Gaza Under Siege

From The Palestinian Cultural Club

ظلام دامس عاد ليغطي مدينة غزة بعد منع قوات الاحتلال من إدخال الوقود اللازم لتشغيل محطة توليد الكهرباء و

إغلاقه جميع المعابر المنفذة لغزة.

لحظات تمر على هذه المدينة بلا كهرباء... بلا ماء... بلا طعام... بلا أدنى مقومات الحياة.

أطفال غزة يستغيثون و أقل ما يمكننا فعله هو الدعاء، لفك الحصار القاتل عن أهل غزة، و إنقاذهم مما هم فيهم من معاناة. لكم الله يا أهل غزة...
!! فلنذكرهم إخوتي عندما نجلس في كنف الراحة والضوء والرفاهية، وعندما نشبع كل يوم ثلاث مرات

اللهم ضاقت الآمال وأنت الرجاء.

Moving House

We should be. Sometime this week. Actually I'm being a bit too optimistic, but I am determined to move into my new dream house before Eid. I have had it. We have packed around 50% of our stuff (which are endless by the way) and we are currently living out of boxes, which can be very annoying.

We now have 2 Air conditioners installed on the second floor bedrooms, but are still waiting for the parquet people to arrive!! Also the rest of the AC units should be fixed this week.

I'm itching to scrub those floors and bathrooms, itching to clean the kitchen and start stacking my stuff in there...

Can't wait...its been 2 years of constant worry, back & forth visits to the site, the kids are getting restless, and so am I...

Will keep you posted on the latest progress...

Love,

SoulSearch

I "heart" Cake

or any dessert of any kind for that matter...

But cake, is just sooo ..... sumptuous, especially when its slathered with the creamiest possible whipping cream or toffee syrup or chocolate... yumo

Cake just makes life better, the day lovelier...

Go on, take a slice out of life...

Love,

SoulSearch

Egypt rock slide tragedy

Imagine sitting in the comfort of your tiny little home in some remote Egyptian village, the next thing you know, your ceiling comes crashing down on you, crushing you and the rest of your poor family to death.

The thoughts that went through their heads...

the fear...

the surprise...

the pain...

All this under the watchful eye of the governement. The people repeatedly warned them of cracks and movement in the huge boulders but their cries fell on deaf ears.

And the result more than 30 people killed, hundreds buried under tons of rock that slid over their shanty town...

Click here to read the AlJazeera's report

Yet another Arab Sorry Situation...

Peace,

SoulSearch

That's life 4 ya ...

I have this urge to just pack and leave. Travel for a while, see a few places I haven't been to, be dazzled by nature's beauty and just some darn fresh air.

The weather is currently killing me. In addition to my allergies, the AC air is just isn't for me. Imagine me saying that in Bahrain? huh? Isn't that just funny... tragic actually. My joints ache due to the unnatural cold from artificial cooling systems, wish you could just open a darn window or something...

well... enough complaining. I can be quite bitchy when I'm thirsty. which I am by the way... totally. The weather isn't helping at all.

here I go again complaining, aaaah what the heck. Its my blog, so I guess I can let out some steam.

The house isn't helping either. We were supposed to move next week. I'm all packed! But no. We have to constantly chase the different suppliers and the waiting continues...

Have a nice day everyone. I sure have tried...

Peace,

SoulSearch

Ramadan Kareem

Ramadan Kareem everyone.

A time for us to give everything a break, from stuffing ourselves blind to reflecting on the state of the world.

I love the temporary change in routine that Ramadan brings. The absence of food & drink during the day allows for more time to think of my life, my career, my future, my beliefs. I've always had this sort of feeling, of cleansing, of purity, of serenity during the Holy Month.

I wish you all a serene Ramadan

وكل عام وانتم بخير

Seif's 4th Birthday

A few updates from my time off...

We celebrated Seif's 4th bithday with a CARS cake! He was thrilled.

I discovered he's such a shy boy! I love him.

Happy Birthday Sufyano.

I love you sweetheart.

