Papa & Mama Pulang Ke Malaysia...

Hari ni Papa, Mama, Adik & Faiz berangkat pulang ke Malaysia setelah 41 hari berkampung di Loughborough menjaga Puteri Balqis. Kami menaiki keretapi pukul 1:40 pm dari L'boro dan terus ke London Heathrow. Atie & Puteri tinggal di L'boro kerana cuaca sejuk. "Bye To'ki, To'Mi , Che Su & Abang Faiz" said Puteri Balqis, "Come back soon, we'll missed you all already..."

Boxing Day Shopping....

As Christmas day ended, we are bombarded with loads of Boxing Day Mega Sales offers. We wake up early and headed off to Fosse Park (at Junction 21, Leicester) then we went to the East Midlands Designer Outlet (at Junction 28, Mansfield, Derby) later that day. There are many great offers on clothing, home appliances and many more. Sales are up to 70% off. As some of the stores are closed on Boxing Day, we went again on the 27th and visited the shops again (Marks & Spenser as well as Next). When we reach the shopping complex at 8 am there was loads of people already queuing up to these stores.

Gambar terbaru Puteri...

Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha

Kami sekeluarga ingin mengucapkan "Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha" kepada semua. Salam dari kami yang jauh diperantauan...

Mama & Papa Went Carbooting...

Today Mama & Papa went car booting for the first time. We went to Measham & Ibstock indoor boot because of the cold weather. There are not many booters compared during summer time. You can still see the frost on the bushes even at 9 am. Imagine what it's like at 7 am.

My US Embassy experience...

Today I went to the US Embassy to get my visa for the conference. I took the 9:00 am train to London via Leicester. When I arrived at Leicester train station, my 9:30 am train was delayed due to no available driver. So the delay took 20 minutes to get sorted out. Finally arrived in London at 10:50 am and went straight to meet Hafiz at Marble Arch tube station. He went ahead to look for the embassy as it was located somewhere far from the high street. Arrived there, took a number (wondered why is an appointment needed if you still have to wait for your number to be called), and twiddling my thumbs for 20 minutes for handing in my application form. Then after more thumb twiddling (4 1/2 hours to be exactly) they call me up and said "Because you are a foreign student, your application will take longer to process" and handed me back my passport. That's it? Waited that long and they explained to me in less then 2 minutes!! Hafiz and I missed our 2:55 pm train back (buying a new train ticket on the spot costs more then £50) and have to spend the night at Hafiz's place with only the clothes on my back. That night we went to Nando's Whitechapel (serves halal chicken, not many in UK, there's one in Leicester) for dinner. We both had 1/2 chicken to replace our missed lunch. So the next day, we boarded the 10:00 am train back to Loughborough. What a day....

Nando's chicken Yum yum..

Update:

After going through all of this trouble, the conference date had passed and the US embassy people sent me an e-mail asking for a new date when will I am going back to the US. Hmmm...

Puteri is 2 weeks old & growing fast...

Today is our little princess 2 weeks old anniversary. She is growing fast and time flies when you are having fun taking care of her. She's very quite and does not cry unless she needs her nappy changed and time for her milk. Sometimes, To'mi and To'ki will take her upstairs to sleep with them. She also had her BCG injection yesterday at Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham (where she's born). Hope all goes well for her, grow up to be a good girl, dimurahkan rezeki, live a long & prosper life.

New Addition To The Family...

Hari ni, Puteri Balqis Binti Muhammad Akramshah, seberat 3.14 kg, telah selamat dilahirkan pada jam 6:45 pm di Hospital Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK. Alhamdullilah, mommy & baby sihat. Sekarang Atie dah berada di rumah setelah keluar dari wad dan sedang berpantang dengan bantuan To'Mi & To'Ki pula menjaga Puteri. Moga Puteri menjadi anak yang solehah & penyejuk mata kami.

“Allah Maha Lembut kepada hamba-Nya; Dia memberi rezeki kepada sesiapa yang Dia kehendaki, dan Dialah Yang Maha Kuat, lagi Maha Kuasa.”

“Wahai Tuhan kami, berilah kami beroleh daripada isteri dan zuriat keturunan kami perkara-perkara yang menyukakan hati melihatnya, dan jadikanlah kami imam ikutan bagi orang yang (mahu) bertakwa.”

Papa & Mama Arrives In Loughborough...

Today, after changing their flight plan from afternoon flight to the midnight flight, Papa, mama, adik & faiz finally arrives in UK. I was suppose to pick them up from the airport but as I was stuck with Atie at the delivery suite, they have to come to Nottingham by themselves. At 11.30 am, they finally arrive at Nottingham train station and went straight to Queens Medical Centre.

