One year with you ♥

"Aku terima nikahnya, xxx dengan mas kahwin RM xxx tunai."

This happened exactly a year ago. November 11. 2017. #theWanforMalina

It was overwhelming and it still is today though it has been a year been happily married to the most wonderful man on Earth. Every night before we both go to bed, we always talk and say to each other that it is so bizarre that we are now married. After what we have been through throughout the whole two-year journey before we got married, it was amazing how we got to this day.

I leave up to your wildest imagination on the countless challenges and hurdles and shittiest things that have ever happened to both of us. It is true that people said "good things don't come easily", "no pain no gain" and also "diamonds are made under pressure". When you reached to this point of being married, you'll know! This is so true! Diamonds are just ugly, useless rocks without pressuring it and polishing it and cracked it open and get to the core of the rock/stone. Well, here we are. Diamonds. Not literally, but you get what I mean.

Many people asked me, how does he proposed? And how to know if the guy is ready for marriage? How does he knows that you are the one because most guys does not have any idea how to be in a relationship? How can you get him? What did you do to make him want you? You give any hints on getting married anytime soon to him that he is pressured to do so?

Well, let me share with you our story. LOL.

For those who know me, I am not the kind of lady who likes cliche stuff. I do not believe in fairytale, have zero expectation of Prince Charming or knight in shining armour nor the guy has to proposed in some romantic gesture that I should said yes immediately. I also do not believe in arranged marriage. In fact, I did not have any plans on getting married as I grew older. (Fun fact: Back when I was seven, yes SEVEN, I had a dream that I will get married when I turn twenty-seven, which will be in 2017. So I made the calculation in that tiny little brain of mine, 20 years to go until I found my man. Well, dreams do come true then, guys. Literally.)

So I will answer it based on these common questions I often get:

How does he proposed to you?

I cannot tell you exactly how he proposed because it was more like a discussion between two of us rather than a "Will you marry me?" proposal. It was at night, we just got back from a dinner date, he sent me home. On the journey back home, he asked, "How about we get married in November 2017?". Yes, out of the blue he asked me that question. It was around August 2016, and we have been together for a year and six months at that time. I told him, "So it will be about a year plus to go. You're okay with it? Wait for me? What if there are some other bitches who want you? Will you still want me to be your wife?". I did not treat his question as a proposal because I genuinely think that was just a discussion and somehow he has that crazy idea of being married to me because I am honest AF and sometimes can be so straight-forward that people might think I am rude. But, yeah. I did not pay much attention to it because if he's serious, he will show me. Not just say things out of the blue like that. I would like to see some actions, baby! LOL!

So, it was December 2016. He asked me again. This time he said, "I told my parents that we are getting serious and my family would like to meet your family, some time in January. Is that okay? Could you please ask your family?". Err. Okay, this guy is serious. Honestly guys, I have no expectation and never think of a life being married and married Malina is not fun. I don't know how to be a wife. I mean, living in a house with a stranger? What the hell? No way. I am the type of woman who will never meet my boyfriend's family, will never go to their place and my boyfriend is not allowed to meet my family. I will never bring my boyfriend home because he is a complete stranger to my family and he will invade my family's space. So no. He asked me to discuss with my family about this and I gave it a go. My family is keen to meet him and the whole clan, so we did. January 7th 2017 was the date. We had dinner at my family's place and then they talked about being engaged on the next month.

After they went back, I couldn't believe that my family met his and my brain could not stop thinking that, "Eh am I getting married soon? Is this for reals?".

Then came a week after that. He came to pick me up and we went out for breakfast at 6.30am. I still remember that morning, he just got back from work at 5am, haven't got his sleep yet and called me at 6am to go out for a breakfast date at the nearest Oldtown in our neighbourhood. Both of us went out unshowered, with a hoodie on and still in my PJs. While waiting for our meal, he asked, "Are you busy on November 17th, 2017?". I replied with "I am not sure, let me check my organizer." (yes, I bring my organizer everywhereeee). Whilst I was checking it, he said "Let's get married?" with a question mark. I was stunned. OF COURSE I WAS STUNNED! That came out of nowhere! My eyes were wide open, froze, I swear to God I did not blink for like 10 seconds. My body was sliding down from the nook chair in Oldtown. Swear to God I looked like that!

