Enjoy the Beauty..

Life is too beautiful to throw away even when sadness engulf ur heart. Remember my *weight Challenge?*... how i mumble about my çamlık park n my walks?

these days, i havent the luxury of doing my normal walks coz i usually tidy up the house after the kids go to school, cook n later go to visit baba everyday...THankfully, i have my indoor bike...at least i still do my exercise... though i am afraid..without the walk...i have gained a kilo..(sigh.. n i had worked hard to lose that 7.5kg!).. Anyway.. allow me to share with you my beloved place.......

LADİES AND GENTLEMAN...

i give you... my beloved...

ÇAMLIK PARK!!

(Fall 2007)

the main entry
the first view

The park view from the main entrance


the flower bushes... this is fall... wait till spring!

the soft platform to walk on...

the acibadem hospital ( the branch) is just right next to the park.That is why i always bring my credit card along when i walk just in case i faint or something....... This is a very luxurious hospital where the patients can choose their food from the menu of what to eat everyday... nak masuk pun takut....!!

plants n stones..

the 3 workers in charge of the park...

one of the work out station with a group of people doing aerobics.

there are 2 people in charge of instructing the aerobics... on certain days they have tai chi too hehehe

i never join...

they r still doing aerobics..

a lamp post... a perfect place to hang ur jackets hehehe

a place to have ur tea and read ur newspaper...

another view of the park..

a park full of Çam ağacı (pine trees)... thus the name çamlık park

another work station...there r a few stations in the park..

one of the two waterfalls

they were still doing some sort of aerobics...

a bridge...out of two

pigeons always come to eat here..

another water fountain (thanks alice!... otak i sudah gila! mixing up terms hahaha)

workout station..

love these bright yellows...

another view

nature is beautiful, eh?

Back to reality.. the bricks n mortar

Being in the park, u feel as if u r in another world...

p.s... the M.R n Tomo tests revealed that baba's brain n lungs r fee of cancer. Alhamdulillah...officially, now he is with only bone cancer....

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time.

Rain is good..

When i left my home at 8.15am,it was drizzling....it started to pour soon after.... the weather dropped 10 degree celcius from the day before....

Yeah... it rained..still raining outside in fact... the whole day long....... Turkey needs the rain...i dont mind the rain... i had stuffs i needed do at the other side of bridge (europe) today... and so...despite the rain... i was on my mission...out in the rain... :0)

Yes... i was soaking wet for sooo many hours... after i got home, i could actually squeeze my socks n got half a glass of water from that! hahahaha i was actually freezing and was starting to shake... but mission accomplished! I am tired ... and i am happy...-

Yup! Kak Elle... i hope u will like what i got for you! they r not much but they come from the heart...wait and see! hehehehhe ...ur last request tu.. insyaAllah the next time, ok? that i promise :0)

The famous istanbul uni entry.... i never did enter that place...even when halil was still working there... biasa la kan ..orang pakai tudung mana bole masuk..
beyaz camii...
this was how wet my jeans at the beginning of my day...

Just look at these guys.. they r in line to carry the heavy stuffs to be brought to the shop...
we should be thankful for what we have eh? these guys... the amount of money they get depends on the things they carry... still it is a halal way of living... they should be saluted

This is a street not well known among tourists...but if u r into headscarves...

this is the place u must go... varieties of heads craves... but some r wholesallers...(most of them actually)

the same street of head scarves heaven...

my jeans after one hour of walking (despite the rain)..

in the end, i abandoned my umbrella n was wet all over hehehe

the bookstores around the ist uni...

the book seller hang this flag at his shop..thinking i was a tourist..he made the sign encouraging me to snap the flag pic....layaaaaaaaaaannn hehehe

while waiting for the ferry...2 lcd screens to take away the boredom

in the ferry... i deliberately made the color black hehehe

it stopped raining for a while and this guy took the chance to fish....

views from inside the mini bus..

a simit seller /photo taken from inside the mini bus..hence the blur vision...

YES! my beloved camera is back.. i was thinking of making Mıstık go and take the camera from the service centre but then i thought of baba...baba needs mıstık ..baba has not been feeling well even before bayram (raya)... and so taking instructions from mıstık on how to find the service centre... Yes! i have got back my beloved camera :0) Now my blog will be full of pictures again! yippie!

Today, i have just realised....after the kids started school.. this is actually the first time i went to europe using the minibus, ferry and train on my own....

