Sunday, February 26, 2006

May Allah bless her soul...

My step great grandmother, mok moh as we call her, died peacefully in her sleep last nite. She was 86. Al-fatihah. Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmatnya. Amin.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

..and so she did....

My sister just set up a blog ("The challenges a Muslim Woman faces in Islam", at nikelinzurina.blogspot.com), thanks to me..hehehh...because she wanted to post a comment at this blog but couldn't..or so she thought...because she is not a blogger.

Actually, U can still post a comment without having to set up a blog. Just click on non blogger. But, never mind, it is good that she now have a blog! hehehhh.... But, big sister, isn't the title of the blog too long that it makes it hard 4 people to remember?

BTW, thanks for the comments (she commented about my `Yikes' posting - 24 February 2006) ! I am going to have to 'swallow' all those advice first before I will act on them! *wink*

From Angie to me....


Finally I have some time to scan the card stitched by Angie for the VSCE (Valentine Stitched card Xchg) organised at Malaysian Stitchers. The roses are gorgeous!

Thanks, Angie for a lovely card!

Let's do more exchanges! hhmmm..what shall it be next? Bookmark exchange? We have done towel band xchg, flat fold xchg, sachet bag xchg, needlebook xchg, biscornus xchg, banner xchg and of course, a stitched card xchg. Is there anything we have yet to do an xchg on?

oopppps!

I did it again! I spent money without even leaving my house! LOL! *wink*

Yep! Linda came over this evening to pick up her cross stitch magazine (Just Cross Stitch) which I bought for her. I needed some overdyeds for the L*K Stamp-it and told her to bring over the whole set......bad idea! *wink*....so that I could also take a look at other colours which I fancy....yep! bad idea indeed! LOL!

My! Did she have a lot of overdyeds! She carries Six Strand Sweets (SSS), Weeks Dye Works (WDW) and Gentler Art Sampler (GAST) and my eyes were oogling looking at the collection! LOL! I love them all! Unfortunately or was that fortunately *grin* I did not have much cash with me so couldn't buy much...well sort of.....she offered to contra with future magazines which she has asked me to buy for her. Dangerous offer, Linda, at least for me! LOL! *wink* U just made me spend even more with that kind of offer! LOL!

Anyway, the guilt of buying is still there, but I am very happy with the selection I made. I am sleeping with my threads tonight! LOL! Sorry, hubby! *wink*

Thanks, Linda, for coming over and bringing a whole lot of stuff. I had a good time. It's nice to have a friend who owes a moving shop! *wink* Can we do that again some time, .....eerrr...but not too soon because it could get `dangerous' for someone like me who just couldn't resist the temptation to spend when it comes to stitching and craft stash! LOL!

It has been some time since I met up with any stitchers. I have been too busy. I miss everyone! I think I should start planning for a meet up...........

Half way there....


Yipee! Two more done of the LK Stamp-it!

I completed the January Stamp-it on Wednesday, 21 February, and the April Stamp-it was completed a few weeks back but I just couldn't find the time to snap the photo.

With these two Stamp-it completed, I have so far completed 6 Stamp-its! That's halfway done! I can't wait to get the balance 6 done soon!

I am now working on the March Stamp-it. I just hope that my interest will hold until the 12th Stamp-it! LOL! *wink* I just bought Just Cross Stitch a few days a go and there are some lovely flower charts I would just simply love to stitch! They are so gorgeous! I just hope that I can resist the temptation to start on a new project until I am done with this current one...hmmm..doesn't that statement sounds too familiar to us, stitchers? LOL! *wink*

Friday, February 24, 2006

Yikes!

