Check this out!

Click To View

A & N academic and scientific editing service

Contact us when you need someone to proof read or translate some documents.
http://www.annediting.com/index.html

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Let's encourage "pretend play".

Salam to all,
                When my eldest daughter turned four, I started to notice that she pretended to be someone else or something. She talked to her soft toys; doll and the bears and pretended to be the mom. And now, her little sister has started to join in and they usually had nice time in their pretend play.
(well, there were times when they bickered, shouting or hitting each other. I guess that's normal)

                 I've never been educated in the pre-school education but I had some experiences teaching
in a kindergarten when I was a student in UKM. I remember that I loved to bring my little soft toys to the class and the children can't wait to play with the toys. I used the toys as their rewards if they listenedto me and finished their writing in their workbook.(provided by their class teacher). They loved to use the toys in their pretend play.

                So, what have I done to encourage my daughters the "pretend play"? The playcentre has
helped me with heaps of ideas since there are so many interesting materials that I never thought could be used in children play.

Here are some ideas for the "pretend play":
  • Keep some clean rubbish like egg cartons, cardboard, tissue boxes etc.
         -they can use those things as their home appliances like Fathini used an egg carton to be her
          stove top.
  • Give them your old clothes, scarves, hats, table cloth etc.
        -they can become someone by using the clothes like becoming a superhero by tying an old scarf
         on the neck.
  • Give them dolls, stuffed animals.
       -they can become doctors or vets by checking on their dolls or stuffed animals.
  • Give them shopping bags, bagpacks or any kind of bags.
        -they can pretend to go shopping, go to school with the bagpacks or just going out somewhere
         by using different bags.
  • Give them unused lunchboxes, containers, dishes etc.
        -they can use the containers to pretend having a picnic, cooking or any other thing.
  • Use any furniture in your house to be a ship, a car, a plane etc.
        -they love it more if you can join them and pretend to be in a journey with them!


Would you like to know the benefits of "pretend play"?

  1. It helps our children to be creative. (promote thinking skills)
         Their brain is definitely has to work when they are pretending to be someone or something.
         We can help by asking open ended questions to challenge them to think more. We can also
         say "what about....., how about.... or what if......"
  
    2. It helps our children in developing their language skills.
   
       When they are pretending, they have to talk in a certain ways and you might be surprised
        to hear what they've picked up from you!

    3. It helps our children in building their social and emotional skills.

        They learn to play certain roles when they are pretending. Socially they know that everyone
        has their own function in the society. They would definitely learn about other children feelings
        when they have to take turns or share some responsibilities in when they are pretending.

 I hope that this entry would give some ideas to those who are reading this. I'm just glad to share
the things that I've learnt theoretically and practically from the playcentre and also from my own experiences dealing with my two princesses.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Mencontohi Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. -kenapa pilih separuh buang separuh?

Salam to all,
                 Hr ni Maulidurrasul. Di sini (Hamilton, NZ) tiada apa acara sambutan. Bila saya tanyakan
pd suami pun, dia mengatakan dlm khutbah Jumaat pun tidak disebut apa2.

                 Sy pun hanya ingin mengingatkan diri sendiri dan ingin mengajak yg lain2 supaya kita
menunjukkan kasih sayang kita pd Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. dgn mengikuti sunnahnya dan mencontohi akhlaknya. Cuma sy heran apabila ada yg pilih separuh dan buang separuh. Apa maksudnya? Sy tidakmahu menuding jari pd sesiapa sbb mungkin sy sendiri pun tanpa sy sedar ada juga berbuat demikian.

                Rasanya sy tak perlu memberi contoh2 kerana terlalu banyak yg boleh kita lihat apa yg berlaku disekelilling kita. Kenapa cuma pilih mana yg sesuai dan meninggalkan apa yg kita rasa tidak sesuai dgn kita?

              Sempena Maulidurrasul thn ini, kenapa tidak kita mula mencontohi kesemuanya. Untuk
yg sudah ada anak2 mcm sy, kita boleh mula mengajar anak2 spy mengenali Nabi kita lebih dr
anak2 mengenali artis2 atau lain2 idola yg tak sehebat mana.

Salam Maulidurrasul buat semua.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Never Give Up (ALHAMDULILLAH)

Salam to all,
NEVER GIVE UP
When you think there's no way out,
Just hold on,
When you've tried and then failed,
Just keep trying,
When you think you have no hope,
Just remember not giving up,
Because,
When you never give up,
ONE DAY, 
You'll achieve your dream,
You'll be a winner.

Why do I wrote the poem? adakah sy sedang beremosi skrg Or you think that it's just out of blue 
I want to share a motivational poem? 

That's all wrong. I'm actually feeling so over the moon when I found out that I won the consolation prize for the campaign that I wrote to promote 1Superkids in a contest called "Help me To Grow".  After I try my luck in 46 contests, this is the first time ever, I manage to win something. That's why I wrote that "Never Give Up" poem. I reckon if it's meant to be, it'll happen. (dah rezeki kan ALHAMDULILLAH). 

Photobucket
Thanks to 1Superkids and the sponsors. Congratulations to other winners; CutieCaliph, Hanz, Halimbalqis, Applecrux and Precious-Innocent.

Photobucket


If you want to read my entry , you can click here.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Toy Story 3D & Nasi Lemak.

Salam to all,
                You might be wondering what's the relation between Toy Story 3D and Nasi Lemak right?
I was actually been busy since yesterday because we (my playgroup friends and I) had agreed to go out and watch a movie together. Since Toy Story 3D movies were the only suitable movies (there were Toy Story And Toy Story 2), we chose to watch them. walaupun kaum2 ibu dah menonton kartun2 tu, anak2 kami belum menontonnya. almaklum kartun2 tu kan dah agak lama. Why did we picked yesterday? It was my idea since it was my birthday and I wanted to spent more time with my dearest friends here. During the lunch hour today, I prepared Nasi Lemak for my playgroup friends. Last year,
cooked Nasi Kerabu and celebrated my birthday with my "twins" (one who's born in a different year and another one who's born on 24th but on the same year). mmg dah jd kelaziman pulak bila sambut harijadi, sy suka menjamu rakan2. mungkin itu cara sy mengucapkan syukur dipanjangkan usia
So, there you go some explanation about the relation between Toy Story 3D & Nasi Lemak.

23rd Feb. 2010
@10 a.m.

