I Miss Blogging!

Peeking from this narrow window to check if this world still exists.  Here, where life is less complicated and less crowded than other virtual societies. 

That’s all for now

I wish for a return

Admission

 I have an irrational phobia of geckos and I really really want to overcome it

That's all for now,

Wish me luck

Planting New Flowers - Hyacinthus

That's all for now

The Tulip Expert In Me

Need I give any further explanation?

That's all for now

Two Roses For You

Well, the second rose is still small in this photo and there's a third one but I it was too hight and I couldn't capture it. Gardening is becoming a real hobby for me. Khalid got me fancy gardening tools and he always brings me the minerals and the materials I need but he's not interested at all. He just enjoys watching me developing and enjoying my gardening skills

Recently, I noticed KJ jr is interested in gardening but I'm not letting him practice it as he should. I'm always concerned that his hands or clothes might get dirty. I'm becoming a dull mother :/

That's all for now. Have a beautiful blooming spring 

Hello Spring

Now is the right time for picnics. 

Now is the right time to run and jump in the park. 

Now is the perfect time for gardening.

Now is all that matters and let your worries disappear

All you need is a walk. 

All you need is to look at your blessings and be thankful

That's all for now and pray for more :)

Note To Self

It's never too late...

Never too late to start taking over your life

Never too late to to start a new hobby 

Never to late to stop something bugging you

Never too late to stop wasting time 

And above all... Now is all that matters 

Hello Out there

Wow. It's been about a year and a half since I wrote here. Life is such a crazy thing. I once called myself and intrudiced myself to you as a "simple girl". Now a wife, a mother of two wonderful little boys, still simple but my life is way too far from being simple. 

I just need a moment to grasp this exact overwhelming moment. 

Life, school, family, my own books and readings, arts and galleries and making my art... As if I wasn't busy enough already, now I wish I have more days in the week and more hours in the day (and night)

I miss writing and socializing. I miss my old life. But yet I'm not sorry not a single moment for where I've reached so far. I wouldn't change a thing about it. 

That's all for now

Good night world

Bishr is Here

Out of words and full of excitement, I want to announce that our second son Bishr has arrived to this world. 

A Rose For You

Oh, I just can't believe it! Almost a year! I don't want this blog to die. Not the idea of losing readers but the idea of keeping track of the stages of my life. This blog has been a really nice place where I was able to convey my thoughts and communicate with others.

Anyways, I hated the look of the shoes so I decided to post the first flower from our garden. We are so happy that we MOVED. It's been ten months now. We left the fourth floor and the beautiful view where you can see all of Amman and moved to a ground floor where we have a backyard and it worths it. We ate apricot, lemon and green cherries. We are waiting for grapes. I started gardening and I have plenty of plants. still trying and doing my best and experimenting the type of soil and what atmosphere certain plants prefer.

So, Karam graduated last week from his class. Ironically he will have to redo the class next year because officially he should be three years old to be in kindergarten. And he will in 20 days inshallah. My big baby boy is almost three now and my second baby boy is jumping inside of my belly as I am writing these words.

Oh, and a major change happened during the previous month. I rented a ceramic studio and started working and held a winter art camp for young girls. It went really nicely but closed it last week be prepared for the next baby. During this period I met people who can help me to go on with my ceramic career and I gallery owner visited my and loved my work and she wants me to display them at her gallery. Still working on that. and I also made over 30 ceramic artworks to prepare for a coming exhibition inshaAllah.

This is just an update, hopefully I will try to write at least monthly
That's all for now, see later

If You Lose Something...

It is one of KJ Jr's favorite games. Hide and seek but with stuff. He hides things without us knowing and when we need them thing we are doomed. This is where he hid the meter. We really need it since we're still organizing the house. Wish us luck to find other lost stuff that we don't even know they are lost even!

That's all for now

Greetings to all :)

I'm using Twitpic

Check the gadget on the right for extra photos  

Coming to Life

Hello? Anybody here? It seems so calm in here.

humph

It's been a really long while now. I miss blogging I miss sharing. I miss the sense of blogging and blogsphere. You know what? Facebook is taking over blogs and a busy life too.

Lots of stories and lots of things going on, and as usual, promises to share all over three thousands photos that I've taken during my absence which end up sitting my my external memory to disappear from my actual memory.

Recently we moved to a new flat. we sacrificed the city view for a backyard :D
KJ jr is enjoying it. We have TREES and visiting cats and birds and plenty of butterflies. KJ Jr is going to kindergarten. It's too early but he is doing great. I checked the nurseries and didn't like them since he seems much advanced than kids in his age. He knows the alphabet (English and Arabic) and numbers (both languages too), shapes and we're still struggling with colours. one day he knows them all the second he is insisting everything is green or red :\

We are still furnishing. everything is almost done except the living-room. and two curtains to go. I have so many plans for wall decors and Jr's room. It's been two months since we moved but Jr started school only two weeks back. So I wasn't free to organize everything. The kitchen seems settled somehow. Our bedroom too. This is our entrance. hopefully sharing photos with you will get motivated to finish earlier.
That's all for now have a good day

The Laundry Show

My baby Karam still thinks the most amazing show is still the washing machine. He can watch load after load and still be amused like it's the first time he sees it!

KJ Jr is taking over my life

So. I just discovered that I you close the Blogger app on iPhone you lose the post you just wrote and will spend the next minute writing the previous line. Humph

This is a simple update so bare with the boredom.

