Hatice-Zeynep-Elo-Baddin-İlayda-Keremcan

Stories at the playground

When the kids were younger, i used to bring them to the children's playground 10 minutes away from our apartment almost everyday. Of course, the kids loved the playground. In the old times, Zeynep n Keremcan used to go too. The playground was good for the kids to develop their social skills with the other children...Now i rarely bring them there...i think i should but..i dunno..

Anyway..i wanna share with u these 2 stories that happened while i was at the playground.

Story One
It was in the morning. We were early that day. The crowd was not there yet. We were playing building cakes from the wet sand using shovel n buckets. After a while, an elderly man came next to us with his grand daughter (2 and a half years old). He asked us whether the grand daughter could join our kids. Of course i said yes. There we were just quietly playing when the man started to tell about his grand daughter. U see, the grand daughter is of mixed blood. The man's son is married to a chinese girl and with the daughter, they lived n i suppose lives in Australia. The grand daughter only speaks Chinese n English. They were in turkey at that time for a visit. The man was so proud of the grand daughter that he could not stop talking about her. I simply listened coz i could understand his feelings. Suddenly, the man asked me ;

"how long have u been looking after (babysitting) these kids?"
(he was pointing at hatice n baddin)

heheheh..

Story Two
I was again in the playground. It was after 5pm. I sensed that someone was watching me. I just pretended not to care. Hey! Even though i was a regular at the park, some people might not have known me. I just buat dunno.. Suddenly a woman with a headcover approached me and said;

" How long have u been babysitting? i am looking for a live in babysitter who can look after my newly born daughter. If possible someone with the headcover like u. Do u know any other girls like u here in istanbul?"


So the conclusion of the stories is this.. After i suppose 20 years time from now, i am free to baby sit any kids.. please take note!!! hahahha

So from this babysitter in İstanbul...
i am wishing everybody
A Happy and REproDuctive Weekend!

A dream

I am the type who dreams but very very rarely remember any of my dreams. This morning however, i woke up with a very vivid memory of a dream that i had..

i dreamt that my late mother in law whom i called anne (she passed away 4 years ago) and my great great grandma whom i called wan tua (she passed away when i was 15), together they came to me.One of them called on to me and said:

"Simah, bizimle gel"
(Simah come with us)

I woke up after that.Trembling.

Anne or Wan tua have never entered my dreams. They are among the two deceased people whom i am very fond of.

There are a few reasons i can think of as to why they came to me:

1. The syaitan was playing a game on me
2. My call of death is near.
3. They r calling for help, in need of assistance down there.

1. The syaitan
I mean syaitan do enter dreams. Playing with us humans as we dreams. So it is a possible option. But these 2 people did not do anything. They just showed up and invited me to join them. It doesnt seem logical that the dream was the work of syaitan.

2. My call of death is near.
This reminded me of a dream someone in the family had a few years ago. In the dream, that person saw Anne. She asked for baddin so that she (anne) could love him. She played and kissed him and later she gave him back. Coincidently, soon after that baddin had a respiratory problem and was rushed to the hospital.He was ok Alhamdulillah after numerous times of nebuliser.But halil was at that point scared for our son's life that he asked meşe *is my son gonna die?*. Maybe they r calling me there? Allahualam...

3 They r calling for help, in need of assistance down there.
This reminded me of an entry written by shami a few days ago. Shami..mintak kebenaran celup sedikit entry u ni yea?..

Ini diterangkan dalam sebuah hadis yang diriwayatkan oleh Al Diyami Rahimullah( maaf kalau tersalah eja ) maksudnya:

Orang yang mati dalam kuburnya adalah seperti orang yang sedang tenggelam yang meminta pertolongan. Ia menunggu sampai kepadanya rahmat sesuatu doa dari anaknya atau saudara maranya atau sahabat handainya.

Apabila rahmat doa itu sampai kepadanya maka tidaklah terkira sukacitanya dan dirasainya rahmat doa itu lebih berharga daripada dunia dan segala isinya.

Sebenarnya hadiah orang yang hidup kepada orang yang mati ialah doa dan istiqomahnya.

Rayuan rohnya dengan suasana yang hiba dan menyebakkan hati.

Di dalam hadis juga diterangkan maksudnya bahawa roh orang2 mati datang beramai2 kelangit dunia pada tiap2 malam dan berhenti berdekatan bertentangan dengan rumah masing2 tiap2 satu roh antaranya menyeru berkali2 dengan suara yang hiba dan sayu katanya....

Wahai ahli rumahku! wahai kaum kerabatku dan anak2ku! wahai orang yang mendiami rumah kami, dan yang telah membahagi-bahagikan dan menerima harta pusaka peninggalan kami adakah sesiapa diantara kamu yang masih ingat kepada kami atau yang pernah memikirkan, kawan2 kamu yang sedang berada dia alam barzakh !

Kenanglah kami dan bantulah kami dengan doa2 dan amal2 yang soleh semoga Allah memberi rahmat kepada kami.

Setelah puas mereka merayu dan menyeru kembalilah kumpulan roh itu ketempat masing2 dan datang lagi pada malam berikutnya.

Jika ada yang mendoakannya kembalilah ia dengan gembira jika tidak kembalilah ia dengan sebak dan hampa.

