It's here again.. and it will be here again and again...
Exam week...
Oh how I dread it. I have to use up all my energy just to get the boys "to look" at their books. Sure.. they have piles of book in front of them .. at the same time the younger ones would lure them into whatever games that they were playing ...! Then I need more and more energy to stop the young ones to involve their brohers. Oh dear.. what chaos.
And this will go on till the end of their schooling... oh dear God gimme the strength, courage and patience!
Eh .. surely it can't be that bad...
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
My first step
I have always wanted to do something different in my life but I lacked the courage. And I always thought I'm different but the fact is .. I'm very much the same as anybody else. Last weekend I finally stepped beyond my normal life routine. Did something I thought I'd never do. Well.. could be nothing to some people but something to me.
The event... My sister and I rented a spot in a 3-day bazaar organised by a state mosque here. I had some home made cakes and my sister sell health product of which she is the distributor. We were really nervous about it since we have never done this before. I HAVE NEVER done this in my entire life! Not even during school or college where sometimes some students set up booth to sell something during any college event. Not me.. I was such a public freak (well, I do have my reasons!!)
The expectation ... really, I didn't know what to expect since it was my first time. I also did not think of the sales.. though I did hope for some returns. My "little" worry was the weather since the heat was rather unbearable for the past week. I worried whether I can survive the heat under the tent for 7-10 (or longer) hours a day. My main objective was to get the experience of selling... and to see if my so-called culinary skills can earn me some money.
The experience ... WOW! My first impression.. we were really the small fish there. We were competing with the "real business people". Other booths were occupied by seasoned sellers who had been selling their products for at least a year or so.. who had done this kind of sales numerous of times if not daily. They have all the "right" tools and peripherals to do the selling. I was slightly taken aback at first. Then again I thought, what do you expect, this is the real world. I was doing real sales, meeting real customers from all walk of life. I got a bit nervous then. Somehow my nervousness dissapear when we were greeted by other sellers.. they were SUPER friedly and helpful! My... was I pleasantly surprised. We got acquainted in no time. The booth on my left was selling all kind of dates and raisins, and their hot selling Halal coco drink - MOSHA, fresh in the market. They consists of a few humble young man, ready to help you anytime. My right neighbor is a gutsy friendly, talkative lady and her workers selling Muslim apparels. By the end of the first day, we got acquainted with almost all the sellers, around 20 of them. Though some may be our competitor, but the selling and teamwork spirit is amazing.
After 3 days .. I would say the experience was priceless. Forget the heat which thankfully was bearable because it was rather breezy! Socializing with people on the streets, sellers who are very determined in selling their products, as well as customers of whom you never know what to expect from them except that you hope they would buy from you. You get that exciting feeling when you see people approaching your items, and you tell them excitedly what they are all about. They came, the looked, tasted and looked again. If you are lucky, they buy... if not they just said thank you, smiled and walked away. And you.. took a seat again! Isn't that interesting?
The sales ... welll.. I didn't do so well in this one. Perhaps I did not do enough research on the crowd. You have to reach the right crowd. I was selling cakes in a mosque area. Perhaps a better place to sell cakes is in the mall or offices where the crowd would be more represented. Eh? People who go to mosque are mostly elderlies- who are not supposed to eat sweet things? 80% of my sales came from family and friends who came to visit us by invitation (yup, told thm I'm selling!) and the neighboring sellers who got hungry, or appetised by the cakes. I had leftovers at the end of each day which I would generously gave away to the "neighbors" or my family members. At the end of the 3 days.. I barely covered my costs. My friends thought I was selling the cakes way too low beyond the market price.. well it's true actually. ... I WAS just testing the water!
So that was my first step, hopefully towards something bigger. I will definitely keep on moving further if God wills. Except for the next time around, instead of jumping right into the sea, I will learn how to swim first!
The event... My sister and I rented a spot in a 3-day bazaar organised by a state mosque here. I had some home made cakes and my sister sell health product of which she is the distributor. We were really nervous about it since we have never done this before. I HAVE NEVER done this in my entire life! Not even during school or college where sometimes some students set up booth to sell something during any college event. Not me.. I was such a public freak (well, I do have my reasons!!)