Antenatal Class...

Today we attended the antenatal class provided by the NHS for first time mommies. The midwife explained to us what we should expect and how to cope with labour. The class was held at Barrow Upon Soar Medical Centre (10 minutes drive from Lboro). It starts at 2pm and lasts for 3 hours. After the class we went for a buffet dinner at Al-Mashriq in Leicester. The food was nice (Mediterranean theme), especially their dessert (rice pudding and bread & butter pudding). Yum yum...

Daun dah mula gugur...

Depan Barrow Medical Centre

Loughborough Bonfire Night...

Today Loughborough University held its annual bonfire night at Tower's rugby field. We arrived there around 5 pm and was greeted with many funfair attractions. Most of it are for children. The main attraction is the fireworks display. Everybody come with their professional camera while we only use the compact digital ones. It not how big the equipment you got, its how you use it.

Firework in action.

Atie in front of one of the rides.

1st Year PhD Transfer Viva...

Alhamdulillah... syukur kepada Allah kerana memudahakan segala usaha kami sepanjang kami berada di bumi asing ini. Syukur juga kerana rahmatnya saya dapat menukar status dari MPhil kepada PhD. Viva mengambil masa 30 minit dan external examiner banyak bertanyakan soalan dari report yang dihasilkan. Sekarang dah bergelar pelajar PhD banyak perkara yang perlu disiapkan. Top priority sekarang ialah menyiapkan conference paper yang akan dibentang di San Jose, USA pada 19-22 January 2009.

1 year done, 2 more to go...

Hafiz Bergaya Dengan Jersey Bola...

Dengan semangat membara nak mempertahankan kekalahan pada peringkat Semi-Final di Nottingham Games 2007, Hafiz dan team bola QMMSOC bergaya dengan jersey baru dengan tajaan Penawar Group. All the best!! Nanti jumpa Lboro punya team jangan kasi chance punya.

Nicked from QMMSOC website

Our 1st Anniversary...

Today is our 1st anniversary as husband and wife. Time flew by very fast and now we are waiting for our new addition to the family.

After the "akad nikah" ceremony

Majlis Ramah Tamah Aidilfitri MML...

Hari ni adalah sambutan kemuncak hari raya bagi warga MML sesi 2008/2009. Majlis ramah tamah aidilfitri kali ini diadakan di dewan sukan, Burleigh College. Makanan kali ini dianjurkan secara "pot-luck" (sendiri masak, sendiri makan) yang dibahagi mengikut zon masing - masing. Atie buat mee goreng dan agar-agar.

Cuba cari kami didalam gambar ini...

Tyre Puncture :(

Today was a an unlucky day for me. Just when I was about to leave home from the office I've noticed that the rear left tyre was punctured. When I tried to change the tyre myself, I had noticed that the wheel wrench is damaged. So I called one of the Malaysians (Sdr. Najib) to come and assist me. He then call other people. 2 of them showed up. It takes 4 people just to change 1 punctured tyre. So after 15 minutes or so, we manage to fix it temporarily. Now I need to go and buy a new tyre as the spare one is not so good.

Double Celebration!!

Today is kakak's graduation day at the 21st UUM convocation ceremony for her Master of Business Administration degree. Subsequently, tomorrow is her 33rd birthday. Congratulation for the double celebrations. More reason to rejoice!!

Good Luck Izzati For Your PMR!!

Today is Izzati's first PMR paper - BM & Agama. Good luck and all the best...

Rumah Terbuka Credit Crunch

Hari ni, kami bersama - sama dengan Mohzani & Fara Diva bergabung menganjurkan rumah terbuka semperna Hari Raya Aidilfitri ini. Hampir kesemua masyarakat melayu Loughborough sudi melapangkan masa mengunjungi rumah terbuka kami ini. Kami sediakan masakan rendang daging, lontong dengan nasi himpit, nasi kunyit dan juga nasi dagang. Mohzani - Fara pula sediakan mee kari, rendang minang dan rojak buah. Letih juga sediakan & juga melayan tetamu akan tetapi semua bejalan lancar.

Sebelum orang ramai datang, posing dulu depan makanan.Kami, Mazrah - Dino, Mohzan - FaraControl ayu gitu...

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri 1429H !!

Kami ingin mengucapkan "Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir dan Batin" kepada keluarga yang berada di Durian Burung & Bukit Payung dan juga kepada rakan - rakan yang mengenali diri kami ini. Minta diampunkan sekiranya ada terkasar bahasa & tingkah laku yang menyinggung samada kami sedari atau tidak.

