UmmLayla gets Mortified

http://www.getmortified.com/book/
I suspect that many of you fellow bloggers kept a diary/journal when you were you angsty teens... I think most bloggers are writers at heart, and many people who like to put thought to pen keep a journal...

Anywhoo, I wanted to share with you a book that I found at The Virgin Megastore in FL, Mortified. It's the journal entrees of teens and preteens that originally found life as a stage play. I really enjoyed it and it inspired me to go to my dad's house and dig up my journals that I kept from about 9-18 years of age... And in true keeping with the spirit of the book, I will share an entry from one with you:


Thursday, April 5th 1990
Well, all's quiet on the (my last name) front! Yesterday, I did well in the lacrosse game. I'm definitely not in danger of losing my position (as team goalie). And I asked Alex if he likes Jenna. He didn't even freak out he just said, "Yeah, but only as a friend." totally calm and serious. So I'm sure he's not lying. Oh baby, my man and my position are safe! At OM (Olympics of the Mind) Alex and I both cut our fingers up with those retractable razor blades while we were cutting some cardboard. It didn't really hurt, but my mom wants me to get a tetanus shot since I haven't had one in ten years and the razor was so dirty. Oh well, I'm sure I won't die. I'm getting lazier and lazier as the end of the year gets closer. Soon I'm gonna just veg out! Speaking of veggin out, just about a month ago I became a vegetarian. It may seem odd but I feel better and I feel like I'm not hurting anything for my food and that's a good feeling. I've pysched myself out so much to refrain from meat that even the thought of eating animal flesh appals me! It's odd, before I loved steak and chili and chicken pot pie and turkey breast. but now I couldn't dream of touching it to eat. But in science I'll still dissect and stuff, I have to!!!!! What good would a doctor who didn't be?

Thursday, April 12th 1990
Whoa! Today has been just a blowout! I went off on the OM team about screwing around and not getting anything done. And at practice Jill (the coach) asked Selena (a teammate) and I to talk to the lacrosse team about their "bad attitude" towards practice lately. I was glad though they all really shaped it up afterwords. OM was different. Alex has decided that he kinda likes Jenna. (Bleah!) So he has to show off for her and screw around and shit and I'm getting sick of it. He can be cool though. Like tonight he rode home with us and i had on glasses and he actually told me I looked good in them. It was cool. but his shit with Jenna is gonna piss me off. I just hope he'll get over it pretty quick. Jenna likes Jason anyway. I don't know, I hope he grows to hate her!j/k (just kidding)

Adult me says...
I was about 15 when I wrote those. See I told you I was a geek. Olympics of the mind and all! LOL Seriously, I never even dated Alex... But I would've been smart to, last I heard he was at MIT;)

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Now fellow bloggers, I am challenging you to get mortified! Pull out that journal and post a page or too, come on. If I can do it you can. Leave me a comment if you are planning to do, it would be cool to make the challenge on your blog too if you do. I'm waiting!!!!

Name that Daycare!

OK, so we are all over the place with a name for the daycare... I think it should be a little cheeky... Or just a nod to the fact that it's a Waldorf style school. I'm extreme that way. No babyland, kiddie kastle, or anything cheesy like that for me.

So I was thinking of the name: Shmoosville, or Shmoo Valley as in shmoo from the lil'Abner cartoon. Check it out... Here's a shmoo site.

What do you think?

I think I need a faith lift...

Friends, I have a request. I am way out of the loop here in cowboy country. So if you hear of an Islamic convention, a learning oppertunity, a great book... Please pass it on. I am thirsting for Islam. No really. I am just parched. So give a sister a cool drink, huh?

Flying While Muslim

This is me, looking fairly annoyed as DH argues with the lady at the Delta counter over CHARGING US when we missed our flight because we were selected by them for a "random" security check.

I have no problem with security checks. And if you want to just say that you are going to check every passenger you suspect might be Muslim/Arab... Do it. But just ADMIT that is what you are doing. We flew Delta (something I will never do again) and were "randomly" selected for extra security on every flight we took. Now, I wouldn't even mind... But my last name is different and I NEVER got selected... Sure, random. Now, on our return we checked in at 6, with baggage out of the way and everything and proceeded to our 7:30 flight. That is when my 6 year old's shoes set off the mass spectrometer (those sniffer machines) and we were detained for the next hour+. We told them throw the shoes away. We told them we are late to our flight... DH ranted about the research project he was involved in building such machines and how they were not that great yet anyway. We waited for an endless parade of supervisors who were unsure what to do in this situation and finally our son's name was logged in some security violation book and we were on our way.

Now, Delta seems to take their time of departure seriously because we missed our flight by a few minutes. The same thing happened to us when making a connection on the way to FL... Silly really that they don't wait if a passenger is making a connection or already checked into a flight. Really silly.

