Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Not the best of times..


Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family.  Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family for granted.  ~Paul Pearshall


Fresh from an appeal hearing which did not go on eventually and summons from the police who found my modified number plate (courtesy of Aries) a bit too fancy for the law, I am back in the office.

My office pc keeps shutting down for absolutely no reason, and I have a bruise the size of a ping pong ball on my arm of which I have no recollection getting at all. I can't lift my right arm because it hurts. Couple that with carrying 1 huge counsel bag plus a handbag for my laptop plus my proper handbag all throughout the Court of Appeal. Now I REALLY can't lift my arm. Sigh.

All is not bad I suppose. I got to meet Kak Intan Azliana in the Court of Appeal! Wah, the last time I met her was before she got married, and now she has 2 kids already!

We may have another 'santau' attack directed at Atuk again this time around. Atuk is showing the classic symptoms of 'busung'. I am seething. Bonda is irate. Nenda is panicking. Nak buat macammana. We have to continue living our lives. Kalau sihat, alhamdulillah. Kalau sakit, berubat (usaha both ways, traditional and modern methods). 

Being in politics, this is what Atuk faces day in day out. And what we as a family, face with him by default. 

Bonda and I are fighters and what fight we have in us, we have learned from our father. And so fight we shall. 

Sigh. Pray for us readers. 

Monday, April 23, 2012

Quiet Weekend

Hello readers,

It was a really quiet weekend, with Airiel pulling tantrums about not wanting to go out and wanting to stay at home instead (yes, quite the antisocial just like his mama) and we stayed at home on Sunday, played with Airiel, took long naps, I cooked with nenda and did the laundry and ironed Aries' clothes and cooked for Aries as well.

I suppose Airiel was tired from our outing on Saturday. We took Airiel to Taman Tasik Titiwangsa where both Aries and I used to hang out  a lot before we got married. What a walk (or sprint rather) down memory lane!












I was so surprised to see the water so clean! It was not that way when I was going out with Aries back in the day!

Aries and I was just looking at each other, reminiscing how we used to be here and now, we are back here, with our son...

It is going to be a busy week ahead. So I have got to run! Have a productive week ahead!!!




Thursday, April 19, 2012

Laksa 'Angry Bird', Ara Damansara

This is the nickname that this laksa lorry cum stall has been given.

You want to know why?


Look at all the black angry bird tissue holder! hahaha. The laksa served is laksa utara, spicy and not sweet. What a refreshing snack!

My jewelled tudung bawal which I bought. A bit too festive I think.  I'll just revert to my old tudung bawal meanwhile... Ohh, by the way they also serve chendol so you can cool down after slurping the spicy laksa.

I know Aries hates my way of smiling, tapi inilah cara diriku senyum...nak buat mcmmana Aries? :-)

Ok, the Laksa Angry Bird owners always park their truck opposite to the Ara Damansara police station. You can't miss it. Have a try and tell me what you think ok?

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Monkey Tree, Batu Feringghi, Penang

I had a fun time during my weekie in Penang with Aries and lil Airiel. We went for  a visit at the Tropical Spice Garden...


And guess what we stumbled upon, a restaurent inside!! Aptly named the Tree Monkey. We ordered the couple set for 2 and added on 1 white rice and tom yum for Airiel.





Our drinks were the tropical fruit juice and the Havana 'something'. I forgot the name



Opps, Airiel enter frame jap and sibuk main the umbrella that came with the drinks

This fried kangkung was crunchy and yummy, Aries' favourite dish

Airiel's tom yum which was suprisingly flavourful. I always expect high end restaurants like this to serve up some bland food to cater to tourists but this tom yum was tangy. It was not spicy but this was our own request as it was for Airiel.



The steamed fish that came with the set, it was a huge fish and was frankly enough for 4 persons as opposed to 2

the chilli chicken, it was fine but not entirely memorable

Airiel's drink, teh o ais [his all time favourite]


The best thing about this restaurant? The view ...PRICELESS..