He was laughing and said again, "Let's get married in November!". I sat up straight, and said "You never give up, do you?". He said "I know you are the one for me. So yes, I would like to marry you and have you as my wife. Will you?". And next thing, there's the engagement ring he bought earlier and went to buy it behind my back. Damn. So yeah. That's the proposal story. I still checked my schedule in my organizer and November 17th is wide open, no bookings made. So what did I say to him? I cried and said, "So I will be free on November 17th but are you sure? Aww, thank you for not giving up on me. Of course I would love to be your wife." Wow. How time flies.

For those who doesn't know why it was 17th and we were married on the 11th, the initial plan was on the 17th but there are no halls available as we went to find the venue after the engagement in February, they were only available on the 11th. So we brought it a week forward.

How to know if the guy is ready for marriage? How does he knows that you are the one because most guys does not have any idea how to be in a relationship? How can you get him? What did you do to make him want you?

I once asked him this question and I swear this is his answer. This does not comes from me. It's my husband's. Here we go. I went on few dates before I met Malina. By few, I mean a lot. I went on dates and met some women and had some conversations but none of them have the quality of being interesting. I usually do the talking, maybe they are shy but I don't feel the mutual feelings. Sometimes they like me too much or maybe they do not care at all. When I met Malina, she has different set of mind and mentality that cannot be found in others. She is different. We clicked right away and she made me laugh with her jokes and the vibe that she gave me is beyond anything else. She is not afraid to be herself and I know that she is confident by the way she talks, walks and laughs. That confidence she has, she wants people around her to feel that as well. She does not care what others think about her because she knows what she's doing. She has that good vibes and stuff that she talked about, I know she's different and smart and knowledgable. She doesn't do small talk or talk about other human beings. She focused on her goals and self-improvement, which not many can do this. She reads a lot so she knows what she's talking about. She has her own words and nothing can stop her from growing and moving forward in life. Those qualities are somehow what I was looking for to make somebody as my wife.

You give any hints on getting married anytime soon to him that he is pressured to do so?

I think he was the one who feels pressured that he is not married to me yet. LOL! I was busy focusing on myself because I was unemployed at the time and I need to find my passion and travel around before I settled down. Save up more money and to reach my certain goals first. Which I was busy with working out at the time, just to get myself sorted out by leading a healthy routine. Also to have a rockin' body for myself. Why not. Hahah! But not now though... After being married, I gained so much weight that I looked like a skinny balloon. Still skinny but bloated. You get what I mean? Sigh.

How do you keep the relationship healthy and interesting after marriage?

Until the next post! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by to read this! And thank you for the lovely wishes I received via text, Facebook and Instagram!

X,

Malina

101 Beach Essentials

   

 

What did I bring during my recent beach vacation? I had two luggages: Travel backpack for my trip to island & wheel hand-carry luggage for my city trip once I back to mainland. One rattan bag to be used for both trips, also wearing the same pair of black sandal, black hat, shades

ISLAND TRIP: What's in my travel backpack.

(I put my clothes in different plastics for different days, so that I could use those plastics back to put all the dirty laundry)

CLOTHING:

Day 1 - 1: Black coverups, arena wetsuit, a pair of bikinis (top and bottom)
Day 1 - 2: Same dress I wore upon arrival, long cardigan

Day 2 - 1: Playsuit, same long cardigan. A pair of bikinis, same wetsuit
Day 2 - 2: Same playsuit, same long cardigan

Day 3 - 1: PJs (I only brought one PJs). A pair of bikinis, same wetsuit
Day 3 - 2: Blouse, jeggings

Just in case, two sets of undergarments. Aaaaand, that is all for clothing.

