"Anklong's" Wedding and Food Poisoning

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

It was the day of Luthfi's uncle's wedding. The theme was all red and bright. So for the day, I dressed him up in a cute red spider-man outfit. The groom is actually my cousin. The day starts with us attending the bride's reception in Parit, Kuala Kangsar *this is where the picture was taken* since I couldn't attend the solemnization day on the day before due to work. However among all day that we have, Luthfi actually choose that day to throw a bit of a tantrum in which forced my husband and I to leave the reception earlier than the rest of our relative. Luckily we have decided to bring our own car since the original plan is to go to my in-law's house after the wedding.

On the next day, Luthfi seems to become a bit calmer at the groom's reception. I guess the tantrum earlier on the day before must be due to the journey and lack of sleep. Alhamdulillah, it is much easier during the groom's reception. We just bring his cradle to the groom's house and let him rest there. He only wakes up for milk and nappy time and a bit of chit chat. 

After the wedding, as we go home on Sunday night - while we still on the highway, we started to have diarrhea. At that point, I suspect that it should be food poisoning prior to the wedding since the food was prepared by a catering service. The symptoms last for the whole night so we have decided to go and visit a doctor. I end up receiving two days MC from work plus a public holiday on the next day in which makes it a total of three days leave. I consider that as a good news since the weekend has been quite busy and I end up not being able to spend a lot of time with my husband.

I am thankful that the food poisoning comes at a perfect time. Thank you food poisoning for providing me with the chance to stay with my husband for a wee bit longer. :)

Birthday Talks: A Year Wiser

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me~~ happy birthday to me! 

Hihi, I guess I am officially a 23-years-old now. Alhamdulillah, this year has been a very wonderful journey to me. I am deeply thankful to Allah S.W.T for each and every moments in my life; the opportunity to become a wife of a very loving person, able to experience the beautiful world of pregnancy, giving me the chance to give birth to a little caliphs and also able to venture into the joy of a motherhood world.

However, I am most thankful to Allah S.W.T for opening up my heart to improve myself towards a better person. Alhamdulillah, now I can see a more mature 'me' over these past few months. A person who cherish her responsibility towards everything around her. InsyaAllah, I will strive to become a much more better person over the years to come. Amin. 

p/s: Thank you so much to my colleagues for celebrating my birthday on that day. I really appreciate the effort. :)

The Nature of My Workplace

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

As I have mentioned in the earlier post, I have just graduated in Bachelor of Education (Hons.) [TESL]. Alhamdulillah, I gave all my praise to Allah s.w.t. since I am currently employed in a multinational language service provider as a permanent translator.

SpeeQual Language Service

http://www.speequal.com

If I had to say, the nature of my workplace requires me to be working in a lab where only authorized people are able to enter. Any type of device in which can carry data is not allowed in the room, including a smartphone. Therefore, I can't be contacted through phone during office hour. I will usually receive a project to be done, in which normally consists of 9000+ words to be translated and period will be around 3 days. In general, it's like 3000+ words per day. It was quite tiring in order to finish the tasks within the due date given. However, when there's no translation project going on... *Unofficially* I am allowed to surf the net; Facebook, you tube, watch online dramas, blogging, etc. for the whole day as long as I don't have a project to be done or a due date to catch. Haha!

Funny that the office is located in One Ampang Avenue *also recognized as Korean Village*, in which makes  the activity of bumping into some Koreans seems like a routine already. It feels very interesting every time I overheard these people talking. It feels like I'm watching K-Dramas already. Hihi.

If only I can meet korean people as handsome as Lee Min Ho, or CN Blue's Jung Yong Hwa! Hahahahaha! *sorry husband! No matter what, I'll still love you!*   :)

A Date in Kota Damansara

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

It was a memorable day indeed. After a quite tiring night due to attending Bella's wedding, we kick off our morning a bit late actually. We go on our way through DUKE all the way to NKVE and all. The journey was fine since we're not caught in traffic jams. Our first stop is at Dataran Sunway Damansara for a lunch. At first we are aiming for my favourite 'asam pedas' but there has been a renovation going on in the area so the store is closed. I was a bit disappointed and we decided on eating Nasi Ayam only. 

The road to IKEA, The Curve, etc. was a bit confusing actually since there has been an MRT construction going on along the road. So the traffic was a bit bad, and lane are all mixed up. As we arrived at around 12pm, finding a car park in IKEA is also a bit difficult - as expected. After around 30 minutes in going in circles, we finally managed to secure our spot and went our way to The Curve. 