The expectation ... really, I didn't know what to expect since it was my first time. I also did not think of the sales.. though I did hope for some returns. My "little" worry was the weather since the heat was rather unbearable for the past week. I worried whether I can survive the heat under the tent for 7-10 (or longer) hours a day. My main objective was to get the experience of selling... and to see if my so-called culinary skills can earn me some money.
The experience ... WOW! My first impression.. we were really the small fish there. We were competing with the "real business people". Other booths were occupied by seasoned sellers who had been selling their products for at least a year or so.. who had done this kind of sales numerous of times if not daily. They have all the "right" tools and peripherals to do the selling. I was slightly taken aback at first. Then again I thought, what do you expect, this is the real world. I was doing real sales, meeting real customers from all walk of life. I got a bit nervous then. Somehow my nervousness dissapear when we were greeted by other sellers.. they were SUPER friedly and helpful! My... was I pleasantly surprised. We got acquainted in no time. The booth on my left was selling all kind of dates and raisins, and their hot selling Halal coco drink - MOSHA, fresh in the market. They consists of a few humble young man, ready to help you anytime. My right neighbor is a gutsy friendly, talkative lady and her workers selling Muslim apparels. By the end of the first day, we got acquainted with almost all the sellers, around 20 of them. Though some may be our competitor, but the selling and teamwork spirit is amazing.
After 3 days .. I would say the experience was priceless. Forget the heat which thankfully was bearable because it was rather breezy! Socializing with people on the streets, sellers who are very determined in selling their products, as well as customers of whom you never know what to expect from them except that you hope they would buy from you. You get that exciting feeling when you see people approaching your items, and you tell them excitedly what they are all about. They came, the looked, tasted and looked again. If you are lucky, they buy... if not they just said thank you, smiled and walked away. And you.. took a seat again! Isn't that interesting?
The sales ... welll.. I didn't do so well in this one. Perhaps I did not do enough research on the crowd. You have to reach the right crowd. I was selling cakes in a mosque area. Perhaps a better place to sell cakes is in the mall or offices where the crowd would be more represented. Eh? People who go to mosque are mostly elderlies- who are not supposed to eat sweet things? 80% of my sales came from family and friends who came to visit us by invitation (yup, told thm I'm selling!) and the neighboring sellers who got hungry, or appetised by the cakes. I had leftovers at the end of each day which I would generously gave away to the "neighbors" or my family members. At the end of the 3 days.. I barely covered my costs. My friends thought I was selling the cakes way too low beyond the market price.. well it's true actually. ... I WAS just testing the water!
So that was my first step, hopefully towards something bigger. I will definitely keep on moving further if God wills. Except for the next time around, instead of jumping right into the sea, I will learn how to swim first!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Mother's Day
I bet every mom blogger will be writing about this. Here's my count of the day..
At the front door...
On the wall in the living hall
Another wall in the living hall
Each of their individual card as they swarmed me when I entered the house.
I was out of the house since morning by myself under "a mission" (this will be another entry!) until 5pm. What greeted me was this ..
At the front door... 
On the wall in the living hall
Another wall in the living hall
Each of their individual card as they swarmed me when I entered the house. Apparently they spent the whole day making the cards. Abang made Omar's card. Syasya had 2 cards as one she made at school. It was touching .. really. I have their handmade cards every year actually but this year is rather elaborated since they had time to prepare and surprise me. Abang suggested that we go out to the mall so that he can pick something out for me. But I said the cards are enough and I didn't need any gift. Later we just went out for a drive.
To me I don't need any presents or any special dinner to celebrate me being their mother. Being a mom is already a gift by itself. It's just become even more special when your kids acknowledge, appreciate and most importantly love you as much as love them. Words cannot just describe what being a mother means.
I thank Allah for the gift..
The only thing is that I wish my mom is here so that I can show my appreciation as I don't recall having done that .. well back in those days mom appreciation was not very popular. Those days where moms are just moms.
Al-Fatihah for my mom ...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Focus.. ACT!
It's a matter of getting up and do it. I've been doing a lot of reading on how to's on some areas in my attempt to "work from home". But never get around to actually do it. I have all the instructions, I have the tools, I have the means.. but why is it so hard for me to actually do it? Perhaps I lack the will? I have thousands of excuses too! I also thought of so many things that I want to do and I could do. At the end of the day none accomplished. How dissapointing! It's like watching days and months go by.. without any results.
