So today in London there was a protest outside the Israeli Embassy by anti-zionists against the illegal Israeli settlements being constructed in the West Bank and East jerusalem, and I sooo wish I could've been there! You can click the link to read the article about the Illegal iIsraeli settlements <<<(from the BBC website)
I've always wanted to passionately protest for something I truly believe in, like Palestine being recognised as a country (you won't find it on maps any more!) and for their freedom, liberation and general peace in the middle east!
But alas, the world is quite an angry place at the moment. Hope it calms down, I don't want to sedate the angry world, but i'll do it if it comes to it! (or at least i'll try)
Don't compromise your beliefs for anyone. Stand up proudly for whatever cause you represent!
You know that feeling when you hear a song you completely forgot about and you used to love? i LOVES that feeling. I was cleaning out some drawers in my room and discovered my ancient MP3 player from when I was in high school, and re-discovered one of best singers ever....PAUL ANKA :D
Those of you who know who Paul Anka is are probably confused as to why I was listening to him when I was in high school, but I've just always preferred old school music, tis much better than what's out now I reckon! But it was his album 'Rock Swings' that I fell in love with. Every cover was...like....AMAZEBALLS and had a unique twist on the originals.
My music taste has always been a little bit different than most of my friends, who usually skip through most of the songs on my CDs in my car! But yes, old is gold :D
As a 21 year old it, you'd probably expect me to be insane over Lady gaga or Rihanna, but quite frankly I'm a bit bored of gaga, and Rihanna.....no comment....
And I also chuckled over how my old MP3 player could only fit 12 songs on it, and I considered it the best thing in the world back then! (It was an upgrade from my chunky CD player!). that was only in 2005. 7 years on and you'd be considered a joke for having an MP3 player that could only hold 12 songs! The wonders of technology........
Yesterday my cousin hosted a little Christmas dinner for us, and it was amazing! She was the perfect host, and I got some lovely little pressies :)
My cousins lovely place setting and Winnie the Pooh snow globe from M-dawg!
So today it's Christmas whoop whoop! I hope those who celebrate have lots of yummy food and get all that they wished for and have a lovely day (and feel free to post me something nice, my address is available upon request ;D) My xmas evening will be spent at my neighbours mehndi, which should be lovely!
But I read an article about the horrible news in Nigeria, where churches where bombed today! (you can read it from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/25/nigerian-church-bombed-christmas-prayers)
No one has been identified as the culprits of this disrespectful attack, but whoever is behind it needs to understand that;
'He who kills a soul unless it be (in legal punishment) for murder or for causing disorder and corruption on the earth will be as if he had killed all humankind; and he who saves a life will be as if he had saved the lives of all humankind (Qur'an 5:32)'
So there really is no justification for this terrible act.
I pray for those who have been killed and for their families, and pray that they have patience through this tragedy.
I hope everyone has a peaceful Christmas holiday, and a peaceful life in general
xoxo
Being a Muslim, Christmas isn't really of any significance for me, but I LOVE this time of the year! The fancy lights, the way everyone's mood just seems to be better, Mince Pies and the good Christmas TV. How can I not get into the x-mas spirit!?
The big santa In Manchester Town square in the middle of the German Market (or 'International' Market)
Frankly, I'm kinda glad I don't celebrate x-mas, cuz I am BROKE! like seriously broke....like a joke.....a really, really bad joke. It wouldn't be a problem if I just had to get presents for my immediate family, but that would not be the case if my family did x-mas. There would be my Grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins, and then my friends...... Goodness gracious my friends. I mean I'm so blessed to have loads of lovely friends, but I'd probably mysteriously disappear around December every year, just to avoid the stress and depression caused by my sad, empty, studet bank account.
But I have no worries so whoop!
So usually, Christmas for us is just like any other day but with really really good or really really bad TV (they've not found a happy/medium yet). Either way I'll probably end up watching a repeat of 'Friends' on some channel so meh.
But this year, from having no plans on x-mas, I have LOADS going on!
On x-mas eve, my lovely cousin is hosting a little feast for me and our 2 other best mates and making us all our own individual desserts! I'm super excited, and we've all got each other presents as well so whoop whoop!
My cousin did mention the pressies could be hand made, but i thought 'forget that' and went and bought something. I never have, and never will be good at arts and crafts.
I used to be pretty decent back in Primary school. I came 2nd, twice, once for the mothers day painting competition, and once in the Easter egg competition.
I think, like most potential legends, I peaked too soon with my artistic talents, and was never able to reach the high standard I set for myself....buckling under the pressure......Or I'm just over-thinking it and was never really that good in the first place.
Wait...I've forgotten what the point of this post was....
OH, right, so yes, X-mas eve I'm going for dinner at my cousins :D
One of my neighbours is getting married, and her wedding is on Boxing day! Which i think is quite cool and unusual (In the Pakistani community it is anyway...). For those of you who don't know, Pakistani weddings are split into 3 days;
Day 1 is the Mehndi, which is kinda like a henna party. The Bride and Groom usually have separate Mehndis, where their families and friends get together to sing, dance, eat, and generally be merry before the actual wedding day.
