Don't we all love a gud vacation!

Me, mak and d gals headed to Shenzhen and Hong Kong, last Monday. The main target was none other than the ever-waited-to-go, Disneyland. Shenzhen is to experience a little bit of China on the way.....

Our flight, Airasia was at 6:50 am in the morning, and reached Shenzhen at around 11am. The weather was cold, with wind blowing breezely. Alhamdulillah, the gals are well prepared with sweaters and jackets, tq to K. Ina who bought them from Melbourne. I love the weather, you know , when the sun is shining bright with cool wind.....it brings back good memories way back when i was a student in San Jose. Hhhmmm...dejavu!!!

I could see excitement in the gals' faces....

The tour guide and bus were already there waiting for us. We left the airport and headed to Shenzhen city. We immediately realized that the roads are huge, with 4 lanes each way and Aqeesh pointed out that there are no tolls here....masyaAllah, she is being observant! The land area are mostly flat. Once entering the city, we could see the office buildings and towers, huge and small. I spotted multinationals companies and of course the telcos; ZTE and HUAWEI. This place is huge!!!

We were brought to lunch first at a restaurant near the park, WINDOWS of THE WORLD. VEgetarian it was for us...It was ok though, with lots of vegie dishes n soup n chinese tea to satisfy our hunger. Then, we were brought to the WINDOWS of THE WORLD park, where they showcase most of the landmark building from all over the world. I began to think that since Shenzhen has no dominant heritage to potray due to it being the industrial type city, they built this park for tourists...how very clever!!! It was entertaining, with miniature size of the famous buildings and towers. You could even find Eifel Tower there....how romantic!!

I shall continue our journey in the next post.....

Besok is "report-card" DAY....3rd Dec 2008

Besok, aku ade tugas yg paling best bagi umi2 dan abah2....ambil report-card anak2 di sekolah. Aku memang menantikan saat ni..excited pun ya juga, walaupun Kakak and Aqeesh tak lah nampak se-excited aku. Yang pasti, aku dapat la mendengar keluhan cikgu2 dan ustazah2 anak2 ku ini, plus keluhan aku sekali lah.....

Bukan saja keluhan , tapi aku juga nak ucapkan terimakasih pada ustazah2 tu yg dah mengajar anak2 ku selama nie. Aku rasa teramatlah berterimakasih, kerana separuh dari pendidikan anak2 telah dilaksanakan oleh pihak sekolah. Kadangtu, banyak juga komen2 about the teachers yg aku kena dengar dari anak2 ku, but deep inside aku percaya yg apa yg diorang buat tu hanyalah tujuan nak baik kan anak2 murid. Yang jadi harunya, bila method yang digunakan tu sedikit keras or negative.. Itu yang anak2 ku selalu complain....

Kakak... selalu excel in school. Since std 1, always first in class. Dia dapat from class, bukan type yang belajar kat rumah. No matter how she complains about the teacher or vice-versa, she maintains her achievements...itu yg aku respek dengan dia nie. Sebab tu juga aku tak push dia sangat....alhamdulillah she develops her learning style already.

Aqeesh pulak... she works hard and makes sure her teachers like her work, meaning no complains. Tapi, tahun nie dia macam blank towards the end of the year... Masa tadika, cikgu dia recommend her to go straight to Std 1 at 6 years, sebab dia dah boleh buat kerja2 budak2 6yrs masa dia 5 yrs, takut dia boring nanti...kira lompat la anak ku yg sorang nie. Dia memang love school and selalu make sure that there are no complaints from the teachers. Tapi, little that i realized, rupanya her Emotional Qoution (EQ) is still not up to the 7 yrs children. Still ala-ala manja la....So this exam, memang result dia drop. Aku dah promise pada diriku sendiri, that i am going to support her, to gain back her confidence. She has done very well, that I must give her credit for it....I want to bring back the fun in learning for her...insyaAllah.

As for Caca my youngest, I'm yet to explore further her learning style... Next year, she's going to be in Std 1., although by age, she will only be 6 yrs on the 20th Dec 08. Hhhmmmm.....will i face another Aqeesh syndrome on EQ?? I hope not.... I think its the December Baby's dilemma...too young in the same year and a waste of a year if moved forward to the next year... This one i have to monitor.....

