Some blabs before Raya arrives

My Eid this year will be a lot different than the previous ones. Of course it will be extra special with Zara's presence :) I'll be celebrating the first two days of Eid at husband's grandma's place. It may be a lil awkward I suppose since most of the relatives there are very much new to me. Oh well, like husband always says, that's how grown ups celebrate their raya. Yeah.. And in a few weeks' time we'll be moving to Bangi. Gosh.. I'll have my own set of neighbors.. Even the neighbors around my parents' house, most of them I hardly recognize their faces. I'm kinda sure that I'll meet many friendly faces in the new neighborhood (I hope!)

Guess this year is the year of adjusting.. Adapting.. Totally grownups' affair..

Last year, we celebrated Eid in London. Though husband and I were surrounded by newly-met friends, but it was certainly a fun Eid. Perhaps it was due to our talent in the kitchen, cooking all sorts of dishes usually prepared during Eid, so missing Malaysia didn't feel that bad. Or maybe because we just knew how to adapt ourselves being far away from families..

The preparation for Eid this year, I think, is more centered around Zara. I guess it's somehow true that parents do shopping for their kids more than they do for themselves. Well, never I mind, because shopping for little girls has this sense of never-ending excitement. Can't wait for Zara to grow.. So that mommy can dress her up! :D

But too bad I'll only have 2 weeks to celebrate Eid. The remaining 2 weeks will be spent in Bintulu for work. Though Zara will come along, but honestly I can't imagine myself staying with only her without her daddy, aunties and atoks. I am beginning to think that being a working mother is not at all easy. But staying out of work is never a good idea.. No matter how thick-pocketed a husband is.

Oh well, Ramadhan is ending in about a week's time. Time flies.. Scarily fast..

If I can make wishes on Eid, I guess I would wish for the most time with Zara and husband. The whole-week leave is the best time for me to compensate the time I am away at work. And oh, I hope that we'll make it to move to our new home :) husband's really worked his b*** off to get all the renovation plan completed on time. This week, we'll be shopping for a few more items. Can't wait to get them done!

Alright, til then, I'd like to wish you guys Selamat Hari Raya, maaf zahir batin :) Enjoy your time with your beloveds!

Selamat Hari Raya

I guess it's still not too late to wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya :)

Can't believe Syawal has entered its 1 week mark. How time flies. Our exhaustion of the first 3 days of raya has not ended yet, and we are already embarking on a new journey today to Bournemouth for 3 days.

Thanks to the friends here in the UK, our raya was really enjoyable. The excitement started as early as the night before raya, in which as soon as my hubby arrived home from the office on late Thursday, we packed our stuff and left for London, heading for his friend, Faizal's apartment in Elephant and Castle. To our surprise, he and his friends prepared all sorts of raya cuisine: rendang, ayam masak merah, nasi impit, you name it! And the best of all, I feel one of my goals here would soon be achieved: making new friends :)

Here are a few pics of our jalan-jalan raya :)

 The masterpiece dishes by Pecok & Co.

The ladies.. waiting for Isyak prayers and Syawal takbir

 A few of us :) credits to Syina for the pic

 

Bermaaf-maafan with hubby in front of Malaysia High Commission.. :D

After that, we made our way to Malaysia House.. for Raya Open House!

We made ourselves comfy on the grass to feast on the goooodd food :)

Hubby and I made our way back to Elephant and Castle after the open house, while the rest of the group continued their raya agenda. Commuting even around London can really take its toll on the feet.. getting on the buses and tube trains.. huh. The next day, we left London and headed for Brighton to visit our friends, Doub and Diyana, his wife.

Doub fetched us at the station, and drove us to his place at Brighton Marina. It was such a scenic place. Very different from Reading obviously. Its sandy + rocky beaches and pretty town caught us enchanted. Doub and Diyana received three other guests that weekend: Renuka with her hubby Sachin, and Sachin's French colleague, Emily. We stayed there for a night, and both of them took us around Brighton. It was really fun!

The view of private boats from the apartment balcony

Doub was really busy in the kitchen

.. and when the food was ready, Diyana was the most accommodating hostess!

