Let's the countdown begins....

3 days to go before Hari Raya!! As i said time fly by so quickly for some of us. We are on the 27th day of the fasting month. Everybody can feel is already, where ever you go you can already feel the heat. The anticipation is simply out of this world. The big shops, the malls and supermarkets are gearing up for the celebration. Raya songs are every where. Even when i switch on the radio or turn on the tv, raya programme are inline already waiting to be aired come the time. Its really is great.

Do i look forward to Hari Raya? Of course i am, we all are. In fact every muslim are, its the celebration for every muslim for successfully completing the one month of fasting where there were so many challenges and obstacles. Its the time to be merry and celebrate with family and friends. Its when we have lots of good food on the tables, delicacies and special dishes which are not remotely visible on other days. The once in a year kueh and cookies. Its also the time for the children to pockets lots of money. Parents and relatives become very generous to the children. I remember when Ayang was smaller she used to get at least $100 for the Hari Raya. She is excited of course, thats the same every year. Although she is now getting bigger and no longer a child but the anticipation is still the same.

But this year i think she will not be as happy since the Hari Raya is clouded a bit with the imminent arrival of her big exam PMB two weeks into Shawal. She plans to celebrate Hari Raya moderately since she still have lots to study. Poor girl. But i hope she still have a lovely time nevertheless. Afterall she hasnt taken even a day off. She fasts everyday for the past 27 days even when when she is feeling a bit under the weather. She had a slight fever yesterday with a temp of 38.2 but she insisted she finished the day and only took her medicines during sungkai. I am so proud of her and she deserves a good pat at the back and a joyful Hari Raya.

Who is this man?

We dont know who this man is. Apparently he is always around sitting in the shade he built himself at the end of the road to our house. He sits behind the tall grass behind him where he flatten a bit. He was just sitting there like waiting for someone. On some days he sit for a while then he get up and cut the grasses along the road with his own hands and a small parang. He looked like someone who has no home or even family.

We have seen him a few times and yesterday it happened that i brought my camera thus these shots. He was sitting then got up and cut the grass. Thats all he did then he left. Who is he? And what is he doing there? He uses his bicycle to move around. He doesnt look wild, agitated or domineering. He looks like someone grandfather but with no home. Is the bicycle his only possession? I wish someone would take notice of him. Does he need help in any way?

Where did all the time go?

The 18th day of fasting. How time flies. Ramadan is now in its 3rd week and soon it will over. The holy month will no longer be with us but its time to be merry for Hari Raya soon. Ayang hasnt taken any day off. Just like last year and i am so proud. We embrace the month with "Syukur Alhamdulilah" for all the good things that we are given. We break the fast moderately. We havent gone and eaten out yet, except to celebrate my brother and my father's birthday on two occassions. Some days we dont even bought anything from the "Gerai Ramadan".

I've even tried my own culinary skills. I've cooked one new recipe last night. Its called Chicken Kiev. Its so delicious and we love it so much i even cooked it for 2 days straight for Sungkai. Its not a typical malay dish (as from the name) it might originate from the western country. I didnt cook it in the open stove but i baked it. It really was yummy! My husband joked that we should open a restaurant with that kind of menu. Yeah why dont we!

The recipe goes like this:
Chicken breast
Butter
Parsley
Garlic
Lemon juice

Mix these ingrediets on top of the chicken breast and roll the chicken breast tight. Use a toothpick to hold it tight.

For the outer layer, mix bread crumb, black pepper and salt with milk and eggs. Dip the chicken breast into the milk and roll it in the bread crumb. Then bake it in the oven.

There it is...

I thought we are suppose to limit our activities during Ramadan?

We have been fasting for 6 days now, and as usual time flies and without we knowing it Ramadan will leave us soon and its Hari Raya time. The fasting has been going on well, no problem, at least for me. Hubby is ok except he has runs of fever and cold, but manage to fast nevertheless. The days fly by and usually the time to break the fast come quickly, i guess being at work helps. I only feel bad about Ayang, she seems to be running and rushing all the time lately. She has to attend school from 7.30am to 11.50am (thats after waking up at 3.30am for sahur and catch about 1 hr sleep afterwards), then she continues for her ugama school from 12.30pm until 2pm after that she has to rush to her tuition class from 2pm until 4.30pm. Then only she can rest for the day. Its good that she doesnt have to go to tuition every day with this kind of schedule. Well her tuition classes are on monday, tuesdays & wednesdays. Its very tiring, she is fasting but she has to do it, her exam is just around the corner.

Come to think of it, i am not very happy with her ugama class, its radiculous to force these children to attend them for one hour only, well the first 1/2 hr is for zohor prayer then tadarus. The 1 hour is just for revisions, nothing else. And talking about time, these kids only have about 1/2 hr time span to go home and change into their ugama uniforms and then off again to their ugama school. Ayang is lucky enough that both schools are nearby. What about those kids whose schools are further away from one another? How on earth can they reach home on time, change and go back to school in 1/2 hour? What about the traffic? I pity these children. Yesterday since it was saturday i picked up Ayang from her ugama school and i noticed some of these kids didnt even change to their ugama uniforms. They just went to ugama in their morning uniform which indicated that they did not have the time to go home and change! Life must be so hectic for these children during Ramadan where we all are supposed to limit our activities. Hubby and i even get off work at 1pm and call it a day! I dont see any benefits of having ugama school for anyone. Like the old days, during my school days, the ugama school was off for the whole month of Ramadan. And we all turned out ok. So why do we have to start now and torture those children?

First Day of Ramadhan Al-Mubarak

Alhamdulilah, the holy month of Ramadhan is here with us again. Just chilling at home since its a public holiday. We are doing ok, had our first sahur at 4.00am this morning. We had corn beef fried rice with chicken and some fruits and topped it off with some oats to keep the hunger at bay. So far so good. I think we will go out and buy some food for sungkai later. Looking forward to all the goodies and good dishes. The abundance of it all. The best part of it of course as long as we dont waste any food. Also doing some finishing touches to Ayang Folio. That need to be submitted on 11th September but today its done. All is left is to print it. Ayang also has her tuition class at 2pm today so we gonna go and send her and go ahead with the shopping. Tomorrow its work as usual but the best part of it we get to go home early at 1.00pm. So this is the best month ever. Will try to menambah pahala as much as we all can, thats also important.