I'm back :)

Actually, it did not take that long! I mean my break from blogging. Well, I promised to come back only when I have something good to talk about and I'm not sure if I have that thing. But I feel so good these days, and may be telling you how good I feel deserves blogging. Maybe I have to, after I bothered you with all those depressing posts!!!

Thank God I'm feeling better. The last couple of months were miserable. I guess I started to feel lonely, overwhelmed, and depressed the day my husband went back to work after the c-section. I had to resume my all responsibilities as a mom and wife, and I guess I was not fully ready to do so. Despite all my husband's help and understanding, I still could not manage it. I needed help, mentally and physically. But my husband was there all the time. I guess without his support, help, and love, I wouldn't be able to move on and feel better.

I was so sensitive, emotional, and confused. I couldn't control my feelings, and I even couldn't think right. I found myself getting angry for the silliest things. I couldn't handle crying for nothing. When I remember these things now, I feel so silly!!

Okay, what happened to make things better? I have no idea! And I think I'm not all better, but much better, I guess. I feel myself again, I can think right again, and I can enjoy things again! One of the things that helped was going out more. I stayed home most of the time in the last couple of months. Having a newborn and nursing him made hanging out uneasy. Cold weather made things more miserable. So last week my husband decided to work from home for the whole week so I can hang out everyday in the morning while the girls at school. He took care of the baby while I'm out. I had the chance to do something different each day. I went shopping on one day, had a lunch with my girl friends on another day. Feeling free again made all the difference.

Before getting to the end of this post I just want to mention something. Few weeks ago I wrote something about friendship; how keeping up friendship is hard. It's true, especially when you feel down. It's sometimes not your friends' fault as it's yours. Mad people can't be understanding and forgiving as they should be. I know that I have always to find excuses and to give more chances to my friends, but I didn't. I need to listen more and talk less, since talking does not always help. It didn't help in my case!

I guess that was a long post. Thanks for hanging on with me! It feels good to be back :)

My new cooking blog!

I decided to create a separate blog for my cooking recipes: Susu's Kitchen. I kept all the old recipes here but from now on I will post the new recipes in that blog. Yesterday I posted a new recipe so check it out!

I hope you like my new blog :)

Guest post 1: Its all in the eye of the beholder

Here is the first "guest post". It's written by my husband, who was behind this post's idea as I mentioned in my previous post. He is the one who encouraged me to create this blog. And he is one of my regular readers who I look forward to hear his opinion after each post I publish.  

I'll leave you now with his post. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  

"Well, I guess a "thank you" is in order since Susu invited me to post here, something that I intentionally and successfully avoided until now - Blogging! ;) However, this will teach me to hold my tong unless I'm prepared to be a guinea pig, after all this was my idea!

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against blogging, in fact I nudged Susu into it (& I'm glad I did), its just that growing up I was a socially shy kid, and I guess this turned into a private personality as I grew older. Still, I was one curious kid.

I was eager to learn and explore, sometimes to my harm, but still it was a whole lot of fun and very, very exciting. One of my uncles likes to remind me how rebellious I was, as I didn't listen much and liked doing things my way, often the wrong way. I'm sure many will associate with this, its just the nature of kids. Its a thing most adults miss and long for when thinking of their childhood. So what happened to our curiosity? I think its mostly still there, deep down somewhere. Its just one's responsibilities had been racking up all these years until we ended up what we are now, "boring adults".

But just when we realize that we started forgetting our curiosity, God blesses us with the antidote, children. First, we learn (and then relearn) how to raise them, which is an experience by itself. But then an amazing thing happens, something you knew is coming but you never fully appreciated until now: a brand new curious being is brought into this world, with absolutely no preconceptions, and they're completely attached to you. You start to rediscover the world through their eyes, not because you need the knowledge, but because you long for the experience. You rediscover how much fun sand is, how exhilarating a slide is, how much you miss your bike, and how quickly your energy gets drained compared to your kids! - by the way, the last one is the only thing stopping you from buying a bike :)

Often, we quickly slip back into our "boring adult" mind set. We like to say the world have changed a lot, but the world never changes, its we who change, its all in the eye of the beholder.

I just wish I can get myself to rediscover more, to spend less time being a boring adult, to spend more time with my kids as a kid not a parent, I know I'll live better. My kids do."

