MuslimahBloggers.com

I love reading blogs. In fact, more than watching Youtube. My favourite kind of blog is lifestyle blog because I like to read about the interesting things happening in other people's lives. And also because I have this love-hate relationship with fashion and beauty blog. I surely love reading them, but I'm also positive that my wallet is going to hate me ;). However, I'm quite disappointed that I rarely come across a lifestyle blog created by a fellow Muslim sister (or perhaps I just don't know where to search for it?).

I think there are a lot of Muslim sisters out there who wanted to read blogs that are relatable to them. Relatable in the sense that if it is a cooking blog, it is easy to make without non-permissible ingredients; if it is a fashion blog, the styles shown are covering aurat and suits a Muslimah lifestyle; and if it is a lifestyle blog, any contents is based on Islam. So, I personally wanted to support other Muslimah bloggers to make their blogs more discoverable. I had thought of creating a website which feeds all of the new posts from blogs run by Muslim sisters. But before proceeding, I needed to make sure that I'm not duplicating an existing website. So, I went for a search online and that's how I came across Muslimah Bloggers.

MuslimahBloggers.com describes themselves as "A community created to unite bloggers from all over the world, to showcase their talents. Our aim is to unite all Muslimah Bloggers, helping them to grow and nurture their talent." There are three sisters who runs this platform, and tirelessly helping out other Muslim sisters to gain more exposure to their blogs. Me loves this!

So, I decided to join their community and I find it very helpful. Unfortunately I haven't had the time to properly 'advertise' my blog there. I had joined their Facebook group as well. All of the action pretty much happens in the Facebook group. Sister Fozia, Najmah, and Aaliyah, are actively posting different stuff everyday - from introducing new members to calling all members to comment on each others blog. Their Facebook group is set as a closed group, but do not worry! You can still join by following these simple steps.

I think if you're a Muslimah running an interesting blog, don't hesitate to apply for Muslimah Bloggers membership! It's free and you will receive good exposure to other Muslimah bloggers and also the support you need to grow your blog!

What If You Only Have 7 Months to Live?

For the last couple of weeks I have heard several people telling me to watch a Youtube video about a brother who was diagnosed with cancer and had only 7 months to live. This brother considered the cancer as a gift from Allah because Allah had given him the chance to change.

For a long time I have wondered why people say we should be thankful for our imaan and why Islam is a 'nikmat'. The answer is because Allah is the owner of all hearts and he may do whatever He wants, including flipping it around 180 degrees. The brother's story also correlates to this. Allah had flipped his life around from being a successful business man with lavish lifestyle to become a humble servant of Allah who dedicates the remaining days of his life doing charity around the world.

What happens to the brother can happen to you, to me, to anyone in this world at any time. None of your worldly possession will follow you to the grave, only your good deeds will. This is a good and constant reminder for me and everyone that everything you have in this world, if you don't use it in the way of Allah, doesn't mean a thing for your hereafter. It will not help you in any way. So, what have you done today to prepare for your journey to meet Allah?

Watch the video here: https://www.facebook.com/LivingMuslim/videos/543875542446950/?pnref=story

Silky Almond Pudding

Yesterday, we had guests coming. I was hosting the female Islamic study circle on Saturday. I had planned to cook Soto Betawi and also make pudding for dessert. Those are the easiest food to make because you only need to dunk all of the ingredients in the pot and stir.

I had limited time to prepare and make everything because I had just started cooking at 12pm, whereas the me study circle starts at 2pm! Fortunately I was able to cook Soto Betawi and the cook the pudding mixture in parallel, so everything was done in two hours.