As we enter the lobby, there's a piano performance by a Japanese pianist in front of us so we stop by for a while to listen. The performance definitely adds on the romantic mood on that day. We only go for window shopping at The Curve since we actually don't have any intention of buying anything. However, IKEA is a whole another story since we there are a few orders to fulfill. That is the first reason for going there actually and we use that chance for a date. Haha!

However, I think that the date is definitely satisfying since we only left the area at around 5pm. :)

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale and Pesta Buku 1 Malaysia

Assalamualaikum w.b.t,

Have you ever heard of the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale? Oh well, I haven't been there during the past years but among all the reviews that I heard, it was a great book sale. I've been meaning to come every time the event was held since I am definitely a book lover. So for this year; since I am currently staying in KL, I really grab that opportunity to go and visit the sale.

The event was held at MIECC in which located just beside The MINES Shopping Center. I went there with three of my colleagues on Tuesday night, 11 December 2013 as soon as we got off from work. Actually my original plan was to find some specific book by a certain publisher and only to grab a few of them. However, I end up not be able to find that specific book and buying another 6 different book.

• Riwayat Hidup Nabi Muhammad S.A.W
• The Hobbit: Visual Companion by J.R.R Tolkien (Harper Collins Pub. UK)
• 40 Love: A Novel by Madeleine Wickham *also known as Sophie Kinsella* (St Martin's Press)
• Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin (St Martin's Press)
• The Crazy Things Girls Do for Love by Dyan Sheldon (Walker)
• Chicken Soup for the Soul: Here Comes the Bride by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Susan M. Heim (Chicken Soup for the Soul)

The book prices are waaaayyy crazier than a normal book sale. I even buy something for my two-month old baby. It's obvious that he can't read yet but I can still keep it in order to use it later since it was a really good bargain. It's a book that giggles! The original price was RM90+ but I bought it at RM15. I absolutely love it!

Well then, the next day is actually a public holiday for Selangor state. While I was browsing through Facebook that morning, I found out that there's another book sale located in PWTC, KL. It was Pesta Buku 1 Malaysia. While Big Bad Wolf offer you a wide range of books, it was mainly consists of English books. Since I read both languages, I decided to go to PWTC for another round of books... but this time I was aiming for Malay novels by Jemari Seni. I don't know why but it seems like I've had a crush with this publisher. Haha! I bought another 4 books there in which makes the total counts of books that I've bought for this month into 10 books!!!! If I were to include Luthfi's book into the count, it'll be 11 books. The books that I bought in PWTC are all from Jemari Seni.

• Hlovatinta by Hlovate *this is a limited edition book* 
• Lazuardi by Nasz
• Kalau Jodoh Tak Ke Mana by Naurah Iman
• Jet & Jonah by Ika Madera

I was aiming for some long published titles since I'm afraid it'll be out of print soon. I think my next buy will be Hlovate's book since I've been meaning to complete my collection of his novels *not sure if the mystery writer Hlovate is a 'he' or 'her'* for a very long time already. 

I guess I've had enough books for at least another 2-3 months! :)

Happy 1st Year Wedding Anniversary

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

Happy 1st year wedding anniversary, my love!

Alhamdulillah! What a well-spend weekend. I reached home with a wide spread smile from husband and had a great date yesterday. We were too busy with each other on the date until we even forgot to take our pictures. Thanks a lot my dear for the presents! Thank you for always be in my side, - the perfect friend that I could wish for, and a precious husband in my heart. 

Let us hope that this happiness will continue for many more years. InsyaAllah.

A Tale on December

Assalaualaikum, w.b.t.,

It's already in December, people! While the month signifies the end of the year to most of the people in the world, this month signifies as the beginning for me. There's a lot of things that had begun in the same month throughout the past years. The first is definitely the day where I started to breath, the day when I was born. Then the month witness another important day of my life; the day of my marriage. A new step into new responsibilities and now, it also marks the day when I started working.

At first, the month for this year feels a bit rough even with the thought of having had to go through the whole month. This is because I have to work here and live all by my own. Yes, without my husband and my lovely son. The plan was to come home every fortnight but since I've just started working and with the fact that I haven't received my salary for the month, it will be very difficult to come home. I even have to save my allowance *given by my husband* as much as I can so that I won't have to keep on asking for money. I am definitely not the type of people who'll ask for money from people even if he's my husband. Due to this, even the thought of not being able to come home makes me burst into tears. I miss my family so much, with even the slightest thought of them will cause rain to fall on my cheeks.