TOILETRIES: (everything put in one zipped pouch)

Toothbrush
Toothpaste (in case if the hotel does not provide any)
Facial wash
Comb
Conditioner (sometimes the hotel only provides shampoo w/o the conditioner)
Deodorant
Sun lotion (I used SPF 50)
Aloe vera gel (for soothing your sunburnt skin)
Pencil eyeliner (upon checkout, if you want to look prettier. LOL!)
Lipbalm/lip oil
Hair scrunchy
Hair pin
Tissue
Wet wipes

WANNA GET A LIIIIL BIT FANCY:

Beach mat/beach towel (for you to sunbathe or lounge around the beach, read a book by the beach, etc.)
A book
Floaties (some hotels have them to be rented out but its FCFS basis)
Air pump
Your own goggles/snorkelling mask (I brought my own because I don't like the fact I share with strangers)

DEVICES:

Phone
GoPro
GoPro stick
Waterproof phone case
Chargers (phone, GoPro, etc.)
Multi-outlet socket

FOOD ITEMS:

Energy bar (for a quick snack in-between activities)
Mint

A-MUST:

Print out of your bookings (make two copies, the other one put it in different place)
A copy of your IC, driving license, marriage cert (if you are married) - in case if your purse/wallet lost or stolen
Dry bag for your purse, keys, money

CITY TRIP: What's in my wheel luggage.

Two undergarments
PJs
Day 1: Flare pants, blouse
Day 2: Dress, cardigan

*Put (last) your toiletries bag at the top of your backpack, so that you could throw that into the wheel luggage.

Basic Itinerary : Trip to Terengganu

Beach #OOTD

I like something bright or pop-up colour along with black and white or with any b&w stripes. Mix & match everything. But most importantly, feeling confident and comfortable for you to walk around the island!

Black hat : H&M

Rose Gold glasses : Zalora

Yellow long crop top : Bershka

B&W stripes sleeveless dress : Cotton On

*Rattan bag : H&M

Black sandal : Jelly Bunny

Since the wetsuit is quite tight for a Muslim lady, I covered it with a coverups/dress until I dunked myself in the ocean. LOL!

Black coverups dress : H&M

Black wetsuit : Arena

Black tights : Arena

Out for a tea break before you go for a quick dip in the ocean after. I absolutely loveeeee long, flare cardigan especially this one, it really looks nice to wear it at the beach. It is not thick that you can still feel the wind but not too thin or see-through that you can wear it with a tight dress or playsuit/jumpsuit.

Long cardigan : Bershka

Blue and white stripes playsuit : Cotton on

You can always wear the same cardigan (so that you do not have to bring all cardigans you have!), but just change the inside dress. Since the cardigan's stripes pattern are vertical, I chose to wear a horizontal stripes dress with a black hat.

Dress : Cotton On

Again, I chose to wear something bright. Totally love the yellow-mustardy colour to wear at the beach because the colour complements the colour of the sea and the sand. I wear jeggings on my last day on the island so that I would look normal when I arrive on the mainland. I don't want to look weird with long dresses or with long, flare-y cardigan when I am in the city.

Yellow top : Miss Read

Jeggings : Uniqlo

*Note: The rattan bag from H&M originally do not have the white pompoms, I added it myself to make it more suitable for beach trips :)

Little Jaunt : Lang Tengah Island 🏝

I was at work, in the midst of finishing my tasks (this happened somewhere around July), I texted my husband, "Hey hon, up for a quick summer vacay? Let me know. X" and I continued doing my work. Believe it or not, the fact that I already traveled around Malaysia, Sabah & Sarawak included, I have never traveled to islands on the East Coast. I have been to Kapas Island also Tioman, but not Redang or Perhentian. So I had that idea of sunbathing there since I have never been to that part of Malaysia. Since my husband and I have not went to any beach trip after we got married (honeymoon was in London during winter, so that one was a city trip instead), so we thought, why not. We both love water and swimming, beach vacation would be ideal.

