First Outing - With le Son! :)

Yesterday was the first time we brought my son out to a mall in hopes that he gets used to the car seat and stroller before a longer journey this weekend.

My parents, confinement lady (kakak) and me sat down at a restaurant and ordered our food. My son was sleeping soundly in his stroller, placed just beside our table.

While waiting for our food, my father decided to take a walk in the mall. The rest of us stayed behind, when I soon noticed one masculine waiter.

He was tall, wore earrings and his head was shaved by the sides and the rest of his blonde hair was tied neatly into a ponytail. Soon I noticed that this masculine waiter had a very strong, enthusiastic, WOMAN’s voice as he/she served plates of food to other tables.

Soon she brought food to our table. As she was about to place the plates for us, she accidentally kicked my son’s stroller. It was just a small kick, where she proceeded to say ‘Eh ada baby!’ Me and my mother exchanged looks, more to feeling ahhh it’s alright, as my son was still sleeping soundly and it was basically a small matter.

As she left our table, the only thought that crossed my mind was: “Ah, Allah sayangkan dia.”
My post-partum brain (HAHA) was surprised at my own ‘reflex’ thought.

It is something I automatically say when someone escapes my father’s protective (sometimes reasonable) nature.

Had he been there, at the table with us to witness her to accidentally kick my son’s stroller.. Well, be rest assured that some tables would at least perform a somersault or two. Or someone would break out into a fight or end up crying. Or we would leave the restaurant. Or.. You get the idea :P

Indeed, Allah loves her. Regardless of what society would like to label her based on her appearance, Allah loved her enough to escape inciting WW3 with my father yesterday XD

Allah is indeed, the Most Merciful and the Most Loving
 
We who like to label others, how confident are we that Allah loves us more than the others?

PS: To those who feel like outcasts and like you do not belong, remember that Allah is always there for you, and you DO belong, to Him :) <3 p="">
 Yours truly- It has been a while, dear blog. I have a son now! :D

I Got Hitched! :)

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.!

Ahh it has been a million years (kidding, perhaps about a year plus?) since my last blog here! I apologise for all the dust that had accumulated here :P

I have been pretty busy the past year (definitely an interesting and blessed year, Alhamdulillah :D) as we all know that teachers ARE SO FREE RIGHT? 2015 was a crazy year, but indeed full of tests and blessing by Him :)

The main reason why I stopped blogging tremendously over here was because I discovered instagram (as I do love to take pictures) and I don't really like the idea of sharing sharing everyting on Facebook. I love taking pictures, but it's mainly for my own memory keepsake :) As to the reasons why I blog here too! It's just for my own personal note-taking for my goldfish memory, as my lovely housemate once stated :P

Anddd I'm the type of person who takes my blogs sort of like my artwork? Hence I really spend a lot of time writing my events and memories here, arranging the pictures to perfection (OCD sikit haha) and then only clicking 'post'. Hence the time and effort needed to blog is now a luxury to me. Instagram has helped me to keep my posts short (haha my ULTIMATE weakness!) and to also have a more private audience to share my pictures/posts with.

Previously, I would not have minded at all for posting pictures and my life stories here, but ever since I became a teacher, my audience expanded. Well, not too much of course, but a number of my children are curious little kids :P Not forgetting the new communities I'm in as well XD

I also share most of my kids' stories on Facebook, because I'd knew that those posts will at least enlighten someone's day, or give my friends a glimpse of the reality of our kids today.

So once again, apologies for the lack of updates/posts :) I guess I have grown to have more human interaction too since I became a teacher, equals to less social media interaction (bunyi mcm forever alone tak? :P)

Okay putting all seriousness and depressing notes aside, I GOT MARRIED! Alhamdulillah :)
Truly, I am indeed blessed to have met my husband in the most funniest way possible XD Let's just say that I owe a lot to my dear friend from Minnesota. You know who you are! And I'm working to find you a wife too XD AMIN!

Alhamdulillah all went well and we are officially husband and wife! :) *stories of the wedding journey and the reception... NOT SURE if I'd be posting it here or not but we'll see :P*

 

 *Little sneak peaks of the Nikah :D*

I was actually not at my very best weight as all my diet plans failed due to my enormous love for FOOD :P I think many people were just simply very nice to me and never mentioned ANYTHING about my weight or chubbiness during the wedding reception :P Or perhaps my height sort of covered my extra bundles of joy? XD

Well, returning back to school was when many people noticed. To be honest, I didn't gain weight because of the wedding! I gained some because my life became sedentary when I started invigilating SPM, while my food consumption remained as per normal (which is A LOT! Many people have a hard time believing I eat A LOT. I DO! Just ask my husband :P)

Sooo of course, some of my colleagues start to relate my weight gain to 'tanda bahagia' or because of the wedding. No it is not I tell you! Haha :P But deep down inside, no girl would want to be told they have gained weight especially if they had weight and body issues before. Yg paling best is kids mmg lagilah takde penapis dekat mulut :P I forgive youuu you terrible little child! XD

Alhamdulillah, Allah had enlighten my heart yesterday :) 

I stayed back after school as we had a meeting for Merentas Desa, then it was the practice for the event itself so I stayed in school (malas nak balik ulang-alik) until it was like 5.30pm. So imagine the amount of oil on my face I could use to goreng karipap and nuggets :P

But before I managed to get to my car, two of my ex-students (I unfortunately am not teaching them this year! They are in Form 5 :( ) Approached me and asked me about my wedding. They wanted to see pictures too, so I showed them perhaps only 3 pictures, because they wanted to see my HUSBAND HAHA :P 

As they looked at the pictures, they said 'Teacher, IS THAT YOU??' and I don't remember how many times I said 'Ahhh it's because of the makeup!' Since I don't wear any makeup (only on super special occasions, like getting married XD and when I have the mood on weekends?) I told them it's the makeup that was making me look different. 

