I am now officially a mom! :)

Assalamualaikum,

Hai everyone! Sorry for the long hiatus. Tapi mesti dah boleh agak kenapa kan? hehe. Well, as some of you might have expected, life I sekarang dah berubah hampir 50% sejak 7 Februari 2016. I am now officially a mother! The feeling is so surreal. Sampai hari ni macam tak berapa nak percaya lagi that I now have a baby and I can call myself a mom. Senyum sampai telinga. :)

I am not going to write out my labor story in details here, too long to be written I tell you. I will just cut the story short and cerita some important points that I would love to remember forever. To me, first pregnancy is somewhat very special sebab semua pengalaman adalah yang pertama. You never knew what to expect until you experience it yourself.

Okay, here it goes. My expected due date (EDD) was on 29th January 2016. Tapi sampai tarikh yang Dr bagi tu, nothing happen. Zero. None. I felt nothing, takde sebarang tanda nak bersalin sikit pun. Makin ligat berjalan lagi ada la. Maklumla, dah start cuti bersalin awal kan? hahaha. Hampir tiap-tiap hari I keluar pusing-pusing shopping malls with my husband. Adaaa je benda nak beli walaupun sikit.

I waited for another week, and on 5th of February 2016, hari Jumaat, sampai la masa untuk serah diri dekat Pantai Hospital Sungai Petani. Waktu tu, I dah masuk minggu yang ke-41. Masuk sepuluh bulan bawak perut. huhu. Orang tua-tua kata baby sayang sungguh nak tinggai perut mak dia. Tapi kan, I started to miss having my baby inside my tummy again. Serious ni, seronok sebenarnya bila ada kawan yang sentiasa melekat je dengan kita. :)

Bila dah masuk wad hari yang first tu, again, still takde tanda nak bersalin sikit pun. Takde turun darah, takde air ketuban pecah, baby sihat kat dalam perut. Enjoy duduk hospital makan tidoq sebab takde rasa sakit. Cuma sekali sekala rasa rasa minor contraction yang macam senggugut tu. Disebabkan I jenis yang senggugut teruk tiap-tiap bulan, so minor contraction felt like nothing to me.

I was very lucky sebab my gynae, Dr June jenis orang yang support natural birth. Dia bagi I chance sampai 3 hari lagi walaupun waktu tu I dah memang overdue. Yang penting, both mom and baby must be in good condition. Alhamdulillah sepanjang 3 hari tu, Dr sentiasa monitor CTG baby, selagi semua okay, she will not opt for caesarian. Dr pesan I kena walking marathon for easy delivery. So I heret Am teman I jalan-jalan pusing hospital naik turun tangga almost every day and night. :P

Gambar paling gemok seumur hidup. I hetchiuuuu water retention!
Tapi ada hati lagi berjalan sambil makan ice-cream. hahaha. :p

Masuk petang hari ke-3 (hari terakhir, otherwise kena operation), I started to feel frequent contraction. Tapi still relax, boleh tahan lagi siap turun café petang tu dalam pukul 4 pm makan donat gebu dengan cucoq udang. hahaha. Kalau tengokkan gaya, memang takdak tanda nak bersalin lagi pun time tu.

Dalam hati dah nervous dah, kalau sampai malam ni tak bersalin, esok Dr cakap terpaksa operate sebab she cannot let the baby too long inside the womb, takut ada complication sebab dah lama sangat. I doa banyak-banyak dalam hati mintak la Allah mudahkan semua time tu. Normal ka, operation ka, I tak kisah dah, yang penting selamat.

Lepas makan, I jalan-jalan lagi naik turun tangga, then masuk bilik dalam pukul 5 pm. Masa tu dah mula rasa sakit. I solat Asar pun sambil duduk je. Lepas tu Dr June datang to check my opening, surprisingly I was 2cm dilated that time. Wow, pagi tu takdak tanda opening langsung, tengok-tengok petang tu dah 2cm. I was so happy and nervous at the same time. Ada harapan I boleh bersalin secara normal malam tu or esok paginya. Allah betol-betol dengar doa I. :)

Lepas je Dr balik, dalam pukul 6 pm, the contraction started to become more frequent, and stronger. Sampai hari ni I tak boleh nak describe macam mana rasa dia. Tapi memang sakit. Semua benda rasa tak kena. Baring salah, duduk salah, I siap muntah lagi. huhuhu. Dalam pukul 7 pm macam tu, I cakap dekat nurse I dah mula rasa sakit sangat, tapi waktu tu baru 4cm dilated. Nurse akan bawak masuk labor room only when I am 6cm dilated.

Tapi nurse dah siap bagi ubat untuk buang air to prepare me for delivery. I ingat lama lagi la nak tunggu sampai 6cm. Tapi rupanya setengah jam lepas tu nurse check lagi, and bagitau I dah boleh masuk labor room. Masa tu, the pain was unbearable. Rasa macam tak mampu je nak tunggu sampai 10 cm. I had no idea that the labor could be that fast. I kept telling myself that the time has come and I finally can see my daughter after 10 months.

