Contest Kenangan Berpuasa Zaman Kanak2

Sempena bulan puasa ni, mama manja telah menganjurkan contest ni. Sekali lg, aku terpanggil utk mencuba kesekian kalinya. Memang tengok tajuk contest ni, menngingatkan aku pada kenangan berpuasa dolu2.

Ok kita tengok dulu syarat2 & cara2 nya sblm aku mula mengarang ceritera aku.

Syarat2nya ialah:

• Menjadi FOLLOWER Mamamanja (dah lama ikut)
  
• Add blog MAMAMANJA kat bloglist korang (dah letak)
  
• Upload gambar diatas sebagai BANNER DI SIDEBAR blog korang dan LINK kan ke ENTRY ini (ok)
  
• Nyatakan LINK blog Mamamanja kat entry korang (nanti dah siap, link akan diletak)
  

Cara2nya pulak ialah:

• Buat 1 entry tentang kenangan berpuasa korang yang paling menarik masa zaman kekecik dulu. X kira la... pertama kali berpuasa atau dah jenuh berpuasa, janji kenangan yang paling menarik masa zaman kekecik.
• Bila dah siap, nyatakan LINK ENTRY korang kat ruangan komen entry ini supaya senang aku nak terjah.

Alkisah pada suatu masa dulu (masa aku darjah 4- 10 thn), aku telah berazam untuk berpuasa penuh. Sebelum tu, aku tak mampu untuk berpuasa penuh selama sebulan. Tahun sebelumnya, aku hanya berpuasa 27 hari. (3 hari lagi tak tahan sebab arwah ma dah buat biskut raya, so kenala jadi tukang rasa.hehe). Aku juga sebenarnya ada niat tak baik. Abah selalu berjanji dengan kami adik beradik, jika ada yang berpuasa penuh, abah akan memberikan duit raya yang banyak. Sebab tu jugalah aku berkobar2 untuk berpuasa penuh. (tak baik kan. huhu). Semasa minggu pertama dan kedua, aku masih bersemangat dan tak merasa penat. Apabila masuk minggu ketiga, aku mula merasa penat. Jadi setiap kali aku pergi ke surau untuk bersembahyang zuhur dan asar (sekolah sesi petang), aku akan cuba-cuba ambik air sembahyang lama. Masa berkumur, aku akan curi2 minum air paip. (hehe). Satu hari, seorang ustazah ternampak apabila aku berkumur2 lebih dari 3 kali. (dah lupa nama Ustazah tu sbb dah lama dah kisah ni. tahun 1988). Nasib baik ustazah tu tak marah aku depan kawan2. Dia panggil aku dan tegur aku secara baik. Aku malu sangat dan memang masa tu rasa nak nangis je. Balik rumah, arwah ma tanya kenapa aku diam je. Aku tak berani nak cerita pada arwah ma sebab takut kena marah lagi. Raya tahun tu aku dapat duit raya RM50 dari abah. Aku ambik jugak walaupun aku tahu aku dah mengelat sebenarnya. Tapi nak buat macam mana, dah namanya budak2. Nakal lagi. huhu. Harap2 nanti anak2 aku tak de la buat perangai macam aku masa kecik. Oklah rasanya tulah antara kenangan berpuasa zaman kanak2 yg tak boleh dilupakan.

Ok Mama manja, terima kasih sekali lagi sebab sudi buat contest ni dan memang rajin pun buat contest. Ini linknya: www.mamamanja79/2009/08/contest-kenangan-berpuasa-zaman-kanak2.html

Raya cookies project (part 2)

Cornflake cookies-before the baking process.


The finished products of Cornflake cookies


London Almond-before they were iced with chocolate.


The finished products of London Almond cookies

Yesterday, I managed to make another two kinds of cookies; Cornflake and London Almond cookies. These two are also our favourite cookies and we would made them every year. I took about four hours to make these cookies plus I also made some Rhubarb cup cakes for the Breaking the fast event yesterday which took place at Waikato University. I brought some of the cookies as the samples. Some of my friends were interested to order more. (Alhamdulillah). They like some cookies like Pineapple tarts and London Almond cookies. Well, looks like the business is going well. This is a kind of nice experience for me here as this project means I can keep myself busy during this fasting month. That's all for now.