The boys started complimenting on how pretty I looked, that I looked like a princess in red for my reception and that my husband was a lucky man. Really, how can you not smile at their super sincere and honest comments? :) I did try to ask them, why is he lucky? They were like of course lucky teacher! Teacher so kind, caring and pretty! 

One boy also actually tried to kipas2 himself and catch his breath after looking at the pictures in disbelief. HAHAHA So cute lah youuu XD 

One thing I remembered clearly was when I tried to justify that my makeup made me look different, one boy actually told me 'But teacher, teacher with no makeup already pretty!'

You have no idea how both of you made my day :') Alhamdulillah. Indeed Allah hears your little insecurities and make you happy through the most mysterious ways.

 *Sneak peak #2 :P Percaya tak I don't even remember how the cake looks like?*

*nak berbangga skit with these Doorgifts :P Ehem!*

Until next time! ;) 

P.S. Thank you for choosing me dear! :D I have won the race BAHAHAHA :P 

Lots of love, 

Iliani :)

Raya Dua Kali.. Or Tiga

Assalamualaikum w.b.t. :) 

Gosh, it had been agess since the last time I updated my blog. Definitely LOADS of things had happened so far. I'm gonna have to depend on my pictures to help recall all these stories XD

So based on the pictures above:
- New baju raya was last-minute; I received it a day before I went back to Subang! And I managed to accidentally find a matching skirt for my baju haha weird enough but truly grateful :)
-Dapat Raya with besties!! Both of them came to my house with their families :) Thank you so much!

- Got a new phone with my sis; mainly because her old phone was dying on her and I had always had a crush on Xperia Sony phones :P And knowing the mengada me, I had to get golden stickers/skin for it and a wonderful transparent cover!

- Finally got that high-heel mint green shoes for my best friend's wedding in November! Was definitely a challenge trying to get heels sbb the dress is very labuh :O

- Went to a few weddings recently; Kak Fizah in Kamunting and Adeelah's wedding in Kedah! Was definitely a fun trip to Jitra :D First time! Semoga sentiasa bahagia sehingga ke Jannah :)

-Meet up with some ol' Pennstaters. I don't think I've gotten any taller haha XD

Well that's all so far. I'd have to transfer all the pictures first before I could write more. 'Till next time :)

Lots and lots of Lemons

Assalamualaikum!

I know that this blog is supposed to be a place for me to record only those sweet memories and events that have happened, but maybe just this once I should place a little bit of complaint :P

Sometimes people think that I lead a very happy, wonderful and problem-free life. Well, just because not everyone are the type to post their WHOLE life stories on social media, doesn't mean that they do not face challenges as well. And didn't Allah mention it in the Qur'an as well? He will not just place iman in the believers and not test them. Allah loves those He tests :) (amin!)

Okay just to keep things short, everything that could go wrong in this week or two did go wrong haha XD Gosh, all from losing our important props for drama, exam scores that you just have no power of controlling to getting a low number for a project I'm working on. I wonder if some people are aware that they actually break your heart by doing what they do.

But Alhamdulillah, Allah shows His mercy and Love in the most mysterious ways :) Aside from feeling that my uterus was about to fall out, I was questioned by someone that I thought would actually throw a million knives and hit me and other innocent bystanders haha XD But instead, encouraging words and wisdom were shared to the floor. Okay, some tricks were involved but Alhamdulilah! I was completely taken by surprised to be gaining support when I was expecting disaster, tragedy and mayhem.

Tambah2 lagi uterus mcm nak jatuh tercabut tergolek. But now that I thought back about it, the pain and cramps actually help me take my focus off the recent failures and instead, be focused on the pain haha :P At least it helped me not to shed tears during the QnA. I think had I not had my uterus menari2 secara salah in my body, I might have cried like a baby :P

Alhamdulillah, thank you oh Allah for the strength (or pain haha) that You've blessed me with. Everything is definitely under Your plans, and You know Best :)

To a nice holiday re-strategizing and resting too. Not giving up just yet! :)

I'm 24

Being hit by a lot of work lately, I felt like I was about to drown until..

*A day before my birthday*

Student randomly asked: Teacher, tomorrow is your birthday right? I REMEMBER!
(Awww so sweet! And I thought people forgot :P)

*on my birthday*

During EXAM:
Student raises hand to call me during exam. She then proceeds to whisper..

'Teacher, happy birthday..' And smiled.