I tak sedar pun bila opening jadi 8cm or 10 cm, I cuma tau yang the pain was so intense I barely could speak. I tak keluar sepatah perkataan pun, cuma mampu selawat and baca doa Nabi Yunus dalam hati je. Am ada dengan I sepanjang masa dalam labor room tu, I remembered he talked to me and tried to calm me down, tapi I tengok je muka dia, tak terdaya nak respond pun.

Dr offered me to take the calming gas, tapi yang tu pun I terlupa nak ambik. hahaha. Padahal sakit gila masa tu, I cuma mampu doa dalam hati je. Semua orang cakap, kalau tak sakit, bukan nama bersalin, so I was mentally prepared for that. I told myself, tak kira sakit macam mana pun, I mesti kena tahan, InsyaAllah, the baby will come out bila sampai masa.

Sepanjang dalam labor room, I ikut je semua arahan Dr, when to breath, when to push, when to hold and the process were repeated. Dr June and her team was very very helpful, I think I couldn't make it through without their help. And my husband too. He was there all the time, giving me his full support and witnessing the birth of our daughter. After a few trials (pushing and breathing were really not easy, phewwww), Alhamdulillah, tepat pukul 10.18 pm, my daughter safely made her debut into this world.

We were discharged on the next day.
Thank you for the hospitality Pantai Hospital Sungai Petani.

So, that's basically about it. Thank you Allah the Almighty for making my delivery fast and easy. Sakit of course la tak boleh nak elak, tapi semuanya dimudahkan. Bila nurse bagi I peluk anak sendiri for the first time right after the delivery, semua sakit yang teramat sangat tu hilang macam tu je. Semua orang mesti rasa benda yang sama jugak kan. That's how powerful a woman is. :)

That's my gynae, Dr June. If you are looking for an O&G specialist, I would totally recommend her!
Very professional and she made me feel like giving birth is nothing, but beautiful. :)

InsyaAllah nanti kalau ada masa I update lagi tentang perkembangan I and my little family. Well, I am pretty sure that my writings after this are going to evolve around parenting and work. Well, nama pun virtual diary kan. Apa yang berlaku di sekeliling waktu tu la yang kita akan record kan. So, till I see you next time lovelies. Bye bye! :)

Servis mangkuk tingkat Kepala Batas

Assalamualaikum,

Good morning everyone! Hari ni hari kedua I duduk rumah sempena maternity leave selama tiga bulan. I am enjoying my time being a fulltime housewife thus far. But I think I shall wait until the little one is out before saying that being a housewife is REALLY enjoying or not. huhu. Nervous weh.

Tapi kan, deep inside my heart, sebenarnya ada rasa teringin nak duduk rumah , jaga suami, jaga anak, jaga rumah je. haha. But with the unstable economical condition that we gotta go through nowadays, I think that would not be a wise decision just yet. Maybe someday. Who knows? :)

Anyway, that's not the point here. Sebenarnya nak bagitau yang walaupun duduk rumah tapi I tak masak langsung pun. haha. Bila dah sarat menunggu hari, jalan pun senget benget in slow motion, I found cooking is rather tiring. I don't know how others do it, tapi I tak buat la. Setakat nak masak nasik, goreng telur tu ok la, tapi kalau nak masak complete meal siap main and side dishes semua tu, memang penat.

But I still gotta to take my lunch kalau tak nanti I am gonna starve myself (and the baby) like mad. Nak makan roti je rasa macam incomplete nutrients. Nak keluar bawak kereta pulak semata-mata nak pi beli sebungkus nasik tu memang tak larat la dengan musim panas macam ni. So what I did was, I ordered delivery food service!

Selama ni dok tengok banner diorang dok promote je dekat area rumah I. Then bila stalk instagram ada jugak dia update menu apa semua. Bila ada peluang try, I decided to give it a go! Senang je sebab order through Whatsapp. Pilih set menu yang kita nak, then sebelum tengahari menu untuk hari tu sampai rumah. Easy peasy! :)

Some of the weekly menus.

 

I have tried their service for a couple of times and my verdict is, they provide excellent service! The delivery is always on time (11am-12noon), kalau kita lambat bukak pintu dia akan call to check whether we are home or not. Kalau ada, dia bagi the food siap invoice apa semua. Payment boleh buat cash or online transfer, then petang dalam pukul 2-4pm tu dia akan round collect mangkuk tingkat yang dia hantar. Very professional!

The invoice. With the name of the company on it.

Daging kunyit, sayur pucuk tumis air, ulam, sambal belacan.

Asam pedas, ulam, sambal belacan, telur masin.