I just looked at my photos taken during my brother's wedding and hated every photo of myself! I look.....eerr......rounded! *sniff*grin*

Didn't I say that I wanted to sign up at the latest gym in town recently? Well, I haven't had a chance to do so. My excuse? Was busy with my brother's wedding and my father-in-law's surprise birthday party! Yeah! Right! *grin*

But, honest.....I have been busy with work, travelling for site meetings, project briefings and managing projects. I would think that with such hectic work schedules, I would lost some weight in the process...but, guess it does not work that way, huh? LOL! *wink*

I have also been busy organising my new office which I shifted into last week. My staffs have unpacked and are all settled down into their new office, but my office is still very much a mess because I have been too busy attending meetings to get things organised. I still have 2 boxes unopened (only 2? *wink*). I can't see the surface of my table because it is covered with incoming letters and drawings that need to be checked and signed, ready 4 tender.

Next week is going to be another hectic week for me with more travels and meetings back to back. *sigh* I need a break! When can I find time to go to the gym? I rush home each day to cook dinner because my maid is....eerr....undependable.....never mind that she adds more stress to my already very stressful life! *sigh*

I am looking forward to when I can just take some days off to just spend time stitching and doing ME things. Hmmmmmmm.....

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

The wedding...

I picked this up from my mum's blog.....

Congratulations to both of you (Ayis and Sufia). It was a fantastic wedding. Everyone in the family chip in to make it a success. I felt so happy and elated at the professionalism displayed by all my children during the wedding. The reception at the Blue Wave Hotel in Shah Alam was really beautiful.

More can be read at her blog....http://thegoldengirl.blogspot.com/

Love the photo put up at her blog and decided to copy and paste it here too. I hope my brother and mum would not mind. By the way, that's me at the top right hand corner (insert) giving my speech with a croaking voice! LOL! Luckily there is no audio attached to this blog! LOL! *wink*

The person on the top left hand corner (insert) is my brother who read the `doa', and my sister, bottom right (insert), was the MC, while my youngest sister, bottom left (insert) gave away the 'bunga paha' to guests who gave their blessings during the 'merenjis' ceremony. My sister in-law is the one sitting on the right hand side of the groom. Not in the photo, but my hubby was in charge of accompanying the VIP guests on stage for the `merenjis' ceremony, while my son, nieces and nephew were the page boys and flower girls.

All in the family indeed!


No photos of the `cucus', Ma? *wink* I think they all look so cute with their `baju melayu' and 'baju kurung'. Page boys and flower girls with a difference!

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Happy Valentine's Day!



Oopps! Am I too late in wishing everyone HAPPY VALENTINE's Day? *wink*

Anyway, here's the card stitched for the Valentine Stitch Card Xchg organised at Malaysian Stithers. This was mailed to Wendy who didn't know that I was her secret partner. *wink*

Thank you, everyone who participated in the xchange! I hope everyone liked what they got!

Thanks, Angie, for the lovely card! Muaaahhh!


Wendy wrote: I love this card, Nik.. Thanks. How come I missed so many of your postings? I thought I am online most of the time. Ops... its my blog that has not been updated!!

The speech............

Bismillahirohmanirrohim.

Assalamualaikum warohmatullah hiwabarokatuh dan salam sejahtera. A very good evening to friends and family.

First and foremost, I wish to apologize for my hoase and sexy voice tonite. The preparation for the reception has taken a toll on me, but for the sake of my brother, I am going to read the speech I had prepared earlier. I hope that everyone here tonite will bear with me.

Dato’, Datin, tuan-tuan dan puan-puan, berdiri saya disini malam ini mewakili ahli keluarga saya yang terdiri daripada bonda saya, Datin Nik Zaharah bt. Nik Din, my sisters, Nik Elin Zurina dan Nik Adura Zuliana, my brothers, Nik Ahmad Rozaidi & Nik Azan Shah Reza, untuk mengucapkan setinggi-tinggi penghargaan dan terima kasih kepada semua rakan dan kaum keluarga yang telah sama-sama membantu menjayakan majlis menyambut menantu Sufianiza bt. Adam atau Adnan, isteri kepada adek kami yang tersayang, Nik Adlin Fariz, pada malam ini, 11 Februari 2006.