Keeping a dairy is not one of my activities anymore. Recently, I find it hard to find time to myself. My baby has become a toddler and I'm running after him most of the time.

His favorite food is peas. He picks them with his tiny fingers and eat them. He likes to drink water a lot which he calls "may may". And he is in love with yogurt drink.

Potty training proofed to be easier so far, therefor, I'm so alert for the keyword "iffee". The song "if you happy and you know it clap your hands" made me rush him to the bathroom twice sine he sings it as "iffee iffee..."

his favorite place is the baloney. He can play there for hours. He likes reading books even though he chews on than he reads them. He likes water and bathing is a fun activity we do every night as part of his bedtime routine. He likes fruits and drinks lots o water, "may may" as he calls it. He loves peas and picks them with his tiny fingers in a very cute way.

The most beautiful word he pronounce is "papa".

That's all for now
I hope I won't be long

Confused!

Recently, I've been confused whether to share a certain tweet or facebook status updates on my "original name" account or the blog account.

When creating the blog, I made it with my nickname out of shyness, out of fear of being discovered and at the same time in order to speak up my mind. I was still new to the blogsphere. Years passed and I made friends through the blog and met many blogger, and actually got married to a blogger. Now I'm having this conflict whether to share this thought on my attawie account of facebook or twitter. I have friends here and there even though I'm the same person. Should I merge the accounts?

And... I'm Alive

Wow... It's been over six months since I posted something here. I did not meant to be that long but a lot has happened during the past months. Besides taking care of Baby Karam, we moved out for my in-laws family house and now we're living in the flat next door. It's a big flat with two amazing balconies and and even more amazing view.

To tell you the truth, we're still working on organizing and improving the flat and there's a little progress since KJ is taking evening classes and KJ Jr. is becoming a very demanding baby.

All in all, we're doing great, alhamdulillah.

So, KJ and upgraded our phones to smart ones and we're still discovering the luxury of these gadgets.

Lately, we decided to be more conscious about what we eat and we're sticking to healthy diets.

KJ Jr is still not crawling but he stands with the help of a hand or a table. I guess next step could be walking and we're going to have to baby proof our house. He starting eating almost everything except fish, honey, nuts, and egg whites. he finishes a banana in a snack and likes to be fed by hand :S

My mom visited me in February. She came from Canada and stayed for a couple of days and then had to leave to Baghdad to spend ten days there to empty our house. It was sold. I'm sad about that but there's nothing to do about it. Then she came back and spent a couple of weeks with us. She had her last cigarette and I'm really proud of her.

Recently, I've been going through Karam's photos and see the changes he's going through. Arranging his photos according to his age (months) it is easier to trace these changes. This is the first photo I took for him in the hospital when he was only eight hours old.

And this is last week's photo, he's nine months and two weeks old. You can see this teeth showing in this photo. The fifth tooth started showing only yesterday :D

Oh, and it snowed twice this year. The first didn't last for a long while and the snow melted the same day but the second time it snowed for over three days and we stayed home for almost a week and this is the snow angel I made :D

oh oh and we went to many road trips and I have about a thousand picture that I took. Yes, i'll have to share later inshaAllah.

That's all for now and I'll try to update you more often

Busy with Motherhood

OMG!

Feels like I've been sleeping in a cave for about a century. New layout and I'm clueless.

Well, it's time for an update and I'm not sure if I have the time to write a real post.

Lately, I've been busy with Karam. I guess I'm busy being a mother. He is such a good boy. At times I think he's more organized than me and well-arranged as well. He knows when he's hungry and when he's sleepy. He knows when he wants to play and when to funny. Except for his loud laughter around midnight when he insists to play and that he's not sleepy.

Karam is a happy calm baby. The simplest thing can make him laugh. He only gets really upset when he's sleepy. I've never seen someone who wrestles sleep and won't give in. As if he is too excited to sleep or has an important task to do or an exciting event that he doesn't want to miss. He would tighten his fists and start boxing in the air. The moment I carry him, he closes his eyes and wants me to walk for a while - sometime a long while - until sleeps. If he's not completely asleep he would be annoyed when put in bed. So I have to take another round.

When he's hungry he not that angry unless it's been over half an hour passed his meal. When he's asleep and gets hungry he would give the cutest noises and would smack his lips. He would nurse while still asleep.

Only recently he started to hold toys and rattles or anything that he can put hands on. They would go straight to his mouth to be blessed with his saliva. It seems that our next milestone will be teething and I'm freaking out already.

Today, Baby Karam will be three months and three weeks old. This is last month's photo.
In case you didn't get it. I'm trying to create a scene and the dark green thing on the left is a tree and Karam is the friendly Bear in the middle.

That's all for now
Talk to you later

My Amazing Year Update :)

Five weeks back my atelier's equipment arrived to Jordan. But with  that arrival, another long awaited gift arrived; our new addition to the family; Karam.

Nine months back when KJ and I were on a trip in south Saudi Arabia we discovered we were pregnant. I don't want to talk about pregnancy and the morning sickness which turned out to be all time sickness. And don't want to talk about the aches and changes I went through, nor the miserable two days labor I went through, nor the delivery. I want to talk about this blood-stained creepy creature that came out of me whom I was longing to hold before I met him and fell in love with since the very moment he laid his head on my shoulder in the delivery room and I saw the dark blue eyes.

