Followers

6:36 PM

Bruised Knees

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

Many times I have received injury to myself to save my children from harm. It's all part of being a mother. But the recent bruises were worse than usual. I was washing all the pillows for the beds and the bathroom floor was getting soapy and slippery so when my son came whining at my legs in bare feet I worried for his safety. "Oh no you don't, You're gonna fall!" I said picking him up from under his arms with his back against my tummy and his feet a few inches off the ground as I carried him from the room. Right as I was turning to set him on the carpet my slippery feet slid out from under me. The edging on the door is sharp metal so i knew I had to prevent his body from contact so as I fell I pulled him against me. My right knee hit the floor first taking the most impact followed by the right side of my left knee. Then my son's 12kilos of weigh came crashing down on my wrist which smashed right into the tile floor. I let him go and he rolled off onto the carpet upset but alhamdulillah unharmed. As I cradled my knees and wrist. My husband came running and my undignified yelp of surprise and helped me to my feet. I spent the next two days holding an ice pack to them every chance I got to lay down. They started swelling and that ice felt soooo good! Now they are tender to touch and still have pretty deep bruised marks still after a week. At least I don't have to ice them now though. It's just amazing the way a mother can sacrifice her own welfare to ensure her child comes to no harm. SubhanAllah.

Masha'Allah this is part of my 2009 goals featuring each month an Awesome Blogger I find that is doing A LOT of work online to help their sisters or has a very interesting blog.

Our March Amazing Blogger Award goes to: Ms.Unique, she has five awesome blogs:

Common Misconceptions About Islam: "This blog explains the Common and Widespread misconceptions about Islam as explained by Dr.Zakir Naik. " May Allah(SWT) forgive us our sins and accept from us whatever little we are doing to spread the truth." (Ameen)" is what it's all about. Here is a great source of knowledge for people looking to learn new things about islam that they have questions about. Sometimes I find myself reading over it and learning something new too!

Islamic Tidbits: "This blog consists of the Interpretation of verses from the Qur'an, explanation of Hadith, Life of Sahaba(RA) and the Salaf, and general advice to Muslims which have been sent through the SMS. " May Allah(SWT) forgive us our sins and accept from us whatever little that we are doing to spread the truth." (Ameen)" Definitly a source of beauty for those needing a boost of Imaan. i find sometimes jsut reading something will make my day a lot brighter! Amazing and awesome blog for sure!

Ms.Unique's Corner: Her main blog about General Thoughts. I find her posts deep and insightful and always full of goodness. She definfitly brings out the sweetness in other bloggers and is kind in commmenting frequently on people's blogs. I've seen her all over the blogosphere spreading her sweet words that warm the hearts of those who recieve them.

Islamic Question And Answers: "This blog contains all the Q & A I recieve through e-mail. " May Allah(SWT) forgive us our sins and accept from us whatever little that we are doing to spread the truth." (Ameen)" I find the variety of topics refreshing and thoughtful and am glad that she makes these posts so that i don't have to do the effort of finding the answers myself of clicking around the internet. She's so sweet to make the trouble to do this for everyone's benefit insha'Allah!

Prophet's Medicine: "This blog is about all the medicines which have been prescribed by the Prophet (SAWS)." WOW what can I say but WOW. I've heard from my in-laws that this was prescribed or that was prescribed byt the Prophet for this or that illness but never found anything about it mentioned. And this blog tells many good things that you can do in your home. It is amazing truely! A quick example:
"Watermelon should be eaten before the meals. Otherwise, it will cause nausea. Some doctors said that when watermelon is, "Eaten before the meal, it cleanses the stomach and removes ailments."Taken From: Healing With The Medicine Of The Prophet (peace be upon him) By Imam Ibn Qayyim Al-Jauziyah" I find the most interesting thing here!


So for all your hard work in maintaining these blogs and for being a sweet and caring person to all those whom you meet Ms. Unique, you get the prize!

4:38 PM

Islamic Writers Alliance: Poetry and Short Story Contests

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |


IWA CONTEST!
This Year EVERYBODY Can Write!

Announcing the Islamic Writers Alliance

5th Annual Poetry Contest

ALSO NEW THIS YEAR:

The Islamic Writers Alliance Short Story Contest!

Both contests begin April 1, 2009 to midnight April 30, 2009 Pacific time

~Both Contests have CASH prizes~

The THEME for both contests is Open so whether you are a poet or a writer or a combination of both, there is an opportunity this year to write what you believe is a winning poem or short story and show the world you believe in what you write.

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart." ~William Wordsworth

(Feel free to copy this post and send it along to those who you know will be interested)

9:40 AM

Islam is like a rose

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

After reading over my reply to Lisa/Yasemin's latest Post I thought perhaps others who don't always visit her blog may gain something from my comment. Perhaps it might help one other person look a the world a little differently today.


American Muslima Writer said...
Boy do I feel your depression and pain coming through oh so clearly.
Look my dearest Yasemin.
You wrote"I can weather these storms all I want, but all I do is just keep surviving. Never really living. I'm not really even alive anymore."
You have choices in your life.
You are living. You hit rock bottom and this is what it feels like to dig your way up. It hurts it sucks but its what you have to do.
YOU CAN AT ANY SECOND OF ANY DAY DECIDE TO PACK YOUSSUF A BAG YOURSELF A BAG AND JUST TAKE THE CAR AND DRIVE TO ANYWHERE IN USA TO LIVE FOR A WHILE. EVEN IN YOUR CAR.
you have choices Yasemin.
If your Plan is to stick with the plan then do so, but know you do have other options that would bring you happiness in the short term that would make you free.
It would be a hard road. But it's a road that is open to you.
"And it hit me that my gut instincts have always told me why, but I've been afraid to pay attention. That deep down I'm convinced of one thing above all. That I can't have another baby with anyone, because of where the future is going.That maybe I'm just destined to die young."