We chose to watch the movies at Sky City Cinema in Westfield Chartwell. The cinema was okay but for us the seats were really comfortable. It was the second time to watch a movie there for me and my kids but for my friends, it was their first time! We arrived at the nick of the time and we had few minutes to buy the tickets and get ourselves into the Cinema 5 before the movies started. At the entrance, we were given the 3D glasses. Our kids were so excited and when the first movie started, they really concentrated watching. While watching, we shared some prepared food that we brought in. iye kami boleh bawa masuk mknan dlm pawagam sbb kami bawa beg sandang. sy siap bawa cekodok dna kwn sy bawa sandwich yg dibuat di rumah. hehe They didn't really checked what's in our bags as my guess was they thought we brought diapers and some spare clothes! Which was partly true.

During the intermision, one of my friends E, went out to buy some popcorns for us. My friend, H&  her kids and my kids& I stayed inside waiting. While waiting, there were couple of trivia questions
appeared on the screen. Our kids started to explore the whole area because the other people had left too. As our seat were right at the back row, we were extremely confortable and even during the first movie "Toy Story", we could hear some comments from our kids. After 20 minutes of intermission, 
Toy Story 2 began. We noticed that some of the other people didn't came back to watch Toy Story 2. Half way through, we could hear that our kids had making noises. They felt hungry and tired. My friend H and kids had to left early. She went downstairs and waited for us at the foodcourt. My friend E & her son and my kids& I stayed until Tot Story 2 ended. 

Then, all of us rejoined at the food court and had our lunch there. There's one Halal shop there that sells fast food. I bought a huge plate of Fish and Chips set. My friend E also bought one and we shared the food. But I totally forgot to take pictures of our food. dua pinggan tu dikongsi beramai2 ye sbb bukan kedekut duit tapi kalau beli lebih mesti tak habis. satu pinggan diaorg besar giler. mcm 2 pinggan biasa kita kat Msia We (the moms) were not really hungry as we ate a lot before we went there. Our kids were the starving ones even though they ate some snacks while watching the movies. bukan sbrg "snack" ye sbb ada cekodok, teddy bear cookies, coklat dan sandwich. hehe After filling up tummies, we headed to the Dollar Store to buy some home supplies. By 3 p.m., we left the place. We almost got the warning for a long hour parking bcs we could only parked our cars not more than 4 hours there! OPPPS. sapa suruh wat movie back to back. 
24th Feb. 2010

Early in the morning, I prepared Nasi Lemak's component as I had invited some friends to come
over and had lunch. My friend E had agreed to make her famous Cheese cake and my friend Z would bring the ingredients for "Yee Sang". (yup the special food eaten during CNY). By 10.30 a.m., my
friend E arrived with her youngest son. We (my kids and I) were not ready as we didn't take a bath
yet. I asked her to make herself at home while my kids and I got ready. 1/2 hour later, my friend Z,
her mom-in-law and her daughter arrived. She prepared "Yee Sang" with the help of my friend E. 
We waited for the other guests to arrived and by 12 p.m., we could have our lunch. We had Nasi Lemak first as that was the main dish. yelah mana ada starters ye.hehe My hubby came back just in 
time and the last guest was H and family. We savour our lunch and chatted about so many things. 
The desserts were brought by my friend E and H; the Cheesecake and muffins. When everybody had
settled down, it was time to take out "Yee Sang". My friend Z kept the bowl of "Yee Sang" in the fridge as we planned to have it as our last dish. So, we gathered around the table to toss "Yee Sang"
and one of the hubbies said "Yam Seng!"(means let's have a drink esp. alcohol drink-like "cheers!").

I was so happy to share my special day with my good friends and I feel grateful to have them here.
I don't mind cooking and preparing food as they would bring a plate of something too!










Tuesday, February 23, 2010

A jumbled up entry abt Picnic at Long Bay and my birthday.

Salam to all,
              I've promised in the last entry to continue the story of what happened during the last
weekend. BUT before I continue, I'm happy to share that today is actually my birthday. How old am I? Let's just say I was born in the late 70's. bukan tak nak cakap umur sebenar tapi apalah yg ada pd angka kan. hehe. ayat penyedap hati je tu :P Alhamdulillah I'm still be able to celebrate this birthday with my beloved hubby and two princesses. I think I'm blessed to have them and they are very important to me. I don't really mind about getting any presents anymore. tapi dr hubby nak jugak. hehe Right! enough with the blabbering abt myself. Don't want to bore those who read this.


The continuation from yesterday's entry:

@12.45 p.m.

After the game ended, all of us headed to the Long Bay beach which was not so far away from the game venue. Some arrived earlier and some arrived later. We followed one car (one of the Auckland family) and we went to park our cars farther from the rests. So, we had to walk to find the picnic spot before we could join the others. They chose a nice shady tree as the picnic area. When we finally joined the others at the picnic spot, we could see there were plenty of food. mcm nilah kalau org2 Msia pergi berkelah kan. mesti penuh dgn mknan sampai mat2 & minah salleh semua heran tengok. hehe What kind of food did we had? We had about three types of fried noodles, Penang Laksa, Nasi Lemak, Nasi Ayam, Nasi Goreng (fried rice), Cekodok, few types of sandwiches, watermelons, bananas, karipap (curry puffs) and some other food which I can't see bcs the food were out of my reach.

 

 
There were few families who arrived later and they just joined the crowd and it made the place to
be the crowdest picnic group there. My hubby decided to go for a swim first before he ate anything.
So, he went alone to the beach while we (my princesses and I) stayed there with the others. The Waikato players looked so starving after the game. They quickly helped themselves with the food once the food were arranged in a long line. The Auckland players looked hungry too and we actually shared the food that we had with others. Some kids can't wait to go the beach but their parents was still eating or chatting with the other adults. My princesses and I joined my hubby at the beach after we had some food. I had a long nice chat with Wan (tak ingat oun nama penuh dia). She said she's 
a friend to one of us. (but her friend was not there bcs only her hubby went to play football). My princesses loved to play and can't wait to go into the water. I forgot to bring their swimwear. Thus they had to just let their clothes to be wet. Luckily I remember to pack some clothes for them. My hubby approached us after he had a nice swim and few minutes of muscle spasm that he had to float for a while. We took some nice photos of us (thanks to Wan) before we joined the others again at the
picnic spot again.



Actually, there were not so many others who went to the beach especially the Aucklanders. maybe because they always come to the beach. mcm tak jakun dah tengok laut sbb Auckland dikelilingi dgn laut. tak mcm kami yg duduk kat Waikato yg tak de laut. We didn't stay long after we came back from the beach as we had to go to the toilet to get change. The other families from Waikato went to some Aucklanders houses to pray and rest before they headed back. My hubby who was still tired suggested that we should stopped at the mosque in Otahuhu, South Auckland. suami sy mmg tak suka meyusahkan org. itu yg dia tak nak singgah rumah org lain utk smbhyg. By the time we arrived, all of us were exhausted but we felt happy to be able to join the others in the game and the picnic. harap2 lain kali ada lg dan kami masih sempat nak ikut sama.