Nevertheless, I am feeling like the flowers for now and I am glad for that. I am very thankful to my husband for inviting me home this morning. He asks me to come home for the weekend and not to worry about the allowance since he also missed me a lot. Hee~ I am so excited to be able to come home. I definitely can't wait for tomorrow! :D

Luthfi's Journey: Two-Months Older

Assalamualaikum w.b.t,

Alhamdulillah; praise to Allah s.w.t., Luthfi is entering two-months mark now. I'm so sorry for being far away and not be able to hug and kiss you a lot on your precious day. As I'm told by my mom, Luthfi is not gaining much weight during the last month. It's only around 0.5kg increase. But Alhamdulillah, after consulting with the pediatrician it seems like he's in a good health. However, it was advisable for us to change his milk into normal milk since he was in lacto-free formula earlier due to some reason.

Over the past month, I was told that he started to coo a lot now, and quite loud too. He even laugh with sounds and all. It funny when my mom told me that he'll make different sounds for different things that he feels or wants such as feeling hungry, wanting to sleep, want to play, etc.

Oh, I can't wait to come back home and meet him! Love you so much, dear! Be a good boy to atuk and tokwan, yeah! :)

Luthfi's Journey: Our Last Hug

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

Ooh, the picture of our last hug! I'm so sorry dear son for being far away for now and will only be able to come and visit every fortnight. However, my heart will always be with you. 

"Semoga baby Luthfi membesar jadi anak yang soleh, selalu dengar kata atuk tokwan dengan opah and kekal sihat selalu."

Remember, ibu will always love you!

Luthfi's Journey: Human Rocker

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

This is what I called as "human rocker"! ~ Usually Luthfi will fall asleep the whole morning except when he wants some milk. However, the challenge begins at night. Sometimes he just wants to stay awake... There's a few times when he didn't want to be carried. He'll become anxious *as in being angry; shown with very fast physical movements* when I lay him down on his bed, and even cries when I put him into his cradle. The funny thing about this human rocker is that he'll be quite a quiet boy when he's being put on the lap just like the one on the picture especially when we put up a certain song call "Puteriku Sayang" by a nasyid group called Hijjaz. Sometimes, he even laugh when we put him on our lap like that. 

I guess, he's just become wiser as the time passes by. He's already 48 days now. :)

Luthfi's Journey: One-Month Wiser

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

It seems just like yesterday, the day when Luthfi was born. Alhamdulillah, he's entering 31days now. Officially a one-month old with the weight of 4kg and 53cm height. I guess he's growing up until now. As he grows, I notice that he already started cooing and smiling... though it is not as often as when he grows older. But still, I love the progress. I hope that you'll always be a healthy boy, my dear! InsyaAllah :) 

Graduating Bachelor Degree: UNISEL's 8th Convocation Ceremony

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

If I had to say.. I guess I have a lot. There are few things in life that I wish that I'll be able to achieve especially when it comes to career. It has been a year now since I finish my studies and Alhamdulillah, I am able to graduate as a second class upper bachelor degree holder yesterday, 27 October 2013. 

Two people missing from the picture. One is my older brother 

and the other one is my younger brother.

My lovely husband and my precious son. 

He's only 23 days old on this day.

The journey that I had to go through in order to obtain the bachelor degree was not that easy. It requires four long years. There has been some ups and downs over the years. There are times when it feels like giving up is easier. There are also times when laziness overwhelms your body but definitely, most of the times spent contains beautiful memories. I am glad that I have my family and friends with me all the times. They even came to my graduation day even though they have graduated earlier than me. I am very thankful for that. 

Seriously, I love each and every one of you. :)

Luthfi's Birth Story: Confinement Period

Assalamualaikum w.b.t, 

Alhamdulillah! As I have mentioned on the last post, I have already give birth to a baby boy. So automatically, I am now in my confinement period.  If I had to give my personal opinion on which is better, I'd say give birth to baby Luthfi is definitely easier than having had to go through a confinement period.

There's a few reasons, of course for the opinion. First of all, it is because of the after effect. You know, in all great things that happens life... An after effect always comes after that. In my case, its the pain. There's few types of pain that I had to experience during confinement and one of it is caused by episiotomy. The pain is actually not that bad but it was more like making you feel uncomfortable. However, the painful one is constipation so you really have to be careful on what you eat and drink. Last but not least.. The longest pain of all is the one on the cocyx, or tailbone. If I am not mistaken, normally the pain will last as long as 6-8 weeks at least. For me, this pain is the worst of all since at first I can barely sit much less to drive.