Kedua2 hadis ini menerangkan setakat mana, berhajatnya orang yang mati kepada doa2 orang2 yang hidup sebab itulah kita diberi panduan di dalam Al-quran supaya tiap2 seorang sentiasa berdoa mudah-mudahan rahmat bukan sahaja bagi dirinya, ibubapa dan kaum kerabatnya, tetapi juga bagi umat islam umumnya yang hidup dan yang mati.

Ayat Al-quran, dirujuk : ayat 41 surah ibrahim, ayat 10 surah almashyar..
Jika simati orang salah maka doa itu dapat meninggikan darjatnya dan jika ia berdosa maka doa itu dapat menyelamatkan dia dari azab ertinya meringankan tanggungannya....

To conclude, the dead calls to the living for help coz the doa of the living (esp the family ie children of the dead) r among the things that help one person after death. Even since reading that entry in shami's blog, my mind everyday wondered of anne n wan tua. I read them Al- Fatihah or whatever surah i remember while coking etc.. i suppose maybe i need to read more like yassin for them? Zaimlar...haydi..Al- Quran ya okuyalım..Anne ve benim buyuk annem bekli yardım istiyor.. or perhaps i just miss them, keep thinking of them these few days and they came by for a visit coz for me to remember my dream is really something really odd for me.

heheheh i suppose i am thinking nonsense here huh? Anyway, Al- fatihah to all our love ones who have left us..Maybe if we read for them now, once we r gone, our children will read for us..n hopefully the cycle will continue. These r my inner thoughts.....i hope u all dont mind me sharing them with u....

p.s shami's blog addy is at the side bar of this blog...if u wanna read the entry on the part that i kidnap hehehe

A family unit-now n then

Is it fair to say that the old generation bred like rabbits and the new generation...well.. 1 - 2 - 3....ooh no four is too much? Some even stopped at one. Hey! dont throw stones at me hehehe if i condemn the new generation i am condeming myself as well..

But it is somewhat true, isnt it?i mean in general, our parents' generation and their parents' generation have more number of kids than the general present family units. What's so different now n then?

Please correct me if i am wrong, i think in the old days, the girls got married at a very tender age. To be married at 14 even was considered normal. And by the age of 24, the girl may be a mother of 6? Sometimes, the mom play masak masak with her baby. Look at our new generation. To be married at 14? U HAVE GOT TO BE KiDDiNG!! That is form 2 (Secondary school) age u r talking about!! i dunno law but i dont think that is even a legal age to marry!!

And there is also the women's liberation. Women nowadays r much more highly educated than the women of the olden days. Let say they finish their undergraduate programme at the university, start working by the age of 24. Perhaps work a year or two before getting married.Just image, in the old days, u will be considered an *andartu* (old maid) by the time u get married today. Totally andartu..Nonetheless, at this time, that is what we consider normal. See how time has changed?

The woman may be working. To juggle a hubby and a kid...or kids.., the household chores.and the career..Can u imagine the responsibilities? Only superwoman can ever want consider having more than 2 or 3 kids..Work is stressful enough..and kids?? They may look angelic but..kids r kids right?? Of course for most women in the older generation, most of them were housewives. Their main role was to serve the family. They may help in the paddy field but still they do not have the vision much to become a career woman...not a lot of them at least

And the cost of living!! ouchhhh tell me about it..in the old times, people live in kampungs. They somehow grow their own vegetables, have chickens running around the house, perhaps a goat or a cow..life was definitely hard but food can be grown..Imagine today's world. Those living in cities like Kl. With single income, unless the hubby earns a lot, the family will have to go into a tight budget. Things r not cheap.. no money..no nothing. But then with double income, then the chances of breeding a lot may not be a desirable thing. Both will be busy working. Exhaustion. Hence, the family unit will be quite small. 2 working parents will also mean money for babysitter or even a full time live in maid?? money money..aiyoooo..money is the source of all problem..??? tu izhal yg cakap hhehehe

And then there is that family planning thing.. pills..etc..etc to prevent oneself from getting pregnant...

Whatever reasons there r...now n then r different. The change in the ways of thinking... cost of living..career enhancement..etc..etc..we cant expect things to be the same can we?


how can i afford a lot of babies if i cant support the baby properly? the house is too small.i think that kind of thoughts do cross our minds once in a while..

But then to think again, babies come out with their own rezekh..Like my own dad for example, his salary was meagre. Yet, he n my mom have 6 children together. One of my neighbours in Malaysia, she has 11!! Somehow they manage..why cant we?

I am a housewife..no career n i only have 2.. people do ask me..*tak nak tambah ka?* (dont u want to add another one?).. our original plan was to have 4.. somehow we gave a long break at 2..((halil's military service n what not)...i have never used any pills or whatever..we used to count the cycle within a month..now i notice my hubby has stopped counting. Does this mean what i think he means????

Jodoh Pertemuan

batman : Hi, how r u?
ref : I'm fine thanks
batman : where from?

And it went on from there...These r not the exact words we used..but close enough...The funny thing is, i did not remember that conversation...I did not even remember that nickname until after quite many days later where i recieved an email from him introducing himself from our previous chat.

Yes. It is true. Halil n i met each other in a chat program. Cyberlove..One in Malaysia and the other one in Turkey.

I was doing my under graduate programme in UKM. I was also working part time at an internet cafe inside UKM itself. While working, one pc will be free for the use of the staffs. I took that opportunity to chat and and at the same time to type my thesis. Halil was trying to finish his master thesis at that time.