Ka Ki Te Ano.
Assalamualaikum.

Raya cookies project.

This year I have decided to make extra cookies and get some orders from my friends here, in Hamilton. I'm kind of nervous as I never take orders from my friends in making cookies even though I have been making raya cookies since I was small. I had so many memories making raya cookies with my siblings and my late mum. We never buy raya cookies as my mum prefer to make our own raya cookies even when she was so busy and my sister, Yati and I could only help her few days before raya. I still helped making cookies even when I started working. I took few days off before raya just to make some cookies with my family members. It's a kind of our family tradition. I will always cherish all the memories I had in making raya cookies.

Well, let's go back to my project. Today 28 August 2009, I made two kinds of raya cookies; pineapple tart and chocolate chip cookies. These two cookies are among our favourite cookies. I'm not confident enough to make too many cookies. I will make another two kinds of cookies; London Almond cookies and cornflake cookies. Let's look at the two cookies first.
Pineapple tart cookies

Chocolate chip cookies

Tomorrow I will let my friends try out the sample cookies. I have already received some orders. Hopefully there will be more orders after they have tried the sample cookies. If I'm in Malaysia, I would never take any order because there are too many people who are involved in this raya cookies business. But here in Hamilton, NZ, most of the Malaysian women here are doing their PHD, so they don't have so much time making cookies. (no offence bcs I'm just assuming). Well, maybe those who can find some time will make their cookies(some of my friends want to make their own cookies first. They told me they will order if they are unable to make). Thanks to Marina who is now living in Whangarei for the support she has given me when I first mentioned about this project. She is in fact my very first customer. She still want to order from me even though she is now couple hours away from here.

Ka Ki Te Ano.
Assalamualaikum.

Hafizah and her eczema problem.

Hafizah, my youngest daughter was born here inHamilton, New Zealand about two years ago. (22 June 2007). Like many other kiwi kids, she suffers from eczema. Some are mild and some are quite serious. She will scratch when she feels itchy and she had few funny places where the skin looks so red and sometimes she scrathes until it is bleeding. It has become her habit to scratch all over her body before she goes to sleep at night. Her problem started off when she was a few months old when we discovered that she had lactose intolerant problem. Luckily, I could breasfeed her until she turned 2 in last June.

For those who don't know what is eczema, I can explain it in my own word first. It's a skin disease where there are few places that become red and itchy due to few reasons. The most obvious reason is allergies.

Here are some explanation that I have found from the internet:
Atopic dermatitis (eczema) is a common, recurring skin condition characterized by a dry, flaky, itchy rash. Eczema can appear on different parts of the body depending on your age. Its appearance may also vary depending on its severity and location on the body.

Following are pictures of four of the most common features of the rash of eczema:

Pathcy Skin (Erythema)-skin redness

MILD faintly detectable erythema; very light pink

MODERATE dull red; clearly distinguishable

SEVERE deep/dark red

Bumpy Skin (Papulation) — appearance of bumps

MILD barely perceptible elevated papules

MODERATE clearly perceptible papules but not extensive

SEVERE marked and extensive discrete papules

Red Open Sores (Excoriation) — lesions caused by scratching

MILD scant evidence of excoriations with no signs of deeper skin damage (erosion, crust)

MODERATE several linear marks of skin with showing evidence of deeper skin injury (erosion, crust)

SEVERE many erosive or crusty lesions

Scaly Skin (Lichenification) — lines in skin caused by chronic inflammation

MILD slight thickening of the skin discernible only by touch and with skin markings minimally exaggerated

MODERATE definite thickening of the skin; skin markings exaggerated so that they form a visible criss-cross pattern

SEVERE thickened or indurated skin with skin markings visibly portraying an exaggerated criss-cross pattern

Eczema may include one or a combination of the symptoms mentioned above. Here are some examples of people with an eczema flare-up.

If the affected skin becomes very inflamed, open sores, called ulcers (UHL-sirs), may occur. A clear, sticky fluid may even weep from the affected skin. This can make it hard for the healthcare provider to decide if the skin is affected by eczema or by a skin infection. In fact, both can occur at the same time. When the skin has been affected for a long time, it can become thick and leathery. The good news is that the rash can be controlled.