Monday, April 16, 2012

Tentang Rasa

Dapatkah selamanya kita bersama, menyatukan perasaan kau dan aku
Dapatkah selamanya cinta ini kekal abadi sesampainya akhir nanti, selamanya... - Astrid









This is love my friends...truly, madly, deeply and unconditionally... Happy Monday!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Gino's Recipe, Ara Damansara

This post is long overdue, but my Samsung SII went bust and I thought I lost all the pics. Anyways, I found out that I managed to save them into my Mackie. So here goes.

Gino's Recipe is located in Ara Damansara and serves up hearty Italian food. One late night after Aries arrived from JB, we decided to have a snack here:-

 The bruschetta, it was surprisingly yummy


 Aries had a sandwich which he said was just alright

I had spaghetti bolognese with meatballs, it was a great dish, balanced in flavours but if I had one gripe about it, is that the servings were too big and I couldn't finish everything! Haha.

If you guys do head into the Ara Damansara area, please be sure to give Gino's Recipes a try. Lovely!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Pasang 2, 3 - Hebatkah Anda?

A couple of days back I read a friend's status update on FB. It was commending another friend for 'memasang 3' as opposed to 'memasang 2'  which was the number he was at last year and saying how 'hebat' this guy was. I was disturbed, and NO, not by the fact that this friend was practising polygamy, but because of the fact that the friend practising polygamy was assumed as a 'great' man and/or 'hebat'.

Obviously, they do not understand the true meaning of what 'polygamy' is and what it entails.

I come from a family that have practised polygamy. And with that, I have seen the 'good' and the 'bad' that polygamy entails. I have seen polygamy work, and work really well. The husband is firm, tells the 1st wife openly he will marry another, discusses it with the 1st wife's family, has principles and treats the wives equally as could possibly be done by him. Most importantly, the husband is the boss and does not cave to unreasonable demands of any of his wives. 

But I have also seen instances where families are destroyed and the suffering by wife and/or wives at the hand of the husband. Why? Because the husband has NO balls. He runs off and marries the other in secret, Thailand and does not have the balls to tell his first wife. In that, he has already failed to be fair to his first wife. And then after marrying his second wife, he goes back to his first wife and then starts the charade so as to disguise the existence of the 2nd wife. In doing that, he neglects his 2nd wife as he cannot visit her as often and can only meet her in secret. In this, he again fails to be fair, but now to his 2nd wife. And dari situ bermulalah perebutan dan tingkah laku isteri to win the husband's heart, with one and at one time both the wives resorting to black magic to make the husband love them more than the other. In this, the husband has failed both wives again by (i) making them feel that one is more loved than the other; and (ii) not being able to control his wives until the wives resorted to something 'haram' like this.

I just shake my head. Inikah lelaki-lelaki berpoligami di luar sana yang hebat yang dimaksudkan di dalam status FB itu?

I read this wonderful article which can be found at :- http://sayangislam.com/2010/02/02/tiada-payung-emas-untuk-wanita-bermadu/. I have taken the liberty of reproducing it below:-