Went home, browsing more on the accommodations, better oceans, better views, more activities, different offers and packages with better price value. I have heard of Redang and Perhentian Island but not Lang Tengah. I may have heard of it but not sure on how it looks like or where does it located. So I Google-d more and found a great package for island tour from Holidaygogogo Tours. We saw a great offer for snorkelling package in Lang Tengah and we booked right away. They have different offers (of nights and hotels/chalets), but we chose the 3D2N in Summer Bay Resort for snorkelling package. The fact that the company put everything with the itinerary and the price, makes me feel like this is pretty reliable. Transparent to customers and easy for people to actually see the activities and decide what's best and what's suitable for them and also very organized, are always my go-to thing.

REASONS WHY LANG TENGAH INSTEAD OF REDANG OR PERHENTIAN.

ONE: Redang and Perhentian are overrated and packed with people. Most people would go there for the hype and crowds or maybe parties. While, Lang Tengah, not many people have heard of it, so expect less crowd and it is awesomely private and quiet. We both were the only Malays there (other than the hotel staff/workers), since most of the tourists are from China or local Chinese and also the Westerners.

TWO: The water is so much more clearer, the corals are better, more colourful fishes, no crazy waves. But then again, I only discovered though snorkelling, not sure if the deeper sea is nicer for divers.

THREE: The snorkelling package that we booked offers deep sea trips; which you can choose to go to Redang or Perhentian. If you booked for the 4D3N, you can go to both! I chose Redang because it has better water and corals and I do not like big, noisy crowds, so I said no to Perhentian. LOL

Decision has been made, now onto the next phase: PLANNING THE TRIP. September's long holidays are coming (in Malaysia at the moment), hence we decided to go before the big wave comes. We took leaves and went during weekdays, before the long holiday starts.

WHY TAKING TRIPS DURING WEEKDAYS?

ONE: Less crowd on the road.

TWO: Less crowd on the boat.

THREE: Less crowd on the island.

FOUR: Cheaper price (basically for everything) due to low demands.

FIVE: You do not have to queue during meal buffets (also for everything).

My husband and I are huge fans of road trip so we decided to drive ourselves to Terengganu rather than taking flights. We took off from KL to Kuantan on Wednesday night after work, it was a two-hour journey via Karak Highway. Reached Kuantan probably around 10pm, checked in at Vivo Hotel via Agoda, and woke up the next day at 5.30am to continue our journey to Merang Jetty via LPT 1 & 2 (Lebuhraya Pantai Timur) until Kuala Terengganu exit. Asked the receptionist upon checkout, how long will it take for us to get to Kuala Terengganu or Merang Jetty and he said most probably around 4 hours via the old, beach route. Which we should be there at 9.30am, with breakfast. So we drove to Merang Jetty via LPT 2, which saved us 2 hours.

BUT, please ensure that your car is in good condition and your body system is in great shape because the R&R or "pitstop" is not properly finished or operated(?) In case if your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, the patrol car will get some time to get to you. Also, in case if you need to go to the toilet (either for number one or two), the R&R is dark and there are some unfinished part. Please make sure that your car's headlight & taillight are bright enough for you to see the dark road ahead and also for people to see you. We drove early in the morning (5.30am), so the fog was covering the whole stretch of highway and vision is quite limited. Ensure your wipers are working fine too!

We reached Merang Jetty at 8am. Took us 2 hours from Kuantan and since we have plenty of time for our boat departure at 10.30am, we checked out the jetty and where we should park, then off for a hearty breakfast along the roadside in Merang. We had Nasi Dagang with them locals, which was so good, and off back to jetty at 9.30am. Waited for an hour for the boat to arrive and off we go to Lang Tengah!

Arrived at Summer Bay Resorts Lang Tengah at 11am (it was 30-min to 45-min boat journey from the jetty), we were welcomed with a glass of lime juice and a hot towel to scrap off the salty wind on our faces. Followed by a short briefing from the hotel staff for 10 minutes then checked in. Got the keys and freshened up ourselves and off for our lunch buffet. They gave us 3-course meal per day with coupon for each meal, plus with complimentary tea breaks.

Then our beach vacation begins.

