Rambling on various subjects...

Arabic coffee...yesterday I made it for the first time...i can not say enough yucks about my coffee...yes it was bad! My poor mother in law and sister in law drank it and said it was good (liars)...i almost threw up when I drank my cup. So my first attempt at Arabic coffee turned out bad. This is what I did..I put 3 coffee cups of coffee in the ghalaya...let it boil and then put 3 table spoons of coffee...maybe I was supposed to put 3 teaspoons of coffee??? I will keep on practicing until I make the perfect cup of coffee!

Ants! I hate those little buggers...i used to feel bad and not step on ants. Now I step on them on purpose when I see them. I officially hate ants. Hard working or not, they are annoying!! Few times I was happily eating a piece of fruit or a cookie...i get a phone call or do something for the kids so I leave my food on the counter. A bit later I go to get my yummy plum or cookie and guess who beat me to it!! Yeh the stupid ants! And it was a very yummy plum too! Grrrrrrrrrrr!!! It also happens with bread. If I dare and forget the bread bag on the counter the ants get to itL I hate those ugly tiny creatures!

Ramadan: this Ramadan I’m not feeling very spiritual...I am fasting, but that is about it! I’m not reading the Quran, although I put it on for a while during the day...and my prayers...hmmmmm...don’t even ask! Some Ramadans I become a sheikha... others I just do not feel it...like this one! Shame!

Hubby: he is coming in a week!! Yippy! Poor Rami Ramadan is getting to him...he is very tired! He goes to bed late, and then at 4am he has to wakeup for suhor...his suhor is coffee and smokes plus a bit of water and maybe something small to eat. He sounds very tired...hopefully he will be able to sleep good when he gets here.

Weight: I have lost three lb since the beginning of Ramadan. In order to keep them off I have to join a gym as soon as Ramadan is over. So now I am in search of a gym near by. Any one know of a gym in tla’3 el 3ali

Blog spot: It has been so slow and annoying latley...what is up with that?

Google reader I love it! It is saving me so much time checking blogs...instead of checking every single one on my favourite now I only check ones that have been updated...pretty cool eh? I have been wanting to do it for a while..but I was too lazy...

Questions to ammani gals..

*warning!!!...this is a girly post...guys continue at own risk!*

So it is time to get my hair coloured...the roots are starting to show and I’m getting sick of it. I high lighted my hair few weeks before I came to Jordan. Hubby hates my hair light...he likes dark red. So I thought since I will not be seeing him for a while I’ll go for a change and lighten it. Well now I am sick of it, and like I said the roots are showing...and I want to look purrtty for hubby...

So for Ammani ladies...do you know someone you absolutely love that does great hair colouring?? Last time I cut my hair at Emad’s in the four seasons and he was good...but my sister in law says he is not too great with hair colours...I also want to cut ½-1 inch off my hairs... so pray for me...after last year’s hair cut disasters I am very paranoid, but I’m so sick of my hair, it needs to be cut a bit...

Also does anyone know a place that waxes eyebrows?? I hate hate hate hate hate hate threading! It hurts and you get too many ingrown hairs after. With waxing it is one ouch and you are done...with threading it is ouch, ouch ouch a million times!

remembering friends

When I was in grade 12...o so long ago...there were two older students in my class, a mother and son combo. When I first saw them I though, ewww what are these old people doing in high school, stay away from me please! When I got to know them I realized how nice and sweet they were it would have been a pity if my initial feelings towards them did not change. They were very dedicated to their studies. At first no one wanted to work with them, we were all too cool for them... but eventually they were the most sought after partners. They were both bright and hard working so they were always acing the projects. They both graduated with proficiency standing!

The older I get the more I admire their courage for going back to school to better themselves and getting better careers and improving their lives. I am sure it took a lot of guts to take this step.

The son... I can not remember his name now...was in his mid 40’s, married with two or three kids. Evelyn, the mother, was in her 60’s but had the spirit of a twenty year old.

I was thinking about them the other day, I wonder what they are up to. Did they go on to college or was it just the high school diploma they wanted. I wish I have my year book, who knows maybe they are on facebook... everyone else is on it...except for my exish best friend...annoying Shazia...get on to the 21st centrury and join for god’s sake!

so far , so not good...(warning complaining ahead...enter at own risk)

So Ramadan in an Arabic country is not really that different than it is back at home!! This is my conclusion so far! I have had iftar by myself almost everyday. It does not feel so ramdani...the only thing that reminds me that it is Ramadan is the amount of cars parked in front of the masjid. So I guess more people pray at the masjid in Ramadan.