Now that i think back, how can u fall in love with someone without knowing who he is? How can u get to know who someone really is from just chatting and exchanging emails? Words may be used to deceive..if not he perhaps i..it is possible. Can words represent who one is? One's look? Each party may send somebody else's photo. Cyberlove is really a risky business indeed...

True, internet is a wonderful tool for making new friends and even finding love. If one's friend or love is within one's country, within reach, then the matter is somehow simplified. One can easily meet up to decide (if it is love) whether they are made for each other. What about the ones like in mine n halil's case? We were thousands of miles away from each other. E-mails, chats n short phone calls could not ensure that we were made for each other. To see is to be sure. But in such long distance relationship, unless the guy is extremely rich, then they can meet up quite often to make sure of the decision.

I have mentioned many times in my blog. We muslims r lucky. The istikharah prayer is indeed something powerful to help one to decide. In my case, once the prayer was done, the clue pointed me to halil, despite Allah knows the obstacles, i never did look back. Yes. I was selfish. Yet, it was what i had to do to ensure my happiness.

In many cases, if one is to marry someone from another place....ok, let us be realistic.. for example even within Malaysia itself. The girl is from Negeri Sembilan for example and the guy is from Kelantan.2 different cultures in every sense. Pedas vs Manis, nogori accent vs kelate accent, the family culture and what not. Even within one's country, the differences in culture can be a reason to a failed marriage.

Imagine inter continent marriage. Aiyooo...u can imagine right? Different languages, dfferent in everything...totally scary.

But that is the beauty of life.. who ever u marry..where ever u decide to live, however the culture is..it is one's willingness to adapt to the current surrounding that is important. If u shut urself out from change, only wanting and insisting what u want, never trying to understand what is...being ego... then hope is lost for u in anything..

Halil n i met once before we got married. We caught the chemistry while i was introducing him to the palm oil trees and rubber trees near my parents area..We got married. We have 2 beautiful angels. Like any couple, we fight, we love...and we compromise each other. 7 years is still too young for a marriage...hopefully we both will grow wiser as times goes by..

p.s Syikin n Shami.. i hope this entry has answered ur question about how halil n 1 met.
p.s.x Sherin..ni ha i dah letak gambar i kawin..ni masa bersanding :0)

My Wedding Ring

All stomachs full. I managed to do a bit of plate cleaning before mıstık (baba's male house helper) threw me out of the kitchen. Well, i wont complain. I dunno why, i always end up wetting (not my pants but) the front part of my t-shirt whenever i enter the kitchen for cooking or cleaning.And the irritating part would be,halil or baba or even mıstık would tell me to change my t-shirt everytime. *Ah..ur t-shirt is wet..u will get sick..go change*, they would say..I never did listen to them anyway.Hey! in Sapanca i enter the kitchen a thousand times a day. The kitchen is my santuary..my escape from looking after any little ones hahahahaha (no offence to anyone).There is no way i would change my t-shirt a thousand times.

They even bought or more correctly, my dad in law gave me money by force a few years back so that i would buy myself an apron to use in the kitchen in Sapanca.It is still there in the kitchen. hung at the kitchen door. I do use it sometimes..if i feel like it..

Anyway, back to the story. Yup dinner was over. I was in the living room when i realised that my finger felt light. My wedding ring!!! It was gone!!! My heart felt like it was broken into pieces. In front of the crowd, somehow crying, i told halil that i lost the wedding ring. I immediately started crying so bad that i rushed to the bedroom upstairs. Everybody was panicked. Simah was crying. Everybody looked everywhere in the house to find my ring. The balcony, underneath the couch, the garden, everywhere!They even tried to find it in the pool..just in case it fell there while i was swimming during the day (trying to find a white gold ring in a pool at night? hehehe)..no hope..nobody saw anything. After thinking that i was calmed down a bit, i went downstairs. The flow of tears again came flooding by especially when the ladies tried to comfort me. Waaaaaaaaaaa...my wedding ringggggggg.........my one n only beloved wedding ring..... I cried like i never cried before in front of everybody.I am not the type to cry like that..if i cry, i prefer to cry in my room n no one will know about it..but this time, the loss was so deep, i could not contain myself.I was sobbing so bad that my body shook so terribly.

And suddenly, özlem (my sister in law) appeared from the kitchen holding my ring!!!! And where did she find that ring?? It was inside the pressure cooker, together with the leftover rice for dinner!! The ring must have slipped inside it while i was washing the rice!!! It seemed that everyone that day had eaten white gold rice!! heheheheh..Thanks özlem for finding my ring. Thanks everyone else for trying to look for my ring.

My reaction towards the loss shocked me. I never knew that i prized my wedding ring that much. I thought if one day i lose the ring, i wouldnt mind at all. How wrong i was. It may not be a fancy ring. Just a plain white gold wedding ring to match halil's silver colored wedding ring. Yet, that is the ring that has *halil* written underneath it. That is the ring given to me after our nikah. That is the ring that symbolises our love..mine n his, our union of love. I guess that was the reason for my total devastation that night. Yes. The ring is still with me...i will definitely take it out before i cook or take a bath..though i somehow live in fear that i will lose it one day..coz i dont want to.