So to those yang rasa tak sempat nak masak tu, I would recommend you to use this service. Nak makan untuk the whole family memang tak berbaloi la. Tapi kalau setakat sorang makan memang okay sangat-sangat. Sesuai la dengan harga, and you can avoid all the hassles of going out by having your foods delivered at your doorstep. Isn't that awesome? :)

Dear Allah, I thank you for my husband

Assalamualaikum,

It's my husband's birthday today!

His 31st birthday.

Alhamdulillah thank you Allah for lending me him as my life partner.

Semoga jodoh yang Allah tetapkan ni bukan di dunia je, tapi sampai ke syurga jugak.

I don't know how can I thank him for being such a good husband to me.

Tiap-tiap hari masa hantar suami kat pintu masa nak pi kerja,

I pray that Allah brings him home safely to my awaiting arms.

Before my long maternity break

Assalamualaikum,

Wahh rajin pulak jenguk blog lately ni. haha. Sementara tengah ada mood menulis ni boleh la berceloteh kat dalam ni. Nanti bila mood ke laut, berbulan-bulan tak dengaq habaq. Standard la tu kan bila menulis untuk diri sendiri macam ni la.. :)

I have completed all my tasks at the School of Mathematics today. Submitted and verified all the final exam marks. Alhamdulillah result keseluruhan my students untuk subject Differential Equations ni sangat baik. Nervous jugak sebelum ni nak tengok macamana keputusan bebudak ni. Now the official result is out, I felt soo relieved.

Official result for Differential Equations I. Taught by yours truly. :)

Out of 211 students, lebih dari separuh yang dapat keputusan A dan A-. Tapi ada sorang yang sangkut paper ni. Gagal. It means that I might see him / her again in the coming session. Biasa la tu, mana boleh expect semua pelajar cemerlang dalam subject yang kita ajar. Dalam banyak-banyak yang okay, mesti ada sekumpulan pelajar yang tak dapat score. Lumrah la tu.

Ohh, I dah siap kemas office for my long break. Kosongkan all table top and cabinets. 3 bulan nak tinggai bilik ni mau berhabuk teruk la nanti. Takpela, naik cuti nanti fikir kemudian la nak kemas office macam mana nanti. Nasib baik tak banyak sangat barang lagi dalam bilik ni. Kalau tak jenuh jugak la.

Minggu depan bila dah mula cuti secara rasmi baru boleh buat final preparation to welcome the new member of our little family. Now I started to get excited to prepare the bedding set and everything. Sebelum ni biar je cot tu togel tak letak cadar lagi. I have organized the baby locker and I noticed that the amount of clothes is sooo little. Harapnya cukup la untuk awal-awal ni. huhu.

Kalau diikutkan, as a first time mom, memang I tak membeli banyak pun sebenarnya. It's not that I am not excited, but I am more to being moderate here. Tapi mana tau kan, as time goes by, syndrome first time mom tu meresap masuk dalam badan and I started to buy stuff for the baby like crazy, haaa time tu harap dimaafkan la ye. :p

Okay lah, I nak siap-siap nak balik dah ni. Tak boleh balik lambat sat lagi sangkut dalam jem naya ja. Tapi ada satu masalah. Tiap-tiap hari mesti pening kepala nak kena pikiaq what's for dinner? Haihh. Tu la soalan yang I rasa paling susah nak jawab lately ni. T___T

Till then, see you next time everyone!

Tata.

Just what I needed right now

Assalamualaikum,

Hai everyone! How's your week so far? I tengah menunggu hari sebelum mula bercuti panjang. Minggu ni still kena masuk office sebab ada a few benda lagi yang belom settle. I am planning to officially start my maternity leave on Monday, 25th January 2016.

Semalam I pi final check-up with my gynae at Pantai Hospital Sungai Petani. She told me that the baby has engaged and mature enough to come out at any time now. I told her that I am very nervous to welcome the baby out. But being her yang sentiasa cool tu, dia berjaya buat I rasa relax and just enjoy my last stage of pregnancy. Thank you Dr!

Anyway, sekarang ni cuaca panas gila kan? I am constantly sweating like mad walaupun mengadap kipas yang paling laju. I pun taktau kenapa boleh berpeluh lagi walaupun dah tala kipas kat depan muka. Must be the pregnancy hormone I should blame on. Paling bahagia bila masuk air-conditioned room. Akibatnya bil letrik bulan lepas and bulan ni memang naik mencanak. Sorry husband! :p

Cuaca panas macam ni buat I sentiasa jadi tak selesa and asyik nak naik angin tak tentu hala. Seriously, I was not that kind of person who easily got mad towards small things like that. Tapi lately memang cepat sangat bad mood and nak marah-marah untuk benda kecik-kecik. Haihh, I really hate myself for that.

Orang yang paling banyak sabar sekarang ni is my husband. Dealing with a cranky pregnant woman is really not easy, I know that. But I could see how he tries to make everything in control. Kena mintak ampun banyak-banyak nampaknya ni. huhu. Hopefully this stage won't last long. Aminnn.