Monday, February 22, 2010

Friendly football match between "Waikato United" and "Auckland City"

Salam to all,
               
Saturday (20th Feb. 2010) @ 10 p.m.

Me: Yang, your name appeared on the list of their players. Are we going or not?
Hubby: Huh! Are you sure?Hmmmm let me call the others to find put first.

Few minutes later and after three phone calls, my hubby decided to follow the other Waikato Malaysians to North Shore, Auckland. The main agenda was to join in the friendly football match between Waikato team and Auckland team. (All are Malaysians who are studying and working in Waikato and Auckland).

Sunday (21st Feb. 2010) @ 6 a.m.

I prepared some food like tuna sandwiches and fried noodle. After preparing the food and the kids, we were ready to go at 7.20 a.m. We agreed to meet our friends at the field that they use every Saturday to play football. However, after a good 10 minutes of waiting, we saw the others were actually meeting at a carpark near a shopping centre; The Wharehouse. (sabar jelah. sbb bila kami tanya ada yg cakap tunggu kat pdg. nasib baik pdg dgn Wharehouse tu opposite je)

Our destination was Glamorgan School in North Shore, Auckland. After the chasing and following actions (dah buat konvoi dlm 6 buah kereta), we arrived at the school. But we were the last car to arrive as my hubby had to find a toilet first. So, we went to a petrol station while the others actually had a morning tea and breakfast at someone's house just opposite the school! Fathini made a witty comment when we arrived and saw the name of the school. She said, "Mama, is this a dragon school?" (refer to the first photo below) terpaksala mama Tini cakap yg tu logo sekolah je dan bukan ada naga kat sekolah tu. hihihi


@ 10.30 a.m.
They players started to warm up and the supporters (the wives and the kids) were finding the best seating positions. The supporters were also busy getting to know each other as the players were doing the same thing. Before they started the game, as usual there was a photo session.


And the game began after the photo sessions. At first both teams looked quite relax and just played as if they were warming up. But after the first goal was scored by our Waikato team, both teams started to take the game seriously. There were also several times when the game had to be stopped just because some people were injured (ada sorang yg berdarah kat hidung dan ada yg terpeliut) and some 
were exhausted and had to call in their reserved players. My hubby was one of the reserved players for Waikato team. He only waited for his turn about 20 minutes into the first half before he was called to join the team. The supporters? Well, there were some unpaid photographers at the location, some ignorance kids who were just there to play at the nearby palyground and mothers like me who didn't really concentrate on the game. I took some photos during the first half where the score was 1-1 . By the second half, I was busy catching up with other moms from Auckland. (sempat juga kenal akk yg nak akn pindah ke Waikato dan jumpa balik org2 Auck. yg pernah singgah rumah masa buat BBQ raya haji 2008).  mula ingat nak buat ulasan mcm pengulas sukan tapi tak jadi sbb tak tahu pun senarai nama pemain. hehe. org2 Waikato sy kenalla tapi pemain2 Auckland sy tak kenal



After the game ended, I was still clueless about the final score. hehe. (dah asyik berbual je). When I ask others, then I knew that Waikato United team won with 2-1. (okla tu sbb org2 Waikato selalu praktis ptg Sabtu. Org2 Auckland masa lawan baru kali kedua main dgn pemain yg cukup .)

We headed to the Long Bay beach afterwards for a nice picnic. BUT if you want to know more about the picnic, you have to wait until the next entry . (tomorrow!) saja kasi suspen sikit yea.. sebenarnya masa tulis entri ni pun dah ngantuk, tu yg kena sambung tu :P


TO BE CONTINUED.......

Saturday, February 20, 2010

How can you be mad when they are just being kids.

Salam to all,
             I don't want to write a long entry today. I just want to share some of my personal photos
regarding my daughters activities at home. They are just like other siblings, there are times when they got into each others nerves and there are times when they play nicely with each other. As the title says, "How can you be mad when they are just being kids". I always encourage them to be creative. Thus, the result, my home is always been transformed to spaceship, a cave, a nursery for their bears and dolls and lots more.

 Now, let's see the photos:

 

 

What about your kids? Do they play like these too at home? I would like to hear and maybe see 
how other kids play at home.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Casual tone vs textbook tone.

Salam to all,
                I started my journey in this blogging world in May 2009. At first I was clueless of what to write and how. As I went along, I've learnt a lot from other bloggers, forums, MBP and tutorial blogs.
I couldn't help but notice the tone of writing in blog. The most popular tone is definitely the casual tone!
Frankly, I was struggling to write using the casual tone because:
  • I was an English teacher/tutor and I'm so used to the textbook tone.
  • I'm not really chatty in real life and only talk when I think I need to.
  • I lost in touch with the current slang esp. the teenagers slang. (eg. perkataan mcm "Poyo", "Sengal" dll)
  • I've been taught by my abah to avoid from code-mixing or code-switching as it's not a good practice and we tend to contaminate the languages we use.

          After reading other people's blogs, I understand why do people prefer to read entries in the casual tone. I've tried hard to fit in and change a little bit of my writing style but not to the extend of losing who I am. The casual tone is actually have a lot in common with how you talk to your friends. You tend to mix languages esp. BM and English and also use slang.

        Why do people like casual tone?
  • it has the friendlier approach.
  • it sounds like the author of the blog is talking to them.
  • it's amazingly entertaining and relaxing.
  • it can also be humorous if the author is really good in playing with words.
       Now, what say you?  I would be please to know what others think about this bcs studying language is my passion and I can't help but to observe this pattern in the blogging world. Who knows this can be my toppic for the dessertation at the end of the Master Degree that I'm planning to do once we go back to Malaysia. Hmmmm, not a bad idea right?

Thursday, February 18, 2010

To do or not to do? At last I have to...

Salam to all,
             At first I was a bit hesitated to do this tagging game. In January, my sis Yatie did this tagging game and tagged everybody who read the entry. I thought that since she already knew most of my personal secrets, (dah adik-beradik kan kami mmg simpan rahsia masing2) I didn't have to do this.
And today thanks to my "itchy" index finger, I have to do this tagging game after I read what Jiji from triplecolourlife.com. salahkan jari pulak. kalau dah mmg nak baca tu tak yah salahkan jari ye tak :p
 
Our antique photos taken from friends' FB. 

