Nazmi's 15th bday celebration

Ini la rupa besday prezen Nazmi yang dah berkarah tu.....

Nazmi Zuhairy, our middle child turned 15 on July 10th. It so happened that we were going to spend our weekend skiing at Mt Ruapeheu, so we thot that it's quite flash if we had a double celebration; a holiday cum a bday celebration for my boy....

Early this year, he asked for an early birtday present...a pair of soccer boots, so we bought him something that he really wanted...a pair of Nike soccer boots somewhere in Feb 2010. He had an electric guitar as his bday gift last year...so i thought this present was nothing compared to the one we gave him last year.

Here are some pics of Nazmi's birthday celebration at our rented holiday home in Turangi, Waikato. Thank you, son...for you have brought joy into our lives!!!

Nazmi Zuhairy, my boy who turned 15 in July 2010Look at Angah's fans...or maybe the cake's fans...

Angah tiup lilin...malu betul dia, sbb kali ni sambut besday dgn mak2 & bapak2 budak
& kami pun gelak tgk gelagat Anga....
Nazmi meng'amin'kan doa utk dia....semoga dia menjadi anak yang soleh...
Now, what are these guys looking at?? Don't tell me they're eyeing the cake too??
The kids were so impressed that we brought the bday cake all the way from Hamilton
Credits to all chefs who contributed to the ad-hoc party for Anga's big day
Nazmi's birthday cake....all the way from the cheesecake shop...

Gone Fishing

Zul left very early (@4.30)this morning with the fishing gang and took off to Coromandel where they rented a boat for a fishing game. He was really excited about this trip, so layankan aje la….
I’m excited too…at least I can be left alone and do my own thing. For one, I could get up late, and two I could do some writing in peace…..

I’m not a fishing person. I hate the smell of the bait and getting my hands all sweaty and salty. I remembered accompanying him for a fishing trip to Raglan, but what I could do was just reading the articles I had with me and staring at empty space, thinking about “why in the first place have I agreed to come with him?” But my son, Nazmi is a daddy’s boy. Like dad, he enjoys fishing and has the skill to capture some good sized fish.

Thank God, Zul did not come home empty handed today! He had some good size fish for our dinner tomorrow and the week after…..

Yeay....the catch! the catch!

Zul's chilly bin to store his catch for the day...

Zul, cleaning his fishing rod right after reaching home...

Saying goodbye is never easy...

Dr Aisyah & Dr Hazrina


The graduates & us...

The other PhD candidates at the University of Waikato
Ayu with her last words of wisdom....

Goodbyes are the beginning of new relationships. Dont be too sad over goodbyes, as it is a sign that we will be meeting again.

Ayu & Rina whom I befriended in 2007 have left home for good late Oct 2010. Rina survived her Phd and is blessed with a pair of beautiful twins right after her viva. She was the first person to teach me about surviving in NZ, taking me around garage sales and suggesting what to buy when I first started life in NZ. Ayu,on the one hand, taught me heaps about the philosphical of life. Though Ayu has left home and resuming her career as a lecturer at uum, she is still progressing in her phd...

Being in NZ for 3 years has taught me invaluable lessons about what true friendship means. In a foreign country, away from your motherland, your friends are your relatives. When yourfamily isn't there to listen to you, your hardships, your heartaches, there is no place no turn to other than your friends.

Preserving those memories that we shared is invaluable...& I thank this blog for I could share my feelings publicly to two wonderful friends....

To Dr Rina & Ayu....thank you for the friendship....

Goodbyes are not forever,
Goodbyes are not the end,
They simply mean, "I'll miss you",
Until we meet again....
~author unknown


At Dr. Rina's unit before she left home for good....

A farewell coffee session at Esquires coffee...

My farewell treat to Dr. Rina & family, and Ayu

Checking that everything is in place...at auckland international airport before departure

The girls at the farewell party I hosted...

Nazura turns 12

Simple birthday lunch menu: birthday cake, butter cake, banana muffins, sushi, chips & iced buns.