And thennn a few other students did the same. I was like 'thank you but shhhh do your exam XD'

Some of them even got me presents. And tudungs! I was deeply touched :')

 

<3 :="" p="">

 

*ye dah tua dah huaa*

One student that I don't even teach actually made Kek Batik for me. Huuuu thank youu T^T

Also got an unexpected dinner treat by my collab yay! Thank you :)

After EXAM:
So our school always has this sambutan Bulan Kelahiran, where they will announce the attributes of the people born in that particular month, call the teachers born in that particular month to come up stage to receive a birthday card and later cut the cake together.

As the teacher was reading the attributes for March babies, the things that stuck out the most were: Baik, penyabar, penyayang, tetapi KELAM KABUT dalam mencari pasangan.

I burst into laughter on that one. Memang tak boleh tahan betol! XD

 

*Birthday Card! Yay :D*

*credits to Miss Suzanne! Thank you :D*

A few days before my birthday, Taran and his friend visited Kamunting and we managed to go to the Zoo. We had loads of fun as it was our first time visiting that particular zoo! Except for his friend I think since he was FROM taiping itself haha :p

 

Really fierce bear to other fellow bear :P

 

*crocodileee*

 

*happy elephants are happy :D*

Long overdue post, I know. I have been super duper busy with the kids, drama practice, exam, lecturer observations, personal life (if I actually still have any left haha) etc etc...

Insya-Allah, will try to post more things here before I actually forget them. Gah memoryyy XD But so far, Alhamdulillah for everything that has happened. Thank you Allah for giving me a chance to live up till today, even though I am far from deserving of so much of Your love, blessings and mercy. I put my Faith in You :')

Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah.

Till next time!

Salam :)

Random Kindness

So I just arrived at the post office to pay my electricity bill and I took the number to wait for my turn. When I looked at the current number that they were serving, it showed that I had to wait for more than 10 people in line to go ahead of me; my number was 1129.

Since I wasn't in a rush, I just sat down to wait for my turn.
While waiting, I took out my Sejarah textbook and workbook because yes, I am a teacher haha XD

Because I was working on the workbook (you see, I can't just read the textbook or I'll fall asleep), my head was facing downwards when something happened. I suddenly heard a man's voice saying "Nah dik." and I looked up immediately to see a piece of paper right in front of me.

Me being so surprised (and blur) at that moment, I think I said 'ah?' in reply while taking the paper from the man who was probably in his late 30s or early 40s. He simply head out of the post office after I took the paper.

When I looked at the paper, it was numbered 1124. I guess it was his number and maybe he tak jadi nak do whatever he wanted to do at the post office? XD

I thought it was strange of him to give it to me because there were quite a lot of other people in the room who came earlier and he could have given it to them. But Alhamdulillah, he gave it to me and I get to reach my turn earlier :)

 

It could be that he simply saw me as the last person to come in at that moment before he left and that is why he passed on his paper to me. But whatever the reason is, I was truly grateful for his random act of kindness, and also for Allah for showering me this little mercy which made me so happy ^v^

Alhamdulillah :) And thank you pakcik for your kindness! :))

Pocahontas

Pocahontas was one of my favourite Disney movie back when I was little.

I would watch the movie over and over again, sneakily watch Pocahontas 2 (putting in the CD into the VCR and quickly taking it out again when my parents came back home haha XD) And of course, during my early days of drawing, she was one of the inspiration for my cartoon characters.

- aka I would always draw my main characters living in a forest, always so animal-friendly XD-

Back in those days, I didn't really thought about what made me so attracted to this particular movie and character.
Now that I am reaching my 24th birthday (Alhamdulillah. Yes, I am already old), while listening to the conversations going around in class among my peers, they were debating on which favourite Disney movie they liked.

Some said Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, Pocahontas, etc.

To be honest, when I remembered Pocahontas and Mulan in my mind, I did not remember them as 'Disney movies'. I remembered the stories, the characters, the amazing music (which I admit I did try to sing :P)

*the music back in the days are soooo much better and deep compared to today's music. Just listen to the lyrics!*

I remembered the essences of the movie. The word 'Disney' was one of the last words that came to mind. 

I was definitely devastated when I found out the true history of the real Pocahontas. With that being into my knowledge, I still missed and loved the fantasy version of the story within the movie and still hold her as one of my favourite cartoon characters.

After coming across a few Youtube videos on the making of Pocahontas, and getting a praise that relates me to Pocahontas (which gave me a hugee smile on my face because I really loved Pocahontas :D) then I finally realised why I loved her and the movie so much.

The character Pocahontas was portrayed as very mature, intelligent, exciting person but poised at the same time. She was not those childish characters who waited for her prince to save her, or was sheltered in a castle (she lived in a forest and knew the terrain well!) And of course, because she was also beautiful at the same time even though she is not white; which is what Asians (or Malaysians at least) hold to as being beautiful. Just look at all the beauty adds of whitening cream and you'll understand what I mean.

THIS is why I was so attracted to her even when I was a child :) I didn't know about it back then, but now I finally do, which is a new self-discovery for me :)

 *well, also the romantic story she had with John Smith XD*

Till next time :)