I've missed you and Blog Awards

Hello everyone,
My blogging has been scarce these days due to a complete lack of motivation on my part to get off my lovely couch. Sleepiness, tiredness, laziness, you name it I've been suffering from all sort of inesses lately mostly associated with late pregnancy.


I was able to fast for about 2 weeks when my OB-GYn raised concerns about my condition. Instead of gaining the required 1 pound/week, I lost 6 pounds and my uterus stopped growing(I was measuring 32 weeks at my 34 weeks appointment). She's concerned that the baby's not growing properly and my amniotic fluid is low and asked me to stop fasting right away. The whole time, my husband was just sitting there with the " I told you so" smirk on his face since he was against me fasting to start with. After measuring my uterus, the OB-GYN just kept on going on how this was why pregnant women were exempted from fasting and yadi yada. Mind you, she's muslim and said she would love to be pregnant so she would be exempted and she's planning just to do that next Ramadan since the days will be longer, lol. After we were done with the visit, my husband said he thought the dr was going to take out a belt and spank me right in front of him coz she was so mad at me for fasting against the other dr's recommendations. Long story short, she also ordered an ultrasound that I have to do tomorrow to measure the fluid around the baby and determine the baby's growth. She did indicate that if the fluid was low, I would need to be hospitalized and some sort of intervention will be needed. I was really sad to break my fast at first,it made me feel like I was missing something but I knew it was for a good cause and the baby's health and growth are more important at this poing. Now, I've come to terms with it and I've spent the last week resting, eating and drinking a lot of fluid to gain back what I've lost. Despite all that, I've not gained any of the lost weight back so we will see how things go tomorrow at my appointment inshaAllah.

Also does anyone know what the ruling is on pregnant women who are not fasting? Should we just make up the days we missed or do we have to feed poor people for every day we did not fast, or both? I've read so many different opinions on this that I don't know which one is correct so any thoughts would be appreciated. Ramadan Kareem!

I just visited this lovely site Book-Room, it's new and by muslim sisters for muslim sisters. Take a look if you have a chance!

On another note, I've been awarded by Mina, Hajar and Umm Omar . Thank you so much for thinking of me and for this award :-p

The rules are

List five current obsessions

Pass the award on to five more fabulous blogs.

On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. Don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by leaving a comment on their blog.

* I'm obsessed with pregnancy and anything baby related.
* I am addicted to the discovery channel freakbirth shows!
* I'm obsessed with home decoration as we're getting our new place together.
* I'm obsessed with learning how to make a fool out of myself bake. Made a strawberry shortcake yesterday, yummy!.
* And finally,I'm obsessed with the swirls, kicks and jumps by the alien baby in my belly.

I pass this tag/award to,
Tuttie
Jasmina
Umm Saliha
Skye
Malizea

I've been tagged

I've been tagged by FLIFLA ( I just love how that name sound, Flifla, Flafli, Floflo lol )

If you've been tagged you have to add one more favorite thing to the end of the list:

Favorite colour: Blue & Brown

Favorite perfume(guys): Hugo Boss

Favorite perfume (girls): Romance-Ralf Lauren

Favorite pj brand: Any brand that's comfortable

Favourite clothes brand in genaral: I don't know if I really have a favourite brand but I love Express & Zara

Favourite person in the entire world: My mother

Favourite country : I don't have one, I have so many to discover

Favorite car: Cooper, Beetles, I love small cars

Favorite sport: Sleeping :)

Favorite sport player : Venus Williams

Favorite spot in America: A random park few blocks away from where I used to live

Favorite animal: I'm scared of animals

Favorite movie: The notebook

Favorite singer: Zain Bhikha

Favorite day in the week: Friday looking forward to the weekend

Favorite time of the day: Evening

Favorite holiday season: Summer

Favorite number: Why would anyone have a favorite number for? I mean seriously, do people walk around saying btw my favorite number is 3? lol

Favorite food: I'm omnivore

Favorite chocolate: Dark Chocolate

Favorite cartoon: Shrek

Favorite blogger: Hijabee, lol

Favorite Flavor Ice Cream: Coconut

Favorite Mobile Brand: I don't care about my cell phone, really that's the only thing I don't update unless it's broken

Fave name: Mohamed

Favorite hobby: Shopping

Favorite room in my house: Closet, lol

And I add:

Favorite Fruit: Kiwi


Ok, so why is it that some Favourite in this tag are spelled with a U and some with just an O. Can someone enlighten us with the correct spelling peleaz ?

