My Pregnancy Journal (Part 1)

Hellooo...

It's nearly 11pm in Jakarta. Yup, I left Ireland for good last year, and now I'm back in Jakarta. Don't ask me about the weather here. It's still the same hot and shiny weather! I keep air conditioners on almost all the time, so all good :D

I'm writing this post while sitting upward, trying not to press my belly. It's getting bigger from day to day. Yes, I and my husband are expecting our first child, Alhamdulillah :) We are so grateful and excited! There will be a new family member coming soon, inshaAllah. <3

The pregnancy is entering the 29th week now (just entering the 8th month!). The due date is predicted to be in the middle of December this year, inshaAllah. The title of this post states that this is the first part of my pregnancy journal, so it might sound too late, 29th week pregnant and I'm writing this journal just now? :D I can write all my excuses here, but who cares? Let's just say I wasn't in the mood to update my blog :P

Since this is my first pregnancy, I cannot compare this experience with anything in the past. Everything I've felt during this time is completely new for me :) People say that in the first trimester (month 1 to 3), a pregnant woman will have series of morning sicknesses, but not me. During the first trimester, I barely had one. It was just a very mild discomfort in my belly; so mild that I was thinking "Is there really a baby in there?" :D 

I didn't experience ngidam either. "Ngidam" is the term where the mother-to-be is craving for something (usually a certain food or beverage) so badly. "It's what the baby wants", that's what they say, "You have to fulfil it. Otherwise, the baby will be born drooling." Errr... not sure about that. :D Of course I want to eat or drink something during my pregnancy, but I think it's just simply what I want. If my hubby can find it, I'm happy. Otherwise, I'm fine too. He can still find it for me the next day, no problem. So, it's not "ngidam", is it? hehe..

During the second trimester (month 4 to 6), the discomfort in my belly couldn't be said "mild" anymore. It was quite bad, yet I didn't throw up frequently (only once as far as I remember). Since I felt fine, I agreed to go to my family hometown in Aceh for celebrating Eid al-Fitri. Aceh, located in the Sumatera Island, is the westernmost province in Indonesia. I, my hubby, my father, and brother went to Aceh by car. We spent 3 days and 4 nights on the road. Can you imagine how tiring the trip was? (It really was!) I threw up a few times, not because of my pregnancy, but because of the snake-shape road here and there. However, I was so grateful that I was still fine. 

In Aceh, we got a chance not only to visit our family, but also to enjoy the Weh Island (the westernmost point of Indonesia) with its georgeous and beautifuuullll beaches and view all around!! (I'll write an article about the Weh Island later on this blog, inshaAllah). Moreover, we also visited some important sites in Banda Aceh to recall the huge Tsunami happening in Aceh in 2004. The impact of the disaster was unbelievable! However, the recovery has been going on successfully, Alhamdulillah! (I'll write about this as well later, inshaAllah). We enjoyed our time in Aceh and back in Jakarta safely. The most important thing is that the baby in my belly is sound and healthy during and after the long holiday. :)

Now I'm in the third trimester (month 7 onward), and the most frequent question asked to me is "Is it a boy or a girl?" We don't know yet. We'll have it checked next month, inshaAllah. However, we have a feeling that it might be a boy. It's not just a mere guess, but based on a few observations :D My pregnancy has been smooth so far: rare sickness, rare/no ngidam, etc. Many people say that if that is the case (very smooth and quite comfortable), it is a great chance that the baby is a boy. Also, there is one thing that makes us quite sure that it's a boy, but I don't want to write it here :P Whichever it is, either boy or girl, we feel sooo grateful (Alhamdulillahi Rabbil'alamin), and are looking forward to the arrival of our first baby :) May he/she be born safe, sound, and healthy (Ameen YRA). We can't wait to meet you, sweety! :) :*

source of the picture: http://islam.ru/en/sites/default/files/imagecache/post_img_300_226/img/story/2011/11/pregnent.jpeg.

