Just say "alhamdulillah" and go on!

*Just for laughs. LOLOLOLOLOLOL*

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. One guess where I am? Yep hospital time again. Same ole same ole, e. coli infection back, isn't it great to be me? Alhamduillah, alhamdulillah, AND alhamdulillah.

OK I think I had a great idea for a really moving post but it just left my mind. Like that. Started getting texts from family on FB and talking to my sister and away it went. So consider yourselves updated and make du'a for me please.

Here is a little funny story: during my TWENTY FOUR hour stay in the ER (most of it spent on a stretcher!!!) I got a little hungry and tired of being overlooked. :-) So after having not been given breakfast I decide to ask for some lunch around 11 am. By 1 pm I ask again and they say, Oh sorry all the trays have beef. OK fair enough, get me some chicken, I'll wait.

Then a really sweet little grandma looking assistant comes with a tray. It has a little dish of hummus, a dish of tabbouleh, and some triangles of pita. She says, with the best of intentions, "Isn't this what you people eat?" LOL I said, "Yes ma'am and thank you." Sooo funny. And nice that they have different cultural selections on the menu.

She was really pleased with herself that she had gotten me a good tray masha'Allah. I, in the meantime, felt like Ramadan at the masjid after all the chicken has been eaten and you are left with side dishes. :-)

OH I would encourage you all to check out the blogs I follow. Many of the sisters there are uplifting and really just interesting reads. A couple of non-Muslim blogs for crafts and family fun. Anyway if ya'll get some time, check them out and enjoy!

Ma salaama and keep me in your prayers insha'Allah.

In praise of Miracle Gro

*Exhibit A*

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. See how lush and full this flower box is? I did have masses of blooms I had to cut off about 7 inches of growth masha'Allah because they were overgrowing the box and crowding each other out. Nice. Insha'Allah it will fill out again in another month. My husband bought Miracle Gro and well it lives up to its name apparently.




However, me being the cheap-o that I am, refused to pay $10 for dirt. What can it matter, I naievely thought. Well obviously it matters a whole lot. Exhibit B: flowers from the same flat as exhibit A but placed in the cheap Wal-Mart "potting soil". Hmmm. I think you can do the math. :-)

Lesson learned.




Here is my wandering jew vine. I love it's plum and green hues. When I went looking for it this spring I was a little leery of goin to the plant store and asking for a "wandering jew" in case that was just the southern term for it. Alhamdulillah that is what it is known as. Whew! lol

Oh btw this is my second post of the day so if you just click on the title link you will miss out on the bea-u-ti-ful pics of Aaminah I posted just a few minutes prior.

Ma salaama ya'll and happy gardneing!

My miti Rani or sweet princess!

*Aaminah in her Indian finery masha'allah!*

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll! All of you with girls know how they love shiny sparkly happy things. :-) I think it's just a part of them. So Aaminah is no exception and she loves the pretty, the glittery. She has a few absolutely STUNNING lengtha choli outfits another sister gave her before she was born. They are so beautiful.




She wanted to put on something for dress up and I got this out. She said, "Ohh it's coot (cute)!". Masha'Allah she is sweet. She loved it and was a pretty good sport about it til the end of my photo shoot. Insha'Allah I'll dress her up soon and take her outside to get beautiful pics; these were just in front of a bedroom door. :-)

Just a quick post and please remember to say, "Masha'allah"!

Where would I be without my.....

*Stock photo of my phone. It's nice, ya'll. :-)*
A'salaamu alaikum ya'll! You know, when it rains, it pours. Once I post once, I think, oh wait, I wanna share this...and this...and this! I actually have ideas for lots of posts but far less time and they all require I take photos and well, my poor camera is feeling lonely. Since I married (alhamdulillah!) I no longer take the photos I did before. Direct correlation to lack of time but still, I miss it.

Anyway I realized I hadn't posted a list in a while. I love lists, really I do. I love to feel all resourceful and full of plans, committed. And I like lists just for fun too which this one is.