The other day I told KJ that if anyone thinks women wait for their babies for nine months then they are wrong. Women wait for their babies since the very doll they played with.

When I look into Karam's eyes with his hands clutching to my finger thinking of how helpless he is and depending  on me totally. This idea freaks the hell out of me. Who am I to be someone to depend on in everything? Now that my world revolve around him, I feel I am the one who's depending on him. My timing, my activities, and my everything,when to shower, when to eat, all about him.

The feeling that half of this baby is me and he was growing inside of me is so unexplained.

Yesterday, we celebrated my sweet little boy becoming one month old. Tomorrow we're celebrating KJ's and I first anniversary It's unbelievable how one's life can change within a year. I got married, lived in three different countries, went to more than 6 different cities, gave birth, and experienced many firsts. I guess that's life and that's why I'm still the simple girl with complicated thoughts and have lots of things to learn.

That's all for now
Can't wait to live the rest

An Idea to Remember & A Great Jell-O Recipe

It's been a long time since I wrote a real update. A lot of changes took place lately and a lot will change soon. I had a tiring mission that kept me busy for the last couple of months (which will write about later). So I'll just start from today and will try to make up for the missing pages in this blog.

While I was checking creative recipes for jelly sweets I came across this amazing very simple recipe on justJENN recipies blog

I'm still not sure from where to get unflavored gelatin. I'll have to put condensed milk on the next shopping list.

I've been lazy lately and was postponing baking the chocolate cake KJ was craving.




When I was checking the recipe blog I found this cute stickers for kids' sandwiches to remind them to attend certain classes or to remember certain things. I thought now we need the same stickers with the signature "Love, Wife" so husbands won't get forgetful. To tell you the truth, all the shopping lists I prepare for KJ I get on the same day if not within an hour. On the contrary, he adds more to the shopping list and I end up with "Did I ordered 3 different chocolate bars?" or "Do we need four types of juice?" and the list gets longer O_O




Maybe I should stick papers in his pocket saying "Stick to the shopping list. Love-wife"

That's all for now
and I'll keep posting from my drafts until I have time to write an update
Written on 27/12/2010

Shaun The Sheep is Haunting My Blog!

So, whenever I check my blog by clicking a link of the comments notifications I hear a tune. I love the tune but I spent a while trying to figure out from where the sound is coming. I keep clicking here and there and closing all other tabs on Google Chrome in case the tune was coming from another tab and no use. But the moment I close the tab of my blog the tune disappears.

Lately I've been watching Shaun the Sheep. and some clips from Timmy Time. I did pass the infection-of-watching- this-cute-sheep to KJ and we do both hum the tune. But my blog?

Checking it several times with no link or a button for an audio clip I give up and forget about it. But today I did check the blog and it WAS there AGAIN. I asked KJ "do you hear it?" He said "Shaun the Sheep?" I replied "So it's not just in my head!"

I'm enjoying it even though it doesn't suite the seriousness of the previous posts but it might suite my coming posts (a secret is hidden here). Until I discover from where the tune is coming from, I guess Shaun will remain haunting my blog!

Meditating on Iraq's Current Situation: Seeking Solution

During an interview that lasted for an our on  State TV last Saturday, al-Maliki "questioned if those who want him to go would prefer Iraq to return to the days of dictatorship"!

"Those who call for regime change are limited in number; they are weak and voices of discord,"

I want to enlighten Mr. Prime President and tell him that the numbers of people who participated in the protest were over a million in Iraq, just in case his men were not able to count, as I doubt they CAN count.

"What do they want?" he asked, giving a list of references to deposed ruler Saddam Hussein: "Do they want the return of a dictatorship? Or the Revolutionary Command Council? Or a regime that marginalizes groups?"

So! Now those who ask for change and for a better life, better public services are asking for the return of dictatorship? The only best next option is to go back to dictatorship? Is that the new Iraq?


Iraqi's voices were shouting all over Iraq for the last months:

"Liar, liar, Noori al-Maliki is a liar"

Since there is an increase in exported crude oil (as announced by Laibi) then there must be higher returns. By selling 2,202 barrel per day, Iraq achieved the highest sales return in January that reached 6,082 Billion US Dollars.

"It is said that oil constitutes 94 percent of the country's revenues."

Then if we do the math we arrive to the fact that Iraq is one of the richest countries but its citizens living a poor life.


Agriculture Situation in Iraq
Iraq is know as "Mesopotamia". What does that mean? It simply means "the land between the two rivers". Why is this term important for Iraq? Because the entire point of establishing the ancient civilizations in Iraq was to be built next to the river. Water is important for establishing these civilizations because it's an essential element for agriculture, as well as transportation.

After the war, there are many researches proves that the water has been polluted but that's not the one and only reason for the deterioration of agriculture in Iraq. It seems there's a big plan to restrict the development of agriculture and preventing it to provide Iraq with the needed products let alone the income generated by agriculture.

Farmers abandon their farms because of restrictions set by the Ministry of Agriculture. Knowing these restrictions make it impossible for small and medium farms to survive. Here's a link that would explain this part of the problem as stated by farmers.

