Ramadhan Tag!

I got tagged by Hajar Zamzam Ismail at Tales from an American Nomad.

So here is the deal for this tag:

1.) Link five people who have written Ramadhan posts that inspired you, and explain why.

2.) Leave them a comment to let them know you gave them "link love," and that they are now tagged.

3.) Link back to the person who tagged you.

This is actually a pretty hard one. I think that there have been some really great and inspiring posts this Ramadan by a lot of different blogger ladies.


I am really glad that some have been inspired by my posts as well. So, let's continue showing the love this Ramadan.

1.) My Hijab did a really awesome post today about how her husband inspires her to fast and be a better Muslim. I love to see husbands being an encouragement to their wives, and families encouraging each other to be faithful and love God.

2. Modest Justice wrote one about getting back in to the masjid and forgiving someone she had a grudge against for a long time. This is so hard for us as humans to do. She shows a lot more maturity that some people twice her age. She is also Somali, so I would love her either way! Waan ku jeclahay macaanto.


3. Cecilia at My Life My Story did a post on how she was having a hard time during Ramadan. This wasn't because she had trouble fasting, but because her family sometimes has negative reactions about Islam. I applaud her for sharing the hard things in her life and pray that she will be able to tell them everything someday.


4. Organica did a post of serving at Iftar for a local mosque. I liked her post because it showed what is good and bad in the community. When Muslims are considerate of each other and are at the mosque only to worship, the Muslim community is beautiful. When people come with selfish concerns only to get enough food and space for themselves, with no consideration for the people who have to clean up the mess, things can get ugly. Its important to remember that the Ummah is a community.

5. Candice at Exploring Life and Islam posted on how she's really been able to embrace her new identity as a Muslim and speaks about how she's been changing to be a better person. I am also impressed with her involvement in Ramadan and getting to know her local Muslim community better while her husband and daughter and in Egypt. I don't know if I would be able to do it!


I look forward to posting and reading more inspiring posts!

What? Another Award?!

Wow, so I am feeling surprised and blessed. These awards are circulating like crazy on. It still surprises me that my blog has been awarded for anything other than Layla's cuteness.

I got the Freakin Fabulous Award from 3 Ladies who are all fabulous themselves:
Skye, Nazia, and Tiffany Nicole :)

Here are the rules:
The rules of this award are:
•List five current obsessions.
•Pass the award on to five more fabulous blogs.
•On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.
•When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well.
Don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by leaving a comment on their blog.

I know I was awarded thrice, but I am still only listing 5 obsessions because Layla is attention-starved and I'm lazy :)

1. Coldstone Creamery
This one is not a good obsession for the long term. Hubby and I have been going here at least once a week lately. It is expensive and filled with empty calories, but it tastes so good! The second part of my obsession here is that I always have to get cookie dough in my ice cream. Yesterday Layla and I shared mint with cookie dough.

2. Books
I have way too many books already, but who doesn't like more. We are always looking for used bookstores, regular bookstores, and buying books online. My favorite genres are religion, history, cultural studies, and languages.

3. Thai Food
I've been making Pad Thai or Thai red curry at least once a week for awhile now. Its spicy, tasty, and easy to make. There are a lot of asian groceries close to us, so I can get the curry paste really cheap. Layla already eats spicier than most American adults.

4. Somali
This is an ongoing obsession for sure. Oh Somali, why do I love thee so much? I seriously think Somali is the most beautiful language in the world. To me it's even more beautiful than Arabic and Hebrew combined. My husband just thinks I'm weird. This means I read Somali kids books, do crossword puzzles in Somali, and speak Somali on the phone. I just need to get back to updating my Somali blog and all will be good.

5. Everyday Deals
So there is this weird store just down the road from my house, I've written about it before. They sell damaged, almost expired, and discontinued or overstock merchandise. Now I go there almost every day. Last week they had cantaloupes 2/1.00 and both the ones I picked were perfectly good. I also have like 10 boxes of cereal in the pantry now. I just can't resist the urge to go in there and see what new things they have each day.