Yesterday I read an article on Money Tree which tells you money does grow on trees! With the right strategies of course.. hence the Money Tree. Last week I read an article on How to Make Money on the Internet.. it really works, but the most important thing is FOCUS. You have to focus on what you want to do.. not do everything. Doinkkkk... one big hit on my head. That's it.. another thing that I'm lacking.. focus.. that's why I end up doing nothing. I want to do so many things.. I end up doing a little bit here and there - nothing accomplished.
Oh well perhaps there are "some" things accomplished. I managed all data gathering and preparation of tools and content.. but still.. there's no real determination in getting it done. Perhaps I need to get desperate. But I am kinda desperate right now. I'm desperate to get excited to see the results, desperate to fill my time with something "intellectually challenging" .. other than "parental challenge". And most of all desperate to see some RM pouring into my bank account out of my efforts.
I guess this is the real dilemma of me being a SAHM. I lack the focus, motivation and determination.. despite the desperation that I'm feeling. I hope I will not head to failure.. They say you have to fail first, it's a BIG step towards success. I truly agree.. hey but I am so afraid of failure. I have never really failed.. not really so successful either.. but I get through. I got through school, I got through college, I got through 15 years of working life. That's all there is, I got through. It's pathetic. No real success.
The only success so far that I see is raising my kids which is even then I am not sure of the real result until they grow up and live their lives "successfully". And this .. I swear.. I will not just go through it. I am working hard for it because I can feel the pain of raising them. I have my all my emotions surfacing while taking care of them. So I pray hard ... I will tread through this one.. and I will be successful.
I'm straying away from what I was gonna write.. being focused. Now that I've lashed out everything here.. perhaps today onwards, I will take action and hope for the best results rather than wonder how it would turn out. All the best to me!
Yesterday I read an article on Money Tree which tells you money does grow on trees! With the right strategies of course.. hence the Money Tree. Last week I read an article on How to Make Money on the Internet.. it really works, but the most important thing is FOCUS. You have to focus on what you want to do.. not do everything. Doinkkkk... one big hit on my head. That's it.. another thing that I'm lacking.. focus.. that's why I end up doing nothing. I want to do so many things.. I end up doing a little bit here and there - nothing accomplished.
Oh well perhaps there are "some" things accomplished. I managed all data gathering and preparation of tools and content.. but still.. there's no real determination in getting it done. Perhaps I need to get desperate. But I am kinda desperate right now. I'm desperate to get excited to see the results, desperate to fill my time with something "intellectually challenging" .. other than "parental challenge". And most of all desperate to see some RM pouring into my bank account out of my efforts.
I guess this is the real dilemma of me being a SAHM. I lack the focus, motivation and determination.. despite the desperation that I'm feeling. I hope I will not head to failure.. They say you have to fail first, it's a BIG step towards success. I truly agree.. hey but I am so afraid of failure. I have never really failed.. not really so successful either.. but I get through. I got through school, I got through college, I got through 15 years of working life. That's all there is, I got through. It's pathetic. No real success.
The only success so far that I see is raising my kids which is even then I am not sure of the real result until they grow up and live their lives "successfully". And this .. I swear.. I will not just go through it. I am working hard for it because I can feel the pain of raising them. I have my all my emotions surfacing while taking care of them. So I pray hard ... I will tread through this one.. and I will be successful.
I'm straying away from what I was gonna write.. being focused. Now that I've lashed out everything here.. perhaps today onwards, I will take action and hope for the best results rather than wonder how it would turn out. All the best to me!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Tween
Ever heard of this word? I first heard it a few years ago but never bother about it until I'm faced with one now.
A quick check on the wikipedia gave me this:
Tween is an American neologism and marketing term for preteen. A blend of between and teen, "tween" in this context is generally considered to cover the age range from eight to twelve years.
As you should guess.. yeap, I have two of these. One is just becoming one, and the other is very much one. As days go by, as I find it more difficult to handle these two, I realised that they are no longer babies and they shouldn't be treated like one. I suddenly remembered the TWEEN term and start googling it. It's a gradual development that you don't even noticed since you are with them all the time.