Guest Post!!

Last night my husband got an awesome idea for my blog which I found really interesting. He suggested me to invite some of my readers to write a post for me that I can publish on my blog. I decided to call it a "Guest Post". The guest author will pick the topic. This post will appear on my blog once a month. 
Now, if you happened to comment on one of my posts expect me to send you an invitation :)

Since my hubby is the one who suggested this and since he is one of my regular readers, he is gonna have to be the first to invite. Waiting for your post, honey :)

I guess this is going to be a good come back!

Taking a break!

I decided to take a break from blogging! I'm not sure how long it is going to last. Maybe hours, days, or weeks, but I won't be back until I have something I feel good to write about. 

Until then I wish you all a happy winter!

 

This pining feeling!

I just feel like missing someone. I terribly miss my mom that I can't get her out of my mind. I miss my sisters and brother. I miss my girl friends back home. 

I miss being myself again!!

Happy snow day, Amman!

I was reading Al-Ghad newspaper this morning as I do everyday when I saw the pictures of snow in Jordan. I was so glad to know that it is finally raining and snowing there after all those dry days. 

Those pictures took me back to my childhood days in Amman. When snow days were our favorite days each winter. When my older sister used to look through the window 50 times every minute to check how much snow out there. When we used to pray all night to have no school the next day. When we all used to sit around the heater eating chestnuts while watching Egyptian plays. When we used to go out play with our neighbors in the snow despite all my mom's warnings of getting frozen hands. 

How much I miss those days! I don't miss snow. It's actually snowing right now through my window. I just miss those snowy days and... I miss Amman.

ME freaking out!!

First, Thanks to Wafa' for tagging me in "7 weird facts about yourself" post. Right now I think I'm all weird and everything about me is weird as well, seriously! So until I get out of this phase, I can't tell the 7 weirdest facts about me ;)

Second, I'm really not a drama queen who tends to overreact to seemingly minor incidents. But I recently can't deny that I act like a one. I'm starting to be a boring blogger, I know :(

Let's change the subject before I say something that could make anyone mad. Guess what, this brought another subject here. It is about my blog and people in my personal life like family and friends who read it!! I'm the one who chose to share my blog with friends when I posted a link to it on FB, since it was the place where I wanted to post my food recipes. To be honest, I didn't expect everyone knows about it to read it on a regular basis. 

The reason I'm talking about this that I recently started to hesitate talking about some stuff in my life because at some point it could be related to one of the readers. I didn't want my blog to be a secret in the first place, however I wanted to write everything I feel talking, good or bad, with no limits. Sometimes I pretend that I don't know any of my readers in person so I can write whatever I want, but before publishing the post I find my self changing a word or another, deleting a sentence or even a paragraph!! I love my friends and I don't want them to get mad, so what do you think, do I need to stop talking about things that are related to my readers?

Before letting you go, here is an update about my weight. I have not been counting points for a while now because, I guess, I'm not in a good mood. However, I'm still watching my food. I mean I try to eat healthy as much as I can and I guess this is the whole point from WW plan. I lost only one pound since my last post which brings the total weight lost to 8 lb in less than a month. This is not bad but I think I need to keep going on eating healthier with or without counting points.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Thank you!

I didn't know how sad my yesterday's post was until I got some of your messages, calls, and comments. I really appreciate your concern. I feel better today, still not in a perfect mood and still can't get some of the things happening around, but I'm trying to be wise and forget about it. 

Thank you, my friends!

Sometimes I wish I could just press rewind!

Don't you wish that sometimes? I'm not sure if I would do any better but I just wish!! I have nothing much to say today. Feeling down, sick, and not in the mood :(

Anyway here are some updates:

• I'm trying to get back to work on my research.
• Still watching my weight. I lost a couple of pounds in the last week.
• Thanksgiving break was OK. Lots of ups and downs, but I was so glad to have my husband and kids around all the time.
• I thought finding a good friend is hard, but discovered that keeping up friendship is much harder.

Weight Watchers and I

As I promised previously, I'm posting about my weight watchers (WW) plan. I started the plan about 10 days ago, and I lost about 5 pounds so far. BTW, I'm not enrolled in WW, but I'm using their points system. If you're not familiar with WW, it's a weight loss plan that is based on calculating daily points for the food you're consuming everyday. Every food or drink has a certain number of points. You can eat whatever you choose as long as you stay under your daily points. .