- akramshah & atie-
-loughborough-

Baru balik sembahyang rayaMenu Hari Raya

Selamat Berpindah Ke Rumah Baru - Villa Pedra Damai...

Dengar khabar papa dengan mama dah pindah ke rumah baru (Villa Pedra Damai) di Durian Burung. Tahniah atas segala usaha menyiapkannya sebelum hari raya (Right on time, bagus punya time management, memang pakar la papa). Jangan lupa hantar gambar rumah baru tu kami nak tengok. Gambar masa construction dulu dah tengok, sekarang tak sabar nak tengok rumah baru itu.

October Rent - Half Price !!

Today I went to see our landlord to pay our rent. Out of the blue, he said that he is only going to take half of the rent because of the inconvenience caused by the central heating. So only have to pay him £220. Got extra £220 to spend this month. Alhamdullillah. I wanted to buy a big screen tv and a game console but my Finance Minister (Atie) totally rejects the idea.

Baby's Stuff & Hari Raya Card 2...

Today we received a big box of baby's item sent by Mama. Items includes baby's pillow, 'barut' & even a heavy 'tungku'. Some kuih raya was also there. Separately, adik had sent us a lovely Hari Raya card with all the personalised decorations and a lovely raya message. Thank you all, you've brighten our lives here.

Update: Hari ni (27/9/2008) ada orang melayu kat sini bagi kitaorang baby crib sama dengan baby changing unit. Thank you so very much.

Swinging cribChanging unit

Hari Raya Card...

Today we received our first Hari Raya card from ...... Faiz!!. Thank you for the card, but the handwriting can do some improvements or are you just practising to write like a doctor. Hehehe.

Barangan Baby - First Arrival...

Hari ni sampai satu kotak barangan persediaan baby yang dihantar oleh Kak Ja & Kak Su. Cantik bantal yang Kak Ja jahit tu. Thank you kerana sudi menghantar barang - barang tersebut kepada kami. Ada lagi yang akan menyusul.

Boiler Update...

Until today still no sign that the boiler will be working. Come with the new parts and tried to repair but another part now is not working. Don't give any damn any more to the technician. If they think the money my landlord paid them is not good enough, it's their problem, but don't leave us in the cold for more than one week now.

Update: 18/09/2008

Finally, the boiler is up and running. The technician says that he still need to replace the control circuit board but that is not top priority any more. As long as we got our hot water & heated house is good enough for us.

Happy Birthday To Us !!!

Happy birthday to us,
Happy birthday to us,
Happy birthday to me & Afnan,
Happy birthday to us.

p/s: Afnan & me share the same birth day, but different year.

Zakat Fitrah Online...

Tahun ini bayar zakat fitrah pada awal bulan ramadhan. Dulu time bujang selalu lewat. Nampak amil, buat tak tau saja, lepas tu dah dekat nak sembahyang raya baru terhegeh - hegeh nak bayar (walaupun sunat bayar time tu, kena beratur panjang sebab ramai lagi nak bayar jugak). Bayar zakat secara online melalui website Persatuan Masyarakat Melayu UK. Kadar £3 seorang. So transfer duit ke akaun diaorang sambil niat. Kalau baca majalah keluaran Lembaga Zakat Selangor - Asnaf (Lihat m/s 24) boleh aje bayar secara online. Sebab di Lboro ini rasanya tak ada amil yang duduk dekat shopping complex macam dekat Malaysia.

Menu Berbuka Puasa 2008...

Senarai menu yang dimasak sepanjang bulan puasa, takut sesiapa yang tak ada idea nak masak apa boleh cuba...

1st day - Sup ekor, popia, cendol2nd day - Ikan & ayam percik

3rd day - Nasi ayam
4th day - Tumis sawi & ikan bakar & budu
5th day - Asam pedas ikan pari & tulang masak merah
6th day - Nasi goreng Thai, ayam goreng, kuih sekaya & pulut panggang
7th day - Gulai lemak ketam, mussels goreng berlada, bendi & terung goreng

8th day - Nasi beriyani & dalca daging

9th day - Tomyam campur, salmon lemon butter & salmon goreng garam kunyit
10th day - Nasi goreng kerabu & ayam goreng
11th day - Singgang tulang, sambal tumis ikan bilis dengan petai, bendi goreng
12th day - Kari ayam
13th day - Majlis berbuka puasa MML

