bad user interface

Your password will expire in 7 days.
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The first time I encountered this.. took me a few secs to decide which button to press. I don't want to be tricked, u know..


OK - can mean.. change it now or change it later.
Change - obviously means Change password.
Or, pressing both buttons could be double confirmation like - 'Ok, change'



Reminds me of a certain country's voting system joke..

Do you not want to not vote for D'Monkey ?
[ No ] or [ Yes ]

Home News

By Blossom
Home Correspondent

the girls bake.
Mdm Bloss have signed her daughters up for Creative Baking Workshop for Children. The daughters, especially Nadhrah, are said to be 'so' looking forward to it. There are plans to further their 'studies' with Cik alin. The dates, however, have not been confirmed.

the boy sails..
Hadi does not hesitate to agree that he likes the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He will be making plans to watch the latest sequel, with his good friend soon. He is also reported to have invested some amount of money, into making his own sword. Thanks to his grandfather, he has so far made quite a number of his own toys.

At home and in cyberspace, he claims that he is Captain Jack Di Sparrow.




the husband who pleases his wife

Mdm Bloss's spouse has yet again, delighted her yesterday. He brought back 3 pairs of pants, that she has been wanting to get for herself, for the past few months.

Mdm Bloss, herself has failed to look for that specific kind of pants, and at a VERY reasonable price . However it is no surprise because it is believed that she didn't try hard enough. The ones she found were above $50.

Her beloved spouse managed to get them for her at $12.90 and $6.90. Mdm Bloss is wearing them now.

when we are in need

On saturday I had 2 papers to sit for. I managed to cover half of one of the subjects by Friday night. Then on sat morning, i checked the schedule and apparently the subject that I HAVEN't started on, was going to be the first paper. Erni kan memang 'pandai'. So i told myself, i must study dengan tekun.. must concentrate and finish reading. Paper is at 3pm.. ok la tu, i thought.

Study kat rumah, my girls asik tanya itu, ini- normal. So i decided, if I am to cover this subject this morning, i better leave early. So i told hubby, i need to leave now to study. He said OK. But when I'm all ready, dah siap2 nak leave, and hubby pun tengah siap, kena angkat banyak periuk nak hantar kat rumah orang (his mom does catering sikit2). Then, he asked me, "hmm...boleh tolong amik kuih tak?"

I took a deeeeeep breath. While taking that deep breath, I sempat jugak fikir and decide if I shud beleter kat dia and tell him, like 'Look! i already told you i want to STUDY!!! my EXAMS is this AFTERNOON and i HAVE NOT studied!!! You nak suruh i amik kuih?!?!?!' OR.. I should just be a good wife, and say 'OK dear, kat mana?'

I looked at him for a moment.. he had that 'kesian punya' muka. How can I not kesian kan.. I agreed.

So I went and I prayed..'Ya Allah, berkat aku gi tolong my hubby ni, senangkan la sikit nanti i speed read, and enable me to do my paper later.'

Good news is, alhamdulillah, i did manage to read most of it, and I managed to do my paper - macam boleh pass la gitu, although i doubt it will be with flying technicolours.

And it reminds me of this story in one of Al Bukhari's hadith sohih, that I want to share. (i like this story).

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar:

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Three men from among those who were before you, set out together till they reached a cave at night and entered it. A big rock rolled down the mountain and closed the mouth of the cave. They said (to each other), Nothing could save you from this rock but to invoke Allah by giving referenda to the righteous deed which you have done (for Allah's sake only).' So, one of them said, 'O Allah! I had old parents and I never provided my family (wife, children etc.) with milk before them. One day, by chance I was delayed, and I came late (at night) while they had slept. I milked the sheep for them and took the milk to them, but I found them sleeping. I disliked to provide my family with the milk before them. I waited for them and the bowl of milk was in my hand and I kept on waiting for them to get up till the day dawned. Then they got up and drank the milk. O Allah! If I did that for Your Sake only, please relieve us from our critical situation caused by this rock.' So, the rock shifted a little but they could not get out."

