kerana yang indah itu ada pada hati yang bersyukur

A quick one before I start the weekend chores and all. 

Last Saturday I gave a surprise small birthday celebration to one of my bestfriend. Her birthday is not due til a few days later but what more surprising than to have it in advance kan?

Normally on Saturdays, we will have our lunch and Zuhur together at the masjid before starting our classes. So this time around, I specifically suggested 'nak makan kat tempat yang ada kek'. Lol. She had no idea. 

Since time was a bit limited for a special lunch, so we had early dinner instead and settled with Plan B at Publika. After ordering and choosing the kinda over-rated 'Red Velvet' as our dessert (lo and behold, I have  finally found the BEST Red Velvet cake EVER), I presented her with a card with just her name on it. She was surprised and kept on asking, "Eh Amy, wedding invitation ke ape ni? Tak bagitau punnnn." 

There I was already all smiling and goofy. 

Right when she opened the card, I handed her the paperbag in which I've put her birthday present. She took it calmly and just when she was about to retrieve the gift, in the background, the song 'Happy Birthday' was being played. We both stared at each other and I said, 'No, I didn't ask them to do that.'

LOL. I swear!

And since both of us are exceptionally shy, we just shrugged it off, telling ourselves that the song was for someone else in the restaurant (in the end, actually it was for her, the waiters/waitresses were grinning from ear to ear looking at us, haha).  

I thank God immensely for putting her in my life, for helping me get back to the deen and most importantly, for never giving up on me. She was one of the very few people I messaged early in the morning one day, telling that I'm going to wear hijab for the very first time in public that day, and that feeling, you know, priceless. No words to describe. Same goes to our friendship, no words to sum it all up. Because when you do it for the sake of the Lord of the worlds, only you know how much any gesture, any decision, any feeling means, especially when it causes a stir in your heart, knowing how much love you have for Him, that includes all of His creations, and how much MORE love He has for you. 

Have a good weekend, folks!

epitome of happiness

A friend shared this yesterday and how this described a portion of my past so perfectly. 

Love makes us... a lot of things. It can make us better or worse. Love is also so vulnerable that someone can get inside of us and messes us up so bad. 

Such delicate hearts we have. 

This reminded me of something the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w said.

"Surely, the heart of the son of Adam turns over and over more than a pot of boiling water."

We have changes of heart every single minute. One minute we're feeling super determined, the next minute we're feeling down, for He is the Turner of our hearts. 

Prof Muhaya reminds us all the time, "Hati kita berada dalam genggaman Allah." 

Whatever wordly things that we are trying to chase, a big house, a great career, getting that perfect spouse, a grand wedding, all of those will never make us happy eternally if our hearts are not with our Creator. 

Most of us think that happiness lies in finally getting married, for example. It is not. These are all just tools to bring us closer to Him. Subhanallah, how great is He.

There's a hadith that describes our heart so perfectly.

"There is in the body a clump of flesh - if it becomes good, the whole body becomes good, and if it becomes bad, the whole body becomes bad. And indeed, it is the heart. "

I'm thankful for the people that Allah sent on my path to bring me back to the deen, the feel the beauty of His love in everything and every person and to teach me that whatever that He has destined for me is actually molding myself, my heart to be the kind of people He is pleased with, insyaAllah.

let's date!

"Go out and date," said the aunty. 

"I've given your number to this teacher at my workplace. He will message you. Who knows he is your jodoh."

Erk. 

A few weeks after the incident.

"He is shy. That's why he hasn't messaged. Here, take his number and message him. Just do it. Who knows he is your jodoh."

Erkkk.

Me? Initiating a move? So not me. Not at all. 

This has happened quite a few times (initiated by relatives and friends every time) and most of the time, when the guy has gotten hold of my number, they are afraid to make the next move. Why oh why, dear men? The only time I made the first move was during the last relationship, which, by the way, turned disastrous. But that was so last season, so let's not talk about that now, shall we? :P

I think it is time to date (again), but there is no candidate, so how now, brown cow? 

Sometimes, yes, I do miss going on dates. Having someone special to share your day-to-day stories, to manja with, to go watch movies with, to pamper and be pampered, to flirt with, to try out new makan place with, to make fun of, to take care, to be sweet and nice to, just cause. Man, there are many things I miss doing, with a partner. 

My girlfriend and I were talking about this today. Pretty much pouring out our insecurities over the reasons (why we have not met The One, so to speak) and on what should we do about it etc (in which case, we don't really know what to do). It is hard to find a decent man. If he is good, he is already taken. That is always the case, sadly. 

I know that God is perfect in His timing. We probably have not done much effort on our parts, maybe. And after a series of disappointments, I'm probably still feeling a bit insecure. That, I need to let go. Let it goooo.. Yes, I need to let it go. And find that man. That kind-hearted, gentle and loving man, who will love me for who I was and who I am. Who will continue to seek God's love through the family he is responsible for. 

Okay, I'm ready to take the plunge. Again.

Pray for me? 

my aglio olio story

Super sleepy! 

But I just need to mark one achievement of mine today :D

I was so inspired by Gordon Ramsay's Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner slot last weekend, where he has prepared 3 sets of meals complete with desserts and one of the meals happen to be my favourite - Aglio Olio Spaghetti! Kinda weird that I never thought of trying to cook it on my own (until today).