So anyone out there yang teringin nak makan Nasik Cincin Emas Putih.. sila la datang ke rumah saya..boleh saya masakkan hehehehehehehe..eh mana tahu..mungkin nanti boleh jadi awek muda??? heheheheheh

There is a tradition in the turkish culture which we did after our nikah in Malaysia. After the akad ceremony in Pejabat Agama Kepala Batas, we all went to my parents' house. I was not notified of this at that time. It was all a shock to me as well. After we reached our home, halil's mom took out 2 rings tied to a ribbon at each end. The groom would put (sarungkan) a ring to the bride's finger and the bride would do the same with the other ring. Then, there would be doa and the dad (in our case halil's dad) would cut the middle part of the ribbon. There was a bit of confusion for our case coz we(halil n i) could not determine which ring belonged to whom coz white gold n silver looked the same to us. Luckily there were names written underneath each ring. So..i got to wear the one meant for me and halil got to wear the one meant for him. i was so relieved that the akad was over that it never crossed my mind about the wedding ring. I wouldnt even ask for a ring if i hadnt got any.Yup, i was that weird. And yes! i got one wedding ring. I asked meşe today the symbol of the 2 rings tied to the ribbon.. From what i understand, when 2 rings r tied to a ribbon or string, it symbolizes the link that will be created in between the future wearers of the 2 rings. When the rings r worn by the wearers, the future is then created. The ribbon n the string will then be cut to represent that the rings r with the owners, who r unique to himself or herself; together they will sail the journey of a marriage together.

another culture in turkey.. for engangement n wedding ceremonies, people usually give jewelleries to the bride.. necklace, bracelet, ring, gold coin,money etc..etc.. Normally,the bride will wear all the jewelleries she get from the people on her during the wedding. So u can imagine right (esp those rich people), how many gold or even pearl they get and all those on the bride's body??? Ni kira perfect target utk pencuri la ni..the weight should be tremendous!! i remember a somebody ..a singer perhaps in turkey. This one girl got married n she received i think 15 kilograms of gold from somebody in a form of a necklace!!!! Gilaaaaaaaaa ..tu satu hadiah aja..u can imagine la other gifts kan? The family must be extremely ultra rich!! She was like a gold goddess, glittering with gold.Of course that is not in my case.. i did not know the culture then. For our wedding dinner in istanbul in hidiv kasre, i only wore the one i got from anne n baba. Simplicity i think is best.

Back to memory lane..these were snapped after the ribbon was cut. We took off the ribbon from the rings and again exchanged the wedding ring..The guy in green is my dad..

Selamat Hari Jadi

Jauh di mata
Dekat di hati
Semoga kita
Berjumpa Lagi
Dari kami
Yang mengingati
Sambutlah salam
Hari Jadi

Happy Birthday Mak!!

Halil-Nur Hatice-Sabahaddin-Simah

cerita cerita rojak

I was depressed for the last few days..i did mention it in my last entry...Anyway, forgive me dear tem..but i think i have not been sweet to you the way i should..i was not rude or anything..just not my smiley happy simah.. So among his last resort, today for maghrib at around 8.30pm, halil suggested that we all go and pray at one camii (mosque) near our housing area..I suppose that is the magic of visiting Allah's house..I feel so much better already..Thanks tem!! :0) And i also snapped a few photos of hatice n the mosque interior while we were there..

Ya Allah
Jadikanlah dan peliharalah
anak anakku (Nur Hatice dan Sabahaddin)
supaya mereka membesar di kalangan dan menjadi
orang-orang yang mukmin

*Amin*

And eversince last night, our beloved mouse decided to retire..geeeeee perfect timing!! i was
already depressed as it was...anyway...we bought a new one today...and here it is...comelkan? kaler oren hehehe saya yg pilih la..sapa lagi..we voted.. hatice prefered the orange as well..baddin wanted to buy the red one..halil was neutral..red vs orange..the main vote (orange) won!! YES!! :0)

2 days ago, halil brought us to visit buyuk ada (the big island). İt is one of the few islands in istanbul. I cant really remember the last time we all went as a family.. usually the only ladies in the family went there..last year we all went as families but since halil was in the military service, i was the only one without the hubby...anyway.. yup! we went to ada.... An interesting thing about the island is that no vehicles are allowed on the island..only important vehicle like police car or ambulance r allowed. So how do the people on the island travel??? Yup!This is the mode of transportation on the island.Horses and carriages. U can take a big tour(35 YTL) or a small tour (25YTL) around the island..that is expensive... If i dont have kids, i personnally prefer renting a bike or just walk till i drop. The view is great..the houses on the island are interesting to analyse..there are a lot of kösks (traditional turkish houses - rumah kayu) that will fascinate ur eyes.. one day i will snap the houses for all to see..tunggu yea..instead... here is a pic of my kids after the small tour..phew!! i suppose the guy (carriage driver) thought that i was a tourist..he drove his carriage...like a snail!! there we were going so ever slowly..while everyone else was like.............passed us one by one...tensionnnnnn... Anyway, we had an hour before the next ferry schedule.. it was 8pm..i was getting hungry..But where to eat?? This is an island..a place for tourists to come..a place where they sell seafood.. and where ever there is seafood...or whereever there are tourists...shops will definitely sell drinks with brands like *efes pilsen* (alcohol) ..dia orang minum arak mcm teguk air biasa ja...tak malu langsung..Hayda!!! It is not us.. to eat at a place selling that haram thing.. we walked around and around..and our eyes caught this one shop.. Tas fırın - Lahmacun ve Pide A shop selling only Lahmacun -hatice's favourite and Pide (cannot upload d photo) The pide n lahmacun at that shop..trust me...it is worth trying...i loved it.. We caught the ferry at 8.45pm, went to meşe afterwards, went to baba for the match (grrr) n then..home..