I am an organized traveler, whenever we traveled (with or without family), it is always me who works on the itinerary and budget and places to go, to visit, to eat, to see. So of course, I will share you the basic itinerary for this beach vacation in a new post :)

The best part about this trip was the fact that it was only the two of us at the beach, nobody was really there until sun is set. Most of the tourists there were Chinese and I noticed that they don't really like going out under the sun until it is 6.30pm or something when the sun is already set. I'm not judging or complaining, its good because more beach spaces for us both! Whee!

Three days in Lang Tengah are over. Checked out time at 11am. The boat leaves at 12 noon. We continued our journey in Kuala Terengganu bound. Visiting places and eating what locals eat. The trip was awesome. Decided to stay one night in Kuala Terengganu and it was the worst hotel ever (DM me to ask what hotel is that so that I can share with you! Hint: the tallest hotel room overlooking the river to Pulau Duyong). We booked earlier before the trip started, and when we were there for check-in at 3pm, the receptionist told us that our room is not yet ready. Can you imagine, check-out time is at 12 noon, check-in time is at 3pm. What did your housekeepers do for the whole 3 hours? I specifically mentioned to have a non-smoking room and he said "I can give you smoking room if you cannot wait for your room to be ready". WTH? I specified what room I wanted, so don't tell me otherwise. The room was ready after waiting for 45 minutes, went upstairs and the access card does not work. Went downstairs again to change to a new card for our room and the same receptionist said to call the maintenance number at the back of the card if the card still does not work. The guest should call the maintenance? Shouldn't it be you, the staff? Went upstairs, card still does not work, called the maintenance but could not reach them, went downstairs again to find that my husband went up with the maintenance guy. So... I already hate the hotel. Got inside, room smelt so dusty, furniture was old, TV was still with the big black box at the back, carpet was full with iron-burnt stamps, etc. Will never stay there again.

Well, anyways, my Terengganu trip was amazing (despite the hotel mishaps), I really needed that sun, sand and salt on my skin. I may be tanned AF right now, but I am happy AF too! Thank you to Mr Khor, Ah Haur, staffs in Summer Bay for the great hospitality, I will definitely come back again! Last by no means least, to my husband, MSA, thank you for exploring the world with me. Could not have it better without you ♥

Some photos to share; more on my Instagram: 

Officially a Full-time Housewife

- @achievetheimpossible on Instagram

I had a job.

& now I have a new one, a housewife.

And one of million things I did first when I woke up last Friday morning was, I was wide awake at 6am. I was feeling pumped and so excited to spend the day as a housewife and my ambition was to be a housewife my whole life. BUT, that doesn't happen until last week.

I am blessed. 

Some of you might think that, "Girllll, everyone desperately wants a job but you just want to stay at home and do nothing? Nuh-uh. That ain't badass. Get your poop together and work your butt out, girllll."

Umm, first of all. This is my life, so it is entirely up to me what to do and what not to do. I am not living yours, so yeah. Second of all, doesn't mean I am quitting, I am not a badass woman. Doesn't mean I am resigning, I don't have money. Doesn't mean I do not have a job, I am a loser. Doesn't mean I am not working in an office, I do not have a productive life. I could have way more productive things to do than sitting in an air-conditioned room with the sound of people speaking (indistinctly) or phone vibrating against the cubicle tables or keyboard clicking, mouse scrolling through unfitted page in a browser or the sound of someone's flushing down the toilet in the washroom.

All that, I have been there and I was there, experiencing it each and every day and I could say that it gets pretty exhausting. I was a busy idiot rather than a productive human being. Maybe I do not belong in an office or maybe it is just my brain tells me to stop. "This is not you, Malina.". I need more than just that. Life is more meaningful than just this. I need to grow and where I came from, it has entirely outgrown me. I just want something more.

So, I took that big step of resigning and I just need to "defrag" my brain and treat it like how it is supposed to. My brain gets too tired and chillin' at home is just what I need.