"Di bawah  ini luahan seorang isteri yang suaminya bernikah lagi secara sorok-sorok.  Nikah pun boleh main ‘nyorok-nyorok’ juga.  Aduh… di mana kejantanan seorang lelaki jika dengan seorang isteri pun takut.  Namun itulah yang banyak berlaku dalam masyarakat hari ini.  Akibatnya poligami dipandang serong kerana perlaksanaannya yang agak menyerong.
Objektif poligami sebagai salah satu mekanisme mengatasi masalah sosial juga tidak dapat dimanfaatkan sepenuhnya.
“Bukan takut, tapi mahu jaga hati isteri…”
Mungkin ini alasan popular untuk menjustifikasi satu tindakan yang tidak begitu ‘gentleman’.
Oleh kerana sikap tidak ‘gentleman’ ini, seorang isteri kedua menuntut fasakh dari suaminya. 
Apabila seorang suami mahu ‘main sorok-sorok’ berterusan, implikasinya ialah isteri kedua tidak mendapat giliran yang adil.  Bukan itu sahaja, si suami juga cuai dalam memberi nafkah. 
“Sabarlah sayang… Abang tunggu masa yang sesuai untuk beritahu kakak”.
“Abang janji dalam tempoh 3 bulan untuk beritahu ‘kakak’.  Sekarang sudah 12 bulan, Abang masih takut berterus terang.  Kalau begitu, biar saya beritahu sendiri bahawa saya juga isteri kepada Abang”.
“Sayang, janganlah begitu.  Abang bimbang ‘kakak’ mengambil tindakan yang bukan-bukan nanti…”.
Pelbagai alasan diberi si suami.  Akhirnya isteri kedua menuntut fasakh.  
Bila begini akhir sebuah perkahwinan, maka poligami tidak menjadi usaha menyelamatkan golongan armalah, sebaliknya menambahkan lagi status janda di kalangan wanita.
Jika tidak dapat berlaku adil, maka bernikahlah seorang sahaja.  Itulah pesanan Allah sejak awal-awal lagi.  
Jika takut dilambung ombak, usah berumah di tepi pantai.
Sudahkah Allah dibawa berbincang sebelum bernikah lagi?  Jika mahu tahu kemampuan berlaku adil atau tidak, tanya Allah dulu melalui istikharah dan berbincang dengan mereka yang arif.
Poligami adalah medan untuk memimpin dengan adil antara isteri-isteri.  Jika berlaku aniaya kepada mana-mana isteri, maka isteri berhak keluar dari wilayah yang zalim tersebut.  Carilah keadilan dari Yang Maha Adil yakni Allah.  Wakil Allah di muka bumi ialah qadhi dan hakim yang menunaikan amanah.
Usah biarkan diri dianiayai kerana Allah jadikan kita sebagai insan merdeka dan mengharamkan kezaliman sesama kita. 
Jika kita sendiri pernah menganiaya, maka anggaplah ia sebagai kaffarah dosa.  Salah satu bentuk isteri menganiaya suami ialah menolak ajakan suami melakukan hubungan intim atau tidak berhias di hadapan suami. 
Nabi s.a.w berpesan agar mewar-warkan perkahwinan. 
Anas r.a. melaporkan:  Tatkala Rasulullah s.a.w melihat tanda inai pada Abdul Rahman bin ‘Auf, beliau bertanya, “Apa ini?”
Abdul Rahman menjawab,”Saya telah menikahi seorang wanita dengan mas kahwin emas seberat biji kurma.  Maka Rasulullah s.a.w mendoakan Abdul Rahman,
  “Moga-moga Allah memberkati kamu!  Adakanlah walimah walau dengan seekor kambing”.
Bab menambah isteri, cepat sahaja si suami menjawab, “Ini hukum Allah.  Ini sunnah …” dan bla..bla.. berbuih mulut ingat syariat dan ingat Nabi s.a.w.  Kenapa masa mahu bernikah lagi, tidak war-warkan pada isteri dan ahli keluarga yang lain. 
Rasulullah mengamalkan perbincangan dengan isteri-isteri, kenapa sunnah berbincang dengan isteri ini tidak dituruti?