But really this is not any different than Ramadan in Canada. Since I got married Ramadan started being different; especially because the first few years of our marriage my husband did not fast.

When I was living at home with my parents Ramadan had a different feel...I guess it does not matter where you are. It is the people around you that make it special. My parents had people over in Ramadan at least 3 times a week. And we were invited to people’s house at least 2 times a week. And on days we did eat alone, it was the six of us; so really it did not feel lonely at all.

Even after getting married we still had iftar with my family and friends few times a week. On Saturday we used to rent a hall with seven or ten other families and we each brought one dish and we ate iftar together. Those were fun iftars...the men went for tarawe7 prayers after eating while us ladies sat around chatted and munched on yummy Arabic sweets!!

In Canada during Ramadan I can wear whatever I want without hearing idiots telling me how I should and should not dress...if I am not fasting for any reason I can still eat wherever I want. If I am at the mall and get thirsty I can buy a bottle of water and drink it without anyone looking at me and estagfering Allah.

I really thought it would be different here...but it is not! Maybe if hubby was here we would be invited to places and do more things after iftar...but I don’t know...so far so not good! So tell me, what is so special about Ramadan here?? Am I missing something?? And btw the atayef here! Yuck! My mom makes them a million and ten times better!

Do not even think about it

Yesterday Ziad and I went to visit my mother in law at the hospital...she is doing great the way and is home now...thank you for all your prayers!!

We were sitting beside the nursery and Zozo made me go look at the babies!! They were sooo tiny and so cute and I got baby fever for a while. I wanted one of those tiny babies. My mother in law thinks we should definatly have a third baby, go for a girl this time. Like we have a choice.

When we got home my stomach did not feel right...i felt blah...I could not even eat mskhan (yuck!) at iftar it made me want to puke, so I just stuck to salad. When I went home I intended to put the boys to sleep and go down to argeel with the gang...but my stomach could not handle it anymore ...I hate hate hate hate hate throwing up!

I guess I caught a stomach virus, and so did Ziad...we did not have a fun night! Ziad was feeling all better by morning...but I was not. I’m so tired, my stomach is feeling blah and I have no appetite at all. All I can eat is fruit and drink juice. If someone was to give me a Ferrero Roches right now I would not even touch it. And me saying no to chocolate especially a Ferrero Roshes is big!

It brought back those first six wks of my pregnancy . I guess it is a sign not to have anymore babies. Remembering that awful all day sickness, no puking, just feeling nauseous all day long and the water aversion. Who the heck gets aversion to water...yes I know I’m weird! All this and I still gain 34lb! Well I guess I do make it up once the 12th week is over and I’m back to my old self. I do blame Tim Hortin’s for at least 15lb!

So I guess this was a wake up call. Do not even think about getting pregnant again. This stomach virus feels exactly the same as those awful pregnancy weeks felt, right down to the water aversion thing. The thought of drinking water makes me sick. If hubby was not away I’d think I was pregnant! I hope I feel better tomorrow. My house is so messy! I need a maid!

so scary

Last night my mother in law spent the day with us, I made iftar and we ate together then by 8 the four of us were sleeping...at 10 she got up and went to my sister in laws house and then I woke up and pigged out on food since I hardly ate at iftar...Then my mother in law came back , we (mostly I..She was falling asleep sitting on the sofa) watched a movie and then she finally gave up and went to bed. I could not sleep until 3am...note to self, never take a nap at 8pm!

At 6t:15 am the kids and I woke up like we do everyday...Ziad went to school, Bilal and I watched cartoons. While I was getting Bilal ready for school my mother in law called me from her room. I ran to see what is wrong, since she sounded horrible!

Ah it was so scary! She could not breath at all...she looked like she is dying right in front of my eyes! I called my sister in law and she was no help! She was so worried about her mom she started crying and then she went to get the neighbours and her kids. Everyone came to my apartment, thankfully I tidied up the night before so it was not messy...phew...always keep your place tidy, you never know who will show up unexpectedly even at 7am! I called the ambulance, took Bilal downstairs to his bus and waited for the ambulance to come...I was so worried about my mother in law.

The ambulance came about 10-15min later. I have to say there is a huge, huge difference between calling an ambulance in Canada and in Amman! I would not have had to give 911 the directions to the place in Canada. The staff would have come in knowing exactly what the situation is so they would not waste time deciding what stretcher to bring up. They guys were very flimsy... it took a long while to get her into the ambulance. They definitely need more training! And elevators in Amman are way too small, they had to sit her on a chair in order to take her down...somebody did not think about emergencies on the top floors when they designed the building...unfortunately that somebody is my husband’s uncle.