Only Allah knows the length of someone's life. For all we know you can die this afternoon. I could too. It's beyond our control. So try not to think about when it will be but concentrate on getting as much OUT of life as you can.
"I'm saving money to try and take Youssef to New York, and see the remnants of Coney Island while he's gone. That is if the plan doesn't overwhelm us first."
WHAT! I'm gonna admit I'm shocked. Don't you have a lot to be saving up for instead of a vacation? He's 4 it's not gonna clearly stick in his mind long term right now. I'm sure he'd remember more a 1$ ice cream at McD's.This might sound odd but I want you to think about it deeply:
Where do you go when you're sad? Where do you take Youssuf when you are both sad?
Answer: Shopping, spending money, eating out. I know these are typical american ways to deal with pain. I do them myself sometimes. But realize what you're teaching Youssuf about how to channel his pain, into material possessions. If everytime Daddy gets him upset he goes out to eat he's going to associate food with pleasure which in the future could mean emotional eating disorder.
You keep comparing yourself to bigger and better. Reminds me of a hadith that says if you want to be happy look at those who have less not at those who have more. Look at the ghettos, look at the homeless. Look at those with life debilitating diseases.
YOU HAVE A LOT.
You are still young dear Yasemin.
Another thing to remember:
it is written at the entry of our soul to our body in the mother's womb how long we will live and part of what is written is if we will be poor or wealthy. Perhaps you need to start thinking that you will never be rich because Allah is keeping you from something that will harm you in your future and it will ham your soul.
What if you had that biggest house that biggest car that biggest world trip vacation? Would it make you whole inside? Sure they would look at you with envy but then what? They would love you for what you have not who you are inside. Your mother and sister will brag: That rich person is related to me! Look how fab I am to be related to someone so rich! They are not saying: I am related to Yasemin who is poor and still a wonderful person who strives hard to give love to the world and takes care of her hurting son every day.
And before it makes you despair that you MIGHT (Allahu alim) be one of those destined to be poor the rest of your life remember this: Those who enter Jannah first will be the poor and the needy. They will be the first to see some of the most beautiful things Allah has created. Before their richer friends.
But when your faith increases i believe so does your rizq from Allah. As you become a stronger person and you prove yourself to Allah he makes it easier for you to continue to be strong.
I never thought I'd have the money to get to Lebanon. But I knew if I wanted to finalize the details of getting my passport finished and packing things, because my husband had already bought the ticket but I was trying to scrape enough money together in time for a quick service passport, then I had to quit my job NOW. A job that had taken me 3 months to get in the first place. I job I had finally gained 53 hours a week at. And the exact day that I just put my life in the "hands" of Allah trusting Him to take care of me as I quit my job to start packing, I received an unexpected $500 from a friend of my husband's out of nowhere so i could do the passport. My husband didn't call him. The very next day I had the means to do my passport stuff and finalize my packing. My passport arrived the day before my plane was to leave.
Sometimes you have to prove to Allah that these worldly matters mean less than your faith in Him. I was shaking as I left my work. Shaking that everything would fall into chaos as it usually does in my life and I'd soon be homeless without a job to pay my part of the rent. But as I walked away shaking I kept saying:"Ok, Allah, it's all for You. I'm sacrificing it all for you. So I can make a better life as a good muslim with my husband, and fulfill the duties a good muslimah should. I'm placing my path with You to be guided by You how You have destined it to be."
Alhamdulillah.
Allah granted me wonderful things.
Sure it's not all been roses but each thorn has been a test for me. As I squeeze my hand tighter around the rose that is Islam and the thorns dig deeper and hurt more I keep squeezing harder and harder holding tight to the beauty of Islam and hoping to gain the beautiful smell of Jannah. Where in the end I can See the Creator of that Beautiful Rose.
I love you for the sake of Allah Yasemin. You have a lot to offer the world still. Don't sell yourself or your life short. Continue to look forward to a long life but prepare your soul and your son's for the unexpected.
XOXOX

6:06 PM

CHAOS...on my calm chaos

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |


What do these two pictures have in common? Click here to find out the surprising answer.

4:59 PM

C.H.A.O.S. got you down?

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

There is a new word going around the organizing world. Chaos. It may be as old as dirt but they've given it a new meaning. CHAOS: Cant Have Anyone Over Syndrome. Many times we don't allow people over to our houses making a million and one excuses. Or when someone doesn't visit when they were going to we sigh with relief. Ahhh, our secret is safe. Our dirt sighs with relief too knowing it will be allowed to linger for another week.
(not my house any of them)

Yet tell me what happens when riiiing goes the phone? You answer it nod and say a hasty "of course, I'm not doing anything You're more than welcome tomorrow at 7am for breakfast and tea!" You thought you had another week to get your CHOAS into control. Then the unexpected happens and you turn into a character from the X-Men.
Your supernatural ADD/ADHD HyperFocus Powers go into Superman mode. You're a whirlwind around the house looking like you have 50 arms and feet as things fly magically into the right places. Within three hours your house looks like a magazine advertisement and you crash into bed for a good nights sleep. The next morning you wake refreshed and greet your guests as if you didn't have an X-Men on Speed alter ego.


When they leave hours later you realize how much you can accomplish with your HyperFocus and how good it felt to unleash it upon your home. You unconsciously purposely let your house pile up, subconsciously waiting for that ringing phone. That cue to make your boring life super exciting, just to get that rush.
So I nearly wet my pants laughing the first time I came across this suggestion in my Organizing with ADD Book, under ways to MAKE yourself clean: Invite someone over.
Three words and I could NOT stop laughing. The idea of purposely calling up someone instead of waiting for them to call you so that you can turn on your HyperFocus was just ridiculous to comprehend. The Whole Point of CHAOS is you cannot manage your life to be clean enough to have anyone over, and there you go screwing with your own mind just to get it done makes it seem like you have a hidden saboteur inside.
But deep inside we all know this would work. It really would make us get off our butts and release our Super Powers and get things done and then have the added bonus of social time.

So there we have it, two ways to combat our CHAOS:
Invite Someone Over
Unleash Your Inner Supernatural HyperFocus Powers

6:54 PM

Nudist Colony in Islam?

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

(Thank you to Habayeb for pointing the article to my view and kindly not bothering to post about this so that I could. Thanks for the leftovers of our idea think tanks at 2am. Hehehe.)
Some people think that we should be able to return to our natural born state of nudity. After all we aren't born with clothes and many say before Adam and Eve disobeyed Allah they were nude. So we should strive to be like them. Many believe that the natural way is the only way and clothed people are deluded. They even go as far as to deny beards and body hair.
In Islam we are far removed from this mentality. We are ordered to clothe ourselves. There is a minimum each sex must follow.

Men must clothe themselves inside the house with at least their loins covered but preferably more. Depending on whom on has in the house like children. Mostly inside and out all madhabs agree that a man must be covered from the navel to the knees. Many clothes made for men do not meet this requirement. Short shorts or even long shorts but they rest on the hips and don't properly cover the navel area front and back. If this is the case of men's clothes you buy it is obligatory upon you to also add a shirt that covers the navel. The pants cannot be tight either showing the lines of the body. Like spandex biker shorts.... *averts eyes...*
Women must clothe themselves Outside from head to toe covering everything but the hands and face. Without showing shape, color, transparency. Inside she may wear what she pleases and what pleases her husband but in front of people like family and children she must cover also between the navel and knees. Which means no miniskirts and daisy duke shorts around the kiddies. There are differences on opinions as to how much of her chest and arms she must cover around different people inside the house. I'm not going into that.