Jika benar mahu ikut sunnah Nabi, ikut semua; menundukkan pandangan, tidak ber’sms’ dengan wanita ajnabi tanpa urusan mustahak, tidak ber’couple’, membantu isteri di rumah, mendidik isteri dengan kelembutan dan ketegasan, bermesra dengan anak-anak, solat jemaah di masjid, solat tahajjud, berjuang di jalan Allah, menegakkan politik Islam, melaksana undang-undang Islam dan banyak lagi.
Kenapa memilih-milih dalam menurut sunnah Nabi s.a.w?
Seseorang yang baik niatnya dan betul caranya, biasanya tidak akan takut pada manusia sekelilingnya dan sanggup berdepan dengan risiko.  Jika berlaku sebaliknya, maka ada perkara yang perlu diwaspada.  Ia menzahirkan ‘jiwa kecil’ si suami yang berangan-angan besar.
Jika lelaki mahu menegakkan hak dirinya bernikah ramai yang hukum asalnya harus, maka mereka harus sedar hak-hak ALlah yang lebih besar terhadap diri mereka bertaraf wajib yakni menyuruh ummat berbuat maaruf dan mencegah dari kemungkaran.
Untuk kes seperti di bawah ini, menjadi tanggungjawab suami memohon kepada Allah agar dikurangkan sifat cemburu si isteri.  Pimpinan berbentuk spiritual begini amat-amat berharga buat seorang isteri yang mempunyai 9 emosi dan 1 rasional.   Suami juga harus memohon maaf kerana tidak cuba bikin apa yang dicakapkan, “hanya awak di hati saya”.  Berbohong dan tidak menepati janji merupakan salah satu sifat munafik.  Bab bercakap sahaja, si suami telah gagal menurut sunnah Nabi s.a.w yang terkenal sebagai seorang yang bercakap benar walaupun semasa bergurau.
Jika akhlak Rasulullah s.aw tidak menjadi ikutan, maka dengan akhlak siapa mahu dipimpin isteri-isteri?
Lamaran Rasulullah s.a.w itu tidak segera diterimanya. Ummu Salamah mengungkapkan kata-kata, “Sesungguhnya saya seorang wanita yang telah berusia. Saya juga memiliki anak-anak yatim dan saya seorang yang sangat cemburu. Sedangkan anda wahai Rasulullah, memiliki ramai isteri.”
Rasulullah s.a.w lalu berkata, “Adapun tentang sifat cemburu itu, maka Allah akan menghilangkannya. Adapun usia yang telah tua, sesungguhnya saya lebih tua darimu. Manakala anak-anak yatimmu, maka itu menjadi tanggungan Allah dan Rasul-Nya.”
Melalui kisah ini, dapat dilihat bahawa Rasulullah berdoa kepada Allah agar Ummu Salamah dihilangkan sifat cemburunya.   Rasulullah memainkan peranan sebagai pemimpin akal, emosi dan spiritual isteri-isterinya. 
Rasulullah tidak cepat menggunakan rasional, “ini hukum Allah” tanpa cuba memahami apa yang dibimbangkan oleh Ummu Salamah.
Rasulullah fokus kepada ‘point’ yang disebutkan oleh Ummu Salamah yakni tentang usianya, anak-anaknya dan sifat cemburunya.
*********************
 Luahan Hati Seorang Isteri
Amat berat untuk saya menerima hakikat suami saya telah berkahwin lagi. Apalagi dia berkahwin tanpa pengetahuan saya selama 9 bulan. Jika sebelum ini saya selalu mendengar suami saya berkata ” hanya awak di hati saya”, kata-kata manis itu tak mungkin lagi dapat saya dengar dari mulutnya kerana saya dan dia tahu, ianya tidak lagi benar. Saya rasakan sebahagian dari nikmat bersuami sudah hilang. Setiap sentuhan suami tidak lagi eksklusif kerana dia juga menyentuh perempuan lain. Saya tidak bermaksud untuk melawan takdir, tapi kekecewaan dan kesedihan sukar digambarkan. Hidup bermadu memerlukan pengorbanan dan kesabaran yg amat tinggi. Jika tidak, tak mungkin Tuhan menjanjikan payung emas. Saya tidak yakin saya mampu melakukannya. jika saya mampu, alhamdulillah, saya adalah manusia yg amat beruntung. Tapi jika saya tidak mampu untuk menangani perasaan cemburu, saya khuatir hati saya akan amat tersiksa.
SS