Picture from Google

Other than the pain, the second reason falls on the food. Well, for the first few weeks... I have to bear eating some kind of fish every single day. At the end of the second week, I can only eat three mouthful. Haha! There's actually a third reason but I guess it is not appropriate to be shared in public. Until then.. :)

It's a Miracle: Luthfi's Birth Story

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

Again my pregnancy journal continues since I am now done writing my experiences for all the trimesters. I guess now is the part where I have to recall the memory of giving birth... *traumatized* Haha! It has been more than a month since I give birth to baby Luthfi but I can still remember the pain. 

My birth chronology starts on Thursday, 03 October 2013. On around 11am, I began to feel the contractions. At first, it was very mild. However, at around 2pm.. The contractions began to intensify. But it was still bearable to me. The intensity of the pain started to increase per hour but there's still no other labour sign. My water bag still intact and there's no blood show. Due to this, I feel a bit hesitant to go to the hospital and just keep on enduring the pain through the night. I tried my best to sleep since I knew that I'll need a lot of energy to go through the active labour process later. I was able to fall asleep but awake every time the contractions came. On that night, there's around 30mins interval for each contractions and last for around 40 - 60 secs. So I can only fall asleep for 30mins and woken up by contractions for a few second and go to sleep again. Oh, what a dreadful night.. Hihi.

Well, the pain lasts and keep on intensify until the next morning.. Friday, 04 October 2013. At around 9am, the interval between contractions became around 15mins and lasts for around 60secs. At this point, I can barely stand the pain so I call my mom *she's at work* and told her. My mom end up coming home and took me to the hospital to meet my O&G specialist. VE was performed and I was told that the opening is only 1cm. However, the doctor decided to send me to labour room to be monitored since my blood pressure shoot up due to the pain. The reading was 180 over 110. At that point, meds are given to me in order to ease up the pressure and I was told that I have to be induced in order to speed up the process due to the risk that my blood pressure will shoot up again and maybe even higher if I had to bear the pain for few more days until the opening is fully dilated.

At around 10am, I was sent by the nurse in charge to the labour room. I was given the chance to relax in order to control my blood pressure until around 12pm because if not, I may have to undergo c-sect. This is because inducing will bring stronger contraction. If my body can't stand the pain and my blood pressure keep on rising, me and my baby will both face a bigger risk. Luckily, my blood pressure seems to drop as the time reach 12pm. After a bit of discussion with my doctor, the inducing process began at 2pm. 

During the process, I guess a lot of thing starts to wander in my mind. Alhamdulillah, I was very lucky to have my mom accompanying me the whole time since my husband is still on his way from Sungkai. He arrived somewhere around 4pm. At that point, my dilation is only 2cm. Then around 5pm the doctor came in to break my water bag and make the dilation move to 5cm. Only after an hour later my dilation became 8cm. I had to say... at that point I began to feel that the baby is going to come out.

Alhamdulillah, after much hardships that I had to go through for another hour plus vacuum at the very last moment since my whole energy was totally depleted... Muhammad Luthfi was born at exactly 6.19pm on 04 October 2013 with the total weight of 2.5kg and 50cm long. I dare say, this is one of the unforgettable moments in my life.

To tell the truth, I actually dream of having a gentle birth for this pregnancy. However, the whole process happen to be a not-so-gentle experience as I happen to take analgesics due to very painful contractions and also an episiotomy. Nevertheless, this is still a very good experience for me *as in I am not traumatized and regret over the experience of giving birth*. Definitely a thumbs up for Columbia Asia Taiping. Haha! Still, I hope that I will be able to achieve gentle birth in my next pregnancy.

InsyaAllah :)

One Step Further: Third Trimester

Assalamualaikum w.b.t,

Here goes the story for third trimester. As I've mentioned before, I have actually registered myself at the nearest klinik kesihatan and went for monthly checkup.  *you can read more on that here* However, I didn't planned on delivering at government hospitals. I have my own reasons, of course. Haha! So.. As my pregnancy enters the third trimester, I started to continue my monthly checkup at Columbia Asia Taiping. I'll do a review on my O&G Specialist and the rate for the hospital later.

So for my first checkup there, my O&G did a 4D ultrasound scan in order to check the gender of my baby *per my request, of course* Hihi.. It was so exciting. You can even see the baby's movement, even when he's yawning. A 4D scan is definitely worth it. Even the price is affordable.

Everyone says that the nose looks like mine! Actually, I can't even imagine how he'll look like in real life even though the picture is very clear. Haha! 

To add to the perks, I got food poisoning on week 38. I must say, having food poisoning while you're in third trimester is definitely bad. Food poisoning caused me to have contractions as the baby must be feeling uncomfortable. At first I thought that the contractions was a sign that I am near to giving birth as I'm already on week 38 but I'm nit that sure. As the contractions becoming more and more regular, I feel that I can barely stand the pain and I was admitted to the emergency room. Then I was sent to the labour room to be monitored since even the doctor is not sure if it'll all end with food poisoning or it'll go all the way to giving birth. After having regular contractions for a while, the contractions started to subside. Still, I was monitored in a ward for a day. 

