Wednesday, October 31, 2012

That Registered Letter

The registered letter notice was in the letter box on Monday (29/10/2012), but I was too lazy to go out as it was snowing and there were too much wind.

On Tuesday (30/10/2012) I took the short walk to the post office; there I discovered that I do not have my ID with me, as it was with the office for visa renewal. Rummaging through my handbag I found my access card and with that I was given the registered letter which was from the hospital.

Immediately I tore open the envelope thinking that it was my medical results, but in the envelope was just one piece of letter, informing me to go to the hospital as soon as possible. At that point butterflies start forming in my stomach and my heart was missing a lot of beats as well.

However, I had already promised my little angel that I will be taking her out to get her her belated birthday present, with that I decided to postpone going to the hospital for another day. The whole night I could not sleep, partly because I was anticipating what could it be, and partly trying to accept all possibilities that might be thrown at me. It was a very long night for me; I could not wait for the sun to show its light of day.

A sleepless night indeed…………..

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Roast Chicken Pieces

 
 Before roasting
An hour after roasting

On a lazy snowy evening, I decided to make dinner as simple as possible. This is because I cannot open the windows in the kitchen for proper ventilation.

Anyways, it was roast chicken pieces with mix vegetables for us. This is a very simple dish to prepare and to cook. It took less than 20 minutes to prepare everything and an hour to cook in the oven. If you are interested to try this recipe, here’s how it was done:

Ingredients: 

1 chicken cut into 4 pieces
Some potatoes, carrots and zucchini cut into wedges
Olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Prepare your oven to set at 200 degrees. In a heavy bottom pot sprinkle 2 tablespoon of olive oil. Arrange all the chopped vegetables; put the chicken pieces on top of the vegetable. Sprinkle the chicken and the vegetables with salt and pepper, then pour about 3 tablespoon of olive oil on the chicken pieces as well as the vegetables.

Put the pot in the over for an hour, served hot with bread or parboiled rice.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

My Little Angel Is 17 Today

Good morning, did we wake you up early? but it's your birthday 
 Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you darling, happy birthday to you
 Still very sleepy and she forgot to make a wish, or whatever, as long as she got her cheesecake
 Blowing the candles with her sleepy eyes
 The no bake blueberry cheesecake that she requested for
 It was a first time for me doing this cake with full crust................ success, and yeah we all had our share

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

A Good Insight

If you don't understand them, and do not want to try and understand them. Please I beg of you do not be judgmental. Try to accept them and look from the inside of their world, may be you will learn to love them as much as they love you.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Why Is Islam So Misunderstood?

A day before the operation I took my little angel to watch “Taken 2”, it was never plan but we did talked about this movie a lot as we both enjoyed the first one and do look forward to watching Liam Neeson in action again.

It was an action packed movie, of course with an expected ending. Nevertheless, seeing how happy and enthusiastic my little angel was after the movie was worth every single time and dime spent in the cinema with her.

For a couple of days after the movie she could not get it out of her head, the notion that everything bad, terrorist, vengeance and being revengeful must and will be related to Islam. She kept telling me how sad that Islam is being viewed in that kind of manner and why?

Trying to explain the misconception of this matter to a 16 year old girl, I have to be very very careful in my choice of words and example. It was not easy when her inquisitive mind keep on finding more questions to all the answers that I had provided. Yes, why is Islam so misunderstood, and why does this not happen to other religions?

My explanations to my little angel were brief and simple, though I do go an extra mile with her to make her understand. Islam is not a religion of war and cruelty as often amplified by the media and those who do not understand the religion at all (I am not saying that I am an expert in the religion), when it is in fact a religion of peace.

I told her that people forgot that religion and characters are two very different things. Islam like all other religions only teaches us to do good and to be peaceful at all time. However, there are certain categories of people in the Muslim world and embracing Islam such as the extremists who do behave badly and abused the entire meaning of the Islamic religion.

Taken 2 for example managed to emphasize the misunderstanding of Islam to the characters of the believer.  What a SHAME!!!!!!

Friday, October 19, 2012

From The Heart Of A Muslim

During the meeting with Teh Ninih, one of the participants asked a very interesting question. The question was based on a book written by Dr Tawfik Hamid. I am currently reading the same book and would like to share the excerpt of the book here.

Reading is good for the brain but it is also important that we use our brain to weigh the consequences of the influence that the message from the book or material can have on us.

Excerpt:

From the heart of a Muslim  by Dr Tawfik Hamid

I was born a Muslim and lived all my life as a follower of Islam.

After the barbaric terrorist attacks done by the hands of my fellow Muslims everywhere on this globe, and after the too many violent acts by Islamist in many parts of the world, I feel responsible as a Muslim and as a human being, to speak out and tell the truth to protect the world and Muslims as well from a coming catastrophe and war of civilizations.

I have to admit that our current Islamic teaching creates violence and hatred toward Non-Muslims. We Muslims are the ones who need to change. Until now we have accepted polygamy, the beating of women by men, and killing those who convert from Islam to other religions.