This pudding is very easy to make and fast. Unfortunately I don't have the exact measurement as I was just dunking in everything that I had. But I think the most important part is to make sure that the mixture comes to a rolling boil before you let it cool into a pudding.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.8 litres of water
• 1 can of condensed milk
• Sugar (half to one cup)
• 1/2 tsp of almond oil (or less)
• 2 sachets of agar-agar (seaweed jelly)
• 1 can of mixed fruit in syrup

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix water, condensed milk, sugar, and almond oil in a pot and cook on low heat.
2. Adjust the taste of the mixture. Add more condensed milk, sugar, or almond oil as desired.
3. Add 2 sachets of agar-agar and bring the mixture to a rolling boil (the surface will rise and create a layer of foam).
4. Turn off the heat and ladle the mixture to a glass serving ware or jelly mould. 
5. Let the jelly cool down before refrigerating.
6. Serving: cut a piece of the jelly and serve on a plate. Put two spoonfuls of the mixed fruit and syrup onto the jelly.

Bapak's Day

I give up. I've been trying to write this in Bahasa, but my words turned out very dangdut. So, here goes the English version.

I didn't realise that 12 November is National Father's Day in Indonesia, around two months after Australia's one. No wonder today I found so many social media posts about fathers - someone's father or husbands who are already a father. Although this post may arrive late, at least I would like to participate in giving my testimonial for my dad.

There is nothing special with my relationship with Bapak (as I usually call him), or anyone in the family, really. I had difficulty in describing my relationship with him, but a friend of mine in Facebook was able to describe it precisely, pola komunikasi keluarga kami dari keluarga Jawa sederhana yang jarang mengungkapkan kata-kata manis. Bapak is not the type of person who can initiate a fun conversation.

Bapak is a very busy man. He's busy at the office on weekdays, and busy practising golf on the weekends. Perhaps because I am used to not seeing dad relaxing at home, it's very diffciult for me to imagine Bapak not having a job once he retires. After he retired from his post in one of the national banks, Bapak was allocated a post in one of the bank's subsidiary, working two to three days a week.  I was waiting for my visa approval in Indonesia at that time, so I was home almost everyday and I would see Bapak at home more often. Believe it or not, it's so odd seeing him at home doing nothing. But I can't really tell whether he is bored or not just staying at home doing nothing. Eventually, when I went for Hajj last year, I asked Allah to give him a full time job. Alhamdulillah Allah granted my prayer. Now that Bapak works full time, he couldn't take days off to accompany mum to visit me in Australia *oh dear...*.

Anyway, despite of his shortcomings, at the end of the day he's still my dad. And these are the reason why I still think he's a good great dad:

DOORS TO OPPORTUNITIES

When I was 10 years old, Bapak received scholarship to pursue MBA degree in the US. He brought the whole family along about a year after he completed his language school and ready to start the MBA course. When I arrived, I had zero English conversation skill. Two years later, I was talking fluently and I also had picked up the American accent. 

When we returned from the US, people knew me as a kid who's fluent in English. I would participate in various English competitions and often won. I also consider myself lucky because I never really had to worry about my TOEFL ITP score. I would always pass the minimum requirement to apply for a scholarship overseas. This definitely has opened doors of opportunities for me. When I interviewed for exchange to Tokyo Institute of Technology, I'm almost 100% confident that it is my English conversational skills that had won me the golden ticket. Sometimes I wonder, if I had not learnt English naturally from the natives, would I be this fluent?

SMART

I often hear from mum's stories that Bapak is very respected in the company, also dubbed the smartest in the company. However, he never made it to the board of directors - always very close on being one though. 

I never doubt that he is smart because he can help me with my Physics course in university. Can you believe it!? I mean, he has been out of the university for 30 years and perhaps hasn't touched that subject for decades since he started working in a bank! Also, he is the can-do-everything type of person. He can do various handyman jobs. I think these have influenced me to look for the same type of person as a husband. So, yes, if you're dad has excellent traits, there is a chance that you might look for a similar one in your future soulmate :).

