Senin, 24 November 2014

Chicken Nuggets or Naget Ayam in Bahasa


My daughter asked me to make chicken nugget several days ago. I've never made chicken nugget before. But I used to make tofu or tempe (Indonesian traditional food made from soybeans) with vegetables nugget when we lived in Indonesia. My daughter kept asking me, so I started to look for the recipe. And I made some improvement in the recipe.

Ingredients:
  • 250 grams minced chicken
  • 5 tablespoon of tapioca flour
  • 1 carrot, grated
  • 3 cloves onion, fine chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 bowl of bread crumb
  • 1 glass of water (optional)
Preparation methods:
  1. Prepare the steamer.
  2. Put minced chicken in the large bowl.
  3. Add tapioca flour, grated carrot, onions, pepper, salt, sugar, and 1 egg. Mix well using wooden spoon. If the dough is to tough, pour some water little by little and mix.
  4. Put the dough in a heat-resistance bowl or mold.
  5. Put it in the steamer. Steam for about 20 minutes.
  6. Take out the steamed nugget from the steamer, left it 15 minutes or until it's cool.
  7. Cut the nugget in a small size or cut in a shape as you like.
  8. Prepare whipped eggs on a bowl, and bread crumb in another bowl.
  9. Roll the nugget in the whipped egg, after that roll again in the bread crumb.
  10. Fry until golden brown.
  11. Serve with chilli sauce and salad
 
#Ayat hari ini:
SuratAl-Lahab (Gejolak Api) ayat 1-5
  1. Binasalah kedua tangan Abu Lahab dan benar-benar binasa dia!
  2. Tidaklah berguna baginya hartanya dan apa yang dia usahakan.
  3. Kelak dia akan masuk ke dalam api yang bergejolak (neraka).
  4. Dan (begitu pula) istrinya, pembawa kayu bakar (penyebar fitnah).
  5. Di lehernya ada tali dari sabut yang dipintal.

Let's Play with Your Expressions

My daughter had lots of stickers from "Sticker Faces" Book that I bought for her several weeks ago. She enjoyed stick the stickers on the blank face pictures inside the book. She laughed when she found funny expression. Sometimes she put the stickers not properly so she got weird face. I got an idea. I asked her to put the stickers on her face and tried some expressions. And here they are.... Enjoy and don't forget to try your best expressions :-)

I am an angry old man

The man who cries a lot asking for sweets

The man who cries because of funny film

The man who jealous of everything

The man who are impatient waiting his dinner 

 
Ayat hari ini:
Surat An-Nasr (Pertolongan) ayat 1-3
  1. Apabila telah datang pertolongan Allah dan kemenangan,
  2. dan engkau melihat manusia berbondong-bonding masuk agama Allah,
  3. maka bertasbihlah dengan memuji Tuhanmu dan mohonlah ampunan kepada Nya. Sungguh, Dia Maha Penerima tobat.

Berkenalan dengan Buah Khaki atau Persimmon


Alhamdulillah saya menemukan buah kesukaan lagi selama di sini. Sebelumnya saya menemukan paraguayo atau doughnut peach atau saucer peach yang rasanya juga sangat saya suka. Nah yang satu ini saya suka karena rasanya mengingatkan saya dengan rasa buah sawo. Rasanya manis dan buahnya agak sedikit berair.

Buah ini banyak dijual di hampir semua toko seperti Asda, Hutchinson, di Grainger Market, dan toko-toko halal di sekitaran Newcastle. Mungkin di Iceland dan Lidl juga ada, tapi saya belum pernah membeli di sana. Harganya relatif murah, tergantung ukuran buahnya. Di Asda biasanya seharga £0.85 sebungkus isi 4, Di Pasar Grainger isi 4 seharga £1 dengan ukuran yang lebih besar, sementara di toko halal seharga £1.25 dapat serombongan, maksudnya 1 box isinya rame banget, tapi ukurannya agak lebih kecil dibanding di Asda.

Menurut informasi hasil dari saya googling,  buah Khaki ini banyak mengandung vitamin A dan C. Buah ini banyak ditemukan di akhir musim panas atau awal musim dingin. Oleh karena itulah saya baru menemukan buah ini ya akhir-akhir ini saja. Baru merasakannya juga barusan ini saja. Padahal musim dingin tahun lalu saya sudah tinggal di sini, tapi rasanya saya belum pernah melihat buah ini.