But... heheh i have not mentioned the ferry part ..nahhhh..i wont explain..i will just let u watch the slide show to understand what happened..nothing special really..just my hubby, my kids n i..busy snapping photos..

waaaaaaaa dah pukul 1 pagi dah...time to sleep.. i think i am mixing too much story hehehe it does reflect my mind now huh? i think i am much much better now... though i cant help but wish we r all inside the pool in sapanca now...but since world cup is so much important..sapanca will just have to wait..ooooooooh tidakkkkkkkkkk p.s..esok i blog hopping yea? ..

Have a nice weekend everybody!!
I leave u all with the picture of my dinner..a packet of maggie me.. eaten at 12 midnight hehehe
it is only a packet of maggie mee (instant noodle)but when i added other fresh ingredients as well... i could only manage to eat half of it..sapa la suruh masukkan banyak banyak fresh corn oii simahhhh...

How to peel cooked potato skin in one shot.

I Am not in any mood for anything today..it is just one of those days..lazy..depression...nothing critical..i am not even having my period..like i said..just one of those days...but i thought i'd leave u with something interesting..how to peel cooked potato in one shot..

If u cant see the video, what u do is u

- use a knife , make a line around the potato (middle part of the potato)
-boil the potato until cooked
-fill a container with ice n cold water-large enough for the potato to sit inside it
-let it be for a minute or two
-use 2 fingers, pull (bogelkan) the skin using ur 2 hands, the cut part as the centre
And u will have a *naked* potato..

i have tried it today..i could not do it as successful as the girl on the video but it is indeed true... the skin peels easily.. The only problem is.. if u r doing mashed potato or potato salad like the one i am planning to make today to go with the fish dish for dinner, u will need hot potato to mash or to cut..i just have to steam the potatoes a bit more before i proceed with the dinner preparation..

P.s the side dishes for the fish will be hot tonight..pedasssssssss ..lots of chillies.. hehehe this is a sabotage on my behalf for my dear hubby.. just in case..i will let his glass be filled with loads of ice!! hheheheheeh i think dinner will be fun..

Baba n Son

Today, 20th of June 2006 marks a history for father and son coz for the first time , halil and baddin went to the barber shop for a hair cut together. I am sure halil was really excited at the prospect. He even came home early from work just for the occasion..

Baddin getting ready for the hair cut

And the guy started cutting his hair..Baddin's classic facial expression.

Can u believe what my son did while his hair was being cut???

HE SLEPT!!!

Baddin..if u ever encounter this one entry one day.. YES...u slept while the barber was cutting ur hair..Ur baba couldnt believe his eyes!! While the traş makine being used on ur hair..with all the noise made..u did not even wake up!!
MasyaAllah!!
What a memorable baba n son first hair cut together at the barber shop...

Watermelon juice

Remember the pasar malam (night market) in Malaysia where there will be at least one seller selling all types of drinks? sugar cane juice, soy drink, honeydew juice, air mata kuching, milo ,watermelon juice...etc etc etc..the variety is heavenly..

THere i was yesterday...remembering the drinks we have in Malaysia..and what do u know?? half cut watermelon was there in the fridge..calling me...begging me...*pls sacrifice me..i am ready!!* there was this unstoppable urging for me to drink watermelon juice..Yup..u guessed it.. with the help of the kids..we used the fruit juicer to squeeze the watermelon juice...

The water melon juice we squeezed

The result???

Hatice tried it..*chuckles* i could tell that she didnt like it much.But being hatice..she finished her glass without much complain..

Baddin?? hehehe he tasted it and told me directly.."Anne bu tadı iğrenç!" (The taste is terrible!) heheheheh as usual, the direct speaking baddin..

Halil? The moment he saw the drink he somehow contemplated his fate "another of simah's weird something i will be forced to try" ..he took his time before trying it out..He tasted it once and immediately gave me his glass of the watermelon juice.."here..u finish it up, he said" hahahahahahahaha

In the end, i was forced to drink all of the juice all by myself..waaa..minum air tembikai banyak banyak...kembung perut ooo...Another lesson in turkey..Türks cannot understand the beauty of the taste of iced water melon juice! hahahahaha...well...their loss, not mine...still ..personal preferances should be respected, right? I remember a question halil asked me..."water melon is already juicy. Why do u need to squeeze the water out anyway?".. well..i think in this case..for my family..unless i have the urge to drink water melon juice, they will only eat the fruit..n not drink the juice..

while i am busy writing this entry, the kids as usual will start to bug their mom...in retaliation hehehe i snapped their pics... here r my kids with their latest poses...(p.s-this is the mess of the study room :0))

He was trying to decide whether to smile or not

His supposedly comic pose

The finger is not that *f...* sign..only baddin knows what the meaning of that sign

Hatice with her new sleeveless t-shirt

Konon kononnya ayu la tu hehehehe

My tem...my kids' baba

He is my other half..the one who completes my life. What i lack, he fulfills and vice versa. The same goes for our parenting roles..