HONESTY AND INTEGRITY

When mum was spending her time in Sydney, we had a catch up discussing everything from important issues to gossips. She was telling me about a couple of incidents which touches integrity issue at Bapak's office. Of course Bapak, being the very honest man, always criticises and questions data discrepancies and also refusing to sign a document which has false information. I just can't believe someone with very high rank at Bapak's office is actually doing dishonest acts. Well, I pray that Allah would give that person a lesson (looks like Allah had given him the lesson, but perhaps he just doesn't realise... poor man). Anyway, I'm very very proud of Bapak for sticking to the right path.

DON'T BUY IT IF YOU DON'T NEED IT
I guess my parents are the best at this, managing money. It looks like all of their three kids picked up the same traits, with my brother being the most stingy and me being the least. This financial advise has been really helpful for me and I live by it.

My parents are a big believer of "don't buy if you don't need it", but mum said Bapak is even more stingy. Bapak managed to stick to his old Honda Accord for years, I reckon that car is as old as I am. He finally retired that car after he received car facility from the office. He doesn't wear fancy watch, cufflinks, or other branded items; he doesn't eat at fancy restaurants or eat out very often. He would settle with anything as long as it is comfortable to wear and as long as it fills his tummy. He refused when I offered to purchase an iPad for him. So, I eventually got one for mum, but now he's the one using it most of the time hahaha.

Corn Dogs

I was transferring my  pictures from my camera when I found pretty pictures of corn dogs that I had made for the first time.

I have never really tried corn dog until this year when I spotted halal "Pluto Pup" (they call it) at a Gozleme booth in Flemington. If you have never tried corn dog, it is basically frankfurt sausage wrapped in bread dough and fried. Then top it off with a drizzle of BBQ or tomato sauce. Yum!

INGREDIENTS

• 8 hot dogs (frankfurter sausages)
• 1 1⁄4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3⁄4 cup cornmeal (I used polenta)
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 3⁄4 cup milk
• wooden skewers

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix all the dry ingredients, then add eggs and milk.
2. Mix till lump free.
3. Skewer the dogs & dip into the batter to coat.
4. Deep fry in 350 degree oil. Remove when golden brown, about 5 minutes.

NOTES: 

• I used polenta as substitute for cornmeal as cornmeal is not widely available in Australia.
• You can find halal frankfurter sausages at halal butcher. I got used to get mine at a butcher in Guildford. Or you can also use chicken sausages available at selected halal Red Lea shops.

Recipe source: http://www.food.com/recipe/perfect-corn-dogs-345232

Quick Kitchen: Hearty Anchovy Porridge

I made up this recipe when I was having toothache. My wisdom tooth was trying to erupt from the gum. It hurts so badly that I wanted to cry and I was unable to do anything just to cope with the pain.

I was hungry, obviously. I wanted something warm and fulfilling, yet simple to make. My only option is porridge, but I've never made porridge other than bubur ayam where you have to cook the porridge and the toppings separately (more work!). I gathered all the ingredients that I thought would match each other and dunk it all into the pot. I let it boil until it softens. I also added more water if the porridge gets too dry.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of rice grains
• 1 chicken bullion cube
• Water
• Anchovies (ikan teri)
• Fried onions
• White pepper
• Salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash rice
2. Dunk all of the ingredients in the pot
3. Stir as it boils
4. Add more water if it hasn't reached the level of softness that you like
5. Add white pepper and salt towards the end. Be careful with the amount of salt that you put in, because usually anchovies are already salty (at least mine was)

Because I'm Proud of My Identity

Blog ini memang dari awal sengaja ingin dibuat dwi bahasa, suka-suka penulisnya lagi kepingin pakai bahasa apa :). Dan kali ini sepertinya lebih mudah mengutarakan cerita ini dengan bahasa Indonesia. So, here we go...

Identitasku sebagai seorang Muslim selalu aku bawa kemana-kemana. Orang akan mudah mengenali bahwa aku adalah seorang wanita Muslim. Ya, jilbabku yang selalu dengan indahnya menutupi auratku sejak kelas 1 SMA.