Cara mengkonsumsi buah ini simple banget. Bisa dimakan saat masih mengkel, rasanya mirip-mirip buah apel jadinya. Atau jika ingin mendapatkan sensasi rasa sawonya, lebih sabar dikit, tunggu sampai benar-benar matang dan agak melunak, emmm saya lebih suka cara makan yang kedua ini, lebih segar. Karena tidak ada bijinya jadi bisa langsung digigit atau dipotong kecil-kecil. Jika buahnya sudah lunak, ada cara yang lebih praktis, yaitu belah 2 lalu tinggal sendok bagian tengahnya seperti saat kita makan buah bapel. Tahukan bapel? Yang warnanya hijau, di desa saya namanya bapel, sementara suami saya menyebutnya sawo ijo.

Nah bagi pembaca yang menemukan buah ini di pasar atau di toko, jangan takut untuk membeli dan mencobanya, insyaAllah rasanya cocok buat lidah orang Indonesia.Awalnya saya juga sempat ragu untuk membeli buah-buah yang asing,  nah setelah seorang teman merekomendasikan, alhamdulillah saya tidak ragu lagi membeli buah ini banyak-banyak. Selamat mencoba :-)

Sumber:

 
Ayat hari ini:
Surat Al-Kafirun (Orang-orang Kafir) ayat 1-6
  1. Katakanlah (Muhammad), "Wahai orang-orang kafir!
  2. aku tidak akan menyembah apa yang kamu sembah,
  3. dan kamu bukan penyembah apa yang aku sembah,
  4. dan aku tidak pernah menjadi penyembah apa yang kamu sembah,
  5. dan kamu tidak pernah (pula) menjadi penyembah apa yang aku sembah.
  6. Untukmu agamamu, dan untukku agamaku."

Jumat, 21 November 2014

Live in Newcastle, United Kingdom


I came to Newcastle on 7th September 2012. I came with my husband and daughter. We came here because my husband takes his Ph.D in Newcastle University. He didn't want to stay away from me and our daughter, so he wanted to take us with him.

Newcastle is a nice city. My first impressions about this city were calm, the transportation was very good, the traffic was not really busy. Other things were the masjid, we could find many masjids in this city. We also could find lots of halal food stores around this area. We could find halal meets easily. I thought that would be difficult to find halal stores, but now I don't need to worry about it.  

One thing that we still struggle with is cool weather. It's really matter to us. When winter comes, we don't want to do anything. We just want to stay in our room hiding behind our duvet. My daughter feels so lazy to take a shower, until I insist her to do it. But she likes the snow very much. She like to play with her pink sledge and make a snowman.

My daughter was very sad several weeks after we arrived in Newcastle. She felt lonely, she had no friends to play with. She felt bore because she got no school placement yet until 2 months later. Just stayed at home in a new situation made her homesick. She missed her old friends, her grandparents, her old toys, her old bicycle, her rabbit, and everything left in our country. Fortunately, she was getting better when she started to school. She got lots of new friends and her English was also improved.

Time flies very fast, unwittingly we have been living in Newcastle for 2 years. Everything is getting settled down now. My husband still busy with his third year's work. I hope he is doing well with his study. My daughter loves her school, she doesn't even want to go back to our country. In here, the school doesn't give the students much homework, and have more school holidays than in our country. But we still miss our country, we miss our foods, our family, and also miss the warm sunshine.
 
 
Ayat hari ini:
Surat Al-Kausar (Sungai di Surga) ayat 1-3
  1. Sungguh, Kami telah memberimu (Muhammad) nikmat yang banyak.
  2. Maka laksanakanlah shalat karena Tuhanmu, dan berkurbanlah (sebagai ibadah dan mendekatkan diri kepada Allah).
  3. Sungguh, orang-orang yang membencimu dialah yang terputus (dari rahmat Allah).

Rabu, 19 November 2014

Indomie Goreng is Everywhere....Yey....


Indomie Goreng is an instant fried noodle which is made in Indonesia. I used to eat this instant food when I felt hungry in the middle of the night. It was enough to keep my rumbly tummy back to sleep until morning. The taste also delicious for me, my family also like it very much. My Husband used to put lots of vegetables on top of the noodle when it's ready to eat. My daughter liked to eat it with fried egg, and I like to put some fried prawns, so yummy....

This time, we still like to eat Indomie Goreng too. We were very surprised when we found Indomie at the first time in one of China store in the City Centre. We didn't expect that we can still enjoy this fried noodle when we live in Newcastle. But now, we don't need to worry if we miss one of Indonesian instant culinary because we got packs in our cupboard.

In Indonesia the price was Rp. 1.500,- per each, it's approximately about less than 10 pence, very cheap isn't it? But in Newcastle the price is 35 pence each. It's still not much expensive I think. you can get cheaper if you buy one box contains of 40 packs, it's about £12.

