American Muslima Writer -Daring to Work Towards Jannah

Remember Remember November

2011-10-17T07:36:00.000+04:00

How could I get this month out of my head?

It seems like October doesn't even exist. It is some transport time of waiting from the interesting month of September to the bliss of November.

I had plans for November

I had dreams.

And they've all been shattered, quite efficiently and brutally.

It was actually the Front Receptionist Security/Military Man at the Jaflia Immigration, Building 15, who was the sign that things were about to turn. The way he double blinked at my daughter's papers. The way he frowned. The furtive whispers between other deck-out-in-military-regalia-men about the problem.

And finally the verdict:

"Sheikh Muhammad has stopped all reductions on Visit Visa Violation Payments."

Those words just ripped through me. WHAT the WHATY WHAT WHAT W H A T ?!?!?!?!?

The tears started flowing and as we stepped outside to face our disappointment I couldn't accept the cold words so carelessly tossed. Blubbering tears and sniffling desperately I turned back in and begged them that there must be some way. ANY way to reduce the amount. There-in lies the beauty of Emirates and being a woman here, especially a Muslim Woman. In a flash I had three high officials swarming us wondering why I was upset and crying. They had a debate about my daughter's papers and decided I might have a chance by talking to upper management or something. We made the rounds at least four times between different sections, no one wanting to take responsibility for helping us. *Such a lovely feeling really* finally we ended back up at Building 15 and pleading again that we've been everywhere and they just send us back here.

Finally this man who so coldly shattered my dreams took the papers to some high officials a few tables down and disappeared into a back office.

Our problem without too much detail: My daughter is 1 year and 7 months over her visit visa stay. AKA Illegal Immigrant. How this happened? When my husband and I didn't have jobs we couldn't afford to pop over the border and get new visit visas monthly, much less paying for a new residency visa. We were too busy just keeping food in the kid's mouths. SO here we are: I wanted to travel to USA to see my family in November. I had this beautiful vacation planned out.......

Arrive in California, parents pick me up in a happy reunion, (as I haven't seen them for 5 years and my father hasn't met my son) we stay in an inexpensive hotel and spend a few days at Disneyland giving the kids the vacation of THEIR dreams. Then return to Tucson, where I see my friends of old, my grandfather and family. I go bowling, I drink American American-Coffee, and I walk the old malls from my youth (turning heads in my “foreign garb”. Most important I have Thanksgiving with my extended family and my kids get to meet their cousins from my side of the family. Also I wanted to get back in touch with my siblings.

And eggnog, glorious glorious eggnog in the chill of November....*sigh*

It all hung on getting my daughter's visa sorted and paid off because she can't leave the country until it's paid. And I can't leave her here and go on my own.

So here we are waiting for the final answer from the Immigration.

The door opens and the man returns:

.....

.......

.....

.......

.....

.......

.....

...

"We've reduced the fine from 60,000 dhs to 27,500 dhs. You pay it or you take your daughter to be banned for one year." He said giving back our papers with a small ripped scrap of paper written 27,500 on it. I begged him again, there must be something!!!! I was thinking it was at 13,000dhs and needed it reduced to like 4,000. Here it was a staggering 60K!!!!!

There is nothing he can do. So we left.

I had to go directly from that emotional disappointment to teaching happily with fun energy and it was all I could do to not break down and cry in front of my students.

Now we are working on different options to get it reduced. Talking to Locals that might know a way through Immigration better than us. Other than that finding someone to loan us 17,500dhs and I pay it back monthly through my Salary.

*sigh* what a mess. Otherwise we are just to go on how we have been with her illegal until we can get that amount saved up.

______________________________________________________________________

Also in late October and November I wanted to move out of my apartment. It’s the only way we WILL ever be able to save. So I've been looking but everywhere wants the payment in 4-6 checks and high upfront costs. I found a lovely little place that is stuck in my heart and I'm dying to move there but it'll cost a nice 11,000dhs to move in (plus 2,000 to MOVE). So how the heck can I manage that or the first Immigration problem? Seems like I'm destined to be stuck where I am for November.

I love this place I found, included swimming pools, with a children's pool, children's play area, grass lawns, gym, security, and best the apartment Ii want has bathTUBS!!! and it faces the playground. I can sit in my house and see them play. Who wouldn't love that? *SIGH* eleven-friggin-thousand dirhams between me and bliss...........

_________________________________________________________________________

I have a goal, a large goal, and enormous monstrous goal ahead of me in November though now. I made it a few days ago on my 9th Wedding Anniversary (October 13th). I will go from my current "official*" weight to 66.5kilos by December 1st, 2011. I've been stuck in the low 70's for sooo long now I need to kick start it down. I've been changing my clothes and my hair and a lot of things about myself and my husband and kids are loving the new me, but I'm not loving all myself as my weight still isn't the healthier me I want.

So that is my huge goal I set for myself. Insha'Allah make strong dua for me to make it.

________________________________________________________________________

Can you believe in the craziness above I also remembered it is National Novel Writing Month in November. I have already signed up and will be battling time and wordcounts again to reach 50,000words at the end of November. So gain words, lose weight.

_________________________________________________________________________

SOOOOOOOOO that is my update as many friends have pondered if I've fallen off the face of the earth.

Love ya, update you again later :D

6 Week Plan

2011-07-01T13:34:00.000+04:00

So I read this Awesome Book! "The Illustrated Pratical Encyclopedia of FITNESS TRAINING" by Andy Wadsworth

Very very excellent book. Really taught me where I've been going wrong in my previous workout attempts. Now I have a new Fitness Workout Plan for the next 6 weeks. Grueling of course.

And I've been working on my eating plan, made myself a comprehensive healthy eating plan.
Instead of making a specific food for each meal I put the things I can have at that meal time and how many servings of each kind so I can make an informed decision even when I don't have a specific food on hand. (common in my house).

Also working on resisting again my "happy" foods. My sugar-drug. OMG DID YOU SEE THEY CAME OUT WITH COCONUT M&MS!!!! I LOOOOOOVE COCONUT AND CHOCOLATE COMBO......

*ahem* yes as I was saying..... RESISTING!!!! Like last night went with my kids to the park (at 11pm) and on the way we stopped for gas and "snacks" I told them before we went in Healthy snacks only.
OH MY GOODNESS trying to find a healthy snack in a convienience store was like a needle in a haystack. Sure they had fruits, like a pre-packaged Banana and an apple but my kids were not gonna be fooled into thinking that is a snack for parks. and I didn't want to deal with the sticky hands from the juice. My son started out looking at the marshmellows and I firmly said no, put it back. Then my daughter saw Gummy Cherries, "Look Mommy, your favorite!" No NO! Put them back!
Then I saw JELLY BEANS!!!! OHHHH I LOVE JELLY BEANS!!!! I was like ok just one bag.... I held onto them as I strolled around. We got to the cookie and cracker aisle. I started checking every package for Carb and sugar counts.... OH the HORROR of high carb counts! 60carbs per serving in most if not more! THen I looked at the back of the Jelly Beans.....WAY more than 60! Stupid me why did I even pick them up...old bad habits! I tossed them aside and finally settled on TUC crackers and SKYLINE crackers. Meanwhile both kids were literally crying and screaming everytime they brought me something sugary and I said No. But their tears just confirmed to me how badly we are all getting sucked into the unhealthy trap.
We made it to the Check-out with only the crackers where COCONUT M&MS assaulted my mind.
I even got sucked into thoughts of "health Bars" with rediculously high carb and sugar counts....which made me put it back....and then on the way out CHEX Trail Mixes in multi-tempting-flavors. I checked the carb counts and was like ummmm not bad carb count until i saw the serving size and servings per bag.. 7-10 servings each bag. So multiply 72 carbs by 7. 342 calories by 10...yeah no thanks......
we got in the car and realized we had forgotten water...but i was NOT going back in there.

Any of that junk at the park wouldn't have lasted more than 5 minutes, ten max, but those two small packs of crackers lasted the three of us 50 minutes. pretty good! We even found a vending machine at Safa Park (which closes at 11:30pm so we got in free) and I thought the kids would beg for soda but lo and behold they lvoed healthier and begged for water! YAY!!! Small steps!

It was amazing reading a Weight-Loss Blog "Escape from Obesity" about the brains pathways in habits. Very interesting! Go check it out!

So the last week I spent writing down my plan and fine-tuning everything and prepping myself to resist junks so that on Saturday I can start the workout part. Yay! They also have a nice spongy jogging path around the park I'm thinking to use for Rollerblading by myself. Weeee!!!!!

_______________________________________________________
Ah and of course Homeschooling and Work and everything is going on track too! :D

Thanks for all your support and comments the last post :)

It's a Confused World

2011-07-01T12:59:00.000+04:00

Just read in India they are getting their daughters sex-changed to be boys.
They claim (just like with the infantcide post that first started my blog years ago) that they need boys to make more money for the family, and the high dowry and wedding costs make them fear daughters.

BULL SHIT!!!!

I don't like cussing but here it's necissary!
If they could see this is where the beauty of Islam comes in, it would help things a lot in India.
In Islam the SON pays the WIFE a dowry!
In Islam you don't have to have extravagant dowries or weddings.
And the Quran says (to the effect of): "Don't bury (or kill) your children for fear of poverty."

The stupid part is that these children most likely will grow up sterile (not to mention have gender-complexes) and not be able to have children when they are older. Now India's male population is so large where are all these boys gonna find wives to marry and continue their noble line with sons? Other countries?
Here's the Link GULF NEWS.

SubhanAllah, the crimes, NUMEROUS NUMEROUS CRIMES, in India make me fear for them as a nation. God's Wrath comes swiftly when you least expect it. May Allah protect us and guide them.
________________________________________________________________________

Another Country high on my radar is Brazil.... OMG!
Have you people SEEN what is happeneing there? *shudder* Don't even wanna blog it.....

_________________________________________________________________________

And of course we have USA and Europe..... high HIGH crime rates of all bad morals.
Of course not ALL people but a whole damn lot.

___________________________________________________________________________

TO be fair we have to include the Arab countries. Quickly following the Western bandwagon!
Dubai as the most "western" city in the Middle East, sure is leading the bunch.
And we live near the sea........

___________________________________________________________________________

On that note, I'm hoping to look in far Sharjah or Ajman for a nice house with a YARD for my kids to play in and have lesser rent prices. The only drag will be the long drive to Dubai for fun or Work, and lets hope the car doesn't break down....
But at least we will be further from the corruption and ........ the sea......
___________________________________________________________________________

In other news.... this is the first gun-crime I have heard of in UAE since I've come here!
Armed robbery in a convieninece store I believe in Sharjah!!!! They got 80,000 DHS!
No one has guns here except Police.
It was like some weird twilight zone feeling reading that news article.
"What? ARMED robbery?" "Maybe it's a typo?"
"There aren't guns here!"

It's a sign for sure..... yeah maybe just stick with Ajman, Sharjah's getting pretty rough.
___________________________________________________________________________

Ah and good news finally for Quoz Industrial 2: Al Khail Gate Complex:
They started planting Palm Trees on the main Road entering near my house. And they got a BUS(F-15) to come into our area now that goes to Noor Islamic Metro Station. So actaully people wont have to walk across the desert now. Althought he bus takes so darn long poeple walk anyways. But there is hope for the poor poeple here. We might get some more trees and flowers in the next two years...it's hoped. I still can't see greenery near my house and kids still play in dirt... but still....slowly things are changing.

....of course as I want to move out...... :p

Trials in Month of Rajab

2011-06-06T12:48:00.000+04:00

So much to discuss where can I start?
It is the new Islamic Month of Rajab, the Holy Month of Allah, to ask for forgiveness and make Astagfirullah. Purify your hearts more in preparation for Ramadan only two months away.
Seek deep connection with Allah in Sujood and in the night.
I am dealing with a mess of problems right now and it's all converging on my head and sometimes when you feel so overwhlemed you need to just step back and let some of them gloss over or leave them up to Allah.

I finally got a job last month as an English Teacher for an Education Center. It's a very demanding job with not nessisarily long hours but longer than I'm used to from my past work. But on the side it needs a lot of preparation at home. Hours and hours at home with my kids but having to ignore them so I can plan out lesson after lesson for all my classes of various levels. It breaks my heart. Completly.
But this is the Dunya and life is not easy. I must help provide for my family. There is no other choice.
My children would suffer far worse than lack of time with me if I didn't work.

Having time to homeschool my kids has been the most difficult problem to overcome. Last year when i was overwhlemed time wise I delayed my daughter by giving her "vacation periods" as needed. Where learning was minimized liek a summer vacation but still would cover the basics. I can't do that at this point. It's time for her 1st grade to end if I want to keep her on track. I had hoped this was the year to kick start her advancement but too many issue kept mounting up. I wanted her to start 2nd grade last september and then latest in January but it all fell through. Now I really need to kick it into high gear and get her through the last unit and finished then plan out the 2nd grade curriculum.
Also I really need to get my kids into some kinda club or outdoor playing routine for the Summer. Expenses are tighter than ever so that will be a big challenge.

Always there are the problems in a family, especialy a marriage relationship, to deal with. Always wifey stuff that has to get done and motherly stuff too.

Also I have a big SUPER challenge to get the rest of this weight off. I started out after my daughter at 115 kilos and got it down to 88kilos before preg with my son. Then after the birth of my son I was 104kilos. I've lost 30 kilos so far but I've been hovering at 74-73 Kilos now for a year unable to get under this palateu. My goal is by October 13th to reach 63 kilos. Which will be healthy for my height. I've been getting stronger and more toned but the fat has still remained on top. It's not going to be easy to balence all these pressures on my time. I think 4 months is plenty of time to lose 10 kilos in a healthy way. Especially squeezing Ramadan in there and weight can madly fluctuate.

Speaking of Ramadan I need to make up some past fasts urgently.....

Nothing can be set aside at this point for a few months. It's all going to take a seriously dedicated super organized schedule to pull it off and a serious firm commitment from me to actaully follow it without slacking.
*sigh* makes me exhausted just thinking of planning it. I'm sure I've said all this a half dozen times before but I'm ever committed to always having hope of improvement.

Never give up hope in your life or you'll never win. Good Luck to you all this summer.

More Natural Life

2011-04-26T09:08:00.000+04:00

Where on this whole earth would you want to live if you could go anywhere for free and live there? What's your dream?

In my Queenly domain of Al-Quoz Industrial, covered in sand and a few paved roads. A lone tree on the side of the road attracts many world-weary men to crouch under it in the heat of the day. It is the sole source of shade between an intersection of hot asphalt and the remainder of the journey across dusty sand. There is no sidewalk to ease the journey to the local market. If you can't bare another trip through the sands you can walk on the road, at your own hazard of being hit by speeding cars or large industrial trucks hauling their goods.

Once you finally reach your haven of home and the shade of the buildings there is relief from the heat for the skin, but what of relief for the eyes? The eyes grown too accustomed to the tan color of sand, the beige buildings that cry for color. Here and there a shirt hanging or a window left open provides a hint of brightness to a stark landscape. Sometimes I used to wonder why the native desert people had such garish taste in color patterns for their clothes. Now I understand. It's so damn dull to see sand color day in and day out, you need something garishly shocking to make you feel a bit happier.

There are sections placed in our area for plants and even black hoses to water them installed, but where is the greenery? There is nothing here to cool our eyes. There is no leafy tree for our children to climb and feel the amazing texture of bark. There are no flowers for young girls to pick and tuck behind their ears. There are no worms for young boys to dig up and explore. There is only sand, sand, sand, and asphalt. These companies that own these properties make billions and billions of dollars a year and they can't even put in a few trees and flowers!?!?!

Sure this is the price many must pay for city life. You get to be close to a Metro, Malls, Money-opportunities...all those "good" things that begin with M. But what is it doing to our children? I grew up for a few years in a poor neighborhood just off the ghettos of South Tucson. There were trailers and poor people galore, but AT LEAST THEY HAD TREES AND FLOWERS!!!! My best friend had an awesome climbing tree in her own yard! Man the joy we had on that! I'd wander the neighborhood collecting flowers and plants I liked. Sometimes I'd get told off in Spanish but it was worth the price. I helped my parents take care of our little garden. Enjoyed running my feet through the grass. With such richness to explore what does a child care about poverty? What do my children have? Sand, lots of it. They have become excellent diggers. If I let them bring water they can make mud and build things.

Sure there are parks in Dubai. But for many families these aren't feasible to reach. Especially daily as kids need to get out and get rid of built up energy. It takes a long walk across aforementioned sand with the lone tree to reach the buses to take you to the park or you have to pay an arm at least to take a taxi. If you want to take the free shuttle to Mall of Emirates you cannot bring bulky items that you will be forced to haul around like scooters and such. Trying coordinate times to catch the next shuttle back home without missing the last one or having to sit for an hour or more with two fidgety kids is a tricky feat.

I want more for my kids. I want them to have their own space full of greenery. I want this for all the other kids suffering here forced to play with asphalt and dirt. Maybe we are better off then most but even many impoverished people have trees around them. When I get a job I was planning to save up and buy a lot of plants to put on our balcony and make it our own private garden. But when they go downstairs to play there will still be roads and dirt.

Sometimes the life of a farmer or nomad or anyone who gets to live off very close to the wildreness pulls at my heart. I'd love for my kids (me too) to be able to frolic through a forest searching for mystery around every tree. Jumping over a creek or climbing on rocky slopes. Feeling fresh and natural. Like life was supposed to be lived. Allah created plants for our use and for us to recognise His Greatness in the creation of Beautiful things. That is one of His Names: Al-Musawwir, the Shaper of Beauty. One of my favorite Names.
We weren't meant to be contained in a concrete jungle like we live in a zoo. Everything artificial and dull.
How do you gain such a life? How do you find means to live?

Where on this whole earth would you want to live if you could go anywhere for free and live there? What's your dream?

INDIAN GIVER: RAFFLES SCHOOL

2011-04-24T07:17:00.000+04:00

OK so it's a derogatory term that I never liked but in this case it's well aptly used and has no actual conitation to Indians.
Indian Giver was a term given to Native Americans who would "sell" you something of theirs, say Fur-lined boots for $20, but with their religious beliefs nothing was ever NOT theirs even when given away/sold, so often they would return and "take back" their item, without refunding the new owner their money. So basically they would take back what they had given.
Yeah like i said it's a crappy term but some people would do this. Not all American Indians of course are like this or would condone this, and I agree. It was a rough life out there on both sides of the fence and sadly the Indians often got the short end of the stick.
Which brings me to my Blog topic:
I've been searching long and hard for a job once Magrudy's Layed me off, (and SEVERAL others). Everyday I and my husband (especially my husband) have been sending out my CV (RESUME) for any job I remotly even had a chance at, and many I'd be perfect for. My Husband's Salary cannot support us alone. Not even close. Which is no fault of his, just reality. So I have to work (for those who would insist I should stay home).
I've had many many interviews with such a variety of companies. Each one you set out early in the day, dressed to the Business NINES, carrying a sunny smile and a winning attitude. You go through the ordeal of a tough interview with your dignity intact and then sit and WAIT AND WAIT for a call or confirmation.
Mostly nothing returns. Even though I keep getting top-listed for jobs there is always that SOMEONE who has that tad more experience or WASTA or degree that puts them in front of me. Finally FINALLY I recieved a callback for a second interview. Thrilled, I double prepared! Triple prepared!
I went to the second interview and nailed it head on! They e-mailed me the next day with an offer for a high Administration Position! My whoops of gleee could be heard at the top of Burj Khalifa. I jumped around screaming with my kids in the hallway as I told EVERYONE the good news. Thank Allah! My children wont starve next month! My Nanny wont be forced to leave from lack of pay!
Do you FEEL my excitement here? They called me the next day to confirm the offer and Salary.
A few days passed and my husband started to worry why they aren't calling me back to sign the contract. I said no problem they are busy, everyone just got back from Spring Break, maybe things are chaotic.
Finally I emailed them and waited a few more days then fianlly called them (twice). On the phone again I asked if the offer still stands despite the delay and was assured yes it does.
WOO HOOOOO!!!!
Stopped sending my CV out. Stopped accepting interviews. I prepared a detailed schedule for my kids and Nanny and began implimenting it so there would be a smooth transition back to working life. It's certainly not easy to get kids to bend to new rules and timings! It was a cranky house for a week, but it got smoothed out!
I even went shopping for groceries for the begining of next month, over spending a little just to make sure I wouldn't have to go shopping for a few weeks while trying to get into the routine of my new job.

I was mid-shower when the phone rang.

I finished up and hopped out and called the School back. The CEO changed the contract details of the qualifications, thus denying me the position. The offer was taken back, despite the overwhelming approval of my canidacy from the Head HR and Admissions Manager.
I do not get the job after all.

I'm a Customer Service Executive, so I keep my cool when people say and do crappy things to me (well professioanlly anyways), and so I polietly thanked them and calmly hung up.
I sat there on the edge of the bed, wrapped in a towel, drops of water rolling off my hair to splat on the tile floor and just looked numbly at the sun shining through the curtain of my bedroom sliding door. I just kept thinking SubhanAllah, Allah didn't want me to have this job and He wanted me to have insha'Allah something better than this. So I said my Alhamdulillahs despite my depressed mood.

A heartbeat later my husband comes home in a jolly mood, cracking jokes and nuzzling our kids hello, making them giggle. I swollow hard. I don't want to break his cheerful mood. He greeted me and asked me if I heard back from the school. I winced and nodded. At my unhappy face he was like "What happened!"
So I told him.

It was downhill from there. Sunshine gone like a sudden blizzard on the praire. He couldn't sleep that night too angry in his heart about the sudden taking back of the job offer, and my Nanny too. It was confirmed in writing and verbally TWICE! I googled if this was even LEGAL, apperently it is even though it's crappy.

It's now the end of the month and because I lost a week and a half from the job search market I have no interviews scheduled until hopefully into the last days of April or begining of May. I'm mentally kicking myself for stopping sending my CV. On top of that through a glitch in the system of my husband's company he wont be getting his full paycheck until NEXT month at the end of May. Thank Allah I stocked up on food but that was the last of our money. We'll have to resort to borrowing again and paying them back when I get paid, which is what we had to do when I had to start working for Magrudy's thus most of my monthly salaries went back to paying off people, May Allah Bless Them. Living like this is just depressing though. Having to resort to begging and borrowing again. UGH!
I was soooooo done with that when we left Al-Ain.

But I always have my Faith. Allah wont let us starve to death. He will give us something better soon. I put my trust in Him to get me a job or some means of providing for my family. Insha'Allah something turns up. Make du'a. There are a lot of people in worse situations.

So Raffles School, you are officially and professionally.......the Title of my Blog Post.
May Allah guide you from doing this to other people.

APRIL SPRING SKY

2011-04-04T15:02:00.000+04:00

My Beloved Month of my Birth has arrived again. APRIL!
Normally I feel like Yellow when this month comes (see last year's post) but this year I just have the aching for BLUE! A lovely light fresh blue like the gorgious spring sky.
I found myself some lovely internet cakes and sugar flowers.
I'd love to get these dresses one day!

It just a refreshing color, the perfect start to a new year of renewal and figuring out things for my life.