  1. Where and when did you first meet your hubby?
          At Pulau Pangkor during the Taekwondo Club (PPP/ITM) trip in 1997.I was 19 and
          he was 18. aah my hubby lg muda tapi I pun awet muda.heheheh
          bila tulis tarikh baru sedar dah lama giler kenal dan kami dah tua. huhu
   
   2. Love at first sight?
      
       Maybe and yeap. We had a long conversation during the cooking sessions since we were
       in the same group. But before that, I heard from the other girls that hubby was a bit shy and 
       didn't like to talk to girls. kira tererla I boleh bual lama2 dgn dia lps tu dia pun layan je. hehe

   3. Who is he when the first time you met him?
  
       My junior and all of his coursemates called me "Kakak". He's the only one who refused to call 
       me "kakak". dah dia dah berkenan kot takkan nak panggil I kakak. haha

   4. How long did he take to ask you out?

      Hmmmm. It would be never bcs I asked him out first. Why? Refer to the next question.


  5. First place dating?
     
      @ KFC Seksyen 18, Shah Alam. It was not really a date bcs my real intention asking him out
      was to ask him a favour. We were due to go to the grading test the next day and I was still 
      clueless about the patterns. He was better than me so I asked him to teach me.
      (tak percaya? betul2 labu. SUMPAH! I tak de niat nak keluar date sbb mula2 siap ajak kwn 
      teman tapi my friend pulak canceled last minute.)

   6. How did he proposed?
  
      It was not him who proposed! It was his uncle who went to my aunt's house in Kulim. 
     (tu pun lps dengar ada ramai my sedara mara yg merisik I masa balik raya. dia pun 
      takut I melepas ke tgn org lain. hahah.)

   7. Special dates with your hubby?
  
      Too many: First time we met: 20 Sept. 1997.
                      Engagement date: 12 Feb. 2002.
                      Wedding date: 28 Nov. 2003.
                      (tarikh yg lain2 tu dah tak ingat sgt sbb yelah 13 thn yg dulu. rasa zmn tok kadok lak)
 
   8. Changes that he asked you to do?
 
       Less sulking and more cooking. 
      (sulking tu tak leh nak buat apa sbb nka merajuk dgn siapa lg kalau tak dgn hubby)

   9. What's about him that you love so much?

       @ his extensive knowledge, his nerdness (I mmg minat mat nerd ok) and basically he 
        has some similar personalities to my abah.

  10. What's abt him you wish he would change?

       I wish he could be more romantic. 
       (yelah nak juga kdg2 dpt surprise. ni my birthday present pun I have to tell him what I want.
        hubby tak nak bazir kalau dia beli hadiah yg I tak suka)

  11. You will lose your mind and crack your head when he....

        Urge me to hurry up when we want to go out, or speed up my conversation with my friends
         as we need to leave esp at other people's house. 
        (geram betul asyik bak cepat! cepat! cepat! jer)

  12. You will smile through your eyes for the whole day when he.....

        Agree to bring us out to visit some interesting places here in NZ. 
       (banyak lg tempat yg tak sempat nak lawat.huhu)

   13. Complete the sentence below.
         "My love towards my hubby is as big as".....

          my heart! 
         (maksudnya sepenuh hati, jiwa raga, bakul , tong, bekas2 besar dll lg yg sewaktu dgnnya)


To those who would like to share some of their personal stories, you can do this too. I don't want to
choose anyone bcs it's your choice. But if you do this, I would definitely go to your blog to read. Just tell me if you decide to do this ;)
                


        


      

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Who can see your hair?

Last week, I was quite stunned when one of my friends in the playcentre asked me few questions about headscarf (or what we call tudung). Here is basically what I could remember form my conversation with her. (can't reveal her real name so let's just call her "Mona")

Mona: Nura (they call me Nura there), who can see your hair?

Me: (I was stunned at first so I took some time before I gave the answer).
       Well, my husband, kids, siblings, father, grandfather if we are at home....and muslim women
        in secluded places.

Mona: Do you feel comfortable wearing that? (then she pointed to my headscarf)

Me: Yes, I do. I've been wearing this since I was 12.

Mona: When would you ask your daughters to cover their hair?

Me: When they reach the puberty age.

Mona: Why do Muslim women have different styles of covering?

Me: The basic requirement in Islam is to cover to whole thing except your face and two hands. This
       thing is actually up to their interpretation. As for me, I've tried my best to follow the basic
       requirement. Islam doesn't stop its followers to be stylish as long as they follow the requirements.

Mona: I hope you won't be mad at me for asking those questions. I'm just curious to know since
          you're the only Muslim here.

Me: It's all right. I don't mind at all. I'm glad to share what I know. (smiling to her)

So, what do you think? I've tried my best to explain and I hope I didn't give her wrong explanations.
It's true that I'm the only Muslim woman in the area who have joined the Pg Playcentre. We had another Muslim woman about a year ago but she seldom came to the session. Only her husband who always stayed and played with their kids. She didn't really know the other members and socialize with them. But in my case, I'm the one who get really involve with the place and I do have good relationships with the other members.

I think I want to share about this because I want to know:
  • do you think I've given the correct/exact explanations?
  • is there any other way to describe or explain about this?
  • what else should I do to give the best example as a Muslim there?
I feel somehow I'm representing the other Muslims in the place. That's why I always been careful
and cautious as I don't want to give them any wrong impressions on Muslims or Islam.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

It's a battle.

Salam to all,
                Here is an excerpt of my conversations with my friends here.

A: I don't know what else should I cook for my kids.
Me: Why? What's wrong?
A: They like to eat junk food. If possible, they want to eat fried chicken everyday. But I don't want to let that happen.
Me: Oh I see. Have you tried to cook a variety of food?
A: Well, I'm not really a good cook. So, I have a very limited skills in cooking. I've done what I could.
Me: Don't worry. You are not alone. I still consider myself an amateur cook.

Okay. Can you guess what the conversation was about? hehe mcm soalan kertas BI SPM pulak My intention in this entry is to share about FUSSY EATERS. Why do I pick the title "It's a battle"? Frankly, I reckon it is actually a battle that most mothers have almost everyday just to ensure their kids are eating a balanced diet.

Photobucket
 (photo from google)

This is not a new topic. It's been discussed over and over. We can find some tips from parenting books, magazines or on the internet. BUT finding the tips that can really help is like finding a needle in a haystack! We can get so frustrated before we can even get our kids to eat again.