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When You Love Someone

When you love someone, you pray much more for him than for yourself.

When you love someone, his happiness makes you happy. His smile boosts your mood. Even, it can make your day. No wonder you always do your best for his happiness.

When you love someone, you want that all of his dreams are achieved.

When you love someone, somehow you become more sensitive. Anything small and nice he does to you makes you ecstatic. The opposite usually applies. It's because he is your VIP. His actions and words are important to you.

When you love someone, you bypass his weaknesses. Yes, you might criticise him or give him some advice, but solely to make him a much better and outstanding person.

When you love someone, you want to look good in front of him all the time (it's hard but you keep trying), although it is likely that he wouldn't realise it. You know, men! Typically they don't pay attention to details. He might not realised that you've put a bit make up on or simply brush your hair or put a bit of perfume behind your ears, etc. Regardless you're still doing it. The idea of perhaps he notices it is more than enough to excite you. :)

When you love someone, you ask him things, simple stuff. Have you eaten? How's the traffic today? Do you want a cup of coffee? Are you OK? so on so forth. He might consider you talkative, just because you ask so many questions, but for you it's not a big deal. He might not realise that all the questions arise simply because you care (deeply care in fact) about him, his well-being, his feeling, his comfort.

When you love someone, anything bothers him or makes him sad also saddens you. You keep thinking of what you can do to comfort him or better help solving his problem. All this goes back to the idea of seeing his smile again.

When you love someone, something small can make you jealous (e.g. seeing him kiss his mom but he hasn't kissed you for days). You cannot say such things to him just because you don't want him to think that you're ridiculous.

When you love someone, you want him to be respected. You don't care if people respect you or not. As long as he is respected, it's enough for you.

Ultimately, when you love someone, you want to be together with him again in Jannatul Firdaus. Ameen YRA.


May Allah protect and shower him with abundant rahmah. May Allah also bless our marriage. Ameen. :) <3


Source of the picture above: http://dailynewsdig.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/swans-in-love-1.jpg
 

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Maintaining Your Beauty

Beauty. When we think of beauty, especially women, our mind might go straight to makeup, fashion, salon, or perhaps aesthetic plastic surgery (I'm totally against the last one!). All these things might help, but the best way to maintain our beauty (yes, maintain.. because every woman is beautiful) is to take care of our health, not only physical but also mental health.

Doing a regular exercise at least three times a week is recommended. It doesn't have to be a hard and exhausting exercise. A simple one that takes only 15-30 minutes but done regularly makes more impact to our body (and mind). If you usually go to work by a motorcycle, a car, or a public transportation, perhaps it's the time to shift to a bicycle! ;) Or if you usually take a lift to go up or down at your office or a shopping center, now is the time to start taking the stairs. In Indonesia, people often use motorcycles to go anywhere, even just to go to a shop that's not even 500 meters away! Let's use our feet, walking is not only healthy but could also be enjoyable (especially if you walk with your friends). I know the temperature is very hot there, but you can always use an umbrella (and sunglasses). :D Regular exercises will make you feel good, light, and fresh! Aren't these going to enhance your beauty? ;)

Besides exercise, our food intake also plays an important role. As I'm talking about beauty, skin beauty is obviously part of it. Weeks ago, I found a few articles discussing the types of foods that are good for your skin. The sources vary, but most of them I found from reading posts on social networking sites. I was trying to look for the sites again, but couldn't find them. So, here I'm just going to list all the foods (and beverages) that I remember. Here they are:

