Sayonara 2007

Today is the last day of the year 2007. Time just flew so fast. There were so many incidents happened in my life in the year of 2007. Some were sad, shocked, blessed, happy n joyful. That’s life all about.

In the Feb 2007, we people in Muscat received a group of Malaysian FAMA people during Muscat Festivals. We were all so glad that they were here to promo our Malaysian delicacies. Almost every night we went there to enjoy the food. The feeling of eating at the place like ‘warung’ reminded us a lot like what we used to have back in Malaysia.

My brother Boy finally managed to make himself free to come to Muscat end Feb to join us. He enjoyed the country n we brought him to Dubai as well.

In mid March I was involved in the Malaysian-Indonesian-Brunei (MIB) game. I played netball that I had last played when I was 17 years old. I am not good though but maybe because of my height I had been selected to be GK n GD. But with all the support from others that seems to be pro, I learned the rules n managed to be in the team. We won a 2nd place in netball n 1st place in overall MIB game.

In April I was very blessed n thanked to Allah that I n family were be able to perform Umrah. Alhamdullilah we managed to do it well there. There were so many hiccups before we managed to be there but with GOD’s willing I was there to see the Kaabah n touched the Hajarul Aswad.

I moved to a new house in May. We had been staying in two houses before n this will be our last settlement. I love this house so much coz it has a bigger kitchen n most important with compound for my kids to run around n play bicycle.

In June we here in Muscat were shocked n feared by the hit of cyclone Gonu. Alhamdullilah our house is at the higher area n didn’t get the effect so much with the cyclone except leaking here n there in the house. We had about 20 people gather together in our house. The aftermath of the cyclone was so bad in certain areas.

4th July is the day when I started being as a blogger. Since that I had enjoyed sharing stories of my life with others. August is a great summer holiday for my family. Balik kampong to be with our family back in Malaysia. During this holiday I was be able to meet my aunty that I had not met since 6 years ago – Aunty Uteh. 12th August is also the 5th year my mom has passed away.

September is a new school calendar for my kids here. Nabila is in Reception n Nadira in year 8. We had our ramadhan in September n Eid Aidil Fitri in October. October 24th was the day we lost our dearest friend – Prof Iskandar.

November was the joyous month for us. Nurul got 5A in her UPSR. Later on Nurul n Adik came to Oman to have their holiday here. Then followed by Mak n Faizah who joined later in December. This was the month also when Hakeem got his first chicken pox. Then it got to Nurul n Adik as well. Alhamdullilah they all had fully recovered.

We celebrated our Eid Adha here n the following day went to Syria for 5 days holiday. We love Syria n enjoyed our time spent together. Tonite we gonna send Zaireen n family to the airport. They will leave us for good.

No holiday here in Oman for New Year. No fireworks here. No free concert here. No special movie in the TV. The clock is ticking for the arrival of the New Year. By that time we r already in our bed sleeping.....

SAYONARA 2007.

Farewell to our dearest friend - Zaireen~Zahrul

Last nite we organized a farewell dinner for our dearest friend Zaireen n Zahrul. I n my hubby arrived earlier at Kargeen followed by the guest of honour – Zaireen&Zahrul. Then the rest couples came – Rohaya&Haji, Lyn&Hamzah n also Hj Amin with Raja.

Tonite is just for the mom n dad outing. While waiting for our food to come we were busy taking photos. Maaf ye adik, kakak, abang n anak-anak.. Tonite is our nite.. So we were like camera freak! But we were not alone.. omputih around us pun sama gak.. Clicking their cameras non-stop. Well by looking at the pictures u can see the best of the best from all of us. Hahahahahaha..

Now I know why all our children are addicted to the camera. Anytime, anywhere even in the toilet pun they can pose like a superstar.. Your moms n dads are still learning.. Kasi can lah..

Anyway on top of that all of us enjoyed the food n the company so much. The weather was nice, cool n very pleasant. Hj Amin ended the dinner with a thoughtful speech on behalf of us (unfortunately no one is crying). Then Zahrul with the story-speech of memories n moments that he n family had in Oman.

I, hubby, kids n the rest of our friends would like to wish Zahrul, Zaireen, Dina, Mysha n Ikhwan all the best n happiness thru out their life. May u n family will be happy n settle down well at the new place – Qatar (now we have reasons to go to Doha, Qatar since u r there).

We will surely miss your company n hope that we will still be keep in touch. Lastly ‘Maafkan Daku’ for any unintentionally mistakes done. Terimalah rangkap pantun yang tak seberapa ini..

