Interesting to think about...

From my Qur'an reading this morning...

Part of a hadith from the tafsir/commentary... Imam Ali said (this is just a part of it):

"....Honey, the best and sweetest food, is the saliva of an insect, the bee.
The nicest dress is made of silk which is the refuse of a small worm.
The most refreshing scent, musk, is the blood of an animal, the deer."

It goes on but mash'Allah, that is a nice hadith. It truly puts things into perspective. Everything we need has already been made my Allah. We really don't need anything else. The good things have already been given to us by our creator.

See!

Dead big bug
Originally uploaded by wayfarer.

This is what i hate about the South. Look at the size of this thing! It's 3 inches. You can't see the kazillion legs since i killed him but the way this thing walks with it's legs all crazy outside the body is freaky. I fear my little guy playing with one of these!

Mommy Brain

I thought i had finally gotten over the mommy brain syndrome until today when out running errands i looked down and saw my house slippers! They are the slip on sandals but they didn't match at all! And now i have to clean them.

Other interesting shopping news... I stopped for lunch and a big cockroach came running across the floor. Two men, starting screaming as it run under their feet while the woman with them got up, moved the table, and stomped on him. Oh how i love the buggy south.

In other news... Man my little dude is fast! He's all over the place. He can't sit still unless he's in the wrap. It's craziness! I fear him finding his feet and walking!

Kashmiri Tea

Can anyone give me a *good* as in "tried and true" recipe for Kashmiri Tea? The only ones i'm finding use water not milk. Please only post if you've actually tried it cause i hate bad recipes. I spent over two hours last night making what i thought would be a great dinner and the recipe totally sucked (i assure you, it wasn't the cook!).

Speaking of good recipes. I bought this book when i got engaged to my Pak-man. There isn't a single bad recipe in it! I don't always follow the directions and use it more for a guide but out of the 15-20 or so recipes i've made from it, not one has been bad. There may have been variances about heat - more or less chili powder. Usually more for us and other little nuances like when they say fry the onions for 5 minutes, i fry them for about thirty. I/we (i got my desi taste from him...in fact, it annoys his mom that we eat the same - we both put yoghurt on whatever we are eating and she insists that it hides the taste, we think it enhances it - our only difference is i make little sandwiches out of my food with bread and he doesn't, he uses the bread as a scooper and i use mine like a tortilla almost) anyway about the onions - we like them real carmelized as in the color of dark caramel not butter. Also, for meat, they should double their times for the meat to be tender but if you play with it, these recipes rock and are pretty easy. The bonus is i got the book for $5.99 i believe at the Borders bargain section. If you want to learn to make Pakistani/Indian food, this is a good book to start with. It's been tried and it is true. :-)

Bring on the Kashmiri Tea recipes!

I'm back

So we went to New Jersey for 5 days and i have to admit, i really like it. The cons are what i expected - houses are priced sky high, especially in the area dh would be working and the weather in the winter is sure to be cold, but otherwise, there are many things i liked: nice little parks and a lot of them, lots of places to walk to, small towny feel though close to major cities, the greenery and landscape is nice too and an extra bonus is that we met a wonderful family that we have a lot in common with there. I also got to meet an internet friend who i've "known" for two years in person as well as her family. Basically there are four families there that we already know in the general area so it's not like we would be there all alone like it was here for me. I'm so tired from the trip though. It's tough to travel with a little person who has his own ideas of what he wants to do which basically involves motion and not sitting still. He just wasn't cooperating but it's totally understandable. Poor little dude is happy to be home. Oh, i can't leave out the miserable part of the trip:

We got on the plane at 12:18 only to almost reach New Jersey but they wouldn't let us land because of the weather so we circled the city for two hours until we ran out of gas, landed in Baltimore for gas not allowed to get off the plane and took off again only to circle the city for another two hours unable to land. They run out of gas again and land to refuel. We didn't get there until 8:30 at night. It was supposed to be an hour and a half flight. Little Dude did not appreciate this. He did amazingly well though and didn't even cry. Just fussed. Who could blame him. Everyone was irritable. I especially liked the old Jewish lady on her cell phone while refueling the second time "I'll cwawll you when we land." in a seriously strong Jewish accent. She was funny. My head was still spinning in a counter clockwise direction for a couple hours after getting off the plane. That second time around, they really should have gone clockwise to balance things out.

