If I can freely  put into words what I have in mind right now,  this is going to be another long and (as always) very boring post.

Salam to everyone.

Weekends had been busy. Nothing unusual happened. MaulidurRasul (a day that marked Prophet Muhammad’s PBUH birthday) was celebrated on Friday; while in while the world is still looking pretty much the same. The end of it is nearing, yet, they have no fear.  Or shall I say they’ve forgotten how to feel the ‘fear’. They recited selawat with great enthusiasm. But they neglected the rest of the Rukun Islam. They talked about how great His Prophet was in leading the ummah, how undeniably courageous and  soft  He was in person. But they still don’t  listen to rakyat. As a matter of fact, our rights were denied, especially when poor people were concerned. They faked the empathy. Sad. But it’s true.

I never compromise hypocrisy. I never do.

By telling my heart out won’t do the justice. I did not come from a filthy rich family. But we’ve been fine. Thanks to Allah’s endless rahmat, we managed, by far, to live the life everybody’s envy of (literally speaking). I pulled the strength (thanks to Allah again), persevering my way through any obstacles, toughening myself while in while keeping up with endless challenges that come along the way. I don’t think I will give up that easily now.

I know and HE knows how hard I’ve worked.

I know and HE knows how badly I wanted this business to succeed.

I know and HE knows what I had had for dinners for the past 18 months.

HE knows. And HE had been with me all along.

I might get a little emotional now.

Oh my~

I don’t ask them to play God. I just hate their fake smiles.

As I’ve mentioned above, I never compromise hypocrisy.

When I was hesitating to jump into the water [starting off my business], no one cares. No one was there to teach me how to swim [piece of advice]. No one was there to watch my back [courageous words]. No one was there to offer me a float [funds and capital]. Most of them were discouraging me to swim [ laugh behind my back].

But the great Muhammad PBUH had leaved a very good track of entrepreneurial skills and knowledge.

And Allah had clearly described the power of tawakal. Plus how much HE mentioned how HE loves hamba-hambaNya yang bekerja keras.

And so I jumped.

Then I got almost drowned [ setback ], swallowed a lot of water [obstacles], I cried for help [ I mean, real help]. But no one come to my rescue [ I was downgraded, misjudged and manipulated].

But then again,  Muhammad PBUH the prophet had thought the ummah the meaning of patience and perseverance. And ALLAH had promised handsome rewards for those who did.

And so I swam further. From dog paddling to butterfly stroke, I can even now dream of winning an Olympic medal!

Thanks to my Creator and His beloved prophet. Thanks to dear family and friends.

But thanks not to them.

Again, I never compromise hypocrisy.

This is the wrong time for you to show up with your yacht or even a banana boat and offer me a ride.

So, so wrong.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Oh Lord, lead us to the correct path. And bless Your endless love upon Muhammad PBUH. May His spirit will shine in us all. Amin.”

This cake was made in December. Last year. And a few more pictures went missing here and there ever since my laptop broke down. Speaking of high-technology’s ‘wonders’, aite? My bad. I didn’t back-up my files.

But anyhow, the damage had been done. Basically there’s nothing much I can do regarding updating my blog since December. The truth is, I’ve been busy. And I know, I can get even busier than this. Soon enough.

But..

It was just an excuse, kot.

Kalau sibuk, macam mana boleh sempat baca blog keretamayat sampai pukul 3 pagi?

My parents had safely arrived Beseri last night. Leaving me all alone, again. While I wished I could savour my mom’s meal instead of this homemade strawberry milkshake, I know that’s not going to happen in the near future.

I hope I can get married to a cook. I hope I can hire some new staffs. I hope my high expectation about ‘that person’ is true ( I was over-praising him, I guessed-  kecewanya) I hope I have at least a few more thousand MYR inside my bank account ( I might lose that perfect little shop which is open for rental in KP, oh!). I hope I can stop merapu now.

Good night everyone. I might had taken XtraSharp a little more than I should today.

Best regards.

p/s : Fara, congratulations upon your engagement. I’ll upload your gorgeous cake picture soon, k?

Salam to all..

It’s going to be a very quick post. I finally had been adapted well with the condition of not living with a laptop, a handphone which running out of memory (and seriously lack of appealing appearance!) and decent meals made deliciously by mak will take months to fill in my hungry stomach again.