The Prophet added, "The second man said, 'O Allah! I had a cousin who was the dearest of all people to me and I wanted to have sexual relations with her but she refused. Later she had a hard time in a famine year and she came to me and I gave her one-hundred-and-twenty Dinars on the condition that she would not resist my desire, and she agreed. When I was about to fulfill my desire, she said: It is illegal for you to outrage my chastity except by legitimate marriage. So, I thought it a sin to have sexual intercourse with her and left her though she was the dearest of all the people to me, and also I left the gold I had given her. O Allah! If I did that for Your Sake only, please relieve us from the present calamity.' So, the rock shifted a little more but still they could not get out from there."

The Prophet added, "Then the third man said, 'O Allah! I employed few laborers and I paid them their wages with the exception of one man who did not take his wages and went away. I invested his wages and I got much property thereby. (Then after some time) he came and said to me: O Allah's slave! Pay me my wages. I said to him: All the camels, cows, sheep and slaves you see, are yours. He said: O Allah's slave! Don't mock at me. I said: I am not mocking at you. So, he took all the herd and drove them away and left nothing. O Allah! If I did that for Your Sake only, please relieve us from the present suffering.' So, that rock shifted completely and they got out walking.

Sohih Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 36, Number 472


I think, when we do something good, for the sake of Allah, insyaAllah, Allah will help us, when we are in need.

Happy MONday!

p.s. thanks to hafiz who's reminded of this ayat - and now i'd like to add that..

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن تَنصُرُوا اللَّهَ يَنصُرْكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَكُمْ
O ye who believe! If ye will aid (the cause of) Allah, He will aid you, and plant your feet firmly.
Al Quran, Muhammad 47:7

blood diamond

like most some girls, leonardo dicaprio tu, I like la jugak
(....i think i just sounded like the gangster fm kelantan, in 'baik punya cilok'..).

And i've heard that blood diamond is a very good movie.

that day, sri brought the DVD, i had a chance to watch it, at home.

That was the night (or morning) that we had to go get the house keys from the other side of island, when we were just from there. When i finally reached my bed, i contemplated.

with my penatness and ngantokness, plus they say its long and sad movie, i figured, i don't want to spend 2-3 hours to end up being sad.

I guess i have to find a time (about 2-3 hours).. where i don't have to study for an exam, or do my arab homework, or my hadith assignment, or spend some time with my children, or play with my phone (which i'm in love with now), or catch up with my sleep, or go out and meet people i'm suppose to meet - and convince myself to just sit there 2-3 hours in front of the screen and watch that good sad movie.

So at last.......I have not watched the movie yet.
.
.
.

story of the first time. then, got bday, mday, bbq, chalet

INT. AT HOME, NIGHT
Everyone's hungry, no food at home. I asked Hadi to order pizza by phone.

HADI
Ala...cam mana nak call?

BLOSSOM
Just pick the phone and dial this number, then ask for bbq chicken pizza.


Hadi picks up the phone and dials. Then..
HADI
Sorry can you repeat that? ...................................... welcome.............oh ok....(Then he pressed '1')

BLOSSOM
(giving Hadi the 'funny' look)
Di, err.. I think you were talking to a....MACHINE.

HADI
Oh? that was a machine eh? ahahaha.. no wonder la, dia senyap lama, baru dia repeat.

***********

the past weekend we celebrated birthdays & mother's day with a bbq at a chalet.

3 days, 2 nights they booked the chalet. it was on a land, far far away. from the west. It's in downtown east. (but, as you may know Singapore punya far far away.. errmmm.. 45-60 mins by car da sampai da.. =D)

On first night tu, friday night, hubby and I left the chalet at 1am, to go home, after a loooong day. We reached our place, only to realise that we've left the key behind at the chalet. macam nak nangis.. we had to drive aaaaaaaaaallll the way back, to get the keys, and aaaaalll the way back home. Kalau macam gitu punya drive, up the m'sian highway.. da sampai Melaka. I think. Anyway - that's over and done with. Alhamdulillah.