Nasi lemak!! Memang sedap. Kudos the the host and hostess :)

We were brought sightseeing around Brighton, including the beach, Brighton Pier and Royal Pavilion. On that very weekend, Food and Drink Festival was held at the town center, so there were lots of stalls selling all kinds of yummy food like cupcakes, muffins, jams, cheese, you name it. 

 Brighton was jam-packed when we were here.. I guess people loved the beach and the sun

Before we called it a day, we dropped by at this interesting restaurant called Bill's (take a look at the background of the picture, those bottles are food products made by Bill's!) Well, there's Bill's in Reading too, but we prefer to have home-cooked meal everyday.. I love surprising my hubby with my cooking whenever he gets back from work :)

Three couples: myself, Diyana, Doub, Renuka, Sachin and my hubby :)

Not long after we had our lunch back at the apartment, we bid Doub and Diyana goodbye and headed home to Reading.

It was really tiring, yet it was fun! More pics will be uploaded in Facebook soon. Oh, my hubby said he will do it. 

Ahem.. a hint of us at Bournemouth :D

Well, it doesn't say much about Bournemouth.. but it's really beautiful here. Really.

Ooh, and also, happy celebrating Hari Malaysia yah.. :)

Malam Raya

It's 11.25 p.m.


Baru habis masak kuah briyani daging, ayam masak merah and acar rampai. Dead tired and sleepy.

Esok mesti bangun awal. After subuh prayers, tolong masak nasi minyak jap, mandi sunat aidilfitri and head to the mosque for solat sunat aidilfitri.

Tahun ni we'll be spending raya in KL.. hopefully this time around, raya will bring sweet memories, and more people to the house!

Selamat Hari Raya to my readers and friends :)



Footnote:

In the car, heading back from Pasar Pagi Sek. 16.
Ain: Along, tahun depan Along dah tak ikut kitaorang pergi pasar beli barang kan.. Along dah tak tolong masak.. Pagi raya pun tak dgn kitaorang. Ee.. sedih nya..

Me: A'a kut.. hmm.. sedih kan.. tengok la macam mana nanti k..

Suddenly tears flowed down our cheeks. We cried in silence.

Ain: Mak.. minta tissue.. (sure Mak ingat Ain selsema..)

Hiccups on 1st Raya: Maaf Zahir Batin!

1st day of raya: MY REPORT


I'm writing this in the interval to wait for the next chore to end the day: basuh pinggan! after the final guest makes a move.

Tomorrow we're heading north to my dad's hometown. Excited or not? Hmm.. although it will be just me, Ozal and my parents, I am hoping that it would be a good visit. Today's beraya was ended with an ultimate anticlimax. ULTIMATE anticlimax. Pengalaman pahit, kelat, semualah.

So what's left for me to feel excited about raya this year? I would wanna say the TV shows lined up for the celebration SHOULD be most likely (whoa.. LOTR is being aired now on 8TV.. tapi saya dah mmg ada koleksi LOTR trilogy pun.. so.. hm, not so much of a surprise..) but then, the movies lined-up by TV3 and TV9 were already being aired last year (see what do I mean by being glued to the TV during raya? I can remember clearly what was aired last year!) Plus, too many Siti Nurhaliza's clips turned my mood off (walau mcm mana susahnya pun saya mencuba, namun saya rasa takkan boleh menerima minah yang satu ini) So on the first day of Raya, I spent the entire noon on bed, reading.. until I dozed off. I need that okay, since last night was a busy night in the kitchen main masak-masak!

Since I have been working for almost a year, there is no argue on why I am not eligible anymore to get duit raya this time around. Yes, it's my time to give. And yes, I'm kinda fortunate that I don't really have that many little cousins or nieces or nephews to entertain. Well, not to say that I don't like little toddlers. Let's rephrase. I like little toddlers who are cute and well-behaved only. Naughty ones will get some 'twisting on the skin' for being so 'happening'.

(Oh, sekarang TV9 tengah air movie 'Rock'.. cerita last year jugak ni.. isk)

(Ok, berbalik kepada 8TV, LOTR. Smeagol tengah gila cakap sorang2)


Hmm, takpelah. Mungkin dengan sedikit kesabaran, Syawal akan menjadi masa yang bermakna juga.. I will need to pack after this, and sambung menonton LOTR while waiting for the guests to balik.. arghh sleepynya.. >_<