As I mentioned in a previous post, I gained a lot during pregnancy (about 50-ish). I lost some pounds after delivery but I still need to lose about 30 - 35 pounds to get in shape. My daily points are 32 points (including 10 points for nursing). 

I find myself sometimes can't count the points for some meals, especially the ones I cook from our middle eastern kitchen, so I count how many points left for this meal and try to guess how many points in my plate based on the ingredients. I use this website onemorepound.com to calculate how many points each food deserve based on calories and fat. I find it so helpful! I also use it when I eat out to check the restaurant's menu and see how many points in the food I'm ordering.

When you follow the plan, you will find yourself picking healthier food. You will trade small chunks of fatty high calories food with bigger full of vegetables plates.

 

My dinner the other day(this is btw an oven-baked chicken breast)

Summary:

Previous weight:161 lb

Current weight (as of 11/23): 156 lb

Another random update!!

While some of you are still celebrating Eid, our one-day Eid is wrapped up and everyone is back to work/school. The girls and hub enjoyed having the day off. We went to the prayer in the morning and then had our breakfast at the Islamic center. The girls enjoyed their new clothes and money gifts from dad. Later that day we got the chance to see our friends and have dinner together at one of the girls' favorite restaurant. 

For me, I was not happy that I couldn't fit in any of the nice clothes I was planning to wear for Eid. Still, I managed to wear something else and it looked okay.

Talking about getting back in shape, I'm starting my weight watchers (WW) plan. I know that I will lose the pregnancy weight eventually, but I wanted to get faster results. I was motivated by some blogger friends who really got good results. I thought sharing this with everyone would be like those WW meetings where you need to show others the results you got. This will make it more serious and will make me stick to the plan. I will be posting another post regarding my WW later on.

Now, let's talk FUN. I went shopping last week. I got  to buy myself some gifts!! Yes, it was my birthday last month which happened to be few days before the baby delivery which also happened to be couple of weeks before our anniversary, so my hubby wanted me to pick the Birthday/anniversary/baby gift(s) by myself.

My Birthday cake

 

Our anniversary cake

I got to pick whatever I want, so I got this handbag and those sunglasses from Bloomingdales (I still need to pick one more thing):

So when I was not able to enjoy my clothes, those were great because they fit just FINE :)

I hope you all had a great Eid.

Have a nice pre-Eid weekend, everyone!

Are you busy getting ready for Eid! I bet you are!! Just wanted to wish you all a good weekend. Don't forget me from your prayers in these holy days especially on Arafa day.

Happy Eid preparation :)

Postpartum Therapy

OK, Baby Abdurahman is four weeks old. I'm feeling much better el7amdellah, and baby Abdurahman is much bigger. However, I still feel overwhelmed! Still can't get back to my pre-pregnancy well-organized life! Too many things I need to start working on. No motivation to do anything though! I'm sure the first thing to jump to your mind as you read this are the postpartum hormonal changes I'm going through. It surely is :(

To overcome those symptoms I decided to have some therapies :)

First, a message therapy. I have a bad pain in the neck and shoulders area that is going to kill me. I guess this makes me in need for such a therapy. I'll try to make an appointment for next week.

Second, some retail therapy! I guess it's the ladies favorite therapy. Shopping is always soothing! I enjoy shopping either in stores or online. I have been surfing the web recently looking for nice boots.

Because I had swollen feet during pregnancy, and due to the fact that I was not able to wear anything except for my Kate spade flip flop (which turned to be so ugly due to excessive use and weight), I really miss shoes, real shoes, especially those yummy high heels :)

However, I'm thinking about getting one of those tall boots with low heels since they are so trendy this winter. Some of the boots I found online and I really like are those UGG boots in the pictures below.

Those low heel boots for a stylish look.

Or maybe those for a funky look!

Or maybe those if I decided to go with wedge boots.

On the other hand, I really like those peeptoe booties which were so trendy in the summer. I'm not sure about getting one now but maybe next summer! I like those Guess booties. So stylish :)

Awesome, I feel better already  :)

I'm going shopping this week. I need to get the kids new clothes for the Eid, and some stuff for me (including the boots). Keep tuned to know the winner boots!