I thought that i would enjoy a leisure breakfast at kadikoy... i mean..come on!! freedom!! no kids to tag along...just me and me...but i missed my kids so much that i only took a bite of poğaca and left it uneaten...there was no fun eating alone... But i did ordered my favourite freshly squeezed pomogranade (buah delima) juice...rahsia awek muda tau! hahahah

It was raining heavily by the time i reached the headscarves street.. i needed to buy somethings for halil n the kids there... drenched i was...and again... in my mind, i kept feeling as if baddin was next to me telling me...

*anne.. ben yorgunum*

(anne, i am tired)

or hatice asking...

*anne, işin bitti mi?*

(anne, r ur chores finished?)

believe it or not, i'd rather have the kids crying n complaining next to me rather than being up and on the go.. free but alone... i guess i am not over yet the empty nest syndrom eh?

I didnt eat my lunch as well even though my tummy was grumbling.... it was a matter of choosing the right place to eat for a single lady... i had to find a decent place... then it was the matter of the food choice.... can u believe that despite all those delicious food everywhere i couldnt make a choice???? hahahahahahah..pathetic eh?

i ended up going home and later had my breakfast, lunch and dinner all combined with the kids at 4.45pm! hahahah

The conclusion is... eat with ur kids! Dont try to eat alone!!

This is the translation of the song being played right now...

Yağmur (rain)

The hands of the Angels

carry all the raindrops

with great mercy they cover

all the leaves with abundance

Flowers drink the water

lamb drinks the water

children drink the water

they all thank for the blessings

Oh Allah send rain with your angel

please Allah give us some rain

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..

Indoor Slippers

I cant thank u all enough for ur support regarding my weight challenge... :0)



On Tuesday, halil came back home early...The kids were already back from school...He bought chocolates, hazelnuts,walnuts, drajes for the kids.... and then, he took out something quite big from a twigy plastic bag...and said...



*here..take this... may you wont be wearing my indoor slippers anymore!*



hahahahahahahaha...

my new indoor slippers (scanned)

Well... i have a few indoor slippers..but just look at halil's slippers below....

halil's indoor slippers

(scanned)

it is so big and light and soooo comfortable!! Can u blame me for wearing it? *chuckles*....

The truth is....being born n bred in Malaysia where i am used to walking barefeet... wearing socks n indoor slippers r things that i find hard getting used to in this turkish culture....

I remember how in my early days here...everyone kept saying...something like (in turkish) ..

*why arent u wearing ur socks?*

*ur feet will get cold and u will get sick!*

*if u dont wanna wear socks at least wear ur indoor slippers*

after 8 years... though socks n indoor slippers r not my cup of tea still... i do wear them esp when i enter my kitchen (coz i tend to make the floor wet most times hehe)..and the most comfortable...biggest indoor slippers available in the apt? of course, his! hahahhahaha

my new indoor slippers r the most comfortable and softest he could find in the shop... so far... his slippers r safe (for now).

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..

My Excuse...

Last weekend, fate has not been kind to me... or maybe... it is just that i am tested....

There i was all ready with plenty of photos of food snapped on saturday nite where the zaim siblings got together for iftar to celebrate Selim's birthday (and for becoming the first child of baba's to become a professor...)... and iftar food at the çavdır kösk.......

....before being able to upload the photos into the computer....it was yesterday.. i discovered that my camera is BROKEN!And a better news is.... the servis for repair is at the other side of the bridge!..huwaaaaaa.... how will i live without my camera??

It was also another challenge for me.. when that sunday nite, while having dinner at çavdır kösk..my handphone fell.....now it is at the hands of one of the workers there....the manager of the place is halil's student.. he promised to deliver my phone to halil one day... but that one day can be any day...much much later...day...huwaaaaaaaaa...

2 dearest things in my life... n i am without them now... like i said.. this is a challenge for me...
Allah is testing my patience...... consequently, no food photos for this blog for now. for that, i beg u to forgive me...

But one good thing about everything was... on Sunday, for the first time ever, Hatice managed to fast one full day! What made that fact sweeter was that that saturday nite, halil and i suggested that she fasted till 3 pm.. and at her own accord, she replied... *i wanna try to fast full day*..aferin kızıma benim :0)

Tomorrow, we will attend an iftar at hatice n baddin's school where baddin n his classmates will perform serveral performances ie..songs for the parents to see...

