Love or Perish

Assalamu'alaikum. Morning peeps!

Many activities have become so attractive to me lately. *I wonder...* Just finished planting flowers in my 'small garden' and I feel GOOOD. It's ironic when I officially declared "gardening" as my new love whereas Mr. Worm is still among my biggest nightmares ever!!! And perhaps you could imagine how terrible I am as a gardener.. HAHAH. Anyway, I find this activity does help to reduce stress. It's amazing to see the plants grow beautifully everyday (and the fact is you don't always have to be an expert for that!). Aite, now it's time for me to enjoy my bergamot tea and to spend some quality time with this public diary of mine ❤

Well it's not going to be a long entry today since there's nothing much interesting at the moment. Besides, In Shaa Allah my hubby will be arriving tomorrow (YAY!) and I'll be extremely busy to prepare for his homecoming as usual. Oh yeah, and I've also promised my mom to accompany her this afternoon (gosh, almost forgot!!). Anyway, have you read books written by Mitch Albom before? If you haven't, I would suggest you to get yourself one. Among my favorites is definitely the famous "Tuesdays with Morrie". It's based on a true story between Mitch Albom and his old professor, Morrie. (To me) the best words to describe Uncle Morrie after reading this novel is "He's a great philosopher...". Indeed. And my most favorite part of the novel is as follows....... *ENJOY ^^v*


...Is there some kind of rule to know if a marriage is going to work?

Morrie smiled. "Things are not that simple, Mitch".

I know.

"Still," he said, "there are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don't respect the other person, you're gonna have lot of trouble. If you don't know how to compromise, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can't talk openly about what goes on between you, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don't have a common set of values in life, you're gonna have have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike.

"And the biggest one of those, Mitch?"

Yes?

"Your belief in the importance of your marriage."

He sniffed, then closed his eyes for a moment.

"Personally," he sighed, his eyes still closed, "I think marriage is a very important thing to do, and you're missing a hell of a lot if you don't try it."

He ended the subject by quoting a poem he believed in like a prayer: "Love each other or perish."

-From the novel "tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom-

My collection of Mitch Albom's so far...
Yup, I wrapped all my favorite books! LOL ;) 

P.s. Uncle Morrie, I choose to LOVE, LOve and love.. huhu

Oh! Lavender

Assalamu'alaikum. Hai semua~ 

Hari yang indah semalam. Cuaca sejuk je (sebab hujan renyai-renyai sepanjang hari) membuatkan mood saya memang baik hari ni. Lebih-lebih lagi pagi ni cuaca maintain mendung... SubhanAllah, cantik dan rasa sentimental habis! Mata kuyu still teringatkan katil tapi jari-jemari kurus ni mengada-ngada pula nak menari atas laptop keyboard. Secawan Nescafe, sekeping roti.. layan! HEHE. Well I'm so in my writing mood today =)

Tiba-tiba timbul ilham nak menulis tentang FRAGRANCE pagi ni. To be specific, HOME fragrance. Sebab apa? Sebab pagi-pagi lagi dah 'dikejutkan' oleh wangian Lavender... eheh. As far as I'm concerned, there are 3 types of people when it comes to fragrance. One who loves it very much, one who is quite so-so about it and one who prefers odorless (perhaps due to allergies, etc). Tapi tak tahula kalau ada yang sukakan bau busuk..? Hehehe. Saya pernah jumpa beberapa orang yang memang alah dengan wangian. Kiranya memang langsung tak bolehla! But it's ok, kita raikan perbezaan. Saya...? Hmm saya mengklasifikasikan diri saya ni under the first group. In fact, EXTREME ;p

Selama ni kalau beli produk wangian rumah memang selalu je tak puas hati. Maybe juga sebab saya ni agak cerewet. Sometimes wanginya tak berapa nak kuat (kan saya dah bagitau saya ni extreme?) dan kadang-kadang tu bau wangi dah ok tapi tak tahan lama pula. Jadi lately, 'kegilaan' saya adalah terhadap yang guna reed diffuser. Itupun sebab one day saya balik rumah parents then terbau harum semerbak je dalam rumah. Rupa-rupanya datang dari bilik my big sis. Sebab dia tahu saya suka, so dia belikan satu untuk rumah saya baru-baru ni (tapi tak sama dengan brand yang dia pakaila..).

