Just got back from the final meeting on Malam Akhirussanah 2009 preparation.  The event will be held this Friday and I’m in-charged of the program book.  I was yet to receive information from Sekolah Rendah Agama (SRA) and to tell you the truth,  I am beginning to feel nervous.  I really hope last year’s experience of printing and compiling the pages at 3 a.m. will not repeat again this year!

Anyway, at the meeting I received several lists from SRA including the lists of those who obtained no. 1, 2 and 3 in the final exam.  I went through the lists – Syifa got no 3 in her class… Shumayl got no 2 in his class… I continued to search for Syaima’s name… alas, her name’s not listed.  Oh dear.  How am I going to break this news to her?  I’m sure she’ll be devastated and I’m definitely sure she’ll immediately break down in tears tomorrow.  She’s the most hardworking one as compared to the other two, and this fact makes me feel more sad that she didn’t manage to get anything, not even the best student in any of the various subjects.

I really do not want to break my girl’s heart but I don’t think I have any other choice, do I?  Tomorrow afternoon, Syifa’ and Shumayl will have to go to the community hall for rehearsal.  And Syaima’ would have to stay at home at my parents’.  *sigghhhh*.  Tak pe lah Cemak.  Masih belum ada rezeki Cemak.  I just want you to continue fighting!  I am sure you will be up there soon!  So, don’t you ever EVER give up, tau! *hugggssss* =)

I’ve been into making my own donuts lately.  My first ever attempt in making these donuts was last Saturday.  With my mom’s help, alhamdulillah, I succeeded in making these …

Today’s my second attempt.  Hehe.  I wanted to perfect the donuts.  After 3 hours in the kitchen, these are the outcomes …

with almond bits.. =)

sprinkled with chocolate rice

my kids fave – sprinkled with crunched oreo!

]]> http://norhaliza.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/my-latest-mission/feed/ 0 norhaliza my first ever homemade donuts - sugar raised almond bits choc rice oreo delight http://norhaliza.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/terima-kasih-ustazah2/ http://norhaliza.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/terima-kasih-ustazah2/#comments Sun, 25 Oct 2009 11:40:25 +0000 norhaliza http://norhaliza.wordpress.com/?p=296 ]]>

Semalam kami sekeluarga dijemput oleh ustazah2 Tadika Islam TTDI untuk menghadiri kenduri kesyukuran serta majlis perpisahan di Tadika.  Kata ketua guru, Ustazah Fadzilah, ini merupakan kali terakhir untuk kami makan bersama-sama memandangkan kesemua 6 ustazah yang mengajar di tadika tersebut akan berpindah ke tadika lain tahun hadapan.  Ramai juga yang hadir termasuklah semua ahli Lembaga Pengurus Sekolah Agama dan juga beberapa AJK lama dan baru.

Saya hanya ingin merakamkan jutaan terima kasih kepada semua ustazah2 kerana telah mendidik anak2 saya.  Syifa’ telah memulakan alam persekolahannya dengan memasuki tadika sejak dia berumur 4 tahun.  Syaima’ telah dipilih oleh ustazah untuk menjalani rakaman Program Mari Mengaji TV9 musim pertama.  Shumayl pula telah mendapat peluang menyertai Ihtifal Zon Bangsar 2005 dan sekarang dia boleh mengaji Al-Quran dengan lancar.  Semuanya berkat didikan semua ustazah2 di Tadika Islam TTDI.  Semoga Allah membalas semua jasa ustazah2.

Gambar kenang-kenangan bersama ustazah2 dan kakitangan tadika

Praise to Allah, I’ve presented my paper at the “International Conference on Waqf Laws & Management – Reality and Prospects” last Tuesday, 20th October, 2009.  I was the 2nd presenter in the afternoon session on that first day of the conference.  This was my very first time presenting at a conference, and an international one for that matter.  So, I was very nervous the day before and in the morning, but again.. alhamdulillah, when my time came to go to the podium, I was less nervous although I was a bit intimidated with the presence of all the distinguished scholars and experts on waqf.  I couldn’t recall if Dr. Monzer Kahf was around when I presented but he’s one of the keynote speakers in this conference.

There were no questions from the participants but I did receive 2 comments which I really appreciate and would use those feedback to improvise my final research paper.  Anyway, after the 3-day conference (I had to skip the first half of the 2nd day, which I was later told that Dr. Monzer’s keynote speech was very good), I began to realize that this issue on waqf is not something small and petty like what most of us think it is.  Waqf is a vital tool for us to uplift the economic and the social conditions of the societies, especially the Muslims.  Unfortunately, today most of us only see waqf as a charitable act for religious purposes only.  What we do not realize is that the waqf institution has the potential to generate billions of dollars in income, which would definitely help many nations get out of poverty.  And interestingly, which not many realize it, waqf can also benefit the non-Muslims, i.e. the non-Muslims can also be the beneficiaries of waqf.  Isn’t Islam beautiful?

There are many many issues surrounding waqf such as lack of public understanding and awareness, mismanagement, accounting, legal, etc.  When the conference ended yesterday, I’m even more determined to go further into waqf.  Most probably, IF I do proceed with my PhD, my research would also focus on waqf.  And I look forward to participate in more waqf conferences in the future.  I am so thankful that my supervisor managed to convince me to participate in this conference.  It has opened up my eyes and I hope I’ll be able to contribute more in this area, insyaAllah.