Overall, we had fun!



More pictures here, including me, being pocong.. jeng jeng jeng.

I'm looking forward to June.

Tomorrow is, as Pink wud say, post-Sunday. somehow, that still does not make me look forward to tomorrow. Anyhow, I hope we'll all have a good week ahead. Ameen.



p.s. hi nina! I'm thrilled to know that u're reading my blog everyday! ALMOST everyday! although hari tu, the neurons were too busy for a more obvious reaction. :p

how i want my kids to learn

Do I think my kids need to be drilled to get top marks their papers or their monthly test or quarterly assessment or yearly exams? Actually I don't.
That's why, I don't feel stressed during their exams. Kalau kat ofis ni.. some mothers come to me and say 'wah.. stress ah.. our kids exams already'. I just smile.
Of course lah.. i force ask my kids to revise. But I don't get all worked up, if they don't score well or if they did badly.

Actually i think we all know, all those kids, they do not have the same interest. They do not have the same set of skills. They do not all learn at the same pace.
Just because your kid does not do well, in primary school - does not mean he is doomed to be miserable in this world when he grows up. Or just because your kid get straight As - that does not mean he'll grow up to be a rich, nice, contented person with IMAN, who will look after you when you grow old.

I've known of some kids (macam ada satu budak ni dulu.. nama dia erni..) who did quite badly in school -up to before GCE O Levels - very playful. Even failed the preliminary exams. But masyaAllah, i don't know.. sudden twist of interest at the last minute- she studied for GCE O - on subjects she liked and did quite well, alhamdulillah. People around her, couldn't believe she could get into College - in fact people around her, actually find it hard to believe that she even passed. When she called them to say that she passed and got into college - they all thought she was joking. Until they saw the results slip themselves.
If Allah SWT wills it to happen - it'll happen.

And now, as I begin to understand and ACCEPT our MAIN purpose in life, and, from observing the people and world around me, and from learning from past experiences, I've decided - not to make my kid's lives miserable by drilling them with schoolwork. If they do it, I want them to do it, because they themselves want to do it. In the meantime, what's utmost important to me, is to instill iman in them. And to let them excel in their natural interest. Like Hanaa, she's interested in cooking or baking cakes. I'd very much like her to start on that even now so that dia tak jadi macam mak dia.

Every parent has their thoughts, their aim and their style.. this is mine. And I'm not even saying that mine is the right way. Only Allah knows best.
We try our best to be good parents, and we doa to Allah SWT for the best, for both Worlds.

Hari ni, hari Khamis, besok Jumaat.


oh ya.. di atas permintaan ramai a few frens, i put that shoutbox already.. u all can shout all you want. :)

a piece of advice and some pictures

tadi kat kelas.. we read a bit from 'My Beloved Son' by Imam Ghazali. He said, (more or less translated as I understood it, like this...) to ask for or give advice is easy, but to receive/act upon the advice is difficult on the heart.

Reminds me of me. I wanted advice, received advice, but I was unable to act upon it. Everyone around me gave me advice. I KNEW what i was doing was wrong, tapi macam masih berat nak tinggalkan.

But, bila hati terbuka to make that change, all those advice given earlier, which may have seemed like buang masa aje, played a part, in helping me with the change. All the advices, played back in my head, and began to make sense.

So the point I'm trying to make is..

1. You can receive all the advice in the world, but you will only change, only when your heart is ready to change, when YOU want to change, when Allah SWT wills you to change. So ask Allah SWT to give us and the people we love, hidayah to change for the better, always.

2. And for the person giving advice.. don't give up giving advice. Even if it seems to fall of deaf ears (kalau peribahasa Melayu : bagai mencurah air ke daun keladi). Because actually the advice is stored somewhere within their neurons, and it will be retrieved, when required. Serious.

And nagging is not advice. Nagging may include mengutuk, mengata.. but advice makes a person ponder about the consequences of his/her acts.