We have never had a clear and strong stand against the concept of slavery or wars, to spread our religion and to subjugate others to Islam and force them to pay a humiliating tax called Jizia. We ask others to respect our religion while all the time we curse non-Muslims loudly (in Arabic) in our Friday prayers in the Mosques.

What message do we convey to our children when we call the Jews "Descendants of the pigs and monkeys".. Is this a message of love and peace, or a message of hate?

I have been into churches and synagogues where they were praying for Muslims. While all the time we curse them, and teach our generations to call them infidels, and to hate them.

We immediately jump in a 'knee jerk reflex' to defend Prophet Mohammed when someone accuses him of being a paedophile while, at the same time, we are proud with the story in our Islamic books, that he married a young girl seven years old (Aisha) when he was above 50 years old.

I am sad to say that many, if not most of us, rejoiced in happiness after September 11th and after many other terror attacks.

Muslims denounce these attacks to look good in front of the media, but we condone the Islamic terrorists and sympathize with their cause. Till now our 'reputable' top religious authorities have never issued a Fatwa or religious statement to proclaim Bin Laden as an apostate, while an author, like Rushdie, was declared an apostate who should be killed according to Islamic Shania law just for writing a book criticizing Islam.

Muslims demonstrated to get more religious rights as we did in France to stop the ban on the Hejab (Head Scarf), while we did not demonstrate with such passion and in such numbers against the terrorist murders.

It is our absolute silence against the terrorists that gives the energy to these terrorists to continue doing their evil acts. We Muslims need to stop blaming our problems on others or on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. As a matter of honesty, Israel is the only light of democracy, civilization, and human rights in the whole Middle East.

We kicked out the Jews with no compensation or mercy from most of the Arab countries to make them "Jews-Free countries" while Israel accepted more than a million Arabs to live there, have its nationality, and enjoy their rights as human beings. In Israel , women cannot be beaten legally by men, and any person can change his/her belief system with no fear of being killed by the Islamic law of 'Apostasy,' while in our Islamic world people do not enjoy any of these rights. I agree that the 'Palestinians' suffer, but they suffer because of their corrupt leaders and not because of Israel.

It is not common to see Arabs who live in Israel leaving to live in the Arab world. On the other hand, we used to see thousands of Palestinians going to work with happiness in Israel , its 'enemy'. If Israel treats Arabs badly as some people claim, surely we would have seen the opposite happening.

We Muslims need to admit our problems and face them. Only then we can treat them and start a new era to live in harmony with human mankind. Our religious leaders have to show a clear and very strong stand against polygamy, paedophilia, slavery, killing those who convert from Islam to other religions, beating of women by men, and declaring wars on non-Muslims to spread Islam.

Then, and only then, do we have the right to ask others to respect our religion. The time has come to stop our hypocrisy and say it openly: 'We Muslims have to Change'.

Tawfik Hamid

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Teh Ninih

I was very lucky to be invited to meet with Teh Ninih the missionary from Indonesia.  Hearing her reciting verses from the Al Quran was priceless, and it actually brought tears to my eyes.  The Q and A with her was  fantastic and the prayers that follow at the end of the meeting was very well said.

InsyaAllah, we will meet again
 
 
 
 

One Day In The OR

 
My room 
 Last scrabble before the trip to OR
Helping me with the stocking   
 The pills that does not work on me and the super wonderful sister (love them all there)
 The pipe
 Talk to my hand and leave me alone
 My OR attire: the sexy knickers and stocking 
 Reading my rights as a patient
 Cute slipper for the OR 
 He was telling me to think of the sweetest dream on our way to the OR and I was telling him about my Dr Alia
In here I stayed

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Game City

One day before the operation, we decided to spend some quality time together, and we went to the Game City.  It was not as exciting as the previous years and there were not much gadgets on display.  It was alright but we were a little bit disappointed. 
 
Aiming for this, which will be launched in November 2012
 The crowd
Playing one of the game available for the public  
These boys were hitting on my little angel, and they asked me to take their picture for keepsake.  They are Turkish obviously........... 
The beautiful center court 
Tower casing, the old is new now
 Another game for the public
 Free jumping, it was so fun to watch but hubby will not do it, no matter what :P
 Dancers trying to entertain the crowd
 
The entrance for 18 and above

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

That Ginger Head Boy

While many parents now no longer take their kids out to experience the norm of growing up, parents here do the opposite.  They spent much quality time to let the kids run around, walked them to school, teach them how to take public transportation, how to cross on the green light etc.  It is just so nice to see kids growing up without all the electronic gadgets.

I see Mika growing up this way ................
  
  
 
 
 
  

Sunday, October 14, 2012

A Sunday At The Launderette

The washing machine in the house could not take heavy washing for blankets and bed covers, therefore, we have to take them to the launderette for cleaning.  Since today was a bit sunny, and I was in the mood to venture outside the house, we headed to the launderette
 This man was enjoying his meal inside the launderette, he was such a grumpy old man and shouted at a lady who was trying to help him out with the launderette.
 We took a chair to sit in front of the washing machine as it is my habit that I love watching the washing machine going round and round.  Don't know why!!
 This is the machine we used, it took a 10kg weight 
 Me, doing the countdown for the machine or was it dancing in the sun
 OCD me
Finally the washing in the dryer