Happy Birthday My Love

I wish you a very happy birthday my darling husband. Can you believe it, this is the eleventh year that we celebrate your birthday together. I'm sad that I'm not there with you today and I'm that you'll love the gift I sent for you. After all,  we've been together for more than a decade. So I know exactly what you want and what you'd love! 

From miles away, I send you love and kisses on this special day to you. May this be the only birthday we celebrate away from each other. Any way, we will celebrate your birthday properly once I come home in September and I promise that I'll make it up to you. 

And as usual, our precious daughter made a very special card for you.

I bet this card would go into our treasure chest eh? Well, we might need a bigger box in the future. You see, though we do not realize it, we've been together for ages. We share so much of sweet cherished memories together and the pile is getting bigger with each passing day. 

Once again, happy birthday my LOVE. I love you more and more with each passing day. May Allah bless you and give you good health, wealth and prosperity. May we always be together and content. Ameen. 

Pine Cones

My daughter use to collect them whenever we went for a walk. She called them pine cones and so I'm sticking to it. I never bothered to check what they were actually called. So even if I'm wrong, it's okay.

You can find them all over the ground near STO building and many other parts of the city. She liked them so much and wanted to bring them home. And once home, she would throw them, keep them in her bedroom and literally...the pine cones would be littered all over our apartment.

The funniest part is, it was me who always stepped on them. And boy did it hurt! Oh yes it did! It was pure agony and torture. I sometimes threw them too....I'm sorry Mal and Mummu. Yes, even my son started bringing them home. Probably because his big sister was so fond of them. And my son loved to throw things. So go ahead and guess what he would do with the pine cones. Oh yes, he would place then in the living room and on the exact spot mommy walks,

Any way, I never thought back then that these little pine cones that we find on the ground could be something so meaningful to me. Now, everyday as I walk up and down the lane that leads to our faculty, I'm reminded of my children running around picking them up. I'm reminded of how much my daughter loved to keep them in a jar. I am reminded of how much my son loves to throw them around. And the memories of stepping on them zillions of times in the past brings warm happy feelings to my heart. It's so huge that it bursts through my hurt and flows from eyes in the form of happy tears.

So what do I do? Hahaa! Yes, I collect them and sit on the bench before coming back to the hostel. I hold them in my palms and feel the pointy sharp edges. I go back in time for a second or two and I can see my sweet Mal and Mummu running in front of me and picking the little pine cones and asking me to put them in my pocket.

I don't walk over them or step on them and crush them anymore. They are very special to me now because they remind me of my children and brings back sweet memories of my home that I miss so dearly.

Now mommy has her own collection of little pine cones in her room too! Yay!

Special Gifts

Have you ever wondered about the perfect gift that you could give to someone? Have you had to go bonkers because you really want to make someone feel special and happy and couldn't think of anything to buy? Simple things people do can sometimes make someone so happy. Yes, you'll probably won't find them in shops because money can never buy happiness. 

Well, let me tell you about some people who've made me very happy so far on my birthday today. Of course, I have a feeling I would be posting tonight or perhaps tomorrow morning, telling you all more about how some of my wonderful friends have made me happy. 

To begin with, the fact that my husband baked a cake for the first time in his life is so precious. In addition to that, my daughter staying up way past her bed time to just wish me made my heart over flow with happiness. Yes, they cut the cake and I watched them. My sisters and brother wishing me from wherever they are shows that though we are far apart, we are always in each others thoughts and we never stop caring. 

My darlings 

Secondly, my flatmates, Reem and Aikol wished me at twelve and we had a little late night tea party with freshly homemade bread by Aikol. There is nothing more precious than friends who look out for you and who's companionship is so entertaining that you don't realize that you've almost spent 2 hours just gossiping. Now this is the kind of friendship you want to treasure for the rest of your life. 

And Reem hasn't used her own photo for profile picture since 2009. For my birthday, she has uploaded a photo of us together. Yes, I'm blessed to be surrounded by such loving, kind souls. 

With Reem

With Muhammad

Jefferey and Muhammad also used a photo they've taken with me on their whatsapp display picture. You see, they didn't spend a single cent but made me feel very special and happy. Now if you have such friends in your life, treasure them. Because they are the rarest of all and you cannot buy such good friends even if you had all the money in the world in your pockets. 

With Isaac and Jeffery

Thank you so much for everything my dear friends and family. I will treasure you all forever. Love you all with all my heart. And of course, I will be writing more soon.

Happy birthday to us

Yay, it's my birthday and I'm turning twenty 21. You might be wondering how many 21st birthdays I've had. Well the answer is quite straight forward...yes, it is 11. Now you do your math and guess my age!

Thank you my darling husband for the cake you have baked for me. I know it's super delicious. Many miles away, back at home, my daughter, husband and son cut my birthday cake and of course they enjoyed it. I watched while they ate via a viber video call. I miss you all so much.  

And also, this birthday is very special because I get to celebrate this birthday with the sweetest girl in UBD who also happens to be one of my closest friends here in Brunei. Cherry is from Myanmar and if you meet her, you will never forget because she is that sweet and nice. 

Suad, Cherry and Cathy

Happy birthday my dearest friend. May you always be happy and content. May all your dreams come true and may you always be successful in whatever you do. 

Once again, happy birthday to both of us.