You can cook Indomie Goreng in its original way as shown on the package, or you can make your own alternative. One of my friend showed me how to cook this food in different way, and I liked it. We needed little bit more effort but, believe me, it worked. So this are the methods.

Indomie Goreng Alternative Preparation Methods

Ingredients:
  • 1 pack Indomie Goreng
  • 2 cloves of garlic, fine chopped 
  • 1/2 red medium shallot, thinly sliced
  • 1 hand full of small prawns
  • any vegetables, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
  • 2 glasses of water and little bit for mixing the seasoning
Methods:
  1. Boil the water until bubbling, put in the noodle, pour 1 tablespoon of oil and mix until the noodle is done.
  2. Drain the noodle, set aside.
  3. Put the Indomie Goreng seasoning in a small bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon of water into a paste, set aside.
  4. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat.
  5. Put in the garlic, and shallot until fragrance.
  6. Add the prawns, stir for 5 minutes.
  7. Put in the vegetables and seasoning paste, stir for more 5 minutes.
  8. Put in the noodle, stir until all the ingredients are mixed.
  9. Serve with fried egg and fried red onions.
Hemmm....writing this recipe is just make me hungry. I will sing one of Indomie's jingle "Indomie.....seleraku......". Sorry I cannot explain the exact meaning in English maybe "Indomie is my taste"?? Yumm. Enjoy the recipe and enjoy your Indomie :-)
 
 
Ayat hari ini:
Surat Al-Ma'un (Barang-barang Yang Berguna) ayat 1-7
  1. Tahukah kamu (orang) yang mendustakan agama?
  2. Maka itulah orang yang menghardik anak yatim,
  3. dan tidak mendorong memberi makan orang miskin.
  4. Maka celakalah orang yang shalat,
  5. (yaitu) orang-orang yang lalai terhadap shalatnya,
  6. yang berbuat riya,
  7. dan enggan (memberikan) bantuan.

Selasa, 18 November 2014

Tentang Seorang Ibu


Hari ini saya bertemu lagi dengan seseorang yang hebat. Kenapa lagi? Karena sebenarnya semenjak tinggal di sini, beberapa kali saya bertemu dengan orang-orang yang luar biasa, baik kisah hidupnya, perjuangannya, maupun semangatnya.

Kali ini dia adalah seorang ibu dari Syiria, sudah 7 tahun tinggal di Inggris. Suaminya sudah lebih dulu menetap di Inggris untuk bekerja karena mencari pekerjaan di negara yang penuh konflik bukanlah hal yang mudah. Tiga tahun kemudian barulah kemudian dia menyusul ke negara ini bersama anak bungsunya.

Ibu ini memiliki 5 anak, 2 anaknya masih tinggal di Syiria bersama keluarga kecil mereka, sementara yang 2 lagi tinggal di Swedia. Saya agak kaget sebenarnya saat beliau menceritakan jumlah anaknya, karena pasti akan sangat sibuk, ternyata baru lega setelah beliau melanjutkan ceritanya jika anaknya sudah besar-besar. Malah saya lebih terkejut lagi saat saya tanya usia anak yang paling bungsu ternyata sudah 28 tahun, MasyaAllah, sedangkan ibu ini masih tampak muda, dan sehat. Saya tidak berani menanyakan usia beliau, bahkan sekedar untuk menanyakan usia anaknya yang paling sulung pun rasanya segan, takut menyinggung. Tahu sendiri kan, jika usia itu adalah barang yang tabu untuk ditanyakan, lebih-lebih pada wanita....no...no....no....

Akhirnya saya menanyakan hal lain, tentang bagaimana beliau bisa berkunjung untuk sekedar bertemu dengan anak-anaknya, terutama yang di Syiria. Beberapa bulan yang lalu ternyata ibu ini baru saja menjenguk anaknya yang di Syiria. Anak bungsunya sebenarnya sangat melarang kepergian ibunya ke sana, apalah daya seorang ibu tentu saja akan berbuat apa saja untuk sekedar memastikan keselamatan anaknya yang berada di belahan dunia yang lain. Akhirnya dibuatlah strategi, diam-diam beliau membooking tiket pesawat menuju ke Syiria tanpa diketahui anak laki-laki si bungsu ini. Beliau hanya memberitahu suaminya saja, sedangkan ke anaknya hanya menyampaikan jika akan pergi ke suatu tempat. 

Yah....sepandai-pandainya menyimpan rahasia, akhirnya si bungsu tahu juga kemana sebenarnya ibundanya pergi. Nah tahunya pun saat si ibu posisinya masih di Syiria, perasaan sedih dan khawatir tentu memenuhi hati si bungsu. Dan menangislah dia setiap hari selama ditinggal ibundanya, sementara teman-teman si bungsu pun tak lupa ambil bagian untuk menemani si bungsu setiap hari untuk mengurangi kesedihan hatinya. Dan saat ibunya kembali ke Inggris dengan selamat, sungguh kebahagiaan yang sangat luar biasa.