Exactly. What. I. Needed. Right. Now.
Snow vacation with my husband is gonna be sooo perfect!

Experience is the best teacher

Assalamualaikum semua,

Dah habis hari ke lapan bulan Januari 2016 ni kan. Rasa macam baru je sangat masuk tahun baru hari tu. Nanti sedar tak sedar masuk tahun lagi satu pulak. That's how time flies, leaving us with so many unsettled things towards the end.

So guys, what have you been up to so far? As for me, dah seminggu mengadap final exam scripts yang menimbun tu. Seriously, marking exam papers is not something really fun to do. Bukan masalah susah ke apa, tapi lebih ke arah rasa bertanggungjawab on every single mark that I give to the students.

My everyday view at least until next week.
Lepas tu baru boleh cuti bersalin dengan tenang.

Kalau yang terlebih bagi markah tu takpa, I anggap tu rezeki students. Tapi yang I paling takut kalau terkurang bagi markah, lepas tu effect gred keseluruhan student tu. Tak ke macam aniaya namanya tu. Ish, hopefully takdela terlepas pandang sampai jadi macam tu. Sebab tu bila marking, seboleh-bolehnya I will be extra careful, especially untuk something big like final exam.

Well, that's a little bit something on what I am currently occupied with. Nampak macam mudah je jadi pensyarah ni kan. Pegi mengajar, cukup masa bagi ujian, habis ujian semak kertas. Macam yang I selalu berangan dulu tanda betul salah guna pen merah. But in reality, that's not how it really works. I love the teaching part, memang cita-cita dari kecik pun sebenarnya. But teaching alone is actually not enough.

You also have a lot of supervision to make. Currently I am supervising two final year projects, two masters by dissertation, one masters by research, and a PhD research. Semuanya research yang berbeza pulak tu. Can you imagine, nak fikirkan research sendiri pun tak cukup nafas, inikan pulak nak fikirkan research students. But you gotta do what a so lecturer gotta do. Nak ke taknak, kena latih otak untuk fikir banyak benda dalam satu masa.

Ohh lagi satu, on top of all the supervisions part, bila dah jadi pensyarah ni, mesti tak boleh lepas dari publications. Macam I yang baru sangat kerja ni, of course la terkial-kial nak menulis. Baru nak sesuaikan diri dengan suasana kerja, at the same time nak kejar KPI pulak. Memang tak cukup tangan dibuatnya. But whether I like it or not, I still got to deal with it. So, I have already planned on a few submissions this year. This will at least be my target to work on. InsyaAllah.

I think that's enough for now. I respect semua kenalan I yang dah masuk mengajar dulu sebelum I. They must have achieved a lot throughout the years. I yang nak kena banyak belajar lagi ni. This is something quite challenging for me. Tapi takpe, everyday is a learning process right? You will learn more from things happen to you in real life. Well, as the saying goes, experience is always your best teacher. :)

ALLAH sebaik-baik pemberi rezeki

Assalamualaikum,

Hari ni hati terdetik nak kongsi kegembiraan dengan my loyal blog readers. I am not sure whether or not to publish this entry, but if you happen to read this one day, it means that everything went well according to Allah's plan, and I am all ready to share the good news with you, my lovely virtual friends. :)

Alhamdulillah, up to this date, I am 6 weeks pregnant today (3rd June 2015). The waiting game has finally come to the end. After trying to conceive (TTC) for more than two years (26 months to be exact), akhirnya sampai jugak masa yang Allah dah tetapkan dan Dia akhirnya tiupkan rezeki yang paling berharga dalam hidup kami suami isteri.

For those who were easily got pregnant after you get married, you might not really understand how does the pressure of getting pregnant is taking on us (the TTCians). Hanya yang dah lalui je akan faham perasaan tu. Juggling in between the desire to become a mother and to accept the fact that Allah has better plan is really not easy, I tell you.

At the early stage of my marriage, tiap-tiap bulan I rasa macam satu permainan. Dan setiap kali red aunty datang melawat tu la I terpaksa pujuk diri sendiri, telling myself that this is not the time yet, and the time will definitely come one day. It usually takes me a few days to get better, and continue my life as nothing had happened.

If you want to talk about how much effort we have put in order to get us only one baby, trust me, you will never believe how much money we had spent in indulging ourselves with supplements, medical check-ups, alternative medicines, good and healthy (and expensive) foods, you just name it, semua dah try. But we plan, He plans, and indeed, he is the best of planners.

After one year, kitorang rasa makin selesa hidup berdua and tak letak harapan tinggi sangat dah setiap bulan. Tapi yang pastinya, doa tak pernah putus, semoga Allah sentiasa bukak pintu rezeki kami, bukan dalam bentuk anak saja, tapi dalam segala segi. He listens to all our prayers, and started granting us with rezeki in different methods, one after another. 