Pucuk pauh delima batu

Anak sembilang ditapak tangan

Biar jauh dinegeri satu

Hilang di mata dihati jangan

Bintang Barat terbit petang

Bintang Timur terbit pagi

Jika tidak melarat panjang

Ada umur ketemu lagi

Tuan puteri pergi ke Rasah

Pulang semula sebelah pagi

Kita bertemu akhirnya berpisah

Di izin Tuhan bersua lagi

p/s: Zaireen n family will be leaving Oman tommorow nite.

Hakeem's Party

Hakeem had his birthday party yesterday evening. He was so excited n happy to see his friends. He got lots of presents too.

Thank you so much for all the presents given. Hakeem loves it so much.

Zahid - F1 racing control car

Ikhwan - Starwars

Haiqal - Flip over wheeler

Mohammad - Control car

Kak Deaa - Spiderman robot

Kak Nabila - Power rangers

Kak Nurul, Adik, Kak long - tools n robot mechanical hand

Mommy - Hotwheels

Ayah - Spiderman wheel cart

Happy Birthday - Izzul Hakeem

Today is my dearest Hakeem's 4th birthday. Our last member in the family who also celebrate last birthday of the year. Hakeem is so very excited as we gonna make his party this evening.

Hakeem now is very talkative n always tag along with his buddy-sister Nabila. He loves to watch cartoon especially power rangers, ninja turtles n spider man. He also loves to play 'fighting' with me. And when he did that, he will do it like a real fighter. Well.. he's my only hero anyway.. :)

Happy Birthday Hakeem. Mommy loves u so much n wish u all the happiness n may Allah be with u always.

We Will Miss All of u

Last nite Mak, Faizah, Nurul n Adik has gone back to Malaysia. We reluctantly n sadly sent them to the airport. How I wish that they could stay longer. They wanted me to cooked for them (with everybody own favourite food) last dinner for the nite.

After came back from the airport, we entered our house with their smell, laughs n voices that we used to have. We already missed them especially Nadira who started to have tears in her eyes when she entered her room. She missed her dearly sisters Nurul n Adik who had spent together with her more than a month. And not to forget Kak Long too, who she used to fight over the laptop.

This morning when I woke up, the house is so quite. Well.. now we all r back to our own track. We will miss them n surely will be seeing them again.

Just called them n they had safely arrived at the KLIA. Thanks also to Rohaya, Haji n kids for being at the airport last nite.

We just love Damascus

The Syrian Capital Damascus is known to be the oldest city in the world. The first time when I looked at the city, it does have lots of story n secrets behind it. The city looked old but the people itself r all modern n stylish.

Most of all the places that I went, I love most n amazed is Bosra. The old Rome city which represents the civilisation thousand years before us. I am also blessed n glad to be at the Ommayad Mosque where I had witnessed n looked at the place where Nabi Isa A.S will be brought down during the justice day.

Myself, hubby n especially our children love the place so much. Even though the weather was so cold n freezing but we managed to survive. Insyaalah if to be given another opportunity I would love to pay another visit to Syria.

I would also like to thank for a the grateful help from our dearest Taufiq. He had spent the rest of five days in Syria with us. Guiding, telling us all the very informative facts about all the places we went. And most important thing for being our Arabic spoken person.

Thanks a lot n Faizah, Nadira, Nurul, Adik, Nabila n Hakeem will surely missed their Abang Taufiq n not to mentioned Abang Kiki too.

Day 1 at Syria (20dec 2007)

We were safely arrived at Damascus International Airport at 4.10pm Syrian time. The journey took 3 hours n 10min. We were supposed to depart at 1.45pm but it was delayed about an hour. We were been waiting for another four passengers who were still not on board. But once they were on board they were arguing each other about the sitting number.

This was the usual drama I've always seen on any GCC airlines. I was sitting far behind n not hearing anything but by the scene I guessed it can't be controlled by the stewardess as she has to call the ground crew security n finally the pilot as well. Huh... because of the stubbornness n the stupidness selfish bunch of people like this we were all stranded n delayed.

Once reached at the Damascus International Airport, it took us an hour to process the visa arrival. At last we were all out from the airport waited by our friend - Taufik. The temperature was 7deg c. Our place to stay is quite far from the airport. The journey took about 45 minutes.

Once settled at the apartment we went out for dinner. They were many people especially family as it's holiday here in Syria (Eid Adha holiday). The restaurant was crowded. We had pizza n shawarma. The weather at night was so cold n it was raining. It's 1deg c. My hand was freezing. Our night ended with everybody tired due to the journey n excitement for the tomorrow's activity.

Day 2 at Syria (21dec 2007)

This morning we went to visit the Makam Nabi Qabil (the son of Nabi Adam A.S). The journey was quite far from the Damascus town. It is up on the mountain. The view is so beautiful. We were told that behind the mountain is the Israel land. So along our journey to the Makam place we saw many army n satellite around.