Ok.. photo time.
These photos is in no way related to the entry above.

the flying foxes

I don't want you all to miss me so much (ya..ya..i excuse u while u go puke..), so sementara I catch my (flying) mood again, and think about my purpose and destination in life.. you all nak tengok.. my children buat flying fox? sambil dengar lagu spider, Ngam Ho yang telah diubahsuai, to fit this video.

the song editing is not good lah.. ada part yang join dia tak very smooth, the notes jumped. tapi ok lah.. considering that it was done in about half hour.

on a good day, good/fast connection - it plays as it loads. on slow connection - it may take up to 5-10 mins to load.



Have a good week you all, and may you all be in Allah's keep always!

KL Trip with big girls

Warning: very long entry. Loads of short stories and pics. Pick proper time to read. Avoid getting caught by your boss for reading this looooooooooong entry. Suri rumahs.. don't get engrossed and forget to check on your cooking or fetch ur children from school. Nur da abis blajar ke belum?! bljr dulu! Finally.. i hope you enjoy reading it, as much as I've enjoyed going thru them.

And so the day finally came, when the big girls and I, were finally on our way to KL.

8am almost sharp, the bus were on it's way. And after 5 hours of (nonsense, laughters, sleep, snacks and drinks) we were in KL.



Day 1

Checked into the hotel, put our stuff, solat etc. Then we listed down the places we wanted to go to and the things we needed to get.

KLCC, Bt Bintang, Petaling St, Kampung Baru, Time Square, Eye on Malaysia - oh yes and not forgetting to sit at Starbucks and/or Coffee Bean, and also to have Teh Tarik. Oh and also Puduraya. No lah.. takde apa2 kat sana, just need to book ticket bas nak balik.

In +/- 1.5 days - u think we can do all that? Macam nak rak, jalan.

1st destination, Bt Bintang.. da dekat dengan hotel. Had our lunch there. Then shop sikit kat around there.




The LRT

After that, we thought we'd try taking the LRT to KLCC.
No direct train - must change train. Ingatkan, change train tu.. macam kat sini, naik escalator ke.. or macam kat outram gitu ke. But rupanyer.. nak change train to.. jalan jaaaaauuh. Like totally exit from the 1st leg train station, then walk outside to another train station about..err maybe 10km 1km away (kat Dang Wangi)





Akhirnya sampai jugak kat Suria KLCC tu. Had our Coffee Bean there, went to the bookshop and took some pictures.




Then went back to the hotel to freshen up, solat.

Our weapon

Pastu, malam dinner kat BB Bistro. We had our teh tarik there. Ada live band. And they sang HITZ songs like 'Wan Tanah Merah'. When the band took their break, the shop played some music from CDs, which we preferred.





Lepas tu.. gi Kg Baru cari jagung bakar. Tak lah kita tu nak sangat makan jagung bakar. Its just something to justify our wanting to go there, to take some pics. Anyway, kedai jangung bakar tu pun tutup.. and yang ada kedai jagung rebus, and pakcik refused to bakar under his pan of boiling water. So we just bought the jagung rebus aje.



And after that, gi Dataran.. (Malaysia? Pahlawan? Negara?)




The girls still wanted to 'hang out' some more. Checked with Muadz earlier on kat mana kitorang boleh hang out safely. He suggested Lotus, but fiza wanted to listen to some live band - it doesn't matter if they sing Wan Tanah Merah or Itsy bitsy spider..she just wanted some noise. And I, who aksen diet didn't take dinner earlier on..was so hungry by then.. so we headed back to BB Bistro tu.. and I had my dinner there.





By the time we walked back to the hotel, it was way past midnight. Fiza suggested that we can use the jagung rebus, that we had bought earlier, as weapon of mass destruction protection. A brilliant idea - i imagine we can all hit the crook on the head with the jagung rebus, or stuff his...... mouth with it. Pink said, kalau ada belt, boleh jugak kita letakkan that 2 jagung rebus, 1 on each side, and then can draw it like a pistol, when required. But nobody had a belt on.

Alhamdulillah, with the jagung rebus in hand - and Allah's protection, we walked back to our hotel safely.