Aglio Olio has been my favourite kind of spaghetti since I ate the best at Italiannies years ago. Unfortunately, as they say all good things must come to an end and sadly, the quality and yumminess of their Aglio has deteriorated over the years :(

Anyways, I was so in the mood for cooking today so I bought capsicum, tomatoes and chilli flakes at Jaya Grocer and rushed back home. I've got the rest of the ingredients at home (being a BIG fan of spaghetti :))  )

Chopped, boiled, drained, stir-fried, deep fried.

 

My aglio was kind of a vegetarian spaghetti, you can say. Hehe (minus the frankfurter though). The next time around I'll throw in some olives. Yummm..everything, was my favourite. To side the pasta, I've prepared some simple marinated fried chicken (also inspired from the same show). Should've put in some paprika powder or curry leaves into the marinate for that extra umph but never mind, there is always next time, insyaAllah. 

Voila, there you go!

Have set aside some for tomorrow's breakfast as well :P 

So what's next on the menu huh? ;)

keep the faith

Have you ever wanted and prayed for something so so bad? You think you've done everything there is to do just to get that one thing, only to be disappointed in the end. 

When I was in my previous job, work was everything to me. Stayed long hours for months, did projects and migration, managed people, streamlining processes yada2. I loved what I was doing because I have wonderful colleagues , the pay was good and I knew I was doing an amazing job. 5 years at the company, attended 3 interviews for promotions which had 95% chance of me getting promoted based on my capabilities, only to find out that "Your interview was exceptionally good but we had to promote the senior one first."

You know, that kind of disappointment?

This time, I am going through the same, except that this time it's not about work. It is about life. You know, sometimes, we think we have done everything to get what we want. But when we don't get what we pray for straightaway, we start to blame God on it. I don't blame God, though, I am blaming myself and looking for what is it I have done or haven't, so I can finally get what I want. But I was having doubts about His promises. That shouldn't happen, I shouldn't think that. Felt like smacking off those syaitonnirajim for putting those doubts in my heart. 

Last Thursday, during usrah, each of us shared a verse from the Quran and shared their reflection based on our own understanding. Some shared 'popular' verse and surah like surah al-Asr (about how precious and limited time is and how we are often use our time on duniawi things and only spared the 'leftover' time to Allah i.e "Still ada masa lagi ni, baru sempat nak buat solat."), surah ar-Rahman on that 1 verse repeated 31 times in the surah (the verse is, "Which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?", basically a reminder on the many, many rezeki that He has given us but we still choose not to believe, also one of my favourite surah :) ), surah al-Baqarah verse 45 on having patience and pray (coincidentally my granduncle was advising the same to us in the car 2 weeks back, he said, bad or good, ask only from Him, do not seek elsewhere, ask and sujud) and surah ali Imran verse 185 on every living thing will surely taste death.

One of us shared a verse from surah Taha verse 132 ("Kami tidak meminta rezeki daripadamu bahkan Kamilah yang memberi rezeki kepadamu.") Nearly made me cry because when she explained on her reflection, it hit me on the spot. Right on the spot. A few years back, she was a workaholic and had very little time spent with the Creator, doing just the basic like the 5 obligatory prayers, fasting in Ramadhan and totally missing out on terawikh prayers. In the end she realized that the more money she got, the faster she lost them as well, like there is no barakah in her rezeki. And then, she started prioritizing Allah in her daily life. Things start to change since then. Back to my point about having doubts on His promise (and smacking off that evil devil), that reflection sort of put an end to this dilemma that I am having.

:')

Yesterday morning I read this status in Facebook which sort of seconded the answer that I was looking for. Read on please :)

Allah tahu apa dan bila masa yang terbaik.

Be patient, Weina, your time will come, insyaAllah. 

You go girl.

undeserving

Ya Rabb.

You have placed me in a place I don't deserve. Not after what I have done to myself and what haven't I done for You. I'm not worthy of the chances that You have given me again and again. 

Subhanallah, how forgiving You are. I wish I could redeem back the years that I had without having You in my thoughts and actions and I regret them terribly. I am not worthy of those chances. 

al-Jabbar, the Mender. 

You have mended me and paved my path back to how it should have been. You have given me a strong heart like what I've always prayed for since that first day. You have brought some special people to be with me in this journey and we learn so much from each other.

You have given me a stir in this heart everytime I witness Your Greatness in the rotation of night and day, the perfect cycle of life for human and creatures of the earth, the beautiful sunset, in life itself, in watching my little nieces and nephews grow, in embracing the way my parents grow old and are still fond of each other. I have watched how You distribute your sustenance in such ways that we are never left without any food on the table, on any given day. 

You have shown me how wrong I was, the wrong company I was in, and the wrong path that I was about to take. And You saved me. 

You have taken away things from me so that I would think and understand. 

Think and read. Not to waste anymore time living in delusions. 

Today I might have caught a glimpse of my future but I was so scared and hesitant to take it up. Everything is so vulnerable and so temporary that I was scared. 

If it is meant to be for me, it will come. Like how I have been putting my entire trust in You for what is going happen and what is not. 

InsyaAllah.  

Dunya oh dunya. You pulled me in again and made everything seemed sensible. 

You, cunning, you.