Salam to everyone.

All my successes had been built on my failures – Benjamin Disraeli

Days gone by. I came to realize that May is almost at it’s end. By starting off mumbling regarding what had happened to me in the past few weeks is plain boring. Let the quote above reflects something out about ourselves. I have something else in mind.

Alhamdulillah business had been tremendously good. I can’t thank Allah enough, for His endless bless, His guidance and rahmat. Alhamdulillah. Rough patches arose every now and then but the power of tawakal had been doing it’s magic. Beyond any available prowess made achievable by men, somehow we slipped. Sometimes we forgot. But we can’t put Him aside. Trust me. He scrutinizes every un-uttered lines, every whispers in our little hearts.

For this perfect fates, I thank Him. For this gracious bliss, I thank Him. I can get very misty-eyed whenever I brought this subject up. I guess Maher Zain’s Thank you Allah will somehow describe my soul as per se.

Countless ni’mat, how should I express those in words. His gifts had never failed to surprise me. At times I thought I needed my friends to support my downs, they were not here. And I don’t blame them either, I hadn’t been there for them all the time as well. At times I thought I would cut off some ties over something which happened to be what matters most to me at the moment, Allah lose them all for good. My life had been miraculously happier without them around. Strange, but true. We just need to view it as a third party, insyaAllah, without hesitation, we’ll know what’s good and better Allah had in store for us.

I am forever seeking His bless. May WE ALL forever be under His bless.

Has He counts my thanks in? I never think it will be enough.

I’ll be posting some good news, insyaAllah, very very soon.

Best regards.

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.

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“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.”

D A U L A T  T U A N K U =)

TM : Hari tu ada persembah kek kan? Waktu pertabalan?

SM : Hmm, ada Tuanku, ada.. Hehe.

TM : Kat mana bakery ni?

SM : Kat Ampang Tinggi Tuanku.

TM : Ohh.. Ada jumpa anak saya kan hari tu?

SM : Hmm..

TM : Anak saya, Tunku Besar (YAM Tunku Ali). Ada jumpa kan kat luar istana hari tu?

SM : Ohh, haa.. ya Tuanku.. ada.. ada..*sangat nervous*

TAA : Hari tu fruit cake, ni kek apa pula dear?

SM : Carrot cake Tuanku =)

TM : Terima kasih. Come, ambil gambar.

Ok, to tell you the truth, I was floating in the air! The moment Tuanku Muhriz spoke to me was the moment I knew my tears will stroll down my cheek with no obvious reason why. Fortunately, it didn’t happen =) And at time when Tuanku mentioned my previous cake was unbelievable!

I can’t believed HRH still remember my small cake

Selamat Hari Keputeraan yang ke-62 Tuanku Muhriz

Semoga Allah lanjutkan usia Tuanku dan Tuanku Ampuan.

Salam to all.

Wow.. Lama sangat dah tak tulis blog. Feels like forever! Nak type down pun rasa sangat lembab ni!

It’s been two weeks without a single post. Kerja masih banyak. Tapi alhamdulillah. Ever since operating from LemonVanilla’s Bakery, everything had been working out so well ( I lied, ok!). But nevertheless, despite my never-ending works, I enjoyed fulfilling clients’ demands and orders. Although sometimes I screamed (inside!) for those late orders, God still gave the courage to be patience and considerate. OH! Please, try to understand me this time. I had my working hours fixed, even most of the time, I did have to stay back until late at nights. Things did change and they required a lot of readjustments. We need at least 5 days in advance for any orders, especially the ones regarding weddings and engagements.  Hmm..

But anyway, I need to finish up some paperwork. Family and friends, thank you for the support. Clients, we are here to celebrate every bite of life. Call and make advance appointments. We never like to turn you down.

And here goes some pictures taken from our Yaasin’s recital majlis.

Adakah ini spokeperson LemonVanilla ^_^?

My eldest sister with Amir.

My beloved ayah, Tn Haji Sulaiman Ismail (R).

Beloved mak, with orang pangkal, my adik!

Antara tetamu-tetamu yang hadir. Terima kasih daun keladi

All the way datang dari Ampang! Semangat nak sign guest book! TQ for coming, JK!

And last but not least, sekitar Majlis Hi-Tea Lembaga Kebajikan Perempuan Islam Malaysia yang diadakan pada 12 Disember lalu di Seremban. Let the pictures do the work la ye!

Kek terbesar dalam sejarah LV

Kerusi kuning itu….

Kek kuning itu..

Dif- dif kehormat

According to plan, the cake was supposed to be the officiating cake.. but then, ditukar jadi kek untuk auction.. First donor was YM Tuanku Ampuan Najihah;

Dan penyumbang- penyumbang seterusnya..