Selama di Syiria, suasana sungguh menegangkan, apalagi saat ibu menggunakan jasa taxi dari bandara menuju ke lokasi rumah anaknya. Semuanya tegang, baik si ibu maupun si sopir taxi itu sendiri, bagaimana tidak, sepanjang jalan bunyi ledakan bom terdengar dari berbagai arah, dan tidak tahu pula bom itu mengarah kemana saja, bisa jadi menjauhi atau mendekati taxi yang sedang ditumpangi. Sungguh saya tidak bisa membayangkan perjalanan yang seperti ini hanya untuk mengunjungi sanak family. Sedangkan ibu ini sudah menunjukkan keberaniannya, dan tidak lagi memperdulikan keselamatannya demi untuk memastikan kondisi anak-anaknya di negara asalnya.

Saat ditanya mengapa anak-anaknya tidak pindah mengikuti dia ke Inggris. Beliau menjelaskan bahwa waktu itu situasinya sulit sehingga hanya mampu mengajak si bungsi saja yang saat itu usianya masih remaja. Sungguh situasi yang sangat sulit bagi beliau dengan keberadaan anak-anaknya yang saling berjauhan apalagi di negara yang sedang berperang. Saya tidak bisa membayangkan saat tiba Ramadhan atau lebaran Idul Adha maupun Idul Fitri, dimana semua keluarga biasanya akan berkumpul bersama dan merayakan dengan saling bermaafan, berpelukan, dan berbagi cerita.

Dari cerita beliau, sungguh saya merasa sangat bersyukur, Indonesia termasuk negara yang aman hingga saat ini, semoga hingga nanti, sampai kapanpun aman, amin. Meskipun banyak sekali cobaan dan hantaman yang hampir-hampir menimbulkan perpecahan, namun selama situasi negara aman, insyaAllah semuanya bisa diperjuangkan, semuanya ada jalan. Semoga Allah juga melindungi beliau dan keluarganya.

Di akhir pertemuan, beliau bertanya kepada saya. "Tahukah kamu kira-kira berapa umur saya?", "Emm...tidak", jawab saya. "Tebak saja, lihat dari raut wajah saya", begitu desaknya. Tentu saja saya tidak nyaman bermain tebak-tebakan soal usia, saya jawab saja "I have no idea". Dengan tersenyum dia menjawab, "I am 55". Saya sekali lagi dibuatnya terkejut. Saya memberanikan diri untuk menanyakan usia anaknya sulungnya. "Dia 38 tahun". "MasyaAllah.....", sahut saya. Dia melanjutkan ceritanya bahwa dia menikah di usia 16 tahun waktu itu, itulah mengapa beliau sudah memiliki anak dewasa di usianya yang baru menginjak 55 tahun. 
 
 
Ayat hari ini:
Surat Quraisy (Suku Quraisy) ayat 1-4
  1. Karena kebiasaan orang-orang Quraisy,
  2. (yaitu) kebiasaan mereka bepergian pada musim dingin dan musim panas.
  3. Maka hendaklah mereka menyembah Tuhan (pemilik) rumah ini (Ka'bah),
  4. yang telah memberi makanan kepada mereka untuk menghilangkan lapar dan mengamankan mereka dari rasa ketakukan.

Sabtu, 15 November 2014

Mengintip Pawai Sunday Remembrance


Beberapa hari yang lalu, kami pergi ke Sunderland dalam rangka pengajian Keputrian. Kami serombongan mbak-mbak dan ibu-ibu berangkat naik metro dari Grey Monument di pusat kota Newcastle. Pagi itu, minggu pertama di Bulan November, sekitar jam 11.00 suasana di sana sudah ramai karena akan ada pawai lebih tepatnya sih marching untuk memperingati Sunday Remembrance alias memperingati pahlawan yang telah berjuang pada masa Perang Dunia I dan Perang Dunia II yang lebih dikenal dengan istilah The Great Wars pada tiap minggu pertama di bulan November. Peringatannya sebenarnya tanggal 11 November sesuai dengan tanggal ditanda tanganinya perjanjian gencatan senjata antara Aliansi Perang Dunia I dan Jerman pada tahun 1918. Tanggal 11 November itulah yang disebut dengan Remembrance Day.