Aku doakan anak2 ku jadi penyejuk hatiku, sentiasa dalam keredhaan Allah, always with positive outlook on life and istiqamah.. I love you gals....... See ya tomorrow.....

My knee...another surgery??

"It looks like you have a torn ligament..., but we need to confirm with MRI and XRAYS" Dr. C's commented after examining my left knee. My thoughts were rewinding, to the time, almost 11 years ago when I went thru a surgery on the same knee for the same reason. Hhmmm.....not again!

I've had this pain for around 2 years already. I am giving excuses to escape seeing the doctor, coz I know, this is what the doctor will say, thus I'm not ready to be in the operation theater yet again, going thru the physio endlessly and limited mobility. But I guess, this time around, i succumb to the pain, since it limits my movement esp. during solat.

Well...this is all from being active in my younger days, with athletics, games, mountain climbing and of course, window shopping! Then, not continuing with exercising as I mature, which results in weight gain, equals to not being fit anymore.. So, moral of the story is...GET MOVING...EXERCISE!!! And to my gals...no need to be too active in sports, as long as you eat healthy and play outside, you'll be fine, InsyaAllah!

So...i will do the surgery to repair the tear, in January 2009, once the gals are settled in school. InsyaAllah, i will not take too long in getting back on my feet. Until then.....i will continue with the medication by Dr. C and start preparing for our trip to Shenzhen and Hong Kong next week... Alhamdulillah and insyaAllah, we are going for a holiday.........!!!!!

I'm back from BALI...

Alhamdulillah....I'm back from a 3-day-business-plus-a-bit-of-leisure trip in Bali. Great to be home to my gals and to the reality of life. Hehe...not that i was in cloud 9 in Bali, but I always have this perception that when I'm away to another land, especially on vacations, it's like walking on air, leave your worries behind kind of thoughts. Then, you are back to reality, once the plane touches down to mother land....Oh well, no matter how one looks at it, it's just feels great to back........

This is my second time in Bali. I was with the gals and mak, the first time to Bali, courtesy of my company, last year. It was purely vacation then. The gals were excited, first time on a plane and a guided tour. They bonded well with my colleague's family and enjoyed themselves very much. This time around is only me and my 3 colleagues. Didn't really have time for leisure though, since the time there was too short. However, it didn't stop us from enjoying the cheap and relaxing massages...! The beaches can wait or even do without, but impossible to miss the massages, esp for us, the reflexology. Arghhhhh....it feels sooo good!

Another must-do thing for me is admiring, then buying the loads of paintings...although, i made it clear to myself that I only wanna see what's new in store. Being the women and admirer of arts and paintings, i couldn't help buying not 1, but 3 paintings...Again, there are just so cheap...!! Sometimes, i do feel guilty for negotiating too low of a price considering the amount of time and effort being put into the work. Balinese were doing it for survival...they do not care about originality....everyone is copying each others works. Well, perhaps not in Ubud, where the most Bali's artist live and produce their works. Or probably I'm only an admirer of art, but not yet someone who appreciates them... Hhmm..I wonder what makes it different..... Balinese are just great artists and crafters, plus the help of new ideas from designers, locally and outside. They are becoming modern and contemporary in their designs, without totally eliminating the Bali identity. I for one would love to someday have a TROPICAL BALI garden at home...InsyaAllah....

I must write something about the business part of this Bali trip....There, I had the opportunity to sit in a meeting cum presentation, conducted in Bahasa Indonesia and witnessing the professional Indonesians in action. They are very vocal, active participants and have lots of opinions to the point of near arguments. And they are proud of their language, so to say..... Since there are over 230 million people in Indonesia, I could sense that most of these GM's and Managers know their jobs and materials very well, to be in their posts. Or else, they could easily loose their jobs to the next candidates in waiting.

Do I wanna go to Bali again???? Sure...where else can I get those great work or arts, the cheap massages, great Bali hospitality and cheap DVD!!!

Sunday Nite Chat

I've just finished watching a Cerekarama on TV3. It was about a relationship in a marriage...how a gal who was so afraid of loving a man due to her bad experience with her parents, which led her into being an egoist and how a man's true love can change him from a playboy to a devoting husband. Sounds normal? Well, i liked it not just becoz the hero is handsome (hehehe!) but becoz it's direct and does happen to ordinary people like us.

