2011 Raya ~ Just The Two Of Us ~

Being a newbie pregnant mommy, I was quite excited to celebrate Raya this year. Since my tummy has grown a bit but not that protruding and obvious yet, I could still fit into most of my clothes. The problem is my bout of all-day-sickness has not gone away and I prefer to wear loose clothing. So I was aiming to get a 'jubah' as my Raya outfit this year. The hunt begins, but up till the last day of fasting day, I was not able to find a suitable 'jubah' to my liking. I was not my usual shopaholic self during my first trimester. I actually hated anything associated with shopping, even online shopping! My dear husband was quite happy with the sudden change since it saved lots of my hard earned salary every month!

Apart from going for my checkups at the nearby Government Clinic, I also visit my doctor at Tawakal Hospital for my monthly checkups. My dear husband and I discussed about where to deliver our baby and we decided that we would try to deliver in Tawakal Hospital since my doctor there knows my medical history (she was the one who operated me for my endometriosis in 2009). From the first checkup we had with Dr. S, she told me I was not advised to travel since my womb was not that strong. We were planning to go back to Penang with the rest of my family for Raya (since it's my turn to celebrate Raya with my side of the family this year!). But since my doctor told me that long distance travel would put too much pressure and could become a risk on my pregnancy, we decided not to go anywhere for Raya. What a bummer! ( _ _ ) 

So, for Raya this year, we went to my parents' home on Raya morning and stayed there until it was time for my whole family to start their journey to Penang. We went home after that with supplies of Raya food (my mom's most delicious rendang, kuah kacang, lodeh and nasi impit). It has become a tradition for me to 'tapau' food from my mom's home during Raya season and then at my home I usually divide the yummy goodies into two separate sets and put one set of the rendang, kuah kacang and lodeh into the freezer (so we could defrost and eat at a later time) and the other set into the fridge section (for our immediate consumption). I did this last year and ended up having a month of supply of mom's yummy rendang and kuah kacang! Hehe.. Really was a feast for me. So, this year, I aim to do the same to ensure that my supply of Raya food last as long as it could.

On the second day of Raya, since there was nothing to do, we went to Ikea. In our minds, the place must be not so crowded as most city dwellers are safe and sound at their hometowns. Boy, we were wrong! The place was packed with people especially those not celebrating Raya! It was very crowded, even more so than the usual weekend's throng of shoppers. Since the place was too crowded, we quickly bought what we came for (some Billy Bookcase extensions, some curry puffs) and then went straight home. My feet I did manage to get a copy of the latest 2012 Ikea Catalouge though, so that made me very happy indeed albeit being tired.

All in all, this year's Raya was quite an experience. We celebrated Raya together just the two of us for the first time and InsyaAllah, the last time since our marriage in 2004 since our wee little one is coming soon. Next year's celebration will be a totally different story with a tiny addition to the family. Can't wait till that day comes! ( ^_^ )