I have my work cut out for me. Trying to find a new job which has been tough.
Trying to sort out opening a new business and finding an investor.
Homeschooling, mommy stuff, wifey stuff, exersizing, dieting, friend stuff.
Want to get another book published this year insha'Allah.
New idea for another book plot to write in November's Nanowrimo.
Gotta just get stuff done this year and not let it pile up!
AS soon as I get a job I also wanna get rid of old things in my house like my couches and re-do them or get new ones.
Also hoping to travel to Lebanon and USA this year. It all depends on what Allah gives me o work with this year. Insha'ALlah it will go smoothly.
I really can't beleive I've reached 27! I keep thinking really 27!?!?! Like almost 30?!?! What happened to 22? 24? oh yes, children..... hmm.... LOL!
I feel weird because I thought 24 would be my healthiest and now at 27 I'm getting much more healthy. Loosing a lot of weight and trying to keep it off.
I'm trying to reach 60kilos or under by July. Insha'Allah.
I wanna finish organizing my papers. As a writer I have boxes and boxes of papers. I decided that to get rid of them I'm going to just scan them all and save them on my external harddrive but finding time to scan has been the hard part.
Also wanna go through my closet and get rid of all those ugly enormous clothes I've had for years. Just get rid of them all and then slowly start a new collection. Much better styles now I can fit into better clothes.
Insha'Allah.
So a lot to do this month and take stock of and deal with but I'm looking forward to it. I love the number seven and I had a great year in 17...hehehe. So enjoy this beautiful month and take stock of your own lives.
Have a slice of internet cake on me ;)
Love and Hugs!

More Bloggers!

2011-03-29T16:01:00.001+04:00

Masha'Allah I am continuously amazed at all the wonderful Sisters Blogging out there in the world now. When I first started up years ago there were maximum 200 sisters around the world daring to blog their opinions. Now look at them! So many I can't even keep track or keep count!
One of my many goals in this life is to let Sisters come together more easily. By making my Blog Directory (when there wasn't any around years back) allowed Sisters to do this. To read about topics they loved, by fellow Sisters they can relate to. For a while I couldn't add any more Sisters to my Directory because it was taking up too much of my time. I was complicating the process more than I had to. Now I just streamlined it and have started adding Sisters again.
And OH! the blog fever returns!!!! I Love seeing Sisters showcasing their lives and talents! And from all over the world! I like a new Blogger out there http://notsooperfect.blogspot.com/ NOT SO PERFECT. Okay I'm partial to this blog cuz she's into Designing like me but it's more than that it's the outlook she has and the enthusiasm she writes with. Go add her to your followers, she's really cool.
Of course there are countless others I've just added to the Blog Directory too that are really awesome. One Sister in Arts Crafts n Hobbies (under the section Arts and Crafts) is having a giveaway of a beaded bracelet so go check her out too. The countries are starting to fill out more too. Recent newcomers from Pakistan, Nigeria. UK, USA, and European Countries!
I'm so excited really I am!
I do apologise and please forgive me Sisters who have asked months and years ago to be added, I will get to you!!!!!! Life's rough sometimes, but Allah has given me time to add you now.
Please do go check out the recent blog additions and perhaps you'll discover a new friend!
Salams!

Earth Hour! We're doing it!!!!

2011-03-26T19:35:00.000+04:00

You can still do it too! March 26, 8:30pm Your LOCAL Time! Turn off your Lights and Electricity. Light some candles (optional, but if you have to run to the toilet you'll be thankful for the flame), and enjoy some quiet activity with your family.

I suggest to further show your children you support this concept you should strive to do this weekly or bi-weekly. After all why only once a year!?!?!?

Of course Lebanon being way ahead of it's time has Earth Hour daily for many hours of the day. The Government strategically cuts off power to residences forcing them to observe the value of having Electricity.

Ahhh, the good old days in Lebanon....

So the Earth Hour website also has games and activities for kids to do and interesting things for parents!

Favorite Posts!

2011-03-26T13:03:00.000+04:00

I changed my Blog Sidebar a bit and added my top favorite Posts. The option you can add on Blogger of putting posts that recieve the most clicks is skewed! They will always remain top clicked because they are advertised so I wanted people to know more about me than my post on scarlet fever LOL. SO there they are in the sidebar on my blog! :D

Hearts Lift

2011-03-26T11:20:00.000+04:00

Those not living here in the Middle East don't know the fear and oppression the people have faced daily for years and decades. In Lebanon they told me I'm so lucky we're not in Syria, where if you even whisper against the government you can get shot. Lebanon has it's own share of Politically Charged Environment but at least people are open there about their feelings.

I've always asked if there people are so miserable why don’t they take a stand? They OUTNUMBER Government officials! History has shown Civilian Revolutions are largely successful in large numbers.
I was always told, they'd love to, but they fear being shot to death in a large massacre.
Now here we are in the middle of an Arab Revolution.

Finally people are daring to get together and stand up against the injustices being done to them.

May Allah Bless and forgive the man who started it all when he set himself of Fire in a fit of rage to protest the injustice done against him. He was literally the spark of the revolution. Every person in the Middle East felt his pain and their hearts lifted. SOMEONE FINALLY HAD THE GUTS TO STAND UP AGAINST INJUSTICE, DESPITE BODILY HARM!

AND

THE

HEARTS

WERE

LIFTED.

As Egypt succeeded this showed the regions nearby that they could succeed too and no matter how many were killed to achieve it, the results would be worth it.

No one knows how far this will reach or how it will affect the future but I for one am with it.
I cannot participate physically but I participate with my du'a and with my words.
Every country here with a dictator type regime and a score to settle is preparing.
Those forced out of their jobs and livelihoods are preparing.
Those with family members killed viciously are preparing.
Children and grandchildren under decades of oppression are preparing.
May God help them all.
May HE keep their intentions pure.
May HE guide them to having Justice.

Has anyone actually looked at the map where this is happening? DO you see the circle widening? Yet the true center of the circle that has yet to be untouched is Jordan/Palestine/Israel/Lebanon!!!!! One of the most previously volatile areas in the Middle East!!! I think the eventual plan is to oust the dictators around this epicenter and install more friendly just governments in their place. Thus backing humanitarian efforts and having larger support to finally end the Israel/ Palestinian conflict. ALL these people standing up for Justice in the face of death, do you really think they will stop at the edge of their borders? No they will continue on. I guarantee you. It's all heading back to Israel. And this time they won’t get away with their atrocities. The world will now have their eyes opened to the real Middle East and what is happening here. Including those in USA. Now we will just see if they can actually stand up for the right thing or continue to shuffle their feet and stand there awkwardly at Israel’s side supporting their inhumane bloodshed.

The ironic thing I find though is the American People protested the War in Iraq against Bush. But they didn't do it with enough people and with enough heart! What they did gain was quickly stifled. Bush was a Gaddafi/Mubarak dictator who got away with oppressing his people and ignoring their demands for justice and peace. America you should feel with the people here and support us. Encourage Obama to help in a GOOD WAY. Lift your hearts and speak out.

People in the Middle East are reaching out to you, not against you for once. You should take that gift not shun it.

May God guide us all to correct decisions and bring a lasting peace to this region and further to the world.

AMIN

Professional Make-up

2011-03-20T08:46:00.000+04:00

Since someone has expressed an opinion in my last few posts on my choice of make-up. I would like to elaborate on that. NEUTRAL VS GLAM

I wear it for work. I'll be honest: I don't always like it. It's tedious to put on, horendous to scrape off nightly, and I prefer the fresh face look anyways. Sadly though the reality is even in my twenties, I'm breaking out badly like a teen. Everyday suddenly there might be anywhere from 1-5 zits popping out and on a personal level I wouldn't be comfortable sticking my zitty face near others and advising them at work. Having the ability to put on a mask, or a Professional Face, is part of a Customer Service job. Look at Airplane Stewardesses and Check-In Crew! PROFESSIONAL! and yes MAKE UP. Half my neighbors are in this field and their make up is thick and bold! Although the Muslimah ones wear just neutral like me.

People naturally gravitate towards that which is nice to behold. In my work I do want people gravitating TO me not away from me.
That said let's talk about Islam. We should be modest. We should Not attract undue attention to ourselves.
Okay, so, lets look at what I am wearing exactly. I'm not shy to reveal my so called beauty secrets. :p

Liquid Foundation: Covers those zits and provides a skin evener that lets me not stand out with red spots or healing scabs, all over my face.

Powder: Both of these in my natural skin tone not too lighter or darker as some ladies do (especially here in UAE). I wear it to preserve the liquid to last all day and not run or flake off, or look shiny.

Eyeshadow: Lightly applied in complimentry neutral colors to what I'm wearing. Mostly hidden behind my glasses as you can see on the side. Because if I didn't add this my face would take on a ghostly sheen from no accent color to the powder.

Blush: a softest pink with a fluffy brush and only a dab under the apples of cheeks, seriously you can hardly see it, even me and i know it's there. But if I didn't put it again you have the ghostly face effect. Beleive me I've tried to not put it and people have asked me if I was unwell....... :(

Mascara: Only worn once a month on my period days, since to make wudu we can't use the waterproof kind , and the non-waterproof will run all over my face at work....yeah, sooo not professional. I actually wear it because it's always made me feel more confident and it's my one vanity that has no basis other than the fact I like it. I told you I'll be honest here. My lashes are naturally very light brown almost blonde to the point it looks as if I have hardly a lash. I dont CAKE IT ON, as some do. Just one swipe to put a touch of color. If I need a pep-me-up on my non-period days I wet them with water and use black eyeshadow to dust them but it washes off with the first wudu.

Lip Color: The reason I call it that instead of lipstick is that what i wear isn't technically lipstick. Again because I'm a white girl my lips have a naturally pale color and again as we discussed before, once that powder is on I get the ghost effect. It seriously doesn't even look like i HAVE lips, which freaks me out in the mirror! I put a tiny dab on my pinky of a gloss with a shimmer one shade darker than my lips.
This goes off easily many times a day, while talking (which i do a lot of at work), or drinking water etc.... so reapply as needed.

And thats it.

But guess what, on the days my face is clear of zits, I wear NO make-up.

But a few times (for those that argue to try it naturally) when my face was really badly spotty, I didn't have time (cuz it does take 30 mins to put that on) for make-up before work. I had to run to catch the bus. When I got to work literally every single co-worker asked me in a very shocked concerned voice "OH MY GOD! What happened to your face!" I embarrassedly explained to them this IS my face. All day I felt horrible and self concious instead of confident. I had less customers and things did not go well. ( Not to mention everyone kept staring at me, which i hate)

Color RED I LOVE

Let me also add that before I was Muslim I rarily left the house without Mascara and Bright Red Lipstick. I would even do Black or Dark Green in my Punk Days. But never NEVER did I wear light pink or "girly" or "natural" colors. It was always shocking bright color. My eyeshadow too had to be bright colors. So there is a differnce in wearing make up to SHOW OFF YOUR FACE, and wearing Make up to Neautrilize your face or to look Professional. BIG DIFFERENCE. I personally feel more natural at work with it than without. On my good days of a clear face no zits and no make up many people have actaully told me I'm prettier so... subhanAllah..... what's a girl to do? Allah knows my intention. Allah knows my limits. And it is for Him to Judge.

If you don't like it well, you're free to say so as this is blog world, but you also have a choice to go to another blog. I've been honest though.

United Nations grow up from Boys to MEN

2011-03-20T07:32:00.000+04:00

Alhamdulillah for once the UN finally takes a stand and does something right. After years of Palestinians and Iraqis and Lebanese etc... being killed and slaughtered by overwhelmingly advanced enemies, and the UN standing by wringing their hands, they have grown up from the ineffectual boys they were toward taking steps to become Men who do what is right for humanity; Saving People especially women and Children.

I applaud the West and Arab Forces interference into the Libyan Revolution. May they turn the tide against their evil dictator who doesn't flinch at massacring his own people. May they Humble him and raise the Rebels chances. Insha'Allah it will be over fast to spare undue death.

May Allah guide their hearts and actions to work swiftly and not have the blood of civilian casualties on their hands. AMIN.

Searching wondering deep thinking

2011-03-19T13:21:00.000+04:00

Salam Everyone out there.

Today subjects: Blogging, Jobs, Male Friends, Family Time, and UAE Culture.

It's hard to believe I was a "post a day" Blogger at one point! Where does time go? I still love the blogs and although I rarely get a chance to read any I love seeing new sisters starting up theirs and connecting with others. I'm really gonna have to sacrifice a night or two of sleep and add the rest of the Sister's blogs they've been requesting onto my Blog Directory http://www.allmuslimah.blogspot.com/ because I know how much benefit I gained in my life from Blogging. I want other sisters to gain the same. New friends, new ideas, a place to vent, and more importantly to learn. Also to keep your iman up. Sometimes when you're lonely and you feel there are no Sisters out there who are sharing what you feel you only have to search for a relevant blog and I'm sure there will be dozens facing the same issue as you.

I'm happy I've gotten this month of March to refocus what I want in life and to have more time with my kids. It was seriously depressing having to leave them daily for work. When taking care of the Mother and Baby Books section at Magrudy's I'd seriously get into a mental funk wishing to be with my kids. I would literally have to stop organizing half way through and go walk around the store for a while or text my husband how I felt. He was very supportive and always encouraging me that my sacrifice for our family would be rewarded by Allah SWT.

Am I happy I lost my job though? No. I enjoyed seeing new people and learning new things everyday as I browsed the books. I enjoyed helping people. Plus the job search going on now at home is daunting and annoying. Just when I think an interview went well and I'm sure to be a shoe-in, they never call back or they email me the position has been filled. Obviously not by me. UGH! Oh well...! But as I said many times I made Dua for this chance and Allah has given it to me. Be careful what you ask for does apply here. I do have the chance to explore new options and new fields I might be good at but on the other hand I'm disappointed when they don’t materialize.

I've received counsel about my huge Masjid-Humanitarian idea. Although the source of that counsel is a confusing person who seems to have two faces.....I did take his words and used my personal indicator of truth to figure things out. Now is not the time for it. and The Govt. won’t be very supportive. So I've had to move to Plan C. (Plan A: JOB, Plan B: Masjid). Open my own viable company and raise awareness and do good through that and earn enough money to start up my own humanitarian efforts.

Working at Magrudy's also taught me something that has serious made me think deeply: Can men and women really be friends in Islam?

I had many GOOD Muslim Male co-workers. They were polite and respectful to me. But they were also fun, funny (yes there is a distinction), likable people. Their worldly concerns I gave my advice to. I would look forward to seeing them everyday from the tediousness of the job. When transferred from City Center to Ibn Batutta I was glad one of "guys" was transferred with me. And at Ibn Batutta I met more "guys" who I got along well with. But as a strong Muslim I do agree that men and women shouldn't be close friends as it can make fertile grounds for problems in the relationship. I do keep myself mostly a little distant from them. Try to advise like a Sister or Mother would. When joking stay away from Haram topics or lewd jokes that I might talk about with my GIRL friends. Keep my distance and maintain my rule of no physical contact. I never have shook their hands and I was very careful never to bump into them even by accident. They too respected the boundaries and encouraged me to always be a good muslimah and reminded me of praying times and made sure I had an adequate place to pray from the eyes of strangers or anyone. They watched over me like a Brother or Uncle would. Not having Islamic Brothers or Uncles it was nice. So I've come to regard them in my heart not as co-workers but actually as friends. Friends I have to maintain a strict code with, but still friends. A friend is someone you care about what is happening in their life and how their life is going. A co-worker or an acquaintance is someone you just see during working hours and go home and don’t think about them again. When I go home I still think about them and hope they are doing alright and make dua for them. Having pure intentions and a pure heart makes this kind of relationship possible. Perhaps this is what they call a Business Friendship? A friendship with rules? I'm not sure and it's a strange feeling for sure. I don’t recommend it for any guy girl relationship but both parties have to be respectful of Islamic Laws and not compromise that in any way.

I'm working on the Business Plan of my new Business Idea which is a Luxury Cafe. I have chosen my key staff from the friends I have made during work, both male and female. I have assessed their personalities and work ethics and have chosen them for specific positions based on their talents not just that they are my friends. So now I'm in the position of having not only them again as my co-workers and Business Friends, but as my Employees, which creates another dimension to the relationship where I will have to have another set of rules to govern all behavior. But so far it has been interesting having Business Meetings with them and seeing their new talents emerge and trying to let them have enough freedom in their roles to build the Company but not too much to have 5 or 6 Directors.

Having an open honest policy Rule helps. I don’t want there to be a secretive atmosphere where everyone is walking on eggshells never knowing what comes next. Companies like that never thrive. We know each other’s salaries and all have the goal of making the company achieve using our best assets. It has been fun and exciting to plan it all out and their ideas are supporting mine and subhanAllah its turning out a great idea. Meanwhile in case this doesn't work we are all still trying to get regular jobs. But we are closer and closer every few days to getting things in order. We've organized most of the basic Plan and are now looking at locations and then it will be time for involving an investor. I'm hoping to find a Lady Investor because I want to promote Women Business Goals. She wouldn't have to do too much either and would still get a large profit since we already have a full team. Insha'Allah, Make du'a for us.

On another note one of the places I had an interview at is The Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding: "is a non-profit organization established to increase awareness and understanding between the various cultures that live in Dubai. Operating under the banner of “Open Doors, Open Minds” the SMCCU strives to remove barriers between people of different nationalities and raise awareness of the local culture, customs and religion of the United Arab Emirates."

They are the ones who run the Tour at Jumeirah Mosque for Non-Muslims to learn about Islam and the Mosque. Also they have Cultural Breakfast, Lunches, and Private Meals to teach the Culture of UAE for those wishing to learn. As an interviewee I was invited to attend these events and it was amazing really how open tourists and Non-Muslims were to learning Islam and UAE Culture. Another Interviewee who I became good friends with, a German Muslimah, also attended and afterwards we were asked many questions by the tourists. It was fun being able to inform them and change misconceptions in a friendly way. The tourists were also excited to be able to have access to Muslims and be able to openly talk to them without stigma of seeming stupid or ignorant. I like their Open Door, Open Minds Policy. It really benefits both sides. Even if they don’t need me in the job I'm still going to fully support their organization. I suggest you check it out too. (I'll be adding a permanent link in my sidebar later). UAE has such a rich culture and is full of interesting customs and tidbits that NOT learning about them is such a loss. Insha'Allah more people will benefit.

Now for the next week I'll be wondering what Allah Wills for my life. My family cannot survive without me having some kind of pay soon so I hope He brings it swiftly enough. As HE is ALLAH, He knows how long I can live without money, but we still must make du'a for an opportunity to come and not just sit on our bums waiting for it.

Until next update I wish everyone out there health and happiness.
Pray for the troubled regions in the Middle Eat and the People of Japan.

Poem: Viva Egypt!

2011-02-12T07:07:00.000+04:00

VIVA EGYPT!

A Spark Ignites
Hearts Swell
Into Throats
Voices Rise
Fingers Type
Feet March
To Squares
Bodies Stand Firm
Patience Wins
VIVA EGYPT!

~Brandy AZ Chase (c)2011

I have to wonder what would have happened if the Iraqi People had done the same thing to Saddam. Would they have been massacred in the streets or would they have won and ousted him? And saved themselves and invasion and war. Allahu Alim.

And Blessings and Good News to Mousa's Family, as Justice was recieved with the evil child rapist shot by firing squad. A real tribute to the Justice System here. We all thought he would get away with it by serving prison or paying blood money BUT alhamdulillah he got what he deserved!
As Mousa's parents warn, Keep your kids close to you and keep them in your sight. I've lamented many times on my blog and in real life that people here don't take the threat of rape, molestation, kidnapping seriously here. Know where your kids are and who they are with. Ask questions about their Bus drivers too if you send them to schools. You have the RIGHT to know who is watching your child while you are away. When my daughter was in preschool I'd have horrid dreams of this happeneing to her on the school bus and finally followed my instincts and took her out of that situation before it could happen alhamdulillah. It's happened to many children already.
You have to realize even if the man is married with children, he is far from them and suffers from not having his needs met as all men need. Plus living with all men who swap dirty stories and most likely forms of porn, especially through phones, exaberates the problems. It's a harsh world out there poeple, protect your loved ones.

Time waves at me and sniggers

2011-02-07T14:05:00.000+04:00

Magrudy's City Center and Dubai Mall branches have closed. Which would leave me where?

Was given my 30 day notice and working Ibn Battuta Mall's Branch until it end March 3rd, is where. I'm on borrowed time to find another job to support me and my kids.
But I saw it coming and made Dua for a chance at something new, and thus here it is, and I'm not sure what to do about it.
I'm applying my CV/Resume everywhere I think will likely work....

But there are the dreams and that niggling little voice who is never wrong and she knows it too.

They are telling me it's time to put words into action and do something to start the fulfillment of my Destiny. I've been talking about it to close family and friends for over a month now and even worked up enough courage to hint about it on my blog but you never can get anything started until you take a deep breath and risk it all.

You see I was afraid. I was afraid If I went and told you all my plans then there would be criticism, there would be discouragement, there would people that *gasp* expected me to live up to my declaration. I didn't want that pressure for something so precious to me. But then on the flip side of the coin you have encouragement, support and *gasp* someone who might read about it and hook you up!

So the time has come....

No wait, I need another moment to get this lump in the back of my throat down my suddenly parched esophagus.....

......

....

...

..

.

*gulp*

.

..

...

....

......

Ah, there we go, moving on.....

I'm going to build a Masjid (Mosque) / Islamic Community Center.

BUT

it will NOT be like any other masjid/ICC out there currently.
It will be insha'Allah the pure essence of Islam.
I want people to walk into there and breathe deeply and go "Yes, this is Islam".

It will have many features that are Humanitarian.
A new way never done in UAE to feed the Poor.
A way to shelter the victims of Violent acts.
A way to keep families together and solve marital conflict.
Bringing Dawa' to non-Muslims on a whole new level.
Learning the beauty of Islam for anyone in society.
A way to receive discounted healthcare.
A fun place to mind the children while their parents learn or pray.
A it will feature many attractions to bring people to the masjid 24 hours a day.
Yes 24 hours a day. A masjid should never be closed to shut out Allah's Mercy.

I've been working and designing and researching these past few months how to make it all work and come together.
Now I'm going to be approaching investors to join in. It's a big step to take but insha'Allah it will come together and I will find someone with the right Vision to understand how this will all work out.

I will build this brick by brick if I have to, but it will be done.

I had other plans yes that haven't worked out so far but none of them have I felt so strongly about than this one. I know this is what Allah wants me to work on, and I'm ready for it. None of my other plans and ideas had a good purpose you see. It was a plan to mostly help me. It would be MY Business. Now I'm making something for Others. It will be YOUR MASJID. For Allah. To WORSHIP HIM.

I beg Allah to make me His tool for goodness in this life and this project will be just that, a tool to spread the Mercy of Allah.

So now I have to figure out a way to make this happen, while still providing for my family on a daily basis.
I'll be updating you all on updates for how it's coming along and when I get a website for it.

Until then I only ask for your Dua that this comes true and will benefit those who really need it.

Finding your CALLING!

2010-12-20T06:39:00.000+04:00

There is so much to share I almost don’t know where to start.

You see I have this secret.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

When I wake up and feel like it might be a bad day or things might not turn out so great or run smoothly, I only have to think of my precious secret and suddenly I smile or even laugh with joy. (No I'm not preg!)

