ewwwwwwwwww I am in the middle of writing a new blog post and my cat just walked out of her litterbox and for some reason I watched her--she walked to the carpeted area, sit down and do the "butt scoot"!!!
uggghhh yuck... its the first time I've seen her do it but is it her first time she has ever done it????? ewwwwww!!
ok, gotta go clean the area up with Dettol real quick!!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
who is your true friend?
as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
Love is like the wild-rose briar;
Friendship is like the holly-tree.
The holly is dark when the rose briar blooms,
But which will bloom most constantly?
~Emily Brontë
I just read a blog post and am pretty upset by it. I am upset by the fact that a blogger is revealing some intimate details about someone who she called her own friend all along.--revealing things that will damage her reputation.
rather than the contents of the post, which may or may not be true,it is the fact that it is someone calling themself a friend who has done this that bothers me most. I feel sorry for the affected sister because she thought her best friend had her back.
even if the things said are true, she has revealed the sins of her own sister to the world. This is against Islam. It isn't the worlds' business to know about.
This sister who knows the so-called friend's secrets would never stoop to the level that her so-called friend has. She has at least that much integrity in her.
“True friends are like diamonds, precious and rare. False friends are like leaves, found everywhere. --Unkown”
a true friend would never do that. never. but obviously she wasn't a true friend.
My true friends are right there with me through thick and thin. They are there to laugh with, to cry with, and for those times I am down, they are shoulders I can lean on, and they try to uplift my spirits with their words.
"A friend can tell you things you don't want to tell yourself"--Frances Ward Weller
My true friends are there to set me straight when I am wrong. My true friends and I maybe disagree on certain issues from time to time--but we can calmly disagree and agree to disagree and stay friends even though we may disagree.
My true friends forgive me when I make mistakes, help dust myself off so I can try again, and keep loving me when I make mistakes... big or small.
“You can always tell a real friend; when you've made a fool of yourself, he doesn't feel you've done a permanent job.”-- Laurence Sterne
My true friends will never ever publicize the inner worst they know about me for the whole world to see. We all fall off the bandwagon from time to time and some falls are worse than others, but we can discuss the issues with each other and keep the issues to ourselves, whether it be an issue between just one friend and I or, within the small group of treasured friends.
Distance may come between you and a friend from time to time--life happens. But in the end you will still hold a special place in your heart for that friend, because true friends are a treasure to keep for life.
“To have a good friend is one of the highest delights in life; to be a good friend is one of the noblest and most difficult undertakings.”--Unknown
--edited to remove names...
Love is like the wild-rose briar;
Friendship is like the holly-tree.
The holly is dark when the rose briar blooms,
But which will bloom most constantly?
~Emily Brontë
I just read a blog post and am pretty upset by it. I am upset by the fact that a blogger is revealing some intimate details about someone who she called her own friend all along.--revealing things that will damage her reputation.
rather than the contents of the post, which may or may not be true,it is the fact that it is someone calling themself a friend who has done this that bothers me most. I feel sorry for the affected sister because she thought her best friend had her back.
even if the things said are true, she has revealed the sins of her own sister to the world. This is against Islam. It isn't the worlds' business to know about.
This sister who knows the so-called friend's secrets would never stoop to the level that her so-called friend has. She has at least that much integrity in her.
“True friends are like diamonds, precious and rare. False friends are like leaves, found everywhere. --Unkown”
a true friend would never do that. never. but obviously she wasn't a true friend.
My true friends are right there with me through thick and thin. They are there to laugh with, to cry with, and for those times I am down, they are shoulders I can lean on, and they try to uplift my spirits with their words.
"A friend can tell you things you don't want to tell yourself"--Frances Ward Weller
My true friends are there to set me straight when I am wrong. My true friends and I maybe disagree on certain issues from time to time--but we can calmly disagree and agree to disagree and stay friends even though we may disagree.
My true friends forgive me when I make mistakes, help dust myself off so I can try again, and keep loving me when I make mistakes... big or small.
“You can always tell a real friend; when you've made a fool of yourself, he doesn't feel you've done a permanent job.”-- Laurence Sterne
My true friends will never ever publicize the inner worst they know about me for the whole world to see. We all fall off the bandwagon from time to time and some falls are worse than others, but we can discuss the issues with each other and keep the issues to ourselves, whether it be an issue between just one friend and I or, within the small group of treasured friends.
