hubungan erat iman dengan petunjuk; semakin menguatnya iman, semakin bertambah kebenaran yang menyerlah, termasuk petunjuk Ilahi tentang bagaimana mengurus diri di tengah kemelut pertentangan yang mereka alami. • Demi iman dan kebenaran, pemuda Kahfi bersumpah setia mempertahankan pendirian tauhidik dan berusaha menghindari tindakan teror penguasa dengan bersembunyi di gua. Mereka menghilangkan diri, tetapi deklarasi tauhid mereka tidak ikut menghilang. Deklarasi keramat itu tinggal di tengah umat sebagai benih kesedaran. • Di tengah ribut memburu dan mengesan jejak pemuda Kahfi, mereka damai dalam limpahan rahmat Allah. Gua gelita yang sempit dan kasar - berkat taburan rahmat - terasa bagaikan kamar nyaman sehingga mereka tertidur nyenyak selama tempoh yang cukup lama. Sementara itu masyarakat telah berubah. Benih iman dan akal rasional yang mereka tinggalkan telah hidup subur dan tersebar luas meliputi seluruh strata: raja dan massa. Ketika itulah mereka sedar, lalu menyaksikan perubahan dan merasakan penghormatan umat generasi baru yang tahu menilai kebenaran, kerasionalan dan keberanian bersikap benar.