I took this “Which type of woman are you?” quiz in Facebook and the result was “Lovely Lady”:

You are lovely and caring. You help others and spread out a lot of sympathy. Your life aim might be to serve the people. But your weakness is that you forget about yourself, your own needs. All your time is hold back for your friends and family. You are always there for people in trouble. Ready for any emergency. You make a lot of sacrifices just to be a good human. But every woman has her needs, her longings and a destiny. Don’t loose yourself in work or curing other people’s souls. You will have your own problems in your life. Another problem is that you don’t say your opinion when it’s right and important to say it. People trample onto your soul if you are always so kind and lovely and helpful. They will play on you. Though you should try to relax more and enjoy your life, you should not loose the gift that was given to you to help others . Not everyone is created this way… You are unique and rare!

Oh wow!  Somehow there’s some truth in what’s being said.  I, at times, just can’t say “No” to people.   I want to be useful to others.  I want to be accepted by all around me.  And yes, to the extent of sacrificing a lot – time, money, even my own happiness!

I guess that’s why I am frequently stressed out.  Depressed.  Most of the time, I just swallow the pain.  And when the pain’s too much, I tend to become quiet and I would crave for space, my own space for me to do the things that I like doing.  Whether I do finally get the space, is a different story.  Unfortunately, not many would understand my longings.  At the end of the day, I would crawl out from the depression on my own and start to work hard to please all those around me… again… ignoring my own wants and needs.

Well… lovely lady…. you have just understood about yourself!

Just finished cooking.  For dinner.  Simple stuff.  Fried rice.  The kids don’t eat much, especially at night, so why should I go through the hassle of preparing something fancy, right?

Anyway, I just submitted my conference paper to my Sudanese (I think) supervisor for him to go through yesterday morning.  Another heavy load off my shoulder, at least for a few days.  The conference will be held from 20th Oct to 22nd Oct.  I’m not sure when my slot would be but I have a feeling that I’ll be so very nervous regardless of the date.  My supervisor assured me that he’ll be there to give me a hand if I faced difficulties in answering questions from the participants, but still… *yikes!*

Nevertheless, I’m also excited.  Didn’t expect to present in any conference… at least not now.  It’s all a coincidence.  I took up research for this final semester and coincidentally, the area of my research is also the topic of the conference.  My supervisor managed to convince me to take up the challenge.  And everything else is history.

Now I’m counting the days.  How would they find my paper?  Would my paper add any new, valuable finding to the inventory of knowledge that the participants already have?  What if I can’t answer their questions?  Oh my… I hope I can maintain my coolness and confidence in front of all those waqf experts.

*sighhh* Will write more later.  Am going to have my dinner now.

It’s that time of the year again!  This year, my raya gift baskets’ theme is “traditional cookies”.  Freshly homebaked by my mom!    So, quality and cleanliness are guaranteed!  Please place your orders soon as we will only accept orders UNTIL 30th August 2009.  Delivery to recipients can also be arranged at an additional RM10 per address.

Lebaran Kudus

• 1 box of traditional cookie (choice of biskut mazola OR semperit OR bangkit)
• RM50

Seikhlas Budi

• 3 boxes of traditional cookies (biskut mazola, semperit and bangkit)
• RM80

Setulus Hati

• 4 boxes of traditional cookies (biskut mazola, semperit, bangkit and makmur)
• RM100

Kasih Abadi

• 4 boxes of traditional cookies (biskut mazola, semperit, bangkit and makmur)
• 1 pkt of crunchy popiah simpul
• 1 prayer mat (can be substituted with other items, eg. a box of chocolate, almond dates, etc.)
• RM150

At last, the details of these workshops are finalized!  Do contact me if you are interested to participate to find out the dates of each module, fees, venue, etc.  Also, would appreciate if you could forward this piece of info to your own circles of friends and relatives whom might be interested to participate.  Thanks!

Pada hari Jumaat (12 Jun 2009) telah berlangsung majlis menyambut menantu di rumah Che Nor di Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Berikut adalah sebahagian gambar2 yang telah sempat diambil (most of them by photographer Muhammad Shumayl Asmawi).

Akhir kata… Selamat Pengantin Baru, Iju & Baiti!  Semoga sentiasa bahagia, tabah dan cekal menjalani kehidupan sebagai suami isteri.  One favourite advise always given by the experienced – Never scream at each other unless the house is on fire! 

I just finished  my last exam this afternoon.  It’s “Accounting and Control for Islamic Financial Institutions”.  The questions were quite tough I might say.  But that’s already expected.  Our midterm exam for this paper wasn’t easy either.  The marks that we got made us shiver.  But alhamdulillah, the Prof was kind in his markings for our reports, evaluation of our presentations and even gave us bonus marks when we asked questions during those presentations.  As a result, our carry marks were not that bad.   Huhuhu… Anyway, now all exams are over and I’m a free woman!   Or I wish I am!

The school holidays will last for another week.  So, I hope to get some good break.  And I mean a REAL GOOD break. I can’t remember when’s the last time I had such a break.  Maybe before the kids were born?  I guess not even then coz we were just settling down and we don’t have the means to go for such a break.  Oh well.. whatever it is, I just want to enjoy the next couple of days relaxing and physically doing nothing.  But I really doubt that though.  There’s always laundry to do, always meals to prepare and always cleaning to do…. Oh dear… so much for a break!