Baby Shopping Gets Me Hopping :)

Geramnya tengok gambar baby2 comel :) Baby cepatlah keluar, I want someone cute to play with too (but don't take it literally ok, you are only allowed to come out after 37 weeks tau :p)

Lan and I went browsing for baby's stuff last week in Mid Valley/Garden. Baby's stuff is just too cute, feel like buying everything just for the sake of it. I remembered going into Baby Gap and saw the cutest rainbow coloured cardigan with matching lilac Mary Jane's. Serious excited tak tentu pasal coz the shoe seriously look like mine...

Me: B, best kan if we're having a baby girl. You'll have a mini me.

Lan: Nope, we're having a boy.

Me: (pouting) but don't you wanna have another mini me around? I can play dress up with the baby

Lan: (Muka serious (kerek) and tak bersalah) Nope... nanti takde space nak simpan baju you and baby

*Urrgghhh* Anyway Lan and I agreed not to go baby shopping until after the detail scan. To tell you the truth, I rather wait till my 6-7 month to start shopping (just a little personal superstition thingy that I have going on) My mum kalau boleh want to start buying everything now due to the shopping carnival. We shall see how thing goes...

Planet Enfant in Mid Valley is having promotion on the Quinny+ Maxi Cozy travel set that Lan and I wanted for the period of the sales. They even have this real cool baby nursery package which consist of cots, peg-perego high chair, quinny + maxi travel system, jungle gym etc ranging from RM3k to 5k.

I guess when you buy things in bulk it is cheaper, but seriously malas nak beli by next month esp. since we haven't finish preparing the nursery. Knowing the Malaysian sales situation :Raya, Deepavali & Xmas sales , so I doubt there is much difference in pricing pun....

Since I won't be staying in Shah Alam during my confinement period, decorate awal2 pun nanti berabuk. There's another reason why I'm delaying my "room improvement project" but rather not say until it's confirmed.I wanna go home lah... Tomorrow is SC Fundae Family Day... so hope to have some fun despite having to wake up early :)

Have a good and safe weekend everyone *muackz*

Hope is grief’s best music.

The One on the Noseblock...

After 1 week of feeling like I'm wearing prosthetic nose, I'm finally able to breath freely again. I seriously had enough yesterday, after a week of flu & lelah, I literally walk out the office without telling anyone and drove straight to Dr Soraya's clinic. She gave me a 1/2 day mc and a few pills. *alhamdullilah* it worked instantly. I'm ecstatic that I no longer sound like Darth Vader when I talk (example: Hello *wheeze wheeze* I'm *wheeze* Farhanna )

The One on Work...

Everybody is currently very busy @ the office. My HOD-SMS is leaving us soon *sob2* so we need to clear our projects ASAP. It's kinda sad to see her go.

When I first started work, I had no knowledge whatsoever on capital market. I was taken under my then supervisor wings R.K. Despite my initial protest, she entrusted me with my first solo rule amendment file during my FIRST week at work. She was patient (you have to be with a first timer yg seriously bebal pasal securities law) helpful, and understanding. She answered all of my "stupid" questions and when I did make mistakes, instead of screaming at me, she would patiently tutor me on the right way to do things. Well, she left after my 5th month in SC to follow her hubby to Dubai.

After that I had to report straight under my HOD which terrified the sh*t out of me. Imagine being a newbie with a million of "stupid" question, afraid of making mistakes. It is one thing to ask dumb question, but it is another thing to ask dumb questions to the person who would be assessing your performance report at the end of the year.

Well, it all turned out well in the end. Though SMS does not look as approachable as RK, she is just as patient and as helpful. She did open up a lot of opportunity for me to prove myself despite being only a GME. I was give real files/projects just like my other senior colleague.

