Ramadan Kareem

Dear sisters!

Subhan'Allah the holy month of Ramadan is right around the corner! Alhamdulillah, I am so grateful that Allah (swt) has made it possible for me to experience another Ramadan!

As for blogging I can't promise that I will be posting and commenting. I might choose to not use the Internet during this month... No matter what, I hope you're all doing well and see you after Ramadan, insha'Allah. Thanks for a wonderful (Blogger)-year! :-) I started blogging and meeting you wonderful sisters and friends during Ramadan 2010. Thanks for all the love and wonderful comments you have left here. It means so much to me and has made me smile so many times, Alhamdulillah. You all are very unique.

I hope all of you will have a beneficial, spiritual month and that Allah (swt) will make it easy for you and shower his blessings on you and your family and loved ones!

Ramadan Kareem!

Wind of Change

Assalaam Alaikum sisters!

I hope you are doing well and are at the best of iman, insha'Allah!

I am taking a bigger break from computers than I intented, but I don't think it's that bad at all although I know it increases the amount of posts from you lovely sisters that I didn't read or comment on... My apologies!

Allah says: “Truly, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” 
(Quran 13:11)

It seems like changes are happening for many sisters and brothers at the moment. At least I see it on quite a few blogs: Sisters are making important changes in their lives with the goal to achieve (more) peace, contentment, nearness to Allah (swt) and to get to know their deen better. Alhamdulillah, the same things are happening at my place. Recently I have had more time to look at my own stuck patterns and convictions and have had a lot of a-ha-moments, Alhamdulillah. It's so dangerous if we stop reflecting and if we don't try to make our hearts become cleaner and increase our nearness to Allah (swt)...

My husband and I are starting to read more Arabic together, he teaches me and his daughter more about Islam and we want to study the Qur'an together. As a Muslim I find it really essential that you learn Arabic so you can study the Qur'an and unlock the beautiful secrets in it. Without the understanding of the many meanings of the words in Arabic, I don't think I will benefit a 100% from the Qur'an and I would be sad to die without having known the Qur'an in it's many facets!

This Ramadan we have planned to meet 3 times a week with another family - and eveybody else who wants to join in - and read Qur'an, become better at Tajweed, get to know our deen better, make Dhikr etc. Insha'Allah it will be beneficial!! The days we don't meet up with the others, we will do all these things together (my husband and I), insha'Allah.

I pray that all sisters and brothers who are trying to make positive changes in their lives and try to get closer to Allah (swt) will succeed and will eventually feel peace and contentment in their hearts. It's a big challenge being a human in this world and there are so many ways to approach it!

"And remember the Name of your Rubb and devote yourself to Him with a complete devotion."

(Quran 73:8)

Take care dear sisters!! And let me know what changes you are going through lately? (If you feel like sharing them <3)

Take a Summer Walk with Me

Assalaam Alaikum sisters!

I hope you are doing well! I'm so sorry for not being much online and not posting much. I am really taking a break from computers and enjoying much time outside. I'm also sorry to not commenting much! I still love you! ;) :)

I've been spending a lot of days at my parents' place - the place where I also lived a big part of my life. Allah (swt) really blessed us with living in a town like that. Insha'Allah the beautiful nature will be preserved there.
I went on some lovely trips the days, where I didn't have to work and I want to share some of the pictures here with you. I apologize for the sometimes unsharp pictures. They were taken with my 4-year-old mobile phone... But insha'Allah you will enjoy them:

Field - The white spots in the middle are sheep :)

The houses are so beautiful

The following pictures are from another trip I went on one evening with my parents:

I would love to live here!

The next day we went for a walk in a park in the town, to a field and to the beautiful dome and the buildings around it:

I love poppies!

The dome of the town

It's not bad being the bishop of this town living in the yellow house with the car!

Another angle of the dome

Two crows

I hope you enjoyed these pictures, insha'Allah! :)

Take care all of you!

Vacation & Preparing for Ramadan

Assalaam Alaikum dear sisters!


