Tag Backs and Award Backs

So here I am sitting enjoying some time to myself while my husband is out and Layla sleeps. I haven't been able to keep up with posting as much because he is in school and we share a laptop now, so I am finally getting back to finishing some of the things that I started.

I need to tag some people who I want to know more things about for the Honest Scrap tag. Each of the 10 of you needs to post 10 honest things about yourself that your blogger readers may not know.
So, without further introduction, here are my tagged Ladies:

1. Tammy at Tammy's Somali Home.
2. Malekat at Islamic Identity.
3. Malek at Moments with Malek.
4. Sara at Muslimah Flower.
5. Oh So Muslim
6. Jaz at Born Confuzed.
7. SheLooks at The Miseducation of the Cushitic Girl.
8. Nur at Luz en la Vida.
9. Mistika at Elashry Casa.
10. Lisa aka Yasemin at A Journey Westward from Tartary. (Last but not least!)

Finally, I am passing the awards on that I received from Umm Omar and Lisa.



I will pass on the first Adorable Blog Award to Pixie at I Love Hishma. Her blog is so informative and also fun to read. Its not just a blog about Modesty and Islamic fashion. Her posts are well-researched and full of information that is hard to find elsewhere. I have learned so much about Islam and the real meaning of modesty from reading her blog. Great Job Pixie!


The second Awesome Blog Award goes to The Miseducation of the Cushitic Girl. Please check out her blog if you haven't before. There are so many posts that I think are important topics that aren't being discussed. Many of the posts are devoted to subjects pertaining to the Day of Judgment from an Islamic perspective. They are all well-researched and very well written. I don't think that Muslims or Christians are doing a very good job or correlating their end times scriptures to events that are going on today, and this sister is doing a good job of getting the information out there.

That's probably all for today. Keep up the good work sisters!

Its Tag Time!

Hello everyone,

I was so excited to get on and realize that I have been tagged by Never Ever at Finding Guidance! For this one, the Honest Scrap Tag, I need to think of 10 things about me that are true. These are things that everyone may or may not know. I'll try to be creative and think of some of the ones that people are less likely to know.

1. I rarely cook American food.
My favorite things to cook are curries, (Indian and Thai), sambusa (Somali version of Samosa), Mexican food, and all other things that are spicy. I am known to add chilies to almost everything I cook.

2. I am into urban foraging.
Basically, this means going out in your neighborhood and looking for things that are edible and free. So far in Portland I have found cherries and a little fruit called an Oregon-grape that can be used to make jelly. It doesn't taste so good on its own though. Later in the year I am hoping to get blackberries, apples, pears, hazelnuts, and figs. Yes, figs grow in Oregon!

3. I went to a high school with only 280 students that was all white.
Its just funny that I am so multi-cultural considering that I went to such a hick school for most of my life. I always wanted to learn lots of languages, but didn't get the opportunity to do anything other that Spanish until I graduated.

4. I have been to the UK, Dubai, and Egypt.
I went to the UK for a trip when I was still in college, Dubai for my honeymoon ;) and Egypt right before I got pregnant with Layla. We were thinking we would want to move to Egypt, but Cairo was a little crowded for our taste.

5. I used to dress punk and hardcore.
I don't really follow music much anymore, but it was my life during high school. I had my hair shorter and spiked in back and dyed it a lot of crazy colors. Its funny considering that I like to cover it now. I also used to go to local punk and hardcore shows every weekend.

6. I grew up in a conservative Baptist Church.
The church I went to as a kid was so conservative that they believed that that King James Version of the Bible was the only inspired version. I ended up studying the original languages of the Bible (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), and now understand just how ridiculous that was.

7. I am the oldest of 3 kids.
My brother, sister, and I are all pretty close. I am the oldest 26, my sister is 22, and my brother is 16. My parents just had their 30th anniversary this year. My sister and I fought a lot when we were younger, but we've gotten over all that now. My brother is one of my favorite people in the world. He has a great sarcastic sense of humor, and I love him as much as if he were my own child.

8. I have a terrible sense of balance.
This means that I'm bad at most sports, especially ones that require you to balance on small things like ice skating, skiing, roller skating, and skateboarding. I can ride bikes, but I'm petrified of going fast or completely letting go of the handlebars.


9. I love mint chocolate chip and cookie dough ice cream.
The best thing you can do is combine those 2 flavors together. I get the Cookie dough one at Cold Stone, but get mint ice cream instead of the vanilla. Its better, I promise.

10. I am planning to go to grad school!
Next year I am planning to start on a Masters program in the fall studying Biblical Languages. I'm going to see if there's any way I can add some Arabic and other ancient Semitic languages (Ugaritic, Akkadian, Aramaic) into it. I hope to eventually teach these languages at the University level InshaAllah.

Thanks for reading everyone! Now I'm craving ice cream...

Seven Things I love about Islam

I wasn't really introduced to Islam until I moved from Illinois to Minneapolis at the age of 19. I always loved languages and cultures, but grew up in a small city where the options were very limited. There were a few muslims there, but more of them were African-American rather than foreign-born. There was also very little in the way of dawah, and I would say that most of them didn't know their religion very well.