I remembered working on a policy presentation for her which was to be presented to the line department with other HOD's in SC present. I was told to prepare the slides/paperwork and she would present it. Five minutes before the meeting starts ( we're already in the meeting room at that time) she just turned to me and said "Farhanna, you do the presentation" At that time I was too shocked to protest, so I ended up doing the presentation. I survived the ordeal and after we wrap up she send me an email consisting of 2 words *good job* Its a small gesture but as a GME and coming from a head, that was the biggest compliment that I could dream of at that time :)

Well, one more month to go before we say our goodbyes. Praying that my new boss would be as nice. C'est La Vie. No point in complaining on things that you can't change, right? I guess I should gear up for some new adventure ahead. Until then I'm back to my latest proposal. Have a good day everyone :)

That first peak is the best place to pause and look back, to see if you took the easiest route, to learn the lessons from the first climb. And it is the best place to examine the terrain ahead, to change your plans and goals, to take a deep breath and begin climbing again.- By Michael Johnson

No Air... Can't Breath...

The title of the blog may look romantic but the truth is I'm sick, my nose is runny and I'm sleepy. That pretty much sums up my day :)

Since I was on MC for the past 2 days (Tuesday & Wednesday) I forced myself to be a bit more productive today. However I find it difficult to concentrate on documents because I can barely register what is going on around me. Slow and steady, I hope I'll get all my mojo back soon. I have a presentation for Securities Regulation class this Monday *sigh*

Well no point in brooding over things we can't change, right?

Lan and I was discussing on baby's room furnishing last night :) I'm so excited. We're not planning on getting any of the furniture anytime soon but we're gonna slowly start making room for baby beanie. A corner in the master bedroom (for a cot/ treasure chest and those cute kelambu's) and a corner in the study room (clothes & toys storage etc) would be allocated for the little prince/princess :)

I think think the project is going to take at least 2 months of my time because we need to clear up my clothes and bags in the study room first. Though it have been 4 months since I've moved to Shah Alam, there are still boxes of clothes that is still untouched, handbags and shoes strewn over on the shelves, in boxes and under the bed. Sometimes I wonder why do I keep on buying clothes/shoes/bags that I don't need? Serious bermasalah betul :)

Will blog more on this soon, serious takley bernafas nie.. nak balik lah. Adios!!!

The blind, the deaf and the mute

I have a story to share. It all started with a FB status entry. B was pissed at something and decided to update her status, the status post was not directed to anybody in particular but C decided to "terasa". C did not confront B about it but decided to pour her heart out to her "best friend" D. D who does not even own a FB account and does not "technically" know what is going on decided to interfere by vilifying B to everyone she knows.

The thing is EVERYBODY knows that D does not like B ( nobody knows the real reason though, but I suspect its jealousy) The thing is D does not even travel in the same crowd as B, so technically B's action has no effect to D.

Turn out B was not talking about C. However, due to the things that D is saying about B , B & C is no longer talking (eventhough all C did was relay her fears to D and nothing more). C is also fighting with D. The main problem is D don't think she did anything wrong. In her mind, if anything she is the VICTIM.

Confusing enough? I know I am :)

The one on the "sewel" Moral Compass

The problem with most people (including myself) is we are more aware of other people shortcomings rather than ours. We will spend hours to dissect, analyze and discuss other people "problem". Sometimes we just decide to not like a person based on our own analysis. We always think that our judgement is right and other people must be wrong if they don't agree with us.

When people don't treat us the way we think we should be treated, we are always the VICTIM. We rarely step back to look at the mirror and think that "hey, maybe people don't like me because of my behaviour". No it is always some other person fault.We refused to take responsibility of our action coz in our heads we can't do no wrong. We preach to others that we are the BETTER person, if we did make a mistake *god forbid* it is always because of someone else.

"I'm religious, see I wear a headscarf and don't miss my prayers and EVERYBODY knows it by looking at my face (tenang je) and you are just a tiny little sl*t with your short skirt and partying ways. Mesti tak pandai baca al-fatihah pun and mesti sleep around"

"Alah dia tu buat-buat je baik. Tapi dulu *insert eyes rolling* macam-macam dia buat. A tiger won't changes its stripes"

" I don't sleep around like Marcy, she'll sleep with a dog if she can get it. Look at me the only reason I gave myself to Franklin is because I know him and we've been dating for 3 WHOLE weeks"

" I used to be such a good person. I change because I want to but once I start hanging with D,E and F, I change. I only smoke and drink because they do. You know peer pressure *sob sob*"

According to Oxford dictionary, the best word to describe people with this kind of behaviour is hypocrites.

