My book shelf

Those are the books I read recently. I am in the middle of reading "Twenty wishes" then I'll move on to my next book, "A sense of belonging" which is not listed yet. There were a few more thats I've read, like "Garden of Delight", Someone like you", but I couldnt find them in the internet, I wonder why. The book I like best is Yours Faithfully, heavy drama and so melodramatic with strong characters in the book. And I so can relate! Love this book shelf, I can read people reviews about the books, all I need to do is put my cursor on the book and the reviews will be displayed. I love it!

Back to work

Only a handful of us are working today. Most are still on Hari Raya holiday, which might as well be a good idea since we are already at the middle of the week. Might just finish off the whole week and get plenty of rest and fun at home. But not me. I am stuck here working, well, not really, hahaha. I am typing my blog! While in the office where I should be working. But blogging for a few minutes wont harm me, afterall its Hari Raya and I am sure lots of us working now are either bored to death and wish to be at home, or browse the internet for the latest gossip in town. I can bet on it, hahaha.

Anyway, its been a slow start today. Office is still very quiet and not much going on at the mo. I havent started on doing my job yet although I know what I want to do for today. The work is lining up waiting for me to start but I am taking my time. And another downside of today is, we are going to work until 4pm, not like Ramadan we finished work at 1pm. Thats so boring, need some time to get used to that.

How I wish I am at home, enjoy tv on our favourite sofa. With jagus berempah on my hands ;-). What a wishful thinking, that would be the best scenario for now. But thats not going to happen, apparently, I am running out of leave. Will be going away next week for our trip to KL and I do need to take a few days leave for that. So I am stuck here for the week. My girl is planning to go to her granny today and join them for hari raya visiting later. I encouraged her to go, since she will be on her own with the maid at home. So I want her to enjoy her hari raya as much as possible. And I look forward to spend some blissful holidays next week in KL with my girl. Since hubby will be working, we gonna go out and have our girls time out next week. Its going to be just the 2 of us. I am sure it will be awesome! I cant wait.

But for now, this is it.

Raya 2009

Raya tomorrow!

As usual moon was not sighted last night as everyone was suspected. The neighbouring countries celebrates Hari Raya today but not us, never mind. See the moon prediction on the left hand side? It is already 2% meaning the moon should be there but not seen, I am sure due to fog or cloud in Brunei. It will come soon enough. Hari Raya for me is a time for reflection, on what I have achieved during Ramadan. I hope all my good deeds are blessed by Allah the Almighty. I hope I have gained some pahala but not weight hahaha. As a mother, I just want the best for my girl and hope she will enjoy her Hari Raya too. I think she deserves a good celebration since she has fasted for the whole month. Well done Ayang!

One thing for sure we will celebrate Raya moderately. We will do some visiting to close relatives and that would be it. I didnt even applied for leave from work. I am running out of leave so need to be back at work on wednesday. I am taking leave for our trip to KL next week instead, we will fly to KL on the 7th day of Shawal for a week. So its going to be a simple affair.

So for everyone, Selamat Menyambut Shawal, Selamat Hari Raya , Maaf Zahir & Batin. May Allah bless us all.

Reading is fun!

This runs in the family. My girl and me love to read so much. Between us we have read lots of books and magazines. I have tonnes of books and magazines stuck away in my closet. I love reading since I was young. I started when I was in my teens, I spent all my money on books and did a lot of reading during my spare time. Now my girl is doing it too. She always spend hours and hours in her bedroom reading, beside on her computer that is. In fact its so much fun to be engrossed in your own world with books in your hands.

My girl and I always go for an outing and search for books. Our favourite bookstores are Reader's Heaven or Best Eastern. We even went to bookstores when we were travelling, like recently in New Zealand we went to a few well known bookstores and bought a few books and it was great. I even bought more than 10 magazines in NZ alone. We even bought books and magazines in every airport we arrived in! We are like children given candy when we were in a bookstore. Our eyes lit up to see the books. Thats how addicted we are.