Missing mak and ayah (euuuww!!)

Period.

And last but not least, I’ll be uploading a VERY NICE picture very soon.

It was taken during Hari Keputeraan Duli Yang Maha Mulia, Yang DiPertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir on January 14th! Oh! Happy!

Wait for my next post! Till then, best regards =)

In short, this is going to be a long post.

I was thinking of starting off a new blog, the one where I can pour my heart out instead of blabbing them here. Emotions had run high in these past few weeks. A lot of things had happened and that included today.

Let pictures do the talking. An avid reader had scolded me for not uploading pictures as promised. Sorry. Time had really taken it’s toll this time around.

Kek hantaran.

Hari Raya Aidilfitri’s cake. I know. It was almost 2 months ago

Carrot  banana walnut cake with cream cheese topping.

Manhattan chocolate cheese brownies.

Tiramisu

Chocolate banana cake

Favourite order, Aquarium Birthday Cake.

Tiramisu, up-closed.

Black forest cheesecake

Balloons birthday cake. Very suitable for kids

Marble cheesecake

Ok, a few more afterward.

I already moved out to a new place, located in Ampang Tinggi, Kuala Pilah. It was a perfect, house-like bakery, which I happened to love instantly.

Front view of LemonVanilla Bakery. Yeay!

Inside view of the production area

My office

Somehow, after 1 year officially of working from home, we managed to move out on 19th of November ( which clearly make my mom very very happy since our kitchen is now VERY spacious) and did my last mass production from home yesterday. We had a Yaasin’s recital ceremony at our new place today, had a huge number of clients, friends and relatives turned out, and my parents looked happier than ever. I hope I have made them proud.

Alhamdulillah. Somehow He answered my prayers.

And these are another strings of my proudest moments, capturing pictures of Negeri Sembilan’s football team during their visit to Kuala Pilah

Ponek nak sign macam ni

Anyway and anyhow, I know the cake was simple (pardon me, I didn’t take a pic) but I hope those football players loved it. Tahniah jang!~ sincerely from LemonVanilla Bakery, tanpa ada maksud tersembunyi!

Muka excited~! Weeeee!

Then, a few more pictures (oh, sudah penat lagi mengantuk)

Blueberry chocolate ice cream cake

More or less the same. blueberry cake.

Book-like birthday cake

Thank you, Jabatan Agama Kuala Pilah

Manhattan chocolate cheese brownies, lagi

Marble cheesecake, lagi juga

Chocolate cheesecake with chocolate ganache.

Thank you Miss Fauzana of UiTM Kuala Pilah. Congrates on the engagement!

And last but not least, classic cheesecake.

To all clients, thank you so much for your endless support. Please feel free to visit LemonVanilla Bakery, located in front of Pusat Pertanian Ampang Tinggi, Kuala Pilah.

To that mysterious stalker, I hope you enjoy these pictures

And not to forget, Tengku Tina of Istana Besar Seri Menanti; thank you for that much-awaited phone call I really hope to serve HH in the near future

When I come to think about it, I should just had my rest and forget the world’s content. Today had been hectic. But since I had a few cups of coffee since morning, I can’t barely sleep. Fatigue but awake. Still had a long to-do-list tomorrow. Notice how inalert I was when I realized I didn’t trademark my pictures..

Naahh.. nevermind-lah!~

Best regards everyone. Good night

p/s : I love our new place. It’s located just opposite the main road of Seremban-Kuala Pilah. At least I can sometimes see TAR speeding on the road with His sunglasses on! 

Pardon my grammar~! I haven’t sleep in the past 20 hours~

Salam and a great, great hello to everyone.

I’ve been in a great spirit. Regarding on one big project I’ve mentioned in the previous post, I managed to pull it through with an awful lot of difficulties. But first, sembah takzim dan tahniah buat Ke Bawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia, Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir upon His Highness installation as the 11th Yamtuan of Negri Sembilan. As a Negri native, I felt extremely proud and grateful Daulat Tuanku!!

As how anyone would put it, success never come overnight. Lucky is not accidental. And failure is not an option.

I’ve decided to choose victory, despite the dear price that I have to pay. Failures came and went as they pleased but I looked up at them as opportunities to learn something new. I might be very much inexperienced (as how some of my lecturers put it), I might as well learned everything the hard way. But I know, somehow, I’ve made my mind. I know what I want and where I am heading.