Luckily, the ward is comfortable and I end up enjoying my day in there. Haha!

One Step Further: Second Trimester

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

It has been quite a while since my last update on my pregnancy experience. To tell the truth, I can't seem to recall lots of my memory for the second trimester experience since it has been a while. Luckily I did the post for first trimester earlier.

Nevertheless, there's not much to tell o second trimester actually. Everything seems to be going quite well for me during  pregnancy. It was overwhelming to see that my bump starts to show up. Haha! And I started to gain weight too which resulted in me having had to buy few clothes for pregnant women. *If you're looking for nice yet affordable pregnancy clothing, look for 'Scarlet' brand in Jusco* Haha!

All in all, that's the only thing that I can remember for second trimester. The third trimester, however is another different story!

Believe me, I'll Learn.

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

As life goes on, I am learning. I learn through my surroundings. I learn through emotions. I learn through people... and as time passes by... I learn mostly through circumstances. It's true that people may think that I am pathetic. People may think that I shouldn't make such a decision. For them... Is such term as 'early marriage' exists? People may say, everything is just based on love. You'll end up getting a divorce... You are young. You have no experience. You are even not matured enough... They'll talk about every single thing and I'm currently tired to keep on hearing them.

When I say that I'm getting married, I know that it'll come with huge responsibilities. It is not about me anymore. It's about US. I am not that perfect. I am learning. No matter how childish my looks are, I still have that same dream with other girls out there. If I am a married lady, I want to be an admirable wife. A great mother. I cherish the one that I love, I value him. That is why I'm gonna make sure that he will never have the slightest thought of regret for choosing me.

It may take quite a period of time.

But, believe me. I'll learn to improve myself.

So, rest assured.

___________________________________________________________________

Greta Garco once said ; 

Of all the things I seen so far, the most beautiful sight has been an old couple walking arm in arm. Also for me, the sight of husband and wife who spent many years together is the subject of my admiration.

____________________________________________________________________

You'll see...

That we will still holding our hands, walking arms in arms...

even if we're an old couple...   :)

One Step Further: First Trimester

Assalamualaikum w.b.t,

Picture Source: Google

As promised, this is the first part of my pregnancy experience. The first trimester is the first three month of your pregnancy period. This period can be very overwhelming, especially to first time mums. Hihi. This is because pregnant mommies will start to experience some changes to the body. It is very important for mommy-to-be to understand these changes and also learn on how to take care of their body. As important as understanding the changes, mommies also need to know that first trimester is the most fragile stage in pregnancy. 

Generally, most pregnant ladies will experience a few things in their first trimester. These things include:

• bouts of nausea
• tender, swollen breast
• increased urination
• fatigue
• food aversions or cravings
• dizziness
• heartburn and constipation

However, I only experience a few things from the list above. To tell the truth, I didn't experience the nausea. Morning sickness can actually strikes at any time of the day or night. It may be caused by hormonal changes in the body. I can't give any tips on how to deal with this since I didn't even have the experience. But you can Google for the tips, I guess. There must be a lot of them since most of pregnant ladies experience this. Some says, the morning sickness will be worse if you're carrying a female. It may be possible since I am actually carrying a baby boy. Haha!

As for tender and swollen breast, I did experience that but I didn't have much to say on that case. Apart from tender and swollen breast, I had to say that increased urination stressed me out. This is because, I am the type of person who kinda drinks a lot. Before getting pregnant, I actually urinate only as much as 3-5 times per day. But ever since being pregnant, I urinate in almost every 15 minutes. It is frustrating to get up and go to the toilet only a few minutes after you have a sit or worst, after lying down. But again, I am still thankful that I didn't have to experience increased urination together with morning sickness. I can imagine that it'll be very hard to handle. 

Other than increased urination... I only experience fatigue, dizziness and constipation. Luckily these things only last during the first trimester. However, there's one last thing common changes to note. I notice that I have increased body temperature. This symptom is very clear to me since I am the type of person who hate staying in air-conditioned environment and can live with level 1 fan swing. But ever since I am pregnant, level 1 seems so slow. I even have to use two different fan; the on the ceiling and a standing fan *since my house didn't have air conditioner* or I'll sweat like crazy and had to take a bath like in every 2 hours. To make things worse, the increased body temperature will last through pregnancy until you give birth. So no matter what, I just have to deal with it.  -_-

p/s: Most of the first trimester symptoms can be the pregnancy signs. If you experience any of these symptoms, try to do a UPT test. Who knows, you might get a good news. :)

Pregnancy? Its a Psychological War.