I hope you're all doing well and enjoying yourself, insha'Allah!
As you might know, I have vacation now, my husband is abroad visiting friends... When he left, I decided to escape from the city and go stay at my parents house closer to nature. Of course I brought my rabbit too :-) She's having such a wonderful time and loves all the grass she can eat daily! Last year she was on vacation here too and even gained weight from all the grass, although she doesn't sit in a cage and therefore even gets a lot of daily excercise. Hehe.
I just love to be away from the city and stepping out on the grass and the dew with the sun in my face in the morning - it is just amazing, masha'Allah. Insha'Allah my husband and I can live in a house surrounded by nature one day :-)

Ramadan is getting closer (right now 33 days and 15 hours to go ;-) - see the countdown in my sidebar), Alhamdulillah! We are about to enter the month of Sha'ban. The Prophet (saws) used to begin fasting in Sha'ban as a prelude and towards the end of the month he would stop to gather strength for Ramadan. Therefore, planning ahead is a Sunnah. I read a lot about fasting yesterday and read how you can increase the benefits of fasting and avoid any side effects. Today I am starting a detox diet, which I'll follow for ten days. It includes a lot of herbal teas, water (with/without lemon), fruit and vegetables + brown rice etc. I'm excited to see how my body will react to the detoxification! :-) Did any of you ever try a detox diet?


Detox is not abstaining from all food and water during the day, like in Ramadan. But I hope a detox diet will be beneficial as a preparation for Ramadan, insha'Allah. And also a proper fast.
There are many things to be aware of when fasting. This piece of an article is just some of the things that we should be aware of in the holy month of Ramadan:


"The first meal of the day, before dawn, should contain complex carbohydrates in order to fuel the body for the rest of the day and keep one feeling full in order to reduce the onset of hunger pains at a later stage.  The meal at night, after sundown, should preferably be a lighter one in order to avoid indigestion and heartburn...To avoid the possibility of constipation it is important to eat foods that are high in fibre, increase fruit and vegetables in the diet, and to consume an adequate volume of liquids, such as water, soup, weak tea and fruit juices. Take care not to drink too much or digestive juices can become overly diluted and stomach bloating may occur. Sweet foods high in sugar, including most desserts, and adding salt to meals, thus causing additional thirst, should be avoided.  Decreasing consumption of spicy and fried foods is advised to lessen digestive problems." Source: helium.com


Personally I have not been taking these things into conciderations every time I cooked during Ramadan. Insha'Allah you will also benefit from this Ramadan Health Guide (2007) available online! And insha'Allah we'll all have a blessed and beneficial Ramadan!! :-) I can't wait :-) How are you preparing yourself for Ramadan? Both physically and spiritually? Spiritually I will also this month increase the amount of Qur'an that I read and insha'Allah achieve more knowledge about our deen through books and increase my dhikr.


If you don't see me much online this week, it's because I'm at my parents' place and have chosen not to sit too much in front of a computer. Like today I want to go on a bike trip on my own to the water and forests nearby :-) insha'Allah.


Take care all of you <3

Enjoying the Sun

Dear sisters!

The time has come: I have holidays! :-) I passed the exam yesterday, Alhamdulillah, and insha'Allah I'll also have passed the two papers I wrote :-) Next week I will be observing speech-language pathologists so that I can try to have my first clients (1 or two + a group) this Autumn! It won't seem like not having holidays, because I just love speech-language pathology. Now I only have 1½ years left of my studies, Alhamdulillah.

I hope you're all doing well. Of course I slept till more than 7 this morning and I spent the whole day outside with my sister and just enjoyed not having to study anything! For dinner I met my husband at a sushi restaurant :-)

I just took a cheese cake(!) out of the oven. Something I've been craving sooo much for a long time! And if I like the result I will share the recipe on my blog, insha'Allah.

My husband will go abroad for 12 days on Sunday and I'm already excited about it and already missing him too :-/ Hehe. But insha'Allah we'll both have a wonderful time although we're not together.

Take care dear sisters and you'll hear from me soon again.

"When I [Allah] love him..."

With this beautiful hadith below I wish all of you a wonderful week. On Thursday I'm attending the last exam of this semester and I can't wait for my holidays! :-) :-) :-)

Thank you to every one who follows my blog. I am astonished of all the followers I have and so grateful for that and for the comments you leave, masha'Allah.

 

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (ra), who said that Rasulullah (saws) said:

Allah (swt) said: "Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask (something) of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about (seizing) the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him."

[Bukhari, hadist qudsi]

Behind Every Great Blog...

Dear sisters!

I hope you're all doing well <3

You know I'm busy with studying - one week and two days until my last exam! Yay. I'm already trying to plan my two first weeks of holidays - although I have to work a bit too... My husband will be abroad visiting friends and I will be all by myself, so I need to do something I like! :-) Like going to the sea, visit a city/town I don't know yet, go to the forest, visit family, see friends, watch a movie at the cinema, go to a fav. café and have tea and cheesecake. Hehe. I haven't been alone for such a long time (10 days it'll be) since I married my husband four years ago, Alhamdulillah. It's a bit exciting. Lol.