(Mr. XX, thank you for the irresistible offer, but no, I don’t want to be a pastry chef~)

There’s a long way to go, though.

But Alhamdulillah. Patience pays it’s price. Everytime I come to think about it, I wished I could do a little bit better, a little bit faster, a little bit nicer; a little bit more of everything. But nope, Allah had wrote my path according to His plan. The timing is just perfect. Just perfect.

With so many dreams in one hand and tireless effort in the other, growing up with supportive family and friends is a huge rahmat. I might weep and smile all at the same time, but for those who know me better, I wouldn’t be able to stand this tall without their support. Unintentionally done, I might forget an awful lot of birthdays, missed a handful of gatherings, weddings and God-knows what else, but please remember one thing; I never missed praying for everybody’s good health and prosperous life, every single day.

I know this journey might ruin a few bonds.

And I couldn’t do anything about it.

To those who understood, thank you.

*****************************************************************************

One of my 100-things-to-do-before-I-die-list had come true.

#17 Serve my cake to a King.

It’s been a great year.

Even I’ve accomplished #5 Watch MU plays in front of my bare eyes. And a few more of #’s [ of which I couldn't spare the details, yet ]. But anyhow, all praises to Allah for this bless. Alhamdulillah..

Till then, have faith in yourself. Do whatever it takes to achieve your dreams. Impossible is indeed, nothing. You need to stumble before you can run.

Best regards

p/s : A huge thanks to Tengku Tina of Istana Besar Seri Menanti for making one of my biggest dream come true. To my dear friends; Aini, Along, Syikin, Fifa and Nadiah, what would I be without you guys. Last but not least, Kak Lin, for all those encouraging words. Thanks a lot.

Honoured : With YAM Tunku Ali Redhauddin ibni Tuanku Muhriz and friends.

Assalamualaikum buat semua.

Hari ini berubah mood untuk menulis di dalam bahasa. Ayah pulang beberapa hari yang lepas untuk menemani saya membuat jualan di bazar Ramadhan sepanjang bulan, InsyaAllah. Bertemu kembali beberapa ‘regular customers’ dari Ramadhan yang lalu. Alhamdulillah, indah perasaan itu apabila ada yang masih ingat dan kenal.

Ketibaan Ramadhan kali ini disambut tanpa kehadiran emak di sisi. Adik- adik kembali menyambung pelajaran. Hanya saya dan ayah di rumah. Canggung rasanya apabila harus bangun di awal pagi dan menyiapkan hidangan buat ayah. Bukan sesuatu yang menjadi kebiasaan, apatah lagi saya selalunya ‘eat for one’. Kala ini, baru saya faham, tanggungjawab emak dan bagaimana emak memikul serta melaksanakannya tanpa alasan, tanpa jemu. Saya seronok melatih diri, seterusnya akur hakikat menjadi seorang isteri dan ibu bukan suatu perkara yang mudah.

Ayah yang juga faham situasi saya yang agak sibuk, turut membantu memasak lauk untuk makan malam dan sahur. Naik segan dibuatnya. Namun, disebabkan masakan ayah semestinya jauh lebih sedap daripada masakan saya, perasaan serba salah itu ditolak ketepi. Ayah hebat dan cekap dalam memasak, sehebat emak ketika di dapur. Semalam ayah menyediakan lauk udang masak lemak cili api berserta ikan parang masak asam dengan petai. Ayah saya hebat bukan?

Laptop akhirnya dapat dibaiki, alhamdulillah. Seronok menyorot blog-blog dari penulis-penulis kegemaran, sekaligus dapat mencurahkan rasa di blog sendiri. Jiwa seakan kosong kebelakangan ini. Terlalu banyak perkara yang ingin dilakukan. Perancangan dan perlaksanaan kadangkala tergendala dek pengharapan-pengharapan yang diberikan oleh manusia. Seharusnya saya akur, keterbegantungan harap hanyalah kepada al-Khaliq. Mungkin ini ujian. Manusia tidak dapat lari dari setiap ketentuanNya. Saya masih muda dan mentah; naif. Jika ‘mereka’ terus-terusan ingin mengambil kesempatan ke atas saya, teruskan. Saya ada hak untuk menentang namun tidak ada keberanian untuk menyatakannya. Rasa hormat terhadap yang lebih tua masih menebal. Saya yakin, jika janji Allah itu benar, hak saya di sisi Allah akan sentiasa dilindungiNya. Tomorrow is always a better day for me, insyaAllah.

