I am married!!!!

I am writing today as a married woman. We had the wedding on the 1st of October. But I've been so busy with guests and house-sorting and getting adjusted to married life etc etc to get any time to post. Plus, we don't have the Internet at home so it's kinda hard to post.

Alhamdulillah the wedding went very well. We had the nikkah ceremony at the Gold Coast Mosque, followed by a nice dinner and then the girls went to another hall for a little party. Overall it was great and all the families were happy. And I was happy too Alhamdulillah.

Inshallah I'll post some more pics as soon as I collect them all and fix my laptop. But here's a couple from my phone.



And Mashallah Mhd's family is amazing All of them. I can so totally see where he gets his respect towards women from. All I can say is Mashallah. And they welcomed me with open arms and I already see them as my family. Especially the sisters. I am so happy Alhamdulillah. May Allah bless them all and keep us connected in goodness.

I am loving married life. Especially having my own home and having someone to cuddle up to. However it's not quite what I expected it to be. I never expected the loneliness. He works from early morning until after Maghrib, and comes home tired so after we eat and get some work done it's already bed time since we r both early sleepers. I'm used to a full house, so now when it's empty most of the time it does get quite lonely. Nobody told me about the loneliness until after I started complaining about it to some girls. But Alhamdulillah. It's only natural. Inshallah I'll get over it lol

I have a lot of catching up to do with study. I have exams in a few weeks and with all this wedding planning I didn't really get the chance to study. I pray to Allah to make it easy for me

Seven days to go

Assalamu Aleikum

Sorry for the lack of posts these last few weeks (or months?)... I have been really preoccupied with wedding planning and house renovations and weight loss journeys etc etc

But Alhamdulillah I can now say that this time next week I will be a married woman Inshallah. I am really looking forward to it, well I was until this sickness got to me. I have been coughing non stop for the last week or so and I've had the fever and sore muscles and vomiting and headaches... the list goes on. I went back to see the doctor yesterday and she said it looks like it might be whooping cough. Ouch (quite literally, it hurts). But ye so now I am so numb.. it looks like this wedding might go by without me even noticing lol.

Inshallah my cough will ease up before the wedding.

I am too sore to write even now so I think I will let you peeps go.

Wedding update

Assalamu Aleikum..

Well... This has been quite a productive Ramadan Mashallah. The wedding plans are almost ready to go. With one major exception - we still didn't organise the Imam!!! He is almost impossible to get a hold of - it being Ramadan and all.

But other than that, the wedding planning is well and truly rolling. We have booked the hall, made the guest list, written the draft invitations (although we can't send them out just yet considering we still have to talk to the imam, grrr what a headache), and we are well on the way making the seat and table decorations (Mashallah my mum is very talented). The food budget is still a little blurry, but Inshallah we will get to that soon. And we also have our own apartment, too bad its just sitting there empty (because somebody feels too sorry for his flatmates to leave them paying his share of the rent, so he's now paying for two rentals - don't even get me started on that one). But Inshallah we will get moving soon, we have so much furniture etc at my parents house just waiting to be moved.

And then there's the studying - lol - I have barely touched it. It's really hard when there is so much stuff to do. Its hard enough concentrating while fasting, but now all my time is taken up with this wedding. But Inshallah when Ramadan is over, I will make some time for intensive study and catch up on what I missed. I'm only doing two subjects so it shouldn't be too hard. Not to even mention the 50% assignment due next week. No wonder I am so stressed out.

And speaking of Ramadan being over, I feel  so sad. This Ramadan went by quicker than ever. I pray to Allah to accept my fasting, praying, Qur'an, Zakah and all my ibadah, and to forgive my shortcomings.  I ask Allah to forgive my sins and to admit me to the highest Jannah and protect me from the punishment of the grave and from the hellfire. I pray that He blesses my family, guides them to do acts which will lead them to His pleasure and to forgive all their sins. I ask Allah to shower his mercy on the weak, the hungry, the oppressed and all the Muslims suffering around the world - I ask Allah to relieve their pain and rewards them for their suffering. Oh Allah bless this Ummah and admit us to the Gardens of Delight. Amin

East Africa Food Crisis - Please donate

Click here --> East Africa Food Crisis <-- donate now

May Allah reward you

Ramadan-ing and other little updates

Assalamu Alaikim

I know I haven't been posting for a while. not too much has been happening (other than what I will talk about a little bit later...) I've been making the most of this holy month, although we can all be doing more.