1. Berries, such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and all other berries. They are rich in antioxidants! Not only good for skin, berries are also good to protect your hair. Tip: berries + yogurt = perfect snack :9
2. Avocado. It contains vitamin A and E, and the oil in them is usually used in many beauty products. Did you know that avocado is categorised as a berry? As mentioned earlier, berries are good for skin, so there you go. :)
3. Almonds. They are stuffed with vitamin E, which helps defend against sun damage. Vitamin E is an antioxidant, which is well known as an excellent substance for skin.
4. Salmon. It's rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are able to erase spots and reduce fine lines (wrinkle fighters). Besides salmon, flaxseeds also contain omega-3.
5. Tomatoes. They contain lycopene, which helps eliminate skin-aging free radicals caused by ultraviolet rays. Oh, watermelon also contains lycopene. ;)
6. Sweet potatoes. The vitamin C they have smooths out wrinkles by stimulating the production of collagen.
7. Spinach. They contain folate and iron, which are not only good for skin but also able to reduce the possibility of cancer-cell growth. Actually, all green vegetables are good for your skin as they contain plenty of fiber, loads of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.
8. Carrots. They are loaded with vitamin A, which is not only good for your eyesight, but also good for reducing blemish on your skin and reducing the development of skin-cancer cells.
9. Green tea. It's known to contain antioxidant with proven anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties.
10. Dark chocolates. (Yay! I love dark chocolates! :D) They have antioxidant that can reduce roughness in the skin and provide sun protection.

 If you want to know more about what other foods that are good for your skin are, you can always google. :D 

So, regular exercise and healthy foods should be our best friends. But on top of that, our beauty will shine brightly if we do these 2 things: let it go (forgive) and smile. :)

"I was smiling yesterday, I am smiling today and I will smile tomorrow simply because life is too short to cry for anything." - Santosh Kalwar -

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." - Thích Nhất Hạnh - 

* .. and the source of other people's joy :)

source of the picture: http://img2.timeinc.net/health/img/web/2013/01/slides/berries-for-heart-400x400.jpg.

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Are We True Muslims?

Sunday morning, or should I say Sunday early morning. It was around 2am, before the dawn, just woke up, waiting for Subuh. Starving, I got some food and decided to watch one of the Nouman Ali Khan's lectures on YouTube. It was just a random choice, but Alhamdulillah.. learned something that I didn't realise before. So, this article is basically what I learned from that short lecture. It's mainly a reminder for me first, then everybody else, in shaa Allah. :)

If you ask a non-Muslim, especially in the west, what do they know about Islam? Most of them would answer: hijab, pray several times a day (i.e. known as salah, not like the normal pray defined in the English dictionary), fasting, go to Mecca for pilgrimage, etc. All these things are related to rituals or rules, if you like. I'm not saying they are not important, because they are. These are parts of Islam, part of a way of life, commanded by Allah*, for our own good. However, here I'm not writing about why these benefit our life, as it needs a separate article to explain it. Rather, I'd like to share with you something that is extremely essential for us to take a lesson from.

Back then, during the early prophecy life of Prophet Muhammad SAW**, how did people in the society know that a person was one of the companions of the Prophet? One might answer, because they were always with him. That's why they were called companions. OK, but actually there are other reasons, which are more profound. If I change the question slightly different, how did the people back then recognise that a person was a Muslim?

Did you know that the revelations to pray (i.e. salah), wear hijab for women, fast during Ramadhan, not to drink alcohol, and many other rules descended years later after Muhammad SAW became a prophet? I'm sure most Muslims know, but there is something deeper we can learn from this fact. If we go back to the questions in the previous paragraph, how did people know that a person was a Muslim back then? They didn't perform salah, they didn't fast, they drank alcohol like everybody else, the women didn't wear hijab, etc. So, what was it that made them identifiable as Muslims?

The answer is one: their character! They were known as people of brilliant character. They were people of kindness, justice, honesty, forgiveness, compassion, generosity, modesty, and dedication. You can do your own research by reading the life of Prophet Muhammad SAW and his companions and friends (e.g. Abu Bakar as-Shiddiq, Umar ibn Abu Bakr, Ustman, ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abu Thalib, Khalid ibn Walid, and many more). Many times I was amazed while reading some of the biographies of these excellent people. Their character is on different level, really! mashaAllah!

