Sherlock Holmes ~ Game of Shadows

taken from www.celebuzz.com

When everybody is goin' crazy and can't wait to watch Robert Downey Jr. to embody the Sherlock Holmes character,  I was very very very keen to watch my hero ~ Jude Law... Owh Dr. Watson, I'm crazy aboutcha!  hahahhaaaa... Over kaannn...

Frankly speaking, the movie needs someone with high intellectual to be able to understand the whole thing.  It's a bit boring though for someone yang as simple as me.  So Bimbo kaan... ;P  I like towards the ending part only when it really gave me hope to stay and intrigue of how this movie will end.  I also like the witty scripts, which I found quite funny.  Although I hardly remember the first one, but I remember that it was better and even more entertaining!.  My rate for this movie: 5/10.

However, Jude Law's still the hottie!!!

Al-Islam Januari 2012

I can't sleep tonight.  Dunno why.  So I decided to blog.  Tadi, the 1st time I read Al Islam magazine.  Before this, my favourite magazine is Aquila and sometimes Women's weekly.  Tapi bukan baca sgt pn, unless mmg betul2 ade free time to read, barulah nk flick thru.  

The other day I had Hot Choc at Starbucks with a good friend since school, my maid of honour during my wedding reception dulu.  If jumpa dia, biase la, we chat mostly about our current lives.  I told her how much I missed my late Grandma.  She told me she read at al-Islam about life after death, bila roh berada di Alam Barzakh.  And mcm2 info she told me, which she read from Al-Islam.

Siang tadi, lepas teman my other half shopping, I saw Al-Islam on the magazine rack at the Newsstand.  So I grabbed and read couple of articles out loud in the car to share the valuable ilmu with my other half.  There's a lot of interesting articles found in this mag. I love it! It's very affordable ~ ONLY RM5!  Not many ads printed in this mag. The articles I read just now:

1. Bersalam Cium Tangan - Sunnah atau Budaya?
   Jawapannya tiada dlm mana2 hadis bersalam perlu cium tangan.  However bersalam digalakkan dalam Islam utk menjalin persahabatan.
2. Kenapa basuh kaki sebelum tidur?
   Basuh kaki untuk menurunkan gelombang otak daripada beta kepada alpha, kemudian theta dan seterusnya delta. Tidur dalam gelombang delta adalah tidur yang paling berkualiti, nyenyak tiada mimpi.

Interesting right? Macam2 lagi articles that I can't wait  to read. And I'll definitely read it once I finished blogging.  

graceful violet now has violet hair...

taken from razorblade-cookies.blogspot.com

After 5 years of contemplating to change the color of my hair... (Well it has actually been 5 years since the last time I changed my hair colour kot, and I was blondie dulu... huhuhuhu... hehehe) Finally... I did it... I went to my favourite Salon, "Chinta" at Wangsa Link, Wanga Maju.  Inilah jadinya bile rase sangat tension OK.  Usually if I cried a river of tears, I would heal myself with just a facial mask or eye mask.  Then I would put more makeup and dress up the next morning, I would definitely feel great after that!  But this time around, I need to do something more...  At first I went to Guardian, I bought one box of Revlon Burgundy Brown hair colour.  Unfortunately my hair is too long that 1 box only wasn't enough to cover the whole hair.  So, I decided to just use the salon's colour since it's using the HALAL Loreal hair colour.  My hair now is brownish VIOLET... Wooohooo!!! Like what I wrote in my BB status "New year, new hair, new ME!!!"  Yang pentingnya, my sweetheart loves my new hair!  He said "You look like some Datin already"... Then I said "Owh pulleaassee, I don't want to look like a Datin but I think I look like Kristen Stewart the vampire version"... Simply wanted to annoy him... Hahahahaaa...

I'm wearing Hijab, I did it obviously for myself and my other half... *grin...  Before I did it, I did some research on "Hukum mewarnakan Rambut dalam Islam".  I found this,

Sabda nabi SAW yang bermaksud : “Sesungguhnya Allah itu cantik dan sukakan kecantikan dan ia bersih dan sukakan kebersihan“."

