Monday 30 May 2011

Phase 1


Salam ladies,

Finally, a time for a breather. The past week has been a busy one, filled with a lot of last minute preps for the start of Phase 1 in my life. :) You'd be happy to know that after a number of trials with many recommended make-up artists, I have finally decided on two final ones and I'm quite happy with my choice. One of them actually did Phase 1 yesterday and although I still looked a bit tired, the end make-up was exactly the way I pictured myself to be. I absolutely loved it. :) Plus she was a friendly person, which was a bonus, as it eased my nerves a little bit. ;)

Anyways, syukur ke hadrat Allah s.a.w., Phase 1 proceeded well. :) It still feels somewhat surreal to be in this position but I'm thankful to be one step closer to a new chapter in my life. :)

Wedding preps have otherwise slowed down generally. I've just received an email from my invitation vendor that the wedding invites are nearing completion and she is aiming to send them to Brunei by the end of the week insyaAllah, so that's exciting news! That's earlier than the expected timeline I had for them so I can't be more happy. :D

And the trip to Singapore to get the hantarans is coming lusa, so that's next on the agenda. Till next time b2bs!

Wednesday 25 May 2011

Alhamdulillah

I've reached the last session of the kursus pra-nikah without hitch and glitch. Syukur alhamdulillah, my prayers have been answered. :))

Sunday 22 May 2011

Bits and bots

Salam b2bs,

Apologies for the lack of posting, work has been taking its rightful priority these days. :)

Anyways, hope everybody is in the best of health and iman, as always. There hasn't been much going on in terms of wedding preparations these days. Only bits and bots of it sja... and they came through the mail! Heeee.


My tudongs for the engagement. Thanks to the lovely sister for delivering them all the way from the UK. :D So sooo happyyy!

Also, these came in from my Mum. She had the engagement folder designed by a friend of hers and we just got it back yesterday - it did not disappoint!


Sorry had to give in sneak peaks saja, do not want to disclose my identity here, hehe. But lawa kn?? Simple but nice. For once, I gave the entire responsibility to my Mum and I'm glad she made a good choice at choosing the designer. Not that I don't trust her, but I just have a little bit of an OCD perfectionist disorder. ;)

As for the designer, she is not well-known but I have to say, she's quite meticulous and neat with her work. I'm very fussy about my wedding preps and this was one situation where I did not have the chance to research and review, but her work still made the cut anyway. Definitely a high recommendation for this one! If anybody's interested, drop me a comment and I'll pass you her number or for those who know me, contact me sja *wink* *wink*.

Also, just a quick review on Roza Rohaya! The other half and I managed to drop by their boutique during one of our lunch breaks last week and we had a look at their boutique and prices. I have to admit, out of all the boutiques I've gone to so far, this has got to be the priciest place to rent your wedding things. But! I loooooove their wedding bajus and they pretty much have everything there, from the renting of veils, inner tudungs, kasuts, you name it. The ones that I've been to so far focused mostly on the bajus and wedding accessories but the wedding accessories are often incomplete so this was definitely a plus-point for this place. I suppose quality-wise, they're quite high up in the list so if anybody's looking for quality and is willing to pay the price, this might just be the place. Otherwise, other places pun ok jua and better pricing too! :)

Till then!

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Sesudah sampai serunya untuk menikah...

Salam all bride-to-bes,

Sometimes we take a lot of things for granted. When given opportunities, we always believe they will come again and again but neither do we realise that not everything is within our control or within our grasp. We can plan, but Allah decides for us everything else. Here's a reminder for all, but most importantly, to myself:

"Apabila datang kepadamu seorang laki-laki datang untuk meminang yang engkau redha terhadap agama dan akhlaqnya maka nikahkanlah dia. Bila tidak engkau lakukan maka akan terjadi fitnah di muka bumi dan akan timbul kerusakan yang merata di muka bumi." - HR Tarmidzi dan Ahmad

Saya tidak tahu apakah ini merupakan Hukum Sejarah yang digariskan allah

Ketika orang mempersulit apa yang dimudahkan Allah, mereka akhirnya benar-benar mendapati keadaan yang sulit dan nyaris tak menemukan jalan keluarnya.