Assalamualaikum w.b.t,

To all pregnant mommies out there, cherish this experience! Think positively and never ever forget to enjoy your pregnancy! Remember, our body is so amazing. If you're carrying twins, then you'll have 3 heads, 6 hands, 6 legs, 3 different heart beatings and 3 different DNAs. How amazing is that? Hihi. 

Being pregnant is not all about carrying someone in your body, going through changes, morning sickness and etc. It a psychological war. Never ever put yourself under too much stress or have lots of worries and negative thoughts. It is important for you to think positively, enjoy your pregnancy and cherish this every momoent. Just put your faith in what Allah S.W.T. has planned for you and everything will turn out fine. InsyaAllah. I know cause I did the same thing and Alhamdulillah, I am safely in my third trimester.

Wish you all the best ya, pregnant mommies! 

One Step Further: Part II

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

We meet again! Here's the second part of the journey. As I've mentioned on my previous post *click here if you haven't read the post*, I've registered my name at the the nearest klinik kesihatan from my place and did my first scan a week after.

say "Hello" to buku merah yang banyak berjasa ni

*kindly ignore kualiti  gambar yang sangat low ni ye. guna camera handphone je ni*

I don't know the right term for the book but everyone just keep calling it 'buku merah', including the nurses. So let us just keep it that way. Haha! By the way, did you notice the sticker on the book? It is still white in color. I've managed to keep it that way until today. In case if you don't know, the sticker represents different health conditions of the mother. White sticker indicates that the mother is generally healthy. There are also green color stickers, yellow color sticker, red color stickers and etc. However, I don't have much information on the health conditions that they represents since I only have experience with this white color sticker. I am thankful for that actually since I didn't have to go through another hassle procedure such as getting your blood being taken in every two weeks or have to drink "air gula" every few hours and etc. Lucky me! 

Now, back to the story of my first scan experience... I guess it was too overwhelming for me. To tell the truth, it was not because of my first time experiencing an ultrasound scan since I've done it before... when I was falsely diagnosed with "batu karang" few years back. I had to say that the experience was too overwhelming because I was told by the doctor that he actually identified that there are 3 sacs on my tummy! On that day, only one of the sacs have heartbeats. However, it is still too early to say anything since I was only on Week 6. I have to do another scan on my Week 12 of pregnancy to check if the other two sacs will also develop and have heartbeats. If they do, there's a possibility that I'll be carrying triple twins. It was quite a worry for me even though deep in my heart I was so thankful that I was blessed with this opportunity. There are a lot of risks that I'll have to take if the sacs develop including going through premature labor. 

I had to say, even both my mom and my mother-in-law are filled with worries. However, I was told that the two sacs didn't develop during my second scan on my Week 12 of pregnancy. The doctor only able to see one fetus and the other two sacs are not visible on the ultrasound scan. It was possible that I was having Vanishing Twin Syndrome. 

This syndrome; where the twin embryo has mysteriously and silently disappeared, is not a normal miscarriage. A typical miscarriage causes bleeding and loss of tissue, but in this syndrome... the disappearing embryo was absorbed back into the mother's body. Most of the time the pregnancy continues normally, and the surviving baby bears no evidence of having once had a womb-mate. 

You can Google the syndrome if you want to know more. Hihi. I guess, that's all for the second part. I think I'll sum up my first, second and third trimester experience in three different post later and close up the whole journey with a fourth post on my labor experience and review. Until then, see ya! :)

Walking Down the Memory Lane: Syawal 2013

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

SELAMAT HARI RAYA to everyone! I hope its not too late for the wish. 

Note: Please ignore any 'ugliness' element in the photo. Haha!

Alhamdulillah, this year's Syawal was one of the most meanuingful experience for me even though I am not able to enjoy it that much. The tradition of visiting the relatives, 'open houses' and etc. on top of being 8 months pregnant really take its toll on me. I even experience a very hard time standing up. 

Since we were just married on last December, my husband and I have decided to spend our first and second day of Raya with my in-laws. After few years of only spending Raya at my own house *since we don't have a 'kampung'*, I actually able to spend Raya in an actual 'kampung' environment. The picture above was taken in front of the house. If I had to say, the way my in-laws celebrate their Raya is quite different from mine, in a good way of course. Most of the time, its all about food festival in which makes me all around happy. 