If our father is still alive today, it would be he who would be standing here tonite giving this speech. But alas, he is not here. May Allah bless his soul. I stand here on behalf of my mother, my sisters and brothers, to give a few words of advice to our beloved newly married brother, Nik Adlin Fariz, or Ayis, as he is fondly known, and his new wife, Sufianiza, as I think our father would have given the same advice too, for I am my father’s daughter.

Our father would have said this. Ayis, marry whoever your heart desires for it is you that is getting married, not I, and it is you who will live with the person for the rest of your life. Choose wisely for she will not only be your wife, but also your partner, a mother to your children, a friend, a lover and most importantly a person who is able to love you with all her heart, for who you are, accepting you for your good and bad, past, present and future and for U to love her back with the same commitment you promised today as you would tomorrow, till death do U part.

Dato’ Fadhillah Kamsah ada berkata bahwa perkahwinan itu umpama sebuah bekas yang kosong. Makin banyak yang diisi, makin banyak yang boleh dikeluarkan. Tahun demi tahun, isilah ia dengan segala perjalanan yang dilalui bersama sebagai suami isteri. Tidak kira samada yang manis atau yang pahit, ia boleh dijadikan pedoman dan pengajaran untuk mengukuhkan lagi perkahwinan yang dibina atas dasar kasih dan sayang kerana kita hanyalah insan biasa yang tidak boleh lari dari membuat kesilapan.

A friend once told me that you can tell the difference between a dating couple and a couple that has been married for far too long. If you look out the window while in a car, if the couple in the car next to you or ahead of you is having a very animated discussion, that is a dating couple or a couple very much in love.

But, if you see the couple in the next car with the woman looking out of the window, and the man either looking up ahead or looking out of the window in the opposite direction, that is a couple has been married for far too long. I hope, Ayis, that you will be the couple in the former car and not the later, even when both of U are already old and grey.

When you are 1st in love, U look into each other’s eyes. After U are married, you need not look into each other’s eyes, but what is more important is to look in the same direction.

Sufia, you are one very lucky woman. Ayis is a person with a golden heart, always giving in to others. I remember a time when he was very young, probably when he was less than 3 years old, if he had already put in sweets into his mouth and that was the last piece, if U asked him for it, he would willingly take it out of his mouth to give it to U, even though it could have been his favourite sweets.

If any of his siblings needs his help, no matter what time of the day it is, he will be there for us. I have asked, not once, but many times, whenever abang man is away outstation on service, to accompany me at nite. All it needed was a phone call, and he would be at my doorstep in less than 30 minutes, even if it is already past midnite because I couldn’t sleep from hearing bumps in the nite.

Now that U are married, Ayis, can I still do that?

A quiet person among his siblings, though I doubt it that he is quiet with his friends, and especially U, Sufia, he is easy to love. So Sufia, love him with all your heart for U might never find another man as loving, as patient and as accomodating as he is. Love all of him but don’t take all of him. Leave some for us, for he still has responsibility to us as a son and brother, for he is our son and brother first before he is your husband.

Sufia, be warned that you have just married into a family who loves to talk. We can go on talking and discussing on almost any subjects until the cows come home.

Want to talk about law, ask kak lin. She’ll tell you anything and everything U need to know and don’t need to know about the law. Want to know more about the construction industry, and I can go all technical with the details. Need to know about the best hotels in town? Chik can tell you the best places to stay, but I am sure she will tell U that Renaissance is still the best of all hotels.

Need to change duit raya for distribution to 10 extra nieces and nephew? Go to abang NikAi, and he’ll do it for u for a small fee! No, just kidding! But want to understand better the economics of the country, abang NikAi will explain to U in lengthy details. And soon, insyaAllah, should U need any medical advice, U can ask our little brother Azan about all there is to know about the little life which we hope will soon be growing inside of U.

