An Opportunity

Sometimes when you least expect it, an opportunity presents itself to you. I am talking about really great opportunities that have the potential to change your life in  a very positive way. This is exactly what's happening to me. I can't say exactly how I feel. I'm excited, I feel I can do it, I can make it, I feel joyous, comforted, full of hope.. All that's positive. And what opportunity can make me feel that way? A business opportunity, ofcourse! I love business! Selling, making a sale, especially if it's something that I love and truly believe in. I pray, this business will help me achieve my dreams of becoming a financially free WAHM.. Insya'Allah..

The Voice Guild

Here is something that not many know about me. I have this secret dream of wanting to become a voice over. I didn't know it'd be possible until I came across The Voice Guild of KL & Selangor. 

To my delight, when browsing through the talents profile, I found my senior Dalila Paris on this list! She 's a member too! And I thought to myself, 'if she can do it, so can I!" Right?

Ok, so I've submitted my application to become member. For newcomers in this field, they'll put you as a potential member first. You pay RM100 fee/year inclusive of one recording (to put on your profile). After you've gotten 5 jobs in year, you'll be upgraded to full member.

Benefits of joining: the Guild will represent you for any jobs, thus providing you with protection and members also get to undergo training to improve skill and knowledge. Not bad, eh...

My Telekung Ez Sarung

Two weekends ago, my best buddy, Inaz and I visited MamaYaya a.k.a. Kak Taty at her recently opened showroom in Bandar Baru Bangi. Kak Taty operates an e-store selling products for mothers and kids. Her e-store is beautiful (designed by little kittle studio) and her showroom is just as attractive! I sure bought a few stuff there, one of which is a Telekung EZ sarung.

I've actually been eyeing it online for quite some time but I wanted to see how it looked and felt physically (so much for online shopping!). The one that I bought is purplish-pink and  I love it! It's a one piece telekung (praying clothe/dress/attire) which you can just slip on over you and voila! ready for prayers! The cotton fabric is so comfy and the design so convenient. I used it to perform my Maghrib prayers just now and it felt oh so good. Alhamdulillah. good bye to kain sarung telekung (with elastic waist) that keeps sliding down!

Apart from shopping, we managed to have a quick chat with KakTaty on her business. You know how I'm currently on the look out for a mentor. I was thinking that maybe Kak Taty could be my mentor and I even mentioned it to her. Sadly, Kak Taty's abit busy catching up with orders and tending to her business. Maybe I can help out abit at her e-store for nothing more than the experience to be gained. That'll be cool. But have to work on our own e-store too, right Inaz? As soon as we have something concrete, I'll be sure to launch it here!

Thanks for the inspiration Kak Taty!

This Year 2011

This year, I want to:

1. take horse riding lessons at Taman Equestrian Putrajaya (Putrajaya Equestrian Park);
2. buy a Yamaha Clavinova Digital piano;
3. take up piano classes at Yamaha;
4. have a baby;
5. take up Quran classes;
6. set up online shop;
7. rent space for product showroom and sell offline as well;
8. learn more about running a biz;
9. increase my monthly income;
10. put aside enough to pay zakat;
11. furnish ground floor room to turn into SOHO;
12. write a non-fiction book on WAHM dreams; and
13. become a certified translator.

And I shall work on making all this a reality, insya'Allah..

WAHMs Wanted!!

This is the year for me to become a WAHM..I've been wanting to do this for so long..I've been writing plans after plans..exploring this option and that.. I've discovered my interests, my strength and the meaning of my life. So isn't it about time I took the leap?

I have a wish, and that is to hear stories from other WAHMs. How they made their journey into becoming a WAHM especially from being a FTWM. I wanna hear from you. Stories good and bad. Experiences, advices, tips..

I have so many reasons for wanting to become a WAHM and among them are:

1. For my own sanity.
2. For my son.
3. For my family.
4. For my people.
5. For my religion.

For My Own Sanity

I have been a working a 8-5 job for the past 9 years . We all do it to earn a living - to buy food, clothes, shelter... I am grateful for it. It has provided me with a comfortable home, support for my family and once in a while some luxuries. But what if I could make money doing what I love? Then I'll never have to work another day in  my life! Well that's what most motivation books say and I totally agree with them! I want to a live healthy, abundant and joyful life every single day. Being a WAHM will allow me to become my creative self. I believe in my own potential. We all have it in many forms. It's God given. It is this unique gift that is ours that we should be using to the fullest.

For My Son

I want to watch my son grow in front of my eyes. I want to be an energetic, vibrant, fun-loving mother who can keep up with her active son and answer all his questions about life. That young inquisitive mind of his. My son, ever the confident one. I lavish him, we all do, with kind, loving words of praise and encouragement. I want to be there for him. To be able to send and pick him up from school. To be by his side when he does his homework and during playtime. My son, who at this young age wants to become an entrepreneur. He inspires me so. To open a shop and be able to sell beautiful products. That is our dream and goal this year.