Don't take it upon yourself to be another person moral compass esp. if you know that you are not a saint yourself. I'm not saying that you can't give advice but please look at your own capacity, or it will be the case of the blind leading the blind.

No reference to the above ada kaitan dengan hidup dan mati. I'm just trying to remind myself that we can't expect perfection from another esp. if we ourself is not perfect. If ada yang terasa maybe we should take it upon ourselves to change towards being a better person. Let all keep an open mind :)

Have a good day people. I'm off to watch Harry Potter tonight

The one on the Baby Shower :)

Pictures from YAH's Baby Shower @ Kokopelli (10 July 2009). Glad that everything went well, no major hiccups. Good to be able to co-organize parties like this without major drama :p Anyway it's a good thing we decided to throw YAH's Baby Shower a bit early coz she ended up delivering the baby on Tuesday, which is 3 weeks ahead than schedule. Went to DS during lunch time to visit mummy and baby. The baby is the cutest :)

Note: Finally found my cable so posting the "basi" photo for fun. I'm really restless at the moment. I just completed a rule amendment yesterday (that I've been working on for the past 3 months) so I refused to work on anything else today *sigh*

Answered Prayers...

I just received a phone call from Dr Delaila's office regarding the blood test (down syndrome blood test, 2 other pre-natal blood test and urine test) The DS test is negative *alhamdullillah* and my other results are normal too. I'm so thankful :) Anyway I will get my full explanation on the test next month. I can't wait to see baby beanie and most probably learn about his/her gender by next visit (25 more days to go but who's counting..hehehe)

Will update more soon. Can't find my camera phone cable and am quite busy with submission at the moment. Just can't help sharing the good news :)

p/s: I did update baby's blog this morning. No pics though due to the above reasons :p

The Expanding Waistline...

I went for my medical check up with the baby daddy this morning. *Alhamdullilah* everything is fine (will update in baby's bloggie later, forgot my camera cabel)

Just wanted to share something. I'm 4 months preggers today, and I haven't gained a kg since the pregnancy and my baby bump is quite small and not really noticeable unless I'm wearing really tight fitting clothes (even then I will look more pudgy than pregnant ;p) So I was complaining to Dr Delaila about my lack of baby bump.

She told me this story :-

Dr D: Farhanna, let me tell you a story. Now with your first baby people will be busy asking where is your baby bump, for your second baby before you hit 3 months you will be wondering why is your tummy so bloated. Lepas 3-4 baby you are not pregnant pun people will be asking if you are pregnant. So you should be thankful that you haven't gained much weight.

Hahahaha...Pastu dia lak gelak so over with the nurse. I'm fine as long as baby is fine so I'm thankful *alhamdullilah* Anyway was told by the doctor that the baby don't really need extra food as it's still tiny at the moment, so any weight gain would be my weight gain instead of baby weight. So my target is to gain 1-2 kg per month from now, so that I can gain the healthy 10kg (as recommended based on my BMI) by the time I'm 9 months.Malas nak cakap lebih-lebih pun, for all I know my appetite will increased tenfold and end up gaining a gazillion weight *nauzubillah* hehehehehhehe

Anyway we had baby shower for my colleague YAH in Kokopelli, PJ during lunch time. Good food & great company. Fantastic. I love party planning!! Will insert pics later :p

Have a great weekend everyone...

Advices : To follow or to ignore?

According to my observation, once people know that you are pregnant, their initial reaction would be to give advice (this will usually come after the best wishes :p)

Some of the advices are from a religious perspective, health and spiritual in nature. Some are based on scientific facts and some are based on adat. I'm open minded but I do respect some "pantang larang" that I think make sense (from both religious and scientific views).