Let's see some of the tips to handle FUSSY/PICKY EATERS:

1. Respect your child's appetite — or lack of one

Young children tend to eat only when they're hungry. If your child isn't hungry, don't force a meal or snack. Likewise, don't bribe or force your child to clean his or her plate. This may only ignite — or reinforce — a power struggle over food.
(I myself sometimes force my kids to finish their food because I don't like to see the food being wasted)

2. Stick to the routine

Serve meals and snacks at about the same times every day. Nix juice, milk and snacks for at least one hour before meals. If your child comes to the table hungry, he or she may be more motivated to eat.
(Oh no! I offer my kids some snacks while I'm preparing the dinner. )

3. Be patient with new foods

Young children often touch or smell new foods, and may even put tiny bits in their mouths and then take them back out again. Your child may need repeated exposure to a new food before he or she takes the first bite. Encourage your child by talking about a food's color, shape, aroma and texture — not whether it tastes good.
(Sometimes it's so frustrating to cook the same food over and over again. huhu)

4. Make it fun

Serve broccoli and other veggies with a favorite dip or sauce. Cut foods into various shapes with cookie cutters. Offer breakfast foods for dinner.
(I've tried this technique but in the end they said "I want to eat sandwich like Suzy(my friend) did!")

5. Recruit your child's help

At the grocery store, ask your child to help you select fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods. Don't buy anything that you don't want your child to eat. At home, encourage your child to help you rinse veggies, stir batter or set the table.
(Sometimes my kids love to come to the kitchen to help out)

6. Set a good example

If you eat a variety of healthy foods, your child is more likely to follow suit.
(Well, we are trying to be a good role model)

7. Be sneaky

Add chopped broccoli or green peppers to spaghetti sauce, top cereal with fruit slices, or mix grated zucchini and carrots into casseroles and soups.
(Tell me about this! I've been doing this for every meal!)

8. Minimize distractions

Turn off the television during meals, and don't allow books or toys at the table.
(Yup. This is so true)

9. Don't offer dessert as a reward

Withholding dessert sends the message that dessert is the best food, which may only increase your child's desire for sweets. You might select one or two nights a week as dessert nights, and skip dessert the rest of the week — or redefine dessert as fruit, yogurt or other healthy choices.
(Haha. I guess this is why they seldom finish their lunch. They just want to eat the ice cream!)

10. Don't be a short order cook

Preparing a separate meal for your child after he or she rejects the original meal may encourage your child's picky eating. Keep serving your child healthy choices until they become familiar and preferred.
(I've never take orders as I tell them to eat the food or they aren't getting anything else)

 Source: Taken from here.

I remember when I was growing up, preparing the meals for 8 kids was like a nightmare for my late mum. Even though she worked as a teacher, she still had time to prepare the meals for us. She cooked something for our lunch boxes and the lunch meal the night before. And she cooked dinner at 6 p.m. (we ate dinner at 8 p.m.). Sometimes when one or some of us refused to eat, she just said "You have to eat that or eat nothing else!". Then whether we like it or not, we had to eat. yelah mana larat nak layan karenah 8 org anak yg berlainan selera kan She tried to accomodate our preferences in food during the weekends when she prepared some special meals. She actually became a better cook after having my second brother (the fourth child).  lama2 kena masak utk anak2 mmg boleh menjadikan kita pandai masak kan?

Right now, I would say that my daughters are not really fussy but they do have their own preferences. It is a battle that I have to face everyday not to forget the fact of thinking and planning about meals. pening kan nak tukar2 dan fikir apa nak masak tiap2 hari Well, fussy eaters or not, one thing for sure is we need to ensure that our kids get the balanced diet. So, what say you?


    Sunday, February 14, 2010

    Can't help but wondering.....

    Salam to all,
                      Today I can't help but wondering what's happening at my brother's wedding party. Yesterday my sis Yatie, managed to give me some updates of what happened during the solemnization of "'akad". Pein managed to do it once and Alhamdulillah every went smoothly after that. The wedding ceremony continued with a simple feast at my new sis-in-law's house after they came back from the mozque. (akad nikah dibuat di masjid). According to Yatie, there were quite a number od my extended family members who were there to witness the ceremony.

                     I hope everything would run smoothly as well at my step-mom's house today (14th Feb. 2010). Again the wedding party is going to be a simple one as my abah (father) doesn't like to waste and likes to make it as simple as possible. The important thing here is the bride and groom is officially declared as husband and wife. I'm sure they don't even have time to come to my blog to read the poem I wrote for them. One thing for sure, I know my sis-in-law sometimes loves to come and visit my blog. So, I reckon she would feel happy as the poem is also a present from me. (click here if you want to read the poem)

               OOOO....I better stop my ramblings now. I have other ideas to write but right now, my brain is been consumed with the fact that I'm not able to be there for my brother.

    Saturday, February 13, 2010

    A poem dedicated to my lil. bro. and his wife-to-be.

    Salam to all,
                    Today (13th Feb. 2010), one of my little brothers is going to be a husband to a lovely girl whom I've met before. I can't believe how time flies! sebenarnya tak sedar yg diri dah tua. huhu They've been engaged for about a year (sebenarnya diaorg dah tunggu kami balik, tapi dah kami belum boleh balik. huhu). And this is the invitation card that has been designed by own brother, Pein (nama manja). -takpe ye kalau tak nampak sgt tulisan sbb bukan nak menjemput kat sini. Yelah saya sendiri tak dpt balik nak menghadiri pernikahan adik sy :( -


    This is their sweet photos: (I took these photos from my bro's FB album)


    Here's a poem dedicated to them:

    On your big day, 
    Only hope, pray and wishes,
    we could offer,
    Only photos and videos,
    we would be able to watch,

    As on your big day,
    I have mixed emotions,
    Delighted for both of you,
    Glad to welcome a sis-in-law,
     Sorry for not being there to witness,
    Sorrow when our late-mum again not there to witness too,
    Despite all that,
    You deserve to be happy,
    You have the right to celebrate this,
    You have to be thankful to Allah,

    And remember,
    this is a new life,
     where both of you,
    are going to venture,
    where there's ups and downs,
    BUT,
    nothing's going to ruin your life,
    as long as you stay strong,
    love each other,
    appreciate each other and OF COURSE,
    pray to Allah,
    and everything Insyaallah will be okay.