Love,

Mama

We took a roadtrip to Kuwait, the kids loved it. Its great when you can convert your carseats to a bed for them. They loved the makeshift feeling! Shopping is amazing in Kuwait and the weather was not as bad as Bahrain. We were able to breathe for two minutes with no ACs, unlike Bahrain!!! Humidity is what is killing us here!!!

We did alot of shopping from IKEA, we actually spent the entire day there!!! The Avenues are huge!!! But you've got to have a huge budget because the Bahraini Dinar drops drastically before the might Kuwaiti Dinar!!!

Peace to you all...

Soul

Back Online...

Hello World,

I'm back online, back at my desk, back to the corporate world after 3 weeks of bliss. Its true that it flew by too fast, but its been amazing. Great bonding time with the kids, and great changes on the home front.

The construction of the house is almost done. Here's a quick summary:

1. All carpentry work has been finished (finally)
2. All plumbing has been fixed.
3. All wiring has been done,

As for pending jobs, these are:
1. Some painting touches still need to be finalized,
* the oustide fence,
* Amina's room
2. We need to buy and install the Air conditioning (We're thinking of Carrier, any suggestions?)
3. Entire cleaning process of the house needds to be done.
4. Finally the parquet...


But most importantly, we are now waiting for the power to come. We must wait for the electricity inspector who then gives us the green light! so to speak...

I'm hoping we could move in before Ramadan which is a week away, but I doubt if that can be done. I'm 50% packed but it would take more than one week to pack and upack 8 years of my life. And its not just me, its the kids as well.
I want to be careful during this transition as they need to adjust more than we do.

Its a huge house, and they have been used to living in a cramped apartment that was their whole world!!! They will be starting school on the 3rd of Septmeber too!!! Aaaaarrrggghhhh
A moment of panic there, but life goes on...

So that's where we are now...

Hope all's well on your front ;)

Love,
SoulSearch

Soul Time

The best part of my career is ...
My annual leave...


Have a Soulful time everyone...

Currently Reading ...

The Last Juror by John Grisham

The Whole Wheat Battle

Every morning,I wage a mini battle with my kids. They run to the kitchen, hoping to get there before me, to enjoy white bread or their favorite bleached cereal. But as soon as I am in there, I try to feed them what's good for them. I try!

For Lunch, its the same thing. They come home and expect white pasta or the more traditional white rice and can't imagine themselves eating anything with a tinge of brown.



What is a career mom to do? I need to rush to the office in the morning and don't have much time to argue, so I am sad to say that they win more often than I would like. HELP




I'm supposed to raise my children on whole wheat in a white bread world!

I hate white bread, who invented it & why? who thought of bleaching nature's beautiful bounties, nature's warm colors & goodness to deliver to our tables the un-nutritional white products? They must be evil....

Seriously... white bread is bad for you

The problem in Bahrain is not all nearby grocery stores (what we call cold stores) have brown bread on their shelves. I have to go all the way to a bakery to buy brown bread which is 5 times the price of white bread and then I come home to wage the Wheat Battle with my kids! & Brown Rice is out of the question. When you go into a shop to ask for it, they don't even know what you're talking about! Even whole wheat pasta doesn't seem to be readily available...

What's a caring mama gotta do to get her little kiddies to be whole wheat kids...

Peace,
SoulSearch

Home Sweet Home...Update III

Some images from the Home Front.

Our doors finally fixed. I love the natural wood color but apparently this has to be painted a darker color. Don't ask! Something about the wood panels used not being solid or something along that direction.



Our cars in the garage! Yipee!










I'm in love with these windows which are on top of the main staircase. They flood this place ith light!

Love,
SoulSearch

Summer Fun

I've been trying to get my kids into a routine since school has been out. They've been kind of bored, loitering around all morning, waiting for 2 really beat parents to join in games, crayons, and craft projects!!!

With kids around, you always need to be a Soul Mama, they need your undivided attention, love and care. And I can only give them just that.

Here is a list of what I plan to do for them in the coming few weeks...