I just got married (well, almost 6 months now, but yeah...), so I feel like the need to brush up my "wife" skills. Cleaning, cooking, trying out new recipes, baking, taking care of pets and plants, arranging furnitures, selecting the perfect furnitures for every nook and cranny of the house now that we own our own place and especially to spend sweet time with my husband, also my own time to workout, read, writing, learn new things, etc.

The fact that I really love being productive but in a more relaxing kind of way, housewife would be a perfect job for me (for now). I am not planning to be a housewife forever, but, just enough time for me to defrag before taking my next step.

The idea of having more time with writing and reading, that's what excite me the most. Away from people, just me spending time at home while my husband is out working his heart out for his little family, cooking when he gets back from work are just what I want. My husband and I are learning/focusing on being a better partner (of course, a better human being too, at the same time) before we proceed to be parents.

Different people craves different things. Different people have different kind of rezeki. You have your own, we have ours and we believe our plans at the moment really works out for us and Alhamdulillah, God eases it all. 

Being a full time housewife is what I always wanted to be and needed to be. I really enjoy cleaning the house and cooking, well you know, just be a housewife. Not for long, inshaAllah, Allah has the best plan for me and I know what I have now is the best. Alhamdulillah.

Let's see what awaits tomorrow x

Love,

Malina A.

April showers, no rain no flowers.

"Greetings. I shake you warmly by the hand." - Willy Wonka

Warm green tea, cute lil succulents, April calendar, smartphone, MacBook Air & some thoughts in my brain. 

Oh boy, it has been ages, ain't it? Not apologizing for being busy and productive in life, but I do apologize for not having much time to write a post on this blog. The last post was my wedding updates, which was happening almost 6 months ago.

Oh wow I have been married for 6 months now? How time flies!

Alhamdulillah, life has been good, been treating me and my husband well. More updates! Since the last posts, many things have been going on. Honeymoons, trips with husband and family, events, big events and also some small incidents and good times and more great times. So far, alhamdulillah, living life with no regrets.

A week (or two) after the wedding, we went on our honeymoon, just in the city area. We wanted to go celebrating our "penat lelah" with the wedding and what not. It was very hectic with the preparations months and months before the November 11th, so we decided to just go chilling and relax at the hotel for two nights. Went touristing with my lawful wedded husband in our very own Kuala Lumpur city.

A few weeks after that, we went to London & Paris for the real honeymoon-ing. LOL. We were there along with my family. The five of us were exploring entire London (& Paris) for approximately around 17 days(?), if I'm not wrong. Didn't get the chance to explore other European countries because we just loved London so much that we couldn't get enough just being there. (No, for real). 

Fast forward to January. Well we got back from London on January 7th and then whole entire month feels like whole entire year. Is it just me or last January really felt like forever? Oh well, survived January like a shero and continue with more city trips with my husband. We had this crazy (but fun) idea of swimming in at any rooftop/infinity pool, every weekend. We both really enjoy swimming (like so much) and it is one our favourite past time and ways to spend a quality time together. So we both agreed and we checked in to different hotels every weekend for their amazing pools.

Then February 27th came. Celebrated Mommy's birthday and we spent two nights in a 3-bedroom water chalet. It was nice, spending the time with family, playing cards and asking general knowledge questions, lie down on an open-sky balcony with the lights off, talked about stars and universe and how Earth exists, discussed of current issues, what's happening to the world, to our nations and what not. It was very calming yet interesting and beneficial things to talk about. I love how my father really explains and shares all information and knowledge that he knows to us kids. He is very wise and certainly a knowledgeable man.

And then March approached. Survived another month.

And we are here, in April. Like the Zoella lifestyle's calendar's saying "April showers, no rain no flowers." Now I know what it meant when I entered this month. It was horrible and exhausting at the beginning and I took a leap of faith that I know if I already decided I want to go through it, might as well just get through with it as soon as I can (in a fabulous way). I decided to quit my job and be a fulltime housewife. It was raining at first, now that I stayed at home, yes, it is full with flowers now. I live my life and I love it.

Do not worry, I am not jobless, I am just taking my time off and get ready for something bigger & sweeter :)

P/s: More blog posts coming up! 

Love,

Malina A.