So yes, I'm weird just like the rest of you :) Let's enjoy our differences and weird obsessions.

In turn I am awarding:
1.Tuttie at Trying to Take Over The World
2. Maryanne at Cairo/Giza Daily Photo
3. Aalia at Chasing Jannah
4. Never Ever at Finding Guidance
5. Cairo, Lusaka, Amsterdam

Tag!

So I was tagged by Skye at Muslimah-in-Aus to tell you guys 5 things about myself.

So without further introduction:

1. I don't have a TV. We have 3 working laptops now though so we're not really isolated.


2. When I was 18 I got a tattoo that says body, soul, and spirit in Hebrew. I wouldn't mind having it removed now, but its not really worth the cost. I kept it covered when I went to Dubai and Egypt because I didn't want people to think I was Israeli.

3. I am obsessed with camels. I just think that they are the coolest animal ever.

4. I was vegan for a year or so when I was 16-17. I love meat, so I'm not sure how I even did it now.

5. I love being outside. I could just sit outside or wander around outside for days. My husband is the total opposite. .He likes being inside unless he has something specific to do and the weather is perfect.

In return I tag Yasemin, Asmaa, NeverEver, Heather, andTiffany Nicole.

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...

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by Umm Omar at Just Another Day...The Juggling act of an American Muslim. For this post I am elaborating about 5 things that I like or don't like about motherhood. Wow, that's something so hard to condense into this form. Becoming a mother is something that you can't really prepare for because each baby comes into this world as an individual with such differering needs and reactions to your care. That said, here are the things I like:

1. Realizing just how much I am capable of loving someone else.
If you think you love your husband, just wait until you see your first baby. Layla reminds me so much of Dave, but so much of myself at the same time, yet she is still completely different from either one of us. Its hard to explain it, but I love her in such a completely different way that I have ever loved anyone else.

2. Growing in my relationship with my own mom.
Since I've been staying with my parents while my husband is deployed, I've really gotten to see generational parenting in action. Now that I am a mother myself, I feel like I really can conceptualize how much my own parents have cared and made sacrifices for us. I also get to see how much joy it brings my mom to be around Layla every day. It also gives me a level of closeness to strive for with my own kids.

3. I'm never bored
Really honestly, I have never been bored for a single day since Layla was born. She was very demanding and high-need from her birth, but also developed her social skills very quickly. The early months were frustrating at times with the nearly constant nursing and lack of sleep at night, but I have really enjoyed every day I have been able to spend with her. Now that she's turning into a feisty toddler, I have thousands of chances to play funny games and laugh at her antics every day. This also means that all the running keeps me in pretty good shape.

Here are two things I would have to say I dislike.

4. How fast kids grow up
I would hear parents complain that kids grew up too fast when I was one myself, but now I'm starting to realize how true that is. It still seems like yesterday that I first found out I was pregnant, and now I have a climbing, running, 17mo old on my hands. Its a little depressing to think that Layla will want to do more things on her own and not need me so much, but its also such a blessing to watch her mind develop and learn new things every day. I just want to make the most of my kids potential during those crucial early years.

5. Lack of consistent sleep
Yes, I am still struggling with this one. First of all, I am an extremely light sleeper, so I am a part of the problem. When Layla was born she was mostly nocturnal for the first few weeks. On top of that, she only slept about 30-45 min at a time during the first few mos and also screamed a lot if something didn't feel quite right. Right now she still wakes up a couple times during the night and is going through a phase where she likes to nurse all morning long, therefore ruining my last couple hours of sleep. Oh well, I shouldn't complain since I have the fortune of staying home with her instead of going to work a 9-5 on very little sleep.

Well that was fun. Next I will tag Bri from Little Green Pastures and Tammy/Amina from Tammy's Somali Home.