ATTENTION: New blog

Dear readers, this blog will no longer be available for public viewing.

Kindly follow my NEW blog:

http://ladycitrus.blogspot.com


Thank you :)

It's Ramadan

Assalamualaikum.

I'm back :) It's the 8th of Ramadan today and I thought I'd share some of my feelings regarding this beautiful and holy month. It's really wonderful to be able to experience Ramadan, and that is definitely one of the many things which I am truly grateful for as a Muslim. A month where we should concentrate more on our ibadah, supplication and good deeds. A month to make the extra effort to do the things we're supposed to do, and refrain from the things we're not supposed to do.

Over here, where the majority of the people are not Muslims, the month of Ramadan is usually referred to as the 'fasting month'. While that is true, it also seems to have lost the real meaning and essence of what Ramadan is all about, even to Muslims. We all know that just because we don't eat and drink, it doesn't mean that our fast will be accepted. Not trying be all preachy here, but I too need to constantly remind myself that I need to be extra careful with my intentions, thoughts, words, actions, etc.

Oh boy, I am so not perfect. Noone is. However we should always try to better ourselves, and this is the perfect month to start doing it if you haven't. A lot of us don't do our solat on time, or don't do it at all, and it is really sad especially in the month of Ramadan where we should be doing even more prayers. We're all busy with our daily lives, work and family, but let's dedicate some time to make this Ramadan a fruitful one. Let's read the Quran everyday. Let's listen to Islamic talks and sermons. Let's donate to the people in need. Let's be nice to one another, forgive and forget mistakes.

Let's do our best to better ourselves and bring ourselves closer to Allah swt, this Ramadan and for the rest of our days :)

Just saying hi...

I know it's been ages since I blogged. I've had too many things going on and in the process of revamping the look of this blog, which, I know, is taking very long. I'll be blogging again soon, InsyaAllah. Meanwhile, do contact me via Facebook as that's where I'll be most active in the cyber world.

Have a good day!

How does it feel to be hanging by a thread?

I feel guilty for not blogging much, especially the Food Diary section where I'm supposed to keep track of the food I eat, but haven't been. My days are like an emotional rollercoaster right now, and I could feel myself spiralling down into an abyss of light and darkness at the same time. It's hard to explain, so I won't even try. To keep myself sane, I indulge myself in two of the things close to my heart - music and religion. And no, that's not a contraction, at least not to me.

I know I am fortunate to have people around me, family and friends, and I am grateful. I know a lot of people out there don't have the worldly things that I take for granted, and I am grateful. I know that there is so much hurt, pain and sadness in this world that I couldn't possibly fathom, and I am grateful, because no matter how down I feel, I believe there must be others in situations far worse than I am. And yet, I'm not able to run away from the anxiety and worry that my world is gonna come crashing down.

Please, don't let it crash.

Casual Blues

Ah, I feel like wearing everything in this outfit :) Created on Looklet.

Food Diary: Too much rice!

What I ate today: 09/02/11

• Half a plate of fried rice
• Chicken rice set
• Rice with blackpepper chicken
• A few sips of green tea
• 3 pcs of Oreo Soft Cake

I don't really like rice but it seems that rice dishes are all I could get my hands on today :( Oh well. Still Alhamdulillah for food.

Food Diary: Feeling hungry

What I ate today: 08/02/11

• 3 slices of softmeal bread with 1 fried egg
• 1 plate yellow rice with 2 fried chicken wings and 2 fried
• drumlets
• some cold green tea
• 1 plate rice with 1pc of curry chicken

That's like, so little.

Food Diary: Not too healthy

What I ate today - 07/02/11

• 4 Sunshine mini buns, choc flavour
• 1 small packet of HL milk, choc flavour
• 2 sticks of Cadbury wafer chocolates
• 1 shrimp burger frm Wendy's
• some fries
• some sprite
• 1 plate rice with bland veggie soup
• 1 chicken wing
• 1 plain prata with fish curry at night

Alhamdulillah for having food to eat... however I think I could do better when it comes to the nutritional values.

Food Diary: Didn't eat much today

Hello bloggerland. I am now embarking on a new little blog-project called Food Diary. It's a little initiative for me to somehow keep track of the food I eat on a daily basis. I am quite obsessed with lowering my blood cholesterol levels. I may be small-sized, but the last time I had my blood test, it showed my blood cholesterol level as being 'borderline high'. That's right! I'm not fat but I have lots of fats in my body. Great isn't it? I believe it's in my genes. Anyway, after procrastinating this for so long, I've now decided to eat healthier, and what better way to document my daily food intake than to dedicate some space on my blog for it?

From now on, all entries related to the Food Diary project will have 'Food Diary' as part of the title. Entries are labelled, so there will be a nice little list where you can click on to view past entries.

So here's the first Food Diary entry!

What I ate today - 06/02/11

• 1 plain prata
• 1 small plate of rice with chicken masak lemak and some sambal ikan bilis
• some chocolates equivalent to half a bar

Can't believe that was ALL I ate today. Tsk tsk.

A Gastronomical Entry

Helloooo! I haven't posted in ages. Been really busy with school, family and my little online business. That's right, I'm as busy as the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar corporation *coughs*.

Anyway...I have a found a new favourite fruit. Well I don't really eat much fruit, because most of the fruits that I like, I can't eat (thanks to my issues with phlegm, wheezing and stomach acidity). Oranges, mangos, grapes, even kiwis and strawberries...I love them but I have to eat them sparingly. Recently, I came across an article which said that blueberries are supposed to be good for the heart. I told myself that I'm gonna look for some fresh blueberries when I go to the supermarket.

So this morning, we went groceries-shopping. Guess what greeted me first thing upon entering the supermarket?

BLUEBERRIES!

Rows and rows of packed blueberries, going at 2 for $3.95 (or something like that, I was too excited to care).

And they taste great.

They do leave a strange aftertaste, but it's not something I can't handle. Unlike the usual sweet, blueberry-flavored food (muffins, cakes, whatever), fresh blueberries taste a little like grapes but with a muted and more neutralised taste (if that makes sense). I like them. I hope they won't aggravate my gastro issues.

Speaking of which...

I HAD A REALLY BAD GASTRIC ATTACK...

2 days ago. So bad that I was in tears trying to tolerate the pain - and I have a pretty high pain threshold. For me, my gastric attacks are usually in the chest and back area (unlike many others who have stomach pain). I think that's what a heart attack must've felt like! It's awful, but after being on medication for about 2 days, I'm feeling a bit better. My entire diet has to be revamped all over again. My mealtimes are all haywire. And I can't eat what I like. This is so miserable but I'm doing my best to get better, InsyaAllah.

Thank you for reading!

P.S. If you read the title and thought this entry was gonna be about yummy food and recipes...HAHA.