When people piss me off in the world I draw a deep breath and put things in perspective by remembering my secret. If someone praises me I always remember any goodness I do or am comes solely from Allah and at any moment He can change me into something else. One ill-intentioned action here, one bad action there, and I'd be slipping back into the chaos that engulfed my life as a teen. I can never allow myself to think I'm safe from the threshold or the brink of it. Always we all teeter on that edge, some closer than others. I'm hoping by this point in my life my actions and intentions have lead me to have a foot solidly implanted on the safe side. The side leading to Allah and severely away from Shaytan and his ilk.

___________________________________________________________________

Who you share your journey with in this world affects that position on the edge. The Prophet's (SAW) is correct 100% saying to the summarized effect: "Be careful who you are friends with, the bad will bring you down, the good will raise you higher."

I've struggled for years to find and keep friends. I take my job as a friend very seriously and have my deep loyalties. I try to be the one that does not bring their friend lower but only encourages them to the higher.

When I had moved away from my parents to another city my friends from the teenage years would come visit. But sometimes though I loved them dearly I felt their topics of conversation would bring me down in a religious way yet raise me in their general support of my life. They are good people and always accepted me and my changes in life. And they still do, Bless them for that. But I needed to be raised higher religiously.

I went to the masjids and tried making friends with the sisters in the community. Sadly the only one I really hooked up with was one sister also American Convert. She was going through a rough patch in life and when we met we would raise each other higher. I was there for her sudden marriage to my husband's close friend and there for the quick divorce that followed only months later as the cultures were incompatible. She moved in with me and we both would strive harder in Islam. Praying more and trying to find our calling. Poverty was eminent in this time of my life more than any other time. We were both struggling to pay rent and deal with this problem. She started turning to easy fixes while I maintained my high road. Looking back I can see where she started to fall but neither of us was clear seeing enough then to help prevent her. Sadly after I left America and she had re-married, she left Islam from lack of Community Support. It was a crushing blow to me. We had prayed together. We had fasted together. We had read Qur'an together. I felt I had failed her somehow. I should have seen the signs, but I was too wrapped up in the drama of my life then. And I will tell the truth that in those last months I was beginning to fall with her but I couldn't see that, I could feel it in the back of my heart but I didn't know what to do about it. I was trapped in it just like her. I only prayed for my swift release from the prison I was in.

_________________________________________________

In Lebanon things were very lonely at first. Until I got immersed in the "married to Lebanese" clubs. Meeting sisters who just like me came from all over the world and had embraced Islam and had fallen for the passionate Lebanese. We bonded and I was enthralled with the goodness they had to offer. Sisters so intent on bettering themselves. But there were too many sects. I had three different sets of friends from different sects and they all preferred not to be with the other groups. I was torn to choose one group over the others. How can a person do such a hard task as to WEIGH their friend's worth. I finally had to decide to stay mainly with the ones that lead me higher in Islam. Offered me the most knowledge and practiced with the most God-Fearing Sincerity. I still had the other friends though and would keep in contact and good spirits with them and every other friend I'd met in my life through emails or phone calls and visits and such.

My three closest friends were Swedish, Latvian, and Taiwanese. These three souls really helped broaden my knowledge and practice of Islam. The Latvian sister brought strength to my heart and taught me never to apologize for being myself. The Swedish sister taught me the joy of continual struggle despite the demands of life. She always gave me excellent advice on how to get through those prickly situations and stay on top Islamically. My Taiwanese friend showed me the real spirit of generosity in not only helping me if I was ever in real trouble but by always having her house open to those who searched for the truth. She always gave her time and energy and never accepted base excuses for laxity. She one of the few in life who always pushed me to do more than the obligatory and always strive for the greater reward of adding extra Sunnah and also learning Arabic to read Qur'an.

I miss them so deeply. May Allah reward them and their goodness.

_________________________________________________________________

Coming to UAE was also very lonely. I was pregnant and was dealing with the most difficult part of my life I had ever faced. I had no one to go to, no one to help me, to sound things out with. Friends in USA couldn't help me more than the basic support because religiously they weren't at the same level of understanding. But at least that much support helped me when i felt totally alone that at least there was someone out in the world besides my family that cared I was in pain. Friends came slowly and in stages here.

The first ones through a link from Lebanon who knew sisters here and had given me their numbers. Each one of these new friends proved a special role in my life May Allah Bless them 100 fold for their goodness.

Then I met more and more and word would spread and new contacts were made. Perhaps I made a few wrong moves and wore my heart on my sleeve a little too much and thus was backstabbed a bit but I came out of it wiser. Open your mouth and heart to the sincere few who take the time and energy to stay in your life. At this point I gained my next closest friend from America with Euro roots that I blogged about here in 2009.

We were swept in a wave of friendship, love, and companionship. She never accepted excuses for me to be less than the best Muslim I could possibly be. And I supported her emotionally through her troubles and offered the most sincere and loving and loyal advice I could. And as many long term friends do we've had a few fights that were ironed out eventually.

But after I moved to Dubai we've drifted. Phone calls and texts becoming fewer. I wish her the best in life for her and her family wherever she is or whatever she is doing now. She also gave me a strength in Islam that has lasted me into this new stage. She helped guide my prayers on track and always reminded me of gaining those moments of extra blessings when they are in their time. Like the time between Asr and Maghrib on Friday. My other friend very close to me from Botswana(white African) I met through work in Al-Ain was a recent convert and her freshness to Islam and her need of companionship and knowledge allowed me for once to be the one helping another. To help guide her through those sticky issue that pop up first for a convert. I tried to raise her higher and her excitement for Islam was a breath of fresh air. She hadn't been in it long enough to know the realities of the Muslim world and hadn't yet seen the Sects or the Muslim Hypocrites that tend to sour one's faith a little bit. She reminded me Islam IS ONE.

________________________________________________________________

Also she taught me how easy it is to give your time and energy to a good cause. In Ramadan she decided to make trays of food to send to the masjid to feed the hungry men there waiting for Iftar. She was in connection with others doing the same and Bless her a 1000 fold for her willingness not to just think but to DO. She showed me the power of ACTION. Now she's in charge of the Sister's Network I set up in AL-Ain to keep the sisters there close and always in contact with one another.

Also both of these close friends in Al-Ain taught me the importance of self-improvement through reading religious books besides the Qur'an. The first friend I mentioned gave me a book called DONT BE SAD (and a few other wonderful ones) but this book DONT BE SAD helped me really get over my depression for good and not return to that energy sucking maw of darkness. May Allah Bless her and her family a 1000 fold. The second friend gave me two special gifts that have changed me. The second gift I have not finished gaining from yet as the 10 Book Set of English Translated- Tafsir Ibn Kathir. I have started with the first book and I am slowly pouring through it to gain every pearl I can. Tafsir, for those that don’t know, is an EXPLINATION of the HOLY QUR'AN. So it not just translated the Quran but tells you what each part of every Suraha and Ayah means and how and why it was revealed. I KNOW this will lift me higher in the future and I'll keep you informed on that.

Also just before I moved to Dubai she gave me a very interesting book called "THE BOOK OF THE END". It looked very interesting as it showed on the cover and on the telling on the back that this book featured Hadith about the End of Times, how the world will end and the major and minor signs of the day of judgement. I put it aside as I started my life here in Dubai. But one important Day I picked it up and began to read. And I couldn't put it down. Every waking moment free in my life I spent reading this and gaining SO MUCH from its pages. It not ONLY about the signs leading up to the Day of Judgment; It is complete Hadith and Qur'an about the entire process for creation until we are either safely in Jannah enjoying its blessing or wretchedly in Hell tormented in our pain from our own wrong-doings. May Allah give us the first and keep us far from the last. Amin. It goes in depth in order from Current time to the End of this World and the stages there-in, the Mahdi, the Dajjal, the return of Prophet 'Isa (Jesus), all the way til the end and destruction of our world. The moment it tells about how only Allah will be left after ordering Death to Kill itself is amazing. It just brings you to reality of Allah's Power. Then it takes you deep (and sometimes repetitively as many hadith overlap each other) into the Resurrection. It describes in intimate detail how we will progress from one stage to another. It reveals WHY we are given so much information in the Qur'an about other cultures of the past, as we Muslims will testify to the truth of their sins based on our knowledge of what Allah has given us in the Qur'an. It's amazing how everything overlaps and touches each other despite the differences of TIME. Because Allah is not bound by Time as it is His Creation. It goes into the area of what becomes to those who lived only for the frivolities of the world never seeking anything higher than the high they could get from the nearest vodka bottle or heroine. It tells the fate of those who transgress Allah's limits and oppress those around them. And to counteract this it tell the Blessings of those who strived hard and earned Allah's pleasure. Next it takes you deep into the world of Hell and what happens there and why certain people get certain punishments. Then to counteract that as you really start to have a deep fear of not being good enough to get away from that fate. It goes into the supreme pleasures of Heaven Jannah where everything will be delightful and your heart just fills with so much happiness you can no longer see even the smoke from the fire of Hell. I have never laughed with so much joy than when i read this Book. It cleanses your heart. My prayer while reading this book was so deep and full of closeness to Allah.

I have never felt so spiritually pure and high before. It brought me with acute awareness my limited time on this earth to earn my place in Jannah like nothing else has ever done.

_________________________________________________________________

Years ago I made a Promise to Allah. While reading this book it made me realize I only have to ASK whatever I want from Allah and He will grant it in this life or give it to me in the next if it would not be good for me now. One of the ways I learned this was through the hadith telling about when the Prophet would tell about jannah Companions would speak up and say to the effect, Wall I be of those with you there in Jannah? And the Prophet would reply, Yes, you will be of those. Then he continued to others in the Hadith after the first had left the scene that had others asked before those first Companions they would have received the good news. THEY ONLY HAD TO OPEN THEIR MOUTH AND SPEAK UP. To have that Hope! To have that desire that they will succeed enough to ASK for it. Some people don’t ask Allah for things thinking He will never give it to them. Well how will you expect anything in this world if you don’t ask for it? True Allah KNOWS our utmost hearts and knows already what we need and don’t. But part of receiving his bounty is trusting he WILL give it to you and that you only need to ASK him for it. And accepting the answer he will give you about it. Allah has so much Mercy and Compassion and Forgiveness beyond our comprehension. A Million fold than a mother gives Mercy to her tender baby.

________________________________________________________________

So I asked.

.

.

.

I realized my True Calling in the this world. It took me this book to see past this worldly life and what was really important. To move past the squabbles and petty arguments and fights of everyday existence and do something Better. Release that Anger into Forgiveness. Not let it get attached to you in your Heart. Learn to forgive and take the upper road.

So I have my secret now of what my future will hold. I have ASKED MY ALL-MIGHTY ALLAH. And He in His Mercy has begun to give me. He let my heart be purified. He has turned my face from pettiness (well as much as a Human can try to manage to get away from it). He has shown me a glimmer of my Future. It is up to me to do the work that will get me there. I have to keep being good, Keep striving Hard in my goals. AND I have to help others on the same path.

He has not given me this task to hold by myself as it is a weighty and immense task. I asked for such a high thing and I have to remain humble and straight-forward enough to complete it. He has given me new friends.

Beyond what I already have in Support. I have two new special people in my life recently that happened in the most amazing and extra-ordinary way. The first I will tell you about is from Romania. The strange thing for me is that she is Not Muslim. Never have I had such a close non-Muslim friend since I was a teenager. She so strongly Christian. She so strongly good in her heart. It really broadens the scope of acceptance in Islam to have a friend like this. Christians and Muslims lived side by side for YEARS, even during the time of the Prophet, with helpful dutiful companionships. I strive to bring out the goodness in her more and guide her where I can to reach beyond this world and seek for the higher road. She brings to me a strength and dedication to be bold and high minded.

The other special friend is even more dear to me because she IS Muslim, from Indian/Arab origins. She is not like my other Muslim friends. They were all more conservative. She is definitely liberal in Practice BUT her heart is pure Gold. She has this inner beauty and charisma that shines like bright rays of sunlight. So powerful it is like looking directly at the sun, it hurts the intensity but it makes you so warm. She has so much energy to do good and to become good. She encourages it from others. She spreads her hope around her like a fuzzy blanket in the winter storm. Whatever good I have she magnifies it. And her goodness inspires me to reach higher and higher. She shows me that even though we are all struggling sinners in this life we have to keep trying to reach beyond ourselves.

She is the backbone to supporting me and my future secret plans. Without her I'd be almost all alone with my dreams, besides my Husband who is of course encouraging me. She makes it seem like it is just around the next bend and I had better hold onto it tightly. SubhanAllah how Allah gives us just the right friends at just the right time.

I have lent her my copy of the Book of the End to help her lift higher too. I really recommend you ALL read it. You can get it from Magrudy's if in UAE, order from any branch, or INTL: HERE or HERE or HERE or HERE

____________________________________________________________________

So here I am and my life feels FULL. I was torn last month in November wanting to get started on my secret but wanting to complete NaNoWriMo. I managed to finish it and excelled at reaching 51,000 words by the end of the month on my new story "A Lira for Lebanon"! YAY! I didn't think I could do it as at first I was writing by hand and that was slow but finally I gave in three weeks after hand working to type on the computer and managed to make it all up right on the last day.

My job is going well at Magrudy's. My family is healthy and happy. My marriage is strong and unified. We managed to FINALLY find a Nanny after so many tries the past few months. I hope she stays and it works out. She is also the key to my life working in synch, without her it will fall apart again. I treat her as a close friend and a part of my family.

_________________________________________________________________________

Today I took the kids, our Nanny and my Christian friend to the Burj Al-Arab beach on my day off.

It was soooo peaceful and lovely. Just the absolute prefect moment in life where everything feels right and everything is going right and the worries of tomorrow will wait.

Tomorrow we will add the Indian friend to the group and go to the park. I can imagine a perfect moment ahead. Insha'Allah.

________________________________________________________________________

I have my secret. It warms and purifies my heart.

It reminds me to keep:

.

.

.

Daring to Work for Jannah.

Breaking news: Fire

2010-11-18T22:32:00.001+04:00

Al-Quoz Industrial Fire
-Brandy AZ Chase

Breaking News Tonight: There was a fire at the Mitsubishi Motors Showroom in the upstairs offices, in Quoz Industrial section, right next to the Noor Islamic Bank Metro Station. When I got off the metro at 9:30-9:45ish and was walking to my car I noticed the flashing lights and many emergency vehicles down a block. I walked over to them and flipped out my phone, sorry couldn't get a clear picture was worried the police might try to confiscate my camera.... this is what I got though.... you can see the firetruck (squint if you need to).

CAN ONLY REPRODUCE WITH PERMISSION AND CREDIT GIVEN TO MY SITE

As I arrived closer (stowing away my camera), the fire fighters blasted the upper floor with a long stream of water. Very professional! It really was amazing seeing the water gushing straight up in the air though! Two Police cars, One Ambulance, and One Firetruck were surrounding the corner. I looked up to the area of the fire and saw the sign of Mitsubishi Motors half covered in black soot and fire marks. Police and paramedics were entering the building They had already put out the worst of it and were waiting for flair-ups. I nodded to the Officer in Brown as I passed, stepping lightly over the fire hose, passing between the truck and the fire-fighters. (Talk about IN THE ACTION!) Then on my way one block south to my car I saw another Fire Truck hovering on the back side of the building, probably waiting to see if extra help was needed.
I got into my car and at that time the 2nd Fire Truck had moved on down the road and I followed him a distance as he drove very very very slowly away with his lights on. Finally I had to pass him....
As soon as I got home I contacted Gulf News with the tip-off and hopefully they'll print it, I'll give you the link when it's available.
Now back to your regularly scheduled lives.

PS: My Queendom Al-Quoz Industrial is in good hands with DUBAI'S FINEST!
Don't know what I'm talking about see this post!

The Balance

2010-11-06T04:38:00.000+04:00

Family first has always been my motto.
If you are having children then you should be ensuring they get the best care possible. The care that matters because it comes from YOU. Leaving children for a Nanny or Governess or DayCare to deal with while you go wax your legs or shop til you drop (for non-essential things) seems like cruelty to me. I'm not talking the parents that do this once in a while to relax a bit but the ones that chronically do this.
Another alternative to this is parents who work when they don't really have to. They spend gobs of time away from their children and family and in the end is the money they are bringing home going to fill the void the child might be feeling? Of course I'm not talking about parents who need to work to put the Halal-Turkey-Bacon on the table, but those who work because that is what they are programed to do by society no matter the end result it has on family.
There are Sooooo many factors though to this all and it's hard to make open faced judgements like these because everyone's situation is so unique. I see too many families split across the globe. Philipina mothers slaving away as maids or sales clerks with their 2-5 kids back at home with grandma. They need to work, they have mouths to feed. Yet some of them work for sheer ambition... it's hard to draw the line.
I see wealthy Arab mothers flitting from one store to the next in a large group of women, maids and babies training behind them. I have seen children literally left in carts with AND WITHOUT nannies in the middle of the Mall while the mother pops into a store for a good ten minutes. The child without the Nanny kept staring around her looking so lost and forlorn, sitting dolefully in the shopping cart stuffed with bags as if she were no more than an inanimate object herself. I stared in horror thinking sure NOW the mother would turn around and go back to her child...okay and NOW she would?...and Now?...I guess that shoe sale was just so irresistible to wipe the memory of your child from your mind! Finally after ten minutes or so she stuck her head out of the shop and waved the maid who had followed her into the shop to bring the shopping cart so she could place the new bags into it. They walked onto the next shop. I stopped watching lest I vomit or commit murder.
What and where is the Balance to this?
The lines are so blurry it's hard to find which is right or wrong.
How much time Should you be devoting to your family/children?
How much time Should you allot for necessary work?
How much time Should you allot for personal improvement/relax time?

As a non-working mother I was finding it hard to separate my personal time from my family time. If I spent too much time on one thing I became cranky that I was over burdened and never saw the light of day. The whip was cracking 24/7 and there was never enough time to finish everything.
My creativity was dying and manifesting itself into other ways...like mass organizing...re-decorating.... etc...
For a long time I put off writing my novels all together, sure and 100% certain family was more important and my novels could wait. Yes they did wait. But I found myself writing inane stuff like in depth shopping lists for food. Finally I began this blog, I had to release my stress and somehow get my words back out. I had used LiveJournal and MySpace to vent and keep up with friends but it puttered out and I wanted MORE.
As I posted and posted I began to realize my time was importantt and I needed to allot myself time for my creativity and making more friends. So I did, and my family life suffered a bit more. Things got less clean, meals got less tasty, children got less quality time. And the guilt would start again.
I'm being selfish using time I could have spent with my kids.
Then on top of this began my working career, with publishing projects that took up huge chunks of time, and then getting my job. Now everything seems to be hanging precariously by strings. No one item seems to be getting enough of the time it deserves.... especially my kids. And it cuts me to the bone.
I love my family and it will always be number one. That is how Allah created me and that is what I've learned from living a difficult life. Every time I see my kids playing by themselves I think why am I not with them? Memories always come to me of times when adults didn't have time to be with me, and that is all I wanted, more attention, more time. I told myself I'd be different, I'd sacrifice EVERYTHING, to make sure they got that extra attention. And for years I did. I refused to work unless it was absolutely necessary. I put aside my dreams and aspirations (or at least toiled on them when the kids slept). We lived mostly in scraping-by-poverty. But it was worth it, watching the bond grow between me and my kids.
It stopped being worth it when I was self destructing mentally, emotionally, maritally, and physically.
It stopped being worth it when my kids wanted more to eat and there was nothing else.
I don't regret those years, but now as things are changing there had to be a new balance.
I know I need free relax time
I know I need creative time
that keeps me sane.
I know I need time with my husband separate from the kids
that keeps us stronger.
I know I need time with my kids
that makes them stronger.
I know I need time for work/society
that makes us able to live.
I know I need time for family and friends
that makes us connected.
Above All else, I need time for Allah.

But it needs to be Balanced.
Crazy rushing from one areas to the next or bypassing some areas completely leads to burnout.

The amount of work I'm doing sometimes feels worth it when I'm helping people out in the world. Other times when I get home to find my kids asleep and only get a few hours with them in the morning it feels like utter HELL. But then when they are sleeping peacefully in their beds and I have some alone time or creative time it's refreshing. When I get that paycheck it feels good to have helped out my family and be able to take the kids out for a special treat. But I worry and feel guilty that the special treat is a bribe for taking away their quality time with me. I love the extra time I get on the metro to write my novels or read books, but it's transport time away from my family. I adore teaching my kids and have placed the responsibility of their education on my shoulders, yet if the day gets scrambled and there is no time for that, the guilt falls to me.

It's all a giant balancing act. Everyday there seems to not be enough time. Everyday something new happens to tip the time scales. Routines get disrupted or slightly unbalanced and the whole system must begin again.
I've wrote two long posts this week and sacrificed my Nano Novel.
I've spent yesterday recuperating my mind and heart and contributing to society and sacrificed my Nano Novel and my family.
Today I spent really quality time with my family but sacrificed my work.
Now I will sacrifice my sleep (and thus tip the scales awry for the next 12 hours) to catch up my Nano Novel.
Without my Nano Novel I'd be fluttering aimlessly creativly which would make me go mental.

It may seem madness, but this is my Balance Beam. I'm glad I was in gymnastics so I wont fall off, but I was never in the circus to learn juggling.

Reflecting on Time For Reflection

2010-11-05T02:41:00.000+04:00

Today I had T I M E.
That may seem odd as everyone has exactly the same amount of time.
Twenty-four hours.
But today surely Allah gave me more than them.
Even though I gained so much today I still feel I lost so much too.
Shall we start at the best place for stories to start? The begining?