I tag
Mina,
Ms.Unique
Hajar
Jasmina
Empress Anisa

10 Random Things about Me

I've been tagged by Mina to write about ten most honest things about me and then tag seven fellow bloggers, looks harder than it is --- but here goes!!!

1- I am a Muslim, and hence my Love for ALLAH and his Messenger supercede everything in my life! I strive to understand Islam as the prophet saw taught it but I'm still very weak on a lot of points. I'm not where I want to be in my deen as of yet even though my mum thinks I'm an extremist :)

2-I'm not the "stereotypical good wife", I wasn't trained to be one, never thought about it! My career was what I was interested in! I did not take any marriage lessons or lectures, hence it is hard for me to reconcile both and build an Islamic home, but I'm trying inshAllah.

3- I smile and laugh at everything! I'm a very silly person in real life.All my friends think I'm crazy . I will make fun of you before you open your mouth, I laugh at myself all the time coz stupid things seem to happen to me on a daily basis.

4- I'm afraid of animals, all species: insects, carnivores, herbivores, ants,monkeys, omnivores,.... you name it! I had 4 parakeets for a year and I was scared of them. I would run and hide in my closet after opening their cages to feed them.

5- I don't have good closet management skills, It's hard for me to keep my clothes in order. I've always been jaleous of people who have a neat closet, color coded, everything piled up properly! yuck I hate you!

6-What you see is what you get. Nothing is hidden. I'm not really understood a lot of times. People either really love me, or don't like me at all... there is no middle way.

7- I don't have a good sense of orientation. You can give me directions to your place while I'm driving and I'd still get lost.... I can go somewhere 10 times but I can never remember how to get there which annoys my husband lol.

8- I'm very emotional, though I don't show it, things get to me easily. People think I'm heartless and never cry, but it's not true, I cry a lot, I just don't show my terars... Only people who know me well can see that side.

9-I can't roller skate or roller blade, I am too uncoordinated for that. Walking is hard enough lol

10- I always thought I'd grow up to live in a mansion like the Vanderbilt mansion, I'm still waiting......

I tag
Ms. Unique
Empress Anisa
Nida
Elom
Aalia
Habayeb
Amina
Naz

100 Things

I was tagged a long time ago by sweet Hagar I tag everyone who feels up to it!


Rules :: Basically highlight stuff that you've done. :)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumping ( wants to)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked ( back in high school when I was young and restless lol )
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community ( that's such an accomplishment, isn't it>? lol )
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance ( almost,I refused to comply)
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favourite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job lol
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car ( but it was for my mum, does that count? lol)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper ( thanks to my mother, to wish me a happy birthday, lol it was to the least embarassing)
85. Read the entire Qur’an
86. Visited the White House ( I live in DC, lol)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life ( a fish's life does count?)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

The letter F

I guess it's Tag Week, lol. I've been tagged again by SweetHajar and Mina

Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following questions.
They have to be real place, names, things, nothing made up!
Try to use different answers if the person who tagged you had the same 1st initial.

You can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.


Since the first letter of my name's been used, I will use a different letter :)
What is your name: Fatima.
A 4 Letter word: Fact.
A Boys Name: Faruk.
A Girls Name: Fawza.
A Color: Fushia

Something you wear: Flip-Flops.
A Food: French Fries.
Something found in the bathroom: Face Wash.
A place: France.
A Reason for being late: Flat tire.
Something you shout: FIRE lol

I tag
Empress Anisa
Rabia
Abaya Chic
Jasmina
And everyone else who wants to take the challenge!

Five Things

I have been tagged by my lovely sisters Mona and Empress Anisa
5 Things I was doing 10 years ago

I was still in highschool
Still living at home
I was single
I was reading one book a day ( no kidding)
I had 2 penpals who lived in Turkey and Italy and we used to exchange letters( yea that was before the age of emails and chatrooms lol).
Do such things still exist?


5 Things On My To-Do List

Organize my closet
Laundry
Make Hajj
Learn more Quran
Be a mother

5 Snacks I Like

Snickers
Kitkats
Chocolate
Doritos
Fruit&Nut Chewy Trail Mix

5 things I would do if I was a millionaire
Retire
Buy a big house in a sunny place with a big garden
Buy a boat
Travel a lot
Charity work especially towards orphans and children in general

5 places I have lived ( for various lengths of times)


Boston, MA

Washington, DC

Dakar, Senegal

Paris, France

Bethesda, MD


5 Jobs I have had

Business Office Assistant

Jr. Financial Analyst

Development Associate

Accountant

Financial Analyst(current)

5 people I Tag
Amina
Elom
Muslimahh
Jamaican Hijabi
Hajar

When in the Masjid

Umm Travis from Tea Break Thoughts tagged me! Sorry for the late reply sister, I was off today and was out visiting friends and family.
The Rules:
Link back to the person who tagged you.List 3 ahadith you’d like to pin up in your masjid and why.Tag some of your fellow bloggers by linking to them in your post and don’t forget to post a comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been tagged.