Sebenarnya tidak ada niatan untuk melihat pawai, berhubung saat menunggu di stasiun Metro tiba-tiba mendengar suara drum band, jadilah kita serombongan bergegas menuju ke sumber suara itu berasal, dan menyelip di antara orang-orang yang sudah berjajar menghadap ke arah jalan di mana pawai berada. Dan tidak lupa mengeluarkan kamera, jepret....jepret....

Pawai itu terdiri dari rombongan drum band, anak-anak muda berpakaian tentara, sepertinya mereka memang tentara beneran, atau siswa militer di Inggris, plus ada juga para veteran yang juga masih semangat dan tegap berjalan di pawai. Semua orang yang menonton bertepuk tangan sesuai irama musik drum band, hemmm seru dan terkesan heroik.

Banyak orang pada hari itu menggunakan pin berbentuk bunga Poppy, bunga kecil berwarna merah dan putik berwarna hitam di tengahnya. Bunga ini sangat populer di saat Remembrance Day, mengapa? Karena bunga inilah yang mampu bertahan hidup di antara gersang dan porak porandanya lahan-lahan pertanian di situasi perang dunia pertama. Satu-satunya jenis bunga yang bisa tumbuh subur ya bunga mungil ini. Mereka tumbuh di hamparan-hamparan tanah di sela-sela tubuh-tubuh pejuang yang meninggal dan berserakan di area perang waktu itu yang kemudian diabadikan dalam sebuah puisi oleh seorang tentara yang tidak dikenal pada waktu itu, namun puisinya hingga kini masih dibacakan dan tahun ini menjadi tema Poppy Art di Tower of London. Judul puisi itu adalah "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red".   

Di tower itu ribuan poppy yang terbuat dari keramik di tata sedemikian rupa sehingga menyerupai darah yang tumpah memenuhi area tower. Tiap-tiap bunga poppy itu mewakili seorang tentara yang meninggal dalam perang. Keramik yang digunakan sebanyak 888.246 sesuai dengan jumlah tentara Inggris yang meninggal pada saat itu. Jika sempat ke London pasti bisa menikmati indahnya instalasi seni yang satu ini. Saya sih melihatnya dari situs-situs internet saja dan siaran BBC dari Newcastle hehehe..... Bagi yang penasaran klik aja lewat google dengan key words "Poppy Installation Tower of London". Akan banyak informasi dan gambar indah di sana tentang karya seni yang satu ini.
 
 
Ayat hari ini:
Surat Al-Fil (Gajah) ayat 1-5
  1. Tidakkah engkau (Muhammad) perhatikan bagaimana Tuhanmu telah bertindak terhadap pasukan bergajah?
  2. Bukankah Dia telah menjadikan tipu daya mereka itu sia-sia?
  3. Dan Dia mengirimkan kepada mereka burung yang berbondong-bonding,
  4. yang melempari mereka dengan batu dari tanah liat yang dibakar,
  5. sehingga mereka dijadikan-Nya seperti daun-daun yang dimakan (ulat).

Senin, 10 November 2014

Snowy Fried Bananas


It was rainy day, I felt hungry all the time. I went to the kitchen, I saw a lot of bananas and I got an idea, yes....I would make a fried bananas with cheese on top. 

Ingredients:

  • 2 bananas, chopped into small chunks
  • 3 table spoon of plain flour
  • 1 table spoon of rice flour
  • 1 table spoon of corn flour
  • 1/2 table spoon of sugar or more if you like
  • 1 glass of water
  • Palm oil
  • Condensed milk
  • Grated mature cheddar cheese
Preparation methods:
  1. Mix all flour into a bowl using a spoon or a whisk.
  2. Add sugar, pour in the water while stirring until get a nice thick fluid.
  3. Put the bananas chunk in, stir well until all the bananas covered in the fluid, set aside.
  4. Bring hot the palm oil in a deep large pan.
  5. Fry the bananas chunk by chunk until golden brown.
  6. Take the bananas out from the oil, put it on a tissue paper until the oil is absorbed.
  7. Put the bananas in a plate, pour it with condensed milk.
  8. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.
  9. Ready to serve.
Fried banana is a very popular snack in Indonesia, we called it "Pisang Goreng" in Bahasa, or in Javanese "Gedang Goreng". Almost all people like it. Usually we enjoy this food in the morning before people go to work or in the evening after they come from their work with a cup of tea or coffee. Children like to eat it anytime they want. 

In my country, people eat fried bananas without cheese, because cheese is not usual using in Indonesian culinary, but this time I want to try a new thing. Because my daughter like very much cheese, that's why I put some cheese on top just like a snow falls from the sky.
 