For My Family

My mother has taken such good care of my son while I am away the whole day at work. Whenever I have to work late into the night or go out-station, both my parents will tirelessly care for my son. Ever the devoted grandparents. They love him so. By becoming a WAHM, I can free my mom from some of this responsibility. I want her to live the many years of her life as she intends to. I hope through the work that I'll start as a WAHM, I'll be able to contribute more to my family and parents who raised me. And I hope they'll support me fully in my endeavour.

For My People

I want to start a positive revolution for muslimahs. Hopefully my work as a WAHM will take me as far. I want to explore a field that I can be knowledgeable in. The knowledge that can allow me to help myself and inspire others. I want to contribute back to the society in the best way that I possibly can. As a WAHM,embracing her freedom, I shall do just that.

For My Religion

I want to be a devoted muslimah. To be able to do good unto others. To live in accordance to Islam. I want to deepen my knowledge in Islam. To be able to understand it and share it with other muslimahs. I want to live every day feeling happy, blessed and grateful. I want to make an honest living for my life now and hereafter. I hope Allah will give me the strength and courage to pursue this dream of mine.

Once again, I call out to all the WAHMs out there. I wanna hear from you..

Making Peace

Alright then. Since I'm not getting anywhere by being indecisive, I suppose I have to settle with what I've got here. Hey, it's not that bad (me consoling myself)! I rather like the new template design. Just the kind I would use for a blogshop.. Yeah..my own blogshop..the one reason for me wanting to start anew...

My New Companion - The Dictionary

For some reason, it seems that lately I cannot do without a dictionary by my side. After going through a few Personal Development materials, I've had words popping out of my head and onto the pages of my blog. I had to just look up the meaning right away to ensure that I am understanding those words correctly and using it right. Still, I have to practise alot more to perfect my writing.

I have always wanted to become an author. I guess that's another thing I will put down in my wish list: to become a world renown author. But what shall I write about? Personal Development? Or maybe issues on WAHM? That would be one area to tap into since there don't appear to be many in the local market. Yes, my next mission would be to interview successful Malaysian WAHMs and showcase them here to be an inspiration to other WAHM wannabees. It'll be great! I'll get the answers I'll need to move closer towards my goal AND I get to share those knowledge with the rest of my readers(just how many are there?).

I can do it!!

A Day In The Life Of A WAHM-Wannabe-but-for-now-FTWM

6 am: Rise and shine! Drink cup of water with pure honey (Madu Lebah Hutan Pak Long), iron office attire, get ready for work, change baby's diaper, nurse baby, prepare baby bag.

7 am: Send baby to parents, then off to work listening to Ben and Fat Fabes on FlyFm.

8 am: Reach office just in the nick of time. Eat breakfast from workstation. Have friendly conversation with cleaning lady.

8.30 am: Check emails, reply those necessary. Prepare the day's 'To Do List'.

9 am: Division meeting (listen to boss ramble on about office assignments and who does what. Give an affirmative anwer to all bosses query. Listen to colleague whine about not being able to take the year end off because of work assigned. Listen to boss asking all to stay back until assignments are completed while nodding obligingly. Continue to listen to boss conducting meeting millitary style.).

10 am: Back to office assignments. Prepare, edit reports/paper work. Call relevant people, follow up on status of other paperworks, check emails again in between. Join in forums for SU in between. Entertain visitors, answer questions, resolve any work related issues. Snack in between. Direct heavy work traffic to co-workers.

12 pm: Rush home to nurse baby, lunch.

1.30pm: Off to work again.

2pm: Reach office. See boss to approve editted paperwork. More paperwork editting, answering phones, short discussion with immediate boss and colleage, assist junior colleague in assignments. Answer queries on SU from prospects. Email Sifu. Back to office duties.

4.30pm: Work assignments nearly complete. Surf internet to avoid work-induced boredom. Back to assignments. Glance at watch from time-to-time.

5 pm: Clock chimes, time to return from work. Clear clutter on desk, shut down PC, lock door, toilet duties.

5pm: Get in car, rush home, get stuck in trafic, listen to FlyFm DJs Shel and Hafiz (my fave!).

5.55pm: Stop over to pick up son. Have dinner with hubby and son.

7 pm: Reach home, pick up clothes from line, fold clothes, clean house, play with son, put him to bed, chat with hubby.

11pm: Start work on SU assignments, leave comments on forum, update blog, read e-books (currently Paul Chan's).

2 am: off to bed, wake up in between to nurse baby.

and the day repeats..

P.S. Schedule at home may change depending on how early baby sleeps and whatever other things that crop up.

Note: FTWM stands for Full-Time-Working Mom.