Yet, we face a bigger problem than high expenses of irrigation, marketing and polluted lands and water. It's a serious issue that was imposed by Paul Bremer, the American governor assigned after the invasion of Iraq. Jermey Smith, a researcher, director and editor of the Ecologist wrote a lengthy research about agriculture in Iraq. I couldn't find the original text but here's a link to what I found regarding his research.

In this paper, it is clear that the invasion created a new market for the seeds mentions in the research which makes it impossible for farmers to use the previous year harvest. That in itself a serious issue for farmers who has been used to following their own techniques of farming.

Industrial Situation in Iraq
For decades, Iraq was able to provide certain products for the entire population of Iraq and even export the surplus. The industrial sector in Iraq had the basic needed structure to flourish. Oil? check. Water? check. Labor? check. Along with many other elements that set the floor for an industrial country.


Unfortunately, the invasion has its impact on this sector too. From the very first day of the invasion, smart missiles found their way to target Iraq's infrastructure and any essential facility to destroy Iraq. Reading the article Deterioration of the industry after the occupation and its impact on the working class and the Iraqi society made it even harder for me to put my hands on a simple solution for Iraq's situation.


Lack of Security
Lack of security continues to enchain Iraqi people. This led to a huge number of Iraqis to decide leaving the country, their neighborhoods or their cities; as well as taking the option of staying home. The government, hand in hand with the collation forces, created the fake image that because of the lack of security the government cannot achieve it's goals and that the troops are needed to "keep the safety of Iraqis".


The security issue is real, but not for the right reasons. It is unsafe because of the militias of certain political parties or figures. In addition to the thugs who came up to the surface serving certain agendas. As well as the empowerment of ill-willed and criminals as a result of the absent of a true security forces.


Unemployment
All the previous issues led to high percentage of unemployment among Iraq citizens. But the most essential point regarding this problem was created by the first decision made by the collation authority regarding resolving the army and the security forces and many of ministries and other governmental institutions. This act laid off hundreds of thousands or maybe millions of workers. Another reason was the new economic orientation of the occupation and the governments created under its umbrella which aims to privatize all governmental economic projects.


Results for my research about unemployment in Iraq were varying between 40-60 %. Whatever the right percentage is, it is such a shame to have qualified experts or new graduates unemployed and suffering from poverty.


Shortage of Experts and Qualified People
It was ether because of the security issue or the threats by thugs and the new empowered criminals, Experts and people of great brains opt to leave the country in order to keep their families safe. Since it's hard to find qualified people who deserve to be in the right place when needed at the right time, we are left in the hands of a gang that call itself "A government".


For all the facts above, this year, i'm not writing a poem. i'm not writing a post lamenting what we lost because of this invasion and what we suffer under occupation. Instead, I want to face the reality and think of ways to improve the current situation.


I've always believed that if we want to make a difference then we should start with ourselves. But regarding the issue of Iraq it's not just me. I do need to collaborate with other as one person cannot do all the needed changes. What makes it hard for me to make a change is a bigger picture. Every day this picture get even clearer. America did not invade Iraq aiming the disposition of Saddam or "the so-called WMD" only. It is crystal clear that their true purpose was to control oil as well as create a new marketplace to support their investments.


Therefore, we need everybody to take a serious action from their own place to end this occupation and find the right people to take our beloved Iraq to the safety shore.


That's all for now...
But we should follow words by action.

Still Tuned to Iraq News

I wonder why would the demonstration in north of Iraq is in the news and the rest of Iraq is not. Could it be that Maliki's hands could not reach to the reporters in the North?


Here's the piece of news about Sulaimanaiya

Photo: AFP – Iraqi Kurdish anti-government protesters march in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah on February

Update on Iraq's Situation These Days

Since the news are raining over our head from alBaghdadia news channel with no other source of news in Arabic OR English, I decided to spread their words and do further broadcasting to reach more people.

Two Fridays came and people in the Arab world and the rest of the world are clueless regarding what's going on. I don't know what happened to the media regarding Iraq. I know what's going on in Libya is something big but that doesn't mean to overlook other parts of the world.

Therefore, here's the link of al Baghdadia translated by Google Translate. And here are some of the headings:

• Thousands of demonstrators protest in Tahrir Square, and the security forces usedforce to disperse them
• Thousands demonstrate in Basra and Dhi Qar, and  security forces attacking protesters by beating journalists in Basra
• The people of Hillah, Diwaniyah, Maysan and Muthanna are demonstrating to demand the dismissal of the government and improve services
• The people of Diyala, Anbar, Dujail, Salah al-Din and Ninewa demonstrating against corruption and unemployment

You can find more on albaghdadia facebook page and the youtube chanel for videos uploaded by them and by eyewitnesses.

That's all for now but...
There's much going on in Iraq

Rising Iraq

For over couple of weeks I felt jealousy and had a kind of enviness in my heart. Seeing Tunis trying to change reality and the deposition of their president made me dream. Watching news about Egypt and how the people believed in themselves and their faith that they can obtain their demand gave me faith.

My jealousy and envy, my dreams and faith were all clashing within me, raising the question "why?". Jealousy ruled my head for seeing people revolting against corrupted government. Envious fed my thought, wanting what we couldn't get. By that I mean honor. I dreamed of revolting Iraq to get rid of the occupation, to get rid of the corrupted government. The result of Tunis and Egypt made me have faith in the people again.