Eid Mubarak in advance!

Random

 

كراوية

• I made this caraway dessert for my friends who came to visit last weekend. It was so good!
• Today is our 9th wedding anniversary. I'm simply still in love :)
• Baby Abdurahman is still consuming most of my time.
• I have not left the house for three weeks (except for doctor's visits and dropping or picking my daughters).
• I miss shopping so much! I'm planning to buy a new boot, coat, and handbag next week! I've already found what I want online and can't wait to go to Bloomingdale's to get them :)
• I'm drinking more than 2 liters of water everyday. I feel thirsty all the time!
• Still can't fit in my old clothes! I'm on track though.
• I'm still looking for a nickname for baby Abdurahman. Any suggestions? Don't suggest Abboud please! :)
• It's getting really cold and I'm not liking it.
• I desperately need a vacation.
• I will cook okra (bamyeh) today :)

Fenugreek cake (حلبة)

This is traditional dessert from the Palestinian kitchen. Fenugreek frequently used by lactating women to increase milk supply and since I'm currently nursing my son I thought it's going to be a good idea to make this dessert. It's really delicious!

You will need:

For the syrup:

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups water

few drops lemon juice

For the cake:

3 cups semolina or cream of wheat

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup veg. oil

2 tsp yeast

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup fenugreek seeds

2 cups water

Directions:

• Mix semolina and flour in a big bowl. Add all the oil to the mix and set aside to rest (about 1 hour). You need the semolina to absorb all the oil.
• Meanwhile prepare the syrup by adding water to the sugar in a medium saucepan and mix it well with spatula. Heat the mix until it boils. Once it boils add the lemon drops and set aside to cool down.
• In another saucepan add the 2 cups of water to the fenugreek seeds and boil it on a low heat for about 20 minutes until the seeds are big and soft. The water will decrease to about 1 cup.
• Drain the seeds and add them to the semolina mix. Keep the seeds water to add them to the mix later. Add the yeast, baking powder, and salt. Then add the water gradually while making the dough. You might not need the whole cup of water.
• Lightly grease a 9x12 baking dish with tahini sauce. Pour the dough in the baking dish and smooth with hand. Cut it into diamond shapes with a butter knife. You can decorate by placing an almond in the center of each diamond.
  
• Cover the baking dish and set it aside to rest for about an hour.
• Preheat oven to 400 F (200 degrees). Bake on the lower rack for about 40 minutes until it is gold. Remove from oven and immediately add the warm syrup to it.
• Leave aside until it cools down and then cut and serve.
  

16 days postpartum

Too busy to blog!!! Still recovering from the C-section, I'm feeling much better though! My last two weeks were all about breastfeeding, changing diapers, sleeping, taking pain medicine, and eating well :) El7amdellah that my husband was there to take care of the girls and everything else!

Here is a summary of the last 16 days: I gave birth on Monday Oct 11th, and I stayed at the hospital until Thursday. Unfortunately baby Abdurahman lost 10% of his weight at the hospital. I had to check with the doctor on the next Monday. While his weight was okay, he had a high Jaundice which required a daily blood test for 4 days. I had to cease breastfeeding for few days and just give him formula. El7amdellah, this strategy worked with him well and we were able to control the Jaundice without any other treatment. I resumed breastfeeding as soon as he felt better. It was scary!

I also resumed my daily activities as my husband had to go back to work last Monday. It feels good to be back :)

Talking about getting back, I guess I need to get back in shape too!! I gained about 50 pound this pregnancy :(. I lost about 20 so far. I need to work on the other 30 in the coming few months without affecting my milk supply. It's going to be hard, I think!! :)

Baby Abdurahman is here :)

Hello there,

We were blessed on Monday October 11th 2010 at 8:35 AM with a baby boy. We named him Abdurahman. Alhamdulellah, things went smoothly, C-section was easy, and our baby boy is healthy :)

I miss you mom

أحن إلى خبز أمي
وقهوة أمي
ولمسةِ أمي


رحمك الله يا أمي

My baby shower

It's 3:30 in the morning and I just can't sleep! I went to bed early last night because I didn't sleep well the night before. I woke up at 2:20 and just couldn't put myself to sleep again. I have been like this for several days now. It's not fun to have trouble sleeping when you really need it the most.