So, Sufia, we hope that you are not shy and will quickly fit in and not feel out of place once we get into a lengthy animated family discussion. BTW, should U need a comediane on ur next upcoming birthday party, kak lin just told me that if she wasn’t a lawyer, she would have been a stand up comediane.

Sufia, I hope you like to cook for Ayis is a hearty eater. Serve him anything, and most of the time it gets finished. Ayis enjoys food and I am sure he will enjoy eating food cooked and served by you.

If you find cooking not ur best forte, fear not, for the cooking class at USJ 5 is always open. Come over and we will cook up a storm that will keep our men happy for the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

To Ayis, our dear son and brother, berbekalkan kasih sayang yang melimpah, bimbinglah Sufia dengan sebaik mungkin untuk menjadikan dia seorang isteri yang solehah. Berilah dia didikan agama yang secukupnya. Jadilah seorang ketua keluarga dan suami yang baik. Saling hormat menghormati kerana perkahwinan itu merupakan sebuah ikatan perkongsian yang memerlukan kedua dua belah pihak saling mengerti antara satu sama lain.

Dari mata jatuh ke hati. Dari hati timbul perasaan cinta. Bagaikan ombak dilautan, rasa cinta juga mengalami pasang surutnya. Cinta yang dahulunya membara, boleh cepat menjadi layu jika tidak sentiasa disirami dengan air kemesraan agar tetap nampak segar dan harum.

Lagikan lidah boleh tergigit, inikan pula suami isteri. Jika mengalami ketegangan atau perselisihan faham, cepatlah bawa berbincang agar yang kusut cepat dapat dileraikan. Gunakanlah segala pengalaman yang lepas sebagai satu pengajaran untuk memperbaiki lagi diri dan mengukuhkan perkahwinan yang baru dibina agar kekal bahagia hingga ke anak cucu.

Sufia, with U marrying Ayis, we hope that we have not lost a brother but have gained a sister in you, and you in turn have not only gained 3 very nice sisters but also 2 equally good brothers. But most importantly, U have gained a mother in Ma, our beloved mother. Come to her should U need any advice, be it in the motherly section, or if U just need a word of encouragement from a mother. Love her like U love ur own mother, though not the same, she will be there for U, like all mothers would, in times of need.

Ayis, congratulations on finding your new true love. May she always greet you at the door after a hard day’s work with a smiling face and a table laden with delicious food cooked from the heart.

To Sufia, we welcome u into our family with open arms. Take good care of our dear son and brother and love him dearly. May your love for each other grow stronger with each passing year, and may you and Ayis be blessed with lots of children.

Akhir kata, kepada kaum keluarga, sanak saudara, sahabat handai dan rakan taulan, majlis ini tidak akan sempurna tanpa kehadiran semua yang datang dari jauh dan dekat untuk memeriahkan lagi majlis yang penuh bermakna ini.

Bermula dari majlis pertunangan pada bulan November yang lepas, diikuti dengan majlis sembahyang hajat dan seterusnya majlis akad nikah pada tanggal 29 Januari 2006, dan akhir sekali majlis menyambut menantu ini, tidak akan dapat dilaksanakan dengan sempurna tanpa kerjasama semua pihak. Setinggi-tinggi penghargaan kami ucapkan. Kecil tapak tangan, nyiru kami tadahkan.

Saya sudahi dengan wabillahitaufik walhidayah, wassalamualaikum warohmatullah hiwabarokatuh dan salam sejahtera.

I croaked!


Continuing from my earlier posting, the last 2 weeks has been two really hectic weeks for me!

11 February was my brother's wedding reception, but, even prior to that, we were already very busy preparing for the function. There was the `bunga telur' (a gift given by the host to guests as a token of appreciation for attending the function)that needs to be done - all 300 of them. There was the `bunga paha' (a token given to those who bless the couple) that also needs to be prepared - all 100 of them.