The point is unless there is necessity from illness or extreme poverty there is not to be nudity inside the house even. Even when having relations with the spouse it is recommended to keep the blanket over you both so the shaytan and jinn do not watch. We are given awrahs to protect and to take care of.
It may seem all lovey earthy wonderful to imagine a world where people could walk totally free naked without sin or bad thoughts or fear of harm but this is not a perfect sinless world and thus I do not believe any place exists even nudist colonies where they can live like this. Even nudists can give each other judging looks inside their heads. They can show off in their own ways or covet someones private areas secretly. Maybe one man compares his wife to the neighbor's and prefers the neighbor. No society is without problems.
Allah Knows our natures and has ordered us with clothing for our protection. Protection not only from each other but from the elements. Maybe I haven't googled enough about nudists but I haven't found nudist colonies in Alaska. We need clothes to maintain our body temperatures.
While researching this article I had to avert my eyes A LOT. One thing I found funny though is that many of these nudist wear SHOES.... why? to protect their feet... sorry but to me this smacks of hypocrisy. If you need shoes to protect your feet from harm don't you also need clothes to protect your body from harm!
Some people it really doesn't faze them a bit to be nude and that is their problem but when you walk around nude you have to realize you're harming other's eyes! I read an article in GULF NEWS about a man who went for a stroll around Dubai NAKED! People called the cops and they took him to the mental ward to be questioned. He might have been mentally unstable speaking only German. But how many people do you see on beaches everywhere who for the sake of swimming strip down to one or two pieces of small cloth and claim they are dressed. Perverts descend to check them out. "Oh how DARE you look at me in my bikini! Shame on you!" Excuse me? SHAME ON YOU! Put some freakin clothes on! These same people are the ones calling the cops on a nudist. Hello to a Muslim bathing suits are pretty darn close to nudism. Have some respect for yourself people and don't sell yourself for free to perverts. You're giving them a free peep show.
On the other hand Muslims who cover themselves are saying loud and clear, it's my body and if you aren't gonna marry me and take care of me and be my loving support, then you don't get to see ANYTHING. Alhamdulillah. So I don't see an Islamic Nudist Colony cropping up anytime soon, and God Forbids if it does, it's a sign that the Day is near. Prepare yourselves.

2:39 AM

Post your Age if you Dare

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |



How old are you?
Really the truth.



You'd be surprised how old some of your fellow bloggers are. Some youngins seem mature, some elderly seem silly and girly.

When you were a teen and someone called you younger you were insulted and when they said you were older than your age you felt superior. In this world we spend our youth trying to be older and our maturity trying to be younger. Perhaps it's time we all embrace our ages.

I was surprised to learn this week that three of my close blogging sisters just turned 21. Habayeb from A learning Muslimah, Aalia from Chasing Jannah, and Lazeena from Food on my Niqaab? I was truly surprised. These sister are so mature for their age! And it makes me think that although I'm only a few weeks from my quarter century mark I already view 21 as young where I used to see it as the golden age of being an official adult.

Habayeb and I have a slight case of insomnia and spend a few hours each late night (after my kids are in bed) discussing the odd questions of life on MSNMessenger. She was checking out Aalia's post and made me guess her age. I thought long and hard. She was laughing I thought Aalia my age so she must be younger too and she can't be that young if she's taking classes but she's still young that... etc... finally i went with 22. She said just turned 21~~! Whoa!
That means when I was a senior in High School 12th grade, they were still in 8th grade middle school. No way would we have been friends. Very few kids had friends from really higher or lower age groups. Mostly we stayed right around our age plus or minus 2 years. So now blogging (and Islam) have brought us all together in this world called Cyberspace.


So I'm wondering what everyone ages are out there. Surprise us! Put your age and your birth month (and day if you really want).
I'll go first!

I'm 24, will be 25 on April 1st.
Who's next!

12:51 PM

New Love vs Old Love

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

I was over at Perplexin's Blog reading about her new love and naturally we all read it and the, longer married with kids, sisters, we sigh. Those old feelings when we first realized THE ONE. We couldn't eat, we couldn't sleep, the Love Bug has struck. We all dream it stays like that til we die with our beloveds. But no, it changes. It becomes routine this love. We become accustomed to seeing everyday that twinkle in his eye and it no longer makes us catch our breath as it once did. Sure we still love it and admire it but it doesn't give you that heady rush. (Well you know except for those occassional moments where you're allowed to do something more than admire the twinkle then the rush does come.)

Lets add those kids now to the mix which means loving free evenings of romantically staring into each others sparking eyes is nixed. Instead you have the yelling screaming tearing your hair out evenings which after the kids are in bed lead you to need some serious relaxation time. Where a cup of tea with your old and well known beloved means more than a candlelight dinner. That is Old Love. Where instead of admiring his hot baritone voice you love more how he made his baby giggle in delight as he tossed her up in the air a few hours earlier. Because you never get time with him alone you value that time so much more. Even if it is just sitting quietly side by side sipping tea or juice.

We all love that heady rush of love and excitement but there is something better in Old Love that I really wouldn't trade for all the New Loves in the World.

1:19 PM

Brawl Last Night

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

It was awful. I was sleep deprived already when it started!
He was so agitated and then when he got mean I knew I was in trouble. His eyes narrowed in belligerent anger and he lashed out with only thing he knew how to. His hands. But his hands were holding something. A heavy cup. He wasn't far from me, conversational distance. He pulled his full arm back cup high above his head and then just threw it with all his strength. I winced knowing it was coming, unable to stop it. It hit me smartly across the side of my head. Slightly above the temple along the top corner of the hairline. The pain radiated from my head to my body. I felt the spot for bleeding. It was so incredibly tender to touch. There came a few drops of wetness to my probing fingers. All I could think of was astagfirullah some women feel this pain every day! I remained laying on the little floor mattress that I had dragged to the living room to watch a movie. He didn't even bother to see if I was fine. The movie was too important. He sat on the couch but he wasn't through with his attitude spat. My daughter got a little feisty towards him and he cuffed her a good one to. Luckily for her without the cup. My head screamed for me to go to sleep. But the kids weren't sleeping so how could I leave them to their own devices? I can't. I had to remain awake for them. I held my head as the kids jumped around me playfully. Tears in my eyes every time they jostled my head. I kept thinking about a story I saw online at Lisa/Yasemin's Blog. Someone had died from getting hit in the head. I thought what if suddenly without warning I just died from this wound? Then I remembered the last post I wrote about how Allah is the Owner of All things. I felt more peaceful that should this result in death that is ok because it is Allah's Will and He will take care of my beautiful Children.
But that's my drama side talking, I knew it wasn't that seriously injured because my son had received worse head injuries and was just fine. I was upset about his sudden burst of violence over nothing. How could I stop him from doing this again? But I did learn an important lesson this night:

Never try to appease a toddler with a heavy sippy cup when they are acting out and angry. It will come back to hurt you! I spent the night cradling an ice pack to my head.