Later on we proceed to the other place where the snow had come down. It was raining last night n we were so lucky that the snow had become thicker. We drove thru a few small towns which reminds me of Hadnyai. It was 10.00am in the morning n it's Friday n most of the shops are still not opened yet.

After past by the Buqqein town we went up to the mountain to a 'strategic' location to play with the snow. Once reached there we were all very excited. Well.. u can imagine we never seen n touched snow before.. sakai ah kejap.. hehehehhe.. My kids just totally forgot the freezing n the coldness that they were complaining before.

They touched, played, jumped n even lied down on the snow (ala-ala cita hindustan). They threw the snowball to each other. Sadly Hakeem missed this part as he was sleeping n we left him in the car. We were enjoying ourselves for about an hour.

We went back up to the town to perform the Friday prayer. Then the driver continued n brought us back to a different part of mountain to play with the snow. This new place had a very beautiful view. We can see the small town n big spread mountain. But the snow has melted a bit. But we had good time already at the previous place.

Later on we had lunch at one of the restaurant up the mountain there. We just love the Syrian rice. It's so yummy. We then were brought to visit the Makam for all the Syrian's heroes.

Our last destination was to view the Damascus town from up the mountain. It was night at that time. It's so freezing cold n windy. The view was so beautiful. We had our tea at the ‘warung’ there where’s the price was like Starbuck coffee!

Day 3 at Syria (22dec 2007)

We went out at 8.30am in the morning. Today we went to Bosra. It took us about two hours to reach there. Along the journey we saw the beautiful part of Syria. A stretch of grape, barley, peach field n even some green vegetables. Once reached the Bosra town I was so amazed to see the beautiful old Rome town. It’s something that can’t be described by words.

I really admired n had a high respect to the people thousands years before us who already had the skills of architecture n idea of building up their castle n towers. You can see the tall n big pillar which synonyms to Rome. The castle was so huge n big.

I was so pleased to be at the spot where our Rasullullah S.A.W (when he was 10yrs old) stopped by to have a rest with his camel. We can still see the camel foot print. Then we went to the huge castle belong to the priest where Rasullullah S.A.W uncle n his friends were invited for dinner.

Then we walked around to see the other parts of this Rome town. We saw the place where they had their massage n took bath. Then to a place with a few pillars where they practiced how to fight. Later on we went to visit the amphitheatre. Again I was amazed to see the design n the big n huge stadium. If u watch the Alexander the Great movie or Beyonce Pepsi’s advert, that’s how u can imagine I see when I was there.

We then stopped by to have our break – tea n some juices. Again the price was like a Dome café. Now I understand why Taufik always argued with this Syrian every time when we asked for the bill. We then drove for another 45min to have our lunch by the lake. The view was so nice n how I wish I can have the tomyam n ikan siakap tiga rasa.. hehehehhe..

We ended our day by going to the biggest mall in Damascus called Town Centre. I can tell u that the Damascus people all r very trendy n handsomely beautiful. We just love to see their pretty faces n features.

Day 4 at Syria (23dec 2007)

This morning we had falafel for our breakfast. A bit different like we used to have in Oman. It taste delicious but I prefer the one in Oman though. After that we visited the Sayda Zainab Mosque. The mosque is so beautiful. The dome is made from gold n all the design in the mosque is made from crystals. Inside the mosque is the Makam Sayda Zainab – great grandchildren of Rasullullah S.A.W.

Later on we proceed to the Grand Mosque which is a must visit location for the tourist – Omayad Mosque. It’s an old mosque that once has been a church n then a mosque. We went around the mosque area to visit a few interesting places inside there.

The head & the body of Imam Hussein bin Ali burried here

The spot where Nabi Isa A.S will come down during the justice day. He will perform prayer with Imam Mahadi as the 'Imam' n then both of them will run out thru this door to catch the devil.

We later on started to mingled n shopping at the souq which is just located in front of the mosque. This is the best part for me n the girls – shopping time. We spent there till the 9pm where almost all the souqs has started to close. After that we went back to the hotel n busied packing our stuffs as we have to leave early for the airport tomorrow.

Day 5 at Syria (24dec 2007)

In front of the Damascus International Airport

We left our hotel at 9am. Check in n waited for our flight at 12.35 noon. While waiting my kids were non stop talking how they enjoyed the moments spent there.

Good Bye Damascus. Good Bye Syria. We love the place n insyaalah will be back there again.

Myself with the Syrian lady that I met last nite at her cookies shop. Coincidentally she's also sending her daughter to the airport as well.

Happy Eid Adha

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha – Eid Adha to all muslims in the world especially those in Malaysia. We in Oman celebrate our Eid Adha today. We just had our raya gathering with all our Malaysian friends this morning at my house.