More...

Perbuatan mewarnakan rambut selain daripada warna hitam adalah harus dengan syarat pewarna tersebut tidak mengandungi bahan-bahan najis dan telap air serta tidak bertujuan untuk menunjukkan kecantikan kepada orang lain. Ulama telah bersepakat mengharuskan mencelup warna rambut dari warna hitam ke warna lain seperti merah dan lain-lain, samada dengan inai dan apa jua pewarna yang dibenarkan syarak. Mereka semua berdalilkan dengan hadith-hadith riwayat An-Nasaie, At-Tirmidzi, Ahmad, dan Muslim.~ ohislam.com

Read more here.

Here are some tips.  A change would definitely make yourself feel much better...  And when you feel good, you'll end up be nice.  And when you're nice, your other half will love you more! ;)

Time has changed...

I used to be your medicine when you were sick
I used to be your extra energy when you played games
I used to be someone that you need to be by your side always
You used to stay all night to help me went through my tough times
You used to take care of me when I was sick
You used to make coffee for me
You used to make breakfast in bed for me
You used to make mushroom soup for me
You used to fry chicken for me
You used to help me in the kitchen
You used to help me with the house chores

But that was quite a while ago...
Are you still the same person now?

Time has changed...
But that doesn't mean people have to change too...

Eyeglasses can be fashionable and functional at the same time

2011 is reaching the finishing line... My year end gift to myself and a strong reason to encourage myself to CHANGE.  A first step to change ~ wear eyeglasses to avoid eye infection.  Walaupun berat, tapi nak cuba jugak. So yesterday I collected my year end gift:

My sweetheart told me to pick this eyeglasses cos it matches my handbag.  Hahahaa... Like I said at the title, It can be fashionable  and functional at the same time. The frame is light and comfortable.  The best thing about this eye wear is its temples that curve over my ears properly and the frame rests on my nose comfortably. ~Big grin*

"It is possible to combine function and style when you choose the best fitting frame for your prescription glasses". ~ Dr. Paul Naftali, Pennsylvania optometrist.

the amazing Istanbul, Turkiye pt. 2

Where did I stop. Yeah at Spice Bazaar where we heard so many charming words came out from the local retailers.  I saw only men sell stuff at Spice Bazaar.  Then we went to Hagia Sofia, which has a very unique interior design.  Hagia Sofia was originally built as a Great Church then converted into a mosque in 1453.  Hagia Sofia was used as a church for 91 years while later it was used as a mosque for 481 years.  Although there were some Islamic elements added into the interior and the architecture of the building, the christian paintings are still remained.  After that, we went to Basilica Cistern.  It was quite dark and I felt a little bit eerie here. It was dug and built probably after 542. Water was brought to this underground cistern for water supplies for the city. We saw two Medusa heads to form bases for two columns in a far corner of the cistern, which was a bit creepy to me.  It is believed that gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone. U can read more about her here.

taken from Shahidah Mohd Said's facebook.

3rd day~ we visited Suleymaniye Mosque.  Beautiful historical architecture that was built between 1550 - 1557.  It has a spacious courtyard surrounds the mosque.  Then we went to Pierri Lotti Hill to enjoy the Bosphorus view. Here I could see the graveyard that was probably exist many2 years ago.  I found a small cute bottle of Coke here, my all time favourite soda! I bought ONLY two.  I should've bought more, it will make good souvenirs! Damn!  After that, we went to Grand Bazaar.  We got to rush like hell, and there was no time to snap pics there as we were struggling with time! All of us didn't have enough time to shop... I managed to only buy some souvenirs and couple of shawls to bring home.  At Grand Bazaar most of the retailers were not nice, they were quite rude.  Most of them didn't like it when we tried to negotiate to get a cheaper price.

Some pics were taken by my camera, some are from Shahidah's fb album.