I woke up startled from my sleep by two children who should not have been SO CHEERFULLY awake for children who went to bed so late .... at 6:34am this morning. My alarm hadn't even gone off I thought groggilly. Then i remebered why i had set my alarm. I had a meeting today!
"Mama you have a meeting today!" my daughter aka mind reader, said sing-song. I hugged them because despite the odd hour they were in such great moods. My son was rolling all over my bed giggling about the silliness of life. I quickly got them up and dressed and fed them breakfast. I was preparing their lunchbox when i realized i was tired of making them PBJsandwhiches for lunch, especailly when my son had just demanded that for breakfast while his sister ate cereal, as he doesn't drink milk. So I looked around the kitchen for something quick and edible and found NOTHING. Nothing easy to cook either like mac and cheese. So I popped out some frozen chicken burgers and fish filets and fried them up. For "healthy" I added a large handful of baby carrots to the lunchbox.
I combed their hair and walked them upstairs to the Egyptian family babysitting them everyday.
I came down and dressed for work and thought about eating a sandwhich myself but again didn't feel like it, and certainly didn't want peanut breath for my meeting. I did notice the strange stillness and quiet to the house without the kids in it. But I was in too much of a hurry to really spend long reflecting. It was 8:20am.
I went down and waited and waited for a taxi, but luckily one came after only five minutes. I hopped in and said, "Jumairah 1, Jumairah Shopping Center". Then I sat back as he took off. I liked not having to drive for once. I could relax. I had my notebook on me and thought about writing on my Nano project. Never waste a minute when you can write....and I didn't write. I was too absorbed in enjoying the silence and calm.
We went around the huge roundabout packed long and deep with trucks and cars. I kept a side glance on the taxi meter as we stopped for another red light. Eventaully we got near the turning point to go left, he started going straight. "Left!" I cried urgently and he dutifully swerved over. As we sat at the red light i bit my lip thinking, did he know a faster way? "Is this way faster? What way you were going?" I asked finally.
"Go straight and take Shiekh Zayed over to Safa Park up to Jumairah." He replied.
"Well okay, if it's faster." I replied, I had SOME extra time, i could try a detour. So off he went the way he said he'd go. I passively watched out the window letting my mind roam as many topics as there are shiny buildings in dubai. We reached Safa Park and I noticed a Choithams, then with growing concern I saw we were only half way there and already the meter said 23.00dhs. Last time I went to Jumairah by taxi MY WAY, it only cost 23.00dhs! So I said do to the taxi driver and he got ticked off I was questioning his route. He said NO WAY I paid that much......Uh I'm not making up totals here. Just stating facts. I tried to appease him that it didn't matter as long as we got there. No problem his way wasn't better.
Yeah.... useless to fight a man on "men's turf". That sapped some of my morning glow and I started to feel drowsy as I just let him take me the rest of the way. I closed my eyes at red lights for a doze and glanced around when we moved to make sure we're staying on track. Eventaully we reached Jumairah Shopping Center where Magrudy's has it's administration building. Total was 37.00dhs. To make him pay for his bad judgement I handed him a 200DHS bill to break for me. (well ok no matter how fast he got me there that's all the cash i had) He grumbled and fumbled for change but managed to find it. Feeling better for exacting a bit of revenge, I moved onto Magrudy's.
I walked into the well decorated sitting entry room and waited to be called and again thought I should write in my Nano Book but was too keyed up and they took a while so I went in serach of the mother of a former co-worker. He was 17 and had quit his once a week job at Magrudy's to have more time for education, I wholly supported his quitting, as he's taking on like 3 majors and he NEEDED the extra time. But for 17, he had the funniest dry wit and sense of humor. I hadn't even known he was 17, he had the maturity of at least 24-26 year old person (my age).
I felt a bit daunted to go searching for some random employee but soon found her and she was ever surprised as I introduced myself and why I was there and how much i enjoyed working with her son. She couldn't quite beleive I was indeed talking about HER S O N .... I know the feeling, thats how my parents reacted sometimes when someone complimented me out of the blue... "Our daughter? You mean Brandy?" As if they HAD another daughter (they dont).... so I left feeling happy I had made someone else's day a bit more special. By then my retail manager called me up to the meeting.
Something I really like about Magrudy's is they don't just employ any old shmuk to work for them. Each person is so unique and has charisma and charm and that certain sparkle in their eye that makes them stand out from the rest. My Administration Staff is no exeception. One lady I particularly get along well with as we both read personalities and try to work on meshing people together well. So I had a fun productive meeting. It was just another moment of calm and peace as we chatted, as I mused at how far I'd come in my business life. Here I was out in the world trying to help others achieve their best.
Afterward I headed off down the road a block to McDonalds. I was hungry and I knew their breakfast menu has the Sausage Egg McMuffin I'd missed eating since becoming Muslim in America. But here in UAE it is made from Halal CHicken which yes does taste every bit as good, if not better. I got their breakfast meal which includes coffee, as I was feeling the early hour by then. Bonus I got a free mug, YAY! Which I'd been needing to use at work for making coffee. I sat down and enjoyed the taste that took me back to many memories when i was younger. Again I wanted to write, in fact I felt the burden and obligation resting on my shoulders, but I shoved it off. It was peaceful and quiet. Slowly eating bite after bite of steamy egg, chiken, and cheese squashed between two mcMuffins. Time was just draggin by so slowly. And I was loving every second of it. But a part of me was missing sharing it with my family. My husband would love McDs in the morning, and the kids would be running around glowing in the morning sun trying to play between bites. But for now it was just me and peace and quiet....and i savored it. I spent about a half hour chilling then wondered what i should do with my day. I could technically park myself at McDs all day writing until it was time to start my shift at work. I could probably churn out 5,000-10,000 words in that amount of time.
I got up and filled out a satisfied customer report adding they only needed to smile more....and left. I walked over to the bus stop and tried to figure out the map, it was hopeless. I'm good with maps but this only listed bus numbers at each stop not bus route lines so you know which way the bus goes. I guess it would look too crowed with all those lines but still RTA needs to work on that map. Not very user friendly. So this Indian guy walkes into the Air Conditioned Bus Stop (Arizonians eat your heart out) and after a moment's hesitation...in which I wonder, why am I hesitating? I'm a Customer Service Executive... i chat with total strangers everyday, all day long..... I speak up.
"Do you know which bus goes to Deira City Center?"
"Yeah take the same as me C10. But it's better if you get off early and take the metro the rest of the way, because it's faster than the long traffic the bus goes through."
"okay thanks." I reply and we continue to fill the silence with the usual conversations in DUbai, where are you from, how long you been here, what job you do? But I was also sick of the USUAL conversations.
"Do you feel as an Indian you are treated unfairly here? Do you LIKE working here?" I asked. Surprised at my sudden turn he gets interested.
"Well yeah, no Indian who works here REALLY likes it here. We just have to live to feed our families just like everyone else though. So we just shut out mouth and take it in."
"Yeah it's not fair that I'm treated any different than you just because I'm white and you're darker." I sympathised. THen the bus came and we got up. We boarded, swiping our dual use metro/bus pass. He moved off to the back of the bus, while I stayed up front. WHich SOUNDS very Rosa Parks-ish, but the men go to the back and WOmen have saved seats in the front, it's not segregated by COLOR. Allah Bless segregation by gender, it's so nice that there is a seat saved for you and you don't have to wait for someone to stand or ask some poor dude who'd been working hard all day to get up.
After a bunch of stops where again i wonder if i should write on the bus ride, and decline in favor of seeing the city and learning this route, a philipino lady gets on and I hear behind me her talking to some other lady who can't speak english well about Deira City Center.
I pop into the seats next to them to help.
"Go City Center?" The lady asks me.
"I'm going City Center, you go with me." I replied using lots of hand genstures.
"What's the next metro station?" I ask the philipino lady.
"Karama." she replies.
"You can go on metro?" I asked the lady not sure if she has a pass or cash for that.
"No City Center, I go City Center." She says in halting English overlayed with a thick Russian accent.
I wrack my brain to make the words come out simpler.
"You have money?" I asked wincing as it sounds like I'm asking for money to help her, but she understands me and pulls out her metro/bus card.
"You come with me okay?" I say again using hand gestures. She nods and smiles. She's in her late 50s and is content to watch the world go by, so I do as well for the rest of the trip til we reached the metro. I stand and wave her to follow me. She stands in a hurry. I point at the Metro station and tell her to come on. We get off and go upstairs and down the LOOOONG walk to the ticket station. I try a few questions in English but she doesn't understand. I shrug and we continue on. We get through the ticket gate and go wait 5 minutes for the next train heading south to Rashidiya. She sees the Metro Map with Deira City Center clearly shown and gets excited and sits down happily on the bench. Then pointed to the sign Rashidiya and got confused. I did a visual demonstration that Deira City center comes before Rashidiya. THen this other guy asks me for directions to Mirdiff, "Last station Rashidiya, get off and take taxi/bus into Mirdif."
I feel like a tour guide but it's nice to help people.
Finally the train comes and we get on. I find her the last seat and order her nicely to sit. Guys pack in all around (as I've chosen the front of the train to sit in not the women's so we can get off at City Center and up the escalaters faster.) and as we got through the next stations more seats open up but I refuse to sit in them far away from the lady, although every single guy in the carriage seemed inclined to offer me the seat. I kept pointing to the lady and saying I should stay with her.
God forbid she gets off the train at the wrong station and gets lost. So finally we reached Deira City Center and we get off and make our way up the many escalaters to the light of day. As we reach ground level I point up at the Magrudy's window and then at my badge, "My work." I say. She makes AHA! Murmers. i take her up the first escalater and she's determined to go off on her own but she gets lost not knowing the mall doesn't connect to the metro entrance. You have to go to the third floor. So I take her up and she thanks me again but looks more lost. "Sharja" she says. My heart sinks. I brought her all this way and she still wants to go further. I can't take her to Sharja. "Bus?" she asks. Ahhhhh the bus to SHarja. I helpfully point out the bus stations on the mall map, which unlike RTA is user firendly. She nods happily and goes off. We part ways but I see she's wondering and start moving my way to the ground floor, which happenes to be the same way as the bus station, she followed me at a long distance, as the signs clearly showed the way this time. At least I dont feel guilty leaving her lost at the top floor. That would be evil.
So it was 1pm on the nose 1:01pm as I stared at my clock. I had a few hours to kill until my shift started. I could park at a cafe and write but again... I haven't had time to mall browse by myself for a long time!!!! A LOOOONG TIME!!! I'd almost forgotten the fun of actaully going into stores you plan on buying nothing from and touching and checking out everything. I started in of course a BOOKSTORE...okay i just can't help it I really DO love books. It's my Rival Company though so I hide my name tag under my hijab.
Yes I'm confident enough to walk around Dubai all day with Brandy pined to my shoulder. They are having a sale, it's not as good as the sale we had recently, but a discounted book is a discounted book! So I look around for my favorite authors and find Anne McCaffrey on sale. YAY!!! I find 2 books for my daughter and 2 for my son. Although I got SOOO many books (another post later) from Magrudy's sale, there hadn't been enough of my fav authored books. So leaving there I moved on to the next store. 1:10pm, what? it only took ten minutes? I was surprised. Shopping with my friends we used to spend so much time at the mall when i was a teen. Though I was with them and we needed time for talking and opinionating everything, now i was alone. So in silence I shopped. Or window shopped. Checking out clothes that were rediculously fancy and sizes so small I actaully saw one dress my six year old daughter would have trouble shimmying into. I was tempted to ask the sales lady if anyone had ever actaully fitted into the dress but didn't want to get laughed out of the store, sooo I smirked to myself and walked away. Shop after shop it was just rediculously fun and peaceful. I learned FULL HD TVs are absolutly stunning and yes I do want one in the future when i can save up for one. About clothes though, shopping for them puts you in two frames of mind... I'm gonna work my butt off to fit in that skin-tight dress ...or... that's so depressingly small I'll never even fit my toe in it... I felt like both off and on and was further discouraged by how many outfits I didn't even like! Did no shop have my style or fashion? It was disconcerting.... the ones i did like fell under can't fit my toe category. But it was fun searching for my never ending quest to find a Purse that screams ME! I want red, bright or dark, shiny, with pockets and gold touches. I've never found it. Nothing in dozens of shops screamed to me, this is your dream purse. Same went for abayas. Nothing with thin red trim and no flashy sparkles.... i got frustrated so much I got a bit mean, in the last shop instead of browsing i just asked the poor guy, "DO you have red abaya?"
"No, Black abaya."
"No I want red trimmed abaya?"
"Red?"
"R E D"
"Red?"
"R E D !!" I enounciated.
"Red!" he said...
"Yes Red Trim..."
"Trim?"
I had had it. i walked out even as he suddenly grasped the concept. I felt bad being mean to him. It probably wasn't his fault his ENglish sucked but I was pissed, he didn't even learn the lingo of his trade, at least basic colors!!! I checked out perfume shops next to chill myself out. They had some pretty small bottles in pretty jewel colors for only 20 dhs. I wanted to smell some to calm myself but the sales guy looked pushy and I didn't want another encounter and wasn't planning to buy anyways so left there too.
My last shop filled me back with the calm I had had earlier. A shop with crystal nicknacks, and collectable porcelin dolls and bling bling jewelry full of crystals. But the best thing they had were CARNIVAL MASKS FROM VENICE!!!! Anyone who really KNOWS me knows I love masks. I stared at the empty faces and zoned out on the swirls of colors. One red and gold one almost had me weeping, until the sales lady was trying to push too much (hello that price tag does say 1,300DHS ON SALE). I made my way back to work. I'd gotten a fresh perspective on Customer Service in the dozens of shops i visited. Greet, Offer Help, Help or get out of their way, AND DONT HOVER!!!
I started my shift feeling so calm and fabulous. I hadn't writen hardly a single word of my story, but I had learned so much, about myself and the world. It's so good to help other people. It's so good to be kind to yourself. We had a new demo product of Leap Frog Junior and I helped everyone learn about it and then took it to customers and quickly managed to sell one of the other Leap Frog products. Guy needed a present for his daughter, who happened to be in that age category. Another Customer helped.
I made that my goal to help as many as I could. Even the guy who came with a list of books he wanted to get from our competetor downstairs and was trying to see if we had better prices. I gladly helped him figure out how to save the most money, as I wasn't allowed to give him bigger discount. And I had used them to save money too so why shouldn't he? My favorite customer though was a man needing a relationship book because he was late getting home to his wife. I offered him The Surrendered Wife (which I highly reccomend and will be blogging about later) and outlined the book for him. He was just so surprised and amazed by the info. It was fun to help him. I wish him a happy marriage.
We have a lot of new staff, because we had a major staff shuffle so I tried hard to also get closer to them. Let them see me and understand me better. The team is getting stronger and that is awesome to work with.
Finally it was time to go home. I braved the battle of Thursday night rush hour at Carrefour to buy diapers then hightailed it back to the metro to get home. I could have wrote on the metro home and racked up another 800 words.... but why break the tradition I'd had all day? I opened my Anne McCaffrey book and got so absorbed I looked up just in time to see we had reached my stop and i almost missed it. I jumped off the metro and made my way out. I had to wait an aweful 15 minutes for a taxi. There was another lady who came up after me waiting too and I was nervous to ask her if we were going the same way and wanted to share a taxi (so we wouldn't have to wait longer). But I felt shy and nervous.. until again I remebered what my job is.... "What way are you headed?" I asked. "Oh, no, I'm waiting for my husband." She smiled. Ahhh... see now I learned she's not taxi-grabbing-competition. I smiled back. Her husband got her and I waited for another 5 minutes. The taxi drive home was the final point of the night. His driving was bold, assertive, a little wild (when he missed the wrong turn and had to back up), just like my driving, so I knew I was in safe hands. He was blasting Indian Pop-Rock. Not the high pitched normal indian music, real awesome stuff all in Indian Language. I melted back in the seat and just chilled all the way home. "Cool music." I said as I paid swiftly and got out. I then waited calmly while he flipped a fast dangerous u-turn where had I been walking I would have been flattened by my own driver, and sped off into the night. I went upstairs and found my family in bed fast asleep.
I had TIME for Soooo much today. I accomplished soo much and helped so many poeple and discovered so much about myself and others.....................

.........................Yet there lay the three most precious people I didn't have time for.

Queen of...

2010-10-24T16:19:00.000+04:00

My daughter popped up to me just now holding her pink sparkly jewel/bead crown and with a official tone proudly announced,

"You are now Queen of Quoz Industrial!"

She placed the crown upon my head and beamed at me, wearing her own crown of sparkle gold.

"Queen of Quoz Industrial?" I asked.

"Yes, and I'm the Princess of Quoz Industrial." She beamed again then wandered off to rule her domain.

Now I'm left here with this title. Well I'm not one to scoff at being promoted to Queen, Buuuuuuttt....... I was hoping for something a little more substantial like London, Venice, Versailles, or heck, even Jumairah. Even just Quoz sounds better. As the Quoz area has Villas and a beautiful park and a bowling center.

However I've been deemed worthy of ruling over the down-trodden industrial section, filled with factories, and masses of accommodation apartments, and more trucks and large vehicles than you can shake a stick at.
But I'm not one to turn my nose at those unfortunates so I shall accept my appointment and shall rule my Queendom with all the geniality and care I possess.
May my reign be long and true .....(and a quick promotion.....)

~Written this twenty-fourth day of the tenth month October in the year two-thousand-ten.
Brandy AZ Chase, Queen of Quoz Industrial

NANOWRIMO 2010

2010-10-18T20:22:00.000+04:00

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Scream of Fear or Happiness, could be both.

I realized National Novel Writing Month 2010 will begin in a few weeks!!!!

Maybe you didn't hear me!?!?!

I SAID....

NANOWRIMO 2010 STARTS SOON!!!!!

AND I DON'T HAVE A PLOT!

Worse, I don't even have a character!

Worse yet, I'm not even sure I can even manage to do it this year. I just moved, I'm working, I have kids, and a husband, and a house, AND I HOMESCHOOL!!!! (Not to mention a slew of other stuff to do)

But failing to do it and leaving that Nano Winner Sign on my blog sidebar all alone for another year would make me disappointed in myself ALL YEAR LONG TIL NOV 2011!!!

But how can I possibly pull long all nighters and drink mounds of coffee, while praying by the end of 50,000 words I have the semblance of a book, and still haven't trashed my responsibilities so much that I've lost my job and family.....?

If that's not enough the disappointment I didn't get last year's novel polished off and published like i had hoped is kinda getting me down, thinking why should i bother with yet another unfinished novel? I already have like over 40!

BUT HOW CAN I RESIST SUCH A CHALLENGE? I love CHALLENGES!!!!

It's tempting me awfully strong! Racing to do all my responsibilities and STILL pull out a novel...

MUAHAHAH.....

OKAY OKAY, I know it sounds absolutely crazy! I'm gonna do it!!!!

(is it too late to delete that sentence? In Nano you're not allowed to go back and delete, just keep writing.... So I guess I better get into that habit right?..... then again the month hasn't started yet!)

YES!

I'm gonna do it!

Plus it will be fabulous meeting all the Novelist here in Dubai when the Nano people get together at a cafe.... (although I'll be the only one without a laptop... )

So count me in! And I DARE YOU TO DO IT TO!!!

Come on ya know ya wanna.....

My Metro Ride

2010-10-03T17:52:00.000+04:00

Hello & Salam ,
It's my first day off work, as I had to use all my off days last month to make up for days I took off work to move. So I wanted to update you what has been happening lately with me.

I've finished moving to Dubai, UAE from Al-Ain, UAE.
My husband got a job in technical services with Emirates Airlines and he's happy with his new job. (especially as he was out of work for 5 months!) He works the morning shift right now and as soon as he gets home I leave for work ensuring our kids have someone with them all the time. Although his schedule will change soon to flipping hours every two days, so mine will too!!! UGGH!!!
I'm working at Magrudy's a Bookstore as Customer Service Executive. (what a cool title :) ) I work at a mall in the middle of the East side of Dubai called Deira City Center. I live on the West side of Dubai so to get to work everyday takes about an hour. I drive around this huge roundabout (traffic circle) which has 3 traffic lights IN it. Then go up three more lights to the Metro station. I park in a dirt parking because the paved parking is astronomically high priced for the 8 hours I'd be parked there. So I walk in the Humid sweltering heat of Dubai about 5 minutes to the entrance of the station. I swipe my pay tag and go up the escalator to wait for the metro train. Dubai's metro is fully automated (no driver) and is very awesome and stylish. It has a GOLD carriage for those who wanna pay more for more comfort (aka not me). Then it has a Women and Children ONLY carriage so we don't have to be squashed like sardines in with the men. Many of whom have been away from their wives and children for years....

So if you're Blessed enough to find a seat then you can enjoy your trip with ease otherwise you gotta hang onto a rail and hope someone gets up from a seat at the next stop. The ride takes 35 minutes from my entry to my exit. I get to ride through the heart of Dubai everyday. Tall buildings loom on both sides of the track which is raised high above the traffic. Quite awesome though is passing the Burj Khalifa (Khalifa Tower) everyday. It's currently the tallest tower in the world and people pay an arm and a leg to buy tickets to come see it from around the world. (http://rwrant.co.za/2010/04/26/the-burj-khalifa/ for a cool pic of it) I'm not a big fan of spending gobs of money on superstructures that benefit few rather than many, but there is something neat in craning your neck to look up at it and as you pass by to watch the sunlight follow you gleaming up and down the sparkling exterior.

Moving on though we eventually enter an underground tunnel to go under the river that separates two halves of Dubai. When you sit in the front of the train you get a really awesome view of the dim tunnel whooshing by separated by stops at glossy well designed train platforms. Finally I reach mine decorated in Silver with Circles overlapping. I rush up the escalator to the exit where i swipe my card again. Another long escalator leads me to the to street. Buses and taxis and gobs of traffic rush through the busy streets and a beautiful view of downtown Dubai I just left is framed by the creek I went under. The humidity starts to stick on me so I forget the view and rush the ten feet into the Deira City Center Mall entrance. Up two flights of escalators and to the right is my work at Magrudy's and the hustle and bustle of commerce is enticing.

After my shift is finished I make my way home backwards from how I came and by then my kids are sleeping so I take the chance to read for a half an hour and then Pray and Sleep. It's tiring but at the end of the month is is satisfying to have money in your pocket and to know you've helped people, and joined with society in some way. I'm also enjoying our new house. Although it's far in Quoz Industrial area, it's safe and clean. And best of all I finally have AC in every room! Which I didn't have in Al-Ain. I'm only 15 minutes drive from the huge Mall of Emirates where I can find any shop. (Although the most awesome thing about working at Deira City Center is they have TACO BELL!!!!! WOOO HOOOO!!!!) So it's fun and exciting living here in Dubai now.

I'm still waiting for my Internet connection at home, thus the sparse communication. But we are all doing fine and the kids love it here too. They are currently terrorising the Internet Cafe here in the small Al Khail Mall (next to my house), so I have to run off.

I miss you all and I hope to talk to you more later (hopefully next week on my day off!)

Goodbye and Salams,

Brandy Aminah-Zahira Chase

Into the Madhouse

2010-07-28T14:03:00.000+04:00

I clearly remember the day I was watching CNN and they have those beautiful Ubber-Keep-Dreaming commercials on far away lands to visit. I was living in a poor village on the outskirts of Beirut.

On came a advertisement for Dubai. The Burj Al-Arab (the D looking building) and the beautiful beaches. I was amazed. I turned to my husband:

"Wow I wanna go live there."

He laughed.
"That is Dubai, the most expensive city in the Middle East."

I sighed and crushed moved on with my life.

A year later we had the chance to Leave Lebanon (thanks Mom and Dad) and we decided on UAE to live. Sure my flashback of CNN helped that decision but once we got here we realized Dubai was still beyond our dreams and settled into cozy Al-Ain.

We've lived here for 4 years now. I love Al-Ain, seriously.

But now amazingly it's off to the Madhouse.

We are moving to DUBAI!!!

My husband finally got the job of his dreams in Emirates Airlines Maintenance Dept.

His job gives him accommodation (not free).

So with my working still with Magrudy's we'll be able to at least make rent and have a small bit left over, much as we are living now in al-Ain.

I'll be transferred from the Bawadi Branch here in AL-Ain to Deira City Center in Dubai.
I went there and checked it out and its a bigger shop so that makes me happier.

So now I have to lovingly toss all my stuff in boxes and haul them up to our new home.

I get to do ALL of this JUST BEFORE RAMADAN!!! YIKES!

So Sisters in Dubai...looks like you'll get a new Blogger moving in. ;)

MY NEW JOB

2010-06-28T03:50:00.000+04:00

Up and down the aisles she wanders stalking her pray.
They hide in fear and scamper around corners trying to remain unnoticed.
They are no match for her though.
She angles right then twists effortlessly around the display to time their next turn until they are face to face.
Their eyes are wary and uncertain.
She can read their thoughts.
They wonder how much of their time she will take and how much of their life she will disturb.