(to nip comments about spousal abuse in the bud, for those that didn't understand the story I will spell it out more clearly, my baby boy hit me in the head with his heavy sippy cup not my husband with an adult cup. My husband was peacefully sleeping while this brawl happened.)

;)

4:07 AM

Imaan, 3rd Floor, Going up!

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |


SubhanAllah I've been really low islamically. Like ground level.

Then today subhanAllah something changed.

This song really inspired me:
What did I do today? I even downloaded it so I can have it anytime offline.

Then I was blog hopping (erm instead of getting down to posting like I should be doing about all these thing in my head that need out) and read this super Imaan lifting post about the Day of Judgement and how everything will die including the angels (which I hadn't known before this week).

Yesterday my daughter woke up early (for once) and we talked about Allah and discussed in depth about how everything is on Loan in this life and Allah can take it and Move it as He pleases and we have no control over that. Tough concepts to explain to a 4 year old but I broke it down with examples.

"Toys: Sometimes Allah give us money to buy toys, sometimes He decides another little girl needs toys far far away and so He lets us pack ours up into the box and give it away to Needy People and some man gets it and give it to his daughter. Allah gave you toys then Allah took your toys away. (to show her that taking isn't a mean and bad thing)
Sometimes Allah lets people be born and it makes some people very happy but sometimes they forget about Allah because they are too busy taking care of feeding and changing the baby. Sometimes he takes away the people we love because it is their time to go and it makes most people very sad but sometimes because they are sad they think more about Allah and what is important in trying to get to Jannah which is good. Allah can take and Allah can give.
Everything belongs to Allah. Just like your toys belong to you. If you want you can break them, if you want you can clean them. If you want you can throw them in the mud, if you want you can give them to someone and make someone else happy.
But everything, even you and me and daddy and your brother belong to Allah, yes even the toys, and he can keep us clean or let us be dirty or he can make us Alive or Die or be Muslims or not Muslims. He can do whatever He pleases because there is NOTHING greater than Allah. No one owns Allah. No one can MAKE HIM do something he doesn't Will."

And as the sunlight shone into our window by Allah's Will I never felt more at peace than really REALIZING and UNDERSTANDING the effects and meaning of Allah's Will. I felt my life was disposable at His Whim and I'm OK with that! Alhamdulillah if He is to take something precious from me. It's HIS to take. It's His Right to Take it. I never really GOT that in my heart before.
I knew the saying "To Him we Belong and to Him we return" but it never penetrated the depths of my heart to where I UNDERSTOOD it.
Just like if a Judge orders a murderer to the death penalty we all go "It's the judges right to order such a statement". No questions asked: No tearing our hair out in grief. No belittling the Judge's Authority and Questioning our Faith in the Judge's abilities to met out proper punishment. Yet Allah is the Ultimate Judge. And when people die like innocent babies, many too many turn away from God saying unfairly that HE is Cruel. Or Un Just.

It's Allah's to take or leave. It's HIS Right! SubhanAllah!

Definitely Imaan Lifting!

3:01 AM

Body in Alley

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

I had a strange and unusual encounter tonight.
I wrote in depth here: BODY IN ALLEY.

SubhanAllah.

2:04 AM

Body in Alley

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

It's Thursday Night and that is the weekend night for us. So i begged Hubby to go out to eat tonight. We piled into the car and started driving. We had to drive down a path between buildings in the dirt to get to the main road. We were idling chatting when he slowed to watch out for the raised sewage covers in the alley. We both stared hard at the same time at a strange shape that blended with the fallen leaves piled up against an old run down house. A dark man was walking slowly our way in the short distance but we kept looking at this shape unable to figure it out. Two sandaled shoes stuck out at odd angles that couldn't be just rubbish on a blanket (my mental guess at the pile). I finally spoke up, "Is that a BODY!?" I asked Hubby. "I think so!" He replied confused. It was a dark alley and the only light was our car beams.

"Oh my GOD! It's a BODY! GO!!! Go see!" I say anxiously pushing Hubby to get out. He starts to get out and I run out too. As we get closer we see it's an indian or south pacific woman laying face down in the dust and leaves. "Call 911!" I order Hubby. She looked dead. "Isn't it 999 here or something?" He asks. I mentally smack myself of course it is 999 here and tell him so. At my shout the dark man comes running up to us and yelling the woman's name, her family member. He starts turning her trying to lift her but I'm worried about a broken neck or something so I help him turn her over gently while Hubby is talking to the 999 people. I check her pulse on her neck and find it's strong and she's breathing well. I report this to the man and my husband to tell the operator. Then the man runs into the house that we found her next to and like five people come running out. All looking much like her except a Philippino. I tell them she's breathing and alive and there is ambulance on the way. One brings a cup of water and splashes her face. "Wipe her face not splash," I suggest in Arabic.
She starts coming around alhamdulliah. She's confused and starts crying. They are all trying to get her to stand and I'm pushing them back to let her rest a little and come to her senses. Eventually the eldest male probably her father lifts her up and she can barely stand. But they get her to walk slowly in the house. I ask the Philippino if she speaks English and she says yes so I ask her what happened. "She failed an exam today and was depressed and wanted to run away." She said. I felt so bad for her. "Please tell them to be kind and patient with her ok. She's really upset. They must be kind. A test is not worth her life ok. Go and tell them this." I said and she went back into the house nodding. Hubby informed the operator of the latest turn that she was in her house with her family.
I wished this was America and a police would come to check on her but sadly if they know she's with family they don't bother here. So we got back in the car and drove off somberly still in shock we had found a body in the alley. Who knows what might have happened if we hadn't seen her. Cars go fast sometimes down this alley and could have hit her. The way her relative was walking he couldn't see her form in the dark because her house dress blended perfectly with the leaves. SubhanAllah SubhanAllah! Alhamdulillah we spotted her.
I'm going to go tomorrow morning to visit her and make sure she's ok.