4th day~ free and easy! After we had done our business visit at TTNET, we took a tram ride along Istiklal Street heading to Taksim Square, it was awesome!  Then we walked back to the hotel.  On the way back, we had the best food during our stay, which was the roadside Taksim Doner Kebab.  I chose this shop because it was appeared on TV a while ago. Walaupun takde Chilli Sauce, tetap sedap gilerrrz!!!

The most memorable thing about Istanbul was, everywhere we go, mesti ada  FAT cats... I felt like hugging and squeezing the adorable fat cats... Here's one of them, such a handsome cat I found at Hagia Sofia!  I miss him very much!!!

taken from Faten Liyana fb.

Istanbul Turkiye ~ A place that all of us should go.  They have totally different culture and totally different lifestyle and rich with historical complexes.  

"If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul." - Alphonse de Lamartin.

the amazing Istanbul, Turkiye...

One of my dreams came true!!! Seriously!!!  I had the chance to go to Istanbul, Turkiye, which was one of the places that I've been dreaming to go to...

taken from Apit Rani's facebook.

The breathtaking scenery was worth waiting for hours and hours of flight delayed from KLIA to Atartuk Airport although we were so exhausted.  We stayed at a very simple hotel, the Grand Hotel Halic. I love the view of the Bosphorus - wonderful blue of Istanbul Strait from our room.  What I hate the most was the same disappointed breakfast menu every morning everyday.

taken from Apit Rani's facebook.

We did almost every MUST-DO at Istanbul.  But how I wish we could have just few more days to stay there... 

1st day ~ Just couple of weeks ago, we visited Blue Mosque. It's called blue mosque because of the blue tiles.  But I don't see much blue though. :) We took the chance to pray at the mosque built by a young Sultan, 19 year old Sultan Ahmet 1 in 1609 and finished at 1616.  Then we walked to Topkapi Palace Museum.  A museum that keeps all the valuable things like gold and diamond old jeweleries, the most precious diamond is 86 carats, "drop-shaped".  We could also see the personal belongings of Prophet Muhammad e.g. the decorative sword, big footprint and very small amount of beard hair.  Later at night, we went for a walk at Sultanahmet Area and watched the Hippodrome.  It  was originally built in 203 by the Roman Emperor.

2nd day~ we took the Bosphorus Cruise in daytime. The boat we took was large with two levels that gave us a good opportunity to see the splendid views of both continents Europe and Asia, plenty of jelly fish swam in the bluest ocean.  Then we went to Spice Bazaar to buy some spices and turkish delights.  "Lady, you drop something", said a young local guy. I quickly looked for that thing. "You dropped my heart", he continued... Hahahaaa... There's a lot of so called "charming" guys in that bazaar. ;P

to be continued... 

Breaking Dawn Part 1 VS Ombak Rindu

Last few weeks, I organised a movie night out for the company.  We went to watch the Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1 at GSC Pavillion.  One of the movies I really couldn't wait to watch.  It started when my ex-colleague once told me that she was fully immersed herself in the story while reading the novel until she dreamed about it.  Then another colleague told me how amazing she felt after watching the first twilight. Since that I've been following all 3 series of the Twilight Saga, and now I have watched the 4th one.  Breaking Dawn Part 1, the best thing I found was the wedding.  Beautiful set, beautiful dress, beautiful bride and handsome groom! Like an all time wedding dream...

taken from weddinginspirasi.com

taken from vogue.co.uk

So beautiful kan?  Lg satu yg  best was their honeymoonie. Seriously romantic, with the ocean, the waterfall.  Argghh... Canteknya!!! But overall the story line was a bit slow.  Rating: 6/10. :)

