Raya : I heart money...I mean, family.

Salam Aidilfitri! (plays Hari Raya theme song in my head)

How are youse? Sorry for not blogging for some time. Been busy raya-ing. Alright, so the story to tell... Family has been the highlight of this year's raya. Usually, Mak Lang and the Pasris (consists of 9 children - 2 [that weren't able to make it] + 1 [the dad] = 8. They hold the majority fraction of my grandparents' grandchildren) are not around during the early period of raya. However, this year not only were they here but also our cousin Adel and his "just married" wife Maria came over to celebrate, which of whom brought over her mother and cousins as well. Other than that, Unc Abbie & Family, Mak Sue-Uncle Zack and cutie-pie Amalin joined too! So, let me see if my Mathematical skills are still ok :

Tok Wan + Tok Mum + Mommy & her 4 kids + Mak Lang, Unc Pasri & 7 kids + Mak Sue, Unc Zack & Amalin + Unc Abbie, Aunty Haiza, Hasya, Iman & their maid, Adel, Maria, her mom & 3 cousins. (If I forgot someone, I'm sorry. That would be the fault of my short-term memory loss and not my Math skills.)

All that adds up to-------> 31! (holy moly! lol)

Ok, so this is how it began.

1st day of raya.

On raya eve, Mak Lang and family came right on time for the last buka puasa. Then, that night Mak Sue and family dropped by. So, we all helped each other out in the process of raya-decorating. It was fun, usually it's just us and toks cleaning and decorating. This year, we had more people to help catalyze that process. (heee..i'm a nerd. I know) Mak Sue's daughter Amalin proved to be a great entertainer. haha. Very adorable. Just when we thought exhaustion took over, she often cheers us up by running around, talking baby language with us and stuff. (Btw, my name is Farah, not Afar. haha, so cute!)

After we were done decorating and stuff, the 3 of us (Jenna, Leanna & I) went back to KJ (The Darwin siblings' apartment at Kelana Jaya) and of course, slept due to the excessive work that had to be done. We woke up the next day, a bit later than expected, got ready and rushed back to Subang. When we arrived at Toks', everyone was either having breakfast or DONE eating breakfast. (Whoops..our bad!) But all in all, everything was still within our agenda. (see? we weren't that late)

Of course the first stop was Nenek Noriah's house. (Nenek Noriah is Tok Mum's best friend since I can remember. She and her family is now a very close friend to our family and can be considered family already.) Nenek Noriah is one of the BEST COOK I have ever met. Just the thought of going to her house already gets me drooling. She cooked her usual nasi impit (correct spelling??) ketupat, rendang ayam + daging, kuah kacang. I know, sounds pretty common, right? But I tell you, this ain't no ordinary menu. The food tastes sooo good! You wanna know the secret ingredient? It's.......LOVE! haha. I don't know what sorta ingredients she puts in, but I know it's the BOMB! So, after dah salam-salam and dapat duit raya, we went back home of course. Everything was in a rush because Uncle Abbie and the rest already arrived at Toks' place (without the Toks actually being there. Only Mak Lang stayed back because she wanted to get everything ready back at the house.)

So the family gathering at Toks' was fun. It was all so very meriah. I enjoyed the raya feel. It was great. After that, we went to Daddy's place at Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam. It wasn't an open house, just a lil gathering for the first day of raya. Aunty Nurie (My dad's current wife of...7 years? if i'm not mistaken.) and her family was there. Another raya-family-feel for this year. Ombai (grandmother dad's side) is here in Malaysia for the first time. She used to live in a flat in Paris, France with our grandfather. But since Akas (grandfather dad's side) passed away, Daddy invited her to stay with him in Malaysia. (Kudos Daddy!) Ombai is an excellent cook. So is Tok Mum. (Gee..I wonder why my sisters and I didn't inherit those cooking skills. Are they not genetic? lol.)

So, that's pretty much it for the first day of raya. Other than going to other people's houses, there were those who dropped by to raya at Toks' house.

2nd day of raya.

Went to Datin Kalsom @ Aunty Chum's house in KL. (she and her husband owns a GIGANTIC house and a quantity of cars that would not fit the driveway at Toks' place. They also own a Rolls Royce, Porsche 911 and a few other cars that I'm not able to name because I might have imagined or dreamt that it was actually in my face. wtf?) Her husband, Uncle Suhaimi is a lawyer. (Leanna, you'd better be as successful in life like him. haha) Owh, did I forget to say that they have CUTE, HANDSOME and mind-boggling GOOD LOOKING sons? haha. They have 3 sons and 2 daughters. All of which, are taken. =( so sad. Owh well, if they exist..i'm sure there are others like them. lol.

3rd day of raya.

Nothing. Nah, not nothing lah. But I don't really remember what we did. So, it's easier to say "nothing" than "we did something, but I don't really remember". Owh, wait. We went for raya at Eddie's house. Nice family he's got. Felt welcomed.

I think that's it for my raya '08 blog. If I forgot to mention something important, I would like to offer my sincerest apology. A lot had happened in just 3 days. So, i may have had some of the days and events all mixed-up. haha. Alritey, I uploaded some pics here. Enjoy. l e n a out!

last day of buka puasa...raya eve

raya preparation

this year's theme.. the color of roses

Tok mum & BFF Nenek Noriah

at Daddy's