I, for one will not be the best to talk about marriage, coz mine failed halfway, but its just so much positive things about marriage that Allah has shown thru the Quran and our Rasulullah s.a.w. Its a training ground for unselfishness, giving, love, ikhlas, understanding, trust, honest, companionship and so much more...Can you imagine other better training grounds than this?? Then there's all the little people we bring to the world....SubhanAllah, what is it not to love about marriage!! Of course, not all marriages are made in heaven, but then again......

At this age of mine (late 30's), I miss the sharing and companionship the most (minus the you know what!). You know, when u share all your happiness, achievements, sorrows, plans and memories with your other half esp. concerning your family and friends. Also, on how we gradually transforms to become better Mom, Dads and Muslims. I guess, that's when having the other half of us is a blessing. Its like writing the nice-to-have list for your own review. That brings my memory to the famous verse, "YOU COMPLETE ME" from Jerry McGuire, which sums up everything of the above...

So, you gals out there...GO GET MARRIED!!... We plan, but ALLAH knows best!!!

Exam Week for Dgals...

This week is an exam week for Basyeera and Balqeesh. Bastrisyia is 6 yrs young, so no exam for her. They have not actually locked into the exam mood or fear as of yet... Balqeesh, 7 is still asking Umi, why she needs to do her reviews. And kakak (Basyeera) has no interest in reviewing as she already done it in class? "Hah, when did u have time to do in class," I would say to her. Her answer will be "Umi tau kan how kakak belajar......kakak dapat dalam class, so tak payah nak review kat rumah dah". Hmm....my intelligent children.... Can you see how they manipulate their Umi?

Well....whatever it is, i got the last say....so it's either reviewing for the exams of straight to bed by 8:45pm (after isya'). I see that they still wanna be around, so review it was. It was not so much of the exam that i was pinning on them, but more to the responsibility as students. I'm also not gunning them for A's...just to make sure that they understood the material and their teachers. I once told them that if they obtained a "D" for a subject, it means either they don't learn anything, or they don't understand the subject and the teacher or they don't want to learn. But well...its GREAT if they could get all A's...hahhahha!!! I'm still an Umi from my era....

Kakak is alwayz the confidence one, where she will come home and report that the exam went well and easy....never hard! Only the result will bare it all.... Balqeesh, on the other hand doesn't talk much about it. She prefers to see the result...except for subjects that she likes, such as Science and Math. I'm yet to see how Batrisyia will react towards exams....can't wait! They are 3 different characters altogether.....

To my gals...Umi is proud of all of you.....

What's next??

Ever felt like dropping it all? Ever felt like venturing into something else, something that your heart desires? Something that you could give back to the society? Or, just anything other than your job now.....

Well....that's what I'm feeling these few days. I wish this and that, bla,bla,bla.... Is it wrong to feel this way? You know, you will come to a point in your life's journey, where you pause to reflect on your path, or muhasabah...I've been doing just that, and still doing it now... I've been very indecisive on pursuing MBA before. Now its whether MBA or should i take professional diploma on subjects like Early Childhood Education or Learning Disabilities in Children. Hmmm.... that boils down to again, what my plans are from now till my retirement age?? One thing for sure, i don't want to work in the Telecommunication industry until 50!!! This job is my method of earning money, my rezeki for a living and my family, but it does not mean i must continue doing it.....

I want to do something that i could earn money from, at the same time giving back to the society and most of all, to grant pahala and redha from Allah, the All Mighty.... One field i know i want to pursue is Early Childhood Education or Learning Disabilities in Children, simply because children are Amanah from Allah, and or greatest investment, be it in a family or in a country. Its such a big impact to a society by these little people. Sad to say , i feel that we still have

a loong way to go......... InsyaAllah we will get there.....

Raising 3 gals (age 9, 7 & 6 now) gives me a lot of opportunities for trial and error on various upbriging methods, but the result is always based on my motherly instinct. At the same time, well informed parents could be more positive to the children's life.

Until I can decide what i want to do next, it will be solat Hajat and Istiqharah to perform for His guidance.......