So when people come to me to say that ibu mengandung :
1.can't visit orang meninggal takut badi
2.not supposed to look at certain binatang yang ugly nanti terkenan
3.tak boleh siang ikan/ketam nanti anak cacat
4.dilarang memikul batu kerana dikhuatiri anak dalam kandungan menjadi lumpuh.
5.ditegah menyusun tempurung kerana dikhuatiri anak yang dilahirkan akan botak kepalanya

I feel skeptical. I'm not trying to ridicule other people belief but I'm trying to see the rationale side of it. I've done some of the above, most with good intention at heart, so rasa tak sedap hati when people keep on saying this things to me.

My principle is when in doubt check with the experts. I decided to Google on the matter. One view on the matter is:

"tidak ada sama sekali dalam Islam, sama ada dalam al-Quran mahupun sunnah, lebih2 lagi jika kita hendak melihat ikan atau haiwan lain yang mungkin hodoh rupanya. Bagi saya, saya lebih suka berpegang kpd kemudahan yang Islam telah berikan, tidak perlu kita menyusahkan diri kita dengan kepercayaan pantang larang yang tidak mempunyai asal-usul dan dalilnya"

There is a truth in the above statement, from Islamic perspective isn't it fardu kifayah to visit and help uruskan jenazah? If I visit setakat nak sedahkan al-fatihah and baca yassin isn't it a good thing? Should't mummy-to-be be teaching her child early on the lesson of humility, that all beings will go back to Allah one day?

I also think pantang larang no 2,3 & 5 is kepercayaan khurafat. How your child will look like is determined by DNA makeup and genes. It is like we believe that the animals in some way have the power to alter our baby's feature instead of believing in Allah's power of creation. For example Steve Irwin's wife work with alligators and snakes throughout her pregnancy, her babies turn out fine and totally adorable. I believe that again whatever we do depends on our intention.

I believe in some pantang larang which I think make sense like avoding food with "stings" (pineapple, shellfish, raw seafood etc), carry heavy stuff, watching my temper/emotions, avoid weird food cravings, reading "good" books and verses from al-quran etc. I do think I need to work harder on limiting gossiping about other people (I realised I tend to gossip more with some people than other, maybe I should just avoid them..hahaha) and drinking too much ice (sejuk badan).

Insyallah Allah will protect my little family. I found this short doa from a website. For those who wants to protect yourself and love ones from "kemudaratan" Amalkanlah doa ni selalu.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الَّذِيْ لاَ يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شِيْءٌ فِي الأَرَْضِ وَلا فِي السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْعَلِيْ

ِ
"Dengan nama Allah yang tidak akan dapat apa jua sesuatupun memberi mudharat dengan namanya, sama ada di bumi mahupun di langit, dan dialah maha mendengar lagi mengetahui."

So for those who are also pregnant or planning, consider this ok.Hope it brings you some peace of mind :)

Strawberries & Vanilla Cupcakes

Stop giving me food :) I'm currently staring @ 2 yummy vanilla and chocolate strawberry cuppies on my desk. Thank god for overly "giving" colleague.

You know what they say about rezeki baby? I always believe in it but I got a real life evidence yesterday(alhamdullilah) :p Semalam balik rumah 2 cheques was waiting for me. One from Mara* for my book allowance and another from IRS.

The combination of both would be more than enough to get me a new designer handbag. Tapi sebab saya responsible (like real) I'll wait till the end of this year and get myself a nice and stylish diaper bag that don't look like a diaper bag instead :p

*Note: Not to sound ungrateful but I don't understand MARA's rationale of giving a Masters student RM500 for book allowance for 4 semesters. Thank god I'm all out for photostated books and online notes... heheheh

I went for a short group holiday in Genting with Iena, Uda, Rajoo and Lan during the weekend.. Fun outing but a bit tiring (all the walking it's finally taking a toll on my poor preggers feet..haha) Will update on the pics later, I left my camera @ home.