Happy Weekend Everybody!

So it is Friday (again). Did you ever wonder what you have done during the week now that the weekend is here again?

I’ve been busy beading the last couple of kurungs that I have and have also sent them off this week. It is the school holidays and I was at home on leave anyway. Photos below and more here.

So this weekend I am taking things easy (I hope it stays that way). There is that wedding invitation on Sat and the engagement party; also on Sat. I havent made up my mind which I will attend yet.

Other than that I think I will download some old music that I grew up (and grew old) with. I am planning to have my own collection of CDs according to the seasons of my life (that IS a long time you know). It should start somewhere from ‘I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden’ song (what is that song anyway?) to ‘You Are So Vain’ by Carly Simon; maybe some of Abba and Beatles. And then on to Bee Gees, Streisand and Air Supply. And then John Lennon’s ’Imagine‘ to Journey, Whitney, Pointer Sisters, Foreigner, Tina Turner (you may insert your most unbelievable shrieks here..)

And I love Fleetwoodmac, Annie Lennox and Sting too. And I can go on and on when it comes to music.

Note that I don’t have current modern day artists in my list. Mention Rihanna, Lady Ga-ga (what the hell?? I cant progress beyond the debris she call clothes..), Beyonce (pardon me, but I am much reminded of the flanks of a tearing Arabian thoroughbred when watching one of her music videos), Madonna (to a certain extent) and Britney – and I will scream in frustration because of my helplessness to stop them from ever making public appearances again.

Anyway, yeah – other than this music thing, I’ll bake something – like the carrot cake I made the other day, but got no picture of. And of course the usual batch of cookies. Talking about food, I’ll share with you something I do have photos of – pancakes – which is so easy to make.

I am into reading again. And I do need to have some cleaning done (like in every corner of the house!)

Have a great weekend wherever you are, whatever you plan to do. Let's make each second counts!

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Precious Keepsake

I got this in the email recently; I think it is too precious not to treasure it somewhere as a valuable keepsake.. These photos appeared in July 1953 magazine.

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Complaints / Grouses / Grumbles Welcomed Here!

So how was your week?

Mine was terrible - I kept worrying about yuck, work. And other things have not been exactly fun either. Fun things were Glee, Idol, uh.. Wow, I think that was it. And oh yes, the one time I followed the police-escorted car all the way from Damansara to almost home. I arrived in record-time, of course.

I had also met a girl from the good, old college days - which spurred me to sms another friend from high school whom I had not contacted for years. I am actually thinking of holding a get together with the girls. That should be fun, like the previous reunion.

I am also reminded of and (re-)acknowledging that, I am a very emotional person; when my temper ran high this week and I had gotten over-distressed over these trivial incidences (fyi, opposites of the word emotional includes cold - which means being emotional is good, as you are perceived as a warm person..?? Did Freud had anything on this subject? ) Anyway. The trivial incidences -

1. Not read / deleted email notification. I take extra care about the emails I send out. I dont send just about any email to any Tom, Dick or Harry - I weigh the contents, its benefits, the consequences, the general interest of the recipients first. There is an honest / sincere effort involved to get each and every email out. The least the recipients could do (in my opinion) is to open, not necessarily read if they are not overly inclined, all emails they receive. Tak usah lah hantar not read notification balik. (And yes, the mood has been disagreeable like this almost all week long..)

2. The word wisdom has bothered me this week too. I constantly apply the word to the older generation (older than me, that is..), to the owls and its numerous species, the kung-fu master who builds his humble dwelling on top of the mountain and dedicates his life to do good for the universe.. The modern office does not convey "wisdom" to me - it is dynamic, competitive, innovative, on edge, flying even. Wisdom is sort of - I dont know - misplaced in some way to describe the office. Well, it is a personal interpretation surely. And I'll leave that like that.

3. I like to say hi or wave or indicate my recognition if not smile at people I know / met before / sat with in some meeting or another. After all, I do have a warm personality (yeah, yeah..). It bothers me (very much so, I discovered) when people I know dont do the same when they see me or even worse, they make extra effort to avoid me (this happens). It made me want to go up to them and ask if I am invisible / did or said something they didnt like or was out of line somewhere. After all I am loud, I have a big mouth, I swear all the time - but please, please believe me when I say that I am kind to animals and I do have a good heart.. (I think, but then dont we all think the same along this line?)

.... (yes, the things that go through my head make me wonder about me too sometimes)

But, (say this out loud with me) where else could we throw tantrums if not on our very own blog?

And after all that grouses aired, I wish happy cuti sekolah to all mums who are taking leave next week!

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Say A Little Prayer For Me

At one point I had thought ~ dah berdoa berpuluh tahun, tapi masih tak pasti tentang konsep doa ni. Then I found a good book that sort of answered some concerns that I had. Here are some points to share -

1. Anjuran / Keutamaan Berdoa
Firman Allah swt; ertinya : "Apabila hambaKu bertanya kepadamu tentang Aku, maka sesungguhnya Aku adalah dekat, Aku akan mengabulkan doanya orang berdoa apabila ia berdoa kepadaKu."
Surah al-Baqarah Ayat 186

2. Syarat Doa dimakbulkan
Pertama : Makannya harus halal

Kedua : Tidak meminta untuk disegerakan dan tidak bosan
Diriwayatkan dari Abu Hurairah dan lain-lain Rasulullah saw pernah bersabda : Seesorang di antara kamu akan dikabulkan doanya, selama ia tidak minta disegerakan, iaitu ia mengatakan : Aku sudah berdoa, tetapi (mengapa) belum juga dimakbulkan. (Hadith Riwayat Bukhari).

Ketiga : Dengan rendah hati

Keempat : Bersangka baik dan dengan berkeyakinan

Kelima : Menggunakan nama-nama asma'ul Allah
Firman Allah ertinya : "Dan Allah mempunyai beberapa nama yang sangat baik (asma'ul husna), oleh kerana itu berdoalah kepadaNya dengan nama-nama itu. (Surah al-A'raf Ayat 180)

Keenam : Dengan penuh takut dan besungguh-sungguh ingin dimakbulkan

3. Waktu Mustajab Berdoa
a. Tengah malam
b. Sesudah azan
c. Sesudah solat wajib
d. Pada hari Jumaat - Dari Abu Hurairah : Sesungguhnya Rasulullah telah menceritakan tentang (keistimewaan) hari Jumaat, lalu ia bersabda : Padanya ada satu saat yang tidak seorang hamba Muslim pun yang mencocokinya sedang ia tengah berdiri solat, lalu ia meminta sesuatu kepada Allah, melainkan Ia akan memberinya. (Hadith Riwayat Bukhari, Muslim)
e. Pada hari Arafah
f. Di bulan ramadhan
g. Doa seorang muslim kepada sahabatnya yang tiada di hadapannya
h. Membiasakan berdoa sewaktu senang

Dan dari Abu Hurairah ra ia berkata : Rasulullah saw bersabda : "Ada tiga orang yang doanya itu tidak akan ditolak iaitu : 1. Orang yang sedang berpuasa sehingga ia berbuka 2. Seorang pemimpin yang jujur 3. Orang yang dianiaya.Takutlah kamu akan doa orang yang teraniaya kerana sesugguhnya antara dia dengan Allah tidak ada dinding. (Hadith Riwayat Bukhari)

Selamat berdoa; bak sabda Rasulullah saw yang lebih kurang maksudnya ~ walaupun pada ketika tali kasut putus dan yang baru diperlukan..

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