A highly classifed birthday gift !

Hey there loyal readers from around the globe :)
hope you are all doing superb ;)

So it was my aunt's Birthday last weekend

I was quite excited about it partly because my mum was in the UK last week for an ultra short visit

and partly because of what I planned to do for my aunt for her birthday; one word ....drums please .....Botox !

I didnt know how much stigma my family associates with such treatment... my aunt was very happy about it but made it clear that I have to do it before my uncle comes home! 

I was genuinely peeved to learn that my mum had actually had it done before , mainly because I wasn't told :/ ok maybe I don't have the right to feel so but I still did

Anyway so my aunt and my mum are officially my first two clients since I got my botox license..isnt that funny ? :P

we had a good laugh , a delicious meal , they both liked what they got but most importantly my uncle knew nothing about it ;)

It made me think of the time when I ll be needing Botox ..I am already dreading it :P

Ok that is a bit of a random post really!but I m posting it anyway , you wont mind that right ?!

Making Peace is a Marathon !

The city of Beirut, Lebanon, has seen its share of tragedy, as a seat of Lebanon's long-running civil war (1975-1990) and the Israeli-Lebanese conflict that came to a head in 2006. But in 2003, May El-Khalil, a local sports official, decided: It's time to start a marathon, open to all, as an antidote to sectarianism.I find what she does for a living very inspiring ..take a look :)

P.S. I found the first 30 seconds quite tedious , her accent a bit irritating , and her face is so plastic (obviously she had had tons of plastic surgeries done but you will come to know why ) its worth watching ... Enjoy

http://www.ted.com/talks/may_el_khalil_making_peace_is_a_marathon.html

This thirty something life -Jon Rance

I read novels/books fairly regularly but it's the first time I have decided to review one . I didn't choose it for its originality but it was simply my last read.so here we go .... 'This thirty something life'

'A romantic comedy for anyone who is, has been or is ever likely to be a grown up. Being a thirtysomething man isn't easy (especially when you still yearn to be a twentysomething man). Meet Harry Spencer. History teacher, lover of snack food and terrified of growing up. However, when his wife Emily drops the P-Bomb, Harry is suddenly thrust into the role of expectant father. When he's tempted by the greener grass of an ex-girlfriend past, Harry has to make the most important decision of his life.' 

that's how its being billed.

Now why did I read this? There were some funny parts, learned a lot of British slang, which is kinda cool . But it was generally a waste of time. Here is the main problem:

  Characters aren't fleshed out enough. Here's what we know about the main character, Harry:

He's a History teacher but for vague reasons , he doesn't seem particularly interested in History or educating youth. Basically he's a lousy history teacher who is not interested in anything other than alcohol and sex. A man who wants to live the life of Peter Pan until being forced to grow up. The way he rationalizes irritated me beyond belief. And you don’t really get to know a lot about Emily, his wife even after reading the whole thing --she's fit and wants to be a mom that’s about it. Of course, most of the book involves Harry trying to avoid the temptation of cheating on his wife with an ex (who does not deviate from the sexually-unsatisfied-housewife stereotype).

Having said that, Jon Rance does somehow manage to convince me to turn the page. As it is written in the form of a diary so it has short, punchy “chapters”. There is a great temptation to think “I’ll just read one more before I put it down” .Jon Rance has a very accessible writing style and his sense of humour is apparent through many parts of the book. So if you manage to fight the temptation to slap the main character for his utter stupidity/immaturity, you might actually enjoy the read. And it’s definitely British humour, a bit mad, rather offensive at times but open and light-hearted in the main.  

One thing I appreciate about this book is being able to have a peek on a guy's head, how they think, reason with their own self- it's funny how all that goes..

Lastly , it wasn't very original. another chicklit in the book world. But easy to read .Perfect for long train rides.

Halal Food

‘Kosh.. What?’

‘Kosher food.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Jewish food’

At this point I’m thinking don’t Jewish people eat like the rest of us …what do they eat then? Bloody hell! What do they eat?  maybe ..... 
Sugar, how could I even consider that for a fraction of a second? I am just as racist as the rest of this world…its amazing how easily you can slip in this ugly profiling game ... my mind started to panic for no apparent reason .And if you know me , you won’t be surprised if I tell you that they kind of realized what I was thinking ..Of course, they would … It was written all over my face.

‘See it’s like Halal food for Muslims. It’s the sort of food that Jewish people are allowed to eat.’ said reassuringly 

‘Ah, alright  ...’ wait isn’t this guy Muslim?! Why is he eating Jewish Halal!? ….but I didn’t ask really. Its none of my business… maybe Jewish cuisine is interesting… I don’t know …I just decided to end this awkward conversation at this point ... I m too uncool to know what Kosher food is and my cooking skills are only slightly better than that of flying an airplane.

To be fair , when roaming  the streets of London , I have come across quite few cafés and restaurants including major chains that advertised selling Halal food but never once this kosher thing .. Maybe that’s because you can only find what you are looking for …

Lucky me !?

‘It must be cool to be able to read Quran without needing any sort of translation’

‘Hmm yeah well I suppose .To be honest, I’ve never thought about that ‘

I actually read it quite infrequently and even when I do read the Quran, I don’t bother search the meaning of the words that I can’t get  ... When people say things like that I really, like really feel guilty… I will read it more often I said to myself starting today… hopefully I’ll stick to my promise this time ..Fingers crossed

Ahmad the Jew

'He can't be' she sounded so sure about it

'why not?'

'Because Jewish people don't call their sons Ahmad'

'I know a Christian named Omar'

'Are you sure he was wearing the Jewish head cap? '

'well I suppose I saw it ,  let me tell you the story from the start so he did mention that he saw Dr.Ahmad at the meeting  last week and ...'

'then you must  have mixed his name with your colleague's name'

'I AM  pretty sure he said his name was Ahmad and he has met Ahmad last week' I said that rather assertively though at this point I started to doubt myself..  then I added 'So he said he was originally from Iraq but has left like 16 years ago , did his medical school in the UK and it is his first month as a qualified doctor ..and you wont believe it.. he can actually speak Iraqi Arabic'

'he must be a Muslim then , Jews had left Iraq since the seventies '

'what about the head cap then ?!'

'He definitely wasn't wearing one' mum concluded

'hmm I don't know maybe he is a Muslim who just feeling cold then'  :giggle

'dear check your eye sight asap !'
we were both laughing at this point ...
'OK then I have to go now,speak soon mum'

Happy B-day to the new mummy :)

My sister's B-day is this weekend .She, her husband and her few weeks old baby live in Sheffield at the moment . Most likely we will both change addresses by November. I am all hopes that the distance between us will always be doable !

I haven't seen her since the delivery , almost 9 weeks now . And to be honest , travelling to Sheffield would've been less likely if I didn't have a training course in Manchester on the same weekend .
But my legs are much better now (broken at the beginning of Ramadan :D) , still limping but yeah they are doing really fine considering all the travelling I 'm doing this month !

I am typing this whilst still at Baghdad international airport ! I might be off for a while as I am preparing for an exam sometime next month ..wish me luck :)
 

Hope she will find those vitamin E creams useful ! here's my little secret.... I am not sure I would've bought the set if it was not on offer ! ;)

Ali , the newest member of our family ; I am an auntie now :)
feeling old :P

Clumsiness must be running in the family , same week I broke my leg
my brother fell off the trampoline broke 3 ribs :P the poor thing can't laugh anymore ;)