And at the same time, usaha kami untuk memperbaiki diri tak pernah putus. I amalkan cara hidup sihat, makan benda-benda sihat, makan supplements, pergi berurut and macam-macam lagi la. Until one day, the scheduled period is late for almost two weeks, and I started to feel some unusual changes to my body, then one fine morning I decided to do pregnancy test right before Subuh prayer.

Anddddd the result is beyond my expectation. Faham tak perasaan nak check, tapi takde perasaan nak tau result tu macam mana? I kept telling myself that it is okay if the result is negative, boleh pergi jumpa Dr and discuss kalau-kalau ada problem ke tak. But the result is actually the other way around. Double lines clearly displayed on the test stick. I was amazed. Woww, the stick is telling me that I am pregnant. :)

I macam takut-takut lagi nak bagitau husband. Percaya tak percaya la orang kata. Kitorang solat subuh sama-sama, and he wanted to take a short nap after that. I pun bangun buat kerja lain, mandi, solat dhuha, and solat syukur, and kejutkan husband untuk siap-siap nak keluar lepas tu. Time tu jugak I tunjuk the test stick, he smiled and hugged me. Allah tau banyak mana kami usaha, and He finally answered our prayers. The feeling was beautiful, very beautiful.


p/s: I have been keeping this entry in the draft for quite a long time, and today, sempena tahun baru, I am ready to let this entry out. What I am trying to deliver here is that, especially to my fellow TTCians, jangan pernah berhenti usaha dan doa. Allah saja yang boleh bagi jawapan tentang bila dan apa yang Dia nak anugerahkan kita sebagai rezeki. I can never be any more grateful, and verily, His plan is definitely the best. :)

Goodbye 2015. You have been great!

Assalamualaikum,

Ehem ehem.. Lamanya tak menulis. I am not going to blame the time as what I normally do. Banyak je masa yang boleh curi-curi sebenarnya, cuma mood menulis tu yang tak sampai. However, as the year is approaching the end, I feel like writing something out sebagai kenangan untuk hari terakhir tahun ni. Well, to sum up everything, 2015 has been really beautiful to me. It was very very beautiful I couldn't really describe every single thing in words properly.

Tahun 2015 adalah tahun yang sangat bermakna sepanjang hidup I di muka bumi ni. Allah swt has granted me with so many beautiful things one after another, but the most significant two are my work as a young lecturer in USM and new experience as an expecting mother.

Yes, I am expecting my very first child in 4 weeks time. I have been keeping this to myself since forever. Hanya sedara mara terdekat atau kawan-kawan yang pernah terserempak je yang tau about the change in me, physically obviously. Tapi bila dah semakin dekat dengan delivery date, I think I will need extra doa from the others as well.

InsyaAllah kalau tak ada apa-apa aral, I dijadualkan bersalin penghujung bulan Januari 2016. What a nice way to start my new year, isn't it? And after almost 3 years of waiting very patiently, I dengan my husband kena betul-betul bersedia untuk menggalas tanggungjawab baru as a new parents. I know it's not going to be very smooth and easy, but I think we are ready. :)

This blog has been keeping my life journey since 6 years ago, and being pregnant is one of the most remarkable journey in my life. So I decided to commemorate a few photos that I would love to look at again and again when I get older later on. Sebenaqnya bila dah mula perubahan fizikal yang mendadak, memang takdak mood nak ambik gambaq pun with your bump showing off. Tapi ada a few yang I rasa patut simpan jadi kenangan, so I decided to keep them here. :)

My significant other.
Thank you for your patience and love in handling this cranky pregnant lady. :p

Almost 9-month pregnant. Looking hugeeeeee like a world globe.
T___T

Pregnant sisters. Our delivery dates are close to each other.

So, I think that's all from me for 2015. I don't expect myself to write more in 2016, but if I do, hopefully I boleh share banyak benda yang lebih bermanfaat untuk bacaan semua. Thank you for treating me well 2015, I am looking for more and more beautiful things next year. Till then people, see you next time. Bye bye! :*

Aussie Trip 2015 :: My Convocation at University of Wollongong

Assalamualaikum,

Hari ni I nak update gambar-gambar masa convocation yang lepas. Sebenarnya takde la beria ambik gambar sangat pun. Pagi-pagi dalam pukul 8am, sampai je uni I pegi ambik documents dekat student centre and terus diorang pakaikan jubah siap pin apa semua. Kalau bukak tu memang tak reti pakai balik la nampak gayanya. So, sementara tak ramai orang lagi, kitorang terus bergambar dekat kawasan sekitar je.