When I received forwarded emails written by Youth of February 25th, Iraqi writers and intellectuals, and Shalash the Iraqi's articles, alone with many messages, groups and links circulated via different social networks. All these letters encouraging the Iraqi people to rise and stand for their rights. All these letters set a list of demands. They all confirmed that they do not belong to a certain political party a group, or a region  and that they are all united by being Iraqis.

With unspoken anticipation I waited for Friday 25th.

The previous night I kept dreaming, thinking and praying for the best. I never imagined the government would do a single thing to harm the protesters. The worst scenario in my head was that the government would play the role of the democratic pro-people state and that they would support them but at the same time they would assign certain militias or gangster to harm the protesters or implement explosions here and there.

The Maliki did announce that it's not safe for protesters to go out in the streets since there will be "intruders" who would sabotage or harm the protesters.

But to my surprise, Friday came. the Army and security forces were hitting the protesters, using tear gas, in addition to live bullets, while helicopters flying low above people's head!

Is that all the democracy we have?!

I'm still full of hope that there will be more demonstration tomorrow and I'll pray for a better Iraq, a safer Iraq, and most definitely a peaceful Iraq.

An Iraqi Student

I have to break the silence and ask you to stand for a moment to greet this Iraqi Student.

It's not just that he is working to support his family but he is still a student and investing his time in doing his homework. A salute to such insisting dedication.

P.S.1 I found this photo in a friend's profile on Facebook and I don't know if she took it or a licensed photographer.

P.S.2 I will come back for a real post shortly.
That's all for now
God bless Iraq

I'm Back... Hopefully

What a journey it has been for the last six months. I got married, I flied to Amman, spent Eid with my family in Dubai, then flied to Jeddah to be with my husband, flied again to Amman, spent almost a month without KJ to be reunited and settle down in Jordan.

We took this brave decision and decided to forget about KSA, hopefully for our best.

Back to blogging! I miss it. I miss talking to the keyboard and the monitor. I miss putting my thoughts and sharing with friends I've made through blogging. I miss hearing feedback and others points of view.

I've been here in Amman for the last 45 days. I'm still not totally settled. Many days was spent to sort and put aside the summer clothes which made me discover that both of us, KJ and I, don't have much of heavy clothes for winter. Being in UAE for the last five years, I forgot what winter is. KJ has been in Jeddah for almost two years. *Takes a pause. Looks at the lines she wrote and telling herself: what a boring post this gonna be*

humph

News. You must be asking for my updates. Well lots of things took place for the last six months and I'm gonna be a bit selfish now. But I have a lot to share about being in KSA and a lot about being in Amman.

Last week my eldest sister and niece came to visit from UAE. It happened that they decided to leave Amman and settle down in UAE when KJ and I set the date of our wedding and decided to move to Jeddah. It was great to see baby Lyann taking her first steps. Whenever we chat and they update me about her I feel i'm missing a lot. I was praying that I get to be the first to see her walk. Thanks God my prayers were answered :D

My mum and Sana are coming to visit next Thursday. I can't wait to see them. I have lots of relatives here but still have to do a round of visits.

The internet connection is good here and next time I use "I didn't have a connection" as an excuse for not posting, call me a liar. I do have time and lots of stories.

I miss my atelier. I miss playing with clay. I miss being creative. Now that we're sure we're settling in Amman, we're discussing and planning shipping the equipments from UAE. Still will have to find a place or would use the balcony for a small atelier alternative for the time being.

Lately, I've been taking lots if photo. There are hundreds of them that I decided to share one every single post. The one in this top shows the view from our bedroom. You can see most of the city in this photo. It seems I still need to work more on my Panorama technique.

That's all for now
I'll share more later

A Farewell Letter - GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ - A Hoax

I receive this email:

Gabriel Garcia Marquez has retired from public life due to health reasons: cancer of the lymph nodes. It seems that it is getting worse. He has sent his farewell letter to his friends, which has been translated and posted on the Internet. Please read and forward to any who might enjoy it. This is possibly, sadly, one of the last gifts to humanity from a true master. This short text, written by one of the most brilliant Latin Americans in recent times, is truly moving.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If for an instant God were to forget that I am a rag doll and gifted me with a piece of life, possibly I wouldn't say all that I think, but rather I would think of all that I say.

I would value things, not for their worth but for what they mean. I would sleep little, dream more, understanding that for each minute we close our eyes we lose sixty seconds of light.

I would walk when others hold back, I would wake when others sleep.

I would listen when others talk, and how I would enjoy a good chocolate ice cream!

If God were to give me a piece of life, I would dress simply, throw myself face first into the sun, baring not only my body but also my soul.

My God, if I had a heart, I would write my hate on ice, and wait for the sun to show.

Over the stars I would paint with a Van Gogh dream a Benedetti poem, and a Serrat song would be the serenade I'd offer to the moon. With my tears I would water roses, to feel the pain of their thorns, and the red kiss of their petals...

My God, if I had a piece of life... I wouldn't let a single day pass without telling the people I love that I love them. I would convince each woman and each man that they are my favorites, and I would live in love with love.

I would show men how very wrong they are to think that they cease to be in love when they grow old, not knowing that they grow old when they cease to be in love!

To a child I shall give wings, but I shall let him learn to fly on his own.

I would teach the old that death does not come with old age, but with forgetting. So much have I learned from you, oh men...

I have learned that everyone wants to live on the peak of the mountain, without knowing that real happiness is in how it is scaled.