Distance may come between you and a friend from time to time--life happens. But in the end you will still hold a special place in your heart for that friend, because true friends are a treasure to keep for life.
“To have a good friend is one of the highest delights in life; to be a good friend is one of the noblest and most difficult undertakings.”--Unknown
--edited to remove names...
I had forgotten what it feels like to be looked down on for my religion...
as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I said my Shahada almost 1 year after the 9-11 attacks. But for a couple of months at least, no one knew unless I mentioned it to them because I had not yet started wearing hijab.
On day I went to a cafe with a couple friends, one who is a Muslim and who wore hijab at that time. I remember all of the staring she got. and at that point I actually felt a bad at the fact that even though I was a Muslim along with her, I didn't have to face the negativity.
It wasn't that reason alone, but shortly after I slowly started getting into wearing hijab. I took my time..wearing only during certain times, only in certain places, all the way until I was absolutely ready to wear it full-time.
It was in hijab that I experienced all the negative attitudes towards Muslims. I was living in Colorado at the time, and I do have to say for the most part, Coloradans aren't very nasty towards Muslims. Not to say I didn't experience any...because I definitely did... but I know of sisters online who live in very small cities and wearing hijab is very scary for them.
I have travelled a bit since I became Muslim and for the most part things have been just fine. In Japan, I did get looked at a lot but I never felt anything negative towards me. One of the times I was in Japan was August, the hottest/humid time of the year. Most of the looks were as if they wanted to ask "aren't you hot?" LOL
I have lived for a year in Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. That city is a big tourist city and its beaches are full of skimpy clad sun-seekers and surfers. I didn't feel much negativity there. My husband and I spent a few nights in a small town named Noosa in Queensland and I did receive a lot of stares there. Some of it was definitely negative.
I have been to Germany and Austria. I was warned that in Germany I would receive a lot of negativity. We only visited Munich and didn't feel much negativity at all. In fact, many many Khaleeji women there were wearing their abayas and shaylas there. attitudes were pretty much the same in Austria as well, Alhamdulillah. Perhaps it is not in Munich where the negativity is...as Germany has other big cities.
I have been to Kerala, India where there is a large Muslim population but a definite size-able Christian and Hindu population as well. No negativity there either...although I did get a lot of stares from both the men and women--most likely just wondering where I am from.
And of course I have been living in Dubai, UAE for a little over 4 years now. If I get stared at here, its a whole different thing than from non-Muslim countries. Many Muslim men stare at women. UAE is a complete man's world and many families raise their daughters much more strict than they do their sons. So although Muslim, too many people practice culture over Islam so the men are spoiled and get to do whatever they want... and they do stare and stare and stare at women.
Even if you completely keep your eyes to yourself or to the floor, there will be times local men will attempt to come on to you. the simplest advice to avoid attention from guys is to always ignore them. there are enough women who will flirt back with guys and for the most part if you keep your eye contact away from them and ignore them when they talk, they usually will give up. but eye contact, a 2nd, 3rd glance... ohhhh they will be coming up to you.
ohhh I went off topic there... ok, back to my topic. anyhow, since living in UAE, of course it is very comfortable being a Muslim here.
well lastly, my husband and I just vacationed in Italy. We stayed for 11 days. one friend asked me if I was going to wear an abaya and I did consider it because of all the abayas and shaylas I saw in Germany and Austria. But it is cold over there so I opted to wear more Western clothing along with a big long sweater poncho for coverage.
I can tell you that in Italy I felt plenty of negative attention coming my way. It wasn't everyday all day long but it happened quite a lot. The worst of course was New Year's Eve when my husband and I were walking around and people were starting to gather in certain locations. People definitely were looking at me as if they were wondering if I was there to do something horrible. People were starting to get drunk and it was only around 8pm. They were only going to get more drunk as time went on. My husband and I did not stay out all night and went back to our hotel long before the fireworks started.