 
Ayat hari ini:
Surat Al-Humazah (Pengumpat) ayat 6-9
 
6. (Yaitu) api (azab) Allah yang dinyalakan,
7. yang (membakar) sampai ke hati.
8. Sungguh, api itu ditutup rapat atas (diri) mereka,
9. (sedang mereka itu) diikat pada tiang-tiang yang panjang.

Jumat, 07 November 2014

Introducing Our Self

Today, I have learned about:

how to introduce myself to another person
how to ask questions about another person
how to use mind map in making questions
how to mime our hobbies so another can guess what

Picture below is an example of using mind map to arrange some questions.


Now, I want to introduce myself.

My name is Devy Erfasanti, and I came from Indonesia. I have been living here for 1 year. I came in Newcastle on September, 7th 2012. I come to the UK because my husband studies here. He takes Neuroscience in Newcastle University, and this is his second year. I come here with my husband and my daughter also. She is almost 7 year olds on this October. She goes to Atkinson Road Primary School in year 2.

I like reading, especially fictions and children books, I like writing too. I write about everything, and I have my own blog to keep my writing. Sometimes, I publish some of them just for sharing with another. I write some short stories too. One of my story won a first place in Children Stories Competition in my City 3 years ago. My other hobby is dancing, I like traditional dancing. I start to dance when I was at the Reception, and I created my own dance when I was at year 2. The last time I dance was a month ago at Alnwick International Music Festival. I did Saman dance, it is called dance of thousands hands from Sumatra Island.

I have 2 brothers, they stay in Indonesia. I have no sister, so I am the only girl in my family. But my husband has not brother, he has 3 sisters, so he is the only boy in his family. I miss my family, especially my little twin nieces. They are my older brother’s daughters. They are almost 5 year olds. Sometimes I ring them just for having a chat with them.

PS: It's a late post
 
 
Ayat hari ini:
Surat Al-Humazah (Pengumpat) ayat 1-5
  1. Celakalah bagi setiap pengumpat dan pencela,
  2. yang mengumpulkan harta dan menghitung-hitungnya,
  3. dia (manusia) mengira bahwa hartanya itu dapat mengekalkannya.
  4. Sekali-kali tidak! Pasti dia akan dilemparkan ke dalam (neraka) Hutamah.
  5. Dan tahukah kamu apakah (neraka) Hutamah itu?

Art Class

I mean earrings :-D
This is my late post about art class. I wrote in on 19 September 2013.

This morning I did crochet. This was my second time do crochet in Newcastle. Actually, I   knew crochet for the first time when I was at Primary, in year 6. My art teacher introduced it to me. She taught us how to make a doll, that was very difficult, but then we were really enjoy to do it.

Pat is our teacher in the crochet class at First Step. She is left handed so does everything such as crocheting, threading, etc always uses her left hand. Sometimes I feel confuse when she tried to teach me or showed me how to do it, because we have different way. She is a good art teacher because she always supports us to do the best. She knew that we still get a lot of difficulties in doing art for the first time, but she kept calm and patience.


She showed us how to make jewelleries from small wood pieces and eggshell. She also brought some jewelleries from those. They were really beautiful. Maybe I try to write down some instructions how to make it.

First, we need to prepare some materials and toolkits, they are:
  • Small pieces of wood, make it into many kinds of shape, depend on purpose, bracelet, earrings, or necklace.
  • Eggshells, you need to clean and drain it before using it. White eggshell is better than brown one, because you put any colour on white surface.
  • Glue.
  • Varnish
  • Alcohol colouring (I am not sure with this one)

Instructions:
  1. Take the wood and put the glue on it
  2. Take eggshell and put it on the glue, push it gently, so the eggshell crack smoothly create pattern. Do it until all of the wood surface is covered with eggshell. Let it dry
  3. Colour the eggshell, let it dry
  4. The last step is varnish all the surface of the wood and let it dry
  5. Ta da…..you will find a beauty, colourful, and shiny jewellery

 
Ayat hari ini:
Surat Al-'Asr (Masa) ayat 1-3
  1. Demi masa.
  2. Sungguh manusia berada dalam kerugian,
  3. kecuali orang-orang yang beriman dan mengerjakan kebajikan serta saling menasehati untuk kebenaran dan saling menasehati untuk kesabaran.

First Rhyme


This afternoon I've tried to make a rhyme, I think it's a not a good rhyme but it's quite rime isn't it? I am not sure about the meaning because it's not an easy thing to make a rhyme in a language which is not my mother tongue. It's my first English rhyme, enjoy :-)


To my little girl…

Say goodbye to summer
Keep sweet memories to remember
Warm and shiny sun flies away
Bring happiness to the other day

Little girl don't be sad
Soft winds blow brings a glad
Laughing and dancing as you like
'Till your heart flying high

Give me your smile
Give me your grin
Give me your happiness in a box of tin 
Spread it away along with the wind
 
 
Ayat hari ini:
Surat At-Takasur (Bermegah-megah) ayat 6-8
 
6. niscaya kamu akan benar-benar melihat neraka Jahim,
7. kemudian kamu benar-benar akan melihatnya dengan mata kepala sendiri,
8. kemudian kamu benar-benar akan ditanya pada hari itu tentang kenikmatan (yang megah di dunia itu).