Activlinger AROMA Reed Diffuser @ only MYR18

Kalau ikutkan yang jenis ada reed diffuser ni boleh tahan selama 2-3 bulan. Tapi pengaruh persekitaran (e.g., ruang berhawa dingin) perlu diambil kira juga. There are many brands out there. Pilihla yang mana korang suka. Tapi yang my sister belikan adalah seperti dalam gambar di atas. Brand Activlinger AROMA (designed in UK) ni dijual di semua Rose Garden Home Decor outlets dan datang dalam 3 jenis wangian (ingredients are from USA, France and UK); Lavender, White Tea and Honey Suckle. Well since my sister suka Lavender, so dia beli Lavenderla... tehee. Nampaknya ruang tamu saya wangi memanjang sejak pakai ni (just flip the reeds as often as possible for best result). Anyway, saya melawat sendiri one of their outlets petang semalam untuk usha barang-barang lain dan boleh dikatakan harga kebanyakan barang diorang memang murah dan berpatutan. Alang-alang tu test sekali wangian reed diffuser White Tea and Honey Suckle. Kedua-duanya nice. Saya tak membeli sangatpun semalam (sebab malas nak dengar suami membebel bila dia balik Malaysia nanti.. huhu). Sekadar menambah 2 'cikadak' ni je (of course, mana boleh balik tangan kosong maa!). So sesiapa yang berminat bolehla singgah di kedai tu. HAPPY SHOPPING!!! *Errr saya belum habis berceloteh lagi tau...*

From left: Multipurpose Spray @ MYR7.90 and Fragrance Oil @ MYR5.90

Haih.. bila ingat Lavender, teringat nak 'membuta'. Bila ingat 'membuta', teringat syoknya kalau time hujan renyai-renyai. Bila cerita pasal hujan renyai-renyai, teringat satu kenangan masa bekerja di Sime Darby dulu. Biarla saya abadikan je nama my ex-boss di blog ni pasal nama dia tu unik sangat. Kalau tak nanti boleh terlupa dibuatnya! Heheh. Encik TURSE ZUHAIR BIN NAHASON AFFAN. Saya rasa dia sorang je pemilik combination nama ni dalam dunia. Hopefully dia tak tahu saya letak nama dia sini. Tapi kalau tahupun, sy OK je. HAHAHA. Maafkan je la your ex-staff ni ya.. *LOL*

Disebabkan rumah yang agak jauh dari office (actually KL ke Shah Alam je tapi sebab 'keganasan' trafik), kebiasaannya saya mengambil masa hampir 2 jam setiap kali pergi dan balik everyday. One day saya melampau punya lewat sampai office (lebih 1 jam!) sebab hujan renyai-renyai semakin lebat. Then he texted me, "Where are you?" Sayapun balas, "I'm still on my way. It's raining by the way." Then he texted me again (maybe I was too sensitive tapi bunyi macam sarcastic je), "Is it? But the weather here feels like in Seattle... :)" Masa tu (dengan stress drive) memang rasa macam nak reply ni, "Sebab awan kumulonimbus belum sampai Shah Alam lagi. KL hujan tak semestinya Shah Alampun hujan serentak! Entah apa-apala. No need to be so sarcastic sampai letak icon smiley face lagi apahal.." HUH.

Apapun, bila teringat balik nasib baik saya tak reply macam tu. Sangat tak patut andai dia berkecil hati atau marah dengan saya. Lagipun honestly among all my bosses (exclude my dad and hubby), dia la yang supercool and sporting gila! Banyak bertindak sebagai my mentor and more like a big bro rather than a boss (maybe sebab umur dia still dalam 30-an so automatically perangaipun macam abang-abangla). Anyway, memang banyak jasa beliau. May Allah bless Encik Turse and his family :)

Saturday Reflection

Among the wonderful things you can do in this life is to spend some quality time with your SISTER. And AWESOME is my favorite word to describe something great instead of using the word "great" itself... hahahha.

My eldest sis came to my house for a sleep over last night. I was quite surprised and excited when she called me a day earlier since she has a very very busy working life that she seldom had this kind of opportunity before. And so do I ever since I got married.. huh. So I cooked for her my famous "Fried Kuey Teow Hot Hot Heat" for dinner (hehe!) then had few cups of relaxing hot tea and there you go... We had our chit-chats about almost everything until 3am (we often did this during our teenage years!!). She even told me about her so-called 'crazy' plan this coming March that even our parents do not know! HAHAHAHAHA. And the best part was she brought me a bag of gifts (she just came back from London due to business trip). TRALALALALA~

Anyway, I did ask her to get me this 'specific edt' by NEXT (since I've sweet memory about it) but it turned out that she couldn't find it. So she bought me not only 1 but 4 items to cover.. tehee! Alhamdulillah. My sister is so generous... SHUKRAN!!!