I had my baby shower last Saturday and it went really good. It was a fun girlie get-together. Here are some of the pictures I took that day. I made everything myself including the invitations, the baby favors, and the cake! Thanks to all my friends who joined me that day. It was so special!

 Baby favors

 The cake

Some of the gifts

What is a Midlife Crisis?

I was talking to my husband the other day and the phrase "Midlife Crisis" came by. We were talking about how some people change their life in a dramatic way sometime as they get older. Ridiculously, I sometimes use this word whenever I see a mid-age person does something to look younger, i.e. shaving his mustache, having a Botox, ..., etc. However, it's more serious than that!! The following is what I found online about the midlife crisis. I found it interesting since my husband and I are in our thirties!!! Thankfully, my husband is still growing a light beard and I have not done any Botox yet :)

Note: Don't forget to check the list above. My answers were "YES" to all of them except the Harley Davidson one ;)

"A midlife crisis is experienced between the ages of 40 and 60. It was first identified by the psychologist Carl Jung and is a normal part of the maturing process. Most people will experience some form of emotional transition during that time of life. A transition that might cause you to take stock in where you are in life and make some needed adjustments to the way you live your life. Most seem to come through the process smoothly without making major life changes.

For some, a midlife crisis is more complicated. It can be an uncomfortable time emotionally which can lead to depression and the need for psychotherapy. Those who have a hard time with this transitional stage might experience a range of feelings such as:

• Unhappiness with life and the lifestyle that may have provided them with happiness for many years.
• Boredom with people and things that may have been of interest to them before.
• Feeling a need for adventure and change.
• Questioning the choices, they have made in their lives and the validity of decisions they made years before.
• Confusion about who they are and where they are going.
• Anger at their spouse and blame for feeling tied down.
• Unable to make decisions about where they want to go with their life.
• Doubt that they ever loved their spouse and resentment over the marriage.
• A desire for a new and passionate, intimate relationship. 

Most people who have a difficult time during midlife and go into crisis mode do so because of external factors. They may be experiencing stress in their life that makes the transition more difficult or they may have childhood issue that were never dealt with that come to the surface during this time."

Routine is back...

to our life after a busy Ramadan and a joyous Eid, el7amdellah. I always feel sad when Ramadan ends regardless of all the stress we go under in the holy month here in the states. May Allah give us the opportunity to be present for next Ramadan.

Our Eid was really good. We went to the prayer in the morning and then had breakfast there at the Masjid. We then headed home to call family and friends. After getting some rest, we went to one of our favorite places that we really miss in Ramadan, Barnes and Noble. At dinner time we went with our friends to a Mexican restaurant before heading to their house to have some tea. It was a fun and busy day!

On the second day of Eid we went to Sesame place amusement park with our friends. We spent the whole day there where the girls had so much fun. On Sunday, the last day of Eid, the girls went with their dad and bought their Eid's gift, a Wii. They used the money they got as a gift on Eid (3eedeyeh) to buy it. We spent the day playing with it. It's really cool :) 

I'm really happy that we were able to make the Eid joyous and fun for the girls!

I'm right now craving Turkish coffee!!! I'm trying to cut on caffeine when I'm pregnant but I sometimes can't. I guess as soon as I finish this post I will be fixing myself some and enjoy it with some of the dark chocolate I got from Belgium. Yes, these chocolate my husband got for me from Belgium. They are really yummy and irresistible. I also got a Lancome makeup palette, and the girls got stuffed bunnies. I just love gifts, who does not ? ;)

Thanks honey!

With less than 4 weeks to go, I'm really busy getting ready for delivery. I have too many things to do in the coming few weeks just like painting the baby's room, getting the furniture in it, hospital registration, and much much more. By the way, last week I bought this cute diaper bag. I really love it :)

That's it for now. Keep tuned for updates :)

Eid Mubarak

Eid Al-Fitr is tomorrow in most Muslim countries. In this occasion I wish all Muslims worldwide a blessed and peaceful Eid. May Allah accept our good deeds and ease the suffering of all people around the globe.

In four years..