8:47 AM

Slap Him!

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |


How many times have you heard about some idiot dude harassing a woman and All you can think of to say is "SLAP HIM!" or "I'd give my teeth to slap him!" Yet if a man said this within hearing distance of any woman we'd be all over him like truck drivers at a mud wrestling ring.
We'd protest abuse and violence etc.. yet rarely is it noted that this is not acceptable in return from Women to Men. In the "West" we grow up thinking this is the right thing to do when you are highly insulted. It is practically something graceful to do! Old Movies even show it as a main part of Romance. Man grabs her elbow forcing her to him, she pulls back and dignified raises her hand to slap his face. He holds her tougher in return and they passionately kiss to make up.

*snort* yeah right. This is not how it happens in real life.

In Islam it is not allowed to hit people on the face because it is a source of great shame and brings deep embarrassment. The face is a place of dignity.

* Atonement for slapping on the face:Islam requires freeing a slave if the slave master slaps or hits his slave on the face. This is based on the Hadith of Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “Whosoever slaps his slave or hits him/her on the face must pay an atonement by freeing him” [Bukhari]. Footnote: 1. From his book Misconceptions About Human Rights in Islam*

So why is it then that women feel justified in slapping a man or another woman across the face but if a man were to do it to another man or a woman WHOA! Someone call the Cops!

I wanna hear your opinions!

7:41 AM

Hot Water

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

"A woman is like tea,
you never know how strong she is,
until you put her in hot water."

~unknown as of yet

(thanks UmmTravis -this is the most true and amazing quote maybe I've ever read)

7:12 AM

My garden

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

has been a peaceful place for me! My neighbor did some free labor and planted all the flower seeds he owns. The result is a big wild crazy mess of beautiful flowers. Especially sunflowers! Every week I go out with my clippers and using a newspaper to hold them I cut myself a random bouquet. I put it in my single open mouthed vase and place it in a cheerful place in my living room. Thus on the days when I don't get outside I can still see flowers. I LOVE flowers! There is no reason why someone can't have beautiful flowers in the house. It just softens and brightens up any room! Yesterday we went out playing in the garden and as I clipped the kids played with our two stray outdoor cats. They all had a blast. Then I found a weird bug and proceeded to capture it. I'll have to blog more about the bug on the Homeschooling Blog because now it's part of Rajaa's life and she's become very attached to it. I was happy to find in the middle of the night it eating the sunflower's leaves (behind the yellow petals) as I was afraid it was a bug eater and would starve and was about to free it today. Now I can keep it happily fed easily.

I also finally got some honey called Acacia Honey that is a light golden color and it's soo sweet even more so than regular honey because the acacia flowers have a beautiful fragrance! So I've been randomly spooning some full strength into Mustapha's eager mouth. It seems to be helping with the coughing but I still had to give him syrup in the night because it intensifies... ahh so much for pure home remedies... i can't stand coughing. such a wicked sound. Poor baby can't spit out the phlegm either so it's like torture hearing him cough and swallow every few minutes at night. Too much info? well welcome to my life....
I made chicken soup...with a whole chicken and potatoes and carrots and noodles..... no one barely ate it, the half pot left finally went bad.... I tried Honey and warm water in his new sippy cup but he didn't' go for it at first. I'm not sure if it was the warmness or the newness of the cup. Finally I manged him to drink some and he guzzled it but it was hardly warm then. Maybe I will try sweet lemonade today...

I was gonna try making a cake today too but with a sick boy all night I think I'm too tired to try and control them and bake again. Looks like Tuna Casserole for dinner because I'm too tired to make anything fancy and everyone will eat the tuna casserole. Thanks mom for the recipe. It was always a smash when you made it and it's always a smash here.

We've been having a bad sleeping schedule the last two nights in a row. Not going to sleep until 3-4am and then sleeping til 1pm then waking up playing then sleeping a nap at 6-8pm then Up wild til 3-4 am....ugh! Enough to make any mother miserable.
The good thing about homeschooling is though if she's gonna be up in the wee hours of the morning she's gonna be doing school projects. Or reading books as a family. So at least we get some one on one time more. The hard part is keeping them quiet so hubby can sleep in the next room. I really gotta figure out how to get them to sleep properly. It's hard enough working around hubby's work schedule but trying to make them sleep at right intervals is annoying! One day i got it the next it's whacked. The following day is adjustments and the third day is back ok....etc infinity... that's my life the last few years....

I had misplaced my homeschooling calendar this past month lol and so i was very behind schedule until I found it and realized I only planned for half a month in March and left two week window open, ah clever me. Now we are two weeks behind and have the space needed to catch up!

1:10 PM

Choose one?

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |


Think hard:
"Hypothetical Question":

There is a new law in all first world and second world countries stating you can only have one child. In the next 72 hours armed government officials will be coming to everyone's house and taking all but one of your children. Unless they were born as twins. Which must be documented.

Do you choose to be a law abiding citizen and give up your children? If so how do you choose which one to keep?

Do you choose to run from the law and take your children and family away where no government officials will find you? If so where will you go and how will you keep the gov from finding you?

Don't make fun of anyone who chooses something different that what you'd pick ok. This is open to all points of view. Let's hear them....

1:04 PM

TWINS MABROUK!!!

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |


(random photo not her babies)


My friend called me last night to tell me she gave birth to her beautiful twins!!!


A boy and a girl fraternal.


Masha'Allah!!!! I'm sooo happy for her!!!


I hope she will get lots of support from her family and friends because lets face it she's not going to get sleep for the next three years LOL!





My heart goes out to her!!!


She was sooo strong too declining pain meds. May Allah grant her great rewards for putting her children before her own needs.





ARG I wish I could fly out thre and help her right now!!! Make du'a for her family.





Love you my dearest Muslim Sister.


XOXOX

6:04 PM

Jummah Resolutions

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

There were at least 8 sisters who WISHed for "something like this" and said "if only..." Yet not one sister has put a resolution. Did I waste a good two weeks setting it up when I could have been doing puzzles with my children? I really thought more sisters wanted to encourage each other in islamic things and encourage non-muslims to become Muslim by learning about Islam and seeing what struggles we all deal with.

So what is it? Is it the colors? The way I wrote the content? The lack of OTHER people commenting and making those brave few first ones feel more vulnerable? Was it a bad idea?
I really thought about removing it.... just scrapping the whole thing. But what if one sister is looking for this and needing this and I prempted her chance to better herself.... it would be a shame. Plus I dunno it encourages me just looking at the topics it reminds me why I'm Muslim, what I believe in, How much I wanna be better.