Rabu, 05 November 2014

First Parent Meeting in Year 3

This evening was a parent meeting at my daughter's school. I didn't go to that meeting because I needed to take my daughter to the Masjid learning and reciting Qur'an. So my husband and I shared the duties, I took my daughter to Islamic School while my husband was meeting with the teacher.

I gave an advice to my husband to bring small note which were question lists on it so he could ask to teacher as much as possible about our daughter's progress because usually the parent meeting time is short maybe about 5 or 10 minutes for each parent . But, unfortunately my husband forgot it, he left the list on his bed. I little bit worried.

Twenty minutes later, my husband came with a piece of paper in his hand, that was a small report about Ara's assessment. I read it and little bit confused about the numbers and the alphabets on it. There were 3C for Reading, 3C for Writing, and 2A for Maths. I always forgot what was that mean, even this was not my first time receiving Ara's report. All the information mixed up in my head.

So I started to google about that. And I found this information, check it bellow:

YEAR 3
National Curriculum Level Comparison with National Expectation

  • Level 1 or below that's mean Below national expectation
  • 2c/2b that's mean Working towards national expectation
  • 2a/3c that's mean In line with national expectation
  • 3b/3a/4c that's mean Above national expectation
  • A good level 4 that's mean Significantly above national expectation 
Those informations make me understand, and I don't need to worry about my daughter's report. What I need to do are keeping her good work and giving help especially in her numeracy. Her teacher said that everything was fine and Ara was one of good student in the class so we don't need too much worry about her. Alhamdulillah.


Sumber:
 
Ayat hari ini:
Surat At-Takasur (Bermegah-megah) ayat 1-5
  1. Bermegah-megahan telah melalaikan kamu,
  2. sampai kamu masuk ke dalam kubur.
  3. Sekali-kali tidak! Kelak kamu akan mengetahui (akibat perbuatanmu itu),
  4. kemudian sekali-kali tidak! Kelak kamu akan mengetahui.
  5. Sekali-kali tidak! Sekiranya kamu mengetahui dengan pasti,

Selasa, 04 November 2014

Takut Nyasar.... :-(


Ya Allah besok adalah hari pertama saya kursus Bahasa Inggris di Action Language. Mohon pertunjuk Ya Allah, saya nervous, bukan dengan kursusnya tapi saya takut nyasar. Tempatnya jauh sekali (menurut saya), dan besok adalah yang kedua kalinya saya ke sana. yang pertama dulu waktu assessment, diantar suami dan anak, jadi jalannya sambil melenggang, plus sambil berusaha mengamat-amati jalan biar petanya masuk ke kepala.

Maklum selama ini saya tidak tahu arah, tahunya cuma kiri atau kanan saja. Jadi menurut saya belokan di jalan itu cuma ada saja, kalau ndak belok kiri ya ke kanan, sudah ndak pengaruh lagi timur, selatan, ataupun barat.

Kemampuan saya untuk menghafal jalan sangatlah kurang bisa diandalkan, buktinya sampai sekarang saya belum hafal kalau disuruh muter-muter sendiri ke city centre. Saya masih merengek minta diantar suami, sambil merajuk ala lagunya Bang Rhoma "Merajuk" yang salah satu bunyi bait lagunya "Kalau merajuk nanti keluar tanduk". Pisang kali tanduk :-p

Kalau berangkatnya insyaAllah masih ingat, setelah turun dari bis, suami mengingatkan untuk lurus saja ke depan mengikuti jalan besar, tidak perlu berbelok ke sana kemari. Nah pulangnya yang agak bingung, naik taxi aja apa ya....?

Tadi sih sempat digambar sama suami peta jalan pulang pakai spidol warna orange di kertas coret-coretan, petunjuknya juga simpel, cuma belok ke kanan di gang yang kedua atau yang ketiga, terus lurus sampai ketemu monumen yang biasanya bis 39 / 40 mangkal.

Bismillah semoga besok dimudahkan Allah, amin.
 