I also have to excuse myself from the blogging world at least for a week...coz i will be busy hosting iftars at our home n somewhere else......

wednesday (tomorrow) - school
saturday - all the zaim family (our home)
sunday- all the zaim family iftar *at baba* (all the brides will contibute the food i suppose)
Monday - halil's friends (our home)
tuesday- hatice n baddin's class teacher with their kids n some of hatice's classmates (our home)wednesday - university students whose parents live in other cities (our home)

ı am fully packed..i will be suprised if i can spend any time outside the kitchen at all!! Wish me luck please!

And to entertain u while i am away... i have put up one of my all time fav song...
*Hati Kama*

here is the lyrics

Mengindang-ngindang padi huma
Mengindang dalam tampian
Memandang-mandang hati kama
Memandang dalam renungan
Bisik-berbisik pada pekerti mulia
Risik-merisik mana lahir asal usulnya

Mendengar suara lela lebur
Bertentangan mata panah arjuna
Terbayang senyuman bunga gugur
Siapa gerangan bagaikan betara
Adakah dia hamba sahaya
Ataupun bijak mentafsir mimpi
Mungkinkah jua benar diduga
Hingga terusik hati nurani

Tawanlah jiwa ku
Bebaskan sayap juwita
Turutlah janji ku
Tinggalkan segenap lara( 2 x )

Burung yang terbang
Salam utuskan salam
Pada renungan pandang
Selayang pandangBukan betara ( 2 x )
Atau pesona ( 2 x )
Insan biasa ( 2 x )Ah....

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..

Tomatoes

*****************************

Tomatoes had no great significane to me when i was living in Malaysia.. all i remember is.. i love tomatoes in the fish curries my mom made.

But tomatoes in Turkey, i cannot live without.

Why the sudden change? Didnt i even vomitted from eating too much tomatoes when i first came to turkey? Didnt i have a certain phobia towards tomatoes?

Well.. people change… at least i did… my taste bud did…as i assimilate my life into the turkish culture, i have started to admire the value and taste of tomatoes…

Maybe it is because of the fact that tomatoes is a very important ingredient in the turkish cooking… and salad with tomatoes is basically a must (at least for me)..i dunno… but if i am to buy tomatoes, i will make sure that it is of the good quality ones…and definitely without the hormones….!!

As alinlai has discovered herself…. Tomatoes here can be really sweet… there r many types of tomatoes of course… cherry tomatoes r cute n wonderfully decorative in making salad of course..but i find myself more attacted to the big sweet ones in which when to take a bite….the sweetness and the goodness and the juices of the red tomatoes just feels like heaven…dont be fooled by the looks of the tomatoes from the outside (like the one in the Picture below).. some tomatoes may look so crooked… but the inside…..yum yum…so sweet! So satisfying!

but like i said, make sure the tomatoes r not with the hormones ones… how do u know they r with hormones… as Halil is fond of saying… just cut the tomatoes into half, if u see the part where the seeds should be… r quite empty…..it would suggest an addition of hormone for the plant’s growth… organic is always best :0)

One type of tomato..from Çanakkale..

Another type of tomatoes..this is usually much cheaper (it only comes out in summer) and is usually used for the production of tomato paste...


2 tomatoes side by side... see? the rounder one looks crooked isnt it?

wait till u see the inside....


The oval shap one (the one for making tomato paste)..it is quite meaty..the seeds part is full..suggesting that is is without any hormones..



Crooked at the outside..but a jewel in the inside...
The çanakkale tomatoes... see the middle part? it is soooo sweet and juicy and red! !



2 types of tomatoes (there r other types of course)



After looking at these tomatoes, arent u tempted enough?

I still owe a lot of people a visit to their blogs... so sori...
have just finished packing for another get away for the weekend... i suppose for the last time this summer...so this will be the last splash splash for us all in sapanca...



Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..

Summer Holiday

I had been eyeing the hasema swimsuit wear for years...but the price was out of range.. i didnt have the heart to ask halil for it.... but this year... as our financial situation got better... the devil in me told me to try my chance... who knows? he might just say yes....

It was that last time we went to collect my permanent resident card in Fatih that i tried my chance... i got the addy (there is only one shop in specific selling hasema swimwear...we searched high n low for that shop.. n yes...though i felt guilty for asking for such an expensive swimming suit.... my sweet sweet hubby bought it for me....thank u tem! This year i can swim much much easier in the sea! me n my fish girl hasema model...

