It's been a year...

It's been a year since we first came to Sudan. We came last year on Aliah's seventh birthday which was on the 5th of April 2008. Today, she's eight going on eighty...hehehe. Truly, sometimes she bosses me around...sigh...

Last year, I came with very little expectation because I knew that I should not get my hopes up. But it turned out allright...alhamdulillah. The accommodation is better than expected, the facilities are okay. Even though, we don't have our own transport but the 'public' vans are aplenty. The kids are happy at their school and they have plenty of friends to play with. 

Most important of all, I'm happy. I'm happy to be with my husband and my kids without the pressure of work. To tell the truth, I really do not mind being a stay-at-home mom. Even though sometimes I feel like calling it quits especially when the kids are making me mad enough to shout the apartment down...sigh. But most days, I feel really happy, to be spending so much time when they're growing up. To see how my daughter's developing into a young woman and observing Hadi's progress in school. And I would especially cherish the experience of bringing up Amir, the baby of the house.

Being in Sudan also brings out the 'cook' in me. Well, not the 'cook' yet, but the 'baker' actually. Now I'm an inspired baker and my family would attest to that. I really like baking cupcakes and making other deserts. I'm also getting better at cooking the normal family meals but I still have problems with making curry and soups...sigh...

I'm not saying that the past one year was just one big happy memory. Definitely not! It has it's own ups and down as well. Losing my dear brother was the worst ever experience in my life. Even now I'm mourning his passing but slowly I'm learning to accept that maybe it's his time and maybe it's not my fault for leaving him back in Malaysia...sigh... Al-fatihah to Ayang.

Anyway, I'm still looking forward to going back for holidays in Malaysia but I won't dread the fact that I'll have to come back to Sudan...hehehe. I have a 'social calendar' in Khartoum, remember?!! hehehe

And of course, being in Sudan made me write this blog of mine. It's an accomplishment for someone like me who is rarely committed to do anything. Writing makes my heart lighter and somehow reading other people's blogs also 'open' my view of the world. There are differences in the way we approach life but all are God's creatures, big and small, weak or strong. I'm also making friends in the blogging world which I wouldn't have done if I'm not in Sudan. So, Ya Allah, I'm grateful for what you've given me. Thank You, Allah...

Busy...

I've been busy as a bee for the past few weeks. Trying to settle in (well, actually trying to settle back into) my life in Khartoum. There's been a lot of news as well (among my circle of friends) ... My friend, Nora, just lost her mother a few days ago. Anne's husband lost his grandmother. Condolence to both families. June was in hospital for a week. Fezzy's husband was also in hospital for a week. Zana's awaiting the arrival of her fourth child soon and I pray that it's a girl...hehehe... so that i could go crazy buying all those cute baby dresses...hehehe

In Khartoum, I'm busy with some of the activities, cooking classes for example. Now, I'm trying to join in the taichi sessions every morning (I attend 2 and miss 2)...hehehe... Been baking muffins and cupcakes to my heart's content. Sometimes just baking for the pleasure of it. There was a farewell for my husband's colleague. Last night I made dinner for some of my husband's colleague and boss. So, today I just want to relax... hehehe

Not to forget that I've been to two souks in two days (Souk Shakbi and Souk Bahari). It was a lot of fun but very tiring. But, I fell in love with the fresh products (vegetables and fruits) in Souk Bahari and I'll definitely go with my husband to shop there in the future. I hope I have the time to update all my activities when I was in Malaysia soon (I have it all in my head, already). I just need to spill it out...sigh... too many activities, too little time...

I'm back in Khartoum...

I'm back in Sudan! We arrived 2 nights ago, but I had a terrible flu, along with my husband and Amir. We arrived around 8 pm, after sorting the food stuff, I straight away went to sleep with the other two patients...hehehe...only to be awoken by Aliah around midnight (Hadi was finding it difficult to sleep, but by the time I woke up, he was fast asleep...)That means the two of them had fun watching TV without supervision...sigh...

Anyway, my husband declared that he's on MC. Actually, in Sudan there's no such thing as MC...hehehe. I was also groggy from the medicine, only managed to cook chicken rice for everyone. After a long hiatus of not cooking, I'm back to 'cooking territory'...sigh... Anyway, we received news that che We, one of our relatives in Kuala Trengganu passed away yesterday...al-fatihah... may Allah bless her soul...

The kids are away in school and Amir's pestering me to sleep with him, so au revoir...

I'm on the move!

I'm on the move!!! I'm currently in Kuala Trengganu. I've been travelling since Saturday the 6th of December. For the past two days I was in Kota Bharu, Kelantan... visiting my mother-in-law's relatives... The next few days, I'll be visiting my father-in-law's relatives... so, I'll update this blog when I arrive in Kuala Lumpur... so, see you soon... enjoy the holidays!!!

My 100th entry...

Do you believe that this is my 100th entry since I started blogging on Tuesday, the 3rd of June 2008? I can hardly believe it myself! At first it was quite difficult to write an entry, but now it comes naturally to me.

I started blogging when I read my friend, Nora's blog. She was my high school classmate in the 80s. By reading it, I found out about her life for the past few years, her heartbreaks and her triumphs. I was inspired, maybe this could be a way for me to share my life experiences with my family and friends. That was the beginning.

At first I wrote about my experiences when I first came to Khartoum and I was a bit shy about my blog. It was personal, just for family and friends. Now, I blogged about everything and very happy if people read my entries and more wonderful if they leave comments (just a way for me to communicate with friends).

In my earlier entries, it was quite boring, just words and more words... then, I discovered how to post pictures... hehehe... now, it's always a picture report...hehehe... Even my husband's a bit disgruntled because every new recipe I tried need to be photographed first!

Through blogging I 'met' a new sort of friends... virtual friends... I got to know Kak Olie, Ina and many more... I got hooked with 'trengganuspeak'...hehehe... and surfed a lot of blogs... I was glad that I could share my laughter as well as my tears with 'friends'. Losing my favourite and youngest brother was a big blow to me... Luckily I am surrounded with lots of people and activities to help me get through the pain...not to forget, never to forget... but just to dull the pain... Soon, it'll be a 100 days since he left us all and very soon I'll get to finally see his grave... May he rest in peace, insyaAllah...al-fatihah...

I also realised that I have a quirky way of writing. My trademark 'hehehe' would always be somewhere in my entries. I don't know why but it's just my way of looking at things. There's always potential laughter and merriment around the corner. I think it reflects my personality as well as I am always the 'provider' of laughter in real life too... hehehe. I don't know, it's just that I find life is actually quite funny...

Anyway, this 100th entry is very special to me. It has a bittersweet tone to it... But I promise that I won't stop blogging in the near future... I think I'll be writing a lot about food and cooking in general... also about my travel plans in Malaysia... I have so many ideas that I'd have to stop myself from hogging the computer...hehehe... Anyway, feel free to drop me a line whenever you visit my blog, it'll really make my day. Thank you Nora, Kak Olie, Syikeen, Karee, Adik, Mi, Amina, Josephine and the rest who left their comments and give me the strength to keep on blogging... This will definitely not the end... au revoir...