ku susun 10 jari...

a week more, and it's syawal...the month we've all been waiting for...

top 5 topics for the past two weeks:

1) kuih raya - whether you are baking, buying, selling, or just eating type...
(my favourite has always been pineapple tarts- although i have to admit i am rather dissapointed with the quality in the market these past 10 years)

2) baju raya - color - is it color coordinated with another 20 people in your family?, how long can u stand wearing it with the current hot hot hot weather, where to get affordable nice ones?
(results of my recent trip to jalan Tar: 50% satisfied, 50% bad body odour)

3) balik kampung for raya - what day, what time, what route to travel back hometown? (although its only within less 100km radius, it requires a LOT of negotiation and sometimes argument), how many houses to visit this year? (or can we just opt for 3 instead of 30 houses?)

4) duit raya - forget about how much i'm going to get, it's all about GIVING this year, onwards, for the rest of my life

5) the ultimate makan-makan raya - we KNOW so well what we are going to expect from each home we're gonna visit...and from Raya Day 1 to Day 3 at least, don't we all just get into denial zone "oh my god i am sooooo fulll!!!!!..but then one bite of that rendang won't harm, right?"

but then again...we tend to forget the most important thing...the highlight of syawal...it's the moment where we recall all the things we've done and not done, to Allah s.w.t, and the ones we love most...and once you realize each and every one of these things, you bring yourself to forgive, and hopefully be able to forget...

it's the moment to realize that we're all human, and that we all make mistakes...


let's not just wait for syawal...start today...everyday...

and the sheep goes Baaaaaa(zar)...

it's the 11th day of ramadhan (don't get wrong, i wasn't really keeping track)...and i've broken the 'successfully-avoiding-myself-from-going-to-any-bazaar-ramadhans-no-matter-how-tempting' record...it aint' easy, i'd tell you...hey, but what am i saying? of course you all know that already!

we all know exactly what happens to all your senses the second you step into the smoke & colored-umbrella filled food haven:

1) your eyes wonder...

2) your nose start to tingle...

3) your mouth start to water...(ok, wipe the drool)...

4) your tummy growls...*grrrrrr*...

and then...the angel and devil inside you start to pick on each other...and most times, the devil takes the trophy...all of a sudden, you WANT EVERYTHING (to the extend that you convince yourself that you NEED EVERYTHING)...

so you get a bit of this and that...(sometimes saying to yourself /your husband "wah, mahal jugak yek?!"...but buying them anyway)...and when you really run out of cash and filled with guilt (it usually happens in this order), you drive home...slowly...killing time...strategically arranging the hierarchy of importance of all the items you've bought...what to eat 1st and last, who to share them with (IF you feel like sharing)...and not forgetting, making promises to God Almighty that none of it will go to waste...*sigh*

19 days to go...and yes, i am going to one this Saturday...and although i know the oh-so-famous murtabak is so overrated, i am definitely going to buy one (murtabak kambing), again...