In older children and adults, eczema appears less often on the face and more commonly on the hands, neck, inner elbows, backs of the knees, and ankles. In younger children, eczema usually appears on the face, elbows, knees, and possibly on other areas.

Important Note:
Only your doctor can diagnose eczema. The features described above can appear in many types of skin rashes. Diagnosis is based on a combination of the patient's recent medical history and family history, in addition to a physical examination. Therefore, to help you find out whether that itchy rash is actually eczema, we've developed a skin rash questionnaire for you to share with your doctor.

	Managing Eczema Take care of your skin and prevent future flare-ups. Manage eczema.
	Skin Rash Questionnaire Help your doctor help you. Take the Skin Rash Questionnaire

We have tried many kinds of lotion and medicine but once it was healed, the would be other places that would be affected. Hafizah always cry whenever I wash her or put her in the bath. As her mother, I wish that I could have done something more. It hurts me when she cries. I know that eczema is also a heridatary problem. She could get this from me. I suffered from mild eczema when I was little but it was not as bad as hers. I can't wear any metal, silver or any other fake jewelleries or watches. I will get some rashes and it will be worse if I sweat a lot. I used the brand called "Sebamed" before. However, we couldn't find the same brand here. So, we just use "Vaseline" as her moisturizer. She always get worse during winter as the air gets so dry.

Here are some actions that we have taken to contain her problem (hopefully if your children suffer from this disease, you can try these methods too):

1. Make sure you always change her nappy. (don't wait for more than 4 hours)
2. Use hydro cortisone acetate cream (can only be prescribe by doctor)
3. Use non-fragrance moisturizer or body lotion all over her body.
4. Use non-fragrance soap or baby bath.
5. Check if she allergic to certain food like seafood, eggs or other kind of food.
6. Always check with your doctor to get the best advice (A MUST!).

All right I think this entry is a rather long one. I couldn't help but to share what I know about this as it may affect other children as well.

Ka Ki Te Ano.
Assalamualaikum.

A holiday retreat at Mahia beach Motels & Holiday Park.(part 2)

At the signboard.

Fathini and my SIL


All right. Now I can continue my story about our holiday retreat. On the next day (14 August 2009), we went to Morere Hot Springs which was about 45 minutes from the motel. It was situated at State Highway 2, Morere, East Coast, North Island, New Zealand. (ala2 kolam air panas yg ada kat Msia la). We went there after we had our brunch (breakfast+lunch). My PIL didn't come with us as they prefered to stay in the motel room and rest and went for a walk on the beach. So, only my hubby, daughters, my SIL and I went there. My hubby used his GPS again to go to the place however, it showed us to the wrong direction. We had to turned back when we realized that it didn't seem the right way. (apala punya GPS asyik bg sesat je. isk3x). When we turned back, we managed to find the place which was not so far away from the motel. On the way to Morere Hot Springs, we met with heaps of sheeps on the road and we had to slow down to allow them to cross the road safely.

I snapped this photo from inside of our rented van.
Look at the sheeps!

When we arrived at Morere Hotsprings there were few cars at the parking area. So, my hubby booked a private pool which costed about $6 for adults and $3 for children. We only have 30 minutes to use the private pool. My hubby walked so fast when we wanted to find the pool and he lead us to wrong pool! (penat dan tercungap2 kami jln. Fathini dah lenguh2 kaki.huhu). But we could see some interesting view at the side. (sama mcm kat hutan lipur kat Msia). We took the opportunity to snap two photos there.

I chose only this photo here as the other photo was abt the same.

After we went back to the main gate, we finally found the private pool. It was only a small room and it was in an enclosed area. My hubby and my SIL quickly changed and tried the pool. My daughters were quite afraid to test the water as it was really hot. I just dipped my feet and I could feel the heat. We stayed there for about 20 minutes( 10 minit dah habis masa jln2 cari pool tu. huhu). Then, we decided to try the public pool. It was heaven as nobody else was there and we had the public pool for ourselves. We stayed and swam in the pool for more than 30 minutes. I didn't have my swimsuit so, I just went into the pool with my t-shirts and my track suit. I could even took off my headscarf. (dah takde org. hehe). If we knew, there was nobody else, we should've straight away headed to the public pool. The public pool was not as hot as the private pool maybe because the pool was bigger. My hubby and my SIL swam in pool and they somehow swallowed the water. (we shouldn't swallow the water as it contains minerals). Fathini was quite afraid of the water (biasala tu selalu takut air). Hafizah was happy and she had so much fun when I held her in the water. I couldn't upload some photos here as some are censored photos. (yelah gambar2 my hubby pakai boardshirt saje and my photos without my scarf).