I didn't get my computer replaced yet. They got me again! But me and this trusty magnet that i just bought should do the trick. Sianara laptop. I just need to get a few articles written and then it's toast.

Lebanon is really getting to me. I can't believe no one anywhere is doing anything about it. Humanity is becoming an oxymoron. I get so frustrated. It's so clear who is wrong in this to anyone with half, well okay, a quarter of a mind. It reminds me of the hadith that says toward the end of time, evil will appear as good and good will appear as evil. That about sums it up for me.

Persistence pays off

So my computer has been giving me serious hard drive problems again and is on the brink and the people who told me i'd be covered for a replacement under the lemon law and for having an extended warranty said to me "i never heard of the lemon law before" and acted all dumb about it. I got mad. Real mad. I'm already irritable because of the Lebanon ordeal. I actually cried about it last night because i feel so helpless and shameful of mankind for acting like this towards other human beings. It just makes me sick. Anyhow, with all the anger, aggression, feeling of frustration i went off on the poor CompUSA people. I spoke to 8 people and got angry with each and every one because they kept passing me around to each other. I spoke to each "higher up" twice and by the eighth transfer i was irate. It paid off. I will not only get a replacement but a better one than the one i have now. But, i have to wait a week for them to make sure this one is really faulty. Whatever. I'll be getting a brand spanking new one next week inshAllah. Until then i'll be offline because this thing doesn't work for more than five minutes. I can't believe it's been so problematic and it's only two and a half years old. I paid over $1,500 for it. So salaams until then.

A sad link

http://fromisraeltolebanon.info/

and on a lighter note...

Can i say my Little Dude is the coolest and he just proved his pakistani-ness today. Lately he wants whatever i'm eating. I can't eat anything without him getting a bite or at least him thinking he's getting a bite when really he's getting something different. Anyway, i was eating this spicy tortilla soup and he's begging for some so i give in and think he'll take a taste and retreat. Nope. He ate it up! And then wanted more. That's my boy! We eat some spicy food in this house and he's no different.

And the uncool thing of the day is that the air conditioner broke again. Just last week there was someone here to fix it - they spend 8 hours here and obviously didn't. It sounds like a helicopter is over my head the compresser is so loud. Upstairs is scorching.

More

Why do they keep saying these people were crazy to go on vacation in Lebanon. Ironically, i was thinking of going to Lebanon for vacation. I really was. I was thinking it's a great Med. town, historical, great weather, etc. I've longed to go there after meeting very nice people from there. I knew Christian and Muslim Lebanese who had great conversations over tea and making jokes. Once they rebuilt it, I really didn't think Israel would bomb it again. I had faith in them and i shouldn't. It's only made me turn from disliking them to hating them with every blood cell in my body.

Anyway, my point was going to be that telling people to avoid going to a country that isn't currently under attack in the Middle East for vacation is kind of like telling people "You shouldn't go to the US for vacations because their planes get hijacked and rammed into buildings. Also, people are actively trying to plot more attacks there(according to our leader)."

What idiots. It's not like these things are planned (on the vacationers side). You could walk across the street in poduck town, Missouri and get hit by a car. Does it mean you shouldn't go there? These talking heads should read a book every now and then instead of practicing their smiles in the mirror. My only consolation is that they too will burn in hell for leading people astray and causing death because of it. Enjoy your vacations Mr. and Ms. Newscaster. I hear it's pretty hot down there, but hey, you should have thought of that first! Too bad for you!

Frustrated

That's the only word that comes to mind since all this craziness started. I'm frustrated that Muslims are so divided that they don't aid their neigbor and brothers. I shouldn't be surprised since the same thing happened the last time but still, this go around, i'm Muslim and i know how Muslims are supposed to act. Instead of fighting one another and highlighting the petty differences between one another, they should be fighting the enemies of Islam (read as "those who are actively killing off Muslims". I pray Hezbollah is victorious.

I am curious as to why Israel chose this moment in time to attack and i have my own theory. I thought back to what was happening right before this all started. I thought of the 2 Lebanese men that were arrested for planning to blow up the Manhattan tunnel and how they didn't know who else was involved because there was a leak about it so the others didn't get caught. I think hmmm, they were Lebanese.