Mereka menunda-nunda pernikahan tanpa ada alasan Syar'ie dan akhirnya mereka benar-benar takut melangkah di saat hati sudah sangat menginginkannya.

Atau ada yang sudah benar-benar gelisah tak kunjung ada yang mahu serius.

Lingkaran Ketakutan Berlanjutan

Bila di usia dua puluh tahunan mereka menunda pernikahan karena takut dengan ekonominya yang belum mapan, di usia menjelang tiga puluh hingga tiga puluh lima berubah lagi masalahnya.

Laki-laki mengalami Sindrom Kemapanan (meski wanita juga banyak yang demikian, terutama mendekati usia 30).

Mereka (laki-laki) menginginkan pendamping dengan kriteria yang sulit dipenuhi.

Seperti Hukum Kategori, semakin banyak kriteria semakin sedikit yang masuk kategori.

Begitu pula Kriteria Tentang Jodoh, ketika menetapkan kriteria yang terlalu banyak maka akhirnya tidak ada yang sesuai dengan keinginan kita.

Sementara wanita yang sudah berusia sekitar 35 tahun, masalahnya bukan kriteria tetapi soalapakah ada orang yang mau menikah dengannya?

Ketika usia sudah 40-an, ketakutan kaum laki-laki sudah berbeza lagi, kecuali bagi mereka yang tetap terjaga hatinya.

Jika sebelumnya banyak kriteria yang dipasang pada usia 40-an muncul ketakutan apakah dapat mendampingi isteri dengan baik.

Lebih-lebih lagi ketika usia beranjak 50 tahun, ada ketakutan lain yang mencekam.

Iaitu kekhawatiran ketidakmampuan mencari nafkah sementara anak masih kecil.

Atau ketika masalah nafkah tak merisaukan khawatir kematian lebih dahulu menjemput sementara anak-anak masih banyak perlu dinasihati.

Bila Iman Tiada Makan Muncul Putus Asa

Jangan ditunda-tunda apa yang menghimpit saudara kita sehingga mereka sanggup menitiskan air mata.

Awalnya adalah kerana mereka menunda apa yang harus disegerakan, mempersulit apa yang seharusnya dimudahkan. Padahal Rasulullah s.a.w. berpesan:

Wahai Ali, ada Tiga perkara jangan ditunda-tunda; apabila Solat telah tiba waktunya,Jenazah apabila telah siap penguburannya, dan Perempuan apabila telah datang laki-laki yang sepadan meminangnya." - HR Ahmad

Hadis ini menujukkan agar tidak boleh mempersulit pernikahan baik langsung mahupun tak langsung.

Secara 'lansung' adalah menuntut mahar yang terlalu tinggi. Atau yang sejenis dengan itu. Ada lagi yang 'tidak secara langsung'.

Mereka membuat kebiasaan yang mempersulit, meski nyata-nyata menuntut mahar yang tinggi atau resepsi yang mewah.

Sebahagian orang mengadakan acara peminangan sebagai acara tersendiri yang tidak boleh kalah mewah dari resepsi pernikahan sebahagian lainnya melazimkan acara penyerahan hadiah atau wang belanja untuk biaya pernikahan secara tersendiri.

Bila seseorang tak kuat menahan beban, maka bisa saja melakukan penundaan pernikahan semata-mata hanya kerana masalah ini.

Saya sangat khawatir akan keruhnya niat dan bergesernya tujuan, sehingga pernikahan itu kehilangan barokahnya.

Naudzubillah! Penyebab lain adalah lemahnya keyakinan kita bahwa Allah pasti akan memberi rezeki atau boleh jadi cerminan dari sifat tidak qona'ah (mencukupkan diri dengan yang ada).

