Blue and Sparkly!

Hi guys,

I promised didn't I? Ok, ok, Huda my bestie is going to know that this is totally out of character because I absolutely hate jewelry. But I have to say since I got pregnant, I have been obsessed with everything sparkly, much to Aries' dismay. I mean, I hate shopping for everything else, but I LOVE looking at jewels!

Who would have thought!

Anyways to make me happy, Aries bought me a blue sparkly for my birthday and our upcoming anniversary in November.

Coincidentally, the above ring is set similar to Kate Middleton's ring! hahaha... I so feel like a princess now.

I am nuts about this jewelry shop Devnani Jewels. Their website is here. Awesome pieces for awesome prices as they were jewelry wholesalers before they opened their jewelry boutique. My male readers out there, go here to get presents for your other halves! You will be pleasantly surprised!.Aries definitely was!

Ok, have a good rest of the week. Hope this gives my readers some ideas on presents for birthdays and upcoming anniversaries!

Pressie for Aries

Hello Everyone,

Its a busy Monday for yours truly. Apa nak buat.

Anyways, Aries long overdue present for his birthday (which I think is combined with our upcoming anniversary lah senang)  I  managed to buy it this weekend. It took so long to get him one because he is so darn picky. His birthday was way back in March.

Anyways,

Hope you like it Aries. It's all about the love eh?

He bought me a present for my birthday last week and for our anniversary coming in November as well. But I have yet to get it. I'll share it with you guys when I do.

Hint : - It's blue and its sparkly!

Ok everyone. Have a good one now!

Hatten Hotel, Melaka

Hello everyone.

Just wanted to post some pics up about the hotel we stayed in our failed vaccay in Melaka. The hotel was new so we have no complaints. What I personally like is the fact that it has 2 flat screens inside and you have a sort of separate lounge area cum living space.

The concierge was so helpful. I was so thankful that one of them managed to find us a mechanic to get us into my locked car when it accidentally locked itself. That is definitely a plus!

Yupp, that's all the pics I managed to take folks...

Hari raya Aidiladha is coming up and yours truly akan balik Mars.

Jumpa lagi insyaAllah!

P.S - Huda balik mana ni?

Prenatal Spa - Dewi Sri Spa, Plaza Damas

Hello everyone. Its a FRIDAY! huhu

Anyways, I want to share with all my preggy readers out there that I have found an absolutely heavenly spa place that can do spa treatments for a preggy lady like me.

It's called Dewi Sri Spa at Plaza Damas.

The preggy treatments are not stated on their websites but when you call them and make an appointment, state that you are x months preggers and they will recommend and modify their massages to cater to your month of pregnancy.

I had the relaxing package which was for a full 3 hours at a bargain price of RM260 which I think is way cheaper than Khareyana spa 90 min prenatal massage for RM200. So I had a 90 min massage, a 60 min lulur and hair treatment for the remainder of the time (which you can switch to a facial).

It was so so relaxing! and my pregnancy aches are totally gone! Syiokk...

This is the link to the spa. Give it a try preggy friends!

Women in Islam - Did You Know?

Hello everyone,

Have you heard about Malala Yousufzai and how she was shot by the Taliban because she was campaigning for women's education over on that side of the world? Nak pergi sekolah pun jadi isu ke org org puak Taliban ni?

Does it not infuriate you that in some places in this world, society uses religion, and Islam in particular to justify their own tribal/racial/cultural practices which oppresses women? And does it infuriate you even more to know that people have associated these practices to be one and the same/synonymous with Islam?

Do you want to know the true position and regard that Islam and our prophet s.a.w had for women? Lets go through the list of 'DO YOU KNOW?' for the day shall we?:-

1. You thought that the 1st movement for women was started by English ladies via the suffragettes? Did you know that the 1st women's group was started by a woman called Asma' Yazid Ansariyah during the prophet's time, thousands of years before the suffragettes existed? She was appointed to speak for the rights of women in Madinah during the prophet's rule and would often give her opinion in matters concerning and affecting women which the prophet would consider and listen to. In fact, the prophet was so conscious of women and their rights that he would allocate certain days out of the month just listening to issues plaguing and surrounding women.

2. You think Florence Nightingale was the first women who formed a nursing school and went around at night comforting men of war? Do you know that the first hospital and nursing school was actually formed by a woman named Rufaydah Al-Aslamiyah during the prophet's rule, thousand of years before the western world came out with such an idea? She was a medical doctor, a nurse and a renowned social worker, she taught other women of her time medical procedures and how to tend to men during the wars fought and defended by the prophet. The prophet in his recognition of her services actually set aside a portion of the proceeds of a particular war, perang khaibar if i'm not mistaken for the hospital and nursing school she had built?