Terkilan sikit sebab ada a few tempat dalam kawasan uni yang I tak sempat nak pegi as time did not permit. But it's okay, asalkan ada gambar untuk kenangan pun dah ok dah. Ohh, bila tulis enrty ni, I teringat I ada update satu entry about my friends yang dah graduated a few years back. And to my surprise, Allah swt has granted me with almost EVERYTHING that I wished for back then. Sesungguhnya DIA Maha Pemurah dan Maha Pengasih. You can read HERE for the details if you like. :)

So, let's enjoy the photos, shall we? :)

UniBar. My frequent hang out place. Teringat chips dengan wedges kat sini sedap gila.

Stairways to the duck pond. Again, another nice place to chill out with friends.
Pekena coffee and sandwich sambil tengok orang memang best. :)

Laluan hari-hari untuk ke office. Rindu.

My husband. I couldn't thank him enough for being very supportive all this while.

My parents. Their prayers sustain me in everything I do.

They complete my life.

I hope I brought smiles to their faces.

Simple ceremony. But very meaningful to me. :)

What I conclude here, perjalanan PhD setiap orang memang takkan sama. Ada yang cepat, ada yang lambat, ada yang mudah, ada yang payah. For me a few pieces of paper that I received that day were only a symbol that my PhD journey has ended. What I treasure the most is the values I gained in the process of completing it. I didn't regret of doing it but if you ask me to do another one, thank you, but NO THANK YOU. :)

Aussie Trip 2015 :: Farmhouse and snow experience in Snowy Mountains

Assalamualaikum,

Hai semua! Sebelum jadi makin pemalas, and gambar-gambar semua terperap simpan dalam file sampai bila-bila, baik I update sikit pasal Australia ni ha. I will start with the arrival day and our trip to Snowy Mountains tu okay? Kitorang sampai kat Sydney Airport lebih kurang pukul 7am, 22 July 2015. Knowing Sydney yang super crowded tu, it took us almost one hour to go pass the immigration check. Lepas ambik beg, declare apa yang patut dekat kastam, dalam pukul 8.30am pagi baru siap semua. 

We booked our rental car from Europcar.au few weeks before departure. Tapi bila sampai tu diorang cakap kena tambah insurans itu la, ini la, in total jadi mahal yang amat dengan makcik kaunter yang gaya kerek gila sikit lagi nak kena hempuk je rasa. So, kitorang tukar plan, sewa kereta dari Avis/Budget yang bagi harga lagi reasonable dari Europcar bengong tu. Haihhh geram betoi dengan drama macam ni. Habis spoiled mood pagi-pagi. ;O

Nasib baik kereta yang dapat tu okay, alhamdulillah tak bawak masalah sampai la kitorang pulangkan balik the week after. So we started our journey from the airport to Snowy Mountains straight away after that. Walaupun agak lewat dari plan, tapi it's okay, pandai-pandai la adjust plan nanti. The moment we went into the highway, I was like, wowww, I am back in Australia. Rindu weh road trip tengok pemandangan seluas mata memandang yang pastinya tak sama dengan Malaysia. :)

Kitorang berhenti beberapa kali jugak la for coffee break, lunch, solat, toilet apa semua. Maklumla baru je lepas long haul flight dari Malaysia, sambung pulak dengan driving for 5 hours, memang tak boleh nak rush sangat. Relax-relax je kat mana rasa nak benti rehat singgah je. Ada la 4-5 kali jugak benti sepanjang perjalanan tu.

Pit stopped for lunch and energy recharged. Try sesuaikan diri dengan cuaca sejuk berangin tu.

Nasib baik bawak bekal ketupat dengan sambal ikan bilis dari Malaysia. Sedap gila makan sejuk-sejuk tu.

Group photo. Ada kambing biri-biri dengan kincir angin dekat belakang tu.
Breathtaking view but this picture didn't do justice to the real one. Herghhh. ;O

Nama rest area ni Badcove. In case if you pass by this road, please make it a point to stop here.

We attempted another group photo when the natural lighting was better.

Solat traveller's style. Hampir semua tempat kitorang solat camni je.
Memang susah la nak cari proper prayer room masa on the road.

Kitorang sampai Canberra lebih kurang pukul 5pm. Tapi time tu dah gelap sebab siang pendek masa winter. So takde la singgah mana-mana pun. We continued our journey to Cooma untuk sewa pakaian yang sesuai untuk pegi ski resort. Harga agak reasonable la, setakat sewa pants and walking boots dalam $27 seorang. Kalau nak main ski and snowboard semua tu harga lain la pulak ye. Konsep dia you choose your own gears according to what you want to do there.

The Ski Co. in Cooma for gears hire.

Lepas tu, kitorang singgah beli groceries dekat Woolworths area Cooma, pastu teruskan perjalanan untuk ke homestay di Berridale. Nama homestay ni The Range, seram weh masa mula-mula sampai sebab terlampau gelap, teramat lah sejuk the the temperature was almost 0 that time. Rumah tu jauh ke dalam hutan tak nampak apa pun kat situ. Owner dia pulak dah tua style cakap pun macam dalam cerita omputih dulu-dulu. Tapi bila dia dah tunjuk rumah, pheww lega jugak sebab agak selesa untuk fit all 9 of us (7 adults and 2 kids).

