We've Got a Monkey Situation

Just a quick post here.. hehe

So this morning while I was ironing my scarf to get ready to go to another wedding, suddenly I heard my mother's shouts. I can hear her shouting from the kitchen downstairs from the room where we kept the ironing board upstairs. My heart began to beat much faster and I stopped my ironing. I switched off the iron then ran downstairs to the kitchen to see what was happening.

My dad was there first and they were making these 'shushing' sounds (like the sounds where you tried to get a cat to go away from you, hehe). I asked them, "Mengapa eh? Ijapku mendangar bunyi kita beteriak tadi atu. Mana tau ada papa.." Then my mom said, " Ambuk! Ada ambuk tadi dua ekong masuk ke dalam, makin berani ambuk ani masuk ke rumah orang.."

Hahaha.. This is the first time that we ever experienced this in our home. Apparently, according to my mom, she was just walking into the kitchen when she saw these two monkeys hanging out by the sink, eating some leftover rice in the drainer in the kitchen sink! My mom immediately shouted in her surprise, and the monkeys, seeing her and listening to her cries were so shocked that they scrambled to get away from the open window, leaving trails of dirt and rice on the sink and counter.

I know that we have monkeys in the small forest in our backyard and they never really got the guts to actually go into the house before this. We have some mango trees and we know that the monkeys would usually eat them, so there is no point of enjoying the fruits of our own 'tanaman' hahaha.. If we were lucky, we would pick up the mango in their unripe state, haha..

So my dad advised us to never leave the kitchen windows open now when there is no one around in the kitchen, hehe.. It could happen again, haha..

Happy Birthday Ayuni! :)

Today is a public holiday in Brunei due to the Maulud Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. celebration which falls on this day. Mid day, my family and I went to my Bungsu's place for a Doa Selamat and birthday celebration of my little cousin, Ayuni, who turns 5 this year. It rained for a while but thankfully, the weather improved as the day progresses.

Mirza and Zarifah

Me, Mun, Jirah

Gathering around the birthday girl

Ayuni excitedly waiting to cut her cake while the others sang

Happy 5th birthday! :)

Fikri, another cutie cousin :)

The kids sliding and bouncing around

The "older kids" haha :p

Noramimah & Faizal's Wedding

Yesterday, my family and I attended the "Bersanding" ceremony, which can be considered as the highlight of the whole wedding ceremonies, of my second cousin Noramimah in Kg Perpindahan Lambak Kanan. Both the bride and the groom were dressed in a gold traditional Bersanding attire. It was a rather hot day. It's usually through these weddings that we get to see long distance relatives and those that we seldom meet in our daily lives.

The newlyweds on the "pelamin", smiling for the cameras

Closeup of the bride and groom

Mom and her first cousins or "sepupu skali" : Babu Hjh Armah, Babu Hjh Timah and my mom

From L - R: Bungsu Zana, Bu Hjh Tangah, Jirah, Amit Bini, Zarifah, Mom and Bu Hjh Armah

From L - R: my sister Mun, Babu Yati, my mom, Bu Hjh Hafsah and Nini Hjh Jariah

Akad Nikah/Solemnisation Ceremony

Another week, another wedding. That's how busy my weekends are getting these past few weeks and more weeks to come, haha.. Well yesterday, my family and I attended another wedding. This time, it was my second cousin from my mother's side, Noramimah's wedding at her family residence in Kg. Perpindahan Lambak.

The bride after the Akad Nikah/Solemnisation ceremony

My sister and another of our second cousin, Ili while the solemnisation was taking place

My cousin, Jirah and my sister

Bu Hjh and Babu Munah

Dr Elham & Dr Silmi Niza's Wedding

Last Sunday, my family and I attended Ka Niza's wedding at her family residence at Kg. Rimba. The Groom and the Bride were dressed in a Powder Blue traditional "Bersanding" attire.

The lovely couple :)

The newlyweds at the throne or "pelamin" during the "Ambil-ambilan" ceremony

During the "Makan Beradap" of the "Ambil-ambilan" ceremony

With Husma, who I met again at the wedding

Happy Birthday Mom & Dad! :)

Last Friday, 27th February was my Dad's 50th Birthday. Since it was my cousin's wedding, we did not have enough time to celebrate his birthday that day. My Mom's 49th Birthday was on Sunday, 1st March, and so, we had a mini celebration for both their birthdays at home. Since my days in Brisbane, I have missed a lot of birthdays of my loved ones. Usually greetings were made through phone calls. Now that I'm back in Brunei, it feels good to be back celebrating their birthdays in person.

To mom and dad, Selamat Ulang Tahun! Semoga sentiasa bahagia hingga ke akhir hayat, dipanjangkan umur, sihat walafiat, dimurahkan rezeki dan dirahmati Allah selalu. Thank you for everything that you have done for us. We both love you very much! :)

The birthday cake :) Chocolate and Strawberry Ice cream cake

Mom and dad, cutting the cake :)

My cousins and uncle

Dinner Outing

Saturday night, we had a dinner gathering for some x-Brisbane students and current Brisbanians at a new restaurant in Gadong. Tiyah fetched me from my house and we joined the others at the restaurant after going through the crazy traffic at Gadong, hehe.. Thankfully we managed to find a parking spot near the restaurant. Dim Sum was quite good though I wouldn't recommend the prawn laksa that I had, hehe. Dinner was spent catching up on each others lives. Overall, it was a great night. :)

Husma, Azim and Kolo

Rahmat and Val

Me and Tiyah

Standing L-R: Azim, Kolo, Val, Rahmat. Sitting L-R: Shariman, me, Husma and Tiyah :)

Surayani & Zulkarnain's wedding

Friday was my cousin's wedding at Kg. Masin. The weather was muggy but thankfully there was no rain despite the signs of dark clouds. My sister and I became one of the 'penyambut tetamu', welcoming the guests into the day ceremony, along with mom and dad.

With my cousin's sister in law, Kaka Surayati, my sister and me

Zulkarnain during the Akad Nikah/Solemnisation ceremony

Surayani during the Akad Nikah/Solemnisation

The newly weds :)

My family :)

Congratulations on your wedding. Semoga bahagia hingga ke anak cucu! Amin.. :)