Pilihlah Yang Bertaqwa

Suatu saat ada yang datang menemui Al Hasan (cucu Rasulullah). Ia ingin bertanya sebaiknya dengan siapa putrinya menikah? Maka Al Hasan r.a berkata:

"Kawinkanlah dia dengan orang yang bertakwa kepada Allah. Ini kerana, jika laki-laki mencintainya, ia memuliakannya, dan jika ia tidak menyenanginya, ia tidak akan berbuat zalim kepadanya."

Nasihat Al- Hasan menuntun kita untuk menjernihkan fikiran. Jika kita menikah dengan orang yang bertakwa, cinta yang semula tiada meski cuma benihnya, dapat bersemi indah karena komitmen yang memenuhi jiwa.

Wallahu alam bi showwab.

Original article was taken from here.

Sunday 15 May 2011

Reaching a plateau

Salam all bride-to-bes!

I feel like I've been on hiatus with the wedding preparations as of late but when I look back on my past posts, that hasn't been the case, has it? I guess the proper term for it is 'reaching a plateau' maybe? Everything else just seems like a waiting game at the moment - waiting for the invitations, waiting for dates to come and the list just goes on...

But anyhoos! Today the other half and I went to do some more preparations for the big day. :D

First up, I had another make-up trial session with a new MUA in the afternoon. Quite liked this one compared to the first MUA trial that I had - the make-up was shades lighter and natural-looking. Most importantly, I felt more confident bringing it around but I still have a thing with the eye make-up. :S Antah ah, I don't quite know how to explain it but it just makes me look older?? Maybe it's my eyebrows kali. Balum be-usai. Or maybe my face is just too dry?? I don't knowwwww. Mama says that it looks good in the photos but I don't think I can put that up as a deciding factor. Ndakn dlm gmbr sja lawa kn??

Either way, I think with regards to my make-up for the other events, the decision is still up in the open. Gonna try out for more make-up trials while I can!

Later on, we made a visit to Ruzz Enterprise (Batu Bersurat). The other half had to book some gangsas for the engagement so we decided to drop by there. I've been wanting to have a look at this place for aaaaaaagess but just didn't get the chance and now I'm thankful that I did. I absolutely loooooove their gangsa decos there! Lawaaa berabis!! They charge at a price of $25 per gangsa (which is relatively standard) if anybody is interested. ;)

I also had a look at their pelamin collection album and these too, were gorgeoussss. I have this thing for ceiling decorations (I'm not quite sure what they're called) and they had a lot of those. Might actually consider these guys for my bersanding nanti. :D

Till next time!

Bargains!

Who doesn't love them??

Bought 150 of these cute favour boxes while they were on promotion two nights ago.

RM38 for 50 pieces! A steal or what?? Hehehehe.

Won't be using them anytime soon though. They're for my malam berbedak campur. :D

Thursday 12 May 2011

Slowly settling in

Salam all bride-to-bes!

Hope everybody is in the best of iman and health :)

Today has been a productive day, both with wedding preparations, work and life in general, syukur Alhamdulillah. After much delay and difficulty, I was finally able to transfer the first payment to my invitation vendor and just before lunch, I had my statutory declaration (for the alias in the name) cleared so that just needs to be delivered to the Jabatan Pendaftaran Perkahwinan for my sijil nikah to be processed and then we're pretty much set! At least for the time being lah. It feels good actually, to know that things are slowly settling in. :)

Anyways, just thought I'd share what I picked up yesterday during my second session for the kursus pra-nikah. The topic discussed was: the responsibilities and duties of a wife and husband. Truth be told, despite the amount of information I had to digest and take in for myself, I actually had such a good time listening to the speaker because he was sooooo hilarious! I was thinking about this randomly hari atu tapi andangnya kah kalau ustaz-ustaz becerita ani, drg kuat becali? Because I laughed sooo many times during the session, caliiii banar! Lol. But I guess yang penting, di sebalik semua jokes-jokes nya atu, the moral of the story remains kn? I guess it was his strategy to keep us awake and interested throughout his talk. Hehe.

