HoW dO i SPeLL tHe WoRds: 10 Things I Love about Raya 2012

eid mubarak everyone! selamat hari raya, maaf zahir batin. how’s everyone’s raya so far? in a nutshell – i spent 1st syawal in my hometown ipoh with abah, umi and my sisters. headed on to kampung lalang, kuala kangsar on the 2nd of syawal.

i’m rolling up 10 days of syawal in one posting. senang. eazy pizzy lemon squeazy. presenting : 10 things i LOVE about 2012 raya!

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1) TAKBIR MALAM RAYA

my dad with his grandkids. minus 2 girls spending raya at their other atuk’s house

as usual, every year, the pakciks at the surau would go from house to house to do the takbir raya. this year our house is the first stop. we prepared a simple supper for them – lemang and rendang of course!

this year it was just the 3 of us sisters on the eve of syawal – me, yong and my youngest sis azi. syima was spending 1st syawal with her in-laws, and syida was spending her first raya as a wife.

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2) RAYA BREAKFAST : NASI LEMAK + LEMANG & FRIENDS

yong brought nasi lemak from home in the morning of 1st syawal. i mean, raya is all about lemang, rendang, ketupat, kuah kacang and the works, but having hot freshly made nasi lemak was just so satisfying as well!

thanks yong!

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3) LINE UP FOR DUIT RAYA!

this is just the cutest. my boys and my nephews and one niece lining up to get duit raya from atuk. from the head of the line is the eldest : haiqal, haqeem, khaleef, nuna, kahfi, kazim and adam.

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4) FAMILY PICTURE AT IPOH

as usual, this is as good as it gets when it comes to photographs that includes the boys. well, at least they’re sitting still. and i still have hopes for future photograph shots!

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5) NEW BROTHERS-IN-LAW

this year raya is extra special as we welcome a new member to the sharifuddin clan when my sis syida marries nash last april. this dec, we’re getting another brother in law. so double celebration!

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6) FAMILY PICTURE IN KAMPUNG LALANG

spending 2nd raya at my in-law’s place in kampung lalang. i love it that my sons are still able to experience kampung lifestyle when they’re here – wooden house, icy-cold showers, chasing chickens and picking up rambutan.

adik-adik ipar : from left is diyana, kay, tina, mr. khairul, sofia & asrar

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7) BERAYA in TAIPING : TOKCIK’S HOUSE

haven’t seen tokcik since last april during syida’s wedding. miss tokcik so much! i came to taiping to precisely to see tokcik AND for ketupat daun palas – unfortunately dah habis! uhuk uhuk. well, aunty shila (tokcik’s youngest menantu) swiftly cooked up some kuey teow hailam and it was simply delicious!

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8) ENJOYING DURIAN on HARI RAYA

on the way back from taiping to kampung lalang, we stopped by a DURIAN stall!

still weairng sampin, my durian-freak husband ate a whole bunch right there and then, and bought a lot more to bring home for later. i couldn’t eat any because of sore throat, but later that night my mom-in-law made pengat durian which was just indescribable. burp, alhamdulillah!