    This is actually the second time, I miss my siblings' big day. Two years ago, my younger sis Yatie, got married 2 mnths after my mom passed away. I had the chance to help her to choose her wedding clothes and bought some of the guests' souvenirs. For my lil bro Pein, I managed to help a bit with his financial burden. That's all I could do. You might wonder, why am I making this a big deal. It's in fact a big deal for me since I feel responsible as their eldest sis especially we don't have our mum to take care about their weddings. mesti ada org2 lain pun pernah mengalami situasi ini juga kan? jd tak seharusnya sy meminta simpati kan Hopefully everything will go as planned. My sis Yatie, her hubby and baby are in Msia to celebrate this happy day. It's good that they are able to attend the wedding and help Pein. Yatie also wrote something in her blog. To read it, click here. But she wrote in Kelantanese dialect, so those who are not really familiar with the dialect might have some problems to understand it. :D

    To Pein & Fiza: K. Nur, Abg Ariff, Fathini and Hafizah are going to pray for your happiness.

    Thursday, February 11, 2010

    Between Hitler's style, Hippies's style and a bit of both.....

    Salam to all,
                      My father used to encourage me to read motivational books. He even gave me a lot of the motivational books from his own collection. I remember that I've read about lots of motivational and inspiration stories. I've been fascinated with books that classified us based on our personality. I even read about types of parents years before I got married and became a parent myself. Thus, this time I'm trying to interpret it in my own way.

    PARENTING STYLES
    Photobucket

    1. Now let's see Hitler's style(The Authoritarian Parent):
    You like to give orders to your kids. When your kids ask questions, you'll say "Because I said so!". 
    You tend to give attention more when your kids have done something wrong. 
    Your kids usually have little freedom and lower self-esteem. (Ini ibubapa yg selalu cakap "Ibu/Ayah makan garam dulu")

    Photobucket

    2. Hippies's style (The Permissive Parent)

    You tend to give the total freedom to your kids. They can get and do whatever they want. 
    You want your kids to like you and that's why you tend to give in all the time.
    Your kids will grow up and learn that they can manipulate you in order to
    get what they wish.

    3. A bit of both styles (The Democratic/Authoritative Parent)

    You set some limits and boundaries but you also give some freedom when you think it's 
    appropriate. In this kind of environment, your kids will have high self-esteem and they'll 
    grow up to be matured adults. 

    Now, which category or which parenting style are you using? If you ask me, I would say I'm a bit of both styles but my hubby beg to differ. huhu. He reckons sometimes I'm a bit soft bukan lembut mcm sotong tu with our daughters. He reckons I have to learn how to be firmer. takpela, mmg kena belajar dr kesilapan kan? From the information that I've gathered from books and internet sources, there are other interesting names given to describe parenting styles. There are the survival, default and intentional parent; The Helicopter,Snowplow and Bulldozer parent; The Drill Sargeant, Search and Rescuer and Consultant. Whatever the names are, they basically describing the same types.

    What do you after you've identify your type? I may not be the best person to suggest as I myself struggle everyday too. So, why not we:
    • improve on our weaknesses.
    • be firmer when we've made our decision and stick to it.
    • focus more on positive behaviours as we want to reward on that not on the negative behaviours.
    • consult with our other half before the final decision is made.(esp on serious matter)
    • lastly, of course pray and pray that our kids will turn to be good, responsible adults.


    Wednesday, February 10, 2010

    Dialek Kelate vs B.Malaysia (BM entry)

    Salam semua,
                Sebenarnya dah lama saya teringin nak berkongsi cerita lawak2 yg diperolehi dr ahli keluarga dan kwn2. Lawak2 ni terjadi oleh akibat salah faham apabila satu pihak menggunakan perkataan di dlm dailek Kelate dan satu pihak lg kurang mahir/ tak faham lansung dialek Kelate.

                Kalau ada yg pernah terdengar cerita2 lawak ini, bolehla komen dan beritahu sy cerita mana yg anda pernah dengar. Kalau nak pilih mana cerita yg paling lawak pun boleh. Cuma sy tak de hadiah la nak bg. hehe. Tengokla mungkin sblm balik Msia, sy nak buat satu contest.

    Cerita Pertama:


    Ada sekumpulan anak2 muda yg kesemuanya berasal dr Kelantan sedang menunggu di meja untuk memesan makanan mereka.Mereka memilih untuk makan di sebuah restoran mamak di Selangor.


    Pelayan A: Mau makan apa? Minum apa?

    Mamat: Aku nok roti cana' & teh tarik.

    Dollah: Roti telur satu & milo.

    Pok Jie: Roti sardin & teh tarik.

    Mat Din: Ambo tok se' make tapi nok teh tarik.(tak mahu makan)


    Setelah selesai mengambil pesanan, pelayan tersebut beredar ke dapur. Apabila makanan siap, pelayan tersebut kembali ke meja mereka dan meletakkan makanan & minuman yg telah dipesan.


    Mat Din: Eh! Bilo pulok aku nok "Tosei"?( Bila pulak aku nak tosei)

    Pelayan A: Tadi order satu Tosei? 

    Mamat, Pok Jie dan Dollah dah mula terbahak2 bila menyedari silap faham yg berlaku.

    Mamat: Tulah. Sapo suruh mung royak "Tok Se". Make jahla "tosei" tu. Buke mahal pung. hahahah. (Siapa suruh kau cakap "tak mahu". Makan sajalah tosei tu. Bukan mahal pun.)


    Cerita kedua:

    Tok Loh ni pernah jd ketua kampung. Apa2 masalah anak2 buah dia, dia mmg ambil berat. Satu hari, ada seorang anak buat yg meminta Tok Loh menelefon Doktor Haiwan kerana haiwan ternakannya sakit.


    Tok Loh: Hallo. Ni klinik Nate ko? Bulih ambo kecek dgn Doktor Nate?( Ni klinik Haiwan ke?Boleh   saya bercakap dgn Doktor Haiwan?) 

    Cik Minah: Hallo. Pakcik boleh cakap elok2 tak. Tak patut panggil "Nate" pd doktor.
    Tok Loh: Doh oghe kelate tok panggil "Nate" tu "Haiwe". Not wat ghano. (Dah org Kelantam tak panggil "binatang" tu "Haiwan". Nak buat mcmmana.

    Cik Minah: Baiklah. Kenapa pakcik telefon?

    Tok Loh: Royak ko Doktor, suruh maghi ko pdg sebeloh sekoloh Kg. Ru Pjg sbb ado lembu sakit.(Cakap pd Doktor, suruh dia ke pdg sekolah Kg. Ru Pjg sbb ada lembu sakit).


    Cik Minah: Baiklah.


    Cerita ketiga:

    Mama: Iffah! Mama letihla lagu ni! (mama letihla mcm ni)

    Iffah: Kenapa mama?

    Mama: Tengoklah nih. Mama "tok cekak"(tak larat) nok kemas baju2 dlm bakul ni.

