Monday Blues

Spent a day at Taylor's University for Al-Maghrib's one day course on "Fiqh of Taubah" (Repentance) and mashaa Allah, the class is as amazing and as inspiring as always, walhamdulillah!

Today I woke up to a picture that made me smile, and I hope inshaa Allah it'll make you smile too:

So what if you've had an amazing week/weekend and Monday Blue comes knocking you right on the head?
Keep calm, cause Allah loves you :) 

Mann, don't you just love the Keep Calm series? Hehe.

Xx.

CAMERON HIGHLAND: Weekend getaway

 

 

 

 Alhamdulillah for a beautiful, picture perfect quiet weekend with the family :)

Woke up early and read a book whilst enjoying the beautiful morning view from our hotel, the Lakehouse. Drank strawberry-flavored highlander tea and eat yummy scones by the tea farm. Took a stroll down the pasar malam by the evening and one scrumptious steamboat dinner later, we were all wrapped in blankets watching a movie until one of us starts to snore. Hehe. 

And somehow we also managed to selit some time for picnic - eating Nasi Dagang no less, fresh from Kelantan!

That Fluffy White Thing

So I have a little confession to make.

I didn't exactly travel two weekends ago. I was out of hectic KL alright, but I wasn't on a vacation. I headed home to Kelantan, for a quick, 48 hours balik kampung trip.

I dashed to the airport straight after work, and you can imagine the crazy traffic on a Friday night. It felt like I was on the road forever and I was literally running like a madman to the departure hall when I arrived....exactly 15 minutes before the plane departed -___-"

It was my little nephew akikah that weekend, so rain or shine Maksu has got to be there for this little man, right???

Baby H

Alhamdulilllah the akikah went well, everybody was excited for Baby H's first experience balik kampung although I was  pretty sure he would remember absolutely nothing from that weekend. Haha.

However, this post is not quite about my trip to Kelantan. Ironically enough, it's about my journey home to good ol KL.

I took the flight home alone the next day. I don't usually fly alone, but in rare occasions when I do, I always have a book to read and kill time. It takes 60 minutes to fly from Kelantan to Subang Airport, usually just enough for me to finish a few chapters and take a short nap. 

Not that day though. 

That day, I have no book to read and was left with an in flight magazine which I finished flipping in 15 minutes. So it was just me....and the window pane and for the next 45 minutes, this was my view:

There it was before my eyes - white, fluffy clouds, forming together, floating beautifully across the sky. Usually it would be a sight I dismiss almost immediately but somehow that day, it caught my attention, much like an iceberg in the middle of a deep blue ocean.

You see, I realized we often take for granted the things we see everyday. We would travel continents just to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, learn about ancient architects and the geniuses behind these buildings. But a floating cloud that prouduces rain? That's just something we expect to see every day.

At one point in high school, we even learn how water evaporates and turns into cloud. Everything made sense, well at least for exam purpose. But to this day, none of us could perfectly re-create a single cloud. Imagine how useful it would be if we could re-create clouds and send with certainty down pouring rain in the deserts and areas where water is needed? 

It got me thinking - that white fluffly, floating thing above our head? Allah Almighty created that from nothing, at least 4.6 billion years ago. And 4.6 billion years later, even with cutting edge technology, scientists are still trying to re-create the exact same clouds to have greater control of the weather. SubhanAllah wal hamdulillah. Are we not interested to learn about this Supreme Architect?

"Indeed in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding" [3:190]

So when we awe at ancient buildings or the geniuses behind them, don't forget to take a second and look up. Look at those white fluffy thing above our head created billions of years ago and remember Allah Al-Khaliq, the Supreme Creator. Let all praise be to Allah, He who creates from nothing and is comparable to none.

"So do not attribute Allah equals while you know (that there is nothing similar to Him)." [2:22]

First of 2013

What did I say about my new year resolution? 

Challenging? Scary?

Oh well, if you think my silence is for lack of updates...boy are you wrong! Hehe.

On the contrary, I was actually too busy having fun doing all three last weekend *blows nails*

Travel? Check.

Read a book cover to cover? Check.

Learn to cook? Well....sort of. Hehe.

Here's a sneak peak before the proper update:

 Xx.

Masterchef Inspired

So yes, I've definitely been MIA...at least online.

My 7 years old laptop takes 15 mins to start up,and it disconnects from the internet every half an hour. My smartphone is half dysfunctional and dies every 2 hours for no reason too. I have a Twitter account with forgotten password and I have an Instagram account just because Mimak signed up on my behalf while I was on a toilet break at a wedding. To top it off, my blog is half dead.

So I guess I shouldn't be surprised when somebody commented on my best friend's blog asking if I'm still alive.