3. You think it was the Western world who first afforded rights to women to join the military and fight in wars? Then you must have not heard of the 'Black Rider' have you? She was a female warrior who joined the men in wars for Islam. Her name was Khaulah Azur. Have you not heard of Nusaibah Kaab and how she fought alongside (not behind, beside ok?) the prophet, braver and fiercer than any man and protected him from injury until she was injured in 12 places herself, much to the alarm of the prophet who asked Nusaibah's son to come to her aid, which she of course just dismissed? Have you heard of Ummu Haram Milhan? She joined the Islamic navy force thousands of years before the Western world even half recognised the rights of women to fight!

4. Did you know the prophet had a personal assistant that was female? Her name was Laila Ghafariyah? She also joined him in wars and was a stand in nurse for the injured.

5. You know Imam Al-Bukhari, the famous perawi hadith sahih which hadith is often showcased on TV during prayer times tu . Well, did you know that his most famous and prolific teacher was a woman? Her name was Fatima Ibrahim Ibni Jowhar. She was the most famous teacher of hadith of her time and even had a teaching slot in Masjid Nabawi. People came from far and wide to hear her. Men, women and children, caliphs from all parts of the muslim world came to learn from her. Apa ada hal?

6. Who said Islam disallows having females learned in law? You obviously have not heard of Amrah Abdul Rahman, a renowned expert in law during her time and was even considered to be equal to the position of mufti's back in the day, so revered she was. Judges in islamic law back in the day consulted her and even retracted their sentences upon hearing her opinion as compiled case laws were not yet undertaken at the time. She had it all in her mind, this woman! MasyaAllah!

7. You think women these days have gone leaps and bounds in getting equality konon kan? Did you know that educated women back in the glory days of Islam even scolded caliphs when they did something wrong? Which would be our equivalent to the President these days? You obviously have not heard of Ummu Darda kan? She was a renowed teacher, hadith extraordinaire and was an ulama'.  She taught at Baitul Maqdis and another place (which is escaping my mind at the moment. Serius tak ingat). Anyways, she was the teacher to Khalifah Abdul Malik Al-Marwan. So beloved and respected was she by the khalifah that he would ensure that he personally came to take her home after her teaching sessions when she was too old to go home herself. And yes, she once scolded him for scolding a palace official because the servant was late in coming to him when he called.

8. Lets not even go in detail about Aisyah r.a. and how knowledgeable she was in fiqh, hadith and law. Did you know that after the prophet's death, she became the reference point and taught men, women and children alike about the Quran, fiqh, hadith and law as contained in the Quran?

So, what the hell are these Ta*iban peopl are doing, restricting a woman's right to an education man! The prophet encouraged, admired and advocated for the education of women! How can these people call themselves fighters of Islam? It is clear that they are just influenced by their tribal practices in oppressing women as opposed to really understanding what Islam advocates.

Remember my female readers, during the prophet's time and during the glory days of Islam, we women were MORE than equals, we were SPECIAL. We were educated, we were pioneers, we were movers and shakers and were never defined and/or restricted by our gender. We women were liberated long before the Western world ever grasped or understood the concept.

Do not let anybody tell you otherwise. When a chauvinistic man tells me what they think they know about the position of women in Islam is, I just grin...because you know what? I know BETTER.

You're a very brave girl Malala, may Allah s.w.t lead the way for your fight. And show these people what true Islam really is all about.

Have a good rest of the week everybody.

Online Shopping 2012 - Part 5

Hello everyone.

I have bought these things since I first got pregnant which is about 4 1/2 months now. But my surprising aversion to buying/thinking of buying ANYTHING (save maybe, groceries?) since getting pregnant (ada doa apa-apa ke ni Aries?) has prevented me from posting this up. Tanyalah Aries, he would literally have to drag me for an outing to any shopping mall, like paksa and paksa before finally using Airiel as an excuse before I would reluctantly get ready and go.

It is really bizarre. Anyways, back to my post. I bought myself some maternity tops and intimates (yg ni tak payahla nak bergambar ok? hehe) -

These are from Autumnz. Much much cheaper and reasonably priced than goods you find in maternity stores offline. The same applies to the intimates as well.

And I also bought some batik fabric:-

Pretty right? This is from H4 Batik. Court appropriate too, I might add.