As usual we had all the raya foods – ketupat, rendang, sambal kacang sedap by Zaireen, kelupis (ketupat frm Brunei) special made by Rohaya n kuah lodeh by Lyn. I made kek lapis, carrot cake, cheese cake n our favourite cornflakes biscuit. This year raya is different n a bit special coz I have all my children n Mak here with us.

Last year I celebrated my Eid Adha in Malaysia. On 2nd Eid I brought my kids to watch the ‘korban’. They were so thrilled n excited looking at the cow being slaughtered. Later on we had a small kenduri with the daging korban.

Tomorrow the whole muslim in Malaysia will celebrate Eid Adha. Selamat Hari Raya n Maaf Dzahir Batin.

Tomorrow morning also me n family will be going to Damascus, Syria for our holiday. Take care everybody n have a nice holiday.

Happy Birthday - Ashley Faizah

To my dearest Faizah,

Each year you grow more special

And loved by me a lot

For many countless reasons

I'm glad you're the one I got

Even though
We're always far apart
You're always close
In my heart

You're loved for your sweetness

And your very special way

That's why I'm wishing you

The most wonderful birthday

Happy Birthday my sweet 18. May Allah will always be with u n all ur dreams n wishes come thru.

Rich n Famous

You r just a normal human being. Not a celebrity but just a normal people who can walk freely on the street. You live your life normally same like others. You mind your own business n try not to intrude too much into other people’s life.

You are nice to everybody but yet there are still people who does not like n satisfied to see what you’re doing. These bunch of people always feel itchy in their butt if they at least not knowing what r u doing n into something. Whatever u do including your personal things will be something that thrill them to know it. They r like ‘paparazzi’. Just love to nosy around into your business (except they don't get pay for this!)

They just love looking n eyeing on u. Whatever they see is just not for their eyes n whatever they hear is also not for their ears only. They love to tell n share with their ‘group of people’. And of course to make it more juicy n exciting, the news has to be ‘rearranged n recreated’ to suit the situation.

I sometimes don’t understand what they get out of it. I just wonder wether their life is so damn bored or not exciting enough that they have to interfere others.

At this point don’t u feel u r like a celebrity? Feel like those in the list of ‘Rich n Famous’? If be given a choice, I just want to be rich but not famous.

Please leave me alone n M.Y.O.B.

Nabila's Concert - Nadira's Sports Day

This morning I went to Nabila’s School Concert. The concert is about an Omani’s boy – Naseer who has lost his silver. He’s been looking all around n finally remember that he has misplaced it. The concert was played by all the Nursery n Reception classes.

Nabila has been practising all the songs since last two weeks. And today she has delivered a great performance. She looked so lively n confident.

Today is also Nadira’s sports day. She has participated in hockey, swimming n basketball.

The Oasis City of Nizwa

Today at 7.15 am early in the morning we drove to the oasis city of Nizwa. It is 165km from Muscat. It took about two hour journey from Muscat. We reached there around 9.15am where the city was already crowded with people. We saw many lorry n trucks loaded with cows, goats n sheeps. Every Friday morning in Nizwa, they are having a trading market for these animals.

The place is so busy n bustling with people selling, buying n negotiating these animals. We just love to see the sheep n goat over here. It looks so beautiful that we can’t resist touching it. Later on we strolled around the town.

We visited the souq mostly selling silver jewellery n traditional crafts item. We even went to see the Friday markets which just like our ‘Pasar Tani’ back in Malaysia. They sell cheap fresh vegetables. We left Nizwa at 11.00am to continue to our next destination.

Green Mountain Al Jabal Al Akhdar

After Nizwa we continued our journey to Al Jabal Al Akhdar. It’s on the way back home to Muscat. It’s about 30 minutes drive from Nizwa. The temperature now in Muscat is 27deg celcius. But the moment when we reached the military check-point at the foot of the mountain, we were pleasantly surprised by the temperate and breezy atmosphere that greeted us. The temperature at that time was 21deg celcius.

As we made our winding way up to crest of the mountain we can feel the weather getting cooler n breezing. My kids were all so excited. It took us about 30 minutes from the check point to reach up to the mountain. By the time when we reached there, the temperature dropped down to 12deg celcius. It was so cold.

Up there on the mountain u can see another part of town n community. At the heels of the mountain the surroundings are typically semi-arid features, largely rocky terrain and dusty soil. The view is so beautiful n pleasing.

This is actually my first time being here. We were guided by Nazri who has been there several times. I would recommend for those here in Muscat who has not been here before, u should go there once especially during this cool weather. U can only take 4 wheel drive up there.