it has been a while...

i always remember the existence of "the other side of me" here but the courage to pen something everyday was almost gone. glad that i am having a smooth-sailing pregnancy into my 26th-week! amazed at how time flies especially it is now already november!!

i am so in love with my growing bump.. my sons kiss my tummy everyday and i can't help but feel happiest to attend my youngest son's curiosities over my pregnancy. what would it be like when the baby is born, mommy? will he climb places? will he crawl and kiss me? will he do this and that and the questions were never-ending... made me smile everytime :) he was sooo into the new baby and we had the 4D baby scan and all, already, i think the baby resembles my youngest son a lot!

did my baby shopping at various places. bought few essentials and the rest would have to wait until the baby comes in february.

i promise that i will come back sooner than you thought! but for now i am off to prepare for my morning trip tomorrow!! till later, lots of love and shiny sparkles!!

10 weeks and whatnots

alhamdulillah, syukur pada Allah sebab yang dinanti-nantikan Dia kurniakan pada masa terbaik seperti yang didoakan. sebaik PhD thesis lulus dalam mesyuarat senat Jun lepas, i was positively 6-7 weeks expecting!! i found out that i am pregnant at my office on 16th june... as i can't wait to bring the test kit home lol!! what with the moving house and final thesis submission, i didn't expect to be expecting this soon. as this is my 3rd child and  being pregnant in malaysia is totally different. i know, poyo sangat statement kan? macamlah orang lain takde mengandung or bersalin abroad kan? but seriously, mmg berbeza pengalaman mengandung kali ni, dengan morning sickness yang tak berapa nak sickness apart from semua makanan adalah tak sedap... hatta air masak kosong pun rasa pahit.. apekah??? i miss newcastle so so much that i even plan to pay a quick visit this august. just for the sake of costa hot chocolate, some m&s salads, some baked potatoes and meeting friends... dah dah, korang tak payah mengata mengumpat macam2 especially bulan2 ramadhan bermula esok kan...hahaha...

anyway, i am almost 10 weeks now and i am starting to feel a lot better. i could have rice for lunch and i plan to fix dinner for my children tonight. although, i tend not to be berlemah lembut and soft spoken and whatnots while thriving myself through this challenging first trimester, i am still myself deep deep inside ;p (sbb my husband the other day was speaking of an old lady professor who speaks so softly and she was all smiles yadda yadda yadda....) blame me for my hormonal subject matters!

we moved to our new house on 2nd july. it was beautiful moving to your own family home... my children are extremely happy having that extra space to play etc.. i am yet to officiate my bosch double oven but hopefully in full spirit to cook yummieicious newcastle meals during this ramadhan. just the way i used to do during our stay in newcastle...

and for this post... Ramadhan Kareem to you my Muslim readers just wherever you are. peace!

selamat hari ibu untuk bonda tersayang

selamat hari ibu untuk bonda tersayang. my mom came to spend the weekends with me and my two sons last sunday, on mothers day itself and Alhamdulillah, Allah knows best and His plans are the best of all.

initially, i planned to go back to my parents but due to unavoidable circumstances, i had to cancel my weekend trip to labis. deep inside, i prayed that there would be ways for me to meet my mom especially during the mothers day weekends considering i had passed my PhD exams on the Friday before. her present was nicely wrapped and ribbon-ed, carefully placed on my door side in case i forgot to put it in the car for my initial balik kampung trip. i haven't signed the card though but i thought to get her a nice cake and cook meals and do the etcetera a daughter would normally do on mothers day. Alhamdulillah, syukur i had the best mothers day with my mom and also with my sister who had another boy last april... my cute little nephew baby hazim.

since my balik kampung trip was cancelled, i had the chance to attend harris's mothers day celebration at nuri kindergarten. it was great fun playing the mummy returns, doing the catwalk (OMG!! the runway was sooo short lah hahaha), musical chairs etc and these games are for moms only! seronok dpt join other moms in those fun activities :) 

here's some photos from my fantastic mothers day do!

mom and me

lovely card from marks and spencer

harris made the card at nuri for me

the mummy returns!!!