Should I be the one posting my resolutions first to encourage others? Is that it? Are we all just a bunch of cowards sitting nervously behind our PCs afraid to speak up about what we are struggling with?

Is it the publicness of it? Do ya'll want it to be private? But I wanted it open for men, women, kids, and non-muslims...... I doubt they could benefit if they have to go throughthe chore of e-mailing me to be let in....

Please let me know... I'm a bit discouraged...

9:20 AM

A sound in the night

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

*to the song "The Call" Song at end of Narnia2:Prince Caspian"*:
It started off with a tickle which then grew into a cough
which came off and on, into the night, as all tried to sleep.
Then that cough came more often and often,
through out the day, It comes back, just when we think it's gone.


Aww my poor son was tossing and turning all night coughing sporadically and now it's worse so I'm on germ detail looks like for this week.

Hmm my throat feels a bit scratchy too......

I found these natural remedies for cough/cold especially good for small kids who shouldn't take certain medicines and also because who wants to cram medicine down a cranky baby's throat? Not me....

Classic Chicken Soup: Noodles, Whole Chicken, Veggies ahhh... classic...
Hot Water and Honey (honey not for babies under 1)
Traditional Arab Recipe Husband taught me: Quarter a Lemon and boil all in hot water squeezing with fork or spoon every few minutes. Add honey (or brown sugar or white sugar) to sweeten. *also you can add a dash of cinnamon, it's know for it's healing properties*
Suck on a Peppermint Candy (either candy cane or little mints) make sure you know if your child wont choke on it first.
At night a dab of VapoRub (i heard there was one for Babies) on chest.
Alternativly I also read if you put VapoRub on Feet then cover it with cotton socks all night it will help. Many smells and medicines can be absorbed through the feet AllahuAkbar.
For stuffy nose use saline drops for kids/babies or spray though i find drops are less traumatising for both parents and kids.
And if all else fails a good old steamy shower. (make sure you don't burn your kid) Run hottest water for three minutes into a bath/shower. Then add cold water to feel then let baby play in water, no need for soaps, just water fun.

Know any other remedies? I'll keep you updated which ones worked the best.... as I feel I might join him soon...

4:36 PM

A no good very bad day...

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

oh man what was up in the air last night!?!?!?

Such a bad night! Things were going well then bam, not so well! How do these things happen? You don't even see them coming! I hate that the most about bad days, You don't even expect them. I mean it's not like I woke up on the wrong side of the bed or stubbed my toe. I was having a pretty good day!

*sigh* ah well... Some of you are going to get an e-mail lol.

7:20 PM

The Paths We Walk

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |


Slowly visualize this with me, taking one word at a time.
___________________________


You're walking in a large field. At one point you stop and look behind you. Clearly marked is the path you came from. It flows over the earth and tells a tale. It has up hills and down and bends and unexpected turns as you roamed though your life. It's a path very familiar to you. As you look forward you cannot see any one way to take. There are uphills that seem hard, ditches to jump over, smooth fields of ease, prickly bushes dot the land here and there. As you stand there you see someone approaching. They don't notice you at all although you can clearly see them. As the person gets closer you see it is a woman. She looks tired. She looks lost. She struggles with every step she takes getting closer and closer to you. Finally she's about to cross your path when she stumbles slightly. You catch her arm and prevent her from falling. You help her rise slowly. She looks at you dazed having never even saw you there. You smile and like a beam of sunlight it shines against her face warming her heart. You continue to hold her hand in yours giving her comfort and strength. Her bent back straightens slightly. Words are spoken. Relief is felt. You exchange tales of the paths you have walked. Each one helping the other to forget the struggles they have faced. As you stand there you both realize time is growing short. You should continue on your journey. As you slightly take a step so does she. Your step is to the right. Her step is to the left. You both look at the other with a quizzical look in your eye. You take another step right and look at her. She takes another step left. Your hands are almost about to separate. You give one last squeeze. Her cool fingers leave yours and she takes another step left. Confidently. You smile and take another step right. After a few more steps you look back and see where your paths clearly crossed. It was a beautiful moment but there is no stopping the paths. They must continue to be walked. As she is fading off into her path you are suddenly blinded by an intense light. It shines so brightly that the whole world is illuminated. You look around and are astonished to see so many people around you and so many paths criss-crossing with each other. Each one not seeing the other. Surprised when they bump into someone. But everyone keeps moving. You look forward and can see hazy lines through the fields. They stretch out as far as the eye can see. You take a step forward along one and another set of paths open up. You choose a different one this time and take a few more steps. With every step you take the hazy ones vanish and are replaced by your footsteps. You can hazily see the vague image of a man ahead. He is smiling and holding out his hand for you. You quicken your steps to reach him. He is the one. The one meant for you. You take his hand and you both continue to walk side by side making parallel paths. More faces are vague in the distance as you both cover hills and prickly bushes. Small innocent faces sleeping. As you reach your children and you notice there is no path connected to them. You wake them and both take their hands and place them on an empty spot between yours. Your child takes it's first step along the paths. You continue to support them until one day the grown child lets go of your hand and takes a step away from your path and begins to forge it's own. You can still clearly see them as they struggle but it is their path they must face it and choose it's course. As you take more and more steps on your journey you realize each path has felt right when you walked upon it. Your soul already knew where it's path lie. You just had to take the steps to follow it. You feel more urgent as you look back along the paths. It seems so long. You are starting to feel weary of walking. You think perhaps someday soon you'd like to stop and rest a while. The feeling grows but you stubbornly fight it. You've still got steps to take. You still have mountains to climb. You look forward to a giant mountain looming in the distance. A part of you wants to reach it and conquer it but the rest of you is saying, slow down, let's rest. Ah perhaps a small rest wont harm anything. You slow down and let go of his hand. You smile and nod for him to keep going. You'll catch up. As you sit down on the beautiful path and smile up at the mountain. You relax and close your eyes. Ah so this is what it feels like to rest. You lay down. The mountain is no longer in sight as you give into the feeling of contentment and go to sleep. This is where your path ends. The other paths go on. You feel them flowing by you in your sleep. Some pass by you and tip-toe around your sleeping form. None wake you. You continue to sleep dreaming of the day you will awaken to a place where there is no walking, only contentment.

______________________________
~Brandy A. Chase (c) 2009

7:45 PM

Just for YOU!