She puts out her bait of a glowing smile.

Confused by the sudden charm they relax a little.

A smile edges on their faces in a socially accepted form of greeting.

"Hi there!" She begins brightly, reeling them in like a caught fish.
"Hi." They reply still a bit wary then realization dawns that they've been hooked.
"Can I help you find anything?" She asks letting them bask in her warm friendliness, showing them being caught by the hook doesn't have to be painful.
"Uh, no, I'm just browsing around." They answer, uncomfortable still and flop around on the hook.
"Well let me know if you need help with anything." She assures them gently releasing the hook and setting them gently in the new pond.
With sudden clarity at her friendliness, they realize she can indeed help them with finding what they desire.
"Actually, can you help me find this?" They reply and name their desire.
Hiding her shark smile of satisfaction, she nods pleasantly and leads them to their doom down into the back. They follow vacantly but eager. She shows them the correct item they want and their eyes light up with joy.
She drinks in deeply the mood. Savouring the rushing high and glow it gives her.
She needs more.
With a nod and friendly smile she backs off slowly seeing they have been maxed out.
She turns abruptly and begins the hunt again, wandering the aisles, searching for the next pray.
They go up the left side trying to avoid her behind the taller displays.
She again hides her shark smile as the chase is on.
Rounding from the right again she manages to trap them and face off with them.
Another beaming smile appears,
"Hello! Welcome to Magrudy's Bookstore! Can I help you find anything?"

____________________________________________________________

I am the Customer Service Executive at Magrudy's Bookstore in Bawadi Mall. Located in Al-Ain, UAE.
Although I don't actually "hunt" my customers, it is a thrilling feeling to find exactly what they are looking for.

We offer a wide range of items from various categories of Books to Toys, Games, Stationary, and Gifts!
It's been a fabulous place to work in with very friendly fun staff and getting to be with two of my favorite objects everyday: notebooks and BOOKS. I'm actually paid to read back covers! (To widen my knowledge and experience...)
Not only I've used my book skills but as an Artist I've been able to redo the front displays. I've recently finished my Summer Display. Come check it out!! For those afar I will be posting pictures later.
I get to be creative and spontaneous, organized, efficient,and above all very friendly. Definitely everything I've ever wanted in a job. (Not to mentioned highly valued, wink wink...)

One thing I was surprised to find was an excellent section of Islamic books in English! We have various categories such as:
Prophet Muhammad's Life
Companions of the Prophet
Fiqh and Jurisprudence
Questions and Answers of Islam
General Knowledge
Qur'an
Hadiths
Tafsir
Women's Issues (lots of good books there)
Inspirational and Life
and of course books on the 5 pillars of Islam
But recently we've added Children's Educational Resources!

I'm working with the Administration to start getting Islamic Fiction involved too so look forward to that!

Otherwise we have the backbone subjects of Bookstores:
Fiction
Thrillers & Mysteries
Fantasy & Sci-Fi
History
Biography
Learning Resources for Adults and Children
Children's Books separated by ages: Baby to 4, 5-7, 8-12, Young Adult, and Sci-Fi.
Mind Body Spirit
Mother and Baby & Parenting
Photography
Destinations World Wide
Middle East
Architecture
Music Movies & Fashion
but most amazing is we have these same subjects in Arabic too!

So there is something for everyone here in the UAE!

Please feel free to come in and experience the BEST Bookstore. :)
I promise not to bite you......
..... much.

www.magrudy.com

Catch Me If You Dare

2010-05-22T06:32:00.000+04:00

Browsing Amazon for Books about Muslims (and Muslim Women at that) I came across this rare gem recently published. It's a Mystery Novel. Catch Me If You Dare. Check out the info about it. What struck me is the cover the most. I'm a sucker for all things red! As it's my favorite color. But I loved how the Title is inside the Hourglass instead of on top as most titles are. It's making a good statement. Also following the website for it they offer a discount ebook coupon (link under header). NICE!

Here is brief synopsis: For the full version click on the site.

"The elusive Scarf Killer has struck three times. Post-it notes ’3 of 10′, ’4 of 10′ and ‘5 of 10’ have been found on the bodies of murdered and mutilated Muslim women. Phoenix PD task force cannot find a motive, or the first two victims. The killer leaves little evidence for forensics. The investigation is further hampered by the distrust of the Muslim community. With five more murders threatened, the PPD requests help from the FBI. The FBI sends Rainey Walker, their anthropology consultant and nationally recognized police sketch artist...... After receiving the killer’s blood smeared message, “Catch me if you dare”, Rainey knows time is running out for the next victim.

OOOOhhhhh *chills* sounds like a good books to curl up with! Just be sure to lock your door first ;)

Back on the Clock

2010-05-19T12:49:00.000+04:00

It's been a crazy time in my life the past few months. My husband has been out of work and money has always been tight but more so these last few months. You all know what a firm position I take on staying home with my kids and dealing with household tasks and Homeschooling my two kids.
Now things are flipped around and I got a job.

Alhamdulillah it's part time for now so I still have time for my kids when I get home.

But gosh how it's been tormenting me having to give up staying at home. I've been just unable to think about it for long without getting upset so I have just zoned out on writing one of my stories every spare second I get in the day to cope with not having to think about it. It's much easier to deal with plot lines and character's issues than my own. I'm getting a lot written but still the day has come and in an hour I'm off to work.

I have many posts to make about the adventure I had getting a job but that will wait for another day.

My business suit is ironed, my pumps dusted (it's a country filled with sand, shoes always need dusting), and my new notepad and pens ready.
My husband will watch the kids for my six hour shifts until he gets a job, where then we will try to figure out another solution like a Nanny or DayCare without schooling involved. I'll have to fit in the homeschooling on my days off or after work.
It's a big change for our family and it's not without it's Price but I try to see life as an adventure and this is something new for sure. I'll just take it one day at a time.
At least with all this worry I may finish this novel :D

Where am I working? Well that will come in another post :D I'll keep you updated!

POLITICAL TENSIONS

2010-05-18T06:36:00.000+04:00

In an age where Muslims have to keep their heads down and their political views under wraps sometimes we read news pieces that just make up pick up our heads a little bit and find a way to talk more about things that interest us.

I just read this news report on "Between Two Worlds" about Israel gearing up to go to war with Lebanon/Syria/Iran THIS SUMMER! Possibly backed by US forces.

Oh how my heart clenches and how Terror strikes fear deep in my gut. My beautiful "home away from home" of Lebanon, a land of rich culture, beautiful scenery from shore to mountain top. My piece of the Mediterranean. Ready once again to be blasted. To have thousands of civilians killed on our side while if ONE civilian is killed on THEIR side, it is a crime most heinous. I don't want this report to come true, yet I'm seeing the pieces fall into place already.

I am writing a novel featuring UAE-Iranian Political matters, a work of Fiction, yet based on my observations of real life. I closely follow the Politics of the region and have my personal speculations about how things will turn with certain rising powers. But I try to keep all that off blogland for the safety of my family.

But I'm really wondering with this possible war: Will US really be involved in another Middle East War? Will Barak really blah blah blah the political jargon needed to appease American's minds that killing innocent civilians is good for their interests. Will Lebanon's Army be brave enough and strong enough to actually retaliate against Israel? Or will it be up to Hezbollah to save their bottoms again.

How quickly at the end of 2006 War (which i was there for some of it, and the rest, there in heart) they praised Hezbollah and called them their savior. Then when things settle back down into internal politics they are once again a threat to peace. I'm not sure Lebanon can have it both ways. They want Hezbollah to be strong to save them in case Israel wants to play war games, but they don't want it to be strong fearing the Western Powers wont let them rise up. For USA, Lebanon is it's ally and foe.

I really don't want to see another War this summer. I have family and friends there and I don't want to see harmed. I don't want their life thrown into chaos. Forced to run away if they are expats or hide out in unbombed territories. Lebanon has been gaining in it's economy and the lives of the citizens has slowly been improving. Another War could really set that back.

One of my neighbors once said "Hariri will never let War touch Lebanon again." Overly optimistic? Or right on the button? I guess only time will tell and the fate of Lebanon is up to Allah. May He protect these nations from more War.

Stuck in a Rut

2010-05-10T01:48:00.000+04:00

Imagine: Walking around in circles, moving yet going nowhere. Or worse yet, stuck in a rut, unable to really do much at all.

Sometimes this happens in life where we are stuck in a situation that we cannot get out of.
Sometimes it involves family members, jobs, abuse, pain, weight, it could be almost any situation you feel stuck in.

It is these times our faith helps us and teaches us how to cope.
You continue to make du'a and Pray hard hoping for better times and the Mercy of Allah.
More than that though you really have to rely on Allah that He will get you out of this situation. No one really has control over life and it's events than HIM. That is real faith.

We all are tested and tried by God to improve ourselves and to give us the chance to help more than ourselves in the end.

It's good to be outraged

2010-05-03T10:35:00.000+04:00

A fellow writer mentioned this site and her dismay at seeing these objects. Clicking the link I too grew outraged and you should be too.
Nationaism put behind us and talking about these pictures not a symbol of Saudi or Iraq but the WORDS that are being used.

____________________________________________________________________________

Words used:

ALLAH
MUHAMMAD
SHAHADA - LA ILLAHA ILLA LAH MUHAMMADUR RASULLULLAH, There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger(Prophet) of Allah.

The items on display are shoes, Footballs (soccer ball), T-shirts, Skateboards, Bumper Stickers, and yes, even Dog's Clothing.
All bearing the words above.

Now starting with the shoes. Is it right to put the word for God on a shoe so that it steps in all sorts of filth and dirt and perhaps even gets kicked by other players as they have a game. IMagine a player does one of those awesome moves and does this flying kick in the air in Soccer and then lands hard dragging his shoes through the mud as he falls.... yeah lets smear mud across the name of ALLAH!!! NOOOO!!!!!!

Would the same poeple buying these shoes go up to a masjid and smear mud across a sign saying Shahada!!!

Moving onto the soccer ball. Again is it right to smash your foot or other appedages into the words of Shahada that incude our beloved Prophet and the name of our More Beloved God? NOOOOOO!!!!

Now T-shirts, come on, you might say, T-shirts are harmless! Are they now? Where do you go with a t-shirt? At somepoint after eating and drinking fluids all day you're going to have to relieve yourself in a bathroom. Unless your willing to take off your shirt and flip it inside out or fold it nicely and hide it from sight then you're going to be entering the bathroom with words of Allah and Muhammad on your clothes. All clothes: hats, shoes, shirts, pants. Even jewelry! If it says Muhammad or Allah on it, it should not enter a bathroom. It is disrespectful. Those that wear necklaces always tuck them into their shirts or hijabs so they aren't displayed. What would you do with your clothes?

Skateboards! I dont know if you've seen much skateboarding but I have. The board is repeatedly slammed across railings, steps, dirty streets, not to mention the feet always stepping on it. Here the sacred words are written to be used in such manners. And have you seen boards that have been used fo a long time? They get roughed up and worn off so imagine these boards in like 5 years from now how messed up they'd be from use. Should we tatter up the most beautiful words? NOOOO!!!!

Also with Bumper Stickers, OK if you wanna use the stickers in a proper way in your house for your kids to learn from and for decorating the hosue these would be awesome for that but what do they call them? Car Bumper Stickers! As in stick them on the front or back of your car where most cars bump (hense the name Bumper) into each other leaving the chance for it to get mangled or dirtied quite probable. What if you put it someplace safe though like a window on a car? I see stickers with Masha'Allah on them all the time on cars here reminding people not to give their cars the evil eye. But still what if something happens to your car and you're responsable for the damage of such precious words?

Moving on to dog's clothes: Yes dogs are allowed in Islam under certain conditions, but their saliva is deemed as impure. To cleanse yourself of the impurity you must wash your hands 7 times with water and the first time must contain dirt. So sticking a clothing on a dog is a bad bad idea. What if it irritates him and he turns to lick it or bite at it? What if he's playing and rolls over on it sticking the words of Allah and Muhammad onto the dirt? What if God forbids, another Dog comes over to him and pees on him? Or licks him? What if the dog licks himself and then licks his clothes?!?!?! NOOOO!!!!!!

BAD IDEAS People to buy these things. BAD IDEAS product makers. I know you're trying to be COOL and all and offer Nationalistic things for people in the region but take into consideration all the protesting done by Muslims for other offensive things and learn from it.

Go to these sites and Protest, where you can, for their removal and get the companies not to sell them.

Protect your Religion from the Disrespect ignorant poeple wish to do to it.

Middle East Products HERE

MORE SHOE PICS HERE

AND HERE

MORE SHOES FEMININE

HERE IS ABOUT THE NIKE SHOES CONTROVERSY THAT WAS RECALLED

Lebanese Cowboy Attitude: LYNCH MOB

2010-04-30T23:43:00.000+04:00

Just saw news on Gulf News about a man who was lynch mobed in a rural village of Lebanon. The Mob of angry Villagers managed to get him from police custody (two officers) and then took Justice into their own hands. They murdered him and then stripped him down to his underwear and dragged him through the streets and then people stepped all over the body then it was displayed on a car driven slowly through town as more villages assembled. Finally they used a Butcher's Meat hook through the throat to hang him on a telephone pole for all to see. The Lebanese Army had to be brought in to move out the crowd and retrieve the body.

Now before you say how horrid lets review WHY he was Lynch mobbed.
He allegidly raped a 13 year old girl and then went to her grandparents to try to get the girls parents to consent to him marrying the girl. BECAUSE by Lebanese Law if he marries her she can't testify against him.
The grandparents say No to his proposal. What does he do? He kills the grandparents BOTH! and TWO CHILDREN in the house! Authu'billah!

Was Justice served by the Lynch Mob or should they have let Police handle things?

My Iranian Interview!

2010-04-11T19:41:00.004+04:00

Here is my interview with an Iranian Woman's Magazine, the original article can be viewed here in Persian.
*Note: As the entire site is in Perisan I do not know what other articles contain or condone and my link to this magazine is to support Literacy in Iran.*

---------

A Bud, Waiting to Open

Born in Tucson, Arizona, USA; 26 years old, likes Tiger-Lilies. Mrs. “Brandy Chase” has chosen the Name “Aminah-Zahira” for herself after converting to Islam. She introduces herself as: “a creative imaginative idealistic Muslimah who is striving to find her way to Jannah. I'm like a budding flower waiting for the right moment to open gloriously and show the world my beautiful colors.” Now she knows herself as an American Muslimah, married a wonderful Lebanese man and has a 6 years old daughter and a 3 years old son.
She’s a Author, Poet, Artist, and Designer and also an active blogger. She said Shahada on August 5th, 2001, one month before September 11th happened!

Read Our detailed interview that occurred on a spring day.
-----

The first and basic question: How did you find Islam?

I had been searching for years for a better religion and way of life. I grew up Christian until I was 14 years old and then gave up Christianity to believe in Atheism, which is the belief that NO God exists at all. Alhamdulillah Allah sent me Islam when I was 17 years old. After a year of being Muslim I married a wonderful Lebanese man, and after seven years of marriage we have two children Rajaa 6 years old and Mustapha 3 years old.

Which happened first: Your being Muslim or telling poetry and stories?

I wrote poems since I was very young around 8 years old and started writing short stories when I was 12 years old. Once I reached High School I continued writing longer stories/novels. Then in my last year (grade 12) of High School I became Muslim.

Was there changes since that time till now that you could relate those changes to your being muslim?

Yes, There are many changes that happened to my writing after I became Muslim. Before many of my characters did things that are normal by American standards but in Islam is Haram. Now I must weight and decide how good or bad I need a character to be for the story to still feel deep. Like in Romance stories I must make sure that if a person around 13 years old picks up my book he/she won't be uncomfortable with what they are reading. In my Poetry I used to talk about life and my hatred towards Religion and my animosity (dislike) of "God". Now of course I would never do such a thing. My joy now is to write about the Greatness of Allah and show others my Joy and Peace in Islam.

Tell us that when a young American muslimah starts to writing stories or poetries, what are they about and for whom she writes?

Most writers start with an image in their mind or a phrase, and through that grows a story or poem. Most writers feel this image or phrase deeply and want to find a way to share it with the world so others may feel as deep. As a Muslim there are two choices. One is to write about any subject, in stories this could be Mystery, Science-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Fantasy etcetera... or the Second Option would be to write something Islamic. There is a new category of books called Islamic Fiction that is really gaining popularity around the world. Muslims who love to write stories and want to benefit young people and adults are turning to Islamic Fiction to give people the choice of reading better quality books without compromising their Islamic Morals.

What do you know about the feedback of your works from your country people who are not muslim? Was there any time that some of non-muslim people who has read your works, talk to you about them?

Many non-muslims in America and around the world have read some of my work and say that it inspires them to learn more about Islam and how they never knew certain aspects about it. My family who is not Muslim really enjoys my stories, poems, and artwork and says even though they are not Muslim they can relate to the message I am sending in my work.

Are there Muslim Novelists or Poets who are famous out of their local limitations and media? E.g. some who are famous in whole USA?

Masha'Allah there are dozens if not hundreds of very well known Muslim Authors and Poets who are known not only all over America but World-Wide. One Author Yahiya Emerick is an example, or Jamilah Kolocotronis, or Linda D. Delgado, these three are but few of the many who have had their books shipped internationally. You can find many more Authors at http://www.islamicfictionbooks.com/ifbauthors.htmlAlso I belong to an international group called Islamic Writers Alliance ( http://www.islamicwritersalliance.net/ ) who are striving to improve literacy around the world, support writers and other artists, and also get Islamic Fiction to be more recognized for the quality books they are.

Does their work have clear Islamic phase or just they’re muslim who write like others and if you don’t know them, you couldn’t understand they’re muslim?

Well if you search the websites above you will see there are two definitions of "Muslim Writers" The kind that write any kind of book and they are people that are Muslims, and then Muslim people who write about Islam. The people I mentioned above mainly write Islamic Fiction or Islamic Non-Fiction. But there are hundreds of people who are Muslims and write stories of other subjects too. You have to search their names or profiles to know they are Muslim. I think both ways of using your talent of writing is acceptable as long as you are willing to face Allah in the end with your written words.

In Iran, some of theorists believe that Literature and Art should be at service of Introducing Islam and Muslims to the world and in the opposite side some believe that Art is the aim itself. Which do you agree?

Actually I think these two opinions don't HAVE to be on opposite side of each other. It is not an either-or choice. Some writers feel comfortable writing dawah for non-muslims or using their pens to serve Islam and write for the benefit of other Muslims and May Allah reward them for that. Yet other writers for whatever reason believe they either don't have enough opinions or knowledge to write about Islam or it isn't in their field of interest. Some writers of Mysteries for example only want to write Mysteries not Islamic Mysteries. And May Allah reward them for what they can accomplish too. I know many writers including myself who write for both options Islamic and not-Islamic. The point is no matter what you write take the time to learn your skill well so that no matter what you write it benefits someone, and make good intentions.

Does the American Muslim Community try to introduce itself, its ideals and its properties to other Americans or just prefer to live like an insular minority?

Americans in general are pretty friendly people who for the most part are upfront and honest. So when trying to introduce Islam to Non-Muslims they try to do so in a way that doesn't shock or repel them. There are very large communities of Muslims across America and there are other cities like the one I grew up in where you can go your whole life without ever meeting a Muslim up close. So Muslims in both areas do what they can to spread the word of Islam without upsetting people. Where the numbers of Muslims are few of course they try to stick close together as this is natural human preservation and sometimes they might become too cut off from others, but in most instances Muslims in America like sharing their values to others and mostly the non-Muslims are receptive.

In which ways?

For example in the major cities there are multi-faith gatherings where Muslims, Christians, and Jewish people get together to show their unity for or against something. Many Muslims invite their neighbors or friends or co-workers/co-students to join them in their homes or events at the masjids. Other Muslims, especially women, try to just show how friendly and happy they are with Islam by the way they dress and act in public.

You blog. Is your audience just Muslims or you talk with all the world?

Actually I took a poll a year or so ago about the religious belief of the people who read my blog and about 2/3rd of the people were Muslim and 1/3 was of other faiths. Most of my post topics feature Islam so naturally more Muslims will come to read, yet I try to throw in variety to appeal to all people who are out there and maybe think like me. And of course I hope many of them will come to see the beauty in Islam and insha'Allah join us.

What do other muslim bloggers do? Do they write for each other or they speak to non-muslims?

The majority of Muslim Bloggers are searching for other Muslim bloggers to meet and talk with and share their similar viewpoints, but all in all from what I read across the world they too reach out to other faiths and try to show that no matter where they are in the world, Muslim Bloggers are Human; we have human wants, needs, desires, ambitions just like non-Muslims.

Also because I enjoy reading so many Muslimah’s Blogs I made an ALL MUSLIMAH BLOG DIRECTORY ( http://www.allmuslimah.blogspot.com/ ) to showcase the various Sisters out there trying to make a difference.

Does the world listen to these talks? Which groups read muslim blogs?

Yes the world does listen! The highest traffic to Muslim blogs after Muslims is from Christians actually. As they share many of the same values that Islam has they feel close to what we blog about. The same can be said the other way around. There are many Christian Blogs I visit because the people are writing about things I relate to and I want to share with them that I support them. For example there is a Catholic Blog I like to read about and I always send messages of encouragement when she says they want to keep wearing their hair scarves/veils to church. As Muslims we definitely are happy when a non-Muslim wants to wear a form of veil out of modesty.

Tell us about political partnership. American muslims take part in elections and political meetings? Do they aid any political parties?

Many American Muslims are divided by political parties just as in any country. You have the Muslims that like democrats, that want their agendas of more tolerance to minorities and such. Other Muslims like republicans, with their more conservative agendas such as anti-abortion or such. These are just few of the many topics that each group has opinions on. Then other Muslims stay completely out of politics and refuse to vote for their own reasons. But where there are people there are opinions and where there are Muslims there are Muslims trying to find ways for their opinions to be heard.

Was it possible to you that feel that there’s a confliction between being muslim and being American? For example the country wants something of you that Islam prevents you of that.

Well this is a deep question and I feel there are many good answers to it. There is a conflict at certain levels between being Muslim and being American. For example if the US drafts Muslims into the Army and that Army send them to places like the Middle East to fight against their brothers/sisters in faith. There is going to be extreme conflicts. Yet on the everyday level there isn't too many conflicts. You eat with non-muslims as long as you take precautions what YOU are eating is Halal. You work with them as long as what you are working with is Halal and the money you make is Halal. Sure you have to be more careful but life goes on without too much conflicts.

In these cases, which do you choose? Islam or your country?

But for those large topics that might come up of course Islam comes first. If your business partner is drinking alcohol and talking about gaining money though interest (riba) you need to realize the appropriate action would be to excuse yourself from the table and conversation or make your opinion clear you do not like this situation. If perhaps you are living in a situation you feel you cannot let Islam come first then you might need to decide if that is a place worth staying in. Allah gave us the entire world to live in. Save up some money and move to a location where you feel you can do the right thing. In the end we are accountable on the Day of Judgment for what we permit to slide by and what we stand up for. A country's borders and affiliations can change any day but Islam and it's 5 pillars remains the same.