    Iffah: Nak "Check-up" apa pulak mama? (anaknya kebingungan)

    Mama: Ish....budak ni. Tulah mama nak ajar dialek kelantan tak nak belajar. Bila mama  guna perkataan lain sikit, mulalah tak faham. "Tok cekak" tu maksudnya "tak larat".

    Iffah: hehehe. Takpe2. Nanti Iffah susun balik. (muka dah merah sbb malu.)


    Cerita keempat:


    Isteri: Bakpo Abe buat lagu ni?

    Suami: Lagu apa pulak ni. Lagu pop, rock, asli atau keroncong? (sambil terseyum sumbing)

    Isteri: Ish...............Org cakap: Kenapa Abg buat mcm ni? 

    Suami: Oooooo. Tapi org mana pulak?

    Isteri: Benci lah. Malas nak layan Abg.

    Suami: Alah merajuk pulak. Saje Abg buat "lagu" lawak bodoh utk "org" abg. hehehe.



    Ok. Macammana? Ada unsur2 lawak tak? Saya tak berapa mahir sebenarnya nak menulis pasal benda2 kelakar ni. Kalau tak faham lawak2 tu, buat2lah faham ye. :P. Kalau nak tanya apa maksudnya lawak tu pd kwn2 org Kelantan pun boleh. Atau boleh tanya sy kat kotak komen.

    Tuesday, February 9, 2010

    The whole body is still aching.....

    Salam to all,
                     This entry is again a backdated entry as I always waited for few days to upload my photos to the computer. My whole body is still aching due to the fact that I had a very uncommon active weekend during last weekend. What did I  do? On Saturday-6 Feb. 2010, late in the evening (abt 6 p.m.), I decided to go for a jog after feeling so depressed by being stuck at home hearing to my princesses antiques!

                    And  then the next day, (on Sunday-7 Feb. 2010) during the evening again at 6 p.m., we (my hubby, our daughters and I) went to the Faculty of Education Gym in University of Waikato to join our friends playing badminton. semangat nak main sbb lama sungguh tak main sampai sakit satu bdn :P




                        We arrived quite early and we saw only couple of friends who were already there. My hubby and I joined the others to play while our daughters were just watching from the bench. We felt guilty to let them just sitting there. So, we decided to take turns and my hubby went out first to play with them out side of the gym. I continued playing for a while until more people came and join us to play. After 30 minutes, I stopped playing to give the chance to others to play too. I went outside to check on what's happening outside. Fathini was playing hopscotch and Hafizah was kicking a ball while my hubby watched them. Later, the other kids joined us, when we played some games like statue game, hopping on letters, chicken and fox and throwing and catching a ball. There were few times, our kids fell down, scraped their knees and of course cried a little bit. Because of the few falling incidents, we decided to stop running and chasing the kids. dah kat luar tu main atas tar. tu bila budak2 jatuh, rasa sakit tu.


     

                             By 7 p.m., we thought we wanted to leave but some of my friends invited me to play again at least for another 1/2 hour. As I didn't want to let them down, eleh sebenarnya mmg ada niat nak main lg.hehe I told my hubby that I wanted to play just for another 1/2 hour. My hubby who was at the time busy chatting with the other fathers, told me to go on. Yeah! The last game I played was an intense one as we played in doubles. We also played almost two games. (almost because I had to leave in the middle of the second game!) We (my friend, Zu and I) lost to the other team in the first game. However, in the second game, we were leading in the point when my hubby told me that our daughters were tired and wanted to go home. ala budak2 ni, tak kasi can mak diaorg main lg.huhu Nana (an undergrad student) replaced me and they continued to play until 8 p.m since by 8.30 p.m. the sun went down. (skrg hjg2 summer jd hari masih pjg). 



      
    -Can you spot me? hehe I was wearing the blue t-shirts, blue jeans and white& brown headscarf-

                        Once we were home, we took a bath but not all at once! hehe. Then we had a simple dinner and rested for a while before we went to bed.


                    

    Monday, February 8, 2010

    @Waterworld Te Rapa

    Salam to all,
                     Last week, I thought that the playcentre would be open but I was wrong. I only knew it would be open on 8 Feb. (today). It was my own fault for not checking this out from the other members. I even brought Fathini on Wednesday as I thought it would be open for the big kid session. Once we were there, NOBODY ELSE was there! haha. inilah akibat org yg berat mulut nak bertanya


                    So, on Thursday I decided to bring my princesses to Waterworld Te Rapa which is only abt 10 minutes away from our house. It was the second time for us to visit the place because the first time we were there, we went with our playgroup families.



                    We arrive there @ 10.20 a.m. but we were not the only early birds! The first car park was full and I had to park my car in the second car park in the opposite side of the road. With a bag pack,carrying Hafizah and holding Fathini's right hand, I felt like a wonder woman! perasanla sikit walaupun ibu2 lain pun dah biasa bua mcm ni kan. 


                    Fathini and Hafizah chose to play in the kiddies pool like last time. There were few kids who had been in the pool before us. Two of them which were boys, kept splashing out some water and had been warned by their mother few times. They didn't spend too long there as when the outside pools and the water sprays were opened, they headed outside. lega lps tu sbb tak de yg simbah2 air kat kita We didn't expect that after few minutes later, a nice middle age lady came with her bubly and lovely granddaughters. I had a nice chat with the lady (but I forgot to ask her name! hmmm*sigh*). Her granddaughters Holly and Libby were so good and they quickly became good friends to Fathini and Hafizah. Holly who was one year younger than Fathini taught Fathini how to go under the water and hold a breath. But Fathini just watched her did the demo as she was not sure how to do it.

                    After spending wbout 1/2 hour in the water, my princesses were hungry and they asked for some food. I brought "cekodok pisang" (S'porean called it "Banana Bomb"- made from mashed ripe bananas, flour, egg and little bit of sugar). They were actually starving that they finished eating the whole thing in the container! Once they finished eating, they got back into the water. I had to wait for another 1 hour before I could ask them to leave the pool. nasib baik ada makcik tu yg tengah2 dok bercakap tu dia siap mengait lagi. They were got out of the pool after their hands turned blue and they looked cold in spite of the heated water in the pool.

     

                      We went to the changing room get changed but then I had to asked my princesses to turn off the shower. They were enjoying themselves in the shower bcs back at home, we couldn't use the shower! Why? If we use the shower, the whole bathroom would be flooded! dah bilik air diaorg kan tak boleh basah lantai. kat lantai takde lubang utk air keluar. nak mandi kena dlm bathtub je.huhu


                      I let my princesses to play outside where there was a playground and we were also watching school kids using the giant slides and the outside pool. ada juga yg tengah dok berjemur pakai bikini je At almost 2 o'clock, we left and by the time we reached home, both of my princesses were exhausted.