The public hot pool.
This photo was taken before I took off my scarf.

It was good to have a swim or in my case to wade trough hot pool. We felt so warm in the water and but when we went back to the motel we had to have a shower as there were minerals all over our body. There were not much happen the next day as my hubby didn't want to go to Gisborne which was only 1 hour away from Mahia. So, we just strolled down the beach and relax in our motel room. Unfortunately for me, my defination of going for a holiday is far apart from my hubby's defination of going for a holiday. My hubby just wanted to relax but I wanted to go out and see as much as possible or visit as many places as possible. huhu.

That's all about our holiday retreat. I hope those who read this will not feel bored. (biasalah ayat2 mcm ayat karangan utk kertas periksa sikit. maklumlah cikgu BI dulu).

Ka Ki Te Ano.

" BEAUTIFUL BABY SEARCH CONTEST "

I know that I promised to continue my story about our beach retreat but today I would like to try entering another contest just to try my luck. This time I want to try entering the "Beautiful Baby Search Contest". The organizer is mommy Zara. (Thanks). So, I chose these two photos of my youngest daughter; Hafizah.


I snapped this picture at Peachgrove playcentre(the school that my daughters attend here). It was a pyjamas day and everybody had to wear their pyjamas to school, even the mothers. So, this picture was snapped about two months ago.In this picture, Hafizah was happy playing on her own and was fascinated with the ball. She is now 26 months old (2 years and 2 months old).

I love this picture so much as it shows a close relationship of a father and a daughter. I snapped this picture on 20th July 2009 when we invited few friends to our house to have lunch together.
Hafizah was so tired after lunch and she was asleep before our friends left. My hubby hold her on his arms and I thought it was a perfect moment to take a picture.

All right, I think I have fulfilled all the requirements. (except for inserting the link and give a comment at mommy Zara's blog).

S0, for those who are also interested to enter this contest, this is the link:
http://meamyra.blogspot.com/2009/08/beautiful-baby-search-contest-looking.html

P/S: The contest will be ended on 31 August 2009. So, hurry up.

A holiday retreat at Mahia beach Motels & Holiday Park.(part 1)

This is a continuation of our 5-day trip. We started the journey on 12 August and stayed at Mahia until 16 August 2009. After we went Wai-O-Tapu, we continued our journey to Mahia. The journey was a very tiring journey as the road was a challenging road. (rasa mcm nak balik dr KL ke Kelantan or dr Penang ke Kelantan). We had to travel through the mountain road and at the seaside area where there were heaps of 60, 70 or even 85 degrees corners. I felt dizzy and I puke on the way. When we reached at the nearest town; Wairoa, I thought that it won't be so long but I was wrong. We had to take another 41 km before we reached Mahia Beach Motels &Holiday Park. It was about 9.30 when we reached there and the owner was waiting for us as we had informed her earlier that we would be arrived at night time. She greeted us with her two lovely cats and showed us our motel's room. When we had finished uploading our bags and stuffs, my MIL started making simple maggi for our dinner(well, it maybe our supper as it was late). We also had some toast with Marmite and Peanut Butter.

The front view of our motel's room(upstairs)

The next day(13 August 2009), my PIL, my daughters and I went to the nearest town, Wairoa to buy some perishables. (food and stuffs). It was about 41 km away from Mahia beach but the scenery was stunning. (nampak laut, kambing biri2, & lembu yg tengah makan rumput atas gunung. heran gak sbb lembu & kambing2 tu duduk makan tepi lereng tu. dopk pikir2 tak jatuh ke). Using the GPS, we arrived at Wairoa's town but we was not sure where was "New World" (ala2 Giant kat Msia tapi lg kecik). The address said it was on Queen Street. We went to other end of Queen Street. So, we tried the other end and at last managed to find it. After we managed to buy what we wanted, we headed back without the GPS as my FIL couldn't retrieve the address of the motel. So, my MIL and I became his GPS and we managed to find the way back.