Life will never be the same without reading for me. I must have some reading materials beside my bed on my bedside stand all the time. Usually thats the first thing I reach when I woke up during weekends when dot dot dot and the last thing I put down when retiring for the night. I dont know what to do with my eyes when I am not reading. I will feel lost and feel like something is missing.

Hubby and I had a conversation the other day. I cant remember what triggered it but we talked about being alone and loneliness. We were talking about someone who we thought was lonely and that triggered him/her to do certain things, sometimes bad. Then I said I would never get lonely even when I am alone. When I do feel lonely that I just go to my book and read. The minute I reach for my book and read, then there are people around me. People from the book hahaha. They are there with me, conversing, doing something and getting busy. And I feel like I was there too with them observing whats going on. So I wouldnt feel lonely anymore. I am in the book character world and they are usually fun to be with, sometimes sad to be with, with various problems and life experience. I can stay like that for hours and hours, immensed and engrossed in that world from the book. And I enjoyed that very much. So there is no such thing as lonely.

For now, I am reading two books, called Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber and A sense of Belonging from Erica James. They are great books and I enjoyed reading them immensely. I havent finished them yet but I am already looking forward to reading my next book which I dont know what yet. Its a mystery too, what to read on my next book!

Safari Bistro

Last night we had sungkai at Safari Bistro in Kiulap. The food was fab although I was pissed at first when our reservation was not recorded. I booked the place last tuesday and apparently they didnt record it in their reservation book. They must have missed it since it was booked earlier during the week. I was aghast but at last they repent and gave us a good spot. I think everyone had a good meal, and enjoy the spread of food, which was alot and there were 8 type of drinks to choose from with different colour each. So Alhamdulilah.

Bapa checking out the condiments before the sungkai. Maybe he didnt know what he was seeing?




My food potion. Very little for a Brunei standard. But as you all know, we tend to get full very quickly during sungkai that we didnt need to eat alot.

My eyes and my girl's eyes lit up when we saw the chocolate fountain. We never seen any restaurant having this for their sungkai buffet before, even in Empire so this was the first. It looked so yummy and I ate this almost immediately sungkai started.

My share of chocolate with mashmellow. So delicious when hot.

Good spread of food and reasonable choices.

My brother enjoying his potion (2 plates!). He was free from his usual diet last night and its time for him to indulge hahaha.

Home made

My family favourite sungkai dishes when we were at home, home made from my very own kitchen. Pasta carbonara with chicken kiev.

Bapa birthday treat - sungkai at Asma Hotel

Asma Hotel sungkai buffet was a blast. Enjoyed the food and the restaurant has a good ambience. Really worth the money. Some pictures of the night below.

Tips for travelling safely

Good to have this in mind when travelling. Security analysts Robert Siciliano and Mike Brooks offer some tips to keep in mind while traveling.

* Never accept transportation from a person who first approaches you at the airport, grabs your bags and says they have a car waiting. If you want car service, arrange it in advance.

* If you rent a car, never stop for anyone who's not wearing a uniform. A common trick among criminals along the roadside is to lure unsuspecting drivers to pull over by faking a flat tire. Don't fall for this tactic!

* Always try to get a room on floors 2-8. A room on the ground floor will be more easily accessible to criminals from the outside.

* Do your research and emulate locals and how they dress. Blending in makes you less of a target than if you announce your home country by wearing your country's flag or national colors.

* Trust your instincts and don't venture through side streets. If you stick to the well-traveled streets, you'll be less likely to have anyone approach you with a gun or a knife, the experts say.

* Leave the fancy jewelry at home. And carry your wallet in your front pocket, or better yet, get a money belt or a passport holder/wallet you can wear around your neck.

* Clean out your wallet before you leave home, Brooks says. Don't carry any more credit cards than you need. Make sure you leave your Social Security card behind.

* Try to stay away from budget hotels as they are usually not in the best of areas. When you get to your hotel, keep an eye on people in the lobby and note how far your room is from a stairway. If there is a fire, Brooks says, you can't take the elevators and you need to know the quickest way out.

