Have you heard of a Perpetual Calendar? Have you seen any of these disks like in the pictures below? Nope, it's not a DVD, it's called a perpetual calendar.
The ones in the pictures are those that I am using for our Project Management at work. Date Finders or Perpetual Calendars are very useful in planning and I've used it for the planning of my own wedding.
You can use it to expedite a certain orders that you've made with your supplier without bothering to flip those desktop calendars. Just rotate the first dial to get to the duration or date that you want. You can even take a look at another year calendar, for example the one that I have here are for up to 2015 calendars so I could check on the day a certain date fall on the year that I want. Perfect for planning that special occassions of yours.
I have shown you the hantaran I've given to my husband on my wedding, but I'm still yet to post on the engagement hantarans. So here it is.
The theme color is gold & cream - a true extravagant colors but it turned out a tad toned down in the pictures and from the many feedbacks I have received, it doesn't look THAT extravagant. *Sigh*
However, I am still proud of it and the best part is, EACH tray is complete with a 4-line pantun that corresponds with each other and the first line in each paragraph are from the second line of the previous paragraph. I have to say that it is extremely difficult to produce it, but it is very special and exclusively dedicated to the then-future husband. Here's the groups of pantun.
1. For the Tepak Sireh
Malam dilayar tiada lara
Belahan jiwa sudah ditemu
Salam diberi pembuka bicara
Tepak dihulur menyambut tamu
2. The book and songkok
Belahan jiwa sudah ditemu
Si hitam manis elok lakunya
Isikan akal dengan ilmu
Ilmu itu tiada habisnya
Si hitam manis elok lakunya
Berbaju kuning berbadan segak
Sudah berilmu sempurna amalnya
Asas agama menjadi tonggak
3. The samping and a set of baju Melayu
Berbaju kuning berbadan segak
Tiada ragu hati adinda
Lebarnya kain tidak teragak
Seputih susu buat kekanda
Tiada ragu hati adinda
Berhidung mancung pun tidak sombong
Bingkisan dari ayah dan bonda
Sehelai samping pahlawan Renchong
4. For the shoes
Berhidung mancung pun tidak sombong
Merdu berzanji selayak diri
Kaus hitam tajam di hujung
Penuh bergaya membawa diri
5. For the sweets and dried fruits
Merdu berzanji selayak diri
Yang tua pula amat dihormati
Masam dan manis jadi selari
Bagai hidup yang menanti
6. Biscuits and chocolates
Yang tua pula amat dihormati
Senyuman ikhlas jadi amalan
Tepung diadun berkati-kati
Jadi manisan buat bekalan
7. Lastly the orange, peach & laichee jelly made by my sister.
Senyuman ikhlas jadi amalan
Membuat gundah si gadis Jawa
Mencari ilham berbulan-bulan
Akhirnya juadah tersedia jua
You would probably think I was exaggerating when I said it is extremely difficult to write these, but it is since each and every lines in the pantun has everything to do with the both of us and our families as well as the hantaran itself.
If you are interested in learning more on how to create such 'extremities' (hehe) do contact me.
P/S: You can hire me to write one for yourself!
I'm going to use the word "track" multiple of times here :D
First of all, I've been side-tracked today with all the work at the office and a new-found love for someone... urmm... metaphorically :p Been listening to the album by Maher Zain called Thank You Allah.
I've been a fan of his since he first started out his Facebook (couldn't remember how I bumped into his FB anyway). And been listening to snippets of his album tracks. It's so frustrating when you couldn't download it anywhere (not legally) since it's only sold over Amazon.com and iTunes UK which only allow you to download it at the respective countries.
But I've been listening to the songs, found some lyrics (yeah, probably the major reason I was side-tracked from updating the blog). And I found two songs that are suitable for a wedding tracks compilation.
BarakAllahu Lakuma is a wedding song celebrating the joy of marriage in the most beautiful Islamic way. The lyrics contains doa as well so whoever is singing for you, they'll be praying for you as well :)
Another romantic track is called For The Rest of My Life which is a song from a husband to his wife (awwww how sweet...). You wanna listen to it? Click on the name of the songs!
So who says that nasyeed is not romantic and boring?
It's an era of digital technology and almost every aspects of our life are turning digital. Like e-cards to replace the normal well-wishes on paper, a wedding invitation has also been evolved into e-invitation cards. The latest trend is to create a so-called 'wedding website' where not only invitations and RSVPs are laid out, there will be photos before, during and after the wedding reception not to mention a tonne loads of goodies and information for the invitees.