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

If You've been to Al-Ain, at the Al-Jimi Mall, AKA Carrefour Mall, and you go upstairs to the bookshop; continue in and go to the back of the store, but WATCH OUT! There is a step that is blended into the flooring! Or there used to be! Until they fixed it. It now says "pls watch your step!" in silver handmade foil. HANDMADE. Did you get that part? Let me tell you how that sign came to be.

When I was first here in UAE and I went to the bookstore with my friend. The salesman was all smiles and exuberant in his duties to help us. We had paid for our things, ok lol she paid for her things and I watched her, and as we were leaving I really couldn't see where I was going because the floor didn't look like it had a step and I was wobbly and not seeing my feet cause my son was still growing larger by the day in my tummy. I totally tripped over my own feet (not uncommon even when I'm not preg) and nearly fell into a pile of books. The salesman looked so astonished. And when I almost fall I let out a kinda loud screech. "Whoa!" I say embarrassed. "That's dangerous! You should have a sign warning people about that step! I'm pregnant and that could have been really bad if I'd fallen." He put on the most appeasing smile he could muster.

"Ohh don't worry! I will make a sign today! Just for you! Come tomorrow you will see it! It'll be just for you! No one will ever fall again ok. Just for you!" he kept smiling at me and staring in my eyes, which grew to be a bit uncomfortable especially as he kept saying Just for you! I just nodded and we left.


I told my husband that night what happened at the store. He was glad I was ok but got a tad jealous. "Just for you huh? Yalla we'll see your precious sign." he laughed. A few weeks later we were walking in Al-Jimi Mall again and I wanted to see if they had any new books. "Oh you want to see if your boyfriend is there?" Husband joked. I scowled. So we went to the bookstore and as we walked to the back of the store my mouth literally gaped open. There is large handmade silver foil was "Pls, watch your step!" The man was there. Husband was smirking behind his hand as he took in the sign. As the man came to greet us I casually said, "Ah, I'm glad you made the sign! Now no one will fall!" I smiled. He grinned, "yes, of course! Just for you! See I told you I'd make it!" At that point he was grinning a bit to widely and looking a little too long so I placed my arm in husband's elbow nook to show my affiliations. I do think he took the hint as he casually moved on to another customer. We continued to browse but every few minutes Husband would whisper in my ear, "Ahhh, Just for YOU!" and my face kept going red in embarrassment. Now I cannot walk into that store without seeing that sign and laughing inside. All of you in Al-Ain, now you know the story behind it.


Another day I was in Al-Ain Mall and we were eating at the Beirut food court place. The guy behind the counter was typical friendly lebanese/syrian guy (they all were) and we ate there semi-frequently so they were used to talking to me. I'm American and open and friendly when i
talk so after we get our meal and i realize I've finished my drink I go back to the counter holding my cup. I didn't know their policy about refills. BUT I DO NOW! I asked the same guy we ordered from, "Umm do you have free refills for Sprite?" I smiled. he grinned back. he handed my cup to the other guy to fill. He looked confused and whispered in Lebanese Arabic "Mufi heck! None of this/We don't do this" i saw the guy wave an it's ok just shut up and do it gesture and my smile fell. "Ohh I'm sorry you don't do refills, i didn't know." I spoke up. "No, no, it's fine. Anything for you! i don't mind. It's Just for You." he grinned and eyed me a little too much. i silently took my cup with a small smile of thanks and quickly went back to the table. i relayed the conversation to Husband who just looked shocked.

"Didn't he SEE I was with you? Doesn't he SEE we are married with kids? How dare he flirt like that. Just for you 'OUL! Whats with these Mall guys and Just for Yous!" I nodded my
agreement that this is too much. I looked over husbands shoulder at the Beirut Place and saw the guy still staring at me and still bloody grinning. I frowned and shifted so Hubby blocked the sight between us. We never went back to that place until we saw clearly that the guy didn't work there anymore.

_____________________________

The reason I'm writing about these incidences is because over at Jamerican Muslimah's Blog she wrote a post about "Muslimah Sexiness". This made me think more about how you can be a good Muslimah and still retain your inner beauty and spirit. in the above instances I was NOT flirting or doing anything to promote these men to go out of their way to give me JUST FOR YOU things. I'm a natural smiling person and try to be nice to everyone I meet. But for these men they went to far. It was one smile too many for them. i wasn't dressed in any provocative way. how then could I expect to let my inner wildcat out someday and let her seep into my attitude and very pores until I'm oozing, when a simple smile gets me in trouble? I'm not that gorgeous people. And I was overweight and pregnant! How can I try to blend my inner self and my outer self together without creating an Islamic conflict? Some say be yourself but you can clearly see where that will get me. So even though there are some interesting replies on Jamerican's Post I'd like to hear more from the rest of you that maybe didn't see it yet.


How do you be yourself, or your secret hidden self, and an outward good Muslimah? IS there a way to combine the two?

4:23 PM

S T R E S S E D OUT?

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |


Got a small complaint that I'm taking too long to add a Sister's Blog to ALL MUSLIMAH.
So let me tell you a little bit about how I manage that blog.

  • First I either come across a blog on my own, through a sister's blog link, through e-mail, or on my large list (52 pages long) of blogs to add soon.
  • I add them to the "to be added list".
  • When I don't have any other pressing matters of Children, Husband, Cleaning, Praying, Organizing my Life so it's not Chaos, Expressing myself through my other Blogs, Commenting to all my beloved fellow sisters out there, THEN I can add a few blogs!
  • I open my list of Blogs that I have added. Where I have also saved my automatic replies.
  • I open the sister's blog that I'm adding, read through the first screen to make sure she's Muslim and a SHE. Also to get a feel of the Blogs content for categorising. Which takes a good 5-10 minutes.
  • I then open my Blogger make sure I don't have any comments to publish. 1 minute.
  • I open the Layout screen for ALL MUSLIMAH and have to think about a category for this sister. if I just don't' know I put her in the "you pick" category. 2 minutes.
  • I have to type in her URL and her blog name. 1 minute.
  • I have to save it and then copy it to my list of added blogs.
  • I copy my automatic "you've been added to ALL MUSLIMAH" comment and comment on her blog making sure to add something nice about her current post. I don't usually like it when someone just goes HI THERE COME SEE THIS, and doesn't even say "nice post"... lol... so I try to make sure to comment with my Automatic reply. (which takes a good 3 minutes)
  • Then I have to go to the e-mail they sent me if that is where i got it from and copy the automatic reply to that informing them of the category. (2 minutes)
  • Then I check the main Blog ALL MUSLIMAH to make sure the link works. 1 minute.