Pembida terakhir, a doctor, who then give back the cake to be distributed to all of the guests. Sungguh baik hati!

At the end, the amount of money collected through auctioning was RM580!! I was so thrilled!!

With Tengku Mariam, Aini and some other guests. Thank you so much for this rare and special opportunity!

I am going to have a very busy day tomorrow.

Untuk warga Kuala Pilah/Seremban, please feel free to come over to LemonVanilla Bakery. Berhadapan Pusat Pertanian Ampang Tinggi, Jalan Kuala Pilah-Seremban. Kami kini beroperasi setiap hari, 7 pagi hingga 6 petang.

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.

Salam everyone.

It’s one of these days where my brain had drained out; wondering about a lot of things, neglecting the necessities or not. Whether my mind was doing me tricks by sending blurry signals about what was happening around me or it’s just another fact that I have to learn to willingly accept, I’m not quite sure.

My bluecube hadn’t being so co-operative since last week. After numerous calls to celcom center then only we had everything in order again. Thanked God. Had some catching up with my old lecturer (asking for a new theme for www.sitimunirah.com), read the latest news on MU’s new sign-ups ( Michael Owen? for real?), updating my status at facebook (www.facebook.com/sitimunirahs) and the list goes on. Sangat berfaedah internet ni kan?

As for the activities last week, I drove myself to Shah Alam for a wedding cake delivery for Kak Aziriah  (first time!), met up my precious cousins in Subang, got lost in PJ (ended up somewhere near Sri Petaling! lorh!), attended an Irfan Khairi’s pre-seminar at Cititel ( ini sangat best!, I even gave him a loaf of cake and had him autographed my book! ^_^), and also, enjoying late night dinner ( just like the old days back in PJ). How I missed those times

The next day itself, as I and Arry made our way heading home, boleh pulak tayar pancit, in the middle of Federal Highway!

Nah.

That’s interesting!

As how my super GIRLPOWER spirit skyrocketting, we vowed to take care of the issue by ourselves. Of course, my big brother had been giving instructions on hows and to-dos. The thing is, first, I’ve never change a flat tyre. Second, Arry also never change a flat tyre (haha). Third, I had always been the ‘macho’ kind of person, so, I do prefer to do everything on my own (lagi laa). Fourth, although we were wearing the ‘kesian‘ faces, nobody was really keen on helping us, probably because it was 7.45am, they were all rushing to punch their cards on time, aite?

So that’s it. Living in a busy city required a higher level of surviving. And so we did changed the tyre with some help from a few good samaritans and the rest was history. I managed to get everything done in less then 20 minutes. Not a good record but at least, I do know how to now :)

As how fate has it, we made a safe journey home. By that evening, Arry and I walloping on a guni of durians from my kampung. It was a very interesting weekend and the next thing I know, I was down with fever on Sunday

Anyway and anyhow, a few habits-changing-challenge will be taking place all this week. A lot of things in mind, which I would love to keep them to myself at the moment, figuring how to work everything out in compose. A lot of thanks to Dr Irfan for the short and resourceful seminar. A deepest gratitude goes to my cousin for being here when I needed him the most. A grateful wish to dear God for some eye-opening scenarios, heart-warming moments, and endless nikmat. Jazakallah.

And last but not least, here goes a Turkish proverb, which was sent by Uncle Aziz (thanks!) via email :

A fool dreams of wealth, a wise man, of happiness

p/s : 11 more days for MU to come over to Bukit Jalil! I can’t hardly wait

An emergency cake, I had to get it done in the middle of finishing a wedding cake ~

Kek hantaran buat Kak Aziriah, Shah Alam. Tahniah

Pandangan dari hadapan kek

And, guess who’s this….

Ladies & gentlemen, presenting the ever humble Dr. Irfan Khairi

Ok, got to go now. I want to ‘dream’ of happiness. Best regards

Salam and hello everyone.

At the time of writing, my stomach growls. Not because I had been working so hard today although it didn’t had any much change than any other day as an entrepreneur – busy – but, my mind was not that straight, I lose my appetite to eat. I had a bunch of orders, try to keep everything in compose, adjusting my time and schedule so that I can deliver my products prompt and fresh. But then again, deep inside my heart, I wish I could slow down, have some rest and do some thinking.

The thought of parting away from my dearest parents had haunted me for days. I’ve tried to be happy for them, but God knows how I had fought back tears in such intense way; my eyes would have popped out anytime soon. I had been away from home for almost a decade. I rejected irresistible job offers in KL. I postponed several plans, created a few dreams and voila : I am safe and sound in this love-filled house of ours. I thought life wouldn’t get any better than this, but somehow, HE definitely has other plans for me.