Just now, me and Mr. Hubby took Mama to go watch the awaited "Ombak Rindu", another movie adaptation from a local novel. Sedih lah... Menitis jugak airmata especially when it touches about the love and sacrifices between a husband and a wife.  Yang ni memang bessstt... Tapi yg kelakarnya, tgh feeling2 sedey, Mr. Hubby boleh nguap berkali2.  Biaselah dia kalau bukan action movie, mulalah dia nantuk kaann... Nasib baik dia pun ala2 romantic jugak... But with his own sweet ways la kaaann... Hehehe... I haven't read its novel but I can totally understand the whole story.  May be it looks a bit chopped here and there but it was still good, perhaps not as good as the novel though.  I love the breathtaking scenery of the beach and paddy field.  While mama kept on saying that the house is beautiful.  It's totally Malaysian, totally "Malay Movie" with good quality.  The couple is as romantic as the twilight's couple.  Rating: 9/10. :)

taken from hansrollodepelicula.blogspot.com

Both are the adaptation movie of novels.  Both are also a romantic drama genre.  Both played at beautiful locations.  Both are also about husband and wife. But I think, Ombak Rindu has touched my heart deeper. :')

Valuable Moments at RACTAR Pt. 2

Our company's CSR continued the mission with presenting of 44 "Back to School Packs" to residents of the Rumah Amal Cahaya Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (RACTAR) in Subang Jaya last month.  I blogged about our first initiative here.

It was a good session which was simple, short and sweet.  Our chairman was the guest of honour who gave such a humble and good speech before presenting the gifts.  When I sat down while listening to his speech, rasenye macam jauh lagi my journey to reach to where he is now.  He reminds me a lot of my late grand dad, a very respectable man but still very down to earth.  He even called himself "Pakcik" when he did the speech in front of the RACTAR's residents. :)

The kids were still reserved and I'm pretty unsure whether they were happy to receive us and the gifts... Well I hope they were...

My dear grandma is deeply missed... :'(

I just came back from Istanbul, Turkiye.  But I'm not gonna blog about Istanbul, not just yet... I have more important thing that I've been thinking of lately.  I've been thinking about my late grandma... Our dear beloved grandma who had passed away recently at the age of 81.  She passed away last couple of weeks on Friday.  We call her "Tah".  May Allah grant her a place in Jannah. Ameen.

"The Muslim who passes away on the night or during the day of Friday, Allah Ta'ala saves him from the punishment of the grave." (Tirmidhi) - borrowed from http://www.deenislam.co.uk.

When she was young and so pretty (PYT)...

It was really sad. Tah went away so very peacefully on that Friday.  The Friday that I organised my office Movie-Night-Out.  We went to Pavi to watch the Breaking Dawn.  I know she had been sick for months after months.  I went to visit her the day before.  She didn't open her eyes. Her hands were swollen. I totally thought and wished she would not be leaving us at least until I come back from Istanbul, Turkiye.  I was counting the days to the much awaited trip, it was 2 days to go at that time.  

On that Friday, after we finished watching movie, we realized there was a missed call from my sister-in-law.  She told us that my grandma passed away at 4.30pm on that day, we didn't believe her.  Because no one told me anything! I felt so bad then I called my brother, apparently my mom sms-ed me but it didn't reach me.  

I was wrong! So I wept.  I cried like a little girl who had just lost her granny.  I couldn't hold my tears the moment I reached her house.  My mom hugged me really tight.  I felt so deeply guilty of all the bad things I had said to her when I was younger... I felt even worse that I hadn't had the chance to apologise to her.  She was very stern most of the times, but she was stern because she wanted the best for us... When I was much younger I thought she wasn't cool, she was totally old-fashioned and she would never understood me.  But now I know, she was who she was because she wanted us to go to the right path... :'(

It was not my intention to abandon her when she was ill, but I did not know how to show how much I care, deep down I loved her.  I miss her now.  I grew up in her house with both her and my dear late grandpa.  She taught me to appreciate beauty.  Because of her, I like to wear eyeliner now.  Because of her I like Henna.  Because I watched her putting on the eyeliner on her eyes so perfectly.  I watched her putting the inai around my fingers and on my palm.... Beautiful memories linger in my head again...

borrowed from mela2mela.blogspot.com.

My dear late grandpa was also passed away on Friday night at 9ish several years ago.  And... Praise be to Allah, she was safely buried right next to her beloved husband's grave at Islamic Bukit Kiara Cemetery.

May Allah grant my Arwah Tok and Tah a place in Jannah. Ameen

Al- Fatihah...