The aHadeeth:

1-Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle (p.b.u.h) said,
“When the Imam is delivering the Khutba, and you ask your companion to keep quiet and listen, then no doubt you have done an evil act.”

Sometimes, it is very frustrating to listen to the Friday Khutba at my masjid. My local mosque is in downtown DC, so most people come there straight from work on Fridays and it gets very crowded. The women have an entire section to themselves dowsntairs and a big TV screen that displays the Imam live so we can see what's happening in the main room upstairs. Sounds great right? well....except that women chat as loudly as if they were in a coffee shop, laugh outloud during the khutba, yell at their kids, sometimes even fight among themselves. There was an incident when one sister was talking so loud that another one asked her to keep quiet and she refused and started screaming and talking in a foreign language and they were going back and forth while the Imam was delivering the Khutba. Mind you, these were not young people either, but the regular 'aunties' who think the mosque is part of their backyards. Subhanallah, is this the way to behave in a mosque? Shouldn't we have a better adab while at the mosque especially during the khutba?

Imam Asi (on the picture) outside of the mosque on Fridays.............>
2-Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Umar:
Allah’s Apostle said, “A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor. Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill his needs; whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring him out of the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection, and whoever screened a Muslim, Allah will screen him on the Day of Resurrection .” Bukhari
It breaks my heart to enter the mosque on Fridays while I see Imam Mohammad Asi praying on the side-walk with his followers. Rain or shine, summer or winter, Imam Asi does his khutba and jummah prayers on the side-walk because the Saudis banned him from entering the mosque for the past 25 years. The only Eid when he tried praying inside the mosque, he was arrested and charged on counts of “unlawful entry into the mosque” and “disturbing a religious service” and spent Eid in Jail. Subhanallah, did they forget that muslims have a God-given right to enter the masjid? Muslims of all creeds are free to enter any mosque. Even non muslims visit the mosque, why aren't they allowing Imam Asi, a muslim brother to enter the mosque? So, on Fridays after praying inside, I always try to stop by the side-walk facing the opposite side of the mosque to listen to Imam Asi's khutba. With his clear voice he denounces corruption, denounces the behavior of those who have put him in this situation for the past 25 years. Sometimes, it will be snowing and Imam Asi will be there praying on the cold floor, making dawah using his mike, reciting the Quran with his beautiful voice that makes pedestrians stop and wonder why this old man would be praying outside of a mosque with about 10 or 15 people....May Allah reward Imam Asi for his struggles, sabr and perseverance. If you wanna know more about Imam Asi's situation, you can click HERE

3-It was narrated by Abu Malik al-Ash'ari that the Messenger of Allah saw said:'Cleanliness is half of faith and Alhamdulillah fills the scale, and SubhanaAllah and Alhamdulillah fill up what is between the heavens and the earth. Salah is a light, and charity is proof (of one's faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Qur'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.'[Muslim]

It is just such a beautiful hadith that sums up so many characters and behaviors of a good muslim.Here,the Prophet saw is telling us that cleanliness is half of faith, therefore it should not be taken lightly. Yet, how many Muslim brothers/sisters go to the masjids to offer their salahs, and annoy their brothers, their Lord, and His Angels, by not taking care of their smell/appearance/socks/clothing/cleanliness?
It is very important for us to keep our persons clean especially when going to the masjids. Our level of cleanliness should go beyond the outer self to touch our hearts and souls.The areas outside the masjid are littered with paper and garbage, yet this is where we stand and pray. How can we pray in filth? This is not the way of the Prophet saw. If we see litter, let's pick it up, and know that our reward is with Allah swt inshallah.

I think these 3 hadiths would help us ponder on our behavior in the mosque and also on our behavior towards each other. Our muslim brothers and sisters have a right upon us, and we also have a right upon ourselves. We will be a better ummah if we learn to accept and give rights when they are due.

I will tag the following blogs:

Mona
UmmIsmail
Muslimahh
Banafshe
Malizea
Sister Safiyyah
Halal Honey
Cecilia
Naima Umm Khadija
And Anyone who is up to it, feel free....