Akhir-akhir ini fenomena Islamophobia semakin menjadi-jadi di Australia. Mulai dari reaksi terhadap Lindt Cafe siege dan kemudian insiden penembakan di Parramatta. Selalu ada rasa was-was di hatiku setiap kali berjalan di area publik di suburb yang mayoritas penduduknya adalah non-Muslim karena tidak jarang juga Muslim (terutama wanita) mengalami tindakan rasis. Alhamdulillah, aku beruntung bekerja di perusahaan yang menjunjung tinggi perbedaan dan memiliki kolega yang memperlakukan aku sama seperti yang lain.

Hari Jumat lalu adalah salah suatu hari dimana aku sangat bangga pada diriku, terutama sebagai seorang Muslim. Aku mendapat sweet surprise dari manajerku. Rupanya, aku manajerku mempersembahkan sebuah penghargaan bagiku di dalam pertemuan business update di kantor di hadapan orang banyak yang mayoritas non-Muslim.

Saat beliau maju ke depan, sebetulnya aku sedikit takjub karena akhirnya SESEORANG dari tim kami akan ada yang mendapat penghargaan! Aku sudah ngedumel hampir setahun karena tidak ada penghargaan apapun yang diberikan ke tim kami. Aku pikir pemimpin-pemimpin kami sudah lupa caranya mengapresiasi kerja timnya. Sebagai gambaran, tahun lalu sebelum tim kami direstrukturisasi, selalu ada ajang pemberian apresiasi karyawan setidaknya tiga bulan sekali. Jadi memang sangat jelas terlihat perbedaannya.

Ketika slide mulai dimunculkan, aku melihat tulisan yang sangat familiar. Itu adalah tulisan yang kolegaku kirimkan bersama daftar pertanyaan untuk interview! "Jadi... rupanya? It's an award for me?!". Saat itu adalah saat dimana akhirnya aku bisa menunjukkan ke khalayak ramai bahwa orang Islam juga bisa berprestasi. Dan aku tidak perlu banyak bercuap-cuap, cukup aksiku saja yang membuktikannya. Because action is louder than words. 

Penghargaan itu aku dapatkan untuk kontribusiku selama hampir satu tahun terakhir. I've been juggling between three things: BAU, adhocs, and volunteering, and never dropping the ball (based on managers' testimonial). Sejujurnya aku merasa kerjaku kurang optimal dibandingkan tahun lalu, tetapi alhamdulillah for everything. Setidaknya aku dihargai lebih dari sekedar gaji. I love my job.

Sekarang piagam pernghargaan itu tepampang cantik di jendela dekat meja kerjaku sebagai pengingat bahwa kerja keras akan diapresiasi. By the way, I have a very beautiful window seat overlooking the beach building next door, hahaha. You just to keep going on and do your best, and let Allah do the rest.

My First Ever Interview

On Saturday morning, I was checking my office email for some reason (don't follow this!). I found an email from my colleague who is currently handling one of the initiative that was formerly mine. The initiative was employee profile, where an associate gets nominated by their managers to be interviewed. The result of the interview would then be published in company's Yammer group.

I scanned through the email's recipient list and said to myself, "why does she need to copy me on this?". I didn't realise until I read through the whole email that I was nominated to be interviewed this time! I read through the testimonial that my manager and her manager gave why I deserve to be featured. It's really sweet of them. I don't think I've done a better job compared to last year, but I'm definitely grateful to be appreciated for my efforts.

There were 7 questions in total that I needed to complete. Three questions were quite easy because it was only asking about my role and myself. Three questions were super difficult and one question I couldn't answer at all hahaha. The three difficult questions are as you see below. Despite of it's difficulty, I really do like the questions as I'm able to share my values and point of view through these questions.

30-day Minimalism Challenge - Day 1

Today I tackled challenge #23 Go bare-faced pretty easily. Until very recently when I figured out the correct way to apply make up, I used to never wear any make up at all. So, I have been bare-faced a lot in the past.