Add to that, there was the function itself that needs to be organised, as a team - the MC, the reading of the `doa', the `thank you' speech, the video, the flower girls, the page boys, the background music....the list is endless! Organizing a function or event is not an easy task. It needs cooperation from a lot of people and from everyone involved.

We have had a series of meetings among our siblings and my mum. During those meetings, we have had our share of small family 'disagreements' on how we think certain things should be done. It is during these meetings that we realised how different we can sometimes be even though we are siblings born from the same womb. We are as individual as we are united.

On the day of the function itself, we somehow came together where things just simply fell into place and the function ran smoothly with only minor `hitches'. Would a bad sore throat that makes me sound like a croaking frog looking for his mate be considered a minor hitch? LOL! *wink*

Yep! I had a bad sore throat the day of the function where my voice was almost disappearing! And I was to give the `thank you' speech!! Can U imagine how I was feeling that day and that nite? I think it was due to so many late nites preparing for the function plus the stress of work at the office. Add to that, I also got soaked wet from the rain the day before the function while I was out with my mum looking for rose petals for the flower girls.

I can't exactly remember know how much `air asam' I drank that day in my attempt to get my voice back to it sweet self *wink*, but, fate would have it that I was to give a speech with a croaking...errr...sexy voice! LOL! *wink*

I cried that evening before the function because I so much wanted to give the speech for the sake of my brother. I had prepared the speech days ahead and had felt good about it. The crying made my voice worse and the stress trying to get my voice back added more stress to my voice and overall health. I was desparate, disappointed and sad. I was starting to throw up from the stress. It (my voice) got worse by the minute. I had no choice. I had to decide one way or another. At 5.30 pm that evening, I called up my brother, Nik Ai, to read the speech on my behalf. I cried. I felt I had let down my mum and my late dad for the speech I had prepared was a speech on behalf of both my parents and I could not read it the way I had wanted to read it. I cried for I felt that I had failed......

After I gave the speech cards to my brother, with a heavy heart, I got ready for the function. I told my mum and sister that I had asked Nik Ai to read the speech on my behalf. I still felt sad, but my voice was not improving. It was already 6.30 pm. We needed to get ready.

It was during the time when we were all busy getting ready that my sister, Nik Elin, told me about her friend, or was that her brother-in-law (sorry, Lin! Can't rightly remember. I was not in the right frame of mind at that time!), who gave a speech during his youngest sister's wedding reception with a very bad sore throat. My sister felt that I should go ahead despite my bad sore throat and it was soundly seconded by my mum.

I was not sure. Can I do it? What happens if my voice suddenly disappears altogether midway thru the speech? Will I be a laughing stock? Will I embarass my mum, the rest of my family, and espcially my newly married brother? After all, it IS his wedding reception! But, with much encouragement frm both my mum and sister, I said I will do it for my brother's sake and hope that those present for the function will bear with me. My hubby gave me much needed support and encouragement too, but, most of all, I must thank my mum and sister for their faith in me that I could carry this through.

But next came my anxiousness. My speech would only be given towards the end of the function. Can my voice hold it to that time? In the mean time, I could only sign language the guests that came. I wanted to save my voice. It was funny, come to think of it! LOL!

I lost my appetite and ate nothing that nite. I was nervous. I had spoken in public many times before in my line of work, from contractors to Prime Ministers. But speaking in public with a BAD sore throat was a first!

All throughout the function, prior to my giving the speech, I pray to Allah to let me do this for the sake of my family's honour. I had accepted the fact that I won't be able to deliver the speech with a sweet voice. It was God's fate, but I was praying that I could at least deliver the speech to the end without my voice totally disappearing.

Did I do it? Indeed I did. Phew! Did I do it well? Only those present will be able to judge, but I read my speech to the end, though with a some interuptions to take small sips of `air assam jawa'! LOL! Did I embarass myself? Hmmm....Did I? *shrughs*

Anyway, I hope Ayis and Sufia, that you will take my speech well and remember it. The speech was prepared and delivered from the heart. If U remember at least half, if not all, of the advice given, then it was worth my giving it with a bad sore throat because U cannot imagine the pain that I had to let my throat go thru to deliver that speech......