Terima kasih atas perkongsian. Saya dapat memahami apa yang diluahkan kerana saya juga perempuan dan seorang isteri. Setiap pengorbanan dan kepahitan hidup pasti ada ganjaran namun idea payung emas tidak terdapat dalam mana-mana nas Quran atau hadis.  Saya tidak tahu bagaimana ia bermula. Mungkin ia direka oleh suami yang mahu memujuk isterinya. Wallahua’lam.
 Jika ada sesiapa yang pernah menemui hadis tentang ‘Payung Emas’ ini, bolehlah maklumkan kepada saya.
 Apa pun, ganjaran pahala bagi mereka yang sabar menghadapi ujian banyak termaktub di dalam al-Quran atau hadis.  Ia tidak khusus untuk kes wanita yang dimadukan sahaja. Bahkan bagi suami-suami yang sabar berhadapan dengan kerenah isteri-isterinya.
 Antaranya ialah ayat 96 dari Surah al-Nahl,

مَا عِندَكُمْ يَنفَدُ وَمَا عِندَ اللّهِ بَاقٍ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّ الَّذِينَ صَبَرُواْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ

(Sebenarnya) apa yang ada pada kamu akan habis dan hilang lenyap, dan apa yang ada di sisi Allah tetap kekal; dan sesungguhnya Kami membalas orang-orang sabar dengan memberikan pahala yang lebih baik dari apa yang mereka telah kerjakan.
 Buat diri SS, saya doakan saudari sentiasa diberi kekuatan oleh Allah dan tenang selalu. Fikir yang positif dan lihat masa hadapan. Allah tidak bebankan sesuatu melainkan menurut kemampuan hamba-hambaNya.  Saudari seorang yang hebat sebenarnya.  Justeru Allah memilih saudari untuk berdepan dengan situasi yang ditakuti ramai wanita.

وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَى.وَأَنَّ سَعْيَهُ سَوْفَ يُرَى.ثُمَّ يُجْزَاهُ الْجَزَاء الْأَوْفَى

Dan bahawa sesungguhnya tidak ada (balasan) bagi seseorang melainkan (balasan) apa yang diusahakannya. Dan bahawa sesungguhnya usahanya itu akan diperlihatkan (kepadanya, pada hari kiamat kelak). Kemudian usahanya itu akan dibalas dengan balasan yang amat sempurna.
Al-Najm: 39-41"
And I cannot agree more with this article. Just like any other muslim women out there, having the title of the '1st wife' is one of my greatest fears. Moga dijauhkan (well if it has not already happened la kan - Sigh).

But since it is not something I can object to, I would at least expect my husband to know the pre-requisites of polygamy and that it is not a privilege but a RESPONSIBILITY.

I wonder whether that friend which posted that status update realises what a foolish statement he has made. Tiada kehebatan dalam lelaki yang berpoligami sekiranya tidak mampu memahami dan menjalankan tanggungjawab yang wajib di dalam perlakuan poligami itu. 

I also pray for the other friend referred to in that status. Semoga anda menyedari tanggungjawab anda dan dapat berjalan dengan lurus di akhirat kelak. Amin.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Online shopping - Tudung Bawal

I am not a fan of the current hijab fashions. Call me old fashioned, but I love wearing my tudung bawal and have absolutely no plans to change.

I think its great that hijabs (which I presume would include tudung bawal) have now been seen as a current and hip trend which has gone mainstream and is taken on by young ladies everywhere. As long as it covers your aurat, I think anything that you wear is good.

Now, back to the 'I am loyal to my Tudung Bawal' post. I bought some online.



I bought the white and black one. These are from Sweet Remedy 88


I also bought this black and white 2 tone bawal. This is from Batik Kristal

Ok guys. Happy one day holiday in commemoration of our Royal Highness the Agong's pertabalan! Enjoy it!

Something Worth Fighting For


Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it’s cracked up to be. That’s why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.
~Erica Jong

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Online Shopping - Sheer

Haven't updated much about any online shopping, well because I have not really had the time to shop.

Anyways, I did buy a top a few days back.

This is from Sheer. Some nice bargains here.

Alright now. Have a good weekend everybody. Am just back from a working trip with Aries and Airiel from Penang. Will blog about it later.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Xenoblades Chronicles!!


Xenoblades Chronicles IGN Review

Ooooo YUMMY...

Xenoblades is one cool JRPG.

It is an IGN Editor's Choice game for its Wii platform  and has a scoring of 9 out of 10 by IGN as well.

This is making me drool. Should I go out and buy a Wii now?

Hehe

Monday, April 2, 2012

My SII is back!

Yes it is!

And how happy I am to get it repaired and all nice and new. And with that, my love for taking pictures has resumed.

Although am currently having difficulty typing as I have stitches in my right arm, I just had to share with you the highlights of last week and the week before.



My in laws dropped by and we had a lovely family weekend. I love love the middle pic where Airiel is posing with little Eisya, his cousin. So cutee!!!





My Airiel, with his passion for books and colouring and crafts as well. The bottom pictures are of him trying to fit into his old Bumbo seat and amusing me to no end.


The book that I am currently reading. A collection of short fictional stories of the paranormal. About 2 more stories before I finish.

I am lamenting over the fact that I do not have enough room to store my collection of bags. Sigh...

Happy Monday everyone. Have a good one!