(begin George Bush and Cheney stream of consciousness thinking)

Who are "terrorists" (disclaimer: i certainly don't consider them terrorists, i consider them humanists) in Lebanon? Ah, Hezbollah. Yes, they must be part of Hezbollah. Well we better root them out and get them. But how can we do that when we are already overextended in Iraq and my ratings are so dang low, we just can't do it. Ah, wait, Israel also hates the Lebanese. Well all Arabs really. They would like a little more ocean front property (again) so why not ask Israel to do this dirty work for us. After all, they thoroughly enjoy killing Arabs so much, it wouldn't even be considered a favor and we will owe them nothing. Really, what else can we give them. God bless America.

(i will probably get flamed for posting this but i'm okay with that...bring it on. If there are still people out there that think Israel is on the defence go take a history course.)

I'm also frustrated that Bushie and co. is actually saying that Hezbollah fired rockets first. What the heck is that all about? He's the only one saying that. Well, and some people on Fox News.

2:215

"That which ye spend for good (must go) to parents and near kindred and orphans and the needy and the wayfarer." (Qur'an 2:215)

My paypal account number is....

I hate it when...

three inch bugs crawl over my feet when i'm relaxing and reading a good book. Arghhh! I hate these southern bugs! And how is it possible for a bug to have so many dang legs???

I hope the Little Dude hasn't had any runin's with any... ucky.

Husband love

Today i got my order from Al-Khoei book store:

1. Honouring Allah's Saints by Yaqoob Jafri. This is to clear up some questions i have. A good friend recommended it and someone who is very much like me in religious thinking.
2. Principles of Marriage Family Ethics by Ibrahim Amini - to keep my marriage peaceful.
3. The Islamic Family Structure by Husayn Ansarian - I've been wanting this one for a long time.

I love books. I titled this post "Husband love" because my husband never harasses me about my books and the fact that i have about 25 that i haven't read but i still buy new ones anyway (and read them before the others too). For Valentines Day he got me a gift card for Amazon.com - talk about a good present! So far I used it to get:

1. Purification of the Heart by Hamza Yusuf
2. Motherhood in Islam by Alieah Schleifer
3. If I Should Speak by UmmZakiyah (excellent by the way!)

What I'm ordering next:

1. A Voice, the sequel to "If I should Speak" from above
2. Islamic Parenting in the West
3. The Child in Islam
4. a Rice Maker - that's for him cause i don't like rice unless it's fried or biryani...but plain? Yeacht.

I borrowed the two islamic parenting books from the library and really liked them but wasn't able to finish either. The only way i can finish a book lately is buying it. Sigh. And how cool is that if you spend $25 you usually don't have to pay for shipping! I hate paying for shipping. Call me cheap but i do. So what should i get next? I could get something besides books since Amazon has just about everything, but why.

Dish Network Scam or mean people suck

Okay, so check this out. My husband ordered dish network after they called and convinced him to do it. They asked for his credit card number and social security number too but he of course didn't give that out. It's bad enough they got the credit card number.

The numbers the guy gave him to call were bad...he tried calling after they stood us up last weekend. Obviously they were trying to scam him for identity theft or whatever.

But the arses called again today and boy did they get an earful from me. I heard that "Assalamu alaikum" and my blood began to boil. I knew it was them. I can't believe they do this stuff with a salaam. Lowlifes. So - don't fall for this scam. I've been getting these calls for months and months. Sometimes they'll call two to three times a day and i always hang up on them because i'm already mad by the time i pick up the phone because they always seemed to call when the little dude is sleeping. But my husband got suckerpunched. Mean people suck.

Chai Cupcakes

Chai Spiced Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by wayfarer.

These are the chai cupcakes i made. I'm making them again this week since i'm hosting baby group this week.

I'll be posting this recipe and a bunch of others on my food blog this week. :-)

Real People

I was sent a book to review last summer right before i had Little Dude and i didn't have time to read it and review it. Well i finally read it and wish i would have reviewed because more people need to read this book (especially those who still support the war). The book is Love My Rifle More Than You. Happy title isn't it? Well anyway, this is the second book i've read from a soldier (the other one is My War. and it's good to read too) and both tell the same story essentially. These guys are idiots and killing innocent people. But worse than this is this statement from the book: (she says this statement after saying that they met some American kids there to help)

"We were stoked. We hadn't seen real people in forever."