I have learned that when a newborn child squeezes for the first time with his tiny fist his father's finger, he has him trapped forever.

I have learned that a man has the right to look down on another only when he has to help the other get to his feet.

From you I have learned so many things, but in truth they won't be of much use, for when I keep them within this suitcase, unhappily shall I be dying.

GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ
------------------------------
It was nice to read but I don't know it didn't make sense to me. It could be published with his short story or a biography or something. Anyways. I was searching about GenPet which turned out to be a hoax and . So I liked to search more in the Museum of Hoaxes and I ran across this letter which turned to be a hoax too.

This letter is very well written but why would someone have such a talent write something and claim it for someone else?

That's all for now

Back to Life

Atta: My blog seems dead.
KJ: Blogging is dead.

I miss blogging. I miss sharing. I miss how I look at my life and write events or write down my thoughts. Blame it on laziness. Blame it on internet connection. But the main reason I was busy.

Our weddings was very simple at The Palace hall, Holiday International Hotel. It was floor 12 or 14 and the hotel is located on the edge of Khalid lagoon, overlooking the beautiful corniche. We stayed in the hotel for 5 nights and than flied to Amman. Spent about a month but KJ had to report to office and my residency was not ready yet. I stayed with my in-laws and because we applied my visa when I was still in UAE so I had to go back to Dubai and then join KJ in KSA.

The Saudi embassy took the entire week before Eid off. Fortunately, I got to spend two weeks with my family and was able to seem some friends.

On September 19th, I flied to Jeddah. I was surprised. It's not like what I pictured in mind. Certain aspects are great but I expected other things to be better. (planning to post photos when possible inshallah)

The first month we were busy furnishing our home and now we're busying figuring out how to maintain a home!

We've been spending each weekend in a city and we skipped it this time because we spent the entire week visiting two cities in the south. KJ had work their and it was a good opportunity to see his birth-town and meet his aunt's family.

The amazing thing about living in KSA is getting the chance to visit the Ka3ba and do 3omra. and visiting the mosque of the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him.

That's all for now
I'll write you more from Jeddah

Just Married :D

Or three month back!

Busy.. Out of Reach

As I have no excuses for not posting, I thought I should update whenever I can so I won't end up with lots of things to share which usually I end up not sharing at all.

Last month I was busy finalizing my thesis and taking ceramic course at Sharjah's Institute of Arts in addition to going to my atelier and having fun playing with clay and glazes. During this month I attended so many art exhibitions and had the chance to catch up with artists/ art fans and my art teachers and colleagues.

Among the exhibition I attended I went to Sharjah's Art Museum. It was the opening reception of Old and New exhibition by students of The Institute of Arts for Special Needs. The nice people I met two years back in the Heritage Festival in Sharjah.

Last Sunday I attended a friend blogger's wedding. it's been a while since I dressed up. I felt like a princess :D It was a very nice wedding and she was so beautiful.

At my atelier, I've been working on a testing new clays and glazes and experimenting new styles and techniques and I sort of found my thing! I created a page for my atelier on Facebook then had to hide it because I was not posting. Social networking needs a lot of follow up. And I'm so not free for that right now. I created a blog for the same perpose and then didn't publish a thing too :|

My sister's family were staying with us for the last two months. Lyann is such a CSI girl (that's Cute Sweet Innocent just like what her T-shirt says!). It's been two days since they left us. The house is calm and sort of weird without her noise and smelly brown stuff! I miss her already.

What else? I miss Iraq Blog Updates and the posts by Khalid Ibrahim. I used to check one post which is enough to update me about the Iraqi Blogsphere! I still wonder why they deleted the blog.

That's all for now
I hope I won't stay away longer

Doodle 4 Google :)

I've been enjoying the Google logo for a while now. Whenever I start the page and see a beautiful doodle I enjoy it and I do press the printscreen button and save that image.

These days you can vote for your favorite doodle :)

Google says:

The competition gives K-12 kids the opportunity to design their own Google logo and the winner appears on Google.com for a day so that hundreds of millions of searchers can enjoy it as well. In addition to the bragging rights, there are a number of great prizes including a college scholarship and computer's for the winner's school.

One of the dreams i liked:

Repair All The Worlds Breaks

I'm expressing my want to repair all the things that have been broken all over the world. This is what I would do if "I could do anything," because the world needs a little fixing, and wouldn't it be great if a small team of men came around fixing everything?

That's all for now
It's time to vote!

Doodle for Google :P

Meditating on Words

It's been a while since I wrote something worthy of readying or sharing. My vocabulary seems to diminish and my thoughts seem to revolve around the same issues. And all I whine about is about my study and my atelier projects and artwork.
Thinking of vocabulary, I've always thought the set of words we use depends on the material we read. It's all about linguistic competency. And writing is just applying this competency and turning it into words. I've always blamed myself for not reading enough books but as I grew older I still face the same problem. I use very simple sentences with very simple adjectives and adverbs; only as needed that at times I don’t know how to describe things. I feel I'm just out of words, speechless as you may say.


Relatively I'm a fast reader but I tend to reading more than one book at a time because I get bored and move to another book but then I do go back to the old book and get interested in finishing it. Or I have a new book and I can't wait to start reading. Through the last couple of years I stopped reading novels. I think the last one was Alice Walker's Meridian. I used to read the book while waiting for the bus or when I'm on my way to the institute of Arts.