There's not much to tell actually since most of the things that we've done are the usual activities during Raya. Even the feast includes the usual... rendang, lemang, kuih raya, and etc. So I guess, that's all for my Raya celebration! Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, everyone! :)

Walking Down the Memory Lane: Ramadan 2013

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.,

As we walk into the last few days of Ramadan, it seems like everyone has been busy doing their Raya preparation. Nevertheless, currently I am more interested in reminiscing this year's Ramadan experience.

It seems like a lot of things has changed since the last Ramadan, especially when it comes to 'sahur'. I still remember... in the last few Ramadan, I used to buy two different meals at the bazaar. One is for break-fasting and another one is for 'sahur'. As I always have problems in sleeping, I always end up having my 'sahur' a little too early since I am afraid that I won't wake up for 'sahur'. I know that having your 'sahur' too early is actually a big NO for Ramadan but I can't afford to miss one since I have gastritis. For this year's Ramadan... 'sahur' time seems so different. Every day as I cook for our break-fasting meals, I'll definitely cook extra so that it'll last for 'sahur'. Then, I'll wake up at 4.30am+ to reheat the meals and set up the table. I'll only wake up my husband after everything is done. One thing that I love the most for this year's 'sahur' is that I always have my husband as my company and I can definitely say goodbye to eating alone for 'sahur'.

Additionally, how I have my 'sahur' is not the only thing that is different for this year. I actually had the chance to fast as a pregnant lady. To be frank, it is quite a challenge for me since I am already 7 months pregnant for this year's Ramadan. Adding to the fact that I always feel hot *because of having had to bear the body temperature for two*, I always feel so thirsty. Even the weather didn't seem much of a help. Apart from that, I also suffer from heartburn. As I have mentioned before, I have gastritis so my heartburn is worse than before. Even my energy level is not that high. Alhamdulillah, apart from all the challenges... I am still able to fast until this very last day. Oh yeah, I only miss my fast for one day because I miss my 'sahur'. Hihi. Other than that, I am still fasting until today.

I guess, that's all. I hope that everything will go on smoothly until the last day of Ramadan. I'll do my Raya post next time ya! Happy fasting, everyone! :)

Sewing Project: A Veil's Chronicle

Assalamualaikum w.b.t., dearies!

So ok, here's an intermission post before I continue posting stories about my pregnancy journey. Hihi. Ever since I get married, I actually realize that my passion for sewing or doing stuffs for wedding or engagement is quite high. Here's some of the things that I've done for my own wedding..

the 'hantaran'sss, my handbouquet and my solemnization shawl and veil

Oh well, because of this... Alhamdulillah, I've had another chance to improve my skills and also able to fulfill my passion. This time, it is for my husband's cousin's engagement. She actually gave me the chance to make her engagement veil. The theme is white and pink. 

This is the best design that I can come up with for now. I guess I more practice. Still, I hope she'll love it! Hihi. Thank you so much, dear for this opportunity. :)

One Step Further: Part I

Well hello, people! Assalamualaikum w.b.t. :)

As promised, here's what the other miracle that I've mentioned on my previous post is about. To start off, life as a housewife is definitely wonderful but it do have its perks. Most of time, all I can think of is lying in the living room while watching tv and surf the net after a tiring day of doing chores and cooking. Haha! I am a lazy girl in that sense. 

Oh well, to add on the perks of being a housewife... I am actually being pregnant too! It is a wonderful news to me and my husband but kinda a bad news for the blog. Yes, this is one of the very reason why I rarely write on my blog. Reminiscing the very first part of having this miracle, it was actually quite shocking to us. It is not because we don't want it but it was more towards we don't expect it. We were very excited with the thought of having our first baby right after being married but after a month, we really stop getting our hopes up. I was feeling quite nervous when I realize that my period for the second month was delayed. At first, I thought that maybe it was hormonal problems so I just being dilly dally over the whole thing. Plus, I am afraid of feeling disappointed if the test turned out to be negative since I don't have most of the early signs of pregnancy apart from having a delayed period. I didn't even feel nauseous when I woke up in the morning. 

I end up doing the UPT test after my period delayed for two weeks, and its all because my mom urge me for it. She even offered to buy the test kit for me. 

See, there's two lines on the kit indicates that the result is positive. Oh, in case if you're wondering... as long as the kit shows two lines, the result will be considered as positive even if the second line looks a bit fade. 

So after making sure that I'm pregnant, I actually go and register myself at a klinik kesihatan near my place for monthly check-up, etc. They'll check your weight, height, haemoglobin count, urine, etc. It was quite a hassle actually but luckily the check-up is only once per month. I was 7 weeks pregnant when I register myself and did my first scan on the week after.