Some Henna I had put on when I went to Pakistan in 2009
Day 2 is the Baraat. This is basically when the Brides side of the family hosts the wedding, with guests mainly being their family, friends and with a few of the grooms close family and friends.
finally, Day 3 is the Walima. This is where the Grooms side host with the guests mainly consisting of the boys family and friends a few of the girls close family and friends.
Exhausting right? So on Christmas day we have our neighbours Mehndi to attend, and her Wedding is on Boxing day :D so I actually have a very busy Christmas planned!
I Hope whatever faith and whatever part of the world you're in, you have a lovely Christmas, and shall leave you with a video that will make even the most serious of sceptics beleive that Santy Clause does exist....and that he's funky fresh.
xoxo
JOKES! I've got no beef with you boys.... “O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other).” (49:13)
So I kinda have to not have beef with you, yeah.
So Birds...
Getting a parrot has become my mothers latest ambition. Not a cute, small parrot, but a proper walking, talking Macaw that has all the colours of the rainbow on its feathers! I'm completely for this. I would love to have a parrot and train it to say funny, inappropriate things in the hope that I could catch it on video and send it off to 'You've been framed' (I can practically smell the £250 prize money).
BUT, I hope my mums fascination with parrots lasts and she actually gets one. In the past month or so, the list of possible pets to be welcomed in my household have included; snakes, kittens and now, Parrots (you can see there is a general theme here.....).
So me and my brother decided to go to the pet shop (the most AMAZING pet shop in Manchester I reckon) to see how much parrots are, and it turns out that actual talking parrots are pretty darn expensive! But my mother, being my mother, doesn't let such minor set backs deter her (When her heart's set on something, she will get it!) and decided the parrot could be her birthday present! I'm still cool with it, cuz i just really really want a parrot.
Macaw!
A Toucan!! I want this for my birthday :D
When we were kids, my dad loved birds. We had budgies, cockatoos and finches for around 12 years (not the same birds for that amount of time....obviously) but eventually my dad got tired of changing dirty newspapers and cleaning cages, so he gave the birds away, and for the first few weeks I couldn't sleep properly as the house felt too quiet! So having a bird back in the house would make me happy!
So Barcelona.....
I had my first ever Tea room experience today, and I LOVED it! Had the yummiest pastry (forgot what it was called as i was distracted by the creaminess of it!) and it reminded me of my holiday to Barcelona! There was a patisserie next to our hotel, and for breakfast we would get a coffee and pastry which was delicious! The only difference was that the pastries in Barcelona were around 70p a pop, compared to the £1.65 we paid for our pastry over here in the good ol' UK!
Yummy Barca breakfast,
equally as yummy, but significantly higher in cost pastry in manc
But was a nice memory of the lovely warmth and sunniness of Barca as opposed to cold snowy Manchester! Nom noms x
So, there's an Ayah in the Qur'ān which I particularly find inspiring;
"O you who have believed, eat from the good things which We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is [indeed] Him that you worship. (2:172)"
Can you guess why? Yup....'cause it tells me to EAT :D And who am I to disobey my Lord?!
So, my wonderful mother took me to lunch today for a yummy Italian at a place called Pesto. Like the proper ladies we are, we stuffed our faces like there was no tomorrow! (my philosophy is that you should live each day like it's your last, you see).
Yaaaay X-mas themed table settings and yummy yummy tapas style Italiano food :D
In a perfect world, after our feast, I would've gone home, had a cup of tea and then do what I class as a hobby; POWER NAP. Unfortunately, that wonderful thing called University (also know as the bain of my life) reared its ugly head, and reminded me that I have ri-donkulous (instead of ridiculous....it'll catch on....trust me) amounts of work to do *Shakes fists at uni work*.
Some might say 'Stop complaining you douche! You chose to go to uni, and you should consider yourself lucky to have such an opportunity, an opportunity which is merely a dream to some'. To those people, I say SHAT AP. Occasionally I like to have a moan and feel sorry for myself. Then I watch keyboard cat and feel better about my life. A life without knowing keyboard cat is not a life i wish to live!
Cross-stitched keyboard cat....is there anything more wonderful?
Eh, I've only got a few more months of uni life, then the lovely student bubble will pop, and that cruel cruel beast know as 'the real world' will come and do a big dump on me. So I suppose I should make the most of my last few months of uni.
Please excuse the randomness of the blog name, but I honestly couldn't think of anything better. It's quite good actually, because most of the stuff I'll probably blog about will be random! Consistency has never been a strong point of mine.
I s'pose i should ramble on about why I'm blogging. I've wanted to blog for a long time, but never really got round to it (those who know me know that I'm quite lazy, and am AMAZING at procrastinating). I tend to waffle a lot, so thought why not waffle on cyberspace? And also, I quite like the idea of looking back at this in a few years and seeing what I was up to back in't day (I struggle recalling what I did last week.....) so yah.
Just so you're warned, I'll probably mostly blog about things that inspire me (like a beautiful sunset, or rainbow that brings a wee tear to my eye....) and FOOD. I.love.food. Especially if it looks pretty :) nom noms.
