I am back!

Salam to my lovely daughters Farah & Sofea!

Finally Ummi is back to paint your blog after nearly 2 years missing in action. You must thank Auntie Myra for motivating Ummi to write again. After few weeks trying to recall this old dusted blog, missing password and learning how to sign in & update...Alhamdulillah, I made it!

Today both of you are enjoying yourselves at Embah's house in Kg Ayer Itam, Muor. I am sorry I cannot join the trip because Ummi is too heavy and too exhausted for long distance travel. Ummi has baby Emran in my tummy, 8 months plus. Insya Allah soon the day will come for Ummi and baby Emran to balik kampung and enjoy the beautiful moment! Insya Allah, pray for Ummi ok?

Remember Ummi's advice when you are at Embah's house :
1) Please inform Abah if you want to play outside the house or walk to Kak Hafizah's house
2) The rambutan tree is nice to see, fruit nice to eat...not to climb! Ummi struggle to find reverse psychology word on this one because everytime Ummi said "Don't" , you ended up Doing it!
3) You can play your heart out. Remember to perform prayers, brush your teeth and take good care of yourself.

Ummi love both of you so much!!

Well done for completing your homework early and pack your own stuff. Have fun!

3rd Guest : Kak Long & The Geng

1 more week to go before rombongan cik Kak Long and the Geng akan tiba insya Allah. Excitednya!!

2nd Guest : Kak Izzati, Azra & family

Few days after Uncle Kimi left, we happily welcomed the second guest of the year...it is Kak Izzati, Azra, Mama Eta & Abah Azhar...yeeee!! We were so excited as we have been waiting for Kak Izzati to arrive for many years.

Today (24/2/08) we went to Amsterdam (yes, again!). One full day of walking, souvenir shopping, kebab eating, praying and visiting the famous new icon "I Amsterdam" at Rijsk Museum. Kak Izzati has been dreaming of taking pictures at that place when she first saw it in the flight magazine. Kak Izzati nak panjat sampai atas, unfortunately it was dangerous as she was not too tall. We took lots of photos, and planning to come again some day.

Abah Azhar will be taking exam next Friday. Then, insya Allah we are thinking of driving next door to Germany.

Ok, duuu for now. ZZzzzzzz....tired of walking....

1st guest of the Year : Uncle Kimi

The first guest of Year 2008 goes to Uncle Kimi...yeeee! He arrived on the 4th Feruary and spent 2 weeks with us.

We brought him to Amsterdam, a must see place (although we have been there numerous times!), Delft and Paris. Luckily we have free accomodation at Uncle Don's place. Auntie Ju & Kak Sheera cooked so much local food, yum yum. We went shopping at Troyes Outlet Center, which was about 2 hours drive from Nantere where Uncles Don lives. Then, we shopped at Usiness Center which was just 30 mins drive from Nantere. A local secret receipe, mummy was so happy because she found cheap Delsey luggage bag on sale! It was just EU50, equivalent to RM250 for a huge big quality Delsey bag. There's no way you can get the same bag in KL.

Last but not least is the famous Eiffel Tower. All of us including Uncle Kimi & Kak Sheera went up to the 2nd floor at night, freezing up there. Our second visit to the famous besi buruk ha ha.

Thank you for visiting us Uncle Kimi!

Dialog Musim Sejuk

Abah : It is so cold, it's winter in Holland.

Farah : Yes, Holland is so cold. I like hot.

Abah : Malaysia is hot.

Farah : I like Malaysia, it is hot. Holland is cold.

Abah : I like Malaysia too.

Farah : Why are we in Holland? not Malaysia?

Followed by a short pause, then both laughed. yeah right, why are we in Holland instead of Malaysia...memang kena balik cepat nih!

Farah Demam

Farah demam hari ni. Tiba2 saja balik from office (to fetch me) she said,"Sejuuuuk, I'm cold". Memanglah this country is really cold due to winter, but her cold is different. It's fever. It turned out that few classmates are also down with fever. Musim agaknya!

Ok, esok tak payah pergi sekolah. Just rest at home. Hopefully you will recover soon, because we are going to Paris this weekend insya Allah!

Love,
Mummy

Welcome 2008!

Time flies. It's already February of Year 2008, and many events took place the last few weeks. Alhamdulillah, we are blessed with good health, happiness, prosperity & peace of mind.

We spent the last 1 month 15 Dec - 15 Jan in Malaysia. It felt really good...meeting family & friends, eating all our favourite halal food, having my free massage, the facial treatment (lovely!), beautiful Langkawi...to know Malaysia is indeed to love Malaysia. Farah & Sofea had a great time playing with cousins, friends, pampered by Tok & Tokwan, enjoying the summer time. Tak payah nak pakai baju tebal2, mummy pun tak yah nak lecture panjang2 bla bla bla...

Time will continue to fly. Insya Allah mid year 2008, we will return for good. Our gorgeous home at Sek 9 is waiting for us, Tok & Tokwan miss us so much, and we miss home too.

At this point, Pakngah dah selamat sampai Australia to continue with his studies. Pakchaq has succesfully passed his theoritical exam with flying colours & made us all proud. Maksu is waiting for her exam result, and we are all managing her latest tantrums.

May this year continue to be the best year for all of us, insya Allah.

Andalusia Spain 21-26 Nov 2007

4 beautiful cities in Andalusia, Spain...Seville, Cordoba, Malaga and the majestic Granada, this was our latest vacation this year. Weather was perfect, Alhamdulillah. Flight via the new Cliqair was smooth. It was a sweet surprise to discover the beautiful scenic drive when we drove from the big city, across arces of olive estate, cruising along the coastline in Malaga and wondered around the mountains' feet to reach Granada. SubhanaAllah! This is another version of Swiss...without river due to dry climate.

The pic above is the artifact left at Medinat Al-Zahra, in Cordoba. That site used to be a grand mosque where the Caliph used to pray. We cannot help but to feel sad for this land, who lost the spirit of Islam 900 years ago. There is no more Islam in Andalusia...beautiful mosques have been transformed to dark churches, jamon (babi) become the nations' popular meal (surprisingly the dried version of jamon were hanged everywhere in the supermarkets unlike here in Holland or UK), azan prayers have been replaced by the bells' echoe; we could not imagine this event happen in our lifetime. We would rather die, than seeing Islam die with our bare eyes.

What's left is the design and architecture, old artifacts and the famous khat in Alhambra, "Wa La Ghalibu Illa Allah" (There is no conqueror other than God). We, Muslims, bow to God and only God, not another man or patung or anything else other than God.

I feel sorry for the Andalusians, but it gives us a great learning exposure on how ugly things would be if you do not defend your faith.

Farah Sofea, Ummi hopes that you will go again to Andalusia when you're matured enough to understand the whole picture. Visit Andalusia to refresh your memory and strengthen your iman & takwa.