To play, the kids will automatically go to their baba. He teaches the kids the meaning of fun and enjoyment..the meaning of what it means to play..and be imaginative..2 characteristics i truly lack..with him, they learn the ropes that life is not about all work n no play...it is about teasing...laughter..and driving each other crazy with the tickling...(Yenge...sorry for the noises we all made when we tickled each other heheh)

U cannot imagine the times i thank Allah for letting him take over the discipline of the kids. ..The times when he brought one of them (mostly baddin) into the room for lessons n lectures on what *not to do and why*...baddin especially would cry but halil would insist on the discipline...baddin would eventually understand what he did wrong promising never to do it again..

I am also thankful for the times when he creates his own bed time stories from his own imagination or tell them stories of our prophets so that they will be among those informed..or at times he explains the islamic understanding of the basic things on iman n islam coz my lack of proficiency in the turkish language made it impossible for me to do all the explaining..He has become the source of general knowledge for the kids that i observe how hatice looks up to him in respect. ..And for all times he is not shy to love, to hug and to kiss my kids in open affection (inside the house)....i think my kids r rest assured that they r loved...

I have always wanted my family to be showered with love and affection...and i think i cannot askfor a better father than my tem to be the father of my beloved angels...

Sunday was the father's day..but to me...everytime u hold the kids...everytime u kiss the kids..everytime u drive them crazy with ur teasing n tickling..everytime u explain things to them with sweet intention...that day is ur day...everytime.. I love you tem..

Yat gezesi

We were invited for a boğaz gezisi (a boat tour alongside the seaside area of both the asia n european side of istanbul) by halil's MBA program students from Fatih Uni on Saturday. Halil accepted the invitation of course. I myself was so excited. The last time i went for such a tour was when Safa's school had held the same kind of tour almost 3 or 4 years ago. I really enjoyed it very much. The view was magnificent and I was sooooooo looking forward to this one tour.

Little did i expect that Allah had another plan for me.. On the way to kabataş (boat area), i had an attack of terrible headache. I ignored it. I was sooo looking forward to the tour. I didnt want such a silly thing like a headache to kill the plan..baddd idea of course coz all thruout the tour (2 hours), i was clearly hopelessly totally into this vomitting condition n my brain felt like it was ready to blow!! And i missed all the fun and joy of the activities conducted by the students..

I really have to hand it to them, if i were in a different condition, the tour would have been such a fun thing. They had hired a guy wearing a turkish style clothing with a sour cherry drink to be handed out to anyone who felt like drinking it. (I was too sick to snap a pic of him)There was also a projection show and i think some sort of a lucky draw (i missed them all coz i could not stand the closed space n my head was totally in need of fresh air upstairs). Halil got some sort of a souvenir n baddin as i was told, picked a draw. There was this some sort of open bufe and tea as well. ..which i could not stomach any due to my condition.. And after the tour, everyone was given a t-shirt with the university name printed on it. We got 4 since we were all 4 people..but the sizes r all too small for this fat halil n simah heheheh i suppose we will just have to wait for baddin n hatice to grow into those sizes hehehehehe

Good food, good activities and good view i wouldnt mind not joining. What sadden me the most was ..and is...i was missing out on the charming and sweet company of the lady students on the boat. They were all sooo sweet..At the beginning of the tour, i managed to somehow chat with one or two..during the tour quite many tried to approach me to chat(esp when halil was not around) but my condition was in such that what i would have done (chatted n laughed) with them could not be realised. I really wanted to know them better. Well...kısmet..that was what it was..

Anyway, we got home safely by taxi..i slept till morning due to the medicine i took. I would like to say that the headache n the vomiting feelings r totally gone....but i cant coz they r still residing quite firmly in place.. I have become too pampered ever since i came to turkey. As ı grew up, i used to take countless bus trips (from uni to home) for hours..i used to take countless boat rides (to reach my home in langkawi years back)..and NEVER was i with any symptom of headache bla bla..n now.. i cant take bus rides..n last saturday...i discovered that i cant take boat rides either.. i guess i will have to carry emedur, dramamine n minoset in my bag from now on..

And u know what?? Hatice warmed very quickly to the ladies on the boat..i cant remember their names but they were really friendly to her... i even overheard one of the ladies..her name is zeynep i think, telling my daughter a story of some sort..chatting with her. baddin? as usual....he wanted to be friendly but he just simply didnt know how..he's a boy after all ..still there is hope for him...

I snapped a few photos of us using halil's hp but they turned out to be blurry..Luckily, Nurcan Karaca (halil's student) has bestowed us the honour by emailing us the snaps they captured using their camera.. Thanks nurcan!! ..enjoy the slide show!!

Once upon One week

We just got back from sending the 4 guests to the airport. Yes. They were here one full week. Thursday to thursday.

I cant lie by saying that i do not feel sad that they have left. I do. Inanmicaksınız ama.. i do feel sad inside...

True. I dreaded the fact that 4 people i barely know in my life wouldl be coming..n my teacher wont be one of them..True, i was worried about the sleeping arrangement. True, i was very jumpy at the fact that this was the first time that many guests will be coming to my home, staying over for a week.. and i dunno how to be a gracious host. True to many things...