all in all, it was a very special mothers day weekends. sesungguhnya perancangan Allah itu Maha Cantik! lots of love and shiny sparkles y'all :)

my PhD viva voce

Alhamdulillah, Friday 4th May 2012 marked my most cherished memory throughout my academic journey. all the years that i've spent studying and learning from kindergarten back in 1985 until PhD in 2012 holds special memories in each and every years in between too. my PhD viva voce went smoothly, as sharp and short like i've prayed for it to be. the examiners were prominent in their research field. excellent comments were generated during discussion which are all contributive to the improvement of my final thesis. my external examiner flew all the way from sweden and i am honoured to have him at utm johor bahru campus for the memorable occasion. being able to submit my thesis on time, i consider that as one of my phd proudest moments. amidst raising my two young children, looking after my growing family, extending myself between two three families, didn't seem to complicate things concerning my studies. there's no easy way in handling petty issues or making major decisions for the past three challenging years but... i always stick to my list. yes, i am a lister freak who lists everything and crosses several things accordingly! bet i am not the only one right? since january 2009 that is when i was officially registered for the phd beautiful journey, i breathed each and everyday not only with my heart but also with my soul, tears and laughter until last friday 4th may. i made sure that i can see some lights at the end of the tunnel every evening as i am leaving my lab bench or my desk. i went home aiming to cook my best capacity meals for my family, watch tv, do my movie weekends (i tend to do this alone after midnight), write something on here or do whatever non-phd-related stuff simply to enjoy my evenings with my family at home. it is important to have "separators" in managing our daily rituals. phd happens at university and in my office but at home i am a full time mom and wife and part time everything elses. at least i tried to do the above although i surely had my fair share of bad and best days during my phd course. all these "rituals" were coupled with the most important element including positive thinking, positive outlook towards life, and anything that bears the word positive in it! a positive attitude is very important in everything that we do. am sure everyone knows that mantra but not many practise what they preach! i wore a classic pair of old kurung dress in blue, with purple and pink flowers given by my good friend norakmal back in 2002 for the viva. teamed the pair with an electric blue tie-rack number and my most comfy black clarks wedge shoes and i was good to go! alhamdulillah all went well. i am ever so grateful for the gifts of knowledge. will write more on several things concerning my phd journey. until then, be thankful, be positive and have faith in Him, insyaAllah you will get there just fine.... Dr N Abdullah

my 100th post

i miss this place... 

cassie building newcastle university, england

non-stop january till march

it's april and i am not surprised at how fast time flies! haven't been anywhere exciting since january till march, haven't even been home to my own parents this year yet! glad that i have understanding parents and siblings. thank you mak and abah for your endless motivation and support.

submitted my phd thesis now awaiting defend which is scheduled in early may.

back in january:

was in perak for holidays
been to kl for phd meeting with my supervisor
had a meaningful 32nd birthday just at home in johor bahru with lovely handmade card from both my sons

then in february:

my eldest was admitted to hospital for a week due to rotavirus infections as soon as i return from KL at the end of january
was basically confined to resolving health issues in my little family making sure that everyone recovered well and were able to attend school as usual was living a hectic life finalizing my phd thesis as well as organizing my first international publication workshop (now that it's done and since we received lots of compliments, i am happy to acknowledge it as being "mine" as in "my workshop")  i am ever so grateful that the workshop went well and all participants had a great week here..

came in march:

extremely busy with phd thesis
realization of my workshop from 18th till 24th march at utm johor bahru campus (lots of decisions to be made prior the big day)
spent the night in my office printing out my phd thesis during the workshop week (from 8pm till 11.30pm every night, fun but exhausted, thanks to my little sister mira for the company!)
workshop ends well and everyone had a great time.. received lots of compliments via emails, cards etc..
got precious supervisor's approval signature on my thesis for submission to graduate school
thesis ready for submission on 31st march 2012 Alhamdulillah

now in april:

thesis submitted on Monday 2nd April 2012
defend date is scheduled in May
began Induction Course on 2nd April till 13th April at Pusat Latihan...
now still enjoying the course and have one more week to go yeay!
the birth of my 2nd nephew (name to be announced later in the week) on 5th April 2012 at Putrajaya Hospital... adorable, cuddly, smiley, cute baby my sister and brother in law has... to his big bro Fahim.. no fighting!!
to Lapor Diri for work on 9th April 2012...which means no more sloppy outfits to the office suitable only for dirty labworks, looking forward to berbaju kurung dan berayu-ayu di pejabat lol!

till later, have a nice weekends and lots of love and shiny sparkles!!