Nazura and her guests...I told her "make it small and invite only close friends..." (sebenarnya mak nye yg tak larat sbb tengah stress jumpa spvr)


The 6 out of 10 birthday cake....susah nak focus bikin cake kalau otak tak bole focus....

This is a picture of Ain with her brothers...taken in 2006 @ Langkawi Cable Car.
Ain posted a beautiful smile at Tasik Cini Resort, 2006.

.
Ain & cousin Iqa at our family home, in 2008.

Ain & mummy having dinner at KipMart JB, 2007.

Ain, Anga & my ex-fellow Azira who's now teaching at UiTM Perlis during one of UTM convocation.

Ain during one of our Mt. Ruapehu visits...

Nazura Zunnurain, our one and only daughter is turning 12 tomorrow. We
thought of having a small celebration with the family tomorrow, but she insisted
to have her friends over for lunch.

I thought of buying a birthday cake for her, or baking her that special
Justin Bieber cake, so I made a short visit to BJ cake decor and was stunned to find out that edible image of JB would cost me NZD20!! My oh my cross out that JB cake on my list, hanim....Frances was kind enough to lend me her untouched book she got on cake decorating..but no way I am going to use that book!! So, I guess making my own cake for her would be more special! (financially...hahahaha) So there came my chocolate cake with the chocolate ganache topped with strawberries. I am not really a great cook, but considering the result of the cake, I gave myself a 6 out of 10...(all smiles).

The party went out well, and the girls left at 8 last night...okay la tu...Pukul 8 pun masih terang benderang!!!

In this post I have posted some pics of her..

See how much she has grown over time?? She used to be so tiny but 3 years in NZ somehow (I'm blaming this on me & my cooking of course...) made her grow...

I pray that Nazura Zunnurain will grow up to be a beautiful young lady, inside and out...Ayah & Ibu love you...

Me & my college activities

I enjoyed working with students from planning activities or just my mood on the go.

I found a few pictures here which I gladly like to share with my blog readers...ENJOY!!

The JKM members and staff of college 9 during our Buka Puasa event at Pulai Springs Resort.
These are some shots taken during the Buka Puasa event....

A moment as a college administrator

Life as a college administrator aka PENGETUA has never been an easy one especially for someone like me for many reasons:

1. I'm a family person who wanted my family members to be involved in whatever I do.
2. It required lots of attention and time from you, thus it somehow made me neglected my family in a certain way.

I was really blessed to have people around me who understood what this responsibility meant to me. There were valuable experiences that I cherished when I took on this post. Most importantly, I was thankful for God for making me what I am today.

I found these pictures of the memoirs when I was the so-called Pengetua, being around the 'Pengetuafolks' and the Dato' TNCHEP.

My office at TL 1.12

Kia Ora


Each postgrad student registered under the School of Education is a given an office to share with another colleague. The first year I was here, I shared a big office with Patricia Rodie & Zuwati Hasim. In 2009, the level one of the TL block has been assigned as the postgrad area...and here all postgrads share a common printing space. I am sharing a room with Zuwati. Unlike Zu's area, my work station is too cluttered with files, papers and stuff I dont know what they are. Let's take a peek into my office....

Nasri's NCEA

My son Nasri had been struggling these few days. First, he was attempting to complete his scholarship NCEA Level 3 paper for Graphics Design and ICT. NCEA Level 3 is equivalent to the A levels in the British system...

He had been burning the midnight oil trying to finish his projects and assignments. Insyallah, if he makes it he'll be able to get funding of nzd5000 a year from the NZ govt to pay up for his tuition fees at the uni where he will be studying next year. He's planning to pursue his studies in Architecture at the Victoria University of Wellington. But since we are coming home next year, we thought that it's best if he pursues his studies at one of the local universities back home due to funding constraint.

His English and Physics papers were all over, and his Calculus exam is coming this Thursday.

We hope that Nasri will succeed in his NCEA exam....