Getting Organized

Getting organized is top priority when working from home. If you're a mother to children below school-going age then you may have more to juggle. Planning the day ahead would be the best way to avoid any time being wasted doing non-profitable activities. So what is the best plan? First of all you should list down all the chores and work you want to achieve in a day. Do this first thing in the morning or better yet, the night before! Find a daily/hourly diary and slot in the relevant chores, work or assignments accordingly. Set aside sufficient hours on all tasks and stick to the schedule. Step two, tick of items from your list as you go about it throughout the day. At the end of the day, after successfully accomplishing everything on your daily planner list, reward yourself - watch tv, take a foam bath, read your fave novel, indulge in a sweet treat or whatever that makes you feel good.

So that was just the basics. However, if you're like me and have kids, then the time you may want to make full use of is when the kids/baby are/is napping during the day and after they've gone to sleep at night. Make sure you get all the vital things done during those hours (eg. blogging, replying e-mails, researching, doing reports, calling clients etc..)

Another tip is to involve your children in doing household chores. This is for those who do not employ domestic help. Children (especially the young ones) love doing what adults do and would readily join in any clean up activities you invite them to. When tidying up your home, don't waste time and energy in getting everything perfect. Reduce extra thorough spring cleaning to once a month and involve your spouse and all children.

So there you have it! This self-written article also acts as a reminder to myself. Afterall, nobody's perfect! And we all need to be reminded once in a while!

Till my next post, happy organizing!!

WAHM link exchange

I don't know how many people my blog is reaching out to but if you're a WAHM or a WAHM wannabe (like me!), I invite you to exchange links with me. Let's take a fast track to becoming a WAHM!

The Perfect Housewife!

It was just a couple of weeks ago that Anthea Turner inspired me to become a perfect housewife just like herself! The first time of watching her show filled with much enthusiasm that I started spring cleaning our home right away!! This week though, our house is not as neat. My focus has shifted to building a home-based business and working on assignments given to my success team. Plus I've been nominated best employee of the month at work, a reputation my bosses expect me to live up to.

Now back to the show on Astro Discovery, Home & Health Channel, I absolutely love watching Anthea Turner on her Perfect Housewife program! And personally I don't think she's over doing it trying to get everything in perfect order. House-keeping is an art in itself. It's a skill that a WAHM wannabe like myself should make an effort to master. Through Andrea's show, I've learned a few marvelous tips like how to fold a towel- hotel style, using white vinegar to clean the bathroom, using baskets to put things in order and whole lot more. You have to watch the show to really appreciate those tips because they do make heaps of difference to how you go about house cleaning. That brings me to my survey of the month question, what type of WAHM do you wanna be??

Kaizen...

I truly admire Dr. Irfan Khairi, regardless of what my hubby says. His success is phenomenal! And his willingness to guide others to achieve the same kind of success shows the positive spirit that he carries with him. kaizen is a term mentioned in one of his earlier daily 'one minute tips'. for those unfamiliar with this term, it means to improve yourself a little at a time.. to become a better person day by day.. a concept that is well taught in Islam as well.

so what sort of kaizen steps have i taken today? hmm.. i've managed to complete a good number of paper work.. my desk looks pretty neat as of now compared to the heaps of files i had on a few days ago. so i am achieving something at work, in terms of completing my tasks. what about self improvement? i could really use some help financial wise. i'm always talking about setting up my own e-biz but never getting around to doing it. each time i manage to free myself from mothering responsibilities at home, i waste it by surfing other not so relevant websites.. so how to be kaizen in terms of that?

solve financial issues by: 1. spending less 2. avoiding impulse buys (i do this alot of times with clothes and books) 3. saving more 4. finding other sources of income

other sources of income in planning: 1. sell muslimah swimsuits 2. sell unused items at ebay and carboot sale 3. sell cloth diapers 4. pay per post 5. ...

ideas?

dream job

So it's true.. almost everyone i know is on the look out for that dream job be it whether you're working for someone or working for yourself. job satisfaction matters cause you spend most of your hours at your job to earn a decent living. my dream job? one that is flexible, creative, allows me to use whatever skills i have and provide me with the opportunity to expand on areas i'm interested in, be my own boss, be able to work from home, one that would benefit me as well as others; a business, where income is in abundance and has no limits; where it doesn't matter what other people expect me to know or be able to do but what matters is what i already know, want to know, can do, and am willing to learn to do.

business ideas

what i really have the desire to do is to set up an e-business. alot of working mothers are doing it these days in hope that it will earn them enough income to enable them to quit their current job and work comfortably from home while raising their children. the most ideal situation. which is exactly what i have in mind.. i have plenty of ideas.. ideas which i'm not going to list down here just yet. so..provided that i have enough desire to realise this dream of mine, it shall be carried thru.. and there's no better time like..now?