She is doing ok now, she had water in her lungs so she was not able to take enough oxygen I guess. It was sooo scary though watching someone who is unable to breath. She was very sweaty and cold at the same time. Her hands were turning blue. And you feel so helpless! I am just thankful that she spent the night her and not alone at her apartment! I do not even want to imagine what would have happened if she was all alone!
My mother in law is 74years old. But we are not ready for her to go yet. She is one of the reasons I wanted to come live in Amman. I wanted the kids to get to know their tetta before it is too late.
Please keep my mother in law in your prayers if you pray. She is a very nice and sweet person, and is a great mother in law and tetta.

some blah blah , and blogger meeting

Five days down ....25 more to go...or maybe 24??

Now that I am used to fasting it is actually ok and maybe just maybe I will be able to lose some weight...I am not asking for much just five pounds to start me off and after Ramadan I will join a gym inshallah and lose those annoying 10lb once and for all...yes I know I have been talking about those 10lb since I started blogging...yes I have not lost them...stop shaking your head...I lost my will power , it is those stupid chocolate and mansafs and the no gym thing..Although I did go for a walk in the morning once since I came to Amman! But then Ramadan came! I can stop blaming Tim Horton’s on my lack of weight loss..Mmmm speaking of Timmy’s I can defiantly use a nice medium double double and a nice whole-wheat bagel with cream cheese! Ok ok...stop thinking of food; it is only 7:30 am...bas 3an jad I can definitely use a cup of coffee just about now!

The reason I came to blog this morning so I can tell you guys about meeting some bloggers last night. It is always fun to meet bloggers! This is another reason I like it here! There are few other people I would love to meet here.

So last night sweet Kinzi picked me up after the kids went to sleep...ok my curious Zozo got up to see who rang the bell. We sat and chit chatted until he fell asleep! May I say again how much I hate fire works!

We went to Salam’s house, which is gorgeous btw and looks like a picture in a magazine...good job Salam! We found mama bean already there, it is always nice to see mama bean she is a sweetie! A bit later Hayat came; she is super cute and funny! We talked, ate yummy cheesecake and chocolate cake...and had American coffee, which I have been missing! Note to self...buy a coffee maker...Thank you Salam, everything was delicious and it was fun meeting you all...

It was a fun night! I like blogger meetings! When we were leaving Kinzi, mama bean and I went into the elevator. We started complaining about how slow the elevator is! Five minutes (ok maybe less) later we realized that we forgot to press the button to go down...OOPS!

Mr. El3atal was waiting for mama bean downstairs so I got to put a face to the blog! He looks exactly like the picture on his blog...he did not know me since he does not read my blog, but I always read his so it was nice for me to put a face to the blog writer.

My Ramadan so far

I keep on wanting to go to the kitchen and grab a glass of water and then oops I remember I am fasting! We are going to my sister in law’s place for iftar so I do not have to cook! YIPPY!

Zozo tried to fast...he woke up wanting breakfast! He never wants to eat breakfast! Then after he was done he decided he will fast for the rest of the day, and then he ate cookies at school and decided to fast until the next good thing he finds...He came home hungry, so he ate ...yup you guessed...eggs! He then fasted until we went out to buy some stuff and wanted M&M’s so he ate the M&M’s and went back to fasting! I guess it is a start! We have a long way to go!

Today after I got up I wanted coffee so bad! So I went back to bed after the kids left planning to nap for 30min...I did not wakeup until 11:30! And at 11:35 I got a call from etasalat that they are coming in five minutes to hook up my land phone..oops! So I dressed super quick, put a tiny bit of makeup so I would not look like a zombie and pulled my hair back! I am so tired I did not do anything else with my appearance...

The kids and I went shopping across the street...i love where I live btw. There are so many stores that are just a small walk away... then if I want more I just have to walk a little bit more and get on the gardens and it is a shopping haven there..Ok so back to my vent...

O yeh in case you did not realize I am about to vent about two things. The first thing while we were happily shopping, Ziad being annoying because he wants to buy more treats and I am msatle from lack of coffee...I was waiting for the meat shop to be empty since was full and this guy walked right beside me going into the meat shop and says “allho ini sayem”...then 2 seconds later he comes out walked beside me and says “allho in sayem”...he does this 3 freaking times! Why the heck did he do that?? I was not dressed in any revealing clothes...just a pair of capris and a black t-shirt...nothing too tight and I looked awful like I said earlier ...I so wanted to smack him the third time he walked around and just left and did not buy the meat I wanted...I do not get it, why did he do that??

