Mummy's Day Out

Last Monday was my last day of eddah and I had lunch 'dates' with friends on Tuesday and Wednesday as well as tomorrow Friday. (Thursday is a day for fasting). 

And not to be left out my girls also insisted on having dinner on Tuesday itself to 'mark' the day. (Aren't they adorable?!) I would not use the word 'celebrate' as its not really an occasion of celebration, is it? Its like after a confinement. You would go out for a good meal after the 44 days of strict diet and restricted activities too. 

But its not the same kind of dinner celebration on the occasion of one's birthday or passing an exam or such like. It is a more muted occasion. Still the end of eddah deserves an outing to give recognition of an achievement. For those who follow strictly on the eddah rules. 

And also it is good to show the rest of the world that we are not in mourning any more for we are certainly not encouraged to grieve longer than necessary. 

Anyway, since my girls were unable to go out on the same night, I was more than happy to go out for dinner separately with each of them on a different night. Funnily enough both chose to go for Japanese food. And I certainly has no advertion to having shashimi and teriyaki two nights in a row. 

This week end I will be going back to my hometown to see my parents. I am so looking forwards to that. The last time when I was back was a day trip on the first day of Hari Raya. 

Yup! Looking forward for this trip! And this little trip will be the 'maiden' trip before many more trips to come! Watch out world! Here I come! 

Bon apetite and bon voyage! 

P.S. Photo of one of the dishes we had yesterday! Taken by Syaza.

Moving Forward

You say that time flies. You know what? The last 4 months have been the longest in my life. It seemed like time has stood still. And then suddenly the period of eddah (of 4 months and 10 days) is almost over. Tomorrow will be the last day. The grieving and mourning period is officially over. 

Everyone who knows me knows that I am an outdoorish type of person and probably think that the last 4 plus months has cramped my style. Well, truth be told the 4 plus months has given me plenty of good things. Apart from the fact that it has given me the much-needed time to grieve and hide, it has also given me time to get back into shape! LOL! 

One thing for sure, its a good thing that I am required to wear 'mourning' clothes (dark colours and loose fitting) during this time as it has helped to hide my out of shape bods! Well, I have made full use of the stay-at-home rules. Daily half an hour exercise and simple meals has managed to get me back on track. 

Talking about loose fitting clothes, I kind of gotten used to wearing 'jubah' to work. They are certainly much more comfortable and somehow make me feel more feminine. Especially those with wide skirt and flowy material. So I may just continue wearing them. Well, maybe not everyday. And certainly those with brighter colours. And colourful scarves too. Hey! This calls for a day for shopping! Yeay! I really miss shopping! *grin*

Something else I miss is the 'time-out' with friends. I follow strictly to the eddah rules which includes no socializing in public places. And that means no lunch break at the cafe in the office either. I have my lunch in my room in the office most time but at time some friends dropped by to keep me company or have lunch with me. (You guys rock! You know who you are!) But most time we are all so busy anyway, and lunch has been such a rushed occasion. 

So Tuesday onwards there will be a lot of catching ups to do over lunch or dinner. I really need to get back in touch with all the lovely people out there. Plus I really miss sipping coffee at leisure while watching the world go by....

Well. It will be another phase in my life. But thats life. You win some. You lose some. They are all whats good for us regardless. As it's Allah's will, afterall. 

To everyone who has stood by me, I hope that you will continue to be a big part of my life every step of the way. InsyaAllah.

 

Love is Forever

Today I had a sudden urge to take out my camera and lo and behold I found this photo in the memory card. I don't remember having this photo taken and who took the shot. But I remember the occasion. It was my niece's wedding. 3 years ago. I think. She has a one year old son now. So that should be about the right time.

Anyway, it was 4 months ago today. Since he was gone. And I do believe that he has gone to a better place. Waaaay better! 

I am sure everyone close to him still misses him as much as I do but for me the feeling of lost has slowly been taken over by bigger scheme of things. Like planning what to do upon my up and coming retirement (in 5 months). And prioritising and re-prioritising my to do list.

There are days when I am still out of sort. You know, can't sleep, upset stomach, morning after hangover, low blood pressure. But it occurs less and less. But I am pretty sure that it will pass. Totally. Given time. If not it definitely means it has nothing to do with the after death-of-loved-one syndrome but maybe, just maybe, it is part of so-called mid life crisis or post menopause syndrome. LOL!

My period of 'eddah' will also be over soon. I look forward to seeing all the lovely people who has been good to me for the past few months. Scrap that. For the past one year and nine months to be more exact. Lets have lunch or coffee and a chat, shall we?

Meanwhile, to the handsome guy in the picture below, we love you forever and ever!

May Allah continues to bless his soul and place him with the chosen ones in Jannah. 

Aameen.

      

Friday Prayer

Balance and Moderation

Anyway, follow up to what I have written last week on the composition of life, it struck me how important it is to have balance in our life. 