 -__________-


Wellll boys and dolls, all I need is a new laptop and insha Allah I will blog more....any takers? (Don't worry I'm very simple, I only want Mac!) :D

You might realize that I have made some changes to my blog. I realized I'm only getting older and someday my hair will turn grey and I can't exactly call myself a "girl" still. Hehe. So say bye bye to A Girls Say and please welcome Written by Toots - a name which I consider more "evergreen" than the former. I will change the title and address soon :)

So what brings me back to the blogosphere? Hmm.

I realized it's a new year and every year, I let my new year go without any serious new year resolution...what a complete waste of opportunity right?? So this time, I spent some time evaluating myself, what I want to do and where I want to be by 2014. I know I've always enjoyed traveling so that easily came up as my first resolution - to travel more.

Then I looked through my blog and realized I've written only ONE book review over my blogging years...and that shocked me because I loooveeeee to read! But then I realized I couldn't remember the last time I read a book cover to cover because of late, I tend to read some pages, skip even more pages, and concluded that I have completed reading the whole book. So I penned down my second challenge for the year - to read more books....cover to cover.

From my blog I also realized I never really write anything about cooking except for my mini kek-batik experience which doesn't really count. I would love to share my experience in the kitchen, but the truth is, I don't want to scare the boys off because I'm so terrible with cooking and I'm still single! Hahhahaa. So after much thought and hesitation, I firmly decided on my final challenge for the year - to frequent the kitchen and learn to cook. *shivers*

So there you go - my three, very simple and supposedly do-able NY resolutions.

To keep myself in check, I've decided to blog on the progress of my NY resolutions, so you'll see the tabs at the top of my blog depicting my NY resolutions i.e. The Traveling Foot, The Struggling Chef and the Walking Library. Honestly, I'm quite nervous about this - I really don't want to blog about putting my kitchen on fire -____-"

I don't ever remember taking my NY resolutions seriously so lets hope I could do it this time, insha Allah! *pats self on the back*

My Best Friend's Wedding

Alhamdulillah, Titts is MARRIED!!! I'd love to blog about it now, but I think I could use some rest tonight :)

Mann, they are soooo going to annoy me with "Look, we're halal now" poses huhh??!!! 
-____-"

Someday

Someday, this will be my backyard insha Allah :)

The Answer to Your Worries

If you feel helpless, remember this verse. Indeed Allah is very near to those who remember Him :)

My Next Step

I remember once, my best friend asked me where do I see myself 10 years down the road.

“I don’t know Titts, but truth be told I really wanna do something that can give me great reward in this life, and the hereafter too.  Perhaps be the change that I want to see in this world. Who knows, maybe do something related to our religion and stuff?”

Titts answer was short, to the point and needs no further discussion, “You do know that’s not Ustazah-material right?” pointing to the short skirt I was wearing then.

It became clear to me shortly after that the first thing I need to do is change myself – and change I did. I tried to dress more appropriately from time to time, started reading Islamic books, attending lectures and trying to improve one step at a time.

For some reason, maybe because of my apparent change, many people seem to think that I’m already there – pious, serene and exemplary, but truth be told I’m not even close to being one.

Here’s the thing.

A lot of people say that when they started getting closer to God, they became content and peaceful with life – well, I’m here to tell you that’s very true…but that’s just half of the story.

Because, let’s face it – changing is not an easy process.

Moving away from something that you were accustomed to is hard and takes conscious efforts. In fact, the road to improvement is seldom linear; don’t be surprised if you find yourself slacking again from time to time. You wonder if you have improved at all – for with every improvement you make, a different weakness will prevail, Allahu mustaan.

You don the hijab, and suddenly you’re late for Subh prayer. You pray Subh early in the morning, and suddenly you find yourself grumbling over life. You try to be a bit more grateful and suddenly a person tests your patience and triggers your anger.

Because that’s just the way we humans are – imperfect and always in constant need for improvement. That’s why I never stopped attending lectures and reading books because by Allah, I am flawed in more ways than you can imagine and I am in constant need of reminders and advice.

Somebody once told me that Allah has plant 1% of His pleasure on Earth, and the remaining 99% in Jannah. That Jannah is soooo high up there that none of us deserves to enter Jannah except with Allah’s mercy.  A few months down the road, I now understand what he was trying to say. I cannot aim to be perfect for Jannah, because one can never be good enough. I can only give it my best shot and pray that Allah will accept from me and allows my family and I to enter Jannah with His mercy, Ar-Rahman.

So this is my another shot at trying.

Recently, I started Ajran Centre where you will find many Islamic resources - English and Malay books for adults and for kids, videos , lectures and fun board games all aimed at encouraging all of us to improve ourselves and loved ones, one step at a time. There is even a corner for you to check out the up and coming lectures that you could benefit from. So, in your free time, do visit this humble website that I have set up and like our Facebook page. We welcome you with open arms to be a part of this dakwah  and to share it with others too along the way :)

And as always, I ask for your sincere du'a that Allah will accept from me and from you - and make this website a source of knowledge and inspiration for many. May we all be able to someday be the change we want to see in this world, insha Allah.

AJRAN CENTRE

Something to Ponder Upon