Mashallah the day has been pretty much centered around Ramadan and the opportunities it brings. Waking up at 4am for Suhoor, praying Fajr and then staying up and reading the Qur'an till the sun has risen. Then if I'm too tired I'll sleep for a few more hours, and if not - its time to study (lets call it an attempt at studying - yes it's really hard. But Alhamdulillah). After studying for as long as I can concentrate, its time for Zuhr, followed by some rest. Then Asr, and then either I will cook iftar, or if mum wants to cook (which she's been so kind to do quite a bit for us girls since she is excused from fasting due to her diabetes) then I will sit down and read the Qur'an till Maghrib/iftar. After we have iftar its off to the mosque for Taraweeh prayers, then a quick chat with the family over snacks/more food, and then back to study or ready Qur'an till I'm tired enough to sleep. And not to mention lots of du'a

Alhamdulillah for giving us another chance to experience this blessed month for another year. It's such an amazing experience, especially when you take full advantage of what it brings. I kinda feel sorry for those who don't get to experience it. It is such a loss on their part.

On another note - I've decided to suspend my gym membership while I'm fasting. It's really hard and besides I don't really get the chance to attend. I'd much rather be at the mosque. This might be my last Ramadan, we never know if we will make it to the next one.

AND... here comes the exciting bit - we are so much closer to setting the date for the wedding. Actually its almost done, we just have to formally book a hall and talk to the imam. We've been looking at apartments and getting applications, and we looked around at venues, and I think I found one that I really want. So Inshallah it will all come together. I think we also have an almost-final guest list too, and the dinner menu, and the decoration-making etc is on the way. Oh and another thing that on the way is the dress :) I received a notice that it's been shipped today. Inshallah it will come soon and look great :) There is still a lot more to do but I'm happy to say that its coming along quite well. Mashallah

Alhamdulillah for everything

And last but definitely not least - please donate to help the people suffering in the East African famine. Men, women and children are dying by the thousands. We can all do a little Inshallah and give our sadaqa to Inshallah save a life.

http://www.islamic-relief.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=105:east-africa-food-crisis&catid=35:campaigns%20
http://www.muslimaid.org.au/
http://mim.io/19c361

Ramadan Mubarak

Assalamu Alaikum

Ramadan Mubarak to the entire Muslim Ummah

May our fasts, prayers and worship be accepted

May our sins be forgiven

May our hearts become purified

May our dead be given paradise

And may our people be in peace

Have a beautiful month with family and loved ones

Love Azra

First week back at uni

Assalamu Alaikum sisters

This week has been so busy. I went back to uni... which is kinda sad since I did absolutely nothing during my holidays. But at the same time I'm really optimistic about what this semester will bring. Alhamdulillah. I'm only doing two subjects, which might be where the optimism comes in.. Mashallah its going great so far... I get the readings done in no time, I finish uni by 2pm (compared to 8pm during past semesters), and I get plenty of time to get back home for Iftar and taraweeh during Ramadan, or a session at the gym when I'm not fasting. Not to mention the much clearer head-space. Now I just need to get my finances in order. I still ddn't find a job. But Inshallah that will come around soon too.

I only had two classes this week. Tutorials begin next week Inshallah. I'm doing International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, and Administrative Law. Inshallah I'll be able to keep up this optimism as the weeks go by.

The gym's going good too. I'd say great but I'm refusing to cos of all the pain I'm in at the moment. After I do strength training my muscles hurt for a day or two, but I love it. But Alhamdilillah I feel much better already. I can sleep better, I can move better, and I already see a difference in confidence. I haven't weighed myself yet so I don't know if any weight came off. And I still haven't done my food coaching sessions so I'll let them weigh me when I go in on Thursday night Inshallah.

But its not al good unfortunately. I've cought my niece's flu while babysitting :(. So I've been coughing and sneezing, and I have a fever and a really sore throat. But Inshallah that will pass too...

And that's about it for now

Salam