Prior to my own wedding, I've scouted a lot of service providers who offer such services in creating my wedding website. The best that I've found (best in terms of value and services provided) is from eWedding.com. You can browse their website and run through their online examples. For extensive features, you could subscribe to eWedding.com for as low as USD 4.95/month.
But I just stick to the FREE package. For an example of my wedding website, please click here.
I have to say that this website saves me a lot, although we did printed out cards for special guests & friends. Saves the printing cost (the lowest is RM 1.20 for printing above 1000 pcs), postage (30 cents) and the general hassle of getting the address especially for those far-reaching family & friends.
For those who doesn't want to be burden with learning how to create and use the website, do contact me for setting up and creating your special website. Minimal fees apply for maintenance purpose.
This post is slightly different from the theme of the blog (which mostly trying to cover on ideas, services and things regarding an event/occasion particularly on wedding), but nontheless, it is virtually important in every marriage as it concerns women in general. A wedding isn't just an occasion, it is a celebration to a start of a wonderful life called marriage. Thus I think this post is relevant to this blog.
Last night when I was cleaning the so-called Activity Room (where all the creative works and such are carried out here, would love to turn this room into a Studio someday), I came across a 2nd hand book that I bought at a Payless Books Warehouse Sale. Frankly, the last time I opened it was 2 years ago when bouts of painful PMS (Pre-menstrual Syndrome) stroke me and as a person trying to avoid drugs and chemical to combat the pain, I sought for option.
Unfortunately I had never finished reading the book (surprise, surprise). To redeem myself, I started reading it last night and finished Part 1. Hehehe
Physically unappealing (probably the reason I didn't read it all the first time) with yellow softcover, the book is only RM10. Dirt cheap for something to remedy your lifetime pain eh? Nothing beats knowledge. I didn't found out how many pages are there (in fear that I might be discouraged from reading it through), but it's complete with index at the end and illustrations and images every other pages which makes it interesting.
Upon reading the introductory, I found that it is indeed an awesome book which divided the contents into 3 categories. Part 1 covers the definition and process of menstrual cycle, hormones, yadda yadda mostly on the technical aspects of woman biology and the why and what causes each miseries in women and causing 'downtime' in productivity half of their lives (yeah, 2 weeks of misery each month, if you're living on a monthly basis, that's half your life).
This is a WORKBOOK (i.e. you get to sit down with pencil and papers) and you actually DO SOMETHING to settle your (literally) pain in the ass problem. This is proven in Part 2 where you'll be facing a lot of charts, tickboxes and whatnots to evaluate your PMS symptoms. Then once that's determined, you'll find the alternative solutions in Part 3 of the book. What I love most about this book is that a solution concerning drugs are almost at the end of the book - which shows significantly that if you want to succeed in totally getting rid of that mean streak you're having each month, you're not going to use the temporary solution of drugs and having to rely on it. It's about changing your lifestyle and concerning a marriage, it's about changing everyone's lifestyle in it as well.
My experience in PMS? I would say that I've been having it from the first year of my menses. It differs and unpredictable at times, sometimes there's none at all. But from years of experience, I can say that if a week before my period starts I've been actively engaging myself in physical activities (walking, running, jogging, etc) I'd be facing a lesser pain during my periods. I fall into the category of those who have the problems during the onset of the menstrual. This shows how a direct definition of PRE-menstrual syndrome is inaccurate. It doesn't just happen prior to the onset, it does happen prior and during the first few days. For some unfortunate ones, it happens till the end. This one is clearly highlighted in the book and I think it helps if the husbands or boyfriends also read this book in order for them to understand women as a whole and probably help their wives and girlfriends along the way to watch their excercises, the food they're eating and the stress they're taking instead of worsening each things that might lead to a worse PMS.
This will be a perfect gift for wives, mothers (Mother's Day is coming on the 14th March!), girlfriends and daughters. It's also a good read together with husbands, fathers, boyfriends and brothers. Because as opposed to the community belief that PMS will reduce and diminish after marriage, it actually worsen as we age and deliver more children!
The latest PMS I had (as mentioned in my Facebook) I've been having the worse of it and it had cost me something more than just the pain. It had created a riff for a while with my husband because I had lashed on him and it was on the spur of the moment. That's how bad a PMS could cost you. Not just on yourself, but the people around you, the productivity at work, the quality of your life. So everyone out there, if you're not lucky enough to find this in the next Payless Books sales, you can loan it from me (it's too priceless for me to just let people borrow this. hehe) or you can get your own copy at 1 cent via Amazon.com. It's an old book and I'm not sure if it's reprinted, so get your's today and let's feel good all through the month!