 
Ayat hari ini:
Surat Al-Qari'ah (Hari Kiamat) ayat 6-11
 
6. Maka adapun orang yang berat timbangan (kebaikan)nya,
7. maka dia berada dalam kehidupan yang memuaskan (senang).
8. Dan adapun orang yang ringantimbangan (kebaikan)nya,
9. maka tempat kembalinya adalah neraka Hawiyah.
10. Dan tahukah kamu apakah neraka Hawiyah itu?
11. (Yaitu) api yang sangat panas.

Senin, 03 November 2014

Making a Birthday Card

Made by Ara
Two weeks ago was my daughter's birthday. I didn't give her any card, my husband either. But we gave her a present.

Actually she was okay even we didn't give her a birthday card because she was happy enough with present. She played with her present all day long, and she kept it well.

Several days ago, my daughter and I went to one of my friend's house. My friend has an electric sewing machine, and I wanted to learn how to sew using sewing machine.

While I learned how to sew, my daughter and my friend was making craft with many kind of colourful papers, buttons, stickers, glitters and many more. She decided to make a birthday card for herself and pretend that this card was from me. That's why she wrote the sender was "mama".

She felt very happy with her card. My friend gave her some ideas. My friend also made her a beautiful birthday card. She really loved it.

Made by Ara
Ayat hari ini:
Surat Al-Qari'ah (Hari Kiamat) ayat 1-5:
  1. Hari Kiamat,
  2. apakah hari Kiamat itu?
  3. Dan tahukah kamu apakah hari Kiamat itu?
  4. Pada hari itu manusia seperti laron yang beterbangan,
  5. dan gunung-gunung seperti bulu yang dihambur-hamburkan.


Note From Ara
















"A girl called Miya was alone, but she still happy because she has her mum."

One day, when I cleaned up my house, I found this letter on a table, this was from my daughter that I didn't notice before. I read it and I felt sad about the story. I wondered if this very short story was about someone. I asked my daughter and she said "The girl is actually me, Mum".

I'm a bit more sad hearing his explanation. I wanted to know more about her feelings, about why she felt alone, was it about school or anything else. She said that she was okay at school, she got a lot of friends, but at home she only can played by herself, no one came to our house and played with her, or she couldn't play outside with a friend. Oh.... I felt relief that time. I thought she has been bullied at school or somebody was meant to her. Alhamdulillah.

Usually when she stays at home, she plays with me or her father. She wants a sibling, so she can play with. But she wants a big brother or a big sister, she doesn't want a younger sister or brother. That make me and my husband have no idea.


#Ayat hari ini:
Surat Al-'Adiyat (Kuda Perang Yang Berlari Kencang) ayat 6-11:

6. sungguh, manusia itu sangat ingkar, (tidak bersyukur) kepada Tuhannya,
7. dan sesungguhnya dia (manusia) menyaksikan (mengakui) keingkarannya,
8. dan sesungguhnya cintanya kepada harta benar-benar berlebihan.
9. Maka tidakkah dia mengetahui apabila apa yang di dalam kubur dikeluarkan,
10. dan apa yang tersimpan di dalam dada dilahirkan?
11. sungguh, Tuhan mereka pada hari itu Mahateliti terhadap keadaan mereka.

Do I Need a New Skipping Rope?



Several weeks ago, Skipping Man came to my daughter's school. I didn't know who skipping man was. but then my daughter told me about him. Skipping man was a man that very good at skipping, using his shiny brand new skipping rope he taught the students how to skip. My daughter was very exciting, she impressed about how he did skipping.

Back from school, my daughter took her skipping rope. She showed me how to do skip just like the skipping man did. After that, she asked me to buy her a new skipping rope from that man. "The rope is very good Mum, it's shiny. I think I need a new one so I can do better in skipping, please....." asked Ara to me. "How much is it?", I asked. "It's only £5.00", she answered. "What??! Oh no...it's too expensive for a skipping rope. You already got 3 ropes", I said. "But Mum, I can do better", she kept asking me. "You don't need a new rope, you just need a lot of practices so you can do better". She little bit upset, but I didn't worry about that.

Then, she played skipping again, she asked me to count how many she skipped. She also asked me to let her bring a skipping rope to her school so she can practice and play with her friends. "Yeah, that's fine as long as you can responsible with your stuffs" I said. "Okay Mum".

Ara in a blurry...... :-p



#Ayat hari ini;
Surat Al-'Adiyat (Kuda Perang Yang Berlari Kencang) ayat 1-5:

  1. Demi kuda perang yang berlari kencang terengah-engah,
  2. dan kuda yang memercikkan bunga api (dengan pukulan kuku kakinya),
  3. dan kuda yang menyerang (dengan tiba-tiba) pada waktu pagi,
  4. sehingga menerbangkan debu,
  5. lalu menyerbu ke tengah-tengah kumpulan musuh,