We visited Rome, Florence, and Venice. Rome is ok but Florence and Venice are beautiful places Mashallah. as for all of the negative staring I got from people, I did see people who would look at me and then make a comment (not to me, but definitely about me)but it was always in Italian so I never understood.
now, Italy is a highly Catholic country. with the Vatican and the Pope living within their country (although the Vatican is still an independent nation). I am sure this is what has to do with the amount of negativity I got.
don't get me wrong, I would go back to Italy again in the future. It wasn't so bad I couldn't enjoy my time. but one thing I definitely noticed was the lack of Muslimahs wearing hijab. if there were Muslims around, you couldn't tell. and so, that would mean most Muslim women there do not cover-- I saw a Muslimah in hijab very very few times. I can only imagine that I would have received even more negativity had I been wearing the abaya with the shaylas.
I said my Shahada almost 1 year after the 9-11 attacks. But for a couple of months at least, no one knew unless I mentioned it to them because I had not yet started wearing hijab.
On day I went to a cafe with a couple friends, one who is a Muslim and who wore hijab at that time. I remember all of the staring she got. and at that point I actually felt a bad at the fact that even though I was a Muslim along with her, I didn't have to face the negativity.
It wasn't that reason alone, but shortly after I slowly started getting into wearing hijab. I took my time..wearing only during certain times, only in certain places, all the way until I was absolutely ready to wear it full-time.
It was in hijab that I experienced all the negative attitudes towards Muslims. I was living in Colorado at the time, and I do have to say for the most part, Coloradans aren't very nasty towards Muslims. Not to say I didn't experience any...because I definitely did... but I know of sisters online who live in very small cities and wearing hijab is very scary for them.
I have travelled a bit since I became Muslim and for the most part things have been just fine. In Japan, I did get looked at a lot but I never felt anything negative towards me. One of the times I was in Japan was August, the hottest/humid time of the year. Most of the looks were as if they wanted to ask "aren't you hot?" LOL
I have lived for a year in Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. That city is a big tourist city and its beaches are full of skimpy clad sun-seekers and surfers. I didn't feel much negativity there. My husband and I spent a few nights in a small town named Noosa in Queensland and I did receive a lot of stares there. Some of it was definitely negative.
I have been to Germany and Austria. I was warned that in Germany I would receive a lot of negativity. We only visited Munich and didn't feel much negativity at all. In fact, many many Khaleeji women there were wearing their abayas and shaylas there. attitudes were pretty much the same in Austria as well, Alhamdulillah. Perhaps it is not in Munich where the negativity is...as Germany has other big cities.
I have been to Kerala, India where there is a large Muslim population but a definite size-able Christian and Hindu population as well. No negativity there either...although I did get a lot of stares from both the men and women--most likely just wondering where I am from.
And of course I have been living in Dubai, UAE for a little over 4 years now. If I get stared at here, its a whole different thing than from non-Muslim countries. Many Muslim men stare at women. UAE is a complete man's world and many families raise their daughters much more strict than they do their sons. So although Muslim, too many people practice culture over Islam so the men are spoiled and get to do whatever they want... and they do stare and stare and stare at women.
Even if you completely keep your eyes to yourself or to the floor, there will be times local men will attempt to come on to you. the simplest advice to avoid attention from guys is to always ignore them. there are enough women who will flirt back with guys and for the most part if you keep your eye contact away from them and ignore them when they talk, they usually will give up. but eye contact, a 2nd, 3rd glance... ohhhh they will be coming up to you.
ohhh I went off topic there... ok, back to my topic. anyhow, since living in UAE, of course it is very comfortable being a Muslim here.
well lastly, my husband and I just vacationed in Italy. We stayed for 11 days. one friend asked me if I was going to wear an abaya and I did consider it because of all the abayas and shaylas I saw in Germany and Austria. But it is cold over there so I opted to wear more Western clothing along with a big long sweater poncho for coverage.
I can tell you that in Italy I felt plenty of negative attention coming my way. It wasn't everyday all day long but it happened quite a lot. The worst of course was New Year's Eve when my husband and I were walking around and people were starting to gather in certain locations. People definitely were looking at me as if they were wondering if I was there to do something horrible. People were starting to get drunk and it was only around 8pm. They were only going to get more drunk as time went on. My husband and I did not stay out all night and went back to our hotel long before the fireworks started.