Almost everything that we do calls for a moderate mix. 

Let's see. To have a healthy life first and foremost, we need to have a balance diet. The right quantity of Vegetables, Protein and carb. Secondly, enough sleep and rest from the stress of work. A good   balance of work and 'play' is highly recommended be it you are a professional climbing up the corporate ladder or a college student striving for the elusive 4 pointer or that dean's list. 

What else...? Hah! How about the issue on the consumption of sugar. Even the government is trying to drive the fact that we are consuming too much sugar in our food and drinks which leads to diabetes. Yup, too much of a good thing can be bad. But try and go without sugar in totally. What will happen is we will get hypoglycemia. The total opposite of diabetic. Which is just as bad. 

In fact, even Islam calls for balance and moderation in everything that we do. Islam does not want us to go to either extreme. Not over indulge but not deprive either. Our religion highly recommends us to persue knowledge of the world for both this life as well as the hereafter. What's the use of praying 24 hours a day if we dont have any sustanence to stay alive! And a life full of worldly pleasure without a thought of the hereafter is also not worth the while. As one will find out eventually.

So there you go. There are so many examples and I can go on and on, but enough said. I think I have made my point. Its about striking a balance.

So, you know what to do. For sure it may not be easy for some but we have to try and keep to the routine until it becomes a habit. 

Meantime, good nite and enjoy the rest of the week end!

 

Composition

All my friends know how much I am into photography. I am no expert in this field, it is just a hobby. The thrill is to be able to capture the beauty of the scene or subject in the photo or even more satisfying to be able to capture the expression or the ambiance. Which is not something so easy to do. 

In photography, one of the skill or technique to capture a good shot is how the photo is being composed. A good example is in the photos below. The 3 photos shows the different angle on how a picture can be composed. The technique or the trick is to have the visual or composition to be simple or uncluttered, and if possible provide a balance, perspective and harmony to the photos. It will be easier of course if we have a theme in mind. All the award winning photos have these elements and more. Others also include framing, unity, rhythm, scale, to name a few.

Same goes with how we live our life. Our life can be "pleasant" too if we consciously live our life with certain rules in mind. Work to make it simple and uncluttered, keep our relationship with people around us in balance and harmony. And keep everything in a certain perspective. Like photography, it is something that we need to work at with a conscious effort for continuous improvement. 

I have not taken my camera for a walkabout for quite awhile. It is one of my top to-do-list for sure! 

To all the camera or photography enthusiast out there, hope that it had been a productive week end!

The one in Need

My Sweethearts.

"Sesungguhnya anak itu adalah satu amanah yang telah di anugerahkan oleh Allah".

I have always feel that I am so blessed with all the goodness in this world and I constantly pray that I will be blessed with all the goodness in the hereafter as well. Ameen. 

One of my greatest blessings is my two girls. Feeling the love from them is akin to feeling the love from Allah. An overwhelming feeling of joyfullness and gratefullness and love. In multiple abundance. 

With Syaza turn 20 this year they are now  both officially an adult. What more with the demise of their father last July, both have to 'grow up' overnight and have to start taking up responsibilities of an adult. 

And though they have gone through some downtime like me, most of the time they have been wonderfully strong and even taken the role of the protector at times. How can one not feel blessed at all? If this is a 'test', they have triumphed easily. 

Triumph or not any decent mothers would constantly keep their children in their prayers. And my prayers would be:

May they be 'anak solehah' who have their faith in Allah at all times, turn to Allah at any time and do anything and everything for Allah and because of Allah.

Ameen. 

Note : Photo taken today before attending their cousin's wedding reception, wearing my lace kebaya and baju kurung (which don't fit me anymore). Don't they look so sweet and 'grown-up'?! *beaming with pride*

                        

Sweet November!

Assalaamualaikum.

Alhamdulillah. It's November. I have been looking forward for November. November means the colours of autumm. It means cooler weather. It means a new year is approaching. 

It also means the last chance to meet a deadline or target. Or that year end exam for some. 

But I am not going to even think about that for now. I am just going to stay positive. Look at everything from the happy angle. View everything from a higher perpective.  

Oh. November also means my last leg of my eddah period. Which means at the end of the month the official "mourning" period is over. And I will be able to travel to see my Mom and Dad, have coffee with friends and go shopping. Yessss!

Allah is the Greatest ever! He has determined that 4 months and 10 days period of eddah for a very good reason. While I understood earlier the rational why we have to go through the eddah, now I fully understand waaaaay much better. Having personally gone through the emotional roller coaster  it explains the very reason why we need that long a period to totally get over our grief.  

But of course, even though the mourning period is over, and the grieving is now somewhat muted, the feeling  of lost and loneliness will creep in now and then. But thats normal. We are only human afterall.

Well, it's a long week end for most of us. With Monday and Tuesday as public holiday. Lucky for some, eh? Here's wishing everyone a wonderful week end with your beloved family and friend.

Cherio!