Anyhow, there were a lot of interesting notes pointed out by the ustaz psal tanggungjawab bini-bini ani. I've heard of people saying that tanggungjawab bini-bini ani berat and after going through that sharing session, it is indeed as 'heavy' as a lot of women have said it would be. Obviously there's the whole housework and chores, being expected to serve your husband when needed, taking care of the children and family as a whole but what really struck me was, how important our roles as a wife to a husband are from a religious point of view. Kalau isteri nda menutup aurat and nda ditagur laki, laki dulu kana soalkan di akhirat. Kalau isteri nda menurut kehendak (batin) suami kemudian suami tidur dalam keadaan marah, isteri akan dilaknat dan tidur di dalam keadaan berdosa. Amongst many others, of course. Scary.. :S

As a future wife, it scares me to know that I have such a huge responsibility. But I do hope and pray that I'll be able to fulfil most, if not all, of the above. I pray that I'll be able to please my husband by being a good wife, a good mother to my children and most importantly, be a better Muslimah to my deen. InsyaAllah. Ameen.


Monday 9 May 2011

Updates

Salam all~~

Credits: Google images

So as promised, progress updates!

It's not much of a difference as compared to the last one but the kems have now been booked (yay!) and we've decided to forgo the customised bags because the vendor was taking toooooo long to provide a quotation. As I couldn't be bothered to look around anymore, I think we'll just settle for the ready-made ones that can be found at the economy store - they're easier to haggle anyway. Hehe. Plus we've got to be strict on the budget!

Other than that, I've finally seen the rings that my other half have chosen for me. :D If you can remember from my previous posts, I was going on about how extremely worried I was about his choice of rings but hey, guess what? He didn't disappoint me at all, Alhamdulillah. :) In fact, I love love looove them! :D Both the pembuka mulut and the engagement ring were just the designs I would like them to be and they were oh-so-prettyyyy!! I really think he had me in mind when he bought them. Thanks syggg :D Unfortunately they were a bit too big so we had to go to the store and have them resized yesterday. Good news is: we've been promised that they'll be done by the 17th of this month so there's ample time to get ready! Exciting~~!

Also! We've been planning for this holiday for quite some time now but it was only until yesterday that all the details were confirmed... Guess where we're going??
Credits: Google images

Singapore!! :D :D

Heading there early next month just before the school holidays with a group of friends, just in time for the sales. The plan is to try out the new universal studios and get our hantaran stuff there - I'm so excited! I'm in such direeee need of a break right now. Teehee.

Till next time bride-to-bes!

Sunday 8 May 2011

A story to learn

Salam all~

Haven't written in a couple of days now. I've been busy with work and currently still finalising a few things for the wedding but once that's done and covered with, will definitely update you all with some progress! :)

For the time being, the story pasted below was actually recommended to me by a friend. It brought tears to my eyes as I was reading this, but the message conveyed is sadly true for a lot of married couples these days. I pray that mine will not turn out that way but if it does, that Allah will give me and my future husband guidance and the chance to reflect to make things right once again. Ameen.

Enjoy:

Ahmed came home from work, tired and frustrated after having to meet a hard contract deadline and correct the work of a colleague who was about two days from being fired. Firing him was not going to be a good solution, because then all his work would land on Ahmed's desk. The week promised to go from bad to worse.

Once inside the door, Ahmed took off his knitted cap and placed it carefully on the peg so he would be sure to have it the next morning to ward off the chill He dumped his briefcase on the sofa and left a trail of clothing on the way to the bathroom.... shoes, socks, necktie, shirt, pants. By the time he reached his "sanctuary" he was down to his skivvies, holding only the newspaper as he closed and locked the bathroom door. He had not yet said hello to his wife or uttered any word beyond a quiet "Salaam Alaikum" as he opened the door, so quiet that the words of peace did not reach his wife in the downstairs laundry room.