This is from Kedai Pasar Payang

Allright guys, give these sites a visit. Enjoy the rest of the week!

Terkesan di hati

Dear Allah, test us in the best way, guide us every single day

Keep us close to you, until the end of time...

Last week and this week adalah weeks yg mcm mcm berlaku.

As you all know, my family planned to take a long deserved vacation in Terengganu. All things booked and planned since last year, Aries suddenly couldn't make it due to an inconsiderate magistrate in JB. Fine, lawyers deal with unreasonable people every day. We suck it up, smile and still call you Tuan/Puan even though we think you're an ass because we respect the chair you're occupying...although you may have no respect for it yourself. Whatever, life goes on.

And then 2 days before our trip, Atuk became sick yet again. You know, perut kembung and keras, tak lalu makan, cirit birit, tak boleh kentut. BUSUNG. Checked, nothing medically wrong again. So seperti biasa, kena berubat traditional. But in his recovering condition, how were we going to go to Terengganu? Gilalah org politik, asyik bomoh membomoh sahaja. And guess what, we even know who he/she is yg buat. Mmg muka tak tahu malu. Berlagak alim tapi lebih percaya kepada bomoh daripada takdir dan qada' dan qadar Ilahi. Memang bapak aku akan claim dari kau cukup cukup masa akhirat nanti bro!.

After mulling over it and having a family meeting, we decided that we shall skip Terengganu and go somewhere nearby, so off to Melaka we went instead. Melaka was scorching hot, Atuk was still weak and grumpy and Airiel was throwing tantrum after tantrum because obviously his father was not around. With nobody having fun, we decided that we should cut the holiday short and go home instead.

So, after checking out a day early, we wanted to go home, and Bonda was driving my car as my pregnancy was progressing and I couldn't really drive long distances anymore. And then as we were packing, Bonda accidentally locked us out of the car. And of all the days, today was the day I left the spare keys which were usually in my bag at home pulak!. Thank God the concierge at the Hatten Hotel got us a mechanic who could break into the car and open the door!. So after an hour, we were well on our way home.

We had reached the consensus that this was officially the worst vacation we have ever had.

And this week. I had a conversation with Airiel's teacher about how Airiel is progressing at school. Since I got pregnant, Airiel has been moody. After having a one on one chat with Airiel, he told me he was angry about 2 things, (1) mama having a baby in her tummy; and (2) Abah leaving him. And I asked the teacher whether he has mentioned anything about his father during school. And the teacher said that Airiel has said this in school:-

 'Semua org ada abah, Airiel sorang takde abah'

Apparently usually the rest of the kids get sent and picked up to and from the playschool by their fathers and I think this is why it is affecting him so much, his father rarely ever sends or picks him up from playschool.

How does a mother react to a statement like this?. I try and explain to him everyday that his father is at work and he is here as often as he can and I thought he was coping well. I didn't know that this actually upsets him so much sampai statement mcmtu pun boleh keluar. 

Sedih and susah hati thinking about this. No matter how hard I try to be both a mother and father to Airiel when Aries is away, I realise that it is not enough. I am NOT enough. I never will be. I am here, but I am not what he wants most. 

I think a lot of things, like how am I ever going to cope with 2 kids pining for their father? As you all know, another one is on the way kan. Mmg sgt susah hati.

And yesterday, Kak Lina and Abg Wan lost their baby via 'missed miscarriage'. Teringat miscarriage sendiri last year. Its tough. Moga Kak Lina and Abg Wan tabah.

Terkesan sungguh di hati.

Have a good week everyone. For those who have had a good or semi-good week, be thankful. As you can see, some of us may not be so lucky...

A Family Trip

I am so excited for this upcoming family trip.

I have not travelled at all since being preggers (JB doesn't count since it was for court). And I have been planning this family trip since last year.

Further to my angry rant on FB about a m&^%$%& in JB who fixed dates for trial in Aries' matter during my vaccay which was planned since last year (tak tahu ke practice direction yg kata you should fix dates ikut free dates counsel bukannya sesuka hati?), he's now out of the equation. So Aries tak dapatlah pergi ( I curse you, whoever you are. May your vaccays inevitably get ruined too).

I am honestly, very tired and in need of a break. Sekejap pun takpelah.

So of we go to....

(Ok, am not actually going to the island, just the bandarla, mak buyung masih loya loya di pagi hari)

I'll write when I get back.

Aries, Airiel and the rest of the familia is going to miss you loads!