Do take into consideration the fact that this girl speaks Arabic and has Arab friends as well dated a Palestinian for two years (prir to her joining the military). Iraqi's aren't "real people"? No wonder they have no problem killing them. Some of the guys kill the kids saying "well if they aren't terrorists now, they will be later" insinuating all iraqi's are terrorists "so kill em all." This is why i hate living in the US. Our tax dollars fund this behavior and is being used to teach hatred. I don't want to be American anymore. Islamic countries are no better especially as a shia. Europe would be just as bad as here, maybe worse in the racism department. Iceland sounds pretty good but um, what do you do there? I really want to move to Canada. It seems the best option. Anyway, that's my rant for the day since no one seemed to like my post about last weekend. Plooey.

One thing good about these books is that it lets us know what's really happening over there...somewhat anyway...more than what the talking heads give us.

Which one does the following describe...the NBA OR NFL?

36 have been accused of spousal abuse

7 have been arrested for fraud

19 have been accused of writing bad checks

117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses

3 have done time for assault

71, repeat, 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit

14 have been arrested on drug-related charges

8 have been arrested for shoplifting

21 currently are defendants in lawsuits, and

84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is?



Give up yet?



Neither, it's the 535 members of the United States Congress. The same group of idiots that crank out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.

You gotta pass this one on!

The perfect weekend

Summary of the long weekend:

1. Went to a couple's bbq at their lake house. Wow. How nice to have a house on a couple acres of land nestled up on a lake. Most of their friends are not American. In fact, i think i was the only born American except for them. For a moment, hearing various accents chatting away, i believed myself to be on Lake Como (in Italy).

2. Made the chai cupcakes found on Um Mahtab's blog (Those Days). Yummmmmmmmeeeeee!

3. Went to a friends dinner party and my Little Dude army crawled and is now very close to being a speed demon. Time to finish baby proofing! Yikes, he's fast.

4. Went outlet shopping and found the perfect pair of pants for hotLanta's steaming summer from Banana Republic.

5. Went to the park and let the Little Dude watch the dogs. This kid loves loves loves dogs. He was terrified of them as a baby but now as a brave kid, he just loves them. He sees one and he starts babbling away excited, kicks his legs, and laughs serious belly laughs. It's crazy how much he loves dogs. It cracks us up. Which brings me to the next thing. He now shakes his head no for everything.

6. The best thing of the weekend though was when we were on our way home from the park and my phone rang. There was a desi on the phone and he asks for x x - my husband's name. I say "excuse me?" and then i think it's one of dh's friends who is a funny guy but then i realize it's my phone and he doesn't have my number. The guy then says "Who am i speaking with?" I say, "Who's this?" not wanting to give out information. He says "x x" - my husband's name. How weird is that? Then he tells me i've been sending him pictures of a little baby. :-( I hate that these pictures went out. But perhaps the funniest thing was when he said "...and today i received another one. Of a shoe?" He said shoe with a question as in "why on earth would anyone send a picture of a shoe." As soon as i hung up i started cracking up because earlier when we were shopping for shoes for my husband i had seen these mack daddy/pimp looking yellow alligator skin shoes in a regular shoe store and talked my husband into trying them on for me so he reluctantly did and i took a picture with my camera phone. These shoes were freaky but not uncommon here in Atlanta - they were super long with pointed toes like elf shoes. The shoes were $100 on clearance - eek. There are stores here with suits that are straight out of Spike Lee movies you know the ones - polyester and light blue. This is a bling bling ghetto fabulous sort of city. I don't mean that in a racist sort of way but what else do you call it? We saw one store here that sold all polyester suits in bright colors and animal prints with hat and shoes to match. I've seen the guys wearing them too - cane and all. I didn't know that the old school look like that still existed until i lived here.

I still hear that guy asking "And today i got one of a shoe?" - He must have thought we were nuts. And when he heard my American name married to a man with his name he must have gotten so confused. He probably wanted to do the ole "six degrees of pakistan" - find out how we are related. Ever notice how Pakistani's do that? They'll have a conversation to figure out how they know someone who knows the other.

Dish Network

Do you have it? If so, what do you think of it compared to cable? And what about the international channels esp. Pakistani ones?