Hatice n Baddin were the happiest to have someone from Malaysia staying over our house for that one week. They have people to play with (bully) that i think the guests r quite in phobia of my kids right now hehehehehe Hatice was busy flaunting her English as well n baddin was just right behind her saying things in English as best as he could. Hatice suprised me really. Indeed, she has a lot to learn when it comes to the english language but she proved that with an enhancement of vocabulary..she will be able to speak decent English. The basic grammer framework of english is already planted in her brain. I am really happy about that. Baddin needs more work but he is interested in the language as well.. I do not forsee much problem for him to learn english in the future.

Anyway, Yup! my kids managed to converse somehow with the guests..and for that duration i think the guests began to love the kids a lot..My daughter..hmm remember how i used to fight with her everyday just to get her to comb the hair? For that one week, she would not leave the room (after she woke up) without combing her hair!!!!! Baru kecik dah pandai nak impress orang heheheheeh

It was all totally turkish cooking all the way. Me cooking Malaysian food?? hahahaha.. jangan buat lawak...mana i reti...but i did cook cucur kodok pisang (mashed banana fritters),cucur kodok ikan bilis (anchovies fritters), roti telur n bihun ala simah n keropok udang (made in thailand) during their stay exclusively for them..These things *chuckles* i can count how many times i cooked them while i am in turkey...7 years n only once or twice..there is no fun eating alone. Halil doesnt like them...

One thing i noticed about Malaysians is the "KeTcHuP"...akak " Cili Sos"..Where ever we go, we cannot live without them!! I remember my sister yana who came here last year. In the flight, she asked for "chilli sauce" from the air hostess and she got a blur look in reply. The guests did the same thing too. For those first timers..Only in Malaysia we call cili sos (Malay) as Chilli sauce ..Everywhere else in this world, the Malaysian chilli sauce is called "KetChUp" ..though "kichap" in Malay will be referred to as "Thick Soy sauce". And the amount of ketchap that we Malaysians consume!! hehehehehe U can imagine right?? 6 people at the eating table ..and 5 were attacking the ketchup to go with everything even omelette!!! Halil was impressed at the speed of the lifetime of the ketchup bottles in our house!! :0)

We, Malaysians eat using our hands. Turks eat using forks n knives. The guests in a turkish home?? They ate using forks n spoons. I am not making fun of everyone pls dont get me wrong. This is a Malaysian specialty i think because i remember before i coming to turkey, if i am to ever eat anything using forks like eating bihun sup or mee kuah, i will also use forks n spoons. It is only after i come to turkey that i learn that u eat everything with forks n knives.

Another interesting culture i notice is the position of the forks n knives on the turkish tables. The westerners i.e in normal restaurants for example, the fork will be placed on the left side while the knife on the right side. The westerners eat using the left hands. Because we are muslims n we use the left hand to clean our private parts after the *big business* in the toıilet, we all eat using the right hands. Therefore, the position of the fork is on the right side.

And soup eating... I think (i am not sure) but i think Malaysians when they are served with soup n bread, we tend to *cicah* (what is cicah in English? i forgot the term)..the bread on the soup.I remember doing it too in Malaysia especially when i was eating my fav chicken or mushroom cream soup at pizza hut. But one story from halil about his experience while living in Saudi Arabia years ago...about how the arabs did what I used to do n it was weird to them coz turks drink the soup...and later they eat the bread..one spoon of soup..one bread..no cicah cicah like us.. that reminded me not to do the same while i am in turkey n that was what i jokingly told the guests as to save them from any embarassement while eating at turkish tables :0)

The food..it was really interesting to see them try the turksih breatfast. I noticed that the guests did not like cheese (even my sister yana when she was here). They all tried the cheese once but i could see that cheese is not their cup of tea. I dont blame them. Malaysians r more into nasi lemak n that sort. Salam .. almost similar to salami..that they like. The other interesting thing was watching them eating the green olive n the black olive during breakfast. They exceeded my expectation by at least taking one black olive during breakfast. The black olive has such a strong salty n weird taste that i never expect malaysians to like. Turkish breakfast is so different from the Malay breakfast that i made it a point to make something somehow malaysian like cucur for breakfast. This also reminded me of a conversation i had with the guests... I mean like in turkey, for breakfast, turkish bread is a must have. The guests commented that if we r living in Malaysia n we serve the guests bread, we will be considered a "tembel" aka lazy hosts!! It is true of course..i do remember when i was young, somebody's mother in law was complaining that her bride was lazy coz she served bread for breakfast. Hey!! she may be following the turkish culture..who knows??? The conclusion is.. DONt SERve BRead for ur GUEsts in Malaysia for breakfast.... but PLEASE PLEASE do serVE Bread in Turkey!!

The drinks -- Let us just say that we had a great laugh when i managed to force 2 of the lady guests to try out the turkish coffee. The look on their faces..how they screwed their faces in great torture..pahittttttttttt..turkish coffee is really really thick!! but the mom of the guests..bravo!! she finished the whole coffee and even admitted to liking it. (i had written an entry about turkish coffee.It is in the first month of the archive) ..n for that i bought them a present of the turkish cezve n a small packet of the turkish coffee..

Tea was the norm in the house of course..for breakfast n any other time of the day. I think they have enjoyed the experience of drinking the tea from the small turkish tea glass n the fact that u can choose whether to drink a dark or light tea and the amount of sugar to add inside the tea coz sugar cubes will be added by the drinker herself or himself .