What do you think of Islamic Union? Do you think that a muslim shoud be union to his religious fellows or country fellows first?

In Islam we have the obligation to help our Muslim brothers and sisters first. Then we extend our hand to others in need. But few situations really require one to choose a Muslim over a non-Muslim. Say a Muslim is starving and a Christian is starving. Of course you get help for the Muslim and then you find a means to help the other. Being United in Islam doesn't mean people cannot help others outside of the faith. But if people do not even do their basic duty of helping their brothers and sisters then how can we expect others to help us? Many Muslims feel sad when they are starving or homeless there is no Food or Home Shelter set up through the masjid or local Muslim communities they will have to turn to other faiths to get help. Many Muslims become lost and confused and turn away from Islam when this happens. They can't understand why someone of the same faith cannot help them. So I do believe we need to be more United as a whole.

In America, what’s the general think about muslim countries, governments and people?

In the majority of American Cities people know what is fed to them through the news and propaganda. If the news screams Afghanistan tortured someone in Prison or in Saudi a woman was denied access to her children then of course they will think the Middle East governments are barbaric and dangerous and a threat to the safety of the world.

BUT some Americans try to find their own information through blogs and networks and meeting people from the countries they hear about in the news to hear how life is there first hand. Then they learn the reasons behind some of these issues. The same can be said for news about America. Rarely we hear in national news about Americans torturing or harming others across the world or in their own country so it is twice as shocking when the scandals do get out.

I think the more people share information with each other the more countries will get along. But both sides have to remove walls and barriers that have been erected for centuries.

You’ve lived in United Arab Emirates and also in Lebanon. Does Americans think right about muslims?

No, there are a lot of misconceptions due to blatant ignorance and reluctance to accept other's cultures and opinions. Cleanliness for example. In America many people believe all Arabs live in tents and ride camels, and are filthy from not bathing. The complete opposite is true I found. Especially in Lebanon, the houses are meticulously kept clean and the people are well groomed. In UAE, although I have seen camels here ,the majority don't ride them. The Emirati people have beautiful manners and customs and are very welcoming to their guests.

But again there are extremes on both sides of issues. Sure there are Bedouin people still in existence who live in tents and ride camels but there is nothing wrong with that. Just as there are people in USA who live in traveling homes or ride horses. There are people in USA and in other countries who are too poor or ignorant to clean well and May Allah help them. So again both sides need to open their eyes to the world and have more acceptance for other cultures and get to know people different from themselves.

Particularly, What do they think about Iran? We know that Iranian and Us governments has dissensions about Nuclear Power. What do US people think of these dissensions?

Wow, what a question! For sure most Americans and other nations view Iran as a threat for their declaration of having Nuclear Power. But there is a growing number of people Muslim and non-Muslims alike that feel Iran and other countries should have the right to Nuclear Power too. Some feel the BIG countries are trying to keep a monopoly on this power and that isn't fair. Others go the other extreme and say NO ONE should have this kind of Power. Most in America though are very afraid if Iran gets Nukes they will use them against their enemies and they worry America is definitely their enemy. If not U.S. directly then one of its key allies.
As many have seen the Iranian President doesn't back down to many demands made on it from other countries.

What do you think yourself?

Well sorry to disappoint you and your readers but I have vowed not to discuss my political affiliations online for the safety of my family. But I do hope the USA and Iran can come to agreements and bridge the gaping hole between them. Both offer the world amazing things and should pool the best they have to offer for the betterment of mankind.

We really appreciate you that joind us in this interview.

Thank you for interviewing me and I hope I have offered everyone a fair glimpse into American life and my life as an American Muslimah Writer, Brandy Aminah-Zahira Chase

________________________________

Masha'Allah that was a wonderful oppourtunity.

Upcoming Iranian Interview!

2010-04-08T21:26:00.000+04:00

Masha'Allah I was chosen to be interviewed for an online Iranian Magazine for Ladies and Girls. The article will be published in Persian but I will post it here in English!!!! And of course check out the link when I post it of the magazine!
It was really nice to make another bridge between the everyday people of Iran and myself. Insha'Allah it will help open minds!

So stay tuned!!!!

"My little April Fool"

2010-04-01T10:08:00.000+04:00

April my favorite month of the year. Such a beautiful month filled with images of Flowers and fresh Spring Air. To start off the month is the best day ever, the day I was born.

For me, it is a day of renewal and refreshment. I take stock of my life and decide where I need to go next.
This year I'm 26. I crossed the quarter decade line and have lived to see the other side, Alhamdulillah.

So for this special day I'd like to dedicate it to my Father, who still calls me "My little April Fool".

Daddy did you know?

Daddy did you know this day would change the way you looked at the world?

Daddy did you know this day would always shine brighter among the many?

Daddy did you know such a tiny thing could grow so tall?

Daddy did you know you'd always be my gentle giant?

Daddy did you know I'd endure such pain and overcome it,

Like a yellow flower blooming after seasons of rainstorms and frost?

Daddy did you know no matter my problem,

You never failed me, always having a solution?

Daddy did you know I'd dream of the stars?

Daddy did you know I look to your example to grow my own garden?

Daddy did you know on my day I'm thinking of you?

Daddy do you know how much I love you?

~Brandy April Chase (c) April 2010

Today I feel very happy. I get to go to the Park today for a Picnic and see all my friends. I wish I had a yellow hijab to wear, or a white one with yellow flowers on it. It's incredible I don't own a bright yellow hijab.... ah well... insha'Allah by next year I will.

Happy Spring everyone and insha'Allah this year shines Bright for you.

Week 1, Day 1

2010-03-29T03:44:00.000+04:00

I feel like A blob of Jello catapulted across the room and smashed into a wall. After oozing down the wall to land with a splat; I, Jello-Muslimah, was trampled by a herd of wild Buffalos.

Other than that the first day of workout went fine!

I only felt nausious for four hours after!

I didn't throw up! (For those interested in too much information)

Whooo Hooo! Bring on Tomorrow!

8 WEEK BOOT CAMP

2010-03-28T18:40:00.000+04:00

"Drop and Give me Twenty"

"You call yourself a soldier or a $#%^*!"

"My Grandma can run faster than your sorry *$#%!"

Ahh the joys of Military Boot Camp. For some it sounds like an alternative form of torture, for others, sounds like fun. The one thing it does though is teach you discipline and whips you into shape.

How many workout videos do you own? Seriously think about it. How many of them do you watch and use? Manic instructors grinning hardly breaking a sweat as perfect people jump to the beat in a rhythm you just can't seem to follow. Something about Eye-TV-Workout coordination doesn't agree with you?

Now I've done some research and have found actual civilian Boot Camp courses (less intense than military) that you can do in a group. Sounds pretty cool BUT as Muslims the exercising in public with whole hijab garb on (proper I'm talking about not skin tight stuff), it's just not gonna fly. Besides I'm way out here in UAE and all these courses are in "Western Civilization". Although I came across this interesting article about Military Wives going through boot camp: Civilian Boot CAMP

And more fun and interesting fact about Military Boot Camp, some that make you long for it and others that make you wanna go run and hide behind your mama's skirts. About.com US Military

So what does this have do with an American Muslima Writer & Blogger? I found myself a FREE Boot Camp training course I can do in the comfort of my home for the next 8 weeks! Ok I don't have any drill sergeant shouting in my ear but being the Imaginative Role Player type I am, I fully plan to take on that role and yell at myself. So for the next 8 weeks I will be trying hard to not make excuses and just suck it up and get it done. Come on you can survive almost anything for 8 weeks. Although I'd love to take on a real military course much as G.I. Jane does in her awesome Movie that inspired this Life Move, I can't. Although I actually in high school was eager to join the Navy or Army or well any branch that deemed me suitable (Although the Navy had a nice ring to it ... Admiral Chase is better than General Chase) but alas life took a different direction that I am happy with BUT still sometimes those camouflage color beckon me.

So here I am starting Week 1 today! If anyone wants to join me and kick start their weight loss or fitness project or get through one of those plateaus we always get stuck on this is the thing to try! I'll keep you posted about results :D and for those curious, if it makes me vomit or not like real Military boot camps....

TRY IT HERE:
FREE BOOT CAMP

By the way since it seems overwhelming to follow(ONLINE) I actually went and printed myself out a calendar for each week's exercises and then a daily list so I wouldn't have to stare at the screen. I gave myself this whole week to prepare to start this. And alhamdulillah it helped to have the extra time.

So "Hooah!" Onto Being Healthy!

A Perspective into Priorities

2010-03-28T04:50:00.001+04:00

On my way to blogging about my latest and greatest event in my life I ran across another Blogger's touching post. A post on Letting Go. I found it touching and meaningful and words that rang with truth.

Check it out here: Changing My World ~ Random Muslima, Letting Go

Part of putting your priorities in order is being able to let go of things that in the end are not as important. Sometimes people put something like dusting above doorways above the importance of keeping a marriage together. Sometimes people put money before the value of a human life. Sometimes people put going to a club or not wanting to mess up their make-up before Prayer to Allah. Sometimes we think dropping a plate and it breaking is a catastrophe equal to the Catastrophe of Haiti. Perhaps even the simple act of air leaving the lips in the form of a word like TALAQ is equal to a life with no purpose or meaning.

People must learn to put into perspective what important priorities are. Every single one of us must sit down for a moment or perhaps ten and think of our top ten to twenty priorities. Everything else after that is NOT AS IMPORTANT. You just MIGHT have an option of letting it go. You need to weigh each matter and decide where on the scale of YOUR life it weighs. Let go of those small matters consuming your mind. Get your current priorities done and dealt with or put into order and insha'Allah in the future there will be time to get to the others.

Sometimes if you keep trying to juggle a million things in the air it will all come crashing down. Start with the heavier things. Slowly start spinning one or two around and then add each next one in order until you can manage your top ten or twenty. Once you have that juggled, work on the next minor issues until they are safely supported. If one drops or puts the others out of balance perhaps you might need to do without it for a while to keep the harmony. Work up to adding it in again.

I dare you. Go write down your list right NOW.

(No you don't have to share it)

Once you get those written go check out some motivational blogs about how to get your life in order and start implementing some steps to ease life a bit. There are dozens out there.

The Big Polygamy Joke

2010-03-24T13:41:00.000+04:00

Polygamy is common in Islam and sometimes causes stress or disturbance to the families involved and other time i causes bliss. Either way it's a big issue not only in Western society but in the Arab society.

Many times with any big issues there will be jokes about it.
Men like to rattle women. Women like to spite a man.
Men like to share a knowing wink with another man.
Woman like to raise an eyebrow to another woman.

ALL OVER the world.

Even Doctors like to joke with patients as Susie featured in her latest blog post on Susie's Big Adventure.

Some will say this is a joking topic or some will say it's demeaning and hurtful and everyone is entitled to their opinions.

My own experience with this comes from family members and friends and random conversations I've overheard in English and Arabic.

Random comments:

"I know what will get you to excersize more, another wife or two."

"No problem if he doesn't like my food he can always eat lunch at HER house instead and save me the trouble."

"I have a headache, don't you have another wife or something to go to?"

Man whispering to another man suddenly hold up four fingers and waggles them meaningfully and the other man bursts out laughing. *(if wife is there she's glowering in the background)*

"There's always Chinese, Russian, American, Egyptian." Man says to another man laughing. His wife turns to the other man's wife and whispers, "There is always divorce and then an American, Chinese, Italian, or Russian!"

Woman to Woman "Why let your husband marry an Austrian (insert any Nation)? Can't you die your hair blonde, braid it in two, wear Hiedi clothes, and yodel?"

So no matter where you are and the topic comes up either roll with the flow offering your own tastefully appropriate jokes back, or if you are against joking about Poly then have your own Quips or Zingers to fire back putting the other person in the know of your opinion of the topic. Either way the topic will come up someday and it's better you prepare yourself then sit there stewing looking hurt. Sometimes the men purposly like to rattle women and by showing calmness and confidence in your status it takes them down a peg or two.

A Woman's Right over her Husband

2010-03-19T09:38:00.000+04:00

SubhanAllah THIS GEM of a post is something everyone woman but more importnatly every man needs to study.
The basic rights of women to be treated like a dignified human being. Islam gives us these rights. Allah our Creator has given us these rights. STUDY THEM WELL.

I found this article on Pixie's I Love Hishma Blog. I felt it was so important for women to know this information and I know Many women who DESPERATLY NEED to study this and copy it and print it out and leave it for their husbands to read; So instead of just giving the link to Pixie's Blog and having you go there to read it I posted it here Including her introduction. Because I know many of you are lazy readers and wont click and would be missing out on important information. But Please do go to her Blog and check out the awesome fashions she discusses and Religious Issues. :)

FROM PIXIE'S BLOG
"Since alot of women read this blog, I thought I'd share an interesting article written by a Sheikh I just read on a woman's rights over her husband. Most sites say, yada yada yada, this is the husband's rights over his wife in a dispute, and mashaAllah, these things are wonderful to know, but many women tell me that we have no rights over our husbands in disputes and the like, beyond financial things. This is not so, ya Rub!!!!!!

Now to the article (note: I didn't write it):

Q: I have frequently read what, according to Islamic teachings, a husband may or may not do in a dispute with his wife if he attributes it to disagreement with or misbehavior of his wife. I almost never read anything about the opposite situation: if the wife has a disagreement with her husband or *he* misbehaves. Things are nearly always told from the man's point of view! What are the wife's rights in the case of bad behavior of her husband?

A: Praise belongs to Allah the Lord of all the worlds. Blessings and Peace on the Messenger of Allah, and on his Family and all his Companions.

Allah ordered the believers to "consort with women in kindness" (4:19) and He said: "And of His signs are this: He created for you helpmeets from yourselves that ye might find rest in them, and He ordained between you love and mercy. Lo, herein indeed are portents for folk who reflect" (30:21).

A Wife's Basic Rights Regarding Her Husband's Behavior

NOTE: This is distinct from her other rights regarding living expenditures, housing, clothing, and education of children. And from Allah comes all success.

1. The first and worthiest condition of marriage to be fulfilled by the husband is to "keep the promise or promises he made to the wife at the time he married her." This is an order of the Prophet [salla Allahu `alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, abbr. (s)] according to the hadith: "ahaqqu al-shuruti an tufu bihi ma astahlaltum bihi min al-furuj"

2. He cannot order her to do anything that is against religion. The Prophet (s) said: "No obedience is due to creatures in disobedience of the Creator" (la ta`atan li makhluqin fi ma`siyat al-khaliq).

3. He must exercise patience and be prepared to listen to her advice in every situation. The Prophet (s) listened to the advice of his wives in matters ranging from the smallest to the greatest.

4. If she invites him to wake up and perform the late night prayer, it is praiseworthy for him to do so and vice-versa. The Prophet (s) prayed for such people: "May Allah grant mercy to a man who gets up at night and prays, and wakes up his wife, and if she refuses, he sprinkles water in her face; may Allah grant mercy to a woman who gets up at night and prays, and wakes up her husband, and if he refuses, she sprinkles water in his face."

5. He must respect her and pay attention to her needs so that she will respect him and pay attention to his.

6. He must control his passions and act in a moderate manner especially in the context of sexual intercourse. Remember that Allah has placed between you and her "friendship and mercy" (mawadda wa rahma), not the gratification of your every lust; and that the Prophet (s) advised young men to marry "because it casts down the gaze and walls up the genitals," not in order to stimulate sexual passions. The husband should habitually seek refuge in Allah before approaching his wife and say: "O Allah, ward off the satan from us and ward him off from what you have bestowed upon us in the way of children" (allahumma jannibna al-shaytana wa jannibhu ma razaqtana). Allah has called each spouse a garment for the other (2:187), and the purpose of garments is decency. The Prophet (s) further said that he who marries for the sake of decency and modesty (`afaf), Allah has enjoined upon Himself to help him.

7. He must never ever divulge the secrets of the household and those of the married couple.

8. He must strive with sincerity to acquire her trust, and seek her welfare in all the actions that pertain to her.

9. He must treat her generously at all times. The Prophet (s) said that the best gift or charity (sadaqa) is that spent on one's wife.

10. If she works outside the house, it is praiseworthy for the husband to hire house help to relieve her from too heavy a burden. The wife's duties do not require her to feed her child, nor even to nurse it, nor to clean nor cook. It is the husband's duty to provide a nursemaid, food for older children, and servants to clean and cook. However, if the wife does those things out of mercy and love, it is a gift to the husband on her part.

11. He must avoid excessive jealousy and remember that Allah is also jealous that he himself not commit. The Prophet (s) said: "Do not be excessively jealous of your wife lest evil be hurled at her on your account" (la tukthir al-gheerata `ala ahlika fa turama bi al-su'i min ajlik) and he said: "Allah is jealous and the believer is jealous; and Allah's jealousy is that the believer should not go to that which Allah has forbidden for him" (inna Allaha yagharu wa al- mu'minu yagharu wa gheerat Allahi in ya'tiya al-mu'minu ma harrama `alayhi).

12. He must protect her honor and not place her in situations where it is compromised or belittled. The Prophet (s) said that Allah will not ever let him enter Paradise who cares little who shares his wife's privacy. This includes the husband's brother, uncle, and nephew, let alone non-related friends, neighbors, and complete strangers.

13. He must exercise patience and forgiveness in the case of disagreement or dispute, and not rush to divorce. The declaration of divorce is a grave matter indeed, and the Prophet (s) said: "Of permitted matters the most loathesome before Allah is divorce" (abgh`ad al-halal `ind Allah al-talaq). In another hadith he said that divorce is so grave that because of it Allah's throne is made to shake. He said: "The best intercession [i.e. intervention of a third party] is that which brings back together the husband and the wife." Womanizing -- divorce for the purpose of marrying another woman out of sexual attraction incurs Allah's curse according to the hadith: "Allah's curse is on the womanizing, divorcing man" (la`ana Allahu kulla dhawwaaqin mutallaaq). Finally, even in the midst of and after divorce, Allah has prescribed kindness upon the man: "(After pronouncing divorce) she must be retained in honor or released in kindness" (2:228).

For the above-mentioned reason (i.e. to prevent the quickness of divorce), in his time, Ibn Taymiyya gave the ijtihad (juridical opinion) by saying that three talaqs in one sitting constituted only one. He did this to interdict the prevalent custom of suddenly giving three talaqs, which in his time was on everyone's lips, (i.e. had become so commonplace as to be a habit). However the other four schools of fiqh had the opposite opinion in this matter.

14. He must not dwell on what he dislikes in his wife, but on what he likes.

15. The husband is not to stay away from his wife or keep his wife in a state of suspense, whether at home or abroad, for a protracted period of time except with her consent. Allah said: "Turn not away (from your wife) altogether, so as to leave her hanging. If you come to a friendly understanding and practice self-restraint, then Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Merciful" (4:129). Protracted separation (6 months or more in the Shafi`i school) without prior or subsequent arrangement with the wife, whether the husband is away willingly or unwillingly (for example due to war, imprisonment, or illness) is sufficient grounds for her to obtain divorce from the judge.

16. The Prophet (s) said: "Do not beat your wife." He also said: "Do not strike your wife in the face." The expiation for striking one's slave in the face is to set him or her free on the spot, but what expiation is there for striking one's wife? The Prophet (s) condemned the man who beats his wife in the day and then approaches her at night. And to beat her to the extent of inflicting serious injury is enough grounds for her to obtain divorce from the judge.

17. Caring for one's wife's sexual fulfillment is an obligation of religion. The Prophet (s) warned against rushing to gratify one's pleasure and forgetting that of one's wife. He also disliked that the husband should quickly withdraw from his wife afterwards, as it is a strain upon the wife. If she asks for intercourse, he should not refuse.

Conclusion

These are only some of the basic duties of the husband in Islam. The state of marriage is part of one's adherence to the Sunna and an exalted state of life indeed. In the words of the Prophet (s), it permits one to meet Allah "pure and cleansed" (tahiran mutahharan). One's behavior towards one's wife is the measure of the perfection of one's belief as the Prophet (s) said: "The most complete of the believers in his belief is he who perfects his manners, and the best of you in manners are those who act best towards their wives." Marriage must be approached with utmost seriousness, entered with the purest intent, and cultivated religiously as it does not come cheaply and it carries immense reward. The Prophet (s) called it "his way" (al-nikahu sunnati) and "half of religion" and he also said: "Two rak`at (prayer-cycles) of the married person are better than seventy rak`at of the unmarried." He also warned that among the greatest of responsibilities that had been placed upon men is that pertaining to the treatment of their wives.

And may Allah's blessings and peace be upon Muhammad,
his Family and all his Companions,
and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds

Attempted Kidnapping at Al-Ain Mall, UAE

2010-03-16T12:44:00.000+04:00

Mid-afternoon my phone rings and I see my friend's name pop up and look forward to a plesent convo about our lives when her words chill me to the bone.

"My kids were nearly kidnapped just now, at Al-Ain Mall."

She was upstairs (those that know AL-Ain and the mall here can easily visualize this) in Mega Mart the local Mega Grocery Store. At the front there is a large TV display set up to attract kids into dragging their parents in to see the cartoons they always put there. Those parents then start wandering the electronics of washing machines, TVs, DVDs, Stove, Fridges, etc...
So my friend's 3 kids pause to watch the cartoon and their mother casually browses the washing machines near-by still within sight distance. After a short while she notices this man glancing furtivly at her kids and then the escalator (leading to the mall exit). He continued to mill at the entrance of Mega Mart near her kids. My friend said her Mommy Radar went off and she rushed over to her kids and the man saw her and ran oof towards the escalator. She pursued him but he was very fast. Shaken she took her kids home and called me up.

"It can happen in a split second. Keep your kids right next to you and never out of your sight."
She warned me and I totally agreed. Later she called security at the Mall and they caught the whole thing on video and freeze-framed the man's face so his picture is now in all Security stations in the Mall. Insha'Allah he wont be able to strike again.

I often go to Al-Ain Mall since it is 10-15 minutes walking distance from my house to just window shop and get my kids to let off steam. I make sure they are not only in sight distance but grabbing distance, meaning if I need to get to them I can make a short fast run and be by their side to help them in an instant. I know the evils of pedophiles and their tactics. My goal in my children's life is to ensure they never get harmed by one. My kids are obvious tragets with their curly blonde hair and blue eyes which are highly desired in these Arab countries. But these pedophiles will attack any child that is grabable. Do you know how mnay times I've been harassed by security asking if these are my children because some children with their descriptions have been lost or have dissapeared. It gives me chills.

Let us not forget what happened to poor Musa, a 5 year old boy who was brutally raped and murdered by an Emirati man IN E'ID MUSALLAH!!! I was sick all day I heard about that. May Allah help his family recover.

I have heard true account stories from people who will remain unnaimed, about local Emirati children getting raped repeatedly and harmed repeatedly by drivers and maids who want to get even or to antagonize their Employer. NEVER EVER LEAVE YOUR CHILD WITH ANYONE YOU DO NOT TRUST WITH THEIR LIFE.

Sad to say that even family members can harm your child. Everyone knows stories of "Uncle Georgie" getting fresh with his niece. "Grandpa Joe" having a little snuggle under a blanket etc.....
absolutly sickening. SO be vary careful who you let spend time alone with your child.