1. Buy a few books; they love it when we read to them, Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Seuss is one of them.
2. Craft Central, I've been thinking of putting together some projects for them to get busy with during the day, including painting, puzzles, math worksheets, etc.
3. I've signed them up for some Quran classes in the morning, a little bit of spirituality to open up their minds.
4. They love swimming and the beach, so maybe once or twice a week, a trip to AlBandar


Can't wait for my annual leave in August, I seriously need some quality family time!

Love,
SoulSearch

Home Sweet Home...Update II

Home Sweet Home...

Its been a while since I've updated you on what's happening on the Home Construction Front. Its been slow. That's for sure, but really annoying.

1. The carpenter is taking his time finishing the wood work,

2. The pipefitter still needs to fix all the piping,

3. The Aluminum guy is brings a window here & a door there!

4. A few odds & ends that go on and on and on and on and on ...

The excuses are endless.

The most intense part of construction is the finishing. Really. "Tanateesh" is what that's called in Bahrain... & we're being seriously "Tanateeshed" at the moment...

*That's Seif my son, peering in the second pic

But with the prices of construction materials going up like crazy, it has left us a little dazed. We barely missed the 20% 0r 30% hike in all construction materials.

Will update you soon with more images...

Peace,

Soul

When words get lost in my mind...

What do you do when words fail you? What do you say when you can't remember the words to say it? How do you continue or end a conversation if you can't remember the words to say it?

Kunafeh recipe... here it comes

Quite a few peeople have been asking for the easy Kunafeh recipe, I have finally had 5 minutes of free time to post ...

This is the express Knafeh recipe, which has subtitutes to the actual ingredients but the same great taste!

So here goes:

You will need:

1 & 1/2 cup fresh milk

1/4 cup sugar

3 tbs of corn flour

1 tbs of flour (all purpose)

1 cup of fresh cream

1 cup of Mozarella cheese

1 tbs of orange blossom essence

For the Kunafeh you will need:

1 loaf of bread

1 cup of melted butter or ghee

>>>

First you will need to combine the milk, sugar, corn flour, & the flour in a saucepan for about 5 min on medium heat. Then add the cream, the cheese, & orange blossom essence, and turn off the heat. Allow to cool.

Then you will need to toast the bread and blitz in a food processor and line a round pyrex with the bread powder. add some of the melted butter (or ghee) over the bread. Add the creamy mixture as second layer, and then add the remaining bread powder on top to seal it. pour a little more of the melted butter which should give it a golden crust.

Bake in the 170 Deg C oven for around 20 to 30 min or until golden and pour sugar syrup on top of it.

Garnish with some pistacios and wait for the praise from your family & friends...

Love it, absolutely...

Try it & let me know the reults...

Love to all...

SoulSearch

Birthday Girl...The Fairy

She had 4 birthday parties, she was soooo excited.

I had to do one at school, one in my in-laws, one in my parents, and one at my grandma's!

She wore her cutie pie fairy costume, and she had a blast!!!

Birthdays have always been special to me, so I wanted her to feel very special on hers!

I love to see her smile, to jump around with happiness, innocence and beauty twirling, I love to feel her hug me and wait for my approving nod. She is my whole world. Both of my kids are, they are the air that I breathe, the light of my life.

Your loving mama,

Soul

Happy 6th Birthday Sweetheart

To my beautiful daughter. May you have a happy happy birthday, today & everyday.

I love you baby...

Love

Mama

The Devil is in the details

Why do people indulge in the nitty gritty of things and try to dive into the gory details of things and forget the bigger picture?

Wake up people...There are children who sleep on empty stomachs day in and day out. There are mothers who can't provide, fathers who are imprisoned, people killed for their thoughts!

It doesn't matter if your blue file is on the red file shelf, or if your invoice was not processed sooner than later!

It doesn't matter if your stationary doesn't match your corporate colors, don't worry too much.

My goodness, the corporate world is driving me nutssssssssss

Peace,
Soulful Soul

Book Heaven

So many books so little time.

A list of new books for this month!

Here is a rundown of the books waiting in line:

1. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
   
2. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
   
3. The Juror by John Grisham
   
4. Harry Potter (the final book)
   

Can't wait to start losing myself in a good book!

Thanks Gardens of Sand for inspirig me to check out my list of books!

Love,

Soul