I went to Minneapolis to study Biblical Languages at a Christian school, and ended up falling in love with the Muslim Somalis who lived in my neighborhood. I really started to understand and appreciate the beauty of Islam when I got a job where most of my co-workers were Muslim. Many of them were Somali, but there were also Moroccans, Egyptians, Ethiopians and Algerians. I am still friends with many of these people, and my husband and I also stayed with Sherif and his family when we visited Egypt.

For me, I really began to appreciate the religion as it is lived out in community. I saw this in action when visiting my friends houses in the city, and also when I stayed with my friends after they moved back to San Diego. The Omar family has basically adopted me as their 10th daughter. I even have some of them as my relatives on facebook. (Hi Khadija and Amina!) They showed my family true hospitality and what it means to have your religion affect every aspect of life.

I definitely don't feel like I have a complete grasp on Islam, but I have seen things that I like about the religion, and also some things that I have problems with. My reason for this post is to create discussion so that Muslims and non-Muslims can share knowledge.

Seven things I love about Islam:
1. Tawheed=Simple monotheism

2. Timed prayers= As Christians we say that we can remember God at any time, but how easy is it to get busy with life. The tradition of Judaism before the time of Jesus was timed prayer, but the church fell away from this as it was Romanized. See Acts 1:14. In the Greek it says the the apostles devoted themselves to "the prayers." Prayer was done in the Temple at 3 set times per day.

3. The concept of haya, or modesty.=This applies to the whole of society. European society used to have more of a sense of decorum and modesty in both dress and behavior, which has now been lost. I wish more people would learn to cover and to lower their gaze.

4. Beautiful Quran=Some passages that come to mind are Ayat al kursi, Al fatiha, 2:115, 2:163. They are even more beautiful in Arabic MashaAllah.

5. Memorization of Quran=I like that this is a focus. I have memorized Al fatiha, al ikhlas, and an-naas myself. I wish that a tradition like this to memorize that Bible in Greek and Hebrew and been kept alive. Some Jewish sects do chant Torah in Hebrew, but the tradition is not as melodic and beautiful as the Arabic in my opinion

6. Arabic language=I love the way things are expressed in Arabic. It is a language that is simple yet profound. Hebrew is similar in that the language is built upon a system of common roots that make it easier to learn. I also love that salah is done in Arabic so that a Muslim can pray with others anywhere in the world.

7. Concept of Ummah=The brotherhood of Muslims still amazes me at times. Unfortunately, I have also seen that the ummah is far from its ideal. There's still a lot of work to do guys.

I would love to have some comments here discussing how these topics have influenced some who did decide to revert to Islam, and how they may be affecting other followers of Messiah who have been blessed by Muslim friends.

My next post will be on some of the problems I have with Islam. I just have to look through my resources again and clarify some of them so that I can get some answers on them.

God bless.

Yesterday's fun

Yesterday was an interesting day for the husband and I. We went to Office Max and finally found a desk that we liked and also ordered some bookcases that matched. We were able to take the bookcase home, while the bookcases will be delivered sometime next week.

When we got home I put Layla to sleep, then set out to get a few groceries while he put the desk together. He does read directions, but prefers to be left alone while working on things like that. I took my time at the store, then went to this weird little store that I had noticed before called Every Day Deals. It was so weird. It was like a wonderland of dented cans and boxes, discontinued brands and packaging, and slightly expired food. I was lured in by the $1 cantaloupes on their signboard.

I did find a decent cantaloupe, two boxes of blueberries for $1 (some were moldy), and a few boxes of discontinued cereal. One of them expired last month, but for cereal that's just fine in terms of usability. My mom would always take expired stuff from the health food store she worked at while I was home, so it doesn't freak me out. Basically, meat and milk are only good a day or two past the date, but grains, nuts, and other non perishables won't hurt you, they will just not be as good in flavor or texture.

When I got home the hubby still wasn't done with the desk. It took him about 6 frustrating hours in all, but at least I have somewhere to sit as I type this. Our bed should be delivered Wednesday, and we just need to find a couch of some decent sort. I still want to do the majlis someday, but unfortunately, it is looking to be a little too expensive right now. ;(

Last night we also ordered a Berkey water filter from Pleasant Hill Grain, which will pay for itself in a little over a year. Then I ordered some training pants for Layla from Sammis Corner.

Layla has been going on the potty sometimes, so I am hoping to have her done by the time she is 2. Wish me luck! She is still talking like crazy and craves constant attention. We will have to do just a post on her later.

I am loving Portland so much!

Home Sweet Home

We have been in our new home of Portland since Monday. The process of driving out was somewhat agonizing with a 1 1/2 year old, but we made it through alright. We stayed in Minneapolis for a few days to say to our friends and my mother-in-law.

We left the city Friday morning and spent that first day driving to Pierre, SD. I thought that some of the scenery in South Dakota was pretty after we crossed the Missouri River, but Pierre isn't somewhere I would enjoy living. There wasn't really much to see, and it seemed like a place definitely lacking in ethnic foods.