Now, there we are at the Delta counter... We are looking at the next day we discover and I start calling hotels. I regret returning the rental car. I wonder what my DH will do about his work. Then the Delta lady hits us with $75 a ticket to get the new flight. WHAT? Oh no, it gets worse. DH gets the supervisor and she tells us that she is "doing us a favor" since they weren't "real tickets". Oh great. Well, we paid real money for them! So, apparently the Delta policy is that if you buy your tickets through Priceline or a discount ticketing company you are SOL if you miss your flight. The tickets are only good for that flight and that flight only.

Well, I can't say I'm surprised. I can't say I didn't expect to have every crevice of my baggage inspected. But I didn't think I'd be paying over $500 for it!!! UGH. I hate Delta. I hate "random" security checks.

The funny thing is I was gonna go postal on the first flight when we got delayed and I started to go on about these checks not being random and just as the poor security lady is telling me that the airlines select people DH says "cool down, stop!" Then the next day as we got "randomly" selected again DH starts going postal!LOL So I told him, "Gee honey, cool down!" After that there was something about shoes and something else about random and a final thought about how these checks were stupid because the machine that said the night before my son's shoes contained traces of explosives registered nothing the next morning. Ohhhh my. I guess we will be leaving for the airport a whole day early if we go to Egypt this year!LOL

I'm Baaack!

We are back from Florida... I have so many post I owe about traveling while Muslim, the Disney empire, my DH vs other Egyptian men of his generation and just about 100 other random things. This was a computer free vacation though... So I am just getting to it all. Insha'Allah you will be hearing from me this week lots!LOL

YAAAAHOOOOWWWEEEE!

If you know me, you know that we have been dying to take a vacation. We wanted to go for the last Eid... And that was shot down by a shortage of workers for my DH's business (what's new?). Soooo, here we are at the next Eid and DH's friend from Egypt is going to be in Florida... So we start debating the trip. We look at tickets, we do math, we wait... And all the time the deal keeps getting sweeter from the friend (who is a nice guy, masha'Allah). "Diab, I have a second suite with a kitchen..." "Diab, I have a rental car until the 22nd." "Diab, I can get 4 free tickets to Disney." OK!! OK!! We're coming!!!

So, we leave to Florida early tomorrow morning. I'm off to pack! Wheeee!

Come on, it's funny!

Saw this on Mamamona's and I had to give it a try!

Kids Will Do Anything For The Egyptian's Wife.

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Hmmm, not my kids but it sounds good!LOL

The Sweet You Can't Eat Without The Egyptian's Wife.

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Well, if you're gonna eat sweets AROUND me you're gonna eat them WITH me!

Tell Them About The The Egyptian's Wife, Mummy.

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Get it, Egyptian... Mummy... Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk

The Egyptian's Wife Makes Everything Better.

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I do, I do, and I'm incredibly humble as well!

Why can't we learn from them?

OK, so I was all set to rant about why don't we Muslims have youth groups and things that would help us entice our children to learn more about the deen and befriend other Muslims from their generation... When I found this
Muslim youth group in southern California. Bravo. Masha'Allah. So, I hope this is the beginning of a trend... Insha'Allah there will be youth groups all over the place when my kids are older... Well, there will be... Right?

I have struggled since I converted with the tendency of the Muslim community to adapt this attitude of complacency when it comes to teaching the deen. It seems like we just assume that the deen will teach itself. That it will jump out of the pages of the Quran and grab our children and community members in. And while I can't deny that it has happened... I think we owe our communities and families more in the way of teaching the religion. And I don't mean dogma, I mean giving them the tools to reach a deeper level of commitment and understanding of the deen.

Also, I have struggled with the lack of community in Islam. There seems to be these little ethnic groups and everyone else just falls into the cracks. And by everyone I mean second generation immigrants, people from mixed backgrounds and of course converts. I know, I know, people from the mosque are all up in your business in some places... But I rarely see it as constructive, actually it is usually quite the opposite. I have seen communities that seem to specialise in divorcing people... Astagfurallah.

You have to admit that as a fixture in the religious landscape of the USA we are pretty new. There are groups that have been doing this for a long time and maybe they have some ideas that we could adapt for ourselves. I guess what I'm getting at is why can't we learn from other groups that have these things nailed? I look at the Evangelical Christians... Wow, they have got the youth thing going. And I know the LDS folks here where I live have caring for their community down to a science.

Look, ISLAM is perfect... No one said Muslims are. Just something to think about.

Keep me in your dua...

Please keep me in your dua. Our daycare project goes before city council AGAIN today. Insha'Allah, it will go well and we can move on with the the actual construction. We have been busting our butts getting a petition signed and talking to different people about it, so we've done what we can in regards to showing that people support this. It's with Allah(swt) now and we are ready for whatever he has planned for us.

Update: Back from city council... We got it! ALHAMDULILAH!

My kingdom for a bag?

OK, if all women are either shoe whores or bag hags.... Usually I am a shoe whore. Shoes were really the thing I spent money on, and even still nothing covers my stubborn foot that costs less than $100. Only now I can afford only 1-2 pairs a year!LOL

I find myself coveting these tokidoki bags big time... But can a mom of three really spend $200 on a bag? Well, maybe in my next life!LOL

Edit... Mom to three? Wow, I really am sleep deprived!LOL Four. Mom of Four.