wordless wednesday #16 - selamat hari raya!

i got caught up

Hey there, people. So how was your Raya? Great, I hope. My Raya is splendid, as usual. Good food and great company goes a loooooooong way to make you forget your work, even for a while.

Anyhow, something big is happening to me. Big. Major. And just thinking about it makes my stomach twist and turn in every possible way. It's not a bad thing. A good thing (I hope). Let this week past first, then I'll consider whether I'm gonna let you in on the big thing or not. Wish me luck, anyway.

And here comes the pictures from the Aidilfitri celebration. Well, some of it anyway...

My three beautiful sisters, garbed in jubah. Yep, we went for jubah this time around.

My dear, dear Tok laughing with Pak Su. She's so cute, no?

Pak Tam with his antiques. Never fail to make us laugh.

Both my Toks. Mama's side and Abah's side.

Went to arwah Abah's hometown and his childhood home. Felt kinda wistful. And surely, I miss him a lot. Now that my life is about to change in a major way, I miss his presence even more than ever. I hope he's happy and at peace wherever he is. I miss you, Abah. Al -Fatihah...

wordless wednesday #5 - oh, raya datang lagi!

it's that time of the year, again

Heyya, folks! By the time you read this, I may be well on my way to Kedah. Raya for my family is always in Kedah, where all the families, near and far will come together to celebrate this joyous occasion. It's always filled with laughter and fond memories. Eid, for our family, is a family occasion. I will enjoy every single moment of it this year. And I sure hope you will, too.

Here's wishing you a very blessed Aidilfitri.

Credit to: Cepotet
Her drawings never fail to make me smile.

For those of you who's going back to your hometown, have a safe journey home.

To my friends, hopefully we'll see each other before Raya ends.

Selamat Hari Raya, everyone! If I've ever wronged you in any ways, I humbly apologize. Maaf zahir dan batin.

selamat hari raya aidlifitri

raya tag

Since we have more or less a week to go before Hari Raya, I'll do this tag from Dian. Here goes...

THREE unforgettable fasting moments during your childhood:
Note: I don't remember much about it honestly.
1. Drinking water straight from the tap.
2. Had fever once and Abah bought air kelapa for me to drink but I refused. Puasa la konon...
3. Refusing to go to school. Reason: Other kids eating in front me. Cannot tahan.

THREE unforgettable fasting moments for this Ramadhan:
Note: This Ramadhan passed without any unusual event, alhamdulillah.
1. First Ramadhan. Iftar with the whole family, which includes Pak Tam's family and Suria.
2. KTM's delay caused me to reach home after iftar. Twice.
3. Thought I'll fast for the whole Ramadhan, but alas, as a woman, it's just not possible.

THREE iftar dish you wish you had but did not manage to get:
Note: You know when it's Ramadhan, you lust for just about everything and anything.
1. Roti john.
2. Roti jala.
3. Creme caramel.

THREE Raya songs you like/love:
Note: Mostly old school.
1. Satu Hari di Hari Raya by M. Nasir.
2. Sesuci Lebaran by Siti Nurhaliza.
3. Seloka Hari Raya by Uji Rashid and Hail Amir. Hail the oldies!

THREE plans you have for Hari Raya:
Note: Whatever I do, I'm just glad I'll be away from KL. And the office.
1. Have fun.
2. Have lots of fun.
3. Have lots and lots of fun.

THREE Raya dishes you like/love:
Note: It's Hari Raya. It's food everywhere. It's heaven.
1. Tok Yam's ketupat jagung and beef rendang. Once you start, you can't stop.
2. Auntie Doreen's nasi himpit and kuah kacang. Delicious doesn't even begin to describe it.
3. Mak Su's cake. Once you put it on the table, it'll disappear in a matter of seconds.

THREE things you are not able to do this Raya:
Note: What does family means?
1. If I say it, it'll create another whole lot of undesirable event.
2. So I won't say it.
3. Life just goes on, you know. Before, during and after Raya.