You think the Catholic Priests molesting young boys is sick and think "well they are Catholic, we are Muslim it wont happen to my boy off learning his Qur'an every morning at the Sheikh's house."
WRONG!
I know factual happeneings of exactly that happeneing. It has been covered up over and over again of Sheikh's (meaning scholorly and knowledgable not just royalty) molesting or raping the boys they teach Qur'an to. Go with your child to their class. If you can not manage this then at least LEARN TO TALK WITH YOUR CHILDREN about these kind of dangers!!!! Let them be prepared! Tell them what to do if there is an emergency.

But first and formost Parents BE AWARE AT ALL TIMES.
May Allah have Mercy on You and Your Children

I. WILL. NOT. FAIL.

2010-03-11T10:25:00.000+04:00

I will not fail

i WILL not fail

i will NOT fail

i will not FAIL

I. WILL. NOT. FAIL.

I will not go down

Knowing

I could have done better

Knowing

I gave in to my weaknesses.

I will rise up

Rise up to the Destiny

Allah has Willed for me

Should I fall

I know

I will fall without Failure.

I. WILL. NOT. FAIL.

Presenting CLEVER FOXY TRICKS

2010-02-15T17:00:00.000+04:00

I recently dicovered a very awesome interesting and more importantly ELIGHTENING blog recently started.

CLEVER FOXY TRICKS

I totally see this blog booming soon (insha'Allah) as a place for those wanting and needing intelectual stimulation in blogger world and life. A place to open your mind for real.

So check it out and be first to get to know this FOXY blogger.

http://www.cleverfoxy.blogspot.com/

Salams to everyone.

PS: As I'm on vacation I wont be replying to the interesting comments i recieved on my last post until I get back to Emirates at the end of Feb. SO keep the discussions coming.

Lebanon Lubnan

2010-02-10T14:56:00.000+04:00

It seems more clear recently how things go full circle.
I was in a shop buying a notebook (ever the writer needs) and it stuck me how just four years ago i was kneeling on the dusty floor of this shop trying to buy enough files for my new file cabinet and was making sure I had enough labels and tags for each folder and I was buying about 100 of the file folders so I had them quite spread out around me on the floor. I never imagined four years later I would have accomplished all I have done or how changed a person I would be. Even further in the circle would be the first time i set foot in that shop and smelled the beautiful scent of stationairy proucts....ahh it was love at first smell. Time fades so fast and we never know what is around the next bend, you know.

It was also in this shop years ago, i was looking for a grave leaf vine stencil to paint a shelf I had gotten as a gift. I wanted to paint it and give it as a gift to another friend of mine. I looked and searched and shook my fist at the lack of stenciling options. This last time i was in there getting my notebook I saw it a beautiful grape vine stencil, i thought wryly, ahhh NOW you get it...four years too late... it's just as well though for Allah is the best of planner and my friend no longer lives in Lebanon anyways, she went back to Sweden.

Looking around the city the western influence has crept swiflty into place. Lingiree clad women on bilboards and seductivly posing around the more "developed" and more glamourous sections of the cities. Hijabi girls who could hardly be called hijabis. Double the amount of cars on the road and more noticably the better and newer imported cars on the road. Buildings popping up and new streets directions being changed from two way to one way now. It's amazing how cities change.

Nationalism is increasing here in Lebanon. Every other commercial is a nationalistic patriotic song or theme. They are quite stuck in my head.... Especially the opera one...... LUBNAAAAAN!!!!!
They think this is the solution for the wars to end here in Lebanon, having everyeon identify themselves not by religion but by the common thread that they are Lebanese. To a point this would work...
EXCEPT... for the fact that Lebanon has the most DIEHARD extremests from EVERY RELIGION. NO ONE AND I MEAN NO ONE is going to forget theat their religions come fist and their nationality second....
hmmm but then I double think.... the rise in Western influence is really leading people away from their religions into a consumerism age where people become confused about who they are and what they stand for.... SO I guess as always the debate is up in the air, the DIE HARDS are here to stay and the whishy washy LUBNAAAAANi people always meet head to head. I enjoy the political sketches showing the stupidity of the politicians here. They have about three or four weekly programs and no one misses them. They are HILARIOUS!!!

I love my Lebanon, do I love Lubnan? Hmmm.... that's a question to think on.....

Deep Inner Peace

2010-01-31T16:48:00.001+04:00

Our souls deep within strive and struggle everyday to search for a way to find that deep inner peace, that oneness with the universe and the Creator of All. Realizing your place in the finite yet absolutely enormous reaches of space. Feeling in your heart and mind the answer to lifelong questions that beseech humanity.

Why are we here? What is our purpose in this life? What happens after we die? How can we achieve inner peace and contentment no matter our lot in life?

Many of us in this world and especially those of us in the blogosphere have searched long and hard for these answers. Yet I feel most of us have forgotten this long struggle for our souls. Upon discovering the beauty and perfection in Islam we immediately adapted our lives to follow the ways of our Blessed Prophet Muhammad Sallahu Alayhi wa Salim. We struggled day and night everyday of our lives to learn the words of the prayers and to push our bodies to accept the fasting we willed upon it for the sake of our Lord. Even in poverty we spent from our means to help others and at times we felt it. That peace. That deep inner peace. We feel Allah, our One, Beloved God, and the feeling brings us that peace until tears flow down our faces in gratitude.

Then the troubles and trials of the world interfere and slowly slowly ever so slowly we start forgetting. Easing farther and farther away from that peace. Frustration, sadness, depression, pain, anger, laziness, and exhaustion overwhelm our minds and hearts and we bob out our prayers more like robots than Muslims. We fast trying to sleep as much possible to make only a few hours of pain until we can stuff our faces with the feasts we prepared. Then comes the night, the Night of Power. Therein we strive to make up that lost ground and return to the fold of peace that enveloped our souls at the beginning of our journey in Islam. Some of us succeed and other spend the night in laughing, gossip, and chatter, or worse.

I KNOW that we are faced with ups and down in our Imans. I do know and accept this, BUT....

Just this week I realized I said Shahada August 5, 2001. It has been almost a decade since I said Shahada. A DECADE!

I find it absolutely unacceptable and pathetic that I am not more proficient in Islam. It is unacceptable and pathetic to me that I have not achieved a constant, or EVEN weekly, inner peace.

My soul craves that peace like no other thing right now.

Had I gone to University to become a Doctor I'd have managed to become a Neurological Surgeon by now. How is it then that I have not managed to learn to read Arabic better or speak it more fluently or memorized more Qur'an? How is it I still Struggle to remember to pray my 5 prayers on time without missing one. How is it I used to manage Sunnah Prayers yet now I don't have time? How is it possible that I am not better in Islam.

Islam is Submission to Peace. By following it (Islam) you find that Inner Peace. So by conclusion I can only surmise I am not following it enough. I am missing out on something essential that is not letting me attain this peace within. Am I doing sins? Probably as we all sin. But am I seeking forgiveness and repentance from these sins? Am I beseeching Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala for his forgiveness and to bring myself closer to Him. Am I dedicating my life to His service and way provided by the teachings of the Peaceful Muhammad Sallalahu Alayhi wa Salim? Am I immersing myself too much in worldly life and not enough in spiritual life? Am I forgetting how short this life is and how soon I will be in my grave wishing I had spent my youth and time in Prayer? I must search more to continue the struggle towards Allah.

Much to think on for us all on how to not forget that searching and questioning we strove for upon accepting Islam. How to again see the world anew with Peace in our Hearts and Souls.

We must NOT forget Peace.

We must NOT forget Allah.

Assalamu Alikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatu

BURJ DUBAI KHALIFA

2010-01-07T09:34:00.002+04:00

This past weekend I actaully spent the whole day feeling like I was being partially brainwashed except I liked it.

The opening and commemoration of the World's Tallest Tower happened on January 4th. The event took place on the same day as the aniversary of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum taking assenssion to the Throne as Dubai's ruler 4 years ago.

To celebrate this mighty occassion they spent the entire day from sun up til probably about midnight on all local Dubai TV channels covering different aspects of the day and how the Burj Dubai was built. Inbetween talking about the Burj there was extensive coverage of the Sheikh himself. How he helps humanity and how humble he is to even sit on the bare dirt while speaking to an Elderly Emirati man who is also just sitting on dirt. He built the man a brand new house and a whole community of houses in four months. Masha'Allah. He enjoys supporting the sports and camel and horse racing events. BUT my particular favoritism for this man has to do with his involvement in the Literary world. He largely supports Poetry and Literature. His foundation has made the goal to translate 1,000 novels into Arabic language in the next three years, more than one novel translated in a day. That is pretty awesome! He is a poet himself and always attends literature events. Now I'm not all googly eyed or anything like that as I'm well aware all people have flaws especially Rulers. But as far as rulers go he's a lot better than MANY.

So in the evening we all watched on TV the show they put on for the opening of the Burj.

The famous Dancing Dubai Fountain danced itself to the Emirati National Anthem and many other fabulous songs. There were parashute jumpers jumping off the 828METER skyscrapper and landing in the crowd below. AND THE FIREWORKS OOOOH the FIREWORKS! They had fireworks out the wazoo! LiTeRaLly!!!! FIreworks shot out of every floor of the tower up and down the entire length of the building in time to the music. IT was amazing! I have never seen anything so cool in my life. Fountains spinning and fireworks all in time to rousing themes. Made me almost wish i was there in person lol. SUPER COOL! I'm sure YOU TUBE has some video on it all if you want to check it out.

One of the weird things though was in the middle of Opening the tower Sheikh Mohammad RENAMED the Tower!!! I was stunned. There went years of advertising revenue aimed at imprinting the NAME of BURJ DUBAI into people's minds. it is NOW BURJ KHALIFA. Named after the Ruler of UAE, based in Abu DHabi. So me and Hubby speculated why the name change and the best we could figure is because ABuDHabi just bailed out Dubai finacially and thus they are grateful? AS I said it is speculation, don't sue me. I'm sure the real reason is out there if I wanted to take the time and google it... erm which i don't.....
But it's another excuse for me to go to Dubai and see something new. I'm definitly going to go to the top someday and see the world.

Although the whole time I'll be fearing Allah's Wrath on the city where Sin and CORRUPTION is RISING!!! Although NewYork is still standing.....and L.A. ...... and London..... perhaps the Burj "formerly Dubai" Khalifa will be spared?

CRAAAASH!

2010-01-07T06:24:00.000+04:00

So here I am sitting here in the almost Fajr time and all of a sudden I hear a horrid screech and BAM BAM CRUNCH POP BAM BAM SQUEEEEELLL!!!!!
I live next to a roundabout that in the middle of the night is used in a race rally... finally someone got hit badly!
I donned hijab and ran out only to find two men looking relaxed calling police and I asked if anyone is hurt and they look at me like I'm stupid. I was the only female out there at 4am checking out the crash scene.... screw them then I went inside.... too darn cold out there anyways!

2010, END OF THE WORLD!

2010-01-06T20:25:00.000+04:00

So the other night on Jan 1st we were coming out of the Bawadi Mall in southern AL-Ain and I'm walking happily holding my daughter's hand as we wander our way to the back parking lot. My husband is holding our son and walking ahead of us a little bit. It's about Midnight and my daughter suddenly looks up at the sky and says "Why is the moon moving?" I opened my mouth to launch into a scientific explination of how it's not the moon moving, it's the clouds in front of it; when I too glanced up. Before my very eyes the full moon appeared to literally be running through the sky. Startled, I sttod still in shock and stared at it as if it would suddenly come to a halt but it didn't. It continued racing across the sky and for a panicked moment I seriously though the World is ENDING!
"Honey look at the moon!!" I cried with fear in my voice.
He glanced up and scoffed, "It's just the clouds moving!"
Perplexed and still quite frightened that the world might indeed be ending and I had prayers to make up I looked at the sky more closely. I stared hard at the clouds instead of the moon and indeed the moon stayed still finally and the clouds instead went racing across the dark sky. Breathing easier yet still shaken we continued to the car.
After getting inside and settling in Hubby admitted for half a split second he too thought the moon was moving and to cover his fear he had to scoff to relieve not only himself but my fears as well. Naturally he was right lol.
But imagine if the WORLD WAAAS ENDING!?!?!?! We would have TOTALLY been unprepared!!! This is why everyone must always remember that death can come at any moment ans we should be prepared because once death comes to us that IS the end of our viewing this world. SubhanAllah.

Did anyone else out there have a weird End of the World moment?

Airplane Adventures!

2010-01-02T21:01:00.000+04:00

Three years of soaking up desert sun and sweating in blistering heat.

Three guesses where I get to go on January 19th!!!! For 6 weeks!!!!!

INSHA'ALLAH!!!!

Airplane to.....

Snow Snow and more snow!!!

Sill can't guess maybe if you see it without the snow?

OK OK one last hint.....the national flag ring a bell?

Come on, now, surely you have managed a guess?

TRY and see how many get it right.....hehehe.

Crescent Pen Bookstore & Cafe

2009-12-31T09:04:00.000+04:00

So this is what's been on my mind for the past month, erm you people did miss me right? I could tell by the lack of comments how much i was missed ;)
But it didn't hurt really to be forgotten in blogworld because I hadn't really been on blogger to do more than check comments (lotta spam whats up with that!!!) and see if my best buds had posted anything.
But I have been on the Computer almost 24/7 the last few months. Imediatly after NaNoWriMo in November ended (whew!) I completly ignored my story and turned to business.

I have been seraching for the perfect business project for ages now. It's always been a toss up between Interior Designing, Landscape Designing, or actaully I can't remeber half the ideas that used to float in my head anymore. But everytime I made istikhara for it things would seem to go in the rigth direction but just "put on hold for now" and evertime this happened something else would enter my mind as soemthing better to do. Well after Nano I was really cracking down on figuring out if I wanted to do Interior Designing Firm. But meanwhile in the Islamic Writers Alliance (IWA) message boards I was absolutly happiest when dealing with IWA matters and talking with people in this industry. My heart longed to do soemthing meaningful with Books and Literacy.
After sending a hesitant question in my discussions with an American Muslim Publisher and hearing her enthusiastic response it was solidified in my heart.

I NEED TO OPEN A BOOKSTORE!!!! An ISLAMIC bookstore. There are PLENTY of bookstores here catered to the masses of secularism. AND although I enjoy Harry Potter and even Twilight as much as the next Fiction enthusiest, the community needs more. MUSLIMS need more. We need our own chain of bookstores promoting Islamic Fiction and Islamic Written works, writen of course by our fellow Brothers and SIsters. If that is not supporting the Ummah I don't know what is. These writers spend years working on their books to only get them sold perhaps half MAXIMUM to 1/5 the amount as say Harry Potter. YET HOW MANY MUSLIMS ARE IN THE WORLD!?!?!?! 1/5 of the world is MUSLIM! HELLO MUSLIMS! Wake up and realize we have quality books of our own that are just as entertaining as Harry Potter.

SO upon realizing what I really want to do most is a Bookstore I immediatly set up work to make out a Business Plan. WHEW what work are they!

Meantime though I still gotta keep up the house, kjeep off the weight, Homeschool, help friends, etc.... so that is why the month is now almost over and I haven't had time for blogging and haven't even finished my Business Plan. But yesterday I got a lot of free time in so I worked hard and got a lot of good statistical figures about the industry and demographics of UAE.

I really feel the hardest part is the Business Plan. Getting it right and making it work and doing all the research. Finding an investor i believe will happen with the Grace of Allah. He will either send me one or not. End of Story.

SO my store is thus titled so far Crescent Pen Bookstore & Cafe. Whatcha think?

I may have a logo contest in the future so stay tuned.

The inside of the store will be white with blue edgings very calm and comfortable place to read and learn and grow in Islam. Hmm that is a catchy motto I like it.... *enter that into Business Plan* I'm hoping to have beautiful Islamic Arches

over each section and the sections sectioned off like a mihrab nitche. Not curvy but like a nook filled with books....we'll see how the design stage goes.

I'll be posting a questionaire for everyone to chime in on ideas in another post and will be bringing back polls to my blog (I miss those don't you?).

It is weird thinking of myself in the Business League. I never thought I'd be wrapped up in Cost of Sales and Profit Margins and all that "biz talk" but here I am wading through it all. It's liek a sea of info out there and I'm a little fish swimming hard against the currant.

Not only I want to do this business for finacial purposes (hey I gotta eat just liek the rest of the world) but also as my life goal to promote Islamic Literature. Its like a personal Jihad to get Muslims Reading.

Whip NANO

2009-11-26T02:29:00.000+04:00

"Muahahahaha!" She thunders waving her cat'o'nine tails high and raking them down the hapless victim's back in glee and furious might.

I whipped NaNoWriMo good!
I managed the incredible feat of beating out 50,000 words of literary pearls from the clutches of my mind in less than a month.

Hmm now for taking this pile of words and arranging them in PLEASANT to READ literary pearls...

that be 'nother task for 'nother month's undertakin'.....

Ei'd / Holiday Gift that keeps giving!

2009-11-26T02:18:00.000+04:00

It's a big Holiday time with E'id, Thanksgiving, Blessed Jummah, Hajj, Fasting of A'rafat, soon to be worldwide Chistmas and Hannakah season,
What is the best gift to get someone you love?
A gift that doesn't break with usage and time.
A gift with no batteries required.
A gift that will teach them something about life.
A gift that will open their eyes to the world around them...

J. Samia Mair has written about this wonderful gift in her Blog Article for the Baltimore Muslim Examiner

Holiday gift ideas and not just for Muslims! - The 'Many Voices' of Muslim authors

Check out her other cool and insightful articles! Masha'Allah.

NANO-Second!

2009-11-05T00:45:00.000+04:00

Well what have I been doing?

Avoiding too much sugar...yes. But sooo much more!
My friend I told y'all about is Homeschooling her 7 kids. And we decided to combine our Homeschooles. SO now we have anywhere between 6-9 kids in the house at any one time. I'm teaching the 5 younger ones (including my 2), while she teaches the older ones. Alhamdulillah this month so far has been full of fun challenges! First of all getting my kids up "early" and to her house by 9am. Wow can't beelive the wonders it has done for my scheduling! They wake up early and nap at 2pm when school stops and then stay awake til 8pm and then you guess it GO TO BED EARLY! YAY!! The sight of my children sleeping from 8pm til the morning nearly moved me to tears! It made me downright poetic! I've been trying for months to get them up early and sleeping early and IT NEVER WORKS!!!!! I 've KNOWN they've always needed somehting to encourage them to face the day, something to look forward to. Leaving the house and getting to play with their friends and did I mention leaving the house? has done the trick. They get so exhausted by 2 they crash and quite frankly as son as I get home so do I. I take a nap for a half hour to an hour and it's nice though. I really am enjoying it so much. It's amazing being able to work intimatly with the younger 5 in their various school levels. There certainly is soemthing to be said for small class sizes! They are even learning each others work. The eldest girl of my group was learning number placing (Hundres, thousands, millions, billions, trillions etc...) and her younger sister joined in the lesson. We went from number placing subject to the origions of words (like Latin) and the meaning of Million, Billion, Trillion and their root words Mi, Bi, Tri... etc... It was just fabulous fun.

What else am I doing? Well brace yourselves~!

Writing a Novel

YUP! A whole Novel... in one month!!! National Novel Writing Month NaNoWriMo is the challenge to write a 50,000 word novel by Nov. 30. So Despite my busyness in Hmeschooling and incorporating my new Home Cleaning Schedule and maintainging my Home Mangement Notebook, I've taken on a new book.
I've had the idea of a while now but never really fleshed it out! The title is " Forgotten "
It's going ok, I've gotten about 2,000 words so far which isn't too much liek my other friends have already 7,000 or so... I'm behind bu I'm happy at least I'm trying. At the end of the month I'll have more words than if I hadn't tried at all, know what I mean.....

So wish me well and make du'a I can do it all.

Recently Published!

2009-10-22T06:52:00.000+04:00

Proudly Presenting Brandy AZ Chase
Author, Designer, Poet, Artist

Recently published in two amazing Anthologies:
_______________________________________________

Poems: Woman’s Silent Tears, Pray On, Child’s Jannah

Many Poetic Voices, One Faith
Author: Islamic Writers Alliance
Pages: 118
Format: 6 x 9 paperback
ISBN: 978-0-9819770-0-3
Reading Levels: Teen & Adult
List Price: $8.95 USD 33DHS

Book Description
Many Poetic Voices, One Faith is your window into the world of Islam through poetry! Come on in and find out what’s waiting here for you inside the attractive cover designed by talented IWA member artist, Nazaahah Amin. The award winning poems written by Karen English, Marwa Elnaggar, Camilla Sayf, Corey Habbas, Julinar Diab, and additional poems written by 31 IWA member poets are enlightening, entertaining, and rich in a diversity of topics: from a point-by-point description of a soul mate to a sonnet-ode dedicated to a loving and missed mother; from vivid reminders and poetic verse awakening us all to the evils of domestic violence to heart-wrenching reminiscences of the plight of the Muslim convert; from beautiful English renditions of the traditional and ancient Arabic ghazal to the plight of eighteenth century slaves; from a thought-provoking rendition of life from birth to the grave and beyond; from a thoughtful insight into the significance of a single raindrop, to a very moving and heart-warming dedication of life from a long-gone friend. All this and much more is waiting for you when you read the poetry of our IWA poets’ many voices and their one faith, Islam. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Short Stories: Pirate’s Peace, Real Meaning of Ramadan
Artistic Designs: Arizona Leaves, Awaiting Jummah, Feather Destiny, Forgotten Youth, Salam Waterfall, White Glory

Many Voices, One Faith II
- Islamic Fiction Stories
Pages: 236
Format: 6 x 9 paperback
ISBN: 978-0-9819770-1-0
Reading Levels: Teen & Adult
List Price: $12.95 USD 48 DHS

Book Description
Today’s world is indeed a global village. The wonders of technology in communication and travel have cut through the distant miles which used to separate us from one another. Many Voices, One Faith II – Islamic Fiction Stories is a literary example of the small world we are all a part of, showcasing the talents of the Islamic Writers Alliance membership which reach around the globe in their respective residences and origins. From the cover design of one of the beautiful names of Allah, beautiful and original interior illustrations, and the unique story-telling talent of the authors, their original stories combine the diversity and flavor of their backgrounds. You will find almost every region of the world exemplified in these wonderful Islamic fiction stories which skillfully and creatively present the importance of Islam in our daily lives. Many Voices, One Faith II –Islamic Fiction Stories is an enjoyable, entertaining, and enlightening read for non-Muslims as well as Muslims. Many Voices, One Faith II –Islamic Fiction Stories is the ultimate in the variety of selections written by some of the best Islamic Fiction authors in today’s fiction book markets. Read. Enjoy. Benefit.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ordering:
USA: http://www.muslimwriterspublishing.com/
Intl: http://www.amazon.com/
UAE*: BrandyAZChase@gmail.com

--> UAE* Collecting Weekly for Bulk Shipping
Add ~$7 / ~20DHS Sh&H
Get your order in now to save on shipping

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The AUTHOR Islamic Writers Alliance (IWA) is United States (U.S.A.) based professional organization for Muslims involved in the literary arts -- published and aspiring authors, novelists, poets, essayists, publishers, editors, translators, illustrators, journalists, spoken word artists, bloggers, and playwrights.
The IWA's Goals:
1) To promote Alliance member's works to the public, both Muslim and non-Muslim, and to book distributors and retailers.
2) To support unpublished authors in their efforts to seek publication, and promote their works to Islamic publishers.
3) To promote reading and writing of creative Islamic fiction among Muslim children, the future authors of Islamic literature.
4) To make regular donations of quality Islamic books to Islamic schools and libraries.