I started to read books more about self motivation, management and development in addition to biographies or autobiographies. Previously I liked books by Latin novelist like Isabel Allende and Gabriel García Márquez. There's something about reality and magical realism in their writings that captures me. I've always hated history books but when it comes to novels we read the real story behind a revolution or a war and how it affected people like ourselves. So after stumbling on a lot of useless books and stories I decided to be more careful in reading, not just because it's a bestseller or making a big fuzz. I don't want to waste time reading something useless.

One of the best books I read lately was Sharon and My Mother-in-law: Ramallah diaries by Suad Amiry. Such a book that makes you laugh and cry by reading the same sentence. Make you close the book and think of this world and where it's going. It draws such a real picture of headlines we saw on TV and read in the newspapers.
Looking at the shelves with tens of books, I decided to read Sons and Lovers. I don't know what got into my head but I was a couple of days before my travel to Amman to get officially engaged. I needed something that I can read without thinking. And that what happened; I read while thinking to myself "this is boring" "this is torture" "this is useless and not good for me to read at such times." I left to Amman and left the book in UAE. Coming back I thought I shouldn't be a quitter. Morbido was reading the book again to refresh so I thought it's a good motivation. Everybody was praising the book; mom, aunt and even my mother-in-law. I'm finishing this book. Well I haven't finish the book yet because I read like couple of pages per day but yesterday, only yesterday I got what this book is all about. Maybe that's because I don't have a brother or a son, nor the clash of two different classes. But it was an agony to read the first part.

Another book I'm currently reading (well, I was reading. Don't seem interested with the last twenty pages) is The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, a self help book by Eckhart Tolle which seeks to bring about a transformation of human consciousness. Andrea Sachs from Time Magazine has called the book "awash in spiritual mumbo jumbo" and "unhelpful for those looking for practical advice". With every line I read I think I have to edit this book or write a reply to the author. He should really consider Islam instead of the mumbo jumbo he's lecturing. (Don't steal my idea. I hope I'll be able to do this project some day).

What else?

*mind freezes for a second*

* Mouse curser flashes*

*The rest of the white page begs for more words*

Na'a … no one is fooling me. That's all for now

I think I wrote enough nonsense for one post

Holy Mysteries

Lyann

*stretching her fingers*

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n :O
so the keyboard does type still!

April has come and almost gone. What excuse do I have for not posting? Well, I'm not sure if that's an excuse but there's someone in my life who's taking all my attention (almost all). And no it's not KJ! It's this cute little thing with the title "atta's niece". Such a lovable baby. I just love her.

She's five months and couple of days old. Started to eat mashed vegetables and biting the best biscuit I've ever tastes, alone with Cerelak. She just started the addiction of swallowing her hand. and recently discovered she can move her feet in a circular way. When she's sleepy she draw her hands closer to her face and keep staring at them until she falls asleep. Oh and she just had her first haircut!

I've been babysitting her for a while now and she's organized better me! She knows when it's milk time and when it's other meals time. She knows that she wants to be put in bed to sleep for her bedtime.

Since my teen days I've always loved spending time with kids and I know how to entertain them. But this baby girl is different. Is it because I'm her aunt or is she special. That's something I wouldn't care much about.

I hope I can post photos of her. I guess I'll have to take a permission from her parents.

That's all for now :)

Salvation

Lately I've been busy because I'm exhibiting at Bastakiya Art Fair (BAF). But I'm not talking about arts today. Through a friend I was introduced to a young promising artist and she happened to be exhibiting on the next table. She drove me and R home one day, next day we drove her home and that's how we got the chance to chitchat about life, art and religion. Art Dubai happens to be same weekend with BAF, and there was no way I can make it. I was thinking of Art Bus but it leaves from Jumaira early morning and it's such a trouble for me to get there early after coming home later because of BAF.

While we were chatting we talked about exhibition and how -this year- they all happened to take place during the weekends only and how people in this country are tired that you just want to sleep or sit and do nothing for the weekend. We talked about Art Dubai and the craziness of modern art and then she said "We always attend events about everything and run for art exhibition but we rarely attend inspirational talk about our religion" and she added "I don't want to miss Dubai Peace Convention this year".

Her words rang in my head and I checked the website of the event and told my family about it and it happened that the next day I came home and my mother got this flyer advertising for the event. Next day she came and said that she and her family spent the Friday there and it was very pleasant to see the exhibition.

So we decided to go to the convention and then would drive to Bastakiya. But the plan did not work for the exhibition was not the kind that you would see on the fly nor some of the scholars talk were to be missed. Among them were Yusof Estes, Abdul Raheem Green, and Zakir Naik. So my friend and her family decided to stay, and to tell you the truth that made my day.

Sound speakers were everywhere in the building so people are able to listen to lectures wherever they may be. But when I got into the Salvation exhibition it was very calm. for the first moment I didn't like it. I wanted to listen while I was watching. But little did I know that this exhibition is something else from any exhibition I've ever been to. I would say this is a lifetime event that I wished I could invite everyone to experience. We were there girls but the moment we stepped in we forgot ourselves and each one of us took her own trip into this spectacular exhibition. I wish I can explain how it felt to take this mind opening trip.