Saturday we left Pierre in the morning and drove until we got to the famous Wall Drug store. I wouldn't recommend stopping there unless you like overcrowed tourist traps. I was hoping to get some buffalo jerky, but what they had there was so overpriced that I couldn't justify buying any. The rest of the day Saturday was agonizingly long. We stopped at a couple spots in the Black Hills, but avoided any of the other major tourist areas. Our original plan was to stop at Mt. Rushmore, but it would have added at least 2 hours to our drive by the time we got there and took pictures. The scenery in western SD is amazing though. We crossed into Wyoming, drove through a couple hundred miles of it, then finally crossed into Montana. Southern Montana where I-90 crosses through is a huge Crow reservation. They have some beautiful land, but you can also tell that the area is pretty economically depressed. Saturday night we stayed at a hotel in Billings that had a Mongolian Grill restaurant next to it. That meal was a beautiful ending to a very long day.

Sunday was also a day of a ton of driving. We continued northwest through many more miles of Montana, and finally crossed into Idaho. Some of the elevations in the border area are pretty high and the scenery is amazing. At one point close to the border there were even snow flurries coming down from one of the mountaintops. I kept imagining how this trip would have been on the Oregon trail before modern highways lessened the grades of the mountains. We just crossed through the northern border region of Idaho where the state is only about 100 miles wide. Just after crossing the border into Washington, we stopped in Spokane. It wasn't a bad city, but we were too tired to do much after such a long time in the car.

Our final day of travel was the shortest. We left Spokane and went south and west through some of the farming regions of Washington. This is the area where they grow a lot of cherries and apples. There were also a good number of vineyards. Interestingly, most of the crops were irrigated. Apparently the thin rocky soil doesn't hold moisture well. The area along the WA/OR border along the Columbia river is also really beautiful. There are basically huge rocky cliffs that form the gorge. Once you cross the Cascade range, the climate is different and everything starts getting green. That is the thing I love most about this area. I am happiest where there are lots of trees.

Layla was pretty good throughout the whole trip. Aside from a few screaming fits when she got tired, she was entertained by reading the same books over and over again. Husband and I took turns sitting with her in the back and alternating driving. She craves constant attention and would get very angry if she was awake and no one was playing with her. I'm just glad that we're finally here.

Our new place in Portland is great. The apartment is huge, 2br, 2ba, and a small deck patio. I already got some plants for it. The only downside is that we have no furniture other than an air matress and some pillows. Oh well. We just ordered a bed, and are looking for some bookcases and other seating options. Anyone know where we can order Arabic couches online?
We have this idea of doing a majlis style sitting room with some papyrus and other pictures from Egypt and Iraq to decorate.

Any suggestions would be greatly welcomed.
Thanks for reading my insanely long post!

Farewell Peoria. . .

I am finally leaving my parents' house after being here in Peoria for a whole year. It was nice to have somewhere to stay while Dave was deployed and we've had some great times here. I will miss my parents and my friends who still live here, but I would never choose to move back here.

Yesterday we took care of seeing a lot of the family at my cousin's house, who was having a 1st birthday party for her little girl. They were having a pool party, so Layla was the only baby swimming topless yesterday! She absolutely loved the pool and got a little upset when we took her out.

Our plans get a little hectic starting tomorrow. We have to pack everything we have at my parents' house into our little Mazda Protege. Then we are driving to Minneapolis, where we will say goodbye to Dave's mom and siblings and our good friends there. After that we being the approximately 1800 mile journey from there to Portland. Since we are staying a couple days in Minneapolis, we should InshaAllah get into Portland next Monday (the 22nd).

We should already have an apartment held in Portland, that way we won't be homeless when we get there. Our original plan was to rent a U-haul and drag our car behind, but the U-haul was $1400 one-way and the tow dolly for the car was another $400, so now we are only going with what we absolutely need. The only problem is that my husband and I own a lot of books. We may have to ship quite a few of them, but I know that should not cost anywhere near $1400.

When we get to Minneapolis, our mechanic friend will be looking over the car, rotating tires, changing the oil, and putting on new brake pads. We also got AAA just in case we break down along the way.

I am so excited about making our new home in Portland! We're finally getting out of the Midwest.

We're back!

It is so great to be back and have things somewhat back to normal. We're back from spending 10 days in our former home of Minnesota, and now we're going to be staying with my parents for about another 2 weeks. Layla is adjusting really well to having Daddy around again.

Actually, within only a few hours she was playing with him and would ask where he was if he left the room. Now she's usually willing to accept him instead of me if I'm doing something. It's so nice to have everyone back together again.

Now we're in the process of packing so that we can move to Portland in a only a few weeks.
It was great being back in Minnesota. I love it there in the spring and summer, I'm just not a fan of snow and cold in general. I grew up in IL and have lived in MN, so it will be nice to live somewhere outside the Midwest for once.

While we were in Minneapolis we got to eat Somali food, hit up our favorite Chinese joint, and took lots of walks around town. I also got a couple new skirts at the Somali Mall. The prices there are so great. I got some Henna done there and got invited to a wedding. I didn't end up going though because I decided that I would spend the them with Dave and Layla and sleep early instead.