Apa yang penting, niat kita dalam setiap urusan adalah semata-mata untuk mendapat redha-Nya. Bersikap bongkak dan takabur atas pemilikan pangkat dan harta jelas menunjukkan keegoan, kedangkalan, serta kurangnya rasa syukur terhadap pinjaman nikmat yang dikurniakan Allah itu. Mohon dengan sangat agar Allah tetapkan hati, kuatkan iman, agar kita tidak tergolong dari kalangan mereka yang lalai mengejar nikmat dunia dan mendamba pujian manusia.

Apabila Tunku Ali Redhauddin Muhriz; Tunku Besar Seri Menanti, mencemar duli di perkarangan bazar Ramadhan dengan hanya seorang polis sebagai ‘escort’, t-shirt polo hitam, ‘khakis’, dan DSLR di tangan, saya tergamam. Baginda berpendidikan University of Cambridge, memegang gelaran yang paling kanan di antara Putera Yang Empat, namun baginda tetap senyum dan menyapa rakyat yang rata-rata terkesima dengan kehadiran baginda ( saya tidak terkecuali!). Pengalaman emak ketika lawatan baginda ke Perlis turut sama hebatnya. Baginda sangat peramah dan mesra rakyat. It’s very rare and uncommon, contrary to our typical views on how usually a Ruler should behave in public. Hebat seorang pemerintah yang hidup penuh dengan hakikat ‘hanya manusia biasa’!

Selamat menjalani ibadah puasa buat semua

I had no idea what I had turn myself into. Isolation had played it’s trick, or maybe it’s magic. By saying so, I admitted that living alone is never a good idea after all. Often by thinking back, again and again and again, I wish I could just move back to KL anyway.

But it won’t possibly solve my problems ( I know I’ve created some unnecessary ones), but all in all, I need some companions. Although people can joke around and I can gladly give my smirk upon their remark on why I should get married by now, I took it as a personal insult.

Yes, they can play cupid. Some single lecturers in the college, some gorgeous doctors in the hospital, and then what’s next? ” Hey, my name is Munirah, single and available. When do you possibly think we can tie the knot?” Nah. That’s just plain great.

My lifestyle back in the city was not that perfect either. By becoming a loyal customer at a mamak restaurant back then, I got so used to menapau, and my skill at doing so is becoming more flawless nowadays. Socializing had been quite a challenge. Simple reason such as “I’m seriously busy” is just another, well, reason. Although I enjoy outdoor activities just as much as I enjoy napping in the afternoon, dragging myself out of my house in the evening is impossible. I couldn’t answer anymore, “Mak dengan ayah tak balik ke?” question. Nor that I can stand the view of housewives in kain batik, standing by the road, chatting gleefully while laughing. And, I can’t stand anymore stupid gestures from some pervert guys in town.

Is my life that miserable?

Looking at the bright side of everything, well, I’m about to turn 23. And yes, the question of “When will you get married?” surely bombarded any working females out there too. “When ayah and mak are coming back home?”, for one obvious fact, hey, these strangers know my parents, and they know me too (surprise, surprise!). Being well-known to a group of strangers can be quite spooky but who cares. I should feel good about that, I guess.

Tapau? I better eat for one rather than polishing up my cooking skill which end up wasting. In fact, I am good at cooking my own meal so why bother? Gossiping housewives? I better think twice about my future would look like too~

And yes, pervert men are everywhere. By moving back to KL won’t solve the problem. At least we don’t have that much of immigrants, here, in Kuala Pilah.

What do I do now?

Being an optimistic is easier said than done. But it can be achieved. At least, I am my own boss. I can wake up at any time I want, without worrying over my punch card’s timeline. I have my cats to listen to my nag and my neighbours who are concerned about me. I don’t have to do a wardrobe makeover every now and then, I am more than comfortable in my old pair of jeans and sneakers. And yes, I did meet a lot of gorgeous, young, hot doctors in the hospital everyday.

Feeling lucky?

I did!

Thank you Allah for this bless