By the way this picture and text below really made me laugh!

And the husbands wonder why the dinner isn't being served... - We're all busy blogging! :-D

And speaking of great blogs: I'm going to post a list of a few blogs I recently discovered, which I would definitely encourage you to visit - and hopefully follow too :-) Enjoy:

Guard Your Heart

Noir Stripes

 

time turns flames to embers

LOVE2COOK

Ital is vital, halal and sweet

I Cook Halal

Abundance Tapestry

Jummah Mubarak

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things.

[al Noor 24:35]

Dear sisters!

Jummah Mubarak to all of you!
I'm going to clean the house today, study, attend Jummah, buy groceries, study, cook, study... :-) Insha'Allah.

I wish you a beautiful day! I leave you with Surah al Jummah:

The Stylish Blogger Award

Dear Marie and dear Blue Pearl! I want to thank you both so, so much for passing this award on to me! You both mean a lot to me and therefore it brings me a lot of joy everytime I receive something from you - like a comment, mail or award. Thank you for being who you are: Beautiful, wise women with pure hearts, masha'Allah!

The rules, when you receive this award, are to share 7 things about yourself...

 

1. I love stars, swallows, butterflies, snails, smiles, mountains, seas, flowers...

2. I can observe animals and also insects for hours

3. As a kid I wanted to be an archaeologist in Egypt

4. Now I want to work as a Speech-Language Pathologist with adults

5. I have relations with people who have beautiful hearts and I see them as my family

6. I love The Neverending Story as a book and as a movie

7. This night I dreamed about cheesecake. I am really craving it. Lol.

I give this award to the following beautiful sisters - and to those I didn't give it to: Know that you're just as wonderful as the bloggers below and you all deserve an award!! <3

DSK - The Dreamer and Believer

 

Dana and Rawan - Rainbow

 

Mariam - Underneath a Silver Sky...

 

Bonnie - Blessings through trials

 

Texan, after UAE

 

Aisha - My world of perception

 

 

A Baby... Please?

How good it is to have a place like this, where you can ask so many sisters for advice! Masha'Allah. I hope you're all doing well.

The situation:

My husband has a daughter (9) from a previous relationship. I wasn't clever enough to talk about our future together and if he would like to have any more kids, when I got married to my husband at the age of 22. At that time I had no need to have children of my own and I even though it would be enough for me with just his daughter. When I turned 25 things changed and I suddenly felt a deep desire to have my own children some day (not in too many years) and now at the age of 26 the desire is still there and I almost can't imagine how my life would be, when I get older, and I hadn't gotten any children of my own!...

In the beginning of our marriage my husband always said, that you can't, as a man, marry a young woman and say you don't want to have any kids (if she hasn't gotten any already). I agreed with that... And still do! But lately he's said things like "do we really need to have children?!" (he thinks it's sooo much work!)... And it makes me quite uncomfortable, 'cause I really don't want to be the kind of woman who forces her man to have kids with her :-/ and I also know that my husband has a hard time with women who want to have kids no matter if the husband likes it or not!! 

Do you have any advice for me and has somebody perhaps been in the same situation?

I really find it hard to pick up the subject with my husband 'cause I am afraid of what it will lead to... Afraid that he will ask me to choose between him - or to leave and have kids with somebody else some day...

Of course I make duaa too!... And I also know I should just trust Allah (swt) and not worry too much...
I really would love to experience being pregnant and experience the unique love (as they say) that you experience with your own baby/kids... I would feel as if I would not be completed as a woman, if I didn't have kids and I feel like I'm already in love with that little baby who isn't even a reality yet......

Yasin

The mother of someone close to my husband has passed away and was burried today. That is why I post Surah Yasin, masha'Allah.
The sun is shining brightly and it's warm outside and my thoughts are wandering about life and death. The death of someone is always a reminder for people that this life is only temporary and that we have to say goodbye to each other and to the world ourselves one day. It makes us remember to be grateful for what we have and for the time we were able to be around the person, who has passed away...

Ina lilah wa ina ilayhi raji'oon

Dream Image (poem)

engle af glas
knuses mod asfalten
blodet siver fra mine fødder

drømmebilledet varer evigt

jeg tør ikke vende blikket op
jeg vil ikke vide om englene er knust
før de rammer jorden

 *

angels made of glass
crush against the pavement
blood seeps from my feet

the dream image lasts eternally

I dare not lift up my gaze
I don't want to know if the angels are crushed
before they hit the ground

--

I just felt like sharing this poem I wrote in 2009...