Sampai je terus gotong royong masak untuk dinner sambil-sambil arrange macam mana nak tido apa semua. Kitorang masak nasik, sambal ikan bilis dengan telur dadar, pastu masing-masing fokus makan tak berbunyi sebab lapar sangat plus makan nasik panas dalam cuaca sejuk tu heaven gila kot. Lepas siap makan, mandi, solat, semua pun tido kepenatan. Our trip to Snowy Mountains will resume the next morning.

Our farmhouse. Memang betol-betol kat dalam hutan, or they called it farm over here.

Large living hall. Pardon the mess. Sibuk packing bag masa nih.

View dari tangga rumah. 

View from the balcony. Dari sini boleh nampak llama & kangaroo liar berkeliaran.
Feeling macam dalam cerita koboi omputih. Jalan-jalan naik kuda. haha. :P

Keesokannya, kitorang checked out dalam pukul 10am, and teruskan perjalanan ke Perisher Valley, Snowy Mountains. Taktau nak cakap we were lucky on unlucky, it was snowing very heavily that time. Lucky sebab boleh rasa la macam mana snowing tu, but to us yang dah penah rasa, tak tahan kebas pipi weh bila kena snow tuh. huhuhu. Sudahnya, I dengan mak lepak minum hot chocolate dekat cafe sambil tunggu cuaca elok sikit. Bila matahari dah keluar sikit, haaa baru la seronok main snow! :)

Ribut salji masa mula-mula sampai. Surrender weh. Terus masuk lepak dalam cafe je. hihi.

Us and the ski range at the back. Nak main tu memang idok le. :p

Menatang apa tah orang panggil benda ni. Tapi untuk gembur-gembur salji kot.

Snow man pinjam. Nak buat sendiri tak daya. hahaha.

Eh, panjang gila pulak rasanya entry kali ni. Penat lah nak tulis semua. Banyak je benda yang mengelat, I masukkan yang penting-penting je untuk kenangan. hahaha. Nanti kalau ada masa I update pasal my graduation day pulak okay. Saja simpan memory kat dalam ni senang nak refer bila tua nanti. hihi. Ok bye! 

Aussie Trip 2015 :: The highlights

Assalamualaikum,

Hai! Selamat Hari Raya semua! Eh dah nak hujung Syawal dah pun tapi tak berapa rasa macam raya sangat pun tahun ni. Ye la, I punya raya tahun ni 3 hari je. Hari ke-4 dah berangkat ke Australia. Tapi kan, masa dalam flight tu diorang pasang lagu-lagu raya instrumental cover. Wahhh seronok je feeling-feeling raya dalam kapatebang dengar lagu sedap-sedap sampai tertido. :p

Sampai je kat bumi Sydney, poofff habis hilang semua mood raya tu. Terlupa yang kita masih dalam bulan Syawal sampai la kitorang balik hari tu dengar lagu raya dalam radio masa on the way balik dari KLIA, laaaa raya lagi kita rupanya. hahaha. Terus semangat nak pi jalan-jalan raya balik. :)

Oklah, nak cerita panjang-panjang pasal trip ke sana mood belum datang lagi. I tunjuk gambar sikit-sikit je la dulu eh sepanjang kitorang dekat sana. Nanti bila-bila free I elaborate further details okay?

Our lovely farmhouse at Berridale. Somewhere near Snowy Mountains.

Perisher, Snowy Mountains, 2015. Nak sangat snow kan? Amekkaww ribut salji terus. T___T

Main reason untuk balik ke Australia tahun ni. Officially a UOW Alumni now :)

Wollongong harbour from the lighthouse. Tempat yang sesuai untuk bercinta. kehkehkeh. :p

Bald Hill, Stanwell Park. I never get bored of this view. Tak kisah kalau kena datang sini lagi next time.

Sydney Opera House. One of the remarkable iconic buildings in Australia.

Tu je highlight sikit-sikit untuk hari ni ye. Busy la baru masuk office banyak kerja nak kena buat. huhu. Nanti ada masa I cerita panjang sikit. So, that's all for now. May you have a productive week ahead. Tata. :)

Aussie Trip 2015 :: Going back to a place I called home

Assalamualaikum,

Hari ni bersiaran secara langsung dari office. Baru siap kemas-kemas sikit, esok rasa macam dah tak mai office dah kot sebab mood bercuti dah meresap masuk ke dalam badan. hehe. Ohh well, I will be on holiday mood at least until early August. Wahh kemain cuti raya sikit punya panjang macam kan busy sangat nak menguruskan anak ramai. hahaha.