THREE people I want to tag:
Note: None of them will do this. Wanna bet?
1. Suria.
2. Suriany.
3. Wani.

raya quickie

I am soooooo lazy to update my blog at the moment. So sorry, guys!

I'll update it later. Promise!

In the meantime, you can check out how my Raya went in Suria's Addicted to Coffee and Kakak's Through My Heart. We had a blast this year! The pics are amazing so go and check it out!

Selamat Hari Raya, everyone!

balik kampung: it is never too early...

... to buy tickets! That is if you are not driving yourself la kan. Come Ramadhan, the tickets are selling like hot cakes, be it bus tickets or train tickets. Well, I've picked up mine yesterday.

Or should it be ours? Ah. No matter. What matter is this; all four of us will sit through eight or maybe nine hours of backside-numbing journey all the way from KL to Butterworth. Yep. Syaqirin has been bugging me about this journey since a month before Ramadhan. You have to understand, he is yet to experience the balik kampung trip via the train. Little does he know how loooong the trip will be!

Every year, when it is balik kampung time, we have to decide who will be going back via the public transport and who will be going back with Mama. You see, there are nine of us, including Mama. Unless we rent a bus, we could not possibly balik kampung together. There were times when Abah was around, we could all go back together with two cars. Now, a distant memory. Oh well, it's not like we are not used to it anyway.

So first, cabut undi. Syaqirin will of course be excluded because he got this fascination towards public transportation. Either by bus or train, he will definitely hop on board happily. He is actually super-excited to balik kampung with train. Lets see just how long that excitement will last, shall we? I will be excluded as well 'cos I'm the eldest. Meaning, I have to go wherever that little dude go. So, who else will be joining us for the backside-numbing experience? I have an idea but lets just wait until it is finalized.

We'll be going back on the 28th of September, instead of the first-planned 27th 'cos the ticket for 27th is sold out. Mama will be going back on the same date, if according to the current plan. So to Suria, take note, babe. 28th September, Sunday. We'll be departing around 2.30 pm and will arrive around 9.45 pm (holy cow!!!).

How about you guys? Already planned your balik kampung trip?

salam aidilfitri...

Saya, Ummi Farhana Zulkifli, dengan ini ingin mengambil kesempatan untuk mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri buat seluruh umat Islam baik berada di Malaysia atau pun di mana-mana sahaja, khususnya kepada pembaca-pembaca yang telah mengunjungi blog saya ini dan telah meninggalkan komen yang sedikit sebanyak memberi kesan pada diri saya.

Saya juga ingin mengambil kesempatan di bulan yang mulia ini untuk memohon ampun dan maaf andainya ada tersilap kata atau terkasar bahasa sepanjang tempoh saya berada di arena blog ini. Akhir kata, semoga Aidilfitri anda kali ini diberkati dan lebih baik dari Aidilfitri yang sebelumnya.

selamat hari raya

Good God! Just how long has it been??? Too long, I must say. Well, been having problem with the PC and then the internet line... technical stuff (not my thing!).

But hey, I'm still around! And hopefully, it is still not too late to wish everyone

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI.

MAAF ZAHIR DAN BATIN.

Speaking of Hari Raya, I must say that this year's Hari Raya had been A BLAST! Short one, but it was definitely one of the best Hari Raya I ever had. It was so... I dunno how to describe it. Nice? Wonderful? Both maybe. I just love it. I love Hari Raya, in fact. It is the time when the whole family got together and have lots and lots of fun. It was fun, alright.

We went back to Kedah 2 days before Raya and stayed at my aunt's house in Sungai Petani (she's my mother's sister. My mother is the eldest in the family). 2 of my mother's brothers also went to stay there with their family so the house was full. 25 people at one time! Just imagine.

Anyways, here's a pic that I like best. It was taken on the first day of Raya...

There... nice pic eh? Is there really 25 people in the pic?
Guess who's missing?