* If you ride on a bus, stand near the bus driver or near an exit. If you find a seat, sit with your back to the side of the bus so you can see people in the front and back of the bus.

* Never go with someone you just met to their hotel room or invite them to yours, says Brooks. Also if they want to give you a ride to another hotel or bar, get your own cab.

* If someone orders you or tries to force you into a car, you must do whatever you can to stay out of that vehicle.

* Make eye contact with people, Siciliano says. Don't stare but use a "stern gaze" to acknowledge people around you. Criminals count on the element of surprise and will seek other victims if they know you have checked them out.

* If you wear glasses, bring an extra pair, Brooks says. If they're broken in another country, getting a new prescription could be difficult and you want to be as alert as possible to your surroundings.

So there you go...

Happy belated birthday Bapa!

Its his 68th birthday yesterday. We celebrated his birthday with a sungkai at Asma Hotel. Awesome food, really enjoyed it and I never felt so full. The first time for this year Ramadan I really felt so full. Usually I ate moderately but I dont know why I ate so much yesterday. Anyway, we took some pictures, will upload it later if I have the time. Just want to wish Bapa a happy birthday, semoga panjang umur, murah rezeki and healthy always. Its such a bittersweet feeling to celebrate his birthday, time does fly by, he is now 68, he used to be young and strong but he is getting old. I know every body does but it just reminding me of our own mortality. Time doesnt wait and we should make full use of our time left on this earth. I know at his age, we should already think about of all our amal ibadah and I am sure he does that too. And I am glad my dad is still in good health, still happy with lots of laughter. I know he enjoys his children and I am thankful that he is always surrounded with love from my mom, his children, his son/daughter in laws and of course the grandkids. I hope to celebrate his birthday more in the future.

What happened today?

Nothing much except we get our new curtain, a very simple one and looked very much similar to our previous certain before the current one. Not as expected and looked so low quality, anyway, its already done. Have to live with it I guess.

Work today was good. Did my quarterly presentation to the HP management. It went well and well received by attendees. As usual I always brought up something new for the management to think about and review. Today was not exception. My presentation triggered alot of discussions and suggestions since the subject I brought up was actually very important and need to be addressed. And I do know what I am talking about. Apart from that, life at the home front is just great. I let my girl know that we are going away again soon. To KL this time since hubby was sent to attend a workshop. In two weeks time if everything goes according to plan. We booked our tickets yesterday and we will be gone on the 7th day of Shawal. As usual, I am full of anticipation, I just love travelling although my girl is not that keen. I know she likes it too but she also has to think about school which I am sure she has to miss for this trip. But its not gonna be a long trip so I think it will be ok.

House refurbishment is done and finished. And I do like the outcome except for the curtain which is not very satisfactory. But I can live with it. We will look around for more house decoration in a few days just to complete the transformation and that would be it.

I gave in!

I've been seeing this dress or Jubah the way we called it for a while already. Everytime my hubby and I passed by the kedai its there like waiting for me. Calling me to go inside the kedai and look for myself how lovely they were. I tried to ignore it, thinking I will be able to resist the temptation. And I dont really need a baju like that.

But yesterday, I gave in. I couldnt stand it anymore. I felt like its torturing me inside out. I must went in and have a look. Yes just have a look. I wouldnt be tempted, thats what I said to myself. Then I found out how much it cost. And so many colours to choose from, they were gorgeous. Not even came close to what I have predicted.

And at the end of the day, the jubah is now hanging in my bedroom in all its glory. And it belongs to me!

Life is so sweet, hehehe.

Blessful Ramadan

We are 2 weeks into the holy month of Ramadan. Alhamdulilah. At least we all can fast in not so much hardship. Its smooth sailing and we have been blessed with good health. We havent got any difficulties whatsoever, although hubby sometimes on complaining of stomach ache. But it is not serious, he is ok and still manage to fast without any difficulty. Maybe too much eating or his tummy is not used to eating at dawn. What with my oily cooking and all. So I suggested to him maybe we could take something light for a change. Maybe we just take bread and oats for sahur. See if his tummy agrees. Well, we do take rice and oats for sahur but maybe we should omit the fried chicken! For me, its not really a problem. No real harship. I know I have been blessed. I can eat any time in a day or night!