After having our lunch, most of us felt sleepy and they took a nap. However my daughters and I decided to walk around the Holiday Park and found the abandon playground, the tv room(was closed), the mini shop next to the office, the laundry room and the other motel rooms.

My daughters could only played on the swings.
The mini shop.

I asked them to pose next to the signboard.

That evening about 4.30 p.m. my hubby asked us (my daughters and I) to join him to explore the beach. It was so lovely as we walked along the beach and pick-up some shells and rocks. Fathini got a stick and she wrote her name on the sand. We also pose at a-sort -of-a-tree. Fathini took our picture. At first my hubby and I wanted to take a romantic picture at the beach. But Hafizah didn't want us to abandon her. So, we had to include her too. (susah2x takleh nak posing romantik dah skrg). We strolled along the beach until it was nearly sunset. It was one of the sweetest moment in our life, I would say.
Fathini wrote her name and tried to erase it after wards.
Hafizah was having fun.
This was supposed to be a romantic photo. huhu
Almost sunset.

I have to continue this story on the next entry as I had to go and do the household chores. So, stay tune and wait for the next entry to come.

Ka Ki Te Ano.
Assalamualaikum.

Wai-O-Tapu (Thermal Wonderland)-a chance to view Allah's magnificient creations

I've mentioned before in my entry that I really wanted to visit Taupo when my PIL come here. So, on 12 August 2009, we started off our 5-day trip by visiting Taupo. It was our first stop before we headed off to eastland. We went to Wai-O-Tapu(Sacred Water) -Thermal Wonderland. Well, the place was the cheapest place compared to other geothermal pools around Rotorua. We took about 2 hours before we reached Rotorua and we was kind of lost in the way before we could find Wai-O-Tapu. My hubby just bought GPS the day before and he was so confident with the GPS eventhough we arived somewhere in the lost forest. (hihihi-Fathini had to go to a toilet and my MIL had to take her somewhere in a bush and asked her to pee there.Kesian anak aku tak pasal2 kena buang air kat semak). After a few turns, we finally arrived at the place.

We had to pay $6 each for the adults and $3 for the children. We didn't have to pay for Hafizah as she was considered under age. (selamat $3-bukan berkira sgt tapi boleh beli benda lain dgn $3 tu.huhu). There were so many pools once we went inside. We had to walk and Hafizah insisted to walk until half way of the journey she was carried by her papa and her tok. We had to walk in the thermal area for about 40 minutes. It's actually part of Scenic Reserve administered by the Department of Conservation. The whole area was about 18 sq.km. We could smell the sulphur and it was like "rotten egg smell". It's associated with "hydrogen sulphide"(H2S). There were range of colours in the area due to different mineral elements. There were:

Green: Colloidal sulphur/ferrous salts
Orange:Antimony
Purple: Manganese oxide
White: Silica
Yellow-primrose: Sulphur
Red-brown: Iron oxide
Black: Sulphur and carbon

Whit

This pool was called as "The Devil's Home"



This was The "Rainbow Crater"


The other two pools-not sure their names.


These were called as "The Artist Palette"

(The "Devil's bath")

The board walk between the pools.

By the time we finished touring in the area, all of us were so hungry. We didn't have our lunch yet and Fathini and Hafizah had started to complain. Hafizah even had to be carried by her tok when she was so sleepy and started to be grumpy. We didn't finished visiting the whole area as it could take us another half an hour. So, we headed out and had our lunch in our rented van. We had cold rice with chicken curry. (takde tempat nak reheat the curry or rice. huhu). We also took the chance to perform solat. (Jamak taqdim). The only hot thing we had was the hot chocolate that my hubby bought from the cafe inside the receptionist building. We continued our journey at about 5 p.m. I'll tell more about the other places that we have visited in the other entry.

Ka Ki Te Ano.
Assalamualaikum.

P/S: I didn't put all the photos as the are too many photos. Plus most of the photos are about the thermal pools.