Since I'm quite excited, hence, allow me to share on what are the items. Perhaps you'll get ideas on what's best to buy for your loved ones (according to your budget) and the right places to go if you're about to visit London. When I went there in November 2004, £1 equals to approximately MYR7 (urgghh!). However, looks like the latest currency rate has now dropped to approximately MYR5 (still 'spensive though but isn't it still a good news?). *Sparkling eyes* SO LET'S SEE THE INSIDE :D

SLING BAG by KATE SPADE NY

Price: £70 (after 50% discount)

Place: Bicester Village

Remarks: This gorgeous bag is best for most laptops. However, you can actually keep things you like depending on your creativity..... It's suitable for classes, meeting with clients, etc (if you prefer something fresh and look more feminine) 

My favorite color combination ;)

  

LONGCHAMP POUCH

Price: £27
Place: Harrods

Remarks: Well I'll definitely going to use it as my new make-up pouch :p

It's now time to replace the old pouch with the new one ^^v

  

COOL T-SHIRT FOR MY HUBBY 

Price: Approximately £4 (good material and not 'spensive!)

Place: Portobello Market

Remarks: Fine, so she bought 3 items for me + 1 for my dearest hubby... AHAH

FRIDE MAGNET
Price: £1
Place: Portobello Market
Remarks: A MUST BUY item for a serious collector like me ❤

I'd like them all seriously (and a big fan of red as well.. *wink*). Anyway, I think it's just awesome when your sister has the same taste as yours or at least she knows about your likes and dislikes... May Allah bless my sister ;)))

Before I end up the post, I would love to share this inspiring Islamic quote with you:

"WHEN A PERSON USES HIS MONEY TO BUY GOODS FOR HIS FAMILY, 

HE SHOULD REALIZE THAT THE MONEY (WHICH HE IS SPENDING) 

AND THE BAG THAT HE IS CARRYING HAVE GREAT WEIGHT IN 

THE EYES OF ALLAH (SWT). THE MONEY THAT HE SPENDS 

ON HIS FAMILY OUTWEIGHS WHAT HE SPENDS 

IN THE PATH OF ALLAH. THE MONEY THAT 

HE SPENDS ON HIS KIDS AND HIS SPOUSE 

EARNS HIM MORE REWARD"

 -Habib Mohammed al Saggaf-

A Public Diary

Assalamu'alaikum. Hallo holla readers!~

Some of my friends did ask me on the blog's title. Well please take note that it's "The Expatriate'S Wife". Not "The Expatriate Wife". The apostrophe symbol and the letter S make all the difference! (suddenly this part reminds me of "Never Been Kissed" movie... hehehe). Perhaps some of you might also be wondering why I named it that way. *Ahemm* Aite, the next paragraph will tell... ;)

I am Malaysian and so does my hubby. However, he has been working overseas for years now and currently he works for a company located somewhere in the Middle East. Well too bad that I just couldn't follow him! Why? Because it's onshore/offshore related work and therefore, it's definitely not suitable to bring family there. So we only managed to see each other and spend some quality time together once in a while and just keep-going with our own life in normal days. Yeah, he's there and I'm here but both of us have dreams to pursue. And that is why it's indeed crucial for us to keep on supporting each other. Though it's a long distance relationship, In Shaa Allah everything will be fine and beautiful as long as we stay closer to each other's hearts. Anyway, I still hope that one day he'll get an opportunity to work somehere awesome so he'll be able to bring me together (I am actually 'forcing' myself to be positive here... HAHAHA). Well that's just about it! *LOL*

Basically my blog is my diary. It's just that I make it public. Hence, it's a PUBLIC DIARY ❤❤ I'd enjoy writing on it and to have wonderful people who are kind enough to read it (yeah, that's YOU!). To me, readers are just like friends... Anyway, I'd have plans for my blog this year and hopefully I'll have the courage to work them out! Besides sharing life stories, interests and blablabla, perhaps I am also going to make it more INFORMATIVE in order to benefit my readers. I'll try to have my blog posts in English as much as possible so that almost everyone can read it. However, I may also write them in my mother tongue (Malay Language) occasionally. ATTENTION: I am not going to have any controversial posts just to boost my blog traffic! A big NO NO NO for that. It's only going to be a nice & lovely public diary by the way! YAY. Aite, until now. Will be off to clinic soon to meet my doctor (a very nice and warm Chinese Muslim lady). Hope to see you guys in my next post! Wassalam.