The good thing of a tween is that you can reason with them easier as they have better understanding of things as compared to little children, you can have serious talk with them, they learn to compromise and the best is you can begin to see the results of the early upbringing on them (well if you did it right in the first place). You can even roll your eyes together with him (in understanding) for the fuss the younger ones made.
The not so good thing is they are in the phase of discovering their identity hence they have some kind of mood swing which is very hard for us to decipher. You have to be gentle as not to hamper their development, at the same time you have to be strict as not to let him stray away from you. You have to watch what you are saying when they are around because they are definitely listening and trying to grasp whatever that you are saying even though it has nothing to do with them. This is also the phase where finding the right size or the right fashion for them is the hardest. They are too little for adult size or fashion but too old/big for kids fashion and size. I find this very frustrating. They want to blend in with the older kids (i.e.teenagers) but what's in the market for their age is still reflecting little children's age. The trend is now slowly changing now that some research has been done on the TWEEN market.
Google tween if you want to know more. You will find many interesting articles on it.
How time flies.. they are growing fast.. me getting old even faster!
A quick check on the wikipedia gave me this:
Tween is an American neologism and marketing term for preteen. A blend of between and teen, "tween" in this context is generally considered to cover the age range from eight to twelve years.
As you should guess.. yeap, I have two of these. One is just becoming one, and the other is very much one. As days go by, as I find it more difficult to handle these two, I realised that they are no longer babies and they shouldn't be treated like one. I suddenly remembered the TWEEN term and start googling it. It's a gradual development that you don't even noticed since you are with them all the time.
The good thing of a tween is that you can reason with them easier as they have better understanding of things as compared to little children, you can have serious talk with them, they learn to compromise and the best is you can begin to see the results of the early upbringing on them (well if you did it right in the first place). You can even roll your eyes together with him (in understanding) for the fuss the younger ones made.
The not so good thing is they are in the phase of discovering their identity hence they have some kind of mood swing which is very hard for us to decipher. You have to be gentle as not to hamper their development, at the same time you have to be strict as not to let him stray away from you. You have to watch what you are saying when they are around because they are definitely listening and trying to grasp whatever that you are saying even though it has nothing to do with them. This is also the phase where finding the right size or the right fashion for them is the hardest. They are too little for adult size or fashion but too old/big for kids fashion and size. I find this very frustrating. They want to blend in with the older kids (i.e.teenagers) but what's in the market for their age is still reflecting little children's age. The trend is now slowly changing now that some research has been done on the TWEEN market.
Google tween if you want to know more. You will find many interesting articles on it.
How time flies.. they are growing fast.. me getting old even faster!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Of a separation ...
On a sad note.. last 2 weeks I heard a shocking news from a dear dear friend that she was being divorced by her husband of 8 years. They seemed to me the most perfect couple. The reason of the divorce, the most stupidest reason I've ever heard... she's the barrier of his success. Looks like this guy has never heard of the phrase "behind every successful man, there's a woman".. the woman who's supposed to be the pillar of his success. After all, what is the success for if it's not for your woman, for your children. Really I don't get it! To me it's just an excuse to marry another woman.. which is very true in this case.
Marriage is all about loving, sharing, compromising and sacrificing. If you are not willing to have all that, you are in for trouble sooner or later.
Sometimes the reality of life sucks. Then again it depends on how you drive your life through .. it's a journey... not really a destination. The only destination is the afterlife.. life is just a transit to the afterlife.Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Of a wedding ...
The "glorious" event that has kept me busy for the past weeks. Wedding of my niece. It was quite an event.. for a few days starting with the akad at home and reception at a banquet hall. I wish the bride and groom a lifetime marriage!
The procession of flower-gals and one little "flower-boy" ... together with some "old" maids-of-honor!
Bestest of friends... flower boy with two favorite flower gals ..
Eight flower-gals and one flower-boy..
I have at least one wedding of a niece or nephew almost every year.. but this is the first time we have the little flower gals. They really enjoyed being part of the important event. Funnily .. Omar somehow got into it the last minute as he insisted holding his favorite cousin's hands the whole time during the rehearsal. So we decided to include him as well. We managed to find the bow-tie at the very last minute to match the theme. Thank God he was VERY well-behaved during the ceremony!
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