Four, Just Four?

Elsa tagged me with this, much to my shock. No, I didn't actually expect it, Elsa. *grin*
Here goes, I guess:

Four jobs I have in my life:
only FOUR???!! *wide grin*
1. Kindergarten teacher
2. First grade teacher
3. Third grade teacher
4. Islamic teacher

Four Movies I can watch over and over:
1. Sound of Music (much to my husband's annoyance)
2. Annie
3. Heidi
4. Secret Garden (don't remember exactly which one, with which actors, but I just love the story)

Four TV shows I love to watch: (this is not a good 'four' for me, I'd rather have 'Four Books I love to read')
1. ER (the only one I don't want to miss, the others I can let go)
2. Anne of Green Gables (it's so beautiful!)
3. Little House on the Prairie (no cable but acquired through library DVDs)
4. Little Women(when they had it that is)

Four places I've lived in:
1. Ames, Iowa
Among all the places I've lived in in the United States, this is still the one I love the most. The crime rate is low, the masjid people are nice, and the grocery shopping doesn't eat up a lot of gas. To get from one end of the town to the other, it takes about ten or more minutes. I love the size of the town, though it would be rather dull for most single students. I love ISU too. My Alma matter.

2. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I've always lived in Kuala Lumpur. Even when we moved, we were still in Kuala Lumpur. I can't imagine living anywhere else but now, I can't think of the traffic jams and crowd without wincing.

3. Labu, Negeri Sembilan (boarding school)
I lived here five years. Surrounded by rubber and palm trees, it was some memorable five years. I consider myself somewhat on familiar terms with Seremban.

4. Athens, Georgia
We moved to Athens after living four years in Ames. It was a totally different place than Ames. I didn't like the place much but I LOVE the people. It's a small, tightly-knit Muslim community. I took my first Wilton Cake Decorating class there. I finished up here in Columbus. Started homeschooling here too under the guidance of sister Anisah. It was a very fortunate incident that I met here. It seemed as if we were destined to meet as I was mulling over Valentine activities my preschooler had to go through that day. Subhanallah, as we sat there in the library after picking up S from school, we met her and her children, five of them, homeschooled. Maybe Allah placed us in Athens just so I can learn about homeschooling.

Four places I've been on vacation to: (my favourites)
1. Oahu, Hawaii (honeymoon after 9 years of marriage, no kids)
Hubby was submitting an abstract for a conference in Honolulu. he told me that if I help him with the paper he might take me with him. Of course I jumped at the idea but reality check told me I couldn't possible go. Who would I leave the kids with? We couldn't possibly bring them either because the funding for the conference is less than $700, and summer is peak season for Hawaii. Somehow, someway a sister offered to babysit them for the length of time we were going to be in Hawaii. I left the kids with her with a heavy heart, not because I didn't trust her, but because I've never been apart from the kids since I gave birth to them. Suffice it to say, it was a wonderful 'honeymoon' albeit some problems getting hubby to pack on time. I almost didn't go out of stubbornness.

2. Ashville, Tennessee (first camping trip with the kids)
I'm not the camping type, but I went when invited by a friend for the kids' sake. Our camping site was nestled in a valley somewhere between Tennessee and North Carolina, in the Appalachian Mountain range. It was such a refreshing summer vacation for us, with waterfalls, bone-chilling mountain water in the streams we splashed in.

3. Cedar Points, Sandusky (first amusement park with the kids)
I entered the kids in the summer reading sweepstakes sponsored by a local TV station. We had to send in a card for every 5 books read. Of course, it goes without saying(if you know how much S reads) that we were bound to send in lots of those sweepstakes card on her behalf. She won third place, which was just the prize we were longing for: four tickets to Cedar Points! We paid only $10 for H because he wasn't tall enough. I'm so lucky I wasn't pregnant that year. We did a lot that summer.

4. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (first tag along on hubby's conference, along with kids)
Another one of hubby's conferences. We ALL tagged along this time because it was affordable since we were able to drive there. It was a long hazardous drive because it was winter. We blew one tire in Virginia while it was snowing, at night, with no cell phone. Alhamdulillah we got back home safe and sound biiznillah.

Four Places I'd rather Be in:
1. Jannah (ahhh...was just reading a description of Hell, black fire etc...nauzubillah)

2. Madeenah (they say we can still feel the hospitality of the Ansar and the aura of Sunnah)
I'd love to actually live here. Syeikh Yaser Birjas said especially in Ramadan, you feel the sunnah so deep around you. Everyone who goes to Hajj has expressed a longing to go back to Madinah. My mother said Madinah is nice and cleaner than Makkah. In the Quran Allah talks about the Ansar's hospitality, Subhanallah.

3. Makkah (the Holy Sanctuary, of course though maybe the people are less nice than in Madeenah?)
A true melting pot here I guess, with regards to the people. I can still remember Maqam Ibrahim during the umrah I tagged along on when I was ten. I can't forget how big the footprint was.

4. Oahu, Hawaii (it was a memorable honeymoon, what can I say?)
I didn't get to climb up Diamond Head, but witnessing a shahadah there was worth way more than looking at Honolulu from the top of Diamond Head. This deserves an entry of its own, but I ain't got time, yet.

Four of my Favorite food:
1. Malaysian food- Nasi lemak (Coconut rice with spicy gravy)
I love to have this for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

2. Indonesian food- Nasi Padang (can still remember those 'restaurants' in Sumatra)
I love the way they stack the plates of dishes to form a pyramid. On our frequent trips back to Sumatra, my father never fails to take us to Nasi Padang stalls.

3. Indonesian food- Bakso (meatball soup with noodles)
You go to Jakarta and this is what you MUST eat. Otherwise, you're missing out BIG time. I love it when they make the meatballs really big. An Indonesian friend gave me a recipe but I've never been able to mimic the likeness of those Bakso in Jakarta. In Malaysia, my father always takes us to Ajo's stall in Kampung Baru for his Bakso and Gado-gado.

4. Indonesian food- Gado-gado (salad drizzled with spicy peanut sauce)
I just LOVE this. My grandmother has instilled in me a love for vegetables when i was growing up. She always told me that if I eat my greens I would look youthful for a long time. I don't know if it was vanity or if I was just being nagged at constantly, but I ate my greens, even the ones I didn't like like tapioca leaves and pucuk paku. But, the way they were prepared made them somewhat edible to me. Now, I can't eat if there're no greens on my plate. I wonder if I can do the same to my kids?

If asked to list more, I'd list Malaysian and Indonesian food still. I have a stubborn Malay tongue.

Four Websites I visit daily:
1. Columbus Dawah Forum
2. AlMaghrib Forum
3. Hotmail
4. Yahoogroups


Four Victims to Do this tag:
1. Anggerik Merah
2. Nisa (if you drop by Nisa, you're IT! *grin*)
3. Kamalia
4. Eiseai