Day 2

Next am, about 11, we checked out and headed to Puduraya, to book bus tickets for our return trip that night. We put our bags at the lockers there, and went to Nando's nearby to have our brunch. Pink was in love with that place. At the door, we were already impressed with the decor. (ya lah.. jakun sikit. Except for Mai, the rest have never eaten at Nando's before).





PINK
I love the decor! I love the way they lay out their menus, I love the menu, I love their napkins, I love their pinggan. I love everything about them!
(ok, she may have used the word 'like'. I exaggerated a bit)

BLOSSOM
Oh yeah. They.....(cupping her hands - like in Jerry McGuire) 'complete you' right?

PINK
Ah ah sey. They had me at the door. they had me at the door.

I on Malaysia

Pastu, we took a cab - to try out that Eye on Malaysia. Ok ah jugak.. enjoy. Ni tak payah criter banyak.. tengok photos and video aje eh.






At last, kita makan juga our weapons, the jagung rebus, while waiting for a cab, after the ferris wheel ride.


Time Square

Then.. kitorang gi Time Square.. pasal Teddie.. dia nak sangat try naik Roller Coaster tu. Tapi tadi kat Eye on Malaysia pun.. dia macam da panic.. i thought I let her try something less thrilling. The spaceship that goes round and round, up and down and fast. It was too much for her.. she said - dia terperanjat. I should have let her take the 'Magic School Bus' ride first.

When we finally took the Roller Coaster - we took it twice! Pink and I, very much enjoy the ride (i don't know how long more I can get on this ride, before age catches up with me and I get giddy). Mai was ok ok.. Teddie just kept quiet..didn't talk to us until a while later.



ni bukan roller coaster dia.. ni choo choo train

Petaling Street

After that.. kita gi Petaling Street. I'm not a big fan of Petaling Street actually. My legs are starting to kill me.. we walked anyway. Because I'm not much of a fan..and I'm tired, and my legs are killing me, nothing interesting happened here.




so the very tired..



At last.. it was about time for dinner, before we head back to Pudu for our bus. We had our nasi kandar kat opposite Pudu.

The Bus

Hmm.. here on.. no pictures. semua da tak larat/tak kuasa/terlupa nak take photos.

After collecting our bags, we headed to our bus. In the bus, I noticed that the operators there, all talked the same way.. from the ticket counter staff, to the bus coordinator. They all communicated using the walkie talkie.

"Aliyah, aliyah - bas 523, bas 523, bas 523. seat 20 27 masih kosong. seat 20 27 masih kosong. seat 20 27 masih kosong."

heard on the other end "ok ok ok..tengah cari orang. tengah cari orang. tengah cari orang.

"ok ok ok ok ok. satu passenger dah naik. satu passenger dah naik. satu passenger dah naik."

(the other side) " ok ok ok ok ok ok ok"
(that must be a real confirmation agaknyer)

"mana ni lagi satu belum naik?! lagi satu belum naik?! lagi satu belum naik?!"


And like that lah.. kita dengar diorang shouting into the walkie talkie, until the time the bas finally moved off about 9pm.

Masa book tu.. dia kata.. bas ni - non stop sampai singapore. Rupanyer.. engine bas aje yang non stop. but the bus stopped at Yong Peng, at Larkin.. hmm.. but takpelah.. finally we reached Singapore.

And needless to say.. i very much enjoy the trip! and I'm soooo looking forward to another one like this.

Acknowledgements

Thank you for your patience, and reading this novel about our trip. Thank you Mai, Pink, Teddie for making the trip enjoyable. Thank you Muadz for giving ideas on where to go. Thank you Petronas Towers for letting us take loads of pics. Thank you Nando's for the superb restaurant and food. Thank you Pak Lah for having that Eye on Malaysia thingy. Thank you KL for being enjoyable. Thank you bas. Thank you bas. Thank you bas. - for bringing us home.

Thank you Allah for making this a safe trip for us.

TerimakaSIH!

*maybe unplugged - tengah stone, makan ubat..*