14th day - Asam pedas & paru masak merah
15th day - Sayur lemak, mussel goreng berlada & ayam goreng
16th day - Nasi minyak & apam balik
17th day - Tumis sayur dengan sotong & ikan goreng
18th day - Tomyam ayam
19th day - Nasi beriyani & dalca tulang
20th day - Sizzling yee mee & popia basah21st day - Ayam percik, mussel bakar dengan serai dan bawang putih & kuih ketayap22nd day - Singgang tulang & kuih che mek molek23rd day - Mee goreng & ayam goreng KFC style
24th day - Singgang ikan kembong, ikan mackerel goreng garam kunyit, budu & mee bandung
25th day - Nasi goreng kerabu, ayam goreng & tomyam campur
26th day - Ayam percik pasar malam & tumis sayur
27th day - Gulai lemak ketam, mussels goreng berlada, ayam goreng kunyit, kuih che mek molek & strawberry trifle (Hafiz come for a visit for 2 days)

28th day - Singgang tulang

29th day - Daging masak merah, sayur petola masak lemak, ikan keli, paru dan pedal ayam goreng

*This year we only fast for 29 days, so Hari Raya falls on Tuesday, 30 September 2008*

Happy 23rd Birthday Hafiz!

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to Hafiz,
Happy birthday to you.

Moga dimurahkan rezeki, dipanjangkan umur & sentiasa berada dibawah lindungan Allah s.w.t.
p/s: Tour of Lboro tu kira bday present la.

Boiler oh Boiler...

Today the hot water boiler went from bad to worst. It all started with a small drip and ended up with a massive leak. So we have to shut the boiler down and call our landlord to have a look at it. He then called the engineers to come but they broke their promise to come. Then they promised to come on Wednesday. They opened up the boiler and water was already in the unit. There was also a broken spring that needed to be replaced. They went back to order the spare part. They called back and said that the spring will be delivered on Monday. WHAT?? 5 days without hot water and heating?? But what we do? So we have to take shower the traditional way, fill up the water kettle and mixing the boiling water with ice cold water. So only one bucket per shower. Sigh :( . It's just one of those challenges being abroad and during fasting month.

First day of Ramadhan...

Hari ni first day of Ramadhan dan Hafiz pula baru sampai ke Lboro selepas bercuti summer baru - baru ni. So kami masak sup ekor, ayam goreng, popia, cendol dan diiringi dengan air sirap ros. Penuh meja dengan lauk. Inipun kerana Hafiz ada, kalau tidak satu lauk saja dah cukup. Sebab terlalu asyik menghidang lauk - pauk, gambar pun tak sempat nak ambil. Esok la pulak kalau nak tengok kami berbuka puasa.

Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka & Salam Ramadhan...

Kami ingin mengucapkan selamat menyambut hari kebangsaan Malaysia yang ke 51. Semoga negara kita semakin maju dan makmur sentiasa. Kami juga ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan selamat menempuhi bulan Ramadhan tahun 1429H yang akan bermula hari Isnin ini (1/9/2008). Semoga segala amal kebajikan kita diterima dan sentiasa berada dibawah lindungan Allah s.w.t.

Semoga prestasi Ramadhan kita kali ini jauh lebih baik berbanding tahun lepas, insya Allah.

Pulut Lepa Lboro a.k.a. Pulut Panggang...

Hari ni sempena Bank Holiday Monday, kami cuba buat pulut panggang. Daun pisang pun ada lagi yang dibeli di Manchester hari itu. Best woo. Lama jugak tak makan pulut panggang ni. Bukan susahpun nak buat. Yang ni special so kalau nak tempah 5 batang £2 aje. Hehehe.

Pulut panggang yang telah siap dibungkus. Tunggu nak bakar aje.

Bakar atas dapur.

Bakar atas electric grill.Inilah hasilnya. Yummy...

Golf @ Enderby Golf Club...

Hari ni pergi main golf di Enderby Golf Club, Leicester. First time masuk padang. First nine hole serba tak menjadi. Lepas tu buat comeback for the last nine. Total shot 123. Got only one par. Others double bogey, bogey. Under tak ada langsung.

Roti canai sendiri buat sendiri makan...

Hari ni ntah kenapa tiba - tiba atie nak makan roti canai pulak. Tak pasal - pasal kena uli tepung macam kedai mamak Shah Maju Ukay Perdana. Ini sebab trial version kena buat roti kosong aje, nanti kalau dah power macam - macam boleh taruk dalam (baca kena geleng kepala sikit macam Samy Vellu). Cicah pulak dengan kari ikan kaw punya.

Uli jangan tak uli.

Tunggu nak kena goreng.

Chef tak tauliah posing sikitInilah hasilnya.