We visited Rome, Florence, and Venice. Rome is ok but Florence and Venice are beautiful places Mashallah. as for all of the negative staring I got from people, I did see people who would look at me and then make a comment (not to me, but definitely about me)but it was always in Italian so I never understood.
now, Italy is a highly Catholic country. with the Vatican and the Pope living within their country (although the Vatican is still an independent nation). I am sure this is what has to do with the amount of negativity I got.
don't get me wrong, I would go back to Italy again in the future. It wasn't so bad I couldn't enjoy my time. but one thing I definitely noticed was the lack of Muslimahs wearing hijab. if there were Muslims around, you couldn't tell. and so, that would mean most Muslim women there do not cover-- I saw a Muslimah in hijab very very few times. I can only imagine that I would have received even more negativity had I been wearing the abaya with the shaylas.
Monday, January 18, 2010
hi all.. hoping to start up my blog again...
as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
ohhh mannnn, it has been so very long since I have posted on my blog... I am hoping to start it back up inshallah.
ohhh mannnn, it has been so very long since I have posted on my blog... I am hoping to start it back up inshallah.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
to the desert comes rain….
Those who say only sunshine brings happiness have never danced in the rain. –author unkown
as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
Mashallah we have had quite a bit of rainfall these past few days in Dubai!! It seems to have ended now though :( --booooo!!!
one annoying thing about the homes here is they just don’t have/use screen doors. I would love to open my door to our room without flies and other creepy bugs getting inside. so for a while I was hanging my house shaylas on a cheapy spring tension rod I bought at Daiso—if you are in UAE and haven’t gone to a Daiso, its fun to roam around in there!! its kind of like the dollar stores in the US, only things cost a bit more…but its still cheap. anyhoo, it looked so ghetto so I looked online for some alternative screens and they do make ones you hang from spring tension rods. I got mine at:
Bug Off Screen
I got it from another seller on Amazon for $29 but its no longer in stock… well, we got it on the first day they forecasted rain…I think that was this past Thursday… it was around Maghreb time and I had just opened up the screen that arrived and could hear thunder. then as I was just about to put it on our doorway it suddenly just started pouring, Mashallah. our poor birds were still outside too LOL so I ran out and got them inside real quick. the night before last night around 3am I was still up and there was lightening like crazy everywhere… so beautiful Mashallah but scary at the same time because I was trying to take photos/video of it…but I didn’t capture any good shots or videos of it!! every time I was setting the camera up or in between pressing the shutter the lightening would come LOL oh well…
it has rained on and off until last night but unfortunately it seems the wet spell and cooler weather is over :(
its going to go back into the up in the high 80s to low 90s real soon!!! ahhhh I’m going to melt….
my sister-in-law told me they used to only have a super short rainy season (lasting only days to maybe a couple of weeks)once every two, three years but since I came a little over three years ago we have had a bit of a rainy season every year Mashallah and I just looove rain so Alhamdulillah!
* video removed
as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
Mashallah we have had quite a bit of rainfall these past few days in Dubai!! It seems to have ended now though :( --booooo!!!
one annoying thing about the homes here is they just don’t have/use screen doors. I would love to open my door to our room without flies and other creepy bugs getting inside. so for a while I was hanging my house shaylas on a cheapy spring tension rod I bought at Daiso—if you are in UAE and haven’t gone to a Daiso, its fun to roam around in there!! its kind of like the dollar stores in the US, only things cost a bit more…but its still cheap. anyhoo, it looked so ghetto so I looked online for some alternative screens and they do make ones you hang from spring tension rods. I got mine at:
Bug Off Screen
I got it from another seller on Amazon for $29 but its no longer in stock… well, we got it on the first day they forecasted rain…I think that was this past Thursday… it was around Maghreb time and I had just opened up the screen that arrived and could hear thunder. then as I was just about to put it on our doorway it suddenly just started pouring, Mashallah. our poor birds were still outside too LOL so I ran out and got them inside real quick. the night before last night around 3am I was still up and there was lightening like crazy everywhere… so beautiful Mashallah but scary at the same time because I was trying to take photos/video of it…but I didn’t capture any good shots or videos of it!! every time I was setting the camera up or in between pressing the shutter the lightening would come LOL oh well…
it has rained on and off until last night but unfortunately it seems the wet spell and cooler weather is over :(
its going to go back into the up in the high 80s to low 90s real soon!!! ahhhh I’m going to melt….
my sister-in-law told me they used to only have a super short rainy season (lasting only days to maybe a couple of weeks)once every two, three years but since I came a little over three years ago we have had a bit of a rainy season every year Mashallah and I just looove rain so Alhamdulillah!
* video removed
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