Aisha had heard the door open and hurried to toss a load of laundry in the washer before going up to greet her husband. She bustled up the stairs only to see the trail of dirty clothing and the light shining under the closed bathroom door. Sighing, she bent to pick up the clothing and then went back downstairs to add what her husband had discarded to the neverending pile of clothing to be washed. Closing the door on that task, she marched back upstairs to check dinner. Ah, ready, just in time. Over the years she had gotten her timing down to perfection, makings sure food was ready when her husband walked in the door, never making him wait. She fixed him a plate so it would cool a bit, poured water, and carried the tray to his favorite spot in the living room where he would sit and watch the news when he came home.

After about fifteen minutes, Ahmed emerged refreshed from the bathroom. He had washed up, made wudu, and then he went to pray the asr prayer. He said an absent salaam alaikum to Aisha as he passed her in the hallway and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, then proceeded to his room to pray. He didn't ask if she had prayed yet or invite her to pray with him. Afterwards, he strolled out to the livingroom and sat in his chair. He said bismillah and started to eat. Aisha sat next to him, idly watching the news and noting his appreciative grunts as he ate. Finally, he swallowed a last bite, said "alhamdulillah" in no particular direction, and sat back. "Can you get me a toothpick?".

For a while while he digested, he talked to her, telling her about his day and mentioning how snowed under he was at work. He complained about his coworker and his boss, the traffic and the pollution downtown. Aisha nodded sympathetically and decided not to mention that her only "good" abaya had gotten torn, that the baby had sicked up on her twice, and that the garbage disposal was making funny noises if she used it. He had enough on his mind, she considered. She cleared his plates and went to check on the baby, who was still blissfully napping, and put on water for tea. While it was heatinng, she stole a few moments to review the verses of surah Kaafiruun, which she had been trying to memorize forever but whose repetitive lines were leaving her confused. She wanted to ask Ahmed about it but she didn't want to interrupt him while he was watching his favorite crime show.

Half an hour later, tea was drunk, the show was over, and Ahmed reminded her that they had a "thing" at the masjid tonight and he had promised to go. "I could go with you", Aisha said. "Well, that'd be fine, but I want to go early and you still have to feed and change the baby. I'll go now and you follow in the other car. Where's my galabiyya?" "In the front closet. It's ironed and your kufi is in the pocket." "Ah, thanks, okay. See you in a bit". He placed another absent-minded kiss on her forehead and walked out the door.

Aisha hustled to get the baby ready. It wasn't easy. Little Yasin woke up in a fuss, not wanting to settle to nurse, and once again he had pooped and had totally messed up his diaper and his shirt, necessitating the fifth wardrobe change of the day. As she dealt with the mess, Aisha felt alone and near tears. She tried to think of why, when she had just spent the last couple of hours with her husband. Well, she had been in the same room with him, but she didn't really feel as if she had been "with" him. He treated her with politeness, but with no more concern that he would a comfortable piece of furniture. He took for granted the clean house, quiet baby, freshly-cooked meal, and nicely pressed clothing. Yes, he was tired from work, but she worked, too, and her "job" did not allow her to clock out at a particular time and leave it all til the next day. Feeling down but determined to make it to the masjid, she finally worked the baby into his warm clothes, strapped him into his carseat, pinned the tear in her abaya, and dressed and made it out the door only a few minutes late for the lecture.

Once there, she entered the women's side and prayed two rak'aats of welcome to the masjid, then went to greet the ladies and cuddle babies, tousle the hair of the older children, and feel the warm glow of sisterhood. She felt so loved by these women. They always welcomed her with a heartfelt salaam, kissed her cheeks, inquired after her health, and made a fuss over the baby. Her friend Tasnim asked her how her Qur'an was coming. "Slowly, alhamdulillah", she replied. Tasim was her best friend. Her husband was the Imaam of the masjid and was a kind and gentle man. He had a ready smile and always took pains to include the women in any programs. Tasnim helped him teach and headed the outreach committee. She had seen that Aisha had been struggling recently and asked her what was wrong. Feeling guilty about telling her anything about her home situation, Aisha nonetheless shared with her that she was feeling a bit ignored by her husband, who seemed to have time for everyone but her. Tasnim didn't pry deeply but patted her hand and counseled her to patience, and she made du'a for her husband to wake up and learn to appreciate his wife. Since then, Tasnim had kept an eye on her friend and had talked to her husband about addressing the issue of husbands and wives. Tonight, he was going to speak on the topic. Directly after the maghrib prayer, the Imaam stood in front of the congregation, and after making du'a and reciting Qur'an, he began to speak.