______________________________________________

Thank you for supporting me,
~Brandy Aminah-Zahira Chase

http://www.brandyachase.blogspot.com/

_________________________________________________________________________

Confession: My Drug Addiction

2009-10-21T07:02:00.006+04:00

I am out of my mind with depression and misery and anxiety, waiting for that next hit. Trying to hold it off as long as possible. Yearning for that mad rush every time I take a bit. "I'm not a heavy user" I claim, yet there I go sneaking hits here and there. Sometimes I've gone a few days to a week without it... was I miserable? You betcha. Does my family realize the extent I go to get my drugs? Not at all. I hide it in different forms. I sneak it into the house under false pretenses. Sometime I even get my rush outside the house. Taking the kids out somewhere and I know they wont notice my purchase. They love their mother's sudden rush of energy and excitement.

I've been hooked on this drug for a long time and this past few weeks I've really had to come to terms with what it does to my body and mind. But naturally the more I realize what is wrong with me the more I crave my drug to ease the pain of stupidity. "Oh I'm a druggie eh? Well that's depressing, I need another hit."

But having found out my weakness has lead me at the same time to a solution to fixing it. It's sure as hell not gonna be easy. After all this drug is EVERYWHERE!!!! SERIOUSLY! You have to spend MORE time and money to AVOID it than it takes just to get it.

It's so common these days that they wrap it up in fancy packages and you can even have it served to you like royalty. Ahhhh, just typing about it is making me want some more NOW!

I'm sure you are wondering what is this drug I'm desperate to get everyday at least seven times a day. I will tell you. I don't fear Police Reprisal for my Confession but I do fear your mocking laughter. Promise me right now you're not gonna laugh at me. This is not some joke or prank I am pulling.

I am seriously addicted and you just might be surprised to know you might also be too......

I am addicted to Sugar. I have a sugar sensitivity to where my body craves it as deeply as any narcotic drug. If I don't get it I have wretched withdrawal symptoms. When I get a hit, I get a sugar high Ecstasy users would dream of. And I found out recently just how much it is ruining my life. Every time I get a bit of sugar my body becomes accustomed to the effects requiring me to need more and more over time until now it's come to the point large doses don't affect me and I have to seek out more high sugar content. A spoonful of pure Brown Sugar, or Honey, or sneaking in a juicy oozy Extra Large Kit Kat Bar with dribbly caramel. I save the KitKat for days when I'm super low. Or when I've saved up enough for my habit a large Iced Coffee with Mint Chocolate flavor with whip cream and caramel on top with a rich super chocolate cake. Arg, I'm drooling on my keyboard now and wishing I had the money to pop up to the Mall...

But there is hope for me and for you too if you are sugar sensitive and call yourself a "Sugar Addict" or "Chocoholic". My friend lent me the book "Potatoes NOT Prozac" and BOY OH BOY! did it open my eyes! This is one book recently I've been reading to battle my depression and to help overcome my mental meltdown I had a few weeks back. We'll discuss the other books I read and things I implemented later lets get back to the Potaters. So I reluctantly and dutifully copied all the info I'd need from the book into my own Food Journal. I've been lazy as all get out to do it properly everyday. But slowly I'm trying to ease the sugars down and be more aware of my body's responses to it. It has been helping.

Along with the other books I've been reading I feel more peaceful and better about life now alhamdulillah. Things are definitely turning around and all is not lost or hopeless. I appreciate your comments and concerns in the last post, it really helped me to know there are so many caring poeple out there.

Mental and Nervous Breakdown

2009-09-24T18:39:00.004+04:00

Gosh what a scary sounding thing to happen to someone.

And it is, scary.

SO I wont be posting for a while, not that I've been posting much lately anyways but now even less so...

See ya insha'Allah when things are brighter.

Blog Books

2009-09-16T07:30:00.002+04:00

WHOA can you already see this being a big market someday!
How awesome, I've always wanted some of my better posts in a book :D

Very cool tool for writers wanting publishing credentials, can get their words done up nicely and show editors or anyone.

*ahem*
I might sell mine for $40. Because it's not like they can get it on the internet for free.....
*ahem*

http://buzz.blogger.com/2009/09/turn-your-blog-into-book-with.html

Quality not Quantity

2009-09-16T05:39:00.003+04:00

Friends are something nearly everyone has to some degree. Some have acquaintances others have social circles they frequent others have deep best friend type relationships.

I've always had my small pack of close intelligent wonderful friends, not too many, not too few. Wherever I go it may take a few months but eventually I manage to make a close friend and then from there find a social circle.

This time around in UAE I found small social circles but couldn't really find that one true person I was absolutely close to. It's been a frustrating and lonely road for me to walk. Sometimes I'd go a week or two without seeing any other sisters or talking to them IN PERSON. Sure I always have my blog and you all out there saved me from madness at times but you know there is nothing like a good face to face.

Just before Ramadan this woman called me having found me on the Homeschooling network I'm in. We chatted and it was nice to talk to someone but I never figured she'd actually meet up with me and we'd get any hanging out time. She's a busy mother of seven kids after all. But I was pleasantly surprised to get her call the next day, and the next, and the next, and you guessed it, the next!

Eventually we did indeed meet up. Our families met and we all hit it off just fine masha'Allah. But I'm not just writing about this experience to say Yay I got a new friend, (well I might sneak one Yay in there....YAY!!!! ) but to let you know that ONE person can drastically change the quality of your life. For better or worse.

My soul is forever searching for the straight path and ways to stay on it and mostly with my social circles I get easily persuaded to their lifestyles. But when asking my new friend about the problems in my life she had not only new answers but Allah allowed THROUGH her for me to FIND answers. Sorry if confusing, let me backtrack.

I got the chance to spend the night at her house one evening. All day I could feel my soul changing, learning, accepting things. That night I still didn't have the answers to my greatest problem but I had hope I'd soon find it, somehow. I couldn't sleep and her house was quiet. I thought about reading Qur'an so I went to her bookcase and browsed the Titles searching for something inspiring. I found a little book, gosh, can't remember the title, but it's about the Love and worship of Allah. I eagerly settled onto her couch and lulled by the AC dripping water like my own personal waterfall I opened the book. Only a few pages in, my world was flipped upside down.

I realized the extent of what I was missing in my life and how to fix it. Shivers literally crawled over my entire body a few times as I took in a new way to appreciate Allah and Islam.

I stayed up all night reading that book cover to cover. I finished it at 3:30am and went to wake my friend for her Sahour since she wanted to continue her fastings before Ramadan and as she prepared things I told her about how this book had effected me. She offered for me to fast with her that day but I was still reluctant.

I had been DREADING Ramadan coming, not for the Fasting but for feeling the guilt of missing prayers during the Holy Ramadan. Then a few of her daughters filed in to eat and start their fasting too. Suddenly I was surrounded by righteous Muslimahs. The tender feeling of being part of the Muslim Ummah over took me and inspired me to fast with them that day. It was wonderful. But even better than spending the day with her family and getting to know them more was the effect they had on my life.

From that day on I haven't missed a single prayer.

Allah gave me a friend who gave me exactly what I needed, not only a close companion but a way for me to better myself for HIS sake. Instead of giving me quantity, He gave me Quality.

All I can say for that is Alhamdulillah and SubhanAllah.

Thank you Allah for giving me this wonderful friend who never fails to encourage me to better myself for Your Sake.

Thank you my Friend for giving me time in your busy life, may Allah reward you and grant all your du'as.

IT's WAR on Malaria Again....

2009-09-13T13:18:00.007+04:00

So last year I told you my husband and his brother got Malaria here in UAE where there wasn't supposed to be any LOCAL Malaria.

Cue 10 months later (ie, a few weeks ago) and my brother in law comes down with the same Malaria symptoms and sure enough his Malaria returned, not four days later my husband's symptoms started. Neither of them got bit again, there is a strain of Malaria called VIVAX, this one is a clever girl.

When the heat rises and the antibodies are running mad trying to stem the red blood cell slaughter she is wrecking, she bids a swift retreat into the Liver to wait 2-10 months before re-emerging to continue her conquest for total domination.

This can occur from 2-5 years over and over again needing swift treatment each time.

So that is the joy we battled at the begining of Ramadan where I said a fond goodbye to my blog for a time to consintrate on the family more and take care of poor Hubby.

Now he has finished his medications and today he took a blood test to see if there are any traces left in him. But The test can be a false hope. She could have retreated back to her Liver Lair to wait another year. We are making du'a that this Trojan Horse doesn't return.

But this has been reason #1 for my lack of blogging recently :)

5 months of work, Many Lessons

2009-09-05T16:24:00.004+04:00

As you all know I've been working from one project to another during the last five months in hopes to follow my dream and be an Author. God Willed for me to have success this year at last.

With the (IWA) Islamic Writers Association's Poetry and Islamic Short Story Contests back in April I was fueled to enter them. I worked all month on my Islamic Short Story titled Pirate's Peace. It was my first short story and my first Islamic Story. Completing it was an amazing experience in the writing process. I honed my skills in editing and re-writing and enjoying the look of a polished finished project. I took a deep breath and was about to submit my story when a fellow blogger and mentor and most of all a Friend, Sister Safiyyah from Shaalom 2 Salaam, introduced me to IWA. I became a member just in the nick of time to submit my story under the Membership Category.

I was thrilled, not only was my work being considered but it was now on a level of other famous Islamic Authors. Ahem, it was a tad intimidating too. But the IWA is a warm welcoming group and I'm so privileged to be a member of it.

They then announced in May they were going to make an Anthology and members were encouraged to submit more work in Poetry and Islamic Short Stories. I turned back to the drawing board and wrote two new poems, searching deep within for subjects that I love about Islam. Then I had to write two fresh stories. I began one called A Proud Portrait, but the characters needed extra time for development and a sounder plot than it would take to write in half a month, so I left it be for now realizing a better story later would be better than an unpolished one now. I worked meanwhile on another story called Real Meaning of Ramadan. I finished it and got it polished just in time for the deadline and happily sat back with a sigh having completed three poems and two short stories in two months.

I thought now, I can relax a little, work on some organizing in my house, you know the old spring cleaning everyone puts off for "tomorrow". When in June the IWA announced it wanted Artists to make interior illustrations for the Anthologies. Oh how I bit my lip, finger hovered over the button to reply. I was no professional artist. Sure my family liked my work but would I have the confidence and willpower to start and finish and professionally edit my own art work? Time kept ticking and I realized my chance to feature another of my talents was about to slip away and did as I usually do and jump in with both feet. I signed myself up to make 6, yes six, designs. The format was black and white which I had never done before except in sketching, but I loved the look of black and white designs.

I spent the next few weeks researching every aspect in how to achieve the clearest black and white drawings and then bought several different pens and markers to achieve the looks I wanted. Everything came together fluidly over the next three months. I used every available moment of spare time to complete them. With two small kids I'm sure many of you are laughing, what spare time? But sometimes it was one day, make one line, the next day have time for a quarter of the page, another day to finish it off, then following day would get me another two lines. But I learned a lot about pacing myself and when to put in that extra push for time. Some days I'd discourage and would think I couldn't do SIX! IN TIME! But I'd remember how good it felt finishing off my first Short Story.

Every drawing of the six was so uniquely different with a different artistic talent to master; the flow of clothing, the minute details, the geometric angles I hadn't made since 10th grade geometry class. It was amazing the techniques I found I could do.

Now I submitted my last design in August and took a really deep breath. I had indeed done it. It had taken five months of work but well worth it for what I learned about myself and my talents.

I especially realized unlike many artists I am NOT into painting as much as I am into drawing with marker or crayon. I like making those bold black lines. My next idea as an artist is to try Stained Glass designs with first bold colors per pane then perhaps textured or mixed colors per pane. I want to experiment with my oil pastels as they were my favorite long ago. Also perhaps a nice set of markers or colored pencils would do for the interior colors. We will see what the coming year brings for me.

But I do give myself permission to think differently and be different than what people box and label others with. We all have inner talents and we should strive to hon them not to blindly copy what the rest of the world does. My flair with a paint brush is okay but not brilliant, so there is no reason I should force myself to use that medium in my future art.

Lessons well learned by time and devoted energy.

So stay tuned for my announcements of when the two Anthologies will be published and I will officially be an Author and an Artist.

Awesome Al-Ain Moving Sale

2009-08-08T23:12:00.003+04:00

Quick Note:

My wonderful friend is in her last weeks (insha'Allah) of Pregnancy as is in the middle of moving her family to KSA next month. They are trying to sell their furniture before moving. She has set up an awesome blog for the things for sale in her home. An online catalog style.

So if you are in UAE and in need of some good condition, wholesome furniture click: Al-Ain Moving Sale.

If you are interested in anything you can e-mail them at alainmovingsale@gmail.com

Please run, don't walk!

Hurry and beat the crowds!

They ARE moving soon!
oh, and have fun!

Sorry I've already snagged these awesome pieces of furniture!

Cute Toddler Bed !!!!!

Bookshelf!!! Yay finally I can have a high place for my glassware!

And a few more items I have my eye on!

*ahem* well, close friends did get first pick! *wink wink*

But there is plenty more!

5 Pillars...begining basics

2009-08-03T11:21:00.003+04:00

Salam everyone.

First up congrats to YASEMIN/LISA from A Journey EASTWARD to Tartary... who just got back from Disneyland and said Shahada again. Alhamdulillah.

Which got me thinking. Everyone has their strength and weaknesses when entering Islam.

Of the 5 Pillars

(Belief/Shahada)

(Prayers)

(Fasting)

(Charity/Zakat)

(Hajj/Pilgramage)

we each have some or one pillar we excel at. Then we have others we really have trouble with.

________________________________

For me, my belief is strong. Alhamdulillah NO swerving or misgivings.

Prayers are the hardest for me. I love praying but have difficulty remembering some of them and making the ones I missed up in a timely manner. This is my personal Jihad I will have all my life to do my prayers ON TIME.

Fasting I thought would be the hardest for me as I love food YUMMY! but it turned out to be the easy for me. I know many others that this is their hardest Pillar and my heart goes out to them.

Charity/Zakat is really what brought me to Islam and is my best Pillar. If I have one dollar I will give you half. If I have half dollar I will give you a quarter. If I have 500 dollars I will give you 450. Alhamdulillah my faith is strong that money is not something we need to hold onto. Allah will send it to you and take it from you but there will always be a flow. Why not do your part and add tot he flow. It feels so good to give to other people too. And those chances when I get in return I feel so blessed.

My friend just left from UAE back to USA and masha'Allah gave me a lot of her stuff and subhanAllah just the things I needed most in my life. Those things I didn't need I have resolved to pass them right along to someone else to feel blessed. I'm currently clearing my house down again to give away to charity. I love the free flow of charity between many people. Always remember, we only have one life, why not spread things around.

Hajj Pillar is one that means a lot to many people and many people can't afford it. I cannot but can't wait to be able to as it's just right next door to me right now in UAE. I look forward to doing this Pillar and look forward to the difficulties I will face. BRING IT ON! I want to touch the Kabba. I want to pray with it in my face. I have the feeling my prayers Pillar will be strengthened with Hajj. Insha'Allah. I know intentions are a strong thing and I believe if you intend something strong enough it will happen eventually or you will be rewarded later for it. My intention for moving to UAE is to save up for Hajj. So far my Hajj fund is at 0..... but it will come. I know it. I'm looking forward to the day my whole family can do it together. I know for some though this will be their biggest Pillar to face. The journey, the walking, the rituals involved...etc. I make du'a for those of you who are struggling with this one.

Sometimes we loose sight of these 5 pillars. We forget their importance or need. We get a little lost. Sometimes returning to them helps to refocus our hearts.

What are your ups and downs in the 5 Pillars?

Hijabi Hair: Going under THERE...

2009-07-28T17:20:00.000+04:00

Those who don't wear hijab, those that are men and wonder, and those who do wear it and can sympathise, here is a post for you. What is going on with women's Hair under the hijab?

I have been wearing hijab for 8 years now alhamdulillah and have been in many kinds of places of differing weather conditions.

Before I start though remember this disclaimer:

I have different hair than many women, I have limited funds to do nice stuff with my hair at a Salon, I am personally against myself going to a Salon for something I CAN do in my house (again, I'm not against others going to Salons, just myself, yes I have ISSUES)but I will go for something I CANT do, and as I have children my needs may not reflect many other women.

*sigh* ok glad I got that part off my chest.

Now I have been super bored out of my mind for ages now with my hair.

I have done coloring, perms, crazy cuts over the years but nothing catches my interest for very long and it all begins and ends with one very important thing. The hijab AKA Veil of Modesty.

Disclaimer #2: I love my hijab, never will take it off, and my rant on hair has nothing to do with my belief that hijab is Fard, and is beneficial for all Women, Muslim or not.

Lets be honest: it totally messes up your hair! Lets start with the basics eh? When placing your hijab on you MUST do something with your hair. You have two options: up or down.

Let's go with down first. Either you leave it hanging down your back or you braid/plait it and let it hang. Depending on the length of your hijab and your hair either it can remain outside your abaya or under it. If the weather is HOT it will stick to your neck and back and create a rivulet of sweat trailing from your hair line down your spine to your bottom. If the weather is cold it might feel nice and keep your neck warm. Either way though when you take off your hijab it will be a frizzy mess unless you use a hair product against frizz. Along with helmets and hats, the hijab too will cause your hair to do amazing things that will most likely NOT flatter your features. Future spouses of hijabis be warned, give her a few minutes to make it look nice okay. Don't think this glamorous wave of hair will tumble down for you to run your hands through.....you'll catch your fingers in lots of knots and create more tangles.

So if you want to prevent tangles there is the other option of putting it up.

Now here is a great debate on how to put it up. You can use a claw clip to flip it up off your neck. You can braid it and fix it up somehow with clips or ties. Or you can do as most women do since the beginning of the Human Race, pull it up in a bun. Buns though come in dozens of styles. Some do a simple one, some to a wavy one, some do a floppy one. Some use special clips or ties, some even use flowers or clips that give the hijab a bump or puffy look in the back. For an explanation fatwa and discussion on the bump I refer you to Aalia's Chasing Jannah.

As this is my personal rant though I will tell you my personal style. I collect my hair back as if I'm making a pony tail then begin to spin it around tightly clockwise until I have a thin line of twisted hair then it naturally twists on itself and I wrap that twist around its self clockwise until I have a a swirly bun. I then secure it with a single medium sized scrunchy directly on the back of my head. Not on the nape of my neck and not up higher on the crown area. This keeps the hijab material away from my neck and doesn't look silly or make me hot.

The thing about me though is I wear my hair pretty much 24/7 like this. I have two young kids and the thought of them pulling my hair is enough to make me want to rip my hair out. ;) So I HAVE to keep it up. My hair being pulled or my hijab being tugged on is like nails on a chalkboard to me. So I always feel like a cliche librarian. Very dowdy and boring.

Even though the style is HARAM and I HATE it, you have to admit these Emirati girls with their bangs hanging out of their hijabs have interesting hair even when it is piled up in a bun or clip. So many different style you can do with bangs. Even when your hair is up 24/7 like mine you still got hair flipping about your face looking awesome and fashionable. I was determined to have bangs. So I informed my husband and he had his reservations about the idea of me chopping up my hair (again). I carefully combed my front hair around in different ways until I figured a style I wanted. *Snip Snip* Voila now I have bangs. YAY! Now yes, even with my hair severely tied back out of my way, I too can look fab.

Or so I thought until I left to the Mall last night and tried to squish them back into place under my hijab. Let me tell you about my hijab first. I wear an under cap of cotton that keeps my hair from slipping out and in hot weather soaks up any sweat that dares try to drip down my neck. Gross detail but true. Over that I wear a variety of regular hijab that cover properly. Well last night my bangs were refusing to be pushed back and kept trying to peep out and check out the world. I had to continuously push them back into place but they were sticking up funny under the hijab material and itching like crazy. I was miserable. I had to escape to the bathroom finally with my kids in tow to fix it all. I flattened them straight to the sides with a good quantity of water before tugging my cap back on and adding the top hijab. Seemed to work better.

When I fianlly got back home though, you guessed it I took my hijab off and it stood up on end like Edward Scissorhands was my stylist. I quickly scraped it down with my fingers until it looked decent. But I sighed frustrated. I wish I had glam hair like other sisters I see in their homes. Somehow, even though they have to stuff it up under hijab they still manage to look fab at home. I look like a cliche librarian with fab bangs, therefore I must have moved up the scale to McDonalds worker. You know how they look, buns and bangs....with a nifty McD's Visor.

So I come to you all for suggestions. How can you make your hair fab yet manageable even though you wear hijab? And not have it down for kids to grab and mangle. Is there a better, more glam , more fun way to put my hair up under the hijab and still let it be awesome when i take hijab off?

Do you have a trick or are you bored out of your mind too?

Some days I'd love to do what many women do and just get a pixie cut or cut it shorter then shoulder length. But I've had those styles before and they didn't ward off the boredom they were just easier to manage. I like my hair length and I want to keep it but I just want it to look awesome for once in my life. The only time I liked it was when i went to a wedding and had it perfect but then I had to wear a special protection around my hair so the hijab wouldn't mess it up and it made it look silly.

So again to clarify I want a look that does well without hijab on in the house, and a look for under the hijab so when I take it off it doesn't look aweful. Any ideas? Any bad hair stories? Any hair rants?

My Dedicated Followers

2009-07-25T12:34:00.002+04:00

Masha'Allah, Masha'Allah, Masha'Allah
FINALLY after waiting years and eyeing my friend's follower lists muahahaha not with evil eyes just with "WOW Cool look at your numbers!"
I have passed 100 Followers mark. That means I need to get my butt in gear and get back to writing those quirky posts y'all love. ;)

I'm looking at that sidebar to the right and seeing the number of posts I've made each month... lol can you see in March that was my biggest posting. Then with the IWA STORY and POETRY contest in April I started slacking off, then in May when I was sooo busy trying to make more poetry and stories I was totally MIA!!!
Finally finisheing those projects and working on the art now I've been starting to re-coup my posting numbers lol.
Still haven't had time to get around to all these new bloggers and keep adding poeple to ALL MUSLIMAH, but still it's getting there!
I'm on the 3rd artwork out of six right now, I finished all the rough drafts of them now I have to go back and clean them up lots. BUt they are turning out just awesome really. I'm sooo happy. I KNOW you all are just drooling now to buy the books when they come out eh? BUt all that juicy info will have to wait for later.....LOL really I'm just excited as you are but Sabr, Patience my friends.
Well I'm off today to a going away party for a friend of mine who's leaving UAE for good :( Gotta get my kids and house ready and all that good stuff so just wanted to pop in for an update. You know now that I have so many of you out there who are Striving Hard just like me.

So Yay for me hitting the 100 mark and Yay for you for inspiring me to keep going on and on with blogging :D