Good morning,

I'm so sleepy this morning. I don't get enough sleep at all these days. Anyway, I hope I will get better sleep in the week left of Ramadan. My husband is coming today, and I guess him being away is one of the reasons that I can't sleep well during the night. Also, this weekend will be a long one due to Labor Day on Monday which means I can stay longer in bed in the morning :)

  
Following Wafa' s tag (I know this is kind of late), here are some of the things that I hope to happen to me in the coming four years:

1. Where do I want to be in four years? 

Absolutely in Amman! I hope we will be back home by then, settled down in our own house.

I can't deny that I love it her in the US, and that I have too many friends here, but I just can't imagine myself and my family living here forever. We have to go back home someday, and if we have to, it should be sooner while the kids are young enough to adjust to life there. I don't want it to be hard on them which will be so hard on us too. I want my kids to raise in a normal way without thinking or feeling different. My first priority is to raise them in a right Islamic way. Many will say that I can do that here, I know, but that will put too much pressure on them and me.  

2. What do I hope to happen in four years? 

I hope to be a better Muslim. I just wish I can do something good for Islam, anything! I always wish to give a good impression of Islam and a bright picture for a Muslim woman because this could be a call "Da3wa" to Islam. 

I also wish we will be able to go Omra with the girls. My husband and I have been blessed by doing Hajj last year. However, it was too crowded to enjoy both Harams. So we decided, inshallah, to go there again for Omra and to take the girls with us so we all enjoy worshiping there.

3. I hope to have a good job in four years. Maybe be a teaching position at a good university (assuming I will be done with my PhD degree by then)! I also hope to run my own business on the side. A business that is related to something I like, for example Hijab fashion, cooking, home decor, or all together! Big dreams, I know :)

4. Finally, as Wafa' mentioned, I just hope my family and I will be in a better place, emotionally and financially.  

I also wish to love and be loved more :) 

Bye bye August!

I think this will be my last post in August! I was looking at my archive and I found that I have posted 9 times in August, and so this post will be my 10th. I guess it was a productive month (on the blogging side only)!! Talking about productivity, I will start working on my research tomorrow. I have to finish the big paper I have been working on for a while now. I'm trying to get as much done as possible between now and the baby's arrival. 

Tomorrow, the last day in August, is the first day of school for my older daughter. She is going to second grade. My younger one is starting pre-K on Wednesday. With Ramadan and pregnancy, I'm not sure if I'm ready for school yet. But it's okay, the girls will have fun and no need to think about how to entertain them during the weekdays any more.

End of August means summer is about to end too. This summer was the hottest one for me here in PA. Summer is usually nice here but it was not this year with those several heat waves that hit our area. But subahan Allah the weather turned to be nice and wet with the first day of Ramadan!!

My husband left to Belgium on a work trip yesterday. He'll come back on Thursday inshallah. The girls and I miss him so much and can't wait to have him back. The good thing that we are able to talk to him face to face all the time. Thanks to my iPhone :)

Still in August, my friends came back from vacation last week. They spent most of the summer back in their countries. We had a gathering last Friday and I got a chance to see two of them. I was so glad to see them because I missed them so much. Today I got the chance to see my lovely friend Zika again and we spent most of the day together. The kids had too much fun and we had too much to talk about.

I'm working on the baby favors these days. I have almost everything ready for the baby shower including the baby registry. I'm so excited! I'll post pictures for everything soon.

Today is the first day of the last ten days of Ramadan. May Allah give all of us the chance to observe Laylat Al-Qadr and give us all the reward of worshiping this night.

Random thoughts!!

Today I couldn't stop thinking about my dissertation. I just feel overwhelmed and kind of confused! I'm one of those who believes that there is a light at the end of tunnel, no matter how long the tunnel is, but I just can't handle the frustration sometimes!

More than 1/2 of Ramadan is already over! Subhan Allah time flies by so fast. Talking a bout Ramadan, I'm really shocked of this attack against practicing Muslims and hijab by some of the Arabic TV series aired this Ramadan. I just wonder if those series writers or actors/actresses are the right ones to judge practicing Muslims. Why are they trying to make every practicing Muslim a terrorist? And since when was the hijab a matter of choice in Islam?! No Muslim can deny that it's a command from Allah! On the other hand, who said that hijab is locking Muslim woman in a cage. Most of the successful, high educated, classy Muslim women I know are wearing hijab!!!!