"Brothers, what if I told you that there were some very special Muslims that I wanted you to meet? Wouldn't you like to know the details? If I told you to come to the masjid to meet a visiting scholar, you would run to listen to him. If I told you a chef was coming to cook a special meal, you'd break the speed limit getting here. If I told you that I knew a man who was very particular about cleanliness, you'd be very respectful of him. If I told you we had a visitor who was foremost in giving charity, you would crowd around to kiss him and hold his hand. If I told you that there was someone coming who taught the children our deen, you'd make du'a for him. If I told you there was a doctor visiting who always made housecalls and never complained when he was called out at night from a warm bed, you'd beg me for his telephone number. If I told you that all these persons were just ONE person, you'd tell me I was lying at that no one person could contain all these qualities. But I am here to tell you that such a person is among us tonight. This person has all these qualities and more, and this person has been living among you all the time and you didn't even know it. Who is this? You look back and forth among yourselves, wondering if the brother sitting beside you is the one, or that Moroccan guy over there, or the Palestinian brother who just moved here. You look at each other, but not ONE of you looks back to the women. Yes, the WOMEN. And not just one woman. The qualities that I mentioned, many of the sisters have them. They have some or all of those qualities in one level or another. Don't believe me?

There is a woman. She is a loving wife. She has taken pains to learn her religion so that she will know what her duty to Allah is, and what her duty towards her husband is. She has read so many books and attended classes, and she has taken what she has learned and tried to institute it in her life. She has learned how to cook her husband's favorited dishes so he doesn't feel so lonely, a thousand miles from his mother back home She has cleaned the house, scrubbing the floor on her hands and knees because she wants it to be clean enough for the kids to play on; she scrubs the bathroom walls, cleans clothing, washes dishes, cuts the kids' hair, trims their nails, bathes them, and still makes time to take a bath herself and apply perfume for her husband and to adorn herself to please him while at home. She spends her husband's money wisely, and makes sure the kids have money in their hands to tuck into the charity box on Friday. She forgoes jewelry and expensive clothing so that her husband can send money back to his family. When preparing dinner, she gives the best portions to her husband and children and does without if there is not enough. She teaches the children to say bismillah before they eat, recites Qur'an with them, reminds them to say please and thank you. She checks their homework and helps them with special projects. She wakes up in the night when someone is sick, or wants water, or just a cuddle, and still wakes up in the predawn to pray the fajr. She holds the qualities of a scholar, a chef, a doctor, a philantropist, a teacher, a friend. And yet... and yet....

So many of you men take your wives for granted. You treat them like children, giving orders and discipline, rather than your life mates and equals. Or worse, you treat them as servants, ruling over them harshly and either speaking cruelly to them or even striking them, Allah forbid. You rush out of the house to come to the masjid to be with your brothers and you ignore the one who is closest to you. You take her for granted and you rarely give her a kind word. You think of her as "wife" and forget she is also your sister in Islam and that she has rights on you. You break her heart every time you neglect to thank her for something she does for you fi sabil Allah. You kill her day by day until her heart is hardened against you and she either starts giving back what you're doing to her, or she simply "checks out" of the marriage and becomes that servant that you apparently wanted her to be. Shame on you brothers!