No lah. I beraya 3 hari je. Selebihnya I akan ada dekat Australia sampai end of July. Serious excited gila rasa macam nak balik kampung pulak. It is indeed a place I called home. Maklumla, 4 tahun lebih duduk sana. Terlampau banyak kenangan yang I rasa dekat sangat dengan hati. I don't think I can simply forget all those beautiful memories.

Hari first sampai tu kitorang akan terus ke Snowy Mountains. I think the timing is almost perfect sebab minggu ni I tengok dalam news dah snow storms. Maksudnya by next week insyaAllah the weather will be perfect untuk kitorang main snow. Konon dulu serik dah mengadap snow hari-hari masa dekat Europe. Sekarang excited pulak. hahaha. Mestilah. Bukan selalu ada peluang untuk feeling-feeling snow white guling-guling dalam salji. Sekali sekala dapat mestila gumbira. :p

Snowy Mountains, 2011

Girlfriends. Aimy and Mala.

Then keesokannya tu balik ke homestay yang I dah booked dekat Stanwell Park. My graduation will be on Thursday morning, so I akan balik ke Wollongong for that occasion. I akan pusing area Wollongong sampai malam. Dengar cerita Wollongong dah makin happening sekarang sejak ada mall baru tu. Thursday night pulak memang city centre hidup sampai midnight. Wahh, I can't wait to explore!

On Friday, I akan bawak rombongan untuk shopping dekat Sydney. Plan nak pegi Homebush Direct Factory Outlet or Birkenhead Point, World Kitchen, and Victoria's Basement. Haaa, ni kalau tak puas jugak menyopping ni I taktau la nak kata apa. Semua ada kat situ. You can shop till you drop. I don't have anything in mind so far, maybe nak grab a few important items for baby je la. Yang lain-lain tu bergantung dengan keadaan. :)

Hari Sabtu pulak I don't have any specific plan yet. Maybe pusing-pusing area Wollongong or perhaps suburbs nearby Sydney. On Sunday I dah plan nak bawak diorang naik public transport ke Sydney. Sebab nak guna Family Funday Sunday ticket that will cost you only $2.50 per person. Boleh naik apa-apa saja transport termasuk train, tram, bus, ferry and so on. Seronok jugak sekali-sekala naik public transport. Jimat duit minyak and parking. :)

Family Funday Sunday 2012. Masa my family visited me in Wollongong. Day trip to Sydney.

Ferry ride to Manly using the $2.50 ticket. Value for money! :)

So far, tu je plan I untuk plan balik kampung kali ni. haha. I rasa trip kali ni lagi meaningful sebab I dapat jalan-jalan dengan my husband, my parents and my in-laws. Isn't that awesome? Hopefully balik nanti I rajin untuk tulis kenangan bercuti kali ni. :)

Till then, I hope you have a great Aidilfitri with your loved ones!

Forgive me for any of my wrongdoings okay!

Selamat Hari Raya! :)

Ramadhan yang ke-19

Assalamualaikum,

Hari ni dah masuk berapa Ramadhan eh? 19 ke? Maksudnya malam ni dah masuk 10 malam terakhir Ramadhan la kan? Semoga kita semua diberi peluang untuk grab pahala sebanyak mungkin di malam-malam terakhir ni. 

Puasa tahun sangat-sangat mencabar untuk I. Seriously, I never experienced such tiredness and fatigue in my whole life. Letih yang tak boleh nak describe macam mana. You know what it's like to have that grumpy situation? Very awful. And to be able to explain that to other people is almost impossible.

This. Is. Exactly. How. I. Feel. Everyday.

I hope this phase won't take long. I want to enjoy celebrating Syawal. You know, makan unlimited supply of ketupat and rendang semua tu. Lepas tu raya ke-4 I and my family (immediate and extended) will go to Australia for my graduation ceremony. Tak best la kalau tak dapat nak enjoy the trip kan. huhu.

Hari ni nak berbuka makan apa pun taktau. I just don't have the appetite to eat. Padahal I ni jenis yang sangatlah appreciate good foods. Sekarang ni letak apa benda depan mata pun takdak selera nak makan. Setakat jamah sikit untuk alas perut, that's it.

Persiapan untuk raya pulak, hmm, almost none. Kuih raya sebijik pun tak order. Buat sendiri apatah lagi. Memang takkan la tahun ni. Baju raya tak tempah atau beli pun. haha. Nasib baik hari tu ada tempah baju untuk pakai masa grad, pakai tu je la gamaknya pagi raya nanti. Tapi masalahnya belom ambik pun baju tu dari tailor. Acane? hahaha.

Ok lah, tu je nak membebel hari ni. Mood ke laut sebenarnya. I don't feel like talking to anybody. Tapi tetap nak luahkan perasaan. Jadiknya, terhasil la entry ni. hahaha. I do miss blogging I guess. But time does not permit. It's okay, till I see you again next time.

Have a blessed remaining Ramadhan everyone!

Tata!