Oh yes!..
WELCOME SUMMER HOLİDAY!

15th of this month....n it will be the last day of school... :=) happy happy students all over turkey definitely ..

GOOD LUCK to Merve who will be sitting the ÖSS (university entrance exam) on the 17th!
Our prayers will always be with u...u have worked so hard all these while... If Allah is willing, u will get the result u have been dreaming for...

Ahhhhhhh... 3 months of pure leisure (n parents going crazy coz they have to deal with their kids 24/7 hahahaah..... summer school registration? trust me.. many parents may wanna sign their kids up for these *chuckles*)...

Last day of school will be on Friday... but for my daughter... Tuesday will be her last day since her parents decided that they would start the holiday early :0)... she wto miss school for a few days, i know...... but well... .. dear dear daughter... the deep blue sea is waiting for us to jump into... dont u miss the sea??

The weather skipped spring this year n went straight into summer... i cant imagine what mother nature has in store for us for this summer... the people who would be happy most i am sure would be the air cond sellers.....n worse, istanbul is expecting water crisis this summer... i suppose the chances of us escaping to sapanca..immersing ourselves inside the pool....would be really high....the bad news is.. i may have to stay in Sapanca without halil.. he has to work....

And u know what? i recieved a call from Kak Ogy of Singapore (a blogger friend) who is already in istanbul with her family... we talked for quite some time... i couldnt really hear what she was saying coz i was at Selim's place where we were celebrating Zeynep n Elo's birthday n the noise was ..... indescribable! heheh n at Kak Ogy's side... her daughter was crying...probably due to exhaustion... i am sorry that i cannot come to see u akak... Hatice has a fever n was crying from the headache...schedule is really tight till Tuesday n i still have loads of ironing to do...(n the clothing is still not dry!).. i hope u will have a wonderful time in turkey alongside ur family n ur friend's family... :0) But she was impressed by the cherry n the strawberry heheheh yup! eat them as much as u can akak.. coz they r really in the season right now :0)

but i think i remember one thing though... she asked me..

Bila simah nak keluar cuti?
*when r u going for ur holiday?*
and i think i answered her...

kitaorang keluar pagi pagi hari çarşamba kot
(we will go very early on Wednesday)

only later... i realised that.. i should have said *rabu*..but instead i said *çarşamba* which is the turkish word for Wednesday! hahahaha..so sorry kak ogy.. i dah terassimilate terlampau sangat dengan bahasa turki..tak sedar saya tersalah pakai perkataan! hahaha

Yes... we will be leaving insyaAllah for çeşme on Wednesday morning... if Allah allows me the chance, i will be meeting a fellow blogger alinlai at the conference place as well... and guess what i ordered from her? a rice cooker! hahahahah ..typical malaysian huh? There will be 11 Malaysians joining the conference all in all..

My fish girl model..the one i just bought is out of season this year...well.. still... it doesnt matter... because it was out of season, i got to buy it for a cheaper price (still expensive for my standard)...

Here r the Hasema Collection this Summer 2007!

Enjoy!

www.hasema.com

u can order online if u want...

My favourite.. i am 4 aiming this for next year :0)
(almost similar to my fish girl..only mine is blue)

But of course why pay a lot of money when u can help the local industry...?? if u had seen Kak long's blog a few weeks ago, she also directed us to this local website... in which the owner whom i know as Anis.. is selling the swimsuit locally at an affordable price... the last time i emailed her... she said that if u wanna buy from her and u mention Simah's name... she will give u a discount..she said that...*Insya Allah kalau tak ada apa-apa halangan akhir bulan july baju renang muslimah design saya sendiri ada di web. Motif polos, lengan warna hitam.*

If u r interested to buy, u can straight order from her website (www.wanisapparel.com) or write an email to her..

wanisapparel@yahoo.com

to ask for the discount

So what r u waiting for? order la now... :0) saja nak tolong promote utk kawan... in fact, i was planning to write this entry last year.. tapi asyik tertunggak ajer...hehe sorry la anis... :0)

The conclusion is... Help local industry and i'll see ya whenever i get back here!

Please pray that we will have a Safe Journey.. n the weather will be kind to us...

I am sp in need of a vacation... this will my first time going on vacation without needing to cook at all!

Will miss u guys...Ah... a holiday.. just halil, the kids n i...

i miss this kind of private time together....

P.s..for all the still unanswered emails.. please forgive the delay...

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..