When a Muslim commits a sin against his brother or sister Muslim, it is not enough that he repents to Allah. He must also apologize to the one he has offended. So I abjure you, my Muslim brothers, to apologize to your mothers, your wives, your sisters, and your daughters if you have treated them in the manner I have described. It is not a shameful thing to admit you are wrong. It is not a shameful thing to apologize. You are not making yourself look weak if you soften your heart towards your women. You are showing that you are strong in your Islam and that you understand that Allah created women to be our helpmates, not our slaves. If you do this one thing, which is really look at your wife, see her as she is, respect her, and TELL her that you respect her, I swear by Allah that your life will improve. If you ignore me and think that your life is just fine and I'm a soft stupid wimp and women need to be "put in their place", then the sin of that is on you and I wash my hands of you. Don't ignore this message, brothers. You marriage is the foundation for your life and the safe spot that you need as you go out in a harsh would to make a living. If the home is a place of peace and tranquility, you can overcome any obstacle that is in your way."

And on that note, the Imaam made a closing du'a and left the minbar, leaving the masjid in a state of silent shock as people tried to absorb what they had heard. Rarely had anyone spoken to the men in such a strong, forthright fashion. They were unsure what to do next, and most just sat there, pondering. The women were quiet as well. The usual chitchat had evaporated the moment the Imaam began to speak. Many women were in tears. Aisha was one, crying, trying not to sob out loud, surruptitiously wiping her eyes on the hem of her abaya. She decided she had to leave right away before she fell apart, and asked Tasnim to tell her husband that she was going home. She managed the drive somehow, not remembering one minute of the road before she pulled up in her driveway. She took the baby from his carseat and ran into the house, put him in his crib, and then collapsed on the floor in front of it, sobbing so hard that she felt she would break apart. She felt that the lecture had been only for her, that the words were directed to her household, and she was afraid her husband would be angry and think she had been gossiping about her situation with her friends. After her tears subsided, she managed to stumble to the bathroom and wash her face. The cold water helped her gather herself. She changed clothes and then picked up the baby, holding him close and promising herself to raise him to be a compassionate man. She stiffened as she heard her husband's car arrive. Not knowing what room to escape to, she simply stood by the baby's crib and held him, waiting for the storm of accusations to rain down on her.

Ahmed entered the house as he had done hours before, uttering a quiet Salaam Alaikum. Aisha heard him this time and returned the salaam just as quietly, fearful. Ahmed didn't stop to take off his shoes or jacket; he came straight up the stairs and walked directly to her, towering over her from his substantial height. Aisha was afraid to look up but hazarded a glance, and she was surprised to see that his eyes were bright with tears and red from crying. He opened his arms to her and grabbed her and the baby up in a fierce embrace, and with his voice cracking from emotion, he whispered "I'm sorry, I'm sorry", again and again. Aisha felt the tension in her bleed out of her body, and she slumped against him, allowing him to enfold her and hold her and comfort her as the tears came yet again. It seemed they stood that way for hours, but of course it was just minutes, and when he finally let them go he held her face in his hands and looked into her eyes, seeing the emotion reflected in them, and the pain.

"I promise, I swear by Allah that I will try to be a better husband to you. You are my heart and you are half my deen. I love you and I respect you so much, and I won't take you for granted again." She could see the sincerity in his eyes and she sent a silent prayer of thanks to Allah for blessing her with a husband who was so strong and good. She knew now that they would be able to renew the bonds they had forged when they first were married, and she could smile through the tears and straighten her spine and know that they could together conquer whatever the world would throw at them. She prayed that the other women would be as blessed as she was by the Imaam's strong reminder, and that the other men would be as strong as her husband and would be able to admit their mistakes. She promised herself she would work even harder to be a strong Muslimah, wife, and mother, and that she would never stop loving this man who stood in front of her. And as if to punctuate the thought, her baby happily threw up on both of them, and all she could do was laugh and rush to change as Ahmed held the baby and looked helplessly at the stream of half-digested milk that decorated his clothing. Life goes on....

Original article was taken from here. Jazakallah.


Wednesday 4 May 2011

What happened today?

Salam!

So what happened today?

I attended my first kursus pra-nikah!