Ayran is a famous drink in turkey. It is made from the turkish yogurt, water and salt. I made for them to try out that day... NOBODY DARED to try it hahahahahah

There was one point hatice asked me "Anne, bu Malaysialar kokusu mu"?? (Is this the smell of Malaysians?) Can u guess why? She is for the first time being exposed to the smell of minyak gamat n bam halia or pokok serai?... that the guests were using *chuckles* .. it was weird for her smell bud..and that question was asked to me again by halil at another point. heheheh Tu la... orang turki...biasa biasakan la dengan bau orang malaysia!! heheheheh i pon dah lama tak bau benda ni walaupun i ada segala ubat tu..tak pernah pakai pon ..sebab orang turki tak tahan bau dia ..

And anyone... DONT BRing the LAdieS from MalaySia to PaZAR (the weekly market)!! hahahahaha I think somebody shopped at least 200 Turkish lira while somebody was there!! hahahahahahaha

That is among the main highlight of that one week..Why am i using red for the writing? MY SON is right behind me as i type..never leaving me behind for one minute...bugging his mom coz he wants to play the game on the pc ...(tapi i dah lembutkan kaler merah tu sebab sakit mata nak baca nanti)

It is true..it is always nice to have someone from the homeland coming to the house. I was reluctant at the beginning but during all that time, i think i have changed my mind..i was sad in the end..The kids were sad as well..I had tried my best to be a gracious host..exerting myself to the limit beyond my capabilities. We have created a bond among us for that one week..even halil...

To the guests..Kalau ada apa apa kekurangan dalam layanan kami semasa semua berada di sini..kami sekeluarga mintak maaf. Semoga bertemu lagi disuatu hari nanti :0)

Have a nice Weekend everyone!!
I have put up a notice to halil n kids...
Friday anne is on holiday!! hahahaha

Tembel Avrat Reyonu

Tembel = lazy
Avrat = Woman or wife
Reyonu = Section

This sign can be found in one of the supermarkets somewhere in Turkey....Section for Lazy women heheheheheh

The person who wrote the sign on the paper clearly meant what was written there..Straight to the bull's eyes..

But of course..we women can always say that..hey!! i dont have the time to clean and cut the vegetables. My time is too valuable as it is. What better way than to safe time by buying vegetables like that?

I cannot speak for those working ladies.I am a housewife.. i have plenty of time to do the cleaning....cutting...and what not..i prefer buying the fresh vegetables from my weekly pazar rather than from supermarkets..though to be fair to those working ladies..that is not possible for them...Supermarkets are their only option.

Anyway... whatever!! As long as we get to have the home made food on the table... That is all that matters.. hmmmm.. what about take aways..Anyone??

Pipi - Malay vs Turkish

Dearest Malay speakers...

i have only one thing to say..if u everrr n i do repeat ever go to turkey or visit any friends who speak any types of turkish language...one word u should not have used in front of them is this..

pipi

in Malay it means cheeks but in turkish..it is referring to the male private organ..well..u know what i mean heheheheheheeh

but if u insist on using the word....at least if u r a male..try not to use it in front of the turkish speaking female ..tak pasal pasal kena ketuk kang..n if u r a female..try not to use it in front of a turkish speaking male ..nanti tak pasal pasal kena raba...

consider urself warned

hahahahahahahahahaha

An experience turned nightmare

It started as a sweet dream. My çiçeğim will be starting her pre-school education. The only concern was the question of which school of the normal 2 to choose. We made a decision with hatice's approval . On the registration day...that was when it all started..

It was not the school's fault. The fault is never with them.The fault lies in bla bla bla bla only.Only with bla bla bla . Everybody went crazy. Halil n i had many sleepless nights over it. Baba n Meşe as well. Hatice was so sad that at nights i cried thinking of her. What saddens her, saddens me. She is a part of me.My empathy for her feelings are borne naturally into me the moment she was born or perhaps even before that. It was as if a heavy dark cloud was shadowing over our days.

The experience became a nightmare. That is until Meşe made that one phone call...and at last..the sun is shining again ...and now my daughter is a registered pre-school student of the school of her choice. U cannot imagine the relief it was to us all..But what should have been a wonderful beginning to a new experience for hatice became a nightmare not only for her but for us all. My only hope is that she will sail thru her education life in a happy mode-carefree in whatever she is in. Please pray for her.

Of course as parents u wanna the best for ur kids. U dream only of good things for ur child or children. It is only normal for us parents. I too have my own hopes n dreams for my kids. But i think it is wrong for us parents to force our hopes n dreams on the kids. It is better if they make their own decisions on what they wanna do..no matter how wrong the decision may be. We as parents, no matter how hard it is, need only be the helper to guide the skipper in making the decision. Not force them into it coz if a child does things for others n not for herself or himself, she or he is bound to rebel one day.

I dunno what kind of a mom with a schooling kid i will be..but i will try my best to be not so much of a bossy, forceful mom..though if she is lazy to finish her homework..i definitely will scold her..but the choices in her life..i will leave that to her..n it begins with the choice of her school.She will be whatever she chooses to be...that is her freedom. But i hope she will grow up to be a decent person with good moral values n good manerism. That i will insist on.

*chuckles* i think i have bored u enough..endure me ..i am a mom after all..:0)

Something interesting about women

And yet men cannot live without women