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY, Sufia!

I am posting the contents of the speech here should Ayis and Sufia ever want to refer to it. It is also my intention to start compiling all my writings here where I know that the future generations will one day read them and learn from them.

Surprised?

I miss posting here, but it has been very hectic for me lately.

First, there was my brother's wedding reception on 11 February. A week after that, on 18 February, was my father-in-law's surprise birthday party. Yeah, it was his 70th birthday and my mother-in-law wanted to do something special for him.

It was a surprise per say, but, since it was held at home, the surprise had to be told the day before the event, on 17th February, which is actually his birthday, because the canopy people had to come early to set up the tents, tables and chairs. Then next came the caterers.

By the time of the event, I can't really tell if my father-in-law was actually surprised. If he did, he didn't show it. If he knew earlier than the 17th, he also did not show it. Guess it was more to `ambil hati' my mother-in-law who took pains to plan the party as a surprise, though along the way, there were some slip-ups! LOL!

We kids just help where we can and did things as instructed. Afterall, it was HER birthday present to him.

HAPPY 70th BIRTHDAY, Ayah!

Thursday, February 02, 2006

The fourth is done!


Yipee! I finished my fourth L*K Stamp-it and what could be more appropriate than to complete the February Stamp-it in February! I completed it at close to midnite on Tuesday, January 30th.

Four down, eight more to go! I am now starting on the April Stamp-it. I hope I won't take till April to finish it! LOL!

HAPPY VALENTINE's Day to all my friends and families!


..and so they wed...


That's right! My brother, Nik Adlin Fariz, and his fiance, Sufianiza, finally tied the knot on 29 January 2006 in Kota Bharu. It was a simple ceremony with only close relatives present. They got engaged in November 2005 after knowing each other slightly less than a year. May they live happily ever after with lots of kids!

Congratulations, Ayis and Sufia!

Harsha wrote : ohh how sweet. so are you gonna stitch a wedding sampler for them Nik?

My response : heheh...dn't know yet. I haven't even stitched my own wedding sampler yet. I bought the chart close to 2 years ago, but I keep putting off stitching it bcoz I seem to easily get distracted with some other charts! LOL! Maybe I shud make it a point to stitch it this year?

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

I am back........

It's been quite some time since I last posted here. It had been a very busy week for me last week. I was in Terengganu on Monday, 23 January, for a project site meeting and came back to Kuala Lumpur the same evening. The next day I flew to Kuching for a visit to Kuching International airport to see thh installation of the aerobridge as a familiarisation excercise since we will be fitting in the same model of aerobridge for the Terengganu Airport currently under construction. I flew back the same day too. Took the 7.35 pm flight.

Many people said I was crazy to fly back all the way from Kuching on the same day, but I still had some unfinished business in Kuala Lumpur to settle before going on leave to go back to Kota Bharu for my brother's akad nikah (solemnization of marriage) the coming weekend. Besides, I had a meeting to chair on Thursday and I needed some time to prepare for it. At the same time, I got a call from my office while I was in Terengganu telling me that we have to shift office on Thursday because arrangements (movers) had been made to move all our things to the new office.

We never did move because there were some technical details regarding the movers which could not be settled on time, thus, all our things are packed (I actually had to ask one of my staff to pack my things while I was away for work, telling him to shut one eye in case he finds things he shouldn't be looking at! LOL! *wink*) and now we are in a dilema because we could no longer do our work as all our things are now in boxes! LOL!

Oh well...looks like the staff are getting an early holiday! LOL! I am going to have to settle this matter when I get back to work next week. If not, a lot of plans are going to go off schedule and that worries me because we have a lot of deadlines to meet. *sigh*