Yesterday I was feeling like I was about to get sick as my throat has been sending the signal from the morning. I took Codral tablets to minimise the symptoms so it wouldn't get even worse. Unfortunately, the phenilyphrine really got me in the afternoon and I immediately fell into deep sleep when I reached home without taking off my make up! There I was sleeping through the night with full make up on.

By morning I felt really sorry for my skin and decided to give my face a break. I cleaned my face and apply the usual serum and moisturiser, then off I go to the office bare-faced. Gotta love those freckles and acne scars!

I'm so grateful that my skin has never been better. Although I have those freckles and acne scars, I'm still loving my skin. I was never able to afford the skincare products that I'm using now, but to be honest it's what makes all the difference. I love the fact that they actually work on my skin!

4 Reasons Why I Keep My Wardrobe Minimal

MINIMALISM
noun | min·i·mal·ism | \ˈmi-nə-mə-ˌli-zəm\
A style or technique (as in music, literature, or design) that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity

I have just found Joojoo Azad's blog recently about minimalism (minimalist wardrobe). I (sort of) jumped into the "minimalism" wagon several months ago after I realised my closet is getting too full. When I moved to the new house, the new closet was even more screaming "I can't fit any more clothes!". I just can't comprehend how I was able to accumulate so many clothes.

I haven't really done any closet clean-up, because I still love my old clothes. So, what I'm trying to do now is to SHOP LESS. I did challenge myself to "no clothes shopping" for a year, but only managed to commit for 6 months (those darn SALE!). Something important I learned along the way, tho, is to buy only something that you will wear over and over again.

This is my 4 MAIN REASONS why I like to keep my closet minimal:

NO MORE OVERLOADED WARDROBE
As I have mentioned, since moving to the new place, the new wardrobe seemed to be screaming "I can't fit any more clothes!" The rack is just full with clothes to the extent that I wasn't able to slide the clothes easily. It takes quite a lot of energy if you have to forcefully separate the clothes while browsing through the rack. I said to myself, "I'm not going to add more clothes into the closet." - which I have already disobeyed because I just purchased sleeveless blazer from David Lawrence.

SAVE MORE MONEY
Do you realise how much money you spent on purchasing clothes? If you normally budget $100-200 a month on purchasing clothes, that is a whooping $1200-2400 a year! After seeing my closet really stuffed up, I tried to limit my shopping spree. In the first half of 2015 I only purchased one David Lawrence cashmere cape, and that was heavily discounted. I went a bit overboard on my my birthday though, but I still purchase discounted items which included a very pretty black trench from Portmans. And my most recent purchase is a sleeveless blazer from David Lawrence outlet. I don't have a sleeveless blazer, so it's a perfectly sound reason to purchase! In summary, within the past year, I only spent my hard earned cash on 5 pieces of clothing, which I think it's pretty good. Chaching!

CHOOSING OUTFIT IS NOW A BREEZE

Choosing an outfit is now down from 15 minutes to just 5 minutes. I have been so frustrated with the time it takes for me to choose an outfit to work! Until I found an article about someone who wears the same thing everyday (it's not that she doesn't wash her clothes, she just had multiple quantity of the same item). I thought, "hey, why don't I do that?". So, I did. I chose my basics (cardigan, t-shirt, chino pants/jeans) and stick with it. 

MORE APPRECIATIVE OF WHAT I HAVE
I know it's very easy to get bored of your wardrobe, but perhaps it's also time for you to learn to appreciate of what you already have. I now try to be more appreciative of the clothes that I have in my wardrobe. I have purchased my clothes for two reasons: I REALLY REALLY REALLY like them and I'm gonna wear them (many many times); so I try my best to get the thought "I'm bored of that outfit" out of my head.

***

UPDATE: If you're looking for information on how to start minimalist wardrobe, I find this website very informative. So, please do check it out!