My dad used to tease me about that when we stayed with them before. I remember when we woke up for sahur I always was the first one who dug the rice bowl and eat, always had the appetite. Whereas the rest of the family struggled to put the spoon into their mouth. Its not easy to have your meals at 3 oclock in the morning right after you were asleep. But for me, its as easy as any time of the day. Alhamdulilah. My girl is ok with sahur too. She is not like any other teenagers who are so difficult to rise after a deep sleep. All I need to do is a little shake on her shoulder and she is all up and ready to brush her teeth and have her meal. She is a good girl too, having been fasting for the whole of 2 weeks without fail. Alhamdulilah. May Allah bless us all with continous easiness and good health so that we could finish the whole month of Ramadan. Then only the Hari Raya celebration means a lot more.

Before Ramadan came, I was determined to do all the good deeds the Ramadan could offer. I know its a blessful month, Allah gives abundance of blessings and Rahmah. So I wanted to grap all those. Its not easy but I do what I can do. We live only once and we never know whether we would be here to observe this holy month again next year. Life for me can be so fragile. You dont have to be old and grey to pass on. Its now or never. I try to keep that in mind.

I also remember that if you give food or meals to others during the month of Ramadan then in a way, the pahala of those people will be pass on to you as well. Its a powerful blessings so yesterday I did that to all my work mates in the office amid its just a small bowl of bubur pedas for everyone. The most important thing was I did it with ikhlas and to get Rahmah from Allah.

And I am happy. I embrace life to the fullest. I love my family. And I am ever so grateful for this blessing. I hope we will continue to do well in life and we will be resilient and tough facing what life has to offer. Alhamdulilah.

Ideas pouring in.

I just spent two hours on the internet trying to look for some decorating ideas for our living room. Today the painting was done. Its now a whole new living room. I love the colour, its a bit dark but cozy and intimate. Now all the living room need is some freshen up. So what I did today was re arranging the furniture a bit, pulling down the pictures on the walls and moving them about. There are still some empty space on the wall so I think we need to go out and look for some beautiful pictures so the wall dont look too bare.

I've came to know that its not easy to decorate a wall. Our house has this big abundance of wall which is so difficult to decorate, and the living room is L shape. So what I try to do is to divide the space to a few sitting arrangements. I came up with 3 divisions of the living room with a few chairs/sofas and coffee tables close together to create intimate looking set up. And one area which acts as a tv room, well, this already exist even before the new paint but I remodel the space a bit so it does look a bit different.

Now what we need is some pictures for the wall. I am thinking the pictures need to be white in colour to create some contrast. Pictures of flowers would be very nice. And hubby commented that the curtains look out of place. Our curtains are maroon and our living room is pottery colour so they do look odd together. We need light colour curtains so we decided to make a new ones in a few days. Then our living room transformation will be complete!

I dont really want to spend too much on the decorations. All I need is just a new coat of paint since the original paints are mostly faded. But it is really tempting to buy a few more furniture to compliment the living room. So I dont know yet. Its hard to resist when the idea comes pouring in.

Since I know nothing compete the feeling of having a fresh and renew looking living room. Its the best!

Sungkai at The Empire

It is always not a good idea to stuff yourselves with too much food especially after fasting. But still its very tempting to break the fast at one of these eating establishmnets at least once. As everyone knows during Ramadan there are abundance of restaurants offering sungkai buffets and it seems that everyone is eager to go at least once in the whole month of Ramadan. On hubby's birthday we went to have our sungkai at The Empire. As usual there were alot to eat. And its so impossible to try every dish and as usual we ended up eating only maybe 60% of the food offered. As we all know Ramadan is a holy month, the Almighty bless us with good rezeki. All you need is just a small potion and you are already full although you havent eaten for the whole day. Thats how special being in a fast is. Its all coming from Allah and we are so grateful for all the blessings.