life, the journey: August 2012

Friday, August 10, 2012

sky...

one of the things i love most to photograph is the sky.....it is so amazing and it is never the same any time or any day.....

this is my attempt to capture it with different lenses...

i am at peace finally that my lil girl has gotten a grip on her kumon...oh well, she needs to work on it to keep up the challenges.... she has completed single and double digits and now on triple digits....

she came back from kumon yesterday and she told me.....mummy, it is so difficult.. i told her to remember the phrase her kumon teacher in ipoh taught her... i believe i can do it....

my dear girl, remember what mummy has got to say...always conquer the area that is most difficult as the rest comes easy...always remember patience and perseverance and humility will take you places...

the rule is...make sure get some stars for mummy to deco the fridge....

the playful brother doesn't fail to impress me as well...

full moon in the month of ramadhan

and thank god for my nikon J1 otherwise this shot will always be a distant dream...

the spirit of eid ul fitri

while we adults observe the fasting commandment, the lil ones await eid ul fitri.... this is what happens in my household. every night the children wait for daddy to return from his terawih prayers at the mosque.... and this is what happens when he returns (some nights, i would signal to him not to for it is too late for their bedtime)...

eid ul fitri a little too early...

and we had visitors too....

carrot cuppies...

here is a picture of the lovely carrot cuppies my sister ordered for me...30 little cuppies and i spread her love to my friend and a neighbour...

nadia nasira was fasting when she saw the cuppies, she was rather disturbed...the first thing she wanted during break fast was the cake...

thank you dear nooriyaka... see, didn't i tell you sisters are the best...

Thursday, August 9, 2012

memories of babyhood...

last night i was watching some of my children's video clips i captured in their early years.... they simply looked beautiful.... i miss those year just so much. i miss holding them in my arms in my arms....their meal time....their bedtime... i love the look of happiness on their faces... now, they are so full of attitudes...

recently we had kept away the lil car each of them rode since they were one year old since nazhan nasr has now taken over the tricycle as the older children now has a bicycle each. there was a pang of sorrow in my heart as my babies has grown out of babyhood and soon toddlerhood... i feel like i want time to stand still and let me vacumn in the memories of their babyhood into my memory bank... my babies are all growing up so fast....

now and then i would hold my lil one hoping that i would be able to record the feelings and replay it whenever i miss those moments....my babies are all growing up.... i wish there were more peace for us to cheerish the moments together forever...

Allah does talk to you....

Allah talks to you in the weirdest manner....

i clocked in the office this morning...my workshop was to start at 9 am. so, i spent sometime reading the Quran since i didn't after the subuh prayers... i picked up my handbag and left. along the way, i said hi to a few colleagues. as i got of the lift and went towards the car park, i saw someone familiar walking in front of me. i decided to say hello and yes, it was my colleague's wife who worked at the training centre....

we exchanged greetings and she asked if i had received all the payments from the training centre...i told her there is one more outstanding. you see, i teach part time at the training centre as and when i was requested to for which i am paid some allowances. it surprised me when she asked me what do i do with the money...i am not quite sure what i mumbled as an answer...

i felt like Allah had a message for me through her when she related to me what she does.... she said...when i was a part time instructor, i made sure i can see the money.... i believe she kept it aside so that it is tangible. i wanted to say thank you but i was too dumb founded by my own realisation of the depth of that simple conversation...

thank you for the message....dear God...

Sunday, August 5, 2012

a distant land

my patriotism and my loyalty shall always be to this country, where i was born in to make my own history....but i have always had a soft spot for india, the country that holds the secret to my origin and my identity. it is the country of my forefathers...

i still remember my visit to india....to the village that holds a big portion of my history. i have two addresses in the village of panaikulam which i could rightfully claim my own. my grandparents had left us lands that either belonged to them or their parents, close to two hundred years of ownership of my forefathers...i remember vividly walking shoeless on the fine sands in the village in hot sun... i remember my cousins and other lil children who were my play mate for the one month i was there. i remember my grandparents in their respective houses...their workers... the well in their houses... my travels to different towns, the district, the auto ride, train ride, the food, the tea... etc etc...truly a village experience that i gain from my trip there.

my only prayers for this country is for it to raise above the rest and be a nation of highest quality...

when i sing negaraku, the national anthem, i stand up straight with my head held high. i yield strength and spirit from the song... but when i listen to vante maatharam, i cry... tears flow... should anyone belittle my motherland, i shall fume in fury, especially if it is another indian.

when you say maa, tuje salam, i say it from the heart. motherland is an attribution to our mothers. we dont say anything bad about our mothers in private or public...yes, my motherland has so much to improve but its political ideology will be the greatest hindrance. i wish socialism or communism will prevail as the ideology and india shall correct itself. yet, i feel a mother may have all her faults but she definitely has millions of goodness in her. the world has benefited and is benefiting from india. the world is flourishing in many areas because of those from my motherland. how many indian doctors, engineers, IT experts, bankers, financial experts, astronauts etc etc etc all over the world? yes, many of them left in search of better lives, leaving india to the slum dogs who reaps india apart... i hate many many things about india and the indians but i can never change it...

but i will never disgrace it, never for it is part of me..... maa...tuje salaaam....

homemade...

it means so much to the children when i pack them something to bring to school... they would be so proud that they want to share with their friends... i can't think of the varieties that i can put in their tupperwares... i decided to bake them cuppies...not quite acceptable by my son... so, i decided it is time to learn to make my own buns...

this is my first attempt...raisin buns... i made half of the portion stated in the recipe.... i wanted it to be our weekend activity so i involved the children. i do think it was not bad for a beginner but it was rather like a scone than a bun.. oh well... so much for the effort...

my daughter loved it but my son asked me where is the sausage...he loves sausage buns... next attempt shall be....

i love the look on my husband's face when he tasted it.... should have been raisins scone....

at the break of dawn

at the break of dawn, this is how my alamanda looks like....

at the break of dawn, this is how my gullu and jija boy look, wondering what mummy is doing with her camera when she should be sending them off to nanni's before going to office... where is bullu, he is laying flat and sleeping, refusing the shot...

birthday present....

looks like if you turned four years old, you will get a bicycle as the birthday present... nadia nasira got her first bicycle when she turned four and now it is nashwan nasr's turn.

he had been miserably dragging the tricycle ever since it was passed down from his sister. it is now nazhan nasr's turn with the tricycle.... a funny thought came to my mind when i saw the lil car they used to drag around ever since nadia nasira was 1 years old was finally taken to be kept inside the house... you know your babies have grown up... i felt pain stab my heart because i thought of honeystar...

it was his dad's idea to get him a bicycle...his daddy brought him to the shop in his mum's neighbourhood and selected one. he was all beaming with happiness. we were not sure if he would ever peddle because experience tells us that he wont as he didnt peddle the tricycle. we gave him the honour to choose the color and of course, ben 10 would have only chosen green despite many options.

we came home and got him to peddle... he kept reversing. so, mummy became the trainer... i taught him to cycle and peddle forward until i lost my patience. he peddled forward but didn't complete the round. i told myself that since my daughter took quite a long time, let him be. a few days afterwards, i saw one of neighbour's son rode exactly like my son but with so much confidence. so, i let him be. today i feel ashamed that i raised my voice because one, i didn't give him a chance to take his time and two, i had unreasonable expectations. within two months, he rides his bicycle as if he had been doing that for years. for now, he has yet to ride out on the road. well, it is daddy's turn to give him the opportunity and guidance for him to master his cycling.

i think green looks cool and so is he...