Then we went to buy some fruits and veggies... there was an older ladies selling small framed ayat...of course Zozo had to go chitchat with her...this kid is so annoying...i bought 2 of those pictures for 2 JD, then she started begging me for more money! I told her if I get any change from the store I would give it to her, but I came out with a five and a ten. She then started saying how I promised her to give her money and following me begging me to give her more money! So she got me into giving her a 5JD. I’m thinking ok great it is a zakaa so it is ok, but for the whole month I am going to be running into people like that...I think I should get hubby to send me more money! Sa7? So how do I stop people like that from badgering me...that Ziad went and spoke to her in English so she tem3at feena... he is staying next time!

Ramadan Mubarak!!

Yay it is my first Ramadan in an Arabic country...I am so exited!!

Anything I should know about Ramadan here...I do not want to have someone yell at me for not wearing the hijjab during Ramadan...:o)

Zozo said he will fast until noon prayer....but he is so worried that he will be so hungry, what he can do then....

I remember what a horrible time my brother had fasting until 12pm on weekends...ya3ni he just missed breakfast, but he drove us crazy! He kept on asking if it is 12pm yet, and we would answer no it is only 8am,8:15,9:00,9:05...by 10am we wanted to shove food down his throat so he would leave us alone!

OMG hubby is the worst in Ramadan though! Since he is a smoker, each Ramadan we come to the verge of divorce!:) He is so annoying, rude, mean, and so blah, did I mention annoying! He wakes up for suhor, but he does not eat, just smokes and drinks coffee...if he misses his suhor he is even worse! He goes to work early and comes home at 3-4pm and just sleeps until iftar. He starts his iftar with...yup you guessed it! A cup of coffee and a cigarette! SMOKERS!!

Poor guy, he will be all alone this Ramadan! I am sure he will get invited to iftar by our friends, but still, it is not the same! But he will be here the last week of Ramadan so it is not too badJ

Eggs

I wonder how long it will take my kids to get sick of eggs... if I see one more egg I am going to jump off the balcony....ok maybe not..but sheesh!

I made yummy pasta, which they love, they had a bit and then they wanted to eat beeda...

I made batata and beed... (Potatoes and eggs) ...they each had one bite and they asked for plain beeda..

I made spicy rice with meat today and it was delish, but after eating just a bit, they asked me to make them beeda...

I do not know why I galeb 7ali! They want eggs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So from now on, I will not cook anything except for eggs! In a bit my kids will turn in chickens!

The other thing they can not have enough of, is labnah

I so love having the 7ares around. When we are out of eggs and labnah, I call him and he goes to buy us more. And today I found out that the store close by delivers, how cool is that! A girl could get used to this, what am I going to do when I go back to Canada? Hubby complains whenever I call him from work to buy me things, and the grocery store is on his way home, ya3ni what is the big deal??

Speaking of my kids, Ziad is starting to speak some Arabic. He sounds so cute saying them. Now when he wants juice he says ana badi ashrab aseer...

grrrrrrrrrrr...............

Sometimes it is unbelievable what happens in Jordan and other Arabic countries. People are worth nothing. Unless you have a name or are related to someone with big shot name you will not get a just and fair treatment. Look at what happened to a fellow blogger dear who-sane’s dad. You can read the unbelievable account of what his father had to go through here if you have not already. I am in shock and feel horrible for who-sane and his family and mostly I feel horrible for what his dad had to suffer on the hands of sick, pathetic, heartless humans that call themselves nurses and doctors. I thought that was the noblest field one can get into! I pray that abu who-sane recovers and that Allah punishes those heartless scumbags soon... I do not believe that in the whole hospital there was not one decent person that owns a heart!!

I pray that no one else ever has to deal with them and be treated like this..no one, no one deserves such treatment! I would love to ring these nurses' and doctors', and especially that lazy receptionist's worthless necks...

Guess what...guess what...

Today I got to meet the famous Kinzi and Mamabean...:o)

They came over and it was very nice meeting them...:o)

unfortunatly they could not stay long:o( but still it was nice to sit with them and chat without the computer and the net in the middle...

and Kinzi thank you so much for the frames..they are adorable!!

why??

I do not get some guys in Jordan and the middle east in general...

Why would a young man stop a woman(cute none the less :p) wearing wedding rings, with two kids who he has already inquired about and found out they are her own kids,then ask for her phone number???

I just do not get it!! Really it makes no sense at all! Does it??