Family Gathering

Some of my husband's siblings came to Singapore and Malaysia for their parents' death anniversary prayer. It has been five years since some of them came back. Before they went to Malaysia, we had dinner here. We could not join them for the prayer gathering due to some unforeseen circumstances but we still drove up one week later and even stayed for two nights. It was a good bonding session for our kids with their paternal side. We wanted to go to Port Dickson on Monday cos the kids wanted to ride the banana boat. Alas, we were told that it was the jellyfish season. So, we changed our plan and hung around in my husband's hometown instead. As the final destination was planned to be KL, before going to KL, we decided to go to Shah Alam and stayed for a night. It was our first time to Shah Alam. We wanted to go to I-City and also, the majestic blue mosque; it's exact name is Masjid Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah. MasyaAllah, indeed, very majestic and beautiful! Walking into the mosque, I was overcome with many feelings. It was surreal being in the mosque cos all this while, I only saw it on TV and on some Hari Raya greeting cards and money envelopes. As I performed the tahiyatul masjid, I shed tears. I wonder how I would be when I do get to be in Masjidil Haram and Masjid Nabawi one fine day. Ya Allah, please invite me to Makkah and Madinah, at least to perform our Umrah. Please open up the door to more rezeki for me and my husband, so that we can go to see the Ka'abah together. Amin.

InsyaAllah, we will visit Shah Alam again. Some of my friends mentioned shopping at Seksyen 7. We were staying at Seksyen 7. I did see a few boutiques there selling Muslimah-wear but we did not enter any at all. Just drove past cos when we were going to I-City. Shopping in Shah Alam was not our agenda. Anyway, I am a simple person with simple taste. I do not need any boutique-ly attire or hijab. It has been two years since we last went to KL. We checked-in at Royale Bintang Hotel cos the usual hotels we stayed in were fully-booked. As usual, food-hopping was our main agenda in KL. In addition, this time round, we spent a bit longer than usual at Masjid India area to look for clothes for Hari Raya. We went to Pekan Banting upon driving back to Singapore to visit my relative. It was our first time visiting them, thanks to the GPS. Without this technology, this visit would have been impossible. My husband and kids love it there. It is a sleepy town, very laidback and very relaxing. Their house is huge, their outdoor compound is huge; no wonder we love it there. Who knows, when Singapore gets too expensive, we may just buy a land there and build a house. It is in Selangor, so going to KL for the food-hopping crave is just an hour away. PS:- It is my husband's birthday today. As it is a Wednesday, he said he would like to celebrate it this weekend. But I think I will still try to get a cake for him once I am done with a sales appointment which is scheduled at 5pm. May Allah bless my dear husband with good health always, strengthen his iman, bestow more rezeki onto him and protect him from evil and mishaps. Amin.

Story Of Nutella

Since the past two weeks, some friends in FB has been talking about Nutella spread. As mine was running out, I quickly joined the rush to buy and stock up. For two days in a row, I went to Giant and NTUC Extra, all I found was Nutella in glass jars with no halal logo; Made in Poland. I went home and pre-empted my kids that should there be no more halal-certified Nutella to be bought, our family should make do with peanut butter as replacement. Last Friday, after attending the Parent-Teacher's Meet at my second son's school, I decided to divert to Sheng Siong Supermarket before driving home. I got excited upon seeing the usual halal Nutella. About 20 plus jars were available. I grabbed some happily. Fast-forward to today, Monday, I saw 6 jars left at Sheng Siong. I was contemplating to buy all or to leave some for other Muslim customers who might want to stock up too. I just took two jars and walked away to look for other groceries. I have a total of a few jars of Nutella at home now. The kids must learn to be self-disciplined. Not that I am stingy. No. I am never stingy with food. But since it looks like there may not be anymore halal Nutella for a while in the shops, our stock at home may be able to last us for a few months.

Looking forward to meeting some girlfriends this evening. Meanwhile, it is time to do up some proposals for my clients. I love my job :-)