I think it was an eye-opening experience - there were some things that were of general knowledge and kinda expected to come in a marriage, and yet there were others that I've never heard anybody mention before. For instance, did you know that it is not permissible for the husband to relate his wife's physical features to that of his children, his mother or anybody who is considered his mahram? For instance, 'belakang syg ani mcm belakang babu usulnya'. Apparently if he does that, whether jokingly or not, the husband will have to pay a kaffarah zihar of three choices - 1) puasa dua bulan berturut-turut, 2) mengabdikan hamba, 3) memberi makanan kepada 60 org fakir miskin. It is also considered haram for the husband to consummate with the wife during the period of time that he hasn't paid the kaffarah. At least this is what I've noted down during the taklimat. Kalau ada salah silap, sila tegur yeeee~

Thennnnnn, I received my second invitation draft in my e-mail!

Weeheeee!! Love, love, loved it! I've decided that it will be the finalised draft and am hoping to get it printed soon to be delivered by end of June. Excitiinggg~! The above picture is not a sample of how my invitation card will look like by the way. I'm keeping it a secret until they're ready to be distributed. ;) But it will have the same colour as shown in the beanie picture below:

Heee. And lastly, went to accompany the other half to seal the deal with his photographer. Really, really happy with this :D


Yep, we picked Flo for his photographer. :) Awesome photographer, great personality. Can't wait to work with him! He has cute kids too, lol.

As for me, I realised that I've never actually mentioned who my photographer was before. He's one of those low-profile photographers, the kind you'll only hear of by word of mouth but his work is, like I said before, amazinnnggg. Name is Chee and his work can be seen on the link I've added on the navigation bar on the right. I've booked him for all my events :D

Tuesday 3 May 2011

Putting my feet up and on MUAs

Salam dearies,


Finally. After so many days of coming back home late after work, today I finally found the time to go back home immediately and just chill, sit back and relax. No more after work meet-ups (hopefully!), no more finding time to look for last minute arrangements. Just me, my laptop, my family and my home shorts. Ahhh blissssss~ :D

Having said that though, the past few days have all been about make-up trials and MUAs!

Credits: Google images

Ok, maybe that sounds just a liiiittle bit exaggerated. I've only done one make-up trial to date anyway. Hehe. Unfortunately for me though, this MUA's make-up style wasn't exactly what I wanted. The blend of powder and foundation was flawless, true, but what irked me was the eye make-up that he had on me - aduhaiiii~ punya basar my eyes jadinya!

Although the other-half assured me that I looked good, and I honestly do believe that he thinks that way, my parents weren't as affirmative. Mama just looked in slight shock and disbelief when she saw me, and Abah, who hardly tegurs my choice of make-up or clothes OR anything for that matter, immediately spoke up when he saw me back at home with the make-up. I think that's a huge no-no in itself. And I myself don't feel as confident with the make-up as well. Soooo sadly to say, I think I'm going to have to let go of this one. Don't get me wrong though - he is a good MUA, and is highly recommended by many and in fact, I've seen his work on other brides. He is immensely good, tapi on me, his make-up just doesn't look as good. Maybe it's my face kali? ;)

Sooooo what was initially a confirmed arrangement has now gone awry and now I have to look for other potential MUAs instead. I was a bit skeptical at first about contacting the more popular ones but the other half insisted that we tried our luck. Thankfully we did becos Alhamdulillah, we managed to book the well-known Hjh Zaleha for two of our events: nikah and malam berbedak. :D :D Unfortunately she's not available for our bersanding and malam ambil-ambilan. She says she's fully booked for that date, but I'm still thankful anyway. :)

But that still leaves quite a few more events to cover for MUA - engagement, malam silaturrahim, sanding and malam ambil-ambilan. Checked Syazlie and Flawless and Shimmer but they're booked for those dates as well. I've gone on to ask Suzy Niekman, also another popular, but she's also fully booked. So at the moment, I'm currently in the process of asking her sister to do some of my events, she's super good as well - hopefully that turns out with a positive outcome. Do pray for me!

Till next time bride-to-bes!

Monday 2 May 2011

Shoes!

Look what I bought yesterday for malam silaturrahim!!


Shoes!!! Love them :D