Ouh, there's a whole another story regarding the scan... so I'll guess I'll just write about it on my next post. See ya! :)

A Place Called HOME

Hiatus

Oh my, oh my... Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

Did you notice the picture? It is actually the page view for this blog. Haha! I wonder why it took me so long to realize that this blog has been on hiatus for so long. My last post for the blog is actually on January and currently we're entering the month of August. More than half-a-year long! 

To tell the truth, I really love to write on my blog. But it didn't seem like I am able to find the right thing to talk about. Again, I just realize that I've become more selective over things that I'd say or write since I get married. You see, a husband will be responsible for every step that the wife has taken. Each and every action will portray how he leads his marriage. So yeah, I am my husband's dignity.

But don't worry... to put it in words, I am more than just feeling blissful over this marriage. Apart from having a very very loving and caring *he even do some of the house chores for me* husband, I am also being blessed with one other miracle. Alhamdulillah. Thank you Allah S.W.T. for this opportunity. 

Oh, I will tell you the details on my next post yeah! Till then, *hugs*! :)

I Just Can't Get Enough of Married Life! :)

Assalamualaikum, and holla!

Again and again and  again, I've been boasting writing about how I've been married and all. Sorry for that. :p Nevertheless, I still want to talk about it since it has been a very wonderful journey for me ever since the day of the lafaz. Truthfully, I just can't get enough of this married life. Every single thing is wonderful to me; the sight of someone sleeping next to you when you wake up every morning, the compliment that you receive every time after he tastes the food that you cook, and even listening to those sweet love confessions every time he came back from work. Apart from all that, there's this one particular thing that I really love about being married; the fact that you have someone to accompany you to sleep at night. The reason for this is actually because I occasionally have problems in falling asleep *I can even stay awake for over 36hours*. Previously, he'll always accompany me until I fall asleep through the phone. But now, he'll always hug and pat my head until I fall asleep because if he fall asleep first, it'll always end up with me waking him up at night only to ask him to chat, or play PS2 with me *so kejam, right?*. The funny thing is, recently he always fall asleep first, and I guess patting my head has become a habit for him until he even pat my head while he sleep. Haha :p

Okay, enough of these getting married news. Recently, I realized that I've been obsessive over fashion in which adds on the perks of being a shopaholic. Yes, it all started when I officially become a housewife with nothing else to do apart from clean up the house, wash the laundry and cook. Minus few hours for those chores and I end up having another lots of hours for Facebook-ing and surfing the net, in which I use it to surf on all the updates on online boutiques, etc. Luckily, my husband was such an understanding person. He knows that I am a shopaholic and he'll buy me few items per month *yeah, he'll control the limit for all the shopping spree that I can have*.  Still, #alhamdulillah for the opportunity. 

I realized being over obsessive with shopping is not good for your mentality and also money. So, I end up looking for another way to play with fashion without spending my own husband's money. Then I found Polyvore. Polyvore is actually a website for shopping *I guess* but there, you can create fashion sets based on your own style. I'll post some of the styles that I have created on Polyvore later. Currently, I am addicted to Polyvore... but I guess its better than spending your own money on a shopping spree. 

Okay, bye!


p/s: I hope that he'll always stay as a sweet husband for me. :)

Calling all BRIDES!

Howdy, people!

There's a good news in the house! In case if you haven't notice or read the previous post... I am now a wife! Congratulations to me. In fact, the same thing goes with ex-2012 bride-to-be since we are now in the year 2013. So considering that all the wedding preparations are done for most of us, we have decided to hold a gathering... and yes, 2013 bride-to-be are definitely invited. This event is organized by our dearest Farah Yasmin (FY). I can assure you that you can gain a lot of information here.

For those who are interested in the event, you can contact these people;

In case if you have a doubt, here's some insights on the event... apart from getting to know all the ex-brides; there are lucky draws, shawl tutorials, make-up tutorials, 'hantaran' exhibition, wedding album sharing, games, photobooth, and etc. 

Here's more details for you (the details are taken from FY's blog);

• The fees for the event is RM50 per person. (You can bring your husband, sister, friends, etc.) The fees will be collected at the END of JANUARY. For now, you only have to book your place.
• The food will be served in buffet style.
• The event will start from 2.00PM until 7.00PM. (There'll be break for Asar prayers)
• You don't have to have a blog in order to join the event.
• There are no specified dress code for this event, but hopefully all participants will wear something modest.

So I guess these are all the details that I can provide.
Do contact FY for more info ya! 

p/s: Credit to Renee Meow for the pictures. Thank you, darling! :)