So without further ado, the "Where would I be without my ______" list:

1. Cell phone. Really I use it for so many things. With the sudden onset of 4 more people to be responsible for, I use alot more of it's gadgets. The calender in particular. You can set it for once or repeating (such as tutoring or karate!) and ya'll know I also have my fair share of doctor appointments. So it's used daily almost with the exception of Sundays which tend to be laid-back for us. I also like to text my sons and family and friends far away; nice way to send photos of Aaminah to them.

2. Lip balm. I am addicted to it. Really. I have at least 5 tubes in various (strategic) locations. My favorite was a coconut-scented one with a subtle shimmer which turned out to be too sparkly for public wear. Boo hoo! My most recent acquisition was a tube of Aquafina Hydrating Lip Oil. It's nice, has a little minty tingle to it and is nice. I also got it at the dollar store so nicer yet.

3. Laptop. Really now that I've had my laptop for a couple of years, I couldn't imagine using a desktop again. Being confined to one spot, just so BULKY. Not portable, etc. etc. This laptop has been to UAE and back, dropped countless times, and now you have to wrap the power cord just right right to keep power. The battery no longer charges but it works great otherwise! lol My next big purchase (other than a van) will be another laptop insha'Allah. Maybe a little lighter than this one but I am happy with the performance of mine.

4. Tie-back khimars. Laugh if you will but once I discovered the utter simplicity and modesty of a tie-back khimar 3 years ago, I haven't worn anything else. Well a wrapped shayla one day which, while definitely beautiful, annoyed the life out of me! Maybe because I tend to be on the ahem chubbier side, but the wrapped ones just won't stay put. I think being a modest muslimah should be effortless. So I am aware I am not cutting edge of fashion, but this is the girl who used to buy the same tshirt in all 5 colors because well, I liked the fit and it was simple and inexpensive. Plus the short sleeves (pre-Islam) guaranteed easy dialysis access!

5. My "new" kidney. Yep, its 8 yrs old now and still a tickin'! Well still a filterin' and I am grateful for it. My quality of life has improved 1000% since my transplant and it has opened up so many more doors for me. Having another baby (Aaminah!) for one. Really I love it and would wear a tshirt proclaiming so if I could find one long enough. :-)

6. Family. OK so I really meant where would I be without gadget-y things but I cannot overlook the obvious. This is birth family and Muslim family as well. Really I have been so blessed. I have 2 good friends who literally have no one in this life to count on. Their mothers died when they were both young, their fathers aren't even worth a mention, and their siblings are disinterested to say the least. They are both single mothers, awesome people, and they make me realize, no matter how crazy or annoying they can be, that I am grateful to Allah swt for them all. A L L. Um except the pervy uncle and cousins on my father's side. Sorry ain't happy for ya'll!

7. Sense of humor. I would be effed, for lack of a much better and less offensive word. I have had alot of interesting moments in my life, so much so that my sister (who only knows a TINY portion of them) said I should write my memoirs. Oh sis if only you knew! ;-) Anyhoo, the ability to laugh at the ludicrous and smile away the stresses has been indespinsible to me. And I am pretty sure I just misspelled indespinsible. Let's spell check... one second please... WOW. I did and how! It's indespensable according to my spell check . I rarely make real spelling errors but alhamdulillah. :-)

OK I guess I've rambled on long enough. It's kinda nice, being able to just talk about utter nonsense and have no one say, "Oh wow look at the time!" :-) I guess ya'll can just click off but I have a sneaky feeling you don't.

OK Aaminah just brought me a little cup of goldfish to share. She actually is insisting on it; Arab hospitality? lol

Take care ya'll and ma salaama!

I can't wait to get my books!

*This is one of the books I have requested online from my local library.*

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. This will probably be a short post as it's getting late and, as I like to say, the kids will get up whether I've slept or not!

Anyway I just realized that my local library has a great online request system. EVERY book I looked for was available! Woo-hoo! I am really excited. I take the kids to the library and they have a wonderful children's floor with toys, puppets, etc. so Aaminah is happy but I am left high and dry, no new reading materials. By the time the older kids pick out and I take Aaminah to see the guinea pigs we're all set. Hmmm. I was lamenting my lack of reading material and even more especially my opportunity to seek them out when I remembered their online service.