This made me contemplate. We can perform salah five times a day, fast during Ramadhan or even add it with voluntary fastings outside Ramadhan, wear hijab, avoid drinking alcohol, avoid gambling, etc, but if our character stinks, can we call ourselves true Muslims?

It's true that the command to wear hijab for women came later, but to be modest was one of the first things commanded by Allah SWT. It's also true that paying zakat (the obligatory charity during Ramadhan) was commanded later, but being generous was also one of the first things commanded by Him. They are just some examples. The point is that all the rules came later, but the foundation had always been there.

Brothers and sisters, including myself, let's ponder upon this deeply. We have a noble amanah, keep and hold it firmly. Do our best to improve ourselves from day to day to get closer to Him, to be a true Muslim, a true mu'miniin, in sha Allah.

"The best amongst you are those who have the best manners and character." - Prophet Muhammad SAW, narrated by Al-Bukhari - 

"There is none heavier in the scales of the Hereafter than good character." - Prophet Muhammad SAW, narrated by Al-Tarmidhi and Abu Daud - 

"A Muslim is one whom other people are safe from his tongue and his hand." - Prophet Muhammad SAW, narrated by Al-Bukhari -  

* "Allah" in Arabic means "the worship One"

** Prophet Muhammad SAW became a prophet from the age of 40 years old (He passed away in the age of 63 years old).

source of the picture: http://www.thetrueknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Attituade.jpg.

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More Tips Living in Dublin (Part 2)

It has been nearly 4 years I've lived in Dublin (time flies!). So, it's impossible if I didn't have more tips living here, at least to make your life a bit easier. Before reading this post, I suggest you to read the first part here as I begin this post with an update before writing new ones. Happy reading! :)





Update

• The price for bus rambler tickets had been increased. For students, the 30-day ticket now costs €96 (from €75). It's still worth it though as they increased the bus fair too. 

More Tips

pic-1. Leap Card

1. There is a new card to pay for public transport fares, called Leap card (picture 1). It can be used for any public transportation: bus, luas/tram, and train/dart. The way it works is that you need to top up the card (minimum €5) and then simply tap the card on the card scanner everytime you get on the bus, luas, or train. For buses, just tap once when you get on; and tap twice for luas and trains, when you get on and off. Using Leap card is cheaper than paying with cash, not much but certainly simpler. You don't need to look for some money in your purse (coins for buses) before getting tickets, which sometimes takes a while.


2. Student travel cards can be used as Leap card now (picture 2). Please read the tips part 1 to know what student travel card is.

   

   pic-2. Student Travel Card

3. Dublin bus company has set up electronic real timetables at most of the bus stops. Before that, we used to check the schedules when buses left their starting terminals and predicted the time they reached the bus stop where you're waiting. Now no more trying to predict, which was inaccurate most of the time (traffics are often unpredictable!). The real timetables are also available online on their website. They have the mobile version (app and SMS) as well. All you have to do is simply enter the bus stop number you'd like to start your journey from (picture 3), or you can enter the route, address, or even search by stops near you (picture 4).
   

   

   

   pic-3. Bus Stop Number

   pic-4. Dublin Bus App

4. What about taxis? Have you ever been in the situation where you waited for a taxi passing on the road, and none showed up or all full? Now there is an app called Hailo where you can order a taxi and it will come to wherever you are (well, not wherever) or to a certain address you want. The app gets the information of your location and it's used by the taxi driver to pick you up. Handy!


5. For cyclists, even though there are cycle lanes here, at many spots they are overlapping with bus lanes, especially at the bus stops. So at such spots, when you cycle and feel like there's a bus coming from behind you, go to the center of the lane (but be careful!) so that the bus won't pass you and then end up leaving a very narrow space for you to cycle, which is sometimes very dangerous. Some bus drivers a few times passed me at high speed and only left me with a tiny little space, only for me, my bike, and a ridiculously small space for air in between, really.

Those are the 5 tips I could think of at the moment. If I have more to share, I'll post them here (as Part 3 perhaps).

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