You can interpret it exactly as you like. I am of the believe that poetry speaks to us in the way that we need it to. Just like dreams. The meaning of a dream to one person, might have a completely different meaning to another person.

To me this poem reflects a will to hold on to a dream-world you live in or the reality that you have created for yourself - not wanting/daring to see the world as it actually is, even though reality is knocking at your door (-bleeding feet...).

Sometimes I have a tendency to not want to know what's actually going on around me! I want to live in a little bubble with my little family, friends and Islam..... :) Insha'Allah in Jannah... :)

That's all for now. I was in a poetry-mood tonight after having worked on my paper all day long.

Sweet dreams all of you <3

Long Night...

Dear sisters,

I hope you're all doing well <3 This is just a short update on my life at the moment :-)

I feel like it's going to be a loooong night tonight... I've been working on a paper in Neuropsychology for some time now and all day today too (except when I prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner for my family). I'm writing about the (possible) connection between Autism and the Amygdala! Interesting stuff indeed, but I don't really love writing papers actually...

Right now I'm in a flow - needed a short (blogging-)break though - and I hope to finish the paper latest on Saturday, 'cause I have to spell-check (etc.) two papers for Monday. Insha'Allah I'll be done in time! I'm doing my best to not become stressed, although sometimes I feel the stress running through my veins! Lol. Please keep me in your duaa's :-) Tomorrow I'll have to study at the library, so I can concentrate on the paper the whole day without too many interruptions.

I hope you sisters, who are studying too, are doing well and that you aren't stressed out and will make everything in time <3 

 

PS: Welcome to my wonderful new followers! :-) As you might have guessed, I'm in the middle of my exam period right now. In 1½ years I'll have my master's degree in Speech & Hearing Sciences, insha'Allah :-)

And jazakallah khair for the 9 sweet sisters who joined my Tea-blog :-)

If it wasn't for my followers, I wouldn't be blogging! Love you :-D

New Blog: Tea Time Benefits

Assalaam Alaikum dear sister and good morning!

The sun is occasionally looking through the clouds here and the birds seem to praise Allah (swt) with their beautiful songs. Even the swallows have appeared again after a long winter-break, masha'Allah. If there is any bird I love the most, it must be the swallow! My time stands still when I hear them singing! :-)

I'm having another study-day, obviously, but just wanted to let you guys know about a new blog I created last night (click the screenshot to visit):

I have moved the tea-posts from this blog to Tea Time Benefits, because I want to make a tea-info collection there :-) insha'Allah. After my exams are finished in the end of June, I'll have more time to make new tea-posts so we can increase our knowledge about this beneficial drink, insha'Allah. For now I leave you with three "old" tea posts and one new about Nettle tea.

I hope you like the idea -and if you do, you are really welcome to follow that blog too! :-)

Take care all of you and have a splendid day with lots of smiles - and delicious tea, insha'Allah <3

PS: Don't forget to check out my post Blogger-sisterhood from yesterday, because there you'll see links to a lot of fabolous sister-blogs, masha'Allah!

Who 'rose water' Is...

Dear sisters!

I hope you're all doing well and are smiling - if not all the time, just most of the time, insha'Allah :-)

I'm sitting on the floor in the living room, while my family is trying to sleep :-) Occasionally I look out on the breathtaking colours of the sunset. It's been raining sooo heavily this evening and now Allah (swt) has turned the sky from dark grey to deep red, masha'Allah. The birds are singing and I will soon be going to bed.

Some of you sisters have been sharing pictures of yourself for us to see on your blogs. I've been thinking about doing that myself for a long time, not really knowing if it's good or bad to upload pictures of yourself on the Internet. But I've decided to let you see who this rose water is!! :-) Are you excited? (I am...! ;) Probably you already scrolled down before reading this... Lol. Anyway. The pictures were taken of me on Eid ul-Fitr 2010, because a journalist was actually following me and another Muslimah and interviewing us on our different approaches to Islam!...

Hehe. If you're wondering what I'm up to...: I was just listening intensely to/enjoying the Eid ul-Fitr Takbir at the mosque = sports hall and we (the women!) were praying on plastic :-/ For Eid ul-Adha I brought my own prayer mat and shared it with two other lovely sisters :-)

Talking about daily practice of Islam etc. with the other Muslimah (who's not pictured...) in front of me. And having a most delicious chocolate cake!

That's all for now, dear sisters. I wish you a wonderful day and night :-)

Good night from rose water.