Silly me if I can’t be independent at this very age of 22. If I can survive the past 10 years by growing matured on my own feet, why on earth not now? It sounded hopeless; claiming myself strong and superior, that I somehow can survive this pain effortlessly, while all in all, my heart’s shattered to fleshes. I lost the comfort that I’ve longed for so long, I did feel like a kid again; hunger for all the love in the world my parents could have spared for me.

It’s easier said than done. Something big is amiss somewhere. An obligation of doing something right has vanished. The thought of me treating them with great concern and care had gone. This is the highest point of my life, where I had started to earn my own money, although it is not that much; the moment and time where I, literally speaking, started to feel great about myself by paying my debt to the family.

I achieved something.

I earned a decent money.

I lead a simple life.

I am capable of making my parents happy.

I want to make my family proud of me.

I want to run errands for them.

I want them to stop worrying about me and instead, let me do the worry for them.

I did some of those, And I’m planning to continue doing so for as long as I live. But now that I know, they will be worried sick about me once they set foot in Kangar. They are planning to buy a new car, not for them, but for me. They’ll be leaving pocket money and cards and God-only-knows what else for my conveniences. Gosh, I’m feeling so, so not a very good daughter again~

When I do feel that I shall not put them in any possible way of uncomfortable displeasure, I am hammered to the ground, knowing that I am helpless in not doing so. Again, it makes me feel guilty to the bone. Neighbours to look after me. Friends to drop by and checking around. To have my aunts and uncles opening up their doors whenever I feel lonely. I hate being a burden, an extra luggage any person with a sane mind would not want to carry behind their back. I know I shouldn’t get carried away with this thought but I can’t help it. I am an adult. And yet, the picture of having outsiders taking care of me is not what I had in mind. So does with me can’t be able to take care of my parents. It does feel sucks.

Where’s my optimism anyway?

My beloved ayah and mak, promise me that you’ll take a very great care of yourself as I will too.

Promise me that you won’t be worrying so much about me.

Promise me that you won’t be working so hard, I wish I could trade your place with mine; let me do all the work in the world for you.

Promise me that you’d pray for my sanity since GOD only knows how much I wish I could spend every second of my life with both of you by my side.

And I promise, with HIM watching all over me, I will do good and be good, just as how proud I am to be born as your daughter. I’ll take care of myself, insyaAllah.

God, please, take a very great care of ayah and emak for me.

YOU know how much I love them.

Best regards.

Salam buat semua.

Indahnya Allah menciptakan segala sesuatu, syukur tidak terhingga atas segala rahmat kurniaanNya. Hari ini hari yang hebat. Dari pagi hingga pada saat kini, saya kira saya diberi rezeki yang melimpah ruah, seakan Allah perkenankan doa-doa saya secara serentak. Dengan hati yang sebak, saya rasakan yang kadang-kadang saya terlepas pandang nikmat-nikmat yang tidak terhitung banyaknya. Saya bukan seorang hamba yang baik barangkali.

Usaha tangga kejayaan.

Kata-kata ini ringkas. Sangat ringkas. Tetapi kesannya terhadap pembentukan jiwa dan nurani saya memberi impak yang sangat mendalam. Saya akui usaha saya dalam memajukan perniagaan, bahkan dalam membentuk jiwa kebal untuk menghadapi segala penolakan dan kerugian, tidaklah sehebat mana. Tapi atas pemahaman yang Allah tidak akan mensia-siakan hambaNya yang berusaha, saya cekalkan hati, teruskan melangkah walau beberapa kali tersungkur. Alhamdulillah. Saya lebih kuat dari semalam.Tapi godaan syaitan itu wujud juga. Hati saya kadang-kadang gundah. Resah tidak bertempat. Seakan ada sesuatu yang saya rasakan tidak kena.

Ahh.. Ini hanya mainan hati barangkali.

Apakan daya saya sebagai hamba yang sangat lemah, beberapa ‘fikiran nakal’ ini acapkali membuatkan saya hilang fokus. Lalu saya istighfar, saya yakin, ini hanyalah ujian daripadaNya. Mungkin ada sesuatu perkara yang perlu saya selesaikan. Ada beberapa jawapan yang perlu saya cari. Walaupun dengan cara yang tidak dianggap normal oleh sesetengah orang, saya berdoa agar beban yang ditanggung dapat dikurangkan dalam sedikit masa lagi, insyaAllah. Saya cuba berusaha sebaik mungkin, dengan apa jua cara. Semoga hari-hari saya dan kalian akan lebih tenang.

Ya Allah.

Thank you for everything~

Nurul Hamizah of  UIA Kuantan, thanks for placing these orders > Blueberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Fudge Cake, Fruit Cake and 10 pieces of frosted cupcakes May God bless you ^_^