Writing from the heart...

I took this picture early one fine morning and SUBHANALLAH...
The Malays called it "Bunga Keladi". I just love gardening!

Oilfield World

"It takes a strong man to work offshore

to support his family back home,

and it also takes a strong WOMAN

to stand beside him through it all!!!"

- Oilfield Wives and Mommies - 

 I am highly motivated now. Be one ;)

  

Inside Closet

As I've promised, I will keep this blog updated on my findings right after reorganizing our closets. However, I only managed to reorganize mine so far. Surprisingly I managed to find most of the outfits, which I thought I had misplaced... HAHA. Feels like digging for old treasures! :D

See..? Told you that I was once a 'rock N roll' chick @_@
Bought this with my dad when I was 18 (I was still free-hair at that time)

Loved it!!!

I'd remember that I only wore it ONCE (though I liked it) because it's too sexy... :p

My favorite sweater by NEXT

(bought this during autumn-winter fall in London back in 2004)

One of the reasons why I wore this sweater often during
my university years was because of the lovely BLING BLING BLING

A bravo red sweater by BLOOK
(a gift from my hubby when I managed to enroll in one of Sime Darby's programs in 2010)

Cool heart shapes printed ;)

Another favorite jacket found!

Alhamdulillah, I'm so glad that I've finally found them! Well I don't plan to sell them since they're so sentimental to me (there are many others that I'd wish I could share all of them here.. hehe!). However, there are also clothes and items which I think I want to let go soon. Perhaps the best thing I can do now is to plan for my PRE-LOVED CLOSET SALE! :)

P.s. Congratulations to all Chinese friends who'll be celebrating
Chinese New Year tomorrow!~

It's Jumuah

Assalamu'alaikum and good day!

Another beautiful day for us. Thank You, Allah it's Friday! :)

Well it's always nice to be able to spend more time at home. Since I am now helping my dad with his business, therefore, my time is more flexible than before. It's awesome because I get to spend more time with my family nowadays (especially my dear hubby when he's back in town). However, I will not just sit and simply do nothing? Hence, my activity for today is to do the HOUSEKEEPING!!!

My very first flower arrangement (though it's not that nice)
Looks like there's another side of me :p

I've tried to fully utilize what I have at the moment...

My Cambodia table runner and decorated candle holders got from a friend's wedding 

I'm going to reorganize our closets as well. Will update on my findings soon.. hehe. CIAO~~~

The Wife's Chores

Looks like there aren't much to be done today. LiVe a HaPPY LiFe, Madame!!! XD 

Looking forward for the last one AHAH! 

My workstation 

Introducing my bff @ home, Aiwaa... 

 

❤ 07.02.2008: Today was the day when my hubby proposed to me and I said, "YES" ❤

Prologue

Assalamu'alaikum and hi~ First of all, welcome to my blog :) It has been a long long time since I've stopped posting any to my blog. The last article posted was somewhere in January 2009.. Unfortunately after reread them today, I'd seriously think it's better to keep them off because they're so embarrassing... HAHAHA. So I've finally decided to jump start this thing again with the 'new' me :p Well it has also been a while since I've given up on my bandlife (but that doesn't mean I'm giving up on music!). It's amazing how that 'beautiful & crazy' years passed by so quickly that honestly I'd feel like I'm still in my sweet 19.. huh. I've been through lots of changes in my life within these 8 consecutive years. From a so-called 'rock N roll hoohaa' undergraduate, met my hubby later (when I was almost 20), got engaged at the age of 23 and married at the age of 24. Once free-hair then started put on my hijab at 26... What else? So does my career transitions! From one company jumped to another. Employed, not employed, re-employed and self-employed at the same time! Well yeah, here I am. Still breathing. All praise be to You, Allah. Truly glad with who I am and what I have right now.. Aite, totally have no idea on what to write at the time being... hehe! Just would like to welcome everyone, hope to make new friends, share interests, life experiences, stories and perhaps also business (ahah!). It's already year 1434H/2013. Another new chapter begins for Ruffgurl Nikita.....