So now in the comfort of my home, in my house dress sans hijab and sans lots of kids needing my attention, I was able to pick out several books. Most of them aren't housed at the Hudson library but Central Massachusetts does a book-sharing program with area libraries. I get to pick them up in Hudson (4 min drive from my home!) and read, read, read!

I found a couple of books about Muslim women. One, "Tears of the Desert" (sorry can't figure out how to underline) is a true story of a Muslim woman who escaped the horrors of Darfur. I almost checked out "Jewel of Madina" then read a few reviews first. Alhamdulillah! It talks about Aisha (ra) and her marriage to the Prophet Muhammad (saws). It makes ALOT of assumptions and is really inappropriate for a Muslim to read. I don't like to read books that create fitnah whether intentionally or not.

I'll semi-review the books after I read them and insha'Allah some of them will be good reads and beneficial.

Happy me, happy me! Ma salaama!

To my lost love

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. This is a poignant post, about loves lost, hearts broken, desires unfulfilled.

OK maybe that a wee bit dramatic. I'm talking about a great cheeseburger! :-) You know the kind that's tender and char-grilled and so delicious you drool just thinking of it? For me mayo and sweet onions are requisite, all else can be haggled over or even left off.

I looooove cheeseburgers and I no longer get to indulge. Why, UofA, why you may ask. No it's not my fluid waistline or a problem with my cholesterol, it's the halal beef. Why can't it taste as lovely as a nice package of Angus 85/20 from Krogers always did? Why can't it have that lovely juicy, beefy taste? And what happened to the texture, the melt-in-you-mouth tenderness I need?

Ah the halal burger just isn't the same. To me, no halal beef is. I eat it, and some cuts prepared some ways I can accept. But ground beef just isn't one of them. Growing up, ground beef was a staple at our table. It was not so expensive so it found its way onto our plates at least 3 times a week. Now my life is all beige and white, with various poultry and fish products filling the void.

Pork? I don't miss you! You are nasty and greasy and the smell of you cooking does now truly turn my stomach. Hijab-free days, with the wind in my hair, you are missed but I do not yearn for you anymore. The guiltfree pleasure of music blaring on my car stereo while the windows are down and the sun warms my skin... you too have been replaced and barely missed.

But beef, oh beef, you shall not soon be forgotten.

Okey dokey, just realized unless some of my readers obsess about love food like I do, you might think this is a little strange. lol I'm prepared to deal with the backlash.

Cheeseurger, I'll see YOU in Jannah insha'allah!!!!!!!!

Go to sleep, go to sleeeeeeep!

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. A four hour nap does not a sleepy girl make. Now Aaminah is wiiiiide awake and it's almost 11 pm. I didn't realize she had slept so long and I left to run an errand. A didn't realize either but guess who is up with her? lol Of course Mama.

I am also considering going back to finish my degree. Maybe I am the person who has been in school the longest without completing anything; what a recognition. lol I originally started university directly after high school but wasn't able to complete the semester. I was already sick then but didn't know it and I just couldn't focus. I mean my grades were awesome, all As but come on, they were easy classes. I had no drive, no ambition and it really wasn't like me.

Fast forward about 5 years. Zack was 3 and I felt he was old enough for me to attempt again. I was working full-time at TN school for the deaf and went to school on weekends. I did Anatomy and Physiology I and II plus some other small classes. I had a 3.8 GPA masha'Allah all while working full-time and being a mommy and wife. Then I got pregnant with Alex and put it on hold again.

Returned when he was two and completed a year but my kidneys had failed by then and I was on dialysis. Just got too sick, had too many surgeries, same old story. :-)

Transplant was 2002 and that same year I decided to fast-track (due to divorce) and just go for my LPN and later work on my RN. However 6 months into the program, you guessed it, I ended up missing too many hours and had to drop out.

So now my health is somewhat stable (if you dont think of my multiple infections and hospitalizations this past year) and I realllllly want to finish my degree. If I ever go overseas for an extended period I could help our family insha'Allah.

Please make dua that Allah makes this easy on us amin and I am able to start AND finally finish. Amin amin amin! :-)

Ma salaama!