Note that I'm not judging Muslim sisters who are not wearing hijab. I have many close friends who are not wearing hijab, but they all believe that hijab is a mandatory "fard" and that they have to do it sometime. And here is the point, not wearing hijab but believing it is a command from Allah and that not doing it is a fault "haram" is so different than denying it. PERIOD! 

Last time I was at the ultrasound place I got some cool 3D pictures for my baby. It was really amazing!

That's it for now. Have a good weekend :)

Bold if true!

I am a cuddler.

I am a morning person.

I am an only child.

I am currently in my pajamas.

I am currently pregnant.

I am currently single.

I am currently suffering from a broken heart.

I am left handed.

I am married.

I am addicted to my myspace.

I am online 24/7, even as an away message.

I am a little shy around the opposite gender at first.

I bite my nails.

I can be paranoid at times.

I don’t like anyone.

I enjoy country music.

I enjoy jazz music.

I enjoy smoothies.

I enjoy talking on the phone.

I have a car.

I have a cell phone.

I have/had a hard time paying attention at school.

I have a hidden talent

I have a lot to learn

I have a pet.

I have a tendency to fall for the “wrong” guy/girl

I have all my grandparents

I have at least one brother

I have been to another country 

I have been told that I am smart 

I have been told that I have an unusual sense of humor

I have OR HAD broken a bone 

I have Caller I.D. on my phone

I have changed a diaper

I have changed a lot over the past year. 

I have done something illegal. 

I have friends who have never seen my natural hair color 

I have killed another person

I have had my hair cut within the last week.

I have mood swings 

I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life

I have rejected someone before.

I have seen The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I have seen the television show The O.C.

I like Shakespeare.

I like the taste of blood.

I love to cook.

I like to sing.

I love Michael Jackson

I love sleeping.

I love to play computer games.

I love to shop. 

I miss someone right now.

I own 100 CDs or more

I own and use a library card 

I read books for pleasure in my spare time. 

I sleep a lot during the day.

I strongly dislike math

I watch soap operas on a regular basis.

I will try almost anything once.

I work at a job that I enjoy.

I would classify myself as ghetto.

I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free.

I am currently wearing socks. 

I am tired.

I love to paint/draw/sketch/sculpt.

I have had/have a broken heart

Graduated High School. 

Smoked cigarettes.

Rode every ride at an amusement park.

Collected something really stupid.

Gone to a rock concert. 

Helped someone.

Gone fishing.

Watched four movies in one night.

Gone long periods of time with out sleep. 

Lied to someone.

Been dumped.

Taken a college level course. 

Been in a car accident.

Been in a tornado.

Watched someone die.

Been to a funeral.

Burned yourself. (accidentally)

Ran a marathon.

Your parents got divorced.

Cried yourself to sleep. 

Spent over $200 in one day. 

Flown on a plane.

 Cheated on someone.

Been cheated on.

Written a 10 page letter.

Gone skiing.

Been sailing.

Cut yourself. 

Had a best friend. 

Lost someone you loved. 

Shoplifted something. 

Been to jail.

Had detention.

Skipped school.

Got in trouble for something you didn’t do. 

Stolen books from the library.

Gone to a different country.

Dropped out of school.

Been in a mental hospital.

Watched the “Harry Potter” movies. 

Had an online diary. 

Fired a gun.

Gambled in a casino.

Had a yard sale.

Been in a school play.

Been fired from a job.

Taken a lie detector test.

Swam with dolphins.

Gone to sea world.

Attempted suicide.

Voted for Pop Idol.(Arabic Super Star or Star Academy) 

Written poetry. 

Read more than 20 books a year. 

Gone to Europe.

Loved someone you couldn’t have.

Had a surgery

Had stitches.

Taken a taxi.

Seen the Washington Monument. 

Had more than 5 IM’s/online conversations going at once.

Had a drug or alcohol problem.

Been in a fist fight.

Had a hamster.

Petted a wild animal.

Used a credit card.

Gone surfing in California. 

Dyed your hair.

Got a tattoo.

Had something pierced.

Got straight A’s.

Your parents sent you to a shrink. 

Been handcuffed.

Known someone with HIV or AIDS.

Taken pictures with a webcam. 

Started a fire.

Had a party while your parents weren’t home.

Gotten caught having a party while they were gone.