The way of presenting the topic was very interesting that makes you want to stay there and meditate for every single word. As you can see in the picture above, there are pictures every couple of steps. Each on showing something along with words. There were moments very overwhelming that you can't help but shedding a tear with a smile on your face. They personalized it that it makes you feel it was designed for you only, espacially when I reached the idea of where were you 10 months before you were born, then the journey before birth, that leads you to a mirror.

I've been searching online to find a presentation or a PDF document to share the experience of the "Salvation international exhibition on Islam" with you but it seems I can't find any. Before I left I asked if there was a CD for the exhibition. They said they have only the book which I already taken. I hope someday such a book will be available for public and not just for those who visit the exhibition.

This is what I found. One is the answer we're looking for (click the line please)

And this is the intro that I found online but it's not the exact intro you found in the installation, but this is a brief idea of the intro. (click the lines please)

Thats all for now

Catching Up... with Me

Well it's not what I wanted to say but I have to share some updates so I can carry on blogging on other topics.

About the exhibition, I'm not sharing because I want to include a review and some photos so that will have to wait a bit.

My thesis, I found a CEO of an HRM company and will help me find answers to my study, insha allah.

My atelier, I'm spending about 6 hours per day and I just love it there. Today, my friend R came and helped me in loading the kiln. still have two more shelves and numbers of plates and stuff to add. I'm very excited about the glaze testing I'm doing. Let's pray the results will be satisfying. The girls pieces are already in the kiln and they made two full shelves. I hope their work will be nice.

The nabog tree is amazing this year. There's a carpet of nabog on the floor due to the windy weather we're having. But now the weather is getting hotter and worms started to eat the fruit from inside :S

 

It rained for two days and Sharjah's streets went horrible. It rained on the same day I went to my Calligraphy teacher's exhibition. Will share more about that but check this photo of the next day!

 

Two more cats came to the scene. One of them is black and I call "him" Fury Furry but this is the other cat's photo.

 

What else? my health? Thanks God I'm feeling great nothing is annoying me other then my morning allergy.

oh and my sister shared a picture on Facebook, of us and our neighbor in Baghdad. The photo was taken in 1989. what a horrible photo :|

oh oh and I'm participating in another exhibition next April insha Allah

I guess that's all for now
and I'll be back to share more :)

Cute Weird Bug

 

I've been leaving the door of my atelier open lately. The weather is amazing; sort of cool windy with a bright sunny sky. While I was working the cats were playing outside, birds singing, the neighbor's black cat visited, and even the small kitten stepped in while i was working! so unbelievable cute.

A while later, the wind moved a dried leaf and it was one feet away from my door. I kept looking at it, annoyed that I just swept the door entrance! When I was leaving, I found the leaf still there. With a closer look it turned out to be a sort of bug. If I were still at school, or even collage, I would have caught it. Good old adventurous days! I think it's in transformation phase but i'm not sure what it is transforming into. But she seems like a fighter or in the military :S

That's all for now
I'll share cats photos later :)

Inspired! and more :)

 

These days I feel inspired. I wish I can live in my atelier! (sepcially nabog tree is producing unbelievably big fruits this year, Masha Allah )But I'm still in the sketching phase. Can't wait to put all my ideas on paper and start playing with clay. I have so many ideas for different themes. I ran out of sketching paper and will have to buy a new sketch book soon.

Wednesday next week is going to be the inauguration of a big exhibition honoring the best student of Sharjah Institute of Arts over the last 10 years. I'm participating with two pieces (photos will be shared later). The ruler of Sharjah is attending the event.

That's all for now
Wish me luck :)

Out of the Qomqom*

I'm bored, dizzy and sick of being sick. Well dizzy because I've been playing this weird game called First-Person Tetris. Last time I wrote I spent the previous weeks sick in bed. Well, now I'm feeling better.

Little progress in my study as I can't find the right people to answer my questions. I need managers/ employees in UAE, who are willing to use, or already using Intranet Blogs in their organizations. Since I can't find people in such category, my advisor said it's going to be an exploratory study. But still I need managers who are willing to gather and attend a focused group discussion where we can talk and answer the questions of the study.

My MS-office word is giving me hard time. I'm not able to add the tables of index, references, figures, among many other things. So it's really boring and time consuming thing to do it manually. I still have to edit the literature review grammatically, and finish paraphrasing the previous studies section, let alone writing the last two chapters.

I've always loved my study, loved reading books and even better writing my own philosophy regarding what I read and what I'm really interested in i.e writing a thesis; BUT (yes a big but here) this is different.

My life seems upside-down. I have a lot in mind; projects and plans. Yet I feel my life is pending and I'm spending my days just waiting. it feels like gazing at a white wall with nothing in mind, but this wall is full of scratches and sketches of my thoughts, and they are getting messy and crowded.

***

oh, I almost forgot! Today was my father's birthday and as usual, Atta Crocker backed a chocolate cake. No photos this time. we ate it before I could take a picture.

Happy Birthday dad, even though I know you don't read my blog but I'm sure mom will tell you I wrote :)

* Qomqom: the bottle where the jinn are kept .. but in Arabic the word is uses for people who hide away for a while.
P.S. don't over play the game I gave in the link. it's really .. no healthy :|

That's all for now
I hope you can make sense out of this post

Zemanta

I just found this Zemanta thing. Actually this is smart. I always need to add Wikipedia links, videos and photos to my posts but I too busy to check this Zemanta myself. If anyone tried it please update me :)



That's all for now

Hot .. out of the Kiln