So all in all it takes a good 10-20 minutes per person I add to ALL MUSLIMAH. So if I haven't gotten to your link yet please have mercy on me and realize it's a long process because I care about each and every one of you. You are not a mindless URL to enter and be done with. I've seen blogs that just make a master list with no categories, they have hundred and hundreds of blogs listed. But they didn't notify the owner of these blogs, they didn't categorize them, they didn't do diddlysquat. Which is why it takes them 1 minute per entry.
__________________________________________________
I admit even with all my skills of trying to get organized and help other sisters I have my down
side and days of absolute mayhem and chaos. Days where nothing goes right, everything goes wrong and I don't give a rat's behind about taking 20 minutes to add a blog to my lists because I can't even keep my temper for one second in check. So for that please forgive me. Insha'Allah as things get sorted out at my home things will get more sorted on my computer.... at least that is the plan.....

10:18 AM

Secret Sorrows

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

"Every man has his secret sorrows
which the world knows not;
and often times we call a man cold
when he is only sad."

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

3:16 AM

Bridge and Troubled Waters?

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

I was over at Lisa's commenting and made the comment "It's old water under the bridge"

then on Desert Veil's blog she said "It's water under the bridge."

Then I thought I'll just check Suzie's blog and saw third song down on her playlist is "Bridge over Troubled Waters"

Hmm what is the lesson to be learned here? Any offers?

7:33 PM

My Calm Chaos Blog

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

Lol ok I've made my first real entry come check out the craziness!

Excerpt: "pull aside the curtain and reveal the "guest" is still in the shower and have a comedic scene of guest embarrassment"



My Calm Chaos!





:D

Do you love the look of clean fresh spacious Hotels?
Do you dream your own home looked like this?
I do too!
Part of being an imaginative person I like to sometimes playact different themes to cleaning and manging my home. After a good three shows in a row of the Suite Life of Zach and Cody, I realized I could Play Hotel too.
I could manage my home as if it were a real hotel.
It's a fun way to get in the mood for cleaning.
Feel like sprucing up the Living Room? Think of it as the Hotel Lobby. Ensure that the seating is nicely arranged with plenty of throw pillows and a cleared off floor. Add some candles on the shelves. Even if no one but your imaginary friends enters your home you should still think of it as the first place a customer (visitor) will see when they enter your house. Most importantly when you come home and see a friendly interior you will feel more homey too.
When family enters treat them like a guest (umm if you keep your pretending to yourself, as I do, then just underplay the role) coming into stay the night. Give each on a secret name in your head. Greet them warmly as you would as the Receptionist. "Hello! Welcome home! How was your day? Glad you could make it!" Switch to Bell Hop mode if they are holding something. "Here allow me to help you with that." Or you can add imaginary guests as need be. Either way it will improve family relationships by having more respect flow between people. The customer is always right don't forget so swallow that sassy retort!
There are sooo many roles you can play with!

As you move through the house pretend you're the Housekeeping! Make the beds just so! Put a flower on the pillows! Envision how a Housekeeper acts (shouldn't be too hard ha ha!) and how they move around the room and what they clean to keep it tidy daily. Also realize the minimal things needed in a house to make it less cluttered. Use this imagery to help you focus on de-cluttering your home!


Hate scrubbing that bathroom? You can think of fun role playing for this. Regular Housekeeping, or for a funny twist if you like adding imaginary characters, you could be half way through the bathroom detail and then pull aside the curtain and reveal the "guest" is still in the shower and have a comedic scene of guest embarrassment and he/she runs off in a towel or perhaps turn it romantic (if these are your kinda thoughts) and join the guest for a little "mental" escapade Ohh la la while cleaning the tub (around your guest). Heh I told you I have active imaginations. ;)
Don't forget to change the folded towels!


Soon with a little (or a lot) of imagination, your home will shine!



Also for setting up a Home Notebook you can create dividers to match the theme of Hotel Personal. One area for Chef's Menus and one for In-House Tailor etc...
Hope these suggestions get the creative juices flowing~!
~My Calm Chaos

5:46 PM

Crazy Nights

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

The other night was just soo weird!

Thursday night the kids trashed the house (what I call it when they make huge messes for me to clean where you can hardly see the floor) and they took the bed half off to make a mattress slide. So inbetween watching cartoons they went mattress diving. Til 2am~! Then of course the next day Jummah Friday they were sooo sleepy. We had a lazy day cause I wasn't feeling good. That night we were supposed to go out to have some family time but Husband was tired. i was tired too beyond so. SO I just turned off all the lights int he house at 9am, forcing the kids to bed. Rajaa went down really fast but Mustapha who is used to regular bedtime at 11pm stayed up tossing and turning in the dark for 3 hours. (till 11pm.) then he fell asleep. Husband woke at 3am and so did I. So did Rajaa. ugh! So we stayed up a bit, I made oatmeal. Then we went back to sleep at 7am and woke at 8! We all got up and had some fun. Mustapha took an early nap at 11. And we all took another nap at 3:30. They are still sleeping now it's 6pm. I think tonight will be another late night arg! Wish I could get things re-shifted better. Insha'Allah!

6:45 PM

Need your Help: Choose Best Picture!

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |

I'm making a new picture for my sidebar but I really can't choose which one would look the best. So I though why not let me beloved readers choose! You can either use the poll above for anonymous choosing or use the comment to let me know. OR BOTH! Just let me know either way. You have until March 15th. Then I'm going to choose the one with the highest votes.

By the way I'm not nationalistic in any way nor do I believe America is better than any other country in the world. When choosing a name for my blog I wanted something that reflected who I am. i AM an American. i AM Muslim. i AM a writer. So the flag is just a fun thing not something I take wholly seriously. So please don't get all uppity about it lol. It's just a fun thing to do.

So without further blathering... I present you the choices: (numbered for easy reference)





Thanks for voting!

11:13 AM

Ironing days

Wrote: American Muslima Writer |


Ick i hate ironing when i see a pile of things that need to be. I procrastinate until I'm in deep trouble and am forced to iron something for SOMEONE to wear to work. Then I usually enjoy myself as I work on making perfect seams and lines and flatening out the wrinkles. It's theraputic. I then don't want to stop ironiong as I try to make a headway into the pile. I manage to get about 6 shirts and three pants done before life gets in the way and I have to turn off the iron. Then again I forget my therepy and once again the pile looms large.


ARG! Why can't my ADD head get it stright that having everything ironed it worth it later?


Love Ironing but....

H A T E I T !

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