              

    Saturday, February 6, 2010

    Waybuloo: Not a suitable program for Muslim kids (WARNING).

    Photobucket
    Fathini and Hafizah wakes up every morning during the weekday to watch their favourite children programmes on TV Two TVNZ(since the summer holiday started in the middle of Dec. 09). They starts at 6 a.m. but my daugthers only watch from 8 a.m. onward. (dah bgn lambat. hehe) Tini and Fizah love "Blues Clues", "In the Night Garden" and there's a new program called "Waybuloo"(@ 8.40-9.00 a.m.) that has replaced "In the Night Garden". At first I didn't really mind when they watch the program. However, it all changed after I decided to sit down and watch the program with them two days ago.

    What have I discovered? Why do I think it's not suitable for Muslim kids? Before I could give the explanation, I better share some of the background of this program so you know which program am I referring to.

    Waybuloo is a pre-school children's television series commissioned by Michael Carrington at the BBC, and first aired on CBeebies in May 2009. The 100-episode show is filmed by The Foundation in Glasgow (Scotland) and animated and directed by Gallus Entertainment[1] for Decode Entertainment[2] in Toronto (Canada). Line produced by Matt Porter and Simon Spencer[3], part of the independent company, RDF Media's subsidiary The Foundation[4]. The program makers describe it as "...a philosophy for a happy life, and is like nothing children will have ever seen before"[4].
    Waybuloo is set in the land of Nara. The main characters are the four Piplings, 3D CGI animated creatures with large heads and eyes, placed on a filmed background, with the second half of each twenty-minute show featuring human children ("cheebies").
    The Piplings practise yogo, a gentle form of exercise similar to yoga[5] so that the viewers and their parents can participate[6].

     The Characters:

    Nok Tok

    Nok Tok is a bear-like Pipling. He made friends with Yojojo, De Li, and Lau Lau.

    De Li

    De Li the cat (pronounced /ˈdiːlaɪ/) has a pink body and blue eyes, with slightly pointed ears on top of her head and a tail with a white tip. She wears a flower on top of her head.

    Lau Lau

    Lau Lau the rabbit has a lilac coloured body and green eyes, has extremely long ears on top of her head and a puff tail.

    Yo Jojo

    Yo Jojo the monkey has an amber coloured body and blue eyes, and has rounded ears on the side of his head. He has four thick hairs rising above his right ear which flop over to his left like a comb-over. In Peeka he is often seen hiding in the log and his long tail is often shown.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waybuloo

    Let's go back to my intention of writing this entry. After watching the program with my daughters, I reckon this is not a suitable program for them and also for other Muslim kids. My hubby has watched this program too before he went to his lab and he has mentioned it to me about the disturbing elements in the program. Now, we have decided not to let our daugthers to watch the program anymore. (mujurlah mg depan playcentre dah buka semula jd mmg tak de masa anak2 nak tengok dah).

    Would you like to know why are we so opposed to this program? Here are the reasons:
    1. The characters will have a yoga (it's called Yogo in the program) session with the real children (they are called "cheebies") - Yoga has been banned by our Scholars (Ulama') esp. when it involve some kind of chanting words.
    2. The way they do the Yoga (or Yogo), it looks like they are meditating.-It's better to teach our children  about the 5- times- prayer! (solat kan cara untuk kita menenangkan diri, beribadat dan mendekatkan diri kpd Allah).
    3. If you think the program is harmless, you can let your children watch and you can see they would copy the Yoga positions and maybe even the LOTUS position. - (itu mmg cara org2 beragama Hindu bermeditasi)
    4. It's better to be careful and selective in what your children watch and learn before it's too late. (kami mmg tak mahu anak2 terpengaruh dgn budaya2 yg bukan budaya Islam)
    I'll let you judge and have your say on this issue. I've share my point of view and I feel the urge to warn the other  Muslim parents about this. Currently this program has become a HUGE phenomenon in UK and it has gained its popularity way above "The Teletubbies".

    Friday, February 5, 2010

    For your eyes only. (Part 2)

    This is a continuation from yesterday's entry. I want to share more personal photos at various places around North Island, New Zealand.

    @Kelly Tarlton's Antartic Encounter & Underwater World- April 2009

     

    @ Auckland Museum- April 2009




      

     That's basically some photos at the places that we've been. I wrote some of the stories in my old friendster blog. Since I started using blogspot.com in May 2009, I've written some of my experiences in some places that we've visited. You can visit here, here and here to read my older posts abt interesting places in North Island, NZ.

    Thursday, February 4, 2010

    For your eyes only. (Part 1)

    Not really in a mood in writing up an entry. So, I decided to share some personal photos of various places in New Zealand focusing on the North Island as we've never been to South Island yet. tak tahula ada rezeki ke tak nak pergi melawat South Island. huhu

    On the way to Wellington (Dec. 2007)- @ Taupo Lake

     

    @ Te Papa Museum in Wellington

    @Raglan: Dec. 2008


    @Waihi beach (Jan.2009)

     

      

      

    to be continued.............
    (ehehe mcm drama bersiri atau "soap opera" pulak)

    Wednesday, February 3, 2010

    Blaming others stories.......

    Salam to all.
    Please read these stories.

    First version:
    "This is the story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody,
    and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was
    asked to do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
    Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job.
    Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that
    Everybody wouldn't do it. Consequently, it wound up that Nobody told
    Anybody, so Everybody blamed Somebody."
    Second version:
    "There were once four brothers: Everyone, Someone, Anyone and Noone.
    They had a very important task to do. Everyone was sure that Someone
    will do it. Anyone could have done it, but Noone did it in the end.
    Someone was angry because it'd have been Everyone's job. Everyone
    thought that Anyone could have done it, but Noone realized that Noone
    will do it in the end. In the end, Everyone was angry at Someone
    because Noone did what Anyone could've done." 
     
    Third version with the changes at the end from "one" to "body":
    "This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
    There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
    Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
    Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.
    Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done."


    Have you ever heard or read the stories before? I'm sure many of you have come across with these stories before or maybe in a slight different version. No matter what the version is, the moral of story is crystal clear. It's about shifting the blame on others when something happen in our life. Thus, it's far better to stop blaming others but just find the solutions to our problems. Dwelling with the things in the pasts won't never give us any good.


    That's all I want to share for today. Ka Ki Te Ano.